1 Abraham was directed of God to go up to Mount Moriah, and there offer up his son as a burnt offering. There the Lord tested Abraham by a most fearful trial. In taking Hagar for his wife he showed distrust in the promises of God. If he had patiently waited for the promise to be fulfilled in God’s own time and manner, and had not sought to make a providence himself, he would not have been subjected to this the closest test that was ever required of man.
2 This command of God was calculated to stir his soul to its depths. He was one hundred and twenty years old when this terrible and startling command came to him, in a vision of the night. He was to travel three days’ journey, and would have ample time for reflection. Fifty years previous, at the divine command, he had left father and mother, relatives and friends, and had become a pilgrim and a stranger in a land not his own. He had obeyed the command of God to send away his son Ishmael to wander in the wilderness. His soul was bowed down with grief at this separation, and his faith was sorely tried, yet he submitted because God required it.
3 But now a trial was before him which caused all his other afflictions to appear insignificant. The words of the command were sufficient to harrow up his soul and give him the deepest pain. “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Over and over again did the burdened soul say, Oh! my son, my son, would to God my life would be accepted in the place of thine; then should my light not go out in darkness. Abraham arose before day, and as he looked up to the starry heavens, he called to mind the promise which God made to him fifty years before. “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” And now the same voice had commanded him to slay this only son, through whom this promise was to be fulfilled.
4 Abraham was tempted to believe that after all this might be a delusion. Stricken with grief, he bowed before God, and prayed as never before for a confirmation of this strange command, for greater light if he must perform this terrible duty. He remembered the angels sent to tell him of God’s purpose to destroy Sodom, and those who bore to him the promise that he should have this same son Isaac. He walked forth where he had several times met the heavenly messengers, hoping to meet them again and receive some special direction from them; but he gained no light, darkness seemed to close about him, day was approaching, and he must be on his journey before light.
5 He first passed to the couch upon which Isaac slept in peaceful innocency; he was the joy of his heart, the comfort of his old age. Abraham’s lips quivered, he turned quickly away, and looked upon the couch where Sarah was quietly sleeping. He knew that Isaac was her pride, that her heart was intwined with his. Should he awake Sarah, that she might look upon her son for the last time? Should he tell her the requirement of God? He knew that he himself had strength of faith, and confidence in God; he did not know the strength of Sarah’s faith; but he did know the strength of her love for Isaac.
6 He passed from one sleeper to the other, undecided in regard to the wisest course to pursue. He finally awakened Isaac softly, informing him that he was commanded of God to offer sacrifice upon a distant mountain, and that he must accompany him. He called his servants, and made every necessary preparation for his long journey. If he could unburden his mind to Sarah, and they together bear the suffering and responsibility, it might bring him some relief; but he decided that this would not do; for her heart was bound up in her son, and she might hinder him. He went forth on his journey, with Satan by his side to suggest unbelief and impossibility.
7 While walking by the side of Isaac, he could not engage in conversation as usual, for a deep sorrow was concealed in his own breast. The night approaches, the longest day Abraham ever experienced has come to a close. He saw his loved son Isaac and the servants locked in slumber, but he could not sleep. He spent the night in prayer. He would pray, still hoping that some heavenly messenger would appear to tell him that it is enough, that he may return to Sarah, with Isaac unharmed. The stars seem to shine forth more beautiful than ever before, reminding him of the promise, As the number of the stars, so shall thy seed be.
8 No new light dawned upon the tortured soul of Abraham. A heavy pressure was upon him, but he staggered not at the promise. He reasoned not that his posterity, which would be as the stars, must now come through Ishmael, for God had plainly stated that through Isaac should the promise be fulfilled. Then again was that voice ringing in his ears, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest.” That terrible command which would leave him childless can scarcely be realized. He rises early to continue his toilsome journey. Satan whispers his doubts, but Abraham resists his suggestions.
9 All day he had hopes of meeting an angel coming to bless and comfort him, or perhaps to revoke the command of God, but no messenger of mercy appeared. Satan suggested that he must be deceived, for God had said, “Thou shalt not kill,” and that it was not like God to require what he had forbidden. The second long day comes to a close, another sleepless night is spent in humiliation and prayer, and the journey of the third day is commenced. Abraham lifts his eyes to the mountains, and upon one he beholds the promised sign. He looks earnestly, and lo, a bright cloud hovered over the top of Mount Moriah. Now he knows it is all a terrible certainty, and no delusion.
10 He was yet a great distance from the mountain, but he removed the burden from the shoulders of his servants and bade them remain behind; while he placed the wood upon the shoulders of his son, and himself took the knife and fire. Abraham braced himself for his sad work which he must perform. He did not murmur against God, for Isaac had been given to him unexpectedly. He had received him with gratitude and great joy, and though he was the son of his old age, the son of his love, he yet believed that the same power that gave him Isaac, could raise him again even from the ashes of the burnt sacrifice. He strengthens his soul by the evidences he has had of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Had not God, who had graciously given Isaac to him perfect right to recall the gift, and demand him back?
11 Isaac had been a comfort, a sunbeam, a blessing to Abraham in his old age, and although this gift of God seemed so precious, so dear to him, yet he was now commanded to give it back to God. The words of God’s command showed that he fully realized the pain which Abraham must feel in obeying his requirement, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest.” Abraham wanted no witnesses. It was enough that God could look on and not only see the full consecration of his darling Isaac, but read the heart and fully understand how severely he felt the test. He wished no one but God to witness this parting scene between father and son.
12 Abraham knew not how Isaac would receive the command of God. As they drew near the mountain, “Isaac spake to Abraham, his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” These endearing words, “My Father,” pierced his affectionate heart, and again he thought, Oh! that I, in my old age, might die instead of Isaac. Still reluctant to open before his son the true purpose of his errand, Abraham answered, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”
13 Isaac assisted his Father in building the altar. Together they placed on the wood, and the last work preparatory to the sacrifice is done. With quivering lips and trembling voice, Abraham revealed to his son the message that God had sent him. In obedience to God’s command, he had taken the journey. Everything was ready. Isaac was the victim, the lamb to be slain. Had Isaac chosen to resist his father’s command, he could have done so, for he was grown to manhood; but he had been so thoroughly instructed in the knowledge of God that he had perfect faith in his promises and requirements.
14 Abraham assured his son that his affection for him was not diminished, and that he would rather give his own life than to deprive him of life. But God had chosen Isaac, and his requirement must be fulfilled to the letter. He told Isaac that God had miraculously given him to his parents, and now he had required him again. He assured his son that God’s promise, that “In Isaac shall thy seed be called,” would be fulfilled; that doubtless God would raise him to life again from the dead. He told Isaac that he had hoped that the Messiah would spring from him. In this he was disappointed, and then, that his darling son must die by his own hand, increased his grief a hundred-fold.
15 Isaac at first heard the purpose of God with amazement amounting to terror. He considered the matter fully. He was the child of a miracle. If God had accepted him as a worthy sacrifice, he would cheerfully submit. Life was dear, life was precious, but his Creator had specified him, Isaac, to be offered up as a sacrifice. He comforted his father, by assuring him that God conferred honor upon him, in accepting him as a sacrifice; that in this requirement he saw not the wrath and displeasure of God, but special tokens that God loved him, in that he required him to be consecrated to himself in sacrifice.
16 He encouraged the almost nerveless hands of his father to bind the cords which confined him to the altar. The last words of endearing love were spoken by father and son, the last affectionate, filial, and parental tears were shed, the last embrace was given, and the father had pressed his beloved son to his aged breast for the last time. His hand is uplifted, grasping firmly the instrument of death, which was to take the life of Isaac, when suddenly his arm is stayed. “And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
17 God estimated Abraham’s obedience and unswerving faith, and gave him the name of “Father of the faithful.” The example of Abraham is recorded in sacred history for the benefit of his believing children. This great act of faith teaches the lesson of implicit confidence in God, perfect obedience to his requirements, and a complete surrender to the divine will. In the example of Abraham we are taught that nothing we possess is [too] precious to give to God.
18 All that we have is the Lord’s. Our money, our time, talents and ourselves, all belong to him. He has lent them to us, to test and prove us, and to develop what is in our hearts. If we selfishly claim as our own the favors God has graciously intrusted to us, we shall meet with great loss, for we rob God, and in robbing him, we rob ourselves of heavenly blessings, and the benediction Christ will give the faithful and obedient: “Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
19 How many now who profess to be Christians would yield up to God their beloved Isaac? Our dearest treasure belongs to God. A solemn duty rests upon Christian parents to so educate and mould the minds of their children that they will ever have a high respect and exalted reverence for God and everything sacred and holy. Such will feel that God’s claims must first be regarded, that nothing is too precious to sacrifice for him. Such will, like Abraham, exemplify their faith by their works.
20 How many now who profess to believe God, and pass for Christians, will not obey his voice when he calls upon them to deny self, and yield to him their darling treasures. They will hesitate, and cling to earthly things. Their affections are upon the world and the things of the world, and some of these very ones will have the most to say about how much they have sacrificed to obey the truth. Isaac felt that it was a privilege to yield his life as a sacrifice to God. If God could accept him, he felt that he was honored.
21 Human judgment may look upon the command given to Abraham as severe, too great for human strength to bear. Abraham’s strength was from God. He looked not at the things which are seen with mortal vision, but at the things which are eternal. God required no more of Abraham than he had, in divine compassion and infinite love, given to man. He gave his only begotten Son to die, that guilty man might live. Abraham’s offering of Isaac was especially designed of God to prefigure the sacrifice of his Son.
22 Every step that Abraham advanced toward Mount Moriah, the Lord went with him. All the agony and grief that Abraham endured during the three days of his dark and fearful trial, were imposed upon him to give us a lesson in perfect faith and obedience, and that we might better comprehend how real was the great self-denial and infinite sacrifice of the Father in giving his only Son to die a shameful death for the guilty race. No trial, no suffering or test, could be brought to bear upon Abraham, which would cause such mental anguish, such torture of soul, as that of obeying God in offering up his son.
23 Our Heavenly Father surrendered his beloved Son to the agonies of the crucifixion. Legions of angels witnessed the humiliation and soul-anguish of the Son of God, but were not permitted to interpose as in the case of Isaac. No voice was heard to stay the sacrifice. God’s dear Son, the world’s Redeemer, was insulted, mocked at, derided, and tortured, until he bowed his head in death. What greater proof can the Infinite One give us of his divine love and pity. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
24 The meagre conception that many have of the worth of the soul, and the sacrifice of God’s dear Son for sinful man, is shown by their works. Should God speak to them as he did to Abraham, Sacrifice your possessions, your temporal benefits that I have lent you to advance my cause, they would look in astonishment, thinking God did not mean just what he said. Their riches are as dear to them as their children, their worldly treasure is their Isaac. To honor God with their substance, they think, is a requirement altogether too great, and they cannot believe that God means it. What have this class sacrificed for God?
25 Men will show all the faith they have. If God should speak to them and command them to go and offer one of their beloved children, they would think God a hard master. Yet he has done more than this for them. No such command will come to test and prove them. God knew to whom he spake, when he gave the command to true and faithful Abraham. Abraham knew that it was God who had commanded, and that his promises were infallible. Had God commanded him to offer his gold, his silver, his flocks, or even his own life, he would have done so cheerfully. He would have felt that he was but yielding back to God that which belonged to him.
26 But there are many who know not what self-denial, or sacrifice, or devotion to God, is. They never can have extended and elevated views of the infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God to save a ruined world, until they surrender all to God. If God should speak to them in a command, as he did to Abraham, they would not be enough acquainted with his voice to understand that he did really require something of them, to show their love, and the genuineness of their faith.
27 The claims of God upon our love, affection, and possessions, our talents, and ourselves, are correspondingly great as was the infinite sacrifice made in giving his Son to die for sinful man. Those who really appreciate the work of the atonement, those who have a high sense of the sacrifice Christ has made to exalt them to his throne, will count it a special honor to be partakers with Christ in his self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering, that they may be co-workers with him in saving souls.
28 There are many who profess the truth, who do not love God half so well as they love the world. God is testing and proving them. Their love of the world and of riches darkens their minds, perverts their judgment, and hardens their hearts. God has, to some of them at least, revealed his will, and called for a surrender of their Isaac to him. But they refuse to obey, and let golden opportunities pass. Precious time is bearing into eternity a record of duties unfulfilled and of positive neglect.
29 Nothing we have is of true value until it is surrendered to God. The talent of means devoted to the cause and work of God, is of tenfold more value, than if selfishly retained for the gratification of our own pleasure. The faith of the devoted martyrs was like that of Abraham, it was genuine. they valued the precious truth, and in their turn, although despised of men, hunted from place to place, persecuted, afflicted, and tormented, were valued of God. There was no place for them upon the earth, but of them, says the apostle, the world was not worthy. Those who clung to precious truth in face of prison, torture, and death, had faith that few now living possess.
30 Many have chosen a life of ease. They have exalted their earthly interests above the spiritual and eternal. They neglect to learn the hard lesson of self-denial, and of surrendering all to God. They do not count anything interesting, save that which is learned without much effort, and without involving any sacrifice of temporal enjoyment; and it is forgotten as soon as learned, because it cost them nothing.
31 The deepest poverty, with God’s blessing, is better than houses and lands, and any amount of earthly treasure, without it. God’s blessing places value on everything we possess; but if we have the whole world without his blessing we are indeed as poor as the beggar, for we can take nothing with us into the next world.
32 Those who profess to be looking for the soon coming of our Saviour, should have Abrahamic faith, a faith that is valued because it has cost them something, a faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. The example of Abraham is left on record for us upon whom the ends of the world have come. We must believe that God is in earnest with us, and that he is not to be trifled with. He means what he says, and he requires of us implicit faith and willing obedience. Then will he let his light shine around about us, and we shall be all light in the Lord.
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1 God prepared for Adam and Eve a beautiful garden. He provided for them everything their wants required. He planted for them trees of every variety, bearing fruit. With a liberal hand he surrounded them with his bounties—the trees for usefulness and beauty, and the lovely flowers which sprung up spontaneously, and flourished in rich profusion around them, were to know nothing of decay. Adam and Eve were rich indeed. They possessed beautiful Eden. Adam was monarch in this beautiful domain. None can question the fact that Adam was rich. But God knew that Adam could not be happy unless he had employment. Therefore he gave him something to do. He was to dress the garden.
2 The Creator of man never designed that he should be idle. The Lord formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. It was the law of nature, therefore the law of God, that brain, nerve, and muscle should be in active motion. Young gentlemen and ladies that refuse to labor because they are not compelled to, and because it is not fashionable, are not guided and controlled by enlightened reason. Those who shun manual labor, cannot have physical stamina. In order for the young to enjoy perfect health and perfect happiness, every organ and function must be in perfect operation as God designed they should be. If all the organs act their natural part, life, health, and happiness, will be the result. Too little exercise and staying in-doors too much, will bring on feebleness and disease of some one or more of the organs. It is sinful to impair or weaken one of the powers God has given us. The Creator designed that we should have perfect bodies, that we might preserve them in health, and render to him the offering of a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God.
3 Exercise in useful labor will be carrying out the original plan of God, when he bade Adam and Eve to dress the garden. Life is precious, and should be preserved intelligently by regarding the laws of our being.
4 Fashionable idlers, who have plenty of leisure, fail to attain happiness. They have been educated to regard honest labor as only fit for the poor, while it would degrade the wealthy. They rob the brain and nervous system, by fashionable indolence, of a supply of animal energy that keeps the machinery of the body in healthful activity.
5 In order for the brain to have clearness and strength of thought, retentive memory and mental power, the muscles of the body should have exercise a portion of each day.
6 Adam was in glorious Eden. He was perfectly developed, and then set to work by his Maker that by exercise all his muscles should preserve their elasticity. Many young men and ladies are too proud, or too lazy, to engage in useful labor in the house or in the garden.
7 The world is full of women with but little vitality and less common sense. Society is in great need of healthful, sensible young women who are not afraid to work and soil their hands. God gave them hands to employ in useful labor. God did not give us the wonderful human machinery of the body to become paralyzed by inaction. The living machinery God designed should be in daily activity, and in this activity or motion of the machinery is its preserving power. Manual labor quickens the circulation of the blood. The more active the circulation the more free will be the blood from obstructions and impurities. The blood nourishes the body. The health of the body depends upon the healthful circulation of the blood. If work is performed without the heart being in it, it is simply drudgery, and the benefit which should result from the exercise is not gained.
8 Toiling mothers who have given their children the advantages of education, and have brought them up without disciplining them to self-denial and physical labor, and have given them liberty to follow their own pleasure, will not receive much happiness and comfort from these children. In my travels I have seen that those women who entered upon married life wholly unprepared for domestic duties were not happy. They did not receive the training and the education in their youth that fitted them for the responsible position they had by most solemn covenant agreed to fill. The parents had made a great mistake. When children, they were excused from exertion in order “to enrich the mind.” They could play an instrument of music, but were not educated to take responsibility. They enjoyed burying their minds in novels, but had no love to keep their houses in order. They were as incompetent for the responsible position of mothers as a girl of fifteen years. Economy of means they knew nothing of, and yet these are the mothers that are bringing up children to take their place upon the stage of action, to act their part in the drama of life. The characters of youth should not be spoiled by over-fond mothers. Parents should consider that as they neglect to thoroughly educate their daughters in domestic labors and economy, they are giving characters to them which will make their future married lives miserable. There will be disappointed husbands and neglected children, because of inefficient wives and mothers.
E. G. W.
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1 June 18, I spoke to the people from the third and fourth chapters of Malachi, reading from the 13th verse of the third chapter to the 3d verse of the fourth chapter. I had freedom in speaking, and all listened with deep interest. And moistened eyes showed that many hearts were touched.
2 My husband spoke in the afternoon upon the sacredness of the work for the present time, the importance of all who labor in the cause of God taking broader views of the work, and following in his opening providence. He was very free, and his words made a marked impression upon the congregation.
3 After he closed his remarks I was requested to speak more especially for the benefit of the Danes present. I improved one hour, Bro. Matteson interpreting. I spoke of the missionary work that should be done by those of different languages who embraced the truth, in carrying the message of mercy and of warning to those of their nation. I mentioned the work in other countries, that there were Sabbath-keepers scattered all through Europe, that our publications were finding access to large numbers of the different nations, and that, as the result they were being led to search their Bibles, and there find the truth which is to us so precious.
4 While relating the wonderful work of God in bringing the light of truth to those of other nations, our American brethren present, as well as those of other tongues, were deeply interested, and I felt my own soul blessed.
5 In the evening, Bro. Smith spoke to a large congregation with clearness and freedom. All listened with great interest to his discourse.
6 June 19, at half-past five in the morning, the people assembled under the large tent for prayer and conference meeting. Several prayers were offered and many interesting testimonies borne.
7 One aged sister, with light and peace expressed in her countenance, spoke of the gratitude she felt in her heart for the privilege of attending the camp-meeting, and that her heart was so deeply affected while sister White was dwelling upon the work of the Lord in the earth that it seemed more than her feeble frame could well endure. She expressed her desire to be among those who were doing the work of God, to whom he would finally say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
8 Another sister said she felt reproved by the Spirit of the Lord, that she had followed him at too great a distance, but would come nearer to God. Another expressed her desire that the truth should have a sanctifying influence upon her affections and will, that she might give a better example to the world.
9 A young Danish brother expressed his desire for a new conversion to God, adding that he did not want to say more of the truth than he lived out. Another brother said he had just started out to obey the commandments of God, that he could find no other way of getting into Heaven than by willing obedience to all of God’s commandments.
10 Many of the lonely ones have come, some a long distance, to attend this meeting and are anxious to express their gratitude for the privilege. One sister said she had not had the privilege of meeting with the people of God since the camp-meeting one year ago, that the paper and her Bible were all the preaching she had had.
11 A Mr. C., who is dwelling upon modern holiness, wanted a discourse given to those hungering after righteousness. My husband spoke on that point, as to what constituted Bible sanctification, stating that those who claimed to be enjoying sanctification while living in opposition to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, had the spurious article. He quoted the words of the apostle in defining “sin” as the “transgression of the law.” And the words of Paul, “I had not known sin but by the law.” And those of the beloved disciple, “And hereby do we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him.” Here is the only genuine Bible sanctification. The sinner is required to exercise repentance toward God for the transgression of his law, and faith in Jesus Christ, the sinner’s advocate.
12 Another testimony was borne, then my husband made some remarks in reference to the meeting. He stated that he had been thinking ever since he had started out to attend the camp-meetings, if there could not be some way devised, that, as soon as the brethren and sisters came to the meeting, they would become workers, all going to work at the first of the meeting. He stated that this was not the time nor place to consume precious moments in repeating the same testimonies over and over again, that there were men and women who felt burdened, from whom we wished to hear, those who felt the burden for souls out of Christ.
13 He stated that a yearly gathering cost much time and expense, farmers had come at great sacrifice, some had brought their unconverted children, hoping that their hearts would be touched, that there was great need of individual effort in the family tents, that too much precious time should not be spent in singing hymns that were not appropriate for the occasion, and that did not really give expression to the feelings. He exhorted all to settle into the work. He stated that he would not bind the feelings of any soul, would not mould their testimonies, but wanted the golden moments spent to the very best account, that all upon this important occasion should feel the necessity of watchfulness and prayer.
14 He further remarked in regard to that valueless, bogus sanctification which leaves the Father and his law out of the question. He stated that when our hearts kindle up as we read the claims of the law of God in his word, when we can pray with the psalmist, “Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,” we are in a position to claim the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour, and may fully rely upon the prayer of Christ to his Father for the sanctification which comes through the belief of the truth.
15 At nine A.M., we again assembled in the large tent for prayer and conference meeting. The tent was well filled. The meeting commenced by singing the hymn:—
“Just as I am—without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
16 My husband followed with remarks appropriate to the hymn. He stated that all may come just as they are, without one plea, cleaving in faith to Jesus, believing that he is not only able to, but does, forgive sin and save to the uttermost all who come unto him. And that those who exalt Christ must have a high estimate of the law of God.
17 Many excellent testimonies were borne with expressions of earnest desires to settle into the work, to live out the truth, and be sanctified by it.
18 Sabbath forenoon my husband gave a discourse, and Bro. Matteson spoke in the afternoon. At four o’clock, P. M., we assembled for prayer and conference meeting. I felt deeply for those who were backslidden from God, and for those poor souls out of Christ. And from the fullness of my heart I spoke to those present. We then invited all to come forward who had backslidden, and those who wished to accept of Christ who had never made a profession of religion. There was a general move, over one hundred came forward, several for the first time. Opportunity was given for those who desired, to express their feelings. Many spoke with deep feeling. The convicting Spirit of the Lord was in our midst. Confessions were made with a spirit of contrition. We then sung:—
“Just as I am—without one plea,”
19 I improved a few moments in speaking to those who had come forward. Another verse was then sung:—
”Just as I am—and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot.
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
20 A sister arose and with deep feeling said, just as I am, O Lord, I come, I come. A boy arose, wept, but could not speak his feelings. This was a testimony, even more powerful than words.
21 The meeting continued with intense interest for nearly three hours. Our ministering brethren then united in praying for those who had separated themselves from the congregation by coming forward to seek the Lord.
22 In the evening Bro. Smith spoke to a large and attentive audience. His subject was the United States in Prophecy.
23 Sunday morning we again met under the tent for prayer and conference meeting. At the commencement of the meeting several prayers were offered, and were followed by interesting testimonies.
24 In the forenoon my husband presented the reasons of our faith. In the afternoon I spoke upon the subject of God in nature, and the duties of mothers to their children. In the evening Bro. Smith spoke upon the mark of the beast. I regret that all our brethren did not have the benefit of Bro. Smith’s discourses on doctrinal subjects. It is important that they become well acquainted with the reasons of our faith. Those who are detained from these meetings miss a great privilege. And those who come to our camp-meetings, and are engaged in business sessions while discourses are being given at the stand, lose opportunities which would be of the greatest benefit to them.
25 Tuesday morning we were awakened early by some taking down their tents and preparing to leave the ground. At quarter past six we assembled at the stand. My husband and myself each spoke about fifteen minutes. Bro. Decker was then ordained. The Spirit of the Lord rested upon us. It was a very solemn season, tears mingled with gladness of heart. And with this meeting, marked with the special blessing of God, closed our good camp-meeting.
E. G. White
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Page 4
1 After the children of Israel had left Egypt, when there was but a step back from freedom to slavery, God commanded the tabernacle to be built from their scanty means. Their own tents were small, but they did not plead to enlarge their own tabernacles. God’s house must first be built. God gave them the design he wished them to follow in building the tabernacle. They needed no urging. Gifts and free-will offerings came in abundance. Their ornaments and jewelry were taken from their person and cast into the treasury, to be used to beautify and enrich the house for God. Materials of gold, silver, brass, and ornamental work, were gladly given, each soul being anxious to have an interest in the tabernacle which was being erected for God. More than a million of dollars was expended in erecting that tabernacle. Moses did not need to urge the people, but he had to proclaim to them that they had enough, and their cheerful, willing labors and offerings must cease, for they could not appropriate all that they had already brought.
2 There are hearts now that are as free, willing, and anxious, to aid in the advancement of the work of God as were the children of Israel. Only let them be assured that there is a work to be done, and that God calls for their means and their hearty co-operation, and they will need no urging.
3 When we can have even a small comprehension of what Jesus has done for us, we shall feel our responsibility to do all that we can for Christ. The life of Jesus was spent in devising plans for our welfare. While we were enemies to God, he pitied us, and came from the courts of Heaven to suffer, the just for the unjust. He died, and rose again from the grave, to show his followers the way of life from the dead. He now stands before his Father as our great High Priest and our advocate, pleading our cause, and presenting our feeble progress with infinite grace before his Father. He forgives our transgressions, and by imputing unto us his righteousness, he links us to the Infinite. In the heavenly courts our Saviour stands and extends to the world the gracious invitation, Come, ye weary, ye poor, ye hungry; come, ye burdened, ye heavy-laden, sin-sick souls, come. And whosoever will, let him come and partake of the waters of life freely.
4 Can we be too earnest, and self-sacrificing in our efforts to set the truth before the world? Shall we plead for ease and for the pleasures of this life, to enjoy our pleasant homes and the society of family and friends, and let others do the work which must be done in warning the world? Shall we plead as did the ungrateful ones to whom Christ extended the invitation to come to supper, I pray thee have me excused? Or shall we gird on the armor with cheerfulness, hope, and faith, and like valiant soldiers, be willing to engage in the thickest of the fight, war the good warfare, share the glorious victory, and receive the eternal reward?
E. G. W.
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5 I have seen a mother whose critical eye could discern anything imperfect in the matching of the wood-work of her house, and who was very particular to have her house-cleaning thoroughly done at the precise time she had set, and would carry it through frequently at the expense of physical and spiritual health, while her children were left to run in the street and obtain a street education. These children were growing up coarse, selfish, rude, and disobedient. The mother, although she had hired help, was so much engaged in household cares that she could not afford time to properly train her children. She let them come up with deformity of character, undisciplined, and untrained. We could but feel that the fine taste of the mother was not exercised in the right direction, or she would have seen the necessity of moulding the minds and manners of her children, and educating them to have symmetrical characters and lovely tempers.
6 If the mother had let these things which she has allowed to claim her first attention come in secondarily, she would have regarded the physical, mental, and moral training of her children of almost infinite importance. Those who take upon themselves the responsibility of mothers should feel under the most solemn obligation to God and to their children, to so educate them that they will have amiable and affectionate dispositions, and that they will be pure in morals, refined in taste, and lovely in character.
7 The mother loves her children. This is right. She cannot help it. But this love is frequently misapplied; for it leads her to indulge her children to their injury.
8 For years I have looked upon these children with feelings of sadness, sometimes repeating to myself these words: “That which ye sow, ye shall also reap.” These children have needed the influence of a calm, well-balanced mind. The mother’s time could not be more profitably spent than in seeking heavenly wisdom, and in studying how to train her children for God. If she would succeed she should have a firm trust in God, and that cheerful, hopeful mind and peaceful temper which flows from pure religious principles. Every effort made in this direction will repay her tenfold.
9 If mothers neglect to properly educate their children, their neglect is reflected back upon them again, making their burdens and perplexities harder than they would have been if they had devoted time and patient care in training their children to obedience and submission. It will pay in the end for mothers to make the formation of the characters of their children their first and highest consideration, that the thorns may not take root and yield an abundant harvest. God calls upon mothers to become co-workers with him in the formation of the character of their children, instead of wasting their time in needless labor to make display in their houses for the eyes of visitors, while their children are coming up with characters that are warped and deformed. They are not trained for usefulness, and their minds molded that they may have self-denial and self-control, having beautiful characters that angels can love. The inward adorning the ornament of a meek and quite spirit God values. In comparison with this, outward ornamentation is but little consequence.
10 Mothers have a sacred mission in directing and educating the minds of their children. They should not be so engrossed with the artificial and burdened with care that they cannot have time to educate their children from God’s great book of nature, impressing their young minds with the beauties of opening buds and flowers. The lofty trees, the lovely birds caroling forth their happy songs to their Creator, speak to their senses of the goodness, mercy, and benevolence of God. Every leaf and flower with their varied tints, perfuming the air, teach them that God is love. All that is good and lovely and beautiful in this world speaks to them of the love of our Heavenly Father. The character of God they may discern in his created works. Parents should improve every opportunity to impress their children by connecting in their minds God with the things of nature, that they may look up through nature to nature’s God. Lead your children to regard God as the Creator of all things, and to reverence and fear him who is exalted above the heavens, and to love him because he first loved them. The evidences of his love they have on every hand, speaking to them through the glories of nature. Your temporal matters may be neglected rather than the heart wants and culture of the minds of your children.
E. G. White.
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Page 5
1 The following letter from sister White was written while traveling from one meeting to another. On the cars, and in the depots, wherever she could find opportunity, she has penned a few lines which we are pleased to present to the readers of the Signs.-W. C. W.
2 Our third camp-meeting is closed. We have been well cared for at these meetings. A small tent was furnished for our use, and our meals were prepared by kind friends, on the camp-ground. After the meetings were closed Bro. Chase took us to his home where we shared his hospitality taking a nights rest and a New England breakfast before starting on our way to the next meeting. On the way to Bro. Chase’s, we passed through Monroe, where we labored seventeen years ago with Bro. Sperry. He has long since closed his labors, to rest till the voice of Jesus shall call the righteous from their graves to a glorious, immortal life. We work on, still waiting for Christ’s appearing.
3 On Tuesday night we were awakened by a fearful storm. The lightning flashes followed in such quick succession as to make one blaze of light. The thunder, peal after peal, seemed to shake the earth. In the morning the heavens presented the appearance of burnished brass. This and another severe thunder storm the next night did great damage, shattering the forest trees, damaging houses, and in several cases injuring the sleeping inmates. The railroad was washed away in several places so delaying us that we did not reach the Minnesota Camp-ground till Friday.
4 It is painful to witness, as we pass from place to place, the reckless, frivolous conduct of many of the youth. The Bible attaches the greatest importance to moral rectitude. The books of Moses, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs, the Apostles, and the teachings of our Saviour, present the idea that every one is to be tried by his principles; not by his profession, his faith, or his appearance; for although of fine appearance, he may have hidden sins. The heart must be renewed; the tree must be made good or good fruit will not appear. “Marvel not” said Christ to Nicodemus, “that I said unto you, ye must be born again.” A new moral taste has to be created before man will love to obey the law of God.
5 How much I have thought upon the popular revivals. There are a great many modern inventions to remedy the evils existing in society, but we have seen very little enduring good result from them. Advantage is taken of the impulses of the moment, to induce men to profess to leave a sinful life. Reformation in life is needed, but the reformation made under excitement will seldom outlast the excitement in which it originated. Conversions made by moving the feelings by the relation of anecdotes and sensational stories, do not bear the impress of Heaven. Heart work is needed. The sinner needs to have a clearly defined understanding of what sin is, and that he must repent of sin, which is the transgression of the law of God. When this is understood the seed is sown for a true and thorough conversion.
6 We have examples of men of debased morals who have been brought before the law of God, the true mirror: in it they have seen the defects of their character, and when pointed to the atoning blood of a crucified Redeemer, they accepted it as their only hope, they were truly converted. From this time their life was changed; they have not a sensational religion.
7 David sinned, he transgressed the law of God. A prophet of God was sent to reprove him, and convict him of his error. He did not sing affecting songs, nor tell touching anecdotes, but he brought before David an illustration of his own course, in a figure, and let him pass sentence upon himself, then he said, “Thou art the man.” David repented and found pardon through Christ. And thus it must be with the sinner now, he must realize the enormity of his sin, before he can exercise true repentance and experience a thorough conversion.
Ellen G. White.
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Page 6
1 Some mothers are at fault in releasing their daughters from toil and care. By so doing they encourage them in indolence. The excuse these mothers sometimes plead is, “My daughters are not strong.” But they take the sure course to make them weak and inefficient. Well-directed labor is just what they require to make them strong, vigorous, cheerful, happy, and courageous to meet the various trials with which this life is beset.
2 Mothers, labor will not injure your daughters so much as indolence will. Do they feel weary at the close of their day’s duties? A night’s rest will refresh and invigorate them, and in the morning they will be prepared to engage again in useful labor.
3 Many mothers are too ready to shield their delicate, ease-loving, pleasure-seeking, daughters from care and responsibility, as though they feared that a little care would injure them. These mothers make a sad mistake. In lifting responsibilities from their daughters, they make them inefficient for useful labor, and render them useless so far as practical life is concerned.
4 Their education has a tendency to make them thoughtless of others. They are frivolous, and, perhaps, vain. Their minds are occupied with themselves. Their own amusements and selfish gratifications are their chief study. They become proud, unteachable, and unamiable. They fancy themselves delicate in health, when they have the powers within them, if called into exercise, to make useful, working women.
5 Indolence is a curse to them. They learn the fashionable, simpering, and artificial lisping, so common with spoiled young ladies. Affectation is seen in almost every action. They are amused with themselves, and are thoughtless of others. They live upon the plenty which surrounds them in their parental homes, and depend upon the bounty given them of their parents. They lean upon parental strength, and fail to acquire the power of depending upon themselves. And those of this class are unprepared for the stern realities of life. They make no provision for the losses and disappointments of this inconstant life. They may be deprived of property and of parents. What then, will they lean upon? They have not acquired a principle of self-support, of noble independence and self reliance, and they droop through murmuring, disappointment, and discouragement. They may then regret the defects in their education, and blame their mothers for them. These are some of the many fruits of a mother’s mistaken fondness.
6 Inactivity weakens the system. God made men and women to be active and useful. Nothing can increase the strength of the young like proper exercise of all the muscles in useful labor. But the indulgent mother frequently sacrifices her life in her misguided affection for her children. And are they, in any way, benefited by the great sacrifice of the precious strength of the mother? No; they are positively and permanently injured. They are taught to think and care only for themselves. “Just as the twig is bent, the tree inclines.”
7 Especially is this the case with those daughters who are more directly under the influence of the mother. She should instruct her daughters not to yield to indispositions and slight ailments. If they complain of inability to labor, they should not be urged to eat. They should be taught that if they are unable to perform light labor, the system is not in a condition to take care of food. They should fast for one or two meals, and drink only pure, soft water. The loss of a meal or two will enable the overburdened system to overcome slight indispositions; and even graver difficulties may be overcome by this simple process.
8 It is very injurious for persons in full flesh to lie in bed, simply because they feel sick. Some, even while thus inactive, eat regularly. The physical, mental, and moral powers are enfeebled by indolence.
9 Mothers, if your daughters are surrounded with plenty, do not make this an excuse for neglecting to give them an education in the useful branches of household labor. Do not encourage them in indolence, or allow frivolous employment of their time. You should help your children to acquire a knowledge, that, if necessary, they could live by their own labor. You should teach them to be decided in following the calls of duty.
10 Young friends, learn to lean upon divine strength. All other, in comparison with this, is feebleness. Although you may feel weak, you may look to God by faith, for energy to make your efforts efficient. In the strength of your Redeemer, you can follow in the path of duty. You can stand in his strength self-reliant, with noble independence, working with diligence to develop good physical, mental, and moral strength. You can do this while you depend upon the grace of your Redeemer to aid you in your efforts. Follow in the path of duty, and you may be assured that the dangers, trials, toils, and conflicts, of life, will never intrude their dark shadows in the mansions Christ is preparing for the faithful.
11 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things have passed away.”
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Page 7
1 A life of fashion takes from the simplicity and attractive beauties of nature. Our artificial habits deprive us from enjoying the natural, and unfit us for practical life. How can Christian mothers, in the education of their children, follow in the steps of the multitude, and bow at the shrine of fashion?
2 To live fashionably is an expensive, as well as thankless, life. Much time and means are squandered merely to create sensation in fashionable society, which the Master has intrusted to his professed people, with which to bless the needy, and to advance his cause. Garments are prepared with much labor and great expenditure of means, to beautify the person, and make the outward appearance beautiful; yet, notwithstanding all this artificial adornment, they poorly compare with the beauty of the simplest flower of nature.
3 The Redeemer of the world, in giving his lessons of trust to his disciples, points them to the lilies of the field, and says, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” The great amount of needless toil to make the outward appearance attractive by artificial decorations is frequently at the sacrifice of health. After all the preparations that variety and pride can suggest, those who thus adorn themselves cannot bear comparison, in all their costly array, to the simple, natural lily of the field.
4 I would impress upon Christian mothers the necessity of being awake to the fact that every act of their lives is telling upon the future of their children, and is forming their characters to be swayed by the customs of society, or is giving them correct views of truth and right principles, as the basis of their actions. Many Christian mothers feel compelled, through false views, to fall into the customs of society, and the tide of fashion. With their mature experience they may be better able to withstand the current of fashionable life, and avoid its downward and vicious tendencies; but in adorning their houses, and in arraying their children according to the custom of fashionable society, they are giving examples to their children, and surrounding them with an influence, that is calculated to foster pride, vanity, and selfishness, and they are swept in with the current of fashion, drifting, drifting, away from true goodness and away from God.
5 How many precious hours are occupied by parents in the education of their children for fashionable miseries, for lives that are worse than lost. How much more profitable would be the lessons given to their children of the wonderful works of God in nature, seen in the simple, yet delicate, beautifully tinted flowers. Parents can teach their children that all the display and costly adornings cannot compare in beauty and glory to one of God’s modest flowers. The minds of children should be led to see the hollowness of fashionable life.
6 Parents should overcome desires of living for appearance. They should rather devote time to make their children happy at their homes, that they may love the society of their parents; making them their confidants and advisers, and enjoying useful employment, acquiring a taste for the natural, rather than the artificial. We should imprint upon our children’s minds that they are not their own, to go, and come, and dress, and act, as they please. They are God’s property, purchased by the sacrifice of the life of Christ; and their life is not to be idled away in indolence, or in seeking their own pleasures. If they possess personal attractions, and rare natural abilities, greater care should be taken in their education, lest these endowments be turned to a curse, and are so used as to disqualify them for the sober realities of this life, and, through flattery, and vanity, and love of display, unfit them for the better life.
7 Our children should be carefully instructed in regard to their own being, and the obligations, relations, and duties of life. They should be taught that their life is not to be wasted in vanity, folly, and pride; for God has given them life to be improved. They should teach them that they have a place to fill, a part to act, and an object to gain. They should educate them not to be carried, but to bear burdens, to deny self, and to practice self-control.
8 Mothers, the time devoted by many of you, with busied fingers and wearied eyes, diligently working in trimming, or in embroidering a skirt or dress, to attract admiration and envy by those who cannot have these extras, is poorly spent. In the end it will prove to you like the apples of Sodom, beautiful without, but ashes within. You are, in thus devoting time and means for display, teaching your children to love these things. “As the twig is bent, the tree inclines.” As your sons and daughters become older, approaching manhood and womanhood, you mourn that their minds are frivolous, and absorbed in their pleasures, in fashionable dress, and outward display, while they have but little sense of their obligations to their parents, or to their God. They frequently have a positive disrelish for useful labor, or to lighten the burdens borne by their parents.
9 The seed that the parents have sown in the hearts of their children has sprung up, and is yielding an abundant harvest. The lessons they have taught their children are put into practical use. They are what their parents made them. They do not possess moral worth, or noble independence. They follow in the wake of fashion, and live to be petted, and flattered, and admired. Outward show is the ambition of their worse than useless lives.
10 Our children should be instructed that they may be intelligent in regard to their own physical organism. They can at an early age, by patient instruction, be made to understand that they should obey the laws of their being, if they would be free from pain and disease. They should understand that their lives cannot be useful, if they are crippled by disease. Neither can they please God if they bring sickness upon themselves by the disregard of nature’s laws.
11 Many professedly Christian parents follow the example of the multitude in their conformity to the world. Parents, you have taken the responsibility of bringing children into the world, without any voice of theirs, and you are responsible for the lives and souls of your children. They have the attractions of the world to fascinate and allure. You can educate them so as to fortify them against its corrupting influence. You can train them to bear life’s responsibilities, and to realize their obligations to God, truth, and duty, and the bearing that their actions will have upon their future immortal life. Many needless things are made of the first importance, even by Christian parents, in the education of their children. A close investigation, enlightened by the Spirit of God, would reveal to these parents that a great share of the burdens and fatigue of life they suffer, God has not bound upon them; but they gather them upon themselves in doing the very things God has expressly forbidden them to do.
12 “And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Many professed Christian parents, in order to gratify their children, labor, and expend means, wear away their strength, and even sacrifice their lives, in order to have their children keep pace with fashion. As I have seen these parents worrying, and complaining of trials, and temptations, and darkness, and gloom, fretting their way through life, carrying their unnecessary load of care, I have been reminded of the words of Christ to the Pharisees, “Ye tithe mint and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment, and the love of God.”
13 There is a natural tendency with all to be sentimental, rather than practical. In view of this fact, it is important that parents, in the education of their children, should direct and train their minds to love truth, duty, and self-denial, and to possess noble independence, to choose to be right, if the majority choose to be wrong. Our children who are receiving an education at school, should become intelligent in regard to their own bodies, the habitation God has given them, and bring their knowledge to bear upon their every-day life, that they may become intelligent in regard to the relation their eating, dressing, and walking, sustain to life, health, and happiness.
14 If they preserve to themselves sound constitutions and amiable tempers, they will possess true beauty that they can wear with a divine grace. And they will have no need to be adorned with artificials, for these are always expressive of an absence of the inward adorning of true moral worth. A beautiful character is of value in the sight of God. Such beauty will attract, but not mislead. Such charms are fast colors; they never fade.
15 Parents, here is a work before you. You may preserve your health by being less anxious for the outward, beautifying the person with artificial adornings, and devote your precious time to the adorning and beautifying of the mind. You may, in the fear of God, take up your neglected duty, and train your children to form characters for Heaven. The inspired apostle contrasts the inward adorning with the outward artificial display, and pronounces it not corruptible. The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit he declares is of great price in the sight of God. If we are clearly told what God values, we shall be inexcusable if we continue to love display, to idolize our bodies, and to neglect to cultivate the inward adorning and perfect beautiful characters that God can approve.
E. G. W.
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Page 8
1 We are living in an age of intemperance. Health and life are sacrificed, by very many, to gratify their appetite for hurtful indulgences. These last days are characterized by depreciated morals and physical debility, in consequence of these indulgences and the general unwillingness to engage in physical labor. Many are suffering today from inaction and wrong habits.
2 The majority of the youth of this generation are fond of amusements and afraid of work. They generally lack moral courage to deny appetite and respond to the claims of duty. They have but little self-control, and become excited and passionate on the slightest occasion. Idleness and plenty of money to spend in amusements, exciting pleasures, wines, liquors and tobacco, lay the foundation for disease and ruin. Manhood and virtue are sacrificed upon the altar of lust. Very many of every age and station in life are without principle or conscience, and with spend-thrift habits are rushing into all vices, and are corrupting society, until our world is becoming a second Sodom.
3 Gluttonous feasting and the indulgence of narcotics and stimulants, are carried to great lengths even by the Christian world. How many close their last precious hours of probationary time, in scenes of gaiety, feasting and amusement, where serious thoughts are not allowed to enter, where the spirit of Jesus would be unwelcome! Their last precious hours are passing while their minds are benumbed with tobacco and alcoholic liquors. There are not a few who pass directly from the dens of infamy to the sleep of death; they close their life-record among the associations of dissipation and vice. What will the awakening be at the resurrection of the unjust!
4 The eye of the Lord is open upon every scene of debasing amusement and profane dissipation. The words and deeds of the pleasure-lovers pass directly from these halls of vice to the Book of final records. What is the life of this class worth to the world, except as a beacon of warning to those who will be warned, not to live like these men, and die as the fool dieth. The apostle thus entreats, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
5 When we pursue a course of eating and drinking that lessens physical and mental vigor, or become the prey of habits that tend to the same results, we dishonor God, for we rob him of the service he claims from us. Those who acquire and indulge the unnatural appetite for tobacco, do this at the expense of health. They are destroying nervous energy, lessening vital force and sacrificing mental strength.
6 Those who profess to be the followers of Christ yet have this terrible sin at their door, cannot have a high appreciation of the atonement and an elevated estimate of eternal things. Minds that are clouded and partially paralyzed by narcotics, are easily overcome by temptation, and cannot enjoy communion with God.
7 Those who use tobacco can make but a poor plea to the liquor inebriate. Two-thirds of the drunkards in our land created an appetite for liquor by the use of tobacco. Those who claim that tobacco does not injure them, can be convinced of their mistake by depriving themselves of it for a few days; the trembling nerves, the giddy head, the irritability they feel, will prove to them that this sinful indulgence has bound them in slavery. It has overcome will power. They are in bondage to a vice that is fearful in its results.
8 The love of tobacco is a warring lust. Means are thereby squandered that would aid in the good work of clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and sending the truth to poor souls out of Christ. What a record will appear when the accounts of life are balanced in the book of God! It will then appear that vast sums of money have been expended for tobacco and alcoholic liquors! For what? To ensure health and prolong life? Oh, no! To aid in the perfection of Christian character and a fitness for the society of holy angels? Oh, no! But to minister to a depraved, unnatural appetite for that which poisons and kills not only the user but those to whom he transmits his legacy of disease and imbecility. God does not propose to work a miracle to preserve our health and strength which we are daily injuring by vice and habits of hurtful indulgence.
9 Food prepared with condiments and spices inflames the stomach, corrupts the blood and paves the way to stronger stimulants. It induces nervous debility, impatience and lack of self-control. Tobacco and the wine-cup follow.
10 We have seen that the victories gained by the “Temperance Crusade” are not often permanent. In those places where the excitement ran highest and apparently the most was accomplished in closing liquor saloons and reclaiming inebriates, after the lapse of a few months, intemperance prevailed to a greater extent than before the effort to suppress it was made.
11 The reason of this is evident. The work is not deep and thorough. The axe is not laid at the root of the tree. The roots of intemperance lie deeper than mere liquor drinking. In order to make the temperance movement a success, the work of reform must begin at our tables. Eating flesh-meat does not increase physical, mental, or moral health, but, on the contrary, frequently causes diseases of a very aggravating character. The use of highly seasoned meats creates an appetite for stronger stimulants such as tobacco and liquor.
12 The immediate results of meat-eating may be apparently to invigorate the system, but this is no reason for its being considered the best article of diet. The moderate use of brandy will have the same effect for the time being, but when its exciting influence is gone there follows a sense of languor and debility. Those who depend upon simple and nutritious food, that is comparatively unstimulating in its effects, can endure more labor in the course of months and years than the meat-eater or the liquor-drinker. They who work in the open air will feel less injury from the use of flesh-meats than those of sedentary habits, for sun and air are great helps to digestion, and do much to counteract the effect of wrong habits of eating and drinking.
13 All stimulants hurry the human machinery too fast, and although, for the time, activity and vigor may seem to be increased, in proportion to the irritating influence employed, there must be a reaction; a debility will follow corresponding in degree to the unnatural excitement that has been produced.
14 When this debility is felt, something to stimulate and tone up the system is again used to give immediate relief from disagreeable languor. Nature is gradually educated to rely upon this oft-repeated remedy, until her powers are enfeebled by being often aroused to unnatural action. All persons should become acquainted with the laws of their being. It should be an important subject of study, how to live, how to regulate labor, and how to eat and drink in reference to health.
15 The more simply and naturally we live the better shall we be able to resist epidemic and disease. If our habits are good and the system is not weakened by unnatural action, Nature will furnish all the stimulus that we require.
16 If men and women perseveringly live in accordance with the laws of life and of health, they will realize the blessed results of an entire health reform. But many make a mistake at the very commencement of their reform. They go to extremes. They carry their ideas too far. Their views in regard to healthful diet are too narrow. They have the same articles of food upon their tables, with scarcely a variation, from week to week, and from month to month. They take no pains to prepare fruits and grains in an inviting as well as healthful manner, and, after this course has been rigidly followed for a while, they decide that they cannot follow out the principles of health reform, and go back to their former manner of living.
17 Those who set out from impulse and pursue a radical course for a time and then go back, do great injury to the cause. Many make too great and sudden changes in their diet. As the light of health reform comes to them, conscience is aroused in regard to their eating and drinking, and in their effort to change their habits of living they do not preserve a safe medium, but go to an extreme at once. They reduce the quantity and quality of their food. This abstemiousness reduces their strength, and really injures their health. They finally conclude that they cannot live the health reform. The real facts in the case are, they never did carry out its principles. Health reform as we understand it, does not consist in an impoverished diet. The table should be well provided with fruits and grains prepared in such a manner that they are not only nutritious but inviting.
18 Some get the idea that to adopt the health reform is to subsist upon the very cheapest food prepared with the least labor. This is not true. It is a libel on the principles of health reform. The human system must have nourishment, and all cannot relish the same dishes. So when the table is spread with the same article of food, prepared in the same way, meal after meal and day after day, some members of the family may be well satisfied and enjoying their food very much, while others may be only able to eat sparingly of one dish and the wants of the system will not be met; for it is a fact that some persons cannot relish, or be nourished by articles of food which others enjoy and thrive upon. But every person may do much towards educating the taste and appetite to relish plain and healthful food, such as graham bread and oat-meal gruel, and various vegetables, even if they are at first distasteful to them.
19 The rule which some recommend, is to eat whenever there is a sense of hunger, and to eat until satisfied. This course will lead to disease and numerous evils. Appetite at the present day is not generally natural, therefore is not a correct index to the wants of the system. It has been pampered and misdirected until it has become morbid and can no longer be a safe guide. Nature has been abused, her efforts crippled by wrong habits and indulgence in sinful luxuries, until taste and appetite are alike perverted. It is unnatural to have a craving for flesh-meats. It was not thus in the beginning. The appetite for meat has been made and educated by man. Our Creator has furnished us, in vegetables, grain, and fruits, all the elements of nutrition necessary to health and strength. Flesh-meats composed no part of the food of Adam and Eve before their fall. If fruits, vegetables and grains are not sufficient to meet the wants of man, then the Creator made a mistake in providing for Adam.
20 The habits of the age are serious obstacles to the perfecting of Christian character. Physically we are composed of what we eat, and our minds are greatly influenced by our bodies. If we subsist largely upon the flesh of animals, the animal nature is increased in like proportion. Man is sufficiently animal in his nature without cultivating those propensities by the eating of food which stimulates and excites the animal organs to activity. As these propensities are strengthened the mental and moral powers are diminished.
21 God did not withhold meat from the Hebrews in the wilderness simply to show his authority, but for their good, that they might preserve physical and moral strength. He knew that the use of animal food strengthens the animal passions and enfeebles the intellect. He knew that the gratification of the appetite of the Hebrews for flesh-meats, would weaken their moral powers, and induce such an irritable disposition that the vast army would become insubordinate, that they would lose the high sense of their moral obligations, and refuse to be controlled by the wise laws of Jehovah. Violence and rebellion would exist among them, making it impossible for them to be a pure and happy people in the land of Canaan. God knew what was best for the children of Israel, therefore he deprived them in a great measure of flesh-meats.
22 Satan tempted them to consider this unjust and cruel. He caused them to lust after forbidden things, because he saw that through the indulgence of perverted appetite they would become carnally-minded and could be easily brought to do his will; the lower organs would be strengthened, while the intellectual and moral powers would be weakened.
23 Satan is no novice in the business of destroying souls. He well knows that if he can lead men and women into wrong habits of eating and drinking, he has gained, in a great degree, the control of their minds and baser passions. In the beginning man ate of the fruits of the earth, but sin brought into use the flesh of dead animals as food. This diet works directly against the spirit of true refinement and moral purity. The substance of that which is taken into the stomach, passes into the circulation, and is converted into flesh and blood.
24 Those who subsist largely upon flesh-meats inflame the stomach thereby, the blood becomes torpid and impure, head-aches and indispositions follow. The system is filled with humors; fevers, scrofula and cancers are the consequences. Especially is this true of those who eat swine’s flesh. Yet so great is the tendency to ignore these evils, that few can be brought to realize the true effects of this sort of diet upon the human system.
25 God requires that his people should be temperate in all things. The example of Christ, during that long fast in the wilderness, should teach his followers to repulse Satan when he comes under the guise of appetite. Then may they have influence to reform those who have been led astray by indulgence, and have lost moral power to overcome the weakness and sin that has taken possession of them. Thus may Christians secure health and happiness, in a pure, well-ordered life and a mind clear and untainted before God.
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Page 9
1 WE DO NOT SAY THAT THERE ARE NO SOUND CONVERSIONS TO GOD IN ADVANCED YEARS; BUT WE DO AFFIRM THAT GOOD CHRISTIAN CHARACTER IS SELDOM COMMENCED AND MATURED IN OLD AGE, AND EVEN THEN IS PERFECTED UNDER GREAT DIFFICULTIES. BOTH THE EXPERIENCES OF THE PAST AND THE UNIFORM APPEALS OF THE SACRED WRITERS TO THE YOUNG, TO SEEK THE LORD IN THEIR YOUTH, GIVE EVIDENCE THAT EARLY LIFE, EVEN IN TENDER YEARS, IS MOST FAVORABLE TO THE FORMATION AND GROWTH OF TRUE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER.
2 PROVIDENCE, TO OUTWARD VIEW, WAS DEALING SEVERELY WITH MRS. W. IN HER CHILDHOOD, BUT NOW SHE CAN LOOK BACK OVER THIRTY YEARS OF HARDSHIPS, TOILS, AND REPROACHES IN THE CAUSE OF CHRIST, FOR HIS DEAR NAME’S SAKE, AND KISS THE CHASTENING ROD THAT STRUCK DOWN HER EARLY HOPES FOR THIS LIFE, BUT WAS SANCTIFIED OF GOD TO HER EARLY CONSECRATION AND MATURE GROWTH IN GRACE. OF THIS WE LET HER SPEAK, AS CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK:—
3 “I gained strength very slowly. As I became able to join in play with my young friends I was forced to learn the bitter lesson that one’s personal appearance makes a difference in the treatment they receive from the majority of their companions. At the time of my misfortune, my father was absent in Georgia. When he returned he embraced my brother and sisters and then inquired for me. I, timidly shrinking back, was pointed out by my mother, but my own father did not recognize me. It was hard for him to believe that I was his little Ellen, whom he had left only a few months before a healthy, happy child. This cut my feelings deeply, but I tried to appear cheerful though my heart seemed breaking.
4 “Many times in those childish days, I was made to feel my misfortune keenly. My feelings were unusually sensitive and caused me great unhappiness. Often with a wounded pride, mortified and wretched in spirit, have I sought a lonely place and gloomily contemplated the trials I was daily doomed to bear.
5 “I had not the relief of tears, for I could not weep readily as could my twin sister, so, though my heart was heavy and ached as if it were breaking, I could not shed a tear. I often felt that it would greatly relieve me to weep away my overcharged feelings. Sometimes the kindly sympathy of friends banished my gloom and removed, for a time, the leaden weight that oppressed my heart. How vain and empty seemed the pleasures of earth to me then! How changeable the friendships of my young companions! yet these little schoolmates were not unlike a majority of the great world’s people. A pretty face, a handsome dress attracts them, but let misfortune take these away and the fragile friendship grows cold or is broken. But when I turned to my Saviour, he comforted me. I sought the Lord earnestly in my trouble and received consolation, for I believed that Jesus loved even me.
6 “My health seemed to be completely shattered. For two years I could not breathe through my nose, and was able to attend school but little. It seemed impossible for me to study and retain what I learned. The same girl who was the cause of my misfortune, was appointed monitor by our teacher, and it was among her duties to assist me in my writing and other lessons. She always seemed sincerely sorry for the great injury she had done me, although I was careful not to remind her of it. She was tender and patient with me, and seemed sad and thoughtful as she saw me laboring, under serious disadvantages, to get an education.
7 “My nervous system was prostrated, and my hand trembled so that I made but little progress in writing and could get no farther than the simple copies in coarse hand. As I endeavored to bend my mind to my studies, the letters on the page would run together, great drops of perspiration would stand upon my brow, and a faintness and giddiness would seize me. I had a bad cough, and my whole system seemed debilitated: My teachers advised me to leave school and not pursue my studies further till my health would warrant it. It was the hardest struggle of my young life to yield to my feebleness, and decide that I must give up my studies and relinquish the cherished hope of acquiring an education.
8 “My ambition to become a scholar had been very great, and when I pondered over my disappointed hopes, and the thought that I was to be an invalid for life, despair seized me. The future stretched out before me dark and cheerless, without one ray of light. I was unreconciled to my lot, and at times murmured against the providence of God in thus afflicting me. I concealed my troubled feelings from my family and friends, fearing that they could not understand me. This was a mistaken course, had I opened my mind to my mother, she might have instructed, soothed, and encouraged me.
9 “After I had struggled with this unreconciled spirit for days the tempter came under a new guise and increased my distress by condemning me for having allowed such rebellious thoughts to take possession of my mind. My conscience was perplexed, and I knew no way to extricate myself from the labyrinth in which I was wandering.
10 “The happy confidence in the Saviour’s love that I had enjoyed during my illness, was gone. I had lost the blessed consciousness that I was a child of God, and felt that the hopes of my heart had deceived me. It was my determination not to again put confidence in my feelings, until I knew for a certainty that the Lord had pardoned my sins.
11 “At times my sense of guilt and responsibility to God lay so heavy upon my soul, that I could not sleep but lay awake for hours, thinking of my lost condition and what was best for me to do. The consequences of my unfortunate accident again assumed gigantic proportions in my mind. I seemed to be cut off from all chance of earthly happiness, and doomed to continual disappointment and mortification. I was even pained by the tender sympathy of my friends, for my pride rebelled against being in a condition to excite their pity. My prospect of worldly enjoyment was blighted, and Heaven seemed closed against me.
12 “I had the highest reverence for Christians and ministers of the gospel, but religion seemed too holy and sacred for me to obtain. A strange inconceivable anguish bore me down until I felt that I could no longer live beneath the burden. I locked my secret agony within my heart, and did not seek the advice of experienced Christians as I should have done.
13 “No one conversed with me on the subject of my soul’s salvation, and no one prayed with me. I felt that Christians were so far removed from me, so much nobler and purer than myself, that I dared not approach them on the subject that engrossed my thoughts, for I was ashamed to reveal the lost and wretched condition of my heart.”
J. W.
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Page 10
1 THOROUGH CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE LIES AT THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. SUCH EXPERIENCES CAN BE READ FROM OUR BLESSED BIBLE, FROM THE PROPHETS, THE PSALMS, AND FROM THE EPISTLES, AND ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. THESE ARE DISTINCTLY MARKED BY SORROW FOR SIN, SELF-ABASEMENT, SOLEMN VOWS OF CONSECRATION AND OBEDIENCE FOLLOWED BY THE PEACE OF GOD RULING IN THE HEART WHICH PASSETH ALL KNOWLEDGE.
2 EXPERIENCES OF THIS KIND WERE COMMON IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF THOROUGH REFORMATION ABOUT THE TIME WHEN WM. MILLER CAME UPON THE STAGE AS A LECTURER UPON THE PROPHECIES, GIVING HIS REASONS FOR EXPECTING THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST “ABOUT THE YEAR 1843.” THEN, AND LONG BEFORE THAT TIME, THE WHOLESOME PHRASE WAS CURRENT, THAT THIS ONE AND THAT WERE “STRUCK UNDER CONVICTION.” MRS. W. CONTINUES HER EXPERIENCE:
3 “In March, 1840, Eld. Wm. Miller visited Portland, Me., and gave his first course of lectures on the second coming of Christ. These lectures produced a great sensation, and the Christian church, on Casco street, that Eld. Miller occupied, was crowded day and night. No wild excitement attended these meetings, but a deep solemnity pervaded the minds of those who heard his discourses. Not only was there manifested a great interest in the city, but the country people flocked in day after day, bringing their lunch-baskets, and remaining from morning until the close of the evening meeting.
4 “Eld. Miller dwelt upon the prophecies, reasoning from Bible history, that the end of the world was near. In company with my friends I attended these meetings and listened to the strange doctrines of the preacher. Four years previous to this, on my way to school, I had picked up a scrap of paper containing an account of a man in England, who was preaching that the earth would be consumed in about thirty years from that time. I took this paper home and read it to the family.
5 “In contemplating the event predicted, a great terror seized me; for the time seemed so short for the conversion and salvation of the world. I had been taught that a temporal millennium would take place prior to the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Such a deep impression was made upon my mind by the little paragraph on the waste scrap of paper, that I could scarcely sleep for several nights, and prayed continually to be ready when Jesus came.
6 “But now I was listening to the most solemn and powerful sermons to the effect that Christ was coming in 1843, only a few short years in the future. The preacher traced down the prophecies with a keen exactitude that struck conviction to the hearts of his hearers. He dwelt upon the prophetic periods, and piled up proof to strengthen his position. Then his solemn and powerful appeals and admonitions to those who were unprepared, held the crowds as if spell-bound.
7 “Special meetings were appointed where sinners might have an opportunity to seek their Saviour and prepare for the fearful events soon to take place. Terrible conviction spread through the entire city. Prayer-meetings were established, and there was a general awakening among the various denominations, for they all felt more or less the influence that proceeded from the teaching of the near coming of Christ.
8 “When sinners were invited forward to the anxious seats, hundreds responded to the call, and I, among the rest, pressed through the crowd and took my humble place with the seekers. But there was a hopeless feeling in my heart that I could never become worthy to be called a child of God. A lack of confidence in myself and a conviction that it would be impossible to make any one understand my feelings, prevented me from seeking advice and aid from my Christian friends. Thus I wandered needlessly in darkness and despair, while they, not penetrating my peculiar reserve, were entirely ignorant of my true state.
9 “One evening my brother Robert and myself were returning from a meeting where we had listened to a most impressive discourse on the approaching reign of Christ upon the earth, followed by an earnest and solemn appeal to Christians and sinners, urging them to prepare for the Judgment and the coming of the Lord. My soul had been stirred within me by what I had heard. And so deep was the sense of conviction in my heart, that I feared the Lord would not spare me to reach home.
10 “These words kept ringing in my ears, The great day of the Lord is at hand! Who shall be able to stand when he appeareth! The language of my heart was, ‘Spare me, O Lord, through the night! Take me not away in my sins, pity me, save me!’ For the first time, I tried to explain my feelings to my brother Robert, who was two years older than myself; I told him that I dared not rest nor sleep until I knew that God had pardoned my sins.
11 “My brother made no immediate response, but the cause of his silence was soon apparent to me; he was weeping in sympathy with my distress. This encouraged me to confide in him still more, to tell him that I had coveted death in the days when life seemed so heavy a burden for me to bear; but now the thought that I might die in my present sinful state and be eternally lost, filled me with inexpressible terror. I asked him if he thought God would spare my life through that one night, if I spent it agonizing in prayer to him. He answered, ‘I think he will if you ask him with faith, and I will pray for you and for myself. Ellen, we must never forget the words we have heard this night.
12 “Arriving home. I spent the most of the long hours of darkness in prayer and tears. One special reason that prompted me to conceal my feelings from my friends, was that I very much dreaded a word of discouragement. My hope was so small, and my faith so weak, that I feared if another took a similar view of my condition, it would plunge me into absolute despair. Yet how I longed to have some one tell me what I should do to be saved, what steps to take to meet my Saviour and give myself entirely up to the Lord. I regarded it a great thing to be a Christian, and felt that it required some peculiar effort on my part.
13 “For months my mind remained in this condition. I had usually attended the Methodist meetings with my parents; but since becoming interested in the soon appearing of Christ, I had attended the meetings on Casco street. The following summer my parents went to the Methodist Camp-meeting at Burton, Me., taking me with them. I was fully resolved to seek the Lord in earnest there, and obtain, if possible, the pardon of my sins. There was a great longing in my heart for the Christians hope and the peace that comes of believing.
14 “Some things at this camp-meeting perplexed me exceedingly. I could not understand the exercises of many persons during the conference meetings at the stand and in the tents. They shouted at the top of their voices, clapped their hands, and appeared greatly excited. Quite a number fell, through exhaustion it appeared to me, but those present said they were sanctified to God, and this wonderful manifestation was the power of the Almighty upon them. After lying motionless for a time, these persons would rise and again talk and shout as before.
15 “In some of the tents, meetings were continued through the night, by those who were praying for freedom from sin and the sanctification of the Spirit of God. Quite a number became sick in consequence of the excitement and loss of sleep, and were obliged to leave the ground. These singular manifestations brought no relief to me, but rather increased my discouragement. I despaired of ever becoming a Christian if, in order to obtain the blessing, it was necessary for me to be exercised as these people were. I was terrified by such peculiar demonstrations, and at a loss to understand them.”
J. W.
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Page 11
1 THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS MADE UP OF CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE FROM BEGINNING TO END. AND IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE CONVERT SHOULD COMMENCE THE NEW LIFE WITH CORRECT VIEWS OF THE CHANGE FROM SIN TO OBEDIENCE AND HOLINESS. TRUE REPENTANCE IS A SORROW FOR SINS COMMITTED, AND FORSAKING A SINFUL LIFE BY TURNING TO THE LORD WITH FULL PURPOSE OF HEART. CONVERSION MEANS CHANGE. FOR WANT OF A PROPER SENSE OF THE GREAT CHANGE IN SCRIPTURAL CONVERSION, VERY MANY ARE CONVERTED ONLY IN PART, AND NEVER REACH THE BIBLE STANDARD OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. LAST WEEK MRS. W. SPOKE OF HER EARLY CONVICTION. OF CONFIDING FAITH AND PARDONING LOVE, SHE SPEAKS THIS WEEK AS FOLLOWS:
2 “At length I was greatly relieved while listening to a discourse from the words, ‘I will go in unto the king,’ ‘and if I perish, I perish.’ In his remarks the speaker referred to those who were wavering between hope and fear, longing to be saved from their sins and receive the pardoning love of Christ, yet held in doubt and bondage by timidity and fear of failure. He counseled such ones to surrender themselves to God and venture upon his mercy without delay. They would find a gracious Saviour ready to present to them the scepter of mercy even as Ahasuerus offered to Esther the signal of his favor. All that was required of the sinner, trembling in the presence of his Lord, was to put forth the hand of faith and touch the scepter of his grace. That touch ensured pardon and peace.
3 “Those who were waiting to make themselves more worthy of divine favor, before they dared venture to claim the promises, were making a fatal mistake. Jesus alone cleanses from sin, he only can forgive our transgressions. He has pledged himself to listen to the petition and grant the prayer of those who come to him in faith. Many had a vague idea that they must make some wonderful effort in order to gain the favor of God. But all self-dependence is vain. It is only by connection with Jesus through faith that the sinner becomes a hopeful, believing child of God.
4 “These words comforted me and gave me views of what I must do to be saved. Soon after this I passed into a tent where the people were praying and shouting, some confessing their sins and crying for mercy, while others were rejoicing in their new-found happiness. My attention was attracted to a little girl who seemed to be in great distress. Her face would pale and flush by turns, as though she were passing through a severe conflict.
5 “Tightly clasped in her arms was a pretty little parasol, occasionally she would loosen her hold of it for a moment as if about to let it fall, then her grasp would tighten upon it again; all the time she seemed to be regarding it with a peculiar fascination. At last she cried out, ‘Dear Jesus, I want to love thee and go to Heaven! Take away my sins! I give myself to thee, parasol and all.’ She threw herself into her mother’s arms weeping and exclaiming, ‘Ma, I am so happy, for Jesus loves me and I love him better than my parasol or anything else!’
6 “The face of the child was fairly radiant, she had surrendered her little all. In her childish experience she had fought the battle and won the victory. There was much weeping and rejoicing in the tent. The mother was deeply moved and very joyful that the Lord had added her dear child as a lamb to his fold. She explained to those present that her little daughter had received the parasol as a present not long before. She was very much delighted with it, and had kept it in her hands most of the time, even taking it to bed with her.
7 “During the meeting her tender heart had been moved to seek the Saviour, she had heard that nothing must be withheld from Jesus, that nothing short of an entire surrender of ourselves and all we have would be acceptable with him. The little parasol was the child’s earthly treasure upon which her heart was set, and, in the struggle to give it up to the Lord, she had passed through a trial keener perhaps than that of the mature Christian, who sacrifices this world’s treasures for the sake of Christ.
8 “It was afterwards explained to the little girl, that since she had relinquished her parasol to Jesus, and it no longer stood between herself and her love for him, it was right for her to retain and use it in a proper manner.
9 “Many times in after life that little incident has been brought to my mind. When I saw men and women holding desperately to the riches and vanity of earth, yet anxiously praying for the love of Christ, I would think, ‘How hard it is to give up the parasol!’ Yet Jesus gave up Heaven for our sake, and became poor that we, through his poverty and humiliation, might secure eternal riches.
10 “I now began to see my way more clearly, and the darkness began to pass away. I saw that, in my despair of at once attaining to the perfection of Christian character, I had scarcely dared to make the trial of serving God. I now earnestly sought the pardon of my sins and strove to give myself entirely to the Lord. But my mind was often in great distress for I did not experience the spiritual ecstasy that I considered would be the evidence of my acceptance with God, and dared not believe myself converted without it. How much I needed instruction concerning the simplicity of faith.
11 “While bowed at the altar with others who were seeking the Lord, all the language of my heart was, ‘Help, Jesus, save me or I perish! I will never cease to entreat till my prayer is heard and my sins forgiven!’ I felt my needy, helpless condition as never before. As I knelt and prayed, suddenly my burden left me and my heart was light. At first a feeling of alarm came over me and I tried to resume my load of distress again. It seemed to me that I had no right to feel joyous and happy. But Jesus seemed very near me, I felt able to come to him with all my griefs, misfortunes and trials, even as the needy ones came to him for relief when he was upon earth. There was a surety in my heart that he understood my peculiar trials and sympathized with me. I can never forget this precious assurance of the pitying tenderness of Jesus toward one so unworthy of his notice. I learned more of the divine character of Christ in the short period when bowed among the praying ones than ever before.
12 “One of the mothers in Israel came to me and said, ‘Dear child, have you found Jesus?’ I was about to answer, ‘Yes,’ when she exclaimed, ‘Indeed you have, his peace is with you, I can see it in your face!’ Again and again I said to myself, ‘Can this be religion? Am I not mistaken?’ It seemed too much for me to claim, too exalted a privilege. But I felt that the Saviour had blessed me and pardoned my sins, though I was too timid to openly confess it.
13 “Soon after this the meeting came to a close and we started for home. My mind was full of the sermons, exhortations and prayers we had heard. Everything in nature seemed changed. During the meeting, clouds and rain prevailed a greater part of the time and my feelings had been in harmony with the weather. Now the sun shone bright and clear and flooded the earth with light and warmth. The trees and grass were a fresher green, the sky a deeper blue. The earth seemed to smile under the peace of God. So the rays of the Sun of righteousness had penetrated the clouds and darkness of my mind, and dispelled its gloom.
14 “It seemed to me that every one must be at peace with God and animated by his Spirit. Everything my eyes rested upon seemed to have undergone a change. The trees were more beautiful, and the birds sang sweeter than ever before; they seemed to be praising the Creator in their songs. I did not care to talk, for fear this happiness might pass away, and I should lose the precious evidence of Jesus’ love for me.
15 “As we neared our home in Portland, we passed men at work upon the street. They were conversing upon ordinary topics with each other, but my ears were deaf to everything but the praise of God, and their words came to me as grateful thanks and glad hosannas. Turning to my mother, I said, ‘Why, these men are all praising God, and they haven’t been to the camp-meeting.’ I did not then understand why the tears gathered in my mother’s eyes, and a tender smile lit up her face, as she listened to my simple words, that recalled a similar experience of her own.
16 “My mother was a great lover of flowers, and took great pleasure in cultivating them, and thus making her home attractive and pleasant for her children. But our garden had never before looked so lovely to me as upon the day of our return. I recognized an expression of the love of Jesus in every shrub, bud, and flower. These things of beauty seemed to speak in mute language of the love of God.
17 “There was a beautiful pink flower in the garden called the rose of Sharon. I remember approaching it and touching the delicate petals reverently; they seemed to possess a sacredness in my eyes. My heart overflowed with tenderness and love for these beautiful creations of God. I could see divine perfection in the flowers that adorned the earth. God tended them, and his all-seeing eye was upon them. He had, made them and called them good. ‘Ah,’ thought I, ‘If he so loves and cares for the flowers that he has decked with beauty, how much more tenderly will he guard the children who are formed in his image.’ I repeated softly to myself, ‘I am a child of God, his loving care is around me, I will be obedient and in no way displease him, but will praise his dear name and love him always.’
18 “My life appeared to me in a different light. The affliction that had darkened my childhood seemed to have been dealt me in mercy for my good, to turn my heart away from the world and its unsatisfying pleasures and incline it towards the enduring attractions of Heaven.
19 “Soon after our return from the camp-meeting, I, with several others, was taken into the church on probation. My mind was very much exercised on the subject of baptism. Young as I was, I could see but one mode of baptism authorized by the Scriptures, and that was immersion. My sisters tried in vain to convince me that sprinkling was Bible baptism. The Methodist minister consented to immerse the candidates if they conscientiously preferred that method, although he intimated that sprinkling would be equally acceptable with God.
20 “Finally the day was appointed for us to receive this solemn ordinance. Although usually enjoying, at this time, a great peace, I frequently feared that I was not a true Christian, and was harassed by perplexing doubts as to my conversion. It was a windy day when we, twelve in number, were baptized, walking down into the sea. The waves ran high and dashed upon the shore, but in taking up this heavy cross, my peace was like a river. When I arose from the water, my strength was nearly gone for the power of the Lord rested upon me. I felt that henceforth I was not of this world, but had risen from the watery grave into a newness of life.
21 “My cousin Hannah made confession of her faith at the same time that I did. She wished to be baptized by immersion, but her father, who was not a Christian, would not consent to this although we urged him to do so. So she knelt before the altar and had a few drops of water sprinkled upon her head. As I witnessed the ceremony, my heart rejoiced that I had not submitted to receive sprinkling for baptism, feeling confident that there was no scripture to sustain it.
22 “The same day in the afternoon, I was received into the church in full membership. A young woman, arrived at the age of maturity, stood by my side and was also a candidate for admission to the church with myself. My mind was peaceful and happy till I noticed the gold rings glittering upon this sister’s fingers, and the large showy ear-rings in her ears. I then observed that her bonnet was adorned with artificial flowers and trimmed with costly ribbons, arranged in bows and puffs. My joy was dampened by this display of vanity in one who professed to be a follower of the meek and lowly Jesus.
23 “I expected that the minister would give some whispered reproof or advice to this sister, but he was apparently regardless of her showy apparel and no rebuke was administered. We both received the right hand of fellowship. The hand decorated with jewels was clasped by the representative of Christ, and both our names were registered upon the church book.”
J. W.
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Page 12
1 THE RELIGION OF JESUS CHRIST IS WITHIN THE GRASP OF EVEN THE YOUTHFUL MIND WHEN TAUGHT FROM THE PLAIN LETTER OF THE WORD OF GOD. IT IS THEN THAT CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE APPEARS RATIONAL AND BEAUTIFUL. EXTREMES IN THE CHRISTIAN LIVES OF MANY ARE THE RESULT OF THOSE WRONG TEACHINGS WHICH CLOTHE IN BEWILDERING MYSTERIES THE PURE, SIMPLE AND PLAIN TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE RELATIVE TO THE WAY OF LIFE.
2 THE CHRISTIAN WORLD IS CURSED WITH RELIGIOUS FICTION. THIS IS ESPECIALLY EXHIBITED IN SUNDAY-SCHOOL BOOKS WHICH ARE EARLY THROWN INTO THE LAPS OF CHILDREN AS THEIR FIRST SERIES FOR INSTRUCTION. NEXT, AS THEY REACH RIPER YEARS, COME THOSE VOLUMES IN WHICH LEARNED DOCTORS OF DIVINITY PHILOSOPHIZE UPON THE MYSTERIES OF THE “HIDDEN LIFE.” THEIR EFFORTS TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT “ENTIRE CONSECRATION” IS A SECOND GREAT WORK TO SUCCEED JUSTIFICATION, HAS ADDED TO THE GENERAL BEWILDERMENT.
3 BY THIS TIME THE RELIGION OF THE PLAIN AND HUMBLE TEACHER OF JUDEA, THE MEEK, DYING SACRIFICE OF CALVARY, THE ADORABLE REDEEMER AND PITYING MEDIATOR AT THE FATHER’S RIGHT HAND, IS WRAPPED IN IMPENETRABLE MYSTERY, AND PLACED AT A DIZZY HEIGHT IN THE MINDS OF MOST YOUNG PEOPLE. DESPAIR OF EVER REACHING A LIFE OF HOLINESS AND PERFECT OBEDIENCE SEIZES THEM, FOLLOWED BY A DECIDED DISTASTE FOR WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE RELIGION OF THE BIBLE. UNDER THESE INFLUENCES AND FALSE IMPRESSIONS THE PATH OF BIBLE HOLINESS IS MADE OBSCURE AND DIFFICULT, AS SEEN IN MRS. WHITE’S EXPERIENCE CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK:
4 “I can now look back upon my youthful experience and see how near I came to making a fatal mistake. I had read many of the religious biographies of children who had possessed numberless virtues and lived faultless lives. I had conceived a great admiration for the paragons of perfection there represented. But far from encouraging me in my efforts to become a Christian, these books were as stumbling-blocks to my feet. I despaired of ever attaining to the perfection of the youthful characters in those stories who lived the lives of saints and were free from all the doubts, and sins, and weaknesses under which I staggered.
5 “Their faultless lives were followed by a premature but happy death, and the biographers tacitly intimated that they were too pure and good for earth, therefore, God in his divine pity had removed them from its uncongenial atmosphere. The similarity of these avowedly true histories seemed to point the fact to my youthful mind, that they really presented a correct picture of a child’s Christian life.
6 “I repeated to myself again and again, ‘If that is true, I can never be a Christian. I can never hope to be like those children,’ and was driven by this thought to discouragement and almost to despair. But when I learned that I could come to Jesus just as I was, that the Saviour had come to ransom just such unworthy sinners, then light broke upon my darkness, and I could claim the promises of God.
7 “Later experience has convinced me that these biographies of immaculate children mislead the young. They extol the amiable qualities of their characters, and suppress their faults and failures. If they were represented as struggling with temptations, occasionally vanquished, yet triumphing over their trials in the end, if they were represented as subject to human frailties, and beset by ordinary temptations, then children would see that they had experienced like trials with themselves, yet had conquered through the grace of God. Such examples would give them fresh courage to renew their efforts to serve the Lord, hoping to triumph as those before them had done.
8 “But the sober realities and errors of the young Christian’s life were vigorously kept out of sight, while the virtues were so exaggerated as to lift them from above the common level of ordinary children, who naturally despair of ever reaching such excellence and therefore give up the effort, in many cases, and gradually sink into a state of indifference.
9 “I again became very anxious to attend school and make another trial to obtain an education. But upon attempting to resume my studies my health rapidly failed, and it became apparent that if I persisted in attending school it would be at the expense of my life. I had found it difficult to enjoy religion in a large female seminary, surrounded by influences calculated to attract the mind and lead it from God.
10 “I felt a constant dissatisfaction with myself and my Christian attainments, and did not continually realize a lively sense of the mercy and love of God. Feelings of discouragement would come over me, and this caused me great anxiety of mind. I heard much in regard to sanctification, but had no defined idea in regard to it. This blessing seemed away beyond my reach, a state of purity my heart could never know. The manner in which it was preached and taught made it appear a human impossibility.
11 “In June, 1842, Elder Wm. Miller gave his second course of lectures in the Casco street church, in Portland, I felt it a great privilege to attend these lectures, for I had fallen under discouragements and did not feel prepared to meet my Saviour. This second course created much more excitement in the city than the first. The different denominations, with a very few exceptions, closed the doors of their churches against Elder Miller. Many discourses from the different pulpits sought to expose the alleged fanatical errors of the lecturer. But crowds of anxious listeners attended his meetings while many were unable to enter the house, which was literally packed.
12 “The congregations were unusually quiet and attentive. His manner of preaching was not flowery or oratorical, but he dealt in plain and startling facts that roused his hearers from the apathy in which they had been locked. He substantiated his statements and theories by Scripture as he progressed. A convincing power attended his words that seemed to stamp them as the language of truth.
13 “He was courteous and sympathetic. When every seat in the house was full, and the platform and places about the pulpit seemed crowded, I have seen him leave the desk and walk down the aisle, and take some feeble old man or woman by the hand and find a seat for them, then return and resume his discourse. He was indeed rightly called Father Miller, for he had a watchful care over those who came under his ministrations, was affectionate in his manner, of genial and tender heart.
14 “He was a very interesting speaker, and his exhortations, both to professed Christians and the impenitent, were appropriate and powerful. Sometimes a solemnity so marked as to be painful, pervaded his meetings. A sense of the impending crisis of human events impressed the minds of the listening crowds. Many yielded to the conviction of the Spirit of God. Gray-haired men and aged women, with trembling steps, sought the anxious-seats. Those in the strength of maturity, the youth and children, were deeply stirred. Groans and the voice of weeping and of praising God were mingled together at the altar of prayer.
15 “I believed the solemn words spoken by the servant of God, and my heart was aggrieved when they were opposed or made the subject of jest. I attended the meetings on Casco street quite frequently, and believed that Jesus was soon to come in the clouds of Heaven; but my great anxiety was to be ready to meet him. My mind constantly dwelt upon the subject of holiness of heart, I longed above all things to obtain this great blessing, and feel that I was entirely accepted of God.
16 “Among the Methodists I had heard much in regard to sanctification, I had seen people lose their physical strength under the influence of strong mental excitement, and had heard this pronounced to be the evidence of sanctification. But I could not comprehend what was necessary in order to be fully consecrated to God. My Christian friends said to me, ‘Believe in Jesus now! Believe that he accepts you now! This I tried to do but found it impossible to believe that I had received a blessing which, it seemed to me, should electrify my whole being. I wondered at my own hardness of heart in being unable to experience the exaltation of spirit that others manifested. It seemed to me that I was different from them, and forever shut out from the perfect joy of holiness of heart.
17 “My ideas concerning justification and sanctification were confused. These two states were presented to my mind as separate and distinct from each other. Yet I failed to comprehend the difference or understand the meaning of the terms, and all the explanations of the preachers increased my difficulties. I was unable to claim the blessing for myself, and wondered if it was only to be found among the Methodists, and if, in attending the Advent meetings, I was not shutting myself away from that which I desired above all else, the sanctifying Spirit of God.
18 “Still, I observed that some of those who pretended to be sanctified, manifested a bitter spirit when the subject of the soon coming of Christ was introduced; this did not seem to me a manifestation of the holiness which they professed. I could not understand why ministers from the pulpit should so oppose the doctrine that Christ’s second coming as near at hand. Reformation had followed the preaching of this belief and many of the most devoted ministers and laymen had received it as the truth. It seemed to me that those who sincerely loved Jesus would be ready to accept the tidings of his coming, and rejoice that it was near at hand.”
J. W.
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Page 13
1 I felt that I could only claim what they called justification. In the word of God I read that without holiness no man should see God. Then there was some higher attainment that I must reach before I could be sure of eternal life. I studied over the subject continually, for I believed that Christ was soon to come, and feared he would find me unprepared to meet him. Words of condemnation rang in my ears day and night, and my constant cry to God was, What shall I do to be saved? In my mind the justice of God eclipsed his mercy and love.
2 I had been taught to believe in an eternally burning hell, and the horrifying thought was ever before me that my sins were too great to be forgiven, and that I should be forever lost. The frightful descriptions that I had heard of souls lost in perdition sank deep into my mind. Ministers in the pulpit drew vivid pictures of the condition of the damned. They taught that God never proposed to save any but the sanctified. The eye of God was upon us always, every sin was registered and would meet its just punishment. God himself was keeping the books with the exactitude of infinite wisdom, and every sin we committed was faithfully recorded against us.
3 The devil was represented as eager to seize upon his prey and bear us to the lowest depths of anguish, there to exult over our sufferings in the horrors of an eternally burning hell, where, after the tortures of thousands upon thousands of years, the fiery billows would roll to the surface the writhing victims, who would shriek, “How long, O Lord, how long?” Then the answer would thunder down the abyss, “Through all eternity!” Again the molten waves would engulf the lost, carrying them down into the depths of an ever restless sea of fire.
4 While listening to these terrible descriptions, my imagination would be so wrought upon that the perspiration would start from every pore, and it was difficult to suppress a cry of anguish, for I seemed to already feel the pains of perdition. Then the minister would dwell upon the uncertainty of life. One moment we might be here, and the next in hell, or one moment on earth, and the next in Heaven. Would we choose the lake of fire and the company of demons, or the bliss of Heaven with angels for our companions. Would we hear the voice of wailing and the cursing of lost souls through all eternity, or sing the songs of Jesus before the throne.
5 Our Heavenly Father was presented before my mind as a tyrant, who delighted in the agonies of the condemned; not the tender, pitying Friend of sinners who loves his creatures with a love past all understanding, and desires them to be saved in his kingdom.
6 My feelings were very sensitive. I dreaded giving pain to any living creature. When I saw animals ill-treated my heart ached for them. Perhaps my sympathies were more easily excited by suffering, because I myself had been the victim of thoughtless cruelty, resulting in the injury that had darkened my childhood. But when the thought took possession of my mind that God delighted in the torture of his creatures, who were formed in his image, a wall of darkness seemed to separate me from him. When I reflected that the Creator of the universe would plunge the wicked into hell, there to burn through the ceaseless rounds of eternity, my heart sank with fear, and I despaired that so cruel and tyrannical a being would ever condescend to save me from the doom of sin.
7 I thought that the fate of the condemned sinner would be mine, to endure the flames of hell forever, even as long as God himself existed. This impression deepened upon my mind until I feared that I should lose my reason. I would look upon the dumb beasts with envy, because they had no soul to be punished after death. Many times the wish arose that I had never been born.
8 Total darkness settled upon me and there seemed no way out of the shadows. Could the truth have been presented to me as I now understand it, my despondency would have taken flight at once, much perplexity and sorrow would have been spared me. If the love of God had been dwelt upon more and his stern justice less, the beauty and glory of his character would have inspired me with a deep and earnest love for my Creator.
9 I have since thought that many inmates of the lunatic asylums were brought there by experiences similar to my own. Their tender consciences have been stricken with a sense of sin, and their trembling faith dared not claim the promised pardon of God. They have listened to descriptions of the orthodox hell until it has seemed to curdle the very blood in their veins, and burnt an impression on the tablets of their memory. Waking or sleeping, the frightful picture has ever been before them, until reality has become lost in imagination, and they see only the wreathing flames of a fabulous hell and hear only the shrieking of the damned. Reason has become dethroned and the brain is filled with the wild phantasy of a terrible dream. Those who teach the doctrine of an eternal hell, would do well to look more closely after their authority for so cruel a belief.
10 I had never prayed in public, and had only spoken a few timid words in prayer-meeting. It was now impressed upon me that I should seek God in prayer at our small social meetings. This I dared not do, fearful of becoming confused, and failing to express my thoughts. But the duty was impressed upon my mind so forcibly that when I attempted to pray in secret I seemed to be mocking God, because I had failed to obey his will. Despair overwhelmed me, and for three long weeks no ray of light pierced the gloom that encompassed me about.
11 My sufferings of mind were intense. Sometimes for a whole night I would not dare to close my eyes, but would wait until my twin sister was fast asleep, then quietly leave my bed and kneel upon the floor, praying silently with a dumb agony that cannot be described. The horrors of an eternally burning hell were ever before me. I knew that it was impossible for me to live long in this state, and I dared not die and meet the terrible fate of the sinner. With what envy did I regard those who realized their acceptance with God. How precious did the Christian’s hope seem to my agonized soul.
12 I frequently remained bowed in prayer nearly all night, groaning and trembling with inexpressible anguish and hopelessness that passes all description. Lord have mercy! was my plea, and, like the poor publican, I dared not lift my eyes to Heaven but bowed my face upon the floor. I became very much reduced in flesh and strength, yet kept my suffering and despair to myself.
13 While in this state of despondency, I had a dream that made a powerful impression upon my mind, but in no wise lifted the vail of melancholy that darkened my life. I dreamed that I saw a temple, to which many people were flocking. Only those who took refuge in that temple would be saved when time should close. All who remained outside would be forever lost. The multitudes without who were going about their various ways, were deriding and ridiculing those who were entering the temple, and told them that this plan of safety was a cunning deception, that in fact there was no danger whatever to avoid. They even laid hold of some to prevent them from hastening within the walls.
14 Fearing to be laughed at and ridiculed, I thought best to wait until the multitude were dispersed or until I could enter unobserved by them. But the numbers increased instead of diminishing, and fearful of being too late, I hastily left my home and pressed through the crowd. In my anxiety to reach the temple I did not notice or care for the throng that surrounded me. On entering the building I saw that the vast temple was supported by one immense pillar, and to this was tied a Lamb all mangled and bleeding. We who were present seemed to know that this Lamb had been torn and bruised on our account. All who entered the temple must come before it and confess their sins.
15 Just before the Lamb, were elevated seats upon which sat a company of people looking very happy. The light of Heaven seemed to shine upon their faces and they praised God and sang songs of glad thanksgiving that seemed to be like the music of the angels. These were they who had come before the Lamb, confessed their sins, been pardoned, and were now waiting in glad expectation of some joyful event.
16 Even after having entered the building, a fear came over me, and a sense of shame that I must humiliate myself before these people. But I seemed compelled to move forward, and was slowly making my way around the pillar in order to face the Lamb, when a trumpet sounded, the temple shook, shouts of triumph arose from the assembled saints, an awful brightness illuminated the building, then all was intense darkness. The happy people had all disappeared with the brightness, and I was left alone in the silent horror of night.
17 I awoke in agony of mind and could hardly convince myself that I had been dreaming. It seemed to me that my doom was fixed, that the Spirit of the Lord had left me never to return. My despondency deepened if that were possible. Soon after this I had another dream. I seemed to be sitting in abject despair with my face in my hands, reflecting like this: If Jesus were upon earth I would go to him, throw myself at his feet and tell him all my sufferings. He would not turn away from me, he would have mercy upon me, and I should love and serve him always. Just then the door opened, and a person of beautiful form and countenance entered. He looked upon me pitifully and said, “Do you wish to see Jesus? He is here and you can see him if you desire to do so. Take everything you possess and follow me.”
18 I heard this with unspeakable joy, and gladly gathered up all my little possessions, every treasured trinket, and followed my guide. He led me to a steep and apparently frail stairway. As I commenced to ascend the steps, he cautioned me to keep my eyes fixed upward, lest I should grow dizzy and fall. Many others who were climbing up the steep ascent fell before gaining the top.
19 Finally we reached the last step and stood before a door. Here my guide directed me to leave all the things that I had brought with me. I cheerfully laid them down, he then opened the door and bade me enter. In a moment I stood before Jesus. There was no mistaking that beautiful countenance; to no other could belong such a radiant expression of benevolence and majesty. As his gaze rested upon me I knew at once that he was acquainted with every circumstance of my life and all my inner thoughts and feelings.
20 I tried to shield myself from his gaze, feeling unable to endure his searching eyes, but he drew near with a smile, and, laying his hand upon my head, said, “Fear not.” The sound of his sweet voice thrilled my heart with a happiness it had never before experienced, I was too joyful to utter a word, but, overcome with ineffable happiness sank prostrate at his feet. While I was lying helpless there, scenes of beauty and glory passed before me, and I seemed to have reached the safety and peace of Heaven. At length my strength returned and I arose. The loving eyes of Jesus were still upon me, and his smile filled my soul with gladness. His presence filled me with a holy reverence and an inexpressible love. My guide now opened the door, and we both passed out. He bade me take up again all the things I had left without. This done, he handed me a green cord coiled up closely, this he directed me to place next my heart, and when I wished to see Jesus take it from my bosom and stretch it to the utmost. He cautioned me not to let it remain coiled for any length of time, lest it should become knotted and difficult to straighten. I placed the cord near my heart and joyfully descended the narrow stairs, praising the Lord as I went, and joyfully telling all whom I met where they could find Jesus. This dream gave me hope. The green cord represented faith to my mind, and the beauty and simplicity of trusting in God began to dawn upon my benighted soul.
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Page 14
1 I now confided all my sorrows and perplexities to my mother. She tenderly sympathized with and encouraged me, advising me to go for counsel to Bro. Stockman who then preached the Advent doctrine in Portland. I had great confidence in him, for he was a devoted servant of Christ. Upon hearing my story, he placed his hands affectionately upon my head, saying with tears in his eyes, “Ellen, you are only a child. Yours is a most singular experience for one of your tender age. Jesus must be preparing you for some special work.”
2 He then told me that even if I were a person of mature years and thus harassed with doubt and despair, he should tell me that he knew there was hope for me, through the love of Jesus. The very agony of mind I had suffered was positive evidence that the Spirit of the Lord was striving with me. He said that when the sinner becomes hardened in guilt he does not realize the enormity of his transgressions, but flatters himself that he is about right and in no particular danger. The Spirit of the Lord leaves him and he becomes careless and indifferent or recklessly defiant. This good man told me of the love of God for his erring children, that instead of rejoicing in their destruction he longed to draw them to himself in simple faith and trust. He dwelt upon the great love of Christ and the plan of redemption.
3 He spoke of my early misfortune, and said it was indeed a grievous one, but he bade me believe that the hand of a loving Father had not been withdrawn from me; that in the future life, when the mist that then darkened my mind had vanished, I would discern the wisdom of the providence which had seemed so cruel and mysterious. Jesus said to his disciples, “What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.” In the great future we should no longer see as through a glass darkly, but come face to face with the great beauties of divine love.
4 “Go free, Ellen,” said he with tears in his eyes, “Return to your home trusting in Jesus, for he will not withhold his love from any true seeker.” He then prayed earnestly for me, and it seemed that God would certainly regard the prayer of this saint, even if my humble petitions were unheard. I was much relieved in mind. My wretched slavery of doubt and fear departed as I listened to the wise and tender counsel of this teacher in Israel. I went away from his presence comforted and encouraged.
5 During the few minutes in which I received instruction from Bro. Stockman, I had obtained more knowledge on the subject of God’s love and pitying tenderness, than from all the sermons and exhortations to which I had ever listened. I returned home and again went before the Lord, promising to do and suffer any thing he might require of me, if only the smiles of Jesus might illume my heart. The same duty was presented to me that had troubled my mind before, to take up my cross among the assembled people of God. An opportunity was not long wanting; there was a prayer-meeting that evening which I attended.
6 I bowed trembling during the prayers that were offered. After a few had prayed, I lifted up my voice in prayer before I was aware of it, and, in that moment the precious promises of God appeared to me like so many precious pearls that were to be received only for the asking. As I prayed, the burden and agony of soul that I had endured so long, left me, and the blessing of the Lord descended upon me like the gentle dew. I praised God from the depths of my heart. Everything seemed shut out from me but Jesus and his glory, and I lost consciousness of what was passing around me.
7 When I again awoke to realization, I found myself cared for in the house of my uncle where we had assembled for the prayer-meeting. Neither my uncle nor aunt enjoyed religion, although the former once made a profession but had since backslidden. I was told that he had been greatly disturbed while the power of God rested upon me in so special a manner, and had walked the floor, sorely troubled and distressed in his mind. When I was first struck down, some of those present were greatly alarmed, and were about to run for a physician, thinking that some sudden and dangerous indisposition had attacked me, but my mother bade them let me alone, for it was plain to her, and to the other experienced Christians, that it was the wondrous power of God that had prostrated me.
8 The next day I had recovered sufficiently to go home, but a great change had taken place in my mind. It seemed to me that I could hardly be the same person that left my father’s house the previous evening. This passage was continually in my thoughts: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” My heart was full of happiness as I softly repeated these words.
9 Faith now took possession of my heart. I felt an inexpressible love for God, and had the witness of his Spirit that my sins were pardoned. My views of the Father were changed, I now looked upon him as a kind and tender parent, rather than a stern tyrant compelling men to a blind obedience. My heart went out towards him in a deep and fervent love. Obedience to his will seemed a joy, it was a pleasure to be in his service. My path was radiant before me, no shadow clouded the light that revealed to me the perfect will of God. I felt the assurance of an indwelling Saviour, and realized the truth of what Christ had said: “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
10 Everything in nature seemed to possess a glory, and seemed to reflect the loving smiles of God. My peace and happiness was in such marked contrast with my former gloom and anguish that it seemed to me as if my soul had been rescued from hell and transported to Heaven. I could even praise God for the misfortune that had been the trial of my life, for it had been the means of concentrating my thoughts upon eternity. Naturally proud and ambitious, I might not have been inclined to give my heart to Jesus had it not been for the sore affliction that had cut me off, in a manner, from the triumphs and vanities of the world.
11 For six months not a shadow clouded my mind, nor did I neglect one known duty. My whole endeavor was to do the will of God and keep Jesus and Heaven continually in my mind. I was surprised and enraptured with the clear views now presented to my mind of the atonement and the work of Jesus Christ. I will not attempt to farther explain the exercises of my mind, suffice it to say that old things had passed away, and behold, all things had become new. There was not a cloud to mar my perfect bliss. I longed to tell the story of Jesus’ love, but felt no disposition to engage in common conversation with any one. My heart was so filled with love to God and the peace that passeth understanding, that I loved to meditate and to pray.
12 The night after receiving so great a blessing I attended the Advent meeting. When the time arrived for the followers of Christ to speak in his favor, I could not remain silent, but rose and related my experience. Not a thought had entered my mind of what I should say; but the simple story of Jesus’ love to me fell from my lips with perfect freedom, and my heart was so happy to be liberated from its thralldom of dark despair that I lost sight of the people about me and seemed to be alone with God. I found no difficulty in expressing my peace and happiness, except for the tears of gratitude that choked my utterance, as I told of the wondrous love that Jesus had shown for me.
13 Brother Stockman was present. He had so recently seen me in deep despair, and had endeavored to encourage me and inspire me with hope, that the remarkable change in my appearance and feelings touched his heart and he wept aloud, rejoicing with me and praising God for this proof of his tender mercy and loving kindness. My heart was so over-flowing with joy that I wanted to tell others how much the Lord had done for me.
14 I occasionally attended the Christian church, where Elder Brown was pastor. During a conference meeting I was invited to relate my experience, which was considered a marked one, and I felt not only great freedom of expression, but happiness in telling my simple story of the love of Jesus and the joy of being accepted by God. I told of my wonderful deliverance from the bondage of doubt and despair, and the joy that I experienced in the hope of salvation. As I spoke in simple language with subdued heart and tearful eyes, my soul seemed drawn toward Heaven in an ecstasy of thanksgiving. The melting power of the Lord came upon the assembled people. Many were weeping and others praising God.
15 Sinners were invited to arise for prayers, and many responded to the call. My heart was so thankful to God for the unspeakable blessing he had given me, that I longed to have others participate in this sacred joy. My mind was deeply interested for those who might be suffering under a sense of the Lord’s displeasure and the burden of sin. While relating my experience, I felt that no one could resist the evidence of God’s pardoning love that had wrought such a wonderful change in me. The reality of true conversion seemed so plain to me that I felt like helping my young friends into the light, and at every opportunity exerted my influence toward this end.
16 I arranged meetings with my young friends, some of whom were considerably older than myself, and a few were married persons. A number of them were vain and thoughtless, my experience sounded to them like an idle tale, and they did not heed my entreaties. But I felt that my efforts should never cease till these dear souls, for whom I had so great an interest, yielded to God. I spent several entire nights in earnest prayer for those whom I had sought out and brought together for the purpose of laboring and praying with them.
17 Some of these had met together with us from curiosity to hear what I had to say, others thought me beside myself to be so persistent in my efforts, especially when they manifested no concern on their own part. But at every one of our little meetings I continued to exhort and pray for each one separately, until my labors were crowned with success, and every one had yielded to Jesus, acknowledging the merits of his pardoning love. Every one was converted to God.
18 Night after night in my dreams I seemed to be laboring for the salvation of souls. At such times special cases were presented to my mind, which I afterwards sought out and prayed with. In every instance but one these persons yielded themselves to the Lord. Some of our more formal brethren feared that I was too zealous and solicitous for the conversion of souls, but time seemed to me so short that it behooved all who had a hope of a blessed immortality, and looked for the soon coming of Christ, to labor without ceasing for those who were still in their sins and standing on the awful brink of ruin.
19 True I was very young, but the plan of salvation was so clear to my mind, and my personal experience had been so marked, that, upon carefully considering the matter, I knew it was my duty to continue my efforts for the salvation of precious souls, and to pray and confess Christ at every opportunity. I offered my entire being to the service of my Master. Let come what would, I determined to please God, and live as one who expected the Saviour to come and reward the faithful. I felt like a little child coming to God as to my father and asking him what he would have me to do. Then as my duty was made plain to me, it was my greatest happiness to perform it. Peculiar trials sometimes beset me. Those older in experience than myself endeavored to hold me back and cool the ardor of my faith, but with the smiles of Jesus brightening my life, and the love of God in my heart, I went on my way with a joyful spirit.
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Page 15
1 As I look back upon my early life, and recall my youthful experience, my brother, the confidant of my hopes and fears, the earnest sympathizer with me in my Christian experience, comes to my mind with a flood of tender memories. He was one of those to whom sin presents but few temptations. Naturally devotional, he never sought the society of the young and gay, but chose rather the company of Christians, whose conversation would instruct him in the way of life. His manner was serious beyond his years, he was gentle and peaceful, and his mind was filled with thoughts upon religion. His life was pointed at, by those who knew him, as a pattern to the youth, a living example of the grace and beauty of true Christianity.
2 My father’s family still occasionally attended the Methodist church and also the class-meetings held in private houses. One evening my brother Robert and myself went to class-meeting. The Methodist presiding elder was present. When it came my brother’s turn, he spoke with great humility, yet with clearness, of the necessity for a complete fitness to meet our Saviour, when he should come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. While speaking, a heavenly light irradiated his usually pale countenance. He seemed to be carried in spirit above present surroundings, and spoke as if in the presence of Jesus. When I was called upon to speak, I arose, free in spirit, with a heart full of love and peace. In my simple way I told the story of my great suffering under the conviction of sin, how that I had at length received the blessing I had sought so long, an entire conformity to the will of God; that I rejoiced in the tidings of the soon coming of my Redeemer to take his children home.
3 I expected, in my simplicity, that my Methodist brethren and sisters would understand my feelings and rejoice with me. But I was disappointed; several sisters groaned and moved their chairs noisily, turning their backs upon me. I could not think what I had said to offend them. I spoke very briefly, feeling the chilling influence of their disapprobation. After I ceased speaking, Elder B—asked me if it would not be more pleasant to live a long life of usefulness here, doing others good, than for Jesus to come speedily and destroy poor sinners. I replied that I longed for the coming of Jesus. Then sin would have an end, and we should enjoy sanctification forever, with no devil to tempt and lead us astray.
4 He then inquired if I would not rather die peacefully upon my bed than to pass through the pain of being changed, while living, from mortality to immortality. My answer was that I wished for Jesus to come and take his children; that I was willing to live or die as God willed; that I could easily endure all the pain that could be borne in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; that I desired the wheels of time to roll swiftly round, and bring the welcome day when these vile bodies should be changed, and fashioned like unto Christ’s glorious body. I also stated that when I lived nearest to the Lord, then I most earnestly longed for his appearing. Here some present seemed to be greatly displeased.
5 When Elder B—addressed others in the class he expressed great joy in anticipating the temporal millennium of a thousand years, when the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. He longed to see this glorious period ushered in, and appeared to be in an ecstasy over the expected event. After the meeting closed I was conscious of being treated with marked coldness by those who had formerly been kind and friendly to me. My brother and I returned home feeling sad that we should be so misunderstood by our brethren, and that the subject of the near coming of Jesus should awaken such bitter antagonism in their breasts.
6 Yet we were thankful that we could discern the precious light, and rejoice in looking for the coming of the Lord. On the way we talked seriously concerning the evidences of our new faith and hope. “Ellen,” said Robert, “are we deceived? Is this hope of Christ’s soon appearing upon earth a heresy, that ministers and professors of religion oppose it so bitterly? They say that Jesus will not come for thousands and thousands of years. If they even approach the truth, then the world cannot come to an end in our day.”
7 I dared not give unbelief a moment’s encouragement, but quickly replied, “I have not a doubt but that the doctrine preached by Wm. Miller is the truth. What power attends his words, what conviction is carried home to the sinner’s heart.”
8 We talked the matter over candidly, as we walked along, and decided that it was our duty and privilege to look for our Saviour’s coming, that it would be safest to make ready for his appearing and be prepared to meet him with joy. If he did come, what would be the prospect of those who were now saying, “My Lord delayeth his coming,” and had no desire for his appearance? We wondered how ministers dared to quiet the fears of sinners and backsliders by saying peace, peace, while the message of warning was being given by a few faithful souls all over the land. The period seemed very solemn to us, we felt that we had no time to lose.
9 Said Robert, “ A tree is known by its fruits. What has this belief done for us? It has convinced us that we were not ready for the coming of the Lord, that we must become pure in heart or we cannot meet our Saviour in peace. It has aroused us to seek for new strength and grace from God. What has it done for you, Ellen? Would you be what you are now if you had never heard the doctrine of Christ’s soon coming? What hope has inspired your heart, what peace, joy, and love has it given you. And for me, it has done everything. I love Jesus, and all Christians. I love the prayer-meeting. I find great joy in reading my Bible and in prayer. If this precious faith has done so great a work for us, will it not do as much for all those who will believe it, and earnestly long for the appearing of the Lord?”
10 We both felt strengthened by this conversation, and resolved that we would not be turned from our honest convictions of truth, and the blessed hope of Christ’s soon coming in the clouds of heaven. Not long after this we again attended the class-meeting. We really wanted an opportunity to speak of the precious love of God that animated our souls. I wished particularly to tell of the Lord’s goodness and mercy to me. So great a change had been wrought in me that it seemed my duty to improve every opportunity of testifying to the unsurpassed love of my Saviour.
11 When my turn came to speak, I stated the evidences I enjoyed of Jesus’ love, and that I looked forward with glad expectation to meeting my Redeemer soon. The belief that Christ’s coming was near had stirred my soul to seek most earnestly for the sanctification of the Spirit of God. Here the class-leader interrupted me, saying, “You received sanctification through Methodism, through Methodism, sister, not through an erroneous theory.” My heart was full of love and happiness, but I felt that I must confess the truth, that it was not through Methodism my heart had received its new blessing. But by the stirring truths I had heard concerning the personal appearance of Jesus, I had found peace and joy and perfect love. Thus I finished my testimony, the last that I was to bear in class with my Methodist brethren.
12 Robert then spoke in his meek way, yet in so clear and touching a manner that some wept and were much moved; but others coughed dissentingly and seemed quite uneasy: After leaving the class-room, we again talked over our faith, and marveled that our Christian brethren and sisters could so illy endure to have a word spoken in reference to our Saviour’s coming. We thought if they loved Jesus as they should, it would not be so great an annoyance to hear of his second advent, but, on the contrary, they would hail the news with great joy.
13 We were convinced that we ought no longer to attend the Methodist class-meeting. The hope of the glorious appearing of Christ filled our souls, and would find expression when we rose to speak. This seemed to kindle the ire of those present against the two humble children who dared, in the face of opposition, to speak of the faith that had filled their hearts with peace and happiness. It was evident that we could have no freedom in the class—meeting, for our simple testimony provoked sneers and taunts that reached our ears at the close of the meeting from brethren and sisters whom we had respected and loved.
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Page 16
1 Meetings of the Adventists were held at this time in Beethoven Hall. My father, with his family, attended them quite regularly, for we greatly prized the privilege of hearing the doctrine of Christ’s personal and soon appearing upon earth. The period of the second advent was thought to be in the year 1843. The time seemed so short in which souls could be saved, that I resolved to do all that was in my power to lead sinners into the light of truth. But it seemed impossible for me, so young, and in feeble health, to do much in the great work.
2 There were three sisters of us at home, Sarah, who was several years the oldest, my twin sister Elizabeth, and myself. We talked the matter over among ourselves, and decided to earn what money we could and spend it in buying books and tracts to distribute gratuitously among the people. This was the best we could do, and we did this little gladly. I could earn only twenty-five cents a day, but my dress was plain, I spent nothing for needless ornaments, or ribbons, for vain display appeared sinful in my eyes; so I had ever a little fund in store with which to purchase suitable books. These were placed in the hands of experienced persons to send abroad.
3 Every leaf of this printed matter seemed precious in my eyes, for they were as messages of light to the world, bidding them to prepare for the great event near at hand. Day after day I have sat in bed propped up with pillows, performing my allotted task with trembling fingers; how carefully would I lay aside the precious bits of silver taken in return, and which was to be expended in reading matter that might enlighten and arouse those who were in darkness. I had no temptation to lay out my earnings for my own personal gratification, for the salvation of souls was the burden of my mind, and my heart ached for those who flattered themselves they were living in security, while the message of warning was being given to the world. My constant thought was, What can I, a child, do to help on the work of God and save poor sinners from destruction.
4 One day I was listening to a conversion between my mother and a sister, in reference to a discourse which they had recently heard, to the effect that the soul had not natural immortality. Some of the minister’s proof texts were repeated. Among them I remember these impressed me very forcibly:
5 “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” “A living dog is better than a dead lion, for the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything.” “Which in his times he shall show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.” “To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life.” “Why,” said my mother, after quoting the foregoing passage, “should they seek for what they already have?”
6 I listened to these new ideas with an intense and painful interest. When alone with my mother, I inquired if she really believed that the soul was not immortal? Her reply was she feared we had been in error on that subject as well as upon some others.”
7 “But mother,” said I, “Do you really believe that the soul sleeps in the grave until the resurrection? Do you think that the Christian, when he dies, does not go immediately to Heaven, nor the sinner to hell?”
8 She answered, “The Bible gives us no proof that there is an eternally burning hell. If there is such a place, it should be mentioned in the Sacred Book.”
9 “Why, mother!” cried I, in astonishment, “This is strange talk for you! If you believe this strange theory, do not let any one know of it, for I fear that sinners would gather security from this belief and never desire to seek the Lord.”
10 “If this is sound Bible truth,” she replied, “instead of preventing the salvation of sinners, it will be a means of winning them to Christ. If the love of God will not induce the rebel to yield, the terrors of an eternal hell will not drive him to repentance. Besides it does not seem a proper way to win souls to Jesus, by appealing to one of the lowest attributes of the mind, abject fear. The love of Jesus attracts, it will subdue the hardest heart.”
11 It was some months after this conversation before I heard of anything farther concerning this doctrine; but I had, during this time, thought much upon the subject. When I heard it preached I believed it to be the truth. From the time that light in regard to the sleep of the dead dawned upon my mind, the mystery that had enshrouded the resurrection vanished, and the great event itself assumed a new and sublime importance. My mind had often been disturbed by its efforts to reconcile the immediate reward or punishment of the dead, with the undoubted fact of a future resurrection and Judgment. If the soul, at death, entered upon eternal happiness or misery, where was the need of a resurrection of the poor mouldered body?
12 But this new and beautiful faith taught me the reason that inspired writers had dwelt so much upon the resurrection of the body, it was because the entire being was slumbering in the grave. I could now clearly perceive the fallacy of our former position on this question. The confusion and uselessness of a final Judgment, after the souls of the departed had already been judged once and appointed to their lot, was very apparent to me now. I saw that the hope of the bereaved was in looking forward to the glorious day when the Life-giver shall break the fetters of the tomb, and the righteous dead shall arise and leave their prison-house, to be clothed with glorious immortal life.
13 Our family were all interested in the doctrine of the Lord’s soon coming. My father had long been considered one of the pillars of the Methodist church where he lived, and the whole family had been active members, but we made no secret of our new belief, although we did not urge it upon others on inappropriate occasions, or manifest any antagonism toward our church. However, the Methodist minister made us a special visit, and took the occasion to inform us that our faith and Methodism could not agree. He did not inquire our reasons for believing as we did, nor make any reference to the Bible in order to convince us of our error; but he stated that we had adopted a new and strange belief that the Methodist church could not accept.
14 My father replied that he must be mistaken in calling this a new and strange doctrine, that Christ himself had preached his second advent to his disciples. He had said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.”
15 When he was taken up to Heaven before their eyes and a cloud received him out of their sight, as his faithful followers stood gazing after their vanishing Lord, “Behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? this same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven.”
16 “And,” said my father, warming with his subject, “the inspired Paul wrote a letter to encourage his brethren in Thessalonica, saying, ‘And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.’ ‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’”
17 “This is high authority for our faith. Jesus and his apostles dwell upon the event of the second advent with joy and triumph; and the holy angels proclaim that Christ who has ascended up into Heaven shall come again. This is our offense, believing the word of Jesus and his disciples. This is a very old doctrine, and bears no taint of heresy.”
18 The minister did not attempt to refer to a single text that would prove us in error, but excused himself on the plea of a want of time. He advised us to quietly withdraw from the church and avoid the publicity of a trial. We were aware that others of our brethren were meeting with similar treatment, for a like cause, and we did not wish it understood that we were ashamed to acknowledge our faith, or were unable to sustain it by Scripture; so my parents insisted that they should be acquainted with the reason for this request.
19 The only answer to this was an evasive declaration that we had walked contrary to the rules of the church, and the best course would be to voluntarily withdraw from it to save a trial. We answered that we preferred a regular trial, and demanded to know what sin was charged to us, as we were conscious of no wrong in looking for and loving the appearing of the Saviour.
20 Not long after, we were notified to be present at a meeting to be held in the vestry of the church. There were but few present. The influence of my father and his family was such that our opposers had no desire to present our cases before a large number of the congregation. The single charge preferred was that we had walked contrary to their rules. Upon our asking what rules we had violated, it was stated, after a little hesitation, that we had attended other meetings and had neglected to meet regularly with our class. We stated that a portion of the family had been in the country for some time past, that none who remained in the city had been absent from class-meeting more than a few weeks, and they were morally compelled to remain away because the testimonies they bore met with such marked disapprobation. If the hope of their Saviour’s soon coming was mentioned, a feeling of displeasure was manifested against them, and they were conscious of arousing a bitter spirit of antagonism. We also reminded them that certain persons who had not attended class-meeting for a year were yet held in good standing.
21 It was asked if we would confess that we had departed from their rules, and if we would also agree to conform to them in future. We answered that we dared not yield our faith nor deny the sacred truth of God; that we could not forego the hope of the soon coming of our Redeemer; that after the manner which they called heresy we must continue to worship the Lord. My father in his defense received the blessing of God, and we all left the vestry with free spirits and happy in the consciousness of right and the approving smile of Jesus. We felt the assurance that God was on our side, and he was stronger than all that were against us.
22 The next Sunday, at the commencement of love-feast, Elder B——- read off our names, seven in number, as discontinued from the church. He stated that we were not expelled on account of any wrong or immoral conduct, that we were of unblemished character and enviable reputation; but we had been guilty of walking contrary to the rules of the Methodist church. He also declared that a door was now open and all who were guilty of a similar breach of the rules, would be dealt with in like manner.
23 At this time there were many in the church who waited for the appearing of the Saviour, and this implied threat was made for the purpose of frightening them into subjection. In some cases this policy brought about the desired result, and the favor of God was sold for a place in the Methodist church. Many believed, but dared not confess their faith lest they should be turned out of the synagogue. But some left soon afterward and joined the company of those who were looking for the Saviour.
24 At this time the words of the prophet were exceedingly precious: “Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.”
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Page 17
1 For six months not a cloud intervened between me and my Saviour. Whenever there was a proper opportunity I bore my testimony, and was greatly blessed. At times the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me with such power that my strength was taken from me. This was a trial to some who had come out from the formal churches, and remarks were often made that grieved me much. Many could not believe that one could be so overpowered by the Spirit of God as to lose all strength. My position was exceedingly painful. I began to reason with myself whether I was not justified in withholding my testimony in meeting, and thus restrain my feelings when there was such an opposition in the hearts of some who were older in years and experience than myself.
2 I reasoned that repressing my testimony would not hinder me from faithfully living out my religion. I adopted this plan of silence for a time. I often felt strongly impressed that it was my duty to speak in meeting, but refrained from doing so, and was sensible of having grieved the Spirit of God. Sometimes I even remained away from meetings that I knew would be attended by those who were annoyed by my testimony. I shrank from offending my brethren; but in this I allowed the fear of men to break up that interrupted communion with God which had blessed my heart for so many months.
3 We had appointed evening prayer-meetings in different localities of the city to accommodate all who wished to attend them. The family who had been most forward in opposing me attended one of these. Upon this occasion, while those assembled were engaged in prayer, the Spirit of the Lord came upon the meeting, and one of the members of this family was prostrated as one dead. His relatives stood weeping around him, rubbing his hands and applying restoratives. At length he gained sufficient strength to praise God, and quieted their fears by shouting with triumph over the marked evidence he had received of the power of the Lord upon him. This young man was unable to return home that night.
4 This was believed by the family to be a demonstration of the Spirit of God, but did not convince them that it was the same divine power that rested upon me at times, robbing me of my natural strength, and filling my soul with the unbounded peace and love of Jesus. They were free to say that not a doubt could be entertained of my sincerity and perfect honesty, but they considered me deceived in taking that for the power of the Lord which was only the result of my own over-wrought feelings.
5 My mind was in great perplexity, in consequence of this opposition, and, as the time drew near for our regular meeting, I was in doubt whether or not it was best for me to attend it. For some days previous I had been in great distress on account of the feeling manifested towards me. Finally I decided not to go, and thus escape the criticism of my brethren. In trying to pray I repeated these words again and again, “Lord, what will thou have me to do?” The answer that came to my heart seemed to bid me trust in my Heavenly Father and wait patiently to know his will. I yielded myself to the Lord with the simple trust of a little child, remembering that he had promised that those who follow him shall not walk in darkness.
6 My duty impelled me to go to the meeting. I went with the full assurance in my mind that all would be well. While we were bowed before the Lord, my heart was drawn out in prayer and filled with a peace that only Christ can give. My soul rejoiced in the love of the Saviour, and my physical strength left me. With child-like faith I could only say, “Heaven is my home, and Christ my Redeemer.”
7 One of the same family whom I have mentioned as being opposed to the manifestations of the power of God upon me, stated on this occasion, that he considered I was under an excitement which he thought it my duty to resist, but instead of doing so he thought I encouraged it, as a mark of God’s favor. His doubts and opposition did not affect me at this time, for I seemed shut in with the Lord, and lifted above all outward influence. But he had scarcely stopped speaking when a strong man, a devoted and humble Christian, was struck down by the power of God before his eyes, and the room was filled with the Holy Spirit.
8 Upon recovering sufficiently, I was very happy in bearing my testimony for Jesus, and in telling of his love for me. I confessed my lack of faith in the promises of God, and that I had checked the promptings of his Spirit from fear of men, but that, notwithstanding my distrust, he had bestowed upon me unlooked for evidence of his love and sustaining grace. H——- P——-, the brother who had opposed me, rose, and with many tears, confessed his error in regard to me, that his feelings had been all wrong. He humbly asked my forgiveness. Said he, “Sister Ellen, I will never again lay a straw in your way. God has shown me the coldness and stubbornness of my heart, and he has broken it by the evidence of his power. I have been very wrong. When sister Ellen seemed so happy I would think, Why don’t I feel like that? Why don’t brother R——- receive some such evidence? for I felt that he was a devoted Christian, yet no such power had fallen upon him. I offered a silent prayer that, if this was the holy influence of God, brother R——- might experience it this evening.
9 “Almost as the desire went up from my heart, brother R——- fell, prostrated by the power of God, crying, ‘Let the Lord work!’ My heart is convinced that I have been warring against the Holy Spirit, but I will grieve it no more by stubborn unbelief. Welcome, light! Welcome, Jesus! I have been backslidden and hardened, feeling offended if any one praised God and manifested a fullness of joy in his love; but now my feelings are changed, my opposition is at an end, Jesus has opened my eyes, and I may yet shout his praises myself. I have said bitter and cutting things of sister Ellen, that I sorrow over now, and pray for her forgiveness as well as all who are present.”
10 Brother R——- then bore his testimony. His face was lighted with the glory of Heaven, as he praised the Lord for the wonders he had wrought that night. Said he, “This place is awfully solemn because of the presence of the Most High. Sister Ellen, in future you will have our help and sustaining sympathies, instead of the cruel opposition that has been shown you. We have been blind to the manifestations of God’s Holy Spirit.”
11 There had never been a question as to my perfect sincerity, but many had thought me young and impressible, and that it was my duty to restrain my feelings, which they regarded as the effect of excitement. But all the opposers were now brought to see their mistake and confess that the work was indeed of the Lord. In a prayer-meeting soon after, H——- P——-, the brother who had confessed that he was wrong in his opposition, experienced the power of God in so great a degree that his countenance shone with a heavenly light, and he fell helpless to the floor. When his strength returned, he again acknowledged that he had been ignorantly warring against the Spirit of the Lord in cherishing the feeling he had against me.
12 In another prayer-meeting still another member of the same family was exercised in a similar manner and bore the same testimony. A few weeks after, while the large family of brother P——- were engaged in prayer at their own house, the Spirit of God swept through the room and prostrated the kneeling suppliants. My father came in soon after and found them all, both parents and children, helpless under the power of the Lord.
13 Cold formality began to melt before the mighty influence of the Most High. All who had opposed me, confessed that they had grieved the Holy Spirit by so doing, and they united in sympathy with me and in love for the Saviour. My heart was glad that divine mercy had smoothed the path for my feet to tread, and rewarded my faith and trust so bounteously. Unity and peace now dwelt among our people who were looking forward toward the coming of the Lord.
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Page 18
1 How carefully and tremblingly did we approach the time of expectation. We sought, as a people, with solemn earnestness to purify our lives that we might be ready to meet the Saviour at his coming. Notwithstanding the opposition of ministers and churches, Beethoven Hall, in the city of Portland, was nightly crowded, and especially was there a large congregation on Sundays. Elder Stockman was a man of deep piety. He was in feeble health, yet when he stood before the people he seemed to be lifted above physical infirmity, and his face was lighted with the consciousness that he was teaching the sacred truth of God.
2 There was a solemn, searching power in his words that struck home to many hearts. He sometimes expressed a fervent desire to live until he should welcome the Saviour coming in the clouds of heaven. Under his ministration, the Spirit of God convicted many sinners, and brought them into the fold of Christ. Meetings were still held at private houses in different parts of the city with the best results. Believers were encouraged to work for their friends and relatives, and conversions were multiplying day by day.
3 In the district where my father’s family properly belonged, these evening meetings were held at the house of a sea-captain. He made no profession of religion, but his wife was a sincere lover of the truth. Finally the captain became convicted through the influence of the meetings, professed Christ and embraced the belief that he was soon coming to the world.
4 All classes flocked to the meetings at Beethoven Hall. Rich and poor, high and low, ministers and laymen were all, from various causes, anxious to hear for themselves the doctrine of the second advent. The crowd was such that fears were expressed that the floor might give way beneath its heavy load; but the builder, upon being consulted, quieted such apprehensions and established confidence in regard to the strength of the building.
5 Many came who, finding no room to stand, went away disappointed. The order of the meetings was simple; usually a short and pointed discourse was given, then liberty was granted for general exhortation. There was usually the most perfect stillness possible for so large a crowd. The Lord held the spirit of opposition in check, while his servants explained the reasons of their faith.
6 Sometimes the instrument was feeble but the Spirit of God gave weight and power to his truth. The presence of the holy angels was felt in the assembly, and numbers were daily being added to the little band of believers.
7 On one occasion, while Elder Stockman was preaching, Elder Brown, a Christian Baptist minister, whose name has been mentioned before in this narrative, was sitting in the desk listening to the sermon with intense interest. He became deeply moved, suddenly his countenance grew pale as the dead, he reeled in his chair, and Elder Stockman caught him in his arms just as he was falling to the floor, and laid him on the sofa behind the desk, where he lay powerless until the discourse was finished.
8 He then arose, his face still pale, but shining with light from the Son of righteousness, and gave a very impressive testimony. He seemed to receive holy unction from above. He was usually slow of speech, with a solemn manner, entirely free from excitement. But on this occasion, his solemn, measured words carried with them a new power, as he warned sinners and his brother ministers to put away unbelief, prejudice and cold formality, and, like the noble Bereans, search the sacred writings, comparing scripture with scripture to ascertain if these things are not true. He entreated the ministers present not to feel themselves injured by the direct and searching manner in which Elder Stockman had presented the solemn subject that interested all minds.
9 Said he, “We want to reach the people, we want sinners to be convicted and become truly repentant to God before it is too late for them to be saved, lest they shall take up the lamentation, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Brethren in the ministry say that our arrows hit them, will they please stand aside from between us and the people, and let us reach the hearts of sinners? If they make themselves a target for our aim they have no reason to complain of the wounds they receive. Stand aside brethren and you will not get hit!”
10 He related his own experience with such simplicity and candor, that many who had been greatly prejudiced were affected to tears. The Spirit of God was felt in his words and seen upon his countenance. With a holy exaltation he boldly declared that he had taken the Word of God as his counsellor, that his doubts had been swept away and his faith confirmed. With sanctified earnestness he invited his brother ministers, church-members, sinners and infidels to examine the Bible for themselves and let no man turn them from their purpose of ascertaining what was the truth.
11 Elder Brown neither then nor afterwards severed his connection with the Christian Baptist church, but was looked upon with great reverence and respect by his people. After he finished speaking, those who desired the prayers of the people of God were invited to rise. Hundreds responded to the call. The sea-captain who had been recently converted, sprang to his feet with tears raining down his cheeks. He was unable to express his feelings in words, and stood for a moment the picture of mute thanksgiving; then he involuntarily raised his hat, and swung it above his head with the free movement of an old sailor, and in the abandonment of his joy, shouted, “Hurrah for God! I’ve enlisted in his crew, he is my captain! Hurrah for Jesus Christ!” He sat down overpowered by the intensity of his emotions, his face glowing with the radiance of love and peace.
12 His singular testimony, so characteristic of the bluff mariner, was not received with laughter, for the Spirit of God that animated the speaker lent his extraordinary words a strange solemnity that was felt through all that dense crowd.
13 Others followed with their testimonies. The voice of Bro. Abbot rung through the hall in notes of warning to the world. He repeated the evidences of the soon coming of Christ, and in sacred silence that vast crowd listened to his stirring words. The Holy Spirit rested upon the assembly. Heaven and earth seemed to approach each other. The meeting lasted until a late hour of the night. The power of the Lord was felt upon young, old, and middle aged. Some Methodists and Baptists who were present seemed to fully unite with the spirit of the meeting.
14 As we returned to our homes by various ways, a voice praising God would reach us from one direction, and, as if in response, voices from another and still another quarter, shouted, “Glory to God, the Lord reigneth!” Men sought their homes with praises upon their lips, and the glad sound rang out upon the still night air. No one who attended these meetings can ever forget those scenes of deepest interest.
15 Those who sincerely love Jesus can appreciate the feelings of those who watched with the most intense interest for the coming of their Saviour. The point of expectation was nearing. The time when we hoped to meet him was close at hand. We approached this hour with a calm solemnity. The true believers rested in a sweet communion with God, an earnest of the peace that was to be theirs in the bright hereafter. Those who experienced this hope and trust can never forget those precious hours of waiting.
16 Worldly business was for the most part laid aside for a few weeks. We carefully scrutinized every thought and emotion of our hearts as if upon our death-beds and in a few hours to close our eyes forever upon earthly scenes. There was no making of “ascension robes” for the great event; we felt the need of internal evidence that we were prepared to meet Christ, and our white robes were purity of soul, character cleansed from sin by the atoning blood of our Saviour.
17 But the time of expectation passed. This was the first close test brought to bear upon those who believed and hoped that Jesus would come in the clouds of heaven. The disappointment of God’s waiting people was great. The scoffers were triumphant and winning the weak and cowardly to their ranks. Some who had appeared to possess true faith seemed to have been influenced only by fear, and now their courage returned with the passing of the time and they boldly united with the scoffers declaring they had never been duped to really believe the doctrine of Miller, who was a mad fanatic. Others, naturally yielding or vacillating, quietly deserted the cause. I thought if Christ had surely come, what would have become of these weak and changing ones? Where would have been their robes of righteousness? They professed to love and long for the coming of Jesus, but when he failed to appear they seemed greatly relieved and went back to a state of carelessness and disregard of true religion.
18 We were perplexed and disappointed, yet we did not renounce our faith. Many still clung to the hope that Jesus would not long delay his coming; the Word of the Lord was sure, it could not fail. We felt that we had done our duty, we had lived up to our precious faith, we were disappointed but not discouraged; the signs of the times denoted that the end of all things was near at hand, we must watch and hold ourselves in readiness for the coming of the Master at any time. We must wait with hope and trust, not neglecting the assembling of ourselves together for instruction, encouragement and comfort, that our light might shine forth into the darkness of the world.
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Page 19
1 Wm. Miller’s calculation of the time was so simple and plain that even the children could understand it. From the date of the decree of the King of Persia, found in Ezra 7, which was given in 457 before Christ, the 2300 years of Daniel 8:14 must terminate with 1843. Accordingly we looked to the end of this year for the coming of the Lord. We were sadly disappointed when the year entirely passed away and the Saviour had not come.
2 It was not at first perceived that if the decree did not go forth at the beginning of the year 457 B.C. the 2300 years would not be completed at the close of 1843. But it was ascertained that the decree was given near the close of the year 457, B.C., and therefore the prophetic period must reach to the fall of the year 1844. Therefore the vision of time did not tarry, though it had seemed to do so. We learned to rest upon the language of the prophet, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
3 God tested and proved his people by the passing of the time in 1843. The mistake made in reckoning the prophetic periods was not at once discovered even by learned men who opposed the views of those who were looking for Christ’s coming. These profound scholars declared that Mr. Miller was right in his calculation of the time, though they disputed him in regard to the event that would crown that period. But they, with the waiting people of God, were in a common error on the question of time.
4 We fully believe that God, in his wisdom, designed that his people should meet with a disappointment, which was well calculated to reveal hearts and develop the true characters of those who had professed to look for and rejoice in the coming of the Lord. Those who embraced the first angel’s message (See Revelation 14:6, 7) through fear of the wrath of God’s judgments, not because they loved the truth and desired an inheritance in the kingdom of Heaven, now appeared in their true light. They were among the first to ridicule the disappointed ones who sincerely longed for and loved the appearing of Jesus. This most searching test of God revealed the true characters of those who would shirk responsibility and stigma by denying their faith in the hour of trial.
5 Those who had been disappointed were not left in darkness; for in searching the prophetic periods with earnest prayers, the error was discovered, and the tracing of the prophetic pencil down through the tarrying time. In the joyful expectation of the coming of Christ, the apparent tarrying of the vision had not been taken into account, and was a sad and unlooked for surprise. Yet this very trial was highly necessary to develop and strengthen the sincere believers in the truth.
6 Our hopes now centered on the coming of the Lord in 1844. This was also the time for the message of the second angel, who, flying through the midst of heaven, cried, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city!” Many left the churches in obedience to the message of the second angel. Near its close the Midnight Cry was given, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him!” In every part of the land light was being given concerning this message, and the cry aroused thousands. It went from city to city, from village to village, and into the remote country regions. It reached the learned and talented, as well as the obscure and humble.
7 This was the happiest year of my life. My heart was full of glad expectation. I felt great pity and anxiety for those who were in discouragement and had no hope in Jesus. As a people, we united in earnest prayer for true inward experience and the unmistakable evidence of our acceptance with God.
8 We needed unbounded patience, for the scoffers were many. We were frequently greeted by scornful allusions to our former disappointment. “You are not gone up yet; when do you expect to go up?” and similar sarcasms were often vented upon us by our worldly acquaintances, and even by some professed Christians, who accepted the Bible yet failed to learn its great and important truths. Their blinded eyes seemed to see but a vague and distant meaning in the solemn warning that “God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world,” and that the saints will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.
9 The formal churches used every means to prevent the belief in Christ’s soon coming from spreading. No liberty was granted in their meetings to those who dared to mention a hope of the soon coming of Christ. Professed lovers of Jesus scornfully rejected the tidings that their best friend was soon to visit them. They were excited and angered against those who proclaimed the news of his coming and rejoiced that they should speedily behold him in his glory.
10 Every moment seemed precious and of the utmost importance to me. I felt that we were doing work for eternity, and that the careless and uninterested were in the greatest peril. My faith was unclouded, and I appropriated the precious promises of Jesus to myself. He had said to his disciples, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” I firmly believed that whatever I asked in accordance with the will of God would certainly be granted to me. I sank in humility at the feet of Jesus with my heart in harmony with the divine will.
11 I often visited families and engaged in earnest prayer with those who were oppressed by fears and despondency. My faith was so strong that I never doubted for a moment that God would answer my prayers, and without a single exception the blessing and peace of Jesus rested upon us in answer to our humble petitions, and the hearts of the despairing ones were made joyful by light and hope.
12 With diligent searching of hearts and humble confessions we came prayerfully up to the time of expectation. Every morning we felt that it was our first business to secure the evidence that our lives were right before God. We realized that if we were not advancing in holiness we were sure to retrograde. Our interest for each other increased; we prayed much with and for one another. We assembled in the orchards and groves to commune with God and offer up our petitions to him, feeling more nearly in his presence when surrounded by his natural works. The joys of salvation were more necessary to us than our food and drink. If clouds obscured our minds we dared not rest or sleep till they were swept away by the consciousness of our acceptance with the Lord.
13 My health was very poor, my lungs were seriously affected, and my voice failed me. The Spirit of God often rested upon me with great power and my frail body could scarcely endure the weight of glory that flooded my soul. The name of Jesus filled me with rapture, I seemed to breathe in the atmosphere of Heaven. I rejoiced in the prospect of soon meeting my Redeemer and living in the light of his countenance forever.
14 The waiting people of God approached the hour when they fondly hoped their joy would be complete in the coming of the Saviour. But the time again passed unheralded by the advent of Jesus. Mortality still clung to us, the effects of the curse were all around us. It was hard to take up the vexing cares of life that we thought had been laid down forever. It was a bitter disappointment that fell upon the little flock whose faith had been so strong and whose hope had been so high. But we were surprised that we felt so free in the Lord, and were so strongly sustained by his strength and grace.
15 The experience of the former year was, however, repeated to a greater extent. A large class renounced their faith. Some, who had been very confident, were so deeply wounded in their pride that they felt like fleeing from the world. Like Jonah they complained of God and chose death rather than life. Those who had built their faith upon the evidence of others and not upon the Word of God were now as ready to exchange their views again. The hypocrites, who had hoped to deceive the Almighty as well as themselves, with their counterfeit penitence and devotion, now felt relieved from impending danger, and launched into open opposition to the cause they had lately professed to love.
16 The weak and the wicked united in declaring that there could be no more fears or expectations now. The time had passed, the Lord had not come, and the world would remain the same for thousands of years. This second great test revealed a mass of worthless drift that had been drawn into the strong current of the Advent faith, and been borne along for a time with the true believers and earnest workers.
Page 20
1 We are living in the last days. John exclaims: “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Jesus Christ is the only refuge in these perilous times. Satan is at work in secrecy and darkness. Cunningly he draws away the followers of Christ from the cross, and brings them into self-indulgence and wickedness.
2 Satan is opposed to everything that will strengthen the cause of Christ and weaken his own power. He is diligently laying plans to undermine the work of God. He never rests for a moment when he sees that the right is gaining the ascendency. He has legions of evil angels that he sends to every point where light from Heaven is shining upon the people. Here he stations his pickets to seize every unguarded man, woman, or child, and pass them over to his service.
3 It is Satan’s plan to weaken the faith of God’s people in the testimonies. Next follows skepticism in regard to the vital points of our faith, the pillars of our position, then doubt as to the Holy Scriptures, and then the downward march to perdition. When the testimonies, once believed, are doubted, and given up, Satan knows the deceived ones will not stop at this, but he redoubles his efforts till he launches them into open rebellion, which becomes incurable and ends in destruction.
4 Very many do not realize that God holds them accountable for every advantage gained by the foe who is admitted to the fort. The desolation and ruin following lays at the door of the unfaithful sentinels, who, by their neglect, become agents in the hands of the adversary to win souls to destruction. Men professing this faith should seek wisdom and guidance of God and not trust in their own judgment and knowledge. They should, like Solomon, earnestly pray for faith and light, and he will give them freely of his abundant supply.
5 God would have his work done intelligently, not in a hap-hazard manner. He would have it done with faith and careful exactitude, that he may place the sign of his approval upon it. Those who love him and walk with fear and humility before him, he will bless, and guide, and connect them with Heaven. If the workers rely upon him he will give them wisdom and correct their infirmities, so that they will be able to do the work of the Lord with perfection.
6 Our good works alone will not save any of us, but we cannot be saved without good works. And after we have done all that we can do, in the name and strength of Jesus we are to say, “We are unprofitable servants.” We are not to think we have made great sacrifices and should receive great reward for our feeble services.
7 We must put on the armor and be prepared to successfully resist all the attacks of Satan. His malignity and cruel power is not sufficiently estimated. When he finds himself foiled upon one point, he assumes new ground and fresh tactics, and tries again, working wonders in order to deceive and destroy the children of men. The youth should be carefully warned against his power, and patiently and prayerfully directed how to endure the trials sure to come upon them in this life. They should be led to cling to the Word of God and give attention to counsel and advice.
8 The Saviour of the world offers to the erring the gift of eternal life. He watches for a response to his offers of love and forgiveness with a more tender compassion than that which moves the heart of an earthly parent to forgive a wayward, repenting, suffering son. He cries after the wanderer, Return unto me and I will return unto you. If the sinner still refuses to heed the voice of mercy which calls after him with tender, pitying love, his soul will be left in darkness.
9 But if he neglects the opportunity presented him and goes on in his evil course, the wrath of God will, in an unexpected moment, break forth upon him. Those who, being often reproved, harden their hearts, shall be suddenly destroyed, and that without remedy. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It lays at the foundation of a proper education. Those who, having a favorable opportunity, have failed to learn this first great lesson, are not only disqualified for service in the cause of God, but are a positive injury to the community in which they live.
10 Living faith in the merits of a crucified Redeemer will carry men through the fiery furnace of affliction and trial. The form of the Fourth will be with them in the fierce heat of the furnace, which will not leave even the smell of fire upon their garments. Children should be encouraged to become Bible students and have firm religious principles that will stand the test of the perils sure to be experienced by all those who live upon earth during the last days, in the closing history of the world.
11 In this sinful world of ours, truth and falsehood are so mixed that one is not always clearly discerned from the other. But why has one who professes the truth so little strength? Because he understands not his own ignorance and his own weakness. If he knew this, if he was distrustful of himself, he would feel the importance of Divine help to preserve him from the wiles of the enemy.
12 We need to be active, working Christians, unselfish in heart and life, having an eye single to the glory of God. Oh! what wrecks of weakness we meet everywhere! Silent lips, and fruitless lives! This is the result of falling under temptation. Nothing mars the peace of the soul like sinful unbelief.
13 Christ asks for all. It will not do to withhold anything. He has purchased us with an infinite price, and he requires that all we have shall be yielded to him a willing offering. If we are fully consecrated to him in heart and life, faith will take the place of doubts, and confidence the place of distrust and unbelief.
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14 In a second vision, which soon followed the first, I was shown the trials through which I must pass, and that it was my duty to go and relate to others the things that God had revealed to me. It was shown me that my labors would meet with great opposition, and that my heart would be wrought with anguish, but that the grace of God would be sufficient to sustain me through all. The teaching of this vision troubled me exceedingly, for it pointed that my duty was to go out among the people and teach the truth.
15 My health was so poor that I was in actual bodily suffering, and, to all appearance, had but a short time to live. I was but seventeen years of age, small and frail, unused to society, and naturally so timid and retiring that it was painful for me to meet strangers. I prayed earnestly for several days and far into the night, that this burden might be removed from me and laid upon some one else more capable of bearing it. But the light of duty never changed, and the words of the angel sounded continually in my ears, “Make known to others what I have revealed to you.”
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Page 21
1 At this time Bro. Wm. H. Hyde was very sick with bloody dysentery. His symptoms were alarming, and the physician pronounced his case almost hopeless. We visited him and prayed with him, but he had come under the influence of certain fanatical persons, who were bringing dishonor upon our cause. We wished to remove him from their midst, and petitioned the Lord to give him strength to leave that place. He was strengthened and blessed in answer to our prayers, and rode four miles to the house of Bro. P——-. But after arriving there he seemed to be rapidly sinking.
2 The fanaticism and errors into which he had fallen through evil influence seemed to hinder the exercise of his faith. He gratefully received the plain testimony borne him, and made humble confession of his fault. Only a few who were strong in faith were permitted to enter the sick-room. The fanatics whose influence over him had been so injurious, and who had persistently followed him to Bro. P——-‘s, were positively forbidden to come into his presence, while we prayed fervently for his restoration to health. I have seldom known such a reaching out to claim the promises of God. The salvation of the Holy Spirit was revealed, and power from on high rested upon our sick brother and upon all present.
3 Bro. Hyde immediately dressed and walked out of the room praising God, with the light of Heaven shining upon his countenance. A farmer’s dinner was ready upon the table. Said he, “If I were well I should partake of this food; and as I believe God has healed me, I shall carry out my faith.” He sat down to dinner with the rest and ate heartily without injury to himself. His recovery was perfect and lasting.
4 From Topsham we returned to Portland and found there quite a number of our faith from the East. Among them were the very fanatics to whom I had borne my testimony in Exeter, declaring that it was not their duty to visit Portland. These persons had laid aside reason and judgment; they trusted every impression of their excitable and over-wrought minds. Their demonstrative exercises, while claiming to be under the Spirit of God, were unworthy of their exalted profession. We trembled for the church that was to be subjected to this spirit of fanaticism. My heart ached for God’s people. Must they be deceived and led away by this false enthusiasm? I faithfully pronounced the warnings given me of the Lord; but they seemed to have little effect except to make these persons of extreme views jealous of me.
5 These false impressions of theirs might have turned me from my duty, had not the Lord previously showed me where to go and what to do. Although so young and inexperienced, I was preserved from falling into the snare of the enemy, through the mercy of God, in giving me special instructions whom to fear and whom to trust. Had it not been for this protection I now see many times when I might have been led from the path of duty.
6 About this time I was shown that it was my duty to visit our people in N. H. My constant and faithful companion at this time was Louisa Foss, the sister of my brother-in-law. She has been dead for many years; but I can never forget her kind and sisterly attention to me in my journeyings. We were also accompanied by Bro. Files and his wife, who were old and valued friends of my family, and brethren Haskins and White.
7 We were cordially received; but there were wrongs existing in that field which burdened me much. We had to meet a spirit of self-righteousness that was very depressing. I had previously been shown the pride and exaltation of certain ones whom we visited, but had not the courage to meet them with my testimony. Had I done so the Lord would have sustained me in doing my duty.
8 While visiting at the house of Bro. Morse, the burden did not leave me, but I did not yet feel sufficiently strong to relieve my mind and place the oppressive burden upon those to whom it belonged. During our stay at this house I was very ill. Prayer was offered in my behalf, the Spirit of God rested upon me, and I was taken off in vision. While in this state, some things were shown me concerning the disappointment of 1844, in connection with the case of Bro. Morse. He had been a firm and consistent believer that the Lord would come at that time. He was bitterly disappointed when the period passed without bringing the event that was expected. He was perplexed and unable to explain the delay.
9 He did not renounce his faith as some did, calling it a fanatical delusion; but he was bewildered, and could not understand the position of God’s people on prophetic time. He had been so earnest in declaring that the coming of the Lord was nigh, that when the time passed, he was despondent and did nothing to encourage the disappointed people, who were like sheep without a shepherd, left to be devoured by wolves.
10 The case of Jonah was presented before me. God commanded him to go into Nineveh and deliver the message that he gave him. Jonah obeyed, and for the space of three days and nights the solemn cry was heard throughout the streets of the wicked city, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” The city was a marvel of wealth and magnificence; yet the king believed the warning and humbled himself and his people before the Lord in fasting and sackcloth.
11 A merciful God accepted their repentance and lengthened the days of their probation. He turned away his fierce anger and awaited the fruits of Nineveh’s humiliation. But Jonah dreaded being called a false prophet. He murmured at the compassion of God in sparing the people whom he had warned of destruction by the mouth of his prophet. He could not bear the thought of standing before the people as a deceiver. He overlooked the great mercy of God toward the repentant city, in the personal humiliation of seeing his prophecy unfulfilled.
12 Bro. Morse was in a similar condition to that of the disappointed prophet. He had proclaimed that the Lord would come in 1844. The time had past. The check of fear that had partially held the people was removed, and they indulged in derision of those who had looked in vain for Jesus. Bro. Morse felt that he was a bye-word among his neighbors, an object of jest. He could not be reconciled to his position. He did not consider the mercy of God in granting the world a longer time to prepare for his coming; that the warning of his judgment might be heard more widely, and the people tested with greater light. He only thought of the humiliation of God’s servants.
13 I was shown that although the event so solemnly proclaimed did not occur, as in the case of Jonah, the message was none the less of God, and accomplished the purpose that he designed it should. Subsequent light upon the prophecies revealed the event which did take place, in the High Priest entering the most holy place of the sanctuary in Heaven to finish the atonement for the sins of man. Nevertheless God willed for a wise purpose that his servants should proclaim the approaching end of time.
14 I was shown that, instead of being discouraged at his disappointment, as was Jonah, Bro. Morse should gather up the rays of precious light that God had given his people and cast aside his selfish sorrow. He should rejoice that the world was granted a reprieve, and be ready to aid in carrying forward the great work yet to be done upon earth, in bringing sinners to repentance and salvation.
15 It has been reported that on the occasion of this vision I declared that in forty days the end of the world would come. No such words were uttered by me. I had no light concerning the end of time. The subject of Nineveh, her lengthened probation, and the consequent grief of Jonah, was presented to me as a parallel case with our own disappointment of 1844.
16 The case of Bro. Morse was presented to me as one that represented the condition of a large class of our people at that time. Their duty was plainly marked; it was to trust in the wisdom and mercy of God and patiently labor as his providence opened the way before them.
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Page 22
1 It was difficult to accomplish much good in New Hampshire. We found little spirituality there. Many pronounced their experience in ‘44 a delusion; it was hard to reach this class, for we could not accept the position they ventured to take. A number who were active preachers and exhorters in ‘44, now seemed to have lost their moorings, and did not know where we were in prophetic time; they were fast uniting with the spirit of the world.
2 Upon one occasion, when I was delivering the message that the Lord had given me for the encouragement of his people, I was interrupted several times by a certain minister. He had been very active in preaching definite time; but when the appointed period passed, his faith utterly failed, and he wandered in darkness, doubting and questioning everything. He was ever ready to array himself against any one who claimed more light than he possessed. The Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, as I related what had been shown to me of God. This minister interrupted me several consecutive times; but I continued speaking, when he became very angry and excited, violently opposing what I said. He raised his voice to a high key, and abused me till he was forced to stop from sheer exhaustion. In a few moments he left the house, being seized with hemorrhage of the lungs. He rapidly failed from that time, and died not long after.
3 Our testimony was welcomed by some; but many received us suspiciously. Fanaticism and spiritual magnetism seemed to have destroyed the spirit of true godliness. Many appeared unable to discern or appreciate the motives that led me in my feebleness, to travel and bear my testimony to the people. Those who had little interest for the salvation of souls, and whose hearts had turned from the work of preparation, could not comprehend the love of God in my soul that quickened my desire to help those in darkness to the same light that cheered my path. Could they also have seen what had been revealed to me of God’s matchless love for men, manifested in giving his only Son to die for them, they would not have doubted my sincerity.
4 I believed all that had been shown me in vision. Truth was to me a living reality, and my labor was for eternity. However others might view my work, the weight of its importance was heavy on my soul. In feeble health I was toiling to do good to others unto eternal life. Moments seemed precious to me, delays dangerous.
5 In New Hampshire we had to contend with a species of spiritual magnetism, of a similar character with mesmerism. It was our first experience of this kind, and happened thus: Arriving at Claremont, we were told there were two parties of Adventists; one holding fast their former faith, the other denying it. At other places we had visited and labored with this latter class, and found that they were so buried in worldliness, and had so far adopted the popular view in regard to our disappointment that we could not reach nor help them.
6 But we were now pleased to learn that there was a little company here who believed that in their past experience they had been led by the providence of God. We were directed to Elders B——-t and B——-s as persons holding similar views with ourselves. We discovered that there was much prejudice against these men, but concluded that they were persecuted for righteousness’ sake. We called on them and were kindly received and courteously treated. We soon learned that they professed sanctification, claiming they were above the possibility of sin, being entirely consecrated to God. Their clothing was excellent, and they had an air of ease and comfort.
7 Presently a little boy about eight years old entered, literally clad in dirty rags. We were surprised to find that this little specimen of neglect was the son of Elder B——-t. The mother looked exceedingly ashamed and annoyed; but the father, utterly unconcerned, continued talking of his high spiritual attainments without the slightest recognition of his little son. But his sanctification had suddenly lost its charm in my eyes. Wrapped in prayer and meditation, throwing off all the toil and responsibilities of life, this man seemed too spiritually-minded to notice the actual wants of his family, or give his children the least fatherly attention. He seemed to forget that the greater our love to God, the stronger should be our love and care for those whom he has given us; that the Saviour never taught idleness and abstract devotion, to the neglect of the duties laying directly in our path.
8 This husband and father declared that the heavenly attainment of true holiness carried the mind above all earthly thoughts. Still he sat at the table and ate temporal food; he was not fed by a miracle, and some one must provide that food, although he troubled himself little about that matter, his time was so devoted to spiritual things. Not so his wife, upon whom rested the burden of the family. She toiled unremittingly in every department of household labor to keep up the home. The husband declared that she was not sanctified, but allowed worldly things to draw her mind from religious subjects.
9 I thought of our Saviour as a constant worker for the good of others. He said “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” The sanctification that he taught was shown in deeds of kindness and mercy, and the love that counteth others better than ourselves.
10 While at this house a sister of B——-s requested a private interview with me. She had much to say concerning entire consecration to God, and endeavored to draw out my views in regard to that subject. I felt that I must be guarded in my expressions. While talking, she held my hand in hers, and with the other softly stroked my hair. I felt that angels of God would protect me from the unholy influence this attractive young lady was seeking to exercise over me, with her fair speeches, and gentle caresses. She had much to say in regard to the spiritual attainments of B——-t, and his great faith. Her mind seemed very much occupied with him and his experience. I was glad to be relieved at length from this trying interview.
11 These persons, who made such lofty professions, were calculated to deceive the unwary. They had much to say of love and charity covering a multitude of sins. I could not unite with their views and feelings; but felt that they were wielding a terrible power for evil. I wished to escape from their presence as soon as possible.
12 Eld. B——-t, in speaking of faith, said, “All we have to do is to believe, and whatever we ask of God will be given us.”
13 Bro. White suggested that there were conditions specified. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Said he, “Your theory of faith must have a foundation; it is as empty as a flour-barrel with both heads out. True charity never covers up unrepented and unconfessed sins. She only drops her mantle over the faults that are confessed and renounced. True Charity is a very delicate personage, never setting her pure food outside of Bible truth.”
14 As soon as the views of these people were crossed, they manifested a stubborn, self-righteous spirit that rejected all instruction. Though professing great humiliation they were boastful in their sophistry of sanctification, and resisted all appeals to reason. That same afternoon, we visited the house of Brother Collier, where we purposed to hold a meeting in the evening. We supposed this family were in union with those we had left. We asked some questions in reference to those men; but Brother Collier gave us no information. Said he, “If the Lord sent you here, you will ascertain what spirit governs them, and will solve the mystery for us.”
15 B——-s and B——-t both attended the meeting. While I was earnestly praying for light and the presence of God, they began to groan and cry “Amen!” apparently throwing their sympathy with my prayer. Immediately my heart was oppressed with a great weight, the words died upon my lips, darkness overshadowed the whole meeting.
16 Bro. White arose and said, “I am distressed. The Spirit of the Lord is grieved. I resist this influence in the name of the Lord! O God, rebuke this foul spirit!”
17 I was immediately relieved, and rose above the shadows. But again, while speaking words of encouragement and faith to those present, their groanings and amens chilled me. Once more Bro. White rebuked the spirit of darkness, and again the power of the Lord rested upon me, while I spoke to the people. These agents of the evil one were then so bound as to be unable to exert their baneful influence any more that night.
18 After the meeting, Bro. White said to Bro. Collier, “Now I can tell you concerning those two men. They are acting under a Satanic influence, yet attributing all to the Spirit of the Lord.”
19 “I believe God sent you to encourage us,” said Bro. Collier. “We call their influence mesmerism. They affect the minds of others in a remarkable way, and have controlled some to their great damage. We seldom hold meetings here, for they intrude their presence, and we can have no union with them. They manifest deep feeling, as you observed tonight, but they crush the very life from our prayers, and leave an influence blacker than Egyptian darkness. I have never seen them tied up before tonight.
20 During family prayer that night the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I was shown many things in vision. Elders B——-t and B——-s were presented to me as doing great injury to the cause of God. While professing sanctification they were transgressing the sacred law. They were corrupt at heart and all those in unison with them were under a Satanic delusion and obeying their own carnal instincts instead of the Word of God. These two men exerted a marked and peculiar power over the people, holding their attention and winning their confidence through a baneful mesmeric influence that many who were innocent and unsuspecting attributed to the Spirit of the Lord. Those who followed their teachings were terribly deceived and led into the grossest errors.
21 I was shown that the daily lives of these men were in direct contrast with their profession. Under the garb of sanctification they were practicing the worst sins and deceiving God’s people. Their iniquity was all laid open before me, and I saw the fearful account that stood against them in the great book of records, and their terrible guilt in professing utter holiness, while their daily acts were hateful in the sight of God. Some time after this, the characters of these persons were developed before the people and the vision given in reference to them was fully vindicated.
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Page 23
1 In the life and ministry of Christ he said and did very many things which provoked the self-righteous Jews, and excited their jealousy and hatred. The Jews professed to be more favored of God than any other people upon the earth, and they felt insulted and abused by the pointed, cutting truths uttered by Jesus.
2 At the feast of the Passover Jesus appeared as a stranger, clad in the humble garments of a Galilean peasant, with no outward badge of authority. His eye took in the scene of the desecrated temple. The lowing of the oxen, the bleating of the sheep, the cooing of the doves, the jingling of the money, the sharp and angry contentions over the merchandise and in the traffic, drowned the voice of prayer in the temple. He looked upon them and, with indignant sorrow, he poured out the money of the changers; he overthrew the tables, and with a whip of small cords, drove the cattle and people out of the court. With majestic authority he commands, “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise.” It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
3 This language was close and cutting indeed. It was not addressed to the rabble, but to the chief priests, to the teachers of the people, who were defiling the sacred temple for the sake of gain. Indignation was seen in the searching eye and in the stern look of Jesus. His divine power was felt by the guilty, selfish, avaricious masters in Israel, and they fled from before him as the guilty, condemned sinner will flee when, in his terrible, kingly majesty, Jesus will stand as Judge of the world, and proclaim, “Depart, ye workers of iniquity.” Many will plead, We have done this and that good work; we have eaten and drank in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But again the terrible sentence is uttered, Depart; I know you not. You have no connection with me, You are workers of iniquity.
4 Christ, at Jacob’s well, laid open the sinful life and character of the woman of Samaria. “Unnecessary, uncourteous,” say many. Jesus knew that this was the only way to reach the case. But how many would complain of such a way of saving souls. When the nobleman came to him asking him to heal his son, he met him with a reproof for their unbelief. “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” Thus was his eager entreaty met. He was not only greatly disappointed, but chagrined. With some impatience, and with a dread that the least delay would result in the death of his son, he said, “Sir, come down ere my child die.” Jesus at last graciously granted his request. But how many in these days would have allowed the feelings of their own natural heart to overbear their judgment, and become impatient and unreconciled to Jesus’ manner of working? They would have said, “Why pain and seemingly disappoint the father, when he might have healed his son at once with his word.” Christ did not feel called upon to explain his motives and purposes to man. He designed that the repulse should expand the feeble faith of the parent, and it had this effect. There were Pharisees and chief priests, elders and scribes, to stand at the out-look and watch with jealousy and envy all that Christ might do, and to question it because it did not come to their prescribed rules.
5 If our Saviour was thus treated, can his co-laborers who go forth bearing the messages which he gives them expect to be treated better than was their Master? How many blessings Jesus bestowed on the world. How many discouraged, desponding and distressed ones he relieved. His work was to bless and save. He covered his glory with humanity, bringing from Heaven the very best gifts which could be given to man; spoke peace, gave messages of light and hope. But all these gifts were considered as matters of course; the gift was received but the Giver forgotten. They walked in the light with no thought of gratitude to him from whom its beams proceeded. When the chastisement came in reproof, in warning, or by affliction, to save from apostasy and ruin, then there was a turning upon Jesus with a defiant, stubborn, impenitent resistance which was fearful. And why, says the proud, perverse spirit, must I be crushed by rebuke? Why must I be humiliated? They forget all the light, all the favors previously given, and feel that they are abused because God takes with them the only course which will bring them to a knowledge of themselves, that they may find peace in him through submission, penitence for sin, and confiding trust in God. For this reason God sends to the church the greatest blessing he can give them in a knowledge of themselves. Satan is alluring them to sin that they may be lost; God gives a clear presentation of their sins that they may repent and be saved. The greatest danger of the world is, that sin does not appear sinful. This is the greatest evil existing in the church; sin is glossed over with self-complacency. Blessed indeed are they who possess a sensitive conscience; who can weep and mourn over their spiritual poverty and wanderings from God; who are poor in spirit and can receive the reproof God sends them; and who, with confessions and brokenness of heart, will take their places, all penitent, in humiliation at the cross of Christ. God knows it is good for men to tread a hard and humble path, to encounter difficulties, to experience disappointments, and to suffer affliction. Faith strengthens by coming in conflict with doubt, and resisting unbelief through the strength of Jesus.
6 They who despise reproof will be left to their own devices.
E. G. W.
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Page 24
1 The two great principles of the law of God are supreme love to God and unselfish love to our neighbor. The first four commandments, and the last six, hang upon, or grow out of, these two principles. Christ explained to the lawyer who was his neighbor, in the illustration of the man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves who robbed him, and beat him, and left him half dead. The priest and the Levite saw this man suffering, but their hearts did not respond to his wants. They avoided him by passing by on the other side. The Samaritan came that way, and when he saw the stranger’s need of help, he did not question whether he was of their country, or of their creed, or a relative; but he went to work to help the sufferer because there was work which needed to be done. He relieved him as best he could, put him upon his own beast and carried him to an inn, and made provision for his wants at the expense of his own purse. The Samaritan, said Christ, was neighbor to him who fell among thieves. The Levite and the priest represent a class who manifest an indifference to the very ones who need their sympathy and help. The Samaritan represents a class who are true helpers with Christ, and are imitating his example in doing good. This class Christ represents as commandment keepers, who shall have eternal life.
2 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
3 Here is genuine religion defined. The same consideration that should be given to the widow and fatherless, God requires to be given to the blind and those suffering under the affliction of physical infirmities. Disinterested benevolence is very rare in this age of the world.
4 Special instructions were given to the children of Israel in reference to these things:—”Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him; the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shall fear thy God; I am the Lord. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor; nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.” “Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor’s landmark; and all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way; and all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow; and all the people shall say, Amen.”
5 Professed Christians often disregard the plain, positive teachings of the word of God, and feel no compunctions of conscience. In order to save such, God frequently brings them under the rod of affliction, and places them in similar positions to those who were in need of their help and sympathy, but who did not receive it at their hands.
6 Jesus said in giving to his hearers an illustration of this subject:—
7 “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.”
8 Here Christ identifies himself with suffering humanity, and plainly impresses upon us all, in his sermon, that indifference or injustice done to the least of his saints is done to him. Here is the Lord’s side, and whoever will be on the Lord’s side, let him come over with us. In the heavenly records Christ preserves, as done to himself, all acts of mercy and benevolence done for the unfortunate, the lame, the blind, the sick and the needy. On the other hand, a record will be written in the book against those who manifest the indifference of the priest and Levite for the unfortunate, and those who take any advantage of the misfortunes of others and increase their affliction in order to selfishly advantage themselves. God will surely repay every act of injustice, and every manifestation of careless indifference and neglect of the afflicted. Every one will finally be rewarded as his works have been.
E. G. W.
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Page 25
1 Dear Brethren and Sisters in Christ: We are living in a most solemn time. Important responsibilities are resting upon us. New fields are being opened for our labor, and the Macedonian cry is coming from every direction: “Come over and help us.” Some beg for even a day of labor with them, if they can have no more. Angels of God are preparing ears to hear, and hearts to receive the message of warning. Honest souls are living in our very midst who have never yet heard the reasons of our faith. People are perishing for want of knowledge. Not one-hundredth part is being done that might be done to give the third angel’s message to the world. There are those who will be responsible for these souls who have never heard the truth. Many excuse themselves with trivial reasons, for not engaging in the work they might do if they were consecrated to God. They have wrapped their talents in a napkin and buried them in the ground, where they cannot increase.
2 Young men have lost years of experience wherein they might have been growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. But love of self and love of the world has engrossed their minds to the exclusion of eternal interests. God would have accepted them as laborers years ago, if they had been willing to give themselves unreservedly to his work. Now, when there are doors open everywhere for the entrance of the truth, there are but a few who have sufficient courage and experience to carry it forward in the name of Jesus.
3 The very ones who should be valuable workmen have wasted these precious years in selfishly following their own inclinations. They have turned a deaf ear when the Master called them to lift unpleasant burdens, to perform disagreeable duties. Many have little care for the souls for whom Christ died. The Majesty of Heaven submitted to the most cruel humiliation that he might lift degraded man to a state of purity and eternal joy.
4 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” In the death of Christ we see the greatness of God’s love for his sinful children. He sacrificed his dear Son to save them from eternal ruin. All Heaven is interested in the salvation of souls. We should be willing and ready to make all sacrifices in order to win souls to Jesus. This would evidence that we are co-laborers with him, that we are faithfully bearing the cross. To shun the solemn responsibilities of our time and position is to weaken the moral powers and enfeeble the spiritual muscle.
5 The divine command given to Moses found him self-distrustful, slow of speech, and timid. He was overwhelmed by a sense of his incapacity to be a mouth-piece for God to Israel. But he accepted the work, putting all his trust in the Lord. The greatness of his mission called into exercise the best powers of his mind. God blessed his ready obedience, and he became eloquent, hopeful, self-possessed, and well-fitted for the greatest work ever given to man. This is an example of what God does to strengthen the characters of those who trust him implicitly, and give themselves unreservedly to his commands.
6 The work of saving souls is sacred and all-important. The humble, efficient worker, who obediently responds to the call of God in this direction, may be sure of receiving divine assistance. To feel so great and holy a responsibility is of itself elevating to the human character. It calls into action the highest mental qualities, and their continued exercise strengthens and purifies mind and heart. The influence upon one’s own life, as well as upon the lives of others, is incalculable.
7 He who is called of God to so sacred a work should bend all his energies to its accomplishment. Every other consideration should become secondary to this great object. He should feel the solemn obligations resting upon him, one whom God has honored by choosing to unite him with the angels in the work of ministering to souls and enlightening them with the divine truth.
8 It is wonderful how strong a weak man may become through faith in the power of God, how decided his efforts, how prolific of great results. And the timid woman, shrinking and self-distrustful, is transformed to a courageous missionary, valiantly wielding the sword of truth. The hesitating and irresolute, through exercising his abilities in the cause of God, becomes firm and decided. Taking in the great fact that he is called by the Redeemer of the world to work with him for the salvation of man, he dedicates his life to the work. His nature becomes exalted; the mission of Christ opens before him with new importance and glory, and with deep humility he recognizes in himself a co-laborer with the Saviour. No higher office is given to man. No joy can equal the assurance of being an instrument in the hands of God of saving souls. It is a grand thing to look back upon a course of labor all marked with glorious results; to see precious souls progressing in the light through your efforts; to feel that God has worked with and through you in the harvest-field of the world.
9 Careless spectators may not appreciate your work, or see its importance. They may consider it a losing business, a life of thankless labor and self-sacrifice. But the servant of Jesus Christ sees in it the light reflected from the cross. His sacrifices appear small in comparison with those of his blessed Master, and he is glad to follow in his footsteps. The success of his labor affords him the purest joy, and is the richest recompense for a life of patient toil.
10 In reviewing the past, the trials and difficulties that have beset him are not magnified in his mind. The consciousness of duty performed amply compensates for all his sufferings, and the glory of his coming reward clothes the future with the light of Heaven. Glancing over the well-fought field of life, he says with Paul, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
11 But he who accepts the responsibility of teaching the word of God, must expect stern, self-denying work. Some who are only superficially acquainted with the doctrines of our faith, venture indiscreetly before the public in large towns, and, from their ignorance and indiscretion, bring discredit upon the cause.
12 These young men who so rashly undertake to stand as ministers of God, fail because they lack thoroughness. They acquaint themselves with the reasons of our faith, and gather up the arguments ready-made from the lips or pens of others. They do not carefully study the word of God, and establish themselves firmly on the principles, of Bible truth, line upon line, and precept upon precept. With such a preparation they can boldly meet the opposition of the world. Our ministers are in danger of using only the facts sought out by others, and going no further. They do not themselves dig for truth as for hidden treasures, but become careless and easily satisfied with the researches of others. They need a deep religious experience and knowledge gained for themselves in order to be successful in the important work of the ministry.
13 Many fail to see the necessity of earnest effort and close connection with Jesus Christ. They do not feel their utter helplessness without the aid of God, and they do not teach the truth with the Spirit and power, because they have it not in their hearts. It requires agonizing prayer to bring our souls into harmony with Christ. The history of our Saviour’s conflict in the wilderness of temptation, his life of self-sacrificing love, his soul-agony in the lonely garden of Gethsemane, the cruelty of the judgment hall, and the agony upon the cross, all combine to teach us a lesson of self-sacrifice, of patience under affliction, of solemn consecration to God, and of fitting preparation for his holy work.
14 Laborers for God, be not discouraged; when weary and heavy-laden, fly to Christ who has promised you rest. He is the Burden-bearer, he is your strength. Never allow yourself to imagine that you are in yourself sufficient for the exigency of the times; never consider yourself a graduated Christian. Your work is to discipline the mind, to store up knowledge, to perfect character while life lasts. Only thus can you be able to wage successfully the great warfare of life.
15 Keep the spirit humble as that of a little child. Pride, envy, worldly ambition, cupidity and love of ease must be sacrificed upon the altar of duty. In the simplicity of love, be like those little ones whose angels do always behold the face of our Heavenly Father. But unite with these virtues the courage of a tried warrior. We want faithful Calebs who will raise their voices fearlessly in defense of the right, who are the first to press into the front of the battle and plant the banner of truth in the heart of the enemy’s camp.
16 Jesus calls for young men who will volunteer to carry the truth to the world. Men of spiritual nerve and muscle are wanted, who are able to find work close at hand, because they are looking for it. The church needs new men to give new energy to the ranks, men for the times, and able to cope with its crying errors, who will inspire with fresh zeal the flagging efforts of the few, whose hearts are warm with Christian love, and whose hands are eager to go about their Father’s work.
17 The unsearchable riches of Christ are to be presented to the world in contrast with the poverty of sin, and the delusive pleasures of the world. Only a heart, brimming with the love of God, only a mind active by constant study of eternal interests, can properly set forth the beauties of the truth of God.
18 Those who unreservedly give themselves to this work, who faithfully reflect the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, fulfilling their mission with fidelity and love, will be recompensed on earth by the sweet consciousness of duty performed, and, in the bright Hereafter, when the saints come into their inheritance, then the devoted minister of Christ will be welcomed into the joy of his Lord, hearing from the Master’s lips: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
E. G. White.
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Page 26
1 What a scene is before me! It is estimated that twenty thousand people are assembled in this grove. The third train, of fifteen cars, has just arrived. Every seat was filled and every foot of standing room, also the platform and the steps. A sea of human heads is already before me, and still the cars are to come. This is to me the most solemn sight I ever beheld. Hundreds in carriages are driving away because they cannot get within sound of the speaker’s voice.
2 There is one very interesting case at this meeting. It is that of a blind sister who embraced the truth at the camp-meeting last year. After she embraced the Sabbath she had a very earnest desire to read the Bible that is prepared for the blind. But she was about forty years old, and her fingers were not sufficiently sensitive to discern the raised letters. Sister Haskell was her teacher, and these two would sit for hours so engaged in the work that time passed unheeded. But still the difficulty existed. Her fingers were too much calloused to trace the delicate lines of the letters, and she wept bitterly in her disappointment. She carried her troubles to the Lord in prayer, and was comforted and encouraged to persevere in her efforts. Shortly after she suffered a long sickness and during that illness her fingers became so sensitive that she could read successfully. Her joy was beyond expression. With countenance beaming with hope and joy she exalted the truth of the Bible. She prized the precious words of inspiration, and recommended its study to all especially to the young.
3 I could not but think of those who are blessed with good eyesight and can search the Scriptures for themselves. What an account such will have to give for their neglect of the words of reproof, warning, instruction and encouragement given in the written word.
4 There is another sister here, who has recently been converted to our truth. She lives in Boston, but said she could not consent to be baptized in a pool, choosing rather the flowing river. Having seen the appointment of the camp-meeting, she had come alone to attend. She enjoyed the meetings Sabbath very much, but was obliged, on account of the sickness of her husband, to return home Sunday evening, but came on the ground again Monday to receive baptism with the others. This seemed much like sheep hunting for a shepherd.
5 Many other testimonies were borne of the deepest interest. One sister from the State of Maine who was visiting her niece at Summersville stated that as she was about to return home her niece plead with her to remain longer. She did so, and as the result she had to report that her niece was rejoicing with her in the truth.
6 If the visits we make our friends are productive of the salvation of souls, we must not be indifferent and silent upon religious subjects, but we should let the precious light God has given us shine forth to others. If the truth is in the heart sanctifying the life, it must be reflected upon those with whom we are brought in contact. The lives of genuine Christians should be living epistles known and read of all men.
7 The events of this meeting have given me very solemn reflections. The people seem to have an awakening interest to hear for themselves. Angels of God are moving upon hearts. God, in his providence, is opening the way for the message of warning to be given to those who are in darkness. Many who are not of our faith have come on the ground to remain through the entire meeting.
8 From the very commencement the brethren have manifested a personal interest, as though the success of the meeting depended upon their course of action. This is as it should be. They have not left all the work for the ministers, but have generally done their work promptly and given their spirited testimonies, thereby adding greatly to the interest of the meeting. Such a willingness on the part of the people to come up to the work is a great encouragement to the servants of God.
E. G. White.
Groveland, Mass.
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Page 27
1 Peru, Ind., September 14, 1876.—The camp-meeting in this place has been one of the best we have attended this season. There was quite a good representation of our brethren, although we learned that many were detained at home because of sickness. The meeting had been in progress two days when we came upon the ground. Sabbath morning the prayer and conference meetings were very interesting. Sabbath forenoon my husband spoke with freedom upon the subject of faith. Luke 12th chapter.
2 In the afternoon I spoke to the people upon the barren fig-tree. It stood forth among the leafless trees with its apparently flourishing branches far in advance of all other trees. Christ sought for fruit upon this tree from the topmost bough to the lowest branches, but finding nothing but leaves, he passed an irrevocable sentence of doom upon it.
3 Christ invests the fig-tree with moral qualities, and makes it the expositor of divine truth that he may teach a lesson to his disciples, and not only to them but to all who should believe on the Word. Many, like the portentous fig-tree, make high profession of godliness, but bear no fruit to the glory of God. They have not responded to the sacred influences which God has given them. Opportunities have been unimproved, blessings have been unappreciated, warnings and reproofs have been rejected. The fostering love and care of the Redeemer has been unrequited, and like the barren fig-tree they stand forth fruitless, having nothing but leaves.
4 The word seemed to reach hearts. I then invited those who had never identified themselves with the people of God, and backsliders, and those who felt that they must have a new conversion, to come forward. Seventy-five responded to the call. My husband spoke with great freedom and power to the people, and addressed those who came forward particularly in regard to their having faith in the promises of God. He dwelt upon the simplicity of faith. Opportunity was given for all who wished to speak to relieve their minds. Many testimonies of confession were borne, well wet down with tears. A number stated that this was the first Sabbath they had kept. Others said they were making a start to serve God and had come forward for the first time. Very deep feeling pervaded the meeting. My husband led in prayer, and his faith fastened upon the throne of God. Heaven seemed to be very near. Praying and weeping was mingled, and earnest, agonizing prayer went forth from unfeigned lips. The solemn power of God rested upon the company bowed in humiliation before him. I thought of the day of Pentecost, when the power of God came upon the worshipers like a mighty, rushing wind. I have not witnessed such an exhibition of the manifest power of God for years. There was no wild fanaticism, but a sweet, soft, subduing spirit, bringing the entire company in harmony with Heaven. There were no wild, unintelligible shrieks, but the praise of God was upon almost every lip.
5 Testimonies were universally borne that they never had realized the blessing of God as upon this occasion. And who could doubt it. Their countenances were all aglow with the reflection of the light beams of the Sun of Righteousness. It was sunshine and rain; tears were bedewing the cheeks that were illuminated by the Sun of Peace. The scene will never be effaced from my memory. The setting sun in his mellow radiance reflected through the opening of the trees directly in the center of the congregation, sifting its gleam of glorifying light upon the happy company who were assembled. The light of the setting sun mingling with the light borrowed of Heaven made this a hallowed spot, a little Heaven below.
6 We assembled at the stand at half-past two in the afternoon and remained there until half-past six. All felt reluctant to leave the place made so sacred by the presence of God.
7 Eld. Canright spoke in the evening upon the Sleep of the Dead. He spoke with great clearness and perfect freedom. Sunday morning he again spoke upon the Sabbath question, and many testified that they never heard the subject presented with such clearness. At half-past one my husband took the stand, speaking with freedom upon the reasons of our faith and hope. The gathering was large for the place, and the audience seemed charmed by the new and startling facts of truth brought before them. Men of repute from Peru who listened to the two discourses stated that an overwhelming array of argument had been presented in favor of the Sabbath which had knocked the last prop for the sacred observance of Sunday from beneath them.
8 At half-past two I spoke upon the subject of Temperance, taking for my text Revelation 3:21: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
9 The congregation listened with solemn interest as I dwelt upon the neglected duties of mothers in educating and training their children for the better life, and the necessity of fathers acting their part in teaching the children. Many fathers excuse themselves by saying that they have no time to devote to their children. But the time squandered daily in smoking might be made of highest value to their children in giving them important lessons and in becoming acquainted with them. Tobacco and liquor lie at the foundation of a large share of the crime and violence that is polluting our world. I pointed them to Jesus, their Redeemer, who commenced the work of redemption where the ruin began on the part of appetite.
10 After the meeting closed, Bro. Weber, a man of good repute in the city of Rochester, who attended our camp-meeting in Kokomo two years since, related his interesting experience, dating from that meeting. He stated that he had used tobacco for forty years, commencing its use when a child. His father and mother used it, and he thought it would cost him his life to give it up. But when I was speaking upon the evils of the indulgence of appetite for tobacco, strong convictions of the sinfulness of this indulgence forced themselves upon him, and he threw his tobacco from him with the determination never to taste or handle it again. He experienced a severe struggle, but through the strength of Jesus overcame the appetite so that it is now very offensive to him. This brother feels deeply grateful to God that he can stand forth, in the strength of his God-given manhood, free from the slavery of appetite.
E. G. White.
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Page 28
1 This is the largest gathering of Sabbath-keepers we have yet seen. Although there has been a great amount of business to be done, it has been accomplished with efficiency and dispatch, no disagreeable hindrances occurring to block the wheels. Very many excellent discourses have been given, presenting to the people the truths so important for this time.
2 On Thursday, after speaking from the third and fourth chapters of Malachi, we invited those who had made no profession and those who were backslidden and had lost their evidences of God’s love for them, to come forward and seek the Lord by confession and repentance. About three hundred accepted the invitation. Opportunity was given them to express their feelings and desires. Many testimonies of confession were made with deep feeling. Fathers and mothers owned to a neglect of duty towards their children in not giving them the care and instruction which it was their duty to give. It touched my heart to hear the many testimonies from the lips of those who were babes in the truth. Some had kept but a single Sabbath, while others had observed two, four, or six. They were rejoicing in the truth, but were not satisfied with their present attainments, and expressed a determination to reach a higher standard.
3 My mother heart was stirred to see the children pressing in their testimonies, many lifting the cross for the first time. One of these was a boy ten years of age, and I have never seen persons of mature age manifest deeper soul-conflict than this tender child. His face was deadly pale, and indicated the deepest feeling; he had never before spoken on such an occasion, and could say but a few words; he wanted to be a Christian and to be saved in Heaven.
4 With what pleasure must the angels of God regard the efforts put forth, and the victories gained by these little ones over natural pride and timidity. With what tender care will they guard these lambs of the flock.
5 It was a solemn sight to see hundreds seeking the Lord with earnest determination. These people were not moving fitfully, but calmly and understandingly. There was a total absence of fanaticism and excitement; no shrieks, and nervous, spasmodic movements. But the Spirit of the Lord rested upon the people, and solemn, earnest prayer was offered to God in behalf of those who were seeking him.
6 After the meeting closed, a sister took me heartily by the hand, expressing great joy at meeting sister White again. She inquired if I remembered calling at a log house in the woods twenty-two years before. She gave us refreshments, and I left with them a little book, “Experience and Views.” She stated that she had lent that little book to her neighbors, as new families had settled around her, until there was very little left of it; and she expressed a great desire to obtain another copy of the work. Her neighbors were deeply interested in it, and were desirous of seeing the writer. She said that when I called upon her I talked to her of Jesus and the beauties of Heaven, and that the words were spoken with such fervor that she was charmed, and had never forgotten them. Since that time the Lord had sent ministers to preach the truth to them, and now there was quite a company observing the Sabbath. The influence of that little book, now worn out with perusing, had extended from one to another, performing its silent work, until the soil was ready for the seeds of truth.
7 I well remember the long journey we took twenty-two years ago, in Michigan. We were on our way to hold a meeting in Vergennes. We were fifteen miles from our destination. Our driver had passed over the road repeatedly and was well acquainted with it, but was compelled to acknowledge that he had lost the way. We traveled forty miles that day, through the woods, over logs and fallen trees, where there was scarcely a trace of road. I was feeble, and fainted twice on the way. We had no food. The brother who drove the team, tried to find some water; but there was none fit for use. He made efforts to obtain a little milk from the cows we met on the road; but they were too wild to be approached by a stranger.
8 As I was fainting with thirst, I thought of travelers perishing in the desert. Cool streams of water seemed to lie directly before me; but as we passed on they proved to be only an illusion. A goblet of water seemed just within my grasp. I eagerly reached out my hand to take it, but it was gone. My husband prayed for me that I might be sustained on that dreary journey. We could not understand why we should be left to this singular wandering in the wilderness.
9 We were never more pleased than when we came in sight of a little clearing on which was a log cabin, where we found the sister I have mentioned. She kindly welcomed us to her home, and provided us with refreshments, which were gratefully received. As we rested, I talked with the family and left them the little book. She gladly accepted it, and has preserved it until the present time.
10 For twenty-two years our wanderings on this journey have seemed indeed mysterious to us, but here we met quite a company who are now believers in the truth, and who date their first experience from the influence of that little book. The sister who so kindly administered to our wants is now, with many of her neighbors, rejoicing in the light of present truth and the family have worked their way from poverty to a competency in temporal things. We were sorry to be compelled to refuse the earnest entreaties of the sister and her friends to visit them and speak to the people.
11 We were interested in meeting quite a number of persons who had been converted to the truth by visiting the Health Institute as patients. The institute affords a wide field for missionary labor which we fear few appreciate. True, earnest, faithful workers in this branch of the cause will achieve great results.
12 One sister who was upon the ground had been confined to her bed for several years, being unable to have the charge of her family. She had expended much means, suffering many things of many physicians, but was rather made worse than better. The family became embarrassed financially through the necessary expense attending long sickness. At last, she visited the Health Institute, and was greatly benefited. Though she was at first much prejudiced against the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, her connection with our people, a more intimate acquaintance with them, and a more thorough knowledge of their views, resulted in her embracing the truth. She has recovered health, and has been enabled to take the supervision of her family and endure great taxation. The beams of truth which she received have enlightened her mind and quickened her understanding, until she can say with the psalmist, “Oh, how love I thy law.” The light which she and her husband have received, they let shine forth to others. The benefit she received from treatment at the Health Institute has induced many others to visit that institution, of whom quite a number have been led to embrace the truth through the influences which were thrown around them there.
13 Thus the work moves on. Numerous instances similar to this might be mentioned. The Judgment alone will reveal the great good accomplished by this branch of the work. It may be a powerful agent in the hands of God to bring many souls to the knowledge of the truth, if the workers connected with the institution are consecrated to God.
14 From the first, the conference meetings were good. There was a readiness to engage in devotional exercises, and the testimonies were characterized by fervor and an earnest determination to progress in the work of overcoming. Sabbath morning, the people were divided into three companies, each with an appointed leader, and three social meetings were held simultaneously. All were interesting and profitable.
15 Sabbath afternoon, we spoke on the subject of Christ riding into Jerusalem. The word seemed to reach the hearts of the hearers, and after we closed the discourse, we invited those to come forward who felt that they were sinners, and those who felt that their lives were like the pretentious fig-tree, covered with leaves, but destitute of fruit. Four hundred responded to the invitation.
E. G. White.
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1 [ELLEN G. WHITE SERIES FROM THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY, VOLUMES II AND III:
IN THE YEARS 1876, 1877, AND 1878 ELLEN WHITE PREPARED THE CHAPTERS FOR THE TWO BOOKS, THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY, VOLUMES II AND III, DEVOTED TO THE “LIFE, TEACHINGS AND MIRACLES OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST” AND TO THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES. THESE VOLUMES WERE PUBLISHED IN 1877 AND 1878. BEING JUDGED AS MATTER SUITABLE FOR THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, THE MISSIONARY JOURNAL OF THE CHURCH, MOST OF THE CONTENT OF THESE TWO BOOKS APPEARED IN ARTICLES PUBLISHED FROM 1876 TO 1879, IN WHAT AT TIMES APPEARED TO BE RANDOM SELECTION. SOME OF THE CHAPTERS APPEARED IN ARTICLE FORM EVEN BEFORE THEIR BOOK PUBLICATION.
THE PUBLICATION OF THESE MATERIALS BEGAN WITH THE ISSUE OF NOVEMBER 30, 1876, WITH AN ARTICLE ENTITLED “THE SABBATH,” WHICH WOULD LATER APPEAR AS CHAPTER 15 IN THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY, VOLUME II. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THE AUTHOR AS SHE DID HER WRITING HAD IN MIND THE DUAL PUBLICATION, AND CHOSE PHRASEOLOGY WITH THE NON-ADVENTIST READERS IN MIND.
THESE ARTICLES ARE ALL LISTED IN THE TABLES OF CONTENTS OF THE RESPECTIVE SIGNS VOLUMES IN WHICH THEY APPEAR, BUT TO AVOID DUPLICATION OF MATTER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE, AND TO SAVE SPACE IN THESE VOLUMES OF FACSIMILE REPRINTS, THE ARTICLES ARE NOT HERE REPRODUCED. THE WORDING IS IDENTICAL WITH THE BOOK PRINTINGS, EITHER THE ORIGINAL OR IN THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FACSIMILE REPRINTS.—WHITE TRUSTEES.]
Nothing so distinguished the Jews from surrounding nations, and designated them as true worshipers of the Creator, as the institution of the Sabbath. Its observance was a continual visible token of their connection with God, and separation from other people. All ordinary labor for a livelihood or for worldly profit was forbidden upon the seventh day. According to the fourth commandment the Sabbath was dedicated to rest and religious worship. All secular employment was to be suspended; but works of mercy and benevolence were in accordance with the purpose of the Lord. They were not to be limited by time nor place. To relieve the afflicted, and comfort the sorrowing is a labor of love that does honor to God’s holy day.
2 The work of the priests in connection with the sacrificial offerings was increased upon the Sabbath, yet in their holy work in the service of God they did not violate the fourth commandment of the decalogue. As Israel separated from God, the true object of the Sabbath institution became less distinct in their minds. They grew careless of its observance, and unmindful of its ordinances. The prophets testified to them of God’s displeasure in the violation of his Sabbath. Nehemiah says: “In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.”
3 And Jeremiah commands them: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.”
4 But they heeded not the admonitions of the inspired prophets, and departed more and more from the religion of their fathers. At length calamities, persecution, and bondage came upon them in consequence of their disregard of God’s requirements.
5 Alarmed at these visitations of divine punishment, they returned to the strict observance of all the outward forms enjoined by the sacred law. Not satisfied with this, they made burdensome additions to those ceremonies. Their pride and bigotry led them to the narrowest interpretation of the requirements of God. As time passed they gradually hedged themselves in with the traditions and customs of their ancestors, till they regarded them with all the sanctity of the original law. This confidence in themselves and their own regulations, with its attendant prejudice against all other nations, caused them to resist the Spirit of God, and separated them still farther from his favor.
6 Their exactions and restrictions were so wearisome that Jesus declared: “They bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders.” Their false standard of duty, their superficial tests of piety and godliness, obscured the real and positive requirements of God. Heart service was neglected in the rigid performance of outward ceremonies. The Jews had so perverted the divine commandments, by heaping tradition upon tradition, that, in the days of Christ, they were ready to accuse him of breaking the Sabbath, because of his acts of mercy upon that day.
7 The grain was ready for the sickle when Jesus and his disciples passed through the corn fields on the Sabbath. The disciples were hungry, for their Master had extended his work of teaching and healing to a late hour, and they had been without food for a long time. They accordingly began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat, rubbing them in their hands, in accordance with the law of Moses, which provides that: “When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor’s standing corn.”
8 But spies were continually upon the track of Jesus, watching for some occasion to accuse and condemn him. When they saw this act of the disciples, they immediately complained to him, saying, “Behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day.” In this they expressed their own narrow views of the law. But Jesus defended his followers thus: “Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was a hungered, he, and they that were with him? how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.”
9 If excessive hunger excused David for violating even the holiness of the sanctuary, and made his act guiltless, how much more excusable was the simple act of the disciples in plucking the grain and eating it upon the Sabbath day. Jesus would teach his disciples and his enemies that the service of God was first of all; and, if fatigue and hunger attended the work, it was right to satisfy the wants of humanity, even upon the Sabbath day. That holy institution was not given to interfere with the needs of our being, bringing pain and discomfort, instead of blessing. “The Sabbath was made for man,” to give him rest and peace, and remind him of the work of his Creator, not to be a grievous burden.
10 The work done in the temple upon the Sabbath was in harmony with the law; yet the same labor, if employed in ordinary business, would be a violation of it. The act of plucking and eating the grain to sustain the bodily strength, to be used in the service of God, was right and lawful. Jesus then crowned his argument by declaring himself the “Lord of the Sabbath,”—One above all question and above all law. This Infinite Judge acquits the disciples from blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating.
11 But Jesus did not let the matter drop without administering a rebuke to his enemies. He declared that in their blindness they had mistaken the object of the Sabbath. Said he: “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.” He then contrasted their many heartless rites with the truthful integrity, and tender love that should characterize the true worshipers of God: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against me.”
12 Jesus was reared among this people, so marked with bigotry and prejudice; and he therefore knew that in healing upon the Sabbath day, he would be regarded as a transgressor of the law. He was aware that the Pharisees would seize upon such acts with great indignation, and thereby seek to influence the people against him. He knew that they would use these works of mercy as strong arguments to affect the minds of the masses, who had all their lives been bound by the Jewish restrictions and exactions. Nevertheless he was not prevented by this knowledge from breaking down the senseless wall of superstition that barricaded the Sabbath, and teaching men that charity and benevolence were lawful upon all days.
13 He entered the synagogue, and saw there a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees watched him, eager to see what he would do with regard to this case—whether or not he would heal the man upon the Sabbath day. Their sole object was to find cause for accusation against him. Jesus looked upon the man with the withered hand, and commanded him to stand forth. He then asked, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out; and his hand was restored whole as the other.”
14 He justified this work of healing the paralytic, as in perfect keeping with the principles of the fourth commandment. But they questioned him: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?” Jesus made them the clear and forcible answer, “What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.”
15 The spies upon our Saviour’s words dared not, in the presence of the multitude, answer this question for fear of involving themselves in difficulties. They knew that while they would leave men to suffer and die rather than to violate their traditions by relieving them upon the Lord’s day, a brute which had fallen into danger would be at once relieved, because of the loss that would accrue to the owner if he was neglected. Thus the dumb animal was exalted above man, made in the image of God.
16 Jesus wished to correct the false teachings of the Jews in regard to the Sabbath and also to impress his disciples with the fact that deeds of mercy were lawful on that day. In the matter of healing the withered hand he broke down the custom of the Jews, and left the fourth commandment standing as God had given it to the world. By this act he exalted the Sabbath, sweeping away the senseless restrictions that encumbered it. His act of mercy did honor to the day, while those who complained of him, were, by their many useless rites and ceremonies, themselves dishonoring the Sabbath.
17 There are ministers today who teach that the Son of God broke the Sabbath and justified his disciples in doing the same. They take the same ground as did the caviling Jews, although ostensibly for another purpose, since they hold that Christ abolished the Sabbath.
18 Jesus in turning upon the Pharisees with the question whether it was lawful to do good upon the Sabbath day or evil, to save life or to kill, confronted them with their own wicked purposes. They were following upon his track to find occasion for falsely accusing him; they were hunting his life with bitter hatred and malice, while he was saving life and bringing happiness to many hearts. Was it better to slay upon the Sabbath, as they were planning to do, than to heal the afflicted as he had done? Was it more righteous to have murder in the heart upon God’s holy day, than love to all men which finds expression in deeds of charity and mercy? E. G. White.
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1 Many are ever restless and disappointed, seeking for some greater work than that which now occupies them. Some mothers long to engage in missionary labor, while they neglect the simplest duties lying directly in their path. The children are neglected, the home is not made cheerful and happy for the family, scolding and complaining are of frequent occurrence, and the young people grow up feeling that home is the most uninviting of all places. As a consequence, they impatiently look forward to the time when they shall leave it, and it is with little reluctance that they launch out into the great world, unrestrained by home influence, and the tender counsel of the hearth-stone.
2 The parents, whose aim should have been to bind these young hearts to themselves, and guide them aright, squander their God-given opportunities, are blind to the most important duties of their lives, and vainly aspire to work in the broad missionary field.
3 As I have marked these unhappy, restless spirits, and deplored their power to shadow the lives of others, the thought would arise: What a fearful deception is upon them! How terrible a mistake they are making!
4 Some of this class pronounce the faithful Christian mother worldly, as they mark how attentive she is to the wants of her husband and children, how zealous in performing the sweet home duties. They sigh because of her lack of spirituality, thinking the labor wasted that goes to make home a place of comfort and happy rest. Their minds fail to understand how the performance of these humble tasks can satisfy the heart.
5 Jesus made the lowly paths of human life sacred by his example. For thirty years he was an inhabitant of Nazareth. His life was one of diligent industry. He, the Majesty of Heaven, walked the streets, clad in the simple garb of a common laborer. He toiled up and down the mountain steeps, going to and from his humble work. Angels were not sent to bear him on their pinions up the tiresome ascent, or to lend their strength in performing his lowly task. Yet when he went forth to contribute to the support of the family by his daily toil, he possessed the same power as when he wrought the miracle of feeding the five thousand hungry souls on the shore of Galilee.
6 But he did not employ his divine power to lessen his burdens or lighten his toil. He had taken upon himself the form of humanity with all its attendant ills, and he flinched not from its severest trials. He lived in a peasant’s home, he was clothed in coarse garments, he mingled with the lowly, he toiled daily with patient hands. His example shows us that it is man’s duty to be industrious, that labor is honorable.
7 His life, written upon the pages of history, should encourage the poor and the lowly to perform contentedly the humble duties of their lot. Honorable work has received the sanction of Heaven, and men and women may hold the closest connection with God, yet occupy the humblest position in life. Jesus was as faithfully fulfilling his mission when hiding his divinity with the humble occupation of a carpenter, as when employed in healing the sick, or walking upon the white-capped billows to the aid of his terrified disciples. Christ dignified the humble employments of life, by occupying a menial condition, that he might be able to reach the mass of mankind and exalt the race to become fit inmates for the paradise of God.
8 For a long time, Jesus dwelt at Nazareth, unhonored and unknown, that he might teach men how to live near God while discharging the humble duties of life. It was a mystery to angels that Christ, the Majesty of Heaven, should condescend, not only to take upon himself humanity, but to assume its heaviest burdens and most humiliating offices. This he did in order to become like one of us, that he might be acquainted with the toil, the sorrows, and fatigue of the children of men, that he might be better able to sympathize with their distresses and understand their trials.
9 Those who divorce religion from their business are reproved by the example of Jesus. Hidden away among the hills of Nazareth, yet having such claims upon heaven that he could command the entire angel host, he was a simple carpenter, working for wages, and living a godly life in the face of all discouragements.
10 It requires much more grace and stern discipline of character to work for God in the capacity of mechanic, merchant, lawyer, or farmer, carrying the precepts of Christianity into the ordinary business of life, than to labor as an acknowledged missionary in the open field, where one’s position is understood, and half its difficulties obviated by that very fact. It requires strong spiritual nerve and muscle to carry religion into the work-shop and business office, sanctifying the details of every-day life, and ordering every worldly transaction according to the standard of a Bible Christian.
11 Jesus, in his thirty years of seclusion at Nazareth, toiled and rested, ate and slept, from week to week and from year to year, the same as his humble contemporaries. He called no attention to himself as a marked personage, yet he was the world’s Redeemer, the adored of angels, doing, all the time, his Father’s work, living out a lesson that should remain for humanity to copy to the end of time.
12 This essential lesson of contented industry in the necessary duties of life, however humble, is yet to be learned by the greater portion of Christ’s followers. If there is no human eye to criticise our work, nor voice to praise or blame, it should be done just as well as if the Infinite One himself were personally to inspect it. We should be as faithful in the minor details of our business, as we would in the larger affairs of life.
13 God is testing and proving us by our daily lives, watching the development of our characters, weighing our moral worth. Those who slight the spirit of the word of God in their business life, as carpenters, lawyers, and merchants, are unfaithful in matters of eternal interest, since it is the life that indicates the spiritual advancement, and registers upon the Book of God the unchangeable figures of the future. The angels are mournfully inscribing a fearful record of slighted duties and neglected opportunities against many who make exalted professions. Those who are unfaithful in little things, cannot be entrusted with the true riches of the kingdom.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 Many are unhappy in their home life, because they are trying so hard to keep up appearances. They expend largely of means, and labor unremittingly to gain the praise of their associates—those who really care nothing for them or their prosperity. One article after another is considered indispensable to the household appointments, until many expensive additions are made that, while giving a momentary satisfaction to the eye, do not increase the comfort of the family one whit. At the same time, all these things have taxed the strength and patience, and consumed valuable time which might be expended in the service of the Lord.
2 The precious grace of God is made secondary to matters of no real importance, and while collecting material for enjoyment, they lose the capacity for happiness. They find that their possessions fail to give the satisfaction they had hoped to derive from them. This endless round of labor, and unceasing anxiety to embellish the home for visitors and strangers to admire, never pays for the time and means thus expended. It is hanging about the neck a yoke of bondage grievous to be borne.
3 In many households, there are four walls and costly furniture, velvet carpets and plate glass mirrors; and this place is wrongly named Home. That sacred work does not belong to the glittering mansion, where the joys of domestic life are unknown. There are spacious parlors, closed from the sweet sunshine and the life-giving air, for fear those choicest gifts of Heaven might tarnish the furniture and fade the carpets. Sunless and damp, these rooms are unlighted and unheated save when visitors are to be entertained. Then the doors are thrown open, and the treasures, too precious for the use and comfort of the family, are devoted to unsympathizing acquaintances.
4 These rooms are altogether too fine for every-day use, and above all, the children must be strictly excluded from their precincts, for fear of soiling the furniture or curtains. In fact, the children are the last thought of in such a home. They are utterly neglected by the mother, whose whole time is devoted to keeping up appearances. Their minds are untrained, they acquire bad habits, and become restless and dissatisfied. Finding no pleasure in their own homes, but only uncomfortable restrictions, they choose to break away from the household as soon as possible. It does not require expensive furniture and costly tapestry to make children contented and happy in their homes; but it is necessary that the parents give them tender love and careful attention. It is for the parents to take the lead in habits of simplicity, drawing their children from the artificial to the natural life, and binding them to their hearts by the silken cords of affection. Gentle manners, cheerful conversation and loving words, will make home more attractive than any ornaments that can be bought or sold.
5 There are but few true fathers and mothers in this age of the world, and this is on account of the artificial lives we lead more than from any other cause. We should not be so anxious for external appearances, but labor more for practical comfort throughout every room in the house. Less parade in the parlor, and more time devoted to the training of the children, and to the preparation of simple, wholesome food, and to the general economy and comfort of the household, would make happy hearts and pleasant faces in the home. We should live less for the outside world, and more for members of our own family circle. There should be less display of superficial politeness and affectation toward strangers and visitors, and more of the courtesy that springs from genuine love and sympathy toward the dear ones of our own firesides.
6 The very best part of the house, and the most comfortable furniture, should be for the use of the family, for the comfort of those who really live in the house. Such a home would be most attractive to that class of friends who really care for us, whom we could benefit, and by whom we could be benefited. But those guests who are attracted to us by the prospect of sumptuous dinners, and an extravagant luxury of style, are not the ones whose companionship will improve our minds or hearts. We have no moral right to lavish time and bounty upon such visitors, while our precious God-given children are suffering gross neglect.
7 But it is so flattering to the pride of some persons to exhibit a certain style of living for the benefit of occasional guests that they are willing to sacrifice the daily peace and comfort of life for this empty gratification. The gorgeously embellished mansions, costly furniture and carpets, the toil in serving up dishes for epicurean appetites, the extravagant entertainments which swallow up thousands of dollars, and pompous equipages more for show than comfort, bring no peaceful contentment, because they have no connection with the real joys of life.
8 As these extravagances fail to satisfy their possessors, they blindly seek to remedy the failure by adding new luxuries, with greater dissatisfaction, and an increase of care and anxiety as a result. Decorations of dress and of houses do not make happy people; but the lowliest dwelling may be beautified, and the poorest family be made rich, by the possession of meekness, kindness, and love. Pleasant voices, gentle manners, and sincere affection that finds expression in all the actions, make even a hovel the happiest of homes, upon which the Creator looks with approbation, unto which angels are attracted, the inmates of which, though they have not “that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel,” have that which is far better, “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price.”—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 Life is a disappointment and a weariness to many persons because of the unnecessary labor with which they burden themselves in meeting the claims of custom. Their minds are continually harassed with anxiety as to supplying wants which are the offspring of pride and fashion. Jesus, in his sermon on the mount, strikes a direct blow at this engrossing care for the things of this world. He says, “take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” ‘Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” All the efforts of humanity cannot approach the beauty of Nature. The simple flowers of the field put to shame the robes of royalty. And Fashion, with her endless changes and eccentricities, presents the very opposite of that simple loveliness with which the lilies of the field are clothed, and which Jesus declared exceeds the glory with which Solomon was arrayed.
2 The expense, the care, and labor, lavished on that which, if not positively injurious, is unnecessary, would go far toward advancing the cause of God if applied to a worthier object. People crave what are called the luxuries of life, and sacrifice health, strength, and means to obtain them. A lamentable spirit of rivalry is manifested among persons of the same class as to who shall make the greatest display in matters of dress and of household expenditure. The sweet word, Home is perverted to mean something with four walls, filled with elegant furniture and adornments, while its inmates are on a continual strain to meet the requirements of custom in the different departments of life.
3 It is necessary to give due regard to the clothing, to the table, and to the pursuits by which we gain a livelihood; but there is danger of carrying this zeal to an extreme. In the days of Noah they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, buying, selling, and building, till the flood came and destroyed the people who had been so overzealous in the things of this world that they forgot God, and became abominable in his eyes. It was lawful for men to eat and drink, plant and build, marry and give in marriage, in the days of Noah; but the sin was in carrying these lawful things to extremes, to utterly fill their mind with them to the exclusion of all noble thoughts. Depravity, violence, and all manner of sin was the result. The great danger of these days is in devoting too much time to merely temporal matters, and making it the great aim of life to provide for the temporal wants, many of which are perverted and unnatural. In order to gratify a weak and sinful pride, people sacrifice comfort, peace, and the love of God.
4 Happiness is not found in empty show. The more simple the order of a well-regulated household, the happier will that home be. The courtesies of every-day life, and the affection that should exist between members of the same family, do not depend upon outward circumstances. Much of the restless longing and seeking for “that which profiteth not” is due to wrong training in youth. Each child in the family should have a part of the home burden to bear, and should be taught to perform his task faithfully and cheerfully. If the work is portioned out in this way, and the children grow up accustomed to bearing suitable responsibilities, no member of the household will be overburdened, and everything will move off pleasantly and smoothly in the home. A proper economy will be maintained, for each one will be acquainted with, and interested in, the details of the home.
5 In some families there is too much done. Neatness and order are essential to comfort, but these virtues should not be carried to such an extreme as to make life a period of unceasing drudgery, and to render the inmates of the home miserable. In the houses of some whom we highly esteem, there is a stiff precision about the arrangement of the furniture and belongings that is quite as disagreeable as a lack of order would be. The painful propriety which invests the whole house makes it impossible to find there that rest which one expects in the true home. It is not pleasant, when making a brief visit to dear friends, to see the broom and the duster in constant requisition, and the time which you had anticipated enjoying with your friends in social converse, spent by them in a general tidying-up, and peering into corners in search of a concealed speck of dust or a cob-web. Although this may be done out of respect to your presence in the house, yet you feel a painful conviction that your company is of less consequence to your friends than their ideas of excessive neatness.
6 In direct contrast to such homes was one that we visited during the last summer. Here the few hours of our stay were not spent in useless labor, nor in doing that which could be done as well at some other time; but were occupied in a pleasant and profitable manner, restful alike to mind and body. The house was a model of comfort, although not extravagantly furnished. The rooms were all well lighted and ventilated and every one, including the bed-rooms, was furnished with an open grate that the occupants might enjoy the healthful warmth and glow of an open fire, which is of more real value than the most costly adornments. The parlors were not furnished with that precision which is so tiresome to the eye, but there was a pleasing variety in the articles of furniture. The chairs were mostly rockers or easy-chairs; not all of the same fashion, but adapted to the comfort of the different members of the family. There were low, cushioned rocking-chairs, and high, straight-backed ones; wide, capacious lounging-chairs, and snug little ones; there were also comfortable sofas; and all seemed to say, Try me, Rest in me. There were tables strewn with books and papers. All was neat and attractive, but without that precise arrangement that seems to warn all beholders not to touch anything for fear of getting it out of place.
7 The proprietors of this pleasant home were in such circumstances that they might have furnished and embellished their residence expensively, but they had wisely chosen comfort rather than display. There was nothing in the house considered too good for general use, and the curtains and blinds were not kept closed to keep the carpets from fading and the furniture from tarnishing. The God-given sunlight and air had free ingress, with the fragrance of the flowers in the garden. The family were, of course, in keeping with the home; they were cheerful and entertaining, doing everything needful for our comfort, without oppressing us with so much attention as to make us fear that we were causing extra trouble. We felt that here was a place of rest. This was a Home in the fullest sense of the word.
8 The rigid precision which we have mentioned as being a disagreeable feature of so many homes is not in accordance with the great plan of Nature. God has not caused the flowers of the fields to grow in regular beds, with set borders, but he has scattered them like gems over the greensward, and they beautify the earth with their variety of form and color. The trees of the forest are not in regular order. It is restful to eye and mind to range over the scenes of nature, over forest, hill and valley, plain and river, enjoying the endless diversity of form and color, and the beauty with which trees, shrubs, and flowers, are grouped in nature’s garden, making it a picture of loveliness. Childhood, youth, and age can alike find rest and gratification there.
9 This law of variety can be in a measure carried out in the home. There should be a proper harmony of colors, and a general fitness of things in the furnishing of a house; but it is not necessary to good taste that every article of furniture in a room should be of the same pattern in design, material, or upholstery; but, on the contrary, it is more pleasing to the eye that there should be a harmonious variety.
10 But whether the home be humble or elegant, its appointments costly or the reverse, there will be no happiness within its walls unless the spirit of its inmates is in harmony with the Divine will. Contentment should reign within the household.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 The Christian mother, to a very great extent, has it within her power to secure to her children good constitutions, sound morals, and correct views of the duties and responsibilities of life. Thousands of mothers are today ignorant of the laws of health and morality, and utterly reckless in the management of their children. Thousands are ruined for life and rendered worthless to society through neglect of proper training in early youth. A failure of health prevents the cultivation and development of the mental faculties, the talents lie dormant in consequence, and the world loses the benefit of them. A knowledge of, and obedience to, the laws of nature would have preserved the healthful action of body and mind and given to humanity the blessing of many a life now wasted in uselessness. Through the inefficiency of parents, much good is lost, to the world, and God is robbed of the glory he should receive through the proper direction of youthful talent and energy.
2 Mothers are not thoroughly qualified to discipline and educate the minds of the young, unless they have that knowledge of God by which they can conscientiously train their children for the highest usefulness in this life and for the future immortal life. In the education of her children, the mother needs the wisdom which God alone can give her. She also needs health and its accompaniment of calm nerves, clear judgement, and sound reasoning powers. She will then have decision as well as gentleness, firmness as well as love, and will be able to hold the reins of guidance with a firm yet patient hand. She should cultivate that quiet dignity and independence of character which is necessary to her sacred life-work, and the proper conducting of her household. The customs and habits of the world in regard to the training of children should not turn a Christian mother from her course. In no case should she sacrifice her ideas of right because she sees many mothers yielding their scruples in order to gratify the inclinations of their children for questionable amusements, idleness, or a style of dress calculated to foster vanity and injure the health.
3 Indulgence of wrong desires and gratification of the animal passions are the order of the day in this age of the world. Youth is surrounded with the fascinations of pleasure and the seductive temptations of sin. For these reasons a great and important responsibility rests upon the Christian mother. It is hers, in a measure, to rectify the growing evils of the world by rearing her children in such a manner that they will take a firm stand for the right and cast their influence on the side of virtue. But the mother who submits her God-given womanhood to the slavery of fashion wastes, in useless labor and frivolity, time and energy which should be devoted to her sacred calling. She cannot feel a sense of her solemn responsibility to God and humanity. Satan has invented manifold temptations to divert the minds of mothers from their most important work. The matter of dress holds the larger share of women in the veriest bondage. The study of fashion-plates is pursued with untiring zeal, and is followed up by an endless round of cutting, fitting, stitching, ruffling, pointing, and plaiting, to arrange for vain display. All this costs time, money, and concentration of mind, for which no equivalent is returned. The mental powers are dwarfed for want of proper cultivation, and wretchedly abused by being almost wholly bent upon the object of preparing raiment for the body, while their children are on the way to ruin.
4 Many mothers are much more concerned as to the dress and adornment of their children than they are for their behavior and the proper direction of their minds. They will spend precious time in ruffling and trimming the garments of their little ones, while those who are to wear them are running in the streets, subject to the influence of vile associates and breathing in the atmosphere of vice. The hours that should be devoted to prayerful communion with them and a careful superintendence of their employments and amusements are worse than wasted in ornamenting the little suits which will serve to add the evil of vanity to the faults already acquired. A mother who prizes the approval of God and who is controlled by heavenly influences will not dare to waste her precious time, strength, and money, in arranging her own and her children’s dress to meet the claims of custom. Fashion-loving mothers are daily giving their children lessons in devotion to dress, which they will never unlearn in after life. They are sowing seeds in those tender minds which will erelong bear fruit. “Sad will the harvest be!” “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
5 It is the mother’s duty constantly to educate her mind and heart for the grave duties devolving upon her, that she may successfully meet her increasing family cares. She should study the peculiarities in the temperaments of her children, and vary her discipline to suit their different dispositions; thus she will be able to mold their minds in the right shape. The usual management of children at the present time tends to weaken their moral power. They are allowed to be idle, and their active young minds, seeking employment, stumble into evil ways. They are not taught self-denial and prompt obedience, therefore they grow up selfish and incapable of taking of the earnest work of life. The example of most parents is demoralizing to the children, who naturally look to them for a pattern. If the parents are swept into the strong current of the world and follow its practices regardless of right or wrong, time or expense, certainly no better can be expected of their children. The lessons of precept and example given by parents to their children should tend to fit their characters for the higher, immortal life. They are thus qualified also for the greatest usefulness in this world. God has placed us here not to live for our own amusement, but to do good, to bless humanity, to prepare for heaven. Every violation of moral obligation, with its burden of result, must be met and accounted for hereafter.
6 Especially are the mother’s moments priceless; her work will be tested in the solemn day of accounts. Then it will be found that many of the failures and crimes of men and women have resulted from the ignorance and gross neglect of those whose duty it was to guide their childish feet in the right way. Then it will be found that many who have blessed the world with the light of genius and truth and holiness, owe the staunch principles and integrity that were the mainspring of their usefulness and success to the careful religious training of a praying Christian mother.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 The importance of early educating the young to the practical duties of life cannot be over estimated. Many parents who are wealthy do not feel the importance of giving their children an education in practical duties, as well as in the sciences. They do not feel the necessity, for the good of their children’s minds and morals, and for their future usefulness, of giving them a thorough understanding in useful labor. This is due their children, that, if misfortune should come, they could maintain noble independence, having a knowledge how to use their hands. If they have a capital of strength, they cannot be poor, even if they have not a dollar. Many, who in youth are in affluent circumstances, may be robbed of all their riches, with parents and brothers and sisters dependent upon them for sustenance. Then how important that the youth be educated to labor, that they may be prepared for any emergency. Riches are indeed a curse when the possessors let them stand in the way of their sons and daughters obtaining a knowledge of useful labor, that they may be qualified for practical life.
2 Those who are not compelled to labor, frequently do not have active exercise sufficient for physical health. Young men, for want of having their minds and hands employed in active labor, will acquire habits of indolence, and will frequently be obtaining, what is to be more dreaded, a street education, lounging about stores, smoking, drinking, and playing cards.
3 The young ladies will read and excuse themselves from active labor, because they are in delicate health. Their feebleness is generally the result of their lack of exercising the muscles. They may think they are too feeble to do housework, but will work at crochet and tatting, and preserve the delicate paleness of their hands and faces, while their care-burdened mothers toil hard in washing and ironing their garments. These daughters transgress the fifth commandment. They do not honor their parents. But the mother is most to blame. She has indulged and excused her daughters from bearing their share of household duties, until work becomes distasteful to them, and they love, and enjoy, delicate idleness. They will eat, and sleep, and read novels, and talk of the fashions. Their lives are useless.
4 Poverty, in many cases, is a blessing; for it prevents youth and children from being ruined by inaction. The physical should be cultivated and properly developed, as well as the mental. The first and constant care of parents should be that their children may have firm constitutions that they may be sound men and women. It is impossible to attain this object without physical exercise. Children, for their own physical health and moral good, should be taught to work, even if there is no necessity as far as want is concerned. If they would have virtuous and pure characters, they must have the discipline of well-regulated labor, which will bring into exercise all the muscles. The satisfaction children will have in being useful, of denying themselves to help others, will be the most healthful pleasure they ever enjoyed. Why should the wealthy rob themselves and their dear children of this great blessing?
5 Parents, inaction is the greatest curse that ever came upon you. Your daughters should not be allowed to lie in bed late in the morning, sleeping away the precious hours lent them of God to be used for the best purpose, and for which they will have to give an account to God. The mother is doing her daughters great injury in bearing the burdens the daughters should share with her for their own present good and future benefit. The course many parents have pursued in allowing their children to be indolent, and to gratify a desire for reading romance, is unfitting them for real life. Novel and story-book reading are the greatest evils that youth can indulge in. Novel and love-story readers always fail to make good, practical mothers. They live in an unreal world. They are air castle builders, living in an imaginary world. They become sentimental, and have sick fancies. Their artificial life spoils them for anything useful. They are dwarfed in intellect, although they may flatter themselves that they are superior in mind and manners. Exercise in household labor will be of the greatest advantage to young girls.
6 Physical labor will not prevent the cultivation of the intellect. Far from this. The advantages gained by physical labor will balance them, that the mind shall not be overworked. The toil will then come upon the muscles, and relieve the wearied brain. There are many listless, useless girls who consider it unladylike to engage in active labor. But their characters are two transparent to deceive sensible persons in regard to their real worthlessness. They will simper and giggle, and are all affectation. They appear as though they could not speak their words fairly and squarely, but torture all they say with lisping and simpering. Are these ladies? They were not born fools, but were educated such. It does not require a frail, helpless, overdressed, simpering thing to make a lady. A sound body is required for a sound intellect. Physical soundness and a practical knowledge in all the necessary household duties, are never a hindrance to a well-developed intellect, but highly important for a lady.
7 All the powers of the mind should be called into use, and developed, in order for men and women to have well-balanced minds. The world is full of one-sided men and women, because one set of the faculties are cultivated, while others are dwarfed from inaction. The education of most youth is a failure. They over-study, while they neglect that which pertains to practical business life. Men and women become parents without considering their responsibilities, and their offspring sinks lower in the scale of human deficiency than they themselves. Thus we are fast degenerating. The constant application to study, as the schools are now conducted, is unfitting youth for practical life. The human mind will have action. If it is not active in the right direction, it will be active in the wrong. And in order to preserve the balance of the mind, labor and study should be united.
8 A portion of the time each day should be devoted to labor, that the physical and mental may be equally exercised.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 No work can equal that of the Christian mother. She takes up her work with a sense of what it is to bring up her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. How often will she feel her burden’s weight heavier than she can bear; and then how precious the privilege of taking it all to her sympathizing Saviour in prayer. She may lay her burden at his feet, and find in his presence a strength that will sustain her, and give her cheerfulness, hope, courage, and wisdom in the most trying hours. How sweet to the care-worn mother is the consciousness of such a friend in all her difficulties. If mothers would go to Christ more frequently, and trust him more fully, their burdens would be easier, and they would find rest to their souls.
2 Jesus is a lover of children. The important responsibility of training her children should not rest alone upon the mother. The father should act his part, uniting his efforts with those of the mother. As her children, in their tender years, are mostly under her guidance, the father should encourage and sustain the mother in her work of care by his cheerful looks and kind words. The faithful mother’s labor is seldom appreciated. It is frequently the case that the father returns from his business to his home, bringing his cares and perplexities with him. He has no cheerful smile for home, and if he does not find everything for his accommodation, and to meet his ideas, he expresses his disappointment in a clouded brow and censuring words. He does not take into the account the care the mother must have had with the restless children, to keep everything moving smoothly. Her children must have her time and attention, if they are brought up, as the apostle directs, “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
3 The word of God should be judiciously brought to bear upon the youthful minds, and be their standard of rectitude, correcting their errors, enlightening and guiding their minds, which will be far more effectual in restraining and controlling the impulsive temperament than harsh words, which will provoke to wrath. This training of children to meet the Bible standard will require time, perseverance, and prayer. This should be attended to if some things about the house are neglected.
4 Many times in the day is the cry of, Mother, mother, heard, first from one little troubled voice and then another. In answer to the cry, mother must turn here and there to attend to their demands. One is in trouble, and needs the wise head of the mother to free him from his perplexity. Another is so pleased with some of his devices he must have his mother see them, thinking she will be as pleased as he is. A word of approval will bring sunshine to the heart for hours. Many precious beams of light and gladness can the mother shed here and there among her precious little ones. How closely can she bind these dear ones to her heart, that her presence will be to them the sunniest place in the world. But frequently the patience of the mother is taxed with these numerous little trials, that seem scarcely worth attention. Mischievous hands and restless feet create a great amount of labor and perplexity for the mother. She has to hold fast the reins of self-control, or impatient words will slip from her tongue. She almost forgets herself time and again, but a silent prayer to her pitying Redeemer calms her nerves, and she is enabled to hold the reins of self-control with quiet dignity. She speaks with calm voice, but it has cost her an effort to restrain harsh words and subdue angry feelings, which, if expressed, would have destroyed her influence, which it would have taken time to regain.
5 The perception of children is quick, and they discern patient, loving tones from the impatient, passionate command, which dries up the moisture of love and affection in the hearts of children. The true Christian mother will not drive her children from her presence by her fretfulness and lack of sympathizing love. As the parents wish God to deal with them, so should they deal with their children. Our children are only the younger members of the Lord’s family, intrusted to us to educate wisely, to patiently discipline, that they may form Christian characters, and be qualified to bless others in this life, and enjoy the life to come.
6 Many parents do not strive to make a happy home for their children. The pleasantest rooms are closed for visitors. The pleasant face is put on to entertain visitors. Smiles are lavished upon those who do not prize them, while the dear members of the family are pining for smiles and affectionate words. A sunny countenance and cheerful, encouraging words will brighten the poorest home, and be as a talisman to guard the father and the children from the many temptations that allure them from the love of home to the dram-shop, or scenes of amusement which lead away from purity and morality.
7 But the work of making home happy does not rest upon the mother alone. Fathers have an important part to act. The husband is the house-band of the home treasures, binding by his strong, earnest, devoted affection the members of the household, mother and children, together in the strongest bonds of union. It is for him to encourage, with cheerful words, the efforts of the mother in rearing her children. The mother seldom appreciates her own work, and frequently sets so low an estimate upon her labor that she regards it as domestic drudgery. She goes through the same round day after day, week after week, with no special marked results. She cannot tell, at the close of the day, the many little things she has accomplished. Placed beside her husband’s achievement, she feels that she has done nothing worth mentioning. The father frequently comes in with a self-satisfied air, and proudly recounts what he has accomplished through the day. His remarks show that now he must be waited upon by the mother, for she has not done much except take care of the children, cook the meals, and keep the house in order. She has not acted the merchant, bought nor sold; she has not acted the farmer, in tilling the soil; she has not acted the mechanic;—therefore she has done nothing to make her weary. He criticises and censures and dictates as though he was the lord of creation. And this is all the more trying to the wife and mother, because she has become very weary at her post of duty during the day, and yet she cannot see what she has done, and is really disheartened. Could the veil be withdrawn, and father and mother see as God sees the work of the day, and see how his infinite eye compares the work of the one with that of the other, they would be astonished at the heavenly revelation. The father would view his labors in a more modest light, while the mother would have new courage and energy to pursue her labor with wisdom, perseverance and patience. Now she knows its value. While the father has been dealing with the things which must perish and pass away, the mother has been dealing with developing minds and character, working, not only for time, but for eternity. Her work, if done faithfully in God, will be immortalized.
8 The votaries of fashion will never see or understand the immortal beauty of that Christian mother’s work, and will sneer at her old fashioned notions, and her plain, unadorned dress; while the Majesty of heaven will write the name of that faithful mother in the book of immortal fame. Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 He who said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not,” still invites the mothers to lead up their little ones to be blessed of him. Even the babe in its mother’s arms may dwell as under the shadow of the Almighty through the earnest faith of that praying mother. The first and most urgent duty which the mother owes to the Creator is to train the children which he has given her for the Saviour. “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure and whether it be right.”
2 Infant children are a mirror for the mother, in which she may see reflected her own habits and deportment, and may trace even the tones of her own voice. How careful then should be her language and behavior in the presence of these little learners who take her for an example. If she wishes them to be gentle in manners and tractable, she must cultivate those traits in herself.
3 When children love and repose confidence in their mother, and have become obedient to her, they have been taught the first lessons in becoming Christians. They must be obedient to, and love and trust Jesus as they are obedient to, and love and trust their parents. The love which the parent manifests for the child in right training and in kindness faintly mirrors the love of Jesus for his children.
4 In view of the individual responsibility of mothers, every woman should develop a well-balanced mind and pure character, reflecting only the true, the good, and the beautiful. The wife and mother may bind her husband and children to her heart by an unremitting love, shown in gentle words and courteous deportment, which, as a rule, will be copied by her children.
5 Politeness is cheap, but it has power to soften natures which would grow hard and rough without it. Christian politeness should reign in every household. The cultivation of a uniform courtesy, and a willingness to do by others as we would like them to do by us, would annihilate half the ills of life. The principle inculcated in the injunction, “Be ye kindly affectioned one to another,” is the corner-stone of the Christian character.
6 God designed that we should be tolerant of one another, that those of varied temperaments should be associated together, so that by mutual forbearance and consideration of one another’s peculiarities, prejudices should be softened, and rough points of character smoothed. Diversities of temperament and character are frequently marked in families; where this is the case there should be a mutual recognition of one another’s rights. Thus all the members may be in harmony, and the blending of varied temperaments may be a benefit to all. Christian courtesy is the golden clasp which unites the members of the family in bonds of love, becoming closer and stronger every day.
7 Many a home is made very unhappy by the useless repining of its mistress, who turns with distaste from the simple, homely tasks of her unpretending domestic life. She looks upon the cares and duties of her lot as hardships, and that which, through cheerfulness, might be made not only pleasant and interesting, but profitable, becomes the merest drudgery. She looks upon the slavery of her life with repugnance, and imagines herself a martyr.
8 It is true that the wheels of domestic machinery will not always run smoothly; there is much to try the patience and tax the strength. But while mothers are not responsible for circumstances over which they have no control, it is useless to deny that circumstances make a great difference with mothers in their life-work. But their condemnation is when circumstances are allowed to rule, and to subvert their principle, when they grow tired and unfaithful to their high trust, and neglect their known duty.
9 The wife and mother who nobly overcomes difficulties, under which others sink for want of patience and fortitude to persevere, not only becomes strong herself in doing her duty, but her experience in overcoming temptations and obstacles qualifies her to be an efficient help to others, both by words and example. Many who do well under favorable circumstances seem to undergo a transformation of character under adversity and trial; they deteriorate in proportion to their troubles. God never designed that we should be the sport of circumstances.
10 Very many husbands and children who find nothing attractive at home, who are continually greeted by scolding and murmuring, seek comfort and amusement away from home, in the dram-shop, or in other forbidden scenes of pleasure. The wife and mother, occupied with her household cares, frequently becomes thoughtless of the little courtesies that make home pleasant to the husband and children, even if she avoids dwelling upon her peculiar vexations and difficulties in their presence. While she is absorbed in preparing something to eat or to wear, the husband and sons go in and come out as strangers.
11 While the mistress of the household may perform her outward duties with exactitude she may be continually crying out against the slavery to which she is doomed, and exaggerate her responsibilities and restrictions by comparing her lot with what she styles the higher life of woman, and cherishing unsanctified longings for an easier position, free from the petty cares and exactions that vex her spirit. She little dreams that in that widely different sphere of action to which she aspires trials full as vexatious, though perhaps of a different sort, would certainly beset her. While she is fruitlessly yearning for a different life she is nourishing a sinful discontent, and making her home very unpleasant for her husband and children.
12 The true wife and mother will pursue an entirely opposite course from this. She will perform her duties with dignity and cheerfulness, not considering that it is degrading to do with her own hands whatever is necessary for her to do in a well-ordered household. If she looks to God for her strength and comfort, and in his wisdom and fear seeks to do her daily duty, she will bind her husband to her heart, and see her children coming to maturity, honorable men and women, having moral stamina to follow the example of their mother.
13 There is no chance work in this life; the harvest will determine the character of the seed that has been sown. Mothers may neglect present opportunities, and let their duties and burdens fall upon others, but their responsibility remains the same, and they will reap in bitterness what they have sown in carelessness and neglect.
14 Mothers, you are developing character. Your compassionate Redeemer is watching you in love and sympathy, ready to hear your prayers, and render you the assistance which you need in your life-work. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith and charity are the elements of the Christian character. These precious graces are the fruits of the Spirit. They are the Christian’s crown and shield. The highest day-dreaming and most exalted aspirations can aim at nothing higher. Nothing can give more perfect content and satisfaction. These heavenly attainments are not dependent upon circumstances, nor the will or imperfect judgment of man. The precious Saviour, who understands our heart-struggles and the weakness of our natures, pities, and forgives us our errors, and bestows upon us the graces which we earnestly desire.
15 Jesus knows the burdens of every mother’s heart. He is her best friend in every emergency. His everlasting arms support the God-fearing, faithful mother. That Saviour who, when upon earth, had a mother that struggled with poverty and privation, having many anxious cares and perplexities in rearing her children, sympathizes with every Christian mother in her labors, and hears her earnest prayers. That Saviour who went a long journey for the purpose of relieving the anxious heart of a Canaanite woman whose daughter was possessed by a devil, will do as much for the afflicted mother of today, in blessing her children, as he did for the supplicant in that case.
16 He who gave back to the widow her only son, as he was being carried to the burial, is touched today by the woe of the bereaved mother. He who gave back to Mary and Martha their buried brother, who wept tears of sympathy at the grave of Lazarus, who pardoned Mary Magdalene, who remembered his mother, when he was hanging in agony upon the cross, who appeared to the weeping women after his resurrection, and made them his messengers to preach a risen Saviour saying, “Go tell my disciples that I go to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God,” is woman’s best friend today, and ready to aid her in her need if she will trust him.
17 If Jesus is woman’s friend and helper, the husband, and father of her children, should never feel it beneath his dignity to encourage and sympathize with the mother in her cares, and assist in bearing her burdens. He should feel the sin and littleness of adding to her trials by bitter words. He should be liberal-minded and generous toward her, not watching with a critic’s eye every little neglect on her part, or failure to meet his peculiar ideas.
18 Christ respected and honored woman. There is not an instance in his entire life wherein by word or act he gave the least encouragement to speak or think disparagingly of woman, or gave the impression that she was not to be respected and honored equally with man. The Majesty of Heaven is not a stranger to the troubles that perplex the mother, or the burdens that weigh upon her aching heart.
19 In order to be a good wife and mother it is not necessary that the woman’s nature should be utterly merged into that of her husband. Every individual being has a life distinct from all others, an experience differing essentially from theirs. God does not want our individuality lost in another’s; he desires that we shall possess our own characters, softened and sanctified by his sweet grace.
20 He wants to hear our words fresh from our own hearts, and not another’s. He wants our yearning desires and earnest cries to ascend to him, marked by our own individuality. All do not pass through the same exercises of mind, and God calls for no second-hand experience. Our compassionate Redeemer reaches his helping hand to us just where we are. Though Jesus has ascended to Heaven he has not lost his sympathy for you, mothers, but looks with tender love upon those whom he came to redeem.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 While we have dwelt upon the importance of the mother’s work and mission, we would not lightly pass over the duty and responsibility of the husband and father in the training of his children. His efforts should be in harmony with those of the God-fearing mother. He should manifest his love and respect for her as the woman he has chosen and the mother of his children.
2 Many husbands do not sufficiently understand and appreciate the cares and perplexities which their wives endure, generally confined all day to an unceasing round of household duties. They frequently come to their homes with clouded brows, bringing no sunshine to the family circle. If the meals are not on time, the tired wife, who is frequently housekeeper, nurse, cook, and housemaid, all in one, is greeted with fault-finding. The exacting husband may condescend to take the worrying child from the weary arms of its mother that her arrangements for the family meal may be hastened; but if the child is restless, and frets in the arms of its father, he will seldom feel it his duty to act the nurse, and seek to quiet and soothe it. He does not pause to consider how many hours the mother has endured the little one’s fretfulness, but calls out impatiently, “Here, mother, take your child.” It is not his child as well as hers? Is he not under a natural obligation to patiently bear his part of the burden of rearing his children?
3 In most families there are children of various ages, some of whom need not only the attention and wise discipline of the mother, but also the sterner, yet affectionate, influence of the father. Few fathers consider this matter in its due importance. They fall into neglect of their own duty, and thus heap grievous burdens upon the mother, at the same time feeling at liberty to criticise and condemn her actions according to their judgment. Under this heavy sense of responsibility and censure, the poor wife and mother often feels guilty and remorseful for that which she has done innocently or ignorantly, and frequently when she has done the very best thing possible under the circumstances. Yet when her wearisome efforts should be appreciated and approved, and her heart made glad, she is obliged to walk under a cloud of sorrow and condemnation, because her husband, while ignoring his own duty, expects her to fulfill both her own and his to his satisfaction, regardless of preventing circumstances.
4 He feels that his wife belongs to him, and is subject to his order and dictation, and liable to fall under his disapprobation. Who gives him this right of dictation and condemnation? Does the law of God, which commands him to love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself? Does he find it among the injunctions of the apostles, who exhort: “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them”? No, there is no moral or religious defense for such an unjust authority.
5 Domestic duties are sacred and important, yet they are often attended by a weary monotony. The countless cares and perplexities become irritating, without the variety of change and cheerful relaxation, which the husband and father frequently has it in his power to grant her if he chose, or rather if he thought it necessary or desirable to do so. The life of a mother in the humbler walks of life is one of unceasing self-sacrifice, made harder if the husband fails to appreciate the difficulties of her position, and to give her his support.
6 But to return to the father who has so unconcernedly resigned the fretful child to its mother. How is his time employed while she is doing the double duty of preparing the meal and quieting the child? Frequently he may be seen, his feet elevated to a level with his head, reading a newspaper and smoking a cigar. Tobacco, then, is his solace. There are his children, of various ages, and of restless, nervous temperament, transmitted to them by the tobacco or liquor-using father. But, after giving those children their stamp of character by his own morbid appetite and selfish indulgence, he shirks the responsibility of training them, and of correcting the faults which they have received as a legacy from him.
7 Fathers should unbend from their false dignity, deny themselves, some slight self-gratification in time and leisure, in order to mingle with the children, sympathizing with them in their little troubles, binding them to their hearts by the strong bonds of love, and establishing such an influence over their expanding minds that their counsel will be regarded as sacred.
8 The average father wastes many golden opportunities to attract and bind his children to him. Upon returning home from his business he should find it a pleasant change to spend some time with his children. He may take them into the garden, and show them the opening buds, and the varied tints of the blooming flowers. Through such mediums he may give them the most important lessons concerning the Creator, by opening before them the great book of nature, where the love of God is expressed in every tree, and flower, and blade of grass. He may impress upon their minds the fact that if God cares so much for the trees and flowers, he will care much more for the creatures formed in his image. He may lead them early to understand that God wants children to be lovely, not with artificial adornment, but with beauty of character, the charms of kindness and affection, which will make their hearts bound with joy and happiness.
9 Parents may do much to connect their children with God by encouraging them to love the things of nature which he has given them, and to recognize the hand of the Giver in all they receive. The soil of the heart may thus early be prepared for casting in the precious seeds of truth, which in due time will spring up and bear a rich harvest. Fathers, the golden hours which you might spend in getting a thorough knowledge of the temperament and character of your children, and the best method of dealing with their young minds, are too precious to be squandered in the pernicious habit of smoking, or in lounging about the dram-shop.
10 The indulgence of this poisonous stimulant disqualifies the father to bring up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The directions given by God to the children of Israel were that the fathers should teach their children the statutes and precepts of his law, when they rose up, and when they sat down, when they went out, and when they came in.
11 This commandment of God is too little heeded; for Satan, through his temptations, has chained many fathers in the slavery of gross habits, and hurtful appetites. Their physical, mental, and moral powers are so paralyzed by these means that it is impossible for them to do their duty toward their families. Their minds are so besotted by the stupefying influences of tobacco or liquor that they do not realize their responsibility to train their children so that they may have moral power to resist temptation, to control appetite, to stand for the right, not to be influenced to evil, but to wield a strong influence for good.
12 Parents by a sinful indulgence of perverted appetite often place themselves in a condition of nervous excitability or exhaustion, where they are unable to discriminate between right and wrong, to manage their children wisely, and to judge correctly their motives and actions. They are in danger of magnifying little matters to mountains in their minds, while they pass lightly over grave sins. The father who has become a slave to abnormal appetite, who has sacrificed his God-given manhood to become a tobacco inebriate, cannot teach his children to control appetite and passion. It is impossible for him to thus educate them either by precept or example. How can the father whose mouth is filled with tobacco, whose breath poisons the atmosphere of home, teach his sons lessons of temperance and self-control? With what dignity can he exhort them to shun the wine-cup, when he himself has fallen beneath the tempter’s power, and is bound by an appetite that has no foundation in nature? He is in no condition to rouse moral courage and independence in the young.
13 When we approach the youth who are acquiring the habit of using tobacco, and tell them of its pernicious influence upon the system, they frequently fortify themselves by citing the example of their fathers, or that of certain Christian ministers, or good and pious members of the church. They say, “If it does them no harm, it certainly cannot injure me.” What an account will professed Christian men have to render to God for their intemperance! Their example strengthens the temptations of Satan to pervert the senses of the young by the use of artificial stimulants; it seems to them not a very bad thing to do what respectable church-members are in the habit of doing. But it is only a step from tobacco using to liquor-drinking; in fact the two vices usually go together.
14 Thousands learn to be drunkards from such influences as these. Too often the lesson has been unconsciously taught them by their own fathers. A radical change must be made in the heads of families before much progress can be made in ridding society of the monster of intemperance.
15 If tobacco is what it is often claimed to be, a nerve-quieter, instead of a nerve-paralyzer; if it is such a solace to men that they require it just before eating, just after eating, and most of the time between; if it is so great a comforter that large amounts should be expended upon it, and many hours of precious time devoted to indulging in its use,—then why should not women use it? Would it not be as beneficial to them as to their fathers, husbands and brothers? Women have cares and perplexities to soothe, and, viewed from the standpoint of the tobacco inebriate, they are sustaining great loss, and practicing a useless self-denial, in refraining from the luxury which affords their husbands and sons so much comfort and strength.
16 If men cannot maintain their energy and spirits without this stimulus, what martyrdom do women constantly practice in letting it alone! The very fact that women do live and bear the heaviest burdens of mind and body without its aid, and that the best men conscientiously refrain from using it, is evidence that tobacco-using is a necessity to no one, but simply a habit which enslaves its victim in a terrible bondage.
17 God forbid that woman should degrade herself to the use of a filthy and besotting narcotic. How disgusting is the picture which one may draw in the mind, of a woman whose breath is poisoned by tobacco. One shudders to think of little children twining their arms about her neck, and pressing their fresh, pure lips to that mother’s lips, stained and polluted by the offensive fluid and odor of tobacco. Yet the picture is only more revolting because the reality is more rare than that of the father, the lord of the household, defiling himself with the disgusting weed. No wonder we see children turn from the kiss of the father whom they love, and if they kiss him seek not his lips, but his cheek or forehead, where their pure lips will not be contaminated.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”
2 In how short a time from the first sin of Adam did sin increase and spread like the leprosy. It is the nature of sin to increase. From generation to generation sin has spread like a contagious disease. Hatred of God’s law, and as the sure result hatred of all goodness became universal. The world was in its infancy, yet after sin was first introduced it soon became fearful in its proportions until it deluged the world. God who created man and gave him with an unsparing hand the bounties of his providence was slighted and despised by the recipients of his gifts. He was dishonored by the beings he had created. But notwithstanding sinful man forgot his benevolent Benefactor, God did not slight and turn away from him and leave him to perish in his violence and crime without setting before him his wickedness and the result of the transgression of his law. He sent him messages of warning and entreaty. He pointed out definitely his danger if he continued in his rebellion.
3 God, whom men had slighted and dishonored and whose gracious love and benevolence they had abused, still pitied the race and in his love provided a refuge for all who would accept it. He directed Noah to build an ark and at the same time preach to the inhabitants of the world that God would bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy the wicked. If they would believe the message and prepare for that event by repentance and reformation they should find pardon and be saved. God did not remove his spirit from man without warning him of the sure result of his course in transgressing his law. He gave the message to Noah to be given to the people. “My spirit shall not always strive with man.” A continual resistance and contempt of the entreaties and warnings from God through his servant Noah, would separate them from God, and the result would be infinite mercy and love would cease its pleadings. The Spirit of God continued to strive with rebellious man until the time of God had specified had nearly expired, when Noah and his family entered the ark and the hand of God closed the door of the ark. Mercy had stepped from the golden throne no longer to intercede for man.
4 Notwithstanding God was working to draw man to himself by the conviction of his Holy Spirit, man in his rebellion was drawing away from God, and continually resisting the pleadings of infinite love.
5 Noah stood up nobly in the midst of a world who were disregarding God and were indulging in all manner of extravagant dissipation which led to crimes and violence of every kind. Noah the faithful preacher of righteousness unflinchingly and courageously preached to that generation that a flood of water was to deluge the world because of the unsurpassed wickedness of its inhabitants. He warned that generation to repent, to believe the warning message and find refuge in the ark. What a spectacle to the world as Noah stands forth connected with God, by his obedience in contrast to the world. Numbers was not on the side of right. The world was arrayed against God’s justice and his laws. Men of science and of philosophy used their talents and abilities to oppose the message of God. Satan, when tempting Eve to disobey God, said to her, “Ye shall not surely die.” Great men, worldly, honored, and wise men, repeat the same story. “Ye shall not surely die,” and that God’s threatenings are for the purpose of intimidating and will never be verified. You need not be alarmed, such an event as the world’s being destroyed by God who made it, and punishing the beings he has made will never take place for this is not in accordance with science and philosophy. Be at peace, fear not, Noah is crazy, he is the wildest fanatic.
6 How simple and childlike amid the unbelief of the world, was the faith of Noah. His faith was the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. His faith was perfected by his works. He gave to the world an example in believing just what God had said. He commenced under the directions of God to construct the ark, an immense boat, on dry ground. Multitudes came from every direction to see this strange sight, the ark, and to hear the earnest, fervent words of this singular man who seemed to believe every word he uttered. His message was to him a reality. A power attended the words of Noah, for it was the voice of God to man through his servant. Some were deeply convicted and would have heeded the words of warning, but there were so many to jest and ridicule the message of entreaty and warning to repentance that they partook of the same spirit, resisted the invitations of mercy, refused to reform, and were soon among the boldest and most defiant scoffers; for none are as reckless, and will go to such lengths in sin as those who have once had light, who have been convicted and resisted the Spirit of God. Amid popular contempt and ridicule, amid universal wickedness and disobedience, Noah distinguishes himself by his holy integrity and unwavering obedience. He is singular indeed. He was one in the world, but not one of the world. Noah made himself the object of contempt and ridicule by his steadfast adherence to the words of God. He obeyed God without a questioning doubt. What a marked contrast to the prevailing unbelief and universal disregard of God’s law. While the voice of God, through Noah, is making itself heard in entreaties and warnings in condemnation of sin and iniquity, Satan was not asleep, he was mustering his forces. He engages his host with gigantic energies to make through his sophistry, cruelties and oppression the words of warning from the servant of God of none effect. Evil seems to gain the day. Noah was tested and proved, opposition met him from the great men of the world, from philosophers and men of science, so-called, who tried to show him that his message could not be true; but his voice was not silenced, one hundred and twenty years the words of warning continued to be heard in earnest tones, and were sustained by his energetic work upon the ark. The world might have believed if they would. Had they believed the message of warning, and repented of their evil deeds and submitted to be obedient to God, the Lord would have turned aside his wrath as he did from Nineveh. God’s Spirit was striving with the people to lead them to accept and believe the truth, but Satan’s suggestions were also heeded, their own wicked hearts were more inclined to harmonize with the sophistry of the father of lies than with the pleadings of infinite love. They manifested their indifference and contempt of the solemn warnings of God in doing the same as they had done before the warning had been given. They continued their gluttonous feasts, their festivities, eating and drinking, planting and building, in reference to the advantage to be gained by them in the far future and they went to greater lengths in wickedness and defiant disregard of God’s requirements to testify to one another that they had no fear of God and his commands.
7 In Noah’s day all men were not in the fullest sense heathen idolaters. Many had a knowledge of God and of his law, but in their grand works of sculpture, in their works of art, they professed to be honoring God by representing him in the works of their own hands in the similitudes which they had made of God. These works of art were worshiped as God and the Creator was forgotten. The class who professed a knowledge of God were the ones who had the greatest influence and took the lead in making of none effect his word spoken to them by Noah. They not only rejected the message of the faithful preacher of righteousness themselves, but like their master the devil they sought every means in their power to prevent others from believing and being obedient to God. To every one comes their day of trial and of trust. While Noah was sounding the note of warning of the coming destruction of that generation was their day of opportunity and privilege to become wise unto salvation. But they gave their minds to the control of Satan rather than God, and he deceived them as he did our first parents. He set before them darkness and falsehood in the place of light and truth. They accepted the sophistry and lies of Satan because the most acceptable to them, and the most in harmony with their corrupt lives, while truth, which would have saved them, was rejected as a delusion. Noah to them was regarded as a fanatic, and they did not humble their hearts before God, but continued their disobedience and wickedness the same as if God had not spoken to them through Noah. But Noah stood like a rock amidst the tempest. He was surrounded with every species of wickedness and moral corruption; yet his faith wavered not. Undaunted he stood, the faithful messenger of God amid the scoffs and jeers of the world, an unbending witness of God. His meekness and his righteousness was shining brightly in contrast to the revolting crimes, intrigue and violence continually practiced. Connection with God made him strong in the strength of infinite power, while his solemn warning voice for one hundred and twenty years fell upon the ears of the inhabitants of that generation in regard to events, which, as far as human wisdom was concerned, would be impossible to transpire. The world before the flood reasoned that for centuries the laws of nature had been fixed. The recurring seasons had come in their order. The rivers and brooks had never yet passed their boundaries, but had borne their waters safely to the proud sea. Fixed decrees had kept the waters from overflowing their banks. But these reasons did not recognize the Hand that had stayed the waters, saying, thus far shalt thou go and no farther. As time passed on without any apparent change in nature men began to be reassured whose hearts had trembled at times with fear. They felt secure in their unbelief. They reasoned then as men reason now, as though nature was above the God of nature, and her ways were so fixed that God himself could not change them, thus making in the minds of the world God’s messages of warning a delusion, a grand deception, reasoning that if the message of Noah was correct nature would be turned out of her course of order.
8 The days of Noah, Christ tells us, were as the days prior to his appearing in the clouds of heaven. Noah’s day prefigures the present age. The world’s Redeemer, who knew best the history of the past, is the true prophet of the characters of the future. Human nature in Noah’s day uninfluenced by the Spirit of God is the same in our age. Jesus in his assertions and representations recognizes Genesis as the words of inspiration. Many admit the New Testament to be divine, while they show no special regard for the Old Testament scriptures; but these two grand books cannot be divorced. Inspired apostles who wrote the New Testament are continually carrying back the minds of the searchers of Scriptures to the Old. Christ carries the minds of all generations, present and future, to the Old Testament. He refers to Noah as a literal person who lived; he refers to the flood as a fact in history; he shows the specification of that generation, as characteristics of this age. The Truth and Life has anticipated the questioning and doubts of men in regard to the Old Testament by pronouncing it divine.
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9 The parents, especially the father, should guard against the danger of their children learning to look upon him as a detective, peering into all their actions, watching and criticising them, ready to seize upon and punish them for every misdemeanor. The father’s conduct upon all occasions should be such that the children will understand that his efforts to correct them spring from a heart full of love for them. When this point is gained, a great victory is accomplished. Fathers should have a sense of their children’s human want and weakness, and his sympathy and sorrow for the erring ones should be greater than any sorrow they can feel for their own misdeeds. This will be perceived by the corrected child, and will soften the most stubborn heart.
10 The father, as priest and house-band of the family circle, should stand to them as nearly in the place of Christ as possible—a sufferer for those who sin, one who, though guiltless, endures the pains and penalty of his children’s wrongs, and, while he inflicts punishment upon them, suffers more deeply under it than they do.
11 But if the father exhibits a want of self-control before his children, how can he teach them to govern their wrong propensities? If he displays anger or injustice, or evidence that he is the slave of any evil habit, he loses half his influence over them. Children have keen perceptions, and draw sharp conclusions; precept must be followed by example to have much weight with them. If the father indulges in the use of any hurtful stimulant, or falls into any other degrading habit, how can he maintain his moral dignity before the watchful eyes of his children? If indulgence in the use of tobacco must be made an exception in his case, the sons may feel justified in taking the same license. And they may not only use tobacco because father does, but may gradually glide into the habit of taking intoxicating liquor on the plea that it is no worse to use wine or beer than tobacco. Thus, through the influence of the father’s example, the son sets his feet in the path of the drunkard.
12 The dangers of youth are many. There are innumerable temptations to gratify appetite in this land of plenty. Young men in our cities are brought face to face with this sort of temptation every day. They fall under deceptive allurements to gratify appetite, without the thought that they are endangering health. The young frequently receive the impression that happiness is to be found in freedom from restraint, and in the enjoyment of forbidden pleasures and self-gratification. This enjoyment is purchased at the expense of the physical, mental, and moral health, and turns to bitterness at last.
13 How important, then, that fathers look well after the habits of their sons, and their associates. And first of all he should see that no perverted appetite holds him in bondage, lessening his influence with his sons, and sealing his lips on the subject of self-indulgence in regard to hurtful stimulants.
14 Man can do much more for God and his fellow-man if he is in the vigor of health than if he is suffering from disease and pain. Tobacco-using, liquor-drinking, and wrong habits of diet, induce disease and pain which incapacitate man for the use he might be in the world. Nature, being outraged, makes her voice heard, sometimes in no gentle tones of remonstrance, in fierce pains and extreme debility. For every indulgence of unnatural appetite the physical health suffers, the brain loses its clearness to act and discriminate. The father, above all others, should have a clear, active mind, quick perceptions, calm judgment, physical strength to support him in his arduous duties, and most of all the help of God to order his acts aright. He should therefore be entirely temperate, walking in the fear of God, and the admonition of his law, mindful of all the small courtesies and kindnesses of life, the support and strength of his wife, a perfect pattern for his sons to follow, a counselor and authority for his daughters. He should stand forth in the moral dignity of a man free from the slavery of evil habits and appetites, qualified for the sacred responsibilities of educating his children for the higher life.—Mrs. E.G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 The character of the people before the flood as given by the unerring pen of inspiration is explicit. And God said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man for that he also is flesh. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Here the faithful historian with an inspired pen draws the portrait of Noah’s day, when we are told that the heart of man was deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
2 The nature of man unrenewed by grace is not changed in our day from what it was in Noah’s time. Christ has said a similar state of things would be prior to his second coming as existed before the flood. In the days of Noah men followed the imagination of their own hearts, and the result was unrestrained crime and wickedness. The same state of things will exist in this age of the world. But will not some of the learned, the honored of the world, accept the message of warning in these last days? Will the world as a majority perish in the general impending ruin? How was it in Noah’s day? as it was then Christ has said it should be. Of that vast population there was only eight persons who believed the message of Noah and obeyed God’s word. In the world today the majority choose the broad road to death because the way of life is too narrow for them to walk in with their dishonesty, avarice, pride and iniquity. Now, as in the days of Noah, the overwhelming majority are opposed to the saving truth and are fascinated with lying fables.
3 Many now are convicted, and God’s Spirit is striving with them, but they will not heed the invitations of mercy. Men who make high profession of wisdom and of godliness transgress the law of God without compunctions of conscience. One marked feature of Noah’s day was the intense worldliness of the inhabitants. They were eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage, not that these things were of themselves sins, but they were, although lawful in themselves, carried to a high degree of intemperance. The appetite was indulged at the expense of health and reason. This constant indulgence of their sinful desires corrupted them and defiled the earth under them. The same evils intensified exist in our world today. Men are blind to reason and the result of indulging perverted appetite. The world is the god of nine-tenths of professed Christians. The indulgence of appetite is carried to the greatest excess. Tobacco, wine, liquor and opium are added to the list of a feverish stimulating diet.
4 Professed followers of Christ are today eating and drinking with the drunken while their names stand in honored church records. The gratification of perverted appetite leads directly to the indulgence of unholy passions. Many feel under no moral obligation to curb the appetite or the base passions. They are slaves to perverted appetite. They are not living for the future life. They are rushing on as did the inhabitants of the world in Noah’s day, living for this present existing world regardless that their deeds of the present every day life casts its shadow forward in the future, and the retribution will be in accordance with their works. They are as disobedient today in reference to God’s laws as they were in Noah’s time. While in the world they will not keep separate from its pollutions but will be of the world, notwithstanding God has expressly forbidden this union with the world.
5 As in Noah’s day, philosophers and men of science see nature’s laws but cannot carry their wisdom higher and see beyond these laws nature’s Lawgiver. Wise worldly men seek to practically reason out or theorize in regard to nature without taking the God of nature into the account. Many will resist God’s warnings and array themselves against his law because their sinful life cannot harmonize with the pure principles of God’s moral government. They consider it too hard work to reform their lives, therefore they endeavor to make the law of God meet their low standard of morals. It was God’s purpose in sending Noah to warn the world that the people should see their sins and awaken to a sense of their crimes and great wickedness and be alarmed and fear and repent that God might pardon and save them.
6 As the time of Christ’s second appearing draws near, the Lord sends his servants with a warning message to the world to prepare for that great event. As the world have been living in transgression of the law of God, in mercy he sends a message of warning to arouse their attention and hold before them the law of God as a mirror into which they can look and discover the defects in their moral character. If they will at once make earnest efforts to remedy these defects, by repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, they will be pardoned through the merits of his blood, for this is the only hope of the transgressor of the law of God. But as in the days of Noah, there is with the majority a total disbelief of the testimony God has in mercy sent to warn the world of her coming destruction.
7 When Noah proclaimed the solemn message, yet an hundred and twenty years the judgments of God in a flood of water should destroy the world and its inhabitants, men would not receive it, so it is at the present time. Those who warn the transgressors of law to repent and turn to their allegiance for the Lawgiver is coming to punish the disobedient, will plead and entreat and warn the majority in vain. Peter describes the attitude of the world in reference to the last message: “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished; but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
8 The men of Noah’s time, in their philosophy and worldly wisdom, thought God could not destroy the world with a flood, for the waters of the ocean could not be sufficient for this. But God made the philosophy and science of men foolishness when the time had fully come to execute his word. The inspired pen describes the earth as standing out of the water and in the water. God had his weapons concealed in the bowels of the earth to compass her destruction. And when the great men and the wise men had reasoned before the world of the impossibility of its destruction by water, and the fears of the people were quieted, and all regarded Noah’s prophecy as the veriest delusion, and looked upon Noah as a crazy fanatic, God’s time had come. He hid Noah and his family in the ark, and the rain began to descend, slowly at first; the jeers and scoffings did not cease for a time, but soon the waters from heaven united with the waters of the great deep; the waters under the earth burst through the earth’s surface, and the windows of heaven were opened, and man with all his philosophy and so-called science, finds that he had not been able in his worldly wisdom to comprehend God. He found too late that his wisdom was foolishness; that the Lawgiver is greater than the laws of nature. The hand of omnipotence is at no loss for ways and means to accomplish his purposes. He could reach into the bowels of the earth and call forth his weapons, waters there concealed, to aid in the destruction of the corrupt inhabitants of the old world. But let us all bear in mind that those who perished in that awful judgment had an offer of escape.
9 The faithful Noah had spoken to them the words of God, assuring them if they would repent of their sins and believe the testimony of warning they might find a shelter in the ark and be saved from the destructive storm that was soon coming. As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. Water will never destroy the earth again, but the weapons of God are concealed in the bowels of the earth which he will draw forth to unite with the fire from heaven to accomplish his purpose in the destruction of all those who would not receive the message of warning and purify their souls in obeying the truth and being obedient to the laws of God. The voice of warning is now being heard inviting the people to escape and find refuge, not in the ark but in Jesus Christ. How will the warning be treated? Christ tells us just as it was received in the days of Noah. Thousands will deride the message of mercy and salvation, and turn aside, one to his merchandise, another to his farm, and give little or no attention to these things. They will be occupied with eating, drinking, and dressing, planting and building as in the days of Noah, as though no sound of alarm had ever saluted their ears.
10 The same reasoning will be heard today from worldly-wise men, from the unfaithful watchmen in the pulpits, “My Lord delayeth his coming, all things remain as they were from the beginning. You have no need to be alarmed, there is to be a thousand years of temporal millennium before Christ will come. All the world will be converted. Peace, peace; you should pay no regard to these fanatics, who are only alarmists.” The world generally will despise prophecy and abuse those who speak to them the words of God, rebuking their sins and calling them to repentance. Timothy writes: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. What a picture is here drawn by the apostle in regard to the days, just prior to the coming of the Son of man.” The millennial glory that is predicted by the false shepherds of today does not harmonize with the words of the inspired apostle. The question is asked, When the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?
11 The deceived shepherds, deceiving their flocks in their turn, are the ones whose voices are heard prophesying the conversion of the world crying peace, and safety. The inspired apostle assures us we may look for wickedness to be continually increasing as the end approaches. The description given by Timothy of the sins to be found among those who have a form of godliness is sufficient to place the students of the Bible on their guard that they be not deceived in regard to the true state of things in our world by the syren songs of the sleepy shepherds crying peace and safety when destruction is just ready to burst upon the world. While Satan is working to quiet the fears and consciences of men, he is making his last master stroke to retain his power over a world which he sees is about to pass from his grasp—He has come down in great power working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish. His lying wonders will deceive many.
12 Philosophers and men of science will endeavor by their reasoning to show that the world cannot be destroyed by fire. They will plead that it is inconsistent with the laws of nature. But the God of nature, the maker and controller of nature, can use the works of his own hands to serve his purpose. Those who would be loyal to the God of heaven will not allow that interpretation of prophecy which will do away the force of the lesson God designed the prophecy should convey. As the contemporaries of Noah laughed to scorn that which they termed fear and superstition in the preacher of righteousness, so will the solemn messages of warning be ridiculed in our day.
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1 The hearts of the disciples were troubled at the words of their Master who had said that all his faithful followers would be offended because of him that same night. In their affection and care for their Saviour it seemed to them a hard saying. Peter especially was grieved that Jesus should not accept his assurance of fidelity under all circumstances. But the Saviour knew the test that awaited his little flock, so soon to be left without a shepherd. He knew the agony that awaited him in the garden, that on the morrow he was to pass through the mockeries of a trial in the judgment hall, to be followed by his crucifixion. He knew that no sleep would refresh his weary frame until he closed his eyes in death.
2 But his loving heart was drawn out in sympathy for his disciples who were to endure a fearful trial in his betrayal and death upon the cross. The grief of the Son of God was not for himself but that his disciples were to be left without his presence to comfort and strengthen them. It had been impossible for them to comprehend the terrible scenes they were now entering upon, and their very ignorance of what was before them, notwithstanding his statements in regard to the future, moved the Saviour’s compassionate heart. He read the peculiar character of each disciple, knowing who were in greatest danger of being overcome by temptation. But this knowledge did not bring one word of harshness or rebuke from his lips; their very weakness bound his companions to his heart in bonds of sympathy and love. His great anxiety was to shield his followers from suffering and from the abandonment of unbelief. He addressed them in these words:—
3 “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” Doubting, questioning Thomas feels called upon to express his discouragement and unbelief: “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” Jesus mildly and patiently instructed his doubting disciples in the way of life:—
4 “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” Jesus would have him understand that the Father had been revealed in the Son—in his teachings that reflected the wisdom of Heaven, and in his works that showed the power of Omnipotence.
5 Philip perceiving but dimly the meaning of his Lord said to him, “Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us.” Philip, and also the other disciples were filled with apprehension and doubt, and they desired that Jesus should give them a last convincing proof of his divinity by showing them the Father. Christ appeared in the disguise of humanity as a servant. But those who were partakers of his divine nature had eyes to perceive his divinity, the glory of which had upon special occasions, flashed through his human disguise, revealing indeed the Father. Sad indeed was it that one of his disciples who had been his companion, and witnessed his mighty works, had so failed to discern the character of his Saviour as to ask him for another sign. Jesus looked upon him with mild reproach:—
6 “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me or else believe me for the very work’s sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
7 All that men were able to witness of God had been revealed to them in Christ, and had their spiritual perception been what it should have been they would have discerned in him the Father. Jesus, now about to remove his powerful presence from his disciples, promised that they should do greater works even than he had done. He was soon to stand by his Father’s side as the Advocate of men, to plead in their behalf, and he promised to do whatsoever they should ask in his name, that the Father might be glorified in the Son. “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” Precious promise to the needy and sorrowful. When the Spirit was afterward poured out upon the disciples wonderful results followed through the gifts which Christ had just promised them. He continued: “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me. Because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
8 Jesus had been the teacher and counselor of his disciples, their pitying friend. Now, when about to leave them, he assured them that he would in no case forsake them, but would be clothed with power, and would become their Friend and Advocate in the presence of the Father, to present any petition they might offer in the name of his Son. He promised them a comforter when his personal presence was taken from them. The disciples did not comprehend at the time, the full meaning of their Master’s words; but afterward, in their religious experience, they cherished the precious promise and presented their petitions to the Father in the name of Jesus.
9 That promise given by Jesus to his disciples was for the benefit of all who should comply with the conditions of Christ to the end of time. God is omnipotent, and man may be strong to accomplish his purpose while he has the promise of divine help in every emergency. God’s power is hidden from the unbelieving; his ways and purposes are not understood by them. “The world knoweth him not.” But mighty victories are gained through the prayers of the obedient children of God, presented in the name of Jesus. The secret of the success of the people of God is connection with him in prayer, and humble obedience of his requirements. Jesus urged upon his disciples the necessity of obeying the commandments he had given them if they would abide in his love. The comfort promised to his followers was on this condition.
10 God’s blessing was never withheld from his obedient people. The wrath of God was brought upon the Jews by their disobedience of his law. Many persons contrast the freedom found in Christ with what they regard as the severe requirements of the law of God. Their words and example say to the world, Christ is so lenient and forgiving that we need not be particular to keep to the strict letter of the law. They slide away from their allegiance in a loose reckless manner, doing the works of Satan, while professing to love the Lord. Yet Jesus positively declared in his last conversation with his disciples, that those who love him will keep his commandments. In the Old Testament entire obedience is required in order to secure blessings, and entire obedience is also required in the New Testament as the conditions of receiving the approval of God. Obedience of the divine requirements is the demonstration of our faith, and the test of our love and discipleship. Professing theories, and observing forms will not answer the requirements of God. The vital principle of love is kept active through obedience. “Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
11 All through his ministry Jesus impressed upon his followers the necessity of obeying the law, and his own life was a demonstration of its principles, and now, as his time of agony and trial approaches, his mind, instead of dwelling upon himself, turns to his disciples, and he seeks to impress upon them the lesson of obedience. The Savior when about to leave his disciples promises to manifest himself to those who love him and keep his commandments: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
12 “Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”
13 The Savior patiently explains his former words: “If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Here is the mystery of godliness: Christ revealed by his Spirit to those who love him. When he should pass from the world he would be unknown by those who love the world and obey not the requirements of God. But the highest form of truth was presented to the disciples in the fact that the Savior would be discovered by those who love and walk in the light, while he is hidden from those who do not accept the light. Every step in the life of faith and consecration is additional knowledge of the world’s Redeemer. Though no longer personally with his disciples, Jesus takes the hand of the faithful and becomes their Guide through all the dangers and trials of life’s journey. Jesus continued:—
14 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father; for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.” The Savior encouraged his disciples with the assurance that when he was no longer with them his Spirit would refresh their memories, so that the words which he had spoken to them would be imprinted on their hearts, to be afterward given to all nations, tongues and kindred on earth. The Savior settled his peace upon his disciples as a legacy, and exhorted them not to be overwhelmed with anguish, for they should enjoy that peace which is a mystery to the world.
15 He led their minds from the great loss they would soon sustain, to the advantages they would gain by his leaving them. He told them that the Father was greater than himself, that he would stand by the Father’s side as the friend of his followers, to speak in their behalf. He is acquainted with human nature and the tendencies of the human heart, and promises to unite his petition with theirs, that the comforter, the spirit of truth might abide with them and shine forth in their lives and works, winning many to Christ. This promise has been the comfort and stay of millions who have since followed Jesus in humble obedience.
16 Through the strength of Jesus men may be made strong; through his love they may become lovely in character. He would have his followers understand that they cannot go to the people of the world for sympathy and comfort in their religious difficulties and trials; because the spirit of the truth is not discerned by them.
17 Our Savior had one more work to do in evidence of his own complete obedience to the Father. It was to die for the world. Said he: “Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” His hour was fast approaching; and he with his disciples passed on his way to Gethsemane. Many times had he traveled these paths on messages of love and mercy; and he had lately passed that way in triumph hailed by the glad acclamations of thousands as Him that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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1 Mount Olivet had been our Saviour’s favorite resort for retirement and prayer after his day’s work of teaching was done. At the foot of the mount was the garden named Gethsemane, and to this he now made his way. It was night, but the moon was shining brightly and revealed to Jesus a flourishing grapevine. He uses this as a symbol of his union with his followers:—
2 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” As the Father had life in himself so had the Son. The branches of a vine detached from its parent stalk, withers and dies, is lifeless and fruitless. “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away.” The Jewish nation was a fruitless branch, and was therefore to be separated from the living vine, which was Christ Jesus, and the Gentiles were to be engrafted upon the stalk to become a living branch, partaker of the life that nourished the true vine. The branch was to be pruned and purged that it might be more fruitful.
3 Jesus in view of his removal from his disciples is filled with anguish; yet he knows that this separation will cause them to be more firmly connected with the living vine, and yield a rich harvest of fruit. He exhorts them: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love.” When the sinner has repented of his sins, and is united to Christ, as the branch is engrafted on the vine, a deep and earnest love pervades his being which death cannot quench. The nature of the man is changed and he is a partaker of the divine nature. He loves the things which Christ loves, and hates that which He hates. His desires are in harmony with the will of God. He treasures up the words of Christ, and they abide in him. The life-giving principle of the Saviour is communicated to the Christian. Just so the little rod, leafless, and apparently lifeless is engrafted into the living vine, and fiber by fiber, vein by vein, drinks life and strength from it till it becomes a flourishing branch of the parent stalk.
4 The condition of this union is plainly specified: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” The commandments of the Father are the commandments of the Son. In this union with Christ, finite man, dependent and worthless, is exalted by a connection with the Infinite, even as the engrafted branch draws nourishment from the vine which results in the production of fruit. The follower of Christ derives from him wisdom, strength and righteousness. Without Christ he cannot be reconciled to God, whose law he has transgressed. Without Christ he is unable to subdue a single sin or overcome the smallest temptation. The soul united to Christ as the branch to the vine is accepted of God through the merits of his Son, and becomes an object of the Father’s special care. Christ says, “I am the true vine, my Father is the husbandman.” Man, by his union to the Infinite One through Jesus Christ, will be fruitful of good works. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” Jesus continues:—
5 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” The joy of the Christian is not found in transgression of the law of God, but in obedience of all its precepts. None are in slavery and bondage to the law but those who transgress it. Obedience produces love to God and man—the two great principles of the law of God. This obedience and this love brings fullness of joy to the disciples of Jesus. He still impresses upon them the importance of carrying forward the work which he has begun, and bearing fruit to the glory of God.
6 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” The Saviour instructed his disciples not to expect the commendation of the world. The world hated the Majesty of Heaven before it hated his followers. Those who are of the same spirit with the world enjoy its smiles and approbation; but the humble disciples of Christ will suffer opposition. But this opposition met by the Christian will be of the highest value to him if it drives him to Jesus for sympathy and comfort. Such opposition will develop staunch elements of character and virtues that shine brightest in adversity. Faith, patience and Heavenly-mindedness, with confidence in God are the perfect fruit that blossoms and matures in the shadow of adversity.
7 Christ the Master was hated and persecuted, and his followers should expect no better portion in this life. In these days the churches that profess the name of Jesus, yet are built up with lifeless forms, and full of popular sins and error, escape the condemnation of the world. But a people that unite to condemn sin, repress iniquity, cherish the truth of Christ and obey the commandments of God must endure the rebuffs and persecutions of the world.
8 “Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.” The Saviour instructed his disciples to look for the opposition of the world. He declared that they should be brought before kings and rulers for his name’s sake; and whosoever might destroy the lives of the disciples would be so far deceived by the adversary as to think they were doing God service. Every indignity and cruelty which the ingenuity of man and the zeal of Satan could devise would be visited upon the followers of Christ. But, in all these trials, they were to remember that their Master and Guide had endured like reproach and contumely, and were to press on in his footsteps, keeping the prize of eternal life in view, and striving to win more souls to Christ.
9 Jesus wished to impress upon his disciples the importance of their position, as those who had accompanied him in his travels, beholding his wonderful works and hearing his words of wisdom. Said he to them: “And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.” These faithful witnesses of Christ were to execute their mission with a wisdom and energy equal to the importance of the truth to which they were to testify. The history of those men and the evidence which they were to record were to be the study of men through all ages. Tremendous results were to be realized from the words of Jesus to his few humble disciples.
10 They were the chosen repositories of the truth of God. They were witnesses of the Father’s acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son of God. At the baptism of Christ they had heard the voice of the Father proclaiming: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” On the mount of transfiguration they had beheld the excellent glory clothing the Saviour with the brightness of the sun. They had seen the Heavenly messengers conversing with the Saviour, and heard again the voice of God declare: “This is my beloved Son, hear him.” In the temple, only a few hours before, they had again heard the Father exalt and glorify his Son. That which these favored disciples had seen and felt and heard in regard to the Redeemer they were commissioned to testify for the benefit of humanity through all time. And, by living faith, men must lay hold of Christ through the evidence of these chosen witnesses of his divinity, and power unto salvation.
11 Jesus carefully opened before his disciples the events which would transpire after his death, forewarning them that when persecution should overtake them they might not become discouraged and apostatize from their faith to avert suffering and dishonor. Said he: “I have many things to say to you, but ye cannot bear them now.” What tenderness and sympathy these words express! He forbore to crowd their minds with truths that were difficult for them to comprehend. He led them gently on to understand the great subjects with which he wished to entrust them, and which they were to deliver to the world.
12 Jesus also refrained from wounding their feelings as much as possible. He could have, in a more definite manner, informed them concerning the Jewish service—that sacrificial offerings were no longer accepted by God, and that the light of God’s presence no longer blessed the temple. But they were not yet strong enough to hear these things. A fearful test awaited them in the crucifixion of their Lord; and Jesus gently prepared their minds for this event, and for his absence from them. After his resurrection he would more clearly reveal to them his mission to the world and his approaching ascension to his Father. They would then be better able to understand and appreciate these great and solemn facts.
13 Jesus plainly stated to the disciples that he had left the presence of his Father to come unto the world; that he was about to leave the world and return to the presence of his Father. The disciples thereupon expressed their faith that Jesus had indeed come from God. The Saviour then assured them that the time was approaching when they would be scattered each one seeking his own safety, and their Master would be left alone; yet not alone, for his Father would not forsake his Son. Jesus warned his followers of the future that they might be in some measure prepared for the events that awaited them. He encouraged them to look to him and trust in him when the opposition of the world like a dark storm met them in the accomplishment of their mission. He fortified their minds with hope, and reliance in his example: Be of good cheer I have overcome the world.
14 This should be the Christian’s consolation. Christ, as man’s representative, has overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. So by the Saviour’s help may the children of men overcome all the powers of evil. Jesus was about to be separated from his little band of followers. He had but a little time in which to comfort and instruct them, and his farewell counsel was rich in sympathy and truth. Exceeding precious to his disciples were these last moments passed in the presence of their beloved Master. Like a consecrated high priest, Jesus now poured forth the burden of his soul to his Father in such a petition for his church as the angels had never before heard. This prayer was deep and full, broad as the earth, and reaching highest heaven. He presented his humanity before the throne of God. With his human arm he encircled the children of Adam in a firm embrace, and with his strong divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite, that he might unite earth to heaven, and finite man with the Infinite God.
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1 [A sermon preached in Battle Creek, Mich., June 19, 1877, and phonographically reported.]
2 “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
3 Here is a promise to us on condition of obedience. If we will come out from the world, and be separate, and touch not the unclean he will receive us. Here are the conditions of our acceptance with God. We have something to do ourselves. Here is a work for us. We are to show our separation from the world. The friendship of the world is enmity with God. It is impossible for us to be friends of the world and yet be in union with Christ. But what does this mean: to be friends of the world? It is to unite hands with them, to enjoy what they enjoy, to love that which they love, to seek for pleasure, to seek for gratification, to follow our own inclinations. We do not in following inclination have our affections upon God; we are loving and serving ourselves. But here is a grand promise: “Come out from among them and be ye separate.” Separate from what? The inclinations of the world, their tastes, their habits; the fashions, the pride, and the customs of the world. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you.” In making this move, in showing that we are not in harmony with the world, the promise of God is ours. He does not say perhaps I will receive you; but, “I will receive you.” It is a positive promise. You have a surety that you will be accepted of God. Then in separating from the world you connect yourself with God; you become a member of the royal family; you become sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty; you are children of the heavenly King; adopted into his family, and have a hold from above; united with the infinite God whose arm moves the world. What an exalted privilege is this to be thus favored, thus honored of God; to be called sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. It is incomprehensible; but still with all these promises and encouragements there are many who question and hesitate. They are in an undecided position. They seem to think that if they were to become Christians, there would be a mountain of responsibilities to be borne in religious duties and Christian obligations. There is a mountain of responsibility, a life-time of watchfulness, of battling with their own inclinations, with their own wills, with their own desires, with their own pleasures; and as they look at it, it seems like an impossibility for them to take the step, to decide that they will be children of God, servants of the Most High.
4 By this I am reminded of an incident I once read, of an aged gentleman who had been broken down by hard labor yet was seeking some employment by which he could obtain means. A nobleman who had a hundred cords of wood to cut, was informed of the wish of the old gentleman. He told him that if he would cut the wood he should have one hundred dollars for the job. But the old gentleman replied, No, he could never do that. It was impossible. He was an old man, and not able to undertake such a job. “Well,” said the nobleman, “we will make a different bargain. Can you cut one cord today? if so, I will give one dollar.” The bargain was made, and the cord of wood was cut that day. “Now,” said the nobleman, “you may cut another cord tomorrow;” and another cord was cut the next day; and thus the whole job was accomplished. In one hundred days the work was completed, and the laborer was in just as good health as when he commenced the work. He could take it cord by cord, but when presented to him in one large job the accomplishment of it seemed impossible.
5 This well represents the cases of many who are undecided. They have a desire to be Christians, yet the responsibilities of a Christian life seem so great to them that they fear they will make a failure, are almost certain they can never reach the mark if they make the attempt. But when it is taken into consideration that it is not for them to see the end of the Christian’s journey; it is not for them to comprehend and accomplish it at once. Only one day at a time with its burdens and responsibilities is presented to us. Yes, dear friends, dear youth, tomorrow is not yours. It is the duties of today that you are to perform. If you resolve to be on the Lord’s side, and come out from among the world, and be separate, and choose to be sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, to leave the ranks of the enemy, the service of sin and of Satan, make up your mind to always do present duty. Take hold of the duties of today, realizing that the Lord has claims upon you, that you are responsible to your Creator; these claims are to be met only a day at a time. In the strength of God take hold believing that you can overcome for that one day. That day must be commenced with watchfulness and prayer. Learn to give your heart’s best affections to God. Signify in noble work and in your conversation that you love your heavenly Father. Let him apportion to you your work.
6 The Christian life is a battle and a march. It is to work for today and not for tomorrow. It is to do the duties of today; it is, when you rise in the morning, to think, now I am wholly dependent upon God, and I will ask him to take care of me; and when I ask him to take care of me today, I believe that he will do so. I will lay my burden of care, and my troubles at the feet of Jesus, and he will gather them up. You must trust in his love; and if he has given you a small work, take that up, and do it today; and if you have been faithful in doing that little work today, tomorrow you will be capable of bearing a greater responsibility, and of doing a greater work; and he will give you a greater work and responsibility to bear on the morrow.
7 To every one there is given talents of influence; and how many have an unconscious influence which is daily exerted on those around us. If this influence is saving, if it is gathering with Christ, in the day of final accounts it will tell to our advantage; but if we are exerting an influence which leads souls from God, from the truth, a scattering influence which separates from God, and heaven, we are paving the way, the broad way that leads to death.
8 There are only two roads; one leads to heaven, the other to death and hell. Every one has a work to do. Every one of us, that have reasoning powers, knows that there is a God. As we look at the heavens above, upon the earth beneath with its stately trees, shrubs and every opening bud and blooming flower we know there is a God, a Creator. The glories of the moon and stars in the firmament, the clouds tinted with gold and silver, and the heavens spanned with the beautiful rainbow, speak to us of the goodness, mercy and love of God. All these things are evidences of his care for us. He loves us, oh! so dearly. That love is incomprehensible. It is as high as the heavens, and as broad as the world. A love that is immeasurable. This love that we can trace in every cloud, in every tree, shrub, and vernal branch, in everything our eyes behold, is seeking a place in our hearts. God is love; and oh! what love he has revealed to us in giving his Son to die for us. How can we be indifferent to the claims God has upon us? How can we devote our God-given time, the hours of probation granted us here in which to prepare for a higher and immortal life, to thinking of ourselves, of our appearance, in allowing pride to take possession of our hearts when we consider the infinite price that has been paid for our redemption?
9 We want an arm to lean upon in the hours of affliction that can sustain. We want such an arm to rely upon when the earth shall reel to and fro, and be removed as a cottage. We want to know then that God is our father, that our life is hid with Christ in God. Every one of you need this assurance. The students at our school need this assurance. Some will soon return to their homes. How many of them have come to this school without a hope in Christ? How many have given their hearts to him since they have been attending our college? How many are still in a position of indecision, sometimes inclined to be wholly on the Lord’s side, and then again draw back for the very reasons I have mentioned, the responsibilities and duties devolving upon the Christian? These seem so great that they hesitate and remain undecided.
10 But how many of you, should another year roll round from today, will be alive? Many may be snatched away in a few months. Here was one of your number, Brother Morrison, who came here to attend our college and become able to enter the gospel ministry, and a few weeks has ended his career in this life. Only a few weeks and you followed him to his grave in Oakhill cemetery, there to rest until the morning of the resurrection.
11 How long is the extent of your life? Who of you have the assurance that you will live until the next term of school? How many of you have any surety of your life? But if you had a life-time before you, if you knew that you should live your three-score years and ten, what is that little span of life? Is it too much for you to give to God? What do you give to him? What does he require? Does he require you to give anything that is for your interest or happiness to retain? Oh no. What are the claims that God has upon you? It is, my son, or my daughter, give me thine heart. It is to come out from among the world, and to be separate, “and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you.” Who is the “I?” It is the great “I AM;” he who holds the worlds in his hands; he who gives you life, and gives you health. “And I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.” Oh what a relationship is this! How can any feel as though they were making a sacrifice, to be adopted into the family of the King of kings; the Lord who reigns in the heavens; know you not that it is the highest exaltation to become children of God, “sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty?”
12 Ever since I was eleven years old I have been in the service of this heavenly King. I can speak from experience. He has asked me to give him nothing that was for my best interest to retain. Precious Jesus; precious Saviour; I love him; and I love his service. Oh! that my poor name can be registered in the Lamb’s book of life. Let it stand there; let it be honored among the holy angels; let it remain there when this earth shall pass away; and when the King of kings shall come in his majesty, and in his glory, to take his faithful ones to himself, oh, let my name then be among the ransomed. Let it be among the names of those who shall have the crown of glory upon their brows. Let me have a home with the dear Redeemer, and with an immortal tongue, praise him. Upward to God is the soul’s adoration. Oh, glorious prospect, to be among the ransomed in the kingdom of glory.
13 But here we have duties to perform. God has given us our work. There are none of us who should feel because we do not have a great work to do, that there is no special responsibility resting upon us. Dear friends, it is your duty to do the little things right in your pathway, to fulfill your part in the college where you are, and among your associates; and to speak a word for your Master wherever you are; it is to put away vanity; it is to put away frivolity; it is to overcome pride; it is to put away selfishness, and to seek earnestly for the meekness of Christ.
14 Jesus left his majesty, his glory, and high command, and came to our earth, suffered for our sins, and for our sake became poor. He died that you, through his poverty might be made rich. He was a man of sorrows, and was acquainted with grief. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. When such an infinite price has been paid for us, shall we shrink at the thought, that perhaps we shall not devote so much time to personal adornment, to dress and to display? Shall we shrink at the idea that we must devote our time, our hearts, and our holiest affections to God?
15 I inquire of you again, what does he ask you to give? He asks you to give to him a sin-polluted soul, that he may wash it with his own blood; that he may cleanse it; that he may refine, elevate, and ennoble it; and at last, that you may enjoy the society of the heavenly angels in the kingdom of glory. You must put away pride and selfishness. Do you hesitate to yield your selfishness? Will it make you happy to retain it? The most unhappy persons in the world are those who are selfish, and filled with pride and vanity. It is these things you are to give up. Let it be the language of your heart, “I will give myself to thee just as I am. I will come just now.” But some say, “I am afraid I shall not live a Christian life.” And for fear that you will not live a Christian life you are not going to make an effort.
16 Can you not venture out upon the promises of God? Christ has said not a sparrow falleth to the ground without the notice of your heavenly Father; and even the hairs of your head are numbered. Now, will not he that is able to do this, help you when you ask him to give you grace that you may follow in the path of obedience? Will he not give you that strength, that wisdom, and knowledge that shall lead you to follow in his footsteps?
17 You are seeking to obtain an education. How many of you who are before me may have it laid upon you to be embassadors for Christ, called to point souls to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world? How many of you will bear the burdens, and responsibilities as ministers of the gospel? You must render an account to God for the talents he has given you. Are you going to devote these talents, your ability, to God? If not, your education will only sink you lower at last; because you are gaining more and more knowledge, and you are not putting that knowledge to a good account. You are perverting it. But God is able to do great things for you. He says, “Come out from among them and be ye separate.” Come out from among the world; let not your aspirations be for the things of this world; for there is something higher after which you may aspire; there are higher attainments which demand your attention. The things of this world perish, are corruptible, and pass away, but there are things that will never perish, things that are eternal; and for these you may aspire. You cannot be loving the things of this world, and taking hold upon God and heaven at the same time. Are you afraid that if you become Christians, the world will look upon you with derision? Do you fear their taunts and their jeers? Jesus bore it before you; he, “who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” He who created the world, our Redeemer, our Saviour, bore it before you.
18 But what if you should have all the honor and the applause that the world could give you, what then? Let disease take hold of your mortal frames, can this honor and applause, and the praise of men relieve you of one pang? Can it relieve you of one distress? Can it be of the least advantage to you in healing you of your maladies? It cannot. But what does the Father say? “I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty.” He will connect you with himself, crown you with glory and honor, immortality and eternal life. This honor, that you can seek for with a surety of obtaining, will never perish. Do you seek gold, the riches of this world? We read that the streets of the city are paved with pure gold, and that the gates of the city are of gold set with pearls. The riches obtained here may be consumed. There are many ways in which you may be robbed of your earthly treasure. Christ says: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” There no thief shall approach; no moth or rust shall corrupt. Thus, if you lay up your treasures there, you will have an imperishable treasure which you can be in no danger of losing.
19 And now I would say to these, my friends, I have the deepest interest that you should give your hearts to God; that you may be strong in the cause of serving him. You need him for your friend, he will be a friend, indeed. You may come to your earthly friends with burdens; they may sympathize with you, but cannot relieve you; but here is a friend to whom you may come with your troubles and trials who is always ready not only to sympathize with you, but to bear your burdens. He knows all the difficulties of the way, for he has passed through them; and he is touched with the feelings of your infirmities. This great High Priest, who is in the heavens, is pleading in you behalf. He loves you; and when you come to him with your griefs, your sorrows, and your troubles he will listen to you. He will hear your prayers, and answer your petitions. When you pour out your heart before him, then his great heart of love is opened to you, and he will be touched with your griefs and your sorrows. And now I would inquire of the young here tonight, How many want Christ as their Saviour, and their Redeemer? How many want to make a decided move to live for God? How many of the youth who have attended our school, or any here who have backslidden from God, want to renew their covenant with him, want to yield their pride, and to get rid of their selfishness? How many will come to their Saviour this very evening? “Behold I stand at the door,” says Christ, “and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Gracious invitation! Jesus is at the door seeking admittance. Will you open to him? Will you let him take possession of your heart? Will you give him your affections?
20 Now, I wish to say to the youths, and to any who want to start to serve God; here at this very meeting say: I will give myself to God; I will leave the paths of sin, and I will try to be a Christian. Let those who have backslidden, and have not the evidence that they are the children of God, come forward, and we will unite with you in presenting your cases before God in prayer. We want the deep movings of the Spirit of God. We want you to take Jesus with you as you go to your homes. We want you to have a knowledge of Christ, and come to him. We want you to give your hearts to the Lord, and serve and obey him.
21 [THIS DISCOURSE WAS FOLLOWED BY A LARGE NUMBER COMING FORWARD FOR PRAYERS. THE INTEREST CONTINUED TILL THE CAMP-MEETING, WHEN OVER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY WERE BAPTIZED, MANY OF WHOM WERE STUDENTS OF THE BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE.]
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1 [THE CLOSING EXERCISES OF THE BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE FOR THE YEAR WERE HELD IN THE BEAUTIFUL GROVE AT GOGUAC LAKE, ABOUT TWO MILES FROM THE CITY OF BATTLE CREEK. BEFORE THE SERVICES CLOSED THERE WERE ABOUT FOUR HUNDRED PERSONS PRESENT WHO WITNESSED THE BAPTISM OF FOURTEEN STUDENTS OF THE SCHOOL WHO HAD BEEN CONVERTED DURING THE LAST TERM. IT WAS ON THIS OCCASION THAT MRS. WHITE GAVE THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS, WHICH WAS REPORTED BY A STUDENT.]
2 Our Saviour, frequently, when he was giving his lessons of instruction to his disciples, took them without inclosed walls and led them by the lake- side and in the groves; and here he gave them illustrations by the objects in nature; and with these he bound up the sacred lessons of instruction which were to be immortalized in their minds. As they would look upon the shrubs and the flowers, the rocks and barren soil, the mountains and hills, the sower and the reaper; and as they would look upon the flowers in glowing beauty around them, the lessons of instruction given by their divine Lord were repeated to them. When we look upon these lofty trees and upon the lake and the boats that are going out and coming in upon the water we can remember that Christ beckoned for a fisherman’s boat, and he entered into Simon’s, and asked him to thrust out a little from the land. He there gave important lessons which were to be immortalized and handed down to us; and which were to reach unto the end of the world. As we view the lake today, and the boats upon the waters, these lessons which Christ gave are repeated to us.
3 Said the Saviour of the world: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Who gave to the beautiful flowers their delicate tints and their varied colors? Was it not that God which has given us everything that is lovely and beautiful in our world? Our heavenly Father who has surrounded us with everything that is glorious in nature is a God of love. He is a lover of the beautiful. He says: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.” Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed, with his costly robes of gold and silver, in garments which could bear comparison to these flowers of loveliness in their natural simplicity. Solomon is seated upon a throne of ivory, its basement is of gold, the steps are of gold flanked with six golden lions. Everything surrounding him is attractive. All his eye rests upon is magnificent. His eye rests upon expansive gardens, stretching away in the distance, beautiful and adorned with trees and shrubs to resemble the loveliness of paradise. The most rare and expensive birds of the richest plumage have been transported from every clime, and with their varying notes and bright songs, are flitting from bough to bough, while youths, the most lovely, clad in gold and silver dress, are seeking to amuse and divert the mind of the greatest monarch that ever sat upon an earthly throne. Many envied the popularity and abundant glory of Solomon, thinking that of all men he must be the most happy. But amid all that glory of artificial display the man envied is the one to be most pitied. His countenance is dark with despair. All the splendor about him is but to him mockery of the distress and anguish of his thoughts as he reviews his misspent life in seeking for happiness through indulgence and selfish gratification of every desire. He wails out his disappointment in these words: “All is vanity and vexation of spirit.” We may learn the lesson in the sad life of Solomon that riches and high intellectual attainments will not be sufficient for a happy life. Learning, and ability, and outward display without the sanctifying power of true godliness, will not bring contentment, peace, and happiness.
4 You have your youthful strength, your strong, ardent, impetuous temperaments which if guided aright will make you men and women of influence. If you bring your talents early as a consecrated offering to God he will accept you. If connected with the source of all purity, nobility and holiness, your lives will represent the spotless purity of this lily, diffusing a fragrance grateful and pleasant to all with whom you associate.
5 Dear youth, cultivate natural simplicity. Consider and learn from the flowers of the field the lesson Christ has sought to impress upon your mind and heart. You may devote the golden hours of your probation in studying your outward appearance. You may neglect the most essential work of your life in failing to secure the inward adorning, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price. You may devote time, money and much thought to outward display, and after all your anxious care, you will not bear comparison to one of these flowers for attractive loveliness in their natural simplicity.
6 Here is the pure and lovely lily growing among the filth of ponds and lakes, striking down its curiously channeled stem, and gathering to itself only those properties that shall develop into this pure, fragrant lily. Every one admires this emblem of purity. Your lives, dear students, may resemble this lily.
7 As Christ offered his prayer to his Father he uttered these words. “I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world but keep them from the evil.” The world is a land of emptiness: It is a world good and beautiful of itself but man has become so sensual and depraved so embittered against God that the earth itself groans under the weight of accumulated guilt, you must cultivate firm principle in the midst of surrounding infidelity, hypocrisy, pride, and profligacy. You must be Bible students and carry Bible rules into your every day life. In no case allow knavery deception and dishonesty to beguile you from your simplicity. Be it your constant study how you will best attain and cherish that which God values, the ornament of purity and meekness, that the world will be better for your having lived in it. Like the pure lily you need faith’s penetrating root descending beneath the outward things which do appear to gather spiritual strength to invigorate and give purity and goodness to the life. The study of the Bible, the hours of secret communion with God, meditation upon heavenly themes will develop into purity of character resembling the spotless lily. The life of God in the soul is Christ in you a well of water springing up into everlasting life. This springing up into life will refresh all who connect with you. If your character is such that God can approve, it will be a complete Christian character filled with grace that is not assumed, but that has a natural growth. If your affections are obedient unto Christ your motives pure, there will be in your life, in your every day deportment, lessons of instruction to all around you. You will be living epistles known and read of all men. Your connection with God will lift you above every thing that has a debasing tendency, your pure and uncorrupted life will be ever pointing your school-mates and old associates upward to God and heaven saying to them you must seek peace and purity and happiness from above. Jesus is the source of your comfort strength and fortitude, amid vexation, trials and grievous temptations. The leaves of some trees and flowers seem naturally to gather dust which adheres to them, and mars their color and beauty. This is the case with many youths they do not see the necessity of vigilant watchfulness and earnest prayer to keep themselves pure, and their Christian character is always dingy. They need to wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.
8 Young men and young women while you are attending school you may be gathering to yourselves only those things which shall tend to the perfection of character, or you may gather to yourselves the habits, customs and practices of the world; love the things which they love, which shall have a corrupting influence upon the life and character, and you will forfeit your right to eternal life. Which shall it be? Our heavenly Father, the Giver of life, would draw us from the artificial to the natural simplicities. “Consider,” says Christ, “the lilies of the field, how they grow;” and again he says, “If God so clothed the grass of the field which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” If our heavenly Father has taken such special care for that which has to be cut down and cast into the oven, then how much greater is his care, his love and his attention for those who are formed in his image!
9 Young men and young women you may make any thing of yourselves that you please. You may attain to excellence and perfection of character; you may go through this world without being stained and blackened with the sins that taint and corrupt it; and when you are brought in contact with the evil of this world, you may escape them if you choose. Christ will be to you a special help in every time of need. But in order for you to develop characters which Heaven shall approve; it is necessary that you connect with God. Will you consider these lilies which I hold in my hand, emblem of purity and loveliness? Here in this flower is an expression of the love of God. Satan is never at rest; he is an interested spectator of all your actions. He will present before the inexperienced youth, things which on the surface appear attractive, to allure them from their integrity, and corrupt their morals. Christ’s voice is heard saying to them, Consider the lilies of the field, learn from them the value of natural simplicity. God speaks to you through his created works. Will you listen to his voice? Will you become acquainted with God in nature?
10 We can discern his love to us in giving us all these things in nature. We can see it in the lovely flowers in the valleys and on the surface of the lake. Anywhere, everywhere, we may read expressions of God’s love in the opening buds and blooming flowers. As God has given us these things of beauty and purity how much more will he delight to give us an eternal inheritance. He wants you to come into that position where he may grant you the gift of immortality. He has given you the gift of his Son, the greatest gift that Heaven could bestow; and now if you connect with God, if you connect with heaven, you may, in the name and strength of Jesus develop symmetrical characters; characters that are spotless as the pure lily that opens its blossom on the bosom of the lake. I invite you to take hold of heaven’s blessings and then you can have a right hold upon the earth. I invite you to look up through nature to nature’s God. Let these things teach you the love of God, and the care that he has for those formed in his image.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 [The closing exercises of the Battle Creek College for the year were held in the beautiful grove at Goguac lake, about two miles from the city of Battle Creek. Before the services closed there were about four hundred persons present who witnessed the baptism of fourteen students of the school who had been converted during the last term. The following is the concluding remarks of an address, which was reported by a student.]
2 We would say to the students who are soon to return to their homes, we hope they will make continual advancement in the knowledge of God, and in his fear. An education that is obtained merely in book knowledge is a very deficient education. An education in the things of God, a correct knowledge of God, combined with all the knowledge that you may obtain from books will give you symmetrical characters. As the students return to their homes, we hope they will carry Jesus with them; and that they will have the fear of God before them. “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Here is a principle which reaches deep beneath the surface, taking hold of the thoughts and actions of the entire man. He is required to be constantly guarded, a faithful sentinel over the citadel of the soul, prepared to meet and resist every thought and action which will dishonor his heavenly Father. A compliance with this injunction of the apostle will bind and hold in restraint every unlawful passion, and will make self-control an absolute necessity to the Christian. Economy, industry, energy, and everything which will strengthen and develop noble qualities and powers will be cultivated. The Divine power combined with human effort will give to all perfect and entire victory. Every believing mind will be filled with conscious power. The language of the soul will be: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Such youth, and only such, can stand before the world with symmetrical characters.
3 Solomon prayed to God for wisdom. The Lord said, because he had not asked for temporal riches or for worldly honor, he should have not only the blessing of wisdom, but riches and honor also. One who has heavenly wisdom is prepared to make a right use of the talents and means which God has given him. All the talents and ability he may possess will not lead him to forget the Giver. There is danger of some of these dear youth being self-deceived, as was the young man who came to Jesus, and in all self-confidence inquired: “Good Master what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Said the Searcher of all hearts: If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments. Exultingly the young man replied: All these have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet? How earnestly, and with what elation of soul he said this. But Jesus looked pityingly upon this deceived young man and said: “Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and come follow me, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.” This practical test unfolded to the deceived young man his supreme selfishness. His deficiency of character spoiled all his virtues. It was a fatal deficiency, for he turned away from Christ, from the heavenly inducement, rather than to comply with the conditions.
4 We have hope that when you shall return to your homes and mingle in society, and are surrounded with temptations, when you shall meet with difficulties and obstacles, when self-denial is called for, when self-sacrifice is required, that you will be connected with God, and maintain a Christian fidelity of character; that you will be like the pure lily, only gathering to yourselves the good and refusing the bad. You can all do this if you will. Every one of you may have moral power; every one of you may have grace and strength to become victors on your own account, in the name of the One who has conquered for you, and has ascended up on high to represent your case to the Father. Man’s representative pleads in heaven in our behalf; and we want that the youth who have given their hearts to God will so live that Christ can freely present their cases before the Father. We hope that those who have just entered the school of Christ will continue to be learners. “If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.” There are many who cease to be learners in Christ’s school after they have received the ordinance of baptism. They appear more like graduates. “Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” How natural for many to love to teach, but who will not be taught. “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” Who so easily taught as a child; who so willing and ready to believe? God looks with love upon the confiding simplicity of children. Duties in our homes, in the college, and in the church, may be regarded as drudgery; but in proportion as these duties are blended with the love of God they are made cheerful and pleasant. The simple faith and trusting confidence of the child is necessary to be possessed by the learner in the school of Christ.
5 After the baptism of Christ he bowed upon Jordan’s banks, and heaven never listened to such a prayer as he then and there uttered. And in answer to that prayer, the light and glory of God flashed forth from his throne and descended as a dove and rested upon him. Immediately from the Infinite One came a voice, saying: “This is my beloved Son.” Here, heaven was opened to man; earth was connected with heaven through our representative, and finite man with the Infinite God. Heaven was opened to you, dear youth; and you need not to feel that the heavens above you are brass. God testified to his Son in his own voice that he accepted him; and in accepting the representative of the race he signifies to man that he will accept him through his Son if we comply with the conditions laid down in his word. The steps requisite in conversion are repentance, faith and baptism. And then after these steps are taken, the life of prayer is essential to maintain the Christian life, and to seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth, you cannot stop at baptism and feel that you have graduated. Your Christian life is only entered upon, the formation of Christian character is yet before you, you have just entered the school of Christ, and need to continue to learn of him.
6 You are to continue to be instructed in the school of Christ, having the heart open to receive the heavenly knowledge that will be imparted unto you; and thus you will grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth. There is a final examination that is to take place in reference to your probationary time in this world which is of vital interest to every one of us. There will in that day be no indifferent spectators. Every one will have a part to act, and will have intense interest to pass that ordeal with heavenly honors. All will have an opportunity to educate themselves while in this world, that they may be fitted to stand the grand review which must shortly take place. If you make efforts in one term at our college, and through negligence on your part fail to stand the examining test, you may console yourselves with the hope to redeem your failure in the following term. But if in the vital interest of your soul’s salvation you neglect to learn the lessons necessary to stand the test of the great examination to come, there will be no second privilege and opportunity granted. It is now or never that you must perfect Christian character. There will be no following term that you may enter the school of Christ to redeem abused privileges and lost opportunities. It is of the highest importance that in the great examination to come you can stand in the merits of your heavenly Redeemer by having gained the victory in his name.
7 We have been having an exhibition of talent here today, but the grand review of character is to take place by and by. Jesus would have us learn in his school that we may become intellectual Christians. He would have us learn of him that we may grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth, that we may be qualified to talk intelligently upon the things of God, repeating the lessons of the cross of Christ. We have heard speeches from the stand today from you which have done credit to both students and teachers. We are anxious that those who are learning in the school of Christ should have willing hearts and ready tongues, that they may speak the praise of God, and tell, in their language and deportment, the advancement they have made in the divine life. You want to make your mark high, and progress every day. Every day you want to obtain knowledge how to successfully control self. You want to obtain knowledge how to gain new victories. The Christian warfare is a battle and a march. Take Christ with you in everything you do; take him with you at your homes, and wherever you go; and if Jesus is with you, if you have his presence and his love, you have a heavenly companion, a heavenly guest.
8 Think not that the Christian’s life is one that takes away from you all pleasure. It opens to us fountains of pleasures that it is impossible for us to measure. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Take away from me everything that this world can give, but do not take away my connection with Heaven. I love my Saviour; and I want every one of these youth to love him. I want you to prepare for the final examination, when every man shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body. Who will be acquitted in that day? To whom will it be said: “Well done, good and faithful servant?” Who in that day will hear the words: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?” How many who are present on this occasion will listen to those words which are richer than any music that ever fell upon human ear? And who, then, will have the crown of glory placed upon their brow? Who will bear in their hand the palm branch of victory, and the harp of gold?
9 We want you to swell the triumph of “Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and that lives again, a triumphant conqueror.” We want to see every one of you with your laurels of honor that you shall cast at the feet of your Redeemer; and then touch your golden harps, and fill all heaven with the melodious strains, and songs of praise to the Lamb. Talk not to me of the pleasures of earth. I have my eye fixed upon the immortal inheritance, and it has eclipsed all that is beautiful, all that is lovely, and all that is attractive in this world. I want heaven. I must have the eternal weight of glory. Will you strive with me to obtain heaven? Will you triumph with me in that day when God makes up his jewels? God grant that we may all be there; that every one of us may tread those streets that are paved with gold; that we may enter the pearly gates of the holy city, and that we may go no more out forever.
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1 Jesus spent the entire night in prayer, and in the morning, while returning again from Bethany, he passed a fig orchard. He was hungry, “And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon; and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it.”
2 It was not the season for ripe figs, except in certain localities; and on the elevated height of Olivet it might truly be said, “the time of figs was not yet.” It is the nature of the fig tree that before the leaves open the growing fruit appears; so it would follow that upon a tree covered with leaves one would expect to find well matured figs. The tree which Jesus saw was beautiful to look upon, but upon a thorough searching of its branches, he found that its appearance was deceitful, for it bore “nothing but leaves.” In order to teach his disciples an impressive lesson, he used the fig tree as a symbol, and invested it with moral qualities and made it the medium by which to teach a divine truth.
3 The Jews stood forth distinct from all other nations, professing perfect allegiance to the God of heaven. They had been specially favored by him, and they claimed a greater piety than any other people, while in reality they were sinful, corrupted by the love of the world and the greed of gain. Boasting of their godliness and knowledge, yet full of hypocrisy and cruelty, and ignorant of the requirements of God, they were like the barren fig tree that spread its pretentious branches aloft, luxuriant in appearance, and beautiful to the eye, but upon which Jesus found “nothing but leaves.”
4 The preceding day had been one of the highest importance, embracing the triumphal entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, and closing with the cleansing of the temple by the dispersion of the traffickers from its sacred precincts, and Christ’s healing of the sick. The sentence pronounced and executed upon the fig tree was the last symbolic action relating to the future destruction of Jerusalem. As Christ on the mount overlooked the doomed city, his tender sympathetic tears flowed, and he uttered the yearning cry of a broken heart because of rejected love. He looked upon Jerusalem with suffering tenderness, and spoke these words with a voice of inexpressible sorrow, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house [no longer the house of the most high God] is left unto you desolate.”
5 The Jewish religion with its magnificent display of temple, sacred altars, sacrificial pomp, mitred priests and impressive ceremonies, were but a superficial covering under which pride, oppression and iniquity held sway. The leaves were abundant and beautiful, but the tree bore no goodly fruit. The next morning as they passed by the same orchard, the disciples saw that the fig tree which Jesus cursed was withered and blasted from root to branch. Jesus presented to his disciples the true condition of the Jews in this striking figure of the barren fig tree; and, as the tree withered beneath the Saviour’s blighting curse, and stood forth sear and blasted, dried up by the roots, so should all pretentious hypocrites be brought low.
6 The other trees in the fig orchard were also destitute of fruit; but their boughs were leafless, therefore they raised no expectations and caused no disappointment. These leafless trees represented the Gentiles, who made no boasts of superior piety. In them the words of the scripture finds an application, “the time of figs was not yet.” But while the Jews in proud self-confidence stood forth assuming superiority to all others, the Gentiles were in a measure feeling their want and weakness, and longing for a better day, a clearer and more certain light to guide their wandering footsteps.
7 The Jews had listened to the voice of God, as he proclaimed his law from Sinai, and God had selected them, and claimed them as his people; but they had not made the most of their opportunities. He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and delivered them from the oppression of the Egyptians; and when the children of Israel were camped before the Red sea, and the army of Pharaoh pursued them, he divided the waters and they passed through on dry land; While their enemies that followed after them, perished. And so they passed through Jordan at the taking of Jericho, when God miraculously opened the path for them through the waters, and how mightily he wrought for them at the city! They could never have repayed God for the blessings which he had given them had they done their best in his service; but there was an utter failure on their part. And when the very best gift that Heaven could give, was sent to them, the gift of Jesus Christ, they would not accept it. Pride and ambition, love of applause and display, had so hardened their hearts, and blinded their minds that they could not discern Jesus Christ in the Man of Nazareth.
8 The Jewish nation were outwardly religious, priding themselves upon their sacred temple, the pomp of priests and the imposing ceremonies of the morning and evening services, gorgeous synagogues and sacrificial offerings. Here were abundant leaves, beautiful and bright, to cover the hollow hypocrisy, malice, and oppression at the heart of all this vain display. The Jews were privileged with the presence of Christ manifested in the flesh. This inestimable blessing which God bestowed upon them should have called forth their devout acknowledgments. But in blind prejudice they refused the mercies offered them by Jesus. His love was lavished upon them in vain, and they regarded not his wondrous works. Sorrow fled at his approach; infirmity and deformity were healed; injustice and oppression shrunk ashamed from his rebuke; while death and the grave humbled themselves in his presence and obeyed his commands. Yet the people of his choice rejected him and his mighty miracles with scorn. The majesty of Heaven came unto his own, and his own received him not.
9 The judgment pronounced upon the barren fig tree not only symbolizes the sentence passed upon the Jews, but is also applicable to the professed Christians of our time, who have become formal, selfish, boasting and hypocritical.
10 The irrevocable sentence passed upon the Jewish nation, and its consequent downfall and ruin was symbolized by the doom of the barren fig tree. It is not always easy to detect the sincere, genuine Christian from the counterfeit. But when brought to the test like the barren fig tree they are found diverse in character although the external appearance may deceive the eye. False and true devotion bear so close a resemblance to each other that it may be difficult for human wisdom to distinguish the difference between them. But the eye of the Infinite looks beneath the external and discerns the pretenders from the real, unmasks the hypocrite and discovers the difference between the cumberers of the ground and the fruit bearers. Fruit bearing Christians who are making the most of their God-given opportunities and privileges, will imitate the example of Christ in good works and unselfish deeds.
11 The mass of professors are symbolized by the apparently flourishing fig tree making pretensions to godliness but blessing no one by their precious fruits. The pen of inspiration pictures before us this class. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.”
12 Just such a state of things exists in our day. There are many who make proud boasts of godliness, answering the description of the apostle, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof in their fruitless lives. Christ’s search for fruit in them reveals nothing but leaves. Pride, display, vain glory, selfishness and oppression are concealed beneath the green foliage. Everything has been done for them that the Majesty of heaven in his wisdom can do, but like the Jews they pervert and abuse their sacred privileges, and are satisfied to be fruitless cumberers of the ground, no better than worldlings as far as good works are concerned. But the worldlings are in a more favorable condition before God because they make no pretension to true godliness. They are not hypocritical pretenders. They do not put on the outer foliage to screen and mask their utter absence of the sanctifying grace of God. It is sad to acknowledge that the daily lives of many who profess to be followers of Christ deny in their unsanctified words and actions the very religion they profess. The jewel of truth and integrity is not in them; therefore, they have not Christ formed in them the hope of glory. They have no connection with God. We are not required to exclude ourselves from the active duties of life and sever all connection or intercourse with the world in order to be Christians; for in thus doing we shall not follow the example of Christ. He was in the world and yet not of the world. He was a worker for the good of those in the world. He left the glory that he had with his Father and clothed his divinity with humanity, and humbled himself to meet the necessities of man to become personally acquainted with the temptations and frailties of man, that he might know how to succor those who should be tempted.
13 Christ in his sermon on the Mount represented the lives of Christians as the salt of the earth. Without the preserving, sanctifying influence of the Christian’s words and actions the world would be altogether corrupt, and fit for the immediate sentence of justice that was pronounced upon the fruitless fig tree. True faith will have connected with it a working power. The Pharisees excluded themselves from the world exalted their own piety above every other people, and the world was no better for their living in it. But, and if the salt have lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted. Christ rebuked this exclusiveness in stating the true position of the Christian in the world: “Ye are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, neither do men light a candle and put in under a bushel but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” It is the good works of the Christian that contain the precious influence to preserve the world. It is good works which stand in marked contrast with the degenerate polluting influence of the world that it reveals the true enormity of sin. The moral power of good works is ever pointing the sinner upward to God and to heaven. It is not words and profession that the world need now as much as the savor of good works. Christians should have power to press back the moral darkness that threatens to enshroud the world like the pall of death. This they may do if they are connected with God. In the strength of the Lord we may do much in becoming channels of light. Jesus comes to each of us expecting fruit. Shall we disappoint his earnest search and will he find in our lives nothing but leaves? I earnestly plead with all professors of godliness to learn a lesson from the parable of the barren fig tree. Let the fruit appear in your lives in deeds of mercy to your fellow man, and in humble sincere devotion to God, showing the mark of distinction between you and the world by the fruit you bear unto righteousness. Said Christ, It is my Father’s good pleasure that ye bear much fruit.
14 It is not enough for us to be merely in the attitude of waiting for our Lord, leaving sinners to be unwarned and unprepared for that great event. Christ requires of us to be vigilant workers while waiting for his appearing. Working and waiting is the attitude he would find us in. A life of quiet prayerful meditation is not all that Jesus expects of us. He expects fruit, exemplifying in our lives the virtues of true godliness, not only being good but doing good. The soul must be consecrated by its surrender to God in perfect obedience to his requirements, keeping all of his commandments.
15 The fruits which grow upon the Christian tree will be seen in letting the light of truth which God has caused to shine upon us sanctify our lives and thus shine forth in works of righteousness, having a saving influence upon the world. The fruit Jesus is searching to find in his professed followers is the graces of his spirit developed in our lives in unselfish acts of mercy, and disinterested benevolence, and love for those he came to the world to save. In this way we can best testify that we are working the works of Christ, and that we have the spirit of our divine Lord who went about doing good. The responsibilities of each Christian is proportionate to the talents entrusted. Christ’s true followers will be fruit bearing trees. Very many professed Christians act as though they were in the world to do nothing but to please themselves. They do not consider that Jesus, their pattern, pleased not himself, that self-denial and self-sacrifice characterized his life, and it must characterize their lives, or they will in the day of God be found wanting.
16 In the doom of the fig trees, Christ demonstrated how hateful in his eyes are hypocrisy and hollow pretense. Ever pitiful to the truly penitent, ever ready to receive them and to heal their maladies, he thus evidenced that the open sinner is in a more favorable condition before God than professing Christians who bear no fruit to his glory.
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1 We are in receipt of a number of letters from different individuals, who are believers in our faith, asking advice upon the matter of keeping the Sabbath. In their cases, the injunction of the fourth commandment apparently conflicts with their ideas of duty or necessity in other respects. One sister in particular is in much anxiety of mind as to her duty. She is the support of her aged parents, and could easily maintain them in comfort if she pursued her work upon the Sabbath. She therefore asks if the fifth commandment is not as binding upon her as the fourth, and that if, in keeping the latter, she should fall short, in her estimation, of the requirements of the fifth commandment, would she not be justified in disregarding the fourth? We deeply sympathize with these tried ones in their perplexity and distress, and have endeavored to write a few words of encouragement and advice to them and others who are suffering under similar trials.
2 We would say to all who are thus anxious in regard to their duty, Upon no consideration are you excusable in violating the fourth commandment. It is no violation of the Sabbath to perform works of necessity, as ministering to the sick or aged, and relieving distress. Such works are in perfect harmony with the Sabbath law. Our great Exemplar was ever active upon the Sabbath, when the necessities of the sick and suffering came before him. The Pharisees, because of this, accused him of Sabbath-breaking, as do many ministers today who are in opposition to the law of God. But we say, Let God be true, and every man a liar who dares make this charge against the Saviour.
3 Jesus answered the accusation of the Jews thus, “If ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.” He had already declared to them that he had kept his Father’s commandments. When he was accused of Sabbath-breaking in the matter of healing the withered hand, he turned upon his accusers with the question, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?” In summing up his answer to the questioning of the Pharisees he said, “Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.” Here Christ justified his work as in perfect harmony with the Sabbath law. Ministers who profess to be embassadors of Christ, yet assert that he did not regard the Sabbath day, and thus endeavor to justify themselves in disregarding it, make the same accusation against Christ as did the Pharisees. They certainly select poor company in those caviling Jews who persecuted the Redeemer.
4 It may not be convenient for you and many others to keep the Sabbath day holy by refraining from worldly business; but God has not left this matter to our choice; we are not at liberty to mold our principles according to our circumstances. His requirements are positive; they are, Thou shalt, and Thou shalt not; “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work,” etc.
5 The fifth commandment is sacred; but if you should transgress any of the first four precepts of the decalogue, wherein is revealed the duty of man to his Creator, you would not be in a favorable position for the sacred observance of the last six commandments which specify the duties of man to his fellow man. To break any one of the commandments which specify the duty of man to God is to violate the principles of the entire law. The pen of inspiration records that he who offends in one point is guilty of offense in all. Thus, should the Sabbath of the fourth commandment be disregarded, and man prove recreant to the claims of God upon him, will this disobedience prepare him to fulfill the requirements of the law which specifies his duty to his earthly parents? Will his heart be fitted through transgression of a plain precept of Jehovah upon the first table of stone, to keep the first precept on the second table. We are required, by this commandment, to honor our parents, and we are unnatural children if we do not obey this precept. But if love and reverence are due our earthly parents how much more is reverence and love due our heavenly Parent.
6 We take the position that the fifth commandment is binding upon the son and daughter, although they may be old and gray-headed. However high or humble their station in life they will never rise above or fall below their obligation to obey the fifth precept of the decalogue, that commands them to honor their father and mother. Solomon, the wisest and most exalted monarch that ever sat upon an earthly throne, has given us an example of filial love and reverence. He was surrounded by his courtly train, consisting of the wisest sages and counselors, yet, when visited by his mother, he laid aside all the customary ceremonies attending the approach of a subject to an oriental monarch. The mighty king, in the presence of his mother, was only her son. His royalty was laid aside, as he rose from his throne and bowed before her. He then seated her on his throne, at his right hand.
7 Those who have been taught to obey and honor their earthly parents will the more readily yield to the claims of their heavenly Parent, and honor the Creator of man and of the world. The fifth commandment is the only one of the six to which a promise is annexed: “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” This carries us forward to the period when the saints shall possess the kingdom under the whole heavens, in the renewed earth.
8 Special blessings are also promised to those who honor and keep holy the day which God has sanctified and blessed; and, in giving us the ten commandments, our wise and merciful Father has not enjoined their observance upon us, and yet made it necessary that, in keeping one, we should break another of those holy precepts. If the requirements of parents from their children involves their breaking the law of God, there should be no question in regard to duty. God’s claims are imperative. The son or daughter should respectfully say to the parent, I love and honor you, my earthly parents; but I love and fear God more. His commands must be obeyed at any cost to myself. In thus standing true to principle the child does not dishonor his parents in the Bible sense. The purity and firmness of his principles may be the means of bringing unbelieving parents to realize the high claims which God has upon them. Should this be the case will he not have shown in the fullest sense that he has attained the Bible standard of honoring his parents?
9 Should he fail in bringing the parents he loves to acknowledge the claims of the fourth commandment, still the child has met the requirements of God if he has faithfully done his duty, in meekness and love, to his parents; if he has shown them the utmost respect, caring for them in temporal things, as well as spiritual, yet remained firm in his adherence to the commands of God, notwithstanding their opposition. There is no more effectual way of proving our obedience to the fifth commandment, than that of manifesting our reverence for all God’s holy laws.
10 Sacrilegious minds and hearts have thought they were mighty enough to change the times and laws of Jehovah; but, safe in the archives of heaven, in the ark of God, are the original commandments, written upon the two tables of stone. No potentate of earth has power to draw forth those tables from their sacred hiding-place beneath the mercy-seat. The fourth precept of the decalogue remains unchanged, holding the same claims upon man, as when the ten commandments were thundered, amid smoke and flame, from the holy mount.
11 We observe the equity of God’s requirements in the fourth commandment: “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” The Sovereign of heaven and earth gives us six days for our own use, and reserves only one for himself, and upon that he places his blessing, and sanctifies it. He requires man to sacredly observe that day, not using it for his own worldly advantage or pleasure. It is the tribute God requires men to render him for the benefits he has given them.
12 We should spend a portion of the Sabbath in religious meditation, and in considering the blessings and wonders of God in his created works, manifested alike amid the rugged mountain scenery, where mountain top rises above mountain top, where terrible ravines, and rocks broken apart by the earthquakes, and the lightnings, bear the unmistakable marks of One who has trodden the mountains in his anger; and in the softer aspect of nature, where the lofty trees, the babbling brooks, the green grass and tinted flowers express the love of the Infinite God. When we behold rugged mountains, the lesson of Sinai should be repeated to us, and we should contemplate that scene when Jehovah spake his law in the hearing of all the vast army of Israel.
13 The foundation of the Sabbath was laid in Eden, and it is to be perpetuated through all time and eternity. The sin of Adam caused his expulsion from Eden. Fearful indeed was the curse pronounced upon the transgressor of the law of God. While we deplore the sin and fall of Adam, let us beware of following his example of disobedience. Thank God that the Sabbath institution was not included in the blessings lost with Eden. That sacred institution does not rest upon vain speculation; the authority and evidence sustaining it are strong and irresistible; Infidelity may assail it, yet it remains incontrovertible.
14 God in mercy has sent light and messages of warning to the world in reference to his law which has been trampled upon. There is a people who reverence and fear God, and who respond to his messages of warning, who repent of their transgression of the law of God, and, through faith in the merits of Christ, receive pardon for their transgression. God, through his prophet commends, and gives precious promises to those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord: “And they that be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.”
15 The prophet here refers to the breach made in the law of God, by the breaking down of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. This precept has been made waste by the man of sin; and the professed Christian world has accepted a day which he has substituted for the sanctified Sabbath of the Lord. Shall we be of the number who are repairing the breach made in the law of God? or shall we be of the number who receive the mark of the beast, by observing the human institution rather than the divine, thus nourishing the child of papacy?
16 We do not write thus because we suppose you ignorant of the evidences of the Sabbath, and the binding claims of the entire law of God; but we desire to refresh your minds, that you may become established in the present truth.
17 Those who have accepted unpopular truth have always been obliged to make great sacrifices. Persecution has fallen heavily upon some. We have the lives of the apostles as our ensamples; but above all we have the life of Christ our great Exemplar presented before us. The beloved disciple tells us he was banished to the isle of Patmos, “For the word of God, for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” While on that desolate island, to his unspeakable joy, his dear Master and Lord stood before him, the very one with whom he had walked and talked when they were together in the world, upon whose bosom he had learned, whose great heart of love had beat beneath the pressure of his head, whose sufferings he had witnessed, and whose visage had been marred more than the sons of men.
18 The Saviour was revealed to John, not in his humiliation, but in his majesty, as he now is, and as he will be revealed when he shall come in his glory. John saw not a Saviour on the cross, not a man of sorrows, but the glorified Son of God, clothed in a garment of light, and girded with a golden girdle. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet like brass when it gleams in a furnace. The sound of his voice was like the sound of many waters; and his countenance shone like the sun in its noon-day splendor.
19 The world may not appreciate our faith; they may laugh and sneer at our peculiarities of belief; we may be derided for not following the customs of the world. The word of God declares that the world knows us not, because it knew him not. But when Christ comes to earth again he will appear glorious as John saw him to be; and we have the precious promise that “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” We must look away from the difficulties of our present position, and fasten our eyes on the glories of our heavenly home, taking courage at the prospect of that bright future when we shall see Christ as he is, and be made like unto him.
20 John found in his solitude and exile that the Lord had not forgotten him. From this we may learn that God is a shield and helper in every emergency, to those who believe and trust in him. When surrounded by difficulties, dangers, and discouragements, we must not yield faith and principle, but cherish every precious ray of light granted us, and be true to our God given responsibilities.
21 You who are perplexed and afflicted, look up and be encouraged. Commit your ways in faith to the sympathizing Redeemer. He has identified his interests with yours, and is afflicted in your affliction. He will help you bear your burdens. Never give up the Sabbath. Hold fast the sanctified day, and the promises which God has attached to its observance. Is it reasonable to suppose that God would make you more prosperous in transgressing his law than in rendering cheerful obedience to it? How easily could his hand hedge up the way which Satan now presents to you in such a flattering light. God promises his Israel that if they will keep his statutes and his laws he will bless them in their houses, in their fields and in all their undertakings; but if they disobey his holy statutes his curse will fall upon them. May God help you to understand that he who feeds and cares for the ravens will not forget his children.
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1 When the children of Israel left Rephidim they pursued their journey, winding up a narrow opening through the bold granite rocks of the desert mountains. They gradually ascended higher and higher, until there opened before them a wide extended plain, enclosed by granite ridges and mountain peaks towering toward the heavens. Horeb’s range stood before them in somber majesty, its rocky crags towering aloft directed the eyes of the travelers heavenward. Awful, silent grandeur reigned over all. What a contrast was this scene to the busy activity of Egypt! Here there was nothing to distract the mind, nothing to speak to the senses but the stern granite pinnacles pointing toward heaven. God had commanded Moses to bring his people to this place of natural solitude and sublimity, that they might hear his voice, and receive the statute book of heaven.
2 Fifty days previous to this the pillar of fire had lighted the path through the Red Sea that God had miraculously opened before the marching multitudes of his people. They had since then made their way slowly onward through the desert; and God, by his miraculous power, had wrought for them in their necessity. When they were parched with thirst they had murmured against God, forgetful of what he had done for them; but God did not forget them, he gave them water from the flinty rock, and rained down bread from heaven to satisfy their hunger; and, through his providence, taught them lessons of faith in his power.
3 The whole congregation of Israel now encamped in the plain, in full view of Mount Horeb. Then followed the days of preparation for the great scene which was to make a most vivid impression upon their minds. The Lord gave Moses express directions in regard to this preparation which must be made by his people. “And the Lord said unto Moses, go unto the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow; and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people, upon Mount Sinai.” The people were required to refrain from worldly care, and to cultivate devotional thoughts to put away their sins, to be free from all personal uncleanness, and to cherish an abiding sense of the holiness of God whose voice they were soon to hear.
4 God commanded Moses to put bounds around the mount, that no man or beast should touch it, for God was to sanctify the mount by his presence, and the contact of sinful man with that divine presence would result in the instant death of the former. The people moved about, making these solemn preparations with subdued deportment, and hushed voices, while their eyes were instinctively drawn toward the rugged heights of Mount Horeb. They obeyed the directions of Moses with alacrity, waiting to hear the words of God spoken through him, telling them what next they should do.
5 The camp was now alive with subdued excitement and expectancy. At length the trumpet is lifted to the lips of Moses, and the word peals forth, Let all the people come now and meet with God! The trumpeters, who have been waiting for this signal, take up the sound and repeat the command all along the line, wakening the resounding echoes of the mountains. The people obey the summons, and hurry from their tents with pale and anxious faces. They gather around the mount, and stand with bated breath, in solemn awe. Every murmur is hushed until the stillness is painful. Suddenly the mighty pealing of a trumpet is heard from the mount, followed by terrific thunder and lightning, while an earthquake shakes the mountain from base to summit, and, from the black and terrible cloud hanging over it like a pall, issues smoke and fiery flames.
6 The deafening thunder reverberates from mountain top to mountain top, and seems to roll with awful power down the sides of Mount Horeb, and resound throughout the earth. It appears to the people that the mountain will be shattered into fragments and fall upon and cover them. The Hebrews fall prostrate to hide from their eyes the mystery and grandeur of the mount as it groans and trembles under the footsteps of the God of heaven. Wives cling to their husbands and children to their parents in terror, many begging to be removed from the fearful scene. Long concealed sins were there confessed in broken utterances, and repentance and humility softened the hearts and subdued the spirits of the most hardened and reckless.
7 The Lord now calls to Moses. He answers to the call. Then the Lord bids him come up to him into the mount. The eyes of all are turned toward their leader. Will he dare to go? Moses did not hesitate to obey, but with calm and trustful faith, passed up the quivering mountain with slow and solemn steps, amid smoke and flame, and is lost to the sight of the astonished people, while the mount remained shrouded in darkness, and volumes of thunder rolled down its quaking sides. At length Moses descends the mount.
8 The scene increases in awful grandeur as God speaks forth his holy law. At length the people instinctively retreat from the mount leaving Moses standing alone. The majesty and terror of this scene brings vividly before our minds the solemn events of the judgment, when the Prince of heaven shall come the second time, and the loud voice of the trumpet shall resound from one end of the earth to the other, penetrate the prison house of death, and break the sleep of the dead, who shall come forward to receive according to the deeds done in the body.
9 The Hebrews in terror cried to Moses, “Speak thou with us, and let not the Lord speak to us lest we die.” They did not discern their Advocate with the Father, standing between him and sinful man, and claiming the erring people of Israel as the purchase of his own blood. They did not recognize in the voice that caused them such terror the voice of the angel that had conducted their travels from Egypt to Sinai.
10 Many can only discern in Sinai’s God a Sovereign, Legislator, and Judge; but he has also given us there a true portrayal of his character as a loving as well as a just Father in this record, “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”
11 The Sovereign of the world has made known, in the ten commandments, the principles that should govern mankind. He requires the implicit obedience of his subjects, and if they refuse this, they are disloyal to the God of heaven. Two mighty principles are declared in those ten precepts. On the first table of stone were inscribed the four precepts showing the duty of man to God; and on the second table were the six showing the duty of man to his fellow man. Christ, who spoke the law, declared that all the law and the prophets hang upon the two chief commandments that illustrate those two great principles. They contain in brief the whole duty of man, to love God supremely and to love his neighbor as himself.
12 The law of the ten commandments, given in awful grandeur from Sinai, can never be repealed while the heavens and the earth remain. All enlightened law and government had its origin in those ten words of the Almighty. Those who speak slightingly of the moral code are blinded by sin, and are on the side of the great rebel, who has ever been at war with the law of God which is the foundation of his government in heaven and on earth. When God issues a proclamation that men are guiltless if they cease to love him, to reverence his name, and to keep holy his Sabbath—then, and not till then will the law of God be abrogated.
13 God requires of his subjects obedience, not to nine-tenths of the law, but to every one of the ten precepts. They are like the links of a chain; if one is broken the chain is of no value. The violation of one commandment makes us commandment breakers; and we must yield willing obedience to all the precepts of Jehovah if we would be true commandment-keepers, for “He that offendeth in one part is guilty of all.”
14 Those who profess to be ministers of God, yet teach the people that God’s holy law has no longer any claims upon them, are working directly against Christ. They say to the sinner, You are no longer under the terror of Sinai, and the bondage of the law; only come to Jesus, and believe in him and you will be saved. But how can these teachers define sin to their hearers? The apostle Paul gives us this definition, “Sin is the transgression of the law. What shall we say then, is the law sin? Nay, I had not known sin but by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. For without the law sin was dead; for I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came sin revived and I died, wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
15 David exclaims, “The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.” David had transgressed the law, and the law held him a prisoner until he repented of his sin, and was pardoned through faith in the virtue of the promised Redeemer. There is no power in the law to remove a single defect, nor to save the sinner from the consequence of his transgression. But when the sinner is convicted by the light of the law, then he has a work to do: Repentance toward God because of transgression of his law, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, the sinners substitute and surety. Then pardon and free salvation may be his. But Jesus Christ will never save any one who has a knowledge of the law of God, yet lives in transgression of it.
16 Christ came to earth to maintain and exalt the divine law, by himself suffering the penalty of sin, and to thereby evidence that God will in no wise clear the guilty. Many claim that the law of God is done away with; but Christ said: “Until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” The ceremonial law of sacrificial offerings, pointing to Christ, ceased at the death of Christ, but his mission to earth was to vindicate the supreme law of God, not to annul it. If this latter could have been done, the Son of God need not have died to redeem sinful man. But because the law of God was as changeless as his character, it was necessary in order to preserve the authority of the universal Sovereign, and at the same time save man from the consequences of his transgression, that Jesus Christ should die, a sinless offering for a sinful world. The death of Christ therefore testifies to the immutability of God’s law.
17 Many accept nine of the commandments, but are troubled about the fourth. They see no fault in the first, which commands that we should have no gods before the Infinite One, neither in the second, which prohibits image-worship, nor in the third which provides against the profanation of God’s name. But the fourth seems difficult for them to comprehend; and they inquire why the world at large, and the churches do not observe the seventh day, and especially why the ministers do not teach its observance from their pulpits.
18 Ministers decide to accept a papal institution in the place of the day which God sanctified and blessed, rather than to be singular from the world, and incur the inconveniences resulting from such a reform. But their disloyalty does not excuse others in showing disrespect to the God of heaven, by trampling upon the sanctity of the day he has set apart for man to observe.
19 The fourth commandment is the only one that defines who is the living God. It points us back to creation, and to Eden: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed and sanctified the seventh day.” Thus this precept bears the signet or seal of the Creator. The fourth commandment occupies a central position in those regulations which define man’s duty to God, and to his fellow men. It is the golden link which unites finite man to the Infinite God. What authority has man to flout at or object to this prominent precept more than to any one of the other nine?
20 The specific rules for the government of the social and religious life of the Hebrews, were given to Moses for the Israelites, and embraced the principles of the ten commandments. But those commandments themselves spoken by the voice of God in hearing of all the people, and engraven on the two tables of stone, were given for the benefit of all mankind, and were to endure through all time. Because the transgression of the fourth commandment is so general, does not lessen the sin of the transgressor. God holds man responsible for the observance of every one of his precepts.
21 Because the professed teachers of the people declare that the Sabbath law is no longer binding upon man, shall we lay aside our Bibles to accept their statement? Shall we trust our-souls to the ministers? Can they answer for us in the day of God? When Christ announced that he was the Anointed One, if the Jews had searched the Scriptures for themselves, to ascertain if his words were true, they would not have been wrapped in error and bigotry. But they believed what the priests and rulers told them, that Christ was an impostor, and darkness closed about them. We do not wish to place ourselves in a position similar to that of the unbelieving Jews. We would follow the injunction of our Saviour: “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.”
22 The transgressor of the divine law will be in a fearful position in the day of God. No tears or prayers, or reformation can justify him before the Almighty. There is but one name given under heaven and among men that can save the sinner from the condemnation of the law. The name of Jesus is efficacious to the sinner during his probation. Jesus never broke the law of his Father; he honored and magnified it, and bore its curse for us. Repentance toward God, and simple faith in the blood of Christ, and obedience to the law of God will save the sinner; for Christ will then impute to him his righteous character. But the blood of Christ will never atone for a sin unrepented and unconfessed.
23 Oh that the people would seek wisdom for themselves, and consider the great truths of God’s word! Their eternal interests are involved in these matters, and none can afford to make a mistake. All our difficulties and questioning doubts will depart, if we but accept Christ as our teacher, and learn wisdom of him.
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1 When the Jews rejected Christ they rejected the foundation of their faith. And, on the other hand, the Christian world of today who claim faith in Christ, but reject the law of God are making a mistake similar to that of the deceived Jews. Those who profess to cling to Christ, centering their hopes on him, while they pour contempt upon the moral law, and the prophecies, are in no safer position than were the unbelieving Jews. They cannot understandingly call sinners to repentance, for they are unable to properly explain what they are to repent of. The sinner, upon being exhorted to forsake his sins, has a right to ask, What is sin? Those who respect the law of God can answer, Sin is the transgression of the law. In confirmation of this the apostle Paul says, I had not known sin but by the law.
2 Those only who acknowledge the binding claim of the moral law can explain the nature of the atonement. Christ came to mediate between God and man, to make man one with God by bringing him into allegiance to his law. There was no power in the law to pardon its transgressor. Jesus alone could pay the sinner’s debt. But the fact that Jesus has paid the indebtedness of the repentant sinner does not give him license to continue in transgression of the law of God; but he must henceforth live in obedience to that law.
3 The law of God existed before the creation of man or else Adam could not have sinned. After the transgression of Adam the principles of the law were not changed, but were definitely arranged and expressed to meet man in his fallen condition. Christ, in counsel with his Father, instituted the system of sacrificial offerings: that death, instead of being immediately visited upon the transgressor, should be transferred to a victim which should prefigure the great and perfect offering of the Son of God.
4 The sins of the people were transferred in figure to the officiating priest, who was a mediator for the people. The priest could not himself become an offering for sin, and make an atonement with his life, for he was also a sinner. Therefore, instead of suffering death himself, he killed a lamb without blemish; the penalty of sin was transferred to the innocent beast, which thus became his immediate substitute, and typified the perfect offering of Jesus Christ. Through the blood of this victim, man looked forward by faith to the blood of Christ which would atone for the sins of the world.
5 If Adam had not transgressed the law of God, the ceremonial law would never have been instituted. The gospel of good news was first given to Adam in the declaration made to him that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head; and it was handed down through successive generations to Noah, Abraham, and Moses. The knowledge of God’s law, and the plan of salvation were imparted to Adam and Eve by Christ himself. They carefully treasured the important lesson, and transmitted it by word of mouth, to their children, and children’s children. Thus the knowledge of God’s law was preserved.
6 Men lived nearly a thousand years in those days, and angels visited them with instruction directly from Christ. The worship of God through sacrificial offerings was established, and those who feared God acknowledged their sins before him, and looked forward with gratitude and holy trust to the coming of the Day Star, which should guide the fallen sons of Adam to heaven, through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus the gospel was preached in every sacrifice; and the works of the believers continually revealed their faith in a coming Saviour. Jesus said to the Jews: “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?”
7 It was impossible, however, for Adam, by his example and precepts to stay the tide of woe which his transgression had brought upon men. Unbelief crept into the hearts of men. The children of Adam present the earliest example of the two different courses pursued by men with regard to the claims of God. Abel saw Christ figured in the sacrificial offerings. Cain was an unbeliever in regard to the necessity of sacrifices; he refused to discern that Christ was typified by the slain lamb; the blood of beasts appeared to him without virtue. The gospel was preached to Cain as well as to his brother; but it was to him a savor of death unto death, because he would not recognize, in the blood of the sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ the only provision made for man’s salvation.
8 Our Saviour, in his life and death, fulfilled all the prophecies pointing to himself, and was the substance of all the types and shadows signified. He kept the moral law, and exalted it by answering its claims as man’s representative. Those of Israel who turned to the Lord, and accepted Christ as the reality shadowed forth by the typical sacrifices, discerned the end of that which was to be abolished. The obscurity covering the Jewish system as a vail, was to them as the vail which covered the glory upon the face of Moses. The glory upon the face of Moses was the reflection of that light which Christ came into the world to bring for the benefit of man.
9 While Moses was shut in the mount with God, the plan of salvation, dating from the fall of Adam, was revealed to him in a most forcible manner. He then knew that the very angel who was conducting the travels of the children of Israel was to be revealed in the flesh. God’s dear Son, who was one with the Father, was to make all men one with God who would believe on, and trust in him. Moses saw the true significance of the sacrificial offerings. Christ taught the gospel plan to Moses, and the glory of the gospel, through Christ, illuminated the countenance of Moses so that the people could not look upon it.
10 Moses himself was unconscious of the beaming glory reflected upon his face, and knew not why the children of Israel fled from him when he approached them. He called them to him, but they dared not look upon that glorified face. When Moses learned that the people could not look upon his face, because of its glory, he covered it with a vail.
11 The glory upon the face of Moses was exceedingly painful to the children of Israel because of their transgression of God’s holy law. This is an illustration of the feelings of those who violate the law of God. They desire to remove from its penetrating light which is a terror to the transgressor, while it seems holy, just, and good to the loyal. Those only who have a just regard for the law of God can rightly estimate the atonement of Christ which was made necessary by the violation of the Father’s law.
12 Those who cherish the view that there was no Saviour in the old dispensation, have as dark a vail over their understanding as did the Jews who rejected Christ. The Jews acknowledged their faith in a Messiah to come in the offering of sacrifices which typified Christ. Yet when Jesus appeared, fulfilling all the prophecies regarding the promised Messiah, and doing works that marked him as the divine son of God; they rejected him, and refused to accept the plainest evidence of his true character. The Christian church, on the other hand, who profess the utmost faith in Christ, in despising the Jewish system virtually deny Christ, who was the originator of the entire Jewish economy.
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1 “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.” The scribes and Pharisees claimed to be invested with divine authority similar to that of Moses. They assumed to take his place as expounders of the law and judges of the people. As such they claimed all deference and obedience from the people. But Jesus admonished his hearers to observe and do that which the priests taught according to the law, but not to follow their example, for they neglected the duties which they taught others to observe.
2 The Saviour made it plain to all that he held no personal grievance against the scribes and Pharisees, notwithstanding their abuse of him; but he openly condemned their characters and acts as directly opposed to their teachings, and therefore not to be imitated. Said he, “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” The Pharisees enjoined a multitude of minute regulations having their foundation in tradition, and unreasonably restraining personal liberty of action.
3 God forbade the eating of unclean beasts, not to exercise an arbitrary authority, but to preserve the life and health of his people. In order for them to retain their faculties of mind and body, it was necessary that their blood should be kept pure, by eating simple, healthful food. He therefore specified the animals least objectionable for food. The leading Jews who delighted in teaching and in administering the law, carried the prohibitions of God to unreasonable lengths, making life a burden of ceremonies and restrictions. They carried the regulations of eating and drinking so far that the mind was kept on a continual strain in discriminating between what was considered clean and unclean, and in following out the multitude of injunctions imposed by the priests. All the water was strained lest the presence of the smallest speck or insect might render it unclean, and therefore unfit to use. They were in constant fear of infringing upon customs and traditions which were taught to them as portions of the law.
4 The Pharisees by their endless round of forms, fastened the minds of the people upon external services to the neglect of true religion. They failed to connect the thought of Christ with their ceremonies, and, having forsaken the fountain of living water, hewed out for themselves broken cisterns that could hold no water.
5 The priests, scribes and rulers not only rejected Christ themselves but took the most unfair means to prejudice the people against him, deceiving them by false reports and gross misrepresentations. Said Jesus: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” These words, condemning this sin of the Pharisees, are applicable to all who follow their example. In all ages of the world truth has been unpopular; its doctrines are not congenial to the natural mind. The cold professor, the bigot and hypocrite are not willing to accept that which searches the heart, and reproves the life. Some ministers turn the ears of the people from truth unto fables, stopping at nothing that will help to carry out their purpose. They even stoop to pervert the words and malign the characters of those who receive and love the precious truths of God, and labor to bring others to a knowledge of them.
6 The Saviour pronounced a woe on those who, imitating the great rebel, compass all difficulties to make one proselyte. Said he, “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” Those whom he addressed would resort to any species of deception in order to gain influence with the people, and prevent them from believing and obeying the truth. The Saviour declared of them: “Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him; when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar and the father of it.” These cutting words were applied to those who made the highest pretensions to godliness, and who regarded all other nations as contemptible in the sight of God.
7 Just such zealous adversaries of the truth are met in our day. They leave no means untried to subvert the minds and consciences of men. They originate falsehoods, and find plenty ready to believe them. They have taken step after step away from the light into darkness, until the light has become darkness to them. They possess a determined zeal, which savors of honesty, and appears to many as such. They are willing to make great sacrifices and endure rebuffs for the sake of attaining their object, returning again and again to the same point, seeking to turn souls away from the divine truth unto superstitions and fables. These pious pretenders come as angels of light, professing deep experience in the things of God, while they are doing the work of Satan. Those whom they succeed in gaining become even worse than themselves; such is the downward road to ruin. Jesus says of this latter class, “Ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
8 The Saviour continued: “Woe unto you, ye blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it he is guilty. Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?” The priests interpreted the requirements of God to meet their false and narrow standard. They presumed to make nice distinctions between the comparative guilt of various sins, passing over some lightly, assigning as an excuse that the end justified the means, while errors of perhaps less consequence were treated as unpardonable. These blind guides so confused the minds of their followers in regard to sin and the proper standard of holiness, that they were destined to eventually perish with their leaders.
9 The Pharisees took upon themselves the responsibility of deciding concerning the burdens and duties of others according to the judgment of their own carnal minds. They accepted money from persons in return for excusing them from their vows, and in some cases, crimes of an aggravated character were passed over in consideration of large sums of money paid to the authorities by the transgressor. At the same time these hypocritical priests were exact in the matter of sacrifices and ceremonies, as if it were possible for cold forms to blot out the unrepented sins of their daily lives.
10 The Lord said unto Samuel, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and in sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” No outward service, even in that which is required by God can be a substitute for an obedient life. The Creator desires heart service of his creatures.
11 God has said through Hosea, “For I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against me.” The many sacrifices of the Jews and the flowing of blood to atone for sins for which they felt no true repentance was ever repugnant to God. He spoke through Micah saying, “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doeth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
12 Costly gifts and a semblance of holiness cannot win the favor of God. He requires for his mercies a contrite spirit, a heart open to the light of truth, love and compassion for our fellow men and a spirit refusing to be bribed through avarice or self-love. The priests and rulers were destitute for these essentials to God’s favor, and their most precious gifts and gorgeous ceremonies were an abomination in his eyes.
13 The Pharisees built expensive monuments to the dead prophets, pretending to deplore the sins of their fathers in rejecting, persecuting and slaying the chosen servants of God. At the same time they were burning with rage against the greatest prophet the world had ever seen, simply because he revealed and reproved their sins. They not only manifested the same spirit of hatred which had actuated their fathers, but were doing ten-fold worse than they in opposing and plotting against the divine Son of God.
14 These men whom Jesus exposed in so unsparing a manner should be a warning to those who reject the light of truth. They had gone step by step into darkness, rejecting the evidences that Jesus was the true Messiah, until the obscurity of their minds was so great that they called righteousness sin and sin righteousness. They evinced the same malice that actuated Satan against Christ in heaven, and for the same reason, because of the superior goodness of the Son of God. They were indeed the children of Satan. They condemned the acts of their forefathers in persecuting the prophets, and assumed to be the representatives of those holy men of God who died for their faith; they built the tombs of the prophets and garnished their sepulchers, and said one to another, If we had lived in those days we should not have been partakers with those who shed the blood of God’s servants, yet at the same time they were planning to destroy the Son of God, and would not have hesitated to imbrue their hands in his blood if they had not feared the people.
15 The condition of the Pharisees should be a lesson to the Christian world of the present day. It should open their eyes to the power of Satan to deceive human minds when they once turn from the precious light of truth, and yield to the control of the enemy. Many who make exalted professions today are following in the track of the Pharisees. They zealously cherish the memory of the prophets, even as the Pharisees were zealous in building and decorating their tombs. They declare that, had they lived in the days when Christ was upon the earth, they would have gladly received his teachings and obeyed them. But if these very persons had been placed in a similar position with the Jews, they would have done no better than they who crucified the Saviour.
16 Unpopular truth is no more acceptable to Pharisaical, self-righteous hearts today than when Christ walked the earth, a man among men.
17 If Christians were to be tested now as were the Jews at the first advent of Christ, few would accept him wrapped in his garment of humanity, living a life of humiliation and poverty. The Christian world can accept Messiah as a King at the right hand of God in heaven, but their hearts reject a Saviour of humility and self-sacrifice; they shrink from the cross of Christ, even as did the haughty Pharisees. Few indeed imitate the example of Jesus, and follow his teachings in their daily lives. He has exhorted his disciples to follow in his foot-steps. Many are in as great blindness concerning the plan of salvation as were the Pharisees, who professed obedience to God while they rejected Him who came to work out their salvation, that their efforts to gain a righteous character should have virtue with God through the sinner’s Advocate and substitute.
18 If man sacrifices righteous principles and truth because he can thus avoid persecution and trial in this life, he may obtain the friendship of the world, but will lose the favor of God. He barters his eternal welfare for trifling considerations. But he that obeys the requirements of Christ, neither looking nor planning for his own convenience, preferring even to sacrifice his temporal life rather than turn from the light of truth will secure the reward of the future immortal life. Jesus has said, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
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1 We who profess to keep the commandments of God, are not beyond the temptations of Satan. The history of the Jews was written for our benefit, upon whom the ends of the world are come, that we should not murmur as they did; that we should not be filled with ambition and pride as they were; that we should avoid their example of wrong doing, and not fall as they fell. In the sacred word of God the history of Israel is spread out before us for our instruction. Are we making the most of the information given us, or are we merely following in the footsteps of the Pharisees, merely pretending to be connected with God, bearing the leaves of the profession, but not the fruit. We have the truth of God, the most precious, sacred truth that was ever given to the world; the truth that was likened to a golden chain, being let down, link after link, from heaven to earth for us to grasp. Yet, we may profess to grasp the golden links of truth, and still not be sanctified by it. Like the pretentious fig tree, we may be covered with leaves but be destitute of fruit. While we know that the truth we hold is as firm as the everlasting hills, how many of us are ready to settle down upon the theory of that truth, without having evidence that Christ is in them, and they in Christ? How many are content to pass on from day to day without experiencing its sanctifying influence upon the heart, which leads to good works. Christ said, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” It is the sanctification through the truth that makes us the beloved of God.
2 We should not only take hold of the truth, but let it take hold of us; and thus have the truth in us and we in the truth. And if this is the case, our lives and characters will reveal the fact that the truth is accomplishing something for us; that it is sanctifying us, and is giving us a moral fitness for the society of heavenly angels in the kingdom of glory. The truth we hold is from heaven; and when that religion finds a lodgement in the heart, it commences its work of refining and purifying; for the religion of Jesus Christ never makes a man rough or rude; it never makes him careless, or hard-hearted; but the truth of heavenly origin, that which comes from God, elevates and sanctifies a man; it makes courteous, kind, affectionate, and pure; it takes away his hard heart, his selfishness and love of the world, and it purifies him from pride and ungodly ambition.
E. G W.
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1 Parents should encourage their children to confide in them and unburden to them their heart griefs, their daily little annoyances and trials. If they do this, the parents can learn to sympathize with their children, and pray for them and with them, that God would shield and guide them. They should point them to their never-failing Friend and Counselor, who will be touched with the feelings of their infirmities. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.
2 Satan tempts children to be reserved to their parents, and choose their young and inexperienced companions as their confidants; such as cannot help them, or give them good advice. They indulge in unprofitable conversation upon the acts and doings of others, which wither noble, devotional thoughts and feelings, and drive good and holy desires from the heart, and leave it cold and destitute of true love for God.
3 Children would be saved from many evils if they would be more familiar with their parents. Parents should encourage in their children a disposition to be open and frank with them, to come to them with their difficulties, and when they are perplexed as to what course is right, to lay the matter just as they view it before their parents, and ask advice of them. Who are so well calculated to see and point out their dangers as godly parents? Who can understand the peculiar temperaments of their children as well as they? The mother who has watched every turn of the mind from infancy, and is acquainted with the natural disposition, is best prepared to counsel her children. Who can tell as well what traits of character to check and restrain, as the mother, aided by the father?
4 Children who are Christians will prefer the love and approbation of their God-fearing parents above every earthly blessing. They will love and honor their parents. This should be one of the principal studies of their lives, How can I make my parents happy? Children who have not been disciplined and received right instruction, have but little sense of their obligations to their parents. It is often the case that the more their parents do for them the more ungrateful they are, and the less they respect them. Children that have been petted and waited upon, always expect it; and if their expectations are not met, they are disappointed and discouraged. This same disposition will be seen through their whole lives, and they will be helpless, leaning upon others for aid, expecting others to favor them and yield to them. And if they are opposed, even after grown to manhood and womanhood, they think themselves abused; and thus they worry their way through the world, hardly able to bear their own weight, often murmuring and fretting because everything does not suit them. Much sin results from idleness. Active hands and minds do not find time to heed every temptation the enemy suggests; but idle hands and brains are all ready for Satan to control, and parents should teach their children that idleness is sin.
5 Many parents think that if they gratify the wishes of their children, and let them follow their own inclinations, they will gain their love. What a mistaken idea! What an error! Children thus disciplined, grow up unrestrained in their desires, unyielding in their dispositions, selfish, exacting, and overbearing, and are a curse to themselves and everybody around them. Parents, to a great extent, hold the future happiness of their children in their own hands. Upon them rests the important work of forming their children’s character. The instructions they give them in childhood will follow them all through their lives. Parents can sow the seed which will spring up and bear fruit either for good or evil.
E. G. W.
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1 We left San Francisco June 10, in the steamer Oregon for Portland. I had been overworked, and was much worn, and flattered myself that I should rest on board the steamer. But the wind blew very strong directly against us, I remained on deck after nearly all had abandoned it because of sea-sickness, I enjoyed the sight of the billows running mountain high, blue and green, and the dashing spray reflecting all the colors of the rainbow. I could not become weary of looking upon that grand scene; and I reflected how easily all on board might be engulfed in the angry waters.
2 As I looked upon the white-capped, roaring billows, I was reminded of that scene in the life of Christ, when the disciples, in obedience to the command of their Master, went in their boats to the farther side of the sea. A terrible tempest broke upon them, their vessels would not obey their will, and they were driven hither and thither until they laid down their oars in despair. They expected to perish there; but, while the tempest and the billows talked with death, Christ, whom they had left upon the other side, appeared to them, walking calmly upon the boisterous, white-capped waves. They had been bewildered by the uselessness of their efforts, and the apparent hopelessness of their case, and had given all up for lost. When they saw Jesus before them upon the water it increased their terror, they interpreted it as a sure precursor of their immediate death. They cried out in great fear. But, instead of his appearance heralding the presence of death, he came as the messenger of life. His voice was heard above the roar of the elements: “It is I; be not afraid.” How quickly the scene now changed from the horror of despair to the joy of faith and hope in the presence of the beloved Master! The disciples felt no more anxiety nor dread of death, for Christ was with them.
3 I remained on deck until dark, and then went into the cabin, where the pitching of the boat made me very sick. This was on Monday, and I was unable to sit up from that time until Thursday morning, taking but once during that time a little beef tea and cracker. We had a strong head wind against us all the way from San Francisco, and we were all rejoiced when, on Thursday morning, we passed the bar, and entered the smooth river, leaving the restless billows behind us. There were but two or three passengers on board who were not sea-sick.
4 Captain Connor of the steamer Oregon was courteous and attentive, doing all in his power to make our voyage pleasant. The stewardess was obliging, ever busy hurrying from state-room to state-room with food to tempt the appetites of those too sick to go to the dining-room table. We felt thankful to see so much attention given on this boat to those suffering from sea-sickness, who needed care so much.
5 All on board made most of the last day upon the water. They had then all recovered their health and appetite, and seemed not much the worse for their sea-sickness.
6 There were several ministers on board who, like ourselves, were going to Oregon to hold meetings, by request. Among them was Elder Brown, with his family, who has been speaking in San Francisco and Santa Rosa. I had distributed some of our publications among the passengers. In the evening I was lying in my state-room, the door of which opened upon the upper deck. I heard the elder stating to a company gathered about him that it was impossible for any man to keep the law of God; that man never did keep it, and never can keep it. Said he, “No man will get to heaven by keeping the law. Mrs. White is all law, law; she believes that we must be saved by the law, and no one can be saved unless they keep the law. Now I believe in Christ. He is my Saviour, Christ alone can save us, and without him we cannot be saved.”
7 I felt the injustice of the charge made against me, and could not permit such a statement, made before quite a gathering of people, to remain uncorrected. I accordingly said, “That is a false statement. Mrs. White has never occupied that position. I will speak for myself and for our people. We have always taken the position that there was no power in the law to save a single transgressor of that law. The law convicts and condemns the sinner, but it is not in its province to pardon the least or greatest sin. If we sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. The sinner gets into trouble with the Father through transgression of his law. Christ, the sinner’s Advocate, pleads in his behalf. The law cannot release the sinner from the consequence of his transgression, but Christ himself pays the penalty the sinner has incurred by his disobedience.
8 “The apostle Paul inquires, ‘Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid.’ Shall we presume upon the mercy of Christ by living in transgression of the law of God? Paul declares to the elders of the church, ‘I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Repentance toward God because of his law transgressed, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, as the sinner’s Advocate. Said Paul, ‘What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law, for I had not known lust except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.’ Again Paul sums up the matter: ‘Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.’
9 “Christ did not come to excuse sin, nor to justify a sinner while he continued to transgress that law for which the Son of God was to give his life to vindicate and exalt. Had it been possible for the law to be repealed, Christ would have had no need to come to our earth, and to die, the just for the unjust. God could have taken the sinner back into favor by annulling the law. But this could not be. The law holds the transgressor in bondage, but the obedient are free. The law cannot cleanse from sin, it condemns the sinner. The sinner may stand justified before God only through repentance toward him, and faith in the merits of Jesus Christ. The law is a great mirror by means of which the sinner may discern the defects in his moral character. But the mirror cannot remove those defects. The gospel points to Christ as the only one able to remove the stains of sin by his blood. Though the law has no pardoning power, it is the only means by which to explain to the sinner what sin really is. By the law is the knowledge of sin. Without the law, Paul tells us sin is dead.
10 “It is folly to bid the sinner come to Christ before being convicted of his sin by being brought before the mirror of the law of God. What is the sinner to be converted from? The transgression of God’s law to obedience of it. But if he is told that he cannot keep the law of God, and that if he should attempt it he would be brought into bondage, to what is he then converted,—transgression of the law to a continuance in that transgression? This is absurd. Yet professed ministers of Christ tell the sinner that he is guiltless while disloyal to the law of God. Such conversions are not ratified in heaven.
11 “Our Christ was the Saviour of the ancient worthies as much as he is our Saviour. They looked forward by faith, to a Saviour to come. Adam was saved by the gospel as virtually as we are saved today. Abraham was saved by faith in Christ as the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. Moses was saved by the merits of Christ, who was the angel that led the armies of Israel in all their travels through the wilderness. God commanded, ‘Provoke him not, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him,’ All who have died in faith, from righteous Abel unto our day are saved by the merits of Jesus Christ.
12 “Jesus said: ‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me ye that work iniquity.’ How many there are who cry Christ, Christ, only believe on Christ, when they do not the works of Christ. Such are represented by the class mentioned by our Saviour as workers of iniquity. They transgress the law of God, and by precept and example teach others to do likewise. Nominal profession of faith in Christ will not save a soul; neither will nominal observance of the law. The law of God must be obeyed from the heart; its principles must be carried out in the life; and faith in Jesus Christ as the world’s Redeemer must be manifested in the life and character, or there is no true conversion.
13 “The law of God is changeless in its character as the eternal throne. The types and shadows reached to the antitype and substance, Jesus Christ. At his death they ceased to have any force or significance. But the law of the ten commandments, instituted in Eden, when the foundation of the world was laid, when the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy, was to be as enduring as the heavens and the earth. Christ pronounced his benediction upon all who keep sacred the law of God: ‘Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.’
14 “Elder Brown, please never again make the misstatement that we do not rely on Jesus Christ for salvation, but trust in the law to be saved. We have never written one word to that effect, nor taught such a theory in any manner. We believe that no sinner can be saved in his sins (and sin is the transgression of the law), while you teach that the sinner may be saved while knowingly transgressing the law of God.”
15 “Well,” said Elder Brown, in a low voice, to those collected about him, “I know all about them.” I felt called upon to reply to this, and said. “Sir, if you know all about the position that we, as a people, occupy, you must also know that you have misrepresented us. We have never intimated, either in sermons preached by our ministers, or in the thousands of pages of our printed matter scattered all over the world, that there is any power in the law to save the sinner. On the contrary, it has been repeated again and again by our speakers and writers that the law has no power to redeem the transgressor from the consequences of his sin. We will speak at our approaching camp-meeting in Salem. Please come up, and learn what we really do believe, for it is evident that you are not acquainted with us or our faith.”
16 I will here state that Elder Brown, while in San Francisco, said that he had known Mrs. White in the East—knew all about her, leaving an impression on the minds of those whom he addressed unfavorable to me and my work. I have no knowledge of ever having seen this man or of having a moment’s conversation with him, previous to the voyage on the Oregon. I have no evidence that he ever heard me speak, or that he has ever read my writings, or acquainted himself with my mission. The truth undoubtedly is he is entirely ignorant concerning Mrs. White and her labors. Many have thus professed to be thoroughly acquainted with me whom I have never seen nor spoken with. They have gathered up the hearsays, and evil reports floating from false and slanderous tongues, and deal them out as facts which they know to be true.
17 I was astonished at the position taken by Elder Brown on the question of the law. It seemed incredible that one who professed to be a Bible student, and teacher, should affirm that no man ever kept the law of God, or could keep it. This is the fearful position taken by many ministers, in order to get rid of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Such teachers throw a very unfavorable light upon the character of our heavenly Father, when they represent him as giving men a code of laws which is the foundation of all civilized national and domestic government, yet which it is impossible that men ever have or ever can obey. Such sentiments expressed by public teachers lead men, not only to disregard the divine law, but to trample upon it as an arbitrary requirement which they are justified in rebelling against. The teachers of such pernicious doctrines will not be in an enviable position when they shall meet the great Lawgiver over his broken law.
18 Wherein would man be happier even in this life if he should have perfect liberty to break the ten precepts of the Father’s law? God, in his great love for man gave him that law by which to order his conduct, that he should be restricted to doing those things which would tend, to increase his real happiness, and that of his fellow creatures even in this life. The principles of the commandments, carried out in the daily life ennoble and sanctify the heart and mind and give one a moral fitness through Jesus Christ, for the society of holy angels. Our all wise heavenly Father knew what rules were required to guard man from sin and to regulate his life, leading him to practice such virtues as would make him a fit subject for heaven.
19 Christ said, “If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” Christ should be our example in all things. He came from the realms of glory, not to show man a way by which he could be saved in transgression of the law, by which transgression Adam fell. But he took upon himself human nature, passed triumphantly over the ground where Adam stumbled, and redeemed that failure by his own perfect obedience of the law, and resistance to the temptations of Satan, which had compassed the fall of Adam. Christ in his own life has given us a proof that man can keep the law of God, and, through his merits be a final overcomer.
20 In his sermon on the mount Christ said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Christ here shows the object of his mission: To show man by his example, that he could be entirely obedient to the moral law, and regulate his life by its precepts. That law was exalted and made honorable by Jesus Christ.
21 Should the pope of Rome and all the inhabitants of the earth unite their intellect for the purpose, they would not abolish the smallest claim of the law spoken from Sinai. God has specified his will toward man in his ten precepts. It is as perpetual and unchangeable as his character. The law says to every transgressor, Thou shalt surely die. But Christ says to every soul that repents toward God for his transgression of the law, and turns in penitence to his Saviour, Thou shalt as surely be saved as that Christ died for the salvation of men.
22 What solemn words were those that fell from the lips of the divine Teacher, who came to make honorable the law of his Father: “Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” Ministers and people should comprehend the full significance of these words. Those who by word or action, or interpretation of Scripture, lessen, or explain away the sacred claims and dignity of God’s holy law shall have no place in the kingdom of heaven. Christ would here have us understand that our righteousness must include, not only the observance of the letter of the law, but also the spirit and principle of it. The letter of the law specifies how we must walk in order to please God; the spirit of the law points to Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice, through whose merits the sinner can fulfill the requirements of the law, Christ said, “I and my Father are one.” There is therefore perfect harmony between the law and the gospel.
E. G. White.
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1 My visit to Oregon was of special interest to me. I here met, after a separation of four years, my dear friends, Brother and Sister Van Horn, whom we claim as our children. It was a most precious season to me, especially did my motherly heart go out in sympathy and love for Adelia Van Horn, and her two children whom I had never before seen. Separation had not estranged our hearts; our love and confidence had never been broken. Every moment of my stay with those dear children was precious to me. The labors of our brother and sister have not been in vain in the Lord. They have labored amid much discouragement, and deprivation of the society of familiar friends, and the sacrifice of many comforts, to do what they could for the Lord in the distant field of their labors. Sister Van Horn and her sister, Frances Jones, have suffered from ill health, and at times it was feared that both would lose their lives. But many prayers have ascended to heaven from their house, pleading that the great Healer would remove disease from them and give them health and freedom in him; and the Lord has brought them through their sore afflictions that they may glorify his name. Both sisters are now in much better health, for which we praise God.
2 Elder Van Horn is a missionary in the true sense of the word, and a man of excellent ability and deep spirituality. His wife is equally talented and self-sacrificing. Their devotion to the cause of present truth has led to the sound conversion of many souls. Brother Van Horn, with characteristic modesty, has not furnished as full and favorable reports of his work as he might justly have done. I was accordingly somewhat surprised, and very much pleased to find the cause of God in so prosperous a condition in Oregon. Through the untiring efforts of these faithful missionaries a company of Sabbath-keepers has been raised up on the North Pacific coast which does honor to the cause. As a class they are persons of intelligence and rare moral worth. My association with them was very pleasant. I felt my heart linked with theirs in Christian sympathy and fellowship.
3 I felt it my privilege to rest upon the first Sabbath after my arrival in Salem. Tuesday evening, June 18, I met for the first time in this State a goodly number of Sabbath-keepers, who possess true moral worth. My heart was softened by the spirit of God. I gave my testimony for Jesus, and for the sweet privilege that was ours of trusting in his love, and of claiming his power to unite with our efforts to save sinners from perdition. If we would see the work of God prosper we must have Christ dwelling in us; in short we must work the works of Christ. Wherever we might look the whitening harvest appeared; and the laborers are so few. I felt my heart filled with the peace of God, and drawn out in love for his dear people with whom I was worshiping for the first time.
4 On Sunday, June 23, I spoke by invitation, in the Methodist church of Salem, on the subject of Temperance. The attendance was unusually good, and I had freedom in treating this, my favorite subject. I was requested to speak again in the same place on the Sunday following the camp-meeting, but was prevented by hoarseness. On the next Tuesday evening, however, I again spoke in the church. Many invitations were tendered me to speak upon Temperance in various cities and towns of Oregon, but the state of my health forbade my complying with these requests. Constant speaking, and the change of climate, had brought a temporary but severe hoarseness upon me.
5 The camp-meeting was a season of profitable labor for God, and strengthened the church to go on in their warfare for the truth. I had freedom in speaking, though suffering almost constantly from hoarseness. I felt glad to meet with his people, who deeply appreciated my labors among them. During my stay in Oregon, I visited the prison in Salem, and by invitation spoke to the convicts in the prison chapel. Next week I will give an account of this visit, and my discourse on that occasion.
E. G. White
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1 Sunday, June 23, by invitation, I visited the prison, in Salem, Oregon, in company with Brother and Sister Carter, and Sister Jordan, who took me there in her carriage. The superintendent and warden of the prison were introduced to me. When the time arrived for service we were conducted to the chapel, a room made cheerful by an abundance of light, and pure fresh air. At a signal from a bell, two men opened the great iron gates by means of a lever, and the prisoners came flocking from their cells into the chapel. The doors were securely closed behind them, and for the first time in my life, I was immured in prison walls.
2 I had anticipated seeing a set of repulsive looking men. In this I was disappointed; many of them seemed to be intelligent, and some appeared to be men of ability. They were dressed in the coarse, but neat striped prison uniform, their hair smooth, and boots brushed. As I looked upon the varied physiognomies before me, I thought: To each of these men has been committed peculiar gifts or talents for use, and not for abuse. All before me, from those who had occupied conspicuous and important positions in the world, and in the church, even those who had been most lowly and obscure, have been entrusted with some talents, whether of wealth, station, influence, kindly sympathies or affections, they were given from the heavenly treasury, and were to have been used for the glory of God, and the benefit of the world.
3 The men before me had despised the gifts of heaven, and had abused, and misapplied them. Some of the convicts manifested a forced unnatural cheerfulness. But many, especially the older men, looked exceedingly sad and melancholy. Before me were youths of tender years, and the hardened, gray-haired sinner, all under the bondage of the law, because they had transgressed its statutes. As I looked upon young men of eighteen to twenty and thirty years of age, I thought of their unhappy mothers, and of the grief and remorse which was their bitter portion. Had they done their duty by their children? Had they not indulged them in their own will and way, and neglected to teach them the statutes of God, and his claims upon them? Many of those mothers’ hearts had been broken by the ungodly course pursued by their children.
4 When all the company were assembled, Brother Carter read the hymn. All had books, and joined heartily in singing. One, who seemed to be an accomplished musician, played the organ. I then opened the meeting by prayer, and again all joined in singing. I spoke from the words of John: “Behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God; therefore, the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
5 I exalted before them the infinite sacrifice that the father made, in giving his beloved Son for fallen men, that they might through obedience be transformed, and become the acknowledged sons of God. The church and the world are called upon to behold and admire a love which thus expressed is beyond human comprehension, and even amazed the angels of heaven. This love was so deep, so broad, and so high, that it filled the holy angels with amazement, and language in which to describe it, failing the inspired apostle, he calls upon the church and the world to behold it—to make it the theme of contemplation, and of admiration.
6 I presented before my hearers the sin of Adam in the transgression of the Father’s express commands. God made man upright, perfectly holy and happy; but he lost the favor of God, and destroyed his own happiness by disobedience of the Father’s law. The sin of Adam plunged the race in hopeless misery and despair. Every successive generation upon the earth have degenerated physically, mentally, and morally. Sin with its terrible curse corrupted the world, and almost obliterated the image of God in man. But the wonderful, pitying love of God did not leave men in their hopeless, fallen condition to utterly perish. He gave his well beloved Son for their salvation. He who was the brightness of God’s glory, and the express image of him took man’s, nature, to suffer affliction, scorn and hatred of the very ones he came to save. Christ entered the world, his divinity clothed in humanity; he passed over the ground where Adam fell; he bore the test which Adam failed to endure; he overcame every temptation of Satan, and thus redeemed Adam’s disgraceful failure and fall.
7 The sons of men gave way to the indulgence of appetite, which set on fire their passions. They became violent, basely corrupt, and hardened. Their thoughts and acts were evil, and God finally visited his wrath upon the children of disobedience, and washed the earth of its moral pollution by a flood. But God acknowledged the few on earth who were righteous. Noah and his family were saved. In the midst of his wrath and retributive justice God remembered mercy, and left not the righteous and faithful to perish with the wicked.
8 When the earth became peopled again, sin once more spread abroad over the land. Wickedness covered all nations like the pall of death. Satan compassed the ruin of thousands through temptation to indulge appetite. He has ever thus sought to pervert the senses of man, weaken his moral power, and make him the slave of appetite; he then gains control of him, and uses him as his agent in practising crime, and all manner of wickedness. We see, at the present day, great lack of discernment in regard to right and wrong, and an absence of principle. We may trace this lamentable state of things to the general indulgence of perverted appetite, which excites the baser passions, and urges its victim on to excesses of every kind, and finally to crimes of every degree.
9 Intemperance of any kind will enervate a character originally firm, noble, and independent. His fine sensibilities will be blunted, his conscience will become seared. He will form bad associations, evil communications will corrupt his good manners. One false step leads him to another, which may be fatal, and he becomes the tool of Satan. Men plunge into wild license and reckless dissipation, and call it freedom of action, when they are in veriest bondage to the most cruel tyrant who knows no compassion for the wretched victims he allures to ruin. When the world was filled with iniquity God lifted up his standard against Satan by sending his Son to the world in the likeness of sinful flesh. Christ bridged the gulf that sin had made, which separated earth from heaven, and man from God.
10 I then referred to the long fast of Christ in the wilderness. The sin of the indulgence of appetite, and its power over human nature can never be fully realized except as that long fast of Christ when contending single-handed with the prince of the power of darkness is studied and understood. Man’s salvation was at stake. Would Satan or would the Redeemer of the world come off conqueror! It is impossible for us to conceive with what intense interest angels of God watched the trial of their loved Commander.
11 Jesus came from heaven to earth, assumed man’s nature, and was tempted in all points like as we are that he might know how to succor those who should be tempted. Christ’s life is for our example. He shows in his willing obedience, how man may keep the law of God, and that transgression of the law, and not obedience of it, brings him into bondage. The Saviour was full of compassion and love; he never spurned the truly penitent, however great their guilt; but he severely denounced hypocrisy of every sort, he is acquainted with the sins of men, he knows all their acts, and reads their secret motives; yet he does not turn away from them in their iniquity. He pleads and reasons with the sinner, and, in one sense,—that of having himself borne the weakness of humanity,—he puts himself on a level with him. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
12 Man, who has defaced the image of God in his soul by a corrupt life cannot, by mere human effort, effect a radical change in himself. He must accept the provisions of the gospel; he must be reconciled to God through obedience of his law and faith in Jesus Christ. His life from thenceforth must be governed by a new principle. Through repentance, faith and good works he may develop and perfect a righteous character, and claim through the merits of Christ the privileges of the sons of God. The principles of divine truth received and cherished in the heart will carry us to a height of moral excellence we had not deemed possible for us to reach. “And it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure.”
13 Here is a work for man to do. He must face the mirror of God’s law, discern the defects in his moral character and put away his sins, washing his robes of character in the blood of the Lamb. Envy, pride, malice, deceit, strife, crime will be cleansed from the heart that is recipient of the love of Christ, and cherishes the hope of being made like him when we shall see him as he is. The religion of Christ refines and dignifies its possessor, whatever his associations or station in life may be. Men who become enlightened Christians rise above the level of their former character into greater mental and moral strength. Those fallen and degraded by sin and crime may become but a little lower than the angels through the merits of the Saviour.
14 But the influence of a gospel hope will not lead the sinner to look upon the salvation of Christ as a matter of free grace, while he continues to live in transgression of the law of God. When the light of truth dawns upon his mind, and he fully understands the requirements of God, and realizes the extent of his transgressions, he will reform his ways, become loyal to God through the strength obtained from his Saviour, and lead a new and purer life. Those who overcome in the name of Jesus will stand about the great white throne, with crowns of immortal glory, waving the palm branches of victory. They will be sons of God, children of the heavenly King, their lives running parallel with the life of God. The joy of the Lord will be their joy, and no shadow will ever darken their heavenly home. Said Christ, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” While mercy lingers, I beseech you to make the most of the probationary time left you, in preparing for eternity, that life may not be an utter failure, and that in the time of solemn scrutiny you may be found with those who are accepted of God, and are called the sons of God.
E. G. White.
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1 The following we extract from private letters received from Sister White since leaving Oakland, July 28, accompanied by her daughter Mrs. Emma White, and Miss Edith Donaldson.
2 She writes under date of July 29: “We arrived at Sacramento yesterday, and were met by Brother and Sister Wilkinson, who gave us a hearty welcome and took us to their home, where we were kindly entertained during our stay. Last night (Sunday) I spoke according to appointment. The house was well filled with an attentive congregation, and the Lord gave me freedom in speaking to them from his word. On Monday we visited the Capitol, under the guidance of Brother and Sister Wilkinson and spent some time looking through the State library, art collections and cabinets of mineral and metallurgical specimens. We were much interested in what we saw, and would have enjoyed the privilege of remaining longer in the city to farther inspect these valuable collections of the State. But we were obliged to push on the same day, in order to meet my appointment at Reno.”
3 August 1: “We have just passed Ogden, we occupy a splendid car, and are all in good health and spirits. We shall arrive at Cheyenne tomorrow noon, when we change cars for Denver. As we passed over the great American desert in the heat and alkali dust we became very weary of the barren mountainous scenery, though we were furnished with every convenience, and glided swiftly and smoothly over the rails, drawn by our iron steed. My imagination carried me back to the ancient Hebrews, traveling over rocks and arid desert for forty years. The heat, dust and roughness of the way drew complaints and sighs of fatigue from many who trod that weary way. I thought that if we were obliged to travel on foot across the barren desert, often suffering from thirst, heat, and fatigue, very many of us would murmur more than did the Israelites. The peculiar features of mountain scenery on the overland route has often been sketched by pen and pencil. All who are delighted with the grandeur and beauty of nature must feel a thrill of joy as they behold those grand old mountains, beautiful hills, and the wild and rocky canyons. This is especially true with the Christian. He sees in the granite rocks, and the babbling streams the work of God’s all-powerful hand. He longs to climb the lofty hills, for it seems that he would then be nearer heaven, though he knows that God hears the prayers of his children in the lowly valley as well on the mountain tops.”
4 She writes from Rollinsville, Colo., August 8: “Here we are at the old house by the spring, quite comfortable in our temporary home. We here met my husband and children. I find my husband cheerful and active, walking and working as briskly as ever. I feel grateful to God for restoring him to this degree of health. On the way from Denver to this place we stopped in Boulder City, and beheld with joy our canvas meeting-house, where Elder Cornell and Brother Olmstead are holding a series of meetings. We found a quiet, blessed retreat in the comfortable home of Sister Dartt. The tent had been loaned to hold temperance meetings in, and, by special invitation, I spoke above an hour on the subject of temperance to a tent full of attentive hearers. Though wearied by my journey, the Lord helped me to successfully present before the people the necessity of practicing strict temperance in all things of realizing our duty to make every exertion for the welfare of our fellow-men; to overcome our own tendencies to indulge in that which is hurtful to mind and body; and also to do all in our power to help others to so overcome. I presented Christ as the source of all strength. His power combined with human effort can free men from the slavery of vicious habits, and restore them to an honorable position in society, give them enlarged capacities and enlightened views of this life and the life to come. I presented the necessity of educating the children from the cradle up to resist temptation, if we would effect any special reform in society. ‘As the twig is bent the tree inclines.’
5 “At the conclusion of the meeting I was congratulated by some of the principal citizens on my manner of treating the temperance subject. They declared that the only proper way was to treat it from a Christian standpoint, showing the people that they needed the help of God in order to free themselves from the bondage of intemperance. There appeared to be a general satisfaction at the result of the meeting, and a conviction that good would come from it.
6 “The Methodist minister in Boulder City spoke Saturday night to the effect that Elder Cornell misinterpreted scripture in ‘teaching that we are living in the last days. Many of his statements will be reviewed by Elder C. A considerable interest is growing up in that place, which has increased under the recent labors in the tent. We hope to see a good work done there for the truth of God, and sinners brought from darkness to light.
7 “We long to see the truth triumph here in Colorado, and have much faith in the results of the labors now being carried on here. We were never more free in bearing our testimony than at the present time; and, although not able to respond to half the calls coming from different places, we mean to do all we can, trusting in the power of the God of Israel to sustain us in the work.”
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1 “Who then, is a faithful and wise servant, whom the Lord has made ruler over his household.” Matthew 24:45. The Redeemer of the world asks who? and the question should come home to every heart, Lord, is it I? Christ is represented in the text as a man who took a far journey, left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work. Thus it appears that a work is given to every person, there is no exception, and the faithful performance of this work will bring to its doer the commendation of the Master. To ignore responsibilities makes men slothful servants, and the do-nothing in religious service will receive the condemnation of the Master.
2 The work of each one corresponds with the ability given him of God. All responsibility does not rest upon the ministers who teach the truth but upon every one who believes the truth. Religion, in this age of the world, is made to connect with the day of rest, and the ordinary church service, but is divorced from the daily business transactions of life. Many professed followers of Christ are content with merely performing their formal religious duties. But when asked, What have you done for Jesus, what self-sacrifice have you made for his dear sake who made the infinite sacrifice for you, they must answer, Nothing. Christ identified his interests with suffering humanity. He laid aside his high command in heaven, where he was worshiped of the angels, and came to a world seared and marred by the curse of sin, in order to save man. He suffered, and died, the just for the unjust, that fallen man might be partakers of his glory hereafter. But this sacrifice of Christ in man’s behalf does not lessen the necessity of man’s denying himself, and making sacrifices for God on his own account, and in his own behalf. The life of Christ is for our example; we are to follow in his footsteps.
3 Some ministers are dangerously misleading the people. They would have them accept the fatal sophistry of Satan that simple belief in Christ is sufficient for their salvation; that good works have nothing to do with it. Christ, by his example and precepts taught an entirely different doctrine. Men must not depend too much upon what the ministers tell them, but must themselves examine the law and the testimony. If religious teachers speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. The word of inspiration shows us that beneficence is essential to the Christian character, and its growth in grace. Our means must be consecrated to God, and we must feel that it is not our own, but given us in trust, to be used in the Master’s service. Our labors should be sanctified to God. We must do good, and use our means and influence for the benefit of our fellow creatures. In short, if we would truthfully bear the name of Christian, we must follow the example of Christ, who went about doing good.
4 He gave his life to elevate and ennoble fallen man, and that he might exalt him to his right hand. We have here the pattern of the purest self-sacrifice for the sake of others. Worldliness, selfishness and pride are foreign to the character of a true Christian. Many professors of religion do nothing for Christ by personal effort. They are contented to have others do what properly belongs to themselves to perform, and, by lending a feeble influence for the workers, feel that they are doing good by proxy. Such persons do not possess that faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. They have no genuine religion, that enters into their daily business, and regulates every action of their lives. A living faith in Christ is demonstrated by good deeds in our families, and our neighborhoods, by thoughtful, and practical consideration of the poor, by visiting and comforting the widows and the fatherless in their affliction, by keeping ourselves unspotted from the world, and by using our means and influence for the advancement of the cause of God. This must not be done grudgingly or murmuringly, but freely and cheerfully as Jesus gave all for us.
5 Nothing should be withheld from God; he claims the whole heart, talents, and property of those who profess his name. Those who ignore responsibility and their work for God are in a deplorable condition. The angel’s record of their lives, as far as usefulness in the cause of God is concerned, presents one mournful blank. Such persons are as trees destitute of fruit, bearing only leaves. They are only cumberers of the ground, darkening with their unproductive boughs the ground that should be occupied by fruit-bearing trees, and excluding the sunshine from those that would be productive but for their shadow.
6 Conformity to the world is positively forbidden in the word of God. The inspired apostle writes: “Be not conformed to this world.” In order to prevent this the opposite course is enjoined upon the true believers: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds.” The all-powerful grace of God, uniting with the efforts and will of man, works the transformation in the life and character of man, and brings him into a position where he can prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. One who engages in the work of helping and blessing others is being transformed by the renewing of his mind, being a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The apostles are diligent in their injunctions not to love the world, neither the things that are in the world. “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
7 Christ was ever severe in his denunciations of hypocritical professors, those who bore no fruit to his glory. He frequently declared that there was more hope for the veriest open sinner than for the pretender. Jesus would cleanse the temple of the soul from the defiling sins of selfishness, pride, envy, and love of the world. He would purify it for his own abode. God calls for workers. All who are his followers must work the works of Christ, deny self, and take up their cross daily. All may wash their robes of character, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. This white vesture provided by the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world represents a life of purity and holiness, distinguished from the life of the worldling. Such a course will leave a bright track heavenward, which attracts all who would leave the vanities of the world for holier joys beyond. We would intreat the idle professor, the fruitless tree to be a fruit bearer, doing their duty to the world.
E. G. White.
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1 -
There is but one standard of right in the world, and that is God’s standard. We are all virtually under equal obligations to meet that high standard; and God holds us alike responsible to him. Society may set up artificial differences and regulations, but the fixed fact remains the same. Men require women to live up to a standard of purity almost equal with that of the angels, while they erect a standard of quite a different character for themselves.
2 Young men sit down to wine suppers, freely indulge their appetites for intoxicating drink and for tobacco, become reckless in their deportment, vulgar and turbulent in their conversation, and frequently seek low and debased society, excusing themselves under the plea of custom and the ways of the world. But should young ladies follow such a course of dissipation they would be utterly and forever disgraced in the eyes of the whole world.
3 But it is urged, “Oh, young men must sow their wild oats.” This is a terrible fallacy. It should be borne in mind that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Young men who have plunged into dissipation are already reaping what they have sown. They do not have to wait for mature years to come before they realize that they must pay the penalty for every violation of moral law. Every day we see instances of young men who are debilitated in body and mind, whose morals are debased, and who are prematurely dying because they have transgressed Nature’s laws, and fallen victims to the temptations which the fashions of the world hold out to them.
4 The law of Nature is the law of God; and the penalty of its transgression is visited alike upon men and women. It is not customary to hold fathers equally responsible with mothers for the training of their children. How many sermons are preached, and how much is written concerning the mother’s responsibility; while the father is apparently relieved from all the burden. We would appeal to fathers, in the hope of arousing them to a sense of their God given responsibility in regard to their children. We would say, Guard yourselves from cherishing any pernicious habit which, by its influence, might have a direct or indirect tendency to weaken the moral susceptibilities of your children.
5 While the mother may be doing her whole duty in educating her children to purity of life, the father too frequently, by his own example, may be opening the door of temptation to his children. His indulgence in wine and tobacco, and other sinful practices, lessen the hideousness of sin in their eyes. In keeping with this immoral course, is the talk that many fathers indulge in before their children, to the effect that the law of God is no longer binding upon man; that it was only for the government of the Israelites; or that it was abrogated at the death of Christ. Intelligent youth are not long in comprehending that where there is no law there is no transgression. The wholesome fear of breaking the commandments of God, grows weaker and weaker in their minds, until the moral perceptions which have been carefully trained by the mother, grow to be in harmony with the father’s sentiments.
6 If men strictly and conscientiously kept the law of God, there would be no drunkards, no tobacco inebriates, no distress, penury, and crime. Liquor saloons would be closed for want of patronage, and nine-tenths of all misery existing in the world would come to an end. Young men would walk forth with erect and noble forms, free and elastic step, clear eye, and healthy complexions.
7 When ministers, from their pulpits, make loyalty to the law of God disreputable; when they join with the world in making it unpopular; when these teachers of the people indulge in the social glass, and the defiling narcotic, tobacco, what depth of vice may not be expected from the youth of this generation? The newspaper records of the day, with their annals of crime, murders, and suicides, give the answer, and point out the terrible dangers of the time.
8 The signs exist today which prophecy predicted would characterize the state of society just prior to the second coming of Christ. You have heard much in regard to the authority and sanctity of the law of the ten commandments. God is the author of that law, which is the foundation of his government in heaven and on earth. All enlightened nations have based their laws upon this grand foundation of all law; yet the legislators and ministers, who are recognized as the leaders and teachers of the people, live in open violation of the principles inculcated in those holy statutes.
9 Many ministers preach Christ from the pulpit, and then do not hesitate to benumb their senses by wine tippling, or even indulging in brandy and other liquors. The Christian standard says, “Touch not; taste not; handle not;” and the laws of our physical being repeat the solemn injunction with emphasis. It is the duty of every Christian minister to lay this truth plainly before his people, teaching it both by precept and example.
10 The Bible nowhere teaches the use of intoxicating wine, either as a beverage or as a symbol of the blood of Christ. We appeal to the natural reason whether the blood of Christ is better represented by the pure juice of the grape in its natural state, or after it has been converted into a fermented and intoxicating wine. We maintain that the former is the only symbol properly representing the sacred blood of Christ, and a symbol established by himself; and we urge that the latter should never be placed upon the Lord’s table.
11 It has been declared by some that Christ favored the moderate use of fermented wine, in witness whereof they refer to his miracle of changing water into wine. But we protest that Christ never made intoxicating wine; such an act would have been contrary to all the teachings and example of his life. He was the Angel who led the children of Israel in the wilderness. He spoke the law from Sinai. He prohibited those who officiated in holy office from using wine; and his reasons for so doing are explicit; viz., that they may have clear judgment to distinguish between the common and the sacred, to do justice to the fatherless and widows, to teach his statutes and laws to Israel, and to accept no bribes. Those who abolish the law of God for the sake of getting rid of the Sabbath, do away with the most solemn restrictions against using liquor.
12 He who appeared to the wife of Manoah, and told her she should bear a son, and described his character for strength, and charged her to drink no wine or strong drink, for the child should be a Nazarite from his birth; He who appeared to Zacharias, and gave him directions regarding the unborn John, charging him that the child should drink no wine or strong drink, was not one who would make intoxicating wine and give it to the people upon a wedding occasion. The wine which Christ manufactured from water by a miracle of his power, was the pure juice of the grape. And the object of the Saviour, in this miracle, was to bring the perverted taste of the governor of the feast to a healthy condition, by inducing him to acknowledge that this wine was superior in quality to any he had before tasted.
13 There are those in our day, who, in order to excuse their own sins, follow the example of the Jews, and charge Christ with being a Sabbath-breaker and wine-bibber, notwithstanding he declared that he kept his Father’s commandments, and his whole life was an example of temperance and self-denial. Had he been a wine-bibber he could not have been a perfect offering, and the virtue of his blood would have been of no avail. But this charge, as well as the former, is best refuted by the character and teachings of Christ himself.
14 The Christian church is pronounced to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Can we apply this to the churches of today, many of whose members are using, not only the defiling narcotic, tobacco, but intoxicating wine, and spirituous liquor, and are placing the wine-cup to their neighbor’s lips? The church of Christ should be a school in which the inexperienced youth should be educated to control their appetites, from a moral and religious standpoint. They should there be taught how unsafe it is to tamper with temptation, to dally with sin; that there is no such thing as being a moderate and temperate drinker; that the path of the tippler is ever downward. They should be exhorted to “look not upon the wine when it is red,” which “at the last biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.”—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 This has been a very important meeting. From the first we have had a large attendance from the outside, a good attentive congregation. Much labor was required. New churches had been raised up since our last camp-meeting. Precious souls had accepted the truth, and these all needed meat in due season. All needed to be carried forward to a deeper and more thorough knowledge of practical godliness. The Lord gave me freedom in bearing my testimony.
2 Sabbath, Brother Goodrich gave a discourse in the morning. In the afternoon I was lifted above my infirmities and had freedom in speaking to the people. An invitation was given for those to come forward who wanted to be Christians, and those who had backslidden from God. Between two and three hundred responded. Fervent and effectual prayers were offered. Those who came forward were then divided in companies occupying four tents. A minister was appointed to each tent to labor for those who had come forward and who needed help. These meetings were a success, precious victories were gained. The evening following the Sabbath, Brother Smith spoke from these words, “Great and marvelous are thy works,” &c.
3 Sunday morning the weather was cloudy with some rain, which prevented so large an attendance from the outside as might otherwise have been expected; but as the prospect brightened for a fair day, the numbers increased rapidly, each train bringing more or less, until in the afternoon the crowd on the ground showed quite a marked contrast to that assembled on any other day during the meeting.
4 Elder Smith spoke in the morning upon the subject of the sanctuary, showing that the disappointment in the time was not a failure after all. After singing, Brother Farnsworth presented the subject of the Sabbath in the New Testament, showing conclusively that there is no evidence therein for the observance of Sunday. At half past one, Elder Haskell preached. Subject: Who changed the Sabbath. At three o’clock I took the stand, speaking upon the subject of temperance. I spoke one hour, while the people listened with the deepest attention.
5 A gentleman from Boston, the guardian of a home for orphan children in that city, desired an opportunity of speaking a few words and taking up a contribution for the benefit of the home for the friendless, which is supported purely by charity. He brought with him four of the children, from eight to twelve years of age, who sung little songs very prettily. The remarks on this occasion were brief, but to the point, and all were interested in the home for the fatherless and motherless.
6 The meetings had been held with but little intermission from nine o’clock until nearly six. The people upon the ground were more quiet than usual upon such occasions.
7 Monday morning, meeting at the tent commenced at half-past five. I spoke about thirty minutes upon the necessity of economy in dress and in the expenditure of means. There is danger of becoming reckless and careless in the use of the Lord’s money. Young men who engage in tent labor should be careful not to indulge in unnecessary expense. The wants of the cause are many, as tents are entering new fields, and as the missionary work is enlarging. The most rigid economy should be used in this matter without stinginess. It is easier to run up a bill than to settle it. There are many things that would be convenient and enjoyable that are not needful, and that can be dispensed with without actual suffering. It is very easy to multiply expenses for hotel bills and railroad fare that might be avoided, or very much lessened. We have passed over the road to and from California twelve times, and have not expended one dollar for meals at the restaurants or in the attached dining car. We eat our meals from our lunch baskets. After being three days out, the food becomes quite stale, but a little milk or warm gruel supplies our lack.
8 Our morning meeting was held in the tent. I spoke again about thirty minutes in reference to genuine sanctification, which is nothing less than a daily dying to self, and daily conformity to the will of God. Paul’s sanctification was a constant conflict with self. Said he, “I die daily.” His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty and the will of God. Instead of following inclination, he did the will of God, however unpleasant and crucifying to his nature.
9 The reason many in this age of the world make no greater advancement in the divine life is because they interpret the will of God to be just what they will to do. They do exactly as they desire, and flatter themselves they are conforming to God’s will. They please themselves in everything, and therefore have no conflicts with self. Many are successful for a time in the conflict against selfish desires for pleasure and ease. They are sincere and earnest; but grow weary of protracted effort, of daily death, of ceaseless turmoil, and resisting Satan’s temptations. Indolence seems inviting, death to self, repulsive; and they close their drowsy eyes and fall under temptation instead of resisting it. The pride of life, fashionable sins, do not seem so very repulsive to them.
10 There is no compromise in the word of God for those who conform to the world. The Son of God was manifested that he might draw all men unto him. But he came not to lull the world to sleep - not to send peace, but a sword. The followers of Christ must walk in the light of his glorious example, and, at whatever sacrifice of ease or selfish indulgence, at whatever cost of labor or sufferings we must maintain the constant battle with self, exalt the gospel standard, and push forward the triumphs of the cross.
11 We called on those who desired to be baptized, and who were keeping the Sabbath for the first time, to come forward. Twenty-five responded. These bore excellent testimonies. One gentleman of intelligence said he had seen light upon the Sabbath commandment since these meetings commenced. He stated that he had kept the first day strictly according to the canons of Rome, but he now saw that he had not been keeping the day the Lord had sanctified and blessed. But from this time, as long as God spared his life, he should keep the seventh day specified in the fourth commandment. He also stated that the members of his church had attended these meetings, and were very much interested and stirred in regard to the things they had heard.
12 We had a good attendance from those residing in the vicinity where our camp-meeting was held. The spirit of the meeting is having a moulding influence upon the community. The spirit of the Lord has been in our midst. My testimony has been well received. I have been strengthened and blessed of God. While trying to water others, my own soul has been watered.
13 We were pleased to meet here our old friends of the cause whose acquaintance we made above thirty years ago. Our much respected Brother Hastings is as deeply interested in the truth today as he was then. We were pleased to meet Sister Temple, and Sister Collins of Dartsmouth, Mass., and Brother and Sister Wilkenson at whose house we had been entertained more than thirty years ago. The pilgrimage of some of these dear ones may close ere long, but if faithful unto the end they will receive a crown of life.
14 We were interested to meet Brother Kimbal who is a mute and has been a missionary among the mutes. Through his persevering labors, quite a little army have accepted the truth. We meet this faithful brother at our yearly camp-meetings surrounded by several of his mute converts. Some one who is interested, who has ears to hear, writes out some portion of the discourse, and he sits surrounded by his mute friends actively preaching to them with his hands. He has freely used his means to advance the missionary work, thus honoring God with his substance. By and by, if faithful, he will receive a precious reward. Twenty-two received baptism.
15 We hope that the influence of this meeting will continue, that conviction will deepen, and that all who profess the truth will strive for the unity of the faith, and that oneness which Christ prayed might exist among his disciples, and with all those who should believe on their word. An early meeting of Tuesday morning closed the camp-meeting at this place.
E. G. W.
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1 Entire abstinence from every pernicious indulgence, and especially from tobacco and intoxicating drink, should be strenuously taught in our homes, both by precept and example. Upon no consideration should wine be placed upon our tables. Our children should grow up to consider it a deadly evil, leading to misery and crime.
2 The youth of today are the sure index to the future of society; and as we view them, what can we hope for that future? These young men are to take a part in the legislative councils of the nation; they will have a voice in enacting and executing its laws. How important, then, is it that the voice of warning should be raised against the indulgence of perverted appetite in those upon whom such solemn duties will rest. If parents would zealously teach total abstinence, and emphasize the lesson by their own unyielding example, many who are now on the brink of ruin might be saved.
3 What shall we say of the liquor-sellers, who imperil life, health, and property, with perfect indifference? They are not ignorant of the result of their trade, but they become callous of heart. They listen carelessly to the complaints of famishing, half-clad mothers and children. Satan has no better agents by which to prepare souls for perdition, and he uses them with the most telling effect. The liquor-seller deals out his fiery draughts to men who have lost all control of reason and appetite; he takes their hard-earned money and gives no equivalent for it; he is the worst kind of robber.
4 We find in the special precepts given by God to the Hebrews, this command: “If an ox goad a man or a woman that they die, then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and his owner also shall be put to death. If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.” “And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein, the owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his.”
5 The principle embodied in this statute holds good in our time. The liquor-seller compares well with the man who turns a vicious ox loose upon his neighbors. The liquor seller is not ignorant of the effects of the fiery draught which he deals out unhesitatingly to husbands, fathers, youth, and aged men. He knows that it robs them of reason, and in many cases changes them to demons. The liquor-seller makes himself responsible for the violence that is committed under the influence of the liquor he sells. If the drunkard commits murder, under the effect of the maddening draught, the dealer who sold it to him, aware of the tendency of its effect, is in the sight of God equally responsible for the crime with him who did the deed.
6 The liquor-dealer digs a pit for his neighbor to fall into. He has seen the consequences of liquor-drinking too often to be ignorant of any one of their various phases. He knows that the hand of the man who drinks at his bar is likely to be raised against his own wife, his helpless children, or his aged father or mother. He knows, in very many instances, that the glass he hands to his customer will make him a raging madman, eager for quarrel, and thirsting for blood. He knows that he is taking bread from the mouths of hungry children, that the pence which fall into his till, and enable him to live extravagantly, have deprived the drunkard’s children of clothes, and robbed his family not only of the comforts, but of the very necessities of life. He is deaf to the appeals of weeping wives and mothers, whose hearts are breaking from cruelty and neglect.
7 Crimes of the darkest dye are daily reported in the newspapers as the direct result of drunkenness. The prisons are filled with criminals who have been brought there by the use of liquor; and the blood of murdered victims cries to Heaven for vengeance, as did the blood of Abel. The laws of the land punish the perpetrator of the deed, but the liquor-seller, who is also morally responsible for it, goes free; no man calls him a murderer; community looks calmly on at his unholy traffic, because justice is fallen in the streets, and equity cannot enter. But God who declared that if a man owned a dangerous ox, and knew it to be so, yet let it loose upon his neighbors, if it caused the death of any man or woman, he should pay the penalty with his own life, - that just and terrible God will let fall the bolts of his wrath on the liquor-vender, who sells violence and death to his fellow-men, in the poisonous cup of the inebriate, who deals him out that which takes away his reason, and makes him a brute.
8 Oh, if men, formed in the image of God, would let reason hold sway in their minds; if they would remember that cursed is he who putteth the bottle to his neighbor’s lips, and that no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of heaven; if they would count the cost beforehand of creating an appetite which has no foundation in nature, - how much misery, crime, and disease might be spared the children of men!
9 Parents who freely use wine and liquor leave to their children the legacy of a feeble constitution, mental and moral debility, unnatural appetites, irritable temper, and an inclination to vice. Parents should feel that they are responsible to God, and to society, to bring into existence beings whose physical, mental, and moral characters shall enable them to make a proper use of life, be a blessing to the world, and an honor to their Creator. The indulgence of perverted appetite is the great cause of the deterioration of the human race. The child of the drunkard or the tobacco inebriate usually has the depraved appetites and passions of the father intensified, and at the same time inherits less of his self-control, and strength of mind. Men who are naturally calm and strong-minded not infrequently lose control of themselves while under the influence of liquor, and, though they may not commit crime, still have an inclination to do so, which might result in the act if a fair opportunity offered. Continued dissipation makes these propensities a second nature. Their children often receive this stamp of character before their birth; for the appetites of the parents are often intensified in the children. Thus unborn generations are afflicted by the use of tobacco and liquor. Intellectual decay is entailed upon them, and their moral perceptions are blunted. Thus the world is being filled with paupers, lunatics, thieves, and murderers. Disease, imbecility, and crime, with private and public corruptions of every sort, are making the world a second Sodom.
10 For the sake of that high charity and sympathy for the souls of tempted men for whom Christ died, Christians should come out from the popular customs and evils of the age, and be forever separated from them. But we find in the clergy themselves the most insurmountable obstacle to the promotion of temperance. Many are addicted to the use of the filthy weed, tobacco, which perverts the appetite, and creates the desire for some stronger stimulant. The indifference or disguised opposition of these men, many of whom occupy high and influential positions, is exceedingly damaging to the cause of temperance.
11 The safety of society, and the progress of reform, depend upon a clear definition and recognition of fundamental truth. The principles of God’s law must be kept before the people as everlasting and inexorable as the character of God himself. Law is defined as a rule of action. Civil law represents the supreme power of the State, regulating the actions of men, and restricting them from doing wrong under penalty of punishment. The good of society and the safety of man require that the law be respected. All enlightened law is founded on the law of Jehovah, given on Mount Sinai. To the inebriate, both the law of God and the law of man are meaningless. His senses are benumbed, he cannot comprehend the language of Sinai, and he tries to bring the law down to meet his debased standard rather than elevate himself to meet the exalted standard established by the rules of God’s government.
12 If Christian men would protect their homes from the horrors of vice, let them respect the laws of God. Let them be jealous for the sanctity of the ten precepts given for the government of mankind. Let them thus purify themselves, and decide to obey God at any cost to themselves. Then will they understand the mystery of godliness, and exclaim with David, “How love I thy law. It is my meditation all the day.” “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” - Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 We are often pained as we see the little moral power possessed by the professed followers of Christ. When tempted on the point of appetite, few will firmly stand the test. Many turn from light and knowledge, and sacrifice principle to indulge their taste. They eat when they have no need of eating, and at irregular periods, because they have no moral strength to resist their inclinations. As the result of this gratification of taste, the abused stomach rebels, suffering follows, and a weary taxation of the friends of the sufferer.
2 Many indulge appetite at the expense of health and the powers of intellect, so that they cannot appreciate the plan of salvation. What appreciation can such ones have of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness, and of the victory he gained upon the point of appetite? It is impossible for them to have exalted views of God, and to realize the claims of his law. Many of the professed followers of Christ are forgetful of the great sacrifice made by him on their account. The Majesty of Heaven, in order to bring salvation within their reach, was smitten, bruised, and afflicted. He became a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. In the wilderness of temptation he resisted Satan, although the tempter was clothed with the livery of heaven. Christ, although brought to great physical suffering, refused to yield a single point, notwithstanding the most flattering inducements were presented to bribe and influence him to yield his integrity. All this honor, all these riches and glory, said the deceiver, will I give thee if thou wilt only acknowledge my claims.
3 Could we at this time have entered the heavenly courts, and seen with what intense interest the holy angels watched the conflict of their loved Commander with the fallen foe, we should see greater significance in this long fast of Christ than it is now possible for us, with our darkened senses, to comprehend. Christ, the Commander of Heaven, was emaciated by long fasting; and his human nature fainted when the conflict was ended. The Son of God appeared to be dying from hunger and the effects of his warfare with Satan. But angels lifted his fainting head, served him with nourishing food, and ministered unto him. Never will so severe a test be brought to bear upon man, as that which the Captain of his salvation endured before him.
4 There was great rejoicing and triumph in the heavenly courts that Satan, who had deceived even the heavenly angels, and drawn a third part of heaven into his rebellion, had been vanquished at every point by the Prince of Life. Hosannas rung through heaven that Christ had repulsed the fallen foe, and resisted every temptation upon the point of appetite, redeeming Adam’s disgraceful failure by his own triumph.
5 Christ has given us an example of temperance in his own life. Where so many professed Christians fail, and are led captive by appetite and inclination, the Saviour was firm. Oh! what salvation would there now be for the race if Christ had been as weak in moral power as man? No wonder that joy filled heaven as the fallen chief left the wilderness of temptation a conquered foe. Christ has power from his Father to give his divine grace and strength to man - making it possible for us, through his name, to overcome. There are but few professed followers of Christ who choose to engage with him in the work of resisting Satan’s temptations as he resisted and overcame.
6 Professed Christians who enjoy gatherings of gaiety, pleasure, and feasting, cannot appreciate the conflict of Christ in the wilderness. This example of their Lord in overcoming Satan is lost to them. This infinite victory which Christ achieved for them in the plan of salvation is meaningless. They have no special interest in the wonderful humiliation of our Saviour, and the anguish and sufferings he endured for sinful man, while Satan was pressing him with his manifold temptations. That scene of trial in the wilderness was the foundation of the plan of salvation, and gives to fallen man the key whereby he, in Christ’s name, may overcome.
7 Many professed Christians look upon this portion of the life of Christ as they would upon a common warfare between two kings, and as having no special bearing upon their own life and character. Therefore, the manner of warfare, and the wonderful victory gained, have but little interest for them. Their perceptive powers are blunted by Satan’s artifices, so that they cannot discern that he who afflicted Christ in the wilderness, determined to rob him of his integrity as the Son of the Infinite, is to be their own adversary to the end of time. Although he failed to overcome Christ, his power over man is not weakened. All are personally exposed to the temptations that Christ overcame; but strength is provided for them in the all-powerful name of the great Conqueror. And all must, for themselves, individually overcome. Many fall under the very same temptations wherewith Satan assailed Christ.
8 Although Christ gained a priceless victory in behalf of man in overcoming the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, this victory will not benefit man unless he also gains the victory on his own account.
9 Man now has the advantage over Adam in his warfare with Satan; for he has Adam’s experience in disobedience and his consequent fall to warn him to shun his example. Man also has Christ’s example in overcoming appetite and the manifold temptations of Satan, and in vanquishing the mighty foe upon every point, and coming off victor in every contest.
10 If man stumbles and falls under the temptations of Satan, he is without excuse; for he has the disobedience of Adam as a warning, and the life of the world’s Redeemer as an example of obedience and self-denial, and the promise of Christ that “to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
11 The great trial of Christ in the wilderness on the point of appetite was to leave man an example of self-denial. This long fast was to convict men of the sinfulness of many things in which professed Christians indulge. The victory which Christ gained in the wilderness was to show man the sinfulness of the very things in which he takes such pleasure. The salvation of man was in the balance, and to be decided by the trial of Christ in the wilderness. If Christ was a victor on the point of appetite, then there was a chance for man to overcome. If Satan gained the victory through his subtlety, man was bound by the power of appetite in chains of indulgence which he could not have moral power to break. Christ’s humanity alone could never have endured this test; but his divine power, combined with humanity, gained in behalf of man an infinite victory. Our Representative in this victory raised humanity in the scale of moral value with God.
12 Every man born into the world with reasoning powers has the opportunity, to a great extent, of making himself whatever he chooses to be. The blessings of this life and the blessings of the immortal life, are within his reach. He may build up a character of mental and moral worth, gaining new strength at every step in life. He may advance daily in knowledge and wisdom, conscious of new delights as he progresses, adding virtue to virtue, and grace to grace.
13 His faculties will improve by use, and the more wisdom he gains, the more he will be able to acquire, and his intelligence, knowledge, and virtue will thus continually increase and develop into greater strength and beauty.
14 On the other hand, he may allow his powers to rust out for want of use, or be perverted through evil habits, lack of self-control or of moral and religious stamina. His course then tends downward; he is disobedient to the laws of God, and to the laws of health. Appetite conquers him; inclination carries him away. It is easier for him to stand still and be dragged backward by the powers of evil, which are always active, than to struggle against them, and go forward. Dissipation, disease, and death follow. This is the history of many lives that might have been useful in the cause of God and humanity.
15 We are free moral agents. We may obey the law of God, and secure eternal gain and lead others into the path of right, or we may transgress the law of God, and bring the penalty of disobedience upon us. There is glory above us that we may reach; and there is an abyss of wretchedness below, into which we may plunge. It requires less exertion to consent to go backward and downward than to urge our way forward through every obstacle. Thus many go down through inaction, who might be bright and shining lights. —Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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Man came from the hand of God complete in every faculty of mind and body; in perfect soundness, therefore in perfect health. It took more than two thousand years of indulgence of appetite and lustful passions to create such a state of things in the human organism as materially lessened his vital force. Through successive generations the tendency was more swiftly downward. Indulgence of appetite and passion combined, led to excess and violence; debauchery and abominations of every kind weakened the energies, and brought upon the race diseases of every type, until the vigor and glory of the first generations passed away, and, in the third generation from Adam, man began to show signs of decay. Successive generations after the flood degenerated more rapidly.
2 All this woe and suffering may be traced to the indulgence of appetite and passion. Luxurious living and the use of wine corrupt the blood, inflame the passions, and produce diseases of every kind. Parents leave maladies as a legacy to their children. As a rule, every intemperate man who rears children transmits his inclinations and evil tendencies to his offspring; and the evil does not end here; he gives to them disease from his own inflamed and corrupted blood. Licentiousness, disease, and imbecility are transmitted as an inheritance of woe from father to son, and from generation to generation, bringing anguish and suffering into the world, which is no less than a repetition of the fall of man.
3 The race is groaning under its weight of accumulated woe, because of the sins of former generations. And yet, with scarcely a thought or care, men and women of the present time indulge intemperance by surfeiting and drunkenness, and thereby leave, as a legacy for the next generation, disease, enfeebled intellects, and polluted morals.
4 The continual transgression of Nature’s laws is a continual transgression of the law of God. The present weight of suffering and anguish which we see everywhere, the present deformity, decrepitude, disease, and imbecility now flooding the world, make it, in comparison to what it might be, and what God designed it should be, a lazar-house; and the present generation are feeble in mental, moral, and physical power. All this misery, accumulated from generation to generation, exists because fallen man persists in breaking the law of God.
5 The effort made to create a taste for the disgusting, filthy poison, tobacco, leads to the desire for stronger stimulants, as liquor, which is taken, on one plea or another, for some imaginary infirmity, or to prevent some possible disease. Thus an unnatural appetite for hurtful and exciting stimulants is created, which strengthens with one’s years. The increase of intemperance in this generation is alarming; beverage-loving, liquor drinking men may be seen everywhere.
6 Intemperance of any kind is the worst sort of selfishness. Those who truly fear God and keep his commandments look upon these things in the light of reason and religion. How can any man or women keep the law of God, and at the same time indulge intemperate appetite, which benumbs the brain, weakens the intellect, and fills the body with disease? Intemperance inflames the passions, and gives loose rein to lust. Reason and conscience are then blinded by the lower passions.
7 It is not an easy matter to overcome established habits of appetite for narcotics and stimulants. In the name of Christ alone can this great victory be gained. He overcame in behalf of man in the wilderness of temptation, in the long fast of nearly six weeks. He sympathizes with the weakness of fallen man. His love for him was so great that he made an infinite sacrifice that he might reach him in his degradation, and through his divine power elevate him finally to his throne. But it rests with man whether Christ shall accomplish for him that which he has undertaken and is fully able to do.
8 It is a sacred duty that we owe to God to keep the spirit pure, as a temple for the Holy Ghost. If the heart and mind are devoted to the service of God; if we obey all his commandments, loving him with all the heart, might, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, we shall be found loyal and true to the requirements of Heaven.
9 The apostle says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” He also urges his brethren to earnest diligence and steady perseverance in their efforts for purity and holiness of life, in these words: “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we, an incorruptible.”—Mrs. E. G. White, in Health Reformer.
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1 As the cars bore our company into the city of Denver, we were charmed in beholding one of the beautiful sunsets of Colorado. The sun was passing behind the snow-capped mountains, leaving its softened beams of golden light to tint the heavens. As the blending tints were deepening and extending athwart the skies, with indescribable beauty, it seemed the gates of heaven were ajar to let the gleamings of its glory through. The golden hues were every moment more and more entrancing, as if to invite our imagination to picture the greater glory within. We loved to think that God had let some of the glorious rays of the light abounding in heaven appear to our senses, that our imagination might grasp the more perfect glories still unrevealed. Yet the inspired apostle tells us “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” If this so charms our senses, what must be the fullness of the glory in heaven itself.
2 We have an infinite God, high above all heavens; and yet he condescends to dwell with him who is of a meek and contrite spirit. It is when we turn our eyes away from this world that we behold the beams of light from heaven. By faith a far more surpassing glory than the world can give dawns upon our senses. Here we see but the faint rays of what will be revealed to those who love God.
3 Heaven seemed very near. From its golden gates light seemed beaming forth, to bless and comfort, and make joyful the heart of man. As the eye was turned from the dazzling glories of the closing day, we could but reflect that should we see more of heaven by the eye of faith, greater light, more peace and joy would be all along life’s pathway. We keep our eyes fixed so closely upon the low land of earth, looking upon the transient and deceptive attractions of worldly things, that in beholding we become changed to the earthly. If the eye of faith were uplifted to see through the veil of the future and discern the tokens of God’s love and glory in the promised life beyond, we should be more spiritually minded, and the beauties and joys of heaven would mingle with our daily life. We should be fitting up for the faithful performance of our work in this life, and for the higher life beyond.
4 The compassion of the infinite God is expressed to man in the blessings he bestows. The greatest, the wisest, and the happiest man that lives upon the earth is he who sees most of God in his created works; who walks most closely with him in his every day life. The man who walks with God will exert an influence that will make the world better for his having lived in it. The beautiful, well-balanced, symmetrical character is developed by individual acts of duty. The character is formed by the conscientious attention to the little things of life, courteous acts of kindness unselfish deeds of charity. Kind words make the life beautiful and noble; for in them is the spirit that pervades heaven.
5 A wise improvement of God’s gifts and blessings; a diligent cultivation of the little talents given by the Master; a patient continuance in well-doing, even if but little encouragement is received from those around us, will make life in this world a success, and will secure to us the higher immortal life. These things make the world’s great men in the sight of God. The world will not know these men, even as they knew not Christ; but they are known and acknowledged of heaven. If the musings and the purposes of man were of a more elevated character, spirituality would not be waxing cold.
6 The striking figures and pictures God has given in his heavens should thrill our souls and lead our minds to a contemplation of heavenly glories. While engaged in this the mind will have no leisure for worldly imaginings, worldly schemings, lusting for worldly honors or distinction. While in converse with the God of nature, in viewing with sanctified eyes his created glorious things in nature, the yearnings of the heart will be for higher and holier attainments.
7 The high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity claims and deserves our highest thoughts and holiest affections. God is the source of all power. From his infinite love flow blessings to every creature formed in his image. Our heavenly Father has hung out glories in the firmament of the heavens, that men may have an expression of his love in the revealing of his wondrous works. God would not have us indifferent to the symbols of the glories of his infinite power in the heavens. David delighted to dwell upon these glories. He composed psalms which the Hebrew singers chanted to the praise of God. “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”
8 Christ finds men clinging to the earth and building their foundation upon the sand. He presents to them subjects in the heavens worthy of thought, and inspires them with desire to take hold on God and build upon the rock for time and for eternity. All the powers of our being, every means of our existence and happiness, all the blessings of the warm sunshine and the refreshing showers, causing vegetation to flourish, every comfort and every blessing of this life, comes from God. He sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. The treasures of heaven are poured out to all.
9 Through Jesus Christ comes all these bounties. And how do men receive them? The great mass of mankind take the gift from their heavenly Father’s hand but make no acknowledgment to him. They seem to take it for granted that these bounties are their rightful due, and forget that God is the giver. They do not even acknowledge their obligations by thanking God for his mercies. Indeed they treat no other friend so ill. They sit at the family board, loaded with bounties from his hand, and render no thanks to him. They enjoy the gifts, but despise the giver.
10 The worst feature of this picture is, many who profess to be followers of Christ pursue the same course as the unbeliever and thankless worldling. They take the gifts of heaven without lifting the heart and voice to God in sincere thanks. God has blessed them with comfortable homes. They lie down to rest in safety because of the guarding care of his ministering angels; but they arise in the morning with scarcely a thought of God. This is unlike the world’s Redeemer. Although he owned all things, he never broke bread without lifting his eyes and hands to heaven in thanks to his Father, craving his blessing upon it. Yet finite man, wholly dependent upon God, has no sense of the debt of gratitude he owes.
11 Many parents professing to be Christians pass the morning without prayer to God or a thought of him. Worldly business is the subject of their thoughts the last thing at night and the first thing in the morning. They do not gather the family about them and read to them from the word of God, which teaches the whole duty of man. They do not make the reading of instructive lessons from the precious book of any importance, or the hour of prayer a sacred privilege. They do not, by the form of prayer, teach the children their dependence upon God, and the necessity of divine aid to help them to overcome temptation through the day, and to draw the mind upward to God and heaven. A prayerless house, a house where Christ is not entreated to come in, there the prince of darkness abides. There are scores of families who profess to love God, that love him a great way off; for they do not invite Jesus into their dwellings. They do not erect the family altar and offer up fervent petitions morning and evening. They do not render to God grateful praise, acknowledging his gifts, and entreating his blessing. How can those who bear the name of Christians rise morning after morning and partake of the bounties God has provided for them and be so ungrateful to the Giver as not to breathe a word of thanks? In such a house a cold and chilling influence prevails. The warming beams of the Sun of Righteousness do not penetrate the darkness of a prayerless house.
12 Parents should associate in the minds of their children, our heavenly Father with the blessings of life and health and the gifts of his bounties which they daily enjoy. They should not neglect to open to their impressible minds the great book of nature, and teach them lessons of God’s love; show them that every bud and blooming flower, formed and tinted by a divine hand, is an expression of the love of God to them. Every spire of grass, every lofty tree, is an evidence of God’s love to man. Children may be made acquainted with God in his created works by having their minds directed to the glories of the heavens in the light of the setting sun. His hand has strewed the skies with everlasting gems of light. Worlds are peopled by his power, and yet the humblest creatures of the earth are the objects of his love and care. A contemplation of these things will give to both parents and children more exalted views of the Ruler of the universe.
13 Christian parents may write upon the tablets of the hearts of their children lessons of the greatness and majesty of God which neither time nor circumstances can efface. The God of such riches and power, who had no need of man to increase his might and glory, gave his only and beloved Son to a life of ignominy and a cruel death, because he loved man whom he had created, and whom he would save from ruin, and bestow on him the gift of everlasting life. Teach the children that the cross of Christ is the instrumentality of God to save perishing man. And he has commanded us, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Christ has given us an example in his life, and he commands us to follow in his footsteps.
14 Those who are absorbed in their own sorrows, who can enjoy only their own blessings, and labor only for their own good, are miserable indeed. As we receive the gifts of God, we should impart to others the blessings Heaven has so richly bestowed upon us. To be happy ourselves we must live to make others happy. Our hearts will be filled with joy and peace when we impart blessings to others. The youth who are faithful in the minor duties of life, who will heed the demands of duty without consulting their own pleasure, and who will speak words of kindness and perform deeds of love to the poor, and carry comfort to the homes of the desolate, will be the ones upon whom the Master will call to make sacrifices to carry the truth to those who are in darkness. These can be intrusted with this work, for they have proved themselves faithful in that which is least. A wise improvement of the talents bestowed will make the faithful doer great in the sight of God. The work of faithfulness must begin at their own door; in their own home must they show an unselfish spirit in all their acts, to those of their own households.
15 All the glories of God in the heavens, and everything lovely in our world, is to give us a correct knowledge of the character of God the giver. The power, truth, and glory of the gospel are displayed all around us to bring us in harmony and love with our gracious Benefactor. Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 The position of a parent is one of the most responsible on earth, yet it is far too lightly regarded by the majority of the world. The things which are perishable receive their time, labor, and money, while the work which will be enduring as eternity is made a secondary matter. The future of the rising generation is in the hands of parents; for, in a great measure, they hold within their control the destiny of their children both for time and for eternity. The salvation of the young depends almost wholly upon the training they receive in childhood. Christian parents, who believe the sacred truth of God, are required to regulate their own conduct by the sanctifying influence of that truth, and, by precept and example, impress lessons of morality and religion upon their children. Line upon line, precept upon precept they should be taught concerning the precious love of Jesus for man, and the virtue of his atonement. That love should be blended with all their studies and duties.
2 The love of Jesus won the hearts of children, and when the disciples would sent away the mothers with their children, through mistaken zeal to preserve the dignity of their Master, Jesus rebuked them, saying: “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Parents, it is your sacred privilege to bring your children to Jesus, and receive his blessing upon them. Bring your children to the loving Jesus, and then teach them the love and fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Impress upon them the sense of sacred things, and their own responsibility to God, and that no evil passion, selfishness, or pride will be excused by God, or will find entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
3 Children should be taught that simplicity of dress is to be preferred to gaudy display. They should learn that dress is a small matter in comparison with the acts of their daily life, and the character they are forming for eternity; that beauty of soul, the virtues and graces of a true Christian, are pearls of inestimable price, before which costly apparel and jewels sink into insignificance. They should be guarded against pride in their beauty of form or features. No idle words of praise of these attractions should ever fall upon their ears. Such seeds, dropped into ready soil of the heart, are speedily nourished by Satan, and soon spring forth into vigorous growth, bearing the bitter fruit of vanity, selfishness and folly.
4 Tell your children how little the Saviour values the vain things of earth; that he has said: “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Thus Christ exalts natural simplicity above artificial adornment, and counts the flowers growing in beauty in the valley as more attractive than all the glory of Solomon upon his throne. The devoted mother will not rob her children of the time that should be spent in their instruction, to waste it in preparing fine clothes for them, and in arraying them with garments that would tend to excite their vanity. She will rather impress upon their minds the fact that purity of heart and beauty of character are the only ornaments necessary for them to wear in order to enter the heavenly courts.
5 Love of the world is one of the leading temptations of youth, and one that our Saviour repeatedly warned his disciples against. Parents, however, frequently encourage in their children the desire to seek happiness in gratifying the outward senses, and in frequenting scenes of gayety and frivolous amusements. By teaching them to avoid these things, you prepare them to cherish elevated thoughts, fit them to occupy positions of trust and importance in this life, and to receive the reward of the faithful in the future immortal life.
6 In accepting the truth of God the minds of the young become strengthened to attain to greater intelligence. The dormant energies of the mind are, as it were, electrified, new powers seem to spring into life. The understanding, in striving to comprehend the heights and depths of the plan of salvation, becomes strong and grasping, and the whole being is illuminated by the brightness and glory of the infinite God. What a contrast is such a one with the youth who devotes his time and energies to the vain pleasures of the day, drifting into dissipation and folly, as surely dwarfing and enfeebling his mind as he is destroying his physical powers.
7 Children, as a rule, are allowed to gratify their appetite to a decidedly injurious extent. Their tastes are perverted by the use of coffee, tea, rich pastry, condiments, and sweetmeats. These indulgences lay the foundation for various diseases of the body, irritability, nervousness, and mental imbecility. Health, happiness, and life itself is too often sacrificed on the altar of appetite. The mother therefore cannot be too careful of her children in the matter of their eating and drinking. Their food should be simple, healthful, and well prepared; Nothing should pass their lips between meals, and then they should not be allowed to contract the habit of eating to excess. Your hired helpers should understand that they are not at liberty to infringe upon any of your rules in regard to the management of your children. If they fail to comply with this requirement, and secretly indulge your children in that which you have forbidden, discharge them at once. Let nothing interfere with your family government. Remember that hurtful indulgence of appetite renders the physical, mental, and moral faculties weak, and opens the way to temptations of various kinds, into which the victim of perverted appetite drifts almost unconsciously.
8 If parents seek to obey the word of God, in bringing their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, they find a work before them requiring thought, resolution, and trust in God. Difficulties will arise on every hand which seem almost impossible to be overcome; but the parents must have continual communion with God in their trials and efforts, and have their souls stayed on him. He will not turn a deaf ear to their prayers, but will impart to them wisdom and strength.
9 Mothers, you have no time for vain display or idle gossip. Your precious moments should be employed in teaching your children the fear of the Lord and self-control, instilling into their minds godly principles, that will become a part of their very nature, and rule their lives; which will make them firm as a rock when temptations assail them, and true to God through weal and woe. Mothers, God will work with your efforts. If you plead the name of Jesus before the Father, that name will not be presented in vain. The Saviour has linked man with God, and earth with heaven. Be patient; work is faith. Believe yourself to be in the presence of Jesus. Anticipate the crown, the robe, the harp, for your dear children, the “Well done, good and faithful servant,” the rest, the peace, and joy of heaven, with those loved ones for whom you have prayed and striven on earth.
Mrs. E. G. White.
10 Dear Son: We received your letter in reference to the Oakland church. I am glad you wrote us in regard to the situation of things there. I am sure the building of the meeting-house in Oakland was none too soon. These were willing hearts among the believers who were poor. They made great sacrifices in order to raise means to invest in the Oakland church. Their zeal and self-sacrifice shall not be in vain.
11 “That meeting-house shall not be sold. The building of the house was of God. I hope our brethren and sisters will not murmur as did the children of Israel when brought up facing the Red sea, the Egyptians behind them and impassable mountains shutting them in. It was at this crisis the Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward.’ As they obeyed, the Red sea parted before them and they went through it in the path God had prepared for them.
12 “We say to you in Oakland, believe and do all you can, and you will see the salvation of God. Let all murmurings and questioning doubts cease. Let your complaints be turned to prayer and faith and works. I say that house shall not be sold. I will first sell my house on the corner of Castro and Eleventh streets, and put every dollar of the avails into the church to clear it of debt. Sell our houses? yes, yes indeed, rather than the house that has been dedicated to God.
13 “Wait, work, and pray. We will exert our influence and do what we can. Every foot of room in that house will be needed yet. Oakland is a missionary field, and always will be. The truth will prevail in Oakland. It may take time, but it will take hold of hearts there. Believe, work, hope, and pray. Cling to God with all your might.
14 “Let all in the office and in the church at Oakland show a still greater spirit of self-sacrifice than they have manifested, and God will work with your efforts. Lift the burdens willingly, and we will not let the matter rest till we see you free from embarrassment. Help shall come. If we cannot sell our property, we will use our influence to interest others to do all they can. Sell that church? Never, never. I tell you many prayers were offered while it was being erected. You will come out all right.
15 “Be not faithless, but believing. There are those who have money upon the Pacific coast; let them come up to the help of the Lord and make their offerings to God. Some in California have shown that they had greater confidence in unbelievers than in those whom God has honored by connecting them with his cause.
16 “These have trusted their money to men of no principle, while the cause of God was wading heavily for the want of means. If any appeal is made to them, they respond by presenting their narrow ideas and selfish views. Too much money, they say, has been expended in buildings and in facilities for the spread of the truth. They are afraid that they shall lose their money if entrusted to the treasury of God, but the Lord has shown his displeasure at their course in suffering losses to occur. They have not saving faith; money is their god. The Lord has entrusted to them means, to use in the advancement of his cause, but their covetous spirit grasps it and will not let it go back to him to whom it belongs.
17 “Sister Rowland has made most earnest efforts to help when and where she could. May the Lord open ways before her that she may be able to dispose of her property and invest a portion of it in the cause of God. At the greatest inconvenience to herself, she mortgaged her property and raised two thousand dollars to help in the SIGNS office when it was most needed. This noble act on her part is an expression of her confidence in the work and cause of God. She will not lose her reward. If others would show similar commendable zeal and faith, the cause of truth would not be embarrassed as it now is.
18 “We hope those who have means trusted out to strangers will see that God’s cause may be benefited by its use. It was placed in their hands by the Lord, to test them and prove them, to see if they will render back to the Master his own when he shall call for it. Means were given them, not to hoard or to use for themselves. Those who are murmuring and complaining at the outlay of means in the Publishing House and in the meeting-house, had better be at work to act their part, lest they shall be found wanting by acting the part of Meroz. God gave commandment, ‘Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord, against the mighty.’
19 “Let not your offerings to advance the cause of God be stinted. If there is any stint and meagre arrangements and inferior works to be seen and felt anywhere, let it be in your own houses and your own dress, and not in the house of God or in the facilities which are needed to push forward the work of God.”
20 OUR HOUSE OF WORSHIP AT OAKLAND, DEDICATED TO THE WORSHIP OF GOD BY A PEOPLE WHO FEAR HIM AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, BE SOLD TO A PEOPLE WHO TRAMPLE THAT LAW BENEATH THEIR FEET? NEVER! NO! NEVER!
21 WE NEED JUST SUCH A HOUSE AT THAT IMPORTANT POST AT PRESENT. IN THE NEAR FUTURE A LARGER ONE WILL BE DEMANDED. ITS LOCATION IS EXCELLENT.
22 THE FUTURE GROWTH OF THE CAUSE IN SUCH A CITY AS OAKLAND DEPENDS VERY MUCH UPON A CENTRAL, COMMODIOUS AND NEAT HOUSE OF WORSHIP, SUCH AS NOW EXISTS IN THAT CITY.
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1 Chapter One.
The Fall of Satan.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Satan in heaven, before his rebellion, was a high and exalted angel, next in honor to God’s dear Son. His countenance, like those of the other angels, was mild and expressive of happiness. His forehead was high and broad, showing a powerful intellect. His form was perfect; his bearing noble and majestic. A special light beamed in his countenance, and shone around him brighter and more beautiful than around the other angels; yet Jesus, God’s dear Son, had the pre-eminence over all the angelic host. He was one with the Father before the angels were created. Satan was envious of Christ, and in his ambition assumed command which devolved on Christ alone.
2 The great Creator assembled the heavenly host, that he might in the presence of all the angels confer special honor upon his Son. The Son was seated on the throne with the Father, and the heavenly throng of holy angels was gathered around them. The Father then made known that it was ordained by himself that Christ should be equal with himself; so that wherever was the presence of his Son, it was as his own presence. His word was to be obeyed as readily as the word of the Father. His Son he had invested with authority to command the heavenly host. Especially was he to work in union with himself in the anticipated creation of the earth and every living thing that should exist upon it. His Son would carry out his will and his purposes, but would do nothing of himself alone. The Father’s will would be fulfilled in him. Satan was jealous and envious of Jesus Christ. Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge his supremacy and high authority and rightful rule, Satan bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred. Christ had been taken into counsel with the Father in regard to his plans, while Satan was unacquainted with them. He did not understand, neither was he permitted to know, the purposes of God. But Christ was acknowledged sovereign of heaven, his power and authority to be the same as that of God himself. Satan thought that he was himself a favorite in heaven among the angels. He had been highly exalted; but this did not call forth from him gratitude and praise to his Creator. He aspired to the height of God himself. He gloried in his loftiness. He knew that he was honored by the angels. He had a special mission to execute. He had been near the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glorious light enshrouding the eternal God, had shone especially upon him. Satan thought how angels had obeyed his command with pleasurable alacrity. Were not his garments light and beautiful? Why should Christ thus be honored before himself?
3 He left the immediate presence of the Father, dissatisfied, and filled with envy against Jesus Christ. Concealing his real purposes, he assembled the angelic host. He introduced his subject, which was himself. As one aggrieved he related the preference God had given to Jesus to the neglect of himself. He told them that henceforth all the precious liberty the angels had enjoyed was at an end. For had not a ruler been appointed over them, to whom they from henceforth must yield servile honor? He stated to them that he had called them together to assure them that he no longer would submit to this invasion of his rights and theirs; that never would he again bow down to Christ; that he would take the honor upon himself which should have been conferred upon him, and would be the commander of all who would submit to follow him and obey him. There was contention among the angels. Satan and his sympathizers were striving to reform the government of God. They were discontented and unhappy because they could not look into his unsearchable wisdom and ascertain his purposes in exalting his Son Jesus, and endowing him with such unlimited power and command. They rebelled against the authority of the Son.
4 Angels that were loyal and true sought to reconcile this first great rebel to the will of his Creator. They justified the act of God in conferring honor upon Jesus Christ, and with forcible reasons sought to convince Satan that no less honor was his now than before the Father had proclaimed the honor which he had conferred upon his Son. They clearly set forth that Jesus was the Son of God, existing with him before the angels were created; and that he had ever stood at the right hand of God, and his mild, loving authority had not heretofore been questioned; and that he had given no commands but what it was joy for the heavenly host to execute. They had urged that Christ’s receiving special honor from the Father, in the presence of the angels, did not detract from the honor that he had heretofore received. The angels wept, and anxiously sought to move Satan to renounce his wicked design and yield submission to their Creator. All had heretofore been peace and harmony, and what could occasion this dissenting, rebellious voice?
5 Satan refused to listen, and turned from the loyal angels, denouncing them as slaves. These angels, true to God, stood in amazement as they saw that Satan was successful in his effort to excite rebellion. He promised them a new and better government, in which all would be freedom. Great numbers signified their purpose to accept Satan as their leader and chief commander. As he saw his advances were met with success, he flattered himself that he should yet have all the angels on his side, and that he would be equal with God himself, and his voice of authority would be heard in commanding the entire host of heaven. Again the loyal angels warned Satan, and assured him what must be the consequences if he persisted; that he who could create the angels, could by his power overturn all their authority, and in some signal manner punish their audacity and terrible rebellion. To think that an angel should resist the law of God which was as sacred as himself; they warned the rebellious to close their ears to Satan’s deceptive reasonings, and advised Satan, and all who had been affected by him, to go to God and confess their wrong for even admitting a thought of questioning his authority.
6 Many of Satan’s sympathizers were inclined to heed the counsel of the loyal angels, and repent of their dissatisfaction, and be again received to the confidence of the Father and his dear Son. The mighty revolter then declared that he was acquainted with God’s law, and if he should submit to servile obedience, his honor would be taken from him. No more would he be intrusted with his exalted mission. He told them that himself and they also had now gone too far to go back, and he would brave the consequences; for to bow in servile worship to the Son of God he never would; that God would not forgive, and now they must assert their liberty and gain by force the position and authority which was not willingly accorded to them.
7 The loyal angels hasten speedily to the Son of God, and acquaint him with what is taking place among the angels. They find the Father in conference with his beloved Son, to determine the means by which, for the best good of the loyal angels, the assumed authority of Satan could be forever put down. The great God could at once have hurled this arch deceiver from heaven; but this was not his purpose. He would give the rebellious an equal chance to measure strength and might with his own Son and his loyal angels. In this battle every angel would choose his own side, and his character and purposes would be manifested to all. It would not have been safe to suffer any who united with Satan in his rebellion to continue to occupy heaven. They had learned the lesson of genuine rebellion against the unchangeable law of God; and this is incurable. If God had exercised his power to punish this chief rebel, disaffected angels would not have been manifested; hence he took another course; for he would manifest distinctly to all the heavenly host, his justice and his judgement.
8 It was the highest crime to rebel against the government of God. All heaven seemed in commotion. The angels were marshaled in companies, each division with a higher commanding angel at their head. Satan was warring against the law of God, because ambitious to exalt himself, and unwilling to submit to the authority of God’s Son, heaven’s great commander.
9 All the heavenly host were summoned to appear before the Father, to have each case determined. Satan unblushingly made known his dissatisfaction that Christ should be preferred before him. He stood up proudly and urged that he should be equal with God, and should be taken into conference with the Father and understand his purposes. God informed Satan that to his Son alone he would reveal his secret purposes, and he required all the family in heaven, even Satan, to yield him implicit, unquestioned obedience; but that he (Satan) had proved himself unworthy a place in heaven. Then Satan exultingly pointed to his sympathizers, comprising nearly one half of all the angels, and exclaimed, These are with me! Will you expel these also, and make such a void in heaven? He then declared that he was prepared to resist the authority of Christ, and to defend his position in heaven by force of might, strength against strength.
10 Good angels wept to hear the words of Satan, and his exulting boasts. God declared that the rebellious should remain in heaven no longer. Their high and happy state had been held upon condition of obedience to the law which God had given to govern the high order of intelligences. But no provision had been made to save those who should venture to transgress his law. Satan grew bold in his rebellion, and expressed his contempt of the Creator’s law. This Satan could not bear. He claimed that angels needed no law; but should be left free to follow their own will, which would ever guide them right; that law was a restriction of their liberty, and that to abolish law was one great object of his standing as he did. The condition of the angels he thought needed improvement. Not so the mind of God, who had made laws and exalted them equal to himself. The happiness of the angelic host consisted in their perfect obedience to law. Each had his special work assigned him; and until Satan rebelled, there had been perfect order and harmony among the angels in heaven. Then there was war in heaven. The Son of God, the Prince of heaven, and his loyal angels, engaged in conflict with the arch rebel and those who united with him. The Son of God and true, loyal angels prevailed; and Satan and his sympathizers were expelled from heaven. All the heavenly host acknowledged and adored the God of justice. Not a taint of rebellion was left. All was again peaceful and harmonious as before.
11 The loyal angels mourned the fate of those who had been their companions in happiness and bliss. Their loss was felt in heaven. The Father consulted Jesus in regard to at once carrying out their purpose to make man to inhabit the earth. He would place man upon probation to test his loyalty, before he could be rendered eternally secure. If he endured the test wherewith God saw fit to prove him, he should eventually be equal with the angels. He was to have the favor of God, and he was to converse with angels, and they with him. He did not see fit to place them beyond the power of disobedience.
12 Chapter Two.
.
The Father and the Son engaged in the mighty, wondrous work they had contemplated, of creating the world. The earth came forth from the hand of the Creator exceedingly beautiful. There were mountains and hills and plains; and interspersed among them were rivers and other bodies of water. The earth was not one extensive plain. Its surface was diversified with hills and mountains. These, however, were not high and ragged as they now are, but regular and beautiful in shape. The bare, high rocks were never seen upon them, but lay beneath the surface, answering as bones to the earth. The waters were regularly dispersed. The hills, mountains, and very beautiful plains, were adorned with plants and flowers, and tall, majestic trees of every description, which were many times larger, and much more beautiful, than trees now are. The air was pure and healthful, and the earth seemed like a noble palace. Angels beheld and rejoiced at the wonderful and beautiful works of God.
13 After the earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose, which was designed before the fall of Satan, to make man in their own image. They had wrought together in the creation of the earth and every living thing upon it. And now God says to his Son, “Let us make man in our image.” As Adam came forth from the hand of his Creator, he was of noble height, and of beautiful symmetry. He was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned. His features were perfect and beautiful. His complexion was neither white nor sallow, but ruddy, glowing with the rich tint of health. Eve was not quite as tall as Adam. Her head reached a little above his shoulders. She, too, was noble—perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful.
14 This sinless pair wore no artificial garments. They were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear. While they lived in obedience to God, this circle of light enshrouded them. Although everything God had made was in the perfection of beauty, and there seemed nothing wanting upon the earth which God had created to make Adam and Eve happy, yet he manifested his great love to them by planting a garden especially for them. A portion of their time was to be occupied in the happy employment of dressing the garden, and a portion in receiving the visits of angels, listening to their instruction, and in happy meditation. Their labor was not wearisome, but pleasant and invigorating. This beautiful garden was to be their home, their special residence.
15 In this garden the Lord placed trees of every variety for usefulness and beauty. There were trees laden with luxuriant fruit, of rich fragrance, beautiful to the eye, and pleasant to the taste, designed of God to be food for the holy pair. There were the lovely vines which grew upright, laden with their burden of fruit, unlike anything man has seen since the fall. The fruit was very large, and of different colors; some nearly black, some purple, red, pink, and light green. This beautiful and luxuriant growth of fruit upon the branches of the vine was called grapes. And it was the happy labor of Adam and Eve to form beautiful bowers from the branches of the vine, and train them, forming dwellings of nature’s beautiful, living trees and foliage, laden with fragrant fruit.
(To be Continued.)
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1 Chapter One.
The Fall of Satan. [TITLE
INCORRECT IN ORIGINAL. SHOULD
BE CHAPTER TWO—CONCLUDED, THE
CREATION.]
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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(Continued.)
The earth was clothed with beautiful verdure, while myriads of fragrant flowers of every variety and hue sprang up in rich profusion around them. Every thing was tastefully and gloriously arranged. In the midst of the garden stood the tree of life, the glory of which surpassed all other trees. Its fruit looked like apples of gold and silver, and was to perpetuate immortality. The leaves contained healing properties.
2 Very happy were the holy pair in Eden. Unlimited control was given them over every living thing. The lion and the lamb sported together peacefully and harmlessly around them, or slumbered at their feet. Birds of every variety of color and plumage flitted among the trees and flowers, and about Adam and Eve, while their mellow-toned music echoed among the trees in sweet accord to the praises of their Creator.
3 Adam and Eve were charmed with the beauties of their Eden home. They were delighted with the little songsters around them, wearing their bright yet graceful plumage, and warbling forth their happy, cheerful music. The holy pair united with them, and raised their voices in harmonious songs of love, praise, and adoration, to the Father and his dear Son, for the tokens of love which surrounded them. They recognized the order and harmony of creation, which spoke of wisdom and knowledge which were infinite. Some new beauty and additional glory of their Eden home they were continually discovering, which filled their hearts with deeper love, and brought from their lips expressions of gratitude and reverence to their Creator.
4 Chapter Three.
The Temptation and Fall.
In the midst of the garden, near the tree of life, stood the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This tree was especially designed by God to be a pledge of the obedience, faith, and love of our first parents. Of this tree the Lord commanded them not to eat, lest they die. He told them that they might freely eat of all the trees of the garden except one; but if they ate of that tree they should surely die.
5 When Adam and Eve were placed in the beautiful garden they had everything for their happiness which they could desire. But the Creator chose, in his all-wise arrangements, to test their loyalty before they could be rendered eternally secure. They were to enjoy his favor, and he was to converse with them, and they with him. Yet he did not place evil out of their reach. Satan was permitted to tempt them. If they endured the trial, they were to be in perpetual favor with God and the heavenly angels.
6 The hour for joyful happy songs of praise to God and his dear Son had come. Satan had led the heavenly choir. He had raised the first note, then all the angelic host united with him, and glorious strains of music had resounded through Heaven. But now, instead of strains of sweetest music, discord and angry words fall upon the ear of the great rebel leader.
7 Satan stood in amazement at his new condition. His happiness was gone. He looked upon the angels who, with him, were once so happy, but who had been expelled from heaven with him. Before their fall not a shade of discontent had marred their perfect bliss. Now all seemed changed. Countenances which had reflected the image of their Maker were gloomy and despairing. Strife, discord, and bitter recrimination were among them. Previous to their rebellion these things had been unknown in Heaven. Satan now beheld the terrible results of his rebellion. He shuddered, and feared to face the future, and to contemplate the end of these things. Where was he? Was it not all a horrible dream? Was he shut out of Heaven? Were the gates of Heaven never more to open and admit him? Bright, holy angels bow before the Father, but no more will Satan unite with them in heavenly song. No more will he bow in reverence and holy awe before the presence of the eternal God. Could he be again as when he was pure, true, and loyal, gladly would he yield up the claims of his authority. But he was lost beyond redemption, for his presumptuous rebellion! And this was not all; he had led others to rebellion and to the same lost condition with himself—angels who had never thought to question the will of Heaven, or refuse obedience to the law of God till he had put it into their minds, presenting before them that they might enjoy a greater good, a higher and more glorious liberty. This had been the sophistry whereby he had deceived them. A responsibility now rests upon him from which he would fain be released.
8 These fallen spirits had become turbulent with disappointed hopes. Instead of greater good, they were experiencing the sad results of disobedience and disregard of law. Never more would these unhappy beings be swayed by the mild rule of Jesus Christ. Never more would their spirits be stirred by the deep, earnest love, peace, and joy, which his presence had ever inspired in them, to be returned to him in cheerful obedience and reverential honor.
9 Satan trembled as he viewed his work. He was alone, in meditation upon the past, the present, and the future. His mighty frame shook as with a tempest. An angel from Heaven was passing. Satan called him, and intreated an interview with Christ. This was granted. He then related to him that he repented of his rebellion, and wished again to enjoy the favor of God. He was willing to take the place which had been assigned him, and be under Christ’s command. The Son of God wept at Satan’s woe, but told him, as the mind of the Father, that this could never be. Heaven must not be placed in jeopardy. The peace of Heaven would be marred, should he be received back; for sin originated with him; the seeds of rebellion were still within him. He had no occasion for his course, and he had not only hopelessly ruined himself, but the host of angels also, who would still have been happy in Heaven had he remained steadfast. The law of God could condemn, but could not pardon.
10 Satan did not repent of his rebellion because he saw the goodness of God which he had abused. The wretchedness he realized in losing the sweet light of Heaven, the sense of guilt which forced itself upon him, and the disappointment he experienced in not finding his expectations realized, were the cause of his grief. To be commander out of Heaven, was vastly different from being thus honored in Heaven. The loss of all the privileges of Heaven seemed too much to be borne. He wished to regain these.
11 The great change in his position had not increased his love for God, nor for his wise and just law. When Satan became fully convinced that it was impossible for him to be re-instated in the favor of God, he manifested his malice with increased hatred and fiery vehemence.
12 God knew that such determined rebellion would not remain inactive. Satan would invent means to annoy the heavenly angels, and show contempt for his authority. As he could not gain admittance within the gates of Heaven, he would wait just at the entrance, to taunt the angels and seek contention with them as they should pass in and out. He would seek to destroy the happiness of Adam and Eve. He would endeavor to incite them to rebellion, knowing that this would cause grief in Heaven.
13 His followers were seeking him; and he aroused himself, and assuming a look of defiance, informed them of his plans to wrest from God the noble Adam and his companion Eve. If he could in any way beguile them to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby they might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would be in a fair way to share with them of God’s mercy. If they should fail to obtain pardon, they could unite with Adam and Eve, whose transgression would place them also in a state of rebellion; and thus they could take possession of Eden, and hold it as their home. And if they could gain access to the tree of life in the midst of the garden, their strength would, they thought, be equal to that of the holy angels, and even God himself could not expel them.
14 Satan held a consultation with his evil angels. They did not all readily unite to engage in this hazardous and terrible work. He told them that he could not intrust the work to any one of them; for he thought that he alone had wisdom sufficient to carry forward so important an enterprise. He wished them to consider the matter while he should leave them and seek retirement, to mature his plans. He sought to impress upon them that this was their last and only hope. If they failed here, all prospect of regaining and controlling Heaven, or any other part of God’s creation, was hopeless.
15 Satan went alone to mature plans that would most surely secure the fall of Adam and Eve. He had fears that his purposes might be defeated. And again, even if he should be successful in leading Adam and Eve to disobey the commandment of God, and thus become transgressors of his law, and no good come to himself, his own case would not be improved; his guilt would only be increased. He shuddered at the thought of plunging the holy, happy pair into the misery and remorse which he was himself enduring. He seemed in a state of indecision; at one time firm and determined, then hesitating and wavering.
16 His angels were seeking him, their leader, to acquaint him with their decision. They will unite with him in his plans, and with him bear the responsibility, and share the consequences. Satan cast off his feelings of despair and weakness, and, as their leader, fortified himself to brave out the matter, and do all in his power to defy the authority of God and his Son. He acquainted them with his plans. If he should come boldly upon Adam and Eve and make complaints of God’s own Son, they would not listen to him for a moment, but would be prepared for such an attack. Should he seek to intimidate them because of his power, so recently an angel in high authority, he could accomplish nothing. He decided that cunning and deceit would do what might or force could not.
17 God assembled the angelic host to take measures to avert the threatened evil. It was decided in Heaven’s council for angels to visit Eden and warn Adam that he was in danger from the foe. Accordingly, two angels sped on their way to visit our first parents. The holy pair received them joyfully, expressing their gratitude to their Creator for surrounding them with such a profusion of his bounty. Everything lovely and attractive was theirs to enjoy, and everything seemed wisely adapted to their wants. Above all other blessings they prized the society of the Son of God and the heavenly angels; for at every visit they had much to relate to them, of their new discoveries of the beauties of nature in their Eden home; and they had questions to ask relative to many things which they could but imperfectly comprehend.
18 The angels graciously and lovingly gave them the desired information. They also gave them the sad history of Satan’s rebellion and fall. They then distinctly informed them that the tree of knowledge was placed in the garden to be a pledge of their obedience and love to God; that the high and happy estate of the holy angels was to be retained upon condition of obedience; and that they were similarly situated—they could obey the law of God and be inexpressibly happy, or disobey, and lose their high estate, and be plunged into hopeless despair.
19 They told Adam and Eve that God would not compel them to obey—that he had not removed from them power to go contrary to his will; they were moral agents, free to obey or disobey. There was but one prohibition that God had as yet seen fit to lay upon them. If they should transgress the will of God, they would surely die. They told them also, that the most exalted angel, next in order to Christ, had refused obedience to the law of God which he had ordained to govern heavenly beings; that this rebellion had caused war in Heaven, and as the result the rebel leader and every angel who united with him in questioning the authority of the great Jehovah, had been driven out of Heaven; and that this fallen foe was now an enemy to all that concerned the interest of God and his dear Son.
20 They told them that Satan purposed to do them harm, and it was necessary for them to be guarded, for they might come in contact with the fallen foe; but he could not harm them while they yielded obedience to God’s command; for, if necessary, every angel from Heaven would come to their help rather than that he should in any way do them harm. But if they disobeyed the command of God, then Satan would have power to ever annoy, perplex, and trouble them. If they remained steadfast against the first insinuations of Satan, they were as secure as the heavenly angels. But if they yielded to the tempter, He who spared not the exalted angels would not spare them. They must suffer the penalty of their transgression; for the law of God was as sacred as himself, and he required implicit obedience from all in Heaven and on earth.
21 The angels cautioned Eve not to separate from her husband in her employment; for she might be brought in contact with this fallen foe. If separated from each other, they would be in greater danger than if they were together. The angels charged them to follow closely the instructions which God had given them in reference to the tree of knowledge; for in perfect obedience they were safe, and the foe could then have no power to deceive them. God would not permit Satan to follow the holy pair with continual temptations. He could have access to them only at the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
22 Adam and Eve assured the angels that they would never transgress the express command of God; for it was their highest pleasure to do his will. The angels united with them in holy strains of harmonious music; and as their songs pealed forth from blissful Eden, Satan heard their joyful adoration of the Father and the Son. And as he heard it, his envy, hatred, and malignity increased, and he expressed to his followers his anxiety to incite Adam and Eve to disobedience, and at once bring down the wrath of God upon them, and change their songs of praise to hatred, and curses against their Maker.
23 Satan then assumed the form of a serpent, and entered Eden. The serpent was a beautiful creature, with wings; and while flying through the air, his appearance was bright, resembling burnished gold. He did not go upon the ground, but went from place to place through the air, and ate fruit like man. Satan entered into the serpent, who took his position in the tree of knowledge, and commenced leisurely eating of the fruit.
24 Eve, unconsciously at first, separated from her husband in her employment. When she became aware of the fact, she felt that there might be danger; but again she thought herself secure, even if she did not remain close by the side of her husband. She had wisdom and strength to know if evil came, and to meet it. This the angels had cautioned her not to do. Eve found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the fruit of the forbidden tree. She saw it was very lovely, and was reasoning with herself why God had so decidedly prohibited their eating it. Now was Satan’s opportunity. He addressed her as though he was able to divine her thoughts, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Thus, with soft and pleasant words, and with musical voice, he addressed the wondering Eve. She was startled to hear a serpent speak. He extolled her beauty and exceeding loveliness, which was not displeasing to Eve. But she was amazed, for she knew that to the serpent God had not given the power of speech.
25 Eve’s curiosity was aroused. Instead of fleeing from the spot, she listened to hear a serpent talk. It did not occur to her mind that it might be that fallen foe, using the serpent as a medium. It was Satan that spoke, not the serpent. Eve was beguiled, flattered, infatuated. Had she met a commanding personage, possessing a form like the angels, and resembling them, she would have been upon her guard. But that strange voice should have driven her to her husband’s side to inquire of him why another should thus freely address her. But she enters into a controversy with the serpent. She answers his question, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” The serpent answers, “Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
26 Satan would convey the idea that by eating of the forbidden tree, they would receive a new and more noble kind of knowledge than they had hitherto attained. This has been his special work with great success ever since his fall, to lead men to pry into the secrets of the Almighty, and not to be satisfied with what God has revealed, and not careful to obey that which was commanded. He would lead them to disobey God’s commands, and then make them believe that they are entering a wonderful field of knowledge. This is a miserable deception. They fail to understand what God has revealed, they disregard his explicit commandments, aspire after wisdom, independent of God, and seek to understand that which he has been pleased to withhold from mortals. They are elated with their ideas of progression, and charmed with their own vain philosophy; but they grope in midnight darkness relative to true knowledge. They are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
27 It was not the will of God that this sinless pair should have any knowledge of evil. He had freely given them the good, but withheld the evil. Eve thought the words of the serpent wise, and she received the broad assertion, “Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil,”—making God a liar. Satan boldly insinuates that God had deceived them to keep them from being exalted in knowledge equal with himself. God said, If ye eat “ye shall surely die.” The serpent said, If ye eat “ye shall not surely die.”
28 Satan assured Eve that as soon as she ate of the fruit she would receive a new and superior knowledge that would make her equal with God. He called her attention to himself. He ate freely of the tree and found it not only perfectly harmless, but delicious and exhilarating; and he told her that it was because of its wonderful properties to impart wisdom and power that God had prohibited them from tasting or even touching it; for he knew its wonderful qualities. The tempter stated that by eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree he had attained the power of speech. He intimated that God would not carry out his word. It was merely a threat to intimidate them and keep them from great good. He further told them that they could not die. Had they not eaten of the tree of life which perpetuates immortality? He said that God was deceiving them to keep them from a higher state of felicity and more exalted happiness.
29 Satan plucked the fruit and passed it to Eve. She took it in her hand. Now, said the tempter, you were prohibited from even touching it lest ye die. He told her that she would realize no more sense of evil and death in eating than in touching or handling the fruit. Eve was emboldened because she felt not the immediate signs of God’s displeasure. She thought the words of the tempter wise and correct. She ate, and was delighted with the fruit. It seemed delicious to her taste, and she imagined that she realized in herself the wonderful effects of the fruit.
30 She then plucked the fruit for herself and ate, and imagined she felt the quickening power of a new and elevated existence as the result of the exhilarating influence of the forbidden fruit. She was in a state of strange and unnatural excitement as she sought her husband, with her hands filled with the forbidden fruit. She related to him the wise discourse of the serpent, and wished to conduct him at once to the tree of knowledge. She told him she had eaten of the fruit, and instead of feeling any sense of death, she realized a pleasing, exhilarating influence. As soon as Eve disobeyed, she became a powerful medium through which to occasion the fall of her husband.
31 A sadness came over the countenance of Adam. He appeared afraid and astonished. A struggle seemed to be going on in his mind. He told Eve that he was quite certain that this was the foe whom they had been warned against; and if so, she must die. She assured him she felt no ill effects, but rather a very pleasant influence, and entreated him to eat.
(To be Continued.)
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1 Chapter Three—Concluded.
. [TITLE INCORRECT IN ORIGINAL.
SHOULD BE THE TEMPTATION AND FALL.]
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Adam quite well understood that his companion had transgressed the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love. Eve reasoned that the serpent said they should not surely die, and his words must be true, for she felt no signs of God’s displeasure, but a pleasant influence, as she imagined the angels felt. Adam regretted that Eve had left his side; but now the deed was done. He must be separated from her whose society he had loved so well. How could he have it thus? His love for Eve was strong, and in utter discouragement he resolved to share her fate. He reasoned that Eve was a part of himself; and if she must die, he would die with her; for he could not bear the thought of separation from her. He did not think that God, who had created him a living, beautiful form out of the dust of the ground, and had given him Eve to be his companion, could supply her place. After all, might not the words of this wise serpent be correct? Eve was before him, just as lovely and beautiful, and apparently as innocent, as before this act of disobedience. She expressed greater, higher love for him than before her disobedience, as the effect of the fruit she had eaten. He saw in her no signs of death. She had told him of the happy influence of the fruit, of her ardent love for him, and he decided to brave the consequences. He seized the fruit and quickly ate it, and, like Eve, felt not immediately its ill effects.
2 Eve had thought herself capable of deciding between right and wrong. The flattering hope of entering a higher state of knowledge had led her to think that the serpent was her especial friend, possessing a great interest in her welfare. If she had sought her husband, and they had related to their Maker the words of the serpent, they would have been delivered at once from his artful temptation.
3 God instructed our first parents in regard to the tree of knowledge, and they were fully informed relative to the fall of Satan, and the danger of listening to his suggestions. God did not deprive them of the power of eating the forbidden fruit. He left them as free moral agents to believe his word, obey his commandments and live, or believe the tempter, disobey and perish. They both ate, and the great wisdom they obtained was the knowledge of sin, and a sense of guilt. The Lord would not have them investigate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, for then they would be exposed to Satan masked. He knew that they would be perfectly safe if they touched not the fruit.
4 Our first parents chose to believe the words, as they thought, of a serpent; yet he had given them no tokens of his love. He had done nothing for their happiness and benefit; while God had given them everything that was good for food, and pleasant to the sight. Everywhere the eye might rest was abundance and beauty; yet Eve was deceived by the serpent, to think that there was something withheld which would make them wise, even as God. Instead of believing and confiding in their Creator, she basely distrusted his goodness, and cherished the words of Satan.
5 After Adam’s transgression he at first imagined himself rising to a new and higher existence. But soon the thought of his transgression terrified him. The air, that had been of a mild and even temperature, seemed to chill the guilty pair. They had a sense of sin, and felt a dread of the future, a sense of want, a nakedness of soul. The sweet love and peace seemed removed from them, and in their place a want of something came over them that they had never experienced before. They then for the first turned their attention to the external. They had not been clothed, but were draped in light as were the heavenly angels. This light which had enshrouded them departed. To relieve the sense of nakedness which they realized, their attention was directed to seek a covering for their forms; for how could they meet the eye of God and angels unclothed.
6 Their crime is now before them in its true light. Their transgression of God’s express command assumes a clearer character. Adam censured Eve’s folly in leaving his side, and being deceived by the serpent; but they both flattered themselves that God, who had given them everything to make them happy, might yet excuse their disobedience, because of his great love to them, and that their punishment would not be so dreadful after all.
7 Satan exulted in his success. He had tempted the woman to distrust God, to question his wisdom, and to seek to penetrate his all-wise plans. And through her he had also caused the overthrow of Adam, who, in consequence of his love for Eve, disobeyed the command of God, and fell with her.
8 The news of man’s fall spread through Heaven—every harp was hushed. The angels cast their crowns from their heads in sorrow. All Heaven was in agitation. The angels were grieved at the base ingratitude of man, in return for the rich blessings which God had bestowed upon him. A council was held to see what must be done with the guilty pair. The angels feared that they would put forth the hand, and eat of the tree of life, and thus perpetuate a life of sin.
9 The Lord visited Adam and Eve, and made known to them the consequence of their disobedience. And as they hear God’s majestic approach, they seek to hide themselves from inspection of him whom they delighted, while in their innocence and holiness, to meet. “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” This question was asked by the Lord, not because he needed information, but for the conviction of the guilty pair. Adam acknowledged his transgression, not because he was penitent for his great disobedience, but to cast reflection upon God. “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” The woman was then addressed: “What is this that thou hast done?” Eve answered, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” The Lord then addressed the serpent” Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” As the serpent had been exalted above the beasts of the field, he should be degraded beneath them all, and be detested by man, inasmuch as he was the medium through which Satan acted. “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground.”
10 God cursed the ground because of the sin of Adam and Eve in eating of the tree of knowledge, and declared, “In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” He had apportioned them the good, but withheld the evil. Now he declares that they shall eat of it, that is, they shall be acquainted with evil, all the days of their life.
11 The race from that time forward was to be afflicted by Satan’s temptations. A life of perpetual toil and anxiety was appointed unto Adam, instead of the happy, cheerful labor which he had hitherto enjoyed. They should be subject to disappointment, grief, and pain, and finally come to dissolution. They were made of the dust of the earth, and unto dust should they return.
12 Adam and Eve were informed that they must lose their Eden home. They had yielded to Satan’s deception, and believed that God would lie. By their transgression they had opened a way for Satan to gain access to them more readily, and it was not safe for them to remain in the garden of Eden, lest in their state of sin they gain access to the tree of life, and perpetuate a life of sin. They entreated to be permitted to remain, although they acknowledged that they had forfeited all right to blissful Eden. They promised that they would in the future yield implicit obedience to God. They were informed that in their fall from innocence to guilt, they had gained no strength, but great weakness. They had not preserved their integrity while they were in a state of holy, happy innocence, and they would have far less strength to remain true and loyal in a state of conscious guilt. At these words the unhappy pair were filled with keenest anguish and remorse. They now realized that the penalty of sin was death.
13 It was Satan’s studied plan that Adam and Eve should disobey God, receive his frown, and then partake of the tree of life, that they might perpetuate a life of sin. But holy angels were immediately commissioned to guard the way to the tree of life. Around these angels flashed beams of light on every side, which had the appearance of glittering swords.
14 Many regard the punishment of Adam’s transgression as too severe a penalty for so small a sin. The enemy of all righteousness has blinded the eyes of sinners, so that sin does not appear sinful. Their standard of what constitutes sin is vastly different from God’s standard. Should those who regard Adam’s sin as a matter of very small consequence look a little deeper, they would see the great mercy of God in giving Adam the smallest possible test. It could scarcely be called a self-denial on his part to refrain from partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, for he already had everything necessary to supply his wants. A compassionate God gave no severe test, no strong temptation that would tax human endurance beyond the power to resist. The fruit itself was harmless. If God had not forbidden Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, their action in taking it would not have been sinful. Up to the moment of God’s prohibition, Adam might have eaten of the fruit of that tree without realizing any harm. But after God had said, Thou shalt not eat, the act became a crime of great magnitude. Adam had disobeyed God. In this was his sin. The very fact that Adam’s trial was small, made his sin exceeding great. God tested him in that which was least, to prove him; and with the prohibition he stated that the punishment consequent upon his disobedience would be death. If Adam could not bear this smallest of tests to prove his loyalty, he surely could not have endured a stronger trial had he been taken into closer relationship with God, to bear higher responsibilities. He evidenced that God could not trust him; should he be exposed to Satan’s more determined attacks, he would signally fail.
15 God created man in his own image, after his likeness, free from sin, and with organs well developed. The earth was to be populated with intelligent beings who were only a little lower than the angels. But God would first prove the holy pair, and test their obedience; for he would not have a world filled with beings who would disregard his laws. Adam did the worst thing he could do under the circumstances. In doing that which God had expressly forbidden he set his will against the will of God, thus waging war with his requirements. The pen of inspiration has with accuracy traced the history of our first parents’ sin and fall, that all generations may be warned not to follow Adam’s example, in the slightest disregard of God’s requirements. Had the test been in regard to larger matters, men might have excused the sin of disobedience in what they call smaller things. But God made the test with Adam upon things that are least, to show man that the slightest disobedience to his requirements is sin in every sense of the word. God, the Governor of the universe, has made all things subject to law; things apparently insignificant, and things of the greatest magnitude, are all governed by laws adapted to their natures. Nothing that God has made has been forgotten or left to blind chance. To man, as being endowed with reasoning powers and conscience, God’s moral law is given to control his actions. Man is not compelled to obey. He may defy God’s law, as did Adam, and take the fearful consequences; or by living in harmony with that law he may reap the rewards of obedience.
16 Ministers of our time give from their pulpits license to sin, in saying to the sinner, that the law of God is not binding upon man, and that it is impossible for him to keep it. It was then impossible for Adam to keep God’s law, and why should the punishment of transgression have fallen upon him? The very fact that disobedience to God in one of the smallest requirements brought such woe to our world shows that any disregard of his law will surely be followed by the penalty, which is death. Ministers who make war upon the law of God, are gathering in their garments the blood of souls. They are working in harmony with the great rebel.
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Page 67
1 Chapter Four.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Sorrow filled Heaven, as it was realized that man was lost, and the world which God had created was to be filled with mortals doomed to misery, sickness, and death, and there was no way of escape for the offender; the whole family of Adam must die. The heart of the Son of God was touched with pity for the lost race. Upon his lovely countenance rested an expression of sympathy and sorrow. Soon he approached the exceeding bright light which enshrouded the Father, and he seemed to engage in close converse with him. The anxiety of the angels was intense while Jesus thus communed with his Father. Three times he was shut in by the cloud of glory; the third time he came forth his countenance was calm, free from all perplexity and trouble, and shone with benevolence and loveliness, such as words cannot express. He then made known to the angelic host that a way of escape had been made for lost man. He told them that he had been pleading with his Father, and had offered to give his life a ransom, and take the sentence of death upon himself, that through him man might find pardon; that through the merits of his blood, and obedience to the law of God, man could again have the favor of God, and be brought into the beautiful garden, and eat of the fruit of the tree of life.
2 At first the angels could not rejoice, for their Commander concealed nothing from them, but opened before them the plan of salvation. He told them that he would stand between the wrath of his Father and guilty man, that he would bear iniquity and scorn, and but few would receive him as the Son of God He would leave all his glory in Heaven, appear upon earth as a man, become acquainted by his own experience with the various temptations with which man would be beset; and, finally, after his mission as a teacher should be accomplished, he would be delivered into the hands of men, and after enduring almost every cruelty and suffering, that Satan and his angels could inspire wicked men to inflict, he would die the cruelest of deaths, hung up between the heavens and the earth as a guilty sinner. And not merely would he suffer bodily pain, but mental agony. The weight of the sins of the whole world would be upon him. He told them also that after his death he would rise again the third day, and ascend to his Father to intercede for wayward, guilty man.
3 The angels prostrated themselves before their beloved Commander, and offered to give their lives. Jesus told them the transgression was so great that the life of an angel could not pay the debt; his life alone could be accepted by his Father as a ransom for man. But the work of the angels was assigned them, to descend with strengthening balm from glory to soothe the Son of God in his sufferings, and to minister unto him. Also, their work would be to guard the subjects of grace from the evil angels, and the darkness constantly thrown around them by Satan.
4 With a holy sadness Jesus comforted and cheered the angels, and informed them that hereafter those whom he should redeem would be with him, and ever dwell with him; and that by his death he should ransom many, and finally destroy him who had the power of death. And his Father would give him the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, and he should possess it forever and ever. Satan and sinners should be destroyed, never more to disturb Heaven, or those who should inherit the new earth. Jesus bade the heavenly host be reconciled to the plan that his Father had accepted, and rejoice that fallen man could be exalted again, through his death, to obtain favor with God and enjoy Heaven.
5 Then joy inexpressible filled Heaven, and the heavenly host sung a song of praise and adoration. They touched their harps and sung a note higher than they had done before, for the great mercy and condescension of God in yielding up his dearly Beloved to die for a race of rebels. Praise and adoration were poured forth for the self-denial and sacrifice of Jesus; that he would consent to leave the bosom of his Father, and choose a life of suffering and anguish, and die an ignominious death to redeem the fallen race.
6 The Father did not yield up his dearly beloved Son without a struggle, whether to let guilty man perish or to give his Son to die for the lost race. It was impossible for God to change his law, or give up the smallest part of its claims, in order to save man; therefore he suffered his Son to die for man’s transgression.
7 When the plan of salvation was revealed, Satan rejoiced with his angels that he could, by causing man’s fall, pull down the Son of God from his exalted position. He told his angels that when Jesus should take fallen man’s nature, he could overpower him, and hinder the accomplishment of the plan.
8 In humility and inexpressible sadness, Adam and Eve left the lovely garden wherein they had been so happy until they disobeyed the command of God. The atmosphere was changed. It was no longer unvarying as before the transgression. God clothed them with coats of skins to protect them from the sense of chilliness and then of heat to which they were exposed.
9 Angels of God were commissioned to visit the fallen pair and inform them that, although they could no longer retain possession of their holy estate, their Eden home, because of their transgression of the law of God, their case was not altogether hopeless. The Son of God had been moved with pity as he viewed their hopeless condition, and had volunteered to take upon himself the punishment due to them, and die for them that they might yet live, through faith in the atonement which Christ proposed to make. A door of hope was opened, that man, notwithstanding his great sin, might not be under the absolute control of Satan. Probation would be granted him in which, through a life of repentance, and faith in the atonement of the Son of God, he might be redeemed from his transgression of the Father’s law, and thus be elevated to a position where his efforts to keep that law could be accepted.
10 The angels related to them the grief that was felt in Heaven, as it was announced that they had transgressed the law of God, which had made it expedient for Christ to make the great sacrifice of his own precious life.
11 When Adam and Eve realized how exalted and sacred was the law of God, the transgression of which made so costly a sacrifice necessary to save them from utter ruin, they pleaded that they and their posterity might endure the penalty of their transgression, rather than that the beloved Son of God should make this great sacrifice. The anguish of Adam was increased. He saw that his sins were of so great magnitude as to involve fearful consequences. And must it be that Heaven’s honored Commander, who had walked with him and talked with him while in his holy innocence, whom angels worshiped, must be brought down from his exalted position to die because of man’s transgression.
12 Adam was informed that an angel’s life could not pay the debt. The law of Jehovah, the foundation of his government in Heaven and upon earth, was as sacred as its divine Author; and for this reason the life of an angel could not be accepted of God as a sacrifice for its transgression. His law was of more importance in his sight than the holy angels around his throne. The Father could not change nor abolish one precept of his law to meet man in his fallen condition. But the Son of God, who had in unison with the Father created man, could make an atonement for man acceptable to God, by giving his life a sacrifice, and bearing the wrath of his Father. As Adam’s transgression had brought death and wretchedness upon the race, life and immortality would be brought to light through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, a sacrifice of such infinite value as to make a man who should avail himself of it more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 To Adam were revealed future, important events, from his expulsion from Eden, to the flood, and onward to the first advent of Christ upon the earth. His love for Adam and his posterity would lead the Son of God to condescend to take human nature, and thus elevate, through his own humiliation, all who would believe on him. Such a sacrifice was of sufficient value to save the whole world; but only a few would avail themselves of the salvation thus brought to them.
14 The many would not comply with the conditions. They would prefer sin, transgression of the law of God, rather than repentance and obedience, relying by faith upon the merit of the sacrifice offered.
15 Adam was carried down through successive generations, and shown the increase of crime, of guilt and defilement, because man would yield to his naturally strong inclinations to transgress the holy law of God. He saw the curse of God resting more and more heavily upon the human race, upon the cattle, and upon the earth, because of man’s continued transgression. He saw that iniquity and violence would steadily increase; yet amid all the tide of human misery and woe, there would ever be a few who would preserve the knowledge of God, and would remain unsullied amid the prevailing moral degeneracy. Adam was made to comprehend what sin is—the transgression of the law. He was shown that moral, mental, and physical degeneracy would result to the race, from transgression, until the world would be filled with human misery of every type.
16 The days of man have been shortened by his own course of sin in transgressing the righteous law of God. The race has so greatly depreciated as to become almost worthless. Because of the indulgence of the carnal mind, they are generally incapable of appreciating the mystery of Calvary, the grand and elevated facts of the atonement and the plan of salvation. Yet, notwithstanding the weakness, and enfeebled mental, moral, and physical powers to the human race, Christ, true to the purpose for which he left Heaven, continues his interest in the feeble, depreciated, degenerate specimens of humanity, and invites them to hide their weakness and great deficiencies in him. If they will come unto him, he will supply all their needs.
17 When Adam, according to God’s special directions, made as offering for sin, it was to him a most painful ceremony. His hand must be raised to take life, which God alone could give. It was the first time he had witnessed death. As he looked upon the bleeding victim, writhing in the agonies of death, he was to look forward by faith to the Son of God, whom the victim prefigured, who was to die man’s sacrifice.
18 This ceremonial offering, ordained of God, was to be to Adam a perpetual reminder of his guilt, and also a penitential acknowledgment of his sin. This act of taking life gave him a deeper and more perfect sense of his transgression, which nothing less than the death of God’s dear Son could expiate. Adam marveled at the infinite goodness and matchless love which would give such a ransom to save the guilty. As he was slaying the innocent victim, it seemed to him that he was shedding the blood of the Son of God by his own hand. He knew that if he had remained steadfast to God, and true to his holy law, there would have been no death of beast nor of man. Yet in the sacrificial offerings, pointing to the great and perfect offering of God’s dear Son, there appeared a star of hope to illuminate the dark and terrible future, and relieve it of its utter hopelessness and ruin.
19 In the beginning, the head of each family was considered ruler and priest of his own household. Afterward, as the race multiplied upon the earth, men of divine appointment performed this solemn worship of sacrifice for the people. The blood of beasts was to be associated in the minds of sinners with the blood of the Son of God. The death of the victim was to evidence to all that the penalty of sin was death. By the act of sacrifice, the sinner acknowledged his guilt, and manifested his faith, looking forward to the great and perfect sacrifice of the Son of God, which the offering of beasts prefigured. Without the atonement of the Son of God there could have been no communication of blessing or salvation from God to man. God was jealous for the honor of his law. The transgression of that law had caused a fearful separation between God and man. To Adam in his innocence was granted communion, direct, free, and happy, with his Maker. After his transgression, God would communicate to man only through Christ and angels.
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Page 68
1 Chapter Five,
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By Mrs. E. G. White
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Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam, were very unlike in character. Both acknowledged God, both professed to worship him; but while Abel loved and feared God, Cain cherished rebellious feelings, and murmured against him because of the sentence pronounced upon Adam, and because the ground was cursed for his sin. These brothers had been instructed in regard to the provision for the salvation of the human race. They were required to carry out a system of humble obedience, showing their reverence for God, and their entire dependence upon the promised Redeemer by slaying the firstlings of the flock, and in the most solemn manner presenting them, with the blood, as an offering to God. Thus they were ever to keep before their minds the consequences of transgression, and the promise of a Redeemer to come.
2 God had made known to Adam that without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin. But Cain was unwilling to follow strictly the plan of obedience, to procure a lamb and offer it with the fruit of the earth. He brought only an offering of the fruit, thus disregarding the requirement of God. And he was not even particular to bring the best of the fruits. Abel advised his brother not to come before the Lord without the blood of a sacrifice; but Cain, being the eldest, would not listen to him. He despised his counsel, and with murmuring and infidelity in his heart with regard to the promised Sacrifice, and the necessity of the sacrificial offerings, he presented his gift.
3 Abel brought of the firstlings of the flock, as God had commanded, and with full faith in the Messiah to come he presented the offering. God had respect unto this sacrifice, and fire came down from Heaven and consumed it. But Cain saw no manifestation that his offering was accepted.
4 Abel came in God’s appointed way, while Cain followed the promptings of his own heart, in opposition to the command of God. “By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” As Abel looked upon the expiring victim he was impressed with the painful fact that the wages of sin is death. He saw that it was transgression of God’s law which had separated man from his Creator, and that the sacrifice of life alone could meet the claims of the broken law. Through the dying struggles and streaming blood of the victim, he saw by faith the Son of God dying for the guilty race.
5 An important lesson may be learned from the history of the offerings of Cain and Abel. The claims of infinite justice, and the demands of God’s law, can be met only by the atoning sacrifice of Christ. The most costly offering that man may bring to God, the fruit of his toil, his physical and intellectual acquirements, already belong to his Creator. Man has nothing which he has not received. Neither material wealth nor intellectual greatness will atone for the sin of the soul. Cain scorned the idea that it was necessary to come to God with an offering of blood. In the same spirit many in our day refuse to believe that the blood of Christ was shed as a sacrifice for the sins of men. Although Cain chose to disregard the command of God, he brought his offering with great confidence. He looked upon it as the fruit of his own labor, and hence as belonging to himself; and in presenting it to God he felt that he was placing his Creator under obligations to him. The popular religion of the day virtually teaches the same thing, that men may by their good works merit the blessing of God. Many feel that it is a condescension on their part to make a profession of religion; and that in so doing they are conferring a favor upon God. And there are multitudes who have no desire to come to God’s terms, but who make terms for themselves, and expect God to accept them. Such a religion is of the same character as that of Cain. The great question should be, What can I do to meet the approval of God? not, How can I best please myself?
6 Abel trusted wholly in the merits of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. It was this faith that connected him with God. The promise of a Redeemer was dimly understood; but the sacrificial offerings cast light upon the promise. Cain had the same opportunity of learning and accepting these truths as had Abel. God did not accept one and reject the other without sufficient reason. Abel believed and obeyed; Cain doubted and rebelled. God is no respecter of persons, yet he will reward the obedient, and punish the disobedient.
7 When Cain saw that his offering was not accepted, he was very angry with the Lord, and with his brother. But God, in his infinite mercy, condescended to send an angel to Cain, to converse with him. The angel inquired the reason of his anger, and informed him that if he would follow the directions which God had given he would respect his offering. But if he would not humbly submit to God’s arrangements, and believe and obey him, his offering could not be accepted.
8 There had been no injustice on the part of God, and no partiality shown to Abel; if he would do well he would be accepted of God, and his brother should listen to him, and he should take the lead, because he was the eldest. But even after being thus faithfully instructed, Cain did not repent. Instead of censuring and abhorring himself for his unbelief, he still complained of the injustice and partiality of God. And in his jealousy and hatred he contended with Abel, and reproached him. Abel meekly pointed out his brother’s error, and endeavored to convince him that the wrong was in himself. But Cain hated his brother from the moment that God manifested to him the tokens of his acceptance. Abel sought to appease his wrath by pointing to the compassion of God in saving the lives of their parents, when he might have brought upon them immediate death. He told Cain that God loved them, or he would not have given his Son, innocent and holy, to suffer the wrath which man by his disobedience deserved to bear. While Abel justified the plan of God, Cain became enraged, and his anger increased and burned against Abel because he would not join him in his rebellion, until in his rage he slew him.
9 God inquired of Cain for his brother, and he attempted to conceal his guilt by uttering a falsehood: “I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?” God informed Cain that he knew in regard to his sin,—that he was acquainted with his every act, and even the thoughts of his heart, and said to him, “Thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” The curse at first pronounced upon the earth had been felt but lightly; but now a double curse rested upon it.
10 Cain and Abel represent the two classes, the righteous and the wicked, the believers and unbelievers, which should exist from the fall of man to the second coming of Christ. Cain slaying his brother Abel, represents the wicked who will be envious of the righteous, and will hate them because they are better than themselves. They will be jealous of the righteous, and will persecute and put them to death because their right-doing condemns their sinful course.
11 Adam’s life was one of sorrow, humility, and continual repentance. As he taught his children and grand-children the fear of the Lord, he was often bitterly reproached for the sin which had resulted in so much misery to his posterity. When he left beautiful Eden, the thought that he must die thrilled him with horror. He looked upon death as a dreadful calamity. He was first made acquainted with the terrible reality of death in the human family by his own son Cain slaying his brother Abel. Filled with the bitterest remorse for his own transgression, deprived of his son Abel, and looking upon Cain as his murderer, and knowing the curse which God had pronounced upon him, Adam’s heart was bowed down with grief. Most bitterly did he reproach himself for his first great transgression. He entreated pardon from God through the promised Sacrifice. Deeply had he felt the wrath of God for his crime committed in Paradise. He witnessed the general corruption which finally provoked God to destroy the inhabitants of the earth by a flood. Though the sentence of death pronounced upon him by his Maker at first appeared so terrible to him, yet after he had lived some hundreds of years, it looked just and merciful in God, thus to bring to an end a miserable life.
12 As Adam witnessed the first signs of decay in the falling leaf and in the drooping flowers, he mourned more deeply than men now mourn over their dead. The dying flowers were not so great a cause of grief, because they were more tender and delicate; but when the tall stately trees cast off their leaves to decay, it presented before him the general dissolution of beautiful nature, which God had created for the especial benefit of man.
13 To his children, and to their children, to the ninth generation, Adam delineated the perfections of his Eden home; and also his fall and its dreadful results, and the load of grief brought upon him on account of the rupture in his family, which ended in the death of Abel. He related to them the sufferings which God had brought him through to teach him the necessity of strictly adhering to his law. He declared to them that sin would be punished, in whatever form it existed; and he entreated them to obey God, who would deal mercifully with them if they should love and fear him.
14 Adam was commanded to teach his descendants the fear of the Lord, and, by his example of humble obedience, lead them to highly regard the offerings which typified a Saviour to come. Adam carefully treasured what God had revealed to him, and handed it down by word of mouth to his children and children’s children. By this means the knowledge of God was preserved.
15 The Sabbath was instituted in Eden and observed by our first parents before the fall. Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, and ate of the forbidden fruit, they were expelled from Eden; but they observed the Sabbath after their fall. They had experienced the bitter fruits of disobedience, and learned what every one who tramples upon God’s commands will sooner or later learn, that God means just what he says, and that he will surely punish the transgressor. Those who venture to lightly esteem the day upon which Jehovah rested, the day which he sanctified and blessed, the day which he has commanded to be kept holy, will yet know that all the precepts of his law are alike sacred, and that death is the penalty of the transgression.
16 On account of the special honors which God had conferred upon the seventh day, he required his people to number by sevens, lest they should forget their Creator who made the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. The descendants of Cain were not careful to respect the day upon which God had rested. They chose their own time for labor and for rest, regardless of Jehovah’s special command. There were two distinct classes upon the earth. One class were in open rebellion against God’s law, while the other obeyed his commandments, and revered his Sabbath.
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Page 69
1 [THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT FROM A PRIVATE LETTER DATED FEB. 3. L. M. H.]
Since coming to Denison, Texas, our time has been occupied mostly in writing, yet we have held some meetings. By invitation we held a meeting in the Shilo school house about four miles from where we live. Some individuals attending this meeting urged us to give an appointment for Cherry Mound, a place about five miles from Shilo. We gave an appointment, and one week ago last Sunday we spoke to a house full and nearly as many more who could not find room in the house. We had freedom in speaking to our intelligent and interested audience. Here we were urged to leave an appointment for the next Sunday and also to give an appointment for Hebron, three miles from Cherry Mound, which requests we complied with. After this meeting closed we rode five miles to fill our appointment at Shilo. My husband spoke to a good audience upon the words of Paul to Timothy, “Preach the word,” contrasting the pure Bible teachings with fables taught from the pulpit in this time.
2 Last Sunday we rode over bad roads to Cherry Mound, to fill our appointment there at 11 o’clock. When we arrived, found the people waiting, and ready to hear the words of truth. The house was literally packed. I had barely standing room. Many were standing by the door and windows. Hymns were sung from Song Anchor, which interested the audience. I had freedom in speaking. After the close of this meeting we partook of our lunch, then rode on to Hebron to fill our appointment at 3 P. M. The people here had had preaching in the forenoon and we did not expect many would be out to hear us. Yet they came, gentlemen and ladies, on horseback, and whole families in lumber wagons, and the house was well filled. As we looked over the sparsely settled country on our way to the place we queried where the people would come from to make a congregation. But about one hundred and sixty came together. My husband addressed them while they listened with eager attention. I spoke about thirty minutes with great freedom; many were in tears. As soon as the meeting closed persons from different points came to us and urged us to hold meetings with them. We distributed tracts and papers to eager hands; and left appointments for Cherry Mound and Hebron.
3 Here in the State of Texas is a large field for missionary labor. The most of these to whom we have spoken in these country towns have never heard of a Seventh-day Adventist. At Cherry Mound they had no meeting for months, and meetings are but seldom held in any of these places. We feel our hearts melt with pity as we see the ignorance prevailing in regard to Bible truth and a religious life. The people pay but little attention to the prosy sermons to which they listen occasionally.
4 Laborers are needed in this field; God-fearing, self-denying laborers. Souls are starving for the word of life. Some who have once enjoyed the love of God, who have been members of different churches in the North, but have long been without a shepherd, are anxious to learn the way of salvation more perfectly. And others who have made no profession of religion, listen just as eagerly.
5 Strong tea and coffee and swine’s flesh are used in great quantities here, and as the result sickness prevails. I believe many would make determined efforts to change their habits of life if they had the light upon health reform. Where are the patient missionaries for God, who will let their light shine forth to this people? “The common people heard him gladly.” Thus we find it. We mean to do all we can here in Texas. Sow beside all waters. The seed may spring up and bear fruit to the glory of God.
E. G. White.
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Page 70
1 Chapter Six.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Seth was a worthy character, and was to take the place of Abel in right-doing. Yet he was a son of Adam, like sinful Cain, and inherited from the nature of Adam no more natural goodness than did Cain. He was born in sin, but by the grace of God, in receiving the faithful instruction of his father Adam, he honored the Lord in doing his will. He separated himself from the corrupt descendants of Cain, and labored, as Abel would have done had he lived, to turn the minds of sinful men to revere and obey God.
2 Enoch learned from the lips of Adam the painful story of the fall, and the precious story of God’s condescending grace in the gift of his Son as the world’s Redeemer. He believed and relied upon the promise given. Enoch was a holy man. He served God with singleness of heart. He realized the corruptions of the human family, and separated himself from the descendants of Cain, and reproved them for their great wickedness. There were those upon the earth who acknowledged God, who feared and worshiped him. Yet righteous Enoch was so distressed with the increasing wickedness of the ungodly that he would not daily associate with them, fearing that he should be affected by their infidelity, and that he might not ever regard God with that holy reverence which was due his exalted character. His soul was vexed as he daily beheld them trampling upon the authority of God. He chose to be separate from them, and spent much of his time in solitude, giving himself to reflection and prayer. He waited before God, and prayed to know his will more perfectly, that he might perform it. God communed with Enoch through his angels, and gave him divine instruction. He made known to him that he would not always bear with man in his rebellion—that it was his purpose to destroy the sinful race by bringing a flood of waters upon the earth.
3 The beautiful garden of Eden, from which our first parents had been driven, remained until God determined to destroy the earth by a flood. The Lord had planted that garden, and especially blessed it; and in his wonderful providence he withdrew it from the earth, and will return it again, more gloriously adorned than before it was removed. God purposed to preserve a specimen of his perfect work of creation free from the curse which sin had brought upon the earth.
4 The Lord opened more fully to Enoch the plan of salvation, and by the spirit of prophecy carried him down through the generations which should live after the flood, and showed him the great events connected with the second coming of Christ and the end of the world.
5 Enoch was troubled in regard to the dead. It seemed to him that the righteous and the wicked would go to the dust together, and that would be their end. He could not see the life of the just beyond the grave. In prophetic vision he was instructed in regard to the Son of God, who was to die man’s sacrifice, and was shown the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, attended by the angelic host, to give life to the righteous dead, and ransom them from their graves. He also saw the corrupt state of the world at the time when Christ should appear the second time—that there would be a boastful, presumptuous, self-willed generation arrayed in rebellion against the law of God, denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ, trampling upon his blood, and despising his atonement. He saw the righteous crowned with glory and honor, while the wicked were separated from the presence of the Lord, and consumed with fire.
6 Enoch faithfully rehearsed to the people all that had been revealed to him by the spirit of prophecy. Some believed his words, and turned from their wickedness to fear and worship God. Such often sought Enoch in his places of retreat, and he instructed them, and prayed for them that God would give them a knowledge of his will. He finally chose certain periods for retirement, and would not suffer the people to find him, for they interrupted his holy meditations and communion with God. He did not exclude himself at all times from the society of those who loved him and listened to his words of wisdom; neither did he separate himself wholly from the corrupt. He met with the righteous and the wicked at stated times, and labored to turn the ungodly from their evil course, and instruct them in the fear of God, while he taught those who had the knowledge of God to serve him more perfectly. He would remain with them as long as he could benefit them by his godly conversation and holy example, and then would withdraw himself for a season from all society—from the just, the scoffing and idolatrous, to remain in solitude, hungering and thirsting for communion with God, and that divine knowledge which he alone could give him.
7 Enoch continued to grow more heavenly while communing with God. His face was radiant with a holy light which would remain upon his countenance while instructing those who would hear his words of wisdom. His dignified appearance struck the people with awe. The Lord loved Enoch, because he steadfastly followed him, and abhorred iniquity, and earnestly sought a more perfect knowledge of his will, that he might perform it. He yearned to unite himself still more closely to God, whom he feared, reverenced, and adored. The Lord would not permit Enoch to die like other men, but sent his angels to take him to Heaven without seeing death. In the presence of the righteous and the wicked, Enoch was removed from them. Those who loved him thought that God might have left him in some of his places of retirement; but after seeking diligently, and being unable to find him, they reported that he was not, for God took him.
8 By the blessings and honors which he bestowed upon Enoch, the Lord teaches a lesson of the greatest importance, that all will be rewarded, who by faith rely upon the promised Sacrifice, and faithfully obey God’s commandments. Here, again, two classes are represented which were to exist until the second coming of Christ—the righteous and the wicked, the loyal and the rebellious. God will remember the righteous, who fear him. On account of his dear Son, he will respect and honor them, and give them everlasting life. But the wicked, who trample upon his authority, he will destroy from the earth, and they will be as though they had not been.
9 After Adam’s fall from a state of perfect happiness to a condition of sin and misery, there was danger that man would become discouraged, and inquire, “What profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord,” since a heavy curse is resting upon the human race, and death is the portion of us all? But the instructions which God gave to Adam, and which were repeated by Seth, and fully exemplified by Enoch, cleared away the gloom and darkness, and gave hope to man, that as through Adam came death, through Jesus, the promised Redeemer, would come life and immortality.
10 In the case of Enoch, the desponding faithful were taught that, while living among a corrupt and sinful people, who were in open and daring rebellion against their Creator, if they would obey him, and have faith in the promised Redeemer, they would work righteousness like the faithful Enoch, be accepted of God, and finally exalted to his heavenly throne.
11 Enoch, separating himself from the world, and spending much of his time in prayer and in communion with God, represents God’s loyal people in the last days, who will be separate from the world. Unrighteousness will prevail to a dreadful extent upon the earth. Men will give themselves up to follow every imagination of their corrupt hearts, and carry out their deceptive philosophy, and rebel against the authority of high Heaven.
12 God’s people will separate themselves from the unrighteous practices of those around them, and will seek for purity of thought, and holy conformity to his will, until his divine image will be reflected in them. Like Enoch, they will be fitting for translation to Heaven. While they endeavor to instruct and warn the world, they will not conform to the spirit and customs of unbelievers, but will condemn them by their holy conversation and godly example. Enoch’s translation to Heaven just before the destruction of the world by a flood, represents the translation of all the living righteous from the earth previous to its destruction by fire. The saints will be glorified in the presence of those who have hated them for their loyal obedience to God’s righteous commandments.
13 Enoch instructed his family in regard to the flood. Methuselah, the son of Enoch, listened to the preaching of his grandson Noah, who faithfully warned the inhabitants of the old world that a flood of waters was coming upon the earth. Methuselah and his sons and his grandsons lived in the time of the building of the ark. They, with some others, received instruction from Noah, and assisted him in his work.
14 Seth was one of more noble stature than Cain or Abel, and resembled Adam more than did any of his other sons. The descendants of Seth separated themselves from the wicked descendants of Cain. They cherished the knowledge of God’s will, while the ungodly race of Cain had no respect for God and his sacred commandments. But when men multiplied upon the earth, the children of Seth saw that the daughters of the descendants of Cain were very beautiful, and they departed from God and displeased him by taking wives as they chose of the idolatrous race of Cain.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Those who honored and feared to offend God, at first felt the curse but lightly, while those who turned from him and despised his authority felt its effects more heavily, especially in stature and nobleness of form. The descendants of Seth were called the sons of God; the descendants of Cain, the sons of men. As the sons of God mingled with the sons of men, they became corrupt, and by intermarriage with them lost, through the influence of their wives, their peculiar, holy character, and united with the sons of Cain in their idolatry. Many cast off the fear of God, and trampled upon his commandments. But there were a few who did righteousness, who feared and honored their Creator. Noah and his family were among the righteous few.
2 Sin was spreading abroad in the earth like a deadly leprosy. The world was but in its infancy in the days of Noah, yet iniquity had become so deep and wide-spread, that God repented that he had made man. Goodness and purity seemed to be almost extinct; while hatred of the law of God, emulation, envy, sedition, strife, and the most cruel oppression and violence, were corrupting the earth under its inhabitants. The thoughts and imaginations of man’s heart were evil continually.
3 A heavy, double curse was resting upon the earth in consequence, first, of Adam’s transgression, and, secondly, because of the murder committed by Cain; yet this did not at once change the face of nature. It was still rich and beautiful in the bounties of God’s providence. The quiet valleys and spreading plains, robed with verdure and adorned with shrubs and bright hued flowers colored by the Divine Artist, the lovely birds whose glad songs filled the groves with music, the graceful hills and winding streams, the trailing vines and stately trees, charming the eye with their beauty and supporting life with their fruit,—all seemed little less fair than Eden.
4 Gold and silver existed in abundance. The race of men then living was of very great stature, and possessed wonderful strength. The trees were vastly larger, and far surpassed in beauty and perfect proportions anything which mortals can now look upon. The wood of these trees was of fine grain and hard substance—in this respect more like stone. It required much more time and labor, even of that powerful race, to prepare the timber for building, than it requires in this degenerate age to prepare trees that are now growing upon the earth, even with the weaker strength which men now possess. These trees were of great durability, and would know nothing of decay for very many years. But notwithstanding the richness and beauty of the earth, when compared with its state before the curse was pronounced upon it, there was manifest evidence of certain decay.
5 The people used the gold, silver, precious stones, and choice wood, in building houses for themselves, each striving to excel the other. They beautified and adorned their houses and lands with the most ingenious works, and provoked God by their wicked deeds. They formed images to worship, and taught their children to regard these pieces of workmanship made with their own hands, as gods, and to worship them. They did not choose to think of God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and rendered no grateful thanks to Him who had bestowed upon them all which they possessed. They even denied the existence of the God of Heaven, and gloried in, and worshiped, the works of their own hands. They corrupted themselves with those things which God had placed upon the earth for man’s benefit. They prepared beautiful walks, overhung with fruit trees of every description, and under these majestic and lovely trees, with their wide-spread branches, which were green from the commencement of the year to its close, they placed their idols. Whole groves, because of the shelter of their branches, were dedicated to these idol gods, and made attractive as a resort for the people in their idolatrous worship.
6 The groves of Eden were God’s first temples, from which ascended purest worship to the Creator. The sorrowing exiles from Paradise could never forget that happy home. The waving trees and sheltering groves had for them a peculiar charm; for they reminded them of Eden and the joyful converse which they had once enjoyed with God and angels. And as they listened to the murmur of the wind among the leaves it almost seemed that they could again distinguish the sound of that voice that was heard in the garden in the cool of the day. The oak and the palm-tree, the drooping willow and the fragrant cedar, the olive and the cypress, were sacred to our first parents. Their verdant branches, spreading abroad and reaching upward to heaven, seemed to them to be praising their Creator. To Adam there was something almost human and companionable in the trees, carrying him back to many pleasing incidents of his life in Eden.
7 If the hearts of God’s people were softened as they should be by his grace, they would become acquainted with him, as they discern his wisdom and power in the things of his creation. Every green leaf, with its delicate veins, every opening bud and blooming flower, every lofty tree stretching upward to heaven, the earth clothed with its carpet of living green, is an expression of the love of God to man, not to lead us to worship nature, but to attract our hearts through nature up to nature’s God. The forest trees swaying in the wind, break forth into singing and praise to God, and rebuke the silence and indifference of man.
8 Adam had described Eden to his children and children’s children. Again and again the story was repeated, and his love for trees and flowers and groves was transmitted to his descendants. But instead of bowing down in the solemn groves to acknowledge the love of God and to worship him, they desecrated these groves by their idols. It was an abuse of the tender and sacred memories which Adam cherished—the association of the groves with the worship of the true and living God—that led the idolatrous children of Cain to build their altars and set up their images in the groves and under every green tree. And as they put God out of their hearts, their course of conduct was in accordance with their sacrilegious sacrifices and worship. The characters of men became more and more debased.
9 Instead of doing justice to their neighbors, they carried out their own unlawful wishes. They had a plurality of wives, which was contrary to God’s wise arrangement at the beginning. God gave to Adam one wife—showing to all who should live upon the earth, his order and law in that respect. The transgression and fall of Adam and Eve brought sin and wretchedness upon the human race, and man followed his own carnal desires, and changed God’s order. The more men multiplied wives to themselves, the more they increased in crime and unhappiness. If any one chose to take the wives, or cattle, or anything belonging to his neighbor, he did not regard justice or right, but if he could prevail over his neighbor by reason of strength, or by putting him to death, he did so, and exulted in his deeds of violence. Men loved to destroy the lives of animals. They used the flesh for food, and this increased their ferocity and violence, and caused them to look upon the blood of human beings with astonishing indifference.
10 God proposed to destroy by a flood that powerful, long lived race that had corrupted their ways before him. He would not suffer them to live out the days of their natural life, which would have been hundreds of years. It was only a few generations since Adam had access to that tree which was to prolong life. After his disobedience he was not suffered to eat of the tree of life and perpetuate an existence in sin. In order for man to possess an endless life he must continue to eat of the fruit of the tree of life. Deprived of this, his life would gradually wear out.
11 More than one hundred years before the flood, the Lord sent an angel to Noah, to make known unto him his purpose in regard to the sinful race, that his Spirit would not always strive with man, but that he would send a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy man and beast. He would not leave the race ignorant of his design; but would, through Noah, warn the world of its coming destruction, that the inhabitants might be left without excuse. Noah was to preach to the people, and also to prepare an ark as God should direct him for the saving of himself and family. Not only was he to preach, but his example in building the ark was to be a continual testimony of warning to the world, showing that he believed what he preached. His simple, childlike faith, and his implicit obedience, notwithstanding the opposition he received, was an evidence to the world of his sincerity. He was firm as a rock to duty, directing the work of that singular building, under the guidance of the Divine Architect. Every blow struck upon the ark was a witness to the people.
12 This period was the testing time for Noah. He knew that he was the object of popular contempt and scorn with that corrupt generation. He met with unbelief and mockery everywhere. But the greater the iniquity surrounding him, the more earnest and firm and persevering was he in his obedience, showing that there was one man in the world who would be true to God. He was a faithful and unbending witness for God, kind and courteous to all, resenting no insult. He was as one who heard not the reviling and blasphemy that greeted him on every side.
13 Noah was bearing to the inhabitants of the earth an important message of warning, the reception or rejection of which would decide the destiny of their souls. He believed God, he believed that he had the truth, and he moved straight forward in the path of faith and obedience, gaining strength from God daily, by communion with him. Noah was a man of prayer; and in this close connection with God he found all his courage and firmness. He preached, and warned, and entreated the people; but they would not change their course. They bought, they sold, they planted, they builded, they married and were given in marriage, they indulged in feasting and gluttony, and debased their souls, showing contempt for the message of Noah. Their speeches and actions became more vile and corrupt as the period of their probation was closing. The whole world seemed to be against Noah; but he had the testimony from God, “Thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”
14 As far as human wisdom could see, the event predicted by Noah was not likely to occur. Rain had never fallen; a mist or dew had watered the earth. The brooks and rivers had safely flowed along their channels, emptying into the sea. The bodies of water had been kept in their place by God’s decree, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.” Men then talked about the fixed laws of nature, that could not be set aside to bring about any such event as Noah had foretold. They wished to believe, and to have all others believe, that God could not change the order of the natural world; thus they sought to prescribe the limits of his power, making him a slave to his own laws. The people in Noah’s day possessed sharp intellects, and they sought to show, on scientific grounds, that it was impossible for his prophecy to be fulfilled. Noah was laughed to scorn because of his warnings; he was regarded as a fanatic. Noah’s implicit trust in God annoyed while it condemned them; but they could not move this faithful reprover from his position. The Lord had given the warning, and that was enough for Noah. The arguments of the philosophers were nothing to him, when the message of God was sounding in his ears, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
15 Noah, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house. He had that fear which should characterize the life of every Christian. The perfect faith of Noah intensified his fear. The threatened wrath of God, which was to fall upon man and beast, and upon the earth, led him to prepare the ark. His faith, and his fear of God’s anger, produced obedience. Noah did not hesitate to obey God. He urged no excuse, that the labor of building that ark was great and expensive. He believed God, and invested in the ark all that he possessed, while the wicked world scoffed and made themselves merry at the deluded old man.
16 They had more opportunity for their unbelief and mockery, because God did not at once carry out his purpose. But the lapse of time did not cause the faith of Noah to waver; his trust in God was unfailing, and he accepted without a murmur the hardships and sacrifice involved. Noah’s faith, combined with action, condemned the world; for he was a faithful preacher of righteousness, rebuking, warning, and exhorting the wicked. Their reproach and abuse was sometimes almost unendurable; yet the patriarch stayed his soul on God, and called upon him for help in his great need. Through derision, insult, and mockery, he went to and fro as a man with a great mission to fulfill. Privileges had been neglected, precious souls degraded, and God insulted; and the day of retributive justice came slowly on; man’s unbelief did not hinder the event.
17 God gave Noah the exact dimensions of the ark, and explicit directions in regard to its construction in every particular. It was three stories high, but there were no windows in the sides, all the light being received from one in the top. The different apartments were so arranged that the window in the top gave light to all. The door was in the side. The ark was made of the cypress, or gopher wood, which would know nothing of decay for hundreds of years. It was a building of great durability, which no wisdom of man could invent. God was the designer and Noah his master-builder.
18 The work of completing the building was a slow process. Every piece of timber was closely fitted, and every seam covered with pitch. All that men could do was done to make the work perfect; yet, after all, it was impossible that it could of itself withstand the violence of the storm which the Lord in his fierce anger was to bring upon the earth. God alone by his miraculous power, could preserve the building upon the angry, heaving billows.
19 A multitude at first apparently received the warning of Noah, yet they did not fully turn to God with true repentance. There was some time given them before the flood was to come, in which they were placed upon probation— to be proved and tried. They failed to endure the trial. The prevailing degeneracy overcame them, and they finally joined others who were corrupt, in deriding and scoffing at faithful Noah. They would not leave off their sins, but continued in polygamy, and in the indulgence of their base passions.
20 With heart filled with sorrow that his warnings had been slighted and neglected, Noah makes, with quivering lips and trembling voice, his last appeal to the people. And while their voices are raised, in jest and scoffing, suddenly they see the beasts, the most ferocious as well as the most gentle, of their own accord coming, from mountain and forest, and marching quietly into the ark. A noise like a rushing wind is heard; and lo, birds of every description come from all directions, clouding the heavens with their numbers, and file, in perfect order, into that ark. Philosophers were appealed to in vain to explain from natural laws the singular phenomenon. Here was a mystery beyond their depth. The world looked on with wonder—some with fear, but they had become so hardened by rebellion that this most signal manifestation of God’s power had but a momentary effect upon them. For seven days these animals were coming into the ark, and Noah was arranging them in the places prepared for them.
21 And as the doomed race beheld the sun shining in its glory, and the earth clad in almost Eden beauty, they drove away their rising fears by boisterous merriment; and by their deeds of violence seemed to be encouraging upon themselves the visitation of the already awakened wrath of God.
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1 Chapter Seven—Continued.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Everything was now ready for the closing of the ark, which could not be done by Noah from within. The scoffing multitude behold an angel descending from heaven, clothed with brightness like the lightning. He closes that massive outer door, and then takes his course upward to heaven again. Seven days were the family of Noah in the ark before the rain began to descend. During this time they were arranging for their long stay while the waters should be upon the earth. And these were days of blasphemous merriment by the unbelieving masses. Because the prophecy of Noah was not fulfilled immediately after he entered the ark, they thought that he was deceived, and that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by a flood. Notwithstanding the solemn scenes which they had witnessed, the beasts leaving the mountains and forests and going into the ark, and the angel of God, clothed with brightness and terrible in majesty, descending from Heaven and closing the door, they hardened their hearts and continued to revel and sport over the signal manifestations of divine power.
2 But the same power that called the world into existence, and that created man, has shut Noah into his temporary refuge. The last golden opportunity is past. All have heard the warning, God’s forbearance with that vile race is exhausted, and the swift bolts of his wrath are to be hurled upon the impenitent. Upon the eighth day the heavens gathered blackness. The muttering thunders and vivid lightning flashes began to terrify man and beast. The rain descended from the clouds above them. This was something they had never witnessed, and their hearts were faint with fear. The beasts were roving about in the wildest terror, and their discordant voices seemed to moan out their own destiny and the fate of man. The storm increased in violence until water appeared to come from heaven in mighty cataracts. The boundaries of rivers broke away, and the waters rushed to the valleys. The foundations of the great deep also were broken up. Jets of water would burst up from the earth with indescribable force, throwing massive rocks hundreds of feet into the air, and these, in falling, would bury themselves deep in the ground.
3 The people first beheld the destruction of the works of their own hands. Their splendid buildings, the beautifully arranged gardens and groves where they had placed their idols, were destroyed by lightning from heaven. The ruins were scattered everywhere. They had erected and consecrated to their idols altars whereon they offered human sacrifices. These which God detested were torn down in his wrath before them, and they were made to tremble at the power of the living God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, and to know that it was their abominations and horrible, idolatrous sacrifices, which had called for their destruction.
4 The violence of the storm increased, and there were mingled with the warring of the elements, the wailings of the people who had despised the authority of God. Trees, buildings, rocks, and earth were hurled in every direction. The terror of man and beast was beyond description. And even Satan himself, who was compelled to be amid the warring elements, feared for his own existence. He had delighted to control so powerful a race, and wished them to live to practice their abominations, and increase their rebellion against the God of Heaven. He now uttered imprecations against God, charging him with injustice and cruelty. Many of the people, like Satan, blasphemed God, and if they could have carried out their rebellion, would have torn him from the throne of justice. Others were frantic with fear, stretching their hands toward the ark, and pleading for admittance. But this was impossible. God had closed the door, the only entrance, and shut Noah in, and the ungodly out. He alone could open the door. Their fear and repentance came too late. Conscience was at last awake to know that there was a God who ruled in the heavens. They called upon him earnestly, but his ear was not open to their cry. Some in their desperation sought to break into the ark, but that firm-made structure resisted all their efforts. Some clung to the ark until they were borne away with the furious surging of the waters, or their hold was broken off by rocks and trees that were swept here and there by the angry billows. The ark was severely rocked and tossed about. With the noise of the tempest was mingled the roaring of the terrified beasts; yet amid all the warring of the elements, the ark rode safely. Angels that excel in strength guided and preserved it from harm. Every moment during that frightful storm of forty days and forty nights the preservation of the ark was a miracle of almighty power.
5 The animals exposed to the tempest rushed toward man, choosing the society of human beings, as though expecting help from them. Some of the people bound their children and themselves upon powerful beasts, knowing that they would be tenacious of life, and would climb the highest points to escape the rising water. The storm does not abate its fury—the waters increase faster than at first. Some fasten themselves to lofty trees, but these trees are torn up by the roots, and carried with violence through the air, and angrily hurled, with stones and earth, into the foaming billows. As the black, seething waters rise higher and higher, the wicked flee for safety to the loftiest mountains. The solemn denunciations of Noah did not then seem to be so laughable a matter. One spot after another that promised safety was abandoned for one still higher. Men looked abroad upon a shoreless ocean. How they longed then for the opportunities, which they had slighted. How they pleaded for one hour’s probation, one more privilege of mercy, one more call from the lips of Noah. But mercy’s sweet voice was no more to be heard by them. She had stepped down from her golden throne, and stern, imperative justice had taken her place. The pitiless waves finally sweep over the last retreat, and man and beast alike perish in the black depths.
6 Fifteen cubits above the highest mountains did the waters prevail; but Noah and his family were safe in the ark, under the protecting care of God. The Lord had shut out all his foes, and he was never more to hear their taunts and sneers. Often it seemed to this family of God’s providence that they must go to destruction as their boat was swept hither and thither. It was a trying ordeal; but Noah believed God. He had the assurance that God was caring for them. A Divine Hand was upon the helm.
7 As the waters began to abate, the Lord caused the ark to rest upon the top of a cluster of mountains which had been preserved by his power and made to stand fast all through that violent storm. These mountains were but a little distance apart, and the ark moved about and rested upon one, then another, and was no more driven upon the boundless ocean. This gave great relief to all within the ark.
8 Anxiously did Noah and his family watch the decrease of the waters. He wished to go forth upon the earth again, and sent out a raven which flew back and forth, to and from the ark. Not receiving the information he desired, he sent forth a dove, which finding no rest, returned to the ark. After seven days the dove was again sent forth, and when the olive leaf was seen in its mouth, there was great rejoicing by this family which had so long been shut up in the ark. Again an angel descends from Heaven and opens the door of the ark. Noah could remove the top, but he could not open the door which God had shut. God spoke to Noah through the angel and bade him go forth with his family out of the ark, and bring forth with them every living thing.
9 Noah did not forget Him who had so graciously preserved them, but immediately erected an altar and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar, thus showing his faith in Christ the great sacrifice, and manifesting his gratitude to God for their wonderful preservation. Noah’s offering came up before God like a sweet savor. He accepted the sacrifice, and blessed the patriarch and his family. Here a lesson is taught all who should live upon the earth, that for every manifestation of God’s mercy and love toward them, the first act should be to render to him grateful thanks and humble worship.
10 Lest man should be terrified with gathering clouds and falling rains, and should be in continual dread, fearing another flood, God graciously encourages the family of Noah by a promise. “And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”
11 What a condescension on the part of God! What compassion for erring man, to place the beautiful, variegated rainbow in the clouds, a token of the covenant of the great God with man! This rainbow was to evidence to all generations the fact that God destroyed the inhabitants of the earth by a flood, because of their great wickedness. It was his design that as the children of after generations should see the bow in the cloud, and should inquire the reason of this glorious arch that spanned the heavens, their parents should explain to them the destruction of the old world by a flood, because the people gave themselves up to all manner of wickedness, and that the hands of the Most High had bended the bow, and placed it in the clouds, as a token that he would never bring again a flood of waters on the earth. This symbol in the clouds was to confirm the belief of all, and establish their confidence in God; for it was a token of divine mercy and goodness to man. Although God had been provoked to destroy the earth by the flood, yet his mercy still encompasseth the earth. God says when he looks upon the bow in the cloud, he will remember. He would not have us understand that he would ever forget; but he speaks to us in our own language, that we may better understand him.
12 A rainbow is represented in Heaven round about the throne, also above the head of Christ, as a symbol of God’s mercy encompassing the earth. When man, by his great wickedness, provokes the wrath of God, Christ, man’s intercessor, pleads for him, and points to the rainbow in the cloud, as evidence of God’s great compassion for erring man; also to the rainbow above the throne and upon his head, emblematical of the glory and mercy from God resting there for the benefit of repentant man.
13 After Noah had come forth from the ark, he looked around upon the powerful and ferocious beasts which he brought out with him and then upon his family, numbering only eight, and was greatly afraid that they would be destroyed by the beasts. But the Lord sent his angel to say to Noah, “The fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hands are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”
14 Previous to this time God had given man no permission to eat animal food. But every living substance upon the face of the earth upon which man could subsist had been destroyed; therefore God gave Noah permission to eat of the clean beasts which he had taken with him into the ark. God said to Noah, “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things.” God had formerly given them the herb of the ground and the fruit of the field, but now, in the peculiar circumstances in which they were placed, he permitted them to eat animal food.
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1 Chapter Seven—Concluded.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The entire surface of the earth was changed at the flood. A third dreadful curse now rested upon it in consequence of man’s transgression. The beautiful trees and flowering shrubbery were destroyed, but Noah preserved seed and took it with him into the ark, and God by his miraculous power preserved a few of the different kinds of trees and shrubs alive for future generations. Soon after the flood, trees and plants seemed to spring out of the very rocks. In God’s providence, seeds had been scattered and driven into the crevices of the rocks, and there securely hidden for the future use of man.
2 As the waters abated from the earth, the mountains and hills appeared in a broken, rough condition, and all around them was a sea of rolled water or soft mud. In the time of the flood, the people, and the beasts also, gathered to the highest points of land, and as the waters disappeared, dead bodies were left upon the mountains and hills, as well as on the plains. The surface of the earth was strewn with the bodies of men and beasts. But God would not have these remain to decompose and pollute the atmosphere, therefore he made of the earth a vast burying ground. He caused a powerful wind to pass over it for the purpose of drying up the waters, which moved them with great force, in some instances carrying away the tops of the mountains like mighty avalanches, forming hills and mountains where there were none to be seen before, and burying the dead bodies with trees, stones, and earth. The precious wood, stone, silver, and gold, that had made rich and adorned the world before the flood, and which the inhabitants had idolized, were sunk beneath the surface of the earth. The waters which had broken forth with such great power, had moved earth and rocks, and heaped them upon these treasures, and in many instances formed mountains above them to hide them from the sight and search of men. God saw that the more he enriched and prospered sinful man, the more he corrupted his way before him. The treasures which should have led man to glorify the bountiful giver, had been worshiped instead of God, while the giver had been rejected.
3 The beautiful, regular-shaped mountains had disappeared. Stones, ledges, and ragged rocks appeared upon some parts of the earth which were before out of sight. Where had been hills and mountains, no traces of them were visible. Where had been beautiful plains covered with verdure and lovely plants, hills and mountains were formed of stones, trees, and earth, above the bodies of men and beasts. The whole surface of the earth presented an appearance of disorder. Some portions were more disfigured than others. Where once had been earth’s richest treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones, were seen the heaviest marks of the curse. And upon countries which were not inhabited, and those where there had been the least crime, the curse rested more lightly.
4 At the time of the flood, immense forests were torn up or broken down and buried in the earth. These have since petrified and become coal, which accounts for the large coal beds that are now found. This coal has produced oil. Large quantities of coal and oil frequently ignite and burn. Rocks are intensely heated, limestone is burned, and iron ore melted. Water and fire under the surface of the earth meet. The action of water upon the limestone adds fury to the intense heat, and causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and fiery issues. The action of fire and water upon the ledges of rocks and ore causes loud explosions which sound like muffled thunder. These wonderful exhibitions will be more numerous and terrible just before the second coming of Christ and the end of the world, as signs of its speedy destruction.
5 Coal and oil are generally to be found where there are no burning mountains or fiery issues. When fire and water under the surface of the earth meet, the fiery issues cannot give sufficient vent to the heated elements beneath. The earth is convulsed, the ground heaves, and rises into swells or waves, and there are heavy sounds like thunder under ground. The air is heated and suffocating. The earth quickly opens, and villages, cities, and burning mountains are carried down together into the earth.
6 God controls all these elements; they are his instruments to do his will; he calls them into action to serve his purpose. These fiery issues have been, and will be, his agents to blot out from the earth very wicked cities. Like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, they go down alive into the pit. These are evidences of God’s power. Those who have beheld these burning mountains pouring forth fire and flame, and a vast amount of melted ore, drying up rivers and causing them to disappear, have been struck with terror at the grandeur of the scene. They have been filled with awe, as they beheld the infinite power of God.
7 These manifestations bear the special marks of God’s power, and are designed to cause the people of the earth to tremble before him, and to silence those who, like Pharaoh, would proudly say, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” Isaiah refers to these exhibitions of God’s power where he exclaims, “Oh! that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.” Isaiah 64:1-3.
8 “The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.” Nahum 1:3-6.
9 “Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.” Psalms 144:5, 6.
10 Greater wonders than have yet been seen will be witnessed by these upon the earth a short time previous to the coming of Christ. “And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.” “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”
11 The bowels of the earth were the Lord’s arsenal, from which he drew forth the weapons he employed in the destruction of the old world. Waters in the earth gushed forth, and united with the waters from heaven, to accomplish the work of destruction. Since the flood, God has used both water and fire in the earth as his agents to destroy wicked cities.
12 In the day of the Lord, just before the coming of Christ, God will send lightnings from heaven in his wrath, which will unite with fire in the earth. The mountains will burn like a furnace, and will pour forth terrible streams of lava, destroying gardens and fields, villages and cities; and as they pour their melted ore, rocks and heated mud, into the rivers, will cause them to boil like a pot, and send forth massive rocks, and scatter their broken fragments upon the land with indescribable violence. Whole rivers will be dried up. The earth will be convulsed, and there will be dreadful eruptions and earthquakes everywhere. God will plague the wicked inhabitants until they are destroyed from off the earth. But the saints will be preserved in the midst of these dreadful commotions, as Noah was preserved in the ark at the time of the flood.
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Page 74
1 Chapter Eight.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The first week, in which God performed the work of creation in six days and rested on the seventh day, was just like every other week. The great God, in his days of creation and day of rest, measured off the first cycle as a sample for successive weeks till the close of time. “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created.” God gives us the result of his work on each of the days of creation. Each day was accounted of him a generation, because every day he generated, or produced, some new portion of his work. On the seventh day of the first week God rested from his labor, and then blessed the day of his rest, and set it apart for the use of man. The weekly cycle of seven literal days, six for labor and the seventh for rest, which has been preserved and brought down through Bible history, originated in the great facts of the first seven days.
2 When God spoke his law with an audible voice from Sinai, he introduced the Sabbath by saying, “Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.” He then declares definitely what shall be done on the six days, and what shall not be done on the seventh. He next gives the reason for thus observing the week, by pointing us back to his example on the first seven days of time. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it.” This reason appears beautiful and forcible when we understand the record of creation to mean literal days. The first six days of each week are given to man in which to labor, because God employed the same period of the first week in the work of creation. The seventh day God has reserved as a day of rest, in commemoration of his rest during the same period of time after he had performed the work of creation in six days.
3 But the infidel supposition, that the events of the first week required seven vast, indefinite periods for their accomplishment, strikes directly at the foundation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. It makes indefinite and obscure that which God has made very plain. It is the worst kind of infidelity; for with many who profess to believe the record of creation, it is infidelity in disguise. It charges God with commanding men to observe the week of seven literal days in commemoration of seven indefinite periods, which is unlike his dealings with mortals, and is an impeachment of his wisdom.
4 Infidel geologists claim that the world is very much older than the Bible record makes it. They reject the testimony of God’s word because of those things which are to them evidences from the earth itself that it has existed tens of thousands of years. And many who profess to believe the Bible are at a loss to account for wonderful things which are found in the earth, with the view that creation week was only seven literal days, and that the world is now only about six thousand years old. These, to free themselves from difficulties thrown in their way by infidel geologists, adopt the view that the six days of creation were six vast, indefinite periods, and the day of God’s rest was another indefinite period; making senseless the fourth commandment of God’s holy law. Some eagerly receive this position; for it destroys the force of the fourth commandment, and they feel a freedom from its claims upon them.
5 Bones of men and animals are found in the earth, in mountains and in valleys, showing that much larger men and beasts once existed. Instruments of warfare are sometimes found; also petrified wood. Because the bones found are so much larger than those of men and animals now living, or that have existed for many generations past, some conclude that the earth was populated long before the record of creation, by a race of beings vastly superior in size to men now living. Those who reason in this manner have limited ideas of the size of men, animals, and trees, before the flood, and of the great changes which then took place in the earth.
6 Without Bible history, geology can prove nothing. Relics found in the earth do give evidence of a state of things differing in many respects from the present. But the time of their existence can be learned only from the inspired record. It may be innocent to conjecture beyond this, if our suppositions do not contradict the facts found in the sacred Scriptures. But when men leave the word of God, and seek to account for His creative works upon natural principles, they are upon a boundless ocean of uncertainty. Just how God accomplished the work of creation in six literal days, he has never revealed to mortals. His creative works are as incomprehensible as his existence.
7 “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”
8 “Which doeth great things, past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.”
9 “Which doeth great things, and unsearchable; marvelous things without number.”
10 “God thundereth marvelously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we can not comprehend.”
11 “Oh! the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor?”
12 The word of God is given as a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. Those who cast his word behind them, and seek by their own blind philosophy to penetrate the mysteries of Jehovah, will stumble in darkness. A guide has been given to mortals whereby they may trace his works as far as will be for their good. Inspiration, in giving us the history of the flood, has explained wonderful mysteries that geology alone could never fathom.
13 It has been the special work of Satan to lead fallen man to rebel against God’s government, and he has succeeded too well in his efforts. He has tried to obscure the law of God, which in itself is very plain. He has manifested a special hatred against the fourth precept of the decalogue, because it defines the living God, the maker of the heavens and the earth. Yielding to his devices, men have turned from the plainest precepts of Jehovah to receive infidel fables.
14 Man will be left without excuse. God has given sufficient evidence upon which to base faith, if he wishes to believe. In the last days, the earth will be almost destitute of true faith. Upon the merest pretense, the word of God will be considered unreliable, while human reasoning will be received, though it be in opposition to plain Scripture facts. Men will endeavor to explain from natural causes the work of creation. But just how God wrought in the work of creation he has never revealed to men. Human science cannot search out the secrets of the God of Heaven.
15 “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.” Men professing to be ministers of God, raise their voices against the investigation of prophecy, and tell the people that the prophecies, especially of Daniel and John, are obscure, and that we cannot understand them. Yet some of these very men eagerly receive the suppositions of geologists, which dispute the Mosaic record. But if God’s revealed will is so difficult to be understood, certainly men should not rest their faith upon mere suppositions in regard to that which he has not revealed. God’s ways are not as our ways, neither are his thoughts as our thoughts. In his providence men, beasts, and trees, many times larger than those now upon the earth, were buried at the time of the flood, and thus preserved to prove to man that the inhabitants of the old world perished by a flood. God designed that the discovery of these things in the earth should establish faith in inspired history. But men, with their vain reasoning, make a wrong use of these things which God designed should lead them to exalt him. They fall into the same error as did the people before the flood—those things which God gave them as a benefit, they turned into a curse, by making a wrong use of them.
16 Chapter IX.
The Tower of Babel.
Some of the descendants of Noah soon began to apostatize. A portion followed his example, and obeyed God’s commandments; others were unbelieving and rebellious. Some of these disbelieved in the existence of God, and in their own minds accounted for the flood from natural causes. Others believed that God existed, and that he destroyed the antediluvian race by a flood; and their hearts, like that of Cain, rose in rebellion against God, because he had destroyed the people from the earth, and cursed it the third time by a flood.
17 Those who were enemies of God felt daily reproved by the righteous conversation and godly lives of those who loved, obeyed, and exalted him.
18 The unbelieving consulted among themselves, and agreed to separate from the faithful, whose righteous lives were a continual restraint upon their wicked course. They journeyed a distance from them, and selected a large plain wherein to dwell. There they built a city, and then conceived the idea of erecting a large tower to reach unto the clouds, that they might dwell together in the city and tower, and be no more scattered. They reasoned that they would secure themselves in case of another flood, for they would build their tower to a much greater height than the waters prevailed in the time of the flood, and all the world would honor them, and they would be as gods, and rule over the people. This tower was calculated to exalt its builders, and was designed to turn the attention of others who should live upon the earth from God to join with them in their idolatry. Before the work of building was accomplished, people dwelt in the tower. Rooms gorgeously furnished and decorated were devoted to their idols. Those who did not believe in God, imagined that if their tower could reach unto the clouds they would be able to discover reasons for the flood.
19 Thus they exalted themselves against God. But he would not permit them to complete their undertaking. They had built their tower to a lofty height, when the Lord sent two angels to confound them. Men had been appointed for the purpose of receiving word from the workmen at the top of the tower, calling for material for their work, which the first would communicate to the second, and he to the third, until the message reached those upon the ground. As the word was passing from one to another in its descent, the angels confounded their language, and when the word reached the workmen upon the ground, material was called for which had not been required. And after the laborious process of getting the material to the workmen at the top of the tower, it was not that which they had wished for. Disappointed and enraged, they reproached those whom they supposed were at fault. After this, there was no harmony in their work. Angry with one another, and unable to account for the misunderstanding and strange words among them, they left the work, and scattered abroad in the earth. Up to this time, men had spoken but one language. Those who could understand one another associated together, and thus originated various nations speaking different languages. Lightning from heaven, as a token of God’s wrath, broke off the top of their tower, and cast it to the ground. Thus rebellious man is taught that God is supreme.
Page 75
1 Chapter Ten.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The Lord selected Abraham to carry out his will. He was directed to leave his idolatrous nation, and separate from his kindred. The Lord had revealed himself to Abraham in his youth, and given him understanding, and preserved him from idolatry. He designed to make him an example of faith and true devotion, for his people who should afterward live upon the earth. His character was marked for integrity, generosity, and hospitality. He commanded respect as a mighty prince among the people. His reverence and love for God, and his strict obedience in performing his will, gained for him the respect of his servants and neighbors. His godly example and righteous course, united with his faithful instructions to his servants and all his household, led them also to fear, love, and reverence the God of Abraham. The Lord appeared to Abraham, and promised him that his seed should be like the stars of heaven for number. He also made known to him, through the figure of the horror of great darkness which came upon him, the long, servile bondage of his descendants in Egypt.
2 In the beginning, God gave to Adam one wife, thus showing his order. He never designed that man should have a plurality of wives. Lamech was the first who departed in this respect from God’s wise arrangement. He had two wives, which created discord in his family. The envy and jealousy of both made Lamech unhappy. When men began to multiply upon the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, they took them wives of all whom they chose. This was one of the great sins of the inhabitants of the old world, which brought the wrath of God upon them. This custom was practiced after the flood, and became so common that even righteous men fell into the practice, and had a plurality of wives. Yet it was no less sin because they became corrupted, and departed in this thing from God’s order.
3 The Lord said of Noah who, with his family, was saved in the ark, “For thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” Noah had but one wife; and their united family discipline was blessed of God. Because Noah’s sons were righteous, they were preserved in the ark with their father. God has not sanctioned polygamy in a single instance. It was contrary to his will. He knew that the happiness of man would be destroyed by it. Abraham’s peace was greatly marred by his unhappy marriage with Hagar.
4 After Abraham’s separation from Lot, the Lord said to him, “Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.” “The word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” “And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed; and lo, one born in my house is mine heir.”
5 As Abraham had no son, he at first thought that his trusty servant, Eliezer, should become his son by adoption, and his heir. But God informed Abraham that his servant should not be his son and his heir, but that he should really have a son. “And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell me the stars, if thou be able to number them; and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.”
6 If Abraham and Sarah had waited in confiding faith for the fulfillment of the promise that they should have a son, much unhappiness would have been avoided. They believed that it would be just as God had promised, but could not believe that Sarah, in her old age, would have a son. Sarah suggested a plan whereby she thought the promise of God could be fulfilled. She entreated Abraham to take Hagar as his wife. In this they both lacked faith, and a perfect trust in the power of God. By yielding to the advice of Sarah, and taking Hagar as his wife, Abraham failed to endure the test of his faith in God’s unlimited power, and brought upon himself, and upon Sarah, much unhappiness. The Lord intended to prove the faith of Abraham and his reliance upon the promises which he had made him.
7 Hagar was proud and boastful, and carried herself haughtily before Sarah. She flattered herself that she was to be the mother of the great nation which God had promised to make of Abraham. And Abraham was compelled to listen to the complaints from Sarah in regard to the conduct of Hagar, charging him with wrong in the matter. Abraham is grieved, and tells Sarah that Hagar is her servant, and that she can have the control of her, but he refuses to send her away, for she is to be the mother of his child through whom he thinks the promise is to be fulfilled. He informs Sarah that he would not have taken Hagar for his wife if it had not been her special request. Abraham was also compelled to listen to Hagar’s complaints of abuse from Sarah. Abraham is in perplexity. If he seeks to redress the wrongs of Hagar, he increases the jealousy and unhappiness of Sarah, his first and much-loved wife. Hagar fled from the face of Sarah. An angel of God meets her, and comforts her, and also reproves her for her haughty conduct, in bidding her return to her mistress, and submit herself under her hands.
8 After the birth of Ishmael, the Lord again manifested himself to Abraham, and said unto him, “I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant.” Again the Lord repeated by his angel his promise to give Sarah a son, and that she should be a mother of many nations. Abraham did not yet understand the promise of God. His mind immediately rests upon Ishmael, as though through him would come the many nations promised, and he exclaims, in his affection for his son, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!”
9 Again the promise is more definitely repeated to Abraham: “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” Angels are sent to Abraham on their way to destroy Sodom, and they more distinctly repeat the promise that Sarah shall have a son.
10 After the birth of Isaac, the great joy manifested by Abraham and Sarah caused Hagar to be very jealous. Ishmael had been instructed by his mother that he was to be especially blessed of God, as the son of Abraham, and to be heir to that which was promised to his father. Ishmael partook of his mother’s feelings, and was angry because of the joy manifested at the birth of Isaac. He despised Isaac, because he thought that he was preferred before himself. Sarah saw the disposition manifested by Ishmael against her son Isaac, and she was greatly moved. She related to Abraham the disrespectful conduct of Ishmael to her, and to her son, and said to him, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.”
11 Abraham is greatly distressed. Ishmael is his son, beloved by him. How can he send him away! He prays to God in his perplexity, for he knows not what course to take. The Lord, through his angels, directs Abraham to listen to the voice of Sarah his wife, and not to let his affection for his son, or for Hagar, prevent his compliance with her wishes. For this was the only course he could pursue to restore harmony and happiness again to his family. Abraham had the consoling promise from the angel, that Ishmael, although separated from his father’s house, should not die, nor be forsaken of God; he should be preserved because he was the son of Abraham. God also promised to make of Ishmael a great nation.
12 Abraham was of a noble, benevolent disposition, as was manifested in his pleading so earnestly for the people of Sodom. His strong spirit suffered much. He was bowed with grief, and his paternal feelings were deeply moved as he sent away Hagar and his son Ishmael to wander as strangers in a strange land.
13 If God had sanctioned polygamy, he would not have thus directed Abraham to send away Hagar and her son. He would teach all a lesson in this, that the rights and happiness of the marriage relation are ever to be respected and guarded, even at a great sacrifice. Sarah was the first and only true wife of Abraham. As a wife and mother, she was entitled to rights which no other in the family could have. She reverenced her husband, calling him lord; but she was jealous lest his affections should be divided with Hagar. God did not rebuke Sarah for the course which she pursued. Abraham was reproved by the angels for distrusting God’s power, which had led him to take Hagar as his wife, and to think that through her the promise would be fulfilled.
14 Again the Lord saw fit to test the faith of Abraham by a most fearful trial. If he had patiently waited for the promise of God to be fulfilled in his own time and manner, and had not sought to make a providence himself, he would not have been subjected to the closest test that was ever required of man. The Lord directed his faithful servant to go into the land of Moriah, and there offer up Isaac, the son of promise, as a burnt-offering.
15 Abraham was one hundred and twenty years old when this terrible and startling command came to him, in a vision of the night. He was to travel three days’ journey, and would have ample time for reflection. Fifty years previous, at the divine command, he had left father and mother, relatives and friends, and had become a pilgrim and a stranger in a land not his own. He had obeyed the direction of God to send away his son Ishmael to wander in the wilderness. His soul was bowed down with grief at this separation, and his faith was sorely tried, yet he submitted because God required it.
16 But now a trial was before him which caused all his other afflictions to appear insignificant. The words of the command were calculated to stir his soul to the depths: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Over and over again did the grief-stricken father exclaim, Oh! my son, my son, would to God my life could be accepted in the place of thine; then should my light not go out in darkness. Abraham arose before day, and as he looked up to the starry heavens, he called to mind the promise which God had made to him fifty years before: “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” And now the same voice had commanded him to slay his only son, through whom the promise was to be fulfilled.
17 Abraham was tempted to believe that after all this might be a delusion. Stricken with grief, he bowed before God, and prayed as never before for a confirmation of this strange command, for greater light if he must perform this terrible duty. He remembered the angels sent to tell him of God’s purpose to destroy Sodom, and those who bore to him the promise that he should have this same son Isaac. He walked forth where he had several times met the heavenly messengers, hoping to meet them again and receive some special direction from them; but he gained no light, darkness seemed to close about him, day was approaching, and he must be on his journey before light.
18 He first passed to the couch upon which Isaac slept in peaceful innocency; he was the joy of his heart, the comfort of his old age. Abraham’s lips quivered, he turned quickly away, and looked upon Sarah who was also quietly sleeping. He knew that Isaac was her pride, that her heart was entwined with his. Should he awake her, that she might look upon her son for the last time? Should he tell her the requirement of God? He knew that he himself had strength of faith, and confidence in God; he did not know the strength of Sarah’s faith; but he did know the strength of her love for Isaac.
19 He passed from one sleeper to the other, undecided in regard to the wisest course to pursue. He finally awakened Isaac, and informed him that he was commanded of God to offer sacrifice upon a distant mountain, and that he must accompany him. He called his servants, and made every necessary preparation for his long journey. If he could have unburdened his mind to Sarah, and they together have borne the suffering and responsibility, it might have brought him some relief; but he decided that this would not do; for her heart was bound up in her son, and she might hinder him. Abraham went forth on his journey, with Satan by his side to suggest unbelief and impossibility.
20 While walking by the side of Isaac, the patriarch could not engage in conversation as usual, for a deep sorrow was concealed in his own breast. The night approaches, the longest day Abraham ever experienced has come to a close. He saw his loved son Isaac and the servants locked in slumber, but he could not sleep. He spent the night in prayer, still hoping that some heavenly messenger would appear to tell him that it is enough, that he may return to Sarah, with Isaac unharmed.
21 No new light dawned upon the tortured soul of Abraham. A heavy pressure was upon him, but he staggered not at the promise. He reasoned not that his posterity, which was to be as the stars, must now come through Ishmael, for God had plainly stated that through Isaac should the promise be fulfilled. Then again was that voice ringing in his ears, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest.” That terrible command which would leave him childless can scarcely be realized. He rises early to continue his toilsome journey. Satan whispers doubts, but Abraham resists his suggestions.
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Page 76
1 Chapter Ten—Continued.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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All day he cherished the hope of meeting an angel coming to bless and comfort him, or perhaps to revoke the command of God, but no messenger of mercy appeared. Satan suggested that he must be deceived, for God had said, “Thou shalt not kill,” and it was not like God to require what he had once forbidden. The second long day comes to a close, another sleepless night is spent in humiliation and prayer, and the journey of the third day is commenced. Abraham lifts his eyes to the mountains, and upon one he beholds the promised sign, a bright cloud hovering over the top of Mount Moriah. Now he knows it is all a terrible certainty, and no delusion.
2 He was yet a great distance from the mountain, but he bade his servants remain behind while he placed the wood upon the shoulders of his son, and himself took the knife and fire. Abraham braced himself for the sad work which he must perform. He did not murmur against God. Isaac had been given to him unexpectedly; he had received him with gratitude and great joy, and though he was the son of his old age, the son of his love, he yet believed that the same power that gave him Isaac, could raise him again even from the ashes of the burnt sacrifice. He strengthens his soul by the evidences he has had of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Had not He, who had graciously given Isaac to him, perfect right to recall the gift?
3 Isaac had been a comfort, a sunbeam, a blessing to Abraham in his old age, and although this gift of God seemed so precious, so dear to him, he was now commanded to return it to the Giver. The words of God’s command showed that he fully realized the pain which Abraham must feel in obeying his requirement, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest.” Abraham wanted no witnesses. It was enough that God could look on and not only see the full consecration of his darling son Isaac, but read the heart and fully understand how severely he felt the test. He wished no one but God to witness this parting scene between father and son.
4 Abraham knew not how Isaac would receive the command of God. As they drew near the mountain, “Isaac spake to Abraham, his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?” These endearing words, “My father,” pierced the affectionate heart of Abraham, and again he thought, Oh, that I, in my old age, might die instead of Isaac! Still reluctant to open before his son the true purpose of his errand, Abraham answered, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering.”
5 Isaac assisted his father in building the altar. Together they placed on the wood, and the last work preparatory to the sacrifice is done. With quivering lips and trembling voice, Abraham reveals to his son the message that God had sent him. In obedience to the divine command, he had taken the journey. Everything was ready. Isaac was the victim, the lamb to be slain. Had Isaac chosen to resist his father’s command, he could have done so, for he was grown to manhood; but he had been so thoroughly instructed in the knowledge of God that he had perfect faith in his promises and requirements.
6 The patriarch assured Isaac that his affection for him was not diminished, and that he would gladly give his own life to save that of his son. But God had chosen Isaac, and his requirement must be fulfilled to the letter. Abraham told his son that the Lord had miraculously given him to his parents, and now he had required him again. He assured him that the divine promise, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called,” would be fulfilled; that doubtless God would raise him to life again from the dead.
7 Isaac at first heard the purpose of God with amazement amounting to terror. But he considered the matter fully. He was the child of a miracle. If God had accepted him as a worthy sacrifice, he would cheerfully submit. Life was dear, life was precious, but God had appointed him, Isaac, to be offered up as a sacrifice. He comforted his father, by assuring him that God had conferred honor upon him, in accepting him as an offering; that in this requirement he saw not the wrath and displeasure of God, but special tokens that the Lord loved him, in that he required him to be consecrated to himself in sacrifice.
8 He encouraged the almost nerveless hands of his father to bind the cords which confined him to the altar. The last words of endearing love were spoken by father and son, the last affectionate, parental, and filial tears were shed, the last embrace was given, and the father had pressed his beloved son to his aged breast for the last time. His hand is uplifted, grasping firmly the instrument of death, when suddenly his arm is stayed. “And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of Heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, Jehovah-jireh; as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of Heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
9 As evidence of God’s approval of the faith of Abraham, he gave him the name of “Father of the faithful.” The example of Abraham is recorded in sacred history for the benefit of his believing children. This great act of faith teaches the lesson of implicit confidence in God, perfect obedience to his requirements, and a complete surrender to the divine will. In the example of Abraham we are taught that nothing we possess is too precious to give to God.
10 How many now who profess to be Christians would follow the example of Abraham in yielding up to God his beloved Isaac? Yet our dearest treasure belongs to God. A solemn duty rests upon Christian parents to so educate and mould the minds of their children that they will ever have a high respect and exalted reverence for God and for everything sacred and holy. Such will feel that God’s claims must first be regarded, that nothing is too precious to sacrifice for him. Such will, like Abraham, exemplify their faith by their works.
11 How many now who profess to believe God, and pass for Christians, refuse to obey his voice when he calls upon them to deny self, and yield to him their darling treasures. They will hesitate, and cling to earthly things. Their affections are upon the world and the things of the world; yet some of these very ones will have the most to say about how much they have sacrificed to obey the truth. Isaac felt that it was a privilege to yield his life as an offering to God. If the Lord could accept him, he felt that he was honored.
12 Human judgment may look upon the command given to Abraham as severe, too great for human strength to bear. Abraham’s strength was from God. He looked not at the things which are seen with mortal vision, but at the things which are eternal. God required no more of Abraham than he had, in divine compassion and infinite love, given to man. He gave his only begotten Son to die, that guilty man might live. Abraham’s offering of Isaac was especially designed of God to prefigure the sacrifice of his Son.
13 Every step that Abraham advanced toward Mount Moriah, the Lord went with him. All the grief and agony that Abraham endured during the three days of his dark and fearful trial, were imposed upon him to give us a lesson in perfect faith and obedience, and that we might better comprehend how real was the great self-denial and infinite sacrifice of the Father in giving his only Son to die a shameful death for the guilty race. No other trial, no other suffering or test, which could have been brought to bear upon Abraham, would have caused such mental anguish, such torture of soul, as that of obeying God in offering up his son.
14 Our Heavenly Father surrendered his beloved Son to the agonies of the crucifixion. Legions of angels witnessed the humiliation and soul-anguish of the Son of God, but were not permitted to interpose as in the case of Isaac. No voice was heard to stay the sacrifice. God’s dear Son, the world’s Redeemer, was insulted, mocked at, derided, and tortured, until he bowed his head in death. What greater proof can the Infinite One give us of his divine love and pity? “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
15 The meager conception that many have of the worth of the soul, and the sacrifice of God’s dear Son for sinful man, is shown by their works. Should God speak to them, as he did to Abraham, Sacrifice your possessions, the temporal benefits that I have lent you to advance my cause, they would look in astonishment, thinking God did not mean just what he said. Their riches are as dear to them as their children; their worldly treasure is their Isaac. To honor God with their substance, they think, is a requirement altogether too great, and they cannot believe that God means it. What have this class sacrificed for God?
16 Men will show all the faith they have. If God should speak to them and command them to offer one of their beloved children, they would think him a hard master. Yet he has done more than this for them. No such command will come to test and prove them. God knew to whom he spake, when he gave the command to faithful Abraham. The patriarch knew that it was God who had commanded, and that his promises were infallible. Had the Lord directed him to offer his gold, his silver, his flocks, or even his own life, he would have done so cheerfully. He would have felt that he was but yielding back to God that which belonged to him.
17 But there are many who know not what self-denial, or sacrifice, or devotion to God, is. They never can have extended and elevated views of the infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God to save a ruined world, until they surrender all to him. If he should speak to them in a command, as he did to Abraham, they would not be enough acquainted with his voice to understand that he did really require something of them, to show their love, and the genuineness of their faith.
18 The claims of God upon our love, affection, and possessions, our talents, and ourselves, are correspondingly great as was the infinite sacrifice made in giving his Son to die for sinful man. Those who really appreciate the work of the atonement, those who have a high sense of the sacrifice which Christ has made to exalt them to his throne, will count it a special honor to be partakers with him in his self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering, that they may be co-workers with him in saving souls.
19 There are many who profess the truth, who do not love God half so well as they love the world. God is testing and proving them. Their love of the world and of riches darkens their minds, perverts their judgment, and hardens their hearts. God has, to some of them at least, revealed his will, and called for a surrender of their Isaac to him. But they refuse to obey, and let golden opportunities pass. Precious time is bearing into eternity a record of duties unfulfilled, and of positive neglect.
20 Nothing we have is of true value until it is surrendered to God. The talent of means devoted to the cause and work of God, is of tenfold more value than if selfishly retained for the gratification of our own pleasure. The faith of the devoted martyrs was like that of Abraham, it was genuine. They valued the precious truth, and in their turn, although despised of men, hunted from place to place, persecuted, afflicted, and tormented, they were valued of God. There was no place for them upon the earth, but of them, says the apostle, the world was not worthy. Those who clung to the truth in face of prison, torture, and death, had faith that few now living possess.
21 Many have chosen a life of ease. They have exalted their earthly interests above the spiritual and eternal. They neglect to learn the hard lesson of self-denial, and of surrendering all to God. They do not count anything interesting, save that which is learned without much effort, and without involving any sacrifice of temporal enjoyment; and it is forgotten as soon as learned, because it cost them nothing.
22 The deepest poverty, with God’s blessing, is better than houses and lands, and any amount of earthly treasure, without it. God’s blessing places value on everything we possess; but if we have the whole world without his blessing we are indeed as poor as the beggar, for we can take nothing with us into the next world.
23 Those who profess to be looking for the soon coming of our Saviour, should have Abrahamic faith; a faith that is valued because it has cost them something; a faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. The example of Abraham is left on record for us upon whom the ends of the world have come. We must believe that God is in earnest with us, and that he is not to be trifled with. He means what he says, and he requires of us implicit faith and willing obedience. Then will he let his light shine around about us, and we shall be all light in the Lord.
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Page 77
1 Chapter Eleven.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The Canaanites were idolaters, and the Lord had commanded that his people should not intermarry with them, lest they should be led into idolatry. Abraham was old, and he expected soon to die. Isaac was yet unmarried. Abraham was afraid of the corrupting influence surrounding his son, and was anxious to have a wife selected for him who would not lead him from God. He committed this matter to his faithful, experienced servant who ruled over all that he had. Abraham required his servant to make a solemn oath to him before the Lord, that he would not take a wife for Isaac of the Canaanites, but that he would go to Abraham’s kindred, who believed in the true God, and select a wife for the young man. He charged him not to take Isaac to the country from which he came; for they were nearly all affected with idolatry. If he could not find a wife for Isaac who would leave her kindred and come where he was, then he should be clear of the oath which he had made. This important matter was not left with Isaac, for him to select for himself, independent of his father. Abraham tells his servant that God will send his angel before him to direct him in his choice.
2 The servant, taking with him ten camels and numerous presents for the intended wife and her relatives, started on his long journey up toward Damascus, and then on to the fertile plains that border on the great river of the East. Bethuel, the nephew of Abraham, was the owner of large flocks, but he dwelt in a town or city, to the wells outside of which the women were in the habit of resorting for water, and to which the servant of Abraham now drew near. It was an anxious time with the man; the happiness of the whole family in Canaan depended on the choice which he made, and how was he to choose wisely among those who were entire strangers to him? He remembered his master’s words, that God would send his angel with him; and he prayed earnestly that certain evidence might be given him, that he might not err in the matter.
3 His prayer was answered. Among the maidens gathered at the well he particularly noticed the engaging manners and courteous conduct of Rebekah, and he received the desired evidence that she was the one whom God had been pleased to select to become Isaac’s wife. Full of joy the man inquired of her parentage, and on learning that she was the daughter of Bethuel, he “bowed down his head, and worshiped the Lord.” The maiden immediately informed her brother Laban of what had occurred, and they hastened to invite to their home the servant, with his attendants and the camels. Before he would partake of food, the servant told his errand, his prayer at the well, and the answer, with all the circumstances attending it. Then he said, “And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.” The answer was, “The thing proceedeth from the Lord; we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee; take her and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the Lord hath spoken.”
4 After all had been arranged, and the consent of the family had been obtained, Rebekah herself was consulted as to whether she would go with the servant of Abraham a great distance from her father’s house, to become the wife of Isaac. She believed, from the circumstances that had taken place, that God’s hand had selected her to be Isaac’s wife, and she said, “I will go.”
5 The servant, knowing that his master would rejoice at the success of his mission, was impatient to be gone; and they immediately set out on the homeward journey. Abraham dwelt at Beersheba, and Isaac, who had been attending to the flocks in the adjoining country, had returned to his father’s tent to await the arrival of the messenger from Haran. “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this, that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master; therefore she took a vail and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. And he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”
6 In ancient times marriage contracts were generally made by the parents, yet no compulsion was used to make persons marry those whom they could not love. But the children had confidence in the judgment of their parents, and followed their counsel, and bestowed their affections upon those whom their God-fearing, experienced parents chose for them. It was considered a crime to follow a course contrary to this.
7 What a contrast to the course now pursued by many children! Instead of showing reverence and due honor for their parents, by consulting them, and having the advantages of their experienced judgment in choosing for them, they move hastily in the matter, and are controlled by fancy and impulse rather than by the judgment of their parents and the fear of God. It is often the case that they contract marriage without even the knowledge of their parents. And, in many instances, the lives of parents are imbittered by the hasty marriages of their children, because the son-in-law or the daughter-in-law feels under no obligation to make them happy.
8 Abraham saw and realized the influence which an idolatrous wife would exert upon her husband. He would not have Isaac imperil his moral and religious character by connecting with a woman who was unacquainted with God. His eldest son had contracted an unhappy marriage. Ishmael’s home was made miserable, his children were undisciplined, and their characters were uncourteous and disrespectful. They were not taught the knowledge of God. Abraham was unwilling that Isaac should run the risk of taking a wife of the heathen nations. He had marked the unhappy course of others, and the result of connecting with companions who knew not and feared not God, from the days of Cain to his own time.
9 However pure and correct the principles of the God-fearing, the society of an irreligious companion has an influence to lead away from God. Therefore, Abraham was determined on this point, that Isaac should marry one of his own nation. The women of other nations were, many of them, attractive because of their beauty; but they lacked beauty of character. Abraham knew that true dignity, true elevation is to be found only in those who love and fear God. There is a debasement upon the entire character of the godless, who follow the imagination of their own hearts, and are filled with their own devices. But those who make God their trust, who are elevated by his grace, obedient to his requirements, seeking his glory, fearing his displeasure, will receive his blessing. They will have that hope and courage, that dignity, calmness, and self-possession, which only those can have who are connected with God. Abraham had maintained an habitual trust in God. The impress of such character is reproduced in their children. Yet Abraham saw that in Isaac there was a disposition to be yielding. He was a firm believer in God, but if connected with one of opposite character he would be in danger of losing his adherence to right, to avoid disagreeable consequences.
10 Evil associates include more than the immoral and profane. Connection with one who is known to be irreligious is contrary to God’s order, and cannot fail to draw the soul away from Him. Those who have not the fear of God before them, who are not seeking to live in obedience to him, although they may be moral, intellectual, apparently refined, fashionable, wealthy, are not the ones for Christians to form a marriage alliance with. However agreeable their society may be, however entertaining their conversation, the word of God is plain upon the point; the Christian should not connect with them.
11 Those who enter the marriage relation while unconverted should not after conversion leave their unbelieving companions. Whatever their religious character may be, they must remain faithful, kind, and true toward them; yet they should acknowledge the claims of God above any earthly relationship, serving him with fidelity, even though inconvenience, trials, and persecutions may arise for the sake of Christ and the truth. This persevering fidelity to truth and duty may be a sanctifying influence upon the unbelieving companion. But marriages formed understandingly with unbelievers are forbidden by the word of God. The suit may be urged by the unbeliever, and inclination may plead that it be accepted; and inclination frequently triumphs; but Satan has the victory; temptation has not been resisted, and in nine cases out of ten both parties are lost to Christ.
12 There is a willing blindness in regard to the result of human action, the consequence of which reaches far into the future of man’s existence. A life of bitterness and woe is before those who venture to disregard God’s commands; but they pass heedlessly on, rashly taking solemn vows upon them, the believer binding up his life interest with an unbeliever. Domestic life and domestic relation are to be shared by those two, one professedly obeying God, and the other living in disregard of his requirements. How can two walk together, except they be agreed? If a woman respects not the claims of God, pays no heed to the bonds which bind her to religion, how can she be expected to be faithful to the law which binds her to her husband?
13 Young men and women sometimes manifest great independence upon the subject of marriage, as though the Lord had nothing to do with them, or they with the Lord, in that matter. They seem to think that it is purely a matter of their own, which neither God nor their parents should in any wise control, that the bestowal of their affections is a matter in which self alone should be consulted. Such make a serious mistake; and a few years of marriage experience generally teaches them that it is a miserable mistake. This is the great reason of so many unhappy marriages, in which there is so little true, generous love, and so little exercise of noble forbearance, toward each other. These often behave in their own homes more like pettish children, than the dignified, affectionate husband and wife.
14 Isaac had been trained in the fear of God to a life of obedience. And when he was forty years old, he submitted to have the God-fearing, experienced servant of his father choose for him. He believed that God would direct in regard to his obtaining a wife.
15 Children now from fifteen to twenty years of age generally consider themselves competent to make their own choice, without the consent of their parents. And they would look with astonishment, if it should be proposed to them to move in the fear of God, and make the matter a subject of prayer. Isaac’s case is left on record, as an example for children in after generations, especially those who profess to fear God.
16 The course which Abraham pursued in the education of Isaac, that caused him to love a life of noble obedience, is recorded for the benefit of parents, and should lead them to command their households after them. They should instruct their children to yield to, and respect their authority. And they should feel that a responsibility rests upon them to guide the affections of their children, that they may be placed upon persons who in their judgment would be suitable companions for their sons and their daughters. It is a sad fact that Satan controls the affections of the young to a great extent. And some parents feel that the affections should not be guided or restrained. The course pursued by Abraham is a rebuke to all such.
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Page 78
1 Chapter Twelve.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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God, who knows the end from the beginning, knew, before the birth of Jacob and Esau, just what characters they would both develop. He knew that Esau would not have a heart to obey him. When he answered the troubled prayer of Rebekah, informing her that she would have two children, he presented before her the future history of her two sons, that they would become two nations, the one greater than the other, and the elder would serve the younger. The first-born was entitled to peculiar advantages and special privileges; he possessed honor and authority, in the family and the tribe, next to that of the parents; he was regarded as especially consecrated to God, and was selected to fill the office of priest; and he received a double portion of the father’s goods.
2 The two brothers were very unlike in character. Isaac was pleased with the bold, courageous spirit manifested by Esau, who delighted in the chase, bringing home game to his father, with stirring accounts of his adventures. Jacob was the favorite son of his mother, because his disposition was mild, and better calculated to make her happy. He had learned from his mother what God had taught her, that the elder should serve the younger, and his youthful reasoning led him to conclude that this promise could not be fulfilled while his brother had the privileges which were conferred on the first-born. And when the latter came in from the field, faint with hunger, Jacob improved the opportunity to turn Esau’s necessity to his own advantage, and proposed to feed him with pottage, if he would renounce all claim to the birthright; and Esau sold his birthright to Jacob.
3 Esau had taken two wives of the idolatrous Canaanites. This was a source of deep sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah, for they well knew that God had commanded their fathers not to intermarry with idolaters, and they had fully understood the care and anxiety of Abraham that Isaac should marry a wife of his own nation and faith. Isaac was now more than one hundred years old, the infirmities of age were upon him, and his sight had grown dim. Esau was still his favorite son, and notwithstanding Isaac had been made acquainted with the purpose of God, he determined to bestow the benediction upon his first-born. He called Esau, and, as he supposed, privately made known his wish that he should prepare him venison before the bestowal of the blessing, in accordance with the custom of making a feast upon such occasions. Rebekah had been divinely instructed that Jacob was to be in the direct line through which the promise would be fulfilled in the birth of the Redeemer. She was confident that her husband was going contrary to the will of God, and that no reasoning could change his purpose, and without due reflection she determined not to allow the father’s partiality for his eldest son to avert the purpose of God; by stratagem she would obtain the blessing for Jacob. As soon as Esau had departed on his errand she called her youngest son, and related to him the words of Isaac, and the necessity of action on their part to prevent the accomplishment of his designs to bestow a blessing, finally and irrevocably, upon Esau. If Jacob would follow her directions he might obtain the blessing, as God had promised. As Jacob listened to his mother’s plan he was at first greatly distressed, and assured her that in thus deceiving his father he would receive a curse instead of the desired blessing. But his scruples were overborne, and he proceeded to carry out his mother’s suggestions. The plan was successful; he obtained by fraud that which, had he shown the proper trust in God, he would have received as his right.
4 It was not his intention to utter a direct falsehood, but once in the presence of his father he thought he had gone too far to retreat. From that moment he felt poor in heart, he was weighed down with self-condemnation. In grossly deceiving his blind, aged father, he had lost his nobility and truth. In one short hour he had made work for a life-long repentance. This scene was vivid before him in after years, when the wicked course of his own sons oppressed his soul.
5 The unrighteous course of Jacob and Rebekah produced no good results; it brought only distrust, jealousy, and revenge. Mother and son should have waited for the Lord to accomplish his own purpose in his own way, and in his own time, instead of trying to bring about the foretold events by the aid of deception. If Esau had received the blessing which was bestowed upon the firstborn, his prosperity could have come from God alone; and he would have granted him prosperity, or brought upon him adversity, according to his course of action. If he should love and reverence God, like righteous Abel, he would be accepted and blessed. If, like wicked Cain, he had no respect for God, nor for his commandments, he would be rejected of him, as was Cain. If Jacob’s course should be righteous, the prospering hand of God would be with him, even if he did not obtain the blessings and privileges generally bestowed upon the firstborn. Rebekah repented in bitterness for the wrong counsel which she had given to Jacob, for it was the means of separating him from her forever. He was compelled to flee for his life from the wrath of Esau, and his mother never saw his face again. Isaac lived many years after he gave Jacob the blessing, and was convinced by the course of his two sons, that the blessing rightly belongs to Jacob.
6 In the providence of God the unerring pen of inspiration withheld not the mistakes and sins of good men. The sin is unsparingly brought to light, and also the just judgment of God. Because of his transgression, Jacob became a fugitive from his home, compelled to serve a hard master for twenty years. A cruel fraud was practiced upon him in his marriage with Leah, his ten sons deceived him as he had deceived his father, and for many years he mourned over the supposed death of Joseph. All these years Jacob was a recipient of God’s favor, yet he had sown a crop that he must reap; neither time nor repentance could change into golden grain the vile weed sown. This view of the matter makes it of the highest consequence that in words and actions we move in conscious integrity, for “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
7 As Jacob pursued his journey, a stranger in a strange land, he sadly pondered the events which had transpired as the result of his own transgression. At night he lay down to sleep with the canopy of heaven as a covering, the earth his bed, and a stone his pillow. A compassionate God, who ever pitieth the woes of men, saw the lonely fugitive, troubled and perplexed, fearing that God had forsaken him because of his injustice, deception, and falsehood. In a vision of the night, the Lord manifested himself to Jacob. He saw a ladder, the base resting upon the earth, the top round reaching into the highest heaven even to the throne of God. The Lord himself, enshrouded in light, stood above the top of the ladder, and angels were ascending and descending upon it.
8 As Jacob gazed with wonder upon the scene, the voice of God was heard, saying, “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” Jacob awakened from his dream, and exclaimed in solemn awe, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” He looked about as if to again catch a glimpse of the heavenly messengers, but above him was only the blue, star-gemmed firmament, his head was still resting upon the rocky pillow. The ladder was gone, and the angels were no longer to be seen; but the voice of God was still echoing in his ears, with the promise now to him so precious. He felt indeed that angels of God, although unseen, peopled the place; that God was looking down upon him with compassion and love. Filled with holy awe and amazement, he involuntarily exclaimed, “How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this the gate of Heaven.”
9 The meaning of this ladder is explained to us in the words of Christ to Nathanael, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” The atonement of Christ links earth to Heaven, and finite man to the infinite God; for through Christ, the communication that was broken off because of transgression, is resumed with man. Sinners may find pardon and be visited by mercy and grace.
10 When the morning light appeared, Jacob arose, and taking the stone upon which his head had rested, he poured oil upon it, in accordance with the custom of those who would preserve a memorial of God’s mercy, that whenever he should pass that way, he might tarry at this sacred spot to worship the Lord. And he called the place Bethel, or the house of God. With the deepest gratitude and love he repeated again and again the gracious promise that God’s help and presence would be with him; and then, in the fullness of his soul, he made the solemn vow, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God; and this stone which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
11 God’s presence is not confined to the splendid edifice. Jacob’s humble resting-place had been consecrated by a manifestation of divine glory. God has often made sacred the hillside, the caves of the earth, the forest, the humble barn, the cotton tent. Each has become a tabernacle where he meets and blesses his servants, who are humbly seeking after truth, and peace, and righteousness. But the grandest cathedral, the marvel of architecture, if it encloses pride, dead forms, and hollow hypocrisy, is repulsive in the sight of God, who seeketh such to worship him as worship in spirit and in truth.
12 With a heart overflowing with love to God, and making melody in harmony with the happy songsters, Jacob went forward on his journey. He felt indeed that the presence of the Unseen was with him, and that angels were his companions.
13 Jacob felt that God had claims upon him which he must acknowledge, and that the special tokens of divine favor granted to him demanded a corresponding return. In like manner, every blessing bestowed upon us calls for a response. The Author of all our mercies should receive, not only gratitude, but tangible returns. Our time, our talents, our property, should be, and will be by every true Christian, sacredly devoted to the service of Him who has given these blessings to us in trust. When special deliverance has been wrought for us, when new and unexpected favors have been bestowed upon us, we should not accept them with indifference and with careless, thankless hearts.—God would have us follow the example of Jacob, pledge to the Lord in return for all his mercies. (To be Continued.)
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Page 79
1
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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One reason why God does not bestow more and larger blessings upon his people is that they would not appreciate them and render to God the things that are God’s. Every Christian should often review his past life, and never should he forget the precious deliverances which God has wrought for him, supporting him in trial, consoling him in affliction, opening ways for him when all seemed dark and forbidding, refreshing him when ready to faint under discouragements. And in view of all these innumerable blessings, he should be melted and subdued, grateful and humble. He may well exclaim, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” The rendering to God will not be merely in words of thankfulness, but in tithes and offerings. The Christian will practice self-denial and self-sacrifice to make returns to God.
2 The conduct of Esau in selling his birthright represents the course of the unrighteous, who consider the redemption purchased for them by Christ of little value, and sacrifice their heirship to Heaven for perishable treasures. Many are controlled by inclination, and rather than deny an unhealthy appetite, they will sacrifice high and valuable considerations. If one must be yielded, the gratification of a depraved appetite, or the high and heavenly blessings which God promises only to the self-denying and God-fearing, the clamors of appetite, as in the case of Esau, will generally prevail, and for self-gratification, God and Heaven will be virtually despised. Even professed Christians will use tea, coffee, snuff, tobacco, and spirits, all of which benumb the finer sensibilities of the soul. If you tell them they cannot have Heaven and these hurtful indulgences, and that they should cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, they are offended, and conclude that if the way is so straight that they cannot indulge their gross appetites, they will no longer walk therein.
3 Especially will the corrupt passions control the mind of those who consider Heaven of so little worth. Health will be sacrificed, the mental faculties enfeebled, and Heaven will be sold for these pleasures, as Esau sold his birthright. This case is left on record as a warning to others. Esau was a reckless person. He made a solemn oath that Jacob should have his birthright. Yet when he learned that his brother had obtained the blessing which would have belonged to him, had he not rashly sold it, he was greatly distressed. He had repented of his rash act, when it was too late to remedy the matter. Thus it will be in the day of God with sinners, who have bartered away their heirship to Heaven for selfish gratifications and hurtful lusts. They will then find no place for repentance, although, like Esau, they may seek it carefully and with tears.
4 Jacob was not happy in his marriage relation, although his wives were sisters. He formed the contract with Laban for his daughter Rachel, whom he loved, but after he had served seven years for her, Laban, wishing to retain his faithful services a greater length of time, deceived him, and gave him Leah. When Jacob realized the deception that had been practiced upon him, and that Leah had acted her part in deceiving him, he could not love her, and he reproved his father-in-law for thus trifling with his affections. Laban entreated him not to put away Leah, for this was considered a great disgrace, not only to the wife, but to the whole family. Jacob was placed in a most trying position; but he decided still to retain Leah, and also to marry her sister. Yet Leah was loved in a much less degree than Rachel.
5 Laban was selfish in his dealings with Jacob, and thought only of advantaging himself by his faithful labors. Jacob would have left the artful Laban long before, but he was afraid of encountering Esau. He heard the complaint of Laban’s sons, “Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and behold, it was not toward him as before.”
6 Jacob was greatly distressed. He knew not which way to turn. He carries his case to God, and intercedes for direction from him, and the Lord mercifully answers his prayer. “Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.” Jacob now called his two wives to the field, where there could be a secret consultation without danger of being overhead, and said, “I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.” Jacob then related to them the dream given him of God, to leave Laban and go unto his kindred. Rachel and Leah replied, expressing their dissatisfaction with their father’s proceedings, “Is there yet any portion of inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not counted of him as strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money. For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s; now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.”
7 Anciently it was customary for the bridegroom to pay a sum of money, according to his circumstances, to the father of his wife. If he had no money, nor anything of value, his labor was accepted for a stated length of time before he could obtain the daughter as his wife. This custom was deemed a safeguard to the marriage contract. Fathers did not consider it safe to trust the happiness of their daughters to men who had not made sufficient provision to take care of a family. If they had not ability to manage business, to acquire cattle or lands, it was feared that their lives would be worthless. But that the truly worthy might not become discouraged, a provision was made to test the worth of those who had nothing of value to pay for a wife. They were permitted to labor for the father whose daughter they loved. Their labors were engaged for a certain length of time, regulated by the value of the dowry required for the daughter. In doing this, marriage was not hasty, as there was opportunity to test the depth of affections of the suitor. If he was faithful in his services, and was otherwise considered worthy, the daughter was given him as his wife. And, generally, all the dowry the father had received was given to his daughter at her marriage.
8 What a contrast to the course now pursued by parents and children! There are many unhappy marriages because of so much haste. Two unite their interests at the marriage altar, by most solemn vows before God, without previously weighing the matter, and devoting time to sober reflection and earnest prayer. Many move from impulse. They have no thorough acquaintance with the dispositions of each other. They do not realize that the happiness of their life is at stake. If they move wrong in this matter, and their married life proves unhappy, it cannot be taken back. If they find they are not calculated to make each other happy, they must endure it as best they can. In some instances the husband proves to be too indolent to provide for a family, and his wife and children suffer. If the ability of such had been proved, as was the custom anciently, before marriage, much misery would have been saved. In the case of Rachel and Leah, Laban selfishly kept the dowry which should have been given to them. They have reference to this when they say, “He hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.”
(To be Continued.)
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1 Chapter Twelve-Concluded.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
In the absence of Laban, Jacob took his family and all that he had, and departed. After he had pursued his journey three days, Laban learned that he had left him, and he was very angry, and pursued after him, determined to bring him back by force. But the Lord had pity upon his servant, and as Laban was about to overtake him, gave him a dream not to speak good or bad to Jacob. That is, he should not force him to return, or urge him by flattering inducements. When Laban met his son-in-law, he inquired why he had stolen away unawares, and carried away his daughters as captives taken with the sword. Laban tells him, “It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt; but the God of your fathers spake unto me yesternight,” and he mentioned how he had been warned by the dream. Jacob then rehearsed to Laban the ungenerous course he had pursued toward him, that he had studied only his own advantage. He appeals to his father-in-law as to the uprightness of his conduct while with him: “That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.”
2 A shepherd’s life was one of diligence. He was obliged to watch his flocks day and night. Wild beasts were common, and often bold, and would do great injury to sheep and cattle that were not guarded by a faithful shepherd. Although Jacob had a number of servants to aid him in tending the flocks owned by himself and Laban, the responsibility of the whole matter rested upon him. And during some portions of the year he was obliged to be with the flocks himself, day and night, to care for them in the dry season, that they might not perish with thirst; in the coldest part of the year to save them from becoming chilled with the heavy night frosts. Their flocks were also in danger of being stolen by unprincipled shepherds.
3 A shepherd’s life was one of constant care. He was not qualified for his position unless he was merciful, and possessed courage and perseverance. Jacob was chief shepherd, and had shepherds under him who were termed servants. The chief shepherd called these servants, to whom he intrusted the care of the flock, to a strict account if they were not found in a flourishing condition. If any of the cattle were missing, the chief shepherd suffered the loss.
4 Christ, in his relation to his people, is compared to a shepherd. He saw, after the fall, his sheep in a pitiable condition, exposed to sure destruction. He left the honors and glories of his father’s house to become a shepherd, to save the miserable, wandering sheep, who were ready to perish. His winning voice was heard calling them to his fold, a safe and sure retreat from the hand of robbers; also a shelter from the scorching heat, and a protection from the chilling blasts. His care was continually exercised for the good of his sheep. He strengthened the weak, nourished the suffering, and gathered the lambs of the flocks in his arms, and carried them in his bosom. His sheep love him. He goeth before them, and they hear his voice, and follow him. “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.” Christ says,”I am the good Shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.”
5 Christ is the chief shepherd. He has intrusted the care of his flock to under-shepherds. He requires these shepherds to have the same interest for his sheep that he has ever manifested, to ever feel the responsibility of the charge he has intrusted to them. Ministers, who are called of God to labor in word and doctrine, are Christ’s shepherds. He has appointed them under himself to oversee and tend his flock. He has solemnly commanded these to be faithful shepherds, to feed the flock with diligence, to follow his example, to strengthen the weak, nourish the fainting, and shield them from devouring beasts. He points them to his example of love for his sheep. To secure their deliverance, he laid down his own life. If they imitate his self-denying example, the flock will prosper under their care. They will manifest a deeper interest than did Jacob, who was a faithful shepherd over the sheep and cattle of Laban. They will be constantly laboring for the welfare of the flock. They will not be mere hirelings, of whom Jesus speaks, who possess no particular interest in the sheep; who, in time of danger of trial, flee and leave the flock. A shepherd who labors merely for the wages he obtains, cares only for himself, and is continually studying his own interests and ease, instead of the welfare of his flock.
6 Says Peter, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” Says Paul, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
7 All those professing to be shepherds, who feel that to minister in word and doctrine, and bear the burdens and have the care which every faithful shepherd should have, is a disagreeable task, are reproved by the apostle: “Not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.” All such unfaithful shepherds, the chief Shepherd would willingly release. The church of God is purchased with the blood of Christ, and every shepherd should realize that the sheep under his care cost a priceless sum. He should be diligent in his labor, and persevering in his efforts to keep the flock in a healthy, flourishing condition. He should consider the sheep intrusted to his care of the highest value, and realize that he will be called to render a strict account of his ministry. And if he is found faithful, he will receive a rich reward. “When the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
8 Jacob continued, plainly presenting before Laban the injustice of his course: “Thus have I been twenty years in thy house. I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle; and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction, and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.”
9 Laban then assured Jacob that he had an interest for his daughters and their children, and he could not harm them. “Now, therefore,” he said. “come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.” To this, Jacob consented, and a pile of stones was thrown up as a visible token of the compact.
10 And Laban said, “The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives besides my daughters; no man is with us, see, God is witness between me and thee.” Laban understood the wrong of polygamy, although it was through his artifice alone that Jacob had taken two wives. He well knew that it was the jealousy of Leah and Rachel that led them to give their maids to Jacob, which confused the family relation, and increased the unhappiness of his daughters. And now as they are journeying to a distant country, and their interest is to be entirely separate from his own, he would guard their happiness as far as possible.
11 Jacob made a solemn covenant before the Lord, that he should not take other wives. “And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; this heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the Fear of his father Isaac.”
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1 I came upon the ground very weak, but have labored much harder than it seemed possible when I came. Sabbath after speaking I invited those who desired to seek the Lord to come forward; about one hundred responded. I also spoke twice on Sunday. Monday morning resumed our labor for those who had been invited forward. Candidates for baptism were examined, and twenty-six were baptized in the beautiful lake. One poor paralytic, a young man, who had lost the use of his limbs; he was taken in the arms of Brn. Olsen and Decker and buried with Christ in baptism and came out of the water, his countenance lighted up with beams of the Sun of righteousness.
2 At this meeting a temperance society was organized. The teetotal pledge was circulated and one hundred and fifty signed it. Tuesday morning we had our closing meeting. The deepest feeling was beginning to take hold of the people, just as we must separate. We deeply regretted that many commenced moving from the ground Monday morning, which was a great injury to the meeting. We feel that it is not right for our brethren to delay to come to the meeting until it has been in session one or two days. They lose the labor put forth to advance and bring up the interest, and they lag behind all through the meeting. Others become uneasy and home cares draw them away before they have a chance to be benefited by the meeting.
3 We had some sweet, refreshing seasons. We were blessed ourselves and know that many were convicted that we had the truth. My husband was free in spirit, and spoke with great clearness and power. We rejoice that many were comforted and strengthened in God. But we feel sad as we think of the far richer blessings God was willing to give us at this camp meeting, which we did not receive because our minds were not prepared to accept them. For the lack of appropriating faith many are apparently content to receive little from God’s storehouse. Their lives are, therefore, not rich in faith, hope, and noble courage, and do not abound in good works. They have a sickly faith, a dwarfed and defective religious experience. My heart aches, as I see the low standard our people are becoming too willing to retain. They do not follow on to know the Lord. They are not connected with God. They are like salt that has lost the savor. They have not vital godliness, or heart-holiness; therefore they are like the fig tree destitute of fruit. As a people, unless we cherish the light that shines upon our pathway, we shall have darkness, and great will be the darkness. Our privileges and opportunities are great, and we must make persevering, determined effort to keep pace, in our daily experience, with the onward march of truth.
E. G. White.
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[NOTE.—THIS SERIES OF FOUR ARTICLES WAS PUBLISHED INITIALLY IN THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1875. DUE TO IRREGULARITIES IN COLUMN WIDTH, AS FIRST PUBLISHED, THEY DO NOT LEND THEMSELVES FOR FACSIMILE REPRODUCTION. THEY APPEAR HERE IN THEIR FIRST REPRINTING. IN PAMPHLET FORM THESE ARTICLES HAVE HAD VERY WIDE DISTRIBUTION THROUGH THE YEARS, AND ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AS A SEPARATE DOCUMENT.—WHITE TRUSTEES.]
“God is love.” And his matchless love manifested toward fallen man, in the gift of his beloved Son, amazed the holy angels. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He was the Father’s “appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” He was the “brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” And he upheld “all things by the word of his power.” He possessed divine excellence and greatness. It pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell. And Christ “thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” Yet he “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
2 The Son of God consented to die in the sinner’s stead, that man might, by a life of obedience, escape the penalty of the law of God. His death did not slay the law, lessen its holy claims, nor detract from its sacred dignity. The death of Christ proclaimed the justice of his Father’s law in punishing the transgressor, in that he consented to suffer the penalty in order to save fallen man from its curse. The death of God’s beloved Son on the cross shows the immutability of God’s law. His death magnifies the law and makes it honorable, and gives evidence of its changeless character. From his own lips is heard, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” The death of the divine Son justified the claims of the divine law. In order to more fully realize the value of redemption, it is necessary to understand what it cost. In consequence of limited views of the sufferings of the divine Son of God, many place a low estimate upon the great work of the atonement.
3 The plan of redemption, embracing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, was first preached to Adam. It was to him the star of hope, lighting up the dark and dreaded future. Adam saw that Christ was the only door of hope through which he could enter and have life. The plan of saving sinners through Christ alone was the same in the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and every successive generation of those who lived before the advent of Christ, as it is in our day. The patriarchs, prophets, and all the holy martyrs from righteous Abel, looked forward to a coming Saviour, in whom they showed their faith by sacrificial offerings. At the crucifixion the typical system of sacrifices was done away by the great antitypical offering. The sacrifice of beasts shadowed forth the sinless offering of God’s dear Son, and pointed forward to his death upon the cross. But at the crucifixion type met antitype, and the typical system there ceased; but not one jot or tittle of the moral code was abrogated at the death of Christ.
4 The Son of God is the center of the great plan of redemption, which unit plan covers all dispensations. He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” He is the Redeemer of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam in all the ages of human probation. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Christ is the substance or body which cast its shadow back into former dispensations. And when Christ died the shadow ceased. The transgression of the moral code made the shadowy system necessary. And at the death of Christ, which event had been shadowed forth by the blood of beasts from the time of Adam, these offerings, and not the law of God, the violation of which had made them necessary, was abolished.
5 The gospel preached to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses was to them good news; for their faith embraced a coming Saviour. A more clear and glorious light now shines upon the Christian world; for in the Jewish age the cross cast its shadow away back to the time when Adam left his Eden home. That which was faith to the ancients, who lived before Christ, is assurance to us, as we see that Christ has come, as foretold by the prophets. It is as essential, no more so, and no less, that we have faith in a Redeemer who has come and died our sacrifice, as it was for the ancients to believe in a Redeemer to come, whom they represented by their typical sacrifices.
6 The Son of God, in becoming man’s substitute, and bearing the curse which should fall upon man, has pledged himself in behalf of the race to maintain the sacred claims and exalted honor of his Father’s law. His work and mission was to convince men of sin, which is the transgression of that law, and through the divine mediation, bring them back to obedience to his perfect law. The Father has given the world into the hands of Christ, that through his mediatorial work he may completely vindicate the binding claims and the holiness of every principle of his law.
7 After Christ was baptized of John in Jordan, he came up out of the water, and bowing upon the banks of the river, he prayed with fervency to his Heavenly Father for strength to endure the conflict with the prince of darkness in which he was about to engage. The heavens were opened to his prayer and the light of God’s glory, brighter than the sun at noonday, came from the throne of the Eternal, and, assuming the form of a dove with the appearance of burnished gold, encircled the Son of God, while the clear voice from the excellent glory was heard in terrible majesty, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
8 Here was the assurance to the Son of God that his Father accepted the fallen race through their representative, and that he had granted them a second trial. The communication between Heaven and earth, between God and man, which had been broken by the fall of Adam, was resumed. He who knew no sin, became sin for the race, that his righteousness might be imputed to man. Through the perfection of Christ’s character, man was elevated in the scale of moral value with God; and through the merits of Christ, finite man was linked to the Infinite. Thus the gulf which sin had made was bridged by the world’s Redeemer.
9 But few have a true sense of the great privileges which Christ gained for man by thus opening Heaven before him. The Son of God was then the representative of our race; and the special power and glory which the Majesty of Heaven conferred upon him, and his words of approval, are the surest pledge of his love and good will to man. As Christ’s intercessions in our behalf were heard, the evidence was given to man that God will accept our prayers in our own behalf through the name of Jesus. The continued, earnest prayer of faith will bring us light and strength to withstand the fiercest assaults of Satan.
10 The light and strength of one day to the Christian will not be sufficient for the trials and conflicts of the next. Satan is now constantly changing his temptations, as he did with Christ. Every day we may be placed in new positions, and may have new and unexpected temptations. We may as consistently expect to be sustained on the morrow by food eaten today, as to depend upon present light and present blessings for future strength. Weak and sinful man cannot be safe unless God shall daily manifest his light and impart to him his strength.
11 It is of the highest importance that God manifest his will to us in the daily concerns of life; for the most important results frequently depend upon small occurrences. The more we become acquainted with God through his divine light, the more sensible shall we become of our weaknesses, and that we cannot live without him. We should ever feel that we need a sure guide to direct our faltering steps.
12 The life of a living Christian is a life of living prayer. The path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The Christian’s life is one of progression. He goes forward from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory, receiving from Heaven the light which Christ, at infinite cost to himself, made it possible for man to obtain. The Christian cannot let his light shine properly unless he receives an increase of the divine illumination, corresponding with his growth in the knowledge of Bible truths. The strength and glory from the accessible Heavens will qualify him to meet the new temptations and bear the heavier responsibilities which are ever before him. Untried scenes await the Christian. New dangers surround him. And unexpected temptations constantly assail him. Our great Leader points us to the open Heavens as the only source of light and strength.
13 After his baptism, the Son of God entered the dreary wilderness, there to be tempted by the devil. For nearly six weeks he endured the agonies of hunger. For forty days he ate and drank nothing. This made his suffering greater than anything which man would ever be called to endure. Christ was bearing the guilt of the transgressor. He realized the power of appetite upon man; and in behalf of sinful man, he bore the closest test possible upon that point. Here a victory was gained which few can appreciate. The controlling power of depraved appetite, and the grievous sin of indulging it, can only be understood by length of the fast which our Saviour endured that he might break its power.
14 Satan had gained the victory over man in almost every temptation on the point of appetite. The Son of God saw that man could not of himself overcome this powerful temptation and he had such infinite love for the race that he left the royal courts of Heaven, and clothed his divinity with humanity, that with his long human arm he might reach to the very depths of human woe, while with his divine arm he grasps the Infinite. He came to earth to unite his divine power with our human efforts, that through the strength and moral power which he imparts, we may overcome in our own behalf. Oh! what matchless condescension for the King of glory to come down to this world to endure the pangs of hunger and the fierce temptations of a wily foe, that he might gain an infinite victory for man. Here is love without a parallel. Yet this great condescension is but dimly comprehended by those for whom it was made.
15 It was not the gnawing pangs of hunger alone which made the sufferings of our Redeemer so inexpressibly severe. It was the sense of guilt which had resulted from the indulgence of appetite that had brought such terrible woe into the world, which pressed so heavily upon his divine soul. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
16 With man’s nature, and the terrible weight of his sins pressing upon him, our Redeemer withstood the power of Satan upon this great leading temptation, which imperils the souls of men. If man should overcome this temptation, he could conquer on every other point.
17 Intemperance lies at the foundation of all the moral evils known to man. Christ began the work of redemption just where the ruin began. The fall of our first parents was caused by the indulgence of appetite. In redemption, the denial of appetite is the first work of Christ. What amazing love has Christ manifested in coming into the world to bear our sins and infirmities, and to tread the path of suffering, that he might show us by his life of spotless merit how we should walk, and overcome as he had overcome, and that we might become reconciled to God.
18 As the human was upon Christ, he felt his need of strength from his Father. He had select places of prayer. He loved the solitude of the mountain in which to hold communion with his Father in Heaven. In this exercise he was strengthened for the duties and trials of the day. Our Saviour identifies himself with our needs and weaknesses, in that he becomes a suppliant, a nightly petitioner, seeking from his Father fresh supplies of strength, to come forth invigorated and refreshed, braced for duty and trial. He is our example in all things. He is a brother in our infirmities, but not possessing like passions. As the sinless One, his nature recoiled from evil. He endured struggles and torture of soul, in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and privilege. He required all the divine support and comfort which his Father was ready to impart to his Son, who had left the joys of Heaven and chosen his home, for the benefit of man, in a cold and thankless world. Christ found joy and comfort in communion with his Father. Here he could unburden his sorrows that were crushing him. He was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.
19 Through the day he labored earnestly to save men from destruction. He healed the sick, he comforted the mourning, and brought cheerfulness and hope to the despairing. He brought the dead to life. After his work was finished for the day, he went forth, evening after evening, away from the confusion of the city, and his form was bowed in some retired place, in supplication to his Father. At times the bright beams of the moon shone upon his bowed form. And then again the clouds and darkness shut away all light. The dew and frost of night rested upon his head and beard while in the attitude of a suppliant. He frequently continued his petitions through the entire night. If the Saviour of men, with his divine strength, felt the need of prayer in our behalf, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of prayer—fervent, constant prayer on their own account! When Christ was the most fiercely beset by temptation, he ate nothing. He committed himself to God, and through earnest prayer, and perfect submission to the will of his Father, came off conqueror.
20 “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord.” Our tables are frequently spread with luxuries not healthful nor necessary, because we love these things more than we love freedom from disease and a sound mind. Jesus sought earnestly for strength from his Father. This the divine Son of God considered of more value even for himself than to sit at the most luxurious table. He has given us evidence that prayer is essential to us in order to receive strength to contend with the powers of darkness, and to do the work allotted us to perform. Our own strength is weakness, but that which God gives will make every one who obtains it more than conqueror.
(To be Continued.)
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1 Jesus had often resorted to Gethsemane with his disciples for meditation and prayer. They were all well acquainted with this sacred retreat. Even Judas knew where to lead the murderous throng, that he might betray Jesus into their hands. Never before had the Saviour visited the spot with his heart so full of sorrow. It was not bodily suffering from which the Son of God shrank, and which wrung from his lips in the presence of his disciples these mournful words: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” “Tarry ye here,” said he, “and watch with me.” He was bowed to the earth with mental anguish, and in an agony he prayed to his Heavenly Father. He felt the iniquity of sin, and the wrath of God against the violators of his holy law.
2 Christ was amazed with the horror of darkness which enclosed him. The temptations of Satan were almost overpowering. These words, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” were borne upon the sympathizing air, to his disciples, in tones of startling agony. The sins of a lost world were upon him, and a sense of his Father’s anger in consequence of sin was crushing him. He arose from his prostrate position, and, yearning for the sympathy of his disciples, he came to them and found them sleeping. He roused Peter and said to him, “Simon, sleepest thou?” What, couldest not thou, who so recently was willing to go with me to prison and to death, watch with thy suffering Master one hour? “Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” At the most important time, the disciples were found sleeping. It was the very time when Jesus had made a special request for them to watch with him. He knew that terrible temptations were before his disciples. He took them with him, that they might be a strength to him, and that the events they should witness that night, and the lessons of instruction they should receive, might be indelibly printed upon their memories. This was necessary that they might be strengthened for the test just before them.
3 But instead of watching with Christ, they were burdened with sorrow, and fell asleep. Even the ardent Peter was asleep, who, only a few hours before, had declared that he would suffer, and, if need be, die for his Lord. At the most critical moment, when the Son of God was in need of their sympathy and heartfelt prayers, they were found asleep. They lost much by thus sleeping. Our Saviour designed to fortify them for the severe test of their faith to which they would soon be subjected. If they had spent that mournful period in watching with the dear Saviour and in prayer to God, Peter would not have been left to his own feeble strength, to deny his Lord. We can have but faint conception of the inexpressible anguish of God’s dear Son in Gethsemane, as he realized the separation from his Father in consequence of bearing man’s sin. The divine Son of God was fainting, dying. The Father sent an angel from his presence to strengthen the divine sufferer. Could mortals view the amazement and sorrow of the angels as they watched in silent grief the Father separating his beams of light, love, and glory, from his Son, they would better understand how offensive is sin in his sight. As the Son of God in the garden of Gethsemane bowed in the attitude of prayer, the agony of his spirit forced from his pores sweat like great drops of blood. It was here that the horror of great darkness surrounded him. The sins of the world were upon him. He was suffering in man’s stead, as a transgressor of his Father’s law. Here was the scene of temptation. The divine light of God was receding from his vision, and he was passing into the hands of the powers of darkness. In the agony of his soul he lay prostrate on the cold earth. He was realizing his Father’s frown. The cup of suffering Christ had taken from the lips of guilty man, and proposed to drink it himself, and, in its place, give to man the cup of blessing. The wrath that would have fallen upon man, was now falling upon Christ.
4 The disciples roused from their slumber to find their Master standing over them in a state of mental and bodily anguish such as they never before had witnessed. They saw the grief and agony of his pale face, and the bloody sweat upon his brow, for “his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” The disciples were grieved that they had fallen asleep, so that they could not pray and sympathize with their suffering Lord. They were speechless with sorrow and surprise.
5 The suffering Son of God leaves his disciples, for the power of darkness rushes upon him with an irresistible force which bows him to the earth. He prays as before, and pours out the burden of his soul with stronger crying and tears. His soul was pressed with such agony as no human being could endure and live. The sins of the world were upon him. He felt that he was separated from his Father’s love; for upon him rested the curse because of sin. Christ knew that it would be difficult for man to feel the grievousness of sin, and that close contact and familiarity with sin would so blunt his moral sensibility, that sin would not appear so dangerous to him, and so exceedingly offensive in the sight of God. He knew that but few would take pleasure in righteousness, and accept of that salvation which, at infinite cost, he made it possible for them to obtain. While this load of sin was upon Christ, unrealized, and unrepented of by man, doubts rent his soul in regard to his oneness with his Father.
6 In this fearful hour of trial Christ’s human nature longed even for the sympathy of his disciples. A second time he rose from the earth and went to them and found them sleeping. This was not a deep sleep. They were in a drowse. They had a limited sense of their Lord’s suffering and anguish. In tenderness Jesus stood for a moment bending over them, and regarding them with mingled feelings of love and pity. In these sleeping disciples he sees a representation of a sleeping church. When they should be watching, they are asleep.
7 “Watch ye, therefore; for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.” The church of God is required to fulfill her night-watch, however perilous, and whether long or short. Sorrow is no excuse for her to be less watchful. Tribulation should not lead to carelessness, but to double vigilance. Christ has directed the church by his own example, to the source of their strength in times of need, distress and peril. The attitude of watching is to designate the church as God’s people indeed. But this sign the waiting ones are distinguished from the world, and show that they are pilgrims and strangers upon the earth.
8 How cruel it was for the disciples to permit sleep to close their eyes, and slumber to chain their senses, while their divine Lord was enduring such inexpressible mental anguish. If they had remained watching, they would not have lost their faith as they beheld the Son of God dying upon the cross. This important night-watch should have been signalized by noble mental struggles and prayers which would have brought them strength to witness the terrible agony of the Son of God. It would have prepared them, as they should behold his sufferings upon the cross, to understand something of the nature of the overpowering anguish which he endured in the garden of Gethsemane. And they would have been better able to recall the words he had spoken to them in reference to his sufferings, death, and resurrection; and amid the gloom of that trying hour some rays of hope would have lighted up the darkness, and sustained their faith.
9 Christ had told them before that these things would take place; but they did not understand him. The scene of his sufferings was to be a fiery ordeal to his disciples, hence the necessity of watchfulness and prayer. Their faith needed to be sustained by an unseen strength, as they should experience the triumph of the powers of darkness. He knew the power which the prince of darkness used to paralyze the senses of his disciples at this time when they should be watching. At this crisis, when they would meet with a great loss, they are found asleep. Again the powers of darkness press upon him with renewed force, bowing him to the earth. He leaves his disciples with a determination to conquer the prince of darkness, that man may not be held in chains of hopeless despair. Giving his disciples one look of the tenderest compassion he left them and bowed a third time in prayer, using the same words as before. The divine sufferer shuddered with amazement at this mysterious and terrible conflict.
10 Human minds cannot conceive of the insupportable anguish which tortured the soul of our Redeemer. The holy Son of God had no sins or griefs of his own to bear. He was bearing the griefs of others, for on him was laid the iniquities of us all. Through divine sympathy he connects himself to man, and submits as the representative of the race to be treated as a transgressor. He looks into the abyss of woe opened for us by our sins, and proposes to bridge the gulf with his own person. Those who cannot see the force of the sacred claims of God’s law cannot have a clear and definite understanding of the atonement.
11 It was soul-anguish that wrenched from the lips of God’s dear Son these mournful words: “Now is my soul troubled,—my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death.” Christ’s soul was bearing a weight of anguish because of the transgression of God’s law. He was overwhelmed with horror and consternation at the fearful work sin had wrought. His burden of guilt was so great because of man’s transgression of his Father’s law, that human nature was inadequate to bear it. His inexpressible anguish forced from his pores large drops of blood, which fell upon the ground and moistened the sods of Gethsemane.
12 The sufferings of martyrs can bear no comparison with the sufferings of Christ. The divine presence was with them, in their physical sufferings. There was the hiding of the Father’s face from his dear Son. Humanity staggered and trembled in that trying hour. It was anguish of soul beyond the endurance of finite nature. It was woe condensed that brought from the trembling lips of the noble sufferer these words: “Now is my soul troubled.” “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Again from his pale lips are heard these words: “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” The awful moment had come which was to decide the destiny of the world. Angels are waiting and watching with intense interest.
13 The fate of the world is trembling in the balance. The Son of God may even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. He may wipe the blood sweat from his brow, and leave the world to perish in their iniquity Will the Son of the infinite God drink the cup of humiliation and agony? Will the innocent suffer the curse of God to save the guilty? It was here the mysterious cup trembled in his hand, and the destiny of a ruined world was balanced. The world’s Redeemer sees that the transgressors of his Father’s law must perish under his displeasure. He sees the power of sin and the utter helplessness of man to save himself.
14 The woes and lamentations of a doomed world come up before him, and his decision is made. He will save man at any cost of himself. He has accepted his baptism of blood, that perishing millions through him might gain everlasting life. He left the heavenly courts where all was purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world which had fallen by transgression. He will not leave man in his sins. He will reach to the very depths of misery to rescue him. The sleeping disciples see not that their beloved Teacher is fainting. He falls to the earth, and is dying. Where are his disciples to place their hands tenderly beneath the head of their suffering Master, and bathe that brow, marred indeed more than the sons of men? Our Saviour trod the wine-press alone and of all the people there was none with him.
15 Christ suffered not alone. Saith he, “I and my Father are one.” God suffered with his Son. The sacrifice that an infinite God has made in giving up his Son to reproach and agony, cannot be comprehended by man. In giving his Son for the sins of the world, God has evidenced his boundless love to man. The angels who had learned to do Christ’s will in Heaven, were anxious to comfort him. But what can they do? Such sorrow, such agony, is beyond their power to alleviate. They have never felt the sins of a ruined world, and with astonishment they behold the object of their adoration subject to grief. Although the Father does not remove the cup from the trembling hand and pale lips of his Son, he sends an angel to give him strength to drink it. The angel raises the Son of God from the cold ground, and brings him messages of love from his Father. He is strengthened and fortified. He has the assurance that he is gaining eternal joy for all who will accept redemption.
(To be Continued.)
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1 The fearful hour in Gethsemane is passed. Our divine Saviour has accepted the cup to drain it to the dregs. In behalf of man he has conquered in the hour of temptation. Serenity and calmness are now seen in the pale and blood-stained face. And the third time he comes to his disciples and finds them overcome with sleep. Sorrowfully and pityingly he looked upon them, and said, “Sleep on now, and take your rest; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Even while these words were upon his lips, he heard the footsteps of the mob that was in search of him. Judas took the lead, and was closely followed by the high priest. Jesus aroused his disciples with these words. “Rise, let us be going; behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” The countenance of Christ wore an expression of calm dignity. The traces of his recent agony were not visible as he walked forth to meet his betrayer.
2 Jesus steps out in front of his disciples, and inquires, “Whom seek ye?” They answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replies, “I am he.” At these words the mob stagger backward; and the priest, the elders, the hardened soldiers, and even Judas, fall powerless to the ground, giving ample opportunity for Christ to release himself if he chose. But he stands as one glorified amid that coarse and hardened band. As Jesus said, “I am he,” the angel which had ministered to him in his anguish, moved between him and the murderous mob. They see a divine light glorifying the Saviour’s face, and a dove-like form overshadowing him. Their sinful hearts are filled with terror. They cannot stand for a moment in the presence of divine glory, but fall as dead men to the ground.
3 The angel withdrew, and left Jesus standing calm and self-possessed, with the bright beams of the moon upon his pale face, and still surrounded by prostrate, helpless men, while the disciples were too much amazed to utter a word. As the angel removes, the hardened Roman soldiers start to their feet, and, with the priests and Judas, they gather about Christ as though ashamed of their weakness, and fearful that he would yet escape out of their hands. Again the question is asked by the world’s Redeemer. “Whom seek ye?” Again they answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am he. If, therefore, ye seek me, let these go their way.” In this hour of humiliation Christ’s thoughts are not for himself, but for his beloved disciples. He wishes to save them from any further trial of their strength.
4 Judas, the betrayer of our Saviour, does not forget his part, but comes close to Jesus, and takes his hand as a familiar friend, and bestows the traitor’s kiss. Jesus says to him, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” His voice trembled with sorrow as he addressed deluded Judas. “Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?” This most touching appeal should have aroused the conscience of Judas, and touched his stubborn heart; but honor, fidelity, and even human tenderness seemed to have left him. He stood bold and defiant, showing no disposition to relent. He had given himself up to the control of Satan, to work wickedness, and he had no will to resist. Jesus did not resist the traitor’s kiss. In this he gives us an example of forbearance, love, and pity, that is without a parallel.
5 Though the murderous throng are surprised and awed by what they have seen and felt, their assurance and hardihood returns as they see the boldness of Judas in touching the person of Christ, whom so recently they had seen glorified. They lay violent hands upon Jesus, and are about to bind those precious hands that had ever been employed in doing good.
6 As the disciples saw that band of hardened men lie prostrate and helpless on the ground, they thought surely their Master would not suffer himself to be taken. The same power that prostrated that hireling mob could have kept them there, and Jesus could have passed on his way unharmed. They are disappointed and indignant as they see the cords brought forward to bind the hands of him whom they love. Peter in his vehement anger strikes rashly, and cuts off an ear of the servant of the high priest.
7 When Jesus saw what Peter had done, he released his hands, already held by the Roman soldiers, and, saying, “Suffer ye thus far,” he touched the ear of the wounded man, and instantly it is made whole. Even to his enemies, who are bound to take his life, he here gives unmistakable evidence of his divine power. Jesus said to Peter, “Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” “The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” Jesus said unto the chief priest, and captains of the temple, who helped compose that murderous throng, “Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not; but the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
8 When the disciples saw that Jesus did not deliver himself from his enemies, but permitted himself to be taken, they forsook him and fled, leaving their Master alone. Christ had foreseen this desertion, and had told them in the upper chamber before it took place, of what they would do: “Behold the hour cometh, yea, is not come, that ye shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”
9 The Saviour of the world was hurried to the judgment hall of an earthly court, there to be derided and condemned to death, by sinful men. There the glorious Son of God was “wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.” He bore insult, mockery, and shameful abuse, until his “visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.”
10 Who can comprehend the love here displayed? The angelic host beheld with wonder and with grief Him who had been the majesty of Heaven, and who had worn the crown of glory, now wearing the crown of thorns, a bleeding victim to the rage of an infuriated mob, who were fired to insane madness by the wrath of Satan. Behold the patient sufferer! Upon his head is the thorny crown! His life blood flows from every lacerated vein! All this was in consequence of sin! Nothing could have induced Christ to leave his honor and majesty in Heaven, and come to a sinful world, to be neglected, despised, and rejected, by those he came to save, and finally to suffer upon the cross, but eternal, redeeming love, which will ever remain a mystery.
11 Wonder, O Heavens, and be astonished, O earth! Behold the oppressor and the oppressed! A vast multitude inclose the Saviour of the world. Mockings and jeerings are mingled with the coarse oaths of blasphemy.
12 His lowly birth and humble life are commented upon by unfeeling wretches. His claim to be the Son of God is ridiculed by the chief priests and elders, and the vulgar jest and insulting derision are passed from lip to lip. Satan was having full control of the minds of his servants. In order to do this effectually, he commences with the chief priests and elders, and imbues them with religious frenzy. They are actuated by the same satanic spirit which moves the most vile and hardened wretches.
13 There is a corrupt harmony in the feelings of all, from the hypocritical priests and the elders down to the most debased. Christ, the precious Son of God, was led forth, and the cross was laid upon his shoulders. At every step was left blood which flowed from his wounds. Thronged by an immense crowd of bitter enemies and unfeeling spectators, he is led away to the crucifixion. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
14 His sorrowing disciples follow him at a distance, behind the murderous throng. He is nailed to the cross, and hangs suspended between the heavens and the earth. Their hearts are bursting with anguish as their beloved Teacher is suffering as a criminal. Close to the cross are the blind, bigoted, faithless priests and elders, taunting, mocking, and jeering: “Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him with the scribes and elders, said, he saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him; for he said I am the Son of God.”
15 Not one word did Jesus answer to all this. Even while the nails were being driven through his hands and the sweat-drops of agony were forced from his pores, from the pale quivering lips of the innocent sufferer a prayer of pardoning love was breathed for his murderers: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” All Heaven was gazing with profound interest upon the scene. The glorious Redeemer of a lost world was suffering the penalty of man’s transgression of the Father’s law. He was about to ransom his people with his own blood. He was paying the just claims of God’s holy law. This was the means through which an end was to be finally made of sin and Satan, and his vile host to be vanquished.
16 Oh, was there ever suffering and sorrow like that endured by the dying Saviour! It was the sense of his Father’s displeasure which made his cup so bitter. It was not bodily suffering which so quickly ended the life of Christ upon the cross. It was the crushing weight of the sins of the world, and a sense of his Father’s wrath that broke his heart. The Father’s glory and sustaining presence had left him, and despair pressed its crushing weight of darkness upon him, and forced from his pale and quivering lips the anguished cry: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
17 Jesus had united with the Father in making the world. Amid the agonizing sufferings of the Son of God, blind and deluded men alone remain unfeeling. The chief priests and elders revile God’s dear Son while in his expiring agonies. Yet inanimate nature groans in sympathy with her bleeding, dying Author. The earth trembles. The sun refuses to behold the scene. The heavens gather blackness. Angels have witnessed the scene of suffering, until they can look on no longer, and hide their faces from the horrid sight. Christ is in despair! He is dying! His Father’s approving smile is removed, and angels are not permitted to lighten the gloom of the terrible hour. They could only behold in amazement their loved Commander suffering the penalty of man’s transgression of the Father’s law.
18 Even doubts assailed the dying Son of God. He could not see through the portals of the tomb. Bright hope did not present to him his coming forth from the tomb a conqueror, and his Father’s acceptance of his sacrifice. The sin of the world with all its terribleness was felt to the utmost by the Son of God. The displeasure of the Father for sin, and its penalty which was death, were all that he could realize through this amazing darkness. He was tempted to fear that sin was so offensive in the sight of his Father that he could not be reconciled to his Son. The fierce temptation that his own Father had forever left him, caused that piercing cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
(To be Continued.)
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1 Christ felt much as sinners will feel when the vials of God’s wrath shall be poured out upon them. Black despair like a pall of death will gather about their guilty souls, and then they will realize to the fullest extent the sinfulness of sin. Salvation has been purchased for them by the suffering and death of the Son of God. It might be theirs if they would accept of it willingly, gladly; but none are compelled to yield obedience to the law of God. If they refuse the heavenly benefit, if they choose the pleasures and deceitfulness of sin, they can have their choice, and at the end receive their wages, which is the wrath of God and eternal death. They will be forever, separated from the presence of Jesus, whose sacrifice they had despised. They will have lost a life of happiness, and sacrificed eternal glory, for the pleasures of sin for a season.
2 Faith and hope trembled in the expiring agonies of Christ, because God had removed the assurance he had heretofore given his beloved Son of his approbation and acceptance. The Redeemer of the world then relied upon the evidences which had hitherto strengthened him, that his Father accepted his labors and was pleased with his work. In his dying agony, as he yields up his precious life, he has by faith alone to trust in Him whom it has ever been his joy to obey. He is not cheered with clear, bright rays of hope on the right hand nor on the left. All is enshrouded in oppressive gloom. Amid the awful darkness which is felt even by sympathizing nature, the Redeemer drains the mysterious cup to its dregs. Denied even bright hope and confidence in the triumph which will be his in the near future, he cries with a loud voice, “Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” He is acquainted with the character of his Father, his justice, his mercy, and great love. In submission he drops into the hands of his Father. Amid the convulsions of nature are heard by the amazed spectators the dying words of the Man of Calvary, “It is finished.”
3 Nature sympathized with the sufferings of its Author. The heaving earth, the rent rocks, and the terrific darkness, proclaimed that it was the Son of God that died. There was a mighty earthquake. The vail of the temple was rent in twain. Terror seized the executioners and spectators as they beheld the sun veiled in darkness, and felt the earth shake beneath them, and saw and heard the rending of the rocks. The mocking and jeering of the chief priests and elders was hushed as Christ commended his spirit into the hands of his Father. The astonished throng began to withdraw, and grope their way in the darkness to the city. They smote upon their breasts as they went, and in terror, speaking scarcely above a whisper, said among themselves, “It is an innocent person that has been murdered. What if, indeed, he is, as he asserted, the Son of God?”
4 Jesus did not yield up his life till he had accomplished the work which he came to do, and exclaimed with his departing breath, “It is finished!” Satan was then defeated. He knew that his kingdom was lost. Angels rejoiced as the words were uttered, “It is finished.” The great plan of redemption, which was dependent on the death of Christ, had thus far been carried out. And there was joy in Heaven that the sons of Adam could, through a life of obedience, be finally exalted to the throne of God. Oh, what love! What amazing love! that brought the Son of God to earth to be made sin for us, that we might be reconciled to God, and elevated to a life with him in his mansions in glory. And oh! what is man that such a price should be paid for his redemption?
5 When men and women can more fully comprehend the magnitude of the great sacrifice which was made by the Majesty of Heaven in dying in man’s stead, then will the plan of salvation be magnified, and reflections of Calvary will awaken sacred and living emotions in the Christian’s heart. Praises to God and the Lamb will be in their hearts and upon their lips. Pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the hearts that keep fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary. This world will appear of but little value to those who appreciate the great price of man’s redemption.
6 All the riches of the world are not of sufficient value to redeem one perishing soul. Who can measure the love Christ felt for a lost world, as he hung upon the cross, suffering for the sins of guilty men? This love was immeasurable, infinite.
7 Christ has shown that his love was stronger than death. Even when suffering the most fearful conflicts with the powers of darkness, his love for perishing sinners increased. He endured the hidings of his Father’s countenance, until he was led to exclaim in the bitterness of his soul, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” His arm brought salvation. The price was paid to purchase the redemption of man, when, in the last soul-struggle, the blessed words were uttered, which seemed to resound through creation, “It is finished.”
8 Many who profess to be Christians become excited over worldly enterprises, and their interest is awakened for new and exciting amusements, while they are cold-hearted, and appear as if frozen in the cause of God. But here is a theme, poor formalist, which is of sufficient importance to excite you. Eternal interests are here involved. The scenes of Calvary call for the deepest emotions. Upon this subject you will be excusable if you manifest enthusiasm. That Christ, so excellent, so innocent, should suffer such a painful death, bearing the weight of the sins of the world, our thoughts and imaginations can never fully reach, so that we can comprehend the length, the breadth, the height, and the depth, of such amazing love. The contemplation of the matchless love of the Saviour, should fill and absorb the mind, touch and melt the soul, refine and elevate the affections, and completely transform the whole character. The language of the apostle is, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified.” And we may look toward Calvary, and also exclaim, “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
9 Considering at what an immense cost our salvation has been purchased, what will be the portion of those who neglect so great salvation? What will be the punishment of those who profess to be followers of Christ, yet fail to bow in humble obedience to the claims of their Redeemer, and who do not take the cross, as humble disciples of Christ!
10 Some have limited views of the atonement. They think that Christ suffered only a small portion of the penalty of the law of God, and that while the wrath of God was felt by his dear Son, they suppose that he had, through all his painful sufferings, the evidence of his Father’s love and acceptance, and that the portals of the tomb before him were illuminated with bright hope. Here is a great mistake. Christ’s keenest anguish was a sense of his Father’s displeasure. His mental agony because of this was of such intensity that man can have but faint conception of it.
11 With many the history of the humiliation and sacrifice of our divine Lord does not stir the soul and affect the life any more, nor awaken deeper interest, than to read of the death of the martyrs of Jesus. Many have suffered death by slow tortures. Others have suffered death by crucifixion. In what does the death of God’s dear Son differ from these? It is true he died upon the cross a most cruel death; yet others for his dear sake have suffered equally, as far as bodily torture is concerned. Why, then, was the suffering of Christ more dreadful than that of other persons who have yielded their lives for his sake? If the sufferings of Christ consisted in physical pain alone, then his death was no more painful than that of some of the martyrs.
12 But bodily pain was only a small part of the agony of God’s dear Son. The sins of the world were upon him, and also the sense of his Father’s wrath as he suffered the penalty of the law. It was these that crushed his divine soul. It was the hiding of his Father’s face, a sense that his own dear Father had forsaken him, which brought despair. The separation that sin makes between God and man was fully realized and keenly felt by the innocent, suffering Man of Calvary. He was oppressed by the powers of darkness. He had not one ray of light to brighten the future. And he was struggling with the power of Satan, who was declaring that Christ was in his hands, and that he was superior in strength to the Son of God, that God had disowned his Son, and that he was no longer in the favor of God any more than himself. If he was indeed still in favor with God, why need he die? God could save him from death.
13 Christ yielded not in the least degree to the torturing foe, even in his bitterest anguish. Legions of evil angels were all about the Son of God, yet the holy angels were bidden not to break their ranks and engage in conflict with the taunting, reviling foe. Heavenly angels were not permitted to minister unto the anguished spirit of the Son of God. It was in this terrible hour of darkness, the face of his Father hidden, legions of evil angels enshrouding him, the sins of the world upon him, that the words were wrenched from his lips, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
14 We should take larger, broader, and deeper views of the life, sufferings, and death of God’s dear Son. When the atonement is viewed correctly, the salvation of souls will be felt to be of infinite value. In comparison with the worth of everlasting life everything else sinks into insignificance. But how have the counsels of this loving Saviour been despised by many. The heart’s devotions have been to the world, and selfish interests have closed the door against the Son of God. Hollow hypocrisy and pride, selfishness and gain, envy, malice, and passion, have so filled the hearts of many that Christ can have no room.
15 He was eternally rich, “yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.” He was clothed with light and glory, surrounded with hosts of heavenly angels awaiting to execute his commands. Yet he put on our nature, and came to sojourn among sinful men. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” Here is love that no language can express. Our souls should be enlivened, elevated, and enraptured with the theme of the love of the Father and the Son. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” The followers of Christ should learn here to reflect back in some degree that mysterious love, preparatory to joining all the redeemed in ascribing “Blessings, and honor, and glory, and power unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”
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1 When we reflect upon the amazing love of God to fallen man, and view the small returns we make to him for this great love, we feel deeply humbled. Love of self, and selfish love of the things of the world, cannot find room in the hearts of true Christians. To be a Christian is to be Christ-like. Self is so interwoven in the nature of some that it is the ruling sin of their lives, and not only stands in their own way of attaining Christian perfection, but is a constant stumbling-block to sinners. A vast army might be brought to Jesus Christ through personal effort if selfishness did not obstruct the way.
2 Many professed Christians will talk and weep over the sacrifice of Christ, the cross he bore up Calvary, his crucifixion, and ascension to Heaven; while at the same time they refuse to co-operate with Christ in working as he worked, in self-denial and sacrifice for the good of souls. They refuse to drink of the cup, or be baptized with the baptism.
3 Let all those who profess to believe in Christ follow his example, and they will be doing a great work for Jesus. It is easy to cry, when it is popular to do so, “Never man spake like this man,” and to echo the hosannas to the Son of David; though we do not the things he bids us, and do not follow his example in self-denial, and in working to do others good. True religion has to do with the heart and life. All who are true followers of Jesus will have a special interest to work for the Master, whose servants they profess to be, in gathering souls into the ranks of Christ. The Christian life does not consist altogether of meditation and prayer, although these are essential, but of earnest, active working, as well as meditating and praying.
4 Those who are truly converted to the truth and who love Christ will feel their individual responsibility to make personal efforts for the salvation of others. They cannot be indifferent in this respect. They will see and feel the dangerous position of their friends, and of all who oppose the truths which to them are sacred and dear. They will desire to be actively employed in the work of seeking to win them to the truth. When men and women are convinced of the truth and decide to obey it, they have then only enlisted as Christ’s soldiers. The work is all before them, to be doers as well as hearers of the word, and receivers of the heavenly gift. To be merely a passive Christian, receiving blessings, and not an earnest worker, is to be a novice and a dwarf in spiritual things.
5 The moon and the stars would not essentially benefit us if they retained for themselves their beauty and glory, and did not give to us the light they receive from the sun. The earth itself responds to the showers of rain, and the gentle dew, and the warming rays of the sun, and returns to us its bounties in grains, fruits, and flowers.
6 Man, the noblest work of God, made in his divine image, is found the most ungrateful. Christ comes to every individual to see what he is doing, and frequently finds neither fruits, nor blossoms, but only leaves.
7 Some are hearers of the word but not doers. They receive the heavenly benefits, but feel no responsibility to advance the cause of truth and save souls by their personal efforts. The divine command is two-fold; to not only be hearers, but doers, of the word. We are to receive the word ourselves and impart to others the precious light we have received. As we accept the truth, we virtually pledge ourselves to be workers with Christ, and to be consecrated to his service, and no longer live to do our will, and serve ourselves, but to be faithful servants of the Master to whom we have yielded ourselves servants to obey. The commission of Christ to his disciples was, to go and preach the gospel to every creature. We have a worldwide message.
8 After men and women have received the truth, it is not to their advantage to depend upon their more experienced brethren to hold them up, and carry them to Heaven. They should be instructed that in order to grow spiritually strong, they must be earnest workers to lead others to the truth, as they were led. If those who receive the truth value its importance they will receive ten-fold more encouragement and confidence in seeing their more experienced brethren and the ministers of Christ laboring in new fields, preaching the gospel to unbelievers, and bringing scores to the knowledge of the truth, than to be devoting their precious time and talents to taking care of them.
9 Missionaries are wanted throughout the great harvest field, self-sacrificing, and who will do as their Master has given them an example in his life.
10 Ministers to whom is intrusted the most sacred message of warning ever given to the world, have confined their labors too much to looking after the few who have embraced the truth, when their principal labor should have been for those who have not heard the message. There are those who think it is their duty to preach the truth, but they dare not venture from the shore, and they catch no fish. They will choose to go among the churches, over and over the same ground. They report a good time, a pleasant visit, but we look in vain for the souls that are converted to the truth through their instrumentality. These ministers hug the shore too closely. Let them launch out into the deep, and cast their net where the fish are. There is no lack of work to be done. There could be hundreds employed in the vineyard of the Lord where there is now one.
11 God never does what man can do. We have individually, as servants of Jesus Christ, a work to do in unison with Christ, in saving our fellow-men from perdition. While we do with heart and might what we can in the use of means, God alone can make our efforts effectual. He can clothe the humblest and weakest with wonderful power, and manifest his excellence in our sincere human efforts.
12 If, after souls have embraced the truth, and have had years of experience, they have not strength to stand alone in the truth with the help God has promised them, and if they are incapable of helping others to the light, they are like the barren fig tree which Jesus cursed. Because, although apparently flourishing, he found upon the tree neither blossoms nor fruit, nothing but leaves.
13 There are in our churches those who profess the truth who are only hindrances to the work of reform. They are clogs to the wheels of the car of salvation. This class are frequently in trial. Doubts, jealousies, and suspicion, are the fruits of selfishness, and seem to be interwoven with their very natures. I shall name this class chronic church-grumblers. They do more harm in a church than two ministers can undo. They are a tax to the church and a great weight to the ministers of Christ. They live in an atmosphere of doubts, jealousies, and surmisings. Much time and labor of the embassadors of Christ are required to undo their work of evil, and restore harmony and union in the church. This takes from the courage and strength of God’s servants and unfits them for the work he has for them to do in saving perishing souls from ruin. God will reward these troublers of Zion according to their works. The ministers of Christ should take their position, and not be hindered in their work by these agents of Satan. There will be enough of these to question, and quibble, and criticise, to keep the ministers of God constantly busy, if they will allow themselves to be detained from the great work of giving the last saving message of warning to the world. If the church has no strength to stand against the unsanctified, rebellious feelings of church-grumblers, it is better to let church and grumblers go overboard together than lose the opportunity of saving hundreds who would make better churches, and have the elements existing within themselves of strength and union and power.
14 The very best way for ministers and churches is to let this fault-finding, crooked class fall back into their own element and pull away from the shore, launch out into the deep, and cast out the gospel net again for fish that may pay for the labor bestowed upon them. Satan exults when men and women embrace the truth who are naturally fault-finding and who will throw all the darkness and hindrance they can against the advancement of the work of God. Ministers cannot now in this important period of the work be detained to prop up men and women who see and have once felt the force of the truth. They should fasten believing Christians on Christ, who is able to hold them up and preserve them blameless unto his appearing, while they go forth to new fields of labor.
15 I entreat you, my brethren and sisters, to be self-reliant in the strength of Jesus. Do not hang the weight of your perplexities and burdens upon your ministers. Christ has invited you to come to him, your burden-bearer. If you pass along in a state of unbelief and lack of consecration to God, you hang your weight upon the heart of your ministers, and you take just so much time and strength from them which God requires them to use in giving the message to those who have not heard it. Brethren, will you not rather work yourselves in union with the embassadors of Christ in seeking to win souls to the truth? When tempted to become unbelieving and discouraged, you will find the very best cure for this in talking faith to others, and in presenting the truth to those who are in darkness. Extend your efforts to your neighbors, and to those who have not the privileges of meetings. Sow the seeds of truth beside all waters, and encourage the hearts of the servants of God when they visit you by showing that you have not been idle, but through your instrumentality one or more have been brought from darkness to light. You can keep above despondency and doubt by making it your practice to daily pray for the blessing of God to rest upon the men who are presenting the solemn message of warning to the world. Let your prayers follow the servants of God like sharp sickles in the harvest field. God will hear the earnest entreaties of his people. The prayer of faith will move the arm of God.
16 A great work is before us. We need the help of every one. The cause will need not only money but earnest workers. We believe that the time has fully come when the work should be enlarged and extended on the Pacific coast. The men who work for God in faith, willing to endure, and suffer toil, privation, and reproach, will be the very men whom God will accept, and make powerful to do his great work. We shall not be stinted for means if we will only work, trusting and believing in God.
17 Missionaries are wanted to carry the message of warning to other lands. God will accept of men who have devoted hearts, whom he can teach, and impress, and polish, by his own divine hand. God will require personal service at the hands of every one to whom he entrusts his truth. Not one is excused. Some may feel that if they give their substance they are excused from personal efforts. But God forbid that they should deceive themselves in this. Gifts of means do not meet the requirement of God, for the duty is but half done. He will accept nothing short of yourselves. You must work to save souls. All will not be called to go to foreign missions, but you may be missionaries at home in your own families and in your neighborhoods. There is work for you to do for God that you do not see and do not feel, because you have not wanted to see, and know, and do, because your worldly interests and your arrangements in business would be interrupted.
18 Christ called fishermen from their nets to do his work, and they left them and followed him. He called Matthew, a publican, from his business to follow him, and he obeyed the invitation joyfully. He may call men from their farms, from their merchandise, and from their various trades, and send them forth to warn the world.
19 With the love of Christ in the heart, Christians will work. All who have made a profession of Christ have virtually pledged themselves to preach the gospel of salvation to sinners. Some may never be required to stand in the pulpit; but there are many ways to preach Christ. By deeds, by a godly, consistent life, and by letting our light shine forth to others, we may preach Christ. In acts of self-denial for others’ good, and showing a love for precious souls that is paramount to love for riches or earthly enjoyment, we may preach Christ.
20 In doing the works of Christ, the Christian worker will become strong in spiritual strength. God is a present help in every time of need. Those who work for the salvation of souls feel their inefficiency and lack of heavenly wisdom, and in their emergency they flee to their tower of strength, and God meets their necessities, and they are obtaining a valuable experience. They are gaining spiritual strength, and growing in the knowledge of the truth. They are not spiritual dwarfs, or bodies of death; but are shining lights, gathering daily strength from God, and conferring blessings upon others.
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1 “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6, 19, 20.
2 We are not our own. We do not belong to ourselves. But we have been purchased with a dear price. We have cost an immense sum, even the suffering and death of the Son of God. If we can understand this, and fully realize it, then shall we feel great responsibility resting upon us to keep ourselves in the very best condition of health, that we may render to God perfect service.
3 But when we take any course which decreases our strength, expends our vitality, beclouds the intellect, and destroys the powers of the mind, we sin against God. In pursuing this course we are not glorifying him in our bodies and spirits which are his; but are committing a great wrong in his sight.
4 Has Jesus given himself for us? Has this dear price been paid to redeem us? And is it so, that we are not our own? Is it true that all the powers of our being our bodies, our spirits, all that we have, and all we are, belong to God? Is this so? It certainly is. And when we realize this, what obligation does it lay us under to God to preserve ourselves in that condition that we may honor him upon the earth in our bodies and in our spirits which are the Lord’s.
5 We believe without a doubt that Christ is soon coming. This is not a fable to us. It is a reality. We have no doubt, neither have we had a doubt for years, that the doctrines we hold today are present truth, and that we are preparing for the Judgment. We are preparing to meet Him who is to appear in the clouds of heaven with the holy retinue of angels, to escort Him on his way, to give the faithful and the just the finishing touch of immortality. When he comes he is not to cleanse us of our sins. He is not then to remove from us the defects in our characters. He will not then cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. He will not do this work then. Before that time this work will all be accomplished, if wrought for us at all. Then those who are holy will be holy still. They are not to be made holy when the Lord comes. Those who have preserved their bodies, and their spirits, in holiness, and in sanctification, and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. And when he comes, those who are unjust, and unsanctified, and filthy, will remain so forever. There is then no work to be done for them which shall remove their defects, and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue his refining process, and remove their sins, and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this work is to be accomplished for us.
6 We embrace the truth of God with our different organizations, and as we come under the influence of truth, it will accomplish the work for us which is necessary to be accomplished, and give us a moral fitness for the kingdom of glory, and for the society of the heavenly angels. We are now in God’s work-shop. We are, many of us rough stone from the quarry. As we lay hold upon the truth of God, its influence must affect us. It must elevate us. It must remove from us every imperfection. It must remove from us sins of whatever nature. And it must fit us, that we may be prepared to see the king in his beauty, and finally to unite with the pure and heavenly angels in the kingdom of glory. This work is to be accomplished for us here. Here we are, with these bodies and spirits, which are to be fitted for immortality.
7 We are in a world that is in opposition to righteousness, holiness, a growth in grace, and to purity of character. Everywhere we look we see deformity and sin. We see corruption. We see defilement on every hand. And what is the work that we are to undertake here just previous to immortality? It is to preserve our bodies holy, our spirits pure, that we may stand forth unstained amid the corruptions teeming around us in these last days. And if this work is to be performed for us, we need to engage in it heartily, and engage in it at once. We want to take hold of the work now. We want to understand it just as it is. Selfishness should not come in here to control us. We want the Spirit of God to have perfect control of us. It should influence us in all our actions. And if we have a right hold on Heaven, a right hold of the power that is from above, we shall feel the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God upon our hearts.
8 When we have tried to present to the people the health reform, and have spoken of the importance of their eating, and drinking, and in all that they do, to do it to the glory of God, many, by their actions, have said, “It is nobody’s business whether I eat this or that. Whatever we do we are to bear the consequences ourselves.” Dear friends, you are greatly mistaken. You are not the only sufferers from a wrong course. The society you are in bears the consequences of your wrongs, in a great degree, as well as yourselves. If you are suffering from your intemperance in eating or in drinking, we that are around you, or associated with you, are affected by your infirmities. We have to suffer on account of the course you pursue, which is wrong. If it has an influence to lessen your powers of mind or body, we are affected by it. We have to feel it. When in your society, instead of your having a buoyancy of spirit, you are gloomy, and cast a shadow upon the spirits of all around you. If we are sad, and depressed, and in trouble, you could, if in right conditions of health, have a clear brain to show us the way out, and speak a comforting word to us. If your brain is so benumbed by your wrong course of living that you cannot give us the right counsel, do we not meet with a loss? Does not your influence seriously affect us? We may have a good degree of confidence in our own judgment, yet we want to have counsellors; for in many counsellors there is safety. We desire that our course should look consistent and proper to those we love, and we wish to seek their counsel, and have them able to give it with a clear brain. But what care we for your judgment, if your brain nerve power has been taxed to the utmost to take care of improper food, or an enormous quantity of even healthful food’ placed in your stomachs, and the vitality withdrawn from the brain? What care we for the judgment of such persons? They see through a mass of undigested food. Therefore your course of living affects us. It is impossible for you to pursue any wrong course without others suffering beside yourself.
9 “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the price? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” In running the race, in order to obtain that laurel which was considered a special honor, those who engaged in running were temperate in all things. They where temperate, that their muscles, and their brains, and every part of them, should be in the very best condition to run. If they were not temperate, they would not have that elasticity that they would have if they were temperate in all things. If temperate, they could run that race successfully. They were more sure of receiving the crown. But notwithstanding all their efforts in the direction of temperance, and to subject themselves to a careful diet, in order to be in the best condition, yet they only ran at a venture. They might do the very best they could, and yet after all not receive the token of honor; for another might be a little in advance of them, and take the prize. One only received the prize. But we can all run in the heavenly race, and all receive the prize. It is not an uncertainty. It is not to run at a risk. We must put on the heavenly graces, with the eye directed upward to the crown of immortality, keeping the Pattern ever before us. He was a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. The self-denying life of our divine Lord we are to keep constantly in view. His life of poverty, humbleness, and self-denial, we must not forget. And then as we seek to imitate him, keeping our eye upon the mark of the prize, we can run this race with certainty, knowing that if we do the very best we can we shall certainly secure the prize. Men ran to obtain a corruptible crown, one that would perish in a day. All this self-denial practiced by those who ran these races was to obtain a corruptible crown, which was only a token of honor from mortals here.
10 But we are to run the race, at the end of which is a crown of immortality and everlasting life. Yes, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory will be awarded to us as the prize when the race is run. “We,” says the apostle, “an incorruptible.” And if they could be temperate in all things, who engaged in this race here upon earth for a temporal crown, cannot we be temperate in all things, who have in view an incorruptible crown, an eternal weight of glory, and a life which measures with the life of God? When we have this great inducement before us, cannot we run, with patience, this race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith? He has pointed out the way for us. He has marked it for us by his own footsteps all the way along. It is the path that he traveled. You may, with Christ, experience the self-denial, and the suffering, and walk in this pathway imprinted by his own blood.
11 “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.” There is work to do here, for every man, woman, and child. Satan is constantly at work, that he may have control of your bodies and spirits. But Christ has bought you, and you are his property. And now it is for you to work in union with Christ, in union with the holy angels that minister unto you. It is for you to keep the body under, and bring it into subjection. Unless you do this, you will certainly lose everlasting life, and the crown of immortality.
12 And yet some will say, “What business is it to anybody what I eat? or what I drink?” I have shown you what relation your course has to others. You have seen that it has much to do with the influence you exert in your families. It has to do with your manner of acting. It has much to do with moulding the characters of your children.
13 As I said before, it is a corrupted age in which we live. It is a time when Satan seems to have almost complete control of minds that are not fully consecrated to God. Therefore there is a very great responsibility resting upon parents and guardians who have children to bring up. Parents have taken the responsibility of bringing these children into existence. And what now is their duty? Is it to let them come up just as they may? and just as they will? Let me tell you, a weight of responsibility rests upon these parents. Whether you eat, or whether you drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Do you do this when you are preparing food for the table, and when you place it upon your tables, and call your family to partake of it? Are you placing only the food before these children that you know will make the very best blood? Is it that food that will preserve their systems in the least feverish condition? Is it that which will place them in the very best relation to life and health? Is this the food that you are studying to place before your children? Or are you careless and reckless of their future good? and provide for them unhealthful, stimulating, irritating food? Let me tell you that the children from their very birth are born to evil. Satan seems to have control of them. He seems to take possession of their young minds, and they are corrupted. Why do fathers and mothers act as though a lethargy was upon them? They do not mistrust that Satan is sowing evil seed in their families. They are as blind, and careless, and reckless, in regard to these things as it is possible for them to be. Why do they not awake, and study these things? Why are they not reading up? Says the apostle, “Add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience,” etc. Here is work resting upon every one who professes to follow Jesus Christ.—From Report of an Address.
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1 Jesus stopped at the house of Lazarus in Bethany. He was on his way from Jericho to attend the feast of the passover at Jerusalem, and chose this retreat for rest and refreshment. Crowds of people passed on to the city, bearing the tidings that Jesus was on his way to the feast, and that he would rest over the Sabbath at Bethany. This information was received with great enthusiasm by the people; for the news had spread everywhere of the wonderful works wrought by Jesus, the last and most astonishing of which was the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Many flocked to Bethany, some from curiosity to see one who had been raised from the dead, and others because their hearts were in sympathy with Jesus, and they longed to look upon his face and hear his blessed words.
2 They returned with reports that increased the excitement of the multitude. All were anxious to see and hear Jesus, whose fame as a prophet had spread over all the land. There was a general buzz of inquiry as to who the wonderful Teacher was, from whence he had come, if Lazarus who had been raised from the dead would accompany him to Jerusalem, and if it was likely that the great prophet would be crowned king at the feast. The attention of the people was entirely engrossed in the subject of Jesus and his wondrous works. The priests and rulers saw that they were losing their hold upon the minds of the people, and their rage against Jesus was increased; they could hardly wait for him to come and give them the desired opportunity of gratifying their revenge and removing him forever from their way. As the time passed, they became excited and restless, fearing that after all Jesus might not come to Jerusalem. They were fearful that he had read their purposes against him, and would therefore remain away. They remembered how often he had divined their thoughts, exposed their hidden motives, and baffled their murderous designs. They could illy conceal their anxiety, and questioned among themselves, “What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?”
3 A hasty council of the priests and Pharisees was called to determine how to proceed with regard to Jesus, in view of the excitement and enthusiasm of the people on his account. They decided that it would be dangerous to seize upon him openly on any pretext, for since the raising of Lazarus the sympathies of the people were greatly in favor of Jesus. So they determined to use craft and take him secretly, avoiding all uproar or interference, carry on the mockery of a trial as quietly as possible, and trust to the fickle tide of public opinion to set in their favor when it was known that Jesus was condemned to death.
4 But another consideration came up: If they should execute Jesus, and Lazarus should remain as a witness of his miraculous power to raise from the dead, the very fact that a man existed who had been four days in the grave, and whose body had begun to decay, yet had been called to life and health by a word from Jesus, would sooner or later create a reaction and bring disaster upon themselves for sacrificing the life of Him who could perform such a miracle for the benefit of humanity. They therefore decided that Lazarus must also die. They felt that if the people were to lose confidence in their rulers, the national power would be destroyed.
5 To such lengths do envy and bitter prejudice lead their slaves. In rejecting Christ, the Pharisees placed themselves where darkness and superstition closed around them, until, continually increasing in hatred and unbelief, they were ready to imbrue their hands in blood to accomplish their unholy ends, and would even take the life of one whom Infinite power had rescued from the grave. They placed themselves where no power, human or divine, could reach them; they sinned against the Holy Spirit, and God had no reserve power to meet their case. Their rebellion against Christ was settled and determined; he was a stumbling-block and a rock of offense to them; they would not have this man Jesus to reign over them. While all this plotting was going on at Jerusalem, Jesus was quietly resting from his labors at the house of Lazarus. Simon of Bethany, whom Jesus had healed of leprosy, wishing to show his Master special honor, made a supper and invited him and his friends as guests. The Saviour sat at the table, with Simon, whom he had cured of a loathsome disease, on one side, and Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, on the other. Martha served at the table, but Mary was earnestly listening to every word that fell from the lips of Jesus. She saw that he was sad; she knew that immediately after raising her brother from the dead, he was obliged to seclude himself in order to escape the persecution of the leading Jews. As she looked upon her brother in the strength of perfect health, her heart went out in gratitude to Jesus who had restored him to her from the grave.
6 Jesus in his mercy had pardoned the sins of Mary, which had been many and grievous, and her heart was full of love for her Saviour. She had often heard him speak of his approaching death, and she was grieved that he should meet so cruel a fate. At great personal sacrifice she had purchased an alabaster box of precious ointment with which to anoint the body of Jesus at his death. But she now heard many express an opinion that he would be elevated to kingly authority when he went to Jerusalem, and she was only too ready to believe that it would be so. She rejoiced that her Saviour would no longer be despised and rejected, and obliged to flee for his life. In her love and gratitude she wished to be the first to do him honor, and, seeking to avoid observation, anointed his head and feet with the precious ointment, and then wiped his feet with her long, flowing hair.
7 Her movements had been unobserved by the others, but the odor filled the house with its fragrance and published her act to all present. Some of the disciples manifested displeasure at this act, and Judas boldly expressed his disapprobation at such a wasteful extravagance. Simon the host, who was a Pharisee, was influenced by the words of Judas, and his heart filled with unbelief. He also thought that Jesus should hold no communication with Mary because of her past life. Judas, the prime instigator of this disaffection among those who sat at the table, was a stranger to the deep devotion and homage which actuated Mary to her deed of love. He had been appointed treasurer of the united funds of the disciples, and had dishonestly appropriated to himself means which were designed for the service of God.
8 He had indulged a spirit of avarice until it had overpowered every good trait in his character. This act of Mary was in such marked contrast with his selfishness that he was ashamed of his avarice, and sought to attribute his objection to her gift, to a worthier motive. Turning to the disciples he asked, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” Thus he sought to hide his covetousness under apparent sympathy for the poor, when, in reality, he cared nothing for them.
9 He longed to have the avails of the expensive ointment in his own hands to apply to his own selfish purposes. By his professed sympathy for the poor he deceived his fellow disciples, and by his artful insinuations caused them to look distrustfully upon the devotion of Mary. Whispered hints of prodigality passed round the table: “To what purpose is this waste? for this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.” Mary was abashed as the eyes of the disciples were bent sternly and reproachfully upon her. She felt that her deed of devotion must have been wrong, and tremblingly expected Jesus to condemn it also.
10 But the Saviour had observed all that had transpired, and knew the motives of all who were there assembled. He read the object of Mary in her costly offering. Though she had been very sinful, her repentance was sincere, and Jesus, while reproving her guilt, had pitied her weakness and forgiven her. Mary’s heart was filled with gratitude at the compassion of Jesus. Seven times she had heard his stern rebuke to the demons which then controlled her heart and mind, and she had listened to his strong cries to his Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive everything impure was to the unsullied mind of Christ, and she overcame her sin in the strength of her Saviour. She was transformed, a partaker of the divine nature.
11 Mary had offered her gift in the grateful homage of her heart, and Jesus explained her motive and vindicated her deed. “Let her alone,” he said. “Why,” he asked, “trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.” He justified her work to all present as evincing her gratitude to him for lifting her from a life of shame to one of purity, and teaching her to believe in him. Said he, “Against the day of my burying hath she kept this.” The ointment so sacredly kept to anoint the dead body of her Lord she had poured upon his head in the belief that he was about to be lifted to a throne in Jerusalem. Jesus might have pointed out Judas to the disciples as the cause of such severe judgment being passed on Mary. He might have revealed to them the hypocrisy of his character; he might have made known his utter want of feeling for the poor, and his embezzlement of money appropriated to their relief. He could have raised their indignation against him for his oppression of the widow, the orphan, and the hireling; but he refrained from exposing the true character of Judas. He reproached him not, and thus avoided giving him an excuse for his future perfidy.
12 But he rebuked the disciples, saying, “Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good; but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could. She is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily, I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” Jesus, looking into the future, spoke with certainty concerning his gospel: That it was to be preached throughout the whole world. Kingdoms would rise and fall; the names of monarchs and conquerors would be forgotten; but the memory of this woman’s deed would be immortalized upon the pages of sacred history.
13 Had the disciples rightly appreciated the exalted character of their Master, they would have considered no sacrifice too costly to offer to the Son of God. The wise men of the East understood more definitely his true position, and the honor due him, than his own followers, who had received his instruction and beheld his mighty miracles. They brought precious gifts to the Saviour, and bent in homage before him, while he was but a babe, and cradled in a manger.
14 The look which Jesus cast upon the selfish Judas convinced him that the Master penetrated his hypocrisy and read his base, contemptible character. He was stirred with resentment. His heart burned with envy that Jesus should be the recipient of an offering suitable to the monarchs of earth. He went directly from that supper to the chief priests, and agreed to betray him into their hands. The priests were greatly rejoiced at this, and “they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver, and from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.”
15 In the case of Judas we see the fearful result of covetousness and unholy anger. He begrudged the offering made to Jesus, and although not personally rebuked, he was irritated to combine revenge with his avarice, and sell his Lord for a few pieces of silver Mary showed how highly she prized the Saviour when she accounted the most precious gift none too costly for him; but Judas valued Jesus at the price for which he sold him; his niggardly soul balanced the life of the Son of God against a paltry sum of money. The same cold, calculating spirit is manifested by many who profess Christ today. Their offerings to his cause are grudgingly bestowed or withheld altogether under various plausible excuses. A pretense of wide philanthropy, unlimited by church or creed, is not unfrequently one of them, and they plead, like Judas, It is better to give it to the poor. But the true Christian shows his faith by investing in the cause of truth; he is known by his works, for “faith without works is dead.”
16 Jesus read Simon’s heart, and knew how he had been influenced by the insinuations of Judas, and that he had questioned in his mind, saying,”This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner.” When Judas had left the house, Jesus turned to his host and said, “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.” Simon replied, “Master, say on.” Then Jesus proceeded to speak a parable, which illustrated the contrast between the gratitude of his host, who had been healed of the leprosy, and that of Mary, whose sins had been pardoned. Said he, “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?”
17 Simon did not discern the application which Jesus designed to make, but he answered him, “I suppose that he to whom he forgave most.” Jesus replied, “Thou hast rightly judged.” This answer condemned Simon. He had been a great sinner, and also a loathsome leper, avoided by all. He had come to Jesus piteously imploring his help, and He who never turned a deaf ear to human woe, had cleansed him from sin and from the terrible disease that was upon him. Simon was humbled, but he had been a proud Pharisee, and he did not look upon himself as being so great a sinner as he really was, and he had now become self-sufficient and lifted up in his own estimation. He had exalted himself as far superior to the poor woman who anointed the feet of her Lord. In entertaining Jesus at his house, he thought he was paying him marked respect; but the Saviour was lowered in his estimation when he permitted the devotion of Mary, who had been so great a sinner. He overlooked the miracle which Jesus had wrought upon him in saving him from a living death, and coldly reasoned with himself if Jesus could be the Messiah, and yet stoop to receive the gift of this woman. He thought that if he were the Christ, he would know that a sinner had approached him and repel her. He did not realize that he himself had been a greater sinner than she, and that Christ had forgiven him as well as Mary. He was ready to doubt the divine character of his Master because he imagined that he detected in him a want of discernment.
18 On the other hand, Mary was thoroughly penitent and humbled because of her sins. In her gratitude for his pardoning mercy she was ready to sacrifice all for Jesus, and no doubt as to his divine power troubled her mind for a moment. It was not the comparative degrees of obligation which should be felt by the two persons, which Jesus designed to illustrate by this parable, for both were unable to cancel their debt of gratitude; but he took Simon on his own ground, as feeling himself more righteous than the woman, and showed him that though the sins which had been forgiven him were great, he had not repaid his Benefactor with that respect and love which casts out all unbelief. His sense of obligation to his Saviour was small, while Mary, prizing the gift of mercy bestowed upon her, was filled with gratitude and love.
19 Jesus drew the contrast sharply between the two. Said he: “Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.”
20 The proud Pharisee had considered that he had sufficiently honored Jesus by inviting him to his house; and in his self consequence had neglected to show him the proper regard due to so exalted a guest, and to one who had wrought upon him a miracle of mercy. Jesus encouraged acts of heart felt courtesy, and the woman, whose gratitude and love was expressed in her act of attention, was highly commended by the Saviour: “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”
21 Simon’s eyes were opened to his neglect and unbelief. He was touched by the kindness of Jesus in not openly rebuking him before all the guests. He perceived that Jesus did not wish to exhibit his guilt and his want of gratitude to others, but desired to convince his mind by a true statement of his case, and to subdue his heart by pitying kindness. Stern denunciation would have closed the heart of Simon against repentance; but patient admonition convinced him of his error and won his heart. He saw the magnitude of the debt which he owed his Lord, and became a humble, self-sacrificing man.
22 When we realize the full debt of obligation to our Saviour, we are united to him by closer bonds, and our love will be expressed in all our acts. Jesus will remember every good work done by his children. The self-sacrificing and benevolent will live in his memory and be rewarded. No act of devotion to his cause will be forgotten by him. There is no sacrifice too costly to be offered on the altar of our faith.
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1 The mission of Christ brought him to Capernaum. When the news spread abroad that Jesus was a guest at the house of Peter, men, women, and children flocked from every direction to hear the wonderful Teacher. There was a man in the vicinity who was reduced to utter helplessness by the incurable disease of palsy. He had given up all hope of recovery. But his friends and relatives had heard the gracious instruction of Jesus; they had witnessed his wonderful miracles; they saw that he turned none away, that even the loathsome lepers found access to his presence, and were healed, and they began to hope that the paralytic might be relieved if he could be brought under the notice of Jesus.
2 They tried to encourage the sufferer, telling him of the miraculous power of Jesus to cure every malady, of the words of mercy he had spoken to the despairing, and of those who are set free from the power of Satan by a word of his sublime authority. As the palsied man listened to the good tidings, hope revived in his heart that he might be relieved of his terrible infirmity. He longed to see Jesus and place himself in his hands. But when he reflected that dissipation had been the main cause of his affliction, hope sank, for he feared that he would not be tolerated in the presence of the pure Physician. He had loved the pleasures of sin, his life had been a transgression of the law of God, and his bodily affliction was the penalty of his crime.
3 He had long before placed his case in the hands of the Pharisees and doctors, entreating their interest and sympathy, hoping that they would do something to relieve his tortured mind and physical sufferings. But they had looked coldly upon him and pronounced him incurable. They had added to his woe by telling him that he was only suffering the righteous retribution of God for his misdemeanors. It was the custom of the Pharisees to hold themselves aloof from the sick and needy. They held that sickness and distress were always an evidence of God’s anger toward the transgressor. Yet frequently these very men, who exalted themselves as holy and enjoying the peculiar favor of God, were more corrupt in heart and life than the poor sufferers whom they condemned.
4 The palsied man had sunk into despair, seeing no help from any quarter, till news of the miracles of mercy performed by Jesus had aroused hope again in his breast. Yet he feared that he might not be allowed in his presence; he felt that if Jesus would only see him and give him relief of mind by pardoning his sins, he would be content to live or die according to his righteous will. His friends assured him that Jesus had healed others who were in every respect as sinful and helpless as himself, and this encouraged him to believe that his own petition would be granted.
5 He felt that there was no time to lose; already his wasted flesh was beginning to decay. If anything could be done to arrest mortality, it must be done at once. The despairing cry of the dying man was, Oh that I might come into his presence! His friends were anxious to assist him in gratifying his wish, and several projects were suggested to bring about this result, but none of them seemed feasible. The sick man, although racked with bodily pain, preserved the full strength of his intellect, and he now proposed that his friends should carry him on his bed to Jesus. This they cheerfully undertook to do.
6 As they approached the dense crowd that had assembled in and about the house where Jesus was teaching, it seemed doubtful that they could accomplish their purpose. However, they pressed on with their burden, till their passage was completely blocked up and they were obliged to stop before they arrived within hearing of the Saviour’s voice. Jesus was within, and, as was customary, his disciples sat near him; for it was most important that they should hear his words, and understand the truths which they were to proclaim by word or pen over all lands and through all ages.
7 The haughty Pharisees, the doctors and the scribes, were also gathered near with wicked purposes in their hearts, and a desire to confuse and confound the sacred Teacher, that they might accuse him of being an impostor, and condemn him to death. Jealous of his power and wisdom, they concealed their intense hatred, for the purpose of closely watching his words, and calling him out upon various subjects with the hope of surprising him into some contradiction or forbidden heresy that would give them an excuse to prefer charges against him. They were present when Jesus healed the withered hand upon the Sabbath day, and these men, who claimed to enjoy the special favor of God, were filled with madness because he had presumed to do this good work upon the Lord’s day.
8 Outside of these magnates thronged the promiscuous multitude, drawn there from various motives. Some felt an irresistible impulse to hear the words of Jesus, yet dimly comprehended their import. They were eager to catch every syllable of the sacred utterances; and, in many cases, seeds of life lodged in their hearts, to spring up afterward and bear blessed fruit. Others came from wonder and curiosity, or a love of excitement,—the desire to see and hear some new thing. All grades of society were represented there, and many different nationalities.
9 Through this surging crowd, the bearers of the paralytic seek to push their way; but the attempt is useless. They urge the necessity of their case, in order to prevail upon the people to fall back, but it is of no avail. The sufferings of the invalid are increased by his anxiety, and his friends fear that he will die in this scene of confusion. The sick man gazes about him with inexpressible anguish. Must he relinquish all hope when the longed-for help is no near? He feels that he cannot endure so bitter a disappointment. He suggests that they bear him to the rear of the house, and break through the roof and let him down into the immediate presence of Jesus.
10 Seeing that it is his only chance of life, and fearing that he cannot live to be taken home, his friends follow his suggestion. The roof is opened, and the sick man is let down at the very feet of Christ. The discourse is interrupted; the Saviour looks upon that mournful countenance, and sees the pleading eyes fixed upon him with a silent entreaty. He understands the case, for it was he who had led the perplexed and doubting spirit to himself. He had come to the world to give hope to the guilty and wretched. John had pointed to him as “the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” The divine spirit of Jesus stirred the heart of this poor sinner, and while he was yet at home, had brought conviction to his conscience. He had watched the first glimmer of faith deepen into a belief that Jesus was his only helper, and had seen it grow stronger with every effort to come into his presence.
11 The sufferer had wealth, but it could not relieve his soul of guilt, nor remove disease from his body. But divine power attracted him to the Friend of sinners, who alone could relieve him. Jesus acknowledges the faith that is evidenced by the sick man’s efforts, under such perplexing difficulties, to reach the presence of his Lord, and lifting up his voice in melodious tones, addressed him: “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee.” The burden of darkness and despair rolls from the sick man’s soul; the peace of perfect love and forgiveness rests upon his spirit and shines out upon his countenance. His physical pain is gone, and his whole being is transformed before the eyes of the astonished multitude. The helpless paralytic is healed, the guilty sinner is pardoned! He has now received the evidence he so much desired. Yet not here, but at home, when he had repented of his sins and believed in the power of Jesus to make him whole, had the life-giving mercies of the Saviour first blessed his longing heart.
12 The simple faith of the paralytic accepted the words of the Master, as the boon of new life. He preferred no further request, he made no noisy demonstration, but remained in blissful silence too happy for words. The light of Heaven irradiated his countenance, and the people looked with awe upon the scene before them. Christ stood with a serene majesty that lifted him above the dignitaries of the synagogue and the doctors of the law. The Pharisees, the scribes, and the doctors had waited anxiously to see what disposition Jesus would make of this case. They recollected that the sufferer had appealed to them for help, and that they had entrenched themselves in the sanctity of their office and refused him one ray of encouragement. They had even expressed annoyance at being troubled with so disagreeable a matter. They had looked with horror upon his shriveled form, and said, We cannot raise one from the dead; dissolution has already commenced.
13 Not satisfied with the agony thus inflicted, they had declared that he was suffering the curse of God for his sins. All these things came fresh to their minds when they saw the sick man before them. They also perceived that the people, most of whom were acquainted with these facts, were watching the scene with intense interest and awe. They felt a terrible fear that their own influence would be lost, not only over the multitude present, but also over all who should hear the news of this marvelous event.
14 These lofty men did not exchange words together, but looking into one another’s faces, they read the same thought expressed upon every countenance: Something must be done to arrest the tide of popular sentiment. Jesus had declared that the sins of the paralytic were forgiven. The Pharisees caught at these words as an assumption of infinite power, a blasphemy against God, and conceived that they could present this before the people as a crime worthy of death. They did not express their thoughts, but these worshipers of forms and symbols were saying in their minds, He is a blasphemer! Who can forgive sins but God alone? They were laying hold of the Saviour’s words of divine pardon, to use a means by which to accuse him. But Jesus read their thoughts, and, fixing his reproving glance upon them, beneath which they cowered and drew back, addressed them thus: “Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”
15 Then he who had been borne to Jesus on a litter, and whose limbs were then useless, rises to his feet with the elasticity and strength of youth. The life-giving blood bounds through his veins, seeking its natural channels with unerring precision. The lagging human machinery springs into sudden activity, the animating glow of health succeeds the pallor of approaching death. “And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.”
16 Oh! wondrous love of Christ, stooping to heal the guilty and the afflicted! Divinity sorrowing over and soothing the ills of suffering humanity! Oh! marvelous power thus displayed to the children of men! Who can doubt the message of salvation! Who can slight the mercies of a compassionate Redeemer!
17 The effect of this wonderful miracle upon the people was as if Heaven had opened and revealed the glories of the better world. As the man who had been cured of palsy passed through the crowd, blessing God at every bounding step, and bearing his burden as if it were a feather’s weight, the people fell back to give him room, and with awe-struck faces gazed upon him, and whispered softly among themselves, saying, “We have seen strange things today.” The Pharisees were dumb with amazement, and overwhelmed with defeat. They saw that here was no opportunity for their prejudice and jealousy to inflame the multitude. The wonderful work wrought upon the man whom they, in their arrogance, had given over to death and the wrath of God, had so impressed the minds of the people that the influence of these leading Jews was, for the time, forgotten. They saw that Christ possessed a power, and claimed it as his own prerogative, which they thought belonged to God alone. The gentle dignity of his manner, united with his miraculous works, was in such marked contrast with their own proud and self-righteous bearing that they were disconcerted and abashed, recognizing, but not confessing, the presence of a Superior Being.
18 Had the scribes and Pharisees been honest before God, they would have yielded to the conclusive evidence they had witnessed that Jesus was the Promised One of Israel. But they were determined that nothing should convince them of this fact. They were in haughty and determined opposition to this meek and humble Teacher, who came from the workshops of Nazareth, yet by his wonderful works threatened to annihilate their dignity and station. So they yielded in no degree their hatred and malice, but went away to invent new schemes for condemning and silencing the Son of God.
19 These men had received many and repeated proofs that Jesus was the promised Saviour, but none had been so convincing and unquestioned as this miracle of mercy. Yet the stronger the evidence that was presented to their minds that Jesus had power on earth to forgive sins, as well as to heal the sick, the more they armed themselves with hatred and unbelief, till God left them to the forging of chains that would bind them in hopeless darkness. There was no reserve power to reach hearts so hardened with malice and skepticism.
20 Many in these days are taking the same course as the unbelieving Jews. God has given them light which they refuse to accept. His Spirit has rebuked them; but they have made his reproofs a stumbling-block in their way, over which they trip and fall. They have rejected his offered mercies, they have scorned to believe his truth, till they are left unrestrained to pursue their downward course.
21 There was great rejoicing in the home of the healed paralytic, when he came into the midst of his family, carrying with ease the couch upon which he had been slowly borne from their presence but a short time before. They gathered round with tears of joy, scarcely daring to believe their eyes. He stood before them in the full vigor of manhood. Those arms that they had seen lifeless were quick to obey his will; the flesh that had been shrunken and leaden-hued was now fresh and ruddy with health; he walked with a firm, free step; hope was written in every lineament of his countenance; all gloom had disappeared, and an expression of peace and purity had taken the place of the marks of sin and suffering. Glad thanksgivings went up from that house, and God was glorified through his Son, who had restored hope to the hopeless, and strength to the stricken one. This man and his family were ready to lay down their lives for Jesus. No doubt could dim their faith, no unbelief could mar their perfect fealty to Christ, who had brought light into their darkened home.
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1 While Jesus was engaged in teaching, the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman whom they accused of the sin of adultery, and said to him, Master, “now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.”
2 The scribes and Pharisees had agreed to bring this case before Jesus, thinking that whatever decision he made in regard to it, they would therein find occasion to accuse and condemn him. If he should acquit the woman, they would accuse him of despising the law of Moses, and condemn him on that account; and if he should declare that she was guilty of death, they would accuse him to the Romans as one who was stirring up sedition and assuming authority which alone belonged to them. But Jesus well knew for what purpose this case had been brought to him; he read the secrets of their hearts, and knew the character and life-history of every man in his presence. He seemed indifferent to the question of the Pharisees, and while they were talking and pressing about him, he stooped and wrote carelessly with his finger in the sand.
3 Although doing this without apparent design, Jesus was tracing on the ground, in legible characters, the particular sins of which the woman’s accusers were guilty, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. At length the Pharisees became impatient at the indifference of Jesus, and his delay in deciding the question before him, and drew nearer, urging the matter. But as their eyes fell upon the words written in the sand, fear and surprise took possession of them. The people, looking on, saw their countenances suddenly change, and pressed forward to discover what they were regarding with such an expression of astonishment and shame. Many of those who thus gathered round also read the record of hidden sin inscribed against these accusers of another.
4 Then Jesus “lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.” The accusers saw that Jesus not only knew the secrets of their past sins, but was acquainted with their purpose in bringing this case before him and had in his matchless wisdom defeated their deeply laid scheme. They now became fearful lest Jesus would expose their guilt to all present, and they therefore “being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”
5 There was not one of her accusers but was more guilty than the conscience stricken woman who stood trembling with shame before him. After the Pharisees had hastily left the presence of Christ, in their guilty consternation, he arose and looked upon the woman, saying, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more.”
6 Jesus did not palliate sin nor lessen the sense of crime; but he came not to condemn; he came to lead sinners to eternal life. The world looked upon this erring woman as one to be slighted and scorned; but the pure and holy Jesus stooped to address her with words of comfort, encouraging her to reform her life. Instead of to condemn the guilty, his work was to reach into the very depths of human woe and degradation, lift up the debased and sinful, and bid the trembling penitent to “sin no more.” When the woman stood before Jesus, cowering under the accusation of the Pharisees and a sense of the enormity of her crime, she knew that her life was trembling in the balance, and that a word from Jesus would add fuel to the indignation of the crowd, so that they would immediately stone her to death.
7 Her eyes droop before the calm and searching glance of Christ. Stricken with shame, she is unable to look upon that holy countenance. As she thus stands waiting for sentence to be passed upon her, the words fall upon her astonished ears that not only deliver her from her accusers, but send them away convicted of greater crimes than hers. After they are gone, she hears the mournfully solemn words: “Neither do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more.” Her heart melts with penitential grief; and, with gratitude to her Deliverer, she bows at the feet of Jesus sobbing out in broken accents the emotions of her heart, and confessing her sins with bitter tears.
8 This was the beginning of a new life to this tempted, fallen soul, a life of purity and peace, devoted to the service of God. In raising this woman to a life of virtue, Jesus performed a greater act than that of healing the most grievous bodily malady; he cured the sickness of the soul which is unto death everlasting. This penitent woman became one of the firmest friends of Jesus. She repaid his forgiveness and compassion, with a self-sacrificing love and worship. Afterward, when she stood sorrow-stricken at the foot of the cross, and saw the dying agony on the face of her Lord, and heard his bitter cry, her soul was pierced afresh; for she knew that this sacrifice was on account of sin; and her responsibility as one whose deep guilt had helped to bring about this anguish of the Son of God, seemed very heavy indeed. She felt that those pangs that pierced the Saviour’s frame were for her; the blood that flowed from his wounds was to blot out her record of sin; the groans which escaped from his dying lips were caused by her transgression. Her heart ached with a sorrow past all expression, and she felt that a life of self-abnegating atonement would poorly compensate for the gift of life, purchased for her at such an infinite price.
9 In his act of pardoning, and encouraging this fallen woman to live a better life, the character of Jesus shines forth in the beauty of a perfect righteousness. Knowing not the taint of sin himself, he pities the weakness of the erring one, and reaches to her a helping hand. The self-righteous and hypocritical Pharisees denounce, and the tumultuous crowd is ready to stone and slay, and the trembling victim waits for death—Jesus, the Friend of sinners, bids her, “Go and sin no more.”
10 It is not the true follower of Christ who turns from the erring with cold, averted eyes, leaving them unrestrained to pursue their downward course. Christian charity is slow to censure, quick to detect penitence, ready to forgive, to encourage, to set the wanderer in the path of virtue, and stay his feet therein.
11 The wisdom displayed by Jesus on this occasion, in defending himself against the designs of his enemies, and the evidence which he gave them that he knew the hidden secrets of their lives, the conviction that he pressed home upon the guilty consciences of the very men who were seeking to destroy him, were sufficient evidence of his divine character. Jesus also taught another important lesson in this scene: That those who are ever forward to accuse others, quick to detect them in wrong, and zealous that they should be brought to justice, are often guiltier in their own lives than those whom they accuse. Many who beheld the whole scene were led to compare the pardoning compassion of Jesus with the unrelenting spirit of the Pharisees, to whom mercy was a stranger; and they turned to the pitying Saviour as unto one who would lead the repentant sinner into peace and security.
12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jesus had represented himself, in his relation to fallen man, as a fountain of living water, to which all who thirst may come and drink. The brilliant lights in the temple illuminated all Jerusalem, and he now used these lights to represent his relation to the world. In clear and thrilling tones he declared: “I am the light of the world.” As the radiant lamps of the temple lit up the whole city, so Christ, the source of spiritual light, illuminated the darkness of a world lying in sin. His manner was so impressive, and his words carried with them such a weight of truth, that many were there convicted that he was indeed the Son of God. But the Pharisees, ever ready to contradict him, accused him of egotism, saying, “Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.” Jesus, answering their objections, asserted again his divine commission:—
13 “Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I came and whither I go.” They were ignorant of his divine character and mission because they had not searched the prophecies concerning the Messiah, as it was their privilege and duty to do. They had no connection with God and Heaven, and therefore did not comprehend the work of the Saviour of the world, and, though they had received the most convincing evidence that Jesus was the Saviour, yet they refused to open their minds to understand. At first they had set their hearts against him, and refused to believe the strongest proof of his divinity, and, as a consequence, their hearts had grown harder until they were determined not to believe nor accept him.
14 “Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet, if I judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.” Thus he declared that he was sent of God, to do his work. He had not consulted with priests nor rulers as to the course he was to pursue; for his commission was from the highest authority, even the Creator of the universe. Jesus, in his sacred office, had taught the people, had relieved suffering, had forgiven sin, and had cleansed the temple, which was his Father’s house, and driven out its desecrators from its sacred portals; he had condemned the hypocritical lives of the Pharisees, and reproved their hidden sins; and in all this he had acted under the instruction of his Heavenly Father. For this reason they hated him and sought to kill him. Jesus declared to them: “Ye are from beneath; I am from above. Ye are of this world; I am not of this world.”
15 “When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me.” “And he that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” These words were spoken with thrilling power, and, for the time, closed the lips of the Pharisees, and caused many of those who listened with attentive minds to unite with Jesus, believing him to be the Son of God. To these believing ones he said, “If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” But to the Pharisees who rejected him, and who hardened their hearts against him, he declared: “I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins; whither I go, ye cannot come.”
16 But the Pharisees took up his words, addressed to those who believed, and commented upon them, saying, “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free:” Jesus looked upon these men,—the slaves of unbelief and bitter malice, whose thoughts were bent upon revenge,—and answered them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin.” They were in the worst of bondage, ruled by the spirit of evil. Jesus declared to them that if they were the true children of Abraham, and lived in obedience to God, they would not seek to kill one who was speaking the truth that was given him of God. This was not doing the works of Abraham, whom they claimed as their father.
17 Jesus, with startling emphasis, denied that the Jews were following the example of Abraham. Said he, “Ye do the deeds of your father.” The Pharisees, partly comprehending his meaning, said, “We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” But Jesus answered them: “If God were your Father, ye would love me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.” The Pharisees had turned from God, and refused to recognize his Son. If their minds had been open to the love of God, they would have acknowledged the Saviour who was sent to the world by him. Jesus boldly revealed their desperate condition:—
18 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” These words were spoken with sorrowful pathos, as Jesus realized the terrible condition into which these men had fallen. But his enemies heard him with uncontrollable anger; although his majestic bearing, and the mighty weight of the truths he uttered, held them powerless. Jesus continued to draw the sharp contrast between their position and that of Abraham, whose children they claimed to be:—
19 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.” The Jews listened incredulously to this assertion, and said, sneeringly, “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham:” Jesus, with a lofty dignity that sent a thrill of conviction through their guilty souls, answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” For a moment, silence fell upon all the people, as the grand and awful import of these words dawned upon their minds. But the Pharisees, speedily recovering from the influence of his words, and fearing their effect upon the people, commenced to create an uproar, railing at him as a blasphemer. “Then took they up stones to cast at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”
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1 Chapter XIII.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The sinful course which Jacob had pursued in deceiving his father was ever before him. He knew that his long exile was the result of his own deviation from strict integrity, the law of right. He pondered over these things day and night, his conscience accusing him, and making his journey very sad. How he longed to again go over the ground where he had stumbled and brought the stain of sin upon his soul. Before his transgression he had a sense of God’s approval which made him brave under difficulties, and cheerful amid trouble and gloom. To this deep, abiding peace, he had long been a stranger. Yet he remembered with gratitude the favor which God had shown him, the vision of the shining ladder, and the promises of help and guidance. In solemn review of the mistakes and errors of his life, and the dealings of God with him, he humbly acknowledged his own unworthiness, the great mercy of God, and the prosperity which had crowned his labors.
2 As the hills of his native land appeared before him in the distance, the heart of the patriarch was deeply stirred. He had proved his God, and found his promises unfailing; he believed that God would be with him; yet as he drew near to Edom he had many fears of Esau, who was now able to do his younger brother great injury if so disposed. Again the Lord encouraged the heart of his servant with a token of divine care and protection. Directly before him, as if leading the way, he beheld two armies of heavenly angels marching as a guide and guard; and when he saw them he broke forth in language of praise, and exclaimed, “This is God’s host.” And he called the name of the place Mahanaim, which signifies two hosts, or camps.
3 Although Jacob had so great evidence that God would protect him, he felt that he himself had something to do for his own safety. He therefore sent his servants with a conciliatory message to Esau, who dwelt at Mount Seir, in the country of Edom. He did not claim the precedence for himself, but courteously addressed his brother as a superior, hoping thus to appease the anger which his former course had excited. Esau was informed of his younger brother’s safe return with abundant possessions of cattle and servants, and that he would be most happy to meet him with fraternal feelings. The messengers returned to their master with the tidings that Esau was advancing to meet him attended by four hundred men; and no response was sent to the friendly message.
4 It appeared certain that Esau was coming in anger to seek revenge. A feeling of terror pervaded to entire camp. Jacob was in distress. He could not go back, and he feared to advance. His company was few in numbers, and wholly unprepared for an encounter. He accordingly divided them into two bands, that if one should be attacked, the other might have an opportunity to escape. He would not fail to do all in his power to preserve his own life and the life of those dependent upon him, and then he pleaded with God for his presence and protecting care. He did not rely upon his feelings, nor upon any goodness which he possessed, but on the sure promise of God: “Thou saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now am I become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.”
5 Jacob halted in his journey to mature plans for appeasing the wrath of his brother. He would not rush recklessly into danger, but sent large presents to Esau by the hands of his servants, with a message well calculated to make a favorable impression. He sent his wives and children, with all his substance forward on the journey, while he himself remained behind. He thought the sight of that helpless little company would touch the feelings of Esau, who, though bold and revengeful, was yet pitiful and tender toward the weak and unprotected. If his eye rested first upon Jacob, his rage might be excited, and they would all perish.
6 Jacob wished to be alone with his God. It was midnight. All that made life dear to him was at a distance, exposed to danger and death. The bitterest drop in his cup of anguish was the thought that his own sin had brought this great peril upon his wives and children, who were innocent of the sin of which he was guilty. He had decided to spend the night in humiliation and prayer. God could soften the heart of his brother. God was his only refuge and strength. In a desolate place, infested by robbers and murderers, he bowed in deep distress upon the earth; his soul was rent with anguish, and with earnest cries mingled with tears he made his prayer before God. Strong hands are suddenly laid upon his shoulders. He immediately grapples his assailant, for he feels that this attack is a design upon his life; that he is in the hands of a robber or murderer. The contest is severe; neither utters a word; but Jacob puts forth all his strength, and does not relax his efforts for a moment. Thus the struggle continued, until near the break of day, when the stranger placed his finger upon Jacob’s thigh, and he was crippled instantly. The patriarch now discerns the character of his antagonist. He knows that he has been in bodily conflict with a heavenly messenger, and this is why his almost superhuman efforts did not gain for him the victory. He is now disabled and suffering keenest pain, but he will not loosen his hold. He falls, a conquered foe, all penitent and broken, upon the neck of the angel.
7 In the inspired history of this event, the one who wrestled with Jacob is called a man; Hosea calls him the angel; while Jacob said, “I have seen God face to face.” He is also said to have had power with God. It was the Majesty of Heaven, the Angel of the covenant, that came, in the form and appearance of a man, to Jacob. The divine messenger uses some force to release himself from the grasp of Jacob; he pleads with him, “Let me go, for the day breaketh.” But Jacob had been pleading the promises of God; he had been trusting his pledged word, which is as sure and unfailing as his throne; and now, through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal, can make terms with Jesus Christ: “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” What boldness is here manifested! What lofty faith, what perseverance and holy trust! Was this presumption and undue familiarity on the part of Jacob? Had it been of this character he would not have lived through the scene. His was not a self-exalted, boastful, presumptuous claim, but the assurance of one who realizes his weakness and unworthiness and the ability of God to fulfill his promise. The mistake which had led to Jacob’s sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud was now opened before him. He had not trusted God and his promises as he should have done. He had sought by his own works and power to bring about that which God was abundantly able to perform in his own time and way.
8 “And when he saw that he prevailed not against him”—the Majesty of Heaven prevailed not against a man of dust, a sinful mortal! The reason is, that man has fastened the trembling hand of faith upon the promise of God, and the divine, messenger cannot leave him who is hanging repentant, weeping, helpless upon his neck. His great heart of love cannot turn away from the suppliant without granting his request. Christ did not wish to leave him unblest when his soul was shrouded with despair; for he is more willing to give good things to them that ask him than are parents to give to their children.
9 The angel inquired of Jacob, “What is thy name?” and on being informed he said, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, [the supplanter] but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” Jacob had received the blessing for which his soul had longed; his sin as a supplanter and deceiver was pardoned. The crisis in his life had passed. God shows, in his dealing with Jacob, that he will not sanction the least wrong in any of his children; neither will he cast off and leave to despair and destruction those who are deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin. Doubt, perplexity, and remorse had embittered Jacob’s life; but now all was changed, and how sweet was the rest and peace in God, in the assurance of his restored favor.
10 “Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him; he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us, even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial.” What a morning of light and joy dawned upon Jacob. The dark, despairing shadows brooding over him the previous night had disappeared. The brightness of the sun, shining in its glory, fitly represented the heavenly light that filled his soul. He was crippled in body, but his spirit was strong in God. He bore some marks of the battle, but the victory was his.
11 In this instance we see of what value is man in the sight of the infinite God. When a teacher of men upon the earth, the One who appeared to Jacob said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? and not one of them is forgotten before God. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” The promises of God are so sure to those who trust in him that he will suffer the heavens and the earth to pass away, rather than fail to fulfill the desire of them that fear him. The great lessons of peace, humility, and trust, are to be learned by all the followers of Christ.
12 While Jacob was wrestling with the angel on that eventful night, another angel, one of the host which the patriarch had seen guarding him in the way, was sent to move upon the heart of Esau in his sleeping hours. In his dream he saw his brother an exile from his father’s house for twenty years through fear of his anger; he witnessed his sorrow to find his mother dead; and he beheld him encompassed with the hosts of God. Esau related this dream to his four hundred armed men, and charged them not to injure Jacob, for the God of his father was with him.
13 The two companies at last approach each other; the sturdy chieftain with his soldiers on one side, and on the other, Jacob, pale from his recent conflict, and halting at every step, yet with a benignity and peaceful light reflected upon his countenance; in the rear an unarmed company of men, women, and children, followed by the flocks and herds. Supported by his staff the patriarch went forward to meet that band of warriors, bowing himself repeatedly to the ground as a token of respect, while his little retinue awaited the issue with the deepest anxiety. They saw the arms of Esau thrown about the neck of Jacob, pressing to his bosom him whom he had so long threatened with direst vengeance. Revenge is now changed to tender affection, and he who once thirsted for his brother’s blood shed tears of joy, his heart melted with the softest endearments of love and tenderness. The soldiers in Esau’s army saw the result of that night of weeping and of prayer; but they knew nothing of the conflict and the victory. They understood the feelings of the patriarch, the husband and father, for his family and his possessions; but they could not see the connection that he had with God, which had gained the heart of Esau from Him who has all hearts in his hand. Thus it has ever been with worldlings; the secret of the Christian’s strength is not discerned by them. His inner life they cannot understand.
14 Esau looked with pleasure upon his brother’s possessions. He acknowledged the presents tendered to him by Jacob, but declined to accept them, as he already possessed abundance. But Jacob urged the matter. He was a prince with God, yet as subdued and humble as a little child. “And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand; for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.”
15 Esau invited Jacob to his home in Seir, and offered to accompany him on the journey. But Jacob had no disposition to accept the offer. He knew that Esau was now under the direct influence of the Spirit of God; when another spirit should come upon him he might greatly change in feelings. Jacob did not refuse the offer, but presented the true condition of his party, his flocks and herds; that they could not travel with the expedition which would be agreeable to Esau and his band. He urged him to return to his own place, while the party would follow on slowly. Esau desired to leave with his brother soldiers to guard him and his company; but Jacob had evidence that they were guarded by a mighty host of heavenly angels, and he courteously declined the favor. The brothers parted with tender feelings.
(To be Continued.)
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1 Chapter XIII. - Continued.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Jacob and Esau represent two classes. Jacob, the righteous; and Esau, the wicked. Jacob’s night of wrestling and anguish represents the time of trouble through which the people of God must pass just prior to the second coming of Christ. Jeremiah refers to this time: “Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Daniel, in prophetic vision looking down to this point, says: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Isaiah speaks of the same time: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy door about thee, hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
2 In his distress, Jacob laid hold of the angel, and held him and wrestled with him all night. So also will the righteous, in the time of their trouble wrestle with God in prayer. Jacob prayed all night for deliverance from the hand of Esau. The righteous in their mental anguish will cry to God day and night for deliverance from the hands of the wicked who surround them. Jacob confessed his unworthiness: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant.” The righteous will have a deep sense of their shortcomings, and with many tears will acknowledge their utter unworthiness, and, like Jacob, will plead the promises of God through Christ, made to just such dependent, helpless, repenting sinners.
3 Jacob took firm hold of the angel and would not let him go. As he made supplication with tears, the angel reminded him of his past wrongs, and endeavored to escape from him, to test and prove him. So will the righteous in the day of their anguish, be tested, proved, and tried, to manifest their strength of faith, their perseverance, and unshaken confidence in the power of God to deliver them.
4 Jacob would not be turned away. He knew that God was merciful, and he appealed to his mercy. He pointed back to his past sorrow for, and repentance of, his wrongs, and urged his petition for deliverance from the hand of Esau. Thus his importuning continued all night. As he reviewed his past wrongs, he was driven almost to despair. But he knew that he must have help from God or perish. He held the angel fast, and urged his petition with agonizing, earnest cries, until he prevailed. Thus will it be with the righteous. As they review the events of their past lives, their hopes will almost sink. But as they realize that it is a case of life or death, they will earnestly cry unto God, and appeal to him in regard to their past sorrow for, and humble repentance of, their many sins, and then will refer to his promise: “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me.” Thus will their earnest petitions be offered to God day and night. God would not have heard the prayer of Jacob, and mercifully saved his life, if he had not previously repented of his wrongs in obtaining the blessing by fraud. Every effort was put forward by Satan and his host to discourage Jacob and break his hold upon God by forcing upon him a sense of the sin of his falsehood and deception. But Jacob was not left alone; the Captain of the Lord’s host, attended by an army of angels, was close beside the depressed, fear-stricken man, that he might not perish.
5 The righteous, like Jacob, will manifest unyielding faith and earnest determination, which will take no denial. They will feel their unworthiness, but will have no concealed wrongs to reveal. If they had sins, unconfessed and unrepented of, to appear then before them, while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed. Despair would cut off their earnest faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God thus earnestly for deliverance, their precious moments would be spent in confessing hidden sins, and bewailing their hopeless condition.
6 In these days of peril those who have been unfaithful in their duties in life, and whose mistakes and sins of neglect are registered against them in the book in Heaven, unrepented of and unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan. Every one is to be tested and severely tried. Satan will exert all his energies, and call to his aid his evil host, who will exercise all their experience, artifice, and cunning, to deceive souls and wrest them from the hands of Jesus Christ. He makes them believe they may be unfaithful in the minor duties of life, and God will not see, God will not notice; but that Being who numbers the hairs of our head, and marks the fall of the little sparrow, notices every deviation from truth, every departure from honor and integrity in both secular and religious things. These errors and sins corrupt the man, and disqualify him for the society of heavenly angels. By his defiled character he has placed himself under the flag of Satan. The arch deceiver has power over this class. The more exalted their profession, the more honorable the position they have held, the more grievous their course in the sight of God, the more sure the triumph of Satan. These will have no shelter in the time of Jacob’s trouble. Their sins will then appear of such magnitude that they will have no confidence to pray, no heart to wrestle as did Jacob. On the other hand, those who have been of like passion, erring and sinful in their lives, but who have repented of their sins, and in genuine sorrow confessed them, will have pardon written against their names in the heavenly records. They will be hid ‘in the day of the Lord’s anger. Satan will attack this class, but like Jacob they have taken hold of the strength of God, and true to his character he is at peace with them, and sends angels to comfort and bless and sustain them in their time of peril. The time of Jacob’s trouble will test every one, and distinguish the genuine Christian from the one who is so only in name.
7 Those professed believers who come up to the time of trouble unprepared, will, in their despair, confess their sins before the world in words of burning anguish, while the wicked exult over their distress. The case of all such is hopeless. When Christ stands up, and leaves the most holy place, the time of trouble commences, the case of every soul is decided, and there will be no atoning blood to cleanse from sin and pollution. As Jesus leaves the most holy, he speaks in tones of decision and kingly authority: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
8 Those who have delayed a preparation for the day of God, cannot obtain it in the time of trouble, or at any future period. The righteous will not cease their earnest, agonizing cries for deliverance. They cannot bring to mind any particular sins; but in their whole life they can see little good. Their sins have gone before hand to judgment, and pardon has been written. Their sins have been borne away into the land of forgetfulness, and they can not bring them to remembrance. Certain destruction threatens them, and, like Jacob, they will not suffer their faith to grow weak because their prayers are not immediately answered. Though suffering the pangs of hunger, they will not cease their intercessions. They lay hold of the strength of God, as Jacob laid hold of the angel; and the language of their soul is, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.”
9 That season of distress and anguish will require an effort of earnestness and determined faith that can endure delay and hunger, and will not fail under weakness, though severely tried. The period of probation is the time granted to all to prepare for the day of God. If any neglect the preparation, and heed not the faithful warnings given, they will be without excuse. Jacob’s course in wrestling with the angel, should be an example for Christians. Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. All who desire the blessing of God, as did Jacob, and who will lay hold of the promises as he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. The reason there is so little exercise of true faith, and so little of the weight of truth resting upon many professed believers, is they are indolent in spiritual things. They are unwilling to make exertions, to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for the blessing, and therefore they do not obtain it. That faith which will live through the time of trouble must be developed now. Those who do not make strong efforts now to exercise persevering faith, will be unable to stand in the day of trouble.
10 At the transfiguration, Jesus was glorified by his Father. From his lips came these words: “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” Before his betrayal and crucifixion he was strengthened for his last dreadful sufferings. As the members of Christ’s body approach the period of their final conflict they will grow up into him, and will possess symmetrical characters. As the message of the third angel swells to a loud cry, great power and glory will attend the closing work. It is the latter rain, which revives and strengthens the people of God to pass through the time of Jacob’s trouble referred to by the prophets. The glory of that light which attends the third angel will be reflected upon them. God will preserve his people through that time of peril.
11 By self-surrender and confiding faith Jacob gained what he had failed to gain by conflict in his own strength. God would here fully make known to his servant that it was divine power and grace alone that could give him the life and peace he so much craved. This lesson is for all time. Those who live in the last days must pass through an experience similar to that of Jacob. Foes will be all around them, ready to condemn and destroy. Alarm and despair will seize them, for it appears to them as to Jacob in his distress, that God himself has become an avenging enemy. It is the design of God to arouse the dormant energies of his people to look out of and away from self to One who can bring help and salvation, that the promises given for just such a time may be seen in their preciousness, and relied upon with unwavering trust. Here faith is proved.
12 Deep anguish of soul will be felt by the people of God, yet their sufferings cannot be compared with the agony endured by our adorable Redeemer in the garden of Gethsemane. He was bearing the weight of our sins; we endure anguish on our own account. Wrestling with God — how few know what it is! To wrestle with God is to have the soul drawn out with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch, while waves of despair that no language can express sweep over the soul; and yet the suppliant will not yield, but clings with deathlike tenacity to the promise.
13 Jacob specified no particular thing for the Lord to bestow upon him; he sought only a blessing; he knew that the Lord would give him a blessing appropriate to meet the necessities of the case at that time. God blessed him then and there; and on the field of conflict he was made a prince among men. Thus will it be with the agonized ones who prevail with God in the time of Jacob’s trouble. Dangers thicken on every side, and it is difficult to fix the eye of faith upon the promises amidst the certain evidences of immediate destruction. But in the midst of revelry and violence, there falls upon the ear peal upon peal of the loudest thunder. The heavens have gathered blackness and are only illuminated with the blazing light and terrible glory from Heaven. God utters his voice from his holy habitation. The captivity of his people is turned. With sweet and subdued voices they say to one another, God is our friend. We shall be safe from the power of wicked men. In solemn awe they listen to the words proceeding from the throne of God. Those surrounding the righteous are then in their time of distress and inexpressible fear. The horror of despair seizes them, and these poor infatuated ones seem now to understand themselves. Those who have been deceived by the fables preached to them by their ministers now charge upon them the loss of their souls: You have preached to us falsehoods. We have believed a lie, and are lost, forever lost.
14 This is the time referred to by Malachi: “Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.”
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1 Chapter XIV.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Jacob made his home in Shechem, and having purchased a piece of land he erected his tent, and close beside it his altar, and dedicated them to God. The sons of Jacob were not all governed by religious principle. Their inhuman treatment of the Shechemites was offensive to God. Their father was kept in ignorance of their purpose until the work of cruelty was accomplished; and when he learned what had been done he severely rebuked them for their treacherous, revengeful course. Simeon and Levi attempted to defend themselves by urging that they had thus avenged the wrong done to their sister. But Jacob assured them that nothing could justify their conduct; for the sin of one man they had caused the innocent inhabitants of a whole city to suffer. These people had placed confidence in them, and thus had been shamefully betrayed. The God of Israel had been dishonored. Jacob felt deeply humiliated; he knew that deception and cruelty had been practiced, and he felt that he would now be hated and despised by the inhabitants of the country around them.
2 He saw, too, that treachery and cruelty was growing upon his sons, and that they were forgetting God, and allowing infidelity to come into their hearts. He knew that there was cause for self-condemnation in this matter, and he began to reflect upon his own conduct in allowing his beloved Rachel to conceal her father’s gods which she had stolen, when he should have destroyed at once everything which would lead to infidelity.
3 There were false gods in the camp of Israel, and he had not used prompt means to destroy them; and idolatrous worship was more or less practiced by his household. He knew that should God deal with them, in the present instance, according to their crime, he would permit the surrounding nations to take vengeance upon them.
4 While Jacob was thus bowed down with trouble, the Lord had compassion upon him, and directed him to leave his place and move southward to Bethel. At the mention of this name the patriarch is reminded not only of his vision of the angels, ascending and descending, and of God above them speaking to him words of comfort, but also of the vow which he had made there, that if God would keep and bless him, the Lord should be his God. And he reflects thus: Have I been as faithful to my promise as God has been to me? He saw and felt the necessity of being more thorough and decided in his family, to put away everything that savored of idolatry. He determined to cleanse the camp, that his company might go to this sacred spot free from defilement. He therefore stands up and addresses them: “Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments; and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.”
5 He then, with trembling voice and quivering lip, related to them his perplexity; when but a youth he left his father’s tent, a lonely traveler, afraid of his life, with no earthly friend to comfort or encourage. Passing Hebron and Moriah, he came, in the evening of the second day, to Bethel, the spot made sacred by the sacrifices and prayers of Abraham. He felt heart-sick and friendless in his solitude, and lay down to sleep. It was here that God gave him that encouraging dream of the heavenly ladder which reached from earth to Heaven. Angels of God were ascending and descending upon this ladder of shining brightness, and the Lord himself stood above it, and spoke to him these encouraging words: “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and in thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land.”
6 On awaking from this dream, Jacob felt that the spot was peopled with angels, and that God was looking with tender love and compassion upon him, and he there set up a memorial signifying that he would ever remember the loving-kindness of God.
7 As Jacob thus reviewed the goodness and mercy of God to him, his own heart was subdued and humbled; and he had taken the most effectual way to reach the hearts of his children, and lead them to reverence the God of Heaven when they arrived at Bethel. Not in the least did any of his family hesitate to obey his commands. All that were with him delivered up their idols, and also their earrings, and he buried them under an oak near Shechem. The patriarch felt that humiliation before God was more in keeping with their position than was the wearing of gold and silver ornaments.
8 Jacob had now done his duty in cleansing his household from idolatry, and he set out with them on his journey to Bethel. For the sake of his servant Jacob, who had no part in the cruelty practiced on the Shechemites, the Lord caused fear to fall upon the inhabitants of the land, that they did not arise to avenge the deed done to Shechem. The travelers moved on their way unmolested, and came to Bethel. Here Jacob, in obedience to the divine command, immediately erected an altar, upon which he performed the vow made when on his journey from Canaan to Mesopotamia. Of all the substance that had been placed with him in trust, he rendered an offering to God, although it took from him quite a large share of his possessions. The self-denial and beneficence here manifested, rebukes the self-indulgence of many professed Christians, and the meager offerings which they bring to God. Many put into the Lord’s treasury a sum less than the price of their cigars, and far less than the cost of the ornaments that adorn their persons and their houses, and the hurtful luxuries upon their tables. Eternity will reveal the narrowness and selfishness of these minds. What will be their feelings when Christ shall reveal to them the value of souls, and the infinite importance of their salvation?
9 The Lord accepted the offering of Jacob, and met with and blessed him, and renewed his covenant with him. As a lasting memorial of this additional token of divine favor, Jacob again erected a pillar of stone, which he consecrated in the usual manner.
10 Jacob’s heart yearned to visit his early home once more, and look again upon his aged father’s face. With his family, he journeyed toward Hebron. Before they had proceeded far on the way, Rachel gave birth to Benjamin. She had only a moment’s space of life in which to name him, when she died, calling him Benoni, the son of my sorrow. But Jacob named him Benjamin, the son of my right hand, and my strength. Rachel was buried where she died, and above her grave was placed a stone monument to perpetuate her memory.
11 Rebekah, his mother, was dead; and while they were at Bethel, Deborah, his mother’s nurse, also died, and was there buried with expressions of great sorrow, for she had been an honored member of his father’s family. The meeting of Jacob with his father was a joyful one to both father and son. Isaac was very old, blind, and dependent; but he lived some years after the return of his son.
12 At the death-bed of their father, the two brothers, Jacob and Esau, met and united their grief. Once Esau had looked forward to this event as a time when he would be revenged upon Jacob for stealing from him his father’s blessing; but his feelings had greatly changed. Jacob was now wealthy, and he returned to Esau the blessing of possession so recklessly sold for a mess of pottage. Therefore the two brothers, no longer separated by enmity, jealousy, and hatred, parted from each other because of their possessions. Jacob also knew that their religious faith was so unlike it would be better for them to live apart. Jacob’s character was greatly modified and refined by the blessing received from the angel in that night of terrible conflict, and ever after he was reverenced by all who knew him. His trials had not been in vain.
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1 So far as human sympathy was concerned, Christ was as though alone in our world. His nearest friends and relatives did not understand him. They could not understand the nature of the kingdom of which he spoke, nor comprehend the vastness of that love which embraced humanity.
2 His knowledge extended, not only to this world, but to the future, unseen world. He had lived in eternal light in the heavenly courts, and was one with the Father, but in the world which he had created, he was in solitude.
3 Fallen men, in one sense, could not be companions for Christ, for they could not enter into sympathy with his divine nature, and hold communion with the world’s Redeemer. When woe, and want, and suffering demanded his help, they found relief; for human suffering ever touched a responsive chord in the Saviour’s heart. His work was to elevate men through his condescension, through his lessons of instruction, and by means of his example, lifting them heavenward by the might of his divine power. But companions he had none upon earth. He was fully understood in Heaven alone.
4 After the toils of the day the Redeemer of the world was frequently found all night in prayer. Crowds throng him through the day so that he has not a moment for rest or prayer. The fame of his work and of his wonderful teachings brought vast multitudes from all the region round about, not only to listen to his life-giving words, but to receive power from him that they might be healed of their maladies. All are eager to receive his first attention.
5 Some ply him with questions to gratify their curiosity, some to show their aptness and learning; and the jealous, caviling Pharisees watch to find some pretext to denounce him as an impostor. Some selfishly think that they may be advantaged by his great knowledge, and receive help in their personal difficulties, while others, hungering and thirsting for clearer light, and a better knowledge of the true way, humbly listen as for their lives, drinking in every word that falls from the Master’s lips.
6 The restless throng sways to and fro, as some are continually coming and striving to press nearer, while others are passing away with greater zeal in their own worldly interests than in the words of eternal life.
7 The suffering ones call for his sympathy, the feeble, the distorted, the decrepit, the blind, and the palsied, all turn imploringly to him, and faint voices plead earnestly for help. The crowd is so dense it seems impossible to urge a passage to Christ, and hope almost dies out of some hearts. They fear their chance will come too late, for they feel that life is fast ebbing. Can they reach the mighty Healer through the dense masses before it is too late?
8 But not one passes from his presence unrelieved. He repulses none, but speaks kindly and patiently with all, and in clear, calm, earnest tones he utters the truths that search to the very souls of his hearers. He is often interrupted with the cry of the demoniac, and the suffering and dying ones are urged through the crowd and laid at his feet.
9 His disciples see the pressure of care and burdens upon the Master, and decide that they must interfere and draw him away from the crowd. They invite him to find rest from his physical weariness before he shall faint with exhaustion. But Jesus continues his work notwithstanding the urgency of his disciples to draw him away for refreshment and rest. They say one to another, He must be beside himself to continue this taxing labor longer. They think that force will have to be used to save his life. He has not had sleep, or food, or a moment’s repose. He makes his way toward the sea-shore, and the surging crowd urge him to the very water’s edge. He beckons to Peter to receive him in his boat, and there upon the swaying seat of a fisherman’s boat he teaches his disciples upon the shore.
10 When the sun was set, and the night came on, and the people had dispersed to their homes, the disciples felt relieved. They felt sure that the Master would rest in some quiet home, and they would have him a little period all to themselves; but they were disappointed. Weary, exhausted, and faint as he was, he would not consent to go with them to seek refreshment or repose. He dismissed his disciples, and would not allow them to accompany him, but repaired to the solitary mountains, telling them where they may meet him in the morning.
11 All night he must be alone in the mountain sanctuary with his God. All night he spent in prayer, pouring out his soul with strong crying and tears, not because he had sins to confess, or to bring remorse to his heart, not because he had troubles of his own to be relieved. A world in the darkness of error is weighing upon his soul, and while it sleeps in security he prays that it may not perish in its sin and impenitence. Thus passed the night, and when nature’s choristers tuned their songs of praise in the early morning, Christ was prepared for the day of active, earnest work.
12 The day after the scene at Capernaum was to be one of great importance. The memorable sermon upon the mount was to be given to his disciples, and so come down through the ages to us. The day before he had not place sufficiently large to accommodate the people, and had taken his seat in Peter’s boat to address the people on the shore. This day he led the people to the high table-land overlooking the lake, where the tall grass was waving in the breeze, and wild flowers bloomed in rich profusion of beauty and variety at their feet, and nature was clothed in her most beautiful garments. Yonder were sharp mountain peaks outlined against the sky, bearing testimony to the majesty and power of God in his created works.
13 Christ seated himself upon an eminence, while the people gathered on the large grassy plain at its foot. The place was well chosen for the discourse. The sun had not yet appeared above the mountains; the incense of flowers perfumed the air, and the singing birds seemed to attune their songs responsive to the words uttered by the God of nature to impress souls with the truths falling from his divine lips.
14 The contrast of this morning’s scene with that of Sinai was marked. Then the millions of people gathered before the mountain whose lofty peaks seemed to reach to the very heavens. The lightnings flashed, and the groaning, muttering thunders, like supernatural voices filled the air, and God’s voice was heard in trumpet-like tones by all the congregation. Moses was commanded to come up and talk with God. He obeyed the mandate, and climbed far up the solitary heights, and God talked with him. On the morning of the third day a thick cloud began to cover the mountain, increasing in denseness every moment, while its billowy form surged violently. The earth shook and trembled as if convulsed, and the thunder peals were caught up in reverberations from peak to peak, far and near. The stately tread of the Lord Jehovah and of his Son was upon that mountain. At intervals, between the bursts of the thunder were sounds as of a trumpet swelling louder and louder till it rose above the war of the elements.
15 The people stood terror-stricken, every face pale as the dead, with eyes fixed in awe upon the fearful manifestations of the awful presence of God. Then was spoken amid flame and smoke the law of God. The people about the mount receded from its base in awe and fear. Their souls were overwhelmed with the grandeur and terrible majesty of the scene. They saw the two men go up amid the awful glory to receive the law from the lips of God. When Moses and Aaron again stood in their midst, the people implored them that the word of God might come to them through Moses, and not by the direct and terrible voice of God, lest they could not live.
16 “Fear not,” said Moses, “for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.” All the majesty of this scene was necessary to impress its solemnity upon the minds of the children of Israel, whose lives had been spent among the symbols and ceremonies of the Egyptian worship.
17 Christ, who had led the children of Israel in the wilderness, who revealed his majesty and spoke the law from Sinai, was now to define the principles of that law, which was to be carried out and exemplified in practical life. The multitude close about the great Teacher, interested and eager to catch every word that fall from his lips. Yet there are no grand and awful demonstrations on this occasion, as at Sinai. The beauties of nature in the luxuriant vegetation and adornment of flowers speak to the senses of the love of God in his created works.
18 There was no eloquence of words used in the lessons of Christ, no overdrawn language hiding the simple grandeur of the thought, nothing to bewilder the mind or mislead the imagination. The language was simple, the utterance slow and forcible, and the enunciation clear and distinct. God was speaking to the soul of man in kindness and love. The countenance of Christ beamed with the glory of heaven’s light. His eyes expressed love and sympathy for man. Divinity flashed through humanity as the deep and earnest words of eternal life were spoken to the interested hearers.
19 The sun was climbing above the mountain tops, reflecting its bright beams upon the hills and mountains, distinctly revealing the cities upon their slopes.
20 He pointed to the bright beams of the sun, saying impressively, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set upon a hill cannot be hid. . . . Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”
(To be continued).
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1 Chapter XV.
Jacob and Joseph.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Of the twelve sons of Jacob, the one for whom he had special love was Joseph; for he was the son of his beloved wife Rachel, and one of the children of his old age. He was a son of remarkable beauty. His oldest sons had arrived at manhood, and had developed unhappy traits of character. There was continual strife among the eleven; they were neither just nor benevolent toward each other. The envy and jealousy which were cherished by the several mothers making the family relation very unhappy, were instilled by word and example into the minds and hearts of the children, who grew up revengeful, jealous, and uncontrollable. They would not endure provocation, for they had too long cherished hatred and revenge. These evils will ever be found to be the result of polygamy. Each of the mothers is envious and jealous lest her own children shall not receive due attention from the father; and again they experience bitterness and discontent whenever they are made to feel that another is preferred before them. Children who grow up together surrounded by such elements are most likely to indulge in resentment for every supposed slight, and revenge for any imaginary wrongs. There is that in polygamy which dries up human affection, and tempts to the loosening of ties which should be held sacred.
2 Jacob’s life was made very bitter by the conduct of his sons. Joseph had another spirit; he was cheerful and happy, and possessed great love for his father whose heart was bound up in his child. This preference for Joseph was unwisely manifested, and called out the revengeful disposition of his other sons. When Joseph saw the wicked course pursued by his brethren he remonstrated with them; but they hated him for his entreaties, and for daring to reprove them who were so much older than he, and accused him of being a spy upon their actions. As Joseph saw that his words and entreaties only excited wrath against himself, he laid the plans and evil purposes of his brethren before his father, which gave him knowledge of many things he otherwise would not have known. The fathers of children among the Hebrews were made responsible in a great degree for the sins of their children, when they were left without the exercise of authority and restraint. When the father’s solicitude was expressed to his sons in a voice tremulous with grief, and he implored them to have respect for his gray hairs and not make his name a reproach, and to be despised because of their course, the sons felt sorry and ashamed before their father, because their wickedness was known, but felt envious and jealous of Joseph because he had informed his father of their course of sin. Jacob flattered himself that his sons repented of their wickedness, and he trusted they would reform.
3 Jacob unwisely gave expression to his love for Joseph in making him a present of a coat of beautiful colors. This only increased the hatred of his brothers against him; for they thought Joseph had stolen their father’s affections from them, and they considered themselves ill treated and deprived of their father’s confidence and love. They did not see that their own wicked course was a continual shame and disgrace to his gray hairs, and that his affections centered upon Joseph because of his purity and true excellence of character.
4 The Lord gave Joseph a dream which he related; Jacob would have been alarmed had he suspected the hatred and malicious feelings this dream aroused in the hearts of his sons against his beloved child. Joseph dreamed that while they were all engaged binding sheaves of grain, his sheaf arose and stood upright, and the sheaves of all the rest stood round about and bowed before his sheaf. No sooner was his dream related than they all understood its significance. His brothers exclaimed with indignation, “Shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?” Their hatred toward him burned deeper in their hearts than before. Soon the Lord gave Joseph another dream of the same import, but more strikingly significant. This dream he also related to his father and his brethren. He said, “Behold I have dreamed a dream more, and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” The interpretation of this dream was quite as quickly discerned as was that of the first. “And his father rebuked him, and said unto him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”
5 Like a youthful prophet Joseph stood before them in the simplicity of virtuous innocence, his beautiful countenance lighted up with the spirit of inspiration. His brethren could but admire his purity and goodness; but they did not choose to leave their wicked course and become virtuous and noble like him. The spirit that actuated Cain was fastening upon them. Like him they hated their brother because he was innocent and righteous and beloved of his father, while they were wicked and a source of grief to their father as Cain was to his father.
6 Joseph’s father had confidence that the Lord was revealing the future to his son; but his words of apparent severity did not satisfy his elder sons, for the voice of tremulous affection betrayed his true feelings. He called to mind the promise of God to Abraham, to Isaac, and to himself. His heart had been grieved and disappointed in his older sons, but as he saw the qualities of mind possessed by Joseph, his hopes centered in him. He hoped that God would wonderfully bless him, the eldest son of his beloved Rachel. The favor with which Jacob regarded Joseph could not be concealed, and the gorgeous colored coat which he had given him was a clear evidence to his sons of his partiality. This they thought gave them sufficient reason for harboring jealousy, hatred, and revenge in their hearts.
7 These brothers were obliged to move from place to place in order to secure better pasturage for their flocks, and sometimes they did not see their father for months. At one time Jacob directed them to go to Shechem, a place which he had purchased. After they had been gone some time, and he had received no word from them he feared that evil might have befallen them, knowing that they were near where their cruelty had been practiced upon the Shechemites. So he sent Joseph to Shechem to find his brethren, and bring him word of their condition. Had Jacob known the true feelings of his sons toward Joseph, he would not have trusted him alone with them; but they had concealed their wicked purposes from him.
8 When Joseph arrived at the place where his father supposed his brethren were, he did not find them. As he was traveling from field to field in search of them, a stranger learned his errand and told him they had gone to Dothan. He had already traveled fifty miles, and, a distance of fifteen more lay before him. This was a long journey for the youth; but he performed it cheerfully, desiring to relieve the anxiety of his beloved father, and longing to see his brethren who were enshrined in his affections. But he was illy repaid for his love and obedience.
9 At length he saw his brethren in the distance and hastened to greet them. They also saw him coming, his gay colored coat making him easily recognized; but as they beheld it, their feelings of envy, jealousy, and hatred, were aroused. They did not consider the long journey he had made on foot to meet them; they did not think of his weariness and hunger, and that as their brother he had claims upon their hospitality, their tender consideration and brotherly love. The sight of that coat which signalized him in the distance filled them with a Satanic frenzy. “And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.”
10 There seemed to be a common feeling of deadly hatred in their hearts. They had engaged in carnage and destruction until their feelings had become calloused. The indulgence of one known sin deadens the conscience so that it is more easily overcome with the next temptation. Thus step by step the course of sin and transgression is pursued until there is a harvest of crime through the indulgence of the first sin. These men regardless of the consequences, had passed on from stage, to stage hardening their hearts in the indulgence of sin until they had to all intents and purposes the spirit of Cain. They were enraged that Joseph had heretofore informed against them, and they looked upon him as a spy.
11 They had ere this decided that if a favorable opportunity offered they would slay him; the proposition was made, “Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams.”
12 This terrible purpose would have been carried out had not Reuben shrunk from participating in the murder of his brother. He plead for Joseph, showing with clear arguments what guilt would ever rest upon them, and, that the curse of God would come upon them for such a crime. He proposed to have him cast alive into a pit, and left there to perish, meaning to take him out privately and return him to his father. He left their company, fearing that his feelings would betray his design.
13 Joseph came on, glad and joyful that the object of his long search was accomplished. But, instead of a pleasant greeting, he met only scorn, abuse, and fierceness of looks which terrified him. He was immediately seized, and the coat which had created so much hatred, was stripped from him with the most taunting remarks. He had never before received such treatment and he expected his brethren would immediately kill him. His mind runs back to his home, his father, and the blessing he had received as he parted from him, and then he anticipated the sorrow he would feel at his death and the guilt of his murderers. He entreated them to spare his life, but all to no avail; he was helpless in the hands of infuriated men whose hearts were insensible to pity, and whose ears were deaf to the cry of anguish. But the eye of God was upon him, and Joseph’s cries of distress reached his throne. His brethren thrust him into a dark pit and then sat down to enjoy their customary meal. But while they were eating, they saw a company of Ishmaelites approaching, and Judah, who was beginning to regret what had been done, suggested that here was an opportunity to sell their brother and obtain money, which would be better than leaving him to perish in the pit; for said he, is he not our own flesh? Then, too, Judah thought that he could be disposed of by being removed entirely from them. All agreed to the proposition of Judah; Joseph was drawn up out of the pit, and heartlessly sold as a slave.
(To be continued).
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1 Chapter Sixteen.
Joseph in Egypt
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The Lord was with Joseph in his new home. He was in exile, not for any wrong that he had done, but through the injustice of his brothers. Yet he did not cherish a gloomy, sullen spirit, he did not yield to despondency, as many would have felt excused in doing. He was not in a position of his own choosing, and he would not make his condition worse by useless repining. With cheerful alacrity he performed the duties which were assigned him, laboring for the best interest of those to whom he then belonged. In contributing to the happiness of others he was happy.
2 The marked prosperity which attended everything placed under Joseph’s care was not the result of a direct miracle. With the divine blessing, his persevering industry, his diligence, his thoughtful care-taking were crowned with success, and won for him the highest regard of his master. This success could never have been gained, and Joseph himself could not have become what he was, without steadfast, well-directed effort. The exercise of the physical and mental powers is necessary to their full and perfect development. Without bodily exercise the laboring man’s arm would lose its strength, and unless the mental powers are taxed they will become weak.
3 Although surrounded with idolatry, which was most repulsive to his principles, Joseph preserved his simplicity, his purity, and his God-fearing fidelity. The discordant notes of vice and revelry often fell upon his ear, but he would not allow his thoughts to linger for a moment upon forbidden subjects. Had Joseph sacrificed principle to please the Egyptians, he would have been overcome by temptation. But he was not ashamed of the religion of his fathers, and he made no effort to conceal the fact that he loved and feared God. The Lord designed that the light and power of heavenly grace should shine forth amid the darkness of heathen superstition and idolatry; that the purity, the faithfulness, and steadfast integrity of the true believer in God should appear in contrast with the darkened characters of those who served idols.
4 Joseph gave the credit of his prosperity to the Lord, and his master believed that the Lord was with him, and that he caused all that he did to prosper. Thus God was glorified by the faithfulness of his servant. The confidence which Potiphar reposed in Joseph daily increased, until he promoted him to be his steward, placing him in charge of all his affairs. But fiery trials were to test still more severely the faith and integrity of Joseph. The morals of the Egyptians were very low. His master’s wife was a licentious woman, and now a temptation to deviate from the path of right, to transgress the law of God, is presented before the youthful exile. His future welfare depends upon the decision of the moment. Will Satan triumph? Will principle now garrison Joseph’s heart? Will he now have the fear of God before him? Will he be loyal and true to the divine law? Angels were regarding this servant of God with intense interest. The elevating power of religious principle was evidenced in his answer to his master’s wife. After speaking of the great confidence which his master had reposed in him by trusting him with all he had, he exclaims, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
5 Many will take liberties under the inspecting eyes of holy angels and of God that they would not be guilty of before their fellow men. This class are an abomination in the sight of God. Joseph’s first thought was of God; Thou “God seest me,” was the great truth controlling the thoughts of his mind, influencing the motives of his actions. He looked upon God, not as a tyrant watching his actions to condemn and punish him, but as a tender, loving friend, guarding his interests. He would not be persuaded by inducements or threats to deviate from the path of strictest integrity. He would not violate God’s law.
6 Joseph’s firm adherence to right brought him into a trying position. He lost his situation, his reputation, and his liberty. Crime and falsehood for a time seemed to triumph, while innocence and virtue suffered. Had Potiphar fully believed the charges of his wife, Joseph would have lost his life. But his past conduct, his modesty and firm integrity, were convincing proof of his innocence; and yet, to save the reputation of his master’s house, Joseph was sacrificed, while the sinful wife was exalted in the estimation of her friends as if a model of virtue.
7 When the base crime was laid to the charge of Joseph, and he was covered with reproach, he stood in nobility of soul, in conscious innocence. He knew that the eye of God was upon him, and he could confide his case to his care who had hitherto supported him. He was condemned as a criminal to a gloomy prison, yet he did not become morose and look upon the discouraging features of his case. He kept his patience and his hope and faith. He did not close his heart against suffering humanity, he did not turn his attention to himself, but entered into the troubles of his fellow-prisoners, giving them his kindly sympathy. He found work to do, even in the prison. He was indeed a servant of servants. God was fitting him, in the school of affliction, for greater usefulness. He was learning to govern himself. From a position of honor and trust he had been suddenly abased to one of apparent degradation; but integrity, innocence, and virtue can never be degraded. God’s will had been his ruling motive in prosperity, and he shows the same high regard for that will now that he is inclosed in prison walls. He carried his religion with him wherever he went, and in whatever situation he was placed.
8 Those who love God will have an all-pervading influence shedding a grateful fragrance. If man will discharge his duties faithfully wherever he may be, he will become a power for good. God gave Joseph favor with the keeper of the prison, and to faithful Joseph was committed the charge of all the prisoners.
9 Here is an example to all generations who should live upon the earth. Although they may be exposed to evil influences, they should ever realize that there is a defense at hand, and it will be their own fault if they are not preserved. God will be a present help, and his Spirit a shield. Although surrounded with the severest temptations, there is a source of strength to which they can apply, and obtain grace to resist them. How fierce was the assault upon Joseph’s morals. It came from one of influence, the most likely to lead astray. Yet how promptly and firmly was it resisted. He suffered for his integrity; for she who would lead him astray, revenged herself upon the virtue she could not subvert, and by her influence caused him to be cast into prison, by charging him with a foul wrong. But Joseph had placed his reputation and interests in the hands of God. And although he was suffered to be afflicted for a time, the Lord safely guarded that reputation that was blackened by a wicked accuser, and afterward, in his own good time, caused it to shine. God made even the prison the way to his elevation. Virtue will in time bring its own reward. The shield which covered Joseph’s heart was the fear of God, which caused him to be faithful and just to his master, and true to God. He despised that ingratitude which would lead him to abuse the confidence of his master, although he might never learn the fact. The grace of God he called to his aid, and then fought with the tempter. He nobly says, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” He came off conqueror.
10 Amid the snares to which all are exposed, they need strong and trustworthy defenses on which to rely. Many, in this corrupt age, have so small a supply of the grace of God, that in many instances their defense is broken down by the first assault, and fierce temptations take them captive. The shield of grace can preserve all unconquered by the temptations of the enemy, though surrounded by the most corrupting influences. By firm principle and unwavering trust in God, their virtue and nobleness of character may shine; and, although surrounded with evil, no taint need be left upon them. And if, like Joseph, they suffer calumny and false accusations, Providence will overrule all the enemy’s devices for good, and in his own time, exalt them as much higher, as for a while they were debased by wicked revenge.
11 The part which Joseph acted in connection with the scenes of the gloomy prison, was that which raised him finally to prosperity and honor. God designed that he should obtain an experience by temptations, adversity, and hardships, to prepare him to fill an exalted position.
(To be Continued.)
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1 Chapter Sixteen—Continued.
Joseph in Egypt.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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While Joseph was still confined in prison, an event occurred which formed a turning-point in his life. Pharaoh became offended with two of his officers, the chief baker and the chief butler, and they were cast into prison, and, as it appears, were placed under Joseph’s especial care. One morning he observed that they were looking very sad. He kindly inquired, “Wherefore look ye so sadly today? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you.” Then the butler related to Joseph his dream, which he interpreted, that after three days the butler would be restored to the king’s favor, and deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as he had formerly done.
2 The chief butler was filled with gratitude to Joseph because of the interest he had manifested for him, and the kind treatment he had received at his hands; and, above all, for relieving his distress of mind, by interpreting the dream. Then Joseph, in a very touching manner, alluded to his own captivity, and entreated him, “But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house; for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into a dungeon.”
3 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he was encouraged to make known his dream. As soon as he had related it, Joseph looked sad. He understood its terrible meaning. Joseph possessed a kind, sympathizing heart, yet his high sense of duty led him to give the truthful interpretation. He told the chief baker that the three baskets upon his head meant three days; and that, as in his dream, the birds ate the baked meats out of the upper basket, so they would eat his flesh as he hung upon a tree.
4 “And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.” The butler was guilty of the sin of ingratitude. After he had obtained relief from his anxiety by Joseph’s cheering interpretation, he thought that he should, if restored to his position, certainly remember the captive Joseph, and speak in his favor to the king. He had seen the interpretation of the dream exactly fulfilled, yet in his prosperity he forgot Joseph in his affliction and confinement. Ingratitude is regarded by the Lord as among the most aggravating sins. But although abhorred by God and man, it is of daily occurrence.
5 Two years longer Joseph remained in his gloomy prison. The Lord then gave Pharaoh remarkable dreams. The king was troubled because he could not understand them. He called for the magicians and wise men of Egypt, and related his dreams to them, but was greatly disappointed to find that with all their magic and boasted wisdom, they could not explain them. The perplexity and distress of the king increased. As the chief butler saw his anxiety, the thought of Joseph came to his mind, and at the same time a conviction of his forgetfulness and ingratitude. “Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day.” He then related to the king the dreams which he and the chief baker had, which troubled them as the dreams now troubled the king, and said, “And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.”
6 It was humiliating to Pharaoh to turn away from the magicians and wise men of his kingdom to a Hebrew servant. But his learned and wise men have failed him, and he will now condescend to accept the humble services of a slave, if his troubled mind can obtain relief.
7 “Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon; and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it; and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me; God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
8 Joseph’s answer to the king shows his strong faith and humble trust in God. He modestly disclaims all honor of possessing in himself superior wisdom to interpret. He tells the king that his knowledge is not greater than that of those whom he has consulted. “It is not in me.” God alone can explain these mysteries. “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river; and behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored; and they fed in a meadow; and behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness. And the lean and the ill-favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine; and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
9 “And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good; and behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them; and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears; and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
10 “And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one. God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream is one. And the seven thin and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.”
11 Joseph told the king that there would be seven years of great plenty. Everything would grow in abundance. Fields and gardens would yield more plentifully than ever before. And these seven years of abundance were to be followed by seven years of famine. The years of plenty would be given that he might prepare for the coming dearth. “And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.”
12 The king believed all that Joseph had said. He felt assured that God was with him, and was impressed with the fact that he was the most suitable man to be placed at the head of affairs. He did not despise him because he was a Hebrew slave, for he saw that he possessed an excellent spirit. “And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath sheweth thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than thou.”
13 Those who obey the commandments of God are here represented by Christ as the fit subjects of his kingdom. Blessed are the poor in spirit, who feel that all their hopes of Heaven and happiness depend wholly upon the merit of Christ, that there is no merit or worthiness in them. Happy are they that mourn their own unlikeness to Christ, mourn their own sinfulness and grieve over the sins of their neighbors.
14 These are represented by the prophet of God as the sighing and crying ones because of the abominations done in the land. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness. Blessed are the merciful and the pure in heart, and happy are the peace-makers. Blessed are they who shall suffer persecution, because they cherish and exemplify in their life these heavenly attributes, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
15 Jesus prayed! The majesty of Heaven prayed! He wept in behalf of man. Prayer, faithful, earnest prayer will move the arm that moves the world. The minister of Christ must pray if he would have the refreshing from the presence of God. The church must pray much if they would walk in the light, as he is in the light. Mrs. E. G. White
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1 Chapter Sixteen—Continued.
Joseph in Egypt.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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Although Joseph was exalted as a ruler over all the land, he did not forget God. The thought that he was a stranger in a strange land, separated from his father and his brethren, often caused him sadness, but he fully believed that God’s hand had overruled his course, to place him in an important position. And depending on God continually, he performed all the duties of his office, as ruler over the land of Egypt, with faithfulness. “And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities, the food of the field which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.”
2 Joseph traveled throughout all the land of Egypt, giving command to build immense storehouses, and using his clear head and excellent judgment to aid in the preparations to secure food necessary for the long years of famine. At length the seven years of plenty were ended. “And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said; and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. And Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.”
3 The famine was severe in the land of Canaan also. Jacob and his sons were troubled. Their supply of food was nearly exhausted, and they looked forward to the future with perplexity. Starvation stared them in the face. At length Jacob heard of the wonderful provisions which the King of Egypt had made, and that the people of all the surrounding countries journeyed to Egypt to buy corn. And he said to his sons, “Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt. Get you down thither, and buy for us from thence, that we may live, and not die. And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.”
4 Jacob’s sons came with the crowd of buyers to purchase corn of Joseph; and they “bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.” He knew them at once, but they failed to recognize him. There was, indeed, little semblance between the mighty governor of Egypt, and the stripling whom, twenty-two years previous, they had sold to the Ishmaelites. As he saw his brethren stooping and making their obeisance, his dreams came back to his memory, and the scenes of the past rose up vividly before him. His keen eye again surveyed the group before him, and he saw that Benjamin was missing. Had he also fallen a victim to the treacherous cruelty of those savage men? He determined to know the truth. “Ye are spies,” he said, “to see the nakedness of the land, ye are come.”
5 They answered, “Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are true men; thy servants are no spies.” He wished to learn if they possessed the same haughty spirit as when he was with them, and also to lead them to make some disclosures in regard to their home, yet he well knew how deceitful their answers might be. He repeated the charge, and they replied, “Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is still with our father, and one is not.” They felt humbled in their adversity, and manifested grief rather than anger at the suspicions of Joseph. He professed to doubt the truthfulness of their story, and told them that he would prove them, and that they should not go forth from Egypt until their youngest brother come hither. He proposed to keep them in confinement until one should go and bring their brother, to prove their words, whether there was any truth in them. If they would not consent to this, he would regard them as spies.
6 The sons of Jacob felt unwilling to consent to this arrangement. It would require some time for one to go to their father for Benjamin, and meanwhile their families would suffer for food. And who among them would undertake the journey alone, leaving his brethren in prison? How could that one meet his father? They had seen his distress at the supposed death of Joseph, and now he would feel that he was deprived of all his sons. They said, further, It may be that we shall lose our lives, or be made slaves. And if one go back to our father for Benjamin, and bring him here, he may be made a slave also, and our father will surely die. They decided that they would all remain, and suffer together, rather than to bring greater sorrow upon their father by the loss of his much-loved Benjamin.
7 The three days of confinement were days of bitter sorrow with Jacob’s sons. They reflected upon their past wrong course, especially their cruelty to Joseph. They knew that if they were convicted of being spies, and could bring no evidence to clear themselves, they must all die, or become slaves. They doubted whether any effort which any one of them might make would induce their father to consent that Benjamin should go from him, after the cruel death, which he supposed, that Joseph had suffered. They had sold Joseph as a slave, and they were fearful that God designed to punish them by suffering them also to become slaves.
8 Joseph considers that his father and the families of his brethren may be suffering for food, and he is convinced that his brethren have repented of their cruel treatment of him, and that they would in no case treat Benjamin as they have treated him. On the third day he said to them, “This do, and live; for I fear God. If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison; go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses. But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die.” They agreed to accept this proposition, but expressed to one another little hope that their father will let Benjamin return with them. They accuse themselves, and one another, in regard to their treatment of Joseph: “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” Reuben, who had formed the plan for delivering him at Dothan, now added, “Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.” Joseph had been conversing with them through an interpreter, and they had no suspicion that he understood them. Their words opened the long-closed fountains of his heart, and he could scarcely restrain his feelings before the company. He went out and wept. On returning, he took Simeon and had him bound before them. In the cruel treatment of their brother, Simeon had been the instigator and principal actor, and it was for this reason that the choice fell upon him.
9 Before dismissing his brethren for their homes, Joseph directed his steward to fill every man’s sack with grain, and to place at the mouth of each the silver that had been brought in payment. Provender for the beasts on the homeward journey was also supplied. On the way one of the brothers, opening his sack for such supply, was surprised to find his money there. On his hastening to make known the fact to the others, they were alarmed and perplexed, and said one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? Shall we consider this as a token of good from the Lord, or has he suffered it to occur to punish us for our sins, and plunge us still deeper in affliction? They acknowledged that God had seen their sins, and that he was now visiting them for their transgressions.
10 Jacob was anxiously awaiting the return of his sons, and on their arrival the whole encampment gathered eagerly around them as they related to their father all that had transpired. Alarm and apprehension filled every heart. One of their number was imprisoned in a strange land as a pledge for the appearance there of the youngest and now the favorite son of the grief-stricken patriarch. There was something mysterious in the conduct of the governor of Egypt, and this mystery was increased in their minds when, as they emptied their sacks, each was found to contain the owner’s bag of money at its mouth. In his distress the aged father exclaimed, “Me have ye bereaved of my children; Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me.” Reuben answered, “Slay my two sons if I bring him not to thee; deliver him into my hand and I will bring him to thee again.” This rash speech did not relieve the mind of Jacob. His answer was, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.”
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1 Chapter Sixteen—Continued.
Joseph in Egypt.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The drouth still continued in the land of Canaan; and, as time passed on, the grain that had been brought from Egypt was consumed. The sons of Jacob well knew how useless and even dangerous it would be to present themselves, without Benjamin, before the prime minister of Egypt; they knew, too, how desperate must be any effort to change their father’s resolution, and they awaited the issue in silence. The aged man saw the faces of all in the encampment grow pale and thin with hunger; he heard the cries of the children for bread; and at last he said, “Go again, buy us a little food.”
2 Judah answered, “The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us we will go down and buy thee food; but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down; for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face except your brother be with you.” Seeing that the resolution of his father was giving way, he added, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones; and he offered to be surety for his brother, and to take upon himself the father’s blame forever if he did not restore Benjamin to him.
3 Jacob could no longer withhold his consent, and he bade his sons prepare for the journey. They were to take to the ruler a present of such things as the destitute country afforded, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, myrrh, nuts and almonds, also “double money’ in their sacks,-that formerly returned, and some for the present purchase. “Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man.”
4 As his sons were about to start on their doubtful journey, the aged father arose, and, standing in their midst, raised his hands to Heaven and pronounced on them a gracious benediction: “And God Almighty give you mercy before the man that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
5 So they went down again into Egypt, and presented themselves before Joseph. As his eye fell upon Benjamin, from whom he had been so long separated, he was deeply moved. He gave no token of recognition, however, but ordered the ruler of his house to take them to his princely residence, and there prepare for an entertainment. They were greatly alarmed at this, fearing that it was for the purpose of calling them to account for the money found in their sacks. They thought that it might have been intentionally placed there, to furnish occasion to make them slaves, and that they were brought into the governor’s palace better to accomplish this object. They sought the steward of the house, and related to him the circumstances, and in proof of their innocence informed him that they had brought back the money found in their sacks, also other money to buy food; and they added, “We cannot tell who put the money in our sacks.”
6 The man replied, “Peace be to you; fear not; your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money.” These words relieved their anxiety, and when Simeon, who had been released from prison, joined them, they felt that God was indeed gracious unto them, as their father had entreated that he would be.
7 When the governor came home, they offered him their presents, making before him the customary obeisance. Again his dreams came into his mind. There had been one including his father; and now, after the usual salutations to his guests, he hastened to ask, “Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?” “Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive,” was the answer with another obeisance. Then his eye rested upon Benjamin, his own mother’s son, and as if to make the matter sure he asked, “Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? God be gracious unto thee, my son;”—but, overpowered by feelings of tenderness, he could say no more without betraying his emotion. He hastened to his own private chamber, and there found relief in tears.
8 Having recovered his self-possession and removed all traces of tears, he returned, and ordered the feast to be prepared. Among the Egyptians, caste was very strict, and they never ate with the people of another nation. Separate tables were therefore set for them, another for Joseph’s brethren and still another for the governor of the kingdom. When seated at the table his brethren were surprised to see that they were arranged in exact order, the eldest being placed first, and the youngest last, as was customary when their ages were known. Joseph sent a portion of food to each, Benjamin’s five times as large as any of the others. He did this, not only to show his particular regard for Benjamin, but to prove his brethren, to see if they regarded their youngest brother with the same feelings of envy and hatred which they had manifested toward himself. Still supposing that Joseph did not understand their language, they freely conversed with one another in his presence, therefore he had a good opportunity to learn the true state of their feelings.
9 Still he desired further proof. There could be no excuse for detaining them longer; and, after directing his steward to conceal his drinking-cup of silver in the sack of the youngest, he let them go.
10 Joyfully they set out on the homeward journey. Simeon was with them, their sacks were filled with grain, and they felt that they had escaped safely from the perils that had seemed to surround them. But they had only reached the outskirts of the city when they were overtaken by the governor’s steward, who uttered the scathing inquiry, “Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby, indeed, he divineth? Ye have done evil in so doing.” Kings and rulers had a cup from which they drank, which was considered a sure detective if any poisonous substance was placed in their drink. To the accusation of the steward the travelers answered, “Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing. Behold, the money which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan; how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen.”
11 The steward said, “Now also will it be according unto your words; he with whom it is found shall be my servant and ye shall be blameless.”
12 The search began immediately. The sacks were placed on the ground, and the steward examined them all, beginning with Reuben’s and going down to the sack of the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack!
13 At this discovery all were speechless. To express their utter wretchedness they rent their garments, as was the custom when in deep affliction. As they sadly returned to the city they felt that the hand of God was against them for their past wickedness. The fears of their father, they thought, would now be fully realized. By their own promise, Benjamin was doomed to a life of slavery.”
14 They followed the steward to the palace, and, finding the prime minister still there, they fell before him on the ground. “What deed is this that ye have done?” he said. “Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? Joseph asked this question to draw forth from his brethren an acknowledgment of their past wrong course, that their true feelings might be more fully revealed. He did not claim any power of divination, but was willing his brethren should believe that he could read the secret acts of their lives. Judah answered, “What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants. Behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.” The reply was, God forbid that I should do so; but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.”
15 In his intense distress, Judah now drew near to the ruler, and exclaimed, “O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my Lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh;” and he related to him the reluctance of his father to let Benjamin come with them to Egypt, the father’s deep grief at the loss of Joseph, and that Benjamin was all that was left of the mother whom Jacob loved. “Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us (seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life), it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die; and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest per- adventure I see the evil that come on my father.”
16 Joseph was satisfied. He had proved his brethren and had seen in them the fruits of true repentance for their sins. He was so deeply affected that he could no longer conceal his feelings, and he gave orders that all but these men should leave the hall; then he wept aloud, and cried out, “I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?” His brethren could not answer him, for surprise and terror. They could not realize that the ruler of Egypt was their brother Joseph, whom they had envied and would have murdered, but were finally content to sell as a slave. All their ill-treatment of him passed before them. They remembered how they had despised his dreams; and had labored to prevent their fulfillment. Yet they had acted their part in fulfilling these dreams; and now they stood before him condemned and amazed. As Joseph saw the confusion he said to them, “Come near to me, I pray you;” they came near. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life.” He nobly sought to make this occasion as easy for his brethren as possible. He had no desire to increase their embarrassment by censuring them. He felt that they had suffered enough for their cruelty to him, and he endeavored to comfort them. He went on, “For these two years hath the famine been in the land; and yet there are five years in the which there shall be neither earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God; and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt. Come down unto me, tarry not. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast. And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them, and after that his brethren talked with him.”
17 They humbly confessed the wrongs which they had committed against Joseph, and entreated his forgiveness. They were greatly rejoiced to find that he was alive; for they had suffered the keenest anxiety and remorse since their cruelty toward him. Joseph gladly forgave his brethren, and sent them away abundantly supplied with provisions, and carriages, and everything necessary for the removal of all their families and attendants to Egypt. On Benjamin he bestowed more valuable presents than upon his other brethren. Then, fearing that disputes and divisions would rise among them on the homeward journey, he gave them, as they were about leaving him the significant charge, “See that ye fall not out by the way.”
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1 Chapter Sixteen-Concluded.
Joseph in Egypt.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The sons of Jacob returned to their father with the joyful tidings, “Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” At first the old man was overwhelmed; he could not believe what he heard, yet their words brought a faintness to his heart. But when he saw the carriages and the long line of loaded animals, and when Benjamin was at his side once more, he felt reassured, and, in the fullness of his joy, exclaimed. “It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die.” The brothers then made their humiliating confession to their father, and entreated his forgiveness, for their wicked treatment of Joseph. Jacob had not suspected them of such cruelty, but he saw that God had overruled it all for good, and he forgave and blessed his erring children.
2 Jacob and his sons, with their families and numerous attendants, were soon on their way to Egypt. With gladness of heart they pursued their journey, and when they came to Beersheba the aged patriarch offered grateful sacrifices, and entreated the Lord to grant them an assurance that he would go with them. In a vision of the night the divine words came to Jacob: “Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again; and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.”
3 The meeting of Joseph and his father was very affective. Joseph left his chariot, and ran to meet his father on foot, and embraced him, and they wept over each other. “And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.”
4 Joseph took five of his brethren to present to Pharaoh, and receive from him a grant of land for their future home. He did not wish them to be exposed to the temptations which must surround them if engaged in the king’s special service, amid the corrupting, idolatrous influences at court; therefore he counseled them, when the king should ask them of their occupation, to tell him frankly that they were shepherds. The monarch, on learning this fact, would not seek to exalt them to some honorable position for Joseph’s sake; for the occupation of a shepherd was regarded in Egypt as degrading. When taken before Pharaoh they followed the wise counsel of their God-fearing brother; and the king gave Joseph permission to settle his father and his brethren in the best part of the land of Egypt. He selected Goshen, a well-watered, fertile country, affording good pasture for their flocks. Here, also, they could worship God, undisturbed by the ceremonies attending the idolatrous service of the Egyptians. The country round about Goshen was inhabited by the Israelites, until with power and mighty signs and wonders, God brought his people out of Egypt.
5 Not long after their arrival in Egypt, Joseph brought his father also to be presented to Pharaoh. The patriarch was unawed by the pomp of royalty, and the magnificence surrounding him. Amid the sublime scenes of nature he had communed with a mightier monarch; and now, in conscious superiority, he raised his hands and blessed Pharaoh. The king struck by his venerable appearance, inquired, “How old art thou?” Jacob answered, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” Jacob had seen much trouble and suffered much perplexity. The jealousy of his wives had brought a long train of evils, and the sinful course of some of his children had made the father’s life very bitter. But his last years were more peaceful. His sons had turned from their evil ways, Joseph had been restored to him, and, surrounded by every comfort which the prime minister of Egypt could bestow, and in the society of his children, he passed down gently and calmly toward the grave.
6 A short time before his death, his children gathered about him to receive his blessing, and to listen to his last words of counsel. As he addressed them for the last time the Spirit of God rested upon him and he laid open before them their past lives, and also uttered prophecies which reached far into the future. Beginning with the eldest, he mentioned his sons by name, presenting before those who had followed a sinful course the light in which God regarded their deeds of violence, and that he would visit them for their sins. Reuben had taken no part in selling Joseph, but previous to that transaction he had grievously sinned. Concerning him, Jacob uttered the following prophecy: “Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power; unstable as water, thou shalt not excel.
7 He then prophesied in regard to Simeon and Levi, who had practiced deception to the Shechemites, and then, in a most cruel, revengeful manner, destroyed them. These brothers were also the most guilty in the case of Joseph. “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united! for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”
8 In regard to Judah, the fathers words of inspiration were more joyful. His prophetic eye looked hundreds of years into the future, to the birth of Christ, and he said, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”
9 Jacob predicted a cheerful future for most of his sons. Especially for Joseph he uttered words of eloquence of a happy character: “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. (From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.)” “The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
10 Jacob was an affectionate father. He had no resentful feelings toward his sorrowing children. He had forgiven them. He loved them to the last. But God, by the spirit of prophecy, elevated the mind of Jacob above his natural feelings. In his last hours, angels were all around him, and the power of God rested upon him. His paternal feelings would have led him to utter, in his dying testimony, only expressions of love and tenderness. But under the influence of inspiration he uttered truth, although painful.
11 After the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brethren were filled with gloom and distress. They thought that Joseph had concealed his resentment, out of respect for their father; and now that he was dead, he would be revenged for the ill treatment he had suffered at their hands. They dared not appear before him, but sent a messenger, “Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil; and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father.” This message affected Joseph to tears, and, encouraged by this, his brethren came and fell down before him, with the words, “Behold, we be thy servants.” He met them with the comforting and assuring reply, Fear not; for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not; I will nourish you, and your little ones. Joseph loved his brethren, and he could not bear the thought that they regarded him as harboring a spirit of revenge toward them.
12 The life of Joseph illustrates the life of Christ, Joseph’s brethren purposed to kill him, but were finally content to sell him as a slave, to prevent his becoming greater than themselves. They thought they had placed him where they would be no more troubled with his dreams, and where there would not be a possibility of their fulfillment. But the very course which they pursued, God overruled to bring about that which they designed never should take place—that he should have dominion over them.
13 The chief priests and elders were jealous of Christ, fearing that he would draw the attention of the people away from themselves. They knew that he was doing greater works than they ever had done, or ever could perform; and they knew that if he was suffered to continue his teachings, he would become higher in authority than they, and might become king of the Jews. They agreed together to prevent this by privately taking him, and hiring witnesses to testify falsely against him, that they might condemn him and put him to death. They would not accept him as their king, but cried out, Crucify him! crucify him! But by murdering the Son of God, they were bringing about the very thing they sought to prevent. Joseph, by being sold by his brethren into Egypt, became a saviour to his father’s family. Yet this fact did not lesson the guilt of his brethren. The crucifixion of Christ by his enemies made him the Redeemer of mankind, the Saviour of the fallen race, and ruler over the whole world. But the crime of his enemies was just as heinous as though God’s providential hand had not controlled events for his own glory and the good of man.
14 Joseph walked with God. And when he was imprisoned, and suffered because of his innocence, he meekly bore it without murmuring. His self-control, his patience in adversity, and his unwavering fidelity, are left on record for the benefit of all who should afterward live on the earth. When Joseph’s brethren acknowledged their sin before him, he freely forgave them, and showed by his acts of benevolence and love that he harbored no resentful feelings for their former cruel conduct toward him.
15 The life of Jesus, the Saviour of the world, was a pattern of benevolence, goodness, and holiness. Yet he was despised and insulted, mocked and derided, for no other reason than because his righteous life was a constant rebuke to sin. His enemies would not be satisfied until he was given into their hands, that they might put him to a shameful death. He died for the guilty race; and, while suffering the most cruel torture, meekly forgave his murderers. He rose from the dead, ascended up to his Father, and received all power and authority, and returned to the earth again to impart it to his disciples. He gave gifts unto men. And all who have ever come to him repentant, confessing their sins, he has received into his favor, and freely pardoned. And if they remain true to him, he will exalt them to his throne, and make them his heirs to the inheritance which he has purchased with his own blood.
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1 The children of Israel were not slaves. They had never sold their cattle, their lands, and themselves to Pharaoh for food, as many of the Egyptians had done. They had been granted a portion of land wherein to dwell, on account of the services which Joseph had rendered to the Egyptian nation. Pharaoh appreciated his wisdom in the management of all things connected with the kingdom, especially in the preparation for the long years of famine. As a token of his gratitude, he not only offered to Jacob and his sons the best part of the land of Egypt as a dwelling-place, but exempted them from all taxation, and granted to Joseph the privilege of supplying them liberally with food through the whole continuance of that dreadful famine. The king said to his counselors, Are we not indebted to the God of Joseph, and to him, for this abundant supply of food? While other nations are perishing, we have enough. His management has greatly enriched the kingdom.
2 “And Joseph died and his brethren, and all that generation.” And “there rose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph,” By this we are to understand, not one who was ignorant of Joseph’s great services to the nation, but who wished to make no recognition of them, and, as much as possible, to bury them in oblivion. “And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.”
3 The Israelites had already become very numerous. “They were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Under Joseph’s fostering care, and the favor of the king who was then ruling, the Israelites had been advanced to positions of honor and trust, and had spread rapidly over the land. But they had kept themselves a distinct race, having nothing in common with the Egyptians in customs or religion; and their increasing numbers excited the fears of the king and his people, lest in case of war they should join themselves with the enemies of their masters. They had, however, become too useful to be spared. Many of them were able and understanding workmen, and the king needed such laborers for the creation of his magnificent palaces and halls. Accordingly he ranked them with that class of slaves who had sold their possessions and themselves to the kingdom. Taskmasters were set over them, and their slavery soon became complete. “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; all their service wherein they made them serve was with rigor.” “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.”
4 The king and his counselors had hoped to subdue the Israelites with hard labor, and thus decrease their numbers and crush out their independent spirit. And because they failed to accomplish their purpose they hardened their hearts to go still further. Orders were now issued to the women whose employment gave them facilities for such acts to destroy every Israelite male child at its birth. Satan was the mover in these matters. He knew that a deliverer was to be raised up among the Hebrews, and he thought that if he could move the king to destroy the children, the purpose of God would be defeated. The women feared God; they dared not murder the Hebrew children; and the command of the king was not obeyed. The Lord approved their course, and prospered them; but the king became very angry when he learned that his orders had been disregarded. He then made the command more urgent and extensive. He charged all his people to keep strict watch, saying, “Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.”
5 While this cruel decree was in full force, Moses was born. His mother concealed him for three months, and then finding that she could keep him no longer with any safety, she prepared a little vessel of bulrushes, making it water-tight by means of lime and pitch, and after laying the child therein she placed it among the flags at the river’s brink. His sister lingered near, apparently indifferent, yet all the time anxiously watching to see what would become of her little brother. Angels were also watching, that no harm should come to the helpless infant, placed there by an affectionate mother, and committed to the care of God by her earnest prayers. And these angels directed the footsteps of Pharaoh’s daughter to the river, near the very spot where lay the innocent stranger. Her attention was attracted to the little vessel, and she sent one of her waiting-maids to fetch it. When she had removed the cover she saw a lovely babe; “and behold the babe wept, and she had compassion on him.” She knew that a tender Hebrew mother had taken this means to preserve the life of her much-loved babe, and she decided at once that it should be her son. The sister of Moses immediately came forward and inquired,”Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?” And her mission was given.
6 Joyfully sped the sister to her mother, and related to her the happy news, and conducted her with all haste to Pharaoh’s daughter. The child was committed to the mother to nurse, and she was liberally paid for the bringing up of her own son. Thankfully did this mother enter upon her now safe and happy task. She believed that God had preserved the life of her child, and she faithfully improved the precious opportunity of educating him for a life of usefulness. She was more particular in his instruction than in that of her other children; for she felt confident that he was preserved for some great work. By her faithful teachings she instilled into his young mind the fear of God, and love for truthfulness and justice. She earnestly pleaded with God that her son might be preserved from every corrupting influence. She taught him to bow and pray to God, the living God, for he alone could hear him and help him in every emergency. She sought to impress his mind with the sinfulness of idolatry. She knew that he was soon to be separated from her influence, and given up to his adopted royal mother, to be surrounded with influences calculated to make him disbelieve in the existence of the Maker of the heavens and the earth.
7 The instructions which Moses received from his parents were such as to fortify his mind, and shield him from being corrupted with sin, and becoming proud amid the splendor and extravagance of court life. He had a clear mind and an understanding heart, and never lost the pious impressions he received in youth. His mother kept him as long as she could, but was obliged to separate from him when he was about twelve years old, and he then became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
8 Here Satan was defeated. By moving Pharaoh to destroy the male children, he had thought to turn aside the purposes of God, and destroy the one whom God would raise up to deliver his people. But that very decree, appointing the Hebrew children to death, was the means overruled by God to place Moses in the royal family, where he had advantages to become a learned man, and eminently qualified to lead his people from Egypt. Pharaoh expected to exalt his adopted grandson to the throne. He educated him to stand at the head of the armies of Egypt, and lead them to battle. Moses was a favorite with Pharaoh’s host, and was honored because he conducted warfare with superior skill and wisdom. “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.” The Egyptians regarded him as a remarkable character.
9 Angels instructed Moses that God had chosen him to deliver the children of Israel. The rulers among the Israelites were also taught by angels that the time for their deliverance was nigh, and that Moses was the man whom God would use to accomplish this work. Moses thought that his people were to be delivered by warfare, and that he would stand at the head of the Hebrew host, to lead them against the Egyptian armies. Having this in view, he guarded his affections that they might not be strongly placed upon his adopted mother or upon Pharaoh, lest it should be more difficult for him to remain free to do the will of God.
10 The pride and splendor displayed at the Egyptian court, and the flattery he received, could not make him forget his despised brethren in slavery. He would not be induced, even with the promise of wearing the crown of Egypt, to identify himself with the Egyptians, and engage with them in their idolatrous worship. He would not forsake his oppressed brethren, whom he knew to be God’s chosen people. The king commanded that Moses should be instructed in the worship of the Egyptians. This work was committed to the priests, but they could not, by any threats or promises of reward, prevail upon Moses to engage with them in their heathen ceremonies. He was threatened with the loss of the crown, and that he would be disowned by Pharaoh’s daughter, unless he renounced his Hebrew faith. But he was firm in his determination to render homage to no object save God, the maker of the heavens and the earth, to whom alone reverence and honor are due. He even reasoned with the priests and idolatrous worshipers upon their superstitious veneration of senseless objects. They could not answer him. Yet his firmness in this respect was tolerated, because he was the king’s adopted grandson, and was a universal favorite with the most influential in the kingdom.
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11 The unfaltering servants of God have usually suffered the bitterest persecution from false teachers of religion. But the true prophets will ever prefer reproach and even death rather than unfaithfulness to God. The Infinite eye is upon the instruments of divine reproof, and they bear a heavy responsibility. But God regards the injury done to them through misrepresentation, falsehood or abuse, the same as though it were done unto himself, and will punish accordingly.
12 The princes of Judah had heard concerning the words of Jeremiah, and came up from the king’s house, and sat in the entry of the Lord’s house. “Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.” But Jeremiah stood boldly before the princes and the people declaring, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words which ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hand; do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof; for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.”
13 Had the prophet been intimidated by the threats of those in high authority, and the clamoring of the rabble, his message would have been without effect, and he would have lost his life. But the courage with which he discharged his painful duty commanded the respect of the people, and turned the princes of Israel in his favor. Thus God raised up defenders for his servant. They reasoned with the priests and false prophets, showing them how unwise would be the extreme measures which they advocated.
14 The influence of these powerful persons produced a reaction in the minds of the people. Then the elders united in protesting against the decision of the priests regarding the fate of Jeremiah. They cited the case of Micah, who prophesied judgments upon Jerusalem, saying, “Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountains of the house as the high places of a forest.” They put to them the question: “Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the Lord, and beseech the Lord, and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.”
15 So, through the pleading of Ahikam and others, the prophet Jeremiah’s life was spared; although many of the priests and false prophets would have been pleased had he been put to death on the plea of sedition; for they could not endure the truths that he uttered exposing their wickedness.
16 But Israel remained unrepented and the Lord saw that they must be punished for their sin, so he instructed Jeremiah to make yokes and bonds and place them upon his neck, and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, of the Ammonites, of Tyrus and Zidon, commanding the messengers to say that God had given all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. That all these nations should serve him and his descendants for a certain time, till God should deliver them. They were to declare that if those nations refused to serve the king of Babylon they should be punished with the famine, with the sword, and pestilence, till they should be consumed. “Therefore,” said the Lord, “Hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.”
17 Jeremiah declared that they were to wear the yoke of servitude for seventy years, and the captives that were already in the hands of the king of Babylon, and the vessels of the Lord’s house which had been taken, were also to remain in Babylon till that time had elapsed. But at the end of the seventy years God would deliver them from their captivity, and would punish their oppressors, and bring into subjection the proud king of Babylon.
18 Ambassadors had come from the various nations named to consult with the king of Judah as to the matter of engaging in battle with the king of Babylon. But the prophet of God, bearing the symbols of subjection, delivered the message of the Lord to these nations, commanding them to bear it to their several kings. This was the lightest punishment that a merciful God could inflict upon so rebellious a people; but if they warred against this decree of servitude, they were to feel the full vigor of his chastisement. They were faithfully warned not to listen to their false teachers who prophesied lies.
19 The amazement of the assembled council of nations knew no bounds when Jeremiah, carrying the yoke of subjection about his neck, made known to them the will of God. But Hananiah, one of the false prophets against whom God had warned his people through Jeremiah, lifted up his voice in opposition to the prophecy declared. Wishing to gain the favor of the king, and his court, he affirmed that God had given him words of encouragement for the Jews. Said he: “Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon. And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”
20 Jeremiah, in the presence of all the priests and the people, said that it was the earnest wish of his heart that God would so favor his people that the vessels of the Lord’s house might be returned and the captives brought back from Babylon. But this could only be done on condition that the people repented and turned from their evil way to the obedience of God’s law. Jeremiah loved his country and ardently wished that the desolation predicted might be averted by the humiliation of the people; but he knew the wish was vain. He hoped the punishment of Israel would be as light as possible; therefore he earnestly entreated them to submit to the king of Babylon for the time that the Lord specified.
21 He entreated them to hear the words that he spoke. He cited them to the prophecies of Hosea, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and others whose messages of reproof and warning had been similar to his own. He referred them to events which had transpired in their history in fulfillment of the prophecies of retribution for unrepented sins. Sometimes, as in this case, men had arisen in opposition to the message of God, and predicted peace and prosperity, to quiet the fears of the people, and gain the favor of those in high places. But in every past instance the judgment of God had been visited upon Israel, as the true prophets had indicated. Said he, “The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known that the Lord hath truly sent him.” If Israel chose to run the risk, future developments would effectually decide which was the false prophet.
22 But Hananiah, incensed at this, took the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. “And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the necks of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.”
23 He had done his work, he had warned the people of their danger, he had pointed out the only course by which they could regain the favor of God. But they had mocked his words; men in responsible positions had denounced him, and tried to arouse the people to put him to death. Yet his only crime was in faithfully delivering the message of God to an unbelieving people.
24 God pities the blindness and perversity of man; he sends light to their darkened understanding in reproof and threatenings which are designed to make the most exalted feel their ignorance and deplore their errors. He would cause the self-complacent to feel dissatisfied with their attainments and seek greater blessings by closer connection with Heaven.
25 God’s plan is not to send messengers who will please and flatter sinners, he delivers no messages of peace to lull the unsanctified into carnal security. But he lays heavy burdens upon the conscience of the wrong-doer, and pierces his soul with sharp arrows of conviction. The ministering angels present to him the fearful judgments of God to deepen the sense of his great need and prompt the agonizing cry “what shall I do to be saved?” The very hand that humbles to the dust, rebukes sin, and puts pride and ambition to shame, lifts up the penitent, stricken one, and inquires with deepest sympathy, “What wilt thou that I shalt do unto thee?
26 When man has sinned against a holy and merciful God, there is no course for him to pursue so noble, as to sincerely repent and confess his errors in tears and bitterness of soul. This God requires of him and will accept of nothing less than a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 When Moses was forty years of age, an event occurred which seemed to change the whole current of his life. His soul was deeply stirred with a sense of the wrongs done to his people, and he would often leave the royal courts, to visit his brethren in their servitude, and encourage them with the assurance that it would not be always thus, that God would open the way for their deliverance. One day, while thus abroad, he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite. Moses sprang forward and slew the Egyptian. He had taken the precaution, even in this sudden burst of wrath, to see that he was unwatched, and he buried the body hastily in the sand. But the man whom he had rescued failed to keep the secret, and Moses soon found that it was known to others. The next day he saw two Hebrews contending, one of them clearly in the wrong. When Moses reproved the wrong-doer, he at once turned his rage upon his reprover and basely cast against him his previous act: “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?”
2 There could be no further hope of concealment. The whole matter was made known to the Egyptians by the envious Hebrew, and, greatly exaggerated, soon reached the ears of Pharaoh. The monarch was informed that Moses designed to make war upon the Egyptians, to overthrow their government, and make himself king. Pharaoh was exceedingly angry. He thought that this act of Moses meant much, and that there was no safety for his kingdom while the offender lived. He therefore commanded that Moses should be slain. But the servant of God became aware in season of Pharaoh’s intent on his life, and he hastily left the palace and fled toward Arabia.
3 The Lord directed his course, and he found a home with the priest of Midian, Jethro, a man who worshiped God, and who was highly honored by the people of all the surrounding country, for his far-seeing judgment. After a time, Moses married one of the daughters of his benefactor; and here, in the service of his father-in-law, as keeper of his flocks, he remained forty years.
4 Moses was too hasty in slaying the Egyptian. He supposed the people of Israel understood that God’s special providence had raised him up to deliver them. But the Lord did not design to accomplish this work by warfare, as Moses thought, but by his own mighty power, that the glory might be ascribed to him alone. Yet even this rash act was overruled by God to bring about his purpose.
5 Moses had become, in every sense, a great man. As a writer, as a military leader, and as a philosopher, he had no superior. Love of truth and righteousness had become the basis of his character, and had produced a steadfastness of purpose which no fickleness of fashion, opinion, or pursuits, could influence. Courtesy, diligence, and a firm trust in God, marked his life. He was young and vigorous, overflowing with energy and manly strength. He had deeply sympathized with his brethren in their affliction, and his soul had kindled with a desire to deliver them. Surely, it would appear to human wisdom that he was in every way fitted for his work.
6 But God seeth not as man sees; his ways are not as ours. Moses is not yet prepared to accomplish this great work, neither are the people prepared for deliverance. He has been educated in the school of Egypt, but he has yet to pass through the stern school of discipline before he is qualified for his sacred mission. Before he can successfully govern the hosts of Israel, he must learn to obey, he must learn self-control. For forty long years he is sent into the retirement of the desert, that, in his life of obscurity, in the humble work of caring for the sheep and lambs of the flock, he may gain the victory over his own passions. He must learn entire submission to the will of God, before he can teach that will to a great people.
7 Short-sighted mortals would have dispensed with that forty years of training amid the mountains of Midian, deeming it a great loss of time. But Infinite Wisdom placed him who was to be the mighty statesman, the deliverer of his people from slavery, in circumstances, during this period to develop his honesty, his forethought, his faithfulness and care-taking, and his ability to identify himself with the necessities of his dumb charge. Those to whom God has intrusted important responsibilities have not been brought up in ease and luxury; the noble prophets, the leaders and judges of God’s appointment, have been men whose characters were formed by the stern realities of life.
8 God does not select for his work men of one mold and one temperament only, but men of varied temperaments. The human element is seen in all who have been chosen to accomplish a work for God. They have been men of intellect, of depth of feeling; men who would do and dare, whose powers could be directed in the right channel, and who would learn wisdom from God. Said Christ, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.” Those who, by earnest, anxious inquiry, seek to learn the will of God, who seize upon and improve every ray of light shining upon their pathway, God will lead. They will not be left to walk in doubt and darkness. Connected with God, the source of all wisdom, man may reach any height of moral excellence.
9 But inspiration will not come to man in darkness, while he makes no effort to press toward the divine light. Moses must realize his great weakness and deficiency, and his soul must be drawn out for special help from Him who can help. Moses must closely apply his mind to the great change to be wrought in himself. Had he taken matters in a listless, easy, and indifferent manner, shunning care, hardship, and disagreeable responsibilities, as do many young men of today, God would never have intrusted him with a sacred and important work. He was aroused to the highest kind of thought, and to his great want of experimental knowledge of God; and his prayer came forth from a soul burdened with a sense of need and poverty. He hoped, he longed, he prayed, for close connection with God.
10 Moses had been learning much which he must unlearn. The influence which had surrounded him in Egypt,—the love of his adopted mother, his own high position as the king’s grandson, the enchantments of grandeur in art, the dissipation on every hand, the imposing display connected with the idolatrous worship, and the constant repetition, by the priests, of countless fables concerning the power of their gods,—all had left deep impressions upon his developing mind, and had molded, to some extent, his habits and character. These impressions, time, change of surroundings, and close connection with God, could remove. Yet it must be by earnest, persevering effort, a struggle as for life, with himself, to uproot the seeds of error, and in their place have truth firmly implanted. At every point, Satan would be prepared to strengthen error and dislodge truth; but while God designed that Moses should be self-trained by severe discipline, he himself would be his ever-ready helper against Satan when the conflict should be too severe for human strength.
11 With the wild mountains surrounding him, alone with God, Moses had a precious opportunity to learn himself, to discern his pride and self-exaltation, and to overcome the habits formed amid the luxury, ease, and indulgence of court life. The magnificent temples of Egypt were no longer before his eyes, impressing his mind with their superstition and falsehood. Amid the towering rocks and everlasting hills he could behold the evidences of the Creator’s greatness and majesty, and power, and contrast with the insignificance of the gods of Egypt. Every where the Creator’s name was written. Moses was surrounded with his presence, and covered with his overshadowing glory. God himself was speaking to his servant through these mute representatives of his power.
12 The light of nature and that of revelation are from the same source, teaching grand truths and always agreeing with each other. As Moses saw that all God’s created works act in sublime harmony with his laws, he realized how unreasonable it is for man to array himself in opposition to the law of God. The conflict was most trying, the effort long, to bring heart and mind on all points in harmony with truth and with Heaven; but Moses was finally a victor. He came forth from the proving of God, mild in spirit, patient in temper, generous toward the erring, kind, reverent, and humble, one of the meekest of men in his intercourse with the world. Every child of God will have a similar experience. It is only after sore discipline and severe instruction that man, in obedience to Christ an heir of glory, can learn to wear divine honors with grace and dignity becoming to his position as a member of the royal family.
13 As year after year passed by, and left the servant of God still in his humble position, it would have seemed to one of less faith than he, as if God had forgotten him; as if his ability and experience were to be lost to the world. But as he wandered with his silent flocks in solitary places, the abject condition of his people was ever before him. He recounted all God’s dealings with the faithful in ages past, and his promises of future good, and his soul went out toward God in behalf of his brethren in bondage, and his fervent prayers echoed amid the mountain caverns by day and by night. He was never weary of presenting before God the promises made to his people, and pleading with him for their deliverance.
14 Those prayers were heard. Could his eyes have been opened, he would have seen the messengers of God, pure, holy angels, bending lovingly over him, shedding their light around him, and preparing to bear his petition to the throne of the Highest. The long years spent amid desert solitudes were not lost. Not only was Moses gaining a preparation for the great work before him, but during this time, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the book of Genesis and also the book of Job, which would be read with the deepest interest by the people of God until the close of time.
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1 To the oppressed and suffering Hebrews the day of their deliverance seemed to be long deferred; but in his own appointed time God designed to work for them in mighty power. Moses was not to stand, as he at first anticipated, at the head of armies, with waving banners and glittering armor. That people, so long abused and oppressed, were not to gain the victory for themselves, by rising up and asserting their rights. God’s purpose was to be accomplished in a way to pour contempt on human pride and glory. The deliverer was to go forth as a humble shepherd, with only a rod in his hand; but God would make that rod powerful in delivering his people from oppression, and in preserving them when pursued by their enemies.
2 Before Moses went forth, he received his high commission, his ordination to his great work, in a way that filled him with awe, and gave him a deep sense of his own weakness and unworthiness. While engaged in his round of duties he saw a bush, branches, foliage, and trunk, all burning, yet not consumed. He drew near to view the wonderful sight, when a voice addressed him from out of the flame. It was the voice of God. It was He who, as the angel of the covenant, had revealed himself to the fathers in ages past. The frame of Moses quivered, he was thrilled with terror, as the Lord called him by name. With trembling lips he answered, “Here am I.” He was warned not to approach his Creator with undue familiarity: “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” “And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”
3 Finite man may learn a lesson that should never be forgotten,—to approach God with reverence. We may come boldly into his presence, presenting the name of Jesus, our righteousness and substitute, but never with the boldness of presumption, as though he were on a level with ourselves. We have heard some address the great and all-powerful and holy God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, as they would not address an equal, or even an inferior. We have seen some behave themselves in the presence of God as they would not dare to do in the presence of an earthly friend. These show that they have not a proper view of God’s character and the greatness of his power. They should remember that God’s eye is upon them; he reads the thoughts of their hearts concerning him. He will not be mocked. God is greatly to be reverenced; wherever his presence is clearly realized, sinful man will bow in the most humble attitude, and from the depths of the soul cry out, “How dreadful is this place!”
4 As Moses waited in reverent awe before God, the words continued: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.” “Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
5 Amazed and frightened at the command, Moses drew back, saying, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” The reply was,
6 “Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee. When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. Moses thought of the difficulties to be encountered, the blindness, ignorance, and unbelief of his people, who were almost destitute of all knowledge of God.
7 “Behold,” he said, “when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say to them?” The answer was,
8 “I AM THAT I AM. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” Moses was commanded first to assemble the elders of Israel, the most noble and righteous among them, who had long grieved because of their bondage, and to declare to them a message from God, with a promise of deliverance. Then he was to take the elders before the king, and say to him,
9 “The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us, and now let us go, we beseech thee, three day’s journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.”
10 The Pharaoh before whom Moses was to appear was not the one who had decreed that he should be put to death. That monarch was dead, and another had taken the reins of government. The name Pharaoh was a title borne by nearly all the Egyptian kings.
11 Moses was forewarned that Pharaoh would resist the appeal to let Israel go. Yet the courage of God’s servant must not fail; for the Lord would make this the occasion to manifest his power before the Egyptians and before his people. “And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that, he will let you go.”
12 The mighty miracles wrought for the deliverance of the Hebrews, would give them favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when they should leave Egypt they were not to go empty-handed. They were to ask or seek from their Egyptian neighbors valuable articles, such as jewels of silver and gold, which could be easily transported. The Egyptians had been enriched by the labor unjustly exacted from the Israelites; and now, as the latter were to start on their long journey to a new home, it was right that they should receive a portion of the wealth which they had fairly earned. This would be a small recompense for their many years of unpaid servitude.
13 Moses saw before him difficulties which seemed unsurmountable. What proof could he give his people that God had indeed sent him? “Behold,” he said, “they will not believe me, nor hearken to my voice; for they will say, ‘The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.’” Evidence which appealed to his own senses was now given. He was told to cast the rod in his hand upon the ground. He did so; it became a serpent, and he fled before it. He was recalled and commanded to seize it. As he obeyed, it became again a rod. He was bidden to put his hand into his bosom. He did so, and on taking it out, saw it all covered with the white scabs of leprosy. On being told, he put it again into his bosom, and on withdrawing it saw that it had become like the other. By these signs the Lord assured Moses that his own people as well as Pharaoh should be convinced that one mightier than the king of Egypt was manifest among them.
14 But the servant of God was still overwhelmed by the thought of the strange and wonderful work before him. In his distress and terror he now pleaded as an excuse a lack of ready speech: “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant; but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.” He had been so long from the Egyptians that he had not so clear knowledge and ready use of their language as when he was among them. This hesitancy on the part of Moses would seem to imply a fear that God was unable to qualify him for the great work to which he had called him, or that he had made a mistake in his selection of the man. The Lord said to him, “Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?” What an appeal! What a rebuke to the distrustful!
15 To this was added another assurance of divine aid: “Now, therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say.” But Moses still entreated the Lord to select a more competent person. These excuses at first proceeded from humility and self-diffidence. But after the Lord had promised to remove all his difficulties, and to give him final success, then any further shrinking back and complaining of his unfitness showed unbelief and distrust of God himself.
16 Moses was now directed to Aaron, his elder brother, who was eloquent, and who, having been in daily use of the language of the Egyptians, understood and could speak it perfectly. He was told that Aaron was coming to meet him, and when he came would rejoice at the meeting. The Lord then commanded Moses,
17 “Thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.”
18 Moses could make no further resistance, for all ground for excuses was removed. He returned to his father-in-law’s tent, and asked permission to visit his brethren in Egypt. Jethro gave it, with his blessing, “Go in peace.” So, taking his wife and children, Moses set out on his journey. He had not dared to make known the object of his mission, lest they should not be allowed to accompany him. Before reaching Egypt, however, he himself deemed it best, for their own safety, to send them back to her father’s tent.
19 The Lord said unto Moses, “When thou goest to return unto Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand; but I will harden his heart, that he will not let the people go.” That is, the display of almighty power before Pharaoh, being rejected by him, would make him harder and more firm in his rebellion. But the Lord would overrule the course of this haughty monarch, so that his obstinacy and perverseness would cause the name of God to be magnified before the Egyptians, and before his people also.
20 Moses was directed to say unto Pharaoh, “Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my first-born. And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born.” The Lord called Israel his first-born because he had singled out that people to be the depositaries of his law, obedience to which would preserve them pure amidst idolatrous nations. He conferred upon them special privileges, such as were generally granted to the first-born son.
21 As Moses journeyed to Egypt, the angel of the Lord met him, and assumed a threatening posture, as though he would slay him. He did not explain the reason for his appearance in this manner, but Moses knew that there was a cause. He was going to Egypt in obedience to the express command of God; therefore the journey must be right. He at once remembered that his youngest son had not been circumcised. In compliance with the wishes of Zipporah, he had postponed the ceremony, contrary to the divine requirement. Now the wife, fearful that her husband might be slain, overcame her feelings of undue affection for her son, and performed the rite herself. After this, the angel let Moses go. In his mission to Pharaoh, he was to be placed in a perilous position, where his life would be exposed to the will of the king, if God did not by his power, through the presence of angels, preserve him. While Moses was living in neglect of one of God’s positive commands, his life would not be secure; for angels could not protect him in disobedience.
22 In the time of trouble, just previous to the coming of Christ, the lives of the righteous will be preserved through the ministration of holy angels. But there will be no security for the transgressor. Angels cannot then protect those who are living in neglect of a known duty or an express command of Jehovah.
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1 Aaron, being instructed by angels, went forth to meet his brother, from whom he had been separated for many years; and they met, amid the desert solitudes, in the mount of God. Here they communed together, and Moses told Aaron “all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.” Together they journeyed over the Arabian wastes, toward Egypt; and having reached the land of Goshen, they proceeded to assemble together the elders of Israel. Aaron, the eloquent spokesman, communicated to them all the dealings of God with Moses, and then they gave the signs before the people. “The people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.”
2 The next work of the two brothers was to communicate with the king himself. They entered the great palace of the Pharaoh’s as commissioners from Jehovah; they felt that God was with them there, and they spoke with authority: “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.”
3 “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?” demanded the monarch; “I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” They answered,
4 “The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
5 The king had heard of them before, and of the excitement among the people. He became very angry. “Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let [hinder] the people from their works? Get you unto your burdens.” Then he added, as a thought of the loss occasioned by this interruption in their work passed through his mind. “Behold, the people of the land are many, and ye make them to rest from their burdens.”
6 The same day the king issued orders to all the officers superintending the work of the Israelites, to do that which made their slavery doubly severe and cruel. The buildings of that country were and still are made of sun-dried bricks, with cut straw intermixed to hold the earth together, even their finest edifices being so constructed, and then faced with stone. The king now commanded that no more straw should be issued to the workmen; but the same amount of brick was rigidly required.
7 This order produced great distress among the Israelites throughout the land. The Egyptian taskmasters had appointed Hebrew officers to oversee the work of the people, and these officers were responsible for the labor performed by those under their charge. When the unfeeling requirement of the king was put in force, the people scattered themselves throughout the land, to gather stubble instead of straw; but they found it impossible to accomplish the usual amount of labor. For this failure, the Hebrew officers, as well as the people, were cruelly beaten.
8 These officers supposed that their oppression came from their taskmasters, and not from the king himself; therefore they went to him with an account of their grievances, and the unjust treatment which they had received. Their remonstrance was met by Pharaoh with a taunting charge of idleness, to indulge which, he said, they were desirous of going into the wilderness for the purpose of sacrificing. They were ordered back to their work, which was to be in no wise diminished, but to be everywhere exacted. As they were returning, they met Moses and Aaron, and cried out to them: “The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.”
9 As the Hebrew elders thus reproached Moses, he was greatly distressed. The sufferings of the people had been much increased. All over the country a cry of anguish went up from men, women, and children; and all united in charging upon Moses this disastrous change in their condition. Alone he went before God, with the bitter cry,
10 “Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh, to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.” The reply to him from Jehovah was,
11 “Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.” And then he was reminded of the covenant which God had made with his forefathers, and assured that it would be faithfully carried into effect.
12 The Hebrews had expected to be released from bondage without any particular trial of faith, or any suffering on their part. But they were not yet prepared to be delivered. They had but little faith, and were unwilling patiently to suffer their afflictions, until God should work for them a glorious deliverance.
13 Many years had the children of Israel been in servitude to the Egyptians. Only a few families went down into Egypt, but they had become a great multitude. And being surrounded with idolatry, many had lost the knowledge of the true God, and had forgotten his law. Yet there were some among them who still worshiped the living God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth. They were grieved to see their children daily witnessing, and even engaging in, the abominations of the idolatrous people around them, and bowing to Egyptian deities, made of wood and stone, and offering sacrifice to these senseless objects. In their distress, the faithful cried unto the Lord for deliverance from the Egyptian yoke; that he would bring them out of Egypt, where they might be free from idolatry, and the corrupting influences which surrounded them.
14 They did not conceal their faith, but openly acknowledged before the Egyptians that they served the only true and living God. They rehearsed the evidences of his existence and power, from creation down. The Egyptians thus had an opportunity to become acquainted with the faith of the Hebrews, and their God. They tried to subvert the faithful worshipers of the true God by threats, by the promise of reward, and by cruel treatment.
15 The elders of Israel endeavored to encourage the sinking faith of their brethren, by referring to the promise made to Abraham, and the prophetic words of Joseph before his death, foretelling their deliverance from Egypt. Some would listen and believe. Others looked at their own sad condition, and would not hope. When the Egyptians learned the expectations of the children of Israel, they derided their hopes of deliverance, and spoke scornfully of the power of their God. They pointed them to their own situation, as merely a nation of slaves, and tauntingly said to them, If your God is so just and merciful, and possesses power above the Egyptian gods, why does he not make you a free people? Why not manifest his greatness and power, and exalt you? The Egyptians then called attention to their own people, who worshiped gods of their own choosing, which the Israelites termed false gods. They exultingly said that their gods had prospered them, and had given them food, and raiment, and great riches, and had also given the Israelites into their hands to serve them, and that they had power to oppress them, and destroy their lives, so that they should be no people.
16 Pharaoh boasted that he would like to see their God deliver them from his hands. These words destroyed the hopes of many of the children of Israel. It appeared to them very much as the king and his counselors had said. They knew that they were treated as slaves, and that they must endure just that degree of oppression which their taskmasters and rulers might choose to inflict upon them. Their male children had been hunted and slain. Their own lives were a burden; and they were believing in, and worshiping, the God of Heaven. Then they contrasted their condition with that of the Egyptians. The latter worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, and also beasts, and even images, the work of their own hands; yet they were prosperous, and wealthy. And some of the Hebrews thought that if the Lord was above all gods, he would not thus leave them as slaves to an idolatrous nation.
17 The faithful servants of God understood that it was because of their unfaithfulness to him as a people, and their disposition to intermarry with other nations, thus being led into idolatry, that the Lord had suffered them to go into Egypt. And they firmly declared to their brethren that God would soon break their oppressive yoke.
18 But many of the Hebrews were content to remain in bondage, rather than to go to a new country, and meet the difficulties attending such a journey; and the habits of some had become so much like those of the Egyptians that they preferred to dwell in Egypt. Therefore the Lord did not deliver them by the first display of his signs and wonders before Pharaoh. He overruled events to more fully develop the tyrannical spirit of the Egyptian king, and also by manifestations of almighty power, to give the Israelites more exalted views of the divine character, that they might be anxious to leave Egypt and choose the service of the true and merciful God. The task of Moses would have been much easier, had not many of the Israelites become so corrupted that they were unwilling to leave Egypt.
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1 The Lord directed Moses to go again to the children of Israel, and repeat the promise of deliverance, with a fresh assurance of divine favor. Moses went as he was commanded; but the people were in no mood to receive him; their hearts were full of bitterness, the lash was still sounding in their ears, the cry of anguish and distress drowned all other sounds, and they would not listen. Moses bowed his head in humiliation and disappointment, and again God’s voice was heard by him.—”Go in, speak unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.” The discouraged man replied, If the children of Israel, thine own circumcised people, will not hearken unto me, how then shall Pharaoh, who is uncircumcised and an idolater, hear me? Moses’ heart seemed utterly crushed. Yet still he was kept to duty. He was told now to take Aaron with him, and directed, “Thou shalt speak all that I command thee;” told to go before Pharaoh and again request “that he send the children of Israel out of his land.” He was informed that the monarch would not give his consent until God should lay his hand in judgment upon Egypt and bring Israel out by his almighty power. Every punishment which the king rejected would render the next chastisement more close and severe, until his proud heart should be humbled, and he should acknowledge the Maker of the heavens and the earth as the living and all-powerful God. The Lord would bring up his people from their long servitude in a signal manner, giving the Egyptians an opportunity to exhibit the feeble wisdom of their mighty men, and array the power of their gods in opposition to the God of Heaven. He would show them by his servant Moses that the Maker of the heavens and the earth is the living and all-powerful God, above all gods; that his strength is mightier than the strongest,—that Omnipotence could bring forth his people with a high hand and with an outstretched arm. He would punish the Egyptians for their idolatry, and for their proud boasting of the mercies bestowed upon them by their senseless gods. God would glorify his own name, that other nations might hear of his power and tremble at his mighty acts, and that his people might be led to fully turn from their idolatry to render to him pure worship.
2 Obedient to the command of God, Moses and Aaron again entered the lordly halls of the king of Egypt. There, surrounded by the massive and richly sculptured columns, and the gorgeousness of rich hangings and adornments of silver and gold, and gems, before the monarch of the most powerful kingdom then in existence, stood these two men of the despised race, one with a rod in his hand, come once more to deliver their request that he would let their people go.
3 The king demanded a miracle. Moses and Aaron had been previously directed of God how to act in case such a demand should be made, and Aaron now took the rod and cast it down before the king. It became a serpent. The monarch sent for his “wise men, and the sorcerers,” who at his command, “cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” The only effect on the king was to make him more settled and firm in his purpose than before.
4 The magicians did not really cause their rods to become serpents, but by magic, aided by the great deceiver, made them appear like serpents, to counterfeit the work of God. Satan assisted his servants, in order to deceive the people, and encourage them in their rebellion. Pharaoh would grasp at the least evidence he could obtain to justify himself in resisting the work of God performed by Moses and Aaron. He told these servants of God that his magicians could do all these wonders. The difference between the work of God and that of the magicians was, one was of God, the other of Satan. One was true, the other false.
5 Moses and his brother were next directed to meet the king as he visited the river in the morning, and standing upon its bank they were again to repeat their message to him, and as proof that God had indeed sent them, they were to stretch out the rod over the waters in all directions, thus changing them into blood. It was done, and the river ran blood, and all the water in their houses was changed to blood, the fish died, and the water became offensive to the smell. But “the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments,” changing in the same way the water drawn from wells. Still the king hardened his heart, and refused to yield. For seven days the plague continued, the inhabitants being obliged to dig wells to supply themselves with water.
6 Another effort at moving the king was now made. The rod was again stretched out over the waters, and frogs came up from the river and spread over the country,—into the houses, and bed-chambers, and ovens, and kneading-troughs. The magicians with their enchantments appeared to bring up similar animals. The general nuisance soon became so intolerable that the king was earnest to have it removed. But although the magicians had succeeded in producing frogs, they could not remove them. When Pharaoh saw this he was somewhat humbled, and desired Moses and Aaron to entreat the Lord for him, that the plague might be stayed. They reminded the haughty king of his former boasting, and asked where was now the vaunted power of his magicians; then they requested him to appoint a time for their prayers, and at the hour specified the living cause was removed, though the effect remained; for the frogs, perishing, polluted the atmosphere.
7 The work of the magicians had led Pharaoh to believe that these miracles were performed by magic; but he had abundant evidence that this was not the case when the plague of frogs was removed. The Lord could have caused them to disappear and return to dust in a moment; but he did not do this, lest, after they should be removed, the king and the Egyptians should say that it was the result of magic, like the work of the magicians. The frogs died, and were then gathered together in heaps. Here the king and all Egypt had evidence which their vain philosophy could not dispose of, that this work was not accomplished by magic, but was a judgment from the God of Heaven.
8 When the king was relieved of his immediate distress, he again stubbornly refused to let Israel go. Aaron, at the command of God stretched out his hand and caused the dust of the earth to become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh called upon the magicians to do the same with their enchantments, but they could not. The work of God was thus shown to be superior to the power of Satan. The magicians themselves acknowledged that their imitative power was at an end, saying, “This is the finger of God.” But the king was still unmoved.
9 Still another trial was made, after another appeal to “let the people go.” Flies filled the houses and swarmed upon the ground, so that “the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.” These were not such flies as harmlessly annoy us at some seasons of the year; but they were large and venomous. Their sting was very painful to man and beast. It had been previously stated that the land of Goshen would be exempt from this visitation, which was accordingly found to be true.
10 Pharaoh now sent for the two brothers, and told them that he would allow the Israelites to offer sacrifices in Egypt itself; but this offer was refused. Certain animals were regarded as objects of worship by the Egyptians, and such was the reverence in which these creatures were held that to slay one, even accidentally, was a crime punishable with death. Moses assured the king that it was impossible for them to sacrifice to God in the land of Egypt; for they might select for their offering some one of the animals which the Egyptians considered sacred.
11 Moses again proposed to go three days’ journey into the wilderness. The king consented and begged the servants of God to entreat that the plague might be removed. They promised to do this, but cautioned him against dealing deceitfully with them. The plague ceased at their prayer. But the king’s heart had become hardened by his persistent rebellion, and he still refused to let the people go.
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1 Pharaoh was now forewarned of a still more terrible visitation, that of murrain upon all the Egyptian cattle which were out in the field. It was distinctly stated that the Hebrews should be exempted from this evil. The plague came, as predicted, and Pharaoh, on sending messengers to the homes of the Israelites, found that they had entirely escaped. Still the king was obstinate, and he was encouraged in his persistency by the priests and magicians.
2 But they also were to feel the judgments of God. Moses and Aaron were commanded to take ashes of the furnace and sprinkle them in the air before Pharaoh. As they did so, the fine particles spread as dust over all the land of Egypt, and where it settled became a “boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast.” The magicians could not by any of their enchantments, shield themselves from the grievous plague. They could no longer stand before Moses and Aaron, because of this affliction. The Egyptians were thus permitted to see how useless it would be for them to put their trust in the boasted power of the magicians, when they could not protect even their own persons.
3 Still there was no yielding on the part of the monarch. And the Lord sent a message to him declaring, “I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” Then a plague of hail was threatened which would destroy the cattle and every man found in the field. Here was an opportunity to test the pride of the Egyptians, and to show how many were really affected by the wonderful dealings of God with his people. All who regarded the word of the Lord gathered their cattle into barns and houses, while those who disbelieved the warning left their animals in the field. In thus providing a way of escape for all who chose to act upon the warning given, we see the mercy of God in the midst of judgment.
4 The storm came on the morrow as predicted,—thunder and hail, and fire mingled with it, destroying every herb, shattering trees, and smiting man and beast. Hitherto none of the lives of the Egyptians had been taken, but now death and desolation followed in the track of the destroying angel. The land of Goshen alone was spared. Here the Lord demonstrated to the Egyptians that the whole earth is under the command of the God of the Hebrews, that even the elements obey his voice. Here also was fulfilled the prophecy: “My people dwell in a peaceful habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places; when it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.” The only true safety of nations and individuals is to be obedient to the voice of God, and to ever stand on the side of truth and righteousness. Pharaoh now humbled himself and said, “I have sinned, the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” He entreated the servants of God to intercede with Him that the terrific thunder and lightning might cease.
5 Moses knew that the contest was not ended, for he understood the workings of the human heart that is set in proud defiance against God. Pharaoh’s confessions and promises were not made because there was any change in his mind or heart; but terror and anguish compelled him, for the time being, to yield the controversy with God. Moses, however, promised to grant his request, as though his confession was genuine and his repentance sincere, for he would not give him any occasion for future exhibitions of stubbornness. And notwithstanding the terrific warring of the elements, he fearlessly went forth, thus giving evidence to Pharaoh and his host of the divine protection while engaged in doing the work given him of the Lord.
6 On going out of the city he “spread abroad his hands unto the Lord, and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.” But as soon as the awful exhibitions of divine power had passed, the heart of the king returned to its stubbornness and rebellion.
7 The Lord was manifesting his power to confirm the faith of his people Israel in him as the only true and living God. He would give them unmistakable evidences of the difference he placed between the Egyptians and his people. He would cause all nations to know that although they had been bound down by hard labor, and had been despised, yet he had chosen them as his peculiar people, and that he would work for their deliverance in a wonderful manner.
8 By long association with the Egyptians, and continually beholding the imposing worship of idols, the Hebrews’ idea of the true and living God had become degraded. Any reference made by them to Him was treated with contempt by the Egyptians, who pointed to their bondage and mocked at the idea that their God was worthy of respect. What had he done for his people! They saw the idolatrous Egyptians enjoying an abundant prosperity, while they were continually taunted with the remark, “Your God has forsaken you.”—But by his mighty works, the Lord would now teach his people in regard to his character and divine authority, and show them the utter worthlessness of false gods.
9 The Lord, in his providence, had placed a man upon the throne whose pride and stubbornness was so great that he would defiantly refuse to obey his voice, and in so doing would reveal his haughty, tyrannical spirit, and fully establish the power, authority, and justice of God. Thus all the idolatrous nations might hear and know that the God of Israel is the Lord of the whole earth.
10 Then “the Lord said unto Moses, go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants; that I might show these signs before him: and that thou mayst tell in the ears of thy son and of thy son’s son what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the Lord.”
11 Moses went according to the divine command and warned the monarch that if he still remained obstinate, a plague of locusts would be sent, which would cover the face of the earth, and eat up every green thing that had been spared; they would fill all the houses, even the palace itself; such a scourge as “neither thy fathers nor thy, fathers’ fathers have seen.” The king was permitted to choose whether to humble himself before God, or refuse and suffer the effects of the plague.
12 The counselors of Pharaoh were appalled at this new danger. They had sustained great loss in the death of their cattle. Many of their people had been killed by the hail. Their forests were broken down and their crops destroyed. Everything was in a ruinous condition, and they were fast losing all they had gained by the labor of the Hebrews. At last they spoke out to the king, “How long shall this man be a snare unto us! Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?”
13 Then Moses and Aaron were again summoned, and the monarch said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God; but who are they that shall go?”
14 The answer was, “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go: for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.”
15 The king was filled with rage. “Let the Lord be so with you,” he cried, “as I will let you go and your little ones. Look to it, for evil is before you.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
16 In this answer, the king shows his contempt for the divine command. Let God require you, if he will, to take your little ones. Does your God think that I will let you go, with your wives and children, upon so dangerous an expedition? I will not do this; only you that are men shall go to serve the Lord. This hard-hearted, oppressive king, who had sought to destroy the Israelites by hard labor, would now pretend that he had a deep interest in their welfare, and a tender care for their little ones, when he only designed to keep them as a pledge of their return.
17 Pharaoh’s scorn and unbelief had no power to stay the judgments of God. Moses was commanded to stretch out his hand over the land, and an east wind blew, and brought locusts, “very grievous were they; before them were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.” They filled the sky till the land was darkened, and devoured every green thing, on the ground and among the trees.
18 The king sent for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said to them, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now, therefore, forgive I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.”
19 They did so, and a strong west wind arose, which carried away the locusts toward the Red Sea, so that not one was left behind. But notwithstanding the king’s humility while death threatened him, as soon as the plague was removed he hardened his heart and again refused to let Israel go.
20 The people of Egypt were in despair. The scourges which had already fallen upon them seemed almost beyond endurance, and they were filled with fears for the future. The people had worshiped Pharaoh as being a representative of their god and carrying out his purposes. But, notwithstanding, many were convinced that he was opposing his will to a superior power who held all nations under His control. Suddenly a darkness settled over the land, so thick and black that it seemed a darkness which could be felt. Not only were the people deprived of light, but the atmosphere was very oppressive, so that breathing was difficult. “They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days.” But all the children of Israel had light, and a pure atmosphere, in their dwellings.
21 The Egyptians were in the greatest perplexity. The Hebrew slaves were continually favored of God, and were becoming confident that they would be delivered. The task-masters dared not exercise their cruelty as heretofore, fearing lest the vast Hebrew host would rise up and be revenged for the abuse they had already suffered.
22 This terrible darkness lasted three days, and during this time the busy activities of life could not be carried on. This was God’s plan. He would give them time for reflection and repentance before bringing upon them the last and most dreadful scourge, the death of the first-born. He would remove everything which would divert their attention, and give them time for meditation, thus giving new evidence of his compassion and unwillingness to destroy.
23 At the end of the three days of darkness, Pharaoh sent for Moses and said, “Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed. Let your little ones also go with you.” The answer was, “Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.”
24 The king was stern and determined. “Get thee from me,” he cried, “take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face, thou shalt die.” The answer was, “Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more.”
25 As Moses had witnessed the wonderful works of God, his faith had been strengthened, and his confidence established. God had been qualifying him, by manifestations of divine power, to stand at the head of the armies of Israel, and, as a shepherd of his people, to lead them from Egypt. He was elevated above fear by his firm trust in God. This courage in the presence of the king, annoyed his haughty pride, and he uttered the threat of killing the servant of God. In his blindness, he did not realize that he was contending not only against Moses and Aaron, but against the mighty Jehovah, the maker of the heavens and the earth. If Pharaoh had not been blinded by his rebellion he would have known that He who could perform such mighty miracles as had been wrought, would preserve the lives of his chosen servants, even though he should have to slay the king of Egypt. Moses had obtained the favor of the people. He was regarded as a wonderful personage, and the king would not dare to harm him.
26 Moses had still another message for the rebellious king, and before leaving his presence he fearlessly declared the word of the Lord: “About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill, and all the first-born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee; and after that I will go out.”
27 As Moses faithfully portrayed the nature and effects of the last dreadful plague, the king became exceedingly angry. He was enraged because he could not intimidate Moses, and make him tremble before the royal authority. But the servant of God leaned for support upon a mightier arm than that of any earthly monarch.
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1 The Lord gave Moses special directions for the children of Israel, in regard to what they must do to preserve themselves and their families from the fearful plague that he was about to send upon the Egyptians. Moses was also to give his people instructions in regard to their leaving Egypt. On that night, so terrible to the Egyptians, and so glorious to the people of God, the solemn ordinance of the passover was instituted. By the divine command, each family, alone or in connection with others, was to slay a lamb or a goat “without blemish,” and with a bunch of hyssop sprinkle its blood on “the two side-posts, and on the upper door-post” of their houses, as a token, that the destroying angel, coming at midnight, might not enter that dwelling. They were to eat the flesh roasted, with bitter herbs, at night, as Moses said, “with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s passover.” This name was given in memory of the angel’s passing by their dwellings; and such a feast was to be observed as a memorial by the people of Israel in all future generations.
2 Leaven works secretly, and is a fit emblem of hypocrisy and deceit. And on this occasion the children of Israel were to abstain from leavened bread that their minds might be impressed with the fact that God requires truth and sincerity in his worship. The bitter herbs represented their long and bitter servitude in Egypt, also the bondage of sin. It was not enough to simply slay the lamb, and sprinkle its blood upon the door posts, but it was to be eaten, thus representing the close union which must exist between Christ and his followers.
3 A work was required of the children of Israel, to prove them, and to show their faith in the great deliverance which God had been bringing about for them. In order to escape the terrible judgment about to fall upon Egypt, the token of blood must be seen upon their houses. And they were required to separate themselves and their children from the Egyptians, and gather them into their own houses; for if any of the Israelites were found in the dwellings of the Egyptians, they would fall by the hand of the destroying angel. They were also directed to keep the feast of the passover for an ordinance, that when their children should inquire what such service meant, they should relate to them their wonderful preservation in Egypt: That when the destroying angel went forth in the night to slay the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast, he passed over their houses, and not one of the Hebrews that had the token of blood upon their door-posts was slain.
4 The people bowed their heads and worshiped, grateful for this remarkable memorial given to preserve to their children the remembrance of God’s care for his people. There were quite a number of the Egyptians who were led to acknowledge, by the manifestations of the signs and wonders shown in Egypt, that the gods whom they had worshiped were without knowledge, and had no power to save or to destroy, and that the God of the Hebrews was the only true God. They begged to be permitted to come to the houses of the Israelites with their families upon that fearful night when the angel of God should slay the first-born of the Egyptians. The Hebrews welcomed these believing Egyptians to their homes, and the latter pledged themselves henceforth to choose the God of Israel as their God, and to leave Egypt and go with the Israelites to worship the Lord.
5 The passover pointed backward to the deliverance of the children of Israel, and was also typical, pointing forward to Christ, the Lamb of God, slain for the redemption of fallen man. The blood sprinkled upon the door-posts prefigured the atoning blood of Christ, and also the continual dependence of sinful man upon the merits of that blood for safety from the power of Satan, and for final redemption. Christ ate the passover supper with his disciples just before his crucifixion, and the same night, instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s supper, to be observed in commemoration of his death. Up to this time the passover had been observed to commemorate the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. But in its place he now left an ordinance to commemorate the events of his crucifixion. After partaking of the passover with his disciples, Christ arose from the table, and said unto them, “With desire have I desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.” He then performed the humiliating office of washing the feet of his disciples. Christ gave his followers the ordinance of washing feet for them to practice, which would teach them lessons of humility. He connected this ordinance with the supper. He designed that this should be a season of self-examination, that his people might have an opportunity to become acquainted with the true feelings of their own hearts toward God and one another. If pride existed in their hearts, how soon would it be discovered to the honestly-erring ones, as they should engage in this humble duty. If selfishness or hatred existed, if would be more readily discovered as they engaged in this humble work. This ordinance was designed to result in mutual confessions, and to increase feelings of forbearance, forgiveness of each other’s errors, and true love, preparatory to engaging in the solemn ordinance of commemorating the sufferings and death of Christ. He loved his disciples well enough to die for them. He exhorted them to love one another, as he had loved them.
6 The example of washing the feet of his disciples was given for the benefit of all who should believe in him. He required them to follow his example. This humble ordinance was designed not only to test their humility and faithfulness, but to keep fresh in their remembrance that the redemption of his people was purchased upon condition of humility and continual obedience on their part. “So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”
7 Jesus then took his place again at the table, whereon were placed bread and unfermented wine, which arrangements had been made according to Christ’s directions. He appeared very sorrowful. “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Likewise, also, the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” “Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
8 Here our Saviour instituted the Lord’s supper, to be often celebrated, to keep fresh in the memory of his followers the solemn scenes of his betrayal and crucifixion for the sins of the world. He would have his followers realize their continual dependence upon his blood for salvation. The broken bread was a symbol of Christ’s broken body, given for the salvation of the world. The wine was a symbol of his blood, shed for the cleansing of the sins of all those who should come unto him for pardon, and receive him as their Saviour.
9 The salvation of men depends upon a continual application to their hearts of the cleansing blood of Christ. Therefore, the Lord’s supper was to be observed more frequently than the annual passover. This solemn ordinance commemorates a far greater event than the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. That deliverance was typical of the great atonement which Christ made by the sacrifice of his own life for the final redemption of his people.
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1 The children of Israel had followed the directions given them of God; and while the angel of death was passing from house to house among the Egyptians, they were all ready for their journey, and waiting for the rebellious king, and his great men to bid them go. “At midnight, there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” All the first-born in the land, “from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle,” had been smitten by the destroyer. When the Egyptians had seen the great preparations made by the people of God for that dreadful night, they had mocked at their hopes, and ridiculed the token of blood upon their door-posts. But now there was wailing throughout all Egypt. Pharaoh remembered his proud boast, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” His haughty pride was now humbled. He called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” He hoped that a blessing from God would protect him from the further effects of that dreadful plague. The officers of the king, and the people, united in imploring the Israelites to be gone, for, they said. “We be all dead men.”
2 “And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required; and they spoiled the Egyptians.”
3 The Lord revealed this to Abraham about four hundred years before it was fulfilled: “Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”
4 Although the Israelites left Egypt in haste, yet they were arranged in order, being divided into companies, with a leader for each. A “mixed multitude” accompanied them, and “flocks and herds, even very much cattle.” The latter were the property of the Israelites, who had never sold their possessions to the king. Jacob and his sons had brought their flocks and herds with them to Egypt, where they had greatly increased. The children of Israel also had become exceedingly numerous, and it was a vast company that at the dawn of day were on their way from the land of bondage.
5 “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.” “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”
6 The Lord knew that his people would meet with opposition, should they attempt to pass through the land of the Philistines. The latter would regard the Israelites as fugitives escaping from their rightful masters, and would make war upon them. In bringing them by the way of the Red Sea, the Lord revealed himself a compassionate God, as well as a God of judgment. He informed Moses that Pharaoh would pursue them, and he directed him just where to encamp before the sea. He told Moses that he would be honored before Pharaoh and all his host.
7 After the Hebrews had departed from Egypt, the counselors of Pharaoh informed him that his bondmen had fled, and would never return to serve him again. The Egyptians regretted that they had been so foolish as to think the death of their first-born was the result of the power of God. In bitterness they asked of one another, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” It was a great loss to be deprived of the service of these laborers, and notwithstanding all that the Egyptians had suffered from the judgments of God, they were so hardened by their continual rebellion that they decided to pursue the Israelites and bring them back by force.
8 Pharaoh prepared a well-equipped army, composed of the priests of their idol gods, and of the rulers, and of all the great men of his kingdom. They thought if their priests accompanied them, they would be more sure of success. The most mighty of Egypt were selected, that they might intimidate the Israelites with the grand display of their power and greatness. They thought that when the news should reach other nations, that they were compelled to yield to the power of the God of Israel, whom they had despised, they would be looked upon with derision. But if they should go with great pomp, and bring Israel back by force, they would redeem their glory, and would also have the service of their bondmen again.
9 On the third day of their journey, the Hebrews encamped by the Red Sea, whose waters presented a seemingly impassable barrier before them, while on the south a rugged mountain obstructed their further progress. Suddenly they beheld in the distance the flashing armor, waving banners, and moving chariots of a great army. As they drew nearer, the hosts of Egypt were seen in full pursuit. Terror filled the hearts of Israel. Over all the encampment rose a tumultuous sound. Some cried unto the Lord, but far the greater part hastened to Moses with their complaints:—
10 “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.”
11 Moses was greatly troubled because his people were so wanting in faith, especially as they had repeatedly witnessed the manifestations of the power of God in their favor. He felt grieved that they should charge upon him the dangers and difficulties of their position, when he had simply followed the express commands of God. True, they were in a place from which there was no possibility of release unless God himself interposed to save them; but having been brought there in obedience to divine commands, Moses felt no fear of the consequences. His calm and assuring reply to the people was,
12 “Fear ye not; stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
13 It was not an easy thing to hold the hosts of Israel in waiting before the Lord. They lacked discipline and self-control. Impressed by the horrors of their situation, they became violent and unreasonable. They expected speedily to fall into the hands of their oppressors, and their wailings and recriminations were loud and deep.
14 The wonderful pillar of cloud which had accompanied them in their wanderings and served to protect them from the fervid rays of the sun, had moved grandly before them all day, subject neither to sunshine nor storm, and at night it had become a pillar of fire to light them on their way. They had followed it as the signal of God to go forward; but now they questioned among themselves if it might not be the shadow of some terrible calamity that was about to befall them, for had it not led them on the wrong side of the mountain, into a impassable way? Thus the angel of God appeared to their deluded minds as the harbinger of disaster.
15 But now, as the Egyptian host approaches them, expecting to make them an easy prey, the cloudy column rises majestically into the heavens, passes over the Israelites, and descends between them and the armies of Egypt. A wall of darkness interposes between the pursued and their pursuers. The Egyptians can no longer discern the camp of the Hebrews, and are forced to halt. But as the darkness of night deepens, the wall of cloud becomes a great light to the Hebrews, illuminating the whole camp with the radiance of day.
16 Then hope came to the hearts of Israel that they might yet be delivered. And Moses lifted up his voice unto the Lord. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”
17 Then Moses, obedient to the divine command, stretched out his rod, the waters parted and Israel went into the midst of the sea, upon dry ground, while the waters stood like congealed walls on either side. The light from God’s pillar of fire shone upon the foam-capped billows, and lit the road that was cut like a mighty furrow through the waters of the Red Sea, and was lost in the obscurity of the farther shore.
18 All night long sounded the tramping of the hosts of Israel, but the cloud hid them from the sight of their enemies. The Egyptians, weary with their hasty march, had seen the Hebrews only a short distance before them, and as there seemed to be no possibility of escape, they decided to take a night’s rest, and make an easy capture in the morning. The night was intensely dark, the clouds seemed to encompass them like some tangible substance. Deep sleep fell upon the camp, even the sentinels slumbered at their posts.
19 At last a ringing blast arouses the army! The cloud is passing on! The Hebrews are moving! Voices and the sound of marching come from toward the sea. It is still so dark they cannot discern the escaping people, but the command is given to make ready for the pursuit. The clattering of arms, and the roll of chariots is heard, the marshalling of the captains, and the neighing of the steeds. At length the line of march is formed and they press on through the obscurity, in the direction of the escaping multitude.
20 In the darkness and confusion, they rush on in their pursuit, not knowing that they have entered upon the bed of the sea, and are hemmed in on either hand by beetling walls of water. They long for the mist and darkness to pass away, and reveal to them the Hebrews and their own whereabouts. The wheels of the chariots sink deep into the soft sand, the horses become entangled and unruly, and angels of God go through the host and remove their chariot wheels. Confusion prevails, yet they press on feeling sure of victory.
21 At last the mysterious cloud changes to a pillar of fire before their astonished eyes. The thunders peal, and the lightnings flash, waves roll about them, and fear takes possession of their hearts. Amid the terror and confusion the lurid light reveals to the amazed Egyptians the terrible waters massed up on the right hand and on the left. They see the broad path that the Lord has made for his people across the shining sands of the sea, and behold triumphant Israel safe on the farther shore.
22 Confusion and dismay seizes them. Amid the wrath of the elements, in which they hear the voice of an angry God, they endeavor to retrace their steps and fly to the shore they have quitted. But Moses stretches out his rod, and the piled up waters, hissing, roaring, and eager for their prey, rush together, and swallow the entire Egyptian host in their black depths.
23 As the Hebrews witnessed the marvelous work of God in the destruction of the Egyptians, they united in an inspired song of lofty eloquence and grateful praise. Miriam, the sister of Moses, a prophetess, led the women in music.
24 God in his providence brought the Hebrews into the mountain fastnesses, with the Red Sea before them, that he might work out their deliverance and forever rid them of their enemies. He might have saved them in any other way, but he chose this method in order to test their faith and strengthen their trust in him.
25 There are times when the Christian life seems beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before, and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly above all discouragements, “Go forward!” We should obey this command, let the result be what it may, even though our eyes cannot penetrate the darkness, and we feel the cold waves about our feet.
26 The Hebrews were weary and terrified, yet if they had held back when Moses bade them advance, if they had refused to move nearer to the Red Sea, God would never have opened the path for them. In marching down to the very water, they showed that they had faith in the word of God, as spoken by the man Moses. They did all that was in their power to do, and then the Mighty One of Israel performed his part and divided the waters to make a path for their feet.
27 The clouds that gather about our way will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. Unbelief says, We can never surmount these obstructions, let us wait until they are removed, and we can see our way clearly. But faith courageously urges an advance, hoping all things, believing all things. Obedience towards God is sure to bring the victory. Through faith only can we reach Heaven.
28 There is a great similarity between our history and that of the children of Israel. God led his people from Egypt into the wilderness, where they could keep his law and obey his voice. The Egyptians, who had no regard for the Lord, were encamped close by them; yet, what was to them a great flood of light, illuminating the whole camp, and shedding brightness upon the path before them, was to the hosts of Pharaoh a wall of clouds, making blacker the darkness of night.
29 So, at this time, there is a people whom God has made the repository of his law. To those who obey them, the commandments of God are as a pillar of fire, lighting and leading the way to eternal salvation. But unto those who disregard them, they are as the clouds of night. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Better than all other knowledge is an understanding of the word of God. In keeping his commandments there is great reward, and no earthly inducements should cause the Christian to waver for a moment in his allegiance. Riches, honor, and worldly pomp are but as dross that shall perish before the fire of God’s wrath.
30 The voice of the Lord bidding his faithful ones “Go forward,” frequently tries their faith to the uttermost. But if they should defer obedience till every shadow of uncertainty was removed from their understanding, and there remained no risk of failure or defeat, they would never move on at all. Those who think it impossible for them to yield to the will of God and have faith in his promises until all is made clear and plain before them, will never yield at all. Faith is not certainty of knowledge, it is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. To obey the commandments of God is the only way to obtain his favor. “Go forward,” should be the Christian’s watchword.
31 Pharaoh, who would not acknowledge God and bow to his authority, had delighted to show his power as ruler over those whom he could control. Moses had declared to the haughty monarch, that God, whom he pretended not to know, would compel him to yield to his claims, and acknowledge his authority, as supreme ruler.
32 In the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the Lord plainly showed his distinguished mercy to his people, before all the Egyptians. He saw fit to execute his judgments upon Pharaoh, that he might know by sad experience, since he would not otherwise be convinced, that the power of God was superior to all other. That his name might be declared throughout all the earth, he would give proof to all nations of his divine power and justice. It was the design of God that these manifestations should strengthen the faith of his people, and that their posterity should steadfastly worship Him alone who had wrought such merciful wonders in their behalf.
33 It had been very hard for the Egyptian monarch and a proud and idolatrous people to bow to the requirements of the God of Heaven. While under the most grievous affliction the haughty king would yield a little, but when the scourge was removed he would take back all he had granted. Thus, plague after plague was brought upon Egypt, and he yielded only while he was compelled by the dreadful visitations of God’s wrath. The king even persisted in his rebellion after Egypt had been ruined. Moses and Aaron related to him the nature and effect of each plague, before it came, that it might not be said to have happened by chance. He saw these plagues come, exactly as he was told they would come; yet he would not yield. At first he would only grant the Israelites permission to sacrifice to God in the land of Egypt. After Egypt had suffered by God’s wrath, he consented that the men alone should go; and when the land had been nearly destroyed by the plague of locusts, he granted that the women and children might go also, but still refused to allow them to take their cattle. It was then that Moses warned the king that the Lord would slay the first-born.
34 Every plague had come a little closer, and had been more severe than the preceding; and the last was to be more dreadful than any before it. But Pharaoh humbled not himself. And although, when the first-born of Egypt lay dead in every house, the rebellious monarch relinquished his grasp upon his bondmen, yet, after his people had buried their dead, and felt assured that the judgments had ceased, he dared once more to array himself against Jehovah. His last act of rebellion, in pursuing the hosts of Israel to the Red Sea, filled up the measure of his iniquity. This place was appointed for the closing display of the power of God before the infatuated Egyptians. Then were fulfilled the words which the Lord spake to Moses, “And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.” The judgment of God was manifested in the utter destruction of the Egyptian host.
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1 After leaving the Red Sea, the children of Israel, guided by the cloudy pillar, journeyed through the wilderness. Although the scenery around them was most dreary, composed of solemn looking mountains destitute of vegetation, barren plains, and the sea stretching far away behind them, its banks strewn with the bodies of their enemies, they were cheerful in the consciousness of their freedom, and for a time every thought of discontent was hushed.
2 But for three days they journeyed without finding any water to quench their thirst, having that only which they had been commanded to take in their vessels. Moses and Aaron were acquainted with this route, and knew that after traveling several days in the way in which they were then going they would find only bitter water. With what intense anxiety, therefore, mingled with forebodings, did they watch the leading of the pillar of cloud. And how the heart of Moses ached as the people gave the glad shout, Water! water! and it was echoed all along the line. Men, women, and children in joyous haste rush to the water, when lo, what a moan of anguish breaks forth from that vast company,—the water is bitter.
3 In their grief and disappointment, they reproach Moses for having led them in such a way, and do not consider that the Divine Presence in that mysterious cloud had been leading Moses and Aaron as well as themselves. Filled with sorrow as he saw the suffering of the people, Moses did that which the people should have done: he prayed earnestly to God, and he did not cry in vain. The Lord showed him a tree to which had been imparted healing properties, so that on its being cast into the fountain, the water became pleasant to the taste.
4 God here made a covenant with his people, through their leader:—If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that healeth thee.”
5 From Marah the people journeyed to Elim where they found “twelve wells of water and three-score and ten palm trees.” In this delightful spot they remained several days before entering the wilderness of sin. When they had been a month away from Egypt, they made their first encampment in this wilderness. Their store of provisions had now begun to fail. There was scanty herbage in the wilderness and their flocks also were fast diminishing. Famine seemed to be staring them in the face, and as they followed the cloudy pillar over the desert wastes, doubts filled their hearts, and again they murmured, even the rulers and elders of the people joined in complaining against the leaders of God’s appointment: “Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full! for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” The children of Israel seemed to possess an evil heart of unbelief. They were unwilling to endure hardships in the wilderness. When they met with difficulties, they would regard them as insurmountable obstacles. Their confidence would fail, and they would see nothing before them but death.
6 They had not really suffered the pangs of hunger. They had food for the present necessities, but they feared for the future. They could not see how the hosts of Israel were to subsist, in their long travels through the wilderness; and in their unbelief they saw their children famishing. The Lord was willing that their supply of food should be cut short, and that they should meet with difficulties, that their hearts might turn to Him who had hitherto delivered them. He was ready to be to them a present help. If, in their want, they would call upon him, he would manifest to them tokens of his love and continual care. But they were unwilling to trust the Lord any further than they could witness before their eyes the continual evidences of his power. If they had possessed true faith and a firm confidence in God, inconveniences and obstacles, or even real suffering, would have been cheerfully borne, after the Lord had wrought in such a wonderful manner for their deliverance from bondage.
7 The Lord had promised that if they would obey his commandments no disease should rest upon them, and it was criminal unbelief in them to anticipate that themselves and children might die of hunger. They had suffered greatly in Egypt by being overtaxed with labor. Their children had been put to death, and in answer to their prayers of anguish, God had mercifully delivered them. He had promised to be their God, to take them to himself as a people, and to lead them to a large and good land. But they were ready to faint at any suffering they should have to endure in the way to that land. They had suffered much while in bondage to the Egyptians, but now they could not endure hardships in the service of God. They were ready to yield to gloomy doubts, and to sink in discouragement when they were tried.
8 The sinful course of the Israelites is recorded as a warning to the people of God now upon the earth. Many look back to them, and marvel at their unbelief and continual murmurings, after the Lord had given them such repeated evidence of his love and care. They think that they would not have proved so ungrateful. But some who thus think, murmur and repine at things of far less consequence. They do not know themselves. God frequently proves them, and tries their faith in small things; and they endure the trial no better than did ancient Israel.
9 Many have then present wants supplied, yet they will not trust God for the future. They manifest unbelief, and sink into despondency and gloom. Some are in continual trouble lest they shall come to want, and their children suffer. When difficulties arise, or when they are brought into strait places—when their faith and their love to God are tested—they shrink from the trial, and murmur at the process by which God has chosen to purify them. Their love does not prove pure and perfect, to bear all things. The faith of the people of the God of Heaven should be strong, active, and enduring—the substance of things hoped for. The language of such will be, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name; for he hath dealt bountifully with me. Self-denial is considered by some to be real suffering. Depraved appetites are indulged. And a restraint upon the unhealthy appetite would lead even many professed Christians now to start back, as though actual starvation would be the consequence of a plain diet. And, like the children of Israel, they would accept slavery, diseased bodies, and even death, rather than to be deprived of some hurtful indulgence. Bread and water is all that is promised to the remnant in the time of trouble.
10 God was not unmindful of the wants of his people, and in his wisdom he provided the needed supply. He said to their leaders; “I will rain bread from Heaven for you.” The Lord designed to prove them, and by indulgence through miraculous provision for their wants to test them to see whether they would keep his commandments or no. The Lord promised to supply them through Moses with abundance of food. By his power he would give them flesh to eat in the evening and in the morning bread in abundance. Moses told them that their murmurings were not against him, but against the Lord. He that was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud heard all their murmurings and bitter complaints. While Aaron was speaking to the congregation there was a remarkable change in that pillar of cloud.
11 The Lord designed to give the Israelites evidences of his presence that they might be held in restraint and subordination as they knew the presence of the Lord, not merely the man Moses, was guiding them. Evidences of this kind were the books of knowledge opened to their senses that they should learn in regard to God, and his fear be before them. The greatest changes were to be wrought in the characters of these demoralized people. God was working by his power to lift them up through a knowledge of himself. Thus a visible manifestation of the glory of God was given them; a splendor which they had never witnessed, which symbolized the Divine presence. While the people were greatly terrified at this revelation of God, and feared his judgments, an audible voice came from the glory commanding Moses and Aaron to draw near to the cloudy pillar in which his glory was manifested. And the Lord talked with Moses and Aaron, and the Israelites heard his voice, saying that he had heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, and repeated his promise of flesh in the morning and bread in the evening. There God gave them evidence that he would supply their necessities, protect and preserve them, if they would be obedient to his commandments. In the evening the quails covered the ground about the camp. And in the morning the ground was covered with a strange substance, in small, white grains of the size of coriander seed, hard, and pleasant to the taste. The children of Israel knew not what it was, so they called it manna, which means, What is it? Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, gather of it every man, according to his eating, an omer for every man according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.”
12 The people gathered the manna, and found that there was a sufficiency for the entire company. They “ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.” We are also told that “the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”
13 According to the direction of Moses they were to gather an omer (about five pints) for every person; and they were not to leave of it until the morning. Some attempted to keep a supply until the next day, but what they laid by bred worms and became offensive. The supply for each day was to be gathered each morning; for as the heat of the sun increased, the substance melted and disappeared.
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1 While wandering in the wilderness, the children of Israel were preserved by a continual miracle of divine mercy in the falling of the manna. In the morning they were to go out and gather food for the day,—an omer for every person. They were commanded not to let any of this remain until the morning; nevertheless, some of them did attempt to keep a supply until the next day; but it bred worms and became offensive.
2 On the sixth day, it was found that a double quantity had been deposited, and the people gathered two omers for every person. When the rulers saw what they were doing, they hastened to acquaint Moses of this apparent violation of his directions; but his answer was, “This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over, lay up for you, to be kept until the morning.” They did so, and found that it remained unchanged. And Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath unto the Lord. Today ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.”
3 The Lord is no less particular now in regard to his Sabbath, than when he gave the foregoing special directions to the children of Israel. He required them to bake that which they would bake, and seethe (that is, boil) that which they would seethe, on the sixth day, preparatory to the rest of the Sabbath. Those who neglect to make suitable preparation on the sixth day for the Sabbath, violate the fourth commandment, and are transgressors of God’s law. In his instructions to the Israelites, God forbade baking and boiling upon the Sabbath. That prohibition should be regarded by all Sabbath-keepers, as a solemn injunction from Jehovah to them. The Lord would guard his people from indulging in gluttony upon the Sabbath, which he has set apart for sacred meditation and worship.
4 The Sabbath of the Lord is a day of rest from labor, and the diet should then be more simple, and a less quantity should be taken, than upon the six working days. Many have erred in failing to practice self-denial upon the Sabbath. They partake of full meals, as on the six laboring days, and as a consequence, their minds are beclouded, they are stupid and drowsy, and often suffer with headache. In this condition they can have no truly devotional feelings, and the blessing resting upon the Sabbath, does not prove a blessing to them. The sick and suffering require care and attention upon the Sabbath as well as upon other days of the week; and it may be necessary for their comfort to prepare warm food and drinks. In such instances, it is no violation of the fourth commandment to make them as comfortable as possible. The great Lawgiver is a God of compassion as well as of justice.
5 God manifested his great care and love for his people in sending them bread from heaven. “Man did eat angels’ food;” that is, food provided for them by the angels. The three-fold miracle of the manna—a double quantity on the sixth day, and none upon the seventh, and its keeping fresh through the Sabbath, while upon other days it would become unfit for use—was designed to impress the Israelites with the sacredness of the Sabbath. After they were abundantly supplied with food, they were ashamed of their unbelief and murmurings, and promised to trust the Lord for the future; but they soon forgot their promise, and failed at the first trial of their faith.
6 After leaving the wilderness of Sin, the children of Israel encamped in Rephidim, where there was no water. Again they distrusted the providence of God, and such was their blindness and presumption that they now came boldly up to Moses with the demand, “Give us water, that we may drink!” His patience failed not. “Why chide ye with me?” he said, “Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?” “Wherefore is this,” they cried, “that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”
7 Thus they began again to reason from the promptings of their own natural heart. The pillar of cloud seemed to them a fearful mystery, and as to that man Moses, who was he, and what object had he in attempting to lead them out of Egypt? They even accused him of designing to kill them and their children with privations and hardships, and then enriching himself with their possessions. But Moses prayed earnestly, and the Lord directed him to take the elders of Israel, and the rod wherewith he smote the river, and to go on before the people. And “Behold,” says the Lord, “I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.” He did so, and the water gushed out in such abundance as to satisfy their thirst.
8 The cloud of glory rested directly before the rock. Had that cloud been removed, the people would have been destroyed by the brightness of the glory. Christ would have been revealed in his glorious form standing by the rock. But as it was, the glory of the Lord was seen by all the congregation who stood at a distance.
9 Here we see the matchless mercy of Jesus Christ displayed. Instead of commanding Moses to lift up his rod and call down some terrible plague upon the wicked leaders in this murmuring, as he had done upon the Egyptian leaders, he was simply told to take some of the leading men of Israel to be eye-witnesses of a miracle which Christ himself would perform for their deliverance.
10 It was Moses who “clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths,” who “brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.” It was he who smote the rock, but it was Christ who stood beside him and caused the life-giving water to flow.
11 In their thirst, the people had tempted God, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” If God has brought us here, why does he not give us water as well as bread? That if showed criminal unbelief, and Moses feared that the judgments of God would rest upon them for their sin. And he called the name of the place Massah, temptation, and Meribah, chiding, as a memorial of their wicked murmurings.
12 God directed the children of Israel to encamp in that place, where there was no water, to prove them, to see if they would look to him in their distress, or murmur as they had previously done. They should have known that he would not permit those to perish with thirst, whom he had promised to take unto himself as his people. But instead of humbly entreating the Lord to provide for their necessity, they murmured against Moses, and demanded of him, water. God had been continually manifesting his power before them in a wonderful manner, to make them understand that all the benefits which they received came from him; that he could give them, or remove them, according to his own will. At times they had a full sense of this, and humbled themselves greatly before the Lord; but when brought into straight places they charged all their troubles upon Moses, as though they had left Egypt to please him.
13 Had not the Lord been slow to anger, and mercifully considerate of the ignorance and weakness of the children of Israel, he would have destroyed them in his wrath. He exercises the same pitying tenderness toward modern Israel. But we are less excusable than was ancient Israel. We have had every opportunity to elevate and ennoble our characters, which they did not have. We also have their history, recorded that we may shun their example of unbelief and impatient murmuring and rebellion.
14 Had they reformed and become obedient to God’s commandments, he would have established them in the land of Canaan, a holy and happy people, without a feeble one in all their ranks. But their lack of faith called down upon them the just displeasure of God; and so it will upon us in these last days if we do not trust God any further than we can see. We should seek God in prayer, constant, earnest, heartfelt, prayer. He will reward all who diligently seek him, for he has told us that the fervent, effectual prayer of the righteous availeth much.
15 The children of Israel tarried some time in this pleasant spot where there was plenty of water. The Amalekites, a tribe inhabiting that part of the country through which they were passing, became greatly disturbed by this. They felt that their territory had been invaded by this immense number of people, and they now came out to make war against them. Moses therefore directed Joshua to choose out soldiers and take them on the morrow to give battle with the enemy, while he himself would stand upon an eminence near by, with the rod of God in his hand. Accordingly, the next day Moses and Aaron and Hur took their position on the top of an adjoining hill, while Joshua and his company attacked the foe.
16 As the battle progressed, it was found that while Moses held up his hands toward heaven, entreating help from God, Israel prevailed; but when, through weariness, they were lowered, the enemy was victorious. Aaron and Hur stayed up the arms of Moses, and so, through the rest of that day, success was with the Israelites, and at its close the enemy was put to flight.
17 This act of Moses, in reaching up his hands toward heaven, was to teach Israel that while they made God their trust, and exalted his throne, he would fight for them, and subdue their enemies. But when they should let go their hold upon his strength, and should trust to their own power, they would be even weaker than those who had not the knowledge of God, and their enemies would prevail against them. Then “Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua; for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi; for he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” If the children of Israel had not murmured against the Lord, he would not have suffered their enemies to make war with them.
18 Before Moses reached Egypt on his mission to deliver the Israelites, he had, as we have seen, sent his wife Zipporah and her sons back to her father’s house. When Jethro heard of the deliverance of the Hebrews, he visited Moses in the wilderness, and brought to him his wife and children. On learning of their approach, the great leader went out to welcome them, and after the first greetings and salutations had been exchanged, he conducted them to his tent. Here he related all the wonderful dealings of God with Israel. Jethro rejoiced, and blessed the Lord in words that show the devoutness of his heart, and having offered sacrifices to God, he made a feast to the elders of Israel.
19 Jethro’s discerning eye soon saw that the burdens upon Moses were very great, as the people brought all their matters of difficulty to him, and he instructed them in regard to the statutes and law of God. He therefore counseled Moses to select proper persons and put them as rulers over thousands, also others over hundreds, and again others over tens. The men chosen for these important positions were to be “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.” The most difficult cases were to be brought before Moses, who was to be the people, said Jethro, “to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God. And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.”
20 This advice was followed, and not only was Moses relieved of too heavy a burden, but more perfect order was established among the people. “And Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.”
21 The leader of Israel was not above receiving instruction from his father-in-law. The Lord has greatly exalted Moses, and had wrought wonders by his hand; yet he did not conclude that because God had chosen him to instruct others, he needed not to be instructed. He gladly listened to the suggestions of Jethro, and adopted his plan as a wise arrangement.
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1 The children of Israel, obedient to the onward movement of the pillar of cloud, left Rephidim, having tarried there some time, and journeyed on toward Sinai. Their line of march had been across open plains, over steep ascents, and through narrow defiles. Again and again, when they had crossed a sandy waste, and their further progress seemed impossible because of the huge piles of massive rocks which lay directly in their way, a narrow passage would appear, and when this was passed, another barren, uninteresting plain would open to their view.
2 It was through one of these deep, gravelly passes that they were now called to pass. What a scene was this! Millions of people walled in by abrupt cliffs of granite rocks which rise hundreds of feet on either side, following a moving cloud by day, and guarded at night by a pillar of fire, as if the eye of God were fastened directly upon them. Christ in this wilderness school is here giving his people their first lessons in faith and trust in God.
3 Finally they come to a long range of mountains, upon which the cloudy pillar rests. The people encamp beneath its shadow, and while locked in slumber, the bread from Heaven gently falls upon the encampment. In the early morning, as the sun begins to brighten behind the dark ridge of eastern mountains, its soft, golden tints penetrate the dark gorges, seeming to those weary, almost discouraged travelers, like golden beams of mercy from the throne of Heaven.
4 Anxious eyes often turn in wonder upon the pillar of cloud hanging over the mount. The immense, rugged piles of granite rocks, with their irregular shapes and peaks, seem thrown together in the wildest confusion. The whole country seems strangely solemn to the weary travelers. They frequently contrast the verdant valleys of Egypt with these dark, and cheerless ravines, and the bustling activity of their former home, with the mountain solitude.
5 Here the Lord had gathered his people to himself, that he might talk with them. There was nothing here that they chose to worship, nothing to divert their minds, and nothing upon which they would fasten their affections. Everything was calculated to make man feel his nothingness in the presence of him who has “weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.”
6 Soon after their arrival at Sinai, Moses received a divine summons to ascend the mountain. Alone he climbed the steep and jagged rocks, placing his feet in steps made without hands; and far up on those solitary heights, God informed him that Israel was now to be taken into close and peculiar connection with himself, and that they were to become an organized church in the wilderness, and a nation whom he would govern. These are the words which he spake:—
7 “Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”
8 Moses came down, and having assembled the elders of Israel, he repeated to them the message of God. When it was made known to them, they answered: “All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do.” Here they entered into a solemn covenant with God to accept him as their ruler, by which they became, in a special sense, the subjects of his divine authority.
9 Again Moses ascended, and the Lord said unto him, “Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever.” When the Hebrews met with difficulties in the way, they were disposed to murmur against Moses and Aaron, and accuse them of leading the host of Israel from Egypt to destroy them. God would now honor Moses before them, that they might be led to confide in his instructions.
10 The Lord was about to come near to his people; they were to hear his law spoken, not by angels, but by himself; and Moses was now commanded to prepare them for that solemn event: “Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.” The people were required to refrain from worldly care and labor, and to possess devotional thoughts. God required them also to wash their clothes. He is no less particular now than he was then. He is a God of order, and requires his people to observe habits of strict cleanliness. Those who worship God with uncleanly garments and persons, do not come before him in an acceptable manner. He is not pleased with their lack of reverence for him, and he will not accept the service of filthy worshipers, for they insult their Maker. The Creator of the heavens and the earth considered cleanliness of so much importance that he said, “And let them wash their clothes.” Some who profess to be followers of Christ, call order and neatness, pride. They seem to consider it a virtue to leave their houses and premises in a disorderly, unimproved condition, thinking that they will thus give evidence of their disregard for temporal things, and their high estimate of spiritual things. But this same neglect and slothfulness which characterizes their business life, will be imparted to their religious life. Their religious experience will be defective. Says the apostle: “Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” God requires his people to be neat and orderly. All his directions to the children of Israel were of a character to establish habits of order and cleanliness in their dress, and in their surroundings. This was essential in order for them to preserve health, and to exert a proper influence upon other nations as a people adopted by the living God.
11 The Lord continued his instructions to Moses: “And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it. Whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death. There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live. When the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.” This command was designed to impress the minds of this rebellious people with a profound veneration for God, the author and authority of their laws.
12 Three days the people were before the mount. During this time, they had ample opportunity to review their past course of murmuring and impatience, and to repent. God had given them his gracious promise that they should become a peculiar treasure unto him, on condition of obedience; but if they were disobedient he would reject them, and choose another people.
13 Many regard the Jewish economy as an age of darkness. They have received the erroneous idea that repentance and faith had no part in the Hebrew religion, which they claim consisted only of forms and ceremonies. But the children of Israel were saved by Christ as virtually as is the sinner of today. By faith they saw Christ in those types and shadows which pointed forward to his first advent and death, when type should meet anti-type. They rejoiced in a Saviour to come, typified by sacrificial offerings, while we rejoice in a Saviour who has come. That which was expectation to ancient Israel, is certainty to modern Israel. The world’s Redeemer was in close connection with his people then, being enshrouded in that cloudy pillar. Let us not say, then, that they had not Christ in the Jewish age. The inspired apostle writes: “By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,” “esteeming the reproaches of Christ of greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.”
14 The command given to Moses to sanctify the people, brought great responsibility upon him. He was to faithfully point out their past errors, that they might, by humiliation, fasting, and prayer, purify their hearts from the defilement of sin, as well as cleanse themselves from all outward impurities. When the children of Israel were doing all they could to remove from them all defilement of the flesh and spirit, they were doing the same work that God requires us to do if we would be brought into close communion with him. However severe and close the battle to overcome wrong habits, and sinful indulgences, it must be fought and the victory gained. After the power of the will is brought into activity, then there must be a firm reliance upon Christ. When Israel thirsted in the wilderness, and yielded to sinful murmurings, Christ was to them what he is to us, a compassionate mediator, and he pardoned their transgressions. After man has done what he can to cleanse the soul-temple, then Christ’s blood alone will avail for us, as Christ’s typified blood availed for ancient Israel.
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1 On the morning of the third day all the children of Israel obeyed the command of God through Moses and drew near the mount with fear and solemnity. Awful and grand was the place of God’s sanctuary, holy and elevated the pulpit from which he was about to deliver his memorable sermon. The principles of the law of God did not originate at Sinai; but by a long, degrading servitude in Egypt they had become confused in the minds of all Israel. The Lord had now brought them out into this place, grand with solitude, that he might more clearly impress upon their minds the nature of his requirements by speaking his law with an audible voice.
2 They were here to receive the most wonderful revelation ever made by God to man. The cloud which rested upon the mount, enveloping the Father and the Son and the retinue of holy angels, become more black and dense. Soon from its thick darkness came vivid flashes of lightning, followed by deep, hoarse peals of thunder which echoed and re-echoed among the mountains, causing the most careless to tremble. Then followed a period of solemn painful silence. The flashes of light sent forth from the cloud revealing the solemn scenery with wonderful brilliancy, left the cloud denser and more fearfully dark in contrast with the bright shining of his power. The mountain shook to its very foundation beneath the tread of the Divine Majesty.
3 Moses was then called up, and charged once more to go down and see that the bounds were in order, and the sanctity of the mountain observed, after which he and Aaron were to go upward toward the summit. Then the Lord in awful grandeur, speaks his law from Sinai, that the people may believe. He accompanies the giving of his law with sublime exhibitions of his authority, that they may know that he is the only true and living God. Moses was not permitted to enter within the cloud of glory, but only to draw nigh, and enter the thick darkness which surrounded it, thus standing between the people and the Lord.
4 After God had given them such evidences of his power, he tells them who he is: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” The same God who exalted his power among the Egyptians, now speaks his law:—
5 “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.
6 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made Heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
9 “Honor they father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
10 “Thou shalt not kill.
11 “Thou shalt not commit adultery.
12 “Thou shalt not steal.
13 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
14 “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”
15 The first and second commandments spoken by Jehovah are precepts against idolatry. This sin if practiced, would lead men to great lengths in rebellion, and would result in the offering of human sacrifices. God would guard against the least approach to such abominations. The first four commandments were given to show men their duty to God; the last six, to show the duty of man to his fellow-man.
16 The fourth commandment is the connecting link between the great God and man. All who should observe the Sabbath would signify by such observance that they were worshipers of the living God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Thus the Sabbath was to be a sign between God and his people as long as he should have a people upon the earth to serve him.
17 When the congregation of Israel beheld the terrific manifestations of God’s presence at Sinai, they shrank away from the mountain in fear and awe. They felt indeed that God was there. When Moses and Aaron descended, they were greeted by the multitude with the cry, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” The leader answered, “Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.” The people, however, remained at a distance, gazing in terror upon the stupendous scene, while Moses again “drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.”
18 Again the Lord seeks to guard his people against idolatry by commanding Moses to say unto them, “Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.” They were in danger of imitating the example of the Egyptians, and making to themselves images to represent God. The Lord then continued to lay down certain rules which should govern them and the blessings which would be theirs if they obeyed. These are his words: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries; for mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.” The angel who went before Israel was the Lord Jesus Christ. “Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.”
19 God would have his people understand that he alone should be the object of their worship; and when they should overcome the idolatrous nations around them, they should not preserve any of the images of their worship, but utterly destroy them. Many of these heathen deities were very costly, and of beautiful workmanship, which might tempt those who had witnessed idol worship, so common in Egypt, to regard these senseless objects with some degree of reverence. The Lord would have his people know that it was because of the idolatry of these nations, which had led them to every degree of wickedness, that he would use the Israelites as his instruments to punish them, and destroy their gods.
20 “I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, and Canaanite, and Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.”
21 After Moses had received the judgments and also the promises from the Lord, and had written them for the people, he “came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” Moses then wrote their solemn pledge in a book, and offered sacrifices unto God for the people. “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people; and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.” Thus the people ratified their solemn pledge to the Lord to do all that he had said, and to be obedient.
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1 At the command of God, Moses again ascended the mountain, and took with him Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, with seventy of the most influential elders in Israel. These were placed where they might behold the majesty of the divine presence, while the people should worship at the foot of the mount. “And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand; also, they saw God, and did eat and drink.”
2 They did not behold the person of God, but only the inexpressible glory which surrounded him. Previous to this, had they looked upon such a scene, they could not have lived, for they were unprepared for it. But the exhibitions of God’s power had filled them with fear, which wrought in them repentance for their past transgressions. They loved and reverenced God, and had been purifying themselves, and contemplating his glory, purity, and mercy, until they could approach nearer Him who had been the subject of all their meditations. God had enshrouded his glory with a thick cloud, so that the people could not behold it. The office of the elders whom Moses took with him, was to aid him in leading the host of Israel to the promised land. This work was of such magnitude that God condescended to put his spirit upon them. He honored them with a nearer view of the glory which surrounded him, that they might have a clear sense of his greatness and majesty and power, and thus be prepared with wisdom to act their part in the great work assigned them.
3 Moses and “his minister Joshua” were next summoned to meet with God. The decalogue was to be delivered, inscribed on two tables of stone, and as the time of absence was to be a long one, the leader had appointed Aaron and Hur, assisted by the elders, to act in his stead, giving them the injunction, “Tarry ye here, until I come again unto you.” “And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.”
4 Even Moses could not go up at once into the mount; for he could not immediately approach so nigh unto God and endure the exhibitions of his glory. Six days was he preparing to meet with God. His common thoughts and feelings must be put away. During six days he was devoting his thoughts to God, and sanctifying himself by meditation and prayer, before he could be prepared to converse with his Maker.
5 The Lord then gave Moses directions for the building of a sanctuary, in which the divine presence would be specially manifested; he also gave further instructions in regard to the Sabbath. Finally there was delivered to Moses, by the hand of Divine Majesty, the testimony, or ten commandments, engraven on two tables of stone.
6 But while Moses was thus receiving instruction from God, the people were corrupting themselves at the foot of the mount. The mixed multitude that came from Egypt with the Israelites were the principal movers in this dreadful departure from God. They were called a mixed multitude, because the Hebrews had intermarried with the Egyptians.
7 The people had seen Moses ascend the mount and enter the cloud, while the summit of the mountain was all in flames. They watched for his return; and as he did not come as soon as he expected, they became impatient, and persisted that he had been slain by the burning flame.
8 A large company assembled around the tent of Aaron, and told him that Moses would never return—that the cloud which had hitherto led them now rested upon the mount, and would no longer direct their route through the wilderness. They desired something which they could look upon to resemble God. The gods of Egypt were in their minds, and Satan was improving this opportunity, in the absence of their appointed leader, to tempt them to imitate the Egyptians in their idolatry. They suggested that if Moses should never return to them, they could go back into Egypt, and find favor with the Egyptians, by bearing this image before them, acknowledging it as their god.
9 Aaron remonstrated against their plans, until he thought they were determined to carry out their purpose, and he then ceased reasoning with them. So violent were their clamors that he feared for his own safety. And instead of standing up nobly for the honor of God, and trusting his life in the hands of Him who had wrought wonders for his people, Aaron lost his courage, his trust in the Lord, and cowardly yielded to the wishes of an impatient multitude; and this, too, in direct opposition to the recent commands of God.
10 He told them to collect the golden earrings among the people, and bring the gold to him. He supposed this would deter them from their purpose. But not so; they willingly gave up their ornaments, and from these he made a calf in imitation of the gods of Egypt, and built an altar whereon to sacrifice to this idol. And he submitted to hear the people proclaim, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” What an insult to Jehovah! Aaron himself “made proclamation and said, Tomorrow, is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” They had recently listened to the proclamation of the law of God from Sinai, amid the most sublime demonstrations of divine power; and now, when their faith was tested by the absence of Moses for a few weeks, they engaged in idolatry, which had been so recently specified and expressly forbidden by Jehovah. God’s anger was kindled against them.
11 Moses was warned to hasten back to the camp, for the people had turned again to the heathen worship. God said to him, “Let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of thee a great nation.”
12 God saw that the children of Israel, especially the mixed multitude, were continually disposed to rebel, and by their works, provoke him to destroy them. He knew that they would murmur against their leader, when in difficulty, and grieve him by their continual rebellion. He therefore proposed to Moses to consume them, and make of him a great nation. Here the Lord proved his servant.
13 He knew that it was a laborious and soul-trying work to lead that rebellious people through to the promised land. He would test the perseverance, faithfulness, and love of Moses, for such an erring and ungrateful people. But the man of God would not consent that Israel should be destroyed. He showed by his intercessions that he valued the prosperity of God’s chosen people more highly than a great name, or to be called the father of a greater nation than was Israel.
14 “And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?” And he begged that the people for whom God had so signally manifested his power, might be spared.
15 The thought that the heathen nations, and especially the Egyptians, would triumph over Israel, and reproach God, was overwhelming to Moses. He could not let Israel go, notwithstanding all their rebellion, and their repeated murmurings against himself. The news of their wonderful deliverance had been spread among all nations, and all people were anxiously watching to see what God would do for them. And Moses remembered well the words of the Egyptians, that he was leading them into the wilderness that they might perish, and he receive their possessions. And now if God should destroy his people, and exalt him to be a greater nation than Israel, would not the heathen triumph and claim that the God of the Hebrews was not able to lead them to the land he had promised them? As Moses interceded for Israel, his timidity was lost in his deep interest and love for that people for whom he had, in the hands of God, been the means of doing so much. He presented before God his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He prayed with firm faith and determined purpose. The Lord listened to his pleadings, and regarded his unselfish prayer, and promised that he would spare Israel.
16 Nobly did Moses stand the test, and show that his interest in Israel was not to obtain a great name, nor to exalt himself. The burden of God’s people was upon him. God had proved him, and was pleased with his faithfulness, his simplicity of heart, and integrity before him, and he committed to him, as to a faithful shepherd, the great charge of leading his people through to the promised land.
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1 As Moses and Joshua went down from the mountain, the former bearing the “tables of the testimony,” they heard the sound of shouting in the camp. Joshua’s first thought was of an attack from their enemies: “There is a noise of war in the camp.” Moses answered, “It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome; but the noise of them that sing do I hear.”
2 As they drew near the camp they beheld the children of Israel shouting and dancing in an excited manner around their idol. It was all one scene of heathenism, an imitation of the idolatrous feasts and idol worshipers of Egypt; but how unlike the solemn and reverent worship of God! Moses was overwhelmed. He had just come from the presence of God’s glory, and although he had been warned that the people had corrupted themselves, had made an idol and sacrificed to it, yet he was in a measure unprepared for that dreadful exhibition of the degradation of Israel. In utter discouragement and wrath because of their great sin, he threw down the tables of stone by divine direction purposely to break them in the sight of the people, and thus signify that they had broken the covenant so recently made with God.
3 He then burned the idol in the fire and ground it to powder, and after strewing it upon the water, he made the children of Israel drink of it. This act was to show them the utter worthlessness of the god which they had been worshiping. Men could burn it in the fire, grind it to powder and drink it, without receiving any injury therefrom. He asked them how they could expect such a god to save them, or to do them any good or any evil. Then he rehearsed to them the exhibitions which they had witnessed of the unlimited power, glory, and majesty of the living God:—that struck terror to their souls.
4 “And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness (for the mountain did burn with fire), that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory, and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. Now, therefore, why should we die? for this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say; and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me. And the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee. They have well said all that they have spoken. Oh, that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!”
5 The Majesty of Heaven here shows that he takes no pleasure in punishing the transgressor; but when his righteous laws are trampled upon he must maintain the honor of his throne. He delights to bestow his blessings upon all who will value them. “Oh, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” This covers all who should live on the earth till the close of time, all who come under the meditation of Jesus Christ. The prosperity of all depends upon their obedience to God’s requirements. The heart that is steadfastly fixed upon the Lord will not think slightly of his law himself, nor give it less regard and reverence because of the universal disrespect which it receives. In proportion as it is disregarded and despised by the masses will it become precious to the God-fearing and obedient. Said David, “They have made void thy law, therefore I love thy commandments above gold, yea, than fine gold.”
6 Moses then presented before them their disgraceful conduct in worshiping an idol, the work of man, instead of offering sincere devotion to the living God. He pointed them to the broken tables of stone, which represented to them that thus had they broken the covenant which they had so recently made with God. The Lord did not reprove his faithful servant for breaking the tables of stone, but was very angry with Aaron because of his sin; and he would have destroyed him, had it not been for the special intercessions of Moses in his behalf.
7 The great leader next summoned his guilty brother to appear before him, and sternly inquired, “What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?” Aaron endeavored to excuse his course by relating the clamors of the people—that if he had not complied with their wishes they would have put him to death. “And Aaron said, let not the anger of my lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me; then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.” He would have Moses think that a miracle had been performed—that the gold was cast into the fire, and by some miraculous power was changed to a calf.
8 But his excuses and prevarication were of no avail. Moses severely rebuked his brother, and informed him that his guilt was heightened by the fact that he had been blessed above the people, and had been admitted into close converse with God. That he, placed in a responsible position to lead and control Israel, should commit so great a sin, even to save his life, was a matter of astonishment with faithful Moses. He “saw that the people were naked; for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies.” He had stripped them of their ornaments and had put them to a shameful use. The people were not merely deprived of their ornaments, but they were divested of their defense against Satan; for they had lost their piety and consecration to God, and had forfeited his protection. He had, in his displeasure, removed his sustaining hand, and they were left to the contempt and power of their enemies.
9 Aaron’s failure to be true to his trust brought the rebuke of God upon him. Had he been steadfast, God would have shielded him from harm. We have compliant Aarons in our day, those who hold positions of authority in the church and who coincide with an unconsecrated people and thus lead them to sin. They expose themselves and the people to the wrath of God. However much Aaron excused himself, God regarded him as the principal agent in this terrible transgression. Here is an example traced by the pen of inspiration, in the pages of sacred history, as a lesson to all ministers and those who are in responsible positions, that they should in no case imitate the example of unfaithful Aaron. We have in these last days, as much occasion to tremble with fear at the will of God, as the Israelites had when they stood at the foot of the mountain.
10 The ministers who teach the people that God’s law is no longer of force, are leading them to security in their life of disobedience and transgression. This Law of God is so exceeding broad that we cannot measure it. It is holy, just, and good and we can in no way evade its claims. It will be the rule of man’s conduct as long as time shall last, and the rule of the future judgment of God. The Lord cannot consistent with his perfection of character, the sacredness and honor of his throne and government, and with reference to the happiness of the beings he has created, reverse or release one precept of his law, or repeal one jot or tittle of it, for it is perfect, holy, just, and good, in harmony with his character.
11 While men profess to rejoice in the intercession and grace of Jesus Christ they should not forget that harmony with Christ cannot be gained while there is a spirit of war in their hearts against his Father’s commandments. Love genuine love to Jesus Christ will lead directly to hearty obedience of all the law of God, and there will be the deepest repentance whenever they break, or teach men by their example to break one of the least of God’s commandments. Ministers who smooth the consciences of the people by participating with them in transgression through any cause, are rejoicing in iniquity. And when Christ comes, to judgment, the stoutest hearts, the most confident boasters of religious attainments while breaking the law of God, will faint and fail, every excuse will then be silenced, every heart corrupt in its disobedience will be revealed just as it is. There will be recriminations with the companions in pouring contempt upon the law of God; but the heaviest denunciations will come upon the unfaithful minister who professed to be sent of God to show them the way of salvation. Tempter and tempted will suffer condemnation according to their responsibility and the wrong that they have done in leading souls to transgression. Of all the crimes that God will visit none are in his sight so grievous as those who tempt and encourage others in sin. God would have his ministers ever in all places show themselves decidedly on the Lord’s side, loyal and true to his commandments in a rebellious world, thus rebuking the disobedient however difficult or contrary to the natural feelings. “Those that honor me,” saith God, “I will honor.” God looks to those who bear his commission to be true and faithful, and to exalt the dignity of his claims.
12 We would have no Aarons in our ranks, but men who respond to the Divine commission, men who become not weak, pliant time-servers, but men who connect themselves with the infinite God, become strong in his strength, and enter upon their mission not to exalt themselves, not to shun disagreeable duties, but to do God’s work with unwavering fidelity. With a true purpose a weak man becomes strong; in God’s strength a timid man becomes brave; the irresolute become men of quick, firm, decided action. The thought that he is of sufficient consequence to be selected and honored with bearing a commission from the King of kings is sufficient to make him resolute, and to cause him to be faithful and true to his trust. God looks to him for that work with which he is intrusted to invest him with a moral dignity that savors of heaven.
13 The most important lesson of Aaron’s weak compliance with the wishes of the people are for all to profit by. Moses treated the case of Aaron as though he was the great offender. He inquired what had the people done to him that he should be revenged upon them by leading them into so great a crime. Aaron’s conduct was not justified in the least.
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1 Moses now requested all who had been free from this great sin of idolatry, to come and stand by him, at his right hand, while those who had joined the rebellious in worshiping the idol, but who had repented of their sin, were to stand at his left hand. The people arranged themselves as had been directed. “And the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.” This tribe had taken no part in the idolatrous worship. But a large company, mostly of the mixed multitude, who instigated the making of the calf, were stubborn in their rebellion, and would not stand with Moses, either at his right hand or at his left.
2 Moses then commanded those at his right hand to take their swords, and go forth and slay the rebellious, who wished to go back into Egypt. None were to execute the judgment of God on the transgressors only those who had taken no part in the idolatry. They were to spare neither brother, companion, nor neighbor. Those who engaged in this work of slaying, however painful, were now to realize that they were executing upon their brethren a solemn punishment from God; and for executing this painful work, contrary to their own feelings, God would bestow upon them his blessing. By performing this act, they showed their true feelings relative to the high crime of idolatry, and consecrated themselves more fully to the sacred worship of the only true God. “And there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.” Terror filled the hearts of the whole congregation. They feared that they would all be destroyed. As Moses saw their distress, he promised, according to their earnest request, to plead with God to pardon their transgression.
3 Those who plead that great charity must be exercised toward the transgressors of God’s commandments, may see in this instance of God’s retributive justice how he regards that charity that would cloak sin, or shield those in iniquity. The ringleaders in this wickedness, without respect to friendship or kindred, were to be punished with death. Only those were slain who stood forth in bold defiance to vindicate their conduct, while those who repented of their sins, and humbled themselves, were spared. Some would call the prompt and decided measures taken, a hard and severe spirit. But Moses here received from the mouth of God, the interpretation of, or what he calls, sanctification. In the prompt decisive act of showing their abhorrence of such disobedience and transgression, they sanctified themselves. This integrity, this undeviating faithfulness, brought a blessing upon the tribe who performed the act of terrible justice.
4 Aaron failing to stand up boldly for the right, his yielding to the strength of numbers, placed him with the majority. Aaron represents the cases of a large number composing our churches at the present day. They pass over sins existing in the church which grieve the spirit of God. They are lax where order and principle are involved, because it is not pleasant to reprove and correct wrongs. They are themselves carried along with the current, and become responsible for a fearful neglect of faithfulness.
5 Moses represents a class who will call sin by its right name; a class that will give no place to sin and wrong, but will purge it from among them. Our abhorrence of sin cannot be too strong, if we are controlled by no personal, selfish feelings, if we labor disinterestedly for the salvation of souls, pleading in behalf of the erring, and those blinded by their own transgressions.
6 On the morrow, Moses addressed them: “Ye have sinned a great sin; and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.” He went, and in his confession before God, he said, “Oh! this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” The answer was “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore, now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee. Behold, mine angel shall go before thee; nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.” The Lord further showed his displeasure at their act by afflicting them with a plague.
7 Moses manifested his great love for Israel in his entreaty to the Lord to forgive their sin, or blot his name out of the book which he had written. His intercessions here illustrate Christ’s love and mediation for the sinful race. But the Lord refused to let Moses suffer for the sins of his backsliding people. He declared to him that those who had sinned against him he would blot out of his book which he had written; for the righteous should not suffer for the guilt of the sinner. The book here referred to is the book of records in Heaven, in which every name is inscribed, and the acts of all, their sins, and obedience, are faithfully written. When individuals commit sins which are too grievous for the Lord to pardon, their names are erased from the book, and they are devoted to destruction. Although Moses realized the dreadful fate of those whose names should be dropped from the records of Heaven, yet he plainly declared before God that if the names of his erring Israel should be no more remembered by him for good, he wished his name to be blotted out with theirs; for he could never endure to see the fullness of Jehovah’s wrath come upon the people for whom he had wrought such wonders.
8 The Lord directed Moses to move his tent afar off from the encampment of Israel, thus giving expression to the people that he had separated himself from them. He would reveal himself to Moses, but not to such a people. Here he puts a difference between the faithful and the unfaithful; and this rebuke was keenly felt by the sinful Israelites.
9 In sadness they had buried their dead, the subjects of the wrath of an insulted God, and their sin had also separated Moses their leader from them. Moses pitched the tent where God indicated, but he called it the tabernacle of the congregation. Anxiously the people watched the movements of Moses as he repaired to the tabernacle. They feared that God had separated Moses from them that he might destroy them in his wrath. When Moses repaired to the tabernacle, every man stood in the door of his tent until he entered. The people had laid off all their ornaments, for the Lord had said to Moses: “Say unto the children of Israel, ye are a stiff necked people; I will come up unto the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee; therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee that I may know what to do unto thee.” They stripped themselves of their ornaments, and humbled their hearts in penitence before God. Moses had not informed the people with what success he had interceded with God in their behalf; but in response to his earnest importunities, God had promised to send an angel before them, but he had refused to go himself up in the midst of them, lest in their wayward course his wrath should consume them in the way.
10 As Moses entered into the tabernacle, the symbol of his glory in the cloudy pillar stood at the door of the tabernacle. Had Moses made an attempt to lessen the magnitude of the sins of rebellious Israel, he would not have been tolerated in the divine presence for a moment, for he would have shared the guilt of Israel. He plead before God that he should spare his people, notwithstanding their great sin, and in thus doing show himself a great and merciful God. Thus Moses cast himself and all Israel upon the large mercy of him whom Israel had dishonored. Moses then faithfully presented before the people the aggravating character of their sin. He knew that mere sacrifices and offerings would not remove the guilt unless their hearts repented sincerely of their transgression.
11 Some in this age of the world seem to think it a virtue to call sin righteousness. But Moses called sin by its right name, a transgression of God’s holy law. Moses required all who were truly penitent and humble in view of their transgression, to manifest it by separating from the congregation, and in the sight of all Israel repair to the tabernacle, and he would plead with God to forgive their transgression, and receive them back again to his favor. Conviction and thorough repentance was required of ancient Israel in order to meet the standard of God. No less does God require of his people in our day. There must be genuine heart work in repentance and humiliation, in order to come under this covenant care, and protecting love of God. Unmistakable evidence is given that God is a jealous God, and that he will require of modern Israel as he did of ancient Israel, that they obey his law. For all who live upon the earth is this sacred history traced by the pen of inspiration.
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1 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I swear unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, unto thy seed will I give it. And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; unto a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiff-necked people; lest I consume thee in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned; and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiff-necked people. I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee; therefore, now, put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.”
2 And Moses pitched the tabernacle without the camp, and all who desired to seek the Lord were commanded to separate themselves from the congregation by resorting thither.
3 The tabernacle here mentioned was a temporary tent arranged for the worship of God. The sanctuary, the pattern of which God gave to Moses, had not yet been built.
4 All who sincerely repented of their sins, made supplication unto God in confessing their sins with great humility. Then Moses went into the tabernacle. The people watched with the deepest interest to see if God would accept his mediation in their behalf; if he condescended to meet with Moses, then they might hope that they would not be utterly consumed. When the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, then all the people wept for joy, and rose up and worshiped, every man in his tent door. They bowed themselves upon their faces to the earth in humility. As the pillar of cloud, the token of God’s presence, continued to rest at the door of the tabernacle, they knew that Moses was pleading in their behalf before God. “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”
5 “And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people; and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now, therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight; and consider that this nation is thy people.” Moses was very urgent that the Lord would show him just what course to pursue in the great work before him. He deeply felt his need of divine wisdom in the guidance of Israel, that they might once more be acknowledged of God as his people.
6 The Lord answered the anxious inquiry of his servant with the assurance, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Moses entreated, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” He was not willing to cease pleading with God until he should obtain the assurance that the cloudy pillar, the token of his presence, would still rest upon the tabernacle, and continue to direct their journeyings.
7 Moses could not endure to have his interest separated from his brethren. His earnest intercession was that the favor of God in his special presence might again be granted sinful but repenting Israel, and that the tabernacle which had been removed from the encampment of Israel because of their idolatry might be again set up in their midst and the Lord manifest his glory to the children of Israel. There Moses showed his disinterested love for the tribes of Israel, and his genuine zeal for the honor of God. He presses his petition to God, he wants a decisive assurance then and there that the Lord would take back his people to his love, and that the breach that sinful Israel had made might be pardoned. Here Moses shows himself to be indeed a type of Christ. The Lord was in no way displeased with the importunity of Moses. He had a love for the sheep of his care. And the Lord promised that he would fully grant his request.
8 All truly converted souls will exercise repentance toward God, because they have broken his law. How carefully and tremblingly sinful Israel sought the pardon of God, and to be taken into divine favor. It was not merely form with this people, but earnest pleadings. Were there in our day visible manifestations of God’s wrath, and sudden retribution following crime as when the punishment fell so heavily upon Israel there would be less bold presumption and defiance of God’s law. Many continue in transgression, flattering their conscience that grace is so free and abundant that they will never be called to an account. But the great God is just as jealous of his law as in the days of Moses; though he bears long with perverse hearts he will surely bring to account all transgressors of his sacred law. God gave the wicked nations a time of probation. He would give them evidences of the power of the true and living God, that they might see and understand the superiority of the God of Heaven to their senseless idols. According to the light given was the condemnation. If they chose their own way before God’s ways, and their own wickedness before the righteousness of God, when the decision was fully made then God’s time had come to punish them.
9 In our day ministers and people make void, and pour contempt upon that law which is as sacred as the throne of God. Satan exults that he succeeds to so great a degree with the professedly religious world in making of no account the law of God; that law which is the foundation of God’s government in Heaven and in earth. Satan knows that if he could bring about a disregard of this holy law with ministers and teachers, that Christianity will become dwarfed and sickly, true piety paralyzed. Were the churches of today sifted by fiery trials they could not bear the proving test of God. His holy law, of ten precepts, the mirror which discloses the defects in the characters of all who consult it, would reveal that a great proportion of that which is thought to be genuine religion is very defective, having only a form of godliness, and no divine power to savor of life.
10 The Lord granted the earnest entreaty of his servant. And in answer to the prayer of Moses, that he might behold the divine glory, he was permitted to witness such a manifestation of God’s presence as had never before been granted to man.
11 Moses was now directed to prepare two tables of stone, and take them with him to the summit of Sinai, where the ten commandments would be written as they had been on the broken tables. No man was to go up with him, nor was any man to be seen throughout the mount.
12 He obeyed the command, and “the Lord descended in a cloud, and stood with him there.” The Deity proclaimed himself, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, of those that love him and keep his commandments, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”
13 God did not mean in his threatenings that children would be compelled to suffer for their parents’ sins, but that the example of the parents would be imitated by their children. If the children of wicked parents should serve God and do righteousness, he would reward their right doing. But the effects of a sinful life by the parents are often inherited by the children. They follow in the footsteps of their parents. Sinful example has its influence from father to son, to the third and fourth generations. If parents indulge in depraved appetites, they will, in almost every case, see the same reproduced in their children. The children will develop characters similar to those of their parents. If parents are continually rebellious, and inclined to make void the law of God by precept and example, their children will generally pursue the same course. The example of God-fearing parents, who respect and honor by their own course of action God’s rule of right, will be imitated by their children and their children’s children; and thus the influence is seen from generation to generation. The commandments of God are only grievous to those who do not observe them.
14 As the Lord impressed upon the heart of Moses a clear sense of the divine goodness, mercy, and compassion, he was filled with deep joy, and reverence for God. “And he made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped” He entreated the Lord to pardon the iniquity of his people, and take them for his inheritance. Then God graciously promised that he would make a covenant before all Israel to do great things for his people; and that he would evidence to all nations his special care and love for them.
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1 The Lord charged Moses to make no covenant with the people of the land whither they should go, lest they should be ensnared thereby. But they should destroy the altars of the heathen, break their images, and cut down the groves dedicated to their idols. He then commanded, “Thou shalt worship no other God; for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God.” God claims supreme worship as his due.
2 God promised Abraham’s posterity the land of Canaan; but centuries must pass before they could enter upon their possession, “In the fourth generation, they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” The Amorites inhabiting the land of Canaan, were gradually bringing upon themselves the righteous judgments of God by their iniquity. When it was fully settled that they would not be brought under the control of God’s government, and when they gave themselves up to work iniquity, bringing themselves to the most conspicuous idolatry, yet God spared them, for the full measure of guilt marking them for his vengeance, had not been reached. The iniquity of the Amorites must reach its fullness before God would send forth his mandate to destroy utterly. In the fourth generation God dispossessed them to make room for his people. Here we see the long suffering of God; he allows nations a certain probation, but there is a point where their accumulated guilt will meet its punishment. Those who would make void God’s law, advance from one degree of wickedness to another. Children would inherit from their parents the wicked, rebellious spirit against God and his law, and would go to greater extent in wickedness than their fathers before them until the wrath of God breaks forth upon them. The punishment was none the less certain because long delayed. God would have us take these lessons to heart. He would have us see the principle of divine justice in his dealings, and have us understand that a record is kept of the impieties and law breaking of any people and nation with the unerring accuracy of an infinite God. Although the measure of iniquity is filling up, God still bears, he gives additional opportunities and advantages, calling to repentance and proffering pardon. Yet if they continue to refuse light, and heed not the warnings of God, his divine justice will not always bear; for these are a blot, a stain upon his universe; their iniquity will corrupt all connected with them and become wide-spread.
3 Special directions were given in regard to the observance of Sabbath: “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest. In earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.” The Lord knew that Satan was continually at work to lead the Israelites to transgress the divine law, and he condescended to be very definite in his directions to his erring people, that they might not transgress his commandments for want of knowledge. In the busiest season of the year, when their fruits and grains were to be secured, they would be tempted to labor on sacred time. He would have them understand that their blessings would be increased or diminished according to their integrity of soul, or their unfaithfulness in his service.
4 God is no less particular now in regard to his Sabbath than when he made this requirement of the children of Israel. His eye is upon all his people, and over all the work of their hands. He will not pass by unnoticed those who crowd upon the Sabbath, and employ for their own use the time which belongs to him. Some may think they gain time by this course; but instead of being advantaged by robbing God of that which he has reserved to himself, they will lose. Many do not realize that the judgments which overtake them are from God. Though he may bear long with the transgressor the punishment will surely come at last.
5 Forty days and nights Moses remained in the mount, and during all this time, as at the first, he was miraculously sustained. And again the Lord “wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” During that long time spent in communion with God, the face of Moses had reflected the glory of the divine presence; and the brightness did not cease when he descended from the mountain. Unknown to himself, his face shone with such a dazzling, unearthly light that Aaron, as well as all the people, shrank from him. On learning the cause of their terror, he covered his face with a vail, and he continued to do so when coming from such heavenly communings.
6 Those who trample upon God’s authority, and show contempt for the law given in such grandeur at Sinai, virtually despise the lawgiver, the great Jehovah. The children of Israel who had transgressed the first and second commandments, were charged not to be seen anywhere near the mount, where God was to descend in glory to write the law a second time upon tables of stone, lest they should be consumed with the burning glory of his presence. And if they could not even look upon the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, because he had been communing with his Maker, how much less can sinners look upon the Son of God when he shall appear in the clouds of heaven in the glory of his Father, surrounded by all the angelic host, to execute judgment upon all who have disregarded the commandments of God, and have trodden under foot the blood of Christ!
7 The law of God existed before man was created. The angels were governed by it. Satan fell because he transgressed the principles of God’s government. After Adam and Eve were created, God made known to them his law. It was not then written, but was rehearsed to them by Jehovah.
8 The Sabbath of the fourth commandment was instituted in Eden. The principles embodied in the decalogue existed before the fall, and were suited to the condition of holy beings. After the fall, these principles were not changed, nothing was taken from the law of God, but additional precepts were given to meet man in his fallen state.
9 A system of sacrifices was then established, to keep before the fallen race that which the serpent made Eve disbelieve, that the penalty of disobedience is death. The transgression of God’s law made it necessary for Christ to die as a sacrifice; for only thus could he redeem man from the penalty of the broken law, and yet maintain the honor of the divine government. The sacrificial system was designed to teach man humility, in view of his fallen condition, and to lead him to repentance toward God and faith in the promised Redeemer for pardon of past transgressions. Had the law of God never been transgressed, there would have been no death, and hence no need of additional precepts to suit man’s fallen condition.
10 Adam taught his descendants the law of God, which was handed down to the faithful through successive generations. The continual transgression of its precepts called for a flood of waters upon the earth. The law was cherished by Noah and his family, who for right-doing were miraculously saved in the ark. Thus the Lord preserved to himself a people, from Adam down, in whose hearts was his law. He says of Abraham, he “obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
11 The Lord appeared to Abraham, and said unto him, “I am the Almighty God. Walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make a covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”
12 He then gave to Abraham and his seed the rite of circumcision as a token that God had separated them from all nations as his peculiar treasure. By this sign they solemnly agreed to fulfill the conditions of the covenant made with Abraham, to be separate from all other nations, and to be perfect. If the descendants of Abraham had faithfully kept this covenant they would have escaped a great temptation to indulge in the sinful practices of other nations, and would not have been seduced into idolatry. By mingling with idolaters they lost to a great extent their peculiar, holy character. To punish them, the Lord brought a famine upon their land, which compelled them to go down into Egypt to preserve their lives. But because of his covenant with Abraham, God did not forsake them while they were in Egypt. He suffered them to be oppressed by the Egyptians, that they might turn to him in their distress, choose his righteous and merciful government, and obey his requirements.
13 The Lord heard the cries of his people in the land of their captivity and delivered them, that they might be free to serve him. After they had left Egypt, and the waters of the Red Sea had been divided before them, he proved them to see if they would trust in him who had taken them, a nation from another nation, by signs, temptations, and wonders. But they failed to endure the trial. They murmured against God because of difficulties in the way, and wished to return again to Egypt. To leave them without excuse, the Majesty of Heaven condescended to come down upon Sinai, enshrouded in glory, and surrounded by his angels, and in a most sublime and awful manner make known his law of ten commandments. He would not permit even his angels to teach those sacred precepts, but spoke them himself, in the hearing of all Israel. He did not, even then, trust them to the memory of a people who were prone to forget his requirements, but wrote them with his own finger upon tables of stone. He would remove from them all possibility of mingling with his holy precepts any tradition, or of confusing his requirements with the practices of men.
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1 The Lord did not leave his people with the precepts of the decalogue alone. Moses was commanded to write, as God should bid him, judgments and laws giving minute directions in regard to their duty, thereby guarding the commandments engraved on the tables of stone. Thus did the Lord seek to lead erring man to a strict obedience to that holy law which he is so prone to transgress.
2 If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved in the ark by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a token or pledge, they would never have gone into idolatry, nor been suffered to go down into Egypt; and there would have been no necessity for God to proclaim his law from Sinai, engraving it upon tables of stone, or guard it by definite directions in the judgments and statutes given to Moses.
3 Moses wrote these judgments and statutes from the mouth of God while he was with him in the mount. The definite directions in regard to the duty of his people to one another, and to the stranger, are the principles of the ten commandments simplified and given in a definite manner, that they need not err.
4 The Lord said of the children of Israel, “Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols, wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live.” Because of continual disobedience, the Lord annexed penalties to the transgression of his law, which were not good for the transgressor, or whereby he should not live in his rebellion.
5 By transgressing the law which God had given in such majesty, and amid glory which was unapproachable, the people showed open contempt of the great Lawgiver, and death was the penalty.
6 “Moreover also, I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly polluted. Then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.”
7 The statutes and judgments given of God were good for the obedient. “They shall live in them.” But they were not good for the transgressor; for in the civil law given to Moses, punishment was to be inflicted on the transgressor, that others should be restrained by fear.
8 Moses charged the children of Israel to obey God. He said unto them, “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.”
9 The Lord gave Moses definite instructions in regard to the ceremonial offerings which were to cease at the death of Christ. This system, first established with Adam after his fall, and taught by him to his descendants, was corrupted before the flood, and also by those who separated themselves from the faithful followers of God, and engaged in the building of the tower of Babel. They had no faith in the Redeemer to come, and they sacrificed to gods of their own choosing, instead of the God of Heaven. Their superstition led them to great extravagances. They taught the people that the more valuable their offerings, the greater would be the pleasure of their gods, and consequently the greater the prosperity and riches of their nation. Hence, human beings were often sacrificed to these senseless idols. Many of the laws which governed these nations were cruel in the extreme. They were made by men whose hearts were not softened by divine grace, and while the most debasing crimes were passed over lightly, a small offense would be visited by the most cruel punishment.
10 Moses had this in view when he said to Israel, “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep, therefore, and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? and what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?”
11 God was a wise and compassionate lawgiver, judging all cases righteously, and without partiality. While the Israelites were in Egyptian bondage, they were surrounded with idolatry. The Egyptians were regarded as the most learned nation then in existence, and their worship was conducted with great pomp and ceremony. Other nations held the most cruel and absurd traditions as a part of their religion, and revolting customs found a place in their idolatrous service. Prominent among these was the practice of causing their children to pass through the fire,—to leap over the altar upon which a fire was burning before their idol. If a person could do this without injury, the people received it as evidence that the god accepted their offerings, and favored especially the one who had passed through the fiery ordeal. He was loaded with benefits, and was ever afterward greatly esteemed by all the people. He was never punished however aggravated might be his crimes. Should another person be burned in passing through the fire, his fate was sealed; the people believed that their gods were angry and could be appeased only by the life of the unhappy victim, and he was accordingly offered as a sacrifice. Even some of the children of Israel had so far degraded themselves as to practice these abominations. The Lord manifested his displeasure by causing the fire to consume their children in the act of passing through it.
12 Because the people of God had confused ideas of the sacrificial offerings, and mingled heathen customs with their ceremonial worship, the Lord condescended to give them definite directions, that they might understand the true import of those sacrifices which were to last only till the Lamb of God should be slain, who was the great Antitype of all their sacrificial offerings.
13 Moses understood the plan of salvation through Christ, by these sacrificial offerings, and by the manifestation of his glory which he had been permitted to behold. The perfection of God’s goodness, his image, his excellency and glory had been revealed to him. He saw the suffering, self-denial and self-sacrifice of Him who was one with the Father, to save fallen man. It had been revealed to Moses that the glory enshrouded in the pillar of cloud was the Son of the infinite God, whom the sacrificial offerings typified. In answer to his most earnest pleadings, “Show me thy way,” the future had been opened before him when the type would meet antitype in the death of Christ. He saw mercy and justice blended in harmony and love expressed without a parallel. Israel was just as fully and amply saved through Christ as we are-today. Moses had the assurance that the Mediator of Israel had the guardianship of his people, and that he was just the protection which their necessities required. If disaster came upon them, if their enemies prevailed against them in battle, it was the rebuke of God upon them because they had sinned and in sinning had broken the law of God.
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1 The tabernacle constructed by the Hebrews in the wilderness was made according to the divine command. Men called of God for this purpose were endowed by him with more than natural abilities to perform the most ingenious work. Yet neither Moses nor these workmen were left to plan the form and workmanship of the building. God himself devised and gave to Moses the plan of that sacred structure, with particular directions as to its size and form, the materials to be used, and every article of furniture which it was to contain. He presented before Moses a miniature model of the heavenly sanctuary, and commanded him to make all things according to the pattern showed him in the mount. And Moses wrote all the directions in a book, and read them to the most influential of the people.
2 Then the Lord required the people to bring a free-will offering, to make him a sanctuary, that he might dwell among them. “And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and ear-rings, and rings and tablets, all jewels of gold; and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.
3 “And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goat’s hair, and red skins of rams, and badger’s skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord’s offering; and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
4 “And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goat’s hair.
5 “And the rulers brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; and spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.”
6 Great and expensive preparations were necessary. Precious and costly materials must be collected, but the Lord accepted only the free-will offerings. Devotion to the work of God, and sacrifice from the heart, were first required in preparing a dwelling-place for the Most High. And while the building of the sanctuary was going on, the Israelites, old and young, men, women, and children, brought their offerings, until those in charge of the work decided that the people had brought enough, and even more than could be used. And Moses proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.”
7 The repeated murmurings of the Israelites, and the visitations of divine wrath because of their transgressions, are recorded in sacred history for the benefit of God’s people who should afterward live upon the earth; but more especially to prove a warning to those who should live near the close of time. Also their acts of devotion, their energy, and liberality in bringing their free-will offerings to Moses, are recorded as an example for all who truly love the worship of God. If God’s people prize the blessing of his sacred presence, they will manifest zeal and liberality in preparing a house where he may meet with them. And their interest in this work will be as much greater than that shown in preparing dwellings for themselves as heavenly blessings are esteemed of more value than earthly comforts.
8 Many will expend means freely to erect comfortable and even elegant houses for themselves; but when they would prepare a place in which to receive the presence of the high and holy One their offerings are bestowed grudgingly, and they are continually studying in what manner the sacred building can be made to cost the least, and yet answer the purpose as a house of worship. Some manifest more interest in building barns for their cattle, than they do in preparing a place for the worship of God. Such persons value sacred privileges just in the proportion which their works show. And their prosperity and spiritual strength will be according to their works. God will not cause his blessing to rest upon those who have so little appreciation of the value of divine things. Unwilling and stinted offerings are not accepted of God. Those who manifest an earnestness to bring to the Lord acceptable offerings, of the very best they have, as did the children of Israel in bringing their gifts to Moses, will be blessed in proportion to their estimate of the value of sacred things.
9 It is of some consequence that a building prepared expressly for divine service should be arranged with care,—made comfortable, neat, and convenient; for it is to be dedicated to God; he is to be entreated to abide in that house, and make it sacred by his holy presence. An amount sufficient to accomplish the work should be freely given, and the workmen be able to say, Bring no more offerings. A house built for God should never be left in debt, for he would thereby be dishonored. He is acquainted with every heart, and will reward all who freely return to him, when he requires, that which he has given them. If any withhold that which belongs to God, he will afflict them in their families, and cause decrease in their possessions, just according to their disposition to rob him.
10 The tabernacle was so constructed that it could be taken apart and borne with the Israelites in all their journeyings. Yet it was a structure of extraordinary magnificence. The walls consisted of upright boards heavily plated with purest gold. The sacred building was composed of two apartments, separated by a rich and beautiful curtain, or vail. A similar vail closed the entrance of the first apartment. These vails, with the curtain which formed the ceiling of the tabernacle, were of a variety of colors, most beautifully arranged; while inwrought with threads of gold and silver were cherubim, to represent the angelic host, who are connected with the work of the heavenly sanctuary, and who are ministering angels to the saints upon the earth.
11 In the inner apartment was the ark, which was the most sacred object connected with that system of worship. It was a chest of precious wood, overlaid within and without with pure gold, and having a crown of gold about the top. In the ark were placed the tables of stone upon which God had engraved with his own finger the ten commandments. It was made expressly for this purpose, and hence was called the ark of the covenant, and the ark of the testament, since the ten commandments were God’s covenant, and the basis of the covenant made between God and Israel.
12 The cover of this sacred chest was called the mercy-seat. This was a costly and magnificent piece of workmanship. It was beaten out of one solid piece of gold, and two cherubim were made, one standing on each end, beaten out of the same piece of gold. Their faces were turned toward each other, and were looking reverently downward toward the mercy-seat, which represents all the heavenly angels looking with interest and reverence to the law of God deposited in the ark in the heavenly sanctuary. One wing of each angel was stretched forth on high, while the other covered their forms. The ark of the earthly sanctuary was the pattern of the true ark in Heaven. There, beside the heavenly ark, stand living angels, each with one wing overshadowing the mercy-seat, and stretching forth on high, while the other wings are folded over their forms in token of reverence and humility.
13 The vail of the sanctuary did not reach to the top of the building. The glory of God, which was manifested above the mercy-seat, was partially visible from the first apartment. Directly before the ark, but separated by the curtain, was the golden altar of incense. The fire upon this altar was kindled by the Lord himself, and was sacredly cherished by feeding it with holy incense, which filled the sanctuary with its fragrant cloud, day and night. Its fragrance extended far around the tabernacle. When the priest offered the incense before the Lord, he looked toward the mercy-seat. Although he could not see it, he knew it was there; and as the incense arose like a cloud, the glory of the Lord descended upon the mercy-seat, and filled the most holy place, and often so filled both apartments that the priest was unable to officiate. As the priest in the holy place, directed his prayer by faith to the mercy-seat, which he could not see, so the people of God direct their prayers to Christ before the mercy-seat in the heavenly sanctuary. They cannot behold their Mediator with the natural eye, but with the eye of faith they see Christ before the mercy-seat, and direct their prayers to him, and with assurance claim the benefits of his mediation.
14 These sacred apartments had no windows to admit light. The candlestick, beaten out of one solid piece of gold, was kept burning day and night, and gave light to both apartments. The gold-plated walls, reflecting the light from the seven lamps of the golden candlestick, the richly embroidered curtains of blue and purple and scarlet, with their shining cherubim, the table of show-bread and the altar of incense, glittering like burnished gold, presented a scene of magnificence and glory which no words can describe.
15 No mortal eye but that of the high priest could look upon the sacred grandeur of the inner apartment, the especial dwelling-place of God’s visible glory. Only once a year could the high priest enter there, after the most careful and solemn preparation. With trembling he went in before God, and the people in solemn silence waited his return, their hearts uplifted to God in earnest prayer for the divine blessing.
16 Before the mercy-seat, God conversed with the high priest. If he remained an unusual time in the most holy, the people were terrified, fearing that because of their sins, or some sin of the priest, the glory of the Lord had slain him. But when the sound of the tinkling of the bells upon his garments was heard, they were greatly relieved. He then came forth and blessed the people.
17 After the building of the tabernacle was completed, Moses examined all the work, comparing it with the pattern, shown him in the mount and the directions he had received of God, and all the multitude of Israel pressed in crowds around the tabernacle, set upon an eminence, to view it with critical eye. They regarded it perfect. They saw the golden furniture carried in, the altar and laver put in position, and while they were contemplating the full effect with reverent satisfaction, suddenly their attention was attracted to the pillar of cloud which had conducted their travels through the wilderness. The cloud arose and floated over the tabernacle, then descended and embraced it. There was a revealing of divine majesty, and the dazzling splendor was overwhelming; even Moses was not able to enter the burning glory which enshrouded the tabernacle until the cloud had in a measure hid the exceeding brightness, for every human eye had been shaded.
18 Thus the Lord signified that he accepted the tabernacle built for his presence; and ever after this manifestation, when the children of Israel encamped, directly over the tabernacle rested the pillar of cloud by day, and the bright glory in the pillar of fire by night. When the cloud ascended they knew this was the signal for them to resume their march onward. When it continued to rest over the tabernacle they were to rest from their journeying. When the Lord signified his acceptance of their work in the manifestation of his glory, the hearts of the people were inspired with awe, and with gratitude. There was no noisy demonstrations of joy but with softened hearts, and flowing tears they murmured low, yet earnest words of thankfulness that God had approved the work of their hands, and had condescended to dwell more directly with them than ever before.
19 The Lord directed the Israelites in all their travels through the wilderness. When it was for his glory and the good of the people, that they should pitch their tents in a certain place, and there abide, God signified his will to them by permitting the pillar of cloud to rest directly over the tabernacle. And there it remained until God would have them journey again. Then the cloud was lifted up high above the tabernacle, and they journeyed again. In all their journeyings they observed perfect order. Every tribe bore a standard, with the sign of their father’s house upon it, and every tribe was commanded to pitch by their own standard. And when they traveled, the different tribes marched in order, every tribe under their own standard. When they rested from their journeyings, the tabernacle was erected, and the different tribes pitched their tents in order, in just such a position as God had commanded, around the tabernacle, at a distance from it.
20 When the people journeyed, the ark of the covenant was borne before them. “And the cloud of the Lord was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.”
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1 “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.”
2 The sons of Aaron did not take the sacred fire from the altar, which the Lord himself had kindled, and which he had commanded the priests to use when they offered incense before him. They took common fire, and put it in their censers, and put incense thereon. This was a transgression of God’s express command, and his judgment speedily followed. Aaron’s sons, who officiated in holy things, would not have thus transgressed if they had not indulged freely in the use of wine, and been partially intoxicated. They gratified the appetite, which debased their faculties, and disqualified them for their sacred office. Their intellects were beclouded, so that they did not have a realizing sense of the difference between the sacredness of the fire which God let fall from Heaven, and which was kept burning continually upon the altar, and the common fire, which he had said they should not use. If they had had the full and clear use of their reasoning powers, they would have recoiled with horror at the presumptuous transgression of God’s positive commands. They had been especially favored of God in being of the number of elders who witnessed the glory of God in the mount. They understood that the most careful self-examination and sanctification were required on their part before presenting themselves in the sanctuary, where God’s presence was manifested.
3 “And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes, lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people; but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.” The father of the men slain, and their brothers, were forbidden to manifest any signs of grief for the ones who had been justly punished of God. When Moses reminded Aaron of the words of the Lord, that he would be sanctified in them that came nigh to him, Aaron was silent. He knew that God was just; and he murmured not. His heart was grieved at the dreadful death of his sons while in their disobedience; yet, according to God’s command, he made no expression of his sorrow, lest he should share the same fate of his sons, and the congregation also be infected with the spirit of unreconciliation, and God’s wrath come upon them.
4 When the Israelites committed sin, and God punished them for their transgression, and the people mourned for the fate of the one punished, instead of sorrowing because God had been dishonored, the sympathizers were accounted equally guilty with the transgressor.
5 The Lord teaches us, in the directions given to Aaron, reconciliation to his just punishments, even if his wrath comes very nigh. He would have his people acknowledge the justness of his corrections, that others may fear. In these last days, many are liable to be self-deceived, and they are unable to see their own wrongs. If God, through his servants, reproves and rebukes the erring, there are those who stand ready to sympathize with those who deserve reproof. They will seek to lighten the burden which God compelled his servants to lay upon them. These sympathizers think they are performing a virtuous act by sympathizing with the one at fault, whose course may have greatly injured the cause of God. Such are deceived. They are only arraying themselves against God’s servants, who have done his will, and against God himself, and are equally guilty with the transgressor. There are many erring souls who might have been saved if they had not been deceived by receiving false sympathy.
6 “And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean. And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken by the hand of Moses.”
7 There was given the same positive command as was given to our first parents, in regard to the tree of knowledge. God would impress upon all the necessity of strictly temperate habits in order to preserve in their full force all their powers, prepared for constant action. Satan has worked perseveringly to the one end, to compass the ruin of the world. Since his success on the point of appetite in Eden, in causing the fall of our first parents, he has plied this temptation to the human family with wonderful success. Intemperance weakens the physical powers, and debases the morals, so that eternal things are placed on a level with common. Satan exults as he looks upon his work. If he can lead astray the heads of families through appetite he is mostly sure of a harvest in their children, and children’s children to the third and fourth generation. He studies from cause to effect. Children generally have transmitted to them as a legacy, the appetite and passions of their parents, intensified. And often these children grow up without any redeeming influences around them, but with unfavorable surroundings and examples. And they are weaker in physical and moral power than were their parents before them. Intemperance benumbs the sensibilities to that degree that physical, mental, and moral feebleness is the result, and right and wrong is not discerned.
8 This is the purpose of Satan, to belittle the requirements of God, and make of none effect his holy law. The man of sin has placed a common working day in the very bosom of the decalogue and in doing this has thought to change the law of God and has thus exalted himself above God. Were the moral powers of man clear and vigorous they would not choose the common in the place of the sacred because it is more convenient to be in harmony with the world. The general disobedience of man does not change or detract one particle from the positive command to keep holy the seventh day, for God placed his sanctity upon that day. A principle of right and obedience to God are always and everywhere the only safe rule. The language of every God-fearing soul should be, Perish whatever may, gold, silver, houses, lands, reputation, but let me retain my integrity and the approval of God. The habit of doing wrong in breaking one of God’s commandments will not lessen the guilt. There are habits contracted by bad example, or by bad influence before we have judgment to discern the right; or the force of reason may be so narcotized by indulgence of appetite in the use of tobacco, opium and liquor that wrong is not discerned. These slaves to appetite are completely under the dominion of their master, and unless evil habits are conquered, they will conquer and destroy.
9 Selfish gratification through the force of habit has reigned almost supreme in the hearts of the human family since the fall of Adam. Satan has slain his thousands and tens of thousands by causing them to think that God does not mean what he says. They venture to disobey, as did our first parents, and at last find the result is death. The Lord would garrison the hearts of the men of Israel in responsible positions, that they should preserve their reasoning powers, clear to discern between right and wrong in their dealings with the people, and this direct and solemn command was to reach from generation to generation to the close of time. Men who are instructing the people, and are in positions of trust should ever be men of strictly temperate habits; unless they are they will not be men of principle; for indulgence of the appetite perverts the senses. Those who have had advantages in education, trained by wise and God-fearing parents to strictly temperate habits, will generally be found trustworthy. They learn to bear the yoke in their youth.
10 The sons of Aaron although especially honored of God by being placed in important positions, were unfaithful. The yielding disposition of Aaron to indulgence of his children had given them characters that were inclined to self-gratification. They failed where they should have been strong. These men did not understand their own weakness and made a fatal mistake in the indulgence of appetite. The highest incentive was presented before them to develop firmness and principle, and strictly temperate habits, that they might have a continual sense of the sacredness of the work which was given them. God was testing their character to bring into exercise the highest powers of the mind. But the habits of self-indulgence had a firmer hold on them than they had any idea of. It seemed a trifle to them to put the intoxicating draught to their lips; they had done it again and again until force of habit controlled them; and then elevation to responsible position did not have sufficient influence upon them to make them break a sinful custom. Had these sons been educated to courageous resolution, to self-control, they would have resisted the growing power of vicious habits. There is not a virtue nor a vice, not an act of body, nor of mind, to which we may not be chained down by the force of habit. Many promising young men have ruined themselves by one false step at the commencement of life in the formation of habits of intemperance. Here the neglect of parents is seen in the formation of the characters of their children. Notwithstanding the father had failed to do his duty, God would bring these sons in close connection with himself that he might instruct them as to his will and his way; but the reverence they had failed to give the father, led them to disregard the positive requirements of God.
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1 The case of Aaron’s sons has been placed upon record for the benefit of God’s people, and should teach those especially who are preparing for the second coming of Christ, that the indulgence of a depraved appetite destroys the fine feelings of the soul, and so affects the reasoning powers which God has given to man, that spiritual and holy things lose their sacredness. Disobedience looks pleasing, instead of exceeding sinful. Satan rejoices to see men, formed in the image of their Maker, yield themselves as slaves to a depraved appetite; for he can then successfully control the powers of the mind, and lead those who are intemperate to act in a manner to debase themselves and dishonor God, by losing the high sense of his sacred requirements. It was the indulgence of the appetite which caused the sons of Aaron to use common, instead of sacred, fire for their offerings.
2 The punishment visited upon the sons of Aaron for their sin in departing from God’s commandment, should be a warning to those who transgress the fourth commandment of Jehovah, which is very plain: “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work,” etc. Nearly all the professed followers of Christ profane the day which God has sanctified and required them to keep holy as a memorial of the Creator’s rest. They labor upon God’s holy time, and rest on the first day of the week, thus honoring a common working day, a day upon which God did not rest, and upon which he has placed no sacred honor.
3 A departure from the fourth commandment will not now be immediately visited with temporal death; yet God does not regard the violation of his commandments any more lightly than he did the transgression of Aaron’s sons. Death is the final punishment of all who reject light, and continue in transgression. When God says, Keep holy the seventh day, he does not mean the sixth, nor the first, but the very day he has specified. When men substitute a common day for the sacred, and say that it will do just as well, they insult the Maker of the heavens and the earth, who instituted the Sabbath to commemorate his rest after the six days of creation. It is a dangerous thing to deviate from the commands of God. He who is infinite in wisdom has given explicit directions in regard to his own worship, and all who desire to serve him should follow the exact course he has prescribed. God will teach all his creatures that he means just what he says.
4 Parents and children should be warned by the history of Nadab and Abihu. Appetite, indulged, perverted the reasoning powers, and led to the breaking of an express command, which brought the judgment of God upon them. Notwithstanding children may not have had the right instruction, and their characters not have been properly molded, God proposes to connect them with himself as he did Nadab and Abihu, if they will heed his commands. If they will with faith and courage bring their will in submission to the will of God, he will teach them, and their lives may be like the pure white lily, full of fragrance on the stagnant waters. They must resolve in the strength of Jesus to control inclination and passion, and every day win victories over Satan’s temptations. This is the way God has marked out for men to serve his high purposes.
5 Men who make laws to control the people should above all others be obedient to the higher laws which are the foundation of all rule in nations and in families. How important that men who have a controlling power should themselves feel they are under a higher control. They will never feel thus while their minds are weakened by indulgence in narcotics, and strong drink. Those to whom it is intrusted to make and execute laws should have all their powers in vigorous action. They may, by practicing temperance in all things, preserve the clear discrimination between the sacred and common, and have wisdom to deal with that justice and integrity which God enjoined upon ancient Israel. Man may cultivate his powers, and with invincible determination rise to the high standard God has set for him in his word. Then with wisdom he may judge uprightly and with a sense that the eye of God is upon him, he will not swerve from the right, but will be kind, sympathizing, despising bribes, and governed by the highest motives in all his service.
6 Many who are elevated to the highest positions of trust in serving the public are the opposite of this. They are self-serving, and generally indulge in the use of narcotics, and wine and strong drink. Lawyers, jurors, senators, judges, and representative men have forgotten that they cannot dream themselves into a character. They are deteriorating their powers through sinful indulgences. They stoop from their high position to defile themselves with intemperance, licentiousness, and every form of evil. Their powers prostituted by vice opens their path for every evil. An elevated position of trust does not make the man after God’s own heart, but too frequently it leads him to despise persevering labor, and to forget that sin alone will make man really mean and low. He who toils in earnest labor, striving to make the most of his God-given powers, in homage and love to his Creator is doing his work as faithfully in his sphere as are the cherubim and seraphim in their most sacred work, and loftiest ministrations.
7 Intemperate men should not by vote of the people be placed in positions of trust. Their influence corrupts others, and grave responsibilities are involved. With brain and nerve narcotized by tobacco and stimulus they make a law of their nature, and when the immediate influence is gone there is a collapse. Frequently human life is hanging in the balance; on the decision of men in these positions of trust, depends life and liberty, or bondage and despair. How necessary that all who take part in these transactions should be men proved, men of self-culture, men of honesty and truth, of stanch integrity, who will spurn a bribe, who will not allow their judgment or convictions of right to be swerved by partiality or prejudice. Thus saith the Lord, “Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of the poor in his cause. Keep thee from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay them not, for I will not justify the wicked. And thou shalt take no gift; for the gift blindeth the wise and perverteth the words of the righteous.”
8 In order to carry out these stern principles of right, intemperance is positively forbidden of God. God requires that the faculties of man should be well balanced, the judgment clear and discriminating, that ideas may be received through the senses and compared with one another, investigating calmly, patiently, critically, evidences presented and arranging the matter with the action of sound judgment without a faculty being perverted. This was God’s purpose, and he forbids on penalty of death that the gifts of intellect he has bestowed upon man shall be subverted by narcotics or stimulus of any kind, that the talents he has intrusted to man may be a tower of strength to the people, in the place of a power to ruin and destroy. All who would meet the mind of God and come off conquerors, must bid adieu to ease, luxury, flattery, and vice, and arm themselves for the mighty, soul-testing struggle against indulgence of appetite.
9 Men would not in our day venture to so recklessly depart from God’s requirements were not their moral powers weakened by indulgence of perverted appetite. The example of our first parents, and the result of their disobedience, would deter them from a like experience. The history of this one family is traced by the pen of inspiration for the benefit of all who should live upon the earth, that they should not follow in the same steps.
10 The history of Nadab and Abihu is also given as a warning to man, showing that the effect of wine upon the intellect is to confuse. And it will ever have this influence upon the minds of those who use it. Therefore God explicitly forbids the use of wine and strong drink. No one can pervert his reasoning powers and alone suffer the consequences. God designs that man should be a help to his fellow-man; that with clear, unimpaired faculties he should study the divine plan for the advancement of God’s work, and the upbuilding of his cause in the earth. He is inviting men even in this age to connect with him, and through strictly temperate habits, with clear perception honor God. He has made provision that the life of not one should be profitless. He proposes to lift up and ennoble man to a companionship with himself.
11 Those who would have the peace that Christ can give must not shrink from self-conflict, and self-denial. Those noble virtues which shine forth in the Christian character amid the fiercest temptations, and that firm endurance which no trial or misfortune can wear out, are not found with those who use wine, tobacco, or strong drink. Men who have formed an appetite for these things may overcome if they but seek the help of Jesus. Their light need not go out in darkness. In Christ they may be strong, and in his all-powerful name they may conquer. They must never allow self-indulgence to come between them and their God. They must be prepared to risk everything, even life itself, rather than defile the soul temple.
12 They have, contrary to God’s will, created unnatural appetites, and now they must seek to undo their former work. The will must be brought under the control of the will of God; this will give them power to lead others into close relation with Christ, and help them to build up a character as fixed in righteousness as the everlasting hills. If we would go in safe paths we must be controlled by divine rules, and must wash our robes of character in the blood of the Lamb from every defilement.
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1 In addition to the tables of testimony which were given to Moses in the mount, he there received the ritual or ceremonial law, and full instructions in regard to the building of the tabernacle. When this tabernacle was finally completed, the unsurpassed glory of the Lord so rested down upon it that Moses was unable at first to enter. But an audible voice from the divine glory above the mercy-seat spake to him, and bade him come nigh. And there the Lord gave him still further directions in regard to the forms of worship to be carried on in the sanctuary.
2 It is this law of ceremonies, which was to find its fulfillment in the death of Christ, when type should meet antitype, that is so frequently in our day confounded with the moral law of ten commandments, which was engraven by the finger of God upon stone, and which is as enduring as the throne of Jehovah.
3 Some speak of the Jewish age as a Christless period, without mercy or grace. To such are applicable the words of Christ to the Sadducees, “Ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God.” The period of the Jewish economy was one of wonderful manifestations of divine power. So glorious was the revealing of this presence that it could not be borne by mortal man. Moses, who was so highly favored of God, exclaimed, “I do exceedingly fear and quake.” But God strengthened him to endure this excellent glory, and to bring from the mount a reflection of it upon his face so that the people could not look steadfastly upon it, but were obliged to withdraw from him. Jesus brought his gospel to Adam in the promise of a Redeemer which should bruise the serpent’s head. His gospel was preached to Abraham, to Jacob, and to Moses.
4 The very system of sacrifices was devised by Christ, and given to Adam as typifying a Saviour to come, who would bear the sins of the world, and die for its redemption. Through Moses, Christ gave definite directions to the children of Israel in regard to the sacrificial offerings. This was to impress the minds of the worshipers that something of vastly more importance than the mere outward act was signified by these ordinances. How solemn the thought that Christ was here giving directions in regard to a religious service, which, although it may seem to some as a meaningless and exacting round of forms, was designed to represent his own ministry and death.
5 Only clean and precious animals, those which would best symbolize Christ, were accepted as offerings to God. The filthy swine, the devouring lion, and beasts of like character which subsist on animal food, were not to be brought. Every offering was to be without spot or blemish, the very best of the kind. From this, those who follow Christ now should learn that he will accept of no meager offering or service. The most perfect and valuable treasure of Heaven was given for man’s salvation, and God will receive only the dearest and most precious gift from him in return. The Father in giving his Son poured out in one gift all the excellence of Heaven for man, and those who prize this gift will make their offerings of the things they most value, and withhold nothing which God has bestowed upon them wherewith to honor and glorify his name.
6 By the act of bringing the offering to the sanctuary, the individual confessed himself a sinner, deserving the wrath of God, and signified his repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood would remove the guilt of the transgressor. By placing his hands upon the head of the victim the sin of the individual was transferred to the victim, and his suffering the sinner saw Christ typified, when he should give himself as a sacrifice for our sins. The Lord signified his acceptance of the offering by causing it to be consumed upon the altar.
7 The system of sacrifices and offerings was a most expensive one to ancient Israel. Continual offerings were to be made. But God required nothing less of them, and they did it willingly. Men in our day, who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, and yet who choose to gratify self and increase their possessions rather than render to God that which he requires of them in tithes, in offerings, and in gifts, and in giving themselves to his service, are inexcusable. The more we do in the cause of our Master, the more we have to do with, and the greater will be our willingness and pleasure in doing.
8 The Lord left it with his people anciently to decide for themselves what they would give to his service. It was expressly stated that the poor could give less valuable offerings, such as a dove, or pigeon; but the same care and exactness in preparation were needed as for the more expensive offerings. Here is a lesson to all, that the poor are as precious in the sight of God as the most wealthy, if they are only willing and obedient. The parents of our Saviour were poor. The only offering they could bring for the priceless gift of the Son of God, was a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons. But the most humble offering is accepted if it is all that the poor can bring. It is for the encouragement of such that this instance in the history of Jesus is placed on record.
9 In many cases the poor give more freely, and make more of a sacrifice in their simple, dove offerings, than do the more wealthy who give of their abundance, and feel no personal inconvenience. These freewill, cheerful gifts, simple as they may be, are far more acceptable and fragrant in the sight of God than thousands of gold and silver coming from those grudgingly bestow the gift.
10 The Israelites were forbidden to eat the fat or the blood. “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” This law not only related to beasts for sacrifice, but to all cattle which were used for food. This law was to impress upon them the important fact that if there had been no sin there would have been no shedding of blood. The blood flowing from the victim in idolatrous sacrifices was frequently eagerly drank by the people, and confused ideas was the result.
11 The blood of the Son of God was symbolized by the blood of the slain victim, and God would have clear and definite ideas preserved between the sacred and the common. Blood was sacred, inasmuch as through the shedding of the blood of the Son of God alone could there be atonement for sin. Blood was also used to cleanse the sanctuary from the sins of the people, thus typifying the blood of Christ which alone can cleanse from sin. The fat was to be used in sacrificial offerings with the beasts, but in no case was it a suitable article of food. If used, disease would be the sure result.
12 The offerings brought to the sanctuary were to be without spot or blemish. Had one stain of sin rested upon our Redeemer, his sacrifice would not have secured the salvation of man. Christ was under no obligation to become man’s sacrifice. He was above law. But he took upon him the form of a servant, and went without the camp, bearing our reproach. He suffered without the gates of Jerusalem, thereby signifying that he died not only for Israel, but for all the world. Himself sinless, he was made sin for us, and upon him were laid all our iniquities. But when he came to the nation whom he came to save, they received him not, but crucified him. Here type met antitype. The ceremonies of the Jewish worship were then no longer needed; for the great Sacrifice to whom all other sacrifices pointed had now been offered. The middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile was broken down, and all nations, tongues, and people, were invited to partake of the salvation purchased at so great a cost.
13 While the death of Christ, as we have seen, brought the law of types and shadows, or the ceremonial law, to an end, it did not in the least detract from the dignity of the moral law, or make it void. On the contrary, the very fact that Christ died to satisfy the claims of that law, shows the immutability of its character.
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1 In the book of Leviticus are found many of the special moral requirements which were given to Moses to give to the children of Israel. These were carefully written in a book, and were nothing less than the principles of the ten commandments, defining the duty of man to his fellow-man, and his obligation to God. If they were obedient, God promised to take them to him as his peculiar treasure, make them a most powerful nation, and establish them in the land of Canaan, a holy and happy people. In doing his commandments was their only happiness and safety.
2 “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you shall ye not do. Neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.” The Lord would have his people true to his service, and separate and distinct from every nation who did not fear his name. He understood the danger of associating with idolaters, knowing that the seeing and hearing of their heathen customs and vain philosophy would have a corrupting influence upon their morals. There was danger of the sacrilegious services of the idol worship appearing attractive to them, and giving character to their religious services. Although the experience of parents might be a safeguard to themselves, there was constant danger in regard to the morals of their children. They would be continually tempted to imitate the practices of the people with whom they associated.
3 This injunction from God himself is of consequence to us who live in these last days when iniquity prevails, and Satan with every device is upon the track of the unwary. Merriment and pleasure-seeking is the order of the day, and reckless presumption and the absence of virtue mark the course of society generally. The standard of the world is in no case to be the standard of those who love and fear God. He requires those who follow him to be separate from sin and sinners. The reason why those who profess his name are not more precious in his sight is because the pure gold of their character has been corrupted by association with the world, and they have not genuine faith or a genuine religion.
4 The instruction given to ancient Israel was to the same effect as that given by Christ to his disciples upon the mount. Both were intended to counteract selfishness and encourage benevolence. God ever remembers the poor, and gives directions to his people to remember them. “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.” Again he says, “Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
5 Frequently the wages of the working men and women are thoughtlessly and cruelly withheld from them, and they are made to suffer for the little pittance they have earned by hard labor. This injustice is practiced on a large scale. Those who have had their labor frequently live in extravagance, that which they use intemperately being nearly sufficient to support one or two poor families. When such force the laborer to wait for his hard-earned pay, they come under the censure of God.
6 While we should show sympathy and love for the deserving poor, we are not to favor the unworthy poor because they are poor, neither are we “to honor the person of the mighty” simply because they are mighty. How much of this is done. If a man is possessed of wealth, great respect, applause, and honor are given him because of his position, while he may be corrupt at heart, and his life unworthy of imitation. Position or wealth does not make the man; but clean hands and a pure heart God will accept.
7 “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.” All liars are to have their part in the lake of fire, and yet there are more falsehoods told and acted than many suppose. All deception and overstatements are falsehoods. A truthful man, a man of integrity, will not designedly produce impressions by language or signs that are not strictly true. He will not allow any to receive from him that which he knows to be incorrect. A falsehood consists in an intention to deceive. A look of the eye, a motion of the hand, an expression of the countenance, will tell a falsehood as effectually as words. Hints and insinuations which leave an exaggerated impression on minds are falsehoods. Says the apostle, “Lie not one to another.” The case of Ananias and Sapphira shows that even in the gospel age retribution as severe as that of the Jewish age breaks forth upon the guilty.
8 “Ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God; I am the Lord.” The name of the Lord is profaned in many ways. It is spoken thoughtlessly, and is often dishonored in common conversation by appealing to God, as “the Lord knows,” etc., thus making common that name which is sacred, and should always be spoken with reverence. Some even in their prayers take the name of God upon their lips in a thoughtless manner. His holy name is to be spoken with solemnity, and not to be heedlessly brought into our prayers every few sentences. “Lord God Almighty,” “Holy and Reverend is his name!” His purity, majesty and excellence should be meditated upon, and the lips be sanctified that utter his name. Although we do not hear his voice from Sinai’s mount proclaiming his holy law, we have just as much need to fear and tremble as had they who surrounded it at that time. The law of God is exceeding broad. We cannot measure it, neither can we evade its positive claims, for it will be the rule of future judgment.
9 The Sin of Ignorance.
“If any one of the common people sin through ignorance,” “he shall bring his offering,” “and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.” The same provision was made for the ruler, and also for the priests. These, although appointed to their sacred work by God himself, were by no means considered infallible. They were in constant danger of committing sin, and although this might be done ignorantly, it was still sin in the sight of Heaven. While ignorance may lessen the guilt of the transgressor, it will not be a sufficient excuse for it in the day of Judgment. Says the apostle, “All who will do his will shall know of the doctrine.” Those who are anxious to know the truth and will of God will not be left in darkness.
10 Souls are constantly being convicted of sin. The law of God is brought home to their conscience as it was to that of the apostle Paul. He was ignorant that he was a transgressor of the law, but he says that when the commandment came, sin revived and he died. He was slain by the law, and then through repentance for his past transgression, and faith in Christ, he was reconciled to God and received pardon.
11 The experience of Paul would be the experience of thousands in this day if they would be as true to their conscience as he was to his. He did not institute a war against the law of God because it was the instrument to convict and slay him; far from it. He says that the commandment which was ordained to life he found to be unto death,—death to the transgressor, but life to the obedient. This is a day when men love to erect their own standard of right, and trample under their feet the only true standard. But when the slumbering conscience is aroused, and light is permitted to shine into the darkened chambers of the mind, they will find that they have been ignorantly breaking the commands of God. Such have a work to do to repent of their past transgressions, and put on Christ by faith and baptism.
12 Some will plead that they lived up to the best light that they had, and did not know that they were sinners before God. Therefore they claim that they were guiltless, and have nothing to repent of. But the word of God was plain, and all who had a prayerful anxious desire to understand it might have known what was truth; and for this sin of ignorance God will demand an offering as truly as in the days of Moses,—even the offering of a broken and contrite heart. With the Bible in our hands we ought all to know and practice the truth. But some do not wish to change their faith or course of action, and argue that if they are only honest they will be saved. Such will be in great danger of committing the sin of presumption, of not living up to all the light they have. Critical self-examination, united with a diligent searching of the Scriptures and earnest prayer, is essential, not that some way may be found to evade the cross, but that they may be led into all truth however much self-denial it may cost, and however inconvenient it may be to obey.
13 Sins of ignorance call not for excuse but for repentance. None are to flatter themselves that because Jesus died and bore the guilt for man, they have nothing to do but accept of pardon without repenting of the sins they have so long been committing. There are limits to the forbearance of God, and punishment for the transgression of his law is no less certain because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. Because we live in a time when retribution does not follow an evil deed at once, sin is less avoided and the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil.
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1 Nearly a year did the children of Israel continue to encamp at Sinai. Here their worship took more definite form, and they were more thoroughly organized preparatory to entering the land of Canaan, of which God would soon have given them possession had they not been rebellious. Arrangements were here made to have everything pertaining to their journey done with order and exactitude. To the tribe of Levi was assigned the sacred work of caring for and bearing the tabernacle and its belongings. This tribe was divided into three parts, according to the descendants of the three sons of Levi, and to each division was given a specified portion of the work.
2 The tabernacle was to occupy a central position in the encampment. Close by in front of it Moses and Aaron were to pitch their tents. On the south side were to be the Kohathites, whose special duty it was to care for the ark and the other furniture belonging to the tabernacle. And on the north side were the Merarites, whose particular part it was to take charge of the pillars, sockets, boards, etc.; while in the rear were placed the Gershonites, who were to take charge of the coverings and hangings of the tabernacle.
3 In all their journeyings they were required to observe perfect order. Every tribe bore a standard with the sign of their father’s house upon it, and under that particular standard they were required to pitch their tents. Whenever the ark moved, the entire camp journeyed, the different tribes marching in order under their own standards. Just in front of the ark marched Moses and Aaron, and near to them came the sons of Aaron, each bearing a trumpet. Through these they were to signify to the people the directions which they received from Moses. Special instruction was given to the people, so that they understood the sounds of the trumpets, and directed their movements accordingly.
4 A special signal was first given by the trumpeters to call the attention of the people. Then all were to be attentive and obey the certain sound of the trumpets. There was no confusion of sound in the voices of the trumpets, therefore there was no excuse for confusion in movements. The head officer over each company gave definite directions in regard to the movements they were required to make. None who gave attention were left in ignorance of what they ought to do. If any failed to comply with the requirements God gave to Moses, and Moses to the people, they were punished with death. They had no excuse to offer that they knew not the nature of these requirements, for they would only prove themselves willingly ignorant, and would receive just punishment for their transgression. If they did not know the will of God concerning them, it was their own fault. They had all the opportunity of knowing that others had, therefore their sin was regarded by the Lord the same as if they did hear and then transgressed.
5 And if any man from curiosity, or from lack of order forgot his position, and touched any part of the sanctuary, or furniture, or even came nigh any of the workmen, they were punished with death. God did not leave his holy tabernacle to be borne, and erected, and taken down, indiscriminately, by any tribe who might desire to do it. Persons were chosen to the office who could appreciate the sacredness of the work in which they were engaged. And these men appointed of God were directed to impress upon the people the especial sacredness of the ark and all that appertained thereunto, lest they should look upon these things without realizing their holiness, and by making sacred things common should be cut off from Israel. Everything pertaining to the most holy was to be regarded with reverence and holy awe.
6 The Lord would manifest to Israel in the explicit directions given them, that he is a God of order, that he would have everything connected with his work move forward with regularity and system. The Lord changeth not, and he is just as pleased now as then to have his ministers cultivate a love for order and discipline, that their efforts may be characterized by neatness, thoroughness, and exactitude. By precept and example they should educate the people to work in harmony. If order and discipline are essential to the success of an army on the battle field, how much more essential are they to the success of those who have enlisted in the army of the Lord.
7 Perfect order characterizes all the movements of the angels of God. We are in the world as the children of Israel were in the wilderness, to be fitted for the heavenly Canaan, and the society of holy angels. We should carry out as far as possible in our families and in the church the order and harmony of Heaven. Angels of God often turn away in grief from those who excuse disorder and confusion as very trivial matters; they are not authorized to bless such. All who desire and expect the co-operation of the heavenly messengers must work in unison with them. Satan understands that success will only attend unity of action. He well knows that independence, self-exaltation, and pride caused him to lose paradise, and he is constantly tempting others to rebel against order and discipline that they may share his fate.
8 The delay of the Israelites at Sinai was a necessary part of their discipline. The millions of people had started out from Egypt with enthusiastic hopes and eager expectations of marching direct into the land of their promised inheritance. But instead of this they were compelled to wander up and down in the barren wilderness with no prospect of making a home. This was the result of their own course of disobedience, which placed them in a position where God could not establish them in the promised land. If they carried their murmurings and jealousy into the land with them, they would degenerate as a people, and become more offensive to God than those whom he would drive out before them; for just in proportion as they had received light, and God had manifested his marvelous power to them, would be their sin in distrust and rebellion.
9 The Levites were specially honored of God to bear responsibilities, because they had not been swerved from their allegiance to him, and had not united with the others of Israel in worshiping the golden calf. Although it was painful for them to bear the sword against their brethren and kinsmen, they had been faithful and true to execute all the commands of God in punishing with death those who persisted in justifying their apostasy and idolatry.
10 When the signal was given for the encampment to move from their home at Sinai, to many it was a welcome sound. While engaged in building the sanctuary, their busy activities had served to keep them contented; but that work being accomplished, inactivity was becoming wearisome. Even the toils of their journeying were more welcome to them than to have nothing to do. But while some desired the change, many were loth to leave the place. They had encamped so long in that vicinity that it had become their home. They had learned to love to look upon the sacred mount upon whose hoary peaks and barren ridges the grand and awful glory of God had so often been displayed. The scene seemed to be engraven upon the tablets of their hearts. With many the place was so closely associated with the presence of God and holy angels that it seemed too sacred to leave thoughtlessly or even gladly.
11 These granite walls had been lifted that God might here gather to himself a people apart and separate from every other nation, to repeat to them his holy law. And now they were about to take up their line of march, they knew not whither. All eyes were turned anxiously toward the pillar of cloud, to see in what direction it was moving. And when it started in an easterly direction, where were presented only the mountain masses huddled together black and barren, some became sad, others dissatisfied and gloomy. But at the proper signal from the trumpeters, the entire camp set forward, each tribe occupying the exact position specified by the Lord, and bearing the standard of their father’s house.
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1 After traveling three days from Sinai into the wilderness, complaints began to be made by those in the uttermost parts of the camp who had not fully united their interest with the body, but who were continually watching to find something to condemn in those willing to bear the responsibilities and burdens of the people. These complainers were not pleased with the course of their march, and were constantly murmuring about the way in which Moses was leading them, notwithstanding they knew that he was following only where the pillar of cloud lead the way. Some also felt that they ought to have a leading position, while others complained of marching so long in the wilderness.
2 God continued to feed them with the bread rained from heaven; but they were not satisfied. Their depraved appetite craved flesh-meat, which God in his wisdom had withheld, in a great measure, from them. “And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting; and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes.” They became weary of the food provided for them by angels. Yet they knew it was just the food God wished them to have, and that it was healthful for them and their children. Notwithstanding their hardships in the wilderness, there was not a feeble one in all their tribes.
3 Satan, the author of disease and misery, will approach God’s people where he can have the greatest success. He has controlled the appetite in a great measure from the time of his successful experiment with Eve, in leading her to eat the forbidden fruit. He came with his temptations first to the mixed multitude, the believing Egyptians, and stirred them up to seditious murmurings.
4 These murmurings would soon have leavened the entire camp, had not the wrath of God in fire from Heaven flashed like lightning from the cloudy pillar and consumed those who were the instigators of the trouble. Yet this, instead of humbling them, seemed only to increase their murmurings. When Moses heard the people weeping in the door of their tents, and complaining throughout their families, he was greatly distressed.
5 Here Moses, himself, came very near distrusting the Lord. Even in his perfect physical strength and vigorous intellect he was staggering under the weight of responsibility, made so much heavier by the wicked complaints of the people. The burden seemed almost insupportable. Did not Moses at this time regret that he had not consented to have Israel destroyed, and himself made a great nation? Such temptations troubled him. It grieved him sorely to have them direct their complaints against him, as if every supposed deprivation was chargeable to him. And this was the very people for whom he had prayed that his name might be blotted out of the book of life rather than that they should be destroyed. He had imperiled all for them, and here was their response. His heart sunk within him; but he turned to the only One who could help him in his trouble. His was a prayer which was almost a complaint. “Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?” “Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”
6 This prayer does not do honor to Moses, who had seen so much of the power of God. The burdens of care had overtaxed him. He could have borne them all had the people stood by him; but he knew that their perverseness would only be quelled by the display of God’s wrath, and he preferred death rather than to see Israel disgraced and their enemies triumph. The Lord heard the prayer of his servant, and the answer came, strong and positive, directing him to gather before him seventy men, whom he knew to be elders in Israel,—men not only advanced in years, but possessing dignity, sound judgment, and experience, and who were qualified to be judges or officers. “And bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there; and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.”
7 The Lord allowed Moses to choose for himself the men whom he knew could be the best helpers. These men had shown faithfulness and order in their position as officers and elders, and now they were chosen to bear higher responsibilities. They were to be authority to check the violence of the people and quell any insurrection that might arise. But had Moses shown simple trust and confidence in God, corresponding to his great goodness and mercy, these men would not have been chosen. Serious trouble would eventually result from their enlarged authority. God would have guarded his servant continually, and strengthened him in every emergency, had he relied fully upon him. Moses was not excusable in so nearly imitating the people in murmuring against God. He magnified his burdens and services, when the Lord was really the worker, and he only the instrument. Poor, weak human nature, how little is it to be trusted!
8 Moses was commanded to prepare the people for what God was about to do for them:” Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you, because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?”
9 Once before, when they received the manna just before they reached Sinai, the Lord had answered their clamors for flesh-meat. They ate of it only one day, however, and then it was withheld because it was not the best article of food for them. Their murmurings now reflected upon the wisdom of God, as though he did not know just what they needed while travelling in the wilderness. The enemy perverted their imagination. The Egyptians who left Egypt with the Hebrews were accustomed to rich food and flesh-meats, and they were the first to complain. The food of the Israelites in Egypt was generally of the cheapest quality, but hard labor and a keen appetite made it palatable.
10 In response to the statement of the Lord that the people should have flesh to eat, Moses said, “The people among whom I am are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them?” These words expressed a manifest distrust, for which the Lord reproved him saying, “Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” He who could divide the Red Sea, binding the waters like a wall on either side while Israel passed through on dry land, and could rain bread from Heaven, and bring water out of the flinty rock, could provide meat to supply the host of Israel.
11 “And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders; and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.” These persons were endowed with the Spirit of the Lord in a similar manner as were the disciples on the day of pentecost. They foretold the work and mission of Christ, and by their wisdom and fluency of speech evidenced to all men that the power of God was upon them. The Lord saw fit to thus prepare them for their work, and honor them in the presence of the congregation, that confidence should be established in them as men chosen of God to unite their authority with that of Moses in his arduous work of restraining and governing the people during their sojourn in the wilderness.
12 There were two of the seventy chosen who went not out to the tabernacle. They were not rebellious, but they felt unworthy of serving in such a high and responsible position. But when the Spirit of the Lord rested upon the elders about the tabernacle, it fell also upon them, and they prophesied, speaking words of wisdom and eloquence. Then a young man ran to Moses and told him how two men were prophesying in the camp; and Joshua, being jealous for Moses, appealed to him to command them to be silent. But Moses, free from all jealousy, replied, “Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them.”
13 “And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails; he that gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.”
14 In this instance the Lord gave the people that which was not for their highest good, because they would have it. They would not submit to receive from the Lord only those things which would prove a benefit to them, but gave themselves up to seditious murmurings against Moses, and against the Lord. God gave them flesh-meats, as they desired, and they suffered the results of gratifying their lustful appetites. Burning fevers cut down very large numbers of the people. Those who had been the most guilty in their murmurings, were slain as soon as they tasted the meat for which they had lusted. Had they received with gratitude the food which God selected for them, of which they could eat freely without injury, they might have retained the divine favor, and they would have escaped the terrible results of their rebellious murmurings.
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1 When it was known in the camp of Israel that seventy elders had been chosen to assist Moses in the government of the people, Aaron and Miriam became jealous because they had not been consulted in the matter. They had not felt reconciled to the act of Moses in so readily receiving the counsel of Jethro, his father-in-law. They feared that his influence over Moses was greater than theirs. And now, seventy elders had been chosen without consulting with them; and as they had never themselves felt the responsibility and burdens which Moses had borne for the people, they did not see any real necessity for the help of the seventy elders. “And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.”
2 Aaron and Miriam thought that, as they had been chosen to aid Moses, they bore the burden of the work as well as he. And as the Lord had spoken by them, as well as by their brother, why should he complain of such heavy burdens as to need seventy of the judges and elders appointed to the work of aiding him. Moses realized his weakness. He felt the importance of the great work committed to him, as no other man had ever felt it. Aaron had shown his weakness by yielding to the clamors of the people, and making a molten calf, in the absence of their leader. But God had ever been Moses’ counselor.
3 As Miriam became jealous of Moses, she was disposed to find fault with the events of his life which God had especially overruled. She complained of her brother because he had married an Ethiopian woman, instead of taking a wife from among the Hebrews. The wife of Moses was not black, but her complexion was somewhat darker than that of the Israelites. She was of a timid disposition, tender-hearted, and was greatly affected upon witnessing suffering. This was the reason why Moses had consented that she should return to Midian instead of accompanying him to Egypt, that she might not witness the terrific plagues which the Lord was to bring upon the Egyptians. After she met her husband in the wilderness, she saw that his burdens and anxieties were wearing away his strength, and in her distress she acquainted her father with the matter. Jethro had marked that the care of all the people was upon Moses, and therefore he counseled him to look after the religious interests of the Hebrew host, while worthy men, free from covetousness, should be selected to attend to the secular concerns of the people.
4 As Miriam began to cherish a spirit of jealousy and faultfinding, she imagined that Aaron and herself had been neglected, and that Moses’ wife was the cause—that she had so influenced the mind of her husband that he did not consult them in important matters as much as formerly.
5 The Lord heard the words of murmuring against his faithful servant, and he was displeased; for Moses was very meek, above all men that dwelt upon the earth. And God called suddenly to Miriam and Aaron and Moses, and bade them come out to the tabernacle of the congregation. And God spoke to Miriam and Aaron from out of the cloud. “Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; wherefore, then, were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.” And Miriam became leprous, white as snow; and Aaron besought Moses that he would not lay the sin to their charge, wherein they had done grievously and sinned. He prayed that Miriam might not be as one dead, and Moses cried unto the Lord for her, and she was healed. She was, however, shut out of the camp seven days, and the people journeyed not till she was brought in again.
6 The cloud was removed from the tabernacle because the wrath of God rested upon Miriam, and it did not return until she was removed out of the camp. God had chosen Moses, and put his Spirit upon him; and by her murmurings against God’s chosen servant, Miriam was guilty of irreverence, not only to Moses but toward God who had called him. Aaron might have prevented the evil if he had presented before Miriam the sinfulness of her course. But instead of this he listened to her words of complaint, and shared in her spirit of jealousy. The murmurings of Miriam and Aaron, and the signal manifestation of God’s displeasure that followed, are left upon record as a rebuke to all who will yield to jealousy, and complain of these upon whom God lays the burden of his work.
7 Contention among God’s people is offensive in his sight. In union and harmony alone is there strength. Pride, selfishness, envy, and jealousy originated with Satan, and lost for him his Eden home. He now urges his temptations upon the followers of Christ, and the most frivolous pretense excites a prejudice and jealousy which is as cruel as the grave. Jesus is enshrouded in light unapproachable, independent in his working, and righteous in his judgments, and yet he taketh cognizance of all the actions of the children of men. No secret act of wrong is passed by unnoticed, and no deed of righteousness is forgotten,—all are recorded in the Ledger of Heaven.
8 Would that every heart could be impressed with the exceeding sinfulness of cherishing suspicion and jealousy against those whom the Lord loves. He is ever ready to take the part of all those who are made to suffer unjustly. Over all his servants his hand is ever spread as a buckler. No man can wound his chosen without wounding the hand of the Lord. Although he may long bear with the perversity of man, and not punish his unjust course, yet he has said that he would remember their wrongs, and punish them; for his hand bears the sword of justice.
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1 Eleven days after leaving Mount Horeb, the Hebrew hosts encamped at Kadesh, in the wilderness of Paran, which was not far from the borders of the promised land. Here the Lord told Moses to send men to search the land of Canaan, directing that one of the rulers of each tribe should be selected for this purpose. Moses did as the Lord had said, and sent up twelve men to search the land. He bade them go and see the country, what it was, its situation, and natural advantages; and the people that dwelt therein, whether they were strong or weak, few or many; also to observe the nature of the soil and its productiveness and to bring of the fruit of the land.
2 After an absence of forty days they returned from their search, and all the congregation of Israel assembled to listen to their report. All agreed that it was a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and as evidence, they exhibited specimens of the rich fruit of the country. It was in the time of ripe grapes, and they had brought a cluster of grapes so large that it was carried between two men. They had also brought of the figs and pomegranates which grew there in abundance. But after describing the beauty and fertility of the land, all but two of the spies spoke of the difficulties and dangers that lay before the Israelites should they undertake the conquest of Canaan. They enumerated the powerful nations located in various parts of the country, and said that the cities were walled and very great, and the people who dwelt therein were strong, and it would be impossible to conquer them. They also stated that they had seen giants, the sons of Anak, there, and it was useless to think of possessing the land.
3 As the people listened to this discouraging report, they gave expression to their feelings of disappointment, in reproaches, and bitter mourning. They did not wait, and reflect, and reason that God, who had brought them out thus far, would certainly give them the land. They left God out of the question, and acted as though, in the taking of the city of Jericho, the key to the land of Canaan, they must depend solely on the power of arms. God had declared that he would give them the country, and they should have fully trusted him to fulfill his word. But their unsubdued hearts were not in harmony with his plans. They did not call to mind how wonderfully he had wrought in their behalf, bringing them out of their Egyptian bondage, cutting a path for them through the waters of the sea, and destroying the pursuing host of Pharaoh.
4 In their unbelief they limited the work of God, and distrusted the hand that had hitherto safely guided them. In this instance they repeated their former error of murmuring against Moses and Aaron. “This, then, is the end of all our high hopes,” they said. “This is the land we have traveled all the way from Egypt to possess.” They accused their leaders of bringing trouble upon Israel, and again charged them with deceiving and leading their people astray.
5 Moses and Aaron lay prostrate before God, their faces in the dust. Caleb and Joshua, the two who, of all the twelve spies, trusted in the word of God, rent their clothes in distress, when they perceived that these unfavorable reports had discouraged the whole congregation. They endeavored to reason with them, but the people were filled with madness and disappointment, and refused to listen. Finally, Caleb urged his way to the front, and his clear, ringing voice was heard above all the clamor of the multitude. He opposed the cowardly views of his fellow-spies, which had weakened the faith and courage of all Israel. He commanded the attention of the people, and they hushed their complaints for a moment to listen to him. He spoke of the land he had visited. Said he, “Let us go up at once; for we are well able to overcome it.” But as he spoke, the unfaithful spies interrupted him, crying out, “We be not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we!”
6 These men, starting upon a wrong course, set their hearts against God, against Moses and Aaron, and against Caleb and Joshua. Every step they advanced in this wrong direction made them firmer in their design to discourage all attempts to possess the land of Canaan. They distorted the truth in order to carry their baneful influence. They represented the climate as being unhealthful, and all the people of giant stature. Said they, “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so were in their sight.”
7 This was not only an evil, but a lying report. It was contradictory; for if the land was unhealthy and “had eaten up the inhabitants,” how was it that they attained to such massive proportions? When men yield their hearts to unbelief, there are no bounds to the advance they will make in evil. Few realize, when they start upon this dangerous course, the length that Satan will lead them.
8 The evil report had a terrible effect upon the people. They bitterly reproached Moses and Aaron. Some groaned and wailed, saying, “Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or, Would God we had died in the wilderness!” Then their feelings rose against the Lord, they wept and mourned, saying, “Wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”
9 Thus they manifested their disrespect for God and for the leaders he had appointed to conduct them. They did not ask the Lord what they should do, but said, “Let us make a captain.” They took matters into their own hands, feeling themselves competent to manage their affairs without divine aid. They accused not only Moses, but God himself, of deception, in promising a land which they were not able to possess. They actually went so far as to appoint one of their number as a captain, to lead them back to the land of their suffering and bondage, from which God had delivered them with the strong arm of omnipotence.
10 Moses and Aaron still remained prostrate before God in the presence of all the assembly, silently imploring divine mercy for rebellious Israel. Their distress was too deep for words. Again Caleb and Joshua press to the front, and the voice of Caleb once more rises in sorrowful earnestness above the complaints of the congregation:—
11 “The land which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land that floweth with milk and honey; only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not.”
12 The Canaanites had filled up the measure of their iniquity, and the Lord would no longer bear with them. His defense being removed from them, they would fall an easy prey to the Hebrews. They were not prepared for battle, for they felt so strong that they deceived themselves with the idea that no army was formidable enough to prevail against them. Caleb reminded the people that by the covenant of God the land was insured to Israel. But their hearts were filled with madness, and they would hear no more. If only the two men had brought the evil report, and all the ten had encouraged them to possess the land in the name of the Lord, they would still have taken the advice of the two in preference to the ten, because of their wicked unbelief.
13 But there were only two advocating the right, while ten were in open rebellion against their leaders and against God. The greatest excitement now raged among the people, their worst passions were aroused, and they refused to listen to reason. The ten unfaithful spies join them in their denunciations of Caleb and Joshua, and the cry is raised to stone them. The insane mob seize missiles with which to slay those faithful men. They rush forward with yells of madness, when, lo! the stones drop from their hands, a hush falls upon them, and they shake with terror. God has interposed to check their rash design. The glory of his presence, like a flame of light, illuminates the tabernacle. All the congregation behold the signal of the Lord. A mightier one than they, had revealed himself, and not one dared continue his resistance. Every murmurer was silenced. The spies who had brought the evil report, crouched terror-stricken, and with bated breath sought their tents. Moses now arose from his humiliating position and entered the tabernacle, to commune with God. There the Lord proposed to immediately destroy this rebellious people, and he desired to make of Moses a greater nation than Israel. But the meek leader of his people would not consent to this proposition. “And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them; and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, for they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people, that thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by daytime in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now, if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, “Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.”
14 Thus did this chosen servant of God again manifest his love for the people, and his zeal for the honor of his Master. Instead of being angry with his importunity, the Lord granted his petition, and said: “I have pardoned according to thy word. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Here he refers to the time when the saints of God shall dwell upon the earth made new, and purified and cleansed from every defilement of sin.
(Concluded next number.)
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1 The proposition to send men to search the land was first made by the people. But as it pleased Moses, he presented the matter before the Lord and obtained his consent for them to go. The result was, disaster and destruction. Had they waited for the Lord to say “Go forward,” and followed the divine Leader, they would have seen the majesty and glory of God as verily as they saw it forty years afterward. The Lord often permits men to have their own way, to teach them that the way he marks out is the only safe path for them to follow.
2 All Israel were suffering under the frown of God. He could not work for them while their hearts were filled with bitter murmurings, for they were in no fit state to appreciate anything that he would do for them. The manifestation of his power in their behalf against their enemies would only fill them with pride and self-importance. They would not sanctify the Lord in their hearts, and give him the glory. Therefore he mercifully turned their course backward. They were to be enclosed in the wilderness, and to see neither city nor town for forty years, until those who were continually murmuring should die.
3 When Moses made known to the people the divine decision, their recent madness and insane rage turned to the most bitter regrets and lamentations. They knew that this punishment was merited. The ten unfaithful spies had perished before their eyes, their doom signifying the destruction of all in their ranks above twenty years of age. Their unbelief and rebellion had cost them all.
4 At this time even, had they shown true and sincere repentance, God might have given them another trial, as he did the ancient Ninevites; but instead of this they sank down in utter despondency. They knew that God was in earnest with them. They passed a sleepless night, but with the morning came a hope. They determined to redeem their cowardice. They would not look toward the wilderness, or the Red Sea, but they would equip themselves for war, and would seize the land and possess it by their might, peradventure their works might be accepted of God. They confessed saying, “We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us.” Here again their transgressions had turned their light into darkness. The Lord had never told them “to go up and fight.” He did not design that they should gain the land of promise by warfare, but through submission and unqualified obedience to his commands.
5 Those who so recently were complaining at the purposes of God because they thought that they were to run some risks in warfare, were now fully determined to carry out their own will at all hazards. Thus it is with human nature. There is nothing rash or inconsistent that a person will not be tempted to do when his heart is raging in rebellion against the will of God, as though weak and feeble man could overthrow the purposes of Jehovah.
6 These strong-minded men were prepared for the conflict in their own estimation, but they were sadly deficient in the sight of God and his sorrowful servants. When God directed them to go up and take Jericho, he promised to go with them. The ark containing his law was to be a symbol of himself. Moses and Aaron, his appointed leaders, were to conduct the expedition under his watchful direction. With such supervision, no harm could have come to them. But now, contrary to the command of God, and the solemn prohibition of their leaders, without the ark of God and without Moses, they march out to meet the armies of the enemy, a tumultuous, disorganized company. While Aaron sounds the trumpet of alarm, Moses hastens after them, and says: “Wherefore now do you transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you, that ye be not smitten before your enemies; for the Amalekites and Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword.”
7 During the time consumed by the Israelites in their wicked insubordination, the inhabitants of the land had become alarmed, and had prepared for battle. Having heard so much in regard to the wonderful works of God for his people Israel, they made most thorough preparations to defend their cities.
8 As Israel presumed to disregard the voice of God and man, they had no leader, but rushed impetuously away from the warning voice of Moses. On they pushed in confusion. No prayer was offered now that God would give them the victory, for he had expressly forbidden them to go up. Their numbers were immense, and they determined to make a fierce attack upon the very men whom they had refused to meet, with Moses as leader, and God as their defense. Hatred against the Lord and his pronounced judgments burned in the hearts of these men of war.
9 But their might of numbers was of no advantage, for their foe was reached only through rocky passages. The Israelites were wearied with their furious march, while their enemies were fresh, and had chosen high ground from which they hurled rocks down upon the supposed invaders. In their desperation they made many efforts, but could accomplish nothing, and after many of them were slain, the remainder turned and fled. Moses thus describes their defeat: “And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah, and ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.” This last defiant act had sealed their fate. This shows us that there is danger of our presuming upon the mercy of God until mercy is turned to retributive justice. There is a limit to the mercy and long-forbearance of God. If the professed people of God in this age refuse to heed his express commands and warnings, they will be in no more favored position than was ancient Israel, when God, their salvation and defense, departed from them.
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1 The terrible judgments of God visited upon the Israelites served to restrain for a time the spirit of murmuring and insubordination, but it was not destroyed, and erelong, as the hosts of Israel turned their faces toward the wilderness, this spirit again appeared. The former rebellions had been mere popular tumults, the result of the sudden impulses of the excited multitude. But now a regular conspiracy was formed, the fruit of a determined purpose to overthrow the authority of the leaders appointed by God himself.
2 Korah, the leading spirit in this movement, was of the tribe of Levi, and was a man of ability and influence in the congregation. He had for some time cherished a feeling of dissatisfaction, and had been secretly at work against Moses, though he had not ventured to any open act of rebellion. But He who reads the secrets of all hearts had marked the purpose of this ambitious and designing man, and had not left his people without warning and instruction in regard to their duty.
3 They had seen the wrath of God visited upon Miriam because of her jealousy and complaints against his chosen servant, Moses. The Lord had told them that Moses was greater than a prophet, for God had revealed himself to Moses in a more direct manner than to a prophet. “With him will I speak mouth to mouth.” “Wherefore, then,” he added, “were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” These instructions were not intended for Aaron and Miriam alone, but for all the congregation of Israel.
4 God himself had called Moses to the position of governor of that people, and had intrusted to Aaron and his sons the sacred and responsible office of the priesthood. Korah determined that this order should be changed, that he might be raised to the dignity of the priesthood. To insure the accomplishment of his purpose, he induced Dathan and Abiram, of the tribe of Reuben, to join him in his rebellion. They reasoned that being descendants from the eldest son of Jacob, the chief authority, which Moses had usurped, belonged to them; and with Korah they determined to obtain the office of the priesthood.
5 As the Heaven-appointed, visible leader of the Israelites, Moses had been connected with that people through scenes of peril, and had borne with their discontent, their jealousies, and murmurings, without retaliation, or seeking to be released from his trying position. When the Hebrews were brought into scenes of difficulty or danger, instead of trusting in God, who had done wondrous things for them, they murmured against Moses. The Son of God was the leader of the Israelites, although invisible to the congregation. His presence went before them, and conducted all their travels, while Moses was their visible leader, receiving his directions from the angel, who was Christ himself.
6 When the armies of Israel prospered, they took all the glory to themselves. When they were tested and proved by hunger, or warfare, they charged all their hardships to Moses. The power of God which was manifested in a remarkable manner in their deliverance from Egypt, and seen from time to time all through their journeyings, should have inspired them with faith, and forever closed their mouths against one expression of ingratitude. But the least apprehension of want, the least fear of danger from any cause, overbalanced the benefits in their favor, and caused them to overlook the blessings received in their times of greatest danger. The judgments visited upon them for their sin in worshiping the golden calf, should have made so deep an impression upon their minds as never to be effaced. But, although the marks of God’s displeasure were fresh before them in their broken ranks and missing numbers because of their repeated offenses against the Angel who was leading them, they did not take these lessons to their hearts, and by faithful obedience redeem their past failure, and again they were overcome by the temptations of Satan. The best efforts of the meekest man upon the earth could not quell their insubordination. The unselfish interest of Moses was rewarded with jealousy, suspicion, and calumny. His humble shepherd’s life was far more peaceful and happy than his present position as pastor of that vast congregation of turbulent spirits. Their unreasonable jealousies were more difficult to manage than the fierce wolves of the wilderness. Moses dared not choose his own course and do as best pleased himself. He had left his shepherd’s crook at God’s express command, and in its place had been given him a rod of power. He dared not lay down this scepter and resign his position, till God should dismiss him.
7 Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, were men who, by God’s appointment, had been intrusted with special honors. They had been of the number who went up with Moses into the mount, and beheld the glory of God. They saw the glorious light which covered the divine form of Jesus Christ. The bottom of this cloud was in appearance “like the paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of Heaven in its clearness.” These men were in the presence of the glory of the Lord, and did eat and drink without being destroyed by the purity and unsurpassed glory that was reflected upon them. But a change had come. A temptation, slight at first, had been harbored, and had strengthened as it was encouraged, until the imagination was controlled by the power of Satan. These men upon the most frivolous pretense ventured upon their work of disaffection. They first whispered their doubts to each other, and then to the leading men of Israel, professing to have great interest in the prosperity of the people. Their words were received so readily by many minds that they ventured still farther, and at last these deluded souls really thought that they had a zeal for the Lord in this matter. A little leaven of distrust, and of dissension, envy, and jealousy, was leavening the camp of Israel.
8 Korah, Dathan, and Abiram first commenced their cruel work upon the men to whom God had intrusted sacred responsibilities. They were successful in alienating two hundred and fifty princes, famous in the congregation, men of renown. With these strong and influential men in their cause, they felt sure of making a radical change in the order of things. They thought they could transform the government of Israel, and greatly improve the administration of Moses and Aaron.
9 God had honored the Levites to do service in the tabernacle, because they took no part in making and worshiping the golden calf, and because of their faithfulness in executing the divine judgment upon the idolaters. To the Levites was assigned the office of erecting the tabernacle, and encamping around it, while the hosts of Israel pitched their tents at a distance from the sacred building. And when they journeyed, the Levites took down the tabernacle, and bore it, and the ark, and all the other articles of furniture. Because God thus honored the Levites, they became ambitious for still higher office, that they might obtain greater influence with the congregation. “And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?”
10 There is nothing which will please the people better than to be praised and flattered when they are in wrong and darkness, and deserve reproof. Korah gained the attention of the people, and next their sympathies, by representing Moses as an overbearing leader. He said that Moses was too harsh, too exacting, and dictatorial, and that he reproved the people as though they were sinners, when they were a holy people, and the Lord was among them. Korah rehearsed the incidents in their experience in their travels through the wilderness, where they had been brought into strait places, and where many of them had died because of murmuring and disobedience, and with their perverted senses they thought they saw very clearly that all their trouble might have been saved if Moses had pursued a different course. He was too unyielding, too exacting, and they decided that all their disasters in the wilderness were chargeable to Moses. Korah, the leading spirit, professed great wisdom in discerning the true reason for their trials and affliction.
11 In this work of disaffection there was greater harmony and union between these discordant elements, in their views and feelings, than had ever been known to exist before. Korah’s success in gaining the larger part of the congregation of Israel on his side, led him to feel confident that he was wise and correct in judgment, and that Moses was indeed usurping authority that threatened the prosperity and salvation of Israel. He claimed that God had opened the matter to him, and laid upon him the burden of changing the government of Israel before it was too late. He stated that the congregation was not at fault; they were righteous. This great cry about the murmuring of the congregation bringing upon them the wrath of God was all a mistake. The people only wanted to have their rights; they wanted individual independence. As a sense of the self-sacrificing patience of Moses would force itself upon their memories, and as his disinterested efforts in their behalf while they were in the bondage of slavery, would come before them, their consciences would be somewhat disturbed. Some were not wholly with Korah in his views of Moses, and sought to speak in his behalf. The men, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, must assign some reason before the people for Moses’ doing as he had done in showing so great an interest from the first for the congregation of Israel. Their selfish minds, which had been debased as Satan’s instruments, suggest that they have at last discovered the object of Moses’ apparent interest. He had designed to keep them wandering in the wilderness until they all, or nearly all, should perish, and he should come into possession of their property.
12 Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the two hundred and fifty princes who had joined them, first became jealous, then envious, and next rebellious. They had talked in regard to Moses’ position as ruler of the people, until they imagined that it was a very enviable one, which any of them could fill as well as Moses. And they gave themselves up to discontent until they really deceived themselves and one another, in thinking that Moses and Aaron had placed themselves in the position which they occupied. They said that Moses and Aaron exalted themselves above the congregation of the Lord, in taking upon them the priesthood and government, and that this office should not be conferred on their house alone; it was sufficient for them if they were on a level with their brethren; for they were no more holy than the people, who were equally favored with God’s peculiar presence and protection.
13 As Moses listened to the words of Korah, he was filled with anguish. He had not suspected the depth or breadth of the plot these men had laid, and without answering them a word he fell upon his face and offered a humble, silent appeal to God for help. He arose, braced for duty, and strengthened for trial. The law was very explicit that only those who had in a most solemn manner been ordained to the office, could minister as priest before the Lord. Nadab and Abihu, having unfitted themselves for this sacred work by the use of wine, were immediately destroyed. “And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the Lord will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him, even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do: take your censers, Korah, and all his company; and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow; and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy; ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi. Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee; and seek ye the priesthood also? For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord; and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?” Aaron had assumed no office of himself; God had placed him in the sacred office.
14 Dathan and Abiram replied, “Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of the land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.”
15 They accused Moses of being the cause of their failure to enter the promised land. They said that God had not dealt with them thus. He had not said that they should die in the wilderness. Moses, not the Lord, had said this, and it was all arranged by Moses never to bring them to the land of Canaan. They said that he had led them from a land flowing with milk and honey. In their blind rebellion they forgot their sufferings in the land of Egypt, and the desolating plagues brought upon that land. They now accuse Moses of bringing them from a good land, to kill them in the wilderness, that he might be enriched with their possessions. They inquired of Moses in an insolent manner if he thought they would all submit to be led about like blind men as he pleased, sometimes toward Canaan, then back again toward the Red Sea and Egypt. These words they spoke before the congregation, and they utterly refused any longer to acknowledge the authority of Moses and Aaron.
16 Moses was greatly moved at these unjust accusations. In the presence of all the people he appealed to God as witness to the purity of his motives, and the integrity of his conduct, and implored the Lord to be his judge. The people in general were disaffected, and were influenced by the misrepresentations of Korah. “And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow; and take every man his censer, and in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.”
17 Korah and his company, who aspired to the priesthood in their self-confidence, even ventured to take the censers and to stand in the door of the tabernacle with Moses. Korah had cherished his envy and rebellion until he was self-deceived, and he really thought the congregation were righteous, and that Moses was a tyrannical ruler. The people, flattered by their rebellious leaders, had been led to believe that all their troubles originated with Moses, who was continually reminding them of their sins. They thought that if Korah could lead them, and encourage them, and dwell upon their righteous acts instead of reminding them of their failures, they would have a very peaceful, prosperous journey, and he would without doubt lead them, not back and forward in the wilderness, but into the promised land.
18 Korah, in his presumptuous blindness, gathered all the congregation of Israel against Moses and Aaron “unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side; and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit, then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.”
19 As soon as Moses ceased speaking, the earth opened and swallowed them up, and their tents, and all that pertained unto them. They went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the congregation.
20 As the children of Israel heard the cry of the perishing ones, they fled to a great distance from them. They knew that they were in a measure guilty, for they had received the accusations against Moses and Aaron, and they were afraid that they should also perish with them. The judgment of God was not yet finished. A fire came from the cloud of glory and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
21 These were princes; that is, men generally of good judgment, and of influence in the congregation, men of renown. They were highly esteemed, and their judgment had often been sought in difficult matters. But they were affected by a wrong influence, and became envious, jealous, and rebellious. They perished not with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, because they were not the first in rebellion. They were to see their end first, and have an opportunity of repenting of their crime. But they were not reconciled to the destruction of those wicked men, and the wrath of God came upon them, and destroyed them also.
22 “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar; for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed; and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.” And Eleazar did as the Lord commanded, and made a covering for the altar out of the brazen censers wherewith they that were burnt had offered incense, that it might be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger not of the seed Aaron, should offer incense before the Lord lest he be consumed as was Korah and his company.
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1 The sad history of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who led ancient Israel into rebellion, is recorded as a warning to the people of God until the close of time. “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
2 We learn from the sacred word that the people of God are still in danger from the devices of their archenemy. Satan stands ready to aim his shafts at the unguarded soul, and he will lead astray all who will give heed to his deceptions. Many who imagine that they have a sincere zeal for the honor of God, have permitted Satan to control their minds, and are accomplishing his purposes. Few understand the terrible power of prejudice, of envy and jealousy, when once they take possession of the soul.
3 The congregation of Israel had seen the earth open and the leaders in rebellion go down into its depths. Here the Lord gave his people an opportunity to see and to feel the sinfulness of their course. He gave the deceived ones overwhelming evidence that they were wrong, and that his servant Moses was right, and they should have been led to heartfelt repentance and confession. But reason and judgment had become perverted. All the congregation were, to a greater or less degree, affected with the prevailing jealousy, surmisings, and hatred, against Moses, which had brought the displeasure of the Lord in a fearfully marked manner upon them. Yet our gracious God shows himself a God of justice and mercy. He made a distinction between the instigators—the leaders in rebellion—and those who had been led by them. He pitied the ignorance and folly of those who had been deceived.
4 God directed Moses to bid the congregation leave the tents of the men whom they had chosen in place of their Heaven-appointed leaders. Thus the very man whose destruction the people had premeditated was the instrument in the hands of God of saving their lives upon that occasion. In obedience to the divine command Moses warned the people: “Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men.” The whole congregation were in alarming danger of being also destroyed by the wrath of God in their sins; for they were sharers in the crimes of the men to whom they had given their sympathy, and with whom they had associated.
5 While Moses was entreating Israel to flee from the coming destruction, the divine vengeance might even then have been stayed, if the men who instigated the rebellion had repented and sought forgiveness of God. But Korah and his sympathizers stood boldly in their tents, in defiance of God’s wrath. And yet some of this rebellious company were of the number who had been so recently honored of God, having been permitted to approach with Moses almost directly into the presence of the Most High, and behold his unsurpassed majesty. They had also seen Moses when he came down from the mount, his face resplendent with the glory of God, so that the people dared not approach him. But all this is now forgotten. They persist in their rebellion, and the wrath of God sweeps them from the earth, while the people flee in terror from the scene.
6 The hosts of Israel had an opportunity to pass the following night in reflection upon the fearful visitation of Heaven which they had witnessed. But though greatly terrified, they were not led to humble themselves before God in true repentance for their sinful course. They had been deeply influenced by the spirit of rebellion, and had been flattered by Korah and his company until they really believed themselves to be a very good people, and that they had been wronged and abused by Moses. If they should admit that Korah and his company were wrong and Moses righteous, then they would be compelled to receive as the word of God, the sentence that they must all die in the wilderness. They were not willing to submit to this, and they tried to believe that Moses had deceived them. They had fondly cherished the hope that a new order of things was about to be established, in which praise would be substituted for reproach, and peace for anxiety and conflict. The men who had perished had spoken pleasant words, and had manifested special interest and love for them, and the people had decided that Korah and his companions were good men, and that Moses had by some means been the cause of their destruction.
7 It is hardly possible for men to offer a greater insult to God than to despise and reject the instrumentalities he would use for their salvation. The Israelites had not only done this, but had purposed to put both Moses and Aaron to death. The multitude had fled from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, through fear of destruction; but their rebellion was not cured. They were not in grief and despair because of their guilt. They felt not the effect of an awakened, convicted conscience because they had abused their most precious privileges, and sinned against light and knowledge.
8 The goodness and mercy of God was displayed in sparing this ungrateful people when his wrath was kindled against the leaders in rebellion. The congregation, who had permitted themselves to be deceived, were granted space for repentance. The long-suffering and mercy of God toward erring and rebellious Israel is recorded as evidence of his willingness to forgive the most grievous offenders, when they shall have a sense of their sin and return unto the Lord with repentance and humiliation.
9 Jesus, the Angel who went before the Hebrews in the wilderness, would save them from destruction. Forgiveness is lingering for them. It is possible for them to find pardon. The vengeance of God has come very near, and appealed to them to repent. A special, irresistible interference from Heaven has arrested their presumptuous rebellion. Now, if they respond to the interposition of God’s providence, they may be saved.
10 The repentance and humiliation of the congregation of Israel must be proportionate to their transgression. The signal manifestation of divine power has removed all uncertainty. They may have a knowledge of the true position and holy calling of Moses and Aaron if they will accept it. But their neglect of the evidences which God had given was fatal to them. They did not realize the importance of immediate action on their part to seek pardon of God for their grievous sins. That night of probation was not passed in repentance and confession of their sins, but in devising some way to resist the evidences which showed them to be the greatest of sinners. They still cherished their jealous hatred of the men of God’s appointment. They strengthened themselves in their mad course of resisting the authority of Moses and Aaron. Satan was at hand to pervert their judgment and lead them blindfold to destruction.
11 The day before, all Israel had fled in alarm at the cry of the doomed sinners who went down into the pit, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also.” “But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.” And in their indignation they were prepared to lay violent hands upon their faithful and self-sacrificing leaders.
12 Here we find a striking exhibition of the blindness that will compass human minds that turn from light and evidence. Here we see the strength of settled rebellion. Surely, the Hebrews had the most convincing evidence of God’s displeasure at their course, in the destruction of the men who had deceived them. But they still stood forth boldly and defiantly, and accused Moses and Aaron of killing good and holy men. “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
13 A manifestation of the divine glory appeared in the cloud above the tabernacle, and the angry throng were arrested in their mad, presumptuous course. A voice from the terrible glory speaks to Moses and Aaron in the same words which they were the day before commanded to address to the people. “Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment.”
14 Moses did not feel the guilt of sin, and hence he did not hasten away and leave the congregation to perish, as the people had fled from the tents of Korah and his company the day before. Moses lingered; for he could not consent to give up that vast multitude to be destroyed, although he knew that they deserved the wrath of God for their persistent rebellion.
15 He prostrates himself before God, because the people feel no necessity for humiliation. He mediates for them, because they feel no need of interceding in their own behalf. Moses here typifies Christ. In this terrible crisis, Moses manifests the true shepherd’s interest for the flock of his care. He pleads that the wrath of an offended God may not utterly destroy the people of his choice. By his intercession he holds back the arm of vengeance, that a full end may not be made of disobedient, rebellious Israel.
16 Moses then directed Aaron to take his censer and make an atonement for the people, for the wrath of God had gone forth, and the plague had begun. Aaron stood with his censer, waving it before the Lord, while the intercessions of Moses ascended with the smoke of the incense. Moses dared not cease his entreaties. He took hold of the strength of the angel, as did Jacob in his wrestling, and like Jacob he prevailed. Aaron was standing between the living and the dead, when the gracious answer came, I have heard thy prayer, I will not consume utterly. Again the very men whom the congregation despised and would have put to death, are the ones to plead in their behalf that the avenging sword of God might be sheathed, and sinful Israel spared. Yet their Heaven-daring presumption had not passed unpunished. Fourteen thousand dead bodies lay upon the earth, a terrible evidence of the judgment of God against murmuring and rebellion. The apostle plainly states that the experience of the Israelites in their travels has been recorded for the benefit of those upon whom the ends of the world are come. Our dangers are not less than those of the Hebrews, but greater. The people of God at the present day will be tempted to indulge envy, jealousy and murmuring, as did ancient Israel. There will ever be a spirit to rise up against the reproof of sins and wrongs. But the voice of reproof should not be hushed because of this. Those whom God has set apart as ministers of righteousness have solemn responsibilities laid upon them to reprove the sins of the people. Paul commanded Titus, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” There are ever those who will despise the one who dares to reprove sin. But when required, reproof must be given. Paul directs Titus to rebuke a certain class sharply, that they may be sound in the faith. And how shall the reproof be given? Let the apostle answer: “With all long-suffering and doctrine.” The one at fault must be shown that his course is not in harmony with the word of God. But never should the wrongs of God’s people be passed by indifferently. Those who faithfully discharge their unpleasant duties under a sense of their accountability to God, will receive his blessing.
17 The history of the Israelites presents before us the great danger of deception. Many have not a sense of the sinfulness of their own natures, nor of the grace of forgiveness. They do not wish to be disturbed. They have occasionally selfish fears, occasionally good purposes, some anxious thoughts and convictions. But they have not a depth of experience, because they are not riveted to the Eternal Rock. This class never see the necessity of reproof. Sin does not appear exceedingly sinful, for the reason that they are not walking in the light, as Christ is in the light.
18 The Hebrews were not willing to submit to the directions and restrictions of the Lord. They were restless under restraint. They desired to have their own way, to follow the leadings of their own mind, and be controlled by their own judgment. Could they have been left free to do this, there would have been no complaints of Moses.
19 God would have his people learn the precious lessons of humility and of willing obedience to his requirements. They will then be united in their purposes and motives, and will thus be brought into harmony of action. For this, Christ prayed in that last petition for his followers, offered before his crucifixion: “That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”
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1 After forty years’ wandering in the wilderness, the children of Israel encamped at Kadesh, in the desert of Zin; and Miriam died, and was buried there. The living stream which flowed from the smitten rock in Horeb, had followed them in all their journeyings; but just before the Hebrew host reached Kadesh, the Lord caused the waters to cease. It was his purpose again to test his people. He would prove whether they would humbly trust his providence, or imitate their fathers’ unbelief and murmuring.
2 When the thirsting multitude could find no water, they became impatient, and rebellious. They forgot the power of God which had for so many years supplied them with water from the rock, and instead of trusting in their Almighty Leader, they murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!” that is, they wished they had been of the number who were destroyed by the plague in the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
3 They angrily inquired, Why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces; and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock. So thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock;” but instead of speaking to the rock, as God commanded him, Moses smote it twice with the rod, after exclaiming impatiently, “Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock?”
4 Here Moses sinned. He did not ascribe to God the power and glory, and therefore did not magnify him before the people. The Lord, in his infinite mercy, caused the waters to flow, but this did not prove that Moses was right in thus mingling his own spirit with the work of God. Moses here gave unmistakable evidence before the erring, rebellious congregation, that he had lost his patience and self-control. To those who indulge in passion, and fretfulness, this may seem a light matter, but with God it was a grievous offense. It gave the people occasion to question whether his past course had been under the direction of God, and to palliate their own sins.
5 This language was not that which God had put into his mouth, but was spoken from irritated feeling. “Hear now, ye rebels;” this was all true, but the truth, even, should not be spoken to gratify passion or impatience. When God bids Moses charge home upon murmuring Israel their rebellion, the words will be painful to himself, and hard for them to bear; yet God will sustain his servant in the declaration of the most severe and unpalatable truth. But when men take it upon themselves to speak words that scar and wound, God’s Spirit is grieved, and great harm is done. The rash act of Moses in smiting the rock, and that rash speech, were an exhibition of human passion, not a holy indignation because God had been dishonored.
6 The necessity for the manifestation of divine power made the occasion one of great solemnity, and the servants of God should have improved it to make a favorable impression upon the people. But Moses and Aaron were stirred, and in impatience and anger with the people because of their murmurings, they said, “must we fetch you water out of this rock?” thus putting themselves in God’s place, as though the power and virtue lay in themselves, men possessing human weakness, and human passions. This was a virtual admission to murmuring Israel that they were correct in charging Moses with leading them from Egypt. The exhibition of self in this intemperate, fitful speech, changed the purpose of God in regard to Moses and Aaron, and excluded them from the promised land. God had forgiven the people greater transgressions than this error on the part of his chosen servants, but he could not regard a sin in the leaders of his people as in those who were led. God is not glorified when men chosen for high responsibilities, mingle their own ways, their own spirit and plans, with his holy work. Men have not wisdom to separate the sacred from the common. The exhibition of self will mar the character of the work, and will result in the ruin of souls.
7 In the judgment pronounced upon Moses, the Israelites had unmistakable proof that He who had wrought such a wonderful deliverance for them in bringing them from Egyptian bondage, was not Moses, but the mighty Angel who was going before them in all their travels, and of whom the Lord had said, “Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice; provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him.” The Lord had committed to Moses the burden of leading his people, while the mighty Angel, even the Son of God, went before them in all their journeyings, and directed their travels. Because they were so ready to forget that God was leading them by his Angel, and to ascribe to man that which God’s power alone could perform, he had proved them, and tested them, to see whether they would obey him. At every trial they failed. Instead of believing in, and acknowledging, God, who had strewn their path with evidences of his power, and signal tokens of his care and love, they distrusted him, and ascribed their leaving Egypt to Moses, charging him as the cause of all their disasters.
8 The Lord would remove this impression forever from their minds, by forbidding Moses to enter the promised land. God had highly exalted Moses. He had revealed to him his great glory. He had taken him into a sacred nearness with himself upon the mount, and had communicated to him, and through him to the people, his will, his statutes, and his laws. The fact that he had been thus exalted and honored of God, made his error of greater magnitude. Moses repented of his sin, and humbled himself greatly before God. He related to all Israel his sorrow for his sin. He did not conceal the sad result, but told the people that for thus failing to ascribe glory to God, he could not lead them to the promised land. He bade the people mark the severe punishment visited upon him for his error, and then consider how God would regard their repeated murmurings in charging upon a mere man the visitations of divine wrath because of their transgressions.
9 Pure, holy faith cannot be exercised when wrath and passion bear sway in the heart, and control the mind. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “ye believed me not to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel.” Unbelief was revealed, also, in smiting the rock instead of speaking to it, as though the act of Moses, a blow from the hand of man, must do the work, when only a word was required. This distrust of God, this arrogation of power which belonged to him, was most offensive in his sight, and was visited with the evidence of his displeasure.
10 The lesson here given us is one of the greatest importance. Men who occupy positions of sacred trust should make a practical application to themselves. The more responsible their position in the cause and work of God, or the more important their trust, the greater the necessity for them to have an eye single to his glory. The more the divine greatness and power and glory is vouchsafed to man, the more should he exhibit of meekness, humility, and trust. Every faculty of the mind should be consecrated to God, and used to promote his glory. He who would be great in the kingdom of God, must cherish unselfish love, in the simplicity of a living faith. This is the gold tried in the fire. The strength of God’s great men is in their freedom from self-esteem, from pride, from all jealousy, ambition, and worldly care. The man of God, however exalted his position, will have the spirit of a dependent child, longing for a father’s care, and willing to be led by a father’s hand.
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1 The history of the wilderness life of Israel was chronicled for the benefit of the Israel of God to the close of time. God’s dealings with the wanderers of the desert in all their marchings to and fro, in their exposure to hunger, thirst, and weariness, and in the striking manifestations of his power for their relief, are a divine parable, fraught with warning and instruction for his people in all ages. The varied experience of the Hebrews was a school of preparation for their promised home in Canaan. God would have his people in these last days review with humble hearts, and teachable spirits, the fiery trials through which ancient Israel passed, that they may be instructed in their preparation for the heavenly Canaan.
2 The rock which, smitten by the command of God, sent forth its living waters, was a symbol of Christ, smitten and bruised that by his blood a fountain might be prepared for the salvation of perishing man. As the rock had been once smitten, so Christ was to be “once offered, to bear the sins of many.” But when Moses rashly smote the rock at Kadesh, the beautiful symbol of Christ was marred. Our Saviour was not to be sacrificed a second time. As the great offering was made but once, it is only necessary for those who seek the blessings of his grace to ask in Jesus’ name,—to pour forth the heart’s desires in penitential prayer. Such prayer will bring before the Lord of hosts the wounds of Jesus, and then will flow forth afresh the life-giving blood, symbolized by the flowing of the living water for thirsting Israel.
3 Only by living faith in God, and humble obedience to his commands, can man hope to meet the divine approval. On the occasion of that mighty miracle at Kadesh, Moses, wearied with the continual murmuring and rebellion of the people, lost sight of his Almighty Helper; he heeded not the command, “Speak ye unto the rock, and it shall give forth its waters;” and without the divine strength he was left to mar his record with an exhibition of passion and human weakness. The man who should, and might have stood pure, firm, and unselfish to the close of his work, was overcome at last. God was dishonored before the congregation of Israel, when he might have been honored, and his name glorified.
4 The judgment immediately pronounced against Moses was most cutting and humiliating,—that he with rebellious Israel must die before crossing the Jordan. But shall man assert that the Lord dealt severely with his servant for that one offense? God had honored Moses as he had honored no other man then living. He had vindicated his cause again and again. He had heard his prayers, and had spoken with him face to face, as a man speaketh with a friend. Just in proportion to the light and knowledge which Moses had enjoyed, was his criminality increased.
5 Moses described to the people how he had pleaded with God for a remission of his sentence, and had been refused. “The Lord was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me. And the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee. Speak no more to me of this matter.” “For your sakes.” The eyes of all Israel were upon Moses. He had been exalted before them as the meekest man upon the earth, and his error cast a reflection upon God, who had chosen him as the leader of his people. The whole congregation had witnessed the transgression; and had it been passed by lightly, the impression would have been made upon the people that impatience and unbelief under great provocation, might be excused in those in responsible positions. But when it was pronounced that Moses and Aaron were not to enter Canaan because they did not believe to sanctify the Lord before the congregation, the people knew that God is no respecter of persons, and that he will surely punish the transgressor.
6 The life of Moses since he had been intrusted with the work of God, had hitherto been blameless and holy. Satan could not succeed in his most subtle attacks to subvert his integrity, or lead him to self-exaltation. But the more faultless and incorruptible his life hitherto, the more aggravated was his failure now, the more offensive his sin in the sight of God, and the greater his punishment. This lesson should be deeply impressed upon the hearts of all. If God dealt thus strictly with his most honored and faithful servant for his unbelief and hasty speech, he will not excuse these sins in any man in a more humble position. Yet the lesson has a special significance for those to whom great light has been given, and who have been intrusted with high and sacred responsibilities. God requires from all a faithful performance of duty in accordance with the light given, and the privileges bestowed.
7 God has granted to his people at the present day, great light and knowledge. He will impart strength and wisdom to his servants as long as they humbly rely upon him. They may, by their consistent course, commend to others the religion of Christ. But those who take advantage of their position to indulge in self-exaltation, arrogance, or harshness, cast doubt upon the work of God, and furnish the skeptical an excuse for their wicked distrust and unbelief.
8 In the case of Moses, the Lord shows that he will defend all who are standing in his strength in defense of the right. Those who would smite his faithful ones, smite the hand of God spread over them as a buckler,—they wound that hand which bears the sword of justice. But when the one thus divinely guarded ceases to rely upon God for help, and begins to exercise authority which the Lord has not given him, that moment his defense is gone. The more criminal and unreasonable the opposition which God’s servant has to meet, the more earnestly should he seek to hide self in Christ. As long as he does this, he will be safe.
9 Moses’ past record of integrity and unswerving fidelity to God could not avert the retribution of his fault. Here is set before us in a most impressive manner, God’s hatred of sin, and the sure retribution that will fall upon the sinner. Previous faithfulness and righteousness will not excuse one wrong or sin in the sight of God. The least swerving from the course of right greatly displeases the Lord. He saw the end from the beginning. He saw that men in high places would commit grievous sins, hiding their iniquity under a cloak of godliness. God’s throne is clear from reproach. The prompt judgment following the sin of Moses, shows to all that God will hold them to a strict account. Immediate retribution will not always follow the doubting, and unbelieving; in his great mercy. God bears long with the sinner, yet every transgressor will learn that the wages of sin is death.
10 God would have his work pure, and holy, and undefiled, unmarred by the frailties and errors of man. The spirit of censure, the practice of judging our brethren, and uttering words of condemnation, is displeasing to him. To all who pursue this course, the Lord says, Hold, judge and condemn your own motives and actions, but be careful how you judge your brethren, and misconstrue their motives. I am the Father of these my children; I will reprove their sins; I will correct their errors; I will visit their transgressions with stripes, and their iniquity with the rod. I know their going out and coming in; I am acquainted with their hearts, and will deal with them, not according to their waywardness, for then no flesh should live before me; but my great compassion shall be exercised toward them if they will set my fear before them, and believe me to glorify my holy name.
11 The most grievous sin of God’s people is unbelief; and yet it is wide-spread; and almost universal. It is this sin that has led to backsliding and apostasy in every age. Those for whom God has wrought, limit the Holy One of Israel, and dishonor God daily by their distrust, their doubts, and positive unbelief. Moses died on mount Nebo, and Aaron on mount Hor, by the decree of God, not because they had committed a great crime, as men view the matter, but for a sin of common occurrence. The psalmist describes their error in these words: “They angered God also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes, because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.” Retribution will surely follow the transgressor. Men may have lived and labored for God, they may have manifested self-denial, and self-sacrifice, God may have marked their lives with special favors, he may have given great foresight, and wisdom; and yet, the one whose life was so marked with rectitude may, through lack of watchfulness, and prayer, be overcome. The very uncommonness of the wrong, the usual purity and nobility of the character, make the departure from rectitude more noticeable, and Satan’s triumph more complete.
12 The sins of impatience and unbelief, are as offensive in the sight of God today, as in the days of ancient Israel. All who profess godliness are under the most sacred obligation to guard their own spirit, and to exercise self-control under the greatest provocation. The burdens placed upon Moses were very great; few men will ever be so severely tried as he; yet his sin is not passed over because of this. God has made ample provisions for his people, that if they come to him, and rely upon his strength, they will never become the sport of circumstances. Men of high or low degree have no excuse for sin. The light given of Heaven, the power from Jesus Christ, can be obtained by all who ask for it in faith. Under every provocation there is a present help that will never fail. We are to learn to take God at his word, walking by simple faith, continually feeling our own weakness, and trusting in the Mighty One of Israel.
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1 A short distance from the encampment of the Israelites at Kadesh were the borders of Edom, and through this country lay an easy and direct route to the promised land. Edom had been settled by Esau and his descendants, and the Israelites were directed not to molest this people, for the time to drive them out had not yet come. Moses, however, greatly desired to pass through the country; and he accordingly sent a friendly message to the king of Edom:—
2 “Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travel that hath befallen us; how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us and our fathers; and when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt; and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost part of thy border. Let us, I pray thee, pass through thy country. We will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards; neither will we drink of the water of the wells; we will go by the king’s highway; we will not turn to the right hand or to the left, until we have passed thy borders.”
3 To this courteous request, a threatening refusal was returned,—
4 “Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.”
5 Another earnest appeal was sent to the king, with the promise,—
6 “We will go by the highway; and if I or my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it; I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet.”
7 “Thou shalt not go through,” was the answer. Vast armed hordes of Edomites were already guarding the difficult passes, so that any peaceful advance in that direction was impossible, and the Hebrews were forbidden to use violence. They must make the long journey around the land of Edom.
8 Accordingly, the hosts of Israel again turned toward the south, and made their way over sterile wastes, that seemed even more dreary after a glimpse of the green spots among the hills and valleys of Edom. From the mountain range overlooking this gloomy desert, rises Mount Hor, whose summit was to be the place of Aaron’s death and burial. When the Israelites came in front of this mountain, the divine command was addressed to Moses,—
9 “Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto Mount Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.”
10 Together these two aged men and the younger one toiled up the mountain height. The heads of Moses and Aaron were white with the snows of six-score winters. Their long and eventful lives had been marked with the deepest trials, and the greatest honors that had ever fallen to the lot of man. They were men of great natural ability, and all their powers had been developed, exalted, and dignified, by communion with the Infinite One. Their lives had been spent in unselfish labor for God and humanity; their countenances showed great intellect, depth of thought, firmness, and nobility of character.
11 Many years had Moses and Aaron stood side by side in their cares and labors. Together they had breasted unnumbered dangers, and had shared together the signal blessing of God; but the time was at hand when they must be separated.
12 They moved on very slowly, for every moment in each other’s society was precious. There were many steep acclivities to surmount; and as they often paused to rest, they communed together of the past, and the future. Before them, as far as the eye could reach, was spread out the scene of their desert wanderings. In the plain below were encamped the vast armies of Israel, for whom these chosen men had spent the best portion of their lives; for whose welfare they had felt so deep an interest, and made so great sacrifices. Somewhere beyond the mountains of Edom was the path leading to the promised land,—that land whose blessings Moses and Aaron were never to enjoy. No rebellious feelings found a place in their hearts, no expressions of murmuring escaped their lips; yet a solemn sadness rested upon their countenances as they remembered that it was their own sin which had debarred them from the promised inheritance.
13 Aaron’s work for Israel was done. Forty years before, at the age of eighty-three, God had called him to unite with Moses in his great and important mission. He had co-operated with Moses in leading the children of Israel from Egypt. He held up the great leader’s hands when the Hebrew hosts gave battle to Amalek. He was permitted to ascend mount Sinai, to approach into the presence of God, and to behold the divine glory. The Lord had conferred upon the family of Aaron the office of the priesthood, and had honored him with the sacred consecration of high priest. He had sustained him in the holy office by the terrible manifestations of divine judgment in the destruction of Korah and his company. It was through Aaron’s intercession that the plague was stayed. When his two sons were slain for disregarding God’s express command, by putting common in the place of sacred fire upon the censers, he did not murmur, nor rebel. Yet the record of his noble life had been marred. Aaron committed a grievous sin in yielding to the clamors of the people and making a golden calf at Sinai; and again, when he united with Miriam in envy and jealousy against Moses. And he, with Moses, offended the Lord at Kadesh by disobeying the command to speak to the rock that it might give forth its water.
14 God designed that both these great leaders of his people should be representatives of Jesus Christ. Aaron bore the names of Israel upon his breast. He communicated to the people the will of God. He entered the most holy place on the day of atonement, “not without blood,” as a mediator for all Israel. He came forth from that work to bless the congregation, as Christ will come forth to bless his waiting people when his work of atonement in their behalf shall be finished. It was the exalted character of that sacred office as representative of our great High Priest that made Aaron’s sin of so great magnitude.
15 With deeply sorrowful feelings, Moses removed from Aaron the holy vestments, and placed them upon Eleazar, who thus became his successor by divine appointment. Aaron knew that God was just; and he uttered no complaint, but humbly submitted to the divine will. It is a solemn truth, which should be deeply impressed upon every heart, that a wrong act can never be undone. It may take more than the work of a life-time to recover what has been lost in a single moment of thoughtlessness, or temptation. Had these servants of God, when they stood before the rock at Kadesh, borne unmurmuringly the burden which he had placed upon them, had they not offended him by hasty temper, and the arrogation to themselves of glory which belonged to him, how different would have been their future!
16 With deep anxiety, the children of Israel awaited the return of their leaders. As they looked upon that large congregation, they saw that nearly all the adults who left Egypt had perished in the wilderness. The penalty pronounced against Moses and Aaron had been made known to the people, and now their absence excited in every heart a foreboding of coming evil. Some were aware of the object of that mysterious journey to the summit of Mount Hor; they knew that the death of Aaron was in consequence of the people’s sin; and their solicitude for their leaders was heightened by bitter memories, and many self-accusings.
17 Heavy indeed seemed the sentence that those who had for forty years patiently shared the penalty of Israel’s sin, who had borne with their murmurings, and by earnest intercessions had so often averted from their guilty heads the swift judgments of God,—that these chosen men, overcome at last with the ingratitude and complaining of the people, and letting go for a moment their hold of the divine strength, should be prohibited from sharing the joyous, triumphal entry of the promised land,—that they must, with the rebellious multitude, perish in the wilderness.
18 By this judgment, God would impress upon his people the lesson, that, whatever the temptation, there is no excuse for sin. Those whom he has called to do a great work for him, he will endow with all the strength required to execute their divine commission. Those only will fail who rely upon their own strength and wisdom, instead of trusting in the mighty God of Israel. A man may explore all the treasures of science and literature, he may reach the very summit of earthly power and greatness; but if he becomes self-sufficient; if he fails to connect with Heaven, and by faith appropriate to himself the promises of God; if he does not become strong in divine strength to battle for the right,—all his exaltation will avail him nothing. The knowledge that fallen man may gain by connection with God will impart a dignity which sits with heavenly grace, and which leads him to place a proper estimate upon his work, and upon all his faculties. He is a co-laborer with God, bearing a commission from the Most High, and working, with all patience, heartiness, and love, for the Master.
19 God designs that all his servants shall let rays of light shine forth from their holy lives, filling the world with the light of his glory, not their own. Men who live and work for God will possess patience, humility, and meekness, coupled with a reverent, sacred dignity, reflected from the character of Christ. They will manifest simplicity and tenderness, propriety of conduct, and purity of motive and action, which are not earth-born. The Spirit of the Holy One dwells in their hearts, and directs their conduct. And the Divine Presence within, shining forth in the life and character, gives them influence with their fellow-men. This sacred presence must be an abiding power with all who work for God, or he will not accept their labors.
20 For one sin, Aaron was denied the privilege of officiating as God’s high priest in Canaan in offering the first sacrifice in the goodly land, and thus consecrating the inheritance of Israel. Moses was to continue to bear his burden in leading the people to the very borders of Canaan. He was to come within sight of the promised land, but was not permitted to enter it. Here the children of Israel saw that God was no respecter of persons; that the sins of men in exalted stations will no more be permitted to pass unpunished, than if committed by men in lowly positions.
21 The watching, waiting people, at last see Moses and Eleazar slowly returning; but Aaron is not with them. Upon Eleazar are the sacerdotal garments, showing that he succeeds his father in the sacred office. With quivering lips, and sorrowful mien, Moses tells them that Aaron died in his arms upon Mount Hor, and they there buried him. The congregation break forth into expressions of genuine grief; for they all loved Aaron, although they had so often caused him sorrow. As a token of respect for his memory, thirty days were spent in services of mourning for their lost leader.
22 The burial of Aaron, conducted according to the express command of God, was in striking contrast to the customs of the present day. When a man in high position dies, his funeral services are attended with the greatest pomp and ceremony. When Aaron died, one of the most illustrious men that ever lived, there were only two of his nearest friends to witness his death, and to attend his burial. And that lonely grave upon Mount Hor was forever hidden from the sight of Israel. God is not glorified in the great display so often made over the dead, and the great outlay of means in returning their bodies to the dust.
23 Although the whole congregation sorrowed for Aaron, they could not feel his loss as keenly as did Moses. The death of Aaron forcibly reminded Moses that his own end was very near; he would soon lay off the armor, and lie down in death. But short as the time of his stay on earth must be, he deeply felt the loss of his constant companion,—the one who had shared his joys and sorrows, his hopes and fears, for so many long years. Moses must now continue the work alone; but he knew that God was his friend, and upon him he leaned more heavily.
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1 The nations of Canaan had watched with jealous eye the movements of the vast hosts of Israel. They remembered with many forebodings the visit of the Hebrew spies forty years before, and were now continually on the alert to prevent any invasion of their territory. Being informed by spies of the encampment of the children of Israel near Mount Hor, Arad, one of the Canaanite kings, went out with a large army, to make war upon them. He gained a decided victory, and took a number of prisoners. The Israelites were deeply humbled at this defeat, and with prayer and fasting, they sought help from God. They made a solemn vow that if the Lord would deliver these enemies into their hands, they would utterly destroy them and their cities. The Divine Protector of Israel was pleased to hear and answer the prayer of his people, and the Canaanites were completely routed.
2 This victory should have filled the hearts of the Israelites with gratitude. It should have led them to fear and trust the Lord, and to shun the sins which had separated them from his favor. But, elated with success, they became boastful and self-confident, and soon fell into the old habit of murmuring. They were now dissatisfied because the armies of Israel had not been permitted to advance upon Canaan immediately after their cowardly rebellion at the report of the spies forty years before. They pronounced their long sojourn in the wilderness an unnecessary delay, reasoning that they might have conquered their enemies as easily heretofore as now. They flattered themselves that if God and Moses had not interfered, they might now have been in possession of the promised land. Thus they cherished bitter thoughts concerning the dealings of God with them, and finally they became discontented with everything.
3 As they continued their journey toward the south, following the guidance of the cloudy pillar, their route lay through a hot, sandy valley, destitute of shade or vegetation. The way seemed long and difficult; they were sometimes thirsty, and often weary. Their sojourn in the wilderness should have taught them that help could come alone from God; but when again brought into circumstances of difficulty and trial they failed to endure the test of their faith and patience. By continually dwelling on the dark features of their travels, they separated themselves farther and farther from God, until a defiant, rebellious spirit made them almost Satanic.
4 A long preparatory process, unknown to the world, goes on in the hearts of God’s people before they commit open sin. There is first a gradual decline of spirituality; God is not cherished in the thoughts; prayer is neglected; selfish thoughts and feelings have a controlling power; carnal desires slowly but surely gain the ascendency; and a spirit of proud self-sufficiency takes possession of the soul.
5 Had the children of Israel, as they journeyed, called to mind the wonderful deliverance which God had wrought for them in breaking from their necks the yoke of Egyptian bondage, had they dwelt upon the many precious and miraculous revelations of divine power in their behalf, they might have strengthened the courage of the faint-hearted and unbelieving, and thus averted the terrible judgments which had fallen upon them. But light had become darkness to them, and darkness light. Egypt looked brighter and more desirable than liberty and the land to which God was leading them.
6 Thus it is with many professed Christians at the present day. They become weary of self-denial and humiliation. They desire an easier path, in which there is less self-restraint, in which there is no necessity for a constant, individual effort. Their hearts are ever pleading, “I pray thee, have me excused.” They have no love for duty, no affinity for wholesome restraint and discipline. They act over the experience of ancient Israel, in doubting and murmuring. They dwell upon the objectionable features in their experience, and with their spiritual sight dimmed, everything pertaining to their religious life wears a dark, forbidding aspect. They begin to turn toward the world, as the hearts of the Israelites were constantly turning back to Egypt. In conversation, in dress, in deportment, this class manifest a conformity to the world. How dwelleth the love of Christ in them?
7 The word of God draws a dividing line between his followers and the worldling. Over that line, toward Egypt, is the life of self-indulgence, fashion, frivolity, and the veriest slavery to sin. Over that line, God is forgotten. When the professed followers of Christ should be fighting the Lord’s battles, how often are they out of the path of duty, on Satan’s ground. Christ is wounded when any who bear his name are found there; he is crucified afresh, and put to an open shame by those who profess to love him.
8 In hearing the earnest prayers of Israel, and granting them a great victory over their enemies, the Lord had given a fresh token of his willingness to help his people when they should seek him. How cruel, then, was their unbelief and murmuring. The great sin of Israel was their jealousy that God meant them harm; that he was restricting their liberty, and surrounding them with denials and severities. Yet in all the way of God’s leading, they had found water to refresh the thirsty, bread from heaven to satisfy their hunger, and peace and safety under the shadowy cloud by day and the fiery pillar by night. Angels were ministering to them as they climbed the rocky heights, or threaded the rugged paths of the wilderness. It is a mistake to entertain the thought that God is pleased to see his children suffer. All Heaven is interested in the happiness of man. It is in the path that leads away from God to darkness and death that there are pains and griefs, disappointments and sorrows. These are placed by the hand of Infinite Love to warn man not to go on in disobedience and destroy themselves.
9 God does not close the avenues of joy to any of his creatures. The divine requirements call upon man to shun those indulgences which would bring suffering and disappointment, and would close to him the door of happiness and Heaven. The world’s Redeemer accepts men as they are, with all their wants, imperfections, and weaknesses; and he will not only cleanse from the defilement of sin, and grant redemption through his blood, but will satisfy the heart-longings of all who consent to wear his yoke, to bear his burden. It is his purpose to impart peace and rest to all who come to him for the bread of life. He only requires of men to perform those duties which will lead his steps to heights of bliss to which the disobedient can never attain.
10 The true, joyous life of the soul is to have Christ formed within, the hope of glory. Then will the servants of the Master feel that it is safe to follow where he leads. They may climb the mountain steeps or tread the burning desert sands singing over the hardest paths, because Jesus is their companion. Had ancient Israel but cherished gratitude to God for his preserving care for his divine companionship in the shadowy cloud and the fiery pillar; had they, instead of murmuring, recounted the blessings which God had bestowed upon them; had they cherished faith, and laid aside their fears and anxieties—they might ever have had the presence of the Divine Helper, and he would have lifted the burden from every weary soul.
11 The hindrances which keep many from advancing in a life of purity and holiness are created by themselves. The cross which every Christian must bear if he follows Christ, gives increased spiritual strength. In lifting the burdens of Christ, heavier burdens are removed. To all who are willing and obedient, to all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of the greatest discouragement and difficulty is the time when divine help is nearest. When the path of duty is obstructed by difficulties the most formidable, when it seems that the soul must give up in despair, the glory hidden behind the cloud that has darkened the way shines forth in all its brightness.
12 Those who press on in the path of duty will look back with joy and thankfulness upon the darkest part of the way, where trials and difficulties seemed like a heavy cloud to hide every ray of God’s sunshine. The Lord conceals himself from us in the cloudy pillar, as from ancient Israel. His ways are past finding out. Yet all that he makes known of himself, all that he can reveal to the most elevated mind, only convinces us of an infinity beyond, of wisdom, purity, and love.
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1 As the children of Israel cherished the spirit of murmuring and rebellion, they were disposed to find fault with even the blessing which God had graciously bestowed upon them. The simple manna, though palatable at first, grew loathsome to their taste. They had been provided with it for many years—indeed, most of the people had known no other bread—and it seemed to lose its miraculous character. “And the people spake against God, and against Moses, wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.”
2 What ingratitude! This people were partaking of the bread of Heaven. “Man did eat angel’s food.” They were fed every day by God’s constant bounty. Yet all the tokens of his love and care failed to inspire their hearts with thankfulness and childlike trust. Did not He who made man know what was best adapted to meet the wants of his people? He had promised that if they would be obedient to his voice there should not be a feeble one in all their tribes. But the food which he provided did not meet their fancy. And in their murmurings they uttered falsehoods, by saying that they had no bread nor water; they had both, provided by a daily miracle.
3 In the midst of their complaining, a new and terrible evil came upon them. The wilderness through which they journeyed was infested by the most venomous serpents, their sting producing heat, violent inflammation, thirst, and speedy death. Indeed, so terrible were the effects resulting from the bite of these reptiles that they were called fiery serpents. The Lord had hitherto preserved his people from the attacks of these creatures, but he now removed from them his restraining power, that Israel might realize their ingratitude to God, and be led to repentance and humiliation before him.
4 Moses faithfully set before the people their great sin in murmuring against God. He pointed them to the fact that every day of their travels in the wilderness they had been preserved by a miracle of divine mercy. The Majesty of Heaven had prepared the way before them. Their feet had not swollen in their long journeys, neither had their clothes grown old. There was no sickness in all their ranks. God had given them food from Heaven, and water from the rock. He had subdued before them the strong and dangerous beasts, as well as the serpents, that inhabited forest and wilderness. If the people still complained, with all these tokens of his love, the Lord would continue to send judgments upon them, until they should appreciate his merciful care.
5 Because they had been shielded by the power of God, the Israelites did not realize the countless dangers by which they were continually surrounded. They had hardened their hearts in unbelief, and were unwilling to be guided and controlled by God; they dwelt upon imaginary evils, and continually distrusted the hand which had hitherto led them. Again and again the Lord had brought them into strait places to prove whether they would trust in him, after so many evidences of his care. But they failed to endure the test; and now, though the Heaven-sent manna lay fresh upon the ground every morning, they dared to accuse Moses of killing them with hunger. In their ingratitude and unbelief, they had anticipated death, and now the Lord withdrew his protecting hand, and permitted death to come upon them.
6 In every family of these murmurers were the dying and the dead. The hearts that had been filled with the fires of passion and bitter complaining were now chilled with horror at the frenzied cries of children and dearest friends. All had enough to do, and in deep anguish they ministered to their loved ones, knowing full well that at any moment they might need the same care themselves. Not a word of murmuring escaped their lips. When compared with the present suffering, the difficulties and trials which before had seemed so great were not worthy of a thought. Confusion and terror reigned in every tent. In the silence of the night, a piercing shriek would arouse the camp to find that their dream of the serpent’s deadly sting was a fearful reality. Fathers, mothers, and children were alike attacked. In this terrible calamity, all felt that they must soon perish; for every stone and shrub concealed the venomous reptiles, which, disturbed by foot or hand, gave back the sting of death.
7 The people were now ready to humble themselves before God. They went to Moses, of whom they had complained so unjustly, and entreated his forgiveness, and his intercession in their behalf. That long-suffering man of God did not for a moment delay to comply with their request. And the Lord hearkened to the prayer of his servant, and commanded him,—
8 “Make thee a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”
9 In obedience to the word of God, Moses made a serpent of brass resembling the creatures by which the people had been bitten, and set it upon a high pole in the midst of the camp. Then the joyful news was sounded throughout the encampment, that all who had been bitten might look upon the brazen serpent and be healed.
10 Here the Israelites were required to do something for themselves. They must look upon the brazen serpent, if they would live. Many had already died from the sting of the venomous reptiles, and when Moses raised the serpent upon the pole, some would not believe that merely looking upon that metallic image would heal them, and they perished. Yet many had faith in the provision which God had made. Fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters were anxiously engaged in helping their suffering, dying friends to fix their languid eyes upon the serpent. If they could only once look while faint and dying, they revived, and were entirely freed from the effects of their poisonous wounds.
11 There was no power in the serpent of brass to cause such a change in those who looked upon it. The healing virtue was derived from God alone. In his wisdom he chose this manner to display his power. It was the faith of the people in the provision made, which was acceptable to God. By this simple means they were made sensible that he had permitted these serpents to afflict them, because of their murmurings, and their lack of faith in him. They were also assured that while obeying God they had no reason to fear; for he would be their friend, and would preserve them from the dangers to which they were continually exposed.
12 The Hebrews, in their affliction, could not save themselves from the deadly venom of the serpents. God alone could heal sinful, rebellious Israel. Yet he did not see fit to pardon their transgression, without testing their repentance and faith. They must look, in order to live. The lifting up of the brazen serpent was to teach Israel a lesson. Heretofore they had presented their offerings to God, and had felt that in thus doing they made ample atonement of their sins. They did not by faith rely upon the Redeemer to come, of whom their offerings were only the type. The Lord would now show them that their sacrifices, in themselves, had no more power nor virtue than the serpent of brass, but were, like that, to lead their minds to Christ, the great Sin-Offering. So, also, their offerings were to be brought with subdued wills and penitent hearts, they having faith in the atoning sacrifice of God’s dear Son.
13 None were compelled to look upon the brazen serpent. All could look and live, or distrust the simple provision God had made, refuse to look, and die. The people of God may not always see the reason for his requirements, and may not be able to understand his dealings with them; yet it is not their part to question and doubt his purposes. The lifelong recipients of his favor, they should yield him ready and willing obedience. All his commands are founded in infinite love and wisdom; and though we may not fully understand his purpose here, yet we shall know hereafter.
14 As the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so the Son of God was lifted up on the cross, that sinners from the ends of the earth might look and live. Multitudes are still suffering from the deadly sting of that old serpent, the devil. The effects of sin can be removed only by the provision which God has made. Here, alone, hope and salvation can be found. As the Israelites saved their lives by looking upon the brazen serpent, so sinners can look to Christ and live. Unlike that inert and lifeless symbol, Christ has power and virtue in himself, to heal the suffering, repenting, bleeding sinner.
15 Many are unwilling to accept of Christ until the whole mystery of the plan of salvation shall be made plain to them. They refuse the look of faith, although they see that thousands have looked, and have felt the efficacy of looking to the cross of Christ. Many wander in the mazes of blind philosophy, in search of reasons and evidence which they will never find, while they reject the evidence which God has been pleased to give. They refuse to walk in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, until the reason of its shining shall be explained. All who persist in this course will fail to come to a knowledge of the truth. The last occasion for doubt will never be removed. God will give sufficient evidence on which to base faith, and if this is not accepted, the mind will be left in the darkness of doubt and unbelief.
16 If those who had been bitten by the serpents had stopped to doubt and question before they would consent to look, death would have been the result. Our first duty is to look and live. We should seek now to gather evidence upon which to base our faith. There is an eternity before us, in which to study the mysteries of redemption.
17 Christ, in his words to Nicodemus, says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” In both these cases the object was to save the perishing. As the sting of the serpent was certain death, unless the sufferer would avail himself of the remedy provided; so, also, is sin deadly in its effects, unless men look unto Christ, and believe in the merits of his blood. Men of gray hairs, men in the prime of life, youth and children, were to be saved in the same way,—look, and live. The remedy was perfect, when, according to God’s direction, they looked upon the uplifted serpent. That look implied faith. They lived, because they believed the word of God, and availed themselves of the provisions made. So, in the plan of salvation, not one who has come to Christ in penitence and faith has ever been turned away.
18 The people of Israel well knew that in that semblance of a serpent was no healing virtue. They knew that it was only a symbol of the Son of God, and that faith in the divine word, and immediate action, would be the power of salvation to them. So we are to be saved, not by any act which we can perform of ourselves, but by simple obedience,—by doing just as God has said. Our salvation rests upon the ample atonement made by our Saviour, and the veracity of God’s word. We must believe that Jesus died to redeem sinners like ourselves, and that God means what he says, “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” Through the merits of Christ we are accepted. Assurance in this case honors the faithfulness of God, while doubt casts discredit upon the Most High.
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1 After passing to the south of the land of Edom, the Israelites turned northward, and again set their faces toward the promised land. Their route now lay over a vast, elevated plain, where the air was pure and cool, and the breezes swept refreshingly around them. It was a pleasant change from the hot, scorched valley and the dreary deserts through which they had been traveling, and they pressed forward, buoyant and hopeful. Having crossed the brook Zered, they pressed to the east of the land of Moab; for the Moabites and the Ammonites being descendants of Lot, the Lord had commanded his people not to molest them in any way.
2 Still pushing northward, the hosts of Israel soon reached the country of the Amorites. This strong and warlike people originally occupied the southern part of the land of Canaan; but increasing in numbers, and being attracted by the rich lands east of the Jordan, they crossed the river, made war upon the Moabites, and gained possession of a portion of their territory. Here they had settled, holding undisputed sway over all the land, from the Arnon as far north as the Jabbok. It was necessary to pass through this territory in order to reach the Jordan, and Moses sent a friendly message to Sihon, the Amorite king, at his capital:—
3 “Let me pass through thy land; I will go along by the highway, I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left. Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, and I may drink; only I will pass through on my feet, until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.”
4 The answer was a decided refusal; and all the hosts of the Amorites were marshaled to oppose the progress of the invaders. This formidable army struck terror to the hearts of the Hebrews, who were poorly prepared for an encounter with well-armed and well-disciplined forces. Moses was filled with anxiety. He knew that so far as skill in warfare was concerned, their enemies had every advantage. To all human appearance, a speedy end would be made of Israel. Moses had implicit faith in God, but he had little confidence in the people. He knew that God would be true to his covenant with Israel, that his power would be sufficient to carry them through every danger; but he had been so many times disappointed in the people,—they had so often failed in their allegiance to God, and had so often been filled with rage against himself, — that he now had little hope of seeing them pass safely this trying ordeal. Would they, he anxiously questioned, by unbelief and rebellion separate from God, as they had so often done before, and thus bring upon themselves disaster and defeat? He saw them hopeful because of their recent victory, but he could not discern a deeper humility before God, a firmer reliance upon his mighty arm, and a more lofty courage. He knew that obedience to the divine command would make all the difference between success and failure, triumph and defeat. If God’s power were withdrawn, well might sinful Israel fear for themselves and for their children, in the day of peril and conflict.
5 Moses kept his eye fixed upon the cloudy pillar that enshrined the Son of God, and strengthened his soul with courage as he was assured that the Guiding Hand was with them still. He encouraged the people with the thought that the token of God’s presence was still vouchsafed to them, and sought to inspire their hearts, by words of faith and holy cheer: This mighty God, who has so many times delivered his people Israel, is our God still. If we are obedient to his voice, he will be our guide, and will deliver us in every emergency. Therefore obey the divine command with ready mind and cheerful heart, and God will open our passage through the land where he has bidden us to go. The trials and hindrances which you now fear will be removed as you march forward with firm and resolute step in the path where God leads the way.
6 Moses not only encouraged the people to trust in God, but to do all that human power could do in preparing for war. Their enemies were violent and blood-thirsty, ready and eager for the excitement of conflict, and confident that with their superior skill and numbers they would wipe out the unprepared Israelites from the land. But the mandate had come from the Possessor of all lands, in view of the refusal of these nations to let Israel pass through their borders, “Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon. Behold, I have given unto thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish, because of thee.”
7 These nations on the borders of Canaan God would have spared, had they not stood in defiance of his word, to oppose the progress of Israel. The Lord had shown himself to be long-suffering, of great kindness, and tender pity, even to these idolatrous nations. Abraham was shown in vision that his seed, the children of Israel, after his death should be strangers in a strange land, and should be afflicted four hundred years. But the Lord gave him the promise, “In the fourth generation, shall they come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.” At the appointed time, the descendants of Abraham were to receive the land of Canaan for a possession, from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 Although the Amorites were an idolatrous people, violent and cruel, God spared them four hundred years to give them unmistakable evidence that he was the only true and living God, the maker of the heavens and the earth. All his wonders in bringing Israel from Egypt, the judgments visited upon the Egyptians because they refused to let his people go, his mighty miracle in opening a passage through the Red Sea, and destroying Pharaoh’s host; his wonderful works in the wilderness, the bread sent down from Heaven, the pure water brought from the rock, the punishment of the rebellious in Israel, —with all these facts those idolatrous nations were familiar. Sufficient evidence was given; they might have known the truth, had they been willing to turn from their idolatry and licentiousness to serve the living and true God. But none were to be compelled to believe, against their will. They were free moral agents, and must decide for themselves their future destiny.
9 Pharaoh once proudly inquired, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” He learned by his own experience that it was He that hath power to create or to destroy. So the light had been given in the revelation of God’s power to those fierce idolatrous nations, that they might know the true and living God. That light had been spurned, rejected; they had turned away from the true God to serve and worship idols, and their cup of iniquity was well nigh full.
10 When the Lord brought his people, after their long wandering in the wilderness, a second time to the borders of the promised land, additional evidence of his power was granted to those heathen nations. They could see that God was with Israel in the victory gained over king Arad and the Canaanites. They had still another evidence, in the miracle wrought to save those who were perishing from the deadly sting of the serpents. Although the Israelites had been harshly refused a passage through the land of Edom, thus being compelled to take the long and difficult route by the Red Sea, yet in all their journeyings and encampments, past the land of Edom, of Moab, and Ammon, they had shown no hostility; they had done no injury to the people or their possessions. On reaching the border of the Amorites, Israel had asked permission only to travel directly through the country, promising to observe the same rules which had governed their intercourse with other nations. When the Amorite king refused this courteous solicitation, and defiantly gathered his hosts for battle, their cup of iniquity was full. God would now exercise his power for their destruction, even as he had fought against Pharaoh and his hosts.
11 Again the great Commander of nations had bidden his people “Go forward.” In obedience to the divine command they immediately crossed the river Arnon, and advanced upon the foe. An engagement took place, in which the armies of Israel were victorious; and following up the advantage gained, they were soon in full possession of the country of the Amorites.
12 It was the captain of the Lord’s host who vanquished the enemies of his people. He would have done the same, thirty-eight years before, had Israel believed and trusted in him. They might have gained full possession of the land then, as they were obtaining it now. Here the Lord again proved to his people that he alone was their helper; for no other power could have delivered them in this emergency.
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1 Filled with hope and courage by their conquest of the Amorites, the armed hosts of Israel eagerly pressed forward, and, still journeying northward, they soon reached a country which might well test their courage and their faith in God. Before them lay the powerful and populous kingdom of Bashan, crowded with great stone cities, that to this day excite the wonder of the world, sixty walled cities, and unwalled towns without number, being contained in an area not much longer than an ordinary English county. The houses were built of huge black stones, hard as iron, and even more enduring, of such stupendous size that no human force which could have been brought against them in that country would have been sufficient to batter them down. It was a country filled with wild caverns, lofty precipices, yawning gulfs, and rocky strongholds.
2 The inhabitants of this land, descendants from a race of giants, were themselves of marvelous size and strength, and so distinguished for violence and cruelty as to be the terror of all surrounding nations; while Og, the king of the country, was remarkable for size and prowess, even among that giant race.
3 In this hour of peril, Moses could have confidence only in God. He alone could subdue their enemies. But the aged leader trembled for Israel. How would they conduct themselves? He remembered how they had been terrified at the mere description of the giants by the men who spied out the land of Canaan thirty-eight years before. He called to mind how often Israel had failed, and how God had given them up to the power of their enemies. What a horror of disaster and defeat must be the result, should they distrust God now!
4 But the cloudy pillar moved steadily forward, and following its guidance the Hebrew hosts advanced, past cities and towns of these rock houses, to Edrei, where the giant king, with all his forces, awaited their approach. Og had skillfully chosen the place of battle. The city of Edrei was situated upon the border of a table-land rising abruptly from the plain, and covered with jagged, volcanic rocks. It could be approached only by narrow pathways, steep, and difficult of ascent. In case of defeat, his forces could find safe retreat in that vast labyrinth of rocks, where strangers, attempting to follow them, would be lost.
5 Confident of success, the king came forth with an immense army upon the open plain; while from table-land above, which, as far as the eye could reach, was like a natural fortress, were heard shouts of defiance, and along its whole extent were seen the glittering spears of unnumbered thousands, eager for the fray. When the armies of Israel beheld the lofty form of that giant of giants towering above the soldiers of his army; when they saw the mighty hosts which surrounded him, and the seemingly impregnable fortress, behind which unseen thousands were entrenched; and then looked upon their own aged leader, his head whitened with the snows of a hundred and twenty years; when they considered their comparatively unarmed and defenseless condition, —the hearts of many in Israel quaked with fear.
6 But Moses was calm and firm: he was following the directions of a higher general, and however much he might distrust the armies of Israel, the God of Israel, never. The Lord had said to Moses, “Fear him not; for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.”
7 The calm faith and intrepid bearing of Moses, and his words of hope and courage, inspired the hearts of Israel with confidence in God. They felt that from him alone could they expect deliverance. They trusted all to his omnipotent arm, and they were not disappointed.
8 Not mighty giants nor walled cities, armed hosts nor rocky fortresses, nor all combined, could stand before the Captain of the Lord’s host. The Lord led the army; the Lord discomfited the enemy; the Lord conquered in behalf of Israel. That entire force, with Og, their king, were destroyed; and the Israelites soon took possession of the whole country. Thus was blotted from the earth that strange and powerful people, who had given themselves up to iniquity and abominable idolatry.
9 The report brought back by the spies who were sent to view the land of Canaan, was in many respects correct. The cities were walled and very great, and the sons of the giants who dwelt therein were a powerful race, in comparison with whom the spies were like mere pygmies. It was on hearing this report that the people, instead of trusting in God to overthrow their enemies, rebelled against him, and declared the conquest of Canaan an utter impossibility, in their wild frenzy of passion and unbelief, even appointing a captain to lead them back to Egypt, and attempting to put to death the only two of their number who still possessed faith and courage. It was then that the judgment had been pronounced against Israel, that all above twenty years of age should die before reaching the promised land. Ere the Hebrews were led the second time to the borders of Canaan, this judgment had been fulfilled. The bodies of all that rebel host were buried in the wilderness.
10 In their contests with Og and Sihon, the people of God were brought to the same test beneath which they had so signally failed nearly forty years before. But the trial was now far more severe than when God first commanded them to go forward and their cowardly hearts refused to obey. There was then no army to oppose their progress or to strike terror to their souls. The difficulties which were then to be encountered in the discharge of duty were not nearly so great as now. The clouds that then darkened the path of faith became more dense and forbidding while they were halting and doubting and standing still, refusing to go forward when commanded to do so in the name of the Lord. When the word came again to Israel, Go forward, they must, if they would possess Canaan, advance against violent, skillful, and well-equipped armies.
11 They now remembered how once before, when they had marched out to battle, they had been routed, and thousands slain. But they had then gone in direct opposition to the command of God. When for their unbelief he had doomed them to perish in the wilderness, they were seized with horror and remorse; and, still as rebellious as ever, they determined to gain by their own power what God had declared they should not possess. They went out without Moses, God’s appointed leader, without the cloudy pillar, the symbol of the divine presence, and without the ark. What marvel that they were utterly defeated!
12 But now, as they go forth to battle, Moses is with them, strengthening their hearts with words of hope and faith; the Son of God enshrined in the cloudy pillar, leads the way; and in their midst, accompanied by priests and Levites, is borne the sacred ark. Well may they be of good courage; they are following the command of Heaven, Go forward; and victory, complete and glorious, is theirs.
13 All the experience of Israel has a lesson for us, who are living in the last hours of time. We should carefully consider their course of action and the dealings of God with them, and then imitate their virtues, while we shun those acts which brought upon them his displeasure. This mighty God of Israel is our God. In him we may trust, and if we obey his requirements he will work for us in as signal a manner as he did for his ancient people. It should be the most earnest study and continual effort of modern Israel to bring themselves into close and intimate relationship with God. Then with the mind quickened, the perceptions sharpened, they will discern his infinite power and overruling providence in all his dealings with man, and in all his created works.
14 Unseen by human eyes, God’s power is constantly exercised for our good. When scientists seek to separate the works of nature from the immediate and constant manifestation of divine power, they are at sea without a compass. Every soul who cherishes the light which God has given will recognize him foremost in all his interest and in all his business. Skeptics may multiply doubts, scoffers may rail; but the true Christian calmly reposes in God, being assured that he is, and that he is a rewarder of all who diligently seek him.
15 Every one who seeks to follow the path of duty will at times be assailed by doubt and unbelief. The way will sometimes be so barred by obstacles, apparently insurmountable, as to dishearten those who will yield to discouragement; but God is saying to such, Go forward. Do your duty at any cost to yourselves. The sea of trouble which threatens to overwhelm you will open as you advance, revealing a safe path for your feet. The trials and difficulties which seem so formidable, which fill your soul with dread, will vanish as you move boldly forward in the path of obedience, humbly trusting in God.
16 There are daily, important duties for every soul; not one is excused. The present duty must be done now; for the time is short, and opportunities once lost will never return. There is danger in one moment of hesitancy in face of difficulties. God will be a light to the meek, the humble, the thankful and obedient; but he is a cloud of darkness to the selfish, the proud, the impatient, and the murmuring ones. Sooner or later, light will shine forth upon the pathway of those who hold themselves ready to go when and where Christ leads the way.
17 Every step in life should be that of faith, of love of consecration! We should walk in the light, as Jesus is in the light. Christ offers to walk with us through all the journey of life, and cheer our way by his presence. If we do not avail ourselves of his companionship, it is our own fault, our own loss. If we grope in darkness, it is because we refuse the presence of the only one who can make our way bright and joyful. We need to cultivate that faith which works by love, and purifies the soul. Our greatest danger is in harboring unbelief, and neglecting to cherish the precious love of Jesus.
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1 With joyful hearts, and renewed faith in God, the victorious armies of Israel returned from Bashan. By their late successes they had not only come in possession of rich territories, but had gained a most cheering assurance for the future. They felt that the prospering hand of God was indeed with them.
2 They were now on the very borders of Canaan, only the river Jordan separating them from the promised land. To the west, just across the river, lay a great plain, covered with verdure, watered with streams from copious fountains, and abounding in all the signs of beauty and fertility. They were eager to enter at once upon their inheritance. Their conquest of the Amorites and the giant hosts of Bashan had made them confident of easy success on the other side. Their anticipations were excited to a feverish height. They kept their eyes fixed with eager expectation upon the cloudy pillar, impatient to see it move and lead them on. As yet, however, it gave no signs of moving, but hovered above the tops of the mountains overshadowing the tabernacle.
3 The period of waiting was employed by Moses in preparing the people for the permanent occupation of Canaan. In this work the great leader’s time and attention were fully occupied; but to the people this period of suspense and expectation was most trying, and ere many weeks had elapsed, their history was marred by the most frightful departures from virtue and integrity.
4 The high table-land which the children of Israel had long been traversing, suddenly subsides near the Jordan, leaving a plain several miles in width, and extending some distance along its bank. This was called the vale of Shittim, because of the great number of shittim, or acacia trees which flourished there, and by their shade formed an agreeable retreat. This sheltered valley had the genial climate of the tropics, but it was unfavorable to mental or physical activity, as the Israelites proved. Here many of the older people were reminded of their early home by the Nile; for just across the river flourished palm-trees in such abundance that the city of Jericho, on that plain, was called the city of palm-trees.
5 But agreeable as were their physical surroundings, the Israelites were here to encounter an evil more deadly than mighty hosts of armed men or the wild beasts of the wilderness. That country, so rich in natural advantages, had been defiled by the inhabitants. On every side were places noted for idolatry and licentiousness, the very names being suggestive of the vileness and corruption of the people. The chief god of this region was Baal, and on the heights above the vale of Shittim was the city of Beth-peor, where the most degrading and iniquitous scenes were enacted by men and women as a part of the worship of their gods.
6 These surroundings exerted a polluting influence upon the Israelites. Their minds became familiarized with the vile thoughts constantly suggested; their life of ease and inaction produced its demoralizing effect upon them; and gradually and almost unconsciously to themselves, they were departing from God, and coming into a condition where they would fall an easy prey to the temptations of Satan.
7 The Moabites had not been molested by Israel, yet they had watched with keen and jealous interest all that had transpired in the surrounding countries. They saw that the warlike Amorites had been conquered, and the powerful and well armed inhabitants of Bashan had yielded, before the mysterious Power enshrined in the cloudy pillar. An unseen influence was at work for the Hebrews, and this was accredited to the God of Israel; for all well knew that, so far as human skill and strength was concerned, it was on the side of the enemies of the Hebrews. It was generally believed in that country that prophets and sorcerers had power to curse persons and places, so as to frustrate their counsels, enervate their strength, and fill them with fear, terror, and dismay. The Moabites now determined, as did Pharaoh, to enlist the power of sorcery to counteract the work of God; they would have the Israelites cursed.
8 In this purpose the people of Moab were joined by the Midianites, to whom they were closely united by the ties of nationality and religion. There was, living near the Euphrates, a man named Balaam, who was reported to possess supernatural powers, and whose fame had reached to the land of Moab. It was determined to call him to their aid in this emergency. Accordingly, messengers “of the elders of Moab and of the elders of Midian” were dispatched to Balaam, with valuable gifts to secure his divinations and enchantments against Israel. In this movement, Balak, the king of Moab, had taken the lead, having called in the aid of the Midianites, with the alarming message, “Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field.
9 The ambassadors at once set out on their long journey over the mountains and across the deserts, to Mesopotamia; and having found Balaam, they delivered to him the message of their king:—
10 “Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me; peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.”
11 Balaam was once a good man, and a prophet of God; but he had apostatized, and given himself up to covetousness, so that he loved the wages of iniquity. He still professed to be a servant of the Most High, though pursuing a course to gain the favor of the enemies of the Lord for the sake of the rewards that he received from them.
12 When the messengers announced their errand, Balaam well knew that it was his duty to send them back with a positive refusal. But like many at the present day, he ventured to dally with the tempter, invite his presence, and give room for his temptations. He urged the messengers to tarry with him that night, declaring that he could give no decided answer, till he had asked counsel of the Lord.
13 Balaam was not ignorant of God’s work in behalf of Israel. He knew how Jehovah had displayed his power and majesty in bringing his people from the house of bondage. The destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts, the mighty manifestations at Sinai, the countless miracles in the wilderness, and the recent triumphs over Og and Sihon,—these thrilling events had spread far and wide, and with them all Balaam was familiar. He could see how terrible a thing it was for finite man to war against the infinite God. He saw the destruction of those who set themselves in defiance of Omnipotence. Balaam knew that his curse could not harm Israel. God was on their side; and so long as they were true to him, no adverse power of earth or hell could prevail against them.
14 But the ambassadors from the Moabites had expressed great confidence in him as one who possessed mysterious power to bring destruction upon armies or nations; and his pride was flattered by their words,—”I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.” The bribe of costly gifts and prospective exaltation excited his covetousness. He greedily accepted the offered treasures, and then, while professing implicit obedience to the divine will, he labored to have his course in agreement with the purposes of Balak.
15 Here is a solemn warning for the people of God today, to allow no unchristian trait to live in their hearts. A sin which is fostered becomes habitual; and, strengthened by repetition, it soon exerts a controlling influence, bringing into subjection all the nobler powers. Balaam loved the reward of unrighteousness. The sin of covetousness, which God ranks with idolatry, he did not resist and overcome. Satan obtained entire control of him through this one fault, which deteriorated his character, and made him a time-server. He called God his master; but he did not serve him; he did not work the works of God.
16 There are men professing godliness today who manifest no more true love for God than did Balaam. It is solemn mockery to profess a faith which does not exert a controlling power over our lives. Christ declared to his followers that if they made it the great object of life to lay up treasures on earth, they could not be his disciples. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” The man whose affections are centered upon God will not be greedy for earthly treasure.
17 Satan is ever presenting worldly gain and worldly honor to entice men from the service of God. He tells them it is their over-conscientiousness that withholds them from prosperity. Deceived by his temptations, they venture out of the path of strict integrity. One step in the wrong direction makes the next step easier, and they become more and more presumptuous. They will do and dare most terrible things, when once they have given themselves to the control of avarice and a desire for power. If men would only seek for those things which are of priceless value,—immortality of fame and eternal riches,—they would give no place to the temptations of Satan.
18 The life of Paul was a brilliant success. The world, who knew not Christ and the power of his resurrection, looked upon Paul as one who sacrificed fame and honor and greatness for a life of ignominy, suffering and disappointment. But while his contemporaries who gave themselves to the service of the world and to the persecution of the pure and good, have long since been forgotten, the name of the great apostle will never perish. It is immortalized in the records above, and has in every generation been enshrined in the hearts of those who love God.
19 In contrast to the life of Paul, how contemptible appears the course of Balaam, greedily seeking wealth and honor from those who hated the God of Heaven, and willing to purchase these by conformity to a corrupt people. Who can look upon his course without loathing? Had he been true to God, to justice and principle, he would have answered the messengers of Balak: “I am in principle connected with this people whom you wish to curse. Their God is my God. He is above all gods; there is none like him in all the earth. His majesty and power fill me with awe and reverential fear. Leave the service of senseless idols, and leave with them your iniquities, and serve the Lord Jehovah, the only true and living God.”
20 But that cowardly, avaricious spirit, which had been so long fostered, now ruled the man with tyrannical power. He opened wide the door for Satan to take the citadel of the heart when he greedily received the bribe and invited the messengers to remain. The man had become spiritually blind. As it is too often at the present day, the glitter and tinsel of this world had eclipsed the glory of eternal things.
21 In the night season the angel of God came to Balaam, and said, “What men are these with thee? And Balaam said unto God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth. Come now, curse me them: peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go unto them; thou shalt not curse this people; for they are blessed.”
22 The next morning, Balaam reluctantly dismissed the messengers. But he did not candidly repeat the words which God had spoken; and he did not warn the Moabites that all their efforts against Israel would result in their own destruction. Balaam was displeased that all his bright visions of honor and promotion had been suddenly destroyed. Like a disappointed child, he petulantly exclaimed, “Get you unto your own land; for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.”
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1 When the messengers of Balak returned to Moab, after their first visit to Mesopotamia, they reported to their king the prophet’s refusal to accompany them, but did not intimate that God had forbidden him. Supposing that Balaam desired more valuable gifts and greater exaltation, Balak and his counselors determined to make the inducements so great that nothing could hinder his compliance with their request. They now sent princes more in number and more honorable than the first, with promises of higher honors, and with authority to concede to any terms which Balaam might demand.
2 The king of Moab was deeply in earnest, and his urgent message to the prophet was, “Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me; for I will promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me; come, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.”
3 A second time, Balaam was tested and tried. In response to the solicitations of the ambassadors he professed great conscientiousness and integrity, assuring them that no amount of gold and silver could induce him to act contrary to the will of God. This speech reveals the hypocrisy of the man; for the will of God had already been definitely and positively made known to him. His heart was longing to comply with the king’s request, and he was seeking some excuse to gratify his desire for riches and honor.
4 The heart of Balaam was with the enemies of God, rather than with Israel. Had he sincerely wished to do the will of God, he would have utterly refused the rewards of Balak, and would have dismissed the messengers without delay. Thus he might have gained a victory over those strong avaricious propensities which would prove his ruin unless overcome. The sin of covetousness is fearfully denounced in the word of God. “The wicked boasteth in his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.” Worldliness, covetousness, and avarice are vices which are sure to deteriorate the entire man. They are the fruits of selfishness and sin, and grossly dishonor God.
5 Balaam urged the messengers to tarry, that he might further inquire of God; as though the Infinite One were a man, to be persuaded. In the night season, the Lord appeared unto Balaam and said, “If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.” The Lord gave Balaam his own way, because he was determined to have it. He did not desire to do the will of God, but chose his own course, and then endeavored to secure the sanction of the Lord.
6 The Moabites were a degraded, idolatrous people, yet they manifested sincerity and earnestness in their persistent efforts to secure the power of divination against Israel. According to the light which they had received, their guilt was not so great in the sight of Heaven as was that of Balaam. As he professed to be God’s prophet, all he should say would be supposed to come from the Lord Jehovah. Hence he was not to be permitted to speak as he chose, but must deliver the message which God should give him. The Lord saw in this pretentious prophet, a man whose heart was defiled with deception and hypocrisy, and dealt with him according to his own perverse and stubborn ways.
7 This instance is placed on record for the benefit of all succeeding generations. It is dangerous to trifle with God, in order to follow a stubborn, determined will. There are thousands at the present day who are pursuing a course similar to that of Balaam. They follow their own ways, and take counsel of their own hearts, under a pretense of being guided and controlled by the Spirit of God. And the prayers of these willfully deceived ones are answered in accordance with the spirit that prompts them. For wise purposes the Lord often permits them to have their own way. They walk in a thick mist,—the atmosphere which Satan breathes about the soul.
8 Dangers beset the path of every man who, forsaking the only true Guide, tries by the light of his own wisdom to find a safe way through the dangers and difficulties of this world. Such a man places himself in a situation far more perilous than that of the traveler climbing along the slippery face of a cliff, where, if he lose his balance for a moment, he will fall and be dashed in pieces. David describes the peril of those who do not walk with God, but for a time seem to be prosperous in an evil way: “Thou didst set them in slippery places, Thou castest them down to destruction in a moment. They are utterly consumed with terror.”
9 The careless, presumptuous, and self-confident press recklessly on in forbidden paths, really thinking that they may depart from strict integrity for the time being, for the sake of some worldly advantage, and that after this desire of the depraved heart is gained, they can change their course when they please. Such are walking upon slippery places. It is seldom that they recover their foothold. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; but those who choose to invite temptation, who will venture upon forbidden ground to secure some selfish advantage, will become weak in moral power; and the temptation to evil not being discerned, they will see in it only good, and thus they are left to wander farther and farther from God.
10 We are living in the last days. Evil prevails on every hand. The removal of one safeguard from the conscience, the failure to practice one good resolution, the cherishing of one evil habit, one neglect of the high claims of duty, breaks down the defenses of the soul, and opens the way for Satan to come in and lead us astray at pleasure. The only safe course is to let our prayers go forth daily from sincere hearts, as did David, “Hold up my goings in thy paths, O God, that my foot steps slip not.”
11 Balaam had received permission to go with the messengers from Moab, if they came in the morning to call him. But annoyed at his delay, and expecting another refusal, they set out on their homeward journey without further consultation with him. He was now freed from their solicitations, and every excuse for complying with the request of Balak had been removed. He could not, however, bring himself to relinquish the honors upon which his heart was set; and since the Lord had not a second time forbidden him to go, he determined to set out at once, and, if possible, overtake the ambassadors.
12 Accordingly, taking the beast on which he was accustomed to ride, and accompanied by his servants, Balaam began his journey. He feared that even now the divine permission might be withdrawn, and he pressed eagerly forward, hurried, nervous, and impatient, lest he should by some means fail to gain the coveted reward. How little did he in character and appearance resemble a man qualified to execute a divine commission!
13 God’s anger was kindled against Balaam for his Heaven-daring folly, and “an angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him.” The animal, seeing the divine messenger, who was, however, invisible to the master, turned aside from the highway into a field. With cruel blows, Balaam brought the beast back into the path; but again, in a narrow place hemmed in by walls, the angel appeared, and the animal, trying to avoid the menacing figure, crushed the rider’s foot against the wall.
14 Had Balaam paused to consider, he would have had sufficient cause to question whether he was not moving contrary to God’s will. But he was blinded to the heavenly interposition, and knew not that God was obstructing his path. The man became exasperated, and beating his animal in a most unmerciful manner, forced it to proceed.
15 Again, in a place where there was no passing, the angel appeared, as before, in an offensive attitude; and the poor beast, trembling with terror, made a full stop, and fell to the earth under its rider. Balaam lost all self-control, and his mad rage rose to an extreme height. The dumb beast was now gifted with speech, and remonstrated with its phrenzied master for his cruel treatment. “What have I done to thee, that thou shouldst beat me these three times?”
16 Had Balaam been in possession of his reason, he would have been filled with awe, and would have realized that a supernatural power was barring his way. But ungovernable rage had dethroned reason, and this wonderful miracle was unnoticed. He answered this beast as he would have addressed an intelligent being,—”Because thou hast mocked me, I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.” Here was a professed magician, on his way to pronounce a curse upon a whole people with the intent to paralyze their strength, while he had not power even to slay the humble beast upon which he rode!
17 The eyes of Balaam were now opened, and he beheld the angel of God standing with drawn sword ready to slay him. He was more terrified than the poor beast had been, and “he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.” The angel said unto him, “Wherefore hast thou smitten thy beast these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me. Thy beast saw me, and turned from me these three times; unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.”
18 Here is a lesson to all who have reasoning powers, that harsh treatment, even to the brutes, is offensive to God. Those who profess to love God do not always consider that abuse to animals, or suffering brought upon them by neglect, is a sin. The fruits of divine grace will be as truly revealed in men by the manner in which they treat their beasts, as by their service in the house of God. Those who allow themselves to become impatient or enraged with their animals are not Christians. A man who is harsh, severe and domineering toward the lower animals, because he has them in his power, is both a coward and a tyrant. And he will, if opportunity offers, manifest the same cruel, overbearing spirit toward his wife and children.
19 God, who created man, made the animals, also. They were to minister to man’s comfort and happiness, to serve him, and to be controlled by him. But this power was not to be used to cause pain by harsh punishment or cruel exaction. Yet some are as reckless and unfeeling toward their faithful animals as though the poor brutes had not flesh and nerve that can quiver with pain.
20 Many do not think that their cruelty will ever be known, because the poor dumb beasts cannot reveal it. But could the eyes of these men be opened, as were the eyes of Balaam, they would see an angel of God standing as a witness to testify against them in the courts above. A record goes up to Heaven, and a day is coming when judgment will be pronounced against men who make themselves demons by their dealings with God’s creatures.
21 If animals could speak, what deeds of horror would be revealed,—what tales of suffering, because of the perversity of man’s temper! How often those creatures of God’s care suffer pain, endure hunger and thirst, because they cannot make known their wants. And how often is it determined by the mercy or the caprice of man, whether they receive attention and kindness, or neglect and abuse. Punishment given in passion to an animal is frequently excessive, and is then absolute cruelty. Animals have a kind of dignity and self-respect, akin to that possessed by human beings. If abused, under the influence of blind passion, their spirits will be crushed, and they will become nervous, irritable, and ungovernable.
22 There were beasts in Eden, and there will be beasts in the earth made new. Unless the men who have indulged in cruelty toward God’s creatures here, overcome that disposition and become like Jesus, kind and merciful, they will never share in the inheritance of the righteous. They would, if there, exercise the same spirit that had not been overcome here. All disposition to cause pain to our fellow-men or to the brute creation is Satanic. Balaam evinced the spirit which he possessed, in his course toward his beast.
23 When he beheld the messengers of God, Balaam exclaimed in terror, “I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me; now, therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.” For wise purpose, the Lord suffered Balaam to proceed on his journey, but gave him clearly to understand that his words should be controlled by divine power. God would give evidence to Moab that the Hebrews were under the guardianship of Heaven; and this could not be done in a more effectual manner than by showing them that a man of Balaam’s covetous disposition could not, for any promise of promotion or reward, pronounce a curse against Israel.
24 There are many in the world today whose character is represented by that of Balaam. They have a correct knowledge of most of the doctrines of religion, but with these are mingled superstitions and heresies. Satan has a knowledge of the truth, and so do many who are his servants. Excellent words may proceed from their lips; they may claim to possess great faith, and to enjoy much of the divine blessing; but their hearts are destitute of the grace of God. They are not followers of Christ, and do not those things that please him. The only safety for any, at the present day as well as in ancient times, is to seek diligently to know the will of God, and then be ready to obey that will.
25 Those who profess to be servants of the living God, frequently unite themselves with ungodly men, expecting to be promoted to honor, and to be rewarded with riches; and many sacrifice conscience, judgment, character, and the favor of God, to form an alliance with worldlings. Such persons call God their Master, but they refuse to keep his commandments. They mistake gain for godliness, and unless they turn from their evil ways, they must perish with the workers of iniquity.
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1 When he was informed of the approach of Balaam, the king of Moab went out with a large retinue to the borders of his kingdom, to welcome the prophet, and show him special honor. After the first salutations had been exchanged, the monarch expressed his astonishment at Balaam’s delay, in view of the great riches and honor awaiting him. The answer was:—
2 “Lo, I am come unto thee; have I now any power at all to say anything? The word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.” Balaam greatly regretted this restriction; he feared that his purpose could not be carried out, because the Lord’s controlling power was upon him.
3 With great display, Balak now escorted his guest to the capital, where a public entertainment was to take place, and special offerings were to be made to secure the favor of their gods. A sumptuous feast had been prepared, and all that the wealth and power of Moab could do, had been done to render their idolatrous services grand and imposing, with the express object of impressing the prophet with the superiority of their religion over any other. Here this professed servant of the living God was seated, with a company of idolaters, at a feast given in honor of their deities. This wicked prophet was indeed selling himself for reward.
4 In this case we have an illustration of the great blindness which will come upon the minds of those who sacrifice their eternal interests to the love of gain. Balaam’s character had been tested and tried, and was found to be dross. The fine gold of principle and steadfast integrity was gone, and the base metal alone appeared.
5 If men who profess to be children of God, ignominiously yield to the tempter; if they seek the honor which the world proffers them, rather than the honor which comes from above, their boasted power and wisdom will prove to be but weakness and folly. They will reap a harvest of agony and despair. But if those who bear the name of God’s servants yield obedience to his will, and boldly confront the powers of darkness, having no harmony or union with the Lord’s avowed enemies, although opposition may come fierce and strong; although great financial loss may be sustained; they, like the faithful and true prophets of old, will triumph finally.
6 The feast ended, the king with all his honorable men escorted Balaam to the high-places of Baal, where he could overlook the immense assemblages of the Hebrews, scattered upon the plain of Shittim, and the table-land above. Behold the prophet as he stands upon the lofty height, looking down over the encampments of God’s chosen people. How little do Israel know of what is transpiring so near them. How little do they know of the care of God, extended over them by day and by night. How dull are the perceptions of God’s people! how slow are they, in every age, to comprehend his great mercy and love!
7 While all the powers of earth and hell are combined to destroy, God guards his children still. The Lord would not have his people in continual fear, hence he does not reveal to them a thousandth part of the efforts of their great adversary to allure and destroy. If they could discern the wonderful power of God constantly exerted in their behalf, would not their hearts be filled with gratitude for his love, and with awe at the thought of his majesty and wondrous power.
8 There, upon the mountain-top, are the emissaries of Satan, devising evil against God’s people, who are all unconscious of their danger. But He that keepeth Israel does not slumber. The Lord’s eye discerns every plot against his own, and no weapon formed against his church shall prosper. God restrains the power of wicked men. He says to them, “Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther.” What a thought is this! what a theme for contemplation! and what a response of love and faithfulness should it call forth from every child of God!
9 Balaam had some knowledge of the sacrificial offerings of the Hebrews, and he thought that by surpassing them in costly gifts, he might secure the divine blessing, and insure the accomplishment of his sinful projects. Thus the sentiments of the idolatrous Moabites were gaining control of his mind. Surely, his wisdom had become foolishness; his spiritual vision was beclouded; he had brought blindness upon himself by yielding to the power of Satan.
10 Balaam ordered seven altars to be erected, and with a zeal worthy of a better cause, he offered upon each altar an ox and a ram. He then withdrew to an “high place,” to meet with God, promising to make known to Balak whatever the Lord should reveal.
11 Balaam had been greatly terrified by his encounter with the angel, on the journey to Moab. But he now flattered himself that by his offerings the divine anger would be appeased; and his first words on entering the presence of God were an enumeration of these sacrifices on Baal’s heights. But they had been offered without repentance, faith, obedience, or love, by hearts that were filled with enmity to God, his ways, and his purposes. He who is perfect in wisdom and holiness, cannot accept the fruit of hypocrisy, covetousness, and malice.
12 The same spirit which actuated Balaam, exists in the hearts of men today. How many claim to be Christians, while they are as destitute of true godliness as was the presumptuous prophet. They scorn the idea of repentance toward God because they have transgressed his law; they claim Christ as their Saviour, while their actions show that they have not his spirit. They are at war with the sacred law of God, and seek to hide their wicked defection under the grace and mercy of Christ, whose mission to earth was to vindicate the claims of his Father’s law. “I have,” he asserts, “kept my Father’s commandments.”
13 It was the love of God toward the children of men that moved him to proclaim his law from Sinai. Because the understanding of men had become darkened by continual transgression, God, in his infinite mercy, condescended to bestow upon them the living oracles in all their original purity. To this law the carnal heart is opposed; and wicked men will, like Balaam, unite with the Lord’s enemies in seeking to destroy his holy law, and to ruin the influence of those who vindicate it. But God has preserved his great rule of right, unchanged through all the ages. Like the fountain from which it springs, it is full of goodness, purity, and truth. Like the eye of God, it pierces through all the deceitfulness of sin, even to the “discerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
14 That law flashes conviction on every side. Sinners desire to be freed from it, and many who call themselves Christians clothe their sinful, hypocritical souls in the garments of Christ’s righteousness, and trample under their feet God’s great rule of right. The worship offered to God by this class is similar to Balaam’s offering in behalf of Balak. They are equally offensive to God.
15 Notwithstanding the sinfulness of Balaam’s course, the Lord saw fit to convey through him a message to the king of Moab; and the words uttered were not for him alone, but were to be traced on the pages of history as an admonition and encouragement to Israel in all ages.
16 The impatient king, with the nobles and princes of Moab, stood beside the smoking sacrifice, while around them gathered expectant multitudes, eagerly watching for the return of the prophet. He came at last, and the people waited breathlessly for the words that should paralyze forever that mysterious power working in favor of the hated Israelites. In solemn silence they listened for him to utter the curse. He spoke:—
17 “Balak, the king of Moab, hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the East, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!”
18 Balaam confessed that he came with the purpose of cursing Israel, and strengthening the hearts of the people of Moab. But the power of the Lord rested upon him, and controlled his speech. The words he uttered were directly contrary to the sentiments of his heart. In the most solemn prophecy he pronounced blessings upon Israel, while his soul was filled with curses. God had given Balaam an evidence of divine power, in speaking through the dumb beast, and this wicked man was now an instrument in the hand of God as verily as the beast had been. He had no more power to control his words, and no more reason to take glory to himself, than had the animal upon which he rode.
19 Balaam was shown the peculiar favor with which God regarded Israel, and their distinctive character as his chosen people. He saw that the position to be maintained by the Israelites—a complete separation from all surrounding nations—represented the relation which all true Christians should sustain to the world. “The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” At the time these words were spoken, the Israelites had no permanent settlement, and their peculiar character, their manners and customs, were not familiar to Balaam. Yet how strikingly was this prophecy fulfilled in the after-history of this people! Through all the years of their captivity in Babylon, through all the ages since they were dispersed among the nations, they have maintained the distinctive characteristics of their nationality and their religion.
20 Not only was Balaam shown the history of the Hebrew people as a nation, but he beheld the increase and prosperity of the true Israel of God to the close of time. He saw the especial favor of the Most High attending his faithful and obedient people. The great truths which Balaam uttered were forcibly impressed upon his own mind. He saw those who love and fear God, supported by his arm as they entered unfalteringly the dark valley of the shadow of death. And he saw them coming forth from their graves, crowned with glory, honor, and immortality.
21 He beheld the vast multitude of holy, happy ones, rejoicing in the unfading glories of the earth made new. Gazing upon the scene, the prophet exclaimed, “Who can count the dust of the righteous, or the number of the fourth part of Israel?” And as he sees the crowns of glory on every brow, the joy beaming from every countenance, and looks forward to that endless life of unalloyed felicity, he utters the solemn prayer, “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.”
22 What a testimony is this, borne before king and princes! The light of Heaven has been permitted to shine upon the prophet’s mind, revealing to him the purposes of God toward his people. If Balaam has a disposition to accept the light which God has given, he will now make true his words; he will sever at once and forever all connection with Moab. He will no longer presume upon the mercy of God, but will return to him with deep repentance and humiliation. But Balaam did no such thing. He loved the wages of unrighteousness, and this he was determined to secure at any cost.
23 It is difficult for a man who once places his feet in a wrong path; to retrace his steps. When men yield to temptation for lust of gain or for love of honor, and set themselves to injure or destroy God’s people, they enter upon a path that ends only in destruction. They are doing the work of Satan. They are actuated by his spirit, and view matters from his stand-point. God may convict them of their wrong course, as he convicted Balaam; and if they would make a decided change, they might be redeemed; but they seldom do this. They will not humble their hearts and be converted. Such men are following the same course pursued by Balaam. They really desire their end to be like that of the righteous, but are unwilling to live the life of the righteous.
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1 Balak had confidently expected a curse that would fall like a withering blight upon Israel, and the words of the prophet filled him with surprise and horror. He passionately exclaimed, “What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.”
2 Balaam endeavored to make a virtue of necessity, and professed to have spoken from a conscientious regard for the will of God the words which had been forced from his lips by divine power. His answer was, “Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?”
3 Balak could not even now relinquish his hope of securing the destruction of Israel. He decided that the imposing spectacle presented by the vast encampment of the Hebrews, arranged in perfect order—each tribe around its own standard, and the tabernacle of God among them—had so intimidated Balaam that he dared not practice his divinations against them. The king hoped that a change of place might effect something in his favor. He would take the prophet to some point where only a small part of the host of Israel might be seen; and if he could there get Balaam to curse them in detached parties, the whole camp might soon be devoted to destruction. In all this, Balak seems still to have had perfect confidence that Balaam’s enchantments could paralyze the strength of Israel, and bring confusion and defeat upon their armies.
4 Balaam was now conducted to the top of an elevation called Pisgah, where another trial was to be made. He had not given up all hope of the reward, and he was willing to do all in his power to carry out the purposes of the king. On this height were erected, as before, seven altars, whereon were placed the same offerings as at the first. The king and his princes were again left by the sacrifices, while Balaam retired to meet with God. Again the prophet was intrusted with a divine message, which he was powerless to alter or withhold.
5 When he appeared to the anxious, expectant company, the eager question was put to him, “What hath the Lord spoken?” The answer, as before, struck terror to the heart of king and princes:—
6 “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the Son of man, that he should repent; hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless; and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse It. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel; the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel; according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought? Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.”
7 In this prophecy Balaam sets forth the unchangeable character of God. Men are fickle, unreliable; especially is this the case when their minds are not under the direction of the Holy Spirit. When men are controlled by the prince of darkness, no dependence can be placed upon their promises or engagements. But God being infinite in wisdom and goodness, his purposes and decrees are immutable.
8 It is stated in the Scriptures that God repented that he had done so much for man, when only ingratitude and disobedience were the return for all his mercies. Here the Lord speaks after the manner of men, that finite man may understand him. When God has pronounced judgments against a people, as he did against Nineveh, and, like Nineveh, they believe the word of God, humble themselves before him, and turn from their evil ways, he revokes his sentence, and gives the transgressors of his law another trial. But in all the history of God’s dealings, it will be found that although he may bear long with the sinner, disobedience will surely meet its punishment. There are limits to the forbearance of God; there is a point at which it becomes necessary to interpose his vengeance, and visibly to rebuke the impiety of men. And it is no less apparent, that those who love and obey God’s law will realize that he means what he says, and that all his precious promises to the faithful and obedient will be fulfilled to the letter.
9 The Lord solemnly announced that it was his purpose to bless Israel, and that he would not sanction oppression or outrage against the posterity of Jacob. While they should comply with the conditions which he had given them, he would be faithful in the fulfillment of all his promises. Balaam was made to understand the confidence and strength of Israel. “The shout of a king is among them.” Christ, enshrined in the cloudy pillar, was in their midst, reigning over and protecting them, and leading them forth to battle and to victory. Their recent conquests, while moving forward in the strength of God, had inspired them with hope and courage. At the word of God they were ready to advance or retreat, to put on the armor or to lay it off, with the same confident assurance of final victory.
10 “God brought them out of Egypt; he hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn.” The rhinoceros is one of the most powerful of animals, and Balaam uses this creature as a figure to show how vain it is for any earthly power to array itself against the Most High. God had accomplished his will in bringing Israel from bondage and idolatry in Egypt, notwithstanding the opposition of Pharaoh and his hosts. It would be safer for lesser animals to attack the powerful unicorn, than for finite man to seek to turn aside the purposes of the Infinite One.
11 Awed by these revelations of divine power, Balaam exclaimed, “Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel.” The great magician had tried his power of enchantment, in accordance with the desire of the Moabites; but concerning this very occasion it should be said of Israel, “What hath God wrought?” The fact would be recorded upon the pages of history, that while Israel was under the divine protection, no people or nation, though aided by all the power of Satan, should be able to prevail against them. All the world should wonder at the marvelous work of God in behalf of his people—that a man determined to pursue a sinful course should be so controlled by divine power as to utter, instead of imprecations, the richest and most precious promises, in the language of sublime and impassioned poetry.
12 The favor of God as this time manifested toward Israel was to be an assurance of his protecting care for his obedient, faithful children in all ages. When Satan should inspire evil men to annoy, misrepresent, harass, and destroy God’s people, this very occurrence would be brought to their remembrance, and would strengthen their courage and faith in God.
13 The future success of Israel, and the doom of their enemies, is further set forth in the words, “The people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink of the blood of the slain.” Surely, this message should have been a sufficient warning to both Balaam and the king of Moab, to make no further attempt to injure the people so signally protected by infinite power.
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1 The king of Moab was disheartened and distressed at the second failure of his efforts to secure a curse upon Israel. In the anguish of his soul he exclaimed, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.” Yet a faint hope still lingered in his heart, and he determined to make another trial. He now conducted Balaam to Mount Peor, where was the temple noted most of all for the disgusting scenes of licentiousness there enacted in honor of their god. Here the same number of altars were erected as before, and the same number of sacrifices were offered; but Balaam went not alone, as at other times, to learn God’s will. He made no pretense of sorcery, but, standing by the altars, he looked around upon the widely-spread tents of Israel. Again the Spirit of God rested upon him, and the divine message came from his lips in the same poetic language as before:—
2 “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.”
3 The prosperity of God’s chosen people is here represented by some of the most beautiful figures to be found in nature. The prophet likens Israel to fertile valleys, covered with abundant harvests; to flourishing gardens, watered by never-failing springs; to the fragrant sandal-tree and the stately cedar. The figure last-mentioned is one of the most strikingly beautiful and appropriate to be found in the inspired word. The cedar of Lebanon has the most honorable position among the trees of the Bible. It was regarded with reverence by all the people of the Holy Land. The class of trees to which it belongs is found wherever man has gone, in all the earth. It flourishes in the heat, yet defies the cold. It grows luxuriantly beside the rivers and fountains of waters, and yet thrives upon the sandy waste. It plants its roots deeper among the rocks of the mountain, and boldly stands in defiance of the tempest. Its leaves are bright and green when all else has perished at the breath of winter. The wind, playing upon its foliage, calls forth a strain of soft, sad music, and a flood of perfume that fills the air with its spicy fragrance. The divine hand has exalted the cedar as king over the forest. It is called the tree of the Lord, and is named among the most precious and beautiful of God’s works in the earth. So great was its value that even in ancient times only kings and princes could dwell in houses of cedar.
4 As the fervid imagination of the prophet kindled at the view which God presented before him, he could picture the prosperity of Israel by nothing more beautiful than groves of cedars stirred by the wind of the morning, and waving their green boughs in the valleys. The righteous in all ages are represented by the cedar of Lebanon. The highest honors belong to those who humbly walk with God. The lowliest disciple of Jesus is in God’s sight of higher rank than kings or princes.
5 Balaam prophesies that Israel’s king would be greater and more powerful than Agag. This was the name given to the kings of the Amalekites, who were at this time a very powerful nation, but, if true to God, Israel would subdue all her enemies. The king of Israel was the Son of God—the majesty of Heaven; and his throne was one day to be established on the earth, and his power to be exalted above all earthly kingdoms.
6 Balaam lifts his voice of warning to all men who should live upon the earth, from Balak to the last enemies of God, to desist from their purpose of destroying God’s children; for the curse intended for Israel would recoil upon the guilty heads of those who framed it.
7 As he listened to the words of the prophet, a tempest of disappointed hope, of fear and rage, swept over Balak’s soul, and he broke forth in a flood of angry reproaches. He was indignant that Balaam could have given him the least encouragement of a favorable response, when everything was determined against him. He regarded with scorn the prophet’s compromising, deceptive course. In terror and dismay he smote his hands together, feeling that his people must indeed become a prey to Israel. He did not understand how deeply Balaam desired to gratify the hopes of the Moabites, and that he had been compelled by the power of God to bless, where he had hoped to curse. Enraged at the prophet’s folly in letting slip the proffered wealth and honor, the king exclaimed fiercely, “Therefore now flee thou to thy place. I thought to promote thee to great honor; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honor.” The answer was that the king had been forewarned that Balaam could speak only the words that God should give him.
8 Before returning to his people, Balaam uttered a most beautiful and sublime prophecy of the world’s Redeemer, and the final destruction of the enemies of God: “I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and shall destroy the children of Sheth.” He was permitted to look down through the ages to the first advent of Christ, and then forward to his second appearing, in power and glory. He would see the King above all kings, but not at present. He would behold his majesty and glory, but at a great distance. He would be among the number of the wicked dead, who should come forth in the second resurrection, to hear the awful doom, “Depart from me, ye cursed.” He would behold the redeemed ones in the city of God, while he himself would be shut out with the wicked.
9 Balaam closed by predicting the complete destruction of Moab and Edom, of Amalek and the Kenites, thus leaving to the Moabitish king no ray of hope. The prophecy of Israel’s triumph, uttered by this apostate, is similar to the declaration made by Judas, when he brought back the thirty pieces of silver, and declared before the dignitaries of the church the innocence of Christ.
10 Balaam had been permitted to behold the signal manifestations of divine power. God had communicated through him the most sublime, precious, and sacred messages of truth; yet he did not humble himself to repent of his avarice and presumption. No further light would be granted him. He had rejected the last call of mercy. He could no longer halt between two opinions; he could not serve God and mammon. He had sacrificed the favor of Heaven to obtain the wages of unrighteousness, and he was numbered with the enemies of God.
11 These lessons the people of God at this time should take to heart. They may have a knowledge of divine things, and ability to fill an important place in the work of God; yet, unless they cherish a simple dependence upon their Redeemer, they will be ensnared and overcome by the enemy.
12 By nobleness of aim and completeness of execution, they may win for themselves a name and honor higher than that of kings, if they will make God their trust, and suffer no outside influence to withdraw their interest or attention from the work appointed them. Those who would be men of power must determine to make the noblest use of every faculty and every opportunity. They must make the glory of God the first object of life, and ever remember that goodness alone is true greatness.
13 Balaam had been compelled to bless, when his heart longed to curse; he had been disappointed in his hope of riches and honor; and he was almost as deeply grieved at the result of his efforts as was Balak. A plan was now suggested to his mind—by the Prince of Darkness himself—that seemed to promise the destruction of Israel. It was proposed to the king and immediately adopted.
14 The Moabites had found that so long as Israel remained true to God, he would be their shield, and no power of earth or hell could do them harm. The plan now was to raise a barrier between them and God, by enticing them to sin. If they could be led to engage in the licentious worship of Baal and Ashteroth, their omnipotent Protector would become their enemy, and they would fall an easy prey to the fierce, warlike nations around them. Balaam soon left for his distant home; but his diabolical scheme was immediately carried out.
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1 While Balak and his counselors were plotting to entice God’s people into sin and thus secure their overthrow, the Israelites, all unconscious of their danger, were enjoying ease and quiet in their tents among the acacia groves in the vale of Shittim. They had little to occupy their minds or their time, and they felt little anxiety for the future. They had prevailed against the warlike inhabitants of the surrounding country, and they felt that they had only to cross the Jordan and the goodly land would be all their own. Their condition of ease and inactivity was unfavorable to moral and physical vigor, as well as to purity of thought and life, while a knowledge of the licentious character of the surrounding nations had to some extent familiarized their minds with thoughts of vice and lessened their abhorrence of crime.
2 At this time, Midianitish women were seen stealing into the camp, singly and in little companies. Their appearance excited no alarm, and so quietly were their plans conducted, that the attention of Moses was not called to the matter. It was the object of these women in their association with the Hebrews to first draw their attention from the God of Israel to heathen traditions, rites, and customs, and then to allure them into transgression of the divine law. These motives were studiously concealed under the garb of friendship, so that they were not suspected, even by the great leader. These heathen women feared to excite the indignation of Moses, but they did not consider that no evil work could be concealed from the all-seeing eye of God.
3 Their hellish plans were all too successful. It was not long before the poison of licentiousness and idolatry had spread like a deadly infection through the congregation of Israel. The people seemed to be infatuated. The rulers and leading men were among the first to step over the line; and so general was the defection, that it is recorded in the Sacred Word, that “Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor.” Alas that the people who had been so signally protected from Satan’s power, should now deliberately walk into the net which he had laid for them!
4 Suddenly Moses was aroused to perceive the mighty evil in the camp, and he was horrified as he discovered its nature and extent. So successful had been the plots of these vile, artful women, that his own people were participating in the abominable scenes enacted at the worship of Baal, and the sacrifice and sacrilegious feasts were becoming established among the Israelites. The aged leader was filled with indignation, and the wrath of God was kindled against the people. By divine authority, Moses addressed to the rulers of Israel the command: “Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor.”
5 This order was promptly obeyed. The people had already been awakened to the enormity of their sin, by the swift judgments of God. A terrible pestilence had broken out in the camp, and twenty-four thousand of the congregation fell a prey to its ravages. None knew where this visitation would end, yet they felt that their punishment was just. Overwhelmed with terror, they hastened to the tabernacle, and with tears and deep humiliation, confessed their sin.
6 While the people were thus weeping before God, at the door of the tabernacle, while the plague was still doing its work of death, and the magistrates executing their terrible commission, one of the nobles of Israel came boldly into the camp, accompanied by a Midianitish princess, whom he gallantly escorted to his tent. This daring outrage stirred the indignation of all Israel, and swift retribution followed the offenders. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the high priest, rose up from among the congregation, and slew them both. This prompt and determined act evinced a just abhorrence of the sins which had brought so great calamities upon Israel. God approved the course of Phinehas, and the plague was stayed; while the priest who had so zealously executed the divine judgment was honored before all Israel, and the priesthood was confirmed to him and to his house forever.
7 As we read this history, it seems almost incredible that a man could be so blinded by the bewitching power of woman as to indulge such stubborn and Heaven-daring rebellion, in face of the most terrible visitations of divine wrath. But human nature is the same in every age. The temptations of Satan are no less strong today than in the days of ancient Israel.
8 Satan has ever achieved his greatest successes through the neglect of God’s people to maintain their separation from the world,—its customs, its practices, and principles. There are but two great parties among men,—the servants of Christ, and the servants of Satan. Their leaders are opposites in every particular. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to conquer the prince of darkness, says, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Here Christ makes a marked distinction between his followers and the world. Those who are of the world are in direct opposition to those who love God and keep his commandments. The heart must be kept with all diligence, that the human be not exalted above the divine. If those who profess to love and serve God, follow blind impulse, rather than reason and conscience, they will fall by the artifice of Satan. The affections should be guarded and controlled, lest they be placed upon unworthy objects, that are forbidden in the word of God.
9 Samson, that mighty man of valor, was under a solemn vow to be a Nazarite during the period of his life; but, becoming infatuated by the charms of lewd woman, he rashly broke that sacred pledge. Satan worked through his agents to destroy this ruler of Israel, that the mysterious power which he possessed might no longer intimidate the enemies of God’s people. It was the influence of this bold woman that separated him from God, her artifices that proved his ruin. The love and service which God claims, Samson gave to this woman. This was idolatry. He lost all sense of the sacred character and work of God, and sacrificed honor, conscience, and every valuable interest, to base passion.
10 The life of Solomon should prove a beacon of warning to God’s people in every age. The Lord had erected a barrier between Israel and other nations. He had made that people the depositaries of his law, and their safety lay in preserving their peculiar, holy character. But as King Solomon’s heart was lifted up in pride, he became eager for still greater wealth and power. To secure these, political alliances were formed with idolatrous nations.
11 Honor and riches flowed in to him as the result; but these temporal advantages were dearly purchased at the sacrifice of principle. His kingdom was enriched with the gold of Tarshish, but the fine gold of character was tarnished by the corrupting influence of paganism. Once over the wise barrier which God had erected, the king took, one after another, the fatal steps that led him away from hope, and happiness, and Heaven. From the wisest of the rulers, Solomon became a despot. Satan triumphed as this man, who had thrice been called the beloved of his God, became a slave of passion, and sacrificed his integrity to the bewitching power of woman.
12 The cases mentioned are sufficient to show the danger of corrupting the soul by mingling with God’s enemies. These examples are placed on record for the benefit of those who live amid the perils of the last days. The devices of Satan are no less now than in ancient times. Indeed, as we near the period of Christ’s second coming, Satan redoubles his efforts to work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. The youth especially are in constant and fearful danger of being overcome by his temptations.
13 In the judgments that followed Israel’s sin, we may see with what abhorrence God looks upon worldliness, idolatry, and licentiousness. The same dangers exist today that threatened the prosperity, and even the existence, of his ancient people. Temptations to licentiousness have been steadily increasing from that time to the present, and similar scenes are constantly enacted, with similar efforts at concealment. A bewitching power is brought to bear on every soul not fortified by firm principle. Warnings of fathers and mothers and of God’s embassadors are all unheeded. The affections which should be centered upon God are given to the idolatry of unworthy objects.
14 Watchfulness and vigilance are needed now. The lustful eye must be turned off from beholding vanity. Boldness and immodesty must be met with a decided rebuke. Let none yield to a spirit of self-confidence, and feel that they are in no danger. As long as Satan lives, his efforts will be constant and untiring to make the world as wicked as before the flood, and as licentious as were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. The prayer may well be offered daily by all who have the fear of God before them, that he will preserve their hearts from evil desires, and strengthen their souls to resist temptation. Those who, in their self-confidence, feel no need of watchfulness and unceasing prayer, are near some humiliating fall. All who do not feel the importance of resolutely guarding their affections will be captivated by those who practice their arts to ensnare and lead astray the unwary.
15 Satan exulted to see Samson, a man whom God could have used to his glory, so infatuated that he could betray his strength into the hands of Delilah. Satan knew that he had taken Samson captive. Few who go thus far, again see clearly the aggravated character of sin. Reputation, strength, and usefulness are sacrificed for sinful indulgence. Blind infatuation leads men on in the way to destruction. The power of Satan, his arts and machinations —who can know them? Those who, in defiance of all the warnings and entreaties of God’s word, venture to indulge in sin, are sleeping on the very brink of eternal ruin. Because God bears long with transgressors of his law, because he sends them warnings and entreaties, because punishment does not immediately follow their evil deeds, they abuse his mercy and forbearance, and blindly rush on in a course of crime.
16 If those who now depart from the straight line of virtue and integrity were as promptly rebuked by the swift judgments of God as were the offenders in Israel’s day, crime of this character would be less prevalent. When assailed by temptation, many have not moral strength to say, as did Joseph, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” They do not give a decided refusal to the first invitation to transgress the law of God; and soon unlawful indulgence becomes habitual, and they are ready to deny that it is a sin.
17 Unwise marriages are the curse of this age. Such an alliance can but be disastrous to both parties. That love which has no better foundation than mere sensual gratification will be headstrong, blind, and uncontrollable. Honor, truth, and every noble, elevated power of the mind, is brought under the slavery of passions. The man who is bound in the chains of this infatuation is too often deaf to the voice of reason and conscience; neither argument nor entreaty can lead him to see the folly of his course.
18 Men and women professing godliness should tremble at the thought of entering into a marriage covenant with those who do not respect and obey the commandments of God. It was this that opened the flood-gates of sin to the antediluvians. Such a connection with the world is a direct departure from God’s express requirements,—”Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”
19 In these alliances the creature receives the love which should be given to the Creator. There is danger in entering into any intimate relation with those who have no connection with Heaven. This is the friendship which Inspiration calls enmity with God. We cannot be too jealous of ourselves, lest by associating with worldlings we fall into the same habits. It was for this reason that the Israelites were commanded to dwell alone, as a people separate from all other nations. The friendship of the Lord’s enemies is more to be dreaded than their enmity; for Satan is constantly working through pleasing, intelligent unbelievers, to tempt the people of God to sin.
20 When one commandment of the decalogue is broken, the downward steps are almost certain. When once the barriers of female modesty are removed, the basest licentiousness does not appear exceeding sinful. Alas, what terrible results of woman’s influence for evil may be witnessed in the world today! Through the allurements of “strange women,” thousands are incarcerated in prison cells, many take their own lives, and many cut short the lives of others. How true the words of Inspiration, “Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell.”
21 Beacons of warning are placed on every side in the pathway of life, to prevent men from approaching the dangerous, forbidden ground; but notwithstanding this, multitudes choose the fatal path, contrary to the dictates of reason, regardless of God’s law, and in defiance of his vengeance.
22 Those who would preserve physical health, a vigorous intellect, and sound morals must “flee youthful lusts.” Those who will put forth zealous and decided efforts to check the wickedness that lifts its bold, presumptuous head in our midst, are hated and maligned by all wrong-doers, but they will honored and recompensed of God.
23 The judgments visited upon Israel for their sin at Shittim, destroyed the survivors of that vast company, who, nearly forty years before, had provoked the Lord to swear in his wrath that they should not enter Canaan. When, at the command of God, the people were numbered just prior to the death of Moses, it was found that “there was not left a man of them, save Caleb, the son of Nun, the son of Jephunneh.” Thus had the word of God been strictly fulfilled.
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1 Moses’ work for Israel was almost done; yet one more act remained for the aged leader to perform, ere he should go to his long rest. “Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites,” was the divine command; “afterward thou shalt be gathered unto thy people.” This mandate was communicated to Israel, not as the word of Moses, but of Christ, their invisible leader; and it was immediately obeyed. One thousand men were selected from each of the tribes of Israel, and sent out against the Midianites. In the battles which followed, that people were defeated, with great slaughter.
2 The men who promptly and speedily executed the divine judgments upon those heathen nations have been pronounced harsh and unmerciful in destroying so many human lives. But all who reason thus, fail to understand the character and dealings of God. In his infinite mercy, the Lord had long spared those idolatrous nations, giving them evidence upon evidence that he, the mighty Jehovah, was the God whom they should serve. He had commanded Moses not to make war upon Moab or Midian, for their cup of iniquity was not yet full. Additional evidence was to be given; clear and distinct light from the throne of God itself was to shine upon them.
3 When the king of Moab had called Balaam to pronounce a curse upon Israel, and thus accomplish their destruction, the goodness and mercy of God was strikingly displayed. That corrupt and hypocritical gain-seeker, whose heart longed to curse God’s people for reward, was constrained to pronounce upon them the richest and most sublime blessings. The Moabites themselves could see that it was the power of God which controlled the avaricious prophet, and compelled him in the most exalted strains of inspiration to proclaim Israel God’s chosen, and his almighty power her protection. Here the last ray of light shone upon a stiff-necked people who had set their wills in defiance to the will of God. When, at the suggestion of Balaam, the snare was laid for Israel, which resulted in the destruction of many thousands, then it was that the Midianites filled up the measure of their iniquities. Then their day of probation ended, the door of mercy was to them closed, and the mandate went forth from Him who can create and can destroy, “Vex the Midianites, and smite them; for they vex you with their wiles.”
4 Those who would complain of God, or question the wisdom and justice of his dealings with his creatures should realize their own incompetence, with their finite wisdom, to determine what conduct is befitting to the judge of all the earth. They should make it their chief anxiety to so conduct themselves as not to become subjects of his wrath, and should leave the Lord to deal with the work of his hands according to his own wise purposes.
5 Moses had been filled with grief and indignation at the deceitful wiles by which Israel had been enticed to sin and thus bring upon themselves the wrath of God. In the command to make war upon the Midianites, Moses saw not only the justice of God in visiting his judgments upon the guilty, but his mercy in giving Israel the victory over a people who were seeking by every hellish art to accomplish their destruction. The Israelites were to engage in this warfare, not to gratify malice or revenge, but as God’s instruments, to do his bidding, being influenced solely by zeal for the divine glory.
6 Men do not understand what they are doing, when they permit themselves even for a moment, to doubt the wisdom and benevolence of God,—to regard as a species of cruelty the judgments visited upon the stubborn and rebellious. Few realize the malignity of sin. It is a deadly leprosy, contaminating all who are brought in contact with it. If men persist in showing contempt for divine authority, God, who created them, and whose property they are, has a perfect right to take from them the blessings which they have abused. God’s name and authority as ruler in the universe must be maintained. When idolatry is rearing its proud head, when blasphemy and rebellion are strengthening, then God reproves the sins of the nations, and the manifestations of divine anger which they had provoked come upon the transgressors of his law. The Most High delivers his word of doom, and chooses the instruments to perform his will. These messengers of God are required to faithfully perform the work appointed them, however repugnant it may be to their natural feelings. Sacred history records no instance in which these men were reproved for too great thoroughness and severity; but God has many times reproved his servants for lack of faithfulness in executing his judgments. In all this, God would teach us the lesson that in the future Judgment retribution will surely be visited upon “every soul of man that doeth evil,” “according to the deeds done in the body.”
7 God’s method of dealing with sin is not in harmony with the views cherished by a large class who occupy a prominent position among the professed followers of Christ. Many of these men cherish sin, and laud the benevolence and long-suffering of God, and dwell upon the loving character of Jesus,—all mercy, all tenderness,—while they pass over the threatenings of God’s wrath against sin and sinners, and our Saviour’s scathing denunciations of hypocrisy and self-deception. It is those who have not a keen sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin that are ready to question the justice of God in punishing with such severity the sins of the Amalekites, Canaanites, and Midianites. Those who love sin are unable to comprehend God’s dealings with his subjects.
8 In our day, as in ancient times, there is disagreeable work to be done in reproving sin. In this work, God uses men as his instruments,—men of determined purpose, whom no threat or peril can intimidate, no hardship turn aside from the path of duty,—men who will never forget their sacred commission as servants of the Most High. The Lord calls for men to act promptly, with the courage of heroes, and the firmness and faith of martyrs, to tear down the idolatrous images that have usurped his place in the minds of men, and meet the armed force of wrong on battle fields. But in all this there is no excuse for any to indulge in harshness or severity to gratify their own wrong feelings.
9 God wants men whom he can use to his own glory, either to bear reproof and execute justice, or, with a heart full of piety and benevolence, to carry light into darkened homes, to speak peace to the troubled soul, and point the sinner to the pardoning love of Christ. The great want of this age is men fitted to do God’s will,—men who will listen with praying hearts for God’s words, and will hasten to obey his voice.
10 There are men full of zeal, who claim to be doing God’s will, while in reality they are governed by human impulse. They feel at liberty to question, criticise, and challenge every one who does not act in harmony with their ideas. They make themselves offensive to God and to the people. They wound continually, and by their wrong course create in others a spirit of distrust and hatred for God, because he employs such men to do his work. But the Lord does not give these men the great work which they consider theirs. If he did, he would give them grace to perform it after Heaven’s order, not their own. Those who are permitted to become co-workers with God, should ever cultivate the feeling that in every plan and work, they are doing the will of the Most High; and that in any and every emergency, God’s Spirit, not man’s is to bear sway.
11 Balaam, having yielded himself to the control of covetousness, and hardened his heart by persistent rebellion, had joined his fortunes with the Midianites, and he perished in the general slaughter. He had felt a presentiment that his own end was near when he exclaimed, “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.” The fate of Balaam is similar to that of Judas, and their characters bear a marked resemblance to each other. Both had received great light and enjoyed special privileges; but a single cherished sin, like gangrene, poisoned the entire character, and drove them to perdition.
12 While the victorious Israelites completely destroyed the armies of Midian, they spared all the women and children, and brought them into the camp as captives. When Moses ascertained this, he became alarmed and indignant, and thus reproved the officers of the host: “Behold they caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.” There had been a lack of thoroughness in executing the commands of God. The war against Midian had been a just retribution upon a guilty people, of whom the women had been the principal criminals. Had these idolatrous, licentious women been preserved as captives, their presence would have constantly endangered the morals of Israel. The sympathy which would spare these transgressors was contrary to the will of God.
13 There is a sympathy for sin and sinners that is dangerous to the prosperity of the church at the present day. You must have charity is the cry. But that sentiment that would excuse wrong and shield the guilty, is not the charity of the Bible. The friendship of the wicked is more dangerous than their enmity; for none can prevail against the servants of the living God, except by tempting them to disobedience.
14 The offensive character of sin can be estimated only in the light of the cross. When men urge that God is too merciful to punish the transgressors of his law, let them look to Calvary; let them realize that it was because Christ took upon himself the guilt of the disobedient, and suffered in the sinners stead, that the sword of justice was awakened against the Son of God. It was to save us from shame and everlasting contempt that he endured the scorn and mockery which the world heaped upon him. It was our sins that caused the Saviour of the world such intense agony, pouring darkness into his soul, and extorting from his pale lips the anguished cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
15 He was numbered among the transgressors, he made his soul an offering for sin, that in his righteousness the believing, repenting sinner might stand justified before God.
16 After all this, if man refuses to respond to the great sacrifice which has been made to ennoble and to save him, if he obstinately chooses the path of sin, will the great Judge of all the earth excuse the willful transgression of his holy law? Surely, everything that is noble and generous in our natures must respond to such love as Jesus manifested in suffering for our sake. It was an unexampled humiliation for him to take upon himself the nature of fallen man, and sacrifice his life for a race of rebels; and the manner of his death makes that humiliation more apparent. He “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
17 Jesus was not insensible to ignominy. He felt the disgrace of sin as much more keenly than it is possible for man to feel it, as his divine and sinless nature was exalted above the nature of man. We should never entertain the thought that the Majesty of Heaven, so holy and undefiled, was not acutely sensitive to scorn and mockery, abuse and pain. He asks the murderous mob in Gethsemane, “Are ye come out as against a thief, with swords and staves?” This shameful treatment Jesus keenly felt, yet for our sakes he endured the most ignominious and most painful death which it was possible for mortals to experience; a death which was appropriate for the basest of criminals was that which the Lord of Glory suffered to ransom guilty man. Let none flatter themselves that they can continue in sin, and yet share in the great salvation which Christ has so dearly purchased. God is merciful and compassionate, but he is also just. Let the cross of Calvary forever settle this matter. As surely as Christ, the guiltless, suffered for the guilty, so surely will the wrath of God fall upon the heads of those who persist in their transgression of his law.
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1 The Lord announced to Moses that the appointed time to deliver Israel was at hand, and as the aged prophet stood upon the heights overlooking the river Jordan and the promised land, he gazed with deep interest upon the inheritance of his people. That vast, garden-like plain, with its deep verdure and feathery palm-trees, spread out invitingly before him, and he felt an intense longing to share with Israel in the possession of that land which had been the object of their efforts, the goal of their hopes, for so many years.
2 Would it be possible that the sentence pronounced against him for his sin at Meribah,—the one defect that marred a life of faithful, devoted service,— might be revoked? With deep earnestness he pleaded, “O Lord God, thou hast began to show thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand; for what God is there in Heaven or on earth that can do according to thy works and according to thy might! I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain and Lebanon.”
3 The answer was, “Let it suffice thee; speak to me no more of this matter, lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward and behold it with thine eyes, for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.”
4 Without a murmur or complaint, Moses humbly submitted to the decree of God; and now his great anxiety was for Israel. Who will feel the interest for their welfare that he has felt? Who will manifest the same untiring, unselfish, devotion? From a full heart, Moses pours forth the prayer, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep that have no shepherd.”
5 Here were exhibited the same spirit of unselfishness, the same zeal for the honor of God, and the same interest in the welfare of the people of his care, that had characterized the life of Moses. The aged leader had not lived for himself, but for Israel. There is not to be found in the history of the great men of earth,—of kings, statesmen, or philosophers,—a parallel to this self-sacrifice and devotion.
6 The Lord hearkened to the prayer of his servant, and the answer came, “Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of Israel may be obedient.” Joshua had long attended Moses, and being a man of wisdom and ability, of faith and piety, he was chosen to succeed him. Moses was to instruct Joshua concerning the responsibilities of his position as the visible leader of Israel, and to assure him that if he would be faithful to his sacred trust the Lord would ever be his counselor and support.
7 By the laying on of Moses’ hands, and a most impressive charge, Joshua was solemnly set apart as the leader of Israel. He was also admitted to a present share in the government as an evidence to the people that no jealousy stirred the heart of Moses at the thought that another was to take his place and lead Israel to the promised land. Moses instructed the people to respect Joshua, and inspired them with confidence in him as the man divinely appointed as his successor. The word of the Lord came through Moses to the congregation, “He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim, before the Lord. At his word shall they go out, and at his word shall they come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”
8 The position of Joshua differed in some respects from that of Moses. Not only was the latter a prophet and a ruler in Israel, but he officiated in the capacity of high priest, and asked counsel directly of God himself. But after Moses, neither Joshua nor any other of the rulers of Israel was permitted to come to the Lord except through the high priest.
9 At the command of God, Moses assembled the people, and proceeded to instruct them concerning the course which they should pursue upon their entrance into the promised land: “When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places. And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for I have given you the land to possess it.”
10 The triumph of the wicked is short. The pleasures of sin are ever purchased at a tremendous cost; for the wrath of God is continually hanging over the sinner, and in the end, he will learn indeed that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Every corrupt passion, every wrong feeling, or sinful act, not only dishonors God, but brings guilt and misery upon ourselves. Only in the strength of God can we succeed in subduing the enemies of our souls. While the foes of Christ are continually at work as Satan’s agents to entice us into sin, we must firmly resist their advances, looking to God for counsel and assistance. Every sinful desire must be repressed, every wrong trait overcome, or they will prove our ruin.
11 God requires his people to separate themselves from sin and sinners, choosing their society only when there is an opportunity to do them good. We cannot be too decided in shunning the company of all who have in any way exerted an influence to draw us into sin. None will be punished with greater severity than those who have enticed God’s people from their integrity.
12 Every natural trait of character should be brought under the control of the will, and this must itself be kept in harmony with the will of God. It is one of the greatest deceptions that can come upon the mind to imagine ourselves more merciful or just than God. Man is impulsive and changeable. Even the best acts prompted by the natural heart are faulty. And how true is the testimony of the Sacred Record, that “the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Our only safe course is to condemn what God condemns, and cherish what he cherishes.
13 Had the Lord spared the inhabitants of Canaan, the Israelites would have been in constant danger of contamination. The outward tokens of heathen worship would have had an influence to pervert the senses, and lead the servants of God into idolatry. Hence the repeated command addressed to them, to dispossess the Canaanites, by every means in their power, and as fast as they were able to subdue them. The Israelites were not to yield to cowardice, sloth, or self-indulgence, nor to set up their ideas of clemency in opposition to the command of God. They were not to conform to the customs of the heathen, nor to preserve the monuments of their abominable idolatries. However precious the material, or exquisite the workmanship, all that pertained to the heathen worship must be destroyed.
14 God knew the dangers to which his people would be exposed. Satan would work through those corrupt idolaters to destroy Israel, and temptation would address them with all the grace of manner and fascination of art. Few realize the power of Satan to ensnare and lead astray. Even in the days of Israel it had been for thousands of years his constant study to make the way to destruction easy and inviting. In this hellish work the great adversary employs numberless co-laborers to attract unwary feet away from God, away from Heaven. In view of all these allurements in the wrong direction, the Lord carefully instructed his people how to conduct themselves in order to resist temptation.
15 The apparent severity of God’s dealings with the Canaanites did not, as many suppose, proceed from harshness or cruelty. The love of God is beyond our comprehension; it is high as the heavens, and broad as the universe. Every soul whom he has created is precious in his sight,— so precious that he gave his only begotten Son to die for that lost, perishing sinner. When men shall manifest toward their fellow-creatures a love superior to this, then they may talk of compassion where God has exercised severity.
16 The children of Israel had learned by their own bitter experience that the first step taken in departing from God makes the next step more easy, while the way to return becomes as difficult as are the ice-clad mountain steeps to the benumbed traveler. It seemed a small matter to our first parents to do only one little act which God had forbidden,—to take from the forbidden tree the fruit so attractive to the eye and pleasant to the taste; but by this one act they forfeited their allegiance to God, the great lawgiver, and opened the flood-gates of misery to the world. God alone can measure the evils which may result from one wrong step,—evils which at the critical moment the tempted soul does not consider. The only safeguard for frail, erring man is to obey, without hesitation or argument, the expressed will of God, regardless of all promise of pleasure or profit as the reward of sin. When God speaks, it is enough.
17 The Lord mercifully set before his people the terrible results that would follow association with the idolatrous Canaanites: “But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come to pass that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover, it shall come to pass that I shall do unto you as I thought to do unto them.” By mingling with the heathen, Israel would become estranged from God, and would finally pursue the same course which had provoked his wrath against the Canaanites.
18 The after-history of God’s chosen people shows that these warnings were real prophecies, which have been most strikingly fulfilled. The Israelites yielded only a partial obedience to the command of God, and for many generations they were afflicted by a remnant of the idolatrous nation, who were spared as the prophets had foretold, as “pricks in their eyes, and as thorns in their side.”
19 Additional warning and instruction on this point was afterward given to Israel by the Lord through his servant Joshua: “Take good heed, therefore, unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of those nations, even those that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them and they to you; know for a certainty that the Lord will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.”
20 Should they enter into any friendly relation with those nations standing under the curse of God, the Hebrews would be infatuated and beguiled by the arts of idolatrous women, and would be led to form marriages with them. All the influence of these heathen women would be exerted to lead God’s people into idolatry, and thus the devices of Satan would prove successful. The Lord would have his people regard the Canaanites as enemies to Israel and to God,— enemies who would be constantly on the watch for some occasion to avenge their own defeat. On condition that Israel be true to God, his power would be manifested in their behalf, and the gracious promise was, “One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.” But if they provoked the Lord by separating from him, he would withdraw his protection, and make these nations instruments to chastise and bring them back to their allegiance. Should they still continue to withdraw from God, he would not restrain the cruelties of these wicked nations, and they would grievously torment Israel, and at length drive them from their possessions.
21 When God’s people should be placed in a condition of outward security and ease, and surrounded with every earthly blessing, they would be in the greatest danger of forgetting their constant Benefactor. This is the special danger of all whom God has blessed with means or with influence. All our powers should ever be diligently employed in the service of our Maker; yet how many allow themselves to be diverted from this object by worldly associations. The Lord has repeatedly warned his people not to mingle with those who have not the fear of God before them. While we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” we are to shun temptation as far as possible. We must obey the divine word on every point, if we would have the strength of Israel’s God as our support and our defense.
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1 At the command of God, Moses fixed the future boundaries of the land of Canaan. He then proceeded to select a prince from each tribe, and committed to them the work of dividing the land by lot among the different tribes when they should come in possession. In this arrangement the tribe of Levi alone was exempted. They were considered as especially set apart to the service of God, and hence were given no inheritance among their brethren. Instead of this, forty-eight cities in different parts of the country were to be assigned them, as a permanent dwelling-place.
2 And now the Lord proceeded to give his people another evidence of his care and tender compassion for the unfortunate and the erring. To provide for the effectual punishment of murder, it was customary in ancient times for the execution of the murderer to devolve upon the nearest relative or the next heir of the deceased; and in extreme cases the avenger might pursue the criminal anywhere, and execute vengeance upon him without the formality of a trial. While the Lord would have the crime of murder regarded with great abhorrence, he would carefully guard the innocent. Hence, without entirely destroying the custom of private vengeance, he makes the most thorough provision that the guiltless be not rashly slain without trial, nor the guilty escape punishment.
3 Of the cities assigned to the Levites, six were appointed as cities of refuge, to which the man-slayer might flee for safety. This provision was not designed for the willful murderer; but “that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person unawares.” “And they shall be unto you cities of refuge, that the man-slayer die not until he stand before the congregation in judgment.” Special directions were given to determine whether the man was guilty of willful murder, or had taken life by accident.
4 The cities so wisely provided were to be located within a half-day’s journey of every part of the land. It would not often happen that the avenger of blood would be in the spot, hence the unfortunate man-slayer would have an opportunity to flee, and but few would be overtaken before they gained the place of safety.
5 But if the fugitive would escape with his life, there must be no delay; family and employment must be left behind, there was no time to say farewell to loved ones. His life is at stake, and every other interest must be sacrificed to the one purpose,—to reach the city of refuge. Weariness is forgotten, difficulties are unheeded. He does not for one moment slacken his pace until he is safe within the walls of the city.
6 The roads to these cities were always to be kept in good repair; all along the way, sign-posts were to be erected bearing the word Refuge in plain, bold characters, that the fleeing one might not hesitate for a moment. Any person,—Hebrew, stranger, or sojourner,—might avail himself of this provision. The case of the fugitive was to be fairly tried by the proper authorities, and if found guiltless of intended murder he was to be protected in the city of refuge. Should he carelessly wander away beyond the prescribed limits, and the avenger of blood find him, his life would pay the penalty of his disregard for the Lord’s provision. Those who remained within the city until the death of the high-priest were then at liberty to return to their possessions.
7 Among the specific directions for the trial of persons suspected of murder were the following: “Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.” How wise and just is this injunction. If the charge was supported by only one witness, the accused person was not to be condemned, although circumstantial evidence might be strong against him. On the other hand, if proved guilty no atonement or ransom could rescue him. However distinguished his position might be, he must suffer the penalty of his crime. The safety and purity of the nation demanded that the sin of murder be severely punished. Human life, which God alone could give, must be sacredly guarded.
8 The blood of the victim, like the blood of Abel, will cry to God for vengeance on the murderer and on all who shield him from the punishment of his crime. Whosoever,—be it individual or city,—will excuse the crime of the murderer, when convinced of his guilt, is a partaker of his sin, and will surely suffer the wrath of God. The Lord designed to impress upon his people the terrible guilt of murder, while he would make the most thorough and merciful provision for the acquittal of the innocent.
9 God understands the perversity of the human heart. Personal enmity, or the prospect of personal advantage, has ruined the reputation and usefulness of thousands of innocent men, and in many cases has resulted in their condemnation and death. The worthless lives of violent and wicked men have been preserved by a bribe, while those who were guilty of no crime against the laws of the nation have been made to suffer. By their wealth or power, men of rank corrupt the judges and bring false witness against the innocent. The provision that none should be condemned on the testimony of one witness, was both just and necessary. One man might be controlled by prejudice, selfishness, or malice. But it was not likely that two or more persons would be so perverted as to unite in bearing false witness; and even should they do so, a separate examination would lead to a discovery of the truth.
10 This merciful provision contains a lesson for the people of God until the close of time. It was Christ who gave to Moses those explicit directions for the Hebrew host; and when personally with his disciples on earth, the great Leader repeated the same lesson as he taught them, how to treat the erring. One man’s testimony was not to acquit or to condemn. One man’s views and opinions were not to settle disputed questions. In all these matters, two or more were to be associated, and together they were to bear the responsibility in the case. God has made it the duty of his servants to be subject one to another. No one man’s judgment is to control in any important matter. Mutual consideration and respect imparts proper dignity to the ministry, and unites the servants of God in close bonds of love and harmony. While they should depend upon God for strength and wisdom, ministers of the gospel should confer together in all matters requiring deliberation. “That by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”
11 The laws instituted by God for the prevention and punishment of crime were marked by strict and impartial justice. But the sinfulness of man perverts the wisest laws, both human and divine. It is because men in authority can be bribed to excuse sin, and let the guilty pass unpunished that justice has fallen in the streets, and equity cannot enter. These evils are causing the earth to become as corrupt as in the days of Noah. The most terrible crimes are becoming so common as hardly to awaken a feeling of horror. Our own nation is guilty before God of permitting the most atrocious crimes to pass unheeded. The accumulating weight of unpunished sin is sinking the nation to destruction. The wrongs they do not condemn and punish are making this people the subjects of God’s retributive justice. Licentiousness, robbery, and murder, continually on the increase, are deluging our world, and preparing it to receive the unmingled wrath of God.
12 The injunctions of God to the Hebrews should cause us to be filled with horror at the thought of even unintentionally destroying a human life. But when man is put to death by his fellow-man, to serve some selfish purpose, —as Naboth was slain that Ahab might obtain the coveted vineyard,—what honor [horror], what anguish, should be felt by those who make and execute the laws! How zealous should be their efforts to ascertain the facts, and then decide the case with strict integrity, and execute the penalty with impartial justice.
13 It was the opposite course pursued by the antediluvian world that made the growth of wickedness so rapid, and violence and crime so widespread, that God cleansed the earth from its moral pollution by a flood. It was the fact that licentiousness and murder were lightly regarded that fitted Sodom for God’s judgments. Had those in authority taken upon themselves the work which the Lord had appointed them,—fathers commencing in their own families to correct wrong, and magistrates and rulers acting with promptness and decision to punish the guilty,—others would have feared, and crime would have decreased. God would not then have deemed it necessary to take the matter in hand himself, and by terrible things in righteousness, execute the justice which had been perverted by men in authority.
14 To increase the horrors of murder, and aid in the detection of the criminal, the Lord ordained that when the body of a murdered person was found in the land, the most solemn and public ceremony should be held, under the direction of the magistrates and elders in connection with the priests of God’s appointment. “If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him; then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain; and it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley. And the priests, the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord: and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried. And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley; and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.”
15 After the most diligent search had failed to discover the murderer, the rulers were by this solemn ceremony to show their abhorrence of the crime. They were not to regard with carelessness and negligence the deeds of the guilty. In all their acts they were to show that sin has a contaminating influence,—that it leaves a stain upon every land and every person who will not by all possible means seek to bring the wrong-doer to justice. God regards as his enemies those who will by any act of negligence shield the guilty. They are in his sight partakers in the evil deeds of the sinner.
16 Here are lessons which God’s people at the present day should take to heart. There are grievous sins indulged by individual members of the church,—covetousness, over-reaching, deception, fraud, falsehood, and many others. If these sins are neglected by those who have been placed in authority in the church, the blessing of the Lord is withheld from his people, and the innocent suffer with the guilty. The officers in the church should be earnest, energetic men, having a zeal for God, and they should take the most prompt and thorough measures to condemn and correct these wrongs. In this work they should act, not from selfishness, jealousy, or personal prejudice, but in all meekness and lowliness of mind, with a sincere desire that God may be glorified. Inhumanity, false dealing, prevarication, licentiousness, and other sins, are not to be palliated or excused; for they will speedily demoralize the church. Sin may be called by false names, and glossed over by plausible excuses and pretended good motives, but this does not lessen its guilt in the sight of God. Wherever it may be found, sin is offensive to God, and will surely meet its punishment.
17 The cities of refuge appointed for God’s ancient people are a symbol of the Refuge provided and revealed in Jesus Christ. The offering made by our Saviour was of sufficient value to make a full expiation for the sins of the whole world, and all who by repentance and faith flee to this Refuge, will find security; here they will find peace from the heaviest pressure of guilt, and relief from the deepest condemnation. By the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and his work of mediation in our behalf, we may become reconciled to God. The blood of Christ will prove efficacious to wash away the crimson stain of sin.
18 A merciful Saviour appointed the temporal cities of refuge, that the innocent might not suffer with the guilty. The same pitying Saviour has by the shedding of his own blood wrought out for the transgressors of God’s law a sure Refuge, into which they may flee for safety from the pangs of the second death. And no power can take out of his hands the souls who flee to him for pardon.
19 As the man-slayer was in constant peril until within the city of refuge, so is the transgressor of God’s law exposed to divine wrath until he finds a hiding-place in Christ. As loitering and carelessness might rob the fugitive of his only chance for life, so delays and indifference may prove the ruin of the soul. Our adversary, the devil, is on the watch constantly to destroy the souls of men, and unless the sinner is sensible of his danger and earnestly seeks shelter in the eternal Refuge, he will fall a prey to the destroyer.
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1 Moses obeyed the command of God to recapitulate the law in the hearing of all the people. He vividly portrayed the scenes of sacred grandeur which their fathers witnessed at the mount, when Israel was taken into covenant with the Lord as a peculiar treasure,—as a holy nation to be united with a holy God.
2 At the wonderful manifestations of divine power upon that solemn occasion,—the mysterious trumpet tones waxing louder and more terrible, the peals of thunder reverberating from every mountain side, the lightning’s flash illuminating the stern and solemn heights, and on Sinai’s summit, amid cloud, and tempest, and thick darkness, the glory of God as a devouring fire,—at these tokens of Jehovah’s presence, the hearts of Israel failed with fear, and the whole congregation “stood afar off.” Even Moses exclaimed, “I exceedingly fear and quake.” Then above the warring elements was heard the voice of Jehovah, speaking the ten precepts of his law.
3 As God’s great mirror revealed to the people of Israel their true condition, their souls were overwhelmed with terror. The awful power of God’s utterances seemed more than their quaking frames could bear. They entreated Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” As God’s great rule of right was presented before them, they realized, as never before, the offensive character of sin, and their own guilt, in the sight of a pure and holy God.
4 That law is the mirror into which we also are to look attentively to see ourselves as we appear in God’s sight. It is Heaven’s great standard of right, with which we are to compare our life and character. Because the law points out our sins and declares our guilt, we are not to trample it under our feet, or to turn from the picture where our character stands revealed. We are not to forget what manner of persons we are, and make no effort to remove the defects from our moral character. We must exercise repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be doers of the word, and not hearers only. The heart, the seat of the affections, must be transformed, the moral nature renewed by grace.
5 What a precious truth, that the only One who can give peace to the weary, sin-sick soul, is the originator of the very law the sinner has violated. All power in Heaven and on earth is given to Christ, and while his soul was made a sacrifice for sin, he will accept the humble penitent, and give him rest and peace. He knows the enormity of man’s guilt and for this reason he came to earth to open a way whereby men may be released from the bondage of sin, and obtain power to obey the law of God. Thus may we become a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
6 Moses endeavors to impress upon Israel the importance of obeying the law of God. He urges them to show their love for God by making those sacred principles the rule of their daily life. They must be willing to suffer any inconvenience, rather than break one of God’s commandments. Such a course would be more pleasing to God than mere professions of loyalty, or words of praise. And obedience to God was their only safety as individuals, or as a nation; for this alone would secure the divine favor, and insure to them happiness and prosperity in the land to which they were going.
7 The very same Jesus, who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, led the Hebrew hosts, is our leader. He who gave wise and righteous and good laws to Israel, has spoken to us as verily as to them. Our prosperity and happiness depends upon our unwavering obedience to the law of God. Finite wisdom could not improve one precept of that holy law. Not one of those ten precepts can be broken without disloyalty to the God of Heaven. To keep every jot and tittle of the law is essential for our own happiness, and for the happiness of all connected with us. “Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” Yet finite man will present to the people this holy, just, and good law as a yoke of bondage,—a yoke which man cannot bear! It is the transgressor that can see no beauty in the law of God.
8 The whole world will be judged by this law. It reaches even to the intents and purposes of the heart, and demands purity in the most secret thoughts, desires, and dispositions. It requires us to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. Without the exercise of this love, the highest profession of faith is mere hypocrisy. God claims, from every soul of the human family, perfect obedience to his law. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
9 The least deviation from that law, by neglect, or willful transgression, is sin, and every sin exposes the sinner to the wrath of God. The unrenewed heart will hate the restrictions of the law of God, and will strive to throw off its holy claims. Our eternal welfare depends upon a proper understanding of the law of God, a deep conviction of its holy character, and a ready obedience to its requirements. Men must be convicted of sin before they will feel their need of Christ. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” Satan is continually at work to lessen man’s estimate of the grievous character of sin. Those who trample under their feet the law of God, have rejected the only means to define to the transgressor what sin is. They are doing the work of the great deceiver.
10 Whenever the people of Israel had met with difficulties in their journeyings, they had been ready to ascribe all their troubles to Moses. But now as he stands before them to bear his last testimony, their suspicions that he is controlled by pride, ambition, or selfishness, are removed. They listen with confidence to his words as he assures them that the reproofs, warnings, and encouragements, which he had given them, with the statutes and judgments, were not spoken by his own authority, but they were the words of the mighty God of Israel. “Behold I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. . . . For what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?”
11 Moses assures his people that no other nation has so wise, righteous, and merciful, rules of life as had been vouchsafed to the Hebrews. Obedience to these sacred precepts would preserve harmony between man and man, and between man and his Maker, and would cause Israel to be regarded by all surrounding nations as a wise and understanding people. In what contrast to the teachings of God’s ancient servant are the words of many who profess to be Christ’s ambassadors, while they teach the people to transgress God’s holy law. In the day when every work will be brought into Judgment before God, the question will be asked of these false guides, “Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord?” In that day, these profane triflers with God’s holy law, will be overwhelmed with terror and despair.
12 Moses related to the people the simple facts in their history as they had occurred. He faithfully set before them their own errors, and the transgressions of their fathers, and told them plainly that distrust and unbelief had been their great sin. He did not call up bitter memories, or indulge in censure and reproof, to gratify his own feelings. He presented these things to show that it was unsafe for them to rely upon their own wisdom. With the pitying tenderness which a godly father exercises toward an erring son, he sought to awaken in them true sorrow for their sins, and heart-felt repentance toward God. He impressed them with the fact that God was not in any way chargeable for their misfortunes. He had been faithful to his promises, but they had broken their solemn pledge to him; they had transgressed his holy requirements, and his wrath had been kindled against them again and again.
13 God was presented before them, not as a stern, relentless judge, but as a loving, compassionate father. They were assured that when they would truly repent, he would pardon their sins. Moses presented before the people the love of God as displayed in their past journeyings, in pardoning their transgressions, and still retaining them as his people. He reminded them that they had often felt dissatisfied, impatient, and rebellious, toward God, because of their long wandering in the wilderness. But the Lord had not been chargeable with this delay in possessing Canaan. He was more grieved than they because he could not bring them into immediate possession of the promised land, and thus display before all nations his mighty power in the deliverance of his people. But they had not been prepared to enter Canaan. With their manifest distrust of God, with their pride and unbelief, they would in no way represent that people whose God is the Lord. They did not bear his character of purity, goodness, and benevolence.
14 Their fathers had forfeited his favor by their disobedience. Had they submitted to his authority, as a nation being governed by his judgments, and as individuals walking in his ordinances, they would long ago have been settled in Canaan, a prosperous, holy, happy people. Their delay to enter the goodly land dishonored God, and detracted from his glory in the sight of surrounding nations.
15 Their own perversity of spirit made it impossible for God to manifest his power in protecting them from the nations that opposed their passage to Canaan. When those who had been God’s chosen people, who had witnessed so many displays of his greatness, and the majesty of his power, should imitate the iniquities of the heathen, the guilt of Israel would be as much greater than was that of the idolatrous nations, as were their privileges. Not one of the good things which God had promised to his people would fail if they would comply with the conditions upon which these blessings were bestowed. If God’s angels wrought with the armies of Israel to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan because of their wickedness, the Hebrews must be free from the sins of those nations. They must maintain a high standard of purity and holiness, and must show in all their words and acts that they loved, feared, and obeyed, the great Ruler of the universe.
16 God could not sanction sin, nor protect iniquity. Justice and love are the ruling attributes of his character. While he will punish the transgressors of his law, that others may fear, he has ever tempered judgment with mercy. God singled out the Hebrew nation and connected them with himself, that he might make them representatives of his own character. He would make them a beacon of light to all surrounding nations, that his name might be glorified, and his service exalted. By communion with God, the Israelites were to become partakers of the divine nature, their hearts, debased by sin, were to be purified, their aspirations ennobled. They were to stand forth before the world as an example of what men may become through Jesus Christ. Those whom God would elevate and ennoble by connection with himself, would become, by transgression, wholly debased and Satanic in character. It was for them to choose the course which they would pursue.
17 The history of the children of Israel is written for our admonition. We are probationers as they were. We may connect with God as was their privilege. We may become strong in the strength of Israel’s God. If we will believe and obey his word as did Caleb and Joshua. But if we are doubting, and unbelieving, and rebellious, as were the multitudes who fell in the wilderness, we shall be found unworthy to possess those mansions which Christ has gone to prepare for us.
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1 The time drew near when Moses was to leave to others the command of Israel. In obedience to God’s decree, he must soon go up to Mount Nebo to die. But before he should leave the congregation, the Lord directed him to rehearse to them the main facts of their deliverance from Egypt and their journeyings in the wilderness. He was to present before them the wonderful manifestations of God’s power in bringing them forth from the iron furnace, which figure well illustrated their cruel and degrading bondage in Egypt. They would never have been delivered from their oppressors but for the interposition of the God of Heaven.
2 Moses was not only to present before the people the merciful manifestations of divine power in all their journeyings, but to recapitulate the law of God spoken from Sinai. When the law was repeated by the mouth of Jehovah to their fathers, the present congregation of Israel were too young to comprehend the awful grandeur and solemnity of the occasion. Their fathers heard the voice of God, and witnessed his power, and were made to feel the sacred character of his holy law; but they had not kept that law, and for their transgressions, they fell in the wilderness without seeing the goodly land. The sins and mistakes which brought upon the fathers the wrath of God, were to be rehearsed before their children, that they might see the awful results of transgression of God’s law. As they were soon to pass over Jordan and take possession of the promised land, God would present before them in a correct light the claims of his law, and enjoin upon them obedience as the only condition of their prosperity. It was not enough for them to be God’s people in name only. Their love to him, their right to the name of the Israel of God, would be manifested by their obedience.
3 Moses stands before the people to repeat his last warnings and admonitions. His face is illuminated with a holy light. His hair is white with age; but his form is erect, his countenance expressing the unabated vigor of health, and his eye clear and undimmed. It was an important occasion. He was once more to give to the people the words of God. With deep feeling and poetic eloquence he magnified the Lord God of Israel. The great mercy, and the unfailing love of their Almighty Protector were portrayed in the most sublime and impressive language. He gave warnings, reproofs, cautions, and encouragement, as Christ had given him the words.
4 Moses dwelt with great earnestness upon the Lord’s wonderful works in bringing his people from Egypt. He set before them the many blessings they had received, for which their hearts should have been filled with gratitude to God, instead of cherishing doubt and unbelief. He dwelt with peculiar earnestness upon the period when they were an unorganized, helpless mass of people, making their way in a disorderly march toward the Red Sea. The Lord favored them with his presence. The cloudy banner in the sky, the standard of their invisible Leader, was a sure guide, a canopy to protect them from fiery heat by day, and a pillar of fire, illuminating their encampment by night, constantly assuring them of the divine presence. And this angel of God, leading their armies in all their journeyings, was their Redeemer.
“When Israel, of the Lord beloved,
Out from the land of bondage came,
Their fathers’ God before them moved,
An awful guide in cloud and flame.
“By day along the astonished land,
The cloudy pillar glided slow;
By night, Arabia’s crimson sands
Returned the fiery column’s glow.”
5 Moses reminds them how, on the third day of their journey, the way grew strange and perplexing, and night found them walled in right and left by ranges of impassable mountains, while directly in front was the Red Sea. They were filled with apprehension, they knew not what course to pursue; yet they had followed the leading of the cloudy pillar. In weariness and hunger, they camped beside the sea, their hearts oppressed with dark forebodings. Then, to complete their despair, they saw and heard the Egyptian host in close pursuit. The armies of Israel were panic-stricken; to all appearance they were a sure prey to their bitterest enemies. But lo, they see the pillar of fire rise from the front, and pass grandly to the rear of the Hebrew host; as a massive wall between them and the Egyptians,—a bright light to the Hebrews, a cloud of thick and awful darkness to their enemies.
6 While the people reproached Moses as the cause of all their perplexities, the Lord bade him say to the terror-stricken multitude, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today.” “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” In obedience to the divine command, Go forward, the vast army move to the water’s edge, then Moses lifts up the rod, and at its stroke the angry waves pile up on either side, revealing the path for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. But no voice had spoken to the defiant king to go forward; and the path of God’s providence, the path of safety for his people, was to the enemies of God the path of defeat and destruction. The waters closed over them, and Moses said to the Hebrew host, “The Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.
7 The thrilling incidents of this night passage had been oft repeated to the Israelites; but never before had it been so vividly portrayed. All who had taken an active part on this occasion, with the exception of Moses and Aaron, Caleb and Joshua, had died in the wilderness. Those who were now responsible men, were children at the time of their passage through the Red Sea, and they had not correct and distinct ideas of this wonderful manifestation of God’s power in their deliverance. This important event, rehearsed by Moses with earnestness and solemn eloquence, softened their hearts, and increased their love, their faith and reverence for God.
8 Moses repeated the song of thanksgiving which he had composed, and which thousands of the Hebrew host united in singing on the shores of the Red Sea, not only men, but women also lifting up the voice of praise, joining to pour forth their exultant, Heaven-inspired gratitude. This song is one of the most sublime and thrilling expressions of triumph and of praise to be found in all the annals of history. Moses recounts the wonderful deliverance which God has wrought for his people and extols his justice and faithfulness and love.
9 The Lord frequently permits his people to be brought into strait places, that they may turn to him, their protector and deliverer, as a child would turn to his parents when in trouble and fear. It is no evidence that God is against us, because we are afflicted. When Christ was on earth, a man born blind was brought to him to be healed. The question was asked Jesus, “Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The Saviour answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” This answers the troubled questioning of many minds, “Why should these things be? Is it because of our sins that distress and sorrow have come upon us?” It is true that pain and death are the consequence of sin. But the Lord permits those he loves to be brought into trial, that they may learn the precious lessons of trust and faith. If trials are received aright, they will prove of the highest value to us in our religious experience. As they lead us to put our trust more firmly in God, we become better acquainted with his character.
10 When the Lord has answered our prayers, and proved himself better to us than our fears, we should not fail to express our gratitude for his mercies. Like the Hebrew host, we should praise him for his wonderful works. Here many fail to glorify God. They do not tell of his goodness, making known to all around them that the Lord is to them a present help in every time of need.
11 We should praise God for every blessing we enjoy, and above all else should we express our gratitude for the provisions of his grace. What compassion, what matchless love, hath God shown to us, lost sinners, in connecting us with himself to be to him a peculiar treasure! What an infinite sacrifice has been made by our Redeemer, that we may be called children of God! and what a tribute of love and gratitude should it call forth!
12 If the heart be given to God in earnest, sincere affection , we shall love those for whom Christ died, and thus may we reflect back glory to God. By meditating upon his word and drawing nigh to him in the simplicity of faith we may behold his excellency and his glory, and thus be changed into the same image. We should offer unto God the sacrifice of praise continually, giving thanks unto his name.
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1 In all the dealings of God with his people there is, mingled with his love and mercy, a striking exactness and firmness of decision. This is clearly exemplified in the history of the Hebrew people. God had bestowed great blessings upon Israel. His loving-kindness toward them is thus touchingly portrayed by his own hand: “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead them.” And yet what swift and severe retribution was visited upon them for their transgressions. How, then, can sinners in any age hope to escape the wrath of God?
2 Again, more wonderful than his mercy toward Israel is the love which Christ has manifested in his infinite sacrifice to redeem a lost race. His earthly life was filled with deeds of divine tenderness and compassion. And yet Christ himself plainly declares, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” While he tells us of the love of God, he also pictures the awful scenes of the Judgment and the retribution that shall be visited upon the wicked. In all the Bible, God is presented not only as a being of mercy and benevolence, but as a God of strict and impartial justice.
3 The great Ruler of nations had declared that Moses was not to lead the congregation of Israel into the goodly land, and all the earnest pleadings of God’s servant could not secure a remission of his sentence. He knew that he must die. Yet he had not for a moment faltered in his interest and care for Israel. He had faithfully sought to prepare the congregation to enter upon the promised inheritance, and had repeated before them the law of God, and his wonderful dealings with them as a people. He would in every possible way guard them from transgression.
4 He now completed the work of writing all the laws, the statutes and judgments which God had given him, and all the regulations concerning the sacrificial system. The book containing these was placed in charge of the proper officers, and was for safe-keeping deposited in the side of the ark. An erring people often interpret God’s requirements to suit their own desires; therefore the book of the law was to be sacredly preserved for future reference.
5 Moses was filled with fear that the people would depart from God, their only helper. In a most sublime and thrilling address he set before them the blessing which would be theirs, if they lived in obedience to God, and then declared the terrible curses that would rest upon them, should they depart from him. “And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee. “ And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other, and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.”
6 He closed with these solemn and impressive words: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him; for he is thy life, and the length of thy days. That thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
7 At the divine command, Moses and Joshua now repaired to the tabernacle, while the pillar of cloud came and stood over the door. Here the people were solemnly given into Joshua’s charge. The leadership of the man who had so long and so faithfully cared for Israel was now ended. Still Moses forgets himself in his interest for his people. In the presence of the assembled multitudes the great leader in the name of God, addressed to his successor these words of holy cheer; “Be strong and of a good courage; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them; and I will be with thee.” He then turned to the elders and officers of the people giving them a solemn charge to faithfully obey the instructions he had communicated to them from God.
8 Together Moses and Joshua stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the eyes of all the congregation were fixed upon them. The aged man, now doubly dear, must soon be taken from them; and they recall with a new and deeper appreciation, his parental tenderness, his wise counsels, and his untiring labors. His successor was the man of God’s choice, but he had far less experience. How could he bear alone the burdens which had rested so heavily even upon Moses? The people called to mind how often Moses had stood between them and God’s vengeance for their sins. How often had his earnest pleadings turned aside the blow! They would gladly have kept him with them, but they knew that this was impossible. Their grief was heightened by remorse. They bitterly remembered that their own perverse course had provoked Moses to the sin for which he must die.
9 God designed to arouse the Israelites to see the sinfulness of their course. The removal of their beloved leader would be a far stronger rebuke than any which they could have received, had his life and mission been continued. Now the Lord would make them feel that they are not to make the life of their future leader as hard and trying as they have made that of Moses. God speaks to his people in blessings bestowed; and when these are not appreciated, he speaks to them in blessings removed, that they may be led to see their sins and return to him with all the heart.
10 That very day there came to Moses the command, “Get thee up . . . . unto Mount Nebo, . . . and behold the land of Canaan, which I gave unto the children of Israel for a possession. And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people.” Often had Moses left the camp of Israel, in obedience to the divine summons, to commune with God; but he was now to depart on a new and mysterious errand. He must go forth to resign his life into the hands of his Creator. Moses knew that he was to die alone; no earthy friend would be permitted to minister to him in his last hours.
11 He was not beyond temptation, and there was a mystery and awfulness about the scene before him, from which his heart shrank. He was in the full vigor of health, with all his powers in active exercise. Was some strange and fearful sickness to come upon him? Must his body lie unburied, a prey to the wild beasts and the fowls of the air? Was this to be the end of his life of toil and sacrifice? But the severest trial was his separation from the people of his care and love,— the people with whom his interest and his life had been identified for forty years. His heart was filled with anxiety for their future, and oppressed with forebodings of evil, as he remembered their constant tendency to depart from God. Never had his faith been more severely tried. But he had learned to trust in God, and he calmly submitted to the decree of infinite love and wisdom.
12 Moses did not entertain the opinion now cherished by most of the Christian world, that as soon as a good man dies, he enters the mansions of eternal bliss, in a land of which Canaan with all its attractions, was but a dim type. Had he believed this, he would not have pleaded so earnestly for permission to cross the Jordan and share the inheritance of his people.
13 Again the Spirit of God rested upon his servant, and in the most sublime and touching language he pronounced a blessing upon the tribes individually. He then closed with a general benediction, in which he set forth God’s care for Israel, and the exalted position which they might occupy, if they would live in obedience to his law. “The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them. Israel, then, shall dwell in safety alone. The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. Happy art thou, O Israel. Who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.”
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1 When Moses had ended his last words to Israel, he turned from the congregation, and in silence and alone he made his way up the mountain side. He went to Pisgah, the loftiest ridge, and then to Nebo, the highest point on that ridge. Upon that lonely height he stood, and gazed with undimmed eyes upon the scene spread out on every side. Far away to the west lay the blue waters of the Great Sea; in the north, snowy Hermon stood out against the sky; to the east was the table-land of Moab, and beyond lay Bashan, the scene of Israel’s triumph; and away to the south stretched the desert of their long wanderings.
2 In solitude, Moses reviewed his life of vicissitudes and hardships since he turned from courtly honors and from a prospective kingdom in Egypt, to cast in his lot with God’s chosen people. He called to mind those long years in the desert with the flocks of Jethro, the appearance of the angel in the burning bush, and his own call to deliver Israel. He again beheld the mighty miracles of God’s power in the plagues upon Egypt, the wonderful passage through the Red Sea, the symbol of God’s presence in the cloud and the pillar of fire, the water bursting from the rock, the daily bread descending from heaven with the falling dew, the victories which the Lord had given them over their enemies, their quiet and secure repose in the midst of a vast wilderness, and the unsurpassed glory and majesty of the divine presence which had been revealed to him. As he reviewed these things, he was overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness and power of God. His promises were sure to Israel. When they were faithful and obedient, no good thing promised had been withheld from them.
3 Moses had been disappointed and grieved by the continual rebellion of Israel. Notwithstanding all his prayers and labors during their forty years’ journeying, only two of all the adults in the vast army that left Egypt, were found so faithful that they could see the promised land. As Moses reviewed the result of his labor, his life of trial and sacrifice seemed to have been almost in vain.
4 Yet he regretted not the burdens he had borne for an ungrateful people. He knew that his mission and work were of God’s own appointing. When first called to lead Israel from the house of bondage, he shrank from the responsibility, and entreated the Lord to choose some man better qualified to execute this sacred work. His request was not granted. Since he had taken up the work, he had not laid it down, nor cast aside the burden. When the Lord had proposed to release him, and destroy rebellious Israel, Moses could not consent. He chose still to bear the burden which had been placed upon him.
5 The servant of God had enjoyed special tokens of the divine favor; he had obtained a rich experience during his travels in the wilderness, in witnessing the manifestations of God’s power and glory; and in reviewing the scenes of his life, he concluded that he had made a wise decision in choosing to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
6 As Moses looked back upon his experience as a leader of God’s people, only one wrong act marred the illustrious record. If he could atone for that one transgression, he would not shrink from death. He was assured that repentance, humiliation, and faith in the Promised One, who was to die man’s sacrifice, were all that God required. In humility and faith, Moses again confessed his sin, and implored pardon in the name of Jesus.
7 Angels of God presented to Moses a panoramic view of the land of promise. Every part of the country was spread out before him, not faint and uncertain in the dim distance, but standing out clear, distinct, and beautiful to his delighted vision. He seemed to be looking upon a second Eden. There were mountains clothed with cedars of Lebanon, hills gray with olives, and fragrant with the odor of the vintage, wide green plains bright with flowers and rich in fruitfulness, the palm-trees of the tropics side by side with waving fields of wheat and barley, sunny valleys musical with the ripple of brooks and the song of birds, goodly cities, and fair gardens, lakes rich in “the abundance of the sea,” grazing flocks upon the hill-sides, and even amid the rocks a place for the wild bee to secrete its treasures. It was indeed such a land as Moses, inspired by the Spirit of God, had described to Israel: “Blessed of the Lord, . . .for the precious things of heaven, for the dew and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, . . and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, . . . and for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof.”
8 As the glories of the promised land faded from his sight, a scene of deeper interest passed before him. He was permitted to look down the stream of time, and to behold the first advent of our Saviour. He saw Jesus as a babe at Bethlehem. He heard the voices of the angelic host break forth in that glad song of praise to God and peace on earth. He beheld Christ’s humble life in Nazareth, his ministry of love and sympathy and healing, his rejection by a proud and unbelieving nation, the agony in Gethsemane, the betrayal, the cruel mockery and scourging, and that last crowning act of nailing him to the tree. Moses saw that as he had lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of God must be lifted upon the cross, to give his life a sacrifice for men, that whosoever would believe on him should “not perish, but have eternal life.”
9 Grief, amazement, indignation, and horror filled the heart of Moses, as he viewed the hypocrisy and Satanic hatred manifested by the Jewish nation against their Redeemer, the mighty angel who had gone before their fathers, and wrought so wonderfully for them in all their journeyings. He heard Christ’s agonizing cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He saw him rise from the dead, and ascend to his Father, escorted by adoring angels. He saw the shining portals open to receive him, and the hosts of Heaven welcoming their Commander with songs of everlasting triumph. As Moses looked upon the scene, his countenance shone with a holy radiance. How small appeared his own trials and sacrifices when compared with those of the Son of God! He rejoiced that he had been permitted, even in a small measure, to be a partaker in the sufferings of Christ.
10 Again the vision faded, and his eye rested upon the land of Canaan, as it spread out in the distance. Then, like a tired warrior, he lay down to rest. “So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth Peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.”
11 Many who had been unwilling to need the counsels of Moses while he was with them would now be in danger of committing idolatry over his dead body. Hence his resting-place was concealed from men. But angels of God buried the body of his faithful servant, and watched over the lonely grave.
12 The life of Moses was marked with supreme love to God. His piety, humility, and forbearance, had given him a strong influence over the host of Israel. His zeal and his faith in God were greater than those of any other man upon the earth. He had often addressed his people in words of stirring eloquence. No one knew better than he how to move the affections of his hearers. He conducted all matters connected with the religious interests of the people with great wisdom.
13 Satan exulted that he had succeeded in causing Moses to sin against God. For his transgression, Moses came under the dominion of death. Had his life not been marred with that one sin, in failing to give to God the glory of bringing water from the rock, he would have entered the promised land, and would have been translated to Heaven without seeing death. But the servant of God was not long permitted to remain in the tomb. Christ himself with the angels who buried Moses, came down from Heaven, and called forth the sleeping saint, and bore him up in triumph to the city of God.
14 As the Prince of life and the shining ones approached the grave, they were opposed by Satan with his company of evil angels, who were determined that the power of death should not be broken. But the glory attending the Son of God compelled the hosts of darkness to fall back. Satan insolently claimed the body of Moses because of his one transgression. Christ condescended to enter into no dispute with his adversary but meekly referred all to his Father, saying, “The Lord rebuke thee.” Moses had humbly repented of his sin, no stain rested upon his character, and his name in Heaven’s book of records stood untarnished. By the power of his word, Christ opened the prison-house, and set death’s captive free.
15 Upon the mount of transfiguration, Moses was present, with Elijah, who had been translated. They were sent as the bearers of light and glory from the Father to his dear Son. Such is the last scene revealed to mortal vision in the history of that man so highly honored of God.
16 Moses was a type of Christ. He received the words from the mouth of God, and spoke them to the people. God saw fit to discipline Moses in the school of affliction and poverty, before he could be prepared to lead the armies of Israel in their travels from Egypt to the earthly Canaan. The Israel of God who are now passing on to the heavenly Canaan have a Captain who needed no earthly teaching to perfect him for his mission as a divine Leader. He manifested no human weakness or imperfection; yet he died to obtain for us an entrance into the promised land.
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1 The Israelites deeply mourned for their departed leader, and thirty days were devoted to special services in honor of his memory. Never, till he was taken from them, had they so keenly felt the value of his wise counsels, his parental tenderness, and his unwavering faith. They knew then that his ripe judgment and self-sacrificing devotion, could never be replaced on earth. Yet while their hearts were filled with grief at their great loss, they knew that they were not left alone. The pillar of cloud still rested over the tabernacle by day, the pillar of fire by night, an assurance that God would be with them still, if they would be true to him.
2 Joshua was now the acknowledged leader of Israel. He had been prime-minister to Moses during the greater part of the sojourn in the wilderness. He had seen the wonderful works of God wrought by Moses, and well understood the disposition of the people. He was one of the twelve spies sent out to search the promised land, and one of the two who gave a faithful account of its attractiveness, and who encouraged the people to go up and possess it in the strength of God. He was well qualified for his important office. The Lord had promised to be with him as he had been with Moses, and to give him the conquest of Canaan, if he would faithfully observe the divine requirements. Joshua realized the magnitude and importance of the trust committed to him, and he had looked forward to the work before him with great anxiety; but the assurance of divine guidance and support removed his fears.
3 A few miles beyond the Jordan, just opposite the place where the Israelites lay encamped, was the large and strongly fortified city of Jericho. It could present a serious obstacle to the Hebrews, and Joshua now sent two spies to visit this city and learn something concerning its population and the strength of its fortifications. These men narrowly escaped death in their perilous mission; for the inhabitants, terrified and suspicious, were constantly on the alert. But the spies finally returned safely, bringing encouraging tidings,—”Truly, the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.” It had been privately declared to them in Jericho: “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you; for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and in earth beneath.”
4 Arrangements were now made for crossing the Jordan. The people prepared a three days’ supply of food, and the men of war made ready for battle. All heartily acquiesced in the plans of their leader, and assured him of their confidence and support.” All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee; only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death; only be strong and of a good courage.”
5 But all well knew that without divine aid they could not hope to make the passage. At this time of the year,—in their spring season,—the melting snows of the mountains had so raised the Jordan that the river overflowed its banks, making it impossible to cross at the usual fording-places. God willed that the passage of the Israelites over Jordan should be miraculous. Joshua commanded the people to sanctify themselves, for upon the morrow the Lord would do wonders among them. At the appointed time, he directed the priests to take up the ark containing the law of God, and bear it before the people. “And the Lord said unto Joshua, this day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.”
6 The priests obeyed the commands of their leader, and went before the people carrying the ark of the covenant. Orders had been given for the multitude to fall back, so that there was a vacant space of three-fourths of a mile about the ark. The immense hosts watched with deep interest as the priests advanced down the bank of the Jordan. They saw them with the sacred ark move steadily forward, toward the angry, surging stream, till the feet of the bearers seemed to be dipping into the waters. Then suddenly the current was borne back, while the tide below swept on, and the deep bed of the Jordan was laid bare. At the divine command the priests descended to the middle of the channel, and stood there, while the great multitudes advanced, and crossed to the farther side. Thus was impressed upon the minds of all Israel the fact that the power which stayed the waters of Jordan was the same that opened the Red Sea before their fathers forty years before.
7 The priests and the ark still remained in their position in the middle of the river-bed. At the Lord’s command, twelve men, one out of each tribe, were directed to take each man a stone from the channel, and to carry it to the dry land, as a memorial for all future generations. “that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.”
8 When this had been done, the priests themselves were directed to come up, bearing the ark on their shoulders. They did so, and when their feet had reached the western shore, the waters rushed down, a resistless flood, in the natural channel of the stream.
9 When the kings of the Amorites and the kings of the Canaanites heard that the Lord had stayed the waters of the Jordan before the children of Israel, their hearts melted with fear. The Israelites had slain two of the kings of Moab, and now this miraculous passage over the swollen and impetuous Jordan filled all the surrounding nations with great terror.
10 The long years of wandering were ended; the Hebrew hosts had at last reached the promised land. In the midst of the general rejoicing, Joshua did not forget the commandments of the Lord. In accordance with the divine instruction he now performed the rite of circumcision upon all the people who had been born in the wilderness. After this ceremony, the hosts of Israel kept the passover in the plain of Jericho.
11 “And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.” Heathen nations had reproached the Lord and his people because the Hebrews had failed to possess the land of Canaan, which they expected to inherit soon after leaving Egypt. Their enemies had triumphed because Israel had wandered so long in the wilderness, and they proudly lifted themselves up against God, declaring that he was not able to lead them into the land of Canaan. The Lord had now signally manifested his power and favor, in leading his people over Jordan on dry land, and their enemies could no longer reproach them.
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1 As Joshua withdrew from the armies of Israel to meditate and pray for God’s special presence to attend him, he beheld a man of lofty stature, clad in war-like garments, with drawn sword in his hand. Joshua did not recognize him as one of the warriors of Israel, and yet he had no appearance of being an enemy. In his zeal he accosted him, saying, “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the Captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”
2 The glory of God hallowed the sanctuary, and for this reason the priests never entered the place sanctified by the divine presence with shoes upon their feet. Particles of dust might cleave to them, which would desecrate the holy place. Therefore the priests were required to leave their shoes in the court, before entering the sanctuary. In the court, beside the door of the tabernacle, stood a brazen laver, wherein the priests washed their hands and their feet before going in to minister before the Lord. All who officiated in the sanctuary were required of God to make special preparation to enter the place where his glory was revealed.
3 It was the Son of God who stood as an armed warrior before the leader of Israel. It was the One who had conducted the Hebrews through the wilderness, enshrouded in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
4 In order to impress upon the mind of Joshua the fact that his visitor was no other than Christ, the Exalted One, he said, “Put off thy shoe from off thy foot.” He then gave to Joshua instructions for the taking of Jericho, that mighty stronghold whose idolatrous inhabitants had so long defied the God of Israel.
5 Encouraged by this fresh assurance of divine support, Joshua proceeded to marshal the hosts of Israel. In the foremost ranks were placed a chosen body of armed men, not now to exercise their skill in warfare, but to believe and obey the instructions given them from God. Next followed seven priests with trumpets. Then the ark of God, surrounded by a halo of divine glory, was borne by priests clad in the rich and peculiar dress denoting their sacred office. The vast army of Israel followed in perfect order, each tribe under its respective standard. Thus they compassed the city with the ark of God. No sound was heard but the tread of that mighty host and the solemn peal of the trumpets, echoing among the hills and resounding through the streets of Jericho.
6 With wonder and alarm the watchmen of the doomed city marked every move, and reported to those in authority. They knew not the meaning of all this display; but when they beheld that mighty host marching around their city once each day, in all the pomp and majesty of war, with the added grandeur of the sacred ark and the attendant priests, the impressive mystery of the scene struck terror to the hearts of priests and people. Again they would inspect their strong defenses, feeling certain they could successfully resist the most powerful attack. Many ridiculed the idea that any harm could come to them through these singular demonstrations on the part of their enemies. But others were awed as they beheld the majesty and splendor of the procession that each day wound grandly about the city. They remembered that the Red Sea had once parted before this people, and that a passage had just been opened for them through the river Jordan. They knew not what further wonders God might work for them. They kept their gates carefully closed, and guarded them with mighty warriors.
7 For six days the host of Israel performed their circuit around the city. The seventh day came, and with the first dawn of light, Joshua marshaled the armies of the Lord. Now they were directed to march seven times around Jericho, and at a mighty peal of the trumpets to shout with a loud voice, for God had then given them the city.
8 The vast army marched solemnly around the devoted walls. All was silent as the dead, save the measured tread of many feet, and the occasional sound of the trumpet, cutting the blank stillness of the early morning. The massive walls of solid stone frowned darkly down, defying the siege of men.
9 Suddenly the long procession halts. The trumpets break forth in a blast that shakes the very earth. The united voices of all Israel rend the air with a mighty shout. The walls of solid stone with their massive towers and battlements totter and heave from their foundations, and with a crash like a thousand thunders, fall in shapeless ruin to the earth. Paralyzed with terror, the inhabitants of Jericho, with all their men of war, offer no resistance, and the hosts of Israel march in and take possession of the city.
10 How easily the armies of Heaven brought down the walls of that proud city,—that city whose mighty bulwarks forty years before struck terror to the unbelieving spies.
11 The word of God was the only weapon used. The Mighty One of Israel had said, “I have given Jericho into thine hand.” If a single warrior had brought his strength to bear against the walls, the glory of God would have been lessened and his will frustrated. But the work was left to the Almighty; and had the foundation of the battlements been laid in the center of the earth and their summits reached the arch of heaven, the result would have been all the same, when the Captain of the Lord’s host led his legions of angels to the attack.
12 Long had God designed to give the city of Jericho to his favored people, and to magnify his name among the nations of the earth. When he led Israel out of bondage, he purposed to give them the land of Canaan. But by their wicked murmurings and jealousy they had provoked his wrath, and he had caused them to wander for weary years in the wilderness, till all those who had insulted him with their unbelief were no more. In the capture of Jericho, God declared to the Hebrews that their fathers might have possessed the city forty years before, had they but trusted in him.
13 The history of ancient Israel is written for our benefit. Paul says, “But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
14 Many who profess to keep God’s commandments, as did ancient Israel, have hearts of unbelief. Favored with great light and precious privileges, they will nevertheless lose the heavenly Canaan, even as the rebellious Israelites failed to enter the earthly Canaan.
15 As a people we lack faith. Few would in these days follow the directions of God, through his chosen servant, as obediently as did the armies of Israel at the taking of Jericho. The Captain of the Lord’s host did not reveal himself to all the congregation. He communicated only with Joshua, who related the story of this interview to the Hebrews. It rested with them to believe or doubt the words of Joshua, to follow the commands given by him in the name of the Captain of the Lord’s host, or to rebel against his directions and deny his authority.
16 They could not see the host of angels marshaled by the Son of God who led their van; and they might have reasoned: “What unmeaning movements are these, and how ridiculous the performance of marching daily around the walls of the city, blowing trumpets of rams’ horns meanwhile! This can have no effect upon those strong and towering fortifications.”
17 But the very plan of continuing this ceremony through so long a time prior to the final overthrow of the walls, afforded opportunity for the increase of faith among the Israelites. They were to become thoroughly impressed with the idea that their strength was not in the wisdom of man, nor in his might, but only in the God of their salvation. They were thus to become accustomed to putting themselves out of the question and relying wholly upon their divine Leader.
18 Would those who today profess to be God’s people conduct themselves thus, under similar circumstances? Doubtless many would wish to follow out their own plans, would suggest ways and means of accomplishing the desired end. They would be loth to submit to so simple an arrangement, and one that reflected no glory upon themselves, save the merit of obedience. They would also question the possibility of conquering a mighty city in that manner. But the law of duty is supreme. It should wield authority over human reason. Faith is the living power that presses through every barrier, overrides all obstacles, and plants its banner in the heart of the enemy’s camp.
19 God will do marvelous things for those who trust in him. The reason why his professed people have no strength, is that they trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal his power in their behalf. He will help his believing children in every emergency, if they will place their entire confidence in him, and implicitly obey him.
20 There are deep mysteries in the word of God, there are mysteries in his providences, and there are mysteries in the plan of salvation, that man cannot fathom. But the finite mind, strong in its desire to satisfy curiosity, and solve the problems of infinity, neglects to follow the plain course indicated by the revealed will of God, and pries into the secrets hidden since the foundation of the world. Man builds his theories, loses the simplicity of true faith, becomes too self-important to believe the declarations of the Lord, and hedges himself in with his own conceits.
21 Many who profess to be children of God are in this position. They are weak because they trust to their own strength. God works mightily for a faithful people, who obey his word without questioning or doubt. The Majesty of Heaven, with his army of angels, leveled the walls of Jericho before his people. The armed warriors of Israel had no cause to glory in their achievements. All was done through the power of God. Let the people give up all desire for self-exaltation, let them humbly submit to the divine will, and God will again manifest his power, and bring freedom and victory to his children.
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1 Soon after the conquest of Jericho, Joshua determined to take possession of Ai, a city about ten miles farther north. Accordingly, chosen men were sent to visit this place to ascertain the number of its inhabitants, and the strength of its fortifications. The spies returned with the tidings that the city contained but few defenders, and that a small number of the Hebrew host could easily overthrow it.
2 The great victory which God had gained for them had made the Israelites self-confident. Because the Lord had promised them the land of Canaan, they felt secure, and failed to realize the necessity of putting forth every effort in their power, and then humbly seeking for divine help, which alone could give them the victory. Even Joshua laid his plans for the conquest of Ai, without seeking by earnest prayer to obtain counsel from God.
3 The congregation of Israel had begun to exalt their own strength and skill, and to look with contempt upon the inhabitants of the land. Jericho had been marvelously overthrown, and an easy victory was expected at Ai. Hence three thousand men were considered sufficient to make the attack. The Israelites rushed into battle, without the assurance that God would be with them. They were unprepared for the determined resistance which they met, and, terrified by the numbers and thorough preparation of their enemies, they turned and fled. They were hotly pursued by the Canaanites, and thirty-six of their number slain.
4 The unexpected defeat brought grief and discouragement upon the whole congregation of Israel. Joshua looked upon their ill-success as an expression of God’s displeasure, and in deep humiliation he fell to the earth upon his face before the ark. The elders of Israel united with him in this act of self-abasement, and dumb with astonishment and dismay they remained in this position until the even. Then Joshua presented the matter before the Lord in earnest prayer:—
5 “Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us around, and cut off our name from the earth; and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?”
6 Joshua manifested a true zeal for the honor of God, yet his petitions were mingled with doubt and unbelief. The thought that God had brought his people over the Jordan to deliver them up to the power of the heathen was a sinful one, unworthy of a leader of Israel. Joshua’s feelings of despondency and distrust were inexcusable in view of the mighty miracles which God had wrought for the deliverance of his people, and the repeated promise that he would be with them in driving out the wicked inhabitants of the land.
7 But our merciful God did not visit his servant with wrath because of this error. He graciously accepted the humiliation and prayers of Joshua, and at the same time gently rebuked his unbelief, and then revealed to him the cause of their defeat:—
8 “Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed; neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.”
9 Israel had sinned; and as their chief magistrate, Joshua had a work to do to search out the guilty one, and put away the sin from the congregation. Instead of concluding that the Lord had brought upon his people defeat and ruin, Joshua should rather have made diligent inquiry if all Israel had been faithful to their covenant with God.
10 The Lord had wrought wondrously for his people. It was not their skill or valor that had overthrown the mighty walls of Jericho. The power of the Lord of hosts had given them the victory. That city might be regarded as the first-fruits of Canaan, and hence was to be wholly devoted to the Lord. The only advantages which the people were to gain from their success were the destruction of their enemies, and the control of the country. Therefore they were forbidden to appropriate any of the spoils. The gold and silver, with the vessels of brass and iron, were to enrich the treasury of the Lord. Besides these, all the wealth of that great city, with every living creature, was to be utterly consumed with fire. Should any Israelite venture to reserve a portion of the spoils, the curse which rested upon Jericho would surely fall upon him.
11 Here the Lord gave expression to his abhorrence of idolatry. Those heathen nations had turned from the worship of the living God, and were paying homage to demons. Shrines and temples, beautiful statues, and costly monuments, all the most ingenious and expensive works of art, had held the thoughts and affections of the veriest slavery to Satanic delusions.
12 The human heart is naturally inclined to idolatry and self-exaltation. The costly and beautiful monuments of heathen worship would please the fancy and engage the senses, and thus allure the Israelites from the service of God. It was to remove this temptation from his people that the Lord commanded them to destroy those relics of idolatry, on penalty of being themselves abhorred and accursed of God.
13 When Joshua was appointed as the leader of Israel, all the people entered into a solemn covenant to be loyal and obedient. They assured their leader,—”All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee; only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death; only be strong and of a good courage.”
14 Yet in spite of all this, and upon the very occasion of a most glorious victory, one man in Israel ventured to transgress the command of God. When Achan saw among the spoils a magnificent Babylonish robe, his cupidity was aroused. Conscience was silenced with the plea that the richly adorned garment was too costly to be consumed, and he hastily rescued it from the flames. One step in transgression prepared the way for another, and he next appropriated the gold and silver which should have gone into the treasury of the Lord. The things which God had cursed, Achan eagerly gathered as a precious treasure, and secreted them in his tent. No human eye saw the act, but the eye of God was upon the sinner, and marked his transgression. No human voice was raised to testify against him, but God became his accuser, and appointed him to utter destruction.
15 Achan had fostered covetousness and deception in his heart, until his perceptions of sin had become blunted, and he fell an easy prey to temptation. Those who venture to indulge in a known sin will be more readily overcome the second time. The first transgression opens the door to the tempter, and he gradually breaks down all resistance and takes full possession of the citadel of the soul. Achan had listened to oft-repeated warnings against the sin of covetousness. The law of God, pointed and positive, had forbidden stealing and all deception, but he continued to cherish sin. As he was not detected and openly rebuked, he grew bolder; warnings had less and less effect upon him, until his soul was bound in chains of darkness.
16 There are many Achans among the professed people of God today. They have become so familiar with sin that they no longer perceive its heinous character. If just retribution should be visited upon all who are guilty of sins similar to that of Achan, how would the numbers in our churches be lessened! God’s eye is upon the sinner, and a righteous Judge will in no case clear the guilty.
17 The history of Achan teaches the solemn lesson, that for one man’s sin, the displeasure of God will rest upon a people or a nation till the transgression is searched out and punished. Sin is corrupting in its nature. One man infected with its deadly leprosy may communicate the taint to thousands. Those who occupy responsible positions as guardians of the people are false to their trust, if they do not faithfully search out and reprove sin. Many dare not condemn iniquity, lest they shall thereby sacrifice position or popularity. And by some it is considered uncharitable to rebuke sin. The servant of God should never allow his own spirit to be mingled with the reproof which he is required to give; but he is under the most solemn obligation to present the word of God, without fear or favor. He must call sin by its right name. Those who by their carelessness or indifference permit God’s name to be dishonored by his professed people, are numbered with the transgressor,—registered in the record of Heaven as partakers in their evil deeds.
18 A deplorable state of coldness and backsliding exists in the Christian world today. The Spirit and power of God seems in a great measure to have departed from his professed people, and the enemy of truth rejoices at their weakness and defects. Infidelity is lifting its proud head, and denying the evidences of Christianity, because of the sins existing among professed followers of Christ. Many who are zealous for the honor of God, feel that he has indeed hid his face from them, but, like Joshua, they are more ready to complain of God than to make diligent search for the sins which have shut out his blessing.
19 There is need of earnest work to set things in order in the church of God, and it is fully as essential to do this work as it is to preach or to pray. If we would enjoy the favor of God, we must search our own hearts and lives to see if we are not cherishing that which God has cursed. Is there not some unlawful gain placed with our own possessions? Have we robbed God by retaining the portion which should be appropriated to his treasury? Have we withheld from the poor the means which God has given us to supply their necessities?
20 While we profess to revere and obey God’s holy law, are we keeping the first four commandments, which require us to love God supremely? Are we keeping the last six, which teach us to love our neighbor as ourselves? Is there not a cause for our great spiritual weakness, for the lack of fervency and grace and power in preaching God’s word? Do we not encourage sin, by failing to meet it with plain and pointed reproof? We may have the clearest understanding of God’s word, we may make a high profession of godliness, yet if injustice or iniquity is concealed among us, we need not wonder that our souls are dry and fruitless as a withered branch.
21 The love of God will never lead to the belittling of sin; it will never cover or excuse an unconfessed wrong. Achan learned too late that God’s law, like its author, is unchanging. It has to do with all our acts and thoughts and feelings. It follows us, and reaches every secret spring of action. By indulgence in sin, men are led to lightly regard the law of God. Many conceal their transgressions from their fellow-men, and flatter themselves that God will not be strict to mark iniquity. But his law is the great standard of right, and with it every act of life must be compared in that day when God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or evil. Purity of heart will lead to purity of life. All excuses for sin are vain. Who can plead for the sinner when God testifies against him?
22 Through divine grace, all men may live in harmony with the requirements of God’s law. It is not enough that we have not blotted the page of life with revolting crimes; unless the record bears witness of noble deeds, of self-denying efforts to save not only our own souls but the souls of others, we shall be found wanting.
23 The spirit of hatred against reproof is steadily increasing. It is considered uncharitable to deal plainly and faithfully with the erring. Sin is glossed over, and thus blindness has come upon souls until it is impossible for them to discriminate between right and wrong, between sin and holiness. Many have closed their ears to reproof, and hardened their hearts against every influence which would set their sins before them.
24 We repeat, God holds the church responsible for the sins of its individual members. When coldness and spiritual declension exist, God’s people should put away their pride and self-confidence and self-exaltation, and should come to the Lord in sorrow and humility, not charging him with injustice, but seeking wisdom to understand the hidden sins which shut out his presence.
25 Those who have the true love of God in their hearts will not teach that sin should be handled with gloved hands. The words of God to Joshua contain a solemn lesson for every one who professes to be a follower of Christ, —”Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed thing from among you.”
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1 The Lord not only made known to Joshua the cause of Israel’s defeat, but gave him definite instructions for the detection and punishment of the criminal: “In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof: and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath, because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.” The Lord did not immediately point out the sinner, but left the matter in doubt for a time, that Israel might feel their responsibility for the sins existing among them, and thus be led to searching of heart and humiliation before God.
2 In the morning the whole congregation assembled before the Lord, and a most solemn and impressive ceremony began. Step by step the investigation went on. Closer and still closer came the fearful test, until Achan was pointed out as the man whose sin had brought upon Israel the wrath of God.
3 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them, and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” A messenger was immediately despatched to the tent; he returned with the spoils, thus establishing the guilt of Achan, and vindicating the justice of God.
4 For a Babylonish robe and a paltry treasure of gold and silver, Achan consented to sell himself to evil, to bring upon his soul the curse of God, to forfeit his title to a rich possession in Canaan, and lose all prospect of the future, immortal inheritance in the earth made new. A fearful price indeed he paid for his ill-gotten gains.
5 Shall man declare the judgment upon Achan too severe? God himself pronounced the sentence, and shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Achan’s confession was made too late to be of any value. He saw the armies of Israel return from Ai defeated and disheartened, with thirty-six valiant men sacrificed; yet he did not come forward and confess his sin. He saw Joshua and the elders of Israel bowed to the earth in grief too great for words, their heads covered with dust in token of self-abasement. Had he then made confession, he would have given some proof of true penitence; but he still kept silence. He listened to the proclamation that a great crime had been committed in the camp of Israel, and even heard its character definitely stated. But he had not the honor of God or the good of Israel at heart, and his lips were sealed. Then came the solemn and searching investigation. How his soul thrilled with terror as he saw his tribe pointed out, then his family, and his household! But still he uttered no confession, until the finger of God was placed upon him.
6 So great had been his hardihood and persistence, that even at the last Joshua feared he would assert his innocence, and thus enlist the sympathy of the congregation and lead them to dishonor God. He would not have confessed, had he not hoped by so doing to avert the consequences of his crime. It was this hope that led to his apparent frankness in acknowledging his guilt and relating the particulars of the sin. In this manner will confessions be made by the guilty when they stand condemned and hopeless before the bar of God, when every case has been decided for life or for death. Confessions then made will be too late to save the sinner.
7 There are many professed Christians whose confessions of sin are similar to that of Achan. They will, in a general way, acknowledge their unworthiness, but they refuse to confess the sins whose guilt rests upon their conscience, and which have brought the frown of God upon his people. Thus many conceal sins of selfishness, overreaching, dishonesty toward God and their neighbor, sins in the family, and many others which it is proper to confess in public.
8 Genuine repentance springs from a sense of the offensive character of sin. These general confessions are not the fruit of true humiliation of soul before God. They leave the sinner with a self-complacent spirit to go on as before, until his conscience becomes hardened, and warnings that once aroused him produce hardly a feeling of danger and after a time his sinful course appears right. All too late his sins will find him out, in that day when they shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. There is a vast difference between admitting facts after they are proved, and confessing sins known only to ourselves and God.
9 While the Israelites were still encamped on the east side of Jordan, the tribes of Gad and Reuben, seeing that the country was favorable for their occupation of raising sheep and cattle, desired to settle there, and accordingly presented their request to Moses. The great leader was displeased at this request, supposing that these tribes were seeking to avoid the conflicts which their brethren must encounter in dispossessing the Canaanites. He said, “Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?” Moses feared that sloth and cowardice, the result of unbelief, prompted this suggestion, and that these tribes would incur the Lord’s displeasure.
10 The men of Gad and Reuben assured their leader that they would not shun the burdens and responsibilities which the Lord had laid upon all Israel. After preparing homes for their families they would take their position beside their brethren, in all their conflicts, until every man had come in possession of his inheritance. Moses consented to this, but fearing that these tribes might yet fail to keep their promise, he added “If ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.”
11 Here is a lesson which professed Christians at the present day may study with profit. God’s displeasure rests upon those who seek only their own ease and temporal prosperity, leaving their brethren to endure hardship and privation and to bear heavy responsibilities in the church. There is an unceasing conflict between the cause of truth and holiness and that of error and ungodliness. All who claim to be children of God must be armed for the battle. God has not left this warfare upon a few soldiers, while the others rest at ease. Said the great apostle, to his Corinthian brethren, “I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened.” All who profess any interest in the cause of God, the advancement of truth, and the conversion of sinners, should be soldiers in the Lord’s army. They should have one interest, one motive, one object, as long as life shall last. The great reason why so little is accomplished in the cause of God is indolence and indifference of his professed people.
12 “Satan’s power is increasing, he is terribly in earnest, knowing that his time is short, he is working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.” Those who would escape his wiles must be vigilant and determined. If we would meet the demands for this time, we must put on the whole armor, and go forth with energy, perseverance, and unswerving faith. In God alone is our strength. Indolence and slothfulness, presumption and self-confidence, will alike bring defeat and destruction. God takes cognizance of the works of all. Those who have sought their ease, and shunned care, anxiety and labor for God’s cause, may be sure their sin will find them out. Those who, like Achan, cherish selfishness, avarice and deception, may be sure that God’s eye is upon them. As he searched out Achan, he will search them out, as he pronounced a curse upon Achan, he will surely pronounce a curse upon them.
13 Some may claim that these severe denunciations belong only to the Jewish age, that we are now in a dispensation of mercy rather than of wrath and condemnation. But New Testament history presents many instances which show that the same sins which brought the wrath of God upon his people anciently will bring his wrath upon his church today.
14 John the Baptist, addressed the scribes and Pharisees, who made high claims to learning and piety: “Ye generation of vipers who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? bring forth therefore, fruits worthy of repentance.” And although Christ had such a love for humanity, as was never possessed by man or angel, he uttered the fearful sentence, “And thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven [in light and privilege] shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.”
15 The judgment visited upon Ananias and Sapphira was to be a warning to the church through all time. The sin committed by these persons was similar to that of Achan, and the power of God searched them out and brought swift retribution upon them. He who bade Joshua, rise from his position of humiliation and search within the camp of Israel for the reason of their defeat, the same Jesus searched out the hidden iniquity of Ananias and his wife and told Peter what course he must pursue toward them.
16 While the servants of God are in constant danger of indulging a zeal that is wholly human, and while great harm is done by those who seem to be in their element in censuring, reproving, and condemning their brethren, there is fully as great danger of going to the opposite extreme, and making the sum and substance of Christian duty consist in love. The apostle Paul writes to his son Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.” This work is just as essential to the prosperity of the church as is the exercise of gentleness, forbearance and love. Those who are consecrated to God will be as faithful to reprove and rebuke sin with all long-suffering and doctrine, as to comfort and encourage the desponding, and strengthen the weak. All who love God will show their abhorrence of sin.
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1 After Joshua had executed the divine sentence upon Achan, and had thus turned away from Israel the wrath of God, he was commanded to marshal all the men of war and again advance against Ai. The armies of Heaven now fought for Israel, and their enemies were put to flight.
2 Mindful that their only hope was in obedience to God, Joshua now assembled all the people as Moses had commanded, and rehearsed to them the blessings which would follow their obedience to the law, and the curses that would fall upon them should they disregard it. Then he repeated before them the law of ten commandments, and also all the statutes and precepts which Moses had recorded. Again Joshua led Israel forth to battle with their enemies. The Lord wrought mightily for his people, and their armies pressed forward, gaining fresh courage with every victory.
3 Seven years after their entrance into the promised land the whole congregation assembled, and the sacred tabernacle, which had been so long borne with them in their journeyings, was permanently set up at Shiloh. The land was now divided among the several tribes, and the conquest went on with renewed vigor, until “Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.” The glorious promises which God had made to Israel had been fulfilled. “There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”
4 Joshua now summoned the men of war who had chosen their inheritance on the east side of Jordan, and commended them for their courage and fidelity. They had fully kept their pledge to Moses, having shared all the conflicts of their brethren, and now they were at liberty to return to their families and their homes.
5 As these tribes were to dwell at a distance from the tabernacle, Joshua feared that they might lose their interest in its services and thus be led to depart from God. With deep solicitude he exhorted them: “Take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
6 When these tribes had returned to their possessions, they united to erect a large altar near the place where the Israelites had miraculously crossed the river. This altar was not designed for sacrifice or worship, but simply as a witness that, although separated by the river, they were of the same faith as their brethren on the other side, and were entitled to equal privileges in the tabernacle at Shiloh and the services there performed.
7 Although those who engaged in erecting this altar were actuated by the most worthy motives, yet it threatened to cause serious difficulty between them and their brethren across the Jordan; for the latter, hearing what had been done, supposed that this altar was designed to take the place of the tabernacle at Shiloh, and that it would thus lead the people away from the true faith and bring the wrath of God upon the whole nation.
8 The congregation of Israel became excited and indignant, and determined to make war upon the offenders at once. But men of caution suggested the better plan of sending a representative from each tribe to require an explanation of their motive in erecting this altar. Phinehas the high priest, and ten princes, one from each tribe, were sent. They considered the guilt of their brethren already proved, and met them with sharp rebuke. They accused them of rebelling against the Lord, and bade them remember how the wrath of God had been visited upon Israel for joining themselves to Baal-Peor. Notwithstanding the terrible judgments upon the guilty on that occasion, many were still cherishing the same sins, and Phinehas and his companions feared that their brethren, being surrounded by the worshipers of this idol, might again be led to partake of their iniquity.
9 The Lord had positively commanded that no sacrifice should be offered except at the door of the tabernacle. In behalf of all Israel, Phinehas stated to the children of Gad and Reuben that if they were unwilling to abide in that land without an altar for sacrifice and worship, they would be welcomed to a share in the possessions and privileges of their brethren on the other side. Again he warned them not to depart from God. Achan and his whole family had perished because they transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and for that one man’s sin, all the congregation of Israel had suffered. What, then, would be the dire result if that large company should be disobedient to God?
10 The Reubenites and their associates courteously permitted Phinehas to finish his discourse before attempting to make their defense. Then they replied to his accusation in a manner which not only does them the highest credit, but teaches a forcible lesson of Christian forbearance. They expressed no anger or resentment at the ungrounded suspicions and sharp rebukes of their brethren; but in the most sincere and solemn manner they declared their innocence, and appealed to the Lord, who knew their hearts, to testify against them if they were at fault, declaring that if guilty of the sin attributed to them, their lives would justly be forfeited.
11 Then they proceeded to explain their motives and intentions in the building of the altar. They had feared that in future years their children might be excluded from the tabernacle by their brethren on the other side, as having no part in Israel. Then this altar, erected after the pattern of the altar of the Lord at Shiloh, would be a witness that its builders were also worshipers of the living God.
12 The ambassadors readily accepted this candid explanation and expressed great joy that the hearts of their brethren were still true to the God of Jacob. The tidings were immediately carried back to the congregation of Israel, and all thoughts of war were dismissed, and the people united in heartfelt rejoicing and praise to God.
13 Had the suspected tribes stood upon their dignity and answered their accusers in a defiant manner, war would have been the result, and many lives must have been sacrificed. But their willingness to explain, their forbearance and courtesy, settled everything without a rupture.
14 Upon their altar the children of Gad and Reuben now placed an inscription pointing out the purpose for which it was erected, and they said, “It shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God.” Thus they sought to prevent future misunderstanding concerning their religious faith and their connection with Israel, and to remove anything which might be a source of stumbling to their brethren.
15 The difficulties and misunderstandings that still arise among the people of God are often similar in their nature and results to those that threatened to prove so disastrous to Israel. The ten tribes were filled with fear lest the people whom God had accepted as his own, should become divided in interest and worship, hence their promptness in rebuking at once the supposed defection of their brethren. Yet in that very effort to maintain the honor of God and the purity of Israel, we see what serious and even fatal results might have followed from a simple misunderstanding.
16 Men who were honestly seeking to promote the cause of true religion were misjudged and severely reprimanded. The wisdom manifested in their course under these trying circumstances is worthy of imitation. What great evils might be averted if such a course were followed by the members of all our churches. An individual may be unjustly suspected or censured by his brethren, but he should not for this reason yield to anger, or cherish a desire for retaliation. Such an occasion furnishes an opportunity for the development of the precious grace of meekness and forbearance.
17 Care should be exercised by all Christians, to shun the two extremes, of laxness in dealing with sin on the one hand, and harsh judgment and groundless suspicion on the other. The Israelites who manifested so much zeal against the men of Gad and Reuben remembered how, in Achan’s case, God had rebuked the lack of vigilance to discover the sins existing among them. Then they resolved to act promptly and earnestly in the future; but in seeking to do this they went to the opposite extreme. Instead of meeting their brethren with censure, they should first have made courteous inquiry to learn all the facts in the case.
18 There are still many who are called to endure false accusation. Like the men of Israel, they can afford to be calm and considerate, because they are in the right. They should remember with gratitude that God is acquainted with all that is misunderstood and misinterpreted by men, and they may safely leave all in his hands. He will as surely vindicate the cause of those who put their trust in him, as he searched out the hidden guilt of Achan.
19 How much of evil would be averted, if all, when falsely accused, would avoid recrimination, and in its stead employ mild, conciliating words. And at the same time, those who in their zeal to oppose sin have indulged unjust suspicions, should ever seek to take the most favorable view of their brethren, and should rejoice when they are found guiltless.
20 The great diversity of religious faith, and the alienation of feeling existing among professed Christians, are serious hindrances to the progress of the gospel. Happy will it be for God’s people when they shall be able to unite zeal and firmness with meekness and forbearance. As religious controversies are usually conducted, they are productive of more harm than good. In many cases there is manifested so little Christian humility and forbearance that the unbeliever is confirmed in his doubts and prejudices. Sinners are gratified to see the differences and animosities existing among the professed followers of Christ. Many of the unconverted point to these wrongs to excuse their own neglect.
21 It is the will of God that union and harmony should exist among his people. Our Saviour prayed that his disciples might be one, as he is one with the Father. It should be our constant aim to reach this state of unity; but to do this we are not to sacrifice one principle of truth. It is through obedience to the truth that we are to be sanctified; for while Jesus prayed that his followers might be one, he prayed also, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” We are exhorted to keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace. This is the evidence of our discipleship. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another;” and conversely, our Saviour desired that his disciples might be one, that the world might know that the Father had sent him. What a thought! that the love and unity among Christians are presented as proof of our Saviour’s divine mission to the world.
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1 Under the leadership of Joshua, the Israelites as a nation maintained their allegiance to God, and his blessing attended them. Among the wooded hills and fertile valleys of the promised land, doubly attractive after the long desert wanderings, the chosen tribes dwelt safely; and the years passed on, peaceful and prosperous.
2 As Joshua felt the infirmities of age stealing upon him, and realized that his labors must soon cease, he assembled the elders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, that he might communicate to them his last warnings and admonitions. The people looked upon the form of their veteran general, who had led them on from victory to victory, and they were ready to ascribe to him the honor of placing them in possession of that good land. But, like his great predecessor, Joshua showed them that their enemies had been conquered because the Lord had fought for Israel, and that God alone should have all the glory.
3 Although the Canaanites had been subdued, they still possessed a considerable portion of the land promised to Israel; and Joshua exhorted his people not to settle down at ease, and forget the Lord’s command to utterly dispossess these idolatrous nations. Lest the Israelites should be disheartened, he assured them that if they would be true to God, his presence and power would attend them in their future conflicts as in the past. He earnestly sought to inspire their hearts with faith and courage. “Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left.”
4 He repeated the instructions given by Moses, that they were to form no allegiance with the idolatrous nations that God had appointed to utter destruction. They were forbidden to manifest the least respect for the gods of the heathen, to take oath by their names, or to join in their worship in any manner. They were warned that familiarity with idolatry would remove their abhorrence of it, and would expose them to God’s displeasure.
5 We are in as great danger from contact with infidelity as were the Israelites from intercourse with idolaters. The productions of genius and talent too often conceal the deadly poison. Under an attractive guise, themes are presented and thoughts expressed that attract, interest, and corrupt the mind and heart. Thus, in our Christian land, piety wanes, and skepticism and ungodliness are triumphant.
6 The Israelites were exhorted to make the Lord first in their thoughts and affections, and to cleave unto him as their source of strength. “For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong; but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.” Joshua reiterated the words of Moses: “One man of you shall chase a thousand; for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.”
7 He warned the people that if they should in any manner unite with the remnant of the heathen nations still among them, and contract marriages with them, the protecting care of God would surely be removed from Israel, and those very nations would be the instruments of their punishment. “They shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.”
8 Joshua declared to the people that his work among them was done; for he was soon to die. He appealed to themselves as witnesses that God had faithfully fulfilled his promises to them. “And ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.” He assured them that as the Lord had fulfilled his promises, so would he fulfill his threatenings. If they were disobedient to his requirements, he would destroy them, as he had destroyed their enemies.
9 The Lord has not changed. His character is the same today as in the days of Joshua. He is true, merciful, compassionate, faithful in the performance of his word, both in promises and threatenings. One of the greatest dangers that besets the people of God today, is that of association with the ungodly; especially in uniting themselves in marriage with unbelievers. With many, the love for the human eclipses the love for the divine. They take the first step in backsliding by venturing to disregard the Lord’s express command; and complete apostasy is too often the result. It has ever proved a dangerous thing for men to carry out their own will in opposition to the requirements of God. Yet it is a hard lesson for men to learn that God means what he says.
10 As a rule, those who choose for their friends and companions, persons who reject Christ and trample upon God’s law, eventually become of the same mind and spirit. We should ever feel a deep interest in the salvation of the impenitent, and should manifest toward them a spirit of kindness and courtesy; but we can safely choose for our friends only those who are the friends of God.
11 Those who make the word of God their rule of life are hated by the world. The ungodly are not willing to have their consciences aroused; and the silent example of Christ’s true followers is a constant reproof. There are many professed Christians who partake of the spirit of the world, and love its friendship. But none need be deceived by their example; for the word of truth declares that the friendship of the world is enmity with God. Those who take human feeling and human reasoning for their guide, will as surely separate from the wisdom of God, as did ancient Israel when they forsook the Lord to serve Baal and Ashtaroth.
12 Once more, before his final removal from the people of his care, Joshua assembled the chosen tribes to speak to them the words of God. He rehearsed before them their own history and the history of their fathers from the days of Abraham. He did not conceal their errors and mistakes; and with earnestness and gratitude he dwelt upon the dealings of God with them. He reminded them that it was not their own strength or valor which had given them the land of Canaan. God himself had said, “I have given you a land for which ye did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them. Of the vineyards and olive-yards which ye planted not, do you eat.”
13 In view of all that God had done for them, Joshua exhorted the people, “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.” The human mind is naturally inclined to dwell upon the things which are seen and heard, and to neglect the things which are unseen. The Lord had done marvelous things for his people in the manifesting of his power as the only true and living God; yet many had been led astray by the Satanic delusion that God might be represented by material objects, the works of men’s hands. By the contemplation of these things, their minds were diverted from God.
14 Among the multitudes that came up out of Egypt were many who had been worshipers of idols; and such is the power of habit that the practice was secretly continued, to some extent, even after the settlement in Canaan. Joshua was sensible of this evil among the Israelites, and he clearly perceived the dangers that would result. He earnestly desired to see a thorough reformation among the Hebrew host. He knew that unless the people took a decided stand to serve the Lord with all their hearts, they would continue to separate themselves farther and farther from him. Then would the Lord remove his protecting care, and suffer them to be driven out and scattered, by the very people whom he had commanded them to destroy.
15 Said Joshua, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua endeavored to show the people that God’s requirements were just and merciful. He would lead them to serve him, not by compulsion, but willingly. Love to God is the very foundation of pure and undefiled religion. To engage in his service as an unpleasant task, merely from hope of reward or fear of punishment, would bring no sweet peace, no assurance of God’s favor.
16 While a portion of the Hebrew host were spiritual worshipers, many were mere formalists; no zeal or earnestness characterized their service. Some were idolaters at heart, who would be ashamed to acknowledge themselves as such. Joshua urged them to consider in all its bearings the important matter which he had set before them, and to decide if they really desired to live as did the idolatrous nations around them. If it seemed evil to them to serve the Lord, if his requirements seemed a grievous exaction, he bade them that day choose whom they would serve,—the idols worshiped by their fathers from whom Abraham was called out, or the gods of the Amorites, “in whose land ye dwell.”
17 In these last words was a keen rebuke to the idolatry of Israel. The gods of the heathen had no power to bestow peace or prosperity. Their worshipers had ascribed to them praise and honor for all the bounties bestowed by the mercy and love of God. Hence the Lord had removed from them his blessing, and had left them to the mercies of the gods in whom they trusted. That wicked people had been destroyed; and the good land which they once possessed, had been given to God’s people. Then what suicidal folly for Israel to choose the gods for worshiping whom the Amorites had been destroyed!
18 When a man comes to his right mind, he begins to reflect upon his relation to his Maker. It is moral madness to prefer the praise of men to the favor of God, the rewards of iniquity to the treasures of Heaven, the husks of sin to the spiritual food God gives his children. Yet how many who display intelligence and shrewdness in worldly things, manifest an utter disregard to those things that pertain to their eternal interest.
19 Joshua assured the Israelites that of themselves they could not serve the Lord. The natural heart is a battle-field, upon which there is a constant warfare; conscience seeking to hold sway, and passion also struggling for the victory. God would not grant them his favor and support while they persisted in transgression. If they honored him, he would honor them. If they should forsake him, and serve strange gods, he would forsake them. As God is a being of perfect truth and holiness, it was impossible for them to serve him and yet continue in sin; for he could not unite with iniquity. Only by thorough repentance and reformation of life, could they hope to secure the divine favor.
20 God’s plan for the salvation of men, is perfect in every particular. If we will faithfully perform our allotted part, all will be well with us. It is man’s apostasy that causes discord, and brings wretchedness and ruin. God never uses his power to oppress the creatures of his hand. He never requires more than man is able to perform; never punishes his disobedient children more than is necessary to bring them to repentance; or to deter others from following their example. Rebellion against God is inexcusable.
21 The judgments of God quickly following upon transgression, his counsels and reproofs, the manifestations of his love and mercy, and the oft-repeated exhibitions of his power,—all were a part of God’s plan to preserve his people from sin, to make them pure and holy, that he might be their strength and shield and their exceeding great reward. But the persistent transgressions of the Israelites, their readiness to depart from God, and their forgetfulness of his mercies, showed that many had chosen to be servants of sin, rather than children of the Most High.
22 God had created them, Christ had redeemed them. From the house of bondage their cry of anguish went up to the throne of God, and he put forth his arm to rescue them; for their sake, bringing desolation upon the whole land of Egypt. He had granted them high honors. He had made them his peculiar people, and had showered upon them unnumbered blessings. If they would obey him, he would make them a mighty nation,—a praise and excellence in all the earth. God designed to magnify his name through his chosen people, by showing the vast difference existing between the righteous and the wicked, the servants of God and the worshipers of idols.
23 Joshua sought to show his people the inconsistency of their course of backsliding. He wished them to feel that the time had come to make a decided change, to put away every vestige of idolatry, and to turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart. He endeavored to impress upon their minds the fact that open apostasy would not be more offensive to God than hypocrisy, and a lifeless form of worship.
24 If the favor of God was worth anything, it was worth everything. Thus Joshua had decided; and after weighing the whole matter, he had determined to serve him with full purpose of heart. And more than this, he would endeavor to induce his family to pursue the same course.
25 God said of Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the ways of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” The promises of God to Abraham and his posterity, and through Christ to the nations of the earth, may appear to have been unconditional. But such was not the case. Whether Abraham would share in their fulfillment, was determined by the course which he pursued. The Lord approved his faithfulness in the government of his household. Abraham firmly restrained evil, and endeavored by precept and example to promote justice and godliness among them. Thus he worked in harmony with God, faithfully performing his part in the great plan.
26 Our dangers are similar to those which threatened the prosperity of ancient Israel. The oft-repeated warnings against idolatry addressed to the Hebrew host, are no less applicable to us. Everything which leads the affections away from God is an idol, and betrays us into sin. If we serve God willingly and joyfully, preferring his service to the service of sin and Satan; if we choose him, openly and boldly turning from all the attractions and vanities of the world, we shall enjoy his blessing in this life, and shall dwell forever in his presence in the future life.
27 The Lord our God is a jealous God. He is just and holy He will not be trifled with. He reads a deceptive heart. He abhors a double mind. He hates lukewarmness. We cannot serve God and mammon, for they are antagonistic.
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1 Joshua’s farewell address to Israel produced a deep impression upon them. They knew that they were listening to his dying testimony, and that no feeling of pride, ambition, or self-interest could influence him. By long experience, the aged leader had learned how to most effectually reach the hearts of the people. He realized the importance of the present opportunity, and improved it to the utmost.
2 His earnest appeals called forth the response: “God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; for the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up, and our fathers, out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed. And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land; therefore will we also serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
3 Still Joshua warned the people to make no rash promises which they would be unwilling to fulfill, but to carefully consider the matter, and decide upon their future course. “If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.” Thus faithfully he sought to arouse them to a higher sense of God’s claims upon them, and a deeper conviction that their only safety was in obedience to his law.
4 The congregation answered with one accord, “We will serve the Lord. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away (said he) the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.”
5 This solemn covenant was recorded in the book of the law, to be sacredly preserved. Joshua then set up a great stone under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. “And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.” Here Joshua plainly declares that his instructions and warnings to the people were not his own words, but the words of God. This great stone would stand to testify to succeeding generations of the event which it was set up to commemorate, and would be a witness against the people, should they ever again degenerate into idolatry.
6 Israel was the Lord’s peculiar treasure. The high estimation in which he held them is shown by the mighty miracles wrought in their behalf. As a father would deal with a beloved son, so had the Lord succored, disciplined, and chastened Israel. He sought to inspire in their hearts that love for his character and requirements which would lead to willing obedience.
7 Through his people Israel, God designed to give to the world a knowledge of his will. His promises and threatenings, his instructions and reproofs, the wonderful manifestations of his power among them, in blessings for obedience, and judgment for transgression and apostasy,—all were designed for the education and development of religious principle among the people of God until the close of time. Therefore it is important that we acquaint ourselves with the history of the Hebrew host, and ponder with care the dealings of God with them.
8 The words which God spoke to Israel by his Son were spoken for us also in these last days. The same Jesus who, upon the mount, taught his disciples the far-reaching principles of the law of God, instructed ancient Israel from the cloudy pillar and from the tabernacle, by the mouth of Moses and Joshua. The lessons were the same,—that love for God would lead to purity of heart, and would be manifested in good works.
9 Those who place in contrast the teachings of Christ when he was upon the earth, and the principles of true religion as taught in the days of Moses, know not what they assert. Christ cannot be arrayed against himself. When he was upon earth, our Saviour made sinners feel that they could not trample upon the law of God with impunity. The same lesson was taught to ancient Israel. In the days of Moses sin could be pardoned only through the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God. Jesus taught the same when he walked as a man among the children of men.
10 Religion in the days of Moses and Joshua was the same as religion today. When Christ dwells in the heart, his spirit will be manifested in the life. It will be calm, patient, noble, and unselfish. The marked contrast which exists between the lives of those who serve God and those who serve him not is a constant rebuke to the sinner. The world rejected Christ because his life was in such marked contrast to their own. In every generation, those who are seeking to follow his example will be distinct from the world.
11 By various means the Lord has sought to preserve the knowledge of his dealings with the children of men. Moses, just prior to his death, not only rehearsed to Israel the important events in their history, but at the command of God he embodied them in sacred verse. Thus the glorious and thrilling scenes of Israel’s triumph, the sublime and awful manifestations of infinite majesty and power, the divine requirements, promises, and threatenings, clothed with all the beauty of poetic genius, were to be present for all the generations to come. Thus the record of God’s requirements and his dealings with Israel would not appear uninteresting or repulsive, but attractive and entertaining.
12 The people of Israel were required to commit to memory this poetic history, and to teach it to their children and their children’s children. It was to be chanted by the congregation when assembled for worship, and to be repeated by the people as they went in and out about their daily duties. This song was not only historical, but prophetic. It recounted the wonderful dealings of God with his people in the past, and also foreshadowed the great events of the future, the final victory of the faithful when Christ shall appear the second time in power and glory.
13 It was the imperative duty of parents to so impress these words upon the susceptible minds of their children, that they might never be forgotten. “Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed; for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.”
14 In after generations, this prophetic song would explain the dealings of God with his people, and reveal the cause of their dispersed and scattered condition. Thus would it vindicate the justice of God, and establish the divine inspiration of Moses. It would condemn the wickedness of Israel, and would ever be a convicting power to call them back to their allegiance to God as the only hope of deliverance.
15 The great stone set up by Joshua was to stand as a constant reminder to Israel of the covenant which they had made with God, and a silent witness of their faithfulness or apostasy. So also the song of Moses was to testify against them, should they depart from God. Many of the Israelites were unacquainted with the books of Moses. But it was the purpose of God that this inspired song should awaken in thoughtful minds a desire to learn more of God’s wonderful dealings with his people, and lead to the study of his revealed word. Thus would they be led to realize the goodness of God toward them, and their duty to love, and obey, and worship him.
16 If it was necessary for God’s ancient people to often call to mind his dealings with them in mercy and judgment, in counsel and reproof, it is equally important that we contemplate the truths delivered to us in his word,—truth which, if heeded, will lead us to humility and submission, and obedience to God. We are to be sanctified through the truth. The word of God presents special truths for every age. The dealings of God with his people in the past should receive our careful attention. We should learn the lessons which they are designed to teach us. But we are not to rest content with them. God is leading out his people step by step. Truth is progressive. The earnest seeker will be constantly receiving light from Heaven. What is truth? should ever be our inquiry.
17 The prophetic word shows clearly that we are living near the close of this world’s history, and that we may soon expect the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of Heaven. As the Israelites journeyed toward the earthly Canaan, so are we pressing onward to reach the heavenly Canaan. The history of their backslidings is repeated among the people of God today. Faith and piety are waning. Many who once loved the appearing of Christ, are setting their affections upon this world, and are conforming to its habits and customs. The fear of God is not kept before the mind, and the natural desires and inclinations gain control.
18 The apostle presents before us the history of the children of Israel, and states that these things are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. He exhorts us not to lust after evil things as they lusted. The very same enemy that tempted the people of God in ancient times, will tempt his people in these last days. We should be earnest, active, and vigilant, in making ready for the appearing of our Lord. Every device will be employed to lead men away from God. Infidelity is exerting itself to the utmost. The present age is characterized by intense earnestness and activity in worldly pursuits; but zeal and energy in the service of God are sadly deficient.
19 In the days before the flood, the people were so engrossed in worldly things, and so corrupted by iniquity, that the Spirit of God ceased to strive with men. When God’s word loses its power upon the people, a Satanic infatuation leads them in direct opposition to his revealed will. Christians are absorbed in the questions, What shall we eat, and what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be clothed? When the energies are employed in buying and selling, planting and building, to the neglect of eternal interests; when the truth of God addressed to the ear ceases to impress the mind or affect the heart, the preaching is in vain; the hearing is in vain. Then indeed will the condition of the world become as it was in the days of Noah.
20 Many of the things of this life which are a blessing when temperately enjoyed, become a curse when their use is carried to excess. The dressing mania is a device of Satan. Love of dress is an idolatrous shrine at which the women of this age are worshiping. They are so fully occupied with outward display, that they have no time to pray, no time to become acquainted with the Scriptures, no time to improve the talents which God has given them. They have no time to cleanse the soul-temple from its idolatrous shrines; and at last the Spirit ceases to strive with many, and they go down to the grave unprepared. The temptation to idolatry is even greater today than in the days of Israel.
21 Concerning the last days, our Saviour asks the significant question: “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” The Scriptures declare that as it was in the days of Noah, before the judgments of God fell upon the corrupt inhabitants, so shall it be in the last days, just prior to the pouring out of God’s unmingled wrath upon the earth. Men will be living a godless life, professing to be Christians, but by their acts contradicting their profession. They will be heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Is not this idolatry? and is not the guilt of God’s professed people as much greater than was that of ancient Israel, as the light which we enjoy is greater than theirs?
22 God would have his ministers in this dispensation keep before the people, not only the mercy and love of Christ, but the doctrines of the Bible. These should be presented in simple language, adapted to the comprehension of children. Let the young be faithfully instructed in the truths of God’s word. The history of the past, the present, and the future, as revealed in the sacred Scriptures, should be taught in a pleasing, yet serious manner. Let the dealings of God with his people be rehearsed again and again, until the youth become familiar with the record.
23 The lives and teachings of Christian parents should be in marked contrast with those of unbelievers. Worldlings teach their children to love display, and to bow to the idol of fashion. They sacrifice themselves and their children upon this altar of Moloch. But Christians who profess to be seeking the heavenly Canaan, should obey the instructions of the Bible. We urge modern Israel to lay aside their ornaments, their jewels of silver and gold and precious stones, to put off their costly-apparel, and to seek for the inward adorning, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Let children be educated, not to become devotees of fashion, but to be servants of God.
24 If it was important for Israel to teach their children of the wonderful works of God, his character and requirements, it is important that we put forth at least equal efforts to teach our children the same truths.
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1 Although the last admonitions of Joshua, and the solemn covenant which Israel had made with God, seemed to make a deep impression upon them, yet time soon proved that the influence was not permanent. After the death of their leader and of the elders who were associated with him, the people began gradually to relapse into idolatry.
2 Joshua had not been permitted to drive out all the inhabitants of the land. A remnant of the heathen nations was spared for a time, that the Lord might through them test the faith and obedience of his people, and that those whose hearts were cherishing idolatry might be revealed and punished.
3 The generation that succeeded Joshua were directed to carry forward the work which he had left unfinished; but they did not obey the divine command to utterly destroy the heathen. Some of the tribes made war on the Canaanites, but failing to receive the help which they should have had from their brethren, they became weary of the conflict, and spared their most dangerous enemies. Frequent intercourse soon removed all fear of danger; and now the Israelites took another step in transgression, by connecting themselves in marriage with the heathen. When this was done, the difficulties of the situation were greatly increased. It was no easy matter to make war with relatives, and to extirpate or banish their own kindred.
4 By their disregard of God’s command, the Israelites had woven for themselves a net in which their feet were soon entangled. Ere long, many of the Hebrews were induced to attend heathen festivals. Lascivious songs and licentious indulgence, formed a prominent part in the idolatrous worship. Exposed to these contaminating influences, the Israel of God steadily became corrupted. In imitation of the gods of the heathen, images were made to represent Jehovah, and thus idolatry spread like a plague throughout the land.
5 The evil made little headway until the generation was extinct which had made the covenant with God; but the parents had prepared the way for the apostasy of their children. God’s commandments had been disregarded, his safeguards removed, his barriers broken down.
6 The correct and simple habits of the Hebrews had preserved them in physical health; but association with the heathen had led to the indulgence of appetite and sensual passions; and this had lessened physical strength, and enfeebled the mental and moral powers. God removed his protecting care and support, and the Israelites were no longer able to contend with their enemies. Soon they were brought into subjection to the very nations whom through God they might have subdued.
7 The Lord did not permit the sins of his people to pass without rebuke. There were still faithful worshipers in Israel; and many others, from habit and early association, attended the worship of God at the tabernacle. A large company were assembled upon the occasion of a religious feast, when an angel of God, having first appeared at Gilgal, revealed himself to the congregation at Shiloh. He addressed them in words of solemn reproof:—
8 “I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars; but ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.”
9 This angel, the same that appeared to Joshua at the taking of Jericho,—was no less a personage than the Son of God. It was he who had brought Israel out of Egypt, and established them in the land of Canaan. He showed them that he had not broken his promises to them, but they themselves had violated their solemn covenant.
10 “And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept.” “And they sacrificed there unto the Lord” But their repentance produced no lasting results. The people mourned because their sins had brought suffering upon themselves; but did not sorrow that God was displeased, and his name dishonored. True repentance includes more than sorrow for sin. It demands a resolute turning away from evil. We may profess to feel deep sorrow for our sins, we may weep over our wrong course; but if we make no change in that course, our sorrow will avail nothing.
11 Before they entered the promised land, the Israelites had been faithfully taught their duty toward the heathen. They were to make no league with the inhabitants, but to utterly destroy their idols, and to cast down their altars. Now the Angel solemnly declares, “Ye have not obeyed my voice.” And in sadness he asks, ``Why have ye done this?”
12 The people could now see the sinfulness and ingratitude of their course. This was the golden opportunity for them to return to their allegiance to God, and to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. Had they manifested a willingness to act when duty was made known; had they entered at once upon the performance of the work that had been neglected, then the curse of God might have been turned away from Israel. But they returned to their evil ways, and the Lord left them to suffer the consequence of their own neglect.
13 The experience of the Israelites is that of many at the present day. Warnings and reproofs from God are continually given to his people. Godly sorrow, which produces repentance unto salvation, would lead them to make an immediate and decided change. But here many fail. Confessions are made, sorrow is expressed, tears are shed; but there is no permanent change of life. Unless the heart is renewed by divine grace, and earnest effort is made to resist temptation, we shall be overcome again and again.
14 Among God’s preferred people, there are men in responsible positions who are content to remain in a state of coldness and backsliding. Their piety vanishes at the approach of temptation. To gain the friendship of worldlings, they will risk the consequences of losing the favor of God. The Lord is trying his people as silver is tried. Closer and still closer will come the searching test, until the heart is wholly submitted to God, or hardened in disobedience and rebellion. God distinguishes between those who walk in the path of self-denial and obedience, which he has marked out, and that class who choose to follow their own ways. Too late we may see, as did the children of Israel, the folly of neglecting and disregarding God’s commands.
15 As the Hebrews were warned not to assimilate to the heathen around them, so are we warned against conforming to the spirit and customs of the ungodly. Christ speaks to us in language that need not be misinterpreted: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Christ himself is the true pattern. His life of self-denial we are to imitate. His earnest labor for the salvation of souls we must copy. His purity and holiness must be reflected in us, or we shall never be permitted to sit with him in his throne.
16 It is not safe for Christians to choose the society of those who have no connection with God, and whose course is displeasing to him. Yet how many professed Christians venture upon the forbidden ground. Many invite to their homes relatives who are vain, trifling, and ungodly; and often the example and influence of these irreligious visitors produce lasting impressions upon the minds of the children in the household. The influence thus exerted is similar to that which resulted from the association of the Hebrews with the godless Canaanites.
17 God holds the parents accountable for disregarding his command to separate themselves and their families from these unholy influences. While we must live in the world, we are not to be of the world. We are forbidden to conform to its practices and fashions. The friendship of the ungodly is more dangerous than their enmity. It misleads and destroys thousands who might, by a proper and holy example, be led to become children of God. The minds of the young are thus made familiar with irreligion, vanity, ungodliness, pride, and immorality, and the heart not shielded by divine grace, gradually becomes corrupted. Almost imperceptibly, the youth learn to love the tainted atmosphere surrounding the ungodly. Evil angels gather about them, and they lose their relish for that which is pure, refined, and ennobling.
18 Professed Christian parents will pay the greatest deference to their worldly and irreligious guests, while these very persons are leading the children of those who pay them so much polite attention, away from sobriety and from religion. The youth may be trying to lead a religious life, but the parents have invited the tempter into their household, and he weaves his net about the children. Old and young become absorbed in questionable enjoyments, and the excitement of worldly pleasure.
19 Many feel that they must make some concessions to please their irreligious relatives and friends. As it is not always easy to draw the line, one concession prepares the way for another, until those who were once true followers of Christ, are in life and character conformed to the customs of the world. The connection with God is broken. They are Christians in name only. When the test hour comes, then their hope is seen to be without foundation. They have sold themselves and their children to the enemy. They have dishonored God, and in the revelation of his righteous judgments, they will reap what they have sown. Christ will say to them, as he said to ancient Israel, “Ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have ye done this?”
20 How are parents neglecting their precious opportunities? It is their privilege to serve and honor God in their household. They should reject every form of idolatry and corruption. They should keep the atmosphere of the home pure and healthful, thus attracting holy angels to be their guests. They should educate and discipline their children to be Bible readers and Bible Christians.
21 Abraham’s course in controlling his children and his household, and instructing them to fear and obey God, was approved of Heaven. Because he had been faithful to the trust already given, God committed to him greater responsibilities, making him the depository of divine truth for all the generations to come. He had honored God in his household, and God honored him before the world. It was declared that through his posterity, all the nations of the earth should be blessed.
22 God would do great things for his people at the present day, if they would but imitate Abraham’s example of faithfulness and obedience. The Lord is waiting and longing to reveal to us the right arm of his power. He will work mightily for us, if we will but faithfully improve the opportunities and blessings already given.
23 “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation,” was the admonition of Christ to his disciples. We, too, have need of watchfulness and earnest prayer. We are surrounded by the perils of the last days. It is a time of special danger to the young. We should feel the most intense interest to secure the salvation of the children whom God has given us. When so much is at stake, how can we set up idols in our hearts? How can we be indolent and trifling, vain, proud, and careless? We have foes to fight within; we have victories to gain over our own sinful propensities. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are seeking continually to weaken our spirituality. We must crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts.
24 Let us not yield to sloth, unbelief, and idolatry, as did the children of Israel. If the enemies of our souls are not driven out, they will increase in power, and will hold us in the slavery of sin. We can have no fellowship with the Lord’s enemies, within or around us, without endangering our own souls, and the souls of those whom God has committed to our care.
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1 Of the generation that arose after the death of Joshua, the Sacred Record states that “they knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.”
2 Notwithstanding their apostasy and great wickedness, the Lord did not utterly forsake his people. From time to time he raised up faithful and valiant men to deliver them from the oppression of their enemies. But the hearts of the people had become so corrupted by an evil course that it was not an easy task to restore purity of faith or of worship. When the deliverer was dead, and the people were released from his authority, they would return to their idolatry.
3 “They ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died.”
4 The Lord sought to bring his people into a position where he could manifest his power in their behalf; but their hearts were set to depart from God, and they would not submit to his requirements. What blindness! what inexplicable folly! and equally incomprehensible is the course of those whom God has endowed with intellectual gifts and surrounded with temporal blessings, yet who will prefer worldly gain, and even the indulgence of debasing passions, to the favor of God and his infinite love.
5 Although the Israelites, as a nation, departed from God, yet there was ever a remnant who resolutely withstood the evil influences surrounding them, and maintained their allegiance to Jehovah. These were constantly growing in courage and true godliness. They clung to the Lord more firmly as they saw the apostasy of their brethren. Their faith grew stronger, with every conflict.
6 It is through the infinite mercy of God that his people at the present day are granted the high honor of being sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. But unless we give ourselves unreservedly to his service, and walk in obedience to his commandments, we can bring no proof that we are members of the royal family. Would that we could ever realize the love which God has manifested toward us fallen sinners, in giving his only Son for our salvation! We should never lose sight of the fact that those whom Christ redeems at such an infinite price are to be purified, that they may be unto him a peculiar people, zealous of good works. We should feel that Christ has placed upon us special honors in thus distinguishing us from the world, when he might have left us to perish in our sins.
7 God would have his people present a marked contrast, in character and conduct, to the unbelieving world. We are to be “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, to show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Only by constant watchfulness and earnest prayer, mingled with faith, can we preserve our peculiar, holy character as sons and daughters of God.
8 It is far more easy to profess and resolve than to perform. Like ancient Israel, many covenant to cleave unto the Lord, and serve him, and then soon forget their vows, and join with the ungodly in the pursuits of worldly gain or pleasure. We should be jealous of ourselves, lest we depart from God. “For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from Heaven?” The blessings and privileges which we enjoy place us under the most solemn obligation to improve these gifts to the glory of our Creator. They should inspire in our hearts love to God, and an earnest determination to obey his requirements. Let us not become self-confident or presumptuous, but rather fear lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of us should seem to come short of it.
9 The cause of Israel’s weakness lay in their departure from God by disobedience to his commandments. The reason of the weakness and backsliding of modern Israel is their neglect to obey the divine law. God requires from all mankind obedience to his commandments. The whole world will be judged by the moral law according to their opportunity of becoming acquainted with it, whether by reason, or tradition, or the written word.
10 God’s law is spiritual. It takes cognizance of our most secret thoughts, purposes, and motives. The judgment, the will, and the affections must be controlled by its precepts. Its principles require love to God and to man; without this love, external compliance will not be accepted. This law is the standard of Christian character. Like a faithful mirror, it reveals to the children of men the defects in their moral character. It makes them watchful against temptation. It teaches them to be exact in judgment, and correct in spiritual discernment. The law of God is holy, just, and good. When our lives conform to this standard we are happy.
11 The Lord was constantly seeking to impress upon ancient Israel their duty to obey his law; and those words of warning and reproof apply with as much greater force to this generation as our light and privileges are greater than were those of Israel. We have seen how the disregard of God’s requirements brought trouble upon his ancient people, and finally resulted in their entire separation from him. Their sad history should be a lesson to us that nothing should be permitted to rival God in our affections. He alone can give rest, and peace, and happiness to the soul. God alone is entitled to our supreme love, to our entire confidence. He should be the object of our gratitude and adoration, our reverence and unquestioning submission. If we fail to love him with all the heart, we rob him of the service which is his due.
12 Through his pride and ambition, Satan became the enemy of God and man. Though he forfeited his position in Heaven, he has succeeded in his presumptuous efforts to become the god of this world. Satan used the Canaanites as his instruments to allure Israel from God, and lead them to give honor to himself. It was to secure their own safety and happiness that the Lord commanded his people to extirpate those wicked nations.
13 In their prosperity, Israel forgot God, as they had been warned that they would do. But reverses came. The Hebrews were subdued by the king of Mesopotamia, and held in severe bondage for eight years. In their distress, they found that their idolatrous connections could not help them. Then they remembered the wonderful works of God, and began to cry unto him, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Othniel, Caleb’s younger brother. The spirit of the Lord rested upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war, and the Lord delivered the king of Mesopotamia into his hand.
14 When Othniel was designated as the man whom God had chosen to lead and deliver Israel, he did not refuse to take the responsibility. In the strength of God he at once commenced to repress idolatry as the Lord had commanded, to administer justice, and to elevate the standard of morality and religion. As Israel repented of their sins, the Lord manifested his great mercy toward them, and wrought for their deliverance.
15 For forty years Othniel ruled in Israel. During this time the people remained faithful to the divine law, and consequently enjoyed peace and prosperity. But when his judicious and salutary control ceased with his death, the Israelites again relapsed into idolatry. And thus the story of backsliding and chastisement, of confession and deliverance, was repeated again and again.
16 Had Israel been true to God, their example of faithfulness would have been followed by their children; but the sins of after generations testified to the indolence, and slothfulness, and neglect of the parents. A solemn responsibility still rests upon parents in the education of their children, to mould their characters after the pattern which God has approved, and not after the pattern of the world. Christian parents should teach their children the solemn and momentous truths of God’s word, especially those truths which particularly relate to the present time. Faithful, earnest, and frequent prayer should be offered that these children may be fitted for any position of trust to which God shall call them, in society or in the church. They should be taught to love righteousness and to hate evil.
17 One family educated according to the Bible rule may exert an influence directly upon thousands, and through them upon others, until multitudes shall be brought to fear and honor God, and a glorious company of white-robed ones shall stand round about the throne,—a precious harvest from the seed sown by those faithful parents. But Satan is determined that this mighty influence for God and Heaven shall not be exerted in the home circle. He will deceive the parents if possible. He will make them careless, inattentive, indolent, in the service of God. He will make them negligent in training their children according to the Bible standard, negligent in conforming their own lives to the life of Christ; for Satan knows that in most cases he can thus secure the parents and children also, and through them can ruin many souls.
18 As the Israelites were prone to idolatry, so are the people of the present age. The same adversary that succeeded in leading them astray, is now at work with ten-fold power to entice God’s professed people from their simplicity, their sincerity, their earnestness and piety. His devices are all too successful. Worldly things are allowed to attract the attention and absorb the interest. Professed Christians unite with the ungodly, and Christ ceases to be a welcome guest.
19 The only safety for God’s people is to put away the impious ambition to make a league with the world, to imitate her customs and practices. They must seek a closer connection with God, and give diligent heed to his word in counsels, reproofs, and promises.
20 By their family government, parents are laying the very foundation of the child’s character. God has committed to parents a solemn and responsible work. The mother of Moses trained her child for God. So patiently and perseveringly did she plant religious principles in his soul, that although afterward surrounded with great temptations, he was not corrupted. A prospective crown could not entice him from his allegiance to God. What our children may become we cannot tell; the future we cannot read; but God has appointed our work, and bidden us perform it with both worlds in view, that our children may be a blessing to the church and to the world here, and may shine forever in the courts of the Lord hereafter.
21 Our earthly life, however long, honored, or useful it may be, is but childhood, frail, imperfect, and undeveloped. Manhood, with its full, perfect, glorious development, will come, when, freed from the taint of sin, we stand among the redeemed throng. Then we shall enjoy a life which measures with the life of God, and through everlasting ages we shall go on increasing in wisdom and knowledge.
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1 In the northern part of the land of Canaan, near Lake Merom, lay the possessions of Jabin, king of Hazor, and one of the most powerful and formidable of the enemies of Israel. In the days of Joshua, this monarch united with other kings against Israel, but was utterly defeated and his city was burned.
2 After some years, however, the Canaanites recovered from their defeat, and rebuilt the city. A new king, Jabin, reigning like his predecessor in Hazor, rose into great power. The commander of his armies, Sisera, was an able and successful general. His forces were well equipped and powerful, including nine hundred chariots of iron.
3 The Israelites, having again separated themselves from God by idolatry, were grievously oppressed by these enemies. The property and even the lives of the people were in constant danger. Hence the villages and lonely dwellings were deserted, and the people congregated in the walled cities. The high-roads were unoccupied, and the people went from place to place by unfrequented by-ways. At the places for drawing water, many were robbed and even murdered, and to add to their distress, the Israelites were unarmed. Among forty thousand men, not a sword or a spear could be found.
4 For twenty years, the Israelites groaned under the yoke of the oppressor; then they turned from their idolatry, and with humiliation and repentance cried unto the Lord for deliverance. They did not cry in vain. There was dwelling in Israel, a woman illustrious for her piety, and through her the Lord chose to deliver his people. Her name was Deborah. She was known as a prophetess, and in the absence of the usual magistrates, the people had sought to her for counsel and justice.
5 The Lord communicated to Deborah his purpose to destroy the enemies of Israel, and bade her send for a man named Barak, of the tribe of Naphtali, and make known to him the instructions which she had received. She accordingly sent for Barak, and directed him to assemble ten thousand men of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, and make war upon the armies of King Jabin.
6 Barak knew the scattered, disheartened, and unarmed condition of the Hebrews, and the strength and skill of their enemies. Although he had been designated by the Lord himself as the one chosen to deliver Israel, and had received the assurance that God would go with him and subdue their enemies, yet he was timid and distrustful. He accepted the message from Deborah as the word of God, but he had little confidence in Israel, and feared that they would not obey his call. He refused to engage in such a doubtful undertaking unless Deborah would accompany him, and thus support his efforts by her influence and counsel. Deborah consented, but assured him that because of his lack of faith, the victory gained should not bring honor to him; for Sisera would be betrayed into the hands of a woman.
7 Barak now marshaled an army of ten thousand men, and marched to Mount Tabor, as the Lord had directed. Sisera immediately assembled an immense and well-equipped force, expecting to surround the Hebrews and make them an easy prey. The Israelites were but poorly prepared for an encounter, and looked with terror upon the vast armies spread out in the plain beneath them, equipped with all the implements of warfare, and provided with the dreaded chariots of iron. These were so constructed as to be terribly destructive. Large, scythe-like knives were fastened to the axles, so that the chariots, being driven through the ranks of the enemy, would cut them down like wheat before the sickle.
8 The Israelites had established themselves in a strong position in the mountains, to await a favorable opportunity for an attack. Encouraged by Deborah’s assurance that the very day had come for signal victory, Barak led his army down into the open plain, and boldly made a charge upon the enemy. The God of battle fought for Israel, and neither skill in warfare, nor superiority of numbers and equipment, could withstand them. The hosts of Sisera were panic-stricken; in their terror they sought only how they might escape. Vast numbers were slain, and the strength of the invading army was utterly destroyed. The Israelites acted with courage and promptness; but God alone could have discomfited the enemy, and the victory could be ascribed to him alone.
9 When Sisera saw that his army was defeated, he left his chariot, and endeavored to make his escape on foot, as a common soldier. Approaching the tent of Heber, one of the descendants of Jethro, the fugitive was invited to find shelter there. In the absence of Heber, Jael, his wife, courteously offered Sisera a refreshing draught, and opportunity for repose, and the weary general soon fell asleep.
10 Jael was at first ignorant of the character of her guest, and she resolved to conceal him; but when she afterward learned that he was Sisera, the enemy of God and of his people, her purpose changed. As he lay before her asleep, she overcame her natural reluctance to such an act, and slew him by driving a nail through his temples, pinning him to the earth. As Barak, in pursuit of his enemy, passed that way, he was called in by Jael to behold the vain-glorious captain dead at his feet,—slain by the hand of a woman.
11 Deborah celebrated the triumph of Israel in a most sublime and impassioned song. She ascribed to God all the glory of their deliverance, and bade the people praise him for his wonderful works. She called upon the kings and princes of surrounding nations to hear what God had wrought for Israel, and to take warning not to do them harm. She showed that honor and power belong to God, and not to men, or to their idols. She portrayed the awful exhibitions of divine power and majesty displayed at Sinai. She set before Israel their helpless and distressed condition, under the oppression of their enemies, and related in glowing language the history of their deliverance.
12 The destruction of Sisera and his forces, effectually subdued the Canaanites. After this, the land had peace forty years. But prosperity did not bring Israel nearer to God.
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1 Alas, that in the history of God’s chosen people the sorrowful story of apostasy and its punishment must be so oft repeated! Forty years of peace elapsed after the destruction of Sisera and his host, and again “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.” Heretofore the hand of the oppressor had fallen but lightly on the tribes dwelling east of the Jordan, but in the present calamities they were the chief sufferers.
2 The Midianites and Amalekites, who dwelt on the eastern borders of the land and in the deserts beyond, were still the bitter and unrelenting enemies of Israel. These nations had been well-nigh destroyed by the Israelites in the days of Moses, but they had since increased greatly, and had now became a numerous and powerful people. They had thirsted for revenge, and now the opportunity had come.
3 Because of their sins, the protecting hand of God was withdrawn from Israel, and they were left to the mercies of their enemies. The wild, fierce inhabitants of the desert, “as grasshoppers for a multitude,” came swarming into the land, with their flocks and herds, and pitched their tents in plain and valley. They came as soon as the harvests began to ripen, and remained until the last fruits of the earth had been gathered. They stripped the fields of their increase, and robbed and maltreated the inhabitants, and then returned to the deserts. Thus the Israelites had been forced to abandon the open country, and to congregate in the walled towns; and many had even found shelter in caves among the mountains.
4 For seven years this oppression continued, and then in their distress the people remembered Him who had so often delivered them; and they cried unto the Lord for help. But while they were very desirous to be relieved from their oppressors, they did not exercise true repentance for their sins.
5 God could not help them in their state of impiety. But through his prophet he addressed them in words of warning and reproof, and the message was publicly proclaimed from city to city throughout the land. “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage. And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land. And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not obeyed my voice.”
6 We might expect the Israelites to harden their hearts against the reproofs of the prophet. We listen to hear them respond, “We do not wish to be continually reminded of our sins. Speak to us words of peace, encouragement, and hope, but do not keep ever before us the dismal relation of our backslidings.” How often do the professed people of God at the present day turn away from instruction, and neglect oft-repeated warnings. They dislike to be reminded of their defects of character. They are unwilling to be reproved for their pride and idolatry in turning from the requirements of God to seek the gains, friendship, or pleasures of the world.
7 Such was the manner in which some of the Israelites received the message of reproof. Had the people been enjoying prosperity, this feeling of rebellion would, no doubt, have been general; but in their distress from the oppression of their enemies, with want and even starvation staring them in the face, they felt their need of help from God. They knew that unless he whom they had so dishonored should manifest his power for their deliverance, they must perish. In deep humility they accepted the message of reproof, confessed their sins, and implored the mercy of the Most High.
8 Their prayers were heard, and again the Lord sent forth the man of his choice to act as deliverer for Israel. The one thus selected was Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh. The Midianites had swept like a devouring plague over the land. It was only with the greatest difficulty that the Hebrews could secrete sufficient food to save them from actual starvation. Gideon had, however, retained possession of a small quantity of wheat, and fearing to beat it out in the threshing floor, he had taken it to the vineyard, near the wine-press. The time of ripe grapes being far off, the attention of the Midianites would not be directed to that place.
9 As he thus labored in secrecy and silence, he sadly meditated upon the condition of Israel. He thought of her glorious triumphs in the past, of her present abject condition, and of the still darker prospect for the future, and his spirit was stirred within him. With deep earnestness he considered how the oppressor’s yoke might be broken from off his people. To all appearance this was impossible. The Israelites were disheartened and discouraged. They had dishonored God by their idolatry, and they felt little confidence that he would work for them.
10 Gideon almost despaired of inspiring the people with faith or courage, but he knew that the Lord would work mightily for Israel as he had done in the past. His whole soul cried out after God. He felt that although he might stand alone, yet if he had the assurance that God was with him, he would not fear to strike a blow against the oppressors.
11 While Gideon’s mind was absorbed in meditations like these, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him and addressed him with the words, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.”
12 The melancholy nature of Gideon’s thoughts is revealed by his answer, “O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
13 The messenger of Heaven replied, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee?”
14 With a sense of his own unfitness for so important a work, Gideon exclaimed, “O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
15 Then the angel gave him the gracious assurance, “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”
16 Gideon desired some token that the one now addressing him was the same that spoke to Moses in the burning bush. The angel had veiled the divine glory of his presence, but it was no other than Christ, the Son of God. When a prophet or an angel delivered a divine message, his words were, “The Lord saith, I will do this,” but it is stated of the Person who talked with Gideon, “The Lord said unto him, I will be with thee.”
17 Desiring to show special honor to his illustrious visitor, and having obtained the assurance that the Angel would tarry, Gideon hastened to his tent, and out of his scanty store prepared a kid and unleavened cakes, which he brought forth to set before him. Gideon was poor, yet he was ready to use hospitality without grudging.
18 As the gift was presented, the Angel said, “Take the flesh and unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did so, and then the Lord gave him the sign which he desired. With the staff in his hand, the Angel touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and a fire rose up out of the rock and consumed the whole as a sacrifice, and not as a hospitable meal; for he was God, and not man. After this token of his divine character, the Angel disappeared.
19 When convinced that he had looked upon the Son of God, Gideon was filled with fear, and exclaimed, “Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.”
20 Then the Lord graciously appeared to Gideon a second time and said, “Peace be unto thee, fear not, thou shalt not die.” These gracious words were spoken by the same compassionate Saviour who said to the tempted disciples upon the stormy sea, “It is I; be not afraid,”—he who appeared to those sorrowing ones in the upper chamber, and spoke the selfsame words addressed to Gideon, “Peace be unto you.” The very same Jesus who walked in humiliation as a man among the children of men, came to his ancient people, to council and direct, to command, to encourage, and reprove them.
21 The family to which Gideon belonged was grievously infected with idolatry. His father erected at Ophrah, where he dwelt, a large altar to Baal, at which the people of the towns worshiped. Gideon was commanded to destroy this altar, to cut down the groves that surrounded it, and in its stead to erect an altar to Jehovah, over the rock on which the offering had been consumed, and then to offer a sacrifice unto the Lord. Gideon faithfully carried out these directions, performing the work by night, lest he should be compelled to desist if he attempted it by day.
22 The deliverer of Israel must declare war upon idolatry before he went to battle with the enemies of his people. He must esteem the honor of God above the credit of his father, and regard the divine commands as more obligatory than parental authority.
23 The offering of sacrifice unto the Lord had been committed to the priests and Levites, and had been restricted to the altar at Shiloh; but He who had established the Jewish economy, and to whom all its services pointed, had power to change its requirements. In this instance he saw fit to depart from the ritual appointment. It was of great importance that the deliverance of Israel should be preceded by a solemn protest against the worship of Baal, and an acknowledgment of Jehovah as the only true and living God.
24 When the men of the city, early in the morning, came to pay their devotions to Baal, they were greatly surprised and enraged at what had taken place. Soon it was known that Gideon had done this, and then nothing but his blood could satisfy those deluded idolaters. They at once began to put forth efforts to take his life.
25 Gideon had told his father, Joash, of the Angel’s visit, and the promise that Israel should be delivered. He also related to him the divine command to destroy the altar of Baal. The Spirit of God moved upon the heart of Joash. He saw that the gods whom he had worshiped had no power even to save themselves from utter destruction and hence they could not protect their worshipers. When the idolatrous multitude clamored for the death of Gideon, Joash fearlessly stood in his defense, and endeavored to show the people how powerless and unworthy of trust or adoration were their gods: “Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning; if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.”
26 He reminded them that the penalty of death would justly rest upon themselves instead of Gideon, for they had broken the law of God against idolatry.
27 The whole transaction, with the stirring appeals of Gideon, produced a powerful effect upon the people of Ophrah. All thoughts of violence were dismissed; and when, moved by the Spirit of the Lord, Gideon sounded the trumpet of war, they were among the first to gather to him. He then sent messengers throughout his own tribe of Manasseh, and also to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and all cheerfully obeyed the call.
28 Gideon deeply felt his own insufficiency for the great work before him. He dared not place himself at the head of the army without positive evidence that God had called him to this work, and that he would be with him. He prayed, “If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor, and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou has said.”
29 The Lord granted the prayer of his servant. In the morning the fleece was wet, while the ground was dry. But now unbelief suggested that wool naturally absorbs moisture when there is any in the air, and that the test was not decisive. Hence, he asked a renewal of the sign, humbly pleading that unbelief might not move the Lord to anger. His request was granted.
30 The Lord does not always choose for his work men of the greatest talents, but he selects those whom he can best use. Individuals who might do good service for God, may for a time be left in obscurity, apparently unnoticed and unemployed by their Master. But if they faithfully perform the duties of their humble position, cherishing a willingness to labor and to sacrifice for him, he will in his own time intrust them with greater responsibilities.
31 Before honor is humility. The Lord can use most effectually those who are most sensible of their own unworthiness and inefficiency. He will teach them to exercise the courage of faith. He will make them strong by uniting their weakness to his might, wise by connecting their ignorance with his wisdom.
32 God will accept the services of all who will work in obedience to his will, who will not for any consideration bring a stain upon the conscience, who will not permit any influence to lead them from the path of duty. If we choose, we may make the record of our lives such as we shall not be ashamed to own when the secrets of all hearts shall stand revealed, and every man’s work shall be weighed in the balances of truth. The Lord employs men as his co-laborers, but let none imagine that they are essential to the work of God, that they cannot be dispensed with.
33 The teachable and trusting ones, having a right purpose and a pure heart, need not wait for great occasions or for extraordinary abilities before they employ their powers. They should not stand irresolute, questioning, and fearing what the world will say or think of them. We are not to weary ourselves with anxious care, but to go on, quietly performing with faithfulness the work which God assigns us, and leaving the result wholly with him.
34 If they but preserve their sincerity, their meekness, and humility, the poorest, weakest, and humblest of Christ’s followers, working in love, may start waves of blessing that shall go on widening and deepening, to refresh and bless the world. In order that they may do this, Christ must shine forth in their character. Let the daily life be a reflection of the life of Christ, and the testimony thus borne to the world will have a powerful influence. Heaven alone will reveal the fruits of an unselfish, holy life. The great contest of truth against error must be carried forward by men who kindle their taper at the divine altar. Evil may seem for a time to prevail, but in the end righteousness will gain the victory. Every righteous act will be recorded in the book of life, and will be remembered and rewarded of God.
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1 Gideon’s courage was greatly strengthened by the tokens of divine favor vouchsafed to him. Without delay, he went out with his forces to give battle to the Midianites. But now another severe trial of faith awaited him. With the immense host of invaders spread out before him—the thirty-two thousand of the Hebrews seeming, in contrast, like a mere handful—the word of the Lord came to him: “The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead.”
2 It had been made a law in Israel that before they went to battle, the following proclamation should be sounded throughout the army: “What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.” What a striking illustration is this of the tender, pitying love of Christ! He who instituted the relations of life and the ties of kindred, made special provision that these be not too widely broken. He would have none go forth to battle unwillingly. This proclamation also sets forth in a forcible manner the influence which may be exerted by one man who is deficient in faith and courage, and further shows the effect of our thoughts and feelings upon our own course of action.
3 “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” The thoughts and feelings cherished give direction to the conduct, and thus determine the character. A strong, well-balanced character is built up by faithfulness in all the smaller as well as the greater acts of life. A man is measured, not by the power put forth in some one great effort, but by the zeal and integrity which he brings to the daily round of cares and responsibilities.
4 True Christian character is marked by a singleness of purpose, an indomitable determination, which refuses to yield to worldly influences, which will aim at nothing short of the Bible standard. If men will permit themselves to become discouraged in the service of God, the great adversary will present abundant reasons to turn them from the plain path of duty to one of ease and irresponsibility. Those who can be bribed or seduced, discouraged or terrified, will be of no service in the Christian warfare. Those who set their affections on worldly treasures or worldly honors, will not push the battle against principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places.
5 All who would be soldiers of the cross of Christ, must gird on the armor and prepare for conflict. They should not be intimidated by threats; or terrified by dangers. They must be cautious in peril, yet firm and brave in facing the foe and doing battle for God. The consecration of Christ’s follower must be complete. Father, mother, wife, children, houses, lands, everything, must be held secondary to the work and cause of God. He must be willing to bear patiently, cheerfully, joyfully, whatever in God’s providence he may be called to suffer. His final reward will be to share with Christ the throne of immortal glory.
6 Because of the weak condition of the armies of Israel, in contrast with the numbers of the enemy, Gideon had refrained from making the usual proclamation. He was filled with astonishment at the declaration that his force was too large. But the Lord saw the pride and unbelief existing in the hearts of this people. Aroused by the stirring appeals of Gideon, they had readily enlisted; but when they saw the multitudes of the Midianites, their courage failed. Yet, had Israel triumphed, those very men would have ascribed the victory to their own skill and valor, rather than to the mercy and power of Jehovah. As a people, they had little faith in God. Many were suffering the reproaches of a guilty conscience.
7 Instead of being too many, the Israelites felt that their numbers were too few; but Gideon made the proclamation as the Lord had directed. With sinking heart he saw twenty-two thousand, or more than two-thirds of his entire force, depart for their homes.
8 Again the word of the Lord came to his servant: “The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there; and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.”
9 The people were led down to the water-side, expecting to make an immediate attack upon the enemy. A few hastily took a little water in the hand and sucked it up as they went on, but nearly all bowed upon their knees, and leisurely drank from the surface of the water. Those who took of the water in their hands, were but three hundred out of the ten thousand; yet these were selected, and the great body of the army were permitted to return to their homes.
10 Here we see the simple means by which character is often tested. Those who in a time of great peril were intent upon supplying their own wants, were not the men to be trusted in an emergency. The men of God’s choice were the few who would not permit their own wants to hinder them in the discharge of duty. Not only did they possess courage and self-control, but they were men of faith. They had not defiled themselves by idolatry. God could direct them, and through them he could work deliverance for Israel. The Lord designed to show his people that he was their source of strength. By the simplicity of the means employed, he designed to rebuke their pride and self-exaltation.
11 As with ancient Israel, so it is with the people of God at this age of the world. The Lord can do but little for the children of men, because they are so ready to esteem themselves wiser than their Creator. If blessed with a measure of success, many become elated and self-confident, and forget their dependence upon God. There is too much reliance upon human plans and methods, and too little faith in the mighty God of Jacob; too much machinery, and too little of the life-giving Spirit and power of the Most High.
12 Christ is the light of the world. All wisdom and all knowledge flow from Him who is the fountain of wisdom. He bids his followers, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” It is when reflected in his disciples, that the divine loveliness of Christ is revealed to the world. Those who depart from the simplicity of the gospel, have gone on in advance of their Leader; but Christ says, “Follow me.”
13 All who indulge pride and self-importance, “vaunting themselves against God,” he will separate from his work; and, in their stead, will choose those who will walk in the path of humility and obedience, acknowledging that all their success comes from God.
14 All the wonders which God has wrought for his people, have been performed by the most simple means. When the people of God are wholly consecrated to him, then he will employ them to carry forward his work on the earth. But we should remember that whatever success may attend us, the glory and honor belongs to God; for every faculty and every power is a gift from him.
15 God will test, to the utmost, the faith and courage of those to whom he has intrusted responsibilities in his work. Appearances will often be forbidding. Although God has given repeated assurance of his help, yet faith will almost stagger. “Thus saith the Lord,” must be our firm reliance, independent of human reasonings, or apparent impossibilities.
16 The experience of Gideon and his army, was designed to teach a lesson of simplicity and faith. The leader whom God had chosen occupied no prominent position in Israel. He was not a ruler, a Levite, or a priest. He thought himself the least in his father’s house. Human wisdom would not have selected him; but God saw in Gideon a man of integrity and moral courage. He was distrustful of self, and willing to listen to the teachings of God, and carry out his purposes. The Lord is not dependent upon men of high position, of great intellect, or extensive knowledge. Such men are frequently proud and self-sufficient. They feel themselves competent to devise and execute plans without counsel from God. They separate themselves from the true Vine, and hence become dry and fruitless, as withered branches.
17 The Lord would put to shame the vaunting of men. He will give success to the feeblest efforts, the most unpromising methods, when divinely appointed, and entered upon with humility and trust. God will not test our faith beyond endurance. He will give us sufficient evidence, that we may, in our weakness, lean upon the arm of his strength, and trust wholly in his power. Talents, education, and influence, may, under the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, be employed in the service of God; but Satan is more often served by them, than is Jesus Christ.
18 The Majesty of Heaven walked among the children of men with the dignity of a king; yet he preserved the simplicity of a little child. He was never known to boast of superiority, to exalt his own power, ability, or attainments. Christ was the Creator of the earth; he was the king of glory; yet his life of meekness and humility put to shame the proud boasting of men. He was the embodiment of wisdom, the fountain of knowledge. Let those who would pride themselves upon their superior abilities, learn of the great Teacher. Jesus invites all, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” He said to his disciples, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”
19 How does God look upon men who cherish pride, and boast of their superiority, when they are dependent upon him for every breath they draw, for the food they eat, the clothing they wear, and, above all these, for the precious gift of reason,—the power of thought? Let the hand of God be laid upon man, let the mind be clouded, and what then would he have whereof to boast?
20 Success does not depend upon strength or numbers. God can deliver by few as well as by many. A large church is not necessarily a strong church. Some of its members may be cherishing selfishness, pride, or unbelief; some may be dishonest, others corrupt in heart and life. All these are a source of weakness to the church. They bring the frown of God upon his people, and the great adversary will work through them to advance his own cause.
21 Anciently, those whose worldly interests would draw their hearts from the work of God, were bidden to return to their homes. It were better for the cause of truth today, if those whose attention is absorbed with their own private interests, would separate from the work of God, and give themselves to the things in which their hearts delight. Then they would not, by their wrong example, exert so dangerous an influence upon others.
22 God is honored, not so much by the great number, as by the character of those who serve him. He appreciates moral worth. He draws the dividing line between those who bear his name by profession, and those whose character shows them to be his children. Those who have the fear of God will listen to his counsels, and obey them. They will not be content with spurious theories, nor build upon false principles to secure the friendship of the world. Yet, at the same time, they will cherish and exemplify those virtues that promote the happiness of the family, the church, and the community.
23 Many who occupy responsible positions in the church of God, are sacrificing their integrity to secure the favor of the ungodly. A strong current is sweeping downward, and they decide that it is easier to float with the tide than to row against it. Like the children of Israel, they sacrifice the blessings of God by their indolence and spiritual sloth. Many set up idols in their hearts,—idols of selfishness, idols of pride, and love of display. Eternal things lose their value. Withdraw the influences which God has provided to preserve and strengthen our spirituality, and it decays and dies. We must be continually seeking to draw near to God, and to learn his will. We must become more unlike the world, and more like Christ in character.
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1 When Gideon stood at the head of thirty thousand men to make war against the Midianites, he felt that unless God should work for Israel, their cause would be hopeless. At the divine command the Hebrew force had been reduced by successive tests, until there remained with him, only three hundred men to oppose that countless multitude. What wonder that his heart sunk within him as he thought of the conflict of the morrow.
2 But the Lord did not leave his faithful servant to despair. He spoke to Gideon in the night season, and bade him, with Phurah, his trusty attendant, go down to the camp of the Midianites, intimating that he would there hear matter for his encouragement. He went, and waiting there in darkness and silence, he heard one soldier, just awakened, relate a dream to his companion: “Lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it that the tent lay along.
3 The other answered in words that stirred the heart of that unseen listener, “This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.”
4 Gideon recognized the voice of God speaking to him through the words of these Midianitish strangers. His faith and courage were greatly strengthened, and he rejoiced that Israel’s God could work through the humblest means to abase the pride of men. With confidence and hope, he returned to the few men under his command, saying, “Arise, for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.”
5 The apparently powerless condition of that little company of Israelites, compared with the vast host of the enemy, was fitly represented by the cake of barley bread. But as that loaf overthrew the tent upon which it fell, so would the handful of Israelites destroy their numerous and powerful enemies. The Lord himself directed Gideon’s mind in the adoption of a plan which the latter immediately set out to execute. He divided his three hundred men into three companies. To every man was given a trumpet, and a pitcher containing a lighted lamp. He then stationed his men in such a manner that they surrounded the entire camp of Midian. They had been previously instructed how to proceed, and at midnight, at a signal from Gideon, all the three companies blew their trumpets, uncovered their lamps, and broke the pitchers, at the same time shouting, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” The light of three hundred lamps, piercing the midnight darkness, and that mighty shout from three hundred voices, suddenly aroused the sleeping army. Believing themselves at the mercy of an overwhelming force, the Midianites were panic-stricken. A terrible scene of confusion ensued. In their fright they fled in all directions, and mistaking their own companions for enemies they slew one another.
6 As the news of Israel’s victory spread, many who had been sent to their homes returned, and joined in the pursuit of their fleeing enemies. Gideon also sent messengers to the Ephraimites, requesting them to seize the fords of the Jordan that the fugitives might not escape eastward.
7 In this terrible overthrow, not less than one hundred and twenty thousand of the invaders were slain, and so completely were the Midianites subdued that they were never again able to make war upon Israel. A remnant of fifteen thousand who managed to escape across the river, were pursued by Gideon and his faithful three hundred, and utterly defeated, and Zebah and Zalmunna, two Midianite princes, were slain.
8 Nothing can happen in any part of the universe without the knowledge of Him who is omnipresent. Not a single event of human life is unknown to our Maker. While Satan is constantly devising evil, the Lord our God overrules all, so that it will not harm his obedient, trusting children. The same power that controls the boisterous waves of the ocean can hold in check all the power of rebellion and of crime. God says to one as to the other, “Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther.”
9 What lessons of humility and faith may we not learn as we trace the dealings of God with his creatures. The Lord can do but little for the children of men, because they are so full of pride and vain glory. They exalt self, magnifying their own strength, learning, and wisdom. It is necessary for God to disappoint their hopes and frustrate their plans, that they may learn to trust in him alone. All our powers are from God; we can do nothing independent of the strength which he has given us. Where is the man or woman or child that God does not sustain? Where is the desolate place which God does not fill? Where is the want that any but God can supply?
10 The psalmist represents the presence of the Infinite One as pervading the universe. “If I ascend up into Heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” We can never find a solitude where God is not. The ever watchful eye of Omniscience is upon all our works, and although he can marshal the armies of Heaven to do his will, he condescends to accept the services of frail, erring mortals.
11 Because of the pride and ambition of the children of men, God has chosen to perform his mighty works by the most simple and humble means. It is not the men whom the world honors as great, talented, or brilliant, that God selects. He chooses those who will work in meekness and simplicity, acknowledging him as their leader and their source of strength. He would have us make him our protector and our guide in all the duties and affairs of life.
12 His care for the works of his creation is unwearied and incessant. When men go forth to their daily toil, as when they engage in prayer; when they lie down at night, and when they rise in the morning; when the rich man feasts in his palace, when the poor man gathers his children about the scanty board, each is tenderly watched by his Heavenly Father. No tears can be shed that God does not notice. There is no smile that he does not mark. Those to whom he has committed important trusts he regards with vigilance. All their actions and most secret motives must pass his scrutiny. He has bestowed upon them all their talents and abilities, and he will hold them to a strict account for the improvement of these gifts. If they attain success, it is because the God of wisdom has prospered them.
13 The Majesty of Heaven works by whom he will. His providence sometimes selects the humblest instruments to do the greatest work; for his power is revealed through the weakness of men. We have our standard of reckoning, and by it we pronounce one thing great, and another small; but God estimates not according to the standard of men; he does not graduate his scale by theirs. We are not to suppose that what is great to us must be great to God, and what is small to us must be small to him.
14 He who upholds the unnumbered worlds throughout immensity, at the same time cares for the wants of the little brown sparrow that sings its humble song without a fear. He cares for everything and sustains everything throughout the universe that he has created.
15 If we would but fully believe this, all undue anxieties would be dismissed. With humble prayer and trusting faith, we would seek counsel from God in all our plans and purposes of life. Then all our acts would be governed by discretion, our energies would be rightly directed. Then our lives would not be so filled with disappointment as now; for everything, small or great, would be left in the hands of God, who is not perplexed by the multiplicity of cares, nor overwhelmed by their weight. We should then enjoy a rest of soul to which many have long been strangers.
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1 After the overthrow of the Midianites, the tidings spread swiftly far and wide that Israel’s God had again fought for his people. No words can describe the terror of the surrounding nations when they learned what simple means had prevailed against all the power and skill of a bold, warlike race.
2 Wherever the news spread, all felt that the victory must be ascribed to God alone. Thus the Lord’s name was glorified, the faith of Israel strengthened, and their enemies were brought to shame and confusion.
3 It is not safe for God’s people to adopt the maxims and customs of the ungodly. The divine principles and modes of working are widely different from those of the world. The history of nations presents no such victories as the conquest of Jericho or the overthrow of the Midianites. No general of heathen armies had ever conducted warfare as Joshua and Gideon had done. These victories teach the great lesson that the only sure ground of success is the help of God, working with human effort. Those who trust to their own wisdom and their own skill will surely be disappointed. The only safe course in all the plans and purposes of life is to preserve the simplicity of faith. Humble trust in God and faithful obedience to his will are as essential to the Christian in waging spiritual warfare as they were to Gideon and his brave associates in fighting the battles of the Lord.
4 God’s commands must be implicitly obeyed, irrespective of the world’s opinion. This lesson should not be disregarded by those who occupy positions of responsibility among their fellowmen. Such persons above all others should neglect none of the Lord’s ordinances or commands. He who conforms to the customs and practices of the world separates himself from God. All should earnestly improve every religious privilege, and inquire of God daily to learn his will. The life and words of Christ must be diligently studied, and his instructions cheerfully obeyed. He who will thus gird on the armor of righteousness need not fear the enemies of God. He may be assured of the presence and protection of the Captain of the Lord’s host.
5 It is a sad fact that the simplicity of true faith has, in a great measure, departed from the church of Christ. Many who occupy responsible positions are in constant danger of separating themselves from God by neglect of the means of grace. They do not drink daily at the fountain of wisdom and righteousness, and do not acknowledge God as the right arm of their power.
6 The Lord is willing to give his people a precious experience. He would lead them to confide in his wisdom, his power, and his love, instead of trusting to themselves. He would teach them to submit their judgment and their will implicitly to him. Then will they see and know that of themselves they can do nothing; that God is all and in all. His love will dwell in their hearts, and his praise will be continually upon their lips. God works for his people by agencies which the proud and worldly-wise will despise; but the grace and power of God are the only hope of sinful men.
7 After his glorious victory over the Midianites, Gideon was subjected to another test, differing widely from those already given, but unexpected and peculiarly severe. He must now meet unjust accusation and censure. When, at his call, the men of Israel had rallied against the Midianites, the tribe of Ephraim had remained behind. They looked upon the effort as a perilous and doubtful undertaking, and as Gideon sent them no special invitation, they availed themselves of this excuse not to join their brethren. But when the news of Israel’s triumph reached them, the Ephraimites were dissatisfied and envious because they had not shared it.
8 Gideon was not anxious to secure the honor to himself, for he knew that it belonged to the Lord alone. As soon as the Midianites were routed, Gideon had sent swift messengers, desiring the Ephraimites to seize the fords of the Jordan that the fugitives might not escape. A large number of the enemy were slain, among whom were two of the chief princes of Midian. Thus the men of Ephraim followed up the battle, and helped complete the victory. Nevertheless, they were jealous and angry, as though Gideon were governed by his own will and judgment. They did not discern God’s hand in the triumph of Israel, and this very fact proved that they were indeed unworthy to be used as his instruments on that occasion. They would have taken the honor to themselves, instead of ascribing it to God. The wicked spirit manifested toward Gideon shows that they were not men who could be trusted, who would appreciate God’s mercy and power in their deliverance.
9 The wisdom of God, as displayed in the methods and instrumentalities employed to carry forward his work, is foolishness to the boastful and self-confident, because they know not the mystery of godliness. The Lord would teach his people at the present day the lesson of simple dependence upon that mighty arm which can overthrow the strongholds of Satan. The prayer of faith, offered by God’s humble, obedient, trusting people, will bring them the victory.
10 The most complete and perfect system which men have ever despised, apart from the power and wisdom of God, will prove a failure; while the humble means which God sanctions must succeed. The simple act of blowing a blast upon the trumpet, by the army of Joshua around Jericho, and by Gideon’s little band about the host of Midian, was made effectual, through the power of God, to overthrow the might of his enemies. Deep are the counsels of God, and the finite mind seeks in vain to comprehend them.
11 The bullock standing between the altar for sacrifice and the plow in the furrow,—ready for either,—fitly represents the position which God’s people should occupy. The Lord has no place in his work for the indolent and self-indulgent. Like the men of Ephraim, there are many at the present day who are ready to work diligently to secure honor to themselves; but unless they can do this they will not work at all. And not only will they do nothing to themselves, but by their example and influence they will discourage others.
12 The men of Ephraim, returning from the fords of the Jordan with the trophies of victory, addressed Gideon in terms of angry reproach: “Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites?”
13 Gideon knew that he had acted by the divine command, and though harshly censured by those who should have commended, he restrained all feelings of anger or indignation. How easily the spirit of jealousy and discontent might have been fanned into a quarrel that would have caused division, bloodshed, and ruin! By his self-control, Gideon showed himself a hero. He proved the truth of those words written so long afterward, “A soft answer turneth away wrath.” In his reply to the Ephraimites he modestly threw a veil over his own success, but spoke in the highest praise of their achievements: “What have I done now in comparison of you?” Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer? God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison of you?” He represented the victory gained by himself and his army of three hundred men as little in comparison with their taking the princes of Midian. And he further showed that the glory belonged neither to him nor to them, but to the Lord.
14 Gideon’s modest and prudent answer appeased the anger of the men of Ephraim, and they returned in peace to their homes. How much of the trouble that exists in the world today, springs from the same evil traits that actuated the men of Ephraim, and how many evils might be avoided if all who are unjustly accused or censured would manifest the meek, self-forgetful spirit of Gideon.
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Page 165
1 The people of Israel, filled with joy and gratitude at their deliverance from the Midianites, proposed to Gideon that he should become their king, and that the throne should be confirmed to his descendants. His answer shows how true and noble were the motives by which he was actuated. “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. The Lord shall rule over you.” At the divine command, Gideon had willingly gone forth to battle for Israel; he had not shrunk from duty, nor hesitated in the face of danger; but he nobly refused to accept from the people those honors which the Lord had reserved to himself the right to bestow.
2 God had manifested special favor to Gideon, in selecting him as the instrument through whom to deliver Israel. While great responsibilities rested upon him in this important crisis, Gideon’s course was marked with humility and faithful obedience. God accepted his work, and crowned his efforts with success. But now Gideon was assailed by temptation in a new form. When the reprover of wrong has done his work, in obedience to God’s commands, the period of inactivity which succeeds the struggle, is often the most dangerous. This danger Gideon now experienced. A spirit of unrest was upon him. Hitherto he had been content to execute the commands given him of God; but now, instead of calmly waiting for divine instruction, he began to devise and execute plans for himself. He had not learned to wait as well as to labor—to suffer God’s will as well as to do it.
3 Satan is never idle. He is filled with hatred against God, and is constantly enticing men into a wrong course of action. After the armies of the Lord have gained a signal victory, the great adversary is especially busy. He comes disguised as an angel of light, and as such he endeavors to overthrow the work of God. Thus thoughts and plans were suggested to the mind of Gideon, by which Israel were led astray.
4 The tribes on the east side of the Jordan were quite a distance from the tabernacle at Shiloh, to which all the men of Israel were required to repair three times a year, to attend the great annual feasts. This of course, required a considerable outlay of time and means. The thought was suggested to Gideon that it would be a great advantage to these tribes to have a place at home, for sacrifice and worship.
5 Without waiting for the divine sanction, he determined to provide a suitable place and to institute a system of worship similar to that carried on at the tabernacle at Shiloh. He had refused the urgent solicitations to become king of Israel, but he now determined to take advantage of the popular feeling in his favor to carry out the plan he had devised. As his share of the spoil taken from the Midianites, he asked that all the ear-rings of gold might be given him, promising that he would put them to a wise use.
6 As is natural, even at the present day, the people of Israel were more ready to ascribe the honor of the victory to Gideon than to the Lord. They readily complied with the request, and also collected many other costly materials, together with the richly adorned garments of the princes of Midian.
7 The total value of the spoil thus contributed was not less than fifteen thousand dollars. From the material thus furnished, Gideon constructed an ephod and a breastplate of judgment in imitation of those worn by the high priest.
8 Gideon led the people to look upon this ephod and the breastplate as possessing special sacredness in themselves. In this he erred. All that could make them sacred was the fact that they were employed in the solemn service of God as he had directed. The high priest alone was authorized to wear them when he went in before the Lord.
9 Because he had been commanded to offer a sacrifice upon the rock where the angel appeared to him, Gideon concluded that he had been divinely appointed to officiate as a priest, and that by instituting a service there, he might save the people the trouble and expense of their journeys to Shiloh.
10 The Lord was not pleased with this arrangement, for it was contrary to the order which he had established. It was an assumption of authority on the part of Gideon which proved disastrous to himself and to all Israel. God designs that his people shall place a high estimate upon every provision for their salvation. He desires them to appreciate his great mercy and condescension, and to manifest gratitude and zeal proportionate to the value of the great gift of the Son of God. But we are disposed to shun sacrifice and self-denial for our eternal interest, while we readily devote time and strength to seeking temporal advantage. Thus our conduct too often shows that we place a higher estimate upon earthly things that upon the heavenly treasure.
11 It is the work of God’s true people to advance his glory in the earth. Through connection with him, they will be imbued with divine wisdom, which will lead them to place a right estimate upon eternal things. The Lord desired his people to go up to the tabernacle at Shiloh, at the stated seasons, even though it might require considerable sacrifice. That very effort would lead them to place a higher value upon their religious privileges.
12 In seeking to bring the worship of God nearer home, Gideon was but providing to indulge the people in their indolence. This would have no beneficial influence upon them. All plans based upon human reasoning should be looked upon with a jealous eye, lest Satan insinuate himself into the position which belongs to God alone. The course pursued by Gideon proved a snare, not only to himself and family, but to all Israel. The irregular and unauthorized worship led the people finally to forsake the Lord altogether, to serve idols. The ephod and the breastplate were regarded with pride, because of their costly material and exquisite workmanship; and after a time were looked upon with superstitious reverence. The services at the place of worship were celebrated with feasting and merriment, and at last became a scene of dissipation and licentiousness. Thus Israel were led away from God by the very man who had once overthrown their idolatry.
13 If men could foresee the result of their course, if they could realize the influence which they exert upon their own families and upon society, they would move with greater caution, and would maintain a firmer reliance upon God. The misconduct of parents frequently produces the most ruinous effects upon their children and associates, after the actors themselves have been laid in the grave. There is no evil which man should so much dread, as being given up to his own lusts. This was the fate of Israel. After Gideon’s death, the people, especially his own house, plunged into the grossest idolatry.
14 Thus the snare which Gideon had so unwittingly set, entrapped the unwary feet of thousands. A snare,—how many snares are to be found in our path today! There is need that light from above be constantly shed upon our way, that we may see the snares laid for our feet. Oh, that fathers and mothers could realize the dangers that beset their path and the path of their children!
15 Those who are placed in the highest positions may lead astray, especially if they feel that there is no danger. The wisest err; the strongest grow weary. Excess of caution is often attended with as great danger as excess of confidence. To go forward without stumbling, we must have the assurance that a hand all-powerful will hold us up, and an infinite pity be exercised toward us if we fall. God alone can at all times hear our cry for help.
16 It is a solemn thought that the removal of one safeguard from the conscience, the failure to fulfill one good resolution, the formation of one wrong habit, may result not only in our own ruin, but in the ruin of those who have put confidence in us. Our only safety is to follow where the steps of the Master lead the way, to trust for protection implicitly to Him who says, “Follow me.” Our constant prayer should be, “Hold up my goings in thy path, O Lord, that my footsteps slip not.”
17 The Israelites needed the benefits of assembling for worship and entering into covenant together to serve the Lord. In separating themselves from the place of worship divinely appointed, they lost much. God had servants whose lips he unsealed to speak words of warning, encouragement, and reproof, so that the light received from Heaven by one shone not for himself alone, but to lighten the path of others. God knows best what his people need. His words come down to us, in warning and instruction,—”Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.”
18 At the present day, as in ancient times, the people of God plead their own ease or convenience as an excuse for neglecting divine service. They will devise means to preserve the Christian name without making any sacrifice of time or means. God requires his people to maintain his worship. And those who are burdened with care and responsibility, should be the last to excuse themselves from religious privileges. They need wisdom from above. They need to be constantly reaching upward to lay hold on the divine arm, lest they stumble and fall. They can walk safely, only as they fear God, and obey his voice. Those whom God has burdened with a place in his work, need not be left to their own judgment, as was Gideon, to lead men away from the right path. The feet that God is guiding will press on in a way which leads straight forward, ever ascending, and ever brightening, until it reaches the brightness of eternal day.
19 All wrong-doing is forsaking the path where Jesus leads, turning aside to the crooked ways of darkness. Those who are determined in the strength of Jesus to make the most of their opportunities, seizing every ray of light that Heaven sheds on their pathway, will go straight forward, fulfilling their duty to God and to their fellow-men. They will not fall, nor stumble. A divine Guide goes before the faithful, encouraging them with his voice, aiding them with his hand, and they need never mistake the way.
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1 The course of Israel, after the death of Gideon, is thus described by the sacred historian: “The children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side. Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.”
2 When men cast away the fear of God, we need not be surprised to see them departing from the path of honor and integrity. They are following another guide. They hurry on in the journey of life, heedless, presumptuous, yet ever fearful and dissatisfied; for they have left the only one who can give them rest and security. When once started in a wrong path, many press on as if infatuated, although every step leads them farther from the Source of light and the Tower of strength.
3 The great sin of Israel had ever been that of departing from God, forgetting his matchless love and his mighty power as revealed again and again in their deliverance. An appreciation of the Lord’s mercy and goodness will lead to an appreciation of those who, like Gideon, have been employed as instruments to bless his people. The cruel course of Israel toward the house of Gideon was what might be expected from a people who manifested such base ingratitude to God.
4 The calamities which had constantly threatened them being past, the selfishness of Israel now became apparent. The men so grateful after that glorious victory over Midian, now forgot their offer to place Gideon and his sons upon the throne. They had been filled with wonder and admiration by the noble, unselfish, unambitious spirit which prompted him to refuse the honor, both for himself and for his sons. But the impression wore away as other influences were brought to bear upon them. Gratitude died out of their hearts, and after Gideon’s death, the people treated his sons with the basest neglect and cruelty. The human heart is fickle. It is not to be trusted. All who rely upon the favor or support of men will sooner or later find themselves leaning upon a broken reed.
5 Yet Gideon himself had sowed the seeds for that baleful harvest, when he performed that one wrong act by which Israel were led away from God. Now they had become blinded by the sophistry of Satan, and they were wandering away from Him who was their light, their strength, and their glory. The Lord withdrew his restraining Spirit from them, and gave them up to their own base passions.
6 According to the evil custom of those days, Gideon had taken numerous wives, and at his death he left no less than seventy sons. Besides these, there was another, Abimelech, “the son of a strange woman.” This person had no right in the inheritance with Gideon’s lawful children, and his debased character rendered him still more unworthy to be numbered with the descendants of the illustrious leader. The sons of Gideon had concurred in their father’s refusal to accept the throne of Israel, but Abimelech determined to secure the position for himself. Being a native of Shechem, where his mother’s relatives dwelt, he induced them to influence the Shechemites in his favor. He endeavored to advance his own interests by basely misrepresenting his brethren. He accused them of designing to seize upon the government and unite in its administration, and he sought to convince the people that it would be much better for them to be ruled by one of their own number than by such a band of tyrants.
7 Had the Israelites preserved a clear perception of right and wrong, they would have seen the fallacy of Abimelech’s reasoning, and the injustice of his claims. They would have seen that he was filled with envy, and actuated by a base ambition to exalt himself by the ruin of his brethren. Those who are controlled by policy rather than by principle are not to be trusted. They will pervert the truth, conceal facts, and construe the words of others to mean that which was never intended. They will employ flattering words, while the poison of asps is under their tongue. He who does not earnestly seek the divine guidance will be deceived by their smooth words and their artful plans.
8 There are many who would scorn the appellation of policy men, yet who will stoop to concealment, evasion, and even misrepresentation, to accomplish their purposes. He who, in a matter of right and wrong, remains noncommittal that he may retain the friendship of all; he who seeks to secure by evasion of truth what should be won by courage; he who waits for others to take the lead, when he should go forward himself, and then feels at liberty to censure their course,—all these are in God’s sight numbered as deceivers.
9 Abimelech was successful in his schemes, and was accepted, at first by the Shechemites, and afterward by the people generally, as the ruler of Israel. But while thus exalted to the highest position in the gift of the nation, he was utterly unworthy of the trust. His birth was ignoble, his character vicious. The higher and nobler qualities,—virtue, integrity, and truth,—he had never cherished. He possessed a strong will and indomitable perseverance, and thus, by the most unscrupulous measures, he accomplished his purposes.
10 The Israelites, blinded by their own sinful course of apostasy, were acting directly contrary to God’s express commands, and he left them to reap the results of their own folly. It was not Gods will that Israel should have a king. But in case they desired to be thus governed, the Lord, understanding the pride and perversity of the human heart, had reserved to himself the right to appoint a king over them. God had brought Israel out from Egypt to be a peculiar people, especially devoted to himself, and unlike any other people. Israel’s great ambition to imitate the idolatrous nations around them was the result of separation from God.
11 Pride and ambition similar to that which cursed ancient Israel, exists in the church of God today. They are unwilling to be a peculiar people, distinct and separate from the world. To reach the Bible standard requires self-denial, a crucifixion of the affections and lusts. The unsanctified heart reaches out for forbidden things, but these very objects of desire will prove now, as anciently, a source of weakness and corruption. Christ “gave himself for us, that he might cleanse us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Those who seek the honor which comes from men are ever ready to adopt the customs and practices of the world. They gain their position by the exercise of traits of character which should lie dormant. If only those were exalted who had gained their position by fidelity to God and to man, the standard of morality and religion among the people would be elevated. The sin of which we are guilty in acting contrary to God’s expressed will is as much greater than was that of ancient Israel, as our light and privileges have been greater than theirs.
12 The Shechemites sealed the compact with their new king by presenting him with a sum of money from the treasure which had been dedicated to their god, Baal-berith. By accepting the gift, Abimelech covenanted, at the very commencement of his reign, to use his influence and authority to promote the worship of this god. Thus he publicly pledged himself to counteract, as far as possible, the work which Gideon his father had done in overthrowing idolatry. Such has ever been the history of the world since the fall of man. God will use those who give themselves wholly to his service. And Satan not only marshals his host of evil angels and arrays them against God, but he employs men to execute his plans and to defy the King of Heaven.
13 Abimelech now proceeded to execute his power as suited his cruel character. With the money he had received, he hired a set of unprincipled men who were ready for any crime. At the head of this company he marched to Ophrah, where Gideon’s family still dwelt, and basely murdered them all, except one brother, Jotham, who escaped. Abimelech well knew that these men were far better qualified than himself to stand at the head of the kingdom; and he felt that while they lived, his throne would not be secure. Hence he conceived and executed this fiendish crime, that he might undisturbed enjoy the coveted honor, being the first who had borne the name of king among the descendants of Jacob. Returning in triumph to Shechem, Abimelech was immediately anointed king.
14 When Jotham was informed of this, he immediately repaired to Shechem. Burning with a sense of the horrible injustice and cruelty heaped upon his family, he determined at all hazards to present it before the people in its true light. While the multitude were engaged in festivities in honor of their king, celebrating the occasion with hilarious mirth and sensual gratification, Jotham ascended Mount Gerizim to a position where he could be seen and heard by all the people, and addressed them in words of keen reproof.
15 In a most fitting and beautiful parable, he presented before them the folly and injustice of their course. He represented the trees as seeking to make one of their number king over them. But the olive refused to leave its oil, the fig-tree its fruit, and the vine-tree its wine. The worthless bramble, however, readily appropriated the honor and at once stated the conditions of its acceptance: “If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”
16 The unselfish, unambitious conduct of Gideon and his sons was then forcibly portrayed, and also the ingratitude of the Shechemites. Jotham then concluded in words which proved to be a prophecy: “If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. But if not let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.”
17 After delivering this speech, Jotham, fled and dwelt in a part of the country beyond the power of Abimelech.
18 The transaction of making Abimelech their king, shows how low Israel had fallen. What a contrast between their humble, God-fearing leader, Moses, who had felt wholly unworthy to occupy his position, and this upstart king, who had secured the throne by treachery, and established himself by violence and bloodshed. It should send terror to our souls when we reflect to what lengths men may go in crime, when they have rejected the influence of God’s Spirit. A despot, a murderer, was placed as commander-in-chief of Israel. Satan was now exultant. He had gained control of the mind of Abimelech, and through him he hoped to rule the people.
19 Truly what a striking contrast between the self-sacrificing, devoted leader whom God appointed, and the monster of ingratitude and cruelty whom Israel had now placed upon the throne. By the olive, the fig-tree, and the vine, in Jotham’s parable, were represented such noble, upright characters as Moses and Joshua, who had been a living illustration of what a leader of Israel should be. Such men claimed no kingly honors. It was their work to bless their fellow-men, and they did not aspire to rank or power.
20 The worthless bramble, grasping for honor, and destroying that which was better than itself, was a fitting symbol of the vile and cruel Abimelech. Millo was the name of the senate-house, or townhall, and by the house of Millo are meant the chief men of Shechem, who had united in making Abimelech their king, but who, according to Jotham’s prophecy, were to destroy Abimelech, and to be destroyed by him.
21 For three years this wicked man’s reign continued, and then the Lord sent trouble among those who had united in an evil course. The very men who had made Abimelech king became disgusted with his demoralizing rule, and his heartless tyranny. By treachery he had gained the throne, and now by treachery they determined to remove him. The words of Jotham were fulfilled. Discord, strife, and hatred prevailed between Abimelech and his subjects. The king’s cruelty had not ended with the sons of Gideon. Everyone who opposed his will was summarily put to death. But the time of retribution, both for Abimelech and for the Shechemites who had sustained him, was at hand.
22 The city of Shechem having rebelled, it was attacked by the king’s forces, the inhabitants were slain, the city itself was reduced to ashes, and the ground was sown with salt, as a token of perpetual desolation.
23 A neighboring city united with Shechem in the insurrection, and Abimelech proceeded next to attack this place also. Having gained possession, he determined to burn the inhabitants with the tower, as he had done at Shechem. But the wicked king had passed the limits of divine forbearance. He had been permitted to execute the vengeance of God upon Israel, and his career of crime was now to be cut short.
24 As they were about to burn the tower, the king approached too near for his own safety. A piece of millstone hurled by the hand of a woman, struck and fatally wounded him. To avoid the disgrace of dying by a woman’s hand, he was, at his own request, immediately slain by his armor-bearer. Thus ended the career of Abimelech. A vile murderer no longer lived to execute his tyranny.
25 Thus the justice of God punished both Abimelech and the Shechemites. This terrible history should teach us the lesson that sin will never go unpunished, and it should impress upon our minds the danger of entering upon the path of disobedience.
26 All true greatness of character, all peace and joy of soul, must come from entire conformity to the will of God. The path of cheerful obedience is the path of safety and happiness. Messages of mercy are sent from Heaven, to teach us the right way. Strength for the conflict of life is ever awaiting us. With the help of God we may gain the victory.
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1 After the death of Abimelech, the usurper, the Lord raised up Tola to judge Israel. His peaceful reign presented a happy contrast to the stormy scenes through which the nation had been passing. It was not his work to lead armies to battle and to achieve victories over the enemies of Israel, as the former rulers had done; but his influence effected a closer union among the people, and established the government upon a firmer basis. He restored order, law, and justice.
2 Unlike the proud and envious Abimelech, Tola’s great desire was, not to secure position or honor for himself, but to improve the condition of his people. A man of deep humility, he felt that he could accomplish no great work, but he determined to perform with faithfulness his duty to God and to the people. He highly valued the privilege of divine worship, and chose to dwell near the tabernacle, that he might oftener attend upon the services there performed.
3 Devotion and humility have ever characterized the men with whom God has intrusted important responsibilities in his work. The divine call to Moses in the desert found him distrustful of self. He realized his unfitness for the position to which God had called him; but having accepted the trust, he became a polished instrument in the hand of God to accomplish the greatest work ever committed to mortals.
4 Had Moses trusted to his own strength and wisdom, and eagerly accepted the great charge, he would have evinced his entire unfitness for such a work. The fact that a man feels his own weakness, is at least some evidence that he realizes the magnitude of the work appointed him, and this gives room for hope that he will make God his counselor and his strength. Such a person will move no farther nor faster than he knows God is leading him.
5 A man will gain power and efficiency as he accepts the responsibilities which God places upon him, and with his whole soul seeks to qualify himself to bear them aright. However humble his position or limited his ability, that individual will attain true greatness who cheerfully responds to the call of duty, and, trusting to the divine strength, seeks to perform his work with fidelity. He will feel that he has a sacred commission to battle against wrong, to strengthen the right, to elevate, comfort, and bless his fellow-men. Indolence, selfishness, and love of worldly approbation must yield to this high and holy calling.
6 Engaged in such a work, the weak man will become strong; the timid, brave; the irresolute, firm and decided. Each sees the importance of his position and his course, inasmuch as Heaven has chosen him to do a special work for the King of kings. Such men will leave the world better for their having lived in it. Their influence is exerted to elevate, to purify, and to ennoble all with whom they come in contact, and thus they help to prepare their fellow-men for the heavenly courts.
7 Tola governed Israel twenty-three years, and was succeeded by Jair. This ruler also feared the Lord and endeavored to maintain his worship among the people. In conducting the affairs of the government he was assisted by his sons, who acted as magistrates, and went from place to place to administer justice.
8 To some extent, during the latter part of Jair’s reign, and more generally after his death, the Israelites again relapsed into idolatry. The sacred record states, “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him.”
9 The divine judgments followed close upon the transgressions of Israel. The Ammonites made war upon them in the east, and the Philistines in the west. Other nations, also, united with these in the oppression of Israel, until they seemed again to be shut in by relentless foes. In the days of prosperity, God’s people had forsaken him, and now he seemed to have forsaken them, and they knew not which way to turn for help. Thus was again fulfilled the word of the Lord by the mouth of Joshua, that the heathen nations, if not promptly destroyed, would prove to Israel as snares for their feet, and as thorns in their eyes.
10 When the sins of a nation are punished, the innocent often suffer with the guilty. Among apostate Israel, the Lord still had faithful servants. These labored to show Israel their transgressions, and that all their troubles were but the results of their apostasy. But the words of warning seemed for a time to fall unheeded.
11 We repeat what has been so often said before, that among the people of God today are dangers similar to those that well-nigh destroyed Israel. The command, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” was spoken from Sinai for every soul that should live upon the earth. We can no more free ourselves from the claims of God’s law than we can hide from his all-seeing eye. Its precepts reached every case, and its claims rest upon all the children of men to the close of time.
12 Idolatry has separated the people of God from him; he has not the first place in their thoughts and affections. Professed Christians fail to realize their accountability to God. They forget that he is ever present, to assert his supreme authority, and to take cognizance of all their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.
13 Satan once presented all the attractions of the world to Christ, to allure him from the path of duty. Having failed in this, the arch-deceiver tries the same device with the followers of Jesus, and meets with much better success. Thus Satan receives the devotion which God claims. How many employ all the Creator’s gifts merely to glorify themselves. How many set their affections upon their worldly possessions, or seek above all else the applause of men. How many choose the atmosphere of vanity and worldliness, rather than that of sobriety, purity, and godliness. They are so far from God that they cannot discern the true value of eternal things. And there are some who glory in their unbelief, making this an excuse for their defects of character. Unbelief is the idol which they worship. They willfully grope in darkness constantly diffusing mist and fog to shadow their own path and the path of others. But still the voice from Sinai sounds in our ears, addressing this class no less than all others, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
14 Many who profess to be the disciples of Jesus seem as indifferent and careless in their religious life, as though no responsibility rested upon them to deny self and bear the cross. They do not realize their duty, by personal example and earnest effort to help others to follow in the same path. God would be to us the very help we need, if we would make him first, and last, and best, in all the purposes and events of life. Every plan devised should bear the high signet of Heaven, rather than the seal of worldly commendation.
15 The reason why so many are walking in darkness is that they pursue a path which leads directly away from God. Christ came to give the world an example of a pure and perfect life. He sacrificed himself for the joy of saving the lost. Whoever follows Christ will work the works of Christ. Pride and selfishness will not be cherished, every sinful indulgence will be put away, the soul temple will be cleansed from every idolatrous shrine. Until this shall take place, we cannot claim to be free from Israel’s great sin of idolatry.
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1 Exposed to the power of their enemies, the children of Israel at last realized the perils of their situation, and the futility of all their efforts against the oppressor. Then they began to seek help from Him whom they had so forsaken and insulted. They saw in some measure, how far they had separated themselves from the only One who could help them. “And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.”
2 But infinite wisdom saw that they sorrowed because of the consequences of their sin—the suffering which it had brought upon themselves,—rather than because they had offended God. The Lord answered them, through one of his faithful prophets:—
3 “Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods; wherefore I will deliver you no more.”
4 Thus the Lord presented before them his goodness, his long suffering, his pity for their distress, and the wonderful deliverances which he had wrought for them again and again. Notwithstanding all his love and care, they had once more forsaken him, and had sinned more grievously than ever before, choosing the service of idols, instead of the worship of the living God. Now, in their distress, he bade them, “Go and cry unto the Gods which ye have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
5 But there was hope for Israel as soon as they began sincerely to repent and humbly cry unto God. They had been led to see what would be their condition, should the Lord leave them to be delivered by the gods in whom they trusted. They would be subdued by the very nations that in God’s strength they had once conquered. Had Israel preserved their connection with God, they would have derived honor, dignity, and power from this relationship.
6 Allied to the King of kings, the Lord of life and glory, the vilest sinner may become a partaker of the divine nature, and an heir of eternal riches. “To them gave he power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Oh, what condescension, what amazing love, to make fallen man a member of the royal family, a child of the Heavenly King! How can the world’s Redeemer look upon those who stubbornly refuse to receive the gifts of a Saviour’s love, or who, having professedly accepted him, cast aside as worthless trifles the honor and dignity offered them as his followers!
7 Multitudes turn with contempt from the pleadings of divine grace and infinite love, to satisfy their desire for forbidden pleasures which prove as the apples of Sodom, beautiful without, but ashes within. Israel had no love for the holy character of God, and they rejected and despised his friendship. Scorning the Creator, they adored the creature; and when, in their distress, they sought unto the long-insulted Jehovah, he pointed them to the gods of their choice, and bade them cry to these deities for help.
8 The Israelites well knew that their idols were powerless to save or to destroy. They knew that the heathen worship was contrary to reason and sound judgment. But they had gradually departed from God, and had indulged in sin until their moral perceptions were dulled, and they were led astray by Satan.
9 As we ponder the solemn words of warning addressed to Israel, we are in imagination brought before the great white throne, where in the presence of the assembled universe, every man will be judged according to the deeds done in the body. Then will be seen the true value of a Christian life and character. There must they render an account who have devoted their God-given talents of time, of means, or of intellect, to serving the gods of this world. The searching eye of Jehovah will rest upon all; and that voice which amid the thunders of Sinai spake to man, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”—that voice will answer the sinner’s imploring cry for pardon, “Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
10 None then to pity the folly of those who have despised and forsaken God. None to relieve their distress. They have forsaken their true and loving Friend, to follow the path of convenience and worldly pleasure. They intended at some time to return to God. But the world, with its follies and deceptions, absorbs the attention. Frivolous amusements, pride of dress, indulgence of appetite, harden the heart and benumb the conscience, so that the voice of truth is not heard. Duty is a despised word. Things of infinite value are lightly esteemed, until the heart loses all desire to sacrifice for Him who has given so much for man. But in the reaping time they must gather the crop sown.
11 “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you: then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me; for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; they would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.”
12 God speaks to us today, in the warnings, counsels, and reproofs given to ancient Israel. If we depart from him, our condemnation will be greater than theirs; for we have their experience as a warning, and all the instruction which God has given since their time. Many and varied are the idols which we cherish; idols that engross the mind and harden the heart, so that sacred things are not rightly valued. Oh that the lessons given to ancient Israel might so impress our hearts and affect our lives that we would fully turn from idols, to serve the living God.
13 We must not trifle with our present privileges and opportunities, and expect that when lost they will be restored whenever we desire. It is impossible to abuse the powers with which our Creator has endowed us, and yet find them clear and vigorous, to call to our aid whenever we wish to devote them to a nobler, better purpose. The chains of habit, like ropes of steel, are not easily broken. Then how careful should we be to cherish only those traits which we would have to form the texture of character.
14 The children of Israel had forfeited all right to expect help from God, and they had begun to feel this. They knew not where to turn for human help, and God had apparently forsaken them. His words thrilled their guilty souls with the anguish of remorse. They knew that they deserved to suffer the divine judgment, and to this they were willing to submit, if they might hope once more to be forgiven and restored to the favor of God.
15 “And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned; do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.”
16 Oh, the long-suffering mercy and condescension of our God! The Lord had been trying his people. When they humbled themselves before him, and repented with sincerity of soul, he heard their prayers, and at once began to deliver Israel.
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1 While Israel was sorely harassed by the children of Ammon on the east, and the Philistines on the west, the Lord hearkened to the prayers of his people, and began to work for their deliverance. After eighteen years of oppression, they made war against the Ammonites, and effectually destroyed their power. But a backsliding and idolatrous people soon forgot the lesson which divine wisdom had so often sought to teach them. As they continued to depart from God, he permitted them still to be oppressed by their powerful enemies, the Philistines.
2 For a period of forty years the children of Israel were constantly harassed, and at times completely subjugated, by this cruel and warlike nation. They had mingled with these idolaters, united with them in commerce, in pleasure, and even in worship, until they seemed to be identified with them in spirit and interest. Then these professed friends of Israel became their bitterest enemies, and sought by every means to accomplish their destruction.
3 There is still, as with ancient Israel, a constant tendency among the professed people of God to depart from the Lord’s instructions, and to imitate the customs and practices of worldlings. The people of the world have given themselves to the service of Satan; and their hearts are opposed to the religion of Jesus Christ. They may profess to acknowledge him as their Redeemer, but they have the same hostility as did the heathen of old, to that religion which calls for self-denial and self-sacrifice. The spirit of the world today is the same that prompted the rejection and crucifixion of the Prince of Life; the same that has consigned his followers to imprisonment, exile, and death. The Christianity which will yield to the influence of the world, and conform itself to their principles and customs, is looked upon with favor by men who are the enemies of God. But when the necessity for holiness of heart and life is presented, then the world feels that its rights are endangered. When the church rebukes fashionable follies, demoralizing amusements, extravagance, and self-indulgence; when Christianity is spiritual, positive, earnest, and aggressive,—then the opposition of the world will be excited.
4 Our Saviour plainly taught that there could be no harmony between his followers and the world. “Marvel not that the world hate you. Ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” The world will love its own. Those who value the things which it values, will enjoy its friendship. It is the spirit of the world that separates us from God. It is the love of those things which he has condemned that brings his displeasure upon us. As in olden times, the Lord still sends his messengers with words of warning and reproof. He makes it our duty to hear, to understand, and to obey. There are evils among the people of God that call for reform. The light of the present age, the experience of the church in ages past, the teachings of the sacred word for this time,—all bid us go forward.
5 There were still in Israel true-hearted ones whose souls were filled with anguish because of the condition of their people. Their prayers of confession, penitence, and faith, went up without ceasing before God. He was not indifferent to their cries, but while there was apparently no response, his providence was preparing for them help suited to their condition. There was not to be found in all Israel a man through whom the Lord could work for the deliverance of his people. The erroneous education given to children, indulgence of appetite, and conformity to the practices of heathenism, had greatly lessened both physical and moral power.
6 Godly fathers and mothers looked with gloomy forebodings to the future. Many a mother had secretly cherished the hope that she might give to God and to Israel a son who should deliver his people from the oppressor’s power. But as parents saw their children coming up with perverted appetites and uncontrolled passions, the inquiry arose, What will the end be? What part will these youth and children act in the great drama of life? In the hearts of many mothers, hope battled against fear; but in other hearts reigned only discouragement and despair. What could the mother do to avert the threatened evils? How could she train her children for God? How banish the nameless terror which oppressed her soul? “Spare us, O God, spare us!” was the oft-repeated prayer. “Let not thy people perish; let us not see our children a prey of the enemy.”
7 At this time the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah, an Israelite of the tribe of Dan, and informed her that she should have a son; and in view of this, he gave her special instruction concerning her own habits, and also for the treatment of her child. “Now therefore, beware, I pray thee, and drink neither wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.” He also directed that no razor should come upon the head of the child, for he was to be consecrated to God as a Nazarite from his birth, and through him the Lord would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
8 The woman sought her husband, and after describing the heavenly visitant, she repeated the message of the angel. Then, fearful that they should make some mistake in the important work committed to them, the husband prayed earnestly, “Let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.”
9 In answer to this petition, the angel again appeared, and Manoah’s anxious inquiry was, “How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” The previous instruction was repeated,—”Of all that I said unto the woman, let her beware. She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I command her let her observe.”
10 Manoah and his wife knew not that the One thus addressing them was Jesus Christ. They looked upon him as the Lord’s messenger, but whether a prophet or an angel, they were at a loss to determine. Wishing to manifest hospitality toward their guest, they entreated him to remain while they should prepare for him a kid. But in their ignorance of his character, they knew not whether to offer it for a burnt-offering or to place it before him as food.
11 The angel answered, “Although thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord.” Feeling assured, now, that his visitor was a prophet, Manoah said, “What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor.”
12 The answer was, “Why askest thou after my name, seeing it is secret?” Perceiving the divine character of his guest, Manoah “took a kid, with a meat-offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord; and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.” Fire came from the rock, and consumed the sacrifice, and as the flame went up toward heaven, “the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.” There could be no further question as to the character of their visitor. They knew that they had looked upon the Holy One, who, veiling his glory in the cloudy pillar, had been the guide and helper of Israel in the desert.
13 Amazement, awe, and terror filled Manoah’s heart, and he could only exclaim, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!” But his companion in that solemn hour possessed more faith than he. She reminded him that the Lord had been pleased to accept their sacrifice, and had promised them a son who should begin to deliver Israel. This was an evidence of favor instead of wrath. Had the Lord purposed to destroy them, he would not have wrought this miracle, nor given them a promise which, were they to perish, must fail of fulfillment.
14 The words uttered by the angel convey an important truth. Our Creator himself declares that the mother’s habits prior to the birth of her child will affect its character and destiny. In speaking to this one mother, the Lord spoke to all the anxious, sorrowing mothers of that time, and to all the mothers of succeeding generations. Yes, every mother may now understand her duty. She may know that the character of her children will depend vastly more upon her own habits before their birth, and her personal efforts after their birth, than upon external advantages or disadvantages.
15 If the mother would be a fit teacher for her children, she must form habits of self-denial and self-control before their birth. She imparts to them her own qualities of blood, her own strong or weak traits of character. If her ways are established in God, if she heeds the admonitions which he gives, she will do her part to give right character, right temper, and right appetites, to her offspring.
16 Said the angel, “Let her beware;” that is, be prepared to resist temptation, and stand firmly at her post. Let principle control her appetites and her passions. Of every mother it may be said, “Let her beware.” There is something to shun, a necessity of guarding herself if she would seek eminence for the gift of God in her child. If she is unstable, double-minded, unprincipled, she will in most cases cause the future ruin of her child. Her fixed principles of action, her unbending purpose to adhere to right rules, as the wisdom of God dictates, will give these same traits of character to her child. The Lord has spoken, and his words are not to be disregarded.
17 The divine command was very explicit, prohibiting the use of the fruit of the vine. Every drop of stimulant taken by the mother as a gratification of the appetite, endangers the physical, mental, and moral health of her offspring, and is a direct sin against her Creator. The accumulated misery and wickedness in our world exists in consequence of disregarding the express commands of God. The restrictions are given by the One who made man, who instituted the laws controlling his physical being, and who knows what is for his good. Dare any regard the lesson with indifference?
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1 Our accountability extends beyond our own well-being. Our influence is constantly affecting others, either for good or for evil. In a pre-eminent degree is this true of all parents. Fathers and mothers who gratify inclination and perverted appetite, at the expense of health, are not only working against their own physical life and moral advancement, but they leave their perverted appetite and their enfeebled moral power, to their children.
2 Liquor drinkers and tobacco devotees transmit their insatiable craving, their irritable nerves, and their inflamed, corrupted blood to their offspring. The licentious hand down their own weakness and wickedness, with a host of vile and loathsome diseases, as an inheritance to their children. Fashionable vices are debilitating and debasing the race. In physical strength, and in moral and intellectual power, every generation falls lower than the preceding. In consequence of the sinful habits of men, the world has become a vast lazarhouse. Satan exults at the success of his devices. Society is demoralized, the church is cursed, and God is dishonored.
3 The violation of God’s law lies at the foundation of all the misery that flesh is heir to. It is intemperance, transgression of the laws of life and health, that has shortened the years of men, and made these few years full of sorrow and pain. Parents are not only responsible in most cases for the violent passions and perverted appetites of their children, but for the infirmities of the thousands born deaf and blind and idiotic. Sins of omission and of commission have brought the sure result.
4 The effect of stimulants and narcotics is to lessen physical strength; and whatever affects the body, will affect the mind. A stimulant may for a time arouse the energies and produce mental and physical activity; but when the exhilarating influence is gone, both mind and body will be in a worse condition than before. Intoxicating liquors and tobacco have proved a terrible curse to our race, not only weakening the body and confusing the mind, but debasing the morals. As the control of reason is set aside, the animal passions will bear sway. The more freely these poisons are used, the more brutish will become the nature and disposition of men.
5 Parents who indulge appetite by eating to excess even of wholesome food, place a needless tax upon the system, and their children will be disposed to self-indulgence and gluttony. Such parents transmit their own perverted appetites to their offspring, who have far less moral power to resist temptation than had the parents. Then, instead of seeking to cure the evil which they have wrought, these fathers and mothers, by their own example, educate their children to indulge appetite regardless of reason, and to give loose rein to animal propensities. Many children die before reaching maturity, while many are ruined for time and for eternity, by tempers and appetites transmitted in consequence of the sinful indulgences of the parents.
6 Unwise, self-indulgent, weak-principled women will urge upon the mother the gratification of every wish and impulse as essential to the well-being of her offspring. But the error of such teaching is clearly seen in the light of facts presented in Bible history. The mother is by the command of God himself placed under the most solemn obligation to restrain perverted appetite. Whose voice will we heed—the teachings of infinite wisdom, or the voice of human ignorance, weakness, and superstition?
7 The thoughts and feelings of the mother will have a powerful influence upon the legacy she gives her child. If she allows her mind to dwell upon her own feelings, if she indulges in selfishness, if she is peevish and exacting, the disposition of her child will testify to the fact. Thus many have received as a birthright almost unconquerable tendencies to evil. The enemy of souls understands this matter much better than do many parents. He will bring his temptations to bear upon the mother, knowing that if she does not resist him, he can through her affect her child. The mother’s only hope is in God. She may flee to him for strength and grace; and she will not seek in vain. Fathers as well as mothers are involved in this responsibility, and they too should seek earnestly for divine grace, that their influence may be such as God can approve.
8 It is a deplorable fact that there is a widespread neglect of these precepts of the Bible which have a bearing upon life and health. Many make the subject of temperance a matter of jest. They claim that the Lord does not concern himself with such minor matters as our eating and drinking. But if the Lord had no care for these things, he would not have revealed himself to the wife of Manoah, giving her definite instructions, and twice enjoining upon her to beware lest she disregard them. Is not this sufficient evidence that he does care for these things?
9 The inquiry of fathers and mothers should be, “What shall we do unto the child that shall be born unto us?” We have brought before the reader what God has said concerning the course of the mother before the birth of her children. But this is not all. The angel Gabriel was sent from the heavenly courts to give directions for the care of children after their birth, that parents might fully understand their duty.
10 About the time of Christ’s first advent, the angel Gabriel came to Zacharias with a message similar to that given to Manoah. The aged priest was told that his wife should bear a son, whose name should be called John. “And,” said the angel, “thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.” This child of promise was to be brought up with strictly temperate habits. An important work of reform was to be committed to him, to prepare the way for Christ. Intemperance in every form existed among the people. Indulgence in wine and luxurious food was lessening physical strength, and debasing the morals to such an extent that the most revolting crimes did not appear sinful. The voice of John was to sound forth from the wilderness in stern rebuke for the sinful indulgences of the people, and his own abstemious habits were also to be a reproof of the excesses of his time.
11 The efforts of our temperance workers are not sufficiently far-reaching to banish the curse of intemperance from our land. Habits once formed are hard to overcome. The reform should begin with the mother before the birth of her children, and if God’s instructions were faithfully obeyed, intemperance would not exist.
12 It should be the constant effort of every mother to conform her habits to God’s will, that she may work in harmony with him to preserve her children from the health and life destroying vices of the present day. Let mothers place themselves without delay in right relations to their Creator, that they may by his assisting grace build around their children a bulwark against dissipation and intemperance. If mothers would but follow such a course, they might see their children, like the youthful Daniel, reach a high standard in moral and intellectual attainments, becoming a blessing to society and an honor to their Creator.
13 Had parents for years past studied the Scriptures more and the magazines of fashion less, had they realized that their course might determine the destiny of hundreds, and perhaps of thousands, what a different state of society might now exist. We are responsible for the good we might have done, but failed to perform, because by sinful indulgence we placed ourselves in a condition of physical and mental inefficiency. The cause of reform today is suffering for want of men and women of integrity and moral worth. They are needed to advocate by precept and example the principles of self-denial which will be a safeguard to our youth.
14 Can we look upon the unbelief, intemperance, and crime that seems to be deluging the earth, without feeling our souls stirred to the very depths? Infidelity is rearing its proud head. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” The cry of fathers and mothers and of nations that have forsaken God, and have been forsaken by him, will ere long rend the heavens. What can hinder the crime, what stay the woe that is upon all nations? This evil might have been prevented, had previous generations been trained to fear and love and reverence God. Let us now do what we can individually to bring about these changes. Explicit instructions have been given in the word of God. Let these principles be carried out by the mother, with the co-operation and support of the father, and let children be trained from infancy to habits of self-control. Let them be taught that it is not the object of life to indulge sensual appetites, but to honor God and to bless their fellowmen.
15 Fathers and mothers, labor earnestly and faithfully, relying on God for grace and wisdom. Be firm and yet mild. In all your commands aim to secure the highest good of your children, and then see that these commands are obeyed. Your energy and decision must be unwavering, yet ever in subjection to the Spirit of Christ. Then indeed may we hope to see “our sons as plants grown up in their youth, and our daughters as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.”
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1 An important missionary field is opened before the mother. The humble round of duties which women have learned to regard as a wearisome task, should be looked upon as a grand and noble work. It is the mother’s privilege to bless the world by her influence; and in doing this, she will bring joy to her own heart. She may make straight paths for the feet of her children, through sunshine and shadow, to the glorious heights above. Let the mother go often to her Saviour, with the prayer, Teach us, how shall we order the child, and what shall we do unto him? This simple petition, breathed from the heart of the finite, will find its way to the heart of the Infinite. If the mother will but heed with care the instructions already given in the sacred word, she will receive further light and knowledge as she shall have need.
2 It is only when she seeks in her own life to follow the teachings of Christ that the mother can hope to form the characters of her children after the divine pattern. In every generation there have been corrupting influences to blight and contaminate. Fashion and custom exert a strong power over the young. If the mother fails in her duty to instruct, counsel, and restrain, her children will naturally accept the evil and turn from the good. God would have parents enter upon their work with energy and courage, and prosecute it with fidelity. Whatever he has made it their duty to do, he will give them wisdom and strength to accomplish.
3 While they should, above all else, train their children for the future life, parents should by no means neglect to prepare them for the present life. The mother should study how she may best train her sons and daughters to become useful and happy members of society. She should remember that every habit formed, every thought or feeling cherished, every act performed, however unimportant, will either promote or hinder the accomplishment of this object. The Lord desires that we should enjoy the blessings with which he has surrounded us, and that in all the acts of our lives we should express our continual gratitude. We can do this, not by neglecting and abusing his gifts, but by putting them to a wise and noble use, by exerting a right influence over our fellow-men, by reforming wrong customs, instead of following them. “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” It is only in pursuing a right course that light and gladness attend our path.
4 Society is molded by the influence of the mother. She may be wholly occupied within the narrow limits of her home, apparently engaged in life’s humblest duties; yet if she does her work as well as she may do it, in the fear of God, she is gaining greater victories than the leader of armed hosts. She may send forth from her home young men and young women strong in right habits and firm principles. The upright deportment and unblemished morals of her children will be a blessing to the church and to society.
5 God brought the Israelites from Egypt that he might establish them in the land of Canaan, a pure, holy, and happy people. In the accomplishment of this object he subjected them to a course of discipline, both for their own good and for the good of posterity. Had they been willing to deny appetite, in obedience to his wise restrictions, there would have been no feeble ones in all their tribes. Their descendants would have possessed both physical and mental strength. They would have had clear perceptions of truth and duty, keen discrimination, and sound judgment. But the requirements of God were disregarded then as they are disregarded now. The people were dissatisfied with the simple, wholesome food which had been provided by their Creator. Habits of self-indulgence brought the sure result,—degeneracy and decay.
6 God’s commands are never designed to make men unhappy. They are the dictates of infinite wisdom, goodness, and love. While they secure the glory of God, they also promote the happiness of men. His restrictions are a safeguard against depravity of heart and corruption of life. The appetites and passions, indulged without restraint, enslave and degrade the higher and nobler powers.
7 Intemperance in eating and drinking leads to the indulgence of the animal passions. And those who, understanding the effect of their course, indulge appetite and passion at the expense of health and usefulness, are preparing the way to disregard all moral obligations. When temptation assails them, they have little power of resistance. This was the cause of Israel’s continual backsliding; and it is the reason why there is so much crime and so little true godliness in the world today. The only path of safety is the path of daily restraint and self-denial.
8 Nothing but the power of God, combined with human effort, can accomplish the work of ennobling and uplifting our race. Had men been willing to learn the lessons which God had given them, successive generations would not have deteriorated so greatly in physical, mental, and moral power. Christ, enshrouded in the cloudy pillar, had spoken again and again to Israel for their good; but they had not heeded his voice. Again he appeared to Manoah and his wife with definite instructions concerning the course she should pursue to insure physical and moral health to her offspring. God had a work for the promised child of Manoah to do,—a work which would require careful thought and vigorous action. It was to secure for him the qualities necessary for this work that all his habits were to be carefully regulated. There are today many statesmen, senators, lawyers, judges, and others in responsible positions, whose physical habits have been, nearly all their life-time, at war with natural laws. At the outset of their career, these men may have possessed rare intellectual powers; but the precious gifts of God have been soiled and dimmed, and in too many cases buried, in the mire of self-indulgence.
9 He who will observe simplicity in all his habits, restricting the appetite and controlling the passions, may preserve his mental powers strong, active, and vigorous, quick to perceive everything which demands thought or action, keen to discriminate between the holy and the unholy, and ready to engage in every enterprise for the glory of God and the benefit of humanity.
10 It is the mother’s work to train, to educate, and to discipline. While she seeks to store the mind of her child with useful knowledge, let her fortify the young heart with good principles. There is missionary work to be done at home by the fireside. This important field is neglected because of the difficulties to be met; because the work requires labor and self-denial. But will not the result compensate for the sacrifices made, the efforts put forth? Are souls in heathen lands more precious than souls at home? It is indeed a matter which should concern us, that in foreign lands young girls are growing up to wifehood and motherhood knowing nothing of their duties to themselves, to their children, or to God. But should we not at the same time give some thought to the fact that the girls of America are almost wholly destitute of that knowledge and training which would make them useful and honored as wives and mothers? Would that we could lead mothers who are now worshiping at fashion’s shrine to become missionaries at home, training their children to become an honor to God and a blessing to humanity. Would not our Maker look upon such a work with approval?
11 There is a wide field of labor opened before every mother. If her work is wrought faithfully, in the fear of God, it will bring forth fruit unto eternal life. The mother’s work should begin at home. This is the fountain-head from which her influence and usefulness should flow. If her duties here are discharged with fidelity, she will see all around her fields where she may work with the best results. And by-and-by those words from her Master will fall as sweetest music upon her ear—”Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
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1 The divine promise to Manoah was in due time fulfilled in the birth of a son, upon whom the name of Samson was bestowed. By the command of the angel no razor was to come upon the child’s head, he being consecrated to God as a Nazarite, from his birth. As the boy grew up, it became evident that he possessed extraordinary physical strength. This was not, however, as Samson and his parents well knew, dependent upon his well-knit sinews, but upon his condition as a Nazarite, of which his unshorn hair was a symbol.
2 Had Samson as faithfully obeyed the divine command as his parents had done, his would have been a nobler and happier destiny. But he became corrupted by association with idolaters. The inheritance of the tribe of Dan, to which Manoah’s family belonged, was adjacent to the country of the Philistines. Indeed, the little town of Zorah, which was Samson’s early home, was in close proximity to the dwelling-places of this alien race, and in his youth he came to mingle with them on friendly terms. Thus intimacies sprung up, whose evil influences darkened his whole life.
3 A young woman dwelling in the Philistine town of Timnah so engaged Samson’s affections that he determined to make her his wife. In those days marriages were arranged by the parents. Hence Samson requested his father and mother to secure for him this daughter of the Philistines. Manoah and his wife sought to dissuade the young man from his purpose. They warned him of the danger of forming an alliance with idolaters, and besought him to seek a wife among his own people. But arguments and entreaties were alike in vain. His only answer was, “she pleaseth me well.” Seeing his determination, the parents decided that the Lord might design thus to accomplish his purposes; hence they yielded to Samson’s wishes, and the marriage was consummated.
4 Thus at the time above all others when he should have maintained entire consecration to the will of God, just as he was entering upon the stage of manhood, the period when he must execute his divine mission,—at this critical point in his life history, Samson yielded to the tempter, and by an unwise marriage placed himself in alliance with the enemies of God. This important step was not carefully considered. Samson did not ask himself whether he could better glorify God when united with the object of his fancy, or whether he was placing himself in a position where he could not fulfill the purpose to be accomplished by his life. To all who seek first to honor him, God has promised wisdom; but there is no promise to those who desire only to please themselves.
5 The Lord has in his word plainly instructed his people not to unite themselves with those who have not his love and fear before them. Such companions will seldom be satisfied with the love and respect which are justly theirs. They will constantly seek to gain from the God-fearing wife or husband some favor which shall involve a disregard of the divine requirements. To a godly man, and to the church with which he is connected, a worldly wife or a worldly friend is as a spy in the camp, who will watch every opportunity to betray the servant of Christ, and expose him to the enemy’s attacks.
6 Satan is constantly seeking to strengthen his power over the people of God by inducing them to enter into alliance with the hosts of darkness. And to accomplish this he endeavors to arouse unsanctified passions in the heart which is naturally prone to evil. It is not safe for Christians to imitate the example of the ungodly, or to yield to their influence. The wisest counsels of the wicked are not to be relied upon. If accepted, they may bring trouble and sorrow upon the child of God. The Lord would not have his people take ungodly persons into their confidence. The apostle Paul exhorts us “to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” “For what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?”
7 At his marriage feast Samson was brought into familiar association with those who despised the God of Israel. Whoever voluntarily enters into such relations will feel it necessary to conform, to some degree, to the habits and customs of his companions. The time thus spent with vain and trifling persons is worse than wasted. Thoughts are entertained, words spoken, that weaken the citadel of the soul.
8 The wife, to obtain whom Samson had transgressed the command of God, proved treacherous to her husband ere the close of the marriage feast, and at last was put to death by the very class whose threats had caused her perfidy. Samson had already given evidence of his prodigious strength, by slaying, single-handed, a young lion, and by killing thirty of the men of Askelon. Now, moved to anger at the barbarous murder of his wife, he attacked the Philistines, “and smote them with great slaughter.” Then, wishing a safe retreat from the Philistines, and fearing to trust his own countrymen, he withdrew to a strong rock called Elam, in the tribe of Judah.
9 To this place he was pursued by a large body of Philistines, whose presence excited great alarm among the inhabitants of Judah. When they learned that the sole object of the invasion was to take Samson captive, they basely agreed to deliver him up to his enemies. In so doing they hoped to secure the favor of the Philistines, and thus lighten their own oppression. Accordingly three thousand men of Judah went up to take the mighty warrior. But even at such odds they dared to make the attempt only because they felt assured that he would not harm his own people. Samson consented to be bound and delivered to the Philistines, but first exacted from the men of Judah a promise not to fall upon him themselves, and thus compel him to destroy them. He permitted them to bind with two new ropes, and to take him down to the Philistines.
10 He was led into the camp of his enemies amid demonstrations of great joy. But while their shouts were waking the echoes of the hills, the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon Samson. He burst asunder the strong new cords as if they had been flax burned in the fire. Then seizing the first weapon at hand, which though only the jawbone of an ass, was rendered more effective than sword or spear, he smote the Philistines on every side, until they fled in terror, leaving a thousand of their number dead upon the field.
11 Had the Israelites been prepared to unite with Samson, and follow up the victory gained, they might at this time have freed themselves from the power of the Philistines. But they had become weak and discouraged. They had basely neglected the work which God had commanded them to perform with diligence, thoroughness, and valor; not only failing to dispossess the heathen, but uniting with them in their degrading practices, tolerating their cruelty, and, so long as it was not directed against themselves, even countenancing their injustice. When at last the tyrant power was triumphant, Israel submitted to the degradation which they might have escaped, had they only obeyed God. Even when the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, they would frequently desert the one chosen to set things in order, and would unite with their bitterest oppressors.
12 If those who acknowledge God would but obey his voice, how much suffering might be spared them. God’s eye is fixed upon every individual, and every one must render an account to him for all they do, and for what they permit themselves to be. Wherever we are, in storehouse and workshop, in all our business, every day in the week, and every hour in the day, his eye scrutinizes all our works, his ear listens to our every word. In the deepest solitude every act and word of our lives has still one witness,—the infinite God. When we are true to the high destiny which he has marked out for us, we become co-laborers with him. If our responsibility be fully and heartily accepted and faithfully discharged, it will secure for us the joyful commendation by the Majesty of Heaven, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
13 Thousands of Israelites witnessed Samson’s defeat of the Philistines, yet no voice was raised in triumph, till the hero, elated at this marvelous success, celebrated his own victory. But he praised himself, instead of ascribing the glory to God. No sooner had he ceased than he was reminded of his weakness by a most intense and painful thirst. He had become exhausted by his prodigious labors, and no means of supplying his need was at hand. He began to feel his utter dependence upon God, and to be convinced that he had not triumphed by his own power, but in the strength of the Omnipotent One.
14 He then gave God the praise for his deliverance, and offered an earnest prayer for relief from his present suffering. The Lord hearkened to his petition and opened for him a spring of water. In token of his gratitude Samson called the name of the place En-hakkore, or “the well of him that cried.”
15 After this victory the Israelites made Samson judge over them, and he ruled Israel for twenty years.
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1 One wrong step prepares the way for another. Samson had transgressed the command of God by taking a wife from the daughters of the Philistines, and ere long he ventured again among that people—now his deadly enemies—in the indulgence of his unlawful passions. Trusting confidently to his great strength, which had inspired the Philistines with such terror, he boldly entered Gaza, one of their largest and most powerful cities, and visited a harlot of that place.
2 The disgraceful fact was soon made known to the inhabitants of the city, who were eager to be avenged upon their dreaded foe. Fearing to attack him, however, they sent for reinforcements, and kept a vigilant watch at the gate of the city, determined by some means to put him to death in the morning.
3 At midnight Samson was aroused. The accusing voice of conscience filled him with remorse, as he remembered that he had broken his vow as a Nazarite. But despite his sin, God’s mercy had not forsaken him. His great strength again served to deliver him. Wrenching the city gate from its place, he took it entire, with its posts and bars, and carried it several miles, to the top of a hill on the way to Hebron; the guards meanwhile, being too much surprised and terrified to intercept or pursue him.
4 But even this narrow escape did not serve to stay him in his evil course. The third step downward soon followed the second. He did not again venture into the territory of the Philistines, but sought at home those sensuous pleasures that were luring him on to ruin. “He loved a woman in the vale of Serek.” Her name was Delilah, which fitly signifies consuming, or wasting. In the society of this enchantress, the judge of Israel squandered precious hours that should have been sacredly devoted to the welfare of his people. But the blinding passions which make even the strongest weak, had gained control of reason and of conscience. The vale of Serek, a little valley not far from his own birthplace, was celebrated for its vineyards. These also had a temptation for the wavering Nazarite, who had already indulged in the use of wine, thus breaking another tie that bound him to temperance, to purity, and to God.
5 The Philistines were well acquainted with the divine law, and its condemnation of sensual indulgence. They kept a vigilant watch over all the movements of their enemy, and when he degraded himself by this new attachment, and they saw the bewitching power of the enchantress, they determined, through her, to accomplish his ruin.
6 Accordingly, a deputation consisting of one leading man from each of the five Philistine States was sent to the vale of Serek. It was not their purpose to seize him while in possession of his great strength, but to learn if possible some means by which that strength might be taken away. Such marvelous power, far exceeding anything which they had ever known before; that of the famed descendants of Anak, who dwelt among them, could not be compared with it, and the Philistine lords decided that it must be supernatural, the result of some condition that might be changed, or some charm that might be broken. They therefore bribed Delilah to discover the secret of his strength, and reveal it to them, offering her eleven hundred shekels of silver from each of their number, aggregating a sum of more than three thousand dollars.
7 As the betrayer plied Samson with her questions, he deceived her by declaring that the weakness of other men would come upon him if certain processes were tried. When she put the matter to the test, the imposition was discovered. Then she accused him of falsehood, saying, “How canst thou say thou lovest me, when thou hast deceived me and lied to me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth?”
8 Samson’s infatuation seems almost incredible. At first he was not so wholly enthralled as to reveal the secret; but he had deliberately walked into the net of the betrayer of souls, and its meshes were drawing closer about him at every step. Three times he had the clearest evidence that the Philistines had leagued with his charmer to destroy him; but when her purpose failed and his strength returned, she had treated the matter as a jest, and he blindly banished all fear of danger.
9 Day by day Delilah pressed and urged him, until “his soul was vexed unto death,” yet a subtle power kept him by her side. Her heart was set upon the tempting bribe, and she exerted all her blandishments to secure it. Overcome at last by the bewitching spell which he seemed to have no power to break, Samson made known the secret: “There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my birth. If I be shaven then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
10 Eagerly the betrayer listened to his words, fully convinced by his serious and earnest manner that he had told truth; and she determined to profit by it. A messenger was immediately dispatched to the lords of the Philistines, urging them to come once more to her chamber without delay. She next sent for a man who, while the warrior slept with his head upon her knees, shaved off the heavy masses of his hair. Then, as she had done three times before, she called, “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson!” Suddenly awaking, he thought to exert his strength as before, and destroy them all; but his powerless arms refused to do his bidding, and then he knew that the Lord had departed from him.
11 When he had been shaven, Delilah began to annoy him and cause him pain, thus making a trial of his strength; for the Philistines dared not approach him till fully convinced that his power was gone. Then they seized him, and having put out both his eyes, they took him to Gaza. Here he was bound with strong fetters of brass, and kept in their prison house as a trophy of their victory, and compelled to drudge in hard labor.
12 What a change to him that had been the judge and champion of Israel! —now weak, blind, imprisoned, degraded to the most menial service! Little by little he had violated the conditions of his sacred calling. God had borne long with him, but when he had so yielded himself to the power of sin as to betray his secret, that moment God departed from him. There was no virtue in the length of his hair, in itself, but it was a token of his loyalty to God, and when the symbol was sacrificed in the indulgence of lustful passion, the blessings of which it was a token were also forfeited. Had Samson’s head been shaven without fault on his part, his strength would have remained. But his course had shown contempt for the favor and authority of God as much as if he had in disdain himself severed his locks from his head. Therefore God left him to endure the results of his own folly.
13 In his sufferings and humiliation, a sport for the Philistines, Samson had opportunity for reflection, and he learned more of his own weakness than he had ever known before. As his afflictions led him to repentance, his hair began gradually to grow, indicating the return of his extraordinary powers, but his enemies, regarding him only as a fettered and helpless prisoner, felt no apprehensions.
14 As the Philistines exulted over their great victory, they ascribed the honor to their gods, praising them as superior to the God of Israel. The contest, instead of being between Samson and the Philistines, was now between Jehovah and Dagon, and thus the Lord was moved to assert his almighty power and his supreme authority. A favorable opportunity for this was soon presented. The Philistines held a feast in honor of their God Dagon. A vast company was assembled, and in the height of their sacrilegious festivities, they ordered the captive to be produced, that the people might have a new source of amusement. The multitude greeted his appearance with shouts of triumph, and praised their god who had thus subdued the “destroyer of their country.” Samson had been made the sport of the people before; But now even the rulers of the nation mocked at his misery.
15 The immense building was thronged with the brave and the fair. Even the roof was crowded with thousands of spectators. After a time, as if weary, Samson asked permission to rest against the two central pillars which supported the temple roof. Then he breathed the prayer, “O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” With these words he seized the pillars in his mighty arms, and with the cry, “Let me die with the Philistines,” he bowed himself and the roof fell, destroying at one dread crash, all that vast company. “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.”
16 God designed that Samson should accomplish a great work for Israel. Hence the utmost care had been taken at the very outset of life to surround him with the most favorable conditions for physical strength, intellectual vigor, and moral purity. Had he not in after years ventured among the ungodly and the licentious, he would not so basely have yielded to temptation. Physically he was the strongest man upon the earth; but in self-control, integrity, and firmness, he was the weakest of men. His passions were not held in subjection to reason and the fear of God. The blandishments of beautiful women often have dangerous temptations to the young. Those who do not make God their strength will be overcome by Satan’s devices.
17 The very men whom God purposes to use as his servants, the dread adversary uses his utmost power to lead astray. Yet the sacred word presents for our encouragement noble examples of men who have in the strength of God resisted the fiercest attacks of the powers of darkness. The youthful Joseph was subjected to a most severe temptation. It came from one in high position, one whose enmity might destroy his worldly prospects. The future of Joseph’s life was determined by the decisions made in that trying hour. He calmly looked up to Heaven, and exclaimed, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” The fires of unholy passion were not permitted to kindle. God’s commands, God’s promise were before Joseph. He felt that the all-seeing eye was upon him, extending to all his thoughts, penetrating to the secrets of the heart, to the motives underlying every action.
18 Samson in his peril had the same source of strength as had Joseph. He could choose the right or the wrong as he pleased. But instead of taking hold of the strength of God, he permitted the wild passions of his nature to have full sway. The reasoning powers were perverted, the morals corrupted. God had called Samson to a position of great responsibility, honor, and usefulness; but he must first learn to govern by first learning to obey the laws of God. Joseph was a free moral agent. Good and evil were before him. He could choose the path of purity, holiness, and honor, or the path of immorality and degradation. He chose the right way, and God approved. Samson, under similar temptations, which he had brought upon himself, gave loose rein to passion. The path which he entered upon he found to end in shame, disaster, and death. What a contrast to the history of Joseph!
19 The youths of today can bless or blight their future life. God calls young men in the strength and glory of their manhood to do service for him. But many whom God could use refuse to obey. They desire to secure worldly gain and worldly honor. To become a servant of Christ they consider as requiring too great a sacrifice.
20 The history of Samson conveys a lesson for those whose characters are yet unformed, who have not yet entered upon the stage of active life. The youth who enter our schools and colleges will find there every class of mind. If they desire sport and folly, if they seek to shun the good and unite with the evil, they have the opportunity. Sin and righteousness are before them, and they are to choose for themselves. But let them remember that “Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” He that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
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1 The reign of judges in Israel closes with Samuel, than whom few purer or more illustrious characters are presented in the sacred record. There are few, also whose life-history contains lessons of greater value to the thoughtful student. The father of Samuel was Elkanah, a Levite, who dwelt at Ramah, in Mount Ephraim. He was a person of wealth and influence, a kind husband, and a man who feared and reverenced God. Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, was a woman of piety and devotion. Humility, conscientiousness, and a firm reliance upon God, were ruling traits in her character. Of Hannah it might truly be said, in the words of the wise man: “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her.”
2 Elkanah’s love for his chosen companion was deep and unchanging; yet a cloud shadowed their domestic happiness. The home was not made joyful by the voice of childhood. At length the strong desire to perpetuate his name led the husband, as it had led many others, to adopt a course which God did not sanction—that of introducing into the family a second wife, to be subordinate to the first. This act was prompted by a lack of faith in God, and was attended with evil results. The peace of the hitherto united and harmonious family was broken. Upon Hannah the blow fell with crushing weight. All happiness seemed forever swept away from her life. She bore her trials uncomplainingly, yet her grief was none the less keen and bitter.
3 Peninnah, the new wife, was a woman of inferior mind, and of envious and jealous disposition. As years passed on, and sons and daughters were added to the household, she became proud and self-important, and treated her rival with contempt and insolence.
4 Elkanah faithfully observed the ordinances of God. The worship at Shiloh was still maintained, yet it had become irregular, and in some respects incomplete. Hence, Elkanah had no regular employment at the tabernacle, to whose service, being a Levite, he was to be especially devoted. Notwithstanding this, his zeal in the service of God was unfaltering. With his family he went up to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice at the appointed gatherings.
5 Yet even amid the sacred festivities connected with the worship of God, the evil spirit that had cursed his home intruded. After the other sacrifices had been made, it was customary for the peace-offering to be presented. A specified portion of this was given to the priest, and then the offerer, after distributing to each member of his family a share of the remainder, united with them in a solemn yet joyous feast. Upon these occasions. Elkanah gave the mother of his children a portion for herself and for each of her sons and daughters, and then as a token of regard for Hannah, his first and best-loved wife, he gave her a double portion. This excited the envy and jealousy of the second wife, and she boldly asserted her claims to superiority as one highly favored of God; and she tauntingly pointed to the fact that Hannah had no children, as proof of the Lord’s displeasure toward her.
6 This scene was enacted again and again, not only at the yearly gatherings, but whenever circumstances furnished an opportunity for Peninnah to exalt herself at the expense of her rival. The course of this woman seemed to Hannah, a trial almost beyond endurance. Satan employed her as his agent to harass, and if possible exasperate and destroy one of God’s faithful children. At last, as her enemy’s taunts were repeated at one of the yearly feasts, Hannah’s courage and fortitude gave way. Unable longer to conceal her feelings, she wept without restraint. The expressions of joy on every hand seemed mockery to her. She could not partake of the feast.
7 Her husband, knowing the cause of her grief, sought to comfort her with the assurance of his unchanged affection, and gently chides her for yielding thus to sorrow: “Why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?” But it was impossible for Elkanah fully to understand her feelings or to appreciate the cause.
8 Hannah brought no reproach against her husband for his unwise marriage. The grief which she could share with no earthly friend, she carried to her Heavenly Father, and sought consolation from Him alone who hath said, “Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee.” There is a mighty power in prayer. Our great adversary is constantly seeking to keep the troubled soul away from God. An appeal to Heaven by the humblest saint is more to be dreaded by Satan than the decrees of cabinets or the mandates of kings.
9 Hannah’s prayer was unheard by mortal ear, but entered the ear of the Lord of hosts. Earnestly she pleaded that God would take away her reproach, and grant her the boon most highly prized by women of that age,—the blessing of motherhood. As she wrestled in prayer, her voice uttered no sound, but her lips moved and her countenance gave evidence of deep emotion. And now another trial awaited the humble suppliant. As the eye of Eli the high priest fell upon her, he hastily decided that she was intoxicated . Feasting revelry had well-nigh supplanted true godliness among the people of Israel. Instances of intemperance, even among women, were of frequent occurrence, and now Eli determined to administer what he considered a deserved rebuke. “How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee.”
10 Hannah had been communing with God. She believed that her prayer had been heard, and the peace of Christ filled her heart. Hers was a gentle, sensitive nature, yet she yielded neither to grief nor to indignation at the unjust charge of drunkenness in the house of God. With due reverence for the anointed of the Lord, she calmly repelled the accusation and stated the cause of her emotion. “No my Lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.” Convinced that his reproof had been unjust, Eli replied, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.”
11 In her prayer, Hannah had made a vow that if her request were granted, she would dedicate her child to the service of God. This vow she made known to her husband, and he confirmed it in a solemn act of worship, before leaving Shiloh.
12 Hannah’s prayer was answered, and she received the gift for which she had so earnestly entreated. As she looked upon the pledge of divine favor she called the child Samuel—Asked of God.
13 As soon as the little one was old enough to be separated from its mother, she fulfilled her solemn vow. She loved her child with all the devotion of a mother’s heart; day by day her affections entwined about him more closely as she watched his expanding powers, and listened to the childish prattle; He was her only son, the especial gift of Heaven; but she had received him as a treasure consecrated to God, and she would not withhold from the Giver his own. Faith strengthened the mother’s heart, and she yielded not to the pleadings of natural affection.
14 Once more Hannah journeyed with her husband to Shiloh, taking the child to present him unto the Lord, and bearing also gifts for sacrifice and thank-offering. Reaching the tabernacle, she sought the presence of the high priest. He did not recognize her. There was indeed a striking contrast between the pallid, grief-stricken suppliant and the grateful, happy mother. Hannah related the circumstances of her previous interview, and then presented to the priest, in the name of God, her precious gift, saying: “For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord.” Eli was surprised and deeply impressed by the faith and devotion of this woman of Israel. Himself an over-indulgent father, he was awed and humbled as he beheld this mother’s great sacrifice in parting with her first and only child, that she might devote him to the service of God. He felt reproved for his own selfish love, and in humiliation and reverence he bowed before the Lord and worshiped.
15 God had granted Hannah the desire of her heart; she had been highly favored of Heaven, and she felt that she could do no less in token of her gratitude than to make a public acknowledgment of the divine mercy and loving-kindness. The spirit of inspiration came upon her, and although a retiring and timid woman, her voice was now heard in the assembly of the people, sounding forth the praise of God:—
16 “My heart rejoiceth in the Lord; mine horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation.” The horn is in some animals the weapon of attack and defense; by the use of this figure, Hannah would acknowledge that her deliverance had come from God. In her exultation, there is no vain triumph of self. She rejoices not in Samuel, not in her own prosperity, but in the Lord. The song continues: “There is none holy as the Lord; for there is none beside thee; neither is there any rock like our God.” She extols the perfection of Deity. In the character of God, are wisdom, purity, truth, goodness, and mercy combined, immutable and complete. All human holiness is mingled with imperfection. All idols of the nations are vain and worthless. God is our only refuge and support; and those who trust in him will never be confounded.
17 “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” While here referring to Peninnah’s boastful and insolent conduct, Hannah seems also to speak to all the enemies of true godliness, who glory in themselves, and insult and despise the children of faith. Pride and boasting cannot deceive God. He is acquainted with the hearts and the lives of all. By him actions are weighed. He distinguishes men’s characters, and weighs their motives in the balance. When he sees that it will be for the good of man and for his own glory, he will interpose in behalf of his people. In due time he will reward the righteous and punish the wicked.
18 “The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread, and they that were hungry ceased. How often, even in this life, do we see the ungodly brought to shame and confusion. Do they aspire to distinction and worldly honor? Are they proud of their valor and military skill? Their bows are broken, and they themselves overcome by a weak and despised company; for God hath girded the stumbling ones with strength. Do they trust in their riches, and indulge in luxury and extravagance while trampling upon the rights of the poor? They may themselves meet with reverses, and be reduced to the necessity of toiling for bread to satisfy their hunger, while many who have endured hardship and privation are blessed with plenty.
19 “The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich; he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dung-hill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory, for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
20 Hannah’s words were prophetic, both of David, who should reign as king of Israel, and of Christ, the Messiah, the Lord’s anointed. Thus in a sublime and sacred song, referring first to the proud boastings of an insolent and contentious woman, were ultimately set forth, the humiliation of the proud and exaltation of the humble, the destruction of the enemies of God, and the complete and final triumph of his faithful servants.
21 Having given utterance to this triumphant burst of praise, Hannah quietly returned to her home at Ramah, leaving the child Samuel to minister in the house of God, under the care and instruction of Eli, the high priest.
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1 The fulfillment of Hannah’s vow to dedicate her child to the Lord, was not deferred until he could be presented at the tabernacle. From the earliest dawn of intellect she trained his infant mind to love and reverence God, and to regard himself as the Lord’s. By every familiar object surrounding him she sought to lead his thoughts up to the Creator.
2 When separated from her child, the faithful mother’s solicitude did not cease. He was the subject of her prayers. Every year she made him a little coat, and when she came with her husband to the yearly sacrifice, she presented it to the child as a token of her love. With every stitch of that coat she had breathed a prayer that he might be pure, noble, and true. She did not ask that he might be great, but earnestly pleaded that he might be good. Her faith and devotion were rewarded. She saw her son, in the simplicity of childhood, walking in the love and fear of God. She saw him growing up to manhood in favor with God and man, humble, reverent, prompt in duty, and earnest in the service of his divine Master. And while the Lord accepted the precious offering from that mother’s hand, he did not forget to repay the sacrifice. Hannah was blessed with other children, to educate and train for Heaven.
3 Samuel’s youth was passed in the tabernacle solemnly devoted to the worship of God; yet even here he was not free from evil influences or sinful example. The sons of Eli are described in the sacred word as “sons of Belial.” They feared not God, nor honored their father; but Samuel did not seek their company nor follow their evil ways. It was his constant effort to make himself what God would have him to become. This is the privilege of every youth. God is pleased when even little children devote themselves to his service; they should not be discouraged in their efforts to become Christians.
4 The youth will not become weak-minded or inefficient by consecrating themselves to the service of God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The youngest child that loves and fears God, is greater in his sight than the most talented and learned man who neglects the great salvation. The youth who consecrate their hearts and lives to God, have in so doing, placed themselves in connection with the Fountain of all wisdom and excellence.
5 Early brought to minister in the tabernacle, Samuel had even then minor duties to perform in the service of God, according to his capacity. These were at first very humble, and not always pleasant, but they were performed to the best of his ability, and with a willing heart. His religion was carried into all the business of life. He regarded himself as God’s servant, and his work as God’s work. His efforts were accepted, because they were prompted by love to God and a sincere desire to do his will. Thus Samuel became a co-worker with the Lord of Heaven and earth. And God through him accomplished a great work for Israel.
6 If children were taught to regard the humble round of every-day duties as the course marked out for them by the Lord, as a school in which they were to be trained to render faithful and efficient service, how much more pleasant and honorable would their work appear. To perform every duty as unto the Lord, throws a charm around the humblest employment, and links the workers on earth with the holy beings who do God’s will in Heaven. And in our appointed place we should discharge our duties with as much faithfulness as do the angels in their higher sphere. Those who feel that they are God’s servants will be men who can be trusted anywhere. Citizens of Heaven will make the best citizens of earth. A correct view of our duty to God leads to clear perceptions of our duty to our fellow men.
7 Parents should bring up their children in the love and fear of God, remembering that they are younger members of the Lord’s great family entrusted to the parents to be educated and trained for Heaven, and to be required again at their hands. Let children be taught that every act of life is important. It is strengthening habit and forming character. If all the daily duties are performed in the fear of God, they will be done with fidelity, and the life- record will be such as can pass the test of the Judgment.
8 Would that every mother could realize how great are her duties and her responsibilities, and how great will be the reward of faithfulness. The mother’s daily influence upon her children is preparing them for everlasting life or eternal death. She exercises in her home a power more decisive than the minister in the desk, or even the king upon his throne. The day of God will reveal how much the world owes to godly mothers for men who have been unflinching advocates of truth and reform,—men who have been bold to do and dare, who have stood unshaken amid trials and temptations; men who chose the high and holy interests of truth and the glory of God, before worldly honor or life itself.
9 When the Judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened; when the “well done” of the great Judge is pronounced, and the crown of immortal glory is placed upon the brow of the victor, many will raise their crowns in sight of the assembled universe, and pointing to their mother say, “She made me all I am through the grace of God. Her instruction, her prayers, have been blessed to my eternal salvation.”
10 Samuel became a great man in the fullest sense, as God estimates character. Many whom the world calls great, fall far below the divine standard. They lack the very elements of true and noble manhood. Men of giant intellect and brilliant genius, men before whom the world bows in willing homage, have prostituted these precious gifts of God to the service of the arch-deceiver. The name of Byron stands high in the literary world. God gave him great natural abilities; had his powers been rightly directed, he might have been a blessing to society. But his talents were not consecrated to God. The purity of Heaven did not permeate his life or breathe forth in his literary productions. Many of his works lead to immorality and irreligion. They reveal the true character of the man—corrupt in taste, depraved in heart. He rejected the service of God, and chose to ally himself to Satan.
11 Gibbon, the renowned historian, was not a great man according to God’s standard. He was endowed with great intellectual powers, that he might make known to his fellow-men the knowledge of God. But Satan prepared his snares for this man, and he became entangled in the meshes of skepticism. His works breathe insinuations against God and against the world’s Redeemer. He improved every opportunity to destroy confidence in the Bible and the Christian religion. Eternity alone can reveal the amount of harm wrought by his writings. The world pronounces Gibbon a literary success. God pronounces him a failure.
12 A beneficent Creator endows men with intellectual powers, that, consecrated to his service, they may become co-workers with Christ and angels in the work of human redemption. Yet how many, like Byron and Gibbon, employ their talents to pervert the simplicity of truth, and bring contempt upon the Christian religion, as unworthy the attention of intelligent men. Those who are engaged in this work little know what they are doing. But in the day of Judgment how fearful will be their accountability.
13 Intellectual power, when opposed to the principles of true religion, becomes a minister of vice. Its influence tends to deface the image of God in man, and to bring him down to the level of the brute creation. Whatever, tends to banish thoughts of God from the mind becomes a curse, not only to the possessor but to all within the sphere of his influence. Better would it be for the gifted skeptic, better for the world, to be deprived of the brilliant talents that are devoted to the service of Satan. The greater the gift perverted and abused, the greater will be the evil wrought and the greater the condemnation in the day of final reckoning.
14 Despite the many sovereigns to whom men profess allegiance, all mankind are serving one of two masters—the Prince of light or the Prince of darkness. Samuel served the former, the sons of Eli the latter. The characters of these persons, standing out in such striking contrast, represent the two great parties into which the world has been divided since the fall of Adam—the servants of Christ and the servants of Satan. God has ordained that with families and nations or with individuals, virtue is the basis of happiness, vice the foundation of woe and misery. In all the history of nations, wherever righteousness has been cherished, union, peace, and prosperity result; where greed, selfishness, and irreligion reign, weakness, degeneracy, and corruption follow.
15 A constant warfare is still waged between vice and virtue. Wherever we turn, the battle goes on unceasingly. Infidelity is rearing its head in vaunted triumph, and crime of all grades is crowding in on every side. Multitudes of the youth are swept away by the overwhelming tide of evil. In every earnest Christian heart the question rises, “Why, oh, why, in a land of Bibles and Christian teaching, can the adversary of souls exert over our youth a power so mighty, so unrestrained?” The reason is apparent. Parents are neglecting their solemn responsibility. They are not earnest, persevering, and faithful in the work of training their children for God, restraining their evil desires and enforcing obedience to parental authority, even in infancy.
16 Young men should be trained to stand firm for the right amid the prevailing iniquity, to do all in their power to arrest the progress of vice, and to promote virtue, purity, and true manliness. The impressions made upon the mind and character in early life are deep and abiding. Injudicious training or evil associations will often exert upon the young mind an influence for evil that all after-effort is powerless to efface. The character of Napoleon Bonaparte was greatly influenced by his training in childhood. Unwise instructors inspired him with a love for conquest, forming mimic armies and placing him at their head as commander. Here was laid the foundation for his career of strife and bloodshed. Had the same care and effort been directed to making him a good man, imbuing his young heart with the spirit of the gospel, how widely different might have been his history.
17 It is said that Hume the skeptic was in early life a conscientious believer in the word of God. Being connected with a debating society, he was appointed to present the arguments in favor of infidelity. He studied with earnestness and perseverance, and his keen and active mind became imbued with the sophistry of skepticism. Ere long he came to believe its delusive teachings, and his whole after-life bore the dark impress of infidelity.
18 When Voltaire was five years old, he committed to memory an infidel poem, and the pernicious influence was never effaced from his mind. He became one of Satan’s most successful agents to lead men away from God. Thousands will rise up in the Judgment, and charge the ruin of their souls upon the infidel Voltaire.
19 By the thoughts and feelings cherished in early years, every youth is determining his own life history. Correct, virtuous, manly habits formed in youth will become a part of the character, and will usually mark the course of the individual through life. The youth may become vicious or virtuous, as they choose. They may as well be distinguished for true and noble deeds as for great crime and wickedness.
20 Young men of today may become as precious in the sight of the Lord as was Samuel. They may have their names enrolled in the book of life, to be looked upon with pleasure by the Monarch of the universe and the angelic host. By faithfully maintaining their Christian integrity, the young may, like the noble Luther, exert a mighty influence in the work of reform. Such men are needed at this time. God has a position and a work for every one of them.
21 If the young men in our cities would unite their efforts to discountenance ungodliness and crime, their influence would greatly advance the cause of reform. It is the privilege and the duty of every youth, as an angel of mercy, to minister to the wants and woes of mankind. There is no class that can achieve greater results for God and humanity than the young.
22 Let none entertain the thought that the religion of the Bible is weak and unmanly, the effect of fanatical zeal or superstitious fear. Many of the young refrain from entering the service of Christ because they are unwilling to confess themselves Christians before the world. They are ashamed of Jesus, ashamed to acknowledge and obey his authority. Such persons view religion from the worldling’s stand-point. On this rock thousands have been wrecked.
23 God is the sovereign of the universe, and should we be ashamed to acknowledge our allegiance to him? The holy angels are engaged night and day in his service. The highest order of beings in all the universe bow before the throne of God with songs of grateful, joyous praise. Is there aught in such service that can detract from man’s true dignity? Saith the Lord, “Them that honor me I will honor.” The service of God is the highest, noblest work that can engage the powers of men or of angels.
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1 The history of Samuel, the pure, noble-hearted prophet, and of Moses, the holiest of men, the most illustrious of leaders, shows how great is the mother’s power to mold the character of her child, even in its earliest years. During this period her influence is paramount to all other. Even the infant in her arms will catch her spirit, and copy her deportment. It is important that mothers understand their duty, and that they seek wisdom and grace from God to perform their sacred work to his acceptance.
2 But great as is the work of the mother, it should never be forgotten that the father also has a part to act in the education and training of his children, and that he is under the most solemn obligation to perform that work with fidelity. Especially as the children advance in years is the father’s influence needed, in union with that of the mother, to restrain, control, and guide. Parents little realize the harm done by withholding from their children needed and wholesome restraint, and allowing them to grow up with uncontrolled passions, and selfish, debasing habits.
3 The course of Eli—his sinful indulgence as a father, and his criminal neglect as a priest of God—presents a striking and painful contrast to the firmness and self-denial of the faithful Hannah. Eli was acquainted with the divine will. He knew what characters God could accept, and what he would condemn. Yet he suffered his children to grow up with unbridled passions, perverted appetites, and corrupt morals.
4 Eli had instructed his children in the law of God, and had given them a good example in his own life; but this was not his whole duty. God required him, both as a father and as a priest, to restrain them from following their own perverse will. This he had failed to do. His sons were impatient of control, and he weakly resigned the reins to them, and suffered them to pursue their evil ways at pleasure. The fond father overlooked the faults and sins of their childhood, flattering himself that after a time they would outgrow these evil tendencies. He did not regard his children as a sacred trust which God had committed to his care, to be returned with interest; but he looked upon them as his own. Hence, instead of seeking guidance and help from God, and following the instructions given in his word, Eli chose his own way of management, that most agreeable to his ease-loving disposition. Had he taught his sons to obey their father, they would have learned to obey God; but by permitting them to disregard his commands, he taught them to disregard the commands of their heavenly Father. Thus their evil habits strengthened with their years, and when they reached manhood, they were ready to defy all authority, both human and divine.
5 God requires every parent not only to give his children right instruction and a good example, but with promptness and decision to restrain their inclination to do evil. The fact that Eli stood in holy office, cause his lax discipline, and the selfish, irreverent, licentious course of his wicked sons, to exert a corrupting influence upon the whole nation. All parents should strive to make their families patterns of good works, perfect Christian households. But in a pre-eminent degree is this the duty of those who minister in sacred things, and to whom the people look for instruction and guidance. The ministers of Christ are to be examples to the flock. He who fails to direct wisely his own household, is not qualified to guide the church of God.
6 Christian parents, if you desire to work for the Lord, begin with your little ones at home. If you manifest tact and wisdom and the fear of God in the management of your children, you may be intrusted with greater responsibilities. True Christian effort will begin at home, and go out from the center to embrace wider fields. A soul saved in your own family circle or in your own neighborhood, by your patient, painstaking labor, will bring as much honor to the name of Christ, and will shine as brightly in your crown as if you had found that soul in China or India.
7 The Lord will not pass unpunished the neglect of parents to train their children for his service. By kind and judicious management, fathers as well as mothers should bind their children to them by the strong ties of reverence, gratitude, and love, and should kindle in their young hearts an earnest longing for righteousness and truth. While the mother seeks to implant good principles, the father should see that the precious seed is not choked by the growth of evil. His sterner discipline is needed that his children may learn firmness and self-control amid the allurements to sin which must be on every hand.
8 Let parents beware how they undervalue or neglect their work. Great is the reward of fidelity, terrible the penalty of unfaithfulness. One child wisely educated—trained to love and practice the right because it is right, may impart to thousands the blessings which he has received. Through his influence and example, the lessons of uprightness, purity, and devotion that shaped his own character, are permitted to shed their precious light far and wide.
9 How many faithful and honored workers for God and humanity have been given to the world as the fruit of a godly training in childhood. It was said of Timothy, the beloved co-laborer with Paul, that he knew the holy Scriptures from a child, and that the faith which dwelt in his mother and grandmother, was revealed also in him. The influence of faithful Christian parents can never lose its power. A young man when about to be ordained as a Christian minister, stated that at one time he had been well-nigh led to adopt the principles of infidelity. “But,” he added, “there was one argument in favor of Christianity which I could never forget, and that was the consistent conduct of my own father. Through that I was at length won to the Saviour.”
10 By neglect of duty, parents exert a far-reaching influence for evil. One ungodly, disobedient son, may lead many souls in the path of iniquity. Each of these will corrupt others; the evil traits cherished will be transmitted to posterity; and thus iniquity is constantly increasing and multiplying, and all because parents choose the way which is easiest at the moment, the way of gratification and indulgence, and look not to the misery in store for themselves, their children, and their children’s children.
11 The solemn warnings contained in the word of God, the judgments visited upon the indulgent father, and his rebellious sons, should arouse parents from their stupor, and lead them to see and feel their duty to give to their children, by right education and discipline, correct habits and sound principles. Christian father, labor kindly, patiently, for the welfare of your children. Seek to turn their hearts to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Teach them by precept and example, that the spirit of Christ is the spirit of doing good.
12 To every father and mother is committed a little plot of ground before their own door. It is their work to clear it from noxious weeds, and to mellow the soil that the precious seed may take root and flourish there. To do their work faithfully will be far more pleasing to God than to go on a mission to some foreign land, leaving the home field neglected. The work of Christian ministers and parents, should begin with their own children. Present to the church and to the world a well-disciplined family, and you present one of the strongest arguments in favor of Christianity.
13 If parents who are following Eli’s example of neglect could see the result of the education they are giving their children, they would feel that the curse which fell on Eli would assuredly fall on them. The sin of rebellion against parental authority, lies at the very foundation of the misery and crime in the world today. In his holy law God himself speaks to children: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” Again, by the pen of an apostle he commands them, “Children, obey your parents.” The Old and the New Testament alike teach respect and obedience to parents, and also admonish all to reverence and honor the aged, to tenderly protect and cherish those whose heads are white, and whose steps are feeble. If children were trained according to the teachings of God’s word, they would manifest a deference for superiors, a propriety of deportment, and a beauty of character that would make them beloved by their associates, and beloved of God.
14 There is a cause for the spirit of insubordination that exists in the family and the State, and that threatens to overthrow the very foundations of government. It is to be found in the growing disregard for the law of God. In ancient times parents were commanded to diligently teach its sacred precepts to their children, that they might thus become acquainted with the character of God, and his claims upon them. But men have become wiser, in their own conceit, than their Maker. Many have set aside the law of God, and have followed their own judgment in preference to his revealed will. How terrible have been the results of this teaching upon the youth! Self-indulgence, dissipation, profanity, and even greater crimes prevail to an extent that is frightful to contemplate.
15 The Lord holds parents and guardians responsible for the children under their care. He has not left us in uncertainty concerning the characters that he will accept. Nothing less than purity in thought, word, and deed, will meet the divine standard. The word of God sets forth in unmistakable language the duties of parents. If they will faithfully perform these duties, his Spirit will crown their efforts with success. Those words of holy writ are as true now as when first uttered by the wise man, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
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1 Our great enemy is constantly seeking to make men believe themselves wiser than their Creator. Like Eve, many follow the dictates of human wisdom, in preference to the commands of the Omniscient One. Such was the sin of Eli; and terrible indeed were its results,—disaster and death to himself, ruin to his wicked sons, and ruin to thousands in Israel.
2 Yet there are many today, standing like Eli in holy office, who are making the same mistake. They read his mournful history, but fail to profit by the warning. In their self-confidence they think they know a better way of training their children than that which God has given us in his word. The earnest, anxious prayer does not ascend from their hearts, “Teach us, how shall we order the child, and what shall we do unto him?” With all their learning and intelligence, the results of their training show the vaunted wisdom of these persons to be but folly. Fond, indulgent parents, they allow their children to grow up from babyhood without restraint; and thus their forward, selfish, disagreeable ways become confirmed habits, rendering them unloving and unlovable.
3 God himself established the family relations. His word is the only safe guide in the management of children. Human philosophy has not discovered more than God knows, or devised a wiser plan of dealing with children than that given by our Lord. Who can better understand all the needs of children than their Creator? Who can feel a deeper interest in their welfare than He who bought them with his own blood? If the word of God were carefully studied and faithfully obeyed, there would be less soul-anguish over the perverse conduct of wicked children.
4 Eli was quick to see and rebuke the sins and errors of the people, sometimes, as in the case of Hannah, even administering unjust reproof; but the sins of his own sons seemed to him less offensive than the sins of others. In his undue affection he was ever ready to find excuses for their perverse course. All this was dishonoring God and misleading the people. To just such an extent as he permitted or excused sin in his children, did he become a partaker in their guilt. As sons of the high priest, they were connected with the work of God, and thus the evil and the sin were greatly heightened.
5 It is very natural for parents to be partial to their own children. Especially if these parents feel that they themselves possess superior ability, they will regard their children as superior to other children. Hence much that would be severely censured in others is passed over in their own children as smart and witty. While this partiality is natural, it is unjust and unchristian. A great wrong is done our children when we permit their faults to go uncorrected. Many foster wrong traits of character in their children, urging as an excuse, “They are too young to be punished. Wait until they become older, and can be reasoned with. They will outgrow many of these evil tendencies.” Thus their wrong habits are left to grow and strengthen until they become second nature. Sometimes the father and mother are united in this error. Sometimes one would gladly pursue a wiser course; but when that one attempts to enforce obedience, the other takes the part of the child, and will not allow it to be brought into submission. The sad results of such a course can be fully seen only in eternity. They can never be estimated in this life.
6 But great as are the evils of parental unfaithfulness under any circumstances, they are tenfold greater when they exist in the family of those who stand in Christ’s stead, to instruct the people. Ministers of the gospel, who fail to control their own households, are, by their wrong example, misleading many. They sanction the growth of evil, instead of repressing it. Many who consider themselves excellent judges of what other children should be and what they should do, are blind to the defects of their own sons and daughters. Such a lack of divine wisdom in those who profess to teach the word of God, is working untold evil. It tends to efface from the minds of the people the distinction between right and wrong, purity and vice.
7 When ministers and people will exchange their natural pride of heart and independence for a child-like, teachable spirit; when, instead of trusting to their own understanding, and conforming to the maxims and customs of the world, they will sit at the feet of Jesus, and earnestly inquire, “Lord, what will thou have me to do?” then his wisdom will direct them, his Spirit work with their efforts, and we shall see the youth who now drift into the ranks of Satan, serving under the banner of the Prince of Life.
8 Oh that the Elis of today, who are everywhere to be found pleading excuses for the waywardness of their children, would promptly assert their own God-given authority to restrain and correct them. Let parents and guardians, who overlook and excuse sin in those under their care, remember that they thus become accessory to these wrongs. If, instead of unlimited indulgence, the chastening rod were oftener used, not in passion, but with love and prayer, we would see happier families and a better state of society.
9 We have no sympathy with that discipline which would discourage children by hard censure, or irritate them by passionate correction, and then, as the impulse changes, smother them with kisses, or harm them by injurious gratification. Excessive indulgence and undue severity are alike to be avoided. While vigilance and firmness are indispensable, so also are sympathy and tenderness. Parents, remember that you deal with children who are struggling with temptation, and that to them these evil promptings are as hard to resist as are those that assail persons of mature years. Children who really desire to do right may fail again and again, and as often need encouragement to energy and perseverance. Watch the workings of these young minds with prayerful solicitude. Strengthen every good impulse, encourage every noble action. The Lord, through an apostle, admonishes parents, “Provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” The word of God is your guide, Christian parents. Depart not from it to gratify any impulse of passion or of affection.
10 If parents desire to teach their children self-control, they must first form the habit themselves. The scolding and fault-finding of parents, encourages a hasty, passionate temper in their children. Love and justice should stand side by side in the government of the household. Let prompt obedience to parental authority be invariably enforced. God has given parents their work, to form the characters of their children after the Divine Pattern. By his grace, they can accomplish the task; but it will require patient, painstaking effort, no less than firmness and decision, to guide the will and restrain the passions. A field left to itself produces only thorns and briers. He who would secure a harvest for usefulness or beauty must first prepare the soil and sow the seed, then dig about the young shoots, removing the weeds and softening the earth, and the precious plants will flourish and richly repay his care and labor.
11 The work of parents is continuous. It should not be laid hold of vigorously for one day, and neglected the next. Many are ready to begin the work, but are not willing to persevere in it. They are eager to do some great thing, to make some great sacrifice; but they shrink from the unceasing care and effort in the little things of every-day life, the hourly pruning and training of the wayward tendencies, the work of giving instruction, reproof, or encouragement, little by little, as it is needed. They wish to see children correct their faults and form right characters at once, reaching the mountain- top at a bound, and not by successive steps; and because their hopes are not immediately realized, they become disheartened. Let all such persons take courage as they remember the words of the apostle, “Be not weary in well doing; for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not.”
12 Satan has prepared his snares for parents, tempting them to extravagance in dress, to an unnecessary outlay of time and money in the preparation of food, and to needless indulgence in many other forms. The demands of fashion so fully engross the time and attention that little room is left for communion with God, self-discipline, or the training of children. Thus too many parents let slip from their shoulders the responsibility of family government. It requires earnest heart-work to repress evil tendencies, strengthen weak principles, develop good and lovely traits of character, and direct all the powers of mind and body in the right channel. Fathers and mothers, will you not lay hold of your work with energy, perseverance, and love? Sow the precious seed daily, with earnest prayer that God will water it with the dews of grace, and grant you an abundant harvest. The Son of God died to redeem a sinful, rebellious race. Shall we shrink from any toil or sacrifice to save our own dear children?
13 By precept and example, let the young be taught reverence for God and for his word. Many of our youth are becoming infidels at heart, because of the lack of devotion in their parents. The law of God should be the law of the household. Let fathers and mothers kindly and patiently instruct their children, both from the inspired word and from the book of nature, leading them to understand the character of God. Let them show in their own lives that they are continually seeking to know and to do his will. To secure the approval of their Heavenly Father is the great motive to be ever kept before the minds of children. The service of God should be presented, not as an irksome task, but as a precious privilege, by which they may enjoy an honored, useful, and happy life here, and infinitely greater honor, usefulness, and joy in the life hereafter.
14 God has permitted light from his throne to shine all along the path of life. A pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night, is moving before us as before ancient Israel. It is the privilege of Christian parents today, as it was the privilege of God’s people of old, to bring their children with them to the promised land.
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1 As the sons of Eli advanced to manhood, and entered upon the duties of the priesthood, the evil effects of their early training became more apparent. Though engaged in so important and sacred a work, they were “sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.” From childhood they had been familiar with the solemn, impressive services of the sanctuary. They had been faithfully instructed in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. Intellectually, they had a knowledge of God; but their hearts had never yielded to the influence of divine grace. They loved not God’s character or his requirements.
2 Had these youth improved the privileges granted them, they might have become men of both intellectual and moral power. A faithful obedience to God’s requirements will have a surprising influence to elevate, develop, and strengthen all man’s faculties. Those who have in youth devoted themselves to the service of God, are found to be the men of sound judgment and keen discrimination. And why should it not be so? Communion with the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, strengthens the understanding, illuminates the mind, and purifies the heart—elevates, refines, and ennobles the whole man. “The entrance of Thy word giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
3 Among the youth who profess godliness, there is a large class who may seem to contradict this statement. They make no advancement in knowledge or in spirituality. Their powers are dwarfing, rather than developing. But the psalmist’s words are true of the genuine Christian. It is not, indeed, the bare letter of God’s word that gives light and understanding; it is the word opened and applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit. When a man is truly converted, he becomes a son of God, a partaker of the divine nature. Not only is the heart renewed, but the intellect is strengthened and invigorated. There have been many instances of persons who before conversion were thought to possess ordinary and even inferior ability, but who after conversion seemed entirely transformed. They then manifested remarkable power to comprehend the truths of God’s word, and to present these truths to others. Men of high intellectual standing have considered it a privilege to hold intercourse with these men. The Sun of Righteousness, shedding its bright beams into their minds, quickened every power into more vigorous action.
4 God will do a great work for the youth, if they will by the aid of the Holy Spirit, receive his word into the heart, and obey it in the life. He is constantly seeking to attract them to himself, the Source of all wisdom, the Fountain of goodness, purity, and truth. The mind which is occupied with exalted themes, becomes itself ennobled. Those who profess to serve God, and yet make no advancement in knowledge and piety, are Christians only in name. The soul-temple is filled with desecrated shrines. Frivolous reading, trifling conversation, and worldly pleasure, occupy the mind so completely that there is no room left for the entrance of God’s word. Worldliness, frivolity, and pride take the place which Christ should occupy in the soul.
5 To fix the heart’s best affections upon any finite object, any earthly good, degrades the soul and weakens the intellect. God alone is worthy of man’s supreme devotion. The individual whose heart is placed on worldly gain becomes covetous, selfish, and even cruel, in his efforts to amass wealth. Living for himself, he becomes narrow-minded. All his thoughts and feelings are absorbed in promoting his own interests. Mind and heart are dwarfed to meet his low standard of excellence.
6 Those who seek as their chief good the indulgence of appetite and passion, are never good or truly great men. However high they may stand in the opinion of the world, they are low, vile, and corrupt in God’s estimation. Heaven has ordered that the mark of their depravity shall be written upon their very countenance. Their thoughts are of the earth, earthly. Their words reveal the low level of the mind. They have filled the heart with vileness, and well-nigh effaced therefrom the image of God. The voice of reason is drowned, and judgment is perverted. Oh, how is man’s entire nature debased by sensual indulgence! When the will is surrendered to Satan, to what depths of vice and folly will not men descend! In vain does truth appeal to the intellect; for the heart is opposed to its pure principles.
7 Eli’s sons chose the false, the sensual, the debased, instead of the true, the pure, and the holy. Thus they became sons of Belial,—children of Satan. Standing, as they did, in sacred office, the chosen exponents of the divine will, mediators between a holy God and repentant sinners, the course of these wicked men brought temptation upon all Israel. Again the faith and devotion of the people were tested. Those who had cherished iniquity in their hearts, were inclined to unite with these vile men; and many excused their own sins, because those in high position led the way in transgression.
8 The typical service was the connecting link between God and Israel. The sacrificial offerings were designed to prefigure the sacrifice of Christ, and thus to preserve in the hearts of the people an unwavering faith in the Redeemer to come. Hence, in order that the Lord might accept their sacrifices, and continue his presence with them, and, on the other hand, that the people might have a correct knowledge of the plan of salvation, and a right understanding of their duty, it was of the utmost importance that holiness of heart and purity of life, reverence for God, and strict obedience to his requirements, should be maintained by all connected with the sanctuary.
9 The Lord had, through Moses, given the most explicit directions concerning the sacrificial offerings. But selfish, avaricious priests, to serve their own interests, had departed from these instructions. The sacrifice of the peace-offerings especially, which were made as an expression of thanksgiving to God, and were presented in great numbers when the people assembled at the annual feasts, afforded a favorable opportunity for unscrupulous priests to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. The Lord had directed that the fat of the peace-offering should be burned upon the altar as a type of the great Sacrifice; a specified portion, the breast and the right shoulder, with some minor parts, were given to the priest as his perquisite; the remainder was to be eaten by those who brought the offering.
10 Infinite wisdom had foreseen that the clamors of appetite, and a covetous desire for gain, might lead the priest to appropriate to himself the sacrifices solemnly devoted to the Lord. That there might be no room for confusion or misunderstanding, the most exact and minute directions had been given.
11 Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, disregarded the laws of the sanctuary more boldly than had any of their predecessors. While they arrayed themselves in the sacerdotal garments and ministered before the Lord, they cared only for the gratification of their own debased appetites and passions. The priests not being content with their rightful share of the peace-offerings, it had become customary for one of their servants to come while the offerers were cooking their portion in some apartment adjacent to the sanctuary, and to carry away whatever could be taken up with the flesh-hook. The great numbers of sacrifices offered, made this a considerable addition to the priest’s perquisite.
12 But even this departure from the Lord’s commands failed to satisfy Hophni and Phinehas. They desired the fat, which the Lord had expressly stated should never be eaten, but burned on the altar as an offering to himself. As they had learned to despise the authority of their father, they now despised the authority of God, and sent their servants to demand the flesh of the peace-offerings before the fat had been separated from it. When the offerer remonstrated, “Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth,” the answer was, “Nay, but thou shalt give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” The people stood in awe of the priests, and submitted to their unlawful claims, robbing themselves of their rightful share of the offering. Thus, appetite, selfishness, and avarice triumphed, exerting their evil influence upon the people at the very time when every heart should have been directed in penitence and faith to the great Sacrifice which was to take away the sins of the world. These things had a telling influence upon the people, and they were fast losing all sense of the sacredness of the sacrificial offerings, and of the importance of attending upon the services of the sanctuary.
13 The recreant priests added licentiousness to the dark catalogue of their crimes; yet they still polluted by their presence the tabernacle of the Lord, and, laden with sin, dared to come into the presence of a holy God. As the men of Israel witnessed the corrupt course of the priests, they thought it safer for their families not to come up to the appointed place of worship. Many went from Shiloh with their peace disturbed, their indignation aroused, until they at last determined to offer their sacrifices themselves, concluding that this would be fully as acceptable to God, as to sanction in any manner the abominations practiced in the sanctuary.
14 The worship which Jehovah himself had ordained was despised and neglected because associated with the sins of wicked men. This was a critical time for the people of God. Ungodliness, profligacy, and even idolatry prevailed to a fearful extent among them. And where now was the priest and judge of Israel? Eli was not ignorant of the course pursued by his sons. Faithful men, who mourned over the corruption of the priesthood, presented the matter in its true character before him. The indignation of the people had been aroused, and complaints were coming to him from every side. He had passed over these transgressions till he dared remain silent no longer. But the aged father still manifested the same partiality which he had ever shown his wayward sons. He took no decisive measures to bring them to justice, but mildly remonstrated with them, as with persons of tender conscience, who had for once fallen under temptation:—
15 “And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear; ye make the Lord’s people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him?
16 Eli had long known that his sons were not what God would have them. He knew that they did not give to Israel an example worthy of imitation. But he was growing old, and the burden of official care rested heavily upon him. Some one must assist him in bearing this responsibility. Should he deal justly with his sons, they would be speedily rejected from the priestly office, and punished with death. He dreaded thus to bring public disgrace and condemnation upon them. By passing over their crimes again and again without punishment, his own abhorrence of sin was lessened, and in his efforts to shield them, he became accessory to their guilt.
17 God held Eli, as priest and judge of Israel, accountable for the moral and religious standing of his people, and in a special sense for the character of his sons. The most severe punishment should have been meted out to them, as due the insulted honor of God, and as needful to counteract the influence of their daring sacrilege and gross immorality. Well had it been for Eli and for all Israel, had the high priest manifested such zeal for the honor of God, and such a desire to avert his wrath, as had been shown by the tribe of Levi in slaying the worshipers of the golden calf. On that occasion the priests at God’s command executed justice upon the leaders in transgression, without regard to rank or kindred. Those who faithfully performed this painful duty, were approved and honored of the Lord.
18 Had not Eli’s love for his wicked sons surpassed his zeal for the honor of God, he would have pursued a similar course. He should have exercised his authority to repress crime and uphold righteousness, thus saying to all Israel, “Sin is sin, even if found in the sons of the high priest; and although a most painful duty devolves upon me as a father, God shall not be dishonored by my sons before the people. Holiness and iniquity shall not be confounded in the minds of Israel, because men in high position dare to sin.” But the aged priest loved ease and peace, and rather than endure the pain and strife of meeting and resisting wrong, he remained silent, and suffered the work on iniquity to go on and the clouds of divine wrath to gather above a guilty nation.
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1 Unmerited mercy, no less than strict justice, were strikingly displayed in the Lord’s dealings with the house of Eli. Notwithstanding the Heaven-daring crimes of the ungodly sons, and the sinful neglect of the indulgent father, the Lord waited long for them to turn from their evil ways. Then he sent a prophet to denounce their sins and to warn them of impending judgment. Without fear or favor, this chosen messenger of God set forth the high honors which the Most High had conferred upon them, and their base ingratitude in so degrading their holy office:—
2 “Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? And did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever; but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”
3 Except in his neglect to restrain and control his sons, Eli had faithfully performed the duties of his office. But his failure to maintain the honor of God by repressing sin with an impartial hand, gave rise to a long train of evils, bringing crime and anguish upon a whole nation. In the history of Eli and his sons is a solemn warning for all the ministers of Christ—an admonition to guard their own hearts with diligence, to keep holy all God’s requirements, that his blessing may rest upon the workmen, and that the work may bear the signet of Heaven. It should also impress upon them their duty to rebuke sin in the members of the church, be they high or low, rich or poor. Even our dearest friends are not to come between us and our allegiance to God. We need not expect to receive the divine blessing until all that has been left for man to do is done to correct error and repress sin. To neglect this duty, or to be slothful and careless in its performance, is to disobey God, to sanction sin, and to bring his wrath upon his people.
4 The example of ministers should be such as to impress the people with reverence for God, and with fear to offend him. They should honor the Lord at all times, ever acknowledging that of themselves they can do nothing, that their strength and wisdom must come from God, and that all the glory belongs to him. Those who occupy responsible positions, where if connected with God they might do much good, yet who abuse these privileges by the gratification of appetite or unlawful passion, will be visited with the wrath of God according to the gifts which they have perverted.
5 It is plainly written on the unrenewed heart and on a fallen world, All seek their own. Selfishness is the great law of our degenerate nature. Selfishness occupies that place in the soul where Christ should sit enthroned. Never does Satan more effectually accomplish his work than in controlling the minds and hearts of those who minister in sacred things. Transforming himself into an angel of light, his true character is not discerned. Alas, how many of the agents of the great deceiver are to be found in the holy office of the ministry! They may possess intellectual ability, they study, preach, and pray, and are looked upon as pious men because engaged in a sacred work. Then, taking advantage of the confidence reposed in them, they lead souls to ruin and to death. There are men in holy office today who are similar in character to Hophni and Phinehas. They give loose rein to passion, and disguise their depravity under a cloak of religion. When at last their true character is detected and exposed, the faith of the people receives a shock that often destroys their confidence in religion. Imperceptibly there is left upon the mind a distrust of all who profess to teach the word of God. The message of the true servant of Christ is doubtfully received. The question constantly comes up, “Will not this man prove to be like the one we thought so holy and found so corrupt?” Thus the word of God loses its power upon the souls of men. These false shepherds are of the class who in the day of God will say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” It is to such men that our Lord will declare, “I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
6 Said the great apostle, “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” We live in an age when the spurious abounds; but, thank God, there is a true, or there would be no counterfeit. Let all who would be numbered with the faithful few, seek to follow the example of the self-denying apostle.
7 The words of reproof to Eli are also a reproof to all parents who pursue a similar course. Indulgence of the wayward inclinations of the youth is registered in the books of Heaven as a sin. If a minister of the gospel neglect his duty as a parent, his guilt is as much greater than that of others as his position is more responsible. He is showing contempt for the authority of God. While teaching his word to others, he disregards it himself. That parent can have no true sense of the worth of souls, who permits his children to grow up without restraint, going out from his hearth with their hearts at enmity with God and his law, to infuse that enmity into the hearts of others.
8 The very beginnings of evil, the first manifestations of insubordination, should be resolutely checked. The indulgence of appetite and passion should be restrained with earnestness and decision. When parents neglect this work, they permit thorns and briers to occupy the heart-gardens which God has commanded them to sow with precious seed, and to till with care, that a harvest may be brought forth unto eternal life. God will surely visit the transgressors with judgment. Both parents and children must reap the harvest sown.
9 In the sons of Eli, we may see the sons of many professedly Christian parents. None are more stubborn and perverse, none less susceptible to the influence of the Holy Spirit, than are many of these victims of parental indulgence. There is no class that will exert a more pernicious influence than such ungodly youth. By their inconsistent course, they furnish the enemies of God with arguments against Christianity. There are skeptics and even atheists who are at times troubled, and almost persuaded to believe in the existence of God and the truth of the Scriptures. Satan fears to lose them from his ranks, and he calls their attention to the perverse and immoral children of professed Christians, as the fruit of belief in God and the Bible. The careless find in their course an excuse for not giving themselves to Christ, and many who really desire to become Christians, are discouraged. These wayward youth are successful agents of Satan. Ungodliness and immorality follow in their path, and the crime of perverting and polluting many souls rests upon them, and upon the parents whose neglect of duty made them what they are.
10 Professed Christians have by their inconsistent course done greater harm to the cause of Christ than can be done by open opposers. The world at large judge of Christianity by the course of its advocates. If this be evil, the system itself is rejected. When a missionary once urged an Indian chief to be a Christian, “the plumed savage drew himself up in the consciousness of superior rectitude, and with indignation quivering on his lip and flashing in his eagle eye, replied, ‘Christian lie; Christian cheat; Christian steal, drink, murder; Christian rob me of my lands, and slay my tribe;’ adding as he turned haughtily on his heel, ‘I will be no Christian.’” Alas that this incident truly represents the course of some who are looked upon by the world as the representatives of Christ!
11 Eli knew that the wickedness of his sons and the iniquity which by their influence had spread through all Israel, must call down upon his family and upon the nation the judgments of God. He remembered how promptly similar offenders had been punished in the past. In the days of Joshua, one man’s sin brought disaster and defeat upon the whole nation. When, contrary to the command of God, Achan took of the spoils of their enemies, and concealed the coveted treasure in his tent, the divine presence was withdrawn from Israel, until the crime had been put away by the death of the offender. The Lord gave Joshua to understand that the sin of even one man would bring the divine wrath upon the whole congregation.
12 There was work for both magistrate and people, to keep the camp free from iniquity. They must have vigilant care, not only for themselves, but for one another, lest sin should prevail, and the Lord’s name be dishonored.
13 God’s character changes not. He was the same in Eli’s time as in the days of Joshua. The iniquity signally punished in the early history of Israel could not be tolerated in later years. The crimes of Eli’s sons were far greater than the sin of Achan. And their guilt was heightened by the greater light which they had received; they were acquainted with the history of his sin and its terrible punishment, and they had enjoyed superior advantages for religious education and training. Notwithstanding the Lord’s forbearance toward them, they had stubbornly gone on in sin, and now the prophet of the Lord pronounced their fate:—
14 “And this shall be a sign unto thee that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. And I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.”
15 Man may be deceived by the outward appearance; but the Lord looketh upon the heart. Those who steal the livery of Heaven that they may allure souls to death, will as surely receive retributive justice as did Achan, Hophni, and Phinehas. Every man is sowing seed which will produce a harvest for him to reap by and by. We are all treasuring up stores for eternity. The righteous are laying up eternal riches; the wicked treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. While acquiring property on earth, the sinner is by his transgression of God’s law gathering for himself anguish and bitterness. He may be honored of men, but, saith the Lord, “Them that honor me, I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” The record of every act of injustice, of cruelty, or licentiousness, is passing up to Heaven to be registered in the book of God’s remembrance. Today the treasure of wrath is greater than it was yesterday; and tomorrow the sinner will add to the amount. Every soul whom his influence has helped to lead astray increases the treasure he has laid up, the vengeance of God, accumulating, deepening, darkening.
16 In Eli’s reproof to his sons are words of solemn and fearful import, —words which all who minister in sacred things would do well to ponder. “If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him?” Had their crimes injured only their fellow-men, the judge might have made reconciliation by appointing a penalty, and requiring restitution; and thus the offenders might have been pardoned. Or had they sinned ignorantly, the priest might have presented a sin-offering for them, and secured their pardon. But their sins were so interwoven with their ministration as priests of the Most High, in offering sacrifice for sin; the work of God was so profaned and dishonored before the people, that no expiation could be accepted for them. Their own father, though himself high priest, dared not make intercession for them; he could not shield them from the wrath of a holy God. Let those whose hearts are given to the service of sin and Satan, beware how they pollute the sacred office of the ministry. Let them beware how, while at heart agents of Satan, they dare to stand before the people as ambassadors for Christ. In the day of Judgment the doom of Hophni and Phinehas will be theirs.
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1 While Eli’s heart was filled with anxiety and remorse by the evil course of his sons, he found relief and comfort in the integrity and devotion of the youthful Samuel. His ready helpfulness and unvarying fidelity lightened the burdens of the careworn priest. Eli loved Samuel; for he saw that the grace and love of God rested upon him. It was not customary for the Levites to enter upon their peculiar services until they were twenty-five years of age. But Samuel had been an exception to this rule. Every year saw more important trusts committed to him, and, while yet a child, a linen ephod was placed upon him, as a token of his consecration to the work of the sanctuary.
2 As Samuel grew older, the anxiety of his parents in his behalf became more intense. Many were the petitions offered that he might not be contaminated by the wickedness reported concerning the sons of Eli. “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord and also with men.”
3 When but twelve years old, the son of Hannah received his special commission from the Most High. The circumstances of that call are best related in the simple and touchingly beautiful language of the sacred writer: “The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; and ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep, that the Lord called Samuel.” Supposing the voice to be that of Eli, the child hastened to the bedside of the aged priest, saying, “Here am I, for thou calledst me.” The answer was, “I called not, my son, lie down again.” Three times Samuel was called, and thrice he responded in like manner; and then Eli was convinced that the mysterious call was the voice of God. What feelings must have stirred the heart of the high priest at that hour! God had passed by his chosen servant, the man of hoary hairs, to commune with a child. This in itself was a bitter yet deserved rebuke to Eli and his house.
4 No spirit of envy or jealousy was awakened in Eli’s heart. He humbly submitted to the will of God, and directed Samuel to answer, if again called, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” Once more the child heard the mysterious voice, and answered, “Speak, for thy servant heareth.” So awed was he at the thought that the great God should speak to him, that he could not remember the exact words which Eli bade him say.
5 “And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house. When I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever.”
6 The Scriptures state that before receiving this message from God, “Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.” He was not destitute of a knowledge of God, nor he was a stranger to the influence of divine grace; but he was not acquainted with such direct manifestations of his presence, as were granted to the prophets. It was the Lord’s purpose, however, to reveal himself in an unexpected manner, that Eli might hear of it through the surprise and inquiry of the youth.
7 Samuel had not been ignorant of the wicked course pursued by the sons of Eli, but he was filled with fear and amazement that the Lord should commit to him so terrible a message. He arose in the morning and went about his duties as usual, but with a heavy burden on his young heart. How earnestly did he long for the sympathy and counsel of his parents in that trying hour! The Lord had not commanded him to reveal the fearful denunciation to the priest or to his sons; hence he remained silent, avoiding as far as possible the presence of Eli. He trembled, lest some question would compel him to declare the divine judgments against one whom he so loved and reverenced.
8 Eli was confident that the message concerned himself. He felt that some great calamity was about to fall upon him and his house. He called Samuel, and solemnly charged him to faithfully relate what the Lord had revealed. The youth obeyed, and when the venerable man heard the appalling sentence, he bowed in meek submission:
9 “It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good.” Eli’s faith in the wisdom and justice of God was unshaken. He confessed his own guilt and the guilt of his sons; and as he looked forward to the dread result, acknowledged that he deserved it all: “It is the Lord; who shall rise up in judgment against him? I have ever found him merciful, long-suffering, holy, and just. Let him do what seemeth him good.”
10 Year after year the Lord for Eli’s sake delayed his threatened judgments. How much might have been done in those years, to redeem the failures of the past! But the aged priest took no effective measures to avert the doom that hung over himself and his house. The forbearance of God caused Hophni and Phinehas to harden their hearts, and to become still bolder and more defiant in transgression. But steadily and surely the day of retribution was approaching. Every warning slighted, every day of probation squandered, made their punishment greater, their doom more certain.
11 God bears long with the perversity and stubbornness of men. By warnings and reproofs he shows them their true condition. Again and again he calls them to repentance. Though the multitudes wax bold in sin, trampling upon his mercy and defying his justice, still he pours his blessings upon them. Oh, how infinitely beyond human comprehension are the Lord’s mercy and forbearance toward the children of men! Yet there is a limit, beyond which men may not go on in sin. When the fullness of iniquity is reached,—as with the Amorites, and the children of Israel who fell in the wilderness,—then the wrath of God is visited upon the transgressors of his law.
12 There are many who teach that man may violate God’s law with impunity. These men seek to conceal the hideous character of sin, by clothing it with garments of righteousness. They may observe all the forms of religion, but their hearts are at enmity with God. They look upon his law as a yoke of bondage, because it forbids them to indulge their sinful desires. “Thou shalt not,” placed at every avenue of sin, is the restriction of the just and holy One. Those who, like Hophni and Phinehas, disregard the commandments of God, and lead others to transgress, are Satan’s agents to destroy souls. They say to the sinner, “It shall be well with thee,” when God says, “I will punish the transgressor with my wrath, I will take him away in my hot displeasure.”
13 God may bear long with the sins of men, but in his own time he will vindicate his authority. Although the wicked may say, “My way is hid from the Lord,” yet when his interposition is needed, he will show that he beholds all the works of the children of men. In the days of Noah, the wickedness of man became so great that it was necessary for God to assert his authority and punish the transgressors of his law. A crisis had come, and the Lord declared the limits of his forbearance toward that guilty race. He sent his faithful servant with a message of warning, giving them one hundred and twenty years in which to turn from their sins. They rejected and despised God’s love, and when the measure of their iniquity was full; when the boundaries of divine mercy were passed, the Lord swept that wicked race from the earth by the waters of the flood.
14 As men again increased, they departed from the Lord, and then Abraham was made the depositary of God’s law. When the Israelites, through their long bondage in Egypt, had to a great degree lost the knowledge of that law, the Lord himself proclaimed it from Sinai, in the hearing of all the people. The nations of the earth were given to idolatry; it was to preserve the children of men from total apostasy, that the Lord manifested his mighty power in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, and establishing them in the land of Canaan.
15 When God’s authority had been set aside, and his worship neglected and despised, it became necessary for him to interpose, that the honor of his name might be maintained in the earth. Such a necessity existed in the days of Eli. None but a divine power could free the worship and ordinances of God from the corruption and disorder produced by the course of Hophni and Phinehas. The hand of God must be distinctly recognized; the agents of Israel’s apostasy must be destroyed, yet the nation must not become extinct. The service of God must be purged from sin and sinners, and the worship itself honored and exalted.
16 God’s people had been crying to him with humiliation and fasting, that the wickedness of the wicked might come to an end. And while he manifested his power as an avenger to the wicked, he would also appear as the protector of the righteous. Though their prayers might long have seemed unheard, yet in God’s own time they saw that he had given ear to their supplications, and answered them by terrible things in righteousness.
17 In every age, God’s judgments have been visited upon the earth because men transgressed his law. What, then, have we to expect as we behold the wickedness which prevails at the present day? An ungrateful people, forgetful of God’s care, his long forbearance, and his unnumbered blessings, are showing contempt for his holy law. Many of the acknowledged leaders in the church and in the nation, break, and teach others to break that law, as sacred to God as his own throne and name. It is time for the Lord himself to assert his authority in the earth. And he is doing this, by fires, by floods, by tempests. He removes his protecting, providential care, and visits his judgments upon the children of men.
18 In these days of peril shall we show less devotion to the truth of God, and less fervent attachment to his law, than in former years? The very condition of things exists which Christ declared would be, prior to his second coming in power and glory. The prevailing ungodliness tends to paralyze and even to destroy true faith and piety. But this is the very time when the gold of Christian integrity will shine brightest, in contrast to the dross of hypocrisy and corruption. Now is the time for Christ’s chosen to show their devotion to his service,—the time for all his followers to bear the noblest testimony for their Master by standing firm against the prevailing current of evil.
19 As we see the results which have followed a disregard of God’s law, —dishonesty, theft, licentiousness, drunkenness, and murder—we are prepared to say with the psalmist, “I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold;” “in keeping of them, there is great reward.” When the divine law is set aside, the greatest misery will result, both to families and to society. Our only hope of better things is to be found in a faithful adherence to the precepts of Jehovah. Infidel France once tried the experiment of rejecting the authority of God. What scenes of horror followed! Men cast aside the divine law as a yoke of bondage, and in their boasted liberty they placed themselves under the rule of the veriest tyrant. Anarchy and bloodshed ruled that terrible day. It was then demonstrated to the world that the surest way to undermine the foundation of order and government, is to set at naught the law of God.
20 Let us remember that “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The commandments of God convict the sinner of his guilt; but that perfect law has been obeyed by Christ in our stead, and through faith in him we are released from our great debt, and are placed where, in his strength, we can render obedience to God. Instead of feeling that we are now in the slightest degree excusable in further transgression, we shall realize as never before the justice of God’s claims upon us, and the sacred character of his law, since Christ must die to maintain its authority.
21 Ere long the obedient will see the blessed results that follow the keeping of all God’s commandments and the transgressors of his law will reap the reward of their doings. The Judge of all the earth will vindicate his insulted authority. Already we see his judgments in the land. And the end is not yet. He will work until sin and sinners are destroyed from the earth.
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1 “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.” From one extreme of the land to the other, Samuel’s claims to the prophetic office were established, and he received further revelations of God’s will in the tabernacle at Shiloh.
2 The messages of warning and reproof to the house of Eli were made known by him to the whole nation. By so doing he hoped to counteract, in some measure, the evil influence of his past neglect. But these warnings were disregarded by the people, as they had been by the priests. The surrounding nations also, who were not ignorant of the iniquities openly practiced in Israel, became still bolder and more determined in their own course of idolatry and crime. They felt no sense of guilt for their sins, as they would have felt had the Israelites preserved their integrity.
3 Again the Philistines gathered their forces for war. And Israel, without asking counsel from the Lord, without the concurrence of Eli or Samuel, rashly went out to battle. But the hand of God was not with them, and in the first engagement they were defeated, with a loss of four thousand of their number. When the people returned disheartened to their tents, the elders of Israel said, “Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines?” The nation was ripe for the judgments of God, yet so blinded by their unbelief and rebellion that they could not see in their disaster a token of the Lord’s displeasure.
4 Instead of confessing and forsaking the sins that had brought defeat upon them, they now set about devising some other means by which to obtain the victory. Then they thought of the ark of God. What wonders had been wrought when the priests bore it before the people into Jordan! How its waters parted, leaving a safe path for that vast company! They remembered also how it was borne about the city of Jericho seven days in solemn silence, and then as the trumpets pealed, and the people gave a great shout, the massive walls fell flat upon the earth.
5 The recollection of these glorious triumphs inspired all Israel with fresh hope and courage, and they immediately sent to Shiloh for the ark, “that when it cometh among us,” said they, “it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.” They did not consider that it was the law of God which alone gave to the ark its sacredness, and that its presence would bring them prosperity only as they obeyed that law. While they talked of the “ark of the covenant of the Lord,” they ignored the real significance of the title. A covenant is an agreement between parties, based upon conditions. If Israel would obey the divine law and thus fulfill the conditions of their covenant with God, he would verify his promises to them. But what presumption for them to expect a blessing while they were violating the conditions upon which alone it could be bestowed!
6 Yet we see a similar blindness and inattention on the part of many at the present day. Having a knowledge of God’s law, they are confident and boastful, as though especially favored of Heaven, while they are not from the heart obeying its precepts. God has given to modern Israel warnings, counsel, and reproof, to bring them to repentance and reformation of life. But too often these produce but a momentary impression. The persons warned soon return to their own ways. They flatter themselves that because they have a form of godliness they will be accepted of the Lord, and they go on presumptuously devising and executing plans in accordance with their own finite judgment, and giving little heed to the special manifestations of divine providence. It is one thing to acknowledge the claims of God’s law, and quite another thing to render faithful and willing obedience to all its requirements. And let it be remembered that to the obedient alone will the promises of blessing, support, and guidance be fulfilled.
7 The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, eagerly acceded to the proposal to bear the ark into the camp. Without the consent of the high priest, they ventured presumptuously into the holy of holies, and took from thence the ark of God. Filled with pride, and elated with the expectation of speedy victory, they bore it to the camp. And the people, beholding, as they thought the token of Jehovah’s presence, “shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.”
8 They overlooked the distinction between the divine presence vouchsafed to an obedient and believing people, and the ark, which was but a symbol of that presence. Hence they confidently looked to the ark for those blessings which God alone could bestow. They saw not the wide contrast between the condition of Israel when the Lord wrought so mightily in their behalf, and their present state.
9 They were then walking in obedience to God. The ark was borne by holy men in accordance with his express command, and the Captain of the Lord’s host went before the repository of his law. Then his arm brought deliverance for them. But they were now following their own plans, in opposition to the divine counsel and authority. The ark was borne by sons of Belial who were doomed to destruction. Yet the people were so infatuated by Satan as to imagine they could induce God to fight for them, when the law under the mercy-seat condemned them to defeat, disaster, and death!
10 The Philistines looked upon the ark as the god of the Hebrews. All the mighty works which Jehovah had wrought for Israel, were attributed to its power. As they heard the shouts of joy and triumph at its approach, they said, “What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” “And they understand that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.”
11 The Philistines feared for their nation; yet still they trusted to the power of Dagon their god, and sought to strengthen the courage of the people: “Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.” They well knew how bitter was the servitude which Israel had endured when in their power, and the thought of themselves becoming slaves to endure like oppression nerved them with the courage of desperation.
12 A fierce assault upon Israel resulted in their defeat with great slaughter. Thirty thousand men lay dead upon the field, and the ark of God was taken, the two sons of Eli having fallen while fighting to defend it.
13 The Lord sorely chastised his people Israel, revealing their hypocrisy and rebuking their presumption, and thus left upon the pages of history the testimony for all future ages, that the iniquities of his professed people will not go unpunished. The greater the knowledge of God’s will, the greater the sin of those who disregard it. God is not dependent upon men to cause his name to be feared and honored in the earth. He accepts the labors of those who walk in faithfulness and humility before him, but he will reject all who profess to serve him, and yet follow in the course of the unrighteous. God can carry forward his work in the earth without the co-operation of those who would pervert or disgrace it.
14 While the army of Israel went out to battle, Eli, blind and old, remained at Shiloh. Seating himself at the gate of the tabernacle he anxiously waited for tidings from the field of conflict, “for his heart trembled for the ark of God.” Days of agonizing suspense followed. At last there fell upon his ears a sound of lamentation from the town. Soon a messenger drew near, his clothing rent and dust upon his head, and repeated to the high priest his sad tidings:—
15 “Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead.” Eli could endure all this, terrible as it was, for he had expected it. But when the messenger added, “And the ark of God is taken,” a look of unutterable anguish passed over his countenance. The thought that his sin had thus dishonored God and caused him to withdraw his presence from Israel, was more than he could bear; his strength was gone, he reeled upon his seat and fell, “and his neck brake, and he died.”
16 The wife of Phinehas, notwithstanding the impiety of her husband, was a woman who feared the Lord. The death of her father-in-law and her husband, and above all the terrible tidings that the ark of God was in captivity, caused her death. She felt that now the last hope of Israel was gone, and she named the child, born in this hour of adversity, Ichabod, or inglorious; with her dying breath mournfully repeating the words, “The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken.”
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1 Another year of life is now in the past. A new year is opening before us. What will be its record? What will we each inscribe upon its spotless pages? The manner in which we spend each passing day will decide this question. Fathers and mothers, while you wish your children a Happy New Year, will you strive in the fear of God to make it a happy year? Will you seek to lead your dear ones to the true source of peace and joy? Will you consecrate your own hearts to God, that you may exert a sanctifying influence upon your children? Will you separate them from sin and sinners, and by living faith connect them with God?
2 It should be the work of every parent to cultivate all that is good, and true, and noble, in his children. It is his duty to correct their faults, to restrain their waywardness, even as the Lord required Eli to restrain his sons. Fathers and mothers, make the word of God your guide in the education of your children, ever considering what will be for their future good, rather than what is for your present convenience. The mother may bestow upon her daughters an education that will be invaluable, by training them to bear their share of the family burdens. The father may give his sons a capital of more worth than gold or lands, by teaching them to love useful employment, instead of seeking happiness in idle amusements or dissipation. Parents, now is the time to form in your children habits of industry, self-reliance, and self-control; to cultivate economy and business tact. Now is the time to teach them courtesy and benevolence toward their fellow-men, and reverence and love for God.
3 You may make a happy new year for your children, if you faithfully discharge your duty. Home should be the most sunny and attractive spot on earth; and it may be made such by pleasant words and kind acts, and, underlying all, a steadfast adherence to the right.
4 By their neglect to exercise proper restraint, many parents are creating great unhappiness for their children. The youth who are left to constantly seek for pleasure in amusement or selfish gratification are not happy, and never can be happy while following this course. Fathers and mothers, teach your children that the only way to be truly happy is to love and fear God; and enforce the lesson by your example. Let them see that the peace of Christ is ruling in your heart, and that his love pervades your life. Practical religion is the need of the present hour. You cannot teach this to your children unless you possess it yourselves.
5 Let us enter upon the new year with our hearts cleansed from the defilement of selfishness and pride. Let us put away every sinful indulgence, and seek to become faithful, diligent learners in the school of Christ. A new year opens its unsullied pages before us. What shall we write upon them.
6 Children, you greet your father and mother with a “Happy New Year,” but will you make it a happy year to them? It is in your power to do this. Your conduct, more than everything besides, will make a happy or an unhappy year for your parents. You may cause their hearts to throb with joy or pain. Whatever dishonors your Saviour, whatever causes a stain upon your character, brings anxiety and distress to the heart of godly parents. You cannot give them a happy new year if you live only for self-gratification.
7 Seek to begin this year with right purposes and pure motives, as beings who are accountable to God. Ever bear in mind that your acts are daily passing into history by the pen of the recording angel. You must meet them again when the Judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened.
8 How often your lips utter the kindly greeting, “I wish you a happy new year,” and then in a few moments speak impatient, fretful words. How many children are ever ready to dispute about trifles, unwilling to make the smallest sacrifice for others. To such the new year will bring no real happiness. They may indulge in boisterous mirth, but their hearts know no peace nor joy. Will you not come with penitence and humility to Jesus, that he may cleanse you from the impurity of sin, and fit you for his heavenly kingdom? All who do this will have the happiest new year that they ever experienced. It will bring joy in Heaven and joy on earth.
9 Many have been seeking some rare gift to bestow upon their friends. Will you not, children, bring to Jesus the gift which he prizes above all others—the gift of your heart? While others at the holiday season adorn themselves to please the eye of their friends, will you not seek the adorning which Heaven values—the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit? If we bring to God the first gift, the value of every other is enhanced; for love makes it not merely a passing compliment, but a precious offering. From the softened heart in which the peace of Christ abides, will flow forth sincere wishes, kindly words and deeds, and worthy, appropriate offerings.
10 Many are the gifts and greetings that have been exchanged on New Year’s day, by parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and acquaintances. When it is over, many feel a sense of relief. They have discharged their duty in bestowing presents, and smiles, and compliments for the occasion, and there the matter is supposed to end. The next day, and the next, and onward to the end of the year, bring fretful, passionate words, faultfinding, recrimination, and careless neglect of the dear ones of the household. Oh, such a new year is one that angels will be grieved and ashamed to register. It is anything but happy. Friends and relatives bestow a gift of sorrow, a burden of unkindness, that crushes out hope, and makes the grave look desirable.
11 Do we truly wish our loved ones a happy new year? Then let us make it such to them by kindness, by sympathy, by cheerfulness, by unselfish devotion. If we connect with God, the source of peace, and light, and truth, his Spirit will flow through us as a channel, to refresh and bless all around us. This may be the last year of life to us. Shall we not enter upon it with thoughtful consideration? Shall not sincerity, respect, benevolence, mark our deportment toward all?
12 Let us withhold nothing from Him who gave his precious life for us. Fathers and mothers, bring to him your children, in the freshness and bloom of youth, and devote them to his service. Let us all consecrate to God the property he has intrusted to us. Above all, let us give him ourselves, a free-will offering. Let us do his will, live for his glory, and he will give us a Happy New Year.
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1 The loss of the ark was the heaviest blow which had fallen upon Israel since their establishment as a nation. Unfaithful to God as they had been, they still regarded this sacred symbol with awe and reverence, not unmingled with pride, as they recalled the glorious triumphs of the past. The tidings that it had been taken by the Philistines sent a thrill of terror through every heart, followed by the mute calmness of despair. Military power, could they command it, would not avail them now; and the strength of their men of war seemed paralyzed.
2 But the Lord had not wholly cast aside his chosen, nor would he long suffer the exultation of the heathen. He had used the Philistines as the instrument to punish Israel, and he would now employ the ark to punish the Philistines. In time past the divine presence had attended it to be the strength, salvation, and glory of his obedient people. That invisible presence would still attend it to bring terror and destruction to the bold transgressors of God’s holy law.
3 The Philistines removed the ark in triumph to Ashdod, one of their five principal cities, and placed it in the house of their god, Dagon. They felt that now they had nothing to fear from Israel. In their superstitious ignorance they imagined that the mighty power which had hitherto attended the ark would be theirs, and this, united with the power of Dagon, would render them invincible. Attributing their success wholly to the favor of their god, they sought to show their gratitude by the most extravagant demonstrations of reverence and praise.
4 Their rejoicing was of short duration. Upon entering the temple on the following day, they beheld a sight which filled them with consternation. Dagon their god had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah. Reverently the priests lifted the idol and restored him to his place. But the next morning they found him, strangely mutilated, again lying upon the earth before the ark. The upper part of this idol was like that of a man, and the lower part was in the likeness of a fish. Now every part that resembled the human form had been cut off, and only the uncouth body of the fish remained.
5 Priests and people were horror-struck as they beheld their cherished deity thus mutilated and dishonored. They looked upon this mysterious event as an evil omen foreboding destruction to themselves and their idols before the God of the Hebrews. They now removed the ark from their temple, and placed it in a building by itself.
6 The living God whom the Philistines had insulted and defied, had arisen to assert his authority and manifest his power. The divine judgments rested heavily upon Ashdod, and the inhabitants were smitten with a distressing and fatal disease. Remembering the plagues which were visited upon Egypt by the God of Israel, the people attributed their afflictions to the presence of the ark among them. Accordingly they assembled their leading men to consider what to do with the ark, declaring that it should no longer abide with them. It was decided to convey it to Gath. But the plague followed close upon its removal, and the men of that city sent it to Ekron.
7 Here the people received it with terror, crying, “They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.” They sought to their gods for protection, as the people of Gath and Ashdod had done. But the work of the destroyer went on, until, in their distress, “the cry of the city went up to heaven.” Fearing longer to retain the ark among the homes of men, the people next placed it in the open fields. There followed a plague of mice, which infested the land, destroying the products of the soil, both in the storehouse and in the field. Utter destruction, by disease or famine, now threatened the nation, and gloomy forebodings for the future added to the heavy burden of the present.
8 In his dealings with the Philistines, God had shown how easily at his appointed time he can overthrow the stronghold of superstition, and sweep away the refuge of lies. The Lord often employs his bitterest enemies to punish the unfaithfulness of his professed people. The wicked may triumph for a time as they see Israel suffering chastisement; but let them be assured that the wrath of God will ere long fall with crushing weight upon themselves. However the sinner may now rejoice in the rewards of unrighteousness, the blind eyes will yet see, the hard heart one day fell, that a life of rebellion against God has been a terrible mistake.
9 For seven long months the ark remained in Philistia. During all this time the Israelites made no attempt to recover the symbol of Jehovah’s presence. But the Philistines were now as anxious to free themselves from its power as they had been to obtain it. Instead of being a source of strength to them, it was a great burden and a heavy curse. Yet they knew not what course to pursue; for wherever it went, the judgments of God followed. The people called for the princes of the nation, with the priests and diviners, and eagerly inquired, “What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? Tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.” They were advised to return it with a costly trespass-offering, that the wrath of God might be appeased. “Then,” said the priests, “ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.”
10 In India at the present day, when a pilgrim comes to a pagoda or temple to be cured of any disease, he invariably brings with him a figure of the member or part affected, in gold, silver, or copper, according to his means, and presents it as an offering to his god. A similar custom was in vogue among the Philistines; and in accordance with the prevailing superstition, the lords directed the people to make representations of the plagues by which they had been afflicted,—”five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for,” said they, “one plague was on you all, and on your lords.”
11 These wise men acknowledged a mysterious power accompanying the ark; a power which they had no wisdom to meet. Yet they did not counsel the people to turn from their idolatry to serve the Lord. They still hated the God of Israel though compelled by overwhelming judgments to submit to his authority. Thus sinners may still be convinced by the judgments of God that it is in vain to contend against him. They may be compelled to submit to his power, while at heart they rebel against his control. Such submission may honor God, but it can have no power to save the transgressor. The heart must be yielded to God and subdued by divine grace before man’s repentance can be accepted.
12 We are filled with wonder as we contemplate the long-suffering of God toward the wicked. The idolatrous Philistines and backsliding Israel had alike enjoyed the gifts of his providence. Rain and sunshine, objects of beauty, gifts for sustenance,—the music of birds, the fragrance and loveliness of flowers, fruits without number, pleasant to the sight and good for food, golden harvests to clothe the plain and cattle upon the hills—all came to them from God. Ten thousand unnoticed mercies were silently falling in the pathway of ungrateful, rebellious men. Every blessing spoke to them of the Giver, but they were indifferent to his love. The forbearance of God was very great toward the children of men; but when they stubbornly persisted in their impenitence, he removed from them his protecting hand. They refused to listen to the voice of God in his created works, and in the warnings, counsels, and reproofs of his word, and he spoke to them through judgments. They rejected mercy, and the great I Am caused them to feel his power.
13 How many there are today, who, like the Philistines, will present offerings to God, but refuse to give him their hearts, and cast away their idols. How many with idolatrous delight set their affections on sparkling vanities, that must ere long be consumed, turning away from the only treasure worth possessing.
14 God still bears long with the wicked. He still surrounds them with temporal blessings. It is his hand that provides the bounties upon their tables. He gives them raiment and dwellings. There are rich fields for the harvest; there are flocks and herds, gold and silver, friends and health. Let God but remove his providential care, and what want, desolation, and inexpressible wretchedness would result! A blight would come upon the fields, every creature that ministers to our comfort would perish, and man himself would be swept from the earth as by a devouring plague. And yet men enjoy God’s blessings, and, like the soulless beasts, return to him no grateful acknowledgment. They feel secure in their possessions, when a word, a breath, the slightest accident, might deprive them of their earthly all. No bounty or blessing can men claim as their own. All are committed to us as a trust, which, if not wisely improved, God will remove.
15 The Philistines hoped by their offerings to appease the wrath of God, but they were ignorant of the one great sacrifice which alone can secure to sinful men the divine favor. Those gifts were powerless to atone for sin; for the offerers did not through them express faith in Christ. Not a ray of hope, no proffer of mercy, no token of God’s favor, could have been ours, but for the cross of Calvary. Justice must have cut men off forever from temporal and spiritual blessings, separating us from God both here and hereafter, closing the door to all the joys of earth, and forever shutting out the brightness of Heaven. For us, Jesus trod the wine-press of God’s wrath. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Let every son and daughter of Adam unite to exalt the name of Christ, as our King and our Redeemer. `”For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
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1 When it was proposed among the Philistines to return the ark to its own land, there were some who stood ready to oppose the plan. Such an acknowledgment of the power of Israel’s God would be deeply humiliating to the pride of Philistia; some way to evade it was eagerly sought. Many urged that none would dare risk their lives in removing that which had brought such destruction upon the land. Still others denied that their calamities had been caused by the ark, and protested against surrendering so famed a trophy.
2 The “priests and diviners,” whose counsel had been sought on this occasion, admonished the people not to imitate the stubbornness of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and thus bring upon themselves still greater afflictions. A plan in which all concurred, was now proposed, and immediately put in execution. The ark, with the golden trespass-offering, was placed upon a new cart, thus precluding all danger of defilement; to this cart, or car, were attached two kine, upon whose necks a yoke had never before been placed. Then, their calves having been tied up at home, the cows were left free to go wherever they pleased. If the ark should thus be returned to the Israelites by the way of Beth-shemesh, the nearest city of the Levites, “then,” said the Philistines, “the God of Israel hath done unto us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.”
3 No sooner were the kine set free than they turned from their young, and, lowing as they went, took the straight road to Beth-shemesh. Guided by no human hand, the patient animals kept on their way. The Divine Presence accompanied the ark, and it passed safely on to the very place designated.
4 It was now the time of wheat harvest, and the men of Beth-shemesh were reaping in the valley. With great joy they beheld the ark approaching; and when the kine of their own accord stopped near a great stone, some of the Levites present offered them up as a sacrifice to the Lord, the cart itself being used as fuel for the burnt-offering.
5 The lords of the Philistines, who had followed the ark to the border of Beth-shemesh, and had witnessed its reception, now returned to Ekron. The plague had ceased, and they were convinced that their calamities had been a judgment from the God of Israel.
6 The men of Beth-shemesh quickly spread the glad tidings that the ark was in their possession, and the people from all the surrounding country flocked to welcome its return. The ark had been placed upon the stone which first served for an altar, and before it additional sacrifices were offered unto the Lord. Had the worshipers, with penitence and humiliation, put away their sins, the divine blessing would have attended them. But they were not faithfully obeying the law of God; hence, while they rejoiced at the return of the ark as a harbinger of good, they could have no true sense of its sacredness as the repository of that law. Instead of preparing a suitable place for the reception of the ark, they permitted it to remain in the harvest-field. As they continued to gaze upon the sacred chest, and to talk of the wonderful manner in which it had been restored, they began to conjecture wherein lay its peculiar power. At last, overcome by curiosity, they removed the coverings and ventured to open it. Their joy was quickly changed to mourning.
7 All Israel had been taught to regard the ark with awe and reverence. When required to remove it from place to place, the Levites were not to so much as look upon it. Only once a year was the high priest permitted to behold the ark of God. The heathen Philistines had not dared even to remove its coverings. Angels of Heaven, unseen, ever attended it in all its journeyings. The irreverent daring of the people at Beth-shemesh aroused the anger of the Lord, and a great number were instantly destroyed.
8 The terror of the survivors was equaled only by their former presumption. Yet they were not led by this judgment to repent of their sin, but only to regard the ark with superstitious fear. Eager to be freed from its presence, yet not daring to remove it, the Bethshemites sent a message to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, inviting them to take it away. They consented, and the ark was accordingly removed.
9 The spirit of irreverent curiosity still exists among the children of men. Many are eager to investigate those mysteries which infinite wisdom has seen fit to leave unrevealed. Having no reliable evidence from which to reason, they base their theories on conjecture. The Lord has wrought for his servants and for the upbuilding of his cause at the present day as verily as he wrought in behalf of ancient Israel; but vain philosophy, “science falsely so called,” has sought to destroy faith in the direct interposition of Providence, attributing all such manifestations to natural causes. This is the sophistry of Satan. He is asserting his authority by mighty signs and wonders in the earth. Those who ignore or deny the special evidences of God’s power, are preparing the way for the arch-deceiver to exalt himself before the people as superior to the God of Israel.
10 Many accept the reasoning of these would-be wise men as truth, when in fact it undermines the very foundations which God has laid. Such teachers are the ones described by inspiration, who must become fools in their own estimation, that they may be wise. God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. By those who are guided only by human wisdom, the simplicity of his mighty workings is called foolishness. They think themselves wiser than their Creator, when in fact they are victims of finite ignorance and childish conceit. It is this that holds them in the darkness of unbelief, so that they do not discern the power of God, and tremble before him.
11 Though the ark had brought judgments both upon the inhabitants of Philistia and of Beth-shemesh, yet the men of Kirjath-jearim welcomed it with joy. They knew that while it was a precursor of wrath to the transgressor of God’s law, it was the pledge of divine favor to the obedient and faithful. With solemn gladness they brought it to their city, and placed it in the house of Abinadab, a Levite. This man appointed his son Eleazar to take charge of it, to see that it was kept from injury or pollution. Thus it remained for many years.
12 The Israelites as a nation still continued in a state of irreligion and idolatry, and as a punishment they remained in subjection to the Philistines. During this time Samuel, who was already recognized as a prophet, visited cities and villages throughout the land, seeking to turn the hearts of the people to the God of their fathers. He faithfully set before them the claims of the divine law and their sin in transgressing its precepts, the long-suffering and mercy of God, and his assurance of favor to those who confess and forsake their sins.
13 These efforts were not without good results. The hearts of the faithful were encouraged, and apostates were led to return to the Lord. The mirror of God’s law, held up before the sinner, gives him a correct view of his own character. The greater the reverence felt for that law, the keener will be the sense of condemnation on account of sin. Every willful transgression is an act of rebellion against its Author. Every one who assumes this attitude, is by his practice saying to the people, “The requirements of God are exacting and severe, a yoke of bondage. Let us break this yoke from off our necks, and be at liberty.”
14 The law of God was not given to the Jews alone. It is of world-wide and perpetual obligation. “He that offendeth in one point is guilty of all.” Its ten precepts are like a chain of ten links. If one link is broken, the chain becomes worthless. Not a single precept can be revoked or changed to save the transgressor. While families and nations exist; while property, life, and character must be guarded; while good and evil are antagonistic, and a blessing or a curse must follow the acts of men—so long must the divine law control us. When God no longer requires men to love him supremely, to reverence his name, and to keep holy the Sabbath; when he permits them to disregard the rights of their fellow-men, to hate and injure one another—then and not till then, will the moral law lose its force.
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15 When the youth attempt to break away from Satan’s control, he will redouble his temptations. Taking advantage of their ignorance and inexperience, he attempts to obscure the distinction between right and wrong. He transforms himself into an angel of light, and beguiles by promises of pleasure in a forbidden path. If the youth have formed the habit of following inclination rather than duty, they will find it hard to resist temptation. They do not see the danger in indulging even once in forbidden pleasures.
16 The suggestions of Satan will stir every lingering element of depravity in the heart. The eager desires which the parents have not guided in the right channel, wrong habits which have been indulged until they have become second nature, will arouse as an armed man to second his temptations. Too often reason and conscience remonstrate in vain. Oh, then will there be fathers and mothers in Israel, to rescue these youth from Satan’s snare? Will there be wisdom to out-general the enemy, and guide the wandering feet into the narrow path of holiness?
17 The older members of the church should give the youth an example of Christian firmness and self-control, of patient, cheerful submission to the divine will. God forbid that the fathers and mothers of children whose help we need so much should themselves be overcome by Satan. There are many professed Christians who are as fitful and moody as the weather of a California winter. There may be a few sunshiny days, but you may look oftener for fogs and rain. Children are critical observers. They mark the caprice, the petulance, the sullenness. They cannot desire a religion which bears such fruit.
18 There is no excuse for a man, with a man’s reasoning powers and a man’s experience, to yield to his feelings and cast a gloom on all around him. Says Christ, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.” Satan attacks us at our weak points; but we need not be overcome. The assault may be severe and protracted, but God has promised help for us, and in his strength we may conquer. I entreat my brethren to become established, rooted and grounded, in the truth. Study the Bible diligently and prayerfully. The precepts and promises of God’s word will arm you with divine power to resist the enemy. “Thy word,” says the psalmist, “have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Satan will be baffled and defeated when he finds the heart preoccupied with the truth of God. We need also to be often found at the throne of grace. Earnest, persevering prayer, uniting our human weakness to Omnipotence, will give us the victory.
19 The Lord would have the church at Healdsburg become strong in him. They may be thus if they will hide self behind the cross of Christ. Those who cherish self-love and a desire for self-exaltation open the soul to temptations that set aside reason and weaken judgment. Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he will exalt us in due time. There is work to be done for our Master. There are souls who may by our influence be led to Christ. Who is ready to engage in this work with all the heart?
20 “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.”
“Thine is the seed-time; God alone
Beholds the end of what is sown;
Beyond our vision, weak and dim,
The harvest time is hid with him;
Yet unforgotten where it lies,
The seed of generous sacrifice,
Though seeming on the desert cast,
Shall rise with bloom and fruit at last.”
E. G. White.
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Page 185
1 After suffering the oppression of their enemies for twenty years, the Israelites “mourned after the Lord.” They repented of the sins which had alienated them from him, and sought to return again to their allegiance. Samuel counseled them, “If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods, and Ashtaroth, from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” “Return unto the Lord with all your hearts;” “Prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only”—here we see that practical piety, heart religion, was taught in the days of Samuel, as taught by Christ when he was upon the earth. The teacher is virtually the same in both dispensations. God’s claims are the same. Without the grace of Christ, the outward forms of religion were valueless to ancient Israel. They are the same to modern Israel. All the pleas of self-righteousness are unavailing; all hope is groundless except that based upon the sacrifice and victory of our Saviour. Obedience to God, required in the days of Moses, Joshua, and Samuel, was enforced by the world’s Redeemer.
2 Samuel endeavored to impress upon Israel the fact that they themselves had something to do to secure the divine favor. They must repent of their sins, and put away their idols. The prophet had succeeded in arousing the people from the lethargy of sin, and he greatly desired that this awakening might result in a general and permanent reformation. With the co-operation of the heads of the tribes, a large assembly was convened at Mizpeh. Here a solemn fast was held. With deep humiliation the people confessed their sins, and poured out water before the Lord as a symbol of their supplications poured out for the divine favor, their tears of sorrow for sin, and of gratitude that the Lord was still gracious and merciful. As an evidence of their determination to obey the instructions they had heard, they invested Samuel with the authority of judge.
3 Remembering how the prayers of Moses had formerly prevailed with God for Israel, the people entreated Samuel to intercede for them. Again the prophet exhorted them to renounce their idolatry and turn from their backslidings, and then as the servant of God he prayed for a blessing upon them.
4 The Philistines interpreted this gathering of Israel to be a council of war, and with a strong force set out to attack and disperse them before their plans could be matured. The tidings that these powerful foes were approaching caused great terror among the Israelites. Unarmed and defenseless, they felt that their only hope was in God. If he went forth with their armies, they would be victorious; if he refused to help them, defeat was certain. Hence they entreated Samuel, “Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”
5 With great earnestness the prophet pleaded for divine help, and the people also sought the Lord. While Samuel was in the act of presenting a lamb as a burnt-offering, the Philistines appeared in the distance, ready for battle, and expecting to make an easy prey of the people whom they had so long oppressed.
6 Then the Mighty One who had descended upon Sinai amid fire and smoke and thunder; who had parted the Red Sea, and made a way through Jordan for the Hebrew host,—the God of Israel, again manifested his power. Vivid lightning flashes and terrific peals of thunder struck terror to the advancing host. When the blinding glare had passed away, the earth was strewn with the dead bodies of armed warriors. Against such a foe, military skill was powerless. Paralyzed with fear, the Philistines looked only for utter destruction.
7 During the raging of the elements, the Israelites stood in silent awe, trembling with hope and fear. When they beheld the slaughter of their enemies, they knew that God had accepted their repentance, and that he had wrought in their behalf. Though wholly unprepared for battle, they seized the weapons of the slaughtered Philistines, and fell upon the force they had so lately dreaded, and pursued the fleeing hosts to Beth-car.
8 This signal victory was gained upon the very field where, twenty years previous, Israel was smitten before the Philistines, the priests slain, and the ark of God taken. Thus was again repeated the great lesson, that for nations as well as for individuals the path of obedience to God is the path of safety and happiness, while that of transgression leads only to disaster and defeat.
9 It was the Lord’s purpose so to manifest his power in delivering Israel, that they might not take the glory to themselves. He permitted them, when unarmed and defenseless, to be challenged by their enemies, and then the Captain of the Lord’s host marshalled the army of Heaven to destroy the foes of his people. Humility of heart and obedience to the divine law are more acceptable to God than the most costly sacrifices from a heart filled with pride and hypocrisy. God will not defend those who are living in transgression of his law.
10 All Israel recognized the hand of God in their deliverance, and gratefully acknowledged his great mercy. That the occasion might never be forgotten, Samuel set up, between Mizpeh and Shen, a great stone as a memorial. He called the name of it Ebenezer, “the stone of help,” saying to the people, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” This stone was to stand as a witness to all future generations, to testify of God’s care for his people, and to strengthen faith in him as their deliverer.
11 The Philistines were so completely subdued by this defeat, that they surrendered the cities which had been taken from Israel, and refrained from all acts of hostility for many years. Other nations followed the example of this powerful and warlike people, and the Israelites enjoyed peace during the whole period of Samuel’s sole administration.
12 The condition of God’s people at the present day is similar to that of idolatrous Israel. Many who bear the name of Christians are serving other gods besides the Lord. Our Creator demands our supreme devotion, our first allegiance. Anything which tends to abate our love for God, or to interfere with the service due him, becomes thereby an idol. With some their lands, their houses, their merchandize, are the idols. Business enterprises are prosecuted with zeal and energy, while the service of God is made a secondary consideration. Family worship is neglected, secret prayer forgotten. Many claim to deal justly with their fellow-men, and seem to feel that in so doing they discharge their whole duty. But it is not enough to keep the last six commandments of the decalogue. We are to love the Lord our God with all the heart. Nothing short of obedience to every precept-nothing less than supreme love to God as well as equal love to our fellow-men-can satisfy the claims of the divine law.
13 There are many whose hearts have been so hardened by prosperity that they forget God, and forget the wants of their fellow-men. Professed Christians adorn themselves with jewelry, laces, costly apparel, while the Lord’s poor suffer for the necessaries of life. Men and women who claim redemption through a Saviour’s blood will squander the means intrusted to them for the saving of other souls, and then grudging dole out their offerings for religion, giving liberally only when it will bring honor to themselves. These are idolaters.
14 Church-members expend their Lord’s money in various forms of self-indulgence, and when means are needed to sustain the church, a fair, a theatrical entertainment, or a grand supper is given. Thus professed Christians unite with worldlings in mirth and frivolity, feasting and display— sometimes, far worse, in practices which in a slightly different form are denounced as crimes by the laws of the land. And all this to obtain means from those who have no interest in religion, and who are actuated only by a desire for sensual gratification! Is not this base idolatry?
15 The history of our Saviour’s life of humiliation, self-denial, and sacrifice, is looked upon as an old story, which has become distasteful to the refined imagination. It does not possess sufficient interest to stir the heart, to lead to self-denial for Christ’s sake, or for the sake of souls for whom he died. A large proportion of the Christian world are saying by their practice, “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” Their religion has no elevating, ennobling influence upon themselves or upon society. Though all they have is the gift of God, they do not acknowledge it as such.
16 Oh, how great is the mercy of our God; to bear thus with the perversity of his creatures! Every spring the earth is clothed with verdure, that its freshness and beauty may bring to our minds thoughts of the Creator. The fields of grain waving in the sunshine of summer, or the autumn breeze, tell us of Him who giveth to his children their daily bread. The trees bending under their burden of rich fruit, proclaim his mercy and benevolence. But men, blinded by selfishness and mammon, can discern only the amount of gain which shall fill their coffers.
17 The cattle upon a thousand hills, could they but speak, would acknowledge the care of the Great Shepherd. The birds of the forest sing with sweetest strains the praise of God. The heavens declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. The things of nature—earth itself, teeming with bounties and blessings—would call the mind away from self to honor and adore the Lord God, our Creator. And yet men feel no duty to return thanks to the Giver of all good. They appropriate the gifts of providence, and then too often hold themselves aloof from their fellow-men, as though worldly possessions had given them special importance. They will yet learn that it is goodness of heart, integrity of character, not the riches of the world, which make a man worthy of honor.
18 God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. No other worship will he accept. There is need today of such a revival of true heart-religion as was experienced by ancient Israel. We need, like them, to bring forth fruit meet for repentance,—to put away our sins, cleansing the defiled temple of the heart that Jesus may reign within. There is need of prayer—earnest, prevailing prayer. Our Saviour has left precious promises for the truly penitent petitioner. Such shall not seek his face in vain. He has also by his own example taught us the necessity of prayer. Himself the Majesty of Heaven, he often spent all night in communion with his Father. If the world’s Redeemer was not too pure, too wise, or too holy to seek help from God, surely weak, erring mortals have every need of that divine assistance. With penitence and faith, every true Christian will often seek “the throne of grace, that he may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
19 Repentance is the first step which must be taken by all who would return to God. No one can do this work for us. We must individually humble our souls before God, and put away our idols. When we have done all that we can do, the Lord will manifest to us his salvation.
20 And when the light of Heaven dispels our darkness, let us, like Samuel, evince our gratitude by making a memorial to God. We often lose great blessings by neglecting to praise the Giver. Let us make melody to him in our hearts and with our voices. The soul may ascend nearer Heaven, on the wings of praise. God is worshiped with song and music in the courts above. And as we thus express our gratitude, we are approximating to the worship of the heavenly hosts. “Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth God.” Let us with reverent joy come before our Creator “with thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”
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Page 186
1 Samuel continued to judge Israel all the days of his life. For many years he made an annual circuit to Mizpeh, Gilgal, and Ramah, for the administration of justice; at other times performing the duties of his office at his home in Ramah. With unremitting zeal and devotion he labored for the welfare of his people, and the nation prospered under his wise control. But with advancing years it became necessary to share with others the burden of judicial care. Hence while he continued to judge the people at Ramah, he appointed his sons to act for him at Bethel and Beersheba.
2 These young men had received faithful instructions from their father, both by precept and example. They were not ignorant of the warnings given to Eli, and the divine judgments visited upon him and his house. They were apparently men of sterling virtue and integrity, as well as of intellectual promise. It was with the full assent of the people that Samuel shared with his sons the responsibilities of office. But the characters of these young men were yet to be tested. Separated from their father’s influence, it would be seen whether they were true to the principles which he had taught them. The result showed that Samuel had been painfully deceived in his sons. Like many young men of today who have been blessed with good abilities, they perverted their God-given powers. The honor bestowed upon them rendered them proud and self-sufficient. They did not make the glory of God their aim, nor did they seek earnestly to him for strength and wisdom. Yielding to the power of temptation, they became avaricious, selfish, and unjust. God’s word declares that “they walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.”
3 In all this they were disregarding the will of their Divine Sovereign. The Lord had through Moses given special directions to his people that the rulers of Israel should judge righteously, deal justly with the widow and fatherless, and receive no bribes. It were well for the nations of the earth today, if these instructions were obeyed by the rulers and judges of the people. How important that all who are entrusted with the responsibility of government should be men who fear God, and labor unselfishly for the welfare of the human brotherhood. It is their work to judge with equity, maintaining the right of the stranger, relieving the oppressed, spurning every bribe to clear the guilty or punish the innocent. The well-being of society calls for men of moral integrity in legislative halls and courts of justice. Our churches are in need of those to minister in holy office who shall be men of honor, of piety, of purity; who shall be sanctified by the Spirit and by the word.
4 A corrupting power stands in prominent places. How often are we painfully startled at the announcement that men of talent, men in positions of usefulness and honor, have betrayed their trust, and appropriated to themselves the public money, or worse still, the treasured pittance of the widow and fatherless. Had these men made the word of God their guide, they would not thus have fallen. That word contains plain, definite instruction, adapted to every possible complication of social and public interests. Every plan and purpose of life should be subjected to this unerring test. The word of inspiration is the wisdom of God applied to human affairs. However advantageous a certain course may appear to finite judgment, if denounced by that word it will be only evil in its results.
5 It may be a difficult matter for men in high positions to pursue the path of undeviating integrity whether they shall receive praise or censure. Yet this is the only safe course. All the rewards which they might gain by selling their honor would be only as the breath from polluted lips, as dross to be consumed in the fire. Those who have moral courage to stand in opposition to the vices and errors of their fellow-men—it may be of those whom the world honor—will receive hatred, insult, and abusive falsehood. They may be thrust down from their high position, because they would not be bought or sold, because they could not be induced by bribes or threats to stain their hands with iniquity. Everything on earth may seem to conspire against them; but God has set his seal upon his own work. They may be regarded by their fellow-men as weak, unmanly, unfit to hold office; but how differently does the Most High regard them. Those who despise them are the really ignorant. While the storms of calumny and reviling may pursue the man of integrity through life, and beat upon his grave, God has the “well done” prepared for him. Folly and iniquity will at best yield only a life of unrest and discontent, and at its close a thorny dying pillow. And how many, as they view their course of action and its results, are led to end with their own hands their disgraceful career. And beyond all this waits the Judgment, and the final, irrevocable doom, Depart!
6 Samuel had labored earnestly to correct the erroneous customs introduced by the sons of Eli, and especially to counteract the spirit of greed and selfishness fostered by their course. The sons of the prophet should have employed their authority to carry forward the reforms instituted by their father. Instead of this, their own example greatly hindered the work of reform. Their promotion to office was the cause of their ruin. The love of gain controlled them. Bribes perverted their judgment, and smothered their protests against sin. How many, like these judges of Israel, enter upon their work with good purposes, but failing to make God’s word their guide, they are flattered by worldlings, weakened by prosperity, until their moral power as reformers is gone, their hands nerveless to set things in order.
7 The Son of God has set an example for all his followers. They are not to court the praise of men, not to seek for themselves ease or wealth, but to emulate his life of purity and self-denial at whatever cost. While preserving the meekness of Christ, they are to wage war with iniquity, and to push the triumphs of the cross. Selfishness will not dwell in the Christian’s heart. He will not manifest a disregard for the rights of others. God’s law commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to suffer no evil to be instituted against him which we can hinder. But the rule which Christ has given extends still further. Said the world’s Redeemer, “Love one another, as I have loved you.” Nothing short of this can reach the standard of Christianity.
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8 I could but think of the large sums paid annually in doctors’ bills, or in the purchase of hurtful or poisonous drugs. If the means thus often worse than wasted could be spent in visiting such a resort as is afforded in this delightful place, how many might be benefited physically and mentally. Our people should purchase this establishment, and make of it a Hygienic Institute, as was the original intention of its founders. New buildings ought to be erected, and all needed facilities added to make it in all respects a first-class institution. It should be opened in the spring for the reception of patients.
9 “The groves were God’s first temples;” and still he speaks to us in the fields, the forests, and the mountains, as verily as in the house of prayer. The prophets and poets of the Bible were keenly susceptible to the beauty of the leafy woods. The psalmist calls upon the trees to praise the Lord; and the prophet Isaiah declares that all the trees of the field shall clap their hands in that day when the word of the Lord shall have accomplished its work of salvation among men.
10 When Israel marched out of Egypt, they made their first encampment under the shelter of green boughs at Succoth. And for more than fifteen hundred years the Hebrew nation by the command of God left their houses, and dwelt one whole week in tabernacles of green boughs, to commemorate the encampment of their fathers under the palm branches of Succoth. These seasons of sacred recreation were fraught with both physical and spiritual blessings to Israel. God’s people still need seasons of quiet and reflection—seasons in which the soul may undisturbed commune with its Maker. The great work which has been committed to our hands cannot be best carried forward in excitement and confusion. That calm deliberation so essential to sound judgment can often be best secured in some quiet retreat where the thoughtful mind and pure heart can be prompted by the still, small voice. These forest and mountain homes have great blessings for those who are wearied physically or mentally. Wisely has an American poet counseled:—
“If thou art worn and hard beset
With trials that thou wouldst forget.
Go to the fields and hills; no tears
Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 187
1 Journeying southward from St. Helena, I next visited Napa. Here Eld. Van Horn had been holding a series of meetings, with some good results. On the Sabbath I spoke to the church on the duty of parents to educate, discipline, and restrain their children. There is a sad neglect of this work among those who profess the truth in Napa. I felt deeply the need of a work of reformation in this church, and invited all to come forward who desired that day to become for the first time children of God, and also all who had departed from him and now wished to return. About twenty responded. Earnest prayer was offered in their behalf. Those in Napa who believe in present truth will receive but little favor from members of other churches who trample under their feet the law of God. Only those who make it an individual work to secure eternal life will remain steadfast to the faith.
2 On Sunday I spoke in the Methodist Church, upon the subject of temperance. After the discourse the minister expressed his gratification at what he had heard, and said that some of the ideas advanced were new to him. He thought we had found the right starting-point in commencing the work of temperance at home, and that mothers should be aroused to see and feel their responsibility. Many expressed a desire that I would address them again Sunday evening; but fearing that the effort would overtax my strength, I spoke instead Monday evening, on the duty of parents.
3 On this occasion I dwelt particularly upon the evils resulting from parental neglect. Notwithstanding our boasted advancement in education, the training of children is sadly defective. For this state of things, must not mothers to some extent be held responsible? Are they not generally the willing servants of worldliness and fashion? Are not even those who profess to have renounced the vanities of the world, influenced to a great degree by its customs? It is too true that mothers are not standing at their post of duty, faithful to their motherhood. God requires of us nothing that we cannot in his strength perform; nothing that is not for our own good and the good of our children. He does not call woman to engage in any work that will lead her to neglect the physical, mental, and moral training of her own children. She may not shift this responsibility upon others, and leave them to do her work.
4 Before individuals take upon themselves the great responsibility of parents, they should consider whether they are fitted to properly train and educate children. Those who fill their houses with children, whom they have neither patience to instruct nor wisdom to control, are thereby not only bringing a burden upon society, but are committing a sin against their offspring and against God. The Lord would have parents obey the dictates of reason, rather than the clamors of impulse and blind passion. They should learn to control themselves, and then they are prepared to control their sons and daughters.
5 Children require patient, faithful care. It is not enough for the mother to feed and clothe her little ones. She must also seek to develop their mental powers, and to imbue their hearts with right principles. They should be taught that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Christ should be associated with all the lessons given to children. But how sadly is the highest education neglected! Beauty of character, loveliness of temper, are lost sight of in the eager interest in dress and outward appearance.
6 The mother should not be governed by the world’s opinion, nor labor to reach its standard. She should decide for herself what is the great end and aim of life, and then bend all her efforts to attain that end. She may, for want of time, neglect many things about her house, with no serious evil results; but she cannot with impunity neglect the proper discipline of her children. Their defective characters will publish her unfaithfulness. The evils which she permits to pass uncorrected, the coarse, rough manners, the disrespect and disobedience, the habits of idleness and inattention, will reflect dishonor upon her, and embitter her life. Mothers, the destiny of your children rests to a great extent in your hands. If you fail in duty, you may place them in Satan’s ranks, and make them his agents to ruin other souls. Or your faithful discipline and godly example may lead them to Christ, and they in turn will influence others, and thus many souls may be saved through your instrumentality.
7 I have heard mothers say that they have not the ability to govern which others have; that it is a peculiar talent which they do not possess. Those who realize their deficiency in a matter which concerns the happiness and usefulness of future generations, should make the subject of family government their most diligent study. As an objection to this, many point to the children of ministers, teachers, and other men of high repute for learning and piety, and urge that if these men, with their superior advantages, fail in family government, those who are less favorably situated need not hope to succeed. The question to be settled is, Have these men given to their children that which is their right—a good example, faithful instruction, and proper restraint? It is by a neglect of these essentials that such parents give to society children who are unbalanced in mind, impatient of restraint, and ignorant of the duties of practical life. In this they are doing the world an injury which outweighs all the good that their labors accomplish. Those children transmit their own perversity of character as an inheritance to their offspring, and at the same time their evil example and influence corrupt society and make havoc in the church. We cannot think that any man, however great his ability and usefulness, is best serving God or the world while his time is given to other pursuits, to the neglect of his own children. Parents, when you have faithfully done your duty, to the extent of your ability, you may then in faith ask the Lord to do that for your children which you cannot do. But if you attempt to govern without exercising self-control, without system, thought, and prayer, you will most assuredly reap the bitter consequence.
8 The study of books will be of little benefit, unless the ideas gained can be carried out in practical life. And yet the most valuable suggestions of others should not be adopted without thought and discrimination. They may not be equally adapted to the circumstances of every mother, or to the peculiar disposition or temperament of each child in the family. Let the mother study with care the experience of others, note the difference between their methods and her own, and carefully test those that appear to be of real value. If one mode of discipline does not produce the desired results, let another plan be tried, the effects being carefully noted. Mothers, above all others, should accustom themselves to thought and investigation if they would increase in wisdom and efficiency. Those who persevere in this course, will soon perceive that they are acquiring the faculty in which they thought themselves deficient; they are learning to form aright the characters of their children. The result of the labor and thought given to this work will be seen in their obedience, their simplicity, their modesty and purity. This result will richly repay all the effort made.
9 God would have mothers seek constantly to improve both the mind and the heart. They should feel that they have a work to do for him in the education and training of their children, and the more perfectly they can improve their own powers, the more efficient will they become in their work as parents.
10 Wherever I go, I am pained by the neglect of proper home discipline and restraint. Little children are allowed to answer back, to manifest disrespect and impertinence, using language that no child should ever be permitted to address to its superiors. Parents who permit the use of unbecoming language are more worthy of blame than their children. Impertinence should not be tolerated in a child even once. But fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts and grandparents laugh at the exhibition of passion in the little creature of a year old. Its imperfect utterance of disrespect, its childish stubbornness, are thought cunning. Thus wrong habits are confirmed, and the child grows up to be an object of dislike to all around him.
11 As children advance in years, and go out from the parental roof to choose their own associates, they often become careless of home rules and family discipline. They come to their father’s house when they choose, but by their disrespect they dishonor their parents at home and abroad. These youth have so long been permitted to say what they please, and go and come when they like, that they have little respect for man, or reverence for God. Human rights are disregarded, and the divine law set aside at pleasure. Parents who tolerate the sin of disrespect in their children are themselves dishonoring God by such a course. Obligations are mutual. It is the duty of fathers and mothers to care for their children, but when the latter refuse to respect parental authority and to observe the rules of the family, they should be left to bear their own burdens in life. Parents cannot enjoy the favor of God while they permit their children to trample upon his law. Angels will not abide in the house where strife exists, where God’s name is blasphemed, and his authority defied.
12 Parents, you should early begin to teach your children respect, obedience, and self-control. Every exhibition of passion that is not firmly and decidedly checked is a lesson of evil to your children. Your neglect of proper restraint opens the door to Satan, and invites him to control them. This he will not be slow to do.
13 Let mothers be careful not to make unnecessary requirements to exhibit their own authority before others. Give few commands, but see that these are obeyed. Give children but little notice. Let them learn to amuse themselves. Do not put them on exhibition before visitors as prodigies of wit or wisdom, but leave them as far as possible to the simplicity of their childhood. One great reason why so many children are forward, bold, and impertinent, is they are noticed and praised too much, and their smart, sharp sayings repeated in their hearing. Endeavor not to censure unduly, nor to overwhelm with praise and flattery. Satan will all too soon sow evil seed in their young hearts, and you should not aid him in his work.
14 Children must have constant care, but you need not let them see that you are ever guarding them. Learn the disposition of each as revealed in their association with one another, and then seek to correct their faults by encouraging opposite traits. Children should be taught that the development of both the mental and the physical powers rests with themselves; it is the result of effort. They should early learn that happiness is not found in selfish gratification; it follows only in the wake of duty. At the same time the mother should seek to make her children happy. She should give them the time and attention which they really need. Let not visitors be permitted to engross the precious hours that belong to her own dear ones.
15 Unsteadiness in family government is productive of great harm; in fact is nearly as bad as no government at all. The question is often asked, Why are the children of religious parents so often headstrong, defiant, and rebellious? The reason is to be found in the home training. Too often the parents are not united in their family government. The father, who is with his children but little, and has little knowledge of their peculiarities of disposition and temperament, is harsh and severe. He does not control his own temper. He corrects in passion, and with a revengeful, vindictive spirit. The child knows this, and the punishment given fills him with anger. He is not subdued. He comes to feel neither love nor respect for his father. Thus are sown seeds of evil that spring up and bear fruit. The mother often allows misdemeanors to pass uncorrected which at another time, when she is more attentive, she will severely punish. The children never know just what to expect, and are tempted by Satan to see how far they can transgress with impunity. The father and mother should be united in their government. They should study with care the disposition of their children, and together seek wisdom and strength from God to deal with them aright.
16 Great harm is done by a lack of firmness and decision. I have known parents to say, You cannot have this or that, and then relent, thinking they may be too strict, and give the child the very thing they at first refused. A life-long injury is thus inflicted. It is an important law of the mind—one which should not be overlooked—that when a desired object is so firmly denied as to remove all hope, the mind will soon cease to long for it, and will be occupied in other pursuits. But as long as there is any hope of gaining the desired object, an effort will be made to obtain it, and a denial will arouse the worst passions.
17 When it is necessary for parents to give a direct command, the penalty of disobedience should be as unvarying as are the laws of nature. Children who are under this firm, decisive rule, know that when a thing is forbidden or denied, no teasing or artifice will secure their object. Hence they soon learn to submit, and are much happier in so doing. The children of undecided and over-indulgent parents have a constant hope that coaxing, crying, or sullenness may gain their object, or that they may venture to disobey without suffering the penalty. Thus they are kept in a state of desire, hope, and uncertainty, which makes them restless, irritable, and insubordinate. God holds such parents guilty of wrecking the happiness of their children. This wicked mismanagement is the key to the impenitence and irreligion of thousands. It has proved the ruin of many who have professed the Christian name. The restless, rebellious spirit, unsubdued in youth, creates disturbance in the church of Christ. Many of the so-called church trials may be traced to defective family government. Intemperance and crime of every degree are often the fruit from seed sown by the parents.
18 Let none imagine, however, that harshness or severity are necessary to secure obedience, or that a boisterous, commanding tone is proof of authority. On the contrary, I have seen the most efficient and constant family government maintained without one harsh word or look. In other families, commands were constantly given in an authoritative tone, and harsh rebukes, and severe punishments were often administered. In the first case the children followed the course pursued by the parents, and seldom spoke in harsh tones to each other. In the second, the parental example was imitated by the children; cross words, fault-finding, disputes, were heard from morning till night.
19 Fathers and mothers, you are teachers; your children are the pupils. The tones of your voice, your deportment, your spirit, are copied by your children. In the fear of God, seek to know and to do your duty. Take up your God-given responsibilities, and work for time and for eternity.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 From St. Helena I went alone on the cars to Williams. Sister Manor came eight miles to meet me at the station, and took me to her home at Freshwater. Here also I was provided with a convenient room, where I could write, meditate, and pray undisturbed. Mr. Manor and his wife were attentive to my comfort, and endeavored to make my stay with them agreeable. Nearly the entire week was cloudy and rainy, yet despite the unpleasant weather, I continued to improve in health.
2 On the Sabbath the few believers in present truth assembled in Sr. Manor’s sitting-room; after Sabbath-school I endeavored to speak to them the word of life. Although but few were present, I knew that they needed comfort and encouragement even more than the members of larger congregations who are oftener favored with preaching.
3 On Sunday forenoon and evening, I spoke to a larger number who met in a school-house. I had freedom in speaking, and the people listened with evident interest. Bro. Rice has been presenting here the reasons of our faith. This called out opposition from some, while others were pleased and interested, and one came out firmly upon the truth, and was baptized. There are but few in this age of the world who have moral courage to take their position on the side of unpopular truth. Its principles are the principles of Heaven. Hence it conflicts with every wrong habit and sinful desire. Those who accept and obey the truth, must deny self, bear the cross daily, and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Therefore there is a constant warfare between inclination and duty. Inclination too often prevails, and silences the convictions of the Holy Spirit.
4 The faith which we cherish as “present truth” is sustained by the clearest and most conclusive evidence from the word of God. Still there is urged against it one objection which our ablest ministers cannot remove. Christ himself could not remove it. It has effectually barred the way of life to thousands. This hindrance is the cross. The cross, covered with shame and reproach, which Jesus bore for us, stands directly in the Christian’s path. To evade that cross, the selfish, the world-loving, and the pleasure-seeking turn from the light that would guide their feet to Heaven. They choose doubt, unbelief, and infidelity, that they may have the pleasure of following inclination, and giving loose rein to the promptings of the carnal heart. Those who choose the broader and easier path, may enjoy the friendship of the world, which inspiration declares to be enmity with God; they may receive the empty praise of men whose hearts are not pure and whose lives are not holy; but they lose the only honor which is of lasting value, the honor which comes from above. They may secure worldly gain and transient pleasures, but they lose the eternal riches and that life which measures with the life of God. The language of many who are standing undecided is—
“I thought that the course of the pilgrim to Heaven
Would be bright as the summer, and glad as the morn;
Thou show’dst me the path; it was dark and uneven,
All rugged with rock, and all tangled with thorn.
“I dreamt of celestial rewards and renown;
I grasped at the triumph which blesses the brave;
I asked for the palm branch, the robe, and the crown;
I asked—and thou showd’st me a cross and a grave.”
5 Those who sincerely believe and teach the word of God must expect to be received by the world with no greater favor than was the ancient preacher of righteousness. Those who lived in Noah’s day despised his prophecy. Scientists quieted the fears of the people by assuring them that it was impossible for his predictions to be fulfilled; they were but the delusive fancies of an imbecile old man. But the unbelief and mockery of the people did not hinder the event. The God of science manifested his power in a manner which has astonished the philosophers of every age.
6 The laws of nature cannot prevent the fulfillment of God’s word. The law is never greater than the Law-giver, nor are the things created greater than the Creator. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man. As men are warned of impending judgment, thousands will say, It cannot be. They will despise the truth, make light of prophecy, and deride the teacher of righteousness. One will turn aside to his farm, another to his merchandise, and care for none of these things.
7 The inhabitants of the antediluvian world were condemned to destruction for their iniquity, yet they had the offer of mercy. By repentance and reformation of life they might have secured forgiveness and the protection of God. So in this dispensation, every one who believes and obeys the divine word will find pardon and a shelter from the wrath to come. The history of their sins, with the sure destruction that followed, should be a warning to us. There is to be a baptism of fire as there was of water, and all the unbelief and scoffing of the ungodly will not hinder the event.
8 The Scriptures briefly state the reason for the prevailing iniquity in Noah’s day. The sons of God married the daughters of men. Those who still cherished the knowledge of God united themselves with the ungodly and corrupt, and as a result became assimilated to them in character. The message of warning would have been received by a larger number, had it not been for their connection and association with those who despised and derided the word of God.
9 In the days of Noah the Spirit of God was so long and stubbornly rejected that it ceased to strive with men. Thus will it be, prior to the end of the world. When the gospel falls on closed ears, when the Holy Spirit ceases to imprint the truth upon the heart, preaching and hearing will alike be in vain. Are we not fast approaching this state of things?
10 Those who would stand now must be Bible-readers, and Bible Christians; they must faithfully obey the divine precepts, both in private and in public. There are some who think it an evidence of superior ability to manifest indifference for the Bible and for religious things. They think it weak and unmanly to be always fearing to do wrong. Many a man permits himself to be allured from Christ, from purity and holiness, by those who at heart he despises. And these very persons will privately ridicule his weakness in yielding to temptation. Those who associate with godless companions learn ways of life, habits of thought and speech, which lead them down to darkness and perdition. To win the applause of the low, the worthless, and the vulgar, they degrade themselves in the sight of God and man.
11 There is no class in greater danger than the young. Evil men and seducers are no less active now than before the flood. On the contrary, the word of God declares that they shall wax worse and worse. There are not wanting agents of Satan to taunt and ridicule all who would be true to virtue and true to God. We are pained to see young men fearful or ashamed to acknowledge their principle before the ungodly or the blasphemer; ashamed that they have cherished holier sentiments, and cultivated purer morals. Oh, if these youth would but be firm and bold in the practice of virtue; if they would frown down the base advances of the agents of Satan, what a victory might be gained over the world, the flesh, and the devil! God calls upon the youth of today to love and serve him with the whole heart. They need a daily connection with Heaven to keep them unsullied by the corruptions of the last days.
12 Says Christ, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” And again, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.” Those who obey God’s will as it is revealed to their understanding, will be safely guided into the way of life. But it is impossible for finite man to fully understand the purposes and ways of the Infinite One. Those who refuse to accept and obey God’s word until every objection has been removed, and there is no longer an opportunity for doubt, will never come to the light. Truth and error are before us. God has given us sufficient evidence to determine the right way, and then he leaves us to choose for ourselves.
13 Jesus calls us to walk with him in the light, instead of wandering in the dark mazes of unbelief. If men would but stop to consider the worth of the soul, and their own need of a Savior, they would gladly, gratefully accept the hand which he has stretched out to them. Alas that so many, in their pride and stubbornness of heart, refuse to accept the guidance of infinite wisdom! Faith, hope, and love, man’s highest and noblest faculties, have been paralyzed by sin and Satan. But Jesus stands ready to awaken them to new life, that they may be enlisted in his service. The power of renewing grace will bring them again into vigorous exercise.
14 Temptations to discouragement will at times come upon the children of God like an overwhelming torrent. Many are disheartened as they see that Christian example and instruction seem almost powerless before the tide of ignorance and unbelief. But Jesus is the stronghold of his people. His light shines still. It can never be quenched. Though evil now seems to prevail over righteousness and truth, yet it is by no means the strongest power. It shall not always conquer. Nay, even now its end is nigh. Truth and righteousness are plants of heavenly origin. God nourishes them every hour. He will no more suffer them to die than he will forget the honor of his own throne and name.
15 Every Christian must meet trial and temptation. Those who basely shun the reproach of Christ, and choose the honor which the world bestows, will surely reap the bitter harvest. Separation from God, the loss of Heaven, agony and despair, must be their portion. But if we will stand fearlessly and firmly for God and the right, relying upon the promises of the sacred word, we shall not be ashamed. Earth and hell can have no power to triumph over us. Let not the weakest be discouraged because they are assailed by temptation. The best men who ever lived have been grievously assaulted by Satan and his agents. Unless we yield to its power, temptation is not sin. The armor of truth will prove a sure defense against all the fiery darts of the enemy.
16 Yet the Christian should not place himself needlessly in the way of temptation. Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own, laden with the fragrance of love and piety, the heavy fogs of unbelief, or the deadly poison of infidelity and crime. When brought in contact with others, we are unconsciously affected by the atmosphere surrounding them. If this be laden with moral poison, the very life-blood of the soul may become tainted, ere we are conscious of danger.
17 The worth of a human soul can be estimated only by the light reflected from the cross of Calvary. So terrible was the doom of the lost race, so great the glory to which the redeemed might be exalted, that the Father is satisfied with the infinite price which he pays for their redemption. It was the joy set before Christ in accomplishing so great salvation, that led him to submit to shame, agony, and death. How do all the treasures and the glories of earth sink into insignificance when compared with the value of a human soul!
18 As I see in the world such astonishing indifference to the work of redemption; as I see the unbelief, the skepticism, the Heaven-daring rebellion against God and his law, I am more and more convinced that we have reached those days of peril foretold in the Scriptures. I feel assured that the end is near; that our time of waiting and watching is short.
19 May divine grace and power be imparted to the few in Freshwater who love God and keep his commandments. We earnestly hope that those who have been convicted of the truth will decide to follow the light, that it may not for them go out in darkness.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 189
1 Sabbath, Dec 31, I spent at Arbuckle. Here I spoke to the church twice on Sabbath, and once on first-day. The Lord gave me freedom.
2 The believers in present truth here are few in number, and some of them are very unfavorably situated, their families not being united in the faith. Those who are thus striving alone to obey God, have trials, temptations, and opposition to encounter, of which others know nothing. They need our sympathy and our prayers.
3 Some are struggling with poverty, but this need not prevent them from obtaining the eternal riches. All should seek, so far as possible, the most favorable position for perfecting a Christian character. This is a duty which we owe to ourselves, to society, and to God. We should endeavor to become intelligent Christians, growing in grace, and in knowledge of the truth. Those whose advantages are few, should not feel that they are therefore excused from effort for self-improvement. The most illiterate may be elevated, sanctified, and ennobled by the Spirit and the word of God. If the love of Christ dwells in the heart, we shall not be content to keep a low level, and shall not associate with those who will have no influence to increase our aspiration after knowledge or holiness.
4 A sore trial has been brought upon the little company here, by the course of their leader. Since he was chosen elder of the church he has repeatedly attended dancing parties with his wife and daughter. This is the first instance of the kind that I have ever met among our churches. I was greatly surprised that one who had a knowledge of our faith could thus unite with the ungodly. Even if he has so little spiritual discernment as to see no wrong in this fascinating pleasure, he can but know that he is placing a stone of stumbling in the way of others. He knows that he is wounding his brethren. What say the Scriptures concerning these things? “If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth.” And again, “Let us not therefore judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall, in his brother’s way.”
5 But dancing, as practiced at the present day, is detrimental to the health of soul and body. Theater-going, dancing, card-playing, gambling, inebriety, are all steps in the path of vice and dissipation. He who, having received the light of present truth, will yet persist in venturing into this path, is unworthy of the name of Christian. What attractions can this elder of the church find in the dance-hall? Is he in this godless company fitting himself to exert a proper influence over the flock of God? The so-called little things of life, the little acts of faith or sacrifice, go to make up the sum of Christian character and influence. It is the spirit of Christ manifested at home, in the field, in the workshop, in the church, that makes men living epistles, known and read of all.
6 The state of the world in the last days is declared by our Saviour to be similar to that which existed before the flood. Men were wholly absorbed in the things of this life. They forgot the claims of their Maker, and thought only of self-gratification. God’s people are not to pursue such a course. Their example and influence should be such as to win men away from selfish aims and sensual indulgence, to higher motives and purer joys. The history of the antediluvians is recorded as a warning to us. We are living in a most solemn period of earth’s history. The divine judgments are again to be poured out upon the world. The prophet declares that God’s people are not in darkness, that the day of wrath should overtake them as a thief. They should be men and women of serious thought and earnest prayer.
7 Those whose hearts are cheered by the presence of an indwelling Saviour, will have no disposition to resort to places of worldly amusement. A Christian family is one in which the love of Christ is the spring of action, the precepts of God’s word the rule of life. Those who can turn away from the sacred influences of truth to engage in the frivolous and exciting pleasures of the world, are regarded by our Saviour as showing contempt for himself. Jesus will not abide in any household, to guide and bless them, unless they first relinquish the sinful customs, practices, and amusements of the world. All who refuse to comply with these conditions are thereby bidding him depart from them. And how dreadful are the words he utters, as in sorrow he turns away,—”Your house is left unto you desolate.” Desolate indeed must be that home from which the presence of Christ is withdrawn!
8 The religion of the Bible takes men as they are, with all their wants and weaknesses. It satisfies the restless cravings of the mind, ennobles the aspirations, purifies the heart. When Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, the true, joyous life of the soul begins. Those who feed upon the bread of life, so freely provided in the store-house of God’s word, will become strong and vigorous to labor for Christ and for their fellow-men.
9 A great responsibility rests upon the husband—house-band—to bind the household together, by the ties of kindness, love, and harmony. In the patriarchal ages, the husband and father was the priest of his own household. And still it is his duty to invoke in their behalf the divine blessing, and to instruct and guide them in the way of life. Alas that his influence should ever be exerted to lead them into folly and dissipation! When about to accompany his wife and children to the theater or the ball-room, let the professed Christian ask himself, Can I seek God’s blessing upon the scene of pleasure? Would my Master be a guest at such a place? Will angels minister to me there? Can I there let my light so shine before men, that they may be led to glorify God? Worldlings themselves look upon these amusements as inconsistent with the Christian’s profession. The following incident expresses the feeling which is entertained by many: A young lady professing to be a Christian had been gliding through the mazes of the dance, in a fashionable ball-room, when in conversation with another lady who lived only for this world, she revealed the fact that she was a member of a Christian church. “What!” exclaimed the other, “are you a Christian?” “I am,” was the answer. Whereupon she received the stinging rebuke, “Then why are you here?”
10 Ours is a solemn faith. We profess to be giving the last message of warning to the world. In our religious life we should be in advance of every other people upon earth. We must rise above the standard of public opinion, even in a professedly Christian community, if we would have our character without fault in the day of God. When the final hour shall come, and the shadows of death gather about the soul, shall we regret that we have visited so few places of amusement? that we have joined in so few dances? Shall we regret that religion has debarred us from scenes of revelry, profanity, and mirth? Will not many, rather, bitterly regret that precious time has been squandered, golden opportunities neglected, by following inclination rather than duty?
11 God’s word declares that our Saviour is soon to come in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. We are admonished to watch, and wait, and pray for his appearing. Yet notwithstanding the testimony of the Scriptures, unbelief is expressed everywhere. Even ministers of the gospel are teaching that the day of God may not come for thousands of years. And while the world is enshrouded in darkness, and the night of doom is fast approaching, let us who are of the day be sober. By the intensity of our faith, the purity of our love, let us show that we believe the end of all things to be at hand. If God has given us light from Heaven, he requires us to reflect that light to the world. Christ is soon to act as Judge, where now he officiates as mediator. When he shall come, he will reward every man according to his works. The test in that day will not be, What did you profess? to what church did you belong? But it will then be asked, What character was developed in your life? Only to those who have been faithful, to those who have done well, will the Saviour say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 190
1 To rightly understand the subject of temperance, we must consider it from a Bible stand-point. The first chapter of Daniel presents a most comprehensive and forcible illustration of the principles of true temperance and the blessings to be derived from their observance. Inspiration has recorded the history of Daniel and his companions as a shining example for the youth of all succeeding ages . . . . What men have done, men may do. Did those faithful Hebrews stand firm amid great temptation, and bear a noble testimony for God and the right? We may bear a similar testimony, even under circumstances as unfavorable.
2 It was not their own pride or ambition which had brought Daniel and his associates into the king’s court, into the companionship of those who knew and feared not the true God. Infinite wisdom had placed them where they were. It was their duty to honor God and give to the world an example of faithfulness. They considered their position with its difficulties and dangers, and then, in the fear of God, made their decision. Even at the risk of the king’s displeasure, they would be true to the laws which had been divinely given to their fathers.
3 Besides a portion of his wine, the food apportioned them “from the king’s table,” would include swine’s flesh and other meats pronounced unclean by the law of Moses, and which the Jews were forbidden to eat. The Hebrew captives requested the officer who had them in charge, to grant them more simple fare. The officer demurred, fearing that such rigid abstinence as the young captives proposed would unfavorably affect their personal appearance, and thus bring himself into disfavor with the king. Daniel pleaded for a ten-day’s trial. This was granted, and those youth were found at the expiration of that time to present a far more healthy appearance than those who had indulged in the king’s dainties. Hence the simple “pulse and water” which they at first requested was thereafter supplied to Daniel and his companions.
4 These young men had received a right education in early life, and now, when separated from home influences and sacred associations, they honored the instructors of their childhood. They obeyed the divine law both natural and moral, and the blessing of God gave them physical strength and comeliness, and intellectual power. With their habits of self-denial were coupled earnestness of purpose, diligence, and steadfastness. They had no time to squander in thoughtless pleasure, vanity, or folly. They were not actuated by pride or unworthy ambition. They sought to acquit themselves creditably, for the honor of their down-trodden people, and for His glory whose servants they claimed to be.
5 God always honors the right. The most promising youth of every land subdued by the great conqueror, had been gathered at Babylon, yet amid them all the Hebrew captives were without a rival. The erect form, the firm, elastic step, the fair countenance showing that the blood was uncorrupted, the undimmed senses, the untainted breath,—all were so many certificates of good habits,—insignia of the nobility with which nature honors those who render obedience to her laws.
6 When their ability and acquirements were tested by the king, at the close of the three years of training, none were found “like unto Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.” Their keen apprehension, their choice and exact language, their extensive and varied knowledge, testified to the unimpaired strength and vigor of the mental powers. Would that youth of today would emulate the example of these Hebrew children. All who will, may, like them enjoy the favor and blessing of God.
7 Not only did these young men decline to drink the king’s wine, but they refrained from the luxuries of his table. The lesson is one which we would do well to ponder. Our dangers are not from scarcity, but from abundance. We are constantly tempted to excess. Those who would preserve their powers unimpaired for the service of God must observe strict temperance in the use of all his bounties, as well as total abstinence from every injurious or debasing indulgence.
8 The youth are surrounded by allurements addressed to the appetite. In our cities, liquor saloons on almost every corner make indulgence easy and inviting. The evil does not often begin with the use of intoxicating liquors. Tea, coffee, tobacco, as well as alcoholic beverages, are different degrees in the scale of artificial stimulants. Those who, like Daniel, refuse to defile themselves, will reap the reward of their temperate habits. With their greater physical stamina and increased power of endurance, they have a bank of deposit upon which to draw in case of emergency.
9 Right physical habits promote mental superiority. Intellectual power, physical strength, and longevity, depend upon immutable laws. There is no happen-so, no chance, about this matter. The higher powers will not interfere to preserve men from the consequence of the violation of nature’s laws. There is much of sterling truth in the adage that every man is the architect of his own fortune. While parents are responsible for the stamp of character they give their offspring, as well as for the education and training of their sons and daughters, it is still true that our position and usefulness in the world depend, to a great degree, upon our own course of action. Daniel and his fellows enjoyed the benefits of correct training and education in early life, but these advantages alone would not have made them what they became. The time came when they must act for themselves. Their future then depended upon their own course. They decided to be true to the lessons given them in childhood. The fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, was the foundation of their greatness. His Spirit strengthened every true purpose and noble resolution.
10 The great work of temperance should begin with the child in its mother’s arms. With patient care the little ones should be trained to unperverted tastes and simple habits. Fathers and mothers will have a fearful account to render at the day of final reckoning. The rich, highly seasoned, unwholesome food which the mother spreads upon her table, produces indigestion, headache, and other unpleasant sensations. The children are permitted to eat whatever they please, and at any hour of the day, thus allowing the jaded stomach no rest. Hence they are constantly in a state of nervous irritation. Then, perhaps following the example of the father, they become addicted to the use of tobacco, wine or beer, and in many cases, the path to drunkenness is short. Habits of strict temperance always have been and always must be the only safeguard for our youth.
11 Let old and young remember that for every violation of the laws of life, nature will utter her protest. The penalty will fall upon the mental as well as the physical powers. And it does not end with the guilty trifler. The effects of his misdemeanors are seen in his offspring, and thus hereditary evils are passed down, even to the third or fourth generation. Think of this, fathers, when indulging in the soul and brain benumbing narcotic, tobacco. Where will this practice leave you? Whom will it affect besides yourself?
12 We rarely pass through a crowd, but men—we cannot call them gentlemen, for they do not deserve the name—will puff their poisoned breath into our face. Is it honest thus to contaminate the air which others must breathe? Wherever we go is the tobacco devotee, enfeebling both mind and body in the enjoyment of his darling indulgence. Have men a right thus to deprive their Maker and the world of the service which was their due? Is such a course Christlike? There is no middle ground. If not in harmony with the divine will, it must be Satanic.
13 The slaves of appetite are constantly spending their earnings in sensual indulgence, and thus robbing their children of food and clothing and the advantages of education. Millions of gallons of intoxicating liquors are drank annually, and thirty million dollars are spent for tobacco. It is estimated by Dr. Cole, an able writer on health, that professed Christians of the different denominations annually squander five million dollars in these indulgences. It is said that a larger sum is spent for the single article of cigars than for all the churches and common schools in the Union.
14 Opium, tea, coffee, intoxicating liquors, and tobacco are extinguishing as fast as they well can, the spark of vitality left for the race. We are suffering for the wrong habits of our fathers, and yet how many take a course in every way worse than they. Can any be called Christians who thus willfully destroy themselves?
15 There can never be a right state of society, until the law shall close up liquor saloons, not only on Sunday but on all other days of the week. This would render it much easier to maintain public order, and would conduce greatly to domestic happiness. And why cannot this be done? It is not too much to say that liquor saloons would be closed at once, in obedience to the dictates of reason and religion, if public officers, judges, police, sheriffs, magistrates, and others were not the patrons. These men are by their influence corrupting society, and then they concur in judging and condemning the poor souls who follow their example!
16 Only men of strict temperance and integrity should be admitted to our legislative halls and courts of justice. Property, reputation, and even life itself is insecure when left to the judgment of men who are intemperate and immoral. How many innocent persons have been condemned to death, how many more have been robbed of all their earthly possessions, by the injustice of besotted jurors, lawyers, witnesses, and even judges! The records of crime published in our public journals show that intemperance and profligacy are increasing. While every right-minded person stands aghast at the condition of the world, is it not time to inquire, Who are giving their influence to increase this tide of evil? Who are digging the pitfalls for our youth? But every inquiry is met by the authoritative announcement that the process is sustained by law. We are expected to look on in silence, while our youth are engulfed in ruin.
17 Notwithstanding thousands of years of experience and of progress, the same dark blot which stained the first pages of history remains to disfigure our modern civilization. Drunkenness, with all its woes, is to be found everywhere. Its victims are more numerous today than before the license laws were enacted. Legal regulation has not stayed its progress. Efforts are now made to establish institutions where the victims of intemperance may receive help to overcome their terrible appetite. This is a noble work, and yet how much wiser, how much more effective, would be the removal of the cause of all this woe! Considering only the financial aspect of this question, what folly is it to tolerate a business that is making paupers by the thousand! The laws of the land legalize the trade of making drunkards, and then at great expense provide an institution for converting them again into sober men! Is this the best solution of the question that can be furnished by our legislators?
18 The fact is, government can provide only one effective safeguard against inebriety, and that is prohibition. This is the grandest inebriate retreat ever erected. Such a law, rigidly enforced from ocean to ocean, would produce the greatest temperance reform that the world has ever known. Take away from men all opportunity for indulgence, and the appetite for intoxicants would cease. But as long as the sale of liquor is sanctioned by law, the poor victim of appetite can receive little benefit from inebriate asylums. He will not be content to remain there always. He must again take his place in society. The appetite, though dormant, is not wholly destroyed; temptation assails him on every hand, and too often he falls an easy prey.
19 The use of intoxicating liquor dethrones reason, and hardens the heart against every pure and holy influence. The inanimate rocks will sooner listen to the appeals of truth and justice than will that man whose sensibilities are paralyzed by intemperance. This change is not wrought at once. Those who venture to enter the forbidden path are gradually and unconsciously seduced, demoralized, corrupted, and maddened. And while Christians are asleep, this evil is constantly gaining more strength and making fresh victims.
20 There is need now of men like Daniel to do and dare. A pure heart and a strong, fearless hand are wanted in the world today. God designed that man should be constantly improving,—daily reaching a higher point in the scale of excellence. He will help us, if we seek to help ourselves. It is the duty of every Christian to see that his example and influence are on the side of reform. Let ministers of the gospel lift up their voice like a trumpet, and show the people their transgressions, and the house of Israel their sins. The youth need to be instructed. Our hope of happiness in two worlds depends upon the right improvement of one. We should be guarded at every point against the first approach to intemperance. If we would preserve our children from evil, we must give them a right example, and then teach them to make God their fear, their wisdom, and their strength.
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Page 191
1 Said Christ to his disciples, “Ye are the light of the world.” As the sun goes forth in the heavens to fill the world with brightness, so must the followers of Jesus shed the light of truth upon those who are groping in the darkness of error and superstition. But Christ’s followers have no light of themselves. It is the light of Heaven that falls upon them, which is to be reflected by them to the world. Jesus speaks through clay. Let men beware how they slight or reject the words of his representatives, for in so doing they are rejecting Christ.
2 A great responsibility rests upon the professed followers of Jesus. If they present to the world self instead of Christ, they will have a fearful account to render at the day of final reckoning. But none need thus to fail. Our compassionate Redeemer has provided for us the help we need. He is waiting to kindle in every heart that will receive his words such love as he alone can inspire. He will impute his own righteousness to the sincere penitent, and will fit him to become a witness for Christ.
3 The light of life is freely proffered to all. Every one who will, may be guided by the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Christ is the great remedy for sin. No man can plead his circumstances, his education, or his temperament, as an excuse for living in rebellion against God. The sinner is such by his own deliberate choice. Said our Saviour, “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” The reason why there are so many of the present time to oppose the truth is, they love some indulgence which the word of God condemns. Hence they hate the light which reveals their sin.
4 There are many styled by the world liberal, generous-hearted, noble men whom God looks upon as wicked and corrupt. He sees not as man sees. His thoughts are not as our thoughts. Many in their self-complacency attempt to gloss over the defects in their lives and characters, and flatter themselves that all is well. To come to the light would reveal their danger, and strike the death-blow to their self-satisfaction. Then they would see the importance of a holy life, and their own need of Christ as a Saviour.
5 Many of those who profess to believe the Bible, and even to expound its sacred truths, are yet living in the indulgence of some cherished sin—living as though there were no God whose eye could search the inmost recesses of the soul. They are blessed with Heaven’s bounties, and yet they express no more gratitude to the Giver than do the beasts of the field. They may now have no sense of their own sinfulness; but when summoned before the great white throne, they will in speechless terror stand condemned. The excuses now so flippantly urged to shield themselves from the divine requirements, they dare not mention with the eye of the Judge looking upon them. They knew their Master’s will, but did it not, and they will be beaten with many stripes.
6 When the claims of God are presented, those who love sin evince their true character by the satisfaction with which they point to the faults and errors of professed Christians. They are actuated by the same spirit as their master, Satan, whom the Bible declares to be the “accuser of the brethren.” Let an evil report be started, and how rapidly it will be exaggerated and passed from lip to lip! How many will feast upon it, like vultures upon a heap of garbage. Whether the slanderous tale comes with or without proof, they give it ready credence, showing a strength of faith that is surprising. And yet these very persons will refuse to believe the truths of God’s word so long as there is the semblance of an excuse for doubt.
7 The fact that some professed Christians are not what they should be, does not prove that religion is at fault, but only that these persons are not faithfully obeying its teachings. Neither does it prove that the church is corrupt. Does she not deal with an offending member, and separate from her company those who persist in all evil way? But the very ones who make the most of a person’s faults while he is a member of the church, will, when he is expelled, turn about and sympathize with him, declaring the church to be uncharitable and severe. It is thus that Satan works through his agents, to turn men away from the Light of life.
8 The true Christian, “he that doeth truth, cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” His godly life and holy conversation are a daily testimony against sin and sinners. He is a living representative of the truth which he professes. Of these true-hearted followers, Jesus declares that he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Every one who at last secures eternal life will here manifest zeal and devotion in the service of God. He will not be ready to flee at the approach of trial, hardship, or reproach. He does not search the Scriptures to find some excuse for resistance to the truth. He does not inquire, What will my friends say, if I take my position with the people of God? To know his duty, is to do it heartily and fearlessly. He follows the light, as it shines upon his path, regardless of consequences. The God of truth is on his side, and will never forsake him. All apparent losses for Christ’s sake will count to him as infinite gain.
9 Our thoughts and purposes are the secret springs of action, and hence determine the character. Every thought, feeling, and inclination, though unseen by men, is discerned by the eye of God. With what care, then, should we examine our hearts in the light of the divine law, and compare ourselves with the one faultless Pattern, that no defect may be found upon us in the day of God. We cannot afford to make a mistake in a matter in which eternal interests are involved.
10 The rebellious purpose formed in the heart needs not expression by word or act to consummate the sin, and bring the soul into condemnation. The unlawful word or deed is but the fruition of the evil which has taken root in the heart; the outward evidence that temptation has prevailed, and hell has triumphed. Says the apostle, “Every man is tempted [that is, enters into temptation] when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.” God has provided the means by which we may resist temptation. These are the study of his word, and earnest prayer. In his encounters with the prince of darkness our Saviour prefaced every answer with the words, “It is written.” It was the word of God that vanquished Satan. Those who make that word their study are arming themselves with weapons of divine power against the attacks of the foe. “Thy word,” said the psalmist, “have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
11 Every Christian should be a diligent student of the Scriptures. The word of God, believed and obeyed, exerts a transforming power upon the life and character. Its sublime truths, its pure and holy principles, strengthen the intellect, ennoble the affections, enlighten the understanding. How great the loss which they sustain who neglect this store-house of eternal riches.
12 We should know why we believe as we do, and should be able to give to others the reasons for our faith. But this will require effort. The mind grows by what it is fed upon. The understanding gradually adapts itself to the subjects which it is required to grasp. If allowed to dwell only upon the things of this life, it becomes dwarfed and enfeebled. If absorbed in vanity and folly, it will after a time almost lose the power of growth. To secure strength and vigor, the mind must be tasked; and there is no other means by which this can be so successfully accomplished as by the study of the Scriptures.
13 Hours are worse than wasted when spent in the society of those who are not seeking to improve in mind or morals. Idle gossip, frivolous chitchat, the cruel slander, the base innuendo, weaken the intellect and corrupt the heart. Time is precious. We have but a brief space in which to prepare for the future life. All who expect to dwell hereafter with the pure and holy, must here obtain a fitness for such society. Let the moments heretofore squandered in idleness and folly be henceforth devoted to prayer and the reading of God’s word. This discipline every Christian may have, and, rightly improved, it will make him wise unto eternal life.
14 Many accept the theory of the truth, whose hearts have not felt the renewing power of divine grace. They do not wholly renounce their former life of sin and folly. They do not see the work which must be wrought in them by the Holy Spirit before they can be transformed from Satan’s subjects to sons of God. In his words to Nicodemus, Christ explained the nature and importance of true conversion. He solemnly declares, “Except a man be born again,” —unless he receive a new heart, new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life—”he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He must no longer remain in subjection to the power of sin. He is no longer to be a willing subject to the enemy of Christ. He is to become an heir of God by faith, a son of God by adoption.
15 Those who have experienced the new birth have but entered upon the Christian life. To such are addressed the words of the apostle, “As ye have received the Lord Jesus Christ, so walk ye in him.” In the storm of opposition, the whirlwind of strife that we are called to meet, it is sometimes hard to maintain the patience and gentleness of Christ, hard to meet the railing accusation with words of Scripture truth. But such must be the Christian’s course. God has promised grace for every trial. By patient endurance we may become strong, by failure we may learn success, and through apparent defeat we may conquer.
16 Let not those be discouraged who are sorely tried and tempted, and who feel that they have not strength to cope single-handed with the power of evil. God asks you to become co-laborers with him. You need not wait for great opportunities nor ask for extraordinary talents. Use the ability that you now have. Do not weary yourself with anxiety about the success of your efforts, but quietly, faithfully do what you can, leaving the result with God. Though surrounded by the darkness of unbelief, you may let your daily life be a light to the world, a living testimony to the power of divine grace. The influence of that testimony will widen and deepen, so long as you are connected with the God of wisdom and power. Be assured that your memorial is written above, and in the day of God some at least among the redeemed will call you blessed.
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Page 192
1 Christ prayed for his disciples, “Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth.” In every age, God has committed to his people some special truth which is directly opposed to the desires and purposes of the natural heart. It is no argument against the truth, that there are few ready to accept it. The word of God was received with little favor when priests and people, Pharisees and publicans, listened to the divine Teacher.
2 Christ brought to men truths glowing with the light of Heaven, showing in contrast the darkness of error and revealing the superstition, self-righteousness, and bigotry of that age. His heart overflowed with sympathy for the poor, the ignorant, the afflicted, and the fallen. He healed the sick, comforted the desponding, cast out devils, raised the dead, and made known to all the words of eternal life. The priests and elders, who professed to be the expositors of divine truth, were sending forth no rays of heavenly light to a benighted people. In their self-righteousness they held themselves aloof from those who most needed help. When One came to do the work which they had left undone, they felt that his life was a constant rebuke to them; and they feared that he would turn the people from their teachings. Their hearts were filled with pride, love of ostentation, and desire for praise. They despised Christ’s humility and self-denial. They hated the purity while they feared the power of his teachings. They refused to accept him themselves, and bent all their energies to hinder others. Against these professed leaders of the Jewish people, Christ brings the terrible accusation, “Ye have taken away the key of knowledge. Ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”
3 Reformers of the present time will meet with the same discouragements as did their Master. Men are no more favorable to Bible simplicity or to practical godliness than in Christ’s day. Few accepted the world’s Redeemer; few will now accept the message of his servants. Though the multitude eagerly flocked around him to receive temporal blessings, yet Christ sadly declares, “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life.” Thus the mass of mankind are today seeking earthly good, to the neglect of eternal riches.
4 When Christ was upon earth, frowning priests and angry rulers threatened the people with exclusion from the synagogue, and thus kept many from hearing the great Teacher. Today the so-called “orthodox” ministers by similar threats deter their hearers from listening to the words of Christ’s ambassadors. Many fear even to study the word of God for themselves, lest they shall be convinced. Young persons who find no attractions in the Bible, and who have never searched its pages, will, parrot-like, repeat the sayings of opposers to the truth. They imagine that it savors of manly independence to talk of having a mind of their own, when in fact they merely echo the opinions and sentiments of others. What the minister says in the desk, against the truth, is greedily devoured by those who love to have it so, and his assumptions, though wholly destitute of Scripture proof, are repeated as conclusive evidence.
5 Those words of inspiration are even more applicable today than when first uttered: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so. And what will ye do in the end thereof?” A solemn question indeed; but how few give heed to it.
6 Christ says of the people in his day, “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes; and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” The Jews willfully closed their eyes and their ears, and barred their hearts with prejudice, lest they should see a better way, and thus be aroused from their pleasant dreams of carnal security. The people of the present generation are pursuing the same course. The great mass of mankind are unwilling to exchange error for truth. They are satisfied with their present condition, and have no desire to be converted.
7 New truth is constantly unfolding; at every step, new and clearer light is shining upon the pathway of God’s people, that they may go onward and upward. We are to be sanctified through obedience to the truth. For want of this Bible sanctification, the soul of many a professed Christian has become a desecrated shrine, the haunt of hollow formalism, of selfishness and hypocrisy, pride and passion. Thousands are living on in guilty unconsciousness of their sin and danger, despising the Saviour’s warnings, treating his ambassadors with contempt, and their words as idle tales.
8 The servants of Christ may at times feel almost disheartened as they see that there are many obstacles to the progress of the truth, and the work seems to move slowly. But their duty remains the same. They are to sow the seed of truth beside all waters. Whatever their difficulties and trials, they can carry all to God in prayer. They can weep between the porch and the altar, saying, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach.” By study of the Scriptures and earnest, wrestling prayer, they may become strong in the strength of the mighty one. Labor on, brethren, while the day lasts. The night cometh, in which no man can work. The world must be warned, and God has called us to this work. If we neglect our duty, souls will be lost through our unfaithfulness.
9 A serious and perhaps unsuspected hindrance to the success of the truth is to be found in our churches themselves. When an effort is made to present our faith to unbelievers; the members of the church stand back, as though they were not an interested party, and let all the burden rest upon the minister. I know that for this reason the labor of our most able ministers has been at times productive of little good. The very best sermons may be preached, the message may be just what the people need, and yet no souls are gained as sheaves to present to Christ.
10 In laboring where there are some already in the faith, the minister should at first seek not so much to convert unbelievers, as to secure his army of workers. He is not merely to present the truth from the desk, but as the shepherd of the flock he should care for the sheep and the lambs, searching out the lost and straying, and bringing them back to the fold. He should visit every family, not merely as a guest, to enjoy their hospitality, but as Christ’s servant to inquire into the spiritual condition of every member of the household. His own soul must be imbued with the love of God; by kindness, love, and courtesy, he should win his way to the hearts of all, and then labor faithfully for the good of parents and children, entreating, warning, encouraging, as the case demands.
11 A constant effort to promote personal piety should be seen in the minister’s public labors. Sermon after sermon should not be given on the prophecies alone. Practical religion should have a place in every discourse. The discourses should be short, and to the point, and followed by a spirited social meeting. Sometimes the social meeting would have the best influence to come first. Let every member of the church feel a duty to labor wisely, skillfully, and earnestly. Let all bear testimony with the one object in view, to glorify God, to gain a deeper experience themselves and to save souls. Thus the church will be kept working with the minister, the careless will be aroused to seek a reconversion themselves, and then they are prepared to work for others. This is good generalship. The results will be found to be far better than if the minister performed all the labor alone.
12 Each church can enjoy the labors of a minister but a short time at best. Hence they should seek to gain the greatest possible benefit from his labors. During his stay among them, they should give less attention to their temporal affairs, and all stand ready to second the efforts of the Lord’s messenger.
13 It is harder to reach the hearts of men today than it was twenty years ago. The most convincing arguments may be presented to sustain the truth, and yet sinners seem as far from repentance and conversion as ever. The work of saving souls is no child’s play. It requires earnest, untiring labor to wrench the prey of Satan from his grasp. But God will sustain his servants in the work which he has himself committed to their hands. Said Christ to the first disciples, as they toiled upon the sea of Galilee, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” When the gospel net is cast, let there be a watching by the net, with tears and earnest prayer. Let the workers determine not to become discouraged; and not to let go the net until it is drawn ashore, with the fruit of their labor. Sometimes, indeed, we may say with Peter, “We have toiled all the night and have taken nothing,” but still it is the Master’s command, as of old, “Let down the net on the right side of the ship,”—work on in faith, and God will give success.
14 Jesus bids us as a people, Go forward. There are higher attainments, a purer love, a deeper experience for us, if we will consecrate ourselves to God, and humbly take him at his word. The reason why we have no greater confidence and joy is that there is in us an evil heart of unbelief. Our Heavenly Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. Let us shake off the spiritual paralysis that dishonors God and imperils our souls. If we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. We must not wait for better opportunities, for strong persuasions, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing of ourselves. We must trust to Jesus’ power to save. He is holding out to us the crown of life, and desires us to accept it. Let us come to him, just as we are, and we shall find a present help in our time of need.
15 The sweet sense of sins forgiven, the light and love which Christ alone can give, fill the soul with subdued, solemn joy. The assurance that we are under the protection of Omnipotence imparts new courage and confidence, inspires a hope that is as an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast, entering into that within the vail. With this assurance we have a source of strength unknown before. Whatever the duty which God requires, we are ready cheerfully to perform it. So long as we have the presence of our Saviour, difficulties cannot dismay nor dangers appall us. If we were only as free to speak of the blessings we receive from God as we are to talk of doubts and discouragements, we would enjoy far more of his presence. “Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth God.” Let us praise God more, and complain less; let us talk of the love of Jesus, and his wondrous power, and we shall be brought nearer and nearer to our Saviour.
16 Shall we not consecrate ourselves to God without reserve? Christ, the King of glory, gave himself a ransom for us. Can we withhold anything from him? Shall we think our poor unworthy selves too precious, our time, our property, too valuable to give to Jesus? No, no; the deepest homage of our hearts, the ablest service of our hands, our talents of ability and of means, all are but too poor to bring to our Redeemer.
“Were the whole realm of the nature mine,
That were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my life, my soul, my all.”
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1 Only one lease of life is granted us here; and the inquiry with every one should be, How can I invest my life that it may yield the greatest profit? Life is valuable only as we improve it for the benefit of our fellow-creatures and the glory of God. Careful cultivation of the abilities with which the Creator has endowed us, will qualify us for elevated usefulness here, and a higher life in the world to come.
2 That time is spent to good account which is directed to the establishment and preservation of sound physical and mental health. We cannot afford to dwarf or cripple a single function of the mind or body, by overwork or abuse of any part of the living machinery. As surely as we do this, we must suffer the consequences. Our first duty to God and our fellow-beings, is that of self-development. Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. In order to purify and refine our characters, we need the grace given us of Christ that will enable us to see and correct our deficiencies, and improve that which is excellent. This work, wrought for ourselves in the strength and name of Jesus, will be of more benefit to our fellow-creatures than any sermon we might preach them. The example of a well-balanced, well-ordered life, is of inestimable value.
3 Intemperance is at the foundation of the larger share of the ills of life. It annually destroys tens of thousands. We do not speak of intemperance as limited only to the use of intoxicating liquors; it has a broader meaning, including the hurtful indulgence of any appetite or passion. There are today thousands suffering the torture of physical pain, or writhing under a sense of mental and moral degradation, and wishing again and again that they had never been born. God did not design this condition of things; but it was brought about through the gross violation of Nature’s laws. If the appetites and passions were under the control of sanctified reason, society would present a widely different aspect. Many things that are usually made articles of diet, are unfit for food; the taste for them is not natural, but has been cultivated. Stimulating food creates a desire for still stronger stimulants.
4 Indigestible food throws the entire system out of order, and unnatural cravings and inordinate appetites, are the results. “Touch not, taste not, handle not,” is a motto that should be carried farther than the mere use of spirituous liquors. True temperance teaches us to abstain entirely from that which is injurious, and to use judiciously only such articles of food as are healthful and nutritious.
5 The first steps in intemperance are usually taken in early youth. Stimulating food is given to the child, which excites unnatural cravings of the stomach. These false appetites are pandered to as they develop. The taste continually becomes more perverted; stronger stimulants are craved and are indulged in, till soon the slave of appetite throws aside all restraint. The evil commenced early in life, and could have been prevented by the parents. We witness strenuous efforts in our country to put down intemperance; but it is found a hard matter to overpower and chain the strong, full-grown lion.
6 In half the efforts that are put forth to stay this giant evil were directed toward enlightening parents as to their responsibility in forming the habits and characters of their children, a thousand-fold more good might result, than from the present course of combatting only the full-grown evil. The unnatural appetite for spirituous liquors is created at home, in many cases at the very tables of those who are most zealous to lead out in the temperance campaigns. We bid all workers in the good cause, God speed; but we invite them to look deeper into the causes of the evil they war against, and labor more thoroughly and consistently in the work of reform.
7 Parents should so conduct themselves that their lives will be a daily lesson of self-control and forbearance to their household. The father and mother should unite in disciplining their children. They should feel themselves under solemn obligation to God to train up their offspring in such a way as to secure to them, as far as possible, good physical health and well-developed characters. Upon the mother, however, will come the heavier burden, especially in the first few years of her children’s lives. It is her duty to control and direct the developing minds of her tender charge, as well as to watch over their health. The father should aid her with his sympathy and counsel, and share her burdens so far as possible.
8 Parents should not lightly regard the work of training their children. They should employ much time in careful study of the laws which regulate our being. They should make it their first object to learn the proper manner of dealing with their children, that they may secure to them sound minds in sound bodies. Too many parents are controlled by custom, instead of sound reason and the claims of God. Many who profess to be followers of Christ are sadly neglectful of home duties. They do not perceive the sacred importance of the trust which God has placed in their hands, so to mold the characters of their children, that they will have moral stamina to resist the many temptations that ensnare the feet of youth.
9 We urge that the principles of temperance be carried into all the details of home-life; that the example of parents should be a lesson of temperance; that self-denial and self-control should be taught to the children, and enforced upon them, so far as consistent, from babyhood. And first it is important that the little ones be taught that they eat to live, not live to eat; that appetite must be held in abeyance to the will; and that the will must be governed by calm, intelligent reason. Much parental anxiety and grief might be saved if children were taught from the cradle that their wills are not to be made law, nor their whims to be continually indulged. It is not so difficult as is generally supposed to teach the little child to stifle its outbursts of temper, and subdue its fits of passion.
10 Few parents begin early enough to teach their children obedience. The child is usually allowed to get two or three years the start of its parents, who forbear to discipline it, thinking it is too young to learn to obey. But all this time self is growing strong in the little being, and every day makes it a harder task for the parent to gain control of the child. At a very early age children can comprehend what is plainly and simply told them; and, by kind and judicious management, can be taught to obey.
11 The mother should not allow her child to gain an advantage over her in a single instance; and, in order to maintain this authority, it is not necessary to resort to harsh measures; a firm, steady hand, and a kindness which convinces the child of your love, will accomplish the purpose. But let selfishness, anger, and self-will, have their course for the first three years of a child’s life, and it will be hard to bring it to submit to whole-some discipline. Its disposition becomes soured; it delights in having its own way; parental control is distasteful. These evil tendencies grow with the child’s growth, until, in manhood, supreme selfishness and a lack of self-control place him at the mercy of the evils that run riot in our land.
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1 Many look upon work as a curse, originating with the enemy of souls. This is a mistaken idea. God gave labor to man as a blessing, to occupy his mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. Adam labored in the garden of Eden, and he found in mental and physical activity the highest pleasures of his holy existence. When he was driven from that beautiful home as the result of his disobedience, and was forced to struggle with a stubborn soil to gain his daily bread, that very labor was a relief to his sorrowing soul, a safeguard against temptation.
2 Judicious labor is indispensable both to the happiness and the prosperity of our race. It makes the feeble strong, the timid brave, the poor rich, and the wretched happy. Our varied trusts are proportioned to our various abilities, and God expects corresponding returns for the talents he has given to his servants. It is not the greatness of the talents possessed that determines the reward, but the manner in which they are used,—the degree of faithfulness with which the duties of life are performed, be they great or small.
3 Idleness is one of the greatest curses that can fall upon man; for vice and crime follow in its train. Satan lies in ambush, ready to surprise and destroy those who are unguarded, whose leisure gives him opportunity to insinuate himself into their favor, under some attractive disguise. He is never more successful than when he comes to men in their idle hours.
4 The greatest curse following in the train of wealth is the fashionable idea that work is degrading. “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom; pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her, and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” Here are presented before us, in the words of Holy Writ, the terrible results of idleness. It was this that caused the ruin of the cities of the plain. Idleness enfeebles the mind, debases the soul, and perverts the understanding, turning into a curse that which was given as a blessing.
5 The rich often consider themselves entitled to the pre-eminence among their fellow-men and in the favor of God. Many feel above honest labor, and look down with contempt upon their poorer neighbors. The children of the wealthy are taught that to be gentlemen and ladies they must dress fashionably, avoid all useful labor, and shun the society of the working classes. They dare not shock their fashionable associates by putting the gifts of God to a practical use.
6 Such ideas are wholly at variance with the divine purpose in the creation of man. What are the possessions of even the most wealthy, in comparison with the heritage given to the lordly Adam? Yet Adam was not to be idle. An all-wise Creator understands what is for man’s happiness; and this is why he gave to Adam his appointed work.
7 The Son of God honored labor. Though he was the Majesty of Heaven, he chose his earthly home among the poor and lowly, and worked for his daily bread in the humble carpenter shop of Joseph. Christ is our example. He came to earth to teach us how to live. Does it require too great humiliation for us to follow where the King of glory has led the way?
8 Misguided parents are trying to improve upon God’s plan. Many send their children away from home influences and home duties, to some boarding-school or college, to obtain an education. There, deprived of parental care, the youth squander precious hours in novel reading, in frivolous amusements, or in studying the adornment of the person, that they may outrival their companions. For such pursuits, their duties to their fellow-beings and to God are neglected.
9 This false education leads young ladies to regard uselessness, frivolity, and helplessness as proofs of gentility. Fashionable butterflies, they have nothing to do for the good of others, at home or abroad. Here may be found the secret of many of the unhappy marriages and flirtations ending in shame, that curse our world today.
10 Those who are in the possession of wealth and leisure, and yet have no purpose in life, have nothing to arouse them to either mental or physical activity. Thus many a woman loses her health, and is sent to some medical institution for treatment. Here attendants are hired, at great expense, to rub, stretch, and exercise the muscles, which have become powerless by inaction. She hires servants, that she may live a life of idleness, and then hires other servants to exercise the muscles enfeebled by disuse. What consummate folly! How much wiser and better for women, young or old, to brave the sneers of fashion’s votaries, and obey the dictates of common sense and the laws of life. By the cheerful performance of domestic duties, they might become useful and happy members of society. Such labor affords a more efficient and profitable “movement cure” than the best inventions of the physicians.
11 Young men, as well as young women, manifest a sad lack of earnest purpose and moral independence. To dress, to smoke, to talk nonsense, and to indulge their passion for amusement, is the ideal of happiness, even with many who profess to be Christians. It is painful to think of the time which is thus misspent. Hours that should be given to the study of the Scriptures or to active labor for Christ are worse than wasted.
12 Life was given for a true and holy purpose. It is too precious to be thus squandered. I entreat those who have taken the name of Christ to examine their own hearts, and pass sentence upon themselves. Do you not love pleasure more than you love God or your fellowmen?
13 There is work to be done. There is the mind, with all its capabilities, to strengthen and store with the treasures of divine wisdom. There are souls to save. There is a Heaven to win. There are battles to fight. You may come to the front and join in the warfare against the hosts of evil. In the strength of God you may do a good and noble work for the Master.
14 God designed that all should be workers, and upon those whose opportunities and abilities are greatest, rest the heaviest responsibilities. Upon them, also, will fall the heaviest condemnation if they are unfaithful to their trust. The patient beasts of burden put to shame that indolent do nothing, who, endowed with reasoning powers and a knowledge of the divine will, refuses to perform his allotted part in God’s great plan.
15 The indolence of the many, occasions the overwork of the few. A large class refuse to think or act for themselves. They have no disposition to step out of the old ruts of prejudice and error; by their perversity they block up the way of advancement, and force the standard-bearers of the right to more heroic efforts in their march forward. Earnest and devoted laborers are failing for the want of a helping hand, and are sinking beneath their double burdens. Their graves are waymarks along the upward paths of reform.
16 The true glory and joy of life are found only by the working man and woman. Labor brings its own reward, and the rest is sweet that is purchased by the fatigue of a well-spent day. But there is a self-imposed toil which is utterly unsatisfying and injurious. It is that which gratifies unsanctified ambition, that which seeks display or notoriety. The love of appearance or possession leads thousands to carry to excess what is lawful, to devote all the strength of mind and body to that which should occupy but a small portion of their time. They bend every energy to the acquisition of wealth or honor; they make all other objects secondary to this; they toil unflinchingly for years to accomplish their purpose; yet when the goal is reached, and the coveted reward secured, it turns to ashes in their grasp; it is a shadow, a delusion. They have given their life for that which profiteth not.
17 Yet all the lawful pursuits of life may be safely followed, if the spirit is kept free from selfish hopes and the contamination of deceit and envy. The business life of the Christian should be marked with the same purity that held sway in the work shop of the holy Nazarene. It is the working men and women— those who are willing to bear its responsibilities with faith and hope—who see something great and good in life.
18 Patient laborers, remember that they were sturdy working men whom Christ chose from among the fishermen of Galilee and the tent-makers of Corinth, to labor with him in the work of salvation. From these humble men went forth a power that will be felt through all eternity.
19 The angels are workers; they are ministers of God to the children of men. Those slothful spirits who look forward to a Heaven of inaction will be disappointed; for the Creator has prepared no such place for the gratification of sinful indolence. But to the weary and heavy-laden, rest is promised. It is the faithful servants who are welcomed from their labors unto the joy of their Lord. Gladly will they lay off their armor, and forget the noise of battle in the peace that shall be the inheritance of the saints.
20 The path of the Christian laborer may be hard and narrow, but it is honored by the foot-prints of the Redeemer, and he is safe who follows in that sacred way.
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1 In the days of the apostles, the city of Ephesus was famed for the worship of the goddess Diana and the practice of magic. The temple of Diana was considered, for its size and splendor, one of the wonders of the world. Its surpassing magnificence made it the pride of both the city and the nation. The idol itself was but an uncouth wooden image, on which were inscribed mystic characters and symbols. These were supposed to possess great power. When pronounced, they were said to accomplish wonders. When written, they were treasured as a potent charm to guard their possessor from robbers, from disease, and even from death. Numerous and costly books were written by the Ephesians to explain the meaning and use of these mysterious symbols.
2 In this city, the very stronghold of superstition and sorcery, the apostle Paul labored for several years. Here the power of God was mightily displayed through his servant. The sick were healed, and evil spirits were cast out.
3 The miracles wrought by Paul in the name of Jesus, created great excitement in Ephesus. Among those who practiced magic arts were certain Jewish exorcists, who claimed to possess the same power exercised by Paul. Believing that the name of Jesus acted as a charm, they determined to cast out evil spirits by the same means which the apostle had employed.
4 An attempt was made by seven brothers, the sons of Sceva, a chief priest of the Jews. Finding a man who was possessed with an evil spirit, they addressed him, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.” But the evil spirit answered with scorn, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” and the man who was possessed attacked them with such violence that they fled out of the house, naked and wounded.
5 The discomfiture and humiliation of those who had profaned the name of Jesus soon became known throughout Ephesus, by Jews and Gentiles. It furnished unmistakable proof of the sacredness of that name, and the peril which they incurred who should invoke it, while they had no faith in Christ’s divine mission.
6 Many dared not breathe aloud the name, on which they had hitherto heaped reproach and blasphemy. A large number were convinced that Christ was all that Paul claimed him to be, and they determined to receive the gospel. These openly renounced the practice of sorcery, and acknowledged their secret arts to be deceptive and Satanic. They brought together the manuals of enchantment, the costly books containing the mystic symbols of Diana, and the secrets of their art, and burned them in the presence of all the people. The sacrifice thus made was estimated at fifty thousand pieces of silver, equal to about ten thousand dollars.
7 The conversion of these Ephesians was attended with the results that always follow genuine conversion. When convinced that their magical books were false and pernicious, they were unwilling to sell them and thus place temptation in the way of others. They promptly burned the records of divination, at a great personal sacrifice. The power of truth triumphed over men’s prejudices, favorite pursuits, and love of money.
8 Those magical books contained rules and forms of communication with evil spirits. They were, in fact, the regulations of the worship of Satan; directions for soliciting his help, and obtaining information from him. The system of magic or sorcery then extant was in reality the same as that which is now known as modern Spiritualism. Many were deceived in Paul’s day by this Satanic delusion, and many are deceived today by the same power. “Magical books” were not confined to the apostolic age, or to nations that are called heathen. The sorcerers of our time are taking advantage of the freedom of the press to spread abroad their baleful literature. Could all the productions of modern Spiritualism be treated as were the magical books of the Ephesians, one of Satan’s most successful avenues to destroy the souls of men would be cut off.
9 Witchcraft and sorcery are practiced in this Christian age and Christian nation, even more boldly than by the old-time magicians. Satan is finding access to thousands of minds by presenting himself under the guise of departed friends. The Scriptures of truth declare that “the dead know not anything.” Their thoughts, their love, their hatred, have perished. The dead do not hold communion with the living. But Satan—true to his early cunning, when in the form of a serpent he deceived the mother of our race—employs this device to gain control of the minds of men.
10 Paul warns his Corinthian brethren of the deceptive power of their great adversary. He declares, “I fear that by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
11 He writes to his son Timothy, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.”
12 In his second epistle to the Thessalonians, he warns them that the second advent of our Lord will be preceded by the working of Satan,” with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”
13 Because the children of men reject the plainest teachings of his word, and trample upon his law, God leaves them to choose that which they desire. They spurn the truth, and he permits them to believe a lie. They refuse to yield to the convictions of the Holy Spirit, and Satan, transforming himself into an angel of light, leads them captive at his will. If men were but conversant with the word of God, and obedient to its teachings, they could not be thus deceived; but they neglect the great detector of fraud, and the mind becomes confused and corrupted by the deceptive arts of men, and the secret power of the father of lies.
14 Men of intelligence are infatuated with Satanic sorcery as verily today as in the days of Paul. Thousands accept the opinion of the minister or obey the injunctions of the pope or priest, and neglect God’s word and despise his truth. God would have his people learn their duty for themselves. The Bible declares his will to men, and it is as much our privilege and our duty to learn that will as it is that of ministers and popes and priests to learn it. What they can read from God’s word, we can all read.
15 When the Ephesian converts burned their books on magic, they showed that they hated what they had once loved, and loved what they had once hated. The light of truth, shinning into their minds, had convinced them of the unlawfulness of their arts, and had stirred their souls with abhorrence of their unholy deeds. Such a change is the best evidence of true conversion.
16 A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the chain of circumstances in the process of conversion; yet this does not prove him to be unconverted. Said Christ to Nicodemus, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Though the work of grace is silent and almost imperceptible, it may be fully as effective as when its operations are more apparent. But if the heart has been renewed by the Holy Spirit, the life will bear witness to the fact. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Light and darkness are not more distinct than are the state of the converted and the unconverted. A change will be seen in the character, the habits, the pursuits. The contrast will be clear and decided between what they have been and what they are.
17 The world and the church have a right to expect such proof of true conversion as was given by the Ephesians,—proof that a new moral taste has been created. You may not have practiced sorcery, you may not have tampered with Spiritualism; but remember that “To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey.” If you indulge in any practice forbidden in God’s word, you have yielded obedience to Satan; you are his servant.
18 Every unconverted man is fascinated, bewildered, by the bewitching power of the great deceiver. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?” Every person who cherishes a known error, in faith or practice, is under the power of sorcery, and is practicing sorcery upon others. Satan employs him to mislead other souls.
19 If we would indeed become children of God, we must renounce at once and forever, every sinful indulgence. We must close every avenue through which Satan may gain control of our thoughts or our affections. Many persons manifest determined hatred of some sins denounced in the word of God, while they at the same time indulge their favorite sin. Not so did the Ephesian converts. Their particular sin was magic. By this means Satan held them in his power. They might have been earnest and vigilant to correct other evils, but had they spared this one sin, they would erelong have yielded their faith. But they laid the axe to the root of the tree; they renounced the hidden things of darkness and destroyed that which had led them into sin.
20 This incident, was placed on record as an important lesson for every age. The Ephesians directed their efforts against the very sin of which they were guilty. Have the people of God in this age acted in like manner? There are many who manifest supreme devotion to their money, their business or their houses and lands. The ambitious man worships fame or honor as his idol. The covetous man fosters covetousness. The sensualist is wedded to his lust. These love their cherished objects of pursuit more than they love God. They are idolaters.
21 Those who venture to cherish the sin which they love best, are tampering with Satan’s sorcery. The enchanting power of temptation has paralyzed conscience and blinded reason, so that they do not perceive their danger. The magical books have not been destroyed.
22 When the truth, presented to the understanding, exerts its sanctifying power upon the heart, the sins which were once cherished will be put away, that Jesus may occupy the soul-temple. If covetousness has been indulged, it will be given up. If the love of the world has captivated the senses, a higher attraction will break its power. Deceit, falsehood, impurity, will be cleansed from the heart. He who maintains his allegiance to Christ, can render no service to Christ’s bitterest foe.
23 Many place themselves on the enchanted ground by frequenting scenes of amusement where fallen spirits congregate. Professing Christian, when you resort to the theater, remember that Satan is there, conducting the play as the master-actor. He is there to excite passion and glorify vice. The very atmosphere is permeated with licentiousness. Satan presides, also, at the masquerade and the dance; he throws around the card-table its bewitching power. Wherever an influence is exerted to cause men to forget their Creator, there Satan is at work, it matters not how innocent the guise under which he conceals his purpose.
24 Many who cannot be attracted by the allurements of pleasure, are ensnared by the teachings of “science falsely so-called.” These are led to extol human reason, above divine revelation; to exalt nature, and forget the God of nature. Is there no magic, no sorcery, going on around us?
25 The press is now sending out books in great numbers, that teach the ignorant and unsuspecting how they may serve Satan. There are works breathing the poison of skepticism and infidelity. There are treatises on money-making, that fill thousands of minds with fancies and follies, that fire thousands with an insane desire to amass wealth. There are fascinating volumes, that portray with all the power of human eloquence the lives of those who have made fame their god. And outnumbering all other productions of the press, like the swarms of locusts that darkened the whole land, comes the flood of novels and romances, to cultivate in the youth a love-sick sentimentalism, to teach them that courtship and marriage are the great object of their existence, and to unfit them for the practical duties of a useful life.
26 Satan is seeking by every means he can devise, to suggest doubts concerning the truth of God’s word. Those who are naturally inclined to skepticism should, above all others, avoid everything that would strengthen this dangerous tendency. On the contrary, many read with avidity skeptical writings which exert such a deceptive, bewitching power that the reader seeks in vain to free the mind or purify the heart from the unholy spell. Evil angels, having once gained access, suggest doubts that human reasoning is powerless to remove. When God speaks to the soul, those who would be free will cut every tie that holds them under Satan’s power. They will destroy that which so nearly proved their ruin, lest it prove the ruin of others.
27 Many a work is highly prized for its wealth and beauty of language, when these are but a fair garment to conceal principles that in their native deformity would shock the reader. Those principles have led the author step by step away from God, from hope, and Heaven. Will they not exert the same influence upon the reader? The course of the Ephesians was the only safe course for them; it is the only safe course for you. Destroy these agencies of Satan. Put beyond your reach that which has power to seduce you.
28 The authors of no small share of current literature are men who have lived in the atmosphere of vice, and who are slaves of passion. Poets of brilliant talents have perverted their powers to the service of Satan. Over all that is good, and pure, and noble, they have cast the darkness of their own base thoughts. They encourage dissipation and sanction vice.
29 The bewildering brilliancy, the deceptive pathos, of many a gifted author, are Satan’s bait to allure and destroy the souls of men. Many who are in no danger from the productions of the gross and sensual, are deceived by writers who virtually clothe Satan in angel’s garments and make him a benefactor of the race. Such works are legion.
30 Have the disciples of Christ burned the magical books? Have they made a decided change in their principles and habits of life? Have they separated themselves from the enchantments of the world? Those who, knowing their danger, will yet venture into places of worldly, demoralizing amusement, or who will poison the mind with the literary productions of the skeptic, or the sensualist, are guilty of presumption. God does not give his angels charge to keep those who choose to walk in forbidden paths.
31 When in the way of duty we are brought into trial, as was Daniel in the king’s court, we may be assured that God will preserve us. But if, through stubbornness, hardihood, or bravado, we place ourselves under the power of temptation, we shall fall, sooner or later.
32 We are living at a time when Satan’s power is great. “As a roaring lion, he walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Anon, he will quell his roar to the faintest whisper, that he may deceive the unsuspecting by his hellish arts. The glories of the world are presented in glowing colors to fascinate the senses, to beguile unstable souls. What have professed Christians done to close every avenue whereby Satan can approach them? Have they given proof of the work wrought in them by the Holy Spirit? Have they erected barriers, firm and strong, between their soul and every earthly idol?
33 The infidel, when converted, will abhor the books that led him to doubt the word of God. The dissolute man who has purified his soul by obedience to the truth, will not venture into the haunts of dissipation, from curiosity or habit. Neither will he permit his mind to dwell upon such scenes, portrayed in the pages of the sensualist. He will be awake to his danger, shunning temptation himself, and earnestly warning others of its bewitching power. Whatever the idol previously cherished, the converted man will not only resist evil, but will, so far as possible, place himself beyond the power of Satan. Again we would ask the followers of Christ, “Have you burned the magical books?”
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1 “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.” It should be the object of every parent to secure to his children a well-balanced, symmetrical character. This is a work of no small magnitude and importance. It will require earnest thought and prayer, no less than patient, persevering effort. A right foundation must be laid, a framework, strong and firm, erected, and then day by day the work of building, polishing, perfecting, must go forward.
2 Upon the mother rests, to a great degree, the responsibility of the early training of her children. Did mothers but realize the importance of their mission, they would be much in secret prayer, presenting their children to Jesus, imploring his blessing upon them, and pleading for wisdom to discharge aright their sacred duties. Let the mother improve every opportunity to mold and fashion the disposition and habits of her children. Let her watch carefully the development of character, repressing traits that are too prominent, encouraging those that are deficient. Let her make her own life a pure and noble example to her precious charge.
3 The mother should enter upon her work with courage and energy, relying constantly upon divine aid in all her efforts. She should never rest satisfied until she sees in her children a gradual elevation of character, until they have a higher object in life than merely to seek their own pleasure. Children should be taught at home to exert every faculty of mind or body. Thus they gain an understanding of their own capabilities, and at the same time strengthen and develop every power by calling it into action.
4 Parents, your own home is the first field in which you are called to labor. The precious plants in the home garden demand your first care. To you it is appointed to watch for souls as they that must give account. Carefully consider your work, its nature, its bearing, and its results. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little you must instruct, warn, and counsel, ever remembering that your looks, words, and actions, have a direct bearing upon the future course of your dear ones. Your work is not to paint a form of beauty upon canvas, or to chisel it from marble; but to impress upon a human soul the image of the Divine.
5 Mothers, will you not dispense with useless, unimportant labor for that which must perish with the using? Will you not seek to draw near to God, that his wisdom may guide and his grace assist you, in a work which will be as enduring as eternity? Aim to make your children perfect in character. Remember that such only can see God.
6 I speak the more freely and earnestly, because I know that many parents are neglecting their God-given work. They are themselves far from purity and holiness. They do not see the defects of their children as they would if their own eyes were beholding and admiring the perfection of Christ’s character.
7 For Christ’s sake, for the sake of your children, seek to conform your own life to the divine standard. Let nothing come in between you and your God. Be earnest, be patient and persevering, instant in season, out of season. Give your children intellectual culture, and moral training. Let their young hearts be fortified, with firm, pure principles. While you have the opportunity, lay the foundation for a noble manhood and womanhood. Your labor will be rewarded a thousand fold.
8 You must make the Bible your guide, if you would bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let the life and character of Christ be presented as the pattern for them to copy. If they err, read to them what the Lord has said concerning similar sins. There is need of constant care and diligence in this work. One wrong trait tolerated by parents, uncorrected by teachers, may cause the whole character to become deformed and unbalanced. Teach the children that they must have a new heart; that new tastes must be created, new motives inspired. They must have help from Christ; they must become acquainted with the character of God as revealed in his word.
9 Family prayer receives too little interest and attention. In many cases, the morning and evening worship is little more than a mere form, a dull, monotonous repetition of set phrases in which the spirit of gratitude or the sense of need finds no expression. The Lord accepts not such service. But the petitions of a humble heart and contrite spirit he will not despise. The opening of our hearts to our Heavenly Father, the acknowledgment of our entire dependence, the expression of our wants, the homage of grateful love,—this is true prayer. When we come pleading the merits of Christ’s blood, and trusting with implicit faith his promises, we shall secure the blessing of the Lord.
10 Redeem the precious hours worse than wasted in talking of your troubles, or gossiping over the faults of others. Seek earnestly to God for help, and you will become strong in his strength. You may have Christ as a guest in your home. Be not satisfied merely to bear the name of Christians. Be in truth followers of Jesus. Let your hearts be warmed with his love. Make him your friend, your helper, your counselor.
11 The most valuable rules for social and family intercourse, are to be found in the Bible. There is not only the best and purest standard of morality, but the most valuable code of politeness. Our Saviour’s sermon on the mount contains instruction of priceless worth to old and young. It should be often read in the family circle, and its precious teachings exemplified in the daily life. The golden rule, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them,” as well as the apostolic injunction, “In honor preferring one another,” should be made the law of the family. Those who cherish the spirit of Christ, will manifest politeness at home, a spirit of benevolence, even in little things. They will be constantly seeking to make all around them happy, forgetting self in their kind attentions to others. This is the fruit which grows upon the Christian tree.
12 Few realize the influence of the little things of life, upon the development of character. Mothers, cease to spend your time and strength for that which is merely attractive to the eye, but which does not minister to comfort or real happiness, and you will cut off a large share of the cares and worries that make you nervous and irritable, impolite and unchristian. The precious moments heretofore given to needless labor should be devoted to beautifying the souls of your children, teaching them how they may obtain the inward adorning, that meek and quiet spirit which God accounts of great price.
13 If real politeness were practiced by all the followers of Christ, if obedience to the golden rule were made one of the corner-stones of Christian character, we would see fewer church-trials, less hardness and animosity between brethren. There would be no harsh, thoughtless words, no strife for the highest place. God’s people will be tested. Every one will be exposed to the fierce fire of trial and temptation. If we would not be consumed as dross, we must have the love of God—the gold that has been tried—abiding in us. Now is the time to soften and subdue our rough, harsh traits of character. We must cherish kindness, forbearance, Christian integrity. Ungenerous criticism, hard speeches, questioning the motives of another, or magnifying his faults, open the door to Satan’s temptations, and lead many away from God. The Holy Scriptures give us a safe and profitable rule for thought and conversation. “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” If we would have our children practice kindness, courtesy, and love, we ourselves must set them the example.
14 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind.” It “thinketh no evil,”—another fruit borne on the tree of love. Our souls must be stayed upon God, imbued with his Spirit, if we learn these sacred lessons. Said the apostle, “Gird up the loins of your mind.” If the thoughts are rightly disciplined, it will be a far less difficult task to control the feelings. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, will give us courage, hope and constancy. Shall we not obey the teachings of God’s word? Shall we not make it our guide and counselor? Shall we not devote time and thought to its perusal? How can Christians neglect the book in which God has revealed his will to men? Our children need help to understand the Scriptures. They should become acquainted with the life and character of Jesus, that they may love him, and choose to obey him.
15 Parents and guardians must themselves maintain purity of heart and life, if they would have their children pure. They must give the needed instruction, and in addition to this, they must exercise unceasing watchfulness. Every day new thoughts are awakened in the minds of the young, new impressions made upon their hearts. The associations they form, the books they read, the habits they cherish—all must be guarded. The interests of your children, for this life and the next, are at stake.
“What now you do, you know not,
But shall hereafter know,
When the seeds your hands are sowing,
To a ripened harvest grow.”
16 When you stand before the great white throne, then your work will appear as it is. The books are opened, the record of every life made known. Many in that vast company are unprepared for the revelations made. Upon the ears of some, the words will fall with startling distinctness, “Weighed in the balance, and found wanting.” To many parents the Judge will say in that day, “You had my word, plainly setting forth your duty. Why have you not obeyed its teachings? Knew ye not that it was the voice of God? Did I not bid you search the Scriptures, that you might not go astray? You have not only ruined your own souls, but by your pretensions to godliness you have misled many others. You have no part with me. Depart, depart!”
17 Another class stand pale and trembling, trusting in Christ, and yet oppressed with a sense of their own unworthiness. They hear with tears of joy and gratitude the Master’s commendation. The days of incessant toil, of burden-bearing, and of fear and anguish, are forgotten, as that voice, sweeter than the music of angel harps, pronounces the words, “Well done, good and faithful servants, enter ye into the joy of your Lord.” There stand the host of the redeemed, the palm branch of victory in their hand, the crown upon their head. These are the ones who by faithful, earnest labor, have obtained a fitness for Heaven. The life-work performed on earth is acknowledged in the heavenly courts as a work well done.
18 With joy unutterable, parents see the crown, the robe, the harp, given to their children. The days of hope and fear are ended. The seed sown with tears and prayers may have seemed to be sown in vain, but their harvest is reaped with joy at last. Their children have been redeemed.
19 Fathers, mothers, shall the voices of your children swell the song of gladness in that day?
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20 Dear brethren and sisters who shall assemble in our camp-meetings, Jesus will do great things for us, if we will faithfully perform our duty. We must yield our will to the will of God. We must honor the Lord by obeying all his commandments, even in what we term little things. The truth, like its divine Author, is unchangeable in its requirements, the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is not in harmony with the traditions of men, it does not conform to their opinions. The truth has ever brought a separation between God’s people and the world. But if our position in former years, as a peculiar people, was approved of God, how does he regard our present position? Have we gained in spirituality since we departed from our early simplicity? “Ye are living epistles, known and read of all men.” It was our Saviour’s mission to “purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” To his disciples he says, “Ye are the light of the world.” And the apostle Paul declares, “We are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.”
21 Every person will reveal in his life all the faith that he possesses. Our dress, our conversation, our house, our associates, all bear testimony to the world with greater force than words can have. “Faith is made perfect by works,””but faith without works is dead.” We profess to be giving to the world the last message of mercy. Is our daily life in harmony with our profession?
22 A form of godliness is popular in the world. A profession of Christianity costs little. There are but few who choose the way of self-denial, the way of the cross. A few, only, with the apostle, bear about in their bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus, desiring to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified. But God’s blessing will attend the faithful few. He will make them channels of light to the world.
23 Those who conduct our camp-meetings should from the very beginning of each meeting, teach others how to work. This is wise generalship. The labor should not be permitted to come wholly upon the ministers, for this will deprive the people of the education which they need. They should feel that a responsibility rests upon them to engage in the meetings in the tents. There is work that all can do, and should do to help others, and in doing thus they help themselves. The reason why so many are dying spiritually is that they are slothful servants, do-nothings. Would they go to work, they would increase in spiritual strength.
24 The work before us is great. Probation is soon to close. The wrath of God is about to be poured upon the earth. The sweet voice of mercy will soon cease to be heard. Every servant of the True Shepherd will realize the perils of this time, and will labor earnestly to bring souls to Christ. We must not depend on theory. The most conclusive arguments are not sufficient in themselves. Our only hope is to reach the people through God. The Bible is the sure word of prophecy, whereunto we do well that we take heed; but those who labor in word and doctrine must have a vital connection with God, a deep and living experience. While clear and convincing arguments appeal to the understanding, the Spirit of God abiding in the heart of the minister, must speak to the hearts of those who hear.
25 As a rule, ministers are too formal. We must show the people that we are in earnest, not merely in the desk, but out of the desk; that we fully and solemnly believe the truths we preach. If we wish them to feel, we must feel ourselves. Some ministers are adopting the customs of other churches, copying their habits and manner of labor. With many, pulpit preaching is mechanical, a mere trade. They do not kindle their taper at the divine altar. They do not have the unction from on high. The shepherds of the flock should be earnest, vigilant, and active now; the end is nearer than when we first believed. The people have a right to ask, Watchman, what of the night? Satan would have them sleep until the time for the salvation of sinners is past. Let the trumpet give a certain sound.
26 Let not our camp-meetings be occasions for visiting and feasting. They should be occasions of heart-searching, deep humiliation, earnest, agonizing prayer. The judgments of God are about to fall upon the unsheltered head of the sinner. We have no time now to seek worldly honor, no time to exalt self, to indulge pride or ambition. “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth that he may judge his people.” How shall we stand in that day when heaven and earth shall hear the voice of God calling to judgment?
27 When each thought, and word, and motive, is revealed as it stands registered in the books of Heaven, when every soul shall be tried by the one perfect standard, the law of God, how will our case stand? When God makes inquisition for the blood of souls, when the undershepherds gather with their flocks around the great white throne, where will those stand with whom we have been associated, whom we have influenced? In that day, may it be seen that we have done well the work committed to our hands. May our voices swell the glad chorus. E. G. White.
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1 The present age is marked by an alarming prevalence of infidel and atheistic tendencies. To successfully resist the tide of evil, God’s people should give diligent heed to the instruction and counsel of his word. Its precious examples of faith, its warnings against unbelief, will, if rightly heeded, arm us with divine power to repel the attacks of Satan.
2 The healing of the impotent man at Bethesda has a lesson of priceless worth to every Christian, a lesson of solemn and fearful import to the unbelieving and the skeptical. As the paralytic lay beside the pool, helpless and well-nigh hopeless, Jesus drew near and asked, in tones of pity, “Wilt thou be made whole?” Be made whole!—this had been the burden of his desire and prayers for long, weary years. With trembling eagerness he told the story of his efforts and disappointments. No friend was at hand to bear him with sturdy arm into the healing fountain. His agonizing appeals for help fell unheeded; all around him were those who sought for their own loved ones the coveted boon. When at the troubling of the waters he painfully sought to reach the pool, another would be hurried down before him.
3 Jesus looked upon the sufferer, and said, “Arise, take up thy bed, and walk.” There was no assurance of divine help, no manifestation of miraculous power. What marvel, had the man made answer, “It is impossible! How can I be expected now to use my limbs, that have not obeyed my will for thirty-eight years?” From a merely human stand-point, such reasoning would appear consistent. The sufferer might have given place to doubt, and thus have permitted that God-given opportunity to pass unimproved. But no; without a question, he seized his only chance. As he attempted to do what Christ had commanded, strength and vigor came; he was made whole.
4 Would you, doubting reader, receive the blessing of the Lord? Cease to question his word and distrust his promises. Obey the Saviour’s bidding, and you will receive strength. If you hesitate, to enter into a discussion with Satan, or to consider the difficulties and improbabilities, your opportunity will pass, perhaps never to return.
5 The miracle at Bethesda should have convinced all beholders that Jesus is the Son of God. But the Jews desired only a pretext for unbelief, and it was not hard to find what they sought. At Christ’s command, the paralytic had borne away the simple mat on which he had lain; and now Satan, ever ready with his insinuations, suggested that this act might be construed into a violation of the Sabbath. The Jews had perverted this sacred rest-day from its original design by their customs and traditions, making its observance a burden rather than a blessing. It was hoped that a controversy on this point would destroy the faith inspired in some hearts by our Saviour’s act of healing.
6 As the restored one went on his way with quick, elastic step, his pulses bounding with the vigor of renewed health, his countenance glowing with hope and joy, he was met by the Pharisees, who told him, with an air of great sanctity, that it was not lawful to carry his bed on the Sabbath day. There was no rejoicing at the deliverance of that long-imprisoned captive, no grateful praise that One was among them who could heal all manner of disease. Their traditions had been disregarded, and this closed their eyes to all the evidence of divine power.
7 Bigoted and self-righteous, they would not admit that they could have misapprehended the true design of the Sabbath. Instead of criticising themselves, they chose to condemn Christ. We meet with men of the same spirit today, who are blinded by error, and yet flatter themselves that they are right, and all who differ from them are in the wrong.
8 The man on whom the miracle had been wrought, entered into no controversy with his accusers. He simply answered, “He that had power to make me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.” The Pharisees, pretending ignorance, still urged, “What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?” It was their policy to question and cavil, that they might perplex and entangle him, and lead him to doubt, or else cast discredit upon his testimony.
9 When the Jews were informed that it was Jesus of Nazareth who had performed the miracle of healing, they openly sought to put him to death, “because he had done these things on the Sabbath day.” These pretentious formalist were so full of zeal for their own traditions, that to sustain them they were ready to violate the law of God!
10 To their charges, Jesus replied calmly, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Through the operations of nature, and by the ministration of angels, God is constantly working to sustain and bless humanity. I am working in perfect harmony with my father.” This answer furnished another pretext to condemn him. Murder was in their hearts, and they waited only for a plausible excuse to take his life. But Jesus steadily continues to assert his true position. “The Son can do nothing of himself but what he seeth the Father do. Whatsoever things he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. The Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that he himself doeth.”
11 Ample evidence had been presented, on which to base their faith in Christ, yet all who desired to doubt and cavil found opportunity. And what was the occasion of that murderous outbreak against Christ? A poor sufferer had been made whole! No better excuse have the cavilers of our time. God works through whom he will, by ways and means of his own choosing; but there are ever some to act the part of the criticising Pharisees. They cannot deny that the power of God is manifested through his servants; but still, in some points, the work does not accord with their ideas. If with their finite judgment they can find but the semblance of an excuse, they are free to challenge and disbelieve.
12 In the carrying forward of his work in the earth, and the manifestation of his power, God does not consult the will or imperfect judgment of men. His plans and methods may be directly opposite to those approved by human wisdom. If men would criticise and condemn the Saviour’s work, when they had such evidence of divine power as the miracle at Bethesda, can we wonder that they criticise and condemn those through whom he works today? Unbelief will always find an excuse for its existence. God designs that men shall believe, not because there is no possibility of doubt, but because there is abundant evidence for faith. Christ bade the Pharisees, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.” The Jewish teachers professed to be expounders of God’s word; but had they prayerfully studied and rightly understood its teachings, they would not have substituted their own traditions for the law of Jehovah.
13 The Saviour continued, “Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.” “Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings how shall ye believe my words?” Those who begin by doubting and disbelieving the Old Testament, will come to doubt and disbelieve the New. We cannot afford to slight or neglect any of the provisions of God’s grace, any of the manifestations of his Spirit. Those who do not gratefully accept and improve the warnings, counsel, or reproofs of divine mercy, will little by little come to regard them with indifference. They feel that it is optional with themselves to receive or reject the light from Heaven. Like the Jews in Christ’s day, they reject the clearest evidence, because they find some pretext for doubt, something to criticise.
14 Thus are many in their pride and self-conceit placing themselves where no divine influence can reach them. By persistently cherishing doubt, they lose all power to believe. The Holy Spirit is slighted until its influence is no longer felt. Thus is cut off the means by which God has chosen to communicate with men. He has in reserve no more potent agency through which to reach them. In their own estimation, they are wiser than their Creator. Light has become darkness to them, and how great is that darkness!
15 The word of God is looked upon with distrust for the same reason as was its Author—because it reproves and condemns sin. Those who are unwilling to obey its requirements, endeavor to overthrow its authority. Many read the Bible, or listen to its words as presented from the sacred desk, merely to find fault with the Scriptures or with the sermon. Not a few become infidels, simply through their willful neglect of duty. Others are led to adopt skeptical principles from pride or indolence. They do not love close application. They will not put forth the effort necessary to accomplish anything noble or really useful. But they desire to be thought sharp and critical, to secure a reputation for superior wisdom. Turning their attention to the Bible, they find much which the finite mind, unenlightened by the wisdom from above, is powerless to comprehend, and they begin to doubt and cavil.
16 The indolent man invites Satan’s temptations, while those who are actively engaged in some useful calling have neither time nor inclination to cherish doubts or indulge repining. Adam in holy Eden was commanded to labor, and he found in this employment one of the greatest blessings of his sinless existence. If the would-be skeptics of our time would apply themselves to honest, useful toil, they would enjoy improved spiritual as well as physical health.
17 Many consider it a virtue to doubt; and they delight in finding something in the Scriptures to puzzle the minds of others. They do not realize that they are thus entangling themselves in the snare of the fowler. There is a bewitching power in skepticism. Unbelief and stubbornness usually go hand in hand. When a man has once yielded to this deception of Satan, it will be found well-nigh impossible to break the spell.
18 There are some who at first criticise and reason on the wrong side, from a mere love for controversy. But having openly expressed unbelief, they feel that they must maintain their position. Thus they unite with the ungodly, and close to themselves the gates of Paradise.
19 We encounter skeptics not only in the world, but in the church. When the people of God assemble to worship him, there Satan intrudes his presence. Wherever there is a religious interest, there the poor souls that have been entangled in his snare may be found zealously working for their master. On almost every camp-ground may be seen little groups gathered here and there, eagerly listening to what some doubter or infidel has to say. Here the skeptic is in his element. He delights to talk. He has studied the Bible with the sole object of finding passages which he can use to trouble and perplex other minds. Some Christians feel it their duty to defend the word of God, and they enter into controversy with the skeptic—rather with Satan and his angels, who speak through him. This is just what the Prince of darkness and his agents desire. The infidel has nothing to lose, however the discussion may terminate; but the Christian suffers an immeasurable loss when his confidence in God’s word is lessened.
20 These scoffers at sacred things may utter many sharp, witty, apt sayings, but “the poison of asps is under their lips.” The father of lies lends them his power and his Satanic cunning. Christians should avoid controversy with these men. We may feel that we are in no danger from their influence, but others will gather about to listen, and some soul may be led into the path of doubt and skepticism. Treat them kindly, but give them no opportunity to parade their infidelity. Give no place for Satan to insinuate his presence. Do not take one step on the enemy’s ground.
21 God would have his people shun the society of infidels, atheists, and spiritualists. He has warned us of their character and their fate: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” “The transgressors shall be destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off.”
22 Satan will endeavor to destroy the faith of every follower of Christ. He comes to some as a roaring lion. To others he appears in angel garments, his voice subdued to the gentlest whisper. Our only safety is to cling with unwavering faith to the word of God, and promptly and resolutely to shun whatever that word condemns, it matters not how pleasing its appearance, or how specious its pretenses.
23 There are some professed Christians who are always weak, always desponding. They permit themselves to be constantly harassed by doubts, and seem to think they must always remain in this condition. These persons might be free, did they but realize their danger, and put forth an effort to escape from the snare of Satan. Let them cease to give utterance to their doubts. Every unbelieving word strengthens their own tendency to doubt, and plants the evil seed in the minds of others. Whatever we choose to sow, that we must reap. If the farmer sows wheat, he will reap wheat. If he sows thistle seed, his harvest will consist only of thistles.
24 Light and darkness, truth and error, are before us. We are free to choose. God will never remove all excuse for unbelief. Those who look for hooks to hang their doubts upon, will find them close at hand. It is far easier to suggest doubts than to inspire faith. Because the natural heart is at enmity with God, a greater effort is required to believe than to doubt the word of the Most High. And Satan himself opposes everything that would strengthen faith.
25 There is one course which all must pursue who honestly desire to be freed from doubts. They are cherishing some indulgence forbidden by the word of God, or neglecting some duty enjoined therein. Let those who complain that they walk in darkness, give heed to the light which already shines upon them, and they will receive greater light. Let them do every duty which has been made plain to their understanding, and they will be enabled to understand and perform those of which they are now in doubt. “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.”
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1 “Wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”
2 The opinion is widely held, that spirituality and devotion to God are detrimental to health. While this conclusion is radically false, it is not without apparent foundation. Many who profess to be Christians are ever walking under a cloud. They seem to think it a virtue to complain of depression of spirits, great trials, and severe conflicts.
3 But these persons do not correctly represent the religion of the Bible. So far from being antagonistic to health and happiness, the fear of the Lord lies at the foundation of all real prosperity. “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile; depart from evil, and do good, seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”
4 The consciousness of right-doing, is the best medicine for diseased bodies and minds. He who is at peace with God has secured the most important requisite to health. The blessing of the Lord is life to the receiver. The assurance that the eye of the Lord is upon us, and his ear open to our prayer, is a never-failing source of satisfaction. To know that we have an all-wise friend, to whom we can confide all the secrets of the soul, is a privilege which words can never express.
5 The gloom and despondency supposed to be caused by obedience to God’s moral law, is often attributable to disregard of his physical laws. Those whose moral faculties are beclouded by disease, are not the ones to rightly represent the Christian life, to show forth the joys of salvation, or the beauties of holiness. They are too often in the fire of fanaticism, or the water of cold indifference or stolid gloom.
6 The Saviour of mankind declared, “I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life;” and he bade his disciples, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” It is the duty of every Christian to follow closely the example of Christ; to cultivate peace and hope and joy, which will be manifested in unfeigned cheerfulness, and habitual serenity. Thus may they shed light upon all around them, instead of casting the dark shadow of discouragement and gloom.
7 Many are constantly craving excitement and diversion. They are restless and dissatisfied when not absorbed in mirth, frivolity, and pleasure-seeking. These persons may make a profession of religion, but they are deceiving their own souls. They do not possess the genuine article. Their life is not hid with Christ in God. They do not find in Jesus their joy and peace.
8 The vain and trifling amusements of the world may divert for a time, but when the excitement is past, when the mind reflects, and conscience arouses and makes her voice heard, then the pleasure-seeker feels how powerless are his pursuits to give health to the body or peace to the soul.
9 Undue excitement is invariably followed by corresponding depression. Transgression yields only disappointment and remorse. Those who walk in the path of wisdom and holiness, will not be troubled with vain regrets for their misspent hours; they will not need to plunge into the round of gayety or dissipation to banish gloomy or harassing thoughts. Useful, active labor that quickens the circulation and gives strength to the muscles, will also give tone and vigor to the mind, and will prove a most effective agent in the restoration of health.
10 The religion of Christ is first pure, then peaceable, full of righteousness and good fruits. Such religion is needed in the world today. Many young persons who profess to be followers of Christ, are indulging in romantic sentimentalism which is deteriorating in its influence, and dangerous in its tendency. They indulge day-dreaming and castle-building, and thus squander their precious hours, and unfit themselves for usefulness.
11 With great self-complacency many flatter themselves that if circumstances were only favorable they would do some great and good work. They do not view things from a correct stand-point. They have lived in an imaginary world, and have been imaginary martyrs, and imaginary Christians. Their character is destitute of sterling virtue, and real stamina.
12 Young ladies of this class sometimes imagine that they possess exquisite delicacy and refinement of character, and a keenly sensitive nature, which must receive sympathy and encouragement from all around them. They put on an appearance of langour and indolent ease, and imagine that they are not appreciated. These sickly fancies are an injury to themselves and to others.
13 Despondent feelings are frequently the result of undue leisure. Idleness gives time to brood over imaginary sorrows. Many who have no real trials or hardships in the present, are sure to borrow them from the future. If these persons would seek to lighten the burdens of others, they would forget their own. Energetic labor that would call into action both the mental and physical powers, would prove an inestimable blessing to mind and body.
14 Invalids should not allow themselves to sink down into a state of inaction. This is highly detrimental to health. The power of the will must be asserted; aversion to active exercise, and the dread of all responsibility must be conquered. They can never recover health, unless they shake off this listless, dreamy condition of mind, and arouse themselves to action.
15 There is much deception practiced under the cover of religion. Passion controls the minds of many who flatter themselves that they have reached high spiritual attainments. Their experience consists of idle fancies and love-sick sentimentalism, rather than of purity and true goodness.
16 The mind should be trained to look away from self, to dwell upon themes which are elevated and ennobling. Let not the precious hours of life be wasted in dreaming of some great work to be performed in the future, while the little duties of the present are neglected.
17 The heart must be in the work or it will drag heavily; whatever it may be. The Lord tests our ability by giving us small duties to perform. If we turn from these with contempt or dissatisfaction, no more will be intrusted to us. If we take hold of them with cheerfulness, and perform them well, greater responsibilities will be committed to our trust.
18 Talents have been committed to us, not to be squandered, but to be put out to the exchangers, that at the Master’s coming he may receive his own with usury. These talents have not been unjustly distributed. God has dispensed his sacred trusts according to the known ability of his servants. “To every man his work.”
19 As he bestows his gifts upon each, he expects from each a corresponding return. If we faithfully perform our duty, the amount intrusted to us will be increased, be it large or small. All who thus prove their fidelity, will be accounted as wise stewards, and will be intrusted with the true riches, even the gift of everlasting life.
20 “No man liveth to himself.” True happiness will not be found by those who live merely for self-gratification. He who would secure the highest, and most satisfactory enjoyment of this life, as well as a right hold upon the future immortal life, must make it his highest aim to glorify God, and do good to his fellow-men. “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily, and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
21 “Pure religion before God and the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” True religion ennobles the mind, refines the taste, and sanctifies the judgment. It makes the soul a partaker of the purity of Heaven, brings angels near, and separates more and more from the spirit and influence of the world.
22 It reveals to man an infinite and all-wise Protector, a Redeemer from sin, a Comforter in sorrow, a Light in darkness, a Guide in obscurity. It invites man to become a son of God, an heir of Heaven. It fills the soul with “joy unspeakable, and full of glory.”
23 This precious gift of Heaven is freely offered to all who will accept it. Our brightest hopes, our loftiest aspirations can ask nothing more complete, more noble, more exalted. The tokens of infinite love, the pleadings of divine mercy, are ever wooing us to turn to God. “Why do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live.”
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
The institutions of human society find their best models in the word of God. For those of instruction in particular, there is no lack of both precept and example. Lessons of great profit, even in this age of educational progress, may be found in the history of God’s ancient people.
2 The Lord reserved to himself the education and instruction of Israel. His care was not restricted to their religious interests. Whatever affected their mental or physical well-being, became also an object of divine solicitude, and came within the province of divine law.
3 God commanded the Hebrews to teach their children his requirements, and to make them acquainted with all his dealings with their people. The home and the school were one. In the place of stranger lips the loving hearts of the father and mother were to give instruction to their children. Thoughts of God were associated with all the events of daily life in the home dwelling. The mighty works of God in the deliverance of his people were recounted with eloquence and reverential awe. The great truths of God’s providence, and of the future life, were impressed on the young mind. It became acquainted with the true, the good, the beautiful.
4 By the use of figures and symbols, the lessons given were illustrated, and thus more firmly fixed in the memory. Through this animated imagery the child was, almost from infancy, initiated into the mysteries, the wisdom, and the hopes of his fathers, and guided in a way of thinking and feeling and anticipating, that reached beyond things seen and transitory, to the unseen and eternal.
5 From this education many a youth of Israel came forth vigorous in body and in mind, quick to perceive and strong to act, the heart prepared like good ground for the growth of the precious seed, the mind trained to see God in the words of revelation and the scenes of nature. The stars of heaven, the trees and flowers of the field, the lofty mountains, the babbling brooks, all spoke to him, and the voices of the prophets, heard throughout the land, met a response in his heart.
6 Such was the training of Moses in that lowly cabin home in Goshen; of Samuel, by the faithful Hannah; of David, in the hill- dwelling at Bethlehem; of Daniel, before the scenes of the captivity separated him from the home of his fathers. Such, too, was the early life of Christ, in the humble home at Nazareth; such the training by which the child Timothy learned from the lips of his “mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois,” the truths of the Holy Writ.
7 Further provision was made for the instruction of the young, by the establishment of the “school of the prophets.” If a youth was eager to obtain a better knowledge of the Scriptures, to search deeper into the mysteries of the kingdom of God, and to seek wisdom from above, that he might become a teacher in Israel, this school was open to him.
8 These institutions were missionary seminaries, designed to maintain a higher standard of morals and religion at a period when the deplorable condition of degeneracy and corruption called loudly for such reformatory effort. The aged Eli had dishonored the Lord by his neglect to restrain and control his children. These degenerate sons called license liberty, and under the cover of their holy office practiced the most debasing sins. The character of these men as leaders of the nation, indicates clearly the state of things existing at that time. Had Eli restrained his excessive fondness for his sons, and performed his duty to them as a father and a priest, theirs had been a nobler life and a happier fate. They might have been an honor to their father, the crown of the nation, and the guardians of the sanctuary. But their crimes had polluted the ordinances of the Lord, and corrupted his people. To prevent the moral degeneracy from becoming universal, he resorted to a speedy and powerful remedy. Divine justice destroyed the father and the sons.
9 Then amid the moral darkness there shone forth once more the light of purity and holiness and truth. The chosen leader was a youthful Levite, whose infant years had been guarded by a faithful, praying mother, whose boyhood had been unsullied by the surrounding corruption. Samuel was now invested by the God of Israel with the threefold office of judge, prophet and priest. Placing one hand in the hand of Christ, and with the other taking the helm of the nation, he holds it with such wisdom and firmness as to preserve Israel from destruction.
10 By Samuel, the schools of the prophets were established, to serve as a barrier against the widespread corruption, and to promote the moral and spiritual welfare of the youth. These schools proved a great blessing to Israel, promoting that righteousness which exalteth a nation, and furnishing it with men qualified to act, in the fear of God, as leaders and counselors. In the accomplishment of this object, Samuel gathered companies of young men who were pious, intelligent, and studious. These were called the sons of the prophets. As they communed with God and studied his word and his works, they were imbued with wisdom from above, as well as richly endowed with intellectual treasures. The instructors were men not only well versed in divine truth, but those who had themselves enjoyed communion with God, and had received the special endowment of his spirit. They enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people, both for learning and piety.
11 In Samuel’s day there were two of these schools—one at Ramah, the home of the prophet, and the other at Kirjath-jearim, where the ark then was. Two more were added in Elijah’s time, at Jericho and Bethel, and others were afterward established at Samaria and Gilgal.
12 The pupils of these schools sustained themselves by their own labor as husbandmen and mechanics. In Israel this was not considered strange or degrading; indeed it was regarded a crime to allow children to grow up in ignorance of useful labor. In obedience to the command of God, every child was taught some trade, even though he was to be educated for holy office. Many of the religious teachers supported themselves by manual labor. Even so late as the time of Christ, it was not considered anything degradable that Paul and Aquila earned livelihood by their labor as tent-makers.
13 The chief subjects of study in these schools were, the law of God with the instructions given to Moses, sacred history, sacred music, and poetry. The manner of instruction was far different from that in the theological schools of the present day, from which many students graduate with less real knowledge of God and religious truth than when they entered. In those schools of olden time, it was the grand object of all study to learn the will of God and the duties of his people. In the records of sacred history, were traced the footsteps of Jehovah. From the events of the past were drawn lessons of instruction for the future. The great truths set forth by the types and shadows were brought to view, and faith grasped the central object of all that system, the Lamb of God who was to take away the sins of the world.
14 The Hebrew language was cultivated as the most sacred tongue in the world. A spirit of devotion was cherished. Not only were students taught the duty of prayer, but they were taught how to pray, how to approach their Creator, how to exercise faith in him, and how to understand and obey the teachings of his Spirit. Sanctified intellects brought forth from the treasure-house of God, things new and old.
15 The Spirit of God was signally manifested in these seminaries, in prophecy and sacred song. Upon one occasion a company of prophets met Saul at the “hill of God,” not far from Gibeah, with psaltery and tabret, pipe and harp. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, these men were prophesying and praising God with the music of instruments and the voice of song. The Spirit of the Lord and his converting power came also upon Saul, and he prophesied with them.
16 The art of sacred melody was diligently cultivated in those schools of the prophets. No frivolous waltz was heard, nor flippant song that should extol man and divert the attention from God; but sacred, solemn psalms of praise to the Creator, exalting his name and recounting his wondrous works. Thus music was made to serve a holy purpose, to lift the thoughts to that which was pure and noble and elevating, and to awaken in the soul, devotion and gratitude to God.
17 How different the objects to which musical talent is often devoted! How many who profess this gift employ it to honor and exalt self, instead of glorifying God! A love for music leads the unwary to unite with world-lovers in pleasure gatherings where God has forbidden his children to go. Thus that which is a great blessing when rightly used, becomes one of Satan’s most successful agencies to allure the mind from God and from eternal things.
18 Music forms a part of God’s worship in the courts above. We should endeavor in our songs of praise to approach as nearly as possible to the harmony of the heavenly choirs. I have often been pained to hear untrained voices, pitched to the highest key, literally shrieking the sacred words of some hymn of praise. How inappropriate those sharp, rasping voices for the solemn, joyous worship of God. I long to stop my ears, or flee from the place, and I rejoice when the painful exercise is ended.
19 Those who make singing a part of divine worship should select hymns with music appropriate to the occasion, not funeral notes, but cheerful yet solemn melodies. The voice can and should be modulated, softened, and subdued.
20 The proper training of the voice should be regarded as an important part of education. The singer should train himself to utter every word distinctly. It should be remembered that singing as a part of religious service is as much an act of worship as is the prayer. The heart must feel the spirit of the words, to give them right expression. Parents should not employ to instruct their children, a teacher of music who has no reverence for sacred things, nor should they allow them to learn and practice dance songs and frivolous music.
21 How wide the difference, between the schools of ancient times, under the supervision of God himself, and our modern institutions of learning. Few schools are to be found that are not governed by the maxims and customs of the world. There are few in which a Christian parent’s love for his children will not meet with bitter disappointment.
22 In what consists the superior excellence of our systems of education? Is it the classical literature which is crowded into our sons? Is it in the ornamental accomplishments which our daughters obtain at the sacrifice of health or mental strength? Is it in the fact that modern instruction is so generally separated from the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation? Does the chief excellence of popular education consist in treating the individual branches of study, apart from that deeper investigation which involves the searching of the Scriptures, and a knowledge of God and the future life? Does it consist in imbuing the minds of the young with heathenish conceptions of liberty, morality, and justice? Is it safe to trust our youth to the guidance of those blind teachers who study the sacred oracles with far less interest that they manifest in the classical authors of ancient Greece and Rome?
23 “Education,” remarks a writer, “is becoming a system of seduction.” The most bitter feelings, the most ungovernable passions, are excited by the course of unwise and ungodly teachers. There is a deplorable lack of proper restraint and judicious discipline. The minds of the young are easily excited, and drink in insubordination like water.
24 The existing ignorance of God’s word, among a people professedly Christian, is alarming. The youth in our public schools, have been robbed of the blessings of holy things. Superficial talk, mere sentimentalism, passes for instruction in morals and religion; but it lacks the vital characteristics of real godliness. The justice and mercy of God, the beauty of holiness, and the sure reward of right-doing; the heinous character of sin, and the certainty of punishment, —these great truths are not impressed upon the minds of the young.
25 Skepticism and infidelity, under some pleasing disguise, or as a covert insinuation, too often find their way into school books. In some instances, the most pernicious principles have been inculcated by teachers. Evil associates are teaching the youth lessons of crime, dissipation, and licentiousness that are horrible to contemplate. Many of our public schools are hot-beds of vice.
26 How can our youth be shielded from these contaminating influences? There must be schools established upon the principles, and controlled by the precepts, of God’s word. Another spirit must be in our schools, to animate and sanctify every branch of education. Divine co-operation must be fervently sought. And we shall not seek in vain. The promises of God’s word are ours. We may expect the presence of the heavenly Teacher. We may see the Spirit of the Lord diffused as in the schools of the prophets, and every object partake of a divine consecration. Science will then be, as she was to Daniel, the handmaid of religion; and every effort, from first to last, will tend to the salvation of man, soul, body, and spirit, and the glory of God through Christ.
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The first form of government over men was established by God himself, and acknowledged him as the only Sovereign. He made known his will by written commands and revelations, by messages to his chosen servants, by dreams, by signs, and wonders. He would have continued to be their king, had they content with his paternal care.
2 At the beginning, the father was constituted priest and magistrate of his own family. Then came the patriarchal rule, which was like that of the family, but extended over a greater number. When Israel became a distinct people, the twelve tribes, springing from the twelve sons of Jacob, had each a leader. These leaders, or elders, were assembled whenever any matter that pertained to the general interest was to be settled. The high priest was the visible representative of Christ, the Redeemer of his people. When the Hebrews settled in Canaan, judges were appointed, who resembled governors. These rulers were invested with authority to declare war and proclaim peace for the nation; but God was still the recognized king of Israel, and he continued to reveal his will to these chosen leaders, and to manifest through them his power.
3 But increase of population, and intercourse with other nations, brought a change. The Israelites adopted many of the customs of their heathen neighbors, and thus sacrificed to a great degree, their own peculiar, holy character. Their worship became less earnest and sincere. Gradually they lost their reverence for God, and ceased to prize the high honor of being his chosen people. Dazzled by the pomp and display of heathen monarchs, they tired of their own simplicity, and desired to be freed from the rule of their Divine Sovereign. As they departed from the Lord, the different tribes became envious and jealous of one another. Strife and dissensions increased, until it was vainly imagined that the installation of a king was the only means by which harmony could be restored.
4 The government of Israel had never been conducted with so great wisdom and success as under Samuel’s sole administration. In no previous ruler had the people reposed so implicit confidence. He had labored with untiring and disinterested zeal for the highest good of the nation. In every transaction he had been governed by justice and benevolence. And not only was his course wholly unselfish, but he was often inattentive to his own dues and rights. Hence, the selfishness manifested by his sons appeared more striking in contrast with the course of their faithful father.
5 The arrogance and injustice of these judges caused much dissatisfaction among the people, who were far more troubled by dangers threatening their temporal interests than they had been by the profligacy and sacrilege of Hophni and Phinehas. Ere long many who considered themselves aggrieved presented their complaints to the elders of Israel. A pretext was thus furnished for urging the change which had long been secretly desired.
6 Had Samuel been informed on the unjust course of his sons, he would at once have removed them, and appointed others, more upright, in their place. When, however, the complaint against his sons was laid before him, followed immediately by the petition for a king, Samuel saw that the real motive was discontent and pride. He perceived that the desire did not spring from a sudden impulse, but was the result of long deliberation and a determined purpose.
7 The petitioners were careful to state that they could find no fault with Samuel’s administration; but they urged that he would soon be too old to serve them, and his sons had given evidence that they could not be trusted. Despite these explanations and professions of regard, Samuel was deeply wounded. He looked upon the request as a censure upon himself, and a direct effort to set him aside. But he did not reveal his feelings. He uttered no reproaches because of the ingratitude of the people. Had he done this, one bitter recrimination might have wrought great harm.
8 Samuel carried this new, and to him difficult matter to the Lord in prayer, and sought counsel alone from him. His petitions were heard; “and the Lord said unto Samuel, hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.” The prophet was reproved for grieving at the conduct of the people toward himself as an individual. They had not manifested disrespect for him, but for the authority of God, who had appointed the rulers of his people.
9 The days of Israel’s greatest prosperity had been those in which they acknowledged Jehovah as their king,—when the laws and the government which he had established were regarded as superior to those of all other nations. Moses himself in his last address, appealed to Israel, “What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?”
10 And yet, notwithstanding the Lord had so often wrought mightily for their deliverance, the Israelites were now disposed to attribute all their disasters to their manner of government. The Lord permitted his people to follow their own course, because they refused to be guided by his counsels. Hosea declares that God gave them a king in his anger. In their pride they desired to be like other nations, not considering that with the pomp of royalty they must endure also its tyranny and exaction. This would be a bitter exchange for the mild and beneficent government of God.
11 It is a hazardous step to place the scepter in the hands of finite man, and crown him monarch. God understands the human heart far better than men understand it themselves. A departure from the Lord’s wise arrangement would pervert authority into tyranny, and subjection into slavery. Even if a ruler were naturally merciful and benevolent, unlimited power over his fellow-men would tend to make him a despot. Such power God alone is able to use with justice and wisdom.
12 The Lord had, through his prophets, foretold that Israel would be governed by a king. But it by no means follows that this form of government was according to his will. Though he foresees all things, he often permits men to take their own course, when they refuse to be guided by the counsels of infinite wisdom. In this instance, he instructed Samuel to grant their request, but to faithfully warn them of the Lord’s disapproval, and also make known what would be the result of their course: “Now therefore hearken unto their voice. Howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.”
13 Samuel accordingly assembled the people, and faithfully represented to them the burdens which they would have to bear under a king, and the contrast between such a state of oppression and their present comparatively free and prosperous condition. He reminded them that their king would imitate the pomp and luxury of other monarchs, to support which, grievous exactions upon their persons and property would be necessary. He would take the young men for charioteers and horsemen, and would even employ some to run before and about his chariots. A standing army would require their services; and they would also be required to till his fields, to reap his harvest, and to manufacture for his service instruments of war.
14 The daughters of Israel, who should become the centers of happy homes, would be taken for confectioners and bakers, to minister to the luxury of the royal household. To support his kingly state he would find pretexts to seize upon the best of their lands, bestowed upon the people by Jehovah himself. The most valuable of their servants also, and of their cattle, would he take and “put them to his own work.”
15 Besides all this, an oppressive taxation would be instituted. The people already gave to the Lord a tenth of all their income, the profits of their labor, or the products of the soil. The king would require an additional tithe of all. “Ye shall be his servants,” concluded the prophet. “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
16 But the people were bent upon following their own course. The solemn warnings from God, through his aged prophet, had no effect to turn them from their purpose. They returned the answer, “Nay; but we will have a king over us, that we may also be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”
17 “Like other nations”—the Israelites did not realize that to be in this respect unlike other nations was a special privilege and blessing. God had separated Israel from every other people, to make them his own peculiar treasure. But they, disregarding this high honor, eagerly desired to imitate the example of the heathen. What blindness! What ingratitude!
18 With deep sadness, Samuel listened to the words of the people, and then he again sought divine guidance. And the Lord said unto Samuel, “Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king.”
19 The prophet had done his duty. He had faithfully presented the warning, and it had been rejected. He could say no more. With a heavy heart he dismissed the people, and himself departed to prepare for the great change in the government.
20 Would that this passage in Israel’s history had no counterpart in the present experience of God’s people! But alas, we see it frequently repeated! A discontented desire for change, a longing to conform to worldly plans and worldly customs, too often controls even professed Christians. As they depart from God, they become ambitious for the gains and honors of the world. Those who stand firm against conformity to the world, discouraging pride, superfluity, and extravagance, and enjoining humility and self-denial, are looked upon as critical, peculiar, and severe. Some argue that by uniting with worldlings and conforming to their customs, Christians might exert a stronger influence in the world. But all who pursue this course thereby separate from the source of their strength. Becoming friends of the world, they are the enemies of God.
21 The dissatisfied longing for worldly power and display, is as difficult to cure now as in the days of Samuel. Christians seek to build as worldlings build, to dress as worldlings dress,—to imitate the customs and practice of those who worship only the god of this world. The instructions of God’s word, the counsels and reproofs of his servants, and even warnings sent directly from his throne, seem powerless to subdue this unworthy ambition. When the heart is estranged from God, almost any pretext is sufficient to justify a disregard of his authority. The promptings of pride and self-love are gratified at whatever expense to the cause of God.
22 The unconsecrated and world-loving are ever ready to criticise and condemn those who have stood fearlessly for God and the right. If a defect is seen in one whom the Lord has intrusted with great responsibilities, then all his former devotion is forgotten, and an effort is made to silence his voice and destroy his influence. But let these self-constituted judges remember that the Lord reads the heart. They cannot hide its secrets from his searching gaze. God declares that he will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing.
23 The most useful men are seldom appreciated. Those who have labored most actively and unselfishly for their fellow-men, and who have been instrumental in achieving the greatest results, are often repaid with ingratitude and neglect. When such men find themselves set aside, their counsels slighted and despised, they may feel that they are suffering great injustice. But let them learn from the example of Samuel not to justify or vindicate themselves, unless the Spirit of God unmistakably prompts to such a course. Those who despise and reject the faithful servant of God, not merely show contempt for the man, but for the Master who sent him. It is God’s words, his reproofs and counsel, that are set at naught; his authority that is rejected.
24 When men persist in following their own course, without seeking counsel from the Lord, he often grants their desires, in order to reveal their folly or punish their iniquity. When they lightly esteem the words of his servants, he may permit the voice of counsel and warning to be silenced. But human pride and wisdom will be found a dangerous guide. That which is most desired by the unconsecrated heart will prove the most painful and bitter in the end.
25 Let the servants of God carry their burdens to their compassionate Redeemer. His ear is ever open to their prayers. His eye notes every sacrifice and every sorrow. The neglect and injustice which they endure here will but make their reward greater in the coming day.
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1 While a monarchial form of government for Israel had been foretold in prophecy, the regulation had been established that only those should be raised to the throne who were chosen by Jehovah himself. The Hebrews still so far respected the authority of God as to leave the selection entirely to his hands. The choice fell upon Saul, a son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 The personal qualities of the future monarch were such as to gratify that pride of heart which prompted the desire for a king. There was not a goodlier person than he among all the people of the hills. Of a noble and dignified bearing, in the full prime of life, comely and tall, he appeared like one born to command. Yet with all these external attractions, Saul was destitute of those higher qualities which constitute true wisdom. He had not in youth learned to control his rash, impetuous passions; he had never felt the renewing power of divine grace.
3 Saul was the son of a powerful and wealthy chief, yet in accordance with the primitive simplicity of the times, he was engaged with his father in the humble duties of a husbandman. A herd of the father’s cattle having strayed upon the mountains, Saul was sent with a servant to seek for them. For three days the search was fruitless, and then, finding themselves near Ramah, the home of Samuel, the servant proposed that they inquire of the prophet concerning the missing property: “I have here the fourth part of a shekel of silver; that will I give to the man of God to tell us our way” This was not intended as a bribe; it was customary for a person in approaching a superior in rank or office to make him a small present, as an expression of courtesy and respect.
4 Approaching the city, they made inquiry for the seer, of some young maidens who had come out to draw water. In reply they were informed that a religious service was about to take place, that the judge had already arrived, there was to be a sacrifice upon the “high place,” and after that a select feast.
5 A great change had taken place under Samuel’s administration. The worship of God was maintained throughout the land, and the people manifested an interest in religious services. The ark still remaining at Kirjath-jearim, and there being no services in the tabernacle, sacrifices were for the time offered elsewhere; and the cities of the priests and Levites, where the people resorted for instruction, were chosen for this purpose. The highest points in these cities were usually selected as the place of sacrifice, and were hence denominated the “high place.”
6 On the present occasion a peace-offering was to be presented before the Lord, with fervent prayer for his acceptance, and for his blessing on the service as a means of spiritual good to the worshipers. Then, a blessing having been invoked upon that part of the sacrifice which had been reserved for the people, all would unite in a sacred feast. While establishing the external forms of religion, Samuel ever sought to encourage a spirit of true devotion. These services were not permitted to degenerate into a mere ceremony, or to become an occasion of self-gratification. Rightly conducted, they promoted real piety as well as a spirit of kindliness and sympathy among the people.
7 At the gate of the city, Saul was met by the prophet himself. God had revealed to Samuel that at that day and that hour the destined king of Israel should present himself before him. As they now stood face to face, the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold the man whom I spake to thee of. This same shall reign over my people.”
8 The request of Saul, “Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is,” Samuel replied, “I am the seer,” assuring him also that his father had found the lost cattle, and had now begun to be anxious about his son. Nevertheless he urged him to tarry with him and attend the feast, at the same time giving some intimation of the great destiny before him.
9 Saul replied, with modest self-depreciation. “Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Wherefore then speakest thou so to me?
10 About thirty of the principal men of the city had been invited to attend the feast, and Samuel conducted the stranger to the room where these guests were assembled, gave him the seat of honor, and when the meat was served he directed that the most honorable joint, the shoulder, be set before him.
11 Upon returning to his home in the city, Samuel repaired with his guest to the housetop, as the place of greatest quiet and seclusion, and there talked with him, setting forth the great principles on which the government of Israel had been established, and thus seeking to prepare him in some measure for his high position.
12 When Saul departed, early the next morning, the prophet walked forth with him. After a time, Samuel directed the servant to pass on, and then bidding Saul stand still that he might show him the purposes of God, he anointed him captain over the Lord’s inheritance. Then he kissed him, and to strengthen his faith, told him with great exactness the various incidents which would occur on the homeward journey, and assured him that he would be qualified by the Spirit of God for the important station awaiting him.
13 As Saul went on his way, he witnessed the fulfillment of the prophet’s words. Near Rachel’s sepulcher, in the border of Benjamin, he was informed that the lost animals had been found. In the plain of Tabor he met three men who were traveling to the place of sacred stones at Bethel, to worship God there. One of them carried three kids for sacrifice, another three loaves of bread, and the third a leather bottle of wine, for the offering-feast. They gave Saul the usual salutation, and also presented him with two of the three loaves of bread.
14 As Saul went on to Gibeah in Benjamin, he perceived a company of prophets returning from the high place where they had been to worship; and as they went, they sang the praise of God to the music of the pipe and the harp, the psaltery and the tabret. Then the Spirit of God rested upon Saul, and he joined the prophets, and with them sang the praise of the Most High and declared the wonders of divine truth. He spoke with so great fluency and wisdom, and joined so earnestly in the services of prayer and praise, that those who had known him only as the untaught husbandman exclaimed in wonder, “What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? “They could not understand how so great a transformation had been effected.
15 Samuel had founded the first regular establishments for religious instruction and the unfolding of the prophetic gifts. Among the chief subjects of study, were the law of God with the instructions given to Moses, sacred history, sacred music, and poetry. In these “schools of the prophets” young men were educated by those who were not only well versed in divine truth, but who themselves maintained close communion with God and had received the special endowment of his Spirit. These educators enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people both for learning and piety. The power of the Holy Spirit was often strikingly manifest in their assemblies, and the exercise of the prophetic gift was not unfrequent. These schools, or colleges, were of untold value to Israel, not only as providing for the dissemination of religious truth, but as preserving the spirit of vital godliness.
16 As Saul united with the prophets in their worship, a great change was wrought in him by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. The light of divine purity and holiness shone in upon the darkness of moral depravity. He saw himself as he was before God. He saw and felt the beauty of holiness. He was now to commence in earnest the warfare against sin and Satan, and he was made to feel that in this conflict his strength must come wholly from God. The plan of salvation, which had before seemed dim and uncertain, was opened to his understanding with great clearness and power. That experience which some Christians have been years in obtaining was gained by Saul in a short time. The Lord endowed him with courage and wisdom for his high position. He revealed to him the source of strength and grace, and then, having enlightened his understanding as to the divine claims, and his own duty, he left him free to obey the light which he had received.
17 The fact that Saul had been anointed king over Israel was not then made known to the nation. The choice of God was to be publicly manifested by lot. For this purpose Samuel convened the people at Mizpeh. Earnest prayer was offered for divine guidance; then followed the solemn ceremony of casting the lot. In breathless silence the assembled multitude awaited the issue. The tribe, the family, and the household were successively designated, and then Saul, the son of Kish, was pointed out as the individual chosen. But Saul was not to be found. Assured of the result, and burdened with a sense of the grave responsibility about to fall upon him, he had remained apart from the assembly.
18 When his retreat was discovered, he was led before the congregation, and they observed with pride and satisfaction that he was of kingly bearing and noble form, being “higher than any of the people, from his shoulders and upward.” And even Samuel proclaimed him to the assembly with the words, “See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people!” In response to his words, one long, loud shout of joy arose from that vast throng, “God save the king!”
19 Samuel then set before the people “the manner of the kingdom,” stating the principles upon which the monarchial government was based, and by which it should be controlled. The king was not to be an absolute monarch, but to hold his power in subjection to the will of the Most High. This address was recorded in a book, wherein were set forth the prerogatives of the prince and the privileges to be accorded to the people. Samuel knew that a king would be inclined to assume undue authority, and he guarded as far as possible the liberties of the nation.
20 The people in general acknowledged Saul as their king, and brought him such presents as Oriental monarchs usually receive. But there was still a party who were displeased and discontented. That a king should be chosen from Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes of Israel, to the neglect of Judah and Ephraim, the most numerous and most powerful, was a slight which they could not brook. They refused to profess allegiance to Saul or to bring him the customary presents. He however took no notice of their insults, but wisely “held his peace.” In the existing condition of affairs he did not see fit to assume royal dignity and power. Leaving Samuel to administer the government as formerly; he returned to his home at Gibeah. He was honorably escorted thither by a company, who, seeing the divine choice in his selection, were determined to sustain him.
21 Those who had been most urgent in their demand for a king, were the very ones who refused to accept with gratitude the man of God’s appointment. Their expectations were not realized. They looked for a king to be inaugurated with great pomp and display; failing in this, they felt that little had been gained. Envy and jealousy burned in the hearts of many. Each had his favorite whom he had wished to see placed upon the throne, and several among the leaders had hoped themselves to occupy that exalted position. All the efforts of pride and ambition had resulted in disappointment and discontent. It is ever thus. The heart must learn to submit to God, in order to be at peace.
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1 Saul had been chosen by God and acknowledged by the nation as king of Israel; yet he made no attempt to maintain his right to the throne. In his home among the uplands of Benjamin he quietly occupied himself in the duties of a husbandman, and left the establishment of his authority entirely to the hand of God. It was not to be long deferred. Soon after his election, the Ammonites, under their king, Nahash, invaded the disputed territory east of the Jordan, and threatened the large and powerful city of Jabesh-gilead. The inhabitants endeavored to secure terms of peace by offering to become tributary to the Ammonites. But the barbarous and cruel king refused to spare them, except on condition that he might put out the right eye of every one of them, that they might remain as so many living monuments of his power.
2 The people of the besieged city begged a respite of seven days for deliberation, hoping that during this time the tribes on the west side of the river might be summoned to their deliverance. The Ammonites consented, reasoning that if the matter were thus made public it would greatly increase the honor of their expected triumph.
3 Swift messengers spread the tidings through Israel, creating wide-spread terror and consternation. Saul, returning with his herds from the field, heard the loud wail that told of some great calamity. He said, “What aileth the people that they weep?” When the shameful story was repeated, all his dormant powers were roused, and he stood up as a hero and a king. “The Spirit of God came upon him,” as on Samson, and “he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen.”
4 All Israel obeyed. Three hundred and thirty thousand men gathered on the plain of Bezek, under the command of Saul. Messengers were immediately sent to apprise the people of Jabesh-gilead that they might expect help on the morrow, the very day on which they were to yield up their eyes to the Ammonites.
5 By marching all night, the king appeared with his army before Jabesh-gilead in the morning. He then divided his force into three companies, which approached the camp of the Ammonites upon different sides, and making a sudden and vigorous attack, completely routed them, with great slaughter. Those who escaped were so scattered that no two could be found together.
6 By the king’s promptitude and energy upon this occasion, as well as his bravery and military skill, the people were far more strongly influenced in his favor than they had been by the Lord’s appointment, Samuel’s anointing, or his own prepossessing appearance. They now, by universal acclamation, greeted him as their king, attributing all the honor of the victory to human skill, and forgetting that without God’s special blessing all their efforts would have been in vain.
7 In their enthusiasm, some proposed to put to death those who had at first refused to submit to the new sovereign. But the king interfered, saying, “There shall not a man be put to death this day; for today the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel.” Here Saul gave evidence of the great change which had taken place in his character. Instead of taking honor to himself, he gave the glory to God, to whom it rightfully belonged. Instead of showing a desire for revenge, as would have been natural, he manifested a spirit of compassion and forgiveness. This is unmistakable evidence that the grace of God dwells in the heart.
8 Samuel now proposed that the people go to Gilgal, and there solemnly confirm the kingdom to Saul, all opposition to his authority seeming now to have ceased. This was done, with great rejoicing, and abundant sacrifices of thanksgiving.
9 Gilgal was memorable as the place of Israel’s first encampment in the promised land. Here Joshua set up the pillar of twelve stones to commemorate the miraculous passage of the Jordan; here the manna ceased; here circumcision was renewed; here the people kept the first passover after their wanderings; here the Captain of the Lord’s host appeared. From this place they marched to the overthrow of Jericho and the conquest of Ai. Here Achan met the direful penalty of his sin, and here was made that unwise treaty with the Gibeonites which punished Israel’s neglect to ask counsel of God. Upon this plain, so rich in thrilling associations, stood Samuel and Saul; and when the shouts of welcome to the king had died away, the aged prophet spoke to the people his parting words as ruler of the nation.
10 Lest the blessings granted to Israel should lead them to justify all their proceedings, Samuel took this occasion to admonish them that their course had been most displeasing to God. He also vindicated his own conduct and the purity of his administration. He called upon the people to cite one instance of fraud, oppression, or corruption, while he alone was their judge:—
11 “Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said to me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you; and I am old and gray-headed; and behold, my sons are with you; and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe, to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it to you.”
12 Without one dissenting voice, the people replied, “Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man’s hand.”
13 Samuel had a higher object than merely to justify his own course. He had previously endeavored to set forth the principles which should govern both the king and the people, and he now desired to present before them an instructive example. From childhood, he had borne responsibilities in the work of God, and during his long life, one object had been ever before him,— the glory of God and the highest good of Israel. This had been apparent to the whole nation, and all now bore testimony to his integrity and faithfulness.
14 The honor accorded him who is concluding his work is of far more worth than the applause and congratulations which those receive who are just entering upon their duties, and who have yet to be tested. One may easily lay off his burdens, when even the enemies of truth acknowledge his fidelity. But how many of our great men close their official labors in disgrace, because they have sacrificed principle for gain or honor. The desire to be popular, the temptations of wealth or ease, lead them astray. Men who connive at sin may appear to prosper; they may triumph because their undertakings seem crowned with success; but God’s eye is upon these proud boasters. He will reward them as their works have been. The greatest outward prosperity cannot bring happiness to those who are not at peace with God or with themselves.
15 It may at times be necessary for the servant of God to vindicate his own character, and to defend his course, that the Lord’s name may be glorified, and the truth be not reproached. Let all who are treated with neglect or injustice, follow the example of Samuel, taking care not to make self prominent, but to maintain the honor of God. Let the injured one, instead of dwelling upon the wrongs which he has suffered, show the people how they have wounded Christ in the person of his servant. Many hearts would thus be led to humiliation and repentance, when if personal feelings were aroused, they would be as hard as stone.
16 Unless men constantly cherish mercy, compassion, and love, Satan will encourage a fault-finding, selfish spirit which will crowd these precious graces out of the soul. Those who have toiled long and unselfishly in the cause of God, should not be surprised if they are at last set aside. Many a man through whom God has wrought to achieve great results, whose influence has been felt east and west, north and south, is at last rewarded with neglect or cruel contempt. Ingratitude is natural to the unrenewed heart. No man is faultless, and many are ready to find some excuse for condemning or reproaching the one who has served them unselfishly. They forget that they themselves may be guilty of sins far more offensive in the sight of God than those of which they accuse his worn, wearied, and perplexed servant.
17 It seems to us strangely inconsistent and almost incredible that a man of Samuel’s sterling virtue, integrity, and devotion could have been set aside for one who was wholly untried, and who had been well-nigh a stranger to God’s cause and to his people. Yet we see the same course often repeated. The chosen of God, who might long have continued in his service, doing the good that they desired to do, are prevented because mercy, love, and gratitude are excluded from the hearts of their brethren. When the faithful laborers are no longer permitted to hold a leading position, let them instruct those who will appreciate their efforts. Let them do all the good they can do in any capacity. They have not received their commission from men, but from God. It is he who has given them their work. If they are shut out from all other avenues of usefulness, they can pray. They have proved the Lord again and again; they are familiar with his word, and can claim his promises. God hears their intercessions.
18 We should learn to honor those whom God honors. Those who have toiled long and unselfishly for his cause should be ever treated with respect and tenderness, even though it may be evident that they cannot perform the work which they once could, or, that they sometimes err in judgment. Notwithstanding their imperfections, these very men may be far more useful in the work of God, than those who would criticise and reject them. All have defects of character. All need the help of God every hour, or they will decidedly fail.
19 Samuel rehearsed to Israel the leading events in their past history, the wonderful manifestations of divine power, and the evidence of his favor in establishing them as his peculiar people. He reminded them of their transgressions in departing from God, and seeking to imitate the example of surrounding nations; he pointed to the judgments which had been visited upon them for their sins, and the gracious deliverances which their repentance had secured. All their calamities had been brought upon them by rebellion against God. Their prosperity was secured by obedience. Yet when threatened by their enemies, they had not made God their trust, but had demanded a king to stand at the head of their armies. Samuel had sought to encourage them to rely upon their Divine Helper, and had even volunteered to lead them out to battle himself; but they had obstinately rejected his proposition.
20 Now the Lord had granted their desire, and set a king over them; yet their prosperity would still depend upon their obedience to God. Notwithstanding their sin, the Lord would pardon and bless them if they would from this time manifest true repentance and fidelity. “But,” said the prophet, “if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.”
21 As a proof of the truth of his words, and also as evidence of the Lord’s displeasure, Samuel called down thunder and rain from heaven. It being the time of wheat harvest, when the air is usually serene and mild, the people were greatly terrified at this manifestation, and they confessed their sin, and entreated the prophet’s prayers in their behalf. They now saw that God had greatly honored the man whom they had rejected; and they felt for the time being that they had made a great mistake in their opposition to the Lord’s wise arrangement.
22 Samuel did not leave the people in a state of discouragement. He knew that this would prevent all effort for a better life. They would look upon God as unforgiving and severe, and thus would be exposed to manifold temptations. Such is not the character of our gracious God. He is merciful and forgiving, ever willing and anxious to show favor to his people when they will hear and obey his voice. Said the prophet, “Fear not; ye have done all this wickedness; yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; and turn not ye aside; for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the Lord will not forsake his people.” Samuel also assured the people of his continued intercession in their behalf, and also of his services as judge and teacher. He ended his address with the warning, “But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.”
23 Samuel’s life of purity and unselfish devotion to God’s cause, was itself a perpetual rebuke both to scheming, self-serving priests and elders and to the proud, sensual congregation of Israel. Although he assumed no pomp and encouraged no display, his labors bore the signet of Heaven. He was honored by the world’s Redeemer, under whose guidance he ruled the Hebrew nation. But the people became weary of his piety and devotion, despised his humble authority, and rejected him for a man who should rule them as a king.
24 In the character of Samuel we see reflected the likeness of Christ. The spotless purity of our Saviour’s life provoked the wrath of Satan. That life was the light of the world, and revealed the hidden depravity in the hearts of men. It was the holiness of Christ that stirred up against him the fiercest passions of profligate professors of godliness.
25 Christ came not with the wealth and honors of earth, yet the works which he wrought showed him to possess a greater power than that of any human prince. The Jews looked for a Messiah who should break the oppressor’s yoke, yet they cherished the sins which had bound it upon their necks. They would not bear Christ’s fearless rebuke of their vices. The loveliness of a character in which benevolence, purity, and holiness reigned supreme, which entertained no hatred except for sin, they despised. Had Christ cloaked their sins and applauded their piety, they would have accepted him as their king. They hated him because he waged war with pride, injustice, lust, and hypocrisy.
26 Thus it has been in every age of the world. The light from Heaven brings condemnation upon all who refuse to walk in it. It is the duty of every Christian to maintain the honor of God by his own unselfish, spotless life, and fearlessly to condemn sin in all its forms. Satan will make strong efforts to sweep from the earth those who uphold purity and piety. But a stronger than he draws nigh to the believing, trusting soul, and measures weapons with the prince of darkness. In every age there have been faithful men to stand as God’s witnesses in the earth. The present is a time of darkness and feebleness to the church; but this is because they are not united to Christ. The moral palsy upon professed Christians need not exist. They may have the vigor of perpetual youth, if they will put away their idols, and serve God with an undivided heart.
27 “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” The natural heart is as strongly opposed to God now, as in the days of Samuel or of Christ. When rebuked by the example of those who hate sin, hypocrites will become agents of Satan to harass and persecute the faithful. “But,” says the apostle, “what can harm you if ye be followers of that which is good?” Such have through faith been adopted into God’s family; they will become more than conquerors through Him who hath loved them.
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1 When Saul was crowned at Gilgal, the nation seemed unanimous in his support, and he felt that his throne was firmly established. He now dismissed to their homes the vast army that had arisen at his call to overthrow the Ammonites, reserving only two thousand men to be stationed under his command at Michmash, and one thousand to attend his son Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin.
2 Elated with the honor of the recent victory, Saul was disposed to relax his efforts. He preferred to enjoyment of ease and the pomp of royalty to the toil, uncertainty, and danger of the field of battle. Here was a serious error. While his army was filled with hope and courage, he should have proceeded at once to make war upon other enemies of Israel. By neglecting to do this, he lost the opportunity to strike a telling blow for the honor of God and the liberties of the nation.
3 Meanwhile their warlike neighbors, the Philistines, were active. After the defeat at Ebenezer, they had still retained possession of some hill fortresses in the land of Israel; and now taking advantage of the somewhat disorganized condition of the Hebrew nation, consequent upon the change in the government, these powerful foes had established themselves in the very heart of the country. Yet they were filled with fear at the defeat of the fierce and cruel Ammonites, and had they been attacked with the same courage and energy, they might then have been subdued.
4 In facilities, arms, and equipments, the Philistines had great advantages over Israel. During the long period of their oppressive rule, they had endeavored to strengthen their power, by forbidding the Israelites to practice the trade of smiths, lest they should make weapons of war. At the conclusion of peace, they had still kept the trade in their own hands, the Hebrews resorting to the Philistine garrisons for such work as needed to be done. Had the men of Israel possessed proper energy and foresight, they would, during the long interval of peace, have secured the services of skilled workmen, and furnished themselves with weapons of war. But love of ease, and the abject spirit induced by long oppression, controlled them. Hence they had suffered even their agricultural implements to become blunt, and none among the Israelites, except Saul and his son Jonathan, possessed a spear or sword.
5 It was not until the second year of Saul’s reign that an attempt was made to subdue the Philistines. The first blow was struck by Jonathan, who at the command of his father attacked and overcame their garrison of Geba. The Philistines were greatly exasperated by this defeat, and they made ready for a speedy attack upon Israel.
6 Saul was now aroused to the necessity of immediate action. He caused war to be proclaimed by the sound of the trumpet throughout the land, and also issued a proclamation calling upon all the men of war, including the tribes across the Jordan, to assemble immediately at Gilgal. This summons was obeyed.
7 The Philistines had gathered an immense force at Michmash—”thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is upon the sea-shore innumerable.” When the Hebrews became apprised of the strength and numbers of the opposing force, and then considered their own defenseless condition, they became terrified and disheartened. Every day saw the army of Saul diminishing, as multitudes of the people stole away to hide themselves in caves, thickets, and pits; and some even fled across the Jordan, to the land of Gad and Gilead. Those who still remained “followed him trembling.”
8 Where was now Israel’s pride and confidence in their king, demanded, as they had declared, “that we may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us and fight our battles’? Alas, how utterly worthless are all hopes based on human pomp or pride!
9 Samuel had appointed to meet the king at Gilgal, there to “offer burnt- offerings and sacrifices, and to show him what he should do.” The prophet did not arrive within the allotted time, and as Saul saw their dangers increasing, and the hearts of the people failing for fear, he became impatient. Instead of resorting to prayer, and humbling his soul before God, he determined to do something himself to relieve the difficulties of the situation.
10 Here is where many have failed, and continue to fail. They will not wait patiently for the Lord to work for them. They desire to be active, and if God does not give them something to do, they will venture to do even what he has forbidden. The Lord had detained his servant, in order to test the faith and obedience of the king. Saul did not stand the test. God had promised to be with him, if he would be obedient. He should have trusted this promise, and waited patiently for divine instruction and guidance. But thinking that something must be done at once to inspire the people with courage, he commanded them to bring forward their victims for sacrifice, and then he presumptuously took the place of priest, and himself offered them upon the altar. This act was a flagrant violation of the divine command that only those should offer sacrifice who had been sacredly consecrated to the work. Moreover, the public nature of the act, as well as the high position of the offender, added greatly to the pernicious influence of his example, and rendered prompt punishment indispensably necessary.
11 No sooner had Saul made an end of offering sacrifice, than he heard of Samuel’s approach, and went out to meet him. But though greeted with demonstrations of reverence and affection, the prophet understood that all was not right. In answer to his pointed inquiry, “What hast thou done?” Saul endeavored to excuse his own course, by depicting the terror of the people and the danger of an immediate attack from the Philistines. But the prophet returned the stern and solemn answer,—
12 “Thou hast done foolishly. Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee; for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue; the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou has not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.”
13 Saul’s transgression proved him unworthy to be intrusted with sacred responsibilities. One who had himself so little reverence for God’s requirements, could not be a wise or safe leader for the nation. Had he patiently endured the divine test, the crown would have been confirmed to him and to his house. In fact, Samuel had come to Gilgal for this very purpose. But Saul had been weighed in the balance, and found wanting. He must be removed to make way for one who would sacredly regard the divine honor and authority.
14 An all-wise God had foreseen these events, yet Saul’s threatened humiliation was chargeable only to his own sin and folly. God had given him great advantages to develop a right character. The Holy Spirit had enlightened his understanding, giving him clear views of the divine character and requirements, and of his own duty. All this made his sin more grievous.
15 Had Saul cherished the light which Christ had given him, he would have trusted less to the performance of religious rites, and would have felt more deeply the importance of humbling his heart before God. Impulse would have been guided by reason, and chastened and purified by conscience. But it is difficult for a man whose habits are fixed, to unlearn what he has for years been learning. Divine grace only can effect this transformation.
16 In the faithful performance of God’s will, all the powers of the mind, all the emotions of the heart, will be called forth into their noblest, purest, happiest exercise. Great are the privileges of the Christian, and great the change which must be wrought by the Holy Spirit, ere men sinful by nature can become the sons of God. Mental abilities and spiritual affections, the treasures of memory and the anticipations of hope, are alike to be sanctified by the spirit of Christ, and consecrated to his service. The life of Christ’s disciple is begun by faith and continued by obedience.
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1 The energy and military skill displayed by Saul in the victory of Jabesh-gilead were extolled by the whole nation. In their enthusiasm the people forgot that he was but the agent by whom the Lord had wrought for their deliverance. And though at first the king ascribed the glory to God, he afterward took honor to himself. When first called to the throne, he was humble and self-distrustful; but success made him self-confident, and ere long he was guilty of presumption and sacrilege, in offering the unbidden sacrifice at Gilgal.
2 The same blind self-confidence led him to reject Samuel’s message of reproof. Saul acknowledged Samuel to be a prophet sent from God. Hence he should have accepted the reproof, even though he could not himself see that he had sinned. Such a course, showing a willingness to be set right, would have gone far to re-instate him in the favor of God. But Saul endeavored to vindicate his own course, and blamed the prophet, instead of condemning himself.
3 There are today many who pursue a similar course. Like Saul, they are blinded to their errors. When the Lord seeks to correct them, they receive reproof as insult, and find fault with the one who brings the divine message.
4 Had Saul been willing to see and confess his error, this bitter experience would have proved a safeguard for the future. He would afterward have avoided the mistakes which called forth divine reproof. But feeling that he was unjustly condemned, he would, of course, be likely again to commit the same sin.
5 The Lord would have his people, under all circumstances, manifest implicit trust in him. Although we cannot always understand the workings of his providence, we should wait with patience and humility until he sees fit to enlighten us. We should beware of taking upon ourselves responsibilities which God has not authorized us to bear. Men frequently have too high an estimate of their own character or abilities. They may feel competent to undertake the most important work, when God sees that they are not prepared to perform aright the smallest and humblest duty.
6 Saul was in disfavor with God, and yet unwilling to humble his heart in penitence. He desired to devise some plan by which to establish more firmly his royal authority, as well as to revive the courage of the people. What he lacked in real piety, he would endeavor to make up in pretension and display. Saul was familiar with the terrible history of Israel’s defeat when the ark of God was brought into the camp by Hophni and Phinehas; and yet, knowing all this, he determined to send for the sacred ark and its attendant priests.
7 With a spirit of exultation he enters upon the accomplishment of his plans. He hopes to inspire the hearts of Israel with fresh courage, to reassemble his scattered army, and to vanquish the Philistines. He will now dispense with Samuel’s presence and support, and thus free himself from the prophet’s disagreeable criticisms and severe reproofs. He feels that Samuel does not rightly appreciate the position and authority of a king, and hence does not treat him with proper respect. He expects that Ahiah the priest will be awed by royal dignity, and will readily yield to the king as to a superior.
8 The Holy Spirit had been granted to Saul to enlighten his understanding and soften his heart. He had received faithful instruction and reproof from the prophet of God. And yet how great his perversity! The history of Israel’s first king presents a sad example of the power of early wrong habits. In his youth, Saul did not love and fear God; and that impetuous spirit, not early trained to submission, was ever ready to rebel against divine authority.
9 The lesson is one which all would do well to ponder. Men cannot for years abuse the noblest powers which God has given them for his service, and then, when they choose to change, find these powers fresh and free for an entirely opposite course. Those who in early life cherish a sacred regard for the authority of God, and who faithfully perform the duties of their position, will be prepared for higher service in after years. If we would conquer in the battle of life, we must take counsel of infinite wisdom, first and last and always.
10 Saul’s efforts to inspire the people with hope and courage proved unavailing. Finding his force reduced to six hundred men, he left Gilgal, and retired to the fortress at Geba, so lately taken from the Philistines. This stronghold was situated on the south side of a deep, rugged valley, or gorge, a few miles north of the site of Jerusalem. On the north side of the same valley, at Michmash, the Philistine force lay encamped, while detachments of troops went out in different directions to ravage the country.
11 On the one hand was a little company of almost unarmed men, on the other, vast numbers of well-drilled troops, with their thirty thousand chariots of iron. What marvel that the hearts of the men of Israel were filled with fear! God had permitted matters to be thus brought to a crisis, that he might rebuke the perversity of Saul, and teach his people a lesson of humility and faith.
12 Jonathan, the king’s son, a man who feared God, was chosen as the instrument to deliver Israel. Moved by a divine impulse, he proposed to his armor-bearer that they should make a secret attack upon the enemy’s camp. “It may be,” he urged, “that the Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord to work by many or by few.”
13 The armor-bearer, a man of faith and prayer, encouraged the design, and together they withdrew from the camp of Israel, secretly, lest their purpose should be opposed as presumptuous. With earnest prayer to the Guide of their fathers, they agreed upon a sign by which they might determine how to proceed. Then passing down into the gorge separating the two armies, and which here stretched out to half a mile in width, they silently threaded their way, under the shadow of the cliff, and partially concealed by the mounds and ridges of the valley. Approaching the Philistine fortress, they were revealed to the view of their enemies, who said tauntingly, “Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they have hid themselves,” then challenged them, “Come up, and we will show you a thing,” meaning that they would punish the two Israelites for their daring.
14 This challenge was the token which Jonathan and his companion had previously agreed to accept as evidence that the Lord would prosper their undertaking. Passing now from the sight of the Philistines, and choosing a secret and difficult path, the warriors made their way to the summit of a cliff before deemed inaccessible, and therefore not very strongly guarded. Thus they penetrated the enemy’s camp, and slew the sentinels, who were so overcome by surprise and fear as to offer no resistance.
15 The whole army was seized with consternation, which was increased by an earthquake miraculously occurring at the same time. The Philistines imagined that a vast army was upon them, and in their confusion they began to slay one another.
16 Soon the noise of the battle was heard in the camp of Israel. Upon inquiry it was found that none were absent but Jonathan and his armor-bearer. Saul at first desired to consult the Lord as to whether an attack should be made upon the Philistines; but the confusion among them evidently increasing, his impatient spirit could not brook delay. Marshaling his little force, he advanced against the enemy. The Hebrews who had deserted to the Philistines, now joined their fellow country-men; great numbers also came out of their lurking-places, and as the Philistines fled, discomfited, Saul’s army committed terrible havoc upon the fugitives.
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1 When Saul beheld the Philistines fleeing in terror from Michmash, he determined to make the most of his advantage. To avoid unnecessary delay, he forbade the pursuers to partake of food for the entire day, enforcing his command by the solemn imprecation, “Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies.”
2 The king might properly have warned his soldiers not to waste time in feasting upon the spoil of their enemies; but to deprive them of food for a whole day was unwise in the extreme. The long abstinence rendered them weak and exhausted at the very time when they should have been strong and courageous to push the battle against the foe. And then to confirm this inconsiderate prohibition by a solemn oath showed Saul to be both rash and profane. Such a course could not be prompted by a zeal for the glory of God. The king declares his object to be, not “that the Lord may be avenged on his enemies,” but only “that I may be avenged on mine enemies.” Yet the fact was, that Saul had no real share in the battle; the victory had been virtually gained without his knowledge or co-operation.
3 Fearing the kings’s displeasure, the soldiers refrained from partaking of the spoil of their enemies, and even from eating the wild honey which was found in great abundance as they passed through a forest. But Jonathan was ignorant of his father’s prohibition, and unwittingly transgressed by eating a little of the honey.
4 In the evening, being hungry, and faint with labor, many of the people hastily slew the cattle which they had taken, and ate the flesh with the blood, contrary to the law. Thus did Saul’s injudicious severity lead to disregard of the divine command. When, however, the monarch learned what was going on, he interposed his authority, and directed that a sacrifice be first offered unto the Lord, and then the animals be properly slaughtered and the blood separated, as the Mosaic law required.
5 When the people had satisfied their hunger, Saul proposed to continue the pursuit that night; but the priest suggested that it would be wiser first to ask counsel of God. This was done in the usual manner; but no answer came. Regarding this silence as a token of the Lord’s displeasure, Saul determined to discover the cause. Had he properly realized the sinfulness of his own course, he would have concluded that he himself was the guilty one. But failing to discern this, he gave command that the matter be decided by lot. “Draw ye near hither, all ye chief of the people, and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. For as the Lord liveth, which saveth Israel, though it were Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” The people listened in silence, their hearts thrilled with fear, as they saw the rash, impetuous spirit of their king.
6 Again the monarch commanded, “Be ye on one side, and I and my son Jonathan on the other.” The lot was cast; it fell upon Saul and Jonathan. Again it was cast, and Jonathan was taken. The Lord was pleased that the course of Jonathan should be brought to light, to manifest more fully the spirit of Saul. Thus the people would be led to see their great error in rejecting the government which God had given them. They had exchanged the pious prophet whose prayers had brought down blessings, for a king who in his blind zeal had prayed for a curse upon them.
7 When the lot fell upon Jonathan, the king demanded with great sternness, “What hast thou done?” Jonathan replied frankly, acknowledging the act, and deprecating the direful penalty. Now at last we might expect Saul to see and deplore his folly in making so rash a vow. Now, surely, paternal affection will rise superior to royal authority. But no; Saul wished his people to see that the justice of the king was superior to the affection of the father. He had not shared the honor of the victory; but he hoped now to secure honor by his zeal in maintaining the sacredness of his oath. Even at the sacrifice of his son, he would impress upon his subjects the fact that the royal authority must be maintained. How terribly significant the words which fell from that father’s lips,—”God do so, and more also; thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.”
8 At Gilgal, but a short time previous, Saul had presumed to officiate as priest, in direct violation of the command of God. When reproved by Samuel, he had stubbornly justified his own course. Now, upon the bare suspicion of sin in another—before the lots were cast—he had sworn that the offender should surely die; not considering whether the offense might not be a sin of ignorance, to be expiated by a sin-offering, instead of a willful transgression punishable with death.
9 When the offender is pointed out, and it is known that his only crime is the ignorant violation of an unreasonable requirement, the king and father coldly sentences his son to death. What a contrast between the boldness with which Saul himself violates the law of God and defies reproof, and the cruel severity manifested by him toward one whom God had honored!
10 The people refused to allow this unjust sentence to be carried into effect. They could see where the guilt belonged; that Saul himself was the one whom God was rebuking. Unheeding the anger of the king, they boldly declared, “Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid; as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day.” Noble decision! wise and courageous people! The proud monarch dared not disregard this unanimous verdict, and the life of Jonathan was preserved.
11 Saul could but feel that his son was preferred before him, both by the people and by the Lord. Jonathan’s deliverance was a severe reproof to the king’s rashness. He felt a presentiment that his curses would fall upon his own head. He did not longer continue the war with the Philistines, but returned to his home, moody and dissatisfied.
12 Those who are most ready to excuse or justify themselves in sin are often most severe in judging and condemning others. There are many today, like Saul, bringing upon themselves the displeasure of God. They reject counsel and despise reproof. Even when convinced that the Lord is not with them, they refuse to see in themselves the cause of their trouble. How many cherish a proud, boastful spirit, while they indulge in cruel judgment or severe rebuke of others really better in heart and life than they. Well would it be for such self-constituted judges to ponder those words of Christ: “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
13 To exalt self, to glory in what we have done or what we can do, is proof of extreme ignorance or folly. Those who have an undue estimate of themselves are often brought into positions where their true character will be developed. It was thus in the case of Saul. His own course convinced the people that kingly honor and authority were dearer to him than justice, mercy, or benevolence.
14 The Lord bears long with the waywardness of the children of men, and grants to all ample opportunity to see and forsake their sins. Yet he will maintain his own glory, and care for his own people; whatever the course of the rebellious and backsliding. He may appear to prosper those who disregard his will and despise his warnings; but in his own time he will surely make manifest their folly.
15 By one wrong decision, men may subject themselves to untold perils. One misstep may cost a lifetime of care, anxiety, and sorrow. Had not the men of Israel interposed to save the life of Jonathan, that intrepid warrior would have perished by the decree of their chosen leader. With what misgivings must that people afterward have followed Saul’s guidance! How bitter the thought that he had been placed upon the throne by their own act!
16 God’s people of today are in danger of committing errors no less disastrous. We cannot, we must not, place blind confidence in any man, however high his profession of faith or his position in the church. We must not follow his guidance, unless the word of God sustains him. The Lord would have his people individually distinguish between sin and righteousness, between the precious and the vile.
17 Those who labor faithfully and unselfishly in the cause of God should be highly esteemed for their works’ sake. We may, like the children of Israel, be tempted to exchange the devoted, self-sacrificing laborer for one who appears more pleasing, but whose faith and steadfastness are yet untried. Let us beware how we manifest ingratitude or contempt for those whom God has made burden-bearers in his cause. Those who smite the soldiers of the cross are smiting the hand of God that covers them as a shield.
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1 After delivering the reproof at Gilgal, Samuel had little intercourse with the king of Israel. Saul resented the prophet’s stern rebuke, and avoided him as far as possible; and Samuel did not intrude his presence or his counsel. But the Lord commanded him to bear another message to the king. God purposed again to work through Saul, to destroy the enemies of Israel.
2 Obeying this command, the prophet reminded him that he had been commissioned by the Lord to anoint him king, and that he still spoke by the same authority. Then he declared the divine message. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not.”
3 The Amalekites were a wandering people inhabiting the wilderness to the south of Palestine, between that country and Egypt. Like most of the neighboring tribes, they were idolaters, and bitter enemies of Israel. Soon after the exodus they attacked the Israelites in the desert of Rephidim, but were signally defeated by Joshua. The Amalekites were not among the nations whose lands were granted to Israel, nor had they received any injury from them. This assault was, therefore, wholly unprovoked. It was also most cowardly and cruel; the foe, not daring to risk an open encounter with the Hebrews, had attacked and slain those who from feebleness and exhaustion had fallen behind the body of the host.
4 Moses was commanded to preserve a record of the battle, and also of the final doom of that idolatrous people, as pronounced by God himself: “I will blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven, because [marginal reading] the hand of Amalek is against the throne of Jehovah.” The Lord of all the earth had fixed his throne in Israel, and had shown his glorious power and majesty in bringing the chosen people from their bondage in Egypt. When Amalek made an assault upon them, he attacked the throne of God, who determined to vindicate his authority, as a warning to all future generations.
5 After denouncing judgments against the Amalekites, the Lord waited long for them to turn from their evil ways; but they went on in sin until their iniquity had reached its height, till their day of probation ended, and divine justice demanded their destruction. That wicked people were dwelling in God’s world, the house which he had prepared for his faithful, obedient children. Yet they appropriated his gifts to their own use, without one thought of the Giver. The more blessings he poured upon them, the more boldly they transgressed against him. Thus they continued to pervert his blessings and abuse his mercy. They strengthened their souls in iniquity, but God kept silence; and they said in their hearts. “How doth God know? and is there knowledge with the Most High? “But the dark record of their crimes was constantly passing up to Heaven. There is a limit beyond which men may not go on in sin,—
“A hidden boundary between
God’s mercy and his wrath.”
6 When that limit had been passed, God arose in his indignation to put them out of the house which they had polluted.
7 Our gracious God still bears long with the impenitent. He gives them light from Heaven, that they may understand the holiness of his character, and the justice of his requirements. He calls them to repentance, and assures them of his willingness to forgive. But if they continue to reject his mercy, the mandate goes forth devoting them to destruction.
8 Thus was it with Sodom. Behold the fairest city of the plain, set in a garden of beauty. To human vision it is a scene of quietness and security. The fertile fields are clothed with harvests. There is an abundance for the supply of every want, almost without labor. The distant hills are covered with flocks. The merchants of the East bring their treasures from afar. The people live for pleasure and make one long holiday of the year.
9 Idleness and riches are their curse. They are absorbed in worldly pursuits and sensual gratification. Yet no visible token of God’s wrath hangs over the devoted city. Their last day is like many others that have come and gone. Their last night is marked by no greater sins than many others before it. But mercy, so long rejected, ceases at last her pleadings. The fires of divine vengeance are kindled in the vale of Siddim. The beautiful but guilty Sodom becomes a desolation, a place never to be built up or inhabited.
10 The flames which consumed the cities of the plain shed their warning light down even to our time. They bid us shun the sins that brought destruction upon the ungodly at that day.
11 God requires the service of all his creatures. Everything in nature obeys his will. The measureless heavens are ablaze with his glory. Of all that he has created upon the earth, only man rebels against the Creator. Puny, erring men, the creatures of an hour, dare to enter into controversy with the Eternal, the Source of all wisdom and all power. They who are constantly dependent upon God’s bounty, dare to spurn the Hand whence all their blessings flow. There is no ingratitude so sinful, no blindness so complete, as that of men who refuse to acknowledge their obligation to their God.
12 Not only are men dwellers in God’s great house, and partakers of his bounties, but they are the objects of his unceasing care and love. He makes it their privilege, through the righteousness of Christ, to call him Father. They may ask infinite blessings without exhausting the treasures of his grace. In their ignorance they may be guided by the counsels of unerring wisdom. In calamity they may shelter themselves beneath the shadow of his throne, and find safety in his secret place.
13 This mighty God pledges his immutable word that those who love and trust him shall not want any good thing. But he declares that he will surely punish the transgressors of his law. The wickedness of the race is not forgotten nor overlooked because God does not at once visit them with judgments. Each century of profligacy and rebellion is treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath.
14 When the scribes and Pharisees rejected the teachings of Christ, he bade them fill up the iniquity of their fathers, that it might be time for God to work; that the message of glad tidings might be given to others, who would joyfully receive it. When at last the divine forbearance was exhausted, God’s wrath fell signally upon a people who had rejected so great light.
15 The Lord does not delight in vengeance, though he executes judgment upon the transgressors of his law. He is forced to do this, to preserve the inhabitants of the earth from utter depravity and ruin. In order to save some, he must cut off those who have become hardened in sin. Says the prophet Isaiah: “The Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act.” The work of wrath and destruction is indeed a strange, unwelcome work for Him who is infinite in love.
16 Again, the divine message comes to Ezekiel: “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” The very fact of God’s unwillingness to punish sinners shows the enormity of the sins that call forth his judgments. And yet to every transgressor of his holy law is addressed that earnest, pleading call, “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?”
17 The records of sacred history declare, that while God is a God of justice, strict to mark iniquity, and strong to punish the sinner, he is also a God of truth, compassion, and abundant mercy. While he visits judgments upon the transgressors of his law and the enemies of his people, he will protect those who respect his statutes and show kindness to his chosen.
18 When he commanded that a war of extermination be waged against Amalek, he also directed that the Kenites, who dwell among them, should be spared, because they had shown mercy to Israel in their distress. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, and a prince among the Kenites, had joined Israel soon after the latter came out of Egypt. His presence and counsel at that time was of great value to the Hebrews. Moses afterward urged Hobab, the son of Jethro, to accompany them in their journeyings through the wilderness, saying: “We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you. Come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.”
19 Hobab declined, choosing to live in his own country and among his own people. But Moses knew that his brother-in-law was well acquainted with the country through which they were to pass, and that he could greatly assist them in their journey. He therefore earnestly entreated: “Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.” Hobab consented to this; but the journeyings of Israel over, he and his followers forsook the neighborhood of the towns, and betook themselves to freer air, to the wilderness of Judah, on the southern border of Canaan.
20 The promise of special protection and friendship given by Moses to the Kenites, was made by the direction of the Lord. Hence when Saul was commanded to destroy the Amalekites, special directions were given that the Kenites should be spared. Jethro and his family had been devoted worshipers of the true God; but though the Kenites were still friendly to Israel, and acknowledged the living God as the ruler of the earth, their religion had become corrupted with idolatry. After this time they degenerated more and more into heathenism, and their influence became a snare to the Hebrews. Hence they were finally visited with divine judgments.
21 Balaam, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, foretold the destruction of both the Kenites and the Amalekites: “When he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be that he perish forever. And he looked on the Kenites and took up this parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, and thou puttest thy rest in a rock. Nevertheless, the Kenites shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!”
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1 The defeat of the Philistines at Michmash seemed a turning-point in the fortunes of Israel. Though the Lord was displeased with Saul, and purposed to set aside his family, yet he granted him success in battle against the oppressors of his people. No enemy seemed able to stand against him. He made war in turn against Moab, Ammon, and Edom, and against the Amalekites and the Philistines; and wherever he turned his arms, he gained fresh victories. Yet, having missed the opportunity which God had granted him, he was never able permanently to subdue the Philistines. He had sore war with them all the days of his life.
2 When commanded to destroy the Amalekites, Saul did not for a moment hesitate. To his own authority was added the command of the prophet, and at the call to battle the men of Israel flocked to his standard. Two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah were numbered at Telaim. With this force, Saul attacked and defeated the king of Amalek, and overran the country.
3 This victory was by far the most brilliant which Saul had ever gained, and it served to kindle anew that pride of heart which was his greatest danger. The divine edict devoting the Amalekites to utter destruction was but partially executed. Ambitious to heighten the honor of his triumphal return by the presence of a royal captive, Saul ventured to spare Agag, the fierce and warlike king of Amalek.
4 This act was not without influence upon the people. They too felt that they might safely venture to depart somewhat from the Lord’s explicit directions. Hence they covetously reserved to themselves the finest of the flocks, herds, and beasts of burden, destroying only that which was vile and refuse.
5 Here Saul was subjected to the final test. His presumptuous disregard of the will of God, showing his determination to rule as an independent monarch, proved that he could not be intrusted with royal power as the Lord’s vicegerent. Unmindful of all this, Saul marshals his victorious army, and with the captive king and the long train of flocks and herds—a booty highly valued in the East—set out on the march homeward. At Carmel, in the possessions of Judah, he set up a monument of his victory.
6 While pride and rejoicing reigned in the camp of Saul, there was deep anguish in the home of Samuel. His intense interest for the welfare of Israel had not abated. He still loved the valiant warrior whom his own hands had anointed as king. It had been his earnest prayer that Saul might become a wise and prosperous ruler. When it was revealed to him that Saul had been finally rejected, Samuel in his distress “cried unto the Lord all night,” pleading for a reversal of the sentence. With an aching heart he set forth next morning to meet the erring king. But when he heard that Saul had erected a monument of his own exploits, instead of giving glory to God, he turned aside and went to Gilgal.
7 Thither the monarch with his army came to meet him. Samuel had cherished a longing hope that Saul might, upon reflection, become conscious of his sin, and by repentance and humiliation before God, be again restored to the divine favor. But the king came forward with great assurance, saying, “Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” Saul had so often followed his own will, regardless of the command of God through his prophet, that his moral perception had become dulled. He was not now conscious of the sinfulness of his course.
8 The sounds that fell upon the prophet’s ears, disproved the statement of the disobedient king. To the pointed question, “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” Saul made answer, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” The plea here urged was at best but an excuse for covetousness. The beasts saved from the spoil were to be offered by the Israelites in place of their own animals required for sacrifice.
9 The spirit which actuated Saul is evinced by the fact that when proudly boasting of his obedience to the divine command, he takes all the honor to himself; when reproved for disobedience, he charges the sin upon the people. Samuel was not deceived by the king’s subterfuge. With mingled grief and indignation he declares, “Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night.” Then he reminded Saul of his early humility: “When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?” He repeats the divine behest concerning Amalek, and demands from the king the reason for his disobedience.
10 Saul stubbornly persists in his self-justification; “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroy the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.” Had Saul himself obeyed the command of God, and enforced it upon the people with the same decision that he had manifested in carrying out his own decrees, he would have had no difficulty in securing obedience. God held him responsible for the sin which he basely endeavored to charge upon Israel.
11 In stern and solemn words the prophet of the Most High sweeps away the refuge of lies, and pronounces against Saul the irrevocable sentence: “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
12 As the king heard this fearful sentence, he cried out, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and thy words because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” Saul was filled with terror by the denunciation of the prophet, but he had, even now, no true sense of the enormity of his transgression. He still persisted in casting blame upon the people, declaring that he had sinned through fear of them.
13 This was the same excuse urged by Aaron to shield himself from the guilt of making the golden calf. But so far from accepting the excuse, Moses sternly rebuked Aaron, in the presence of all the people. As the high priest of Israel, and the representative of Moses in his absence, Aaron should at any risk have opposed the rash and godless designs of the people. His neglect to do this brought upon them sin, disaster, and ruin, which he was powerless to avert. While he found it easy to lead them into sin, he sought in vain to lead them to repentance. Moses afterward declared, “The Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him.” His sin would have been punished with death had he not in true penitence humbled himself before the Lord. Had Saul, in like manner, been willing to see and confess his sin, he too might have been forgiven.
14 It was not sorrow for sin, but fear of its penalty that actuated the king of Israel as he entreated Samuel, “I pray thee, pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”
15 “I will not return with thee,” was the answer of the prophet; “for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to leave, the king, in an agony of fear, laid hold of his mantle to hold him back, but it rent in his hands. Upon this, the prophet declared, “The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine that is better than thou.” And knowing how lightly his words had heretofore been regarded by the king, he adds the solemn assurance, “The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent.” Saul had gloried in his exploits, as though he were the deliverer of his people. The prophet rebukes this pride by reminding the haughty monarch that God was the strength of Israel.
16 Even now Saul fears only personal disgrace and the loss of his kingdom. He is far more disturbed by the alienation of Samuel than by the displeasure of God. He entreated Samuel to pardon his transgressions, as if the prophet had authority to reverse the divine sentence against him. He knew that the people had greater confidence in Samuel than in himself. Should another king be immediately anointed by divine command, he felt that his own case was hopeless. Should Samuel denounce and forsake him, he feared an immediate revolt among the people.
17 As a last resort, Saul entreated the prophet to honor him before the elders and the people by publicly uniting with him in the worship of God. Samuel remained, but only as a silent witness of the service. Without humility or repentance, Saul’s worship could not be accepted of the Lord.
18 An act of justice, stern and terrible, was yet to be performed. Samuel must publicly vindicate the honor of God, and rebuke the course of Saul. He commands that the king of the Amalekites be brought before him. Above all who had fallen by the sword of Israel, Agag was responsible as the upholder of the debasing heathenism of his people, and the instigator of their revolting cruelties; it was just that upon him should fall the heaviest penalty. He came at the prophet’s command, in the pride of royalty, flattering himself that he could overawe the servant of God, and that all danger of death was past. Samuel’s words dispelled his assurance: As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be made childless among women.” “And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord.” This done, Samuel returned to his home at Ramah, Saul to his at Gilgal. The prophet and the king were never to meet again.
19 Samuel was a man of great tenderness of spirit, and strong affections, as is evinced by the anguish which he felt when commanded to declare the divine sentence against Saul. Yet when required to execute justice against the wicked king of Amalek, he performed the unwelcome task unflinchingly. He would maintain his fidelity to God, however great the sacrifice of personal feeling.
20 How wide the contrast between the conduct of Samuel and the course pursued by the king of Israel. To serve his own purpose, Saul could be exceedingly cruel; but when divinely commissioned to destroy utterly a rebellious people, he smites only the lesser criminals, and spares the one upon whom the curse of God especially rested. In his pride of heart he flattered himself that he was more merciful than his Maker. By his course of action he declared the divine requirement unjust and cruel.
21 The case of Saul should be a lesson to us, that God’s word is to be respected and obeyed. All the crimes and calamities of ancient Israel resulted from their neglect to heed the instructions of their divine Ruler. Here is our danger. We must give diligent heed to what the Lord has spoken, even in apparently small matters. God requires his people not merely to assent to his word, but to obey it with all the heart. To comply with the Lord’s instructions when it is compatible with our own interests, and to disregard them when this best suits our purpose, is to pursue the course of Saul. Pride in our own achievements or a stubborn adherence to our own will, renders the most exalted profession or the most splendid service odious in the sight of God.
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1 “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” These words of reproof, addressed to the king of Israel by Samuel the prophet, contain a lesson that should be pondered by the people of God in every age. The sacrificial offerings of ancient times were of themselves of no value in the sight of God. Those who presented sacrifice before the Lord must have a true sense of its import, acknowledging their lost condition as sinners, and accepting the death of Christ in their behalf. They must repent of their transgressions of God’s law, and exercise faith in Jesus as the only one who could remove their guilt. When the offering of a sacrifice was substituted for true, willing, glad service to God, when it was regarded as having any virtue or merit in itself, or when the type was exalted above the object typified, then it became displeasing to the Lord.
2 Had Saul presented an offering of the greatest value, from his own flocks and herds, obeying in every particular the requirements of the law, yet in a spirit of self-sufficiency, and without true penitence, his offering would have been rejected. But when he offered the spoils of Amalek, upon which the divine curse had been pronounced, how utterly abhorrent must have been his course in the sight of a holy God. He had presumed, in the presence of all Israel, to show contempt for the authority of his Maker.
3 “To obey is better than sacrifice.” This lesson is of special importance at the present time, when the claims of God’s law are urged upon our attention. The light now shining from the sacred word reveals the fact that an alien power has tampered with the statutes of Jehovah. The papacy, “the man of sin,” has attempted to change the times and laws of divine appointment. The Creator of the heavens and the earth commanded, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” This command was enforced by the example of its Author, proclaimed with his own voice, and placed in the very bosom of the decalogue. But the papal power has removed this divine ordinance, and substituted a day which God has not sanctified, and upon which he did not rest, the festival so long adored by heathens as the “venerable day of the sun.”
4 In all this, Satan is the master spirit. He has no particular regard for Sunday, but he desires that his will shall be obeyed, rather than the will of God. It was Satan that incited Adam and Eve to transgress the command of their Maker, and he has continued this work even to our own day. We see the success of his attacks upon the law of God, in the wide-spread disregard for the ancient Sabbath of Jehovah, and the well-nigh universal veneration for the institution of heathenism and papacy. And we see the terrible results, in the skepticism which everywhere prevails. The Sabbath was instituted in Eden, as a memorial of creation. It points men directly to the true God as the Maker of the heavens and the earth. Thus it stands as a mighty barrier against idolatry, atheism, and infidelity. Had the Sabbath been universally kept, not one of these evils could have gained a foot-hold in our world. There could not have been an infidel nor an idolater.
5 Even the political regulations given to Moses when he was in secret council with Jehovah, contain important lessons for the people of every age. But the law proclaimed from Sinai in the hearing of assembled Israel, and written by the finger of God, is obligatory upon all men to the close of time.
6 When God commissioned Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites, he did not leave it to Saul’s judgment to destroy or keep alive as he should see fit. When he forbade our first parents to eat of the tree of knowledge, he did not leave it to them to eat or not to eat, as they pleased. When he commanded men to keep holy the seventh day, he did not make it optional with them to obey if convenient, and if not to sanctify a day of their own choosing.
7 Many endeavor to evade the claims of the fourth commandment by urging that the law of God was given to the Jews exclusively; that the seventh day of the week is the Jewish, while the first day is the Christian Sabbath. This distinction is not recognized in the Scriptures. There is no such contrast as is often claimed to exist between the Old and the New Testament, the law of God and the gospel of Christ, the requirements of the Jewish and those of the Christian dispensation. Every soul saved in the former dispensation was saved by Christ as verily as we are saved by him today. Patriarchs and prophets were Christians. The gospel promise was given to the first pair in Eden, when they had by transgression separated themselves from God. The gospel was preached to Abraham. The Hebrews all drank of that spiritual Rock, which was Christ. It was by Christ that the worlds were made. By Christ the law was proclaimed from Sinai. Hence, Christ is, in the fullest sense, as he declares himself to be, “Lord of the Sabbath.” He made the day sacred to himself, on which to receive the worship of angels and of men.
8 How dare any, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, trample upon its requirements? Saul stated, as an excuse for his transgression, that he “feared the people.” Are there not many in our day, even among the professed ministers of Christ, who could give no better reason for their course? Though the word of God is plain, they dare not offend the prejudices or arouse the fears of their hearers; therefore they let them go on unwarned in their violation of God’s law. In the day of final judgment the excuse of Saul will avail for them no more than it availed for him.
9 “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” Rebellion originated with Satan. Notwithstanding the exalted position which he occupied among the heavenly host, he became dissatisfied because he was not accorded supreme honor. Hence he questioned God’s purposes and impugned his justice. He bent all his powers to allure the angels from their allegiance. The fact that he was an archangel, glorious and powerful, enabled him to exert a mighty influence. His complaints against God’s government, at first met with no favor; yet being urged again and again, they were finally accepted by those who had before been loyal and happy subjects of the King of Heaven. There was not the shadow of justification or excuse for disaffection; but envy and jealousy, once cherished, gained a power that paralyzed reason and destroyed honor and loyalty. As the result, Satan and all his sympathizers were cast out of Heaven.
10 In his rebellion, Satan showed contempt for the authority of God, and virtually trampled upon every precept of his law. He is the grand prototype of all transgressors. To indulge unbelief, ingratitude, apostasy, defiance of God, or enmity against him, is but to repeat the course which Satan pursued in Heaven. Rebellion against God is as directly due to Satanic influence as is the practice of witchcraft. Like witchcraft, it exerts a bewitching, deceptive power almost impossible to break. Those who set themselves against the government of God have entered into an alliance with the arch-apostate, and he will not lightly lose his prey. All his power and cunning will be exercised to captivate the senses and mislead the understanding of his victims. Everything appears to them in a false light. Under his bewitching spell they can, like our first parents, see only the great benefits to be received by transgression. To achieve the desired object, they will stop at no means, however great the danger to another or the sin to themselves.
11 No stronger evidence can be given of Satan’s delusive power than that many who are thus led by him deceive themselves with the belief that they are in the service of God. The Jewish scribes and elders in the days of Christ professed great zeal for the honor of God, and yet they rejected his Son. Jesus gave them the most conclusive evidence that he was the Promised One. Upon one occasion, the Spirit witnessed so powerfully to his claims that the hearts of all who were in the synagogue responded to the gracious words that proceeded from his lips. Here was the turning-point with that company. As Christ’s divinity flashed through humanity, their spiritual sight was quickened. A new power of discernment and appreciation came upon them, and the conviction was almost irresistible that Jesus was the Son of God. But Satan was at hand to arouse doubts, unbelief, and pride. They steeled their hearts against the Saviour’s words. As they yielded to the control of Satan, they were fired with uncontrollable rage against Jesus. With one accord they would have taken his life, had not angels interposed for his deliverance.
12 The same spirit still exists in the hearts of those who set themselves to follow their own perverted judgment in opposition to the will of God. The struggle between truth and error will reveal the same pride and stubbornness, and the same unreasoning hatred against the advocates of truth, as was displayed by the unbelieving Jews.
13 He who could cause all the glories of earthly empires to pass before Christ in his hour of temptation, exerts a wizard-like power upon the minds of all who do not implicitly trust and obey God. It is this moral infatuation which steels their hearts against the influence of the Holy Spirit. It was this that led Korah, Dathan, and Abiram to rebel against the authority of Moses. Satan deluded them with the idea that they were opposing only a human leader, a man like themselves. But in rejecting God’s chosen instrument, they rejected Christ, their invisible leader. They insulted the Spirit of God; and judgments followed close upon their sin. They were deceived by Satan, but by their own consent; because they placed themselves in his power.
14 Thus was it with Saul. He had the most decisive evidence that Samuel had been divinely appointed and inspired. It was in opposition to all the dictates of reason and sound judgment, that he ventured to disregard the command of God through the prophet. His fatal presumption must be attributed to this Satanic sorcery, which made him blind to the sin, and reckless of its consequences. Saul had manifested great zeal to suppress idolatry and witchcraft, decreeing that all found guilty of these practices should be punished with death. Yet the prophet shows him that in his disobedience to the divine command he had been actuated by the same spirit of opposition to God, and had been as really inspired by Satan, as though he had practiced sorcery. And, further, when reproved, he had added stubbornness to rebellion. Instead of confessing his sin, and humbly seeking pardon, he rejected reproof, and hardened his heart in transgression. He could have offered no greater insult to the Spirit of God, had he openly united with idolaters.
15 It is a perilous step to slight the reproofs and warnings of God’s word or of his Spirit. Many, like Saul, yield to temptation until they become blind to the true character of sin. They flatter themselves that they have had some good object in view, and have done no wrong, in departing from the Lord’s requirements. Thus they do despite to the Spirit of grace until its pleading voice is no longer heard, and they are left to the delusions which they have chosen.
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1 For two months my pen has been resting; but I am deeply grateful that I am now able to resume my writing. The Lord has given me an additional evidence of his mercy and loving-kindness by again restoring me to health. By my recent illness I was brought very near to the grave; but the prayers of the Lord’s people availed in my behalf.
2 About two weeks before our camp-meeting in this State, the disease from which I had been suffering was checked, yet I gained little strength. As the time for the meeting drew near, it seemed impossible that I could take any part in it. There was but little prospect that I could even go upon the ground. I prayed much over the matter, but still remained very feeble, unable to endure any taxation. A severe cough troubled me night and day. The pain in my left lung was so great that I could not lie upon that side. I was very weak, both in body and mind. My courage and energy seemed paralyzed. I was unable even to exercise faith. In my suffering condition I could only fall helpless into the arms of my Redeemer, and there rest.
3 When the first Sabbath of the meeting came, I felt that I must be upon the camp-ground, for I might there meet the Divine Healer. In the afternoon I lay upon a lounge under the large tent, while Eld. Waggoner addressed the people, presenting the signs that show the day of God very near. At the close of his discourse, I decided to rise to my feet, hoping that if I thus ventured out by faith, doing all in my power, God would help me to say a few words to the people. As I began to speak, the power of God came upon me, and my strength was instantly restored.
4 I had hoped that my feebleness might gradually pass away, but had looked for no immediate change. The instantaneous work wrought for me was unexpected. It cannot be attributed to imagination. The people saw me in my feebleness, and many remarked that to all appearance I was a candidate for the grave. Nearly all present marked the change which took place in me while I was addressing them. They stated that my countenance change and the deathlike paleness gave place to a healthful color. I testify to all who read these words, that the Lord has healed me. Divine power has wrought a great work for me, whereof I am glad. I was able to labor every day during the meeting, and several times spoke more than one hour and a half. My whole system was imbued with new strength and vigor. A new tide of emotions, a new and elevated faith, took possession of my soul.
5 During my sickness I learned some precious lessons,—learned to trust where I cannot see, while unable to do anything, to rest quietly, calmly, in the arms of Jesus. We do not exercise faith as we should. We are afraid to venture upon the word of God. In the hour of trial, we should strengthen our souls with the assurance that God’s promises can never fail. Whatever he has spoken, will be done.
6 While I was lying upon my sick-bed, a message came by telegraph from Dr. Kellogg, “We are praying for Sister White’s restoration.” From friends in Oakland, and other places, the assurance came, “We are praying for you.” My brethren and sisters, God has heard your prayers, Eld. Waggoner, with the members of my family, and other friends, often bowed at my bedside, and prayed earnestly for me. Sometimes the thought would come to my mind that I was too weak to have this exercise in my room; but I felt that in prayer was my only hope, and I could not give it up. In my conscious hours, those earnest petitions were a great comfort to me.
7 Before my sickness, I thought that I had faith in the promises of God; yet I find myself surprised at the great change wrought in me, so far exceeding my expectations. I am unworthy of this manifestation of the love of God. I have reason to praise God more earnestly, to walk in greater humility before him, and to love him more fervently than ever before. I am placed under renewed obligation to give to the Lord all that there is of me. I must shed upon others the blessed radiance which he has permitted to shine upon me.
8 I do not now expect to be lifted above all infirmities and tribulations, and to have an unruffled sea on the journey Heavenward. I expect trials losses, disappointments, and bereavements; but I have the Saviour’s promise, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” We must not count it a strange thing if we are assaulted by the enemy of all righteousness. Christ has promised to be a present help in every time of need, but he has not told us that we shall be exempt from trials. On the contrary, he has plainly informed us that we shall have tribulation. To be tried and tested is a part of our moral valuable lessons, and obtain the most precious graces, if we will draw near to God, and endure all in his strength.
9 My sickness has taught me my own weakness, and my Saviour’s patience and love, and his power to save. When passing sleepless nights, I have found hope and comfort in considering the forbearance and tenderness of Jesus toward his weak, erring disciples, and remembering that he is still the same,—unchangeable in mercy, compassion, and love. He sees our weakness, he knows how we lack faith and courage; yet he does not cast us off. He is pitiful and of tender compassion toward us.
10 I may fall at my post before the Lord shall come; but when all that are in their graves shall come forth, I shall if faithful, see Jesus, and be made like him. Oh, what joy unspeakable, to see him whom we love,—to see him in his glory who so loved us that he gave himself for us,—to behold those hands once pierced for our redemption, stretched out to us in blessing and welcome! What will it matter though we toil and suffer here, if we may only attain to the resurrection of life! We will patiently wait till our time of trial ends, and then we shall raise the glad shout of victory. Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 Every association we form, however limited, exerts some influence upon us. The extent to which we yield to that influence will be determined by the degree of intimacy, the constancy of the intercourse, and our love and veneration for the one with whom we associate. It is only by acquaintance and association with Christ, that we can become like him, the one faultless example.
2 Communion with Christ—how unspeakably precious! Such communion it is our privilege to enjoy, if we will seek it, if we will make any sacrifice to secure it. When the early disciples heard the words of Christ, they felt their need of him. They sought, they found, they followed him. They were with him in the house, at the table, in the closet in the field. They were with him as pupils with a teacher, daily receiving from his lips lessons of holy truth. They looked to him as servants to their master, to learn their duty. They served him cheerfully, gladly. They followed him, as soldiers follow their commander, fighting the good fight of faith. “And they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”
3 Let all put the question to their own hearts, Have we been seeking the friendship and applause of the world, rather than the presence of Christ and a deeper knowledge of his will? Examine your own hearts, judge your own course. Consider what associates you are choosing. Do you seek the company of the wise, or are you willing to choose worldly associates, companions who fear not God, and obey not the gospel? Are your recreations such as to impart moral and spiritual vigor? Will they lead to purity of thought and action?
4 Many parents are disregarding the most sacred claims of God, by their neglect to consecrate themselves and their children to him. Many are reposing in false security, absorbed in selfish interests, and attracted by earthly treasures. They fear no evil. Danger seems a great way off. They will be deceived, deluded, to their eternal ruin, unless they arouse, and with penitence and deep humiliation, return unto the Lord.
5 The pride, self-indulgence, impiety, and iniquity that surround us, have an evil influence upon us. Few realize the importance of shunning, so far as possible, all associations unfriendly to religious life. In choosing their surroundings, few make their spiritual prosperity the first consideration.
6 Parents flock with their families to the cities, because they fancy it easier to obtain a livelihood there than in the country. The children, having nothing to do when not in school, obtain a street education. From evil associates, they acquire habits of vice and dissipation. The parents see this, but because it will require a sacrifice to correct their error, they stay where they are, until Satan gains full control of their children. Better sacrifice any and every worldly consideration that to imperil the precious souls committed to your care. They will be assailed by temptations, and should be taught to meet them; but it is your duty to cut off every influence, to break up every habit, to sunder every tie, that keeps you from the most free, open, and hearty committal of yourselves and your family to God.
7 Instead of the crowded city, seek some retired situation where your children will be, so far as possible, shielded from temptation, and there train and educate them for usefulness. The prophet Ezekiel thus enumerates the causes that led to Sodom’s sin and destruction: “Pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” All who would escape the doom of Sodom, must shun the course that brought God’s judgments upon that wicked city.
8 Who will heed the counsel of the True Witness, to seek the gold tried in the fire, the white raiment, and the eye-salve? The gold is faith and love, the white raiment is the righteousness of Christ, the eye-salve is that spiritual discernment which will enable us to see the wiles of Satan and shun them, to detect sin and abhor it, to see truth and obey it.
9 The deadly lethargy of the world is paralyzing the senses. Sin does not appear repulsive to those who are blinded by Satan. The judgments of God are soon to be poured out upon the earth. “Escape for thy life,” is the warning from the angels of God. Other voices are heard saying, “Do not become excited; there is no cause for special alarm.” Those who are at ease in Zion cry peace and safety, while Heaven declares that swift destruction is about to come upon the transgressor. The young, the frivolous, the pleasure-loving, consider these warnings as idle tales, and turn from them with a jest. Parents are inclined to think their children about right in the matter, and all sleep on at ease. Thus it was at the destruction of the old world, and when Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by fire. On the night prior to their destruction, the cities of the plain rioted in pleasure. Lot was derided for his fears and warnings. But these scoffers perished in the flames. That very night the door of mercy was forever closed to the wicked, careless inhabitants of Sodom.
10 It is God who holds in his hands the destiny of souls. He will not always be mocked; he will not always be trifled with. Already his judgments are in the land. Fierce and awful tempests leave destruction and death in their wake. The devouring fire lays low the desolate forest and the crowded city. Storm and shipwreck await those who journey upon the deep. Accident and calamity threaten all who travel upon the land. Hurricanes, earthquakes, sword and famine, follow in quick succession. Yet the hearts of men are hardened. They recognize not the warning voice of God. They will not flee to the only refuge from the gathering storm.
11 Many who have been placed upon the walls of Zion, to watch with eagle eye for the approach of danger, and lift the voice of warning, are themselves asleep. The very ones who should be most active and vigilant in this hour of peril are neglecting their duty, and bringing upon themselves the blood of souls.
12 Let no one put aside the warning, and say, “It does not mean me. I will not be disturbed by this excitable message.” It is the evil servant who says in his heart, “My Lord delayeth his coming.” Professedly a servant of Christ, he may not, in words, deny that the Lord is soon to come; but his actions show that he puts off that day to a distant period. He guiltily presumes-on the supposed delay; he becomes careless, and his works testify his unbelief. He adopts the maxims and conforms to the practices of the world.
13 As soon as the evil servant begins to lose the spirit and power of the message, he manifests his unbelief. He smites his fellow-servants. He is ready to pass censure on those who are better than himself. “The poison of asps is under their lips.” His course is downward. Erelong he may be found “eating and drinking with the drunken”—uniting with worldlings in their gatherings for pleasure, and, to all intents and purposes, one with them. Such is the condition of very many among us today.
14 In the instruction given by our Saviour to his disciples are words of admonition especially applicable to us: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Watch, pray, work—this is the true life of faith. “Pray always;” that is, be ever in the spirit of prayer, and then you will be in readiness for your Lord’s coming.
15 The Christian life is a warfare. The apostle Paul speaks of wrestling against principalities and powers as he fought the good fight of faith. Again, he declares, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Ah, no. Today sin is cherished and excused. The sharp sword of the Spirit, the word of God, does not cut to the soul. Has religion changed? Has Satan’s enmity to God abated? A religious life once presented difficulties, and demanded self-denial. All is made very easy now. And why is this? The professed people of God have compromised with the powers of darkness.
16 The path to Heaven is no smoother now than in the days of our Saviour. All our sins must be put away. Every darling indulgence that hinders our religious life must be cut off. The right eye or the right hand must be sacrificed, if it cause us to offend. Are we willing to renounce our own wisdom, and to receive the kingdom of Heaven as a little child? Are we willing to part with self-righteousness? Are we willing to give up our chosen worldly associates? Are we willing to sacrifice the approbation of men? The prize of eternal life is of infinite value. Will we put forth efforts and make sacrifices proportionate to the worth of the object to be attained?
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1 Already has the new year been ushered in; yet before we greet its coming, we pause to ask, What has been the history of the year that with its burden of records has now passed into eternity? The admonition of the apostle comes down the lines to every one of us, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” God forbid that at this important hour we should be so engrossed with other matters as to give no time to serious, candid, critical self-examination! Let things of minor consequence be put in the background, and let us now bring to the front the things which concern our eternal interests.
2 Christian brethren, as Christ’s ambassador I entreat you to inquire into the character of your thoughts, tempers, purposes, words, and works during the past year. What has been the nature of your experience? Compare the records of your religious life with the Bible standard, and pass judgment upon yourselves. Have the fruits of righteousness testified that you are in the faith, or have the fruits that you have borne, witnessed against you? This is a subject worthy of earnest, careful thought. Be thorough and impartial in your examination of the past year’s record. Do you see the defects in your character, and are you compelled to admit that you have made no decided advance in overcoming these unholy traits? Remember that if not overcome, these will surely separate you from the presence of a pure, holy, sin-hating God, and close the doors of the heavenly mansions against you.
3 How many have, in the past year, cherished heart-burnings and bitterness toward their brethren and sisters in the church? How many have thought and spoken unkindly of those who, like themselves, profess to be followers of Jesus? We may think we had an excuse for this; but is there any provocation of sufficient weight to excuse us in harboring unkindness and malice in our hearts? Said Jesus, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.” If we do not in our daily life exemplify these principles, we cannot be accepted before God. We must earnestly seek his grace to kill every fiber of the root of bitterness, and must let the love of Jesus take possession of our souls and reveal itself in our words and works, or we are not of Christ but of the wicked one.
4 The Church militant is not the church triumphant, and earth is not Heaven. The church is composed of erring, imperfect men and women, who are but learners in the school of Christ, to be trained, disciplined, educated for this life, and for the future, immortal life. No one of us can in our own strength represent the character of Christ; but if Jesus lives in the heart, the spirit dwelling in him will be revealed in us; all our lack will be supplied. Who will seek at the beginning of this new year to obtain a new and genuine experience in the things of God? Make your wrongs right as far as possible. Confess your errors and sins one to another. Let all bitterness and wrath and malice be put away; let patience, long-suffering, kindness, and love become a part of your very being; then whatsoever things are pure and lovely and of good report will mature in your experience. Another year with its spotless record is before us; what shall that record be?
5 As a people we have not realized the work which should have been done in the last days of the old year, and much of it is left undone. The excitement of the Christmas holiday is now in the past, and what has been the record that has passed up to God? As we have professed to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, have our hearts been filled with gratitude for the infinite gift of God’s dear Son? Have our thoughts and affections been such as God can accept? Has Jesus been revered and honored? Has he been made prominent in our thoughts and plans? and have our gifts flowed into his treasury? Is it not true that in many instances Christ and his claims have been forgotten in the feasting and merriments, and that the honor due to him has been given to man? Have not the thoughts, the labor, and the means been diverted from the proper object, and turned into a channel to please, honor, and exalt the human, rather than the divine?
6 I have felt most keenly our danger as a people on these occasions. I have feared that selfishness would be strengthened, that idolatry would be encouraged, and the love of God be crowded from our hearts; that the record borne to the heavenly courts would show that Christ was made of less consequence than earthly friends. I have feared that feasts and social gatherings would prove to be a snare of Satan to divert the mind from Christ and his great sacrifice in our behalf; that the very associations which should lead us to contemplate the work of redemption would be lost sight of in the observance of worldly customs, and that there would be less thought of Jesus and the mansions he has gone to prepare for those who love him, than upon common occasions.
7 I see no objection to placing even in our churches a Christmas or New Year tree bearing fruit in gifts and offerings for the cause of God. We may thus take advantage of the occasion to turn the customary gifts of the season into the right channel. And such a holiday celebration is a useful lesson to our children, teaching them to bestow their gifts in a manner to honor their Redeemer. But when we devote our means and labor to feasting ourselves, we fail to render to God that honor which is his due.
8 I have resolved from this time to make Christ first and last and best in everything. I will not sanction feasts made to celebrate birthday or marriage anniversaries, but will bend all my energies to lift up Jesus among the people. I will seek to impress upon the minds of my brethren and sisters the great necessity of preparation of heart, by confession and humiliation, to be accepted of God and acknowledged as his dear children. My heart has ached as I have seen men honored, while Jesus was neglected and almost forgotten,—liberal gifts for earthly friends, but poor and meager offerings for him to whom we owe our all.
9 Christ opened before us the bright path of peace, of joy, of Heaven; and what have we done for him on these occasions when every word and act should express our gratitude for his wondrous love? How stands the record of the past Christmas? Have we given to Jesus all that there is of us? Have we denied self that we might show our affection for our best friend? Have we made a record that we shall not be ashamed to meet in the day of final accounts? If all realized as they should the shortness of time, the backslidings of our people, the perils which beset our pathway, the deceptions of Satan, and his victories over unguarded souls, there would be no feasting, no mirthful gatherings to pay honor to the human; but there would be a great humbling of heart before God, and earnest prayer for pardoning and sanctifying grace.
10 Peter, who once denied his Lord, was afterward forgiven by our Saviour, and entrusted with the work of feeding the flock of God. Yet when condemned to death, and about to suffer for Christ’s sake, the apostle begged that he might not be crucified in the same position as his Lord and Master, but that he might be nailed to the cross with his head downward. He felt that it was too great an honor for him to be put to death in the same manner as his Saviour whom he had denied. Would it not be well if our consciences were more sensitive? if we could possess more of the same spirit of contrition and humility? At a time when we are professedly celebrating Christ’s birth, should we not keep self in the background? Would it not be more appropriate to abase self and to exalt Jesus?
11 The perfection of our Saviour’s character awakens the admiration of angels and of men. Here is an exhaustless theme for thought. The brightest and most exalted of the sons of the morning heralded his glory at creation, and announced his birth with songs of gladness. They veil their faces before him as he sits upon his throne; they cast their crowns at his feet, and sing his triumphs as they behold his resplendent glory. Our souls are cold and dull because we do not dwell upon the matchless charms of our Redeemer. If we occupy our thoughts in contemplating his love and mercy, we shall reflect the same in our life and character; for by beholding, we become changed. Oh, the mysteries of redemption! Only by exalting Jesus and abasing self can we celebrate aright the birth of the Son of God.
12 As we stand on the threshold of a new year, there is need of an impartial examination of our hearts to dispel the pleasing illusions of self-love. Our condition is helpless and hopeless unless infinite mercy is granted us daily, and pardon is written against our names in the heavenly records. Those only who see and feel their spiritual necessities will go to Jesus for that help which they so much need, and which he only can give. He alone can cleanse us from all sin. He alone can place upon us the robe of righteousness.
13 What fruit have we borne during the year that is now past? What has been our influence upon others? Whom have we gathered to the fold of Christ? The eyes of the world are upon us. Are we living epistles of Christ, known and read of all men? Do we follow the example of Jesus in self-denial, in meekness, in humility, in forbearance, in cross-bearing, in devotion? Will the world be compelled to acknowledge us to be the servants of Christ? What is our past record? What will be our future record? If we cannot without pain trace the workings of our own hearts and review the record of our lives, how can we stand before the Judge of all the earth, who is infinitely pure and holy, and who will determine our cases by the unerring standard of his perfect law?
14 Shall we not in this new year seek to correct the errors of the past? It behooves us individually to cultivate the grace of Christ, to be meek and lowly of heart, to be firm, unwavering, steadfast in the truth; for thus only can we advance in holiness, and be made fit for the inheritance of the saints in light. Let us begin the year with an entire renunciation of self; let us pray for clear discernment, that we may understand our Saviour’s claims upon us, and that we may always and everywhere be witnesses for Christ.
15 Our time and talents belong to God, to be used for his honor and glory. It should be our earnest, anxious effort to let the light shine through our life and character to illumine the pathway Heavenward, that souls may be attracted from the broad road to the narrow way of holiness. Oh, that the followers of Christ had less desire to devote labor, time, and money, to feasts and celebrations in honor of earthly friends, and a greater desire to honor Jesus! I entreat you to bring to him your gifts and offerings, and withhold not yourselves. Strong men are needed in the church, successful workers in the Lord’s vineyard, men and women who will labor that the church may be transformed to the image of Christ, rather than conformed to the customs and practices of the world. We have everything to gain or to lose. Let us see that we are on the side of Christ—the gaining side; that we are making sure work for Heaven.
16 “Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand”
“Strong in the strength which God supplies
Through his eternal Son.”
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1 “He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself so to walk, even as He walked.” “And if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Conformity to Jesus will not be unobserved by the world. It is a subject of notice and comment. Yet the Christian may not be conscious of the great change; for the more closely he resembles Christ in character, the more humble will be his opinion of himself. Those who have the deepest experience in the things of God, are the farthest removed from pride or self-exaltation. They have the humblest thoughts of self, and the most exalted conceptions of the glory and excellence of Christ. They feel that the lowest place in his service is too honorable for them.
2 Moses did not know that his face shone with a brightness painful and terrifying to those who had not, like himself, communed with God. Paul had a very humble opinion of his own advancement in the Christian life. He says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.” He speaks of himself as the “chief of sinners.” Yet Paul had been highly honored of the Lord. He had been taken, in holy vision, to the third heaven, and had there received revelations of divine glory which he could not be permitted to make known.
3 John the Baptist was pronounced by our Saviour the greatest of prophets. Yet what a contrast between the language of this man of God and that of many who profess to be ministers of the cross. When asked if he was the Christ, John declares himself unworthy even to unloose his Master’s sandals. When his disciples came with the complaint that the attention of the people was turned to the new Teacher, John reminded them that he himself had claimed to be only the forerunner of the Promised One. To Christ, as the bridegroom, belongs the first place in the affections of his people. “The friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth because of the bridegroom’s voice. This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all.” “He that hath received His testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true.”
4 It is such workers that are needed in the cause of God today. The self-sufficient, the envious and jealous, the critical and fault-finding, can well be spared from his sacred work. God is not straitened for men or means. He calls for workers who are true and faithful, pure and holy; for those who have felt their need of the atoning blood of Christ and the sanctifying grace of his Spirit.
5 When we see those who profess the faith firm in principle, fearless in duty, zealous in the cause of God, yet humble and lowly, gentle and tender, patient toward all, ready to forgive, manifesting love for souls for whom Christ died, we do not need to inquire, Are they Christians? They give unmistakable evidence that they have been with Jesus and learned of him. When men reveal the opposite traits, when they are proud, vain, frivolous, worldly-minded, avaricious, unkind, censorious, we need not be told with whom they are associating, who is their most intimate friend. They may not believe in witchcraft, but notwithstanding this, they are holding communion with an evil spirit.
6 To this class I would say, “Glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated; full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
7 When the Pharisees and Sadducees flocked to the baptism of John, that fearless preacher of righteousness addressed them, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” These men were actuated by unworthy motives in coming to John. They were men of poisonous principles and corrupt practices. Yet they had no sense of their true condition. Filled with pride and ambition, they would not hesitate at any means to exalt themselves and strengthen their influence with the people. They came to receive baptism at the hand of John that they might better carry out these designs.
8 John read their motives, and met them with the searching inquiry, “Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Had they heard the voice of God speaking to their hearts, they would have given evidence of the fact, by bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. No such fruit was seen. They had heard the warning as merely the voice of man. They were charmed with the power and boldness with which John spoke; but the Spirit of God did not send conviction to their hearts, and as the sure result bring forth fruit unto eternal life. They gave no evidence of a change of heart. Without the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, John would have them understand that no outward ceremony could benefit them.
9 None are farther from the kingdom of Heaven than self-righteous formalists, filled with pride at their own attainments, while they are wholly destitute of the spirit of Christ; while envy, jealousy, or love of praise and popularity controls them. They belong to the same class that John addressed as a generation of vipers, children of the wicked one. They serve the cause of Satan more effectively than the vilest profligate; for the latter does not disguise his true character; he appears what he is.
10 God requires fruits meet for repentance. Without such fruit, our profession of faith is of no value. The Lord is able to raise up true believers among those who have never heard his name. “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”
11 God is not dependent upon men who are unconverted in heart and life. He will never favor any man who practices iniquity. “And now the ax is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.”
12 Those who laud and flatter the minister, while they neglect the works of righteousness, give unmistakable evidence that they are converted to the minister and not to God. We inquire, “Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Was it the voice of the Holy Spirit or merely the voice of man which you heard in the message sent from God? The fruit borne will testify to the character of the tree.
13 No outward forms can make us clean; no ordinance, administered by the saintliest of men, can take the place of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God must do its work upon the heart. All who have not experienced its regenerating power are chaff among the wheat. Our Lord has his fan in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor. In the coming day, he will discern “between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.”
14 The spirit of Christ will be revealed in all who are born of God. Strife and contention cannot arise among those who are controlled by his Spirit. “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” The church will rarely take a higher stand than is taken by her ministers. There is need of a converted ministry and a converted people. Shepherds who watch for souls as they that must give account will lead the flock on in paths of peace and holiness. Their success in this work will be in proportion to their own growth in grace and knowledge of the truth. When the teachers are sanctified, soul, body, and spirit, they can impress upon the people the importance of such sanctification.
15 The Lord has not closed Heaven against his people, but their own course of continual backsliding has separated them from him. Pride, and love of the world, live in the heart. Few are alarmed or astonished at their want of spiritual power. The general opinion is that the church is flourishing, and that peace and prosperity are in all her borders.
16 The warnings of God’s word, and the influence of his Spirit, have alike been neglected. The result is apparent in the deplorable condition of the church. Impurity is today wide-spread, even among those who profess to be followers of Christ. Passion is unrestrained; the animal propensities are gaining strength by indulgence, while the moral powers are constantly becoming weaker. Many are eagerly participating in worldly, demoralizing amusements which God’s word forbids. Thus they sever their connection with God, and rank themselves with the pleasure-lovers of the world. The sins that destroyed the antediluvians and the cities of the plain exist today—not merely in heathen lands, or with the avowed unbeliever, but among professors of Christianity. Base passions defile the mind and corrupt the soul. Some who are in the vilest iniquity have borrowed the livery of Heaven, that they may serve Satan more effectively. If God should present these sins before us as they appear in his sight, we would be filled with shame and terror.
17 And what has caused this alarming condition? Many have accepted the theory of religious truth, who have not been converted to its principles. There are few indeed who feel true sorrow for sin; who have deep, pungent convictions of the depravity of the unregenerate nature. The heart of stone is not exchanged for a heart of flesh. Few are willing to fall upon the Rock, and be broken.
18 No matter who you are, or what your life has been, you can be saved only in God’s appointed way. You must repent; you must fall helpless on the Rock, Christ Jesus. You must feel your need of a physician, and of the one only remedy for sin, the blood of Christ. This remedy can be secured only by repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Here the work is yet to be begun by many who profess to be Christians. Like the Pharisees of old, they feel no need of a Saviour. They are self-sufficient, self-exalted. Said Christ, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The blood of Christ will avail for none but those who feel their need of its cleansing power.
19 What surpassing love and condescension, that when we had no claim upon divine mercy, Christ was willing to undertake our redemption! But our great Physician requires of every soul unquestioning submission. We are never to prescribe for our own case. Christ must have the entire control of will and action, or he will not undertake in our behalf.
20 Many are not sensible of their condition and their danger; and there is much in the nature and manner of Christ’s work averse to every worldly principle, and opposed to the pride of the human heart. Jesus requires us to trust ourselves wholly to his hands, and confide in his love and wisdom.
21 We may flatter ourselves, as did Nicodemus, that our moral character has been correct, and we need not humble ourselves before God, like the common sinner. But we must be content to enter into life in the very same way as the chief of sinners. We must renounce our own righteousness, and plead for the righteousness of Christ to be imputed to us. We must depend wholly upon Christ for our strength. Self must die. We must acknowledge that all we have is from the exceeding riches of divine grace. Let this be the language of our hearts, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”
22 Genuine faith is followed by love, and love by obedience. All the powers and passions of the converted man are brought under the control of Christ. His Spirit is a renewing power, transforming to the divine image all who will receive it.
23 God spared not his own Son, but delivered him to death for our offenses, and raised him again for our justification. Through Christ we may present our petitions at the throne of grace. Through him, unworthy as we are, we may obtain all spiritual blessings. Do we come to him, that we may have life?
24 Experience is knowledge derived from experiment. What we need is experimental religion. How shall we know for ourselves God’s goodness and his love? The psalmist tells us—not, hear and know, read and know, or believe and know; but—”Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Instead of relying upon the word of another, taste for yourself.
25 Many believe in the wrath of God, but put forth no earnest efforts to escape it. They believe in Heaven, but make no sacrifice to obtain it. They believe in the value of the soul, and that ere long its redemption ceaseth forever; yet they neglect precious opportunities to make their peace with God. They read the Bible, but its threatenings do not alarm or its promises win them. They approve things that are excellent, yet they follow the way in which God has forbidden them to go. They know a refuge, but do not avail themselves of it. They know a remedy for sin, but do not use it. They know the right, but have no relish for it. All their knowledge will but increase their condemnation. They have never tasted and learned by experience that the Lord is good.
26 To become a disciple of Christ is to deny self and follow Jesus through evil as well as good report. Few are doing this now. Many prophesy falsely, and the people love to have it so; but what will be done in the end thereof? What will be the decision when their work, with all its results, shall be brought in review before God?
27 The watchmen are responsible for the condition of the people. If they open the door to pride, envy, doubt, and other sins, there will be strife, hatred, and every evil work. Jesus, the meek and lowly One, asks an entrance as our guest, but many are afraid to bid him enter. He has spoken to us in both the Old and the New Testament; he is speaking to us still by his Spirit and his providence. His instructions are designed to make men true to God, and true to themselves.
28 Jesus took upon himself man’s nature, that he might leave a pattern for humanity, complete, perfect. He proposes to make us like himself, true in every purpose, feeling, and thought—true in heart, soul, and life. This is Christianity. Our fallen nature must be purified, ennobled, consecrated by obedience to the truth. Christian faith will never harmonize with worldly principles; Christian integrity is opposed to all deception and pretense. The man who cherished the most of Christ’s love in the soul, who reflects the Saviour’s image most perfectly, is, in the sight of God, the truest, most noble, most honorable man upon the earth.
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1 “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
2 Union is the strength; division is weakness. When those who believe present truth are united, they exert a telling influence. Satan well understands this. Never was he more determined than now to make of none effect the truth of God, by causing bitterness and dissension among the Lord’s people.
3 The world is against us, the popular churches are against us, the laws of the land will soon be against us. If there was ever a time when the people of God should press together, it is now. God has committed to us the special truths for this time, to make known to the world. The last message of mercy is now going forth. We are dealing with men and women who are Judgment-bound. How careful should we be in every word and act to follow closely the Pattern, that our example may lead men to Christ. With what care should we seek so to present the truth that others by beholding its beauty and simplicity may be led to receive it. If our characters testify of its sanctifying power, we shall be a continual light to others,—living epistles, known and read of all men. We cannot afford now to give place to Satan by cherishing disunion, discord, and strife.
4 That union and love might exist among his disciples, was the burden of our Saviour’s last prayer for them prior to his crucifixion. With the agony of the cross before him, his solicitude was not for himself but for those whom he should leave to carry forward his work in the earth. The severest trials awaited them; but Jesus saw that their greatest danger would be from a spirit of bitterness and division. Hence he prayed:—
5 “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
6 That prayer of Christ embraces all his followers, to the close of time. Our Saviour foresaw the trials and dangers of his people; he is not unmindful of the dissensions and divisions that distract and weaken his church. He is looking upon us with deeper interest and more tender compassion than moves an earthly parent’s heart toward a wayward, afflicted child. He bids us learn of him. He invites our confidence. He bids us open our hearts to receive his love. He has pledged himself to be our helper.
7 When Christ ascended to Heaven, he left the work on earth in the hands of his servants, the under-shepherds. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
8 In sending forth his ministers, our Saviour gave gifts unto men, for through them he communicates to the world the words of eternal life. This is the means which God has ordained for the perfecting of the saints in knowledge and true holiness. The work of Christ’s servants is not merely to preach the truth; they are to watch for souls, as they that must render account to God. They are to reprove, rebuke, exhort with long-suffering and doctrine.
9 All who have been benefited by the labors of God’s servant, should, according to their ability, unite with him in working for the salvation of souls. This is the work of all true believers, ministers and people. They should keep the grand object ever in view, each seeking to fill his proper position in the church, and all working together in order, harmony, and love.
10 There is nothing selfish or narrow in the religion of Christ. Its principles are diffusive and aggressive. It is represented by Christ as the bright light, as the saving salt, as the transforming leaven. With zeal, earnestness, and devotion, the servants of God will seek to spread far and near the knowledge of the truth; yet they will not neglect to labor for the strength and unity of the church. They will watch carefully lest opportunity be given for diversity and division to creep in.
11 There have of late arisen among us men who profess to be the servants of Christ, but whose work is opposed to that unity which our Lord established in the church. They have original plans and methods of labor. They desire to introduce changes into the church to suit their ideas of progress, and imagine that grand results are thus to be secured. These men need to be learners rather than teachers in the school of Christ. They are ever restless, aspiring to accomplish some great work, to do something that will bring honor to themselves. They need to learn that most profitable of all lessons, humility and faith in Jesus. Some are watching their fellow-laborers and anxiously endeavoring to point out their errors, when they should rather be earnestly seeking to prepare their own souls for the great conflict before them. The Saviour bids them, “Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
12 Teachers of the truth, missionaries, officers in the church, can do a good work for the Master, if they will but purify their own souls by obeying the truth. Every living Christian will be a disinterested worker for God. The Lord has given us a knowledge of his will, that we may become channels of light to others. If Christ is abiding in us, we cannot help working for him. It is impossible to retain the favor of God, and enjoy the blessing of a Saviour’s love, and yet be indifferent to the danger of those who are perishing in their sins. “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”
13 Paul urges the Ephesians to preserve unity and love: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
14 The apostle exhorts his brethren to manifest in their lives the power of the truth which he had presented to them. By meekness and gentleness, forbearance and love, they were to exemplify the character of Christ and the blessings of his salvation. There is but one body, and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith. As members of the body of Christ, all believers are animated by the same spirit and the same hope. Divisions in the church dishonor the religion of Christ before the world, and give occasion to the enemies of truth to justify their course. Paul’s instructions were not written alone for the church in his day. God designed that they should be sent down to us. What are we doing to preserve unity in the bonds of peace?
15 When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the early church, the brethren loved one another. “They did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people; and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Those primitive Christians were few in numbers, without wealth or honor, yet they exerted a mighty influence. The light of the world shone out from them. They were a terror to evil-doers wherever their character and their doctrines were known. For this cause they were hated by the wicked, and persecuted even unto death.
16 The standard of holiness is the same today as in the days of the apostles. Neither the promises nor the requirements of God have lost aught of their force. But what is the state of the Lord’s professed people as compared with the early church? Where is the Spirit and power of God which then attended the preaching of the gospel? Alas, “how is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed!”
17 The Lord planted his church as a vine in a fruitful field. With tenderest care he nourished and cherished it, that it might bring forth the fruits of righteousness. His language is, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?” But this vine of God’s planting has inclined to the earth, and entwined its tendrils about human supports. Its branches are extended far and wide, but it bears the fruit of a degenerate vine. The Master of the vineyard declares. When I looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes.
18 The Lord has bestowed great blessings upon his church. Justice demands that she return these talents with usury. As the treasures of truth committed to her keeping have increased, her obligations have increased. But instead of improving upon these gifts and going forward unto perfection, she has fallen away from that which she had attained in her earlier experience. The change in her spiritual state has come gradually, and almost imperceptibly. As she began to seek the praise and friendship of the world, her faith diminished, her zeal grew languid, her fervent devotion gave place to dead formality. Every advance step toward the world was a step away from God. As pride and worldly ambition have been cherished, the spirit of Christ has departed, and emulation, dissension, and strife have come in to distract and weaken the church.
19 Paul writes to his Corinthian brethren: “Ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” It is impossible for minds distracted by envy and strife to comprehend the deep spiritual truths of God’s word. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” We cannot rightly understand or appreciate divine revelation without the aid of that Spirit by whom the word was given.
20 Those who are appointed to guard the spiritual interests of the church should be careful to set a right example, giving no occasion for envy, jealousy, or suspicion, ever manifesting that same spirit of love, respect, and courtesy which they desire to encourage in their brethren. Diligent heed should be given to the instructions of God’s word. Let every manifestation of animosity or unkindness be checked, let every root of bitterness be removed. When trouble arises between brethren, the Saviour’s rule should be strictly followed. All possible effort should be made to effect a reconciliation, but if the parties stubbornly persist in remaining at variance, they should be suspended till they can harmonize.
21 Upon the occurrence of trials in the church, let every member examine his own heart to see if the cause of trouble does not exist within. By spiritual pride, a desire to dictate, an ambitious longing for honor or position, a lack of self-control, by the indulgence of passion or prejudice, by instability or lack of judgment, the church may be disturbed, and her peace sacrificed.
22 Difficulties are often caused by the venders of gossip, whose whispered hints and suggestions poison unsuspecting minds, and separate the closest friends. Mischief-makers are seconded in their evil work by the many who stand with open ears and evil heart, saying, “Report, and we will report it.” This sin should not be tolerated among the followers of Christ. No Christian parent should permit gossip to be repeated in the family circle, or remarks to be made disparaging the members of the church.
(To be Concluded.)
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1 Christians should regard it as a religious duty to repress a spirit of envy or emulation. They should rejoice in the superior reputation or prosperity of their brethren, even when their own character or achievements seem to be cast in the shade. It was the pride and ambition cherished in the heart of Satan that banished him from Heaven. These evils are deeply rooted in our fallen nature, and if not removed they will overshadow every good and noble quality, and bring forth envy and strife as their baleful fruits.
2 We should seek for true goodness, rather than greatness. Those who possess the mind of Christ will have humble views of themselves. They will labor for the purity and prosperity of the church, and be ready to sacrifice their own interests and desires rather than to cause dissension among their brethren.
3 Satan is constantly seeking to cause distrust, alienation, and malice among God’s people. We shall be often tempted to feel that our rights are invaded, when there is no real cause for such feelings. Those whose love for self is stronger than their love for Christ and his cause, will place their own interests first, and resort to almost any expedient to guard and maintain them. When they consider themselves injured by their brethren, some will even go to law, instead of following the Saviour’s rule. Even many who appear to be conscientious Christians are hindered by pride and self-esteem from going privately to those they think in error, that they may talk the matter over in the spirit of Christ, and pray for one another. Contentions, strife, and lawsuits between brethren are a disgrace to the cause of truth. Those who take such a course expose the church to the ridicule of her enemies, and cause the powers of darkness to triumph. They are piercing the wounds of Christ afresh, and putting him to an open shame. By ignoring the authority of the church, they show contempt for God, who gave to the church its authority.
4 Paul writes to the Galatians: “I would they were even cut off which trouble you. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
5 False teachers had brought to the Galatians doctrines that were opposed to the gospel of Christ. Paul sought to expose and correct these errors. He greatly desired that the false teachers might be separated from the church, but their influence had affected so many of the believers that it seemed hazardous to take action against them. There was danger of causing strife and division which would be ruinous to the spiritual interests of the church. He therefore sought to impress upon his brethren the importance of trying to help one another in love. He declared that all the requirements of the law setting forth our duty to our fellow-men are fulfilled in love to one another. He warned them that if they indulged hatred and strife, dividing into parties, and like the brutes biting and devouring one another, they would bring upon themselves present unhappiness and future ruin. There was but one way to prevent these terrible evils, and that was, as the apostle enjoined upon them, to “walk in the Spirit.” They must by constant prayer seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which would lead them to love and unity.
6 A house divided against itself cannot stand. When Christians contend, Satan comes in to take control. How often has he succeeded in destroying the peace and harmony of churches. What fierce controversies, what bitterness, what hatred, has a very little matter started! What hopes have been blasted, how many families have been rent asunder by discord and contention!
7 Paul charged his brethren to beware lest in trying to correct the faults of others, they should commit sins equally great themselves. He warns them that hatred, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, and envyings are as truly the works of the flesh as are lasciviousness, adultery, drunkenness, and murder, and will as surely close the gate of Heaven against the guilty.
8 Christ declares, “Whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a milestone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.” Whoever by willful deception or by a wrong example misleads a disciple of Christ, is guilty of a great sin. Whoever would make him an object of slander or ridicule is insulting Jesus. Our Saviour marks every wrong done to his followers.
9 How were those punished who in olden time made light of what God had chosen as sacred to himself? Belshazzar and his thousand lords profaned the golden vessels of Jehovah, and praised the idols of Babylon. But the God whom they denied was a witness of the unholy scene. In the midst of their sacrilegious mirth, a bloodless hand was seen tracing mysterious characters upon the palace wall. Filled with terror, king and courtiers heard their doom pronounced by the servant of the Most High.
10 Let those who delight to trace words of calumny and falsehood against the servants of Christ remember that God is a witness of their deeds. Their slanderous touch is not profaning soulless vessels, but the characters of those whom Christ has purchased by his blood. The hand which traced the characters upon the walls of Belshazzar’s palace, keeps faithful record of every act of injustice or oppression committed against God’s people.
11 Sacred history presents striking examples of the Lord’s jealous care for the weakest of his children. During the journeying of Israel in the wilderness, the weary and feeble ones who had fallen behind the body of the people, were attacked and slain by the cowardly and cruel Amalekites. Afterward Israel made war with the Amalekites and defeated them. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua; for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” Again the charge was repeated by Moses just before his death, that it might not be forgotten by his posterity: “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary, and he feared not God. . . . Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.”
12 If God thus punished the cruelty of a heathen nation, how must he regard those who, professing to be his people, will make war upon their own brethren who are worn and wearied laborers in his cause. Satan has great power over those who yield to his control. It was the chief priests and elders—the religious teachers of the people—that urged on the murderous throng from the Judgment Hall to Calvary. There are hearts today among the professed followers of Christ, inspired by the same spirit that clamored for the crucifixion of our Saviour. Let the workers of evil remember that to all their acts there is one witness, a holy, sin-hating God. He will bring all their works into Judgment, with every secret thing.
13 “We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself.” As Christ has pitied and helped us in our weakness and sinfulness, so should we pity and help others. Many are perplexed with doubt, burdened with infirmities, weak in faith, and unable to grasp the unseen; but a friend whom they can see, coming to them in Christ’s stead, can be as a connecting link to fasten their trembling faith upon God. Oh, this is a blessed work! Let not pride and selfishness prevent us from doing the good which we may do, if we will work in Christ’s name, and with a loving, tender spirit.
14 “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Here, again, our duty is plainly set before us. How can the professed followers of Christ so lightly regard these inspired injunctions? Not long since I received a letter describing a circumstance in which a brother had manifested indiscretion. Although it occurred years ago, and was a very small matter, hardly worthy of a second thought, the writer stated that it had forever destroyed her confidence in that brother. If that sister’s life should show, upon review, no greater errors, it would be indeed a marvel, for human nature is very weak. I have been and am still fellowshiping as brethren and sisters those who have been guilty of grave sins, and who even now do not see their sins as God sees them. But the Lord bears with these persons, and why should not I? He will yet cause his Spirit so to impress their hearts that sin will appear to them as it appeared to Paul, exceedingly sinful.
15 We know but little of our own hearts, and have but little sense of our own need of the mercy of God. This is why we cherish so little of that sweet compassion which Jesus manifests toward us, and which we should manifest toward one another. We should remember that our brethren are weak, erring mortals, like ourselves. Suppose that a brother has through unwatchfulness been over-borne by temptation, and contrary to his general conduct has committed some error; what course shall be pursued toward him? We learn from Bible history that men whom God had used to do a great and good work committed grave sins. The Lord did not pass these by unrebuked, neither did he cast off his servants. When they repented, he graciously forgave them, and revealed to them his presence, and wrought through them. Let poor, weak mortals consider how great is their own need of pity and forbearance from God and from their brethren. Let them beware how they judge and condemn others. We should give heed to the instruction of the apostle: “Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” We may fall under temptation, and need all the forbearance which we are called to exercise toward the offender. “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
16 The apostle adds a caution to the independent and self-confident: “If a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. . . Every man shall bear his own burden.” He who considers himself superior in judgment and experience to his brethren, and despises their counsel and admonition, evinces that he is in a dangerous delusion. The heart is deceitful. He should test his character and life by the Bible standard. God’s word sheds an unerring light upon the pathway of man’s life. Notwithstanding the many influences which arise to divert and distract the mind, those who honestly seek God for wisdom will be guided into the right course. Every man must at last stand or fall for himself, not according to the opinion of the party that sustains or opposes him, not according to the judgment of any man, but according to his real character in the sight of God. The church may warn, counsel, and admonish, but it cannot compel any to take a right course. Whoever persists in disregarding the word of God must bear his own burden,—answer to God for himself, and suffer the consequences of his own course.
17 The Lord has given us in his word definite, unmistakable instructions, by obedience to which we may preserve union and harmony in the church. Brethren and sisters, are you giving heed to these inspired injunctions? Are you Bible-readers, and doers of the word? Are you striving to fulfill the prayer of Christ, that his followers might be one? “The God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus, that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God.” “Finally, brethren, be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you.”
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1 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” The more closely we resemble our Saviour in character, the greater will be our love toward those for whom he died. Christians who manifest a spirit of unselfish love for one another are bearing a testimony for Christ which unbelievers can neither gainsay nor resist. It is impossible to estimate the power of such an example. Nothing will so successfully defeat the devices of Satan and his emissaries, nothing will so build up the Redeemer’s kingdom, as will the love of Christ manifested by the members of the church. Peace and prosperity can be enjoyed only as meekness and love are in active exercise.
2 In his first Epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul sets forth the importance of that love which should be cherished by the followers of Christ: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
3 No matter how high his profession, he whose heart is not imbued with love for God and for his fellowmen, is not a disciple of Christ. Though he should possess great faith, and even have power to work miracles, yet without love his faith would be worthless. He might display great liberality, but should he from some other motive than genuine love, bestow all his goods to feed the poor, the act would not commend him to the favor of God. In his zeal he might even meet a martyr’s death, yet if destitute of the gold of love, he would be regarded by God as a deluded enthusiast or an ambitious hypocrite.
4 The apostle proceeds to specify the fruits of love: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind. Charity envieth not.” The divine love ruling in the heart exterminates pride and selfishness. “Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” The purest joy springs from the deepest humiliation. The strongest and noblest characters rest upon the foundation of patience and love, and trusting submission to the will of God.
5 Charity “doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.” The heart in which love rules, will not be filled with passion or revenge, by injuries which pride and self love would deem unbearable. Love is unsuspecting, ever placing the most favorable construction upon the motives and acts of others. Love will never needlessly expose the faults of others. It does not listen eagerly to unfavorable reports, but rather seeks to bring to mind some good qualities of the one defamed.
6 Love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.” He whose heart is imbued with love is filled with sorrow at the errors and weaknesses of others; but when truth triumphs, when the cloud that darkened the fair fame of another is removed, or when sins are confessed and wrongs corrected, he rejoices.
7 “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” Love not only bears with others’ faults, but cheerfully submits to whatever suffering or inconvenience such forbearance makes necessary. This love “never faileth.” It can never lose its value; it is the attribute of Heaven. As a precious treasure, it will be carried by its possessor through the portals of the city of God.
8 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. Discord and strife are the work of Satan and the fruit of sin. If we would as a people, enjoy peace and love, we must put away our sins, we must come into harmony with God, and we shall be in harmony with one another. Let each ask himself, Do I possess the grace of love? Have I learned to suffer long, and to be kind? Talents, learning, and eloquence, without this heavenly attribute, will be as meaningless as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Alas that this precious treasure is so lightly valued and so little sought by many who profess the faith!
9 Paul writes to the Colossians: “Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness; and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.” “And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
10 The fact that we are under so great obligation to Christ, places us under the most sacred obligation to those whom he died to redeem. We are to manifest toward them the same sympathy, the same tender compassion and unselfish love, which Christ has manifested toward us. Selfish ambition, desire for supremacy, will die when Christ takes possession of the affections.
11 Our Saviour taught his disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” A great blessing is here asked upon conditions. We ourselves state these conditions. We ask that the mercy of God toward us may be measured by the mercy which we extend to others. Christ declares that this is the rule by which the Lord will deal with us: “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Wonderful terms! but how little are they understood or heeded. One of the most common sins, and one that is attended with most pernicious results, is the indulgence of an unforgiving spirit. How many will cherish animosity or revenge, and then bow before God and ask to be forgiven as they forgive. Surely, they can have no true sense of the import of this prayer, or they would not dare to take it upon their lips. We are dependent upon the pardoning mercy of God every day and every hour; how then can we cherish bitterness and malice toward our fellow-sinners! If, in all their daily intercourse, Christians would carry out the principles of this prayer, what a blessed change would be wrought in the church and in the world! This would be the most convincing testimony that could be given to the reality of Bible religion.
12 God requires more of his followers than many realize. If we would not build our hopes of Heaven upon a false foundation, we must accept the Bible as it reads, and believe that the Lord means what he says. He requires nothing of us that he will not give us grace to perform. We shall have no excuse to offer in the day of God if we fail to reach the standard set before us in his word.
13 We are admonished by the apostle: “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” Paul would have us distinguish between the pure, unselfish love which is prompted by the spirit of Christ, and the unmeaning, deceitful pretense with which the world abounds. This base counterfeit has misled many souls. It would blot out the distinction between right and wrong, by agreeing with the transgressor instead of faithfully showing him his errors. Such a course never springs from real friendship. The spirit by which it is prompted dwells only in the carnal heart. While the Christian will be ever kind, compassionate, and forgiving, he can feel no harmony with sin. He will abhor evil and cling to that which is good, at the sacrifice of association or friendship with the ungodly. The spirit of Christ will lead us to hate sin, while we are willing to make any sacrifice to save the sinner.
14 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” The apostle admonishes his brethren, in the name and by the authority of the Lord Jesus, that after having professed the gospel they should not conduct themselves as did the Gentiles, but should show by their daily deportment that they had been truly converted.
15 “Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Once they were corrupt, degraded, enslaved by lustful passions; they were drugged by worldly opiates, blinded, bewildered, and betrayed by Satan’s devices. Now that they had been taught the truth as it is in Jesus, there must be a decided change in their life and character.
16 The accession of members who have not been renewed in heart and reformed in life is a source of weakness to the church. This fact is often ignored. Some ministers and churches are so desirous of securing an increase of numbers that they do not bear faithful testimony against unchristian habits and practices. Those who accept the truth are not taught that they cannot safely be worldlings in conduct while they are Christians in name. Heretofore they were Satan’s subjects; henceforth they are to be subjects of Christ. The life must testify to the change of leaders. Public opinion favors a profession of Christianity. Little self-denial or self-sacrifice is required in order to put on a form of godliness, and to have one’s name enrolled upon the church book. Hence many join the church without first becoming united to Christ. In this Satan triumphs. Such converts are his most efficient agents. They serve as decoys to other souls. They are false lights, luring the unwary to perdition. It is in vain that men seek to make the Christian’s path broad and pleasant for worldlings. God has not smoothed or widened the rugged, narrow way. If we would enter into life, we must follow the same path which Jesus and his disciples trod,—the path of humility, self-denial, and sacrifice.
(To be Concluded.)
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1 “Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” Man by wicked works alienated himself from God, but Christ gave his life that all who would, might be freed from sin and re-instated in the favor of the Creator. It was the anticipation of a redeemed, holy universe that prompted Christ to make this great sacrifice. Have we accepted the privileges so dearly purchased? Are we followers of God as dear children, or are we servants of the prince of darkness? Are we worshipers of Jehovah, or of Baal? of the living God, or of idols?
2 No outward shrines may be visible, there may be no image for the eye to rest upon, yet we may be practicing idolatry. It is as easy to make an idol of cherished ideas or objects as to fashion gods of wood or stone. Thousands have a false conception of God and his attributes. They are as verily serving a false god as were the servants of Baal. Are we worshiping the true God as he is revealed in his word, in Christ, in nature, or are we adoring some philosophical idol enshrined in his place? God is a God of truth. Justice and mercy are the attributes of his throne. He is a God of love, of pity, and tender compassion. Thus he is represented in his Son, our Saviour. He is a God of patience and long-suffering. If such is the being whom we adore, and to whose character we are seeking to assimilate, we are worshiping the true God.
3 If we are following Christ, his merits, imputed to us, come up before the Father as sweet odor. And the graces of our Saviour’s character, implanted in our hearts, will shed around us a precious fragrance. The spirit of love, meekness, and forbearance, pervading our life, will have power to soften and subdue hard hearts, and win to Christ bitter opposers of the faith.
4 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” “Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless, and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
5 Vainglory, selfish ambition, is the rock upon which many souls have been wrecked, and many churches rendered powerless. Those who know least of devotion, who are least connected with God, are the ones who will most eagerly seek the highest place. They have no sense of their weakness and their deficiencies of character. Unless many of our young ministers shall feel the converting power of God, their labors will be a hindrance rather than a help to the church. They may have learned the doctrines of Christ, but they have not learned Christ. The soul that is constantly looking unto Jesus will see his self-denying love and deep humility, and will copy his example. Pride, ambition, deceit, hatred, selfishness, must be cleansed from the heart. With many, these evil traits are partially subdued, but not thoroughly uprooted from the heart. Under favorable circumstances they spring up anew, and ripen into rebellion against God. Here lies a terrible danger. To spare any sin is to cherish a foe that only awaits an unguarded moment to cause our ruin.
6 Ministers should see that their own hearts are sanctified through the truth, and then labor to secure these results for their converts. It is pure religion that ministers and people need. Those who put away iniquity from their hearts, and stretch out their hands in earnest supplication unto God will have that help which he alone can give them. A ransom has been paid for the souls of men, that they may have an opportunity to escape from the thralldom of sin, and obtain pardon, purity, and Heaven. God hears the cry of the lowly and contrite. Those who frequent the throne of grace, offering up sincere, earnest petitions for divine wisdom and power, will not fail to become active, useful servants of Christ. They may not possess great talents, but with humility of heart, and firm reliance upon Jesus, they may do a good work in bringing souls to Christ. They can reach men through God. Ministers of Christ should ever feel that a sacred work engages all their souls, their efforts should be for the edification of the body of Christ and not to exalt themselves before the people. And while Christians should esteem the faithful minister as Christ’s ambassador, they should avoid all praise of the man.
7 “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” My brethren and sisters, how are you employing the gift of speech? Have you learned so to control the tongue that it shall ever obey the dictates of an enlightened conscience and holy affections? Is your conversation free from levity, pride and malice, deceit and impurity? Are you without guile before God? Words exert a telling power. Satan will, if possible, keep the tongue active in his service. Of ourselves we cannot control the unruly member. Divine grace is our only hope. Those who are eagerly studying how they may secure the pre-eminence, should study rather how they may gain that wisdom which is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” He who has Christ formed within, the hope of glory, will “show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.”
8 Peter exhorts the believers: “Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous; not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile; let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
9 When the right way is so plainly marked out, why do not the professed people of God walk in it? Why do they not study and pray and labor earnestly to be of one mind? Why do they not seek to cherish compassion for one another, to love as brethren, instead of rendering evil for evil, and railing for railing? Who does not love life and desire good days? yet how few comply with the conditions, to refrain the tongue from evil, and the lips from speaking guile. Few are willing to follow the Saviour’s example of meekness and humility. Many ask the Lord to humble them, but are unwilling to submit to the needful discipline. When the test comes, when trials or even annoyances occur, the heart rebels, and the tongue utters words that are like poisoned arrows or blasting hail.
10 Evil-speaking is a two-fold curse, falling more heavily upon the speaker than upon the hearer. He who scatters the seeds of dissension and strife, reaps in his own soul the deadly fruits. How miserable is the tale-bearer, the surmiser of evil! He is a stranger to true happiness.
11 “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Grace and peace rest upon those who refuse to join in the strife of tongues. When venders of scandal are passing from family to family, those who fear God will be chaste keepers at home. The time that is so often worse than wasted in idle, frivolous, and malicious gossip, should be given to higher and nobler objects. If the professed followers of Jesus would indeed become missionaries for God, visiting the sick and afflicted, and laboring patiently and kindly for the erring—in short, if they would copy the Pattern—the church would have prosperity in all her borders.
12 The sin of evil-speaking begins with the cherishing of evil thoughts. Guile includes impurity in all its forms. An impure thought tolerated, an unholy desire cherished, and the soul is contaminated, its integrity compromised. “Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” If we would not commit sin, we must shun its very beginnings. Every emotion and desire must be held in subjection to reason and conscience. Every unholy thought must be instantly repelled. To your closet, followers of Christ. Pray in faith, and with all the heart. Satan is watching to ensnare your feet. You must have help from above if you would escape his devices.
13 By faith and prayer all may meet the requirements of the gospel. No man can be forced to transgress. His own consent must be first gained; the soul must purpose the sinful act, before passion can dominate over reason, or iniquity triumph over conscience. Temptation, however strong, is never an excuse for sin. “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers.” Cry unto the Lord, tempted soul. Cast yourself, helpless, unworthy, upon Jesus, and claim this very promise. The Lord will hear. He knows how strong are the inclinations of the natural heart, and he will help in every time of temptation.
14 Have you fallen into sin? Then without delay seek God for mercy and pardon. When David was convicted of his sin, he poured out his soul in penitence and humiliation before God. He felt that he could endure the loss of his crown, but he could not be deprived of the favor of God. Mercy is still extended to the sinner. The Lord is calling to us in all our wanderings, “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” The blessing of God may be ours, if we will heed the pleading voice of his Spirit. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.”
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1 Oh, was there ever suffering and sorrow like that endured by the dying Saviour! It was the sense of his Father’s displeasure which made his cup so bitter. It was not bodily suffering which so quickly ended the life of Christ upon the cross. It was the crushing weight of the sins of the world, and a sense of his Father’s wrath that broke his heart. The Father’s glory and sustaining presence had left him, and despair pressed its crushing weight of darkness upon him, and forced from his pale and quivering lips the anguished cry: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
2 Jesus had united with the Father in making the world. Amid the agonizing sufferings of the Son of God, blind and deluded men alone remain unfeeling. The chief priests and elders revile God’s dear Son while in his expiring agonies. Yet inanimate nature groans in sympathy with her bleeding, dying Author. The earth trembles. The sun refuses to behold the scene. The heavens gather blackness. Angels have witnessed the scene of suffering until they can look on no longer, and hide their faces from the horrid sight. Christ is in despair! He is dying! His Father’s approving smile is removed, and angels are not permitted to lighten the gloom of the terrible hour. They could only behold in amazement their loved Commander suffering the penalty of man’s transgression of the Father’s law.
3 Even doubts assailed the dying Son of God. He could not see through the portals of the tomb. Bright hope did not present to him his coming forth from the tomb a conqueror, and his Father’s acceptance of his sacrifice. The sin of the world with all its terribleness was felt to the utmost by the Son of God. The displeasure of the Father for sin, and its penalty, which was death, were all that he could realize through this amazing darkness. He was tempted to fear that sin was so offensive in the sight of his Father that he could not be reconciled to his Son. The fierce temptation that his own Father had forever left him, caused that piercing cry from the cross “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
4 Christ felt much as sinners will feel when the vials of God’s wrath shall be poured out upon them. Black despair like the pall of death will gather about their guilty souls, and then they will realize to the fullest extent the sinfulness of sin. Salvation has been purchased for them by the suffering and death of the Son of God. It might be theirs if they would accept of it willingly, gladly; but none are compelled to yield obedience to the law of God. If they refuse the heavenly benefit, if they choose the pleasures and deceitfulness of sin, they can have their choice, and at the end receive their wages, which is the wrath of God and eternal death. They will be forever separated from the presence of Jesus, whose sacrifice they had despised. They will have lost a life of happiness, and sacrificed eternal glory for the pleasures of sin for a season.
5 Faith and hope trembled in the expiring agonies of Christ, because God had removed the assurance he had heretofore given his beloved Son of his approbation and acceptance. The Redeemer of the world then relied upon the evidences which had hitherto strengthened him, that his Father accepted his labors and was pleased with his work. In his dying agony, as he yields up his precious life, he has by faith alone to trust in Him whom it has ever been his joy to obey. He is not cheered with clear, bright rays of hope on the right hand nor on the left. All is enshrouded in oppressive gloom. Amid the awful darkness which is felt even by sympathizing nature, the Redeemer drains the mysterious cup even to its dregs. Denied even bright hope and confidence in the triumph which will be his in the near future, he cries with a loud voice, “Lord into thy hands I commit my spirit.” He is acquainted with the character of his Father, his justice, his mercy, and great love. In submission he drops into the hands of his Father. Amid the convulsions of nature are heard by the amazed spectators the dying words of the Man of Calvary, “It is finished.”
6 Nature sympathized with the sufferings of its Author. The heaving earth, the rent rocks, and the terrific darkness, proclaimed that it was the Son of God that died. There was a mighty earthquake. The vail of the temple was rent in twain. Terror seized the executioners and spectators as they beheld the sun veiled in darkness, and felt the earth shake beneath them, and saw and heard the rending of the rocks. The mocking and jeering of the chief priests and elders was hushed as Christ commended his spirit into the hands of his Father. The astonished throng began to withdraw, and grope their way in the darkness to the city. They smote upon their breasts as they went, and in terror, speaking scarcely above a whisper, said among themselves, “It is an innocent person that has been murdered. What if, indeed, he is, as he asserted, the Son of God?
7 Jesus did not yield up his life till he had accomplished the work which he came to do, and exclaimed with his departing breath, “It is finished!” Satan was then defeated. He knew that his kingdom was lost. Angels rejoiced as the words were uttered, “It is finished.” The great plan of redemption, which was dependent on the death of Christ, had been thus far carried out. And there was joy in Heaven that the sons of Adam could, through a life of obedience, be finally exalted to the throne of God. Oh, what love! what amazing love! that brought the Son of God to earth to be made sin for us, that we might be reconciled to God, and elevated to a life with him in his mansions in glory. And oh! what is man that such a price should be paid for his redemption?
8 When men and women can more fully comprehend the magnitude of the great sacrifice which was made by the Majesty of Heaven in dying in man’s stead, then will the plan of salvation be magnified, and reflections of Calvary will awaken sacred and living emotions in the Christian’s heart. Praises to God and the Lamb will be in their hearts and upon their lips. Pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the hearts that keep fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary. This world will appear of but little value to those who appreciate the great price of man’s redemption.
9 All the riches of the world are not of sufficient value to redeem one perishing soul. Who can measure the love Christ felt for a lost world, as he hung upon the cross, suffering for the sins of guilty men? This love was immeasurable, infinite.
10 Christ has shown that his love was stronger than death. Even when suffering the most fearful conflicts with the powers of darkness his love for perishing sinners increased. He endured the hidings of his Father’s countenance, until he was led to exclaim in the bitterness of his soul, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” His arm brought salvation. The price was paid to purchase the redemption of man, when, in the last soul struggle, the blessed words were uttered, which seemed to resound through creation, “It is finished.”
11 Many who profess to be Christians become excited over worldly enterprises, and their interest is awakened for new and exciting amusements, while they are cold-hearted, and appear as if frozen in the cause of God. But here is a theme, poor formalist, which is of sufficient importance to excite you. Eternal interests are here involved. The scenes of Calvary call for the deepest emotions. Upon this subject you will be excusable if you manifest enthusiasm. That Christ, so excellent, so innocent, should suffer such a painful death, bearing the weight of the sins of the world, our thoughts and imagination can never fully reach, so that we can comprehend the length, the breadth, the height, and the depth, of such amazing love. The contemplation of the matchless love of the Saviour, should fill and absorb the mind, touch and melt the soul, refine and elevate the affections, and completely transform the whole character. The language of the apostle is, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified.” And we may look toward Calvary, and also exclaim, “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Considering at what an immense cost our salvation has been purchased, what will be the portion of those who neglect so great salvation? What will be the punishment of those who profess to be followers of Christ yet fail to bow in humble obedience to the claims of their Redeemer, and who do not take the cross, as humble disciples of Christ?
12 Some have limited views of the atonement. They think that Christ suffered only a small portion of the penalty of the law of God, and that while the wrath of God was felt by his dear Son, they suppose that he had, through all his painful sufferings, the evidence of his Father’s love and acceptance, and that the portals of the tomb before him were illuminated with bright hope. Here is a great mistake. Christ’s keenest anguish was a sense of his Father’s displeasure. His mental agony because of this was of such intensity that man can have but faint conception of it.
13 With many the history of the humiliation and sacrifice of our divine Lord does not stir the soul and affect the life any more, nor awaken deeper interest than to read of the death of the martyrs of Jesus. Many have suffered death by slow tortures. Others have suffered death by crucifixion. In what does the death of God’s dear Son differ from these? It is true he died upon the cross a most cruel death; yet others for his dear sake have suffered equally, as far as bodily torture is concerned. Why, then, was the suffering of Christ more dreadful than that of other persons who have yielded their lives for his sake? If the sufferings of Christ consisted in physical pain alone, then his death was no more painful than that of some of the martyrs.
14 But bodily pain was only a small part of the agony of God’s dear Son. The sins of the world were upon him, and also the sense of his Father’s wrath as he suffered the penalty of the law. It was these that crushed his divine soul. It was the hiding of his Father’s face, a sense that his own dear Father had forsaken him, which brought despair. The separation that sin makes between God and man was fully realized and keenly felt by the innocent, suffering Man of Calvary. He was oppressed by the powers of darkness. He had not one ray of light to brighten the future. And he was struggling with the power of Satan, who was declaring that Christ was in his hands, and that he was superior in strength to the Son of God, that God had disowned his Son, and that he was no longer in the favor of God any more than himself. If he was indeed still in favor with God, why need he die? God could save him from death.
15 Christ yielded not in the least degree to the torturing foe, even in his bitterest anguish. Legions of evil angels were all about the Son of God, yet the holy angels were bidden not to break their ranks and engage in conflict with the taunting, reviling foe. Heavenly angels were not permitted to minister unto the anguished spirit of the Son of God. It was in this terrible hour of darkness, the face of his Father hidden, legions of evil angels enshrouding him, the sins of the world upon him, that the words were wrenched from his lips, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
16 We should take larger, broader, and deeper views of the life, sufferings, and death of God’s dear Son. When the atonement is viewed correctly, the salvation of souls will be felt to be of infinite value. In comparison with the enterprise of everlasting life every other sinks into insignificance. But how have the counsels of this loving Saviour been despised by many. The heart’s devotions have been to the world, and selfish interests have closed the door against the Son of God. Hollow hypocrisy and pride, selfishness and gain, envy, malice, and passion, have so filled the hearts of many that Christ can have no room.
17 He was eternally rich, “yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.” He was clothed with light and glory, surrounded with hosts of heavenly angels awaiting to execute his commands. Yet he put on our nature, and came to sojourn among sinful men “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” Here is love that no language can express. Our souls should be enlivened, elevated, and enraptured with the theme of the love of the Father and the Son. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” The followers of Christ should learn here to reflect back in some degree that mysterious love preparatory to joining all the redeemed in ascribing “Blessings, and honor, and glory, and power unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”
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1 Some who profess to believe the truth are lacking in discernment, and fail to appreciate moral worth. Persons who boast much of their fidelity to the cause, and talk as though they think they know all that is worth knowing, are not humble in heart. They may have property, and this is sufficient to give them influence with some, but it will not raise them one jot in favor with God. Money has power and sways a mighty influence. Excellence of character and moral worth are often overlooked, if possessed by the poor man. But what does God care for money? for property? The cattle upon a thousand hills are his. The world and all that is therein are his. The inhabitants of the earth are as grasshoppers before him. Men and property are but as the small dust of the balance. He is no respecter of persons.
2 Men of property often look upon their wealth and say, “By my wisdom have I gotten me this wealth.” But who gave them power to get wealth? God has bestowed upon them the ability which they possess, but instead of giving him the glory they take it to themselves. He will prove them and try them, and will bring their glorifying to the dust; he will remove their strength, and scatter their possessions. Instead of a blessing, they will realize a curse. An act of wrong or oppression, a deviation from the right way, should no sooner be tolerated in a man who possesses property than in a man who has none. All the riches that the most wealthy ever possessed are not of sufficient value to cover the smallest sin before God; they will not be accepted as a ransom for transgression. Repentance, true humility, a broken heart, and a contrite spirit, alone will be accepted of God. And no man can have true humility before God unless the same is exemplified before others. Nothing less than repentance, confession, and forsaking of sin is acceptable to God.
3 Many rich men have obtained their wealth by close deal, by advantaging themselves and disadvantaging their poorer fellow-men, or their brethren; and these very men glory in their shrewdness and keenness in a bargain. But the curse of God will rest upon every dollar thus obtained, and upon the increase of it on their hands. Consider the force of our Saviour’s words, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Those who possess the ability to acquire property need to be constantly on the watch, or they will turn their acquisitiveness to bad account. Thus many fall into temptation, overreach, receive more for a thing than it is worth, and sacrifice the generous, benevolent, noble principles of their manhood for sordid gain.
4 Many who profess to be followers of Christ, so love the world and the things that are in the world that they have been corrupted by its spirit and influence; the divine has disappeared from their characters, and the Satanic has crept in, transforming them to serve the purposes of Satan, to be instruments of unrighteousness. Then in contrast with these men are the industrious, honest poor men, who stand ready to help those who need help, who would rather suffer themselves to be disadvantaged by their wealthy brethren than to manifest so close and acquisitive a spirit as they manifest; men who esteem a clear conscience, and right, even in little things, of greater value than riches. They are so ready to help others, so willing to do all the good in their power, that they do not amass wealth; their earthly possessions do not increase. If there is a benevolent object to call forth means or labor, they are the first to be interested in and respond to it and frequently do far beyond their real ability, and thus deny themselves some needed good, to carry out their benevolent purposes.
5 Because these men can boast of but little earthly treasure, they may be looked upon as deficient in ability, in judgment, and in wisdom. They may be counted of no special worth, and their influence may not be esteemed by men; yet how does God regard these poor wise men? They are regarded precious in his sight, and although not increasing their treasure upon earth, they are laying up for themselves an incorruptible treasure in the heavens, and in doing this they manifest a wisdom as far superior to that of the wise, calculating, acquisitive professed Christian, as the divine and Godlike is superior to the earthly, carnal, and Satanic. It is moral worth that God values. A Christian character unblotted with avarice, possessing quietness, meekness, and humility, is more precious in his sight than the most fine gold, even the golden wedge of Ophir.
6 Wealthy men are to be tested more closely than they ever yet have been. If they stand the test and overcome the blemishes upon their character, and as faithful stewards of Christ render to God the things that are his, it will be said to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
7 Mark the parable of the unjust steward: “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”
8 If men fail to render to God that which he has lent them to use to his glory, and thus rob him they will make an entire failure. He has lent them means which they can improve upon by losing no opportunity to do good, and thus they may be constantly laying up treasure in Heaven. But if, like the man who had one talent, they hide it, fearing that God will get that which their talent gains, they will not only lose the increase which will finally be awarded the faithful steward, but also the principal which God gave them to work upon. Because they have robbed God, they will not have laid up treasure in Heaven, and they lose their earthly treasure also. They have no habitation on earth, and no Friend in Heaven to receive them into the everlasting habitation of the righteous.
9 Christ declares, “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon”—cannot serve God and your riches too. “The Pharisees also who were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided him.” Mark the words of Christ to them: “Ye are they who justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men [which is riches acquired by oppression, by deception, by overreaching, by fraud, or in any other dishonest manner] is abomination in the sight of God.” Then Christ presents the two characters, the rich man who was clothed with purple and fine linen, and who fared sumptuously every day, and Lazarus, who was in abject poverty, and loathsome to the sight, and who begged the few crumbs which the rich man despised. Our Saviour shows his estimate of the two. Although Lazarus was in so deplorable and mean a condition, he had true faith, true moral worth, which God saw, and which he considered of so great value that he took this poor, despised sufferer, and placed him in the most exalted position, while the honored and wealthy ease- loving rich man was thrust out from the presence of God, and plunged into misery and woe unutterable. God did not value the riches of this wealthy man, because he had not true moral worth. His character was worthless. His riches did not recommend him to God, nor have any influence to secure his favor.
10 By this parable Christ would teach his disciples not to judge or value men by their wealth, or by the honors which they received of others. Such was the course pursued by the Pharisees, who, while possessing both riches and worldly honor, were valueless in the sight of God; and more than this, were despised and rejected of him,—cast out from his sight as disgusting to him because there was no moral worth or soundness in them. They were corrupt, sinful, and abominable in his sight. The poor man, despised by his fellow- mortals, and disgusting to their sight, was valuable in the sight of God because he possessed moral soundness and worth, thus qualifying him to be introduced into the society of refined, holy angels, and to be an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.
11 In Paul’s charge to Timothy he warns him of a class who will not consent to wholesome words, and who place a wrong estimate on riches. He says: “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. From such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
12 Paul in this letter to Timothy would impress upon his mind the necessity of giving such instruction as should remove the deception which so easily steals upon the rich, that because of their riches they are superior to those who are in poverty; that because of their ability to acquire they are superior in wisdom and judgment—in short, that gain is godliness. Here is a fearful deception. How few heed the charge which Paul commissioned Timothy to make to the rich! How many flatter themselves that their acquisitiveness is godliness! Paul declares, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Although rich persons may devote their whole lives to the one object of getting riches, yet as they brought nothing into the world, they can carry nothing out. They must die and leave that which cost them so much labor to obtain. They staked their all, their eternal interest, to obtain this property, and have lost both worlds.
13 Paul shows what risks men will run to become rich. But many are determined to be rich; this is their study; and in their zeal eternal considerations are overlooked. They are blinded by Satan, and make themselves believe that it is for good purposes they desire this gain; they strain their consciences, deceive themselves, and are constantly coveting riches. Such have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. They have sacrificed their noble, elevated principles, given up their faith for riches, and if not disappointed in their object, they are disappointed in the happiness which they supposed riches would bring. They are entangled, perplexed with care; they have made themselves slaves to their avarice, and compelled their families to endure the same slavery, and the advantages they reap are “many sorrows.” “Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”
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1 At the birth of Christ, Satan saw the plains of Bethlehem illuminated with the brilliant glory of a multitude of heavenly angels. He heard their song, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men.” The prince of darkness saw the amazed shepherds filled with fear as they beheld the illuminated plains. They trembled before the exhibitions of bewildering glory which seemed to entrance their senses. The rebel chief himself trembled at the proclamation of the angel to the shepherds, “Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” He had met with good success in devising a plan to ruin men, and he had become bold and powerful. He had controlled the minds and bodies of men from Adam down to the first appearing of Christ. But now Satan was troubled and alarmed for his kingdom and his life.
2 The song of the heavenly messengers proclaiming the advent of the Saviour to a fallen world, and the joy expressed at this great event, Satan knew boded no good to himself. Dark forebodings were awakened in his mind as to the influence this advent to the world would have upon his kingdom. He queried if this was not the coming One who would contest his power and overthrow his kingdom. He looked upon Christ from his birth as his rival. He stirred the envy and jealousy of Herod to destroy Christ by insinuating to him that his power and his kingdom were to be given to this new king. Satan imbued Herod with the very feelings and fears that disturbed his own mind. He inspired the corrupt mind of Herod to slay all the children in Bethlehem who were two years old and under, which plan he thought would succeed in ridding the earth of the infant king.
3 But against his plans, Satan sees a higher power at work. Angels of God protected the life of the infant Redeemer. Joseph was warned in a dream to flee into Egypt, that in a heathen land he might find an asylum for the world’s Redeemer. Satan followed him from infancy to childhood, and from childhood to manhood, inventing means and ways to allure him from his allegiance to God, and overcome him with his subtle temptations. The unsullied purity of the childhood, youth, and manhood, of Christ which Satan could not taint, annoyed him exceedingly. All his darts and arrows of temptation fell harmless before the Son of God. And when he found that all his temptations prevailed nothing in moving Christ from the steadfast integrity, or marring the spotless purity of the youthful Galilean, he was perplexed and enraged. He looked upon this youth as an enemy that he must dread and fear.
4 That there should be one who walked the earth with moral power to withstand all his temptations, who resisted all his attractive bribes to allure him to sin, and over whom he could obtain no advantage to separate from God, chafed and enraged his satanic majesty.
5 The childhood, youth, and manhood of John, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah to do a special work in preparing the way for the world’s Redeemer, were marked with firmness and moral power. Satan could not move his integrity. When the voice of this prophet was heard in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,” Satan was afraid for his kingdom. He felt that the voice, sounding forth in trumpet tones in the wilderness, caused sinners under his control to tremble. He saw that his power over many was broken. The sinfulness of sin was revealed in such a manner that men became alarmed; and some, by repentance of their sins, found the favor of God, and gained moral power to resist his temptations.
6 He was on the ground at the time when Christ presented himself to John for baptism. He heard the majestic voice resounding through Heaven and echoing through the earth like peals of thunder. He saw the lightnings flash from the cloudless heavens, and heard the fearful words from Jehovah, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” He saw the brightness of the Father’s glory overshadowing the form of Jesus, thus pointing out in that crowd the One whom he acknowledged as his Son with unmistakable assurance. The circumstances connected with this baptismal scene had aroused the most intense hatred in the breast of Satan. He knew then for a certainty that unless he could overcome Christ, from thenceforth there would be a limitation of his power. He understood that the communication from the throne of God signified that Heaven was more directly accessible to man.
7 As Satan had led man to sin, he had hoped that God’s abhorrence of sin would forever separate him from man, and break the connecting link between Heaven and earth. The opening heavens, in connection with the voice of God addressing his Son, was like a death-knell to Satan. He feared that God was now to unite man more fully to himself, and give power to overcome his devices. And for this purpose Christ had come from the royal courts to the earth. Satan was well acquainted with the position of honor Christ had held in Heaven as the Son of God, the beloved of the Father. And that he should leave Heaven, and come to this world as a man, filled him with apprehension for his safety. He could not comprehend the mystery of this great sacrifice for the benefit of fallen man. He knew that the value of Heaven far exceeded the anticipation and appreciation of fallen man. The most costly treasures of the world, he knew, would not compare with its worth. As he had lost through his rebellion all the riches and pure glories of Heaven, he was determined to be revenged by causing as many as he could to undervalue Heaven, and to place their affections upon earthly treasures.
8 It was incomprehensible to the selfish soul of Satan that there could exist benevolence and love for the deceived race so great as to induce the Prince of Heaven to leave his home and come to a world marred with sin and seared with the curse. He had knowledge of the inestimable value of eternal riches that man had not. He had experienced the pure contentment, the peace, exalted holiness, and unalloyed joys of the heavenly abode. He had realized, before his rebellion, the satisfaction of the full approval of God. He had once a full appreciation of the glory that enshrouded the Father, and knew that there was no limit to his power.
9 Satan knew what he had lost. He now feared that his empire over the world was to be contested, his right disputed, and his power broken. He knew, through prophecy, that a Savior was predicted, and that his kingdom would not be established in earthly triumph and with worldly honor and display. He knew that ancient prophecies foretold a kingdom to be established by the Prince of Heaven upon the earth, which he claimed as his dominion. This kingdom would embrace all the kingdoms of the world, and then his power and his glory would cease, and he would receive his retribution for the sins he had introduced into the world, and for the misery he had brought upon man. He knew that everything which concerned his prosperity was pending upon his success or failure in overcoming Christ with his temptations in the wilderness. He brought to bear upon Christ every artifice and force of his powerful temptations to allure him from his allegiance.
10 It is impossible for man to know the strength of Satan’s temptations to the Son of God. Every temptation that seems so afflicting to man in his daily life, so difficult to resist and overcome, was brought to bear upon the Son of God in as much greater degree as his excellence of character was superior to that of fallen man.
11 Christ was tempted in all points like as we are. As man’s representative, he stood the closest test and proving of God. He met the strongest force of Satan. His most wily temptations Christ has tested and conquered in behalf of man. It is impossible for man to be tempted above what he is able to bear while he relies upon Jesus, the infinite Conqueror.
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1 The holy Scriptures inform us that, in the last days, Satan will work with power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. To those who do not love the truth he even appears as an angel of light. These words are fulfilled in the deceptions and false teachings of the present time. Spiritualists make the path to hell most attractive. Spirits of darkness are clothed by these deceptive teachers in pure robes of Heaven, and they have power to deceive those not fortified with Bible truth.
2 Vain philosophy is employed in representing the path to hell as a path of safety. With the imagination highly wrought, and voices musically tuned, they picture the broad road as one of happiness and glory. Ambition holds before deluded souls, as Satan presented to Eve, a freedom and bliss for them to enjoy which they never conceived was possible. Men are praised who have traveled the broad path to hell, and after they die are exalted to the highest positions in the eternal world. Satan, clothed in robes of brightness, appearing like an exalted angel, tempted the world’s Redeemer without success. But as he comes to man robed as an angel of light he has better success. He covers his hideous purposes, and succeeds too well in deluding the unwary who are not firmly anchored upon eternal truth.
3 Riches, power, genius, eloquence, pride, perverted reason, and passion, are enlisted as Satan’s agents in doing his work in making the broad road attractive, strewing it with tempting flowers. But every word they have spoken against the world’s Redeemer will be reflected back upon them, and will one day burn into their guilty souls like molten lead. They will be overwhelmed with terror and shame as they behold the exalted One coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Then shall the bold defier, who lifted himself up against the Son of God, see himself in the true blackness of his character. The sight of the inexpressible glory of the Son of God will be intensely painful to those whose characters are stained with sin. The pure light and glory emanating from Christ will awaken remorse, shame, and terror. They will send forth wails of anguish to the rocks and mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?”
4 Spiritualists claim superior light and power. They have opened the door and invited the prince of darkness in, and have made him their honored guest. They have allied themselves to the powers of darkness which are developing in these last days in signs and wonders, that if it were possible they would deceive the very elect. Spiritualists claim that they can do greater miracles than Christ did. Satan made the same boasts to Christ. Because the Son of God had linked himself to the weakness of humanity, to be tempted in all points like as man should be tempted, Satan triumphed over him, and taunted him. He boasted of his superior strength, and dared him to open a controversy with him.
5 Spiritualists are increasing in numbers. They will come to men who have the truth as Satan came to Christ, tempting them to manifest their power, and work miracles, and give evidence of their being favored of God, and of their being the people who have the truth. Satan said to Christ, “If thou be the Son of God, command these stones that they be made bread.” Herod and Pilate asked Christ to work miracles when he was on trial for his life. Their curiosity was aroused, but Christ did not work a miracle to gratify them.
6 Spiritualists will press the matter to engage in controversy with ministers who teach the truth. If they decline, they will dare them. They quote Scripture, as did Satan to Christ. “Prove all things,” say they. But their idea of proving is to listen to their deceptive reasonings, and attend their circles. But in their gatherings the angels of darkness assume the forms of dead friends, and communicate with them as angels of light.
7 Their loved ones will appear in robes of light, as familiar to the sight as when they were upon the earth. They will teach them, and converse with them. And many will be deceived by this wonderful display of Satan’s power. The only safety for the people of God is to be thoroughly conversant with their Bibles, and be intelligent upon the reasons of our faith in regard to the sleep of the dead.
8 Satan is a cunning foe. And it is not difficult for the evil angels to represent both saints and sinners who have died, and make these representations visible to human eyes. These manifestations will be more frequent, and developments of a more startling character will appear as we near the close of time. We need not be astonished at anything in the line of deceptions to allure the unwary, and deceive, if possible, the very elect. Spiritualists quote, “Prove all things.” But God has, for the benefit of his people who live amid the perils of the last days, proved this class, and given the result of his proving.
9 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12: “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
10 John, upon the Isle of Patmos, saw the things which should come upon the earth in the last days. Revelation 13:13; 16:14: “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
11 The apostle Peter distinctly points out the class which will be manifested in these last days.
12 2 Peter 2:10-14: “But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas, angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption, and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; a heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children.”
13 God, in his word, has placed his stamp upon the heresies of spiritualism as he placed his mark upon Cain. The godly need not be deceived if they are students of the Scriptures and obedient to follow the plain path marked out for them in the word of God.
14 The boastful spiritualist claims great freedom, and in smooth, flowery language seeks to fascinate and delude unwary souls to choose the broad path of pleasure and sinful indulgence, rather than the narrow path and the straight way. Spiritualists call the requirements of God’s law bondage, and say those who obey them live a life of slavish fear. With smooth words and fair speeches they boast of their freedom, and seek to cover their dangerous heresies with the garments of righteousness. They would make the most revolting crimes be considered as blessings to the race.
15 They open before the sinner a wide door to follow the promptings of the carnal heart, and violate the law of God, especially the seventh commandment. Those who speak these great swelling words of vanity, and who triumph in their freedom in sin, promise those whom they deceive the enjoyment of freedom in a course of rebellion against the revealed will of God. These deluded souls are themselves in the veriest bondage to Satan and are controlled by his power, and yet promising liberty to those who will dare to follow the same course of sin that they themselves have chosen.
16 The Scriptures are indeed fulfilled in this, that the blind are leading the blind. For by whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. These deluded souls are under the most abject slavery to the will of demons. They have allied themselves to the powers of darkness and have no strength to go contrary to the will of demons. This is their boasted liberty. By Satan they are overcome and brought into bondage, and the great liberty promised to those they deceive is helpless slavery to sin and Satan.
17 We are not to attend their circles, neither are our ministers to engage in controversy with them. They are of that class specified whom we should not invite into our houses, or bid them God speed. We have to compare their teachings with the revealed will of God. We are not to engage in an investigation of spiritualism. God has investigated this for us, and told us definitely that a class would arise in the last days who would deny Christ who has purchased them with his own blood. The character of spiritualists is so plainly described that we need not be deceived by them. If we obey the divine injunction, we shall have no sympathy with spiritualists, however smooth and fair may be their words.
18 The beloved John continues his warning against seducers: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but he that acknowledgeth the Son, hath the Father also).”
19 In Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians, he exhorts to be on guard, and not depart from the faith. He speaks of Christ’s coming as an event to immediately follow the work of Satan in spiritualism in these words: “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
20 In the epistle of Paul to Timothy, he foretells what will be manifested in the latter days. And this warning was for the benefit of those who should live when these things should take place. God revealed to his servant the perils of the church in the last days. He writes, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”
21 The faithful Peter speaks of the dangers to which the Christian church would be exposed in the last days, and more fully describes the heresies which would arise and the blaspheming seducers who would seek to draw away souls after them. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”
22 Here God has worked out for us the proof of the class mentioned. They have refused to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God, and they have no more reverence for the eternal Father than for his Son, Jesus Christ. They have neither the Son nor the Father. And like their great leader, the rebel chief, they are in rebellion against the law of God, and they despise the blood of Christ.
23 We may rejoice in every condition of life, and triumph under all circumstances, because the Son of God came down from Heaven and submitted to bear our infirmities, and to endure sacrifice and death in order to give to us immortal life. He will ever bear the marks of his earthly humiliation in man’s behalf. While the redeemed host and the pure angelic throng shall do him honor and worship him, he will carry the marks of one that has been slain. The more fully we appreciate the infinite sacrifice made in our behalf by a sin-atoning Saviour, the more closely do we come into harmony with Heaven.
24 We have characters to form here. God will test us and prove us by placing us in positions to develop the most enduring strength, purity, and nobility of soul, with perfect patience on our part, and entire trust in a crucified Saviour. We shall meet with reverses, affliction, and severe trials, for these are God’s tests. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and purge his people as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.
25 The cross of Christ is all covered with reproach and stigma, yet it is the hope of life and exaltation to man. No one can comprehend the mystery of godliness so long as he is ashamed to bear the cross of Christ. None will be able to discern and appreciate the blessings which Christ has purchased for man at infinite cost to himself, unless they are willing to joyfully sacrifice earthly treasures that they may become his followers. Every self-denial and sacrifice made for Christ enriches the giver, and every suffering and reproach endured for his dear name increases the final joy and immortal reward in the kingdom of glory.
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1 Professed Christians engage in feastings and in scenes of amusement which degrade the religion of Jesus Christ. It is impossible for those who find pleasure in church socials, festivals, and numerous gatherings for pleasure, to have ardent love and sacred reverence for Jesus. His words of warning and instruction have no weight upon their minds. Should Christ come into the assembly of those who were absorbed in their plays and frivolous amusements, would the solemn melody of his voice be heard in benediction, saying, “Peace be to this house?” How would the Saviour of the world enjoy these scenes of gaiety and folly?
2 Christians and the world unite, one in heart and one in spirit, in these festal occasions. The Man of sorrows, who was acquainted with grief, would find no welcome in these places of amusement. The lovers of pleasure and luxury, the thoughtless and the gay are collected in these rooms, and the glitter and tinsel of fashion are seen everywhere. The ornament of crosses of gold and pearl, which represent a Redeemer crucified, adorn their persons. But the one whom these highly-prized jewels represent, finds no welcome, no room. His presence would be a restraint upon their mirth and their sensual amusements, and would remind them of neglected duty, and bring to their remembrance hidden sins which caused that sorrowful countenance, and made those eyes so sad and tearful.
3 The presence of Christ would be positively painful in these gatherings for pleasure. Surely, none could invite him there, for his countenance is marred with sorrows more than the sons of men, because of these very amusements which put God out of mind, and make the broad road attractive to the sinner. The enchantments of these exciting scenes pervert reason, and destroy reverence for sacred things. Ministers who profess to be Christ’s representatives frequently take the lead in these frivolous amusements. “Ye are,” says Christ, “the light of the world.” “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”
4 In what manner is the light of truth shining from that thoughtless, pleasure-seeking company? Professed followers of Jesus Christ who indulge in gaiety and feasting cannot be partakers with Christ of his sufferings. They have no sense of his sufferings. They do not care to meditate upon self-denial and sacrifice. They find but little interest in studying the marked points in the history of the life of Christ upon which the plan of salvation rests, but imitate ancient Israel who ate and drank and rose up to play. In order to copy a pattern correctly we must carefully study its design. If we are indeed to overcome as Christ overcame, that we may mingle with the bloodwashed, glorified company before the throne of God, it is of the highest importance that we become acquainted with the life of our Redeemer and deny self as did Christ. We must meet temptations and overcome obstacles, and through toil and suffering, in the name of Jesus, overcome as he overcame.
5 The great trial of Christ in the wilderness on the point of appetite was to leave man an example of self-denial. This long fast was to convict men of sinfulness of the things in which professed Christians indulge. The victory which Christ gained in the wilderness was to show man the sinfulness of the very things in which he takes such pleasure. The salvation of man was in the balance, and to be decided by the trial of Christ in the wilderness. If Christ was a victor on the point of appetite, then there was a chance for man to overcome. If Satan gained the victory through his subtlety, man was bound by the power of appetite in chains of indulgence which he could not have moral power to break. Christ’s humanity alone could never have endured this test, but his divine power combined with humanity gained in behalf of man an infinite victory. Our representative in this victory raised humanity in the scale of moral value with God.
6 Christians, who understand the mystery of godliness, who have a high and sacred sense of the atonement, who realize in the sufferings of Christ in the wilderness a victory gained for them, would see such marked contrast between these things and the church gatherings for pleasure and the indulgence of appetite, as would turn them in disgust from these scenes of revelry. Christians would be greatly strengthened by earnestly and frequently comparing their lives with the true standard, the life of Christ. The numerous socials, festivals, and picnics, to tempt the appetite to over-indulgence, and the amusements which lead to levity and forgetfulness of God, can find no sanction in the example of Christ, the world’s Redeemer, the only safe pattern for man to copy if he would overcome as Christ overcame.
7 We present the faultless pattern to all Christians. Says Christ, “Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” The light of Heaven is to be reflected through Christ’s followers to the world. This is the Christian’s life-work to direct the minds of sinners to God. The Christian’s life should awaken in the hearts of worldlings high and elevated views of the purity of the Christian religion. This will make believers the salt of the earth, the saving power in our world; for a well-developed Christian character is harmonious in all its parts.
8 We tremble for the youth of our day, because of the example that is given them by those who profess to be Christians. We cannot close the door of temptation to the youth, but we can educate them that their words and their actions may have a direct bearing upon their future happiness or misery. They will be exposed to temptation. They will meet foes without and foes within, but they can be instructed to stand firm in their integrity, having moral principle to resist temptation. The lessons given our youth by world-loving professors are doing great harm. The festal gatherings, the gluttonous feasts, the lotteries, tableaux, and theatrical performances, are doing a great work that will bear a record with its burden of results to the Judgment.
9 All these inconsistencies, sanctioned by professed Christians under a garb of Christian beneficence, to collect means to pay church expenses, have their influence with the youth to make them lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. They think if Christians can encourage and engage in these lotteries and scenes of festivities, and connect them with sacred things, why may not they be safe in taking an interest in lotteries, and engaging in gambling to win money for special objects.
10 It is Satan’s studied plan to clothe sin with garments of light to hide its deformity, and make it attractive. And ministers and people professing righteousness unite with the adversary of souls to help him in his plans. Never was there a time when every member of the church should feel his responsibility to walk humbly and circumspectly before God as at the present. Vain philosophy, false creeds, and infidelity, are on the increase. And many who bear the name of Christ’s followers are, through pride of heart, seeking popularity, and are drifting away from the established landmarks. The plain commands of God in his word are discarded because they are so plain and old-fashioned, while vain and vague theories attract the mind and please the fancy. In these scenes of church festivities, there is a union with the world that the word of God does not justify. Christians and worldlings are united in them.
11 But the apostle inquires:—
12 “What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
13 When we are able to comprehend the temptations and victories of the Son of God while in severe conflict with Satan, we shall have a more correct idea of the greatness of the work before us in overcoming. Satan knew that if he failed, his case was hopeless. If he succeeded, he had gained a victory over the entire race, and his life and kingdom he thought would be established.
14 In professedly Christian gatherings, Satan throws a religious garment over delusive pleasures and unholy revelings to give them the appearance of sanctity, and the consciences of many are quieted because means are raised by these to defray church expenses. Men refuse to give for the love of Christ; but for the love of pleasure, and the indulgence of appetite for selfish consideration they will part with their money.
15 Is it because there is not power in the lessons of Christ upon benevolence, and in his example, and the grace of God upon the heart, to lead men to glorify God with their substance, that such a course must be resorted to in order to sustain the church? The injury sustained to the physical, mental, and moral health in these scenes of amusement and gluttony, is not small. And the day of final reckoning will show souls lost through the influence of these scenes of gaiety and folly.
16 It is a deplorable fact that sacred and eternal considerations do not have that power to open the hearts of the professed followers of Christ to make free-will offerings to sustain the gospel as the temptation of feasting and general merriment. It is a sad reality that these inducements will prevail when sacred and eternal things will have no force to influence the heart to engage in works of benevolence.
17 The plan of Moses in the wilderness to raise means was highly successful. There was no compulsion necessary. Moses made no grand feast, and he did not invite the people to scenes of gaiety, dancing, and general amusement. Neither did he institute lotteries or anything of this profane order to obtain means to erect the tabernacle of God in the wilderness. God commanded Moses to invite the children of Israel to bring their offerings. Moses was to accept gifts of every man that gave willingly from his heart. But the free-will offerings came in so great abundance that Moses proclaimed it was enough. They must cease their presents; for they had given abundantly, more than they could use.
18 Satan’s temptations succeed with the professed followers of Christ on the point of indulgence of pleasure and appetite. Clothed as an angel of light he will quote Scripture to justify the temptations he places before men to indulge the appetite, and in worldly pleasures which suit the carnal heart. The professed followers of Christ are weak in moral power, and are fascinated with the bribe which Satan has presented before them, and he gains the victory. How does God look upon churches that are sustained by such means? Christ cannot accept these offerings, because they were not given through their love and devotion to him, but through their idolatry of self. But what many would not do for the love of Christ, they will do for the love of delicate luxuries to gratify the appetite, and for love of worldly amusements to please the carnal heart.
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1 Jesus, to obtain a little season of repose, and for the benefit of his disciples, proposed that they should go with him into a desert place and rest awhile. There were suitable places for such retirement beyond the sea from Capernaum, and they entered a boat and made their way thither. But some who were searching for Jesus saw him depart from the shore, and the anxious people gathered together watching the slowly receding boat. The news spread from city to city that Jesus was crossing the sea; and many who were eager to see and hear him flocked to the place where it was thought that his boat would land, while others followed him over the water in boats. So when Jesus and his disciples landed they found themselves in the midst of a multitude of people, pressing forward on all sides to meet them.
2 Jesus, perceiving all this, beckons to Peter, who is in his boat on the sea, to come nigh. The disciple obeys the signal, and comes to shore. Jesus presses through the throng, and steps into the boat, bidding Peter to thrust out a little from the land. He now sits in the rocking boat of the fisherman, and, in full sight and hearing of the crowd, finishes the long and toilsome day by speaking precious truths to them. The Son of God, leaving the royal courts of Heaven, takes not his position upon David’s throne; but from the swaying seat of a fisherman’s boat, speaks the words of eternal wisdom which are to be immortalized in the minds of his disciples and given to the world as the legacy of God.
3 As the sun was setting, Jesus saw before him five thousand people besides women and children, who had been all day without food. He inquired of Philip concerning the probability of obtaining bread for so large a number, that they might not return to their homes unrefreshed nor faint by the way. This he did to test the faith of his disciples, for he himself was at no loss how to provide food. He who would not work a miracle to satisfy his own hunger in the wilderness, would not allow the multitude to suffer for lack of food. Philip looked over the sea of heads and thought how impossible it would be to obtain sufficient food to satisfy the wants of such a crowd. He answered that two hundred penny-worth of bread would not be nearly enough to divide among them so that each one might have a little. Jesus inquired how much food could be found among the company. He was told that Andrew had discovered a lad who had with him five barley loaves, and two small fishes. But this was nothing among so many, and they were in a desert place, where no more could be obtained.
4 Jesus commanded that this meager store should be brought to him. This being done, he directed his disciples to seat the people upon the grass in parties of fifty, and one hundred, to preserve order, and that all might witness the miracle he was about to do. This marshaling of five thousand people into companies, was at length satisfactorily accomplished, and they were all seated in the presence of the Saviour. He then took the loaves and fishes, and, having given thanks, distributed them to the disciples and to the multitudes, in quantities sufficient to satisfy their appetites.
5 The people had arranged themselves in the required order wondering what was to be done, but their amazement knew no bounds when the problem was solved, and they beheld food portioned out to that vast assembly from the slender store scarcely sufficient for a score of persons. The food did not diminish, as Jesus handed it to his disciples, who in their turn served the people. As often as they returned to him for a fresh supply, it was furnished them. After all had been satisfied, he directed the disciples to gather up the fragments that nothing might be lost; and the broken fragments filled twelve baskets.
6 During this remarkable feast, there was much earnest reflection among those who were so miraculously served. They had followed Jesus to listen to words such as had never before fallen upon their ears. His teachings had sunk into their hearts. He had healed their sick, had comforted their sorrow, and, at last, rather than send them away hungering, he had fed them bounteously. His pure and simple doctrine laid hold of their minds, and his tender benevolence won their hearts. While eating the food he had provided for them, they decided that this was indeed the Messiah. No other one could do so mighty a miracle. No human power could create from five barley loaves and two small fishes, food sufficient to feed thousands of hungry people. His teachings and work of healing had already nearly convinced them of his divinity, and this miracle crowned their growing conviction with entire belief.
7 They decided that this was the Prince of Life, the promised Deliverer of the Jews. They perceive that he makes no effort to win the applause of the people. In this he is essentially different from the chief priests and rulers, who are ambitious for titles and the honor of men. They fear that he will never claim his right as King of Israel and take his place on David’s throne in Jerusalem. But they decide that what he will not assume for himself, they will claim for him. They need no greater evidence of his divine power nor will they wait for any further proof. They quietly consult among themselves, and arrange to take him by force, and bear him upon their shoulders, proclaiming him the King of Israel. The disciples unite with the people in declaring that the throne of David is the rightful inheritance of their Master. Let the arrogant priests and rulers be humbled, and compelled to yield honor to Him who comes clothed with the authority of God. They begin to devise means to accomplish their purpose; but Jesus discerns their plans, which, if followed out, would defeat the very work he designs to do, and put a period to his instruction and deeds of mercy and benevolence.
8 Already the priests and rulers look upon him as one who has turned the hearts of the people from them to himself. Already they so dread his growing influence among them that they seek to take his life. He knows that violence and insurrection would be the result of his exaltation as Israel’s king. He did not come into the world to set up a temporal kingdom; his kingdom, as he had stated, was not of this world. The multitude do not perceive the dangers arising from the movement they contemplate; but the calm eye of divine wisdom discovers all the hidden evils. Jesus sees that it is time to change the current of feeling among the people. He calls his disciples to him and directs them to immediately take the boat and return to Capernaum, leaving him to dismiss the people. He promises to meet them that night or on the following morning. The disciples are loth to submit to this arrangement. They are ambitious that Jesus should receive his true merits, and be lifted above the persecutions of the priests and rulers. The favored moment seems to have arrived, when, by the unanimous voice of the people, Christ can be elevated to his true dignity.
9 They cannot feel reconciled that all this enthusiasm shall come to naught. The people were assembling from all quarters to celebrate the passover at Jerusalem. They were all anxious to see the great Prophet whose fame had spread through all the land. This, to the faithful followers of Jesus, seemed the golden opportunity to establish their beloved Master as Israel’s king. It seemed, in the glow of this new ambition, a very hard thing for them to go away by themselves and leave their Master alone upon the desolate shore, surrounded by high and barren mountains.
10 They remonstrate against this arrangement; but Jesus is firm in his decision, and commands them to follow his directions with an authority that he had never before assumed toward them. They obey in silence. Jesus then turns to the multitude, and perceives that they are thoroughly decided to force him into becoming their king. Their movements must be checked at once. The disciples had already departed, and he now, standing before them with a grand dignity, dismisses them in so firm and decisive a manner that they dare not disobey his commands. The words of praise and exaltation die upon their lips. Their steps are stayed as they are in the very act of advancing to seize him, and the glad and eager looks fade from their countenances. There were men of strong minds and firm determination in that throng, but the kingly bearing of Jesus, and his few quiet words of authority, quelled the tumult in a moment and frustrated all their designs. Like meek, submissive children, they obey the command of their Lord, submitting humbly, and without question, to a power that they recognize as above all earthly authority.
11 Jesus looked upon the retreating multitude with yearning compassion. He felt that they were as scattered sheep without a shepherd. The priests who should have been teachers in Israel, were but machines for performing unmeaning ceremonies and repeating the law they did not themselves understand nor practice. When he was left alone he went up into the mountain, and, for many hours, bent in supplication before the Father with bitter agony and tears. Not for himself were those earnest prayers, but for man, depraved and lost but for redeeming grace. It was for man that the Son of God wrestled with his Father, asking that the poor sinful creature might turn from his guilt to the light of salvation.
12 The Saviour knew that his days of personal effort for men upon earth were numbered. He who read the hearts of men knew that comparatively few would accept him as their Redeemer, acknowledging themselves lost without his divine aid. The Jews were rejecting the very help that God had sent to save them from utter ruin. They were fastening the chains that bound them in hopeless night. They were bringing upon themselves the certain wrath of God for their blind and obstinate wickedness. Hence the grief of Jesus, and his tears and strong cries for his mistaken people, who spurned his love that would save them from the retribution of their sins. Deep emotion shakes that noble form as he keenly realizes the doom of the people he has come to save. In every trial and emergency, Jesus went to his Heavenly Father for help, and, in those secret interviews, received strength for the work that lay before him. Christians should follow the example of their Saviour, and seek in prayer the strength that will enable them to endure the trials and duties of life. Prayer is the Christian’s defense, the safeguard of his integrity and virtue.
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1 As the importance of our camp-meetings is yearly increasing, it is constantly becoming of greater consequence to adopt such plans of working as shall secure the best possible results. We should remember that union is strength. A serious mistake has sometimes been made, in the attempt to attend as many meetings as possible during the camp-meeting season. The forces were divided, and, of course, weakened, and the efforts made were comparatively feeble. Here is given occasion for the triumph of our enemies, who regard these as our best efforts, and so represent them. If it is necessary to hold fewer general meetings, for want of laborers, let there be a sufficient force where meetings are held, so that the labor and responsibility shall be shared by several men, instead of falling chiefly upon one. God does not design that any of his servants shall labor to exhaustion.
2 At our large gatherings more attention should be given to organizing our forces, and enlisting, not ministers only, but all who have an experience, making them feel that they have a responsibility to bear. Wise generalship is needed at the very outset of our meetings to engage all our working forces, that the interest of the meeting, outside of the preaching services, may be maintained.
3 There has often been more preaching at our camp-meetings than was really necessary. Wisdom and economy should be exercised in this direction as well as in every other. Ministers should not feel that everything depends on their efforts in presenting doctrinal or even practical discourses. They must have a firmer reliance upon Jesus, our mighty helper; they must encourage in their own hearts a faith that will not falter under any circumstances. In short, they must depend more upon Christ’s presence, and less upon their own personal efforts.
4 There is a serious waste of vital energy in long sermons. If our ministers would preach short discourses, right to the point, and then educate the brethren and sisters to work, and lay the burden upon them, the ministers themselves would be saved from exhaustion, the people would gain spiritual strength by the effort put forth, and the result would be tenfold greater than now is seen. Too heavy burdens, both in preaching and in the transaction of business, have rested upon the few who labor in word and doctrine. These men should preserve their strength and vigor, and keep their minds stayed upon God, that human infirmities may not affect their judgment or mar the solemn, dignified, holy character which should mark all their deliberations.
5 While our leading ministers do too much, our lay brethren and sisters do too little. The rich experience which the latter might gain in earnest, personal labor, is lost to them because they fail to bear the burdens which they can and should bear. They should seek to do all that it is in their power to do, not feeling that they are working for the minister or the Conference, and that they should receive remuneration, but as working for God, unselfishly laboring to make the meeting a success. In so doing they will bring a blessing to their own souls, and will also become a channel of light and blessing to others.
6 Our ministers must become educators as well as preachers. They should teach the people not to depend upon them, but upon Christ. The minister who preaches two hours when he should not exceed one, would far better serve the cause of God by devoting that extra hour to earnest, careful thought in studying how to direct others, how to teach them to work. Attention should especially be given to teaching the people to labor in the meetings held among the tents’ companies. None who come to the meetings should be content to leave it without a deeper religious experience than when they came upon the ground. The people are perishing because they do not put to use the talents which God has given them.
7 Our brethren and sisters come to camp-meeting hoping to receive the blessing of the Lord; yet it is often the case that they do not know just what to do to make the meeting a benefit to themselves or to others. Many do not realize but that the only object for which they came is merely to hear preaching. Therefore they do not strive for the blessing of God, they do not from the very commencement of the meeting feel the necessity of confessing their sins, and striving for the earnest of the Spirit. They do not know that the success of the meeting depends largely upon themselves, and therefore do not feel the burden of the work. The very first effort of ministers should be to set them in the way of working for themselves. Let the minds and hearts of the people be enlisted in the work. Let all be taught what they must do to open the door of the heart to Jesus, that they may receive him gladly.
8 The necessity of a real heart-work for every member of the body must be pressed upon them. The labor should be directed right to the one end,—a more complete putting away of idols, a deeper consecration, a stronger faith, and more earnest personal effort for the salvation of others. Fear should be aroused in every heart because there is so little vital godliness among us; fear lest God will say, “He is joined to his idols; let him alone.”
9 My brethren, there should be a different kind of labor from what we have yet seen in our camp-meetings. There should be more prayer and weeping, and more confession of sin to God and to one another. Let the indifference be broken up, let the complaining and fault-finding cease, and the time heretofore worse than wasted in this manner be spent in prayers of living faith for the refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Let us arouse as one man, and unitedly call upon God to send down his grace upon the souls of his people, and to revive his work in the midst of the years.
10 Every tent’s company should be set to work for themselves; and they should also be united in larger divisions, with suitable men appointed in each to help to the utmost of their ability, the ones placed under their charge. Men should not be chosen for this work who have so much sermonizing to do, to exhibit themselves, that they are no help to the people. The leaders appointed should be carefully taught how to labor to secure the best results. The wisest generalship is in seeing, not how much we can do ourselves, but how much we can lead the people to do. This is the education which they need in order to grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth. They must be taught, not so much by long sermons as by personal effort, how to secure the blessing of God, the true conversion.
11 Our camp-meeting should be as a training-school to our younger ministers. Here is the very place for them to be educated as to the best manner of labor. They should learn that all their duty is not comprised in preaching. They need to know how to conduct wisely the social meetings, how to teach the people to work, that there be no idlers in the vineyard of the Lord. While preaching is one of God’s instrumentalities, there are other agencies that must be set in operation to prepare the way of the Lord. The church must be made to feel her accountability before the Lord will revive his work.
12 The preacher himself, must be alive; he must have the earnestness of the Spirit; he must labor through Christ; he must make direct appeals; he must sound the alarm to careless and world-loving professors, though they should be displeased because their ears tingle with the close application of the truth,—”Thou art the man.” It is too late to daub with untempered mortar. There must be plain and faithful dealing. The people must be aroused to do the work which God enjoins upon them, to take up the stumbling-blocks and clear out the rubbish, that the Spirit of God may come in. The guilt as well as the danger of backsliding must be faithfully pointed out. Follow up the word with personal effort. General appeals are often made with little effect. Come close to hearts, stirring up all to act a part. Let not one day be lost. Engage every influence that can be commanded. Give the people something to do. See that none are idling about, seeing, hearing, and telling some new thing.
13 The Lord calls upon his people to repent and to do their first works. He admonishes them to examine themselves, whether they are in the faith, whether their hopes are well founded, whether they are not petting and excusing defects of character, when they should be going on to perfection. The worldliness in the church, which is the great cause of spiritual death, is attributable to the influence of selfish, ease-loving members. The progress of this deadly malady must be checked. The surgeon’s knife cuts deep when it is necessary to remove festering, pestilent matter; so the word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, must be made to cut to the heart, or the evil will never be removed. When the plain testimony is given, some will say, My hope is gone; I have no religion; I give it all up. Those who really want to be Christ’s will receive reproof, put away their sins, and take their stand on the side of Jesus. If any have no real desire for the truth, because it must purify the soul, their withdrawal is not to be regretted. The fewer we have of such the better.
14 What we need, what we cannot do without, is the Spirit of God to work with our efforts. All pampering of self must be at an end. There must be an earnest longing, a soul-hunger, for the presence of the Lord. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”
15 It is a case of life or death with us. We have been stricken with spiritual paralysis, and every one needs the help of the great Physician. He alone can reach our case. He is only waiting to be invited by us with earnest heart, with sincere desire, If any at the close of the convocation meeting still feel that they are not blessed, the fault is with themselves. God is no respecter of persons or of places. It cannot be because of any reluctance on the part of the great Physician that they are passed by. They did not prepare the way for him. Perhaps they neglected to make humble confessions to those whom they had injured. They have not put away the idols from the soul-temple. They have a work to do to repent of their self-indulgence, of the favorite sins which they are not ready to surrender. Nothing is wanting but a preparation of heart, and earnest, believing prayer, to bring Jesus to our side as a mighty helper. He longs to come. He is only waiting for us to prepare the way, and he will come. When he walked in his humiliation, a man among the children of men, he delighted in doing good to the bodies and souls of all who sought him and trusted him. So he will now verify his promises to his people, if they will do what he has enjoined in his word to prepare the way for his blessing.
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1 Through all the ages of papal darkness and oppression, God’s care was over his cause and his people. Amid opposition, conflict, and persecution, an all-wise providence was still at work in the upbuilding of Christ’s kingdom. Satan exercised his power to hinder the work of God, by destroying the workmen; but as soon as one laborer was imprisoned, or slain, another was raised up to fill the vacancy. Despite all the opposing powers of evil, angels of God were doing their work, heavenly messengers were searching out men to stand as light-bearers amid the darkness. Notwithstanding the wide-spread apostasy, there were honest souls who had given heed to all the light which shone upon them. In their ignorance of God’s word they had received the doctrines and traditions of men, but when the word was placed within their reach, they earnestly studied its pages, and in humility of heart they wept and prayed for a knowledge of God’s will. With great joy they accepted the light of truth, and eagerly sought to impart light to their fellow-men.
2 Through the labors of Wickliffe, Huss, and kindred workers, thousands of noble witnesses had borne testimony to the truth; yet at the beginning of the sixteenth century the darkness of ignorance and superstition still rested like a pall upon the church and the world. Religion was made to consist in a round of ceremonies, many of them borrowed from heathenism, and all devised by Satan to lead the minds of the people away from God and the truth. The worship of images and relics was still maintained. The Scriptural ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was supplanted by the idolatrous sacrifice of the mass. Popes and priests claimed the power to forgive sins, and to open and close the gates of Heaven to all mankind. Senseless superstitions and rigorous exactions had taken the place of the true worship of God. The lives of popes and clergy were so corrupt, their proud pretensions so blasphemous, that good men trembled for the morality of the rising generation. With iniquity prevailing in the high places of the church, it seemed inevitable that the world would soon become as wicked as were the antediluvians or the inhabitants of Sodom.
3 The gospel was withheld from the people. It was regarded as a crime to own or read the Scriptures. Even the higher classes found it difficult to obtain a glimpse of the word of God. Satan well knew that if the people were permitted to read and interpret the Bible for themselves, his deceptions would speedily lose their power. Hence it was his studied effort to shut the Scriptures away from the people, and to prevent their minds from becoming enlightened by the truths of the gospel. But a day of religious light and freedom was about to dawn upon the world, and all the efforts of Satan and his hosts were powerless to prevent its coming.
4 Foremost among those who were called for God to break the chains of popery, and lead the church into the light of a purer faith, stood Martin Luther. Though, like others in his time, he did not see every point of faith as clearly as we see it today, yet he earnestly desired to know the will of God, and joyfully received the truth as it was made plain to his understanding. Zealous, ardent, devoted, knowing no fear but the fear of God, and acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the Scriptures of truth, Luther was the man for his time; and through him God accomplished a great work for the emancipation of the church, and the enlightenment of the world.
5 Like the first heralds of the gospel, Luther sprung from the ranks of poverty. His father earned by daily toil as a miner the means to educate his son. He intended him for a lawyer; but God designed to make him a builder upon the great temple rising so slowly through the centuries.
6 Luther’s father was a man of strong and active mind, and great force of character, honest, resolute and straightforward. His life was characterized by stern integrity; he was true to his convictions of duty, let the consequences be what they might. His sterling good sense led him to regard the monastic system with distrust. He was highly displeased when Luther, without his consent, entered a monastery; and it was two years before the father was reconciled to his son, and even then his opinions remained the same.
7 Luther’s parents were strictly conscientious, earnest, and zealous in the performance of their parental duties, seeking to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Yet with their firmness and strength of character they sometimes erred by exercising too great severity. Their government was one of law and authority. The mother especially manifested too little love in the discipline of her sensitive son. While she gave him faithful instruction in Christian duty, as she understood it, the austerity and even harshness of her training led him to cherish erroneous views of a religious life. It was the influence of these early impressions that led him in later years to choose the life of a monk supposing it to be a life of self-denial, humiliation, and purity, and therefore pleasing to God.
8 The life of Luther from his earliest years was one of privation, hardship, and severe discipline. The effect of this training was seen in his religious character throughout his life. Luther himself, though conscious that in some respects his parents had erred, found in their discipline much more to approve than to condemn.
9 The prevailing sin of parents at the present day lies in the indulgence of their children. The youth are weak and inefficient, with little physical stamina or moral power, because of the neglect of parents to train them in childhood to habits of obedience and industry. The foundation of character is laid at home: no after influence from any earthly source can wholly counteract the effect of parental discipline. If firmness and decision were mingled with love and tenderness in the training of the young, we would see youth coming up, like Luther, qualified for lives of usefulness and honor.
10 At an early age Luther was sent to school, where he was treated with a harshness and even violence that he had not been subject to at home. So great was the poverty of his parents that he was obliged to obtain his food by singing from door to door, and he often suffered from hunger. The gloomy, superstitious ideas of religion then prevailing filled him with fear. He would lie down at night with a sorrowful heart, looking forward with trembling to the dark future, and in constant terror at the thought of God as a stern, unrelenting judge, a cruel tyrant, rather than a kind heavenly Father. There are few youth at the present day who would not have become disheartened under so many and so great discouragements; but Luther perseveringly pressed forward toward the high standard of moral and intellectual excellence which he had determined to attain.
11 He thirsted for knowledge, and the earnest and practical character of his mind led him to desire the solid and useful rather than the showy and superficial. At the age of eighteen he entered the University of Erfurth. His situation was now more favorable and his prospects brighter than in his earlier years. His parents having by thrift and industry acquired a competence, were able to render him all needed assistance. And the influence of judicious friends had somewhat lessened the gloomy effects of his former training. He now diligently applied himself to the study of the best authors, enriching his understanding with their most weighty thoughts, and making the wisdom of the wise his own. A retentive memory, a vivid imagination, strong reasoning powers, and energetic application to study, soon won for him the foremost rank among his associates.
12 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” That fear dwelt in the heart of Luther, enabling him to maintain his steadfastness of purpose, and leading him to deep humility before God. He had an abiding sense of his dependence upon divine aid, and he did not fail to begin each day with prayer, while his heart was continually breathing a petition for guidance and support. “To pray well,” he often said, “is the better half of study.”
13 While one day examining the books in the library of the university, Luther discovered a Latin Bible. He had before heard fragments of the Gospels and epistles at public worship, and he thought that they were the whole of God’s word. Now for the first time he is looking upon the whole Bible. With mingled awe and wonder he turns the sacred pages; with quickening pulse and throbbing heart he reads for himself the words of life, pausing now and then to exclaim, “Oh, if God would give me such a book for my own!” Angels of Heaven were by his side, and rays of light from the throne of God flashed upon the sacred pages, revealing the treasures of truth to his understanding. He had ever feared to offend God, but now the deep conviction of his condition as a sinner takes hold upon him, as never before.
14 An earnest desire to be free from sin and to find peace with God, led him at last, after many severe conflicts, to enter a cloister, and devote himself to a monastic life. Here he was subjected to the meanest service, being required to act as door-keeper and sweeper, and to beg from house to house. He was at an age when respect and appreciation are most eagerly craved, and these menial offices were deeply mortifying to his natural feelings; but he patiently endured it all, believing that it was a necessary humiliation because of his sins. This discipline was fitting him to become a mighty workman upon God’s building.
15 Every moment that could be spared from his daily duties, he diligently employed in study, robbing himself of sleep, and grudging even the moments spent in eating his coarse, humble food. Above everything else he delighted in the study of God’s word. And he often repaired to the Bible which he had found chained to the convent wall. As his convictions of sin deepened with the study of the Scriptures, he sought by his own works to obtain pardon and peace. He led a most rigorous life, endeavoring to crucify the flesh by fastings, watchings, and scourgings. He shrank from no sacrifice to become holy and gain Heaven. As the result of the painful discipline which he imposed upon himself, he lost all strength, and suffered from fainting spasms, from the effects of which he never fully recovered. But with all his efforts, his burdened soul found no relief. He was at last driven to the verge of despair.
16 When it appeared to Luther that all was lost, God raised up a friend and helper for him. The pious Staupitz opened the word of God to Luther’s mind, and bade him look away from himself, cease the contemplation of infinite punishment for the violation of God’s law, and look to Jesus, his sin-pardoning Saviour. “Instead of torturing yourself for your faults, cast yourself into the arms of your Redeemer. Trust in him, in the righteousness of his life, in the sacrifice of his death. Listen to the Son of God. He became man to assure you of the divine favor. Love him who has first loved you.” Thus spoke this messenger of mercy. His words made a deep impression upon Luther’s mind. After many a struggle with long-cherished errors, he was enabled to grasp the truth, and peace came to his troubled soul.
17 Oh that there were seen in this day, so deep abhorrence of self, so great humiliation of soul before God, and so earnest a faith when light is given, as were manifested by Martin Luther! True conviction of sin is now rarely experienced; superficial conversions abound, and Christian experience is dwarfed and spiritless. And why is this? Because of the false and fatal education given by parents to their children, and by ministers to their people. The young are indulged in their love of pleasure, and left unrestrained to pursue a course of sin; thus they lose sight of filial obligation, and having learned to trample upon the authority of their parents, they are prepared to trample upon the authority of God. And the people, in like manner, are allowed, unwarned to unite in the sinful pursuits and pleasures of the world, until they lose sight of their obligations to God, and of his claims upon them. They are assured of divine mercy, but permitted to forget divine justice. They expect salvation through the sacrifice of Christ, without rendering obedience to the law of God. Hence they have no true conviction of sin, and without this there can be no true conversion.
18 Luther searched the Scriptures with untiring interest and zeal, and at last found therein the way of life clearly revealed. He learned that it is not to the pope, but to Christ, that men are to look for pardon and justification. “There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Christ is the only propitiation for sin; he is the complete and all-sufficient sacrifice, for the sins of the whole world, securing the pardon of all who will believe on him as God hath appointed. Jesus himself declares, “I am the door. By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” Luther sees that Christ Jesus came into the world, not to save people in their sins, but to save them from their sins; that the one only way whereby the sinner can be saved is by repentance toward God, because of the transgression of his law, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, both for the pardon of sin and for grace to lead a life of obedience.
19 Thus he was led to perceive the fallacy of the papal doctrine, that salvation is obtained by punishments and penances, and that men must through hell reach Heaven. He learned from the precious Bible that he who is not cleansed from sin by Christ’s atoning blood, can never be cleansed by the fires of hell; that the doctrine of purgatory is but a cunning device of the father of lies, and that the present life is the only period for probation granted to man in which to prepare for the society of the pure and holy.
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1 After two years in the cloister, Luther was consecrated to the priest’s office, and a year later he was called to a professorship in the University of Wittenberg. Here he applied himself diligently to the study of the ancient languages, especially Greek and Hebrew, that he might study the word of God in the original tongues. He began to lecture upon the Bible; and the book of Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles, were opened to the understanding of crowds of eager listeners. From all parts of Germany and even from foreign countries, students flocked to the university.
2 Staupitz, the friend and superior of Luther, urged him to ascend the pulpit, and preach the word of God. But Luther hesitated, feeling himself unworthy to speak to the people in Christ’s stead. It was only after a long struggle, that he yielded to the solicitations of his friends.
3 The pulpit in which he first preached was an old rostrum made of rough planks, in a dilapidated chapel propped on all sides to keep it from falling. Here the Reformation preaching was entered upon. When Jesus came to earth, he was cradled in a manger. And the gospel was not first proclaimed in imposing churches, but from the swaying seat of a fisherman’s boat, and upon the mountain side, in the plain, and by the highway.
4 Already Luther was mighty in the Scriptures; and the grace of God rested upon him. His surpassing eloquence delighted and captivated his auditors; the clearness and power with which he presented the truth convinced their understanding, and his deep fervor touched their hearts. The little chapel could not contain the crowds that sought admission, and he was called to preach in the parish church. So wide-spread had his reputation now become that Frederic the Wise, the Elector of Saxony, came to Wittenberg to hear him.
5 Luther was still a true son of the papal church, and had no thought that he would ever be anything else. In the providence of God he decides to visit Rome. He pursues his journey on foot, lodging at the monasteries on the way. He passes the Alps, and descends into the plain of Italy, and is filled with wonder as he goes. Visiting a convent in Lombardy, he sees the splendor of the apartments, the richness of the dresses, the luxury of the table, the extravagance everywhere. With painful misgivings he contrasts this scene with the self-denial and hardship of his own life. His mind is becoming perplexed.
6 At last he beholds in the distance the seven-hilled city. With deep emotion he prostrates himself upon the earth, exclaiming, “Holy Rome, I salute thee!” He enters the city, visits the churches, listens to the marvelous tales repeated by priests and monks, and goes through all the forms and ceremonies required. Everywhere he looks upon scenes that fill him with astonishment and horror. He sees that the same iniquity exists among the higher clergy as among the lower. He hears the indecent jokes from prelates, and is filled with horror at their awful profanity, even during mass. As he mingles with the monks and citizens, he meets dissipation, debauchery. Turn where he will, in the place of sanctity he finds profanation. “It is incredible,” he says, “what sins and atrocities are committed in Rome. If there be a hell, Rome is built above it. It is an abyss whence all sins proceed.”
7 The heart-sickening depravity and blind superstition which he saw on every side led him to press more closely to Christ. On his knees one day Luther was ascending the stairway to St. Peter’s, when a voice like thunder seemed to say to him, “The just shall live by faith!” He sprang upon his feet in shame and horror, and fled from the scene of his folly. That text never lost its power upon his soul. From that time he saw more clearly than ever before the fallacy of trusting to human works for salvation, and the necessity of constant faith in the merits of Christ. The truth of God had enlightened his understanding. His eyes had been opened, and were never again to be closed to the Satanic delusions of the papacy. When he turned his face from Rome, he had turned away also in heart, and from that time the separation grew wider, until he severed all connection with the Romish church.
8 At the age of twenty-nine Luther received at the University of Wittenberg, the degree of doctor of divinity. Now he was at liberty to devote himself, as never before, to the Scriptures that he loved. He had taken a solemn vow to study carefully and to preach with fidelity the word of God, not the sayings and doctrines of the popes, all the days of his life. He was no longer the mere monk or professor, but the authorized herald of the Bible. He had been called as a shepherd to feed the flock of God, that were hungering and thirsting for the truth.
9 Luther’s feet were now planted upon the true foundation,—”the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.” He firmly declared that Christians should receive no other doctrines than those which rest on the authority of the sacred Scriptures. At the sound of these words Rome trembled. They struck at the very foundation of papal supremacy. They contained the vital principle of the Reformation.
10 In the providence of God, Luther was now to stand as the reformer of the church. He sought to turn the minds of his students away from the sophistries of philosophers and theologians, to the eternal truths set forth by prophets and apostles. He fearlessly attacked the speculative infidelity of the school-men, and opposed the philosophy and theology which had so long held a controlling influence upon the minds of the people. He saw, as we see today, the danger of exalting human theories and speculations above the revealed truths of God’s word. He denounced such studies as not only worthless but pernicious, declaring, that, “the writings of the prophets and the apostles are more certain and sublime than all the sophisms and theology of the schools.” “Within my heart,” he adds, “reigns alone, and must alone reign, faith in my Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is the beginning, the middle, and the end of the thoughts that occupy me day and night.”
11 With deep earnestness he declared his faith in Christ as the basis of his hope,—the beginning and the end, the foundation and crowning glory of the plan of salvation. He was listened to with wonder as he spoke of that faith to the students in the university and to the crowded congregations in the church. He was steadily and surely drawing the minds of pupils and hearers away from trust in men, however high their claims, away from self-righteousness, to Christ.
12 The burden of his preaching was, “Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to despair of your own work and cry unto him, Lord Jesus thou art my righteousness and I am thy sin. Thou hast taken on thee what was mine, and given to me what was thine. What thou wast not, thou becamest, that I might become what I was not.”
13 Thus fearlessly and firmly Luther presented those great truths which the apostles of Christ had proclaimed with such power. The voice of Paul, sounding down through the centuries, spoke through Luther, exposing superstitions, refuting error, and uprooting heresy.
14 Priests and prelates, the professed expositors of divine truth, were perverting the Scriptures by their misstatements and prevarications; wresting the word of God to make it sustain their errors and traditions. They sedulously withheld the Bible from the people, well knowing that should they search it for themselves, their faith would be fixed upon Christ, and not upon pope and priests. The light shining forth from God’s word would lead the mind directly away from the Romish faith.
15 Such had been the experience of Luther. As he saw the terrible apostasy and corruption of the church, he determined to be a faithful steward of God’s word, to dispense to others its holy teachings in their purity and simplicity. He knew that unless the people could be led to receive the word of God as their rule of life, there could be no hope of reform. He therefore presented the Scriptures to his hearers as the oracles of God, a divine communication as verily addressed to them as though they heard the voice of God speaking to them from Heaven. With great earnestness he urged upon them the importance of gaining for themselves a knowledge of the sacred word. The Bible was written by holy men under the inspiration of the Divine Spirit, and the aid of that same Spirit was indispensable to an understanding of its teachings. It should be studied in humility and in faith, with unwavering confidence in its supreme authority, and with earnest prayer for divine aid. Only in pursuing such a course could the searcher hope to discern spiritual things. Were the word of God thus studied, it would exert a molding influence upon both the mental and the moral powers, quickening and ennobling the intellect, purifying the soul, thus erecting mighty barrier against the iniquity that was flooding the world.
16 Luther came not with human ceremonies, traditions, and fables, to impose on the credulity of the people, but with the truth and the power of God to enlighten their understanding, and free their souls from the bondage of superstition and the tyranny of sin. He declared to his hearers that they must individually believe in Christ, if they would receive salvation through him; no priest or pope could take the place of the divine Mediator. Those who came to Jesus as repentant, believing sinners, would find pardon and peace, and would have his righteousness imputed to them. Sanctification is the fruit of faith, whose renewing power transforms the soul into the image of Christ. It was by faith in a crucified Redeemer that souls were saved in the days of the apostles; it was only by the same faith that souls could be saved in the days of Luther. He taught the people that they must exercise repentance toward God, whose holy law they had transgressed, and faith in Christ, whose blood could atone for their sins. He showed them that all who were truly penitent would pray earnestly for divine aid to battle against their evil propensities, and he also urged upon them the fact that the sincerity of their prayers would be evinced by the energy of their endeavors to render obedience to the law of God.
17 Precious indeed was the message which Luther bore to the eager crowds that hung upon his words. Never before had such teachings fallen upon their ears. The glad tidings of a Saviour’s love, the assurance of pardon and peace through his atoning blood, melted their hearts, and inspired within them an immortal hope. A light was kindled at Wittenberg whose rays should extend to the uttermost parts of the earth, and which was to increase in brightness to the close of time.
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1 The year 1517 marked the beginning new era for the church and the world. It was a period of great excitement in Germany. To replenish her treasuries, the Roman Church had opened a vast market on earth, and made merchandise of the grace of God. Indulgences was the name given to this merchandise. As the dealer entered a town, one went before him, crying, “The grace of God and of the Holy Father is at your gates.” And the people welcomed the blasphemous pretender as if he were God himself come down from Heaven to them.
2 Tetzel, the leader in this infamous traffic, had been convicted of the basest offenses against society and against the law of God; but having escaped the punishment due to his crimes, he was now employed to further the mercenary and unscrupulous projects of the Romish Church. With shameless effrontery he framed the most glaring falsehoods, and related all manner of marvelous tales to deceive an ignorant, credulous, and superstitious people. Had they possessed the word of God, the unerring detector of sin and Satanic delusions, they could not have been thus deceived. It was to keep them under the control of the papacy, that they might swell the power and wealth of her ambitious leaders, that the Bible had been withheld from them.
3 Tetzel sets up his traffic in the church, and ascending the pulpit, he with great vehemence extols indulgences as the most precious gifts of God. “Draw near,” he cries, “and I will give you letters, duly sealed, by which the sins you hereafter desire to commit shall be all forgiven you.” “Even repentance is not indispensable.” “But more than all this, indulgences save not only the living but the dead.” “The very moment that the money clinks against the bottom of this chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies to Heaven.” With such Heaven-daring blasphemy spoke this agent of Satan.
4 When Simon Magus offered to purchase of the apostles the power to work miracles, Peter answered him, “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.” But Tetzel’s offer was grasped by eager thousands. Gold and silver flowed into his treasury. A salvation that could be bought with money was more easily obtained than that which required repentance, faith and diligent effort to resist and overcome sin. They could sin as they pleased, and money would purchase their pardon.
5 The doctrine of indulgences had long been opposed by men of learning and piety in the Romish Church, and there were many who had no faith in pretensions so contrary to both reason and revelation. Yet no bishop dared to lift his voice against the fraud and corruption of this iniquitous traffic. The minds of men were becoming disturbed and uneasy, and they eagerly inquired if God would not work through some instrumentality for the purification of his church.
6 The traffic in indulgences, subversive as it was of the very foundation principles of the gospel, could not fail to arouse determined opposition on the part of Luther. Though still a papist of the straightest sort, he was filled with horror at the blasphemous assumptions of Tetzel and his associates. Many of his own congregation had purchased certificates of pardon, and they soon began to come to Luther confessing their various sins, and expecting absolution, not because they were penitent and wished to reform, but on the ground of the indulgence. Luther refused them absolution, and warned them that unless they should repent, and reform their lives, they must perish in their sins. In great perplexity, they sought out Tetzel, and informed him that Luther, an Augustine monk, had treated his letters with contempt. The friar was filled with rage. He uttered the most terrible curses, caused fires to be lighted in the public square, and declared that he had orders from the pope to burn the heretics who should dare to oppose his most holy indulgences.
7 Luther now enters boldly upon his work as a champion of the truth, fighting not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. His voice is heard from the pulpit, in earnest, solemn warning. He sets before the people the offensive character of sin, and teaches them that it is impossible for man by his own works to lessen its guilt or evade its punishment. Nothing but repentance toward God and faith in Christ can save the sinner. The grace of Christ cannot be purchased. It is a free gift. He counsels the people not to buy the indulgences, but to look in faith to their crucified Redeemer. He relates his own painful experience in vainly seeking by humiliation and penance to secure salvation, and assures his hearers that it was by looking away from himself and believing in Christ that he found peace and joy unspeakable. He urges them to obtain, if possible, a copy of the Bible, and to study it diligently. It is those who do not learn and obey its sacred truths that are deceived by Satan, and left to perish in their iniquity.
8 A bold blow had been struck for the Reformation. But Satan was rallying his forces to control the minds of the people and maintain the traffic in the grace of God. He aroused such hatred against Luther that many were ready to silence his opposition, even by taking his life. Thus the great controversy between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness went steadily forward.
9 About this time the elector Frederic had a dream which made a deep impression upon his mind, and which seemed in a remarkable manner to foreshadow the work of the Reformation. “The feast of All-Saints was at hand, and the elector, having retired to rest, lay musing how he should keep the festival, and was praying for the poor souls in purgatory, and beseeching Divine guidance for himself, his counselors, and his people. Thus engaged, he fell asleep, and dreamed that a monk, a true son of the apostle Paul, was sent to him; and that all the saints accompanied him, for the purpose of testifying that he was divinely commissioned. They asked of the elector, that the monk might be allowed to write something on the church door at Wittenberg. The monk began to write, and the characters were so large and brilliant that they could be read at a great distance; and the pen he used was so long that its extremity reached even to Rome, and wounded the ears of a lion which was crouching there, and shook the triple crown on the pope’s head. All the cardinals and princes ran to support it; and, as the dreamer himself joined in the effort to support the pope’s crown, he awoke in great alarm, and angry with the monk who had used his pen so awkwardly. Presently he fell asleep again, and his strange dream continued; the disturbed lion began to roar, and Rome and all the surrounding States ran to make inquiry; and the pope demanded that the monk be restrained, and demanded this especially of the elector, as the monk dwelt in his dominions.
10 “Once more the elector awoke from his dream, besought God to preserve the holy father, the pope, and slept again. And still his strange dream continued, and he saw all the princes of the empire crowding to Rome, and all striving to break the mysterious pen. Yet the more they endeavored to break it, the stiffer it became; and when they asked the monk where he found it, and why it was so strong, he replied that he secured it from one of his old schoolmasters; that it belonged to a Bohemian goose [JOHN HUSS, WHOSE SURNAME IN THE BOHEMIAN LANGUAGE SIGNIFIES GOOSE. HUSS PROCLAIMED THE TRUTH A CENTURY BEFORE THE TIME OF LUTHER, AND WHEN ASSAILED BY PERSECUTION, HE DECLARED: “THE WICKED HAVE BEGUN BY PREPARING A TREACHEROUS SNARE FOR THE GOOSE. BUT IF EVEN THE GOOSE, WHICH IS ONLY A DOMESTIC BIRD, A PEACEFUL ANIMAL, AND WHOSE FLIGHT IS NOT VERY HIGH IN THE AIR, HAS NEVERTHELESS BROKEN THROUGH THEIR TOILS, OTHER BIRDS, SOARING MORE BOLDLY TOWARD THE SKY, WILL BREAK THROUGH THEM WITH STILL GREATER FORCE. INSTEAD OF A FEEBLE GOOSE, THE TRUTH WILL SEND FORTH EAGLES AND KEEN-EYED VULTURES.”] a hundred years old; and that it was strong because no man could take the pith out of it. Suddenly the dreamer heard an outcry, and lo, a great number of pens had issued from the long pen of the monk!”
11 The festival of All-Saints was an important day for Wittenberg. The costly relics of the church were then displayed before the people, and a full remission of sin was granted to all who visited the church and made confession. Accordingly on this day the people in great numbers flocked to Wittenberg.
12 On the 31st of October, the day preceding the festival, a monk went boldly to the church, to which a crowd of worshipers was already repairing, and affixed to the door ninety-five propositions against the doctrine of indulgences. That monk was Martin Luther. He went alone; not one of his most intimate friends knew of his design. As he fastened his theses upon the door of the church, he proclaimed himself ready to defend them the next day at the university itself against all opposers.
13 These propositions attracted universal attention. They were read and re-read and repeated in every direction. Great excitement was created in the university and in the whole city.
14 By these theses the doctrine of indulgences was fearlessly opposed. It was shown that the power to grant the pardon of sin, and to remit its penalty, had never been committed to the pope, or to any other man. The whole scheme was a farce, an artifice to extort money by playing upon the superstitions of the people, a device of Satan to destroy the souls of all who should trust to its lying pretensions. It was also clearly shown that the gospel of Christ was the most valuable treasure of the church, and that the grace of God, therein revealed, was freely bestowed upon all who should seek it by repentance and faith.
15 God was directing the labors of this fearless builder, and the work he wrought was firm and sure. He had faithfully presented the doctrine of grace, which would destroy the assumptions of the pope as a mediator, and lead the people to Christ alone as the sinner’s sacrifice and intercessor. Thus was the elector’s dream already beginning to be fulfilled. The pen which wrote upon the church door extended to Rome, disturbing the lion in his lair, and jostling the pope’s diadem.
16 The sin-loving and superstitious multitudes were terrified as the sophistries that had soothed their fears were rudely swept away. Crafty ecclesiastics, interrupted in their hellish work of sanctioning crime, and seeing their gains endangered, were enraged, and rallied to uphold the pope.
17 Luther’s theses challenged discussion; but not one dared to accept the challenge. By the grace of God, the blow struck by the monk of Wittenberg shook the very foundation of the papacy, stunned and terrified its supporters, and awakened thousands from the slumber of error and superstition. The questions which he proposed in his theses had in a few days spread throughout Germany, and in a few weeks they had sounded throughout Christendom. Many devoted Romanists, who had seen and lamented the terrible iniquity prevailing in the church, but had not known how to arrest its progress, read the propositions with great joy, recognizing in them the voice of God. They felt that the Lord had graciously set his hand to arrest the rapidly swelling tide of corruption that was issuing from the see of Rome. Princes and magistrates secretly rejoiced that a check was to be put upon the arrogant power from which there was no appeal.
18 Yet there were some who doubted and feared. The prior of Luther’s order, frightened by Tetzel, came to the Reformer in great alarm, saying, “Pray do not bring disgrace upon your order.” Luther had great respect for this man, and was deeply affected by his words, but rallying he replied, “Dear father, if the thing is not of God, it will come to naught. If it is, let it go forward.”
19 But the Reformer had more bitter accusers to meet. Some charged him with acting hastily and from impulse. Others accused him of presumption, declaring that he was not directed of God, but was acting from pride and forwardness. “Who does not know,” he responds, “that we can seldom advance a new idea without an appearance of pride, and without being accused of seeking quarrels? Why were Christ and all the martyrs put to death? Because they appeared proud despisers of the wisdom of the times in which they lived, and because they brought forward new truths without having first consulted the oracles of the old opinions.”
20 Again he declares: “What I am doing will not be effected by the prudence of man, but by the counsel of God. If the work is of God, who shall stop it? If it is not, who can forward it? Not my will, not theirs, not ours; but thy will, thine, holy Father who art in Heaven.”
21 Luther had been urged on by the Spirit of God to begin his work; but he was not to carry it forward without severe conflicts. The reproaches of his enemies, their misrepresentation of his purposes, and their unjust and malicious reflections upon his character and motives, came in upon him like an overwhelming flood; and they were not without effect. He had felt confident that the leaders in the church, and the philosophers of the nation, would gladly unite with him in efforts for reform. Words of encouragement from those in high position had inspired him with joy and hope. Already in anticipation he saw a brighter day dawning for the church. But encouragement had turned to reproach and condemnation. Many of the dignitaries both of the church and of the State were convicted of the truthfulness of Luther’s theses; but they soon saw that the acceptance of these truths would involve great changes. To enlighten and reform the people would be virtually to undermine the papal authority, to stop millions of streams now flowing into her treasury, and thus greatly curtail the extravagance and luxury of the Romish leaders. Furthermore, to teach the people to think and act as responsible beings, looking to Christ alone for salvation, would overthrow the pontiff’s throne, and eventually destroy their own authority. For this reason they refused the knowledge tendered them of God, and arrayed themselves against Christ and the truth by their opposition to the man whom he had sent to enlighten them.
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1 Luther trembled as he looked upon himself, one man opposed to the mightiest powers of earth. He sometimes doubted whether he had indeed been led of God to array against himself the whole authority of the church. “Who was I,” he writes, “to oppose the pope’s majesty, before which the kings of the earth and the whole world tremble? No one can know what I suffered in those first two years, and in what dejection and despair I was often plunged.”
2 But he was not left to become utterly disheartened. When human support failed him, he looked to God alone, and learned that he could lean in perfect safety upon that all-powerful arm. Steadfastly the Reformer labored to clear away the rubbish beneath which true faith had been buried for ages. The dust of ancient errors sometimes obscured his own vision, so that he could not see the truth with perfect clearness; but as he pressed resolutely on, rays of light flashed forth from God’s word, banishing the darkness of superstition, and filling his soul with the brightness of a purer of holier faith. He rose above despondency; his courage and hope revived. Erelong friends began to rally around him. But he did not forget the Source of his strength. To Spalatin, the elector’s chaplain, and a true friend of the Reformation, Luther wrote:—
3 “We cannot attain to the understanding of Scripture either by study or strength of intellect. Therefore your first duty must be to begin with prayer. Entreat the Lord to deign to grant you, in his rich mercy, rightly to understand his word. There is no other interpreter of the word but the Author of that word himself. Even as he has said, ‘They shall be all taught of God.’ Hope nothing from your study and strength of intellect; but simply put your trust in God, and in the guidance of his Spirit. Believe one who has made trial of this matter.”
4 Here we see how Luther came in possession of the truth that waked up the Reformation. It is men of humility and prayer that become mighty men in the Scriptures. They search the word of truth as for hidden treasures. And as they read and pray, and pray and read, they become living channels of light and truth. Here is a lesson of vital importance to those who feel that God has called them to present to others the solemn truths for this time. These truths will stir the enmity of Satan and of men who love the fables that he has devised. In the conflict with the powers of hell, there is need of something more than intellect and human wisdom.
5 Tetzel, in his rage against Luther, met his theses with antitheses, in which he attempted to defend the doctrine of indulgences, and sustain the power of the pope. Luther advanced with joy to the contest, hoping that the truth, to him so precious, might be revealed to many minds. “Do not wonder,” he wrote to a friend, “that they revile me so unsparingly. I hear their revilings with joy. If they did not curse me, I could not be so firmly assured that the cause I have undertaken is the cause of God.” Yet Luther loved peace. He possessed a tender, sympathetic heart, and while urged by the Spirit of God to defend the truth, he shrunk from causing strife in the church or in the State. “I tremble, I shudder,” said he, “to think that I may be an occasion of discord to such mighty princes.”
6 As Luther, with noble firmness, stood in defense of the gospel, his doctrines spread, and priests and people rallied about him as their standard-bearer. Hard as it was for them to change their opinions, the light of truth was dispelling the darkness of error. Some who secretly rejoiced in the work, took at first no active part in it; but the determined opposition against Luther and the truths he preached, brought these persons to the front, and changed their doubts to the certainty of faith. In the hearts of those who would obey his word, the Lord placed a firmness and decision that nothing could move.
7 Satan was perseveringly at work to tear down all that God was moving his servants to build up. One of the adversary’s ablest instruments was Prierias, the master of the pontifical palace, who also filled the office of censor. The leading men in the Catholic Church were divided as to the true authority for interpreting the Scriptures. A part believed that the authority rested in general councils, as representatives of the church; while another part steadfastly maintained that to the pope alone was granted the power of interpretation, and that no one had a right to explain the Scriptures contrary to his decree. Prierias was among the most zealous supporters of the pope. “Whosoever does not accept and rely upon the teachings of the Roman Church and the Roman pontiff as the infallible rule of faith, and as that from which Holy Scripture itself derives its obligation and authority, is a heretic.” Thus spoke the haughty Prierias, and then he proceeded to attack Luther with the spirit of a buffoon and inquisitor, rather than with the spirit of a calm and dignified defender of the church of Christ.
8 Luther met this opponent with the same fearless firmness which he displayed toward other adversaries. He had given himself to the service of truth, and the Spirit of truth gave him wisdom, strength, and understanding. Prierias had begun his work by laying down certain principles. “Following your example,” said Luther, “I also will lay down certain principles. The first is the passage of St. Paul: ‘If any one preach unto you another gospel than that is preached, though he be an angel from Heaven, let him be accursed.’ The second is from St. Augustine: ‘I have learned to render to the inspired Scriptures alone the homage of a firm belief that they have never erred: as to others, I do not believe in the things they teach, simply because it is they who teach them.”
9 Luther adds: “If you rightly understand these principles, you will also understand that your whole dialogue is overturned.” To the insinuations and threats of Prierias he responds in these brave words: “Do you thirst for blood? I protest that these menaces of yours give me not the slightest alarm. For what if I were to lose my life? Christ still lives; Christ my Lord, and the Lord of all, blessed forever.”
10 It should be remembered that Luther was attacking with determined blows the institutions of ages. This could not be done without exciting hatred and opposition. No arguments against him could be drawn from the word of God; for his feet were firmly planted upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles, Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. When his enemies appealed to custom and tradition, or to the assertions and authority of the Roman pontiff, Luther met them with the Bible and the Bible alone. Here were arguments which they could not answer. Therefore the slaves of formalism and superstition clamored for his blood, as the Jews had clamored for the blood of Christ.
11 “He is a heretic,” cried these Roman zealots; “it is a sin to allow him to live an hour longer! Away with him at once to the scaffold!” But Luther did not fall a prey to their fury. God had a work for him to do, and angels of Heaven were sent to protect him. Many, however, who had received from Luther the precious light, were made the objects of Satan’s wrath, and for the truth’s sake fearlessly suffered torture and death.
12 Opposition is the portion of all whom God employs to make an advance move in his work by presenting truth specially applicable to their time. The controversy between Christ and Satan is to increase in intensity to the close of this earth’s history. Those who dare to present truths that are not in harmony with the popular churches and with the world, will thereby become the objects of slander, reproach, and falsehood. Many who at first but partially unite with scoffers, finally lend themselves fully to Satan, to oppose and overthrow what God would build up.
13 There is today the same disposition to substitute the theories and traditions of men for the word of God as in the days of Christ, of Paul or of Luther. Ministers advance doctrines which have no foundation in the Scriptures of truth, and in place of Bible proof, they present their own assertions as authority. The people accept the minister’s interpretation of the word, without earnest prayer that they may know what is truth. There is no safety in depending upon human wisdom and judgment. Said our Savior, “Search the Scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.”
14 All who possess reasoning powers can know for themselves what is truth. Those who pray and search for light, will receive light. The reason why so many are groping their way in the fog of error is, that they take the assertions of men, instead of searching the word of God for themselves. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Worldlings and superficial Christians will accept nothing which interferes with their selfish love of pleasure; hence they are willingly ignorant of the truth which would save their souls. Satan works with all his deceptive art to present pleasing fables before the people, and he takes thousands in his snare.
15 The advocates of truth in our day should not expect their message to be received with greater favor than was that of the early Reformers. Nay, rather, they should expect greater difficulties and more determined opposition than were experienced by Luther and his fellow-laborers. Satan’s hatred for the truth is the same in all ages; but as he sees that his time is short, he makes one last mighty effort, by signs and lying wonders, to deceive and destroy, not merely the unbelieving world, but the great mass of professed Christians who have not received the love of the truth that they might be saved. In the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul declares that the second coming of Christ will be preceded by “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
16 There was a present truth—a truth at that time of special importance—in the days of Christ, of Paul, of Luther; there is a present truth for the church today. But truth is no more desired by the men of today than it was by the Jews in the time of Christ, or by papists in the days of Luther. Therefore Satan, working now with tenfold greater power, succeeds as of old in blinding the eyes of men and darkening their understanding.
17 As those who now labor in the cause of reform, experience conflicts and trials, as they find their path hedged in by difficulties, and obstructed by the rubbish of error, let them remember that they are traveling the same road that prophets, apostles, and reformers of every age have traveled before them. Christ himself trod a more thorny path than any of his followers. They may comfort themselves with the thought that they are in good company. One mightier than Satan is their leader, and he will give them strength to be steadfast in the faith, and will bring them off victorious.
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1 Luther’s pen was tracing words of truth that shook the very foundations of the papacy. “Whatever sermons and instructions do not exhibit and make known Jesus Christ, cannot be the daily bread and nourishment of souls. Therefore we must preach Christ alone.” What words were these to come from a son of the Roman Church! Christ was exalted above the pope. Christ was lifted up before the people as the Lamb of God, who alone can take away the sin of the world. What marvel that Satan was enraged, and that all the power of the Roman hierarchy was excited against Luther?
2 The Reformer continues: “What is it to know Christ? and what good will come of it? I answer, To learn and know Christ is to understand what the apostle declares, namely, that Christ is made unto us, of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” “To believe is nothing else than feeding on this bread from Heaven.”
3 Concerning the power of the church to remit sin, he writes: “The remission of sin is out of the power of pope, bishop, or priest, or any man living, and rests solely on the word of Christ and on their own faith. A pope or bishop has no more power to remit sins than the humblest priest.”
4 To bring the truth more prominently before the people, Luther prepared theses setting forth the new doctrines, and engaged in public discussion of them with his opponents, at one of the leading universities of Germany. This discussion was listened to with deep interest. Educated young men marked with astonishment the force of Luther’s arguments from the Scriptures. They sought out the Reformer, and in private eagerly listened to his explanation of the word of God. They honestly desired to know the truth; therefore the entrance of God’s word gave light to their understanding. The teacher’s work was rewarded. When Luther was called to other fields, these young men, with the Bible in their hands, fearlessly proclaimed the words of life. Crowds came together to hear the truth, and many captives were released from the bondage of papal error. These young men became active and useful laborers in the church, and occupied responsible positions in the great work of the Reformation.
5 Luther saw that the cause of truth had little to hope for from those who had been educated in error, and he felt that its success must depend upon the rising generation. He says: “I have the glorious hope that as even Christ, when rejected of the Jews, turned toward the Gentiles, so we shall see the rising generation receive true theology, which these old men, wedded to their vain and most fantastical opinions, now obstinately reject.”
6 These words of the Reformer contain a truth that should be heeded by those who are still pressing forward in the work of reform. Men are slow to renounce the cherished errors of a life-time. Many resolutely close their eyes, lest they see the light of truth. Oftentimes the clearest evidence from the word of God serves only to excite their hatred and opposition. Now, as in the time of Luther, the hopes of reform rest with the young, whose habits and opinions have not yet become stereotyped, and who therefore more readily yield to right influences. Converted to God, the youth of our time may, like the young men whom Luther instructed, fill an important place in the cause of truth.
7 The wide spread interest excited by Luther’s teachings aroused the fears of the papal authorities, and efforts were at once put forth to quench the dangerous heresy. A letter was written in the pope’s name to the elector Frederic, urging him to withdraw his protection from Luther, and intimating suspicion of the elector’s fidelity to the church. The Romanists had misjudged the character of the prince with whom they had to deal. Frederic of Saxony was a devoted servant of the church, but he was also a man of sterling integrity, and he would not sacrifice justice and truth, even to the demands of the pope. To the papal letter he replied, that Luther had uniformly expressed a willingness to defend his doctrines before proper judges, and to submit to their decision if they should be able by the Scriptures to convince him of error.
8 But the word of God was not the weapon most convenient for Rome to handle. It was the very thing that they did not want brought to light; for they well knew that the truths contained therein would not only condemn their unrighteous course, but would lay their lofty pretensions in the dust. The only weapons which they could safely use were prisons, torture, and death. Erelong Luther receives a summons to appear at Rome to answer at the papal tribunal to the charge of heresy. This command fills his friends with terror.
9 They know full well the danger that threatens him in that corrupt city, already drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. With indignation they ask among themselves, Shall every man who dares lift his voice against the sins of Rome be silenced by death? Shall we permit this great sacrifice?
10 Luther’s teachings had attracted the attention of thoughtful minds throughout all Germany. From his sermons and writings issued beams of light which had awakened and illuminated thousands. A living faith was taking the place of the dead formalism in which the church had so long been held. The people were daily losing confidence in the superstitions of Romanism. The barriers of prejudice were giving way. The word of God, by which Luther tested every doctrine and every claim, was like a two-edged sword, cutting its way to the hearts of the people. Everywhere there was awakening a desire for spiritual progress. Everywhere was such a hungering and thirsting after righteousness as had not been known for ages. The eyes of the people so long directed to human forms and human mediators, were now turning, in penitence and faith, to Christ and him crucified.
11 Luther and his friends knew that he could not hope for justice at Rome. They knew that there would be no safety for him on the journey to Rome, and no safety after his arrival. The Romists had not been sparing in their denunciations of him, and once in their grasp no human power could release him. His friends were unanimous in the desire that he should receive his examination in Germany.
12 This arrangement was finally effected, and the pope’s legate was appointed to hear the case. The instructions communicated by the pontiff to this official were as follows:—
13 “We charge you to compel Luther to appear before you in person; to prosecute and reduce him to submission without delay, as soon as you shall have received this our order, he having already been declared a heretic by our dear brother Jerome, Bishop of Asculan.” “If he should return to a sense of his duty, and ask pardon for so great an offense, freely and of his own accord, we give you power to receive him into the unity of the holy mother church.” “If he should persist in his stubbornness, and you fail to get possession of his person, we give you power to proscribe him in all places in Germany; to put away, curse, and excommunicate all those who are attached to him, and to enjoin all Christians to shun his society.”
14 The pope goes still farther, and calls upon his legate, in order entirely to root out the pestilent heresy, to excommunicate all, of whatever dignity in church or State except the emperor, who shall “neglect to seize the said Martin Luther and his adherents, and send them to you under proper and safe authority.”
15 Here is displayed the true spirit of Romanism. Not a trace of Christian principle, or even of common justice, is to be seen in the whole document. Luther is at a great distance from Rome; he has had no opportunity to explain or defend his position; yet before his case has been investigated, he is summarily pronounced a heretic, and in the same day, exhorted, accused, judged, and condemned; and all this by the self-styled holy father, the only supreme, infallible authority in church or State! The spirit of the dragon, “that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan,” is seen in this transaction. Notwithstanding his cunning, he has in his rage forgotten to be wise.
16 Augsburg had been fixed upon as the place of Luther’s trial, and thither the Reformer went. Serious fears were entertained in his behalf. Threats had been made openly that he would be waylaid and murdered on the way, and his friends begged him not to venture. Staupitz entreated Luther to come and take refuge with him until the storm should subside. “It seems to me,” he wrote, “that the whole world is up in arms and combined against the truth. Even so was the crucified Jesus hated. I see not that you have anything else to expect than persecution. Your most prudent course is to leave Wittenberg for a time and come and reside with me. Then let us live and die together.”
17 But Luther would not leave the position where God had placed him. He must continue faithfully to maintain the truth, notwithstanding the storms that were beating upon him. His language was, “I am like Jeremiah, a man of strife and contention; but the more they increase their contentions, the more they multiply my joy. My wife and children are well provided for, my lands and houses and all my goods are safe. They have already torn to pieces my honor and my good name. All I have left is my wretched body; let them have it; they will then shorten my life by a few hours. But as to my soul, they shall not have that. He who resolves to bear the word of Christ to the world, must expect death at every hour.”
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1 Upon arriving at Augsburg, Luther immediately informed the pope’s legate that he was in the city. The legate heard the news with joy. He felt assured that the troublesome heretic who was setting the whole world astir was now in his power, and determined that he should not leave Augsburg as he had entered.
2 The legate’s attendant, an Italian courtier of insinuating manners, flattered himself that it would be an easy matter to bring the Reformer to a proper position. He therefore called upon him with professions of great friendship, and gravely gave him instruction in etiquette, thinking thus to inspire him with awe for the great man before whom he was to appear. He urged Luther to accompany him immediately to the presence of the legate; but Luther calmly stated that he must first obtain his safe-conduct.
3 Irritated at his ill success, the wily Italian exclaimed, “When all men forsake you, where will you take refuge?” “Under Heaven,” answered the Reformer, looking reverently upward.
4 Luther soon received his safe-conduct, and prepared to appear before the legate. On receiving information of the fact, this dignitary was somewhat perplexed to decide what course to pursue with a man of so determined character, and he consulted his friends in regard to the matter. One was decided in the opinion that he should be made to retract; another, that he be arrested and imprisoned. A third boldly advised that he be put out of the way, while a fourth recommended that an attempt be made to win him over by gentleness. It was decided to adopt the last advice as the safest.
5 At his first interview with the Reformer, the legate was reserved, but civil. He expected Luther to yield every point without argument or question, and waited in silence for him to begin his recantation.
6 Luther stated that he appeared before the legate in response to the summons of the pope, and at the desire of the Elector of Saxony, and declared himself a humble and obedient son of the holy Christian church. Then he proceeded to the point at issue: “I acknowledge that it was I who published the propositions and theses that are the subject of inquiry. I am ready to listen with all submission to the charges brought against me, and if I am in error, to be instructed in the truth.”
7 The legate commended Luther’s humility, and at once made known what was expected of him: “First, you must return to your duty. You must acknowledge your faults, and retract your errors, your propositions, and sermons. Secondly, you must promise to abstain from propagating your opinions. And thirdly, you must engage to be more discreet, and avoid everything that may grieve or disturb the church.”
8 Luther asked to see the credentials of the cardinal, showing his authority to settle the matter. He was refused, and was told that he had only to renounce his errors, and the cardinal would make all right with the church.
9 Luther then asked to be informed wherein he had erred. With an air of condescension, the cardinal made answer: “Two propositions are put forward by you that you must, before all, retract. First, the treasure of indulgences does not consist of the merits and sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, the man who receives the holy sacrament must have faith in the grace offered to him.” If generally received, these propositions would be fatal to the commerce of Rome, overturning the tables of the money-changers, and driving out of the temple those who made merchandise of the grace of salvation.
10 The legate had promised to abide by the testimony of the Scripture; but notwithstanding this he applied to the constitution of the popes in favor of indulgences. Luther declared that he could not accept such constitutions as sufficient proofs on subjects so important; “for they wrest the Holy Scriptures, and never quote them to the purpose.” The legate retorted, “The pope has authority and power over all things.” “Save the Scriptures,” answered Luther earnestly. “Save the Scriptures!” echoed the legate in derision, and he asserted that the pope was higher than councils, and that all who dared to question his authority would receive their deserts.
11 Concerning the second proposition, which affirmed the necessity of faith in order to grace, Luther stated that to yield that point would be to deny Christ. Said he, “I cannot, therefore, and I will not yield that point, and, by God’s help, I will hold it to the end.”
12 The legate replied angrily, “Whether you will or not, you must this very day retract that article, or else, for that article alone, I will proceed to reject and condemn all your doctrines.”
13 Luther answered, “I have no will but the Lord’s. He will do with me what seemeth good in his sight. But had I a hundred heads, I would rather lose them all than retract the testimony I have borne to the holy Christian faith.”
14 “I am not come here to argue with you,” answered the prelate. “Retract, or prepare to endure the punishment you have deserved.” Thus ended the first interview.
15 The second conference was held on the following day, and attended by many persons of high position. Before this assembly, Luther read a declaration expressing his regard for the church, his desire for the truth, his readiness to answer all objections to what he had taught, and to submit his doctrines to the decision of certain leading universities. At the same time he protested against the cardinal’s course in requiring him to retract, without having proved him in error.
16 The legate’s response was, “Recant, recant.” He overwhelmed Luther with a perpetual torrent of words, giving him no opportunity to reply. The Reformer therefore begged that he might present in writing his answer to the two charges, the one touching indulgences, and the other respecting faith. The request was reluctantly granted.
17 In the third interview, Luther submitted his answer, in which he showed that his position was sustained by the Scriptures, and firmly declared that he could not renounce the truth. The legate treated Luther’s declaration with little short of contempt. He scolded and thundered on incessantly, leaving Luther, as at the preceding interview, no opportunity for reply. With vehement assertions and repeated reference to the papal constitution, he continued to maintain the doctrine of indulgences and to call on Luther to retract:
18 The Reformer at last declared that if the principle which was claimed as the very foundation of the doctrine of indulgences, could be proved from the papal constitution itself, he would retract. All were startled at this proposition. The friends of Luther were alarmed and embarrassed. The legate and his sustainers could hardly contain their joy. But their rejoicing was quickly turned to confusion. Luther met the cardinal on his own ground, and triumphed completely.
19 When the wily prelate saw that Luther’s reasoning was unanswerable, he lost all self-control, and in a rage cried out: “Retract, or I will send you to Rome, there to appear before the judges commissioned to take cognizance of your case. I will excommunicate you and all your partisans, and all who shall at any time countenance you, and will cast them out of the church. Full power has been given me for this purpose by the holy apostolic see. Think you that your protectors will stop me? Do you imagine that the pope can fear Germany? The pope’s little finger is stronger than all Germany put together.”
20 “Condescend,” replied Luther, “to forward the written answer I have given you to Pope Leo X., with my most humble prayers.” In a haughty and angry tone, the cardinal replied, “Retract, or return no more.”
21 Luther bowed, and retired with his friends, leaving the cardinal and his supporters to look at one another in utter confusion at the unexpected result of the discussion. The cardinal and the Reformer never met again.
22 Luther’s efforts on this occasion were not without good results. The large assembly present at the conference had opportunity to compare the two men, and to judge for themselves of the spirit manifested by them, as well as of the strength and truthfulness of their position. How marked the contrast! Luther, simple, upright, firm, stood up in the strength of God, having truth on his side; the pope’s representative, self-important, overbearing, haughty, and unreasonable, was without a single argument from the word of God, yet vehemently crying, “Retract, or be sent to Rome for punishment.” Yet the legate was deeply impressed by his interviews with the Reformer, and he afterward changed his own views, and himself retracted his errors.
23 Luther remained in Augsburg but a few days after his last meeting with the cardinal. Before leaving the city, however, he drew up a respectful letter to the legate, stating that it was useless for him to prolong his stay, as he had been denied a further hearing unless he should retract. “Thus I again set out in the name of the Lord, desiring to find some place where I may live in peace.” He closes by stating that he had committed no crime, and ought therefore to have nothing to fear. This letter was intrusted to his friends, who after his departure delivered it to the legate.
24 Luther set out from Augsburg at night, on horseback, and accompanied only by a guide furnished him by the magistrate. With many forebodings he secretly made his way through the dark and silent streets of the city. Enemies, vigilant and cruel, were plotting his destruction. Would he escape the snares prepared for him? Those were moments of anxiety and earnest prayer. He reached a small gate in the wall of the city. It was opened for him, and with his guide he passed through without hindrance. Now they were beyond the limits, and putting their horses to a full gallop, they soon left the city far behind them. Satan and his emissaries were defeated. The man whom they had thought in their power was gone, escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowler.
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1 At the news of Luther’s departure from Augsburg, the papal legate was overwhelmed with surprise and anger. He had expected to receive great honor for his wisdom and firmness in dealing with this disturber of the church, but now this hope was disappointed. He gave expression to his wrath in a letter to the elector, bitterly denouncing Luther:—
2 “Since Brother Martin cannot be brought by parental measures to acknowledge his errors, and continue faithful to the Catholic Church, I request your highness to send him to Rome, or to banish him from your territories. Be assured that this complicated, evil-intentioned affair cannot be long protracted, for as soon as I shall have informed our most holy lord of all this artifice and malice, he will bring it to a speedy end.” In a postscript he begs the elector not to tarnish with shame his own honor and that of his illustrious ancestors for the cause of a contemptible monk.
3 The elector sent Luther a copy of this letter, to which the Reformer answered: “Let the reverend legate, or the pope himself, specify any errors in writing; let them bring forward their reasons; let them instruct me, who desire instruction, who beg and long for it, so that even a Turk would not refuse to satisfy me. If I do not retract and condemn myself, when they have proved to me that the passages of Scripture that I have quoted ought to be considered in a different sense from mine; then most excellent elector, let your highness be the first to prosecute and expel me; let the university reject me, and overwhelm me with indignation. I will go farther; I call Heaven and earth to witness; let the Lord Jesus Christ himself reject and condemn me.
4 “These are not words of vain presumption, but of firm conviction. Let the Lord deprive me of his grace, and every creature of God refuse to countenance me, if, when I have been shown a better doctrine, I do not embrace it.” In closing, he says: “I am still, thanks be to God, full of joy, and praise him that Christ, the Son of God, counts me worthy to suffer in so holy a cause. May he ever preserve your illustrious highness! Amen.”
5 This letter made a deep impression upon the mind of the elector. He had never thought of giving up Luther, an innocent man, to be put to death by the power of Rome. Now he resolved to stand firm in his defense. In answer to the letter of the legate he wrote: “Since Dr. Martin has appeared before you at Augsburg, you ought to be satisfied. We did not expect that without convincing him of error, you would claim to oblige him to retract. Not one of the learned men in our states has intimated to us an opinion that Martin’s doctrine is impious, anti-Christian, or heretical.” He declined sending Luther to Rome, or expelling him from his territories. Luther, having seen this letter, exclaimed: “With what joy I read and re-read it; for I know what confidence I may repose in these words, at once so forcible and so discreet.” God in his providence had raised up a man in high position to defend his servant.
6 The elector saw that there was a general breaking down of the moral restraints of society. The extensive and perfect organization of the Romish Church, and her immense outlay of money, time, and labor to secure order and harmony, was no indication of the real virtue and integrity of her members. A great work of reform was needed. All the complicated and expensive arrangements to restrain and punish crime would be unnecessary if the members of the church individually acknowledged and obeyed the requirements of God and the dictates of an enlightened conscience.
7 He saw that Luther was laboring to secure this object, and he secretly rejoiced that a better influence was making itself felt in the church.
8 He saw, also, that as a professor in the university, Luther was eminently successful. All his associates there spoke warmly in his favor. From all parts of Germany flocked students to listen to his teachings. Young men coming in sight of the steeples of Wittenberg for the first time, would stop, and raising their hands toward Heaven, would praise God that he had caused the light of his truth to shine forth from Wittenberg as in former ages from Mount Zion, thence to penetrate to the most remote countries.
9 Luther is, as yet, but partially converted from the errors of Romanism. But he is forced to battle constantly in defense of the truth which he has already accepted, and in this warfare he is driven for comfort and support to Christ and the Word. And as he compares the holy oracles with papal decrees and constitutions, he is filled with wonder.
10 “I am reading,” he writes to Spalatin, “the decretals of the popes, and let me whisper in your ear, that I know not whether the pope is anti-Christ himself, or whether he is his apostle, so misrepresented and even crucified does Christ appear in them.” Yet at this time Luther was still a supporter of the Roman Church, and had no thought that he would ever separate from her communion.
11 The Reformer continued searching the Scriptures, praying, preaching, and writing. He knew not how soon his work might close, and he be deprived of liberty or even life; but so long as God should will it, he determined to labor for the upbuilding of Christ’s kingdom. The knowledge that precious souls were everywhere receiving the truth, filled him with joy.
12 It was his work to build in the temple of the Lord. There were living stones buried from sight amid the papal rubbish of false doctrines, forms, and ceremonies, and he must search them out, and lay them on the true foundation. The followers of Christ were not then united as a peculiar and holy people separate from the world. They were mingled with the sons of Belial, and must be separated by the power of divine truth.
13 Luther was not blinded to his own peril or to the peril of his converts. He knew that the subjects of Prince Immanuel are not called to the enjoyment of ease and honor and riches, of titles and possessions; but to a life of conflict with the prince of darkness; they are to wrestle against principalities and powers, and they must put on the whole armor of God, that they may be able to stand. They are called to endure privation, hardship, imprisonment, torture, and death, even as the Captain of their salvation endured before them. The riches and co-operation of the wicked were subject to his command if he so willed it; but he declares, “My kingdom is not of this world.” And again, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” In like manner the servants of Christ have no home, no treasure here. It is only because Jesus reigns, that they are kept from the cruel power of the prince of evil.
14 Luther’s voice as a reformer was no longer confined to Germany. His writings and his doctrine were extending to every nation in Christendom. The work spread to Switzerland and Holland. Multitudes of copies of his writings had found their way to France and Spain, and the truth was working in many hearts, reforming the life, and arousing the understanding to perceive the corruption of Romanism. In England the Reformer’s teachings were received as the word of life. In Belgium and Italy also the work was spreading. Thousands were awakening from their death-like stupor to the joy and hope of a life of faith.
15 In this little moment of calm, Luther works on with renewed hope and courage. His friends urge him to be content with the victories already gained, and to give over the conflict. But he replies, “God does not conduct, but drives me forward. I am not master of my own actions. I would gladly live in peace; but I am cast into the midst of tumult and changes.”
16 The Reformer pressed on in the path in which God was leading him; and as he continued to defend the truth, it constantly became more clear to his understanding, and he perceived more fully the arrogant assumptions of the papal power. He says: “How hard it is to unlearn the errors which the whole world confirms by its example, and which, by long use, have become to us a second nature. I had for seven years read and hourly expounded the Scriptures with much zeal, so that I knew them almost all by heart. I had also all the first-fruits of the knowledge and faith of my Lord Jesus Christ; that is, I knew that we were justified and saved, not by our works, but by faith in Jesus Christ; and I even openly maintained that it is not by divine right that the pope is chief of the Christian church. And yet . . . I could not see the conclusion from all this; namely, that of necessity, and beyond doubt, the pope is of the devil; for what is not of God must needs be of the devil.” Again, he says: “I do not now give free utterance to my indignation against those who still adhere to the pope, since I, who had for so many years read the Holy Scriptures with so much care, yet held to papacy with so much obstinacy.”
17 The battle went on. Rome was becoming more and more exasperated by the attacks of Luther. And now it was secretly declared by some of his fanatical opponents, that he who should kill Luther would be without sin. One day a stranger with a pistol concealed in his sleeve, approached the Reformer, and inquired why he went thus alone. Luther answered, “I am in the hands of God. He is my help and my shield. What can men do unto me?” Upon hearing these words, the stranger turned pale, and fled away as from the presence of the angels of God.
18 Rome was bent upon the destruction of Luther; but God was his defense. His doctrines were sounding everywhere; in convents, in cottages, in the castles of the nobles, in the academies, and in the palaces of kings; and noble men were rising on every hand to sustain his efforts.
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1 On the 23d day of June, 1520, Luther published an appeal to the emperor and nobility of Germany in behalf of the Reformation of Christianity. In this appeal he declared: “The Romanists have raised three barriers against all reformation. When the temporal power has attacked them, they have denied its authority, and asserted that the spiritual power was superior to it. When any one rebuked them out of the Scripture, they have answered that no one but the pope was able to interpret Scripture. When they have been threatened with a council, the reply has been, No one but the sovereign pontiff has authority to convoke a council.”
2 He writes of the pope: “It is monstrous to see him who is called the vicar of Christ, displaying a magnificence unrivaled by that of any emperor. Is this to represent the poor and lowly Jesus, or the humble St. Peter? The pope, say they, is the Lord of the world! But Christ, whose vicar he boasts himself to be, said, My kingdom is not of this world. Ought the power of the vicar to go beyond that of his Lord?”
3 Luther writes thus of the universities: “I fear much that the universities will be found to be great gates leading down to hell, unless they take diligent care to explain the Holy Scriptures, and to engrave them in the hearts of our youth. I would not advise any one to place his child where the Holy Scriptures are not regarded as the rule of life. Every institution where the word of God is not diligently studied, must become corrupt.”
4 This appeal was rapidly circulated throughout Germany, and exerted a powerful influence upon the people. The whole nation was roused to rally around the standard of reform. Luther’s opponents, burning with a desire for revenge, now urged on the pope to take decisive measures against him. The pontiff and his courtiers yielded against their better judgment, and it was decreed that Luther’s doctrines should be condemned immediately. Sixty days were to be granted the Reformer and his adherents, after which, if they did not recant, they should be all excommunicated.
5 It was a terrible crisis for the Reformation. For centuries Rome’s sentence of excommunication had been swiftly followed by the stroke of death. Luther was not blind to the tempest about to burst upon him, but he stood firm, trusting in Christ to be his support and shield. With a martyr’s faith and courage he wrote: “What is about to happen I know not, nor do I care to know. I am assured that He who sits on the throne of Heaven has from all eternity seen the beginning, the progress, and the end of this affair. Let the blow light where it may, I am without fear. Not so much as a leaf falls without the will of our Father. How much rather will he care for us! It is a light thing to die; for the Word which was made flesh hath himself died. If we die with him, we shall live with him; and passing through that which he has passed through before us, we shall be where he is, and dwell with him forever.”
6 When the papal bull reached Luther he said: “I despise it, and resist it, as impious and false. It is Christ himself who is therein condemned. No reasons are given in it; I am cited to appear, not that I may be heard, but that I may recant. Oh that Charles the Fifth would act as a man! Oh that for the love of Christ he would humble these demons! I glory in the prospect of suffering for the best of causes. Already I feel in my heart more liberty; for I now know that the pope is antichrist, and that his chair is for Satan himself.”
7 The whole nation waited with intense interest to see what Luther would do. They were not kept long in doubt. With great energy and boldness, he immediately answered in a discourse which he entitled, “Against the Bull of Antichrist.”
8 Yet the word of the pontiff of Rome still had power. Prisons, torture, and sword were weapons potent to enforce submission. Everything declared that Luther’s work was about to close. The weak and superstitious trembled before the decree of the pope, and while there was a general sympathy for Luther, many felt that life was too dear to be risked in the cause of reform.
9 Amidst the general tumult, Luther remains calm and composed. “Be of good cheer,” he says to Spalatin. “It was Christ that begun all this, and he will bring it to its appointed issue, even though my lot may be banishment and death. Jesus Christ is here present; and He that is in us is mightier than he that is in the world.”
10 Luther formally appeals from the authority of the pope to a general council of the Christian church. Having stated his reasons for this step he says: “Wherefore I most humbly beseech the most serene, illustrious, excellent, wise, and worthy lords, Charles, the Roman Emperor, the electors, princes, counts, barons, knights, gentlemen, cities, and municipalities of the whole German nation, to adhere to this my protest, and unite with me to resist the antichristian proceedings of the pope, for God’s glory, in defense of the church and of the Christian faith, and to uphold the free councils of Christendom; and Christ our Saviour will richly reward them by his everlasting grace. But if there be any who set my entreaties at naught, preferring obedience to the pope, an impious man, rather than to obey God, I do hereby disavow all responsibility on their account, having given a faithful warning to their consciences, and I leave them to the final judgment of God, together with the pope and all his adherents.”
11 His next step was to publicly burn the pope’s bull, with the canon laws, the decretals, and certain writings sustaining the papal power. By this action he boldly declared his final separation from the Roman Church. He accepted his excommunication, and proclaimed to the world that between himself and the pope there must hereafter be war. The great contest was now fully entered upon.
12 Viewed from a human stand-point, the path of duty and righteousness is not a path of peace and safety. By faith we must follow as the Lord leads us onward. But could we always discern the everlasting arms around and beneath us, there would be no occasion for the exercise of faith. The way of God’s choosing may seem dark, yet it is the surest way to the light. In the midst of apparent disaster and defeat, God’s providence is working out his purposes.
13 The eagle of the Alps is sometimes beaten down by the tempest into the narrow defiles of the mountains. Angry storm-clouds shut in this mighty bird of the forest, their dense, dark masses separating her from the sunny heights where she has built her nest. For a time her efforts to escape seem fruitless. She dashes to and fro, beating the air with her strong wings, and waking the echoes of the mountains with her cries. At length, with a scream of triumph, she darts upward, and, piercing the clouds, she is once more in the clear sunlight, with the darkness and tempest far beneath. Ever thus, by mighty efforts, have God’s chosen servants urged their way upward, breasting opposition, reproach, and persecution, in their conflicts with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places.
14 When the hand of the Lord was upon the prophet Ezekiel in the vision of the valley of dry bones, he was commanded to prophesy to the wind; and in answer to his word, life was restored to the slain, and they stood up before him, an exceeding great army. This figure was presented before the prophet to show him that no work of restoration can be too hard for God to do, and none who trust in him need ever say, as Israel had said, “Our hope is lost.”
15 Like the eagle, Luther had been shut in by dense clouds of superstition and Romish heresy, and he had been beaten about by the fierce tempest of opposition; but on the wings of a mighty faith he had risen above the storm, and was now grandly free, with the sunlight of Heaven shining upon his soul.
16 Standing under the broad shield of Omnipotence, Luther was doing a mighty work for God. Amid the war of conflicting opinions, he stood as a guide and a covert to a bewildered and benighted people. The torch of truth, kindled at the altar of God’s word, he placed in the hands of princes and peasants, who aided him in his work, dispelling the dense darkness, and awakening all Europe from the slumber of ages.
17 The mighty conflicts and victories, the great sorrows and special joys, by which individuals and nations are carried forward in the path of reform and salvation, are of too great importance to be permitted to pass from the memory. Such experiences cost the heroes of faith too much to be often repeated in history; they should not be lightly regarded. Those struggles for freedom of conscience, should be a lesson to all, that no truth which involves self-denial and sacrifice will be favorably accepted by the world. A costly effort is required of every soul that will go in an opposite direction from the multitude. All that stand in Christ’s name in defense of the truth must have a history of conflicts and sacrifices. They cannot advance in reform, as Christ leads the way, except at the risk of liberty and life.
18 It is through divine mercy in giving to the world such men as Martin Luther and his co-laborers that we are now free to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience. We who are living so near the close of time should emulate the noble example of the great Reformer. Like Luther we should seek a deep and thorough knowledge of the word of God. It should be our highest ambition to stand firm as a rock when the strongholds of truth are assailed by an unbelieving world and an ungodly church. In the near conflict, thousands will be called to imitate Luther’s constancy and courage. Now is the time for us to receive education and discipline in the school of Christ. Now is the time to cultivate faith and courage. Let the cry pass from one to another of the waiting ones, Stand fast. “Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”
19 God will again move mightily upon chosen servants to make terrible charges upon the hosts of Satan. The men whom he will accept to carry forward his work, to fight his battles, must be men of principle, brave and firm and true. The customs, traditions, and doctrines, even of professedly great and good men, must have no weight, until first brought to the infallible test of the law and the testimony. “If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” To this test, popes and prelates refused to submit, knowing that it would overthrow at once all their pretended power. It was to maintain this great truth that Luther battled so firmly and fearlessly. His words echo down the line to all the tried and tempted defenders of the truth,—Stand fast. “In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”
20 The Reformer found in Christ a hiding-place from the storms of opposition, wrath, and hatred that threatened to overwhelm him. In Christ alone was peace and strength and security. Such will be the experience of every Christian. Amid all the changes and agitations of the world, the Rock of our salvation stands firm. It has been assailed by the combined hosts of earth and hell. For centuries have active minds planned, and strong hands labored, to remove this great corner-stone, and lay another foundation for the faith of the world. The papal power most nearly succeeded in this blasphemous work. But God raised up Luther to cry day and night, as he built upon the walls of Zion. “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” That great corner-stone, the Rock of Ages, stands today unshaken. Amid all the tumults and conflicts of the world, Christ still offers rest to the weary, and the water of life to the thirsting soul. Through the ages his words come down to us,—”I am the way, the truth and the life.”
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1 As Luther exalted the word of God, and deposed the human power and authority that had usurped its place, the cry was raised by his enemies that he preached novelties, and that it could not be possible that great and learned men had been in so grave error. To this he answered: “These are not novelties that I preach. But I affirm that the doctrines of Christianity have been lost sight of by those whose special duty it was to preserve them; by the learned, by the bishops. I doubt not, indeed, that the truth has still found an abode in some few hearts, were it only with infants in the cradle. Poor husbandmen and simple children, in these days, understand more of Jesus Christ than the pope, the bishops, or the doctors.”
2 Luther went steadily forward, rejoicing in his freedom from the shackles of Rome. He spoke and wrote as God moved him, not only confirming all that he had hitherto said, but still more decidedly protesting against the errors and abominations of popery. Every word was a living spark, burning away the accumulated rubbish of ages.
3 Rome was not idle. Her emissaries hastened to Germany to congratulate the new emperor, Charles the Fifth, and by their flatteries, false representations, and protests, influenced him to employ his power against the Reformation. The emperor gave his consent to the public burning of Luther’s writings, beyond the limits of the German States.
4 The pope’s ambassadors were warned that such a step would inflame the wound rather than heal it; that the doctrine of Luther was deeply engraved where it could not be obliterated, in the hearts of the German people; and that a few fagots consuming a few sheets of paper would be of little avail, while it would ill befit the dignity of the emperor. But these scheming Romans were aiming not merely at the productions of Luther’s pen, but at Luther himself. “These fires,” said they “are not sufficient to purify the pestilential atmosphere of Germany. Though they may strike terror into the simple-minded, they leave the author of the mischief unpunished. We must have an imperial edict sentencing Luther to death.”
5 But they found it no easy matter to accomplish this object. The emperor was not prepared to take this step without the advice of his counselors. “Let us first ascertain,” he responded, “what our father, the Elector of Saxony, thinks of the matter. We shall then be prepared to give our answer to the pope.” And the papal delegates were obliged to confer with the good elector.
6 Here flatteries, arguments, and threats alike failed. To their demand that he destroy Luther’s writings; and punish the Reformer as he deserved, or deliver him to the papal power, the elector replied that the matter was one of too great importance to be decided hastily, and that his determination in regard to it should be duly communicated to them.
7 May God help the elector now; for his position is one of great difficulty. He is partially convinced of the truth; but in his circumstances and surroundings a strong pressure is brought to bear against it. On the one side are the emperor, the princes of the empire, and above all the pope, whose power the elector was not yet ready to shake off; on the other side stands a poor monk, Martin Luther; for it is against this one man that all this assault is directed.
8 For a time it seemed that Satan was about to triumph. But God gave wisdom to Luther’s defender; his courage, that had seemed to waver, again grew strong. He was filled with horror at the thought of delivering up to torture and death a man whom he believed to have been raised up of God to accomplish a great work. He saw that justice should be regarded above the desires of the pope, and he determined to act upon this principle.
9 The elector now gave the papal ambassadors to understand, “that neither his imperial Majesty nor any one else had yet made it appear to him that Luther’s writings had been refuted, or demonstrated to be fit only for the flames; that he demanded, therefore, that Doctor Luther be furnished with a safe-conduct, and permitted to answer for himself before a tribunal composed of learned, pious, and impartial judges.”
10 This was far from what the ambassadors desired. Every such opportunity granted to Luther had resulted in the weakening of the papal power and the strengthening and spread of the Reformation. To bring their arguments in contrast with the doctrines of Luther, which they knew they could not controvert, would prove a losing game to them. Justice and truth were principles which had no place in their system of faith or practice. The arguments which they could use with greatest effect against all opponents were fire and sword. They had expected the elector to yield to their demands, and without delay surrender the obnoxious monk. But Satan’s power was circumscribed, and the cruel plots of Rome were frustrated by Him who is the eternal guardian of truth and justice.
11 Tidings of all that had transpired reached Wittenberg, and the friends of Luther were filled with joy. The Reformer pressed forward in his labors with fresh zeal. His words awoke new hope and courage in the hearts of the fearful and desponding. Luther stayed his soul upon God. His language was, “We see not the hand that is guiding us; we cannot, like Israel of old, look upon the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, and we hear not the voice that spoke to them from the mount. But if we wait upon the Lord, we shall be satisfied that the great Shepherd of Israel has been leading us all the way in the past, and that the path where he leads will be safe for all who follow him, even in the stormy days of trial and conflict.” The first assembly of the German States after the accession of Charles the Fifth to the empire, gathered at Worms on the 6th of January, 1521. Never before had so many princes attended this national council. All were eager to take a part in the first acts of the young emperor’s government, and all were ambitious to display their power and grandeur. There were important political questions and interests to be considered by this grand assembly, but all these appeared of little moment when contrasted with the cause of the monk of Wittenberg.
12 The emperor Charles was placed in a position of great perplexity and embarrassment. On the one hand was the papal legate, urging him to execute the pope’s bull; on the other was the elector of Saxony, to whom he was in great degree indebted for his crown, and who entreated him to take no step against Luther until he should have granted him a hearing.
13 Charles had written to the elector to bring Luther with him to the diet, assuring him that the Reformer should be subjected to no injustice, that he should be protected from all violence, and should be allowed a free conference with one competent to discuss the disputed points.
14 Upon receiving this letter, the elector was not a little perplexed. Should he take the Reformer to Worms, he might be leading him to the scaffold. The friends of Luther were anxious and troubled; but he himself was calm. His health was at this time much impaired, yet he seemed anxious to appear before the emperor. He wrote to the elector: “If I cannot perform the journey to Worms as a man in good health, I will be carried thither on a litter. For, since the emperor has summoned me, I can regard it only as the cause of God. If they intend to use violence against me, as they probably do, for assuredly it is with no view of gaining information that they require me to appear before them, I commit the matter in the hands of God. He still lives and reigns who preserved the three Israelites in the fiery furnace. If it be not his will to save me, my life is but little worth. Let us only take care that the gospel be not exposed to the insults of the ungodly, and let us shed our blood in its defense rather than allow them to triumph. Who shall say whether my life or my death would contribute most to the salvation of my brethren? It is not for us to decide. Let us only pray God that our young emperor may not begin his reign by imbuing his hands in my blood. I would rather perish by the sword of Rome. You remember the judgments with which the emperor Sigismund was visited after the murder of John Huss. Expect anything from me but flight or recantation. Fly I cannot; still less can I recant.”
15 The news was quickly circulated at Worms that Luther was to appear before the diet. A general excitement was created. Aleander, the papal legate to whom the care of Luther had been specially intrusted, was alarmed and enraged. On his way to the diet, this official had had opportunity to learn for himself how generally the gospel proclaimed by Luther had been received. He saw that it had found acceptance with the wealthy and learned, as well as with the poor and ignorant. Lawyers, nobles, the inferior clergy, many of the monks, and vast numbers of the common people, had embraced it, and received the Bible only as their standard of faith and practice. The supporters of the new faith were firm and fearless, while the partisans of Rome seemed stricken with terror.
16 The pride of Aleander had been sorely wounded by the reception accorded him on his journey through Germany. So great had been the change in public sentiment that but little honor or even courtesy was shown the representative of Rome. He arrived at Worms in bitterness of spirit, both because of the insults which he himself had received, and because of the wide-spread defection from popery.
17 The legate saw that Luther’s appearance at Worms would result only in disaster to the papal cause. To institute inquiry into a case in which the pope had already pronounced sentence of condemnation, would be to cast contempt upon the authority of the sovereign pontiff. Aleander set himself to prevent this by every means in his power.
18 Furthermore he was apprehensive that the eloquent and powerful argument of this man, who had already wrought so great mischief, might result in turning away many of the princes from the cause of the pope. He therefore, in the most urgent manner, remonstrated with Charles against Luther’s appearance at Worms. He warned, entreated, and threatened, until the emperor yielded, and wrote to the elector that if Luther would not retract he must leave him behind at Wittenberg. The Reformer was much disappointed that he was forbidden to defend the truth at Worms. Aleander, not content with this victory, labored with all the power and cunning at his command to secure Luther’s condemnation. With a persistence worthy of a better cause, he urged the matter upon the attention of princess, prelates, and other members of the assembly, accusing Luther of sedition, rebellion, impiety, and blasphemy. Satan’s work bears the same stamp from century to century. The charges against Christ, against Stephen, and against Paul, were the same as the accuser of the brethren now urged against Luther. But in this case his rage brought its own defeat. The vehemence and passion manifested by Aleander, plainly revealed that he was actuated by hatred and revenge rather than by a zeal for religion. It was the prevailing sentiment of the assembly that Luther was innocent.
19 At this time the pope issued a new bull, and the excommunication which had before been threatened was decidedly pronounced against the Reformer and all who received his doctrines. Thus was broken the last tie that bound Luther to Rome.
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1 With redoubled zeal, Aleander now urged upon the emperor the duty of executing the papal edicts. Overcome at last by this importunity, Charles bade the legate present his case to the diet. This was just what Aleander had secretly desired. With great care he prepared himself to appear before that august assembly. Rome had few advocates better fitted, by nature and education, to defend her cause. Aleander was not only the representative of the sovereign pontiff, invested with all the outward dignity befitting his exalted position, but he was one of the most eloquent men of his age. The friends of the Reformer looked forward to the result of his speech with some anxiety. The elector absented himself from the assembly, but instructed some of his counselors to be present, and to take notes of the legate’s discourse.
2 There was no little excitement when Aleander, with great dignity and pomp, appeared before the diet. Many called to mind the scene of our Saviour’s trial, when Annas and Caiaphas in the judgment-hall of Pilate demanded the death of him “who perverteth the nation.”
3 With all the power of learning and eloquence, Aleander set himself to overthrow the truth. Charge after charge he hurled against Luther as an enemy of the church and the State, the living and the dead, clergy and laity, councils and private Christians. “There are people who tell us,” he said, “that Luther is a man of piety. I will not impugn his private character. I will only remind this assembly that it is a common thing for the devil to deceive men under the appearance of sanctity.”
4 A little further on, however, he attacks the Reformer, heaping upon him the most bitter invectives. Then turning to the emperor, he solemnly appeals to him to withdraw his protection from the monk of Wittenburg: “I beseech your imperial majesty not to do that which could only reflect dishonor upon your name. Meddle not with an affair in which the laity have no right to interpose. Discharge the duty that properly devolves upon you. Let Luther’s doctrines be proscribed by your authority throughout the empire; let his writings be everywhere committed to the flames. Shrink not from the path of justice. There is enough in the errors of Luther to warrant the burning of a hundred thousand heretics.”
5 In closing, he endeavors to cast contempt upon the adherents of the new doctrines: “What are all these Lutherans? A motley rabble of insolent grammarians, licentious priests, disorderly monks, ignorant advocates, degraded nobles, misled and perverted plebeians. How greatly superior is the Catholic party in numbers, in intelligence, in power! A unanimous decree of this illustrious assembly will open the eyes of the simple, show the unwary their danger, determine the wavering, and strengthen the weak-hearted.”
6 The advocates of truth have in every age been attacked with just such weapons. The same arguments that were urged against Luther, are urged by our opponents today: “Who are these Sabbatarians? They are unlearned, few in numbers, and of the poorer class. Yet they claim to have the truth, and to be the chosen people of God. They are ignorant and deceived. How greatly superior in numbers and influence are our denominations. How many great and learned men are in our churches. How much more power is on our side.” These are the arguments that have a telling influence upon the world. But they are no more conclusive now than in the days of the Reformer.
7 The Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther. It is to be continued to the close of this world’s history. Luther had a great work to do in reflecting upon others the light which God permitted to shine upon him; yet he was not to receive all the light which was to be given to the world. From that time to this new light has been continually shining upon God’s word, new truths have been constantly unfolding. God is light, and he is ever imparting light to his followers.
8 Those who refuse to advance as the providence of God leads the way, seek to arrest the progress of those who endeavor to walk in the light. The churches of this generation profess to be holy, but they permit the love of the world to control them. They have united in spirit and fellowship with the workers of iniquity. They choose to depart from the divine commandment, rather than to separate themselves from the friendship and customs of the world. They are joined to the idols they have chosen; and because temporal prosperity and the favor of a sin-loving world are granted them, they deem themselves rich and in need of nothing. Pride, luxury, riches, and popularity are their treasures, and in their spiritual blindness they count these an evidence of the love and favor of God. Was the Romish church in great deception in Luther’s day? The Protestant churches are in equally great deception today. They refuse to receive instruction or reproof. Their ministers cry, Peace, peace, and the people love the soothing message. In their willful blindness they believe only that which will not disturb their carnal security. But in every age of the world, God’s true people have learned by experience as well as by the word of inspiration that prosperity and learning and worldly honor are no evidence of the favor of God. The life of Christ, the Captain of our salvation, teaches the lesson that on earth the true church cannot enjoy the favor of a wicked world.
9 The legate’s address was three hours in length, and his impetuous eloquence made a deep impression upon the assembly. There was no Luther present, with the clear and convincing truths of God’s word, to vanquish the papal champion. No attempt was made to defend the Reformer. There was manifest in the assembly a general impulse to root out the Lutheran heresy from the empire. Rome had enjoyed the most favorable opportunity to maintain the justice of her cause. Her claims had been presented with the utmost skill. The greatest of her orators had spoken in this assembly of princes. All that Rome could say in her own vindication had been said. Error had presented her strongest arguments. Henceforth the contrast between truth and error would be more clearly seen, as they should take the field in open warfare. The apparent victory was but the signal of defeat. Never from that day would Rome stand as secure as she had stood.
10 The majority of the assembly were ready to sacrifice Luther to the demands of the pope; but many of them saw and deplored the existing depravity in the church, and desired a suppression of the abuses suffered by the German people in consequence of the extravagances and lies of popery. The legate had presented the papal rule in the light most favorable for Rome. Now the Lord moved upon a member of the diet to give a true delineation of the effects of papal tyranny. With noble firmness Duke George of Saxony stood up in that dignified assembly, and specified with terrible exactness the wrongs, the deceptions, and abominations of Rome, and their dire result. He exposed the utter corruption of her ecclesiastical system and its workings. His speech closed with these words:—
11 “These are but a few of the abuses which cry out against Rome for redress. All shame is laid aside, and one object alone incessantly pursued: money! evermore money! so that the very men whose duty it is to disseminate the truth, are engaged in nothing but the propagation of falsehood; and yet they are not merely tolerated but rewarded; because the more they lie, the larger are their gains. This is the foul source from which so many corrupted streams flow out on every side. Profligacy and avarice go hand in hand. The officials summon women to their house on various pretenses, and endeavor either by threats or presents, to seduce them; and if the attempt fails, they ruin their reputation. Oh! it is the scandal occasioned by the clergy that plunges so many poor souls into everlasting perdition. A thorough reform must be effected. To accomplish that reform, a General Council must be assembled. Wherefore, most excellent princes and lords, I respectfully beseech you to give this matter your immediate attention.”
12 A more able and forcible denunciation of the abuses of Rome could not have been made by Luther himself; and the fact that the speaker was an opponent of Luther, gave greater influence to his words. The assembly proceeded to constitute a committee for the purpose of drawing up a list of popish grievances. The list, when completed, was found to number one hundred and one. The report was presented to the emperor with the earnest request that he would do what was just in so important a matter. “What a loss of Christian souls,” said the committee to the emperor, “what injustice, what extortion, are the daily fruits of those scandalous practices to which the spiritual head of Christendom affords his countenance! The ruin and dishonor of our nation must be averted. We therefore very humbly, but very urgently, beseech you to sanction a general reformation, to undertake the work, and to carry it through.”
13 Had the eyes of the assembly been opened, they would have beheld angels of God in the midst of them, shedding beams of light athwart the darkness of error, and opening minds and hearts to the reception of sacred truths. It was the power of the God of truth and wisdom that controlled even the adversaries of the Reformation, and thus prepared the way for the great work about to be accomplished. Martin Luther was not present; but a Greater than Luther had made his voice heard in that assembly.
14 Charles could not disregard the appeals of the diet, so utterly unexpected both by the legate and himself. He immediately withdrew the edict for the burning of Luther’s writings, and ordered that they be delivered into the hands of the magistrates.
15 The assembly now demanded Luther’s appearance before them. “It is unjust,” urged his friends, “to condemn Luther without having heard him, and without having ascertained from his own lips that he is the author of those books which it is proposed to burn.”
16 “His doctrine,” said his opponents, “has taken so fast hold on men’s minds that it is impossible to check its progress, unless we allow him a hearing. There shall be no disputing with him; and in the event of his acknowledging his writings, and refusing to retract them, we will all, with one accord, electors, princes, and states of the holy empire, in firm adherence to the faith of our ancestors, give your majesty our unsparing aid to carry your decrees into full effect.”
17 The legate Aleander is greatly troubled by this proposal. He knows that he has everything to dread from Luther’s presence before the diet. He therefore appeals to the princes known to be most favorably disposed toward the pope: “There shall be no disputing with Luther, you say; but how can we be sure that the genius of this audacious man, the fire that flashes from his eyes, the eloquence of his speech, the mysterious spirit that animates him, will not suffice to excite a tumult? Already there are many who revere him as a saint, and his image is everywhere to be seen encircled with rays of glory, like those which surround the heads of the blessed.”
18 And now a Satanic thought enters the mind of this agent of the great adversary, and he adds: “If he must needs be cited to appear, beware, at all events, of pledging the public faith for his safety.” Aleander hoped that, should Luther appear at Worms, the Romanists might obtain possession of his person, and silence forever that reproving voice, even before it should utter a word in the assembly.
19 The priests and Pharisees were actuated by the same spirit in their opposition to Paul. Whenever the apostle’s words in vindication of the truth were allowed to influence the people, the cause of the Jewish leaders suffered loss; therefore the same Satanic subtlety was employed to silence Paul’s voice. Those Jewish leaders knew, as did Aleander, that if truth were presented before the people, it would appear in so striking contrast to error that none could fail to see the distinction.
20 The same motive led the Jews to destroy Stephen. It was the words of truth which the priests and elders could not controvert that inspired those wicked judges with such madness against this man of God that even while his countenance was shining with the glory from Heaven, they dragged him from the judgment-hall, and silenced his eloquence, not with arguments from the law and the prophets, but with stones.
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1 Luther at Wittenberg hears of the exciting scenes transpiring in the diet. Soon he receives a note of the articles which he will be required to retract. But, like Daniel of old, he purposes in his heart that he will maintain his fidelity to God. He writes to Spalatin: “Never fear that I will retract a single syllable, since the only argument they have to urge against me is that my writings are at variance with the observances of what they call the Church. If our Emperor Charles sends for me only to retract, my answer shall be that I will remain here, and it will be all the same as though I had been at Worms, and returned again. But if the emperor chooses then to send for me, to put me to death as an enemy to the empire, I shall be ready to obey his summons; for, by Christ’s help, I will never abandon his word in the hour of battle. I know that these blood-thirsty men will never rest until they have taken my life. God grant that my death may be laid to the charge of the papists alone!”
2 Notwithstanding the entreaties, protests, and threats of Aleander, the emperor at last determined that Luther should appear before the diet. He accordingly issued a writ of summons, and also a safe-conduct insuring Luther’s return to a place of security. These were borne to Wittenberg by a herald, who was commissioned to conduct the Reformer to Worms.
3 This was a dark and threatening hour for the Reformation. The friends of Luther were terrified and distressed. But the Reformer remained calm and firm. He was entreated not to risk his life. His friends, knowing the prejudice and enmity against him, feared that even his safe-conduct would not be respected. And it had been reported that the safe-conduct of heretics was not valid.
4 Luther replied: “The papists have little desire to see me at Worms; but they long for my condemnation and death. No matter. Pray not for me, but for the word of God. My blood will hardly be cold before thousands and tens of thousands, in every land, will be made to answer for the shedding of it. The ‘most holy’ adversary of Christ, the father, and master, and chief of man-slayers, is resolved that it shall be spilled. Amen! The will of God be done. Christ will give me his Spirit to overcome these ministers of Satan. I despise them while I live; I will triumph over them in death. They are striving hard at Worms to force me to recant. My recantation shall be this: I said formerly that the pope was Christ’s vicar; now I say that he is the adversary of the Lord, and the apostle of the devil.”
5 Luther was not to make his perilous journey alone. Besides the imperial messenger, three of his firmest friends determined to accompany him. With deep emotion the Reformer bade farewell to his associates. Turning to Melancthon, he said: “If I never return, and my enemies should take my life, cease not, dear brother, to teach and stand fast in the truth. Labor in my stead, since I can no longer work. If thy life be spared, my death will matter little.”
6 A multitude of students and citizens, to whom the gospel was precious, bade him farewell with weeping as he departed. The imperial herald, in full costume, and bearing the imperial eagle, led the way on horseback, followed by his servant. Next came the carriage in which rode Luther and his friends. Thus the Reformer set out from Wittenberg.
7 On the journey they saw that the minds of the people were oppressed by gloomy forebodings. At some towns no honors were proffered them. As they stopped for the night at Naumburg, a friendly priest expressed his fears by holding up before Luther the portrait of an Italian reformer who suffered martyrdom for the truth’s sake. With trembling voice the priest bade Luther, “Stand fast in the truth, and thy God will never forsake thee.”
8 Upon arriving, the next day, at Weimar, they learned that Luther’s writings had been condemned at Worms. In the streets of the city the imperial messengers were proclaiming the emperor’s decree, and urging all men to bring the proscribed works to the magistrates. The herald, in alarm, asked Luther if, under the circumstances, he still wished to go on. He answered: “I will go on, though I should be put under interdict in every town.”
9 At Erfurth, Luther was received with honor. Several leagues from the city, the rector of the university, with senators, students, and citizens, met him on horseback, and welcomed him with joyful acclamations. Great numbers of the population thronged the road, and cheered him as he was about to enter the city. All were eager to see the intrepid monk who had dared give battle to the pope. Thus, surrounded by admiring crowds, he entered the city where, in his earlier years, he had often begged a morsel of bread.
10 He was urged to preach. This he had been forbidden to do; but the herald gave his consent, and the monk whose duty it once was to unclose the gates and sweep the aisles, now ascended the pulpit, while the people listened, as if spell-bound, to his words.
11 The bread of life was broken to those hungry souls. Jesus was lifted up before them as above popes, legates, emperors, and kings. Said Luther: “Christ, our Mediator, has overcome. This is the great news! and we are saved by his work, not by our own.” “Some perhaps will say, You talk to us much about faith; teach us then how to obtain it. Well, agreed. I will show you how. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Peace be unto you. Behold my hands!” That is to say, Look, O man, it is I, I alone, who have taken away thy sin and redeemed thee, and now thou hast peace, saith the Lord.’ “Believe the gospel, believe St. Paul, and not the letters and decretals of the popes.”
12 Luther makes no reference to his own perilous position. He does not seek to make himself the object of thought or sympathy. In the contemplation of Christ, he has lost sight of self. He hides behind the Man of Calvary, seeking only to present Christ as the sinner’s Redeemer.
13 As Luther proceeds on his journey he is everywhere regarded with great interest. An eager throng constantly accompanies him. Friendly voices warn him of the purpose of the Romanists. “You will be burned alive,” say they, “and your body reduced to ashes, as was that of John Huss.” Luther answers, “Though they should kindle a fire whose flames should reach from Worms to Wittenberg, and rise up to heaven, I would go through it in the name of the Lord, and stand before them; I would enter the jaws of the behemoth, break his teeth, and confess the Lord Jesus Christ.”
14 The news of Luther’s approach to Worms created great commotion among the supporters of the pope. His arrival might result in the defeat of their cause. An artful plan was at once laid to prevent him from finishing his journey. A troop of horsemen met him on his way with the message that a friendly knight desired him to proceed immediately to his fortress. The emperor’s confessor was said to be there, awaiting a conference. His influence with Charles was unbounded, and everything might be harmoniously arranged.
15 The messenger urged that there be no delay. Luther’s friends knew not what course to take, but he did not hesitate for a moment. “I shall go on,” he answered, “and if the emperor’s confessor has anything to say to me, he will find me at Worms, I repair to the place of summons.”
16 At length Spalatin himself became alarmed for the safety of the Reformer. He heard it reported among the papists at Worms that Luther’s safe-conduct would not be respected, and he immediately sent out a messenger to warn him of his danger. As Luther was approaching the city, a note from Spalatin was handed him, containing these words, “Abstain from entering Worms.” Luther, still unshaken, turned his eyes on the messenger, and said, “Go tell your master that though there should be as many devils at Worms as there are tiles on its roofs, I would enter it.” And the messenger returned, and repeated the amazing declaration.
17 Splendid was the reception granted Luther upon his arrival at Worms. The crowd that flocked to the gates to welcome him was even greater than at the public entry of the emperor himself. “God will be my defense,” said the Reformer, as he a lighted from his carriage.
18 Yet the news of his arrival was heard with alarm by both friends and foes. The elector feared for Luther’s safety, Aleander for the success of his own iniquitous schemes. The emperor immediately convoked his council. “Luther is come,” said he, “what must be done?” One of the bishops, a rigid papist, responded, “We have long thought of this matter. Let your majesty rid yourself at once of this man. Did not Sigismund bring John Huss to the stake? One is under no obligation either to give or to observe a safe-conduct in the case of heretics.” “Not so, “ said the emperor, “what we promise we should observe and keep.” It was therefore decided that Luther should be heard.
19 All the city were eager to see the Reformer, and he had enjoyed but a few hours’ rest when counts, barons, knights, gentlemen, and citizens flocked eagerly about him. Even his enemies could but mark his firm courageous bearing, the kindly and joyous expression upon his countenance, and the solemn elevation and deep earnestness that gave to his words an irresistible power. Some were convinced that a divine influence attended him; others declared, as had the Pharisees concerning Christ, “He hath a devil.”
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1 On the day following his arrival at Worms, Luther was notified to appear in the afternoon before the emperor and the members of the diet. This was the day that he had long desired; but to human appearance there was great danger before him.
2 On that day came a letter from a courageous knight, whispering in the Reformer’s ear the words of an ancient prophet: “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; send thee help out of Zion; grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfill all thy counsel.”
3 He added: “O beloved Luther, my venerated father! fear not, and stand firm. The counsel of the wicked has laid wait for you, and they have opened their mouths against you, like roaring lions. But the Lord will arise against them, and put them to flight. Fight, therefore, valiantly the battles of Christ. As for me, I, too, will combat boldly. Would to God that I were permitted to see how they frown. But the Lord will purge his vineyard. . . May Christ preserve you!”
4 At the appointed hour a herald appeared to conduct Luther to the presence of the diet. The streets were so thronged as to be impassable, and it was only through back ways and gardens that the Reformer and his attendants reached the town-hall. The roofs and the pavements, above, beneath, on every side, were covered with spectators. When they arrived at the hall, the crowd was so great that the soldiers were obliged to clear a passage. Within the outer inclosure every place was crowded. More than five thousand spectators, German, Spanish, and Italian, thronged the ante-chamber and recesses.
5 As Luther approached the door which was to admit him to the audience-room and the presence of his judges, an old general, the hero of many battles, touched him upon the shoulder as he passed, and shaking his head said to him kindly, “My poor monk, my poor monk, thou hast a march and a struggle to go through, such as neither I nor many other captains have seen the like in our most bloody battles. But if thy cause be just, and thou art sure of it, go forward in God’s name and fear nothing! He will not forsake thee.”
6 The doors are thrown open, and Luther enters. Never had any man appeared in the presence of a more imposing assembly. An emperor whose kingdom extended across both hemispheres; his brother, the archduke; the electors of the empire, most of whose successors were crowned heads; dukes, among whom were those fierce and bloody enemies of the Reformation, the Duke of Alva and his sons; archbishops, bishops, and prelates; the ambassadors of foreign nations; princes, counts, and barons; and the pope’s ambassadors,—in all two hundred persons. Such were the judges before whom Martin Luther was to answer for his faith.
7 A signal victory was won for the truth, by the very fact of Luther’s appearance before that princely council. That a man whom the pope had condemned should be judged by another tribunal, was virtually a denial of the pope’s supreme authority. The Reformer, placed under ban, and denounced from human fellowship by the pope, had been assured protection, and was granted a hearing, by the highest dignitaries of the nation. The pope had commanded him to be silent; but he was about to speak in the presence of thousands assembled from all parts of Christendom.
8 In the presence of that powerful and titled assembly, the lowly-born Reformer seemed awed and embarrassed. Some princes who were near him, observing his emotion, approached him kindly and one of them whispered, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.” Another said, “When you are brought before kings, it shall be given you, by the Spirit of your Father, what you shall say.” Thus the words of Christ were brought by the great ones of earth to strengthen the Reformer in his hour of trial.
9 Luther was conducted to a position directly in front of the emperor’s throne. All eyes were fixed upon the man who had dared with pen and voice to resist the authority of the pope. A deep silence fell upon the crowded assembly. Then an imperial officer arose, and in a clear voice addressed the Reformer thus:—
10 “Martin Luther, his sacred and invincible Majesty has cited you before his throne, acting on the opinion and advice of the States of the holy Roman Empire, to require you to answer two questions; First, Do you acknowledge these writings to have been composed by you?” and the speaker pointed with his finger to about twenty volumes placed on a table in the center of the hall, immediately before Luther. “Secondly, Are you prepared to retract these works and the propositions contained therein, or do you persist in what you have therein advanced?”
11 The titles of the books having been read, Luther answered. “Most gracious emperor, princes, and lords! his imperial majesty puts to me two questions. As to the first, I acknowledge the books just named to be mine. I cannot deny them. As to the second, whether I will maintain all these or retract them, seeing it is a question of faith and of one’s salvation and of the word of God, which is the greatest treasure in Heaven and earth, and deserving at all times our highest reverence, it would be rash and perilous for me to speak inconsiderately, without reflection. I might affirm either more or less than is consistent with truth; in either case I should fall under the sentence of Christ. ‘He that denieth me before men, him will I deny before my Father which is in Heaven.’ Therefore I beg of your imperial majesty time for reflection, that I may be able to reply to the question proposed, without prejudice to the word of God or to my own salvation.”
12 In making this request, Luther moved wisely. His course convinced the assembly that he did not act from passion or impulse. Such calmness and self-command, unexpected in one who had shown himself bold and uncompromising, added to his power, and enabled him afterward to answer with a prudence, decision, wisdom, and dignity, which surprised and disappointed his adversaries, and rebuked their insolence and pride.
13 The different orders of the diet withdrew for consultation, and when again assembled, they agreed to grant the Reformer’s request, on condition, however, that his answer be returned by word of mouth, and not in writing.
14 As Luther was conducted to his lodgings, a rumor was circulated through the city that the pope had triumphed, and the Reformer would be brought to the stake. Both threats and expressions of respect and sympathy greeted him as he made his way through the crowded streets. Many visited him at his lodgings, and declared themselves ready to defend him with their lives. In the midst of the excitement, the Reformer alone was calm. A letter written by him at this time reveals his feelings:—
15 “I have just made my appearance before the emperor and his brother Ferdinand, and been asked whether I would retract my writings. I answered, The books laid before me are mine; but concerning the revocation, I will say what I will do tomorrow. This is all the time I asked, and all they will give. But Christ being gracious to me, I will not retract an iota.”
16 The next day he was to appear before the diet to render his second answer. At times his heart sunk within him as he contemplated the forces that were combined against the truth. His faith faltered as his enemies seemed to multiply before him, and the powers of darkness to prevail. In anguish of spirit he threw himself with his face upon the earth, and poured out those broken, heart-rending cries which none but God can fully interpret. In his helplessness, his soul fastened upon Christ the mighty deliverer. It was not for his own safety, but for the success of the truth, that he wrestled mightily with God; and he prevailed. He was strengthened with the assurance that he would not appear alone before the council. Peace returned to his soul, and he rejoiced that he was permitted to uphold and defend the word of God before the rulers of the nation.
17 As the time for his appearance drew near, he approached a table on which lay the Holy Scriptures, placed his left hand upon the sacred volume, and raising his right hand to Heaven, he vowed to adhere constantly to the gospel, and to confess his faith freely, even though he should be called to seal his testimony with his blood.
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1 When Luther was again ushered into the presence of the diet, his countenance bore no trace of fear or embarrassment. Humble and peaceful, yet grandly brave and noble, he stood as God’s witness among the great ones of earth.
2 The imperial officer now demanded his decision concerning the second question,—whether he was prepared to defend his books as a whole, or desired to retract any part of them.
3 Luther made his answer in a subdued and humble tone, without violence or passion. His demeanor was diffident and respectful, yet he manifested a confidence and joy that surprised the assembly.
4 After imploring the indulgence of the diet if by reason of his secluded, monastic life he should neglect any of the customary proprieties of courtly address, he observed that his published works were not all of the same character. In some he had treated of faith and good works with such plainness and Christian simplicity that even his enemies were obliged to confess them not only harmless but profitable. To retract these would be to condemn truths which all parties confessed.
5 The second class of these works were directed against popery, exposing those who by their teaching and example were corrupting all Christendom, both in body and soul. No one, said he, can deny nor conceal that by the laws and doctrines of the popes the consciences of Christians are held in bondage, burdened and tormented, and that the property and wealth of Christendom, especially of the German nation, are devoured by the incredible rapacity of Rome. Were I to revoke what I have written on this subject, what should I do but strengthen this tyranny, and open a wider door to so many and great impieties?
6 The third class of his books were written against individuals who undertook the defense of Romish tyranny, and the overthrow of the doctrines which he had inculcated. Concerning these he said, I freely confess that I have been more violent than was becoming. I do not think myself a saint; but even these books I cannot revoke, because in so doing I should sanction the impieties of my opponents, and they would then take occasion to crush God’s people with still greater cruelty.
7 But, he continued, as I am a mere man, and not God, I will defend myself as did Christ, who said, “If I have spoken evil bear witness against me.” By the mercy of God, I implore your imperial majesty, or any one else who can, whoever he may be, to prove to me from the writings of the prophets that I am in error. As soon as I shall be convinced, I will instantly retract all my errors, and will be the first to cast my books into the fire.
8 What I have just said, I think will clearly show that I have well considered and weighed the dangers to which I am exposing myself; but far from being dismayed by them, I rejoice exceedingly to see the gospel this day as of old a cause of disturbance and disagreement. It is the character and destiny of God’s word. Said Christ, “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” God is wonderful and awful in his counsels. Let us have a care lest in our endeavors to arrest discords we be found to fight against the holy word of God, and bring down upon our heads a frightful deluge of inextricable dangers, present disaster, and everlasting desolations. Let us have a care lest the reign of the young and noble prince, the Emperor Charles, on whom, next to God, we build so many hopes, should not only commence, but continue and terminate its course, under the most fatal auspices. I might cite examples drawn from the oracles of God. I might speak of Pharaohs, of kings of Babylon or of Israel, who were never more contributing to their own ruin than when, by measures in appearance most prudent, they thought to establish their authority. God removeth the mountains, and they know not.
9 In speaking thus, I do not suppose that such noble princes have need of my poor judgment; but I wish to acquit myself of a duty that Germany has a right to expect from her children. And so, commending myself to your august majesty, and your most serene highnesses, I beseech you, in all humility, not to permit the hatred of mine enemies to rain upon me an indignation I have not deserved.
10 Luther had spoken in German; he was requested to repeat the same words in Latin. The German tongue did not please the emperor, nor was it readily comprehended by the Spanish and Italian courtiers. Though much exhausted by the previous effort, Luther complied with the request, and repeated his speech in Latin with the same clearness and energy as at the first. God in his providence directed in this matter. The minds of many of the princes were so blinded by error and superstition that at the first delivery they did not see the force of Luther’s reasoning, but the repetition enabled them to perceive with great clearness the points presented. The Spirit of God set home the truth, and a deep and lasting impression was made. The Reformation had gained a victory which would tell with great power against the papacy.
11 But those who stubbornly closed their eyes to the light, who were determined not to be convinced of the truth, were enraged at the power of Luther’s words. Of this class was the spokesman of the diet. As Luther ceased speaking, this official said angrily, “You have not given any answer to the inquiry put to you. You are not to question the decision of the councils; you are required to return a clear and distinct answer. Will you, or will you not retract?”
12 Luther answered firmly, “Since your most serene majesty and your high mightiness require of me a simple, clear, and direct answer, I will give one; and it is this: I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to the councils; because it is as clear as day that they have often erred and contradicted each other. If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture or by cogent reasons; if I am not satisfied by the very texts that I have cited; and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything, for it cannot be right for a Christian to speak against his conscience.” Then turning his eyes upon the assembly before which he stood, and which held his life in their hands, he said, “Here I stand, I can do no other. May God help me! Amen!”
13 So stands this righteous man upon the sure foundation, the prophets and apostles, Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. Firm and fearless at his post of duty is the great Reformer. Faithful among the faithless, unheeding the storms of malice and revenge, he stands a mighty cedar of Lebanon among the trees of the forest. While the passions and pollutions of the multitude surge around him like waves of the great deep, he stands, a Heaven-sent beacon, to warn the imperiled mariner of the hidden shoal and the rocky shore.
14 Luther knows not what may be his fate; but he knows that the cause of truth can never fail, and he is ready to die, if need be, knowing that by death he may serve the truth better than by his life. Light from the throne of God illuminated his countenance. His greatness and purity of character, his peace and joy of heart, were manifest to all, as he testified against the power of error, and witnessed to the superiority of that faith that overcomes the world.
15 When the Reformer ceased speaking, the whole assembly were for a time motionless with amazement. Several of the princes were charmed with his frankness and nobility of soul. The emperor himself, deeply impressed, exclaimed, “The monk speaks with an intrepid heart and unshaken courage.” The Spaniards and Italians were confounded, and began to ridicule that moral grandeur which their base and unprincipled minds could not comprehend.
16 The partisans of Rome had been worsted; their cause appeared in a most unfavorable light. They sought to maintain their power, not by appealing to the Scriptures to show Luther the error of his course, but by a resort to threats, Rome’s unfailing argument. Said the spokesman of the diet, angrily addressing Luther, “If you do not retract, the emperor and the States of the empire will proceed to consider how to deal with an obstinate heretic.’
17 Luther’s friends, who had with great joy listened to his noble defense, trembled at these words; but the doctor himself said firmly, “May God be my helper! for I can retract nothing.”
18 Luther then withdrew, while the princes consulted. When he was called in again, their orator thus addressed him, “Martin, you have not spoken with that humility which befits your condition. The distinction you have drawn as to your works was needless; for if you retracted such as contain errors, the emperor would not allow the rest to be burned. It is absurd to require to be refuted by Scripture, when you have been revising heresies condemned by the General Council of Constance. The emperor therefore commands you to say simply, Yes, or No, whether you mean to affirm what you have advanced, or whether you desire to retract any part thereof.”
19 Luther replied calmly, “I have no other answer to give than that I have already given.”
20 They understood him perfectly. Firm as a rock he stood, while the fiercest billows of worldly power beat harmlessly against him. The simple energy of his words, his fearless bearing, his calm, speaking eye, and the unalterable determination expressed in every word and act, made a deep impression upon the assembly. There was no longer the slightest hope that he could be induced, either by promises or threats, to yield to the mandate of Rome. The monk had triumphed over the rulers of this world.
21 Charles the Fifth rose from his seat, and the whole assembly rose at the same time. “The diet will meet again tomorrow morning to hear the emperor’s decision,” announced the chancellor. There were many in that company actuated by the same spirit which inspired the Pharisees of old. They thirsted for the blood of him whose arguments they could not controvert. Yet Luther, understanding his danger, had spoken to all with Christian dignity and calmness. His words had been free from pride, passion, and misrepresentation. He lost sight of himself, and of the great men surrounding him, and felt only that he was in the presence of One infinitely superior to popes, prelates, kings, and emperors. And Christ, reigning in Luther’s heart, spoke through his testimony with a power and grandeur that for the time inspired both friends and foes with awe and wonder. The converting power of God was in that council, impressing the hearts of the chiefs of the empire.
22 The pope’s adherents, feeling that they had been defeated, angrily asked why the chancellor of the diet had not sooner interrupted the guilty monk. Several of the princes openly acknowledged the justice of Luther’s cause. Many were convinced of the truth; but with some the impressions received were not lasting. The seed sown had not much deepness of earth, and the heat of opposition caused it to wither away. There was another class who did not at the time express their convictions, but who, having searched the Scriptures for themselves, at a future time declared with great boldness for the Reformation.
23 The Elector Frederic had looked forward with anxiety to Luther’s appearance before the diet, and with deep emotion he listened to his speech. He rejoiced at the doctor’s courage, firmness, and self-possession, and was proud of being his protector. He contrasted the parties in contest; on the one hand the world and the church, in all their pride and power, and on the other a single obscure monk; and he saw the wisdom of popes, kings, and prelates brought to naught by the power of truth. The papacy had sustained a defeat which would be felt among all nations and in all ages.
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1 Aleander, the papal legate, clearly perceived the effect produced by Luther’s speech. He feared, as never before, for the security of the Romish power, and resolved to employ every means at his command to effect the Reformer’s overthrow. With all the eloquence and diplomatic skill for which he was so eminently distinguished, he represented to the youthful emperor the folly and danger of sacrificing, in the cause of an insignificant monk, the friendship and support of the powerful see of Rome.
2 His words were not without effect. On the day following Luther’s answer, Charles Fifth caused a message to be presented to the diet, announcing his determination to carry out the policy of his predecessors to maintain and protect the Catholic religion. Since Luther had refused to renounce his errors, the most vigorous measures should be employed against him and the heresies he taught. Nevertheless, the safe-conduct granted him must be respected; and before proceedings against him could be instituted, he must be allowed to reach his home in safety.
3 “I am firmly resolved to tread in the footsteps of my ancestors,” wrote the monarch. Thus he took his position, refusing to accept any light in advance of what his fathers had received, or perform any duty that his fathers had not performed.
4 He seemed to feel that a change of religious views would be inconsistent with the dignity of a great king. There are many at the present day thus clinging to the customs and traditions of their fathers. When the Lord sends them additional light, they refuse to accept it, because, not having been granted to their fathers, it was not received by them. We are not placed where our fathers were, consequently our duties and responsibilities are not the same as theirs. We shall not be approved of God in looking to the example of our fathers to determine our duty instead of searching the word of truth for ourselves.
5 Were our fathers engaged in an evil work? We are not to do wickedly because they did. Were they devoted to a good work? We can imitate them only by performing our duty as faithfully as they performed theirs; by heeding the light granted to us as faithfully as they heeded that which shone upon them; in short, by doing as they would have done had they lived in our day, and enjoyed our privileges and opportunities. Our responsibility is greater than was that of our ancestors. We are accountable for the light which they received, and which was handed, down as an inheritance for us, and we are also accountable for the additional light which is now shining upon us from the sure word of prophecy. The truth that has convinced the understanding or convicted the soul, by whatever means it may have been given, will judge us at the last great day. No one will be condemned because he did not believe that which was never presented to his understanding or urged upon his conscience. Said Christ of the unbelieving Jews: “If I had not come, and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin.”
6 The same divine power had spoken through Luther to the emperor and princes of Germany. And as the light shone forth from God’s word, his Spirit pleaded for the last time with many in that assembly. Had not this appeal been presented to their understanding, their sin had not been so great. But the truth had stood forth in direct and unmistakable contrast with error; therefore their rejection of it sealed their condemnation.
7 The emperor decides that he will not step out of the royal path of custom, even to walk in the ways of truth and righteousness. Because his fathers did, he will uphold the papacy, with all its cruelty and corruption. With this decision, his day of mercy forever ended.
8 As Pilate, centuries before, had permitted pride and love of popularity to close his heart against the world’s Redeemer; as the trembling Felix bade the messenger of truth, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee;” as the proud Agrippa confessed, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian,” yet turned away from the Heaven-sent message,—so had Charles Fifth, yielding to the dictates of worldly pride and policy, refused his last call from God.
9 Charles had announced his decision in the case of Luther without previous consultation with the diet. This hasty and independent act of the youthful emperor excited the displeasure of that august body. Two opposite parties at once appeared. Several of the pope’s adherents demanded that Luther’s safe-conduct should not be respected. “The Rhine,” they said, “should receive his ashes, as it had received those of John Huss a century ago.” In after years it was a cause of regret to Charles that he did not act upon this base proposition. “I confess,” he said toward the close of his life, “that I committed a great fault by permitting Luther to live. I was not obliged to keep my promise with him; that heretic had offended a Master greater than I,— God himself. I might and I ought to have broken my word, and to have avenged the insult he had committed against God. It is because I did not put him to death, that heresy has not ceased to advance. His death would have stifled it in the cradle.” So great was the darkness which came upon the mind that had willfully rejected the light of truth.
10 The proposition of the Romanists excited great alarm among the friends of the Reformer. And even one of his inveterate enemies, a duke of Saxony, denounced the infamous suggestion, affirming that the German princes would not tolerate the violation of a safe-conduct. “Such perfidy,” he said, “befits not the ancient good faith of the Germans.” Other princes also, who were attached to the Roman Church, supported this protest, and the peril that threatened the life of Luther gradually disappeared.
11 Two days were spent by the diet in the deliberation upon the proposition of the emperor. Rumors of the designs against Luther were widely circulated, causing great excitement throughout the city. The Reformer had made many friends, who, knowing the treacherous cruelty of Rome toward all that dared expose her corruptions, resolved that he should not be sacrificed. More than four hundred nobles pledged themselves to protect him. Not a few openly denounced the royal message as evincing a weak submission to the controlling power of Rome. On the gates of houses and in public places, placards were posted, some condemning and others sustaining Luther. On one of them were written merely those significant words of the wise man: “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child.” The popular enthusiasm in Luther’s favor throughout all Germany convinced both the emperor and the diet that any injustice shown him would endanger the peace of the empire, and even the stability of the throne.
12 There were many who loved and honored the Reformer, and wished to secure his safety, while at the same time they were desirous not to break with the Roman power. Hoping to accomplish this object, the German princes came in a body to the emperor to request time for further efforts for a reconciliation. “I will not depart from what I have determined,” said he; “I will authorize no one to have any official communication with Luther.” “But,” he added, “I will allow the man three days’ consideration, during which time any one may exhort him privately as he may think fit.”
13 Many of the Reformer’s friends hoped that a private conference would prove successful. But the Elector of Saxony, who knew Luther better, felt assured that he would stand firm. In a letter to his brother, Duke John of Saxony, Frederic expressed his anxiety for Luther’s safety, and his own willingness to undertake his defense. “You can hardly imagine,” he continued, “how I am beset by the partisans of Rome. If I were to tell you all, you would hear strange things. They are bent upon his ruin; and if any one evinces the least interest in his safety, he is instantly cried down as a heretic. May God, who forsaketh not the cause of the righteous, bring the struggle to a happy issue.”
14 Frederic maintained a studied reserve toward the Reformer, carefully concealing his real feelings, while at the same time he guarded him with tireless vigilance, watching all his movements and all those of his enemies. But there were many who made no attempt to conceal their sympathy. Princes, barons, knights, gentlemen, ecclesiastics, and common people surrounded Luther’s lodgings, entering and gazing upon him as though he were something more than human. Even those who believed him to be in error could not but admire that nobility of soul which led him to peril his life rather than violate his conscience.
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1 No sooner had the consent of the emperor been obtained, than an attempt was made to effect a compromise with Luther. The archbishop of Treves, a staunch Romanist and an intimate friend of the Elector Frederic, undertook the office of mediator. The Reformer was summoned to the residence of this prelate, where were assembled several dignitaries of the church, with secular nobles and deputies, among the rest one Cochlaeus, who was there simply as a spy for the pope’s legate.
2 The spokesman of the company was himself desirous of a reformation in the church, and was therefore favorably disposed toward Luther. With great kindness he addressed the Reformer, assuring him that all the princes present were in earnest to save him, but if he persisted in setting up his own judgment against that of the church and the councils, he would be banished from the empire, and would then have no shelter.
3 To this appeal Luther made answer: “It is impossible to preach the gospel of Christ without offense. Why, then, should any such fear separate me from the Lord and that divine word which alone is truth? No; rather will I give up body, blood, and life itself.”
4 Again he was urged to submit to the judgment of the emperor, and then he would have nothing to fear. “I consent,” said he in reply, “with all my heart, to the emperor, the princes, and even the humblest Christian’s examining and judging of my writings; but on one single condition; namely, that they take God’s word for their guide. Men have nothing to do but render obedience to that. My conscience is in dependence upon that word, and I am the bounden subject of its authority.”
5 The company soon broke up and withdrew. Two or three remained, however, greatly desiring to accomplish their object. But Luther was firm as a rock. “The pope,” said he, “is no judge in things pertaining to the word of the Lord. It is the duty of every Christian to see and understand how to live and die.”
6 The failure of this effort was communicated to the diet by the archbishop of Treves. The surprise of the young emperor was equaled only by his indignation. “It is high time,” he said, “to put an end to this business.” The archbishop pleaded for two days more, and all the diet uniting in the request, the emperor consented, much against the will of the legate.
7 Another effort was made to effect a compromise. Cochlaeus was ambitious to accomplish what kings and prelates had failed to do. Dining with Luther at his hotel, he in a friendly manner urged him to retract. Luther shook his head. Several persons at the table expressed their indignation that the papists, instead of convincing Luther by arguments, should seek to control him by force. Cochlaeus then offered to dispute with him publicly, provided he would forego his safe-conduct. A public discussion was what Luther most desired; but he well knew that to forego his safe-conduct would be to imperil his life. The guests suspected that the proposition of Cochlaeus was a stratagem of popery for delivering Luther into the hands of those who sought his destruction, and in their indignation they seized the terrified priest, and hurled him out of doors.
8 The archbishop of Treves desired another interview, and invited to supper the persons who attended the previous conference, hoping that in the midst of familiar intercourse the parties would be more disposed to a reconciliation. These repeated efforts to move Luther from his steadfastness remind one of Balak conducting Balaam from one point to another, in the vain hope that he might be induced to change the blessing of Israel into a curse. The bishop succeeded no better than did the king of Moab. Human applause and the fear of man were alike powerless to shake the Reformer’s decision. He was sustained by a divine power.
9 Still another trial was made. Two officials of high rank, one of whom had manifested much affection for Luther, called upon him at his hotel. The elector sent two of his counselors to be present at this interview. The two first mentioned were desirous, at any sacrifice, to prevent the great division that seemed about to rend the church. Earnestly they entreated Luther to commit the matter to their hands, assuring him that it should be settled in a Christian spirit.
10 “I answer at once,” said Luther, “I consent to forego my safe-conduct, and resign my person and my life to the emperor’s disposal; but as to the word of God . . . . Never!” One of Frederic’s counselors then stood up and said to the envoys, “Is not that enough? Is not such a sacrifice sufficient?” and after protesting that he would hear no more, he withdrew.
11 The two envoys did not even yet understand the inflexible firmness of the man with whom they had to deal. Thinking that they could more easily succeed with him alone, they seated themselves by his side, and again urged him to submit to the diet. He met these solicitations as Christ met his great adversary,—with the word of God. Said Luther, “It is written, ‘Cursed is he that trusteth in man.’” They pressed him more and more, until Luther, weary and disgusted, arose and signified to them to retire, saying, “I will allow no man to exalt himself above God’s word.”
12 At evening they returned with a new proposition,—a general council. They asked him only to consent to the proposition, without entering into details. “I consent,” said he, “but on condition that the council decide according to the Holy Scriptures.”
13 Thinking that this would of course be accepted, they hastened joyfully to the archbishop of Treves, and informed him that Dr. Luther would submit his writings to the judgment of a council.
14 The archbishop was on the point of communicating the glad tidings to the emperor when a doubt crossed his mind. He had found Luther so firm and confident in his faith, that he decided it would be safest to hear the statement from his own lips. He accordingly sent for him.
15 “Dear Doctor,” said the archbishop with much kindness, “my doctors assure me that you consent to submit your cause without reserve to the decision of a council.”
16 “My lord,” said Luther, “I can endure anything except to abandon the Holy Scriptures.”
17 The archbishop saw that his messengers had not fully explained the facts. Never would Rome give her consent to a council which should take the inspired word alone for its guide. “Well then,” said the venerable prelate, “let me hear your own remedy for the evil.”
18 Luther was silent for a moment. Then he spoke with respect and great solemnity: “I know of none but what is found in the counsel of Gamaliel: ‘If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God!’ Let the emperor, the electors, and the States of the empire, return that answer to the pope.”
19 The archbishop was at last convinced that further effort was useless. Luther had set his feet upon the sure foundation, and he could not be moved.
20 The Reformer was convinced that there was nothing to be gained by a longer stay at Worms. Before retiring from the presence of the archbishop he said, “My lord, I beg you to request his majesty to send me the safe-conduct necessary for my return whence I came.”
21 “I will attend to it,” said the archbishop, and they parted.
22 Luther had refused to exchange the yoke of Christ for the yoke of popery. This was his only offense; but it was sufficient to imperil his life. The attention of the whole empire had been directed to this one man, and all their threats and entreaties had failed to shake his fidelity to God and his word. Luther had not without help maintained his steadfastness. A greater than Luther was with him, controlling his mind, sanctifying his judgment, and imparting to him wisdom in every hour of peril.
23 Had the Reformer yielded a single point, Satan and his hosts would have gained the victory. But Luther’s unwavering firmness under the iron hand of the pope was the means of emancipating the church and beginning a new and better era. The influence of this one man, who had dared to think and act for himself in religious matters, was to affect the church and the world not only in his own time, but to all future generations. His firmness and fidelity would strengthen all who should pass through a similar experience, to the close of time. This was the work of God. Luther’s defense before the diet of Worms was one of the grandest scenes recorded in history. The power and majesty of God stand forth above the counsel of men, above the mighty power of Satan.
24 Shortly after Luther’s return to his hotel, two high officers of State, accompanied by a notary, presented themselves. The imperial chancellor addressed him, stating that the emperor, the electors and princes, having vainly exhorted him, his imperial majesty, as defender of the Catholic faith, found himself compelled to resort to other measures. He commanded Luther to return home in the space of twenty-one days, and on the way to refrain from disturbing the public peace by preaching or writing.
25 Luther was aware that this message would speedily be followed by his condemnation. He answered mildly, “It has happened unto me according to the will of the Eternal. Blessed be his name!” He continued: “And first I humbly, and from the bottom of my heart, thank his majesty, the electors, princes, and States of the empire, that they have given me so gracious a hearing. I neither have, nor ever have had, a wish but for one thing; to wit, a reformation of the church according to the Holy Scriptures. I am ready to do or to suffer all things for obedience to the emperor’s will. Life or death, honor or dishonor, I will bear. I make but one reservation, the preaching of the gospel; for, says St. Paul, the word of God is not to be bound.
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1 The present is a time of dense darkness to the world; but the true light is shining, and God, in his great mercy, has permitted us to behold its brightness and to walk in its guiding rays. We are favored above any other people upon the earth. Our spiritual blessings are more and greater than have been granted to the church in any previous age.
2 What makes me tremble for the professed believers in present truth, is the fact that they do not appreciate the light, and follow its guidance. With all our opportunities for spiritual advancement, we are not, as a people, wise, humble, and holy. As the Lord caused the pillar of fire to shine upon ancient Israel, so has he shed upon us the light of his truth. He requires us, as rational, accountable beings, to walk in the light. If we refuse to do this, our light will become darkness, and the darkness will be in proportion to the light rejected.
3 We are living in the time when Christ is about to close his work of mediation in our behalf. All should now closely examine their hearts to see whether they are in the faith. Instead of indulging doubt and unbelief, they should humble themselves before God, cultivate faith in his word and his work, and labor earnestly for the salvation of souls. It is no time now for caviling, dissension, and disunion. Where these exist, we may know that self is not dead. Those who have received the truth into the heart will be so filled with joy and gratitude, and so absorbed in the desire that others may share its great blessings, that they will lose sight of petty doubts and evil surmisings. In their disinterested labor for the salvation of souls, they forget self and selfish interests. Instead of acting the part of Judas the betrayer, or of Peter when he denied his Lord, they earnestly seek to follow the example of Christ, and carry forward the work which he came on earth to do.
4 When I think how strong we might be if we would take hold of the strength of the Mighty One, and then see how weak we are, because we do not claim the promises of God, my soul cries out in anguish, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach;” “wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?”
5 There are among us many who profess the truth, but who refuse to be crucified with Christ. The Author of our salvation labored and suffered for us. His whole life was one long scene of toil and privation. He could have done as many of his professed followers choose to do; he could have passed his days on earth in ease and plenty, and appropriated to himself all the pleasures and enjoyments of this life. But he sought not his own comfort or gratification; he lived to do good, to save others from shame, suffering, and ruin. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
6 Can those who are partakers of this great salvation, who are objects of this wondrous condescension, this infinite love, cherish one feeling of dissatisfaction or indulge one murmuring thought, because they are not free from trials, toils, and conflicts? Do we desire a better portion in this life than was given to our Lord? Can we not yet comprehend the great privileges which are ours through the grace of Christ? If Jesus had not died as our sacrifice, and risen again as our Mediator, we could never have known peace, never have felt joy; we must have experienced the horrors of darkness and the miseries of despair. Then let only praise and gratitude to God be the language of our hearts. All our lives we have been partakers of his heavenly benefits, recipients of the blessings of Christ’s atonement; therefore it is impossible for us to conceive the hopeless state of ignorance and misery into which we had fallen and from which the Saviour raised us. When we feel the pains, the sorrows, the bereavements to which we are all subject, we should not, by one murmuring word or thought, dishonor our Redeemer. In the hour of trial and affliction let us consider that we cannot tell how much greater our sufferings would be, had we not a compassionate Saviour; we cannot determine how much less we suffer than our sins deserve.
7 Oh that we might, as a people, seek the Lord as never before! Oh that we might renounce our sins, break down our pride, and with contrition of soul cast ourselves unreservedly upon Christ, believing that he accepts us just now, not because we are worthy, but because he died for us. God grant that all who have named the name of Christ may depart from iniquity! All that God could do for us has been done. Jesus is now looking upon the people for whom he suffered and died, and is saying, What more can I do for my vineyard than I have already done? Can we wish to be free from trials and reproach for the truth’s sake? Can we look upon Him whom our sins have pierced, and not be willing to share his humiliation?
8 Our sins mingled the bitter cup which he drank in our stead, that he might put to our lips the cup of blessing. He endured the cross, despising the shame, that he might reconcile us to God, that whosoever would come unto him might take of the water of life freely. In view of the cross of Christ, can you, my brethren and sisters, wish or expect to enter his kingdom in any other way than through much tribulation? We have a work to do which we have neglected. We do not love to follow where Jesus leads the way. Our Heavenly Father requires of his church and people according to the grace and truth given them; and his requirements are just and right. All these must be fully met, or in the Judgment they will condemn the transgressor.
9 All who profess Christ are accountable for the talents committed to their trust. Christians must stand on that elevated ground which the truth has for ages been preparing for them. To meet the mind of the Spirit of God, we must exhibit to the world, in character and works, that union with Christ which is in accordance with the light of sacred truth now shining upon us. It is not the lack of knowledge and understanding that at the last day will condemn Seventh-day Adventists, and banish them from the presence of the Lord; but it is the truth that has reached the understanding, the light that has illuminated the soul, which will witness against us, if we turn away and refuse to be led by it. If we were blind, we would have no sin; but the Lord has given us great light, sacred truth has been unfolded to our understanding; yet we have not been wise unto salvation, we have not advanced in knowledge and true holiness according to the light and truth which has been bestowed upon us.
10 God has been very merciful to you, my brethren and sisters in California. Great light has been shining upon you; but you have a great work to do for yourselves before you can share largely of his blessing. Many are seeking to smooth over and excuse sin, instead of striving, with all their hearts, to put it away. Such must be thoroughly transformed in character and in life. When they seek earnestly to meet the high standard of the Bible, then will the Lord be to them a present help in every time of need. But how few will bear the test when examined by the light which God has given them. A deeper heart-work must be experienced by many, or they will drift into the deceptions of Satan. Their works must be wrought in God.
11 Oh that my dear brethren and sisters would make sure work for eternity! There is no hope, no remedy, except in confessing and forsaking our sins, and with full purpose of heart turning unto the Lord.
12 The time has come for us to take advance steps. We should beware lest a selfish, covetous spirit shut out the blessing of God. The Lord calls upon us to give of our means to support his cause. He requires more of us than merely the payment of the tithe. The message is to go forth, “Sell that ye have, and give alms.” Those who have large farms should begin to cut down their possessions. There is earnest work to do for God, and we are far behind his opening providence. Recall all the mercies and blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon you, and consider that he has made you stewards of his goods: Then let each one examine himself and see if he is honoring the Lord with his substance. We should come before him with both thank-offerings and sin-offerings. Our obligation to God is endless. His work must not languish for want of means. His claims must be met first, at whatever cost or sacrifice. It is time for those who have large possessions to cut down the principal, that God’s work may be extended in foreign lands. Throughout our own country also there are fields that have not yet been entered, and where the truth should be proclaimed.
13 John Wesley once preached a powerful sermon on the use of money. He laid down three rules: “Make all you can; save all you can; give all you can.” To acquire and not save is improvidence. To hoard up money, adding land to land, and house to house, is covetousness and idolatry. To make and to save in order to give in support of the cause of God, is obeying the command of Christ, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
14 Those who have not hitherto felt the claims that God has upon them, should now begin to act. God calls for all to act a part in the closing work for sinners. Let every needless ornament, every extravagance, every selfish indulgence, be given up, and let all these little outgoes, these tiny streams, flow into the Lord’s treasury. Let us remember continually what Jesus has done for us. He for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. Let us do our duty faithfully, and then trust ourselves and all we have to the hands of God. He wants not only ours but us. None can render effectual service unless they do the work he has left for them to do, and then leave the result wholly with him.
15 Oh that those to whom have been intrusted so great and solemn truths would manifest corresponding faith! They should trust their work in the Lord’s hands, pleading upon their knees for wisdom and guidance, and then, instead of taking the burden all back, and seeking to plan and execute in their own strength, and groaning because they are overburdened, let them leave it with the Lord. Amid a life of constant activity they will thus find rest to their souls. That which they trust with him they are not to fret and worry about. Those who really trust in God will find the rest he has promised, will find his yoke easy and his burden light.
16 If the Lord had a company of workers who would rely wholly upon him, he would accomplish a great work through them. One could chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. The Lord is a mighty helper. If we trust in him, we shall have rest and peace. The language of the soul should be that of joy and gratitude. If we have dark chapters in our experience, let us not keep their memory fresh by repetition. Forgetting the things that are behind, let us press forward to the things that are before. Cultivate only those thoughts and feelings which produce gratitude and praise. If you have been wronged, forget it, and think only of the great mercy, the loving-kindness, the inexpressible love of Jesus. Learn to praise rather than to censure. If you meet with insult and abuse, do not become discouraged, for Jesus met the same. Go forward, doing your work with fidelity. Store the mind with the precious promises of God’s word, and hold sweet communion with him by frequently repeating them. Cease fretting, cease murmuring, cease finding fault, and make melody to God in your hearts. Think of everything you have to be thankful for, and then learn to praise God. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth God.”
17 If all our mourning, and fretting, and complaining were presented before us as written in the book of records, what a sight would we behold! How astonished we would be to see and understand our real thoughts and feelings— naught but unhappy complainings.
18 I entreat you never to utter one word of complaint. Weave into the warp and woof of your experience the golden threads of gratitude. Contemplate the better land, where tears are never shed, where temptations and trials are never experienced, where losses and reproaches are never known, where all is peace, and joy, and happiness. Here your imagination may have full scope. These thoughts will make you more spiritually minded, will imbue you with heavenly vigor, will satisfy your thirsty soul with living water, and will impress upon your heart the seal of the divine image. You will be filled with hope and joy in believing, and the Comforter will abide with you forever.
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1 It is the privilege of every soul to seek and find peace in Christ. Yet this peace is granted only upon conditions. We must surrender our own ways and wills and plans, and thus put off the grievous yoke which we have bound upon our own necks, and we must take upon us the yoke of Christ, which will bring rest to our souls. “Learn of me,” says the Divine Teacher; “for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
2 We each need to learn in the school of Christ; and it is because we are not more humble and diligent students that we are so slow to manifest meekness and lowliness of heart. It is only when we cherish these precious graces that peace and rest can abide in the soul. Only the humble and contrite ones find shelter in the promises of God; only these obtain a saving knowledge of the Scriptures, and a rich experience in trusting God and obeying his precepts. In our own strength we are indeed feeble; but in the strength of our Redeemer we may be strong. In the midst of tumult we may have quietness and peace. We must believe in him, even though darkness envelop the soul; we must work from principle, rather than from feeling. By this continual, unwavering trust, Satan is baffled and disappointed. Says the psalmist, “Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies.” “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
3 If we would maintain our fidelity to God, in this time of danger and deception, we must constantly rely upon the power of Christ. We must be often before God in prayer, holding every emotion and every passion in calm subjection to reason and conscience, banishing all unholy imaginings, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. By earnest prayer and living faith we can resist the assaults of Satan, and keep our hearts unspotted from pollution.
4 The strongest temptation is no excuse for sin. However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act. It is not in the power of earth or hell to compel any one to sin. The will must consent, the heart must yield, or passion cannot overbear reason, nor iniquity triumph over righteousness.
5 I appeal to you who profess to be followers of Christ to depart from all iniquity. You must do this, if you would represent the truth as it is in Jesus. God wants whole-hearted, thorough-going men. These only can stand the test of the Judgment. If those who have received the light were but true to their trust, what a flood of light would be poured upon the world! But how is it, not only with the members of the church, but with those who stand as ministers of the gospel? Do their habits and experience correctly represent the purity and simplicity of a holy, cross-bearing life?
6 The true toilers in the Lord’s vineyard will be men of prayer, of faith, of self-denial,—men who hold in restraint the natural appetites and passions. These will, in their own lives, give to the world evidence of the power of the truth which they present to others; and their labors will not be without effect. “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.”
7 Fellow-workers for Christ, time is short; we have no moments to idle away. Are you watching for souls as they that must give an account, or are you yourselves drowsy, ease-loving, and lukewarm? Have you a living faith? Are you every day increasing in the knowledge of Christ? Do you possess practical godliness, Christian meekness, and deep love for the souls for whom Christ died? Search the Scriptures. Do not depend upon the little knowledge which you already have. Pray for clearer light. Dig for the precious gems of truth as for hid treasure. Thus will you be enabled to bring forth from the storehouse of God things new and old.
8 In this age of conflicting doctrines, when fables abound, and there is so much sensational preaching on the one hand, and so great formality on the other, it is a difficult matter to arouse the people. Our only hope of success is to reach them through God. We must give evidence of earnestness, zeal, and devotion commensurate to the importance and solemnity of our work. There should be no exaltation of self. We are not to call attention to the instrument, but to present Christ and the sacred truths that are to test the people of God. If these truths sanctify our own hearts, if they purify and ennoble our own characters, we shall be living epistles, known and read of all men.
9 The ambassadors of Christ must learn where their strength lies. They must themselves drink of the living water, before they can guide others to the fountain. We must learn by experience what it is to lean upon the arm of our Beloved. There is no evil more fatal to the prosperity of the church than the influence of professed teachers and ministers of the gospel who are deficient in Christian experience, in faith, self-denial, self-control, and in the tact and energy essential for skillful warfare.
10 My brethren, you should be constant learners in the school of Christ, obtaining from the heavenly Teacher precious lessons to impart to others. You have lost much in your labors because you have not constantly felt the necessity of vital connection with God. There is earnest solemn work to do in every branch of the cause of Christ. You need the Spirit and power of God, that your testimony, like a sharp, two-edged sword, may cut to the heart of those who hear.
11 The faithful witnesses for Christ will keep themselves unspotted from the world. Those who seek to be popular with the world, will not love the testimony of the Spirit of God. They are not sanctified through the truth; and after a brief period of half-hearted service, they will make a decided move toward uniting with the enemies of God. They reject the light, and it is withdrawn from them. In time it will be seen that they are in utter darkness.
12 Many retain a form of godliness and a connection with the church, when they bring no strength, help, or blessing to the church. They seek to make the narrow way broad and pleasant for the multitude to walk in. Such are destitute of spiritual eyesight. They have put out their own eyes, and they stumble at every step. The word of God has not widened the narrow way; and if the half-hearted and pleasure-loving choose a path where they need not bear the cross or suffer tribulation, they are in a path where the Saviour did not walk.
13 In all parts of our country, during the summer and autumn, large companies assemble in the tented grove, to worship God and to listen to words of warning and instruction from his servants. Great privileges are afforded by these yearly convocations. The Lord Jesus himself comes up to the feast. We have a precious opportunity to humble our hearts before God, and to become settled and grounded in the truth. Are these opportunities wisely improved? They will prove to us either a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. After these seasons are over, and those who met together have returned to their homes, will they be prepared to let their light shine forth to the world? Will their works correspond with the faith which they profess? If we continue to love the world, to have fellowship with the works of darkness, or to find pleasure in unrighteousness, then we have put the stumbling-block of our iniquity before our face, and have set up idols in our hearts. If we do not heed the word of the Lord, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean,” we are in a worse condition than if we had not listened to the words of truth.
14 The Scriptures clearly set before us the high and holy position which we should occupy as sons and daughters of God. If all who attend the camp-meetings would seek earnestly to attain this position, and would receive the spiritual benefit which it is their privilege to receive, they would be prepared to do good when they return home. If the love of Christ is kindled afresh in their own hearts, if they have drank anew from the heavenly fountain, their cheerful testimonies and their prayers, sent up in faith, will be as great a help to the church as ministerial labor. The Spirit of God will come into their meetings, and the hearts of believers will say, It is good to be here.
15 Every church, be it large or small, should be taught not to depend on ministerial labor. Therefore, fellow-Christians, there is the greater need that you kindle your tapers at the divine altar, that the light may shine forth to all around. However weak you may be, you can become a help and blessing to others, if you will keep your own souls in the love of God, and search the Scriptures for a clear understanding of the truth. It is not only your privilege but your duty to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. You may rejoice in a living Saviour, and may show to all connected with you that he is the center of your affections and your hopes.
16 Would that all might view this matter of daily, practical Christianity as it has been presented to me; would that they could see what we might be in spiritual power, and what we are because we neglect the light which God has given us! Many will have to combat intellectual slothfulness and spiritual stupor, before they can be a blessing to themselves or to their fellow-men. We are living under the most solemn message of warning ever given to our world. We are altogether too near the closing scenes of this world`s history to be inattentive, to occupy a neutral position. It behooves us now to be wide awake, ready for every good work, ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us.
17 Brethren, you must come closer, closer to the bleeding side of Jesus. Instead of yielding to every passing influence, seek earnestly to know the truth, and then endeavor to form a character consistent therewith. Seek to be like Christ, meek and lowly of heart, and, like him, be resolute also; in principle be firm as a rock; be pure, sincere, and holy. Be ever cheerful, humble, grateful. Keep yourselves separate from the spirit and influence of the world. Let not sin find a sanction in your position. Give no occasion for evil-doers even to imagine that they have your sympathies. Let not irreligion find in your lax principles a pretext to excuse itself.
18 God calls upon you to be zealous and repent of your half-heartedness. Strive to walk wisely, in a perfect way. Begin and end each day with earnest prayer and close self-examination. Compare your life and character with the law of God, mark where its precepts condemn you, and set to work at once to correct the wrong by repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Wash your robes of character, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Let your words be well chosen. Put away all lightness, trifling, and irreverence.
19 Those who really desire to advance in the divine life will cherish every ray of light, and heed every warning given by the servants of God. The Holy Spirit admonishes those who preach the gospel, “Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine.” If the Lord has given this command, there is certainly a work of reproving, rebuking, warning, and correction to be done. Let all be careful, then, how they allow their hearts to rise up against the reproofs of God through his servants; for in so doing they rise up against God.
20 Like the Pharisees of old, the self-deceived, the self-sufficient, the self-righteous, refuse to be warned. The Lord points out their dangers, but they do not heed his voice. As they assimilate to the world, they become the friends of evil-doers. While God reproves the transgressor, they feel inclined to excuse and encourage him. Thus they say to the sinner, It shall be well with thee. Such persons call good evil, in that they oppose and denounce those who faithfully deliver the messages of warning and reproof committed to them of God. They call evil good by extolling those who have no reproofs to bear and no warnings to give, who pass along in a careless, indifferent spirit, excusing sin, and by their own course encouraging worldliness and backsliding. All these are sanctioning a deception which has proved the ruin of many. The blood of souls is upon them. Their course is more offensive to God than is that of the open sinner. Anciently, the Lord always had among his people faithful prophets, whom, he sent to reprove sin. He has never removed these from his church. Those who rise up against warning and reproof, and seek by their jests, their smart speeches, or their deceptions, to make of no effect the plain words of reproof prompted by the Spirit of God, will find, in the great day of final reckoning, an account against them which they will not wish to meet.
21 To be a Christian is to be Christ-like, a man of faith, a man of principle. The Christians most serviceable in the church are those whose convictions are so firm, whose characters are so strong, that nothing can sway them from their faith or deter them from their duty. As a people, we are altogether too much like the world. We are not the separate, holy people that God requires us to be. When we come up to the high standard of God`s law, then shall we be indeed the light of the world.
22 The professed church of Christ has wandered from her privilege, her duty, and her God. Like ancient Israel, she has forsaken the covenant, and joined herself in harmony with the world. Pride, luxury, and pleasure are invited into the sanctuary, and her holy places are defiled. Those who have pledged their allegiance to God, enjoy the company and spirit of his avowed enemies. Their choice determines their character. Strong is the Lord God who judgeth them.
23 But, thank God, in every age he has had men who were not time-servers, men who would stand firm for the right, and risk all consequences. In the strength of God, Martin Luther fearlessly proclaimed the truths of the Bible. In vain earthly potentates sought to intimidate him. In vain they attempted to break his hold on God, and drive him to seek the favor of the pope or the protection of the emperor at the sacrifice of his faith. His one answer was, “God and the right will triumph.” Neither men nor devils could silence him. Gold, ambition, honors, could not win him from his work of exposing error and declaring truth. In like manner Huss, Jerome, Ridley, and many others, counted not their own lives dear unto themselves that they might keep the testimony of Jesus. Amid torture and flames, amid dungeons and horrible deaths, these faithful standard-bearers held aloft the banner of the cross of Christ.
24 We also, who are called to stand in these last trying days of peril and conflict, must be willing, for the truth’s sake, to sacrifice our ease, our time, our reputation, yea, even life itself. At whatever cost, we must be true to principle and to God.
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1 On the 26th of April, 1521, Luther departed from Worms. Threatening clouds overhung his path, yet as he passed out of the gate of the city, his heart was filled with joy and praise.”Satan himself,” said he, “kept the pope’s citadel; but Christ has made a wide breach in it, and the devil has been compelled to confess that Christ is mightier than he.”
2 “The conflict at Worms,” writes a friend of the Reformer, “resounded far and near; and as the report of it traversed Europe, from the northern countries to the mountains of Switzerland and the towns of England, France, and Italy, many seized with eagerness the mighty weapons of the word of God.”
3 Luther left, the city at ten o’clock, with the friends who had accompanied him to Worms. Twenty gentlemen on horseback surrounded the carriage, and a great crowd attended him beyond the walls.
4 Upon the journey from Worms, he determined to write once more to the emperor, being unwilling to appear to him as a guilty rebel. “God is my witness, who knoweth the thoughts,” said he, “that I am ready with all my heart to obey your majesty through good or evil report, in life or in death, with one exception—save the word of God, by which man liveth. In all the affairs of this life my fidelity shall be unshaken; for in these, loss or gain has nothing to do with salvation. But it is contrary to the will of God that man should be subject to man in that which pertains to eternal life. Subjection in spirituals is a real worship, and should be rendered only to the Creator.”
5 He also addressed to the States of the empire a letter of nearly the same purport, recapitulating what had transpired at Worms. This letter made a deep impression upon the minds of the German people. They saw that Luther had been treated with great injustice by the emperor and the higher clergy, and their feelings were strongly aroused against the arrogant assumptions of the papacy.
6 Had Charles V. understood the real value of such a man as Luther to his empire, a man who would not be bought or sold, who would not sacrifice principle for friends or foes,—he would have cherished and honored instead of denouncing and proscribing him.
7 Luther journeyed toward home, receiving, as he went, the most flattering attentions from all classes. Dignitaries of the church welcomed the monk upon whom the pope’s curse rested, and secular officers honored the man who was under the ban of the empire. He decided to turn aside from the direct route, to visit Mora, his father’s birthplace. His friend Amsdorff and a wagoner accompanied him, while the remainder of the party proceeded on their way to Wittenberg. After spending a day with his relatives, enjoying a peaceful rest in marked contrast to the turmoil and strife of Worms, he resumed his journey.
8 As the carriage was passing a narrow defile, the travelers encountered five horsemen, completely armed and masked. Two of the men seized Amsdorff and the wagoner, while the other three proceeded to secure Luther. In profound silence they forced him to alight, threw a knight’s cloak over his shoulders, and placed him upon an extra horse. Then the two in charge of Amsdorff and the wagoner released them, and the five all sprang into their saddles, and disappeared with their prisoner in the thick gloom of the forest.
9 Through winding and intricate paths they made their way, now advancing and now retracing their steps in such a manner as effectually to elude pursuit. When night fell, they struck into a new road, and swiftly and silently pressed forward, through dark, almost untrodden forests, to the mountains of Thuringia. Here, on a lofty summit, reached only by a steep and difficult ascent, stood the castle of Wartburg. Within the walls of this isolated stronghold, Luther was conducted by his captors, and the heavy gates closed after him, effectually shutting him from the sight and knowledge of the world without.
10 The Reformer had not fallen into the hands of enemies. A vigilant eye had followed his movements, and as the storm was about to burst upon his defenseless head, a true and noble heart had resolved upon his rescue. It was plain that Rome would be satisfied with nothing short of his death; only by concealment could he be preserved from the jaws of the lion.
11 Upon Luther’s departure from Worms, the papal legate had procured an edict against him, to which was affixed the emperor’s signature and the seal of the empire. In this imperial decree Luther was denounced as “Satan himself, under the semblance of a man in a monk’s hood.” It was commanded that as soon as his safe-conduct should expire, measures be taken to stop his work. All persons were forbidden to harbor him, to give him food or drink, or by word or act, in public or private, to aid or abet him. He was to be seized wherever he might be, and delivered to the authorities. His adherents also were to be imprisoned, and their property confiscated. His writings were ordered to be destroyed, and finally, all who should dare to act contrary to this decree were placed under the ban of the empire.
12 The emperor had spoken, and the diet had given their sanction to the decree. The whole body of Romanists were jubilant. Now they considered the fate of the Reformation sealed. The superstitious multitude were filled with horror at the thought of Luther as the incarnate Satan whom the emperor had described as clothed in a monk’s habit.
13 In this hour of peril, God prepared a way of escape for his servant. The Holy Spirit moved upon the heart of the Elector of Saxony, and gave him wisdom to devise a plan for Luther’s preservation. Frederick had caused it to be intimated to the Reformer while still at Worms, that his liberty might be sacrificed for a time to secure his own safety and that of the Reformation; yet no hint had been given as to the manner in which this might be accomplished. With the co-operation of true friends, the elector’s purpose was carried out, and with so much tact and skill that Luther was effectually hidden from friends and foes. In fact, both his seizure and his concealment were so involved in mystery that even Frederick himself for a long time knew not whither he had been conducted. This ignorance was not without design; so long as the elector knew nothing of Luther’s whereabouts, he could reveal nothing. He had assured himself that the Reformer was safe, and with this knowledge he was content.
14 Spring, summer, and autumn passed, and winter came, and Luther still remained a prisoner. Aleander and his partisans rejoiced that the light of the gospel seemed about to be extinguished. But instead of this, Luther was but filling his lamp from the unfailing storehouse of truth, to shine forth in due time with brighter radiance.
15 It was not merely to secure his own safety that Luther was, in the providence of God, withdrawn from the stage of public life. Infinite Wisdom overruled all circumstances and events for the accomplishment of his deep designs. It is not the will of God that his work should bear the impress of one man. There were other workers who in Luther’s absence must be called to the front, to give character to the Reformation, that it might develop proportionately.
16 Furthermore, in every reformatory movement, there is danger that it will receive the stamp of the human rather than the divine. As men rejoice in the freedom which the truth brings them, they are inclined to exalt those whom God has employed to break the chains of error and superstition. These leaders are honored, extolled, and reverenced, and if they are not truly humble and devoted, unselfish and incorruptible, they gradually lose sight of their continual dependence upon God, and begin to trust in themselves. Soon they seek to control the minds and restrict the consciences of others, seeming to regard themselves as the only channel through which God will communicate light to his church. The work of reform is often retarded because of this spirit indulged by its supporters.
17 In the friendly security of the Wartburg, Luther for a time gave himself up to repose, and rejoiced in his release from the heat and turmoil of battle. From the castle walls he looked down upon the dark forests that shut him in on every side, then turning his eyes to heaven, he exclaimed, “Strange captivity! a prisoner by consent, yet against my will!” “Pray for me,” he writes to Spalatin. “I want nothing save your prayers. Do not disturb me by what is said or thought of me in the world. At last I am quiet.”
18 The solitude and obscurity of this mountain retreat had another and still more precious blessing for the Reformer. Here he was saved from becoming too greatly elated by success. He was removed from every human prop, shut out from the sympathy and praise which are so often unwisely given, and which so often lead to the most deplorable results. It is Satan’s studied object to direct men’s thoughts and affections from God, who should received all praise and glory, and fix them upon human agencies; to exalt the mere instrument which God employs, and ignore the Hand that directs all the events of providence.
19 Here is a danger against which all Christians should constantly guard. However much they may admire the noble, self-sacrificing deeds of God’s faithful servants, they should remember that God alone is to be exalted. All the wisdom, ability, and grace which men possess, has been given them of God. To him should be all the praise.
20 Luther could not long find satisfaction in quiet and repose. Accustomed to a life of activity and stern conflict, he could ill endure to remain inactive. In these solitary days, the condition of the church rose up before him, and he felt that there was no man who could stand upon the walls and build up Zion. Again his thoughts returned to himself, and he feared being charged with cowardice in withdrawing from the work. Then he reproached himself for his indolence and self-indulgence. Yet at the same time he was daily accomplishing more than it seemed possible for one man to do. He writes, “I am going through the Bible in Hebrew and Greek. I mean to write a discourse in German touching auricular confession, also to continue the translation of the Psalms, and to compose a collection of sermons as soon as I have received what I want from Wittenberg. My pen is never idle.”
21 While his enemies flattered themselves that he was silenced, they were astonished and confused by tangible proof that he was still active. A host of tracts issuing from his pen, circulated throughout Germany. For nearly a whole year, sheltered from the wrath of all opposers, he exhorted and rebuked the prevailing sins of the time.
22 He also performed a most important service for his countrymen by translating the original scriptures of the New Testament into the German tongue. Thus the word of God was opened to the understanding of the common people, so that all might read for themselves the words of life and truth. Thus he labored most effectually to turn all eyes from the pope of Rome to Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness.
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1 While Luther was safely hidden in the fortress of Wartburg, how did his strange absence affect the world? All Germany was thrown into consternation. Inquiries concerning him were heard everywhere. Even his enemies were more agitated by his absence than they could have been by his presence. The wildest rumors were circulated. Many believed that he had been murdered. There was great lamentation, not only by his avowed friends, but by thousands who had not openly taken their stand with the Reformation. Said the people, “Never more shall we behold him. Never again shall we hear that bold man whose voice stirred the depths of our hearts.” Many bound themselves by a solemn oath to avenge his death.
2 The Romanists saw with terror to what a pitch had risen the feeling against them. Though at first exultant at the supposed death of Luther, they now desired to hide from the wrath of the people. Those who were enraged against him when he was at large, were filled with fear now that he was in captivity. “The only way of extricating ourselves,” said a Roman Catholic, “is to light our torches, and go searching through the earth for Luther, till we can restore him to a nation that will have him.”
3 The edict of the emperor seemed to fall powerless. The papal legates were filled with indignation as they saw that it commanded far less attention than did the fate of Luther. “The ink of the signature,” said they, “has scarcely had time to dry, when, behold, on all sides the imperial decree is torn to pieces.”
4 The Reformation was constantly gaining in strength. Increasing numbers joined the cause of the heroic man who had, at such fearful odds, defended the word of God. The people said, “Has he not offered to retract if refuted? and no one has had the hardihood to undertake to refute him. Does that not show that he has spoken the truth?”
5 The seed which he had sown was springing up everywhere. Luther’s absence accomplished a work which his presence would have failed to do. Other laborers felt a new responsibility, now that their great leader was removed. With new faith and earnestness they pressed forward to do all in their power, that the work so nobly begun might not be hindered.
6 But while the Reformation was progressing steadily and surely, Satan was not idle. Baffled in all his previous efforts to destroy the work, he adopted another plan of operation. He now attempted what he has attempted in every other reformatory movement,—to deceive and destroy the people by palming off upon them a counterfeit in place of the true work. As there were false christs in the first century of the Christian Church, so there arose false prophets in the sixteenth century.
7 A few men, deeply affected by the excitement in the religious world, imagined themselves to have received special revelations from Heaven. Refusing to be guided by the word of God, they gave themselves up to be controlled by feelings and impressions. Instead of heeding the apostle’s injunction to walk by the same rule, and mind the same things, seeking to be in harmony with those whom God was leading, they determined to move out independently. They claimed to have been divinely commissioned to carry forward to its completion the Reformation but feebly begun by Luther. In truth, they were undoing the very work which he had accomplished. Luther had presented to the people the word of God as the rule by which their character and faith should be tested. These men substituted for that unerring guide the changeable and uncertain standard of their own feelings and impressions.
8 “What is the use,” asked they, “of such close application to the Scriptures? Nothing is heard of but the Bible. Can the Bible preach to us? Can it suffice for our instruction? If God had intended to instruct us by a book, would he not have sent us a Bible direct from Heaven? It is by the Spirit only that we can be enlightened. God himself speaks to us, and shows us what to do and what to say.” Thus did these men seek to overthrow the fundamental principle on which the Reformation was based,—the word of God as an all-sufficient standard of faith and practice. By this act of setting aside the great detector of error and falsehood, the way was opened for Satan to control minds as best pleased himself.
9 In the town of Zwickan [Zwickau] arose one claiming to have been visited by the angel Gabriel, and instructed concerning matters which he was forbidden to reveal. A former student of Wittenberg joined this fanatic, and at once abandoned his studies, declaring that he had received from God himself the ability to explain the Scriptures. Several other persons who were naturally inclined to fanaticism, united with these men; and as their adherents increased, the leaders effected an organization, being desirous, they said, to follow the example of Christ, and claiming that in them prophets and apostles were restored to the church.
10 The proceedings of these enthusiasts created no little excitement. The preaching of Luther had aroused the people everywhere to feel the necessity of reform, and now some really honest persons were mislead by the pretensions of the new prophets. Those especially who had a love for the marvelous, united with the fanatical party. But the heresy was promptly met by workers in the cause of the Reformation. The pastor of the church of Zwickan [Zwickau] was a man who exemplified in his own life the truths preached by Luther. He tested all things by the word of God, and therefore was not deceived by these pretenders. He resolutely resisted the delusions which they were seeking to introduce, and his deacons supported him in the work.
11 The fanatics, opposed by the officers of the church, set themselves against all the established forms of order and organization. Their passionate appeals aroused and excited the people, who, in their zeal against the Romanists, proceeded to violence. A priest bearing the host was pelted with stones, and the civil authorities, being called upon to interfere, committed the assailants to prison.
12 Intent upon justifying their course, and obtaining redress, the leaders of the movement proceeded to Wittenberg, and presented their case before the professors of the University. Said they, “We are sent by God to teach the people . We have received special revelations from God himself, and therefore know what is coming to pass. We are apostles and prophets, and appeal to Dr. Luther as to the truth of what we say.”
13 The professors were astonished and perplexed. This was such an element as they had never before encountered, and they knew not what course to pursue. Said Melancthon, “There are indeed spirits of no ordinary kind in these men; but what spirits? None but Luther can decide. On the one hand, let us beware of quenching the Spirit of God, and on the other, of being seduced by the spirit of Satan.”
14 Doctrines that were in direct opposition to the Reformation were put forth by these men, and the fruit of the new teaching soon became apparent. The minds of the people were diverted from the words of God, or decidedly prejudiced by against it. Both the University and the lower schools were thrown into confusion. The students, spurning all restraint, abandoned their studies, and the States of Germany recalled all that belonged to their jurisdiction. Thus the men who thought themselves competent to revive and control the work of the Reformation, succeeded only in bringing it to the very brink of ruin.
15 Luther at the Wartburg, hearing of what had transpired, said with deep concern, “I always expected that Satan would send us this plague.” The Romanists now regained their confidence, and exclaimed exultantly, “One more effort, and all will be ours.” A prompt and determined effort to check the fanaticism was the only hope of the Reformation.
16 And now there rose throughout all Wittenberg a cry for Luther. Never were his sound judgment and inflexible firmness more greatly needed. Neither the mild and peace-loving elector nor the timid and youthful Melancthon were prepared to cope with such an enemy. Professors and citizens alike felt that Luther alone could guide them safely at this important crisis. Even the fanatics appealed to his decision.
17 Luther received numberless letters describing the different phases of this new evil, and its baleful results, and earnestly entreating his presence. He perceived the true character of those pretended prophets, and saw the danger that threatened the church. All that he had endured from the opposition of both the pope and the emperor had not caused him such perplexity of mind or anguish of soul as did this deceptive work now linking itself with the Reformation. From the cause itself had arisen its worst enemies. Pretended friends were tearing down what he had labored at tremendous odds to build up. The very truths which had brought peace to his troubled heart had been made the cause of dissension in the church.
18 In the work of reform, Luther had been urged forward by the Spirit of God, and had been carried beyond himself. He had not purposed to take such positions as he did, or to make so radical changes. He had been but the instrument in the hands of infinite power. Yet he often trembled for the result of his work. He had once said, “If I knew that my doctrine had injured one human being, however poor and unknown,—which it could not, for it is the very gospel,—I would rather face death ten times over than not retract it.”
19 And now a whole city, and that city Wittenberg itself, is fast sinking into confusion. The doctrine taught by Luther had not caused this evil; but throughout Germany his enemies were eagerly charging it upon him. In bitterness of soul he sometimes asked “Is this to be the result of the great work of the Reformation?” Again, as he wrestled with God in prayer, peace flowed into his mind. “The work is not mine, but thine own,” he said; “thou wilt not suffer it to be corrupted by superstition or fanaticism.” But the thought of remaining longer from the conflict in such a crisis, became insupportable. He determined to go forth and meet the disturbing element that threatened so great damage to the cause of truth and righteousness.
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1 On the third of March, 1522, ten months after his capture and imprisonment, Luther bade adieu to the Wartburg, and through the gloomy forests pursued his journey toward Wittenberg.
2 He was under the ban of the empire. Enemies were at liberty to take his life; friends were forbidden to aid or even shelter him. The Imperial Government, urged on by the determined zeal of Duke George of Saxony, were adopting the most stringent measures against his adherents. So great were the dangers threatening the Reformer’s safety, that notwithstanding the urgent demand for his return to Wittenberg, the elector Frederick wrote entreating him to remain in his secure retreat. But Luther saw that the work of the gospel was imperiled, and, regardless of his own safety, he determined to return to the conflict.
3 Upon arriving at the town of Borne, he wrote to the elector, explaining his course in leaving the Wartburg. “I have sufficiently shown my deference to your highness,” he said, “in withdrawing from the public gaze for a whole year. Satan knows that it was not from cowardice that I did so. I would have entered Worms, though there had been as many devils in the town as there were tiles upon its roofs. Now Duke George, whom your highness mentioned as if to scare me, is much less to be dreaded than a single devil. If what is passing at Wittenberg were occurring at Leipsic [the usual residence of Duke George], I would instantly mount my horse, and repair thither, even though—your highness will, I trust, pardon the expression—it should rain Duke Georges for nine days together, and every one should be nine times as fierce as he! What can he be thinking of in attacking me? Does he suppose that Christ my Lord is a man of straw? May God avert from him the awful judgment that hangs over him!
4 “Be it known to your highness that I am repairing to Wittenberg under a protection more powerful than that of an elector. I have no thought of soliciting the aid of your highness; and am so far from desiring your protection, that it is rather my purpose to protect your highness. If I knew that your highness could, or would, take up my defense, I would not come to Wittenberg. No secular sword can advance this cause; God must do all, without the aid or co-operation of man. He who has most faith, is the most availing defense; but, as it seems to me, your highness is as yet very weak in faith.
5 “But since your highness desires to know what to do, I will humbly answer: Your electoral highness has already done too much, and should do nothing whatever. God neither wants nor will he endure, that you or I should take thought or part in the matter. Let your highness follow this advice.
6 “In regard to myself, your highness must remember your duty as elector, and allow the instructions of his imperial majesty to be carried into effect in your towns and districts, offering no impediment to any one who would seize or kill me; for none may contend against the powers that be, save only He who has ordained them.
7 “Let your highness accordingly leave the gates open, and respect safe-conducts, if my enemies in person, or by their envoys, should come to search for me in your highness’ States. Everything may take its course without trouble or prejudice to your highness.
8 “I write this in haste, that you may not feel aggrieved by my coming. My business is with another kind of person from Duke George, one who knows me, and whom I know well.”
9 It was not to war against the decrees of earthly rulers, but to thwart the plans and resist the power of the prince of darkness, that Luther returned to Wittenberg. In the name of the Lord he went forth once more to battle for the truth. With great caution and humility, yet with decision and firmness, he entered upon his work, maintaining that the word of God must be the test of all doctrines and all actions. “By the word,” said he, “we must refute and expel what has gained a place and influence by violence. I would not resort to force against the superstitious, nor even the unbelievers. Whosoever believeth, let him draw nigh, and he that believeth not, let him stand afar off. Let there be no compulsion. I have been laboring for liberty of conscience. Liberty is the very essence of faith.”
10 The Reformer had no desire to meet the deluded men whose fanaticism had been productive of so great evil. He knew them to be men of hasty and violent temper, who while claiming to be especially illuminated from Heaven would not endure the slightest contradiction, or even the kindest admonition. Arrogating to themselves supreme authority, they required every one, without a question, to acknowledge their claims. Two of these prophets, Stubner and Cellarius, demanded an interview with Luther, which he deemed it best to grant. He determined to expose the pretensions of these impostors, and, if possible, rescue the souls that had been deceived by them.
11 Stubner opened the conversation by showing how he proposed to restore the church and reform the world. Luther listened with great patience, and finally replied, “Of all you have been saying, there is nothing that I see to be based upon Scripture. It is a mere tissue of fiction.” At these words Cellarius in a violent passion struck his fist upon the table, and exclaimed against Luther’s speech as an insult offered to a man of God.
12 “Paul declared that the signs of an apostle were wrought among the Corinthians is signs and mighty deeds,” said Luther. “Do you likewise prove your apostleship by miracles?” “We will do so,” answered the prophets. “The God whom I serve will know how to bridle your gods.” rejoined Luther. Stubner now fixed his eyes upon the Reformer, and said, in a solemn tone, “Martin Luther, hear me while I declare what is passing at this moment in your soul. You are beginning to see that my doctrine is true.”
13 Luther was silent for a moment, and then said, “The Lord rebuke thee, Satan.”
14 The prophets, losing all self-control, shouted in a rage, “The Spirit! the Spirit!” Luther answered, with cool contempt, “I slap your spirit on the mouth.”
15 Hereupon the outcries of the prophets were redoubled; Cellarius, more violent than the others, stormed and raged until he foamed at the mouth. As the result of the interview, the false prophets left Wittenberg that very day.
16 The fanaticism was checked for a time; but a few years later, it broke out with greater violence and more terrible results. Said Luther, concerning the leaders in this movement: “To them the Holy Scriptures were but a dead letter, and they all began to cry, ‘The Spirit! the Spirit!’ But most assuredly I will not follow where their spirit leads them. May God in his mercy preserve me from a church in which there are none but saints. I wish to be in fellowship with the humble, the weak, the sick, who know and feel their sins, and sigh and cry continually to God from the bottom of their hearts to obtain comfort and deliverance.”
17 Thomas Munzer, who was the most active of these fanatics, was a man of considerable ability, which, rightly directed, would have enabled him to do good; but he had not learned the very first lessons of Christianity; he had not a knowledge of his own heart, and greatly lacked true humility. Yet he imagined himself ordained of God to reform the world, forgetting, like many other enthusiasts, that the reform should begin with himself. Erroneous writings which he had read in his youth had given a wrong direction to his character and his life. Furthermore, he was ambitious of position and influence, and unwilling to be second, even to Luther. He charged the Reformers with establishing, by their adherence to the Bible alone, a species of popery, and with forming churches that were not pure and holy.
18 “Luther,” said he, “has liberated men’s consciences from the papal yoke; but he has left them in carnal liberty, and has not led them to depend on the Spirit, and look directly to God for light.” He considered himself as called of God to remedy this great evil, and held that manifestations of the Spirit were the means by which this was to be accomplished, and that he who had the Spirit possessed the true faith, though he might never have seen the written word. “The heathen and the Turks” said he, “are better prepared to receive the Spirit than many of those Christians who call us enthusiasts.”
19 It is easier to tear down than to build up. It is far easier to trig the wheels of reform than to draw the chariot up the steep ascent. Men are still to be found who will accept just enough truth to pass as reformers, but who are too self-sufficient to be taught by those whom God is teaching. Such are always leading directly away from the point to which God is seeking to bring his people.
20 Munzer taught that all who would receive the Spirit must mortify the flesh, wear tattered clothing, neglect the body, be of a sad countenance, and, forsaking all their former associates, retire to desert places, and there entreat the favor of God. “Then, said he, “God will come and speak with us as formerly he spoke with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If he were not to do so, he would not deserve our attention.” Thus was this deluded man, like Lucifer himself, making terms for God, and refusing to acknowledge his authority unless he should comply with these terms.
21 Men naturally love the marvelous and whatever flatters their pride, and Munzer’s ideas were received by a considerable part of the little flock over which he presided. He next denounced all order and ceremony in public worship, and declared that to obey princes was to attempt to serve both God and Belial. Then marching at the head of his followers to a chapel which was the resort of pilgrims from all quarters, he demolished it. After this act of violence, being compelled to leave that region, he wandered from place to place in Germany, and even went as far as Switzerland, everywhere exciting a spirit of rebellion, and unfolding his plan for a general revolution.
22 The minds of men, already beginning to throw off the yoke of the papacy, were also becoming impatient under the restraint of civil authority. Munzer’s revolutionary teachings, claiming divine sanction, led them to break away from all restraint and to give loose rein to their prejudices and passions. The most terrible scenes of sedition and strife followed, and the fields of Germany were drenched with blood.
23 The anguish which Luther had so long before experienced in his cell at Erfurth, now pressed with redoubled power upon his soul as he saw the results of fanaticism charged upon the Reformation. The princes constantly repeated, and many believed, that Luther’s doctrine had been the cause of the rebellion. Although this charge was without the slightest foundation, it could but cause the Reformer great distress. That the work of Heaven should be thus degraded by being classed with the basest fanaticism, seemed more than he could endure. On the other hand, Munzer and all the leaders in the revolt hated Luther because he had not only opposed their doctrines and denied their claims to divine inspiration, but had pronounced them rebels against the civil authority. In retaliation they denounced him as a base pretender. He seemed to have brought upon himself the enmity of both princes and people.
24 The Romanists exulted, expecting to witness the speedy downfall of the Reformation, and they blamed Luther even for the errors which he had been most earnestly endeavoring to correct. The fanatical party, by falsely claiming to have been treated with great injustice, succeeded in gaining the sympathies of a large class of the people, and as is usually the case with those who take the wrong side, they came to be regarded as martyrs. Thus the ones who were exerting every energy to tear down the work of the Reformation were pitied and lauded as the victims of cruelty and oppression. All this was the work of Satan, prompted by the same spirit of rebellion which was first manifested in Heaven.
25 It was Satan’s desire for the supremacy that caused discord among the angels. The mighty Lucifer, “son of the morning,” claimed the right to honor and authority above the Son of God; and this not being accorded him, he determined to rebel against the government of Heaven. He therefore appealed to the angelic host, complaining of God’s injustice, and declaring himself deeply wronged. His false representations won to his side one-third of all the heavenly angels; and so strong was their delusion that they would not be corrected; they clung to Lucifer, and were expelled from Heaven with him.
26 Since his fall Satan has continued the same work of rebellion and falsehood. He is constantly laboring to deceive the minds of men, and lead them to call sin righteousness, and righteousness sin. How successful has been his work! How often are censure and reproach cast upon God’s faithful servants because they will stand fearlessly in defense of the truth! Men who are but agents of Satan are praised and flattered, and even looked upon as martyrs, while those who should be respected and sustained for their fidelity to God, are left to stand alone, under suspicion and distrust. Satan’s warfare did not end when he was expelled from Heaven; it has been carried on from century to century, even to the present year of our Lord 1883.
27 The fanatical teachers gave themselves up to be governed by impressions, calling every thought of the mind the voice of God; consequently they went to great extremes. “Jesus,” said they, “commanded his followers to be as little children;” therefore they would dance through the streets, clap their hands, and even tumble one another in the sand. Some burned their Bibles, at the same time exclaiming, “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” Ministers indulged in the most violent and unbecoming behavior in the desk, sometimes leaping from the pulpit into the congregation. Thus they gave practical illustration of their teaching, that all forms and order proceeded from Satan, and that it was their duty to break every yoke, and to act just as they felt.
28 Luther boldly protested against these extravagances, and declared to the world that the Reformation was wholly distinct from that disorderly element. These abuses, however continued to be charged upon him by those who wished to stigmatize his work.
29 Fearlessly did Luther defend the truth from the attacks which came from every quarter. The word of God proved itself a weapon mighty indeed in every conflict. With that word he warred against the usurped authority of the pope, and the rationalistic philosophy of the schoolmen, while he stood firm as a rock against the fanaticism that sought to ally itself with the Reformation.
30 Each of these opposing elements was in its own way setting aside the sure word of prophecy, and exalting human wisdom as the source of religious truth and knowledge. Rationalism idolizes reason, and makes this the criterion for religion. Roman Catholicism claims for her sovereign pontiff an inspiration descended in unbroken line from the apostles, and unchangeable through all time, thus giving ample opportunity for every species of extravagance and corruption to be concealed under the sanctify of the apostolic commission. The inspiration claimed by Munzer and his associates proceeded from no higher source than the vagaries of the imagination, and its influence was subversive of all authority, human or divine. True Christianity receives the word of God as the great treasure-house of inspired truth, and the standard and test of all inspiration.
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1 Upon his return from Wartburg, Luther gave his attention to the work of revising his translation of the New Testament, and the gospel was soon after given to the people of Germany in their native tongue. This translation was received with great joy by all who loved the truth; but it was scornfully rejected by those who chose human traditions and the commandments of men.
2 The priests, who themselves knew little of the Scriptures, were alarmed at the thought that the common people would now be able to discuss with them the precepts of God’s word, and that their own ignorance would thus be exposed. Rome summoned all her authority and power to prevent the circulation of the Scriptures; but decrees, anathemas, and tortures were alike in vain. The more she condemned and prohibited the circulation of the Bible, the greater was the anxiety of the people to know what it really taught. All who could read were eager to study the word of God for themselves. They carried it about with them, and read and reread, and could not be satisfied until they had committed large portions to memory. Seeing the eagerness with which the New Testament was received, Luther immediately began the translation of the Old, and published it in parts as fast as completed.
3 About this time there appeared a new foe of the Reformation. Tidings reached Wittenberg that Henry VIII., king of England, had written a book supporting the Romish doctrines, and violently attacking Luther. Henry was one of the most powerful monarchs of Christendom, and he vainly imagined that he could, without difficulty, annihilate the Reformation. He drew no arguments from the Scriptures in support of his position, but cited instead only the authority of the church and the traditions of the Fathers. He also resorted to contempt and ridicule of his “feeble adversary,” as he termed Luther, styling him also a wolf, a poisonous serpent, a limb of the devil.
4 The appearance of this book was hailed with great delight by the partisans of Rome. Its superficial reasoning and harsh denunciations suited well a people who willfully rejected the truths of God’s word. It was lauded by princes and prelates, and even by the pope himself, and Henry VIII. was revered as a prodigy of wisdom, even a second Solomon.
5 Luther read the work with astonishment and contempt. Its falsehood and insulting personalities, as well as its tone of affected contempt, excited his indignation, and the thought that the pope and his partisans had exulted in so weak and superficial a production, inspired him with a determination to silence their boasting.
6 Again he took up his pen against the enemies of the truth. He showed that Henry had sustained his doctrines only by the decrees and teachings of men. “As to me,” said he, “I do not cease my cry of, ‘The gospel, the gospel! Christ, Christ!’ and my enemies continue to reply, ‘Custom, custom! Ordinances, ordinances! Fathers, Fathers!’ St. Paul says, ‘Let not your faith stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.’ And the apostle, by this thunder-clap from Heaven, at once overturns and disperses, as the mind scatters the dust, all the foolish thoughts of such a one as this Henry.”
7 “To all the decisions of Fathers, of men, of angels, of devils, I oppose,” says he, “not the antiquity of custom, not the habits of the many, but the word of the eternal God, the gospel, which they themselves are obliged to admit. It is to this book that I keep; upon it I rest; in it I make my boast; in it I triumph and exult. . . The King of Heaven is on my side; therefore I fear nothing.” And with arguments drawn from the word of God did Luther demolish and scatter to the winds all the sophisms of his opposers. It was with the new doctrines and their advocates as with the Israelites in Egypt,-”the more they were afflicted, the more they multiplied and grew.”
8 Luther’s writing were eagerly read alike in the city and in the hamlet. At night the teachers of the village schools would read aloud to little groups gathered at the fireside. With every effort some souls would be convicted of the truth, and, receiving the word with tears of gladness, would in their turn tell the good news to others.
9 The words of inspiration were verified, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” The study of the Scriptures was working a mighty change in the minds and hearts of the people, not only reforming the morals, but arousing the intellectual powers to a strength and vigor heretofore unknown. The papal rule had placed upon the people an iron yoke which held them in ignorance and degradation. All their instruction and discipline had been of a character to encourage a superstitious observance of forms; the prescribed routine of worship was scrupulously maintained, but in all their service the heart and intellect had little part. Yet many of these worshipers possessed dormant powers that needed only to be awakened and called into action. The preaching of Luther, setting forth the plain truths of God’s word, and then the word itself, placed in the hands of the common people, had not only purified and ennobled the spiritual nature, but had imparted a new life to the intellectual powers.
10 Persons of all ranks were to be seen with the Bible in their hands, defending the doctrines of the Reformation. The papists who had left the study of the Scriptures to the priests and monks, now called upon them to come forward and refute the new teachings. But ignorant alike of the Scriptures and of the power of God, priests and friars were totally defeated by those whom they had denounced as unlearned and heretical. Unhappily,” says a Catholic writer, “Luther had persuaded his followers that their faith ought only to be founded on the oracles of Holy Writ.” Crowds would gather to hear the truth advocated by common men, and even discussed by them with learned and eloquent theologians. The shameful ignorance of these great men was made apparent as their arguments were met by the simple teachings of God’s word. Persons of little education, women and laborers, were able to give from the Scriptures the reason of their faith.
11 The success that attended the Reformation excited the most bitter opposition. As the Romish clergy saw their congregations diminishing, they invoked the aid of the magistrates, and by every means in their power endeavored to bring back their hearers. These efforts were but partially successful. The people were hungering for the bread of life; they had found in the teachings of the Reformation that which supplied the wants of their souls, and they turned away from those who had so long fed them with the worthless husks of superstitious rites and human traditions. Sometimes the people, irritated at the thought that they had so long been deceived by fables, compelled the priests to leave their positions.
12 When persecution was kindled against the Reformers, they gave heed to the words of Christ, “When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another.” The light penetrated everywhere. The fugitives would find somewhere a hospitable door open to them, and there abiding they would preach Christ, sometimes in the church, or, if denied that privilege, in private houses, or in the open air. Wherever they could obtain a hearing was a consecrated temple. The truth, proclaimed with such energy and assurance, spread like fire in the stubble. No effort could stay its progress. In the city of Ingolstadt, where was a university, and where, also, lived one of the most learned opponents of the Reformation, a young weaver read Luther’s works to a crowded congregation. In the same city, the university council having decided that a disciple of Melancthon should be compelled to retract, a woman volunteered to defend him, and challenged the doctors to a public disputation. Women and children artisans and soldiers, had a better knowledge of the Scriptures than learned doctors or surpliced priests.
13 In vain were both ecclesiastical and civil authorities invoked to crush the heresy. In vain they resorted to imprisonment, torture, fire, and sword. Thousands of believers sealed their faith with their blood, and yet the work went on. Throughout Germany, particularly in the Saxon States, in France and Holland, in Switzerland, in England, and in other countries, the Lord raised up men to present to the benighted minds of the people the light of God’s word. Persecution served only to extend the work; and the fanaticism which Satan endeavored to unite with it, resulted in making more clear the contrast between the work of Satan and the work of God.
14 The cause of truth was destined to triumph. God’s faithful builders were not toiling alone. Could their eyes have been opened, they would have seen as marked evidence of divine presence and aid as was granted to a prophet of old. When Elisha’s servant pointed his master to the hostile army surrounding them and cutting off all chance of escape, the prophet prayed, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.” And, lo, the mountain was filled with chariots and horses of fire, the army of Heaven stationed to protect the servant of the Lord. Thus did the angels of God guard the workers in the cause of the Reformation. God had commanded his servants to build, and the combined forces of earth and hell were powerless to drive them from the walls. Saith the Lord, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night.”
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1 During the entire day after Christ had cleansed the desecrated courts of the temple, he was healing the sick and relieving the afflicted. Nicodemus had seen with what pitying compassion he had received and ministered unto the poor and the oppressed. With the demeanor of a loving father toward his suffering children, he had wrought cures and removed sorrow. No suppliant was sent unrelieved from his presence. Mothers were made glad by the restoration of their babes to health, and voices of thanksgiving had taken the place of weeping and moans of pain. All day, Jesus had instructed the restless, curious people, reasoning with the scribes, and silencing the caviling of the haughty rulers by the wisdom of his words. Nicodemus, after seeing and hearing these wonderful things, and after searching the prophecies that pointed to Jesus as the looked-for Messiah, dared not disbelieve that he was sent of God.
2 When night came on, Jesus, pale with the weariness of his long-continued labors, sought for retirement and repose in the Mount of Olives. Here Nicodemus found him and desired a conference. This man was rich and honored of the Jews. He was famous throughout Jerusalem and for his wealth, his learning and benevolence, and especially for his liberal offerings to the temple to carry out its sacred services. He was also one of the prominent members of the national council. Yet when he came into the presence of Jesus, a strange agitation and timidity assailed him, which he essayed to conceal beneath an air of composure and dignity.
3 He endeavored to appear as if it were an act of condescension on the part of a learned ruler, to seek, uninvited, an audience with a young stranger at that unseasonable hour of night. He began with a conciliating address. “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him.” But instead of acknowledging this complimentary salutation, Jesus bent his calm and searching eye upon the speaker, as if reading his very soul; then, with a sweet and solemn voice, he spoke and revealed the true condition of Nicodemus. “Verily, verily I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 The Pharisee was surprised out of his self-possession by these words, the meaning of which he partially comprehended; for he had heard John the Baptist preach repentance and baptism, and also the coming of One who should baptize with the Holy Ghost. Nicodemus had long felt that there was a want of spirituality among the Jews; that bigotry, pride, and worldly ambition guided their actions in a great measure. He had hoped for a better state of things when the Messiah should come. But he was looking for a Saviour who would set up a temporal throne in Jerusalem, and who would gather the Jewish nation under his standard, bringing the Roman power into subjection by force of arms.
5 This learned dignitary was a strict Pharisee. He had prided himself upon his own good works and exalted piety. He considered his daily life perfect in the sight of God, and was startled to hear Jesus speak of a kingdom too pure for him to see in his present state. His mind misgave him; yet he felt irritated by the close application of the words to his own case, and he answered as if he had understood them in the most literal sense, “How can a man be born when he is old?”
6 Jesus, with solemn emphasis, repeated, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” The words of Jesus could no longer be misunderstood. His listener well knew that he referred to water baptism and the grace of God. The power of the Holy Spirit transforms the entire man. This change constitutes the new birth.
7 Many of the Jews had acknowledged John as a prophet sent of God, and had received baptism at his hands unto repentance; meanwhile he had plainly taught them that his work and mission were to prepare the way for Christ, who was the greater light, and would complete the work which he had begun. Nicodemus had meditated upon these things, and he now felt convinced that he was in the presence of that One foretold by John.
8 Said Jesus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Jesus here seeks to impress upon Nicodemus the positive necessity of the influence of the Spirit of God upon the human heart to purify it preparatory to the development of a righteous and symmetrical character. “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” This fountain of the heart being purified, the stream thereof becomes pure.
9 This new birth looks mysterious to Nicodemus. He asks, “How can these things be?” Jesus, bidding him marvel not, uses the wind as an illustration of his meaning. It is heard among the branches of the trees, and rustling the leaves and flowers, yet it is invisible to the eye, and from whence it comes and whither it goeth, no man knoweth. So is the experience of every one who is born of the Spirit. The mind is an invisible agent of God to produce tangible results. Its influence is powerful, and governs the actions of men. If purified from all evil, it is the motive power of good. The regenerating Spirit of God, taking possession of the mind, transforms the life; wicked thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced, love, peace, and humility take the place of anger, envy, and strife. That power which no human eye can see, has created a new being in the image of God. . . .
10 The conversion of the soul through faith in Christ was but dimly comprehended by Nicodemus, who had been accustomed to consider cold formality and rigid services as true religion. The great Teacher explained that his mission upon earth was not to set up a temporal kingdom, emulating the pomp and display of the world, but to establish the reign of peace and love, to bring men to the Father through the mediatorial agency of his Son.
11 Nicodemus was bewildered. Said Jesus, “If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?” If Nicodemus could not receive his teachings illustrating the work of grace upon the human heart, as represented by the figure of the wind, how could he comprehend the character of his glorious heavenly kingdom should he explain it to him? Not discerning the nature of Christ’s work on earth, he could not understand his work in Heaven. Jesus referred Nicodemus to the prophecies of David and Ezekiel:—
12 “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new a spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh; that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” “And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.” “Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit.” “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
13 The learned Nicodemus had read these pointed prophecies with a clouded mind, but now he began to comprehend their true meaning, and to understand that even a man as just and honorable as himself must experience a new birth through Jesus Christ, as the only condition upon which he could be saved, and secure an entrance into the kingdom of God. Jesus spoke positively that unless a man is born again he cannot discern the kingdom which Christ came upon earth to set up. Rigid precision in obeying the law would entitle no man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
14 There must be a new birth, a new mind through the operation of the Spirit of God, which purifies the life and ennobles the character. This connection with God fits man for the glorious kingdom of Heaven. No human invention can ever find a remedy for the sinning soul. Only by repentance and humiliation, a submission to the divine requirements, can the work of grace be performed. Iniquity is so offensive in the sight of God, whom the sinner has so long insulted and wronged, that a repentance commensurate with the character of the sins committed often produces an agony of spirit hard to bear.
15 Nothing less than a practical acceptance and application of divine truth opens the kingdom of God to man. Only a pure and lowly heart, obedient and loving, firm in the faith and service of the Most High, can enter there. Jesus also declares that as “Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The serpent in the wilderness was lifted up on a pole before the people, that all who had been stung unto death by the fiery serpent, might look upon this brazen serpent, a symbol of Christ, and be instantly healed. But they must look in faith, or it would be of no avail. Just so must men look upon the Son of man as their Saviour unto eternal life. Man had separated himself from God by sin. Christ brought his divinity to earth, veiled by humanity, in order to rescue man from his lost condition. Human nature is vile, and man’s character must be changed before it can harmonize with the pure and holy in God’s immortal kingdom. This transformation is the new birth.
16 If man by faith takes hold of the divine love of God, he becomes a new creature through Christ Jesus. The world is overcome, human nature is subdued, and Satan is vanquished. In this important sermon to Nicodemus, Jesus unfolded before this noble Pharisee the whole plan of salvation, and his mission to the world. In none of his subsequent discourses did the Saviour explain so thoroughly, step by step, the work necessary to be done in the human heart, if it would inherit the kingdom of Heaven. He traced man’s salvation directly to the love of the Father, which led him to give his Son unto death that man might be saved.
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1 THE LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, STATE JOURNAL KEPT A REPORTER IN THE FIELD EVERY DAY DURING THE CAMP-MEETING OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS AT CRETE. HIS REPORTS WERE VERY FAVORABLE, EVEN COMPLIMENTARY, AND THE SYNOPSES OF DISCOURSES QUITE LIBERAL. FROM THE JOURNAL REPORT OF A DISCOURSE BY MRS. E. G. WHITE, WE TAKE THE FOLLOWING:—
2 We are standing as a brand in the burning. What a position we are in! The whole world is in darkness. Deception is prevalent everywhere; and here is the remnant church taking its stand on an important truth. I wrote these great truths out in my fourth volume, I felt that we are not ready and I said to my son, I must go. He argued that I ought not, when my health was so poor, but I felt that I must go and talk once more at our meetings. If I could only tell you how my heart is stirred when I feel that the time is at hand, and so many are unprepared. We have no time to devote to frivolity, to backsliding from God. We must be preparing to walk through time and eternity. The work is going on in the sanctuary, yet how sensual, how sleepy, how indifferent we are. How much our young men and our young women could do! What rich experience they could have! It seems sometimes as if there were a paralysis upon our people; that they do not realize how near they are to the end of the earth. We need more standard-bearers. We need more missionaries to go forth into the world.
3 We feel at this hour we ought to understand our position in history and prophecy. We want to know if you understand this as well as you do your wheat-fields and your cattle and your hogs; whether you are purifying yourselves line upon line and precept upon precept. So many look upon confession of Christ as a step down. But O, what could be a greater privilege than to be a child of God, children of the heavenly King. This is not taking a step down, not making a sacrifice. I have been engaged in this work forty years. I have fainted down upon the floor for want of food, with an infant in my arms. I have known poverty. I have laid dear ones in the grave, but I have never made a sacrifice. I have been letting treasures go here, but I have put them in the bank in Heaven.
4 But Christ has made a sacrifice for us. Christ, the majesty of Heaven. We make no sacrifice. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. I have proved it for forty years.
5 Mothers and fathers there is a great work devolving upon you—to instruct your children aright. When you do not do this, you have imposed a terrible burden upon them. They grow up with their characters deformed and crooked, and they must be all made over again. In allowing children to be disobedient you are teaching them to be rebellious against the commands of God. The first missionary duty you have is your families. You will see the power of God when you begin the work in your families. It will do more than all the preaching. A family that has moral backbone will sway and not be swayed. Work just as earnestly with your family as with those outside. Are you afraid to talk with your children because your fretful and impatient disposition has alienated you from them? Then mend. Bind them to you by the golden words of love. All this fretting and fault-finding is the work of Satan. What a world this would be if we were all true Christians.
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1 Nehemiah, the Hebrew exile, occupied a position of influence and honor in the Persian Court. As cup-bearer of the king, he was familiarly admitted to the royal presence, and by virtue of this intimacy, and his own high abilities and tried fidelity, he became the monarch’s counselor. Yet in that heathen land, surrounded by royal pomp and splendor, he did not forget the God of his fathers or the people who had been intrusted with the holy oracles. With deepest interest, his heart turned toward Jerusalem, and his hopes and joys were bound up with her prosperity.
2 Days of peculiar trial and affliction had come to the chosen city. Messengers from Judah described to Nehemiah its condition. The second temple had been reared, and portions of the city rebuilt; but its prosperity was impeded, the temple services disturbed, and the people kept in constant alarm, by the fact that its walls were still in ruins, and its gates burned with fire. The capital of Judah was fast becoming a desolate place, and the few inhabitants remaining were daily embittered by the taunts of their idolatrous assailants, “Where is your God?” The soul of the Hebrew patriot was overwhelmed by these evil tidings. So great was his sorrow, that he could not eat or drink; he “wept and mourned certain days, and fasted.” But when the first outburst of his grief was over, he turned in his affliction to the sure Helper. “I prayed,” says he, “before the God of Heaven.” He knew that all this ruin had come because of the transgressions of Israel; and in deep humiliation he came before God for pardon of sin and a renewal of the divine favor. He addressed his petitions to the God of Heaven, “the great and terrible God;” for such the Lord had shown himself to be in the fearful judgments brought upon Israel. But with a gleam of hope, Nehemiah continues, “that keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and observe his commandments.” For repentant and believing Israel there was still mercy.
3 Faithfully the man of God makes confession of his sins and the sins of his people: “Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee; both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.”
4 And now, taking fast hold, by faith, of the divine promise, Nehemiah lays down at the footstool of heavenly mercy his petition that God would maintain the cause of his now penitent people, restore their strength, and build up their waste places. God had been faithful to his threatenings when his people separated from him; he had scattered them abroad among the nations, according to his word. And Nehemiah finds in this very fact an assurance that he will be equally faithful to fulfill his promises. His people had now returned in penitence and faith to keep his commandments; and God himself had said that if they would do this, even though they were cast out into the uttermost part of the earth, he would gather them thence, and would cause the light of his countenance again to shine upon them. This promise had been given more than a thousand years before; but it stood unchanged through all the centuries. God’s word cannot fail.
5 Nehemiah’s faith and courage strengthen as he grasps the promise. His mouth is filled with holy arguments. He points to the dishonor that would be cast upon God, were his people, now that they have returned to him, to be left in their state of weakness and oppression.
6 Nehemiah had often poured out his soul thus before God in behalf of his people. Day and night had he offered this prayer. And as he prayed, a holy purpose had been forming in his mind, that if he could obtain the consent of the king, and the necessary aid in procuring implements and material, he would himself undertake the arduous task of rebuilding the ruined walls of Jerusalem, and seeking to restore the national strength. And now in closing his prayer he entreats the Lord to grant him favor in the sight of the king, that this cherished plan may be carried out.
7 Four months he was compelled to wait for a favorable opportunity to present his request to the king. During this period, while his heart was oppressed with grief, he constantly endeavored to carry a cheerful and happy countenance. In his seasons of retirement, many were the prayers, the penitential confessions, and the tears of anguish, witnessed by God and angels; but all this was concealed from human sight. The regulations of Eastern courts forbade any manifestation of sorrow within them. All must appear gay and happy in those halls of luxury and splendor. The distress without was not to cast its shadow in the presence of royalty.
8 But at last the sorrow that burdened Nehemiah’s heart could no longer be concealed. Sleepless nights devoted to earnest prayer, care-filled days, dark with the shadow of hope deferred, leave their trace upon his countenance. The keen eye of the monarch, jealous to guard his own safety, is accustomed to read countenances and to penetrate disguises. Seeing that some secret trouble is preying upon his servant, he suddenly inquires, “Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart.”
9 This question fills the listener with apprehension. Will not the king be angry to hear that while outwardly engaged in his service, the courtier’s thoughts have been far away with his afflicted people? Will not the offender’s life be forfeited? And his cherished plan for restoring the strength of Jerusalem—is it not about to be overthrown? “Then,” he says, “I was very sore afraid.” With trembling lips and tearful eyes he reveals the cause of his sorrow,—the city, which is the place of his father’s sepulcher, lying waste, and its gates consumed with fire. The touching recital awakens the sympathy of the monarch without arousing his idolatrous prejudices; another question gives the opportunity which Nehemiah has long sought: “For what dost thou make request?” But the man of God does not reply until he has first asked the support of One higher than Artaxerxes. “I prayed,” he says, “to the God of Heaven.”
10 A precious lesson is this for all Christians. Whenever we are brought into positions of difficulty or danger, even when surrounded by those who love and fear not God, the heart may send up its cry for help, and there is One who has promised that he will come to our aid. This is the kind of prayer that Christ meant when he said, “Pray without ceasing.” We are not to make ejaculatory prayer a substitute for public or family worship, or for secret devotion; but it is a blessed resource, at our command under circumstances when other forms of prayer may be impossible. Toilers in the busy marts of trade, crowded and almost overwhelmed with financial perplexities, travelers by sea and land, when threatened by some great danger, can thus commit themselves to divine guidance and protection. And in every circumstance and condition of life, the soul weighed down with grief or care, or assailed by temptation, may thus find comfort, support, and succor in the unfailing love and power of a covenant-keeping God.
11 Nehemiah and Artaxerxes stand face to face,—the one a servant, of a down-trodden race, the other the monarch of the world’s great empire. But infinitely greater than the disparity of rank is the moral distance which separates them. Nehemiah has complied with the invitation of the King of kings, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me.” He has enlisted in his behalf a power in whose hand is the heart of kings, even as the rivers of water, and who “turneth it whithersoever he will.” The silent petition sent up to Heaven was the same that he had offered for many weeks, that God would prosper his request. And now taking courage at the thought that he has a Friend, omniscient and all-powerful, to work in his behalf, the man of God calmly makes known to the king his desire to be released for a time from his office at the court, and be authorized to build up the waste places of Jerusalem, and to make it once more a strong and defended city. Momentous results to the Jewish city and nation hung upon this request. And, says, Nehemiah, “the king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me.”
12 While Nehemiah implored the help of God, he did not fold his own hands, feeling that he had no more care or responsibility in the matter. With admirable prudence and forethought he proceeded to make all the arrangements necessary to ensure the success of the enterprise. Every movement was marked with great caution. He did not reveal his purpose even to his own countrymen; for while they would rejoice in his success, he feared that they might, by some indiscretion, greatly hinder his work. Some would be likely to manifest a spirit of exultation which would rouse the jealousy of their enemies, and perhaps cause the defeat of the undertaking.
13 As his request to the king had been so favorably received, he was encouraged to ask for such assistance as was necessary to carry out his plans. To give dignity and authority to his mission, as well as to provide for protection on the journey, he secured a military escort. He obtained royal letters to the governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates, the territory through which he must pass on his way to Judea; and he obtained, also, a letter to the keeper of the king’s forest in the mountains of Lebanon, directing him to furnish such timber as was needed for the wall of Jerusalem and such buildings as Nehemiah proposed to erect. Nehemiah is careful to have the authority and privileges accorded him clearly defined, that there may be no room for complaint that he has exceeded his commission.
14 The example of this holy man should be a lesson to all the people of God, that they are not only to pray in faith, but to work with diligence and fidelity. How many difficulties we encounter, and how we hinder the working of Providence on our behalf, because prudence, forethought, and painstaking are regarded as having little to do with religion. This is a grave mistake. It is a religious duty to cultivate and to exercise every power which will render us more efficient workers in the cause of God. Careful consideration and well-matured plans are as essential to the success of sacred enterprise today as in the time of Nehemiah. If all who are engaged in the work of God would realize how much depends upon their fidelity and wise forethought, we would see far greater prosperity attend their efforts. Through diffidence and backwardness we often fail to secure that which is attainable as a right, from the powers that be. God will work for us, when we are ready to do what we can and should do on our part.
15 Men of prayer should be men of action. Those who are ready and willing, will find ways and means to work. Nehemiah does not depend upon uncertainties. The means which he has not he solicits from those who are able to bestow. All the world, with its riches and treasures, belongs to God, although it is now in the possession of wicked men. If his servants take a wise and prudent course, so that the good hand of God may be with them, they can obtain the means they need to advance his cause.
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1 The royal letters to the governors of the provinces along his route, secured to Nehemiah an honorable reception and prompt assistance. And no enemy dared molest the official who was guarded by the power of the Persian king and treated with so marked consideration by the provincial rulers. Nehemiah’s journey was therefore safe and prosperous.
2 His arrival at Jerusalem, however, with the attendance of a military guard, showing that he had come on some important mission, excited the jealousy and hatred of the enemies of Israel. The heathen tribes settled near Jerusalem had previously indulged their enmity against the Jews by heaping upon them every insult and injury which they dared inflict. Foremost in this evil work were certain chiefs of these tribes, Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian; and from this time those leaders watched with jealous eye the movements of Nehemiah, and endeavored by every means in their power to thwart his plans and hinder his work.
3 Nehemiah continued to exercise the same caution and prudence which had hitherto marked his course. Knowing that bitter and determined enemies stood ready to oppose every effort for the restoration of Jerusalem, he concealed the nature of his business until by previous observation he had been enabled to form his plans. Thus he was prepared to secure the co-operation of the people and set them at work before his enemies had opportunity to arouse their fears or their prejudice.
4 Yet, although he had been so highly favored of God, Nehemiah did not move out in an independent, self-sufficient manner, as if able to carry everything by his own ability. He selected a few persons whom he knew to be worthy of confidence, and to them he made known the circumstances which had led to his visit, the object to be accomplished, and the plans which he purposed to employ, and secured their assistance in his important undertaking.
5 On the third night after his arrival, the burden weighing so heavily upon his mind as to preclude sleep, he rose at midnight, and with a few trusted companions went out to view for himself the desolation of Jerusalem. Mounted on his mule, he moved about by moonlight, surveying the ruined walls and broken gates of the city of his fathers. Painful were the reflections that filled the mind of the Jewish patriot. Memories of Israel’s past glory stood out in sharp contrast with the marks of her present degradation. Because she had not taken heed to the word of God, because she had not received reproof, and corrected her ways, she had been left to be thus reduced in power and honor among the nations. The people for whom God had wrought wondrously, had trifled with their privileges, set at naught his counsels, and joined themselves to idolaters, until he had withdrawn from them his special presence and protection.
6 With sorrow-stricken heart, that visitant from afar gazes upon the ruined defenses of his loved Jerusalem. And is it not thus that angels of Heaven survey the condition of the church of Christ? Like the dwellers at Jerusalem, we become accustomed to existing evils, and often are content to do nothing to remedy them. But how do they appear to the eye of one divinely illuminated? Would he not, like Nehemiah, look upon ruined walls, and gates burned with fire?
7 Are not every where visible the shameful tokens of backsliding from God and conformity with a sin-loving and truth-hating world? In these days of darkness and peril, who is able to stand in defense of Zion and show her any good? Her spiritual state and prospects are not in accordance with the light and privileges bestowed of God.
8 The same reproofs are applicable to her today as to the people of Israel when the Lord said by his prophets, “Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity and visit their sins.”
9 In secrecy and silence, Nehemiah completed his circuit of the walls. He declares, “The rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.” In this painful survey he did not wish to attract the attention of either friends or foes, lest an excitement be created, and reports be put in circulation which might defeat, or at least hinder, his work.
10 Nehemiah devoted the remainder of the night to prayer; in the morning there must be earnest effort to arouse and unite his dispirited and divided countrymen. Although he bore a royal commission requiring the inhabitants to co-operate with him in rebuilding the walls of the city, he chose not to depend upon the mere exercise of authority. He sought rather to gain the confidence and sympathy of the people, well knowing that a union of hearts as well as hands was essential to success in the great work which he had undertaken. When he called the people together on the morrow, he presented such arguments as were calculated to arouse their dormant energies and to unite their scattered numbers.
11 They knew not, neither did he tell them, of his mournful midnight circuit while they were sleeping. Nevertheless that very circumstance contributed greatly to his success. He was enabled to speak of the condition of the city with an accuracy and minuteness that astonished his hearers, while the actual contemplation of the weakness and degradation of Israel, deeply impressing his heart, gave earnestness and power to his words. He presented before the people their condition as objects of reproach among the heathen. The nation once so highly favored of God as to excite the terror of all surrounding countries, had now become a by-word and a hissing. Her religion was dishonored, her God blasphemed.
12 He then told them how, in a distant land, he had heard of their affliction, how he had entreated the favor of God in their behalf, and how, while praying, the plan had been formed in his mind, of soliciting permission from the king to come to their assistance. He had asked God that the king might not only allow him to go to Jerusalem, but invest him with authority and render the help needed for the work. His prayer had been answered in such a manner as clearly to show that the whole thing was of the Lord. And having thus laid the matter fully before them, showing that he was sustained by the combined authority of the Persian king and the God of Israel, Nehemiah put to the people directly the question whether they would take advantage of this favorable occasion, and arise with him and build the wall.
13 This appeal went straight to their hearts; the manifestation of the favor of Heaven toward them put their fears to shame. With new courage they cried out with one voice, “Let us rise up and build.”
14 The holy energy and high hope of Nehemiah were communicated to the people. As they caught the spirit, they rose for a time to the moral level of their leader. Each, in his own sphere, was a sort of Nehemiah; and each strengthened and upheld his brother in the work.
15 There is need of Nehemiahs in the church today,—not men who can pray and preach only, but men whose prayers and sermons are braced with firm and eager purpose. The course pursued by this Hebrew patriot in the accomplishment of his plans is one that should still be adopted by ministers and leading men. When they have laid their plans, they should present them to the church in such a manner as to win their interest and co-operation. Let the people understand the plans and share in the work, and they will have a personal interest in its prosperity.
16 The success attending Nehemiah’s efforts, shows what prayer, faith, and wise, energetic action, will accomplish. Living faith will prompt to energetic action. The spirit manifested by the leader will be, to a great extent, reflected by the people. If the leaders professing to believe the solemn, important truths that are to test the world at this time, manifest no ardent zeal to prepare a people to stand in the day of God, we must expect the church to be careless, indolent, and pleasure-loving.
17 Among the first to catch Nehemiah’s spirit of zeal and earnestness were the priests of Israel. From the position of influence which they occupied, these men could do much to hinder or advance the work. Their ready co-operation at the very outset, contributed not a little to its success. Thus should it be in every holy enterprise. Those who occupy positions of influence and responsibility in the church, should be foremost in the work of God. If they move reluctantly, others will not move at all. But “their zeal will provoke very many.” When their light burns brightly, a thousand torches will be kindled at the flame.
18 A majority of the nobles and rulers of Israel also came nobly up to their duty; but there were a few, the Tekoite nobles, who “put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” While the faithful builders have honorable mention in the book of God, the memory of those slothful servants is branded with shame, and handed down as a warning to all future generations. In every religious movement there are some who, while they cannot deny that it is the work of God, will keep themselves aloof, refusing to make any effort to advance it. But in enterprises to promote their selfish interests, these men are often the most active and energetic workers. It were well to remember that record kept on high, the book of God, in which all our motives and our works are written,—that book in which there are no omissions, no mistakes, and out of which we are to be judged. There every neglected opportunity to do service for God will be faithfully reported, and every deed of faith and love, however humble, will be held in everlasting remembrance.
19 Against the inspiring influence of Nehemiah’s presence, the example of the Tekoite nobles had little weight. The people in general were animated with one heart and one soul of patriotism and cheerful activity. Men of ability and influence organized the various classes of citizens into companies, each leader making himself responsible for the reaction of a certain portion of the wall. It was a sight well pleasing to God and angels to see the busy companies working harmoniously upon the broken-down walls of Jerusalem, and it was a joyous sound to hear the noise of instruments of labor from the earliest dawn “till the stars appeared.”
20 Nehemiah’s zeal and energy did not abate, now that the work was actually begun. He did not fold his hands, feeling that he might let fall the burden. With tireless vigilance he constantly superintended the work, directing the workmen, noting every hindrance, and providing for every emergency. His influence was constantly felt along the whole extent of those three miles of wall. With timely words he encouraged the fearful, approved the diligent, or aroused the laggard. And again he watched with eagle eye the movements of their enemies, who at times collected at a distance and engaged in earnest conversation as if plotting mischief, and then drawing near the workmen attempted to divert their attention and hinder the work. While the eye of every worker is often directed to Nehemiah, ready to heed the slightest signal, his eye and heart are uplifted to God, the great overseer of the whole work, the one who put it into the heart of his servant to build. And as faith and courage strengthen in his own heart, Nehemiah exclaims, and his words, repeated and re-echoed, thrill the hearts of the workers all along the line, “The God of Heaven, he will prosper us.”
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1 Those who were restoring the defenses of Jerusalem did not go forward in their work unmolested. Satan was busy in stirring up opposition and creating discouragement. The principal agents in this movement were Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian. These idolaters had exulted in the feeble and defenseless condition of the Jews, and had mocked at their religion, and ridiculed their devastated city. And when the work of rebuilding the wall was entered upon, they with envenomed zeal set themselves to hinder the undertaking. To accomplish this, they attempted to cause division among the workmen by suggesting doubts and arousing unbelief as to their success. They also ridiculed the efforts of the builders, declared the enterprise an impossibility, and predicted a disgraceful failure.
2 “What do these feeble Jews?” exclaimed Sanballat mockingly; “will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?” Tobiah, endeavoring to be still more contemptuous and sarcastic, added, “Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.”
3 The builders on the wall were soon beset by more active opposition. They were compelled to guard continually against the plots of their sleepless adversaries. The emissaries of the enemy endeavored to destroy their courage by the circulation of false reports; conspiracies were formed, on various, pretexts, to draw Nehemiah into their toils; and false-hearted Jews were found ready to aid the treacherous undertaking. Again, the report was spread that Nehemiah was plotting rebellion against the Persian monarch, intending to exalt himself as king over Israel, and that all who aided him were traitors.
4 Emissaries of the enemy, professing friendliness, mingled with the builders, suggesting changes in the plan, seeking in various ways to divert the attention of the workers, to cause confusion and perplexity, and to arouse distrust and suspicion. And the plans formed for the advancement of the work were reported, by these spies, to the enemy, and thus they were enabled to labor with greater effect to thwart the purpose of the builders.
5 But Nehemiah continued to look to God for guidance and support, and the work went forward until the gaps were filled, and the entire wall built up to half its intended height. As the enemies of Israel saw that all their efforts had been unavailing, they were filled with rage. Hitherto they had not dared to employ violent measures; for Nehemiah and his companions were acting by the king’s commission, and any active opposition might bring upon themselves the monarch’s displeasure. But now, in their blind passion, they themselves became guilty of the crime of rebellion of which they had so eagerly accused Nehemiah. Having assembled for united counsel, they “conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem.”
6 The experience of Nehemiah is repeated in the history of God’s people in this time. Those who labor in the cause of truth will find that they cannot do this without exciting the anger of its enemies. Though they have been called of God to the work in which they are engaged, and their course is approved of him, they cannot escape reproach and derision. They will be denounced as visionary, unreliable, scheming, hypocritical,—anything, in short, that will suit the purpose of their enemies. The most sacred things will be represented in a ridiculous light to amuse the ungodly. A very small amount of sarcasm and low wit, united with envy, jealousy, impiety, and hatred, is sufficient to excite the mirth of the profane scoffer. And these presumptuous jesters sharpen one another’s ingenuity, and embolden each other in their blasphemous work. Contempt and derision are indeed painful to human nature; but they must be endured by all who are true to God. It is the policy of Satan thus to turn souls from doing the work which the Lord has laid upon them.
7 Proud scorners are not fit to be trusted; yet as Satan found in the heavenly courts a company to sympathize with him, so these find among professed followers of Christ those whom they can influence, who believe them honest, who sympathize with them, plead in their behalf, and become permeated with their spirit. Those who are at variance in almost everything else, will unite in persecuting the few who dare to pursue the straightforward path of duty. And the same enmity which leads to contempt and derision, will, at a favorable opportunity, inspire more violent and cruel measures, especially when workers for God are active and successful.
8 Some of the leading men among the Jews, becoming disaffected, sought to discourage Nehemiah by exaggerating the difficulties attending the work, and representing the people as already exhausted by their excessive labor. Said they, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.”
9 Again, they attempted to intimidate the people by the report that large armies were preparing for a secret attack upon the city: “And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.” It was the help and encouragement received from traitors in the camp that emboldened the enemies of Israel to make those threats. And traitors reported the threats for the sole purpose of terrifying and disheartening the builders on the wall.
10 “And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us, they will be upon you.” These alarms were given by those who were taking no part in the work. They were gathering up the statements and reports of their enemies, and bringing these in to the workers to weaken courage and create disaffection. Then every word of complaint, distrust, suspicion, or unbelief dropped by the workmen, with all the additional conjectures and conclusions of the news-carriers, was eagerly reported outside the walls, and circulated among those who despised the Jews, and sought to hinder their prosperity.
11 The same difficulties are experienced by those who are now seeking to make up the breach in the law of God. The servants of the Lord must expect every kind of discouragement. They will be tried, not only by the anger, contempt, and cruelty of enemies, but by the indolence, inconsistency, lukewarmness, and treachery of friends and helpers. As we seek to advance the cause of truth, and prepare a people to stand in the day of God, we are led directly away from the customs and practices of the world. But there are among us pleasure-seekers, who are not laboring to meet the high standard of the divine requirements, who love the spirit and influence of the world more than they love the truth or the prosperity of God’s cause. These unconsecrated elements are used by Satan to accomplish his purposes. While still connected with the people of God, they unite themselves with his enemies, and thus the Lord’s work is laid open to the attacks of its bitterest foes, and the arguments furnished by professed friends of the truth are employed to destroy the confidence, courage, and faith of workers who are too easily discouraged.
12 Even some who seem to desire the work of God to prosper, will yet weaken the hands of his servants by hearing, reporting, and half believing the slanders, boasts, and menaces of their adversaries. Those who appear to be honest souls are sometimes deceived through the influence of ambitious and turbulent men. Satan works with marvelous success through his agents; and all who yield to their influence are subject to a bewitching power that destroys the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of the prudent. Hence they allow themselves to be prejudiced, misled, and deceived. For this reason, many whose lives are a reproach to the cause of truth, will yet succeed in arousing distrust and suspicion of those through whom God is working.
13 How busy, in a crisis, is the rebellious spirit, the evil tongue! How eagerly will they gather up floating rumors, and send them to the bitterest enemies of God, to be sown broadcast, like thistle seed, to produce their harvest of evil! And when the result is seen, in desolation, backsliding, and apostasy, then those who have done the very work which Satan prompted them to do, are ready to charge the result upon the faithful workers whom they have hindered, burdened, and distressed. But every man’s work stands registered in the books in Heaven, and no disguise can there conceal the motives that prompt to action. Those who obey God will be honored of him.
14 Amid great discouragements, Nehemiah made God his trust; and here is our defense. A remembrance of what the Lord has done for us, will prove a support in every danger. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” And “if God be for us, who can be against us?” However craftily the plots of Satan and his agents may be laid, God can detect them, and bring to naught all their counsels.
15 The most bitter opposition, the boldest threats of the enemy, seemed only to inspire Nehemiah with firmer determination, and to arouse him to greater watchfulness. “Nevertheless,” he declares, “we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night.” “Therefore, set I in the lower places, behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them; remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to naught, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons.” “They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded.”
16 Beside Nehemiah stood a trumpeter, and on different parts of the wall were stationed priests bearing the sacred trumpets. The people were scattered in their labors; but on the approach of danger at any point, a signal was given for them to repair thither without delay. Then the priests sounded an alarm upon the trumpets as a token that God would fight for them. “So we labored in the work,” says Nehemiah, “and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.” Those who lived in towns and villages outside Jerusalem were required to lodge within the walls, both to guard the work and that they might be ready for duty in the morning. This would prevent unnecessary delay, and, furthermore, would cut off the opportunity which the enemies would otherwise enjoy, of attacking the workmen as they went to and from their homes, or embittering with prejudice or discouraging by threats.
17 Nehemiah and his companions did not shrink from hardships, or excuse themselves from trying service. Neither by night nor by day, not even during the brief time given to slumber, did they put off their clothing, or even lay aside their armor. “So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.”
18 Nehemiah was engaged in an important work, one which concerned the prosperity of the cause of God: Every effort previously put forth to accomplish that work had failed because of a lack of true faith and union of effort among the Jews. The Samaritans, disguising their enmity and cloaking their slanders under a pretense of fidelity to the king of Persia, had succeeded in causing a discontinuance of the work. The zealous and true-hearted among the Jews had again and again been disappointed in their purposes. But in the strength of God, Nehemiah determines that the adversaries shall not again hinder the work. The despisers of the God of Heaven shall be disappointed. Their Satanic policy cannot succeed if the people of God will bar the doors against the enemy, and work harmoniously to carry out the divine will. The foe cannot enter unless the gates are thrown open by traitors within. If we are but loyal and true, every attack of the enemy will lead us to a firmer reliance upon God, and to more determined effort to carry forward his work, against all opposing influences.
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1 The wall of Jerusalem had not been completed, when Nehemiah’s attention was called to the unhappy condition of the poorer classes of the people. In the unsettled state of the country, tillage had been, to some extent, neglected. Furthermore, because of their separation from God, his blessing had not rested upon their lands. A scarcity of grain resulted. To obtain food for their families, the poor were obliged to buy on credit, and at an exorbitant price. They were also compelled to raise money by borrowing on interest, to pay the tribute to the king of Persia. The people of Israel were not now enjoying prosperity as when the Lord blessed them for their obedience. Because of their sins their defense had been removed, and the Lord had allowed other nations to overcome them. Under the rule of idolatrous kings, heavy taxes were imposed upon them; property, liberty, and life seemed at the mercy of these godless powers.
2 While they had no thought of revolting against the king of Persia, they had hoped, by repenting and reformation, to regain the favor of God, and to be restored to their former liberty. As yet their hopes were not realized. The tribute money for the king must be forthcoming in its season. To add to the distress of the poor, the more wealthy took advantage of their necessity, obtaining mortgages of their lands, and adding them to their own large possessions. They also required usury for all money loaned. This course soon reduced the unfortunate debtors to the deepest poverty, and many were forced to sell their sons and daughters to servitude. There appeared no hope of improving their condition, no way to regain either their lands or their children, no prospect before them but that of perpetual slavery. And yet they were of the same nation, children of the covenant equally with their more favored brethren. They had the same affection for their children as had the others. Their distress had not been caused by indolence or prodigality. They had been compelled to contract debts because of the failure of crops, and to pay heavy taxes.
3 As a last resort, they presented their case before Nehemiah. The soul of this man of God was filled with indignation as he heard of the cruel oppression that existed among his own people. He resolved to see that justice was done; yet he did not move rashly in the matter. He felt that God had laid upon him grave responsibilities, and he must be faithful to his trust. “I was very angry,” he says, “when I heard their cry and these words. Then I consulted with myself.” He took time to weigh the whole matter, and to form his plans. Then with characteristic energy and determination he exerted his influence and authority for the relief of his oppressed brethren.
4 The fact that the oppressors were men of wealth, whose support was greatly needed in the work of restoring the city and its defenses, did not for a moment turn him from his purpose. Having first sharply rebuked the nobles and rulers, he presented the matter in an assembly of the people, clearly showing what were the requirements of God touching the case, and urging them upon the attention of his hearers.
5 He cited the people to events that occurred in the reign of the apostate Ahaz, and to the message which God then sent to Israel rebuking their cruelty and oppression. The children of Judah, because of their idolatry, had been delivered into the hands of their more idolatrous brethren, the people of Israel. The latter had indulged their cruel enmity by slaying in battle many thousands of the men of Judah, and seizing all the women and children, intending to keep them as slaves, or sell them into bondage to the heathen. Because of the sins of Judah, the Lord had not interposed to prevent the battle; but by the mouth of the prophet Oded he rebuked the cruel design of the victorious army: “Ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you; but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?” And the prophet assured them that the fierce anger of the Lord was upon them, and that their course of injustice and oppression would call down his judgments. Upon hearing these words, the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. Then certain leading men of the tribe of Ephraim “took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren.”
6 After relating these facts of history, Nehemiah proceeded to the case under consideration. He wished to bring the offenders to see the real character of their oppressive work, and to be ashamed of it. Said he, “We, after our ability, have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us?” Nehemiah and others had ransomed certain of the Jews who had been sold to the heathen, and he now placed this course in contrast with the conduct of those who for worldly gain were enslaving their brethren. The fear of God should restrain them from such injustice. Nehemiah declared to the Jewish rulers—some of whom had been guilty of these practices—that instead of judging and punishing other criminals, they should investigate their own work, and cease at once their iniquitous extortion, lest they should become a reproach, even among the heathen.
7 He showed them that he himself, being invested with authority from the Persian king, might have demanded large contributions for his personal benefit. Instead of this, he had not taken that which justly belonged to him, but had liberally contributed to relieve the people in their great necessity. Those extortioners had no more reason than he had to pursue the course they did. He urged them to cease at once their oppression, to restore the lands of the poor, and also the increase of money and provisions which they had exacted from them, and to lend them without security or usury.
8 “Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest.” “Then,” says Nehemiah, “I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.”
9 These portions of sacred history teach an important lesson. Those who profess to love and fear God should cherish sympathy and love for one another, and should guard the interests of others as their own. Christians should not regulate their conduct by the world’s standard. In all ages the people of God are as distinct from worldlings as their profession is higher than that of the ungodly. From the beginning to the end of time, God’s people are one body.
10 The love of money is the root of all evil. In this generation the desire for gain is the absorbing passion. If wealth cannot be secured by honest industry, men seek to obtain it by fraud. Widows and orphans are robbed of their scanty pittance, and poor men are made to suffer for the necessaries of life. And all this that the rich may support their extravagance, or indulge their desire to hoard. The terrible record of crime daily committed for the sake of gain, is enough to chill the blood and fill the soul with horror. The fact that even among those who profess godliness the same sins exist to a greater or less extent, calls for deep humiliation of soul and earnest action on the part of the followers of Christ. Love of display and love of money have made this world a den of thieves and robbers. But Christians are professedly not dwellers upon the earth; they are in a strange country, stopping, as it were, only for a night. They should not be actuated by the same motives and desires as are those who have their home and treasure here. God designed that our lives should represent the life of our great Pattern; that, like Jesus, we should live to do others good.
11 The customs of the world are no criterion for the Christian. He is not to imitate their sharp practice, over-reaching, and extortion, even in small matters. Every unjust act toward a fellow-mortal, though he be the veriest sinner, is a violation of the golden rule. Every wrong done to the children of God, is done to Christ himself in the person of his saints. Every attempt to advantage one’s self by the ignorance, weakness, or misfortune of another, is registered as fraud in the Ledger of Heaven.
12 He who truly fears God, would rather toil day and night, and eat the bread of poverty, than to indulge a passion for gain which would oppress the widow and the fatherless, or turn the stranger from his right. Our Saviour sought to impress upon his hearers that a man who would venture to defraud his neighbor in the smallest item, would, if the opportunity were favorable, over-reach in larger matters. The slightest departure from rectitude breaks down the barriers, and prepares the heart to do greater injustice. By precept and example, Christ taught that the strictest integrity should govern our conduct toward our fellow-men. Said the divine Teacher, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
13 Just to the extent that man would advantage himself at the disadvantage of another, will his soul become insensible to the influence of the Spirit of God. Gain obtained at such a cost, is a fearful loss. It is better to want than to lie; better to hunger than to defraud; better to die than to sin. Extravagance, over-reaching, extortion, indulged by those professing godliness, are corrupting their faith, and destroying their spirituality. The church is in a great degree responsible for the sins of her members. She gives countenance to the evil, if she fails to lift her voice against it. The influence from which she has most to fear is not that of open opposers, infidels, and blasphemers, but of inconsistent professors of Christ. These are the ones who keep back the blessing of the God of Israel.
14 All who would form characters for Heaven must be Bible Christians. They must be diligent in the study of the Chart of life, and must carefully and prayerfully examine the motives that prompt them to action. The business world does not lie outside the limits of God’s government. True religion is not to be merely paraded on the Sabbath, and displayed in the sanctuary; it is for every day and for every place. Its claims must be recognized and obeyed in every act of life. Men who possess the genuine article will in all their business affairs show as clear a perception of right, as when offering their supplications at the throne of grace.
15 God cannot be excluded from any transaction in which the rights of his children are concerned. Over every one that is serving him in sincerity, his hand is spread as a buckler. None can wound the humblest disciple of Jesus without smiting that hand which holds the sword of justice.
16 The apostle James, looking down to the last days, addresses a solemn and fearful warning to those who have heaped up riches by fraud and oppression: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth.”
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1 Sanballat, Tobiah, and their confederates, dared not openly make war upon the Jews; but with increasing malice they continued their secret efforts to perplex, injure, and discourage them. The wall about Jerusalem was rapidly approaching completion. When it should be finished, and its gates set up, these enemies of Israel could not hope to force an entrance into the city. Therefore they were the more eager and determined in their efforts to stop the work without delay. At last they devised a plan to draw Nehemiah from his station, and kill or imprison him while they had him in their power.
2 Pretending to desire a compromise of the opposing parties, they proposed a conference with Nehemiah, and invited him to meet them in a village on the plain of Ono. But the Spirit of God, enlightening the mind of his servant, enabled him to discern their real purpose. Says Nehemiah, “I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down; why should the work cease, whilst I leave it and come down to you?” But these emissaries of Satan were persistent. Four times they sent messages of like import, but received the same answer.
3 Finding this plan unsuccessful, they then had resort to a more dangerous stratagem. Sanballat sent to Nehemiah a messenger bearing an open letter wherein was written: “It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words. And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.” Had the reports mentioned been actually circulated, there would have been cause for apprehension; for they would soon have been carried to the ears of the king, whom a slight suspicion might provoke to the severest measures. But Nehemiah was convinced that the letter was wholly false, written to arouse his fears, and draw him into some snare prepared by his enemies. This conclusion was strengthened by the fact that the letter was sent open, evidently that the contents might be read by the people, and thus intimidate them also.
4 He therefore promptly returned the answer “There are no such things done as thou sayest; but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.” He is not ignorant of Satan’s devices, and he feels assured that all these attempts are made for the purpose of weakening the hands of the builders, that their work may not be accomplished. He turns to the Source of strength, with the prayer, “Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
5 Satan had been defeated again and again; and now with deeper malice and greater cunning, he proceeded to devise a still more subtle and dangerous snare for the servant of God. Sanballat and his companions were moved to hire men, professing to be friends of Nehemiah, to give him evil counsel as the word of the Lord. The principal person engaged in this nefarious work was one Shemaiah, who had previously been held in good repute by Nehemiah. This man shut himself up in a chamber near the sanctuary, as if fearing that his life was in danger, and thither Nehemiah went to consult with him as one who was especially favored of God. The temple was at this time protected by walls and gates, while the gates of the city were not yet set up. This deceiver therefore professed great concern for Nehemiah’s safety, and counseled him to seek shelter in the temple: “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.” The hero’s fearless answer was, “Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”
6 Had Nehemiah followed that treacherous counsel, he would have sacrificed his reputation for courage, and faith in God, and would have appeared cowardly and contemptible. The alarm would have spread among the people, each would have sought his own safety, and the city would have been left unprotected, to fall a prey to their enemies. That one unwise move would have been a virtual surrender of all that had been gained.
7 Nehemiah was not long in penetrating the true character and object of his counselor; “And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me; for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.”
8 In view of the important work that Nehemiah had undertaken, together with the integrity of his character, and the confidence in God which he professed to feel, it would be highly inconsistent for him to hide himself as though in fear. The preservation of life itself would not be a sufficient excuse for such a course. The infamous counsel given him was seconded by more than one man of high reputation, who, while professing to be his friend, was secretly in league with his enemies. Women also, while pretending to have received great light from God, basely sold themselves to serve the cause of the heathen. Nehemiah prays that God will mark their evil designs, and reward them according to their deeds.
9 Despite all the plots of enemies, open and secret, the work of building went steadily forward, the wall rose to the proper height, and in about two months after Nehemiah’s arrival at Jerusalem, the holy city was girded round with its defenses, and the builders could walk upon its walls, and look forth upon their astonished adversaries. Says Nehemiah, “When all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.”
10 Yet the striking evidence that the hand of the Lord was with Nehemiah was not sufficient to restrain discontent, rebellion, and treachery. “In those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. For there were many in Judah sworn unto him because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah.’ Here are seen the evil results of intermarriage with idolaters. In this union, Satan had gained the victory. A family of Judah had connected themselves with the enemies of God, and the relation had proved a snare to the people. Many others also united in marriage with the heathen. These, like the mixed multitude that came up with Israel from Egypt, were a source of constant trouble. They were not whole-hearted in the service of God. When his work demanded a sacrifice, they were ready to violate their own solemn oaths of co-operation and support. All this had tended to weaken and discourage those who sought to build up the cause of God.
11 Some who had been foremost in plotting mischief against the Jews, and endeavoring by every possible means to cause their ruin, now professed great desire to be on friendly terms with them. Some of the nobles of Judah who had become entangled in idolatrous marriages, had held traitorous correspondence with Tobiah, and had taken oath to serve him. They now presumed to represent this agent of Satan as a man of ability, wisdom, and foresight, and urged that an alliance with him would be highly advantageous to the Jews. At the same time they betrayed to him Nehemiah’s plans and movements. Thus the work of God was laid open to his enemies, and opportunity was given them not only to misconstrue Nehemiah’s words and acts, and circulate false reports concerning him, but to lay plans to counteract his efforts and hinder his work. Yet this man, who had so boldly stood in defense of the oppressed, did not exercise the authority with which he was invested, and bring to punishment those traitors in the camp. Calmly and unselfishly he went forward in the service of his people, never dreaming of slackening his efforts though they should be repaid only with ingratitude and treachery.
12 The whole power and policy of Satan have always been aimed at those who are zealously seeking to advance the cause and work of God. Though often baffled, he as often renews his assaults. But it is when he works in secret that he is most to be feared. The advocates of unpopular truth must expect opposition from its open enemies; this is often fierce and cruel, but it is far less dangerous than the secret enmity of those who profess to be serving God while at heart they are servants of Satan. While apparently uniting in the work of God, many are connected with his foe; and if in any way crossed in their plans, or reproved for their sins, they court the favor of the enemies of truth, and open to them all the plans of God’s servants and the workings of this cause. Thus they place every advantage in the hands of those who use all their knowledge to hinder the work of God and injure his people. Thus these men of two minds and two purposes pretend to serve God, and then go over to the enemy and serve him, as best suits their inclination.
13 Every device which the prince of darkness can suggest, will be employed to induce God’s servants to form a compromise with the agents of Satan. Repeated solicitations will come in, to call us from duty; but, like Nehemiah, we should steadfastly reply, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.” We have no time to seek the favor of the world, or even to defend ourselves from their misrepresentation and calumny. We have no time to lose in self-vindication. We should keep steadily at our work, and let that refute the falsehoods which malice may coin to our injury. Slanders will be multiplied if we stop to answer them. Should we allow our enemies to gain our friendship and sympathy, and thereby allure us from our post of duty; should we by any unguarded act, expose the cause of God to reproach, and thus weaken the hands of the workers, we should bring upon our characters a stain not easily removed, and place a serious obstacle in the way of our own future usefulness.
14 Those temptations are most dangerous which come from the professed servants of God, and from our friends. When persons who are uniting with the world, yet claiming great piety and love, counsel the faithful workers for God to be less zealous and more conservative, our answer must be an appeal to the word of God. When they plead for union with those who have been our determined opposers, we should fear and shun them as decidedly as did Nehemiah. Those who would lead away from the old landmarks to form a connection with the ungodly, cannot be sent of Heaven. Whatever may have been their former position, their present course tends to unsettle the faith of God’s people.
15 Such counselors are prompted by Satan. They are time-servers. The testimonies, reproofs, and warnings of God’s servants are unpalatable to them, being a reproof to their worldly, pleasure-loving propensities. We should shun this class as resolutely as did Nehemiah.
16 When plied with the arguments and suggestions of such advisers, it would be well for us each to inquire, “Should I, who am a Christian, a child of God; one called to be the light of the world, a preacher of righteousness; who have so often expressed my confidence in the truth and the way in which the Lord has led us,—should I unite my influence with those who bitterly oppose the work of God? Should I, a steward of the mysteries of God, open to his worst enemies the counsels of his people? Would not such a course embolden the wicked in their opposition to the truth of God and to his covenant-keeping people? Would not such concession prevent me from opening my lips in exhortation, warning, or entreaty, in my own family or in the church of God? If Paul or Peter were placed in similar circumstances, would he thus betray a sacred trust? Would not even men of the world despise me? Would they not scorn to be diverted from their life-work by difficulties or perils?”
17 Satan will work by any and every means which he can employ to discourage the active servants of God. If the shepherd can be beguiled from his duty, then the way is clear for wolves to scatter and devour the sheep.
18 Every success of the truth discourages the enemies of God; and they are sometimes forced to acknowledge that it is his work, while they hate it the more on that very account. False brethren will continue to increase. Those to whom God has sent warnings and reproofs, but who, rejecting the Heaven-sent message, give heed to the counsel of his enemies, are the severest trial to his faithful servants. “They that forsake the law, praise the wicked.”
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1 While Nehemiah labored diligently to restore the material defenses of Jerusalem, he did not forget that the God of Israel was their only sure defense, and that only in obedience to his commandments would they be secure. He therefore gave diligent attention to the instruction of the people in the law of God.
2 At the time of the feast of trumpets, when many were gathered at the holy city, the people assembled in the street that was before the water gate; “and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday.” “And the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.” “And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” Certain of the priests and Levites united with Ezra in explaining to the people the principles of the divine law. “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”
3 The scene was one of mournful interest. The wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, and the gates set up; thus far a great victory had been achieved; but a large part of the city was still in ruins. On a pulpit of wood, erected in one of the broadest streets, and surrounded on every hand by the sad reminders of Judah’s departed glory, stood Ezra, now an aged man. At his right and left were gathered his brother Levites, who were consecrated to the service of God, and whose presence lent dignity and solemnity to the occasion. With heavy hearts they thought upon the days of their fathers, when the royal psalmist had sung: “Walk about Zion, and go round about her; tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces.” “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”
4 Looking down from the elevated platform, the eye swept over a sea of heads. From all the surrounding country the children of the covenant had assembled; and as one man they were listening, intent and reverent, to hear once more the words of the Most High. But even here the evidence of their sin was apparent. In their mingling with other nations, the Hebrew language had become corrupted, and therefore great care was necessary on the part of the speakers to explain the law in the language of the people, and so present it that it might be understood by all.
5 As the law of God was read and explained, the people were convinced of their guilt and danger, and with tender consciences and penitential tears they mourned because of their transgressions. But as this day was a festival, a day of holy convocation, a day which the Lord had commanded to be kept with joy and gladness, they were bidden by their teachers to restrain their grief, and to rejoice in view of the great mercy of God toward them. “For,” said Nehemiah, “this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
6 Accordingly, after the earlier part of the day had been devoted to religious exercises, the people spent the remainder in gratefully recounting the blessings of God, and enjoying the bounties which he had granted them, remembering also to send portions to the poor who had nothing to prepare. And there was great rejoicing, because they understood the words of the law which had been declared to them.
7 The work of reading and expounding the law to the people was continued upon the following day. The solemn services of the day of atonement were performed at the time appointed,—on the tenth day of the seventh month,—according to the command of God. And from the fifteenth to the twenty-second of the same month the people and their rulers kept once more the feast of tabernacles.
8 It was published “in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God.” “And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he [Ezra] read in the book of the law of God.”
9 When this festival was past, one day only having intervened, the children of Israel kept a solemn fast. This was held not merely at the command of the rulers, but by the desire of the people. As they had from day to day listened to the words of the law, they had been deeply convicted of their own transgressions, and also of the sins of their nation in past generations. They saw that it was because of their departure from God that his protecting care had been withdrawn from them, and they had been scattered in foreign lands. And they now determined to seek God’s mercy, and to pledge themselves to walk hereafter in his commandments.
10 Before entering upon the services of the day, they carefully separated themselves from the heathen who were intermingled with them. This being done, “they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one-fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshiped the Lord their God.”
11 The people prostrated themselves before the Lord, humbly confessing their sins and pleading for mercy and pardon, each for himself individually and for the entire congregation. Then their leaders encouraged them to believe that God, according to his promise, had heard their prayers. They showed them that they were not only to mourn and weep and repent of their transgressions, but to trust that God had pardoned them, and to evince their faith by recounting his mercies and praising him for his goodness. Said these teachers, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever.”
12 Then from the gathered throng, as they stood with hands outstretched toward heaven, arose the song of praise and adoration: “Blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all, and the host of Heaven worshipeth thee.”
13 In this portion of sacred history is a precious lesson of faith for all who are convicted of sin, and weighed down with a sense of their unworthiness. When they compare their characters with God’s great standard of right, they see themselves condemned as transgressors. There is no power in law to free them from their guilt. But as they confess their sins, they can find pardon through Christ. From him flows the cleansing stream that can wash away the stains of sin. When the sinner has come to Christ with contrition of soul, confessing his transgressions, it is then his duty to appropriate to himself the Saviour’s promise of pardon to the repentant and believing. He who seeks to find goodness and cause for rejoicing in himself, will always be in despair; but he who looks to Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith, can say with confidence, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
14 Following the song of praise, the leaders of the congregation presented the history of Israel, showing God’s great benefits and their ingratitude. Tracing the record from the days of Abraham, they called attention to God’s design to preserve his name upon the earth by preserving for himself a people pure amid the general corruption; they recounted the mighty manifestations of his power in their deliverance from bondage in Egypt, and showed also how backsliding and apostasy had caused the blessing of the Lord to be withdrawn from Israel.
15 Then the whole congregation entered into a covenant to keep all the commandments of God; and that the transaction might be as effectual as possible, this covenant was written out, and those who were thoroughly in earnest in the work of reformation, affixed their names and seals. They wished to preserve for future reference a memorial of the obligation they had just taken upon themselves, as a reminder of duty and a barrier against temptation. Thus it was that the people took a solemn oath to “walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes.” The oath taken also included a promise not to intermarry with “the people of the land.” This had often been done by the people; and sometimes the rulers, as Solomon and Ahab, had formed such unions; and these marriages, by introducing idolatry, had resulted in the ruin of thousands.
16 The Lord had strictly forbidden the intermarrying of his people with other nations. This would prevent the Hebrews from marrying idolaters, and thus forming connections with heathen families. The reason which God assigned for prohibiting those marriages was, “They will turn away thy son from following me.” But the heathen were less guilty than are the impenitent in this age, who, having the light of the gospel, persistently refuse to accept it. Those among ancient Israel who ventured to disregard the divine prohibition, did it at the sacrifice of religious principle. When those who now profess to be God’s people join themselves in marriage with the ungodly, they form a tie uniting them to the world, and they will probably soon be one with them, notwithstanding their present profession.
17 Before the day of fasting ended, the people still further manifested their determination to return unto the Lord. With one accord, all pledged themselves to cease the desecration of the Sabbath. Nehemiah did not at this time, as at a later date, exercise his authority to prevent heathen traders from coming into Jerusalem on the Sabbath, for the sale of provisions and other articles; but to save the people from yielding to temptation, he engaged them, by a solemn covenant, not to transgress the Sabbath law by purchasing of those venders, hoping that this would discourage them, and put an end to their traffic.
18 Provision was also made to support the public worship of God. A pledge was given by the congregation to contribute yearly a stated sum for the service of the sanctuary, as well as to bring the tithes and the “firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord, also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God.”
19 The liberality of the Jews in their offerings for religious purposes might well be imitated by Christians. If tithes and offerings were required thousands of years ago, they are much more essential now. The labors of God’s servants were then confined almost wholly to the land of Palestine; but the apostles and their successors were commissioned to preach the gospel throughout the world. The people of this dispensation are favored with greater light and blessing than were the Jews; therefore they are placed under even greater obligation to honor God and to advance his cause.
20 The efforts of Nehemiah to restore the worship of the true God had been crowned with success. If Israel would be true to the oath they had taken, a bright future was before them; for the Lord has always magnified his law before his people, pouring rich blessings upon them so long as they have been obedient. The history of God’s ancient people is full of instruction for the church of today. While the Bible faithfully presents the result of their apostasy as a warning to all future generations, it portrays, as a worthy example, the deep humiliation and repentance, the earnest devotion and generous sacrifice, that marked their seasons of returning to the Lord. There is encouragement, too, in the record of God’s willingness to receive his backsliding but repentant people. It would be a scene well-pleasing to God and angels, would his professed followers in this generation unite, as did Israel of old, in a solemn covenant to “observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes.”
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1 Under the labors of Ezra and Nehemiah, the people of Judah had in the most solemn and public manner, pledged themselves to render obedience to the law of God. But when the influence of these teachers was for a time withdrawn, there were many who departed from the Lord. During the absence of Nehemiah from Jerusalem, idolaters not only gained a foot-hold in the city, but contaminated by their presence the very precincts of the temple. Certain families of Israel, having intermarried with the family of Tobiah the Ammonite, had brought about a friendship between this man, one of Judah’s most bitter and determined enemies, and Eliashib the high priest. As a result of this unhallowed alliance, Tobiah had been permitted to occupy a commodious apartment connected with the temple, which had been devoted to the storing of various offerings brought for the service of God.
2 Thus not only was the temple of the Lord profaned, but his people were constantly exposed to the corrupting influence of this agent of Satan. Because of their cruelty and treachery toward Israel, the Ammonites and Moabites had by the word of the Lord been forever excluded from the congregation. And yet, in defiance of this solemn interdict, the high priest himself casts out the consecrated oblations from the chamber of God’s house, to make a place for the most violent and treacherous of a proscribed people. Greater contempt for God could not have been manifested than was expressed in this favor conferred on this enemy of God and his truth.
3 When Nehemiah learned of this bold profanation, he promptly exercised his authority to expel the intruder. “It grieved me sore; therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers; and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat-offering and the frankincense.”
4 Not only had the temple been profaned, but the offerings had been misapplied. This tended to discourage the liberality of the people. They lost their zeal and fervor in the cause of God, and were reluctant to pay their tithes. The treasuries of the Lord’s house were but poorly supplied; and the singers and others employed in the temple service not receiving a sufficient support, many left the work of God to labor elsewhere for the maintenance of their families. Nehemiah promptly corrected these abuses. He gathered together those who had forsaken the service of the house of God, and caused the tithes and offerings to be restored. Faithful men were appointed to take charge of the means raised, confidence was restored, and all Judah brought their tithes to the treasuries of the Lord.
5 Another result of intercourse with idolaters was disregard of the Sabbath. Heathen merchants and traders from the surrounding country had been intent upon leading the children of Israel to engage in traffic upon the Sabbath. While there were some who would not be induced to sacrifice principle, and transgress the commandment of God, others were more easily influenced, and joined with the heathen in their endeavor to overcome the scruples of their more conscientious countrymen; and the idolaters boasted of the success that had attended their efforts. Many dared openly to violate the Sabbath. While some engaged in traffic with the heathen, others were treading in wine-presses, and others bringing in sheaves upon the Sabbath day.
6 Had the rulers exerted their influence and exercised their authority, this state of things might have been prevented; but their desire to advance their own secular interest led them to favor the ungodly. It is mingling our interest with the interest of unbelievers that leads to apostasy and the ruin of the soul.
7 Nehemiah rebuked them for their shameful neglect of duty, which was largely responsible for the fast-spreading apostasy. “What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day?” he sternly demanded. “Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” He gave command that “when it began to be dark before the Sabbath,” the city gates should be shut, and that they should not be opened till the Sabbath was past; and, having more confidence in his own servants than in those the magistrates of Jerusalem might appoint, he stationed them at the gate to see that his orders were enforced.
8 The merchants were not disposed to abandon their purpose; and several times they lodged without the gates of the city, hoping to find opportunity for traffic, either with citizens or country people. Upon being informed of this, Nehemiah warned them that they would be punished if they continued this practice. He also directed the Levites to guard the gates, knowing that on account of their higher position they would command greater respect than the common people; while from their close connection with the service of God, it was reasonable to expect that they would be more zealous in enforcing obedience to his law.
9 By the observance of the Sabbath the Israelites were to be distinguished from all other nations as the worshipers of the true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The Sabbath was the divinely-appointed memorial of the creative work, and the day upon which it was to be celebrated was not left indefinite. It was not any day which men might choose and no day in particular, but the very day in which the Creator rested, that was sanctified and hallowed. On this day God would come very near to his obedient, commandment-loving people.
10 God places a very high estimate upon his law. Moses and Joshua commanded that it be read publicly at stated periods, that all the people might be familiar with its precepts, and reduce them to practice. If they did this, they had the exalted privilege of being counted as sons and daughters of the Most High, and might confide in him as dear children. In Nehemiah’s day, the adversary of souls, working through the children of disobedience, and taking advantage of the unfaithfulness of men in holy office, was fast lulling the nation to forgetfulness of God’s law, the very sin which had provoked his wrath against their fathers; and for a time it seemed that all the care, labor, and expense involved in rebuilding the defenses of Jerusalem would be lost.
11 David prayed, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.” This prayer is no less pertinent at the present time. The world has gone astray from God, and its lawless state should strike terror to the heart, and lead all who are loyal to the great King to work for a reformation. The papal power has thought to change the law of God by substituting a spurious Sabbath for that of Jehovah; and all through the religious world the false Sabbath is revered, while the true one is trampled beneath unholy feet. But will the Lord degrade his law to meet the standard of finite man? Will he accept a day possessing no sanctity, in the place of his own Sabbath, which he has hallowed and blessed? No; it is on the law of God that the last great struggle of the controversy between Christ and his angels and Satan and his angels will come, and it will be decisive for all the world. This is the hour of temptation to God’s people; but Daniel saw them delivered out of it, every one whose name is written in the Lamb’s book of life.
12 Men in responsible positions will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but from the sacred desk, will urge upon the people the observance of the first day of the week, pleading tradition and custom in behalf of this man-made institution. They will point to calamities on land and sea—to the storms of wind, the floods, the earthquakes, the destruction by fire—as judgments indicating God’s displeasure because Sunday is not sacredly observed. These calamities will increase more and more, one disaster will follow close upon the heels of another; and those who make void the law of God will point to the few who are keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the ones who are bringing wrath upon the world. This falsehood is Satan’s device that he may ensnare the unwary.
13 We need Nehemiahs in 1884, who shall arouse the people to see how far from God they are because of the transgression of his law. Nehemiah was a reformer, a great man raised up for an important time. As he came in contact with evil and every kind of opposition, fresh courage and zeal were aroused. His energy and determination inspired the people of Jerusalem; and strength and courage took the place of feebleness and discouragement. His holy purpose, his high hope, his cheerful consecration to the work, were contagious. The people caught the enthusiasm of their leader, and in his sphere each man became a Nehemiah, and helped to make stronger the hand and heart of his neighbor. Here is a lesson for ministers of the present day. If they are listless, inactive, destitute of godly zeal, what can be expected of the people to whom they minister?
14 Man’s personal accountability to God should command careful attention. The law can never pardon. Its province is not to save the transgressor, but to convict him. It is far-reaching, and all we do bears the stamp of its approval or condemnation. Men professing godliness often regard the secret sins of the soul very lightly; but it is the secret motives of the heart that determine the true character, and God will bring them into judgment. The dangers resulting from disobeying God and seeking the friendship of the world have not lessened with the lapse of time. There is earnest work to be done; and the faithful watchman, who is actuated by love to God and a desire to save sinners, will reap the reward of his labors; but the unfaithful watchman, whose influence tends to union with the world, will cause the ruin of many souls.
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1 Results of Marrying with the Ungodly.
Another subject to which Nehemiah’s attention was called on his return to Jerusalem, was the danger that threatened Israel from intermarriage and association with idolaters. “In those days,” says Nehemiah, “saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab; and their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people.” This assimilation to the language of the heathen was an indication of the inroads made by heathenism. In many families, children, trained by heathen mothers, were prattling around them in the tongue of the several idolatrous nations with whom the Israelites had intermarried. These children, as they grew up in the habits and customs of heathenism, became idolaters of the most dangerous class, because they were connected with the people of God.
2 These unlawful alliances caused great confusion; for some who entered into them were persons in high position, rulers of the people and men connected with service of God, to whom, in the absence of Nehemiah, the people had a right to look for counsel and correct example. God had carefully excluded the heathen from uniting with his faithful worshipers; but the divinely erected barriers had been broken down, and as a consequence of mingling and intermarrying with other nations, the Israel of God were fast losing their peculiar, holy character. Nehemiah knew that ruin was before the nation if this evil were not put away, and he reasoned with these men on the subject. He firmly and fearlessly declared, “Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.” He presented the case of Solomon, and reminded them that among many nations there had arisen no king like this man, whom God had favored, and to whom he had given great wisdom. But the idolatrous women whom he connected with his house by marriage, led his heart astray from God, and his example had a corrupting influence on all Israel. The commands and threatenings of the Lord, and the fearful judgments visited upon Israel in past generations, aroused the consciences of the people. The strongest and most endearing ties that bound them to idolaters were broken. Not only were future marriages with the heathen forbidden, but marriages already formed were dissolved.
3 Some men in sacred office pleaded for their heathen wives, declaring that they could not bring themselves to separate from them. Nehemiah replied, with solemn sternness, “Shall we then hearken unto you, to do all this great evil to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?”
4 A grandson of the high priest, having married a daughter of the notorious Sanballat, was not only removed from office; but promptly banished from Israel. “Remember them, O my God,” exclaimed Nehemiah, “because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.” He adds: “Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business.” No respect was shown for rank or position. No distinction was made. Whoever among the priests and rulers refused to sever his connection with idolaters, was immediately separated from the service of the Lord.
5 How much anguish of soul this needed severity cost the faithful workers for God, the Judgment alone will reveal. Every advance step was gained only by fasting, humiliation, and prayer. There was a constant struggle with opposing elements.
6 Many who had married idolaters chose to go with them into exile; and, with those who had been expelled from the congregation, they joined the Samaritans, a heathen people who had combined with their idolatrous worship many of the customs of the Jews. Hither some who had occupied high positions in the work of God now found their way, and after a time they cast in their lot fully with them. Desiring to strengthen this alliance, the Samaritans promised to adopt more fully the Jewish faith and customs; and the apostates, determined to outdo their former brethren, erected a temple on Mount Gerizim, in opposition to the house of God at Jerusalem. This spurious religion continued to be a mixture of Judaism and heathenism; and their claims to be the people of God were the source of schism, emulation, and enmity between the two nations from generation to generation.
7 The servants of God today encounter difficulties very similar to those against which Nehemiah contended. Human nature is still the same. And Satan is as active, earnest, and persevering now as at any period in the past. Nay, rather, the word of God declares that his power and enmity increase as we near the close of time. The greatest danger of God’s ancient people arose from their inclination to disregard his direct requirements and to follow, instead, their own desires. Such is the sin and danger of his people at the present time. The indolence, backsliding, and degeneracy in our churches may be traced, in a great degree, to the lax sentiments which have been coming in as a result of conformity to the world. The Sabbath is not as sacredly regarded as it should be. Improper marriages, with their train of evils, have dragged down some of the most useful men to apostasy and ruin.
8 Before contracting marriage, every wise person will consider the matter in all its bearings: “Will the relation I am about to form lead Heavenward, or toward perdition? Will it bring in sacred and devotional influences, or the corrupting influence of the world.?”
9 In the existing state of religious declension, there is crying need of earnest, faithful Nehemiahs and Ezras,—men who will not shun to call sin by its right name, and who will not shrink from vindicating the honor of God. Those upon whom God has laid the burden of his work are not to hold their peace, and cover prevailing evils with a cloak of false charity. Men of courage and energy are needed to expose fashionable sins. Iniquity must not be palliated and excused. Those who lead the church of God to follow the customs and practices of the world, are not to be lauded and exalted. No regard for family or position will hinder the faithful servants of Christ from guarding the interests of his people. God is no respecter of persons. Great light and special privileges bring increased responsibility. When those who have been favored or honored of God, commit sin, their influence goes very far to encourage others in transgression. And if, by their example, the faith of another is weakened, and moral and religious principle is broken down, the wrath of God will surely come upon those betrayers of their sacred trust.
10 Severity to a few will often prove mercy to many. Yet we must be careful to manifest the spirit of Christ, and not our own hasty, impetuous disposition. We must rebuke sin, because we love God, and love the souls for whom Christ died.
11 Ezra and Nehemiah repeatedly humbled themselves before God, confessing the sins of their people, and entreating pardon as if they themselves were the offenders. Patiently they toiled and prayed and suffered, because of the disaffection of those who should have joined with them, but whose sympathies were more frequently with their adversaries. That which rendered their work most difficult and trying was not the open hostility of the heathen without, but the secret opposition of traitors in the camp, and even among the priests and rulers. By lending their talents and influence to the service of evil-workers, these men of divided hearts increased tenfold the burden of God’s faithful servants. They furnished the Lord’s enemies with material to use in their warfare upon his people. Evil passions and rebellious wills were ever at war with the plain and direct requirements of God.
12 The spirit of true reform will be met in our day as in ancient times. Those who are zealous for the honor of God, and who will not countenance sin either in ministers or people, need not expect rest or pleasure in this life. Untiring vigilance must be the watchword of all who guard the interests of Christ’s church. During Nehemiah’s absence from Jerusalem, evils were introduced which threatened to pervert the nation. The same dangers exist in our time. If those who have the oversight of the church leave their charge, unconsecrated ones, claiming to believe the truth but having no connection with God, will take advantage of their absence to do much harm. The restraint being removed from these self-seeking and turbulent spirits, their peculiar traits of character are made prominent, and by their hints, insinuations, and deceptive charges, they create doubt, unbelief, and dissension among the Lord’s people. Such forget that spiritual things are spiritually discerned. They judge of the character and motives of God’s servants according to their own ignorance of truth and the ways of righteousness. Their example, words, and influence weaken the force of God’s requirements, and divide and scatter the church of Christ.
13 The word of God abounds in sharp and striking contrasts. Sin and holiness are placed side by side, that, beholding, we may hate and shun the one, and love and embrace the other. The pages that describe the hatred, falsehood, and treachery of a Sanballat or a Tobiah, describe also the nobility, devotion, and self-sacrifice of a Nehemiah or an Ezra. We are left free to copy either, as we choose. The fearful results of transgressing God’s commandments are placed over against the blessings resulting from obedience thereto. We ourselves are to decide whether we will suffer the one or enjoy the other. The law of God remains unchanged. Like himself, it is pure, perfect, and eternal. It is not enough to profess to be keepers of that law. The question is, Are we carrying out its principles in our daily life? “Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.” Saith the voice of Wisdom: “Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.”
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1 Parents are in a great degree responsible for the mold given to the characters of their children. They should aim at symmetry and proportion. There are few well-balanced minds, because parents are wickedly negligent of their duty to stimulate weak traits and repress strong ones. They do not remember that they are under the most solemn obligation to watch the tendencies of each child; that it is their duty to train their children to right habits and right ways of thinking.
2 Sometimes parents wait for the Lord to do the very work that he has given them to do. Instead of restraining and controlling their children as they should, they pet and indulge them, and gratify their whims and desires. When these children go out from their early homes, it is with characters deformed by selfishness, with ungoverned appetites, with strong self-will; they are destitute of courtesy or respect for their parents, and do not love religious truth or the worship of God. They have grown up with traits that are a life-long curse to themselves, and are liable to be reproduced in others. Home is made anything but happy, if the evil weeds of dissension, selfishness, envy, passion, and sullen stubbornness are left to flourish in the neglected garden of the soul.
3 Children imitate their parents; hence great care should be taken to give them correct models. Parents should show no partiality, but should treat all their children with tenderness, remembering that they are the purchase of Christ’s blood. Parents who are kind and polite at home, while at the same time they are firm and decided, will see the same traits manifested in their children. If they are upright, honest, and honorable, their children will be quite likely to resemble them in these particulars. If they reverence and worship God, their children trained in the same way, will not forget to serve him also.
4 It is often the case that parents are not careful to surround their children with right influences. In choosing a home, they think more of their worldly interests than of the moral and social atmosphere; and the children form associations that are unfavorable to the development of piety and the formation of right character. Then parents allow the world to engross their time, strength, and thought; and when the Sabbath comes, it finds them so utterly exhausted that they have naught to render to God on his holy day, no sweet piety to grace the home, and make the Sabbath a delight to their children. They are seldom visited by a minister; for they have placed themselves out of the reach of religious privileges. An apathy steals over the soul. The children are contaminated by evil communications, and the tenderness of soul they once felt dies away and is forgotten.
5 Parents who denounce the Canaanites for offering their children to Moloch, what are you doing? You are making a most costly offering to your mammon god; and then, when your children grow up unloved and unlovely in character, when they show decided impiety and tendency to infidelity, you blame the faith you profess because it was unable to save them. You are reaping that which you have sown,—the result of your selfish love of the world and neglect of the means of grace. You moved your families into places of temptation, and the ark of God, your glory and defense, you did not consider essential; and the Lord has not worked a miracle to deliver your children from temptation.
6 You who profess to love God, take Jesus with you wherever you go; and, like the patriarchs of old, erect an altar to the Lord wherever you pitch your tent. A reformation in this respect is needed,—a reformation that shall be deep and broad. Parents need to reform; ministers need to reform. They need God in their households. They need to build the waste places of Zion; to set up her gates, and make strong her walls for a defense of the people.
7 There is earnest work to be done in this age, and parents should educate their children to share in it. The words of Mordecai to Esther may apply to the men and youth of today: “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Young men should be gaining solidity of character, that they may be fitted for usefulness. Daniel and Joseph were youth of firm principle, whom God could use to carry out his purposes. Mark their history, and see how God wrought for them. Joseph met with a variety of experiences,—experiences that tested his courage and uprightness to the fullest extent. After being sold into Egypt, he was at first favored, and intrusted with great responsibilities; but suddenly, without any fault on his part, he was unjustly accused and cast into prison. But he is not discouraged. He trusts in God; and the purpose of his heart, the purity of his motive, is made manifest. The eye of God is upon him, a divine hand leads him, and soon we see him come forth from prison to share the throne of Egypt.
8 Joseph’s checkered life is not an accident; it is ordered of Providence. But how was he enabled to make such a record of firmness of character, uprightness, and wisdom? It was the result of careful training in his early years. He had consulted duty rather than inclination; and the purity and simple trust of the boy bore fruit in the deeds of the man. The most brilliant talents are of no value unless they are improved; industrious habits and force of character must be gained by cultivation. A high tone of moral character and fine mental qualities are not the result of accident. God gives opportunities; success depends upon the use made of them. The openings of Providence must be quickly discerned and eagerly seized upon.
9 Young men, if you would be strong, if you would have the integrity and wisdom of a Joseph or a Daniel, study the Scriptures. Parents, if you would educate your children to serve God and do good in the world, make the Bible your text-book. It exposes the wiles of Satan. It is the great elevator of the race, the reprover and corrector of moral evils, the detector which enables us to distinguish between the true and the false. Whatever else is taught in the home or at school, the Bible, as the great educator, should stand first. If it is given this place, God is honored, and he will work for you in the conversion of your children. There is a rich mine of truth and beauty in this holy book, and parents have themselves to blame if they do not make it intensely interesting to their children.
10 To many, education means a knowledge of books; but “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The true object of education is to restore the image of God in the soul. The first and most precious knowledge is the knowledge of Christ; and wise parents will keep this fact ever before the minds of their children. Should a limb be broken or fractured, parents will try every means that love or wisdom can suggest to restore the affected member to comeliness and soundness. This is right, it is their duty; but the Lord requires that still greater tact, patience, and persevering effort be employed to remedy blemishes of the soul. That father is unworthy of the name who is not to his children a Christian teacher, ruler, and friend, binding them to his heart by the strong ties of sanctified love,—a love which has its foundation in duty faithfully performed.
11 Parents have a great and responsible work to do, and they may well inquire, “Who is sufficient for these things?” But God has promised to give wisdom to those that ask in faith, and he will do just as he said he would. He is pleased with the faith that takes him at his word. The mother of Augustine prayed for her son’s conversion. She saw no evidence that the Spirit of God was impressing his heart, but she was not discouraged. She laid her finger upon the texts, presenting before God his own words, and pleaded as only a mother can. Her deep humiliation, her earnest importunities, her unwavering faith, prevailed, and the Lord gave her the desire of her heart. Today he is just as ready to listen to the petitions of his people. “His hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear;” and if Christian parents seek him earnestly, he will fill their mouths with arguments, and, for his name’s sake, will work mightily in their behalf in the conversion of their children.
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1 “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. . . . He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.”
2 The psalmist here describes some of the characteristics of those whom God accepts, and who will be permitted to join in his worship in the heavenly courts.
3 The first is, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness.” The very first step in the path to life is to keep the mind stayed on God, to have his fear continually before the eyes. A single departure from moral integrity blunts the conscience, and opens the door to the next temptation. “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely; but he that perverteth his way shall be known.” We are commanded to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves; but the daily experience of life shows that this law is disregarded. Uprightness in deal and moral integrity will secure the favor of God, and make a man a blessing to himself and to society; but amid the varied temptations that assail one whichever way he may turn, it is impossible to keep a clear conscience and the approval of Heaven without divine aid and a principle to love honesty for the sake of the right.
4 A character that is approved of God and man is to be preferred to wealth. The foundation should be laid broad and deep, resting on the rock Christ Jesus. There are too many who profess to work from the true foundation, whose loose dealing shows them to be building on sliding sand; but the great tempest will sweep away their foundation, and they will have no refuge.
5 Many plead that unless they are sharp, and watch to advantage themselves, they will meet with loss. Their unscrupulous neighbors, who take selfish advantages, are prospered; while they, although trying to deal strictly in accordance with Bible principles, are not so highly favored. Do these persons see the future? Or are their eyes too dim to see, through the miasma-laden fogs of worldliness, that honor and integrity are not rewarded in the coin of this world? Will God reward virtue with mere worldly success? He has their names graven on the palms of his hands, as heirs to enduring honors, riches that are imperishable. What did that dishonest man gain by his worldly policy? How high a price did he pay for his success? He has sacrificed his noble manhood, and has started on the road that leads to perdition. He may be converted; he may see the wickedness of his injustice to his fellow-men, and, as far as possible, make restitution; but the scars of a wounded conscience will ever remain.
6 What a lesson we have in the course pursued by Abraham! The tidings come that Lot and his family are prisoners. Abraham’s affection for his nephew is awakened; and he determines that he shall be rescued. He gathers an army in haste, and soon overtakes the enemy. The Lord aids, and a victory is gained. The scene is one to inflame the worst passions of the heart. The field is strewn with dead bodies, and the groans of the dying mingle with the voice of triumph. The rich spoils of the enemy lie scattered in profusion, and, according to the usage of war, a large share falls to Abraham. The king of Sodom begs for his subjects, but freely yields the goods. How many would have taken advantage of this opportunity to secure a rich booty, regardless of the claims of justice or the rights of others! But what a noble, unselfish disposition does Abraham manifest on this occasion! What a rebuke to such mercenary spirits is his example!
7 Abraham regards the claims of justice and humanity. He obeys the rule, “As ye would that others should do unto you, do ye even so unto them.” He says to the king of Sodom: “I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of Heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich.” This is an example worthy of imitation; it illustrates the Christian maxim, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
8 He that “speaketh the truth in his heart.” Some, when their feet once diverge from the right path, go on and on in moral degradation. The fact may be concealed from every one else, but the man himself knows that he is no longer walking uprightly. His advertisements are deceptive; he is exacting in his deal with his workmen. He clutches his coin with a miserly grasp; for has he not sacrificed everything that was worth living for to obtain it? Others, in their eager desire for gain, practice secret fraud, act a lie; and they do not see that their course is sinful if they are not detected. But God reads men’s hearts as an open book, and the record of their deeds will be made manifest before all men. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Some success may seem to attend this dishonest policy for a time; but will it pay? Will you part with rectitude and a clear conscience for a little worldly wealth?
9 “He that putteth not out his money to usury.” Exacting usury is directly opposed to God’s rule as given in Exodus 22:21-26: “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in anywise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. If thou at all take thy neighbor’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down.” Deuteronomy 23:19, 20: “Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury. Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.”
10 Thus God commanded his people not to take advantage of the necessities of the poor, to enrich themselves by impoverishing their poorer brethren. Of Gentiles they might take usury; but they were not permitted to be exorbitant or oppressive. God is the rightful king of the universe. And he inquires of Israel, “What nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” Today he might make the same challenge. The laws he gave to his ancient people were wiser, better, and more humane than those of the most civilized nations of the earth. The laws of the nations bear marks of the infirmities and passions of the unrenewed heart; but God’s laws bear the stamp of the divine, and if they are obeyed, they will lead to a tender regard for the rights and privileges of others. The Lord appeals to man’s compassion for his fellow-man. His watchful care is over all the interests of his children, and he declares he will undertake the cause of the afflicted and the oppressed. If they cry unto him, he says, “I will hear, for I am gracious.”
11 A man of means, if he possesses strict integrity, and loves and fears God, may be a benefactor to the poor. He can help them, and take no more interest than can be mercifully exacted. He thus meets with no loss himself, and his unfortunate neighbor is greatly benefited, for he is saved from the hands of the dishonest schemer. The principles of the Golden Rule are not to be lost sight of for a moment in any business transaction. Every man who lends money at ten or twelve per cent. interest is a robber in the sight of God. Although the laws of man may justify him, the law of God condemns him. He is dealing unjustly; and God will reward him according to his deeds. God never designed that one man should prey upon another. He jealously guards the rights of his children, and in the books of Heaven great loss is set down on the side of the unjust dealer.
12 In the Holy Scriptures fearful denunciations are pronounced against the sin of covetousness. “No covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” The psalmist says, “The wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.” Paul ranks covetous men with idolaters, adulterers, thieves, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners, none of whom shall inherit the kingdom of God. These are the fruits of a corrupt tree, and God is dishonored by them. We are not to make the customs and maxims of the world our criterion. Reforms must take place; all injustice must be put away.
13 We are commanded to “search the Scriptures.” The whole word of God is our rule of action. We are to carry out its principles in our daily lives; there is no surer mark of Christianity than this. We must carry out the great principles of justice and mercy in our intercourse with one another. We must be daily cultivating those qualities that will fit us for the society of Heaven. If we do these things, God becomes our surety, and promises to bless all that we undertake; and we “shall never be moved.”
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1 When God created the earth and placed man upon it, he divided time into seven periods. Six he gave to man for his own use, to employ in secular business; one he reserved for himself. Having rested on the seventh day, he blessed and sanctified it. Henceforth, the seventh day was to be regarded as the Lord’s rest-day, and to be sacredly observed as the memorial of his creative work. It was not the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth day that was sanctified, or set apart to a holy use, neither was it a seventh part of time and no day in particular; but it was the seventh day, the day upon which God had rested. We are every day to think of God and live as in his sight; but when the six day’s work is done, we are to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,”—to cease from labor and devote the day exclusively to meditation and worship.
2 When the law was given at Sinai, the Sabbath was placed in the midst of moral precepts, in the very bosom of the decalogue. But the Sabbath institution was not then made known for the first time. The fourth commandment places its origin at creation. The Creator’s rest-day was hallowed by Adam in holy Eden, and by men of God throughout the patriarchal ages. During Israel’s long bondage in Egypt, under taskmasters that knew not God, they could not keep the Sabbath; therefore the Lord brought them out where they could remember his holy day.
3 Before they came to Sinai, they understood the Sabbath to be obligatory upon them. After the giving of the manna, the people, of their own accord, gathered a double quantity on the sixth day in preparation for the Sabbath. And Moses, upon being consulted by the rulers, declared, “This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.” On the seventh day he bade them eat that which they had provided. “For,” said he, “today is a Sabbath unto the Lord; today ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.” When some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, they found no manna. Then the Lord said unto Moses, “How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”
4 A threefold miracle was wrought in honor of the Sabbath, even before the law was given on Sinai. A double quantity of manna fell on the sixth day, none upon the Sabbath, and the portion needed for the Sabbath was preserved sweet and pure, when if any were kept over at any other time, it became unfit for food. Here is conclusive evidence that the Sabbath was instituted at creation, when the foundations of the earth were laid, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. And its sacredness remains unchanged, and will so remain even to the close of time. From the creation, every precept of the divine law has been obligatory on man, and has been observed by those who fear the Lord. The doctrine that God’s law has been abolished is one of Satan’s devices to compass the ruin of the race.
5 The prophet Isaiah, looking forward to the gospel dispensation, sets forth in the most impressive manner the obligation of the Sabbath, and the blessings attending its observance: “Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant, even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.”
6 Under the Mosaic law, strangers and eunuchs were excluded from the full enjoyment of the privileges granted to Israel. But the prophet declares that a time is coming when these restrictions will cease. The holy oracles were especially committed to the Jews; not to be an Israelite was not to belong to the favored people of God. The Jews had come more and more to regard themselves as superior by divine right to every other people upon the earth; yet they had not been careful to maintain their separate and holy character by rendering obedience to all the commandments of God. Now the prophet declares that the stranger who will love and obey God shall enjoy the privileges that have belonged exclusively to the chosen people. Hitherto, circumcision and a strict observance of the ceremonial law had been the conditions upon which Gentiles could be admitted to the congregation of Israel; but these distinctions were to be abolished by the gospel. “Every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant, even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, besides those that are gathered unto him.”
7 Again, after rebuking the selfishness, violence, and oppression of Israel, and exhorting them to works of righteousness and mercy, he declares: “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
8 The first part of the chapter brings to view a people who apparently delight in the service of God; they seek him daily, “as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God.” Yet their lives are not right before the Lord; for he commands his prophet, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” He declares that if they will return unto the Lord with all the heart, they shall be called repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in. Then he distinctly shows them what this breach is. “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath,”—for they had been trampling it under their feet as a thing despised,—”then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
9 This prophecy reaches down the centuries to the time when the man of sin attempted to make void one of the precepts of God’s law, to trample under foot the original Sabbath of Jehovah, and in its stead exalt one of his own creation. And when the Christian world set aside God’s holy Sabbath, and in its place accept a common working day, unsanctioned by a single “Thus saith the Lord,” they are encouraging infidelity, and virtually acknowledging the supremacy of that power by whose authority alone the change has been effected. The rejection of the Sabbath has led to the rejection of the whole law, and thousands of professed Christians now boldly declare it void.
10 The law of ten commandments, which has been so lightly disregarded, is the foundation of many generations; and no man or body of men has been authorized to set aside, or vary in the slightest particular, one of the ten precepts of Jehovah. God spoke this law from Sinai in awful grandeur, in the hearing of all Israel, and he wrote it with his own fingers upon tables of stone, not for his chosen people only, but for all men, to the close of time. Christ himself declares that while the heavens and the earth remain, not one jot or tittle shall pass from this holy law.
11 There were two institutions founded in Eden that were not lost in the fall,—the Sabbath and the marriage relation. These were carried by man beyond the gates of paradise. He who loves and observes the Sabbath, and maintains the purity of the marriage institution, thereby proves himself the friend of man and the friend of God. He who by precept or example lessens the obligation of these sacred institutions is the enemy of both God and man, and is using his influence and his God-given talents to bring in a state of confusion and moral corruption.
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1 Christ promises, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The way is plain; the will of God is manifest. We are not to live in doubt and uncertainty, and to rest satisfied while groping our way without a guide. Jesus does not, after giving us general directions, leave us to guess the way amid by-paths and dangerous passes. He leads us in a straight path; and while we follow him, our footsteps will not slide. It was Jesus that led ancient Israel, though the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night concealed him from their view; and in this important period of the world’s history, he will as manifestly lead his people. The path is no uncertain one. The way is marked out, and every step is ordered of the Lord.
2 God has ample light and grace to bestow upon all them that fear him. Especially will he help his people in these last days, when Satan’s devices are so abundant, so deceptive, and so corrupting. To those who will walk in the truth, the God of truth will give grace according to their needs. He will fill their hearts with peace, and courage, and confidence. But mercy and truth are promised only to the contrite and obedient. God has said that justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne; and those who are disobedient and rebellious will not escape the visitation of his just anger.
3 We cannot afford to separate ourselves from Jesus for a single hour. Without him we are in danger of being overcome of Satan, who is ever watching to suggest doubt, unbelief, and error. The world is flooded with error; it meets us on every hand. It is taught from the sacred desk, and lurks in theology, in literature, in philosophy, in science. Error perverts the judgment and opens the door to temptation, and through its influence Satan seeks to turn hearts from the truth; but an intelligent love for the truth sanctifies the receiver, and keeps him from the enemy’s deceptive snares.
4 Satan uses some professed Christians to lead souls from the simplicity of the gospel of Christ. Worldly associates and amusements sow the seeds of doubt and skepticism. The sentiment of many worldly professors is, “Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” “Speak unto us smooth things; prophesy deceits.” Many are daily cheating their souls with a form of godliness without the power; but the Lord has removed his smile and the inspiration of his Spirit from them. His displeasure is against them, because their deeds are evil. He demands decided changes in the life and character. Good intentions, good resolutions, good acts, cannot be accepted as substitutes for repentance, faith, and willing obedience.
5 The people are too willing to believe their teachers without careful thought and prayerful investigation of God’s word. They love to have their consciences quieted,—love to be rocked to sleep in the cradle of carnal security. In their blind selfishness, they deceive themselves in those things wherein they are willing to be deceived. Our Saviour declared to the Pharisees, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” And in his conversation with Nicodemus he said, “Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” So in this age; the church will neither search the Scriptures nor listen to the truth, lest her works be reproved. She is more willing to depart from the commandments of God than from the customs and friendship of the world. And because great men and worldly wise men are in her favor, because numbers and temporal prosperity are hers, she believes herself favored of God,—”rich, and increased with goods, and in need of nothing.”
6 But earthly prosperity is no evidence of the favor of God. Christ and his apostles teach us, both by precept and example, that the true child of God cannot enjoy the friendship of the world. If he seeks it, it will become a snare to him; he will adopt the customs, precepts, and standards of the world, and will finally become like them in spirit. But there can be no fellowship between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. Says the apostle John, “The world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” They are unknown, unacknowledged by the world; but their names, cast out as evil by the lovers of sin, are written in the book of life. They are the adopted heirs of Christ, the nobility of Heaven. “These are they that came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
7 Many are not growing strong, because they do not take God at his word. They are conforming to the world. Every day they pitch their tents nearer to Egypt, when they should encamp a day’s march nearer the heavenly Canaan. We need individually to ask strength and grace from Heaven, that we may resist the temptation to assimilate to the world. We cannot afford to be divided in heart and purpose, first serving God, and then yielding to temptations and paying homage to the world. Many of us have grown gray in the service of Christ, in pushing the triumphs of his cross. We have fought the battles of the Lord too long, and endured too much, to permit Satan to gain the victory over us. The voice of our Leader is commanding “Go forward,” and we should obey, saying, as did Caleb, “If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land.”
8 If we commit the keeping of our souls to God in the exercise of living faith, his promises will not fail us; for they have no limit but our faith. “All things are possible to him that believeth.” We may make or mar our own happiness. Many pet and excuse the defects in their characters; but these must all be remedied. Every deviation from the right is sin, and sin must be put away. We cannot afford to walk carelessly before our brethren or before the world.
9 Many confess their sins again and again, but do not put them away by genuine repentance. Unless we have a firm purpose and the aid of the grace of God, strong resolutions and vigilant watchfulness will be vain and powerless when temptations assail the soul; and under such circumstances some give up in despair, fearing that they must ever remain the slaves of sin. These have not a living faith in Jesus. We cannot trust in ourselves; if we do, we shall fail. Jesus has spoiled the powers of darkness; and it is through faith in his might that we shall be made strong. He will lift up a standard against Satan in behalf of every trusting, believing soul. We have the assurance that his grace is sufficient for us, and that we shall not be tempted above that we are able to bear. This is our only hope.
10 The apostle says, “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Christian church at Pentecost, great wisdom and grace rested upon the whole body of believers. This blessing was given in answer to earnest, persevering prayer; and today God is just as willing to listen to the petitions of his people. “Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.”
11 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness , temperance.” When these fruits appear in the life, a telling influence will be exerted upon the world. The truly converted man will cease aspiring to be thought great. He will not seek for worldly honor, nor for luxury, ease, or wealth; neither will he be sensitive to reproach or neglect. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Self is no longer the supreme object of love; family and friends are no longer the boundary. His heart is enlarged. Jesus has the first place in his affections; he loves Christians, because he sees in them the image of his Master, and all mankind with a love that prompts him to do them good. This is the fruit growing on the true Vine, more precious in the sight of God than all the wealth and learning of earth’s great men.
12 The unparalleled exhibition of love that was made on Calvary shows how God estimates souls. If we have this love in our hearts, we shall seek to win sinners to Jesus, that for them this great sacrifice may not have been made in vain. The language of the heart will be, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.” We shall say with the psalmist, “I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” We shall rejoice to speak of the wisdom and goodness of God as shown in the way he has led his people; for we shall have proved that “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
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1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” The mightiest intellects of earth cannot comprehend God. If he reveals himself at all to men, it is by veiling himself in mystery. His ways are past finding out. Men must be ever searching, ever learning; and yet there is an infinity beyond. Could they fully understand the purposes, wisdom, love, and character of God, they would not believe in him as an infinite being, and trust him with the interests of their souls. If they could fathom him, he would no longer stand supreme.
2 There are men who think they have made wonderful discoveries in science. They quote the opinions of learned men as though they considered them infallible, and teach the deductions of science as truths that cannot be controverted. And the word of God, which is given as a lamp to the feet of the world-weary traveler, is judged by this standard, and pronounced wanting. The scientific research in which these men have indulged has proved a snare to them. It has clouded their minds, and they have drifted into skepticism. They have a consciousness of power; and instead of looking to the Source of all wisdom, they triumph in the smattering of knowledge they may have gained. They have exalted their human wisdom in opposition to the wisdom of the great and mighty God, and have dared to enter into controversy with him. The word of inspiration pronounces these men “fools”.
3 God has permitted a flood of light to be poured upon the world in discoveries in science and art; but when professedly scientific men lecture and write upon these subjects from a merely human stand-point, they will assuredly come to wrong conclusions. The greatest minds, if not guided by the word of God in their research, become bewildered in their attempts to investigate the relations of science and revelation. The Creator and his works are beyond their comprehension; and because they cannot explain these by natural laws, Bible history is considered unreliable. Those who doubt the reliability of the records of the Old and New Testaments, will be led to go a step farther, and doubt the existence of God; and then; having let go their anchor, they are left to beat about upon the rocks of infidelity. Moses wrote under the guidance of the Spirit of God, and a correct theory of geology will never claim discoveries that cannot be reconciled with his statements. The idea that many stumble over, that God did not create matter when he brought the world into existence, limits the power of the Holy One of Israel.
4 Many, when they find themselves incapable of measuring the Creator and his works by their own imperfect knowledge of science, doubt the existence of God and attribute infinite power to nature. These persons have lost the simplicity of faith, and are removed far from God in mind and spirit. There should be a settled faith in the divinity of God’s holy word. The Bible is not to be tested by men’s ideas of science, but science is to be brought to the test of this unerring standard. When the Bible makes statements of facts in nature, science may be compared with the written word, and a correct understanding of both will always prove them to be in harmony. One does not contradict the other. All truth, whether in nature or revelation, agrees. Scientific research will open to the minds of the really wise vast fields of thought and information. They will see God in his works, and will praise him. He will be to them first and best, and the mind will be centered upon him. Skeptics, who read the Bible for the sake of caviling, through ignorance claim to find decided contradictions between science and revelation. But man’s measurement of God will never be correct. The mind unenlightened by God’s Spirit will ever be in darkness in regard to his power.
5 Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Those who have no vital union with God are swayed one way and another; they put men’s opinions in the front, and God’s word in the background. They grasp human assertions, that judgment against sin is contrary to God’s benevolent character, and, while dwelling upon infinite benevolence, try to forget that there is such a thing as infinite justice.
6 When we have right views of the power, greatness, and majesty of God, and of the weakness of man, we shall despise the assumptions of wisdom made by earth’s so-called great men, who have none of Heaven’s nobility in their characters. There is nothing for which men should be praised or exalted. There is no reason why the opinions of the learned should be trusted, when they are disposed to measure divine things by their own perverted conceptions. Those who serve God are the only ones whose opinion and example it is safe to follow. A sanctified heart quickens and intensifies the mental powers. A living faith in God imparts energy; it gives calmness and repose of spirit, and strength and nobility of character.
7 Men of science think that with their enlarged conceptions they can comprehend the wisdom of God, that which he has done or can do. The idea largely prevails that he is bounded and restricted by his own laws. Men either deny and ignore his existence, or think to explain everything, even the operations of his Spirit upon the human heart, by natural laws; and they no longer reverence his name or fear his power. While they think they are gaining everything, they are chasing bubbles, and losing precious opportunities to become acquainted with God. They do not believe in the supernatural, not realizing that the Author of nature’s laws can work above those laws. They deny the claims of God, and neglect the interests of their own souls; but his existence, his character, his laws, are facts that the reasoning of men of the highest attainments cannot overthrow.
8 The pen of inspiration thus describes the power and majesty of God: “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? . . . Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. . . . It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.”
9 Nature is a power, but the God of nature is unlimited in power. His works interpret his character. Those who judge him from his handiworks, and not from the suppositions of great men, will see his presence in everything. They behold his smile in the glad sunshine, and his love and care for man in the rich fields of autumn. Even the adornments of the earth, as seen in the grass of living green, the lovely flowers of every hue, and the lofty and varied trees of the forest, testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God, and to his desire to make his children happy.
10 The power of the great God will be exerted in behalf of those that fear him. Listen to the words of the prophet: “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
11 In the word of God many queries are raised that the most profound scholars can never answer. Attention is called to these subjects to show us how many things there are, even among the common things of every-day life, that finite minds, with all their boasted wisdom, can never fully comprehend.
12 All the systems of philosophy devised by men have led to confusion and shame when God has not been recognized and honored. To lose faith in God is terrible. Prosperity cannot be a great blessing to nations or individuals, when once faith in his word is lost. Nothing is truly great but that which is eternal in its tendencies. Truth, justice, mercy, purity, and the love of God, are imperishable. When men possess these qualities, they are brought into close relationship to God, and are candidates for the highest exaltation to which the race can aspire. They will disregard human praise, and will be superior to disappointment, weariness, the strife of tongues, and contentions for supremacy.
13 He whose soul is imbued with the Spirit of God will learn the lesson of confiding trust. Taking the written word as his counselor and guide, he will find in science an aid to understand God, but he will not become exalted, till, in his blind self-conceit, he is a fool in his ideas of God.
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1 The foundation of all right education is a knowledge of God. Many parents who make great sacrifices to educate their children, seem to think that a well-trained intellect is more essential than a knowledge of God and his truth. They neglect to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and act as though they supposed this important part of education would come naturally, as a matter of course. But the first and most important lesson to be impressed upon young minds is the duty of regulating the life by the principles of the word of God.
2 Parents and teachers should make God first. The influence of his Spirit purifies the heart and stimulates the intellect. If the fear of God is made the basis of education, the result will be a well-developed and symmetrical character, one that is neither dwarfed nor one-sided. Care should be taken to keep constantly before the mind the fact that we are dependent on God, and that we owe him willing obedience, a life-time of loving service. The true object of education is to fit us for this service by developing and bringing into active exercise every faculty that we possess. Satan desires to defeat this object. He is the great enemy of God, and it is his constant aim to lead souls away from their allegiance to the King of Heaven. He would have minds so trained that men and women will exert their influence on the side of error and moral corruption, instead of using their talents in the service of God, to save souls and bless society. His object is effectually gained, when, by perverting their ideas of education, he succeeds in enlisting parents and teachers on his side; for a wrong education often starts the mind on the road to infidelity.
3 The conclusions which learned men have reached as the result of their scientific investigations are carefully taught and fully explained; while the impression is distinctly given that if these learned men are correct, the Bible cannot be. These philosophers would make us believe that man, the crowning work of creation, came by slow degrees from the savage state, and that farther back, he was evolved from the race of brutes. They are so intent upon excluding God from the sovereignty of the universe, that they demean man, and defraud him of the dignity of his origin. Nature is exalted above the God of nature; she is idolized, while her Creator is buried up and concealed from sight by science falsely so-called.
4 Cold philosophical speculations, and scientific research in which God is not acknowledged, are a positive injury. The thorns of skepticism are disguised; they are concealed and made attractive by the bloom and verdure of science and philosophy. Skepticism is attractive to the human mind. The young see an independence in it that captivates the imagination, and they are deceived. Satan triumphs; it is altogether as he meant it should be. He nourishes every seed of doubt that is sown in young hearts. He causes it to grow and bear fruit, and soon a plentiful harvest of infidelity is reaped. Teachers who sow these doubts do not lead the mind through the mist of unbelief to faith in the inspired word. But ignorance of God, of his might, his infinity, and his majesty, is the real reason that there is an infidel in the world.
5 Many teach that matter possesses vital power. They hold that certain properties are imparted to matter, and it is then left to act through its own inherent power; and that the operations of nature are carried on in harmony with fixed laws, that God himself cannot interfere with. This is false science, and is sustained by nothing in the word of God. Nature is not self-acting; she is the servant of her Creator. God does not annul his laws nor work contrary to them; but he is continually using them as his instruments. Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active agency, that works in, and through, and above her laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father and the Son. Said Christ, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
6 God has finished his creative work, but his energy is still exerted in upholding the objects of his creation. It is not because the mechanism that has once been set in motion continues its work by its own inherent energy that the pulse beats and breath follows breath; but every breath, every pulsation of the heart, is an evidence of the all-pervading care of Him in whom we live and have our being. It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth produces her bounties and continues her motion around the sun. The hand of God guides the planets, and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. It is through his power that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers bloom. His word controls the elements, and by him the valleys are made fruitful. He covers the heavens with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth; he “maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.” “He giveth snow like wool; he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes.” “When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.”
7 Parents and teachers should aim to impress minds with the beauty of truth. They should realize that the safety of the young depends upon combining religious culture with general education, that they may escape the snare of unsanctified knowledge. Who and what are the men of learning, that the minds and characters of the young should be moulded by their ideas? They are not connected with the great Source of wisdom; and if they do not actually deny God, they at least lose sight of his direct agency in the operations of nature. But his care is over all the works of his hands. Nothing is too great to be directed by him; nothing is too small to escape his notice.
8 God is the foundation of everything. All true science is in harmony with his works; all true education leads to obedience to his government. Science opens new wonders to our view; she soars high and explores new depths; but she brings nothing from her research that conflicts with divine revelation. Ignorance may seek to support false views of God by appeals to science; but the book of nature and the written word do not disagree; each sheds light on the other. Rightly understood, they make us acquainted with God and his character by teaching us something of the wise and beneficent laws through which he works. We are thus led to adore his holy name, and to have an intelligent trust in his word.
9 The Bible should be read every day. It is the correct standard of right and wrong and of moral principle. A life of devotion to God is the best shield for the young against the temptations to which they are exposed while acquiring an education. The first consideration should be to honor God; the second to be faithful to humanity, performing the duties and meeting the trials that each day brings, and bearing its burdens with firmness and courage. Earnest and untiring effort, united with strong purpose and entire trust in God, will help in every emergency, and will qualify for a useful life. Such a life is a series of triumphs, not always seen and understood, but reaching far into the future, when we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known.
10 If we work in harmony with the Spirit of God, we shall see of his salvation. The education begun here will not be completed in this life; it will be going forward through all eternity,—progressing ever, never completed. Day by day the wonderful works of God, the evidences of his miraculous power in creating and sustaining the universe, will open before the mind in new beauty and grandeur. In the light that shines from the throne, mysteries will disappear, and the soul will be filled with astonishment at the simplicity of the things that were never before comprehended.
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1 Says the apostle Jude, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” The apostles and their co-laborers in the early Christian church were constantly obliged to meet heresies, which were brought in by false teachers in the very bosom of the church. These teachers are represented not as coming openly, but creeping in unawares, with the gliding motion of a serpent. They followed their own pernicious ways, but were not satisfied without drawing away others with them. They had no connected chain of truth, but taught a disjointed medley of ideas, supported by a passage of Scripture here and another there. These disconnected scriptures were woven together into a tissue of falsehood that would strike the fancy, and would deceive those who had not, by searching the Scriptures for themselves, become established in the truth for that time.
2 Satan worked through these false teachers. Under a profession of regard for the truth, they concealed base purposes, for their hearts were corrupt. Had they come disclaiming faith in Christ, they would have been rejected at once; but professing to believe in him, they gained the confidence of some, and without shame or conscience perverted the truth to suit their own unsanctified hearts. And when once these deluded souls had departed from the old landmarks of faith, they had let go their anchor, and were tossed about like the waves of the sea. These lying prophets are described in the word of God; their deeds are recorded in the register of Heaven. Their hearts and their deceptive, wicked works were not understood by men; but the Lord saw them; he read their hearts as an open book, and knew that their very thoughts and purposes were corrupt.
3 False teachers are just as active in our day as they were in the days of the apostles. Satan has many agents, and they are ready to present any and every kind of theory to deceive souls,—heresies prepared to suit the varied tastes and capacities of those whom he would ruin. There are cheap fallacies for those who are easily led into error, and who desire something new, odd, or fanciful, which they cannot explain intelligently, or even understand themselves. A mysterious, disconnected set of ideas is more in accordance with their minds than the plain truth, which has a “Thus saith the Lord” for its foundation. He has other heresies,—intellectual poisons,—which he has concocted for another class of minds in this age of skepticism and proud reasoning. These sophistries have a bewitching power over minds, and thousands are deceived by them.
4 One class have a theory that there is no personal devil, and that Christ had no existence before he came to this earth; and they try to maintain these absurd theories by wresting scriptures from their true meaning. The utter folly of human wisdom in matters of religious faith is thus made manifest. The heart that is not sanctified, and imbued with the spirit of Christ, is perverse in its interpretation of the inspired word, turning the truth of God into senseless falsehood; and some who have not searched the Scriptures with humble hearts allow these wild speculations to unsettle their faith; they accept them in place of the plainly revealed will of God.
5 Satan assails another class with arguments that present a greater show of plausibility. Science and nature are exalted. Men consider themselves wiser than the word of God, wiser even than God; and instead of planting their feet on the immovable foundation, and bringing everything to the test of God’s word, they test that word by their own ideas of science and nature, and if it seems not to agree with their scientific ideas, it is discarded as unworthy of credence. Thus the great standard by which to test doctrines and character is set aside for human standards. This is as Satan designed it should be. Some say, “It is no matter what we believe, if we are only honest.” But the law and the testimony remain valid, and we are to seek unto them.
6 The law of God is the great moral standard by which character is to be judged. It is the expression of his will, and must be obeyed from the heart. Its holy principles must underlie our course of action in all our business relations. Those who belittle their profession of faith by conformity to the world, show that they despise the riches of the grace of Christ. They cry. “The grace of Christ! we are not saved by works, but by Christ;” but they continue in sin,—continue to transgress the law of God. They act as though they considered it their privilege to live in sin that grace may abound. But every indulgence in sin weakens the soul; it welcomes Satan to come in and control the mind, making the individual his effectual servant.
7 In these days of delusion, every one who is established in the truth will have to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Every variety of error will be brought out in the mysterious working of Satan, which would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect, and turn them from the truth. There will be human wisdom to meet,—the wisdom of learned men, who, as were the Pharisees, are teachers of the law of God, but do not obey the law themselves. There will be human ignorance and folly to meet in disconnected theories arrayed in new and fantastic dress,—theories that it will be all the more difficult to meet because there is no reason in them.
8 There will be false dreams and false visions, which have some truth, but lead away from the original faith. The Lord has given men a rule by which to detect them: “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” If they belittle the law of God, if they pay no heed to his will as revealed in the testimonies of his Spirit, they are deceivers. They are controlled by impulse and impressions, which they believe to be from the Holy Spirit, and consider more reliable than the inspired word. They claim that every thought and feeling is an impression of the Spirit; and when they are reasoned with out of the Scriptures, they declare that they have something more reliable. But while they think that they are led by the Spirit of God, they are in reality following an imagination wrought upon by Satan.
9 Their character was described and their doom denounced by the ancient prophets. It was ordained of old that those who unsettle faith in the word of God should bear the condemnation of God.
10 Jude says, “I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.” This will be the sure fate of all the characters described by Jude, who depart from God, and lead others away from the truth. Although the Lord gave Israel the greatest evidences of his favor, and upon condition of obedience, the rich promise that they should be to him a peculiar people, a royal nation, yet because of their unbelief and disobedience he could not fulfill the promise. Because of their transgressions, he removed his restraining power over their enemies, the ungodly nations around them, and did not protect them as he had done.
11 Some profess Christianity year after year, and in some things appear to serve God, and yet they are far from him. They give loose rein to appetite and passion, and follow their own unsanctified inclinations, loving pleasure and the applause of men more than God or his truth. But God reads the secrets of the heart. Base thoughts lead to base actions. Self-righteousness, pride, and licentiousness are far-reaching, deep, and almost universal. These are the sins for which God destroyed the inhabitants of the old world by a flood of water, and they are corrupting the churches in these last days. They are the hidden rocks upon which are wrecked thousands and tens of thousands who profess godliness. Only those who are closely connected with God will escape the devices of Satan and the prevailing moral corruptions of this age.
12 The character is revealed by the works, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts. Those who would put God out of their knowledge will show a want of principle. Every man will show which master he is serving with the strength of his intellect, his skill, and his ability. The servant of Christ will watch unto prayer; he will be devoted, humble, meek and lowly in heart, seeking to know and do the will of God. Whereas he was once the servant of sin, he has, through the grace of God, become transformed in mind and character. He will love the day of Christ’s appearing; for he will be able to say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
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1 To each of us God has committed sacred trusts, for which he holds us accountable. He designs that man shall be so educated as to develop his mental and moral powers, that he may have a well-balanced mind and a symmetrical character. But education alone will not prepare him to answer the object of his creation. He needs the grace of God, and divine aid awaits his demand. Divine power united with human effort will enable him to do good and glorify his Creator.
2 Few appreciate the value of man, and the glory that would redound to God were he to cultivate and preserve purity, nobility, and integrity of character. The value that God sets upon man is shown in the price that has been paid for his redemption; his love is expressed in that he withheld not his beloved Son, but gave him to die for a sinful race. Angels could not, by any sacrifice that they could make, accomplish the work of man’s redemption. It was only through the suffering and death of Christ that he could be restored to the favor of God. For our sakes, He who knew no sin was made an offering for sin. He was afflicted, insulted, oppressed. Arraigned as a criminal, he suffered shame, insult, mockery, and pain.
3 Christ bore all this to rescue man from the hopeless state into which he had been brought by his disobedience of the law of God; for sin is the transgression of the law, and death is its penalty. He did not suffer to do away with the law, or to lessen its force, but that its claims might be met, and the sinner be spared. Through his perfect obedience, the law was exalted and made honorable.
4 Christ will elevate man, and give him rich and glorious possessions, if he will respect the claims of God’s law; but if he chooses the service of Satan, and will ruin his hope of Heaven by his stubborn sinfulness, he must lose these blessings. He will have a place with associates similar in character to himself,—with those defiled by sin, who consider it a virtue, an evidence of smartness, to doubt God’s word and be ranked among skeptics. To choose to be a sinner is to refuse to stand before the throne of God washed from the defilement of sin; it is to refuse the riches of eternal glory; it is to refuse to be a joint-heir with Christ to the immortal inheritance, and to be exalted to an equality with the heavenly angels;—it is to reject all these, and to choose instead the sure consequence of sin, the sinner’s fixed doom.
5 Those who might become co-laborers with Christ, and do good service in advancing the interests of his kingdom, but who use their talents and influence to tear down instead of to build up, are like noted rebels; their prominence, the value of the talent they use in the service of Satan, increases their guilt and makes their punishment sure. These will feel the wrath of God. They will experience what Christ suffered in saving men from the penalty of the broken law. The value of man and the measure of his accountability can be known only by the cross of Calvary. He who presents himself to the sinner as the One strong to deliver, will prove himself mighty to execute wrath and judgment upon every unrepenting son of Adam. He who holds the worlds in position, who weighs the hills in scales, and the mountains in a balance, who taketh up the isles as a very little thing, will show himself mighty to avenge his unrequited mercy and spurned love. Those who flatter themselves that God is too merciful to punish the sinner, have only to look to Calvary to make assurance doubly sure that vengeance will be visited upon every transgressor of his righteous law.
6 The penalty for breaking the law of God is proportionate to the price paid to redeem its transgressors. What unutterable bliss is prepared for those who will be saved through Christ, and what depths of woe for those who despise and reject his great salvation! Whatever of a worldly nature men esteem valuable sinks into insignificance when viewed in this light, and how great appears our obligation to use in the service of God all the talents that he has intrusted to our keeping.
7 Science is too limited to comprehend the atonement; the mysterious and wonderful plan of redemption is so far-reaching that philosophy cannot explain it; it will ever remain a mystery that the most profound reason cannot fathom. If it could be explained by finite wisdom, it would lose its sacredness and dignity. It is a mystery that One equal with the eternal Father should so abase himself as to suffer the cruel death of the cross to ransom man; and it is a mystery that God so loved the world as to permit his Son to make this great sacrifice. The Holy Spirit exalts and glorifies the Saviour. It is his office to present Christ, the great salvation that we have through him, and the sacred, elevated purity of his righteousness. Says Christ, “He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” The Spirit of truth is the only effectual teacher of divine truth; those who are taught of him have entered the school of Christ. How must God esteem the race, that he gave his Son to die for them, and appoints his Spirit to be man’s teacher and continual guide. Satan understands this, and he lays his plans to mar and wound man, the workmanship of God, and to prevent him from enjoying the happiness that this great rebel lost through his disobedience and malice.
8 Since his fall from Heaven, it has been Satan’s only joy and constant employment to thwart the plan of God by preventing the salvation of perishing men. He has carried on this work with marked success, and will continue it until Christ shall bring his career to an end. He has tried to induce men to aid him in treading the honor of God into the dust, and many have become co-laborers with him, and have encouraged his rebellion. Those who do this, who glory in their skepticism, and lead others to despise the law of Jehovah, place themselves in the ranks of the enemies of Christ, and use their influence to destroy rather than to save souls. They second Satan in his efforts to undermine the law of God by assuring the sinner that he will be saved while transgressing that law. They serve Satan, and will share his terrible fate.
9 The short space of time allotted to men here is exceedingly valuable. Now, while probation lingers, God proposes to unite his strength with the weakness of finite man. We should so educate ourselves that we can serve him intelligently. Those who have cherished skepticism may, by proper discipline of the mind, learn to cherish faith. Those who truly love God will desire so to improve the talents that he has given them, that they may be a blessing to others. And by and by the gates of Heaven will be thrown wide open to admit them, and from the lips of the King of glory the benediction will fall upon their ear like richest music, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Thus the redeemed will be welcomed to the mansions that Jesus is preparing for them. There their companions will not be the vile of earth,—liars, idolaters, the impure, or the unbelieving; but they will associate with those who have overcome Satan and his devices, and through divine aid have formed perfect characters. Every sinful tendency, every imperfection that afflicts them here, has been removed by the blood of Christ; and the excellence and brightness of his glory, far exceeding the brightness of the sun in its meridian splendor, is imparted to them. And the moral beauty, the perfection of his character, shines through them, in worth far exceeding this outward splendor. They are without fault around the great white throne, sharing the dignity and privileges of the angels.
10 “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him.” In view of the glorious inheritance which may be his, “what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” He may be poor; yet he possesses in himself a wealth and dignity that the world could never bestow. The soul redeemed and cleansed from sin, with all its noble powers dedicated to the service of God, is of surpassing worth; and there is joy in Heaven, in the presence of God and holy angels, over one sinner that repents,—a joy that is expressed in songs of holy triumph.
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1 We are living in an unfortunate age for children. A heavy current is setting downward, and more than childhood’s strength and experience is needed to press against this current, and not be borne down to moral ruin. But parents can do much; they should help their children. The mother’s work commences with the infant . She should subdue the will and temper of her child, and bring it into subjection, teach it to obey. Every mother should take time to reason with her children, to correct their errors, and patiently teach them the right way.
2 As the child grows older, relax not the hand. Christian parents should so instruct their children that they may become children of God. The entire religious experience is influenced by the instructions received, and the character formed in childhood. If the will is not then subdued and made to yield to the will of the parents, it will be a difficult task to learn the lesson in after years. Parents who neglect this important work, commit a great error, and sin against their children and against God.
3 If parents would succeed in the government of their children, they must have perfect control of themselves. They must learn to control of themselves. They must learn to control their words and the very expression of the countenance. They should not suffer the tone of the voice to be disturbed or agitated with excitement or passion. Then they can have a decided influence over their children. Impatience in the parents excites impatience in the children. Passion manifested by the parents creates passion in the children, and stirs up the evils of their nature. Some parents correct their children severely in a spirit of impatience, and often in passion. Such corrections produce no good results. In seeking to correct one evil they create two. Continual censuring and whipping hardens children, and weans their affections from their parents. First reason with your children, clearly point out their wrongs, and impress upon them that they have not only sinned against you, but against God. With your heart full of pity and sorrow for your erring children, pray with them before correcting them. Then they will see that you do not punish them because they have put you to inconvenience, or because you wish to vent your displeasure upon them, but from a sense of duty, for their good; and they will love and respect you.
4 Parents, every time you lose self-control, and speak and act impatiently, you sin against God. The recording angels writes every impatient, fretful word you utter to your children; every unguarded word spoken before them, carelessly or in jest, every word that is not chaste and elevated, he marks as a spot against your Christian character. Speak kindly to your children. Remember how sensitive you are, how little you can bear to be blamed, and do not lay upon them that which you cannot bear; for they are weaker than you, and cannot endure as much. The fruits of self-control, thoughtfulness, and pains-taking on your part will be a hundred-fold.
5 Let your pleasant, cheerful words ever be like sunbeams in your family. You have no fight to bring a gloomy cloud over the happiness of your children by fault-finding, or severe censure for trifling mistakes. Actual wrong should be made to appear just as sinful as it is, and a firm, decided course should be pursued to prevent its recurrence; yet children should not be left in a hopeless state of mind, but with a degree of courage that they can improve, and gain your confidence and approval. Children many wish to do right, they may purpose in their hearts to be obedient; but they need help and encouragement. Parents should better qualify themselves to discharge their duty to their children. Some do not understand their children; they are not really acquainted with them. If parents would enter more fully into the feelings of their children, and draw out what is in their hearts, it would have a beneficial influence upon them.
6 Children would be saved many evils if they would become more familiar with their parents. Parents should encourage their children to confide in them, to be open and frank, to come to them with their difficulties, their little daily annoyances, and when they are perplexed as to what course is right, to lay the matter before their parents, and ask their advice. Who are so well calculated to see and point out their dangers as godly parents? Who can understand the peculiar temperaments of their children as well as they? The mother who has watched every turn of mind from infancy, and is acquainted with the natural disposition, is best prepared to counsel her children.
7 Children should very early be taught to be useful, to help themselves and to help others. Let the tax upon their strength be very light at first, and increase it a little every day, until they can do a proper amount of work each day without becoming excessively weary. Children who are petted and waited upon, always expect it; and if their expectations are not met, they are disappointed. This same disposition will be seen through their whole lives; they will be helpless, leaning upon others for aid, expecting others to favor them and yield to them. And if they are opposed, even after they have grown to manhood and womanhood, they think themselves abused; and thus they worry their way through the world, hardly able to bear their own weight, often murmuring and fretting because everything does not suit them.
8 The mistaken parents who are thus teaching their children lessons which will prove ruinous to them, are also planting thorns for their own feet. They think that by gratifying the wishes of their children, and letting them follow their own inclinations, they can gain their love. What an error! Children thus indulged grow up unrestrained in their desires, unyielding in their dispositions, selfish, exacting, and overbearing, a curse to themselves and to all around them. Many daughters can, without remorse of conscience, see their mothers toiling, cooking, washing, or ironing, while they sit in the parlor and read stories, knit edging, crochet, or embroider. Their hearts are as unfeeling as a stone. But where does this wrong originate? Who are the ones usually most to blame in this matter? The poor, deceived parents. They overlook the future good of their children, and in their mistaken fondness, let them sit in idleness, or do that which is of but little account, which requires no exercise of the mind or muscles, and then excuse their indolent daughters because they are weakly. What has made them weakly? In many cases it has been the wrong course of the parents. A proper amount of exercise about the house would improve both mind and body.
9 Mothers should take their daughters with them into the kitchen, and patiently educate them. Their constitution will be better for such labor; their muscles will gain tone and strength, and their meditations will be more healthy and elevated at the close of the day. They may be weary, but how sweet is rest after a proper amount of labor. Sleep, nature’s sweet restorer, invigorates the tired body, and prepares it for the next day’s duties. Do not intimate to your children that it is no matter whether they do anything or not. Teach them that their help is needed, that their time is of value, and that you depend on their labor. Much sin results from idleness. Active hands and minds do not find time to heed every temptation which the enemy suggests; but idle hands and brains are all ready for Satan to control. When not properly occupied, the mind dwells upon improper things.
10 To a great extent, parents hold in their own hands the future happiness of their children. They sow the seed which will spring up and bear fruit either for good or evil. Upon them rests the important work of forming the character of these children. The instructions given in childhood, will follow them all through life. Parents can train their sons and daughters for happiness or for misery. They should deal faithfully with the souls committed to their trust. They should not encourage in their children pride, extravagance, or love of show. They should not teach them, or suffer them to learn, little pranks which appear cunning in small children, but which must be corrected when they are older. The habits first formed are not easily forgotten.
11 Parents, you should commence to discipline the minds of your children while very young, to the end that they may be Christians. Let all your efforts be for their salvation. Act as though they were placed in your care to be fitted as precious jewels to shine in the kingdom of God. Beware how you lull them to sleep over the pit of destruction, with the mistaken thought that they are not old enough to be accountable, not old enough to repent of their sins and serve God.
12 There are many precious promises on record for those who seek their Saviour early. Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” Proverbs 8:17: “I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me.” The great Shepherd of Israel is still saying, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.” Teach your children that youth is the best time to seek the Lord. Then the burdens of life are not heavy upon them, and their young minds are not harassed with care, and while so free they should devote the best of their strength to God.
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1 The people of God are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. They should study the life of Christ, and his example and teaching should affect their life and character. They honor him by manifesting the fruits of the Spirit in their every-day life. If the doors of the house and heart are opened to Jesus, if he is welcomed as an honored guest, he will work for the family. The sweet influence of his presence will pervade the home, and check all impatience and selfishness. But many professed Christians drive Christ from their homes by an impatient, fretful spirit. Sometimes when fatigued by labor or oppressed with care, parents do not maintain a calm spirit, but manifest a lack of forbearance that displeases God, and brings a cloud over the family. Parents, when you feel fretful, you should not commit so great a sin as to poison the whole family with this dangerous irritability. At such times, set a double watch over yourselves, and resolve that none but pleasant, cheerful words shall escape your lips. By thus exercising self-control, you will grow stronger. Your nervous system will not be so sensitive.
2 The mother can and should do much toward controlling her nerves and mind when depressed; even when she is sick, she can, if she only schools herself, be pleasant and cheerful, and can bear more noise than she would once have thought possible. She should not make her children feel her infirmities, and cloud their young, sensitive minds by her depression of spirits, making them feel that the mother’s room is the most dismal place in the world. The mind and nerves gain tone and strength by the exercise of the will. The power of the will in many cases will prove a potent soother of the nerves. Jesus knows our infirmities, and has himself shared our experience in all things but in sin; therefore he has prepared for us a path suited to our strength and capacity.
3 Sometimes everything seems to go wrong in the family circle. There is fretfulness all around, and all seem very miserable and unhappy. The parents lay the blame upon their poor children, and think them very disobedient and unruly, the worst children in the world, when the cause of the disturbance is in themselves. God requires them to exercise self-control. They should realize that when they yield to impatience and fretfulness, they cause others to suffer. Those around them are affected by the spirit they manifest, and if they in their turn act out the same spirit, the evil is increased.
4 Instead of pleasantly asking their children to do what they wish done, parents often order them in a scolding tone, and at the same time administer a censure or a reproach which the children have not merited. Parents, this course pursued toward your children destroys their cheerfulness and their ambition to please you. They do your bidding, not from love, but because they dare not do otherwise. Their heart is not in the matter. It is drudgery instead of a pleasure, and this often leads them to forget to follow out all your directions, which increases your irritation; and makes it still worse for the children. The fault-finding is repeated, their bad conduct is arrayed before them in glowing colors, until they become discouraged, and are not particular whether they please or not. A spirit of “I don’t care” seizes them; and they seek that pleasure and enjoyment away from home, away from their parents, which they do not find at home. They mingle with street company, and are soon as bad as the worst.
5 Upon whom rests this great sin? If home had been made attractive, if the parents had manifested affection for their children, if they had wisely sought innocent enjoyment for them, and taught them the lesson of cheerful obedience, they would have touched an answering chord in their young hearts, and willing feet and hands and hearts would have carried out their wishes. By speaking kindly to their children, and praising them when they try to do right, parents may encourage their efforts, make them very happy, and throw around the family circle a charm which will chase away every dark shadow, and bring cheerful sunlight in. Mutual kindness and forbearance will make home a paradise, and attract holy angels into the family circle; but they will flee from a house where there are unpleasant words, fretfulness, and strife. Unkindness, complaining, and anger shut Jesus from the dwelling.
6 Some parents fail to give their children a religious education, and also neglect their school education. Neither should be neglected. Children’s minds will be active; and if they are not engaged in physical labor, or occupied with study, they will be exposed to evil influences. It is a sin for parents to allow their children to grow up in ignorance. They should supply them with useful and interesting books, and should teach them to have hours for labor and hours for study and reading. Parents should aim to elevate the minds of their children, and to improve their mental faculties. The mind left to itself, uncultivated, is generally low, sensual, and corrupt. Satan improves his opportunity, and educates idle minds.
7 Parents should faithfully instruct their children, not leaving them to gather up their education as best they can. They should not be suffered to learn good and evil indiscriminately, with the idea that at some future time the good will predominate, and the evil lose its influence. The evil will increase faster than the good. It is possible that the evil may be eradicated after many years; but who will venture this? Time is short. It is easier and much safer to sow clean and good seed in the hearts of your children, than to pluck up the weeds afterward. Parents should redouble their efforts for the salvation of their children. The reason why the youth of the present age are not more religiously inclined is that their education is defective. In the present state of things in society, it is no easy task for parents to restrain their children, and instruct them according to the Bible rule of right. When they would train their children in harmony with the precepts of the word of God, and, like Abraham of old, command their households after them, the children think their parents overcareful and unnecessarily exacting.
8 It is not the exercise of true love toward children that permits in them the indulgence of passion, or allows disobedience of parental authority to go unpunished. “Just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined.” Both parents should co-operate in the training, government, and education of their children. With firmness, not in a harsh manner, but with determined purpose, both should let their children know that they must obey. The father should not be like a child, moved merely by impulse. He is bound to his family by sacred, holy ties. He is the lawmaker, illustrating in his own manly bearing the sterner virtues,—energy, integrity, honesty, and industry. He is in one sense the priest of the household, laying upon the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice, while the wife and children unite in prayer and praise. In such a household Jesus will love to tarry.
9 We can have the salvation of God in our families, but we must believe for it, live for it, and have a continual, abiding faith and trust in God. We must subdue a hasty temper, and control our words; and in so doing we shall gain great victories. Unless we control our words and temper, we are slaves to Satan. All jangling, and unpleasant, impatient, fretful words are an offering presented to his Satanic majesty. And it is a costly offering, more costly than any sacrifice we can make for God; for it destroys the peace and happiness of whole families, destroys health, and is eventually the cause of forfeiting an eternal life of happiness. The restraint which God’s word imposes upon us is for our own interest. It increases the happiness of our families, and of all around us. It refines our taste, sanctifies our judgment, and brings peace of mind, and in the end, everlasting life. Under this holy restraint we shall increase in grace and humility, and it will become easy to speak right. The natural, passionate temper will be held in subjection. An indwelling Saviour will strengthen us every hour. Ministering angels will linger in our dwellings, and with joy carry Heavenward the tidings of our advance in the divine life, and the recording angel will make a cheerful, happy record.
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1 In these days, persecution and reproach for Christ’s sake are scarcely known. Very little self-denial and sacrifice are necessary in order to put on a form of godliness, and have the name upon the church-book; but to live in such a manner that our ways will be pleasing to God, and our names registered in the book of life, will require watchfulness and prayer, sacrifice and self-denial. Very few of the youth know what experimental religion is. They have not a fixed principle to serve God. They sink under every cloud; they have no power of endurance. They appear to serve God; they make now and then a formal prayer, and are called Christians; but they do not grow in grace. They are not led to search their own hearts diligently, and to count the cost of becoming a Christian. As a result, they profess to be Christians without sufficiently trying their motives.
2 The young are often urged to speak or pray in meeting; they are urged to die to self. At every step of the Christian way, they are urged. Such religion is worth nothing. Let the heart be changed, and it will not be such drudgery to serve God. The love of dress and pride of appearance will be gone. The apostle John exhorts, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” Then he adds the warning, “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” It is an alarming fact that the love of the world predominates in the minds of the young, and the things that are in the world, and for this reason the love of God finds no room in their hearts. God is dishonored by the frivolity and fashion, and empty, vain talking and laughing that characterize the life of the youth generally. There will be no place for these things in the heart renewed by the grace of God; but there will be an earnest, anxious seeking for the Christian graces, the fruits of the Spirit of God.
3 Words and acts testify plainly what is in the heart. If vanity and pride, love of self and love of dress, fill the heart, the conversation will be upon the dress, the fashions, and the appearance, but not on Christ or the kingdom of Heaven. If envious feelings dwell in the heart, they will be manifested in words and acts. Those who measure themselves by others, and make no higher attainments, are feeding on husks, and will remain spiritual dwarfs.
4 Many have their hearts filled with the love of self. They are not aware that the great heavenly Artist is taking cognizance of every act, every word; that their deportment, and even the thoughts and intents of the heart, stand faithfully delineated; and that old and young will have the faithful picture presented to them in all its deformity at the execution of the judgment. Those vain, frivolous words are all written in the book. Those false words are written. Those deceptive acts, whose motives were concealed from human eyes, but discerned by the all-seeing eye of Jehovah, are all written in living characters. Every selfish act will be exposed.
5 Solemn responsibilities rest upon the young, which they lightly regard. They should heed the injunction of the inspired word, “Obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right.” “Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and thou mayst live long on the earth.” They should honor their parents by cheerful, loving obedience, and by doing what they can to make home happy. Often they would like to do this in their own way, by introducing amusements that lead away from God. They urge that they need something to enliven and divert the mind; and sometimes music is introduced into the home as a means of supplying this need. Music, when not abused, is a great blessing. God is glorified by songs of praise from a pure heart filled with love and devotion to him. But when put to a wrong use, it is a terrible curse. It excites, but does not impart that strength and courage which can be found only at the throne of grace. Frivolous songs and the popular sheet music of the day, which often seem congenial to their tastes, lead the mind from God.
6 Many seek after pleasures that prove bitter in the end. They love worldly society, where they receive praise and flattery that gratifies vanity, and fosters pride and self-esteem. They are led to believe that with such advantages and attractions as they possess, it is really a great pity for them to come out from the world and be separate. But the pleasures of earth will have an end, and that which is sown must also be reaped. Young friends, are your personal attraction, abilities, or talents too valuable to be devoted to God and used in his service?
7 “Wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” Young friends, when you are restless and unhappy, it is because you have strayed from this path of peace. You are trying to find out of Christ that happiness that is found only in him. In him are no disappointed hopes. Prayer,—oh, how is this precious privilege neglected! The reading of the word of God prepares the mind for prayer. One great reason that you have so little disposition to pray is that you have unfitted yourselves for this sacred duty by reading fascinating stories, which have excited the imagination and aroused unholy passions. The word of God becomes distasteful; the hour of prayer is forgotten. And yet to have the consciousness that the eyes of the Lord are upon us, and his ears open to our prayers, is a satisfaction indeed. To know that we have a never-failing Friend in whom we can confide all the secrets of the soul, is a privilege which words can never express.
8 The consciousness of right-doing is the best medicine for diseased bodies and minds. The special blessing of God resting upon the receiver is health and strength. Those whose moral faculties are clouded by disease are not the ones to rightly represent the Christian life or the beauties of holiness. They are too often in the fire of fanaticism, or the water of cold indifference or stolid gloom. The words of Christ are of more worth than the opinions of all the physicians in the universe: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” This is the first great object,—the kingdom of Heaven, the righteousness of Christ. Other objects to be attained should be secondary.
9 Perhaps some will inquire how they are to know that they are accepted of God. The answer is, Study his word prayerfully. Lay it not aside for any other book. This holy book convinces of sin. It plainly reveals the way of salvation. It brings to view a bright and glorious reward. It reveals to you a complete Saviour, and teaches you that through his boundless mercy alone can you expect salvation. The hope of eternal life is not to be received upon slight grounds. It is a subject to be settled between God and your own soul,—settled for eternity. A supposed hope, and nothing more, will prove your ruin. Since you are to stand or fall by the word of God, it is to that word you must look for the testimony in your case. There you can see what is required in order to become a Christian. Compare your life with that of your Master, who made so great a sacrifice that you might be saved. Do not neglect secret prayer. Plead as earnestly as you would if your mortal life were at stake. Remain before God until unutterable longings for salvation are begotten within you, and the sweet evidence is obtained of pardoned sin. Do not lay off your armor or leave the battle-field until you have obtained the victory, and can triumph in your Redeemer.
10 Young friends, if found in the way of righteousness, you can exert a mighty influence. Ministers, or church-members advanced in years, cannot have one-half the influence on your young associates that you are capable of exerting; and you ought to feel that a responsibility rests upon you to do all you can for their salvation. Those who have themselves tasted the sweets of redeeming love will not, cannot rest, until all with whom they associate are made acquainted with the plan of salvation. You should inquire, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? How can I honor and glorify thy name upon the earth?” Souls are perishing all around us; what are you doing to win them to Christ? Oh, that you would use your powers of mind in seeking to so approach sinners that you may win even one soul to the path of righteousness! What a thought! One soul to praise God through eternity! One soul to enjoy happiness and everlasting life! One gem in your crown to shine forever and ever! But more than one may be won from sin to holiness, and the reward is rich in the kingdom of Heaven. Says the Lord by the prophet, “They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever.”
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1 The great controversy between Christ and Satan, that has been carried on for almost six thousand years, is soon to close. And yet how few have their attention called to this matter, how few realize that we are living amid the closing scenes of earth’s history! Satan is working diligently, binding his sheaves preparatory to gathering in his harvest. He is uniting the elements of his kingdom for the final struggle. Since his fall, he has been the great adversary of God and man, and has shown a masterly activity in trying to defeat our Saviour’s efforts in our behalf. He thinks that because so many readily yield to his temptations and believe his lies, he may yet gain some advantage over Christ, who left the royal courts of Heaven that he might defeat this wily foe on his own battle-field, and open a way whereby man might escape from his cruel power.
2 He is called in the Bible, Satan, Beelzebub, the serpent, the deceiver, a liar, the accuser of the brethren, the prince of the power of the air, the prince of darkness, and the god of this world. Frightful names, infernal agencies! This fallen spirit, so malignant and subtle, is walking about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. When there is no special effort made to resist his power, when profound indifference prevails in the church and in the world, he is not concerned; for he is in no danger of losing those whom he is leading captive at his will. But when the attention is called to eternal things, and souls are inquiring, “What shall I do to be saved?” he is on the ground, seeking to match his power against the power of Christ, and doubling his efforts to counteract the influences of the Holy Spirit. Angels of God, with Jesus at their head, are present to press back the powers of darkness; but no one is forced to accept Jesus, and no one can be compelled by Satan’s power to reject him.
3 Satan is at your side when you least suspect it, watching to find a weak spot in your armor, where he can introduce his darts, and wound your soul by betraying you into sin. He has access to minds that are open to receive his suggestions, and by long experience he has learned how to apply his temptations to the best advantage. His first effort is to keep as many minds as possible in a state of careless indifference. He will invent every imaginable excuse to keep people away from meetings where they might receive benefit from hearing the truth. He will especially work to make of none effect these morning meetings, where the Spirit of God is at work; and when he cannot keep persons away, his next effort will be to fill the mind with unimportant matters, thus preventing them from treasuring up the truths they hear.
4 This work Satan is engaged in at every meeting. He has different temptations prepared for different minds, and souls are continually yielding to his suggestions. He will adopt any means by which he may gain control of the thoughts and purposes of the heart. He will work to divert the mind from Heaven and heavenly things by the absorbing cares of this life. He will produce temporary indisposition to keep you away from meetings where testimonies from Heaven will be borne, and your hearts would be impressed with the deep movings of the Spirit of God. If you attend the meetings, and your heart is impressed, he will tempt you to engage in unprofitable conversation on trivial things, so that you will forget the words spoken.
5 Circumstances will arise to divert the mind. Visitors, relatives, or worldly friends, or some temporal matter, will engage the attention; and then “cometh the devil, and taketh the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.” These friends will make demands upon your time and strength, and thus God is robbed of the service due him. Yet you flatter yourselves that you cannot do otherwise; for how can you displease your friends? God will not bring a curse upon you for thus robbing him, but your own course of action brings its sure result. But however alluring Satan’s temptations, however natural and unavoidable they may seem to the mind that is not clear and sharp in spiritual discernment, you must not be lulled to carnal security. However dear your friends may be, if they lead you away from God they are emissaries of Satan, who works through the children of disobedience, speaks through human organs.
6 God will not work a miracle to change natural causes which you can control. If you place yourself and family in the current of the world, you and your children will be borne downward by it. Be wise and discriminating in regard to spiritual advantages, and gather about yourselves and your children correct influences. We may have a beautiful and fertile country; but surrounding influences may be weaving a spell upon our souls that will sink us to perdition, and our children may be lost to the cause of God because we did not place them where they would cultivate a love for divine things. We may save our own souls, as did Lot when he fled from Sodom; but the habits and customs with which we have become familiar may cling to us, and we may find that we have assimilated to them more than we were aware. This is a risk that we cannot afford to run. We might better lose every worldly advantage than to lose Jesus, or dishonor him by our careless inattention to his requirements. It is best to obey God at any sacrifice.
7 Another way that Satan comes in between God and your soul is to lead you to criticise the defects of your brethren and sisters, to watch their mistakes and talk about them. You think it is right to grieve over their errors; but the enemy takes advantage here, and hurls his poisoned darts through the defective places in your armor. You let bitterness into your soul, then jealousy and evil-surmising, and you do not realize it. Your heart becomes hardened against your brethren, and you speak evil of them. You do not know that you are doing the work of Satan, but you are; and you are growing spiritually weaker and weaker, and darker and darker.
8 The right course for you to pursue is marked out in the Bible, and you should follow it strictly. Go to your brother, and with your heart filled with tender, pitying love,—just such love as inspired Jesus in his efforts to save a fallen race,—tell him his fault between you and him alone. If you fail, do not let this depress you. It will do you harm, and not good, to let your mind dwell upon the mistakes and errors of others. Learn from their weakness to be strong yourself. Avoid their failures. Because Jesus is grieved by their faults, try the harder to honor him yourself by a well-ordered life and godly conversation. If you think your neighbor or brother is defective in character, make him a special subject of prayer; but do not lift up your soul unto vanity by saying, “I am not like him. In contrast with him, I am righteous.” This is not obeying the injunction of the apostle to esteem others better than yourself.
9 By beholding we become changed. If you allow your mind to dwell upon the imperfections and moral deformities of others, you will be changed into the same image. You will become deformed in character, and mentally one-sided and unbalanced. Let the mind dwell upon the perfect life of Christ. If the thoughts are centered upon him, and the conversation is on heavenly themes, you will be “changed into the same image from glory to glory.” You will become “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
10 The way to eternal life is a battle and a march. The great adversary of souls is continually seeking to insinuate himself between you and the Source of your strength. If you allow your mind to be taken up with worldly cares, he will manage to have these cares so varied in character, and press so continually upon you, that you can find no time for the spiritual and the eternal. Worldly acquaintances introduce subjects that are of the greatest importance to them; you listen and are attracted, and these things of minor consequence absorb the mind and affections. You give time and attention, skill and inventive faculties, to outward ornamentation, to the neglect of the inward adorning of the soul. Time is worse than lost which should be devoted to the searching of the Scriptures and to earnest prayer for divine guidance; you rob your own souls of grace and power, and others of the light that should be reflected through you to the world.
11 But few know the real power of religion. They do not appreciate its refining and elevating influence on the character; they do not partake of its joys nor enter into its spirit. We need constant communion with Jesus just as much as we need daily food to nourish the body. If there is a moment when we are in no danger of being deceived by the enemy, then for that moment we may dispense with divine aid. If there is any moment when we are not dependent on God for our breath, then there is a time when we need not obey the injunctions of his word.
12 We should be sanctified by the truth. The conscience and the understanding, the words, the deeds, and the thoughts, should be controlled by truth, and not error. The principle of truth and righteousness implanted in the heart, will be revealed in the life, and especially in the family circle. God estimates a man by what he is in the bosom of his family. Fix the mind on things that are pure and holy. “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think of these things.” And the life will be clothed with the beauty of holiness even here; but who shall tell what it will be, when the great controversy between sin and righteousness is forever closed, and we appear in “the beauty of the Lord our God”?
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1 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always,” is the injunction of Christ to his disciples. Again we read in the inspired word, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.”
2 God has made it our duty to pray. The riches of the universe belong to him. He has all temporal and spiritual treasures at his command, and can supply every want from his abundant fullness. We receive our breath from him; every temporal blessing that we enjoy is his gift. We are dependent upon him not only for temporal blessings, but for grace and strength to keep us from falling under the power of temptation. We daily need the Bread of Life to give us spiritual strength and vigor, just as much as we need food to sustain our physical strength and give us firm muscles. We are compassed with weakness and infirmities, doubts and temptations; but we can come to Jesus in our need, and he will not turn us away empty. We must accustom ourselves to seek divine guidance through prayer; we must learn to trust in Him from whom our help cometh. Our desires should be unto God; our souls should go out after him, and their attitude should always be that of supplication.
3 The reason that we do not realize greater help is because there is lack of earnest, fervent devotion. Jesus reproved the Pharisees for drawing near to God with their mouth, and honoring him with their lips, while their hearts were far from him. “God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” We must have a deep, earnest sense of our needs. We must feel our weakness and our dependence upon God, and come to him with contrition of soul and brokenness of heart. Our petitions must be offered in perfect submission; every desire must be brought into harmony with the will of God, and his will must be done in us. We must not pray in a doubting, half-hearted manner, but with full assurance of faith. When we come to him in this manner, Jesus will listen to our prayers, and will answer them; but if we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we cherish any darling sin, we may be assured that no blessing will be given in response to our prayers.
4 One sister said this morning that she did not have the experience she desired. She tried to do her duty as far as she could understand it, but she did not experience the joy and peace that others seemed to have. This sister does not believe the word of God. What has faith to do with feeling? Faith takes God at his word, with or without feeling. It “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We can believe our fellow-men, and can we not trust the word of God? When we go to him for wisdom or grace, we are not to look to ourselves to see if he has given us a special feeling as an assurance that he has fulfilled his word. Feeling is no criterion. Great evils have resulted when Christians have followed feeling. Satan can give feelings and impressions, and those who take these as their guides will surely be led astray. How do I know that Jesus hears my prayer? I know it by his promise. He says he will hear the needy when they cry unto him, and I believe his word. He has never said to the “seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain.”
5 If we walk in the light as Christ is in the light, we may come to the throne of grace with holy boldness. We may present the promises of God in living faith, and urge our petitions. Although we are weak, and erring, and unworthy, “the Spirit helpeth our infirmities.” But too often our prayers are molded by coldness and backsliding. Those who do not deny self and lift the cross of Christ, will have no courage to approach a heart-searching God. We must learn to watch unto prayer, and to be importunate. When we have offered our petition once, we must not then abandon it, but say, as did Jacob when he wrestled all night with the angel, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me,” and like him we shall prevail. In the public assembly of God’s people, prayers should not be offered that are suitable only to secret communion with him. We should pray understandingly and intelligently, and every day we should know better how to offer appropriate and prevailing prayers.
6 Jesus invites, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” This is no doubtful, uncertain promise, but a positive one. If we come to him, we shall not be disappointed. Yet how unwilling we seem to accept the gracious invitation. When in trouble, we too often go for help to our brethren, who are no wiser nor stronger than ourselves; but if we would go to Jesus, if we would take our troubles to him in prayer, we should find rest, and peace, and courage. The wisdom that God gives is unerring; his strength is sufficient for all our needs. Let us lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus, and, according to his promise, he will take the weary load, and encircle us in the arms of his love.
7 “I am meek and lowly in heart.” There is a beautiful blending of tenderness and lowliness, majesty and humility, in the character of Christ. He who was the mightiest one that ever trod the earth, was also the most pure and sinless, and was the meekest of all. In the cluster of graces upon which he pronounces a blessing, meekness and poverty of spirit stand foremost; and among all his traits of character he selected this for the peculiar study and imitation of his disciples. “Learn of me,” he says; “for I am meek and lowly in heart.” And the inspired apostle Paul also, in exhorting his Corinthian brethren to manifest in their lives the fruits of the Spirit, beseeches them by the “meekness and gentleness of Christ.” From the mountain summit, the tempter presented before our Saviour the kingdoms of the world in all their glory, making the sight as alluring and enchanting as possible; but none of these things moved the divine Son of God. Beneath all the glitter and pomp of earth, he saw misery, sorrow, and remorse,—suffering which earthly prosperity is powerless to alleviate; and he spurned the temptation and the tempter.
8 There are many who are surrounded with clouds of darkness. They try to do something themselves, some great and good work which will win the favor of God and make them happy, but they neglect the very work that they should do. But the path of happiness is the path of obedience. We should in no case blind our eyes to our true condition, and then pray in a loose, general manner. Prayers of this kind rise no higher than the petitioner’s head, and bring no answer of mercy, because they are dictated by no sense of need. Says the apostle, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” Inquire into the character of your thoughts, purposes, temper, words, and deeds. Compare your experience with the declarations of Scripture, and see whether you are gathering with Christ or scattering abroad. See if your life testifies that you are in the faith.
9 As you discover your sinfulness, do not be discouraged; for Jesus has invited you to come to him. No humble suppliant was ever spurned from his presence. His patience is unwearied. The waves of mercy, beaten back by hearts hard as rocks, only return with a stronger tide of subduing, inexpressible love. Then shall we not closely examine our own hearts, and see if the soul-temple is not defiled by sins that are unrepented of? Shall we not cease to criticise the faults of others, while the deformity of our own characters is left uncorrected? “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” It will deceive you if you let it, and will lead you to think that you are spiritually much better than you are.
10 We are here in a world of doubt and skepticism. The law of God is made void, unbelief seems to be in the very air we breathe; and to resist all these influences, and battle successfully against the powers of darkness, requires strong faith and earnest prayer. But amid all these opposing influences, we may repose in God with perfect confidence. I once read of an eagle that had left her home in the Alps, and clouds dark and heavy intervened between her and her home in the towering cliffs. She seemed bewildered, and with loud screams flew first one way and then another against the over-hanging clouds. Suddenly, with a shrill scream of determination, she darted upward through the dense clouds into the clear sky above. The clouds were beneath her, and she was again in her mountain home. And so may we rise above the clouds of skepticism, and dwell in the clear sunshine of God’s presence.
11 We should search the Scriptures daily; for the word of God is our unerring guide. We must not, for the sake of worldly advantage, place ourselves under wrong influences; for by so doing we are entering into temptation. Are we choosing to remain near some central point of evil? Then let us test our motives thoroughly, lest Satan obtain advantage over us. If this is our post of duty, and we are letting our light shine, we may be safe; for when temptation meets us in the path of duty, it is our privilege to lean more heavily upon God.
12 The Christian has duties to do in the world, and God holds him responsible for their faithful performance. He is not to confine himself in monastic walls, nor to avoid all association with worldlings. It is true that his principles will be put to the severest test, and he will be pained by what his eyes see and his ears hear. But he must not, by becoming familiar with these sights and sounds, learn to love them. By association with the world, we incline to catch the spirit of the world, and to adopt their customs, tastes, and preferences. But we are commanded, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.” Never let the world say that worldlings and Christ’s followers are alike in their tastes and pursuits; for God has drawn a line between his people and the world. This line of demarkation is broad and deep and clear; it is not so blended with the world that it is not discernible. “The Lord knoweth them that are his.” “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
13 It is only by watching unto prayer, and the exercise of living faith, that the Christian can preserve his integrity in the midst of the temptations that Satan brings to bear upon him. But “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Talk to your heart constantly the language of faith: “Jesus said he would receive me, and I believe his word. I will praise him; I will glorify his name.” Satan will be close by your side to suggest that you do not feel any joy. Answer him, “‘This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.’ I have everything to be glad of; for I am a child of God. I am trusting in Jesus. The law of God is in my heart; none of my steps shall slide.”
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1 These are precious opportunities that we are enjoying. Jesus is present with us today; for he has promised, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” His presence insures a blessing; but blessings do not always consist in a happy flight of feeling. The greatest blessing we can have is a correct knowledge of ourselves, that we may see our defects of character, and by divine grace remedy them.
2 We can never graduate in the school of Christ, but we should make continual advancement. We should never be satisfied with our present position and attainments. Like the apostle, we should “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” and day by day grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. Are we doing this? Are we nearer to God today than we were a year ago? What a change there would be in our religious experience, what a transformation in our characters, if day by day we carried out the principle that we are not our own, but that our time and talents belong to God, and every faculty should be used to do his will and advance his glory. If we spent all our spare moments in work for the Redeemer, in searching the Scriptures, and in pleading with God to be imbued with his Spirit, what precious victories we should gain for Jesus!
3 We should study the Bible more that we may become familiar with the promises of God; then when Satan comes in, flooding the soul with his temptations, as he surely will, we may meet him with, “It is written.” We may be shut in by the promises of God, which will be as a wall of fire about us. We want to know how to exercise faith. Faith “is the gift of God,” but the power to exercise it is ours. If faith lies dormant, it is no advantage to us; but in exercise, it holds all blessings in its grasp. It is the hand by which the soul takes hold of the strength of the Infinite. It is the medium by which human hearts, renewed by the grace of Christ, are made to beat in harmony with the great Heart of love. Faith plants itself on the promises of God, and claims them as surety that he will do just as he said he would. Jesus comes to the sinful, helpless, needy soul, and says, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Believe; claim the promises, and praise God that you do receive the things you have asked of him, and when your need is greatest, you will experience his blessing and receive special help.
4 Many know so little of faith that when they have asked God for his help and blessing, they look to themselves to see if their prayer is answered; and if they have a happy flight of feeling, they are satisfied. This is not faith, but unbelief. We should trust God, whether we experience any change of feeling or not. We cannot expect to be very joyful and hopeful while we look to ourselves; for we must think of self as sinful. A large class of the professed Christian world are watching their feelings; but feeling is an unsafe guide, and those who depend upon it are in danger of imbibing heresy. Satan can move upon our feelings, and he can so arrange surrounding circumstances as to make our feelings changeable. Victory in God is not feeling, but faith. It is the faith that will not yield although there are seeming impossibilities to be encountered.
5 If I were to promise one of you a book tomorrow morning, what kind of respect would you show me if you were to respond by saying, “I wish I could believe you; but I will not believe until I have the book in my hand. When I get the book, I will believe.” Would that be trusting my word? Oh, no! When you have the book in your possession, it is sight, and not faith at all. But this is just the way we treat our heavenly Father. We insult and dishonor him by our distrust, and are kept at a distance from him, and deprived of the rich blessings within our reach, by our wicked unbelief and ingratitude. We may have daily victories; but we lose the most precious gifts that Heaven can bestow because we will not take God at his word. When I am sick and afflicted, and ask for help, I do not sit in my room and wait for this help to come to me. I go forward in the path of humble obedience, expecting the Lord to answer my prayers, and sustain and bless me in doing the work that duty requires. Although all may seem dark, I place myself in the channel of light. What have I to do with feelings of darkness and discouragement? What have I to be troubled about? Faith can penetrate the darkest cloud. God has promised, and he will not fail me. It is no difficult, mysterious problem to believe. We take Jesus at his word; we come to him with all our burdens and our soul needs, and, according to his promise, find in him a helper and a strong deliverer.
6 There is a deep, rich, and full experience for us individually to gain. We shall every one of us be tested and tried. We have a rough pathway before us; but Jesus has traveled this way, and he knows just how to help us. Faith lightens our burdens and relieves our weariness by the anticipation of Heaven at our journey’s end. Faith rejoices in hope, and is patient in affliction. Faith waxes strong and valiant in conflict, and conquers in the great fight of temptation. We must have a living faith,—a faith that will hold the soul in the hour of trial; for everything that can be shaken will be. In summer there is no noticeable difference between evergreens and other trees; but when the blasts of winter come, the evergreens are fresh and green, while other trees are stripped of their foliage. Just so it is with professed Christians. When no particular test is brought to bear upon them, we may not be able to distinguish between the true Christian and the hypocrite; but in times of trial and temptation the difference is easily discerned, for the source of the Christian’s strength is made manifest. There are two classes of builders. One class are building on a foundation of sliding sand; the other, on the eternal Rock, and the winds blow and the tempests beat against this foundation in vain.
7 The inquiry in many hearts is, How shall I find happiness? We are not to make it our object to live for happiness, but we shall surely find it in the path of humble obedience. Paul was happy. He affirms repeatedly that notwithstanding the sufferings, conflicts, and trials that he was called to bear, he enjoyed great consolation. He says, “I am filled with comfort; I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.” All the energies of the chiefest of the apostles were bent to a preparation for the future, immortal life; and when the time of his departure was at hand, he could exclaim in holy triumph, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.” And the shout of victory of this warrior of faith has come sounding down the ages to our time.
8 It is one thing to profess the truth, but it is a very different thing to live it out. Many who profess to be keeping the commandments of God are deceiving their own souls. They have no union with Christ, and do not make the truth practical. In their homes, selfishness is interwoven with their daily life. There is manifested a want of refinement, an uncourteous, unkind selfishness. The religion of Jesus should be carried into the home circle, the work-shop, and all the business transactions. The genuine Christian will show in his life the fruits of the Spirit. The love of Jesus will flow out naturally in words and deeds of kindness. Those who yield themselves to the heavenly power, which alone can quell tumultuous passion, will be as angels of peace and blessing in the home circle.
9 Has the truth sanctified the receiver? Is he purer, nobler, better, for believing it? The words and deeds are the fruit which testifies whether the mind of God dwells in us, and we are guided by his law. We shall surely deceive ourselves if we think that because we hold certain Bible doctrines firmly, we actually possess the blessings which these doctrines were designed to bestow. The intellect may accept truth in its noblest form; but if this truth exerts no influence on the life and character, it is of no practical value. On the contrary, it proves a delusion if it quiets the conscience while it does not sanctify the soul. A theory of truth may be a beautiful covering to hide the deformity of a carnal heart. This was the sin of Chorazin and Bethsaida, which called forth the denunciation of Christ: “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.”
10 Jesus is coming. Great and important events are just before us. Are we ready, waiting and watching? Have we on the wedding garment, the robe of Christ’s righteousness? Now is the time to secure this wedding garment. We must make no delay, but open the door of our hearts to the Saviour, who has long stood knocking for admittance. We must be in sympathy with Christ, and, as soldiers of the cross, make personal, interested efforts for the salvation of souls. What a privilege is ours that we may become co-laborers with Christ, and that our efforts may be accepted of God. We may join the conquering army if we will, and may share in its conflicts and its triumphs; but if we refuse, they will move on to final victory, and leave us behind. We each have an account to render at the bar of God, and it is essential for us to cultivate spiritually, to think often of Jesus, and to keep faith alive. Let us ever remember that God sees us. We may say with the psalmist, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” The whole life should be moulded after the divine Pattern, and then we shall see the King in his beauty, and live in his presence through the ceaseless ages of eternity.
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1 “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.”
2 This world is a training-school, and the great object of life should be to obtain a fitness for those glorious mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare. Let us remember that this work of preparation is an individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Each case must bear individual inspection. Each of us must be tested, and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
3 We are living in the great antitypical day of atonement. Jesus is now in the heavenly sanctuary, making reconciliation for the sins of his people, and the judgment of the righteous dead has been going on almost forty years. How soon the cases of the living will come in review before this tribunal we know not; but we do know that we are living in the closing scenes of earth’s history, standing, as it were, on the very borders of the eternal world. It is important that each of us inquire, How stands my case in the courts of Heaven? Will my sins be blotted out? Am I defective in character, and so blinded to these defects by the customs and opinions of the world, that sin does not appear to me to be as exceedingly offensive to God as it really is? It is no time now to allow our minds to be absorbed with the things of earth, while we give only occasional thoughts to God, and make but slight preparation for the country to which we are journeying.
4 In the typical day of atonement, every man was required to afflict his soul before God. He was not to afflict the souls of others, but the work was between God and his own soul. The same work of self-examination and humiliation is required of each of us now; and I entreat you to make thorough work for eternity. “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near.” Precious, golden moments which should be spent in seeking the inward adorning of a meek and quiet spirit, are frittered away in adorning the dress, and in other trifling matters not at all essential to comfort.
5 We should choose the society most favorable to our spiritual advancement, and avail ourselves of every help within our reach; for Satan will oppose many hindrances to make our progress toward Heaven as difficult as possible. We may be placed in trying positions, for many cannot have their surroundings what they would; but we should not voluntarily expose ourselves to influences that are unfavorable to the formation of Christian character. When duty calls us to do this, we should be doubly watchful and prayerful, that, through the grace of Christ, we may stand uncorrupted. Lot chose Sodom as a place of residence, because he looked more to the temporal advantages he would gain than to the moral influences that would surround himself and his family. What did he gain so far as the things of this world are concerned? His possessions were destroyed, part of his children perished in the destruction of that wicked city, his wife was turned to a pillar of salt by the way, and he himself was saved so as by fire. Nor did the evil results of his selfish choice end here; but the moral corruption of the place was so interwoven with the character of his children that they could not distinguish between good and evil, sin and righteousness.
6 It will not answer to follow our own judgment and inclination in choosing our surroundings. We should seek counsel of God, and let him lead. We drive holy angels from our homes, and displease God, when we place ourselves and families in an atmosphere of unbelief. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate,” is his command; and he will not alter his word to suit the convenience of any. Many fail to realize that their physical and mental powers are not their own, to be devoted exclusively to their selfish interest in the accumulation of property. They place themselves in positions favorable for worldly gain, and as a consequence amass wealth; but it is at the expense of their eternal interests. Had they exercised true wisdom, they would have gained less earthly substance, but made sure of a title to the immortal inheritance. Like Lot, they may be stripped of their earthly treasure, and barely save their own souls. Their life-work is lost; their lives are a miserable failure. They are not rich toward God. They have not laid up treasure in the bank of Heaven. Instead, they have laid up treasure on earth, just the thing that Jesus warned them not to do; and their heart is on their treasure, just as he told them it would be. Let us be willing to become pilgrims and strangers here, that we may gain a better country, even a heavenly.
7 The way of the cross is an onward, upward path. As you advance, seeking the things that are above, you will necessarily leave in the distance the things that belong to the world. The conduct and disposition must be in harmony with God’s requirements. We can reach this standard; for he would not enjoin upon us an impossible task. When tempted to speak harshly or impatiently, resist the suggestion of the adversary. Do not gratify him by speaking his words, or manifesting the spirit which pleases him. The truth that commends itself to your conscience will consume and destroy, or it will sanctify and transform the soul. The word of God is our guide and counselor. We must have it in our heart; for the heart is the mainspring of action. By becoming familiar with the words of life, we shall be able to use them skillfully in our warfare against Satan. While the hands are engaged in labor, the soul may receive rich comfort from the promises of God.
8 “Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price.” Your physical and mental powers belong to God, and should be used in his service. There are souls to save; there is earnest work to be done for the Master; and half-hearted, indolent efforts will not be accepted. As faithful servants, we should inquire, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Send me any way, with any message of mercy thou shalt choose.” No longer rob God of the service that belongs to him, but yield your powers to be controlled by his spirit. You need the transforming grace of Christ; you need his fashioning hand laid upon you, that your wills, and even your thoughts, may be brought into subjection to the will of God.
9 We must learn to pray without ceasing. Wherever we are, our thoughts may be a prayer to God. Nehemiah, standing before the idolatrous king, was of a sad countenance as he thought of the city of his fathers’ sepulchers lying waste. And when the king, learning the cause of his sadness, asked him, “For what dost thou make request?” he did not venture to reply until he had first darted a petition to the living God, the God of wisdom and grace. Nehemiah felt that he had a sacred trust to fulfill which required help from the king, and everything depended upon addressing him in a right manner and striking the right chord. In that brief prayer, Nehemiah pressed into the presence of the King of kings, and enlisted on his side a power that can turn hearts as the rivers of water are turned. And he says, “The king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me.” The Lord moved upon the heart of the king, and Nehemiah received greater favors than he had dared to hope for.
10 Nehemiah could not thus readily have found access to God, had he not been accustomed to prayer, and to dependence upon divine strength. We have the same source of help. In the affairs of daily life, in business transactions, and when brought into unexpected difficulties, we too may telegraph our silent petitions to the God of Heaven, and receive aid. All Heaven is interested in our welfare; every provision has been made for us to gain strength. We have everything to make us thankful and glad. Then let us not talk of our weakness and discouragements, but build one another up by our words of courage and faith.
11 We are living in an important and eventful age. We are almost home. Soon the many mansions that our Saviour has gone to prepare, will burst upon our sight. Let us shake off the stupor that oppresses us. Let us study the Bible more, that we may know for ourselves the great landmarks we are passing. We need deeper draughts from the well of Bethlehem, that we may refresh our own souls and refresh others. We should be more earnest and persevering to save those with whom we associate. This work rests not alone upon ministers; every one who has named the name of Christ should be a co-laborer with him. Why do we not show the unconverted that we love them? Why do not our tongues speak in words of affectionate entreaty to win them to Christ? Why do we not oftener speak words of praise and gratitude to God for the rich and abundant promises he has left on record in his word? We may now have in our hearts joy and peace that is unspeakable and full of glory; and soon, at the coming of Christ, the prize that lies at the end of the Christian race will be ours to enjoy throughout ceaseless ages.
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1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”
2 In this text is shown the difference between the doers of Christ’s word and those who are merely idle hearers. Jesus taught by symbols. He illustrated his lessons by familiar objects in nature, that whenever his hearers should see these objects, the lesson might be suggested to their minds. The lily of the valley, the grass of the field, the springing grain, the singing birds, and even the homely scenes in a fisherman’s life, became silent but impressive preachers of the word of life. A high standard was kept before the disciples. They were taught that a pure faith would purify and ennoble them; and that unless their righteousness should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, they should in no case enter the kingdom of Heaven.
3 Peter, John and Judas are representative men, types of two classes of hearers. They each had the privilege of associating with Christ and learning of him; but how different were the characters they developed! Peter and John were doers of the word, and their lives were molded by the instructions of the Master. Judas also heard his teachings on the very points where he was deficient. The leading traits in the character of Judas were covetousness and self-esteem. Jesus knew of his dishonest practices, and understood the danger to which he was exposed; yet notwithstanding his defects, he was chosen as one of the twelve who were to be intimately associated with the world’s Redeemer. Jesus would give this erring one every opportunity to reform. The light should shine upon his heart; he should see the contrast between truth and error, and decide intelligently between them. Jesus did not openly rebuke him, but gave lessons that he might apply to his own case if he sincerely wished to reform. Selfishness, covetousness, and dishonesty were presented in their true character, so that he could see how offensive these traits were in the sight of God.
4 When the teachings of Christ reproved Peter and John, they were careful to reform. The transforming grace of God was in their hearts. Their minds expanded, and day by day they grew more like the divine Teacher. Judas, on the contrary, was proud, self-sufficient, and independent. Although enjoying the exalted privilege of being closely connected with Christ, the words of life found no lodgment in his heart; and he went on from one degree of unbelief to another until his character was firmly fixed in the wrong direction. He might have had the wisdom that comes from above to guide him into all truth; but he rejected the counsel of God, and the evil he had cherished gained an overmastering influence, bringing soul and body into subjection to the cruel power of Satan.
5 Judas had excellent traits of character, and might have been a great blessing to the church had he been steadfast, and resisted temptation; but he was treasurer, and this position gave him an opportunity to practice dishonesty. Had he been humble and teachable, he would have set about the work of reform when his conscience was awakened, and he saw the sinfulness of his course. But he sinned against light and knowledge; and instead of being softened and subdued by the lessons of Christ, his heart became harder and more unimpressible.
6 We may learn an important lesson from the experience of Judas. We may be called disciples of Christ; we may hold our religious convictions firmly, and be able to present clear, connected arguments in their support; and yet, like Judas, we may hold the truth in unrighteousness. If we would be sanctified through the truth, we must hold it in the love and fear of God. It is a duty we owe to ourselves to cultivate self-reliance and independence of character; but these traits must be blended with meekness and humility. When we trust to our own wisdom and judgment, as a large number do, we are in the sure path to shame and confusion of face. It is only through divine grace that we can overcome the defects in our character; but unless we make continued efforts to subdue them, they will become stronger, as in the case of Judas. Every indulgence in sin prepares the way for renewed and excessive indulgence, until at last the tempter has full control of the mind.
7 After God has shown individuals their sins and given them grace to overcome, and his Spirit has been long striving with them, he will not work a miracle to prevent the sure result of resisting that Spirit and persisting in a wrong course. There is a boundary to his grace and mercy; and when this boundary is passed, the aid of his Spirit, so wickedly refused and insulted, is withdrawn, and the soul is given over to the worst of tyrants,—the power of a perverted will. If we are closely connected with sacred things, and yet do not realize their importance, the heart will become so hard that the most earnest appeals will not move it to contrition. We must cherish every ray of light. We must work intelligently to form our characters after the divine model, continually striving, with all the powers God has given us, to reach the high standard set before us in his word.
8 Testimonies are borne in these meetings that the truth is precious, the truth is everything. So it is; but the truth is nothing to any of us unless we are sanctified through it. Has its influence made you better men and women? Has it improved your life and character? Unless the truth is accomplishing the object for which it is designed in transforming you into the image of Christ, it were better if you had never professed to believe it; for you will mislead others. The salvation of our own souls and the souls of those with whom we associate is of the first importance, while the things of this life are secondary; but Satan is ever scheming to reverse this order, and interpose the world between the soul and its eternal interests.
9 Many do not exalt the truth, but degrade it by their unchristian course. They neglect to improve the privilege given them to become acquainted with Christ and his love. This knowledge is a sure defense; but whatever tends to draw the mind from the love of Jesus, whether it be the deceitful heart within or an ensnaring world without, is of Satan, and will bring darkness and death.
10 Some who are present this morning must know that they have uncorrected faults which they are excusing and cherishing. Dear brethren and sisters, you cannot have a more favorable time to confess these faults one to another and pray one for another, than in this meeting. Jesus is present; but evil angels are here also to preoccupy the field. They will endeavor to gain an entrance to the heart by suggesting doubts, so that no permanent good impressions shall be made. Shall we allow them to have the victory? We see how it was with Judas. One neglect to heed the words of Christ prepared the way for another. The first neglect was a seed which produced its harvest in resistance to the Spirit of God; and with each admonition that he slighted, he became less inclined to appreciate and cherish the lessons that gave him a knowledge of himself.
11 God sends messages of instruction, of reproof, of warning. Do not flatter yourself that he does not denounce the particular sins that you love. Do not imagine that by some means you can enter into life without being free from moral pollution. If we would live with Jesus in the mansions that he has gone to prepare, we must be like him here in this world. We must be diligent to set our hearts in order. Let us greatly fear self-deception. Let us cover up nothing, but be true to our own souls. Let us study to have the meekness and humility of Christ. An opportunity is now afforded us to become pure in heart and spotless in character. Though the enemy presses in his temptations, coming in upon us like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. We may find a present help in Jesus; but we must seek this help through earnest, persevering prayer. In the closet, in the family circle, as we walk the streets, and while our hands engage in labor, we may pray, and the Lord will hear us.
12 There is no excuse for continuing in sin. No man is obliged to do evil, and be lost. Every one who perishes destroys his own soul. The provisions of grace are ample. Jesus is pleading in our behalf, and there is mercy for even the most guilty and sinful. Let us take hold of the strength of Jesus. He loves us with a love that is inexpressible; let us respond to that love.
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1 “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end; that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
2 The Lord looks with approval upon the works of his faithful servants. He says of the church of Ephesus, “I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience;” for my name’s sake thou “hast labored, and hast not fainted.” But while he takes account of faithful service, he is no less exact to mark neglect of duty or its unwilling performance. It has always been the duty of God’s chosen people to labor unselfishly; but some neglect the work they ought to do, and others are overburdened to make up for their deficiencies. If all would cheerfully do their part, they would be sustained; but those who complain and murmur at every step will receive neither help nor reward.
3 God was displeased with the children of Israel because they murmured against him, and against Moses, whom he had sent to be their deliverer. In a marvelous manner he brought them out from their bondage in the land of Egypt, that he might elevate and ennoble them, and make them a praise in the earth. But there were difficulties to be encountered, and weariness and privations to be endured. It was necessary for them to bear these hardships. God was bringing them from a state of degradation, and fitting them to occupy an honorable place among the nations, and to receive important and sacred trusts.
4 They did not consider that they were receiving everything that was of value. They forgot their bitter service in Egypt. They forgot the goodness and power of God displayed in their behalf in their deliverance from bondage. They forgot how their children were spared when the destroying angel passed over Egypt. They forgot the grand exhibition of divine power at the Red Sea, when Jehovah proclaimed, “Here shall thy proud waves be stayed,” and the waters were rolled together, forming a solid wall. They forgot that while they had crossed safely in the path that had been opened for them, the armies of their enemies, attempting to follow them, were overwhelmed by the waters of the sea. They only saw and felt their present inconveniences and trials; and instead of saying, “God has done great things for us; whereas we were slaves, he is making of us a great nation,” they talked of the hardness of the way, and wondered when their weary pilgrimage would end.
5 We are exhorted not to murmur as they murmured. But many whom God has permitted to become co-laborers with him, perhaps has even exalted to high positions of trust, forget that he is specially honoring them. They are weary, and they make themselves miserable by letting their minds constantly dwell upon their weariness. They torment themselves with fears, forebodings, morbid fancies, and borrowed troubles; and, forgetting the goodness and mercy of God, they pass many sad hours complaining of the trials they have to bear. They become so gloomy that no circumstances, however favorable, can make them happy, for the spirit of happiness is not in them.
6 God does not bind upon any one burdens so heavy that at every step he must complain of the load he is obliged to bear. It is the friction, and not the constant motion that wears the machinery. It is the continual worry, and not the work they do, that is killing these persons. They covet some blessing, either real or imaginary, which is just beyond their reach; but if they were to gain this cherished object, it would only excite a desire for something else. The present is clouded because they under-value the good that they enjoy. They look away from the honors they possess that they have not earned, and the love that they have not merited, and want to stand a little higher. They cherish the disagreeable, and by their thoughts and conversation, excite a nervous irritability which lies at the foundation of a diseased imagination and real suffering. God does not propose to work a miracle for this class. He is not pleased or glorified when his sons and daughters, members of the royal family, take this course; for they neither enjoy rest and peace in his love themselves nor permit others to do so.
7 Let none of us think that our work is greater and more taxing than any others are doing. This same work has been done in the past, and can be done again. God is not dependent on any of us; and as soon as we flatter ourselves that his work will not move forward without us, that our labor is of such consequence that it cannot be dispensed with, then he will show us our mistake and folly. He can work by few or by many. He can take men in humble positions, and educate them to become light-bearers in the world. Let us who are honored of God by having a connection with his work, feel our own littleness, and the great honor the Lord bestows upon us in accepting us as his co-laborers. “When one asked a noted philosopher what the great God was doing, he replied, ‘His whole employment is to lift up the humble, and to cast down the proud.’”
8 Sometimes the spirit of fretting and complaining invades the domestic circle. The will may be crossed in little things which a person of a cheerful spirit would scarcely notice; but the fretter is annoyed and chafed as though he had suffered an aggravated grievance, and the passionate reproaches he utters against the person, who, he thinks, has committed some blunder, are scarcely less sinful than swearing. He does not consider that he makes more grievous mistakes every day. Men and women who fret and chafe will lose the affections of their friends, for they are forever stinging some one. Whatever their position, however exalted their profession, they can have no decided influence for good until they remedy this defect. They have complained long enough to test the matter, and prove that complaints do not make them any happier or their way any easier.
9 The complainer dwells in an atmosphere of gloom and doubt. Instead of healing difficulties, he irritates them; instead of repairing evils, he creates them. Those who have tact in governing their families or controlling the minds of men, are generally calm, prompt, resolute. They show no weak selfishness; but they have a strong, uncomplaining spirit, and are always ready to speak a kind, encouraging word.
10 Wherever in the providence of God we may be placed, whatever the work that is given us to do, God is honored by whole-hearted, cheerful service. He is pleased when we take up our work with gratitude, rejoicing that he has accounted us worthy to be co-laborers with him. None need be idlers; for all around us there is earnest work to be done. The Christian rule of service is, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” God will help those who are “not slothful in business,” but “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;” and through faith and patience they will “inherit the promises.”
11 There is peace and contentment in the service of Christ. As he was about to leave his disciples, he made them this parting promise,—a promise that has been fulfilled to his faithful ones through all the ages,—”Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you.” He invites, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” It is the want of this meekness and lowliness of heart that causes so much unrest and uneasiness, so much perplexity and fear, so many imaginary ills.
12 Make it a rule to refrain from fretting, and offer praise to God. We are not obliged to carry our burdens in our own strength. If we have Jesus for our helper, we may say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” Jesus has promised, “My grace is sufficient for you.” There is a transforming power in love. When the love of God rules in the heart, it brings all our powers into obedience to his will, and enlists them in willing, active service.
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1 Many who are sincerely seeking for holiness of heart and purity of life are perplexed and discouraged. They are constantly looking to themselves, and lamenting their lack of faith; and because of this lack, they feel that they cannot claim the blessing of God. These persons mistake feeling for faith. They look away from the simplicity of true faith, and thus bring great darkness upon their souls. Instead of thinking of self, they should train their minds to dwell upon the mercy and goodness of God. They should recount his promises, believing that he will fulfill his word. When we repent of our past transgressions of his law, and resolve to render obedience in the future, we should believe that God for Christ’s sake accepts us, and forgives our sins.
2 At times a deep sense of our unworthiness will send a thrill of terror through the soul; but this is no evidence that God has changed toward us, or we toward him. We may not feel today the peace and joy which we felt yesterday; but by faith we should grasp the hand of Christ, and trust him as fully in the darkness as in the light. No effort should be made to rein the mind up to an intensity of emotion; but we should faithfully perform every duty, and then calmly rest in the promises of God.
3 Satan may whisper, “You are too great a sinner for Christ to save.” But while you acknowledge that you are sinful and unworthy, meet the tempter with the cry, “By virtue of the atonement I claim Jesus as my Saviour. I trust not to my own merits, but to the precious blood of Christ, which cleanses me. This moment I hang my helpless soul on him.”
4 Be not discouraged because your heart seems hard. Every obstacle, every internal foe, only increases your need of Christ. He came to take away the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh. Look to him for grace to overcome your special faults, to put away every darling sin.
5 If we would permit our minds to dwell more upon Christ and the heavenly world, we should find a powerful stimulus and support in our warfare against sin. By faith we may look upon the crowns laid up for those who shall overcome; we may listen to the exultant song of the redeemed: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power;” “for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.” Pride and love of the world will lose their power as we contemplate the infinite love of Christ, and the glories of that better land so soon to be our home.
6 An unyielding trust, a firm reliance upon Christ, will bring peace and joy to the soul. But let none imagine that without earnest effort on their part they can retain the assurance of God’s love. When the mind has been long permitted to dwell only on earthly things, it is a difficult matter to change the habits of thought. That which the eye sees and the ear hears, too often attracts the attention and absorbs the interest. But if we would enter the city of God, and look upon Jesus in his glory, we must become accustomed to beholding him with the eye of faith here. The words and character of Christ should be often the subject of our thoughts and our conversation; and each day some time should be especially devoted to prayerful meditation upon these sacred themes.
7 Let none deceive themselves with the belief that God will accept and bless them while they are trampling upon one of his requirements. The willful commission of a known sin silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit, and separates the soul from God. Jesus cannot abide in the heart that disregards the divine law. God will honor those only who honor him.
8 “To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are.” If we indulge anger, lust, covetousness, hatred, selfishness, or any other sin, we become servants of sin. “No man can serve two masters.” If we serve sin, we cannot serve Christ. The Christian will feel the promptings of sin; but he will keep up a constant warfare against it. Here is where Christ’s help is needed. Human weakness becomes united to divine strength, and faith exclaims, “Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
9 The Christian life must be a life of constant progression. Peter sets before us the successive steps, in these words: “Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus.” “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
10 Here is a course by which we may be assured that we shall never fall. Those who are thus working upon the plan of addition in obtaining the Christian graces, have the assurance that God will work upon the plan of multiplication in granting them the gifts of his Spirit. Says Peter, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
11 Our Saviour claims all there is of us; he asks our first and holiest thoughts, our purest and most intense affection. His love is infinitely more tender and self-denying than a mother’s love. The price paid for our ransom testifies to his estimation of the value of the human soul. Then what ingratitude do we manifest when we withhold from him our affections and our service. Is it too much to give ourselves, our time and talents, to Him who has sacrificed all for us? Can we choose the friendship of the world before the immortal honors which Christ proffers,—”to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father on his throne”?
12 The apostle Paul was highly honored of God; in holy vision he looked upon scenes whose glories he was not permitted to reveal. Yet this did not lead him to boastfulness or self-confidence. He realized the importance of constant watchfulness and self-denial. “I keep my body under,” he says, “and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
13 Paul suffered for the truth’s sake; and yet we hear no complaint from his lips. As he reviews his life of toil and care and sacrifice, he says, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” The shout of victory from God’s faithful servant comes down the line to our time: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
14 Though Paul was at last confined in a Roman prison, shut away from the light and air of heaven, cut off from his active labors in the gospel field, and momentarily expecting to be condemned to death, he did not yield to doubt or despondency. From that gloomy dungeon came his dying testimony, full of a sublime faith and courage that has inspired the hearts of saints and martyrs in all succeeding ages: “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
15 The glorious reward that awaits this hero of faith,—a crown of righteousness, and eternal life in the presence of God,—may be won by each of us. Jesus and holy angels are waiting to give us the help we need. Every prayer sent up in faith from an honest heart will be heard, and the petitioner will have his request when he needs the blessing most. Sometimes we ask for things that are not for our own good or the glory of God. When this is so, our wise and good Father hears our prayers, but gives us nothing hurtful. He will guide our feet. By divine grace, all who will may climb the shining steps from earth to Heaven, and at last, “with songs and everlasting joy,” enter through the gates into the city of God.
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1 “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
2 These texts describe the happy state of him whose soul is rooted and grounded in Christ. But there is always danger of being satisfied with a superficial work; there is always danger that souls will not anchor themselves in God, but be content to drift hither and thither, the sport of Satan’s temptations. “Enter ye in at the strait gate,” says Christ, “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” The work of the Spirit of God in the heart will develop true penitence, which will not end with confession, but will work a decided reformation in the daily life. There will be manifested an earnestness, a perseverance, and a determination that can be properly represented by agonizing. Many professed Christians greatly need just this experience.
3 Are you beginning to see the defects in your character? Do not feel helpless and discouraged. Look to Jesus, who knows your every weakness and pities your every infirmity. He came “not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” It is no disgrace to confess our sins and forsake them. The disgrace rests upon those who know their sins, but continue in them, and grieve the dear Saviour by their crooked paths. A knowledge of our wrongs should be more highly prized than a happy flight of feeling; for it is evidence that the Spirit of God is striving with us and that angels are round about us. Let the heart-searching work go forward; let it be deep and earnest, until every barrier is removed, and your heart is opened to welcome the messenger of pardon and peace, that has long been waiting to bring light and joy and gladness. In true contrition for sin, come to the foot of the cross, and there leave your burdens; come exercising repentance toward God because you have broken his law, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ to pardon your transgressions and reconcile you to the Father. Believe what God says; take his promises to your heart.
4 It is Christian’s privilege to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” See the weary traveler toiling over the hot sands of the desert, with no shelter to protect him from the rays of a tropical sun. His water supply fails, and he has nothing to slake his burning thirst. His tongue becomes swollen; he staggers like a drunken man. Visions of home and friends pass before his mind, as he believes himself ready to perish in the terrible desert. Suddenly those in advance send forth a shout of joy. In the distance, looming up out of the dreary, sandy waste, is a palm tree, green and flourishing. Hope quickens his pulses. That which gives vigor and freshness to the palm tree, will cool the fevered pulses, and give life to those who are perishing with thirst.
5 As the palm tree, drawing nourishment from fountains of living water, is green and flourishing in the midst of the desert, so the Christian may draw rich supplies of grace from the fountain of God’s love, and may guide weary souls, that are full of unrest and ready to perish in the desert of sin, to those waters of which they may drink, and live. The Christian is ever pointing his fellow-men to Jesus, who invites, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” This fountain never fails us; we may draw, and draw again.
6 We may individually have an experience of the greatest value. The fact that iniquity abounds, that we are surrounded by infidels and skeptics, or by professed Christians who have a name to live, and are dead, is no reason why one of us should be swept away by the current toward perdition. Because there is an almost universal forsaking of God, there is the greater need that we stand firm and loyal. Says Christ, “Ye are the light of the world.” We must gather the divine rays from the Sun of Righteousness, and reflect them to the world. In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, we must show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
7 Nothing but a deep personal experience will enable us to stand the test of the trials and temptations we shall meet in the Christian warfare. Too often we feel well when everything goes smoothly; but when doubts assail the soul, and Satan whispers his suggestions, our defense is gone, and we yield quickly to the arts of the tempter, with scarcely an effort to resist and repulse him. It is not enough to have good impulses. The soul must be barricaded by prayer and study of the Scriptures. Armed with these weapons, Jesus encountered our wily foe on the field of battle, and overcame him. We may all conquer in his strength; but it will not answer for us to suppose that we can dispense with his help. He says, “Without me ye can do nothing.” But no truly humble soul who walks in the light as Christ is in the light, will be ensnared by Satan’s deceptive devices.
8 All self-confidence, all boasting, all pride of talent, must be yielded, and the soul must fall broken on the Rock Christ Jesus. Those who have a proud spirit, and feel that they are capable of doing a great work, will be left to their own weak strength, to fall into grievous sins. They do not realize what a pure, virtuous, and holy character they must possess if they would stand without fault before the throne of God. Self must be crucified. There must be a thorough transformation of character. The clear, sharp testimony of living truth will separate the wheat from the chaff, the half-hearted from the humble and devoted.
9 There never was a time of greater danger to the church than the present, and many will not be true to their own souls. They will not be sanctified through the truth. They have lamps, but no oil in their vessels to replenish them, and their light goes out in darkness. Eli and his sons trusted to the ark, the symbol of the divine presence, while they were transgressing the holy law enshrined in the ark, and their sins were separating them from God. As a consequence of their presumption, both the sons of Eli were slain, and God permitted the ark to pass into the hands of the enemies of his people. Some in our day are making a similar mistake in trusting to their profession while they are transgressing the holy requirements of God’s law. Such are asleep to their true condition.
10 The apostle Paul exhorts careless and unconcerned professors: “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Christ, the True Witness, would break the slumbers of his ease-loving people. His voice is heard addressing them: “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” I will not take your names into my lips, for you are unworthy. I am ashamed to call you brethren. “Be zealous therefore, and repent.” “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
11 Our only safety is in Christ. “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Those who enter Heaven will not scale its walls by their own righteousness, nor will the gates be opened to them for costly offerings of gold and silver; but they will gain an entrance to the many mansions of the Father’s house through the merits of the cross of Christ. Jesus is the ladder by which every soul must mount who would climb from earth to Heaven. But there is round after round of painful ascent; for our characters must be brought into harmony with the law of God, and every advance step in this direction requires self-denial.
12 The prize before us will amply repay every effort that we make to gain it. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” “As the days of a tree,” says the Lord through his prophet, shall be “the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. “ As by an eye of faith we view the glories of that better land, the saints’ everlasting inheritance, we rejoice, clinging to the merits of our crucified Redeemer. Love kindles in our hearts toward Him “who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,” and faith grasps the promise, “How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Thus Jesus becomes the medium of communication between Heaven and our souls, and holy angels are sent to minister unto us. And while these divine messengers are striving to lead sinners to plant their feet on the ladder that extends from earth to Heaven, let us be co-laborer’s with them, and urge all who will to climb the shining way.
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1 “Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,” is the exhortation of Paul to his Roman brethren. The first part of this injunction is quoted by many as an excuse for continually overtaxing their mental and physical powers in the pursuit of gain, while they entirely overlook the requirement to be “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
2 No one has a right to load himself down with a multitude of cares. However lawful the business prosecuted may be of itself, however honorably it may be conducted, it must not be allowed to unduly absorb the mind and occupy the time. God will not accept a divided heart. His law requires supreme love to God, and unselfish love to our neighbor. If men and women allow mind and body to be so worn down by constant and excessive labor that this law is disregarded, they commit sin. They are serving other gods before the God of Heaven; for when some other object usurps the devotion that belongs to God, that object becomes an idol; and that to which is given the freshest hours of the day, the closest thought and study, the greatest skill, is that which is dearest and most valued.
3 There will be temptations to worldliness while society is in its present state,—while gold is power, and a man is measured by his wealth and position. Many are fascinated by these alluring temptations. They see that the possession of wealth and honor gives power and influence, and they would rather be ranked among those who enjoy the luxury and position that money gives, than among those who possess true goodness and nobility of character.
4 There are many professed Christians who are selfish and grasping, and who love themselves better than they love God or their neighbor. Often they are even more grasping than those who make no pretensions to godliness. They appear before the world almost entirely in the character of business men, as speculators grasping for worldly gain. They are not known as humble, devoted, self-sacrificing Christians, true-hearted and kind in all the relations of life. The plainest and most positive injunctions of the word of God are deliberately set aside for worldly wisdom and maxims. They say, “God does not expect us to carry strict religious principles into our business affairs. Business is business, and religion is religion, reserved for the church and the Sabbath.”
5 The man who takes this selfish course denies the faith, and strengthens and confirms the ungodly in their impenitence by making them believe that religion is all a pretense. His soul is laid a manacled victim on the altar of mammon. He does not seek “first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” and he cannot claim the promise that all things needful shall be added unto him.
6 Gold is not the standard of judging with God. Jesus asks, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Surely this is an exorbitant price to pay for the fleeting treasures of earth. Success here is terrible failure. He who judges correctly in the light of eternity, calls those who are rich in worldly possessions while they are not rich toward God, poor, wretched, blind, and miserable.
7 Sometimes the family is neglected. Parents do not deal faithfully with the souls committed to their trust. They do not take time to give their little ones the discipline they need to fit them to shine as jewels in the kingdom of God. Morning and evening, by earnest prayer and persevering faith, Christian parents should make a hedge about their children. They should patiently instruct them,—kindly and untiringly teach them how to live in order to please God.
8 Too often parents feel that they have no time for morning and evening prayer. In the morning the workmen must be hurried into the field, that the greatest amount of labor may be performed, and the service of God is not considered essential. They cannot spare a few minutes to be spent in thanksgiving to God for his abundant mercies,—for the blessed sunshine and the showers of rain, which cause vegetation to flourish, and for the guardianship of holy angels. They have no time to offer importunate prayer for divine help and guidance, and for the abiding presence of Jesus in the household. They go forth to labor as the ox or horse goes, without one thought of God or Heaven. They have souls so precious that rather than permit them to be hopelessly lost, the Son of God gave his life to ransom them from the power of the grave; but they have no more appreciation of his great goodness than have the beasts that perish.
9 Dear reader, will you not candidly and prayerfully consider how the moments are passing in your busy life? Remember that God requires your undivided affections, and that it is your duty to love your neighbor as yourself, and to labor unselfishly for his salvation. Your ability, tact, and talent should be employed to induce your fellow-men to enlist in the service of the Redeemer. Reckon up the hours spent in selfish pursuits when they should have been given to better purposes, and see how your account stands in Heaven. Deal honestly and truly with your soul. Have you not long been guilty of robbery toward God,—that God who constantly employs all the agencies of nature to work in your behalf, and who poured out to you all the treasures of Heaven in one gift, that of his own beloved Son?
10 There is no virtue in indolence. The idle are encompassed by as great perils as beset those that are overtaxed with care. While excessive labor destroys physical and mental vigor, do-nothings rust from inaction. “Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,” says the apostle. Here we shall find the straight, safe path, which escapes alike the entanglements of worldliness and the evils resulting from want of occupation.
11 “Why will not men and women pursue a sensible course? They need employment, but should not permit themselves to become surfeited or drunken with the cares of this life. To be surfeited is to be in a feverish state, constantly anxious, hurried, unduly excited. The alcoholic draught deprives a man of reason, so that his actions are wild, inconsistent, and unreasonable. The drunkard does not, with calm judgment, act with reference to his own best interest, neither does the man who, drunken with the spirit of the world, barters eternal interests for the things of time.
12 There are high and holy themes that should engage our attention. We are Christ’s property, the purchase of his blood; and he has work for every one of us. All our skill and energy should not be devoted to worldly pursuits, so that we have no vigor, no clear, sharp intellect, to give to his service. The disobedient and ungrateful, who will not respond to his claims, will in no wise be excused because they did not enlist under his banner. It is the duty of all, by a well ordered life and a godly conversation, to present Christ to the world in his true character, as the self-denying, spotless Lamb of God.
13 Every one has a cherished object of pursuit. The lover of pleasure has an uneasy, restless, unsatisfied desire for enjoyment. He puts God out of his thoughts, and dismisses every duty that is not pleasant. He learns to depend on excitement, and is uneasy without it. His mind is ever on the stretch to invent new amusements and diversions. He drinks in iniquity, and poisons his soul by his unlawful pursuits.
14 The covetous man engages with his whole soul in his chosen enterprise. He may make a success of life so far as this world is able to judge. While many fail, perhaps are even beggared, he may amass wealth; but he is more to be pitied than the victims of his avarice, for he has lost his soul in an effort to grasp shadows.
15 The ambitious man seeks for position, honor, and power. He gains his object, and sinks into the grave. The world applauds him, and calls him a successful man; but, weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, he is pronounced wanting, and it is too late to redeem his failure. He has gratified vanity and chased illusions, and in the books of Heaven eternal loss is put down opposite his name.
16 Thus all have some engrossing object to absorb the mind, and often this cherished object is allowed to separate the soul from God. Jesus is acquainted with the desires of the human heart, and the Bible is given us to direct them into the proper channel. This holy word does not forbid activity; it does not leave men to lead aimless lives; it presents before them objects worthy of their best efforts. The Bible shows the pleasure-seeker the path of peace and joy; it directs the aspirations of the ambitious. If wealth is the object of desire, it unfolds treasures that will never disappoint,—unsearchable riches, imperishable as the throne of the Eternal.
17 The psalmist observed the righteous and the wicked. He saw the difference in their course of conduct, and in the principles that governed them. Of the worldling he says, “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.” But of the righteous he says, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.”
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1 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Ignorance is no excuse for error or sin, when there is every opportunity to know the will of God. A man is traveling, and comes to a place where there are several roads, and a guide-board indicating where each one leads. If he disregards the guide-board, and takes whichever road seems to him to be right, he may be ever so sincere, but will in all probability find himself on the wrong road.
2 God’s word is given us that we may become acquainted with its teachings. We there read that if we do his will, we shall know of the doctrine. Ignorance will not excuse young or old, or release them from the punishment due for the transgression of God’s law, because there is in their hands a faithful presentation of that law and of its principles and its claims. It is not enough to have good intentions; it is not enough to do what a man thinks is right, or what the minister tells him is right. His soul’s salvation is at stake, and he should search the Scriptures for himself. However strong may be his convictions, however confident he may be that the minister knows what is truth, this is not his foundation. He has a chart pointing out every waymark on the heavenward journey, and he ought not to guess at anything, but to know what is truth. He should search the Scriptures on bended knees; morning, noon, and night, prayer should ascend from secret places, and a continual prayer should arise from his heart that God will guide him into all truth.
3 The word of God gives men no liberty to set up a standard of righteousness of their own, as many do who claim to be without sin. They do not compare their characters with the great standard, the law of Jehovah. While they are holy, judged by their own imperfect standard, the Scriptures present them as sinful Pharisees, under the condemnation of the law of God, which they transgress daily. They walk after the imagination of their own heart, and follow their own devices. Yet many of these persons are sincere. They think they are right; for “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Feeling is no criterion for any one; the assertions of men are no evidence of truth. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
4 Men present many theories and doctrines, and this is the reason that so many claim to be sinless while they are transgressors of the law. Should they look into God’s great mirror, they would start back with horror. They would say with Paul, “I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Oh, how many forsake the “Fountain of living waters,” and hew them out “cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” This is a correct representation of the spurious holiness so prevalent in the world today. But God’s way is the humble way of penitence, faith, and obedience, and no human substitute will be accepted. “Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it; thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” But all this vain boasting of holiness is not of God.
5 The Lord declared to ancient Israel, “Ye shall not do . . . . every man what is right in his own eyes;” but ye shall “observe and hear all these words which I command thee.” And he promised them, “if thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments,” he “shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers,” and “thou shalt be blessed above all people.”
6 Will you, dear reader, examine critically the reasons of your faith by the law and the testimony? Satan has many by-paths strewn with tempting flowers, that lead directly to the broad way to death and hell. Our only safety is in the path of obedience. Men cannot follow their own desires, and be right. They not only involve their own souls in ruin, but by their example they imperil others also.
7 God is exact to mark iniquity. Sins of thoughtlessness, negligence, forgetfulness, and even ignorance, have been visited by some of the most wonderfully marked manifestations of his displeasure. Many who have suffered terrible punishment for their sins, might have pleaded as plausibly as do those of today who fall into similar errors, that they meant no harm, and some would even say that they thought they were doing God service; but the light shone on them, and they disregarded it.
8 Let us look at some of the examples found in sacred history. Assisted by his sons, Aaron had offered the sacrifices that God required; and he lifted up his hands and blessed the people. All had been done as God commanded, and he accepted the sacrifice, and revealed his glory in a most remarkable manner; for fire came from the Lord, and consumed the offering upon the altar. The people looked upon this wonderful manifestation of divine power with awe and intense interest. They saw in it a token of his glory and his favor, and they raised a universal shout of praise and adoration, and fell on their faces, as if in the immediate presence of Jehovah.
9 As the prayers and praise of the people were ascending before God, two of the sons of Aaron took each his censer, and burned fragrant incense thereon, to arise as a sweet odor before God. But they had partaken too freely of wine, and used strange fire, contrary to the Lord’s commandment. And the wrath of God was kindled against Nadab and Abihu for their disobedience, and a fire went out from the Lord, and devoured them in the sight of the people. By this judgment God designed to teach the people that they must approach him with reverence and awe, and in his own appointed manner. He is not pleased with partial obedience. It was not enough that in this solemn season of worship nearly everything was done as he commanded.
10 The Lord sent Samuel to King Saul with a special message. “Go,” he said, “and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” Saul was faithful and zealous in performing a part of his commission. He smote the Amalekites with a great slaughter; but he took the proposition of the people before the command of God, and spared Agag, the king, and “the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good.”
11 The Lord commanded Saul to “utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.” The Lord knew that this wicked nation would, if it were possible, blot out his people and his worship from the earth; and for this reason he had commanded that even the little children should be cut off. But Saul had spared the king, the most wicked and merciless of them all; one who had hated and destroyed the people of God, and whose influence had been strongest to promote idolatry.
12 Saul thought he had done all that was essential of that which the Lord commanded him to do. Perhaps he even flattered himself that he was more merciful than his Maker, as do some unbelievers in our day. He met Samuel with the salutation, “Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” But when the prophet asked what meant the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen which he heard, Saul was obliged to confess that the people had taken of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord in Gilgal.
13 Did the Lord accept this justification of Saul’s conduct? Was he pleased with this partial obedience, and willing to pass over the trifle that had been neglected out of so good a motive? Saul did what he thought was best, and would not the Lord commend such excellent judgment? No. Said Samuel, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
14 These instances show how God looks upon his professed people when they obey part of his commandments while in other respects they follow a course of their own choosing. Let no one flatter himself that a part of God’s requirements are nonessential. He has placed no command in his word that men may obey or disobey at will, and not suffer the consequences. If men choose any other path than that of strict obedience, they will find that “the end thereof are the ways of death.”
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1 Says the psalmist, “The law of the Lord is perfect.” It is also changeless, the standard of righteousness, or right-doing, through all the ages. It is “the perfect law of liberty;” hence the happiness of man as well as the glory of God demand that it be respected and obeyed.
2 God has highly honored his holy law. The ark of the testament, containing the law engraven on tables of stone, was the symbol of his presence with his people. This sacred ark was interwoven with the national history of the Israelites as well as with their religious faith. It was with them in their wanderings in the wilderness; and when the people passed over Jordan to take possession of the promised land, by the command of God the ark was borne by the priests into the midst of the river, and there remained until all Israel had passed over in the path that through the favor of God had been opened for them. It was often borne by the armies of Israel as a token that God was with his people, and made their cause his own. When this was the case, their enemies were terrified; for they knew that nothing could stand before the mighty God of Israel. But if they transgressed that law, they forfeited the divine protection, and were delivered into the hands of their enemies.
3 In consequence of the wickedness of the people, and because they rashly carried the emblem of his presence into the camp when the Lord was not with them, God gave the children of Israel into the hands of their enemies, the Philistines, and the ark was taken. But the heathen were not permitted to regard the sacred ark of God as a common thing. Dagon, their god, was humbled before it; and in every city where the ark was taken, the people were sorely afflicted. And the Philistines said, “The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.”
4 “The Philistines called for the priests and diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? Tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.” These men counseled the people not to send the ark away empty, but to return a trespass offering with it. Said they: “Ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel; peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart.” And the Philistines did so; and they put the ark in the new cart, with the jewels of gold for a trespass offering in a coffer beside it.
5 The kine came with a straight course to Bethshemesh on the borders of Israel, and the men of Bethshemesh offered them as an offering unto the Lord. But when the Israelites, from motives of idle curiosity, looked familiarly into the ark, fifty thousand of them were slain for their rashness. The ark was then taken to Kirjath-jearim, and remained many years in the house of Abinadab.
6 Then came King David, with thirty thousand chosen men of Israel, to bring it to his own city, with music and rejoicing, with great display and with signal honors. The ark was carried in a new cart; and when they came to a rough place in the road, Uzzah put forth his hand to steady it. God had commanded that no hand but that of a consecrated priest should touch the sacred repository of his law, and special ceremonies of purification and preparation were enjoined; but Uzzah touched it with sinful, unhallowed hand, and was slain before the Lord. “And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?” And he left the ark in the house of Obed-edom; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household because of the ark.
7 Thus God guarded with jealous care the ark that contained his holy law, that all might be deeply impressed with the sacred character of that law. It is no wonder that as the people witnessed the judgments inflicted upon those who despised the law of God or treated it with disrespect, they exclaimed, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?” The law was ordained unto life, and is an expression of the love of God to man. To despise it is to despise its Author; for it partakes of the perfection of the divine character. To the transgressor it becomes, not a savor of life unto life, but of death unto death. Jesus magnified the law and made it honorable, by dying to satisfy its claims. He gave his life an offering for transgressions, that through his righteousness imputed to them, men might be reconciled to God, and escape the punishment due to disobedience.
8 And yet the law of God is almost universally despised and trampled upon, while human laws are exalted. There is a power that is called in the Scriptures the man of sin, that has thought to change this great standard of righteousness. He has torn the fourth commandment from the bosom of the decalogue, and in place of God’s holy Sabbath has substituted one of his own invention. Those who accept this spurious Sabbath do great dishonor to the God of Heaven, and their offense is greatly exaggerated when they not only break the law themselves, but endeavor to lead others to disregard it also.
9 The Lord has specified that the seventh day is his Sabbath. “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” But a human institution has been made to take the place of the divine; another day has supplanted God’s holy, sanctified rest-day. The Christian church accept this day in place of the one God has chosen, and present it to the world to be observed and reverenced. They thus show that they do not love the law of God, nor prize its righteous, restraining influence.
10 God has laid down the conditions of salvation. He requires that men keep his commandments as obedient children. The Holy Scriptures are full of lessons showing that God is satisfied with no partial obedience. He does not leave men to rely on their human judgment, and select that portion of his law which they choose to obey. They are required to have correct views of duty. They are not at liberty to accept what ignorant, sinful, feeble man may suggest, believe, or urge upon them; but they must take God’s word, and walk in accordance with his revealed will.
11 God has given men reason, and the noblest use to which the intellectual faculties can be put is the study of his word. And when through diligent and prayerful application the will of God has been discerned, nothing should be allowed to come in between God and the soul to swerve it from the path of strict obedience. No suggestions of propriety, no motives of expediency, no selfish desire for gain, no fear of loss, dishonor, or reproach, should be considered for a moment. God commands, and that is enough. The light shines, and it is our duty to walk in it. If men substitute human customs and traditions for the precepts of God’s law, and proclaim to the world that that law, or any part of that law, is no longer in force, however honest they may be, they are under the condemnation of the law, and will perish as transgressors.
12 If you accept unpopular truth, ministers may say, “You are too particular. In order to have influence with the world, you must do as the world does.” But such men are acting as mouth-piece for Satan. They are preaching a doctrine that pleases him well. No authority of church or State, no decrees of kings or emperors, no commands of bishops or priests, can absolve you from obedience to the law of God, or justify the least departure from his requirements. Finite reasoning must not take the place of simple trust; self-will must not lead us in a course of disobedience.
13 Do not let the words of men who profess to be wise in the Scriptures deter you from searching them for yourself, or keep you back from obeying the precepts of Jehovah. Do not harbor the thought that some of the things taught in the Bible are nonessential. “To the law and to the testimony” for proof. The problems of duty and destiny become clear only when studied in the light of God’s revealed will. Amid the devices of Satan to which we are exposed, and the varied temptations that surround us, we have the sure promise of divine guidance. “Thy word,” says David, “is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
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1 “And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven.” Genesis 28:10-17.
2 Jacob was not perfect in character. He sinned against his father, his brother, his own soul, and against God. Inspiration faithfully records the faults of good men, those who were distinguished by the favor of God; indeed, their faults are much more fully transcribed than their virtues. They were compassed with infirmities; they were assaulted by temptations, and were often overcome by them; but they were willing to learn in the school of Christ. Were these characters presented before us as faultless, it would tend to discourage us in our strivings after righteousness. We should not take pleasure in the faults of others; but it may give us courage to know that men of like passions with ourselves have fought the good fight of faith, and bruised Satan under their feet. The record of their lives may serve as a warning to us. It shows that God will by no means clear the guilty. He sees sin in his most favored ones, and he punishes them even more decidedly than those who have less light and responsibility. But in contrast with the sins and errors of humanity there is presented one perfect character,—that of the Son of God, who clothed his divinity with humanity, and walked a man among the children of men. He is our Pattern, pure, sinless, and undefiled.
3 Jacob obtained by fraud the blessing designed for his brother. God had promised him the birthright, and the promise would have been fulfilled in good time had he been willing to wait. But like many who now profess to be the children of God, he lacked faith, and thought he must do something himself, instead of submissively leaving the matter in the hands of the Lord. As a result, he was a fugitive from his father’s house, hurrying for fear of his life from the rage of his brother, Esau.
4 As he pursued his lonely way, he was greatly cast down and discouraged. He feared that through his own rash course he had lost the blessing God designed to give him, and that his opportunity was gone forever; and Satan was ready to take advantage of his depression and press in his temptations. Yet God did not utterly forsake Jacob. His mercy was still extended to his erring, distrustful servant, although he would permit afflictions to come upon him until he should learn the lesson of patient submission. The Lord graciously and compassionately revealed just what Jacob needed, a Saviour. He had sinned; but his heart was filled with gratitude as he saw revealed a way by which he could be restored to the favor of God.
5 Wearied with his journey, the wanderer lay down upon the ground, with a stone for his pillow. And while he slept, the Lord gave him a vision. He beheld a ladder, bright and shining, whose base rested upon earth while the top reached to Heaven. Upon this ladder angels were ascending and descending, and above it was the Lord of glory, who addressed Jacob in words of wonderful encouragement. He assured Jacob that he was under divine guardianship in his absence from home, and that the land whereon he lay as an exile and a fugitive should be given to him and his posterity. The promise given to Abraham was solemnly renewed, “In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
6 The Lord knew the evil influences that would surround Jacob, and the perils to which he would be exposed; and the future was opened before him, that, fully understanding the divine purpose with reference to himself, he might be prepared to resist the temptations that would surely come to him alone amid idolaters and scheming men. There would be ever before him the high standard at which he must aim, and the knowledge that through him the purpose of God was reaching its accomplishment would be a constant guard and shield.
7 Jacob awoke with a solemn sense of the presence of God. “The Lord is in this place,” said he, “and I knew it not.” Through the Spirit of God, the plan of redemption was revealed to him, not fully, but such parts as it was essential for him to know. The time of Christ’s first advent was yet far in the future; but God would not let his servant remain in ignorance of the fact that sinful man had been provided an Advocate with the Father.
8 Up to the time of man’s rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man. Heaven and earth had been connected by a path that the Lord loved to traverse. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from Heaven. The curse of sin was upon the human race, and was so offensive to God that man could have no communion with his Maker, however much he might desire it. He could not climb the battlements of Heaven and enter the city of God; for there entereth into it nothing that defileth. The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed medium of communication. Had he not with his own merits bridged the gulf that sin had made, the ministering angels, ascending and descending on that ladder, would have held no communication with fallen man.
9 All this was revealed to Jacob in his dream. Although his mind at once grasped a part of the revelation, its great and mysterious truths were the study of his life-time, and unfolded to his understanding more and more. In his conversation with Nathanael, Jesus referred to this mystic ladder on which Jacob gazed with pleased wonder. Said he, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
10 It is our life-work to commence at the lowest round of the ladder, and step by step to ascend toward Heaven. There is earnest work in this, but we can gain eternal life in no other way. We must take up our daily duties. There must be self-sacrifice, self-denial, and walking in the humble path of obedience. Earnest battles must be fought with self and with the powers of darkness. We shall meet with strong temptations to go with the crowd, which is pressing downward; for by this means we can avoid being singular. But we must have a firm hold on Christ, and keep on climbing. To look back is to become dizzy; to let go is to perish. The eye of faith must be continually directed upward to discern a mighty helper in our tender heavenly Father.
11 We ascend by successive steps. When we let go of one round, it is to grasp another that is still higher. Thus the hand is constantly reaching upward for successive degrees of grace, and the feet are planted on one round after another, until finally an abundant entrance shall be administered to us into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
12 There is necessity for striving, and yet it will be of no avail unless we strive lawfully. To profess to climb up by Christ, and claim his righteousness, while living in disobedience to the law of God, is to continue in sin that grace may abound. It is to cry, Christ, Christ, and trust in him, while in daily rebellion against God. We must have repentance toward God, whose law we have broken, as well as faith in Christ, through whom our offenses are pardoned. Man lost paradise through the transgression of God’s holy law, and he can regain it only through obedience to that law.
13 We have reason to rejoice that the world has not been left in solitary hopelessness. Jesus left the royal throne and his high command in Heaven, and became poor that we through his poverty might be made rich. He took upon himself our nature, that he might teach us how to live. In the steps which the sinner must take in conversion,—repentance, faith, and baptism,—he led the way. He did not repent for himself, for he was sinless, but in behalf of man.
14 Jesus became “the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.” He became an exile to earth to bring back the one lost, straying sheep, the one world ruined by sin. In him were combined the earthly and the heavenly, the human and the divine; otherwise, he could not be a Mediator whom the sinful could approach, and through whom they could be reconciled to their Maker. But now he encircles the race in arms of sympathy and love while he grasps the throne of the Infinite, thus uniting man in his weakness and helplessness with the Source of strength and power.
15 As Jesus prayed after his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove of burnished gold, hovered over him, and a voice was heard, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Through the gates ajar there streamed bright beams of glory from the throne of Jehovah, and this light shines even upon us. The assurance given to Christ is assurance to every repenting, believing, obedient child of God that he is accepted in the Beloved.
16 We are indebted to Jesus for all the blessings we enjoy. We should be deeply grateful that we are the subjects of his intercession. But Satan deceives men and women by presenting the service of Christ before them in a false light, and making them think that it is a condescension on their part to accept Jesus as their Redeemer. If we viewed the Christian privilege in the right light, we should consider it the highest exaltation to be accounted a child of God, an heir of Heaven; and we should rejoice that we can walk with Jesus in his humiliation. But our Saviour assures us that there are some who would like to climb up some other way than the toilsome, self-denying way of the cross. They would avoid reproach and shun sacrifices. Christ calls such thieves and robbers. If we are not willing to breast the storm of opposition, if we choose to float with the current, we shall lose eternal life.
17 And now the question for each one to settle is, Will you leave the dark abodes of sin and woe, and seek the mansions Jesus has gone to prepare for his followers? In his name we beseech you to plant your feet firmly on the ladder, and climb upward. Forsake your sins, overcome your defects of character, and cling with all your powers to Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. We may every one of us succeed. None who shall persevere will fail of everlasting life. Those who believe on Christ shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of his hand. Evil angels will try to weaken their hold on Christ, and to attract their eyes to earth; but God will send holy, ministering angels to help them and to strengthen their hands.
18 The Lord showed Jacob the open heavens. He beheld earth linked with Heaven, and saw the bright array of angels and the majesty of Deity. A divine voice addressed the repenting, discouraged one in words of gracious assurance, and spoke to him of great things to come. And so, through the merits of our Redeemer, the Father looks upon us with tender compassion, and speaks to us hopefully the language of forgiveness and love.
19 “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that love him.” The farther the Christian advances on the Heavenward way, the more clearly will he discern the nothingness of earthly things, while by an eye of faith he views the glories of the unseen, eternal world. We point you, dear fellow-traveler, to a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. But the hills to which we journey are not on earth, and we might well despair of ever reaching them, were it not for the glorious ladder whose base is on earth while its top reaches the highest Heaven.
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1 If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Infidelity and skepticism are prevailing. Iniquity abounds, and in consequence, the love of many waxes cold. Corruption flows in the vital currents of the soul, and rebellion against our heavenly Father breaks out in the life. Depravity spreads its loathsome canker over the entire heart. The moral powers, enslaved by sin, are under the tyranny of unholy appetites and passions. The soul is made the sport of Satan’s temptations; and unless some mighty arm is stretched out to rescue him, man goes where the arch-rebel leads the way.
2 It is Satan’s regular employment to work for the destruction of the race. Says the apostle Peter, “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Here Satan is represented as prowling about, hoping to find some poor soul off his guard, separated from God, that he may make his prey. And man in his pride is utterly helpless. He may well tremble at the awful power, cunning, and deception exercised by Satan over all who are not by faith holding fast the hand of Christ.
3 And yet in this time of fearful peril some who profess to be Christians have no family altar. They do not honor God in the home, nor teach their children to love and fear him. There are persons who attempt to teach the Bible who open their meetings without prayer; and there are not wanting some who profess to be followers of Jesus, and yet argue that there is nothing in the word of God that teaches the duty of vocal prayer. These things grieve me; for I know that continual watchfulness and unceasing prayer are necessary for every soul that would successfully resist the wiles of the great deceiver. Those who maintain such positions are not sincere Christians. There are many, who, like unruly children, have separated themselves so far from God that they feel under condemnation in approaching him. They cannot “come boldly unto the throne of grace,” “lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” They have not clean hands; they have not pure hearts; they have no living connection with God. Theirs is a form of godliness without the power.
4 The idea that prayer is not essential is one of Satan’s most successful devices to ruin souls. Prayer is addressing the mind to God, the Fountain of wisdom, the Source of strength and peace and happiness. Prayer includes acknowledgment of the divine perfections, gratitude for mercies received, penitential confession of sins, and earnest entreaty for the blessing of God, both for ourselves and for others. Jesus prayed to the Father with strong crying and tears. Paul exhorts believers to “pray without ceasing.” “In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” “Pray one for another,” says James. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” God has a right to command our devotions; his authority is sacred and unquestionable. We are under obligation to pray because he requires it; and in obeying his requirements we shall receive a gracious and precious reward.
5 I know of nothing that causes me so great sadness as a prayerless home. I do not feel safe in such a house for a single night; and were it not for the hope of helping the parents to realize their necessity and their sad neglect, I would not remain. The children show the result of this neglect; for the fear of God is not before them. Parents should make a hedge about their children by prayer; they should pray with full faith that God will abide with them, and that holy angels will guard themselves and their children from Satan’s cruel power.
6 In every family there should be order, and regular habits. There should be a fixed time to rise in the morning, a time for breakfast, and a time for prayer, either directly before or directly after the morning meal. How appropriate it is for parents to gather their children about them before their fast is broken, and direct their young minds to our heavenly Father, who bestows upon us the bounties of his providence. Let them thank God for protecting them during the night, and ask for help and grace and the watchcare of angels through the day. Man should not be as unmindful of God as the beasts of the field, that eat and drink, but render no tribute of prayer or grateful praise to their Maker. Beasts have no reason; but men should understand the great condescension of God to finite, sinful mortals.
7 Fathers and mothers, at least morning and evening lift up your hearts to God in humble supplication for yourselves and your children. Your dear ones are exposed to temptations and trials. There are frets and irritations that daily beset the path of old and young; and those who would live patient, loving, cheerful lives amid daily annoyances, must pray. This victory can be gained only by a resolute and unwavering purpose, constant watchfulness, and continual help from God.
8 The father, who is the priest of his household, should conduct the morning and evening worship. There is no reason why this should not be the most interesting and enjoyable exercise of the home-life, and God is dishonored when it is made dry and irksome. Let the seasons of family worship be short and spirited. Do not let your children or any member of your family dread them because of their tediousness or lack of interest. When a long chapter is read and explained and a long prayer offered, this precious service becomes wearisome, and it is a relief when it is over.
9 It should be the special object of the heads of the family to make the hour of worship intensely interesting. By a little thought, and careful preparation for this season, when we come into the presence of God, family worship can be made pleasant, and will be fraught with results that eternity alone will reveal. Let the father select a portion of Scripture that is interesting and easily understood; a few verses will be sufficient to furnish a lesson which may be studied and practiced through the day. Questions may be asked, a few earnest, interesting remarks made, or incident, short and to the point, may be brought in by way of illustration. At least a few verses of spirited song may be sung, and the prayer offered should be short and pointed. The one who leads in prayer should not pray about everything, but should express his needs in simple words, and praise God with thanksgiving.
10 Abraham, the friend of God, set us a worthy example. His was a life of prayer and humble obedience, and he was as a light in the world. Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside it was set up his altar, calling for the morning and evening sacrifice of each member of his family. When his tent was removed, the altar remained. The roving Canaanite, as he came across that altar, knew who had been there before him; and when he had pitched his tent, he repaired the altar, and worshiped the living God.
11 From Christian homes a similar light should shine forth. Love should be revealed in action. It should flow out in all home intercourse, showing itself in thoughtful kindness, in gentle, unselfish courtesy. There are homes where these principles are carried out,—homes where God is worshiped and truest love reigns. From these homes morning and evening prayer comes up before God as sweet incense, and his mercies and blessings descend upon the suppliants like the morning dew.
12 We must have more religion. We need the strength and grace that are born of earnest prayer. This means of grace should be diligently used in order to gain spiritual muscle. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to him. It makes us realize more and more our great needs, and hence our obligation to God and our dependence upon him. It leads us to feel our own nothingness and the weakness of our judgment.
13 God has made earnest prayer the condition of the bestowal of his richest blessings. Prayer brings us nearer and nearer to Jesus. However fully we may have given ourselves to God at conversion, it is of no avail unless we renew our consecration in each separate duty as it presents itself. Dear reader, consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first business, even if you have to rise half an hour earlier in order to find time. Let your prayer be, “Take me, O Lord, as wholly thine. I lay all my plans at thy feet. Use me today in thy service. Whatever errand I may do, send me. Whatever I may say to honor thee, or lead souls to Christ, help me to say it.”
14 This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself and your family to God for that day. Make no calculation for months or years; for they are not yours. One brief day is given you, and that one day work for yourself and your family as though it were your last. Surrender all your plans to God, to be carried out or given up, as his providence shall indicate. In this manner you may, day by day, be giving your life with its plans and purposes into the hands of God, accepting his plans instead of your own, no matter how much they may interfere with your arrangements nor how many pleasant projects may have to be abandoned. Thus the life will be moulded more and more after the divine Model; and “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
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1 Prayer has been made the means of obtaining blessings that would not otherwise be received. The patriarchs were men of prayer, and God did great things for them. When Jacob left his father’s house for a strange land, he prayed in humble contrition, and in the night season the Lord answered him through vision. He saw a ladder, bright and shining, its base resting on earth, and its topmost round reaching to the highest Heaven. At its top stood the God of Heaven in his glory, and angels were ascending and descending upon the mystic ladder. The Lord comforted the lonely wanderer with precious promises; and protecting angels were represented as stationed on each side of his path. Afterward, while on his return to his father’s house, he wrestled with the Son of God all night, even till break of day, and prevailed. The assurance was given him, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men.”
2 Joseph prayed, and he was preserved from sin amid influences that were calculated to lead him away from God. When tempted to leave the path of purity and uprightness, he said, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
3 Moses, who was much in prayer, was known as the meekest man on the face of the earth. For his meekness and humility he was honored of God, and he discharged with fidelity the high, noble, and sacred responsibilities intrusted to him. While leading the children of Israel through the wilderness, again and again it seemed that they must be exterminated on account of their murmuring and rebellion. But Moses went to the true Source of power; he laid the case before the Lord. He knew that Israel had provoked divine wrath, and were deserving of punishment; but he could not bear the thought of their being rejected of God.
4 Moses pleaded the words of God with an earnestness and sincerity which mortals have never equaled: “And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty. . . . Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” And the Lord said, “I have pardoned according to thy word.”
5 Here is an example of intelligent prayer,—an appeal to the reason and the sympathy of Jehovah; and Moses’ prayer was answered, because God is reasonable and compassionate. The sorrows of his people touch his heart of love; and will he not hear our prevailing prayer? Will not our very urgency be regarded? His loving-kindness faileth not. As a kind Father, he does not mock the miseries of his children. And will he not avenge his own, who cry day and night unto him?
6 Daniel was a man of prayer; and God gave him wisdom and firmness to resist every influence that conspired to draw him into the snare of intemperance. Even in his youth he was a moral giant in the strength of the Mighty One. Afterward, when a decree was made that if for thirty days any one should ask a petition of any God or man, save of the king, he should be cast into a den of lions, Daniel, with firm, undaunted step, made his way to his chamber, and with his windows open prayed aloud three times a day, as he had done before. He was cast into the lions’ den; but God sent holy angels to guard his servant.
7 In the prison at Philippi, while suffering from the cruel stripes they had received, their feet fast in the stocks, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praise to God; and angels were sent from Heaven to deliver them. The earth shook under the tread of these heavenly messengers, and the prison doors flew open, setting the prisoners free.
8 There are two kinds of prayer,—the prayer of form and the prayer of faith. The repetition of set, customary phrases when the heart feels no need of God, is formal prayer. “When ye pray,” says Christ, “use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” We should be extremely careful in all our prayers to speak the wants of the heart, and to say only what we mean. All the flowery words at our command are not equivalent to one holy desire. The most eloquent prayers are but vain repetitions, if they do not express the true sentiments of the heart. But the prayer that comes from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed just as we would ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting that it would be granted—this is the prayer of faith. The publican who went up to the temple to pray is a good example of a sincere, devoted worshiper. He felt that he was a sinner, and his great need led to an outburst of passionate desire, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
9 In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have actual intercourse with God. Our minds may be drawn out toward him; we may meditate upon his works, his mercies, his blessings; but this is not communing with him. To commune with God we must have something to say to him concerning our actual life. The long, black catalogue of our delinquencies is before the eye of the Infinite. The register is complete; none of our offenses are forgotten. But He who wrought wonderfully for his servants of old will listen to the prayer of faith and pardon our transgressions. He has promised, and he will fulfill his word. Then why should not the desires of our hearts go out after him, and the attitude of our souls ever be that of supplication?
10 “If ye abide in me,” says Christ, “and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” There are some who do not abide in Jesus, and his words do not abide in them, and these make little of prayer. They talk of praying in secret, but not in public nor in the family; but such ones seldom pray at all. Our Saviour taught his disciples: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” This was not said to forbid public prayer, but to warn the disciples against praying as the Pharisees did, in the corners of the streets and in the market places to be seen of men. Jesus prayed, sometimes alone, sometimes in the presence of his most intimate disciples, sometimes in the presence of the twelve, and sometimes in the presence of the Jews.
11 Jesus promised a special blessing on united prayer. After his death, the disciples often prayed together in the place where they assembled for worship; they also resorted to the temple at the hour of prayer. Paul exhorted the Ephesians to pray “always with all prayer.” He who loves to pray alone, as did Daniel, may be assured that in public prayer his motive is not to be heard of men.
12 Oh that we could impress on the minds of all the great willingness of God to help and strengthen every one who looks to him in trusting prayer. The oil and wine of consolation will be given to those who seek for it; the importunate soul will know him as the One who hears and answers prayer, the One who “comforteth those that are cast down.” He is a God over all the earth, exercising over the whole human family an unwearied and solicitous watchcare which nothing can escape. Every moment he grants audience to those who lay their wants and desires before him; and every moment he is ministering to the necessities of thousands who live upon his bounties, yet yield him no tribute of grateful praise, give no token that they realize their dependence upon him.
13 After we have offered our petitions, we are to answer them ourselves as far as possible, and not wait for God to do for us what we can do for ourselves. The help of God is held in reserve for all who demand it. Divine help is to be combined with human effort, aspiration, and energy. But we cannot reach the battlements of Heaven without climbing for ourselves. We cannot be borne up by the prayers of others when we ourselves neglect to pray, for God has made no such provision for us. Not even divine power can lift one soul to Heaven that is unwilling to put forth efforts in his own behalf. The unlovely traits in our characters are not removed, and replaced by traits that are pure and lovely, without some effort on our part.
14 As thus step by step we ascend the shining ladder that leads to the city of God, oh how many times we shall be discouraged, and come to weep at the feet of Jesus over our failures and our defeats. In our efforts to follow the copy set us by our Lord, we shall make crooked lines, and leave many a page blotted and blistered by our tears of repentance. Yet let us not cease our efforts. Heaven can be attained by every one of us if we will strive lawfully, doing the will of Jesus and growing into his image. Temporary failure should make us lean more heavily on Christ, and we should press on with brave-heart, determined will, and unfaltering purpose.
15 We should be continually loosening our hold upon earth, and fastening it upon Heaven. Soon we must render an account to God for all the deeds done in the body. This accountability extends to our minutest acts, words, and thoughts, and even reaches to the unconscious influence that breathes out from our life like the fragrance from a flower. We must give an account, not only for what we have done both of evil and of good, but for what we might have done, but have neglected. Viewed in this light, life is a sacred trust. It is not mere play. Every moment of it is intensely real, fraught with eternal interests. Let us, then, realize our great need of Christ and our dependence upon him; and let us thank God that help has been laid upon One who is mighty to save.
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1 When Jesus was upon earth, he taught his disciples how to pray. He directed them to present their daily needs before God, and to cast all their care upon him. And the assurance he gave them that their petitions should be heard, is assurance also to us.
2 One of the first things necessary in order to have our prayers answered, is to feel our need of help from God. We may come to him just as we are, helpless, destitute, needy, and he will not send us empty away. The riches of the universe belong to God; his are all temporal and spiritual treasures. He can supply all our needs out of his abundant fullness. We receive our breath from him; every blessing in nature that we enjoy is an expression of his love. We are likewise dependent upon him for spiritual blessings, for grace and wisdom and strength to do the will of God. And he is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him than parents are to give good gifts to their children.
3 Our great need is itself an argument, and pleads most eloquently in our behalf. But the Lord is to be sought unto to do for us those things that we desire. Oh how shamefully has Jesus been treated! He is inviting, urging us to come to him and receive the very help we need; yet too often his invitations are slighted, his proffered aid refused.
4 We are sinful by nature, and so are commanded to be zealous and repent. If we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us; but the prayer of the penitent, contrite soul is always accepted. When all known wrongs are righted, we may believe that God will answer our petitions. We must do what we can on our part; but our own merit will never commend us to the favor of God. It is the worthiness of Jesus that will save us, his blood that will cleanse us.
5 Another element of prevailing prayer is faith. “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Jesus said to his disciples, “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Jesus said to the man who brought to him his son that was grievously afflicted with an evil spirit, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”‘ Christ commands and encourages the prayer of faith; do we take him at his word? If we ask doubting and distrusting, that prayer is not of faith; and “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
6 “Ask, and ye shall receive.” The assurance is broad and unlimited, and He is faithful who has promised. We sometimes fail in faith because Infinite Wisdom does not come to our terms. When for any reason we do not receive the very things we ask for at the time we ask, we are still to believe that the Lord hears, and that he will give us those things that are best for us. His own glory is a sufficient reason for sometimes withholding what we ask for, and answering our prayers in a manner that we did not expect. But we are to cling to the promise; for the time of answering will come, and we shall receive the blessings we need most.
7 We need to examine our hearts as a preparation for coming before God in prayer, that we may know what manner of spirit we are of. If we do not forgive those who have trespassed against us, our prayers for forgiveness will not be heard. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” When as sinners we approach the mercy-seat, we cannot express the sentiment of this petition without forgiveness in our hearts for all who have done us an injury. Upon this petition Jesus makes a comment: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
8 On another occasion Jesus enforced the duty of forgiveness still more earnestly. Peter asked, “How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” In reply, Jesus related a parable of a certain king who forgave his servant a debt of ten thousand talents, but who revoked the pardon, and commanded this servant to be delivered to the tormentors, because in his dealings with his fellow-servants he did not carry out the same righteous principles that had been manifested in dealing with him. After he had received so great mercy, he would not, in his turn, forgive a small debt of a hundred pence, but, on the contrary, treated his debtor with great severity. Our Lord concludes in these impressive words: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
9 “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” We must cherish a kind, forbearing spirit. It is solemn mockery to engage in acts of religious worship with hearts full of envy, malice, and bitterness toward our fellow-men. The God who sees every action and understands every motive of the soul, a Being of infinite purity and exhaustless goodness, mercy, and truth, regards the prayers of such persons with abhorrence.
10 Persevering prayer has been made a condition of receiving. We must pray always if we would grow in faith and experience. We are to be instant in prayer,—”to continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Peter exhorts believers to be “sober, and watch unto prayer.” Paul directs: “In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” “But ye, beloved,” says Jude, “praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God.” Unceasing prayer is the unbroken union of the soul with God, so that life from God flows into our life, and from our life purity and holiness flow back to God.
11 There is necessity of diligence in prayer; let nothing hinder you. You will obtain the blessing you desire if you faint not. Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden him; you cannot weary him. He who numbers the hairs of your head, who notices the fall of a sparrow, is not indifferent to the wants of his people. “The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” He is affected by our sorrows, and even by our utterance of them. Take everything to him that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for him to bear; for he holds up worlds; he rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing is too small for him to notice that in any way disturbs our peace. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for him to read; there is no perplexity too sore for him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of his people, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere, contrite prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which he takes no immediate interest. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
12 There is an individual work for each one to do. The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon earth to share the watchful care of our heavenly Father, not another soul for whom he gave his beloved Son. “Thou understandest my thought afar off,” says the psalmist. “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” “Thou tellest my wanderings. Put thou my tears in thy bottle; are they not in thy book?” Here we have a representation of the unsearchable greatness of God, while we can but be impressed with his intimate knowledge of all our ways, and with the great tenderness expressed for the objects of his creation.
13 Jesus has given us his name, above every name. “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,” says Christ, “that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments.” “I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” “At that day ye shall ask in my name; and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you; for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” We have a string of precious pearls in the promises, if we will but comply with the conditions. But to pray in the name of Jesus is something more than a mere mention of that name at the beginning and ending of a prayer. It is to pray in the mind and Spirit of Jesus, while we work his works, believe his promises, and rely on his matchless grace.
14 God does not mean that any of us shall become hermits or monks, and retire from the world to devote ourselves to acts of worship. The life must be like Christ’s life,—between the mountain and the multitude. He who does nothing but pray will soon cease to pray, or his prayers will become a formal routine. When men take themselves out of social life, away from the sphere of Christian duty and cross-bearing; when they cease to work earnestly for the Master, who worked earnestly for them, they lose the subject matter of prayer, and have no incentive to devotion. Their prayers become personal and selfish. They cannot pray in regard to the wants of humanity or the upbuilding of Christ’s kingdom, pleading for strength wherewith to work.
15 Let us maintain the habit of close intercourse with God. Let us lay all parts of our lives open before him in gratitude for his long forbearance, penitence for sin, and earnest faith in the promises. The prayer of Jesus just before his crucifixion should be intensely interesting to us; let us read it, and enter into its spirit.
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1 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”
2 What a contrast between the words of Christ, and the language of those who claim that he came to abrogate the law of God and to do away with the Old Testament. Our Saviour, who knew all things, understood the wiles of Satan, the snares by which he would seek to entrap the children of men, and so made this positive statement to meet the questioning doubts and the blind unbelief of all coming time.
3 But there is a law which was abolished, which Christ “took out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Paul calls it “the law of commandments contained in ordinances.” This ceremonial law, given by God through Moses, with its sacrifices and ordinances, was to be binding upon the Hebrews until type met antitype in the death of Christ as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. Then all the sacrificial offerings and services were to be abolished. Paul and the other apostles labored to show this, and resolutely withstood those Judaizing teachers who declared that Christians should observe the ceremonial law.
4 Christ himself declares that he came not to destroy the law of ten precepts, which was spoken from Sinai. He says, “Verily I say unto you,”— making the assertion as emphatic as possible,—”Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” Here he teaches not merely what the claims of God’s law had been and were then, but that these claims should hold so long as the heavens and the earth remain. This testimony should forever settle the question. The law of God is as immutable as his throne. It will maintain its claims upon all mankind in all ages, unchanged by time or place or circumstances. The ritual system was of altogether a different character, and typified the death of Christ as a sacrifice for the broken precepts of the moral law.
5 “I am not come to destroy,” Christ says, “but to fulfill,”—”to magnify the law and make it honorable,” as Isaiah, hundreds of years before, had prophesied respecting the Messiah’s work.
6 “To fulfill the law.” In his own life the Saviour gave the children of men an example of perfect obedience. In his teachings he made clear and distinct every precept of the divine law; he swept away the rubbish of erroneous tradition with which the Jews had encumbered it; he illustrated and enforced its principles, and showed in all its particulars the length and breadth and height and depth of the righteousness required by the law of God.
7 The Pharisees were dissatisfied with the teachings of Christ. The practical godliness which he enjoined condemned them. They desired him to dwell upon the external observances of the ceremonial law, and the customs and traditions of the fathers. But Jesus taught the spiritual nature of the law and made clear its far-reaching claims. Love to God and to men must live in the heart and control the life, as the spring of every thought and every action.
8 There is perfect harmony between the law of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. “I and my Father are one,” says the great Teacher. The gospel is the good news of grace, or favor, by which man may be released from the condemnation of sin, and enabled to render acceptable obedience to the law. The gospel points to the moral code as a rule of life. That law, by its demands for undeviating obedience, is continually pointing the sinner to the gospel for pardon and peace.
9 Says the great apostle, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish the law.” And again he declares that the “law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Enjoining supreme love to God, and equal love to our fellow-men, it is indispensable alike to human happiness and the glory of God.
10 There are persons professing to be ministers of Christ, who declare with the utmost assurance that no man ever did or ever can keep the law of God. But, according to the Scriptures, Christ “took upon himself our nature,” and “was made in fashion as a man.” He was man’s example, man’s representative, and he declares, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” The beloved disciple urges that every follower of Christ “ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.” All who are in Christ will follow the example of Christ. All who justify the sinner in his transgression of God’s law belong to that class of whom our Saviour said, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven.” They can have no part with Him who came to magnify the law and make it honorable. They are deceiving the people with their sophistry, saying to the sinner, “It shall be well with thee,” when God has declared, “The soul that sinneth [transgresseth the law] it shall die.”
11 The words of Christ are both explicit and comprehensive. “Whosoever”— minister or layman, wise or ignorant—”shall break one of these least commandments”—willfully or presumptuously, as did Adam and Eve—is included in the condemnation. Breaking one of the commandments makes man a commandment-breaker. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” No excuse can avail for him who strictly obeys nine of the precepts of God’s law, but ventures to break one because it is for his profit or convenience to do so. God demands implicit obedience to all his requirements.
12 “And shall teach men so.” This is a point worthy of careful consideration. Christ foresaw that men would not only break the commandments of God themselves, but would teach others to break them. Some are not content with doing this by example; they defend sin, and pervert the word of God to justify the transgressor. Such persons will have no part with the people of God. But the greatest guilt rests upon the professed watchmen, who do not hesitate to speak evil of the law, and even to make those who are ignorant of the Bible believe that they are fallen from grace if they keep it. “All we have to do,” say they, “is to believe in Christ, come to Christ.”
13 The most fatal delusion of the Christian world in this generation is, that in pouring contempt on the law of God they think they are exalting Christ. What a position! It was Christ who spoke the law from Sinai. It was Christ who gave the law to Moses, engraven on tables of stone. It was his Father’s law; and Christ says, “I and my Father are one.” The Pharisees held the reverse of the modern position, but were in just as great an error. They rejected Christ, but exalted the law. And it makes little difference which position is taken, so long as we ignore the true one,—that faith in Christ must be accompanied by obedience to the law of God.
14 While we point the sinner to Jesus as the one who can take away sin, we must explain to him what sin is, and show him that he can be saved from his sins, but not in them. He must be made to realize that “sin is the transgression of the law.” Paul makes the inquiry, many years after the death of Christ, “Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Thus Paul exalts the moral law. When this law is practically carried out in every-day life, it is found indeed to be the wisdom of God. It serves to detect sin. It discovers the defects in the moral character, and shows sin to be exceeding sinful, revealing it in all its hideousness. Through obedience to its requirements, Christian character is perfected.
15 God’s law is a copy of his mind and will. The sins forbidden there could never find a place in Heaven. It was love that prompted God to express his will in the ten precepts of the decalogue. Afterward he showed his love for man by sending prophets and teachers to explain and illustrate his holy law.
16 God has given man a complete rule of life in his law. Obeyed, man shall live by it, through the merits of Christ. Transgressed, it has power to condemn. The law sends men to Christ, and Christ points them back to the law.
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1 The spiritual welfare of the young is a subject in which all should feel a deep interest. Now, in the closing hours of probation, they should be obtaining an experience in the things of God. They need to be daily building up a firm, pure, symmetrical character, one that God can approve, or Satan will take advantage of their weakness to ruin them, and they will fall an easy prey to his temptations. For every young man who lacks faith and consecration, and is weak in moral power, Satan has temptations prepared. Perhaps there is a pleasing associate, who, like himself, thinks it manly to be entirely unconcerned in regard to his soul’s salvation, and they strengthen each other in a wrong course.
2 Those who think they have no need of a Saviour, that they can do right and preserve a correct deportment without making Christ their strength, show the most deplorable weakness. Christ made provision for man’s redemption; he laid out an expensive plan of salvation. Suppose that Adam, after his fall, had refused to comply with the conditions. Suppose he had said, “I am good; I do no harm to any one. I feel no need of a Saviour.” Would he not then have remained in the disgrace of sin, a transgressor, a rebel against God? But every sinner who neglects the Saviour’s mediation, by his own choice places himself in just this position. He is in the bondage of sin, subject to the most cruel tyrant that ever existed.
3 Cain tried this course of self-dependence. He felt, as many inexperienced youth now feel, that it would be an acknowledgment of weakness on his part to follow the plan marked out of God. He would come in his own merits. He would not bring the lamb, and mingle its blood with his offering; but he would be very generous, and would offer of his fruits, the products of his labor. He looked with scorn upon Abel, who felt that he could not approach God without a mediator. Abel followed the precise directions given by God. The result is well known. The Lord accepted the offering of Abel, presented in humility, and faith in the coming Lamb of God. His obedience was counted to him for righteousness. Cain, angry that his offering was rejected, killed his brother.
4 Cain and Abel represent two classes of men that have existed from generation to generation, and will continue to exist to the close of time. One availed himself of the promised sacrifice for sin; the other ventured to depend upon his own merits. His was the sacrifice of a sinner without the virtue of divine mediation, which is alone able to bring him into favor with God. It is only through the merits of Jesus that our transgressions of the law can be pardoned. Those who feel that they can be moral without divine help, who feel no need of the blood of Christ, are betrayed into grievous sins. If they do not gladly, gratefully, accept the cleansing blood, they are under condemnation. There is no other provision made whereby they can be released from sin’s terrible thralldom. There must be repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the only way to secure excellence of character, the only path to divine favor.
5 The Lord assured Cain that if he did well, he should be accepted. But instead of heeding the counsel of God, he chose to take his own course, to follow the promptings of his sinful heart, and the result is before us. Let the youth consider that none of their ways or purposes are hidden from the eye of Jehovah. He is not ignorant of their self-will and self-sufficiency. He marks their course in despising the blood of the covenant that has been provided for their sanctification and redemption.
6 Young friends, wherever you are and whatever you do, remember, “Thou God seest me.” No part of your conduct escapes observation. You cannot hide your ways from the Most High. Human laws, though sometimes severe, are often transgressed without detection, and hence with impunity. But it is not so with the law of God. The deepest midnight is no cover to the guilty one. He may think himself alone; but the very motives of his heart are open to divine inspection. Every action, every word, every thought, is as distinctly marked as though there were only one individual in the entire universe, and the attention of Heaven were centered on his deportment.
7 Says the patriarch Job, “When I consider, I am afraid of Him.” The more we reflect, the more awful God appears. Surely you are not acquainted with him as you ought to be. If you had an abiding sense of his presence, you would fear to offend a just and holy God, and there would be a restraint upon wickedness. Consider that the Judge of all the earth, who is to decide your destiny for eternity, has an accurate knowledge of your daily life. How can you violate his precepts? How can you make light of his authority?
8 Those who are quieting a guilty conscience with the thought that they can change a course of evil when they choose, that they can trifle with the invitations of mercy, and yet be again and again impressed, take this course at their peril. They think that after doing despite to the Spirit of grace, after casting all their influence on the side of the great rebel, in a moment of terrible extremity, when danger compasses them about, they will change captains. But this is not so easily done. The experience, the education, the discipline, of a lifetime of sinful indulgence, has so thoroughly moulded the character that they cannot then receive the image of Jesus. A long life has given in its testimony. Had no light shone upon their pathway, had they not been warned, entreated, and prayed for by God’s messengers, the case would be different. Mercy would interpose, and give them another opportunity to accept her overtures; but after light has been rejected and despised, the other opportunity does not always come.
9 There is a power in impenitence and rebellion which can be accounted for only on the supposition that it is supernatural. Satan imbues his willing subjects with his own spirit. He works through deception; he promises them the desire of their heart; but they find no rest, no peace, no joy, in the path of transgression.
10 You who are slighting the offers of mercy, let consideration come in, and scatter the delusions which have gathered about your soul. Think of the long array of figures that is accumulating against you in the books of Heaven; for there is an unerring record kept of the impieties of nations, of families, of individuals. God may bear long while the account goes on, and calls to repentance and offers of pardon may be given; yet a time will come when the account will be full, and divine patience will be exercised no longer. Then the signal will be given for the wrath of offended justice to be poured out, for judgment to be executed.
11 The impenitent sometimes comfort themselves by saying of professed Christians, “I am as good as they are. They are no more self-denying, sober, or circumspect in their conduct than I am. They love pleasure and self-indulgence just as well as I do.” These poor souls entrench themselves here, making the faults of Christians an excuse for their neglect of duty. But if they are so well acquainted with the life and character that Christians should develop, let them come over on the side of Christ, and give these stumbling-blocks a correct example. Come, you who accuse others, and show them how closely you can imitate the Pattern. Show them that you can walk firmly, making straight paths for your feet.
12 The sins and defects of others do not excuse any one; for the Lord has not given us an erring, human pattern. The spotless Son of God has been given as a model; and those who complain of bad examples in professed Christians, are the ones who should show better lives and purer examples. If they know so well what a Christian should be, they will be of those who knew their Master’s will, and did it not; and they will be beaten with many stripes.
13 Martin Luther lived for years a life of severe exaction and penance, thinking he could thus purchase the favor of God. And when Christ was presented to him as the sinner’s friend and advocate, a Saviour who so loved man that he gave his precious life to save him, the thought that this salvation was a free gift, not to be purchased by tedious journeys, long and rigorous fasts, or by scourging the body, seemed too great for him to comprehend. He need no longer invoke all the saints to plead with Christ in his behalf. How eagerly his thirsty soul drank in the precious draught! His hand tremblingly grasped the promises of God. He accepted Jesus as his Saviour, who would pardon and redeem his soul. He could exclaim: —
14 “Thou art our wisdom, and we are never wise until thou art our teacher. Our ears are deaf to every voice but thine. The voice of the world and the voice of false teachers may fill the outward ear; but we must henceforth listen only to the voice that speaks within. Oh, come, thou precious Holy One, and with us ever stay. Let us become acquainted with thee, and hold thee ever in the strong embrace of perfect love. Thou art the only desire of my soul, the one altogether lovely. Without thee we could not enter Heaven.”
15 We may have a similar experience, only richer and more abundant; for we have increased light. But many who ought to have gained a valuable Christian experience stand where they did years ago. Christ is not honored when his professed followers compare themselves among themselves, and excuse their defects because some one else has ventured to commit sin.
16 The young are apt to conclude that not much responsibility, care-taking, or burden-bearing is expected of them. But the obligation to reach the Bible standard rests upon every one. The light which shines in privileges and opportunities, in the ministry of the word, in counsels, warnings, and reproof, will perfect character or condemn the careless. The light is to be cherished by the young as well as by those who are older. Who will now take a position for God in contrast to the ease-loving and self-indulgent ones? Who will be light-bearers for God? The youth can do good work in laboring to save souls. They can reach their young associates when those who are older cannot, and God holds them accountable for the use they make of the talents intrusted to them. Let those who claim to be sons and daughters of God aim at a higher standard. Let them use every faculty God has given them. Let them glorify him by correctly representing the religion of the Bible.
17 “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” Jesus wants the service of those who have the dew of youth upon them. He wants them to be heirs of immortality. They may grow up into a noble manhood and womanhood, notwithstanding the moral pollutions that abound, and that corrupt so many of the youth at an early age. There is no happiness or safety but in the fear of the Lord. Young friends, morning and evening let your prayers go up from unfeigned lips that the Holy Spirit may take possession of your hearts and keep you from the seductive influences of the world. Work for Jesus; stand up for Jesus; and he will stand up for you in the day of God’s vengeance.
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1 The true object of education should be constantly kept in view. God has intrusted to each one capacities and powers, that they may be returned to him enlarged and improved. His gifts are granted to us to be used to the utmost. He requires every one to attain the highest possible degree of usefulness. All the talents that we possess, whether of mental capacity, money, or influence, are of God, so that in dedicating them to his service we may say with David, “All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.”
2 Dear young friends, what is your aim in life? Are you ambitious for education that you may one day have a name and position in the world? Have you thoughts that you dare not express, that you may one day stand upon the summit of intellectual greatness; that you may sit in deliberative and legislative councils, and help to enact laws for the nation? There is nothing wrong in lofty aspirations. You may every one of you make your mark. You should be content with no mean attainments. Aim high, and spare no pains to reach the standard.
3 But remember that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and lies at the foundation of all true greatness. Integrity, unswerving integrity, is the principle that you need to carry with you into all the relations of life. Balanced by religious principle, you may climb to any height you please. We would be glad to see you rising to a noble elevation. Jesus loves the precious youth, and he is not pleased to see them grow up with uncultivated, undeveloped talents. They may become men and women of firm principle, fitted to be intrusted with high responsibilities, and to this end they may lawfully strain every nerve.
4 Let none commit so great a crime as to pervert their God-given powers to do evil and destroy others. There are gifted men who use their ability to spread moral ruin and corruption; but all such are sowing seed which will produce a harvest that they will not care to reap. It is a fearful thing to scatter blight and woe instead of blessing in society. It is also a fearful thing to fold in a napkin the talent intrusted to us, and hide it away in the world; for this is casting away the crown of life. God claims our service. There are responsibilities for every one to bear; and we can fulfill life’s grand mission only when these responsibilities are fully accepted, and faithfully and conscientiously discharged.
5 Says the wise man, “Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” But do not for a moment suppose that religion will make you sad and gloomy. Never lose sight of the fact that Jesus is a well-spring of joy. He takes no pleasure in the misery of human beings, but loves to see them happy. Religion will not block up the way to success; it does not obliterate or even weaken a single faculty. It in no way incapacitates you for the enjoyment of any real happiness; it is not designed to lessen your interest in life, or to make you indifferent to the claims of friends and society.
6 “The entrance of thy word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple,” is the testimony of the psalmist. As an educating power the Bible is without a rival. The study of the Scriptures will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration, as the study of no other book can. Nothing else will so impart freshness and vigor to all the faculties. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is trained to dwell. If occupied with commonplace matters only, it will become dwarfed and enfeebled. If never required to grapple with difficult problems, or tasked to comprehend important truths, it will, after a time, almost lose the power of growth.
7 The Bible is the most comprehensive and the most instructive history which men possess. It came fresh from the fountain of eternal truth, and a divine hand has preserved its purity through all the ages. Its bright rays shine into the far-distant past, where human research seeks vainly to penetrate. In God’s word alone do we find an authentic account of the creation. Here we behold the power that laid the foundation of the earth, and that stretched out the heavens. Here only can we find a history of our race, unsullied by human prejudice or human pride.
8 In the word of God the mind finds subject for the deepest thought, the loftiest aspiration. Here we may hold communion with patriarchs and prophets, and listen to the voice of the Eternal as he speaks with men. Here we behold the Majesty of Heaven as he humbled himself to become our substitute and surety, to cope single-handed with the powers of darkness, and to gain the victory in our behalf. A reverent contemplation of the themes brought to view in the word of God, cannot fail to soften, purify, and ennoble the heart, and, at the same time, to inspire the mind with new strength and energy.
9 This sacred word is the will of God revealed to men. Here we learn what God expects of the beings formed in his image. Here we learn how to improve the present life, and how to secure the future life. No other book can satisfy the questionings of the mind and the cravings of the heart. By obtaining a knowledge of God’s word, and giving heed thereto, men may rise from the lowest depths of ignorance and degradation, to become sons of God, associates of sinless angels.
10 A clear conception of what God is, and what he requires us to be, will give us humble views of self. He who studies aright the sacred word, will learn that human intellect is not omnipotent; that, without the help which none but God can give, human strength and wisdom are but weakness and ignorance.
11 This is the education so much needed at the present time. In an age like ours, in which iniquity abounds, and God’s character and his law are alike regarded with contempt, special care must be taken to teach the youth to study, and to reverence and obey, the divine will as revealed to man. The fear of the Lord is fading from the minds of our youth because of their neglect of Bible study.
12 With Daniel, the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. He was placed in a position where temptation was strong. In kings’ courts, dissipation was on every side; selfish indulgence, intemperance, and gluttony were the order of each day. Daniel could join in the debilitating, corrupting practices of the courtiers, or he could resist the influences that tended downward. He chose the latter course. He would not even defile himself with the king’s meat, or with the wine that he drank. The Lord was pleased with the course that Daniel pursued. He was greatly beloved and honored of Heaven; to him the God of wisdom gave skill in the learning of the Chaldeans, and understanding in all visions and dreams.
13 If the youth who attend our various educational institutions would discard unprofitable amusements and indulgence of appetite, their minds would be clear for the pursuit of knowledge. If they would be firm for the right, and would not associate with those who walk in the paths of sin, like Daniel they would enjoy the favor of God. They would thus gain a moral power that would enable them to remain unmoved when assailed by temptation. It requires a continual struggle to be constantly on the alert to resist evil; but it pays to obtain one victory after another over self and the powers of darkness.
14 A spotless character is as precious as the gold of Ophir. None can rise to an honorable eminence without pure, unsullied virtue. But noble aspirations and the love of righteousness are not inherited. Character cannot be bought; it must be formed by daily efforts to resist temptation. The formation of a right character is the work of a lifetime, and must be the result of individual effort. Friends may encourage you, dear youth; but they cannot do the work for you. Wishing, sighing, dreaming, will never make you great or good. You must climb. Gird up the loins of your mind, and go to work with all the strong powers of your will. It is the wise improvement of your opportunities, the cultivation of your God-given talents, that will make you men and women that can be approved of God and a blessing to society. Let your standard be high, and with indomitable energy press to the mark.
15 The fear of the Lord is the very foundation of all progress. Your intellectual and moral faculties are God’s gifts, talents intrusted to you; and you are not at liberty to let them lie dormant for want of proper cultivation, or be crippled and dwarfed for lack of exercise. It is for you to determine whether or not the weighty responsibilities that rest upon you shall be faithfully met, whether or not your efforts shall be well-directed and your best.
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1 Many are unhappy in their home life because they are trying so hard to keep up appearances. They expend large sums of money, and labor unremittingly, that they may make a display, and gain the praise of their associates,—those who really care nothing for them or their prosperity. One article after another is considered indispensable to the household appointments, until many expensive additions are made, that, while they please the eye and gratify pride and ambition, do not in the least increase the comfort of the family. And yet these things have taxed the strength and patience, and consumed valuable time which should have been given to the service of the Lord.
2 The precious grace of God is made secondary to matters of no real importance; and many, while collecting material for enjoyment, lose the capacity for happiness. They find that their possessions fail to give the satisfaction they had hoped to derive from them. This endless round of labor, this unceasing anxiety to embellish the home for visitors and strangers to admire, never pays for the time and means thus expended. It is placing upon the neck a yoke of bondage grievous to be borne.
3 Four walls and costly furniture, velvet carpets, elegant mirrors, and fine pictures, do not make a “home” if sympathy and love are wanting. That sacred word does not belong to the glittering mansion where the joys of domestic life are unknown. There are spacious parlors closed from the sweet sunshine and life-giving air, for fear these choicest gifts of Heaven might tarnish the furniture and fade the carpets. These rooms are sunless and damp, unlighted and unheated save when visitors are to be entertained. Then the doors are thrown open, and the beautiful rooms, too fine for the use and comfort of the family, are devoted to unsympathizing acquaintances.
4 These rooms are altogether too precious for every-day use; above all, the children must be strictly excluded from their precincts, for fear of soiling the furniture or the curtains. In fact, the comfort and welfare of the children are the last things thought of in such a home. They are neglected by the mother, whose whole time is devoted to keeping up appearances and meeting the claims of fashionable society. Their minds are untrained, they acquire bad habits, and become restless and dissatisfied. Finding no pleasure in their own homes, but only uncomfortable restrictions, they break away from the family circle as soon as possible. They launch out into the great world with little reluctance, unrestrained by home influence, and the tender counsel of the hearth-stone.
5 How different is it in the Christian home, where the mother is attentive to the wants of husband and children, and takes pleasure in the performance of her sweet home duties; where the father co-operates in all her efforts to make home happy, and to lay the foundation of a good Christian character by training the children in the way they should go. Such parents, while they win the affections of their children by their sympathy and tender care, will yet be firm and decided in their government, and will guard them with jealous care. They will exhort, reprove, and counsel their children when they rise up, and when they sit down; when they go out, and when they come in. It will be “line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little.” In such homes angels will love to linger; and who can tell what an influence for good shall go out from them?
6 It does not require costly surroundings and expensive furniture to make children contented and happy in their homes; but it is necessary that the parents give them tender love and careful attention. Parents should by their example encourage the formation of habits of simplicity, and draw their children away from an artificial to a natural life. Gentle manners, cheerful conversation, and loving acts will bind the hearts of children to their parents by the silken cords of affection, and will do more to make home attractive then the rarest ornaments that can be bought for gold.
7 There are but few true fathers and mothers in this age of the world, and this is owing more to the artificial lives that are so generally led than to any other cause. There should be less anxiety for external appearances, but more earnest effort to secure practical comfort in every room throughout the house. Less parade in the parlor, and more time devoted to the training of the children, to the preparation of simple, wholesome food, and to the general economy and comfort of the household, would make happy hearts and pleasant faces in the home. There are many who should live less for the outside world, and more for the members of their own family circle. There should be less display of superficial politeness and affection toward strangers and visitors, and more of the courtesy that springs from genuine love and sympathy toward the dear ones of our own firesides.
8 The very best part of the house, the sunniest and most inviting rooms, and the most comfortable furniture, should be in daily use by those who really live in the house. This will make home attractive to the inmates, and also to that class of friends who really care for us, whom we could benefit, and by whom we could be benefited. But those guests who are attracted to us by the prospect of sumptuous dinners and an extravagant luxury of style, are not the ones whose companionship will improve our minds and hearts. We have no moral right to spend our time and means in entertaining such visitors, while our precious, God-given children are suffering gross neglect.
9 But it is so flattering to the pride of some persons to exhibit a certain extravagant and fashionable style of living for the benefit of occasional guests, that they are willing to sacrifice the peace and comfort of the household for this empty gratification. The fine mansion, the costly furniture and ornaments, the toil in serving up dainty dishes to gratify the appetite, the expensive entertainments which swallow up money and time, and the dashing carriages designed more for show than comfort, bring no peaceful contentment. They have no connection with the real joys of life; they interfere with domestic quiet, and unfit the mind for the homely but pleasant duties of practical life.
10 As these extravagances fail to satisfy their possessors, they blindly seek to remedy the failure by adding new luxuries, and plunging deeper into the whirlpool of fashionable society. But the inevitable result is greater dissatisfaction, and an increase of care and anxiety. Decorations of dress and houses do not make people happy; but the lowliest dwelling may be beautified, and the poorest family be made rich, by the possession of meekness, kindness and love. Pleasant voices, gentle manners, and sincere affection that finds expression in all the actions, together with industry, neatness, and economy, make even a hovel the happiest of homes. The Creator regards such a home with approbation; and the inmates, though they have not “that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, and of putting on of apparel,” have that which is far better.— “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”
11 “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” It is “profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” We should open our hearts and houses to the Lord. The restraint which his word imposes upon us is for our own interest. It increases the happiness of our families and of all about us. It refines the taste, sanctifies the judgment, and brings peace of mind, and in the end, everlasting life.
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1 Those who look upon work as a curse are cherishing a mistaken idea. God appointed labor as a blessing to man, to occupy his mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. Adam toiled in the garden of Eden, and found it to be one of the pleasures of his holy existence to do so. And when, as the result of his disobedience, he was driven from his beautiful home, and was forced to struggle with a stubborn soil to gain his daily bread, that very labor, although far different from his pleasant occupation in the garden, was a protection against temptation, and a source of happiness.
2 For thirty years Jesus was an inhabitant of Nazareth, and his life was one of patient industry. He walked the streets clad in the simple garb of a common laborer. He toiled up and down the mountain steeps, going to and returning from his humble work. He did not employ his divine power to lessen his burdens or to lighten his toil. He lived in a peasant’s home; he mingled with the lowly, and shared their daily toil. His example shows us that it is man’s duty to be industrious, that labor is honorable.
3 The life of Jesus should encourage the poor and lowly to be contented with their lot. Honest labor has received the sanction of Heaven, and men and women may hold the closest communion with God, while occupying the humblest positions in life. Jesus was as faithfully fulfilling his mission when working at his humble trade as when he healed the sick or walked upon the storm-tossed waves of Galilee.
4 Those who divorce religion from their worldly business are reproved by the example of Jesus. Although he could command the entire angel host, he dwelt among the hills of Nazareth, a simple carpenter, working for wages, and living a godly life. He called no attention to himself as a marked personage; yet his life is a lesson that mankind should copy to the end of time. It was a mystery to angels that Christ should condescend, not only to take upon himself humanity, but to assume its heaviest burdens and most humble occupations. But this he did that he might become like one of us; that he might be acquainted with the toil, the sorrows, and the fatigue of the children of men, and thus be better able to understand their privations and sympathize with their trials.
5 The essential lesson of contented industry in the necessary duties of life, however humble, is yet to be learned by the greater portion of Christ’s followers. Though there may be no human eye to examine our work, nor voice to praise or blame, it should be done just as well as though the Infinite One himself were personally to inspect it. We should be as faithful in the minor details of our business as we would in the larger affairs of life.
6 Our varied trusts are proportioned to our various abilities. Where much is given, much will be required. God expects corresponding returns for the talents he has intrusted to his servants. It is not the greatness of the talents possessed that determines the reward, but the manner in which they are used, the degree of faithfulness with which life’s duties are performed, whether those duties are great or small. Whoever does his work conscientiously and well, whether in the shop, in the field, or in the pulpit, will be rewarded according to the spirit in which he has worked. It requires more grace and discipline of character to work for God in the capacity of mechanic, merchant, lawyer, or farmer, carrying the precepts of Christianity into the ordinary pursuits of life, than to labor as a minister of Christ, where one’s position is understood, and half its difficulties obviated by that very fact. It requires strong spiritual nerve and muscle to carry religion into the work-shop and business office, sanctifying the details of every-day life, and ordering every worldly transaction according to the Bible standard; but this is what God requires of his people.
7 Judicious labor is a healthful tonic for the human race. It makes the feeble strong, the poor rich, and the wretched happy. Idleness is the greatest curse that can fall upon man, for vice and crime follow in its train. Satan lies in ambush, ready to destroy those who are unguarded, whose leisure gives him opportunity to insinuate himself into their favor under some attractive disguise. He is never more successful than when he comes to men in their idle hours.
8 Among the evils resulting from wealth, one of the greatest is the fashionable idea that work is degrading. Says the prophet Ezekiel, “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom; pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” Here are presented before us the terrible results of idleness, which enfeebles the mind, debases the soul, and perverts the understanding, making a curse of that which was given as a blessing.
9 The glory and joy of life are found only by the working man or woman. Labor brings its own reward, and the rest is sweet that is purchased by the fatigue of a well-spent day. But there is a self-imposed toil that is utterly unsatisfying and injurious. It is that which gratifies unsanctified ambition, which seeks display or notoriety. Pride of appearance or the love of possession leads many to carry to excess that which is in itself lawful,—to devote the entire strength of body and mind to those interests which should occupy but a small portion of their time. They bend every energy to the acquisition of wealth or honor; they make all other objects secondary to this; they toil unceasingly for years to accomplish their purpose; yet when the goal is reached, the coveted prize secured, it turns to ashes in their grasp; it is a shadow, a delusion. They have given their lives for that which profiteth not.
10 God is watching the character we develop in our daily lives, weighing our moral worth. Those who ignore the claims of God in their business life, as carpenters, lawyers, or merchants, are unfaithful in matters of eternal interest, since it is the life that indicates the spiritual advancement, and registers upon the books of Heaven the unchangeable figures of the future. Those who are unfaithful in little things, cannot be intrusted with the true riches of the kingdom. Yet all the lawful pursuits of life may be safely followed, if the spirit is kept free from selfish hopes and the contamination of deceit and envy. The business life of the Christian should be marked with the same purity that held sway in the work-shop of the holy Nazarene. It is the working man or woman who sees something great or good in life, and who is willing to bear its responsibilities with faith and hope.
11 God designed that all should be workers. The toiling beast of burden answers the purpose of its creation better than does the indolent man, who does not develop his physical and mental powers, but neglects the tasks which God has set for him to do. In the cause of reform the indolence of the many necessitates the overwork of the few earnest and devoted laborers. Because these are allowed to do the work of others in addition to their own, they often fail beneath the burden. But though the path of the Christian reformer may be hard and narrow, it is honored by the footprints of the Redeemer, and he is safe who follows in that sacred way.
12 The angels are workers; they are ministers of God to the children of men. Those slothful spirits who look forward to a Heaven of inaction will be disappointed; for the economy of the Creator prepares no place for the gratification of sinful indolence. But to the weary and heavy-laden, rest is promised. It is the faithful servant who will be welcomed from his labors into the joy of his Lord. He will lay off his armor with rejoicing, and forget the noise of battle in the glorious rest prepared for those who conquer through the cross of Calvary.
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1 The wise man says that wisdom’s “ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” Many cherish the impression that devotion to God is detrimental to health and to cheerful happiness in the social relations of life. But those who walk in the path of wisdom and holiness find that “godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” They are alive to the enjoyment of life’s real pleasures, while they are not troubled with vain regrets over misspent hours, nor with gloom or horror of mind, as the worldling too often is when not diverted by some exciting amusement.
2 It is true that there are many professing Christians who have diseased imaginations, and do not correctly represent the religion of the Bible. They are ever walking under a cloud. They seem to think it a virtue to complain of depression of spirits, great trials, and severe conflicts. This course is not in accordance with the words of the Saviour, “Let your light so shine before men. that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” It is the duty of all to walk in the light, and to cultivate habitual cheerfulness of mind, that they may reflect light rather than gloom and darkness.
3 Godliness does not conflict with the laws of health, but is in harmony with them. Had men ever been obedient to the law of ten commandments, had they carried out in their lives the principles of these ten precepts, the curse of disease that now floods the world would not be. Men may teach that trifling amusements are necessary to keep the mind above despondency. The mind may indeed be thus diverted for the time being; but after the excitement is over, calm reflection comes. Conscience arouses, and makes her voice heard, saying, “This is not the way to obtain health or true happiness.”
4 There are many amusements that excite the mind, but depression is sure to follow. Other modes of recreation are innocent and healthful; but useful labor that affords physical exercise will often have a more beneficial influence upon the mind, while at the same time it will strengthen the muscles, improve the circulation, and prove a powerful agent in the recovery of health.
5 “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
6 The consciousness of right-doing is the best medicine for diseased bodies and minds. The special blessing of God resting upon the receiver, is health and strength. One whose mind is quiet and satisfied in God is on the highway to health. To have the consciousness that the eye of the Lord is upon us, and that his ear is open to our prayers, is a satisfaction indeed. To know that we have a never-failing Friend to whom we can confide all the secrets of the soul, is a happiness which words can never express. Those whose moral faculties are clouded by disease are not the ones to rightly represent the Christian life or the beauties of holiness. They are too often in the fire of fanaticism, or the water of cold indifference or stolid gloom.
7 Those who do not feel that it is a religious duty to discipline the mind to dwell upon cheerful subjects, will usually be found at one of two extremes: they will be elated by a continual round of exciting amusements, indulging in frivolous conversation, laughing, and joking, or they will be depressed, having great trials and mental conflicts, which they think but few have ever experienced or can understand. These persons may profess Christianity, but they deceive their own souls. They have not the genuine article.
8 Many have a self-complacent feeling. They flatter themselves that if they had an opportunity, or were more favorably situated, they could and would do some great work. These persons do not view things from a correct standpoint. Their imagination is diseased. Day-dreaming, castle-building, has unfitted them for usefulness. They have lived in an imaginary world, have been imaginary martyrs, and are imaginary Christians. There is nothing real and substantial in their character. Persons of this class sometimes think that they have an exquisite delicacy of organization, a refined and sympathetic nature, which must be recognized and responded to by others. They put on an appearance of languor and indolent ease, and frequently think that they are not appreciated. Their sickly fancies do not help themselves or others. Appropriate labor, the healthy exercise of all their powers, would withdraw their thoughts from themselves.
9 Some are naturally devotional; but much of their life has been wasted in dreaming of doing some great work in the future, while present duties, though they may be small, are neglected. They have been unfaithful. If they would train their minds to dwell upon themes which have nothing to do with self, they might yet be useful; but the Lord will not commit to their trust any greater work until the duty nearest them has been seen and performed with a ready, cheerful will. Unless the heart is put into the work, it will drag heavily. The Lord tests our ability and faithfulness by giving us small duties first. If we turn from these with dissatisfaction and murmuring, no more will be given us; but when we cheerfully take up the small duties that lie in our pathway, and do them well, higher and greater responsibilities will be intrusted to us.
10 God gives liberally, and he expects corresponding returns. The talents intrusted to our keeping are not to be squandered, but to be used to good purpose, that, at his coming, the Master may receive his own with usury. These talents are not distributed indiscriminately. God dispenses his sacred trusts according to the powers and capacities of his servants, and thus has given to “every man his work.” When their fidelity has been proved, their wise stewardship is evidence that they can be intrusted with the true riches, even the gift of everlasting life.
11 Despondent feelings are frequently the result of too much leisure. The hands and mind should be occupied in useful labor, lightening the burdens of others; and those who are thus employed will benefit themselves also. Idleness gives time to brood over imaginary sorrows; and frequently those who do not have real hardships and trials, will borrow them from the future.
12 There is much deception carried on under the cover of religion. Passion controls the minds of many who have become depraved in thought and feeling in consequence of “pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness.” These deceived souls flatter themselves that they are spiritually minded and especially consecrated, when their religious experience consists in a sickly sentimentalism rather than in purity, true goodness, and humiliation of self. The mind should be drawn away from self; its powers should be exercised in devising means to make others happier and better. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
13 True religion ennobles the mind, refines the taste, sanctifies the judgment, and makes its possessor a partaker of the purity and the holiness of Heaven. It brings angels near, and separates us more and more from the spirit and influence of the world. It enters into all the acts and relations of life, and gives us the “spirit of a sound mind,” and the result is happiness and peace.
14 Said the apostle Paul to his Philippian brethren, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Adopt this as the rule of life. “Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
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1 In these days when skepticism and infidelity so often appear in a scientific garb, we need to be guarded on every hand. Through this means our great adversary is deceiving thousands, and leading them captive according to his will. The advantage he takes of the sciences, sciences which pertain to the human mind, is tremendous. Here, serpent-like, he imperceptibly creeps in to corrupt the work of God.
2 This entering in of Satan through the sciences is well devised. Through the channel of phrenology, psychology, and mesmerism, he comes more directly to the people of this generation, and works with that power which is to characterize his efforts near the close of probation. The minds of thousands have thus been poisoned, and led into infidelity. While it is believed that one human mind so wonderfully affects another, Satan, who is ready to press every advantage, insinuates himself, and works on the right hand and on the left. And while those who are devoted to these sciences, laud them to the heavens because of the great and good works which they affirm are wrought by them, they little know what a power for evil they are cherishing; but it is a power which will yet work with all signs and lying wonders,—with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Mark the influence of these sciences, dear reader; for the conflict between Christ and Satan is not yet ended.
3 If Satan were to make an open and bold attack upon Christianity, it would bring the Christian at once to the feet of his mighty Deliverer, who alone could put the adversary to flight. He does not generally do this. He is artful, and knows that the most effectual way for him to accomplish his designs is to come to poor, fallen man in the form of an angel of light. In this disguise he works upon the mind to allure from the safe and right path. He has ever been ambitious to counterfeit the work of Christ, and establish his own power and claims. He leads deceived mortals to account for the works and miracles of Christ upon scientific principles; he makes them appear as the result of human skill and power. In many minds he will thus eventually destroy all true faith in Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God.
4 Satan worked in a similar manner when through Moses the power of God was manifested in Egypt. He well knew that Moses was chosen of God to break the yoke of bondage from off the children of Israel; and he also knew that in this work Moses was a type of Christ, who was to come to break the reign of sin over the human family, and to deliver those who were captives to its power. He was aware that when Christ should appear, mighty works and miracles would be wrought by him, that the world might know that the Father had sent him. He trembled for his power. He resolved to accomplish a work which should answer a twofold purpose,—(1) To destroy the influence of Moses as the servant of God, by using his agents to counterfeit the true work of God; (2) To exert an influence by his work through the magicians which would reach down through all ages, and in many minds destroy true faith in the mighty miracles to be performed by Christ when he should come to this world.
5 It was the power of God, and no human influence or power possessed by Moses, that produced those miracles wrought before Pharaoh. Those signs and wonders were designed to convince Pharaoh that the great “I AM” had sent Moses, and that it was the duty of the king to let Israel go that they might serve the living God. Pharaoh called for the magicians to work with their enchantments. They also showed signs and wonders; for they wrought not by their own science alone, but by the power of their god, the devil, who through them ingeniously carried out his deceptive work. Yet even here the power of God was shown to be superior to that of Satan; for the magicians were unable to perform all the miracles which God wrought through Moses. Only a few of them could they do. The magicians’ rods did become serpents, but Aaron’s rod swallowed them up. And when they sought to produce lice, and could not, they were compelled to acknowledge even to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”
6 Satan was unwilling to have the children of Israel released from bondage that they might serve God. He wrought through the magicians in a manner to harden the heart of the tyrant against the miraculous manifestations of God’s power. He also thought to stagger the faith of Moses and Aaron in the divine origin of their mission, and then his instruments would prevail. But after the magicians had failed to produce the plague of lice, they could no more imitate Moses and Aaron. God would not suffer Satanic deception to proceed further. His controlling power cut off the channel through which Satan worked, and even the instruments through whom Satan wrought so wonderfully could not save themselves from the plagues. We read: “The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.”
7 When Christ came to earth, Satan renewed his attack. He came to the Saviour in the wilderness in the form of a beautiful young man,—more like a monarch than a fallen angel,—with Scripture in his mouth. Said he, “It is written.” He spread the world before Christ in the most attractive light, and intimated to him that he need not endure so much suffering to gain its kingdoms; Satan would yield all his claims if Christ would but worship him.
8 Satan was dissatisfied in Heaven because he could not be first and highest in command, equal with the Father, exalted above Christ. In the wilderness he hoped to gain advantage through the weakness and suffering of Christ, and obtain from him that homage which he could not win in Heaven. Could he have succeeded, then the plan of salvation would have failed, and mankind would have been plunged in hopeless misery. But Jesus yielded not to the suggestion of the tempter for a moment; on the contrary, he asserted his superior power by bidding him, “Get thee hence.” Satan was baffled. He then turned his attention to accomplishing his purpose in another way,—by winning from the human race that honor which was refused him in Heaven, and by Jesus on earth; and here he has been only too successful.
9 The plan of redemption was not defeated. The dear price has been paid for man’s ransom. And now our great adversary seeks to tear away the foundation of the Christian’s hope, by turning men’s minds into such a channel that they may not be benefited through the great sacrifice offered. He leads them to believe that they can do very well without an atonement; that they need not depend upon a crucified and risen Saviour; that their own merits will entitle them to God’s favor. And then he destroys confidence in the Bible, well knowing that if he succeeds here, and faith in the detector which places a mark upon himself is destroyed, there are no bounds to the victories he may gain.
10 If the tempter can so deceive the human mind as to lead mortals to think that they possess the inherent power to perform great and good works, they cease to rely upon God. They acknowledge not a superior power. They give not God the glory which he claims, and which is due to his great and excellent Majesty. Satan’s object is thus accomplished; and he exults that fallen men presumptuously exalt themselves, as he exalted himself in Heaven, and was cast out. He knows that if they take this course, their ruin is just as certain as was his own.
11 Another means by which Satan seeks to separate the soul from God is to make man believe that prayer is but a useless form. He well knows how needful are meditation and prayer; and by his devices he would divert the mind from these important exercises, that the soul may not lean for help upon the mighty One, and obtain strength to resist his attacks. The prayer of faith is the great strength of the Christian, and will assuredly prevail. This is why Satan insinuates that we have no need of prayer.
12 Neglect of prayer leads men to rely on their own strength, and opens the door to temptation. In many cases the imagination is captivated by scientific research, and men are flattered through the consciousness of their own powers. The sciences which treat of the human mind are very much exalted. They are good in their place; but they are seized upon by Satan as his powerful agents to deceive and destroy souls. His arts are accepted as from Heaven, and he thus receives the worship which suits him well. The world, which is supposed to be benefited so much by phrenology and animal magnetism, never was so corrupt as now. Through these sciences, virtue is destroyed, and the foundations of Spiritualism are laid. And thousands are conversing with, and receiving instructions from, this demon-god, and are acting according to his teachings, all the while supposing that they are obeying the voice of God through their dead friends.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 Says Paul, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” This scripture is especially applicable as a warning against modern Spiritualism. If the mind commences to run in the channel of phrenology and animal magnetism, it is almost sure to lose its balance. “Vain deceit” takes possession of the imagination. Many think there is such power in themselves that they do not realize their need of help from a higher power. Their principles and faith are “after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Jesus has not taught them this. He does not direct the minds of men to themselves, but to God, the Creator of the universe, as the source of strength and wisdom.
2 “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” In this verse a special warning is given. The teachers of Spiritualism come in a pleasing, bewitching manner. Their object is to deceive, and those who listen to their fables are beguiled by the enemy of righteousness. When one is overcome by this fascinating influence, the mind is poisoned, and faith in Christ as the Son of God is destroyed. The victim of this sophistry is beguiled of his reward; for he is led to rely upon his own merits for salvation. Many exercise voluntary humility, are even willing to make sacrifices, to debase themselves, and to yield their minds to the belief of supreme nonsense. They receive the most absurd and erroneous ideas from those whom they believe to be their dead friends, now angels in a higher sphere; and their eyes are so blinded and their judgment so perverted that they see not the evil.
3 Spiritualism is a most successful and fascinating delusion,—one that is calculated to take hold of the sympathies of those who have laid their loved ones in the grave. Evil angels come in the form of these loved ones; they relate incidents connected with their lives, and perform acts which they performed while living. In this way they lead persons to believe that their dead friends are angels, hovering about them and communing with them. These evil angels who assume to be dead friends, are regarded with a certain idolatry, and with many, what they may say has greater influence than the word of God. This holy word they entirely reject, or they select the vital portions which testify of Christ and point out the way to Heaven, and change these plain statements to suit their own corrupt nature and ruin souls.
4 With due attention to the word of God, all may be convinced if they will of this soul-destroying delusion. That word declares in positive terms that “the dead know not anything.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6: “For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” The word of God expressly declares that the dead have no more a portion in anything that is done under the sun. Spiritualists say that the dead know everything that is done; that they communicate to their friends on earth, give valuable information, and perform wonders. “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Satan, transformed into an angel of light, works with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. He who could take up the Son of God, and place him upon a pinnacle of the temple, and again could take him up into an exceeding high mountain, and present before him the kingdoms of the world, can exercise his power upon the human family, who are far inferior in strength and wisdom to Jesus, even after he had taken upon himself man’s nature.
5 “Intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,” says the apostle. Some tamper with Spiritualism to gratify their curiosity. They have no real faith in it, and would start back with horror at the thought of being mediums; yet they place themselves in a position where Satan can exercise his power upon them. They do not mean to enter deep into this work; but they know not what they are doing. They are venturing upon forbidden ground; and the mighty destroyer considers them his lawful prey, and exercises his power upon them against their will. They have yielded their mind to his control, and he holds them captives. Nothing can deliver these ensnared souls but the power of God in answer to the earnest prayers of his faithful followers.
6 Satan cannot control minds unless they are yielded to him. But those who depart from the right are in serious danger. They separate themselves from God and from the watch-care of his angels; and the prince of darkness, who is ever upon the alert to destroy souls, begins to present to them his deceptions. Such are in the utmost peril. If they see the snare, and try to free themselves from it, it is not an easy matter. They have ventured on Satan’s ground, and he claims them. He will not hesitate to engage all his energies, and call to his aid all his evil host, to wrest a single human being from the hand of Christ. Those who have tempted the devil to tempt them cannot free themselves from his power without making a desperate effort. But when they begin to work for themselves, angels of God, whom they have grieved, come to their rescue. Satan and his angels are unwilling to lose their prey, and the conflict is severe. But if those who have erred continue to plead, and in deep humility confess their wrongs, angels that excel in strength will prevail, and wrench them from the powers of darkness.
7 The only safety now is in searching for the truth as it is revealed in the word of God, as we would search for hid treasure. The great and important truths for this time will prove as an anchor to hold God’s people amid the perils of the last days. But the mass of mankind despise God’s word, and prefer fables. They receive not the “love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”
8 The most licentious and corrupt are highly flattered by these spirits, which they believe to be the spirits of their dead friends, and the wicked and vile are vainly puffed up in their fleshly minds, “not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increaseth with the increase of God.” They deny Him who ministers strength to the body, that every member may increase with the increase of God, and each man become perfect in Christ Jesus.
9 Vain philosophy! The members of the body are controlled by the head. Spiritualists lay aside the Head, and believe that all the members of the body must act out their nature, and that fixed laws will lead them on in a state of progression without a head. Said Jesus: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
10 Christ is the source of our strength. He is the vine, we are the branches. We must receive nourishment from the Living Vine. Deprived of the strength and nourishment of that Vine, we are as members of the body without a head, just the condition that Satan wishes us to be in, that he may control us as he pleases. He works “with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” Spiritualism is a lie. It is founded on the great original lie, “Thou shalt not surely die.”
11 Satan is Christ’s personal enemy. He is the originator and leader of every species of rebellion in Heaven and on earth. His rage increases as the time to work grows shorter, and we do not realize his power. Evil angels are upon our track every moment. Are we prepared to resist them? Will not many souls be ensnared and taken? We should all now seek to arm ourselves for the contest in which we must soon engage; and the word of God is the only weapon which we can use successfully. That word, prayerfully studied and practically applied, will be our shield from Satan’s delusive arts, and will bring us off conquerors through the blood of the Lamb.
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1 A short time before Jesus entered Gethsemane to bear the sins of the world, he gave the memorable discourse recorded in the 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew, including the parable of the talents, given in chap. 25: 14-30. He was a partaker of our human nature, and was wearied with the work of the day. The Pharisees had pressed him into speaking on various subjects, while they watched his words, hoping to seize upon something whereby they might condemn him and vindicate themselves in their cruel purpose toward him; and he had exhausted his strength by prolonging his words of prediction and warning. His own words were, “I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work.”
2 The parable of the talents has a relation to that of the ten virgins, which preceded it. In the parable of the virgins, Jesus had presented events connected with his second coming, showing the duty of being in readiness, and waiting and watching for that great event; and in the parable of the talents he brought before his disciples in the most impressive manner the solemn, sacred duty of unselfish, vigilant labor in the cause of God. Jesus would teach us that it is not by a life of quiet, prayerful meditation alone that Christian character is perfected; something more is needed to give us a fitness for his second appearing. Neither does religion consist altogether in work; it is not necessary to be always busy, loaded down with cares and responsibilities, so that the cultivation of personal piety is neglected. Paul’s exhortation to Timothy was to the point: “Take heed to thyself,” and then “to the doctrine.” Keep thyself in the love and fear of God, and then preach the word with all diligence. We are to be, “not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
3 There are many whose religion consists in activities. They want to be engaged in, and have the credit of doing, some great work while the little graces that go to make up a lovely Christian character are entirely overlooked. The busy, bustling service, which gives the impression that one is doing some wonderful work, is not acceptable to God. It is a Jehu spirit, which says, “Come, see my zeal for the Lord.” It is gratifying to self; it feeds a self-complacent feeling; but all the while the soul may be defiled with the plague-spot of unsubdued, uncontrolled selfishness.
4 Jesus says, “I know thy works.” It is indeed true that all our works are passing in review before God; then how careful should we be to have them such as will bear inspection,—honest, pure, and holy. We should be particular in self-examination, making sure that we have the oil of grace in our vessel with our lamps. We should maintain a living connection with God, that no Satanic spirit may be allowed to have a moulding influence upon our experience and mar our work. The Christian must represent Jesus by both being good and doing good. Then there will be a fragrance about the life, a loveliness of character, which will reveal the fact that he is a child of God, an heir of Heaven.
5 The soul must be surrendered to God, submitted to be purified and made fit for the indwelling of his Holy Spirit. Unless the fountain be cleansed, the stream which issues from it will be impure; but if the fountain be pure, it cannot send forth bitter water. It is by cultivating meekness and lowliness, by performing kindly, thoughtful acts for others when no human eye can see and no human praise stimulate, by hiding self in Jesus, and letting his gentleness appear in the home-life, by exercising patience when provoked, giving a soft answer when tempted to be harsh, overbearing, and vindictive, that we leave the unmistakable impression on the minds of our children that father and mother are Christians. To be a Christian is to be Christlike,—to learn of him daily, to work as he worked, to deny self as he denied himself. Jesus lived not to please himself, and his disciples must follow his example.
6 To every one Jesus has left a work to do, there is no one who can plead that he is excused. Every Christian is to be a worker with Christ; but those to whom he has intrusted large means and abilities have the greater responsibilities, and Satan will tempt these in various ways to neglect their sacred trust. In the parable, Jesus carries his hearers forward to the general Judgment, when every man’s case will be decided according to his faithfulness in the work left for him to do. Men are justified by faith, but judged and rewarded according to their works.
7 The Master bestows his gifts according to the varied capacities of his servants. In the parable we read: “Unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.” To every one of us is committed some talent to be improved by use. The goods of Heaven are intrusted to our keeping, not to be hoarded or idolized, but to be wisely employed in the service of Christ. We are to place the highest value upon the talents committed to our trust, and to trade even with pence and farthings. Our opportunities may seem small; but if we are diligent, the blessing of God will rest on our efforts. He admits no idlers in his vineyard. All will be held responsible, from those in the highest positions to those in the most lowly; and of all he expects returns corresponding to the gifts bestowed.
8 Every man is responsible for the use he makes of his time, his talents, and his possessions; for they are not his own. In the parable we are represented as trading on borrowed capital. Our relation to God is that of borrowers; to our fellow-men, that of owners. God is the giver of all our benefits. Not only has he the right of ownership in ourselves and all that we have, but he alone can give wisdom to so guide us that we shall make no mistake in using our powers according to his purposes. Yet how few there are who consider that they must render an account to God for the use they make of every faculty. How often men act as though their time and their possessions were their own, to be used as best pleased themselves.
9 No honest, faithful laborer will rest content while neglecting to use his tact, skill, and inventive powers to advance the interests of his employer. If to successfully carry on the various enterprises connected with worldly business, aptness, careful thought, education, and discipline are required, how much more essential that these qualities be used in the service of the Lord, in advancing his cause in the earth; and as the faculties are exercised in this direction, their power is increased, so that each succeeding day we shall be able to do better work for God and humanity.
10 The power of speech is one of God’s good gifts to man. In the day of final accounts, we shall find that the tongue was a power for good or a power for evil. It is often used in making hard speeches, in speaking words that descend like a desolating hail upon tender plants. There is much dishonesty, much exaggeration, in the use of the tongue. All these things come under the head of idle words; and for every idle word that men utter, they must give an account at the bar of God.
11 There are many whose conversation is apt and appropriate where their own interests are concerned, who never think of their obligation to use precious talent in winning souls to Christ. But the power of speech is a sacred trust to be improved to exalt the plan of redemption and magnify its Author, to speak words of comfort to the discouraged and desponding, to speak kind and pleasant words that shall be as a refreshing draught to those who are thirsting for sympathy and love. Our conversation should not be upon our own disappointments and trials, but upon the love of Jesus and the better home in Heaven. Dear reader, let your conversation be honest. Use sound speech which cannot be condemned, that it may minister grace and knowledge to the hearer.
12 The gift of writing is a talent from God; but in many cases this too has been perverted so that it has become an active agent in promoting evil. Many who profess to be children of God write to their friends in an extravagant, jesting strain, perhaps even turning serious subjects into sport and ridicule. Every communication is registered in Heaven; a copy is imprinted on the books above, with the result of these productions; and in the day of Judgment, what shame will cover those who have written or spoken idle, mischievous words. But if the love of Jesus is in the heart, the letters will breathe his spirit. Out of the treasure-house of such a heart will be brought forth good, precious things, edifying the one with whom you communicate.
13 The Master has given directions, “Occupy till I come.” He is the great proprietor, and has a right to investigate every transaction, and approve or condemn; he has a right to rebuke, to encourage, to counsel, or to expel. The Lord’s work requires careful thought and the highest intellect. He will not inquire how successful you have been in gathering means to hoard, or that you may excel your neighbors in property, and gather attention to yourself while excluding God from your hearts and homes. He will inquire, What have you done to advance my cause with the talents I lent you? What have you done for me in the person of the poor, the afflicted, the orphan, and the fatherless? I was sick, poor, hungry, and destitute of clothing; what did you do for me with my intrusted means? How was the time I lent you employed? How did you use your pen, your voice, your money, your influence? I made you the depositary of a precious trust by opening before you the thrilling truths heralding my second coming. What have you done with the light and knowledge I gave you to make men wise unto salvation?
14 Our Lord has gone away to receive his kingdom; but he will prepare mansions for us, and then will come to take us to himself. In his absence he has given us the privilege of being co-laborers with him in the work of preparing souls to enter those mansions of light and glory. It was not that we might lead a life of worldly pleasure and extravagance that he left the royal courts of Heaven, clothing his divinity with humanity, and becoming poor that we through his poverty might be made rich. He did this that we might follow his example of self-denial for others.
15 Each one of us is building upon the true foundation, wood, hay, and stubble, to be consumed in the last great conflagration, and our life-work be lost, or we are building upon that foundation, gold, silver, and precious stones, which will never perish, but shine the brighter amid the devouring elements that will try every man’s work. Any unfaithfulness in spiritual and eternal things here will result in loss throughout endless ages. Those who lead a Christless life, who exclude Jesus from heart, home, and business, who leave him out of their counsels, and trust to their own heart, and rely on their own judgment, are unfaithful servants, and will receive the reward which their works have merited.
16 At his coming the Master will call his servants, and reckon with them. The parable certainly teaches that good works will be rewarded according to the motive that prompted them; that skill and intellect used in the service of God will prove a success, and will be rewarded according to the fidelity of the worker. Those who have had an eye single to the glory of God will have the richest reward. Selfishness, indolence, worldliness, pride, covetousness, and human ambition will appear in their true and hateful character, as the works of Satan; while every work done from love to Jesus, with a sincere desire to glorify him, will appear as the height of human excellence and wisdom.
17 With the consciousness that they have done only their duty, and merit no reward, the faithful stewards will present the talents they have gained through use. They bring sheaves. With their money and talents they have been instrumental in bringing honor to Jesus; through his blessing attending their efforts, they have been able to benefit others. They present to their Lord both principal and interest; but it is with a sense of humility. An eternal weight of glory is awarded them; but they receive it as a free gift.
18 But to those who hide their Lord’s talents in the earth, Jesus will say, “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. . . . Wherefore gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.”
19 Take from him the opportunities for usefulness which he has failed to improve. I have no confidence in him; he will not do faithful work for me. He has misused my gifts, perverted my talents. Had he traded in my interest upon the capital I intrusted to him, he would now reap eternal life; but he has lived selfishly; his life-work has been a failure. And now he comes unrolling a napkin, and telling me I have my own. He brings no interest. Take the talent from him, for he is no longer worthy of it, and give it to him that has ten talents; for to him that hath shall be given, and from him that has no returns to make, even that which I intrusted to him shall be taken away. And he shall suffer eternal loss. “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
20 I present these thoughts before the laymen in the church, that they may awaken to a sense of their responsibility. What are you doing, dear reader, with your intrusted talents? If you are burying them in the world, do so no longer. Work for Jesus; put your entire interest into his cause. Self-flattery and self-deception would make you believe that you are doing about right; but how does your life compare with that of Jesus when he was in this world? Jesus has done everything for you; he withheld not even himself. Now show zeal and earnestness in putting all your powers to work for him, and you will receive as your reward the gift of eternal life.
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1 In the days of Noah “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” This is an accurate description of the generation that perished in the waters of the flood; for it was written by inspiration.
2 “God saw that the wickedness of man was great,” and that the “earth was filled with violence.” Lawlessness was rife. God had given men his commandments as a rule of life; but the fear of God had well-nigh died out of their hearts. His law was transgressed, and almost every conceivable sin was the result. The wickedness of men was open and daring, and the cries of the oppressed reached to Heaven. Justice was trampled in the dust. The strong not only disregarded the rights of the weak, but forced them to commit deeds of violence and crime.
3 The same characteristics prevail in our day. Crimes as grievous, as black and terrible, are perpetrated. How many men in high positions, who have been honored as men of talent and integrity, have proved themselves unworthy to be trusted. How many such persons have been detected in fraud, bribery, theft, and even murder. Take up the secular papers, and read the accounts of murder. Many of these crimes are so cold-blooded and causeless that it seems as though men kill one another merely from impulse or for amusement. And these atrocities have become of such common occurrence that they hardly elicit a comment or awaken surprise. They are looked upon as a matter of course, as evils that must be endured.
4 Before the flood the wickedness of man was great; but this was not all. “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The purposes and desires of the heart were corrupt from day to day.
5 Men sometimes flatter themselves that in this enlightened age they are superior in knowledge and talents to those who lived before the flood; but those who think this do not rightly estimate the physical and mental strength of that long-lived race. Growth was slow and firm. Men did not, as at the present time, flash into maturity early, use up their vital forces, and only live out half their days. Their minds were of a high order, and were strong and clear. Had these men, with their rare powers to conceive and execute, devoted themselves to the service of God, they would have made their Creator’s name a praise in the earth, and would have answered the purpose for which he gave them being. But they failed to do this. Man corrupted his way on the earth. There were many giants, men of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom, skillful in devising the most cunning and wonderful work; but in proportion to their skill and mental ability was their great guilt because of unbridled iniquity. They were apostates from God, and were cruel and oppressive to those who were not able to resist them.
6 God bestowed upon these antediluvians many and rich gifts; but they used his bounties to glorify themselves, and turned them into a curse by fixing their thoughts and affections upon the gifts instead of the Giver. They had goodly trees of great variety and almost without limit; but of these they made temples, where they reveled in scenes of pleasure and wickedness. Gold, silver, and precious stones were in abundance, but they used these also to gratify the desires of their own proud hearts.
7 These sinful men could not deny the existence of God; but they would have been glad to know that there was no God to witness their deeds, and call them to an account. They delighted to put him out of their minds and hearts. The children were not taught to fear and reverence their Maker. They grew up unrestrained in their desires; and were without principle or conscience. Their minds were absorbed in devising means to rival one another in pleasure and vice. This world was all the Heaven these people wanted. They were slaves to appetite and passion, and the indulgence of every wish was their ambition. They were hasty and violent, and would bear no contradiction. Everything that interfered with their desires was bitterly hated, and quickly moved out of the way.
8 Yet the whole world was not corrupt. There were faithful witnesses for God. Methuselah, Enoch, Noah, and many others labored to keep alive on the earth the knowledge of the true God, and to stay the tide of moral evil. God declared that his Spirit should not always strive with guilty men, but that their probation should be a hundred and twenty years; if they did not then cease to pollute with their sins the world and its rich treasures, he would blot them from his creation; and these faithful ministers of righteousness gave the warning message to the world. But the light was not heeded; and the preaching of Noah and his co-laborers impressed hearts less and less. Many, even of the worshipers of God, were beguiled into sin by the bewitching allurements which were constantly before them, and lost their peculiar, holy character. They had not sufficient moral power to stand against the corrupting influences of the age.
9 By their obstinate resistance to the reproofs of conscience and the warnings of God’s prophets, that generation filled up the measure of their iniquity, and became ripe for destruction. The patience of God was exhausted, and he determined to manifest his justice in the utter extinction of the sinful race, who had given themselves up to the almost unrestrained control of Satan. Because mankind had perverted his gifts, he would deface and destroy the things with which he had delighted to bless them; he would sweep away the beasts of the field, and the rich vegetation which furnished such an abundant supply of food, and transform the fair earth into one vast scene of desolation and ruin.
10 Is not this picture of the antediluvian world reproduced in our time? Man has not grown more pure and holy since the days of Noah. His heart has not changed; it is still “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” The intense worldliness of that generation is exceeded by that of the generation now living. Money is lavishly spent for costly houses, fine horses and carriages, and other expensive articles for luxury and display, while the poor suffer for food and clothing. God intrusts means to his stewards that they may prevent heart-sickening poverty with its attendant ignorance and wretchedness; but they do not realize their duty to their fellow-men. The fear of God is banished from their hearts, and his law is treated with indifference and neglect.
11 Said Christ, “As in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” God did not condemn the antediluvians for eating and drinking; he had given them the fruits of the earth in great abundance to supply their physical wants. Their sin consisted in taking these gifts without gratitude to the Giver, and debasing themselves by indulging appetite without restraint.
12 It was lawful for them to marry. Marriage was in God’s order; it was one of the first institutions which he established. He gave special directions concerning this ordinance, clothing it with sanctity and beauty; but these directions were forgotten, and marriage was perverted and made to minister to passion. The pious mingled with the depraved, and became like them in spirit and in deeds. “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.”
13 A similar state of things exists now in relation to marriage. Marriages are formed between the godly and the ungodly because inclination governs in the selection of husband or wife. The parties do not ask counsel of God, nor have his glory in view. Christianity ought to have a controlling, sanctifying influence upon the marriage relation; but husband and wife are not united by Christian principle; uncontrolled passion lies at the foundation of many of the marriages that are contracted at the present time.
14 In Noah’s day there were men who laughed to scorn his words of warning. They said that there were fixed laws in nature, which made a flood impossible; that Noah was crazy on this subject, and if there were any truth in what he said, the men of renown, the wise, the prudent, the great men, would understand the matter. There was total disbelief in Noah’s testimony in regard to the coming judgments; but this unbelief did not prevent or hinder the coming storm. At the appointed time, “the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened,” and the earth was washed of its corruption. Only those who found shelter in the ark were saved.
15 Reader, another storm is coming. The earth will again be swept by the desolating wrath of God; and again sin and sinners will be destroyed. Do you feel that it is an event of little importance? Read some of the utterances of the prophets in reference to the day of God: “Behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” “Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord. The mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.”
16 But though this is a day of trouble and distress to the wicked, the righteous will be able to say, “Lo, this is our God;” “we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” The truth will be their shield and buckler. God will be their refuge, and under his wings shall they trust. Says the psalmist: “Because thou hast made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”
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1 Christians do not always make the public worship of God of sufficient importance. They do not realize their responsibility in the matter. The prayer-meeting, especially, is often dull, spiritless, and unattractive. But it need not be. Even where few love the hour of prayer, it may be made interesting and profitable. The presence of Jesus is not confined to large assemblies. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name,” he says, “there am I in the midst of them.” “If two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven.”
2 We may rest with assurance upon these promises; but if we would have them fulfilled to us, we must live so that God can consistently bless us. If we consciously cherish envy, malice, or any evil in our hearts, our worship is only mockery in the sight of God. We must confess and forsake our sins; we must search our hearts, and see that everything is put away that grieves the dear Saviour; we must be living examples of the transforming grace of God. But when we have done all on our part, we may come to Jesus in humble faith; and he will hear our prayers, for his word is pledged.
3 If the prayer-meeting is made what it ought to be, it must be preceded by holy living. “The kingdom of God, and his righteousness,” must be made the first consideration. To meet the claims of God involves a cross. We are under obligation to honor him by a well-ordered life and godly conversation, and to do all in our power to win others to his service. And to do this requires self-denial. It leaves us no time to devote to selfish plans or pursuits. Frequently business matters receive careful attention, while the interests of the soul are made secondary. While this state of things exists, Christians can never have a convincing power with unbelievers, and the prayer-meeting will be destitute of the presence of the Spirit of God.
4 Let every one who professes to be a follower of Christ inquire, What am I doing for Jesus? “Ye are the light of the world,” said Christ to his disciples. Can you, then, feel clear in inactivity and indolence in the cause of God? There is no such thing as selfishness in religion,—no such thing as a religion that can be enjoyed without benefiting any one. The truth held in humility will commend itself to the minds and hearts of others. The faith which works by love, and purifies the heart, cannot be kept bottled up like some precious perfume. The light of the Christian is not to be put under a bushel, but on a candle-stick, that it may give light to all that are in the house.
5 Christian friends, will you consider how you can make the prayer-meeting interesting? You can do this if you will. Do not feel that God will care for the meeting, and you have nothing to do. He has given you ability, and he requires you to use it. In the plan of salvation, man must co-operate with God. He has duties to perform as well as hopes to entertain. In the first place, you are not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Be prompt and regular in your attendance. Do not let trifles keep you away from the house of prayer. Though there may be but two or three who meet together, be in your place at the time appointed.
6 Before leaving home, go to God in secret prayer. Plead with him for his blessing, and He who “seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” With your heart softened by the love of Jesus, go to the meeting, feeling that you are personally responsible for its success. If but few attend, you should feel under double responsibility. You are in the service of God, and should do what you can with your talent, tact, and skill to make his worship interesting. You bestow care and thought on business matters; you labor to make them a success. Would you do less for the worship of God? Are not eternal interests of far greater importance than those that are earthly? In this matter act like intelligent, rational beings. Do not so burden yourselves with temporal cares that you will have no life and energy for the prayer-meeting. God will work with your efforts; but he will not bless you in indolence and carelessness. He speaks to hearts that feel, to consciences that respond to his claims.
7 When you speak or pray, make an effort to speak in clear tones, loud enough to be heard by all. You do not address your family in a whisper, but in a cheerful, pleasant, audible voice; why not let the same distinct and agreeable tones be heard in the prayer-meeting? If you have never learned to talk aloud when speaking of Jesus, let this be one of your first lessons. If you have been in the habit of praying so that no one present could understand what you said, reserve all such whispered prayers for the closet. How can the prayer-meeting be made interesting, when the prayers offered and the testimonies borne are spoken in so low a tone that only an occasional word can be heard? Who can respond “Amen”? Who can be benefited by such testimonies, however good and fitting they may be in themselves? Who can know how to speak words of comfort and encouragement, or to help those who need help?
8 Many prayers and testimonies are as destitute of the Spirit of God as a dry sponge is of moisture; for there is no Jesus abiding in the heart. This makes the prayer-meeting cold and lifeless, and it is no wonder that children dread such seasons. Bring no dull, complaining spirit into the prayer-meeting. Do not compare notes to see how sorrowful a story you can tell. There is enough to talk about without raising one doleful strain. When we are willing to come as little children, conscious of our own weakness, and willing to be instructed by the Divine Teachers, our hearts will be filled with the love of Jesus, and we shall long to speak of his matchless worth. We shall cease to talk of self. Our trials will look so small that we shall forget to mention them. We have many blessings. Let us cultivate gratitude, and talk of the goodness of God.
9 We should individually know Jesus as a sin-pardoning Saviour. We should be able to testify to his compassionate love, and the virtues of the cleansing stream that washes away the stains of sin. Why not speak often one to another of the blessed hope held out before us in the great plan of salvation? Why not talk of the heavenly inheritance and of the rich promises of God? Jesus lives to intercede for us; then let us be glad. Let us come before the Lord with gratitude and praise in our hearts and on our lips. Let us, with rejoicing, speak to one another “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody” in our hearts to the Lord. “Whoso offereth praise,” says the Creator, “glorifieth me.” Let us not withhold the tribute that is his due.
10 Full to overflowing will be the heart that is transformed by grace. Divine love will be revealed in the manner, in the speech, in the life. The Christian will enjoy communion with his Maker; he will enjoy the precious privileges of his high calling in Christ Jesus. We want calm devotion; we want the courage and hope to be derived from worshiping God with his people; but we must also have activity and energy, for we have a work to do. “Ye are a chosen generation,” says Peter, “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
11 Let us who have experienced these rich blessings seek to draw others to the Saviour, that they may share the light that shines upon our pathway. Let us point them to Jesus, and say, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The highest commendation we can receive as Christian workers is to say that we present Christ lifted up on the cross as the object of supreme desire; and how can we do this better than by making religion attractive? Let us show that to us the worship of God is not drudgery and dry form, but spirit and life.
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1 The Lord chose Israel as his peculiar people, and designed that they should be the depositaries of his law. They were to be a distinct and holy nation, separate from the heathen nations around them. They were to preserve the knowledge of the true God, and through them, light from Heaven was to shed its healing beams to all the world. They were to be a living illustration of the superiority of that religion which acknowledges God as the supreme ruler of the universe.
2 But in the days of Ahab, one of Israel’s wicked kings, the people wandered far from God. The heathen Jezebel, whom Ahab married, introduced the worship of false gods,—Baal and the Zidonian goddess Ashtoreth. Through her influence the people were taught that these idol gods were deities, ruling the elements of earth, fire, and water by their mystic power. They forgot that the hills and valleys, the streams and fountains, were in the hand of the living God; that he controlled the sun, the clouds of heaven, and all the powers of nature. They forgot that in the wilderness, in the day of Israel’s need, he had listened to the prayers of Moses, and that in obedience to his word living waters gushed from the smitten rock.
3 The Lord sent his prophet with words of warning and rebuke. He came to the king, through whose influence the people had been led into idolatry, and asserted Jehovah’s right to be the only God in Israel. Repeated warnings were given only to be disregarded. The people were captivated by the gorgeous display, and the fascinating rites of idol worship; and they followed the example of their king, and gave themselves up to a degrading and sensual worship, and its intoxicating pleasures. Led by the king and his court, they rejected the moral government of Jehovah, and were unfaithful to their trust as the depositaries of divine truth. The clear light shone upon them; but they preferred to follow their own ways rather than God’s ways. And the worship of God, and the good and wholesome laws he had given them, were disregarded.
4 At length the time came when God could bear with them no longer, and he sent his prophet with a message of denunciation. Elijah came in before the king unannounced, and, lifting his hand toward heaven, solemnly declared: “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” Having delivered his terrible message, he departed as suddenly as he came, and was gone, before the astonished king could frame a reply.
5 The word of the Lord went into immediate effect. Apostate Israel should test the power of the gods to whom they had rendered homage. They had forsaken him who brought them up out of Egypt, and had forgotten the wonderful displays of his power at the Red Sea and in the wilderness; and he withdrew his gracious blessings, which they had taken as a matter of course, without gratitude, without even acknowledging them as his gifts. He cut off the dew and rain of heaven, and what a scene of desolation the parched and barren earth became! Now the people could see that he who created nature could control her laws, and could make them the instruments of blessing or destruction.
6 The priests of Baal have worshiped nature, and have exalted the created above the Creator. All the blessings they enjoy have been ascribed to nature and to their gods. Now they have an opportunity to prove the power of their gods, and of showing that Elijah’s words are false. They have altars and priests, and expensive sacrifices are provided to be offered to their idol gods. If nature, governed by her infallible laws, continues her course in defiance of Jehovah’s threatenings, then let nature be exalted above the God of nature. If Baal can bring showers of rain; if he can clothe the fields with verdure, and cause vegetation to flourish; if he can bring forth the harvest in its season, and thus provide food for man and beast, then let the gods of wood and stone be worshiped. Who shall fear the God of Elijah, or tremble at the words of the prophet?
7 The famine came with all its horrors; but the people did not learn the lesson God would teach them. They did not humble their proud hearts, but began to search for some other cause for their sufferings than the true one. They finally decided that Elijah was the originator of all their misery. He had told them that they were breaking the law of God; that all, both teachers and people, were given to idolatry; and he had announced that the Lord would bear with them no longer. If they could only put Elijah out of the way, their troubles would be at an end. The king searched for him through all the land, and there was no nation or kingdom whither he did not send messengers to seek for the man whom he feared and hated.
8 But at last the word of the Lord came to Elijah, “Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” The king and the prophet meet; and the king haughtily demands, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” The prophet casts back the imputation. “I have not troubled Israel,” he replies; “but thou and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.”
9 It was disregard of the law of God on the part of Ahab and his people that had brought all their calamities upon them; and Elijah hesitated not to declare the whole truth to the guilty king. The world is full of flatterers and dissemblers, both in palaces and in the ordinary walks of life; but how few there are who have the courage that Elijah manifested,—how few who will stand in defense of the broken law of God in opposition to the great men of earth.
10 The character of Baal, and that of the true God, were fully revealed. In the long famine the Lord had shown himself mightier than the gods of the heathen; and then came the great test on Carmel, when fire fell from heaven, and consumed the sacrifice of Elijah. The people were now ready to admit that the God of Elijah was above every god, and with one accord they exclaimed, “The Lord, he is the God! the Lord, he is the God!” But they must be protected from those who had taught them idolatry. That they might no longer allure souls to ruin, Elijah was directed to destroy the four hundred and fifty false teachers who had led the people to transgress. When Israel had acknowledged allegiance to the God of Heaven, and the priests of Baal were slain, the windows of heaven were opened, and the blessed showers were permitted to fall on the seared and blackened earth.
11 The character of God has not changed. He is still the mighty God of Israel. “Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” And he is just as jealous for his law now as he was in the days of Ahab and Elijah.
12 And how that law is disregarded at the present day! It is made void by many, even among professed Christians. This is a truth-hating, Bible-neglecting, froward generation. By many it is considered as evidence of ability and learning to sneer at the word of God; and in many cases those who are simple enough to take that word just as it reads, and believe it, are subjects of ridicule. But the Lord will not suffer his law to be broken with impunity. There is a time coming “when the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” Then they will learn the important lesson that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;” they will realize that “a good understanding have all they that do his commandments.”
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1 The old year with its three hundred and sixty-six days of privilege and duty, has passed into eternity; and each day a record has been made in the books of Heaven. Our individual characters are as distinctly and faithfully represented there as are the features of the face on the polished plate of the artist. The Lord never mistakes in his estimate of our acts and motives. Our lives stand revealed before the angels in their true light. If the character is unlovely and debased, if the disposition is harsh, over-bearing, and passionate, these traits will exclude their possessor from Heaven. All our acts, with the motives that prompted them, are weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and the decisions rendered are just and equal. The Lord does not excuse in one what he condemns in another.
2 Dear reader, examine your own heart and life in the light of God’s word, and ask yourself, “What has my record been for the year that is just closing? What advancement have I made in the Christian life? what victories have I gained? and what have I done to help others, and lead them to Christ?”
3 God has not placed you in this world to lead an aimless life. He designs that you should be useful, and reach a high standard of moral excellence. To each one some work is given. During the old year have you performed your appointed task with cheerfulness and fidelity, having an eye single to the glory of God? Opportunities and privileges have been granted you; what use have you made of these good gifts intrusted to you by our loving heavenly Father? Have you made yourself a blessing to those around you? Have you done what you could to make them happy and win them to Christ?
4 All this is a part of your appointed work. God also requires each of us to subdue self, not giving the rein to self-indulgence or appetite, and to form characters that will stand the test of the Judgment and go with us into the future life. To guide us in this work he has given us his law, that great standard of right, which will prove a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Have you been conforming your life to this standard? Have you been forming right habits; a Christlike character, or have vicious habits been left to grow and strengthen, until they hold mind and heart in bondage?
5 Let us remember that character is not the result of accident, but day by day it is forming for good or for evil. Great importance attaches to this work of character building; for it is far-reaching in its results. We are builders for time and for eternity. Few realize the power of habit. Inspiration asks, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” and adds, “Then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil.” This is a solemn assertion, and may well make us thoughtful. But there is comfort and courage in the reflection that if evil habits acquire such force that it seems almost impossible to turn in the right direction, the power of good habits is equally strong. The results of each day’s work, whether the tendency be to elevate us in the scale of moral worth or to push us downward toward perdition, are influenced by the days that have preceded it. Defeat today prepares the way for still greater defeat tomorrow; victory today insures an easier victory tomorrow. Then how careful we should be to see that the habits and characters we are forming are correct and virtuous, fashioned after the Divine Model.
6 Young friends, restrain your feet from all evil ways. Do not take the first step in that direction; for there is no peace or happiness in them. Temptations may come to you in many bewitching forms to entice you from the path of rectitude; but beware. Evil angels, like a dark cloud, are around the vicious and depraved. They are binding them, body and soul, in firm chains that nothing but the grace of God can unloose. Look at the pale, sickly faces of your young companions who have gone astray. Their vicious practices may be read in their haggard countenances, and in their trembling, staggering gait. Bad habits have fixed a brand upon them which they will carry to the grave. They may reform, and improve their condition physically and mentally, and God will pardon, but the traces of sin will remain.
7 Men may discipline themselves to do right. Like Daniel they may have a Heaven-born purpose in their hearts that they will not defile soul or body, notwithstanding the degeneracy and corruption of the age. God gave Daniel “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.” His blessing attended the man who put forth human effort in accordance with the divine will. The same help will still be given to all who pursue a similar course, and with the glory of God in view practice abstinence and self-restraint. The same difference will be seen between them and the self-indulgent that there was between Daniel and his fellows and the other youth in the king’s court. There will be the clear eye and complexion, the firm tread, the strength and vigor of intellect, the keen perception of spiritual truth.
8 “Make straight paths for your feet,” says the apostle, “lest that which is lame be turned out of the way.” The path that leads away from God, away from his holy, perfect standard of right, is always crooked and dangerous. Yet during the past year many have been walking in this path of transgression. In many cases they did not start right in childhood and youth, and they have pursued crooked paths all the way along. Not only have they erred from the right way themselves, but through the influence of their example others have been turned aside from the straight, plain path, and have made fatal mistakes.
9 We do not always understand the sacred meaning attached to our life and our life-work. We do not always realize the power of example. We are brought in contact with others. We meet persons who are erring, who do wrong in various ways; they may be disagreeable, quick, passionate, dictatorial. While dealing with these we must be patient, forbearing, kind, and gentle. Satan works through them to provoke and harass, so that we shall not exhibit a pleasant and lovable disposition. There are trials and perplexities for us all to encounter; for we are in a world of cares, anxieties, and disappointments. But these continual annoyances must be met in the spirit of Christ. Through grace we may rise superior to our surroundings, and keep our spirits calm and unruffled amid the frets and worries of every-day life. We shall thus represent Christ to the world.
10 It is only through the help of the Spirit of God that we can gain so great a victory. The apostle exhorts his Ephesian brethren: “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. . . . Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance.”
11 Consecration to God must be a living, practical matter; not a theory to be talked about, but a principle interwoven with all our experience. We should let our light so shine before others that they, seeing our good works, shall glorify our Father who is in Heaven. We should show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. If the light of Heaven is in the soul, it will be reflected to all around us. I wish all could see this important subject in its true light. There would not then be such thoughtlessness of words and acts, such careless, indolent, irreligious living.
12 Dear reader, shall the close of the year 1885 find you farther advanced than you are today? Will you put away evil habits? Will you be considerate of others, faithful to do the work of a Christian? If you will carry the principles of right-doing into all the affairs of life, you will find that it will promote health of body, peace of mind, and prosperity of soul. You will have a strength, dignity, and sweetness of character that will have a transforming influence upon others.
13 We are now entering upon a new year, and may it prove a beginning of years to us. If in the old year we have made failures, let us commence the new by rectifying these errors as far as we can. If the old year has borne into eternity a spotted record of opportunities neglected and privileges slighted, let us see that that of the new year is free from these blemishes. Its days are all before us; let us begin now to make the history of each as it passes such as we shall not tremble to meet in the Judgment. Let us fill each one full of loving, helpful work for others. Let us develop all our powers, and make of ourselves all that God designed we should.
14 In the keeping of God’s commandments there is great reward. A reward awaits the overcomer in the great day, when he shall hear from the lips of our Lord the gracious words, “Well done, good and faithful servant;” and there is also a present reward in the peace and happiness that flow from a conscience at rest, from the sweet assurance that we enjoy the favor of God. “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.” To all who walk in his ways the new year will be crowned with goodness and blessing.
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1 John was one of the first to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. He had listened to the preaching of John the Baptist, and knew that he was sent as the forerunner of Him who was the Hope of Israel. To John and Andrew the Baptist pointed out Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” They immediately sought an interview with the new teacher. If the testimony which they had heard borne of him was indeed true, that it was he who should take away the sin of the world, they would become acquainted with him, and be instructed by his words of wisdom. Jesus saw them following him, and welcomed them to his humble abode. They remained with him that night, and when they left his presence, it was with their faith in his divine character and mission fully confirmed.
2 Andrew went in search of his own brother, Simon, and brought him to Jesus, with the welcome announcement, “We have found the Messiah.” The next day Jesus called Philip to follow him. Philip sought out Nathanael, whom he knew to be a sincere and godly man, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and expressed his firm conviction that in Jesus of Nazareth he had found “Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.”
3 Andrew, Peter, James, and John were henceforth known as disciples of Jesus. They accompanied him to Jerusalem, and were with him while he preached in the cities and villages of Judea, and in Samaria on his return to Galilee. They heard his teachings, and witnessed the exhibitions of divine power in the miracles which he performed; and day by day their faith increased, that this unassuming Galilean peasant was indeed the promised Messiah, who should restore the kingdom to Israel.
4 Though they attended upon the preaching of Jesus, and were much in his society, they still pursued their humble calling; but the time came when they were to leave their nets and their fishing boats, and be more closely associated with Jesus. Crowds now attended upon his ministry; and as he taught by the lake of Gennesaret, they so “pressed upon him to hear the word of God,” that he entered into Peter’s boat, and from it taught the people on the shore. When he had ceased speaking, he said unto Peter, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” Peter answered that they had toiled all night, and had taken nothing. Their labors had been fruitless in the usual time for fishing, and there was no human probability of success now; “nevertheless,” said Peter, “at thy word I will let down the net.” It was done, and the draught of fishes was so great that the net could not contain them, and James and John, the partners of Andrew and Peter, were called to their assistance.
5 Astonished beyond measure at the unexpected result of his act of simple obedience, Peter impulsively exclaimed, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” But Jesus soothed his excited disciples, telling them that from henceforth they should be fishers of men. An important and solemn work was before them. They were to give up their only means of support, and spend their lives in unselfish efforts to save perishing sinners; but before he called them to this life of self-denial and dependence upon God, the loving Saviour showed them, that, as Lord of Heaven and earth, he was abundantly able to provide for all their wants.
6 “And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.” From this time they were constantly with Jesus. The Great Teacher passed by the wise men of earth, the talented and the educated, who were accustomed to receive praise and homage as leaders of the people. They were so proud and self-confident in their boasted superiority that they could not be moulded to sympathize with suffering humanity and become co-laborers with the humble Man of Nazareth. It was easier to train and educate these unlearned fishermen for the high and holy work to which he had called them; for they were teachable. They could be elevated to meet the divine standard. They could be taught to subdue self, and could be imbued with correct principles and pure doctrines.
7 Before they should go out to preach to all the world the good news of salvation through Christ, the disciples were to gain an experience; their fidelity was to be tested.
8 While teaching them, Jesus was instructing the world. He opened to them sacred truths. He taught them the worth of the soul, that they might feel the importance of laboring for its salvation with zeal and enthusiasm. They must be fitted for the great work which they were to carry forward when Jesus should leave them and return to the Father; and he kept them near him that they might see the character of his labor and be inspired with his spirit.
9 John was distinguished above the other disciples as the one whom Jesus loved; and he received many tokens of the confidence and love which he enjoyed in so pre-eminent a degree. While not in the least weak or vacillating in character, he had cultivated an amiable disposition and possessed a warm, loving heart. It was his delight to be ever at the side of his Master, listening to his gracious words of instruction, and his deep and genuine affection led him to be a doer as well as a hearer of the word. Day by day his heart was drawn out toward Christ, until he lost sight of self in love for his Master.
10 His love for Jesus was not a mere human friendship; it was the love of a repentant sinner, who felt his dependence on the pardoning love and transforming grace of his Redeemer. His deep and fervent affection was not the cause, but the effect of Christ’s love for him. It did not spring from natural goodness of heart; for he had by nature serious defects of character. But self was hid in Christ. He was closely united to the Living Vine; and though naturally proud, ambitious, and quick to resent slight and injury, he became meek and lowly of heart, a partaker of the divine nature. Such will ever be the result of communion with Christ.
11 John was willing to be trained as to his manner of working and the spirit in which he should labor. He did not tenaciously cling to his own way, but yielded his will to that of Christ. He loved to contemplate the life of Jesus; and his strong love gave him a deeper, clearer insight into the character of his divine Lord than any of the other disciples possessed. Here he found the great lessons and perfect model of his own life, and he was ever trying to mould his character after the lovely one presented by the Saviour.
12 The confiding love and unselfish devotion of John present lessons of untold value to the Christian church. God is no respecter of persons. Heaven is a place prepared for those who have a fitness of character for the society of angels. Its lofty seats are not reserved for relatives and particular friends, but are given to those who love most. The beautiful mansions are opened to those who have practiced self-denial, who have brought their wills into subjection to the will of God, and in life and character have conformed to the divine standard. They may have by nature fierce tempers and grave faults, and these may have been fostered and increased by wrong methods of training; but if through the grace of Christ they subdue their unlovely traits, and fight the good fight of faith, they will receive the overcomer’s rich reward.
13 The work before every one of us who have named the name of Christ is to copy the divine Pattern. We must rely in loving confidence upon the merits of Christ, and take hold upon his strength. Day by day we must subdue the evil traits that strive for the mastery. Earnest faith and loving obedience will bring us into as close relationship to Christ as was the loving and beloved John. Those who are faithful in this appointed work will be the acknowledged heroes of the heavenly courts. They reflect a bright light to the world now, for the power of divine grace is made manifest in them; and by and by they will shine forever as stars in the kingdom of Heaven.
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1 On one occasion, as Jesus was journeying with his disciples, the twelve disputed among themselves as to which of their number should be greatest. They thought that Jesus, as the promised Messiah, would set up an earthly kingdom, and reign in Jerusalem on the throne of his father David; and John was no less anxious than his brethren to secure the highest place in that kingdom. The disciples did not intend their words to reach the ears of their Master; but he knew their hearts, and embraced this opportunity to give them a lesson in humility.
2 When they were come into the house, Jesus asked, “What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?” The presence of Jesus, and his question, put the matter in an entirely different light from that in which it had appeared to them while they were contending by the way, and they held their peace. They could now see that selfishness and pride of heart were at the foundation of their desire for the pre-eminence. It is no wonder that shame and self-condemnation kept them silent. But a little while before, Jesus had told them that he was to die for their sakes, and their selfish ambition was in painful contrast to his unselfish love.
3 When Jesus told them that he was to be put to death, and rise again the third day, he designed to awaken their interest, and draw them out to converse with him on this subject; but, wholly engrossed in their own selfish and ambitious hopes and plans, they failed to comprehend him, and they let this golden opportunity to obtain definite knowledge concerning the great test of faith which awaited them, pass unimproved. Had this important truth deeply impressed their minds, they would have been saved much anguish and despair. Jesus would have spoken to them words that would have afforded consolation and hope in their hour of bereavement and keen disappointment.
4 There was a radical defect in the characters of the chosen twelve, which must be pointed out and remedied. And Jesus “sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them; and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.” Those who possess the spirit of Christ will have no desire to occupy a position above their brethren; and those who are small in their own eyes are the ones who will be accounted great in the sight of God.
5 This lesson was not lost upon John. He saw his character in a new light. An act was brought to his mind which he had supposed was right, but which he now began to question. “Master,” said he, “we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us; and we forbade him.” James and John had thought that in forbidding this man to work miracles in the name of Christ, they had had their Lord’s honor in view; but they began to see that they had been influenced by wrong apprehensions and a jealous desire for self-preferment. They acknowledged their mistake, and meekly accepted the mild reproof of Jesus: “Forbid him not; for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part.”
6 But though so willing to make a personal application of the lessons of Jesus, James and John were by no means ready to abandon their ambitious designs. Soon after this, accompanied by their mother, they came to Jesus with the petition that they might be permitted to occupy the position of greatest honor in his kingdom. Jesus answered them, “Ye know not what ye ask.” He knew the infinite sacrifice that awaited him; that before the kingly throne there was to be humiliation and shame, and the agonizing death of the cross. And yet he would willingly endure the terrible ordeal for the sake of seeing souls saved in his kingdom to enjoy untold bliss throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.
7 This was the joy that was set before Christ, the glory that he was to receive, and that the two disciples had unwittingly requested to share. Jesus asked them, “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Little did they comprehend the bitter cup of which their Lord spoke, or realize the fiery baptism; but they fearlessly responded, “We are able.” Jesus said unto them, “Ye shall indeed drink of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.”
8 “And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.” They were not less anxious than James and John to secure the chief places in the kingdom of Christ; they were therefore angry with the two brothers for taking, as they thought, an undue advantage. Aware of their ambition and their resentment, Jesus reasoned with them. “Ye know,” he said, “that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” There was to be a difference between his kingdom and the kingdoms of the world. “The princes of the Gentiles” were ambitious, and sought for place and power; but their course in this respect resulted from false ideas of greatness and the pride of the human heart. Among the disciples of Christ an entirely different state of things was to exist. One was not to aspire to dominion over his brethren, and to seek to be lord over God’s heritage.
9 “Even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” He, their Master, had set them an example of unselfish care for others. He was Lord of Heaven, and angels obeyed his word; yet he condescended to take upon himself the weaknesses and infirmities of human nature, to live man’s example and to die his sacrifice. He did not, while upon earth, choose for himself wealth and honor and pleasant associations; but his life was spent among humble peasants in ministering to the wants of the needy and the afflicted. He did not shrink from contact with the most degraded and sinful; he preached the good news of pardon and peace to all who would accept it on Heaven’s gracious and liberal terms. And in their ministry the disciples were to follow his example.
10 The great lesson which Jesus taught on these occasions is thus expressed by the apostle Paul: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another.” The disciples were in a school in which Christ was teacher; and those who were willing to see their own defects, and were anxious to improve in character, had ample opportunity. They were constantly receiving line upon line, precept upon precept, showing them that meekness, humility, and love were essential to growth in grace, and to a fitness for the work upon which they were soon to enter.
11 The instruction that Christ gave was not designed merely for the little group that listened to his words, but was recorded for the benefit of all his followers to the close of time. The truths he unfolded are of universal application, and should deeply impress our hearts; for they were never more needed than at the present time. The desire for place and power was never stronger; and there are many who think of others only to plan to advantage themselves at their neighbor’s expense.
12 The people of God should be firmly united in love, strengthening one another against temptations and trials; but how often Satan diverts the mind to selfish objects. He knows our wrong traits of character, and he takes advantage of every opportunity to arouse them to activity. He excites contention, and leads professed Christians to seek for the supremacy, while through pride and self-esteem he blinds their eyes to their own defects of character. While the disciples were contending among themselves as to which of them should be greatest, they little thought that Jesus heard them; but he read their hearts, and understood their ambitious desires. Just so it is at the present time. Jesus is weighing the character of every individual. If our motives are not pure, if our desire to please self is stronger than our desire for righteousness or to glorify God, we may rest assured that nothing is hidden from his eye, and that the desires of our hearts, as well as the acts of our lives, will be considered in the Judgment.
13 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
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1 After the death of Christ, John became a faithful, ardent laborer for his Master. For a time, judging from the world’s standpoint, the Christian faith was well-nigh extinct. Its Author had died on the cross as a malefactor, and his handful of obscure disciples were covered with reproach. But John and his brethren were not disheartened. Obedient to the word of their Lord, they remained in Jerusalem until after the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Then, endued with power from on high, they preached a risen Saviour; and multitudes came out to listen, many of whom were healed of their diseases, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, that name so hated among the Jews.
2 Soon after the apostles commenced their public ministry, a notable miracle was performed by Peter and John. As they were one day going up to the temple, at the hour of prayer, they saw lying at the Beautiful gate, a poverty-stricken cripple, above forty years of age, whose whole life had been one of pain and infirmity. This poor man had long desired to go to Jesus and be healed; but he was far removed from the scene of the Great Physician’s labors, and when at last he prevailed upon kind friends to carry him to the gate of the temple, it was only to find that He in whom his hopes were centered, had suffered a cruel death.
3 His disappointment excited pity, and he was daily laid at the gate of the temple, that those who went up to worship might be moved to give him a trifle to relieve his wants. As Peter and John were passing, he asked alms of them. The apostles regarded him with compassion. “And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.” The eyes of the beggar were raised to the pitying ones bent upon him. “Silver and gold have I none,” continued the apostle, “but such as I have give I thee.” The poor man’s countenance, which had fallen when Peter declared his own poverty, grew bright with faith and hope as he heard the words that followed: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
4 As Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up, he felt through his frame the thrilling influence of divine power. “Immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he, leaping up, stood and walked,” and entered with Peter and John into the temple, “And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.”
5 Seeing the miracle that had been performed, the people flocked together in the temple, and the apostles embraced this opportunity of preaching to them the gospel of Christ. While Peter addressed them in one part of the temple, John spoke to them in another part. The apostles disclaimed the merit of the good deed done, giving all the honor to Jesus of Nazareth, whose instruments they were. They spoke plainly of the great crime of the Jews in rejecting and putting to death the Prince of life; yet they were careful not to drive to despair those whose consciences were aroused. They declared that the Holy Spirit was calling upon them to repent of their sins, and be converted; and that through the mercy of Christ, their transgressions could all be canceled.
6 As the apostles preached that Christ had been raised from the dead, and that through his death and resurrection he would finally bring up all who sleep in the dust, the Sadducees were deeply stirred. They felt that their favorite doctrine was in danger, and their reputation at stake. The captain of the temple, and some of the other officials were Sadducees; and they arrested the two apostles, and put them in prison, as it was too late for their cases to be examined that night.
7 The Jews were astonished that the disciples could perform miracles similar to those they had seen wrought by Jesus. They had supposed that when he died, all such wonderful manifestations would cease. But here was this man who had been a helpless cripple for forty years, now free from pain, and rejoicing in the full use of his limbs.
8 The following day Annas and Caiaphas, with the remaining members of the council, came together, and Peter and John were brought before them. In that very room, and before those very men, Peter had shamefully denied his Lord. All this came distinctly before his mind as he now appeared for his own trial.
9 The members of the council remembered Peter’s cowardice when his Master was before them, and they flattered themselves that he could be intimidated by threats of imprisonment and death. But the impulsive, self-confident Peter who denied Christ in the hour of his greatest need, was a very different man from the Peter who was then before the Sanhedrim for examination. He was no longer a proud boaster; he had been converted, and had become distrustful of self. He was filled with the Holy Spirit; and through its power he had become firm as a rock, and was ready with modest courage to honor the name he had once disowned. He would embrace this opportunity of redeeming his former cowardice, and removing the stain of his apostasy.
10 Unable to deny that a miracle had been performed, and yet unwilling to admit that it had been done by divine power, the council demanded, “By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?” Peter replied: “Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,” “be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.”
11 Peter then referred to the prophetic words: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” He made the application of the psalmist’s words unmistakably plain. The priests and scribes, who were in authority in the church, were themselves the builders; and, says Peter, He whom you have set at naught, whose divine character you have failed to see, is become the head of the corner. He is the desire of all nations; his is the only “name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
12 It is difficult for us to comprehend the degree of grace and courage required to enable the apostles to make such a confession of faith before the bigoted and prejudiced rulers of a bigoted and prejudiced people, who had done to the Lord what their wicked hearts had listed, and were ready to repeat their acts of cruelty on the persons of his followers. Peter’s fearless avowal of the source whence his strength was obtained, and his bold accusation that in the person of Jesus of Nazareth they had crucified their promised Messiah, appalled these priests and rulers. They had supposed that these ignorant fishermen would be awed and embarrassed when confronted by the priests, the scribes, and the elders; but, amazed at the boldness of the apostles, they “took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
13 In order to conceal their perplexity, the priests and rulers ordered the apostles to be taken from the room that they might counsel among themselves. They all agreed that it would be useless to deny that the impotent man had been healed through power derived from the Crucified One. They would gladly cover up this fact by falsehoods; but the miracle had been performed before many witnesses, and was already widely known. Thousands had embraced the new doctrine, and both Pharisees and Sadducees were convinced that if these teachers were permitted to go unchecked, their own authority and influence would be in greater danger than when Jesus himself was upon earth. They felt that the work of the apostles must be immediately stopped, or so many would believe on Jesus that they would be held guilty of the murder of the Son of God.
14 The rulers would gladly have destroyed the apostles, but they feared the people, knowing that “all men glorified God for that which was done.” So when Peter and John were again summoned before the council, they were dismissed with threats of severe punishment should they continue to teach, or work miracles, in the name of Jesus. Undaunted by the threats of their enemies, these noble men declared that their work had been given them of God; they were his witnesses, and could not forbear to speak those things which they had seen and heard.
15 As soon as they were released, they sought their brethren, who, knowing the malignity of the Jews, were filled with intense anxiety. The joy of the believers was great that the apostles had escaped uninjured, and all united in thanksgiving and prayer to God. Their petition was not that they might be delivered from the power of their enemies, nor that they might be released from duty because of the peril that threatened them, but that they might have greater strength in the work of the ministry.
16 “And now, Lord,” they prayed, “behold their threatenings, and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.” They had no desire to glorify self, but sought to exalt Jesus, and to rescue souls from everlasting ruin.
17 Here is an example of noble, disinterested devotion to the work of God; and what was the result? As their prayers were ascending to Heaven, the answer came. The place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They went forth to their work with renewed zeal, speaking the word of God with convincing power, so that daily there were large additions to the church.
18 Such courage and firmness, in the path of duty, as was manifested by Peter and John and their co-laborers in the gospel ministry, is rare indeed; yet the church cannot attain to any great degree of prosperity without it. Their example, with that of others who have been eminent for their good works, should kindle our ardor, and awaken generous emulation. There is a wide field in which to work. Sinners are perishing all around us; and every one who has named the name of Christ should feel under solemn obligation to do everything possible for their salvation. To bring a sinner to Christ, is to elevate, dignify, and ennoble the whole character of such an one, and make him a blessing in the home, in society, and in the church. Is not this a work that is worthy of our highest powers?
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1 John was a faithful minister of Christ, bearing earnest testimony for his Lord on every suitable occasion. He had not enjoyed the training of the schools, his early life having been passed by the Sea of Galilee in the society of uncultivated fishermen; but, by association with the great Teacher, he had obtained the highest education which mortal man can receive. He drank eagerly at the fountain of wisdom, and then sought to lead others to that “well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
2 He had a clear understanding of the character and mission of Jesus. The evidence that the despised Nazarene was indeed the Messiah for whom Israel had so long waited, seemed to him so clear that none need walk in the darkness of error. But the Jews would not believe. The apostle’s heart was grieved as he saw that the prejudice and hatred which they so obstinately cherished, were bringing ruin upon the nation, and destroying their hope of everlasting life; that their own blindness, pride, superstition, and ignorance of the Scriptures, were riveting upon their souls fetters that would never be broken. Yet, notwithstanding their stubborn resistance to the truth, John ceased not to warn them, and to present Jesus as their only hope of salvation.
3 In preaching the words of life, John spoke with great power and feeling. The simplicity of his words, the sublime power of the truths he uttered, and the spiritual fervor that characterized his teachings, gave him access to all classes. He seemed ever to be imbued with the Holy Spirit. The wisdom with which he spoke caused his words to drop as the dew, softening and subduing the heart. It was his constant aim to bring the minds of the people up to grasp the unseen; yet even believers were unable to fully comprehend the sacred mysteries of divine truth unfolded in his discourses.
4 John believed in God as a child believes in a kind and tender father. His great love expressed in giving his Son to die for a lost race seemed to the apostle too great for language to express, a mystery which finite minds might not fathom. “Behold,” he exclaims, “what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” He was lost in amazement that the plan of salvation, devised at such a cost to Heaven, should be refused by those for whom so great a sacrifice had been made. His favorite theme was the infinite love of Christ. When speaking on this subject, he forgot self; and the love and trust that pervaded his own heart gave a thrilling power to his words.
5 He had a keen sense of the love that should exist among Christian brethren; and he urged this love upon his children in the faith as an essential characteristic of the followers of Christ. While the heart is destitute of Christian charity, all pretensions to the Christian name are vain. “He that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?”
6 The apostle was a teacher of practical holiness, giving, in his sermons and writings, unerring rules for the conduct of Christians. He declared in unmistakable terms that to be a Christian is to be Christlike. It is to be pure in heart and correct in morals; in no case should one rest satisfied with an empty profession. His own life was an illustration of his teaching, both in practical holiness and in love to God and man. It was his one great aim to conform to the will of God. He followed his Saviour so closely, and had such a sense of his purity and exalted holiness, that in contrast, his own character appeared exceedingly defective, and his humility was deep and genuine.
7 Although exposed to persecution and peril, and meeting many hindrances in his work, John was spared to the church for many years. Evil men, instigated by Satan, plotted to cut short the useful life of this man of God; but holy angels protected him from their malice. The church needed his testimony, and he was permitted to stand as a witness for Christ.
8 The apostle lived to see the gospel he loved preached far and near, and thousands eagerly accepting its gracious offer of pardon. But the joy of seeing sinners brought to Christ was not unmixed with sadness as he saw many come into the church who were not thoroughly converted, and who brought with them pernicious errors. Some were deceivers. While professing to believe the gospel, they denied Christ, and taught false doctrines; and the times were full of peril for the infant church. Some claimed that faith in Christ released them from the necessity of obedience to the law. Others held that the law was binding, also the Jewish customs and ceremonies, and that the observance of these was sufficient to insure salvation without the blood of Christ. They held that Jesus was a good man, like the apostles, but denied his divinity.
9 John saw the danger to which the church was exposed, and he acted with promptness and decision. The emissaries of Satan sought through misrepresentation and falsehood to stir up opposition and hinder his work. But John had been intimately associated with Christ; he had listened to his teachings and witnessed his mighty miracles; and he bore a convincing testimony that made the falsehoods of his enemies of no effect. He wrote to the churches, exhorting them not to give the leaders in these heresies the least encouragement, and by his personal influence and his zeal for the truth he hedged up their way, and saved many souls from ruin.
10 To one of the helpers in the gospel, a lady of good repute and extensive influence, he wrote: “Many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver, and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed; for he that biddeth him Godspeed, is partaker of his evil deeds.”
11 He also taught, in the most unequivocal terms, the binding force of the law of ten commandments. “Whosoever committeth sin,” he said, “transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth [transgresseth the law] hath not seen him, neither known him.”
12 The apostle testifies that those who profess to know God, and to be living without sin, and yet break the divine law, give the lie to their profession. His epistles breathe a spirit of love; yet when he comes in contact with this class, he does not hesitate to reprove them sharply, and to warn them of their fearful deception. He says: “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” “Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.”
13 Here the apostle speaks in plain terms, as he deemed the subject demanded. In this age of boasted liberality, such plainness would be branded as bigotry. “You must have charity,” is the cry everywhere, especially from those who profess sanctification. But charity is too pure to cover an unconfessed sin. The apostle teaches that while we should manifest Christian courtesy, we are authorized to call sin and sinners by their right names, and that this is consistent with true charity. While we are to love souls for whom Christ died, and labor for their salvation, we should not make a compromise with sin. We are not to unite with those who are rebelling against divine authority, and call this charity.
14 The character of God has not changed. He is the same jealous God today as when he gave his law upon Sinai, and wrote it with his own finger on the tables of stone. Those who trample upon his holy law may say, “I am sanctified;” but to be indeed sanctified, and to claim sanctification, are two different things. John enjoyed the blessing of genuine sanctification; but he did not claim to be sinless. He sought perfection in the way that Christ indicated in his prayer for his disciples: “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.”
15 The errors that crept into the early church, and threatened its prosperity, have never been extinct. They are peculiarly active at the present time, constituting one of the perils of the last days. And God requires us to stand, as did John in his time, unflinchingly for the truth. With the love of the truth burning in our hearts, we shall “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.”
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1 The wonderful success which attended the preaching of the gospel by the apostles and their fellow-laborers, increased the hatred of the enemies of Christ. They made every effort to hinder its progress, and finally succeeded in enlisting the power of the Roman Government against the Christians. A terrible persecution arose, and many of the followers of Christ were put to death.
2 The apostle John was now an aged man, but his zeal and success in the cause of Christ were unabated. The bitterest hatred was kindled against him for his unwavering fidelity. He was the last survivor of those who were intimately associated with Jesus; and his enemies decided that his testimony must be silenced. If this could be accomplished, and the new sect were treated with severity, they thought the doctrine of Christ might soon die out of the world.
3 John was accordingly summoned to Rome to be tried for his faith. His doctrines were misstated. False witnesses accused him as a seditious person, who had publicly taught theories that would subvert the nation. The apostle presented his faith in a clear and convincing manner, with such simplicity and candor that his words had a powerful effect. His enemies were astonished at his wisdom and eloquence; but the more convincing his testimony, the more intense their hatred against him. They could not controvert his reasoning, nor match the power which attended the utterance of truth; and they determined to silence its faithful advocate. By the decree of the emperor, John was banished to the Isle of Patmos, condemned “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
4 Patmos, the place of John’s exile, was a barren, rocky island in the Aegean Sea, which had been chosen by the Roman Government as a place of banishment for criminals. In former years his life had been spent among wood-covered hills, green valleys, and fruitful plains; now his lonely home was amid scenes of desolation that to many would have appeared gloomy and uninteresting. But to him it was otherwise. Although shut away from the busy scenes of life, and from active labor as an evangelist, he was not excluded from the presence of God. He could commune with the King of kings, and study the manifestations of divine power as revealed in the book of nature, and on the page of inspiration. He had delighted to trace the wisdom and skill of the Creator in the beauties of his handiwork; and now he could see tokens of the same divine Architect in the rocky wilds of Patmos.
5 In the surroundings of his island home, the exiled prophet held communion with his God. The blue heavens that bent above him on lonely Patmos were as bright as the skies above his own loved Jerusalem. The words of the psalmist seemed appropriate: “The heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord; thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the Heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.” In the glory of the heavens man sees an illustration of the greatness of the Creator, and is made to feel his own littleness. If he has cherished pride and self-importance because of wealth, talents, or personal attractions, let him here learn to humble his proud spirit as in the presence of the infinite One.
6 In the sound of many waters,—deep calling unto deep,—John heard the voice of the Creator. The sea, lashed to fury by the merciless winds, represented the wrath of an offended God. The mighty waves, in their most terrible commotion restrained within the limits appointed by an invisible hand, testified of an infinite power controlling the deep,—of One who speaks to the proud ocean, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further,” and the waters are prompt to obey his word. In contrast with the power and majesty of Him who holds in his hands the great and wide sea, how feeble is puny man, who glories in his wisdom and strength, and sets his heart against the Ruler of the universe!
7 By the rocks John was reminded of Christ, the Rock of his strength, in whose shelter he could hide without a fear. They also called to his mind the rocky Horeb, where God spoke his law in the hearing of all the people. The divine Legislator proclaimed his law amid thunders and lightnings, and the thick cloud that hung over the mountain, with a voice as the voice of a trumpet, exceeding loud, that Israel might be impressed with his power and glory, and fear to transgress his commandments. John remembered that one of these ten precepts called upon him to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” And the Lord’s day, the day on which Jehovah rested after the great work of creation, and which he blessed and sanctified, was as sacredly observed by him upon the lonely isle as it had been when he was among the churches, worshipping with them on that holy day.
8 The rocky waste around him spoke eloquently of the unchangeable character of the divine law; for it testified of the flood which God brought upon the earth because of the transgression of its inhabitants. The rocks thrown up from the great deep, or rent from the solid earth, by the breaking forth of the waters, brought vividly to his mind the terrors of that awful outpouring of God’s wrath, and reminded him that it is no light matter for man to sin, to set his perverse will in opposition to the will of his Maker.
9 Even in this world obedience is for man’s highest good; and it is surely for his eternal interest to submit to God and be at peace with him. Of all the creatures that God has made on the earth, man alone is rebellious; yet he alone possesses reasoning powers to understand the claims of the divine law, and a conscience to feel the guilt of transgression and the peace and joy of obedience.
10 As John became more intimately acquainted with the divine character through the works of creation, his reverence for God increased, and he was overwhelmed with the thought of his majesty and greatness. God is not dependent on man for honor. He could sweep every mortal from the face of the earth in a moment of time, and create a new race to people it and glorify his name. The apostle often asked himself, Why do not men, who are wholly dependent upon God, seek to be reconciled to him by willing obedience? He is infinite in wisdom, and there is no limit to his power. He preserves in perfect harmony the grandeur and beauty of the things which he has created. Had sin never entered the universe, there would have been no discord in Heaven or in earth. Disobedience to the law of God has brought all the misery that has existed among his creatures. Then why will not man submit to a Ruler who is so great and powerful,—a Being who is so wise and kind?
11 In his exile, John calls to remembrance the wonderful incidents that he has witnessed in the life of Christ. In imagination he again enjoys precious intercourse with his Lord; and his heart is comforted. Suddenly his meditations are broken in upon; he is addressed in tones distinct and clear. He turns to see whence the voice proceeds, and lo! he beholds Jesus, whom he loves, with whom he walked and talked, and whose sufferings on the cross he witnessed. But how changed is the Saviour’s appearance! He is no longer “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” He bears no marks of his humiliation. His eyes are like a flame of fire; his feet like fine brass, as it glows in a furnace. The tones of his voice are like the musical sound of many waters. His countenance shines like the sun in its meridian glory. In his hand are seven stars, representing the ministers of the churches. Out of his mouth issues a sharp, two-edged sword, an emblem of the power of his word.
12 John, who has so loved his Lord, and who has so steadfastly adhered to the truth in the face of imprisonment, stripes, and threatened death, cannot endure the excellent glory of Christ’s presence, and he falls to the earth as one stricken dead. A divine hand is laid upon the prostrate form, and he hears the words, “Fear not, I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”
13 John is strengthened; and there are presented before him in holy vision, the purposes of God for future ages. He is shown the history of the church down through the centuries; he sees her feeble and struggling, almost overborne by her enemies; he sees her wading through bloody persecutions, then emerging from the darkness of papal error, drawing nearer and nearer to the clear light of truth, until at length she looks forth “fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.”
14 Nor is this all. The attractions of the heavenly home are made known to him. He beholds the beautiful city with its glittering battlements and many mansions. He is permitted to look upon the throne of God, and the white-robed throng of redeemed ones. He hears the music of angels, and the songs of triumph that rise from those who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. His heart is filled with longing for the uninterrupted presence of his Lord. To the cheering promise, “Surely I come quickly,” he responds with a glad, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
15 Thus highly favored was this hero of the Christian faith. On the desolate isle, and with the deep sea moaning about him, he was shut in with God; and his gloomy abode proved to him the very gate of Heaven. His enemies thought to silence a faithful witness for Christ; but from the place of exile came the most wonderful revelations, the most thrilling truths ever presented to man. And the promise of God was verified, “Them that honor me, I will honor.”
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1 The Christian should live so near to God that he may approve things that are excellent, “being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” His heart should be attuned to gratitude and praise. He should be ever ready to acknowledge the blessings he is receiving, remembering who it is that has said, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.”
2 Many professed Christians dwell too much on the dark side of life, when they might rejoice in the sunshine; they repine when they should be glad; they talk of trials when they should offer praise for the rich blessings they enjoy. They look at the unpleasant things, hoard up the disappointments, and sigh over the griefs, and, as a consequence, grow heavy-hearted and sad, when, should they count up their blessings, they would find them so numerous that they would forget to mention their annoyances. If they would every day take note of the favors that are done them; if they would store their minds with the precious memory of kindnesses received, how much occasion they would find to render thanks and praise to the Giver of all good.
3 Some Christian wives who have unconverted husbands and children make this a cause of despondency and gloom. They manifest so much more anxiety for their friends than trust in God, that they forfeit the blessings of peace, and joy, and a thankful spirit, which might be theirs. I have heard some say that they did not even care to be saved unless their husbands and children were saved with them. They feel that Heaven would not be Heaven to them without the presence of these who are so dear. But have they an eye single to the glory of God when they cherish this feeling? Oh, no! Such expressions are not pleasing to God, for they place the creature before the Creator. But they are just what Satan delights in, for he can use the evident sadness and discouragement of spirit that grow out of this feeling to make the Christian religion appear unattractive.
4 Dear Christian sisters, the best thing you can do for your loved ones who are out of Christ is to live before them a life of peace and joy, to show them that in Jesus you find a helper who gives you strength according to your day. Make home happy. In the home circle exercise Christian courtesy, forbearance, and love; but the sadness, the tears, the distress for your unconverted friends, should be reserved for the closet. Jesus will meet you there, and you may roll all your burdens upon him, the Burden-bearer. Our precious Saviour is the friend of man. He died for these souls; he is waiting to bless and save them. He has claims upon their service, for he has bought them with an infinite price; and he is grieved with their resistance of his claims, their rejection of his offers of mercy, more deeply grieved than you can possibly be.
5 God has given you, too, a work to do; and because your husband and children refuse to do their duty, will you relax your efforts in his cause? Should not the very fact that these who are so dear to you are ignoring his just claims upon them arouse you to greater diligence, that, so far as possible, you may supply their deficiency?
6 Wives, mothers, cultivate trust in God. He does not want you to carry a constant load of anxiety and care. Rise above your trials; look away from them to the blessings you are receiving. Fix the mind upon the mansions Jesus has gone to prepare for those that love him. Cultivate clear perceptions of truth, unselfish purposes, and a desire to do others good and make them happy.
7 “I am persuaded,” says Paul, “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Again he says: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
8 As you read these strong, brave words from one who suffered so much for his faith in Christ, and yet counted his severest trials as light afflictions, enduring but for a moment, will you not resolve to possess your soul in patience amid the petty annoyances of every-day life, that are often so irritating and so hard to bear? Will you not resolve that these things shall not interrupt your communion with God and separate you from his love?
9 Do not allow the perplexities and worries of every-day life to fret your mind and cloud your brow. If you do, you will always have something to vex and annoy. Life is what we make it, and we shall find what we look for. If we look for sadness and trouble, if we are in a frame of mind to magnify little difficulties, we shall find plenty of them to engross our thoughts and our conversation. But if we look on the bright side of things, we shall find enough to make us cheerful and happy. If we give smiles, they will be returned to us; if we speak pleasant, cheerful words, they will be spoken to us again.
10 When Christians appear as gloomy and depressed as though they thought themselves friendless, they give a wrong impression of religion. In some cases the idea has been entertained that cheerfulness is inconsistent with the dignity of the Christian character; but this is a mistake. Heaven is all joy; and if we gather to our souls the joys of Heaven, and as far as possible express them in our words and deportment, we shall be more pleasing to our heavenly Father than if we were gloomy and sad.
11 It is the duty of every one to cultivate cheerfulness instead of brooding over sorrow and troubles. Many not only make themselves wretched in this way, but they sacrifice health and happiness to a morbid imagination. There are things in their surroundings that are not agreeable, and their countenances wear a continual frown that, more plainly than words, expresses discontent. These depressing emotions are a great injury to them healthwise; for by hindering the process of digestion, they interfere with nutrition. While grief and anxiety cannot remedy a single evil, they can do great harm; but cheerfulness and hope, while they brighten the pathway of others, “are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”
12 Christ came to restore to its original loveliness, a world ruined by sin. The work of the fall will be undone. All that was lost in Adam’s transgression will be regained through the sufferings and death of Christ. In the new earth there will be no sin nor disease. All blemishes and deformity will be left in the grave, and the body will be restored to its original perfection. We shall wear the spotless image of our Lord, for “he shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.”
13 The development of Christian character, tending toward this state of perfection, is a growth toward beauty. The character is expressed in the countenance. The evil that is in the heart hangs out its sign, and we read at a glance coarseness, unrest, selfishness, cunning, deceit, lust, falsehood, envy, pride, and malice. As the heart becomes transformed by the renewing of the mind, the graces of the Spirit leave their impress on the face, and it expresses the refinement, delicacy, peace, benevolence, and pure and tender love, that reign in the heart, and constitute the inward “adorning,” which is in the sight of God of “great price.”
14 The apostle Paul exhorts: “Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing.” Give “thanks always for all things unto God,” “singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
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1 “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
2 In the story of the Pharisee and the publican, Christ teaches one of the most important lessons that we have to learn,—the danger of self-flattery. Two classes of worshipers are here brought to view. The class represented by the Pharisee is regarded as eminent for piety, possessing great excellence of character. The other class, represented by the publican, is much less respectable in the eyes of the world. But is this estimate a correct one? No; it is the exact opposite of truth,—the exact opposite of the estimation in which they are held in Heaven. Both the Pharisee and the publican are under the eye of the heart-searching God, who is no respecter of persons. Wealth and titles, talent and reputation, are no recommendation to his favor. “The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
3 The relative estimate which the Pharisee and the publican place upon themselves is as false as that which others place upon them. Both resort to the temple at the hour of public prayer, professedly to worship God; but what a contrast there is in the motives that actuate them, and in their feelings, as expressed in their prayers!
4 The Pharisee went, not because he felt his great need of God, but because he wanted to be thought a very pious and excellent man. He was perfectly self-satisfied, and thought that others looked upon him with the same complacency with which he regarded himself. He did not present the offering of a broken and contrite heart. He did not come with confession of sins, and with love flowing out in words of gratitude for the great mercy of a covenant-keeping God. He came not to present his needs. He made no supplication; he expressed no want. Standing in the temple of God, he dared to boast of his own goodness, and to measure himself with other men, and claim superiority. He began his self-worship: “God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” He then proceeded to enumerate some of his own good deeds: “I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess”
5 The Pharisee went down to his house destitute of the divine blessing; but his self-love and vanity were fed. He was terribly self-deceived. He judged himself according to a human standard, exalted self, and covered his sins from his own sight. But God abhorred him. The publican thought himself a very wicked man, and others looked upon him in the same light; but there was nothing in his life so offensive to Heaven as the self-complacency expressed in the boastful, self-righteous prayer of the Pharisee.
6 The publican went up to the temple with other worshipers; but he soon separated himself from them, as unworthy to mingle with them in their devotions. Standing afar off, he “would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast” in bitter anguish and self-abhorrence. He thus expressed his sense of his distance from God, and of his unworthiness to come into his presence. He felt that he had offended God, that he was sinful and polluted before him. He could not expect help from those around him; for they looked upon him with undisguised contempt. Feeling that he had no claim on the mercy of God, he looked forward with terrible dread to the Judgment, when every case will be decided. In his great need, he finds voice to cry out earnestly, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
7 The course taken by the publican is the only one that will secure pardon and peace with God. He did not compare his sins with those of others who were worse than himself. He came before God with his own burden of guilt and shame, as a transgressor of God’s law, a sinner in thought, in word, and in act. He acknowledged that should he receive punishment for his sins, it would be just and right. Mercy, mercy, was his only plea. Oh, for the assurance of pardon, giving peace and rest to the sin-sick soul!
8 The self-abasement manifested by the publican is wholly acceptable to God. To know ourselves is to be humble. Self-knowledge will take away all disposition to entertain the Most High with a recital of our own excellent qualities. Realizing our sins and imperfections, we shall come to the feet of Jesus with earnest supplication, and our petitions will not be passed by unheard. Ezra had the true spirit of prayer. Presenting his petition before God for Israel, when they had sinned grievously in the face of great light and privileges, he exclaimed, “I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.” Ezra remembered the goodness of God in again giving his people a foothold in their native land, and he was overwhelmed with indignation and grief at the thought of their ingratitude in return for the divine favor. His language is that of true humiliation of soul, the contrition that prevails with God in prayer. Only the prayer of the humble enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. “Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly; but the proud he knoweth afar off.” “To this man will I look,” saith the Lord, “even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
9 The Pharisee expressed his self-commendation in the form of thanksgiving. “God, I thank thee,” he says, “that I am not as other men are.” But there was no real gratitude in his heart. His self-love had excluded every such generous principle. He neither loved God supremely nor his neighbor as himself; yet before God and men he could boast loudly of his own goodness. Thus he insulted God, while he deceived men in regard to his true character.
10 There are many now who entertain the same feeling of self-congratulation that the Pharisee had. Does this feeling rise in your heart in any degree, dear reader? If so, you may be assured that while you commend yourself, the condemnation of God rests upon you. You may be thought excellent in character. Your name may be registered on the church-book; but it is not written in the Lamb’s book of life. If a special work has been done for any of us, it is through the grace of God alone. Man is to take no credit to himself; for he has nothing which he has not received.
11 Let us examine ourselves, and see how many vain thoughts dwell within our hearts, how much we love praise, how selfishness is shown in our manners, how often we misjudge the character and motives of others, or feel contempt for them because their appearance is not prepossessing. Let us think how our words sound in the ears of God, how our selfish thoughts look in his sight, when we judge and condemn others, who may be better in heart and purpose than ourselves.
12 From the parable of the Pharisee and the publican we learn that to profess excellence which we do not possess, will exclude us from the grace which alone can make us of value in the sight of God. The teachings of Christ give no countenance to a spirit of self-righteousness which would exalt self over others. Vanity is never the result of virtue and true piety. “Every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
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1 The parable of the Pharisee and the publican was given for the benefit of those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” This spirit is the hidden rock upon which thousands are wrecking their hopes of Heaven; and the Savior here shows how offensive it is in the sight of God. Many are self-deceived, filled with spiritual pride and vanity. They do not see the enormity of sin, and go on parading their own virtues, those of poor, fallen humanity, before the Majesty of Heaven, whose eyes read the intents and purposes of the heart, and see disobedience and grave defects of character in these who extol self and claim superior goodness.
2 John defines sin to be the “transgression of the law.” Paul says: “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” “I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” “I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came [home to the conscience], sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”
3 Jesus came into the world because the human race were under sentence of death for their transgressions. His work was to bring them back to allegiance to the law of God, which Paul declares is “holy, and just, and good.” He kept his Father’s commandments. Those who by repentance and obedience testify their appreciation of the salvation he came to bring, will show the work of the Spirit on their hearts. And the test is the life. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” “He that saith, I know Him,” says John, “ and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
4 Yet, notwithstanding these inspired testimonies as to the nature of sin, many claim to be sanctified, and incapable of sin, while they are constantly transgressing the law of God. Through these the enemy is doing a work of deception. They could never boast so loudly of their own goodness, had they not rejected God’s great standard of right and wrong, and set up in its place one of their own devising. Judging themselves by their own imperfect standard, they dare to say, “I am without sin.”
5 The “holiness people” and the Salvation Army have a great deal of what Paul denominates “bodily exercise,” that “profiteth little.” They follow impressions and claim to be taught of the Spirit; and like the fanatics that troubled Luther, they place these impressions above the written word of God, while they trample upon the divine law because their hearts are not in harmony with its precepts. The Spirit and the word agree. The Spirit of Christ leads into all truth; but there is in these spirit-taught ones an enmity against the plainest statements of the Bible. The spirit that guides them leads to the believing of lies rather than the truth, showing that their teacher is the great master spirit that “worketh in the children of disobedience.”
6 Those who have had the light on the law of God, and yet have refused to accept that light, are not under the influence of the Spirit of God, whatever professions they may make or whatever wonderful works may be done through them. They are deceived by the sophistry of Satan. But they love his deceptions; for he exalts self, and leads them to trust in their own goodness; and this is more pleasing than to see themselves as they appear before a just and holy God.
7 Said Christ: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
8 These may profess to be followers of Christ, but they have lost sight of their Leader. They may say, “Lord, Lord;” they may point to the sick who are healed through them, and to other marvelous works, and claim that they have more of the Spirit and power of God than is manifested by those who keep his law. But their works are done under the supervision of the enemy of righteousness, whose aim it is to deceive souls, and are designed to lead away from obedience, truth, and duty. In the near future there will be still more marked manifestations of this miracle-working power; for it is said of him, “and he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”
9 We are surprised to see so many ready to accept these great pretensions as the genuine work of the Spirit of God; but those who look to wonderful works merely, and are guided by impulse and impressions, will be deceived. My brother, my sister, will you weigh sin in your own balances, or in the balances of Heaven? Realizing its true nature, you will see your undone condition, and will lay hold of offered mercy. But those who feel that their offenses are very small, will never be able to comprehend the perfection of Christ, nor the great sacrifice he has made to rescue them from the thralldom and degradation of sin.
10 No one who claims holiness is really holy. Those who are registered as holy in the books of Heaven are not aware of the fact, and are the last ones to boast of their own goodness. None of the prophets and apostles ever professed holiness, not even Daniel, Paul, or John. The righteous never make such a claim. The more nearly they resemble Christ, the more they lament their unlikeness to him; for their consciences are sensitive, and they regard sin more as God regards it. They have exalted views of God and of the great plan of salvation; and their hearts, humbled under a sense of their own unworthiness, are alive to the honor of being accounted members of the royal family, sons and daughters of the King Eternal.
11 Those who love the law of God cannot harmonize in worship or in spirit with the determined transgressors of that law, who are filled with bitterness and malice when the plainly revealed truths of the Bible are taught. We have a detector which discriminates between the true and the false. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
12 The only safe position for any of us to take is to consider ourselves sinners, daily needing divine grace. Mercy through the atoning blood of Christ is our only plea. But let us shun Phariseeism. When it suits his purpose best, Satan can appear as an angel of light. But he presents before men, not the meekness and humility of the Christian religion, but their own good deeds and wonderful impressions. We can meet his specious temptations only with the word of God. Those who have the truth as it is revealed in that holy word, must stand fast on the platform of truth, relying on, “It is written.” The question for us each to settle is, “Am I exalting self, or am I exalting God and his grace, seeking salvation through Christ alone?”
13 God has great blessings to bestow upon his people. They may have the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” They “may be able to comprehend with all saints [not sinners, who are transgressors of God’s law] what is the “breadth, and length, and depth, and height,” of the love of Christ, being “filled with all the fullness of God.” But it is only to those who are meek and lowly of heart that Christ will thus manifest himself. The ones whom God justifies are represented by the publican rather than by the self-righteous Pharisee. Humility is Heaven-born; and none can enter the pearly gates without it. All unconsciously, it shines in the church and in the world, and it will shine in the courts of Heaven.
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1 “Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods.” “Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
2 If these rules were observed, there would not be that constant strain after the things of the world that makes life a burden in its intensity; but in its place would be the rest and peace that comes of seeking first the “kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” Many professed Christians seem to think that no effort on their part is needed in order to insure growth in grace, and as a consequence they are indolent and listless in spiritual things. But they are entertaining a mistaken view. They are called upon to be a peculiar people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. God has opened to them the treasures of his word. Christ is to be made unto them wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption; and he would have them communicate the rich treasures of his grace to the world.
3 It will require a constant effort on our part to overcome the temptations we must daily meet. The world is against us; nominal Christians are against us; and Satan is against us, determined to resist every effort we make to advance in the divine life. He is watching every opportunity to interpose himself between our souls and our Creator. He will crowd in numberless cares, that we may find no time for reading the Bible and prayer. But we are not left alone in our warfare against the powers of darkness, and we should not allow ourselves to be separated from the Source of our strength.
4 If we would grow up into Christ our living head, we must make prayer a daily necessity, not only in the closet, but in the family also. It is because we pray so little that our prayers are not more urgent and intelligent. In prayer we commune with God, and become acquainted with him. What a privilege it is that we may draw near to him by faith, presenting the promises given in his word. Let us encourage and refresh our souls with these sure promises, pleading our great need as the reason why they should be fulfilled. Let us learn the simple art of faith, every day understanding better how to approach our heavenly Father. Let us observe his commandments as obedient children, and then rest upon his word, trusting that he will surely do as he said he would. Jesus loves us; and if we commit the keeping of our souls to him, he will not disappoint our hopes. He is waiting to be gracious to those who feel that they are weak and unworthy. He loves to bless them; for they will appreciate his blessings. But he will not intrude his presence; he will not force the will nor compel obedience.
5 Jesus may seem far off, and Satan may urge that he does not care for one like you. He may point to your hesitating, stumbling walk, and tell you that the God of Heaven will not condescend to answer your broken prayers. It is then that you may present the mighty argument of the cross: “Jesus died for me. He is my Redeemer. I shall not be ashamed or confounded; for I will cling to him, and trust in his righteousness.”
6 Become acquainted with the Scriptures, and learn to rely implicitly upon them, that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord may lift up a standard against him. Few have the power of faith and true godliness, because, in a majority of cases, the God-given powers are devoted to worldly plans and enterprises, and the follies and fashions of social life, to the neglect of the things of God. The inventive powers are taxed for dress and the adornment of the home; but the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price, is made a matter of secondary importance.
7 We cannot afford to fritter away the golden moments in studying the fashions, or in following the customs of those whose god is this world. Precious probationary time should not be devoted to needless ornamentation; yet the Christian should not be careless and slovenly. It is our duty to be neat and tasty in person, dress, and habits; and to keep our houses and premises in order. Heaven is a place of perfect order, and as far as possible we should copy the heavenly model. We are representatives of Christ; then let us not dishonor him by our defective lives. Let us see that our tastes, our habits, our conversation, and our associations are in accordance with our high calling as sons and daughters of the King eternal.
8 Many take a superficial view of the character and mission of Christ. They imagine that he was devoid of warmth and sunniness; that he was gloomy, stern, unbending, severe, and joyless. This is the Jesus that was presented to Martin Luther. He was taught, as the Catholic Church has instructed so many of its votaries, that our Lord is an austere being, who delights in the sufferings of his creatures; that he is pleased with long fasts, and penances of the most painful and revolting character. And in many cases the whole religious experience is colored by these gloomy views, and the whole life warped.
9 It is often said that Jesus wept, but that he was never known to smile. Our Saviour was indeed a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; for he opened his heart to all the woes of man. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” But though his life was self-denying, and shadowed with pain and care, his spirits were not crushed. His countenance did not wear an expression of grief or repining, but ever one of peaceful serenity. His heart was a well-spring of life, and wherever he went he carried rest and peace, joy and gladness.
10 Our Saviour was deeply serious and intensely in earnest, but never gloomy or morose. The lives of those who imitate him will be full of earnest purpose; they will have a deep sense of personal responsibility. Levity will be repressed; there will be no boisterous merriment, no rude jesting or joking. But the religion of Jesus gives peace like a river. It does not quench the light of joy; it does not restrain cheerfulness, nor cloud the sunny, smiling face. Our lives should breathe the fragrance of Heaven, while we obey the injunction of the apostle,—”Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
11 The soul is exalted and transformed by dwelling, not on self and on the sorrows and hardships that surround us, but on the glories of the eternal world. Unbroken communion with God gives increased knowledge of his truth and will, and of the soul’s susceptibilities and powers; and the result will be unselfish motives and right traits of character. There will be no darkness or gloom to reflect to others. More of Heaven in men on earth would make religion attractive, and win souls to Christ.
12 Christ came not to be ministered unto, but to minister; and when his love reigns in the heart, we shall follow his example. If we keep uppermost in our minds the unkind and unjust acts of others, we shall find it impossible to love them as Christ has loved us; for there are few persons who do not on close acquaintance reveal unamiable traits of character. Even the best of us have these unlovely traits; and in selecting friends we should choose those who will not be driven away from us when they learn that we are not perfect. Mutual forbearance is called for. We should love and respect one another notwithstanding the faults and imperfections that we cannot help seeing; for this is the Spirit of Christ. Humility and self-distrust should be cultivated, and a patient tenderness with the faults of others. This will kill out all narrowing selfishness and make us large-hearted and generous.
13 If you have perplexities and troubles—and these are the common lot of mankind—do not tell them to others, and thus shadow their path. Do not go for help to every source but the right one; but tell Jesus everything; take it to the Lord in prayer, and then believe that he accepts you and your burden. Faith is the gift of God, but the power to exercise it is yours. A single earnest expression of faith strengthens faith; but every expression of doubt confirms doubt, and helps to gather about your soul the dark shadows of unbelief. Then do not open your soul to Satan’s temptations by cherishing and expressing the doubts that he insinuates. Talk faith and courage. Press to the light; and bright beams from the Sun of Righteousness will dispel clouds and darkness, and sweet peace will pervade the soul.
14 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” and make them your rule of life. And “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
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1 Text: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” John 17:17-19.
2 This prayer of the world’s Redeemer comprehends much more than has been thought, and I wish that the truths here taught might be impressed upon all our hearts. “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” Every one of us who professes to believe in Christ is embraced in this prayer, and has a responsibility which it is impossible to throw off. We are required to be sanctified, not simply that we may be benefited personally, but that we may help others.
3 In these days it is difficult for the truth to find access to the human heart. You know that on one occasion when Jesus entered into the temple, he found there “those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting.” Thus the sacred courts of the Lord’s house were converted into a place of merchandise, where greed and avarice flourished. As the eye of Jesus swept over the scene of busy traffic, divinity flashed through his humanity. He “cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” The traffic suddenly stopped, and the throng of buyers and sellers fled as though a company of armed men were pursuing them. With bated breath the priests and rulers looked upon him who was clothed with such majesty and power; and, as though a flash of light from Heaven had revealed the truth to their beclouded minds, the conviction forced itself upon them that this was no common man.
4 As Christ found it difficult to obtain access to the temple courts because they were lumbered with things that should never have been there, so is the human heart closed against the truth because it is lumbered with the cares and burdens of this world. It has received the worldly mould. The prince of the powers of darkness is playing the game of life for the soul. He is working with every device that he can invent, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, to separate man from God. The lust of the flesh, the pride of life, the vanities of the world, have taken possession of the soul-temple, and no room is left for Jesus. But when the heart is once brought under the power of the truth, even its secret recesses feel the renewing and transforming influence. To those who have lumbered the soul-temple with worldly cares, and desecrated it with buyers and sellers, we would say, Take these things hence, and let the truth have possession of the soul. Jesus stands knocking at your heart, pleading, “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Will we let the Lord of glory enter? Will we make room for the truth of heavenly origin?
5 Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” If you will make room for Jesus, and cleanse the soul from the defilement of sin, you may enjoy perfect peace with God. But some will ask, How am I to do this? By an entire surrender of your will and your way to God. The peace of God will not rule in your hearts while you retain your worldly ambitions and indulgences. The passions that have held possession of the soul must be removed. When we profess the truth, it is our privilege and duty to show to the world that it has had a transforming power upon the life and character.
6 Why is it so hard for many to walk uprightly before God? It is because they are trying to serve two masters, a thing which the Saviour declares no man can do. If they would give themselves to Jesus, he would take possession of the soul, and every wrong desire, every false ambition, every evil purpose, would be brought into subjection to the will of God. This is the sanctification that Christ meant when he said, “I sanctify myself.” This is the sanctification that he desired for his disciples when he prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth.” We profess to be sons and daughters of the Lord; the chosen ones of Christ, of whom he says, “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, ever as I am not of the world.” What right have we to let the things of the world take possession of the heart and engross our energies? What right have we to make the heart a highway for the world’s travel, or to imitate its customs and practices? We cannot serve God and mammon. We must come out from the world, and be separate. Its fashions are not to control us; its principles are not to be our principles.
7 If the worldly element is allowed to take possession of the heart, things that are not approved of God will seem right, and the religious life will be mixed with error. The perceptions will not be clear and distinct to understand the word and will of the Lord. There is danger of pursuing this course of disobedience until the wrong is gilded over, conscience is blunted, and the self-deceived one believes himself on the highway of holiness when he is on the downward road to perdition.
8 The work of the overcomer is a close and trying work. We have individually to fight the good fight of faith, and war against the powers of darkness; for when the truth commences the work of purifying the soul-temple, the conflict between good and evil begins in earnest.
9 A minister who is professedly preaching the gospel, in conversation with a sister learned that she was conscientiously keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. “Well,” said he, “you are right so far as the argument is concerned. Saturday is the true day to keep; the Bible is clear on that point. But,” he added, “I do not keep it, because it would create confusion. The Lord will overlook this in me because it is so inconvenient, so contrary to the custom of society. And then I do not think it really makes any difference what day I observe, because I am sanctified; you know that makes every difference. But stick to your faith, for you have the right of it.” Here is a man who claims to be sanctified while living in disobedience to the word of God; but what is there that sanctifies outside of the truth?
10 Said Christ: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Two classes are here represented,—those who are sanctified through the truth, and the many who profess to be sanctified while knowingly breaking the law of God. The true foundation is the commandments of God; and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Men may erect a standard of righteousness of their own aside from that presented in the word of God; but their hope, like the house built upon the sand, will surely fall.
11 We are to listen to what God says, and be obedient to his word. It is not long sermons or prayers, it is not the things which we say, but it is the things we do, the characters we form, that makes us acceptable to God. The truth should influence our daily life, and then when we associate together the tongue will not run upon unimportant, frivolous things.
12 “Ye are the light of the world,” says Christ. Therefore “let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” In the death of Christ the priceless treasures of Heaven were poured out to humanity. Can we keep such precious riches to ourselves? Oh! we should lift up the risen Saviour before the people, and tell them what a dear Redeemer we have found. We are his representatives; let us walk worthy of our calling. The reason why we have no greater influence to win souls to Christ is that we are not doers of the word. When we do the works of Christ, when the truth becomes a living principle in the soul, we shall have power with God and men. Others will take knowledge of us, that we have been with Jesus and learned of him, and our very presence will be an influence for good. We shall not dare to sin, lest others follow our example of folly.
13 “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” Says the True Witness, “I know thy works.” Then let us be careful that we are not half-way Christians. We can be brought into perfect harmony with God and his truth; but there is much for us to resist. We should search our Bibles, and learn what the Scriptures say in relation to our duty.
14 Said Christ: “Take ye heed, watch and pray; . . . for the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.” Not one of us is excused from the duties here enjoined. We are to watch every avenue of the soul, lest Satan come in and desecrate the temple of the heart, which should be wholly consecrated to God. We are to watch lest passion take possession of the soul, to watch lest selfish thoughts are cherished. The reason why there is not more vitality and power in the church is that we do not work and watch as we should. We should stand as faithful sentinels at the post of duty. I pray that the grace of Christ may come into our hearts, and that we may be ever watching for opportunities to do good.
15 One who is truly converted will find no satisfaction in devoting God-given probationary time to the preparation of apparel, the outward adorning of the body. To such, the pride of life, the vanities and follies of the world, will be a very inferior matter. They will ever feel, I am in the presence of God; his eye discerns every thought of vanity, every attempt to extol and glorify self. If the time that is wasted in vain attempts to make the outward appearance attractive, were devoted to the study of the Bible, to earnest prayer for the grace of Christ, the meek and quiet spirit which is the heavenly adorning of the soul, and will never perish, how easy, how pleasant, would the service of Christ become. The promise would be fulfilled, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.”
16 There is a constant warring of the flesh against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. The pollutions cherished in the soul war against the pure, sanctifying truth. Some have advanced the idea that if we are once in grace, we are always in grace. But our work is to overcome every day. Temptations press upon every hand; do we resist them, and come off victor in the name of Christ?
17 When we become children of God, our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, and they remain there until the time of the investigative Judgment. Then the name of every individual will be called, and his record examined by Him who declares, “I know thy works.” If in that day it shall appear that all our wicked deeds have not been fully repented of, our names will be blotted from the book of life, and our sins will stand against us. If the professed believer becomes self-confident, if in word or spirit he breaks the least precept of God’s holy law, he misrepresents Jesus, and in the Judgment the awful words will be spoken, “Blot out his name from the book of life; he is a worker of iniquity.” But the Father pities the self-distrustful, God-fearing soul, harassed though he may be with doubts and temptations. Jesus pleads for him, and confesses his name before the Father and his holy angels.
18 He who is to be our judge knows our works. He understands every temptation and trial, and I am glad of it. He knows the circumstances that surround every soul. He knows our weaknesses, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. “If any man sin,” says John, “we have an advocate with the Father! Jesus Christ the righteous.” Oh, how precious is the name of Jesus, and how precious every name that he confesses before the Father! When our gracious Redeemer says of the poor penitent, “He is mine; I have graven his name on the palms of my hands,” the answer comes, “I will not blot his name from the book of life, but his sins shall be remembered against him no more.”
19 The promise is, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” There is power in the blood of Christ to remove sin. Poor, trembling sinner, today you are the prisoner of hope. Jesus lives, and because he lives you may live also.
20 Said the angel of God to John, as he beheld the multitudes of the redeemed gathered about the throne: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.” Through the blood of the Lamb it is the privilege of every one of us to make our life a glorious victory. We shall have trials and difficulties to meet, but if we sanctify ourselves by obedience to the truth, the God of Israel will be our strength. “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord, his going forth is prepared as the morning.” The Lord wants to give power to his people. He wants them to rejoice in the God of their salvation. He wants them to be conformed to his image, that when he comes, he may receive them to himself. If we lay hold upon the arm of Infinite Power, it will sustain us through every conflict and discouragement of life, and will finally place a crown of glory upon our heads, and bring us to share the eternal reward of the righteous.
21 “Blessed are they that do His commandments,” says the Saviour, “that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” “And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.” “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth,” “but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
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1 Dear brethren and sisters who assemble at our camp-meetings, we wish to address to you a few words in the interest of our Sabbath-schools. This is one of the important branches of the work, and should not be left to chance, or to hap-hazard management. If these schools are conducted as they should be, the efforts made in the pulpit to present the truth in a manner to win souls may be deepened; and if the labor bestowed is followed up by interested workers in the Sabbath-school, much good will be accomplished. But it is not enough to have the Sabbath-school move like well-regulated machinery. There should be practical workers; the teachers should be of that class who have a living connection with God, who have an appetite for study themselves, who will give time and moral earnestness to their work, and who will not be satisfied unless they see something accomplished.
2 There should be a living, growing interest in storing the mind with Bible truth. The precious knowledge thus gained will build a barrier about the soul. Although assailed with temptation, there will be a firm trust in Jesus, through the knowledge of him who hath called them to glory and to virtue. Let the teachers enter heart and soul into the subject-matter of the lesson. Let them lay plans to make a practical application of the lesson, and awaken an interest in the minds and hearts of the children under their charge. Let the activities of the scholars find scope in solving the problems of Bible truth. The teachers may give character to the work, so that the exercises will not be dry and uninteresting.
3 Teachers do not make as earnest work as they should of the Sabbath-school exercises; they should come close to the hearts of the scholars, by aptness, by sympathy, by patient and determined effort to interest every scholar in regard to the salvation of the soul. These exercises should become altogether what the Lord would have them,—seasons of deep conviction of sin, of heart reformation. If the right work is done in a skillful, Christ-like manner, souls will be convicted, and the inquiry will be, “What shall I do to be saved?” In some Sabbath-schools, positions are given to persons who have no aptitude to teach. They have no earnest love for souls. They do not half understand the practical bearings of the truth themselves. How, then, can they lead the children and youth to the living fountain? Let the teachers themselves drink deep of the water of salvation; and then angels of God will minister to them, and they will know just what course the Lord would have them take to win the precious youth to Jesus. It requires aptitude, a will, perseverance, a spirit such as Jacob had when he wrestled in prayer and exclaimed, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” When the blessing of God rests upon the teachers, it can but be reflected to those under their charge. Never place the youth under individuals who are spiritually indolent, who have no high, elevated, holy aspirations; for the same mind of indifference, Phariseeism, of form without the power, will be seen in both teachers and scholars.
4 Let parents do their part, not only helping the children in their study, but becoming familiar with the lessons themselves. The Bible is our text-book. Parents, teachers, and scholars need to become better acquainted with the precious truths contained in both the Old and the New Testaments. We must come up to a higher plane of action. Let the spirit of Jesus vitalize the souls of the workers. Then their plans and methods of labor will be of that character to win souls to Jesus Christ. In our large churches, where there are many children and youth, there is great danger of so managing the Sabbath-school that it will become a mere form, mechanical but spiritless. It lacks Jesus. Do not allow all your strength and energy to be given to worldly, temporal things during the week, and so have no energy and moral strength to give to the service of Christ on the Sabbath. There is earnest work to be done just now. We have not a moment’s time to use selfishly. Let all we do be done with an eye single to the glory of God. Never rest till every child in your class is brought to the saving knowledge of Christ.
5 It is important that the exercises in our camp-meeting Sabbath-schools be conducted with order, promptness, and efficiency. Then the right mould will be given to Sabbath-schools in the different churches, as the people return to their homes. Do not allow business and other interests to crowd out the Sabbath-school interest, so that it shall be considered a matter of no special consequence.
6 Very much can be done for the education and moral and religious training of our youth by well organized, properly conducted Sabbath-schools. Time and attention should be given to this branch of the work; for its importance in its influence upon our youth cannot be estimated. But our teachers need to be converted men and women, who know what it means to wrestle with God, who will not be at rest until the hearts of the children are tuned to love, praise, and glorify God. Who will be the earnest workers for souls in our Sabbath-schools? Who will take the youth separately, and talk and pray with them, and make personal appeals to them, beseeching them to yield their heart to Jesus, that they may be as a sweet savor to Christ? As we view the magnitude of the work, and see how little it is appreciated, we feel like groaning in spirit and exclaiming, Who will accept these grave responsibilities and watch for souls as they that must give an account? We are Christ’s representatives upon the earth. How do we fulfill our mission? Christ’s representatives will be in daily communion with him. Their words will be select, their speech seasoned with grace, their hearts filled with love, their efforts sincere, earnest, persevering, to save souls for whom Christ has died. Let all do their utmost to work for the salvation of the dear children and youth, and by and by they will listen with joy to the words of Jesus, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” What is this joy?—It is beholding the redeemed saints saved through their instrumentality, through the blood of Jesus Christ.—Mrs. E. G. White, in S. S. Worker.
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1 THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS WERE NOT INTENDED FOR PUBLICATION, BUT ARE FROM A PRIVATE LETTER WRITTEN BY SISTER WHITE TO MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY. WE TAKE PLEASURE IN PRESENTING THEM TO THE READERS OF THE SIGNS, FEELING ASSURED THAT THEY WILL BE INTERESTED IN THE SUCCESS THAT IS ATTENDING HER LABORS:—
2 We reached Worcester, Mass., about half past eight, Friday evening, July 31, and went directly to the mission rooms. In the evening we had a New England thunder-storm; but it cleared away before meeting time, and at the appointed hour the tent was filled with interested listeners. I spoke from the words of the Saviour found in Matthew 7:24-27. The bitterest opposition and prejudice had been created against me here, and some who were the most prejudiced were out to hear me. The Lord enabled me to present the truth with such power that the people listened as if spell-bound, and many were deeply impressed. One, an infidel, took his stand for the Sabbath, and others expressed their intention never again to disregard God’s holy day.
3 On the Sabbath we had a congregation of about one hundred. I spoke from the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah, and had special freedom. In the afternoon several stated that they were keeping the Sabbath for the first time.
4 It was cloudy all day Sunday, and in the evening it began to mist. We feared it would rain so that we should not have a congregation, but the tent was packed full, and there was a large crowd outside. The best part of the community was represented. I spoke from the third chapter of First John: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God,” etc. I dwelt particularly on the binding claims of the law of God, and I never saw greater interest manifested. The police had been notified to see that there was no smoking or talking outside the tent. Three powerful men were placed on guard; but Elder Canright said they stood like marble pillars, never for a moment looking away from me.
5 When the meeting closed, the people did not leave the tent, but lingered as if loth to go. A merchant who had attended the meetings and the infidel of whom I have spoken, came together. Said the merchant, “Henceforth the doors of my place of business shall be closed every Sabbath evening at sundown.” The infidel responded, “I will never break another Sabbath.” “Good,” said the merchant, “give me your hand on that.” And they there clasped hands, pledging each other to keep the Sabbath of the Lord.
6 About twenty-five are keeping the Sabbath here. The work has but just begun, and we expect more fruit will be seen as the result of this effort.
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1 In our social relations, in our intercourse one with another, the words of Christ, “Ye are the light of the world,” are especially true. Every association we form, however limited, exerts an influence on the life and character; and the extent of that influence will be determined by the degree of intimacy maintained, the constancy of the intercourse, and the love and confidence felt for the one with whom we associate. Even the enemies of Christ, as they see his spirit and life exemplified in the daily life of his followers, will be led to glorify God, the source of their strength and honor. Thus those who have a living connection with God can exert a saving power in the church and in society. Reader, examine your own course; consider the character of the associates you are choosing. Do you seek the company of the wise, or are you willing to choose worldly associates, companions who fear not God, and obey not the gospel? Are your recreations such as to impart moral and spiritual vigor? Will they lead to purity of thought and action?
2 Many parents are disregarding the most sacred claims of God, by their neglect to consecrate themselves and their children to him. Many are reposing in false security, absorbed in selfish interests and attracted by earthly treasures. They fear no evil. Danger seems a great way off. They will be deceived, deluded, to their eternal ruin, unless they arouse, and with penitence and deep humiliation, return unto the Lord.
3 The pride, self-indulgence, impiety, and iniquity that surround us, have an evil influence upon us. Few realize the importance of shunning, so far as possible, all associations unfriendly to religious life. In choosing their surroundings, few make their spiritual prosperity the first consideration.
4 Parents flock with their families to the cities, because they fancy it easier to obtain a livelihood there than in the country. The children, having nothing to do when not in school, obtain a street education. From evil associates they acquire habits of vice and dissipation. The parents see this, but because it will require a sacrifice to correct their error, they stay where they are, until Satan gains full control of their children. Better sacrifice any and every worldly consideration than to imperil the precious souls committed to your care. They will be assailed by temptations, and should be taught to meet them; but it is your duty to cut off every influence, to break up every habit, to sunder every tie, that keeps you from the most free, open, and hearty committal of yourselves and your family to God.
5 Instead of the crowded city, seek some retired situation where your children will be, so far as possible, shielded from temptation, and there train and educate them for usefulness. The prophet Ezekiel thus enumerates the causes that led to Sodom’s sin and destruction: “Pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. All who would escape the doom of Sodom, must shun the course that brought God’s judgments upon that wicked city.
6 Who will heed the counsel of the True Witness, to seek the gold tried in the fire, the white raiment, and the eye-salve? The gold is faith and love, the white raiment is the righteousness of Christ, the eye-salve is that spiritual discernment which will enable us to see the wiles of Satan and shun them, to detect sin, and abhor it, to see truth and obey it.
7 The deadly lethargy of the world is paralyzing the senses. Sin does not appear repulsive to those who are blinded by Satan. The judgments of God are soon to be poured out upon the earth. “Escape for thy life,” is the warning from the angels of God. Other voices are heard saying, “Do not become excited; there is no cause for special alarm.” Those who are at ease in Zion, cry peace and safety, while Heaven declares that swift destruction is about to come upon the transgressor. The young, the frivolous, the pleasure-loving, consider these warnings as idle tales, and turn from them with a jest. Parents are inclined to think their children about right in the matter, and all sleep on at ease. Thus it was at the destruction of the old world, and when Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by fire. On the night prior to their destruction, the cities of the plain rioted in pleasure. Lot was derided for his fears and warnings. But these scoffers perished in the flames. That very night the door of mercy was forever closed to the wicked, careless inhabitants of Sodom.
8 It is God who holds in his hands the destiny of souls. He will not always be mocked; he will not always to trifled with. Already his judgments are in the land. Fierce and awful tempests leave destruction and death in their wake. The devouring fire lays low the desolate forest and the crowded city. Storm and ship-wreck await those who journey upon the deep. Accident and calamity threaten all who travel upon the land. Hurricanes, earthquakes, sword, and famine follow in quick succession. Yet the hearts of men are hardened. They recognize not the warning voice of God. They will not flee to the only refuge from the gathering storm.
9 Many who have been placed upon the walls of Zion, to watch with eagle eye for the approach of danger, and lift the voice of warning, are themselves asleep. The very ones who should be most active and vigilant in this hour of peril are neglecting their duty, and bringing upon themselves the blood of souls.
10 Let no one put aside the warning, and say, “It does not mean me. I will not be disturbed by this excitable message.” It is the evil servant who says in his heart, “My Lord delayeth his coming.” Professedly a servant of Christ, he may not, in words, deny that the Lord is soon to come; but his actions show that he puts off that day to a distant period. He guiltily presumes on the supposed delay; he becomes careless, and his works testify his unbelief. He adopts the maxims and conforms to the practices of the world.
11 As soon as the evil servant begins to lose the spirit and power of the message, he manifests his unbelief. He smites his fellow-servants. He is ready to pass censure on those who are better than himself. “The poison of asps is under their lips” His course is downward. Erelong he may be found “eating and drinking with the drunken”—uniting with worldlings in their gatherings for pleasure, and, to all intents and purposes, one with them. Such is the condition of very many among us today.
12 In the instruction given by our Saviour to his disciples are words of admonition especially applicable to us: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Watch, pray, work—this is the true life of faith. “Pray always,” that is, be ever in the spirit of prayer, and then you will be in readiness for your Lord’s coming.
13 The Christian life is a warfare. The Apostle Paul speaks of wrestling against principalities and powers as he fought the good fight of faith. Again, he declares, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Ah, no. Today sin is cherished and excused. The sharp sword of the Spirit, the word of God, does not cut to the soul. Has religion changed? Has Satan’s enmity to God abated? A religious life once presented difficulties, and demanded self-denial. All is made very easy now. And why is this? The professed people of God have compromised with the powers of darkness.
14 The path to Heaven is no smoother now than in the days of our Saviour. All our sins must be put away. Every darling indulgence that hinders our religious life must be cut off. The right eye or the right hand must be sacrificed if it cause us to offend. Are we willing to renounce our own wisdom, and to receive the kingdom of heaven as a little child? Are we willing to part with self-righteousness? Are we willing to give up our chosen worldly associates? Are we willing to sacrifice the approbation of men? The prize of eternal life is of infinite value. Will we put forth efforts and make sacrifices proportionate to the worth of the object to be attained?
15 Great importance is attached to our associations. We may form many that are pleasant and helpful; but none are so precious as that by which finite man is brought into connection with the infinite God. When thus united, the words of Christ abide in us. We are not actuated by a spasmodic feeling, but by a living, abiding principle. The result will be a purified heart, a circumspect life, and a faultless character. But it is only by acquaintance and association with Christ that we can become like him, the one faultless example.
16 Communion with Christ—how unspeakably precious! Such communion it is our privilege to enjoy, if we will seek it, if we will make any sacrifice to secure it. When the early disciples heard the words of Christ, they felt their need of him. They sought, they found, they followed him. They were with him in the house, at the table, in the closet, in the field. They were with him as pupils with a teacher, daily receiving from his lips lessons of holy truth. They looked to him as servants to their master, to learn their duty. They served him cheerfully, gladly. They followed him, as soldiers follow their commander, fighting the good fight of faith. “And they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”
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1 Many profess to be followers of Christ and to be working for the upbuilding of his cause, when the whole weight of their influence is cast on the side of the great adversary. For this reason it becomes very important to inquire, By what means shall we determine whose side we are on? This question may be easily settled if we will consider the character of our thoughts and of the subjects upon which we love to converse, also who it is that has our best energies and the warmest affections of our hearts. If we are on the Lord’s side, our sweetest thoughts will be of him. We shall have no friendship with the world. All that we have and are will be consecrated to our God; we shall long to bear his image, breathe his Spirit, and do his will and please him in all things.
2 A great work has been committed to the church of God. Oh that we could each realize how much is depending upon our earnestness and fidelity! All who realize their accountability to God, will be burden-bearers in the church. There can be no such thing as a lazy Christian, though there are many indolent professors of Christianity. While Christ’s followers will realize their own weakness, they will cry earnestly to God for strength, that they may be workers together with him. They will constantly seek to become better men and women, that they may more faithfully perform the work which he has committed to their hands.
3 Every one may do something to strengthen and build up the church, and to enlighten those who are in the darkness of sin and error. There must be a feeling of individual responsibility. Each must seek to maintain a close connection with God, that he may have strength to aid and counsel others. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” The heart in which his Spirit dwells, will be a channel of light to others. It cannot be otherwise.
4 Those who do not preserve a living connection with God themselves, will have little interest in the salvation of others. They have no light from Heaven to reflect to the world. If these careless, irresponsible ones could see the fearful results of their course, they would be alarmed. Every one of us is exerting an influence upon some other soul; and we shall each be held accountable for the effect of that influence. Words and actions have a telling power, and the long hereafter will show the results of our life here. Yet how few consider these things. The members of the church listen to the words of God spoken by his servant, and then one goes to his farm, another to his merchandise; and by their absorbing interest in the affairs of this life, they declare that eternal things are of secondary importance.
5 The days are evil, wickedness prevails; therefore there is the greater need that Christ should be faithfully represented to the world as a mighty Saviour, able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. But the professed people of God are asleep. They are not doing what it is in their power to do for the salvation of souls. Especially are the youth deficient. They seem to feel no burden for souls, no duty to represent Christ to those with whom they associate. In all this, are they not following in the steps of church-members who are older in experience, and who should have set them a better example?
6 The young, as well as those of more advanced age, are accountable to God for their time, their influence, and their opportunities. They have their fate in their own hands. They may rise to any height of moral excellence, or they may sink to the lowest level of depravity. There is no election but one’s own by which any may perish. Every person is a free moral agent, deciding his own future by his daily life. What course, then, is it wisest for us, as rational beings, to pursue? Shall we live as becomes candidates for eternity, or shall we fail to fulfill the great end of our creation?
7 Jesus died that through his merits men might be redeemed from the power of sin, and be adopted into the family of God; and in view of the great sacrifice which has been made for us, we are exhorted to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Yet how many, endowed by their Creator with reasoning powers, reject the high honors which Christ proffers, and degrade themselves to the level of the brute. Because they do not like to retain God in their thoughts, he leaves them to follow their own evil ways. They yield to Satan’s control the souls for whose redemption Christ has died.
8 We are free to obey or to disregard the will of God; free to live without prayer or to pray. As God compels no man to be righteous, so none are compelled to be impenitent and vicious. Human passions may be strong and wayward, but help has been laid upon One who is mighty. While that help will not be forced upon any who despise the gift, it is freely, gladly given to all who seek it in sincerity.
9 We may be assailed by strong temptations, for we have a powerful, cunning foe; but these temptations are never irresistible. He who struggles against them in the strength of Christ, will overcome; but God will never deliver those who will not strive to free themselves. The Christian must be watchful against sins of the flesh, watchful against sins of the mind. Says the apostle, “Gird up the loins of your mind.” The thoughts and feelings must be restrained with a firm hand, lest they lead us into sin. How many have become the willing slaves of vice, their mental and physical powers enervated, their souls debased, because impure thoughts were allowed to dwell in the mind, and to stain the soul. “Unto the pure, all things are pure.” To those who are pure in heart, all the duties and lawful pursuits of life are pure; while to those whose heart and conscience are defiled, all things are impure.
10 Another sin of the mind is that of extolling and deifying human reason, to the neglect of divine revelation. Here, too, we must “gird up the loins of the mind.” We are living in an age when the minds of men are ever on the stretch for something new. Rightly directed, and kept within proper limits, this desire is commendable. God has given us in his created works enough to excite thought and stimulate investigation. He does not desire men to be less acute, less inquiring, or less intelligent. But with all our aspirations and in all our researches, we should remember that arrogance is not greatness, nor is conceit knowledge. Human pride is an evidence, not of strength, but of weakness. It reveals not wisdom, but folly. To exalt reason unduly is to abase it. To place the human in rivalry with the divine, is to make it contemptible.
11 How can man be just with God? This is the one great question that most concerns us. Can human reasoning find an answer? No; revelation only can solve the all-important problem, can shed light upon the pathway of man’s life. What folly, then, to turn from the one great source of light, the Sun of Righteousness, to follow the feeble and uncertain light of human wisdom.
12 We must each have an experience for ourselves. The work of our salvation lies between God and our own souls. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before him, yet he will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching a scrutiny as though there were not another being on the earth. Every individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God. Each must meet the great Judge face to face. How important, then, that every mind contemplate often the solemn scene when the Judgment shall sit and the books be opened, when, with Daniel, every individual must stand in his lot at the end of the days.
13 At the final day, we shall be approved or condemned according to our works. The Judge of all the earth will render a just decision. He will not be bribed; he cannot be deceived. He who made man, and whose are the worlds and all the treasures they contain—he it is who weighs character in the balance of eternal justice.
14 Oh that Christ’s followers might realize that it is not houses and lands, bank stock or wheat-fields, or even life itself, that is now at stake, but souls for whom Christ died! We should ever remember that the men and women whom we daily meet are Judgment-bound. They will stand before the great white throne, to testify against us if we are unfaithful to duty, if our example shall lead them away from the truth and from Christ, or to bear witness that our fidelity has encouraged them in the path of righteousness. These souls will either live to offer praise to God and the Lamb through ceaseless ages, or they will perish with the wicked. Christ suffered and died that they might enjoy a blissful eternity. What sacrifices are we willing to make for their salvation?
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1 On Board S.S. “Cephalonia”
Near Queenstown, Ireland, Aug. 17, 1885.
I feel urged to address those who are engaged in giving the last message of warning to the world. Whether those for whom they labor see and accept the truth depends very much upon the individual workers. The command of God is, “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.” Paul charges Timothy, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine.” The work must commence with the worker. He must be united to Christ as the branch is united to the vine. “I am the true vine,” said Christ, “ye are the branches.” Here is represented the closest possible connection. Insert the leafless rod into the flourishing vine stalk, and it becomes a living branch, drawing sap and nourishment from the vine. Fiber by fiber, vein by vein, the sapling clings until it buds and blossoms and bears fruit. The sapless twig represents the sinner. When united to Christ, soul is joined to soul, the feeble and finite to the holy and infinite, and this man becomes one with Christ. “Without me,” says Christ, “ye can do nothing.” God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification. Are we who claim to be workers with Christ united with him? Do we abide in Christ, and are we one with him? The message that we bear is worldwide. It must come before all nations, tongues, and people. The Lord will not require any one of us to go forth with this message unless he shall give us power and grace to present it to the people in a manner corresponding to its importance. The great question with us today is, Are we carrying this solemn message of truth in a manner that is equal to its importance? The Lord will work with the workers if they will make Christ their only dependence. He never designed that his missionaries should work without his grace, and destitute of his power. The humble, contrite heart will be the abode of the Spirit of Christ. “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
2 God has chosen us out of the world that we might be a peculiar and holy people. “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” God’s workers must be men of prayer, diligent students of the Scriptures, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, that they may be a light and strength unto others. Our God is a jealous God, and he requires that we worship him in spirit and in truth, and in the beauty of holiness. The psalmist says: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” We must, as workers, take heed to our ways. If the psalmist could not be heard if he regarded iniquity in his heart, how can the prayers of ministers be heard if iniquity is regarded among them? There are dangers to which we are continually exposed. It is Satan’s studied plan to make the workers weak in prayer, weak in power, weak in influence before the world, because of the defects in their characters, defects which in no way harmonize with the truth. We must, as workers, be united in frowning down and condemning anything that bears the least approach to evil in our association with one another. Our faith is holy, and our work is to vindicate the honor of God’s law. Our work is not of a character to bring any one down to a low level in thought or in deportment. There are many who claim to believe and to teach the truth, who have error and fanciful ideas of their own mingled with the truth. There is an exalted platform upon which we must stand. We must believe and teach the truth as it is in Jesus.
3 Holiness of heart will never lead to impure actions. When one who claims to be teaching the truth is inclined to be much in the company of young women or even of married women; when he familiarly lays his hand upon their shoulders, or is often found conversing with them in a familiar manner, be afraid of him. The pure principles of truth are not in wrought in the soul. Such are not workers with Jesus; they are not in Christ, and Christ is not abiding in them. They need a thorough conversion before God can accept their labors. The truth of heavenly origin never degrades the receiver, never leads him to the least approach to undue familiarity. On the contrary, it sanctifies the receiver, refines the taste, elevates and ennobles him, and brings him in close connection with Jesus. It does not lead him to disregard the Apostle Paul’s injunction, to abstain from even the appearance of evil, lest his good should be evil spoken of. We have a great work to do to elevate man and to win him to Christ, to lead him to choose and to seek earnestly to be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Every thought, every word, and every action of the workers should be of that elevated character that is in harmony with the sacred truth they advocate. We are living in an age where iniquity abounds, and an unguarded word or an improper action may greatly injure the usefulness of the one showed this weakness. Keep up the barriers of reserve. Let not one instance occur in your relation to others that the enemy may make capital of. If you begin to place your affections upon one another, giving special attention to favorites, using flattering words, God will withdraw his Spirit. If married men leave their wives to care for their children at home, the wife and mother is doing fully as great and important a work as the husband and father. Although one is in the missionary field, the other is a home missionary, whose cares and anxieties and burdens frequently far exceed those of the husband and father. Her work is a solemn and important one. It is to mould the minds and fashion the characters of her children, and train them for usefulness here, and fit them for the future, immortal life. The husband in the open missionary field may receive the honors of men, while the home toiler may receiver no credit for her labor. But if she works for the best interest of her family, to fashion their characters after the divine model, the recording angel writes her name as one of the greatest missionaries in the world. God does not see things as man’s finite vision views them.
4 I am pained when I see men praised, flattered, and petted. God has revealed the fact that some who receive these attentions are unworthy to take his name into their lips. Yet they are exalted to Heaven in the estimation of finite man, who reads only from outward appearance. My sisters, never fawn over, pet, and flatter poor, failing, erring men, either young or old, married or unmarried. You know not their weaknesses, and you know not but these very attentions and this profuse praise may prove their ruin. I am alarmed at the short-sightedness, the want of wisdom, that many manifest in respect to this familiarity. Men who are doing God’s work and who have Christ abiding in their hearts, will not lower the standard of morality, but will ever seek to elevate it. They will not find pleasure in the flattery of women, or in being petted by them. Let young men and married men say, “Hands off! I will not give the least occasion to have my good evil spoken of. My good name is capital, of far more value to me than gold or silver. Let me preserve it untarnished. If men assail that name, it shall not be because I have given them any occasion to do so, but for the same reason that they spoke falsely of Christ,—because they hated the purity and holiness of his character, for it was a constant rebuke to them.”
5 I wish I could impress upon every worker the great need of continual, earnest prayer. They cannot be constantly upon their knees, but they can be uplifting their hearts to God. This is the way that Enoch walked with God. When young, or even married men and women open their family secrets to you, beware. When they express a desire for sympathy, know that it is time to exercise great caution. Those who are imbued with the Spirit of Christ, and who are walking with God, will have no unholy repining for sympathy. They have a companionship that satisfies every desire of the mind and heart. Married men who accept the attention, the praise, and petting of women, should be assured that the love and sympathy of this class is not worth the obtaining. It is valueless. This is a subject to which we must give heed. We must guard against the sins of this degenerate age. We must stand aloof from everything that savors of commonness and undue familiarity. God condemns it. It is forbidden ground, upon which it is unsafe to set the feet. Every word and action should tend to elevate, refine, and ennoble the character. There is sin in thoughtlessness about such matters. The Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to diligence and thoroughness in his ministry, and urged him to meditate upon those things that are pure and excellent, that his profiting might appear unto all. The same counsel is greatly needed by young men of the present age. Thoughtful consideration is essential. If men would only think more and act less impulsively, they would meet with much greater success in their labors. We are handling subjects of infinite importance, and we cannot afford to weave into our work our own defects of character. We want to represent the character of Christ.
6 Women are too often tempters. Through one pretense or another they engage the attention of the married or unmarried men, and lead them on till they transgress the law of God. Their usefulness is ruined and their souls jeopardized. The history of Joseph is left on record for the benefit of all who, like him, are tempted. He was firm as a rock to principle, and answered the tempter, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” Moral power like his is what is now needed. If women would elevate their lives and become workers with Christ, there would be less danger through their influence. But with their present feelings of unconcern in regard to home responsibilities, and in regard to the claims that God has upon them, their influence is often strong in the wrong direction. Their powers are dwarfed, and their work bears not the stamp of the divine. They are not home missionaries, neither are they missionaries away from home, and frequently home, precious home, is a desolation. Is there not enough transpiring about us to show us the dangers that beset our path? Everywhere are seen wrecks of humanity, broken-down family altars, broken-up families. There is a strange abandonment of principle. The standard of morality is lowered, and the earth is fast becoming as Sodom. The Sodomitish practices which brought the judgment of God upon the old world and caused it to be destroyed by water, and which caused Sodom to be destroyed by fire, are fast increasing.
7 We are nearing the end. God has borne long with the perversity of mankind, but their punishment is no less certain. Let those who profess to be the light of the world depart from all iniquity. We see the very same spirit manifested against the truth as was seen in Christ’s days. For want of Bible arguments those who are making void the law of God will manufacture falsehoods to stain and blacken the workers. They did this to the world’s Redeemer; they will do it to his followers. Reports that have not the least foundation will be asserted as truth. May the Lord attract souls to himself, and impart to them individually a sense of their sacred responsibilities to form such characters that Christ will not be ashamed to call them brethren. Elevate the standard, and then the heavenly benediction will be pronounced upon you in that day when every man will receive according to the deeds done in the body. Workers for God must live as in his sight, and be constantly developing in character, true virtue, and godliness. Their minds and hearts must be so thoroughly imbued with the spirit of Christ, and solemnized by the sacred message they have to bear, that every thought, every action, and every motive will be above the earthly and sensual. Their happiness will not be in forbidden, selfish gratification, but in Jesus and his love.
8 The standard of morality is not exalted high enough among God’s people. In view of the dangers of this time, shall not we, as commandment-keeping people, put away from among us all sin, all iniquity, and all perverseness? Shall not the women professing the truth keep strict guard over themselves, lest the least encouragement be given to unwarrantable familiarity? They might close many a door to temptation if they would observe at all times strict reserve, and propriety of deportment. Let men find an example in the life of Joseph, and stand firm to principle, however strongly tempted. We want to be strong men and women for the right. There are those around us who are weak in moral power. They need to be in the company of those who are firm, and whose hearts are closely knit with the heart of Christ. Every one’s principles will be put to the test, but there are those who go into temptation like a fool to the correction of stocks. They invite the devil to tempt them. They unnerve themselves, are weakened in moral power, and shame and confusion are the result. Never should the mark of distinction between the followers of Jesus and the followers of Satan be obliterated. There is a distinct line drawn by God himself between the world and the church, between commandment-keepers and commandment-breakers. These do not blend together. They are as far separated, as much different, as midday and midnight; different in their tastes, their aims, their pursuits, their characters. If we cultivate the love and fear of God, we will loathe the least approach to impurity.
9 My prayer is, O Lord, anoint the eyes of thy people, that they may discern between sin and holiness, between pollution and righteousness, and come off victorious at last.
Ellen G. White.
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1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4.
2 “Seek those things which are above,” says the apostle. Are we obeying this injunction? Are we withdrawing our affections from the things of earth, and setting them on things which are eternal, pertaining to the kingdom of God? Let us not disregard these words, lest we pass on, following our own ways, encouraging ourselves in evil thoughts and unlovely actions, which separate us from God, and place us on the enemy’s ground, subject to his control.
3 “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” The character of the true Christian will be consistent, meek, cheerful, fragrant with good works, and so resolute that sin will find no sanction in the heart or in the words and acts. The peace of Christ, ruling in the heart of the earnest, working Christian, while it will elevate and refine the taste and sanctify the judgment, will be reflected upon others, and help them on in the upward path. Such will be the character of those who are indeed “risen with Christ,” and are seeking “those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
4 But we are none of us perfect. We are only learners in the school of Christ. If with unprejudiced mind and humble heart we carefully search the Scriptures, we shall find much in our lives and characters to condemn, much that needs to be remedied. But in that word the way of life is fully pointed out, so that there need be no mistake. Thus the apostle explains what it is to die to self and live to God:—
5 “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience; in the which ye also walked sometime, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.”
6 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” What solemn and important words are these! And what weight do they have with us? If any have been in the habit of giving them away to someone else, I hope they will now take them home to their own hearts. Closely examine yourself, Christian reader, not once a week, but daily, and see if you are cultivating a spirit which is meek, forbearing, long-suffering, humble, and teachable, and are thus bearing in your life the precious fruits of the Spirit, which grow on no other than the Christian tree.
7 Some will be ready to ask, “How can I get out of the worries in which I find myself involved? How shall I ever be understood and appreciated? I have no confidence in this one’s religion or honesty, and that one has done me wrong.” Be careful how you sin against your brethren by misjudging them, and speaking evil of them. God has not given you permission to climb upon the judgment-seat, and pronounce one good because he praises, pets, and favors you, and denounce another because he is not your particular friend. This selfish, narrow, bigoted spirit does harm to those with whom you associate. It is not the spirit of Christ, but of him who has been from the beginning the accuser of the brethren. Instead of misjudging others, examine your own conduct. Place the most favorable construction on the words and actions of others, and you will thus be exercising the mercy that is becoming to those who are the holy and beloved of God, members of the royal family. Seek the meekness of Christ. He suffered wrong, and did not attempt to avenge himself.
8 Perhaps some child of God may be commissioned to give you a word of reproof for some inconsistency in your words or deportment, and instead of feeling grateful for the faithful discharge of a really unpleasant duty, and heeding the warning given in love to your soul, you may turn away in anger. All the wrath and malice of an unsubdued heart may be stirred up, and the foul waters poured forth to poison the minds and hearts of others. This shows that you have not mortified your members. “Anger, wrath, malice,” have not been “put off.” You have not been seeking to repress everything in your character that is contrary to the word of God. Satan laughs, and angels weep, because you are too proud and stubborn to confess and forsake your faults.
9 Trials cannot be avoided. When they come, do not indulge the thought, “If those around me would do right, it would be easy to be cheerful, happy, and contented. Oh that I could get into a place where there would be no irritations, where life to me would not be filled with discouragements, and my temper constantly tried. If I could only escape these things!” You can escape them only by having a new heart and dying to self. You will gain no real victories so long as you allow your temper to rise the minute your track is crossed; neither will you conquer by fleeing from the field of battle. He who runs is a coward, not a conqueror.
10 Meet your trials in the strength of Jesus, and endure them. Let the inquiry be, How can I endure the provings of God? How can I meet provocations, and not lose self-control? When you claim that you cannot do this, you acknowledge that your life is not hid in Christ; that you are not exemplifying the character of your divine Lord; that self is not dead, but is clamoring for the supremacy. Your Christian life may be a victorious one; but you must strain every nerve and muscle in the contest against self and sin. There is no release in this war, no delightful arbor where you may rest and slumber; for your wily foe would gain advantages that would result in eternal loss.
11 When you have done all that you can on your part, you may in faith ask help of the Captain of your salvation, and he will bring divine aid to be combined with human effort; and he will bind upon your brow the laurels of the conqueror, just as though you had yourself wrought out the victory. And remember, it is the overcomer that enters the portals of the kingdom of glory; it is the overcomer that wears the crown of life, and stands with the blood-washed throng around the great white throne.
12 Our work here is that of character-building; and let each build over against his own house. Time is graciously given us for this work; and day by day, brick by brick, the structure is going up. Let it not be defective and deformed, but make it symmetrical and beautiful, strong to resist cold and heat, storm and sunshine.
13 In the wise providence of God, obstacles are permitted, yes, ordered, as a means of discipline, and to nerve us with determination not to be conquered by circumstances. The life of Christ is our example. Did he seek ease and self-indulgence? Ah, no! He “was in all points tempted like as we are;” he was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Yet his heart was so full of love and interest for others that he thought not, planned not, lived not, for himself. He came to seek and to save that which was lost, and he left his followers to carry on this work in his name. But no one can bear another upward to Heaven; each must tread the rough pathway which Jesus has trodden before him, and which he has brightened by his presence.
14 We must not think that we can wait till we get to Heaven before we perfect pure, chaste, lovely characters. The Christian will be Christlike here. There is a diversity among us. We each have traits of character, tastes, gifts, and capacities peculiar to ourselves, all of which have been established or modified by education and habit. But by the grace of Christ all these varied characteristics may be brought into harmony with the will of God.
15 In our early experience, a gray-haired brother, giving his testimony in a social meeting, expressed the fear that he should be overcome by temptation, and give up the faith once delivered to the saints. Said he, “I cannot afford to lose eternal life. What would I not give to know that I should never fall!”
16 A week from this time, when he arose to speak in the social meeting, his face was all aglow with the light and peace of Heaven. “Brethren,” he exclaimed, “I have found a sure rule for success in the Christian journey. You will read it in 2 Peter 1:5-7: ‘Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge: and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.’ We must climb this ladder, round after round, remembering that God is above it, ready to help us in our efforts. We must live upon the plan of addition, and God has promised that he will multiply his grace to us.” Then with earnestness and enthusiasm he added: “Let us begin today to climb Peter’s ladder, never looking back; for we have the word of the inspired apostle that if we do these things we shall never fall, but an entrance will be ministered unto us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour.”
17 This brother continued to follow Peter’s excellent rule for Christian living until his work on earth was done; and he now sleeps in Jesus, awaiting the resurrection morning.
18 Will we be diligent to make our calling and election sure? Will we patiently climb the ladder of Christian progress, until from the topmost round we step into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ? We may become pure and holy. We may become more precious than fine gold, even the golden wedge of Ophir. And what joy it will be to hear from the lips of Jesus the sweet benediction, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” What a victory to be of that company of whom John speaks: “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
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1 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:24-27.
2 In this text there is presented something for us individually to do in order to build securely, where the fierce tempest will not sweep away our foundation. The earnest, anxious inquiry of every soul should be, How am I building? Is my foundation sliding sand, or solid rock?
3 Let us consider more fully the lesson that Jesus gave in his sermon on the mount, as with great distinctness and power his words fell on the ears of the listening multitude. “Enter ye in at the strait gate,” he says; “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
4 Many tell us, “You are too particular. God does not expect us to be constantly on guard lest we make mistakes. He is too good to hold us accountable for our course of action day by day.” But we are to remember that the way to destruction is broad, while the way to eternal life is strait and narrow. Listen again to the words of the great Teacher: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” This shows us that we are to be guarded on every side, lest we mistake the way. We must be careful not to listen to agents of the great adversary, who would guide our feet into forbidden paths, as our first parents were led into transgression.
5 Our Lord does not leave us in darkness as to whom to trust. Here is the rule by which to decide; “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” Here is the test by which to judge every man who claims to be a teacher and a guide to the people. And now listen to his startling denunciation of those teachers who make high pretensions to godliness, while their works do not correspond with their profession: “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Do their high claims prove them to be genuine Christians and reliable guides? No, indeed! We must look carefully at the life and character, the words and deeds.
6 Jesus is guarding his hearers from deceptions that would endanger their souls; and he warns them to beware of false teachers, who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. He would have every one for whom his precious blood is a ransom, constantly on his guard, comparing every man’s pretentious claims with the great standard of righteousness. The question is, “What saith the Scriptures? Human lips may utter perverse things, lying doctrines that have no foundation in God’s word, and souls may be sincere in accepting these erroneous doctrines; but will their sincerity save them from the sure and disastrous result? The Bible is the standard of truth and holiness. If they were carefully and prayerfully living by this word, they would not be deceived.
7 The words of Jesus are full of awful significance: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.” That will is made known in his law, which is the foundation of his government in Heaven and upon earth. Those who cheerfully obey that law are doing the will of God.
8 The lesson continues: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Here attention is called to a class who are actively engaged in religious work, making high claims to the favor of God, while they are all the time serving the great adversary of souls. They are transgressing the law of God, and are teaching others to transgress it also. Thus they are zealous workers of iniquity, while claiming Christ as their Lord, and professedly doing great works in his name.
9 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.”
10 Here are two houses. One is built on a rock, and is almost inaccessible; the other is on the level ground, in a much pleasanter location. To the thoughtless observer it seems that the man who built his house on the steep rock was odd and foolish, while the one who built on the low, level plain is considered wise and prudent. But by and by the storm comes. The winds blow and the tempests beat upon these houses. And what is the result? The beautiful home upon the plain is overthrown, and lies upon the beach, a useless ruin, while the other, perched on the high rock, stands firm, unmoved by storm and flood.
11 Jesus compared the man who hears and obeys his words to the one who built his house upon a rock. The floods of temptation may come and the tempests of trial beat; but he remains unmoved, for his foundation is sure. But the man who built his house on the sand, where it had no firm foundation, but was quickly undermined and overthrown, fitly represents the one who hears the words of Christ and disregards them. Will we let this lesson impress our hearts, and have an influence on our character building? Will we plant our feet upon the truth of God—the sure foundation, or will we trust in erroneous doctrines, which are but sliding sand? Holiness and sin are opposed to each other. “Sin is the transgression of the law;” therefore the “doers of the word” are not those who are making void the law of God. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” The blessing is pronounced on those that obey, not on those that transgress, the holy law of God.
12 Everywhere error will be presented for truth; and unless we have a living connection with God, and are diligent in searching the Scriptures, there is danger of being misled. Voices will be heard on every side, saying, “Come with us; we have the truth.” Jesus is the true Shepherd. His sheep hear his voice, and follow him; but a “stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” But unless we are ever on our guard, there is constant danger of listening to strange voices.
13 The Lord commanded Adam in Eden, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat;” “for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” But another voice was heard saying, “Ye shall not surely die.” This strange voice tested Adam and Eve, and proved their loyalty. They had an opportunity to show whether they would be obedient to God, or would disregard his word, and accept that of the deceiver who came to destroy them.
14 The Lord did not prove Adam and Eve in a large matter. The test given them was the smallest that could have been devised. Had it been a large test, then men and women whose hearts incline to evil would excuse themselves by saying, “This is a trivial matter, and God is not so particular about little things,” and there would be constant transgression in things looked upon as small, and which pass unrebuked among men. But the Lord has made it very evident that sin, in any degree, is offensive to him.
15 To Eve it seemed a small thing to disobey God by tasting the fruit of the forbidden tree, and to tempt her husband to transgress also; but their sin opened the floodgate of woe upon the world. And their posterity would have remained in hopeless bondage to sin, had not Christ had pity on them. He left his throne in the courts of Heaven; he laid aside his royal robe, clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to our world all seared and marred by the curse, to reach men where they were. He descended step by step in humiliation, that he might reach to the very depths of human woe, where man had been plunged by his transgression of the law, while with his divine arm he grasped the Infinite One, thus connecting man with God, and earth with Heaven. This great sacrifice was not made to verify the words of Satan by saving man in his transgressions. The design was not to do away and make of none effect the law of God, but to give man another trial, another opportunity to prove his loyalty to the God of Heaven.
16 “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” The law is the great mirror, into which man must look to discern the defects in his character. If he refuses to consult this divinely appointed detector, and thus learn his true state, can we be surprised that he proudly boasts of perfection? He must see his character in the light of God’s law. He must have a new heart, one that is pure, loving, and obedient. The old life of sin and alienation from God must be given up, and a new life of loving, trusting obedience begin. Then the peace of Christ will rule in the heart and sanctify the life; and the path in which he treads will be the highway cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, where light from Heaven is ever shining.
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1 Many look upon useful labor as a curse originating with the enemy of souls; but this is a mistaken view. Judicious labor is indispensable to both the happiness and the prosperity of the race. God ordained it for man as a blessing, to occupy his mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. Industry makes the feeble strong, the timid brave, the poor rich, and the wretched happy. Adam labored in the garden of Eden, and he found in mental and physical activity the highest pleasures of his holy existence. When, as the result of his disobedience, he was driven from that beautiful home, and was forced to struggle with a stubborn soil to gain his daily bread, that very labor was a relief to his sorrow and remorse, a safeguard against temptation.
2 Idleness is one of the greatest curses that can fall upon man; for vice and crime follow in its train. Satan is never more successful than when he comes to men in their idle hours. He lies in ambush with his temptations, ready to surprise and destroy those who are unguarded, whose leisure gives him opportunity to insinuate himself into their favor under some attractive disguise.
3 The greatest curse following in the train of wealth is the fashionable idea that work is degrading. “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom; pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” Here are presented before us, in the words of Holy Writ, the terrible results of idleness. It was this that caused the ruin of the cities of the plain. Idleness enfeebles the mind, debases the soul, and perverts the understanding.
4 The rich often consider themselves entitled to the pre-eminence among their fellow-men and in the favor of God. Many feel above honest labor, and look down with contempt upon their poorer neighbors. The children of the wealthy are taught that to be gentlemen and ladies they must dress fashionably, avoid all useful labor, and shun the society of the working classes. They dare not shock their fashionable associates by putting to a practical use the talents which God has given them. But such ideas of useful industry are wholly at variance with the divine purpose in the creation of man. What are the possessions of even the most wealthy, compared with the heritage given to the lordly Adam? Yet Adam was not to be idle. Our all-wise Creator, who understands well what is for man’s happiness, appointed Adam his work.
5 The Son of God honored labor. Though he was the Majesty of Heaven, he chose his earthly home among the poor and lowly, and worked for his daily bread in the humble carpenter shop of Joseph. Christ is our example. He came to earth to teach us how to live. Is it too great a humiliation for us to walk in the path of useful industry, where the King of glory has led the way?
6 God ordained labor for man; but misguided parents are trying to improve upon his plan. Many send their children away from home influences and home duties, to some boarding-school or college, to obtain an education. There, deprived of parental care, they spend precious hours that should be devoted to useful study and useful employment, in novel reading, in frivolous amusements, or in studying the adornment of their person, that they may outrival their companions. For such pursuits, their duties to God and their fellow-beings are neglected.
7 This false education leads young ladies to regard uselessness, frivolity, and helplessness as proofs of gentility. They are merely fashionable butterflies, having nothing to do for the good of others, at home or abroad. Here may be found the secret of many of the unhappy marriages, and the flirtations ending in shame, that curse our world today.
8 Young men as well as young women manifest a sad lack of earnest purpose and moral independence. To dress, to smoke, to talk nonsense, and to indulge their passion for amusement, is the ideal of happiness, even with many who profess to be Christians. It is painful to think of the time which is thus misspent,—of the hours that should be given to some useful employment, to the study of the Scriptures, or to active labor for Christ, that are worse than wasted.
9 Those who possess wealth and leisure, and yet have no aim in life, have nothing to arouse them to either mental or physical activity. Yet life was given for a true and holy purpose, and is too precious to be squandered. There is work to be done, and it is not physical labor alone that is called for. There is the mind, with all its capabilities, to strengthen and store with the treasures of divine wisdom. There is a Heaven to win; there are souls to save; there are battles to fight. Young friend, Christian reader, you may come to the front in the warfare against the hosts of evil. In the strength of God you may do a good and noble work for the Master.
10 God designed that all should be workers. Our varied trusts are proportioned to our various abilities, and our Creator expects corresponding returns for the talents he has intrusted to our keeping. Upon those whose opportunities and abilities are greatest rest the heaviest responsibilities. Upon them also will fall the heaviest condemnation if they are unfaithful to their trust. Yet a large class refuse to think or act for themselves. They have no disposition to step out of the old ruts of prejudice and error; and by their negligence and perversity, they block up the way of those who would make advancement, and occasion the overwork of the few earnest, devoted laborers. These often fail for want of a helping hand, and sink beneath their double burdens.
11 The true glory and joy of life are found only by the working man and woman. Labor brings its own reward, and the rest is sweet that is purchased by the fatigue of a well-spent day. But there is a self-imposed toil which is utterly unsatisfying and injurious. It is that which is done to gratify unsanctified ambition for display or notoriety. The love of appearance or possession leads thousands to carry to excess that which is in itself lawful, to devote all the strength of mind and body to that which should occupy but a small portion of their time. They bend every energy to the acquisition of wealth or honor; they make all other objects secondary to this; they toil unflinchingly for years to accomplish their purpose; yet when the goal is reached, and the coveted reward secured, it turns to ashes in their grasp; it is a shadow, a delusion. They have given their life for that which profiteth not.
12 Yet all lawful pursuits may be safely followed, if the spirit is kept free from selfish hopes and the contamination of deceit and envy. It is the working men and women, who are willing to bear its responsibilities with courage and hope, who see something great and good in life. But the business life of the Christian should be marked by the same purity that held sway in the work-shop of the holy Nazarene.
13 Patient laborers, remember that they were sturdy working men whom Christ chose from among the fishermen of Galilee to labor with him in the work of salvation. And from these humble men went forth a power that will be felt through all eternity.
14 The angels are workers; they are ministers of God to the children of men. Those slothful spirits who look forward to a Heaven of inaction will be disappointed, for the Creator has prepared no place for the gratification of sinful indolence. But to the weary and heavy-laden, rest is promised. It is the faithful servants who are welcomed from their labors into the joy of their Lord. Gladly will they lay off their armor, and forget the tumult of battle in the peace that shall be the inheritance of the saints.
15 The path of the Christian laborer may be hard and narrow; but it is honored by the footprints of the Redeemer, and he is safe who follows in that sacred way.
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1 “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
2 It is of consequence to every one to know what the Bible teaches. Like the noble Bereans, we should search the Scriptures carefully, prayerfully, to become acquainted with the utterances of God. We should inquire, not what the minister, the church, or some personal friend may say, but what the Lord says. “To the law and to the testimony. If they [ministers, churches, or friends] speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
3 While searching for the truth as for hid treasures, light from the written word breaks into the mind. The benumbed and dormant faculties are awakened to new life and energy, the limited capacities are expanded to comprehend the truth, and earnest efforts are put forth to bring others into the light. Then why is it that there is such blindness in regard to the Scriptures? Why are ideas entertained, and sometimes taught to others, that are so vague and inconsistent? It is because the heart is not in harmony with the revealed word; the conscience has been so long depraved by practices condemned by that word, that the mental and moral powers are incapable of discerning spiritual things.
4 A great responsibility rests upon those who minister in word and doctrine. They should deal kindly, yet faithfully with souls. If they speak as the ambassadors of God, they will echo the teachings of the prophets and the apostles, and, above all, of Christ himself. Not only in the desk, but out of it also, they should seek to lead their hearers to search the Scriptures, and to impress upon them the necessity of understanding the word for themselves.
5 Let no man think that it is only the minister who is able to understand the Scriptures. Every man may have an intelligent knowledge of God’s word; and he who does not make it his life-work to understand it is in danger of making shipwreck of faith. He must study it, comparing scripture with scripture. Such study strengthens and enlarges the mind. By it, under the guidance of the Spirit of God, truths which have been hidden for ages, buried under the rubbish of superstition and error, have been dug out, and brought to the light of day.
6 Many do not want to know the truth, because it condemns their practices. The words of Christ are applicable to them: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” They do not have moral courage to obey the truth when it calls upon them to leave the customs and practices of the world. They have decided that they will not follow the teachings of the Bible if it requires a separation from the world. When obedience to God requires them to become peculiar in faith and practice, and to take their position with a people who are distinct from the world, they think the cross is too heavy for them to lift. They listen to the truth, and are convicted that it is the truth; but the world has a large place in their affections, and they go away and forget the word spoken.
7 Those who are seeking salvation must undertake the work understandingly. God’s word is our text-book. It tells us what sin is, and points out the remedy. When the lawyer inquired, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ referred him to the law. “What is written in the law?” he asked; “how readest thou?” The apostle tells us: “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Conviction of sin is the first step in conversion; and the law of God is the instrument to convict the sinner. It is this holy law that discovers the deformity of character, that reveals the plague-spot of sin.
8 And when man is convicted of sin, when he realizes his lost and undone condition, Jesus reveals himself as a sin-pardoning Saviour. Through him the sinner may obtain forgiveness, though he has failed so decidedly in his duty to render obedience to God. But salvation is never gained by abolishing the law, or lessening its sacred claims.
9 “If I had not come and spoken unto them,” said Christ of those who rejected his gospel, “they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin.” There is no condemnation where light is not given. But Jesus came as the light of the world. He taught men the true aim in life, the purposes and principles that underlie right living. The acquisition of property is not the great end of our being. We have individually a work to do to place ourselves in right relations to God, to bless others, and to win souls to Christ. There is true nobleness and dignity in this service. Riches are not enduring; they are often swept away in a moment. But the treasure in Heaven, which the God-fearing worker is garnering up, will endure to all eternity. It will be to its possessor riches and joy in the future life, when wealth, and fame, and worldly honors have perished.
10 Just before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for his disciples: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” But those who love the truth, and will cling to their Bibles, will have trials and persecutions to meet. In all ages the defenders of the faith have realized the truth of the apostle’s words: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” But there have ever been some who have stood unmoved in their adherence to principle, and have refused to yield their faith to save their lives. The early Reformers were of this number. When urged to accept tradition and the commandments of men in place of the word of God, these men, firmly grasping their Bibles, replied, “Here is the foundation of our faith. Show us from the Bible that we are in error, and we will willingly renounce our doctrines.” But their enemies knew that if the Bible were to decide the matter, they would be condemned; for they had not a plain “Thus saith the Lord” for the doctrines they held. They therefore refused to bring their views to the test of God’s word, and tried to wrench the Scriptures from the hands of the defenders of the faith.
11 There are many ministers who are now pursuing a course similar to that of the papists. When the truth is presented to them, and they know that they cannot prove their doctrines by the Bible, they advise their congregations to have nothing to do with these new doctrines; the best way is to take no notice of them. And they take this course because they know that the Bible condemns their doctrines and their practices.
12 Jesus met with just such teachers in his day. The Pharisees claimed to be teaching the word of God to the people; but instead they taught their own sentiments and the commandments of men. Jesus said to those who would catch him in his words: “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.” From the great Teacher a steady light was reflected to the world; but the prejudice of the chief priests and rulers was excited against him. They saw the light; the evidence from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ was overwhelming. But they exerted their influence to turn the people away from hearing the truth; and many who believed the teachings of Christ had not the courage, in the face of prejudiced, frowning, self-righteous priests to acknowledge their faith in the despised Nazarene.
13 Says the psalmist, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” When light from the word of God shines into the soul, a man ceases to be sensitive to reproach, neglect, or contempt. He will not be ambitious for worldly rank or honor, but will become a meek and quiet learner in the school of Christ. Those who are sanctified through the truth will have courage to stand on the side of truth and right, no matter who may scoff or how bitter the opposition they may have to meet. Nor will those who thus serve God lose their reward. “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
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1 “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
2 Before Christ came to the world, his home was in the kingdom of glory, among beings that had never fallen. They loved him, and he might have stayed there and rejoiced in their love. But he did not do this. He left the royal courts, and went without the camp, bearing the reproach of sin. He came to a world all marred and seared by the curse to save the lost sheep; and he gathered into his divine bosom all that would come to him. He was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He trod the rugged path of self-denial himself, and so set us an example. This was the work of Christ for us. Had he not done this, we should have been left to perish without hope in God.
3 We find here a duty that rests upon all alike; not one of us is excused. Those who see the preciousness of the Saviour’s love as he hung upon the cross, those who understand its value as there revealed, will be in earnest; they will be anxious to become co-laborers with Christ in seeking for the lost and perishing. We are not placed here merely to seek our own gratification. There are sinners to be saved, and they are all about us.
4 It is a terrible thing to be lost at last. Once when I was at my home in Battle Creek, Mich., a bitter cry rang through the house. I hurried to see what was the matter, and found that one of my children was drowning. When he had been rescued from the water, and his apparently lifeless form laid in his little cradle, I remember how I stood over him for three-quarters of an hour, working for that little one whose life was trembling in the balance. Those around me thought my efforts were in vain; yet I labored on until that little life was given back to me.
5 That night, as my child that had been, as it were, raised to life, was lying upon my breast, and I was rejoicing in my heart that he was spared to me, though he was still in a very precarious condition, the bells rang out sharply, and a shrill cry was borne on the still night air, “Lost! lost! a child lost!” Then I thought how the little one that God had given to me had almost been lost, of the vacant place that would have been left in the little wicker cradle at my bedside; and the word “lost” came home to me with a force and meaning it had never possessed before.
6 Never shall I forget the incidents of that night. It was just one little life that was at stake; but it seemed as though the whole city of Battle Creek was stirred to go out in search of the lost child. Lights were glimmering everywhere. They flashed through the streets, along the river bank, and through the adjacent woods, and the cry resounded, “A child is lost! A child is lost!” After a long search, a shout was raised, “The child is found!”
7 Yes, the child was found; but it might go astray on the journey of life, and be lost at last. I knew, too, that death might come to the little one that was saved to me; and that should he live, he would have the evils of this life to meet and to battle with. And the thought with me was, Will this little child, whose life I hold so dear, be finally lost, or will he be saved to praise God forever in his kingdom?
8 There was no sleep for my eyes that night. I thought of the lost sheep that Jesus came from Heaven to earth to seek and to save. I thought of Christ as he looked down from Heaven upon a world of lost sinners, lost without hope, and of the sympathy that led him to leave his high and exalted place upon his Father’s throne, and make the infinite sacrifice necessary to lift man up from the degradation of sin, and bring him back to the fold of God.
9 The sin of our first parents had cut off this world from Heaven. But Christ took upon himself our weaknesses and sins. He was tempted; he was ridiculed; he was beset on every hand. He suffered all the woes, all the griefs and sorrows of humanity, without a murmur, that he might leave us an example. He descended step by step in the path of humiliation, until he hung as a criminal upon the cross, that with his right arm of infinite love he might encircle the race, while he grasped the throne of Infinite Power, thus connecting earth with Heaven. This was his work; this was his mission to this world; and how earnest was he in his efforts to seek and to save that which was lost.
10 Then what is our work to be co-laborers with Christ? As I look over the field, I ask the question, Why do we see such indifference, such neglect of the salvation of others? Why is the whole work of laboring for souls left to the minister? God has promised to all alike, as many as will seek for it, the same redemption, the same love, the same light. Why are we not by living faith grasping the power that he is so willing to give us, that we may be a blessing to those that are lost? Our hearts have throbbed with love at the very mention of the name of Christ, when we have remembered that he has saved us from our sins. Now what if we should all go forth, as Christ did, to save that which was lost, how would our works appear? Would they not be very different from what they are today?
11 Our first work is to bring our families to understand their accountability to God. There is not a father or a mother who has studied the Bible but may know just what course to take with the children, and how to restrain them. Parents may have wisdom from God to bind their children to the throne of mercy. Next to our families, we should try to exert an influence to sway others in the right direction, to lead them out of the darkness of error into the precious light of truth.
12 The perils of the last days are about us; and we should have such an intense love for souls for whom Christ died that we cannot remain at home. When our hearts are overflowing with love for sinners, we shall be anxious to go out in the harvest field to labor for others, and we shall work as Jesus worked. But we know there are some who do not want to be disciplined to work under the Captain of our salvation. It is very difficult matter to make them see their duty, because they have so long had their own way. Their inclinations have been permitted to govern them. Such will have to render an account for their course in the day of God. May the eyes of these blinded ones be opened to see their God-given responsibility.
13 All desire happiness, and many seek it in every way but the right way. Some travel from place to place in its pursuit; some seek it at a mountain or sea-side resort; some go to places of amusement; and some try change of employment. True happiness is not found in any of these ways, and yet it is not difficult to find. It may be secured if we will try to help one another,—to bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
14 There is peace and happiness in Heaven, and we all hope to share it. This is our privilege. An abundant entrance may be administered unto us into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; but we must prepare for the heavenly society by a life of unselfish labor for others. There are many who do not understand the path of life; this is one reason that more do not travel in it. Multitudes are following the dictates of an unconsecrated heart who do not know what they are doing. And we are not to think that there is no responsibility resting upon us. We are each a part of the great human family, and we are to lay every one’s case to our hearts. The nearer our lives approach to the life of Christ, the more helpful shall we be to those around us, and the more happiness we can bring into their lives. We are called upon to labor understandingly for fallen humanity. And by and by, when the Man of Nazareth shall “see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied,” we shall enter into the joy of our Lord. But let us be faithful in the work that is committed to us; for it is only to those who have done well that the “Well done” will be spoken.
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1 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
2 We have read accounts of travelers climbing mountains. How careful they must be where they step ! They must have a guide along the rugged and dangerous ascent, lest they make a misstep, and be lost. Sometimes, in passing over very dangerous places, the whole party is bound together with ropes, so that if one should slip, the others would hold him until he could regain his footing. And thus they were able to make their way up the steep and dangerous mountain.
3 We are on our way to the city of God, and the perils of the last days are all about us. The path we are climbing is narrow and dangerous, and we do not want to make any false steps. At such a time as this, a faithful guide is as necessary to us as to the mountain-climbers, and such a guide is provided for us in the word of God.
4 On this perilous journey we should be a stay to one another. It is not safe for any of us to stand alone. We must be bound together by the cords of truth and love. Let us press together, allowing nothing to weaken the bonds of union, so that if one should slip and fall, others can lift him up. We must not think that no responsibility rests upon us in the case of our brother; but we should ever manifest the tenderest interest in one another’s welfare, and should seek to be helpful to those around us. Being thus bound together, and to the great heart of Infinite Love, the powers of darkness cannot harm us; and when the storms of temptation and persecution break upon us, we shall not be swept away.
5 Many wish to engage in the missionary work, and this is right; it is our duty to do what we can for others. But do not think, Christian friends, that you can let your children go to destruction, and yet bring others into the kingdom of God. This is not commencing in the right place. The work should begin at home, and then go to others. But we cannot begin the work in our families, unless we first bring our own hearts into subjection to the will of God. “Return unto me, saith the Lord of hosts;” “and I will heal your backslidings.” We must each have an experience in the things of God. Like Joshua of old, we must decide, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” When we see the power of God manifested in our families, we may take it as evidence that we shall have divine aid in working for others.
6 The children need guidance. It is true there are some that do not want any restriction placed upon them. They do not want any one to say to them that they must do so and so. But they should be taught the lesson of perfect obedience. When they are not called away by duty, they should be at home, under the parental roof. When, with our children, we go to the house of God, they should take a seat by our side; and when the service is over, they should return with us to our homes.
7 Parents, agonize with God in behalf of your children. If you have Christ in your hearts and in your homes, you will not exert an influence to lead others away from the path of righteousness. You will not, like Eli, let your children go on in sin until the leaven has gone through the camp of Israel, while you feel that your darlings are about right. How can you expect the divine presence in your homes, when you take just the course that Eli did? It is the letting down of the standard of piety that is depriving us of the blessing of God; and yet his blessing is of more worth than the golden wedge and the Babylonish garment, for which it is so often bartered.
8 There is a doubting and fear that is not Heaven-born; it is unbelief. Persons who are affected by it will go this way and that, until they are confused, and do not know when they are right, and when they are wrong. Small things take their minds, and keep them in a constant fever and unrest. Some matter which does not belong to them attracts their attention, and they keep agitating it, as though that were the all-important matter to be considered. If these persons would manifest all this earnestness and zeal to strike the blow where it is so much needed, their course would be commendable; but they neglect the weightier matters,—the duties of the heart and the home. When it comes to being a true Christian, one that does his duty every day, and endures trials without complaining, these persons know nothing about it.
9 The time is not far distant when Satan will come down having great power, and will work wonderful signs and great miracles; and with his delusions he will sweep away every one who does not stand upon the rock of eternal truth. God is even now proving us. We see some who claim to be followers of Christ working miracles; but do they keep the commandments of God? We will go to the inspired word, and try every one of them. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. When the youth go out from our schools, they will have to meet these people; and we want them to be firmly established in the truth. We want them to have a training that will prepare them to withstand error, and will guide their feet in the narrow, upward way.
10 And as you go out into the world, dear youth, remember that you are to seek and to save that which was lost. How precious are the souls for whom Christ died; but where is the love for sinners which he manifested? Who will go and bring back those whose feet have wandered from the right way? And where is the rejoicing over the lost sheep that has been found and brought back to the fold again?
11 There is very little of this work done today. If there were more of it done, there would be more order and harmony in our churches. In order to do this work, we must connect with Christ, take hold of Infinite Power, and be real Christians at home. But none should feel that they are entitled to eternal life because they have given to God their money, their education, or even themselves; for all was his before, and they have only returned to him his own. For our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich. He has intrusted us with ability; he has given us all things freely; and he expects his gifts to be returned with usury.
12 If we appreciated what Christ has done for us as we should, what we do for him would not be done reluctantly. Here is the means which has been intrusted to us. Our Saviour directs: “Provide yourselves bags which wax not old “ These “bags which wax not old” are the treasuries of Heaven. Are we putting our means into them? Are we cutting down, or adding to, our earthly possessions? If we sell a farm now and another by and by, and put the proceeds into the bank of Heaven; we may not be able to embellish our homes so elaborately; but it will not be like putting money into the banks of this earth. We shall have a treasure “that faileth not,”and it will be something to rejoice over when we reach Heaven.
13 But some one will say, “Suppose I give away all that I have, and then become dependent on others. It would be said, That man was a fool to do as he did; and what shall we do then? That is not the way the Majesty of Heaven talked. He did not count the cost of saving sinners. He became a man sorrows and acquainted with grief, and had not where to lay his head, that you and might be saved. But we seem to think that if we make a little sacrifice, we have done a great deal, when we should say with David, “All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.”
14 Christian friends, let your treasures go over on the other side, and let your sympathies go out for one another and for sinners around you. And we want our hearts to go out after Jesus, the Fountain of living waters, that we may behold his matchless charms. I love him, and I want him to take possession of my soul. We can afford to be ridiculed and to suffer for his sake, if we can have his blessing with us. What are the sufferings of this present life, compared with the final eternal weight of glory? “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.”
15 May God help us to get our hearts right before him. When divine love transforms the heart, working out of it everything that is selfish and covetous, we shall bring all our tithes and offerings into the store-house of the Lord, and he will pour us out a “blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive.” And by and by, when we have kept the truth even to the end, the gates of the heavenly city will be opened to us, and we shall hear the voice of our Saviour saying, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
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1 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
2 Here is revealed the secret of the Christian’s rest. It is found only in Christ. If we possess his meekness of spirit, we shall find peace and joy in him. The world is full of unrest, trials, and difficulties. It is an enemy’s land, and on every hand we are beset by temptations. “In the world,” says Jesus, “ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world;” and “my peace I give unto you.”
3 Our Saviour represents his requirements as a yoke, and the Christian life as one of burden-bearing. Yet, contrasting these with the cruel power of Satan and with the burdens imposed by sin, he declares: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When we try to live the life of a Christian, to bear its responsibilities and perform its duties without Christ as a helper, the yoke is galling, the burden intolerably heavy. But Jesus does not desire us to do this. To the sin-sick soul, weary and heavy laden with its burden of guilt and care, he extends the gracious invitation: “Come unto me, and I will give you rest.” “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
4 Many profess to come to Christ, while they yet cling to their own ways, which are a painful yoke. Selfishness, covetousness, ambition, love of the world, or some other cherished sin, destroys their peace and joy. They are restless, impatient, dissatisfied, their spirits chafe under the weight of care and responsibility, all because they have not made a complete surrender to Jesus, and are seeking to carry their burden without his aid. If he were by their side, the sunshine of his presence would scatter every cloud; the help of his strong arm would lighten every burden.
5 Christ gave himself for us, “that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” His true followers are unlike the world in words, in works, and in deportment. But many are so fearful of provoking unfriendly criticism or malicious gossip that they have not the moral courage to act from principle. They dare not identify themselves with those who follow Christ fully. They love the world; and they desire to conform to its customs and to secure the approbation of worldlings. They thus cumber themselves with needless cares and anxieties, and weigh themselves down with heavy burdens. Oh! why will not all the professed children of God follow the Saviour fully? Why will they take upon themselves burdens which he has not imposed?
6 We should be much happier and more useful, if our home life and social intercourse were governed by the principles of the Christian religion, and illustrated the meekness and simplicity of Christ. Instead of toiling to make a display, and to excite admiration and envy, let it appear that we are striving to conform to the will of Christ. Let visitors see that we try to make all around us happy by our cheerfulness, sympathy, and love.
7 While we endeavor to secure the comfort and happiness of our guests, let us not overlook our obligation to God. The hour of prayer should not be neglected for any consideration. Do not give the time to conversation and recreation until you are too weary to enjoy the season of devotion. To do this is to present to God a lame offering. At an early hour of the evening, when you can pray unhurriedly and understandingly, present your supplication, and raise your voices in happy, grateful praise. Let all who visit Christians see that the hour of prayer is the most sacred, the most precious, and the happiest hour of the day. Such an example will not be without effect. These seasons of devotion exert a refining, elevating influence upon all who participate in them. Right thoughts and new and better desires will be awakened in the hearts of the most careless. The hour of prayer brings a peace and rest grateful to the weary spirit; for the very atmosphere of a Christian home is that of peace and restfulness.
8 In every act the Christian should seek to represent his Master, to make his service appear attractive. Let none make religion repulsive by persistent gloominess, and by relating their trials and their difficulties, their self-denials and their sacrifices. Talk of these things less, my fellow-Christian, and more of the matchless love of Jesus, of Heaven and its glories. Do not give the lie to your profession of faith by impatience, fretfulness, and repining. Let it be seen that with you the love of Christ is an abiding motive; that your religion is not like a garment that may be put off and resumed again, as the circumstances demand, but a principle, calm, steady, unvarying,—one that rules your whole life. Alas, that pride, unbelief, and selfishness, like a foul cancer, are eating out vital godliness from the heart of many a professed Christian! When judged according to their works, how many will learn, too late, that their religion was but a glittering cheat, unacknowledged by the world’s Redeemer.
9 Whatever your lot in life may be, remember that you are in the service of Christ, and manifest a contented, grateful spirit. Whatever your burden or cross, lift it in the name of Jesus; bear it in his strength. He pronounces the yoke easy, and the burden light; and I believe him, for I have proved the truth of his words. Every provision has been made for us at an infinite cost, that we may have the blessedness of Heaven wrought into our every-day life. We may walk in the sunlight of the divine presence, and weave into our characters the golden threads of forbearance and love, gratitude and peace. We shall thus be reflecting the light of Heaven amid all the frets and irritations that come to us day by day.
10 It is only through earnest, persevering effort, aided by the grace of God, that we can reach this height of moral excellence. But this is the religion that is the light of the world. The church is becoming weak for the want of consecrated members, who feel that they are not their own; that their time, their talents, their energies, belong to Christ; that he has bought them with his blood, and is pleading for them in the sanctuary above. There are many who have never felt the necessity of subduing self, and overcoming wicked tempers. They cherish bitterness and wrath in their hearts, and these evil traits defile the soul. They thus deny Christ, and darken the pathway of others. None will be excused for the exhibition of uncontrollable tempers; thousands will miss of Heaven through their want of self-control.
11 We are to let nothing, small or great, unbalance us. Nine-tenths of the trials and perplexities that so many worry over are either imaginary, or brought upon themselves by their own wrong course. They should cease to talk of these trials, and to magnify them. The Christian may commit every worriment, every disturbing thing to God. Nothing is too small for our compassionate Saviour to notice; nothing is too great for him to carry. Then let us set our hearts and homes in order; let us teach our children that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and let us, by a cheerful, happy, well-ordered life, express our gratitude and love to Him “who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” But above all things, let us fix our thoughts and the affections of our hearts on the dear Saviour who suffered for guilty man, and thus opened Heaven for us.
12 Love to Jesus cannot be hidden, but will make itself seen and felt. It exerts a wondrous power. It makes the timid bold, the slothful diligent, the ignorant wise. It makes the stammering tongue eloquent, and rouses the dormant intellect into new life and vigor. It makes the desponding hopeful, the gloomy joyous. Love to Christ will lead its possessor to accept responsibilities and cares for his sake, and to bear them in his strength. Love to Christ will not be dismayed by tribulation, nor turned aside from duty by reproaches. And the soul that is not imbued with this love for Jesus is none of his.
13 Peace in Christ is of more value than all the treasures of earth. Then let us open our hearts to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Let us seek the Lord with all the heart, and learn of Christ to be meek and lowly, that we may find rest of soul. Let us work cheerfully, joyously in the service of our Master, remembering that the deportment as well as the words of the Christian should be such as to awaken in the heart of the sinner a desire to come to the Fountain of life.
14 Let us go forward; for we are striving for an immortal crown. Let us be diligent to make our calling and election sure. A slothful, languid professor will never secure an entrance into the kingdom of God. From the cross to the crown there is earnest work to be done. There is wrestling against inbred sin; there is warfare against outward wrong. But we shall triumph at last, if we do not become weary in well-doing. Heaven’s portals will be opened for every one who does his best for God and his fellow-men.
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1 “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:34-36.
2 In the solemn language of this scripture, a duty is pointed out which lies in the daily pathway of every one, whether old or young. This is the duty of watchfulness, and upon our faithfulness here our destiny for time and for eternity depends.
3 We are living in an important time. When in 1844 the message was proclaimed, “Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come,” that announcement stirred every soul to its very depths. A deep solemnity rested upon all who heard it. How earnest we were to show our faith by our works, and to have our words and actions make a favorable impression on the world. More than forty years have passed since that time, and we are that much nearer the close of the Judgment and the coming of the Son of man—”nearer the great white throne, nearer the crystal sea.”
4 Today angels are watching the development of character; and soon our lives will have to pass in review before God. Soon we shall be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and over against our names will be recorded the judgment rendered. And we shall receive the crowning gift of eternal life or be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. We may be unwilling to examine ourselves closely now to see what our spiritual condition is, and whether our hearts are being suitably impressed by the testing message of truth; but that will not make any difference with the work of the Judgment. Its decisions will be rendered just the same; and when the “Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels,” “he shall reward every man according to his works.”
5 “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” How many there are who are bereft of their reason, as much intoxicated with the cares of this life as is the drunkard with his liquor.
6 How many there are whose hearts are today aching under their load of care, and who are thinking, “Oh, if there was only some one to help me bear my burdens!” Well, there is some one to help you bear your burden; there is rest for you who are heavy laden. Jesus, the great Burden-bearer, invites, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Here is the promise of the Master; but it is on condition. “Take my yoke upon you,” he says, “and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” “For my yoke is grievous.” Is that what he says? No. “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The burden you are carrying which is so heavy, and which causes such weariness and perplexity, is your own burden. You desire to meet the world’s standard; and in your eager efforts to gratify ambitious and worldly desires, you wound your consciences, and thus bring upon yourselves the additional burden of remorse. When you do not want to be distinct from the world, but desire to mix up with it so that no difference is seen between you and the world, then you may know that you are drunken with the cares of this life. Oh, there are so many selfish interests, so many cords to bind us to this world! But we must keep cutting these cords, and be in a condition of waiting for our Lord.
7 The world has forced itself in between our souls and God. But what right have we to allow our hearts to become overcharged with the cares of this life? What right have we, through our devotion to the world, to neglect the affairs of the church and the interests of our fellowmen? Why should we manufacture for ourselves burdens and cares that Christ has not laid upon us? Why should we, through distrust of his promises, suffer from wearing, anxious care? He says: “Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” “for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”
8 “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” The magnificence of Solomon was not to be compared to the beauty of one of these little flowers, with its delicate colors, which the God of Heaven had painted upon it by his wondrous skill. Will not He who has taken so much thought for the flowers of the field care for your mortal bodies? Will he not see that you have bread to eat and raiment to put on, O ye of little faith? And more than all this, will he not also clothe you with the garment of his own righteousness?
9 Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us that we know nothing about. But we are not excused from effort. While we may trust his constant care, we must not conclude that we may be slack in that which our hands find to do. We are to be “not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” “If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
10 There is one thing in which we must be deeply in earnest, and that is in the service of God. There is no danger of having too much zeal here. If we would only work with an eye single to the glory of God, the mists would roll away, and our views of right and wrong would become clear. We should consecrate our property. The language of our hearts would be, “Lord, here is the means for which thou hast made me responsible; what wilt thou have me do with it?” And we should make straight paths for our feet, lest by any false step the lame be turned out of the way. The whole effort of our lives would be to glorify the Saviour, the Man of Calvary, and to prepare for the life immortal.
11 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always.” There is great need of watchfulness, not for our own sakes only, but also for the sake of our influence upon others. Our influence is far-reaching. We may think that it is confined to our own households; that only the members of our own families know what we are and what we are doing. In some cases this may seem to be true; but in some way the influence of the home life goes out beyond the home.
12 And what do we learn from this? That in our homes and in all the relations of life, we should be watchful and prayerful. Solemn, sacred duties devolve upon us. We should so speak and so walk that the Spirit of God may be in our hearts, and his blessing in our homes. If we had more of the love of God in our hearts, and his praise were oftener upon our lips, we should be better prepared to glorify him here and hereafter. But what will our words accomplish, if they are not backed up by a holy life?
13 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always,” that “ye may stand before the Son of man,” What a position to stand in before the world, to be ready and waiting for the coming of the Lord, that at his appearing we may be able to say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.” What a triumph it will be to enter in through the gates into the city of God, bearing the palm branch of victory! what a privilege to have a right to the tree of life, and to eat of its precious fruits!
14 If we would share in the glorious reward promised to the overcomer, we must fight the good fight of faith. This is what the apostle Paul did, and he says: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.” Let us be of the number of those that are “rich in good works.” “laying up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
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1 Our time, our strength, and our energies belong to God; and if they are consecrated to his service, our light will shine. It will affect first and most strongly those in our own homes, who are most intimately associated with us; but it will extend beyond the home, even to “the world.” To many it will be a savor of life unto life; but there are some who will refuse to see the light, or to walk in it. They are of that class spoken of by our Saviour, when he said: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Such are in a very dangerous position; but their course does not excuse any of us from letting our light shine.
2 Suppose that because some ship had disregarded his warning beacon, and gone to pieces on the rocks, the lighthouse-keeper should put out his lights, and say, “I will pay no more attention to the lighthouse,” what would be the consequence? But that is not the way he does. He keeps his lights burning all night, throwing their beams far out into the darkness, for the benefit of every mariner that comes within the dangerous reach of rocks and shoals. Were some ship to be wrecked because the lights went out, it would be telegraphed over the world that on such a night, at such a point, a ship went to pieces on the rocks because there was no light in the tower. But if some ships are wrecked because they pay no attention to the light, the lighthouse-keeper is guiltless; they were warned, but they paid no heed.
3 What if the light in the household should go out? Then every one in that house would be in darkness; and the result would be as disastrous as though the light were to go out in the lighthouse tower. Souls are looking at you, fellow-Christians, to see whether you are drunken with the cares of this life, or are preparing for the future, immortal life. They will watch to see what the influence of your life is, and whether you are true missionaries at home, training your children for Heaven.
4 The Christian’s first duty is in the home. Fathers and mothers, yours is a great responsibility. You are preparing your children for life or for death; you are training them for an abiding place here in the earth, for self-gratification in this life, or for the immortal life, to praise God forever. And which shall it be? It should be the burden of your life to have every child that God has committed to your trust receive the divine mould. Your children should be taught to control their tempers and to cultivate a loving, Christlike spirit. So direct them that they will love the service of God, that they will take more pleasure in going to the house of worship than to places of amusement. Teach them that religion is a living principle. Had I been brought up with the idea that religion is a mere feeling, my life would have been a useless one. But I never let feeling come between Heaven and my soul. Whatever my feelings may be, I will seek God at the commencement of the day, at noon, and at night, that I may draw strength from the living Source of power.
5 Mothers, you have no right to spend time in ruffling, and tucking, and embroidering your children’s dresses for display. Has not your time been given you for a higher and nobler purpose? Has it not been given you to be spent in beautifying the minds of your children, and cultivating loveliness of character? Should it not be spent in laying hold of the Mighty One of Heaven, and seeking him for power and wisdom to train your children for a place in his kingdom, to secure for them a life that will endure as long as the throne of Jehovah?
6 But how many mothers there are who are so far from God that they devote their time to their own gratification, and leave their children to be cared for by unconsecrated hands. Or perhaps the mother sits at her work night after night, while her children go to bed without a prayer or a good-night kiss. She does not bind their tender hearts to her own by the cords of love; for she is “too busy.” And is this as God would have it? No, indeed! Something has taken away the mother’s reason, and what is it? Is it not a desire to meet the world’s standard and to conform to its customs?
7 Some may wonder why it is that we say so much about home religion and the children. It is because of the terrible neglect of home duties on the part of so many. As the servants of God, parents, you are responsible for the children committed to your care. Many of them are growing up without reverence, growing up careless and irreligious, unthankful and unholy.
8 If these children had been properly trained and disciplined, if they had been brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, heavenly angels would be in your homes. If you were true home missionaries, in your daily life exemplifying the teachings of the word of God, you would be preparing yourselves for a wider field of usefulness, and at the same time fitting your children to stand by your side, as efficient workers in the cause of God. What an impression it makes upon society to see a family united in the work and service of the Lord. Such a family is a powerful discourse in favor of the reality of Christianity. Others see that there is an influence at work in the family that affects the children, and that the God of Abraham is with them. And that which has such a powerful influence on the children is felt beyond the home, and affects other lives. If the homes of professed Christians had a right religious mould, they would exert a mighty influence for good. They would indeed be the “light of the world.”
9 A well-ordered Christian household is an argument that the infidel cannot resist. He finds no place for his cavils. And the children of such a household are prepared to meet the sophistries of infidelity. They have accepted the Bible as the basis of their faith, and they have a firm foundation that cannot be swept away by the in-coming tide of skepticism.
10 Said Christ, “Ye are the light of the world.” He has committed talents to our keeping. What are we doing with his intrusted gifts? Are we letting our light shine by using them for his glory and the benefit of our fellow-men, or are we using them to advance our own selfish interests? Many are using them selfishly. They do not seem to realize that we are all Judgment-bound, and must soon give an account for the use we have made of our God-given opportunities to do good. But what excuse will they give in that great day for not using in the cause of God their skill, their education, their tact, and their perseverance and zeal?
11 We need divine help if we would keep our lights burning. But Jesus died to provide that aid. He extends the invitation: “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” Cling to the arm of Infinite Power; then you will find him precious to your soul, and all Heaven will be at your command. “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light,” we shall have the companionship of holy angels. To “Joshua” it was said, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge,” “I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.” And who are “these stand by”? They are the angels of God. Joshua must have a living, confiding trust in God every day; and then angels would walk with him, and the power of God would rest upon him in all his labors.
12 Then, Christian friends, fathers and mothers, let your light grow dim—no, never! Let your heart grow faint, or your hands weary—no, never! And by and by the portals of the celestial city will be opened to you; and you may present yourselves and your children before the throne, saying, “Here am I, and the children whom thou hath given me.” And what a reward for faithfulness that will be, to see your children crowned with immortal life in the beautiful city of God!
13 What wrong have I done? may be asked. The answer comes, You tied up your Lord’s money in large barns, in which to bestow your goods. You bound up his means in a fine house, in expensive carpets, furniture, and goodly things, while souls were left to perish in their sins. You buried your talents because you did not love God and his cause half so well as you loved yourself. God and man lost all the profits your means would have brought if rightly employed. Today the Lord is disappointed in you. He looked for a precious offering of gratitude, but no returns are made for his wondrous love and his great sacrifice for you. Do you inquire, Of what have I to repent?—Of a godless, self-loving, self-pleasing life. You have not reflected the light of a godly example. You said plainly, I claim my portion as my own.
14 I hope to see our brethren and sisters improving the little remaining moment of probationary time. Brethren, be not deceived; God is not mocked. The excuses you have prepared for the Judgment will not stand the test. Let us see active, energetic workers, who are looking for their Lord’s return, and who are ready to present the talents they have traded upon, saying, Here, Lord, thy five talents have gained other five talents; thy two talents have gained other two. Where are the God-fearing workers? Let them come to the front. The Lord is coming. You have no time to lose. You are not to do as did the inhabitants of the antediluvian world,—plant and build, eat and drink, marry and give in marriage, the same as the careless worldling. Let the books of Heaven present a different record from that which now appears. Make haste to redeem the time; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not.
E. G. White.
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1 “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
2 The promises to the liberal are very great; and He who made them is able to fulfill his word, for his resources are infinite. Yet all his promises are based upon conditions, and it is only by complying with these that we can hope to gain the proffered blessing. God has intrusted of his bounties to every man, but in varying measure, according to their several capacities. These gifts of a kind Providence are to be wisely employed in the service of the Giver, and to be returned with interest at the day of reckoning. Those who prove themselves good stewards will receive in greater measure, as they dispense their means to advance the cause of God and to bless their fellow- men.
3 The children of God are not like worldlings, enshrouded in moral darkness, loving self, and seeking for earthly treasure. They are ever a “peculiar people, zealous of good works.” It requires self-denial and self-sacrifice to follow in the footsteps of our Saviour. And in order to do this, we must cultivate a spirit of beneficence. The first great principle of God’s law is supreme love to the Creator; the second, equal love to our neighbor. “On these two commandments,” said Christ, “hang all the law and the prophets.”
4 Experience shows that a spirit of benevolence is more frequently found among those of limited means than among the more wealthy. Many who greatly desire riches would be ruined by their possession. When such persons are intrusted with talents of means, they too often hoard or waste the Lord’s money, until the Master says to them individually, “Thou shalt be no longer steward.” They dishonestly use that which is another’s as though it were their own. God will not intrust them with eternal riches.
5 The cry of souls that have been left in darkness, and the cry of the widow and the fatherless, go up to Heaven as a swift witness against the unfaithful stewards. But the poor man’s gift, the fruit of self-denial to extend the precious light of truth, is as fragrant incense before God. Every act of self-sacrifice for the good of others will strengthen the spirit of beneficence in the giver’s heart, allying him more closely to the Redeemer of the world, “who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through, his poverty might be rich.”
6 The smallest sum given cheerfully as the result of self-denial is of more value in the sight of God than the offerings of those who could give thousands and yet feel no lack. The poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury of the Lord, showed love, faith, and benevolence. She gave all that she had, trusting to God’s care for the uncertain future. Her little gift was pronounced by our Saviour the greatest that day cast into the treasury. Its value was measured, not by the worth of the coin, but by the purity of the motive which prompted her. God’s blessing upon that sincere offering has made it the source of great results. The widow’s mite has been like a tiny stream flowing down through the ages, widening and deepening in its course, and contributing in a thousand directions to the extension of the truth and the relief of the needy. The influence of that small gift has acted and reacted upon thousands of hearts in every age and in every country. As the result, unnumbered gifts have flowed into the treasury of the Lord from the liberal, self-denying poor. And again, her example has stimulated to good works thousands of ease-loving, selfish, and doubting ones, and their gifts also have gone to swell the value of her offering.
7 Liberality is a duty on no account to be neglected; but let not rich or poor for a moment entertain the thought that their offerings to God can atone for their defects of Christian character. Says the great apostle: “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
8 Again, he sets forth the fruits of true charity: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.” If we would be accepted as the followers of Christ, we must bring forth the fruits of his Spirit; for our Saviour himself declares: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
9 It is to cultivate a spirit of benevolence in us that the Lord calls for our gifts and offerings. He is not dependent upon men for means to sustain his cause. He declares, by the prophet: “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand bills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is mine and the fullness thereof.”
10 The Lord will not accept our offerings, if we withhold ourselves. He asks for that which is his own—not only the means intrusted to us, but all that we have and are, in body, soul, and spirit; for all has been purchased at the infinite price of the blood of Christ. God might have made angels the ambassadors of his truth. He might have made known his will, as he proclaimed the law from Sinai, with his own voice. But he has chosen to employ men to do this work. And it is only as we fulfill the divine purpose in our creation, that life can be a blessing to us.
11 The Majesty of Heaven yielded up his high command, his glory with the Father, and even his own life, to save us. And now what will we do for him? God forbid that his professed children should live for themselves? There is work to be done for the Master, by our means and by our influence. God’s claim underlies every other. The first and best of everything rightfully belongs to him. When Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven, he will have no use for the money which he has intrusted to us. It is in this life that he requires all our talents to be put out to the exchangers. In this life he calls upon us to bring all the tithes into the store-house, and thus prove him and see if he will not pour us out a blessing. This proposition is made by the Lord of hosts. Shall we comply with the conditions, and thus secure the promised blessing?
12 “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” There has been a fearful withholding from God, and, as a result, the withdrawal of his special blessing. We should not look upon the tithe as the limit of our liberality. The Jews were required to bring to God numerous offerings besides the tithe; and shall not we, who enjoy the blessings of the gospel, do as much to sustain the cause of God as was done in the former, less-favored dispensation? As the work for this time is extending in the earth, the calls for help are constantly increasing. And in view of this the Lord commands us, “Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house,” that is, a surplus of means in the treasury, that the work of God in its various branches may be amply sustained.
13 As we are continually receiving the blessings of God, so are we to be continually giving. When the heavenly Benefactor ceases to give to us, then we may be excused; for we shall have nothing to bestow. God has never left us without evidence of his love. He gives us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, providing us abundantly with his bounties, and filling our hearts with gladness. He has declared that “while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
14 We are sustained every moment by God’s care, and upheld by his power. He spreads our tables with food. He gives us peaceful and refreshing sleep. Weekly he brings to us the Sabbath, that we may rest from our temporal labors, and worship him in his own house. He has given us his word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In its sacred pages we find the counsels of wisdom; and as oft as we lift our hearts to him in penitence and faith, he grants us the blessings of his grace. Above all else is the infinite gift of God’s dear Son, through whom flow all other blessings for this life and for the life to come.
15 Surely, goodness and mercy attend us at every step. Not till we wish the Infinite Father to cease bestowing his gifts on us, should we become impatient of giving. Not only should we faithfully render to God our tithes, which he claims as his own, but we should bring a tribute to his treasury as an offering of gratitude. Let us with joyful hearts bring to our Creator the first-fruits of all his bounties,—our choicest possessions, our best and holiest service.
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1 “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth,” was the prayer of Christ for his disciples. In every age God has committed to his people some special truth which is directly opposed to the desires and purposes of the human heart, and which tends to separate his church from the world; and it has been the duty of his ministers to proclaim this truth, whether men would hear or forbear.
2 When Christ came as the teacher and guide of mankind, he brought to them truths glowing with the light of Heaven, showing in contrast the darkness of error, and revealing the superstition, self-righteousness, and bigotry of that age. His heart overflowed with love for the poor, the ignorant, the afflicted, and the fallen. He healed the sick, comforted the desponding, cast out devils, raised the dead, and preached to all the words of eternal life. But many who listened to the divine Teacher received his words with little favor. The priests and elders, the professed expositors of divine truth, were sending forth no rays of light. In their self-righteousness they held themselves aloof from the benighted people, who needed instruction and guidance. When Jesus took up the work which they had left undone, they felt that his life was a constant rebuke to them, and they feared that he would turn the hearts of the people from them, and destroy their influence. They were filled with pride, love of ostentation, and desire for praise; and they despised the humility and self-denial of Jesus. They hated the purity while they feared the power of his teachings. They refused to accept him themselves, and bent all their energies to hinder others from believing in him. No wonder he brought against them the terrible accusation: “Ye have taken away the key of knowledge. Ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”
3 It is no argument against the truth that there are few who are willing to accept it. Few accepted the world’s Redeemer. Though the multitude flocked around him, eager to receive temporal blessings, yet he sadly declared: “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life.” Men are now no more favorable to practical godliness; they are just as intently seeking earthly good, to the neglect of eternal riches. And reformers of the present day will meet with the same discouragements as did their Master.
4 Of the people in his day Christ said: “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” The Jews willfully closed their eyes and their ears, and barred their hearts with prejudice, lest they should see a better way, and be aroused from their dream of security. The people of the present generation are pursuing a similar course. New truths are constantly unfolding; new and clearer light is shining upon the pathway of God’s people. But the great mass of mankind are satisfied with their present condition, and are unwilling to exchange error for truth. But we are to be sanctified through obedience to the truth. For want of this Bible sanctification, the soul of many a professed Christian has become a desecrated shrine, the haunt of hollow formalism, of selfishness and hypocrisy, pride and passion.
5 It is harder to reach the hearts of men today than it was twenty years ago. The most convincing arguments may be presented, and yet sinners seem as far from repentance as ever. The work of the faithful minister is no child’s play. Earnest, untiring effort is required to wrench the prey of Satan from his grasp. But God will sustain his servants in the work which he himself has committed to their hands. Said Christ to his disciples, as they toiled upon the Sea of Galilee, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” When the gospel net is cast, there should be a watching by the net, with tears and earnest prayers. Let the workers determine not to let the net go till it is drawn ashore, with the fruit of their labor. Sometimes, indeed, we may say with Peter, “We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing;” but still it is the Master’s command, as of old, “Let down the net on the right side of the ship,”—work on in faith, and God will give success.
6 Whatever the trials and difficulties that the ambassador of Christ may have to meet, he can carry them all to God in prayer. He can weep between the porch and the altar, pleading, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach.” And by study of the Scriptures and earnest, wrestling prayer, he may become “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Labor on, then, while the day lasts, you who have been called to preach the good news of salvation through Christ; for the night cometh, wherein no man can work. God has called us to labor in his vineyard, and if we neglect our duty, souls will be lost through our unfaithfulness.
7 Though the servants of Christ may, at times, feel almost disheartened as they see how many obstacles there are in the way of Christian living, and how slowly the work of God seems to advance, their duty remains the same. They are to sow the seed of truth beside all waters. A constant effort to promote personal piety should be seen in all their public labors. They should not preach sermon after sermon on doctrinal subjects alone. Practical godliness should find a place in every discourse, and the discourses should be short and to the point.
8 The minister should not merely present the truth from the desk, but as the shepherd of the flock he should care for the sheep and the lambs, searching out the lost and straying, and bringing them back to the fold. He should visit every family, not merely as a guest to enjoy their hospitality, but to inquire into the spiritual condition of every member of the household. His own soul must be imbued with the love of God; then by kindly courtesy he may win his way to the hearts of all, and labor successfully for parents and children, entreating, warning, encouraging, as the case demands. Let him seek to keep the church alive, and laboring with him for the conversion of sinners. This is good generalship; and the results will be found far better than if the minister performed all the work alone.
9 Jesus bids his people, “Go forward.” The minister may labor for the people, but he cannot take the responsibility that God has placed upon them. There are higher attainments for us, there is a purer love, a deeper experience, if we will consecrate ourselves to God, and humbly take him at his word. The reason why we have no greater confidence and joy, is that we are not sanctified through obedience to the truth. There is in us an evil heart of unbelief. Our heavenly Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. Then let us shake off the spiritual sloth that dishonors him and imperils our own souls. If we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. We must not wait for better opportunities, for strong persuasions, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing for ourselves. We must trust to the power of Jesus to save us. He is holding out to us the crown of life, and shall we not accept it? Let us come to him just as we are, and we shall find him a present help in our time of need.
10 The sweet sense of sins forgiven, the light and love which Christ alone can give, fill the soul with peace and joy. The assurance that we are under the protection of Omnipotence imparts courage and confidence, inspires a hope that is “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail.” This assurance is a source of strength unknown to the worldling or to the half-hearted professor. So long as we have the presence of our Saviour, difficulties cannot dismay nor dangers appall us; and we are ready cheerfully to perform whatever duty God requires of us. If we were only as free to speak of the blessings we receive from God as we are to talk of our doubts and discouragements, we should enjoy far more of his presence. Our kind heavenly Father declares: “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.” Let us praise him more, and complain less; let us talk more of the love and wondrous power of our Redeemer, and we shall be brought nearer and nearer to him, into closer and still closer relations with him in whom our hope centers.
11 Shall we not consecrate ourselves to God without reserve? Christ, the King of glory, gave himself a ransom for us. Can we withhold anything from him? Shall we think our poor, unworthy selves too precious, our time or property too valuable, to give to Jesus? No, no; the deepest homage of our hearts, the most skillful service of our hands, our talents of ability and of means,—all are but too poor an offering to bring to Him who was slain, and has redeemed us to God by his blood “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.”
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1 We can have no right understanding of the subject of temperance until we consider it from a Bible standpoint. And nowhere shall we find a more comprehensive and forcible illustration of true temperance and its attendant blessings than is afforded by the history of the prophet Daniel and his associates in the court of Babylon. When they were selected to be taught the “learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans,” that they might “stand in the king’s palace,” “the king appointed them a daily portion of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank.” “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank.”
2 Not only did these young men decline to drink the king’s wine, but they refrained from the luxuries of his table. The food apportioned to them “from the king’s table” would include swine’s flesh and other meats pronounced unclean by the law of Moses, and which the Jews were forbidden to eat. They requested the officer who had them in charge to grant them more simple fare; but he hesitated, fearing that such rigid abstinence as they proposed would affect their personal appearance unfavorably, and bring himself into disfavor with the king. Daniel pleaded for a ten days’ trial. This was granted; and at the expiration of that time, these youth were found to be far more healthy in appearance than were those who had partaken of the king’s dainties. Hence the simple “pulse and water” which they at first requested was thereafter the food of Daniel and his companions.
3 It was not their own pride or ambition that had brought these young men into the king’s court, into the companionship of those who neither knew nor feared the true God. They were captives in a strange land, and Infinite Wisdom had placed them where they were. They considered their position, with its difficulties and its dangers; and then, in the fear of God, made their decision. Even at the risk of the king’s displeasure, they would be true to the religion of their fathers. They obeyed the divine law, both natural and moral, and the blessing of God gave them strength and comeliness, and intellectual power.
4 These youth had received a right education in early life; and now, when separated from home influences and sacred associations, they honored the instructors of their childhood. With their habits of self-denial were coupled earnestness of purpose, diligence, and steadfastness. They had no time to squander in pleasure, vanity, or folly. They were not actuated by pride or unworthy ambition; but they sought to acquit themselves creditably, for the honor of their down-trodden people and for His glory whose servants they were.
5 God always honors the right. The most promising youth of every land subdued by the great conqueror, had been gathered at Babylon; yet amid them all, the Hebrew captives were without a rival. The erect form, the firm, elastic step, the fair countenance showing that the blood was uncorrupted, the undimmed senses, the untainted breath,—all were so many certificates of good habits,—insignia of the nobility with which nature honors those who are obedient to her laws. And when their ability and acquirements were tested by the king at the close of the three years of training, none were found “like unto Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.” Their keen apprehension, their choice and exact language, their extensive and varied knowledge, testified to the unimpaired strength and vigor of their mental powers.
6 The history of Daniel and his companions has been recorded on the pages of the inspired word for the benefit of the youth of all succeeding ages. What men have done, men may do. Did those faithful Hebrews stand firm amid great temptation, and bear a noble testimony in favor of true temperance? The youth of today may bear a similar testimony, even under circumstances as unfavorable. Would that they would emulate the example of these Hebrew youth; for all who will, may, like them, enjoy the favor and blessing of God.
7 The lesson from the experience of these youth is one which we would all do well to ponder. Our danger is not from scarcity, but from abundance. We are constantly tempted to excess. But those who would preserve their powers unimpaired for the service of God must observe strict temperance in the use of all his bounties, as well as total abstinence from every injurious or debasing indulgence.
8 Right physical habits promote mental superiority. Intellectual power, physical strength, and longevity depend upon immutable laws. There is no happen-so, no chance, about this matter. Heaven will not interfere to preserve men from the consequences of the violation of nature’s laws. There is much of truth in the adage that every man is the architect of his own fortune. While parents are responsible for the stamp of character, as well as for the education and training which they give their sons and daughters, it is still true that our position and usefulness in the world depend, to a great degree, upon our own course of action.
9 Let old and young remember that for every violation of the laws of life, nature will utter her protest. The penalty will fall upon the mental as well as the physical powers. And it does not end with the guilty trifler. The effects of his misdemeanors are seen in his offspring, and thus hereditary evils are passed down, even to the third or fourth generation. Think of this, fathers, when you indulge in the use of the soul-and-brain-benumbing narcotic, tobacco. Where will this practice leave you? Whom will it affect besides yourselves?
10 Wherever we go, we encounter the tobacco devotee, enfeebling both mind and body by his darling indulgence. We rarely pass through a crowd, but men will puff their poisoned breath into our face. Is it honest to contaminate the air which others must breathe? Have men a right to deprive their Maker and the world of the service which was their due? Is such a course Christlike?
11 We are suffering for the wrong habits of our fathers, and yet how many take a course every way worse than theirs! Every year millions of gallons of intoxicating liquors are drank, and millions of dollars are spent for tobacco. Opium, tea, coffee, tobacco, and intoxicating liquors are rapidly extinguishing the spark of vitality still left in the race. And the slaves of appetite, while constantly spending their earnings in sensual indulgence, rob their children of food and clothing and the advantages of education.
12 There can never be a right state of society while these evils exist. And no real reform will be effected until the law shall close up liquor saloons, not only on Sunday, but on all days of the week. The closing of these saloons would promote public order and domestic happiness. And why can they not be closed? It is not too much to say that liquor saloons would speedily be closed, in obedience to the dictates of reason and religion, if public officers were not among the patrons. These men by their influence corrupt society, and then they judge and condemn the erring ones who follow their example.
13 Only men of strict temperance and integrity should be admitted to our legislative halls and chosen to preside in our courts of justice. Property, reputation, and even life itself, are insecure when left to the judgment of men who are intemperate and immoral. How many innocent persons have been condemned to death, how many more have been robbed of all their earthly possessions, by the injustice of drinking jurors, lawyers, witnesses, and even judges!
14 The use of intoxicating liquor dethrones reason, and hardens the heart against every pure and holy influence. The inanimate rock will sooner listen to the appeals of truth and justice than will that man whose sensibilities are paralyzed by intemperance. The finer feelings of the heart are not blunted all at once. A gradual change is wrought. Those who venture to enter the forbidden path are gradually demoralized and corrupted. And though in the cities liquor saloons abound, making indulgence easy, and though youth are surrounded by allurements to tempt the appetite, the evil does not often begin with the use of intoxicating liquors. Tea, coffee, and tobacco are artificial stimulants, and their use creates the demand for the stronger stimulus found in alcoholic beverages. And while Christians are asleep, this giant evil of intemperance is gaining strength and making fresh victims.
15 There is need now of men like Daniel,—men who have the self-denial and the courage to be radical temperance reformers. Let every Christian see that his example and his influence are on the side of reform. Let ministers of the gospel be faithful in instructing and warning the people. And let all remember that our happiness in two worlds depends upon the right improvement of one.
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1 The temple of the goddess Diana at Ephesus, noted for its size and splendor, was one of the wonders of the world, and was the pride of both the city and the nation. The idol itself was but an uncouth wooden image, on which were inscribed characters and symbols that were supposed to possess great power. When pronounced, these mystic words were said to accomplish wonders; when written, they were considered a potent charm to guard their possessor from robbers, from disease, and even from death.
2 In the days of the apostles, the city of Ephesus was famed for the worship of the goddess Diana and the practice of magic. There were many devotees of magic arts, and numerous and costly books had been written in explanation of these mysteries. Here, in this stronghold of superstition and sorcery, the apostle Paul labored for several years. And the power of God was mightily displayed through his servant in the healing of the sick and the casting out of evil spirits.
3 The miracles wrought by Paul in the name of Jesus created great excitement among the Ephesians. And certain Jewish exorcists, believing that the sacred name acted as a charm, determined to cast out evil spirits by the same means that the apostle had employed. Seven brothers, the sons of Sceva, a chief priest of the Jews, were of this number. Finding a man who was possessed of an evil spirit, they addressed him, “We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth.” But the evil spirit answered with scorn, “Jesus I Know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” And the man who was possessed attacked them, and overcame them, “so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Their discomfiture was soon known to Jews and Gentiles throughout Ephesus; and it furnished unmistakable proof of the sacredness of the name of Jesus, and of the peril incurred by those who would invoke it while they had no faith in his divine mission.
4 Many who had hitherto heaped reproach on the name of Jesus now dared not breathe that name aloud. A large number, convinced that Jesus was all that Paul claimed him to be, determined to receive the gospel. These openly renounced the practice of sorcery, and acknowledged their secret arts to be Satanic and deceptive. They brought together the costly books on enchantment, containing the mystic symbols of Diana and the secrets of their art, and burned them in the presence of the people. The value of the books thus sacrificed was estimated at fifty thousand pieces of silver, equal to about ten thousand dollars.
5 These books contained rules and forms of communication with evil spirits. They were the regulations for the worship of Satan, directions for soliciting his help and obtaining information from him. The system of magic, or sorcery, then extant, was the same as that which in this Christian age and nation is known as Spiritualism. In Paul’s day many were deceived by this Satanic delusion, and many are deceived today by the same power. Satan finds access to thousands of minds by presenting himself under the guise of departed friends. The Scriptures of truth declare that “the dead know not anything.” Their thoughts, their love, their hatred, have perished. The dead do not hold communion with the living. But Satan—true to his early cunning, when in the form of a serpent he deceived the mother of our race—employs this device to gain control of the minds of men.
6 And “magical books” have not been confined to the apostolic age, or to nations that are called heathen. The freedom of the press has been taken advantage of to spread abroad the influence of this baleful literature. Could all the modern productions of this class -all the publications of Spiritualism—be treated as were these magical books of the Ephesians, one of Satan’s most successful avenues by which to gain access to the souls of men would be cut off.
7 This incident was placed on record that it might serve as an important lesson for every age. When convinced that their magical books were false and pernicious, the Ephesians were unwilling to sell them, and thus place temptation in the way of others. The power of truth triumphed over their prejudices, their favorite pursuits, and their love of money; and though it involved a great personal sacrifice, they promptly burned the records of divination.
8 The Ephesians directed their efforts against the very sin of which they were guilty. Do the people of God in this age take a similar course? There are many who do not. They manifest supreme devotion to their money, their business, their houses and lands. The covetous man fosters his love of gain. The sensualist is wedded to his darling passion. The ambitious man worships fame as his idol. These love their cherished objects of pursuit more than they love God. They are idolaters. But those who thus venture to cherish the sin which they love best are tampering with Satan’s bewitching sorcery. The enchanting power of temptation has paralyzed conscience and blinded reason, so that they do not perceive their danger. The magical books have not been destroyed.
9 When the truth is presented to the understanding, and exerts its sanctifying power upon the heart, the sins which once reigned in the heart will be put away, that Jesus may occupy the soul-temple. If covetousness has been indulged, it will be given up. If ambition or love of the world has captivated the senses, a higher attraction will break its power. Deceit, falsehood, impurity, will be cleansed from the heart. He who maintains his allegiance to Christ can render no service to Christ’s bitterest foe.
10 When the Ephesian converts burned their books on magic, they laid the ax to the root of the tree. They showed that they hated that which they had once loved, and loved that which they had once hated. The light of truth, shining into their minds, had convinced them of the unlawfulness of their arts, and had stirred their souls with abhorrence of their unholy deeds. However earnest and vigilant they might have been to correct other evils, had they spared this one sin they would eventually have yielded their faith.
11 Such a change as was wrought in these Ephesians by the preaching of the truth will ever attend true conversion, and is the best evidence of a genuine work of grace in the heart. The world and the church have a right to expect such proof of conversion as was given by the Ephesians,—proof that a new moral taste has been created. You, dear reader, may not have practiced sorcery, you may not have tampered with Spiritualism; but remember that “to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey.” If you indulge in any practice forbidden in God’s word, you have yielded obedience to Satan; you are his servant.
12 A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place of his conversion; yet this does not prove him to be unconverted. Said Christ to Nicodemus, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Though the work of grace is silent and almost imperceptible, it may be fully as effective as when its operations are more apparent. But if the heart has been renewed by the Holy Spirit, the life will bear witness to the fact. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Light and darkness are not more distinct than are the states of the converted and the unconverted. A change will be seen in the character, the habits, and the pursuits. The contrast will be clear and decided between what they have been what they are.
13 The infidel, when converted, will abhor the books that led him to doubt the word of God. The dissolute man who has purified his soul by obedience to the truth, will not, from curiosity or habit, venture into the haunts of dissipation; neither will be permit his mind to dwell on the familiar scenes of vice. He will be awake to his danger, shunning temptation himself, and warning others of its subtle and bewitching power. The converted man will not only resist evil, but he will, so far as possible, place himself beyond the power of Satan’s devices. Followers of Christ, have you burned the magical books?
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1 When the Christian worker is pressed by the adversaries of God and his truth, and is thus brought into difficult places, he should remember the example of Christ, and learn from it not to be presumptuous. Instead of rashly attempting to make a providence for himself, he should patiently wait for God to deliver him. And none should feel that they have a right to ask for an interposition of divine power in their behalf, simply that they may be saved from personal annoyance, or that they may not suffer humiliation and anxiety. The great inquiry should be, How can God be glorified, and his truth vindicated?
2 In their encounters with the enemies of the truth, Christians should move in the strength and fear of God, as did David when he met Goliath. There were assembled the armies of Israel and Philistia, and before them stood the giant, his massive form towering high above other men. He was armed with a spear like a weaver’s beam; upon his brow was a helmet of brass; his body was inclosed in a coat of mail; greaves of brass were upon his limbs; and a target was between his shoulders. And listen! From this mighty giant, this trained man of war, comes the challenge, ringing out on the still air, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”
3 The proud boaster struck terror to the hearts of the men of Israel. But David asked, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
4 Was it presumption that led David to think that he might be a match for Goliath? Was it a spirit of pride and self-sufficiency that made him dare to meet this mighty warrior who was defying the Israel of God? David had none of this spirit. Modest and unassuming, he did not make this declaration trusting in his own wisdom, skill, or power, but in the strength of God, who had delivered him out of the paw of the lion and the bear when he was watching his father’s flocks in the wilderness.
5 In obedience to the royal command, the king’s armor was placed upon David; the heavy helmet of brass was set on his head, and the sword of Saul was girded upon his thigh. But David could not go out with these; he had not tried the king’s armor, and was unaccustomed to the use of the sword. With a staff in his hand, and a sling for his only weapon, he went to meet the boastful champion of the Philistine host. When the proud giant saw his antagonist, he scornfully and indignantly asked, “Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?” And he cursed David by his gods. After this outburst of passion, he exclaimed with lofty disdain to the youthful shepherd who had accepted his challenge, “Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field.”
6 David’s heart was not in the least intimidated; for he knew in whom was his trust. “Thou comest to me,” he said, “with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand,” “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.”
7 With what anxious interest do both armies watch the unequal combat. The Philistines and many of the Israelites think David fool-hardy; but this is but for a moment. As he runs to meet Goliath, he adjusts a stone in the sling, and presently it has sped to its mark, and is imbedded in the forehead of the giant. A dimness comes over his sight; he reels, and falls heavily to the ground, like some mighty oak overthrown by a lightning stroke. Consternation seizes upon the Philistines, and they make a confused and hasty retreat. The warriors of Israel, with a shout of triumph, follow the flying hosts, and the victory is complete.
8 Here we have an example of lofty courage, of a humble, but living faith. David’s trust was not in himself, neither was his motive a selfish one. But he was ready, in the strength of God, to meet Israel’s foe, to test Jehovah’s might against a heathen giant, that he might “take away the reproach from Israel.” This was the divine plan for distinguishing David, Israel’s future king, and for humbling the adversaries of the true God.
9 Those who are loyal to God, keeping all of his commandments, will meet a spirit of opposition similar to that which David encountered. Learned men, proud and boastful in their supposed superiority, will feel, as did Goliath, to despise the little band who are loyal to God. Many of these never graduated from a college; but, with the Bible in their hands, they stand in defense of the truth of God, and vindicate his Sabbath, which has been trodden beneath lawless feet. But the Lord can make his strength perfect in man’s weakness. If, like David, men will forget self, and seek to honor God and to vindicate his name and his truth, he will work mightily with them, and crown their efforts with success. But there are many who take the glory to themselves if the work of God is prospered in their hands. They become proud and self-sufficient, and flatter themselves that their success is owing to their own superior abilities. Prosperity would often prove the ruin of the one thus honored of the Lord. Our compassionate Father in Heaven pities the weakness of our nature, and bears long with our follies. If this were not the case, he would not have given his Son to come to a fallen world and bear the buffetings and temptations of Satan, that he might show men how to overcome.
10 The enemies of the truth will grow stronger and more bitter in their opposition to the law of God. They will resort to ridicule and insult; they will wrest and misinterpret the Scriptures, and will sustain their positions by human opinions and arguments. They will present things in a false light, and thus pervert even honest minds. They will glory in their strength, as did the Philistine giant, and for a time they may appear to prosper. But their triumph will not always last; they will themselves fall into the pit which they have digged for others.
11 When, in the providence of God, we are brought in contact with these revilers, and find ourselves in positions of peculiar trial, we should not allow ourselves to become irritated at their provoking taunts and insulting words, which are calculated to throw us off our guard, and lead us to reply in our own spirit. Neither should we make rash moves to free ourselves from these unpleasant positions, where we must suffer humiliation and defeat.
12 In the presence of opposers of the truth, and while in conversation with them, Christians should be careful not to exalt self or to utter a word to provoke or irritate. Let them taunt and sneer if they will; but go straight forward as though you heard them not. Ofttimes the greatest victories are gained through silence. Self may clamor for vindication; but silence gives time for reflection and prayer, and for God to speak to the soul. Silence is an evidence, not of weakness, but of strength, and is often more powerful than the strongest arguments.
13 The people of Christ are his representatives upon the earth. They are to labor for the salvation of souls. This is the purpose for which our Saviour made his advent into the world, and he was steadfast in carrying out that purpose. He did not allow himself to be diverted in the least from his great work. He was not swerved from his course by the opposition of his enemies, or the flattery and persuasions of his friends. In this, as in all things, Christ is our example. We must be diligent and faithful in the work that has been committed to our hands. We must reach the people, not through the strength of argument merely, but through the mighty power of God working through our efforts.
14 Especially should ministers feel their responsibility in this matter. They are dealing with minds, and it is necessary that they should be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. They should be ever ready to give a “reason of the hope that is in them,” but “with meekness and fear,” lest the words they utter shall be of a character to make an unfavorable impression, and balance minds in the wrong direction. The honor of God and the salvation of souls should be their ruling motive; then they will not mar the work by a rash, presumptuous spirit.
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1 “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
2 Notwithstanding the boasted advancement that has been made in educational methods, the training of children at the present day is sadly defective. It is the home training that is neglected. Parents, and especially mothers, do not realize their responsibility. They have neither the patience to instruct, nor the wisdom to control, the little ones intrusted to their keeping.
3 It is too true that mothers are not standing at their post of duty, faithful to their motherhood. They are generally the willing servants of worldliness and fashion. Many, even among those who profess to have renounced the world, are influenced to a great degree by its customs and its spirit. Many times the mother neglects her precious charge, and looks to the teacher of the Sabbath and the day school to make up her deficiency. But she has no right thus to shift her responsibility upon others, and leave them to do her work. God does not call her to engage in any enterprise to advance his cause or to benefit mankind that will lead her to neglect the physical, mental, and moral training of her own children; and what shall we say of her course when she neglects her sacred duties from worldly and selfish motives?
4 The opinions and maxims of the world should not govern the mother, nor should she labor to reach the world’s standard. She should decide for herself what is the great end and aim of life, and then bend all her efforts to attain that end. She may, for want of time, neglect many things about her house, with no serious results; but she cannot with impunity neglect the proper discipline of her children. Their defective characters will publish her unfaithfulness. The evils which she permits to pass uncorrected,—the coarse, rough manners, the disrespect and disobedience, the habits of idleness and inattention,—will reflect dishonor upon her, and will imbitter her life. Mothers, to a great degree the destiny of your children rests in your hands. If you fail in duty, you may place them in the ranks of the enemy, and make them his agents to ruin souls; but by a godly example and faithful discipline you may lead them to Christ, and make them the instruments in his hands of saving many souls.
5 Wherever I go, I am pained by the lack of proper home discipline and restraint. Little children are allowed to answer back, to manifest disrespect and impertinence. Parents who permit this are more worthy of blame than their children. Impertinence should not be tolerated in a child even once. But fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts and grandparents, laugh at the exhibition of passion in the little creature a year old. Its imperfect utterances of disrespect, its childish willfulness, are thought pretty and cunning. Thus wrong habits are confirmed, and the child grows up an object of dislike to all around him.
6 One great reason why so many children are forward, bold, and impertinent is, that they are noticed and praised too much, and their smart, sharp sayings are repeated in their hearing. Do not put them on exhibition before visitors as prodigies of wit or wisdom, but leave them, as far as possible, to the simplicity of their childhood. Endeavor not to censure unduly, nor to overwhelm with praise and flattery.
7 Parents, you should begin early to teach your children respect, obedience, and self-control. Remember that every exhibition of passion that is not firmly and decidedly checked is a lesson of evil. Your neglect of proper restraint opens the door to Satan, and invites him to come in and control your children; and he will not be slow to improve his opportunity.
8 Children require patient, faithful care. It is not enough that they are fed and clothed; their mental powers must be developed, and their hearts imbued with right principles. They need constant care; but you need not let them see that you are ever guarding them. Learn the disposition of your children as revealed in their association with one another, and then seek to correct their faults by encouraging opposite traits. Children should be taught that the development of both the physical and the mental powers rests with themselves, and is the result of effort. They should early learn that happiness is not found in selfish gratification, but follows only in the wake of duty.
9 I have heard mothers say that they had not the ability to govern which others have; that it is a peculiar talent which they do not possess. Those who realize their deficiency in this respect should make the subject of family government their most diligent study. And yet the most valuable suggestions of others should not be adopted without thought and discrimination. They may not be equally adapted to the circumstances of every mother, or to the peculiar disposition and temperament of each child in the family. Let the mother study with care the experience of others, note the difference between their methods and her own, and carefully test those that appear to be of real value. If one mode of discipline does not produce the desired results, let another plan be tried, and the effects carefully noted.
10 Mothers, above all others, should accustom themselves to thought and investigation. If they will persevere in this course, they will find that they are acquiring the faculty in which they thought themselves deficient; that they are learning to form aright the characters of their children. The result of the labor and thought given to this work will be seen in their obedience, their simplicity, their modesty and purity; and it will richly repay all the effort made.
11 A want of steadiness in family government is productive of great harm; in fact, it is nearly as bad as no government at all. The question is often asked, Why are the children of religious parents so often headstrong, defiant, and rebellious? The reason is to be found in the home training. The children have not had a good example, faithful instruction, and proper restraint. Too often the parents are not united in their family government. The father, who is with his children but little, and is ignorant of their peculiarities of disposition and temperament, is harsh and severe. He does not control his temper, but corrects in passion. The child knows this, and instead of being subdued, the punishment fills him with anger. The mother allows misdemeanors to pass at one time for which she will severely punish at another. The children never know just what to expect, and are tempted to see how far they can transgress with impunity. Thus are sown seeds of evil that spring up and bear fruit.
12 Firmness and decision are necessary. I have known parents to say, You cannot have this or that, and then relent, thinking they may be too strict, and give the child the very thing they at first refused. A life-long injury is thus inflicted. It is an important law of the mind—one which should not be overlooked—that when a desired object is so firmly denied as to remove all hope, the mind will soon cease to long for it, and will become occupied in other pursuits; but so long as there is any hope of gaining it, a persistent effort will be made for its attainment.
13 When it is necessary for parents to give a direct command, the penalty for disobedience should be as unvarying as are the laws of nature. Children who are under this firm, decisive rule, know that when a thing is forbidden or denied, no teasing or artifice will secure their object; hence they soon learn to submit, and are much happier in so doing. The children of undecided and overindulgent parents have a constant hope that they may gain their end by coaxing, crying, or sullenness, or that they may venture to disobey without suffering the penalty. Thus they are kept in a state of suspense, which makes them restless, irritable, and insubordinate. God holds such parents guilty of wrecking the happiness of their children. This wicked mismanagement is the key to the impenitence and irreligion of thousands. It has proved the ruin of many who have professed the Christian name. In many cases the restless, rebellious spirit, unsubdued in youth, creates disturbance in the church. Many church trials may be traced to defective family government. Intemperance and crime of every degree are often the fruits of seed sown by parents.
14 Let none imagine, however, that harshness and severity are necessary to secure obedience. I have seen the most efficient family government maintained without a harsh word or look. I have been in other families where commands were constantly given in an authoritative tone, and harsh rebukes and severe punishments were often administered. In the first case the children followed the course pursued by the parents, and seldom spoke to one another in harsh tones. In the second also the parental example was imitated by the children; and cross words, fault-findings, and disputes were heard from morning till night.
15 Fathers and mothers, you are teachers; your children are the pupils. Your tones of voice, your deportment, your spirit, are copied by your little ones. You should be united in their government. Study their dispositions with care, and together seek wisdom and strength from God to deal with them aright. If you attempt to govern without exercising self-control, without system, thought, and prayer, you will most assuredly reap the bitter consequences. But when you have faithfully done your duty, you may then ask the Lord to do for your children that which you cannot do. And having trained them in the way they should go, you will find that when old they will not depart from it.
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1 “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” Proverbs 11:24, 25.
2 Giving is a part of gospel religion. The foundation of the plan of salvation was laid in sacrifice. Jesus left the royal courts of Heaven, and became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. His life on earth was unselfish, marked with humiliation and sacrifice. And is the servant greater than his Lord? Shall men, partakers of the great salvation which he wrought out for them, refuse to follow their Lord, and to share in his self-denial? When the world’s Redeemer has suffered so much for us, shall we, the members of his body, live in thoughtless self-indulgence? No; self-denial is an essential condition of discipleship.
3 “I am the vine,” says Christ; “ye are the branches.” What a close union is this! The very vital principle, the sap, which flows through the vine, nourishes the branches, that they may flourish and bear fruit. The spirit of the Master will actuate his followers. Again Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” He leads the way in the path of self-denial, and requires nothing of his followers but that of which he has given them an example in his life.
4 Christ, as our head, led out in the great work of salvation; but he has intrusted that work to his followers upon earth. It cannot be carried on without means, and he has given his people a plan for raising means sufficient to make his cause prosperous. The tithing system, instituted for this purpose, reaches back to the time of Moses. Even as far back as the days of Adam, long before the definite system was given, men were required to offer to God gifts for religious purposes. They were thus to manifest their appreciation of the mercies and blessings they received.
5 These offerings were continued through successive generations. The principle was not unknown in the days of Job. Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God. Jacob, when at Bethel, an exile and a penniless wanderer, promised the Lord, “Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
6 God does not compel men to give to his cause. Their action must be voluntary. He will not have his treasury replenished with unwilling offerings. His design in the plan of systematic giving was to bring man into close relationship with his Creator and in sympathy and love with his fellow-men, thus placing upon him responsibilities that would counteract selfishness and strengthen disinterested, generous impulses. Man is inclined to be selfish, and to close his heart to generous deeds. The Lord, by requiring gifts to be made at stated times, designed that giving should become a habit, and be looked upon as a Christian duty. The heart, opened by one gift, was not to have time to close and become selfishly cold, before another offering was bestowed.
7 As to the amount required, God has specified one-tenth of the increase as his due; but other offerings should be made, and while the directions are definite enough for all to understand their duty, there is room for the judgment and the conscience to have free play. Says the apostle: “Let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.” The tithing system is beautiful in its equality and simplicity. It gives all an opportunity to help carry forward the precious work of salvation. Every man, woman, and child may become a treasurer for the Lord.
8 Great objects may be accomplished by this system. If all accept it, there will be no want of means to carry forward the work of God in the earth. The treasury will be full, and the contributions will not be left to the poorer members of the church. Every investment made will draw out the heart to love the cause of God more and more; and the liberal, who are willing to sacrifice for the spread of the truth and the salvation of souls, will be “laying up in store for themselves, a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
9 The Christian church, as a general thing, disregard the claims of God upon them to give of the things which they possess to support the warfare against the moral darkness which is flooding the world. Every church member should be an earnest worker, a liberal, systematic giver. But some rich men feel like murmuring because there are demands for money. They say that one object after another is continually arising, and there is no end to the calls for means. They do not remember that they will have a debt to settle with the Master by and by.
10 Says the apostle, “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price;” not with “corruptible things, as silver and gold,” but with the “precious blood of Christ.” In return he asks us to use his intrusted gifts to aid in the salvation of souls. He has given his blood; he asks our talents of means and of influence. It is through his poverty that we have eternal riches; and will we refuse to return to him the silver and the gold which are his own gifts? If men prefer to set aside the claims of God, and to hoard the means which he gives them, he will hold his peace at present. Frequently he will continue to test them by increasing his bounties, letting his blessings flow on; these men may pass on receiving honor of men, and without censure in the church, but soon it will be said to them, “Give an account of thy stewardship.”
11 God is not dependent upon man. He says: “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine.” “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” It is for our own good that he has planned to have us bear some part in the advancement of his cause. He has honored us by making us co-workers with himself. He has ordained that there should be a necessity for the co-operation of men, that they may cultivate and keep in exercise their benevolent affections.
12 In the wise providence of God, the poor are always with us, that while we witness the various forms of suffering and necessity in the world, we may be tested, and may develop Christian character. God has placed them among us to call out Christian sympathy and love. They are here as Christ’s representatives. He identifies himself with suffering humanity. He makes their necessities his own, and takes to his bosom the woes of the children of men. “Inasmuch,” he says, as ye ministered not to “one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”
13 The moral darkness of a ruined world also appeals to Christian men and women to put forth individual effort. They are required by the Scriptures to keep in constant exercise an interest in the salvation of their fellow-men. The condition of eternal life, as expressed by Christ himself, is supreme love to God and equal love to our neighbor.
14 The first disciples expressed their gratitude for the benefits of the Christian age in works of charity and benevolence. The outpouring of the Spirit of God, after Christ left his disciples and ascended to Heaven, led to self-denial and self-sacrifice for the salvation of others. When the poor saints at Jerusalem were in need, Paul, appealing to the Gentile Christians in their behalf, urged them to prove the sincerity of their love by their liberality. “Therefore,” he says, “as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.” Here benevolence is placed by the side of faith, love, and Christian diligence.
15 The gospel, as it extends and widens, requires greater provisions to sustain it than were called for anciently, and this makes the law of tithes and offerings a more urgent necessity now than under the Hebrew economy. The cause of God requires, not less, but greater gifts than at any other period of the world’s history. The principle laid down by Christ is, that the offerings should be in proportion to the light and blessings enjoyed. “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required.” But those who give in accordance with this rule will reap a proportionate blessing. “The liberal soul shall be made fat.” “The liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.”
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1 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”
2 “Ye are the light of the world” said Christ to his disciples. As the sun goes forth in the heavens, dispelling the shades of night, and filling the world with brightness, so must the followers of Jesus let their light shine to dispel the moral darkness of a world lying in sin. But they have no light of themselves; it is the light of Heaven which they are to reflect to the world.
3 “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” Our thoughts and purposes are the secret springs of action, and hence determine the character. The purpose formed in the heart need not be expressed in word or deed in order to make it sin, and bring the soul into condemnation. Every thought, feeling, and inclination, though unseen by men, is discerned by the eye of God. But it is only when the evil that has taken root in the heart reaches its fruition in the unlawful word or deed that man can judge the character of his fellow-man. The Christian is Christ’s representative. He is to show to the world the transforming power of divine grace. He is a living epistle of the truth of God, known and read of all men. The rule given by Christ by which to determine who are his true followers is, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
4 Many professed Christians, some even who expound the sacred truths of the Bible, are yet living as though there were no God who can read the innermost recesses of the soul. They forget the dignity and solemnity of their high calling as children of the heavenly King, and their responsibility as “the light of the world.” They may not now realize their sinfulness; but when summoned before the great white throne, they will in speechless terror stand condemned. With the eye of the Judge looking upon them, they will not dare to mention the excuses which they now so flippantly urge to shield themselves from the divine requirements. They knew their Master’s will, but did it not.
5 And yet the faults and errors of church members will be no shield for the impenitent in the day of God. Those who would make them such when the claims of God are presented, evince their true character as lovers of sin. They are actuated by the same spirit as their master, whom the Bible declares to be the “accuser of the brethren.” The fact that some professed Christians are not what they should be, proves nothing against religion, but only that these persons are not faithful to their profession. Neither does it prove that the church is corrupt. Does she not deal with offending members, and separate from her company those who persist in an evil way? And these persons who point so complacently to the faults of Christians are not consistent. They will make the most of a man’s faults while he is a member of the church; but let him be expelled, and they turn about, and sympathize with him, declaring the church to be uncharitable and severe.
6 “Let your light so shine before men that they may . . . glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” The Christian’s godly life and holy conversation are a daily testimony against sin and sinners. But he must present Christ, not self. Christ is the great remedy for sin. Our compassionate Redeemer has provided for us the help we need. He is waiting to impute his righteousness to the sincere penitent, and to kindle in his heart such divine love as only our gracious Redeemer can inspire. Then let us who profess to be his witnesses on earth, his ambassadors from the court of Heaven, glorify Him whom we represent, by being faithful to our trust as light-bearers to the world.
7 Every one who at last secures eternal life will here manifest zeal and devotion in the service of God. He will not desert the post of duty at the approach of trial, hardship, or reproach. He will be a diligent student of the Scriptures, and will follow the light as it shines upon his pathway. When some plain Scriptural requirement is presented, he will not stop to inquire, What will my friends say, if I take my position with the people of God? Knowing his duty, he will do it heartily and fearlessly. Of such true-hearted followers Jesus declares that he is not ashamed to call them brethren. The God of truth will be on their side, and will never forsake them. All apparent losses for Christ’s sake will count to them as infinite gain.
8 Said our Saviour: “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” The word of God, believed and obeyed, exerts a transforming power upon the life and character. Its sublime truths, its pure and holy principles, strengthen the intellect, ennoble the affections, enlighten the understanding. How great the loss which they sustain who neglect this store-house of eternal riches. But the word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. This is why so many are opposed to the truths which it teaches. They love some indulgence which it condemns, and hence hate the light which reveals their sin. “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
9 Many whom the world styles liberal, generous-hearted, noble men, are in the sight of God wicked and corrupt. For God sees not as man sees; his thoughts are not as our thoughts. Men in their self-complacency attempt to gloss over the defects in their lives and characters, and flatter themselves that all is well. But the light of truth would reveal their danger, and strike a death-blow to their self-satisfaction. Then they would see the importance of a holy life, and their own need of Christ as a Saviour.
10 We have but a brief space in which to prepare for the future life; and all who expect to dwell hereafter with the pure and holy, must here obtain a fitness for such society. Then let the moments heretofore squandered in idleness and folly be henceforth devoted to prayer and the reading of God’s word. This discipline every Christian may have, and, rightly improved, it will make him wise unto eternal life.
11 The mind grows by what it is fed upon. The understanding gradually adapts itself to the subjects which it is required to grasp. If allowed to dwell only on the things of this life, it becomes dwarfed and enfeebled. If absorbed in vanity and folly, it will after a time almost lose the power of growth. To secure strength and vigor, the mind must be tasked; and there is no other means by which this can be so successfully accomplished as by the study of the Holy Scriptures.
12 The means which God has provided to enable us to resist temptation are the study of his word, and earnest prayer. In his encounter with the prince of darkness in the wilderness of temptation, our Saviour prefaced every answer with the words, “It is written.” It was the word of God that vanquished Satan. Those who make that word their study are arming themselves with weapons of divine power against the attacks of the foe. “Thy word,” said the psalmist, “have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
13 In his conversation with Nicodemus, Christ explained the nature and importance of true conversion. He solemnly declared, “Except a man be born again,”—unless he receive a new heart, new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life,—”he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He is no longer to be a willing subject to the enemy of Christ, to remain in subjection to the power of sin.
14 Those who have experienced the new birth have but entered upon the Christian life. To such are addressed the words of the apostle, “As ye have received the Lord Jesus Christ, so walk ye in him.” In the temptations and trials of life, it is often hard to maintain the patience and gentleness of Christ; but let not those be discouraged who are sorely tried, and who feel that they have not strength enough to cope single-handed with the power of evil. God has promised grace according to our day. By patient endurance we may become strong, by failure we may learn success, and through apparent defeat we may conquer.
15 All the people of God should become co-laborers with him. None need wait for great opportunities nor ask for extraordinary talents. The ability that God has given them is all that he requires. He would have us each quietly, faithfully do what we can, and leave the result with him. Our daily life may be a light to the world, a living testimony to the power of divine grace; and the influence of that testimony will widen and deepen, so long as we are connected with the God of wisdom and power.
16 “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” This is the rule of life laid down in the Holy Scriptures. And those who practice it will not love darkness rather than light; but they will come to the “light, that their deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God.”
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1 “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot. They did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”
2 It is the nature of sin to spread and increase. Since the first sin of Adam, from generation to generation it has spread like a contagious disease. While the world was yet in its infancy, sin became fearful in its proportions. Hatred of God’s law, and, as the sure result, hatred of all goodness, became universal. God, who had created man, and given him with an unsparing hand the bounties of his providence, was dishonored by the beings he had created, slighted and despised by the recipients of his gifts. But though sinful man forgot his benevolent Benefactor, God did not forget the creature he had formed. Not only did he send “rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons,” filling man’s heart with “food and gladness,” but he sent him also messages of warning and entreaty. Man’s wickedness was fully set before him, and the result of transgressing the divine law.
3 In the days of Noah, the wickedness of the world became so great that God could no longer bear with it; and he said, “I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth.” But he pitied the race, and in his love provided a refuge for all who would accept it. He gave the message to Noah to be given to the people: “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” Noah was directed to build an ark, and at the same time to preach that God would bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy the wicked. Those who would believe the message, and would prepare for that event by repentance and reformation, should find pardon and be saved; but a continued resistance of the entreaties and warnings from God through his servant Noah, would separate them from God, and as a result infinite mercy and love would cease its pleadings. The Spirit of God continued to strive with rebellious man until the time specified had nearly expired, when Noah and his family entered the ark, and the hand of God closed its door. Mercy had stepped from the golden throne, no longer to intercede for the guilty sinner.
4 All the men of that generation were not in the fullest sense of the term heathen idolaters. Many had a knowledge of God and his law; but they not only rejected the message of the faithful preacher of righteousness themselves, but used all their influence to prevent others from being obedient to God. To every one comes a day of trial and of trust. That generation had their day of opportunity and privilege while Noah was sounding the note of warning of the coming destruction; but they yielded their minds to the control of Satan rather than of God, and he deceived them, as he did our first parents. He set before them darkness and falsehood in the place of light and truth; and they accepted his sophistry and lies, because they were acceptable to them, and in harmony with their corrupt lives, while truth that would have saved them was rejected as a delusion.
5 Numbers were not on the side of right. The world was arrayed against God’s justice and his laws, and Noah was regarded as a fanatic. Satan, when tempting Eve to disobey God, said to her, “Ye shall not surely die.” Great men, worldly, honored, and wise men, repeated the same story, “Ye shall not surely die.” “The threatenings of God,” they said, “are for the purpose of intimidating, and will never be verified. You need not be alarmed. Such an event as the destruction of the world by the God who made it, and the punishment of the beings he has created, will never take place. Be at peace; fear not. Noah is crazy; he is the wildest fanatic.” So the people did not humble their hearts before God, but continued their disobedience and wickedness, the same as though God had not spoken to them through his servant.
6 But Noah stood like a rock amid the tempest. He was surrounded by every species of wickedness and moral corruption; but amid popular contempt and ridicule, amid universal wickedness and disobedience, he distinguished himself by his holy integrity and unwavering faithfulness. While the world around him were disregarding God, and were indulging in all manner of extravagant dissipation which led to violence and crimes of every kind, the faithful preacher of righteousness declared to that generation that a flood of water was to deluge the world because of the unsurpassed wickedness of its inhabitants. He warned them to repent and believe, and find refuge in the ark.
7 The message of Noah was to him a reality. Amid the scoffs and jeers of the world, he was an unbending witness for God. His meekness and righteousness were in bright contrast to the revolting crimes, intrigue, and violence continually practiced around him. A power attended his words; for it was the voice of God to man through his servant. Connection with God made him strong in the strength of infinite power, while for one hundred and twenty years his solemn warning voice fell upon the ears of the men of that generation in regard to events, which, so far as human wisdom could judge, seemed impossible. Some were deeply convicted, and would have heeded the words of warning; but there were so many to jest and ridicule that they partook of the same spirit, resisted the invitations of mercy, refused to reform, and were soon among the boldest and most defiant scoffers; for none are so reckless, and go to such lengths in sin, as those who have once had light, but have resisted the convicting Spirit of God. Thus while God was working to draw man to himself, man, in his rebellion, was drawing away from God, and continually resisting the pleadings of infinite love.
8 The world before the flood reasoned that for centuries the laws of nature had been fixed. The recurring seasons had come in their order. The rivers and brooks had never yet passed their boundaries, but had borne their waters safely to the sea. Fixed decrees had kept the waters from overflowing their banks. But these reasoners did not recognize the Hand that had stayed the waters, saying, Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther.
9 As time passed on without any apparent change in nature, men whose hearts had at times trembled with fear, began to be reassured. They reasoned then as many reason now, that nature was above the God of nature, and that her ways were so fixed that God himself could not change them. Reasoning that if the message of Noah was correct nature would be turned out of her course, they made that message, in the minds of the world, a delusion, a grand deception. They manifested their indifference and contempt of the solemn warning of God by doing just as they had done before the warning had been given. They continued their festivities, their gluttonous feasts, eating and drinking, planting and building, in reference to the advantage they hoped to gain in the far future; and they went to greater lengths in wickedness, and in defiant disregard of God’s requirements, to testify that they had no fear of the Almighty before their eyes.
10 How simple and childlike, amid the unbelief of a scoffing world, was the faith of Noah. His faith was indeed the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It was a faith that was perfected and made evident by his works. He gave to the world an example of believing just what God said. In accordance with the directions of God, he commenced to construct the ark, an immense boat, on dry ground. Multitudes came from every direction to see this strange sight, and to hear the earnest, fervent words of this singular man, who seemed to believe every word he uttered. Noah was indeed singular. He was one in the world, but not one of the world. He made himself the object of contempt and ridicule by his steadfast adherence to the words of God; yet he obeyed without a questioning doubt. What a marked contrast to the prevailing unbelief and disregard of God’s law.
11 The time of Noah prefigures the present age. Christ tells us that as it was in the time of Noah, so shall it be in the days that immediately precede his appearing in the clouds of heaven. Human nature in our day, uninfluenced by the Spirit of God, is the same as in the age of Noah. And Satan is not asleep; he is as active and vigilant now as he was then. While the voice of God is making itself heard through his servants in warning and entreaties, he is mustering his forces. He engages his host with gigantic energies to make, through his sophistry, cruelties, and oppression, the words of warning of none effect. The people are tested, and the great mass will be found on the side of the great deceiver, and will be overwhelmed in swift and irretrievable destruction. But those that heed the warnings of God, and in their lives bring forth fruits meet for repentance, shall “dwell in the secret place of the Most High;” they “shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” For them is the promise: “With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”
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1 The work of parents is an important, a solemn work; the duties devolving upon them are great. But if they will study the word of God carefully, they will find in it full instructions, and many precious promises made to them on condition that they perform their work faithfully and well. It exhorts them to bring up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” and assures them that if they train up their children in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it. Again, the admonition is given concerning the commands of God: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
2 In order to do this work, parents must themselves become acquainted with the word of God. Instead of spending their time in gossip, or in needless ornamentation of their houses or their persons, they will seek diligently to understand the will of God as revealed to them in his word. And instead of speaking vain words and telling idle tales to their children, they will talk with them upon Bible subjects. That book was not designed for scholars alone. It was written in a plain, simple style to meet the understanding of the common people; and, with proper explanations, a large portion of it can be made intensely interesting and profitable to very small children.
3 Both parents and children should be under the control of God. There should be no oppression on the part of the parents, and no disobedience on the part of the children. Intelligent reason should take the lines of control. If parents in this age of the world meet the mind of God in the training of their children, a great reformation will be experienced in the character of many. Their habits, their tempers, and their ideas will have to be entirely changed before they can lead their children to obey God. They must first control their own will, and obey the word of God themselves. Instead of scolding, flying into a passion, and then indulging their children, those parents who are conscientiously walking in the way of the Lord will seek by precept and example to educate their children in self-denial and self-control. They will also feel the responsibility of teaching them the truth. With the word of God spread out before them, the parents will show their children the importance of following the teaching of the Bible, and not departing from it under any consideration.
4 After the death of Moses, Joshua was the leader of Israel. But notwithstanding his national burdens, he could not forget the duties which rested upon him in regard to his own family. He enquires of the people whether they will serve the Lord fully and keep all of his commandments; and then he declares emphatically, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” This should be the language of every father and mother in our day.
5 Parents have before them the example of Abraham, the father of the faithful. The God of Heaven says: “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” There will be no betrayal of the truth on his part; there will be no compromise in the matter. He will keep the law of God, he will teach his children to keep it. He will not allow blind affection, which is the veriest cruelty, to control him, neither will he permit his children to become the ruling power in the household. He will see that allegiance is given to the God of Heaven, and that Satan does not gain control over the members of his family.
6 Not until the parents themselves walk in the law of the Lord with perfect hearts will they be prepared to command their children after them. The Holy One of Israel has made known to us the statutes and laws which are to govern all human intelligences. These precepts, which have been pronounced “holy, just, and good,” are to form the standard of action in the home. There can be no departure from them without sin; for they are the foundation of the Christian religion. One of the plainest of these precepts is that which relates to the observance of the Sabbath. “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work; thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.”
7 All through the Bible we find that a careful observance of the Sabbath is repeatedly enjoined, and God has plainly stated that those who knowingly break the Sabbath shall not prosper. He who has given man six days wherein to labor to obtain a livelihood, has reserved only one day to himself; and he looks with indignation upon those who appropriate any portion of this time to their own secular business. There are some who carry their business into the hours of the Sabbath to such an extent that they write business letters, and even collect debts, pay bills, and settle accounts upon the Sabbath. But God’s eye is upon them, and although they may appear for a time to prosper, he will surely visit them with judgment. He can by a word scatter faster than they can gather. By fire, by flood, by the tempest or the earthquake, he can cause them to lose all that they have gained by violating the Sabbath.
8 How blind are the Christian world to their own highest interest! They could see if they would, how the favor of God was removed from his people anciently, and they were left to be overcome by their enemies and to become a scattered and hated people, because they transgressed his commands and violated his Sabbath. The Lord has not changed, neither has he removed the sanctity from his rest-day.
9 Some who claim to be giving allegiance to the law of Jehovah have even gone so far in Sabbath desecration as to unite in partnership with those who have no respect for the Sabbath. The professed Sabbath-keeper may cease his own labors on the Sabbath, but his partner continues the work. How must angels look upon this partnership, as the Sabbath-observer kneels reverently before God in the house of worship, while those with whom he is united in business continue their labor just the same as on any other day? How does Heaven look upon the noise and confusion, the sound of the mechanic’s ax and hammer, which ascends instead of thanksgiving, as if in defiance of his injunctions? Can the Lord regard as guiltless the man who thus unites with transgressors?
10 Atheism and infidelity prevail in every land. Bold blasphemers stand forth in the earth, the house of God’s own building, and deny the existence of the Creator, and challenge the God of Heaven to strike them dead on the spot if their position is wrong. See the societies of infidels everywhere forming to devise means to spread their hellish poisons! See the papists plotting how to suppress the word of God, and to cover up the truth with the rubbish of error!
11 In view of all these influences which are at work in the world to instill infidel sentiments into the minds of the rising generation, shall those parents who have the light of truth aid in this work? Shall they, by their example, their influence, give the impression to their own children and to the world that it makes little difference whether they obey God in every particular? We all need both sound Bible doctrine and pure heart religion in order that we may represent the truth as it is in Jesus. We need continually to breathe the vitalizing atmosphere of Heaven that we may have spiritual health and strength. The truth of God must be an abiding, active principle in the heart, if we would exert a correct influence over others. It must have a controlling influence upon the conscience and the understanding, and upon the thoughts, and words, and deeds.
12 There is such a thing as holding the truth in unrighteousness; professing to believe it while our actions are like those of transgressors. Bible truth will be a power in the true believer’s life. It will give directness to all his efforts, and a holy purpose to all his labors. Unbelievers frequently argue that those who profess to believe the Bible do not exemplify its teachings in their business relations with their fellowmen. My soul has often been grieved as I have seen those who advocate the law of God failing to carry out its principles in the public and private walks of life.
13 We have no time now to confer with flesh and blood. No time to study profits and losses, and to cut the sharp corners of truth so that they shall not disturb others. The customs of the world should not be imitated by the people of God. What may seem perfectly proper in unbelievers may not be at all right for those who profess to love God and keep his commandments. The question should not be, What is custom? What will others think and say? but, What has God said in his word? What will the effect of my example be upon the world and upon the members of my own family?
14 If religion is to influence society, it must first influence the home circle. If children were trained to love and fear God at home, when they go forth into the world they would be prepared to train their own families for God, and thus the principles of truth would become implanted in society, and would exert a telling influence in the world. Religion should not be divorced from home education. May God pity the parents who do not teach their children, by precept and by example, the way of the Lord; for they will have a fearful account to give to the Judge of all the earth for their wicked neglect of duty to their children and to society. They should present to their children the divine warnings against sin, and teach them the importance of implicit obedience. They should show them the danger of joining hands with the world if they ever expect to become children of God.
15 Many Christian parents fail to command their children after them, and they wonder that their children are perverse, disobedient, unthankful, and unholy. Such parents are under the rebuke of God. They have neglected to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They have failed to teach them the first lesson in Christianity: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” “Foolishness,” says the wise man, “is bound in the heart of a child.” The love of folly, the desire to do evil, the hatred of holy things, are some of the difficulties that parents must meet in the home mission field.
16 There are many, even among those who profess to be Christians, who do not take up their home duties in the fear of the Lord. There is many a prayerless home, and that, too, among those who profess to believe the special truths for this time. The Bible is not brought into the family as the guide of life. The parents not being men and women of prayer, do not train and command their households in the way of God’s commandments. That holy standard is set aside because finite man thinks he sees a better way.
17 In the strength of God, parents must arise and command their households after them. They must learn to repress wrong with a firm hand, yet without impatience or passion. They must not leave the children to guess at what is right; but they must point out the way in unmistakable terms, and teach them to walk therein. Parents should pray much, and should lead the minds of the children up to God and Heaven. A religion of simple faith in the all-atoning sacrifice of Christ, and of implicit obedience of God’s moral rule of right, will make the household such a one as Heaven can smile upon. It will be productive of purity and peace; for they are obeying that guide who came from Heaven to earth to lead erring man to the mansions above.
18 Oh, the sin of parental neglect! How many children are lost to God and become a source of sorrow and distress to their parents, because they are not trained according to God’s express directions! What a history the Judgment will reveal of affliction and misery produced by the children of parents who professed to be Christians, but who did not make the word of God their standard, their rule of life. What a record of crimes of every magnitude will then be opened to the view of parents, and traced to their lax discipline. Their children, like Eli’s, did wickedly from childhood; but instead of firmly restraining them, they caressed and indulged them. The inborn evil of the natural heart was permitted to grow and strengthen. Even the house of God was not revered.
19 Eli was a believer in God and in his word; but he did not, like Abraham, ”command” his children and his household after him. Let us hear what God says about Eli’s neglect: “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle,” The Lord had borne long with Eli. He had been warned and instructed; but, like the parents of today, he had not heeded the warning. But when the Lord took hold of the case, he ceased not till he had made thorough work. He says: “When I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told Eli that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.”
20 Here the neglect of Eli is brought plainly before every father and mother in the land. As the result of his unsanctified affection, or his unwillingness to do a disagreeable duty, he reaped a harvest of iniquity in his perverse sons. Both the parent who permitted the wickedness and the children who practiced it, were guilty before God, and he would accept no sacrifice or offering for their transgression. There are many lessons in the Bible calculated to impress fathers and mothers with the sin of neglecting their duty to their children; and yet how silent are the voices of the teachers in Israel on these important subjects! Parents allow the defects in their children to pass uncorrected, until the curse of God rests upon both their children and themselves. Like Eli, they do not show decision in repressing the first appearance of evil.
21 In what striking contrast do the cases of Eli and Abraham stand! The example of one is given that parents may shun a similar course; the example of the other is given for parents to imitate. The characteristics of each stand out sharp and distinct. Each was doing a work the result of which would not only be seen in his own life, but would reach down to future generations, to his children, and to his children’s children. The influence that a person exerts in his own family is that which testifies of the genuineness of his religious experience. Neglectful and unfaithful there, he will be unfaithful everywhere. Home religion, home training, is what is now most needed. The future of society is indexed by the youth of today.
Basel, Switzerland, March 4, 1886.
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1 David says: “The law of the Lord is perfect.” “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever.” And Paul testifies: “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
2 As the Supreme Ruler of the universe, God has ordained laws for the government not only of all living beings, but of all the operations of nature. Everything, whether great or small, animate or inanimate, is under fixed laws which cannot be disregarded. There are no exceptions to this rule; for nothing that the divine hand has made has been forgotten by the divine mind. But while everything in nature is governed by natural law, man alone, as an intelligent being, capable of understanding its requirements, is amenable to moral law. To man alone, the crowning work of his creation, God has given a conscience to realize the sacred claims of the divine law, and a heart capable of loving it as holy, just, and good; and of man prompt and perfect obedience is required. Yet God does not compel him to obey; he is left a free moral agent.
3 The subject of man’s personal responsibility is understood by but few; and yet it is a matter of the greatest importance. We may each obey and live, or we may transgress God’s law, defy his authority, and receive the punishment that is meet. Then to every soul the question comes home with force, Shall I obey the voice from Heaven, the ten words spoken from Sinai, or shall I go with the multitude who trample on that fiery law? To those who love God it will be the highest delight to keep his commandments, and to do those things that are pleasing in his sight. But the natural heart hates the law of God, and wars against its holy claims. Men shut their souls from the divine light, refusing to walk in it as it shines upon them. They sacrifice purity of heart, the favor of God, and their hope of Heaven, for selfish gratification or worldly gain.
4 Says the psalmist, “The law of the Lord is perfect.” How wonderful in its simplicity, its comprehensiveness and perfection, is the law of Jehovah! It is so brief that we can easily commit every precept to memory, and yet so far-reaching as to express the whole will of God, and to take cognizance, not only of the outward actions, but of the thoughts and intents, the desires and emotions, of the heart. Human laws cannot do this. They can deal with the outward actions only. A man may be a transgressor, and yet conceal his misdeeds from human eyes; he may be a criminal,—a thief, a murderer, or an adulterer,—but so long as he is not discovered, the law cannot condemn him as guilty. The law of God takes note of the jealousy, envy, hatred, malignity, revenge, lust, and ambition that surge through the soul, but have not found expression in outward action, because the opportunity, not the will, has been wanting. And these sinful emotions will be brought into the account in the day when “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.”
5 The law of God is simple, and easily understood. There are men who proudly boast that they believe only what they can understand, forgetting that there are mysteries in human life and in the manifestation of God’s power in the works of nature,—mysteries which the deepest philosophy, the most extensive research, is powerless to explain. But there is no mystery in the law of God. All can comprehend the great truths which it embodies. The feeblest intellect can grasp these rules; the most ignorant can regulate the life, and form the character after the divine standard.
6 If the children of men would, to the best of their ability, obey this law, they would gain strength of mind and power of discernment to comprehend still more of God’s purposes and plans. And this advancement would be continued, not only during the present life, but during eternal ages; for however far we may advance in the knowledge of God’s wisdom and power, there is always an infinity beyond.
7 The divine law requires us to love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves. Without the exercise of this love, the highest profession of faith is mere hypocrisy. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments,” says Christ, “hang all the law and the prophets.”
8 The law demands perfect obedience. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Not one of those ten precepts can be broken without disloyalty to the God of Heaven. The least deviation from its requirements, by neglect or willful transgression, is sin, and every sin exposes the sinner to the wrath of God. Obedience was the only condition upon which ancient Israel was to receive the fulfillment of the promises which made them the highly favored people of God; and obedience to that law will bring as great blessings to individuals and nations now as it would have brought to the Hebrews.
9 Obedience to the law is essential, not only to our salvation, but to our own happiness and the happiness of all with whom we are connected. “Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them,” says the inspired word. Yet finite man will present to the people this holy, just, and good law, this law of liberty, which the Creator himself has adapted to the wants of man, as a yoke of bondage, a yoke which no man can bear. But it is the sinner who regards the law as a grievous yoke; it is the transgressor that can see no beauty in its precepts. For the carnal mind “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
10 “By the law is the knowledge of sin:” for “sin is the transgression of the law.” It is through the law that men are convicted of sin; and they must feel themselves sinners, exposed to the wrath of God, before they will realize their need of a Saviour. Satan is continually at work to lessen man’s estimate of the grievous character of sin. And those who trample the law of God under their feet are doing the work of the great deceiver; for they are rejecting the only rule by which they can define sin, and bring it home to the conscience of the transgressor.
11 The law of God reaches to those secret purposes, which, though they may be sinful, are often passed over lightly, but which are in reality the basis and the test of character. It is the mirror into which the sinner is to look if he would have a correct knowledge of his moral character. And when he sees himself condemned by that great standard of righteousness, his next move must be to repent of his sins, and seek forgiveness through Christ. Failing to do this, many try to break the mirror which reveals their defects, to make void the law which points out the blemishes in their life and character.
12 We are living in an age of great wickedness. Multitudes are enslaved by sinful customs and evil habits, and the fetters that bind them are difficult to break. Iniquity, like a flood, is deluding [deluging] the earth. Crimes almost too fearful to be mentioned, are of daily occurrence. And yet men professing to be watchmen on the walls of Zion will teach that the law was designed for the Jews only, and passed away with the glorious privileges that ushered in the gospel age. Is there not a relation between the prevailing lawlessness and crime, and the fact that ministers and people hold and teach that the law is no longer of binding force?
13 The condemning power of the law of God extends, not only to the things we do, but to the things we do not do. We are not to justify ourselves in omitting to do the things that God requires. We must not only cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. God has given us powers to be exercised in good works; and if these powers are not put to use, we shall certainly be set down as wicked and slothful servants. We may not have committed grievous sins; such offenses may not stand registered against us in the book of God; but the fact that our deeds are not recorded as pure, good, elevated, and noble, showing that we have not improved our intrusted talents, places us under condemnation.
14 The law of God existed before man was created. It was adapted to the condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it. After the fall, the principles of righteousness were unchanged. Nothing was taken from the law; not one of its holy precepts could be improved. And as it has existed from the beginning, so will it continue to exist throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. “Concerning thy testimonies,” says the psalmist, “I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever.”
15 By this law, which governs angels, which demands purity in the most secret thoughts, desires, and dispositions, and which “shall stand fast forever,” all the world is to be judged in the rapidly approaching day of God. Transgressors may flatter themselves that the Most High does not know, that the Almighty does not consider; he will not always bear with them. Soon they will receive the reward of their doings, the death that is the wages of sin; while the righteous nation, that have kept the law, will be ushered through the pearly gates of the celestial city, and will be crowned with immortal life and joy in the presence of God and the Lamb.
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1 When Adam and Eve were created, and placed in their Eden home, they had a knowledge of the law that was to govern them. Its precepts were imprinted on their hearts by Jehovah himself, and they were acquainted with its claims upon them. When they transgressed that law, fell from that state of happy innocence, and became sinners in the sight of God, the dark future of the fallen race was not relieved by a single ray of hope. Because of the transgression of the divine law, paradise was lost to man, the curse was pronounced upon the earth, and the reign of death commenced.
2 But Heaven pitied man, and the plan of salvation was devised. When the curse was pronounced upon the race, in connection with the curse there was given the promise of pardon through a Saviour who was to come. This promise was the star of hope that lighted up the gloom, that, like the pall of death, hung over the future of man, and of the world which was given him as his dominion. The gospel was first preached to Adam and Eve in Eden. They sincerely repented of their guilt, believed the promise of God, and were saved from utter ruin.
3 Those who lived before the flood were favored in receiving instruction from Adam, who had conversed with God and angels in Eden. He lived nearly a thousand years, and by his teachings, and his example of humble obedience, he exalted the law of God. He sought to turn his posterity from transgression to a life of obedience and faith in a promised Saviour; but he found from sad experience that it was easier to open the flood gates of sin and woe upon the world, than to resist and press back the tide of moral wretchedness that was pressing in upon mankind in consequence of his transgression.
4 Enoch also was a preacher of righteousness, and sought to turn men from their evil ways. For three hundred years he walked with God, giving to the world the example of a pure and spotless life, one which was in marked contrast with the lives of the men of that self-willed and perverse generation, who openly disregarded God’s holy law, and boasted of their freedom from its restraints. But his testimony and his example were alike unheeded; because men loved sin better than holiness. Enoch served God with singleness of heart; and the Lord communicated to him his will, and through holy vision revealed to him the great events connected with Christ’s second appearing. And then this favored servant of the Lord was borne to Heaven by angels without seeing death.
5 At length the wickedness of man became so great that God could no longer bear with it; and he made known to Noah that because of the continual transgressions of his law, he would destroy man, whom he had created, by a flood of water which he would bring upon the earth. Noah and his family were obedient to the divine law, and for their loyalty to the God of Heaven they were saved from the destruction that overwhelmed the ungodly world around them. Thus the Lord preserved to himself a people in whose hearts was his law.
6 Noah warned the people. He believed that the threatened punishment would come upon the world, and he made every effort to turn that sinful generation from transgression to obedience. But he was unsuccessful. Only his own family at last received his message.
7 The terrible judgments of God in the destruction of the antediluvians should be a sufficient warning to all who have since lived upon the earth, that God will surely punish those who disregard his law. But the human heart is prone to evil; and as people multiplied upon the earth after the flood, they soon became bold in their transgressions. Idolatry existed, and increased to a fearful extent, until finally the Lord left the hardened transgressors to follow their evil ways, while he chose Abraham, and made him the depositary of his law for future generations.
8 Abraham was called out from an idolatrous family, and was appointed of God to preserve his truth amid the prevailing and increasing corruptions of that idolatrous age. The Lord appeared to Abraham, and said: “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.”
9 The Lord communicated his will to Abraham, and gave him a distinct knowledge of the requirements of the moral law, and of the salvation that would be accomplished through himself. It was a high honor to which Abraham was called, that of being the father of the people who for centuries were the guardians and preservers of the truth of God for the world,—of that people through whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed in the advent of the promised Messiah. But He who called the patriarch judged him worthy. This is the testimony of God concerning his chosen servant, as it stands registered on the sacred page: “Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” And again: “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.”
10 It is God that speaks. He who understands the thoughts afar off, and places the right estimate upon men, says, “I know him.” There will be on the part of Abraham no betraying of the truth for selfish purposes. He will keep the law, and deal justly and righteously; for he knows that he must answer to God for his conduct. And he will not only fear the Lord himself, but he will cultivate religion in his home. He will instruct his family in righteousness; the law of his God will be the rule in his household. Would that this testimony could be borne of all who in this day have the knowledge of the way of the Lord, and profess to walk in it.
11 God conferred upon his faithful servant special honor and blessings. Through vision, and through the angels that walked and talked with him as friend with friend, he was made acquainted with the purposes as well as with the will of God. When judgments were about to be visited upon Sodom, the fact was not hidden from Abraham. “The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” And at the request of Abraham, he would have spared that wicked city, had even ten righteous persons been found in it.
12 The blessings upon the patriarch Abraham are repeated to Isaac in these words: “And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
13 God gave to Abraham and to his seed the rite of circumcision as a token that he had separated them from all other nations as his peculiar treasure. By this sign, they solemnly agreed to fulfill the terms of the covenant made with Abraham and repeated to Isaac and Jacob. But the descendants of Abraham departed from the worship of the true God, and transgressed his law. They mingled with the nations who had no knowledge or fear of God before their eyes, and gradually imitated their customs and manners, until God’s anger was kindled against them, and he permitted them to have their own way and follow the devices of their own corrupt hearts.
14 God revealed to Abraham that his posterity would become bondmen to an idolatrous nation. But when they humbled themselves before God, and acknowledged his dealings, and cried unto him earnestly for deliverance from the oppressive yoke of the Egyptians, their cries and their promises to be obedient reached Heaven. Their prayers were answered in a most wonderful manner, and Israel was brought forth from Egypt, and the covenant made with their fathers was renewed to them.
15 Thus was the knowledge of the law of God preserved through successive generations from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, and from Abraham to Moses.
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1 When the Lord was about to deliver his people from Egyptian bondage, he selected Moses as their leader. Moses was learned in all the knowledge of the Egyptians, and was a skilled and mighty warrior. He had also been fitted for his duties by long years of quiet meditation and communion with God in the wilderness of Horeb. Through Moses the Lord wrought many signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. He brought his people out of the house of bondage “by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors,” even parting the waters of the Red Sea to make a way for them.
2 At length they came to the wilderness of Sinai, and camped before the mount; and there, in the most solemn manner, the Lord made a covenant with them. Moses was called up into the mountain, and given this message for the people: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; . . . and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.” Moses returned to the camp, and laid before the people all the words that the Lord had commanded him to utter; and they answered together, and said, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.”
3 The Lord then graciously condescended to come down upon Mount Sinai, not to give a new law, but to speak with an audible voice, in the hearing of all the people, the law which had been from the beginning the foundation of his government. He would not permit even angels to communicate these sacred precepts to men, nor did he trust them to the memory of a people who were prone to forget his requirements. He would remove all possibility of misunderstanding, of mingling any tradition with the ten commandments of the moral law, or of confusing the divine requirements with the practices of men; and to do this, he not only spoke the ten words of the moral law in the hearing of all Israel, but he wrote them with his own finger upon tables of stone.
4 The Lord made the occasion of speaking his law a scene of awful grandeur and sublimity, in accordance with its exalted character. The people were to be impressed that everything connected with the service of God must be regarded with the greatest reverence. They were required to sanctify themselves and wash their clothes, and “be ready against the third day,” when the Lord would “come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.” Bounds were set about the mountain that was so soon to be honored with the divine presence; and it was commanded that if so much as a beast touched the mountain it should be stoned or thrust through with a dart.
5 The third day came; and there were “thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount.” “And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” The glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mount in the sight of the assembled multitudes. So terrible were the tokens of Jehovah’s presence that the hosts of Israel shook with fear, and fell upon their faces before the Lord. Even Moses exclaimed, “I exceedingly fear and quake.”
6 Then above the warring elements was heard the voice of Jehovah, speaking the ten precepts of his law. The people of Israel were overwhelmed with terror. The awful power of God’s utterances seemed more than their trembling hearts could bear. They entreated Moses: “Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” For as God’s great rule of right was presented before them, they realized, as never before, the offensive character of sin, and their own guilt in the sight of a pure and holy God.
7 Speaking out of the thick darkness that enshrouded him, as he stood upon the mount surrounded by a retinue of angels, the Lord made known his law. Moses, describing the scene, says: “The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints; from his right hand went a fiery law for them.” Thus were the sacred precepts of the decalogue spoken amid thunder and flame, and with a wonderful display of the power and majesty of the great Lawgiver. God accompanied the proclamation of his law with these exhibitions of his power and glory, that his people might never forget the scene, and that they might be impressed with profound veneration for the Author of the law, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He would also show to all men the sacredness, the importance, and the permanence of his law.
8 The law of ten precepts was by no means given exclusively to the Hebrews, but God highly honored them by making them the depositaries of his law for future generations. Those who trample upon God’s authority, and show contempt for the law given in such grandeur at Sinai, virtually despise and set at naught the Lawgiver. For that law is Heaven’s great standard of right, with which we are to compare our lives and characters. Because the law points out our sins and declares our guilt, we are not to trample it under our feet, nor to turn away when our characters stand revealed in all their moral deformity. But we are called upon to exercise repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be doers of the word, and not hearers only. The heart, the seat of the affections, must be transformed; the moral nature must be renewed by grace.
9 It is a precious truth that the only one who can give peace to the weary, sin-sick soul is the originator of the law the sinner has violated. Christ knows the enormity of man’s guilt; and for this reason he came to earth to open a way by which man may be released from the bondage of sin, and render acceptable obedience to the divine law. Thus may we become a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 But He who so freely pardons and receives the penitent sinner, will by no means justify those who remain willfully and persistently disobedient. The children of Israel, who had transgressed the first and second commandments, were charged not to be seen near the mount when God was about to descend to write the law a second time upon tables of stone, lest they should be consumed by the burning glory of his presence. And when Moses returned to the camp after spending forty days in the mount, communing with his Maker, they could not even look upon his face for the glory of his countenance. Even Aaron shrank from him in terror. How much less can transgressors look upon the Son of God when he shall appear in the clouds of heaven, in the glory of his Father, surrounded by all the angelic host, to execute judgment upon all who have disregarded the commandments of God, and have trodden under foot the blood of Christ.
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1 The Lord gave the Israelites evidences of his presence with them, that they might know that he was leading them, and that they might fear his name and obey his voice. Great and radical changes were to be wrought in the lives of these demoralized people, upon whose characters, habits, and appetites, servitude and the idolatrous associations of Egypt had left their mark. God was lifting them to a higher moral level by giving them a knowledge of himself through the manifestations of divine power seen in his dealings with them, and an acquaintance with his will as expressed in the laws given for their government.
2 Moses, who under the divine direction was leading the children of Israel through to the promised land, understood the character and value of the law of God. He assured the people that no other nation had such wise, righteous, and merciful rules as had been given to the Hebrews. “Behold,” he says, “I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
3 Moses called their attention to the “day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb.” “And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments.” And he challenged the Hebrew host: “What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?”
4 When Moses was about to relinquish the position that he had so long held as the visible leader of the hosts of Israel, he rehearsed in the hearing of the people the dealings of God with them and the rules and regulations he had given them. He endeavored to impress upon their minds the importance of obeying the law of God, and urged them to make its sacred precepts the rule of their daily life. As children of God, they should be willing to suffer any inconvenience, rather than to break one of his commandments. Such a course would be more pleasing to him than mere professions of loyalty or words of praise.
5 Obedience to God would preserve harmony between man and man and between man and his Maker, and would cause Israel to be regarded as a wise and understanding people. And in the path of obedience alone was there safety for them either as individuals or as a nation; for nothing but obedience would secure the divine favor, and insure to them happiness and prosperity in the land to which they were going. God had plainly stated this to them. If they did not keep his commandments, he would not—he could not—fulfill the rich promises which were given them on condition of obedience.
6 Israel was highly honored of God, and the surrounding nations looked upon them with wonder and admiration. Their laws and discipline, when compared with the laws of other nations, seemed, even to their enemies, in every way superior to their own. And Moses, as their visible leader and lawgiver, appears on the page of history as superior in wisdom and integrity to all the sovereigns and statesmen of earth; yet Moses ever recognizes that he is the servant of God, speaking and acting according to divine direction. He claims no credit for himself, but points the people to God as the source of power and wisdom.
7 When the law was given to Israel, the Sabbath was made specially prominent. It had been instituted in Eden as a memorial of God’s creative work. After he had wrought six days, God rested on the seventh; and he blessed and sanctified that day, setting it apart as a day of rest and worship for mankind. And at Sinai he commanded: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” “In it thou shalt not do any work.” Man was to rest from his labor, and as he should look upon the earth beneath, and the heavens above, his thoughts were to be directed toward Him who brought all these wonderful and beautiful things into existence; and his heart was to be filled with love and reverence to his Maker, as he should behold the tangible proofs of his infinite wisdom and goodness.
8 The Sabbath was placed in the decalogue as the seal of the living God, pointing out the Law-giver, and making known his right to rule. It was a sign between God and his people, a test of their loyalty to him. Moses was commanded to say to them from the Lord: “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” And when some of the people went out on the Sabbath to gather manna, the Lord asked, “How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?”
9 Particular directions were given in regard to the manner of observing the Sabbath. All unnecessary work was strictly forbidden, and the day before the Sabbath was made a day of preparation, that everything might be in readiness for its sacred hours. “This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.”
10 The Israelites were not in any case to do their own work on the Sabbath. The divine direction was, “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest. In earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.” In the busiest seasons of the year, when their fruits and grains were to be secured, they were not to trespass on holy time. They were to remember that their temporal blessings came from the bountiful hand of their Creator, and he could increase or diminish them according to their faithfulness or unfaithfulness in his service.
11 The Lord places a high estimate upon his Sabbath. Through his prophet he has promised: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
12 God is merciful. His requirements are reasonable, in accordance with the goodness and benevolence of his character. He claims the Sabbath as his own, and will not let his blessing rest upon those who disregard his holy day; yet the Sabbath institution was designed as a blessing to mankind. Man was not made to fit the Sabbath; the Sabbath was made after his creation, to meet the necessities of his nature. The Sabbath should stand before the people in its moral power, answering its original design—to keep in remembrance the living God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. But the Sabbath has been treated with great disrespect. Men have dared to detract from its dignity; they have ventured to remove the sanctity placed upon it by the Creator himself.
13 Temporal affairs must come under divine restrictions. The Sabbath is not to be moulded to meet men’s business arrangements, but business affairs are to be arranged to meet God’s great standard of righteousness. But the god of this world has confused the minds of many on this subject. They need to come into the divine presence, and listen to the voice of the great I AM.
14 With God there is no respect of persons. Those who fear him and work righteousness are precious in his sight; but he requires his people to show their allegiance by strict obedience to all the precepts of the moral law, the Sabbath commandment with the rest. God is jealous of his honor, and let men beware how they remove one jot or tittle of that law that he spoke with his own voice and wrote with his own finger upon tables of stone, and that he has pronounced holy, just, and good.
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1 As long as the children of Israel obeyed God, they were prosperous; but when they departed from him in disobeying his law, they brought upon themselves humiliation and distress. They were made to realize that their defense was of God, and that when his protection was withdrawn they were feeble, exposed to the ravages of their enemies. But though they were carried away into captivity, the eye of God was upon them; for they were to preserve the knowledge of his law until the promised Messiah should come.
2 One of the principal ways in which the Jews departed from God was in the desecration of the Sabbath. The heathen around them disregarded God’s holy day, and through association with these idolatrous neighbors many had been led to imitate their example. Some not only traded with heathen merchants on the Sabbath day, but tried to overcome the scruples of their more conscientious countrymen, and lead them into the sin of Sabbath-breaking. Thus to a great extent the sacredness of the Sabbath was destroyed.
3 At this time Nehemiah was God’s chosen instrument to effect a reformation among his people, and to deliver them from the oppression of their enemies. The circumstances were discouraging; but Nehemiah was a man of courage and fidelity. He caused the people to be instructed in the law they had broken. Precept by precept it was carefully explained, that all might fully understand the will of God.
4 The Jews acknowledged that their deplorable condition was the result of their transgressions; and in a general assembly, the Levites, as the representatives of the people, confessed the goodness of God in his dealings with them, and their ingratitude and sins as a nation. Having suffered punishment for their sins, and acknowledged the justice of God in his dealings with them, the Israelites covenanted to obey his law. And that it might be a sure covenant, and preserved in a permanent form, it was written out; and the priests, the Levites, and the princes “sealed unto it.” They had a clear understanding of the claims of God and of the character of sin; and with those who had real principle, to see and understand was to act.
5 The church of today has followed in the steps of the Jews of old setting aside the commandments of God. She has changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant, and now, as then, pride, unbelief, and infidelity are the result.
6 We need Nehemiahs now, faithful men who shall arouse the people to see how far they are from God through their transgressions. Said the psalmist, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.” These words are as applicable at the present time as they were in the days of the psalmist. The whole Christian world should search the Scriptures for themselves; for the law of God is made void by the teaching in the pulpits. The papal power has thought to change the law by instituting a Sabbath for the world and the Christian church; and this spurious Sabbath is exalted and revered, while the Sabbath of Jehovah is trampled beneath unholy feet. But will the Lord degrade his law to meet the standard of men? Will he accept a man made institution in place of the Sabbath which he has sanctified and blessed? No; the convenience or profit of men is not to interfere with the claims of God, for he is a jealous God. He does not alter his precepts to gratify the desires of the ambitious or the covetous. “Thus saith the Lord” is sufficient to settle all controversy.
7 He who instituted the Sabbath has never changed it to another day. He rested on a definite day, and blessed and sanctified a definite day, and he requires the human family to observe that definite day. The position that God blessed and sanctified a seventh part of time, and no day in particular, is a deception. By this means many have become so confused that they regard God’s holy rest-day as possessing no special sacredness. Because the world do so, they feel at liberty to set the Bible Sabbath aside, and select one that suits their own convenience; and ministers of the gospel assure their congregations that this course is right.
8 There is need of a Sabbath reform among those who profess to observe God’s holy rest-day. Many seek to please themselves rather than to honor God. Some discuss business matters and lay plans on the Sabbath; and God looks upon this in the same light as though they engaged in the actual transaction of business. Others enter into partnership with men who have no respect for the Sabbath. If, for the sake of gain, a Sabbath-keeper allows the business in which he has an interest to be carried on the Sabbath by his unbelieving partner, he is equally guilty with the unbeliever; and it is his duty to dissolve the relation, however much he may lose by so doing. He should not allow men in his employ, paid by his money, to work on the Sabbath. Men may think they cannot afford to obey God in their business affairs; but they cannot afford to disobey him. He will not allow carelessness in the observance of the Sabbath to pass unpunished. If we would enjoy his blessing, the Sabbath must be kept holy.
9 Divine mercy has directed that the sick and suffering be cared for; the labor required to make them comfortable is a work of necessity, and no violation of the Sabbath. But all unnecessary work should be avoided. Many carelessly put off until the beginning of the Sabbath little things that should have been done on the day of preparation. This should not be. Any work that is neglected until the commencement of holy time, should remain undone until the Sabbath is past. This course might help the memory of these thoughtless ones, and make them more careful to do their own work on the six working days.
10 To keep the Sabbath holy, we should not even allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character. Yet it is not necessary that we shut ourselves away from nature, and deprive ourselves of the free, invigorating air of heaven. The Sabbath was made to be a blessing to man, by calling his mind from secular labor to contemplate the goodness and glory of God. It is necessary that the people of God assemble statedly for his worship, to interchange thoughts in regard to the truths of his word, and to devote a portion of time to prayer. But these seasons, even upon the Sabbath, should not be made tedious by their length and lack of interest. During a portion of the day, all should have an opportunity to be out-of-doors.
11 Parents, why not make use of the precious lessons God has given you in the book of nature to give your children a correct idea of his character? Go and sit with them in the groves or bright sunshine, and give their restless minds something to feed upon by conversing with them on the wonderful works of God. Call their attention to the tokens of God’s love to man as seen in his creative works, and their young minds will be attracted and interested, and their hearts will be inspired with love and reverence.
12 All who love God should do what they can to make the Sabbath a delight, holy and honorable. They cannot do this by seeking their own pleasure in sinful, forbidden amusements. But by exalting the Sabbath in the family, it may be made the most interesting day in the week, so that its weekly return will be hailed with joy by every member of the family. In no better way can parents exalt and honor the Sabbath than by devising means to impart proper instruction to their children and to interest them in spiritual things, giving them correct views of the character of God and what he requires of them in order to attain to eternal life. Parents, make the Sabbath a delight, that your children may look forward to it, and have a welcome for it in their hearts. Thus will God be honored in the home.
13 When Nehemiah moved out as a reformer and deliverer in Israel, he was actuated by love to God and anxiety for the prosperity of his people. His heart was in the work he had undertaken; and his hope, his energy, his enthusiasm, his determination of character, were contagious, and inspired others with the same courage and lofty purpose that animated him. Each man became a Nehemiah in his own sphere, and helped to make stronger the hand and heart of his neighbor; and soon feebleness was succeeded by strength and courage.
14 Here is a lesson for ministers and others who are laboring for the salvation of souls. Christian laborers should manifest the same zeal and earnestness that characterized Nehemiah. If ministers are inactive and irresolute, destitute of godly zeal, what can be expected of those to whom they minister? In some instances they may rise above the moral level of their teachers, but not often. But when ministers broaden their plans, and show that they are in earnest, the people will respond to their efforts; and disunited, dispirited workers will become united, strong, hopeful, and eager.
15 It is a sin to be heedless, purposeless, and indifferent in any work in which we may engage, but especially in the work of God. Every enterprise connected with his cause should be carried forward with energy, thought, and earnest prayer. Faithful standard-bearers for God and his truth are wanted, and many are ready to respond to the call. As these see the iniquity and violence that exist in consequence of making void the law of God, they will see greater reason than ever to reverence that law, and will highly prize its righteous, restraining influences. Contempt and reviling increase their love for the precepts of Jehovah. With David they will say: “I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.”
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1 During all the wanderings of the children of Israel in the wilderness, Jesus, who was equal with the Father, was their leader and guide. Enshrouded in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, his presence was ever with them. There were symbols and shadowy types pointing to a Saviour to come; there was also a present Saviour, who gave commands directly to Moses for the children of Israel, and who was set forth before them as the only channel of blessings. The sacrificial system was designed to typify the Saviour, who was to become the perfect offering for sinful man.
2 In the Jewish age, all the revealings of God to his people, everything relating to his worship, was closely connected with the sanctuary,—with the tabernacle in the wilderness, and afterward with the temple. Here God was worshiped; here the sacrificial offerings were presented before him. Here was the breastplate of the high priest, set with precious stones, from which messages from Jehovah were received. Here, in the holy of holies, overshadowed by the wings of cherubim, dwelt the perpetual token of the presence of the Holy One, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Here was the ark of the covenant, containing the tables of the law,—the ark which was to Israel the symbol of the divine presence, and the pledge of victory in battle. Idols could not stand before the sacred ark of God, and death was the penalty of a rash, irreverent touch or the glance of curiosity.
3 All through the pages of sacred history, where the dealings of God with his chosen people are recorded, there are burning traces of the great I AM. Never has he given to the sons of men more open manifestations of his power and glory than when he alone was acknowledged as Israel’s ruler, and gave the law to his people. Here was a scepter swayed by no human hand; and the stately goings forth of Israel’s invisible King were unspeakably grand and awful.
4 Truly this was a wonderful dispensation, and those who speak derisively of the old Jewish law and the Dark Ages, should remember that they are treading on holy ground. While we rejoice today that our Saviour has appeared on earth, and that the offering for sin typified in the ceremonial law has become a reality, we are not excusable in harboring feelings of disrespect for that period when Christ himself was the leader of his people. Those who do this may not know what they are doing; but they are showing themselves ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They show that they need divine enlightenment, a more intelligent knowledge of God and his word.
5 The Christ typified in the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law is the very same Christ that is revealed in the gospel. The clouds that enshrouded his divine form have rolled back; the mists and shades have disappeared; and Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, stands revealed. He came just as the prophecies foretold that he would come. In his life and death, type met antitype, and the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish church found their fulfillment. He appeared among men, not as the Messiah that the Jews expected,—a king coming in power and glory to conquer their enemies and to exalt their favored nation, but as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He, the Majesty of Heaven, condescended to be our friend, our counselor, our guide, our perfect pattern, as well as our redeemer. “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
6 God’s work is the same in all time, although there are different degrees of development, and different manifestations of his power to meet the wants of man in the different ages. Commencing with the fall, down through the patriarchal and Jewish ages, even to the present time, there has been a gradual unfolding of the purposes of God in the plan of redemption. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel through Christ; they looked for the salvation of the race through man’s substitute and surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour who was to come to our world in human flesh; and some of them talked with Christ and heavenly angels face to face, as a man talks with his friend.
7 Through the sacred record, we may hold converse with the patriarchs, and listen to Moses as he legislates for Israel. We hear to the warnings of the prophets as they look down through the ages, and reveal scenes that are to take place even down to the close of time. And as we see the events which they have foretold transpiring just as they predicted, we are brought into closer sympathy with these men of God, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
8 As time rolls on, and new truths are revealed, light is thrown on that which has been known from the beginning; we see new beauty and force in the inspired word, and we study its sacred pages with a deeper and more absorbing interest. We see the significance of the Jewish economy, and the character and purposes of God are made manifest in his dealings with his chosen people. How grand was the arrangement of God to preserve the knowledge of himself, and of his law, which is the foundation of his government in Heaven and upon earth. Although darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people, the Lord would not leave himself without a witness.
9 In the solemn service of the temple, the grand truths were typified which were to be revealed through successive generations. The cloud of incense bore upward the prayer of the contrite heart. The bleeding victim on the altar of sacrifice testified of a Redeemer to come, and from the holy of holies the visible token of the divine presence shone forth. Thus through age after age of idolatry and apostasy, the star of hope was kept shining in the darkened moral heavens, until the time came for the advent of the promised Messiah. Now, Christ, the true sacrifice, has shed his blood for the remission of sins, and is presenting it before the Father in our behalf. But the increased light that shines upon our pathway should not tempt us to despise the beginning. Every additional ray of light that we receive gives us a clearer and more distinct understanding of the plan of redemption, which is the working out of the divine will in the salvation of man.
10 God made man in his own image. He laid the foundations of the earth, and dressed it in the garb of beauty; he created all the wonders of the land and the sea. And he requires man to reverence his commandments, which were spoken amid such displays of divine power and majesty, and to obey them without questioning the feasibility or convenience of such obedience. The example of Adam and Eve should be a sufficient warning to us against any disobedience of the divine law. Their sin in listening to the specious temptations of the enemy, brought guilt and sorrow upon the world, and, had it not been for the goodness and mercy of God, would have plunged the race into hopeless despair.
11 Let none for a moment deceive themselves with the thought that their sin will not bring its merited punishment. Their transgressions will be visited with the rod, because they have had the light, but have walked directly contrary to it. God will not more lightly pass over any violation of his law now than in the day when he pronounced judgment against Adam. The Saviour of the world raises his voice in protest against those who regard the law of God with carelessness and indifference. Said he: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.”
12 It is the grossest presumption for mortal man to venture upon a compromise with the Almighty, in order to secure his own temporal interests. “I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God,” is thundered from Sinai; and we may not disregard that voice because the words were spoken more than three thousand years ago, and were addressed to the lineal descendants of Abraham. The Lord requires willing sacrifice. No partial obedience, no divided interest, is accepted by Him who declares that the iniquities of the fathers shall be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him, and that he will show mercy unto thousands of them that love him and keep his commandments.
13 There is nothing in the word of God to be thrown aside; there is nothing in the plan of redemption that is unimportant or that may be lightly disregarded. The Bible gives us an account of the dealings of God with man from the creation to the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven; it carries us even farther in the future, and opens before us the glories of the city of God, and the beauty and perfection of the earth made new, the saints’ secure abode. But although the long line of events extends through so many centuries, and new and important truths are from time to time developed, that which was truth in the beginning is the truth still. The increased light of the present day does not contradict or make of none effect the dimmer light of the past.
14 All the truths of revelation are of value to us; and in contemplating things of eternal interest, we shall gain true perceptions of the character of God. The cultivation of reverence for him will affect the daily life. The entire character will be elevated and transformed. The soul will be brought into harmony with Heaven. The believer will become Christ-like, and will finally obtain an abundant entrance into the city of God.
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1 Said Christ: “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.” No one can neglect the word of God, and yet attain to Christian perfection. But by carefully searching that word, we become acquainted with the divine Model; and in order to imitate the Pattern, it must be frequently and closely inspected.
2 As we study the life of Christ, we discover in ourselves defects of character; our unlikeness to him is so great that we cannot be his followers without a very great change in our life. Still we study, with a desire to be like our great Exemplar; we catch the looks, the spirit, of our beloved Master. By beholding, by “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,” we become changed into the same image. We cannot imitate the life of Christ while we are looking away from him; we must do it by dwelling upon and talking of him, by seeking to refine the taste and elevate the character, by trying through earnest, persevering effort, through faith and love, to approach the perfect Pattern. The attention being fixed upon Christ, his image, pure and spotless, becomes enshrined in the heart as “the chiefest among ten thousand and the one altogether lovely.” Even unconsciously we imitate that with which we are familiar; and by gaining a knowledge of Christ, of his words, his habits, his lessons of instruction, and by imitating the virtues of the character we have so closely studied, we become imbued with the spirit of the Master, which we have so much admired.
3 Those who know the blessedness of a union with God should not fail to exemplify the life of Christ in their daily conversation, in pure and virtuous characters. By doing good, by being courteous and beneficent, they adorn the Christian doctrine, and show that the truth of heavenly origin beautifies the character and ennobles the life. Christ’s followers are “living epistles, known and read of all men.” Their daily lives recommend the truth of God to those who have been prejudiced against it by nominal professors, who have a form of godliness, while their lives testify that they know nothing of its sanctifying power.
4 The word of God has been sadly neglected, instead of being appreciated as it should have been. This book, revealing the will of God to man, deserves to be held in the highest esteem; for it gives instruction of inestimable value to all classes. Its teachings are so plain that even the humblest and most ignorant can understand them, and learn to so order their conversation and be so circumspect in deportment as to bring no dishonor or reproach upon the cause of their Redeemer. If they have living faith in God, they will not by their inconsistencies furnish occasion to bring the truth into disrepute when it should be a savor of life unto life.
5 The truths of God’s word, received into the heart, have an animating power; and those who will frame any excuse for neglecting to become acquainted with the Scriptures will neglect the claims of God in many respects. The character will be deformed, the words and acts a reproach to the truth.
6 The injunction of our Saviour to search the Scriptures should be religiously regarded by every man, women, and child who professes his name. The student in the Sabbath-school should feel as thoroughly in earnest to become intelligent in the knowledge of the Scriptures as to excel in the study of the sciences. If either is neglected, it should be the lessons of the six days. Teachers in the Sabbath-school have a missionary work given them; it is to teach the Scriptures, not, parrot-like, to repeat over that which they have taken no pains to understand. “They are they which testify of me”—the Redeemer, him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. If teachers are not imbued with a spirit of truth, and care not for the knowledge of what is revealed in the word of God, how can they present the truth in an attractive light to those under their charge? The prayer of Christ for his disciples was, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” If we are to be sanctified through a knowledge of the truth found in the word of God, we must have an intelligent knowledge of that word. We must search the Scriptures, not merely rush through a chapter and repeat it, taking no pains to understand it, but we must dig for the jewels of truth, which will enrich the mind, and fortify the soul against the wiles of the arch-deceiver.
7 Parents plead trifling excuses for not interesting themselves in the Bible lessons with their children, and they fail to become conversant with the Scriptures. Fathers excuse themselves from disciplining their own minds. They do not seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, but exalt the temporal above the spiritual and eternal. This forgetfulness of God and his word is the example they give their children, which moulds their minds after the worldly standard, and not after the exalted standard erected by Christ. Mothers, too, are unfaithful to their trust. The inward adorning of the mind and the culture of the soul are neglected as though inferior to the adornment of the apparel. Their own minds and the minds of their children are starved in order to follow custom and fashion.
8 Fathers and mothers, take up your long-neglected duties. Search the Scriptures yourselves; assist your children in the study of the sacred word. Make diligent work because of past neglect. Do not send the children away by themselves to study the Bible; but read it with them, teach them in a simple manner what you know, and keep in the school of Christ as diligent students yourselves.
9 Jesus, the greatest teacher the world has ever seen, recognized the value of the Holy Scriptures, and expounded them to his disciples. After his resurrection, he drew near to two of them as they were on the way to Emmaus, talking, as they went, of the disappointed hopes occasioned by the death of the beloved Master. They told him of the prophet mighty in word and deed who had been taken by wicked hands and crucified. And now it was the third day, and strange reports had been brought to their ears that Jesus had risen, and had been seen by Mary and certain of the disciples. Jesus said to them, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken; ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” And beginning at Moses and the prophets, “he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
10 Jesus reproved the disciples for not being acquainted with the scriptures that testified of the Messiah. Had they been familiar with the Scriptures, their faith would have been sustained in the hour of trial, and their hope would have remained unshaken; for the treatment Christ would receive at the hands of those he came to save was plainly stated in the prophecies. The disciples were astonished that they had not recognized Jesus at once, as soon as he spoke with them by the way, and that they had failed to remember the scriptures which he had brought to their mind. They had lost sight of the divine word; but when the things spoken by the prophets were brought to their remembrance, faith revived, and hope again sprang up in their hearts. And when he was parted from them, they said one to another, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
11 The apostle tells us: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” If Christians would earnestly search the Scriptures, more hearts would burn with the vivid truths therein revealed. Their hopes would brighten as they dwell upon the precious promises strewn like pearls all through the sacred writings. In contemplating the history of the patriarchs, the prophets, the men who loved and feared God and who walked with him,—in dwelling upon the virtue and piety of these holy men of old,—the spirit which inspired them would kindle a flame of love and holy fervor in the hearts of those who would be like them in character.
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1 “As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
2 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.”
3 It is the design of God that improvement shall be the life-work of all his people, and that in all their aims they shall be guided and controlled by Christian principle and correct experience. But many fail to understand the true object of life; and under the influence of cherished errors, they sacrifice all there is of life that is really valuable. The true man is one who is willing to sacrifice his own interest for the good of others, and who forgets himself in ministering to their happiness. Intellect is a mightier force than wealth or physical power. If sanctified and controlled by the Spirit of God, it can exert a powerful influence for good. Yet intellect alone does not make the man, according to the divine standard. When made a minister of vice, great intellect is a curse to the possessor and to all within its influence.
4 One’s claim to a true manhood must be determined by the use of the powers which God has given him. Lord Byron had rare intellectual gifts; but he was not a man, according to God’s standard. He was an agent of Satan. His passions were fierce and uncontrollable. He was sowing seed through his life which ripened into a harvest of corruption. His life-work lowered the standard of virtue. This man was one of the world’s distinguished men; still the Lord acknowledged him only as one who had abused his God-given talents. Many others whom God endowed with giant minds, and whom the world called great men, rallied under the banner of Satan, and used the gifts of God for the perversion of truth and the destruction of the souls of men. Nero was acknowledged by the world as a great man; but did God regard him as such? No! he was not connected by living faith to the great heart of humanity. He and others like him in the world ate, and drank, and slept, as men of the world; but they were Satanic in their cruelty. Wherever went these monsters in human form, bloodshed and destruction marked their pathway. They were lauded while living, but when they were buried, the world rejoiced. In contrast with the lives of such men, is that of Martin Luther. He was not born a prince. He wore no royal crown. From a cloistered cell his voice was heard, and his influence felt. He had a noble, generous heart, as well as a vigorous intellect, and all his powers were exercised for the good of humanity. He stood bravely for truth and right, and breasted the world’s opposition to benefit his fellow-men.
5 That which will bless humanity is spiritual life. If the man is in harmony with God, he will depend continually upon him for strength. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.” It should be our life-work to press forward continually toward the perfection of Christian character, ever striving for conformity to the will of God, remembering that the efforts begun upon earth will continue throughout eternity. God has set before the human family an elevated standard, and he who is true to his God-given manhood, will not only promote the happiness of his fellow-creatures in this life, but will aid them to secure an eternal reward in the life to come.
6 Nor should any duty be regarded as small and unimportant. It is difficult for human beings to give attention to lesser matters while the mind is engaged in business of greater importance. But should not this union exist? Man formed in the image of his Maker should unite the larger responsibilities with the smaller. He may be engrossed with occupations of overwhelming importance, and neglect the instruction which his children need. These duties may be looked upon as the lesser duties of life, when in reality they lie at the very foundation of society. Happiness of families and churches depends upon home influences. Eternal interests depend upon the proper discharge of the duties of this life. The world is not so much in need of great minds, as of good men who will be a blessing in their homes.
7 The members of the human family are entitled to the name of men and women only when they employ their talents, in every possible way, for the good of others. The life of Christ is before us as a pattern, and it is when ministering, like angels of mercy, to the wants of others that man is closely allied to God. It is the nature of Christianity to make happy families and happy members of society. Discord, selfishness, and strife will be put away from every one who possesses the Spirit of Christ.
8 Those who are partakers of Christ’s love have no right to think that there is a limit to their influence and work in trying to benefit humanity. Christ did not become weary in his efforts to save fallen men; and our work is to be continuous and persevering. We shall find work to do until the Master shall bid us lay our armor at his feet; and we must wait and watch, submissive to God’s will, ready and willing to respond to every call of duty.
9 Angels are engaged night and day in the service of God, for the uplifting of man in accordance with the plan of salvation. Man is required to love God supremely, that is, with all his might, mind, and strength, and his neighbor as himself. This he cannot possibly do unless he shall deny himself. Said Christ. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
10 To deny self means to rule the spirit when passion is seeking for the mastery; to resist the temptation to censure and to speak fault-finding words; to have patience with the child that is dull, and whose conduct is grievous and trying; to stand at the post of duty when others may fail; to lift responsibilities wherever and whenever duty requires it, not for applause, not for policy, but for the sake of the Master, who has given each of his followers a work to be done with unwavering fidelity; when one might praise himself, to keep silent and let other lips praise him. Self-denial is to do good to others when inclination would lead us to serve and please ourselves. Although our fellow-men may never appreciate our efforts, we are to work on.
11 Fellow-Christians, search carefully, and see whether the work of God is indeed the rule of your life. Do you take Christ with you when you leave the closet of prayer? Does your religion stand guard at the door of your lips? Is your heart drawn out in sympathy and love for others outside of your own family? Are you diligently seeking a clearer understanding of Scripture truth, that you may let your light shine forth to others? These questions you may answer to your own souls. Let your speech be seasoned with grace, and your demeanor show Christian elevation. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” Ever remember that the moral nature needs to be braced with constant watchfulness and prayer. As long as you look to Christ, you are safe; but the moment you trust to yourself, you lose your hold upon God, and are in great peril.
12 Many limit the divine Providence, and divorce mercy and love from his character. They urge that the greatness and majesty of God would forbid him to interest himself in the concerns of the weakest of his creatures. But from the lips of Jesus we have the assurance: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
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1 Through the psalmist God declares, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.” Much of the public worship of God consists of praise and prayer, and every follower of Christ should engage in this worship. There is also the preaching service, conducted by those whose work it is to instruct the congregation in the word of God. Although all are not called to minister in word and doctrine, they need not be cold and responseless listeners. When the word of God was spoken to the Hebrews anciently, the Lord said to Moses, “And let all the people say, Amen.” This response, in the fervor of their souls, was required as evidence that they understood the word spoken and were interested in it.
2 When the ark of God was brought into the city of David and a psalm of joy and triumph was chanted, all the people said, Amen. And David felt that he was fully repaid for his labor and anxiety by this cheerful, universal response from the people.
3 There is too much formality in the church. Souls are perishing for light and knowledge. We should be so connected with the Source of light that we can be channels of light to the world. The Lord would have his ministers who preach the word energized by his Holy Spirit. And the people who hear should not sit in drowsy indifference or stare vacantly about, making no response to what is said. The spirit of the world has paralyzed the spirituality of such, and they are not awake to the precious theme of redemption. The truth of God’s word is spoken to leaden ears, and hard, unimpressible hearts. The impression given the unbeliever by these professed Christians is anything but favorable for the religion of Christ. They show zeal and ambition when engaged in the business of the world, but things of eternal importance do not engross the mind, and interest them as do worldly things. The voice of God through his messengers is a pleasant song; but its sacred warnings, reproofs, and encouragements are all unheeded. Eternal and sacred things are placed upon a level with common things, and the Holy Spirit is grieved. Said Christ, “Take heed, therefore, how ye hear.” Those are spiritually dead who profess to worship God while the heart is not in the work. There should be a hearty, wide-awake church to encourage and uphold the hands of the ministers of Jesus Christ.
4 Those who profess to be guided by the word of God may be familiar with the evidences of their faith, and yet be like the pretentious fig-tree, which flaunted its foliage in the face of the world, but, when searched by the Master, was found destitute of fruit. Fruitful Christians are connected with Heaven, and intelligent in the things of God. The truth and the love of God is their meditation. They have feasted upon the word of life, and when they hear it spoken from the desk, they can say, as did the two disciples who were traveling to Emmaus when Christ explained to them the prophecies concerning himself, “Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
5 All who are connected with the light will let their light shine to the world, and will, in their testimonies, praise God, to whom their hearts will flow forth in gratitude. Those who have a vital union with Christ will rejoice in the assurance of his love. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by his presence. Walking in the light, they will never disgrace their profession or bring reproach upon the cause of Christ. It is the privilege of every child of God to store his mind with divine truth, and the more he does this, the more vigor and clearness of mind he will have to fathom the deep things of God. He will be more and more earnest and vigorous as the principles of the truth are carried out in his daily life.
6 We should all be workers together with God. No idlers are acknowledged as his servants. The members of the church should individually feel that the life and prosperity of the church is affected by their course of action. Those in the church who have sufficient talent to engage in any of the various vocations of life, such as teaching, building, manufacturing, and farming, will generally be prepared to labor for the upbuilding of the church by serving on committees or as teachers in the Sabbath-schools, engaging in missionary labor, or filling the different offices connected with the church.
7 God requires that the first, the best, and the most useful talents shall be employed to carry forward his work upon the earth. The same zeal and energy, tact and order, which are exercised in counting-rooms, shops, and in the fine arts, should be brought into the religious life and exercised in the work of God. All are responsible for the talents given them of God to use to his glory. He calls for them to come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
8 Many will give money because it costs less self-denial and self-sacrifice than to give themselves. Some say: My business claims all my time. So numerous are my engagements and so pressing their demands, I cannot give my time.” Of what avail is means without agents to use it? Ministers cannot do a tithe of the work necessary to be done at this time to save souls and preserve the vitality of the church.
9 What revelations will be made in the day of God, when each individual will see his life as God sees it! What opportunities lost to save souls! How many precious hours wasted in following inclination instead of discharging duties! How much greater advancement might have been made in the knowledge of the truth! How much talent that was given of God for wise improvement, to be spent in his service, has been buried in the cares and allurements of this world! How much strength and courage might have been given to the individual members of the church, had they dedicated to God their talents and used them to his service and glory. And how many souls might have been saved, had they been wise, and sought first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
10 What can we say to arouse those who profess to be the followers of Christ, to a sense of the solemn responsibilities resting upon them? Is there no voice that shall arouse them to work while the day lasts? Our divine Master gave his life for a ruined world? Who will deny self, and make some sacrifice to save souls for whom he died?
11 In every act of life Christians should seek to represent Christ,—seek to make his service appear attractive. Let none make religion repulsive by groans and sighs and a relation of their trials, their self-denials, and sacrifices. Do not give the lie to your profession of faith by impatience, fretfulness, and repining. Let the graces of the Spirit be manifested in kindness, meekness, forbearance, cheerfulness, and love. Let it be seen that the love of Christ is an abiding motive; that your religion is not a dress to be put off and on to suit circumstances, but a principle, calm, steady, unvarying. Alas that pride, unbelief, and selfishness, like a foul cancer, are eating our vital godliness from the heart of many a professed Christian! When judged according to their works, how many will learn, too late, that their religion was but a glittering cheat, unacknowledged by Jesus Christ.
12 Love to Jesus will be seen, will be felt. It cannot be hidden. It exerts a wondrous power. It makes the timid bold, the slothful diligent, the ignorant wise. It makes the stammering tongue eloquent, and rouses the dormant intellect into new life and vigor. It makes the desponding hopeful, the gloomy joyous. Love to Christ will lead its possessor to accept responsibilities for his sake, and to bear them in his strength. Love to Christ will not be dismayed by tribulation, nor turned aside from duty by reproaches. The soul that is not imbued with this love for Jesus is none of his.
13 Peace in Christ is of more value than all the treasures of earth. Let us seek the Lord with all our heart, let us learn of Christ to be meek and lowly, that we may find rest of soul. Let us arouse our dormant energies, and become active, earnest, fervent. The very example and deportment, as well as the words, of the Christian should be such as to awaken in the sinner a desire to come to the Fountain of life.
14 Then let us open our hearts to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Let us work cheerfully, joyfully, in the service of our Master. Let us praise him, not only by our words in the congregation of his saints, but by a well ordered life and godly conversation,—a life of active, noble Christian effort. Let us give diligence to make our calling and election sure, remembering that we shall triumph at last, if we do not become weary in well-doing.
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1 In the words, “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace,” the psalmist sums up the results of careful home training. It should be the object of every parent to secure to his children a well-balanced, symmetrical character. And this is a work of no small magnitude and importance, but one that will require earnest thought and prayer, no less than patient, persevering effort. A right foundation must be laid, a framework, strong and firm, erected, and then day by day the work of building, polishing, perfecting, must go forward.
2 Parents, your own home is the first field in which you are called to labor. The precious plants in the home garden demand your first care. To you it is appointed to watch for souls as they that must give account. Carefully consider your work, its nature, its bearing, and its results. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, you must instruct, warn, and counsel, ever remembering that your looks, words, and actions have a direct bearing upon the future course of your dear ones. Your work is not to paint a form of beauty upon canvas, or to chisel it from marble, but to impress upon a human soul the image of the Divine.
3 Did mothers but realize the importance of their mission, they would be much in secret prayer, presenting their children to Jesus, imploring his blessing upon them, and pleading for wisdom to discharge aright their sacred duties. Let the mother improve every opportunity to mould and fashion the disposition and habits of her children. Let her watch carefully the development of character, repressing traits that are too prominent, encouraging those that are deficient.
4 Mothers, will you not dispense with useless, unimportant labor for that which must perish with the using? Will you not seek to draw near to God, that his wisdom may guide and his grace assist you, in a work which will be as enduring as eternity? Aim to make your children perfect in character. Remember that such only can see God.
5 I speak the more freely and earnestly, because I know that many parents are neglecting their God-given work. They are themselves far from purity and holiness, and they do not see the defects of their children as they would if their own eyes were beholding and admiring the perfection of Christ’s character.
6 Parents, for Christ’s sake, for the sake of your children, seek to conform your own lives to the divine standard. Set a pure and noble example before your precious charge. Let nothing come in between you and your God. Be earnest, be patient and persevering, instant in season, and out of season. Give your children intellectual culture, and moral training. Let their young hearts be fortified with firm, pure principles. Teach them to exert every faculty of mind and body. While you have the opportunity, lay the foundation for a noble manhood and womanhood, and your labor will be rewarded a thousand fold.
7 You must make the Bible your guide, if you would bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let the life and character of Christ be presented as the pattern for them to copy. If they err, read to them what the Lord has said concerning similar sins. There is need of constant care and diligence in this work. One wrong trait tolerated by parents, uncorrected by teachers, may cause the character to become deformed and unbalanced. Teach the children that they must have a new heart; that new tastes must be created, new motives inspired. They must have help from Christ; they must become acquainted with the character of God as revealed in his word.
8 Family prayer receives too little attention. In many cases, the morning and evening worship is little more than a mere form, a dull monotonous repetition of set phrases in which the spirit of gratitude or the sense of need finds no expression. The Lord accepts not such service. But the petitions of a humble heart and contrite spirit he will not despise. The opening of our hearts to our Heavenly Father, the acknowledgment of our entire dependence the expression of our wants, the homage of grateful love,— this is true prayer. When we come pleading the merits of Christ’s blood, and trusting with implicit faith his promises, we shall secure the blessing of the Lord.
9 Redeem the precious hours worse than wasted in talking of your troubles, or gossiping over the faults of others. Seek earnestly to God for help, and you will become strong in his strength. You may have Christ as a guest in your home. Be not satisfied merely to bear the name of Christ. Be in truth followers of Jesus. Let your hearts be warmed with his love. Make him your friend, your helper, your counselor.
10 The most valuable rules for social and family intercourse, are to be found in the Bible. There is not only the best and purest standard of morality, but the most valuable code of politeness. Our Saviour’s sermon on the mount contains instruction of priceless worth to old and young. It should be often read in the family circle, and its precious teachings exemplified in the daily life. The golden rule, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them,” as well as the apostolic injunction, “In honor preferring one another,” should be made the law of the family. Those who cherish the spirit of Christ will manifest politeness at home, a spirit of benevolence even in little things. They will be constantly seeking to make all around them happy, forgetting self in their kind attentions to others. This is the fruit which grows upon the Christian tree.
11 Few realize the influence of the little things of life upon the development of character. Mothers, cease to spend your time and strength for that which is merely attractive to the eye, but which does not minister to comfort or real happiness, and you will cut off a large share of the cares and worries that make you nervous and irritable, impolite and unchristian. The precious moments heretofore given to needless labor should be devoted to beautifying the souls of your children, teaching them how they may obtain the inward adorning, that meek and quiet spirit which God accounts of great price.
12 If real politeness were practiced by all the followers of Christ, if obedience to the golden rule were made one of the corner-stones of Christian character, we would see fewer church-trials, less hardness and animosity between brethren. There would be no harsh, thoughtless words, no strife for the highest place. God’s people will be tested. Every one will be exposed to the fierce fire of trial and temptation. If we would not be consumed as dross, we must have the love of God—the gold that has been tried—abiding in us. Now is the time to soften and subdue our rough, harsh traits of character. We must cherish kindness, forbearance, Christian integrity. Ungenerous criticism, hard speeches, questioning the motives of another, or magnifying his faults, open the door to Satan’s temptations, and lead many away from God. The holy Scriptures give us a safe and profitable rule for thought and conversation. “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” If we would have our children practice kindness, courtesy, and love, we ourselves must set them the example.
13 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind.” It “thinketh no evil,”—another fruit borne on the tree of love. Our souls must be stayed upon God, imbued with his Spirit, if we would learn these sacred lessons. Said the apostle, “Gird up the loins of your mind.” If the thoughts are rightly disciplined, it will be a far less difficult task to control the feelings. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, will give us courage, hope, and constancy. Shall we not obey the teachings of God’s word? Shall we not make it our guide and counselor? Shall we not devote time and thought to its perusal? How can Christians neglect the book in which God has revealed his will to men? Our children need help to understand the Scriptures. They should become acquainted with the life and character of Jesus, that they may love him, and choose to obey him.
14 Parents and guardians must exercise unceasing watchfulness. Every day new thoughts are awakened in the minds of the young; new impressions are made upon their hearts. The associations they form, the books they read, the habits they cherish,—all must be guarded; for the interests of the children, for this life and the next, are at stake.
“What now you do, you know not,
But shall hereafter know,
When the seeds your hands are sowing,
To a ripened harvest grow.”
15 When you stand before the great white throne, then your work will appear as it is. The books are opened, the record of every life made known. Many in that vast company are unprepared for the revelations made. Upon the ears of some, the words will fall with startling distinctness, “Weighed in the balance, and found wanting.” To many parents the Judge will say in that day, “You had my word, plainly setting forth your duty. Why have you not obeyed its teachings? Knew ye not that it was the voice of God? Did I not bid you search the Scriptures, that you might not go astray? You have not only ruined your own souls, but by your pretensions to godliness you have misled many others. You have no part with me. Depart, depart!”
16 Another class stand pale and trembling, trusting in Christ, and yet oppressed with a sense of their own unworthiness. They hear with tears of joy and gratitude the Master’s commendation. The day’s of incessant toil, of burden-bearing, and of fear and anguish, are forgotten, as that voice, sweeter than the music of angel harps, pronounces the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter ye into the joy of your Lord.” There stand the host of the redeemed, the palm branch of victory in their hand, the crown upon their head. These are the ones who by faithful, earnest labor, have obtained a fitness for Heaven. The life-work performed on earth is acknowledged in the heavenly courts as a work well done.
17 With joy unutterable, parents see the crown, the robe, the harp, given to their children. The days of hope and fear are ended. The seed sown with tears and prayers may have seemed to be sown in vain, but their harvest is reaped with joy at last. Their children have been redeemed. Fathers, mothers, shall the voices of your children swell the song of gladness in that day?
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1 “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
2 None of us should feel content to save merely our own souls. Jesus, our perfect Pattern, left the royal courts of Heaven. He gave up his high command, and the glory that he had with the Father, and for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He labored in his vineyard among the hills of Galilee, and at last bedewed with his own blood the seed which he had sown. When the harvest of the earth shall be gathered into Heaven’s garner, and Christ shall look upon the saints redeemed, he will see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.
3 Those who appreciate the plan of salvation, the infinite price paid for man’s redemption, will not live for themselves alone. They will have the deepest interest to save their fellowmen, that Christ may not have died for them in vain. All Heaven is interested in the salvation of souls, and all who are partakers of the heavenly benefits will feel an intense anxiety that this interest manifested in Heaven may not be in vain. They will on earth cooperate with the angels in Heaven, by manifesting their appreciation of the value of souls for whom Christ has died. They will, through their earnest, judicious labor, bring many to the fold of Christ. Not one who is a partaker of the divine nature will be indifferent in this matter. The world is our field; with a firm hold on God for his strength and his grace we may move forward in the pathway of duty, as co-laborers with the Redeemer of the world. Our work is to spread the light of truth and advance the work of moral reform, to elevate, ennoble, and bless humanity. We should apply the principles of Christ’s sermon on the mount to every move that we make, and then trust the consequences with God.
4 “I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance.” Likewise, I say unto you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” If God and Christ and angels rejoice when even one sinner repents and becomes obedient to Christ, should not man be imbued with the same spirit, and work for time and for eternity with persevering effort to save, not only his own soul, but the souls of others? If you work in this direction with whole-hearted interest as the followers of Christ, discharging every duty, improving every opportunity, your own souls will be gradually settling into the mould of a perfect Christian. The heart will not be sere and unfeeling. The spiritual life will not be dwarfed. The heart will glow with the impress of the divine image; for it will be in close sympathy with God. The whole life will flow out with cheerful readiness in channels of love and sympathy for humanity. Self will be forgotten, and the ways of this class will be established in God. In watering others, their own souls will be watered. The stream flowing through their souls is from a living spring, and is flowing out to others in good deeds, in earnest, unselfish effort for their salvation. In order to be a fruitful tree, the soul must derive its support and nourishment from the Fountain of life, and must be in harmony with the Creator.
5 All who are faithful workers for God will yield their spirit and all their powers a willing sacrifice to him. The Spirit of God operating upon their spirit calls forth the sacred harmonies of the soul in answer to the divine touch. This is true sanctification, as revealed in the word of God. It is the work of a lifetime. And that which the Spirit of God has begun upon the earth for the perfection of man, glory shall crown in the mansions of God. Those who are indolent and half-caring know not true happiness and peace. They are losing, even in this life; and what glory they lose in the future immortal life! I wish I could speak words to men and women which would nerve them to diligent action. The moments now granted us to work are few. We are standing upon the very borders of the eternal world. We have no time to lose. Every moment is golden, and altogether too precious to be devoted merely to self-serving. Who will seek God earnestly, and from him draw strength and grace to be his faithful workers in the missionary field? Individual effort is essential for the success of this work. The ease-loving and self-caring, the worldly, ambitious ones will be ashamed to engage perseveringly in the tract and missionary work. Some may take hold of it impulsively, but they will not be able to bear rebuffs, and sneers, and contempt. These soon become weary in well-doing, and fall back to their own position of living and caring for self. For such there will be no reward in Heaven, for Christ is to give to every one as his works shall be.
6 It is essential that all who have named the name of Christ have a personal knowledge of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. They should understand the Scriptures for themselves. All indifference and lethargy must be overcome. Work, work, is crowding upon the few who are willing and obedient. They overwork because they see so much to do and so few who are willing to lift the burden and bear the yoke of Christ. Many who see the work for this time, and realize its importance, are pressed under the weight of responsibility as a cart beneath sheaves, while hundreds are dying a spiritual death of inaction because they will not work at all. These might come into working order if they would gather divine strength, and yield not to passing influences. They have the opportunity to cultivate traits of character which would be the opposite of selfishness, which would refine, enrich, and ennoble their lives. These may grow in spirituality if they will accept any burdens of the work where they can best serve the cause of God. Christians, in the fullest acceptation of the term, grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. They love God more and more, and are more and more desirous of acting a part in the great plan of salvation. Intellectual laziness and spiritual lethargy must be overcome, and as Christ’s soldiers we must be faithful to duty, ready for every good work.
7 The sweet savor of Christ surrounds them; their influence is to elevate and bless. These are fruitful trees. Men and women of this stamp of character will render practical service in thoughtful deeds of kindness, and earnest, systematic labor. Self-importance, vanity, and pride should in no case be mingled with the sacred work. Those who become lifted up because they can do something in the cause of God, will be in danger of marring the work by their self-conceit, and they will ruin their own souls. All who are connected with the work of God should make their mission as attractive as possible, that they may create no distaste for the truth in consequence of their demeanor. Self must be hid in Jesus, and those who labor for God must have characters with a pleasant flavor. Now is the time to put forth earnest efforts. Men and women are needed to work in the great missionary field with determined effort, praying, and weeping, sowing the precious seed of truth in imitation of the Redeemer, who was the Prince of missionaries.
8 He who gives increased talents to those who have made a wise improvement of the talents intrusted to them, is pleased to acknowledge the service of his believing people in the Beloved, through whose strength and grace they have wrought. Those who have sought the development and perfection of Christian character by exercising their faculties in good works, in sowing the seeds of truth beside all waters, will in the world to come, reap that which they have sown. The work begun upon earth will reach its consummation in the higher and holier life, to endure through all eternity. The self-denial and self-sacrifice required in the cultivation of the heart in doing the works of Christ, will be infinitely overbalanced by the rich reward of the eternal weight of glory, the joys of the life which measures with the life of God.
9 If the Christian thrives and progresses at all, he must do so amid strangers to God, amid scoffing, subject to ridicule. He must stand upright like the palm tree in the desert. The sky may be as brass, the desert sand may beat about the palm tree’s roots, and pile itself in heaps about its trunk. Yet the tree lives as an evergreen, fresh and vigorous amid the burning desert sands. Remove the sand till you reach the rootlets of the palm tree, and you discover the secret of its life; it strikes down deep beneath the surface, to the secret waters hidden in the earth. Christians indeed may be fitly represented by the palm tree. They are like Enoch; although surrounded by corrupting influences, their faith takes hold of the Unseen. They walk with God, deriving strength and grace from him to withstand the moral pollution surrounding them. Like Daniel in the courts of Babylon, they stand pure and uncontaminated; their life is hid with Christ in God. They are virtuous in spirit amid depravity; they are true and loyal, fervent and zealous, while surrounded by infidels, hypocritical professors, godless and worldly men. Their faith and life are hid with Christ in God. Jesus is in them a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Faith, like the rootlets of the palm tree, penetrates beneath the things which are seen, drawing spiritual nourishment from the Fountain of life.
10 The character of the true Christian will be consistent, meek, cheerful, fragrant with good works, and so resolute that sin will find no sanction in the heart, in the words uttered, or in silence. The peace of Christ ruling in the heart of the earnest, working Christian will be reflected upon others; and will elevate and refine the taste, and sanctify the judgment. The faithful sower of the seed will hear the commendation of the Master, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” What is the joy of our Lord? It is the joy of seeing souls for whom Christ died redeemed in the kingdom of glory. Those who enter into the joys of their Lord will have the blessed satisfaction of seeing souls saved in the mansions of God through their instrumentality. These souls will be as stars in the crown of their rejoicing.
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1 “Wisdom is justified of her children.”
2 The healing of the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda teaches an important lesson,—a lesson of priceless value to the Christian and of fearful import to the unbelieving and the skeptical. As the paralytic lay beside the pool, helpless and well-nigh hopeless, Jesus drew near, and asked, in tones of pity, “Wilt thou be made whole?” Be made whole!—this had been the burden of his desire and prayers for long, weary years. With trembling eagerness he told the story of his trials and disappointments to the sympathizing Son of God. No friend was near to bear him to the healing fountain at the troubling of the waters. His agonizing appeals for help fell unheeded. All around him were those who sought the coveted boon of health for their own loved ones; and while he painfully sought to reach the pool, another would be hurried down before him.
3 Jesus said to the sufferer, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” There was no assurance of divine help, no manifestation of miraculous power. What marvel had the man replied, “It is impossible! How can I be expected to use my limbs, that have not obeyed my will for thirty-eight years?” From a merely human point of view, such reasoning would appear consistent. The sufferer might have given place to doubt, and thus have permitted that God-given opportunity to pass unimproved. But no; without indulging a questioning thought, he seized his only opportunity. As he attempted to do what Christ had commanded, strength and vigor came; he was made whole.
4 Reader, is your mind filled with doubts and misgivings, and yet do you desire to receive the blessing of the Lord? Cease to question his word and distrust his promises. Obey the Saviour’s bidding, and receive strength. If you hesitate, and wait to enter into a discussion with Satan, or to consider the difficulties and improbabilities, your opportunity will pass, perhaps forever.
5 The miracle at Bethesda should have convinced the Jews that Jesus was the Son of God; but they desired only a pretext for unbelief, and it was not hard to find what they sought. At the command of the Saviour, the impotent man had borne away the simple bed, or mat, on which he had so long lain; and Satan, ever ready with his insinuations, suggested that this act might be construed into a violation of the Sabbath. The Jews, by their customs and traditions, had perverted this sacred rest-day from its original design, making its observance a burden rather than a blessing. It was hoped that a controversy on this point would destroy the faith inspired in some hearts by the healing of this poor paralytic.
6 As the restored one went on his way with quick, elastic step, his pulses bounding with the vigor of renewed health, his countenance glowing with hope and joy, he was met by the Pharisees, who told him, with an air of great sanctity, that it was not lawful to carry his bed on the Sabbath day. There was no rejoicing on their part at the deliverance of that long-imprisoned captive, no grateful praise that one was among them who could heal all manner of diseases. Their traditions had been disregarded, and this fact closed their eyes to the evidence of divine power. Bigoted and self-righteous, they would not admit that they could have misapprehended the true design of the Sabbath. Instead of this, they chose to condemn Jesus, notwithstanding the mighty miracle he had performed. There are men of the same spirit today, who are blinded by error, and yet they flatter themselves that they are right, and that all who differ from them are in the wrong.
7 The man who had been healed entered into no controversy with his accusers. He simply answered, “He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.” The Pharisees, pretending ignorance, still urged, “What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?” It was their policy to question and cavil, that they might perplex and entangle him, and lead him to doubt, or else cast discredit upon his testimony.
8 When the Jews were informed that it was Jesus of Nazareth who had performed the miracle of healing, they sought to put him to death, “because he had done these things on the Sabbath day.” To their charges, Jesus calmly replied, “‘My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.’ Through the operations of nature, and by the ministration of angels, God is constantly working to sustain and bless humanity. I am working in perfect harmony with my Father.” This answer furnished another pretext to condemn him. Murder was in their hearts, and they waited only for a plausible excuse to take his life. But Jesus steadily continues to assert his true position. “The Son,” he says, “can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth.”
9 Ample evidence had been presented that Jesus was the promised Messiah; yet all who desired to doubt found opportunity. God works through whom he will, by ways and means of his own choosing; but there are ever some to act the part of the criticising Pharisees, who could make the healing of a poor sufferer the occasion of a murderous outbreak. They cannot deny that the power of God is manifested through his servants; but still in some points the work does not accord with their judgment, and if they can find but the semblance of an excuse, they are free to question, doubt, and oppose.
10 Unbelief will always find an excuse for its existence. If men could criticise and condemn the Saviour’s work, when they had such evidence of divine power as the miracle at Bethesda, can we wonder that they criticise and condemn today? God would have men believe, not because there is no possibility of doubt, but because there is abundant evidence upon which to base an intelligent faith.
11 Christ bade the Pharisees, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.” The Jewish teachers professed to expound the word of God; but had they prayerfully studied and rightly understood its teachings, they would not have substituted their own traditions for the divine law.
12 Jesus continued; “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life.” “Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” The word of God is slighted and looked upon with distrust for the same reason as was its Author—because it reproves and condemns sin. Many who are unwilling to obey its requirements, endeavor to overthrow its authority. They read the Bible, or listen to its truths as presented from the sacred desk, merely to find fault with the Scriptures or with the sermon. Not a few become infidels, simply through their willful neglect of duty. Others are led to adopt skeptical principles from pride or indolence. They do not love close application, and will not put forth the effort necessary to accomplish anything noble or really useful; but they desire to be thought sharp and critical, to secure a reputation for superior wisdom. Turning their attention to the Bible, they find much which the finite mind, unenlightened by wisdom from above, is powerless to comprehend. Here is a field for the display of their talents, where they can gain a reputation for wit and sharpness without much effort; and they begin to express their doubts and cavilings.
13 These scoffers may utter many sharp, witty, apt things; but the “poison of asps is under their lips.” The father of lies lends them his power and his Satanic cunning. Christians should avoid controversy with these men. We may feel that we are in no danger from their influence; but others will gather about to listen, and some soul may be led into the path of doubt and skepticism. Treat them kindly, but give them no opportunity to parade their infidelity. Give no place for Satan to insinuate his presence. Do not take one step on the enemy’s ground.
14 God would have his people shun the society of infidels, atheists, and spiritualists. He has warned us of their character and their fate: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” “The transgressors shall be destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off.”
15 The great adversary will attempt to overthrow the faith of every follower of Christ. To some he appears as a roaring lion; to others he comes clothed in angel garments, his voice subdued to the gentlest whisper. Our only safety is in clinging with unwavering faith to the word of God, and promptly and resolutely shunning whatever that word condemns, no matter how pleasing its appearance or how specious its pretenses. Though the truth of God may be to the “Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness,” to them that believe it is the “power of God and the wisdom of God;” for “wisdom is justified of her children.”
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1 “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
2 God, as the supreme ruler of the universe has ever required prompt and unquestioning obedience. Even Christ, in the days of his flesh, was obedient to the law of the Father. Through the inspired psalmist he declares: “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;” “burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” But men are lulled to sleep by the deceptions of Satan, who suggests excuses and conquers their scruples, saying, as he said to Eve in the garden, “Ye shall not surely die.” They forget that the word of the Lord is steadfast, and that every transgression will receive a “just recompense of reward.”
3 The Lord made a covenant with Abraham and his seed, and gave them the right [rite] of circumcision as a token that he had separated them from all nations as his peculiar treasure. Had the descendants of Abraham faithfully kept this covenant, they would have escaped a great temptation to indulge in the sinful practices of other nations, and would not have been seduced into idolatry. By mingling with idolaters, they lost, to a great extent, their peculiar, holy character. To punish them, the Lord brought a famine upon their land, which compelled them to go down into Egypt to preserve their lives. The Lord suffered them to be oppressed by the Egyptians; but because of his covenant with Abraham, he did not forsake his people. He gave them an opportunity to turn to him in their distress, choose his righteous and merciful government, and obey his requirements.
4 The Lord heard the cries of his people in the land of their captivity, and delivered them, that they might be free to serve him. After they had left Egypt, and the waters of the Red Sea had been divided before them, he proved them, to see if they would trust in Him who by signs and wonders had delivered them from the house of bondage. But they failed to endure the trial. They murmured against God because of the difficulties in the way, and wished to return again to Egypt. Because of their dissatisfied, impatient, and rebellious spirit, they wandered for forty years in the wilderness. But the Lord was not chargeable with this delay in possessing Canaan. He was more grieved than they because he could not bring them into immediate possession of the promised land, and thus display before all nations his mighty power in the deliverance of his people. With their distrust of God, with their pride and unbelief, they were not prepared to enter Canaan. They would in no way represent that people whose God is the Lord; for they did not bear his character of purity, goodness, and benevolence.
5 The children of Israel forfeited the divine favor by their disobedience. Had they submitted to the authority of God, as a nation being governed by his judgments, and as individuals walking in his ordinances, they would have been a prosperous, holy, happy people. By their own perversity of spirit, the Israelites made it impossible for God to manifest his power in protecting them from the nations that opposed their passage to Canaan. When those who had been chosen of God as his peculiar people, who had witnessed so many displays of his greatness and the majesty of his power, imitated the iniquities of the heathen, their guilt was as much greater than that of the idolatrous nations as were their privileges. Not one of the good things that God had promised to his people would have failed, had they complied with the conditions upon which these blessings were to be bestowed; but God could not sanction sin, nor protect iniquity.
6 The history of the children of Israel is written for our admonition. We are probationers, as they were. God has given us his commandments, as he gave them to his people anciently. We may become strong in the strength of Israel’s God, if we will believe and obey his word. But if we are disobedient, doubting, and rebellious, as were the multitudes who fell in the wilderness, we shall be found unworthy to possess those mansions which Christ has gone to prepare for his people.
7 Through Samuel, God commanded Saul to go and smite the Amalekites, and utterly destroy all their possessions. But Saul only partially obeyed the command; he destroyed the inferior cattle, but reserved the best, and spared the wicked king. The next day he met the prophet Samuel, and greeted him with flattering self-congratulations. Said he, Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” But the prophet immediately responded, “What meaneth then the bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”
8 Saul was confused, and sought to shirk responsibility by answering, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” Samuel reproved the king, reminding him of the explicit command of God directing him to destroy all things belonging to Amalek. He pointed out Saul’s transgression, and declared that he had disobeyed the Lord. But Saul refused to acknowledge that he had done wrong, and again excused his sin by pleading that he had reserved the best of the cattle to sacrifice unto the Lord.
9 The king’s persistency in refusing to see and confess his sin grieved Samuel to the heart. He sorrowfully asked, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offering and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” “Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” And for his transgression, the kingdom of Israel was rent from the hands of Saul, and given to a neighbor that was better than he, even David, the son of Jesse.
10 God is no less particular now than he was in ancient times. His eye is upon all his people, and over all the work of their hands. He will accept of no partial obedience; he will sanction no compromise with self. Nor will he suffer those who disobey his word to go unpunished. Though he may bear long with the transgressor, retribution will surely come at last.
11 God spoke to the children of Israel by the mouths of prophets and apostles; but there never was a time when men were more fully informed than they now are concerning his will and the course he would have them pursue. But will they profit by his teachings? Will they receive his reproofs and heed the warnings?
12 Disobedience hardens the heart and deadens the conscience of the guilty, and it also tends to corrupt the faith of others. That which at first looks very wrong to them, gradually loses this appearance, till finally they question whether it is really sin, and unconsciously fall into the same error. When a duty presents itself, we should not delay to meet its demands. Delay gives time for doubts to arise, unbelief creeps in, the judgment is perverted, the understanding darkened; and at length the reproofs of God’s Spirit do not reach the heart of the deluded one, who has become so blinded as to feel that they cannot possibly be intended for him or apply to his case.
13 Precious probationary time is passing, and few realize its worth. The golden hours are squandered in worldly pursuits, in pleasure, in absolute sin, while a preparation for eternity, the great object for which they were given, is entirely overlooked. The law of God is slighted and forgotten; yet its precepts are none the less binding, and every transgression will receive its merited punishment. For purpose of worldly gain men desecrate the Sabbath; yet the claims of that holy day are not abrogated or lessened. God’s command is clear and unquestionable on this point. He has peremptorily forbidden us to labor on the Sabbath; he has set it apart as a day sanctified to himself.
14 Those who would walk in the path of obedience to God’s commandments will encounter many hindrances. There are strong and subtle influences that bind them to the ways of the world; but the power of the Lord can break these chains. He will remove these obstacles from before the feet of his faithful, humble children, or give them strength and courage to conquer every difficulty, if they earnestly beseech his help. All hindrances will vanish before an earnest desire and persistent effort to do the will of God. Light from Heaven will illuminate the pathway of those who, no matter what trials and perplexities they may encounter, go forward in the way of obedience, looking to Jesus for help and guidance.
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1 The law of God is changeless. For this reason, Christ died, taking upon himself the guilt of the transgressor, and making it possible for every penitent, repenting sinner to take hold of his strength, and through him to make peace with the offended Lawgiver.
2 “Sin is the transgression of the law,” and “the wages of sin is death.” It was sin that brought death into the world. Had there been no sin, there would have been no death. Christ died as the sinner’s substitute, to save him from the penalty of his disobedience. Could the law of God have been changed or abolished, Christ need not have died; for death was not necessary in order to abolish the law. The fact that God spared not his own sinless, beloved Son from the penalty he pledged himself to bear as the sinner’s substitute, is the most telling argument that could be produced to show that the claims of his law will not be released, even in the slightest degree, to save the transgressor. So in the death of Christ we have evidence, not only of God’s love for sinful man, but of the changeless character of his law. The law could not be abolished; one precept could not be altered to save the sinner and meet man in his fallen condition; but God so loved the world that he gave his Son to suffer the penalty of its transgression in the sinner’s stead.
3 It is by grace that the sinner is saved, being justified freely by the blood of Christ. But Christ did not die to save the sinner in his sins. The whole world is condemned as guilty before God, for they are transgressors of his holy law; and they will certainly perish unless they repent, turn from their disobedience, and through faith in Christ claim the merits of his precious blood. The sin of Adam and Eve lost holy Eden for themselves and their posterity, and those who continue to live in the transgression of God’s law will never regain the lost paradise. But through the grace of Christ man may render acceptable obedience, and gain a home in the beautiful Eden restored.
4 There are some who do not understand the plan of redemption, but make the death of Christ an argument to prove that the law of God is abolished. Men who claim to be teachers of the people blind the eyes of the ignorant by blending the moral law with the ceremonial, and using the texts which speak of the ceremonial law to prove that the moral law has been abolished. This is a perversion of the Scriptures. There are two distinct laws brought to view. One is the law of types and shadows, which reached to the time of Christ, and ceased when type met antitype in his death. The other is the law of Jehovah, and is as abiding and changeless as his eternal throne. After the crucifixion, it was a denial of Christ for the Jews to continue to offer the burnt offerings and sacrifices which were typical of his death. It was saying to the world that they looked for a Redeemer to come, and had no faith in Him who had given his life for the sins of the world. Hence the ceremonial law ceased to be of force at the death of Christ.
5 The gospel of Christ reflects glory upon the Jewish age. It sheds light upon the whole Jewish economy, and gives significance to the ceremonial law. The tabernacle, or temple, of God on earth was a pattern of the original in Heaven. All the ceremonies of the Jewish law were prophetic, typical of mysteries in the plan of redemption. The rites and ceremonies of the law were given by Christ himself, who, enshrouded in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, was the leader of the hosts of Israel; and this law should be treated with great respect, for it is sacred. Even after it was no longer to be observed, Paul presented it before the Jews in its true position and value, showing its place in the plan of redemption and its relation to the work of Christ; and the great apostle pronounces this law glorious, worthy of its divine Originator. That which was to be done away was glorious, but it was not the law instituted by God for the government of his family in Heaven and on earth; for as long as the heavens shall remain, so long shall the law of the Lord endure.
6 Christ came to teach men the way of salvation; and we might expect that when the shadowy service was no longer of any value, if the law of ten commandments were no longer binding, he would declare its abrogation. If the Old-Testament Scriptures were no longer to be regarded as a guide for Christians, he would make known the fact. But this was not the work of Him who came to seek and to save that which was lost. In his memorable sermon on the mount, in which he announced to his followers the object of his mission, he expressly declared the perpetuity of the moral law His solemn warnings to the neglecters and despisers of the law of God, echo down even to our time in the words: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven.”
7 These are the words of the great Teacher, but they are often perverted, and made to mean something altogether different from the lesson he designed to give to his disciples, and through them to all who should believe on his name. He came to fulfill the demands of the law, to magnify and make it honorable, to show to all that God will not remit the penalty of its transgression. The Most High will fulfill his word; it shall not return unto him void.
8 After his resurrection, when Jesus revealed himself to the two disciples who were on the way to Emmaus and to those assembled in Jerusalem, he did not point to the mighty works which he had done, to revive their faith in him as the promised Messiah; but he went back to Moses and the prophets, and explained the scriptures concerning himself. Holy prophets had foretold the manner of his birth, the events of his life, his mission, and his death and resurrection; and Jesus impressed upon his disciples the fact that in his life and death these prophecies had met their fulfillment. Hope revived in the hearts of the disciples, as for them the words of the prophets were clothed with new life and power, and they were ready to accept Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, the long-expected Messiah.
9 There is no discord between the Old Testament and the New. In the Old Testament we find the gospel of a coming Saviour; in the New Testament we have the gospel of a Saviour revealed as the prophecies had foretold. While the Old Testament is constantly pointing forward to the true offering, the New Testament shows that the Saviour prefigured by the typical offerings has come. The dim glory of the Jewish age has been succeeded by the brighter, clearer glory of the Christian age. But not once has Christ stated, that his coming destroyed the claims of God’s law. On the contrary, in the very last message to his church, by way of Patmos, he pronounces a benediction upon those who keep his Father’s law: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
10 The world is full of evidences of the greatness, majesty, and benevolence of God; but the strongest evidence of his love for fallen man is contained in the gift of his Son, who took the nature of man, descended to the office of a servant, tasted life’s bitterest pain, and even died a terrible and ignominious death, that through him we might be restored to obedience and the favor of God, and gain eternal life. Christ, as our exemplar, kept his Father’s law. As he overcame, so may we. And he has promised: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
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1 After the ascension of Christ, when his followers no longer enjoyed his personal presence and instruction, his disciples took up the work where he left it; and the words of truth, as they received them from Him who spake as never man spake, have come down to us clothed with divine power. Paul declared that he had taught the Ephesians “publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peter and the other apostles preached the same gospel.
2 Why should the apostles teach repentance toward God?—Because the sinner is in trouble with the Father. He has transgressed the law; he must see his sin, and repent. What is his next work?—To look to Jesus, whose blood alone can cleanse from all sin. Faith in Christ is necessary; for there is no saving quality in law. The law condemns, but it cannot pardon the transgressor. The sinner must depend on the merits of the blood of Christ. “Let him take hold of my strength,” says our merciful Redeemer, “that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me.” Our Lord declared that he would love most to whom most was forgiven; and he only will feel that he needs forgiveness who sees himself as he is, defiled by sin, a transgressor of God’s holy law. He who has the fullest conviction of the sacred claims of the law, will most clearly see the enormity of his offenses, and will feel that he is indeed forgiven much.
3 We are nearing the close of time; and a broader, clearer light than others have been favored with shines upon us. The mists are rolling away, and if we are humble students of the divine word, its truths will be clearly revealed to us. But Satan and his host are warring against the commandments of God as never before. Every attempt is made to blind men’s eyes to the truth. If it were possible, even the elect would be deceived. This is no common deception. Satan’s great success consists in keeping men in ignorance of his devices; for then, through his subtlety, he can confuse the minds of the unwary, and, as it were, lead them blindfolded. He is close on the track of all who make profession of Bible truth. He is constantly planning their overthrow, and his temptations are soliciting them on every hand.
4 If there is one in a position to have a controlling influence over others, Satan works in a masterly manner to confuse that man’s mind, and make right appear wrong, and wrong right. His suggestions are always designed to lessen the importance of God’s requirements, and to set the mind at rest while the daily walk is contrary to the divine law, until finally the victim of his delusions flatters himself that he is walking with God, while he is all the time going contrary to his law.
5 Such persons think they have faith; but it is presumption. The great adversary has woven a snare for their feet; and when once they become entangled, he has no lack of agencies to involve them still more deeply in his toils. Thus the deception grows stronger and stronger until souls are involved in irretrievable ruin.
6 As Satan, the god of this world, tempted Christ in the wilderness, so he will tempt every son and daughter of Adam. Our faith will be proved, our motives and principles will be tested; and if we have not a daily, living experience in the truth, and a union with Christ, we shall be swept away from our steadfastness into the error of the wicked.
7 If we could always remember that Satan comes to us in disguise, his motives concealed, and he himself clad in garments of light, we would be on our guard, and would not fall a prey to his devices. A defense has been furnished us. Says the apostle: “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
8 This is a safe armor, but it is not safer than we need; for the apostle continues: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” We should study the nature, character, and extent of this spiritual wickedness in high places, lest we become the dupes of the powers of darkness. But how difficult it is to awaken minds to realize the continual activity and great earnestness of our wily foe, notwithstanding the warnings and cautions of the Bible, and the experience of many who have been overthrown by his subtlety. The testimony loses its force; the warning passes out of the mind. Men cease to watch and pray; they do not solicit the aid of holy angels, who would lift up for them a standard against the enemy.
9 When this earth’s history shall close, there will be only two divisions,—the righteous and the wicked. Every man, woman, and child will be found in one of these two armies. Jesus will be the leader of the righteous, and Satan of the opposing hosts. The angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, are rebels against the law of God, and enemies to all who love and obey his commandments; and all who are breaking, and teaching others to break, the law of God, the foundation of his government in Heaven and on earth, are co-operating with these fallen angels in their work, and are marshaled under the same chief, who directs their operations in opposition to the government of God. These will seek to strengthen their forces by gathering as many as possible into their ranks; and they will annoy and harass, falsify and misrepresent, all whom they cannot influence to join them in their work.
10 When Christ was upon the earth, there were some who bitterly opposed him. They did not like his teaching; his holy life was a rebuke to them. The apostles had the same spirit of opposition to meet. Spies were upon the track of these early preachers of righteousness, who caught up every word where there was the least chance to wrest the meaning. Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, was an especial object of wrath. His work and its results were falsely stated. His enemies sought to excite the malice of both Jews and Gentiles; and had it not been for the care of God, through the ministration of holy angels, his life would have been sacrificed long before it was, and his work cut short.
11 God has a people in the world now, whom he has set for the defense of his law; and we need not be surprised, or in any way discouraged, if we have to meet the same spirit of enmity. Christ said to the religious teachers in his day: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Why was this woe pronounced upon them? Was it because they kept the law of God?—No; “For ye shut up the kingdom of Heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” There are just such teachers now. They will not obey the plainest requirements of the word of God; and after they have turned from the light themselves, they use all their influence to lead others to reject it also. They will not enter the path of obedience, and they are very earnest to hedge up the way that others may not enter.
12 They pervert the Scriptures, even teaching that it is a denial of Christ to keep the moral law. Error is cherished as precious light, while plain truth, so clear and pointed in the word of God, marking out the course they should pursue, is regarded as an idle tale. They may be professedly serving Christ; but they have changed masters, and are wholly on the enemy’s side. The reason is given by the apostle, when he says: “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” These false teachers manifest the same spirit toward those who keep the commandments of God that the scribes and Pharisees manifested toward Christ.
13 Some who are unacquainted with the Bible think that what the ministers tell them must be true. They do not, like the noble Bereans, search the Scriptures for themselves; but they accept the statements of those who have studied the word of God, not to learn the truth, but to sustain false doctrines, to justify their own theories. Many times these false theories are a jumble of inconsistencies; and if men would use their reason, and take the Bible as it reads, they would see the absurdity of their positions. The plain “Thus saith the Lord,” would dispel their errors, as the mist is dispelled by the glories of the rising sun.
14 As Protestants, the Bible, and the Bible alone, is the foundation of our faith; but by many “the Fathers” are quoted as authority. They do not come as humble learners in the school of Christ, saying, “Lord, what I know not, teach me. ‘Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.’”
15 Says the wise man: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Men may close their eyes to the plainest truths in the word of God, they may trample his law under their feet; but the law, instituted in the beginning, proclaimed from Sinai, and engraven on tables of stone, will judge them in the last day.
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1 In an age like ours, in which iniquity abounds, and God’s character and his law are alike regarded with indifference, and even contempt, special pains should be taken to teach the youth to study and to reverence and obey the divine will as revealed to man. Through the medium of the press, knowledge of every kind is placed within the reach of all; and yet how large a proportion in every community are depraved in morals, and superficial in mental attainments . This is because the words of God to men, which should receive our first attention, are neglected for the utterances of human wisdom. The fear of the Lord is fading from the minds of the youth because of their neglect of Bible study. If all, both old and young, would become Bible readers and students, we should see a different state of things.
2 In our schools and colleges, moral and religious influences should not be put in the background. The study of the sciences, taken alone, cannot give students the discipline they need. A broader foundation must be laid. The student must receive such discipline as will afford the fullest and noblest development of character. An education is needed that will demand from teachers and principal such thought and effort as mere instruction in the sciences does not require.
3 The young should every day be impressed with a sense of their obligation to God. His law is continually violated, even by the children of religious parents. As a general thing the youth have but very little moral strength, because their education in this direction has been neglected; and a knowledge of the character of God, and of our obligations to him should not be regarded as of minor importance.
4 Morality and religion should receive special attention in our educational institutions; for the religion of the Bible is the only safeguard of the young. This is the education that is so much needed at the present time.
5 If morality and religion are to live in a school, it must be through a knowledge of God’s word. As an educating power, the Bible is without a rival. This sacred word is the will of God revealed to men, and its study will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration. Here we learn what God requires of the creatures formed in his image. Here we learn how to improve the present life so as to secure the future, immortal life. Here we may hold communion with patriarchs and prophets, and listen to the voice of the Eternal as he speaks with men. Here we may behold the Majesty of the Heavens, as he humbles himself to become our substitute and surety, to cope single-handed with the powers of darkness, and to gain the victory in our behalf. A reverent contemplation of such themes as these, cannot fail to soften, purify, and ennoble the heart, and, at the same time, to inspire the mind with new strength and vigor. No other book can satisfy the questionings of the mind and the cravings of the heart.
6 A clear conception of what God is, and what he requires us to be, will give us humble views of self. He who studies the sacred word until he is imbued with its sacred spirit, will learn that human intellect is not omnipotent; that without the help that none but God can give, human strength and wisdom are but weakness and ignorance.
7 Connected with God, every teacher will exert an influence to lead his pupils to study God’s word and to obey his law. He will direct their minds to the contemplation of eternal interests, opening before them vast fields of thought, grand and ennobling themes, which the most vigorous intellect may put forth all its powers to grasp, and yet feel that there is an infinity beyond. How important it is, then, that teachers be persons capable of exerting a right influence; that they be men and women of religious experience, daily receiving divine light to impart to their pupils.
8 The object of our institutions of learning is to educate and train young men and women for lives of usefulness. This can only be accomplished by ever keeping before them their high and holy calling, the exalted claims which God has upon them, and by properly cultivating the mind and talents to meet the high standard of God’s word. We cannot over-estimate the importance of having a right class of educators. They should be men and women of irreproachable morals, who have stability of character, a clear conception of duty, and a depth of experience which will enable them to guide, counsel, and properly educate the youth under their care.
9 Everything connected with the work and influence of educators of youth is of importance. If they are lax in morals, if they are trifling in their deportment, if they are wanting in devotion, if they are not spiritual, the same want will be seen in the students under their care. If teachers bear the stamp of a pampered, petted life, if their parents have neglected the work of properly bringing them up, and educating them to meet the great moral standard of God’s law, to bow in obedience to its claims, they will not be inclined to see the necessity of strict discipline in our schools, of yielding obedience to the ruler themselves, and thus giving a worthy example to their students. Those who have never been taught to yield to discipline, to be subordinate to authority, who have been left to their own head, their own master, will not be the ones to wisely discipline others, to preserve order in the school-room, and require obedience to the laws of the school. If this work is left to them, any amount of disorder and irregularity will be allowed to come in and demoralize the school.
10 Very much is at stake. Teachers should rule with all wisdom, observing invariably the laws of Christian politeness, courtesy, and kindness, at the same time possessing a firmness and dignity that will not be trampled upon. Educators should be men and women who value the souls of those placed under their charge; they are all to be treated as younger members of the Lord’s family, as the purchase of the blood of Christ, his property. Teachers should not manifest preferences, nor have pets; but they should treat all with equity, without partiality. Life and immortality are brought to light in the gospel, and for every one who believes in Christ there is an immortal life in the future world. This fact gives dignity to every human being. All the instruction and every act of the teacher should be with the view of so educating the pupils under his charge as to not disappoint the expectations of Christ in these youth; for they are the purchase of his blood.
11 Teachers should ever bear in mind that in their lives, and characters, they should represent Christ’s character, exemplifying his meekness, lowliness, and purity. They should always have one aim, one object in life,—the perfection of character according to the Divine Model, and the purpose to so teach, so educate, so labor, that they will, through the Mighty Helper, present every youth under their charge perfect in Christ Jesus. They may fail in some instances; for not all the youth will be subordinate. Some have so long chosen their own wills, that they will act without reference to God or man, they will not bring their lives within the line of law or duty. Self, undisciplined, rough, coarse and untamable, will seek for the mastery; and when the will is crossed they will lose self-control, and take the bit in their own mouth. Persuasion, counsel, prayers, entreaties are of no account with them. They are as unreasonable as the inebriate, and Satan controls their thoughts and their actions. The demon within them is enraged and they are as verily under his control as the person whose reason is dethroned by the intoxicating glass.
12 When these persons come to a better state of mind, they will consider how much they have lost. In the place of bruising Satan under their feet, they have opened the door of their lips and permitted him to control their tongues; they have opened the door of their minds and permitted him to take possession of them; they opened the door of their hearts and permitted him to occupy the highest seat in the soul temple. After these inglorious defeats, they will ever carry the wounds and scars with them. Even if Christ has mercy upon them, and pardons their sins, the scars remain; they were conquered instead of conquering. In such conflicts with the enemy they are taken captives by Satan at his will.
13 Many times parents are justly censurable for the failures of their children. They have neglected their duty, and the teacher should not be expected to do the parent’s work. The parents have the first and most favorable opportunity to control and train their children, when the spirit is teachable, and the mind and heart easily impressed. But sometimes they neglect these golden opportunities, and permit their children to follow their own will until they become hardened in an evil course; and then they send these undisciplined children to school, to receive the training which should have been given them at home. If the teachers succeed in reforming these wayward youth, they receive but little credit; but if the youth choose the society of the evil-disposed, and go on from bad to worse, the teachers are censured, and the school is denounced.
14 In our conversation one with another, our influence is constantly at work. Every one is dependent upon others, and there are obligations resting upon all,—something every day to receive, something to impart. By the human associations around us we are bound to one another, as by cords, in one great web of mutual obligations. These attachments are firm and strong and genuine. We may ignore or abuse them, but we cannot possibly break one of them. We may be disloyal to every one of them, but they exist all the same, and our accountability and responsibility are the same. Every teacher should impress these principles upon all who are under his influence. If the teacher is a Christian, he will reveal these principles in his every-day life. As one connected with God, as a representative of Jesus Christ, he will not require of the student that which he does not exemplify in his own life,—purity, impartiality, nobility of soul. He may then, as Christ’s servant, teach all under his charge what is really a Christian life.
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1 Just before his death, Joshua called upon the children of Israel to decide whether or not they would be loyal to the God of Heaven. Said he, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” The decision made by Israel that day is one that all are called upon to make; for there are still rival powers in the world. Let us consider the characters of these powers that are claiming the homage of men.
2 Christ, the loved commander of the hosts of Heaven, left the world of glory and the honor that he had with the Father, and came to this earth to live as a man among men, that he might rescue man from the pit of destruction into which he had fallen. He might have appeared with all the display of royalty, attended by ten thousand times ten thousand of his ministering angels; but he did not do this. He humbled himself, not only to take our nature, but to take upon him the form of a servant, to become a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He came to do good, to help the needy and the distressed; to heal the sick; to speak peace to the suffering; to deliver those whom Satan was afflicting; to bring redemption to all who would accept the Heaven-sent blessing. Such is the character of Him who says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
3 There is another who claims to be the prince of this world; and very few have any idea of his activity and subtlety. He seeks the destruction of the children of men; the ruin of souls is his delight and his only employment. But his step is noiseless, his movements stealthy, and his batteries masked. He has so concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists, much less can they be convinced of his amazing malignity, activity, and power. If he were to show himself openly in his true character, he would arouse the Christian’s dormant energies, and send him to God in prayer.
4 Many have forgotten the past record of our old adversary; soon they will cease to regard him as an enemy at all, but will look upon him as a friend, one who is doing a good work. Under his specious, bewitching influence they will obey the worst impulses of the human heart, and yet believe that God is leading them. Could their eyes be opened to distinguish their captain, they would see that they are not serving God, but the enemy of all righteousness. They would see that the independence of which they boast is one of the heaviest fetters that Satan can rivet on unbalanced minds.
5 When Christ was in the world, Satan was constantly working to turn men’s minds from him; and he succeeded to a great degree, because the natural heart chooses to do evil rather than good. There was an unceasing battle between Satan and his angels, and Christ and his angels. Our Saviour himself encountered this wily foe in the wilderness of temptation. During the forty days and nights of Christ’s long fast, Satan, concealing his real character, sought by every means which he could devise, to overcome the Saviour of the world. He even disguised himself as an angel of light, a Heaven-sent friend, and offered to show him an easier way to gain his object than the path of trial and suffering upon which he had entered. But Jesus repulsed the enemy, and forced him to depart, a conquered foe.
6 And now Satan comes with his temptations to the children of men, who are often ignorant of his devices, and here he has better success. One of his most successful devices is to keep men in ignorance of his devices; for they will not be on their guard against an enemy of whose existence they are ignorant. It is not very long since I was asked, “Do you believe in a personal devil?” “I do,” was the reply. “Well,” rejoined the questioner, “I do not believe that there is any such being; our evil thoughts and impulses are all the devil we know anything about!” “But,” I asked, “who suggests these thoughts? Whence do they originate, if not from Satan?”
7 Christian friends, do not be deceived by the fast-spreading delusion that Satan has no existence. Just as surely as we have a personal Saviour, we have also a personal adversary, cruel and cunning, who ever watches our steps, and plots to lead us astray. Wherever the opinion is entertained that he does not exist, there he is most busy. When we least suspect his presence, he is gaining advantage over us. I feel alarmed as I see so many yielding to his power while they know it not. Did they but see their danger, they would flee to Christ, the sinner’s refuge. They would resist the wiles of the adversary. They would pray much for wisdom, grace, and strength, and would seek most earnestly to overcome every evil trait of character. They would walk in the path that Jesus trod, and shun that which Satan urges them to choose.
8 The tempter often whispers that the Christian life is one of exaction, of rigorous duties; that it is hard to be on the watch continually, and there is no need of being so particular. It was thus that he deceived and overthrew Eve in Eden, telling her that God’s commands were arbitrary and unjust, given to prevent man from becoming free and exalted, like himself. His object is the same now that it was then. He desires to deceive and ruin us.
9 It is true that our Saviour represents his service as a yoke, and the Christian life as one of burden-bearing; yet contrasting these with the cruel power of Satan and the burdens imposed by sin, he exclaims, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” If we try to meet the responsibilities of the Christian life and to perform its duties without Jesus as a helper, the yoke is galling, and the burden intolerably heavy. But it is not necessary that we should do this. We should study the life of Christ, cherish his spirit, and copy his example; then we shall be like him, and his peace will rule in our hearts. And the more we become like him, the more clearly shall we discern the temptations of Satan, and the more successfully resist his power.
10 Jesus invites us: “Come unto me, and I will give you rest.” “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” True happiness is to be found, not in self-indulgence and self-pleasing, but in learning of Christ, taking his yoke, and bearing his burden. Those who trust to their own wisdom and follow their own ways, go complaining at every step, because the burden which selfishness imposes upon them is so heavy and its yoke so galling. Selfishness cannot exist in a heart where Christ dwells; if cherished, it will crowd out everything else. It will lead persons to follow inclination rather than duty, to make self the subject of thought, and to gratify and indulge themselves, instead of seeking to be a blessing to others. Their wants, their pleasures, must come before everything else. In all this they exemplify the spirit of Satan. By their words and deeds they represent his character, instead of the character of Christ.
11 All this might be changed; for the grace of Christ is sufficient, if they would come to him. If they would lay off their self-imposed burden, renounce their allegiance to Satan, and take the burden which Jesus gives them, and let his yoke bind them to him in willing service, hope and joy would spring up in their hearts.
12 Jesus loves the purchase of his blood, and he longs to see them possess the peace which he alone can impart. He bids them learn of him meekness and lowliness of heart. This precious grace is rarely seen at the present day, even in those who profess to be Christians. Their own ways seem right in their eyes. In accepting the name of Christ, they do not accept his character, or submit to wear his yoke; therefore they know nothing of the joy and peace to be found in his service.
13 If we have become the disciples of Christ, we shall be learning of him—every day learning how to overcome some unlovely trait of character, every day copying his example, and coming a little nearer the pattern. If we are ever to inherit those mansions that he has gone to prepare for us, we must here be forming characters in accordance with our high destiny,—characters that will not mar the bliss of Heaven.
14 We now have the privilege of deciding whether we will be numbered with the servants of Christ or the servants of Satan; and every day we show by our conduct whose service we have chosen. If we are wise, we shall decide as did Joshua: “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”
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1 There is at the present time an unparalleled interest in the subject of education. The wide diffusion of knowledge through the agency of the press, placing the means of self-culture within the reach of all, has awakened a general desire for mental improvement. But while we gratefully acknowledge our increased educational facilities, we should not ignore the defects in our present school systems. In many cases, physical as well as moral training has been neglected in the too eager desire to secure intellectual culture; and the youth have left school with morals debased and physical powers enfeebled, with no knowledge of practical life, and little strength to perform its duties.
2 As these evils have come under my observation, the inquiry has arisen, Must our sons and daughters become moral and physical weaklings, in order to have the advantages afforded by an education in our schools? This should not be; and it need not be if teachers and students will but be true to the laws of nature, which are also the laws of God. A right education will make the youth strong, well-balanced men and women, by developing and calling into active exercise all the powers of mind and body. It will make them a blessing to the world; for it will enable them to attain a true and noble manhood and womanhood.
3 Many times students are so anxious to complete their education that they are not thorough in anything that they undertake. They do not understand the true object of education, and so fail to take such a course as to secure this object. They apply themselves to the study of mathematics or the languages, while they neglect a study far more essential to happiness and success in life. Many who can explore the depths of the earth with the geologist, or traverse the heavens with the astronomer, take not the slightest interest in their own bodies. Others can correctly describe every organ of the body, and tell how many bones there are in the human frame, and yet they are as ignorant of the laws of health, and the cure of disease, as though life were controlled by blind fate, instead of definite and unvarying law.
4 Sound health lies at the very foundation of the student’s success. Without it, he can never see the fruition of his ambitions and his hopes. Hence a knowledge of the laws by which health is secured and preserved is of preeminent importance. The human body may be compared to nicely adjusted machinery, which needs care to keep it in running order. One part should not be subjected to constant wear and pressure, while another part is rusting from inaction. While the mind is taxed, the muscles also should have their proportion of exercise. Every young person should learn how to regulate his dietetic habits,—what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat. He should also learn how many hours may be spent in study, and how much time should be given to physical exercise.
5 It is a duty which every student owes to himself, to society, and to God, to properly regulate his habits of eating, sleeping, study, and exercise; but there are few who have the moral courage and the self-control to act from principle. The student who studies hard, sleeps and exercises little, and eats irregularly of an improper or inferior quality of food, is obtaining mental discipline at the expense of health and morals, of spirituality, and, it may be, of life itself.
6 Young persons are naturally active, and if they find no legitimate scope for their pent-up energies after the confinement of the schoolroom, they become restless and impatient of control; they are thus led to engage in the rude, unmanly sports that disgrace so many schools and colleges, and even to plunge into scenes of dissipation. And many who leave their homes innocent, are corrupted by their associations at school. Much could be done to obviate these evils, if every institution of learning would make provision for manual labor on the part of the students,—for actual practice in agriculture and the mechanic arts. Competent teachers should be provided to instruct the youth in various industrial pursuits, as well as in their studies in the school room. While a part of each day is devoted to mental improvement and physical labor, devotional exercises and the study of the Scriptures should not be overlooked.
7 Students trained in this manner would have habits of self-reliance, firmness, and perseverance, and would be prepared to engage successfully in the practical duties of life. They would have courage and determination to surmount obstacles, and moral stamina to resist evil influences.
8 If young persons can have but one set of faculties disciplined, which is most important, the study of the sciences, with the disadvantages to health and morals under which such knowledge is usually obtained, or a thorough training in practical duties, with sound morals and good physical development? In most cases both may be secured if parents will take a little pains; but if both cannot be had, we would unhesitatingly decide in favor of the latter.
9 Where useful labor is combined with study, there is no need of gymnastic exercises; and much more benefit is derived from work performed in the open air than from indoor exercise. The farmer and the mechanic each have physical exercise; yet the farmer is much the healthier of the two, for nothing short of the invigorating air and sunshine will fully meet the wants of the system. The farmer finds in his labor all the movements that were ever practiced in the gymnasium. And his movement room is the open fields; the canopy of heaven is its roof, and the solid earth its floor. A farmer who is temperate in all his habits usually enjoys good health. His work is pleasant; and his vigorous exercise causes full, deep, and strong inspirations and exhalations, which expand the lungs and purify the blood, sending the warm current of life bounding through arteries and veins.
10 In what contrast to the habits of the active farmer are those of the student who neglects physical exercise. The student sits day after day in a close room, bending over his desk or table, his chest contracted, his lungs crowded. His brain is taxed to the utmost, while his body is inactive. He cannot take full, deep inspirations; his blood moves sluggishly; his feet are cold, his head hot. How can such a person have health? It is not hard study that is destroying the health of students, so much as it is their disregard of nature’s laws. Let them take regular exercise that will cause them to breathe deep and full, and they will soon feel that they have a new hold on life.
11 Young ladies, too, should be taught how to work. Experienced teachers should be employed to instruct them in the mysteries of the kitchen. A knowledge of domestic duties is beyond price to every woman. There are families without number whose happiness is wrecked by the inefficiency of the wife and mother. It is not so important that girls learn painting, fancy work, music, or even the more solid branches of study, as it is that they learn to cut, make, and mend their own clothing, and how to prepare palatable and wholesome food. That was a wise father, who, when asked what he intended to do with his daughters, replied, “I intend to apprentice them to their excellent mother, that they may learn the art of improving time, and be fitted to become wives and mothers, heads of families, and useful members of society.”
12 Every young woman should be so educated that if called to fill the position of wife and mother, she may preside as a queen in her own domain. She should be fully competent to guide and instruct her children, and to direct her household affairs. It is her duty to understand the mechanism of the human body and the principles of hygiene, the matters of diet and dress, labor and recreation, and countless other things that intimately concern the well-being of her household. Many ladies, accounted well-educated, having graduated with honors at some institution of learning, are shamefully ignorant of the practical duties of life. They are destitute of the qualifications necessary for the proper regulation of the family, and hence essential to its happiness and well-being. They may talk of woman’s rights and her elevated sphere; yet they themselves fall far below the true sphere of woman.
13 Ignorance of useful employment is contrary to the design of God in the creation of man, and is by no means an essential characteristic of the true gentleman or lady. Idleness is sin, and ignorance of common duties is the result of folly,—a folly which the after-life will give ample occasion to bitterly regret.
14 “Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God,” will be the rule of life with students who desire to serve and honor God. Such students will preserve their integrity in the face of temptation; they will come from school with well-developed intellects, and with health of body and soul, and the world will be the better for their influence and labors.
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1 Paul writes to the Philippians: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” He admonishes his Hebrew brethren: “Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have; for He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” To the Corinthians he writes: “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.” These exhortations are needed; for naturally “all seek their own and not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” or their neighbors’.
2 In the end it does not profit any one to be selfish; for God marks all such acts, and he will render to every man according to his works. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly.”
3 Our mission in this world is to live for the good of others. And it is little things which test the character. It is the unpretending acts of daily self-denial, performed heartily and cheerfully, that God smiles upon. We should cherish love and forbearance, and should be a blessing to others by our forgetfulness of self and our care for their welfare.
4 Hospitality should be practiced. We should entertain those who need our care, and the benefit of our society and our homes, even though it be at some inconvenience. Some one must bear these necessary burdens; but many close their eyes to the good which they have opportunity to do for others, and by their neglect they lose the blessing which they might obtain, and those who have willing hearts, and who cheerfully make the cases of the needy their own, are burdened. The Lord has work enough to employ all his followers. All can show forth his glory if they will, but the majority refuse to make the necessary sacrifice. They profess faith, but have not works; and their faith is dead, being alone. They shun responsibilities and burdens, and will be rewarded as their works have been.
5 The work of the Lord is a great work, and wise men are needed to engage in it. God calls for earnest, unselfish, disinterested laborers, who will keep up the various branches of the work. Sacrifice, self-denial, toil, and disinterested benevolence characterized the life of Christ, who is our example in all things. He laid aside his glory, his high command, his honor, and his riches, and humbled himself to our necessities. The work and character of a true laborer will be in accordance with the life of Christ. We cannot equal the example, but we should copy it. Love for souls for whom our Lord made this great sacrifice should stimulate his people to self-denying effort for their salvation. When this spirit actuates ministers and people, their labors will be fruitful; for the power of God will be seen upon them in the gracious influences of his Holy Spirit.
6 God would have his people arouse, and summon strength and courage to surmount obstacles. He would have them, if need be, labor, as did the apostle Paul, in weariness, in painfulness, in watching, forgetting infirmities in the deep interest felt in souls for whom Christ died. Many could do a good work in his cause if they were consecrated, having no selfish interests of their own to serve.
7 All are required to have an unselfish interest in the work of God, to labor for its advancement, and to give of their means for its support. Anciently the covetousness of some led them to make stinted offerings, and to withhold that which the Lord required. This was recorded against them in Heaven, and they were cursed in their harvests and their flocks just in proportion as they had withheld from the cause of God. Some were visited with affliction in their families. God would not accept a stinted offering nor one that was lame. It must be without blemish, the best of their flocks, and the best fruits of their fields. And it must be a free-will offering, if they would have the blessing of the Lord rest upon their families and their possessions.
8 Hearts will be tested and proved by the calls for means. This is a constant, living test, and one that it will be hard for the naturally selfish and covetous to bear. It is a test that enables each one to understand his own heart, to see whether the love of the truth or the love of the world predominates.
9 When the young man came to Jesus, and asked him what he should do to gain eternal life, Jesus told him to keep the commandments. The young man declared that he had done this from his youth, and Jesus said to him: “One thing thou lackest. Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” The result was, that the young man went away sorrowful; “for he had great possessions.” There are many like this young man. They desire eternal life; but the true spirit of sacrifice, which alone is acceptable to God, they do not possess. They love the world better than they love the truth. They are not being fitted up and made ready for the kingdom of God; and because of their covetousness, the prospering hand of God will not be with them to bless their undertakings.
10 God is acquainted with every heart. Every selfish motive is known to him; and he suffers circumstances to arise to try the hearts of his professed people, to prove them, and develop character. The lives of the professed people of God should testify that they are sincere. Unless their faith is shown by their works, it is dead; and nothing but a living faith will save them in the great day of final accounts.
11 It is time for those who have large possessions to begin to work fast. They should not only lay by them in store as God is now prospering them, but as he has prospered them. In the days of the apostles, arrangements were made that all should share equally in the burdens of the church, according to their several abilities. They did not think it consistent that some should be eased and others burdened.
12 Those who, like Judas, have set their hearts on their earthly treasure, will complain as he did when calls are made for the cause of God. His heart coveted the costly ointment poured upon Jesus, and he sought to hide his selfishness under the disguise of a pious, conscientious regard for the poor. “Why,” he asked, “was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” He wished that he had the ointment in his possession; it would not thus be lavished upon the Saviour. He would sell it for money, and apply it to his own use.
13 As Judas brought up the poor as an excuse, so professed Christians whose hearts are covetous will seek to hide their selfishness under a pretended conscientiousness. They quote: “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” And they urge that these texts teach that they must be secret in their works of charity. They seem to have a conscientious desire to follow the Bible plan exactly, just as they understand it; but they entirely ignore the plain texts that enjoin liberal giving. The left hand does not know what the right hand does; for the right hand does nothing worthy of the notice of the left hand.
14 These persons do very little excusing themselves because they do not know how to give. But Jesus explained the matter so that there need be no misapprehension. “When thou doest thine alms,” he says, “do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily, I say unto you, they have their reward.” They gave to be regarded noble and generous by men. They received the praise they sought, and this was all the reward they would have. This lesson was designed to rebuke those who wished to receive glory of men. They gave large sums with this object in view, and the means given was often obtained by oppressing the hireling in his wages, and grinding the face of the poor.
15 Scripture testimony will harmonize when it is rightly understood. And our Saviour says: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” “By their fruits ye shall know them.” The good works of the children of God are the most effectual preaching that the unbeliever has. He thinks that there must be a strong motive to actuate the Christian to deny self, and use his means to benefit his fellowmen, and advance the cause of God. It is unlike the spirit of the world. Such fruits testify to the genuineness of Christianity.
16 “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
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1 The principle inculcated by the injunction, “Be ye kindly affectioned one to another,” lies at the very foundation of domestic happiness. Christian courtesy should reign in every household. It is cheap, but it has power to soften natures which would grow hard and rough without it. The cultivation of a uniform courtesy, a willingness to do by others as we would like them to do by us, would banish half the ills of life. The wife and mother may bind the hearts of her husband and children to her own by the strong chords of love, if in her intercourse with them she will manifest unvarying love in gentle words and courteous deportment.
2 Marked diversities of disposition and character frequently exist in the same family; for it is in the order of God that persons of varied temperament should associate together. When this is the case, each member of the household should sacredly regard the feelings, and respect the rights of the others. By this means mutual consideration and forbearance will be cultivated, prejudices will be softened, and rough points of character smoothed. Harmony may be secured, and the blending of the varied temperaments may be a benefit to each. Christian courtesy is the golden clasp uniting the members of the family in bonds of love that become closer and stronger every day.
3 In many cases homes are made unhappy by the useless repining of the wife and mother, who turns with distaste from the simple, homely tasks of her domestic life. She looks upon her cares and duties as hardships, and the ministrations which might be made pleasant and interesting become the merest drudgery.
4 Many a woman goes through the routine of her daily duties with fidelity and exactness, while she is all the time comparing her lot with that of others whom she considers more favored, and is cherishing unsanctified longings for an easier position, where she will be free from the petty cares and exactions that vex her spirit. She little dreams that in that widely different sphere to which she aspires, trials fully as vexatious, though perhaps of a different nature, would certainly beset her. And while she is fruitlessly yearning for a different life, she is, by her sinful discontent, casting from her the blessings which a kind Providence has already granted.
5 Others become so occupied with their household cares that they forget the little courtesies which make life pleasant to their husbands and children. While their time and energies are absorbed in the preparation of something to eat or to wear, their husbands and sons come in and go out as strangers. And very many, finding nothing attractive at home, perhaps being greeted with continual scolding and murmuring, seek comfort and amusement in the dram-shop, or in other forbidden places.
6 The true wife and mother will pursue an entirely different course. She will perform her duties with dignity and cheerfulness, not considering it degrading to do with her own hands whatever it is necessary to do in a well-ordered household.
7 In order to be a good wife, it is not necessary that woman’s nature should be utterly merged in that of her husband. Every individual has a life distinct from all others, an experience differing essentially from theirs. It is not the design of our Creator that our individuality should be lost in another’s; he would have us possess our own characters, softened and sanctified by his sweet grace. He would hear our words fresh from our own hearts. He would have our yearning desires and earnest cries ascend to him marked by our own individuality. All do not have the same exercises of mind, and God calls for no second-hand experience. Our compassionate Redeemer reaches his helping hand to us just where we are.
8 If woman looks to God for strength and comfort, and in his fear seeks to perform her daily duties, she will win the respect and confidence of her husband, and see her children coming to maturity honorable men and women, having moral stamina to do right. But mothers who neglect present opportunities, and let their duties and burdens fall upon others, will find that their responsibility remains the same, and they will reap in bitterness what they have sown in carelessness and neglect. There is no chance work in this life; the harvest will be determined by the character of the seed sown.
9 Many who do well under favorable circumstances seem to undergo a transformation of character when trials and adversity come; they deteriorate in proportion to their troubles. God never designed that we should thus be the sport of circumstances. We are not responsible for circumstances over which we have no control, and it is useless to deny that these often affect our life-work; but we sin when we permit circumstances to subvert principle, when we are unfaithful to our high trust, and neglect known duty.
10 The first and most urgent duty which the mother owes to her Creator is to train for him the children that he has given her. Infant children are a mirror for the mother in which she may see reflected her own habits and deportment. How careful, then, should be her language and behavior in the presence of these little learners. Whatever traits of character she wishes to see developed in them, she must cultivate in herself.
11 When the mother has gained the confidence of her children, and taught them to love and obey her, she has given them the first lesson in the Christian life. They must love and trust and obey their Saviour, as they love and trust and obey their parents. The love which in faithful care and right training the parent manifests for the child, faintly mirrors the love of Jesus for his faithful people.
12 Mothers, awake to the fact that your influence and example are affecting the character and destiny of your children; and in view of your responsibility, develop a well-balanced mind, and a pure character, reflecting only the true, the good, and the beautiful. Your compassionate Redeemer is watching you with love and sympathy, ready to hear your prayers, and to render you the assistance which you need. He knows the burdens of every mother’s heart, and is her best friend in every emergency. His everlasting arms support the God-fearing, faithful mother. When upon earth, he had a mother that struggled with poverty, having many anxious cares and perplexities, and he sympathizes with every Christian mother in her cares and anxieties. That Saviour who took a long journey for the purpose of relieving the anxious heart of a woman whose daughter was possessed by an evil spirit, will hear the mother’s prayers, and will bless her children.
13 He who gave back to the widow her only son as he was carried to the burial, is touched today by the woe of the bereaved mother. He who wept tears of sympathy at the grave of Lazarus, and gave back to Martha and Mary their buried brother; who pardoned Mary Magdalene; who remembered his mother when he was hanging in agony upon the cross; who appeared to the weeping women, and made them his messengers to spread the first glad tidings of a risen Saviour,—he is woman’s best friend today, and is ready to aid her in all the relations of life.
14 Our Saviour, who understands our heart-struggles, and knows the weakness of our natures, pities our infirmities, forgives our errors, and bestows upon us the graces which we earnestly desire. Joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith, and charity are the elements of the Christian character. These precious graces are the fruit of the Spirit, and the Christian’s crown and shield. Where these graces reign in the home, the sons are “as plants grown up in their youth,” and the daughters “as corner-stones polished after the similitude of a palace.” These heavenly attainments are not dependent upon circumstances, nor the will or imperfect judgment of man. Nothing can give more perfect contentment and satisfaction than the cultivation of a Christian character; the most exalted aspirations can aim at nothing higher.
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1 He who died to redeem man from death, loves with a divine love; and he says to his followers: “This is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you.” Christ showed his love for the fallen race by his actions. The true child of God will be Christlike; and as he grows in the knowledge of the truth, and is sanctified through the truth, he will be more and more like Christ, and more desirous to save souls, and purchase of his blood.
2 Some can do more than others; but all can do something. Women should not feel that they are excused because of their domestic cares. They should become intelligent as to how they can work most successfully and methodically in bringing souls to Christ. If all would realize the importance of doing to the utmost of their ability in the work of God, having a deep love for souls, feeling the burden of the work upon them, hundreds would be engaged as active workers who have hitherto been dull and uninterested, accomplishing nothing, or at most but very little.
3 In many cases the rubbish of the world has clogged the channels of the soul. Selfishness controls the mind and warps the character. Were the life hid with Christ in God, his service would be no drudgery. If the whole heart were consecrated to God, all would find something to do, and would covet a part in the work. They would sow beside all waters, praying and believing that the fruit would appear. The practical, God-fearing workers will be growing upward, praying in faith for grace and heavenly wisdom that they may do the work devolving upon them with cheerfulness and a willing mind. They will seek the divine rays of light that they may brighten the paths of others.
4 Those who are co-laborers with God will have no disposition to engage in the various expedients for amusement; they will not be seeking after happiness and enjoyment. In taking up their work in the fear of God, and doing service to the Master, they will secure the most substantial happiness. Connected with Jesus Christ, they will be wise unto salvation. They will be fruit-bearing trees. They will develop a blameless life, a beauteous character. The great work of redemption will be their first consideration. Eating and drinking and dressing, houses and lands, will be secondary matters. The peace of God within will force off the withered or gnarled branches of selfishness, vanity, pride, and indolence. It is faith and practice that make up the Christian’s life. We do not meet the standard of Christianity in merely professing Christ and having our names upon the church book. We should be individual workers for Christ. By personal effort we can show that we are connected with him.
5 Christian women are called for. There is a wide field in which they may do good service for the Master. There are noble women who have had moral courage to decide in favor of the truth from the weight of evidence. They have tact, perception, and good ability, and could make successful Christian workers. There is work neglected or done imperfectly that could be thoroughly accomplished through the help that they are able to give. They could reach a class that ministers cannot reach. There are offices in the church that they could fill acceptably, and many branches of the church work that they could attend to if properly instructed.
6 Women can do good work in the missionary field, by writing to friends, and learning their true feelings in relation to the cause of God. Very valuable items are brought to light through this means. The workers should not seek for self-exaltation, but to present the truth in its simplicity wherever they shall have an opportunity. The money that has been spent for needless trimmings and useless ornaments should be devoted to the cause of God, and used to bring the light of truth to those who are in the darkness of error. The souls saved through their efforts will be more precious to them than costly and fashionable dress. The white robes and jeweled crown given them by Christ as the reward for their unselfish efforts in the salvation of souls, will be more valuable than needless adornments. The stars in their crowns will shine forever and ever, and will a thousand times repay them for the self-denial and self-sacrifice they have exercised in the cause of God.
7 Women of firm principle and decided character are needed, women who believe that we are indeed living in the last days, and that we have the last solemn message of warning to be given to the world. They should feel that they are engaged in an important work in spreading the rays of light which Heaven has shed upon them. When the love of God and his truth is an abiding principle, they will let nothing deter them from duty, or discourage them in their work. They will fear God, and will not be diverted from their labors in his cause by the temptation of lucrative situations and attractive prospects. They will preserve their integrity at any cost to themselves. These are the ones who will correctly represent the religion of Christ, whose words will be fitly spoken, like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Such persons can in many ways do a precious work for God. He calls upon them to go out into the harvest field, and help gather in the sheaves.
8 Intelligent Christian women may use their talents to the very highest account. They can show by their life of self-denial, and by their willingness to work to the best of their ability, that they believe the truth, and are being sanctified through it. Many need a work of this kind to develop the powers they possess. Wives and mothers should in no case neglect their husbands and their children; but they can do much without neglecting home duties, and all have not these responsibilities.
9 Who can have so deep a love for the souls of men and women for whom Christ died, as those who are partakers of his grace? Who can better represent the religion of Christ than Christian women, women who are earnestly laboring to bring souls to the light of truth? Who else is so well adapted to the work of the Sabbath-school? The true mother is the true teacher of children. If with a heart imbued with the love of Christ, she teaches the children of her class, praying with them and for them, she may see souls converted, and gathered into the fold of Christ. I do not recommend that woman should seek to become a voter or office-holder; but as a missionary, teaching the truth by epistolary correspondence, distributing reading matter, conversing with families and praying with the mother and children, she may do much, and be a blessing.
10 The Lord of the vineyard is saying to many women who are now doing nothing, “Why stand ye here all the day idle?” They may be instruments of righteousness, rendering holy service. It was Mary who first preached a risen Jesus; and the refining, softening influence of Christian women is needed in the great work of preaching the truth now. If there were twenty women where now there is one who would make the saving of souls their cherished work, we should see many more converted to the truth. Zealous and continued diligence in the cause of God would be wholly successful, and would astonish them with its results. The work must be accomplished through patience and perseverance, and in this is manifested the real devotion to God. He calls for deeds, and not words only.
11 The work of God is worthy of our best efforts. In fulfillment of the divine plan, the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. He taught the erring and sinful ones whom he came to save, and wrestled in earnest prayer to his Father in their behalf; and we should engage in the same work. If it was not beneath the dignity of the Son of God, the Creator of worlds, should it be considered too humiliating or too self-sacrificing for his followers?—No, indeed. However aspiring we may be, there is no calling that is higher, holier, and more ennobling than to be a co-laborer with the Son of God.
12 Often we are so wrapped up in our selfish interests that our hearts are not allowed to take in the needs and wants of humanity; we are lacking in deeds of sympathy and benevolence, in sacred and social ministering to the needy, the oppressed, and the suffering. Women are needed who are not self-important, but gentle in manners and lowly of heart, who will work with the meekness of Christ wherever they can find anything to do for the salvation of souls. All who have been made partakers of the heavenly benefits, should be earnest and anxious that others, who do not have the privileges which they have enjoyed, should have the evidences of the truth presented before them. And they will not merely desire that others should have this benefit, but will see that they do have it, and will do their part toward the accomplishment of this object.
13 Those who become co-laborers with God will increase in moral and spiritual power, while those who devote their time and energies to serving themselves will dwarf, and wither, and die. Christian women, the youth, the middle-aged, and those of advanced years, may have a part in the work of God for this time; and in engaging in this work as they have opportunity, they will obtain an experience of the highest value to themselves. In forgetfulness of self, they will grow in grace. By training the mind in this direction, they will learn how to bear burdens for Jesus, and will realize the blessedness of the service. And soon the time will come when “they that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”
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1 We are indebted to God for all the powers of mind that we possess. To each of us he has intrusted talents, and for their proper use he holds us responsible. It is his will that we so educate ourselves as to be able to use these talents in a manner to accomplish the greatest good in the world and to reflect glory to the Giver; and our faculties may be so cultivated, so discreetly directed and controlled, as to accomplish this object.
2 We are not all constituted alike. We have varied minds; some are strong upon certain points, and very weak upon others. These deficiencies, which are often so very evident, need not and should not exist. If those who have them would take pains to strengthen the weak points in their character by cultivation and exercise, they would soon find these inequalities disappearing. And when all the faculties are in harmonious exercise, the intellect will be clear and strong and the judgment sound.
3 It is duty to so educate the mind as to bring out all its energies and develop every faculty. If certain faculties are used to the neglect of others, the design of God is not fully carried out in us; for in a great measure our faculties are mutually dependent, each having a bearing upon all the rest. One set of faculties cannot be effectually used while the others are weak and inactive. If all the attention is given to those faculties that are already strong, while the others are permitted to lie dormant, the development will be strong in one direction, and there will be extremes in the character, because the mental balance has not been preserved. And many minds are dwarfed because all their powers have not been cultivated.
4 It is agreeable, but not most profitable, to exercise those faculties that are naturally the strongest, to the neglect of those that are weak, and need to be strengthened. We are dependent upon God for the preservation of our faculties, and we have no right to neglect any of the powers that he has given us. There are monomaniacs all over the country. It is frequently the case that many are sane upon every subject but one. Their minds are unbalanced because one organ was specially exercised, while the others were permitted to lie dormant. The one that was in constant use became worn and diseased, and the others were weakened through inaction. God is not glorified when such a course is pursued, and his creatures become wrecked through an injudicious use of the powers that he has given them.
5 Many are not doing the greatest amount of good of which they are capable, because they exercise their minds in one direction, and neglect to give careful attention to those things for which they think they are not adapted. Faculties that are weak are thus allowed to remain so, because the work that would call them into exercise, and give them strength, is not pleasant. And yet the power to concentrate the mind upon one subject to the exclusion of all others, is well in a degree, if it is not carried so far that the mind cannot act healthfully.
6 Ministers should be guarded, lest they concentrate their minds and energies upon one subject, to the exclusion of others that may be of equal importance. They are in danger of narrowing down the work of God, and becoming one-idea men. Many times all the strength of their being is concentrated on the subject to which the attention is called for the time, and every other consideration is lost sight of. This one favorite theme is the burden of their thoughts and the subject of their conversation. All the evidence which has a bearing upon that subject is eagerly seized upon and appropriated, and dwelt upon at so great length that minds are wearied in following them.
7 Those who put the whole strength of their mind into one subject, are greatly deficient on other points. The subject before them enchains their attention, and they are led on and on, and go deeper and deeper into the matter. They become interested and absorbed, and see new light and beauty as they advance. But there are few minds that can follow them, unless they have given the subject the same careful thought. There is danger of such men planting the seed of truth so deep that the tender, precious blade will never find the surface.
8 Much hard labor is often expended that is not called for, and that will never be appreciated. Time is lost in explaining points which are either self-evident or really unimportant, and which would be taken for granted without proof. But while time should not be spent on unnecessary and trifling arguments, the really vital points should be made as plain and forcible as language and proof can make them.
9 The most essential points of Bible truth may be made indistinct by giving attention to every minute particular. Some, in their writings, need to be constantly guarded, lest they make blind points that are plain in themselves, by covering them up with many arguments which will not be of lively interest to the reader. If they linger tediously upon points, giving every particular which suggests itself to the mind, their labor will be nearly lost; for the interest of the reader will not be deep enough to lead him to pursue the subject to its close. Much ground may be covered; but the work upon which so much labor is expended is not calculated to do the greatest amount of good, because it fails to awaken a general interest.
10 In this age, when pleasing fables are drifting upon the surface and attracting the mind, truth presented in an easy style, backed up by a few strong proofs, is better and more effective than if its advocates were to search extensively, and bring forth an overwhelming array of evidence; for the simple propositions do not then stand so clear and distinct in many minds as before the objections and evidences were brought before them. There are some who take many things for granted, and assertions will go farther with them than long, labored arguments.
11 This is a busy world. Men and women who engage in the business of life have not time to meditate, nor even to read the word of God thoroughly enough to understand all its important truths. Long, labored arguments will interest but few; for the people read as they run. It is better to keep a reserve of arguments and proof than to pour out a depth of knowledge on a subject that is in itself clear and plain.
12 Christ’s ministry lasted only three years; but a great work was done in that short period. In these days there is also a great work to be done in a short time; and while many are getting ready to do something, souls will perish for the want of light and knowledge.
13 If men who are engaged in presenting and defending the truth of the Bible, undertake to investigate the statements, and show the fallacy and inconsistency of men who dishonestly turn the truth of God into a lie, Satan will stir up opponents enough to keep their pens constantly employed, while other branches of the truth of God will be left to suffer.
14 Said Nehemiah, when his enemies sought to entice him from his post of duty: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” We, too, are doing a great work, and we cannot come down. And we need more of the spirit of those men who were engaged in building the walls of Jerusalem. If Satan sees that he can keep men answering the objections of opponents, and thus keep their voices silent, and hinder them from doing the most important work for this time, he rejoices; for his object is accomplished.
15 The world needs laborers now. From every direction is heard the Macedonian cry, “Come over and help us.” Our success consists in reaching common minds. Plain, pointed arguments, standing out as mile-posts, will do more toward convincing people than will a large array of arguments which none but investigating minds will have interest to follow. And if the laborers are pure in heart and life, if they use to the glory of God the talents that he has committed to their keeping, they will have God on their side and heavenly angels to work with their efforts.
Basel, Switzerland.
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1 When Darius set over the provinces of his kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, and over these, three presidents, to whom the princes where to give account, we read that “Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was found in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” But evil angels, fearing the influence of this good man over the king and in the affairs of the kingdom, stirred up the presidents and princes to envy. These wicked men watched Daniel closely, that they might find some fault in him which they could report to the king; but they failed. “He was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”
2 Then Satan sought to make Daniel’s faithfulness to God the cause of his destruction. The presidents and princes came tumultuously together unto the king, and said, “All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors and the princes, the counselors and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.” The king’s pride was flattered. He was ignorant of the mischief purposed against Daniel, and he granted their request. The decree was signed, and became one of the unalterable laws of the Medes and Persians.
3 These envious men did not believe that Daniel would be untrue to his God, or that he would falter in his firm adherence to principle; and they were not mistaken in their estimate of his character. Daniel knew the value of communion with God. With full knowledge of the king’s decree, he still bowed in prayer three times a day, “his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem.” He did not seek to conceal his act, although he knew full well the consequences of his fidelity to God. He saw the dangers that beset his path; but his steps faltered not. Before those who were plotting his ruin, he would not allow even the appearance that his connection with Heaven was severed.
4 In all cases where the king had a right to command, Daniel would obey. He was willing to obey so far as he could do so consistently with truth and righteousness; but kings and decrees could not make him swerve from his allegiance to the King of kings. He knew that no man, not even his king, had a right to come between his conscience and his God, and interfere with the worship due to his Maker.
5 Daniel was true, noble, and generous. While he was anxious to be at peace with all men, he would not permit any power to turn him aside from the path of duty. He had an opportunity to testify in favor of the true God, and to present the reasons why he alone should receive worship, and the duty of rendering him praise and homage, and nobly did he improve it. Had he respected the king’s decree in this instance, he would have dishonored God. He was surrounded by proud idolaters; but he was a faithful witness for the truth. His dauntless adherence to a right course of action, was as a bright light amid the moral darkness of that heathen court.
6 On account of his praying to God, Daniel was cast into the lion’s den. Envious and wicked men thus far accomplished their purpose. But Daniel continued to pray, even among the lions. Did God forget his faithful servant, and suffer him to be destroyed? Oh, no; Jesus, the mighty Commander of the hosts of Heaven, sent his angels to close the mouths of those hungry lions, that they should not hurt the praying man of God; and all was peace in that terrible den. The king witnessed the miraculous preservation of Daniel, and brought him out with honors; while those who had plotted his destruction were utterly destroyed, with their wives and children, in the terrible manner in which they had planned to destroy Daniel.
7 Through the moral courage of this one man who chose, even in the face of death, to take a right course rather than a politic one, Satan was defeated, and God honored. For the deliverance of Daniel from the power of the lions was a striking evidence that the Being whom he worshiped was the true and living God. And the king wrote unto “all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth:” “I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.”
8 Daniel was sorely tried; but he overcame because he was of a humble and prayerful spirit. Although he was surrounded with distrust and suspicion, and his enemies laid a snare for his life, yet he maintained a serene and cheerful trust in God, never once deviating from principle. Although Daniel was a man of like passions with ourselves, the pen of inspiration presents him as a faultless character. His life is given us as a bright example of what man may become, even in this life, if he will make God his strength, and wisely improve the privileges and opportunities within his reach.
9 Daniel was a moral and intellectual giant; yet he did not reach this pre-eminence all at once and without effort. He was continually seeking for greater knowledge, for higher attainments. Other young men had the same advantages, but they did not, like him, bend all their energies to seek wisdom,—the knowledge of God as revealed in his word and in his works. Daniel was but a youth when he was brought into a heathen court in service to the king of Babylon; and because of his extreme youth when he was exposed to all the temptations of an Eastern court, his noble resistance of wrong and his steadfast adherence to the right, throughout his long career, are the more admirable. His example should be a source of strength to the tried and tempted, even at the present day.
10 Daniel loved, feared, and obeyed God; yet he did not flee away from the world to avoid its corrupting influence. In the providence of God, he was to be in the world, yet not of the world. With all the temptations and fascinations of court life surrounding him, he stood in the integrity of his soul; for he made God his strength; and he was not forsaken of him in his hour of greatest need.
11 From the history of Daniel we may learn that a strict compliance with the requirements of God will prove a blessing, not only in the future, immortal life, but also in the present life. Through religious principles, men may triumph over the temptations of Satan and the devices of wicked men, even though it costs them a great sacrifice. What if Daniel had made a compromise with those heathen rulers, and had denied his God? What if, on first entering the court, he had yielded to the pressure of temptation, by eating and drinking as was customary among the Babylonians? That one wrong step would probably have led to others, until, his connection with Heaven being severed, he would have been borne away by the power of temptation. But while he clung to God with unwavering, prayerful trust, he could not be forsaken. The divine protection is pledged to those who thus seek it, and God cannot forget his word.
12 It was through prayer and adherence to right principles that Daniel was enabled to stand firm in the hour of trial and temptation. The prayer of faith is the great strength of the Christian, and will assuredly prevail against the devices of the hosts of darkness. Satan well knows how needful are meditation and prayer to keep Christ’s followers aroused to understand his devices, and resist his temptations; so he tries to lead men to believe that prayer is useless, and but a mere form. If he can divert the mind from these important exercises, so that the soul will not lean for help on the Mighty One, and obtain divine strength to resist his attacks, he knows full well that he has gained a decided advantage.
13 We are living in the most solemn period of this world’s history, when the last conflict between truth and error is raging; and we need courage and firmness for the right, and a prayerful trust in God no less than Daniel did. The destiny of earth’s teeming millions is about to be decided; and our own future well-being, and the salvation of other souls, depend upon the course which we pursue. If we possess the same unwavering integrity that characterized the prophet of old, God will be honored through our course, and souls will be saved to shine as stars in the crown of our rejoicing.
Basel, Switzerland.
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1 As Christians we are commanded to be separate from the world; we are not to drink in its spirit or to follow its customs; but it is not necessary for us to become coarse and rough in our manners and expressions. The truth of God is designed to elevate the receiver, to refine his taste, and to sanctify his judgment. The character of the Christian should be holy, his manners comely, his words without guile. There should be a continual effort to imitate the society he hopes soon to join, that of angels who have never fallen by sin.
2 No man can be a Christian without having the Spirit of Christ; and if he has the Spirit of Christ, it will be manifested in kind words and a refined, courteous deportment. The religion of Jesus is designed to soften whatever is hard and rough in the temper, and to smooth off whatever is rugged or sharp in the manners. External change will testify to an internal change. The truth is the sanctifier, the refiner. Received into the heart, it works with hidden power, transforming the character. But those who profess to be followers of Christ, and are at the same time rough, unkind, and uncourteous in words and deportment, have not learned of Jesus. A blustering, overbearing, fault-finding man is not a Christian; for to be a Christian is to be Christ-like. It is no mark of a Christian to be continually jealous of one’s dignity. All these manifestations show that men are still servants of the wicked one.
3 Very many who are seeking for happiness will be disappointed in their hopes, because they seek it amiss, and are indulging in sinful tempers and selfish feelings. By neglecting to discharge the little duties and observe the little courtesies of life, they violate the principles on which happiness depends. True happiness is not to be found in self-gratification, but in the path of duty. God desires man to be happy, and for this reason he gave him the precepts of his law, that in obeying these he might have joy at home and abroad. While he stands in his moral integrity, true to principle, and having the control of all his powers, he cannot be miserable. With its tendrils twined about God, the heart will be full of peace and joy, and the soul will flourish amid unbelief and depravity.
4 Kind words, pleasant looks, a cheerful countenance, throw a charm around the Christian that makes his influence almost irresistible. It is the religion of Christ in the heart that causes the words to be gentle, and the demeanor winning, even to those in the humblest walks of life. In forgetfulness of self, in the light and peace and happiness he is constantly bestowing on others, is seen the true dignity of the man. This is a way to gain respect, and extend the sphere of usefulness, which costs but little; and the one who pursues this course will not complain that he does not receive the honor that is his due. But Bible rules must be written on the heart; Bible rules must be carried into the every-day life.
5 We are none of us what we may be, what God would have us be, and what his word requires us to be. And it is our unbelief that shuts us away from God; for we may at any time lift up our souls to him, and find grace and strength. When Christ shall come, our vile bodies are to be changed, and made like his glorious body; but the vile character will not be made holy then. The transformation of character must take place before his coming. Our natures must be pure and holy; we must have the mind of Christ, that he may behold with pleasure his image reflected upon our souls.
6 Enoch was a marked character, and many look upon his life as something far above what the generality of mortals can ever reach. But Enoch’s life and character, which were so holy that he was translated to Heaven without seeing death, represent the lives and characters of all who will be translated when Christ comes. His life was what the life of every individual may be if he will live near to God. We should remember that Enoch was surrounded by unholy influences. The society around him was so depraved that God brought a flood of waters on the world to destroy its inhabitants for their corruption. Were Enoch upon the earth today, his heart would be in harmony with all of God’s requirements; he would walk with God, although surrounded by influences the most wicked and debasing. The palm-tree well represents the life of a Christian. It stands upright amid the burning desert sands, and dies not; for it draws sustenance from springs beneath the surface.
7 Joseph preserved his integrity when surrounded by idolaters in Egypt, in the midst of sin and blasphemy and corrupting influences. When tempted to turn aside from the path of virtue, his answer was, “How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Enoch, Joseph, and Daniel depended upon a strength that was infinite; and this is the only course of safety for Christians to pursue in our day.
8 The lives of these marked men were hid with Christ in God. They were loyal to God, pure amid depravity, devout and fervent when brought in contact with atheism and idolatry. Through divine grace they cultivated only such qualities as were favorable to the development of pure and holy characters.
9 Thus may it be with us. The spirit which Enoch, Joseph, and Daniel possessed, we may have; we may draw from the same source of strength, possess the same power of self-control, and the same graces may shine out in our lives. Said Christ: “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” By reflecting the light of Christ to all around us, we shall become the light of the world; but a selfish, fault-finding, uncourteous person cannot have this sacred influence.
10 Pleasant, kind, and well-bred Christians will have an influence for God and his truth; it cannot be otherwise. The light borrowed from Heaven will shed its brightening rays through them to the pathway of others, leading them to exclaim, “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man whose strength is in thee.” The words we speak, our daily deportment, are the fruit growing upon the tree. If the fruit is sour and unpalatable, the rootlets of that tree are not drawing nourishment from a pure source. If our characters are meek and lowly, if our affections are in harmony with our Saviour, we show that our life is hid with Christ in God, and we leave behind us a bright track. Our life will be in such marked contrast to that of unbelievers, that our associates will discern that we have been with Jesus and learned of him.
11 The Christian need not become a recluse; but while necessarily associating with the world, he will not be of the world. Christian politeness should be cultivated, and daily put in practice. That unkind word should be left unspoken; that selfish disregard of the happiness of others should give place to thoughtful sympathy. True courtesy, blended with truth and justice, will make the life not only useful, but beautiful and fragrant with love and good works. It is no evidence that the Christian has lost his religion, because he has a good report among them that are without. Virtue, honesty, kindness, and faithful integrity make noble characters; those who possess these characteristics will win esteem, even of unbelievers, and their influence in the church will be very precious. We are required to be right in important matters; but faithfulness in little things will fit us for higher positions of trust.
12 On the part of many, there is a great lack of true courtesy. Much is said of the improvements that have been made since the days of the patriarchs; but those living in that age could boast of a higher state of refinement, and of more true courtesy of manners, than are possessed by the people in this age of boasted enlightenment. Integrity, justice, and Christian kindness, blended, make a beautiful combination. Courtesy is one of the graces of the Spirit. It is an attribute of Heaven. The angels never fly into a passion, never are envious, selfish, and jealous. No harsh or unkind words escape their lips. And if we are to be the companions of angels, we too must be refined and courteous. And we have none too much time to change our wrong habits, reform our defective characters, and obtain a fitness for the society of those heavenly beings. All harshness and severity, coarseness and unkindness, must be overcome; and now is the time for us to do the work. We can have no second probation. But if we do not improve these hours of privilege, we would not improve a second probation, should it be granted to us.
13 A Christian will cultivate that charity that is not easily provoked, that suffereth long and is kind, that hopeth all things, endureth all things. If this grace be in you, if you are ruled by the Spirit of Christ, your words and actions will testify that your religion is genuine; for your life will be full of good fruits. The children of God never forget to do good and to communicate. Good works are spontaneous with them; for God has transformed their natures by his grace. “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”
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1 “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers.”
2 We are told that Elijah “was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly,” and his prayer was answered. A royal decree was signed in the courts of Babylon, that if for thirty days any man asked a petition of any God or man, save of Darius the king, he should be cast into the lions’ den; but Daniel, notwithstanding he knew of the decree, failed not to pray three times a day, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, as he had done before the decree was made; and the God whom he served continually, delivered him out of the power of the lions. These holy men knew the value of communion with God.
3 When Jesus was upon earth, and walked a man among the children of men, he prayed, and oh, how earnest were his prayers! How often he spent the whole night upon the damp, cold ground, in agonizing supplication! And yet he was the beloved and sinless Son of God. If Jesus felt the necessity of communion with his Father, and manifested so much earnestness in calling upon him, how much more should we, whom he has called to be heirs of salvation, who are subject to the fiery temptations of the wily foe, and dependent upon divine grace for strength to overcome, have our whole souls stirred to wrestle with God. The language of our souls should be, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” But many have allowed their hearts to become overcharged with the cares of this life, and God and his word have been neglected.
4 The subjects of Satan, although they hate and war with one another, are active and united in the one object of destroying souls. They are vigilant in improving every opportunity to advance their common interest, and war against the kingdom of Christ. But He who is the great Commander in Heaven and on earth, has limited their power.
5 Satan is ever ready to insinuate that prayer is a mere form, and avails us nothing. He cannot bear to have his powerful rival appealed to. At the sound of fervent prayer, the hosts of darkness tremble. Fearing that their captive may escape, they form a wall around him, that Heaven’s light may not reach his soul. But if in his distress and helplessness the sinner looks to Jesus, pleading the merits of his blood, our compassionate Redeemer listens to the earnest, persevering prayer of faith, and sends to his deliverance a re-enforcement of angels that excel in strength. And when these angels, all-powerful, clothed with the armory of Heaven, come to the help of the fainting, pursued soul, the angels of darkness fall back, well knowing that their battle is lost, and that one more soul is escaping from the power of their influence.
6 Prayer is the Christian’s life. There is a remedy for the sin-sick soul, and that remedy is in Jesus. Precious Saviour! his grace is sufficient for the weakest, and the strongest must have his help or perish. A Christian has victory over his passions and besetments. I would not dishonor my Master so much as to admit that a careless, trifling, prayerless person is a Christian. It is the privilege of the Christian to enjoy the deep movings of the Spirit of God. A sweet, heavenly peace will pervade his mind. He will love to meditate upon God and Heaven, and to feast upon the glorious promises of the written word.
7 But how shall this victory over the world be obtained? Go to your closet, dear reader, and there plead with God: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Be in earnest; be sincere; Jacob-like, wrestle in prayer. Do not leave your closet until you feel strong in God. Remain until unutterable longings for salvation are awakened in your heart, and the sweet evidence is obtained of pardoned sin. Then when you leave your closet, watch; and so long as you watch and pray, the grace of God will appear in your life.
8 In no case neglect secret prayer; for it is the soul of religion. If you expect salvation, you must pray. Take time. Be not hurried and careless in your prayers. Intercede with God to work in you a thorough reformation, that the fruits of the Spirit may dwell in you, and that, by your godly life, you may shine as a light in the world. When you sincerely feel that without the help of God you perish, when you pant after him as the hart panteth after the water-brooks, then will the Lord strengthen you speedily, and you will have that peace that passeth understanding.
9 While you pray that you may not be led into temptation, remember that your work does not end with the prayer. You must then answer your own prayer as far as possible, by resisting temptation, and leave that which you cannot do for yourselves for Jesus to do for you. We cannot be too guarded in our words and deportment, lest we invite the enemy to approach us with his temptations. With the word of God for our guide, and Jesus for our heavenly teacher, we need not be ignorant of the divine requirements or of Satan’s devices. And it will be no unpleasant task to be obedient to the will of God, when we yield ourselves fully to be directed by his Spirit.
10 Pray in the family. Morning and evening obtain the victory at your family altar. Let not your daily labor keep you from this duty. Take time to pray. And as you pray, believe that God hears you, have faith mixed with your prayers. Let faith take hold of the blessing, and it is yours.
11 In the morning the Christian’s first thoughts should be of God. Come before him with humility, with a heart full of tenderness, and with a sense of the temptations and dangers that surround yourself and your children. Morning and evening, by earnest prayer and persevering faith, make a hedge about your children. Patiently instruct them; kindly and untiringly teach them how to live so that they may please God.
12 Teach your children reverence for God and the hour of prayer. The Lord our God is holy, and his name is to be treated with great reverence. Angels are displeased and disgusted with the irreverent manner in which the name of God, the great Jehovah, is sometimes used in prayer. They mention that name with the greatest awe, even veiling their faces when they speak the name of God; the name of Christ also is sacred, and is spoken with the greatest reverence. And those who in their prayers use the name of God in a common and flippant manner, have no sense of the exalted character of God, of Christ, or of heavenly things.
13 Pray in faith. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Prevailing prayer is the prayer of living faith; it takes God at his word, and claims his promises. Feeling has nothing to do with faith. When faith brings the blessing to your heart, and you rejoice in the blessing, then it is no more faith, but feeling. How strange it is that men will put confidence in the word of their fellow-men, and yet find it so hard to exercise living faith in God! The promises are ample; why not accept them just as they read? “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
14 Every petition that is offered to God in faith, and with a true heart, will be answered. Such prayer is never lost; but to claim that it will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire, is presumption. God is too wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. Then do not fear to trust him even though you do not see the immediate answer to your prayers. Rely upon his sure promise, “Ask, and ye shall receive.”
15 Fervent and effectual prayer will be regarded in Heaven. It is the privilege of Christians to obtain strength from God to hold every precious gift of his Spirit. The power of God has not decreased. His grace and his Spirit will be just as freely bestowed now as formerly. It is the church of God that have lost their faith to claim, their energy to wrestle, as did Jacob, crying, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” Enduring faith has been dying away, and must be revived in the hearts of God’s people. There must be a claiming of the blessing of God. Living faith always bears upward to God and glory; unbelief, downward to darkness and death.
16 “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” We can overcome, fully, entirely. Jesus died to make a way of escape for us, that by prevailing prayer by his grace, we might overcome every temptation, every subtle snare of the adversary, and at last sit down with him in his kingdom.
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1 “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s who shall give you that which is your own?” Luke 16:9-12.
2 The parable of the unjust steward was given to teach us a lesson in regard to our duty in temporal things. Every man is a steward of God. To each the Master has intrusted his means, and he says, “Occupy till I come.” A time is coming when he will require his own with usury. He will say to each of his stewards, “Give an account of thy stewardship.” But men often claim their means as their own. They seem to have no sense of the fact that the property they are using belongs to God, and that they must give him an account for the use they make of it.
3 Said the Saviour: “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” By using our means to the glory of God here, we lay up a treasure in Heaven; and when earthly possessions are all gone, the faithful steward has Jesus and angels for his friends, to receive him home to everlasting habitations.
4 “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.” He that is faithful in his earthly possessions, which are least, making a judicious use of the means which God has intrusted to his care, will be faithful in every other respect. Every investment made in the cause of God will increase his love for it. He will not be the poorer in this world, and he will be “laying up in store” for himself “a good foundation against the time to come,” that he “may lay hold on eternal life.”
5 “He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” If he will not give of his means to support the warfare against the moral darkness that is flooding the world, he will be unfaithful in the things of God in every respect. He keeps his means from doing good in the cause of God, and often that which is committed to his trust is taken from him.
6 “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” The Christian church, as a general rule, are disowning the claims of God upon them to give alms of the things which they possess; and the work of God can never advance as it should until the followers of Christ realize their duty in this respect. If they prove unfaithful in the management of their temporal affairs, God will never give them the true riches, the immortal inheritance.
7 “If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” Jesus has purchased redemption for us. It is ours; but we are placed here on probation to see if we will prove worthy of eternal life. Our heavenly Father tests us by trusting us with earthly possessions. If we use these freely to advance his cause and to benefit our fellow-men, we shall prove good stewards, and shall gain the approbation of our Lord. But we “cannot serve God and mammon;” for “if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him.”
8 The idea of stewardship should have a practical bearing upon all the people of God. The parable of the talents has not been fully understood, or it would bar out covetousness, which God calls idolatry. The talents do not represent merely the ability to preach and to instruct from the word of God. The parable also applies to the temporal means which God has intrusted to his people. Those who received the five and the two talents traded, and doubled that which was committed to their trust. The servant who received the one talent, went and hid it in the earth; and that is what many of God’s professed people are doing now. They claim that they have a right to do what they please with their possessions, and souls are not saved through the use they make of their Lord’s money. Practical benevolence would give spiritual life to thousands of nominal professors of religion who now mourn over their darkness. It would transform them from selfish, covetous worshipers of mammon, to earnest, faithful co-workers with Christ in the salvation of sinners.
9 The foundation of the plan of salvation was laid in sacrifice. Jesus left the royal courts of Heaven, and became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. All who share the salvation purchased for them at such an infinite sacrifice by the Son of God, will follow the example of the True Pattern. Christ is the chief corner-stone, and we must build upon this foundation. Each must have a spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice.
10 Says Christ: “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” The very vital principle, the sap which flows through the vine nourishes the branches, that they may flourish and bear fruit. The life of Christ upon earth was unselfish; it was marked with humiliation and sacrifice. Is the servant greater than his Lord? Shall the world’s Redeemer practice self-denial and sacrifice on our account, and the members of Christ’s body practice self-indulgence?—No; self-denial is an essential principle of discipleship.
11 The people of God should act from principle. They should always have a suitable object in view, and should give, not to be seen of men, and to be praised for their liberality, but to glorify God and help their fellow-men. Sometimes the motive in giving is selfish. There are persons who make large donations to public enterprises or charities, while a poor brother may be suffering close by them, and they do nothing to relieve him. Little acts of kindness performed in secret for this needy brother would bind their hearts together, and would be noticed and rewarded in Heaven; for the true spirit of sacrifice is acceptable to God. “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
12 When Jesus was upon earth, he rebuked those who gave to be seen of men. He said to his disciples: “When thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you. They have their reward.” They received praise of men, and this was all the reward they would ever have. Their alms giving was done in a very public manner, and their generosity was proclaimed before the people. In this way they often gave large sums which had been extorted from the needy by oppressing the hireling in his wages and grinding the face of the poor. The case of the Pharisees is not unlike that of many at the present time, who suppose themselves in a state of spiritual prosperity, and flatter themselves that they are in favor with God, when he despises their selfishness.
13 The selfish, covetous heart will be tested. Every motive is known to God, and he suffers circumstances to arise that will develop character, and show them themselves. “By their fruits ye shall know them,” says the Saviour. The good deeds and generous works of the children of God are the most effectual preaching that the unbeliever has. He thinks that the Christian must have strong motives to lead him to deny self, and use his possessions for the good of others.
14 The principle of worldlings is to get all they can of the perishable things of this life. With them selfish love of gain is the ruling principle, and they cannot understand disinterested benevolence. There are thousands who are passing their lives in indulgence, and whose hearts are filled with repining. They are the victims of selfishness and discontent. Unhappiness is stamped upon their countenances, and behind them is a desert, because their lives are not fruitful in good works. For the purest joy is not found in riches, nor where covetousness is always craving, but where contentment reigns, and where self-sacrificing love is the ruling principle.
15 The principle of the cross of Christ places all who believe under heavy obligations to deny self, to impart light to others, and to give of their means to extend the light. In proportion as the love of Christ fills our hearts and controls our lives, covetousness, selfishness, and love of ease, will be overcome, and it will be our pleasure to do the will of Him whose servants we claim to be. And our happiness will be proportionate to our unselfish works, prompted by divine love; for in the plan of salvation God has appointed the law of action and reaction, making the work of beneficence, in all its branches, twice blessed.
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1 “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven, and which are on earth; even in him; in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” Ephesians 1:8-11.
2 Our heavenly Father presents before his finite creatures no impossibilities; he requires not at their hands that which they cannot perform. He has not set before his church a standard to which they cannot attain; yet he designs that they shall labor earnestly to reach the high standard set before them in the text. He would have them pray that they may be “filled with the fruits of righteousness,” and then expect this blessing and receive it, and in all things grow up into Christ their living Head. This was the apostle’s great desire, not with reference to the church at Ephesus only, but to all the churches that he had been instrumental in raising up.
3 It is because the individual members of the church do not cultivate personal piety, that they do not realize more of the help of God and of their own personal responsibility. There is a higher standard for us to meet. The world has too much of our thoughts, and the kingdom of Heaven too little. God has given us talents that he requires us to use for the upbuilding of his kingdom. Reader, will you look upon these talents as a sacred trust? Will you today inquire, “What use have I made of these entrusted talents, and what use am I now making of them? Have I given to temporal, earthly things my strength of purpose, my ability to plan and devise, my tact and skill, and brought to the Lord’s work only a feeble, inefficient service? Shall the eternal be made secondary to the temporal? Will the Lord accept this at my hands?”
4 We often hear Christians express the desire that husband, or wife, or children, may join them in serving the Lord. This desire is right. It is the true missionary spirit,—the spirit that should actuate all the followers of Christ. His first disciples felt thus when they listened to the words of life from the lips of the divine Master. They were convinced that he was the Messiah, and they wanted their relatives and friends to acknowledge his claims.
5 But while we desire the conversion of our friends, are we doing all we can on our part? Are we faithful in our appointed work? On the contrary, do we not often come short of the duty required of us as co-laborers with Christ? Are we setting a right example in our families and before the world? Are we, like Abraham, commanding our children and our households after us, that they may keep the way of the Lord and do justice and judgment? Is Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith? and do we show forth in our character and our daily life, the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light? If we are doers of the word, and not hearers only, we shall be earnest, thorough, whole-hearted, and God will work with our efforts in behalf of our friends.
6 There is a work for each one to do; and none need err in that work; for the counsels of God in his word are broad and full. If we sincerely desire to make the name of God a praise in the earth, if we walk in the light that he permits to shine upon our pathway, we shall be children of the day, and not of the night. We shall know the will of God, and shall carry it out in all the transactions of our every-day life.
7 Many lack moral power, and know very little of the peace, and happiness, and joy of Heaven, because they do not live where Christ can be in them a well of water springing up into everlasting life. They claim to be children of God; but they are only a burden to the church, when God has given them the capacity to be great helps, and requires them to be co-laborers with Christ in the work of saving souls.
8 If those who are so wanting in spiritual life would see the force of the words of the text, and would realize their duty to heed and obey the lesson here given, there would be greater power in the church. If all the members would improve their talents to the best of their ability, their light would not be hidden under a bushel, but placed on a candlestick, where its clear, steady rays would shine forth to all around them.
9 We need greater earnestness in the cause of Christ. The solemn message of truth should be given with an intensity that would impress unbelievers that God is working with our efforts, that the Most High is our living source of strength. In this great work, not one-third is accomplished that might be done, because a few willing ones take the burden, and the careless and ease-loving shirk all responsibility. This is not in the order of God, neither is it well-pleasing to him. He has not selected a few to become efficient laborers and bear all the burdens of the cause of God, to do all the praying and all the watching, all the winning and entreating of sinners, while the majority of professed Christians have nothing to do but to look on. He does not want the powers of the workers taxed to the utmost to counteract the influence of worldly-minded, halting, doubting ones, who bear no burdens and show no efficiency as workers.
10 Is this indifference to continue from year to year? Is Satan always to triumph, and Christ to be disappointed in the servants whom he has redeemed at an infinite price? We are looking forward to the time when the latter rain will be poured out, confidently hoping for a better day, when the church shall be endued with power from on high, and thus fitted to do more efficient work for God. But the latter rain will never refresh and invigorate indolent souls, that are not using the power God has already given them. Spiritual laziness will not bring us nearer to God. There must be energy and zeal as well as devotion and personal piety, woven into all our works.
11 Those who cherish this inexcusable indolence, this feeling that they have no burden of the work of God, are recorded in the books of Heaven as unfaithful servants. The “Well done, good and faithful servants,” will never be spoken to them; it will be spoken to those only who have done well,—to those who have been faithful, earnest, unselfish workers in the Master’s vineyard.
12 There is on the part of many a bustling, out-of-door piety, but little of that heart and home religion which gathers the rays of the Sun of Righteousness, and diffuses them to warm and gladden sorrowing hearts. The great need of such is a higher, purer, nobler life. A holy joy should reign in the soul, and then the daily life will be as a heavenly radiance to brighten the pathway of others.
13 If we love God with all the heart, we must love his children also. This love is of the Spirit of God. It is the heavenly adorning that gives true nobility and dignity to the soul, and assimilates our lives to that of the Master. No matter how many good qualities we may have, no matter how honorable and refined we may consider ourselves, if the soul is not baptized with the heavenly grace of love, we are deficient in true goodness, and unfit for Heaven, where all is love and unity.
14 When the heavenly principle of love fills the heart, it will flow out to others, not merely because favors are received of them, but because love is the principle of action, and modifies the character, governs the impulses, subdues enmity, and elevates and ennobles the affections. This love is not contracted so as to include only the home-circle, but is as broad as the world, and is in harmony with that of the angel-workers. This love cherished in the soul sweetens the entire life, and exerts a refining influence on all around. Possessing it, we cannot but be happy, let fortune smile or frown. God, in his providence, has willed that no one can secure happiness by living for himself alone. The joy of our Lord consisted in enduring toil and suffering for others; and we shall find true happiness in following his example, and living to do good to our fellow-men.
15 The mission of the church is to save souls. When Jesus was about to ascend on high, he pointed to the harvest fields, and said to his followers: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel.” “Freely ye have received, freely give.”God calls for talents of influence and of means; he calls for earnest, faithful toil. Shall we refuse to obey? Shall we not rather deny self that the wasting harvest may be gathered?
16 In order to have our labors accepted, we must learn in the school of Christ; we must have practical godliness. When we have the saving power of truth in our own souls, we cannot forbear communicating to others the practical truths that have made our own hearts joyful in God.
17 “Being filled with the fruits of the Spirit,” said the apostle. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain-glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”
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1 “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted, and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” Genesis 4:3-8.
2 Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam, were unlike in character. Cain cherished feelings of rebellion and murmuring against God because of the curse pronounced upon the ground and upon the human race for Adam’s sin; while Abel had a spirit of meekness and of submission to the authority of God.
3 These brothers were tested, as Adam had been tested before them, to see if they would be obedient to God’s requirements. They had both been instructed in regard to the provision made for the salvation of man. Through the system of sacrificial offerings, God designed to impress upon the minds of men the offensive character of sin, and to make known to them its sure penalty, death. The offerings were to be a constant reminder that it was only through the promised Redeemer that man could come into the presence of God. Cain and Abel understood the system of offerings which they were required to carry out. They knew that in presenting these offerings they showed humble and reverential obedience to the will of God, and acknowledge faith in, and dependence upon, the Savior whom these offerings typified.
4 Cain and Abel erected their altars alike, and each brought an offering. Cain thought it unnecessary to be particular about fulfilling all the requirements of God; he therefore brought an offering without the shedding of blood. He brought of the fruits of the ground, and presented his offering before the Lord; but there was no token from Heaven to show that it was accepted. Abel entreated his brother to come into the presence of God only in the divinely prescribed way. But his remonstrances made Cain all the more determined to carry out his own purpose. As the eldest, he felt above being advised by his brother, and despised his counsel.
5 Abel brought of the firstlings of the flock, the very best, as God had commanded him. In the slain lamb he sees by faith the Son of God, appointed to death because of the transgression of his Father’s law. God has respect to Abel’s offering. Fire flashes from heaven, and consumes the sacrifice of the penitent sinner.
6 Cain now has an opportunity to see and acknowledge his mistake. He may change his course of action, and testify his obedience by presenting an offering precisely in accordance with the divine specification; and He who is no respecter of persons will have respect to the offering of faith and obedience.
7 After the disrespect shown to his commands, God does not leave Cain to himself; but he condescends to reason with the man that has shown himself so unreasonable. “And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?”
8 The Lord was not ignorant of the feelings of resentment cherished by Cain; but he would have Cain reflect upon his course, and, becoming convinced of his sin, repent, and set his feet in the path of obedience. There was no cause for his wrathful feelings toward either his brother or his God; it was his own disregard of the plainly expressed will of God that had led to the rejection of his offering. Through his angel messenger, God said to this rebellious, stubborn man: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” “If thou doest well”—not having your own way, but obeying God’s commandments, coming to him with the blood of the slain victim, thus showing faith in the promised Redeemer, who, in the fullness of time, would make an atonement for guilty man, that he might not perish, but have eternal life.
9 “And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” Abel’s offering had been accepted; but this was because Abel had done in every particular as God required him to do. This would not rob Cain of his birthright. Abel would love him as his brother, and as the younger, be subject to him.
10 Thus the matter was plainly laid open before Cain; but his combativeness was aroused because his course was questioned, and he was not permitted to follow his own independent ideas. He was angry with God and angry with his brother. He was angry with God because he would not accept the plans of sinful man in place of the divine requirements, and he was angry with his brother for disagreeing with him. Satan presents a temptation. The thought that he suggests is a terrible one; will Cain receive it?—Yes; he is opening the door of his heart to the whisperings of Satan. Envious and jealous of the preference shown to his younger brother, he will not hesitate to take his life.
11 Cain invites Abel to walk with him in the fields, and he there gives utterance to his unbelief and his murmuring against God. He claims that he was doing well in presenting his offering; and the more he talks against God, and impeaches his justice and mercy in rejecting his own offering and accepting that of his brother Abel, the more bitter are his feelings of anger and resentment.
12 Abel defends the goodness and impartiality of God, and places before Cain the simple reason why God did not accept his offering.
13 The fact that Abel ventured to disagree with him and even went so far as to point out his errors, astonished Cain. It was a new experience; for Abel had hitherto submitted to the judgment of his elder brother; and Cain was enraged to the highest degree that Abel did not sympathize with him in his disaffection. Abel would yield when conscience was not concerned; but when the course of the God of Heaven was brought in question, and Cain spoke derisively of the sacrifice of faith, Abel was courageous to defend the truth. Cain’s reason told him that Abel was right when he spoke of the necessity of presenting the blood of a slain victim if he would have his sacrifice accepted; but Satan presented the matter in a different light. He urged Cain on to a furious madness, till he slew his brother, and the sin of murder was laid upon his soul.
14 Some time had elapsed since the death of Abel. “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother’s keeper?” How true it is that one sin leads to another; and how forcibly is this truth illustrated in the case of Cain! He seemed surprised at the question, “Where is Abel thy brother?” He had gone so far in sin, had so far yielded himself to the influence of Satan, that he had lost a sense of the presence of God, and of his greatness and knowledge. So he lied to the Lord to cover up his guilt. Cain knew very well where his brother was; and God knew where he was, for there was a witness to the bloody deed.
15 The spirit of Satan had entered into Cain. Satan was an accuser, and Cain began his evil course by accusing God of partiality and injustice. Satan was a deceiver, and Cain deceived Abel by inviting him into the field when murder was in his heart, that he might do the dark deed in secret. Satan “was a murderer from the beginning;” and he instigated Cain to do the same cruel work. “He is a liar, and the father of it;” and here, too, Cain showed himself an apt and proficient pupil.
16 Again the Lord said to Cain. “What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” God had given Cain an opportunity to confess his sin before sentence should be pronounced against him. He had had time to reflect. He knew the enormity of the deed he had done, and of the falsehood he had told to conceal it. But he was rebellious still. The hand that had been stretched out against his brother was stretched out against God; and had the power been his, he would have silenced the accusing voice of God, as he had that of his brother.
17 Cain has proved himself incorrigible, and sentence is no longer deferred. The divine voice that has been heard in entreaty and expostulation pronounces the terrible words: “And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” In remorse and anguish, but not in repentance, Cain exclaims, as many who have rejected the word of the Lord have done, and will do again, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.”
(Concluded next week.)
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1 These two brothers, Cain and Abel, represent the whole human family. They were both tested on the point of obedience, and all will be tested as they were. Abel bore the proving of God. He revealed the gold of a righteous character, the principles of true godliness. But Cain’s religion had not a good foundation; it rested on human merit. He brought to God something in which he had a personal interest,—the fruits of the ground, which had been cultivated by his toil; and he presented his offering as a favor done to God, through which he expected to secure the divine approval. He obeyed in building an altar, obeyed in bringing a sacrifice; but it was only a partial obedience. The essential part, the recognition of the need of a Redeemer, was left out.
2 As far as birth and religious instruction were concerned, these brothers were equal, though Cain, being the first-born, was in some respects the favored one. Both were sinners, and both acknowledged the claims of God as an object of worship. To all outward appearance, their religion was the same up to a certain point of time; but the Bible history shows us that there was a time when the difference between the two became very great. This difference lay in the obedience of one and the disobedience of the other.
3 The apostle says that Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Abel grasped the great principles of redemption. He saw himself a sinner; and he saw sin, and its penalty, death, standing between his soul and communion with God. He brought the slain victim, the sacrificed life, thus acknowledging the claims of the law which had been transgressed. Through the shed blood he looked to the future Sacrifice, Christ dying on the cross of Calvary; and, trusting in the atonement that was there to be made, he had the witness that he was righteous and his offering accepted.
4 How did Abel know so well the plan of salvation?—Adam taught it to his children and grandchildren. And the apostle says that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” After Adam had sinned, a feeling of terror seized him. A constant dread was upon him; shame and remorse tortured his soul. In this state of mind he wished to be as far removed as possible from the presence of God, whom he had so loved to meet in his Eden home. But the Lord followed this conscience-stricken man, and while he condemned the sin of which Adam had been guilty, gave him words of gracious promise. In pronouncing the curse upon the deceiver, God had said: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
5 This was the first gospel sermon ever preached to fallen man; this promise was the star of hope, illuminating the dark and dismal future of the race. Adam gladly received the welcome assurance of deliverance, and diligently instructed his children in the way of the Lord. This promise was presented in close connection with the altar of sacrificial offerings. The altar and the promise stand side by side, and one casts clear beams of light upon the other, showing that the justice of an offended God could be appeased only by the death of his beloved Son. The bleeding victim consuming on the altar illustrated Adam’s teachings, and thus the sight of the eyes deepened the impression made by the hearing of the ear.
6 Abel heard these precious lessons, and to him they were like seed sown on good ground. Cain also heard them. He had the same privileges as his brother, but he did not improve them. He ventured to go contrary to the commands of God; and the result is strongly presented before us. Cain was not the victim of an arbitrary purpose; one was not elected to be chosen of God, and the other to be rejected. The whole matter rested upon doing or not doing as God had said.
7 In the case of Cain and Abel we have a type of two classes that will exist in the world till the close of time; and this type is worthy of close study. There is a marked difference in the characters of these two brothers, and the same difference is seen in the human family today. Cain represents those who carry out the principles and works of Satan, by worshiping God in a way of their own choosing. Like the leader whom they follow, they are willing to render partial obedience, but not entire submission to God. Man, in the pride of his heart, would like to believe that he can confer some favor upon God; that our heavenly Father may be the receiver, and not always the giver. But God will not be bribed. He says: “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” Man has nothing to give that he has not first received from God.
8 The Cain class of worshipers includes by far the largest number; for every false religion that has been invented has been based on the Cain principle, that man can depend upon his own merits and righteousness for salvation.
9 The great controversy from Adam’s day down to our time has been on the point of obedience or opposition to God’s law; and every soul will be found on the side of the obedient or the rebellious. Satan, who was once a mighty and lofty angel in Heaven, is the leader of the rebellion against God. From the first it has been his object to dethrone God, by breaking down the rules of his government. He had induced angels to join him in Heaven; and when Adam sinned, he thought to carry the whole human race on his side. The declaration of God, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed,” was the first intimation Satan received that the world would not be given over to his dark sway, but that man would have a Redeemer. There is naturally no enmity between fallen angels and fallen men. Both are evil; and evil, wherever it exists, will league against the good.
10 Man was promised a Redeemer, and was granted a second trial, to see if he would develop a righteous character; but he is left a free moral agent. And in all ages the multitudes have accepted the Cain principle, and have maintained that a partial obedience is all that is necessary. They have claimed a right to the favor of God, while disregarding his positive commands. This is the position of the Christian world today. God has given men a code of laws, and the fourth precept of that code enjoins the observance of the Sabbath as a memorial of creation. There is but one Sabbath of the Lord, and that is the seventh day. Special injunctions have been laid upon men to remember this day to keep it holy; but many show their contempt for the divine authority by keeping, in its place, a day which God has given them as a day of labor.
11 Those who cherish error have ever manifested a spirit of intolerance toward the obedient children of God. They are actuated by the spirit that led Cain to slay his brother. “And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” Abel, the first martyr, was not old and feeble, but a youth, full of life and vigor; but he lay down his life for the truth of God. And all the way down through the ages there have been some who have lost their lives because of their adherence to religious principles.
12 Our Saviour himself was a victim of religious intolerance. “He came unto his own; but his own received him not.” Had he praised and exalted men, had he called corruption purity, and given license to human creeds by teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, they would have received him gladly. But his zeal for God, the righteous fervor with which he denounced every abomination that was done in the land, and, above all, the sinless purity of his own character, aroused the bitter hatred of the “whited sepulchers” who deceived the people by the appearance of great sanctity. Satan and evil angels united with evil men to destroy from the earth the champion of truth. There was a bruising of the heel of the seed of the woman, when Christ was scorned as a deceiver, and was hunted down and put to death as a criminal; but could Satan have induced him to commit one sin, there would have been a bruising of the head, and the world would have been abandoned to the power of the prince of darkness.
13 The religion of Christ is for men to accept, with all its inconveniences. They may invent an easier way; but it will not lead to the city of God, the saints’ secure abode. Only those who “do his commandments,” will have “right to the tree of life,” and “enter in through the gates into the city.”
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1 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12.
2 The Jews rejected Christ; but they were self-deceived. They hated his teachings, because he exposed the secrets of their hearts and reproved their sins. They chose darkness rather than light, and would not come to the light, fearing that their deeds would be manifest. “This is the condemnation,” said Christ, “that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” The Jews rejected Christ until their eyes were so blinded by the moral darkness that they thought they were doing God service in crucifying the Son whom he had sent unto them to be a messenger of light and hope.
3 Very many are in danger of a similar deception. God does not compel men to believe. He sets light before them, and Satan presents his darkness. While the deceiver is constantly crying, Light is here, truth is here; Jesus is saying, “I am the truth; I have the words of eternal life. If any man follow me, he shall not walk in darkness. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.”
4 Sufficient evidence is given to balance our minds on the side of truth. If we love God, and desire to do his will, we shall choose the light and reject the darkness. But if we desire to carry out our own plans, and maintain the independence of the natural heart, like the Jews we shall refuse to submit to God; and we shall be in danger of as great deception as came upon them, and in our blind infatuation we may go to as great lengths as they did, and yet flatter ourselves that we are doing the will of God.
5 Minds that are submitted to Satan’s control are led farther and farther from the light of truth into error and darkness. He has great power to entangle souls by confusing the minds of those who do not walk in the light which a kind Providence permits to shine upon their pathway. If he gains the least advantage, he will push it to the utmost; he will watch every opportunity to advantage his cause and ruin human souls.
6 Christ warned his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Here is a test which all may apply if they will. None need be left in uncertainty and doubt. There is always sufficient evidence upon which to base an intelligent faith. But God will never remove from any man all occasion for doubts. Those who love to dwell in the atmosphere of doubt and questioning unbelief can have the unenviable privilege. He who turns from the weight of evidence because there are a few things that he cannot make plain to his finite understanding, will be left to the cold, chilling atmosphere of unbelief and skepticism, and will make shipwreck of faith.
7 It should not be considered a virtue to be on the side of the doubting rather than on the side of the believing. Jesus never praised unbelief, never commended a doubting, questioning spirit. He gave to his nation evidence of his Messiahship in the miracles he wrought; but there were some who reasoned these evidences away, and in every good work found something to question and censure.
8 The centurion who desired Christ to come and heal his servant felt unworthy to have Jesus come under his roof; but his faith was so strong that he entreated him just to say the word, and the work of healing would be done. “When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self-same hour.”
9 Jesus here exalts faith in contrast with doubt. He shows the cause of stumbling on the part of the children of Israel. Their unbelief would lead to the rejection of light and would result in their condemnation and overthrow.
10 Thomas would not believe unless he could put his finger into the prints of the nails, and thrust his hand into the side of his Lord. He received the evidence he desired; but Jesus reproved his unbelief: “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
11 When Christ sent out the twelve, he commanded them: “And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into a house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment, than for that city.”
12 Jesus warned those whom he sent out to preach the gospel to beware of men; for they would be delivered up to the councils, and scourged in the synagogues. Men’s hearts are no softer today than when Christ was upon the earth. They will scourge with the tongue of slander and falsehood. They will, with their evil surmisings, see fraud and dishonesty where all is right, and where perfect integrity exists.
13 Noah preached to the men of his time that God would give them one hundred and twenty years in which to repent of their sins and find refuge in the ark. This was abundant time in which to turn from their sins, overcome bad habits, and form righteous characters. But they refused the gracious invitation to repent and be saved. They denounced the preacher of righteousness as a visionary character, a fanatic, and an alarmist, and laughed to scorn what they termed his superstitious fears and forebodings. But though the merciful warning of God was rejected with mockery and derision, their unbelief did not hinder the predicted event. They were left in darkness to follow the curse that their own sinful hearts had chosen; but the flood came, and great was the wrath of God which was seen in the general ruin.
14 “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” This is the attitude of the world today. Men reject the truth of God, as they did in Noah’s time.
15 God’s word is our standard; but how few follow it. And yet we are responsible for our influence. Many lose their interest in the truth of God, because they have taken unbelief into close connection with themselves. They breathe the atmosphere of doubt, of questioning, of infidelity; their faith is imperceptibly undermined, and finally destroyed. The influence of the world and of selfishness is carried about by many who profess to be following the Bible. They are like a cloud, chilling the atmosphere in which others move. The baleful influence of sin poisons the life of the soul, and our only safety is in separation from those who walk in its darkness.
16 Our religion will be of little worth to our fellow-men, if it is only theoretical, and not practical. We must be steadfast in the faith; we must not be movable. We have our work before us, which is to cause the light of truth, as revealed in the law of God, to shine in upon other minds, and lead them out of darkness. This work requires determined, persevering energy, and a fixed purpose to succeed.
17 “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” The greatest triumph given to us by the religion of Christ is control over ourselves. Our natural propensities must be controlled. Few realize what this is. They do not know their own weakness; and the natural sinfulness of the human heart often paralyzes their best endeavors. There must be a coming out from the world, and a nearness to God, if we would be adopted into the family of Heaven as children of the great King. We must walk by faith. When we do the will of God, we shall know of the doctrine. Our feet will be planted on the rock of eternal truth, and we shall not be swept away by the doubt and skepticism of an unbelieving age.
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1 “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:2-6.
2 The disciples had been disputing among themselves which of them should be greatest, as we learn from the account of this incident given by Mark and Luke. The disciples did not understand the nature of the kingdom that Christ was to set up. They looked for an earthly kingdom, with an earthly rule; their ambition was aroused, and there was an anxiety for the first place. Jesus understood the thoughts and feelings of their hearts. He saw that they lacked the precious grace of humility, and that here was a lesson which it was essential for them to learn. He knew the subject of their conversation by the way, when they had spoken freely, thinking themselves alone. So calling a little child unto him, he said to them, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”
3 Again Jesus said: “Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.” Here we have an expression of the care which our Saviour has for his people. Man is the crowning glory of the Creator’s works, and he has been redeemed at an inconceivable cost to the Son of God. None but he could restore to man the moral image of God, which had been lost through transgression. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. He is represented as the true Shepherd. Leaving the ninety and nine in the wilderness, he goes in search of the wandering, straying sheep. He continues to search under the most discouraging circumstances, shrinking not from hardships and peril, until he finds the wanderer; and then all the suffering, and trial, and peril endured for its sake are forgotten in the joy of finding the lost sheep. When through genuine repentance for sin, and faith in Christ, the sinner has been brought back to the fold of God, there is joy in Heaven.
4 Jesus here presents the duty of man to his fellow-man. Whatever his position in life, man is the purchase of the blood of Christ, and should not be treated with indifference or contempt. Satan opposes great obstacles to the salvation of the human family. There is a rugged path for them to tread if they would journey Heavenward, and each needs all the encouragement his fellow travelers can give him as he toils up the steep ascent. God’s word opens to us the wonderful conflict between light and darkness, good and evil, Heaven and hell. We are each on the battle ground, and Satan is striving for the victory. We should never lay a stumbling-block in the way of one who is fighting the battle with the powers of darkness and his own carnal heart; but we should help one another in the close, hand-to-hand fight with the deceiver of souls, in which we are engaged.
5 I wish we could see this matter in its true light. A man sees himself in slavery to sin, led captive by Satan at his will, and he tries to break the chain of sinful habits by which he is bound. He flees to Jesus as his helper; and our all-pitying Saviour undertakes his case, and enters the field of battle in his behalf. It is the Son of God combating the prince of darkness; and the prize for which they contend is the soul of man. If the sinner trusts implicitly to the mighty Helper, through his strength he becomes a conqueror, and wins the prize of everlasting life. Thus the battle is fought over and over again, and with what interest angels watch the warfare. And when through earnest faith and prayer man obtains the victory, there is joy in the presence of God.
6 But too often man looks with cold indifference upon the conflicts through which his fellow-man is passing, as though these fierce struggles with the powers of darkness were nothing that concerned him. When we see the divine condescension, the sacrifices and sorrows, to which the Son of the infinite God subjected himself in order to accomplish the salvation of the fallen race, how can we remain indifferent? Should not the tenderness, pity, and love of Christ take hold of our very hearts, and lead us to manifest the same spirit toward every soldier in the ranks of our great Captain? Should we not remember that we too are weak, and that in the warfare we are waging we need help and sympathy?
7 Those who are co-laborers with Christ will exercise that carefulness, manifest that love, in dealing with their fellow-men, of which Christ has given us an example in his life, and which he has impressed upon our hearts by the lessons of his word. But our work does not end here. The poor, straying, lost sheep are to be hunted up, and brought back to the fold. They are to be cared for, strengthened, and encouraged. We each need a Saviour, and we each need the sympathy, watchcare, and love of our brethren. As we are brought together in church capacity, we pledge ourselves to be faithful one to another; and any failure in our duty here, any wrong done to our brother, is registered in the books of Heaven as a wrong done to Christ in the person of his saints.
8 If we had a true sense of the work of Christ, we should appreciate the worth of souls for whom he died. “Love one another, as I have loved you,” said Christ. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us.” As we see the love which Christ has shown for fallen man, the divine compassion which he has manifested for the weak, the erring, and the most sinful, how it should humble our proud hearts, and awaken in them a deep, earnest, and far-reaching love for souls.
9 We are erring, and we shall see errors in those who are connected with us in the faith. They will have to bear with our perversities, and we must bear with theirs. But let us be careful to move with an eye single to the glory of God, and not to offend or grieve the souls so precious in his sight. If we see that a brother is wrong, if we see that he is pursuing a course that will bring darkness upon his own soul, and is imperiling the souls of others, there is one course that Christ has told us to pursue, and there is no other safe course for us to take.
10 If a brother has done you an injury, my Christian friend, you are not to seek revenge, nor even to harbor a desire for retaliation; but you should pity him; he has need of your pity. Have the same feelings of compassion for him that you would have others manifest for you if you were enshrouded in darkness. Call to mind the many times that you have erred, and made mistakes in your life-work; and remember how hard it has been to find the right way when you had once left it. If you have the Spirit of Christ abiding in you, no unkind words will fall from your lips. You will not push your brother into greater darkness, but with a heart full of pity you will tell him of his danger. You will get down and pray with him, and perhaps save his soul from death, and thus cover a multitude of sins. What right have you to pursue any other course than this? If you do, you walk contrary to the rule given by God, and grieve his Holy Spirit.
11 Let us take the words of Christ. If the man has done you an injury, go to him, and between you and him alone seek to set the matter right. Do not go to any one but himself. If he refuses to hear you, then take two or three others, and go to him again; but do not publish it in the church or out of the church. When you have done your duty, if he still refuses to hear you, then let the church take it up; but let them deal gently with the erring. Do not even listen to the gossiping tongue. If one comes to you with an evil report, ask him if he has been to the offending brother, as the Bible directs. If he has not, refuse even to hear him. Nine-tenths of the church trials might be avoided, if all would, in the spirit of kindness and love, pursue the course marked out by Inspiration. This can only be done by breaking down everything like a spirit of self-righteousness.
12 We want love and mercy to take possession of our hearts, and be interwoven with our characters; for just as we deal mercifully with others, God will deal mercifully with us. Oh, for more of the tender love of Jesus, more of the spirit of true humility before God! These are the lessons we must learn individually, in order to preserve harmony and peace, and gain the approval of our heavenly Father.
13 What we need is to be obedient to the word of God. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
14 Here is brought to view the work of purification that will be carried on by every child of God. Angels are weighing character. They are marking our errors and defects, and recording them in the books of Heaven. In a little time in the future these books will be opened, and every man will be judged according to his deeds, and according to the light that has shone upon his pathway.
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1 “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
2 There is a work for all to do to open the door of the heart to the heavenly visitor. The Lord of glory, who has redeemed us by his own blood, seeks admittance; but too often we do not welcome him in. Worldliness does not incline us to throw wide open the door of the heart at the knock of him who is seeking entrance. Some open the door slightly, and permit a little light from his presence to enter; but they do not bid him hearty welcome. There is no room for Jesus; the place which should have been reserved for him is occupied with other things. He entreats, and for a time they feel inclined to hear and open the door; but even this inclination departs, and they fail to secure the communion with the heavenly guest which it was their privilege to have.
3 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” says the Saviour. The mansions in glory are his, and the joy of that heavenly abode; yet he humbles himself to seek an entrance at the door of the heart, that he may bless us with his light, and make us to rejoice in his glory. His work is to seek and to save that which is lost and ready to perish. He will redeem from sin and death all who will come to him; and will elevate them to his throne, and give them everlasting life.
4 Jesus will not force open the door of the heart. We must open it ourselves, and show that we desire his presence by giving him a sincere welcome. If all would make thorough work of clearing away the world’s rubbish, and preparing a place for Jesus, he would enter, and abide with them, and would do a great work through them for the salvation of others. But many receive not the tokens of God’s mercy and loving-kindness with thankful hearts; they do not bend their energies and unite their interests in his work, and they do not share in the blessing that he is waiting to bestow.
5 “If any man hear my voice,” says Christ, “and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” These words are not addressed simply to the more intelligent and refined, but to all, without respect of persons. A man may not bear the most pleasant exterior; he may be deficient in many respects; but if he will come to Christ, he will in nowise be cast out. The trouble is that many who make a profession of Christ are controlled by feeling. Their heart has not been renewed by the transforming influence of the Spirit of God. They have not depth and stability of character. Principle does not reach down deep, underlying the springs of action. And when sacrifices are to be made for the cause of Christ, they are found wanting.
6 To such cold-hearted professors I would say, Be entreated to seek Christ while he invites you to come to him that you may have life. I wish I could alarm you; I wish I could arouse you to action. You have no time to lose. Make mighty efforts to rescue yourselves from Satan’s snare. He is vigilant in his efforts; his perseverance is untiring, his zeal earnest and unabated. He does not wait for his prey to come to him; he seeks for it. To wrench souls from the hand of Christ is his determined purpose. Yet if you will come to Christ, and make him your trust, you will be in no danger. He will fight the battle for you, and will overcome the powers of darkness in your behalf.
7 You need to humble your hearts before God, and seek meekness and righteousness, that you may be hid in the day of the Lord’s fierce anger. You need to be forming a character for Heaven and eternal life. What account will you render to God for the time he has given you,—for the use you make of the privileges he has placed within your reach? To you the gracious words are spoken: “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” If you neglect the invitation, the mercy that you have despised will condemn you in the Judgment.
8 Dedicate yourselves unreservedly to the Lord; then it will not be difficult to serve him, and you can do good in the world. You can “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”
9 It is not enough that we admit Christ into our hearts; he must abide there. We must encourage his presence by a life of prayer. Jesus is our example in all things; and when our human nature was upon him, prayer became to him a necessity and a privilege. He found joy and comfort in communion with his Father. Here he could unburden the sorrows that were crushing him; for he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and he needed all the divine support and comfort which the Father was ready to impart to his Son, who had left the joys of Heaven, and chosen his home, for the benefit of man, in a cold and thankless world.
10 Jesus had select places of prayer. He loved the solitude of the mountain in which to hold communion with his Father. Through the day he labored earnestly to save men from destruction. He healed the sick, comforted the mourning, called the dead to life, and brought cheerfulness and hope to the despairing. After his work was finished for the day, he went forth, evening after evening, away from the confusion of the city, and his form was bowed in supplication to his Father. At times the bright beams of the moon shone upon him, and then again the clouds and darkness shut away all light. He frequently continued his petitions through the entire night, and the dew and frost rested upon his head and beard while in the attitude of supplication. And he came forth from these seasons of prayer invigorated and refreshed, braced for duty and trial.
11 In thus becoming a suppliant, a mighty petitioner, seeking from his Father fresh supplies of strength, he identified himself with our needs and our weaknesses. As he is our example in all things, so he became a brother in our infirmities, but not a companion in our sins. His nature recoiled from evil, and in a sinful world he endured anguish and torture of soul. If the Saviour of men, with his divine strength, felt the need of prayer, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of prayer, fervent, constant, importunate prayer!
12 Watch, pray, and work, are the Christian’s watchwords. The life of a living Christian is a life of constant prayer. The light and strength of one day will not be sufficient for the trials and conflicts of the next. Satan is constantly changing his temptations, as he did with Christ. Every day we may be placed in new positions. And in the untried scenes that await us, we shall be surrounded by new dangers, and constantly assailed by new and unexpected temptations; but the strength and grace which we may gain from the accessible Heavens will enable us to meet the new temptations and bear the heavier responsibilities that are ever before us. Here, and here only, is our source of light and strength.
13 It is of the highest consequence that God manifest his will to us in the daily concerns of life; for the most important results frequently depend upon small occurrences. We cannot trust our own judgment, and the more we learn of the character and providence of God, the more fully we shall realize our own weakness and imperfection, and our dependence on divine strength and wisdom. We shall realize that in him we have what we so much need,—a sure guide to direct our faltering steps.
14 “The path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” The Christian’s life is one of progression. He goes forward from strength to strength, from grace to grace, from glory to glory, receiving from Heaven the light which Christ, at infinite cost to himself, made it possible for man to obtain. But the Christian cannot let his light shine properly unless he receives, day by day, an increase of the divine illumination, corresponding with his growth in the knowledge of Bible truth. It would be as inconsistent to expect to be sustained on the morrow by food eaten today, as to depend on present light and present blessings for future strength.
15 The Master requires his servants not only to grow in grace, but to improve upon the talents that he has committed to them. The good works of God’s people have a more powerful influence than words. Their virtuous life and unselfish acts testify for God, and lead the beholder to desire the same righteousness which has produced such good fruit in their characters. He is charmed with the power from God which transforms selfish human beings into the divine image, and God is honored, his name glorified.
16 Oh! why will not God’s people comply with the conditions laid down in his word? If they would, they would not fail to realize the excellent blessings freely given to the humble and obedient. Perfection, holiness, nothing short of this, would give them success in carrying out the principles he has given them. Without this holiness, the human heart is selfish, sinful, and vicious; but holiness of heart will produce right actions, and will lead its possessor to abound in all good works. The Christian will never become weary in well doing, neither will he look for promotion in this world. He will look forward for promotion to the time when the Majesty of Heaven shall exalt the sanctified ones to his throne. Then, enumerating the works of self-denial and mercy, compassion and righteousness, which they have wrought, he will say unto them, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
17 Jesus is now inviting us to come unto him; who will listen to his voice? Let us take a higher stand than we have hitherto done. Let us make it our first business to gain the kingdom of Heaven and the righteousness of Christ, and the eternal reward will be ours at the end of the race.
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1 “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
2 These are words which Christ addresses to his redeemed people. He invites them to become patient toilers in a field which calls for self-denying labor; but it is a glorious work, and one that Heaven smiles upon. Faithful work is more acceptable to God than the most zealous formal worship. True worship consists in working together with Christ. Prayers, exhortations, and talk are cheap fruits, which are frequently tied on; but fruits that are manifested in good works, in caring for the needy, the fatherless, and widows, are genuine, and grow naturally upon a good tree.
3 Pure religion and undefiled before the Father consists in visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and in keeping unspotted from the world. We should cultivate the doing principle. When one’s heart sympathizes with others burdened with discouragement and grief; when his hand clothes the naked, and the stranger is made welcome to a seat at his fireside and at his board, then angels come very near with notes of joy and praise on their lips, and an answering strain responds in Heaven. Every deed of justice and mercy and benevolence makes music there. The Father from his throne beholds, and numbers the unselfish laborers among his most precious treasures. “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.” Every merciful act to the needy or the suffering is as though done to Christ. Whoever succors the poor, or sympathizes with the afflicted and oppressed, or befriends the orphan, thereby brings himself into a closer relationship with the pitying Saviour.
4 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, or a thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.
5 Jesus identifies himself with his suffering people. I was hungry and thirsty; I was a stranger; I was naked; I was sick; I was in prison. While you were enjoying the food from your bountifully spread tables, I was famishing with hunger in the hovel or street not far from you. When you closed your doors against me while your well-furnished rooms were unoccupied, I had not where to lay my head. While your wardrobes were filled with an abundant supply of changeable suits of apparel, upon which means had been needlessly squandered,—means which you might have given to the needy, I was destitute of comfortable raiment. When you were enjoying health, I was sick. Misfortune cast me into prison and bound me with fetters, bowing down my spirit, depriving me of freedom and hope, while you roamed at liberty. What a oneness Jesus here represents as existing between himself and his suffering disciples. He makes their case his own. He represents himself as being, in their person, the very sufferer. Mark this, selfish Christian; every neglect on your part to care for the needy and to sympathize with those in distress, is a neglect to Jesus in their person.
6 Some who make high professions are so encased in selfishness that they cannot appreciate the generous principles of the Christian religion. All their lives they have lived only for self. To make a worthy sacrifice to do others good, to disadvantage themselves for the purpose of benefiting others, is out of the question with them. They have not the least idea that God requires this at their hand. Precious weeks, months, and years pass into eternity; but no record is made in Heaven of kindly acts of self-sacrifice, of feeding the hungry, of clothing the naked, or taking in the stranger. Entertaining strangers at a venture is not agreeable; if they knew that all who shared their bounty were worthy, then they might be induced to do something in that direction. But there is virtue in venturing something.
7 When the King shall make investigation, the do-nothing, illiberal, selfish souls will learn that Heaven is for those who have been workers,—those who have denied themselves for Christ’s sake. No provision has been made for those who have taken such special care in looking out for themselves. The terrible punishment threatened to those on the King’s left hand is not, in this case, the penalty of some great crime. They are not condemned for the things which they did do, but for that which they did not do. They did not do those duties which Heaven assigned to them. They pleased themselves, and they must take their portion with self-pleasers.
8 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares,” says the apostle. Has this injunction no force in the present age? Our heavenly Father lays in our pathway blessings in disguise; but some will not take these blessings for fear they will detract from their selfish enjoyment.
9 The widow of Sarepta shared her morsel with Elijah, and in return for making a home for the prophet of God, she was herself sustained, and her life and that of her son was preserved. Thus would it be with others, if, for the glory of God, they would cheerfully take a similar course. But many plead poor health. They have so long shut themselves up to themselves, and thought of their own poor feelings and sufferings, that they cannot think of others, however much they may be in need of sympathy and assistance.
10 You who are suffering from poor health, there is help for you. Doing good is an excellent remedy for disease. If you clothe the naked, and bring the poor that are cast out to your house, and deal your bread to the hungry, then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily. You are invited to bring your prayers to God, and he has pledged himself to answer them. Your soul shall be satisfied in drought, and shall be like a watered garden, whose waters fail not.
11 If you engage in works of mercy and love, will it prove too hard for you? Will you fail, and be crushed under the burden, and your family be deprived of your assistance and influence?—Oh, no, God has carefully removed all doubts on this question by a pledge to you on condition of obedience. This promise covers all that the most exacting, the most hesitating could demand: “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.” Only believe that He is faithful who has promised. God can renew the physical health; and more, he says he will do it. And the promise does not end here: “Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.” God will build a fortification around you.
12 “Be not weary in well-doing; for in due time ye shall reap if ye faint not.” Do not wait to be told your duty. Open your eyes and see what is to be done; make yourselves acquainted with the wants of the needy. Hide not yourselves from them; close not your eyes to their needs.
13 The harvest is coming,—the great reaping time, when you shall reap what you have sown. There will be no failure in the crop. The harvest is sure. Now is the sowing time. Now make efforts to be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for yourselves a good foundation against the time to come, that ye may lay hold on eternal life.
14 Some will excuse themselves on the plea that they have bestowed their charity on unworthy persons, and have become discouraged. To such I present the example of Jesus. He came to save fallen man. He came to bring salvation to his own nation; but they would not accept him. They treated his mercy with insult and contempt, and at length put to death him who came to give them life. But did our Lord turn from the fallen race because of this? Nay, verily; and he is our pattern. Though for ninety-nine times your efforts to do good are unsuccessful, and you receive only insult, reproach, and hate, yet if the hundredth time proves a success, and one soul is saved, oh, what a victory is achieved! This will a thousand times pay you for all your efforts. And to you Jesus will say, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
15 The reason that God’s people are not more spiritually-minded, and that they have not more faith, is because they are narrowed by selfishness. It is not the abundance of your meetings that God accepts. It is not the numerous prayers, but it is right-doing—doing the right thing and at the right time. We must be less self-caring, and more benevolent. Our souls must expand. Then God will make them like a watered garden, whose waters fail not.
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1 There are but few in this age of the world who have moral courage to take their position on the side of unpopular truth. Its principles are the principles of Heaven. Hence it conflicts with every wrong habit and sinful desire. Those who accept and obey the truth, must deny self, bear the cross daily, and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Therefore there is a constant warfare between inclination and duty. Inclination too often prevails, and silences the convictions of the Holy Spirit.
2 The faith which we cherish as “present truth” is sustained by the clearest and most conclusive evidence from the word of God. Still there is urged against it one objection which our ablest ministers cannot remove. Christ himself could not remove it. It has effectually barred the way of life to thousands. This hindrance is the cross. The cross, covered with shame and reproach, which Jesus bore for us, stands directly in the Christian’s path. To evade that cross, the selfish, the world-loving, and the pleasure-seeking turn from the light that would guide their feet to Heaven. They choose doubt, unbelief, and infidelity, that they may have the pleasure of following inclination, and giving loose rein to the promptings of the carnal heart. Those who choose the broader and easier path, may enjoy the friendship of the world, which inspiration declares to be enmity with God; they may receive the empty praise of men whose hearts are not pure and whose lives are not holy; but they lose the only honor which is of lasting value, the honor which comes from above. They may secure worldly gain and transient pleasure, but they lose the eternal riches and that life which measures with the life of God. The language of many who are standing undecided is—
“I thought that the course of the pilgrim to Heaven
Would be bright as the summer, and glad as the morn;
Thou show’dst me the path; it was dark and uneven,
All rugged with rock, and all tangled with thorn.
“I dreamt of celestial rewards and renown;
I grasped at the triumph which blesses the brave;
I asked for the palm branch, the robe, and the crown:
I asked—and thou show’dst me a cross and a grave.”
3
Those who sincerely believe and teach the word of God must expect to be received by the world with no greater favor than was the ancient preacher of righteousness. Those who lived in Noah’s day despised his prophecy; they styled his warnings the delusive fancies of an imbecile old man. But the unbelief and mockery of the people did not hinder the event. God manifested his power in a manner which has astonished the philosophers of every age.
4 The laws of nature cannot prevent the fulfillment of God’s word. The law is never greater than the Lawgiver, nor are the things created greater than the Creator. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man. As men are warned of impending judgment, thousands will say, It cannot be. They will despise the truth, make light of prophecy, and deride the teacher of righteousness. One will turn aside to his farm, another to his merchandise, and care for none of these things.
5 The inhabitants of the antediluvian world were condemned to destruction for their iniquity; yet they had the offer of mercy. By repentance and reformation of life, they might have secured forgiveness and the protection of God. So in this dispensation, everyone who believes and obeys the divine word will find pardon and a shelter from the wrath to come. The history of their sins, with the sure destruction that followed, should be a warning to us. There is to be a baptism of fire as there was of water, and all the unbelief and scoffing of the ungodly will not hinder the event.
6 The Scriptures briefly state the reason for the prevailing iniquity in Noah’s day. The sons of God married the daughters of men. Those who still cherished the knowledge of God united themselves with the ungodly and corrupt, and as a result became assimilated to them in character. The message of warning would have been received by a larger number, had it not been for their connection and association with those who despised and derided the word of God.
7 In the days of Noah the Spirit of God was so long and stubbornly rejected that it ceased to strive with men. Thus will it be prior to the end of the world. When the gospel falls on closed ears, when the Holy Spirit ceases to imprint the truth upon the heart, preaching and hearing will alike be in vain. Are we not fast approaching this state of things?
8 Those who would stand now must be Bible readers and Bible Christians; they must faithfully obey the divine precepts, both in private and in public. There are some who think it an evidence of superior ability to manifest indifference for the Bible and for religious things. They think it weak and unmanly to be always fearing to do wrong. Many a man permits himself to be allured from Christ, from purity and holiness, by those whom at heart he despises. And these very persons will privately ridicule his weakness in yielding to temptation. Those who associate with godless companions learn ways of life, habits of thought and speech, which lead them down to darkness and perdition. To win the applause of the low, the worthless, and the vulgar, they degrade themselves in the sight of God and man.
9 There is no class in greater danger than the young. Evil men and seducers are no less active now than before the flood. On the contrary, the word of God declares that they shall wax worse and worse. There are not wanting agents of Satan to taunt and ridicule all who would be true to virtue and to God. We are pained to see young men fearful or ashamed to acknowledge their principle before the ungodly or the blasphemer; ashamed that they have cherished holier sentiments, and cultivated purer morals. Oh, if these youth would but be firm and bold in the practice of virtue; if they would frown down the base advances of the agents of Satan, what a victory might be gained over the world, the flesh, and the devil! God calls upon the youth of today to love and serve him with the whole heart. They need a daily connection with Heaven to keep them unsullied by the corruptions of the last days.
10 Says Christ, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” And again, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.” Those who obey God’s will as it is revealed to their understanding, will be safely guided into the way of life. But it is impossible for finite man to fully understand the purposes and ways of the Infinite One. Those who refuse to accept and obey God’s word until every objection has been removed, and there is no longer an opportunity for doubt, will never come to the light. Truth and error are before us. God has given us sufficient evidence to determine the right way, and then he leaves us to choose for ourselves.
11 Jesus calls us to walk with him in the light, instead of wandering in the dark mazes of unbelief. If men would but stop to consider the worth of the soul, and their own need of a Saviour, they would gladly, gratefully accept the hand which he has stretched out to them. Alas that so many, in their pride and stubbornness of heart, refuse to accept the guidance of infinite wisdom! Faith, hope, and love, man’s highest and noblest faculties, have been paralyzed by sin and Satan. But Jesus stands ready to awaken them to new life, that they may be enlisted in his service. The power of renewing grace will bring them again into vigorous exercise.
12 Temptations to discouragement will at times come upon the children of God like an overwhelming torrent. Many are disheartened as they see that Christian example and instruction seem almost powerless before the tide of ignorance and unbelief. But Jesus is the stronghold of his people. His light shines still. It can never be quenched. Though evil now seems to prevail over righteousness and truth, yet it is by no means the strongest power. It shall not always conquer. Nay, even now its end is nigh. Truth and righteousness are plants of heavenly origin. God nourishes them every hour. He will no more suffer them to die than he will forget the honor of his own throne and name.
13 Every Christian must meet trial and temptation. Those who basely shun the reproach of Christ, and choose the honor which the world bestows, will surely reap the bitter harvest. Separation from God, the loss of Heaven, agony and despair, must be their portion. But if we will stand fearlessly and firmly for God and the right, relying upon the promises of the sacred word, we shall not be ashamed. Earth and hell can have no power to triumph over us. Let not the weakest be discouraged because they are assailed by temptation. The best men who ever lived have been grievously assaulted by Satan and his agents. Unless we yield to its power, temptation is not sin. The armor of truth will prove a sure defense against all the fiery darts of the enemy.
14 Yet the Christian should not place himself needlessly in the way of temptation. Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own, laden with the fragrance of love and piety, the heavy fogs of unbelief, or the deadly poison of infidelity and crime. When brought in contact with others, we are unconsciously affected by the atmosphere surrounding them. If this be laden with moral poison, the very life-blood of the soul may become tainted ere we are conscious of danger.
15 The worth of a human soul can be estimated only by the light reflected from the cross of Calvary. So terrible was the doom of the lost race, so great the glory to which the redeemed might be exalted, that the Father is satisfied with the infinite price which he pays for their redemption. It was the joy set before Christ in accomplishing so great salvation that led him to submit to shame, agony, and death. How do all the treasures and the glories of earth sink into insignificance when compared with the value of a human soul! As I see in the world such astonishing indifference to the work of redemption; as I see the unbelief, the skepticism, the Heaven-daring rebellion against God and his law, I am more and more convinced that we have reached those days of peril foretold in the Scriptures. I feel assured that the end is near; that our time of waiting and watching is short; and that the cause and truth of God will soon triumph.
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1 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
2 We are in a world where hearts need human sympathy; and God has given us benevolence, that we may realize this need, and be kind and charitable to all with whom we come in contact. We often see a charitable disposition manifested by men and women who have never given their hearts to Christ, and it is a sad sight indeed when his professed followers lack this great essential of Christianity. They do not copy the Pattern; and it is impossible for them to reflect the image of Jesus in their lives and deportment.
3 Love is one of the fruits of true piety. Those who truly carry out the principles of the law of God in their daily lives will realize that suffering humanity has claims upon them. They will not only love God supremely, but their neighbor as themselves. Jesus illustrated this principle in the parable which he told to a certain lawyer who “stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him by asking another question: “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.”
4 “This do,” said Jesus, not merely believe, but do, “and thou shalt live.” It is carrying out the principles of God’s law, and not merely a professed faith in its binding claims, that makes the Christian.
5 But the lawyer, “willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?” Jesus illustrates the spirit of cheerful benevolence which should be exercised toward all,—friends, neighbors, and strangers,—in the story that follows: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” A priest and a Levite who came that way, and saw his need of help, passed by on the other side. Notwithstanding their exalted professions of piety, their hearts were not stirred with pitying tenderness for the sufferer. A Samaritan, who made no such lofty pretensions to righteousness, came to the place. He saw in the unfortunate stranger a human being in distress, and his compassion was excited. He immediately “went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” And on the morrow he left the wounded man in the care of his host, with the assurance that on his return he would pay all charges.
6 Christ asks, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” Here is a lesson on the duties of man with reference to his fellow-man. Those who neglect to carry out the principles illustrated by this lesson, are not commandment-keepers, though they may pretend to revere the law of God.
7 Human sympathy, sanctified by the Spirit of Jesus, is an element that can be productive of great good. Those who cultivate benevolence are not only doing good to others, but they are benefiting themselves by opening their hearts to the benign influences of sympathy and love. Every ray of light shed upon others will be reflected upon our own hearts. Every kind and sympathizing word spoken to the sorrowful, every act to relieve the oppressed, and every gift to supply the necessities of the destitute, given or done with an eye single to God’s glory, will result in blessings to the giver. Those who are thus working are obeying a law of Heaven, and will receive the approval of God.
8 In the parable, Christ exalts the Samaritan above the priest and the Levite, who were great sticklers for the letter of the law in the ten commandments. The one obeyed the spirit of these commandments, while the other was content to express an exalted faith in them. But the apostle tells us that “faith without works is dead.”
9 When the advocates of the law of God plant their feet firmly on its principles, showing that they are loyal, not merely in name, but at heart also, carrying out in their lives the spirit of the law of God, and exercising true benevolence to man, then will they have moral power to move the world. But it is impossible for those who profess allegiance to God to correctly represent the principles of his law, while slighting the injunction to love our neighbor as ourselves.
10 We are under obligation, not only to secure Heaven ourselves, but to show others the way, and, through our care and disinterested love, to lead toward Christ those who come within the sphere of our influence. We are accountable, to a great degree, for the souls of those around us. Our words and deeds are constantly telling for or against the truth of God; and we are under personal obligation to exert an influence in its favor. The most eloquent sermon that can be preached upon the law of ten commandments is to do them. Obedience should be made a personal duty. Negligence here is flagrant sin.
11 Let the world see that we are not selfishly narrowed up to our own exclusive interests and our religious joys, but that we desire them to share our blessings and privileges, through the sanctifying influence of the truth; let them see that the religion which we profess does not close up or freeze up the avenues to the soul, making us unsympathizing and exacting; let all who profess to have found Christ, minister, as he did, to the needs of man, cherishing a spirit of wise benevolence; and we shall then see many souls following the light that shines from our precept and example.
12 We should cultivate an amiable disposition, and subject ourselves to the control of conscience. The truth of God makes better men and women of those who receive it in the love of it. It works like leaven till the entire being is brought into conformity to its principles. It opens the heart that has been frozen by avarice; it opens the hand that has been closed to human suffering; and kindness and charity are seen as its fruits.
13 Let us not bring a reproach upon the Christian religion by manifesting jealousy and intolerance toward others. No one has ever been reclaimed from a wrong position by censure or reproach; but many have thus been driven away from God, with their hearts steeled against conviction. A tender spirit, a gentle, winning deportment, may save the erring, and hide a multitude of sins. We are required of God to exercise that charity that suffereth long and is kind.
14 The religion of Christ does not require us to lose our identity of character, but merely to adapt ourselves, in some measure, to the feelings and ways of others. Many people may be brought together in a unity of religious faith, whose opinions, habits, and tastes in temporal matters are not in harmony. But with the love of Christ glowing in their bosoms, looking forward to the same Heaven as their eternal home, they may have the sweetest and most intelligent communion together, and a unity the most wonderful.
15 None should feel at liberty to preserve a cold and chilling reserve and iron dignity,—a spirit that repels those who are brought within its influence. This spirit is contagious; it creates an atmosphere that withers good impulses and good resolves; under its influence persons become constrained, and the natural current of human sympathy, cordiality, and love is choked. The gloom and chill of this unsocial atmosphere is reflected in the countenance; and not only is the spiritual health affected by this unnatural depression, but the physical health is affected also.
16 There are scarcely two whose experiences are alike in every particular. The trials of one may not be the trials of another; and our hearts should ever be open to kindly sympathy, and aglow with the divine love that Jesus manifested for all his brethren. Christ sometimes reproved with severity, and in some cases it may be necessary for us to do so; but we should consider that while Christ knew the exact condition of the ones he rebuked,—just the amount of reproof they could bear, and what was necessary to correct their course of wrong,—he also knew just how to pity the erring, comfort the unfortunate and encourage the weak. He knew just how to inspire hope and courage; for he was acquainted with the exact motives and the peculiar trials of every mind. He reproved with pity, and loved those he rebuked with a divine love.
17 Jesus could make no mistake; but human judgment is erring, and may be wrong. Men may misjudge motives; they may be deceived by appearances, and when they think they are doing right to reprove wrong, they may go too far, censure too severely, and wound where they wished to heal; or they may exercise sympathy unwisely, and, in their ignorance, counteract reproof that is merited and timely.
18 The Lord would have us submissive to his will, and sanctified to his service. Selfishness must be put away, with every other defect in our characters. There must be a daily death to self. Paul had this experience. He said, “I die daily.” Every day he had a new conversion; every day he took an advance step toward Heaven. We, too, must gain daily victories in the divine life, if we would enjoy the favor of God.
19 Our God is gracious, of tender pity, and plenteous in mercy. He knows our weaknesses and needs, and he will help our infirmities if we will only trust in him.
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1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
2 Our heavenly Father planted on earth a goodly vine, whose fruit should be to eternal life. But this precious plant appeared to human eyes as a root out of dry ground, having no form or comeliness. When the claim was put forth that it was of heavenly origin, the men of Nazareth became enraged, and cast it from them. The inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem took the vine of God’s own planting, and bruised it, and trampled it under foot, hoping to utterly destroy it forever. But now the Husbandman removed this goodly vine, and planted it in his own garden, beyond the spoiler’s reach. The stock and root were concealed from human sight, but still “the branches run over the wall.” Thus grafts can be united to the vine, and, partaking of its nourishment, become flourishing branches, and bring forth much fruit.
3 The figure of the vine is a perfect symbol. God sent his Son from the heavenly courts to a world seared and marred by the curse of sin. In Christ all fullness dwelt; in him was righteousness, peace, life,—everything necessary to man’s happiness and well-being. But the world hated the Son of the most high God. The world saw nothing attractive in him. The best gift of Heaven was slighted and spurned. Christ was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;” yet “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.” He was hated by evil men because his character was spotless, his works righteous. He came as the Redeemer of the world; yet he was taken by cruel hands, and shamefully entreated and crucified. God raised him from the dead, and he ascended to Heaven to plead his blood as the propitiation for our sins.
4 Though invisible to mortal sight, Christ still lives as the Redeemer of the world, the representative of man in the heavenly courts, and the medium through whom all blessings flow to the fallen race. His love is without a parallel. We cannot estimate the value of his life of toil and sacrifice, the precious ransom paid for our redemption. Surely it is not too much to ask the heart’s best and holiest affections in return for such wondrous love.
5 Said the Saviour to his disciples: “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” In this vine is all spiritual life. From the fullness of Christ alone can we obtain the nourishment that will enable us to bear fruit unto eternal life. The vine stock is unseen; but the branches, the members of his body, are visible. The branch that was apparently dry and leafless, by being connected with the living vine, becomes a part of it,—a partaker of its life and fatness. Fiber by fiber, and vein by vein, it adheres to the vine, till the life-giving sap causes it to bud, and blossom, and bear fruit.
6 The scion becomes a part of the vine by forming a perfect union with it. Thus it is with the sinner. The soul, dead in trespasses and sins, must experience a similar process in order to be reconciled to God, and to become a partaker of Christ’s life and joy. As the graft receives life when united to the vine, so the sinner partakes of the divine nature when connected with Christ by repentance and faith. This connection joins soul with soul, the finite with the infinite. When thus united, the words of Christ abide in us, and we are not actuated by a spasmodic feeling, but by a living, abiding principle.
7 Every branch united to the true vine brings forth fruit, not of its own kind, but that of the vine of which it has become a part. The Spirit of Christ flowing into the hearts of all who are truly united with him, makes them partakers of the divine nature. They will walk in the footsteps of their self-sacrificing, self-denying Redeemer. His purity and love will appear in their characters and their daily lives, while meekness and truth will guide their way.
8 “I am the true vine,” says Christ, “and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me [everyone who claims connection with me] that beareth not fruit, he taketh away.” This is the solemn warning that is addressed to each disciple. The careless and indifferent will after a time be overcome of temptation, and at last wholly separated from Christ.
9 But “every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Every fruitful branch is pruned; for even fruitful branches may display too much foliage, and appear what they really are not. Husbandmen clip off the surplus foliage of the vines, and the tendrils that are grasping the rubbish of earth, thus making them more fruitful. And when the Master sees that worldliness, self-indulgence, and pride are cropping out in the lives of his followers, he prunes them. These hindering causes must be removed, and the defective overgrowth cut away, to give room for the healing beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
10 Said Christ: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.” The branch can maintain its connection with the living vine only on condition that it bear fruit. And the fruit borne on the Christian tree is “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Rich clusters of this precious fruit will appear on every branch that is subjected to the pruning of the wise Husbandman. The result of union with Christ is purification of heart, a circumspect life, and a faultless character. Yet those who have attained to this degree of Christian perfection are the last to claim that they have any merits of their own. “Accepted in the Beloved,” objects of their heavenly Father’s constant care and unfailing mercy, they feel unworthy of the divine favor, and have too vivid a sense of utter dependence upon God to boast of their exalted position.
11 It is a sad fact that many who profess to be branches of the true vine show by their lives that they have no connection with it. Their words and actions, destitute of grace and meekness, resemble the stinging branches of the noxious thorn-tree, rather than the lovely, fruit-laden boughs of the precious vine. Love to God and love to our neighbor is the sum and substance of true piety. Those who are destitute of this love, and yet claim that they have gained high attainments in spiritual things, may for a time deceive their fellowmen, but they cannot deceive God. Says the true Witness, “I know thy works.” And in the great day of final accounts, God “will render to every man according to his deeds.”
12 Many misunderstand the object for which they were created. They do not realize that they were placed here to bless humanity and glorify God, rather than to enjoy and glorify self. God is constantly pruning his people, cutting off profuse, spreading branches, that they may bear fruit to his glory, and not produce leaves only. Idols must be given up, the conscience must become more tender, the meditations of the heart must be spiritual, and the entire character must become symmetrical.
13 Some who claim to be followers of Christ are withered branches, that must erelong be separated from the living vine. The love of the world has paralyzed their spiritual life, and they are not awake to the precious theme of redemption. The impression made on the world by these professed Christians is unfavorable to the religion of Christ. They manifest ambition and zeal in the business of the world; but they have little interest in things of eternal importance. The voice of God through his messengers is a pleasant song; but its sacred warnings, reproofs, and encouragements are all unheeded. Eternal interests are placed on a level with common things. The Holy Spirit is grieved, and its influence is withdrawn. Fruitful Christians are connected with God, and hence they are able to place a right value on eternal things. They feast upon the words of life; and whenever they listen to the “message of glad tidings,” they can say, as did the disciples to whom Christ explained the prophecies on the way to Emmaus, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?” It is the duty of every child of God to store his mind with divine truth; and the more he does this, the more strength and clearness of mind he will have to fathom the deep things of God. And his growth in grace will be more and more vigorous, as the principles of truth are carried out in his daily life.
14 He who is in harmony with God will constantly depend on him for strength. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.” It should be our life-work to be constantly reaching forward to the perfection of Christian character, ever striving for conformity to the will of God. The efforts begun here will continue through eternity. The advancement made here will be sure when we enter upon the future life.
15 Those who are partakers of Christ’s meekness, purity, and love, will be joyful in God, and will diffuse light and gladness around them. The thought that Christ died to obtain for us the gift of everlasting life is enough to call forth from our hearts the most sincere and fervent gratitude, and from our lips the most enthusiastic praise. God’s promises are rich, and full, and free. Whoever will comply with the conditions may claim these promises, with all their wealth of blessing, as his own. And being thus abundantly supplied from the treasure-house of God, he may, in the journey of life, “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,” thus blessing his fellow-men, and honoring his Creator. While our Saviour would guard his followers from self-confidence by the reminder, “Without me, ye can do nothing,” he has coupled with it for our encouragement the gracious assurance, “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.”
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1 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
2 Thus Jesus invites the weary and care-laden sons and daughters of Adam to come to him, and lay on him their heavy burdens. But many who hear this invitation, while sighing for rest, yet press on the rugged path, hugging their burdens close to their heart. Jesus loves them, and longs to bear their burdens and themselves also in his strong arms. He would remove the fears and uncertainties that rob them of peace and rest; but they must first come to him, and tell him the secret woes of their heart. He invites the confidence of his people as the proof of their love for him. The gift of the humble, trusting heart is more precious to him than all the wealth that riches can bestow. If they would only come to him in the simplicity and confidence with which a child would come to his parents, the divine touch of his hands would relieve them of their burdens.
3 Jesus, our compassionate Saviour, is the way, the truth, and the life. Why will we not accept his gracious offer of mercy, believe his words of promise, and not make the way of life so hard? As we travel the precious road cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, let us not overcast it with doubts and gloomy forebodings, and pursue our way murmuring and groaning, as though forced to an unpleasant, exacting task. The ways of Christ are ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace. If we have made rough paths for our feet, and taken heavy burdens of care in laying up for ourselves treasures upon the earth, let us now change, and follow the path Jesus has prepared for us.
4 We are not always willing to come to Jesus with our trials and difficulties. Sometimes we pour our troubles into human ears, and tell our afflictions to those who cannot help us, and neglect to confide all to Jesus, who is able to change the sorrowful way to paths of joy and peace. Self-denying, self-sacrificing gives glory and victory to the cross. The promises of God are very precious. We must study his word if we would know his will. The words of inspiration, carefully studied and practically obeyed, will lead our feet in a plain path, where we may walk without stumbling. Oh, that all, ministers and people, would take their burdens and perplexities to Jesus, who is waiting to receive them, and to give them peace and rest! He will never forsake those who put their trust in him.
5 Wickedness prevails at the present day. The perils of the last days thicken around us, and because iniquity abounds the love of many waxes cold. This need not be if all would come to Jesus, and in confiding faith trust in him. His meekness and lowliness, cherished in the heart, will bring peace and rest, and give moral power to every soul.
6 The shortness of time is frequently urged as an incentive for seeking righteousness and making Christ our friend. This should not be the great motive with us; for it savors of selfishness. Is it necessary that the terrors of the day of God should be held before us, that we may be compelled to right action through fear? It ought not to be so. Jesus is attractive. He is full of love, mercy, and compassion. He proposes to be our friend, to walk with us through all the rough pathways of life. He says to us, I am the Lord thy God; walk with me, and I will fill thy path with light. Jesus, the Majesty of Heaven, proposes to elevate to companionship with himself those who come to him with their burdens, their weaknesses, and their cares. He will count them as his children, and finally give them an inheritance of more value than the empires of kings, a crown of glory richer than has ever decked the brow of the most exalted earthly monarch.
7 It is our duty to love Jesus as our Redeemer. He has a right to command our love, but he invites us to give him our heart. He calls us to walk with him in the path of humble, truthful obedience. His invitation to us is a call to a pure, holy, and happy life,—a life of peace and rest, of liberty and love,—and to a rich inheritance in the future, immortal life. Which will we choose—liberty in Christ, or bondage and tyranny in the service of Satan? Why should we reject the invitation of mercy, and refuse the proffers of divine love? If we choose to live with Christ through the ceaseless ages of eternity, why not choose him now as our most loved and trusted friend, our best and wisest Counselor?
8 It is our privilege to have daily a calm, close, happy walk with Jesus. We need not be alarmed if the path lies through conflicts and sufferings. We may have the peace which passeth understanding; but it will cost us battles with the powers of darkness, struggles severe against selfishness and inbred sin. The victories gained daily through persevering, untiring effort in well-doing will be precious through Christ who has loved us, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a “peculiar people, zealous of good works.” We should seek to obtain the excellence of Christ. In the face of temptation we should school ourselves to firm endurance, nor should we allow one murmuring thought to arise, although we may be weary with toil and pressed with care.
9 Some have passed through afflictions with light undimmed. Their hope and faith are strong, because acquired by conflict, and nurtured by suffering. If it were not for these heroes of faith, who have learned to endure, and to suffer, and be strong, the outlook would indeed be discouraging. How could we know how to sympathize with the burdened, the sorrowing, the afflicted, and to afford them the help they need, if we had never experienced similar trials ourselves?
10 We can never have a clear appreciation of the value of our Redeemer, until, by an eye of faith, we see him taking upon himself the nature of man, the capacity to suffer, and then reaching the very depths of human wretchedness, that by his divine power he might save even the vilest sinner. Jesus died that the sinner might live,—that God’s justice might be preserved, and guilty man pardoned. The Son of the Highest suffered shame on the cross, that sinners might not suffer everlasting shame and contempt, but be ransomed, and crowned with eternal glory. Why is it that we have so little sense of sin, so little penitence? It is because we do not come nearer to the cross of Christ. We do not consider the Captain of our salvation, and our conscience becomes hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
11 The cross of Calvary appeals to us in power, affording a reason why we should love our Saviour, and why we should make him first and last and best in everything. We should take our fitting place in humble penitence at the foot of the cross. Here, as we see our Saviour in agony, the Son of God dying, the just for the unjust, we may learn lessons of meekness and lowliness of mind. Behold Him who with one word could summon legions of angels to his assistance, a subject of jest and merriment, of reviling and hatred. He gives himself a sacrifice for sin. When reviled, he threatens not; when falsely accused, he opens not his mouth. He prays on the cross for his murderers. He is dying for them; he is paying an infinite price for every one of them. He bears the penalty of man’s sins without a murmur. And this uncomplaining victim is the Son of God. His throne is from everlasting, and his kingdom shall have no end.
12 Come, you who are seeking your own pleasure in forbidden joys and sinful indulgences, you who are scattering from Christ, look upon the cross of Calvary; behold the royal victim suffering on your account, and while you have opportunity be wise, and seek the fountain of life and true happiness. Come, you who complain and murmur at the little inconveniences and the few trials you must meet in this life, look on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. He turned from his royal throne, his high command, and, laying aside his divinity, clothed himself with humanity. For our sakes he was rejected and despised; he became poor that we through his poverty might be made rich. Can you, beholding by the eye of faith the sufferings of Christ, tell your trials, your tale of woe? Can you nurse revenge in your heart while you remember the prayer that came from the pale and quivering lips of Christ for his revilers, his murderers: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”?
13 There is a work before us to subdue the pride and vanity that seek a place in our hearts, and through penitence and faith to bring ourselves into familiar and holy converse with Christ. We must not shrink from the depths of humiliation to which the Son of God submitted in order to raise us from the degradation and bondage of sin to a seat at his right hand. We must deny self, and fight continually against pride. We must hide self in Jesus, and let him appear in our character and conversation. While we look constantly to Him whom our sins have pierced and our sorrows have burdened, we shall acquire strength to be like Him. Our lives, our deportment, will testify how highly we prize our Redeemer, and the salvation he has wrought out for us at such a cost to himself. And our peace will be as a river while we bind ourselves in willing, happy captivity to Jesus.
14 It is high time that we devoted the few precious remaining hours of our probation to washing our robes of character, and making them white in the blood of the Lamb, that we may be of that white-robed company who shall stand around the great white throne.
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1 “Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick; and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.” 2 Kings 1:2-4.
2 In this narrative we have a most striking display of the divine displeasure against those who turn from God to Satanic agencies. A short time previous to the events here recorded, the kingdom of Israel had changed rulers. Ahab had fallen under the judgment of God, and had been succeeded by his son Ahaziah, a worthless character, who did only evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the ways of his father and mother, and causing Israel to sin. He worshiped Baal, and provoked the God of Israel to anger, as his father Ahab had done. But judgments followed close upon the sins of the rebellious king. A war with Moab, and then the accident by which his own life was threatened, attested the wrath of God against Ahaziah.
3 In his father’s time this wicked king of Israel had heard and seen much of the wondrous works of the Most High. What terrible evidence of his severity and jealousy had God given his apostate people! And yet Ahaziah acted as though these awful realities, and even the fearful end of his own father, were only an idle tale. Instead of humbling his heart before the Lord, he ventured upon the most daring act of impiety which marked his life. He commanded his servants, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.”
4 This idol was supposed, through the medium of its priests, to give information concerning future events. It had obtained such general credence that it was resorted to by large numbers from a considerable distance. The predictions there uttered, and the information given, proceeded directly from the prince of darkness. It is he who instituted, and still maintains, the worship of idols, as a means of diverting the minds of men from God.
5 The story of Ahaziah’s sin and punishment contains a lesson of warning which none can disregard with impunity. The very spirit of heathen idolatry is rife today, though under the influence of science and education it has assumed a more refined and attractive form. Though we do not pay homage to heathen gods, yet thousands in civilized and Christian countries are worshiping at Satan’s shrine as verily as did the king of Israel. Every day adds sorrowful evidence that faith in the sure word of prophecy is decreasing, and that in its stead superstition and Satanic witchery are captivating the minds of men. All who do not earnestly search the Scriptures, and submit every desire and purpose of life to that unerring test, all who do not seek God in prayer for a knowledge of his will, will surely wander from the right path, and fall under the deception of Satan.
6 The mystic voices that spoke at Ekron and Endor are still, by their lying words, misleading the children of men. The prince of darkness has but appeared under a new guise. The heathen oracles of ages long past have their counterpart in the spiritualistic mediums, the clairvoyants and fortune-tellers of today. The mysteries of heathen worship are replaced by the secret associations and seances, the obscurities and wonders, of the sorcerers of our time. And their disclosures are eagerly received by thousands who refuse to accept light from the word or the Spirit of God. They speak with scorn of the magicians of old, while the great deceiver laughs in triumph as they yield to his arts under a different form.
7 These Satanic agents claim to cure disease. They attribute their power to electricity, magnetism, or the so-called “sympathetic remedies,” while in truth they are but channels for Satan’s electric currents. By this means he casts his spell over the bodies and souls of men.
8 God has made it our duty to preserve our physical powers in the best possible condition, that we may render to him acceptable service. He has placed it in our power to obtain a knowledge of the laws of health. Those who refuse to make use of the knowledge that has been mercifully placed within their reach, are rejecting one of the means which God has granted them to promote spiritual as well as physical life.
9 Many are unwilling to put forth the effort that is necessary in order to obtain a knowledge of the laws of life, and the simple means to be used for the restoration of health. They do not place themselves in right relations to life. When sickness comes as the result of their transgressions of natural law, they do not seek to correct their errors, and then ask the blessing of God on their course.
10 Not a few, in this Christian age and Christian nation, resort to mediums rather than trust to the power of the living God. The mother, watching by the sick-bed of her child, exclaims, “I can do no more. Is there no physician who has power to restore my child?” She is told of the wonderful cures performed by some clairvoyant or magnetic healer, and she trusts her dear one to his charge, placing it as verily in the hands of Satan as though he were standing by her side. And in how many instances is the future life of the child controlled by a Satanic power which it seems impossible to break!
11 Again: I have heard a mother pleading with some infidel physician to save the life of her child; but when I entreated her to seek help from the Great Physician, who is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto him in faith, she turned away with impatience. Here we see the same spirit that was manifested by Ahaziah. The Lord our God assures us that he is waiting to be gracious; he invites us to call upon him in the day of trouble. How can we turn from him to trust in an arm of flesh?
12 Ahaziah sent his servants to inquire of Baal-zebub at Ekron; but instead of a message from the idol, he heard the awful denunciation from the God of Israel: “Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.” The Lord had cause to be greatly displeased at Ahaziah’s impiety. What had he not done to win the hearts of sinful men, and to inspire them with unwavering confidence in his care and affection? For ages he had visited his people with manifestations of the most condescending kindness and unexampled love. From the times of the patriarchs, he had shown that his “delights were with the sons of men.” He had been a very present help to all who sought him in sincerity. “In all their afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them.” Yet Israel had revolted from God, and the king turned for help to the Lord’s worst enemy.
13 The Hebrews were the only nation favored with a knowledge of the true God. And when the king sent to inquire of a pagan oracle, he proclaimed to the heathen that he had more confidence in their idols than in the God of his people, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In the same manner do those who profess to have a knowledge of God’s word dishonor him when they turn from the Source of strength and wisdom to ask help or counsel from some agent of the power of darkness.
14 Why is it that men are so unwilling to trust Him who created man, who can, by a touch, a word, a look, heal all manner of disease? Who is more worthy of our confidence than the One who made so great a sacrifice for our redemption? If the professed followers of Christ would exercise an intelligent, consistent faith in the promises of God, instead of placing so much confidence in deceitful agencies, they would realize in soul and body the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.
15 There is danger in departing in the least degree from the Lord’s instruction. When we deviate from the plain path of duty, a train of circumstances will arise that seems irresistibly to draw us farther and farther from the right. Needless intimacies with those who have no respect for God will seduce us ere we are aware. Fear of offending worldly friends will deter us from expressing our gratitude to God or acknowledging our dependence upon him. We must keep close to the word of God. We need its warnings and encouragements, its threatenings and its promises. We need the perfect example that we find only in the life and character of our Saviour.
16 Angels of God will preserve his people while they walk in the path of duty; but there is no assurance of such protection for those who deliberately venture upon Satan’s ground. An agent of the great deceiver will say and do anything to gain his object. These workers of iniquity are not few; and their path is marked by desolated homes, blasted reputations, and broken hearts. But of all this the world knows little; and Satan exults in the ruin that has been wrought.
17 Those who give themselves up to the sorcery of Satan may be able to boast of great benefit received thereby; but does this prove their course to be wise or safe? What if life should be prolonged or temporal gain secured? Will it pay in the end to disregard the will of God? Oh, no; all such apparent gain will at the last prove an irrecoverable loss.
18 No man can serve two masters. Light and darkness are no more opposites than are the service of God and the service of Satan. The prophet Elijah presented the matter in the true light when he appealed to apostate Israel: “If the Lord be God, serve him; but if Baal, then serve him.”
19 We cannot with impunity break down a single barrier which God has erected to guard his people from Satan’s power. Our only safety consists in preserving the ancient landmarks. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
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1 “Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” 1 Peter 3:3, 4.
2 The human heart has never been in harmony with the requirements of God. Human reasoning has ever sought to evade or set aside the simple, direct instructions of his word. In every age, a majority of the professed followers of Christ have disregarded those precepts which enjoin self-denial and humility, which require modesty and simplicity of conversation, deportment, and apparel. The result has ever been the same; departure from the teachings of the gospel has led to the adoption of the fashions, customs, and principles of the world. Vital godliness has given place to a dead formalism. The presence and power of God, withdrawn from those world-loving circles, are found with a class of humbler worshipers, who are willing to obey the teachings of the sacred word. Through successive generations, this course has been pursued. One after another, different denominations have risen, and, yielding to their simplicity, have lost, in a great measure, their early power.
3 Will the people of God learn nothing from the history of the past? There are few who understand their own hearts. The vain and trifling lovers of fashion may claim to be followers of Christ; but their dress and conversation show what occupies the mind and engages the affections. Their lives betray their friendship for the world, and it claims them as its own.
4 Notwithstanding their profession of godliness, many can hardly be distinguished from the unbelievers. They do not enjoy a religious life. Their time and means are devoted to the one object of dressing for display. Will not my Christian sisters reflect candidly and prayerfully on this subject? Will they not seek to be guided by the word of God? The extra time spent in the making up of apparel according to the fashions of the world should be devoted to close searching of heart and the study of the Scriptures. The hours that are worse than wasted in preparing unnecessary adornings might be made of untold value if spent in seeking to acquire right principles and solid attainments. But the mental powers, that might be developed by thought and study, are suffered to lie dormant and the affections are undisciplined, because the outward apparel is considered of more consequence than spiritual loveliness or mental vigor.
5 Will the followers of Christ seek to obtain the inward adorning, the meek and quiet spirit which God pronounces of great price, or will they squander the few short hours of probationary time in needless labor for display? The Lord would be pleased to have woman seek constantly to improve both in mind and heart, gaining intellectual and moral strength, that she may lead a useful and happy life, being a blessing to the world and an honor to her Creator.
6 I would ask the youth of today who profess to be followers of Christ, wherein they deny self for his sake. When they really desire some article of dress, or some ornament or luxury, do they lay the matter before the Lord in prayer to know if his Spirit would sanction this expenditure of means? In the preparation of their clothing, are they careful not to dishonor their profession of faith? Can they seek the Lord’s blessing upon the time thus employed? It is one thing to join the church, and quite another thing to be united to Christ. Unconsecrated, world-loving professors of religion are one of the most serious causes of weakness in the church of Christ.
7 In this age of the world, there is an unprecedented rage for pleasure. Dissipation and reckless extravagance everywhere prevail. The multitudes are eager for amusement. The mind becomes trifling and frivolous, because it is not accustomed to meditation or disciplined study. Ignorant sentimentalism is current. God requires that every soul shall be cultivated, refined, elevated, and ennobled. But too often every valuable attainment is neglected for fashionable display and superficial pleasure. Women permit their souls to be starved and dwarfed by fashion, and thus they become a curse to society, rather than a blessing.
8 I have seen poor families struggling with debt, and yet the children were not trained to deny themselves in order to aid their parents. In one family where I visited, the daughters expressed a desire for an expensive piano. Gladly would the parents have gratified this wish, but they were embarrassed with debt. The daughters knew this, and had they been taught to practice self-denial, they would not have given their parents the pain of denying their wishes; but although they were told that it would be impossible to gratify their desires, the matter did not end there. The wish was expressed again and again, thus continually adding to the heavy burden of the parents. On another visit I saw the coveted musical instrument in the house, and knew that some hundreds of dollars had been added to the burden of debt. I hardly know whom to blame most, the indulgent parents or the selfish children. Both are guilty before God. This one case will illustrate many. These young persons, although they profess to be Christians, have never taken the cross of Christ; for the very first lesson to be learned of Christ is the lesson of self-denial. Said our Saviour, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” In no way can we become disciples of Christ, except by complying with this condition.
9 We must take more interest in spiritual things than in those of a worldly nature. We must know more of Jesus and his love than of the fashions of the world. In the name of my Master, I call upon the youth to study the example of Christ. When you wish to make an article, you carefully study the pattern, that you may reproduce it as nearly as possible. Now set to work to copy the divine Exemplar. Your eternal interest demands that you possess the spirit of Christ. You cannot be like Jesus and cherish pride in your heart. You cannot give any place to envy or jealousy. You must consider it beneath the character of a Christian to harbor resentful thoughts or indulge in recrimination. Let the law of kindness be sacredly observed. Never comment upon the character or the acts of others in a manner to injure them. In no case make their failures or defects the subject of ridicule or unkind criticism. You lessen your own influence by so doing, and lead others to doubt your sincerity as a Christian. Let peace and love dwell in your soul, and ever cherish a forgiving spirit.
10 I wish to emphasize this thought, Study the fashions less, and the character of Jesus more. The greatest and holiest of men was also the meekest. In his character, majesty and humility were blended. He came to earth, veiling his dignity with humanity. He had the command of worlds, he could summon the hosts of Heaven at his will; yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. The attractions of this world, its glory and its pride, had no fascination for him. In the cluster of Christian graces, he made meekness and humility prominent. He would have his disciples study these divine attributes, and seek to possess them. “Learn of me,” he says; “for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
11 Of how little value are gold or pearls or costly array, in comparison with the meekness and loveliness of Christ. Physical loveliness consists in symmetry, the harmonious proportion of parts; but spiritual loveliness consists in harmony with Christ, the likeness of our souls to him. The grace of Christ is indeed a priceless adornment. It elevates and ennobles its possessor, and it has an influence upon others, attracting them also to the Source of light and blessing.
12 “Our conversation is in Heaven,” said the apostle; “from whence also we look for the Saviour.” While others are dwarfing the intellect, hardening the heart, and robbing their Maker by devoting themselves to the service of the world, the true Christian lifts his soul above the follies and vanities of earth, seeking God for pardon, peace, and righteousness; for glory, immortality, and eternal life. And he seeks not in vain. His fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Through this close intercourse with God, the soul becomes transformed. By beholding, we are changed into the divine image. But those who seek only to gratify the desires of the unconsecrated heart, will float with the current of worldliness and fashion. They will talk of what they love most, and give thought and study to that, until by beholding they are changed to the same earthly image. Their conformity to worldly customs holds them in captivity to the god of this world; for “his servants ye are to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey.”
13 Jesus is our only safe pattern; and his life is one continuous experience of privation, self-denial, and sorrow. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Seeing that our Saviour has endured all this for us, what will we endure for him? Will we show our love and gratitude by manifesting his spirit, and by self-denial in obeying his words?
14 There is work to be done for the Master. How many souls might be saved, if each professed follower of Christ would do all that it lay in his power to do! My brother, my sister, there are all around you the poor, who may receive from you the words of Christ after you have fed and clothed them. There are the sick, whom it is your duty to visit. There are sorrowing ones to be comforted and prayed for. If the Lord has blessed you with this world’s goods, it is not that you may greedily hoard your means, or expend it in the indulgence of pride. Remember that he will one day say, “Give an account of thy stewardship.” Let us invest in the bank of Heaven the means intrusted to our care, by using it to supply the wants of the needy or to advance the cause of God. Then the Master, at his coming, having found us faithful over a few things, will make us each ruler over “many things” in the kingdom of his glory.
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1 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.”
2 Ere the Saviour was parted from his disciples, and a cloud received him out of their sight, his parting words to them were, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me.” In his absence they were to be his witnesses and representatives on the earth. How faithfully they fulfilled their high commission is shown by their life of self-denial for their Master’s cause, and by their joyful, triumphant witness for him and his truth in the face of torture, imprisonment, and death.
3 The words of our divine Lord have lost none of their force through the lapse of ages. There is a call for faithful witnesses in these days of hypocrisy and hollow formalism. But how few, even among the professed embassadors for Christ, are ready to give a faithful personal testimony for their Master. They can tell what the great and good of generations past have done, and dared, and suffered, and enjoyed. They become eloquent in setting forth the power of the gospel which has enabled others to rejoice in trying conflicts, and to stand firm against fierce temptations. But while so earnest in bringing forward other Christians as witnesses for Jesus, they seem to have no fresh, timely experience of their own to relate.
4 We would ask these ministers of Christ, What have you to say for yourselves. What soul-conflicts have you passed through that have given you a rich experience, and have been for the good of souls and for the glory of God? Does your character testify for Christ? Can you speak from experience of the refining, ennobling, sanctifying influence of the truth as it is in Jesus? What have you seen, and what have you known, of the power of Christ?
5 This is the kind of witnesses for which the Lord calls, and for which churches are suffering. The Spirit of Christ—true faith, that works by love and purifies the heart—is a priceless jewel, rare indeed in this degenerate age. “If ye love me,” says the Saviour, “keep my commandments.” How many are there who manifest their love by willing obedience, making the service of Christ their first consideration, and worldly things secondary?
6 How often, even in the sacred desk, self is exalted, and the glory of God forgotten. And yet if the minister has not felt in his own heart the sanctifying influence of truth, if true piety and the power of the Holy Spirit are wanting, his labor will be an injury to the people to whom he ministers. Such men do not preach Christ from an experimental knowledge of him, but, parrot-like, repeat what they have learned from others. To this class the Lord addresses the question, “What hast thou to do to declare my statutes?”
7 Let us lift up Jesus—lift him up before the people; let us dwell upon his matchless love. But the heart must be imbued with that love before we can speak it, preach it, pray it, live it. We must have personal communion with Christ, in order to reveal him to the people. The graces of his Spirit, the loveliness of his character, must shine forth in the character of his witnesses.
8 How many cling with great tenacity to their self-styled dignity, which is only self-esteem. In conversation, more time is spent in talking of self than in exalting the riches of the grace of Christ. These persons seek to honor themselves instead of waiting in humbleness of heart for Christ to honor them. They would teach others how to perfect a Christian character; but they have not such a character themselves. They have not learned of Him who says, “I am meek and lowly of heart.”
9 Humility is inseparable from holiness of heart. The nearer the soul comes to God, the more completely is it humbled and subdued. When Job heard the voice of the Lord out of the whirlwind, he exclaimed, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” It was when Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, and heard the cherubim crying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,” that he cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” Daniel, when visited by the holy messenger, says, “My comeliness was turned in me to corruption.” Paul, after he had been caught up into the third Heaven, and heard things that it was not lawful for a man to utter, spoke of himself as “less than the least of all saints.” It was the beloved John, that leaned on Jesus’s breast, and beheld his glory, who fell before the angels as one dead. The more closely and continuously we behold our Saviour the less we shall see to approve in ourselves.
10 In this age of the world, there is a feverish love of pleasure, a fearful increase of licentiousness, a contempt for all authority. Not only worldlings, but professed Christians also, are governed by inclination rather than duty. And yet the signs of the times are pointing us to the near approach of our Lord. The words of Christ are sounding down through the ages, “Watch and pray.” Paul warns: “Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”
11 Is it indeed true that the end of this world’s history is near, and that Christ is at the door? Are we preparing for the great Judgment scene? Where are our responsible men at this crisis? Are they living like men who wait for their Lord? Are there not men in the ministry who are indifferent and careless? And yet how necessary it is that there should be vigilance on the part of those who are set as watchmen on the walls of Zion. How many there are whose senses are so confused and benumbed by the spirit of the times that eternal things are not realized. If there was ever a time when men of God should stand aloof from the corruptions of the world, it is now. The Lord is at hand. Let the trumpet have a certain sound, and let the people be warned.
12 “Ye are my witnesses,” saith the Lord. A living Christian will have a living testimony to bear. If we have been following Jesus step by step, we shall have something to relate of the way he has led us. We can tell of battles fought and victories gained. We can tell how we have tested the promises of God, and found them true. We can point to a living experience without going back years into the past.
13 Would that we could oftener hear the simple, earnest testimony of heart conflicts and victories: “I have been fighting the battles of the Lord, and have made conquests over self. I was sorely assaulted by the great adversary. The conflict was grievous; but I humbled my heart before God, and wept in penitence before him. My trembling faith grasped the promises, and appropriated them to myself. Jesus revealed himself to me as a present help; and through him I have gained the victory.” What a softening, subduing influence such testimonies would have on the heart of the unconverted or the backslider. They would realize that God was speaking through clay, and religion would seem a reality.
14 In this time of general intemperance and worldliness, every true Christian, who would practice the principles of truth as well as assent to them, will have a battle to fight. The Captain of our salvation calls for witnesses fresh from the field of action. Those who have been fiercely assaulted by the enemy of righteousness, and have conducted themselves as did Jesus in his hour of trial, will have a testimony to bear which will thrill the heart. They will indeed be witnesses for Jesus.
15 Living witnesses for Christ will manifest piety at home. Those who fail to do this are denying their faith. Piety in the home life will give power to the public testimony. Patience, forbearance, and love will make an impression upon hearts that sermons have failed to reach.
16 Christ is not pleased with the fruit that many bear; there is a sad lack of tenderness and sympathy. The servants of Christ do not love as brethren. They are harsh and dictatorial. Especially is their conduct toward the erring destitute of pity or compassion. In dealing with them, the caution of the apostle is forgotten, “Considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” We shall surely be judged by our heavenly Father in the same manner that we have judged others. “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” “He shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy.”
17 Jesus has given us an example of pity and love for the erring. While he reproved sin, he regarded the sinner with compassion. Looking to the cross of Calvary, where Christ poured out his life to atone for our sins, let us recall his words, “Love one another, as I have loved you.”
18 But while the servant of Christ should seek with all patience and love to save sinners, he should on no account permit compassion for the erring to degenerate into apology for transgression; for by excusing and palliating sin, we lose a sense of its heinous character. In order to preserve the safe mean, the Christian must add to patience godliness. Then he will see as God sees.
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1 “Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you.”
2 We are under obligations, as Christians, to let our light so shine before the world, that others, seeing our good works, may glorify our Father in Heaven. But we cannot exert a right influence upon others unless we walk in the light ourselves. If we have experienced the pardoning grace of God, and have his love in our hearts, we can, as opportunity presents, speak in counsel and affectionate entreaty to those who are in danger of losing eternal life; and our consistent deportment will give force to our words.
3 A life spent in active work for God is a blessed one. Multitudes who are wasting their time in trifles, in idle regrets, and in unprofitable murmurings, might have altogether a different experience if they appreciated the blessings God has given them, and, while they share these blessings with others who are less fortunate, sought to win them to Christ. And many thus make life miserable by their own selfishness and love of ease. By diligent activity, their lives might become as bright rays of sunshine. If they would spend their energies in seeking to guide those who are in the dark road to death into the pathway to Heaven, their own hearts would be filled with the peace and joy that passes understanding.
4 It is for our profit in this life, and for our eternal interest, that we manifest earnestness and zeal in the work of God. In the wise providence of God, we are incapable of looking into the future. This often causes us disquietude and unhappiness; but one of the greatest evidences we have of the lovingkindness of God is his concealment of the events of the morrow. Our ignorance of tomorrow make us more vigilant and earnest today. We cannot see what is before us. Our best laid plans sometimes seem to be unwise and faulty. We think, “If we only knew the future!” but God would have his children trust in him, and be willing to follow the leadings of his providence. We know not the precise time when our Lord shall be revealed in the clouds of heaven; but he has told us that our only safety is in a constant readiness,—a position of watching and waiting. Whether we have one year before us, or five, or ten, we are to be faithful to our trust today. We are to perform each day’s duties as faithfully as though that day were to be our last.
5 We are not doing the will of God, if we wait in idleness for the coming of our Lord. Every man has been assigned his work, and the Master expects each one to do his part with fidelity. We are to sow beside all waters, to work continuously for Jesus, hoping for the salvation to be given us, and quietly waiting for our reward. Sinners are to be warned; sinners are to be won to Christ.
6 There are men of excellent ability,—men ambitious in worldly pursuits,— for whose salvation no efforts are made through fear of a repulse. But the skill and energy that make them successful in worldly pursuits, would, if consecrated, make them useful in the service of Christ. We cannot tell the ambitious man that he must cease to be ambitious if he would become a Christian. God places before him the highest objects of ambition,—a spotless white robe, a crown studded with jewels, a scepter, a throne of glory, and honor that shall endure through the ceaseless ages of eternity.
7 All the elements of character which help to make a man successful and honored in the world,—the irrepressible desire for some greater good, the indomitable will, the strenuous exertion, the untiring perseverance,—are not to be crushed out. These are to remain, and, through the grace of God received into the heart, to be turned into another channel. These valuable traits of character may be exercised on objects as much higher and nobler than worldly pursuits, as the heavens are higher than the earth. Jesus presents a crown of glory richer than any that ever decked the brow of a monarch, and titles above those of honored princes. The recompense for a life devoted to the service of Christ, exceeds anything that the human imagination can grasp. Christ does not call upon men to lay aside their zeal, their desire for excellence and elevation; but he would have them seek, not for perishable treasure or fleeting honor, but for that which is enduring.
8 There is no place in the vineyard of God for listless souls. Ministers sometimes tell the people that they have nothing to do but believe; that Jesus has done it all, and their works are nothing. But the word of God plainly states that in the Judgment the scales will be balanced accurately, and the decisions will be based on the evidence adduced. One man becomes ruler of ten cities, another of five, another of two; each man receiving just according to the improvement he has made on the talents intrusted to his keeping. Our efforts in works of righteousness, in our own behalf and for the salvation of souls, will have a decided influence on our recompense.
9 God is well pleased when those who are striving for eternal life aim high. There are strong temptations to indulge the natural traits of character by becoming worldly wise, scheming, and selfishly ambitious, gathering wealth to the neglect of the salvation which is of so much higher value. But every temptation resisted is a victory gained in subduing self; it bends the powers to the service of Jesus, and increases faith, hope, patience, and forbearance.
10 The Christian must be upright. With a heart true to God, and imbued with his Spirit, he will see much to grieve over while surrounded by those who have thrown off their allegiance to the God of Heaven, and are on the side of the great rebel. The fact that iniquity abounds is a strong reason why he should be watchful, and diligent, and faithful in his Master’s service, that he may rightly represent the religion of Jesus Christ. On all sides the Christian soldier will hear treasonable plottings and rebellious utterances from those who make void the law of God. This should increase his zeal to act as a faithful sentinel for God, and to use every effort to bring souls to enlist beneath the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel.
11 The more dense the moral darkness, the more earnest should be the endeavor to walk with God, that light and power from him may be reflected to those in darkness. The love of genuine Christians will not grow cold because iniquity abounds. As society grows more and more corrupt, as in the days of Noah and of Lot, there will be yearning of soul over deceived, deluded, perishing sinners, who are preparing themselves for a fate similar to that of the transgressors who perished in the waters of the flood and in the fires of Sodom. The true follower of Christ will not follow a multitude to do evil, because it is fashionable to do so. His soul will be vexed at the bold insults offered to the world’s Redeemer; and he will be anxious to exert every power to help press back the tide of wretchedness and guilt that is flooding the world.
12 We have only a little while to urge the warfare; then Christ will come, and this scene of rebellion will close. Then our last efforts will have been made to advance the kingdom of Christ. As never before, resistance must be made against sin,—against the powers of darkness. But if, bowed by affliction and worn with toil, we feel impatient to receive an honorable release from the warfare, let us remember—and let the remembrance check every murmur—that God leaves us on earth to encounter storms and conflicts, to perfect Christian character, to become better acquainted with God our Father and Christ our elder Brother, and to do work for the Master in winning many souls to Christ, that with glad hearts we may hear the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
13 A gift from the hand of God awaits the overcomer, who walks in the light even to the end of the race. Not one of us deserves it; it will be a free gift. Wonderful and glorious will be this gift; but let us remember that “one star differeth from another star in glory.” As we are urged to strive for the mastery, let us aim, in the strength of Jesus, for the crown heavy with stars. “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.”
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1 “Grow in grace;” says the apostle Peter, “and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” This is the rule of Christian living. But many, both individuals and churches, are like sickly plants, and make but a feeble growth. And the question is constantly pressing, What can be done to promote and maintain spiritual life in the churches?
2 Many churches have but a small membership. Must they therefore become inactive, weak, and sickly, and permit discouragement to come upon them?—No, never! If there are but six working members, each of these should feel a responsibility to keep up the interest of the church. Men who know how to conduct worldly business successfully should be able to use their talents for the upbuilding of the cause of God among them. The members of the church should give diligent attention to the word of God, that they may understand their duty, and then devote all the energies of mind and heart to the work of making their church one of the most prosperous in the land, and one of the most efficient in its Heaven-appointed mission,—the work of rescuing perishing souls.
3 When Christ’s mission on earth was ended, and he ascended to his Father, he left the church and all its interests as a sacred trust to his followers, bidding them see that it was kept in a flourishing condition. This work cannot be left to the ministers alone, nor to a few leading men. Every member should feel that he has entered into a solemn covenant with the Lord to work for the best interests of his cause at all times and under all circumstances. Each should have some part to act, some burden to bear, thus investing something, in time and interest, for the life and prosperity of the church. If all thus felt an individual responsibility, and were faithful stewards of the grace committed to them, they would make greater advancement in spiritual things. The solemn burden resting upon them would lead them often to seek God in prayer for strength and grace.
4 The real character of the church is measured, not by the high profession she makes, nor by the names enrolled upon the church book, but by what she is actually doing for the Master, by the number of her faithful, persevering workers. Personal work, and vigilant, individual effort, will effect more for the cause of Christ than can be accomplished by sermons or creeds.
5 True followers of Christ, the world over, will be Christ-like. Said the Saviour: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” And again: “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” This evidence is conclusive. If Christ dwells in the heart, the precious fruits of his Spirit will, as a natural result, be manifested in the life. If Satan controls the mind, evil traits will as surely be apparent.
6 Those who profess to be the disciples of Christ, while in works they deny him, are serving the arch-enemy in disguise. They are robing themselves in the garments of righteousness to conceal a worldly, selfish, unregenerate nature, and their profession presents a false light to the world. In the field, in the workshop, in the family circle, in the church, they reveal the sad fact that their religion consists in hollow formalism; and they are constantly exerting an influence contrary to true godliness.
7 We are taught in the word of God that it is the duty of Christ’s followers to prove to the world that while Christianity will lead to industry and economy, it will also condemn avarice and over-reaching, and every other form of dishonesty. The talent, energy, and zeal will not be devoted exclusively to money-getting, but will be used in the interest of the church and the cause of God everywhere. We need God’s presence to control, his wisdom to guide us in all the affairs of life. We cannot afford to separate ourselves from him in the smallest transaction. Unwavering integrity marked the character and life of Christ; one of the principles of Heaven was thus exemplified on earth. If the course of his professed followers is contrary to the life given them as a pattern, they show that they have no part in him.
8 As he came to Christ, so Satan will come with his temptations to every Christian. “Be not overscrupulous,” he whispers, “in regard to honor and honesty. If you would succeed in getting gain, you must look out sharply for your own interests.” Many listen to these suggestions, and blindly peril their hope of eternal life for worldly gain. But though for a time they may appear to be prosperous and happy, the end will be bitterness and woe.
9 Says the apostle James: “Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.” “Faith without works is dead.” Every man will manifest in his life all the faith that he has. The Christian’s unselfish earnestness in the cause of truth will make its impression upon the minds of all associated with him. Those who are out of Christ have a constant evidence of the power of divine grace in the integrity and consistent life of his faithful followers. Such Christians render effectual service to their Master.
10 A church whose members feel that they are not responsible for its prosperity, will fail to show to the world the unity, love, and harmony that exist among the true children of God. Worldlings are constantly watching and criticising with keenness and severity those who profess to serve God, yet show by their lives that they are strangers to the influence of divine grace. “It is too bad,” says the unbeliever, “to spoil a good worldling to make a bad Christian. That man is as sharp and eager to advance his own interests as before he professed religion. And what an unchristian spirit he manifests. How he loves to exalt himself. How unkindly he speaks of others. He sees something to find fault with in every man’s character. I tell you, although he belongs to the church, that man needs watching. There is another who is harsh and severe with those whom he employs. He is impatient even to the animals under his control, and abuses them as though they had no feeling. Such men have made no change for the better.”
11 In too many cases this is a true picture. What a barrier have such professed Christians erected to hinder sinners from coming to Christ! They are a curse to their families, and a curse to the church. The true disciple of Christ will manifest his meekness and gentleness in strong contrast to the storm and bluster and bravado of the great adversary and his followers.
12 The second great commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” will be the rule of life with all Christians who are truly growing in grace. Our influence, whether for good or evil, will affect others, and will live when we are no more. Then let us so live that our friends and associates may see that we are governed by the divine rule, full of wisdom and love. A pure, unselfish, well-ordered Christian life is the strongest argument that can be presented in favor of the religion we profess. Such a life will prove to all beholders that there is a divine reality in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
13 Dear Christian friends, I repeat, If you are Christ’s, you will work the works of Christ, and not those of his great adversary. If Jesus dwells in the heart, he will be exemplified in the words, in the deportment, in all the acts and purposes of life. Such Christians will be connected with the Living Vine; they will be nourished by the sap in the parent stock, and will grow, and bring forth fruit in good works. They will have favor with God and with men. Peace and joy will be shed around their pathway, and glory will be reflected back to God.
14 The true spirit of the Christian religion is one of self-sacrifice; self-denial is required at every step. Jesus came down from Heaven to teach us how to live; and his life was one of toil and self-denial. He went about doing good, and those who are truly his representatives will follow his example in working for the good of others. They will delight to advance the interests of the cause of God, both at home and abroad. They will be seen and heard, and their influence will be felt in the prayer-meeting. Yet they do not seek to exalt self, or to receive credit for doing a great work, but labor humbly, meekly, faithfully, doing small errands if they are called for, or a greater work if necessary, to testify their love and gratitude to Christ, who has done so much for them.
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1 “And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.”
2 In holy vision John saw a door opened in Heaven. It is the arm of Almighty Power that has opened this door, and no man can shut it. Through this open door is revealed the temple of God, in the Most Holy Place of which is the ark, and in this ark is the law of ten commandments, written with the finger of God on tables of stone.
3 Glancing down the stream of time, the prophet sees a people whose attention is directed to the temple of God. The light that shines from the open door arrests their attention, and they begin to see that it contains the law of ten commandments. The angel of Revelation 14 is represented as flying in the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” This angel presents a message that is to be proclaimed to the world just before Christ comes in the clouds of heaven to take his elect to himself. Just prior to this time, then, the attention of the people is to be called to the down-trodden law of God, which is contained in the ark of the testament.
4 The people of God are seeking for light; and as they examine his law, precept by precept, they find in its bosom the fourth commandment as it was instituted in Eden, and proclaimed in awful grandeur from Sinai’s mount: “Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it.”
5 They see that instead of observing the seventh day, the day that God sanctified, and commanded to be observed as the Sabbath, they are keeping the first day of the week. But they honestly desire to do God’s will, and they begin to search the Scriptures to find the reason for the change. Failing to find any scriptural authority for the custom, the question arises, Shall we accept a truth that has become unpopular, and obey the commandments of God, or shall we continue with the world, and obey the commandments of men? With open Bibles they weep, and pray, and compare scripture with scripture, until, convinced of the truth, they conscientiously take their stand as keepers of the commandments of God.
6 As the Scriptures were opened to the first seekers for truth, they saw what their work must be. Said the prophet: “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
7 Many and determined were the efforts made to overthrow the faith of those who would build up the old waste places, and heal the breach in the law of God. How hard evil men, headed by the prince of darkness, tried to close the door that had been opened into the sanctuary where Jesus had entered to make atonement for his people! Christ had opened the door, or ministration, of the Most Holy Place, and light was shining out, that all who desired might see the claims of the fourth commandment, and believe. God had established his law, and not a jot or tittle of it was to be annulled.
8 As those who had received the light of truth went forth to present it to others, they met opposition on every hand. Their names were cast out as evil, and they suffered privation and want; and yet from the first the work has moved steadily forward. Thousands have accepted the truth in America, and it has been carried to all parts of the world; people of all languages and nationalities are taking their stand upon it.
9 Many more will yet accept the truth on the Sabbath reform; but we must not expect a large number of the great men of earth to obey; the cross is too heavy for them to lift. How was it in Christ’s day? Many of the rulers and chief men of the Jews believed his teaching; but they would not acknowledge it for fear of losing influence with their fellowmen. The same spirit exists today; and that which prevented the Pharisees from confessing the truth, will prevent many from confessing it now.
10 The questions for each one to settle are, What is truth? and, What is your aim in life? If your object is to meet the world’s standard, to accept the world’s maxims and practices, the words of truth will have little weight with you. But if you have an earnest desire to answer the claims that God has upon you, if your desire is to be connected with God, and to reach the highest round of the ladder of progress in the divine life, then, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. But it is your own efforts, through the grace of Christ, that will bring you perfection of character. When the path of duty is opened before you, you are not at liberty to consult your own convenience; you are required to walk in the path of humble obedience. All who enter Heaven will do so as conquerors. You will have battles to fight; you will have difficulties to meet that can only be overcome by strong, determined resistance. But eternal life is worth a life-long, persevering effort.
11 We are not at liberty to cast our souls away; we are not at liberty to place ourselves under Satan’s influence, and become slaves to his will. “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price,” even the precious blood of the Son of God; “therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” We belong to God. He has claims upon us which we cannot throw off; we may ignore them, we may refuse to yield to his wise requirements, but they are nevertheless binding upon us. Says the True Witness, “I know thy works.” Every day of our lives we have something to do to improve our God-given abilities. He has given us reasoning powers; and if we in any way weaken those powers, we shall be called to an account by the righteous Judge of all the earth. He has given us talents; and if these talents are rightly employed, our ability to work for the Master will be increased.
12 When the light of truth shines upon our path, and conscience is convicted, shall we turn away from the Heaven-sent warnings because all will not obey them? Shall we ask our friends and acquaintances whether it is best for us to obey the invitations of the Spirit of God?—No; these friends may make us err, but they cannot pay a ransom for our souls.
13 None are forced to accept of Jesus and his truth, but all are invited to do so. Life and death are placed before us, and it is for us to choose which we will have. A great work is to be done for us all before we can attain to perfection of Christian character. The mighty lever of truth takes us out of the quarry of the world, and places us in the work-shop of God, where we must submit to be hewed, and squared, and polished, if we would be fitted for the heavenly building.
14 The law of God is the standard of righteousness. It is the mirror into which we are to look to discern the defects in our character. When we look into a mirror, it reveals the defects of our dress or person; but it does not remove a single imperfection. These we must remedy ourselves. So it is with the law of God. The law is God’s great mirror, or moral detector of sin; but there is no saving quality in law; it has no power to pardon the transgressor. There is a provision made for the sinner: “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Then what is the work before the sinner?—It is to exercise repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. In the precious blood of the Son of God, the stains of sin may all be washed away. There is a fountain open for Judah and Jerusalem, and the defilement of sin will be removed from all who will wash in this fountain.
15 Dear friends, you each have a case pending in the court of Heaven. Have you secured an advocate to plead in your behalf? Jesus is man’s intercessor, and we must make him our friend or we shall lose our case. Now is the time for us to walk humbly with God, to watch unto prayer, and be diligent students of the Scriptures, that we may know the truth and obey it, and gain eternal life in the Paradise of God.
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1 Every Christian should become thoroughly acquainted with the word of God. The importance of this study can hardly be over estimated. “Given by inspiration of God,” able to make us “wise unto salvation,” rendering “the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works,” the Book of books has the highest claim to our reverent attention. We must not be satisfied with a superficial knowledge, but must seek to learn the full meaning of the words of truth, and to drink deep of the spirit of the holy oracles.
2 It is of but little profit to read a certain number of chapters daily, or to commit to memory a stipulated amount, without careful thought as to the meaning of the sacred text. Earnest attention and prayerful study are required. Some portions of Scripture are, indeed, too plain to be misunderstood; but there are others whose meaning does not lie upon the surface, to be seen at a glance. Scripture must be compared with scripture; there must be careful research and patient reflection. And such study will be richly repaid. As the miner discovers veins of precious metal concealed beneath the surface of the earth, so will he who searches the word of God as for hid treasure find truths which are concealed from careless seekers.
3 Great pains should be taken to establish a right habit of study. If the mind wanders, bring it back. If the intellectual and moral taste has been perverted by over-wrought and exciting tales of fiction, so that the mind is disinclined to the diligent study of God’s word, then there is a battle to be fought with self to overcome this depraved habit. A love for fictitious reading should be broken up at once; and rigid rules should be enforced to hold the mind in a proper channel. The pernicious practice of story-reading is one of the means employed by Satan to destroy souls. The mind that is occupied with exciting stories loses all relish for solid reading that would improve the memory and strengthen the intellect.
4 I am acquainted with many sad examples of the evil effects of this baneful practice. I have known persons of well-balanced minds, whom God had endowed with mental powers of no ordinary character, to take up the reading of romance; and the more they indulged the appetite for this kind of mental food, the greater was the demand. The imagination constantly craved its accustomed stimulus, as the inebriate longs for his wine or tobacco. Their mental and moral powers were weakened and perverted. They lost their interest in the Scriptures, and their relish for prayer; and they were as truly ruined, mentally and spiritually, as is the liquor drinker or the tobacco devotee. Novel-readers are mental inebriates; and they need to sign a pledge of total abstinence as verily as does the victim of any other form of intemperance.
5 There is another source of danger against which we should constantly be on our guard, and that is the works of infidel authors. Such works are inspired by Satan, and no one can read them without loss to the soul. Some who are affected by them may finally recover; but all who tamper in the least with their foul influence place themselves on Satan’s ground, and he makes the most of his advantage. They invite his temptations, and they have neither wisdom to discern nor strength to resist them. With a fascinating, bewitching power, unbelief and infidelity fasten themselves upon the mind. To harbor them is like taking to your bosom a serpent, whose sting is always poisonous and often fatal.
6 We are surrounded by unbelief. The very atmosphere seems charged with it; and only by constant effort can we resist its power. Those who value their soul’s salvation should shun infidel writings as they would shun the leprosy.
7 To the youth I would say, Be careful what you read. So long as the mind is directed into wrong channels by an improper course of reading, it is impossible for you to make the truth of God the constant subject of meditation. If there was ever a time when a knowledge of the Scriptures was more important than at any other, that time is the present. I appeal to old and young, Make the Bible your text-book. Here you will find the true standard of character. Here you will learn what is required of you in order to become a child of God.
8 Parents and children should improve the precious opportunity for the study of God’s word which is afforded by the Sabbath-school. Sufficient time should be devoted to the study of the lesson to obtain a thorough knowledge of the facts presented, and of the spiritual truths which these facts are designed to teach. Special pains should be taken to impress upon the minds of the young the importance of seeking the full significance of the scripture under consideration.
9 Parents should set apart a little time each day for the study of the Sabbath-school lesson with their children. They should give up the social visit if need be, rather than sacrifice the hour devoted to the precious lessons in sacred history. Parents as well as children will receive benefit from this study. Let the more important passages of Scripture connected with the lesson be committed to memory, not as a task, but as a privilege. Though at first the memory may be defective, it will gain strength by exercise, so that after a time you will delight in thus treasuring up the precious words of truth; and the habit will prove a most valuable aid to religious growth.
10 What blessings would be secured if the time that is worse than wasted in gossip, in ministering to pride or the gratification of appetite, were devoted with equal interest to the study of the Bible. But when parents are more anxious to have their children fashionably dressed than to have their minds stored with the truths of God’s word, it is not strange that the children themselves soon learn to regard dress and display as of more consequence than the things which concern their eternal interests.
11 Parents, upon you rests an important and solemn responsibility. Make it your life-work to form the characters of your children according to the standard given in the word of God. If they ever possess the inward adorning, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, it will be because you perseveringly trained them to love the teachings of God’s word, and to seek the approval of Jesus above the approbation of the world.
12 The study of the Scriptures in the family should be conducted with system. It is better to neglect anything of a temporal nature, to dispense with all unnecessary sewing and with needless provision for the table, than to neglect to feed the soul with the bread of life. It is impossible to estimate the good results of one hour, or even half an hour, each day devoted, in a cheerful, social manner, to the study of the Scriptures. Make the Bible its own expositor, bringing together all that is said concerning a subject at various times and under different circumstances. Do not break up the home class for callers or visitors. If they come in, invite them to take part in the exercises. Let it be seen that you consider a knowledge of the word of God of great importance. All through the book of revelation are scattered the glad words of truth, and peace, and joy. These precious words of inspiration, pondered in the heart, will be as streams flowing from the river of the water of life. Our Saviour prayed that the minds of the disciples might be opened to understand the Scriptures. And wherever we study the Bible with a prayerful heart, the Holy Spirit is near to open to us the meaning of the words we read.
13 The youth should be taught to love the study of the Bible. The first place in our thoughts and affections should be given to the Book of books; for it contains knowledge that we need above all other. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Let us seek to be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Let us draw near to God, that his angels may protect and bless us. Thus may we gain the victory over the powers of darkness, and finally receive the crown of glory, honor, and immortal life in the kingdom of God.
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1 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men; for all things are yours.”
2 Such is the admonition of Paul to the Corinthian church. He would not have them dazzled or misled by those who were “wise in this world.” Instead of seeking distinction, they must become fools in the estimation of worldly wise men, if they would become wise in the estimation of God. Extraordinary talent was not to be considered the chief thing; for unless consecrated to God, and sanctified by his Spirit, it would prove a curse rather than a blessing.
3 “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” The wisdom of this world is too highly valued, the wisdom from above too little sought, by the professed people of the Lord. Men may have a knowledge of Christian doctrine, and yet understand little of Christian experience. Many are keen, apt, prompt, in worldly affairs, while they manifest little interest, tact, or energy in the service of God. They do not bring their talent and shrewdness into exercise in watching to discern the devices of Satan, and studying how they may outgeneral the enemy. They do not summon all their powers to form wise plans, and to make earnest, systematic effort to advance the cause of God.
4 Every man, of whatever trade or profession, should make the cause of God his first interest; he should not only exercise his talents to advance the Lord’s work, but he should cultivate his ability to this end. The wisdom and energy used in worldly, temporal things should be devoted to spiritual and eternal things. Many a man devotes months and years to the acquirement of a trade or profession that he may become successful in worldly matters, who yet makes no effort to cultivate those talents which would make him a successful laborer in the vineyard of the Lord. This is the great sin of the professed people of God. They serve themselves and serve the world; they become shrewd, successful financiers; but they neglect to use in his service the talents which God has given them. Their tact in worldly matters is becoming stronger through exercise; that in spiritual things is becoming weaker through inactivity.
5 The present is a time when these talents, used in the cause of God, would tell with great effect in the upbuilding of his kingdom. But Satan has outgeneraled us in this matter. There are men professing godliness, who are false teachers, tempters, seducers. They have cultivated their talents in this direction, and they employ all their ingenuity in disseminating unbelief, impiety, infidelity. Had the true followers of Christ been cultivating their ability with equal zeal and diligence, they might now be wise enough to discern the devices of Satan; they would be prepared to stand in defense of the truth, and to meet and successfully expose the deceptions of the ungodly.
6 The church of Christ, and especially the ministers of the gospel, are building up the temple of the Lord,—building upon the foundation-stone, which is Christ himself. Paul testifies: “Every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it.” We are building for eternity; and it is doubly important now that we take heed how we build. If we indulge doubt and unbelief, we are bringing worthless material to the foundation-stone. It is only as we labor in faith that we can bring to the building that which is precious and enduring. Many are drifting into darkness and infidelity, picking flaws with the Bible, and bringing in superstitious inventions, unscriptural doctrines, and philosophical speculations; others divert the mind from important truths by exciting trifling inquiries and disputations. Those who permit themselves to be thus hindered are giving place to the adversary, while they might be bringing gold, silver, and precious stones to lay upon the foundation.
7 It is our work to direct souls to the living oracles. We must present to them sound doctrine, even the faith once delivered to the saints. We must show them the truth in its beauty, that they may be led to renounce error. We must instruct them in faith, love, obedience, and hope, that through much prayer they may grow up “a holy temple in the Lord.” The day of Judgment will test every man’s work. Let us so build that our work may endure the fiery trial.
8 Paul says: “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” A man of strict fidelity is a valuable steward, though he may not possess as great accomplishments or as high order of talents as do some others. One who seeks to advance the truth for the glory of God and the good of souls, without respect of persons, and regardless of his own ease, interest, or honor,—such a man should be highly esteemed, though he may not possess learning or eloquence. He is God’s nobleman. In the sight of Heaven he presents the highest type of manhood.
9 And such a man will not lose his reward. Paul testifies: “Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s: and Christ is God’s.” Here are presented the privileges of true believers. In possessing Christ, they possess all things. As his chosen, redeemed people, they are joint-heirs with him. The abilities, gifts, and services of apostles and ministers are intended for their benefit. All the treasuries of God are opened to them. The world, with everything in it, is theirs, so far as it can do them good. Even the enmity of the wicked will prove a blessing by disciplining them for Heaven. In the promise, “All things are yours,” there is bounty without limit; but we must have faith in order to appropriate this promise, and receive the blessings which it offers.
10 When the Judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened, there will be many astonishing disclosures. Men will not then appear as they now appear to human eyes and finite judgments. Secret sins will then be laid open to the view of all. Motives which have been hidden in the dark chambers of the heart will be revealed. Designing ambitions, selfish purposes, will be seen where the outward appearance told only of a desire to honor God and to do good to men. What revelations will then be made. Men of pure motives and true and noble purpose may now be neglected, slandered, and despised; but they will then appear in their true character, and will be honored with the commendation of God. Hypocritical, ambitious teachers may now be admired and exalted of men; but God, who knows the secrets of the heart, will strip off the deceptive covering, and reveal them as they are. Every hypocrite will be unmasked every slandered believer will be justified, and every faithful steward of God will be approved and rewarded.
11 Not all are Christ’s who adopt his name and wear his badge. Jesus says, “Follow me.” Are they following him who indulge sinful habits and enjoy the frivolities of the world? Can we see the footprints of the Saviour in the path they tread?—No. If we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none of his. We cannot serve two masters; we cannot belong to Christ and to Belial. If in our habits and practices we are the world’s, we do not belong to Christ. We may be his in the sense in which the earth and the beasts of the forest are his, but we are not his chosen ones.
12 To be Christ’s is to be consecrated to his work, to employ every power of the mind and every member of the body to do his will and to advance his glory. It is to open the heart to his word, to contemplate his matchless charms until the overflowing tribute of the soul shall be, “Hear what the Lord has done for me.”
13 The voice of Divine Wisdom, through the words of the apostle, speaks to us as it spoke to the church at Rome more than eighteen hundred years ago: “To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Will we hesitate to choose between the wisdom of this world, which ends in death, and the wisdom from above, which makes us wise unto everlasting life?
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1 “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
2 It is plainly written on the unrenewed heart and on a fallen world, All seek their own. Selfishness is the great law of our degenerate nature. Selfishness occupies the place in the soul where Christ should sit enthroned. But the Lord requires perfect obedience; and if we truly desire to serve him, there will be no question in our minds as to whether we shall obey his requirements or seek our own temporal interests.
3 The Lord of glory did not consult his convenience or pleasure when he left his station of high command to become a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, accepting ignominy and death in order to deliver man from the consequence of his disobedience. Jesus died, not to save man in his sins, but from his sins. We must leave the error of our ways, take up our cross and follow Christ, denying self, and obeying God at any cost.
4 Those who profess to serve God, yet really serve mammon, will be visited with judgments. None will be justified in a course of disobedience for the sake of worldly profit. If God would excuse one man, he might all. Those who disregard the Lord’s express injunction for personal advantage, are heaping up for themselves future woe. Christ said: “Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.” The people of God should inquire closely if they have not, like the Jews of old, made the house of God a place of merchandise.
5 Many are falling into the sin of sacrificing their religion for the sake of worldly gain, preserving a form of piety, yet giving all the mind to temporal pursuit. But the law of God must be considered first of all, and obeyed in spirit and in letter. Jesus, our great exemplar, in his life and death, taught the strictest obedience. He died, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, that the honor of God’s law might be preserved and yet man not utterly perish.
6 “Sin is the transgression of the law.” If the sin of Adam brought such inexpressible wretchedness, requiring the sacrifice of God’s dear Son, what will be the punishment of those who set at naught the divine law? If God’s word, spoken in awful solemnity from the holy mountain, is lightly regarded, what can move the hearts of the children of men?
7 To be commandment-breakers, it is not necessary that we trample upon the whole moral code. If one precept is disregarded, we are transgressors of the sacred law. The Son of God died to pay the penalty of transgression; then how will he deal with those who, in the face of all this evidence, dare venture in the path of disobedience?
8 Age does not excuse anyone from obeying the commands of God. Abraham was an old man when the command came to offer up his son Isaac for a burnt-offering. The ardor of his youth had passed away, and it was no longer easy for him to endure hardships and brave dangers. The burden of years was heavy upon him, and he longed for rest from toil and anxiety. The words of the Lord seemed terrible and uncalled-for to the stricken man; yet he never questioned their justice or hesitated in his obedience. He grasped the staff of faith, and in anguish of heart took the hand of his child, beautiful in the rosy health of youth, and went out to obey God. The grand old patriarch was human; his passions and attachments were like ours, and he loved his boy, who was the solace of his old age, and to whom the promise of the Lord had been given.
9 Abraham might have pleaded that he was old and feeble, and could not sacrifice the son who was the joy of his life. He might have reminded the Lord that this command conflicted with the promise that had been given in reference to his son. But his obedience was without a murmur or a reproach. His trust in God was implicit. He did not stay to reason with his aching heart, but carried out the divine command to the very letter, till, just as the knife was about to be plunged into the quivering flesh of his child, the word came, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad;” “for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.”
10 This great act of faith is recorded on the pages of sacred history as an illustrious example to all, even to the end of time. It is an example to us individually. The claims of God upon our faith, our service, our affections, should meet with a cheerful response. We are infinite debtors to the Lord, and should unhesitatingly comply with the least of his requirements.
11 The faith of Abraham is needed in our churches today, to lighten the darkness that gathers around them, shutting out the sweet sunlight of God’s love, and dwarfing spiritual growth. Our faith should be prolific of good works; for faith without works is dead. Every duty performed, every sacrifice made in the name of Jesus, brings an exceeding great reward. In the very act of duty, God speaks, and gives his blessing. But he requires of us an entire surrender of the faculties. The mind and heart, the whole being, must be given to his service; or we fall short of becoming true Christians.
12 And this is our reasonable duty. God has withheld nothing from man that could promote his happiness or secure to him eternal riches. He has clothed the earth with beauty, and furnished it with everything necessary for the comfort of man during his temporal life. And what is infinitely more than this, he has given his Son to die for the redemption of a world that had fallen through sin and folly. Such matchless love, such infinite sacrifice, claims our deepest gratitude, our best and holiest affections.
13 Many are the hindrances that lie in the path of those who would walk in obedience to the commands of God. There are strong and subtle influences that bind them to the ways of the world; but the power of the Lord can break these chains. He will remove every obstacle from before the feet of his faithful ones, or give them strength and courage to conquer difficulties, if they will earnestly beseech his help. All hindrances will vanish before an earnest, persistent, prayerful effort to do the will of God.
14 Man has no right to consult his convenience or regard his temporal wants in this matter. God will provide. He who fed Elijah by the brook Cherith, will be mindful of the needs of his children.
15 Our Saviour knew that many times his followers would be pressed by poverty, and would be anxious and troubled in regard to what they should eat or how they should be clothed; and he cautioned them on this point: “Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” “Behold,” he says, “the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” He pointed to the lovely flowers, formed and tinted by a divine hand, saying: “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
16 We have always the promise: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things [the needed things of this life] shall be added unto you.” Our heavenly Father knows our needs, and he will provide for them without our giving our time, strength, and affections to the mammon of this world.
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1 “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’s seat. All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.”
2 The scribes and Pharisees took the place of Moses as expounders of the law and judges of the people, and claimed to be invested with similar divine authority. In accordance with these claims, they expected the same deference and obedience from the people that had been accorded to the great lawgiver. Jesus admonished his hearers to follow the teachings of the priests so far as they were in harmony with the law, but not to copy their example; for they neglected the duties which they enjoined upon others.
3 Notwithstanding the abuse which he received from the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus held no personal grievance against them; and while he openly condemned their acts as opposed to their teaching, and therefore not to be imitated, he made it plain to all that he was not actuated by unkind feeling. Said he: “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”
4 The leading Jews, in teaching and administering the law, carried the prohibitions of God to unreasonable lengths. They also enjoined a multitude of minute regulations having their foundation in tradition, and unreasonably restraining personal liberty of action. They carried the regulations of eating and drinking so far that the mind was kept on a continual strain to discriminate between what was considered clean and unclean, and to follow out the multitude of injunctions imposed by the priests. All the water was strained, lest the presence of the smallest speck or insect might render it unclean, and therefore unfit to use. The people were thus kept in constant fear of infringing upon customs and traditions taught to them as portions of the law; and life was made a burden by these ceremonies and restrictions.
5 By their endless round of forms, the Pharisees fixed the minds of the people upon external services, to the neglect of true religion. They failed to connect the thought of Christ with their ceremonies; and, having forsaken the fountain of living water, they hewed out for themselves broken cisterns that could hold no water.
6 Not only did the priests, scribes, and rulers reject Christ themselves, but they took the most unfair means to prejudice the people against him, deceiving them by false reports and gross misrepresentations. Said Jesus: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of Heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” These words, condemning this sin of the Pharisees, are applicable to all who follow their example. In all ages of the world truth has been unpopular; for its doctrines are not congenial to the natural mind. The cold professor, the bigot, and the hypocrite are not willing to accept a truth which searches the heart and reproves the life.
7 The Saviour then pronounced a woe upon those who, imitating the great rebel, compass all difficulties to make one proselyte. Said he: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” These cutting words were applied to those who made the highest pretensions to godliness, and who regarded all other nations as contemptible in the sight of God. There are just such zealous adversaries of the truth now, who leave no means untried to subvert the minds and consciences of men. They are willing to make great sacrifices and endure rebuffs in order to attain their object, returning again and again to the same point, seeking to turn souls away from divine truth to superstitions and fables. And such is the downward road to ruin that those whom they succeed in gaining become even worse than the teachers who have led them into error.
8 The Saviour continued: “Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?” The priests interpreted the requirements of God to meet their false and narrow standard. They presumed to make nice distinctions between the comparative guilt of various sins, passing over some lightly, assigning as an excuse that the end justified the means, while errors of perhaps less consequence were treated as unpardonable. Thus these blind guides confused the minds of their followers in regard to sin and the proper standard of holiness.
9 The Pharisees took upon themselves the responsibility of deciding concerning the burdens and duty of others according to their own carnal minds. They accepted sums of money in return for excusing them from their vows, and in some cases crimes of an aggravated character were passed over in consideration of large sums of money paid to the authorities by the transgressor. At the same time these hypocritical priests were exact in the matter of sacrifices and ceremonies, as though it were possible for cold forms to blot out the unrepented sins of their daily lives. Thus these blind guides confused the minds of their followers in regard to sin and the true standard of holiness.
10 The Lord said unto Samuel: “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” No outward service, even such as is required by God, can be a substitute for an obedient life. The Creator desires heart service of his creatures.
11 Through Hosea God said: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against me.” The many sacrifices of the Jews, and the flowing of blood to atone for sins for which they felt no true repentance, was an offense to God. Micah says: “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy; and to walk humbly with thy God?”
12 The favor of God cannot be won by costly gifts and a semblance of holiness. He requires for his mercies a contrite spirit, a heart open to the light of truth, love and compassion for our fellow-men, and a spirit that refuses to be bribed through avarice or self-love. These priests and rulers were destitute of these essentials to God’s favor, and their most precious gifts and gorgeous ceremonies were an abomination in his eyes. They had gone step by step into darkness, rejecting the evidence that Jesus was the true Messiah, until the obscurity of their minds was so great that they called righteousness sin and sin righteousness. They evinced the same malice that in Heaven actuated Satan against Christ, and for the same reason,—because of the superior goodness of the Son of God.
13 Unpopular truth is no more acceptable to Pharisaical, self-righteous hearts today than when Christ walked the earth, a man among men. If Christians were to be tested now as were the Jews at the first advent of Christ, few would accept him wrapped in his garment of humanity, living a life of humiliation and poverty. The Christian world can accept as Messiah a King at the right hand of God in Heaven; but their hearts reject a Saviour of humility and self-sacrifice. They shrink from the cross of Christ, even as did the haughty Pharisees, and many are in as great blindness concerning the plan of salvation. Jesus exhorts his disciples to follow in his footsteps; but there are few indeed who imitate his example, and follow his teaching in their daily lives.
14 When a man sacrifices righteous principles and truth because he can thus avoid persecution and trial, he barters his eternal welfare for trifling considerations. But he that obeys the requirements of Christ, neither looking nor planning for his own convenience, will secure the reward of immortal life. Jesus says: “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
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1 “And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself; whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.”
2 There is a solemn warning to us in these words of Christ to the men of Nazareth. Upon visiting the little town where he had been brought up, the Saviour, according to his custom, went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and stood up to read. The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed him, and he read the words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” And then, as the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him, he said unto them: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
3 The scripture which he had read was understood by all to refer to the Messiah. And when Jesus explained the prophet’s words, and pointed out the sacred office of the Messiah as a reliever of the oppressed, a liberator of the captive, a healer of the sick, and a revealer of truth to the world, “all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth.” His impressive manner, the mighty import of his words, the divine light that shone from his countenance, thrilled that listening company; their hearts were filled with joy, and they responded to his words with hearty praises to God.
4 Not one who looked upon that scene could doubt that this was indeed the promised Deliverer, the hope of Israel. Now was the golden opportunity for the men of Nazareth to accept Christ, and receive the blessings that he came to bring. Angels of light were in that assembly, watching with intense interest the decision of the hour. Angels of Satan also were on the ground to suggest doubts and arouse prejudice. The people had long indulged pride and unbelief, and the current of their thoughts soon returned to the natural channel. They forgot the power of divine love which had stirred their souls, and turned to consider the lowly birth and humble life of Him who claimed to be their Messiah.
5 In their pride they had expected a king who should appear in earthly pomp and power; and as they recalled these hopes, they asked themselves, Is not this the son of Joseph and Mary, whose home has been so long among us? Can this be the promised deliverer of Israel? If this man is the Christ, why does he not give some mighty evidence of his power? And blind, unreasoning prejudice followed close on the steps of unbelief.
6 Jesus gave them a proof of his divine power by reading, as from an open book, the secrets of their hearts: “And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself; whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.”
7 Jesus continued: “But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.”
8 In the days of Elijah, Israel had departed from the living God. In vain the Lord by his prophets spoke to that backsliding and rebellious people. In vain he reproved their sins, and threatened them with his judgments. The message which might have been a savor of life unto life, proved to them a savor of death unto death. They would not heed the warning which called them to a life of humility and faith. Instead of leading them to repentance, the prophet’s words offended their pride, and aroused their hatred against the messenger of God. Thus they multiplied their sins, and aggravated the guilt which had already brought the judgments of God upon the land. They sought to find and destroy Elijah, as though by silencing him, they would prevent the fulfillment of his words. But God found among the heathen a hiding-place for his servant.
9 By this relation of events in the life of a prophet of God, the Saviour met the secret doubts and questionings of those whom he was addressing. The apostasy of Israel in Elijah’s day was a vivid picture of their own true condition. The unbelief and self-exaltation of the ancient Jewish nation made it necessary for the Lord to find an asylum for his servant among a heathen people; and, passing by the many widows in Israel, to intrust him to the kindness and liberality of a heathen woman; but the widow who was so highly favored had lived in accordance with all the light she possessed.
10 God also passed over the many lepers in Israel, because their unbelief closed the door of good to them. A heathen nobleman who had been true to his convictions of right, and who felt his need of help, was in the sight of God more worthy of his blessing than were the afflicted in Israel, who had slighted and despised their God-given privileges. God works for those who appreciate his favors, and respond to the light given them from Heaven.
11 Jesus stood before the men of Nazareth, calmly revealing their secret thoughts, and pressing home upon them the unpalatable truth of their unrighteousness. His words cut to their hearts, as their ingratitude, their selfishness, their strife for the supremacy, their pride and unbelief, their secret crimes, were all laid before them. They knew that they were in the presence of One who could read their souls. For one brief moment they had been inclined to accept him as the Christ; but they had given place to Satan, and now his power controlled them. And they scorned in their hearts the spirit of tenderness, faith, and reverence which had first inspired them.
12 From unbelief sprung malice. That a man who had sprung from poverty and a lowly birth should dare to reprove them, filled the hearts of the Nazarenes with hatred amounting to madness. The assembly broke up in confusion. The people laid hands on Jesus, thrusting him from the synagogue and out of their city. They hurried him to the brow of a hill, intending to cast him down headlong, and shouts and maledictions filled the air. Suddenly he disappeared from among them. Angels from Heaven surrounded the world’s Redeemer, and conducted him to a place of safety.
13 The history of Christ’s rejection by the men of Nazareth contains an important and solemn lesson for our time. The spirit of enmity which in every age has been manifested against those who preach the simple, cutting truths of God’s word, is seen in a greater degree as we near the close of time.
14 Our Saviour asks, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” implying that true faith will then be almost extinct. The spirit of doubt and criticism is destroying confidence in the word and work of God. All who desire to doubt or cavil will find occasion; for it is impossible for the carnal mind to understand or appreciate the mind of the Almighty. Those who refuse to obey God till they can see all occasion of doubt removed, will be left in darkness; while those who, in humility of heart, walk in the light as it shines upon them, will receive clearer and clearer light. Their path will be that of the “just, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
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1 “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”
2 Had the Pharisees, to whom these words were addressed, been really blind or ignorant through want of capacity to learn or opportunity for instruction, they would have been comparatively free from guilt in their determined opposition to Christ. But they had the most favorable opportunity to obtain an understanding of the Scriptures; and they prided themselves on their knowledge and discernment, while they were willfully closing their eyes to the light Christ declared of them: “Ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God.” They had stubbornly refused to receive instruction; therefore all the opportunities which they enjoyed, all the wisdom, ability and knowledge of which they proudly boasted, would only increase their condemnation in the day of final Judgment.
3 God gives us sufficient evidence to enable us to accept the truth understandingly; but he does not propose to remove all occasion for doubt and unbelief. Should he do this, there would no longer be a necessity for the exercise of faith; for we would be able to walk by sight. All who with a teachable spirit study the word of God, may learn therefrom the way of salvation; yet they may not be able to understand every portion of the Sacred Record. The apostle Peter declares that in the epistles of Paul, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, there are “some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable, wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” Whatever is clearly established by the word of God we should accept, without attempting to meet every doubt which Satan may suggest, or with our finite understanding to fathom the counsels of the infinite One, or to criticise the manifestations of his grace or power.
4 Those who are continually looking for something to find fault with, something to strengthen unbelief in the word of God, will soon find themselves so completely under the power of doubt and unbelief that nothing will seem sure to them; they will find no solid foundation anywhere. It is a duty to encourage faith and devotion. If we seek in humility to learn the will of God as revealed in his word, and then obey that will as it is made plain to our understanding, we shall become rooted and grounded in the truth. Said Christ: “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.”
5 The case of Paul shows how one may be blinded by prejudice while thinking that he is doing God service. Paul was a persevering, earnest persecutor of the church of Christ. Yet he was conscientious in it, fully believing it to be his duty to do all he could to exterminate the alarming doctrine that Jesus was the Prince of Life, the long-excepted Messiah. Paul verily believed that faith in Jesus made of none effect the law of God, the religious service of sacrificial offerings, and the rite of circumcision, which had in past ages received the full sanction of God.
6 But Paul was arrested in his mad yet honest career. Jesus, whose name of all others he most hated and despised, revealed himself to Paul, that he might make this most unpromising instrument a chosen vessel to bear the gospel to the Gentiles. As the miraculous revelation of Christ brings light into the darkened chambers of his mind, he sees his mistaken zeal, and that the One against whom he is arrayed is indeed the Christ, the Redeemer of the world.
7 Paul learns that Jesus, whom in his blindness he considered an impostor, is indeed the author of all true religion, even from the days of Adam. Christ had been regarded as making of none effect the law of God; but when his eyes were open to discern spiritual truth he saw that Christ came into the world for the express purpose of vindicating his Father’s law. He learned that Christ was the originator and the foundation of the entire Jewish system of sacrifices, and that in his death type met antitype. He saw in the Man of Calvary the vindicator of truth, the fulfiller of prophecy.
8 In the light of the law, Paul sees himself a sinner. He finds he has been transgressing that very law which he thought he had been keeping so zealously. He repents and dies to sin; he becomes obedient to the claims of God’s law, accepts Christ as his Saviour, is baptized, and preaches Jesus as earnestly and zealously as he once condemned him.
9 Paul was a learned teacher in Israel, a nation that had been for many generations the true people of God, and the depositaries of his law; but he was blinded by error and prejudice. This is the case with many now. Arguments against the truth, subtle in their influence, affect minds that are not enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have not become fully informed with regard to Bible truth. In many cases, selfishness, dishonesty, and the varied sins that prevail in this degenerate age, blunt the senses so that the truth of God is not discerned. But when, as in Paul’s case, there is honesty of purpose, and a desire to do the will of God, the truth will be accepted when it is made plain to the understanding.
10 Those who are seeking to know the truth, who are faithful to the light already received, and in the performance of every-day duties, will surely know of the doctrine; for they will be guided into all truth. God does not promise, by the masterly arts of his providence, to irresistibly bring men to the knowledge of his truth, when they do not seek for truth, and have no desire to understand it. The Spirit of God is continually convicting, and souls are deciding for or against obedience to God. But men are allowed freedom of action; the power of choosing is left with them. They may be obedient through the name and grace of the Redeemer, or they may be disobedient, and realize the consequences of their course. Man is himself responsible for receiving or rejecting sacred truth.
11 Our Savior admonished his disciples: “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” A cunning and vigilant foe attends our steps, and employs his skill in trying to turn us out of the right way. He does not come in a visible form; but by his representatives he is ever on our track, and through them he brings his power to bear upon us when we least suspect his presence. He works in darkness, and controls all who will be deceived by his devices. But the grace of God is pledged for us, and the path of obedience is the path of safety. “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely.” Walk in the light and “then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy feet shall not stumble.”
12 “If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world; but if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.” Then let us draw nearer and nearer to the pure light of Heaven, remembering that divine illumination will increase according to our onward movements, qualifying us to meet new responsibilities and emergencies. The path of the just is progressive, from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory.
13 It was through constant conflict and simple faith that Enoch walked with God. We may all do the same. We may be thoroughly converted and transformed, and be indeed children of God, not only enjoying his favor, but, by our example, leading others in the path of humble obedience and consecration. Real godliness is diffusive and communicative. The psalmist says: “I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart. I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” This course is just the opposite of that pursued by the blind Pharisees, to whom Jesus said, “Thy sin remaineth.”
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1 “I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”
2 Christ declares: “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” It is impossible to serve God, and at the same time give all our thought and energy to the accumulation of riches. God has entrusted to men means to be used to his glory. He requires them to lose no opportunity to do good, and thus they may be constantly laying up treasure in Heaven. But if, like the man with one talent, they neglect to use the means they have, fearing that God will get that which their talent gains, they will not only lose the increase which will finally be awarded the faithful steward, but also the principal which God gave them to work upon. They have robbed God, and so have no treasure laid up in Heaven, and they lose their earthly treasure also.
3 Men of property often say in their hearts, “By my wisdom have I gotten me this wealth.” But who gave them the power to get wealth? God has bestowed upon them the ability which they possess; but instead of giving him the glory, they take it to themselves. They do not make to themselves “friends of the mammon of unrighteousness” by using their means to help the needy and to advance the cause of God, and instead of a blessing, they will realize a curse. God will prove them and try them, and will bring their glorying to the dust. He will remove their strength and scatter their possessions. They lose in this earth, and they have no Friend to receive them into the everlasting habitation of the righteous.
4 But if the wealthy stand the test, and overcome the blemishes upon their character; if as faithful stewards of Christ they render to God the things that are his, it will be said to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” For “he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much;” and he will surely be rewarded.
5 “He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Many men have obtained their wealth by advantaging themselves at the expense of their fellow-men, perhaps their poorer brethren; they overreach, and receive more for a thing than it is worth; and these men glory in their shrewdness and keenness in a bargain. But the curse of God will rest upon every dollar thus obtained, and upon the increase of it in their hands.
6 Those who possess the ability to acquire property need to be constantly on the watch, or they will turn their acquisitiveness to bad account. They are in danger of falling into temptation, and sacrificing generous, benevolent, noble principles for sordid gain. Such persons should consider the force of our Saviour’s words: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
7 Many who profess to be followers of Christ, so love the world and the things that are in the world that the divine has disappeared from their characters, and they have become instruments of unrighteousness. In contrast with these are the industrious, honest poor, who stand ready to help those who need help, who would rather suffer themselves to be disadvantaged by their wealthy brethren than to manifest so close and acquisitive a spirit as they manifest; men who esteem a clear conscience, and right, even in little things, of greater value than riches. If there is a benevolent object to call forth means or labor, they are the first to be interested in it. They are so ready to help others, so willing to do all the good in their power, that they do not amass wealth; their earthly possessions do not increase.
8 Because these men can boast of but little wealth, they are often counted of no special worth, and are considered deficient in judgment. But these poor wise men are precious in the sight of God. Although they are not increasing their treasure upon earth, they are laying up for themselves an incorruptible treasure in Heaven. In doing this, they manifest a wisdom as far superior to that of the wise, calculating, acquisitive professed Christian as the “everlasting habitations” are to the things of this earth. It is moral worth that God values. A Christian character unblotted with avarice, possessing quietness, meekness, and humility, is more precious in his sight than the most fine gold, even the golden wedge of Ophir.
9 Money has power, and sways a mighty influence, while excellence of character and moral worth are often overlooked. But what does God care for money, for property? The cattle upon a thousand hills are his, as are also the world and all that is therein. The inhabitants of the earth are as grasshoppers before him; men and property are but as the small dust of the balance. He is no respecter of persons.
10 “The Pharisees, who were covetous,” heard the teachings of Christ, and “they derided him.” Mark the words of Christ to them: “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men [that is, riches acquired by oppression, deception, or fraud—in any dishonest manner] is abomination in the sight of God.”
11 Christ presents two characters,—that of the rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day, and Lazarus, who was in abject poverty and loathsome to the sight, and who begged the few crumbs that the rich man despised. Our Saviour here shows his estimate of the two characters. Although Lazarus was in so deplorable and mean a condition, he had moral worth which God regarded of greater value than the exalted position of the honored and ease-loving rich man. God did not value the riches of this wealthy man, because his character was worthless. His riches did not recommend him to God, nor have any influence to secure divine favor.
12 By this parable Christ would teach his disciples not to judge or value men by their wealth, or by the honors which they receive of others. Such was the course pursued by the Pharisees, who, while possessing both riches and worldly honor, were valueless in the sight of God. More than this, they were despised and rejected of him,—cast out of his sight as disgusting, because there was no moral worth or soundness in them. Corrupt and sinful, they were abominable in his sight. It was not so with the poor man. Though despised by his fellow-mortals, and disgusting in their sight, he had qualities which prepared him to be introduced into the society of refined, holy angels, to be an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.
13 All the riches that the most wealthy ever possessed are not of sufficient value to cover the smallest sin before God; they will not be accepted as a ransom for transgression. An act of wrong or oppression, or deviation from the right way, will no sooner be tolerated in a man who possesses property than in a man who has none. Nothing less than repentance, confession and forsaking of sin is acceptable to God.
14 Those who are inclined to become slaves to avarice, and to entangle themselves with the cares of this life, will do well to regard the words of Paul: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”
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1 When John was preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and the Pharisees and Sadducees came to his baptism, that fearless preacher of righteousness addressed them: “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” In coming to John, these men were not actuated by right motives. They were corrupt in principles and practice; yet they had no sense of their true condition. Filled with pride and ambition, they would not hesitate at any means which would enable them to exalt self and strengthen their influence with the people. And baptism at the hands of this popular young teacher might, they thought, aid them in carrying out these designs more successfully.
2 Their motives were not hidden from John, and he met them with the searching inquiry, “Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Had they heard the voice of God speaking to their hearts, they would have given evidence of the fact by bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. No such fruit was seen. They had heard the warning as merely the voice of man. They were charmed with the power and boldness with which John spoke; but the Spirit of God did not send conviction to their hearts, and as a sure result the word spoken did not bring forth fruit unto life eternal.
3 None are father from the kingdom of Heaven than self-righteous formalists, who are perhaps filled with pride at their own attainments, while they are wholly destitute of the Spirit of Christ, and are controlled by envy, jealousy, and love of praise and popularity. They belong to the class that John addressed as a generation of vipers, children of the wicked one. They serve the cause of Satan more effectively than the vilest profligate; for the latter does not disguise his true character; he appears what he really is.
4 Nothing short of an amended life,—fruits meet for repentance,—will meet the requirements of God. Without such fruit, our profession of faith is of no value. The Lord is able to raise up true believers among those who have never heard his name. “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”
5 “And now the ax is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.” God is not dependent upon men who are unconverted in heart and life to carry on his work. He will never favor any who practice iniquity.
6 Those who love and flatter the minister who speaks to them the word of life, while they neglect the works of righteousness, give unmistakable evidence that they are not converted to God. Of such we would inquire, “Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Was it the voice of the Holy Spirit, or merely the voice of man, which you heard in the message sent from God? The fruit borne will testify to the character of the tree.
7 There is great responsibility resting upon those who are called to preach the word. “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord,” is the message to them. There is need of a converted ministry, as well as of a converted church; for the church will rarely take a higher stand than is taken by her ministers. Shepherds who watch for souls as they that must give account, will lead the flock on in ways of holiness. And their success in this work will be in proportion to their own growth in grace and knowledge of the truth. When the teachers are sanctified, soul, body, and spirit, they can impress upon their hearers the importance of a closer walk with God.
8 The minister of Christ should in an eminent degree possess true humility. Those who have the deepest experience in the things of God, are the farthest removed from pride or self-exaltation. While self is abased, they have the most exalted conceptions of the glory and excellence of Christ, and feel that the lowest place in his service is too honorable for them.
9 When Moses came down from the mountain, where he had spent forty days in communion with God, he did not know that his face shone with a brightness that was painful and terrifying to those who had not had this exalted privilege. Paul had a very humble opinion of his own advancement in the Christian life. He speaks of himself as the “chief of sinners.” And again he says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.” Yet Paul had been highly honored of the Lord. In holy vision he had been shown revelations of divine glory which he could not be permitted to make known.
10 Our Saviour pronounced John the Baptist to be the greatest of prophets; yet what a contrast there is between the language of this man of God, and that of many who profess to be ministers of the cross. When asked if he was the Christ, John declared himself unworthy even to unloose his Master’s sandals. When his disciples came with the complaint that the attention of the people was turned to the new Teacher, John reminded them that he himself had claimed to be only the forerunner of the Promised One. To Christ, as the bridegroom, belongs the first place in the affections of his people. “The friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth because of the bridegroom’s voice; this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all.”
11 Workers with this spirit are needed today. The self-sufficient, the envious and jealous, the critical and fault-finding, can well be spared from the sacred work of God. Our Lord is not straitened for men or means. He calls for laborers in his cause who are true and faithful; for those who have felt their need of the atoning blood of Christ and have experienced in their own hearts the sanctifying grace of his Spirit.
12 There is no person, no matter what his life may have been, who can be saved in any way except that of God’s appointing. He must repent; he must feel his need of a physician, and of the one only remedy for sin, the blood of Christ. This work is yet to be begun by many who profess to be Christians. Like the Pharisees of old, they feel no need of a Saviour. They are self-sufficient, self-exalted. Such have no part in the blood of Christ. That cleansing stream avails only for those who feel their need. Said Christ: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
13 Many believe in the wrath of God, but put forth no earnest efforts to escape it. They believe in Heaven, but make no sacrifice to obtain it. They believe in the value of the soul, and that erelong its redemption ceaseth forever; yet they neglect precious opportunities to make their peace with God. They read the Bible; but its threatenings do not alarm nor its promises win them. They approve things that are excellent; yet they follow the way which God has forbidden them to take. They know a refuge, but do not avail themselves of it. They know a remedy for sin, but do not use it. They know the right, but have no relish for it. They have never tasted, and learned by experience, that the Lord is good; and all their knowledge will but increase their condemnation.
14 What we need is experimental religion. How shall we know for ourselves the goodness and love of God? The psalmist tells us, It is not to hear and know, to read and know, to believe and know, but, “taste and see that the Lord is good.” Instead of relying upon the word of another, taste for yourself.
15 All that we have is from the exceeding riches of divine grace. God spared not his own Son, but delivered him to death for our offenses, and raised him again for our justification. Through him we may present our petitions to the throne of grace. Through him we may obtain all spiritual blessings. Do we come to him that we may have life? Jesus, the meek and lowly One, asks admittance as our guest, shall we not open the door of our heart, and bid him enter?
16 In view of the grace of God granted to us, shall not the language of our hearts be, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”
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1 “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk even as He walked.” “And if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
2 We are each of us building for ourselves a structure which will one day be scrutinized by the Judge of the whole earth. This structure is our individual character; and every act of our lives, every thought and word, is a stone in the building. The words of inspiration warn us, “Take heed how ye build.” See to it that the foundation is sure. If we build on the Rock Christ Jesus, the structure will grow into symmetrical proportions, and will be a fair and holy temple for God.
3 Our minds are given us; but our characters we make; they are the result of the lives we lead, the thoughts and principles that we cherish. When we see persons firm in principle, faithful in the performance of duty, zealous in the cause of God, yet humble, gentle, and patient toward all, ready to forgive, manifesting love for souls for whom Christ died, we do not need to ask, Are they Christians? They give unmistakable evidence that they are learners in the school of Christ. But when they show the opposite traits of character; when they are proud, vain, frivolous, worldly-minded, avaricious, unkind, censorious, we need not be told whence the spirit comes that they are cherishing. They may not believe in witchcraft; but they are holding communion with an evil spirit, and its influence is poisoning heart and life.
4 Trifles reveal character. One who is selfish, self-sufficient, and self-caring will be exceedingly unhappy. It is not unreasonable to be suspicious of persons who are always complaining that they are not treated well. It will generally be found that they have exalted ideas of their own merits, and think everybody else should respect them accordingly.
5 There are some who are ever looking out for slights. In the family, some unfortunate word is said, and they take offense, feeling sure it was designed to hurt and disparage them. They meet a friend who is so occupied with business or other cares that he does not greet them as ardently as they desire, nor have so much time to visit, and they feel that they are personally insulted. The offender, wholly innocent of any design or thought of hurting them, is astonished to find himself treated with suspicion and coldness, and soon the charge reaches him that his poor, unhappy neighbor feels that he has been neglected and abused. But the unhappiness was in him, waiting for some excuse to show itself.
6 Life is what we make it. While we are in the world, we shall meet with all kinds of persons; but our life takes its bias and coloring from our own traits of character. It is our privilege to learn daily in the school of Christ meekness and lowliness of heart; and when a selfish, haughty spirit is overcome, and we are willing to be as was our Master, we will make our surroundings pleasant. We will pass over many slights and not see or feel them, because we have the love of Jesus in our hearts, and are trying so hard to be like him that these little matters do not affect us.
7 Strife and contention cannot exist among those who are controlled by the Spirit of God. A truly Christ-like character cannot be subverted. Envy, jealousy, malice, and persecution may be hurled against those who bear the divine impress; but it only serves to strengthen that which it cannot overthrow.
8 That which commands respect and wins appreciation is true goodness. Real merit must be won by patient industry and energy, by untiring application and effort. Thousands fail of securing the love and respect that they covet because they desire what they do not merit. They would rather be weak than to put forth the exertion necessary to subdue their wrong traits, and gain strength of character.
9 Christ is our refuge; and it is only through faith in him that we can form characters that God can accept. We may add knowledge to knowledge, strength to strength, and virtue to virtue, and yet fail in the soul-testing conflict just before us, because we do not make Christ our strength and righteousness. No outward forms can make us clean; they cannot take the place of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. All who have not experienced the regenerating power of the Spirit of God are chaff among the wheat. Our Lord has his fan in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor. In the coming day he will discern “between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.”
10 The Spirit of Christ will be revealed in all who are born of God. The Lord has not closed Heaven against his people; but their own course of continual backsliding, of bickering, envying, and strife, has separated them from him. Pride and love of the world live in the heart; and few are alarmed or astonished at their want of spiritual power.
11 The warnings of God’s word, and the influence of his Spirit, have alike been neglected. The sins that destroyed the antediluvians and the cities of the plain exist today—not merely in heathen lands or among avowed unbelievers, but among professors of Christianity. The result is apparent in the deplorable condition of the church. Impurity is widespread, even among those who profess to be the followers of Christ. Many are eagerly participating in worldly, demoralizing amusements which God’s word forbids. Thus they sever their connection with God, and rank themselves with the pleasure-lovers of the world. If God should present their sins before them as they appear in his sight, they would be filled with shame and terror.
12 And what has caused this alarming condition? Many have accepted the theory of religious truth, who have not been converted to its principles. There are few indeed who feel true sorrow for sin; who have deep, pungent convictions of the depravity of the unregenerate nature, and are trying to walk even as Christ walked. The heart of stone is not exchanged for a heart of flesh. Few are willing to fall upon the Rock, and be broken.
13 What surpassing love and condescension, that when we had no claim on divine mercy, Christ was willing to undertake our redemption! But our great Physician requires of every soul unquestioning obedience. We are never to prescribe for our own case. Christ must have the entire control of our will and action, or he will not undertake in our behalf.
14 Many are not sensible of their condition and their danger; and there is much in the nature of the Christian religion that is averse to every worldly feeling and principle, and opposed to the pride of the human heart. We may flatter ourselves, as did Nicodemus, that our lives and our moral character have been correct, and think that we need not humble our heart before God, like the common sinner; but we must be content to enter into life in the very same way as the chief of sinners. Self must die. We must not trust to our own righteousness, but depend on the righteousness of Christ. He is our strength and our hope.
15 Genuine faith is followed by love,—love that is manifested in the home, in society, and in all the relations of life,—love which smooths away difficulties, and lifts us above the disagreeable trifles that Satan places in our way to annoy us. And love will be followed by obedience. All the powers and the passions of the converted man are brought under the control of Christ. His spirit is a renewing power, transforming to the divine image all who will receive it.
16 To become a disciple of Christ is to deny self, and follow Jesus through evil as well as through good report. It is to close the door to pride, envy, doubt, and other sins, and thus shut out strife, hatred, and every evil work. It is to welcome into our hearts Jesus, the meek and lowly one, who is seeking admittance as our guest.
17 “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.” Jesus is a pattern for humanity, complete, perfect. He proposes to make us like himself,—true in every purpose, feeling, and thought,—true in heart, soul, and life. The man who cherishes the most of the love of Christ in the soul, who reflects the image of Christ most perfectly, is, in the sight of God, the truest, most noble, and most honorable man. But he that has not the Spirit of Christ is “none of his.”
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1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
2 We are to know those who have this hope here brought to view by the lives they lead. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” This is the test by which we are to distinguish between the genuine and the false, between the true Christian and the pretender. Are they obedient children, walking in the way of God’s commandments? If so, the Spirit of God acts upon the spirits of men, and a process of cleansing the soul from the defilement of sin is continually going on.
3 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” It is a high honor to be adopted into the royal family of Heaven. But how shall we know that this honor has been accorded us, and that we are reckoned as sons and daughters of God? By comparing our lives with the great moral standard of righteousness. If any come claiming to be sinless and holy, let us judge them by “the law and the testimony. If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Said Paul: “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” John defines sin to be “the transgression of the law.” Then when men and women claim great light and an exalted religious experience, while they are knowingly transgressing the law of God, let us not be deceived. When persons will speak lightly of the law, and set their impressions, feelings, and exercises above that divine standard, we may know that they have no light in them. They are repeating the course that was pursued in Eden. The laws and opinions of men are exalted above the law of the Infinite, just as in Eden the deceptive wiles of Satan were credited in preference to the word of God.
4 In the Judgment, some will present the great light which they have had, and the mighty works which they have done, saying, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” But Jesus replies: “I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” These words of our Lord contain a lesson that is solemn and of infinite importance. These commandment-breakers may claim to be without sin,—a claim which was never made by Peter, John, Paul, nor any of the other apostles; but the great Detector of sin exposes the falsity of their profession.
5 We must not trust the claims of men. They may, as Christ represents, profess to work miracles in healing the sick. Is this marvelous, when just behind them stands the great deceiver, the miracle-worker who will yet bring down fire from heaven in the sight of men? Nor can we trust impressions. The voice or spirit that says to a man. You are under no obligation to obey the law of God; you are holy and sinless, while he is trampling on the divine law, is not the voice of Jesus; for he declares: “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” And John testifies: “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Then how can these manifestations of great power, and these wonderful impressions, be accounted for, except on the ground that they are given through the influence of that miracle-working spirit that has gone forth to deceive the whole world, and infatuate them with strong delusion that they shall believe a lie? He is pleased when men and women claim to possess great spiritual power, and yet disregard the law of God, because through their disobedience they mislead others, and he can use them as effective agents in his work.
6 The Spirit and the word agree. The voice of God to the hearts of men does not contradict the utterances proclaimed in awful grandeur from Sinai’s mount. God never contradicts himself. He claims obedience. The laws by which he governs the world are not only holy, just, and good, but they are immutable also, and by them the world is soon to be judged. Men may cast aside God’s great moral standard of character, and erect a standard to suit their own convenience, and by this imperfect standard they may claim holiness; but God will enforce his own laws on nations, families, and individuals.
7 Men may say, I would keep the law of God if it was convenient to do so, and did not interfere with my business; but if I should keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, it would break me up; I should become poor. The Lord of glory became poor for our sakes, that we through his poverty might be made rich. Christ paid an infinite price for the redemption of the race, that he might refine and ennoble them, and make them sons and daughters of God. Well might John exclaim: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”
8 The apostle continues: “And it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” It is not enough to profess to be keeping the law of God, while men are weaving into their lives and characters threads of selfishness and pride. Many who profess to be children of God have good impulses. When everything moves smoothly, they may be very courteous and obliging, and do some good works; but when difficulties arise, and their way is crossed, they show quite another spirit. Then there are heart-burnings, envy, enmity; self seeks the supremacy, and gains it. Can we truthfully call such persons Christians? No; for to be a Christian is to be Christ-like.
9 The Lord looks upon the intents and purposes of the heart. A Sabbath religion alone will not meet his requirements. Selfishness must not be allowed to crowd out the love of Jesus and love for one another. We need to examine ourselves, whether we are in the faith, and to walk in the light, lest darkness come upon us. If we walk in the light, and open our heart and understanding to the light, we shall have clear day shining about us. We should use the light that we have to bless others. We should be willing to know our whole duty, and then do it. We should learn in the school of Christ his meekness and lowliness, and should test all our actions by the word of God, and the inquiry, How will this look in the Judgment? It is by taking this course that the true Christian will be a light to lighten the world.
10 This is a day of spiritual declension. Clouds and thick darkness obscure the spiritual vision, unless there is a daily enlightenment of the Spirit of God. Many who have had great light and have enjoyed precious opportunities, have, through their misconception of their true spiritual condition, become stumbling-blocks for saints and sinners. Groping in a dim twilight, attempting to walk by their own spirit, they stumble and make very crooked paths, and the lame are turned out of the way. They think they are entertaining the hope of seeing Jesus as he is, and being like him; but they forget to purify themselves as he is pure.
11 What are you doing, my fellow-Christians? Are you examining yourselves, whether ye be in the love of God? Are you day by day purifying your own souls, and obtaining a fitness for Heaven? The Bible is full of practical truths that are calculated to work great changes in the human character. And Jesus prayed for his disciples: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” The word of God obeyed is the great sanctifier of hearts. Through its influence we may become pure, “even as He is pure.” By forming such a character, we shall secure the truest happiness here; and when Jesus shall appear in the clouds of heaven, we shall be able to say: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.” “We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
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1 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
2 In these words the Saviour presents before us the importance of laying up for ourselves a treasure in Heaven. Christ understood full well what he was saying. He knew that if men should lay up their treasures here in this world, their interests also would be here; and these worldly interests would shut the love of God out of the heart. If we keep our eye fixed too intently upon things of the world, how can we see those that are heavenly?
3 God would have the things of this world take a secondary place; but it is Satan’s object to make them the most attractive to us. As the great deceiver succeeds in his purpose to draw our minds from God, it is impossible for us to estimate the loss we are sustaining. If we are getting daily views of heavenly things, we shall be constantly hungering and thirsting after righteousness. And if our eye is single to the glory of God, his rich blessing can flow into our hearts and homes. Then why do we not have the glory of God in view in all that we say and do? It is because we invite the world into our hearts, and the love of the world strengthens continually, until it crowds out the work of grace from the heart, and separates us from our Creator.
4 When in the temple at Jerusalem the water was poured out at the foot of the altar, commemorating the water that flowed from the smitten rock in the wilderness, the voice of Jesus was heard, clear and penetrating, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” He was the Rock that followed them in the wilderness, refreshing his thirsty people. And now he would draw away the mind from that which can never satisfy the thirsting, fainting soul, to the Rock of Ages, from which flow the pure streams of eternal life. From this fountain the nations may drink and drink again, and the supply is fresh, and inexhaustible, and free to all.
5 We may drink here and satisfy our thirst. But how many there are, even of those who profess to be the children of God, who while longing to be free from the troubles that beset them on the right hand and on the left, are yet bending all their energies to lay up a treasure on earth.—the very thing which Christ has told them not to do.
6 Jesus would not have his people worrying and toiling and fretting under a yoke of their own imposing. He invites them: “Take my yoke upon you.” The world’s yoke is galling, and too heavy to bear; but the gracious words of our Lord are, “Take my yoke upon you,” and “ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Oh, how many galling yokes, how many unnecessary burdens, are borne because men will grasp this world and this world’s treasures, because they choose things that are of no importance, while things of eternal importance are considered of little or no value! The things of this world are the things that worldlings love and seek for; but should Christians do the same as they? No, they must take an entirely different course. They must seek those things that are above, “where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.”
7 What will it amount to in the end, if we devote all our time and energies to the poor, selfish life of the worldling? We shall not be the happier here for having our treasure in this earth, and we shall miss the eternal reward. It is of infinitely more consequence to build up a character that God can approve than to carry on the most successful business career. Jesus, our perfect pattern, has shown man the way to form such a character. Day by day, through the help of divine grace, he may be making a record which he will not be ashamed to meet in the Judgment. As the artist prints the face upon the polished plate, so our characters are printed upon the books of Heaven, and it should be our first care to know that the impressions made there are fair and perfect.
8 It is our duty to render to God the best service possible. There are some who have talents that would enable them to stand in the sacred desk, and speak the word of God to the people. These talents have been intrusted to them to do good with, and they are responsible for the use they make of them; but oh, how many are using these God-given powers for purposes of mere worldly gain! Perhaps they are trying to serve both God and mammon; but while they are serving themselves, they are not serving God.
9 Christ is the great foundation stone; and we read that some are building on that foundation, wood, hay, and stubble, while others are bringing to it gold, silver, and precious stones. The fires of the great day will test every man’s work, and if the material he furnished is consumed, he will suffer loss.
10 Dear Christian friend, stop and think. You are trading with your Lord’s money; and what use are you making of it? You may suffer your mind to be engrossed with business transactions and the cares of this life; but you cannot carry these things with you into the other world. There will be no use for this kind of education there. Then why not use your talents to build up Christ’s kingdom? Why not give to the service of God the tact, skill, and energy that have made you successful in business? The works of this world will be destroyed. Would it not be better to put some of your thinking powers into the cause of God, and build where the work will be enduring, and you will not suffer loss?
11 The constant burden of our hearts should be, What can I do to save souls for whom Christ died? All around me are precious souls lying in wickedness, that must perish unless someone shall work for their salvation. How can I best reach these wandering ones, that I may bring them to the glorious city of God, and present them before the throne, saying, Here am I and the children whom the Lord hath given me?
12 Some may excuse themselves by saying, I have had no experience in this kind of work; I have used my ability only in the things of this life. Well, it is for you to say whether you will continue to devote your time and strength to worldly interests, or will use them in the cause of God. None of us will be forced into this service. If we choose to concentrate our powers upon worldly matters, there will be nothing to hinder us. But why is it that we persist in laying up treasure here instead of above? Suppose you should change the order of things, and lay up some of your treasure in Heaven, would you not rejoice to receive it again by and by, imperishable?
13 It takes time and patience to learn the truth, and to become an accomplished workman in the vineyard of the Lord; yet this you may do. Go to the milliner, or dressmaker, and she will tell you how long and hard she toiled before she had a correct knowledge of the business. The architect will tell you how long it took him to understand how to plan and erect a tasteful and commodious building. And so it will be in all the callings which men follow. They do not expect success without care and diligence in mastering their business. But how few of us who are called to be co-laborers with the Master, have “learned the trade” as Christians. Let these men and women who are so successful in business and so eloquent in talking of worldly things, come into the social meeting, and often when they arise to testify for Christ, they will mumble a few words in a scarcely audible tone, and sit down. Why are they willing to be dwarfs in religious things? Does it not show where their heart is?
14 Christ has appointed to every man his work. The second death will be the portion of those who labor not, and the dreadful words will be heard, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” But the faithful servants will not lose their reward. They will gain eternal life, and the “Well done, good and faithful servant,” will fall as sweetest music on their ears. Soon the books of record will be examined, and the cases of all decided; and it will then appear that the heavenly treasure will repay a life-time of earnest devotion.
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1 When Christ was born at Bethlehem, Satan saw the plains illuminated with the brilliant glory of a multitude of heavenly angels. He heard their song, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men.” The prince of darkness saw the amazement that filled the hearts of the shepherds as they witnessed the display of divine glory, and listened to the songs of the angelic host. And well might the shepherds tremble before this exhibition of bewildering glory, which seemed to entrance their very senses. The rebel chief himself trembled at the announcement that was made to them: “Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Satan had been successful in carrying out the plan which he devised for the ruin of men, and success had made him bold and powerful. From the time of Adam he had controlled the minds and the bodies of men; but now he was alarmed, for he felt that both his life and his kingdom were in danger.
2 Satan knew that the songs of the heavenly messengers celebrating the advent of the Saviour to a fallen world, and the joy expressed at this great event, boded no good to himself. In the infant Christ he recognized a rival, —the coming One who would contest his power, and perhaps overthrow his kingdom; and his mind was filled with dark forebodings. He imbued Herod with the same feelings and fears that disturbed his own mind, by insinuating that his power and his kingdom were to be given to this new king. He thus stirred up the envy and jealousy of Herod to destroy Christ, and this led to the destruction of all the little children that were in Bethlehem.
3 But a higher power was at work against the plans of the prince of darkness. Angels of God frustrated his designs, and protected the life of the infant Redeemer. In a dream Joseph was warned to flee into Egypt, that in a heathen land he might find an asylum for his precious charge. Satan was thwarted; but he did not give up his efforts to overthrow his hated rival. He followed Jesus from infancy to childhood, and from childhood to manhood, inventing ways and means to allure him from his allegiance to God, and overcome him with his subtle temptation. The unsullied purity of Christ in his childhood, youth, and manhood, which Satan could not taint, annoyed him exceedingly. All the darts and arrows of temptation which were hurled against the Son of God, fell harmless at his feet. And when he found that he prevailed nothing in moving Christ from the steadfastness of his integrity, or in marring the spotless purity of the youthful Galilean, he looked upon him as an enemy that he must dread and fear.
4 This prince of evil was chafed and enraged that there should be One who walked the earth with moral power to withstand all his temptations, who resisted all his attractive bribes to allure him to sin, One over whom he could obtain no advantage to separate the soul from God.
5 There was another whom Satan could not swerve from the right way. The childhood, youth, and manhood of John, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah to do a special work in preparing the way for the world’s Redeemer, were marked with firmness and moral power. When the voice of this prophet was heard in the wilderness, saying, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,” Satan feared for the safety of his kingdom. The sinfulness of sin was revealed in such a manner that men trembled and became alarmed. His power over many who had been under his control was broken; and some, by repentance of their sins, found the favor of God, and gained moral power to resist the temptations of the great adversary.
6 When Christ presented himself to John for baptism, Satan was among the witnesses of that event. He saw the lightnings flash from the cloudless heavens. He heard the majestic voice of Jehovah that resounded through Heaven, and echoed through the earth like peals of thunder, announcing, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” He saw the brightness of the Father’s glory overshadowing the form of Jesus, thus pointing out with unmistakable assurance the One in that crowd whom he acknowledged as his Son. The circumstances connected with this baptismal scene were of the greatest interest to Satan. He knew then for a certainty that unless he could overcome Christ, from thenceforth there would be a limit to his power. He understood that this communication from the throne of God signified that Heaven was now more directly accessible to man than it had been, and the most intense hatred was aroused in his breast.
7 When Satan led man to sin, he hoped that God’s abhorrence of sin would forever separate him from man, and break the connecting link between Heaven and earth. When from the opening heavens he heard the voice of God addressing his Son, it was to him as the sound of a death-knell. It told him that now God was about to unite man more closely to himself, and give moral power to overcome temptation, and to escape from the entanglements of Satanic devices. Satan well knew the position which Christ had held in Heaven as the Son of God, the Beloved of the Father; and that Christ should leave the joy and honor of Heaven, and come to this world as a man, filled him with apprehension. He knew that this condescension on the part of the Son of God boded no good to him.
8 Satan could not comprehend the mystery of this great sacrifice for the benefit of fallen man. His selfish soul could not understand how there could exist benevolence and love for the deceived race, so great as to induce the Prince of Heaven to leave his home, and come to a world marred with sin and with the traces of the curse. Satan knew that the value of Heaven far exceeded man’s anticipation and appreciation, and that the most costly treasures of the world would not compare with it in worth. He had a knowledge of the inestimable value of eternal riches that man did not possess. He had experienced the pure contentment, the peace, the exalted happiness and unalloyed joys, of the heavenly abode. He had realized, before his rebellion, the satisfaction of the full approval of God. He had had a full appreciation of the glory that enshrouded the Father, and knew that there was no limit to his power.
9 The loss he had sustained was well known to Satan. And as the riches and glories of Heaven were lost to him through his rebellion, he determined to be revenged by causing as many as he could to share in his fall. He would lead them to undervalue Heaven, and to place their affections upon things of earth.
10 The time had now come when Satan’s empire over the world was to be contested, his right disputed, and he feared that his power would be broken. He knew, through prophecy that a Saviour was predicted, and that his kingdom would not be established in earthly triumph and with worldly honor and display. He knew that the prophecies foretold a kingdom to be established by the Prince of Heaven upon the earth which he claimed as his dominion. This kingdom would embrace all the kingdoms of the world, and then the power and glory of Satan would cease, and he would receive his retribution for the sins he had introduced into the world, and for the misery he had brought upon the human race. He knew that everything which concerned his prosperity was depending upon his success or failure in overcoming Christ with his temptations; and he brought to bear on the Saviour every artifice at his command to allure him from his integrity.
11 Man can never know the strength of the temptations to which the Son of God was subjected. All the temptations that seen so afflicting to man in his daily life, so difficult to resist and overcome, were brought to bear upon him in as much greater degree as he is superior in his excellence of character to fallen man.
12 Our Redeemer was tempted in all points like as we are. As man’s representative, he met the strongest force of Satan, his most wily temptations, and conquered in man’s behalf. It is impossible for man to be tempted above that he is able to bear while he relies upon Jesus, the infinite Conqueror, whose grace and strength are sufficient for all our needs.
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1 The apostle addresses his brethren: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1, 2.
2 Light and spiritual understanding have been given us upon health reform. The truth that has reached the understanding, the light that has shone upon us, should be appreciated and cherished or they will witness against us in the day of God. Truth has been given to save those who would believe and obey. The condemnation of the lost will not be because they did not have the light, but because they had the light and did not walk in it.
3 God has furnished man with abundance of means for the gratification of natural appetite. He has spread before him, in the products of the earth, a bountiful variety of food that is palatable to the taste and nutritious to the system. Of these, our benevolent heavenly Father says that we “may freely eat.” We may enjoy the fruits, the vegetables, the grains, without doing violence to the laws of our being. These articles, prepared in the most simple and natural manner, will nourish the body, and preserve its natural vigor, without the use of brandy, alcohol, wine beer, tea, or coffee.
4 God created man a little lower than the angels, and bestowed upon him attributes that will, if properly used, make him a blessing to the world, and cause him to reflect the glory to the Giver. But although made in the image of God, man has, through intemperance, violated principle and God’s law in his physical nature. Intemperance of any kind benumbs the perceptive organs, and so weakens the brain nerve power that eternal things are not appreciated, but are placed upon a level with common things. The higher powers of the mind, designed for elevated purposes, are brought into slavery to the baser passions. If our physical habits are not right, our mental and moral powers cannot be strong; for great sympathy exists between the physical and moral. The apostle Peter understood this, and raised his voice of warning to his brethren: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.”
5 There is but little moral power in the professed Christian world. Wrong habits have been indulged, and physical and moral laws have been disregarded, until the general standard of virtue and piety is exceedingly low. Habits which lower the standard of physical health enfeeble mental and moral strength. The indulgence of unnatural appetites and passions has a controlling influence upon the nerves of the brain. The animal organs are strengthened, while the moral and spiritual are depressed. It is impossible for an intemperate man to be a Christian, for his higher powers are brought into slavery to the lower passions.
6 Those who have had the light upon eating and dressing with simplicity, in obedience to physical and moral laws, and who turn from the light which points out their duty, will shun duty in other things. If they blunt their consciences to avoid the cross which they will have to take up to be in harmony with natural law, they will, in order to shun reproach, violate the ten commandments. There is a decided unwillingness with some to endure the cross and despise the shame. Some will be laughed out of their principles. Conformity to the world’s customs and practices will separate the soul from God. There are in the Christian world many who think more of the praise of those who love not God than of the favor of Heaven. These will yield to temptation, and become more firmly wedded year by year to worldly fashions and indulgences of perverted appetite than they are to healthy bodies, sound mind, or sanctified hearts.
7 God is proving us, as he tested and proved Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, on the point of appetite, to develop what is in our hearts. Are we Christians? then we will eat and drink to the glory of God. Pride, self-indulgence, and love of the world have separated many from God. The principles of truth are by a large class virtually sacrificed, while they profess to love the truth. Christians should wake up and act with determined effort, for their influence is telling upon and moulding the opinions and habits of others. They will bear the weighty responsibility of deciding by their influence the destiny of souls.
8 The Lord, by close and pointed truths, is cleaving out a people from the world, and purifying them unto himself. Pride and unhealthful fashions, the love of display, the love of approbation,—all must be left with the world, if we would be renewed in knowledge after the image of him who created us. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
9 The indulgence of the appetite, and the effort to keep pace with the fashions of this degenerate age, have brought into the heart of men selfishness, pride, envy, malice, evil-surmising, back-biting, gossiping, until the spirit of God has little to do with them. While some who profess to know God remain in their present state, their prayers are an abomination in his sight. They do not sustain their faith by their works, and it would have been better for some never to have professed the truth than to have dishonored their profession as they have done. While they profess to be servants of Christ, they are servants of the enemy of righteousness; and their works testify of them that they are not acquainted with God, and that their hearts are not in obedience to the will of Christ. They make child’s play of religion; they act like pettish children. They serve God at will and let it alone at pleasure.
10 The children of God the world over are one great brotherhood. Our Saviour has clearly defined the spirit and principles which should govern the actions of those who, by their consistent, holy lives, distinguish themselves from the world. Love for one another, and supreme love to their heavenly Father, should be exemplified in their conversation and works.
11 That which should excite the greatest alarm is that we do not feel or sense our condition, our low estate, and that we are satisfied to remain as we are. We should flee to the word of God and to prayer, individually seeking the Lord earnestly, that we may find him. We should make this our first business.
12 The members of the church are responsible for the talents committed to their trust, and it is impossible for Christians to meet their responsibilities unless they occupy that elevated position that is in accordance with the sacred truths which they profess. The light that shines upon our pathway makes us responsible to let that light shine forth to others in such a manner that they will glorify God by good works.
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1 “I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
2 The apostle prayed for the church at Ephesus, that God would grant them “according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.” The spiritual strength here spoken of is something that we may each obtain; but how shall we get it? Perhaps we are in darkness, feeling weak and discouraged and that God does not love us. If so, we are not to give way to feeling; feeling has nothing whatever to do with the matter. We are to take the word of God as it reads, the words of Christ as he has spoken them.
3 Hear these words of our Saviour: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.” It is the privilege of every one of us to build upon the Eternal Rock; then we shall not dishonor God, nor by our words and actions scatter away from Christ. There are some who do this, and Jesus is ashamed to call them brethren.
4 We may come to our Saviour in the hour of trial, and plead: “I am in poverty and need, and I must have thy blessing. I come to thee; for thou hast told me to come. Thou hast invited all who are weary and heavy laden to come unto thee, and thou hast promised them rest. Thou hast said; ‘Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’” And when he has given you rest, do not grieve his Spirit by talking darkness and unbelief. Talk faith; but, above all things, hold daily communion with Jesus.
5 Satan will tell you that you do not feel any better than you did before you went to Jesus with your troubles. But here the question arises again, What has feeling to do with it? The Lord says: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Again we read: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will” grudgingly pardon. Is that it? No, indeed! This is the way it reads: “For he will abundantly pardon.” When you have thrown yourself upon the mercy of God, and taken him at his word, and yet the enemy comes, and suggests your faults and failings, and tells you that you are no better than before you sought the Lord, you can point to Jesus, and repeat his promises, and tell what he has done for you.
6 The apostle continues: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” While this divine fullness has been placed within our reach, how easily we are satisfied. We have accustomed ourselves to think that it is enough to have a knowledge of the truth without its sanctifying power. Just a little sip at the fountain of life quenches our thirst. We do not come again and again to drink. But this is not in accordance with the mind of God. Our souls should be continually athirst for the water of life. Our hearts should ever go out after Christ, longing for communion with him. It is hungering and thirsting after righteousness that will bring us the full measure of his grace.
7 Enoch “walked with God;” but how did he gain this sweet intimacy? It was by having thoughts of God continually before him. As he went out and as he came in, his meditations were upon the goodness, the perfection, and the loveliness of the divine character. And as he was thus engaged, he became changed into the glorious image of his Lord; for it is by beholding that we become changed.
8 We have something more to do than merely to attend church services. Prayers and testimonies in the social meeting will not answer, when we never say a word for Jesus outside the meeting-house. We are to reflect the character of Jesus. Everywhere, whether in the church, at our homes, or in social intercourse with our neighbors, we should let the lovely image of Jesus appear. This we cannot do unless we are filled with his fullness. If we would become better acquainted with Jesus, we should love him for his goodness and excellence and we should desire to become so assimilated to his divine character that all would know that we had been with Jesus, and learned of him.
9 It is by carrying out in our lives the pure principles of the gospel of Christ that we honor and glorify our Father who is in Heaven. When we are doing this, we are reflecting Heaven-given light upon the dark world around us. Sinners will be constrained to confess that we are not the children of darkness, but the children of light. How shall they know this? By the fruits we bear. Men may have their names upon the church-book; but that does not make them children of light. They may hold honorable positions and receive the praise of men; but that does not make them children of light. They may shut themselves in monasteries, and clothe themselves in garments of sanctity, and yet not be the children of light. All this will not help them to shun or to overcome temptation. There must be a deep work of grace,—the love of God in the heart, and this love is expressed by obedience.
10 It is Christ dwelling in the soul that gives us spiritual power, and makes us channels of light. The more light we have, the more we can impart to others around us. The more closely we live to Jesus, the clearer views shall we have of his loveliness. As we behold him in his purity, we discern more clearly our own faults of character. We yearn after him, and for that fullness that is in him, and that shines out in the perfection of his heavenly character; and by beholding we become changed into his image.
11 How was it with our Saviour? He represented his Father in every act of his life, and in like manner the people of God are expected to represent Christ. Are we representing him in cross-bearing, in self-denial, in patience, and in labor for perishing souls? Let us think soberly and candidly about this matter. If we are not really deceiving ourselves, are we not, by our unbelief, daily depriving ourselves of the riches of his grace?
12 We should not allow the worldliness all about us to control our actions, but should be steadfast in the faith and strong in the word of God. Every day we are sowing some kind of seed. If we sow the seeds of unbelief, we shall reap unbelief; if we sow pride, we shall reap pride; if we sow stubbornness, we shall reap stubbornness; “for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
13 We do not want to be covered over with the mildew and slime of the world. We are to remain in this world but a little while. We are pilgrims and strangers here, and are on our way to a better country, even a heavenly; and we want to become acquainted with that land to which we are going. Our conversation should not be exclusively of the world and worldly things; but our tongues should be trained to talk of the Christian’s reward, and our eyes to discern the glory of that better country. It should be our daily work to gain a fitness for those mansions Jesus has gone to prepare for us.
14 Our hearts may be filled with all the fullness of God; but there is something for us to do. We must not pet our faults and sins, but put them away, and make haste to set our hearts in order. When this is done, let us take the key of faith, and unlock the storehouse of God’s rich blessings. Does he want us to entertain doubt and darkness? Does he want us to be destitute of his Spirit? No, indeed. There is an infinite fullness to draw from; and we have the promise of our divine Lord, “According to your faith be it unto you.” We may win the crown of life, a place at God’s right hand, and as we enter the pearly gates, hear the words, sweeter than any music, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
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1 At the first advent of Christ into this world, the people were favored with a new and fuller manifestation of the Divine Presence than they had ever enjoyed before. The knowledge of God, and the infinite love and benevolence of his character, were revealed more perfectly; for it pleased the Father that in his well-beloved Son all fullness should dwell. The middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile was broken down, and both were made partakers, not only of the blessings promised under the old covenant, but also the spiritual and heavenly truths revealed through Christ.
2 The Jewish church, with its rites and ceremonies pointing forward to Christ, was not to be despised. This was a dispensation of glory. In the wilderness, Christ himself, though invisible, was the leader of the armies of Israel; and the power of God was often revealed in a special manner in their behalf. Considering these glorious displays of divine power, Moses thus addresses Israel: “What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” How many pass over these words of Moses as though they were meaningless, and continue to heap reproach and derision on divine institutions. How many trample on the divine law, the righteous judgments and statutes which were committed to God’s ancient people.
3 In the mount, when the law was given to Moses, the Coming One was shown to him also. He saw Christ’s work, and his mission to earth, when the Son of God should take upon himself humanity, and become a teacher and a guide to the world, and at last give himself a ransom for their sins. When the perfect Offering should be made for the sins of men, the sacrificial offerings typifying the work of the Messiah were to cease. With the advent of Christ, the veil of uncertainty was to be lifted, and a flood of light shed upon the darkened understanding of his people.
4 As Moses saw the day of Christ, and the new and living way of salvation that was to be opened through his blood, he was captivated and entranced. The praise of God was in his heart, and the divine glory that attended the giving of the law was so strikingly revealed in his countenance when he came down from the mount to walk with Israel, that the brightness was painful. Because of their transgressions, the people were unable to look upon his face, and he wore a veil that he might not terrify them.
5 It was the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ, who was the foundation of the sacrificial system, that shone in the face of Moses. “But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away; how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?” When the reality, the full blaze of midday light, should come, the dim glory which was but an earnest of the latter, should be done away, swallowed up in the greater glory.
6 “And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.” God was pleased to reveal to Moses the end of the sacrificial offerings at the time of the giving of his law. It was made plain to him that the Angel that stood at the head of the armies of Israel was the great Offering for sin, the foundation of the entire typical system. He saw type reach its antitype. The former was but an earnest of the latter, and in comparison with it was intricate and mysterious, although of great beauty and clearness.
7 Had the Israelites discerned the gospel light that was opened to Moses, had they been able by faith to look steadfastly to the end of that which was abolished they could have endured the light which was reflected from the countenance of Moses. “But their minds were blinded; for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ.” The Jews as a people did not discern that the Messiah whom they rejected, was the Angel who guided their fathers in their travels in the wilderness. To this day the veil is upon their hearts, and its darkness hides from them the good news of salvation through the merits of a crucified Redeemer.
8 It is no wonder that transgressors of God’s law at the present time will get as far from it as possible; for it condemns them. But those who hold that the ten commandments were abolished at the crucifixion of Christ are in a similar deception to that of the Jews. The position that the law of God is rigorous and unbearable casts contempt upon Him who governs the universe in accordance with its holy precepts. A veil is over the hearts of those who hold this view in reading both the Old and the New Testament. The penalty for the least transgression of that law is death, and but for Christ, the sinner’s Advocate, it would be summarily visited on every offender. Justice and mercy are blended. Christ and the law stand side by side. The law convicts the transgressor, and Christ pleads in the sinner’s behalf.
9 With the first advent of Christ there was ushered in an era of greater light and glory; but it would indeed be sinful ingratitude to despise and ridicule the lesser light because a fuller and more glorious light had dawned. Those who despise the blessings and glory of the Jewish age are not prepared to be benefited by the preaching of the gospel. The brightness of the Father’s glory, and the excellence and perfection of his sacred law, are only understood through the atonement made upon Calvary by his dear Son; but even the atonement loses its significance when the law of God is rejected.
10 The life of Christ was a most perfect and thorough vindication of his Father’s law, and his death attested its immutability. Christ did not, by bearing the sinner’s guilt, release man from his obligation to obey the law; for if the law could have been changed or abolished, he need not have come to this world to suffer and die. The very fact that Christ died for its transgressions attests the unchanging character of the Father’s law.
11 The Jews had departed from God, and in their teaching had substituted their own traditions for the divine law. The life and teachings of Christ made plain and distinct the principles of this violated law. The heavenly host understood that the object of his mission was to exalt the Father’s law and make it honorable, and to justify its claims by paying with his own life the penalty of its transgression. It was thus that he made reconciliation between God and man. As the great blessings brought within the reach of the human race at the first advent of the Saviour were seen by the angelic visitors, they burst into the glad, triumphant anthem: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men.”
12 The middle wall of partition between the Jew and Gentile was broken down. They were no longer in separate rooms; the unbelieving Gentile has been united with the believing Jew. The Gentile did not crowd the Jews from their original position, but he became a partaker with them of their blessings.
13 Thus was fulfilled the mission of Christ; and from his own divine lips were heard the words: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”
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1 “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
2 Here the battle between self-control and selfish indulgence is set forth. There is work for us to do, stern, earnest work, to decide which shall obtain the mastery. All our habits, tastes, and inclinations should be in accordance with the laws of health and life. By this means we may secure the very best physical conditions, and have mental clearness to discern between the evil and the good.
3 There are many expensive indulgences that are at the same time very injurious. They derange the digestive organs, and destroy the appetite for simple, wholesome food, and sickness and suffering are the result. With dyspepsia and its attendant evils comes the loss of a sweet disposition. There is irritability, fretfulness, impatience; and harsh, unkind words are spoken, which may result in the loss of a dear friend. Thus the books of Heaven show loss in many ways.
4 God is not unwilling that we should enjoy the blessings of life. He has placed in our hands abundant means for the gratification of natural appetite. In the products of the earth there is a bountiful variety of food that is both palatable and nutritious, and of these articles we “may freely eat.” We may enjoy the fruits, the vegetables, and the grains, which our benevolent heavenly Father has provided for our use, without doing violence to the laws of our being. Such a diet will nourish the body, and preserve its natural vigor, without the use of artificial stimulants and luxuries.
5 Intemperance commences at the table in the use of unhealthful food. After a time, as the digestive organs become weakened, the food does not satisfy the appetite, and there is a craving for more stimulating food and drinks. Tea, coffee, and flesh-meats produce an immediate effect, and are freely indulged in. Under their influence, the nervous system is excited, and in some cases, for the time being, the intellect seems to be invigorated, and the imagination to be more vivid. But there is always a reaction. The nervous system, having been unduly excited, borrowed power for present use from its future resources; and all this temporary invigoration of the system is followed by depression. The appetite, educated to crave something stronger, soon calls for tobacco, wines, and liquors.
6 The more the appetite is indulged, the more imperative are its demands, and the more difficult it is to control. The more debilitated the system becomes, and the less able to do without unnatural stimulants, the more the passion for these things increases, until the will is overborne, and there seems to be no power to deny the unnatural craving.
7 We are to be temperate in all things. Not only should we be careful to exercise judgment in the selection of proper food, but strict temperance in eating and in drinking is essential to the healthy preservation and vigorous exercise of all functions of the body. But intemperance in eating, even of healthful food, will have an injurious effect upon the system, and will blunt the mental and moral faculties.
8 Parents are many times responsible in this matter. They educate the taste of their children by indulging them in the use of unhealthful articles. They permit them to eat rich pastries and highly seasoned food, and to drink tea and coffee. They are thus laying the foundation for perverted appetites and ruining the health of their children. They should help them in this respect, and not place temptation in their way.
9 Frequently mothers permit their children to eat candy and sweetmeats, and the habit thus formed, besides involving an unwise expenditure of money, is ruinous to the health. One mother said to me, as she placed a package of candy in her child’s hand, “It is only five cents’ worth.” It was a very poor quality of candy and highly colored. The child looked in my face with much interest, to see how I regarded the matter. Said I, “The lessons in the selfish indulgence of taste which you are giving your children are setting their feet in an evil path. You, as their guardian and teacher, should be helping them to overcome. You should be teaching them to cease to do evil and to learn to do well.”
10 Besides the injury that is done to the health, these indulgences of taste are in the end expensive. Though but a trifle may be spent at each time, they soon aggregate quite a sum; and this money might be spent for some useful purpose, or be given to the cause of God. Will you ponder these things my Christian friends, and see if you cannot, by self-denial, and the better health that will come with the better habits, accomplish more with your life than you have done hitherto?
11 Christian women can do much in the great work for the salvation of others by spreading their tables with only healthful, nourishing food. They can educate the tastes and appetites of their children; they can form in them habits of temperance in all things, and encourage benevolence and self-denial for the good of others. The moral sensibilities of Christians should be aroused upon this subject; that they may help those who are so weak in self-control as to be almost powerless to resist the cravings of appetite. If we could realize that the habits we form in this life will effect our eternal interests, we should be much more careful than we now are; and by our example and personal effort we might be the means of saving many souls from the degradation of intemperance and crime, and the consequent penalty of death.
12 Here is the battle before us, to subdue self and be temperate in all things if we would secure the incorruptible crown of immortal life. The prize is within our reach, and everyone may win it who will strive lawfully. But how many who have had precious opportunities and great light and privileges seem devoid of reason in regard to the purpose of life, and fail to realize the shame and confusion that will be theirs when they shall receive sentence according as their works have been. They might rise intellectually and morally if they would govern themselves; but this they will not do, for they love self supremely.
13 The lives of such persons are a shallow pretense. They do not aim at any high standard in personal character; but their attention is taken up with matters of dress, style, personal appearance, equipage, sensuous enjoyment. Reproof and warning are refused or disregarded. They do not like the effort it would require, and so make no exertion to change their course. After looking in the mirror, they forget what manner of characters they found represented there, and pursue their accustomed round of folly, which they call freedom and enjoyment.
14 They do not understand righteousness. If they would for a time change their course of action, and live a self-denying, godly life, being temperate in all things, they would have wisdom, strength, and power to live a noble, useful life.
15 To attain to such a life in this self-indulgent, lawless age, we must daily have the Spirit of Christ. But he is willing to bestow it upon those who range themselves under his blood-stained banner, fighting the battles of the Lord. There are precious victories to gain; and the victors in this contest against appetite and every worldly lust will receive a crown of life that fadeth not away, a blessed home in that city whose gates are of pearl and whose foundations are of precious stones. Is not this prize worth striving for? Is it not worth every effort that we can make? Then let us so run that we may obtain.
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1 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:12-14.
2 Here is presented before us a period of time when everyone will receive according to the deeds done in the body. If it is so that in the heavenly courts a record is kept of our works and of our words, how important it is that we take heed to our ways. Every character will be tested by the standard of God’s holy law. The great God of Heaven, our supreme Ruler, has rules, Statutes, and laws. These laws govern not only the intelligences of Heaven, but they govern every member of the human family; and we read in my text: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” We should show great want of wisdom were we to make no special preparation to be among the number that shall enter in through the gates into the city.
3 We should have an intense and earnest desire for eternal things, and put forth efforts proportionate to the value of the object which we are in pursuit of. The exhortations and the warnings which come to us from the prophets and apostles are all to educate us in character building, and to teach us what we must do in order to be saved.
4 I am so grateful that in this degenerate age we are not left in darkness to pick our way along amid the many voices that are heard to divert us from the path of holiness. We want to hear the one voice that says, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Christ says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Then we inquire, Have we placed ourselves on the side of the Prince of Life? Have we placed ourselves under the banner of Prince Emmanuel? Have we, like Daniel, purposed in our hearts to be obedient to all of God’s requirements? It is of the greatest consequence to us that we be found obedient children, walking in the truth. We do not want to be on the side of the great rebel who transgressed God’s commandments and was thrust out of Heaven, and is teaching others to be disloyal to the God of Heaven. If we are not obedient to God in this life, keeping his commandments, how can we expect to have a right to eternal life? God will not take into his kingdom and give eternal life to those who will not come under his laws and statutes in this life.
5 We are in this world as probationers; we are here to obtain a fitness for the future immortal life, and should we devote the precious golden moments that are now granted us, these precious moments of probation, in finding our own pleasure, in doing our own ways, and seeking our own gratification, we should fail to secure a fitness for immortal life. If we lose Heaven we lose everything, and it would be better for us if we had never been born. But if we gain the precious Heaven of bliss we gain everything, and we may bless the day in which we were born. If we would dwell with the precious Saviour in the kingdom which he has gone to prepare for those that love him, we must seek to be like him here; we must bring him into our life and weave him into our character, and he will be unto us everything that our hearts can desire.
6 Our minds should be directed to the great source of light, and power, and happiness. Our heavenly Father has, in the gift of his dear Son, given us the greatest blessing that Heaven possessed. And when by living faith we accept this precious Saviour and he abides with us, then all Heaven is at our command; and whatsoever we ask the Father in his name he giveth us. All our troubles, all our perplexities, all our griefs we can bring to our dear Saviour. We need not hug our troubles to our breasts; we need not walk in perplexity, and in darkness, and in doubt; for Christ has said that those who follow him shall not walk in darkness, and every step that we take in following Christ is a step toward clearer light. We must expect to have difficulties, and opposition, and perplexities; all these are God’s agents and will make our faith grow stronger. The sinews and muscles of our spirituality will be strengthened in overcoming the obstacles which we meet. By grasping the promises of God by living faith we can move Heaven. All Heaven is pledged to aid the faithful worker. We need not go in gloom complaining by the way of the roughness of the journey; for these light afflictions which are but for a moment are working “for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
7 What we want is more of Jesus and less of self. And the more we keep the eye fixed upon the mark of the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus, the more we shall press toward the mark. It requires moral courage to be a Christian; but God demands all that there is of man in his service. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself.” How many of us are doing this today? How many of us will come short of entering in through the gates into the city? How many of us are devoting our time to the little things of this life, while we are neglecting our eternal interests?
8 You should bring all of Heaven that it is possible to bring into your present life. “Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price.” If you have any talent or intellect it is the Lord’s, give it to him. If you have any power or influence it belongs on the Lord’s side. It is your Creator that requires this at your hands. A great and infinite price has been paid for your redemption. For your sake Jesus laid aside his majesty and his glory, became poor that you through his poverty might be made rich. He left all his riches and glory and honor, clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to this world to save man, and yet that Saviour is compelled to say to many, “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.” He paid a great price to redeem every son and daughter of Adam. He would lift man from the lowest degradation of sin up to purity again, and restore to him his moral image. When the apostle saw the indifference of those whom Christ made such an infinite sacrifice, he inquires, “Who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth?” There is a power that takes hold of the senses of men and women that perverts their ideas so that they do not appreciate the love of Christ. You cannot afford to sin. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?” We must show to the world by our lives and character that Christ has not died for us in vain; and when we place ourselves in right relation to God, then we become living channels of light to the world. Christ has said, “Ye are the light of the world,” and if we fail to have a connection with Christ what a lamentable condition are we in! The light of Heaven is not given to us and we cannot give it to others. It is the privilege of every one of us to be children of the light, and light bearers.
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1 We should understand our obligations to the God of Heaven. We should honor our Creator in this life. We should keep his honor and glory in view every day. We must have an eye single to the glory of God. If all in this congregation who profess to be followers of Christ were to take the position of light-bearers to the world what a flood of light would be reflected from them to this world of darkness. Then why not let your hearts be uplifted to the God of Heaven for his grace that you may be imbued with his Spirit? Why not live as though you were pilgrims and strangers upon earth, looking for that better country and that heavenly city whose builder and maker is God?
2 That precious city you may gain; but not one of you will go there loaded down with self and the guilt of the transgression of God’s law. You cannot take with you into the city of God the pleasures of this life, neither the riches of the world. All who enter that city will enter it as conquerors. If you will sing the song of triumph and victory as overcomers, you must first learn here the art of conquering self and sin. And should you not do what you can in order to obtain the heavenly riches which can never be taken from you? to secure the heavenly land where there is no more poverty, no more sickness, no more pain, and no more death? But we shall not go to that holy Heaven as guilty, shamefaced, condemned criminals, but as joint heirs with Jesus Christ. You should keep Heaven before your eyes, and not allow the glitter and tinsel of this earth to eclipse its glory. The most beautiful places upon earth will soon be shaken down, the richest houses will fall, the gold and silver be cast to the moles and to the bats, but heavenly things will endure forever.
3 You may look upon the greatest riches and splendor which this earth possesses, you may look at the beauties of nature, which the great Master Artist has spread out before you in rich profusion, and yet we hear a voice saying, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” You may put your imagination to the highest stretch, and yet you cannot take in the glory of heavenly things. Then shall we not turn our attention to the future immortal life?
4 There is not one of you that will enter in through the gates into the city alone. If you give back to God in willing service the powers he has given you, not only will you save your own soul, but your influence will be to gather others. Everyone who takes his position steadfastly for the truth is bringing other souls to the same decision and to Heaven. In this work you can show that you love God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself. We are to feel a burden for the souls that are around us who are out of Christ. We should have a missionary spirit that will move us to try to help other feet to stand upon the platform of eternal truth.
5 We see that iniquity abounds everywhere, that the law of God is almost universally made void in our land. What insult is this to the God of Heaven that has given righteous laws and wise and merciful statutes to have them disregarded and trampled under foot. Then should not all who name the name of Christ depart from all iniquity, and give all their powers to his service? Should we not stand in defense of the truth, and think much less of our pleasure and our amusement, and a great deal more of Christ? The requirement is, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” You must come nearer to God by repentance and confession of all your sins. If you are saved you must be found loyal and true subjects of the kingdom of Heaven. You cannot afford to meet the great Lawgiver over his broken law. Let every soul here today inquire, What road am I traveling? Am I in the road which has been at infinite cost cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, or am I in the broad road of Satan? Have I my eye single to the glory of God? Says Christ, “I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Angels of God are watching the development of character, and weighing moral worth. The record is kept in the books of Heaven of all the deeds of men. Your sins though hidden from mortal eyes are open before God. His eyes sees every sin; but if you confess your sins then will he forgive them.
6 We have a precious loving Saviour. I wish I could present him to you just as he is. Many have Jesus so exalted in their minds that he seems far off and they have no communion with him. But Christ took upon himself human nature and was called the Son of man, because he was to become acquainted with all the trials, with all the sorrows, and with all the sufferings of humanity, that he might know how to succor those who are tempted. To the weeping ones he says, I have wept. I know how to sympathize with you. He is a Saviour that is in sympathy with the woes of man, a Saviour that is by our side to help, and strengthen, and succor us. You may take all your trials, all your troubles, all your sorrows to Jesus in prayer; you may feel that he is at hand to help you in every emergency, and you can tell him all about it and he will give you just the help you need. He wants us to have joy in him, and in order to do this we must come in close connection with him. We cannot dishonor him more than to distrust him. And we honor him when we believe in him and are obedient to all his commandments.
7 I have been for more than forty years engaged in labor to save souls for Jesus Christ, and I have had new and precious lessons to learn every day of my life. One of the most precious has been to commit the keeping of my soul to God as unto a faithful creator. If I was knowingly transgressing one of God’s commandments because it was convenient for me to do so, then I could not trust God and believe that he would at last bring me into the haven of bliss. But when I seek to overcome to the best of my ability, when my will is swallowed up in the will of God; then it is my privilege to claim his promises and believe that God will do with me according to his loving kindness.
8 I cannot describe to you this perfect trust. But I present before you a loving Saviour, that Saviour that wants to bring to your hearts joy and peace and love, that is inexpressible. He wants you to be happy and joyful in him. He says, “If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink,” and he will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. And if Christ is in you as a well of water, your words and influence will be a blessing to all around you. No one should live to himself; we are accountable to God for the influence we exert. Christ has made an infinite sacrifice, and all our powers should be given to him, and if we are faithful soldiers of the cross of Christ, the precious reward of a life that measures with the life of God will be granted to us.
9 I see matchless charms in Jesus, and I cannot have my affections placed upon anything that is earthly. My heart is drawn out in love for those out of Christ. I long to see them enter into the service of Christ, that they may have the blessing here and eternal life in the kingdom of God. Will you not take heed to your ways? Will you not compare your character with God’s moral law, the ten commandments? And then seek to come into obedience to all of God’s requirements. Says Christ, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Give me this precious reward, and you may take everything from me here upon earth.
10 Eternal interests are at stake. Jesus says, “My son give me thine heart;” he has bought it with his own blood. And when the pearly gates shall at last be swung open, and the nations who have kept the truth enter into the joy of their Lord, they will have that crown of glory which by faith Paul saw laid up for him, and not for him only but for all those who love his appearing. The saved will hear the benediction, “Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
11 Let us think of these things; let us bring the Saviour into our lives every day; let us love him with all our hearts; and if we appreciate the preciousness of Heaven, we shall talk of Jesus, of Heaven, and of the glories to be revealed to the overcomers. Then let us place ourselves under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. Let us have a faith that takes right hold of Christ. Let the language of each soul be, He is my Saviour, he died for me, and I hang my helpless soul upon him. He is able to keep that which I have committed to his trust, against that day. This is the precious lesson that I am learning today, to do the very best I can according to the best light that shines upon my pathway, and then trust the rest to Jesus.
12 May the blessing of God rest upon this dear people. How many that are here present today shall I meet around the great white throne? How many will lift their voices in songs of triumph, and praise, to him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. God grant that you may be there, saved, eternally saved, in the kingdom of glory.
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1 “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
2 This is the great commission given by Christ to his disciples after his resurrection. God has claims upon the service, not of the ministers merely, but of all who profess his name,—men and women, youth and children; and the earlier they are led out of and away from self, and taught to engage in unselfish labor for others, the nearer will they come to fulfilling this holy commission. Yet notwithstanding the claims that God has upon us, many select a course of life for themselves, without thought or reference to the glory of God; and all the time they profess to be his servants, following his directions, when in fact they are only serving themselves.
3 When Christ left his exalted position in Heaven, and came to this earth, he was not treated as a sovereign or even as a benefactor. His life was one of continual self-denial and sacrifice for others. His own testimony is, “I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.” All was laid upon the altar. How can we better show our appreciation of the great sacrifice made by the Lamb of God than by following his example, and carrying forward the work which he commenced while on earth? All who remain inactive when there is so much to be done, will at last be found guilty before God. Let us adopt the sentiment of the poet,—
“Do something—do it soon—with all thy might;
An angel’s wing would droop if long at rest,
And God himself, inactive, were no longer blest.”
4 In the parable of the marriage supper, our Saviour mentions a class who, with one consent, began to make excuses for the non-performance of duty. One had bought a piece of land, another had purchased a yoke of oxen, another had married a wife; and so none of them could accept the invitation of the king. This parable illustrates the frivolous and vain excuses that are made by many for not giving more attention to matters pertaining to the cause of God. They might have a seat at the marriage supper of the Lamb, they might be workers in the vineyard of the Lord; but they will not, because their temporal affairs are placed above things of eternal interest.
5 Those who profess to serve God, but feel no burden for the souls of others, will be continually backsliding. The time and strength of the minister will be taxed to keep them from making shipwreck of faith, when they should be laboring to present the way of life and salvation to their friends and neighbors. Many fathers and mothers with their little ones around them make their little circle their world. Every power of their being is centered on “me and mine,” and year by year they are becoming narrower and more circumscribed. They do not open their hearts to the grace and love of Christ, and liberalize their nature and ennoble their aims by placing themselves in sympathy with their fellowmen.
6 The purpose of the true Christian is to do good, not only to his own family and friends, but to all who come within the sphere of his influence. Many ways of usefulness will open before the willing, aspiring, devoted soul, who really desires to labor for the salvation of others. The more such persons do, the more they will see to do, and the more earnest will they be to have a part in every good work for the upbuilding of the cause of God. It will be their meat and drink to benefit their fellow-men and glorify their Redeemer.
7 There are many who need the ministration of loving Christian hearts. Many who have been left to darkness and ruin might have been helped had their brethren—men and women in the common walks of life—come to them with the love of Christ growing in their hearts, and put forth personal efforts for them. Many are waiting to be thus personally addressed. Much could be done with such persons by humble, earnest conversation and prayer. In most cases, when heart is brought close to heart, and the love that warmed the heart of the pitying Son of God is manifested, the effort will be wholly successful.
8 The question, “How much owest thou unto my Lord?” should come home to every heart. Jesus, the Master, became poor that we might have eternal riches; he died that we might have life, immortal life. Should we not be willing to follow his example, and do for others as nearly as possible as he has done for us? In so doing, our own character will be disciplined and improved, our faith will grow stronger, our zeal will become more steady and earnest, our love for God and souls for whom Christ died will become intensified, and sinners will be saved as the result of our labor. And what greater or more ennobling work can be engaged in, than seeking to attract souls to Christ? This work has been successfully done time and again by ordinary men and women, not by the most learned, eloquent, or wealthy, but by the true and faithful, who do their work in simplicity. But every worker must depend for wisdom and strength wholly on the grace of Christ.
9 If every member of the church would work in any place suited to his capacity, much more might be done to carry out the great commission given by our Master. More extensive plans would be devised to reach our fellow-men. Christ is searching the life and character for fruit, and he finds many professed Christians, like the barren fig-tree, bearing nothing but leaves. Some may say, “I do not know of anything that I can do in the work of God. I am willing to work, but what can I do?” To such we would say, Go to God; he will teach you. He who prays successfully will labor tirelessly for the salvation of souls.
10 There are many things that persons may do, if they only have a mind to work. They may gather the children and youth into the Sabbath-school. The young may in this way labor efficiently for the dear Saviour. They may shape the destinies of souls. They may do a work for the church and the world the extent and greatness of which will never be known until the day of final accounts, when “Well done” will be spoken to the faithful.
11 It is a mystery to me how any can be indifferent and careless in reference to the souls of their fellow-men. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” says the inspired word. Can we do this, and take no interest in his salvation? No, nor can one long retain the divine favor, if he takes no interest in sinners around him. If coldness and indifference have crept over your spiritual senses, and your interest for those who are perishing in their sins is decreasing, your best course will be to engage at once in personal efforts to save others. The rich promises of God are for the faithful workers. “He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.” It is to those, and those only, who are engaged in carrying forward the gospel commission that “Well done” will be spoken, and it is upon their brows alone that crowns of immortal glory will be placed. Then let us go forward, and not backward. We want a new conversion daily. We want the love of Jesus throbbing in our hearts, that we may be instrumental in saving many souls.
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1 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.”
2 What greater promises could be given us than are found in these verses? A cunning and cruel foe attends our steps, and is working every moment, with all his strength and skill, to turn us from the right way. Ever since he succeeded in overcoming our first parents in their beautiful Eden home, he has been engaged in this work. More than six thousand years of continual practice has greatly increased his skill to deceive and allure. On the other hand, he who once yields to temptation becomes spiritually weak, and yields more readily the second time. Every repetition of sin blinds his eyes, stifles conviction, and weakens his power of resistance. Thus while the power of the human race to resist temptation is continually decreasing, Satan’s skill and power to tempt are continually increasing. This is one great reason why the temptations of the last days will be more severe than those of any other age.
3 The admonition of the Saviour is, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” If Satan cannot prevent persons from exercising faith, he will try to lead them to presume upon the willingness and power of God, by placing themselves unnecessarily in the way of temptation. Presumption is a most common temptation, and as Satan assails men with this, he obtains the victory nine times out of ten. Those who profess to be followers of Christ, and who claim by their faith to be enlisted in the warfare against all evil in their nature, frequently plunge without thought into temptations from which it would require a miracle to bring them forth unsullied. Meditation and prayer would have preserved them from these temptations, by leading them to shun the critical, dangerous position in which they placed themselves.
4 Although the promises of God are not to be rashly claimed by us when we recklessly rush into danger, violating the laws of nature, and disregarding prudence, and the judgment with which God has endowed us, we should not lose courage when temptations come upon us. If we do not knowingly place ourselves in the way of temptation, it is our privilege to claim the promise of the inspired word: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
5 Those who have weighty responsibilities to bear in connection with the work of God are the ones that will be beset with the strongest temptations. If Satan can cause them to waver from the right, he not only takes away their own strength, but he destroys their influence for good over others. They lose their confidence in God, and feel that they hardly dare approach him in prayer; for they are under condemnation. Acting upon the principle that Christ presented in his prayer, “I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth,” they should take the position that they will be steadfast to God under every circumstance, that they may exert an influence to make others steadfast.
6 The temptations of Satan are manifold; but those to which our attention is called in the text are unbelief and impatience. “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Impatience, then, is the result of a lack of faith. “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” If we do not maintain the grace of patience, we shall never reach a state of perfection. Some of us have nervous temperament, and are naturally as quick as a flash to think and to act; but let no one think that he cannot learn to become patient. Patience is a plant that will make rapid growth if carefully cultivated. By becoming thoroughly acquainted with ourselves, and then combining with the grace of God a firm determination on our part, we may be conquerors, and become perfect in all things, wanting in nothing.
7 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” It is our privilege in our great weakness to take hold of the strength of the Mighty One. If we think to meet and overcome the enemy in our own strength, we shall be disappointed. It may seem at times that when we pray the most and try the hardest to do right, we have the greatest temptations. This is because Satan is perfectly satisfied with our condition when we are clothed with self-righteousness and do not realize our need of divine aid; but when we see our great need of help, and begin to draw near to God, he knows that God will draw near to us; therefore he places every possible obstruction in the way so that we shall not come into close connection with the Source of our strength.
8 The exhortation of the apostle is, “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” It is by engaging in this work, and by exercising living faith in God, that we are to perfect a Christian character. The work of cleansing the soul-temple and preparing for Christ’s appearing must be done while we are in this world of temptation. Just as Christ finds us in character when he comes, so we shall remain.
9 We should make daily advancement in the work of character-building. When we try to separate from us our sinful habits, it may at times seem that we are tearing ourselves all to pieces; but this is the very work that we must do if we would grow up unto the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus, if we would become fit temples for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is not the will of God that we should remain in feebleness and darkness. He would have us put on the whole armor, and fight valiantly the battle against sin and self. And after we have truly repented of our sins, and done all that we can to overcome them, he would have us manifest a calm, unyielding trust in the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour.
10 If we make an entire surrender to him, leave our life of sin and passion and pride, and cling to Christ and his merits, he will fulfill to us all that he has promised. He says that he will give liberally to all who ask him. Cannot we believe it? I have tested him on this point, and know that he is faithful to fulfill all his promises.
11 Let not him that wavereth think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. When persons begin to draw nigh to God, Satan is always ready to press in his darkness. As they look back over their past life, he causes every defect to be so exaggerated in their minds that they become discouraged, and begin to doubt the power and willingness of Jesus to save. Their faith wavers, and they say, “I do not believe that Jesus will forgive my sins.” Let not such expect to receive anything from the Lord. If they would only exercise true repentance toward God, at the same time possessing a firm faith in Christ, he would cover their sins and pardon their transgressions. But, instead of this, they too often allow themselves to be controlled by impulse and feeling.
12 When Satan tells you that your sins are such that you need not expect any great victories in God, tell him the Bible teaches that those who love most are those who have been forgiven most. Do not try to lessen your guilt by excusing sin. You cannot come near to God by faith unless you realize your sinfulness. Then you can place yourselves right on the promises, and with unwavering faith can claim a share in the infinite sacrifice that has been made for the human race. Cling closely to Jesus, and his great heart of love will draw you unto himself.
13 I am so anxious that those who labor in the cause shall have all the strength, and peace, and joy that Christ has for them. I want them to have the consolation of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul desired that his brethren should be comforted with “the consolation wherewith he was comforted.” The Christian finds constant comfort and strength in Jesus. And when he complains of weakness and darkness, he gives good evidence that he has not a close connection with Jesus.
14 Brethren, let us have an eye single to the glory of God. Let us not allow anything to interpose between us and him. “If we follow on to know the Lord,” we shall know that “his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” If we are partakers of the divine nature, we shall reflect in life and character the image of our divine Lord. We cannot be indolent in seeking this perfection of character. We cannot yield passively to our surroundings, and think that others will do the work for us. “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” We must be workers together with God. Life must become to us a humble, earnest working out of salvation with fear and trembling; and then faith, hope and love will abide in our hearts, giving us an earnest of the reward that awaits the overcomer.
15 A relentless and determined foe has prepared his wiles for every soul that is not braced for trial, and guarded by constant prayer and living faith. We cannot individually, or as a body, secure ourselves from his constant assaults; but in the strength of Jesus every temptation, every opposing influence, whether open or secret, may be successfully resisted. Remember that “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Therefore “be sober, be vigilant.”
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Page 391
1 “Ye are,” says Christ, “the light of the world.” As the sun goes forth upon its errand of mercy and love, as the golden beams of day flood the canopy of heaven and beautify forest and mountain, awakening the world by dispelling the darkness of night, so the followers of Christ should go forth upon their mission of love. Gathering divine rays of light from the great Light of the world, they should let them shine forth in good works upon those who are in the darkness of error.
2 Do you, my brethren and sisters, realize that you are the light of the world? Do you, in your words and deportment at home, leave a bright track heavenward? What is it to be the light of the world? It is to have God for your guide, to have the companionship of holy angels, and to reflect to others the light that shines upon you from above. But if you fail to exercise Christian courtesy, forbearance, and love in your families, God and holy angels are grieved away; and instead of being the light of the world, you are bodies of darkness.
3 It is possible, through the grace of Christ, to have control over yourselves at all times. If a dear friend, one whose good opinion you greatly desired, should come into your home, you would not be found fretting and scolding; but you would control your words and actions, and would seek in every way to so conduct yourselves as to gain his respect and confidence. Shall we take more care in the presence of a comparative stranger than in the presence of those who are dear to us by the ties of nature; or in the presence of Jesus and heavenly angels? God forbid; for by so doing we fail to meet the claims of high Heaven upon us.
4 It is not the will of God that we should be gloomy or impatient; nor that we should be light and trifling. It is Satan’s studied plan to push persons from one extreme to the other. As children of the light, God would have us cultivate a cheerful, happy spirit, that we may show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. A lady once lived in our family nine years, and during all this time we did not hear an impatient word or a light expression from her lips; and yet she was the most cheerful person I ever saw. Hers was not a life of darkness and gloom, nor of lightness and frivolity. In this respect our lives should be like hers. God would not have us live under a cloud, but as in the light of his countenance.
5 Some are naturally of a reticent disposition; a smile is seldom seen upon their faces, and they seem more like statues than human beings. Such should open their hearts to the Sun of righteousness, and gather precious rays of light from Jesus, that they may reflect them to others. God wants you, brethren and sisters, to have this light in your hearts, and then you will be channels of light wherever you are. Like the sunflower, which turns its face constantly toward the sun, you must look continually toward the Source of light, that you may catch every ray possible.
6 Many who profess to be followers of Christ are as worlds without the sun. If these would leave their darkness and unbelief, and press forward in faith, they would become light in the Lord. Who would think of distrusting a dear friend who promised that if we would follow him he would lead us safely through the darkest forest? Much less ought we to doubt the word of Jesus, who has said, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” He will not leave those who trust in him to fall under the temptations of Satan. This is not his way of dealing with his children. He has promised to lift upon them the light of his countenance.
7 The law of God is made void in the land, but here is a little company who have come out from the world and are standing in defense of that law. To these Jesus says,”Ye are the light of the world.” Now, suppose that you keep your minds dwelling upon self and your darkness; how can you be the light of the world? You keep yourselves in darkness by looking at your own imperfections, instead of the willingness and power of Jesus to save to the uttermost all that come unto him in faith. You hug your darkness so close that there is no chance for the light to get in.
8 I want to say to those who have been desponding, When Satan comes in to tempt you, and you have no evidence that the Lord accepts you, do not look to see how dark you are, but look up to the light. Begin to praise God for the plan of salvation, and hold every victory gained through Christ. As you repeat the confidence you have in Jesus, Satan will flee; for he cannot bear the name of Jesus. Thus, step by step, you can fight the good fight of faith. Remember that Jesus has borne long with you, and he does not want you to be lost. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” By this he shows that he wants to take possession of your hearts.
9 Satan may tell you that you cannot be blessed; but Jesus says that he will come in, if you will open the door of your hearts. Which will you believe? Here is another precious promise that all may claim. It is not addressed to those who are perfect, but to sinners; to those who have wandered away from Christ. “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Is there one who dares not claim this promise? Is there one who will say, “I am so sinful that this does not mean me”? Put away such thoughts. Christ will accept you, polluted by sin though you may be, if you will come to him with contrition of soul. He invites all to come into the light of his presence. Then why should you remain away?
10 The word of God says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” It will require an effort on your part to walk with God. Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch forth thine hand.” The afflicted man might have said, “Lord, I have not used it for years; heal it first, and then I will stretch it forth.” But instead of this, when Jesus commanded him to stretch it forth, he exercised the power of his will, and moved it just as if it were well. The very exercise of the will power was evidence to Jesus that the man believed; and his hand was healed in the act of stretching it forth. God would have you put away your darkness, and show that there is a power in the Christian religion that there is not in the world. He wants to make you all light in him; he wants to fill your hearts with love, and peace, and hope. If, then, you continue to cling to your darkness, you dishonor him; for you do not correctly represent to the world a sin-pardoning Saviour. If you are gloomy, desponding, hopeless, you are a poor representative of the Christian religion. Christ died for all. The sacrifice was complete. It is your privilege and duty to show to the world that you have an entire, all- powerful Saviour. It was the Son of the infinite God who died to purchase a full and free salvation for all that would accept it. Then why not take him as your Saviour? He rebukes your unbelief; he honors your faith.
(To be continued.)
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1 Go into a cellar, and you may well talk of darkness, and say, “I cannot see; I cannot see.” But come up into the upper chamber, where the light shines, and you need not be in darkness. Come where Christ is, and you will have light. Talk unbelief, and you will have unbelief; but talk faith, and you will have faith. According to the seed sown will be the harvest. If you talk of Heaven and the eternal reward, your way will become lighter and lighter in the Lord, and your faith will grow, because it is exercised. Fasten your eyes upon Jesus, dear friends, and by beholding you will become assimilated to his image. Do not allow your thoughts to dwell continually upon things of the earth, but place them upon things that are heavenly, and then, wherever you are, you will be a light to the world.
2 Live the life of faith day by day. Do not become anxious and distressed about the time of trouble, and thus have a time of trouble beforehand. Do not keep thinking, “I am afraid I shall not stand in the great testing day.” You are to live for the present, for this day only. Tomorrow is not yours. Today you are to maintain the victory over self. Today you are to live a life of prayer. Today you are to fight the good fight of faith. Today you are to believe that God blesses you. And as you gain the victory over darkness and unbelief, you will meet the requirements of the Master, and will become a blessing to those around you.
3 From every member of the church a steady light should shine forth before the world, so that they shall not be led to inquire, “What do these people more than others?” Religion is not to be held as a precious treasure, jealously hoarded, and enjoyed only by the possessor. True religion cannot be thus held; for such a spirit is contrary to the gospel. “Freely ye have received, freely give,” are the words of the Master. While Christ is dwelling in the heart by his Spirit, it is impossible for the light of his presence to be concealed or to grow dim. On the contrary, it will grow brighter and brighter, as day by day the mists of selfishness and sin that envelop the soul are dispelled by the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness.
4 Christians may learn a lesson from the faithfulness of the light-house keeper. “A gentleman once visited a light-house that was placed in a very dangerous position to warn men of the perils that threaten them on the trackless sea. The keeper was boasting of the brilliancy of his light, which could be seen ten leagues out at sea, when the visitor said to him: ‘You speak with enthusiasm, sir; and that is well. I like to hear men tell what they are sure they know; but what if one of the lights should go out?’
5 “‘Never, never! absurd! impossible!’ replied the sensitive watchman, in consternation at the mere supposition of such a thing. ‘Why, sir,’ he continued, pointing to the ocean, ‘yonder where nothing can be seen, there are ships going by to every port in the world. If, tonight, one of my burners should go out, within six months would come a letter, perhaps from India, perhaps from Australia, perhaps from a port I never heard of before, —a letter saying that on such a night, at such an hour, at such a minute, the light at such a point burned low and dim; that the watchman neglected his post, and that vessels were consequently put in jeopardy on the high seas. Ah, sir,’ and his face shone with the intensity of his thought, ‘sometimes in the dark nights, and in the stormy weather, I look out upon the sea and feel as though the eye of the whole world were looking at my light. Go out? Burn dim? That flame flicker low or fail? No, sir, never!’
6 “And shall Christians, shining for tempted sinners, allow their light to fail? For, ever out upon life’s billowy sea are souls we see not, strange’ sailors in the dark, passing by, struggling, it may be, amid the surges of temptation. Christ is the great light, and Christians are appointed to reflect that light. The ocean is vast, its dangers are many, and the eyes of far-away voyagers are turned toward the light-house,—the church of Jesus Christ.” If the world intervenes between the church and Christ, its light will burn dim, and souls will be lost because of a lack of that light. Shall it not be the language of every heart, What! let the light that is in me go out or burn dim! Never! never!
7 We are all woven together in the great web of humanity, and God holds us responsible for the influence we exert over others. Throw a pebble into the lake, and a wave is formed, and another, and another; and as they increase, the circle widens, until they reach the very shore. Thus our influence, though apparently insignificant, may continue to extend far beyond our knowledge or control. It is as impossible for us to determine the result as it was for the watchman to see the ships that were scattered upon the sea.
8 God in his providence does not permit us to know the end from the beginning; but he gives us the light of his word to guide us as we pass along, and bids us to keep our minds stayed upon Jesus. Wherever we are, whatever our employment, our hearts are to be uplifted to God in prayer. This is being instant in prayer. We need not wait until we can bow upon our knees before we pray. On one occasion, when Nehemiah came in before the king, the king asked why he looked so sad, and what request he had to make. But Nehemiah dared not answer at once. Important interests were at stake. The fate of a nation hung upon the impression that should then be made upon the monarch’s mind; and Nehemiah darted up a prayer to the God of Heaven, before he dared to answer the king. The result was that he obtained all that he asked or even desired.
9 This is the course that God would have us pursue under all circumstances. He wants us to be minute-men and women. He wants us to be ready always to give to every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that is within us with meekness and fear. Why with fear? It is with a fear lest we shall not make a right impression upon the mind of the inquirer; with a fear lest self shall not be out of sight, and the truth not be made to appear as it is in Jesus.
10 I feel an intense desire that our brethren and sisters shall be correct representatives of Jesus. Do not pierce his wounds afresh, and put him to an open shame, by an inconsistent life. Become thoroughly acquainted with the reasons of our faith, and show by word and act that Christ is dwelling in your hearts by faith. May God help you to walk with Jesus. If you do, you will be the light of the world, and in the time of trouble he will say, “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.”
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1 Of Jesus it is said that “for the joy that was set before him,” he “endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Can it be that this cup of suffering was the choice of our divine Lord? And why was it that he submitted to endure shame, scorn, and reproach? It was that through the merits of his blood, he might save fallen man, and exalt him at last to his own right hand. And shall we who are partakers of the benefits of this great sacrifice,—we who profess to have an interest in this redemption,—shrink from bearing reproach, and scorn, and shame for his name’s sake? Shall we shrink from the opposition of a world that is opposed to our Master? Shall we refuse to bear the cross that our Saviour carried for us?
2 How many virtually say, when the cross of Christ is presented: “Why, it is inconvenient to carry. It seems impossible to bear this cross; I cannot endure the shame and reproach.” So thought the young man who inquired what he must do to gain eternal life. Jesus said to him, “Sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” But the young man’s wealth was his god. He thought he could not let his riches go; and he chose this world in preference to that which is eternal. “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
3 Every follower of Christ will have a cross to bear; and he will find, when he takes it up resolutely, though in weakness and trembling, that that which he so much dreaded, which seemed so terrible to him, is a source of strength and courage. It will be a staff to help him on his weary pilgrimage through this earth. Then shall the professed follower of Christ drop this cross, and seek to please those who are deriding our Lord? Shall he, for fear that he will not receive honor from men, reject and despise the cross of Christ?
4 What if you do suffer, dear fellow-Christian? The Master of the house suffered before you. He was exalted and glorious, high Commander in Heaven, before whom the angelic hosts bowed in adoration; yet he condescended to give up the glory that he had with the Father, that he might save the fallen race. And shall we, in our turn, refuse to deny ourselves for his sake and the gospel’s? Let the words of Paul be the language of our souls: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
5 Man was created upright; but he fell, and was driven from the garden of Eden, with the sentence of death pronounced upon him. The sorrow and anguish that cannot be expressed took possession of his soul. But hope was held out before him through the merits of the promised Messiah. The Son of God, who had so lovingly conversed with Adam and Eve in Eden, volunteered to take upon himself the wrath of the Father, and die in the sinner’s stead. He would take from his lips the bitter cup that man was to drink, and give in its place the cup of blessing.
6 The law of God, the foundation of his government in Heaven and upon earth, had been broken; but could not the life of an angel pay the debt? No. That holy law was as sacred as God himself. Not one precept could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition; but the Son of God, who had had a part in man’s creation, could, by giving his own life, make an acceptable offering for its transgression.
7 Our Redeemer was a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” He became poor for our sakes, that we through his poverty might be made rich. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” “For the joy that was set before him,” he “endured the cross, despising the shame.” But “he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”
8 Who of us would not enter through the gates into the city, and hear from the lips of the King the gracious words, “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”? And what is the joy of our Lord? It is the joy of seeing souls saved in the kingdom of glory through his sacrifice. The saints are partakers with him in this joy; for there are souls there that have been saved through their instrumentality. “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.” Is not this joy enough?
9 When we consider the suffering, reproach, and indignity that Jesus suffered without murmuring or retaliating, that he might redeem man, and elevate him to his own right hand, how much are we willing to endure and sacrifice, that we may have a part in the work of rescuing perishing souls, and thus enter into the joy of our Lord? “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.” It is of the greatest consequence that we understand what we are placed in this world for. We are not here to glorify self or to seek our own pleasure, but to glorify our Father which is in Heaven, and to carry on the work begun by the great Teacher of righteousness.
10 “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” Many times when Christ and the precious truths of his word are presented to sinners, they turn away; because if they should accept the cross, they would have to be separate from the world. But such a separation does not make one homeless, friendless, and forsaken. If, dear reader, there is a separation of your sympathies from your relatives and friends for the sake of Christ and his truth, do not feel that you are left brotherless, sisterless, motherless, fatherless. Your heavenly Father promises: “I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
11 How many there are who seek for honor and applause from the great men of the earth! How much they will do, and what sacrifices they will make, that they may associate with such persons, and perhaps win a word of approbation! Who are these persons whose favor is regarded so highly? They are mortals, made of the dust of the earth, and must soon return to their native earth again. But the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is the Ruler over all rulers; his dominion is the universe. “The nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” He it is that grants you life and all its blessings; he that promises to adopt you into his family, to receive you as sons and daughters. What a relationship is this! What an exalted privilege!
12 Neither beauty nor worldly honor will secure you this relationship to the heavenly King. But there is something which will recommend us to the divine favor; it is a “meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” This spirit we do not possess by nature. We may have excellent and noble traits of character; yet we need the blood of Christ to cleanse us from sin, the grace of God to bring us to perfection. If we think that we can trample under foot the blood of Christ, and yet climb up to a place at God’s right hand, we shall make a great mistake. There is no provision made whereby man can gain eternal life, except by the cross of Christ. Those who reject the atonement made on Calvary are just where Adam and Eve were after the transgression.
13 The truth of God always involves a cross; but it is of heavenly origin, and elevates the receiver. It has a sanctifying influence on the life, fitting fallen man for the society of angels in the kingdom of glory.
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1 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
2 Jesus is soon coming; and it is for us who believe this solemn truth to give the warning to the world. We should show by our dress, our conversation, and our actions, that our minds are fixed on something better than the business and pleasures of this short life. We are but pilgrims and strangers here, and should give some evidence that we are ready and waiting for the appearing of our divine Lord. Let the world see that you are journeying from this to a better land, dear reader,—to an immortal inheritance that passeth not away; that you cannot afford to devote your life to the things of this world, but that your concern is to prepare for the home that awaits you in the kingdom of God.
3 How shall we make this preparation? It is by bringing our appetites and passions into subjection to the will of God, and showing in our lives the fruits of holiness. We must deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God. We must let Christ into our hearts and homes. We must cultivate love, sympathy, and true courtesy one to another. Our happiness depends upon our taking this course. The reason that there are so many hard-hearted men and women in the world is that generous affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. If we would have tender hearts, such as Jesus had when he was upon the earth, and sanctified sympathy, such as the angels have for erring mortals, we must cultivate the simple, unaffected affections of childhood. Then we shall be directed by heavenly principles, which are refining and elevating in their tendency.
4 Our lives should be consecrated to the good and happiness of others, as was our Saviour’s. This is the joy of angels, and the work in which they are ever engaged. The spirit of Christ’s self-sacrificing love is the spirit that pervades Heaven, and is the source of its blessedness. And it must be our spirit, if we would be fitted to join the society of the angelic host. In proportion as the love of Christ fills our hearts and controls our lives, selfishness and love of ease will be overcome; it will be our pleasure to minister to others, and to do the will of our Lord, whom we hope soon to see.
5 The work of testing character is going forward. God could have devised means for accomplishing his work in the earth, and saving the fallen race, without human aid; but he has given man a work to do that will call out self-denial and benevolence. We thus become assimilated to the image of Him who for our sakes became poor. Our Redeemer is watching now to see what characters we will develop, whether we will choose to regard our own selfish interests, or the eternal riches that have been placed within our reach.
6 For some who read this, death may be very near. Are you ready for your probation to close? Your life may be prolonged; but whether you wake or whether you sleep, you should be in a position to live to the glory of God. He will not accept the homage that consists of just a few moments selfishly devoted to his service; what he requires is your whole life, with your heart’s best and holiest affections.
7 We should do right because it is right, and not to avoid punishment, or for fear of some great calamity that may come upon us. I want to do right for the pleasure I have in righteousness. There is so much happiness to be found in doing good here; so much satisfaction in doing the will of God; so much pleasure in receiving his blessing. Then let us show that we are men and women of sound judgment, choosing our portion not in this world, but in that which is to come. Let us stand at our post, faithful in the discharge of every duty, having our lives hid with Christ in God, that when the chief Shepherd shall appear, we “shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
8 We have the promise that at Christ’s second coming, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; and he will take us home to himself, that where he is there we may be also. Then we shall enjoy with him all the glories of the world to come throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Why should those who look for this glorious hope be accounted foolish or insane? Is there not sanity and wisdom in entertaining this hope, the most satisfying of any brought to view in the word of God? Surely it is those who reject this hope, and scoff at the humble few that entertain it, who are insane and foolish; for they are devoting all their energies to the things of this short life, when there is offered them a life as enduring as the life of God.
9 “No sickness, sorrow, pain, or death shall reach that blissful shore:” there is nothing in the kingdom of God to disturb or annoy. This is the life that is promised to the overcomer,—a life of happiness and peace, a life of love and beauty. This “exceeding great reward” is within our reach, and can be gained simply by a life of obedience. But we have the privilege of choosing for ourselves. We can take this present life, so poor, so marred with sin, so filled with care and perplexity, or we can have eternal life where there is no sin, no distracting care, nothing to mar the peace of the inhabitant. It is strange that the majority, looking only to the pleasures of the world, choose this fleeting life, and fix their hopes here.
10 Here, then, are two classes: one seeking for the pleasures of this mortal life, the other for the enduring joys of immortality; one class are far from Christ, and satisfied with their condition, the other are seeking for the forgiveness of sins and for the Spirit of God; one class are battling against God and his truth, the other are warring against the lusts of the flesh, the spirit of the world, and Satan. One class are dreading the appearing of Christ, the Son of man, feeling that to them it is an overwhelming calamity; the other are looking for the coming of Christ the second time, without sin unto salvation. The one class will be rejected from the presence of God, and finally suffer the pangs of the second death; the other will have everlasting life at the right hand of God, where are pleasures for evermore.
11 God grant, dear reader, that when Jesus shall come the second time, you may be found ready and waiting; that you may be of that number who shall sing the song of redemption around the great white throne, casting their crowns at the feet of the redeemer. God grant that, with all the redeemed, you may have the glorious privilege of standing upon the sea of glass and walking the streets of gold. God grant that at that time there may be given to your hand a harp of gold, and that as you sweep its strings all Heaven may resound with your notes of joy and praise.
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1 “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26.
2 Moses was a great character in the world. He was the prospective heir of the throne of the Pharaohs. He had been reared for this position, and was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was fitted to take pre-eminence among the great of the earth, and to shine in the courts of its most glorious kingdom, and to sway the scepter of its power. His intellectual greatness distinguishes him above the great men of all ages. As historian, poet, philosopher, general of armies, and legislator, he stands without a peer.
3 But it was his moral qualities that made him valuable in the estimation of God. His faith, humility, and love are not excelled among the examples of humanity. God could say of him; “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth;” “My servant Moses . . . . is faithful in all mine house.” And when he arrived at manhood, with the world before him, he had moral strength to refuse the flattering prospects of wealth, and greatness, and fame, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”
4 The great anxiety of men and women of today is to be held in high esteem by the lordly ones of earth. The religion of Jesus seems to be considered of no special value, and the children of men have set their hearts to seek pleasure rather than to know the will of God. The attainment of wealth is considered by many sufficient reason for sacrificing their hope of Heaven; but Moses had been instructed in regard to the final reward to be given to the humble and obedient servants of God, and worldly gain sank to its proper insignificance in comparison. The magnificent palace of Pharaoh, and the monarch’s throne, were held out as an inducement to Moses; but he knew that the sinful pleasures that make men forget God were in its lordly courts. He looked beyond that gorgeous palace, beyond a monarch’s crown, to the high honors that will be bestowed on the saints of the Most High God in a kingdom untainted by sin. He saw by faith an imperishable crown that Christ would place on the brow of the overcomer. This faith led him to turn away from the lordly ones of earth and join the humble, poor, despised nation who had chosen to obey God rather than to serve sin.
5 Moses felt that it would pay to make this great sacrifice for the right, to be on the side of God and the loyal angels, and to enjoy the eternal reward at last. Even in this life it brought him peace and blessing, and in contemplation of the certain riches of eternity, his sacrifice seemed a trivial one.
6 Moses was a man of like passions with ourselves, and his character is described that we may learn lessons from his noble example. What God did for Moses, he will do for us, if we are as faithful; and we have not only the same God to go to, the same Mediator to intercede for us, but the same mighty incentives of love to urge us to be obedient to all God’s requirements. We have clearer light, and the examples of those who sinned. Their crimes are plainly stated and their punishments depicted. The commendation of God is for the obedient today as then; for God is no respecter of persons, and whoever worketh righteousness is accepted of him in every nation; but if we lack in character, in meekness, in humility, in faith in placing a true estimate upon the eternal riches, and in willingness to suffer reproach for the truth’s sake, we shall be left without excuse.
7 Christ has presented before us the greatest inducement that could be offered to mortals. It is not only the gift of eternal life and everlasting joy, but a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory in the kingdom of God. Those who feel the importance of taking God’s word as the rule of their life and conduct, will have respect unto the recompense of reward.
8 But in order that we may appreciate heavenly things, we must have our minds taken away from the things of earth. We must, like Moses, esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of the world. You must suffer with Christ, if you shall also reign with him. Your talents of ability, and means, and influence are all the Lord’s to be used for his glory; but how apt men are to forget their obligations to their Creator, when they are prospered in the things of this world! Moses devoted all his energies to the service of God, and made every earthly consideration subservient to the advancement and success of his cause. He honored God, and God honored him. God opened before him the plan of salvation, and called him to lead out his chosen people.
9 Moses felt his great responsibility as visible leader of Israel. He saw the perversity of their natures, and knew that he was unable to impress them and change their hearts. He felt keenly his incapacity for his work, and pleaded with God for his guidance. God assured him, “I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.” A pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night enshrouded the armies of Israel, and Moses had a sense of the greatness of the reward to be given to the sons and daughters of the Most High; but he was not yet content. Every prayer had been answered; but he thirsted for greater tokens of God’s favor. “Show me thy glory,” pleaded this mighty man of faith. Did God rebuke his astonishing request as presumptuous? No; he responded to his confidence, and favored his soul’s desire. He placed him in a cleft of the rock and made His glory pass before him. God would have his people intercede with him, that they may have higher views of his majesty and glory.
10 How little we know of the mercy and love and greatness of God! Could you see God, as Moses saw him, how quickly would that which delights men be eclipsed! But the thoughts of the world and its pleasures steal away the senses of men and women, so that they care not to think of God and Heaven. It cost an infinite price to redeem man from sin and ruin,—nothing less than the life of the Son of God. Does it not seem that such a sacrifice would awaken every thought and feeling of gratitude, and constrain them to give every power to his service? What more could God do for his creatures? Christ left his majesty for our sakes; he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich. What greater evidence could he give to men of his love and interest in them?
11 And what are you willing to do for Jesus? Can you say with Moses that you esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt? What if mortal man scorns and ridicules the religion of Jesus Christ? Should this lead us to be ashamed of him and his truth? It should inspire us to come to the front, to suffer reproach, and to be determined to exalt Jesus before the people. He is the chief among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely. We want to become acquainted with him, to bring him into our families as an honored guest, and teach our children to love him. The end of all things is at hand, and it is time to seek a preparation for the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven.
12 Moses understood that there was to be a Judgment-day, when every man would be judged according to the deeds done in the body. We each have a case pending at the bar of God, and although Noah, Job, and Daniel were in the land, they could not save son or daughter. They could only save their own souls by their righteousness. It is an individual work for you and me. There will be every attraction to draw us away from Christ’s righteousness, and the human heart is inclined to selfish gratification. Every soul who seeks righteousness will meet with perplexities; but shrink not at reproach or trial. Jesus was reproached by the sons of men, and can those of his household expect a better portion? There is help for every one who in humble faith seeks it. When you put all your powers to the stretch that you may become acquainted with God, you will have his power added to your weakness. Every soul that enters through the gates into the city will go in as a conqueror. There is no sickness, no sighing, no death, but everlasting joy throughout the cycles of eternity. I want to be there, for my soul is attracted to Jesus. Everything here is of minor consequence.
13 I would entreat you to “seek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Let us, like Moses, by faith leave the treasures and pleasures of earth and sin, and have “respect unto the recompense of the reward.”
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1 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.”
2 An important question was addressed to Christ by this lawyer: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer is direct and positive: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus presented the whole law of God, and said, “This do, and thou shalt live.” The first four commandments of the law grow out of our relation to God, and demand the loving loyalty of our whole hearts. The last six grow out of our relation to our fellow-man, and require us to regard his interests as our own. The keeping of these commandments comprises the whole duty of man, and presents the conditions of eternal life. Now the question is, Will man comply with the requirements? Will he love God supremely and his neighbor as himself? There is no possible way for man to do this in his own strength. The divine power of Christ must be added to the effort of humanity: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
3 Repentance toward God for our failure to keep his law, is the first step in the Christian life, while faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ claims the merits of his blood for the remission of sins that are past, and makes us partakers of the divine nature. The carnal heart, that “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be,” is made spiritual, and exclaims with Christ, “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.”
4 There are many who say they believe in Christ; but do they? Have they the spiritual mind, the mind of Christ, that delights in the law of God? They claim to be the children of God, but they do not the works of God. We cannot afford to make any mistakes in this matter, for our eternal interests are at stake. A correct faith will be made manifest in godly works, and will bring the whole life into harmony with the law of God. Faith and works must go hand in hand. Christ referred the lawyer to the law, and inquired, “What saith the law? how readest thou?” And he showed that those righteous statutes require our perfect obedience. When, through the goodness of God, our attention has been called to the demands of God’s commandments, and light shines on us from his word, we are to believe and obey from the heart.
5 Many put their own interpretation upon the words of God; but we cannot depend upon them. We must know for ourselves “what saith the Scriptures.” An infinite price has been paid for our redemption, and ought we not to bestir ourselves to search the chart and prove to our souls that we are in the highway cast up for the righteous, and walking in the path of humble obedience? We are warned to “make straight paths for our feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way.” We are examples to others, and if we pursue a wrong course, and lead others away from the path of right, we shall be held accountable.
6 We can see the importance, then, of having true faith, for it is the motive power of the Christian’s life and action; but feeling is not faith; emotion is not faith. We must bring our very work and thought and emotions to the test of the word, and true faith will be profoundly impressed by the voice of God, and will act accordingly. If people would only search the Scriptures more diligently, false doctrines and heresies would be fewer. When anyone comes to you with a new doctrine, you should challenge him to prove it by the word of God. The test is written: “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
7 Forty-five years ago, when I commenced my labors, we met many erroneous doctrines. One and another would say, “I have the truth, because my feelings tell me so.” Others declared that they were led of the Spirit; but there are two spirits in the world,—the Spirit of God and the spirit of Satan. We are not left to be guided by the uncertainty of feelings, nor by the deceptive spirit of error. Here is the word of God. Christ declared, “Thy word is truth;” and the Spirit that Christ promised to his disciples, was to lead them into all truth. Then can we not test what spirit we are of? If we are led into harmony with the explicit commands of God, we have the Spirit of truth. These I have spoken of had gone beyond the need of their Bibles; they had left that for those not so far advanced as themselves. As I endeavored to reason with them, with my Bible in hand, they pushed me away, unwilling that their errors should be tried; “but he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” We want to know “what saith the Scriptures.” Let God be true, but every man a liar. He has declared the conditions of eternal life, and we want to know that we are complying with them, and are preparing for the world to come.
8 Adam and Eve were placed upon probation in the garden of Eden, and they were to prove their loyalty to their Creator by obedience to his law of love; but they fell, through the temptation of a wily foe. A great and infinite sacrifice has been made, that man may have another trial. God provides that man may have another probation, and his efforts to keep the law are made acceptable through Christ. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ came to bear the conflict in which man was conquered. The earth was the battle-field. Just before the temptation he bowed on Jordan’s bank and offered up a prayer that cleared its way to the throne of his Father. The Heaven opened and the voice of God responded, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;” and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, like burnished gold, descended upon his head.
9 This is of wonderful significance to us. It tells us of the power of prayer,—how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and man’s petitions find access to the courts of Heaven. Though earth was struck off from the continent of Heaven and alienated from its communion, Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man and reached the highest Heaven; and now the light that fell from the open portals on the bowed head of our Saviour, may fall upon us as we petition our Father for help to meet and conquer temptation.
10 Christ passed from this scene of joy to meet the cruel temptations of his adversary. He passed step by step over the ground that man had trodden, and was “tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.” Where man stumbled and fell, Jesus came off more than conqueror. Had he failed on one point, in reference to the law, all would have been lost; he would not have been a perfect offering, nor could he have satisfied the demands of the law; but he conquered where Adam failed, and by loyalty to God, under the severest trials, became a perfect pattern and example for our imitation, and he is able to succor those who are tempted. There is enough in this idea to fill our hearts with joy and gratitude every day of our lives. He took our nature upon him that he might become acquainted with our trials and sorrows, and, knowing all our experiences, he stands as Mediator and Intercessor before the Father.
11 Everyone who shall follow Christ will keep the commandments of God. The question will arise. Is this convenient for me? But if you flatter yourself that God does not require you to keep his commandments, because it interferes with your convenience, you make a sad mistake. Another leader is commanding you, instead of the Captain of your salvation. Jesus suffered and withstood the severest temptations, and, finally, yielded his life on Calvary’s cross, to demonstrate to every member of the human family that the law of God is immutable, and that not one jot or tittle can be put aside. Satan has deceived the Christian world with the story that when Christ died he abolished the law. It was the cross of Calvary that exalted the law of God, and made it honorable. The cross is a monument of its immutability; and thus it is demonstrated before all worlds, and before the angels, and before all men, that the law cannot cease to exert eternal jurisdiction. It sustains the throne of God, and is the rule of his Government. If God could have changed one iota of his law, Jesus need not have come to our world to suffer and die; but he who was equal with the Father came and suffered even the death of the cross, to give man another probation.
12 Then if this great and infinite sacrifice has been made in our behalf, let us ask ourselves, What are we doing? Do we say, “Believe, believe on Christ, and that is all”? If we have not the faith that works by love, and purifies the soul from every stain of sin, then we have a spurious faith. Christ is not the minister of sin. And what is sin? The only definition given in God’s word is, “Sin is the transgression of the law;” and the apostle Paul declares, “Where no law is, there is no transgression.” The law is the great standard that will measure every man’s character. The very test that was brought upon Adam in Eden will be applied to every member of the human family. We stand as Adam did, with opportunity for a second trial, to prove our allegiance to the Government of God. If we listen, as Adam did, to the first adversary of God’s law, we shall be led to treat the words of God as of little consequence, and transgress the commandment. “The wages of sin is death.” The Father loves us, and his love led him to suffer his beloved Son to make an atonement for us, that we might not perish but have everlasting life. To as many as received this precious Jesus, “to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” John exclaims: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” It is no cheap faith, that costs nothing and requires nothing, that we are to have. But John continues: “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.”
13 Believe, believe, believe in Jesus, is the soothing lullaby that is lulling the world to sleep in the cradle of carnal security. Why, the devils believe and tremble. We need to be alarmed. We need to sound the cry, “Depart from all iniquity.” When you bring Jesus into your daily life and character, you will not make your feelings the criterion of your religion; you will exalt him in the darkest hour; you will seek to point those around you to the cleansing fountain. You will not cry, “Away with God’s commandments; I do not want to hear about them;” but with your Saviour you will “magnify the law and make it honorable.”
14 We are in the perils of the last days, and Jesus has bidden us beware of false teachers. You are to know them by their fruits. Do they teach obedience to God, and yet break his plain words of command? God has given us reasoning faculties, and he wants us to use them. We are to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” He has given us the revelation of his will, and we shall be without excuse if we do not study the Sacred Word. Hear what the voice of the true Shepherd says to you, and walk in the path of obedience and love. “This do,” said Jesus, “and thou shalt live.” We cannot afford to lose eternal life. May God grant that we may meet you around the throne of God, to sing with you the song of redemption in the kingdom of glory.
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1 “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
2 The interests of God and the interests of mammon have no union or sympathy. The course of one tends exactly opposite to the course of the other. While the world is a master of the thoughts, principles, and actions, the Lord cannot be honored. The current of the world sets in against the soul with such force that it is borne along with the tide of its interests and infatuations. Satan, the angel of evil, the archenemy of truth, the father of lies, having successfully carried out his plan of ruining a holy race, follows up his advantage, and strives by every means to hinder the salvation of man and his re-instatement to the favor of God. He keeps the mind pre-occupied with the plans and ambitions of the world. Heaven and Christ are crowded out of the thoughts and affections.
3 Satan presents the same temptations today as he presented to Adam and to Jesus, the second Adam, who overcame him and made it possible for man to overcome. He came to our Redeemer in the wilderness and presented to him temptations to gratify the flesh in his sorest need. The very temptation that overwhelmed man in the garden of delight is successfully resisted in a wilderness of desolation.
4 The indulgence of perverted appetite and passion has held sway over the world since Adam’s transgression. God saw that it was impossible for man to overcome in his own strength, with his enfeebled moral powers. He might exercise all the capabilities of his nature, and yet, without divine aid, he could only be conquered; but help has been laid upon One who is mighty to save. Man’s efforts and Christ’s power will bring him off a conqueror. The moral image of God will be restored in the characters of those who serve him.
5 The next temptation that assailed Christ was on lust for power. The world is filled with this desire, and the results of its strife show the spirit of the ambition of this world. How many have been swept to ruin in this torrent of pride! Satan presents all the kingdoms of the world, in all their pomp and majesty, to the Son of God; but he repels the tempter with, “It is written.” The word of God marks out the course of his children, and rather than disobey the commandments of God, Christ resigned the treasures of the world.
6 How many today see the force and beauty of the truth; but they cannot serve God and mammon, and they hold to the world. The truth requires the sacrifice of the world’s honor, their position in business, their daily bread; and they falter and fail. They do not consider the promises of God to those who seek first the kingdom of Heaven. They raise the excuse, “I cannot be different from those around me. What will people say?” “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?” We must not study how to serve ourselves, but how to do the will of God. Christ left his glory, and clothed his divinity with humanity. He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. For our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. And yet, after this great manifestation of love on the part of Heaven, we are reluctant to yield our meager treasures, so soon to pass away. The majority of the world sell their souls for a little worldly gain, when Christ has presented to us the eternal riches. Oh, how uncertain are the treasures of earth! A man may be worth his thousands today, and tomorrow failures will sweep them all away.
7 Did not Jesus entreat, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal”?
8 The eye is clouded by ambition, avarice, and gain without godliness. The people do not see that they are putting their treasure into a bag with holes. It is cankered and moth-eaten. There is no progress heavenward. The gross attractions of earth hold their affections. The soul starves and becomes dwarfed for want of spiritual food, the fresh manna from Heaven. The world has come in between the soul and God.
9 The duty we owe to God is revealed in his word in unmistakable clearness. Do you intend to obey God? Do you intend to give earnest heed to the Scriptures? Here the obligation of man is declared so explicitly that the day of Judgment will reveal no excuse for not serving God. God’s great moral standard of righteousness is to be met. His law requires your heart’s supreme affection for your Maker. It requires you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,” is a positive declaration; but “Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven,” is equally positive. Laying up treasure in Heaven points out the duty of an unselfish use of our means. We are stewards of God’s possessions, and shall we prove unfaithful? We shall be called to give an account of our stewardship. It is not ours to use for the gratification of corrupt desires, for selfish indulgences. God has placed his goods in our hands for the purpose of sustaining his cause on earth, for the salvation of the lost, and for his own honor. All Heaven is watching with interest to see what use we are making of God’s intrusted talents. If we lay up treasure in Heaven, we shall use the Lord’s goods to bless humanity, and all that is so used the Lord will place to our account in the bank that never fails.
10 Satan’s constant aim is to blind the eyes of our understanding to God’s claims, through the deceptiveness of riches. If we are conquered, we are conquered for eternity. If we are conquerors, we shall have the crown of glory that fadeth not away.
11 When the heart loves God supremely, property is no hindrance to advancement in the Christian warfare, because the consecrated man will discern the best investments to make, and will use his wealth to bless the children of God.
12 The constant employment of the capabilities of man to amass wealth on earth binds the man to earth. He becomes a slave to mammon. His plans and thoughts and aspirations have no wider circle than his farm or mercantile house, and he is engrossed in heaping up his costly but empty stores; but in order to serve God we must find time for calm reflection and serious thought, else all the powers of the soul will be withdrawn from God. When wealth increases, the idolatrous heart becomes forgetful of God, and grows self-secure and satisfied. Religious duties are neglected. There is an impatience manifested under restraint, and the man becomes self-sufficient. All spiritual things are clouded, for the mind’s eye is directed earthward. The worldly tendencies, both by nature and practice, have become more fully developed, and the spiritual faculties are paralyzed. Having eyes men see not; having ears they hear not. The gross, earthly mind cannot see the pure, sublime truths of the gospel, but views everything from a worldling’s standpoint. The world comes in between the soul and Heaven. His eyes are blinded by the “god of this world,” so that he cannot discern or appreciate the value of eternal things.
13 Spiritual things are spiritually discerned; and when the eye is evil, the whole body is full of darkness. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
14 The attractions of this world must be eclipsed by the glory of the world to come, and our powers severed from its interests, and devoted to the interests of Heaven. Let us contemplate the eternal consequences of rightly employing our talents of influence and money for the purpose of saving souls. We shall store up treasures in Heaven, and receive the commendation of God, and enter into the joy of our Lord, who shall “see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” But how few realize this and use their talents for God with the same energy and perseverance that they have manifested in the service of the world!
15 Oh, let us contemplate the amazing sacrifice that has been made for us! Let us try to appreciate the labor and energy Heaven is expending to reclaim the lost, and bring them back to the Father’s house. Motives stronger, and agencies more powerful, could never be brought into operation,—the enjoyment of Heaven, the exceeding rewards for right-doing, the society of angels, the communion and love of God and his Son, the elevation and extension of all our powers throughout eternal ages; and it hath not “entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Are these not mighty incentives and encouragements to urge us to give our heart’s loving service to our Creator and Redeemer?
16 And on the other hand the judgments of God pronounced against sin, the inevitable retribution, the degradation of our characters, and the final destruction, are presented in his word to warn us against the service of Satan.
17 Shall we not regard the great mercy of God? What more could he do? Let us place ourselves in right relation to him who has loved us with amazing love, and avail ourselves of the great privilege of becoming instruments in his hands to use all our powers in his service, that we may co-operate with the ministering angels and be co-laborers with God and Christ.
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1 Christmas and New Year’s will soon be here, and what plans are we making in reference to them? How shall we employ them so that we may be workers together with God? The people in general celebrate the professed anniversary of the Saviour’s birth, by feasting and merriment, and by making gifts to earthly friends. Time, thought, and money are devoted to these things, and Christ and his cause are neglected. The very day chosen to honor Christ is devoted by the many to honoring and pleasing themselves. Appointed to keep the Saviour in remembrance, it is spent in causing him to be forgotten.
2 The Christian should pursue a course the opposite of this. At these seasons God’s grace is brought before us in a special manner. We are bidden not only to recall the manifold blessings of the year, the rich gifts which Providence has so bounteously bestowed, but above all to remember the priceless gift of God’s dear Son. Here is an exhaustless theme for thought. The perfection of our Saviour’s character awakens the admiration of angels. The brightest and most exalted of the sons of the morning heralded his glory at creation, and with songs of gladness announced his birth. They veil their faces before him as he sits upon his throne; they cast their crowns at his feet, and sing his triumphs as they behold his resplendent glory. Yet this glorious Being loved the poor sinner, and took upon him the form of a servant, that he might suffer and die in man’s behalf. Jesus might have remained at the Father’s right hand, wearing the kingly crown and royal robes; but he chose to exchange all the riches, honor, and glory of Heaven for the poverty of humanity, and his station of high command for the anguish of Gethsemane, and the humiliation and agony of Calvary.
3 Oh, the mysteries of redemption! How dark and selfish is the human heart that can turn away from such incomparable love, and set itself upon the vain things of this world! Our souls are cold and dull because we do not dwell upon the matchless charms of our Redeemer. If we occupy our thoughts in contemplating his love and mercy, we shall reflect the same in our life and character; for by beholding we become changed. Only by exalting Jesus and abasing self can we celebrate aright the birth of the Son of God.
4 God’s purposes of grace toward us are measureless. Rich and glorious beyond our power to express or to conceive are the blessings of redemption. Yet God has not left us to the enjoyment of these without requiring returns on our part. He calls us to become co-laborers with Christ in the great plan of salvation. All who receive his grace are to communicate the precious gift to others. It was by a sacrifice that redemption was purchased for us, and we, in our turn, are to sacrifice, to make known to others the unsearchable riches of Christ.
5 When selfishness is striving for the victory, let us look to our Exemplar. The cross of Calvary appeals to every follower of Jesus to unite with the Saviour in seeking that which was lost. The wounded hands, the pierced side, the marred feet, plead for the sinner, whose redemption was purchased at such a cost.
6 If we keep Christmas at all, we should show that we understand its significance. Instead of saying by our actions that we are putting Christ out of our minds and hearts, let us testify to men, to angels, and to God, that we remember our Redeemer, by following his example of self-denial for others’ good.
7 The end of all things is at hand. “The great day of the Lord is near, and hasteth greatly.” The people of the world are to be warned. Are we doing what we might and should do to diffuse the precious light of truth? Brethren, you see the truth, you understand the claims of God’s law, you know that no willful transgressor can enter into life; and yet you see that law made void in the world. What is your duty? You are not to ask, What is convenient for me? What is agreeable? but, What can I do to save souls?
8 All around us, on the right hand and on the left, lies our work; everywhere are souls to be won for Jesus. The men and women whom we daily meet are Judgment-bound. They are either to live to offer praise to God and the Lamb through ceaseless ages, or they will perish with the wicked. Christ suffered and died that they might enjoy a blissful eternity. What sacrifice are we willing to make for their salvation?
9 The people are perishing for lack of knowledge. There are hundreds and thousands in our own country that know nothing of the special truths for this time. In other lands millions are buried in ignorance and superstition. There are those who will be responsible for these souls that have never heard the truth.
10 Brethren and sisters, I present before you our foreign missions as the object of your Christmas gifts. While we are not to neglect the fields at our own doors, let us at this time remember those that are in still greater darkness and destitution. Few realize the vast extent of the work which God has committed to us in our foreign missions. Europe alone, with an area about the same as ours, has a population of 350,000,000,—six times that of the United States. And this is made up of many nations and peoples, that differ widely in their habits and customs, and among whose teeming millions more than a score of languages are spoken, with hundreds of dialects.
11 It is under many difficulties, and only by self-denial and sacrifice, that the missionary work in Europe has been carried forward. There is great poverty among the laboring classes. In Italy the most capable workmen in the factories receive only fifty cents for sixteen hours’ work, and those less experienced twenty-five cents, and from this meager pittance some are obliged to support a family of from eight to twelve. In Scandinavia the common laboring man earns about fifty-three cents, with which he pays his house rent and taxes, and supports his family. Those who accept the truth run the risk of being thrown out of employment, besides cutting themselves off from all hope of assistance from other churches or missionary societies. Often starvation stares them in the face. Of course this class can do little toward supporting those who labor among them.
12 In the Piedmont Valleys it is difficult for the missionary to gain access to the people in summer, as they leave their villages, and ascend the mountains to find pasture for their cattle. Upon returning to their homes at the approach of winter, they take up their abode in the stables, the heat from their animals supplying the lack of fuel. It is here that the colporter must meet them. In many places halls cannot be obtained, and meetings and Bible-readings are held in the stables. Sometimes as many as forty or fifty persons assemble to hear the truth. In some places the worker has walked seven miles, twice a week, to hold an evening meeting, returning home in the darkness—for he could not afford a lantern—across the mountains, and along the edge of precipices where he was obliged to creep on his hands and knees. During our visit in Italy two of the workers walked fifteen miles to an evening service, returning on foot next morning, to save the small sum required for railroad fare. Thus in the midst of poverty and hardship, our brethren across the sea are seeking to spread the light of truth. Can we to whom God has intrusted means, who are enjoying so many of the comforts and even the luxuries of life, stand by and refuse to lend them a helping hand?
13 In nearly all parts of Europe the laws are more or less oppressive upon those who observe the Sabbath. But there are few countries in which the difficulties in the way of presenting the truth are greater than in Russia. Proselyting from the State church is forbidden; preaching by dissenters is prohibited; even colportage must be conducted with great caution, or the missionary will render himself liable to imprisonment, or exile to Siberia. Yet notwithstanding all this, and although comparatively little labor has been given to this field, there are two hundred Sabbathkeepers in Russia. This result is due in a great degree to the influence of our publications. All over the wide field these silent messengers are preparing hearts to receive the warning.
14 What is needed now in all our European missions is means to send out laborers, and to enable our printing-houses to publish books in the different languages. There are colporteurs willing to work if they can have the books. Shall we not supply them?
15 The banner of truth is to be unfurled in far-distant countries. The great and testing truths which God has committed to us are to be given to all nations, tongues, and peoples. We invite all, men, women, and children, at the coming Christmas to do all that they possibly can do to aid in the accomplishment of this work. Let us throughout our churches unitedly resolve not to make the holidays a time of feasting and selfish gratification. Let us excuse the members of our household from making presents to us. Our time, our money, belongs to God. Every hour, every moment, is precious. Dollars, dimes, and even pennies should be treasured up to aid in bringing souls to Christ and the truth. Shall not every needless ornament, every extravagance, every selfish indulgence, be given up, and all these little outgoes, these tiny streams, flow into the Lord’s treasury? Past pledges should now be canceled, as far as possible. Those who have robbed God in tithes and offerings should come before him and make restitution. And to these let us add our free-will gifts.
16 Let your Christmas tree be dedicated to God, and let its boughs be laden with offerings for Christ. Do not give as though it were a task, doling out your donations with a niggardly hand. Good works are no drudgery. In giving to us his Son, God has poured out to us all Heaven in one gift. Let us with an overflowing heart, with gratitude and joy because of Christ’s matchless love, bring him our offerings. Teach your children by your own example the blessedness of doing for Christ. Train them to go on errands of love for him, and in all their gifts to remember the gracious Giver.
17 If there are any who are in need of food or comfortable clothing, they should be remembered; we are not to neglect Christ in the person of his saints. But let us be constantly seeking to make God and his cause first in our thoughts and plans.
18 Many hardly, know as yet what self-denial is, or what it is to suffer for the truth’s sake; but none will enter Heaven without making a sacrifice. Yet self-denial will not make us joyless; it will not cast a shadow upon our holidays. It is not what we have, not the abundance of the things of this life, that will make us happy. Our happiness depends upon the relation we sustain to God. An approving conscience, a contented spirit, sweet communion with Jesus, will make us the happiest beings in the world.
19 God marks and remembers every act of liberality performed by his people. Every effort we make for Christ will be rewarded by him. If the means intrusted to our keeping is employed for his glory, to save souls, he will give more into our hands. Every ray of light shed upon others will be reflected upon our own hearts. Every act performed, every gift bestowed, with an eye single to the glory of God, will result in blessings to the giver. No joy can equal the assurance of being an instrument in the hands of God of saving souls.
20 I pray God that those who profess to be followers of Christ may in truth follow in his steps; that they may be rivals in their missionary efforts; that they may be temperate in all things; that they may run with patience the race for the incorruptible reward; that when the Judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, all may receive the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give them at that day.
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1 One presumptuous act, one deed in disregard of God’s expressed will, lost for Adam his beautiful Eden home, and opened the floodgates of iniquity and woe upon our world; and yet men will declare that God is not particular, and does not require perfect obedience to his law. The precepts of Jehovah are as unchangeable as his eternal throne. To excuse sin on the plea that God is lax in his government is dishonoring to the great Governor of the universe, and perilous to man. It is an attempt to belittle his requirements, and to take away the force of law. Those who advocate such doctrine, place themselves in harmony with the first great rebel, and however high their professions of religion, Christ pronounces them “workers of iniquity.” They are saying to the sinner, “It shall be well with thee in thy disobedience and transgression,” as said the arch-deceiver in the garden of Eden.
2 God said to Adam, “Thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Satan came, and with specious words presented an enticing temptation. He argued that they were in bondage through the prohibition to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that they should be as gods if they would but eat, and he denied the positive statement of God, that they should surely die if they partook of the fruit. The same arguments are used now by all who trample upon the law of God. “Obedience is bondage,” men declare, and disobedience is freedom, such as they could never realize under the restrictions of the law. Men are flattered in their course of sin, to believe that they are rising in the scale of greatness, as Satan flattered Adam and Eve to believe they would be as gods if they would but disregard the commandment of their Creator. How many are reiterating his statements while they profess to be sinless!
3 We need not be deceived by these high professions of holiness which deny the power thereof by rejecting the law of God. “Sin is the transgression of the law,” writes the beloved John; and “he that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.” Here is the test of every man’s profession. We cannot accord holiness to any man without bringing him to the great measurement of God’s only standard for holiness, in Heaven or in earth. If men feel no weight of the moral law, if they belittle and make light of God’s precepts, if they break one of the least of these commandments and teach men so, they shall be of no esteem in the sight of Heaven, and we may know their claims are without foundation. Christ, who died to magnify the law, and to attest its validity and immutability, says of such, “I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.”
4 God does not change his plans and devise new expedients to save man in different ages or dispensations. With him “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” He does not abolish the law to bring man into harmony with himself. If he had proposed to destroy the jurisdiction of the law over man at any time, he would have done so when Adam’s failure to keep its requirements brought him under its terrible condemnation. But God does not provide any such escape in this emergency. He expels the guilty pair from the garden. The law says the penalty of sin is death, and they have brought on themselves, by deliberate choice, the loss of eternal life. The course of God toward the rebellious has not changed. There is no way back to innocence and life except through repentance for having transgressed God’s law, and faith in the merits of the divine sacrifice, who has suffered for your transgressions of the past; and you are accepted in the Beloved on condition of obedience to the commandments of your Creator.
5 God’s love and justice have provided one way, and one only, whereby man can be saved from eternal separation from Heaven and alienation from God, and that is by faith in Christ and obedience to his law. The Spirit of God operating upon the human heart never leads men to belittle the law of Jehovah. Enlightened by this divine influence, we will see with awe the majesty of its requirements, the heinousness of sin, and feel the terror of its inevitable penalties upon the transgressor.
6 “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,” and to this refuge the repentant soul turns to plead the merits of his Saviour’s blood. But while the blood of Christ avails for the repenting soul, Christ is not the minister of sin, and there is no peace, no assurance, no genuine hope, for anyone who ignores the claims of God’s law and tramples upon its just demands. To trust in man’s good purposes or works is seen by the repenting sinner to be utmost folly. To suppose that a few deeds of beneficence or the performance of duty will cancel a life-time of sin, is a blindness that Satan brings over the mind to befog the moral perceptions, and lead men to trust in themselves.
7 The sinner may plead he has been doing good in most things, but in order not to be out of harmony with the world, he did not obey the fourth commandment, but kept the day the world observed. He has on the whole obeyed more than he has disregarded the commandments of God. Would this reasoning stand approved before the courts of Jehovah? What would it have availed in the case of Adam and Eve? They might have pleaded that their sin was only one little departure from God. They had obeyed him fully up to that time. They could have found excuses more plausible than men can frame today; but the way God dealt with them should teach the sons and daughters of Adam how he will deal with them if they break one of the least of his requirements.
8 Suppose a criminal in court, who had violated the law of his State, should make his plea that he had generally obeyed the laws. He had only stolen his neighbor’s goods occasionally, and had led an honest life for the most part; would that relieve justice from executing the penalty? Could a just judge and jury bring in a verdict “not guilty”? You can see the absurdity of the case, and yet men of intelligence in all worldly affairs are not wise in matters pertaining to their eternal salvation. They are found seeking to climb up some other way than God has provided, trying to make terms with the infinite One. Many poor souls are leaning on such a broken reed, building on such an insecure foundation, laying hold on ropes of sand, and at last they will awaken to realize that they are lost, lost!
9 The heart must be cleansed from its impurity; self-will must be exchanged for God’s will; God’s ways must be chosen before our own ways. Many names are registered on the church books that have no place in the Lamb’s book of life. Let the question be asked with deepest concern, “Is my name written there?”
10 The great gift of salvation is freely offered to us, through Jesus Christ, on condition that we obey the law of God; and individually we are to accept the terms of life with the deepest humiliation and gratitude. None will ever enter the city of God who do not reverence the statutes of its government; and now is the time allotted to us to gain the mastery, through divine grace, over every rebellious thought and action; to work out our own salvation, not with boasting self-confidence, but with fear and trembling. We are not to pander to the prejudices and customs of this world at the expense of our obligations to God. We should live as in the sight of Heaven, with no other object for our ambition and toil than the glory of our Creator and Redeemer; live, believing that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” We should ask ourselves, Am I fashioning my character after the Pattern God has given me? Is my eye fixed on Jesus? and are my actions controlled by the influences of Heaven? If our eye be single, our whole body will be full of light, and the world and its sentiments will not sway us from an undeviating progress toward the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus. Christ prayed to his Father, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world”—oh, no; they are to be the light of the world—”but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” We are to be in the world but not of it —shining with the reflected light of Jesus. We must not live for self, blending into the darkness of the world; but kept from its evil we must give our lives into an active, earnest service, as faithful soldiers for the Captain of our salvation. This will sanctify the soul. While we seek the salvation and benefit of others, we shall be workers together with God, learning his methods and partaking of his power.
11 We need not assume an appearance of melancholy, and sigh and groan and mourn to give evidence that we are Christians, especially devoted and sanctified. And it is no test of vital godliness to be talkative, parading our piety and our knowledge of the truth before others. But the real manifestation of Christ dwelling in your heart will be recognized by a well-ordered life and conversation. Your life will shine with the graces of the Spirit; meekness, kindness, tender compassion, the love of Jesus, and genuine lowliness of heart, will characterize your daily walk.
12 It is not the profession we make, but the fruits we bear that reveal the condition of the heart. Says the inspired apostle, “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” True piety will not stiffen the character in stubborn, set ways and ideas. The Christian will not be unyielding and dictatorial, but will consider himself a learner in Christ’s school. He will not be of that class who are fond of lecturing others, sermonizing, condemning, criticising, but will become meek and lowly in heart, representing Jesus, the Light of the world.
13 There is no need of being offensive in character, officiously taking a position above the brethren to point out their errors. This is the position of the Pharisee. Let the meekness of Jesus appear in words of wisdom that will inspire desires for the heavenly characteristics. Let the deportment be full of gentle courtesy as becometh the sons and daughters of God.
14 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” If we are desirous of being saved from the evil there is in the world, we must seek this spirit of meekness; then we shall not be led into presumptuous sins; we shall appreciate the great responsibility we are under to observe the law of God, and feeling our weakness shall plead for the divine assistance, and God promises to dwell with the humble and contrite heart. Heaven is open to everyone who desires access to the Source of strength; and God, who spared not his own Son, will freely with him give us grace for every obligation of his law, and make us meet for an inheritance in light.
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1 If we would enter Heaven we should strive to bring all that we can of Heaven into our lives on earth. The religion of Christ never degrades the receiver. It exerts a heavenly influence upon the minds and manners of men. When the word of God finds access to the hearts of the rough and coarse, it commences a process of refining upon the character, and those who endure it become humble and teachable, like little children. The mighty cleaver of truth has severed them from the world, and then the work to be accomplished, to mould them after the divine Pattern, is begun. They are to be living stones in the temple of God, and are hewed, and squared, and chiseled, to fit them for God’s building. Those who are naturally full of self-esteem become meek and lowly of heart. They have a change of character, and are transformed by the renewing of their minds, and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
2 God said in the beginning, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;” but sin has almost obliterated the moral image of God in man. This lamentable condition would have known no change or hope if Jesus had not come down to our world to be man’s Saviour and Example. In the midst of a world’s moral degradation he stands, a beautiful and spotless character, the one model for man’s imitation. We must study, and copy, and follow the Lord Jesus Christ; then we shall bring the loveliness of his character into our own life, and weave his beauty into our daily words and actions. Thus we shall stand before God with acceptance, and win back by conflict with the principalities of darkness, the power of self-control, and the love of God that Adam lost in the fall. Through Christ we may possess the spirit of love and obedience to the commands of God. Through his merits it may be restored in our fallen natures; and when the Judgment shall sit and the books be opened, we may be the recipients of God’s approval.
3 John saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, with its twelve gates of pearl and twelve foundations of precious stones, coming down from God out of Heaven. The streets are of transparent gold, clear as crystal. Everyone who shall enter those gates and walk those streets will here have been changed and purified by the power of the truth; and the crown of immortal glory will adorn the brow of the overcomer.
4 The nations that have kept the truth shall enter in, and the voice of the Son of God will pronounce the glad welcome, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
5 Then how can we afford to devote our God-given powers to our own pleasure for one moment? We must yield our whole service to our Master. We must wage, continuously, the battle of self-denial and sacrifice. Christ died that we might live, and with the same spirit of love we should seek to win souls as the purchase of his blood. The word of God, through his apostle, declares, “We are laborers together with God.” Our work may seem at times very discouraging; but if one soul is turned from the error of his way to righteousness, there is joy in Heaven. The Father and the Son rejoice in the presence of the angels. The song of triumph is sung and echoed and re-echoed through the courts of Heaven. Then why should we not be wise in this life, and work for the salvation of man to the glory of God? “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.” Your lives must here be refined, ennobled, elevated; and Christ, the hope of glory, must be formed within you. Your favorite sins will be laid aside; you will fear to offend God, and you will love his law.
6 For more than forty years I have stood in the desk proclaiming salvation to sinners, and my heart has yearned over them with pitying compassion. I saw before me the purchase of the blood of Christ. There is value in every soul. Said the Lord through his prophet, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” It is the truth received in the heart and practiced in the life that makes men so valuable in the sight of God.
7 John beholds an innumerable company, precious, refined, purified, around the throne of the Majesty of Heaven. The angel inquires of John, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?” and John answers, “Sir, thou knowest.” Then the angel declares: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.” Now we have the precious opportunity of washing our robes of character in the blood of the Lamb till they are spotless in his purity. To all who shall do this the promise is, “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
8 We want you to lift your minds from the things of earth to the heavenly glories. We want you to live for the future, immortal life, and decide, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Now is the accepted time. Now give yourselves, without reserve, to Jesus. Be determined that you will have Christ, even if this requires the loss of everything else. The very obstacles and difficulties of the way are for the purpose of making you mighty in faith and giving you spiritual strength. Every effort you make to lead others in the path of God’s commandments is registered in the imperishable records. Let not the enemy deceive you. He has filled the world with heresies; but the word of the Lord endureth forever. Plant your feet on his immutable counsels, then you will be all ready to come under God’s rules of government in the kingdom of bliss. If you ever sing the song of triumph and redemption, you must now be learning its notes. Is Jesus abiding in your hearts? If he is there you will talk about him, you will reveal him in life and character. You will sing his praise, making melody in your hearts unto the Lord. The sweet spirit of meekness will be cherished, and self will be crucified. When you come to Christ you will not boast, “I am holy.” Let God, alone, say that of you, for you know not your own heart. This boast is a sure evidence that you know not the Scriptures nor the power of God. Let God write in his books, if he will, that you are an obedient child, keeping his statutes with a cheerful heart, and the records will reveal it before angels and men at the day of reward.
9 I have never dared to say,”I am holy, I am sinless;” but whatever I have thought was the will of God, I have tried to do with all my heart, and I have the sweet peace of God in my soul. I can commit the keeping of my soul to God as unto a faithful Creator, and I know that he will keep that which I have committed to his trust. It is my meat and drink to do my Father’s will, to present before a dying world the cross of Calvary, to preach repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, to point the way of the commandments of God, that path that leads to the open gates of the eternal city. If you lose Heaven you lose everything. If I can only see the King in his beauty, it is all I desire. Let me listen to the sweet music of his voice, saying, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
10 Who of you shall we meet in the congregation of the blessed? We want to see you crowned in the city of God. When the Judgment is set and the records searched, may your names not be blotted out of the book of life. This life is of great consequence to us, for in it we have the privilege of preparing for an unending life. I beseech you, therefore, see to it that your influence is not against the commandments of God. The law is just as Jehovah wrote it, in the temple of Heaven. Man may trample upon its copy here on earth, but the original is kept in the ark of God in Heaven. Above it is the mercy-seat, and Jesus, our great High Priest, stands before the ark, to mediate in man’s behalf. We want you to keep God’s commandments and live, and his law as the apple of your eye; for, “whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.” Seek immortality and the crown of life; then the eternal treasures shall be yours, and an inheritance in the kingdom which God hath promised to those that love him.
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1 “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
2 Here is presented before us the great and solemn day when the Judgment is to sit and the books are to be opened, and the dead are to be judged according to the things written in the books. We must all meet the unerring record of our lives written in the books on high. We are probationers, on trial. God is testing us to see what kind of characters we will develop in this life. Angels of God are weighing moral worth. Our heavenly Father has sent us a message warning us of the fast-hastening Judgment, that we may prepare for that day of final reckoning.
3 I have questioned in my mind as I have seen men and women hurrying to and fro on matters of business or pleasure, whether or not they ever thought of the day of God, that is about to break upon us. We need not be in darkness as to what is coming on the earth. We cannot afford to meet that day without a preparation, and light has been given us from Heaven, that we may understand the requirements of God. “Search the Scriptures” is the command of Christ. “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” There is a witness that follows us in all our actions of life. Our very thoughts and the intents and purposes of our hearts are laid bare to his inspection. As the features are produced upon the polished plate of the artist, so are our characters delineated upon the books of record in Heaven. Are you fitting up in the graces of Christ? Will your robe of character be white and spotless in the day of his appearing? Every interest should be shaped, and every action directed toward this all-important event. We should live daily in great humility before God, seeking the divine strength lest we fail of his grace and prove ourselves unworthy of eternal life. We should be “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
4 You cannot afford to be found a transgressor of God’s great moral law. You are to be judged by its precepts. If God had no law, there could be no Judgment, and the cases of men and women would not be called into the solemn tribunal, before the righteous Judge. If we have not been found in harmony with God’s requirements in this life, we will be no more in harmony with his requirements in the future life. What excuse can we plead for disobedience to the law of God’s Government? And what excuse can we render in the day when the motives of the heart will be tried? You may say now, “The whole world is out of harmony with God’s precepts, and I cannot be singular,” but in that day you will not venture to present this before the God of Heaven and earth. When the books are opened, the character will be revealed, and every mouth will be stopped. You will be convicted of guilt before the revelation of your own life. Everyone unsaved will see where he departed from right, and will realize the influence his life of disobedience exerted to turn others from the way of truth. “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God,” and the quick and the dead shall stand before the Judgment-seat of Christ. The secret things will be made known. There was an eye that saw and a hand that registered the hidden deeds.
5 When Belshazzar had his great sacrilegious feast, there was present in the splendid halls a witness which he did not discern. The revelers were drinking their wine, and partaking of their luxurious feast, and praising the gods of silver and gold, extolling their own wisdom, magnifying their deeds, and dishonoring God, but right over against the wall, facing the king, a bloodless hand was tracing the terrible characters testifying of his true condition: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”
6 The Lord is weighing character in the sanctuary today, and those who are careless and indifferent, rushing on in the paths of iniquity, will not stand the test. God has endowed us with reasoning powers, and he requires us to use them to his glory. He has given us this body, which he wishes us to preserve in perfect health, that we may render the best service to his cause. He has paid an infinite price for our redemption, and yet men and women dependent from day to day upon his mercies, for life, for health, for food, for all the blessings they enjoy, refuse to obey his laws, refuse to accept his Son as their Example and Saviour.
7 It may seem to you that obedience to God’s law requires too much self-denial and sacrifice. Does it require more sacrifice than Jesus has made to save you? He has led the way, and will you follow? He says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” He left the royal throne of glory. He changed the kingly crown for a crown of thorns. He placed his feet in the blood-stained path which led the way to Calvary, and he has stated to us that those who are partakers with him of his sufferings shall be partakers also with him of his glory. We shall never have to endure the shame, the insult, the mockery, the agony of the crucifixion, and the depth of woe and temptation that the Author of our salvation has endured for our sake; but we should ever keep before us the scenes of his humiliation, and never exalt ourselves in pride and self-sufficiency.
8 Christ was despised and rejected of men. Those he came to save could not see in him anything desirable. Should he come unto our world today without earthly honor or princely power, who would receive him as the King of glory? How many proud church members would be so ashamed of Jesus and the reproach that would be likely to be attached to them should they accept him, that they would refuse to follow him; but his matchless love led him to endure infinite sorrow and reproach that he might bring many sons and daughters to glory. Who is willing today to be on the Lord’s side?
9 We cannot wait until the Judgment before we consent to deny self and to lift the cross. It will be too late then to form characters for Heaven. It is here and now that we must take sides with the humble, self-denying Redeemer. It is here we must overcome envy, strife, selfishness, love of money, and love of the world. It is here that we must enter the school of Christ and learn the precious lesson of meekness and lowliness of mind; and here it must be our aim and our earnest effort to be loyal to the God of Heaven, by obeying all his commandments.
10 Our only safety is in constant communion with God. Our petitions should ascend in faith that he will keep us unspotted from the corruptions of the world. Did not Jesus tell us that iniquity would abound in the last days? But his grace will be granted to us according to our day. Those who are open to the influence of the Spirit of God will receive strength to withstand the evils of this degenerate age.
11 Enoch walked with God three hundred years previous to his translation, and the state of the world was not more favorable for the perfection of Christian character then than it is today. How did Enoch walk with God? He educated his mind and heart to ever feel the presence of God, and when in perplexity his prayers would ascend to God to keep him, to teach him his will. “What shall I do to honor thee, my God?” was his prayer. His will was merged in the will of God, and his feet were constantly directed in the path of God’s commandments. Enoch was a representative of those who shall be on the earth when Christ shall come, who will be translated to Heaven and never taste of death. It is fitting that we pray, as did David, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
12 Many close their eyes, lest they shall see the truth. They do not want to see the defects in their life and character, and it disturbs them if you mention to them anything about God’s law. They have discarded God’s standard and have chosen a standard of their own. Their hearts are not inclined to keep the way of the Lord, for it runs in an opposite direction from the path they had marked out. But we want to warn you: Be not deceived by the first great adversary of God’s law. When the Judgment is set and the books opened, your life and mine will be measured by the law of the Most High. Those who have washed their robes of character and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, will be found keeping the commandments of God; and when every man is judged according to the things written in the books, they will receive the commendation of Heaven and an eternal inheritance.
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1 “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-Peor; for all the men that followed Baal-Peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.”
2 The claim has been made that the commandments of God are a yoke of bondage, that it is impossible for man to keep them, and that ancient Israel found them unendurable, and failed to fulfill their righteous obligations; but such a claim is proven to be false by the words we have presented. The commandments were not grievous while the people were firm in their allegiance to God; but when they separated from him and gave their powers to the service of the prince of evil, they became aware of their inability to execute the holy enactments of Heaven. The law that had once been their delight, became an unendurable weight, because they had deprived themselves of the love and power of God, and had taken a willful course to resist the authority of the Most High.
3 The ancient Israelites had not too much will,—it needs will to be a servant of God,—but when they fixed it on the side of self-indulgence, and in opposition to the direct commands of God, it only wrought for their destruction. They placed their will on the side of the first great rebel, and followed his example in complaining of the precepts of Heaven. All murmuring against the law of God is instigated by the lawless one who first created dissatisfaction in the courts of Jehovah, and incited rebellion among the ranks of the angels.
4 Satan is ever on the alert for the first word of complaint against God and his service. He takes advantage of a spirit of murmuring, and fills the mind with his dark doubts and suggestions. He is constantly seeking to sow the seeds of dissatisfaction in the heart, concerning the requirements of God, presenting them as unjust in their restraints, and unreasonable in their demands. It is the work of Satan to belittle the law that condemns him, and all who love sin show the characteristics of their commander. Many of the people of God had fallen under his temptations and left their allegiance to God, but here was a living testimony, presented by the faithful servant of the Most High, setting forth the blessedness of obedience. It was transgression that had brought disaster, and laid the nation under the curse of God. Those who had left their loyal service and turned to idolatry, were smitten with disease and death. In contrast to the fate of the transgressor, Moses points out the prosperity of those who had kept the commandments of the Lord; no harm had befallen them; they were alive every one of them that day.
5 All who have determined to serve God will seek to know and to do his will, at whatever cost to themselves. The true servants of God will be made manifest by their willing obedience to all the commandments of their Master. They will not be murmuring and finding fault with the law, but will declare by word and action, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous.” In obeying the law, they are doing that which is well-pleasing in the sight of Heaven, and all the promises of the word of God are pledged to the support of the faithful and obedient. They may hope in his mercy, build on his immutable counsels, obtain the desires of their hearts, because their wills are placed on the side of God’s will. It is their meat to do the will of God and to finish his work. The gates of the eternal city shall open for the nation that has kept the truth. The servants of God shall eat of the tree of life, and enjoy the unsearchable riches of eternity.
6 What astonishing benevolence on the part of God to make conditions for the re-instatement of rebel man to his divine favor! Oh that the mercy of God might not be lightly esteemed! Oh that we might appreciate the forbearance of the great God of the universe, comply with his requirements, and receive the great reward that he has promised to those who love him! Should we not from humble and grateful hearts present our services to him who “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? We may become the sons of God, the heirs of an eternal inheritance, partakers of the divine nature, kings and priests unto God. The most exalted privileges are offered to the obedient. Shall we turn away in rebellion and unbelief, and propose to go back to Egypt? Never! Our march should be onward, toward the heavenly Canaan. Every step should be from faith to a greater faith, from obedience to a more perfect obedience, from light to a brighter light; for “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
7 We are the Israel that God is leading out of the errors of the world in these last days to live by every word that proceedeth out of his mouth. The truth for this time will not fail to sanctify the soul that receives the love of it and obeys it from the heart. It will enable us to overcome every besetting sin, and to surmount every difficulty in our onward march. We can run and not be weary, walk and not faint.
8 “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
9 The wisdom and understanding of ancient Israel before all the nations, was their obedience to God’s law. This doing of God’s commandments worked an elevation of character and life that even the heathen world recognized and commended. Those who have rendered obedience to God in all ages, have been transformed in character, and in these last days, when iniquity abounds on every hand, our wisdom and understanding before all people will consist in our obedience to the standard of righteousness. The servants of God will not be foolish, ignorant, uncourteous, and coarse; but as they conform their lives to the holy laws of Heaven, they become like Jesus Christ, who was a living example of perfect obedience to the statutes of Jehovah. They will become refined, ennobled, elevated, and will manifest that courtesy that forgets the interests of self, that others may be blessed and benefited.
10 The follower of Jesus will place his will on the side of his Master’s will. He will have a consciousness of the nearness of God’s presence. Doubts will vanish before the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, as the shadows fly before the morning. The true Christian identifies his interest with the interest of Christ, wears the yoke of his Master, lifts his burden, bears his reproach; but no murmur escapes his lips. No, he rejoices that he is counted worthy to suffer for His sake who suffered for him. You may expect complaint, but you will hear only the language of thanksgiving from Christ’s burden-bearers. They do not bear the load alone; for He whom their soul loveth, walks with them, and the heaviest weight is borne by his loving and mighty heart. Those who come to Christ, weary and heavy-laden, find rest unto their souls. Those who learn of him and take his yoke upon them, find that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever,” promises, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Yes, this God is our God forever and ever. Then why should we chafe and fret under the commandments of our God? He who leadeth us and teacheth us to profit, declares, “I have kept my Father’s commandments;” and those who follow Christ will do as he has done. Their steps will fall in his foot-prints all along the path of obedience that he has trodden before them as their example. The law of our God “is holy, and just, and good,” and it is to our highest interest that we come into perfect harmony with its precepts. It is ordained unto life. The world knows that it is wisdom to serve the God of Heaven. However reluctant men may be to acknowledge it, they look upon the obedient children of God as favored of Heaven.
11 Moses asks: “For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons, and thy son’s sons.”
12 Here is the solemn charge that was given to ancient Israel, and it comes echoing down the ages to us, with accumulated force; for we are under greater obligation and increased responsibility, because we have the record of their experiences to teach us to avoid their errors and profit by their mistakes. Their departures from God, their backslidings, their murmuring, their sins “are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” The judgment of God in the destruction of the guilty is marked before us, that we may take heed to the warnings, and escape from the paths of transgression. The rich rewards and blessings bestowed upon the obedient are recorded as encouragements to those who will follow the way of the Lord and delight in his testimonies.
13 In the commendation of God to the faithful among ancient Israel, is unmistakable evidence that he highly appreciates those who are peculiar in character, because they render perfect obedience to his holy laws. The spiritual excellency of these people is manifested in their words and works. They are branches of the living vine, and partakers of the divine nature.
14 Like seeks like. Like appreciates like. Christ recognizes his own Spirit and image in his followers. As they become more like him, they seek a closer association with him. His character shines with new attractions. They see matchless charms in their Redeemer, and he becomes “the chiefest among ten thousand,” and the one “altogether lovely.” His ways are precious to them, and it is their delight to do his will.
15 The words of Jesus test the profession we make. He declares: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. . . . If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever: even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
16 The conditions and promises are the same in the Old Testament as they are in the New. The favor of God is promised only to those who obey him. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love,” says the Master. If we would claim the rich promises, if we would have the pardon of our sins, and eternal life at last, we must yield a royal service to the God of Heaven. In our faithful performance of his requirements consists our prosperity as a church and as individuals. Not in great talents, not in great possessions, not in grand appearances, but in humble service to our Maker is our strength, wisdom, and understanding.
17 We must not take a feeble, vacillating course; but with unchangeable purpose, place our wills on the side of God’s will, become rich in faith, rich in the knowledge of his word, and rich in the power of his Spirit. If we do those things that are pleasing in the sight of our God, we may hold the keys of the invisible world. We may unlock Heaven’s storehouses, and draw upon their inestimable treasures.
18 Then let none of us entertain the thought that it is of little moment whether we heed the commandments of God, or pass them by with indifference. When the great books of Judgment are opened, and the motives of every heart are laid bare, there will be no excuse for those who trifle with God’s plain words. “The wages of sin is death.” This is the awful and inevitable sentence pronounced upon the transgressor. But the righteous shall enter into life. Says the Son of God, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
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1 What is true religion? It is to love God with all the heart, and our neighbors as ourselves. This is the whole duty of man. To reach this high standard of character should be the absorbing purpose of every soul. How shall I love God with all my heart? What means are provided for fixing my affections on high and heavenly things? Love to God must be cultivated daily, by calling to mind the great love that God has manifested toward us in giving us his well-beloved Son.
2 We should try to comprehend the wonders of this amazing sacrifice. We should dwell on the marvelous love of our Redeemer till our stony hearts are melted in contrition and gratitude. The love that stirred his bosom enabled him, the spotless Lamb of God, to become an offering for the guilty transgressor of his Father’s law. It sustained him in his purpose to save the fallen race, amid their heartless ingratitude and scorn. It strengthened him for temptation, reproach, torture, poverty, shame, and death. Oh, the unfathomable depths of redeeming love! who can sound this mighty deep?
3 When we make redemption the subject of our meditation, and try to comprehend the vastness of the plan of salvation, and to realize the unutterable love of Him who has died for us, our hearts will be subdued and softened, and we shall yield them wholly to our Saviour. We shall fall at his feet in adoration, exclaiming, “My Lord and my God!” A more than human love is wakened in the soul, through the knowledge of the wonderful love of Christ to one who has rebelled against his rule and grieved him by transgression. The sinner who has felt the power of Christ’s cleansing blood, has a deep and abiding sense that he owes his all to that Saviour who has purchased him with his own precious life. All who have this consciousness and appreciation of the love of Christ, will esteem it the highest privilege of their lives to devote every power of their being to his service. The transforming grace of Christ moulds the desires of the heart, and there is a ready willingness to make any sacrifice for the truth’s sake.
4 Those who love their Redeemer will rejoice at every opportunity to share with him in humiliation, shame, and reproach. The love they bear their Lord makes suffering, for his sake, sweet; and they know that if they suffer with him they shall also reign with him in his glory. This experience of suffering for Christ’s sake is absolutely essential to the spiritual life of the Christian. There can be no true, vital godliness without seasons of trial and grief. We are chosen in the furnace of affliction, and the trial of our faith is more precious than gold.
5 Many claim to love God while they fail to cherish love toward their brethren; but genuine love to God will testify to its real existence by love to our fellow-men. Those who love God will reveal the tender, compassionate spirit of Jesus to all that are around them. They will love their brethren, because they are the members of the body of Christ. They will love the sinner, because he is the purchase of the blood of Christ; and this love, abiding in the heart, will display itself by earnest labor to benefit and bless all with whom they associate. They will yearn for the salvation of men, and will lead others to the fountain that has refreshed their own souls.
6 The love of Christ will not make us less fit for actual life, but will enable us to adapt ourselves to the wants of others, and will develop highly practical fruit in our daily experience. It is not a weak sentimentalism. It is not of that cheap order that is earthly and sensual, leading to debasement of the soul and defilement of the character. It is not of earthly, but of heavenly origin. This love is elevating in its nature, enduring and ennobling, shedding rays of beneficence upon all within the circle of its influence. God, through his Son, has sent down this heavenly love to unite us with himself. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Let us ponder this divine love, that we may become changed, and may reflect this precious attribute of the character of our Redeemer. We shall be in less peril of placing our affections on unworthy objects.
7 The disciple John became a possessor of this divine love. The regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit renewed his heart. He came under the power of the love of Christ, and the knowledge of this love awakened a depth of affection that, by its infusion through his heart, wrought a transformation of character. The warm affection of John was not the cause of Christ’s love for him. The Saviour had loved him before this affection had an existence; but the unmerited kindness of his Lord had kindled love in the breast of the disciple.
8 John’s natural character was marked with imperfections. He was impetuous, and resentful under injuries. When the Samaritans refused to entertain his Lord because they thought he favored the Jews more than he did them, John wanted the insult to receive immediate retribution. His spirit was stirred with revenge, and he said to his Master, “Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” Jesus looked upon John, and said, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
9 Revengeful thoughts and words are contrary to the spirit of the meek and lowly Jesus. It is not always easy to bring our feelings under control. The human heart needs to be guarded continually, that we may not cherish a spirit unlike that of our divine Lord. It will be impossible for us to bear insult and harshness with loving forbearance and patience unless we drink of the spirit of Him “who, when he was reviled, reviled not again.” It is natural for us to think when we are falsely accused that we must retaliate and show our contempt of the traducers, but this is foreign to the meekness of our Redeemer. We must not allow one revengeful thought to arise. Sorrow and indignation may fill our hearts for a season, because souls are deceived and misled by these falsehoods; but it will not help matters to cherish unholy anger, and it will not be cherished where the forgiving love of Christ has imbued the soul.
10 The prevalent opinion that John was naturally of a meek and yielding character is proved, by a study of his life, to be erroneous. He had high ambitions to be first in the kingdom of Christ. He had decidedly rebuked one who was casting out devils in the name of Jesus, because he was not in their company. He had strong traits of character, not weak and vacillating, but self-assertive and ambitious for honor. Jesus taught the needed lessons of humility and patience. He manifested in contrast to John’s violent spirit, calm consideration and forbearance. John was a learner in the school of Christ. As the character of the divine One was manifested to him, he saw his own deficiency and was humbled by the knowledge. The strength and the patience, the power and tenderness, the majesty and the meekness, that he beheld in the daily life of the Son of God, filled his soul with admiration and love; but he was not simply an admirer; he showed his appreciation by imitating the divine characteristics of his Lord. His revengeful, ambitious temper he yielded to the moulding power of the Spirit of Christ. He set his soul to copy the lovely Pattern and become like Him who is meek and lowly of heart.
11 This is the sure result of association with Jesus. As we meditate upon his character our hearts are drawn out in love, desire awakens to become like him whom we love, and, by beholding, we become changed. When Christ abides in the heart, the whole nature is transformed. Everything that defileth is banished from the soul’s temple. Lust, base passions, impure thoughts, pride, inordinate affections, revenge, retaliation, covetousness, envy, all these are prohibited; and what we once loved, now we hate; for we become new creatures in Christ Jesus. Christ’s Spirit, Christ’s love, softens the heart, subdues the soul, and raise the thoughts and desires toward God and Heaven.
12 The truth we claim to believe should make us better men and women in our home life, in our church relations, in our business, and in our intercourse with our friends and neighbors. Unless this result is manifested, we should examine ourselves to see what is hindering the sanctifying influence of the truth from accomplishing its work of purification in our lives. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Our characters must be moulded after the divine model, that we may have an elevating influence on all with whom we associate. “If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
13 Had Peter practiced the lessons that Christ presented during his ministry, he would never have apostatized and denied his Lord; but we thank God that, although in his weakness he did forsake his Master, he thoroughly repented and was forgiven. The lessons which he had failed to take to heart were learned and made practical in his life, and at last he who had deserted his Lord counted it too great an honor that he was permitted to suffer shame and death for his sake.
14 How different it was with Judas. He had been in the society of the great Teacher. The same privileges were granted to him as were bestowed on Peter and John; but how did he respond to the light? Like many of this day, he professed to be a follower of Christ, but failed to identify his interests with the cause of his Lord. He listened to the lessons of Christ, but the made no change in his character. He did not seek to rid himself of his selfish penuriousness by sacrificing for the advancement of the cause he claimed to espouse. He cultivated a spirit of greed, till the desirableness of Christ and Heaven was eclipsed. This plague-spot in his soul spread, like a destroying leprosy, till the whole man was corrupted. Noble liberty was left to wither. Every unselfish purpose was darkened, until the hope of obtaining a few paltry dollars led him to betray his Saviour.
15 How many are repeating these mistakes, because they do not profit by the example of those who have followed this course in the past! They are not doers of the words of Christ. They do not conform their lives to his divine instruction. Those who have the greatest deformities of character, may have the greatest grace. The highest seat will be awarded to those who, through appropriating the promises of God to themselves, attain the greatest likeness to Christ.
16 A longing, hungering desire takes possession of the soul that is conforming to the divine standard. Oh, to be filled with the knowledge of the will of God! Oh, that heavenly light may illumine the pathway! Oh, for deeper draughts of the well of salvation! This is the constant cry of the heart to God, and the promise is that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.
17 It is the love of Jesus in the soul that enables the Christian to count all things as loss, to endure toil, to rejoice in sacrifice, and to suffer reproach for the truth. Love for Jesus is the motive power of the life-work, and the sustaining strength for every duty.
18 While the love of God makes its possessor meek and lowly of spirit, and eradicates all hatred and revenge, and all that is unholy, it will not leave the Christian without power to oppose wrong and rebuke sin. If dangerous errors threaten the faith, through the efforts of deceived church-members or false shepherds, they will be met and opposed with decision. The soldiers of Christ must be like sentinels on guard, watching on the walls of Zion. They must defend the faith once delivered to the saints, and press back the powers of moral darkness with determined energy and will.
19 The disciple John, while he has written many chapters on the subject of love, speaks very decidedly to his brethren on the duty of rebuking error. “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God,” is his decision; and he instructs them not to receive such a one into their houses or bid him Godspeed.
20 We must arm ourselves with the Spirit of Christ, stand in defense of the truth, and yet do this whole work of honoring God and resisting evil without having a spirit of retaliation arise in our hearts. Every warning in the word of God is to be heeded, every instruction followed, that we may keep our souls in the love of God. We must oppose error for Christ’s sake and for the sake of the purchase of his blood, that God may be honored, his ways vindicated, and souls saved from the fast-hastening ruin that is to overwhelm the world. Christ is our example in all things. We must consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest we be weary and faint in our minds. We must go forward, exemplifying in our lives the principles of true religion, that we may be living epistles. “known and read of all men;” that we may love God with all our heart, and our neighbors as ourselves.
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1 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”
2 This exhortation is addressed to the children of God. The Scriptures are they which testify of our hope, and it is necessary for us to search them diligently, that we may be ready to give an intelligent and well-grounded reason for our faith. This is the duty enjoined upon us by Him who gave his life to redeem man.
3 After the crucifixion of Christ two disciples were journeying toward Emmaus. Their hearts were burdened with grief and doubt. Their way lay over a bleak, barren plain, broken by rugged ridges dangerous steeps. The ground was cracked and parched, and loose stones strewed the path.
4 As they ascended the ridge a stranger joined them; but they were so engrossed in reviewing the mournful events of the passover week that they did not notice his presence. The stranger gently accosted them; but their eyes were holden, and they did not recognize their divine Master. And he asked, “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them. What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. . . . Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
5 Had not the disciples heard this very exposition of these scriptures from their Master’s lips while he was with them? But how little had they comprehended them! How forcible is their meaning now! How startling their fulfillment! The truths they had but dimly discerned now stand revealed in a blaze of light. The very things he had told them have been accomplished. Faith begins to revive. Their hearts beat with a strong and renewed hope as they listen eagerly to the plain, simple words of their unknown fellow-traveler. They are surprised to find their burdened hearts becoming light; and as they think of Jesus, of all he was to them, of all he suffered, their tears flow freely. Their confidence had not been misplaced. He was all and even more than they had believed.
6 If these men had no reason of their hope within them, their hearts would not have responded to the world’s Redeemer as he strove to fasten their trembling faith upon the testimony of the prophets concerning himself. As it was, the evidences of the truth needed only to be revived in their minds. The very clouds that darkened their faith grew luminous with assurance as they saw the harmony of prophecy and its fulfillment. As the mists began to lift, the betrayal, trial, and crucifixion stood like great waymarks promising the fulfillment of the word of God, witnessing to his providences, and telling the story of the unutterable love and truth of their Saviour. Again their feet stood firm on the sure foundation.
7 There will be chapters of a similar character in the experience of every follower of Christ. Faith will be tested, and for a time its brightness will be dimmed; but those who sincerely love God will not be left to be overwhelmed. Jesus comes to their side. He speaks to them. He encourages them. It may be through some humble agent; but he surely ministers unto them.
8 The divine Son of God, the resurrected Saviour, who walked with the sorrowing disciples up and down the steeps that intercepted the journey to Emmaus, is our compassionate Saviour. He knows whose hearts are burdened with sorrows and disappointed hopes. He is at our right hand to interest himself in all our sorrows and to soothe our griefs. He presses close to the believing mourner who yearns for his presence; but he never forces his company upon any.
9 These two disciples saw in Jesus not only a stranger but one who had been acquainted with their beloved Master, and as such he was endeared to them. The sun sinks behind the hills and they near their destination. They cannot endure the thought of separation. As the stranger seems about to leave them they urge the request, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.”
10 The three weary travelers had walked together. The Son of God was one with them. He had labored up the toilsome steeps; he had moved with equal caution down the precipitous path, and there was nothing in his dress or his manner to lead the disciples to suspect that he was any other than one of the many pilgrims returning from the great feast.
11 He enters the lowly home, and is seated before the humble board. While the meal is preparing, words that stir and warm the heart flow from his lips. He puts forth his hands to bless the bread. The eyes of the disciples are riveted on them. They see the print of the nails. They recognize his voice. The words, the tone, the manner, are all familiar. It is the Master himself. He whom they had placed in Joseph’s new tomb lives before them. They had walked with their risen Saviour from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Oh! why had they not known him? Their unbelief had hidden Jesus from their view. They rise in great haste and fall at his feet to express their joy; but he is gone.
12 The disciples had thought themselves weary; but now their vigor is renewed. Discouragement is gone. They stop not for food, nor feel they the need of it, but hasten to retrace their steps over the rough path so lately trodden with Jesus. They have a message of joy to carry to their mourning brethren. They have seen and talked with Jesus. He has risen from the dead. Their hearts are all light, and joy, and peace.
13 They urge their way through the darkened streets, and climb to the upper chamber. All is silent within; but finally, to their continued knocking, they hear the slipping of the bolts. The door is cautiously opened, and carefully barred after them. Scarcely had they finished relating the marvelous story of the walk to Emmaus to the incredulous disciples, when they behold with amazement another in their midst. It is Jesus. The bars and bolts have not been withdrawn. They have heard no footstep, and they are terrified. Their amazement deepens as they hear his voice, saying, “Peace be unto you,” and continuing to reassure the terrified disciples: “Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” “And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.”
14 The duty of the disciple of Christ is revealed in these words. To preach to all nations repentance and remission of sins; to present Jesus as the sin-pardoning Redeemer. The hearts of sinners must be melted into contrition, before God will hear their prayer. When the soul is emptied of its defilement, Jesus will take possession, and pardon and peace that floweth like a river will be enjoyed.
15 The followers of Christ will have trials and conflicts while on earth, but we have a sure refuge in every storm. Jesus has told us, “In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The forces of Satan are marshaled against us. He is a diligent foe, but in following the warning of Christ we shall find safety. “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” There are foes to be resisted and overcome, but Jesus is by our side, ready to strengthen for every effort and brace for duty.
16 We have a great work to do to be witnesses to the fulfillment of God’s word; and to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that is in us,” will require a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. We need in these times of peace to become familiar with the prophecies that foretell the events to take place in our time, that, like the disciples, our minds will need only to be refreshed to become encouraged, and that the very trial which seems to confuse us may become a tower of strength, and an evidence that God is fulfilling the sure word of prophecy.
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1 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
2 The time of Jesus’ betrayal, suffering, and crucifixion, was drawing near; and as the disciples gathered around him, the Lord unfolded to them the mournful events that were about to take place, and their hearts were filled with sorrow. To comfort them he spoke these tender words: “Let not your heart be troubled. . . . I will come again, and receive you unto myself.” He directed their minds away from the scenes of sorrow, to the mansions of Heaven and the time of reunion in the kingdom of God. “I go to prepare a place for you.” Though he must go from them and ascend to his Father, his work for those he loved would not be at an end. He was to prepare homes for those who, for his sake, were to be pilgrims and strangers on the earth.
3 After his resurrection “he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into Heaven.” And as he went up, two shining angels asked the disciples, “Why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven.” Do you imagine as they went back to Jerusalem that they said to one another, “Well, the Lord has left us. What is now the use of trying to gain followers to Jesus? Let us return to our nets. Let us take up our old employment. What can we do against the opposition of the world?” There is no record of any such conversation. Not a line is written or a hint given that they had a thought of leaving the service of their ascended Lord, for the service of self and the world. The Saviour’s hand had been outstretched in blessing his disciples he had left behind as he ascended. They had seen his glory. He had gone to prepare mansions for them. Their salvation had been provided for, and if they were faithful in complying with the conditions, they would assuredly follow him to the world of unending joy. Their hearts were filled with songs of rejoicing and praise.
4 We all have the same cause for thanksgiving. The resurrection and ascension of our Lord is a sure evidence of the triumph of the saints of God over death and the grave, and a pledge that Heaven is open to those who wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Jesus ascended to the Father as a representative of the human race, and God will bring those who reflect his image to behold and share with him his glory.
5 Though the disciples had gazed far into the Heaven until their Lord had vanished from their sight, they did not behold the angels that gathered around their beloved commander. Jesus led a multitude of captives who had risen from the grave at his resurrection. As the glorious company approach the gates of the eternal city the angels sing. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in.” And the angels guarding the gates respond, “Who is this king of glory?” The attendant angels reply, “The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.” As the glorious train passes in, the angels are about to bow in adoration before the Lord of glory; but he waves them back. Before he will permit their homage he must know that his sacrifice for the fallen race has been accepted of the Father. He must know whether the price paid for the redemption of the lost has been sufficient to ransom them from the power of sin and the grave. This is the absorbing thought in the breast of the Saviour. Amid the splendor of the courts of glory, amid ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands waiting to cast their crowns at his feet, he does not forget those that he has left on earth to bear opposition, reproach, and scorn. After the Father has assured him that the ransom paid is accepted, still he has a request to offer for those who believe in him and follow in his footsteps: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me” for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” He requested that his disciples might enter into his joy and share his glory; and at last the faithful servant of the Lord will hear the glad words, “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
6 When he had finished preferring his requests, the Father gave the command, “Let all the angels of God worship him,” Then the song of joy and love swells through the heavenly courts, “Worthy, worthy, worthy, is the Lamb that was slain, and lives again, a triumphant conqueror.” And this same Jesus, whom unnumbered hosts of angels delight to adore, is coming again to fulfill his promise and receive those who love him unto himself. Have we not great reason to rejoice? “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” The consummation of our hope is at hand; the faithful will soon enter into the joy of their Lord.
7 A little time is given that the inhabitants of the world may hear the warning, and that those who will may prepare for the coming of the great king. We must not be like the foolish virgins. They did not provide oil for their lamps, and at the very time when the cry was raised, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh,” their lights burned dim and went out. Are there not many who are pursuing the same unwise course? They profess to be followers of Jesus, but they are making no preparation for his glorious appearing and kingdom. They go on, taken up with the affairs of this world, and have no realization of the great events about to come to pass.
8 Christ warned us in view of this very time that we should not be engrossed in the cares of the world, to the neglect of eternal interests; but how many of us allow the things of this life to interpose between our souls and the great gift of Heaven. How few are living for the glory of God and the good of humanity. How few are telling their children of the love of Christ, of the mansions of Heaven, of the necessity of faith and obedience. How few are warning their friends and neighbors of the fast-hastening Judgment. My heart is pained with the thought of the ingratitude of man to his Maker, and the indifference of souls to their dearly-purchased salvation. We are warned that if we do not watch and pray, the day of final reckoning will overtake us as a thief in the night, and our portion will be appointed with the hypocrites and unbelievers. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day.” There is every provision made that we may have the light, and there will be no excuse in the day of God if we are overtaken in our sins. Sorrow and woe await those who do not heed the instructions of the word of life; but what joy is in store for those who have made preparation for the coming of their Lord! They will be changed from mortality to immortality. They will see the King in his beauty, and reflect his image. They will be caught up to be forever with the Lord.
9 Let us go forward together to reach the great reward and join the song of the redeemed. If we ever sing the praises of God in Heaven, we must first sing them here. Out of grateful hearts the notes of thanksgiving should spring continually, and our lips should tell of the goodness of the Lord, and magnify his holy name. All complaint and murmuring should cease among the children of the Most High. We ought to be the happiest people on the earth, because we have a mighty Saviour in the sanctuary above, who has died that we might live. It might be inferred from our sad countenances and words of complaint that Jesus was still in Joseph’s tomb, with a great stone rolled before the door; but I declare to you that Jesus is risen, that he loves you, that he represents you in the courts of his glory, making intercession for you. We should rejoice and praise God with songs of unfeigned thankfulness. Let us determine that if it costs everything we will have Heaven and become partakers of the divine nature.
10 We may have a right to enter into the city, to eat of the tree of life, and to share in the unending joy of the redeemed. We may listen to the voice of Jesus, sweeter than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, as he welcomes his children to their eternal home. Those who have chosen his service will hear him say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” And oh, what a kingdom! There will be no night in the city of gold. God and the Lamb will be its light. There are homes for the pilgrims of earth. There are robes for the righteous —crowns of glory, palms of victory. All that perplexed us in the providences of God, will then be made plain. The things hard to be understood will then find an explanation. The mysteries of grace will unfold before us. Where our finite minds discovered only confusion and broken purposes we shall see the most perfect and beautiful harmony. We shall know that infinite love ordered these experiences that seemed the most trying and hard to bear. As we realize the tender care of Him who makes all things work together for our good, we shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
11 Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of Heaven. There will be no more tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning. “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” One rich tide of happiness will flow and deepen as eternity rolls on.
12 Think of this, children of suffering and sorrow, and rejoice in hope. Strive with all your God-given powers to enter into the kingdom of Heaven; for “many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Jesus has promised, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself.” “But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth?” This is the question we should put to our souls. It becomes us, as rational beings, to consider whether we are prepared to meet our Lord, or placing our affections upon the things of earth. When we think how many are given to selfishness and pleasure-seeking, our hearts are troubled. The careless and indifferent, whose chief care is for their personal and earthly interests, will be left in outer darkness, but those who are waiting for their Lord, with their lamps trimmed and burning, will go in with the heavenly Bridegroom to the wedding.
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1 “Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
2 There are times when under adversity and sorrow, the servants of God become discouraged and despondent. They brood over their circumstances, and, contrasting their condition with the prosperity of those who have no thought or care for eternal things, they feel aggrieved. They manifest a spirit of reproach, and murmur and repine at their lot. They seem to consider that God is under special obligation to bless them and prosper their undertakings, and therefore, as they are placed in situations of trial, they grow rebellious, and look with envy on the wicked who flourish in their iniquity. They seem to regard the condition of the transgressor as preferable to their own. These bitter thoughts are suggested to the mind by the deceiver of mankind. It is his delight to stir up rebellion in the breasts of the children of God. He knows it causes them weakness, and is a source of dishonor to their God. He desires us to think that it is a vain thing to serve God, and that those who are unmindful of the claims of Heaven are more favored than those who strive to obey the commandments of God.
3 The psalmist David had this experience. When he looked upon the flourishing condition of the wicked he was envious of their success, and said, “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued.” But when he went into the sanctuary, and communed with the Lord, he no longer desired the portion of the wicked; for then he understood their end. He saw that their way led to destruction at last, and their pleasure was but for a season. Envy had no more a place in his heart. His rebellious spirit bowed in humble submission to his God, and he declared, “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” He saw that the guidance of the Lord was of infinitely more value than all the temporal prosperity of the world; for the way of the Lord kept the feet in the paths of righteousness that lead to eternal glory.
4 The true servant of God will take the suggestions and temptations of Satan to the throne of grace, where peace and submission will flow into the soul. When he enters into the sanctuary he will know the end of those who have not the fear of the Lord before their eyes. The Lord has heard our murmuring. He says, “Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance?” This question will present itself, with more or less force, to the minds of the people of God; but before you answer it think of the exalted honor that the God of Heaven has conferred upon you. Think how he has given his only begotten Son, that a way of salvation might be opened for you. Think how he has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, called you to be the children of the Most High, called you to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Is this no compensation? no encouragement?
5 In these last days there is a call from Heaven inviting you to keep the statutes and ordinances of the Lord. The world has set at naught the law of Jehovah; but God will not be left without a witness to his righteousness, or without a people in the earth to proclaim his truth. The door of the heavenly sanctuary has been opened, and no man can shut it, and the light of the Holy of Holies is shining into the world. The people of God have had their attention called to the ark of the testimony, and the law within it has been revealed with its unalterable precepts. In holy vision, John saw the remnant church on the earth, in an age of lawlessness, and he points them out in unmistakable language: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” They are in harmony with that law that rests in the ark in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. The whole duty of man is summed up in its sacred precepts. In the heart of the law is the commandment enjoining upon man the observance of the Sabbath of Jehovah, which the world and the church have trodden under their feet. For centuries men have walked in blindness concerning the true Sabbath, and the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now is the day of reformation, and he calls upon men everywhere to repent. When the light of God’s disregarded commandment shone upon the path of those who sincerely loved God, they delayed not to keep his statutes. They realized that they must come out from the world and be separate, and touch not the unclean, that they might claim the promise, “I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” They became the repairers of the breach that has been made in the law of God, because they turned away their feet from the Sabbath, from doing their pleasure on God’s holy day, and called the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and did honor him, not speaking their own words or finding their own pleasure.
6 Now the question is, Will we ally ourselves with those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? Will we cease to trample upon the Sabbath of the Lord our God? We want to be sure that we are the children of light; that we are following in the footsteps of our Redeemer and Example. The cross lies in our pathway, but shall we not take it up and bear it for his sake who bore the cross for us? All who are seeking to serve God will have trials; but shall we say, What does it profit to come out from the world and be separate? Shall we call the proud happy? Shall we say that those who work wickedness are set up? that those who tempt God are even delivered, and we are left unaided in the midst of sorrows?
7 This is the evil that will prevail in the hearts of many. They will grow despondent in their service, because they are not prospered as the wicked are. Some are acting on the suggestions of the enemy today, and are distrusting their best friend. But we want you to understand that if you rely on God in your trial, with living faith, not one of his gracious promises will fail. The Lord is acquainted with all our sorrows and self-denials. Those who have embraced the truth in all ages have had to suffer for its sake, and shall we be exempt? Let the mind dwell upon the sufferings of our precious Saviour. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” He made himself of “no reputation,” took upon him the “form of a servant,” and humbled himself “even to the death of the cross.” “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen; but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
8 There must be a coming up, lest Satan divert the mind from the contemplation of the spiritual and eternal, to the earthly and temporal. God is willing to give you grace and strength for every time of need, if you seek for it with a sincere heart.
9 We read that “they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.” When the people that are engaged in the service of God come together, they are to speak words that will encourage and comfort and upbuild their brethren in the faith. They are not to find fault with their lot, and question the dealing and work of God. They are not to murmur against each other, and magnify their trials and sacrifices, thus leaving the impression that it is unprofitable to serve God. Let them remember the loving-kindnesses of the Lord, and the multitude of his tender mercies, and, out of hearts melted with gratitude and love, let them praise his name and inquire, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits?” Angels record the words of your lips in the books of remembrance. God hearkens and hears the utterances of his servants; and those who appreciate his mercy and love his name “shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
10 Do not say it is a vain thing to serve God. Have respect unto the recompense of the reward. Even in this life you are to cast all your care upon him; for he careth for you. His promise is, that if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all necessary things shall be added unto you. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without his notice, and the hairs of your head are all numbered.
11 The glory of the eternal world has been opened before me, and I want to tell you that Heaven is worth your winning. An infinite price has been paid that you might share in its indescribable glories, and enjoy its exalted privileges. The God of Heaven did not spare even his only Son, that rebel man might be restored to the favor of Heaven; and shall we hesitate to yield to him grateful and whole-hearted service? Oh, that no word of murmuring might ever escape the lips of those who have tasted of the heavenly gift! This is no time to ask, What does it profit to keep the ordinances of our God? The celestial city is just before us. If you could get one glimpse into the glories of that place, you would not count any loss too great if you might only walk its streets of transparent gold, and sing the song of triumph with the white-robed company of Heaven. You would not wish for the prosperity of earth, or be envious of the wicked.
12 There are traces, even amid the havoc that sin has wrought, of what God has done to make the earth beautiful. I enjoy these prospects of loveliness in nature. My mind is carried up through nature to nature’s God, and I adore him who has created such scenes of beauty; but I know that if I love God and keep his commandments there is “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” awaiting me in the kingdom of Heaven. Beautiful as are the landscapes of earth, “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” God designs that we should contemplate heavenly things, and that we should dwell upon the attributes of his character, till we see matchless charms in our God, and become changed into the same image. When we are renewed in the spirit of our minds, we shall have no disposition to murmur at our lot; the praise of God will be welling up in our hearts continually. The solemn responsibilities that God has laid upon us for the salvation of souls will absorb our whole heart and mind, and we shall have no time to talk of our trials and sacrifices. Oh! we must wash our robes of character from every stain, in the blood of the Lamb, and prepare for the great day of God. We must not wait till the Lord comes in the clouds of heaven before we make our calling and election sure.
13 Enoch walked with God three hundred years before his translation to Heaven. He had the daily testimony that his ways pleased God. Why should not every Christian follow Christ as did this faithful servant? Do you love Jesus a great way off? Do the tidings of his coming seem a message of joy to your heart? Do you find his service a profitable service? How can you win others to the truth, if your own heart is not in the work, and you do not see matchless charms in your Redeemer? The prayer of Christ was, that he might be glorified in those he had left upon earth to carry on his work, and we do not glorify our Redeemer when we complain of the difficulties of the way, and murmur at the providences of God.
14 Jesus is soon coming in power and great glory, and we are not to sit down in idle expectation of this event. We are to show our faith by our works. He has committed to every man his work. A great truth has been given to us, and the world must be warned of the fast-approaching judgments. Every talent must be given out to the exchangers, that it may be used for the good of man and the glory of God. And those who are faithful to the small trusts of earth, will be made rulers of many things in the eternal world. Now we have the precious privileges of probation. We have the opportunity of laboring in the greatest cause that ever engaged the attention of the servants of God. Let us not spend these valuable moments in discontent at our lot. Let us praise God, and speak often one to another and to all that we meet, of his marvelous truth. The Lord will count such among his jewels, and will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Page 407
1 “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
2 The day of the Lord is at hand, when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and all the cities of the earth shall be destroyed. Christ, escorted by ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels, shall come in the clouds of heaven. The righteous dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and rise from their graves to immortal life, and we that are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and so be forever with the Lord. In view of these great and solemn events we are exhorted to be diligent that we may be “found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
3 There are attractions on every hand to draw the mind away from the contemplation of the coming of our Lord and Saviour; but it is absolutely necessary to bear in remembrance that “the great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly.” The God of Heaven has multiplied warnings, entreaties, and instructions, that we may be prepared to stand in the time of the overwhelming destruction. We are not left in darkness. Those who meditate and act upon the instructions that God has given will cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit. They will keep in mind the command to “be diligent,” to be holy in all their conversation and life. An infinite price has been paid for our redemption that we might have an opportunity to turn to God and perfect characters that will meet the approbation of Heaven. And we should inquire as did the lawyer, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ answered, “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” The lawyer replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” And Jesus said unto him, “Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.”
4 Christ presented the great moral standard or righteousness to the lawyer. Every man’s life must meet this test in the Judgment. Now you are invited to look into the law of God. Take the ten commandments, that grow out of the principles of love to God and love to man, and see if you are in harmony with their requirements. If you are not breaking any one of them, you may ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you; for you are in the favor of God. The only way that you can determine whether you are righteous or not is by examining your heart with the light of the law and the Spirit of God. As the looking-glass reveals the defects in your appearance, so the moral mirror of the law will make plain the imperfections of your character, and the true condition of your heart. Those who are looking into the perfect law of liberty, and seeking a fitness for Heaven, will realize their need of divine help and will often be found before God in prayer.
5 Only those who are sanctified through the truth will be accepted as heirs of eternal life. The sanctification that God intends his children should have, is not of that character which leads men to boast of their holiness and reject the law of God, which is “holy, and just, and good.” Bible sanctification is implicit obedience to the requirements of God. Christ did not die to save anyone in the pollution of sin. He came to “save his people from their sins,” that “the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled” in his followers. The death of the Son of God on the cross demonstrates the immutable character of the precepts of Jehovah. Then how grieved should we be for every transgression and disobedience. The precious Saviour was bruised for our iniquity. There is enmity against the commandments of God in the hearts of those who claim sanctification and refuse to acknowledge the binding obligation of the law. Hatred arises in their hearts as soon as the law is mentioned. They profess to believe that the law is abolished. But if the law is abolished, what is the standard by which we shall be judged before the judgment-seat of Christ? This work of belittling the law is the work of the great deceiver. If Satan can persuade men that the God of the universe has no law by which he governs them, then he can set up a standard of his own, and turn men into the path of transgression and destruction.
6 Sanctification is not the work of an hour, it is the result of the constant effort of a lifetime. We must fight the good fight of faith, struggle against the powers of darkness, resist evil, subdue the natural tendencies to sin, and by the grace of God perfect holiness, and work out our own salvation. The nearer we come to Jesus and behold the purity and greatness of his character, the less we shall feel like exalting self. The contrast between our character and his will lead to humiliation of soul and deep heart-searching. We shall not desire to boast of our holiness; but the more we love Jesus, the more will self be forgotten and humbled. When our souls are filled with self-esteem and pride we cannot realize the need of divine power; but when we are aware of our own insufficiency our hearts cry out, “Other refuge have I none,” and we hang our helpless souls upon Him who is mighty to save.
7 Our precious Saviour gave his life that fallen man might be saved. It was impossible for those who had once weakened themselves by transgression to fulfill the requirements of God; the consequence and penalty of sin was upon the race; but the Lamb of God paid the penalty of the past transgressions, and will impart to those who believe on him power to become the sons of God, power to obey the commandments of the law. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we may be conquerors in the battle with “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” Jesus says, “Without me ye can do nothing;” we are dependent upon him for divine grace and help from day to day. “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” But let no one think that because Christ has died for us we are released from all personal responsibility, that we need not be particular to obey his will, to glorify God or to honor the rule of his government. “Sin is the transgression of the law,” and sin is very offensive in his sight. We must put it away if we would enter the city wherein is nothing that defileth.
8 A true appreciation of the plan of salvation will fill us with wonder and love. Our hearts will be so melted with the love that Jesus has manifested toward us, that we cannot be taken up with the affairs of this world. When Christ is abiding in the heart and we have a true conception of the sacrifice that he has made, we shall talk about it. We shall understand something of the perfection of the law that he came to magnify and make honorable. The privilege of obedience will seem precious and gracious to our souls. We shall take no delight in the teaching of those who seek to make of no effect the law of God. We want that intelligent faith that has the word of God as its foundation, that leads in the path of righteousness, and makes every step a step Heavenward. Everything that God could do has been done that we might obtain salvation from sin and destruction. Now it depends upon us whether or not we will accept of the conditions of his mercy and co-operate with his divine aid, and gain eternal life.
9 “What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” The books of Heaven register everything just as it is. The angels make no mistakes. You cannot afford to speak evil of your brethren; this is not holy conversation. Whenever you are tempted to criticise and condemn others, close your lips, and lift up your heart in prayer to God that you may have power to resist and overcome. We have a great work to do to remove every defect of character and be a constant light to those around us, reflecting the character of Jesus, the light of the world. Those who are heads of families should do as did faithful Abraham. They should erect an altar to the Lord in their homes, and command their households after them, bringing up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I have been very careful in the education of my children that there should be no element of unbelief woven into their early teaching. They have never heard one word of questioning or doubt in regard to the word of God, the plan of salvation, or the truth for this time. I have kept the Saviour before them. I have repeated the story of his life, pictured the scenes of his suffering, humiliation, crucifixion, and death. I have sought to impress them with the importance of faith and obedience. I have presented before them the mansions of Heaven, and the future immortal life. We should seek to make these themes attractive to our little ones.
10 You are to be holy in your conversation. Your homes should not be darkened by faultfinding and criticism. You must manifest love and kindness to those who are dependent upon you. You should not hold up the peculiarities of your neighbors and indulge in jealousies, evil surmisings, and evil-speaking. All your bitter speeches are registered in the books of Heaven, and you will have to meet them again, if you do not repent and put away the evil of your doings.
11 Christ identifies his interests with the interests of his brethren on the earth. He said to those on the left hand, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.” And they answered, “Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?” And Christ declares, “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” The persons that our Lord condemned were not aware that they had dealt unjustly with their brethren. Satan had so blinded their perceptions that they did not conceive what they owed to their brethren. They might have understood their duty; the word of God was full of instruction on this very point; but instead of searching the Scriptures and doing according to the words of God, they were simply neglectful hearers. When you are tempted to find fault with your brethren, take your Bible and read what that says; for right in the church you are dealing with Christ in the person of his saints. You do not want to be among those who are blinded to the grievousness of their sin, and who when they are rebuked ask, “When saw we thee, thus?” They do not comprehend how they have mistreated their Lord. On the other hand, those who have fulfilled their obligations to their fellow-men are received into the favor of Heaven. Every word of love, every act of kindness—even the cup of cold water that has been given in the name of Christ—is recognized and rewarded.
12 Now let us seek Christ for ourselves, and find him precious to our souls. Let us minister to our brethren both in and out of the church. It is our privilege to be constantly strengthening those around us, and shedding an influence that will bless and elevate. Do not sow the seeds of envy, strife, and doubt. Let your conversation be holy before God. Seek in every way that you may grow up into a fit temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You must be living stones, reflecting and emitting the light of Heaven. The truth of God has quarried you out of the world to be squared and hewed and fitted for the heavenly building. The robe of your character must be washed till it is spotless, in the fountain opened for all uncleanness. Your moral worth will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and if you are found wanting, you will be at an eternal loss. All the coarseness, all the roughness, must be removed from your character before Jesus comes; for when he comes, the preparation for every soul is ended. If you have not laid aside your envy, your jealousies, your hatred one against another, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. You would only carry the same disposition with you; but there will be nothing of this character in the world to come. Nothing will exist there but love and joy and harmony. Some will have brighter crowns than others, but there will be no jealous thoughts in any heart among the redeemed. Each one will be perfectly satisfied, for all will be rewarded according to their work; for “they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.” Everyone will know that those who have been instrumental in winning souls to Jesus have engaged in the greatest work that ever employed the powers of man. Oh! shall we not bend every energy to this great and noble work, not seeking to destroy and tear down, but by every word and act, with all the tact and influence at our command, seek to save and build up others in the most holy faith?
13 “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” We are approaching the time when the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and we must make haste to depart from all iniquity, that our calling and election may be made sure. We are looking for new heavens and a new earth wherein the righteous shall dwell throughout eternity. “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
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Page 408
1 “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
2 In the time of ancient Israel the priests critically examined every offering that was brought as a sacrifice. If any defect was discovered in the animal presented for the service of the sanctuary, it was refused, for the Lord had commanded that the offering should be “without blemish.” We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God; and should we not seek to make the offering as perfect as possible? God has given us every instruction necessary for our physical, mental, and moral well-being, and it is the duty of every one of us to bring our habits of life into conformity with the divine standard, in every particular. Will the Lord be pleased with anything less than the best we can offer? “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.” If you do love him with all your heart, you will desire to give him the best service of your life, and you will be constantly seeking to bring every power of your being into harmony with the laws that will promote your ability to do his will. You will not feel satisfied to present to your merciful heavenly Father an offering enfeebled by indulgence of appetite and passion. You will plead for divine help and healing. And the grace of Christ will enable you to overcome your perverted appetites, and begin a work of reformation in your life. You are not to follow the customs of the world. “Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
3 Every faculty of our being was given us that we might render acceptable service to our Maker. When, through sin, we perverted the gifts of God, and sold our powers to the prince of darkness, Christ paid a ransom for us, even his own precious blood. “He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.” And shall we waste the energies that he has ransomed at such infinite cost, by disregarding the laws of life and morality?
4 Look at the world today. Misery and pain exist on every side; and the heart grows sick, beholding the untold suffering of humanity. The dead and the dying are continually before our eyes; but we cannot charge this to our heavenly Father. Man has brought this upon himself through sinful disregard of the laws of God. The most reckless habits are formed and practiced by the world, in regard to eating, drinking, and dressing. Suffering, disease, and premature death follow in the train of lawless, inconsiderate customs. In these matters of vital importance, men and women follow their impulses, without consulting reason, or considering the experiences of others. What a perverted appetite may crave, that they must have. Whatever the fashion may be, that they must follow, no matter how disastrous the result; but God would have us live in accordance with law, so that, whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we may glorify God and benefit our fellow-men.
5 If we are the servants of Christ, we must fight against the evils of this degenerate age. While lawlessness of all kinds is sweeping over our world like a flood, we must take a decided stand on the requirements of the Bible, or we shall be swept away into moral and physical ruin. We must have moral strength to place ourselves, with firm determination, in opposition to the iniquity that abounds, or we shall be overcome. It is our privilege to understand the laws of this wonderful structure, the human habitation, that God has given us. Mind and body should be preserved in the best possible state of health that we may take up our work in the world. I know that much can be done toward building up a good condition of health. I have had five shocks of paralysis, and God, in his mercy, has raised me up, to take my place in the work he has given me to do, and to try to benefit others by my experience. Light was given me, and I saw the reason for my feeble health. I was astonished that I had so long remained in ignorance in regard to the laws of life. My habits were out of harmony with the conditions that are necessary to health. My food had not been of a proper kind to give vitality and strength to the system. It was highly seasoned, and stimulating rather than nutritious. The physicians said that I might die at any time, and I resolved that if I died, I would die in attempting to correct my injurious habits of life. I resolved to place myself on a platform of strictest temperance. I did not use tea or coffee or any kind of intoxicating wine or liquor, so I did not have these habits to overcome; but I had used flesh and spices, eating hearty meals three times a day. I had to educate myself to enjoy the simple, healthful grains and fruits that God has provided for the wants of man. But I found that all the sacrifice I had to make was doubly repaid in renewed health of body and mind. I had used pepper and mustard in my diet; but these should not be put into the human stomach. The delicate membrane becomes inflamed, the healthy tone of the stomach is lowered, and the appetite is perverted, the taste loses its discernment, and the delicious flavors of grains, vegetables, and fruits become insipid and unpalatable.
6 I see that in this country wine and beer, as well as tea and coffee, are placed upon your tables. Could you realize the injurious effects of these things, you would banish them from your board. Luxurious living and the use of wine and beer corrupt the blood, inflame the passions, produce disease, and hasten you to your graves. The faculties are benumbed. The moral perception is blunted, and the mind becomes incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong; the animal passions are strengthened, and gain supremacy over the intellectual and spiritual nature.
7 This fact is illustrated in the case of Nadab and Abihu. The Lord had kindled a sacred fire, from which the priests were to take coals, for the burning of incense before the Lord. They were not to use strange fire in the services of the sanctuary; but, under the effects of strong drink, the sons of Aaron lost all sense of sacred things. They kindled their incense from common fire, and disregarded the commandment of God. The Lord did not excuse their sin because they had unfitted themselves for their sacred duties by indulgence in drink. They were cut off from the congregation of Israel. God’s dealing with these transgressors should be a warning to the children of men today. You are to offer to God a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable. As these intoxicants are used, the same effects will follow as in the case of these priests of Israel. The conscience will lose its sensibility to sin, and a process of hardening to iniquity will most certainly take place, till the common and the sacred will lose all difference of significance.
8 I have been invited here and there to come and take tea with certain families. I was glad to have an opportunity to talk with these friends; but I could not countenance their hurtful practice of tea-drinking, I could not partake of this beverage with them, or give my influence to encourage this unnecessary and injurious habit. After freely partaking, the effects of tea-drinking may be discovered. The face becomes flushed, the eyes brighten, a new vigor is manifested, and the mind seems unnaturally active. Tea is a stimulant, and its exhilarating effects are neither lasting nor beneficial. The same is true of coffee. I have heard people declare that they could not live without their coffee. They were languid and dispirited, and were unfit to take up the tasks of the day, but after they had had their coffee they felt revived and encouraged; but this feeling of strength was only due to the stimulant they had taken. They were, in reality, just as unfit for their tasks as before and had only spurred up their flagging energies. When the influence of coffee had passed away, they were left as much in need of another cup as before they had taken the first cup.
9 We want a work of reformation in our land. There are thousands who can testify to the benefits of discarding these luxuries, and drinking from nature’s pure fountain. Why should we go to China and Japan for the products of a backward civilization? Why not banish the narcotic bean and the poisonous herb, and come into harmony with the sanitary laws of the Bible? If we are pursuing a course of action that brings weakness upon us, how can we present to God a holy offering, a living sacrifice? We are required to love God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves; but we are failing of this high requirement, if we are unfitting ourselves by hurtful habits for rendering acceptable service to our Maker and to our fellow-men. How can we think deeply and seriously on the plan of salvation, if our minds are clouded, our nerves unstrung, and our bodies full of pain and disease? If we are knowingly transgressing the laws of health, God cannot sustain and comfort us with his grace. This would only encourage us in wrong-doing. We must put our feet in the path of righteousness, and make all the efforts we can to walk uprightly, and then we may appropriate the rich promises, and we shall realize that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
10 We must be fitting up for the society of Heaven. We want to have a right to the tree of life. We want to enter that city where nothing that defileth shall ever come. Our characters must reach the standard of holiness. Every thought and habit must be brought into harmony with the will of God. Jesus came to our world to be our Saviour and example, and it is in his name alone, that we may gain the victory over perverted nature. He overcame in man’s behalf, and through his grace we may become “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” He “suffered, being tempted” for forty days, in the lonely wilderness, he endured fasting and temptation that man might have help to overcome the cravings of appetite, and live, not by bread alone, “but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” He stood in his integrity, a conqueror, and through him the sons of Adam may also be overcomers. Those who put their energies against the sinful indulgence of appetite, will have his divine aid and sympathy, and “he that endureth unto the end shall be saved.”
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1 The world’s Redeemer said, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
2 Those who will walk in the footsteps of the meek and lowly Jesus will be sensible that the light of life is illuminating their pathway. Said the prophet, “Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” While the world is lying under the gross shadow of error, ignorance, superstition, and death, the follower of Jesus walks in an atmosphere radiant with spiritual light. As he draws away from the traditions and customs of the world, and lifts the cross, and enters the way of truth, he finds that “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Every step of faith and obedience brings him into closer connection with the light of the world, in whom “is no darkness at all.”
3 The believer in Jesus has a right to expect a rich and abundant experience. It is his privilege, if he has complied with the conditions, to plead and claim the promises of God, and if he does this he will receive according to his faith. Paul writes of his desire that the brethren at Ephesus might come to understand the height of the Christian’s privilege. He says, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
4 The apostle Paul had been greatly blessed. He had been caught up to the third Heaven, and had heard things not lawful for man to utter. He had been shown what abundance of blessing the Lord is willing to bestow upon those who love his service and keep his commandments. He knew what exalted privileges belong to the obedient children of God, and he earnestly desired that they might have the glorious promises fulfilled in their experience. Amid the darkness of error, the delusions of Satan, the opposition of enemies, the trial and the conflict with principalities and powers, they were to be children of light. He opens before them in the most comprehensive language, the marvelous knowledge and power that they might possess as sons and daughters of the Most High. It was theirs to “be strengthened with might by His spirit in the inner man,” to be “rooted and grounded in love,” to “comprehend what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge;” but the prayer of the apostle reaches the climax of privilege, when he prays that “ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
5 Let us dwell upon this wonderful prayer, recorded that we may understand what heights of attainment we may reach, through faith in the promises of our heavenly Father, when we fulfill his requirements. Through the merits of Christ we have access to the throne of infinite power. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” The Father gave the Spirit without measure to his Son, and we also may partake of its fullness. Jesus says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” The prayer of the apostle only reaches the exaltation of the promise.
6 How marvelous that humanity, an earthen vessel, can receive the treasure of the light and power of God; can be filled with the fullness of his grace! Jesus was anointed “with the Holy Ghost and with power,” and he “went about doing good.” This is the result of receiving the anointing of Heaven. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit you will work the works of Christ, you will seek the salvation of those around you, and “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”
7 Before his ascension, Jesus had promised the disciples that the Comforter should come. He said, “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” And on the day of Pentecost, “they were all with one accord in one place; and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” The baptism of the Holy Spirit was essential for the success of the ministry in the early gospel age; but it is no less necessary in this age when “darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.” And the Lord has promised the same quickening spiritual power to his servants in these days. “It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”
8 Let us purify our souls by obeying the truth, lifting up “holy hands, without wrath and doubting,” that we may obtain this heavenly gift, and realize, by a blessed experience, what is the meaning of the words of the apostle: “filled with all the fullness of God.” There will be no question then but that you will “do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” You will “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” knowing that “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” You must come closer to Jesus. There is a great work to be done in the world, and your influence is as far-reaching as eternity. You must be rooted and grounded in the truth. If Christ, the hope of glory, is in you, the light of Heaven will shine from you into the moral darkness of the world, and souls will be guided to the light of life. You will be a chosen vessel, through which God will make manifest the riches of his saving power. Christ will be in you “a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.” You will be daily refreshed by the streams of his salvation, and you will be a source of refreshment to those around you, for from you will “flow rivers of living water.” The beauty of holiness will be seen in your life, for the comeliness of Christ will be put upon you. You will be a light-bearer in the world. Nothing short of this will be consistent with your holy faith and exalted calling. Your example and influence must be wholly on the Lord’s side. Our Master has said that “he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”
9 A formal religion, a feeble faith, does not correspond to the truth we profess. It demands living energy and fervency of spirit. It must be heart-felt with us, if we would urge it to the hearts of others. It must be cherished with intense love, if we would have others feel the sacredness and preciousness of its claims. All who would engage in the work of saving souls, must feel their dependence on God. The gifted and eloquent, if their talents are wholly devoted to God, may be used in the greatest work that ever engaged the powers of man; but those of less ability, if they are clothed with humility, may become men of faith, and mighty in the Scriptures. He who is meek in spirit, who is purest and most child-like, will be made strong for the battle. He will “be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.” He who feels his weakness and wrestles with God, as did Jacob, and like this servant of old cries, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me,” will go forth with the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit. The atmosphere of Heaven will surround him. He will go about doing good. His influence will be a positive force acting upon others. He will be a living epistle, known and read of all men. He will know that the Captain of his salvation expects him to do his very best, and he will do it with cheerfulness.
10 There is no excuse for anyone growing weak, inefficient, and faithless. The promise is to us: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” Are there not some of us too much like the man who came to the minister, complaining that he had not been blessed, that he felt no joy; God did not answer his prayers although he had prayed again and again for a blessing. “Well,” said the minister, “let us kneel right down here and tell the Lord just how the matter stands.” After both had prayed, the minister asked him if he felt better. The man answered, “I feel no better than I did before I prayed. I did not expect to be blessed, and I am not blessed.” He had made a mockery of prayer. He did not believe the Lord would answer him, and he received just what his faith had claimed. Is it any wonder that such prayers are not answered? “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Do you consider this, when you offer up your faithless petitions? Do you stop to consider how you are dishonoring God, and impoverishing your own soul? If you could but realize the wrong you are doing, you would cease to make mockery by meaningless devotions.
11 Come to God in faith and humility. Plead with him till the break of day, if necessary, till your soul is brought into such close relationship with Jesus, that you can lay your burden at his feet, and say, “I know whom I have believed.” The Lord is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Our cold, faithless hearts may be quickened into sensibility and life, till we can pray in faith, preach in faith, and say, “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” Let us seek for the fullness of the salvation of Christ. Follow in the footsteps of the Son of God, for his promise is, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
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1 The devoted children of God are not appreciated or valued by the world. The world did not value their divine Master. The beloved disciple writes, “Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” The Son of God made himself of no reputation. He was despised and rejected of men; and the servant is not greater than his lord. But while the world casts out the names of the sons of God, if they are humbly doing their appointed work they are winning an immortal name. They are not writing on sand, as are children of this world; but their names are traced in the Lamb’s Book of Life for eternal remembrance.
2 The anxiety of the children of God is not that they may be highly esteemed by those around them, to have titles of honor and the praise of men; but that they may stand approved before Heaven, and be well pleasing to the Father and the Son. Their desire is to crowd all the good works possible, into their lives, to be a savor of Christ, to represent his character to the world, and thus honor and glorify the God of Heaven.
3 They are not unhappy because they are called upon to deny self and to work the works of Christ. They realize that the less of selfishness there is in the life, the more the joy of Heaven flows in. The Saviour prayed that his joy might be fulfilled in his disciples. The love of Jesus, expressed in every act of our lives, while it subdues self, will not fail to bring peace and songs of praise into our hearts. The meekness, forbearance, gentleness, and goodness of the true Christian sheds a radiance over all with whom he associates.
4 Those who come into sacred relation with the God of Heaven are not left to the natural weakness and infirmity of their natures. They are invited by the Saviour: “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” The righteousness of Christ is imputed unto them, and he gives them power to become sons of God. The world loses all attraction for them; for they seek a better country, an eternal reward, a life that is to continue through never-ending ages. This is the theme of their thought and conversation. The word of God becomes exceedingly precious. They discern spiritual things. They rejoice in “that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” They long to see the King in his beauty, the angels that have never fallen, and the land of unfading bloom.
5 In the pathway of all who seek the crown, is the cross. If we would become partakers with Christ of his glory, we must be willing to share with him in his sufferings. If we would reflect his glorious image, we must be submissive to the divine moulding, we must follow in the footsteps of the Man of Calvary. God has claims upon every one of us. He created us, he redeemed us with an infinite sacrifice. He has promised the overcomer the great rewards of eternity. Why do we cling to anything that is offensive to him? Why not separate from every sin, and perfect holiness before him? The only reward for sin is unutterable woe and death; but the righteous shall be at his right hand in fullness of joy, in his presence where are pleasures forevermore.
6 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” What a promise is this, that we may share in the glory of our Redeemer! The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon the servants of God, and they are to reflect his rays. As the stars tell us that there is a great light in Heaven, with whose glory they are made bright, so Christians are to make it manifest that there is a God on the throne of the universe whose character is worthy of praise and imitation. As Christ is pure in his sphere, so man may be pure in his sphere. Those who have, by beholding, become changed into the moral image of Christ, will put on immortality and incorruption at his appearing, and will be caught up to be forever with the Lord.
7 All Heaven is interested in our salvation. The angels of God are walking up and down the streets of these cities, and marking the deeds of men. They record in the books of God’s remembrance the words of faith, the acts of love, the humility of spirit; and in the day when every man’s work shall be tried of what sort it is, the work of the humble follower of Christ will stand the test, and will receive the commendation of Heaven. “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
8 We are too faithless. We do not take the promises of God, and drink in their rich meaning. We let doubt shut out the consolation of the assurances of God. Suppose that a man in this kingdom were condemned to death, but before the sentence was executed, a noble, who was able to free him, had compassion upon him, and he said, “I will die in his stead,” and the fetters were removed, the prisoner went free, while the noble died. What gratitude would awaken in the doomed man’s heart! He would never forget his deliverer. The deed of the noble would be heralded to all parts of the world. This is what Jesus, the prince of Heaven, has done for us. When we were under the condemnation of death he came to rescue us, to set us free from the bondage of Satan, and to deliver us from everlasting death. With his own precious blood he paid the penalty of our transgression. Does not gratitude awaken in your hearts for this wonderful love? Is it not your determination to yield all you have and are to the service of such a Saviour? Will you not become a laborer together with God, seeking the salvation of those for whom Christ died?
9 You will lose nothing by connecting with the King of the universe. He “is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” He will welcome you to the home of the blest. There you will see that “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” What greater evidence could we ask of the love of God than he has given? Let us dwell upon his rich promises, till our hearts are melted into tenderness and devotion.
10 Jesus invites you, in words that touch the heart with their compassionate love and pity. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Have you experienced this blessed rest, or do you slight this invitation to make a confidant of Jesus? Do you pour out your trials and grievances into human ears? Do you go for help to those who cannot give you rest, and neglect the loving call of the mighty Saviour? Have faith in God. Believe in the precious promises. Go to Jesus in child-like simplicity, and say: “Lord, I have borne these burdens as long as I can, and now I lay them upon the Burden-bearer. Do not gather them up again, but leave them all with Jesus. Go away free, for Jesus has set you free. He said, “I will give you rest.” Take him at his word. Instead of your own galling yoke of care, wear the yoke of Christ. He says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Learn of him; for he is “meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Fix your eyes upon Jesus. He is the light of the world, and he declares, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
11 You can show to the world that there is power in the religion of Christ. Jesus will help those who seek him with all their hearts, to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. When you follow the light, walking in the path of truth, you will reflect the rays of glory, and be like a city set upon a hill that cannot be hid. When the books of remembrance are opened, your words, your deeds of love, will be acceptable before God; your robes, washed in the blood of the Lamb, will be spotless; the righteousness of Christ will be put upon you, and you will be given a new, an immortal name.
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1 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
2 We are not charged with the task of exalting ourselves. We need not labor for the highest place in the estimation of others, or seek supremacy for our opinions in the counsels of our brethren. The task that God points out to us is that of self-humiliation. We are to “do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly” before God. We are not to encourage self-esteem and personal pride, nor to cherish the thought that we are not appreciated, and that our ability is under-estimated. It is our work to take up our duties, however lowly, and perform them with fidelity and courage, doing all things “heartily, as to the Lord.”
3 We are the property of God; and shall we not be willing to stand in the lot that he assigns us, trusting his judgment, and gratefully accepting the privilege of becoming co-laborers with him in any part of his vineyard? If we are capable of a larger service, a more important work, the Lord knows all about it, and it is his work to lift us up. How thankful we should be that we are not burdened with the responsibility of estimating our own ability, and choosing our own place and position. It is our duty to exercise the talents that God has given us, and to study to show ourselves approved unto God, “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.” Every duty should be done with faithfulness and care, and the smile of God will rest upon him who is “faithful in that which is least.” Let the humble service be devoted to God, and in due time you will be made “ruler over many things.” Give yourselves unreservedly to God, and trust in his love and wisdom to dispose of all your interests and affairs.
4 Says the apostle, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Oh that everyone who professes the name of Christ among us would heed the admonition and humble himself, take up every duty, and co-operate with Christ in the work of salvation. If this were done, we would not be complaining at the lack of spirituality, for the showers of God’s blessing would fall upon his church. All murmuring at the hardships of the way would be changed into songs of thanksgiving and praise to God; for he would lift you up according to his promise.
5 Cultivate the precious grace of humility. This will make you valuable in the sight of Heaven, for “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” Those who esteem themselves more highly than they should, make themselves a center of thought. They neglect their duty to their fellow-beings, for they do not cultivate that tender, caretaking spirit which should characterize the servant of Christ. All their care is spent upon the interests of self; but God would have us show thoughtful courtesy to others. We are not to set up our individual opinions as infallible. We are to respect the opinions of others. God would have us counsel together. We should be tractable, teachable, kind to each other, not striving which shall be esteemed as the greatest and have the highest honors.
6 Paul writes, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” It should be the constant effort of every disciple of the meek and lowly Jesus, to keep “the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” It is the desire for the exaltation of self that brings discord and dissension among brethren. If all were “kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another,” the peace of Christ would abide in our midst, and rule in our hearts.
7 Jesus, the precious Saviour, was the majesty of Heaven; but he came to our world and walked among the children of men, not as a king demanding homage, but as one whose work was to serve others. He estimated man by the price he paid for his redemption. He said, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” His constant anxiety and care was not how he could obtain the services of men, but how he could aid and bless humanity. His heart had been touched with compassion for a fallen world, and he left the heavenly courts, clothed his divinity with humanity, made himself of no reputation, “took upon him the form of a servant,” and “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” that we might be cleansed from sin, and share in his eternal glory. The cross of Christ puts to shame our selfish desires and ambitions, our strife for position and the honor of men. Jesus was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;” and shall his followers expect to be exalted and favored? Christ is our example, and he says to every one of us, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Have we learned this precious lesson in the school of Christ? If we have not, let it be our first work to seek the lowly spirit of Jesus; for we are unfit to become teachers of the truth until we have learned this first great principle of true religion: “Whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”
8 God forbid that any of us should be deceived. We must study the life of Christ, for by beholding we are to become changed. We must be like Christ or we shall never see him as he is. We must constantly abide in the Vine if we bring forth the fruits of righteousness. With living faith we must present our petitions to the compassionate Saviour, for “without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” We may lay hold on the arm of infinite strength, and draw from the source of infinite power. We must individually have more of the grace of Christ. We want to be settled, rooted and grounded in the faith. We are called upon to be bold, faithful soldiers of Jesus. We need not be weak and inefficient in the work of God. Every need has been provided for in the great gift of Heaven. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
9 There is need of elevating our thoughts to dwell upon the promises of God. There is need of encouraging our faith and hope by exercise. Lay your soul before your heavenly Father in all its weakness and want, and repeat the assurances of his word, and claim their fulfillment, not because you are worthy, but because Christ has died for you. Plead the merits of his blood and take the Lord at his word. We must learn the simple art of perfect trust; and we shall be “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” Let nothing interpose between your soul and Christ. Let no darling sin be cherished. Present to God your whole body, soul, and spirit, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable.
10 When you are tempted to give expression to doubt, restrain your words. Educate your lips to speak the praise of your Creator and Redeemer. Praise belongeth unto God, for he is full of loving-kindness and tender mercy. Let not coldness and ingratitude bind your souls and keep you away from Christ, who is your only hope.
11 We must not allow self so much time and attention. We do not study the life of our Example as we should. His life was one of continual self-denial, sacrifice, and cross-bearing, and shall we, the subjects of his grace, the objects of his great love, be found depressed and discouraged, because we have trials to meet, and sacrifices to make? Shall we go mourning and complaining because the road that leads to Heaven and eternal life, is strait and narrow? Jesus trod every step of the way before us, and shall we not gladly take up the cross, and say, “I will follow thee, my Saviour, wheresoe’er thou leadest me”?
12 If we were all walking in the footsteps of the Man of Calvary, our proud hearts would be subdued by the grace of Christ. There would be no contention existing among the brethren, but in lowliness of mind each would esteem others better than himself. Your love for one another would be expressed in words and acts of tenderness, and this cold hard-heartedness would be melted away by the love of Jesus. You would obey the injunction of the apostle, when he says, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”
13 We are to be growing Christians, growing up in “the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” We are to be living stones in the temple of God; and now we must endure the hewing, the chiseling, the squaring of the Master-builder, until all roughness is removed, and our characters are polished and perfected for the heavenly building. There are many who claim to believe the truth, who are content with their defects of character. They do not make efforts to reform, or seek earnestly for a fitness to stand before God; but everyone who enters Heaven will enter as a conqueror, and will wave the palm branch of victory. There is no need of deficiency. Christ is a perfect Saviour, and those who seek him with their whole heart, will find that where sin abounded, grace shall much more abound. There is no reason why we should not be overcomers. God has “given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” We are not to live like the world. We must show that the grace of Christ has a sanctifying influence upon our lives. Our natural appetites and passions must be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. We must reveal Christ in our daily words and actions. He bore reproach, insult, shame, mockery. He was rejected, maligned, crucified, that we might reflect his image, and be made perfect in his righteousness. When we fail to meditate upon the example of Christ, we do not comprehend its meaning, and we become sensitive, and unwilling to endure hardness. We shrink from becoming partakers of his sufferings. We lose sight of the cross of Calvary, while self attracts our attention, and claims our care and affection.
14 Let us change our course of action. God’s standard must be our standard, or we shall fail of everlasting life. We are still in the precious hours of probation, “and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins.” He worked out the wonderful plan of redemption, and united fallen and finite man with the holy and infinite God. The world that Satan had claimed and ruled over with cruel tyranny, the Son of God, by one vast achievement, encircled in his love, and connected again with the throne of Jehovah. Cherubim and seraphim, and the unnumbered hosts of Heaven, sang anthems of praise to God and to the Lamb, when this triumph was assured. The worlds rejoiced that the way of salvation had been opened for rebellious man, and that earth would be redeemed from the curse of sin; and shall we, who are the objects of his unmerited favor, be unappreciative of the love of God? How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?
15 We are invited to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” We have an advocate with the Father, who pleads in our behalf with prevailing power. Christ’s intercession is that of a pierced and broken body. It is the intercession of a spotless and victorious life, the pleading of all the wounds of Calvary. It is the intercession of our great High Priest, who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, who was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
16 Let us then put away all self-exaltation. As long as the cross of Calvary stands as a monument of the cost of our salvation, as a reminder of the amazing love and humiliation of the King of glory, let us walk in its shadow, and seek to reflect the character of our Redeemer. Go to him as a perfect Saviour, for he has said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” There is no reason why we should seek to exalt ourselves, for we are full of weakness. As you realize this, trust in him whose grace is sufficient for you, for “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” Therefore “humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up;” for “whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” Let self and self-interest be lost in the great themes of redemption. “Show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The Lord says, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.”
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1 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
2 The conditions of obtaining mercy of God are simple and just and reasonable. The Lord does not require us to do some grievous thing, in order that we may have the forgiveness of sin. We need not take long and wearisome pilgrimages, or perform painful penances to commend our souls to the God of Heaven, or to expiate our transgression; but he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy. This is a precious promise given to fallen man to encourage him to trust in the God of love, and to seek for eternal life in his kingdom.
3 We read that Daniel, the prophet of God, was a man “greatly beloved” of Heaven. He held a high position in the courts of Babylon, and served and honored God alike in prosperity or trial; and yet he humbled himself and confessed his sin, and the sin of his people. With deep sorrow of heart he acknowledged: “We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments; neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.”
4 Daniel did not seek to excuse himself or his people before God; but in humility and contrition of soul he confessed the full extent and demerit of their transgressions, and vindicated God’s dealings as just toward a nation that had set at naught his requirements and would not profit by his entreaties.
5 There is great need today of just such sincere heart-felt repentance and confession. Those who have not humbled their souls before God in acknowledging their guilt, have not yet fulfilled the first condition of acceptance. If we have not experienced that repentance not to be repented of, and have not confessed our sin with true humiliation of soul and brokenness of spirit, abhorring our iniquity, we have never sought truly for the forgiveness of sin; and if we have never sought, we have never found the peace of God. The only reason why we may not have remission of sins that are past, is that we are not willing to humble our proud hearts, and comply with the conditions of the word of truth. There is explicit instruction given concerning this matter. Confession of sin, whether public or private, should be heart-felt and freely expressed. It is not to be urged from the sinner. It is not to be made in a flippant and careless way, or forced from those who have no realizing sense of the abhorrent character of sin. The confession that is mingled with tears and sorrow, that is the outpouring of the inmost soul, finds its way to the God of infinite pity. Says the psalmist, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
6 There are too many confessions like Pharaoh when he was suffering the judgments of God. He acknowledged his sin, to escape further punishment, but returned to his defiance of Heaven as soon as the plagues were stayed. Balaam’s confession was of a similar character. Terrified by the angel standing in his pathway with drawn sword, he acknowledged his guilt, lest he should lose his life. There was no genuine repentance for sin, no contrition, no conversion of purpose, no abhorrence of evil, and no worth or virtue in his confession. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, returned to the priests, exclaiming, “I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.” But his confession was not of such a character as would commend him to the mercy of God. It was forced from his guilty soul by an awful sense of condemnation, and a fearful looking for of judgment. The consequences that were to result to him, drew forth this acknowledgement of his great sin. There was no deep, heart-breaking grief in his soul that he had delivered the Son of God to be mocked, scourged, and crucified, that he had betrayed the holy One of Israel into the hands of wicked and unscrupulous men. His confession was only prompted by a selfish and darkened heart.
7 After Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, they were filled with a sense of shame and terror. At first their only thought was, how to excuse their sin before God, and escape the dreaded sentence of death. When the Lord inquired concerning their sin, Adam replied, laying the guilt partly upon God, and partly upon his companion: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” The woman put the blame upon the serpent, saying, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Why did you make the serpent? Why did you suffer him to come into Eden? These were the questions implied in her excuse for her sin, thus charging God with the responsibility of their fall. The spirit of self-justification originated in the father of lies, and has been exhibited by all the sons and daughters of Adam. Confessions of this order are not inspired by the divine Spirit, and will not be acceptable before Heaven. True repentance will lead men to bear their guilt themselves, and acknowledge it without deception or hypocrisy. Like the poor publican, not lifting up so much as their eyes unto heaven, they will smite upon their breast and cry, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” and those who do acknowledge their guilt, will be justified; for Jesus will plead his blood in behalf of the repentant soul.
8 It is no degradation for man to bow down before his Maker and confess his sins and plead for forgiveness through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. It is noble to acknowledge your wrong before Him whom you have wounded by transgression and rebellion. It lifts you up before men and angels, for “he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” But he who kneels before fallen man, and opens in confession the secret thoughts and imaginations of his heart, is dishonoring himself by debasing his manhood, and degrading every noble instinct of his soul. In unfolding the sins of his life to a priest corrupted with wine and licentiousness, his standard of character is lowered, and he is defiled in consequence. His thought of God is degraded to the likeness of sinful humanity; for the priest stands as a representative of God. It is this degrading confession of man to fallen man, that accounts for much of the increasing evil which is defiling the world, and fitting it for the final destruction.
9 There are confessions that the Lord has bidden us to make to one another, but they are of an entirely different order. If you have wronged your brother by word or deed, you are to “first be reconciled to thy brother,” before your worship will be acceptable to Heaven. Says the apostle: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” This scripture has been interpreted to sustain the practice of going to the priest for absolution, but it has no such application. Confess your sins to God who only can forgive them, and your faults one to another. If you have given offense to your friend or neighbor, you are to acknowledge your wrong, and it is his duty to freely forgive you. Then you are to seek the forgiveness of God, because the brother whom you wounded is the property of God, and in injuring him you sinned against his Creator and Redeemer. The case is not brought before the priest at all, but before the only true mediator, our great High Priest, who “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,” and who is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” and is able to cleanse from every stain of iniquity.
10 When David sinned against Uriah and his wife, he pleaded before God for forgiveness. He declares: “Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.” All wrong done to others reaches back from the injured one to God. Therefore David seeks for pardon, not from a priest, but from the Creator of man. He prays: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”
11 True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as only to be brought before God; they may be wrongs that should be confessed before individuals who have suffered injury through them; or they may be of a general kind that should be made known in the congregation of the people. But all confession should be definite, and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you have been reproved by the Spirit of God.
12 When Israel was oppressed by the Ammonites, the chosen people made a plea before God that illustrates the definite character of true confession: “And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? . . . Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods; wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. And the children of Israel said, . . . We have sinned; do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.” Then they began to act in harmony with their confessions and prayers. “They put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord.” And the Lord’s great heart of love was grieved, “was grieved for the misery of Israel.”
13 Confession will not be acceptable to God without sincere repentance and reformation. There must be decided changes in the life; everything offensive to God must be put away. This will be the result of genuine sorrow for sin. Says Paul, speaking of the work of repentance: “Ye sorrowed after a godly sort; what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
14 In the days of Samuel, the Israelites wandered from God. They were suffering the consequences of sin, for they had lost their faith in God, lost their discernment of his power and wisdom to rule the nation, lost their confidence in his ability to defend and vindicate his cause. They turned from the great Ruler of the universe, and desired to be governed as were the nations around them. Before they found peace they made this definite confession: “We have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.” The very sin of which they were convicted, had to be confessed. Their ingratitude pressed their souls and severed them from God.
15 When sin has deadened the moral perceptions, the wrong-doer does not discern the defects of his character, nor realize the enormity of the evil he has committed; and unless he yields to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, he remains in partial blindness to his sin. His confessions are not sincere and in earnest. To every acknowledgment of his guilt, he adds an apology in excuse of his course, declaring that, if it had not been for certain circumstances, he would not have done this or that, for which he is reproved. But the examples in God’s word of genuine repentance and humiliation reveal a spirit of confession in which there is no excuse for sin, nor attempts at self-justification.
16 Paul did not seek to shield himself; he paints his sin in the darkest shades, aggravating rather than lessening his guilt. He said: “Many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.” He did not hesitate to declare that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
17 The humble and broken heart, subdued by genuine repentance, will appreciate something of the love of God, and the cost of Calvary; and as a son confesses to a loving father, so will the truly penitent bring all his sins before God. And it is written, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
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1 The apostle Paul wrote: “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me;” and Jesus, instructing his disciples, said: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
2 It is impossible for any of us to have a practical knowledge of this union with Christ, without the constant exercise of faith. Faith binds our souls to him, and makes us partakers of the divine nature. Our spiritual growth, our peace, our steadfastness, our constant obedience to the words of Christ, all depend upon the degree of faith we have in God. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him;” for we are powerless to do anything from acceptable motives, except through the grace of Christ, and this grace can be supplied only through the channel of faith, that opens the way of direct communication between our souls and God. In accordance with our faith, we are enabled to overcome principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Selfishness will not be permitted to flourish in the heart that is exercising living faith. Sin will not be indulged where faith beholds God and angels watching the development of character, and weighing moral worth. Eternal life, the gift of God through Jesus Christ, is a precious reality, and sin becomes exceeding sinful and abhorrent. Faith beholds “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,” and realizes something of the cost of Calvary.
3 Jesus came into the world to save sinners, not in their sins but from their sins, and to sanctify them through the truth; and in order that he may become a perfect Saviour to us, we must enter into union with him by a personal act of faith. Christ has chosen us, we have chosen him, and by this choice we become united to him, and are to live from henceforth, not unto ourselves, but unto him who has died for us. But this union can only be preserved by constant watchfulness, lest we fall into temptation, and make a different choice; for we are free always to take another master if we so desire. Union with Christ means an unfailing preference for him in every act and thought of our lives. In every part of the work there must be harmony between the Saviour and the one to be saved. Faith will see love in every requirement of God, and will submit to the will of Heaven, knowing that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” We must have this perfect trust, if we become united with Christ, and share at last with him in his glory.
4 Christ will be constantly laboring for your salvation. Angels will be commissioned to guard you from the devices of the adversary, and to minister to all your needs. And the object of all this abundant solicitude must, on his part, depart from all iniquity, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. He must watch and pray. He must fight the good fight of faith, resist the devil that he may flee from him, and endure hardness as a good soldier of the cross of Christ. He has to wage a constant conflict with unseen foes, and only through Christ can he come off victorious. He must cultivate courage to surmount the difficulties obstructing his pathway, and build up a character of integrity and virtue, representing to the world the character of his Redeemer.
5 “Abide in me,” are words of great significance. Abiding in Christ means a living, earnest, refreshing faith that works by love and purifies the soul. It means a constant receiving of the Spirit of Christ, a life of unreserved surrender to his service. Where this union exists good works will appear. The life of the vine will manifest itself in fragrant fruit on the branches. The continual supply of the grace of Christ will bless you and make you a blessing, till you can say with Paul, “ I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,”
6 The sacred union with Christ will unite the brethren in the most endearing bonds of Christian fellowship. Their hearts will be touched with divine compassion one for another. “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” Coldness, variance, strife, is entirely out of place among the disciples of Christ. They have accepted the one faith. They have joined to serve the one Lord, to endure in the same warfare, to strive for the same object, and to triumph in the same cause. They have been bought with the same precious blood, and have gone forth to preach the same message of salvation; and how out of harmony with these facts is disunion and contention among brethren. “This is my commandment,” said Jesus, “that ye love one another, as I have loved you.”
7 Those who are constantly drawing strength from Christ will possess his Spirit. They will not be careless in word or deportment. An abiding sense of how much their salvation has cost in the sacrifice of the beloved Son of God, will rest upon their souls. Like a fresh and vivid transaction, the scenes of Calvary will present themselves to their minds, and their hearts will be subdued and made tender by this wonderful manifestation of the love of Christ to them. They will look upon others as the purchase of his precious blood, and those who are united with him will seem noble, and elevated, and sacred, because of this connection. The death of Christ on Calvary should lead us to estimate souls as he did. His love has magnified the value of every man, woman, and child. And if “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life,” should we be indifferent to others, and despise those whom God has valued at such an infinite price? Without the endowment of the holy Spirit of God, we are not fitted to engage in the great and solemn work for this time. When we have the love for souls that Christ had, we shall go forth with weeping, we shall become laborers together with God, we shall gather with Christ, and bear precious fruit unto everlasting life. When we consider that all Heaven is interested in the work of salvation, should we not seek by meditation and prayer to appreciate more intelligently the sacred character of our trusts? How can we, poor, fallible, fallen creatures, undertake this work without the special help and enlightenment of the Spirit of God?
8 Let God be your counselor. Let the heart in humility and meekness ascend to God in fervent, effectual prayer for spiritual discernment, for breadth of mind, and singleness of purpose to glorify God and save man. Let prayer constantly go forth from unfeigned lips for the presence of Christ, for the illumination of his Spirit, that the atmosphere of Heaven may surround you, and that self and selfish purposes may not have their way in your life. The Lord will draw nigh to those who sincerely desire to draw nigh to him.
9 We are living in a solemn day, and we are exhorted to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” Let every soul remember that he is in the presence of the Judge of all the earth, and that “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Our words, our plans, our meditations, the motives of our hearts, are read as an open book. The case of every individual worker is registered in Heaven. Let us consider this. Do we want our light and frivolous remarks heard in the presence of angels and before God? Do we want the words of pride, that exhibit self, left on the books to condemn us in the Judgment? Do we want our plans for self-exaltation written in the unerring records? Let us ever remember that the Lord, who gave his life for us, is watching with intense interest our course of life, and that angels are witnessing our ways. Seek that singleness of purpose that will lead us to glorify God, and not self. Oh, that each might say when tempted, as did our Lord, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” We want to uproot from our hearts every plant that our heavenly Father has not planted, that we may not be led to utter selfish and perverse things. Oh, for more of Christ, and less of self! Oh, that the workers might be clothed with the armor of his righteousness, that they might be constantly drawing from the well of salvation, partaking of the divine nature, that they might go forth spiritual laborers, with self lost in our divine Lord.
10 Our standard is altogether too low. We must put away these cheap ideas of what is essential to make us laborers in the cause of Christ. We must have altogether higher views of the elevated character of our work. We want to work in the spirit in which Christ labored. We want to represent him to the world. We need to greatly humble our souls before God by confessing and forsaking our sins.
11 When Jesus was teaching his disciples, as they gathered closely about him, there was a moment’s interruption, and one said unto him: “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Here is the relationship that exists between Christ and his followers. We occupy this exalted position, if we are indeed doing the will of God. We are to consider ourselves as constituting the family of Christ, and we are to follow him as dear children. Adopted into the household of God, shall we not honor our Father and our kindred? We have no excuse to plead, for through Jesus we may command all power in Heaven and earth that we may walk worthy of our high calling.
12 Satan will be constantly seeking to belittle our conception or our privileges and responsibilities. He would have us regard the work of Christ as a commonplace work, and do it listlessly and negligently. He would keep us indifferent to the exalted and sacred positions to be attained in Christian life and character; but we must bruise him under our feet. We must establish an unyielding enmity between our souls and our foe; but we must open our hearts to the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. We want Satan’s darkness to be shut out, and the light of Heaven to flow in. We want to become so sensitive to holy influences, that the lightest whisper of Jesus will move our souls, till he is in us, and we in him, living by the faith of the Son of God.
13 We need to be refined, cleansed from all earthliness, till we reflect the image of our Saviour, and become “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Then we shall delight to do the will of God, and Christ can own us before the Father and before the holy angels as those who abide in him, and he will not be ashamed to call us brethren. But we shall not boast of our holiness. As we have clearer views of Christ’s spotless and infinite purity, we shall feel as did Daniel, when he beheld the glory of the Lord, and said, “My comeliness was turned in me into corruption.” We cannot say, “I am sinless,” till this vile body is changed and fashioned like unto His glorious body. But if we constantly seek to follow Jesus, the blessed hope is ours of standing before the throne of God without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; complete in Christ, robed in his righteousness and perfection.
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1 The tendency of the popular religious teaching of the day is to make the Christian’s pathway as easy and attractive as possible. There is a great deal said concerning faith, but the necessity of performing the sacred obligations set forth in the word of God, the necessity of living consistent, godly lives, of being workers together with God, of denying self, of coming out from the world and separating from its fashions and follies, is not presented as it should be presented, from the pulpits of the land. “Believe, only believe,” is the burden of the instruction from the sacred desk. Repentance, confession, and thorough reformation in life and character are not dwelt on, or required from those who would take part in the privileges of church-fellowship. The line of distinction between the church and the world has become less positive, because the great standard of righteousness has not been the standard by which the faith of men and women was tested and proven. “Only believe” is echoed by thousands who catch up the words parrot-fashion, and repeat them with no sense of their importance or significance. Says the prophet, “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
2 Many of these religious teachers have developed characters in harmony with their shallow appreciation of divine truth. It has been agreeable to their carnal hearts to be released from all responsibility and obligation. They did not desire the inconvenience of denying self, of taking up the warfare against besetting sins, and of correcting the defects that marred their characters. They have persuaded themselves that Christ has relieved them from the duty of purifying themselves even as he is pure. They declare that Christ has done all, that men have nothing to do but to believe, that good works are impossible and unnecessary. Such souls are deceived themselves and are agents used of Satan to deceive others. They do not believe in Jesus. If they had a connection with him, they would know that he is not the minister of sin. Those who have faith in the Son of God make manifest what is the character of his mission, by lives of devotion, integrity, and self-sacrifice, and prove to the world that he came, not to save men in their sins, but from their sins. He “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
3 The apostle Paul realized what his words meant when he said, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” He knew it meant the surrender of every power of his being to the service of God. It meant an entire renouncing of the world, the flesh, and the devil. It meant that he must follow in the blood-stained path of the Man of Calvary, and walk even as he walked.
4 How different is the faith that is presented to the world today as essential to salvation. It has no vitality, no reality. It does not unite the believers as branches to the living Vine. It is not the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. It is a formal, nominal acceptance of a popular story, and has about as much efficacy as the faith that accepted Abraham Lincoln as a good administrator of governmental affairs. Genuine faith will show definite results in the character, and will exert a controlling influence over the thoughts of the heart, and the affairs of the life. It will lead its possessor to practice the principles of his belief. Says Jesus, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.” “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.” Says the apostle, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” It is the doing of the words and works of Christ that testifies to the saving qualities of your faith.
5 The law of God is the great standard of righteousness, and it will measure every man’s profession and progress. It is a mirror which discovers the defects of our characters, and shows us the requirements of God. It is holy and just and good. Says the wise man, “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” When Jesus was asked by the lawyer, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? he said unto him, What saith the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.”
6 The law of God condemns all selfishness, all pride of heart, every species of dishonesty, every secret or open transgression. The natural heart is not inclined to love its precepts, or obey its requirements. “It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” But genuine faith in Christ converts the heart, works a change in its attitude to the law, until it delights in the law of God. The man who manifests enmity to the law has not submitted to the converting power of God. It is the keeping of the commandments that proves the sincerity of our professions of love. Says John, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous.” Satan is engaged in leading men to pervert the plain meaning of God’s word. He desires that the world should have no clear idea in regard to the plan of salvation. He well knows that the object of Christ’s life of obedience, the object of his suffering, trial, and death upon the cross, was to magnify the divine law, to become a substitute for guilty man, that he might have remission for sins that are past, and grace for future obedience; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in him — and he be transformed and fitted for the heavenly courts. Satan knows that no transgressor of the divine law will ever enter the kingdom of Heaven, and to rob God of the devotion and service of man, to thwart the plan of salvation, and work the ruin of those for whom Christ died, is the motive that actuates his warfare against the law of Heaven. He caused the fall of the holy pair in Eden by leading them to lightly esteem the commandment of God, to think his requirements unjust, and unreasonable, that they were not binding, and that their transgression would not be visited, as God had said, with death.
7 The law of God is the foundation of his Government in Heaven and in earth, and as long as the follower of Jesus imitates his Lord by exalting the divine precepts in word and life, Satan has no power to deceive or mislead his soul.
8 The fatal deception of the religious world is the old disregard for the claims of the law of God. The desire for an easy religion that requires no striving, no self-denial, no divorce from the follies of the world, has made the doctrine of faith, and faith only, a popular doctrine; but we must sound a note of warning. What saith the word of God? Says the apostle James, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? . . . Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
9 The testimony of the word of God is against this ensnaring doctrine of faith without works. It is not faith that claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the conditions upon which mercy is to be granted; it is presumption; for genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures.
10 The Jews had faith of a similar character to that of many professed Christians today. They believed the prophecies predicting the advent of Messiah; but their faith was not of that spiritual nature which discerned in the Son of God the Saviour of their expectations. They could not accept the work of God for their time, and they rejected the truth because their faith did not see the relation of the shadow to the substance. They clung tenaciously to the offering of their sacrifices, to the rites of the church and the traditions of the fathers; but they refused the Lamb of God, the great antitype of all the services of the past. They were very zealous for the observance of form, and claimed to trust in Moses and the prophets; but he who had inspired the words of the Scriptures, and whose life was the fulfillment of their prophecies, was a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. He did not meet their ideal of what the coming One should be. They had imagined a Messiah whose power and majesty would gratify the pride of their carnal hearts, and exalt them to a position of supreme power among the nations. When Jesus unfolded to them the character of his kingdom, and what his disciples must possess in order to be elect, and favored of God, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?”
11 The Saviour was invested with the credentials of Heaven. The word of God sustained his claims. His miracles, his holy character, his power over men and devils, all spoke conviction to the hearts of his hearers; but they refused him. He came in accordance with the prophecies they professed to believe, but he was “despised and rejected of men,” as the prophets had foretold he would be.
12 The Jews could not give up their dreams of a great Prince who would rule all nations. They could not relinquish their hopes of temporal power and glory to take up with the Man of Sorrows, to follow in his steps of self-denial and purity. They loved darkness rather than light and the errors they loved wrought out their destruction.
13 There is no need of any soul being deceived. The teaching of priest and rabbi cannot make the word of God of no authority. It is the duty of each man to know what the Scriptures teach and to take his position in harmony with the truth. The Lord has commanded us to “search the Scriptures.” We are instructed to “prove all things,” to “hold fast that which is good.” God has given us an unfailing test to apply to every man’s life and doctrine. Says the prophet, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” We are not to live by the doctrines of men, not by a fragment, or a perversion of the truth; but by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
14 Genuine faith will lead men to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. They will not follow the course of this world. The Spirit and works of Christ will be manifested in their lives and the word of God will be made the rule of their action. They will do and teach the commandments of God, and will walk humbly before men and angels. They will discern the work of God in the earth, and prejudice will not be permitted to close their hearts against the truth for their time. They will strive to enter in at the strait gate, they will take the narrow way and follow the Redeemer of the world.
15 Those who are not “doers of the word” may boast of their empty faith. They may boast of their holiness, while trampling on the law of God; but Jesus says to them, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” and the final sentence will come, “I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” For “faith without works is dead.”
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1 Eli was priest and judge in Israel. He held the highest and most responsible positions among the people of God. He had been appointed to govern the nation, and to minister in their behalf before God. As a man divinely chosen for the sacred duties of the priesthood, and set over the land as the highest judicial authority, he was looked up to as an example, and he wielded a great influence over the tribes of Israel. But although Eli was appointed to govern the people, he did not control his own family, or rule his own household. Eli was an indulgent father. Loving peace and ease, he did not exercise his authority to correct the evil habits and passions of his children. Rather than contend with them or punish them, he would submit to their will, and give them their own way. Instead of regarding the education of his sons as one of the most important of his responsibilities, he treated the matter as of little consequence. The development of their character was of the greatest importance, and God held Eli accountable for the way in which he allowed his sons to exercise the evil propensities of their nature. The priest and judge of Israel had not been left in darkness as to the duty of the father to restrain and govern the children that God had given to his care. But Eli shrank from this duty, because it involved crossing the will of his sons, and would make it necessary to punish and deny them. Without weighing the terrible consequences that would follow his course, Eli indulged his children in whatever they desired, and neglected the solemn and sacred work of fitting them for the service of God, and the duties of life.
2 The course of Abraham is a complete contrast to that of Eli. “I know him,” said the Searcher of hearts, “that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” There would be no betraying of his sacred trust; no sinful neglect to restrain the evil propensities of his children; no weak, unwise, indulgent favoritism; no yielding of his conviction of duty to the clamors of affection. Abraham’s love for his children would lead him to correct his household, at whatever cost, for the good of their souls, and the honor of God. He was diligent in the cultivation of home religion, for he well knew that the blessing of Heaven rested on the habitation of the righteous. He determined that the law of God should be kept in his household, and he was called the “friend of God” and honored by God as the “father of the faithful.”
3 Had Eli but followed his example, great and disastrous evils would have been avoided, and the blessing of God would have rested upon him and his house forever. God had said of Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him” “to do justice and judgment.” But Eli allowed his children to control him. The family government was reversed. The father became subject to the children. There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the youth to have their own way. When parents regard every wish of their offspring, and indulge them in what they know is not for their good, the children soon lose all respect for their parents, all regard for the authority of God or man, and they are led captive at the will of Satan. Many an indulgent father or mother has reaped a harvest of sorrow from their own loose and careless government of their households, and they have regretted, too late, that they did not restrain their children in their youth.
4 Eli failed where many are failing today. He neglected to honor God in his family life, to teach his sons to reverence and obey God; and the consequence of this neglect was apparent throughout all the life of his sons. When the work of disciplining and training the children is not properly done, it testifies against the parents in the defective character of their sons and daughters, and will produce evil results, not only in their lives, but in the lives of others. The influence of an ill-regulated family is widespread and disastrous to all society. It accumulates in a tide of evil that affects families, communities, and governments.
5 Because of Eli’s position, his influence was more extended than if he had been an ordinary man. His family life was imitated throughout Israel. The baneful results of his negligent, ease-loving ways were seen in the families that surrounded him. His evil ways were reflected in thousands of homes that were moulded by his example. If children are indulged in evil practices, while the parents make a profession of religion, the truth of God is brought into reproach. The character formed under the influence of the home is the best testimony to its Christianity. Actions speak louder than the most positive profession of godliness. If professors of religion, instead of putting forth earnest, persistent, and painstaking effort to bring up a well-ordered household as a witness to the benefits of faith in God, are lax in their government, sparing of themselves, and indulgent to the evil desires of their children, they are doing as did Eli, and are bringing disgrace on the cause of Christ, and ruin upon themselves and their households.
6 Eli did not manage his household according to God’s rules for family government. He followed his own judgment. He allowed Satan to take the reins in his own hands; and Eli found, when too late, that his children had been hurried to destruction. The favor of God was removed from his house and the curse of transgression was apparent in the corruption and evil that marked the course of his sons. They had no proper appreciation of the character of God or of the sacredness of his law. His service was to them a common thing. From childhood they had been accustomed to the sanctuary and its service, but instead of growing in reverence, they had lost all sense of its holiness and significance. The course of Eli in bringing up his children had resulted in this state of mind in his sons. The father had not corrected the irreverence for his authority, had not checked their disrespect for the solemn services of the sanctuary; and when they reached manhood, they were full of the deadly fruits of skepticism and rebellion.
7 Though wholly unfit for the office, they were placed as priests in the sanctuary to minister before God. The Lord had given the most specific directions in regard to offering sacrifices; but these wicked men had carried their disregard of authority into the service of God, and they did not give attention to the law of the offerings, which were to be made in the most solemn manner. The sins of the people were transferred by figure to the sacrifice, which represented Christ, the Lamb of God that was to die for the sins of the world. The priests were commanded to eat in the tabernacle of certain portions of the peace-offering. By partaking of the sacrifice, and bearing their sins before God, they represented the work that Christ would do for us in the heavenly sanctuary, by bearing our sins in his own body. The sons of Eli, instead of feeling the great solemnity of this service, only thought how they could gratify appetite, and they demanded of the people whatever part they desired, even taking by violence the portion that was to be consumed upon the altar of sacrifice as a type of the great sacrifice of the Son of God on Calvary. This irreverence on the part of the priests soon robbed the offerings of their holy and solemn significance, and the people “abhorred the offering of the Lord.” The great antitypical sacrifice to which they were to look forward, was no longer a thing of meaning to them, “wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord.”
8 Eli made a great mistake in permitting his sons to minister in holy office. By excusing their course, on one pretext and another, he became blinded to their sins, but at last they reached a pass when he could no longer hide his eyes from the crimes of his sons. The people complained of their violent deeds, and he was grieved and perplexed. The indulgent father had never decidedly commanded their obedience, and as they grew up, they cast off all restraint. They had been brought up to think of no one but themselves, and now they cared for no one else. They saw the grief of their father, but their hard hearts were not touched. They heard his mild admonitions, but they were not impressed, nor would they change their evil course though warned of the consequences of their sin.
9 The child Samuel had been brought to Eli by the godly Hannah. He was to be devoted to the services of the sanctuary, and the responsibility of his education must now rest upon the aged priest. The sons of Eli, who should have been the instructors of the pious child, were wholly unfit for such a privilege. He had to be separated from their company, lest their evil influence should pollute his mind. But although Eli feared for their influence over Samuel, yet as a judge of Israel, he still sustained his wicked sons in the most sacred positions of trust. He permitted them to mingle their corruption with the holy service of God, and to inflict injury on the cause of truth, that years could not efface. Eli’s sons were called the sons of Belial, for they knew not God. They were wholly devoted to the service of Satan; and yet because they were his sons, Eli did not deal with them as transgressors, but permitted them to dishonor God, and injure his people. But when the judge of Israel neglected his work, God took the matter in hand.
10 “And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever; but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. . . And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever.”
11 God held Eli responsible for the actions of his sons, and charged him with honoring his sons above the Lord. Eli had permitted the offering appointed of God, as a blessing to Israel, to be made a thing of abhorrence, rather than bring his sons to shame for their impious and abominable practices. Those who follow their own inclination in blind affection for their children, indulging them in the gratifications of their selfish desires, and do not bring to bear the authority of God to rebuke sin and correct evil, which is corrupting other souls, make it manifest that they are honoring their wicked children more than they honor God. They are more anxious to shield their reputation than to glorify God; more desirous to please their children than to please God and to keep his service from every appearance of evil.
12 The promise had been made that the house of Aaron should walk before God forever; but these promises had been made on condition that they devoted themselves to the work of the sanctuary with singleness of heart, and honored God in all their ways, not serving self, or following their own perverse inclinations. Eli and his sons had been tested, and the Lord found them wholly unworthy of the exalted position of priests in his service. And God declared, “Be it far from me.” He could not carry out the good that he had meant to do them, because they failed to do their part. Long had God borne with the perverse ways of the house of Eli. He had given them space to repent, but they repented not, and the delayed sentence was finally executed. They were made contemptible before the people they had oppressed, and in one day, Eli and his sons died before the Lord; and the priesthood was taken from the family of Eli.
13 The only way to be truly great is to be truly good. Those who are worthy will be trusted with important work, and will be placed in important positions. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Had Eli been a wise and faithful father, he would have been a wise and faithful judge and priest. If he had restrained his sons at home, he would have restrained their evil practices in the sanctuary; and Israel would not have been corrupted by their abominations. If the sons of Eli had been dutiful sons they would have honored God and his service, and lived before him; but they dishonored their father, and brought contempt upon the service of God, and they suffered the reward of their evil; for God had said, “Them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”
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1 There are many souls who are building their hopes for eternity upon the sands of error. The word of God, “which liveth and abideth forever,” is not made the rock of their salvation; but the words of man, theories that exalt humanity and please the carnal heart, are chosen instead of the doctrines of the Bible. It is a design of Satan to allure men from the truth, by leading them to accept its counterfeit; and in the doctrine of sanctification, so prevalent among those who reject the law of God, he has accomplished his work of deception in a most delusive and enchanting way.
2 Jesus prayed that his disciples might be sanctified through the truth; and he added, “Thy word is truth.” The agent in the sanctification which our Lord desired for his followers, was the word of God. But the sanctification so popular today is independent of the truth; for men refuse to employ the word of God where it does not support their opinions and experience. Those who profess this sanctification have clothed themselves in an impregnable armor, whereby they ward off every arrow of truth that would wound their self-righteousness, and make them feel the need of a physician to heal them.
3 In the town of L. special efforts were made to arouse men to a realizing sense of the claims of the law of God. With open Bibles, the people examined the Scriptures for themselves, searching for the truth as for hid treasures. In reading the plain “thus saith the Lord,” many became interested as never before in the word of God. They saw wondrous things out of the law, and some were taking their stand to be “doers of the word.” But at this time a minister who professed sanctification, became alarmed lest some of the members of his church should see the claims of the truth, and he strove to make of none effect the commandment of God. He boastingly declared that he was sanctified, sinless, holy; and further stated that he could not sin. Says John, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law;” but this man openly avowed that no one could keep the law, and that obedience to it was not required of those who believed in Jesus. Did this sanctification stand the test of the word of truth?
4 Paul had faith in Jesus, but he did not claim that faith made the law of none effect. He says, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” When this man was invited to examine the Scripture evidences as to the requirements of God, he refused to read or to reason on the matter; but the more vehemently urged his claim to holiness and inspiration.
5 This sanctification we have no hesitancy to declare unscriptural, unsound, and presumptuous. A profession of holiness, while the law of Heaven is derided and transgressed, shows that a false standard of righteousness has taken the place of the holy precepts of God. Many who profess so great attainments in the Christian life, grow impatient and angry when the claims of God are presented, and they refuse to hear the word of truth. Says the word of God, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” If the minister at L. had had a genuine experience in the things of God, he would have manifested the meek and lowly spirit of Christ; he would have acknowledged his finite and fallible nature, and would have humbly tested his experience by the word of God. His positive utterances against the truth did much toward quieting the aroused consciences of those who were hesitating in regard to the commandment of God, and, through his influence, many souls turned back into the paths of transgression and darkness. Men are greatly influenced by what their minister says; but should we not prove the truth of their assertions by the test that God has given for this very purpose? Says the Lord: “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Our Saviour warned his followers to “beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.” We are not bidden to prove them by their fair speeches and exalted professions. They are to be judged by the word of God. The true disciples of Christ will bear the divine impress. Their teaching will be in harmony with the teaching of the Son of God. Their character will be moulded after the great pattern. What message do they bring? Does it lead you to reverence and fear God? Does it lead you to manifest your love for him by loyalty to his commandments? If they tell you that they are not concerned about teaching or observing the law, be afraid of them, even though they heal the sick and cast out devils. They are doing the very work that originated with the prince of darkness, the enemy of God. The beginning of all the sin and woe and death that have deluged our earth, was this very disregard for the plain commandment of God.
6 This doctrine of sanctification in which the law of God has no part, is not of Heaven but of Satan, who was a liar from the beginning and “abode not in the truth.” It is Satan’s policy to appear before the world in the garments of an angel of light. It is he who weaves these deceptive doctrines that our Saviour represents as “sheep’s clothing.”
7 Those who are used as agents of Satan have an appearance of sanctity; and nothing but the law of God, which is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart, can discover of what spirit they are, and in whose cause they are engaged; but why not employ this unfailing test in proving every man’s teaching and spirit. There is no need of being deceived, for the word of God is truth, and God has promised to give to those who desire truth, the Spirit of truth, that they may be guided into all truth. Let us seek earnestly for wisdom, and divine enlightenment, that we may know the truth, and be instrumental in God’s hands of rescuing men and women from the snares of the evil one.
8 In the day of God’s wrath many will discover, too late, that while professing holiness they were led into forbidden paths by not humbly obeying the commandments of Jehovah. Says Jesus: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” And the working of iniquity is the transgression of the law. John, the beloved disciple, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has given repeated tests to prove the truth of our experiences. He says: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Jesus plainly declared, “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” John continues: “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.”
9 There are many today who seek to prove that the law of God was abolished at the cross with the abolishment of the sacrificial services of the Jewish dispensation; but the words of John, penned many years this side of the crucifixion, show that the commandments of God were not done away, but are the standard of Christian character by which we are to be judged, and by which we are to fashion our lives if we would enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
10 The bitterness of spirit manifested against the law of God, by many of those who claim to be sanctified, makes it manifest that they are disloyal to God, and corrupters of the doctrine of Christ. When the binding claims of the fourth commandment are presented, they bend their utmost efforts to make of none effect the requirement of God’s law. They hold to their own tradition and opinion, no matter what may be the conclusion of the word of God. Jesus declares of this class, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
11 If we reject the word of the Bible, there is no power or manifestation that will induce us to accept the message that rebukes our sins, and would correct our cherished errors. The fault is in the rebellious heart. Said the Son of God, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” There are those who reject the testimony of Moses and the prophets, declaring that the New Testament is all that we need in this dispensation; but did not Jesus bid his disciples to “search the Scriptures”? Was it not he who declared, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them”?
12 Christ was the invisible leader of the Hebrew host in their journeyings through the wilderness. He was the founder and supporter of the Jewish rites and observances, and his words by the mouth of Moses are no less important than his words by the mouth of the beloved disciple in the last book of the New Testament. The Old Testament is a witness to the truth of Christ and the plan of salvation, and it was “written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Those who cast contempt upon the Old Testament by ignoring its study, are casting contempt on the words and teaching of Christ, and are wise above what is written.
13 We are living in the most solemn period of the world’s history. The coming of the Lord is at the doors, and the perils of the last days are all around us. Said Jesus, speaking of this very time, “There shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” And if we are wise we shall give earnest heed to this warning, and try every man’s words by the great standard of truth. Our lives must be brought into harmony with the law of God, if we would be truly sanctified. This law is to govern all intelligences in Heaven and upon earth. And when we can say from the heart, as did our divine Lord, “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart,” then we are sanctified through the truth. We have the mind that was in Christ, and by faith we have drawn vital force from the source of infinite power and purity.
14 The word of God must be interwoven with the living character of those who believe it. The only vital faith is that faith which receives and assimilates the truth till it is a part of the being, and the motive power of the life and action. Jesus is called the word of God. He accepted his Father’s law, wrought out its principles in his life, manifested its spirit, and showed its beneficent power in the heart. Says John, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” The followers of Christ must be partakers of his experience. They must assimilate the word of God. They must be changed into its likeness by the power of Christ, and reflect the divine attributes. They must eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God, or there is no life in them. The spirit and work of Christ must become the spirit and work of his disciples. This is genuine sanctification.
15 Men hear the words of Christ, but they are not doers of his words. The progressive character of the life of godliness is not agreeable to their ease-loving, selfish habits and desires. They do not partake of the broken body and shed blood of the Saviour of men. They are not willing to “crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts,” that they may be renewed in true holiness, after the image of the Son of God. The word of God that tries the hearts of men, proves them wanting. They have no part in the Saviour’s grace, no foundation for hope in his salvation. Says Jesus, “He that is of God heareth God’s words.” Those who receive the law and the testimony, and assimilate the truth of God, are partaking of the divine nature, growing up unto the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus, and the word of truth is working their sanctification. Though they make no boasting profession of holiness, but manifest a meek and quiet spirit, working the works of Christ, they will stand before the throne of God, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. They will be sanctified and glorified through obedience to the commandments of God, wrought by divine power, through the faith of the Son of God.
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1 In company with my son, W. C. White, and Miss Cecilie Dahl, I left Healdsburg, March 9, for Oakland. From Oakland we took the train for Lemoore. At Goshen Junction we parted with W. C. White, who was en route for Los Angeles. We arrived at Lemoore about eight o’clock in the evening. Brother and Sister Daniels and Brother Gray were waiting to receive us at the depot. Brother Gray conducted us to his home, where we were heartily welcomed and kindly entertained.
2 Elder Daniels has been laboring at Lemoore, and his earnest effort to preach the truth of God has been followed by most encouraging results. A good interest has been awakened in the town and vicinity to hear the reasons of our faith. The Lord has been moving upon hearts, and we rejoice that a goodly number have had the moral courage to come out and identify themselves with those who “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Twenty-nine persons have taken a decided stand for the truth and have signed the covenant. I became acquainted with several of these who have recently come to the knowledge and belief of the truth, and I feel sure that they have embraced the faith after careful and candid investigation, and through solemn and thorough conviction of its divine origin and nature. I believe they will teach others the things which they have learned.
3 If all who accept the light of truth will let their light shine by precept and example, their influence will be as far-reaching as eternity. By humbly seeking to know and do the will of God, they may be constant learners in the school of Christ, and may be continually educating others in the principles and practices of the truth. If those who espouse the cause of God will manifest the meekness and lowliness of Christ, they may bear a testimony to unbelievers that will have more weight than either sermons or arguments in its favor. The most convincing witness to the world of the worth of our faith is the exemplary conduct and character of its advocates.
4 On Sabbath morning, March 10, as we approached the house of worship we found it surrounded by the carriages of those who had come to hear the word of God. There was quite a large attendance of those who were interested in our views, and I had much freedom in speaking from Colossians 1:9-14. After the discourse we had a social meeting. Many testimonies were borne, and a good spirit characterized all that was said. A number witnessed for the first time to their belief in the present truth.
5 I spoke five times at Lemoore, to good audiences. Many who were unacquainted with the positions we hold, seemed much interested. There were in the congregation some infidels and saloon-keepers, who gave most earnest and respectful attention, and we know not but that the seeds of truth may take root and bear fruit to the glory of God in the lives of these men. It is my sincere hope and prayer that this may be so. Christ has said, “Joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Those who feel perfectly satisfied with their spiritual condition are not the ones who excite the joy of the angels. The Jews claimed to respect the law of God, but they did not keep it. Said Jesus, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” He said of the self-righteous Pharisees, “In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men;” and in this day, those who profess to be Christians and yet bear no fruit to the glory of God, denying in their works the faith they profess, are among that class who feel no want in themselves, who see no necessity of repentance, confession, or reformation in their lives. They seem in their own eyes to be righteous, and they are satisfied with their own attainments. They do not come to the great Physician, because they do not realize their need of healing. But those who come repenting of their sins, believing that Jesus is able, through the merits of his blood, to cleanse them, and make them whole, cause the angels of God to rejoice in his presence.
6 On Sabbath there was a decided movement made toward seeking God, by those who desired to draw near to him. The instruction for our day is, “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness.” This valuable treasure of righteousness and meekness will not come without sincere and earnest seeking. It is not something that will develop naturally in the human heart. There must be most diligent and persevering efforts put forth by every individual to obtain the meekness and righteousness of Christ. Says the prophet, “Seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” We sought the Lord by earnest supplication, and his Holy Spirit witnessed to the presence of God in our midst. Those who seek the Lord from the heart will certainly find him, for he is a present help in every time of need.
7 On Sunday, both morning and afternoon, I spoke to a full house. The Spirit and power of God was in the midst of us, impressing hearts with the truth. We knew that Jesus was inviting the weary and the heavy-laden to come unto him and find rest to their souls. If they would but comply with the conditions, and take his yoke, and bear his burden, and learn of him who was meek and lowly of heart, they would find his service sweet, and his paths the paths of peace. I felt anxious that all present might take the yoke of Christ, and find the peace and rest that the word can neither give nor take away. When those who have by transgressing the law forfeited all right to the favor of God, return to allegiance and keep the commandments, what but blessing and peace and rest can come to them from him who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, whose love is graciously and freely bestowed to all who turn to him to serve him with a sincere heart.
8 Before me was a class of men possessing no inferior talent; there were those who had no knowledge of God, and no faith in his Son, but I knew that Jesus was willing to receive these men, waiting to pardon their transgressions, to take their feet from the miry clay, and to place them upon the Rock of Ages. I felt an intense desire to present the truth of God’s word in such a way that they might be constrained by the love that Jesus had manifested for them to come to him in all their sinfulness and pollution, that they might be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The most sinful may be made fit for the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love him and keep his commandments. They may be cleansed by faith in his blood, sanctified through obedience to the truth, and glorified by the power of God to shine in his everlasting kingdom.
9 I had very solemn thoughts as I looked upon that assembly. I wondered how many present will hail with joy the glorious appearing of the Lord and Saviour. How many will receive the crown of life? How many will lift up their voices in glad hosannas, singing the song of Moses and the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints”? How anxious I felt for these souls, as I thought, Jesus loves them better than I do. His love is without a parallel; and if I feel grief of heart to see these souls employing their intrusted talents in dishonoring God, how must the pitying Saviour feel, who died that they might live?
10 Oh, that everyone might feel that Jesus has something in store for him vastly better than what he is choosing for himself! Would that all might realize the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the blessedness of righteousness! Would that all might see how powerless is all effort to contend against omnipotence! Man is doing the greatest injury and injustice to his own soul when he thinks and acts contrary to the mind and will of God. He is sowing to the flesh, and will of the flesh reap corruption. No real joy can be found in the path forbidden by the God who knows what is best, and who plans for the good of his creatures. The path of transgression is a path of misery and destruction, and he who walks therein is exposed to the wrath of God and the Lamb.
11 The cross of Calvary, with its suffering Victim who bore the curse for us, testifies to the love of God for the sinner; and the voice of God calls to the disobedient, “Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?” There is a fountain opened to cleanse the guilty souls of men. The merits of Jesus plead for the repentant sinner; and to all that receive the Saviour he will give power to enable them to walk in the paths of righteousness and peace.
12 The word of God is the directory to Heaven. If man will follow in the path marked out in the sacred word, he will reach the eternal city and the realms of glory. The very God of truth presents his promises to encourage man to seek for eternal life, and an inheritance incorruptible and that fadeth not away. Let the repenting sinner believe the word of God, and come to Jesus the Saviour of men, take his yoke upon him, bear his burden, and he shall find rest unto his soul.
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1 Home missionaries are greatly needed. The work of winning souls to Jesus, and of training them to become workers for others, should begin in the home circle. God has claims upon the services of all,—men, women, and children; and the earlier they are led out of and away from themselves, and taught to engage in unselfish labor for others, the nearer they will come to fulfilling their holy commission. Of all our training-schools, the family should stand first. Fathers and mothers should feel that they are placed at the head of a mission. They have a work to do which no other can do for them, in forming the characters of their children for usefulness in this life, and for the future, immortal life. God has called them to this work, and it is a sin to neglect it.
2 Yet this work is strangely neglected. The failure in duty on the part of parents is revealed in the deformed, one-sided characters of the children. The loose, unchristian manner in which so many bring up their children is the cause of the terrible impiety and wickedness of the youth of this age. The great burden in regard to temporal matters, which many carry who claim to be sons and daughters of God, causes them to lose sight of eternal interests. Their absorbing care for worldly things misleads their children. The sacred and the common are confused in their minds. Eternal and temporal things stand on a par. A lack of home religion leads to stumbling, to perplexing entanglements, all the way in the Christian experience, both for parents and children. The family life takes a low level. The conversation is trifling and frivolous, or even worse. There is gossip and tale-bearing, there are threats, scolding, jangling, and tantalizing. Angels see it all. Jesus, who gave his life to redeem them, beholds it. What a scene for Heaven to look upon! Will such a family be welcomed through the gates into the city of God? Never, unless they become transformed by the grace of Christ. They would carry into Heaven the same characters, the same spirit they manifest here. Thousands upon thousands will be lost because of this terrible neglect on the part of parents.
3 I would urge upon fathers and mothers the importance of their home missionary work. The precious hours of probation are fast passing. Parents must be changed, children must be changed, in heart and character here in this life, or they will never be permitted to enter Heaven. It should be your very first burden to see that your own souls are right before God, and to labor for the salvation of your children. Every member of the family should be the subject of special, wisely-directed effort, that the enemy of Christ may not have possession of the heart, and control the character.
4 Parents who give heed to God’s word will not, for any consideration, neglect the work which he has committed to them. They will not take a course in any respect which will lead their children away from him. Night and day they will feel the burden to draw them away from the world’s customs, its fashions, and its pride, to Jesus. They will make religion the vital question of life, and will teach their children that every worldly consideration should be made second to their eternal interests. They will make a hedge about them by prayer, pleading in faith that God will abide with them, and that holy angels will guard them from Satan’s cruel power. Every day they will give them such instruction as shall lead them to become better acquainted with the claims of God, to revere his law, and to form habits of life in accordance with it.
5 Children will learn to love that which the parents love, and will talk of the subjects upon which they talk. If we would have the word of God the most precious of books to our children, our own lives must testify that it is precious to us. If we desire them to love and reverence God, we must make him the theme of our meditations; we must speak of his goodness, his majesty, and his power. If we would have them love and imitate the character of Christ, we must ourselves represent Christ in our homes. It is by cultivating meekness and lowliness, by performing kindly, thoughtful acts for others when no human eye can see, or human praise stimulate, by hiding self in Jesus, and letting his gentleness appear in the home life, by exercising patience when provoked, giving a soft answer when tempted to be harsh, overbearing, and vindictive, that we leave the unmistakable impression upon the minds of our children that father and mother are Christians.
6 Do not neglect your children while they are young. The sons and daughters of Christians parents should be educated to realize their responsibility to God in childhood and youth. There is earnest work to be done in this age, and they must be educated to share in it. We cannot estimate the possibilities of usefulness that lie undeveloped in hand, and brain, and heart. You should instruct the children in the duties of practical life. Teach them to regard the humble round of everyday duties as the course marked out for them by the Lord; as a school in which they are to be trained to render faithful and efficient service. All their powers are to be educated and disciplined to do service for God. He requires that the first, the best, and the most useful talents shall be employed to carry forward his work. The same zeal and energy, tact and order, which are exercised in counting-rooms and shops, and in the fine arts, are to be brought into the work of God. Teach them now to cultivate firmness and integrity. It was this careful training in his earlier years that enabled Joseph, when suddenly exalted from his dungeon to the throne, to fill his position with wisdom and honor. So the youth and children of our time are to be gaining solidity of character, that they may be prepared to be used as instruments of God in the missionary work.
7 Children should not be treated with harshness. Remember that your sons and daughters are younger members of God’s family. He has committed them to your care to train and educate for Heaven. You must render an account to him for the manner in which you discharge your sacred trust. Yet while exercising tenderness and loving sympathy, you should be firm and decided to command obedience; like Abraham, requiring your children to keep the way of the Lord.
8 They should be allowed to form no foolish habits of self-indulgence. Teach them that Jesus loves them, that he died to redeem them, and they are to live to glorify him. His life is the pattern which they are to copy. They should be taught to waste nothing on show; to shun all display in dress. Let a spirit of sacrifice be cherished. Teach the children to contribute something which they have earned themselves as an offering to God, who has given them all Heaven in the gift of his dear Son. I am glad that they are taking a part in the missionary work in the Rivulet Societies, and by their contributions in the Sabbath-school. These are precious lessons which they are learning, of the blessedness of giving. If we desire to encourage in their hearts a love for the truth and the cause of God, we must teach them to sacrifice for it. That which costs us nothing we value lightly; but the enterprise in which our means is invested we feel an interest in, and we labor for its success.
9 Do not expect a change to be wrought in your children without patient, earnest labor, mingled with fervent prayer. To study and understand their varied characters, and day by day to mould them after the divine Model, is a work demanding great diligence and perseverance, and much prayer, with an abiding faith in God’s promises. Make it a careful study how to discharge your duties. Counsel with those of experience. Seek counsel of God in his word; work and pray, pray and work, from the earliest hour of your children’s lives, and believe that God will co-operate with you in every effort to follow the light and instruction he has given. The infinite sacrifice of Christ for our redemption places a high value upon the soul. After giving such evidence of his love he will not withhold his grace, his special help, from parents and children who seek to do his will. He will not refuse to hear the parents’ earnest prayer, that is seconded by persevering labor, that their children may be blessed of him, and become faithful workers in his cause. When parents do their duty in God’s appointed way, they may be sure that their requests for his help in their home work will be granted.
10 If fathers and mothers love the Bible, and talk of the lessons Christ has given; if they love Jesus, and make him the theme of conversation, a heavenly atmosphere will pervade the home. As the wax receives the impress of the seal, so the soul will receive and retain the moral image of God. By beholding, we become changed. If we allow the mind to dwell upon the imperfections and moral deformities of others, we ourselves shall become depraved in character, and mentally one-sided and unbalanced. But if the mind dwells upon the perfect life of Christ, and the thoughts and conversation are centered upon him, we shall be changed to the same image.
11 Life will become to both parents and children a humble, earnest working out of their own salvation with fear and trembling, while God is working in them to will and to do of his own good pleasure. The gates of Heaven are upon earth. Parents and children are striving together to press upward, heavenward, in the narrow way, the path of holiness, all acting their part in the family below in such a manner as to become members of the royal family above.
12 The teaching of the home—the mould here given to the character—extends its influence beyond the family into the church, and outside the church to the world. A well-regulated family, loving God and his living oracles, will have a fresh, living testimony to bear. Their influence will build up the church, and will win souls to Christ and the truth. In giving to the world a well-disciplined family, parents are presenting one of the strongest evidences in favor of the truth. And the parents whose wise, God-fearing labor has accomplished so much for their own family, will be able to accomplish a similar work for others.
13 If the home missionary work had been done in accordance with the directions God has given in his word, there would now be an army of youth to enter missionary fields. The apostle Paul, in his dying charge to Timothy, says: “The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” When the lessons that parents learn in the school of Christ are taught to their children; when the Saviour’s meekness and love, his self-denial and humility, are brought into the life and made a part of the daily experience, and the children learn and practice these precious lessons, they in their turn will be able, by their influence and example, to teach the same to others. And who can measure the final results? How many a humble Christian, unseen and uncared for by the world, has set in motion a train of influences which have brought a blessing to hundreds and thousands of souls. Where is the missionary who has accomplished a greater work than the mother of John Wesley? Who can measure the value of those hours when Zwingle’s grandmother lovingly repeated to the eager boy at her side the few precious Bible stories which she had gleaned from amid the legends and traditions of the church?
14 The day of God will reveal how much the world owes to the holy influences of the home for men who have been unflinching advocates of truth and reform. When the Judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened, when the “Well done” of the great Judge is pronounced, what joy unspeakable will fill our hearts, if, as we gather around the great white throne, we shall see our children, saved through our instrumentality, with the crown of immortal glory upon their brows. How shall we feel as we look upon that company and see that those whom we have won for Christ have saved others, and these still others,— a large assembly all brought into the haven of rest as the result of our labors, there to lay their crowns at Jesus’s feet, and to praise him through the endless cycles of eternity?
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1 After Saul had been anointed king of Israel, Samuel the prophet gave him minute directions as to what course he should pursue. He prophesied that the Lord would work a change in his heart to prepare him for the solemn responsibilities of his new office. He declared to the king, “Thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy; and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. . . . And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings. Seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.” As Saul journeyed on his way, the change of which the prophet had spoken was wrought in him, and God gave him another heart; and all that Samuel had said came to pass. The heart of Saul was turned to the Lord, his mind was enlarged, and he had the blessing of spiritual understanding. He felt that the strength of Israel was the Lord God, even Jehovah, and in him he could have courage, fortitude, and resolution to govern wisely. It now depended upon Saul to work out the salvation that God had wrought within him.
2 It was not until the second year of his reign that the presence of Saul was required at Gilgal. At that time the Philistines were encamped against the Israelites. Saul and his followers could see the vast host that were arrayed against them, and the Israelites were appalled at the sight of the mighty forces they would have to encounter in battle. They were not prepared to meet the enemy, for they were undisciplined and poorly armed. Their forces were far inferior both as to numbers and equipment, for “there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people.” As Saul’s army comprehended the situation they were filled with alarm, and many were so terrified that they dared not come to the test of an encounter. Some crossed the Jordan, others hid themselves in caves and pits, and amid the rocks that abounded in that region. The affairs of the army were becoming alarming. The nearer the time for an encounter approached, the more deserters increased, and those who did not withdraw from the ranks were filled with foreboding and terror. What a change would have been wrought if they had but trusted in the Lord, if they had but humbled their hearts and confessed their backsliding and iniquity.
3 Saul tarried day after day without making decided efforts toward encouraging the people and inspiring confidence in God. The time appointed by the prophet was not fully expired; but he became impatient at his delay, and discouraged at the trying circumstances that surrounded him. Instead of faithfully seeking to prepare the people for the solemn service that Samuel was coming to perform, he indulged in unbelief and impatience. This work of seeking God by sacrifice was a most solemn and important work, and God required that his people should search their hearts and repent of their sins, that the offering might be made with acceptance before him, and that his blessing might be bestowed upon their efforts to resist and conquer the enemy. But Saul had grown restless. The people were looking to him as the king whom they had chosen to lead and direct them. They had become dissatisfied with the guidance of the King of kings, and had desired to be like the nations around them, and God had granted their request for a ruler from among their brethren. The Lord still cared for them, and did not give them up to the disasters that would have come upon them if the frail arm of flesh had become their only support. He brought them into close places, that they might be convicted of the folly of depending on man, and that they might turn to him as their only help. The time for the proving of Saul had come. The opportunity had arrived when he was to show whether or not he would depend on God, and patiently wait according to his command, and reveal himself as one whom God could trust in trying places as the ruler of his people, or whether he would be vacillating and weak, and unworthy of the sacred responsibilities that had devolved upon him. Would Saul heed the injunctions given him of the Lord? Would he show himself willing to be led and controlled? Would he turn the attention of his faint-hearted soldiers to the One in whom is everlasting strength and deliverance.
4 With growing impatience he waited the arrival of Samuel, and attributed the confusion and distress and desertion of his army to the absence of the prophet. But what more favorable moment could be given to the representative man of Israel to assert his manhood and manifest his faith in God? Was not this the very occasion when he should have believed the word of the prophet, and the commands and assurances of the Lord? But Saul made it evident that he did not discern sacred things, that he was not conscientiously careful to go according to the word of the Lord’s explicit command. The priest of God was the only one authorized to present sacrifices before God; and yet Saul commanded, “Bring hither a burnt-offering,” and he offered the sacrifice. In this he took upon himself the responsibilities of the priesthood. He placed himself in a position for which he was not prepared or qualified by the Lord. He presumed upon his exaltation to the throne of Israel, and acted as a priest before the people. The time for the arrival of Samuel was just at hand, but Saul, through lack of faith, had been led to take his own course, and he made it evident that he could not be trusted as the head of Israel; for under pressure of circumstances he would depart from the commandment of God.
5 “And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.” Samuel saw at once that Saul had gone contrary to the express directions that had been given him. He had not waited till the seven days had expired. He had not humbly fulfilled the word of the Lord, nor regarded the law of the offerings. He had been charged to wait for Samuel, who was chosen of the Lord, and fitted for the very service that Saul had performed with unsanctified hands. The work that he had done was out of harmony with the plan of God, and could not be acceptable before Heaven. The sacrifice was to be offered in the most solemn manner. The people were to be impressed by the weight of its significance, and the Lord had spoken by his prophet that at this time he would communicate through his delegated servant what Israel must do at this critical time. Saul was so well satisfied with himself and his work, that he went out to meet the prophet as one who should be commended rather than disapproved. Samuel’s countenance was full of anxiety and trouble; but to his inquiry, “What hast thou done?” Saul offered excuses for his presumptuous act. He said: “I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord; I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt-offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee; for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue; the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people.”
6 Saul had proved himself unfit to govern Israel, through lack of faith and obedience to the plain command of the Lord, and God could not establish his rule over his people. The services of religion he had performed were not acceptable to the God of Heaven. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
7 There is no safety for the people of God except in implicit obedience to his word. All his promises are made upon conditions of faith and obedience, and failure to comply with the expressed commands necessitates the failure of your experiencing the fulfillment of the rich provisions of the Scriptures. Saul might have made his supplication to God in an acceptable manner and still he might have waited for the servant of God to perform his appointed work. There was no need of forcing himself to offer a burnt-offering before the Lord. The command to wait till the arrival of Samuel was given to test his loyalty to the God who had so abundantly blessed him. If the king had only shown a regard for the requirements of God in this time of trial, then God could have worked his will through him, even when his inclination and natural desire might have clamored for a different course of action. His failure now proved him unfit to be vicegerent of God to his people. He would mislead Israel. His will would be the controlling power instead of the will of God. He had been weighed in the balances and had been found wanting. Angels of God had been grieved over his unbelief and disobedience, and his failure in this small test decided the most important question of his reign. If he had been faithful, his kingdom would have been established forever; but since he had failed, the purposes of God must be accomplished by another who would be true to the word of his commandment. The great interests of Israel must be committed to one who would rule the people according to the will of Heaven.
8 We should be warned by the example of Saul. We do not know what great interests may be at stake in the proving of God. The work committed to our hands should be performed with fidelity. We should be true to the definite commandments of the Lord. The word of God is the only safe guide for our feet. We should not follow impulse, we should not rely on the judgment of men, but look to the revealed will of God, and walk according to the commandment, no matter what circumstances may surround us. God will take care of the results, and by faithfulness to God’s word in time of trial you will prove before men and angels that the Lord can trust you in difficult places to carry out his will, honor his name, and bless his people.
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1 The apostle Paul, speaking of the church of Christ, likens it to the human body and its members. The unity existing between the members of the body represents the unity that should exist between the members of the church. The mutual dependence of the followers of Christ is illustrated by the dependence of the members of the body one upon the other. “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.” This figure, as representing the church, is full of the most tender significance to God’s people, both as to their relation to Christ, and to one another. As in the natural body the suffering of one member is recognized by every part of the being, so in the church the weakness or sorrow of one member reaches all others with its influence; and the strength of one is the gain of all. Christ, the head of the church, is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”
2 Contemplating the intimacy of the relation between the followers of Christ, Paul writes: “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
3 We have been brought from the world to become members of the church, the body of Christ. We are to come into perfect harmony of feeling, and unity of faith. “Speaking the truth in love,” we are to “grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ; from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” The natural defects of our characters must not be allowed to create disunion. We must surrender our wills to God, till every thought is brought into obedience to Christ. There is a work for us to do before we shall be able to work as harmoniously together as is represented by the union of the body.
4 Those who profess to be members of God’s family, and who expect to stand one day around his throne, should be careful to cultivate here the spirit that will prevail in Heaven. “Love is the fulfilling of the law,” and the love of Jesus in the heart will bind his church together in bonds of Christian fellowship, like that fellowship which will exist in the courts above. We have no need to err; for we possess a perfect pattern in the life of Jesus by which to fashion our life-actions, and the fact that we represent him so poorly should make us humble, and should lead us to exercise love and forbearance toward others who may err. Unless we do cultivate humility in view of our own deficiencies, there will be developed in us an element of hard-heartedness akin to that in the character of Satan. Criticism and coldness and disunion in the church will undo the work of the Holy Spirit of God.
5 We need a work wrought in our characters such as will fit us for the great responsibilities that Christ has laid upon us. There are souls to be saved on every side, and we need to love others as Christ has loved us, if we fulfill our obligations to our fellow-men. Those who indulge a spirit of jealousy, who are constantly inclined to think evil, and to judge the motives of others, are not possessors of the love of Christ, nor fitted for his holy service.
6 When a brother is in error, how many turn away and leave him to himself to pursue his wrong course, to depart from Christ and the truth! And not only do they treat him with neglect, but their unwise words and indifferent behavior hasten him on in the downward way. Is this the compassionate Spirit of Christ? When one is falling away, shall we push him into greater darkness? Did not Jesus, the Son of God, come to seek and to save that which was lost? “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Was not our Saviour tender and pitiful toward all? Did he not weep over the rejecters of his mercy, and stretch out his hands all day long to a rebellious people? We ought to be compassionate to our fellow-men; for they are the purchase of the blood of Christ. We are not as sympathetic as we should be. This self-esteem must be rooted out, this spirit of pharisaical importance must be subdued. We are not placed here to please or glorify self, but to glorify God by living for the good of men.
7 Every Christian should exercise the same pity toward the erring that he would have manifested toward himself; but in many cases, the very ones who are themselves the most sensitive under reproof, are most unfeeling toward those whom they condemn. If a brother errs, how easy it is to tell others of his fault before a word is said to him. Such a course is not in accordance with the Bible rule. God does not want us to expose the defects of others before the unbelieving world, or even before the brethren in the church, except as it may be necessary in carrying out the Bible direction.
8 God wants us to come into the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and then we shall do from the heart deeds of kindness that will bless others; then everyone will know that the truth of God has done something for the character and life of those who profess to believe it, that Christ dwells in the heart by faith, and that religion is a living reality.
9 Christ is grieved with our hardness of heart, with our lack of love and contrition. God wants us to have love; far better to have too much than too little. God himself is love; we should be like him. Christ is full of compassion; we should daily learn of him, and put in practice his lessons of love, by showing the tender spirit that he manifested. It will cost us no more effort to speak words of comfort and kindness than of harshness and jealousy. We should seek to bind up the broken heart and to heal the wounded spirit. We shall have no desire to bring others down in humiliation before us if we are actuated by the love of Christ. Our whole desire will be to lift up the thoughts and elevate the minds of those around us, to exalt the truth and draw men to the Saviour of the world.
10 There are those all around us who are dying for want of the love of Jesus expressed in the life of his followers. When the lifeless hands have been folded over the silent breast, how many have wished they had been more gentle, more tender. You cannot make confession in the ears of the dead, but you can exercise love and forbearance toward the living. Oh, that all might appreciate the privilege now given to sweeten the existence of those around them by the loving sympathy that so cheers and encourages the sad and lonely heart!
11 Men and women who occupy responsible positions should deal very carefully with those under their care, blending love with firmness, encouragement with discipline, and comfort with correction. Why should you not exercise as much tenderness and skill in healing the sin-sick soul as in treating the diseased body? When you see one wandering away from the fold, go to him, and try to turn him back. With a meek and loving spirit, show him that you are his true friend, and that in telling him of his errors you are actuated by love for his soul. Work diligently, brethren; for these souls, if saved, will be our companions around the throne of God.
12 Christ requires us to love one another. How much, the cross of Calvary will answer. He loved us even unto death, and he bids us to “love one another as I have loved you.” “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” And when this mutual forbearance and tenderness is a reality among us we shall appreciate the significance of the figure employed by the apostle to represent the church of Christ. “Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” You will then bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
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1 Saul made an appearance of great conscientiousness and devotion, as he stood before the army of Israel, offering up a sacrifice to God. He represented himself before the people as one who was unwilling to engage in battle with the Philistines, without seeking the help of Heaven, but his heart was filled with distrust, and his apparent piety was, in reality, only unbelief and disobedience. He had been directed by the prophet of God that when he was brought into just such circumstances of trial he should wait until seven days had expired, and that at the termination of the days appointed, Samuel would come unto him, and offer the sacrifice, and tell him what he should do to honor God and save Israel, but Saul had failed to bear the test that God had permitted to come upon him, and he resolved to offer the sacrifice himself, and wait no longer for the priest ordained of God to perform the sacred service. The king beheld the Philistines arrayed for battle. He saw his own soldiers filled with alarm, and his ranks thinning with frequent desertions, and, instead of trusting in the word of God, and waiting patiently for his salvation, he became faithless and discouraged. In the hope of again rallying his scattered troops, he was willing to violate the direction of God, and offer an offering before the Lord, that he might have the approval of the people, and gather them to his side to war against the enemy.
2 The prophet had declared that the Lord would reveal what course the king should pursue when the seven days were ended; but he did not wait for the arrival of the man of God, but took the matter into his own hands. If he had but waited in faith and patience and rested in the promise of God, what lessons of trust might have come down to inspire us as the result of his life and experience! What a help he might have been to Israel, if he had but stood the test in that hour of trial! He might have revealed the work of the Spirit of God in his heart. Through him might have been manifested the power and willingness of Jehovah to bless his waiting people. If he had fulfilled the conditions upon which the help was promised, the Lord would have wrought a marvelous deliverance for Israel, with the few who were loyal to the king. But the religious service, performed in unbelief and in direct opposition to the commandment of God, only served to weaken his hands, and to place him beyond the help that God was so willing to grant him.
3 There are many who are pursuing this very course today. They refuse to believe and obey the commandment of the Lord, and yet they persevere in offering up to God their formal services of religion; but there is no response from the Spirit of God to such a service. There is no inward work upon the heart, no reformation in the life, no transformation in the character. Outward ordinances must not be considered of value, unless they are in accordance with the expressed will of God. The Lord cannot manifest his power to deliver, no matter how zealous men may be in their observance of religious ceremonies, if they persist in willful disobedience to his commandments.
4 Those who are placed in positions of trust, will be subjected to different tests, that their loyalty and trustworthiness may be proved by their course of action. The test may be a simple one, but it will be sufficient to decide whether or not the man’s spirit is under the control of the Spirit of God. It will be made manifest whether or not he will choose to carry out his own will and his own ideas, or the will of God as the supreme guide of his actions. All our actions are weighed. Their moral worth is estimated. It is known whether or not we are loyal to God, whether or not we are leading those connected with us to love and fear God, or through the natural defects of our characters, unaided by the grace of God, we are leading those who look to us for an example into crooked paths, away from the fear of God, away from the counsel he gives through his appointed servants. If we are indifferent to the instruction given through the agencies of God, our hearts will become hardened, the light ordained for our correction will appear as darkness, and we will become agents in leading others into unbelief and rebellion.
5 Adam was tested in a very simple matter, but his failure to endure the test opened the flood-gates of woe upon our world, and with every disobedience to God are involved consequences of fearful import and disaster. The action of the king before Israel lessened the significance of the sacrificial service, and robbed the priesthood of its sacredness before their eyes. If the king could, with unconsecrated hands, perform this holy rite, why could not the people do the same? If he thought best to perform this service, it must be the right thing to do, and they felt perfectly safe in following the example of one so exalted as the king. Those who occupy positions of honor and responsibility, should be exceedingly careful to walk circumspectly and humbly before the Lord, that they may not become stumbling-blocks to those who are influenced by their life and example.
6 The greatest trials that have come upon the church have been brought about through the agency of those who were its professed friends, and who had been placed in positions of trust and sacred responsibility. Our most sanguine expectations have been frequently disappointed. We have followed our best judgment in selecting men for places of trust, and they have failed time and again, when the test was brought to bear on their characters. They have exhibited weaknesses of which they gave no previous indication. They are not what they appeared to be before they were placed in the position. How often have we finite beings been led to repent that we have used our influence toward promoting men who afterwards have given no evidence of their devotion to God’s word and work. We have often inquired, What has made this great change in these men? What was it that led Saul to presume upon his exaltation to dishonor God by unbelief and disobedience? It was self-sufficiency and an evil heart of unbelief. It was when Saul was little in his own sight that God chose him to be ruler over Israel, but when he lost his spirit of simplicity and humility, he was not the man for the place, and his authority was taken from him. Those who turn from their humility and begin to exalt self, are filled with the most unaccountable infatuation and self-deception in regard to their own qualifications. Like Saul, they begin to assume responsibilities that their position in nowise warrants, and for which God has not ordained them.
7 When circumstances are so shaped that character is tested and developed, you should seek fervently for the help of God that you may be delivered from evil. If you walk humbly before God, you will not follow your own will, but will have a teachable spirit, and will submit to instruction and correction. If you steadfastly adhere to the word of God and follow in his way, you will not imperil others nor in the least degree seek to turn their minds away from the warnings, reproofs, and instructions which God sends through his servants; but if you fail to obey the word of God, even in the most perplexing circumstances, you make it manifest that you cannot be trusted in times of peril. Like Saul, you will follow your own judgment. You will not humble your soul before God, and make supplication, and lead those connected with you to look to God with all their hearts for the help he has promised to give in times of need.
8 The Lord will work for those who put their trust in him. Precious victories will be gained by the faithful. Precious lessons will be learned. Precious experiences will be realized that will be of the greatest advantage in times of trial and temptation. Those who will give all the glory to God, not taking credit to themselves, will be trusted with more and more of the blessing of God. The Lord will be magnified by those who honor him in the midst of the people. The trial that has been borne with patience, the test that has been met with faithfulness, will prove them worthy of responsibility, and God will make them agents to carry out his will. They will be made stewards of his grace, as honored servants of God.
9 The conflicts of earth, in the providence of God, furnish the very training necessary to develop characters fit for the courts of Heaven. We are to become members of the royal family, the sons of God, and “all things work together for good to those who love God,” and submit themselves to his will. Our God is an ever-present help in every time of need. He is perfectly acquainted with the most secret thoughts of our heart, with all the intents and purposes of our souls. When we are in perplexity, even before we open to him our distress, he is making arrangements for our deliverance. Our sorrow is not unnoticed. He always knows much better than we do, just what is necessary for the good of his children, and he leads us as we would choose to be led if we could discern our own hearts and see our necessities and perils, as God sees them. But finite beings seldom know themselves. They do not understand their own weaknesses, and when reproof comes, and cautions are given, when they are rebuked, or even advised, they think that they are misjudged and unjustly treated. God knows them better than they know themselves, and he understands how to lead them. But when he undertakes to guide them in ways which seem mysterious to them, because of their blindness and lack of faith, they rebel, and bring upon themselves unnecessary grief and trouble. They have prayed to the Lord for light and guidance, and the Lord answered them as he did Jacob, and, like Jacob, they do not discern that it is the hand of the Lord leading them in a way contrary to their own choosing. If we will trust him, and commit our ways to him, he will direct our steps in the very path that will result in our obtaining the victory over every evil passion, and every trait of character that is unlike the character of our divine Pattern.
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1 The relation between Samuel and Saul was one of peculiar tenderness. Samuel loved Saul as his own son, while Saul, bold and ardent of temper, held the prophet in great reverence, and bestowed upon him the warmth of his affection and regard. Thus the prophet of the living God, an old man whose mission was nearly finished, and the youthful king, whose work was before him, were bound together by the ties of friendship and respect. All through his perverse course, the king clung to the prophet as if he alone could save him from himself.
2 When Saul was proclaimed as king, Samuel had assured the people that the danger of the future would be that of forgetting the covenant of the Lord, and of failing to acknowledge God as the supreme Ruler of their nation. Israel had sought and obtained a monarchy after their own heart, yet Samuel had told them that the Lord in his infinite mercy was willing to forgive them, and to help them, if they would only fear him, and serve him in truth. The question of the conversion of Israel into the royalty of the kingdom of God, was to be decided. Would the Israel of God, with their king at their head, obey God explicitly, or would they not? Either Israel must cease to be the people of God, or the principles upon which the monarchy was founded must become spiritual, and the nation must be governed by a divine power. If Israel would be wholly the Lord’s, then the Lord would constitute a kingdom in which the will of the human and earthly would be in subjection to the will of God, and, by this means, the covenant relationship that constituted God the Ruler of Israel, would be preserved. The question may seem of little consequence to our finite minds; but it was far from this. Would the king whom Israel had chosen listen to the Ruler of all kings? Would he surrender his will, and do the will of the Father which is in Heaven? No monarchy in Israel that did not acknowledge in all its ways the supreme authority of God, could prosper. As long as the people of Israel would conduct themselves as subordinate to God, so long would he be their protection and defense.
3 The prophet Samuel had been rejected as ruler of Israel, and Saul had been chosen to fill this responsible position. Samuel was not envious and jealous of the chosen king. “God forbid,” said the prophet, “that I should sin against God in ceasing to pray for you.” The Lord identifies his interest with the people, and although Israel had greatly displeased the Lord, and sorely grieved Samuel, yet the prophet did not divorce his interest from Israel; but he uttered a decided warning, “If ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.”
4 Saul had failed to bear the test of his faith in the trying situation at Gilgal, and had brought dishonor upon the service of God; but his errors were not yet irretrievable, and the Lord granted to him another opportunity to learn the lesson of implicit faith in his word, and unqualified obedience to his commands. If the Lord had separated himself entirely from Saul, he would not have spoken to him again through his prophet, and intrusted him with a definite work to perform, that he might correct the mistake of the past.
5 Let us mark this. When anyone who claims to be a child of God, becomes careless in doing the express will of God, and through his deviation from the path of rectitude, many are influenced to become irreverent and unmindful of the injunctions of God, and if he then accepts reproof and has true contrition of soul, if he will discern his error, and no longer entertain lofty opinions of his ability, and will trust in God, who alone is able to save him, his past failure may be turned into victory, because he will become conscious of his inefficiency to do what God requires, without divine strength and wisdom.
6 The apostle Paul went directly contrary to the will of God before his conversion. His powers were employed in the cause and work of the enemy of God and man; but when light from Heaven shone about him, and the voice of Jesus was heard saying, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? I am Jesus whom thou persecutest,” he inquired, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Love for Jesus became the ruling power in his life, and when there was work to be done for the Lord, no danger could intimidate him, no opposition hinder, no threats appall, no difficulties dishearten, no power cause him to swerve from the path appointed of God.
7 Before Paul experienced genuine conversion to God, selfishness controlled his mind and soul. His estimate of everything was a wrong estimate, for self-aggrandizement and selfishness had an influence upon his entire life and character. He praised his own zeal. He was carrying a mirror with him, not a mirror in which to discover the defects of his character, but a mirror in which he might admire himself. Everything was turned into self-glorification; but after Jesus was revealed to him, his lofty opinion of himself was gone. He saw nothing in which to glory, save the cross of Christ. The Lord brought Paul over a path that was difficult to travel, but the apostle saw in it precious opportunities to prove his fidelity to Jesus, whom he had persecuted in the person of his saints.
8 When Samuel was called upon to deliver a most painful message of condemnation to him whom he loved as a son, Saul saw no great sin in the course of transgression which he had pursued. When reproved he manifested no repentance or contrition of soul. He was not grieved for his disobedience. He did not surrender his will to God, but began to vindicate his actions, and to offer excuses for his error. After the announcement that, because of his transgression, his kingdom should not continue, Saul became sullen and despondent. He thought he had been treated unjustly and went to great extremes in his management of affairs in the kingdom.
9 At one time he pronounced a curse upon anyone who should taste of food throughout a certain day of battle. This prohibition was not required by the Lord. It originated with Saul himself, and nearly cost him the life of his son Jonathan. It created a will of decided opposition to his authority in his army, and resulted in leading the people to transgress the command of God. They had engaged in warfare all day, and were fainting for want of food, and, as soon as the hours of restriction were over, they eagerly fell upon the spoil, and greedily devoured the flesh with the blood, thus violating the law that prohibited such an act; for the Lord had said, “Thou shalt not eat the blood thereof.” God had given them rules which should have been respected; because the Lord knows what is for the good of man, and he should be obeyed. But there are many who will lightly regard the tests which God has given, and will assume the responsibility of creating tests and prohibitions, as did Saul, which bring dishonor to God and evil to men.
10 The Lord sent a last message to Saul. By obedience, he might still prove his fidelity to God, and his worthiness to walk before Israel. Samuel came to the king and delivered the word of the Lord. Said the prophet, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” And the record states that “Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.”
11 This victory over the Amalekites was the most brilliant victory that Saul had ever gained, and it served to rekindle the pride of heart that was his greatest peril. The divine edict devoting the enemies of God to utter destruction, was but partially fulfilled. Ambitious to heighten the honor of his triumphal return by the presence of a royal captive, Saul ventured to imitate the customs of the nations around him, and he spared Agag, the fierce and warlike king of the Amalekites. The people, influenced by his example, reserved for themselves the finest of the flocks, herds, and beast of burden.
12 Here Saul was subjected to the final test. His presumptuous disregard of the will of God, showing his determination to rule as an independent monarch, proved that he could not be trusted with royal power as the vicegerent of the Lord. While Saul and his army were marching home in the flush of victory, there was deep anguish in the home of Samuel, the prophet. He had received a message from the Lord, denouncing the course of the king. “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.” The prophet was deeply grieved over the course of the rebellious king, and he wept and prayed all night for a reversal of the terrible sentence.
13 God’s repentance is not like man’s repentance. “The Strength of Israel will not lie, nor repent; for he is not a man that he should repent.” Man’s repentance brings about a change of mind. God’s repentance implies a change of circumstances and relations. Man may change his relation to God by complying with the conditions upon which he may be brought into the divine favor, and he may, by his own action, place himself outside the favoring condition; but the Lord is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” The Saul whom God made king was a humble man, little in his own eyes, and not the Saul whom God repented to have exalted to the throne of Israel. Saul’s disobedience changed the condition of his relationship to God; but the conditions of acceptance with God were unaltered,—God’s requirements were still the same; for with him “there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
14 With an aching heart the prophet set forth the next morning to meet the erring king. Samuel cherished a hope that, upon reflection, Saul might become conscious of his sin, and by repentance and humiliation before God, be again restored to the divine favor. But when the first step is taken in the path of transgression, the way becomes easy. Satan leads on, and Saul, debased by his disobedience, came to meet Samuel with a lie upon his lips. He exclaimed, “Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”
15 The sounds that fell on the prophet’s ears disproved the statement of the disobedient king. To the pointed question, “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” Saul made answer, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”
16 The message of Saul’s rejection brought unspeakable grief to the heart of Samuel. It had to be delivered before the whole army of Israel, when they were filled with pride and triumphal rejoicing over a victory that was accredited to the valor and generalship of their king, for Saul had not associated God with the success of Israel in this conflict; but when he saw the evidence of Saul’s rebellion, he was greatly stirred with indignation, that he, who had been so highly favored of God, should transgress the commandment of Heaven, and lead Israel into sin. Samuel was not deceived by the subterfuge of the king. With mingled grief and indignation he declares, “Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel.” He repeats the command of the Lord concerning Amalek, and demands the reason of the king’s disobedience.
17 Saul persists in self-justification: “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.”
18 In stern and solemn words, the prophet sweeps away the refuge of lies, and pronounces the irrevocable sentence. “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
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1 Six miles south of Jerusalem, “the city of the great King,” was Bethlehem, where David was born more than a thousand years before the infant Jesus was cradled in the manger, and worshipped by the wise men from the East. Centuries before the advent of the Saviour of the world, David, in the freshness of boyhood, had kept watch of his flocks as they grazed on the open fields of Bethlehem. The simple shepherd boy sang the songs of his own composing, and the music of his harp made a sweet accompaniment to the melody of his fresh young voice. The Lord had chosen David, and had ordered his life that he might have an opportunity to train his voice, and cultivate his talent for music and poetry. The Lord was preparing him in his solitary life with his flocks, for the work he designed to commit to his trust in afteryears.
2 While David was thus living in the retirement of his humble shepherd’s life, the Lord God was speaking about him to the prophet Samuel. “And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. . . . Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.” The elders accepted an invitation to the sacred feast, and Samuel called them to the sacrifice, and sanctified Jesse and his sons. The altar was built, and the sacrifice was ready. All the household of Jesse were present, with the exception of David, the youngest son, who had been left to guard the sheep, for it was not safe to leave the flocks unprotected.
3 When the sacrifice was ended, Samuel commenced his prophetic scrutiny of the noble-appearing sons of Jesse. Eliab was the eldest, and more nearly resembled Saul for stature and beauty than the others. His comely features and finely developed form attracted the attention of the prophet. As he looked upon his princely bearing, he thought, This is indeed the man whom God has chosen as successor to Saul, and he waited for the divine sanction that he might anoint him. But Jehovah did not look upon the outward appearance. The Lord’s word to Samuel was, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance; but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
4 What a lesson was given in these words, not only to the prophet, but to the men and women of every generation. No outward beauty of appearance can recommend the soul to God. The wisdom and excellence revealed in the character and deportment, express the true beauty of the man; and it is the inner worth of the heart that determines our acceptance with the Lord of hosts. How deeply should we feel this great and solemn truth in the judgment of ourselves and others. We may learn from the mistake of Samuel, how vain is the estimation that rests on the beauty of the face or the nobility of the stature. We may see how incapable is man’s wisdom of understanding the secrets of the heart, or of comprehending the counsels of God without special enlightenment from Heaven. The thoughts and ways of God in relation to his creatures are above our finite minds; but we may be assured that his children will be brought to fill the very place for which they are qualified, and will be enabled to accomplish the very work committed to their hands if they will submit their wills to God, that his beneficent plans may not be frustrated by the perversity of man. Man should stand back and let the Lord do with his own as it seems good, according to his infinite wisdom and mercy.
5 Eliab passed from the inspection of Samuel, and the six brothers who were in attendance at the service, followed in succession to be observed by the prophet, while all present beheld the scene with the deepest interest; but the Lord did not signify his choice of any of the seven sons of Jesse who stood before the man of God. With painful suspense Samuel had looked upon the last of the young men; the prophet was perplexed and bewildered. Turning to Jesse he inquired, “Are here all thy children?” and he answered, “There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.” Samuel was relieved at once, for he knew that it was one of the sons of Jesse that had been selected by the Lord as the successor of Saul. In decided tones he commanded, “Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither.”
6 The lonely shepherd on the hills of Bethlehem was startled by the hasty summons of the messenger who announced that the prophet had come to his father’s house, and had sent for him. With surprise he questioned the reason that the prophet and judge of Israel should desire to see him; but without delay, he hastened to the altar. “Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to.” As Samuel beheld with pleasure the handsome, manly, modest shepherd boy, the voice of the Lord spoke to him, saying, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” The prophet had accomplished his appointed work, and with a relieved heart he returned to Ramah.
7 The great honor conferred upon David did not serve to elate him. As humble and modest as before his anointing, the shepherd boy went back to the hills of Bethlehem, and watched and guarded his flocks as tenderly as ever. But with new inspiration he composed his melodies, and played upon his harp. Before him spread a landscape of rich and varied beauty. The vines, with their clustering fruit, brightened in the sunshine. The forest trees, with their green foliage, swayed in the breeze. He beheld the bright luminary of day flooding the heavens with light, coming forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber and rejoicing as a strong man to run a race. The bold summits of the hills reached toward the sky, and in the far-away distance rose the barren cliffs, and the blue heavens garnished by day with the splendid glory of the sun, and by night with the silvery radiance of the stars. And beyond was God. He could not see him, but his works were full of his praise, and daily revelations of the character and majesty of his Creator filled the young poet’s heart with adoration and rejoicing. In contemplation of God and his works, the faculties of David’s heart and mind were enlarging and strengthening for the work of his after-life.
8 The light of day, gilding forest and mountain, meadow and stream, carried the mind up to behold the Deity, the Father of lights, the Author of every good and perfect gift. What an enlargement of mind such contemplations brought to the simple shepherd. He was daily coming into a more intimate communion with God. His mind was constantly penetrating into new depths, for fresh themes to inspire his song, and to wake the music of his harp. He poured out the rich melody of his voice upon the air, and it echoed from the hills as if responsive to the rejoicing of the angels’ songs in Heaven.
9 David, in the beauty and might of his young manhood, was taking a high position with the noblest of the earth. His talents, as precious gifts from God, were employed to extol the glory of the divine Giver. His opportunities of contemplation and meditation served to enrich him with that wisdom and piety that made him beloved of God and angels. As he contemplated the perfections of his Creator, richer discoveries of God opened before his soul. As his admiration increased more and more, his heart thrilled with more fervent adoration and ecstasy. As obscure thoughts were illuminated, as difficulties were made plain, as contradictions were reconciled, as perplexities were harmonized, fresh songs of melody and praise were offered before God. Each ray of new light brought forth fresh bursts of rapture, and sweeter anthems of devotion, to the glory of God and the Redeemer. The love that moved him, the sorrows which beset him, the triumphs that attended him, were all themes for his active thought, and, as he beheld the love of God in all the providences of his life, his heart beat with more fervent adoration and gratitude, his voice rang out in a richer melody, his harp was swept with more exultant joy; and the shepherd boy proceeded from strength to strength, from knowledge to knowledge; for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him.
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1 When David was assured of the death of Saul and Jonathan, he mourned with sincere sorrow for the king and prince of Israel. When the days of mourning were ended, after calm and earnest reflection he decided that he ought to take some immediate action in behalf of the imperiled and defeated nation. By divine appointment he had been anointed as the king of Israel, and it was fitting that he should take measures for the prosperity of the kingdom. He inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.”
2 Hebron was twenty miles south of Jerusalem. It was originally called Kirjath-arba, the city of Arba, the father of Anak. Later it was called Mamre, and here was the burial-place of the patriarchs, “the cave of Machpelah.” The city lies in a deep valley surrounded by fertile hill country and fruitful lands. The most beautiful vineyards of Palestine we found on its borders, together with numerous plantations of olive and other fruit trees, and excellent pasturage.
3 David consulted with his faithful followers, and told them what the Lord, who was mighty in counsel, had revealed to him. In accordance with the instruction of the Lord, they prepared to follow the directions given, and were soon in marching order. The armed men came first, then their wives and children, and in the rear followed the flocks and herds. As the caravan approached the city, the men of Judah were waiting to welcome David as the future leader and king of Israel. On his arrival they made immediate preparations for his coronation.
4 The Philistines did not oppose the action of Judah in making David king, for they thought it would work for their own interest in the end, if they quietly accepted the situation. They expected that David’s power would extend, and that he would become a mighty sovereign. But although the nations around him did not interfere with his plans, David’s throne and kingly reign were not to be secure from trouble. His coronation by the men of Judah was scarcely accomplished before Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, through the influence of Abner was proclaimed king, and set upon a rival throne in Israel. The dark work of conspiracy had begun. Abner had been commander-in-chief of Saul’s army, and he was well qualified for the position. He was the most distinguished man in the ranks of the people of Israel. He knew that David was appointed by the Lord as the successor of Saul to the throne, but he who had marshaled every army, who had hunted and pursued David while Saul was still living, was not willing that the anointed of the Lord should be established in the kingdom over which Saul had reigned.
5 The circumstances under which Abner was placed, served to develop his real character, and he revealed himself as a man who was controlled by ambition, unprincipled at heart, and only desirous of exaltation to a high position before men. He acted against David without the least reverence for God’s expressed command, or the slightest regard for the dictates of an enlightened conscience. Abner had a decided hatred of David. He had been intimately associated with Saul, and had been influenced by the spirit of the king to despise the man whom God had chosen to reign on the throne of Israel. Once having placed himself on the wrong side, he brought all his power and influence to bear against the servant of God. His hatred had been increased by the cutting rebuke that David had given him at the time when the cruse of water and the spear of the king had been taken from the side of Saul, as he slept in the cave. He remembered how David had reminded him of his fault before the king and the people of Israel, and had cried in their hearing, “Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.” This reproof had rankled in his breast, and he determined to carry out his revengeful purposes, and create division in Israel, whereby he himself might be exalted. To this end he employed the representative of departed royalty to advance his own selfish ambitions and purposes. He knew that the people loved Jonathan. His memory was cherished, and Saul’s first successful campaigns were not forgotten by the army. With determination worthy a better cause, the rebel chieftain went forward to carry out his plans. At Mahanaim he secured the coronation of Ishbosheth, and the tribes of Israel proclaimed him their king, but Judah still acknowledged David as their sovereign. For two years the son of Saul enjoyed his honors in his secluded capital.
6 “There was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David,” for Abner was determined to gain his desire at any cost. The question may be asked, “What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Success, in such a case, is a terrible disaster. Far better is humility, and the loss of high-sounding titles, than to run any risk of the loss of the soul. Better far the cross and the disappointment, better far shattered hopes, and the world’s neglect, than to sit with princes and forfeit Heaven. Abner had desired honor, and he was determined to have it at any cost. David had rebuked him before Israel, and his proud spirit chafed under the words of reproof. His malice and hate were directed toward him who had discovered and pointed out the weakness of his character; and those whom God leads and guides in these last days will experience trials of a similar nature to those that came upon David, the servant of God. There is a decided hatred of reproof in the hearts of men. Cautions and warnings are not thankfully received, and, as with Abner, so those who cherish pride, will manifest a spirit of malice toward those who administer reproof. Satan seems to take possession of those who wish to rank among the highest, and yet have not those true principles that would place them in positions of trust and responsibility. They would rather be exalted by the enemies of the truth, and be poor and miserable and wretched in the high estimate of Heaven, than to submit to humiliation in the ranks of the servants of God. Such men go out from the body of the believers, denying the faith they once proclaimed; they deliberately set aside one of the simplest and most unequivocal commandments of God, that they may exalt themselves, and follow the way of the world; but those who humbly wait on the Lord, fulfilling his requirements, will be exalted in due time.
7 The Scriptures declare that the house of “David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.” And the time came that the enemies of David were slain. After the death of Ishbosheth, there was a general desire among the leading men of Israel that David should be proclaimed as the king of all the tribes of Israel. “Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.” There seemed to be an awakening among the people to acknowledge God’s ways, and to yield up their own ways. They understood the purpose of the Lord concerning David, but they had worked contrary to their light and knowledge. They dare not longer hold themselves as enemies to the Lord’s appointed ruler. They acknowledged now what they would have acknowledged long before if they had followed the convictions of their own hearts, and had not yielded their reason to deception and delusion. They declare of David, “Thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel; and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.” When they were leavened with the spirit of Saul and Abner, they did not care to be the friend of David. They regarded him as an enemy, and treated him as such, thus acting the part of traitors, because they were deceived and blinded, and were working in darkness, contrary to the will of God. Now as their eyes begin to be opened to the real nature of the course which they have pursued, they desire to be at peace with David.
8 “So all the elders of Israel came to the King to Hebron; and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord.” They assured the king that they recognized his divine appointment to the kingdom of Israel, and David was greatly pleased, for he knew that their hearts had been touched by the Spirit of the Lord, and their eyes had been enlightened to see light in God’s light. He knew that the promises of God to him and to Israel would be fulfilled if they walked according to the counsel of the Lord. It was evident to his mind that the dealings of the Lord with him had prepared him for the duties and responsibilities of his office. Through the providence of God, the way had been opened for him to come to the throne of Israel. He had no personal ambition to gratify, for he had not sought the honor to which he had been brought.
9 More than eight thousand of the descendants of Aaron, and of the Levites, waited upon David. The great change in the sentiments of the people was marked and decisive. The revolution was quiet and dignified, befitting the great work they were doing. Nearly half a million souls, the former subjects of Saul, thronged Hebron. The very hills and valleys were alive with the multitudes. The hour for the coronation was appointed, and the man who had been expelled from the courts of Saul, who had fled to preserve his life to the mountains and hills, and to the caves of the earth, was about to receive the highest honor that can be conferred upon man by his brother man. David, the hero of the hour, was arrayed in the royal robe, while around him was a most imposing company. Priests and elders clothed in the garments of their sacred office, officers and soldiers with glittering spear and helmet, and strangers from long distances, stood to witness the coronation of the chosen king. The sacred oil was put upon the brow of David by the high priest, for the anointing by Samuel was a prophetic ceremony of what would take place at the inauguration of the king. The time had come, and David, by solemn rite, is consecrated by the nation to his office as God’s appointed vicegerent. The scepter, a signal of royalty and power, is placed in his hands. The covenant is written of his righteous sovereignty, and the people give their pledges of loyalty. The diadem is placed upon his brow, and the coronation ceremony is over. Israel has a king by the appointment of God.
10 Saul had been after the heart of Israel, but David is a man after God’s own heart. And now the procession moves toward the gate of the city with the highest enthusiasm, crying, “Long live king David.” The musicians express the gladness of the hour by notes of joy with voice and instrument. When David is seated upon his throne, his subjects congratulate him that God has established him as the ruler of Israel, and they declare their joy in having such a king to reign over them. The ceremonies of the day were over, and he who had waited patiently on the Lord beheld the promise of God fulfilled. “And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.”
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1 As soon as David was established on the throne of Israel, he began to plan for a more appropriate position for the capital of his realm. Twenty miles from Hebron a place was selected as the future metropolis of the kingdom. Before Joshua had led the armies of Israel over Jordan to the promised possession, it had been called Salem. Near this place Abraham had proved his loyalty to God. He had prepared an altar, and had laid upon it his only son Isaac, in obedience to the command of the Lord. Here had been the home of Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God, nearly nine hundred years before the coronation of David. It held a central and elevated position in the country, and it was barricaded by an environment of hills. On the north rose Lebanon, with its snow-crowned summits.
2 Away to the south stretched the Arabian desert, with its moving sands. To the west were the waters of the Mediterranean, and to the east were the Dead Sea and the river Jordan.
3 In order to secure this much-desired location, the Hebrews must dispossess a remnant of the old Canaanites. King David called for men to besiege and take the city of Jebus from their heathen enemies. A large force gathered at the command of the King, and David left his throne, and his armies surrounded and took the city, and the capital of Israel was moved to Jebus. This heathen name was changed to the City of David, and it was afterward called Jerusalem, and Mount Zion. “And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.”
4 Tyre was a rich city on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and Hiram, king of Tyre, sought the friendship of Israel, and rendered them assistance in various undertakings. Hiram “sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house. And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.”
5 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all the tribes of Israel, they “came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold.” The Philistines marshaled an immense force, hoping again to bring Israel into subjection. They spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. “David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord bade David go up, and promised to deliver the Philistines into his hand.
6 King David asked counsel of the Lord in his extremity, and the Lord hearkened and heard, and answered his servant, and Israel was victorious. But the Philistines made a more decided display, that they might intimidate Israel. Their numbers were very great. Again David sought the Lord, and the great I AM became the general of the armies of Israel. God himself laid the plan of the attack. He instructed David, saying, “Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the top of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself; for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.”
7 If David had chosen his own way, as did Saul, success would not have attended his warfare. But David did as the Lord had commanded, and he “smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.” Saul had been honored of God to occupy a high position of trust. He was tested and proven of the Lord, but he did not obey the voice of God. He had become tired of his simplicity, and he chose to follow his own finite judgment, and departed from the Lord. Saul had been a man of striking personal attractions, and at the beginning of his reign the Spirit of the Lord had been upon him. After his coronation he had been a changed man; but pride came into his heart, and he became lifted up in his own estimation. He thought, as some success had attended his plans and his generalship, that his prosperity was due to the wise movements he had made. The people praised him, and gave glory to him, and did not acknowledge the Lord as the prime mover in all their successes. Through his appointed agents, God had given definite instruction; but those who were self-sufficient, and puffed up with pride,—the poor, finite beings whom God had given position, and endowed with honor,—had concluded that they understood the situation of things far better than did the Lord, and they determined to follow their own way, and have their own will carried out, and unite with the godless.
8 The Maker of mind possesses in himself alone the principles of life and action that must regulate and govern inferior minds. The natural, selfish mind, as it exists in its carnal state, acts without reference to God, and is evil, and only evil, continually. The soul cannot be in a state of peace or safety unless it is waiting upon God and receiving instruction from him. Saul’s heart was estranged from God; and when he was reproved by Samuel, he stubbornly refused to admit that he had disobeyed God, although the lowing of the oxen, and the bleating of the sheep, sounded in the ears of the king and the prophet, and the king of the Amalekites, who, with all his nation and their possessions, was devoted to utter destruction, was preserved alive in the camp of Israel. While Saul persisted in self-justification, he knew in his heart that he had decidedly transgressed the commandment of the Lord. He was displeased that the Lord did not recognize his judgment, and approve of the victory he had gained, which was the most brilliant of his successes. But the Lord does not look upon successes as men do. Obedience to his word is counted as of more value than the most brilliant conquest that is gained in opposition to his will. In heart and act, Saul was decidedly opposed to the will of God. He flattered himself that in sparing Agag he was manifesting more mercy than the Judge of all the earth. And he told the prophet that the sheep and oxen, which God had ordered to be slain, were to be presented before him as sacrifices in Gilgal.
9 We have often been grieved to meet this same spirit of self-justification in those who profess in this day to be doing the will of God, while they are living in transgression of his holy law. Those who depart from God’s way to follow their own way, refuse to acknowledge their perversity and sin when reproved by the servants of God. As did Saul, so do these stubbornly fortify themselves in their rebellion, that they may hold fast to their errors and defects. God’s voice is heard, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it;” but they have wandered on forbidden ground, and in place of making full and free confession they do everything that is possible to make it appear that they are rebuked without cause, and are innocent of the charges brought against them. In this way they make God out a liar. The displeasure of the Lord is kindled against them; and unless they repent, and turn to him, his wrath will certainly fall upon them. “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
10 Those whose deeds are evil, will not come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved and their real characters revealed. If they continue in the path of transgression, and sever themselves entirely from the Redeemer, stubbornness, and sullenness, and a spirit of revenge will take possession of them, and they will say to their own souls, Peace, peace, when there is every reason that they should be alarmed, for their steps are directed toward destruction. As Saul resisted the reproofs of the servant of the Lord, this spirit took possession of him. He defied the Lord, he defied his servant, and his enmity toward David was the outworking of the murderous spirit that comes into the heart of those who justify themselves in the face of their guilt.
11 David had sought and obtained divine instruction, and he obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gave the glory of his success to the Lord, who had delivered the enemies of Israel into his hands. Oh that the people of God, at all times and in every extremity, would seek the Lord, who is the sovereign ruler of all worlds, and the general of all the armies of those who honor and serve him. We need to pray more, and to trust less in our own power. When sincere prayer is offered, and our souls are humbled in deep contrition before God, and are not lifted up in self-importance, the Lord will bless his people. The promise is given, that those who commit their way unto the Lord, shall be directed in the path of righteousness. Those who truly seek and obtain God’s favor and help, and preserve their union with Heaven, will not glorify themselves, but they will glorify God for his great power and majesty that has wrought in their behalf.
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1 The lovers of the truth of God should be the happiest people in the earth, because “he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Holiness is happiness, because holiness is a part of Heaven. How can we be unhappy when we see so many evidences of the love of God to us, expressed in his created works? How many look with indifference upon the tokens of God’s regard for their happiness! When I look upon the lofty trees, and contemplate the loving heavenly Father who has planted them for us, my heart is drawn out in praise and thanksgiving. We should seek to see the relation of natural things to the spiritual truths of God; then, in looking upon the works of nature, the mind will be instinctively drawn to the Giver of every good and perfect gift.
2 The glorious things of nature seem to have been designed for the very purpose of illustrating Bible truth. It is evident that the Author of nature is the Author of the Bible. God is a lover of the beautiful, and he has given unmistakable evidences of his love for man, in the beauties of the material world. He has garnished the Heavens with matchless and wonderful splendor. He has clothed the earth with a carpet of velvet-like green, and given to the flowers their beautiful and varied tints. Everywhere we look we see reasons for praising the God of Heaven.
3 Suppose that a benevolent person should provide a beautiful home, and surround it with everything to be desired, and then present it to a poor man who had nothing to give in exchange for it but a grateful heart. The benevolent man has no other motive in this act than to make the poor man happy, and give him an evidence of his love for him, and his interest in his welfare. Suppose that the recipient of these gifts should regard them with indifference, and even manifest dissatisfaction, by pointing out defects in the beautiful arrangements, would you not disapprove of this course? Would you not say this man is not worthy of such blessings, for he has no grateful remembrance of the loving giver?
4 Well, what are we doing with the gifts that God has so richly bestowed upon us? Do we not overlook the most precious things in nature? Do we not fail to appreciate the things that are lovely and charming to the senses, and manifest no gratitude, and have no thankfulness to return to God, who has provided these very things as an expression of his love toward us? Do we closely investigate these treasures in various ways, that we may take in all the depth of his love in providing them for our comfort and delight? Do the glories of earth, and sea, and sky, kindle in our hearts grateful, happy thoughts of God? Do you read in the lofty trees, in the waving grass, in the flowers of the field, the lesson that is taught there,—that God loves you?
5 I listen to the happy songsters caroling forth their hymns of praise to God above, and joy kindles in my own heart. But how does our heavenly Father regard the indifference with which men receive the tokens of his love to them? How can he look upon those who never give to him the glory that is due unto his great name? He is described in his created works, and nature teaches you of his character and majesty.
6 Said Jesus, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” And shall we be inconsiderate of the flowers of God? Shall we regard with indifference these tokens of the wonderful love of God toward fallen man? In contemplating the works of his hand, our imaginations are to be put to the stretch. We are to look up to the royal gifts that await the faithful and obedient child of Heaven. The apostle declares, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him.”
7 We see the varied gifts of God in nature, but we see but the faintest gleaming of his glory. Our hearts should be filled with praise to him who will ever act in harmony with his own greatness; and in looking upon the works of God, by faith we may contemplate what we shall behold if we are fitted for the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love him. Then let us not go through the world neglecting to see and to appreciate the wonderful things with which God has surrounded us. Let us not forget to talk of the compassion of our heavenly Father, who hath provided all things richly to enjoy. Let us not begin to grumble, because we see thistles and thorns. God did not tell you to look upon these. He did not bid you grasp the thorns, that would wound and bruise your flesh, and grieve your spirit. Turn your eyes away from these things to the attractive loveliness of that which is beautiful. Think on these things, talk of the wonderful works of your Creator and Redeemer. Talk of the price that was given to win these things for you. Dwell upon the theme of salvation. Talk of the tender love of God, who gave his only begotten Son to die on Calvary, that we might come into possession of eternal riches.
8 Oh, what value we may see every day in the unspeakable gifts of God! Shall we not rid the heart of the base thing that has taken possession of it, which makes us incapable of appreciating the matchless love of our heavenly Father? Shall we not now tune our hearts to praise God from whom all blessings flow? Let us stop every breath of complaint, and shape our words into songs of joy and thankfulness for the gift of his dear Son to save a perishing world. If we would be among those who will praise God in the world to come, we must begin to praise him here, and now. We must tune our hearts to the music of Heaven, which is praise to God and to the Lamb forever and ever. Let Christians show that they are Christ-like, that they are breathing in the atmosphere of Heaven.
9 Jesus says, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” If Christians would manifest the joy that Christ is willing to give them, they would represent the religion of the Bible much better than they now do. We are to be in the world, but we are not to be of it. We are to see and appreciate all the beauties in nature, and we are to let the favors of God lift up our minds to the bountiful Giver. We are to express, by precept and example, that we are the possessors of peace, and trust, and fullness of joy. We are to cultivate gratitude and love and praise in our hearts, that through his promises, richer than precious pearls, we may discern the purposes of God toward us. As the flowers gather for themselves the hidden properties of earth and air, and develop into things of beauty to delight our senses, so Christians are privileged to gather from the garden of God’s promises, faith and hope, peace, joy, and support. They are to give out again to others a life fragrant with good works.
10 In the promises, God withdraws the veil from Heaven, and bids us look into the glory prepared for those who love him. Why do we so constantly take our gaze away from these things of unsurpassed loveliness in the inheritance of the saints in light, and fix our eyes upon the things that are dark and forbidding? Why do we gather up the clouds of unbelief about our souls, and enshroud ourselves in an atmosphere that is only discouraging, and will bring death to our spirituality? God would have us learn lessons from the lily that opens its pure white blossoms upon the bosom of the lake. The flower reposes in spotless loveliness, while all around it, on the surface of the water, are unseemly and obnoxious things. The lily strikes its stem deeper and still deeper into the pure waters and sands, far beneath the surface of the lake, and refuses everything that would taint and pollute its purity. It only draws to itself those properties that will aid its development into a spotless lily.
11 Shall we not learn lessons from this lily? Although we are in a world teeming with moral corruption, we have no need to gather to our souls the disgusting pollutions of earth. We may refuse the evil. We may choose the good. We may gather to our souls the precious, the pure, the heavenly; we may put into our character-building solid timber, that will make a fit temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand we may gather to our souls evil suggestions, and doubts and impurities. We may communicate with the prince of darkness, and refuse the Prince of light. We may put unworthy, unsound timbers into our character-building; and our thoughts, our words, our influence, will lead others into darkness. Our words and works will not be a savor of life unto life, but of death unto death. While we claim to be Christians, if we do not gather with Christ we shall be agents of Satan, to beguile souls away into the paths of destruction. God forbid that this should be the case. Let your life be a continual testimony that you belong to Christ. Represent your Lord in kindness, in forbearance, in long-suffering, in patience, in thinking no evil, in cheerfulness, in fullness of joy. You will do this, if you let your faith penetrate every cloud. Draw to yourself the graces of the Spirit, weave them into a character that will develop itself in good works. Let men see that because you have become a partaker of the divine nature, you have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
12 In the work of overcoming sinful habits, special grace will be given to all that sincerely desire it. We may come to the divine Helper, who is able to succor those who are in the midst of temptation and evil. The loving kindness of God is not all reserved for the future, eternal reward, but it is abundant for the present needs of his people. All the changes of life, all the hard places in the way to Heaven, will be blessed by the grace that is sufficient for every trial. We have assuring promises of protection and help. The everlasting arms will be beneath us to encourage, sustain, and uphold. Poverty or wealth, sickness or health, simplicity or wisdom, all are provided for in the promises of his grace. There is light for the intellect, love for the heart, and vigor for every faculty. If we will not lay hold on the blessings God has provided for us, if we will only grasp hold of the thorns and the thistles, to wound and bruise ourselves, we have no right to complain of God’s dealings with us.
13 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Praise God, brethren and sisters. Praise him with heart, and soul, and voice, and thus you will be learning to sing the songs of Heaven.
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1 He who desires salvation should fix his mind upon the cross of Calvary. It is there that the sinner may behold what sin has done. There he can see the infinite sacrifice that has been made to redeem him from the penalty of the broken law of God. As the transgressor realizes his lost condition, he sees in Christ his only hope of salvation. From the cross he learns precious lessons of the life, the self-denial, the self-sacrifice, the goodness, the mercy and love of the Son of God, who gave himself for us. Calvary portrays the matchless attributes of the divine character. As he looks to the cross, he will hate sin; for he will understand that it was sin that rejected, reproached, denied, scourged, and crucified the Majesty of Heaven. He will love the Father, who gave all Heaven to men in the gift of his only begotten Son. His heart will be filled with an eager desire for the knowledge of God, and for an understanding of the plan of salvation. He who has had a vivid view of the cross, will hate sin, and love righteousness. His doubts will vanish in the clear light reflected from the cross of Calvary.
2 The plain statements of the word of God declare that “sin is the transgression of the law;” and as the sinner realizes his attitude toward God, if he is truly repentant he will hasten to leave the black banner of the prince of rebellion, and will take his stand under the blood-stained banner of the Prince Emmanuel. He will receive the divine illumination, and will approve the things that are excellent. He will see that Christ is the propitiation for his sin; not that sin might become a virtue, but that it might become exceedingly sinful. He will cease to transgress the divine law, and will take his stand with those who are loyal to the God of Heaven.
3 The word of God will be read with a humble and teachable spirit by him who is seeking for its hidden treasures of wisdom and truth. As men seek to come into harmony with God, they will find that the offense of the cross has not ceased. As the sinner yields obedience to all the requirements of God, he will find that principalities, and powers, and wicked spirits in high places, are arrayed against him. But the follower of Christ cannot avoid shame and reproach. He cannot go with the multitude of them that do evil, who make void the law of God by their tradition. His eyes must be fixed upon the cross where Jesus died that humanity might be elevated and ennobled, and re-instated in the favor of the heavenly Father. He must follow Him whose righteousness shall be imputed unto all that are faithful and obedient.
4 Through the perfect obedience of the Son of God, through the merits of his blood, and the power of his intercession, man may become a partaker of the divine nature, and escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust. He may again be brought into the favor of God,—not while in willful transgression, not while trampling upon the great moral standard of righteousness, but by obedience to the precepts of God’s law, through faith in his Son.
5 The cross of Calvary tells how Christ has magnified the law and made it honorable. It required the infinite merits of his blood to make an atonement for those who receive his love, and follow in his footsteps. Man may obtain pardon and peace only through Him who has loved us, and who will wash us from our sins in his own blood. Those who have been convinced of sin before the law, and have exercised repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, cease to make void the law of God. Although the whole world were arrayed against them, they could but vindicate its righteousness, and fulfill its obligations.
6 We could never have known the value of Christ, except through an understanding of the exalted claims of the law of Jehovah. We could never have appreciated the depth of the pit from which Christ has rescued us, except through a comprehension of the excellence of the precepts of truth. Never could we have understood the depth of the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, unless we could have beheld the marvelous character of the law of Heaven and earth. In the light of that holy law, the sinner sees the Redeemer as he is,—full of mercy, compassion, goodness, and love; and by looking to Jesus, and by contemplating his matchless love to such a sinner as himself, his heart is filled with gratitude and heavenly peace.
7 As the sinner grasps the promises of God by faith, a blessed confidence comes into his soul, and he receives the illumination of the Spirit of God. A contemplation of the cross of Christ on Calvary, enables the mind to form correct ideas of the plan of redemption. Those who do this will have a better appreciation of what the sinner must become in character and life if he would be accounted worthy of eternal life. The law of God will stand out in clear distinctness before the mind’s eye.
8 Although the law of God is of a holy and unchangeable character, the adversary of God and man, the first great rebel who transgressed its precepts in Heaven, has led men in all ages to war against God. Through all manner of deceptions he has gathered them under the black banner of rebellion. But Jesus came to our world to bring to men moral power to resist the devices of Satan, and to become loyal subjects to the God of Heaven. As the sinner sees that sin is the transgression of the law, and that the law is the foundation of God’s government in Heaven and in earth, he makes haste to place his feet in the path of righteousness, that he may be without offense till the day of Christ.
9 Those who seek, by every effort possible, to make void the law of God, act contrary to their convictions, and use arguments that have no force, because “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” But the humble, honest, sincere soul will approve the things that are excellent, notwithstanding the fact that by so doing he will have to become a partaker with Christ of his sufferings. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, the obedient child of God will manifest to the world that he is vitally connected with Christ, the living vine.
10 The word of truth declares that “by their fruits ye shall know them.” In order to test the character of every man’s fruits, it is necessary to have a standard. God has provided that standard for us in the precepts of his law, and there is nothing else by which to try men’s characters and doctrines. Says the prophet, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” The world has been following the prince of darkness; but those who desire to follow Christ, will have to come out from the world, and be separate from its follies and fashions. “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.”
11 Nothing in the line of fables can satisfy a soul that is longing for Bible truth, and who feels that eternal interests are at stake. A plausible supposition will not do, nor can an assertion be found sufficient to quiet an aroused conscience. The earnest seeker for truth must have a plain “Thus saith the Lord.” He does not want to approve of unrighteousness, but of things that are excellent. He is determined not to rest his hope of salvation on anything that is of a doubtful nature. He must have the assurance of the word of God as to whether he is a rebel to his law, or loyal to his rules of government. Ingenious, fine-spun theories, and arguments, that seek to prove that God’s law is of no further force, do not satisfy a soul tortured with conviction of sin. He cannot rest in suspense. He thinks, “Suppose that the law of God does hold its claims upon every human being as it did upon Adam in Eden, and I should receive these ingenious theories, and be found on the side of the great rebel at last. Then I would be a lost soul, and would justly share the fate of the transgressor.” Groaning under the load of sin, he cries out, “Am I God’s friend, or his foe? As he contemplates the cross of Calvary, the true light shines to him. He sees, in the plan of salvation, that the death of Christ is an unanswerable argument as to the immutable character of the law. The law of God is as unchangeable as its author; and because not one precept could be changed or altered to meet man in his fallen condition, the Son of God had to die, the just for the unjust. He bore the penalty of man’s disobedience, that man might be re-instated in the favor of God, and by a life of humble obedience might form such a character as would be accounted worthy of a place in the kingdom of God.
12 As these truths flash upon the mind of the sinner, a moral revolution takes place. He realizes that the testimony of the word and the Spirit agree; and doubt is swept away. He can rejoice in Christ as his living Saviour, his substitute, his surety, his strength and righteousness. The day-star has arisen in his heart. Christ is formed within, the hope of glory; and with John, the language of the soul is, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” He has a foundation for his faith. It is Christ, the Rock of Ages. He dares to love him, for the light reflected from the cross of Calvary reveals his Saviour to his soul, as “the chiefest among ten thousand,” and the one “altogether lovely.”
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1 The true Christian will be meek, gentle, willing to learn, teachable, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. Those who are truly religious will not become stubborn, set in their way, and unyielding in their opinions. They will be ready to prove all things, and to hold fast that which is good. They will consider themselves as learners in the school of Christ. They will not be of that class who are ever ready to lecture others to condemn and criticise, and to impugn the motives of their friends and neighbors. The Christian is to represent Jesus, who is the light of the world. To take a position as above the brethren, is to take the position of the Pharisee. Let the meekness of Jesus appear in words of wisdom, and in an irreproachable conduct that will recommend your faith to those with whom you associate.
2 Heaven is open to us. Everyone may find access to the source of strength. From the gates ajar, the light of the better world is shining into the path of the just. Mothers may come to Jesus with their worries and perplexities. They may find grace sufficient to support them, and to aid them in the management of their children. They may be enabled to conduct their household affairs in a manner that will glorify God. Let them study less how to make the outward appearance attractive, and devote more time to the education and training of their children, that they may meet the approval of God. He who is high and lifted up, esteems a meek and quiet spirit as of great price. Its possessor is of more value in his eyes than the gold of Ophir. If, then, this spirit makes character so acceptable to God, how earnestly should mothers pray and labor, that their households may be adorned with this precious ornament. If the many hours that are devoted to improving the outward appearance, were devoted by mothers to prayer, and to the study of the Scriptures, in order to learn how to mould the characters of their charges, what a difference would be seen in the society of the church which is composed of these families.
3 The lesson which we have individually to learn in the school of Christ, is how we can use our God-given influence and ability in a manner which Christ will accept, and in a way that will make us the light of the world. You are not to study how you can please the world, or how you can enjoy the world, but how you may exert an influence that will bless man, and lead souls to Christ. Dedicate yourselves to Christ. Commit the keeping of your souls to God, as unto a faithful Creator. Take hold of his strength, and he will work with your efforts. You cannot afford to waste or misuse your God-given powers or opportunities. The time is now yours to perfect your own characters and those of your children, that you may be useful in this life, and fitted for the eternal life that is to come. A life devoted to God in works of faithfulness, is a witness to men of the power of godliness.
4 There are many who forsake the fountain of living waters, and hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water; but Christ, the Rock of Ages, invites the weary and the wandering to come unto him and find rest for their souls, to come and obtain peace and salvation. Many are walking apart from Christ, not obeying his words or working his works, and yet they are pretending to be holy; but this claim will not stand the test of the Judgment. It is true that our works will not save us, and yet no one will be saved without good works. A pure life, a holy character, must be attained by everyone who would enter the portals of the city of God. The moralist, trusting in his own goodness, will be found wanting. Like Cain, he presents a sacrifice which does not recognize the blood of Jesus as essential to cleanse from the defilement of sin. Every sinner must have virtue that is not possessed by himself. Our door-post must be marked by the atoning blood, thus acknowledging our own inefficiency, and the merits of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world; for without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.
5 Fathers and mothers, you should feel the necessity of saying, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Then the world would not hesitate to place you with Christians. Men will not be acquainted with the motives that actuate you, or know the principles that move you; but they will see your determination to move in the fear of God. You will not join them in the chase after pleasure, nor in following the fashions and customs of the world. You will not be in harmony with their tastes, their plans, and conversations. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
6 As Christ is pure in his sphere, man may be pure in his. We have a work to do for ourselves which no one can do for us, and we must appreciate the time and the opportunities that are given to us, that we may prepare for the eternal world. Fathers and mothers, it is your privilege to be sanctified to God, and to bring your children to Jesus, by earnest prayer, by living faith, by constant, untiring effort. Never was Jesus more willing to prove to you that he is the Rock of Ages than he is today. Never before have the people of God had greater encouragement to trust in Jesus than they have today. It will be very hard for us to excuse our neglect, or to bring reasons why we should not believe in our Saviour, and sing,
“Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee.”
7 The life of the true-hearted Christian will be as the light of the world. The spiritual life will not be manifested by proud boasting. It has its seat in a heart that displays the working of the Spirit of Christ in the character and thought. There will be manifested meekness, humility, tender compassion, love, faith, and hope. Teach your children to seek meekness, quietness, and purity. These are the ornaments that can be worn with the approval of God. Parents, let your adorning not be the outward adorning, but the inward adorning of the heart, in that which is not corruptible. The ornaments that God would have the Christian wear are of an immortal character.
8 Parents should seek to become thoroughly acquainted with their children. Oh, may the Lord impress them with the necessity of laboring for them, in order to bring them to Jesus! Oh that they might realize the far-reaching influence of the impressions of early life! These impressions are either for good or for evil, and they leave their traces in the character, which is developing day by day. Parents will be held responsible for the influence they exert, and for the development of their children. In the day of Judgment they will have to meet the record of their work.
9 No higher work was ever committed to mortals than the shaping of character. Children are not only to be educated, but trained as well; and who can tell the future of a growing child, or youth? Let the greatest care be bestowed upon the culture of your children. One child, properly disciplined in the principles of truth, who has the love and fear of God woven through the character, will possess a power for good in the world that cannot be estimated. The work of wise parents will never be appreciated by the world, but when the Judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened, their work will appear as God views it, and will be rewarded before men and angels. It will be seen that one child who has been brought up in a faithful way, has been a light in the world. It cost tears and anxiety and sleepless nights to oversee the character-building of this child, but the work was done wisely, and the parents hear the “Well done” of the Master.
10 Mothers, you can find no greater missionary field wherein to exercise your talents, than in the home, where your children are to be reared in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. You are not merely to dress them, feed them, and send them to school; but you are to patiently instruct them, giving them line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little. You are to restrain the evil tendencies, and to encourage the good. Day by day you are to seek the help of God by earnest importuning and supplication. To be at ease, to suffer them to go on in a wrong course, indifferent to the results, is a neglect of your God-given duties, and will reveal the worst effects for time and for eternity. Satan is at hand to crowd in evil thoughts, to lead them into evil ways. He will possess the heart that is not given to Jesus that he may impress it, and wash it, and cleanse it, and sanctify it for the courts of Heaven.
11 The mother should not be off guard for a moment. She is doing a work that will tell in time and in eternity. She should learn to depend upon God with implicit confidence. Children, when they become of age, will prize the parent who labored faithfully, and would not permit them to cherish wrong feelings or indulge in evil habits. Parents, you may find your children impatient of restraint, at first. They may rebel, but you should insist upon obedience. Children trained to obey their parents will be in a condition to love God, and to yield to the claims of his law.
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1 We must not take the word of any man as authoritative on matters that concern our eternal interests. We must go to the Scriptures for ourselves. We must search for truth as for hidden treasures. No man can pay a redemption price for our souls; and those who stand condemned at the bar of God because they believed the testimony of man rather than the testimony of God, will appreciate the worth of the word of God. Those who deceived them cannot save their souls, nor the souls that they were instrumental in leading into error, away from Christ and the truth. God’s word was given to lead men into truth, but many did not search its pages for themselves, and thus they were separated from him by wicked works.
2 The time in which we live is full of peril. Although Noah, and Job, and Daniel were in the land, they could not save son or daughter. They could only deliver their own souls by their righteousness. We must individually stand or fall for ourselves, as we shall be judged by the great moral standard of God’s holy law. We must watch. We must pray. We must search the Scriptures. We must know that we have a foundation for our faith. The cross of Calvary reveals the fact that if sin is found upon us, we shall hear the word, “Depart, ye workers of iniquity.” We want to dig deep, and lay a sure foundation. We should be in earnest to obtain a living experience for ourselves. We must be partakers of the divine nature, if we would not be found warring against the divine law. We want our sins blotted out, and our names written in the Lamb’s book of life. We must be joined to Christ, grow up in him, and become like him in character and spirit. If we are thus united to Christ, we shall feel our constant dependence upon him. We shall see that there is nothing in us to make us self-sufficient, nothing in us in which we can trust; therefore we shall be clothed with humility.
3 I would that our eyes could be opened to see and to realize our danger of departing from the principles of God’s law. Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, the adorable Son of God, agonized with the Father, with strong crying and tears. This was not on his own account; but because we feel so little our need of fervent, earnest prayer; because we see so little our danger. He wept because we have no tears to shed. Our hearts are in danger of becoming hard and unimpressible.
4 We should seek more and more for the light and knowledge that we so much need. We want the grace of God abundantly bestowed upon us, that we may flourish as the palm-tree. We are in danger of losing our souls, because of confidence in self. We want to see our great need of a daily connection with Christ. We want to see that he alone can cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Why are our hearts so cold? Why is our service so lifeless?
5 Let us arise in faith, and press closer to Jesus. Let us rejoice in his love. We may obtain the most precious victories. There is help for us in God. Let us grasp the promises, and look to Calvary. Jesus died to save us from sin; then let us cease to sin, and open the heart wide, that he may come in and abide with us.
6 The loveliness of the character of Christ, must be seen in his followers. It was his delight to do the will of God. Zeal for the glory of God was the controlling power in his mind. His unlikeness to the world provoked the bitter hostility of those who hated truth and righteousness. Because he would give no license for the exercise of the evil passions of our nature, he aroused the fiercest opposition and enmity.
7 The spotless Son of God was derided and mocked because of his unswerving obedience to the principle of God’s holy law. So it will be with all who live godly in Christ Jesus.
8 Let no one talk of an easy religion. Let no one imagine that the path to Heaven is smooth and pleasant, that there is nothing to do but to believe. We are to be workers together with God; and through diligent and painstaking effort alone, can the conditions of the promises be met. The words of inspiration declare that “faith without works is dead, being alone.” We are exhorted to “fight the good fight of faith.” We are to wrestle with unseen foes, to labor, to watch, to strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many will be content with simple seeking, and will fail of an entrance. “Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat;” but “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
9 We are enjoined to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” We are required to take upon our necks the yoke of Christ, because every good impulse comes from the Spirit of God, and we are quickened to earnest effort for a higher life. We are to strive to repress every word that implies a doubt; for doubt spoken, is a seed sown in the minds of others, and eternity alone will reveal the result. Here is the conflict, to keep back words that we are inclined to speak against God and each other; for “by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Our words are influences that impress the minds of others, and they are reflected in every direction. Shall we cast suspicion upon others? Shall we start the root of bitterness whereby many shall be defiled? Religion is a principle to be carried out in practical life, and developed in character and actions. We are ever to represent Jesus. We are to comfort, uphold, and encourage our brethren. We are to strengthen those who are weak in moral power. Oh! be sure that you do not misrepresent the character of your divine Lord by claiming to be sons and daughters of God, while speaking and acting like the children of the wicked one. Do not leave a false impression upon the minds of unbelievers, that Christians are a gloomy, unhappy people. Why should we be unhappy? If our feet are in the royal path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, what is there that can make us unhappy and restless?
10 Have not some of you mistaken the way, and taken the wrong path? Shall we not search carefully, and see whether or not we have real Bible religion? Let us ponder the warnings, instructions, and promises of God, until our souls burn within us, and our whole desire is to stand by the side of Jesus, and wear his yoke, and bear his burden, and find rest unto our souls.
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1 He who has genuine faith in Christ will have a knowledge of Christ. He will have a growing sense of the power and preciousness of redeeming love and grace, because Christ has been brought into his daily life. He believes in Christ as his Saviour, and hopes in the mercy of God. Although he knows that he is a sinner, and deserves the wrath of God, yet he looks to Calvary and sees the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He knows that Christ has died for him, and that in Christ it is possible to keep the commandments of God. He has the witness in his own soul of the virtue and the love of Jesus, which his faith grasps, and appropriates to himself.
2 His faith is not of that fraudulent character which refuses to lift the cross, and follow Christ by yielding obedience to all the precepts of Jehovah. It is not of that presumptuous nature that lays claim to the promises of God without complying with the conditions upon which they are to be granted. His is a faith that understands what the Saviour meant when he said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” True faith takes the word of God and weaves it into the life and character. Faith lives by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Christ explained to his disciples the meaning of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He said, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
3 Faith is that mysterious and mighty principle that attracts the soul of man to God. As the sapless branch is united to the living vine, so we must be connected with Christ. There are two kinds of connection between the branches and the vine stock. One is visible, but superficial. The other is invisible and vital. So there is an apparent union, a membership with the church, and a profession of religion, which, though in itself good, is too often unaccompanied by saving faith in Jesus or living obedience to the commandments of God. The branches that are connected with Christ, the living vine, will make it manifest by bearing much fruit in good works to the glory of God. But the branches which have nothing but an apparent union, will be fruitless. As the branch cannot possibly bring forth fruit without a vital connection with the parent stock, so the Christian can be fruitful in good works only as union with Christ is made and preserved. The ruin of those who are not connected with Christ, is as complete as though they had no name to live; for they are dead. Christ compares them to lifeless branches that are gathered and burned in the fire. “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
4 There can be no actual connection with Christ if the person who claims it has no practical knowledge of the sufficiency of the grace of God that is potent to elevate, ennoble, refine, and fit the Christian for the courts of Heaven. Those who know Christ, will make manifest the desirableness of his love and peace. Every genuine believer will taste, and see that the Lord is good, and will show forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness into the marvelous light of the children of God. The true believer not only has faith, but he has a knowledge of the efficacy of the blood of Christ to cleanse from the defilement of sin. Christ crucified is the subject of his thought and meditation. The word of God to him is not a cunningly devised fable. Christ crucified, though unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, is to him the power and wisdom of God. When assailed by skeptics, his living experience in the things of God will furnish him with arguments that cannot be gainsaid, and will enable him to resist every dart of the wicked one, so that even the uneducated believer may have simple and genuine proofs of his position, that cannot be overborne by the doubts and cavils of infidels. He can relate that which he has himself experienced. He can say, “I know whom I have believed.”
5 Those who connect with the school of Christ will be careful to obey the words of the Lord. Their faith will be founded upon knowledge, for they will be diligent students of the Scriptures. Like the humble fishermen who united with the Saviour to learn of him, those who love Christ today will not only listen to his words, but practice his precepts, and follow in his footsteps. The greatest Teacher the world has ever known, has opened their understanding, and has given them knowledge and judgment, that they may approve things that are excellent. The most educated, as well as the most ignorant, may become partakers of the knowledge of Christ’s salvation. The great apostle himself learned in the school of Christ, and strengthened his faith by his experience in following Jesus, and by acquiring knowledge of Bible history. He convinced men that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and Christ shed his glory upon the apostle, and he could speak from what he had seen and known.
6 It is the very knowledge that we gain daily, in our conflicts with Satan, that will be valuable to us in the future. It is the experience that we acquire in the things that Jesus is doing for us, in guarding our souls and bodies from the cruel power of our enemy, that will increase our hope and add to our power to fight our way through. In Paul’s experience of suffering for his Lord, he realized the consolation and support of his Redeemer. His trials did not dishearten him, for the rich grace of God nerved him for the conflict, and with fortitude and courage, he gloried in tribulation.
7 What are we doing with the light God has given to us? In temporal matters, many give thought and attention, and close application of mind, in order to make a business success. Should we not give our very best talent to the service of God? Should we not seek to gain a greater knowledge, and a more intelligent manner of doing the work of the Lord? Are we content to exalt the temporal above the eternal interests?
8 As the apostle prayed for the Philippian brethren, so pray for yourselves, and for each other, “that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” We should not be satisfied with our present spiritual attainments. If the Lord should open before us our condition as it really is, and we should see the danger there is of losing our souls, even those who now profess to be Christians would fall upon their knees, and pray earnestly, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.” The astonishing indifference and carelessness which many now feel, is because they are separated in their thoughts from God, and really ignorant of their own peril. If the truth does not have a sanctifying influence upon your life and character, you will be like the foolish virgins, whose lamps were gone out at the very time when the bridegroom came to go in to the marriage. A theory of the truth is not enough. There is a high standard for us to reach. Our conflict is a continual conflict with the powers of darkness, and we must put on the whole armor of God, fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life. But how few are willing to urge their way heavenward against every opposing force of evil in the world!
9 The apostle prayed that love might abound more and more. There must be a living faith, before there can be a living experience. There are many who have a certain formal knowledge of Christ, and an indefinite faith that does not have an active influence upon the life and character. This faith is not a saving faith. Our love for Jesus must commence here, if we expect to love him through the ages of eternity. All who love Christ will talk of him. How shall the world know of the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of your Lord and Saviour, unless you make it the theme of your thought and conversation? If our hearts are rejoicing in the hope of beholding our coming Saviour, shall we not speak of it to others? “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” We shall have the Spirit of Christ, if we are in union with him; and with the same untiring love and patience, we shall seek that which is lost. One soul is worth the world. It is the purchase of the blood of Christ, and those who really love Christ will feel the value of the souls for whom he shed his precious blood.
10 The glory of the eternal world is just before us. Are you forwarding your treasure from this perishing earth to the land of safety? What care is taken to secure proper titles to your worldly possessions. Has your thought been exercised in regard to securing a title to the heavenly possessions? Your worldly estates will soon pass away, notwithstanding all your anxiety and toil. You must leave them all sometime. You may die before the coming of Jesus, or you may live till his appearing; however it is, the thoughts and ambitions of earth must be relinquished; but if your treasure is laid up on high, your riches will be incorruptible, undefiled, and will never pass away.
11 Make friendship with Christ today. Put your case in the hands of the great Advocate. He will plead your cause before the Father. Though you have transgressed the law, and must plead guilty before God, Christ will present his precious blood in your behalf; and through faith and obedience, and a vital union with Christ, you may stand acquitted before the Judge of all the earth, and he will be your friend when the final trump shall sound, and the scenes of earth shall be no more.
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1 After the rejection of Saul as king of Israel, David was anointed by the prophet as the future ruler of the people of God. But although he was aware of the high position which he was to occupy, he continued his employment as a simple shepherd, content to await the development of the Lord’s plans in his own appointed time and way.
2 When King Saul realized that he had been rejected of God, and when he felt the force of the words of denunciation that had been addressed to him by the prophet, he was filled with bitter rebellion and despair. His health was affected by the mental worry in which he indulged, and at times he was almost insane with the thought of coming disaster to himself and his household. His counselors advised him to seek for the services of a skillful musician, in the hope that the soothing notes of a sweet instrument might calm his troubled spirit, and turn his thoughts away from his grief.
3 In the providence of God, David, as a skillful performer upon the harp, was brought before the king. The shepherd boy was employed to play before the ruler of Israel, and, if possible, to charm away the brooding melancholy which had settled, like a dark cloud, over the mind of Saul. The king was ever occupied in anticipating the ruin that had been brought upon his house by his own course of disobedience and rebellion. It was not true repentance that had bowed the proud head of Saul. He had no perception of the offensive character of his sin in the sight of God, and he did not arouse to reform his life and character. His heart was not humbled because he had disregarded the express injunctions and commands of the Ruler of the universe; therefore he did not return to his allegiance to the Head of all kingdoms, but brooded over what he thought was the injustice of God in depriving him of the throne of Israel, and in taking the succession to its privileges away from his posterity. He felt that the valor which he had displayed in encountering his enemies, should offset his sin of disobedience. He did not accept with meekness the chastisement of God; but his proud spirit became desperate, until he was on the verge of losing his reason.
4 David came before Saul, and played with all the skill that his long practice had given him; and his lofty and Heaven-inspired strains had the desired effect. The evil spirit seemed to be driven away, and the king was restored to his usual calmness. As David stood, for the first time, in the presence of Saul, there were many thoughts that filled the mind of the young musician, and served to fasten this scene upon his memory with an indelible impression. When his services were not required at the court of Saul, David returned to his flocks on the hills, and continued to maintain his simplicity of spirit and demeanor. Whenever it was necessary, he was recalled to minister before the king, to soothe the mind of the troubled monarch till the evil spirit departed from him. But although Saul expressed the greatest delight in David and his music, the young shepherd went from the king’s house to the fields and hills of his pasture, with a sense of relief and gladness, to care for his flocks with a tender and faithful care.
5 David was growing in favor with God and man. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he now set his heart more thoroughly to do the will of God than ever before. He had new themes for thought. He had been in the court of the king, and had seen the responsibilities of royalty. He had discovered some of the temptations that beset the soul of Saul, and had found out some of the mysteries in the character and dealing of Israel’s first king. He had seen the glory of royalty shadowed with a dark cloud of sorrow, and he knew that the household of Saul in their private life were far from happy. All these things served to bring serious thoughts to him who had been anointed to be king over Israel. While he was absorbed in deep meditation, and harassed by thoughts of anxiety, he turned to his harp, and called forth strains that elevated his mind to the Author of every good, and the dark clouds which seemed to arise in the horizon of the future were dispelled and dispersed.
6 On one occasion, as the evening shadows gathered, and he laid aside his harp, he saw a dark form moving stealthily upon his flock. It was a bear, fierce with hunger, that sprang upon the sheep of his care; but David did not flee for his life. He felt that it was the very hour when his charges needed his protection. He lifted his heart to God in prayer for wisdom and help, that he might do his duty in this time of peril. With his strong arm he laid the bear in death at his feet. At another time he discovered a lion with a bleeding lamb between his jaws. Without hesitation the youthful shepherd engaged in a desperate encounter. His arm, nerved by the living God, forced the beast to release its bleeding victim, and as it turned, mad with disappointment, upon David, he buried his hand in its mane and killed the fierce invader. His experience in these matters proved the heart of David, and developed in him courage, and fortitude, and faith. God was teaching David lessons of trust. As Moses was trained for his work, so the Lord was fitting the son of Jesse to become the leader and guide of his chosen people. In his watch-care for his flocks, he was gaining an appreciation of the care that the great Shepherd has for the sheep of his pasture.
7 When war was declared between Israel and the Philistines, three of the sons of Jesse went to follow Saul in the army of Israel; but David remained at home. On one occasion his father sent him with a message to visit the camp of Saul, and to learn whether or not his elder brothers were still in safety and health. Jesse sent with his son a present to his absent ones, which was to be divided among their companions in the camp.
8 As David drew near to the army, he heard the sound of commotion, as if an engagement was about to begin. He felt his spirit stirred within him, and he hastened on his way. And “the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.” Israel and the Philistines were drawn up in array, army against army. David ran unto the army, and came and saluted his brothers. While he was talking with them, Goliath, the bold champion of the Philistines, came forth, and with insulting language, defied Israel, and challenged them to provide a man from their ranks who would meet him in single combat. He repeated his blasphemous challenge, and David heard him, and when he saw that all Israel was afraid of him, and would do nothing, and that his defiance was hurled in their faces day after day, without arousing anyone to go forth and silence the voice of the boaster, his spirit was stirred within him. He was fired with zeal to preserve the honor of the living God, and the credit of the children of Israel. He could not endure to see this bold idolater permitted day after day to mock the chosen of the Lord, without making an effort to overthrow his proud vaunting and derision.
9 The armies of Israel were becoming depressed and discouraged. They said one to another, “Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up; and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.” To be sure that he understood them, David inquired of the men that stood nearest to him, “What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
10 Eliab, David’s eldest brother, when he heard these words, knew well the feelings that were stirring the young man’s soul. Even as a shepherd of the flocks of Bethlehem he had manifested daring, courage, and strength not easily accounted for; and the mysterious visit of Samuel to their father’s house, and his silent departure, had awakened in the minds of the brothers suspicions of the real object of his visit. David was not regarded with the respect and love due to his integrity and brotherly tenderness. He was looked upon as merely a stripling shepherd, and now the question which he asked was regarded by Eliab as a reflection cast upon his own cowardice in not silencing the giant of the Philistines. In passionate language the elder brother exclaimed, “Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.” The answer of David was decided and respectful: “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?”
11 Someone carried the words of David to the king, and the youth was sent for, to appear in the royal presence. Saul listened with astonishment to the words of the shepherd, as he said, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul strove earnestly to turn David from his purpose, saying, “Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth.” The young man was not to be turned from his desire. He remained firm, courageous, and determined, only waiting for the permission of the king. He replied in a simple, unassuming way, relating his experiences while tending the sheep. “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.”
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1 For forty days the host of Israel had trembled before the haughty challenge of Goliath, the Philistine giant. Their hearts failed within them as they looked upon his massive form, measuring six cubits and a span, or ten and a half feet, in height. Upon his head was a helmet of brass, he was clothed with a coat of mail that weighed five thousand shekels, or about a hundred and fifty-seven pounds, and he had greaves of brass upon his legs. The coat was made of plates of brass that overlaid one another, like the scales of a fish, and they were so closely joined that no dart or arrow could possibly penetrate the armor. At his back the giant bore a huge javelin, or lance, also of brass. “The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and one bearing a shield went before him.”
2 For forty days, morning and evening, Goliath had approached the camp of Israel, saying with a loud voice, “Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.” No one had dared to go against this boaster, until David, stirred with indignation at the proud words of the idolater, offered himself to Saul, as one who was willing to fight for the glory of God and the honor of Israel.
3 Saul decided to permit the shepherd to make the venture; but he had small hope that David would be successful in his courageous undertaking. Command was given to clothe the youth in the king’s own armor. The heavy helmet of brass was put upon his head, and the coat of mail was placed upon his body, while he was girded with the monarch’s sword. Thus equipped, he started upon his errand; but erelong he turned back, and began to retrace his steps. What was the trouble? Was he afraid? The first thought in the minds of the anxious spectators was that David had decided not to risk his life in meeting an antagonist in so unequal an encounter. But this was far from the thought of the brave young man.
4 When he returned to Saul, he begged permission to lay aside the heavy armor, and he said, “I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them.” He laid off the king’s armor, and in its stead took only his staff in his hand, with his shepherd’s scrip, and a simple sling. Choosing five smooth stones out of the brook, he put them in his bag, and, with his sling in his hand, he drew near to the Philistine. The champion strode boldly and proudly forward, expecting to meet with the mightiest of the warriors of Israel. His armor-bearer walked before him, and he looked as if nothing could stand before him. As he came nearer to David, he saw but a stripling, called a boy because of his youth. His countenance was ruddy with health; and his slender form, unprotected by armor, displayed all its youthful outline in marked contrast to the massive proportions of the Philistine.
5 Goliath was filled with amazement and anger. His indignation burst forth in words that were calculated to terrify and overwhelm the daring youth before him. “Am I a dog,” exclaimed the giant, “that thou comest to me with staves?” Then the Philistine poured upon David the most terrible curses by all the gods of his knowledge. He cried in derision, “Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.” This haughty threat only served to inspire the youth with loftier courage, and to kindle in his breast a greater zeal to silence the enemy of his people. He did not weaken before the champion of the Philistine. He knew that he was about to fight for the honor of his God and the deliverance of Israel, and his heart was full of calm faith and hope.
6 David stepped forward, and addressed his antagonist in language that was both modest and eloquent. And he said to the Philistine, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.”
7 What an inspiration of courage and lofty faith was displayed by the simple shepherd before the armies of the Israelites and the Philistines. There was a ring of fearlessness in his tone, a look of triumph and rejoicing upon his fair countenance. This speech, given in a clear, musical voice, rang out on the air, and was distinctly heard by the listening thousands encamped for war. As David’s rich voice uttered the words of trust and triumph, the anger of Goliath was roused to the very highest heat. In his rage, he pushed up the helmet that protected his forehead, and rushed with determined hatred to wreak vengeance upon his opponent. The son of Jesse was preparing for his foe. Both armies were watching with the most intense interest. “And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.”
8 Amazement spread along the lines of the two armies. They had been confident that David would be slain; but when the stone went whizzing through the air, straight to the mark, they saw the mighty warrior tremble, and reach forth his hands, as if he were struck with sudden blindness. The giant reeled, and staggered, and fell prostrate to the ground. David did not wait an instant. He knew not that life was extinct. He sprang upon the prostrate form of the Philistine, and with both hands he laid hold of Goliath’s heavy sword. A moment before the giant had flourished it before the face of David with the boast that he would sever the youth’s head from his shoulders, and give his body to the fowls of the air. Now it served to work the will of the servant of God. It was lifted in the air, and then the head of the boaster rolled from his trunk, and a shout of exultation went up from the camp of Israel.
9 The Philistines were smitten with terror. They knew that the day was lost. In horror and confusion they began an irregular retreat. The shout of the triumphant Hebrews echoed along the summits of the mountains, as they rushed after their retreating enemies, and they “pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.”
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1 After the slaying of Goliath David was brought before King Saul, and the king inquired concerning his parentage and life. “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” Saul kept David with him, and would not permit him to return to his father’s house. Jonathan and David made a covenant to be united as brethren, and the king’s son “stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.” David was intrusted with important responsibilities, yet he preserved his modesty, and everyone loved him. But there was no one so dear to him as Jonathan, because he possessed a pure and noble spirit.
2 “David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war.” But when Saul and David were returning from the slaughter of the Philistines, “the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music.” One company sang, “Saul hath slain his thousands,” while another company took up the strain and responded, “And David his ten thousands.” The demon of jealousy entered the heart of the king. He was angry because David was exalted above himself in the song of the women of Israel. In place of controlling these envious feelings, and manifesting a noble spirit, he displayed the great weakness of his character, and exclaimed, “They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands; and what can he have more but the kingdom?”
3 The one great defect in the character of Saul was his love of approbation. This trait had had such a controlling influence over his actions and thoughts that everything was marked by his desire for praise and self-exaltation. He permitted this evil desire to develop unchecked, and it became an instrument in his ruin. His standard of right and wrong was the low standard of popular applause. No man is safe who lives that he may please men, and does not seek first for the approbation of God. It was the ambition of Saul to be first in the estimation of men; and when this song of praise was sung, a settled conviction entered the heart of the king that David would obtain the hearts of the people, and reign in his stead.
4 Notwithstanding the lessons which Saul had had from the prophet Samuel, instructing him that God would accomplish whatsoever he chose, and that no one could hinder it; yet the king made it evident that he had no true knowledge of the plans or power of God. He showed that he had no true repentance for his course of rebellion and disobedience. He opened his heart to the spirit of envy and jealousy by which his soul was poisoned. He loved to hear David play upon his harp, and the evil spirit seemed to be charmed away for the time being; but one day when the youth was ministering before him, and bringing sweet music from his instrument, accompanying his voice as he sang the praises of God, Saul suddenly threw the spear which he held in his hand at the musician, for the purpose of putting an end to his life. David was preserved by the interposition of God, and he fled without injury from the rage of the maddened king.
5 The people were not slow to see that David was a competent person, and that the affairs intrusted to his hands were managed with wisdom and skill. Thus he was promoted from one position of trust to another. The counsels of the young man seemed to be always of a wise and discreet character, and proved to be safe to follow, while the advice of Saul was at times unreliable, and his decisions and judgments were ill-advised. As Saul’s hatred of David increased, he became more and more watchful to find an opportunity to take his life, and rid himself of one so obnoxious to him. But none of his plans against the anointed of the Lord were successful. He had taken Satan as his counselor; but David trusted himself in the hand of Him who is mighty in counsel, and strong to deliver. Saul gave himself up to the control of the wicked spirit that ruled over him, while David followed the Lord, and obtained the confidence of the people. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and David’s prayer was continually directed to God. His trust was in God, and he walked before him in a perfect way.
6 Although the king was his enemy, the servant of the Lord grew in favor with the people; and Saul, though ever on the alert, seeking an opportunity to take his life, feared David, for he was convinced that the Lord was with him. It was envy that made Saul miserable, and put the humble subject of his throne into jeopardy. Envy is one of the most despicable traits of Satanic character. It is constantly seeking the lifting up of self, by casting slurs upon others. A man who is envious will belittle his neighbor, thinking to exalt himself. The sound of praise is grateful to him who has approbativeness highly developed, and he hates to hear the praises of another. Oh, what untold mischief has this evil trait of character worked in our world! The same enmity existed in the heart of Saul that stirred the heart of Cain against his brother Abel, because Abel’s works were righteous, and God honored him, and his own works were evil, and the Lord could not bless him.
7 Envy is the offspring of pride, and, if it is entertained in the heart, it will lead to cruel deeds, to hatred, revenge, and murder. The great controversy between Christ and the prince of darkness, is carried on in everyday, practical life. David had now become the object of the king’s hatred. How little did the darkened soul of Saul understand of the providences and purposes of God! If he had any comprehension of the character of the great “I AM,” he would have known that he could not thwart the purposes of the Almighty.
8 Saul made David feel that there was no place of security for him. He finally removed him from his position of responsibility as leader of the army of Israel, and placed him in charge of only a thousand men. David made no complaint, but bore all with patience. The love of the people was with him, but Saul was determined that he should not live. He kept a strict watch upon David, longing and hoping to find some occasion of indiscretion or rashness which might serve as an excuse to bring him into disgrace before the people. He felt that he could not be satisfied until he could take the young man’s life, and still be justified before the nation for his evil act.
9 Saul laid a snare for the feet of David, promising to give him Michal, his daughter, to wife, if he would slay one hundred Philistines. David killed two hundred, and returned in safety to the court of the king. Saul was still more assured that this was the man whom the Lord had said was better than he, and who should reign on the throne of Israel in his place. He began to discover that the Lord was with David. He began to discern that the young man was walking circumspectly before God, and that his character was worthy of respect, being truly noble and elevated. Saul became more determined in his purpose. He threw off all disguise. He would not be disappointed. David must die. He issued a command to Jonathan and to his servants to take the life of the one he hated; for he had determined that he should not live.
10 Jonathan revealed his father’s intention to David, and bade him conceal himself, while he would go and plead with his father to spare the life of the deliverer of Israel. Jonathan succeeded in turning away the wrath of his father for the time. He presented before the king what David had done to preserve the honor and the very life of the nation, and what terrible guilt would come upon his soul who should slay the one whom God had used to scatter their enemies. He urged that his crime would not be excused should he take the life of an innocent man. The conscience of the king was touched, and his heart was softened. “And Saul sware, As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.” And David was brought to Saul, and he ministered in his presence, as he had in the past.
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1 After Jonathan had pleaded successfully for the life of his friend, Saul’s wrath against David seemed to be allayed. The young man went in before the king as formerly, and was in the favor of Saul and his court. But again war was declared between the Israelites and the Philistines, and David led the army against their enemies. Under his wise management, a great victory was gained by the Hebrews, and the people of the realm praised his valor, and wisdom, and heroism. This served to stir up the former bitterness and hatred of Saul against him. While the young man was playing before the king, filling the palace with sweet harmony, Saul’s passion overcame him, and he hurled a javelin at David, thinking to pin the musician to the wall; but the angel of the Lord turned aside the deadly weapon. David escaped, and fled to his own house. Saul sent spies that they might take him as he should come out in the morning, and put an end to his life.
2 Michal, the daughter of Saul, was David’s wife, and she loved him, and informed him of the purpose of her father. She urged him to escape for his life, and let him down from the window, and David fled to Samuel at Naioth. The king sent his men to the chamber of David, but they found nothing but an effigy which his wife had placed in the bed. The king was very angry with his daughter, and, enraged with disappointment, he determined that his hated subject should not escape. The same spirit which had actuated Satan, filled the heart of Saul. Like the first great apostate, he was moved by unholy ambition and murderous rage. And this was the first chosen king of Israel! Since the day when the holy anointing oil had been poured upon his head by the prophet of God, how terrible had been his fall!
3 David found Samuel at Ramah, and told him what Saul had done. The prophet, fearless of the king’s displeasure, welcomed the fugitive, and Samuel and David dwelt together at Naioth. This refuge was a peaceful place in contrast with the royal palace. It was here, amid the hills, that the honored prophet of the Lord continued his work, even when the shadows of age were gathering about him. A company of seers was with him, and they studied closely the will of God, and listened reverently to the words of instruction that fell from the lips of Samuel. The closing work of the servant of God was to instruct the seers in the school of the prophets; precious were the lessons that David learned from the teacher of Israel.
4 David recalled the anointing which he had received at Bethlehem, when Samuel had blessed him in his father’s house. He knew that he needed divine instruction, and he believed that the troops of Saul would not be called upon to invade this sacred place. But no place seemed to be sacred to the darkened mind of the desperate, despairing king. When he learned where David was, he sent officers to drag him from his secluded hiding-place, and bring him to Gilgal, where he intended to carry out his murderous designs.
5 The monarch of Israel was determinedly opposing his will to the will of the infinite God. The will of God is the sole law to which the sun, moon, and stars in the firmament of heaven, yield obedience. At the mandate of Jehovah, they move in perfect order; and yet finite man will set up his will against the will of the omniscient One, and enter into conflict with him who rules the universe. Saul had not learned, while ruling the kingdom of Israel, that he should rule his own spirit. He allowed his impulses to control his judgment, until he was plunged into a fury of passion. He had paroxysms of rage and madness, when he was ready to take the life of any that dared oppose his will. From this frenzy he would pass into a state of despondency and self-contempt, and remorse would take possession of his soul. Satan displayed his own character in inciting the fury of Saul against the humble subject of his court. Saul had the sympathy and support of all the reprobate host of evil; for it was David’s blameless character and noble fidelity that had aroused the wrath of the king; and he deemed that the very life and presence of David cast a reproach upon him, and presented him in unflattering contrast before the people.
6 The messengers of Saul went on their way to Ramah, intent upon taking David’s life. But a greater than Saul controlled their spirit, and directed their actions. They were met by unseen angels, as was Balaam when he was on his way to curse Israel. For a time the officers of Saul became imbued by the atmosphere that pervaded the sacred spot where Samuel and the prophets were studying under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. They began to utter prophetic sayings of what would occur in the future, and proclaimed the glory and majesty of Jehovah. It was in this way that God overruled the wrath of man, and manifested his power to restrain evil, while he walled his servant in by a guard of angels.
7 The tidings reached Saul as he waited in impatience to have David in his cruel power; but instead of feeling the rebuke from God, he was exasperated still more, and sent other messengers. These also were overpowered by the Spirit of God, and united with the first in prophesying. The third embassage was sent by the king, but when they came into the company of the prophets, the divine influence fell upon them also, and they prophesied. Saul then decided that he himself would go, for his fierce enmity had become uncontrollable. Evil angels conspired with wicked men to destroy the anointed of the Lord. He was determined to wait for no second chance to kill David. As soon as he should come within reach of him, he intended with his own hand to slay him, whatever might be the consequences.
8 He came to Ramah, and halted at a great well in Sechu. The people were coming together to draw water, and he inquired where Samuel and David were staying. When he was told that they were at Naioth, he made haste to reach that place. But the angel of God met him on the way and controlled him. The Spirit of God held him in its power, and he went on his way uttering prayers to God, interspersed with predictions and sacred melodies. He prophesied of the coming of Messiah as the world’s Redeemer. When he came to Naioth in Ramah, he laid aside his outer garments that betokened his station, and all day, and all night, he lay before Samuel and his pupils, under the influence of the divine Spirit. Multitudes had been drawn together to witness this strange and wonderful thing, and the new experience of the king was reported far and wide. Thus again, near the close of his reign, it became a proverb in Israel that Saul also was among the prophets.
9 The persecutor was again defeated in his purpose. He assured David that he was at peace with him; but David had little confidence in the king’s repentance and reformation. He took this opportunity to escape, lest the mood of the king might change, as formerly. David had been driven from place to place, and the king’s emissaries had hunted his life as though he were a wild beast. His heart was wounded within him, and he longed to see his friend Jonathan once more. With a burdened heart, and conscious of his innocence, he sought the king’s son, and made a most touching appeal. “What have I done?” he asked, “what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?” Jonathan thought that his father had changed his purpose, and no longer intended to take the life of David. And Jonathan said unto him, “God forbid; thou shalt not die; behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.”
10 After the remarkable exhibition of the power of God, Jonathan could not believe that his father would still harm David, for that would be manifest rebellion against God. But notwithstanding the oft-repeated and confident assurances of his friend, David was not convinced. He declared that Saul knew of their attachment for each other, and that this would be a sufficient reason why the king would not make his purposes known to his son. With intense earnestness he rehearsed how he had been driven from place to place, and now he assured Jonathan, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.”
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1 At the time of the new moon, a sacred festival was celebrated in Israel. This festival recurred upon the day following the sad interview between David and Jonathan concerning the certain death that seemed to wait the son of Jesse. It was expected that both the young men would be at the feast. David feared to be present, and an arrangement was made that he should visit his brothers, and on his return, he should hide himself in the field not far from the banqueting hall, and for three days he should absent himself from the presence of the king, and Jonathan would note the effect upon Saul. If inquiry was made as to the whereabouts of the son of Jesse, Jonathan was to say that he had gone home to attend the yearly sacrifice offered at his father’s house. If no angry demonstrations were made by the king, but he should answer, “It is well,” then it would be safe for David to return to the court. But if he should become enraged at his absence, it would decide the matter of David’s flight.
2 David was to hide himself in a place appointed before, and after his return from the feast at his father’s house, Jonathan, who was skilled in archery, was to go with an attendant to the field, near the hiding-place of David, and shoot a certain number of arrows that would be a sign to him of the temper of the king, and would decide his course of action. If Jonathan should say to the young man who gathered up the arrows, “Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee,” David would have nothing to fear, but might come to the palace, and the presence of the king. But if he should say to his attendant, “Behold, the arrows are beyond thee,” then David was to take his departure, for it would not be safe for him to come to the court.
3 On the first day of the feast, the king made no inquiry concerning the absence of David; but when his place was vacant the second day, he asked his son the reason of the non-appearance of his friend. He questioned, “Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor today? And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem; and he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there; and now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king’s table.” When Saul heard these words, his anger was ungovernable. He abused his son, and cursed David. He declared that as long as David lived, Jonathan could not come to the throne of Israel, and he demanded that David should be sent for immediately, for he had determined that he should die. Jonathan again made intercession for his friend, pleading, “Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?” This appeal to the king for the reason of his wrath against an innocent man, only made him more Satanic in his fury, and he hurled the javelin, which he had intended for David, at his own son.
4 The prince was grieved and indignant, and leaving the royal presence, he was no more a guest at the feast. His soul was bowed down with sorrow, as he repaired, at the appointed time, to the spot where David was to learn the king’s intentions toward him. Jonathan shot the arrow, and as the lad ran to find it, exclaimed, “Is not the arrow beyond thee?” David understood the sign, and knew that he must flee for his life. When Jonathan had sent the lad home with his bow and arrows, he sought his beloved friend. They fell upon each other’s neck and wept bitterly. Their united hearts were sorely grieved at the necessity of separation. The dark passion of the king cast its shadow upon the lives of the young men, and their grief was too intense for expression. Jonathan’s last words fell upon the ear of David as they separated to pursue their different paths, “Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed forever.”
5 Jonathan watched the form of his friend until he was lost from sight, lest he should be observed by spies, and taken to the presence of his enemy. Then the king’s son returned to Gibeah, and David hastened to reach Nob, a city some ten miles distant, belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. The tabernacle had been taken to this place from Shiloh, and here Ahimelech, the high priest, ministered. David knew not where to fly for refuge, except to the servant of God. The high priest looked upon him with astonishment, as he came unattended, with a countenance marked by anxiety, care, and sorrow. He inquired what had brought him to the place without an attendant. The young man was in constant fear of discovery, and was perplexed as to how he should reply. In his extremity he resorted to deception. Here David manifested a want of faith in God, and his sin resulted in causing the high priest to be put to death. Had the facts been plainly stated, Ahimelech would have known what course to pursue to preserve his life. God requires that truthfulness shall mark his people, even in times of peril. David told the priest that he had been sent by the king to accomplish some secret business which required that he should go alone. He asked the priest for five loaves of bread. There was nothing but hallowed bread in the possession of the man of God; David succeeded, however, in removing his scruples, and obtained the bread to satisfy his hunger.
6 But a new difficulty now presented itself, which caused fresh anxiety to David. He saw Doeg, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen, who had professed the faith of the Hebrews, and who was now paying his vows in the place of worship. The sight of this man decided David to make haste to secure another place of refuge, and to obtain some weapon with which to defend himself if it should become necessary. He knew that Doeg was acquainted with the purpose of Saul in regard to himself. He was aware that orders had been issued to the king’s servants to take the life of David if they should find him, and he feared that this man might attempt it before he could make good his escape.
7 He asked Ahimelech for a sword, and was told that he had none except the sword of Goliath, which had been kept as a relic in the tabernacle. David replied, “There is none like that; give it me.” His courage revived as he grasped the sword that he had once used so valiantly to destroy the champion of the Philistines. David fled to Achish, the king of Gath, for he felt that there was more safety in the midst of the enemies of his people than with his own brethren. He decided to throw himself upon the mercies of national foes, rather than stay in the dominions of Saul.
8 But it was reported to Achish that David was the very man who had slain the champion of the Philistines years before, and now he who had sought refuge with the foes of Israel, found himself in the greatest peril. He feigned to be mad, and his enemies were deceived, and deemed him unworthy of their notice. Thus he made his escape.
9 The first error of David was his manifest distrust of God at Nob, and his second mistake was his deception before Achish. In his friendship and love for Jonathan, David had displayed noble traits of character, and his moral worth had won him favor with the people; but as the trial and test came upon him, his faith was shaken, and human weakness appeared. He saw in every man a spy and a betrayer. But his experience was serving to teach David wisdom, for he had a realization of his weakness and frailty, and of the necessity of constant dependence upon God. While in these trying scenes, he composed some of the psalms.
10 We see the weakness of even noble men when they are brought into trying circumstances. This man, when in a great emergency, had looked up to God with the steady eye of faith, and had met the proud, boasting Philistine. He believed in God, he went in his name. He trusted in his power to do the work of defeating the armies of the Lord’s enemies. But as he had been hunted and persecuted, perplexity and distress had nearly hidden his heavenly Father from his sight. He seemed to think that he was left alone, to fight his own battles. He was confused, and knew not which way to turn. We may learn a lesson from the experience of David. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” All need the help which God alone can give. Oh, how priceless is the sweet influence of the Spirit of God as it comes to depressed, despairing souls, encouraging the faint-hearted, strengthening the feeble, and imparting courage and help to the tried servants of the Lord! Oh, what a God is ours, who deals gently with the erring, and manifests his patience and tenderness when we are in adversity, and when we are overwhelmed with some great sorrow!
11 David ought not to have distrusted God for one moment. Wherever the children of God make a failure, it is due to their lack of faith. When shadows encompass the soul, when we want light and guidance, we must look up; there is light beyond the darkness. We must learn to trust our heavenly Father, and not allow the soul to be defiled with the sin of unbelief. In trying to save ourselves, we do not commit the keeping of our souls to God, as unto a faithful Creator. We do not expect him to work for us, but frantically beat about in our own finite strength to break through some wall of difficulty which God alone can remove for us. Man is nothing without God. The example of the good and noble men of sacred history, is to be imitated by us only where they followed the footsteps of the Lord. When man relies implicitly upon God, he will be true to himself; and he can hope and rejoice in the God of his salvation, though every friend of earth becomes a foe.
12 David had reason to trust God. He was the Lord’s anointed. He had been protected in the midst of danger by the angels of God. He had been armed with valor and courage to do wonderful things, and if he had but removed his mind from the distressing situation in which he was placed, and thought of God’s wonderful power and majesty, he would have been at peace even in the midst of the shadows of death, and could with confidence have repeated the promise of the Lord, “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”
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1 David sought refuge in the strongholds of the mountains from the determined pursuit of Saul. He made good his escape to the cave of Adullam, a place that could be defended against a large army by a small force. “And when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.” The family of David could not feel secure, knowing that at any time the unreasonable suspicions of Saul might be directed against them on account of their relation to David. They concluded that they would be safer with him whom the prophet Samuel had anointed to be king of Israel, even though he was a fugitive in a lonely cave, than exposed to the insane madness of a jealous king. They believed the Lord would protect David from the persecuting enmity of Saul, and they determined to leave their unguarded home, and unite their fortunes with their kinsman in his lonely retreat. It was a sad leave-taking of home and flocks, as the family procession moved on toward the valley of Judah.
2 In the cave of Adullam, the family were at last united in sympathy and affection. The son of Jesse could make melody with voice and harp as he sang, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” He had tasted the bitterness of suspicion and distrust from his brethren; and the harmony that had taken the place of discord, brought joy and comfort to the exile’s heart. It was here that David composed the fifty-seventh psalm.
3 It was not long before they were joined by others who desired to escape the exactions of the king. There were many who had lost their confidence in the ruler of Israel, for he no longer seemed to be guided by the Spirit of the Lord. “And everyone that was in distress, and everyone that was in debt, and everyone that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them; and there were with them about four hundred men.” Here David had a little kingdom of his own, over which he ruled, and he enforced perfect order and discipline. But even in his retreat in the mountains, he was far from feeling secure; for he received continual evidence that the king had not relinquished his murderous purpose. The spirit of evil was upon Saul. He felt that his doom had been sealed by the solemn message of his rejection from the throne of Israel. His departure from the plain requirements of God was bringing its sure results. He did not turn, and repent, and humble his heart before God, but opened it to receive every suggestion of the enemy. He listened to every false witness, eagerly receiving anything that was detrimental to the character of David, hoping that he might find an excuse for manifesting his increasing envy and hatred of him who had been anointed to the throne of Israel. Every rumor was credited, no matter how inconsistent and irreconcilable it was with the former character and custom of David.
4 Every evidence that the protecting care of God was over David seemed to imbitter and deepen his one engrossing and determined purpose. The failure to accomplish his own designs appeared in marked contrast to the success of the fugitive in eluding his search, but it only made the determination of the king the more unrelenting and firm. He was not careful to conceal his designs toward David, nor scrupulous as to what means should be employed in accomplishing his purpose.
5 It was not the man David, who had done him no harm, against whom the king was contending. He was in controversy with the King of Heaven; for when Satan is permitted to control the mind that will not be ruled by Jehovah, he will lead it according to his will, until the man who is thus in his power becomes an efficient agent to carry out his designs. So bitter is the enmity of the great originator of sin against the purposes of God, so terrible is his power for evil, that when men disconnect from God, Satan influences them, and their minds are brought more and more into subjection, until they cast off the fear of God, and the respect of men, and become bold and avowed enemies of God and of his people.
6 What an example was Saul giving to the subjects of his kingdom in his desperate, unprovoked persecution of David! What a record he was making to be placed upon the pages of history for future generations! He sought to turn the full tide of the power of his kingdom into the channel of his own hatred in hunting down an innocent man. All this had a demoralizing influence upon Israel. And while Saul was giving loose reign to his passion, Satan was weaving a snare to compass his ruin, and the ruin of his kingdom. While the king and his councilors were planning for the capture of David, the affairs of the nation were being mismanaged and neglected. While imaginary foes were constantly presented before the minds of the people, the real enemies were strengthening themselves without arousing suspicion or alarm. By following the dictates of Satan, Saul was himself hastening the very result which, with unsanctified ability, he was endeavoring to avert.
7 The counsel of the Lord has been disregarded again and again by the rebellious king, and the Lord had given him up to the folly of his own wisdom. The influences of the Spirit of God would have restrained him from the course of evil which he had chosen, that eventually worked out his ruin. God hates all sin, and when man persistently refuses all the counsel of Heaven, he is left to the deceptions of the enemy, to be drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed.
8 The Lord had brought his servant David to the court of the king, that Saul might be benefited by association with the sweet singer of Israel. The king was a lover of music, and an opportunity was granted to him of becoming impressed and subdued by the same spirit that was the life and inspiration of David’s melodies. But the subtle suggestions of Satan were insinuated into his mind, until David became an object of suspicion and jealousy. On two occasions, as David ministered before the king, he had only escaped with his life by gliding away from before the javelin that the king had hurled at him with murderous purpose. But Saul was not moved to relent because of the evidences of God’s protection of the son of Jesse.
9 David and his friends were far from feeling secure in the cave where they had sought refuge. The determined pursuit of Saul assured David that the king would not relinquish his plans, until he had accomplished his destruction. As far as appearances were concerned, the struggle on the part of David seemed to be hopeless; for the armies of Israel were urged on by the enmity of Saul to hunt the fugitive, nor give up the pursuit until he should become their captive.
10 David’s anxiety was not all for himself, although he realized his peril. He thought of his father and mother, and he concluded that he must seek another refuge for them. He went to the king of Moab, and the Lord put it into the heart of the monarch to courteously grant to the beloved parents of David an asylum in Mizpeh, and they were not disturbed, even in the midst of the enemies of Israel. From this history, we may all learn precious lessons of filial love. The Bible plainly condemns the unfaithfulness of parents to their children, and the disobedience of children to their parents. Religion in the home is of priceless value.
11 Almost as soon as the safety of his parents was assured, a prophet of the Lord came to David, saying, “Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah.” Pursued from place to place, and persecuted without cause, David’s soul at times was full of bitterness and discouragement. It seemed certain to him that he must, at last, fall into the hands of his pursuer and persecutor. But could his eyes have been opened, he would have seen the angels of the Lord encamped round about him and his followers. The sentinels of Heaven were waiting to warn them of impending danger, and to conduct them to a place of refuge when their peril demanded it. God could protect David and his followers; for they were not a band in rebellion against Saul. David had repeatedly proved his allegiance to the king.
12 The experience through which he was passing was not unnecessary and vain. God was giving him a course of discipline to fit him to become a wise general, as well as a just and merciful king. This little band of fugitives were being qualified to take up the work that Saul was becoming wholly unfitted to do, because of his murderous passion and blind indiscretion. Men cannot depart from the counsel of God, and retain their peace and restfulness of soul. There is no insanity so dreadful, so hopeless, as that of following human wisdom, unguided by the wisdom of God.
13 David and Saul stand before us in this history as men widely different in character. The course of David makes manifest the fact that he regarded the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom. But Saul was shorn of his strength, because he failed to make obedience to God’s commandments the rule of his life. It is a fearful thing for a man to set his will against the will of God, as revealed in his specified requirements. All the honor that a man could receive on the throne of a kingdom, would be a poor compensation for the loss of the favor of God through an act of disloyalty to Heaven. Disobedience to the commandments of God can only bring disaster and dishonor, at last. God has given to every man his work, just as truly as he appointed to Saul the government of Israel; and the practical and important lesson to us is to accomplish our appointed work in such a manner that we may meet our life-records with joy, and not with grief.
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1 Saul was greatly disappointed and enraged when it was discovered that David had left his place of refuge in the cave of Adullam. The king had made all possible preparation to come upon him as a vulture would come upon its prey, when lo! the intelligence was received that the object of his search had escaped from under his hand. His well-laid plans had been in vain, and he had again failed to accomplish his purpose of capturing David.
2 The flight of David was a matter of mystery to the king. He could account for it only by the belief that there had been traitors in the camp, who had informed the son of Jesse of his proximity and design. But the all-seeing eye was upon Saul; God, who was acquainted with all his thoughts and purposes, sent his prophet to warn his servant to escape from the hold, and flee into the land of Judah. David had heeded the message, and had found refuge in the forest of Hareth before Saul could come upon him. The fact that David was preserved, and that he escaped from time to time from his hand, while his own plottings had never met with success at anytime, was a mystery to the king.
3 The monarch determined to take some decided action that would insure the ruin of David, and a royal council was held under a favorite tree on a hill-side of Gibeah. Saul held his spear and scepter in hand, while around him were gathered his councilors, among whom was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen. With his mind filled with jealous suspicions, Saul addressed his officers of State, saying, “Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?”
4 Saul appealed to the selfish nature of his men. He presented before them the advantages to be gained by serving him, in contrast with the disadvantages of the service of the poverty-stricken David, who was obliged to find his home in the caves and dens of the mountains. Satan and his evil angels were in that assembly, prepared to act a prominent part, and the power of these evil influences was working upon the mind of the willful and disobedient king. He had so long yielded himself to the control of evil angels that he did not discern that he was following their leading when he eagerly took advantage of circumstances to hold up to contempt the condition of David and his servants. How much this appeal to the selfish desires of his men, savors of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. “And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
5 Jesus repulsed the tempter with, “It is written;” but the evil one has better success when he approaches man with his bribes and inducements. The question that each one of us will have to answer in his individual life is, Shall right triumph over wrong, no matter what shall be the cost? Every soul will have to venture much, as Satan plies his specious temptations; but the voice of duty must be obeyed, if you would be an overcomer. Many other voices will urge a course in harmony with the selfish desires and inclinations of the carnal heart. To every soul will come the time of trial, and it will need divine wisdom to distinguish the voice of the adversary from the voice of God. It is impossible to tell how much may be lost by once neglecting to comply with the requirements of the word of God. It points out the path of obedience as the only safe path for man to walk in. Nothing will help us more in these strait places than to consider that we are standing in the presence of God, and that we do not want to do anything that will offend him.
6 The Benjamites and those in the council of Saul, when they heard the words of the king, accusing them of sympathizing with those whom he regarded as his enemies, only saw before them an exasperated, human monarch, who had it in his power to enrich and advance them or to punish and degrade them, as their course should be approved or disapproved before him. But could the veil have been swept aside, they would have beheld the Sovereign whose empire is the universe, and who holds in his hands the destinies of time and of eternity. If they had felt that they were the servants of God, that they were to be obedient to the King of kings, how different would have been the result and record of that day which was filled with deeds of darkness and atrocity. The presence of the Infinite One was not felt; but he who is not only an accuser of the brethren, but a liar and a murderer from the beginning, manifested his presence and power through his human agents, Saul the king of Israel, and Doeg the chief of his herdsmen.
7 Saul had received as truth every lying report concerning the motives and movements of David, and, in his disappointment at the escape of his supposed enemy, Saul began to suspect everyone around him of being a conspirator and traitor. He declared, “All of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse. “There he appealed for their sympathy. “There is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.”
8 Saul represented David as one who was his deadly enemy, and accused Jonathan, his dutiful, and God-fearing son, of urging on the rebellion, because he would not join in the pursuit of his friend. This was an entirely false accusation. It was not David and Jonathan only who were accused, but the king’s own tribe, and the people of his realm were all included in this suspicions as traitors and conspirators. He declared that they were all blind to their own best interests, and were destitute of compassion for him, the king of Israel. He had been informed by spies of the interview between David and Jonathan, of how they had entered into a covenant of eternal friendship; and, as Saul knew nothing of the particulars, he was filled with evil surmising as to their loyalty, and deemed that they were plotting against himself and his kingdom. At one time when Saul had furiously condemned David to death, and Jonathan had asked, “Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?” the king, in a moment of intense anger, had hurled a javelin at his own son, as he had previously thrown one at David. Jonathan had lost all confidence in his father. He was afraid of him, and could not be free and confidential with him; for he saw with sorrow that God had departed from him, and that another spirit had taken possession of him.
9 That a conspiracy had been formed against him, Saul affirmed to his councilors as a settled fact, and he had arrived at the conclusion that it must be one that was thoroughly organized, or the chief conspirator would not have been so successful in eluding his search. From this he argued that the people must be involved in it, or its success would not be so evident. He put darkness for light, and light for darkness. His reasoning and its conclusions were all erroneous. The plotting was all on the side of Saul himself. Because he had changed his position from time to time, and had thought to have secured his prey long before, and had been defeated time and again, he could understand his failure only by attributing evil motives and actions to his people. Those who had been in communication with him, and had known of his plans, must, he thought, have informed David of his movements.
10 Saul had become so blinded through the deceitfulness of sin, that he could not discern spiritual things. He did not recognize the fact that God was present at all his councils, and that he was in communication with his servant David. God did not intend that the murderous designs of Saul should prove successful to accomplish their ends. The evil of the king’s heart was to be manifested before Israel, that they might see to what terrible lengths a soul would go, after breaking away from the restraining influence of the Spirit of God. The king had had sufficient evidence to prove to him, beyond a doubt, that David had no evil intention toward him. He had had opportunity to take the life of his enemy, if he had desired to do so, but the son of Jesse would not lift up his hand against the Lord’s anointed. But all this went for nothing, for it was in the heart of Saul to accredit evil purposes to David, and he did according to all that was in his heart.
11 There was a Watcher who was marking the motives, the words, and the actions of King Saul. The Lord was an unseen witness to every secret design, every open plan, and every murderous movement. When Nebuchadnezzar took his proud survey of the works of his hands, and boasted of his power and glory, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty”? the Watcher’s voice came to the king, saying, “O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee.” When Belshazzar lifted himself up against the God of Heaven, and made a great feast, and, in his intoxication and pleasure, deemed nothing too sacred for his use, making merriment against the living and the true God, a bloodless hand traced upon the wall in living characters, “Thou are weighed in the balances and art found wanting.” At the sacrilegious feast of Belshazzar, there was a Watcher whom he had not invited, and whose presence he had not discerned or welcomed. The doom of his kingdom was written in an unchangeable decree, “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.”
12 The eye of the Lord is upon every scene. His eye beholds every transaction in business. He hears every word that is spoken. He is a silent witness to every slanderous statement, and every falsehood is faithfully recorded in the books of Heaven. We have an attendant in public and private life. We have a companion in our private chamber. To every word and action of our lives, the holy, sin-hating God stands as a witness. We cannot escape our accountability to him, for God is everywhere. Why should we not live in such a manner that we may render up our account with joy, and not with grief. God has given us our appointed work, and we are to do it under his direction. If we place our powers under the control of Satan, we are rebels against God, and there will be found in our life-records, as there was found in Belshazzar’s, a fatal deficiency when the accounts are balanced.
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1 When Doeg the Edomite heard the words of Saul offering as a bribe the gift of vineyards, and the position of captain over thousands and hundreds, his ambition was stirred, and he determined to turn informer. He had been at Nob and had witnessed the action of the priest when he provided David with bread, and gave him the sword of Goliath. He cherished hatred toward the man in holy office, because he had reproved him for his sins; and now a favorable opportunity presented itself, not only to gain riches and position, but to be avenged on the priest.
2 Doeg responded to the words of Saul as one who would prove himself the friend of the distressed monarch. He said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Doeg knew well that the action of the priest toward David did not proceed from any malice toward the king. The priest thought that in doing a kindness to an ambassador of his court, he was showing respect to the king. He was altogether innocent of any evil intention toward Saul or his realm. David had not taken a straightforward course before the priest, he had dissimulated, and on this account he had brought the whole family of the priesthood into peril.
3 But Doeg was a slanderer, and Saul had such a spirit of envy and hatred and murder, that he desired the report to be true. The partial and exaggerated statement of the chief of the herdsmen, was suited for the use of the adversary of God and man. It was presented to the mind of Saul in such a light that the king lost all control of himself, and acted like a madman. If he had but calmly waited until he could have heard the whole story, and had exercised his reasoning faculties, how different would have been the terrible record of that day’s doings!
4 How Satan exults when he is enabled to set the soul into a white heat of anger! A glance, a gesture, an intonation, may be seized upon and used, as the arrow of Satan, to wound and poison the heart that is open to receive it. If the Spirit of Christ possesses us wholly, and we have been transformed by his grace, there will be no disposition to speak evil, or to bear reports freighted with falsehood. The falsifier, the accuser of the brethren, is a chosen agent of the great deceiver. Ahimelech was not present on this occasion to vindicate himself, and to state the facts as they existed; but Doeg cared not for this. Like Satan his father, he read the mind of Saul, and improved the opportunity of increasing the misery of the king by the words of his mischievous tongue, which was set on fire of hell. He stirred up the very worst passions of the human heart. All tenderness, pity, and humanity were extinguished from the breast of Saul.
5 Like his master the devil, Doeg did not hesitate to accuse even the priest of the most high God. It was believed that there was a conspiracy between David and the priest, and that the priest had taken a leading part in helping the escape of the enemy of Saul, and in aiding him by giving him provisions, and by arming him with the sword of Goliath. Saul was beside himself with rage. When he had been brought under the influence of the Spirit of God, as David played rich and sacred melodies, he seemed to catch the inspiration, and would break forth in impulsive and earnest expressions of praise and adoration. But when the influence was withdrawn, he would manifest the most opposite spirit. He seemed to be desperate, and was ready to do the most rash acts of daring and cruelty. The spirit of jealousy, which proceeded only from Satan, took possession of his heart. Good and evil seemed for a time to alternate in their control of the king. But on this day so dark a register was made in the books of Heaven by the divine Watcher, that the influence of good seemed to grow less and less perceptible in the life of Israel’s monarch. He determined to pursue with the utmost fury the object of his hate and jealousy; for he thought that he now had an occasion for giving full vent to the worst passions of his heart.
6 He sent for Ahimelech and all his father’s house, and they presented themselves before him in their priestly robes of office that they might do him honor. And Saul said to Ahimelech, “Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” The priest then presented the matter in its true light to the king. “Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king’s son-in-law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honorable in thine house? Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? be it far from me; let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knew nothing of this, less or more.”
7 It was evident that Saul was in one of his worst moods; but the priest and his household did not for a moment realize the danger that threatened them. They trembled when Saul set aside the testimony of Ahimelech. The king was so blinded with passion that the words of reason had no influence whatever upon him. He was so filled with Satanic frenzy that all regard for sacred things was lost. In his language he not only accused the priest of deception, but virtually charged God with counseling a traitor through his high priest.
8 The action of Saul made manifest what a despot a king may become who has forsaken his God, and has given himself up to the control of the evil one. The explanation of the facts in the case of David and the priest was treated with contempt; the truth only served to infuriate the king, for it took away his excuse for following the dictates of his own evil heart. Saul preferred to believe the words of a wicked man, rather than the words of the servant of God. Thus it has always been and always will be in our world with those who serve the cause of the great adversary. “Justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. . . . And he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.” When we understand how perseveringly Satan works to gain control of the hearts of men, we shall know why men have acted with such Satanic fury and determined hate toward the servants of God in every age.
9 In tracing down the history of the church from the fall of Adam to our own time, we see that the righteous have been the objects of the assaults of evil angels and evil men. It is a settled plan of the enemy to seek for the corruption of the souls of those who would vindicate the honor of God; and when he could not accomplish this, he has caused them to be put to death. Satan has manifested the greatest activity in order that the true worshipers of God might be swept from the earth; but he has not fully carried out his designs, for God has put a limit to his power. There have been tares sown with the wheat, but the wheat has been preserved. Faithful men have passed through fire and sword, heresy and delusion, and have come forth from great tribulation with their robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Thousands have fallen at the stake, but others have arisen to take their places. Staunch advocates of truth have stood the conflict of battle, and the controversy has been brought down to our own day. The light of truth has shone upon us, that we may reflect it upon others.
10 The world’s Redeemer knows all about the warfare that must be waged between good and evil. He has felt the malice of Satan to a greater extent than have any of his followers. As Saul refused the words of a priest and took the testimony of a sinner, so the statements of false witnesses were received against Jesus, and his own testimony was thrust aside. When Jesus was presented by Pilate to the people, and Barabbas was presented with him, and the ruler asked, “Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?” the multitude, under the control of Satan, cried out like madmen, “Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas”! “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.” And the demon-like cry arose, “Crucify him, crucify him!” This was the man in whom no fault was found when he was brought to trial; and yet a robber and a murderer was preferred before him.
11 Satan takes advantage of circumstances. At times evil men seem to triumph without hindrance. They do their dark deeds and there is no interposition of Heaven. When men separate from God by transgression, Satan has no further conflict to wage with them, and they have no more opposition to offer to the adversary of God and man. Had there been no interference on the part of God. Satan and man would have united in an unbroken alliance against Heaven. There can be no enmity between fallen men and fallen angels. Both are evil, and both have become so by apostasy; and evil always leagues with evil against God and in opposition to those who keep his commandments. They have refused to fulfill the requirement of Heaven, and they are at enmity with those who love and obey God.
12 We shall yet find that the same spirit of opposition to God and his people that existed in ages past exists in this day of boasted light and privilege. Satan is engaged in doing his own work. His angels will conspire with evil men today, and the combined energies of apostasy will gather together their forces to tear down that which they once built up, and to destroy the influence of those who are champions of the truth.
13 The warning which Samuel had given Israel when they clamored for a king was beginning to be understood. They saw the prophet’s statement demonstrated in the despotism of Saul. After he had heard the calm, truthful words of the priest, instead of acknowledging his error of imputing evil to the servant of God, he shouted like a madman, “Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.”
14 The inconsistency of jealousy was shown in this verdict. Without proving the guilt of any one of the priests, the king commanded that all the line of Eli should be slain. He had determined upon this course of action before he had sent for them or heard their side of the case. And no amount of proof could undo his malignant purpose. To vent his wrath upon one man seemed too small a matter to satisfy the fury of his revenge.
15 “And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the Lord; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the Lord.” The footmen had looked upon the priests of the Lord with the greatest reverence. They were convinced of the innocence of Ahimelech, and they could not consent to do this inhuman deed, although by refusal they placed their own lives in peril.
16 If anything could have aroused the conscience of the king, it would have been the refusal of his servants to fulfill so barbarous a command. But jealousy is cruel as the grave; and the heart of Saul was blinded because he had gone away from the light which God had given him; and “if therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
17 Satan is never at a loss to find allies in his work. The most blood-thirsty tyrants have found instruments by which to carry out their hell-born designs. Saul’s rage was not appeased by the noble stand of his footmen, and he turned to the man whom he had connected with himself as a friend, because he had reported against the priests. Thus this Edomite, who was as base a character as was Barabbas, slew with his own hand eighty-five priests of the Lord in one day; and he and Saul, and he who was a murderer from the beginning, gloried over the massacre of the servants of the Lord. Like savage beasts who have tasted of blood, so were Saul and Doeg. The king, not yet satisfied with his horrible cruelty, “said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.” And men, women, children, and cattle were all slain by this cruel Edomite.
18 This is what Saul could do under the control of Satan. He could go to any lengths of barbarity. When God had said that the iniquity of the Amalekites was full, and had commanded him to destroy them utterly, he was too compassionate to carry out the order of the Lord, and spared that which was devoted to destruction; but now, without any command from God, under the guidance of Satan he could put an end to the priests of the Lord, and bring ruin upon the inhabitants of Nob. Thus is shown the perversity of the human heart that has refused the guidance of God.
19 This deed filled all Israel with horror. It was the king whom they had chosen who had committed this outrage; and he had only done after the manner of the kings of other nations that feared not God. The ark was with them; but the priests of whom they had inquired were slain with the edge of the sword. What would come next?
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1 After the slaughter of the priests, “one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the Lord’s priests. And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul; I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. Abide thou with me, fear not; for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life; but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.”
2 Saul had cut himself off from every means whereby the Lord could work in his behalf to save him from himself. In the facts of sacred history, there are lessons showing what a dangerous thing it is to cherish a jealous, revengeful spirit. It is impossible to determine to what length this spirit will lead its possessor if it is not overcome. When an evil report is circulated concerning the character of those who are striving to serve God, a power from beneath seems to move the minds of those who cherish enmity. He who has prided himself on possessing a high sense of honor, by taking this path of enmity will often fall into error, and will say and do things of which he deemed himself incapable. If a prophet of God should portray before him the course he would be led to pursue by cherishing such a spirit, he would indignantly inquire as did Hazael, “Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?” But let him turn from the straight path of right, and follow where the promptings of Satan would lead him, and he will manifest the spirit of his captain until truth, honor, and justice are sacrificed through the lusts of passion.
3 Christ declared to the Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” When men take the first step after the suggestion of Satan, they do not think that they will take another and another; but it will become easier and easier to follow, and finally they break away from all the bounds of honor and conscience, and do the work of the enemy, under a pretense of doing the work of righteousness. The plainest evidences of the truth and purity of the character of him who they wish to defame, are misconstrued. The most positive assurances of his faithfulness and nobility have no weight or power to control their slanderous reports. The most innocent works of conscience and charity are looked upon as actuated by selfish motives and unholy desires. The only safety for him who is thus assailed is to trust fully in God, not seeking to vindicate his own cause, but when falsely accused to his face to state only the plain facts of the case, and then leave the result with God. The Judge of all the earth will do right. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
4 While David was in his refuge in the forests of Hareth, he was informed that the Philistines were warring against the men of Keilah, and that the people were in great distress, for their enemies were robbing the threshing-floors. “Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines.” The men who had cast in their lot with David, looked at their small force,—only a few hundred men,—and they were filled with dread at the thought of an encounter with the superior numbers of their enemies. They were also afraid that Saul would attack them, and that between the two armies they would be overwhelmed.
5 David again sought the Lord. It was the manifest fear and reluctance of his men that led him again to inquire of the Lord. He had been anointed as king, and he thought that some measure of responsibility rested upon him for the protection of his people. If he could but have the positive assurance that he was moving in the path of duty, he would start out with his limited forces, and stand faithfully at his post whatever might be the consequences. David was well aware that while Saul was occupied almost entirely with planning and with executing his plans for his discovery and capture, he could not be strengthening his kingdom, or promoting the good of his subjects.
6 The people of Keilah were being grievously oppressed, for, while their enemies were encamped without their walls, they were being robbed of the necessities of life. In answer to the inquiry of David, the Lord said, “Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.”
7 “And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah.” When the king heard the part that the son of Jesse had acted in the siege of Keliah, instead of being grateful that a champion had been raised up to defeat the enemies of Israel he was filled with a more determined enmity toward David. He thought that the action of David brought his own inaction into an unfavorable light before the people, and placed him in the discreditable position of one who was negligent of his duty as the ruler and protector of Israel. He could not but see that this was the truth of the matter; but he was angry with David because his works were righteous and his own were evil. The additional evidence that God was favoring David, in the fact that he had with only a handful of men gained a complete victory over a large force, served to make him the more furious. If his heart had not been poisoned with envy and jealousy, the manifestation of God’s favor to David would have had a convincing power upon his mind, and would have led him to change his course.
8 The king anticipated the speedy destruction of him whom he hated. He intended to inclose the city with his troops, and demand that the inhabitants of Keilah give up the son of Jesse as his captive and prey. Saul was elated with the thought of successfully achieving his plans in securing David. He was so blinded by the great deceiver that he exclaimed, “God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.”
9 Although a great deliverance had been wrought for Keilah, and the men of the city were very grateful to David and his men for the preservation of their lives, yet so fiendish had become the soul of the God-forsaken Saul, that he could demand from the men of Keilah that they yield up their deliverer to certain and unmerited death. Saul had determined that if they should offer any resistance they would suffer the bitter consequences of opposing the command of their king. The long-desired opportunity seemed to have come, and he determined to leave nothing undone in securing the arrest of his rival.
10 After the defeat of the Philistines, David felt that at last he had found a place in which he could be secure from danger without seeking to the caves and dens of the earth. If the people who appeared to be so grateful for their deliverance, would but be true to him and his interest, they could hold the city against Saul and his army. But he remembered the destruction of Nob and the massacre of the priests because one of them had shown him favor, and he became alarmed for himself and for the inhabitants of Keilah, lest they should all suffer in a similar manner. He dared not confide in their earnest assurances of fidelity, fearing that when driven by circumstances they would purchase peace and safety for themselves by delivering him over to his enemies. He could no longer feel secure in a city inclosed by gates and bars.
11 David went to the Lord for counsel. He made his supplication before God, saying, “O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up.”
12 David could feel no sense of security in remaining at Keilah, even in the midst of the people who owed their lives to his efforts in their behalf. The inhabitants of the city did not for a moment think themselves capable of such an act of ingratitude and treachery; but David knew, from the light that God had given him, that they could not be trusted, that in the hour of need they would fail.
13 “Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. And David abode in the wilderness in strongholds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.”
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1 “And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life; and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.” Satan was constantly at work to destroy the anointed of the Lord; but the Lord worked to disappoint the enemy, and to preserve David and his men. And now, when bright and cheering spots were few in the experience of the son of Jesse, he was surprised and rejoiced to receive a visit from Jonathan, who had learned the place of his refuge. How precious were the moments that these two friends passed in each other’s society. They related their varied experiences, and Jonathan strengthened the heart and confidence of David, saying, “Fear not; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.” As they talked of the wonderful dealings of God toward David, the oppressed and hunted fugitive was greatly encouraged. “And they two made a covenant before the Lord; and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.”
2 After the visit of Jonathan, David encouraged his soul with songs of praise, accompanying his voice with his harp as he sang, “In the Lord put I my trust; how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? for, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in Heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The Lord trieth the righteous; but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.”
3 The Ziphites, into whose wild regions David went from Keilah, sent word to Saul in Gibeah that they knew where David was hiding, and that they would guide the king to his retreat. “Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.” Saul, who had recently been uttering blasphemous curses, now said, “Blessed be ye of the Lord; for ye have compassion on me.” The king pronounced a blessing upon the wicked betrayers of David; but of what advantage were praise and flattery from such lips?
4 A new company was prepared and sent out to hunt for the Lord’s anointed, and Saul gave a special charge to the wicked Ziphites: “Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there; for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you; and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.”
5 The citizens of Keilah, who should have repaid the interest and zeal of David in delivering them from the hands of the Philistines, would have given him up because of their fear of Saul rather than to have suffered a siege for his sake. But the men of Ziph would do worse; they would betray David into the hands of his enemy, not because of their loyalty to the king, but because of their hatred of David. Their interest for the king was only a pretense. They were of their own accord acting the part of hypocrites when they offered to assist in the capture of David. It was upon these false-hearted betrayers that Saul invoked the blessing of the Lord. He praised their Satanic spirit in betraying an innocent man, as the spirit and act of virtue in showing compassion to himself. Apparently David was in greater danger than he had ever been before. Upon learning the perils to which he was exposed, he changed his position, seeking refuge in the mountains between Maon and the Dead Sea.
6 Saul and his men had planned well, and they felt that success was already assured. But when the enemies of David flattered themselves that there could be no escape, there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, “Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines.”
7 The disappointed king was in a frenzy of anger to be thus cheated of his prey; but he feared the dissatisfaction of the nation; for, if the Philistines should ravage the country while he was destroying its defender, a reaction would be likely to take place, and he would become the object of the people’s hate. So he relinquished his pursuit of David, and went against the Philistines, and this gave David an opportunity to escape to the stronghold of En-gedi.
8 As soon as the encounter with the Philistines was over, word was again sent to Saul, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.” David had only six hundred men in his company, while Saul advanced against him with an army of three thousand. In a secluded cave the son of Jesse and his men waited for the guidance of God as to what should be done. As Saul was pressing his way up the mountains, he turned aside, and lay down to rest in the entrance of the very cavern where David and his company were hidden. When his men saw this, they urged their leader to kill Saul as he slept. The fact that the king was now in their power, was interpreted by them as a certain evidence that God himself had delivered the enemy into their hand that they might destroy this relentless foe, who without cause was continually seeking the life of David. David was tempted to take this view of the matter; but the voice of conscience spoke to him, saying, “Touch not the anointed of the Lord,” and he could but yield obedience. His men were impatient that David hesitated to grant the permission they so much desired; but he firmly restrained them from doing any harm to Saul.
9 The course of David made it manifest that he had a Ruler whom he obeyed. He could not permit his natural passions to gain the victory over him; for he knew that he that ruleth his own spirit, is greater than he who taketh a city. If he had been led and controlled by human feelings, he would have reasoned that the Lord had brought his enemy under his power in order that he might slay him, and take the government of Israel upon himself. Saul’s mind was in such a condition that his authority was not respected, and the people were becoming irreligious and demoralized. Yet the fact that Saul had been divinely chosen king of Israel kept him in safety, for David conscientiously served God, and he would not in any wise harm the anointed of the Lord.
10 David’s men could scarcely consent to leave Saul in peace, and they said to their commander, “Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.” But his tender conscience smote him afterward, because he had marred the garment of the king.
11 Saul rose up and went out of the cave to continue his search after David. But a voice fell upon his startled ears, saying, “My lord the king.” He turned to see who was addressing him, and lo! it was the son of Jesse, the man whom he had so long desired to have in his power that he might kill him. David bowed himself to the king, acknowledging him as his master. David addressed Saul in these words: “Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave; and some bade me kill thee; but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed. Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee; but mine hand shall not be upon thee.”
12 Saul was both astonished and humbled as he heard the statements of David, and admitted their truthfulness. His feelings were greatly stirred as he realized that he had been so fully in the power of the man whom he had injured. He saw David standing before him in conscious innocence, and yet he had charged him with plotting against his life, and had pursued him with relentless hate to destroy him. He was deeply agitated as David presented the skirt of his robe as unmistakable evidence to the king that his accusations had been without foundation. Here was proof that David was not seeking the life of the king. Then David presented the course of Saul in its true, undignified, and ungenerous light, and Saul exclaimed with trembling lip and softened spirit, “Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.” Then he declared to David. “Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. . . . For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.” And David made a covenant with Saul that when this should take place he would favorably regard the house of Saul, and not cut off his name.
13 David had no reason to put confidence in the assurances of Saul, or to deem that his penitent condition would be permanent: He knew that his feelings would change, and that the king would be more thoroughly intent than ever upon taking his life. So when Saul returned to his home, David remained in the strongholds of the mountains.
14 The enmity that is cherished toward the servants of God by those who have yielded to the power of Satan, changes at times to a feeling of favor and approbation; but this is not always an evidence that the change is a lasting one. The enemies of righteousness have been moved by a power from beneath to accuse and stigmatize those whom God has chosen to do his work. False impressions have been made through false statements; but after evil-minded men have engaged in doing and saying many wicked things, the conviction that they have been in the wrong takes deep hold upon their minds. The Spirit of the Lord strives with them, and they humble their hearts before God, and before those whose influence they have sought to destroy, and they change their course toward them. But as they again open the door to the suggestions of the evil one, the old doubts are revived. The old enmity is awakened, and they return to engage in the same work which they repented of, and for a time abandoned. Again they speak evil, accusing and condemning in the bitterest manner the very ones to whom they made most humble confession. Satan can use such souls with far greater power after such a course has been pursued than he could before, because they have sinned against greater light.
15 The history of Saul is a lesson to all who would walk in the counsel of God. They should take warning from his proud and rebellious spirit, and learn to walk with humility before Heaven, placing their whole dependence upon God. Many have apostatized who have once been zealous advocates of the truth, and whose faith and teaching have been published throughout the world, verifying the words of Paul when he declares, “In the latter times some shall depart from the faith.”
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1 “And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah.” The death of Samuel was regarded as an irreparable loss by the nation of Israel. A great and good prophet and an eminent judge had fallen in death; and the grief of the people was deep and heart-felt.
2 The life of Samuel from early childhood had been a life of piety and devotion. He had been placed under the care of Eli in his youth, and the loveliness of his character drew forth the warm affection of the aged priest. He was kind, generous, diligent, obedient, and respectful. The contrast between the course of the youth Samuel and that of the priest’s own sons was very marked, and Eli found rest and comfort and blessing in the presence of his charge. It was a singular thing that between Eli, the chief magistrate of the nation, and the simple child so warm a friendship should exist. Samuel was helpful and affectionate, and no father ever loved his child more tenderly than did Eli this youth. As the infirmities of age came upon Eli, he felt more keenly the disheartening, reckless, profligate course of his own sons, and he turned to Samuel for comfort and support.
3 How touching to see youth and old age relying one upon the other, the youth looking up to the aged for counsel and wisdom, the aged looking to the youth for help and sympathy. This is as it should be. God would have the young possess such qualifications of character that they shall find delight in the friendship of the old, that they may be united in the endearing bonds of affection to those who are approaching the borders of the grave.
4 From his youth up, Samuel had walked before Israel in the integrity of his heart; but he was no longer to go in and out before his people. Although Saul had been the acknowledged king of Israel, Samuel had wielded a more powerful influence than he, because his record was one of faithfulness, obedience, and devotion. We read that he judged Israel all the days of his life. The closing years of the prophet could not but be years of sadness and burden of soul. His own children had not followed the example which he had given them. They had not heeded the precepts which he had sought to impress upon their minds. They had not copied the elevated, pure, unselfish life of their father. Through their impious and selfish life they had forfeited the confidence of the people, and this was a cause of great grief to Samuel. He had been to some extent too easy and indulgent with his sons, and the result that is usually seen where this is the case, was made apparent in his family. The characters of his children were marred with selfishness, and their course was such that it made them a dishonor to the cause of God. If the warning given to Eli had exerted the influence upon the mind of Samuel that it should have done, it would have aided him in the government of his household.
5 The Lord said of Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” If Samuel had been like Abraham, and had commanded his children after him, how different would have been the moulding of the lives of his children. Their characters were fashioned after the sight of their eyes and the hearing of their ears. The associations which they chose, the company which they kept, left an impress upon their minds; and reverence for God and sacred things was weakened.
6 The aged prophet had loved Saul with intense affection; but before he died, he saw the scepter dishonored in the hand of him whom he had anointed in the name of the Lord to rule Israel. He saw him as one who could not rule himself, much less a nation. With some consolation he recalled the fact that he had anointed the son of a shepherd in Bethlehem as the future king, and he looked forward to David’s reign as the time when Israel would revive. The bright and morning Star was to come of the seed of David, and his throne was to be established forever.
7 After Israel had rejected Samuel as ruler of the nation, though well qualified for public labor, the prophet sought retirement. He was not superannuated, for he presided as teacher in the school of the prophets. This service for his God was a pleasant service. David’s connection with Samuel during his stay at Naioth aroused the jealousy of Saul lest he who was revered as a prophet of God throughout all Israel, should lend his influence to the advancement of his rival. As the character and management of Saul were viewed in contrast to the character and management of Samuel, Israel saw what a mistake they had made in desiring a king, that they might not be different from the nations around them. The people looked with alarm at the condition of society, fast becoming leavened with irreligion and godlessness. The influence and example of their ruler was leaving its impression on all sides, and well might Israel mourn that Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, was dead.
8 The nation had lost the founder and president of their college, but that was not all. They had lost him to whom they had been accustomed to go with their great troubles. They had lost one who had constantly interceded with God in their behalf. Israel had felt more secure while the prayers of this good man ascended to Heaven for them; for “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” They felt now that they were being forsaken of God. The king seemed little less than a madman. He was abandoned of God; but he was not filled with godly sorrow for the evil course he had pursued. He was remorseful, passionate, and unable to exercise reason. The Lord had declared by the lips of Samuel the condition of the disobedient: “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” These words found their verification in the life of Saul. The uncontrolled passions of his wicked heart made him unfit to receive counsel or advice. He refused all instruction, and acted as if possessed of a demon. Justice was perverted to cruelty, and order was turned into confusion. Oh, that Saul had humbled his proud heart before God! But anger rests in the bosom of fools, transforming those who have been made in the image of God, into the image of the evil one.
9 Saul had a mind and influence capable of governing a kingdom, if his powers had been submitted to the control of God, but the very endowments that qualified him for doing good could be used by Satan, when surrendered to his power, and would enable him to exert widespread influence for evil. He could be more sternly vindictive, more injurious and determined in prosecuting his unholy designs, than could others, because of the superior powers of mind and heart that had been given him of God. He had ruined his own soul, and had wrought the ruin of his house; but he was impenitent and hardened. He had brought injury and disgrace upon himself, and yet he desired that David when he should come to the throne, should preserve his house and honor his name. But his very course in pursuing his successor from place to place, and of proclaiming him an outlaw and a rebel, brought infamy upon the name he desired to have honored.
10 It was while Israel was racked with perplexity and internal strife, at a time when it seemed that the calm, God-fearing counsel of Samuel was most needed, that God gave his aged servant rest. Oh, how bitter were the reflections of Israel as they looked upon his quiet resting-place, and remembered their folly in rejecting him as their ruler; for he had had so close a connection with Heaven that he seemed to bind all Israel to the throne of Jehovah. It was Samuel who had taught them to love and obey God; but now that he was dead, the people felt that they were to be left to the mercies of a king who was joined to Satan, and who would divorce the people from God and Heaven.
11 David could not be present at the funeral of Samuel; but he mourned for him as deeply and tenderly as a faithful son could have mourned for a devoted father. He knew that his death had broken another bond of restraint from the spirit and actions of Saul, and he felt less secure than while the prophet lived. While the attention of Saul was engaged in mourning for the death of Samuel, David thought it necessary to seek for a place of greater security; so he fled to the wilderness of Paran. It was here that he composed the one hundred and twentieth and twenty-first psalms. In the desolate wilds of the wilderness, realizing that the prophet was dead, and the king was his enemy, he sang: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. . . . The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.”
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1 While David and his men were in the Wilderness of Paran, they protected from the depredations of marauders the flocks and herds of a very wealthy man named Nabal, who had vast possessions in Carmel. Nabal was a descendant of Caleb, but his character was churlish and niggardly.
2 David and his men were in sore need of provisions while at this place, and when the son of Jesse heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep he sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, “Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name; and thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers; now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day; give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.”
3 David and his men had been like a wall of protection to the shepherds and flocks of Nabal as they pastured in the mountains. And he courteously petitioned that supplies be given them in their great need from the abundance of this rich man. They might have helped themselves from the flocks and herds; but they did not. They behaved themselves in an honest way; but their kindness was all lost upon Nabal. The answer he returned to David was indicative of his character. “And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?” When the young men returned empty-handed, disappointed and disgusted, and related the affair to David, he was filled with indignation. “Surely,” he said, “in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him; and he has requited me evil for good.” David commanded his men to gird on their swords, and equip themselves for an encounter; for he had determined to punish the man who had denied him what was his right, and had added insult to injury. This impulsive movement was more in harmony with the manner of Saul than with that of David, but the son of Jesse had yet to learn lessons of patience in the school of affliction.
4 One of the servants of Nabal hastened to Abigail, the wife of Nabal, after he had dismissed David’s young men, and told her what had happened. “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields. They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household.”
5 Without consulting her husband, or telling him of her intention, Abigail made up an ample supply of provisions, and started out to meet the army of David. She met them in a covert of a hill. “And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be; and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience.” Abigail addressed David with as much reverence as though speaking to a crowned monarch. Nabal had scornfully inquired, “Who is David?” but Abigail called him, “My Lord.” With kind words she sought to soothe his irritated feelings. She did not reproach him for his hasty action, for she felt assured that a little time and reflection would work a change in his purpose, and that his conscience itself would condemn the violent measure which he was about to take. She pleaded with David in behalf of her husband. With utter unselfishness of spirit, she desired him to impute the whole blame of the matter to her, and not to charge it to her poor, deluded husband, who knew not what was for his own good or happiness. What a spirit is this! With nothing of ostentation or pride, but full of the wisdom and love of God, Abigail revealed the strength of her devotion to her household. Whatever was her husband’s disposition, he was her husband still, and she made it plain to the indignant captain that the unkind course of her husband was in nowise premeditated against him as a personal affront; but it was simply the outburst of an unhappy and selfish nature. Nabal was naturally unreasonable and abusive, and when aroused he knew not what he said or did.
6 “Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal,” Abigail did not take to herself the credit of this reasoning to swerve David from his hasty purpose, but gave to God the honor and the praise. She then offered her rich provision as a peace-offering to the young men of David, and still pleaded as if she herself were the guilty party who had so stirred the indignation of David. “I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.” Abigail presented by implication the course which David should pursue. He should fight the battles of the Lord. He was not to seek revenge for personal wrongs, even though persecuted as a traitor. She continued: “Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul; but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; . . . and it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offense of heart unto my lord, neither that thou hath shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself; but when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.”
7 These words could only have come from the lips of one who had partaken of that wisdom which cometh down from above. The piety of Abigail, like the fragrance of a flower, breathed out all unconsciously in face and word and action. The Spirit of the Son of God was abiding in her soul. Her heart was full of purity, gentleness, and sanctified love. Her speech, seasoned with grace, and full of kindness and peace, shed a heavenly influence. Better impulses came to David, and he trembled as he thought what might have been the consequences of his rash purpose. An entire household would have been slain, containing more than one precious, God-fearing person like Abigail, who had engaged in the blessed ministry of good. Her words healed the sore and bruised heart of David. Would that there were more women who would soothe the irritated feelings, prevent rash impulses, and quell great evils by words of calm and well-directed wisdom. “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.”
8 A consecrated Christian life is ever shedding light and comfort and peace. It is purity, tact, simplicity, and usefulness. It is controlled by that unselfish love that sanctifies the influence. It is full of Christ, and leaves a track of light wherever its possessor may go. Abigail was a wise reprover and counselor. David’s passion died away under the power of her influence and reasoning. He was convinced that he had taken an unwise course, and had lost control of his own Spirit. He received the rebuke with humility of heart, in harmony with his own words, “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil.” He gave thanks and blessing because she advised him righteously.
9 There are many who, when they are reproved or advised, think it praiseworthy if they receive the rebuke without becoming impatient. But how few take reproof with gratitude of heart, and bless those who seek to save them from pursuing an evil course.
10 Abigail rejoiced that her mission had been successful, and that she had been instrumental in saving her household from death. David rejoiced that through her timely advice he had been prevented from committing deeds of violence and revenge. Upon reflection, he realized that it would have been a matter of disgrace to him before Israel, and a remembrance that would always have caused him the keenest remorse. He felt that he and his men had the greatest cause for gratitude. He had had a horror of bloodshed, and had prayed that he might be delivered from blood guiltiness; and yet, when his feelings were injured, he had planned to avenge himself with his own hands. In this he had taken it upon himself to act in the place of God, who has said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”
11 David had taken an oath that Nabal and his household should perish; but now he saw that it was not only wrong to make such a vow, but it would be wrong to keep it. If Herod had had the moral courage of David, no matter how humiliating it might have been, he would have retracted the oath that devoted John the Baptist’s head to the ax of the executioner, that the revenge of an evil woman might be accomplished, and he would not have had upon his soul the guilt of the murder of the prophet of God.
12 When Abigail returned to her home, she found her husband and his guests participating in the enjoyment of a great feast. Nabal thought nothing of spending an extravagant amount of his wealth to indulge and glorify himself; but it seemed too painful a sacrifice for him to make to bestow compensation which he never would have missed, upon those who had been like a wall to his flocks and herds. Nabal was like the rich man in the parable. He had only one thought,—to use God’s merciful gifts to gratify his selfish animal appetites. He had no thought of gratitude to the giver. He was not rich toward God; for eternal treasure had no attraction for him. Present luxury, present gain, was the one absorbing thought of his life. This was his God.
13 Abigail found her husband in a state of intoxication, joining in the drunken revelry of those around him. She knew it would be useless to tell him of what had happened when his reason was dethroned; but the next morning she related to him the occurrence of the day before. Nabal was a coward at heart, and his excessive indulgence of appetite, both in eating and drinking, had affected his physical and moral powers, and when he had realized how near his folly had brought him to a sudden death, his entire energy and power seemed smitten with paralysis. Fearful that David would still pursue his purpose of revenge, he was filled with horror, and sank down in a condition of helpless insensibility. After ten days Nabal died. The life that God had given him had only been a curse to society. In the midst of his rejoicing and merry-making, God had said to him, as he said to the rich fool of the parable, “This night thy soul shall be required of thee.”
14 When David heard the tidings of the death of Nabal, he gave thanks that God had taken vengeance into his own hands. He had been restrained from evil, and the Lord had returned the wickedness of the wicked upon his own head. In this dealing of God with Nabal and David, men may be encouraged to put their cases into the hands of God; for in his own good time he will set matters right.
15 David afterward married Abigail. This was not according to the original plan of God; it was in direct opposition to his design, that a man should have more than one wife. David was already the husband of Ahinoam. The gospel condemns the practice of polygamy. The custom of the nations of David’s time had perverted his judgment and influenced his actions. Great men have erred greatly in following the practices of the world. The study of everyone should be to know what is the will of God and what saith the word of the Lord. The bitter result of this practice of marrying many wives was permitted to be sorely felt throughout all the life of David.
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1 After the death of Samuel, David was left in peace for a few months. Saul did not pursue or trouble him, and the son of Jesse returned to the solitude of the Ziphites, thinking they would not now molest him since the king had desisted from following him. But the people knew too well the character of Saul to credit him with sincerity repenting of seeking David’s life. These enemies of the son of Jesse hoped to be favored by informing the king of David’s hiding-place. They told Saul that David was within their reach, and that they would do their utmost to put him into his power.
2 This intelligence aroused the demon of passion that had been slumbering in Saul’s breast. He thought an opportunity was offered which should not be left unimproved. He summoned his men to arms, and once more led them out in pursuit of David. After the solemn covenant that Saul had made with David, the son of Jesse was not inclined to believe that the king would still seek his life. In company with a few of his men, he started out to see if indeed Saul was pursuing him again. David and his companions beheld the tents of the king and his attendants. They were unobserved; for the camp was quiet in slumber. David called upon his friends to go with him into the very midst of the foe. In answer to his question, “Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?” Abishai promptly responded, “I will go down with thee.”
3 David and his attendant hastened into the shadows of the hills, and entered the encampment of the enemy. As they sought to ascertain the exact number of their foes, they came upon Saul sleeping, his spear stuck in the ground and a cruse of water at his bolster, while Abner and the people were slumbering on every side. Abishai raised his spear, and said to David, “God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day; now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.” The servant waited for the word of permission; but there fell upon his ear the whispered words: “Destroy him not; for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless? . . . As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed; but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awakened; for they were all asleep; because a dead sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.”
4 How easily the Lord can weaken the strongest, remove prudence from the wisest, and baffle the skill of the most watchful. Then David went over to the other side, and when he was at a safe distance from the camp, he stood on the top of a hill, and cried with a loud voice to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Art thou not a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy Lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster. And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering; but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods. Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord; for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.”
5 David assured Saul that he would be glad to serve him as a servant; but without cause he was pursued as a rebel, and compelled to fly from him whom he would follow. He was cut off from the service of God, separated from the holy land, and driven away from his own people to live with strangers and idolaters. He presents the course of Saul in pursuing him as that of the king taking the flower of his army to seek a flea, or to hunt a partridge of the wilderness.
6 David urged that the real reasons of the king’s enmity be searched out, and the controversy come to an end. He knew that it was jealously that prompted Saul to hunt him from place to place, until there was no security for him, not even in the rocky home of the goats. He declared that if the Lord had stirred Saul up against him to punish him for his sins, God would accept an offering from him. He would make peace with God. If it was wicked counselors that advised the king to take such cruel measures against an innocent man, let them be excluded from his presence as men accursed of God.
7 David pleaded for his life before the relentless Saul. Again the acknowledgment fell from the lips of the king, “I have sinned; return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day; behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. And David answered and said, Behold the king’s spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it.” Although Saul had made the promise, “I will no more do thee harm,” David did not place himself in his power. This second instance of David’s respect for his life, made a still deeper impression upon the mind of Saul, and brought from his lips a more humble acknowledgment of his fault. He was subdued and astonished at the manifestation of David’s mercy and kindness toward him. The son of Jesse might have deprived him of his life, but his soul had been precious in the eyes of him to whom he had thought he must be odious and abhorrent.
8 Saul had meant all that he had said, yet his relenting and confession came not from genuine repentance and conversion of heart. How many have acted in a similar manner. They have been enlightened by the Spirit of God in regard to the truth, but envy and jealousy and unholy ambition have been welcomed to the soul, and the light of truth has been permitted to grow dim. Men whom God has blessed, who have had new light, new purposes, and new hearts, who have meant to be sincere, have been placed in temptation, and by failing to resist the suggestions of Satan, they have allowed self-esteem, and desire for the highest place, to color all the thoughts and actions of their life. Light and darkness, good and evil, strive for the victory. Oh, that these souls might place themselves in right relation to God, and come into harmony with his law! Jealousy has found an entrance into their hearts, and has woven itself into their characters. Envy and jealousy are like two sisters who blend together in their workings. Envy will lead a man to desire some good which another possesses, and will urge him to use every means in his power to bring down and injure the character and reputation of one in whose place he desires to be. Falsehood, hearsays, and slanderous reports are circulated, and everything that can be made use of will be employed to place the envied man in an unfavorable light before the people. Jealousy leads a man to suspect another of seeking to deprive him of advantages and position. Saul had both envy and jealousy.
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1 “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel; so shall I escape out of his hand. And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.”
2 David’s conclusion that Saul would certainly accomplish his murderous purpose, was formed without the counsel of God. He had at last become weary of waiting upon the Lord, and in a moment of discouragement placed himself in an unfavorable light before the people of God by his course of unbelief. It was not the Lord who had sent him for protection to the Philistines, the most bitter foes of Israel. This very nation would be nothing less than his worst enemies to the very last; and yet he had sought to them for help in his time of need. Yet having lost all confidence in Saul and in those who served him, he threw himself upon the mercy of the enemies of his people, to escape the treachery of the very men whom he afterward would be called upon to rule when God’s appointed time should come.
3 The Lord had recently worked in David’s behalf by aiding him to obtain a decided victory over Saul. The Lord’s hand was in all this, and, if David had looked upon the dealings of God with him, he would not have taken this step of seeking unto the Philistines. The Lord had so arranged matters in the past, that the true spirit of David was made manifest before all Israel, and the false accusations brought against him by Saul were proven to be without foundation. Saul had represented David as a traitor and a conspirator, lying in wait to take the life of the king, that he might possess the kingdom himself. The king had represented the matter to the people in such a light that it seemed necessary to deprive David of his life, that the prosperity of Israel might be preserved.
4 But in working against David, he was working equally against himself in the course that he was pursuing. Through the curse of envy and jealousy, he had weakened his own kingdom by expelling David from his service; for, in so doing, he had driven him into the enemies’ ranks. But even while Saul was plotting and seeking to accomplish his destruction, the Lord was working to secure to David the kingdom. And after he had seen that God was caring for him, and had preserved his life again and again, he should have been courageous, and should have left his case in God’s hands.
5 David looked on appearances and not at the promises of God. He doubted that he should ever come to the throne. But had not God sent Samuel to anoint him king of Israel? and would not the Lord perform his word? Although he could not rely on Saul’s assurances, he might have safely trusted in the promises of God. The particular care that God had exercised over him in preserving him from all danger, so that he had not been harmed, should have given him confidence and comfort. But cruel unbelief had taken possession of David’s heart.
6 God works out his plans though they are veiled in mystery to human eyes. Men cannot read the ways of God; and, looking at outward appearances, they interpret the trials and tests and provings that God permits to come upon them as things that are against them, and that will only work their ruin.
7 David took counsel with his own heart. Long trials had tried his faith and exhausted his patience. But these very trials were designed to work him blessing, to strengthen his faith in the belief that angels were encamped round about him, and that he was under the guardianship of Heaven. God was dishonored by his course of unbelief.
8 David was a brave general, and had proved himself a wise and successful warrior; but he was working directly against his own interests when he went to the Philistines. God had appointed him to set up his standard in the land of Judah, and it was want of faith and confidence that led him to forsake his post of duty without a command from the Lord. How could he expect that the God of Israel would give him protection, when he had placed himself with the bitterest foes of his people? Could he expect safety with the Philistines, when only shortly before he had barely escaped with his life by feigning himself to be a mad man? Could he reasonably hope to save himself by seeking an asylum with a people whom God had appointed to extinction? When he should come to the throne, he would be employed as the agent to carry out this purpose of destroying the Philistines.
9 In fleeing to the enemies of Israel, David encouraged the Philistines to take further measures to oppress his people, and the impression was received by his brethren that he had gone to the heathen to serve their gods. By this act he gave occasion for misconstruing his motives, and many were led to hold prejudice against him. This demonstrates the fact that great and good men, men with whom God has worked, will make grievous mistakes when they cease to watch and pray, and to fully trust in God.
10 There is a precious experience, an experience more precious than fine gold, to be gained by everyone who will walk by faith. He who will walk in the way of unwavering trust in God will have a connection with Heaven. The child of God is to do his work, looking to God alone for strength and guidance. He must toil on without despondency and full of hope, even though he is placed in most trying and aggravating circumstances.
11 David’s experiences are recorded for the instruction of the people of God in these last days. In his warfare against Satan, this servant of God had received light and direction from Heaven, but, because the conflict was long continued, and because the question of his receiving the throne was unsettled, he became weary and discouraged. He was provoked that he was hunted from place to place as though he were a wild beast. The very thing that Satan desired to have him do, he was led to do; for, in seeking refuge among the Philistines, David caused great joy and triumph and exultation to the enemies of God and his people. David did not renounce his worship of God nor cease his devotion to his cause; but he sacrificed his trust in him for his personal safety, and thus tarnished the upright and faithful character that God requires his servants to possess.
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1 David was cordially received at Gath by the king of the Philistines. The warmth of his reception was partly due to the fact that the king admired him, and partly to the fact that it was flattering to his vanity to have a Hebrew leave his own nation to seek his protection. Achish hoped to be successful not only in gaining David as an ally, but in gaining others also, for he felt assured that many would be influenced through David’s example to rally under his standard. David felt secure from betrayal in the dominions of Achish. He brought his family, his household, and his possessions, as did also his men, and to all appearances he had come to locate permanently in the land of Philistia. All this was very gratifying to Achish, who solemnly promised to protect the fugitive Israelites.
2 At David’s request for a residence in the country removed from the royal city, the king graciously granted Ziklag as a possession, and it was afterward annexed to Israel’s dominions. For a year and six months, David made his home in the country of the Philistines. He had tasted the bitterness of envy at Saul’s court, and he feared that he might have a similar experience in the court at Gath. But it was for far weightier reasons that he desired to leave the royal city. He realized that it would be dangerous for himself and [his] men to be under the influence of those who were connected with idolatry and transgression. In a town wholly separated for their use, they might worship God with more freedom than they could if they remained in Gath, where the senseless, heathen rites could but prove a source of evil and annoyance.
3 While dwelling in this isolated town, David made war upon the Geshurites, the Gezrites, and the Amalekites, and he left neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath. When he returned from battle, Achish inquired as to where he had been, and David gave him to understand that he had been warring against those of his own nation, the men of Judah. But by this very dissembling, he was the means of strengthening the hand of the Philistines, for the king said, “He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant forever.” By placing himself under the protection of the Philistines, he had discovered to them the weakness of his people; for the Philistines had feared David more than they had feared Saul and his armies. Although David knew that it was the will of God that the Philistines should be destroyed, and although he knew that he was appointed to do this work, yet he was not walking in the counsel of God when he practiced deception. Moreover, he had been anointed to stand in defense of the people of God; and the Lord would not have his servants give encouragement to the wicked by disclosing the weakness of his people, or by an appearance of indifference to their welfare.
4 David’s faith in God had been strong, but it had failed him when he placed himself under the protection of the Philistines. He had taken this step without seeking the counsel of the Lord; but when he had sought and obtained the favor of the Philistines, it was poor policy to repay their kindness by deception. In the favor they had shown him they had been actuated by selfishness. They had reason to remember the son of Jesse, for his valor had cost them their champion, Goliath, and had turned the tide of the battle against them. The Philistines were glad of an opportunity to separate David’s forces from the army under Saul. They hoped that David would avenge his wrongs by joining them in battle against Saul and Israel.
5 “And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.” David had no intention of lifting his hand against his people, but he was not certain as to what course he would pursue until circumstances should indicate the direction of his duty. He answered the king evasively, and said, “Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do.” Achish understood these words as a promise to assist him in the approaching war, and the king pledged his word that if he would do this, he would bestow upon him great honor, and give him a high position among his officials.
6 But although David’s faith had staggered somewhat at the promises of God, he still remembered that Samuel had anointed him king of Israel. He recalled the victories that God had given him over his enemies in the past. He reviewed the great mercies of God in preserving him from the hand of Saul, and he determined that he would not betray any sacred trust, or imperil his soul’s salvation. He would not join his forces with the enemy against Saul, even though the king had sought his life.
7 How many would have yielded to the temptation that Achish presented to David! How many have fallen, and how many will fall, into the snare of Satan for temporary advantages! Ambitious for exaltation, they will unite their influence with the avowed enemies of God’s truth if they can only be honored among those who are honored of men. For present advantages, they will sacrifice the eternal good that God has in store for them. They will not endure the proving of God, and show themselves true in every place, and under all circumstances. God has promised that his faithful, obedient servants shall be exalted to be priests and kings. “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?”
8 Satan succeeds in making many grow restless, even after they have wrestled against difficulty, and have run well for a season. He presents temptation in a new way, and under a different aspect, and places before men human honors and advantages, and they fall, as did Adam and Eve when the serpent said, “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Stretching beyond their capacity, they seek a more exalted position; desiring the highest seat they will finally, with shame, have to take the lowest seat. They sell their souls to the enemy, that they may be lifted up, and they will find, at last, that they are slaves to the one who degrades and ruins mankind. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
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1 The Lord cannot use men and women in his service, in any branch of his work, unless they possess a meek and teachable spirit. Those whom God employs in his service must be true to principle, but, while they must not swerve from the plain path of duty for any selfish interest, they are not to be bigoted and puffed up with self-esteem. Unless the heart is in connection with the Source of all wisdom, there will not be an abiding sense of the sacredness of the work. Workers for Christ must derive all their life and inspiration from God. They must seek to be conformed to his will and his ways, and not seek to have their own will and way. He who would become a living channel of light, must be governed by something more than habit or opinion. He must live hourly in conscious communion with God. His life must be brought into contact with the principles of truth and righteousness. He must become a partaker of divine nature.
2 The servant of God must be continually seeking for intellectual power, and every acquisition of the mind must be devoted to glorifying God. We must have enlarged conceptions of what the requirement of God is of his people. We are to love God with all our heart, might, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. This love will elevate the taste, subdue the appetite, and control the passions. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, these are the fruits of the Spirit. “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” They are endowed with the heavenly endowment, even with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is of great value in the sight of God. God requires us to reach the highest standard.
3 We must not be content with anything short of the divine illumination from the central Light of the universe. When we have this illumination, we shall see the necessity of pressing onward and upward, of elevating the standard, of cultivating the loftiest ambition, and of reaching the highest attainments. We shall constantly draw from the Source of all wisdom, and live as in the sight of the Lord. We should consecrate all our powers to the service of Christ. He has loved us; he has died to redeem us, and to wash us from our sins in his own blood. Self must die. All success and honor must be accredited to Him who has died that we might live. Christ must be inscribed upon our banners. How slow we are to understand that God requires the service of our whole heart, an unreserved consecration of all the powers of our being. He claims all there is of us. All that mortal man can render of service in any direction, must be devoted to the work of Christ, if we would meet the requirement of God.
4 Your talent has been intrusted to you by the Lord, and you will be held responsible for its employment and improvement. It is the design of the Giver that it shall be used in accordance with his divine will. We are not only to work out our own salvation, but we are to love our fellow-men as we love ourselves. We must manifest the glory of God. This is the high aim of our existence. We must be in such a condition that we can appreciate the light that God has brought into the experience of others. Our lives and characters are influenced by the physical, intellectual, and moral acquirements of past generations. If we remain in ignorance, we have no one to blame but ourselves. If we put to the stretch every power, and task every ability to the utmost, with an eye single to the glory of God, we shall not fail of doing a valuable work for God.
5 The time in which we live is full of the most solemn importance. There is nothing that can be more acceptable to God than to have the youth dedicate their lives to his service in the bloom and freshness of their years. Their talents may become a power for God, when they are properly cultivated. Their characters may be characters that will be acceptable to Heaven; but they must be shaped by line upon line, and precept upon precept. They must be modeled after the divine pattern.
6 Those who are educating the youth in the service of God, are doing a solemn and sacred work. They are channels through which flows the current of spiritual light from the throne of God. Without being conscious of it, they are doing a work that is far-reaching in its influence. In the work of saving souls, we are to know whereof we speak. The words of John are full of significance when he says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.” He affirmed that he had known him that was from the beginning, and because of this, he was able to impart knowledge to those whom he sought to teach. We are to remember the experiences of the past, to recall the days of old, and then to be able to give the trumpet no uncertain sound, because we can affirm whereof we know. We can encourage others to reach forward for a better life, because we have had an experience ourselves in the things of God.
7 When your soul is the temple for the indwelling Spirit of the Saviour, the gross elements of your nature will be consumed, and the whole being will become a living purpose. He who is truly Christ’s will have an experience like that of Daniel, and the fruits of the Spirit will appear in his life. There are powers within us that are paralyzed through sin, that need the vivifying influence of the grace of Christ, that they may be restored. A mighty power from the Life-giver must quicken them to life, and rouse them to action. When this is your experience, you can work as Jesus has given you an example. Divine light and love will be reflected upon those who feel that they are sick in both soul and body. Jesus invites his own presence to your soul. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Shall we not open the door of our hearts to the divine guest?
8 Those who engage in the work of God must be pure in heart, and circumspect in deportment. The souls of God’s people should not be like a barren waste, as are so many souls at this time. God has given to every man some ability to use in his service, and it is God’s design that it should be employed to his glory, and man’s good. Many are losing much, simply because they will not learn in the school of Christ. They might gain eternal treasure, but, in turning away from the divine Teacher, their consciences are violated and seared, and the admonitions of God’s word lose all power to stir their hearts. But there is no need of making such a failure. Christ will come into the heart and abide there if you will but cleanse the soul temple of every defilement.
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1 God is not pleased with ignorance. We must become better acquainted with the principles of divine truth, that we may know better how to deal with human minds. We must have a closer connection with Heaven. We must follow the light, and reflect its rays upon the pathway of others. We want to enter right into the work, to go out to minister to souls. We should not be satisfied until the converting power of God attends our labors. To him who “goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,” the promise is given that he shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
2 Laborers are needed everywhere to reveal Jesus to the people as he is. Those who abide in him will not misrepresent the truth by complaining and murmuring. They will say with Paul, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” By faith we behold Him who is invisible. Our faith reaches up to lay hold of the realities of the unseen world, and the affliction of the present is esteemed light in comparison with what is reserved in Heaven for us.
3 The angels of Heaven are looking upon us to see what we are doing to proclaim the truth for this time. Christ has made us ambassadors to make known his salvation to the children of men, and if we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and are filled with the joy of his indwelling Spirit, we shall not be able to hold our peace. The truth will be poured forth from hearts all aglow with the love of God. We shall long to present the attractions of Christ, and the unseen realities of the world to come. We shall reflect the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. We are to be partakers of Christ’s suffering and his self-denial; and if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him. If we are partakers of his humiliation, we shall also be partakers of his glory. If we go forth weeping, with the heart broken, with self subdued, there will be no lofty lifting up of self instead of Jesus; but there will be the bearing forth of precious seed, and the certain returning with joy and with precious sheaves for the Master. The quickening influence of the grace of God will be made manifest. There will be an intensity of desire to follow in the path that Jesus trod. There will be an earnest longing that those around us may behold “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.” We shall want to see the salvation of souls. Our thoughts will be filled with loving zeal for the Master.
4 There are souls all around us who are starving for the bread of life; and how can we keep it to ourselves? Present truth must be preached to the people with unwavering faith and untiring effort. You must minister to those around you the truth that you have received. Diffuse the light that has fallen upon your heart. Paul’s charge to Timothy is just as applicable to us today as it was to the young disciple. He said: “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” We are to put every talent out to the exchangers, that it may be returned to God with usury. We are to do the work that Christ has committed to his followers, and preach the gospel to every creature. We do not realize what we shall be able to do when we are truly consecrated.
5 There are souls on every hand who are crying, “Come over and help us.” Solemn responsibilities are resting upon the people of God. I thank God for our schools, where young men and young women may be prepared to labor in the Lord’s moral vineyard. I thank God that the Bible is regarded as the most important study of our schools. Why should not the precepts of Jehovah be diligently studied? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It lies at the foundation of all knowledge and wisdom. When Daniel was in the court of Babylon, what was it that enabled him to stand as a rock amidst all the subtle and overwhelming temptations of the king’s court? He had his eyes on the precepts of God, and he was determined to be a loyal subject of Heaven. He purposed in his heart that he would not indulge in the luxuries of the King’s table, but that he would keep his faculties in the best order, and his mind in a condition to appreciate eternal and spiritual truths. And when the king inquired of him, he found him ten times wiser than all the astrologers and wise men in his court; for God gave him understanding and wisdom. Let the youth take the Bible as their guide, and stand like a rock for principle, and they can aspire to any height of attainment. There is no limit to the knowledge that they may reach. You may aspire as you wish, but there will always be an infinity beyond. Take God’s word to balance the mind, and you will be led into large fields of fruitful thought. You may be fitted for positions of usefulness and trust in this world, and, in comparison with the wise men of earth, you may be found, as was Daniel, to be men of tenfold greater wisdom than all the astrologers in the realm.
6 The only means whereby humanity can be reached and saved is through the co-operation of the human with the divine. Humanity can reach humanity. If the angels could have been saviours, it would have been necessary for them to take on them human nature, as did Christ. They would have had to experience the trials and sorrows of humanity, in order that they might know just how to pity and aid men, and to give them moral and divine power. But there was none who could be the saviour of the world but Jesus, the Son of God. Through his merits, men stand before God as candidates for eternal life. We are to be overcomers. We are to gain the victory here and now; we are to obtain a precious experience in the things of God now. If we do not get that experience and victory in this life, we shall never obtain it.
7 Every day we can teach others precious lessons in forbearance, in love, in compassion. We are to be representatives of Christ in every action of our lives. We do not want an emotional religion, and we have not had it in the meetings at this place. The testimonies have been plain, simple testimonies, declaring that Christ had forgiven sins, and restored the joy of his salvation. As I have heard these testimonies, I have rejoiced; for I knew how angels looked upon the scene. There has been joy in Heaven among the angels of God. There has been among us a heavenly Guest who has been restoring the lost sheep to the fold. Sinners have been reclaimed and reconciled, and I praise God. All Heaven is interested in what has been going on here. You have been abundantly pardoned, and the grace of Christ has been imparted to your souls, and now you are to be Christ’s representatives. Every treasure of his goodness is to be given again to others. Every ray of light that has fallen upon your pathway is to be reflected upon some other who is in darkness. You are to speak with this one, to pray with that one, to write a letter to another, and to go about doing good to all men as you have opportunity. You have been made stewards of the manifold grace of God, which you are to dispense to others.
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1 “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed, but setteth it on a candle-stick.” Your life is to be set on a candle-stick. It is not to be inclosed in four walls, but is to shine forth unto the world. “Ye are the salt of the earth;” but if the salt has lost its saving quality, of what use is it? You are to exert an influence that shall be as far-reaching as eternity. What is the savor, or saving quality, of the Christian’s life?—It is the divine nature of which you are to be a partaker. It is the heavenly light which you are to diffuse to those around you. Society is to be better for your having lived, and eternity will show that your efforts have been blessed to the salvation of souls.
2 We are to be God’s peculiar people, whom he has called out of darkness into his marvelous light to show forth his praise, zealous of good works. This is to be our work; we are to show forth his praise. How many of us have done this in the past? How many have given unbelievers the impression that the religion of Christ is the most desirable thing in the world? Unbelievers have said, “We do not want to be Christians. There is no joy in serving God. Religion is only a dead round of lifeless ceremonies. We want the attractions of the world.” Satan will see that they have these things. But Christ can give them rest and life and fullness of joy. When you see the glory of the Christian’s hope, I know what you will do; you who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, will reveal the praises of God. Have you not realized that Christ can save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him? When this fullness of salvation takes hold of your soul, you will have more and more of the praises of God on your lips, and more and more decided will be your testimony of the goodness of God. It will not be as it has been in the past.
3 When Satan comes to you to tell you that you are a great sinner, begin to look up to your Redeemer and to talk of his merits; that which will help you is to look to his light. Acknowledge your sin; but who was it that Christ came to save? Tell the enemy that “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners,” and that you are saved by his matchless love. Jesus asked Simon a question in regard to two debtors. One owed his lord a small sum, and the other owed him a larger sum; but he forgave them both, and he asked Simon which debtor would love him most. He answered, “He to whom he forgave most.” We have been great sinners, but Christ died that we might be forgiven. The merits of his sacrifice are sufficient to present to his Father in our behalf. Those to whom he has forgiven most will love him most, and will stand nearest to his throne to praise him for his great love and infinite sacrifice. It is when we most fully comprehend the love of God that we best realize the sinfulness of sin, and the fullness of salvation. When we see the length of the chain that was let down for us, and understand something of the merits of that infinite sacrifice that Christ has made for us, the heart is melted with tenderness and contrition.
4 Why is it that you have not loved the Saviour more?—It is because you have been satisfied with your own goodness. You have been content to appear in the filthy garments of your own righteousness. But when self is crucified, and you come to Christ for his righteousness, your words of self-justification are gone. You speak, melted by the matchless love of your Saviour. You see his attractiveness, and lay hold of him who is the sinner’s only hope. Then when you have found him, you are interested for somebody else. It is everything with us what kind of an influence we are exerting in the world. Shall we gather with Christ? Shall we draw men to the Man of Calvary? Lift him up. Self has been lifted up; but let self be humbled. Let self die. Educate the lips to talk of Jesus, and the heart to praise him, and it will become second nature to speak forth his matchless grace. You will go forth everywhere saying, “Hear what the Lord has done for my soul.” The more you tell of his mercy, the more you will have to tell. Let it be your testimony, “The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.” “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
5 I love him; for he is my love. I want to talk of him by the way. I want to praise him now and forever. Now will each one of us become a missionary? Shall it be written in the records of Heaven opposite our names, “Missionaries, co-laborers with Jesus Christ”? Do not disappoint our heavenly Father; and may God help you that you may say, “I live, yet not I; but Christ liveth in me.”
6 Christ is coming, and he is coming for his people. He says, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” The marks of the crucifixion are in his palms for us, and when he comes, “he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” We are to seek to save souls; we are to present his sacrifice to the perishing; for when he comes, we want to enter into the joy of our Lord; and his joy is to see souls in his kingdom for whom he has died. We are to go on from strength to strength, growing more happy in his service, settled, rooted, grounded, in his love. He says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Oh, what exaltation for fallen humanity! We are almost home. Christ is coming in the clouds of heaven, and he knows his sheep by name. He knows every soul who has come to him in faith, just as he knew that woman who touched him with the touch of faith. Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” The disciples were astonished that he should ask this. They answered, “Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?” When the woman saw that she was not hid, she came and fell at his feet, and told her story, and praised him for his healing power. At the touch of her faith he perceived that virtue had gone out of him. Faith had taken it from him. No one else knew that she had touched him; but he knew it. The crowding multitude had not felt the restoration that she realized. The actual contact of her faith with him had brought the blessing. And this will bring Christ’s virtue to us, that we may be prepared for his service and his kingdom.
7 When he comes, he will say to those who are looking for him, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” “Well done”—what have they done? They have built up his kingdom. They have shared in his trials, his sufferings, his labors; and he gives them a place among the blessed. What exaltation, what privilege is ours! We may have the worthiest ambition which Heaven can approve, in saving souls for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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1 The word of the Lord declares that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” We desire that everyone should be in a position where he can believe the word of God. How should I feel if my children should be constantly complaining to me, just as though I did not mean well, when my whole life’s efforts have been to forward their interests and to give them comfort? Suppose they should doubt my love; my heart would break. I couldn’t endure it. How would any of you feel to be thus treated by your children? How can our heavenly Father regard us when we doubt his love, that has led him to give his only begotten Son that we might have life? The apostle writes, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” And yet we stand back, distrustful and suspicious, saying, “Well, he doesn’t mean this for me. Perhaps he loves others, but he does not love me.”
2 Why is it so difficult for you to believe in God?—It is because you have been educating your soul in doubt and unbelief all your life long. It makes my heart ache to hear your mournful testimonies, stating that your whole life has been a failure. Have there not been some bright spots in your experience? Have you not had some precious seasons when your heart throbbed in response to the Spirit of God? Dear brethren, for Christ’s sake cherish every ray of light, every token of mercy and good, every blessing that God has bestowed upon you. Although you see that you have not given glory to God, that you have not been grateful, let that not be a reason why you should be ungrateful still, and sink down into despondency and discouragement. Have you not praised God in the past when the warm rays of his love fell upon your heart? Have you not sought to do his will as an obedient child? When you look back into the chapters of your experience, do you not find some pleasant pages? Is memory’s hall filled only with pictures of neglect and sorrow? Are there only dark, forbidding, and unhappy representations there? Are there not some pleasant pictures, where you can see the providence of God? Confess your ingratitude of the past; but retain every pleasing memory, and every token of God’s love that he has given to bind your heart to his great heart of infinite love. Oh, praise him! Let us educate ourselves to speak the language of faith. If Satan has cast his dark shadow across your path, look up in faith, and God will let his light shine upon you and dispel the darkness. Satan would like to have you cherish that shadow. He would like to have you view God through a cloud of his own making; but we are to be in a position of faith and confidence in God, where we can cherish every bright beam of light; having seen a token of God’s love, we are to say, “Here is an evidence that God is blessing me. I cherish this as a manifestation of his favor. I will gather up the precious jewels of his truth.” If you do this, you will be full of light. If you have been in the shadow, confess your unbelief, and then claim the promises of God by living faith, and come into the light of your Saviour.
3 You are not to trust simply in pleasant emotions. Suppose that after you have been filled with joy, you should rise in the morning under a cloud, with the same train of shadowy thoughts as have troubled you in the past. Would that be an evidence that God had left you during the night? Not at all. It would simply be an evidence that your mind has so long been trained in the line of unbelief, that it is from force of habit running in the doubting channel. Dwell on the faith side of the question. Educate your thoughts in the line of God’s mercy. Educate your tongue to speak of his goodness. Train the whole mind and soul to act in faith. It is praising Satan when you talk so continuously of your doubts and darkness. You are glorifying the prince of darkness when you give up your thoughts and words to follow in the shadow he casts on your pathway. Let your first morning thought be, “How good is the Lord! He is full of goodness and tender mercy.” Praise him. Say, “Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.” When the darkness of the enemy begins to sweep over you, say, “I do love the Lord. I know that I love him, and I know that the Lord loves me, even me.”
4 A good way to disperse darkness is to talk faith and courage. We are admonished in the word of God to fight the good fight of faith. Suppose that you take your stand under the banner of faith. If you have repented of your sins, and have confessed them to God, you need no longer go on in doubt and despondency. God does not want you to stand under a cloud. He wants you to come into the light, and to have confidence in him, knowing that you have committed your soul unto his keeping, as unto a faithful Creator.
5 Satan will come to you after you have trusted in God, and will try to steal away the victory that faith has gained. He will present your sins to you; but can you not tell him it is written, “The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin”? Can you not tell him that God has promised to remove your transgressions away from you as far as the east is from the west, and that they are to be remembered no more?
6 I see the necessity every day and every hour of exercising living faith. What is faith? It is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” There is a wonderful power in faith. It brings eternal things to view, and lays hold of the arm of infinite power. If you have been educating your soul to gather up the dark chapters in your experience, turn over a new leaf and have a new, bright, cheerful experience; put your will wholly on the Lord’s side. We must exercise living faith if we would war successfully against the temptations of the enemy.
7 There are on the walls of this house two mottoes, “Praise the Lord,” and, “Thy word is truth.” These are good and pleasant words. Suppose that you hang your memory’s hall all full of the remembrances of God’s goodness, grace, and truth, and let not one dark thought or shadow have a place in that hall. We are not to be so selfish as to simply desire a flight of happy emotions. We are to fix our faith on the promises of God, which are sure and steadfast, and shall endure forever and ever. The joyful feeling will come when we fully trust in God’s promises. Jesus has said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.” This invitation is certainly for those who are burdened with unbelief; and his assurance is, “Ye shall find rest unto your souls.” It is not, “May be you shall find rest.” Oh, no; it is positive and certain: “Ye shall find rest.” Why do we misinterpret our heavenly Father when he says “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Take his yoke upon you, and he will bear the heaviest part himself. Is he not good company? do you object to association with him? He says, “I am at thy right hand to help you,” “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
8 Why not make up your mind that you will stand in your God-given manhood and womanhood, and, through Christ, be overcomers? Why not say, “God has promised the power, and I will win back the moral image of my Creator and Redeemer”? Do not allow the mind to hold communion with the enemy. Do not talk of his power to discourage you. Talk of Christ, who is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. We have a whole Saviour, and let us have a whole faith in him who has died for the sins of men, and for my sins. When we take this position, we shall find rest and peace in our Saviour. Come with your burdens, and lay them down at the foot of the cross, put off the yoke of self and sin, and wear the yoke of Him who is meek and lowly of heart. Let every soul come to the fountain, and drink of the waters of life, that will be in him like a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.
9 When I talk of the subject of faith, my faith grows. I feel as though I could run through the troops of darkness, and rise above all barriers. It seems as though nothing could hinder me. By living faith, I grasp the hand of Jesus, and I am all light in the Lord. I do not look at self, I look to Jesus, my high priest, who presents my case to the Father, offering up the merits of his life and sacrifice. Faith will keep the mind above the low level of earth, and direct the soul to Heaven in contemplation of the spiritual and eternal. Let us lift up Jesus, the Saviour of men. Talk of his love, tell of his power, and the angels of God will be attracted to you. Will you have faith in God, who “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”?
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1 It will do you no good to believe that others may be blessed. Each one must appropriate the blessing to his own soul, or he will not be fed. Each must work for himself. Suppose that a table were spread with every desirable thing, and you were invited to come and eat, but you should make excuse and say, “I am not prepared. Let others eat; it is not for me.” You know you would not be nourished by seeing a well-spread table, and by others eating. We would starve if we did not partake of physical nourishment, and we shall lose our spiritual strength and vitality if we do not feed on spiritual bread eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God, which is, receiving and doing his word.
2 The invitation has been given, “Let him that is athirst come, and take of the water of life freely.” “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” The invitation has been given, and the question is, Will we come and eat? Others cannot receive blessings for us; and we have kept the Saviour apart from our lives. Jesus prayed that his disciples might be one with him as he was one with the Father; and if we are one with him, if we are obedient to his word, the Father loves us even as he loves his Son.
3 When Philip asked the Master to show him the Father, Jesus looked upon him in sorrow, and said, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” Our lives can be so connected with God that we can have this oneness with Christ. Our thoughts, inclinations, desires, and appetites may all be on the Lord’s side. Then we shall have nothing separate and distinct from Christ. There will be perfect harmony between our hearts and his, so that we shall be one with him as he is one with the Father. And now is the time to come into this union with Christ. We have only today to call our own; tomorrow is not ours. We want today to determine that we will no longer dishonor God by our unbelief, by standing back from the Master when he says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
4 The table has been spread, and Christ invites you to the feast. Shall we stand back, refusing his bounties, and declaring, “He does not mean this for me”? We used to sing a hymn that described a feast where a happy household gathered to partake of the bounties of the board at a kind father’s invitation. While the happy children gathered at the table, there stood a hungry beggar child at the threshold. She was invited to come in; but sadly she turned away, exclaiming, “I have no father there.” Will you take this position as Jesus invites you in? Oh! if you have a Father in the courts above, I entreat you to reveal the fact. He wants to make you a partaker of his rich bounties and blessings. All who come with the confiding love of a little child will find a Father there. How could the Lord express his love to us in more tender language than that in which he has expressed it in his precious word? He tells us just what to do in order that we may be saved. How I wish that we might all believe in the promises of God. He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” Do we really believe this promise? We should comply with the conditions laid down in God’s word; for if we do this we shall receive, simply because God has pledged his word. We are not to look into our hearts for a joyful emotion as an evidence of our acceptance with Heaven, but we are to take God’s promises, and say, “They are mine. The Lord is letting his Holy Spirit rest upon me. I am receiving the light; for the promise is, ‘Believe that ye receive the things ye ask for, and ye shall have them.’ By faith I reach within the vail, and lay hold of Christ, my strength. I thank God that I have a Saviour.”
5 Are you doing this? Are you taking God at his word, planting your feet on the eternal Rock that cannot be moved? You should daily be making advancement in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. If you have been laboring in your own strength, make a covenant with God that from this time forth you will rely upon Him who is mighty to save to the uttermost all who come unto Him. If you have gone before the people, presenting your own weakness, now say, as did Moses, “I will not go up unless Thou goest with me.” When you are imbued with the Spirit of God, self will no longer be cherished. What has been the trouble with your experiences in the past? Why have you not made a success of the Christian life?—It has been because of vain conceit, self-esteem, self-righteousness, and unbelief. May God help us that self may die here. May he help us to humble our souls by repentance and confession until we can come before him clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
6 Say before Heaven, “I have nothing of my own to bring; I want that righteousness that comes through the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour. How thankful we should be that we have a whole Saviour, that in him is our complete righteousness and salvation! I want to see a wave of glory from Heaven waft over this congregation, until you see the great truths of redemption in a different light. When you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, you will have something to tell. Like Philip, when he found the Saviour, you will go forth to invite others into his presence, saying, “I have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.”
7 May the blessing of God rest upon his people as never before. May they come up to their high privilege, and open the door of the heart and let Jesus in to sup with them and they with him.
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1 The blessing of God has rested upon us in a wonderful manner at this meeting; we believe that God has forgiven our sins, and we must never go back of this experience to take up the burden of our sins. The light of Heaven has shone upon us here, and our feelings may change, but this does not change God’s love toward us. God wants us to make the best use of it by reflecting it upon others. That which has shut away the light from our souls in the past has been the spirit of criticism. Many have watched the course of others, and have condemned their actions instead of keeping their own hearts with all diligence. They have judged the motives of their brethren; but mortal man is not fitted to do this work. The heart knoweth its own bitterness. We all have hereditary and cultivated weaknesses, but we may obtain precious victories every day. When a man climbs upon the judgment-seat to judge his brother, he makes it manifest that Christ is not enthroned in his heart. The Spirit of God will go out of the soul that admits the spirit of criticism.
2 Suppose that your brother is in error; are you to take a course that will make his case more hopeless? Are you to drive the straying sheep farther from the fold, instead of laboring to bring it back? Says the Good Shepherd, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in Heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which is lost.” Do we expect that those who are lost will be faultless? There was once a sister who wrote to me in regard to adopting a child. She described the character of the child she wanted. She must be affectionate, industrious, truthful, pure, and patient. I wrote to her saying: “You cannot find such a child on earth. If you are looking for that kind of character, you must seek it among the angels of Heaven. You think you are offering to do a work of charity in adopting a child; but your motives are wholly selfish. If you would do something to be approved of Heaven, take a child who needs help, who needs forbearance, and the grace of Christ.” We choose associates because we think they will benefit us; but Christ sought associations with those whom he could benefit. True religion will not lead you to do as did the Pharisee, to thank God that you are not as other men are, and congratulate yourself that you have not their faults and weaknesses. It will not lead you to stand off in self-righteousness, and despise and condemn your brethren.
3 The Son of man came to seek and save that which was lost. He left the ninety and nine, to go into the mountains and deserts for the one sheep that had gone astray. And when he had found it, he rejoiced more over that one sheep than over the ninety and nine that had never left the fold. Jesus said, “It is not the will of your Father which is in Heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” How are we to treat those who are found in fault? The Bible gives directions. “Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” Go in the spirit of meekness and love, desiring the salvation of his soul. Oh! when the Spirit of God is in the heart, there is no feeling of variance, no desire to criticise and condemn others. It is Satan that is an accuser of the brethren; but we must work the works of Christ. We must learn how to go out and seek for the perishing. Go to your brother in kindness, get your arm about him, say, “Come, my brother, let us talk over this matter of difference kindly, in the Spirit of Christ. Let us seek the Lord together. Let us love one another.” This is the very thing to do. We are not to criticise the erring, pushing them away by our influence; but we are to bring them close to our hearts. Are there those in our neighborhood who are breaking the law of God? Plead with them tenderly. Who has gone in love and kindness to those who are perishing, seeking to save that which was lost? I want you to see that it is not merely to eat the loaf yourselves that constitutes Christianity; you are to offer it to others as well. Did not Christ say, “Feed my sheep”?
4 There are those among us who have inherited weaknesses, and because of these they have been criticised. When they have started in the path of right, there have been those who have raised the cry, “They will never hold out.” And thus they have become discouraged, and have given up the warfare. But to such I would say: “It is not too late to renew the battle. It is not too late to gain the victory.” When the father saw his prodigal son, he did not wait for him to come to the door; but when he was a great way off he ran and met him. Are you ready to treat your brother in this way? or must your brother come up to a certain standard before you can feel justified in extending that sympathy and love toward him that Christ has extended toward you? Oh, go to the straying ones while they are yet a great way off! Labor to bring them back to the fold. We have a work to do for our erring brethren for whom Christ died. You are not to report the failures of others, and to make discouraging remarks as to their steadfastness in the way of truth. You are not to prophesy that this one or that one will fall out by the way, and when your disheartening words reach his ears, and work their evil result, and the trembling, tempted soul gives up, you are not to be ready to exclaim, “I told you so! I knew it would be so!” That is just the work that has been done; but we want that it shall be undone by repentance and confession, and that it shall be left undone in the future.
5 Oh, why not go to the wounded sheep, and bind up their bruises, and lead them to the Healer and the Shepherd of souls? Why not bind these weak ones by the cords of love and sympathy to your hearts, and make it hard for them to fall from their steadfastness, instead of pushing them away from you by evil surmising and evil speaking? Why not be a co-worker with Christ? Why not stand ready to grasp the hand that is stretched out for your help? Here are souls that are to be saved, and how earnestly you should labor for their salvation. This work has been long neglected. Why not do it now in the fear of the Master? Seek the lost, gather in the weak ones, help them by your faith and love, that they may gain victory after victory, and that where they are feeble they may become strong and whole. May God help you that you may be qualified by the Spirit of Heaven to pity and sympathize with the lost! All Heaven rejoices when characters are transformed, and when men work for the glory of God.
6 The blessing that Heaven showers upon men is not simply that they may be made happy. Those who receive it must work for others. I remember at one time we had a special blessing in the Battle Creek church, and many souls were swept into the faith by the heavenly current of God’s love. One brother arose and said, “All this blessing means work. It means responsibility, and am I in a situation to bear this responsibility?” There is tenfold greater responsibility resting upon us now than ever before, because of the measure of grace that we have received. Take it up, brethren, and bear it. As you work for God, the light will break in. Gather up the rays of glory, and they will increase more and more. Oh! when I look on others, and know that they are in darkness, my heart goes out in sympathy for them. I was once in the depths of despair myself. I was struggling in a hopeless way. No one seemed to be able to help me; but Jesus pitied me and brought me out of darkness into light. I look upon others, and I wonder, “Are they as restless, as full of suffering, as I was?” Oh, to have the pitying tenderness of Christ! Are there are any who have been driven out of the fold because of our lack of love? Go after them, plead with them, pray for them, and draw them back to the tender Shepherd.
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1 I have heard persons say, “I cannot think of such a thing as becoming a Christian. I would have to give up all my pleasures if I embraced religion.” But I want to know what pleasures would have to be renounced to become a follower of Christ?—The poor, fleeting pleasures of the world. How many scores of people have come from places of amusement smitten with death! How many have contracted disease, and have stained their souls with sin in ball-rooms and banquet halls. This is wonderful liberty indeed that men are so reluctant to relinquish for the sake of gaining Heaven.
2 I have heard others say: “Oh, I can’t come down to be a Christian. I would have to sever my connection with my associates. My mind is of too exalted an order to take any pleasure in the simplicity of the religion of Christ. I cannot afford to come down to the humble life that is described in the Bible as necessary to fit one for eternal life.” The Lord of Heaven, the Majesty of worlds, he who marshaled the stars in their courses, and called them all by name, he who made the everlasting hills, and put in them their treasures of gold and silver and precious gems, he who clothed the fields with verdure, has invited you to come out from the world, to separate yourself from its sinful pleasure, and he promises that if you will do this he will be a Father unto you, and you shall be his sons and his daughters.
3 What an honor it is thought to be, to be noticed by a king or queen of earth! I was in London at the time of the queen’s jubilee, and I saw the great preparations that were made to do her honor. All the verandas and windows that overlooked the street where her retinue was to pass, were rented for enormous prices by those who desired to catch a glimpse of her majesty as she passed by. What a privilege it was thought to be to touch her hand at the reception. But the King of Heaven has said that we may be his children. He says, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.” We may be members of the royal family of Heaven, and bear the royal name.
4 During the jubilee, the queen’s name was on every lip. How I desired that Jesus might be as highly honored, and his name be spoken with as much praise. How I wished that the people might behold the King of glory! The whole city was full of the bustle of preparation for the coming of England’s queen; but I wished that the same joy and earnestness might be manifested in preparing for the coming of Christ, the King of glory. Oh, that men might manifest as great eagerness to proclaim their loyalty to the Prince of Heaven as they manifested to proclaim their loyalty to Queen Victoria!
5 I want to be a Christian, an heir of Heaven. Men talk of the mansions of earth, but I will talk of the mansions of Heaven. Jesus has promised to come again and receive us unto himself, and he will take us to the mansions that he has gone to prepare for his people.
6 I have respect unto the recompense of reward. I will not dishonor my God, by thinking it is unimportant, or a dishonor, to be a Christian. “Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold, flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?” Shall we leave the Fountain of living waters that spring up unto eternal life, for broken cisterns that can hold no water? Shall we turn away from the prospect of Heaven for the fleeting pleasures of earth? I have seen enough of what men call perfection here below. Seekers for pleasure are only drinking at broken cisterns, that can hold no water. The glories of the unseen world attract my soul. The life hid in Christ, the privilege of being one with him as he is one with the Father, of being loved, if obedient, as God loves his Son,—all these claim the entire service of my life and affection. “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.” Talk not to me of your blessings outside of Christ. They are empty, worthless.
7 The servants of God, by an interested effort, have found the field that conceals the treasure. They have found jewel upon jewel, and treasure upon treasure. The simple disciples of Christ have furnished us with examples in wisdom such as the world cannot give. Mighty men of God have digged in the mines of truth, and have brought forth precious gems. Those who prayerfully study God’s word will find it infinite, exhaustless.
8 We are to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man. Jesus told his disciples that this meant that they were to live upon his word. The more we know of his truth, the more we shall desire to know. There will be an eternity before us, in which to explore the mysteries of God. It will be the delight of our Lord to lead us in green pastures, beside flowing waters, and unfold to the redeemed the mysteries of redemption. Let me be a stranger and a pilgrim here. Let me toil and be weary, but let me know Jesus and his love, and I will not complain. Was not my Lord weary? Was not he a stranger? Did he not say to his disciples, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while”? Often his disciples had to take him by force away from his labors lest he should fail because of weariness. At night he sought the mountain, and poured out his supplication with strong crying and tears, not for himself, but for us.
9 Will you not give yourself to him now? Why do you delay? Is it gold you want? Can you not wait for an immortal inheritance? The streets of the New Jerusalem are paved with gold. Its walls are of jasper and precious stones. Is it honor that you desire? Can you not wait a little? Jesus will crown his children with glory, honor, and immortality. It is enough. My soul feasts on his love.
10 Consecrate your lives to Christ. Take your children and patiently educate them that they may have pure and holy characters. Tell them the blessed story of the cross of Calvary. This is the great, central theme of all wisdom. Teach them to bear the cross; for in bearing the cross the cross will bear them. It is the pledge to them of the crown of glory that will never fade away. Said the apostle, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Lift up the man of Calvary. Talk of his love, tell of his power. All the universe is watching to see if you prize the gift of eternal life that has been purchased for you at an infinite cost. Everyone that casts himself at the foot of the cross, giving his soul into the keeping of a faithful Creator, testifies his willingness to bear the contempt of the world. But the redeemed soul can say with Paul: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Therefore lift your minds up out of doubt and darkness by contemplation of the spiritual and eternal. Your King is exalted in the highest heavens, and you should exalt him below by reflecting his divine image. Let your faith lay hold upon his merits. Are you a sinner against him? Hear what his promise is to those who repent of their rebellion: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Oh, that the veil might be swept aside, and you might get a clear view of the King in his beauty! How the world would pale and fade before you!
11 I once had the privilege of speaking to twenty thousand people, and oh, how glad I felt that I could honor Jesus before that immense throng! Only a little while longer, and we shall see him as he is, and be made like him. He is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels, “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,” will escort him on his way. He will not wear that simple, seamless robe, but robes of glory, white, “so as no fuller on earth can white them;” and on his vesture and on his thigh a name will be written, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. Who will be able to stand at that day? Who will be ready to say, “This is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us”?
12 Make your peace with him today. Put your case into the hands of the great Advocate, and he will plead for you before the Father. Though you have transgressed the law, and must acknowledge your guilt, Christ will present his blood in your behalf, and through faith and humble obedience you may stand acquitted at last. God will be your friend when the final trump shall sound. Christ has enjoined upon his people the necessity of watching and praying, lest he come unexpectedly and find them unprepared.
13 The glory of the eternal world has been opened before me. I want to tell you that Heaven is worth winning. It should be the aim of your life to fit yourself for association with the redeemed, with holy angels, and with Jesus, the world’s Redeemer. If we could have but one view of the celestial city, we would never wish to dwell on earth again. There are beautiful landscapes on earth, and I enjoy all these prospects of loveliness in nature. I associate them with the Creator. But I know that if I love God, and keep his commandments, there is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory reserved in Heaven for me. Beautiful as are the scenes of earth, they can bear no comparison to the glories of the eternal world. Says the apostle, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” God desires us to contemplate heavenly things. He desires us to behold the matchless charms of the divine character, and by beholding we shall become changed into the same image, through the power of his transforming grace.
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1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
2 John presents before us the love of the Father toward the children of men. God’s love has been manifested to us in the gift of his beloved Son. The apostle cannot find words to describe the greatness and the tenderness of this love; but he calls upon the world to behold it. This is to be our work. We are to call the attention of our fellow-men to the love of God that has been manifested to us by the infinite cost of Calvary. Jesus was one with the Father; he shared his majesty and glory. God made an infinite sacrifice when he gave his beloved Son to die for the world; but few have any appreciation of this great love that has been expressed toward a fallen race. Those who do have an appreciation of it are not looked upon with favor by the world. The apostle says, “Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” He says further: “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
3 Those who are sons of God will be constantly purifying themselves, and seeking to fashion their characters after the divine Pattern. Their thoughts will be upon heavenly things. Their conversation will be concerning Jesus, their Saviour. They will be waiting for him to appear in the clouds of heaven, and when he comes escorted by ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels, those who have looked for him, and who have loved his appearing, will meet him with joy.
4 We have a great work before us, not only to form characters ourselves for eternal life, but to labor that others may be fitted for the kingdom of Heaven. We must educate our tastes and our habits of life to simplicity. We cannot afford to place our hands in the hands of the world, and follow its customs and fashions. We must be natural, not artificial. And how beautiful is the natural in contrast with the artificial!
5 We should have hearts overflowing with sympathy for souls for whom Christ died. We should seek to educate our children in the fear of God, teaching them that Christ died for them, and that they may have salvation without money and without price. It will only be a little while before Jesus will come to save his children and to give them the finishing touch of immortality. “This corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality.” The graves will be opened, and the dead will come forth victorious, crying, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Our loved ones who sleep in Jesus will come forth clothed with immortality. And as the redeemed shall ascend to Heaven, the gates of the city of God will swing back, and those who have kept the truth will enter in. A voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, will be heard saying, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Then the righteous will receive their reward. Their lives will run parallel with the life of Jehovah. They will cast their crowns at the Redeemer’s feet, touch the golden harps, and fill all Heaven with rich music.
6 Satan has misrepresented the character of God. He has clothed him with his own attributes. He has represented him as a being of inflexible sternness. He had shut the world away from beholding the true character of God, by casting his shadow between men and the divine One. Christ came to our world to remove that shadow. He came to represent the Father. He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” He prayed that his disciples might be one with him, even as he was one with the Father. Men have declared that this oneness with Christ is an impossibility, but Christ has made it possible by bringing us into harmony with himself, through the merits of his life and sacrifice. Why should we doubt the love and power of God? Why should we not place ourselves on the faith side of the question? Do you behold the charms and attractions of Jesus? Then seek to follow in his footsteps. He came to reveal the Father to the world, and he has committed to us the work of representing his love, purity, goodness, and tender sympathy, to the children of men.
7 We have eternal life to win, and this is worth the loss of everything besides. We should study the Scriptures diligently. The Bible is like a garden where God has placed rich roses, and lilies, and pinks of promise, and they are for us if we will only pluck them.
8 When Satan casts his shadow athwart your pathway, grasp the precious promises of God, and go through the shadow by living faith, and you will find only light, mercy, goodness, and truth. When the enemy tells you that you are a sinner, tell him that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Come to the foot of the cross with your burden, and roll it off into the open sepulcher. Our Lord is precious, but we lose sight of his willingness to help and save us, when we dwell in the darkness of unbelief. Lift up the Man of Calvary. There is enough to talk about without talking of the power of the evil one. We have found the field that contains the treasure which is of inestimable value. When God gave his Son he gave us all Heaven in that one gift. Why should we cherish darkness and doubt, and those things that bring despondency and discouragement into our lives?
9 Why not bring the joy and light and peace of Heaven into our hearts? The religion of Christ never degrades the receiver. The truth of God is the mighty cleaver that has separated us from the world, and now we have been brought into God’s workshop to be hewed and squared and polished for the heavenly building. We are to be living stones in the temple of God. We are not to be dull and lifeless stones; but we are to reflect the rays of light that fall from Heaven, so that men may see that the truth has done something for us that the knowledge and wisdom of this world could not do.
10 Has the reception of the truth made you more cheerful? Have the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone upon your heart in vain? Those who are meeting the conditions on which the promises are based, should be the happiest people in the world, for they have all Heaven at their command. We may have Heaven below. God will put a new song into our hearts, even praise to his name. The enemy may stand ready to cast his shadow upon you, but will you talk of his power, his darkness?
11 Christians that carry a gloomy countenance are misrepresenting their Lord. They represent the Christian life as one of toil and hardship. They go mourning and groaning as if it were uphill work. Is the gate of Heaven shut? Have they no Father in Heaven? You might think from their attitude that Jesus was in Joseph’s new tomb, and a great stone rolled against the door. But Jesus is risen. He has ascended on high, and has led captivity captive, and has given gifts unto men. He has made manifest what he will do. He will break the fetters of the tomb, and bring forth his people from the land of their captivity. We dwell too near to the lowlands of earth. Let us raise our eyes to the open doors of the heavenly sanctuary, where the light of the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ, who “is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him.” Why not talk of the plan of salvation? Why not dig in the mines of truth for the treasures of wisdom, that you may appreciate the promises of God? Why not dwell in the love of Christ, and talk of the plan of redemption? We should study how to overcome appetite, ambition, and the love of the world. Is there not enough for us to do that we have to give so much time to matters of small importance?
12 When Christ left the world, he committed his work to his followers. He came to represent the character of God to the world, and we are left to represent Christ to the world. We are not to go on in the path of darkness, stumbling on the dark mountains of unbelief. There is a way cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, and this is where we may walk securely every day. Do not grasp the thistles, gather the roses, the lilies, and the pinks. If we are to understand the rich treasures of God’s word, we must separate our souls from all iniquity, that we may not come under its denunciations. As loyal soldiers we are to march under the banner of Prince Immanuel. We are to study the Bible, that we may know how to meet the assaults of the enemy. When Christ was tempted, how did he overcome?—He met the tempter with, “It is written.” He used the words of God, declaring, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” This is the way that we are to overcome. We must search the Scriptures, and appropriate the promises of God to our souls.
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1 It is of the greatest importance to us that we obtain a knowledge of the Bible. Christ has said, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand.” He has said again, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” He has also warned us to be on our guard against false doctrines. He said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
2 Many false doctrines will be presented to us as the teaching of the Bible; but as we compare them with the law and the testimony we shall find that they are dangerous heresies. Our only safety is in becoming personally acquainted with the reasons of our faith. In the book of Revelation, we find warnings, injunctions, and promises given to John for the churches, and we need to understand these instructions more fully, that we may not be found in delusion. We should keep the condition of these churches as described in the Revelation before us, and discern our own spiritual deficiencies by the description of the deficiencies. We should heed the reproofs that are given to us in the counsel of the True Witness.
3 Christ has declared that “if any man do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God.” The Lord of Heaven has not left his people in darkness. He has revealed to them his truth for this time. While many of the professed followers of Christ have lapsed away into error and apostasy, those who have walked in the light, not only hear, but read and understand, the prophecies of his word. The law of God will be made void in the world; its authority will be despised just as it was in Heaven in the first great rebellion; and God would have us intelligent to note the movement of the nations, so that we may see the signal of danger, and recognize the warnings that he has given us, that we may not be found on the side of the great deceiver in the crisis that is just before us.
4 God has made full provision in the Scriptures for our equipment against deception, and we shall be without excuse, if, through neglect of God’s word, we are unable to resist the errors of the evil one. We need to watch unto prayer. We need daily to search the Scriptures diligently, that we may not be ensnared by some delusive error that seems like truth.
5 I found in traveling through Europe, that I was not acquainted with some of the minor laws of the country, and I was under the necessity of being informed as to the customs of the people lest I should be found a transgressor. But how particular we should be to understand the law of God, so that we may not be under condemnation as law-breakers. It is the willing and obedient that God will bless. If we are desirous of understanding the law of earthly Governments, how much more should we desire to know what God requires of us. If we are anxious to understand our duty, he will not leave us to be enshrouded in darkness, but will enlighten our understanding so that we shall know for ourselves what is truth.
6 We do not want to be found receiving dangerous error as truth. We do not wish to imperil our souls by rejection of God’s messages of warning and counsel. Our greatest danger lies in our tendency to refuse increased light, and our only safety is to see and understand for ourselves “what saith the Lord.” Says the prophet, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” The word of God alone is to be the rule of our faith and doctrine. A great contest is coming in regard to the law of Jehovah in our own day; but we read in Isaiah these words of instruction: “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion.” The controversy in regard to the law of God has begun, and we must be prepared to give a reason of the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear. We must know where our feet are standing.
7 Although the law of God will be almost universally made void in the world, there will be a remnant of the righteous that will be obedient to God’s requirements. The wrath of the dragon will be directed against the loyal servants of Heaven. Says the prophet, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” We can see from this scripture that it is not the true church of God that makes war with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is the people who make void the law, who place themselves on the side of the dragon, and persecute those who vindicate God’s precepts.
8 There are many who will tell you that if you keep the law of God you have fallen from grace. They make strong assertions for which they have no foundation, to lead people astray, for they do not know whereof they speak. The prophet says, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” Those who are seeking to destroy the law are not of the class who are sealing the law among the disciples of Christ, but they are of the class who “shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.” The dragon is represented as persecuting those who keep God’s commandments. Evil angels conspire with evil men against God and his people. Persons of influence are stirred with a power from beneath; the energies of apostasy are united to deceive or to destroy the champions of truth.
9 John writes concerning scenes that have to do with our own time. He says, “The temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” That ark contains the tables whereon is engraven the law of God. On the Isle of Patmos, John beheld in prophetic vision the people of God, and saw that at this time the attention of the loyal and true followers of Christ would be attracted to the open door of the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. He saw that by faith they would follow Jesus within the veil where he ministers above the ark of God containing his immutable law. The prophet described the faithful ones, saying, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” This is the class that excite the wrath of the dragon because they obey God, and are loyal to his commandments.
10 The winds of doctrine will blow fiercely about us, but we should not be moved by them. God has given us a correct standard of righteousness and truth,—the law and the testimony. There are many who profess to love God, but when the Scriptures are opened before them, and evidences are presented showing the binding claims of God’s law, they manifest the spirit of the dragon. They hate the light, and will not come to it, lest their deeds should be reproved. They will not compare their faith and doctrine with the law and the testimony. They turn away their ears from hearing the truth, and impatiently declare that all they want to hear about is faith in Christ. They claim to be guided by the Spirit, and yet their spirit leads them contrary to the law of Heaven. They refuse to acknowledge the fourth commandment, which requires men to keep holy the Sabbath-day. They declare that the Lord has instructed them that they need not keep the Sabbath of his law.
11 The word of God declares, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.” It is not enough to nominally assent to the truth, we must have its principles interwoven with the life, and wrought into the very character. We may well be afraid of any class who refuse to compare their faith and doctrine with the Scriptures. There is safety alone in taking the Scriptures as our rule of life, and as the test of our doctrines. Martin Luther exclaimed, “The Bible, and the Bible alone, is the foundation of our faith!” Our work is to hold up the law of God; for Christ has said that “it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one tittle of the law to fail.” He has said, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
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1 “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests; and it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.”
2 I am feeble tonight, but if I had ever so much strength, there would be no power in me to insure you a good meeting. If your minds are in a devotional frame, if your hearts are drawn out in prayer to God for his blessing, if there is a yearning of soul to know what is the will of God concerning you, if you are humbling your hearts before him, God will speak to your souls tonight. Oh, that every one of you may hear and understand the voice of the true Shepherd! Oh, that you may be susceptible to the influences of the Holy Spirit! There never was a time in my life when I felt more anxious and more in earnest to know that it was well with my soul. There never was a time when I felt that there was greater importance attached to what I should say and do, than I feel is attached to my words tonight.
3 I know that we are nearing the Judgment. I know that the angels of God are in this congregation tonight. Evil angels are here also. The Lord is looking upon us, and I know that he is acquainted with each one of us. He knows whether your heart is devoted to him, whether you have religion in your home, whether you have come to this meeting with prayer and intercession that you may receive his blessing. Unless the Lord does meet with us tonight, this meeting will be of no benefit to any of us. But we believe he will meet with us; we depend upon him; for we have no strength of our own. All we can do is to place ourselves in the channel of his mercy.
4 The question that Jesus put to the leper that returned to give glory to God, we should put to ourselves. We should inquire, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” Has God received that glory and honor which he should have received? Has his praise come not only from our lips, but from our hearts? Have we bowed at the feet of Jesus to give glory to his name for his matchless love in placing salvation within our reach? He inquires, What more could have been done in my vineyard than that I have done? The cross of Calvary represents what God has done for us. In the gift of his only begotten Son he has insured to us eternal life upon condition of our faith and obedience. How few appreciate the matchless love that he has manifested! He proclaims himself as merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Those who come to him, he pardons abundantly. Shall we be like the heath in the desert, that knoweth not when good cometh? Shall we not from the fullness of our gratitude render praise and glory to God, like the one who returned and bowed in his humility at the feet of Jesus? We do not want to be represented by the nine who went right on their way in indifference, and did not return to glorify Him who had restored them to perfect health.
5 We are not anxious to have a great excitement at this meeting, but we are anxious that those for whom Christ has done so much should fall at his feet, and glorify and praise him for his matchless love. I feel anxious lest we shall not appreciate the gift of God’s grace, lest we shall not appreciate Christ, the believer’s hope, his joy, his all in all. Christ is the truth, the hidden treasure in the field of God’s word. He is the pearl of great price, which we must gladly sell all we have to obtain. An excitement might be created among the people at this meeting, and just as soon as the feeling should die away, we should find that they were no better, but rather worse than before the revival commenced. We are desirous that there should be a deep, thorough work done in our souls. We want to know how you stand before God. Is it well with your souls? Has Christ cleansed your heart from its defilement? We know not what may be our condition one hour from this time. We know not whether we shall be in active life, or in the silence and inactivity of death.
6 A letter came to me from my sister a few days ago. She wrote: “A terrible thing has happened. My husband was taking some dishes from the table when I heard him fall. I thought I heard a groan, and I quickly went to him; but when I reached him he was breathing his last.” “Oh!” said she. “it is so sudden. I cannot make it seem like a reality that my husband is lying in the next room cold in death.”
7 We are constantly hearing of sudden deaths that come without one moment of warning, and it is a question of vital interest to ask ourselves, “Is it well with my soul?” Christ has paid an infinite price for our redemption. The Lord of glory laid aside his royal robes, and became a man among men. For “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” What a wondrous plan is the plan of salvation. Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, suffered in the flesh, died a most cruel death, that he might reach to the very depths of human woe and misery, and lift men up to a seat upon him throne. Will you be lifted up? Will you be cleansed from the leprosy of sin? Will you, as you partake of the heavenly benefit, give glory to God for the wondrous work he has wrought in you? John exclaims, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” Mark these words, brethren; it does not say one in one hundred, or one in ten, but every man that hath this hope, purifieth himself.
8 Is there any reason why defilement should be cherished in your heart? If there is not, why are you not cleansed? Nothing that is vile can dwell in the presence of a holy God. Christ gave himself for us that he might “redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” We should be like the leper who was cleansed, who returned to give glory to God. There is no reason why our lips should not be trained to the high praises of God. When we hear the words of a cheering discourse, or the earnest exhortation of a brother or sister, why should not a wave of glory and a chorus of “Amens” go up to God from the congregation of his people? Would it not be thus if the fire of God’s love were kindled in our hearts? I know it would be so. Coldness, formality, want of faith and love and intense earnestness and devotion, has killed the spirit of warmth and religion out of our services. We need everything,—the gold of love, the white raiment, which is the righteousness of Christ, the eye-slave,—that we may discern the goodness and love of God. When God works for his people, how few return to give him glory? We want a religion that has some consolation in it, that has joy and peace and love in it to recommend it to others. Our religion should be of that heavenly character that will impress the world with the fact that we have been with Jesus and have learned of him.
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1 “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
2 We have presented before us the Christian’s privilege; but we have not realized the value of this privilege. We have assumed an attitude of hesitancy and unbelief. Doubt has enshrouded our souls, and we have failed to claim the promises of God’s word. What is the reason that these precious utterances are treated with such indifference? Why is it that we are so well satisfied with our present knowledge of Jesus? We are to grow up into Christ, our living head, until we reach the full stature of men and women in Christ. When we fail to advance in the knowledge of God, we rob our Lord of the glory that should flow back to him from those whom he has redeemed with his precious blood.
3 Said the prophet: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
4 The Son of God has given us abundant evidence of his tender love, of his willingness to do great things for us. Why should we not take him at his word? “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” In the light reflected from Calvary’s cross, we can have no excuse for doubting God’s word. We can find no reason for not devoting all our powers to his service. Our reasoning powers, our means, our talents of ability, should be consecrated to him.
5 The greatest tact and skill are manifested in matters of mere temporal interest. Men cultivate their talent and ability for the service of the world; but how many who profess the name of Christ fail to see the necessity of making the most and the best use of their God-given ability in his service. Body and soul and spirit are to be devoted to God. The servant of God should see that his work is carried forward with fidelity, and wrought with nicety. He should seek to do his work in a manner that will recommend it to God, that he may finally receive the benediction, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
6 If men expect the best exercise of your skill and ingenuity in temporal matters, how much more should your heavenly Master look to you for the best exercise of your skill and discretion in his work, which is exalted above every earthly consideration?
7 The first work of the Christian parent is to educate the children properly, that they may know and love Jesus, that they may be able to influence others to love Jesus, to be rich in good works, for there are many who would influence them to take the path of disobedience and transgression. They should be trained to resist everything evil in this degenerate age.
8 The Lord said concerning Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” Wherever the servant of God pitched his tent, he erected close beside it an altar, and there worshiped God. This was the example he gave to his children. If the children are educated to love and fear God, they will be fitted to bear responsibilities in life. Abraham commanded his household after him to keep the way of the Lord. This is what you should do. What are the terms upon which we may have eternal life? This was the inquiry of the lawyer that came to Jesus. He asked, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He only asked this question to entangle Jesus. He did not know that Christ could read his heart as an open book. Jesus left the burden of the answer upon him; he turned to him, and said, “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.”
9 We might ask, What shall we do to inherit eternal life? And the answer would be, Keep the commandments of God. Who is it that lives up to this requirement? Why is there so great mourning all over the land because of the coldness and the worldliness that exist in the church? Everywhere there is a dearth of the Spirit of God. The words of Him who interpreted the law of God, are set aside. Most Christians act as though they had graduated after they were baptized. They bring no sheaves to Christ. They are not laborers together with God. We are not to inclose ourselves in our houses, and devote our whole attention to our families. This is the height of selfishness. The whole world is lying in iniquity and darkness, and we should not be content to shut away our light from perishing souls.
10 Christ has given his life for the souls of men, and while God works in us to will and to do of his good-pleasure, we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. While we work on our part, God will work on his part. As Daniel set his heart steadfastly to serve God, he increased in wisdom and understanding. We cannot afford to make a mistake. We cannot afford to be dwarfed in our religious life.
11 What would we think of apprentices at a trade who learned nothing beyond the first few principles of their art, and never made any further advancement? What can we think of those who profess religion, when they never show any marks of progression in the Christian life? What has religion wrought for him who cannot pray any more intelligently after years of profession of godliness, than he could at first, who cannot testify with any more decision to the goodness of God, and who knows nothing more of the living oracles of his word? The religion of Jesus never degrades the receiver. It reforms his taste, sanctifies his judgment, and fashions his character after the divine model.
12 The farmer can tell you about his farm, he can describe the quality of the land, and the character of its products. He can speak of what he knows with great freedom and interest. The lawyer, the merchant, the mechanic, all prepare for their pursuits, and experience makes perfect their knowledge, and they can all talk easily and earnestly of the improvements made in their calling; but bring together all those workmen who profess religion in such a meeting as this, and many will speak of their faith with hesitancy, with stammering tongue, and in so low a tone of voice that it is difficult to understand what they say. Why is it that men and women who can speak intelligently about matters of temporal interest, cannot speak decidedly about things of eternal interest? How do the angels look upon our lack of appreciation of the things of God? Why is it that there is such a deficiency in the service we profess to render to God?
13 We have found it difficult to find persons qualified to fill responsible positions in our institutions; for men have not received an education from their childhood that fitted them for the work of God. They have not labored as though the eye of God was upon them. They were not as Joseph in Egypt, and Daniel in Babylon. God honored these men who honored him, and they were exalted to be leading men in the kingdom. It is of the greatest importance to us that we establish right habits, and develop characters that will be acceptable to Heaven. It is of the greatest importance that parents be able to say, “Behold I and the children whom the Lord hath given me.” If this is our privilege, it will be seen that we have done the work committed to our hands; that solid timbers have been used in the character building of our children. It will be seen that they are untainted, unpolluted by the evils of the world; the love and fear of God is in their souls.
14 One of the greatest influences for good in society is a well-disciplined family. How many lawless households there are. Parents too often take their ease, and indulge in pastime and pleasure, instead of seeking to repress the evil outgrowth of disposition in their children. They do not realize that the development of these evil tendencies in their children will finally result in the destruction of their own peace. Every father and mother should pray earnestly that Jesus may be revealed to their children as a complete Saviour, and that their characters may be fashioned according to the divine pattern. Oh, that our work may be done for time and for eternity!
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1 A solemn responsibility rests upon every one to engage in the work of saving souls. We cannot afford to fold our hands, and engage in interesting nothings, gratifying our tastes and inclinations. We are to win souls for the Master. We should be constantly growing in the knowledge of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. If men loved God supremely, they would dedicate themselves unreservedly to his service; they would devote their means and their talents to the upbuilding of his cause; they would train up their children for Heaven.
2 It brings agony to my heart to see how few know how to deal with their children. Mothers need a great amount of patience and love. The mother who looks with compassion upon her own children, who conscientiously seeks to educate them for God and Heaven, will look with compassion upon the children of others. She will love others because she loves her own. She will be a blessing to her family and to the neighborhood. The same ability that fits her to be a wise mother will fit her to be a wise missionary for God. The greatest missionary work that is done is in the home circle. To educate and develop the best and highest faculties of your children’s minds is to do a work that will have a moulding influence upon society. If you have educated one in the fear of the Lord, you may say you have educated one hundred. There is an atmosphere that surrounds every soul, an influence, either conscious or unconscious, that emanates from every person for good or evil; and to discipline a family so that the members shall meet the high claims of Heaven is a work that is counted of highest value in the sight of God.
3 It is of great importance to know how to keep the affairs of home in running order without friction. The oil of patience must be poured in when things go hard, and our children must be bound to our hearts by the silken cords of love. Parents should know how to sympathize with their children in their little troubles, that look as large to them as older people’s trials look to them. We should not neglect our children. It is in the early years that we have the best opportunity for sowing good seed in their hearts. If we neglect to do this work in their childhood, we shall find that Satan will preoccupy the field. Why not preoccupy the field yourself, and before the Evil one has a chance to plant his seeds of evil, fill the mind with that which is good and pure? The angels of God will help you in the work of forming your child’s character, if you will work in harmony with the plan of God. Do not let impatience control you. Be patient, be forbearing, and may God help you to realize your accountability to him.
4 When you become weary, go to Jesus with all your care. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” If you are bearing a yoke of your own manufacture, just lay it aside, and take the yoke of Christ, and nothing will disturb your peace, for you will have the peace of Christ that passeth all understanding.
5 Your children should not be driven off, and shut away from your sympathies. They should be encouraged to make confidants of father and mother. I have known children who had been so trained that even when they were grown men and women they counted it a privilege to counsel with their parents, though they were old and feeble. Is it not best, brethren, to be Christians? Is it not best to bring all the happiness possible into your life here, and prepare yourselves for the eternal world?
6 Each one of us will have to engage in the battle for good or evil, and we desire that you should battle on the Lord’s side, and know how to come off victorious in your own behalf through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. Divine power will unite with human effort. God will co-operate with you in your struggle against evil, and when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. We must look to the source of our strength. We cannot afford to lose eternal life. We want to be missionaries for God. We want to know how to minister to the necessities of others. Christ is our example. Let us follow in his steps.
7 We should know how to direct the mind of friends and neighbors to Christ when they are in trouble. We should know how to lead repentant souls to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” How many go to human friends to pour out their griefs and sorrows, instead of seeking Christ, who alone can heal the broken in heart. There are many who do not know how to come to Jesus with their burden, and, feeling their need of support, they turn to human hearts for comfort. But they are only leaning on broken props. God is the one to whom the troubled soul should go. Why put man in his place? We should seek to direct souls to the open door of Heaven, where we can see within the vail our Substitute and Surety. In every trial and perplexity, we should look to him; for in him is help for the fallen sons of men. Christ is the star of hope that illumines our darkness. The serpent may bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, but Christ will bruise the serpent’s head and take away his power at last.
8 The plan of salvation was revealed to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. They were made to understand how the Son of God would come and bear their sin, and redeem them from the curse of the law. But when Christ came into the world how few recognized his divinity or comprehended the nature of his work! He was not acknowledged as the Prince of life. The earth was the battle-field where the Prince of light and the prince of darkness met to contend for the fallen race . Christ had laid aside his crown and his royal robe, he had stepped down from his throne, and had clothed his divinity with humanity. For our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He came into a world all marred and scarred by the curse. He took upon him humanity that he might know the infirmities and temptations of humanity, that he might know how to help and save men. The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. Was he not perfect before?—Yes. But he was made a perfect Saviour, learning obedience by the things which he suffered, that humanity might have a perfect character and be fitted for the society of the angels of Heaven. Man was not able, in his own behalf, to meet and overcome the prince of darkness; but Christ overcame him in man’s behalf and broke his power over the human race, so that through his merits they might be overcomers in their own behalf.
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1 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” It is not enough to profess love for God, Christ asks an evidence that we do love him. Willing obedience to the law of God proves the truth of our profession. We have heard from the pulpits of today that the law is not binding, but this cannot be. Christ says, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous.” How could we know what sin is, unless we could look into the law of God? John, the beloved disciple, defines sin as the “transgression of the law.” He says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.”
2 Says the prophet, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” We must search as diligently in the word of God as did the noble Bereans, who “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so.” We should dig as for hid treasure in the mines of truth. Christ has warned us that false prophets would arise and would deceive many. There are many who profess to have great faith. They make great claims to holiness, but do they speak according to the law and the testimony? If they do not, it is because there is no light in them. Men fold the garments of their self-righteousness around them, and claim perfection of character; but they have only measured themselves with a standard of their own creating, and with sacrilegious hands they have torn down the true standard of all righteousness. The law of Jehovah is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The sinner wants to get it out of the way because it condemns him. It is thought burdensome by the transgressor, but the obedient can say with David, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned; and in keeping of them there is great reward.”
3 The law of God, so defamed and trampled upon by transgressors, is declared by Paul to be holy, just, and good. David prayed, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.” If David could make that prayer in his day, how much more should it be our prayer in our day! We see on every hand that the law is trampled under unholy feet. There was never a time when we needed to walk more carefully in the path of righteousness, nor to pray more earnestly, than at the present time. The same spirit of prejudice exists now against the commandments of God that existed when Christ was upon the earth; and if we think that we can keep the commandments without exciting the malice of Satan, we mistake; but we shall never have to suffer one-hundredth part of what our Redeemer suffered.
4 We should meditate on the sacrifice that Christ has made in our behalf. He left his honor and glory and majesty, to come to our earth, to be a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. It seems astonishing that the world did not accept and believe on him whom the Father had sent from Heaven. He said to those he came to save, “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life.” How grieved he must have felt when he entered the cities and found so few who manifested any interest in his mission. Every soul was precious in his sight; but the things of time and sense claimed the attention of men, and blinded their eyes to the Redeemer’s merit. When I think of the many disappointments our Saviour met, I do not wonder that he was a man of sorrows. How sad it makes us feel when we make earnest efforts to bring the truth to those we love, and they will not hear us. Christ felt this sorrow as much more keenly than we can, as his nature was higher and holier than ours. When we think of what the Saviour endured, can we become discouraged in our work? We have a precious truth to bring before the people, and just as long as we have breath, we should lift up our voices and proclaim that the transgression of God’s law is sin.
5 Christ said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” Those who have faith in Christ will obey the words of Christ, “for faith without works is dead.” If we have genuine faith in Jesus as our Saviour and example, we shall reflect his character, and correctly represent him to the world. We must keep his commandments, even as he kept his Father’s commandments. If we do this, we shall find that there is not a precept of the law but that is for the good and happiness of mankind, both in this life, and in the future, immortal life. If we want to be like Christ when he is revealed in his glory, we must purify ourselves, even as he is pure, in this our day of probation. We want living faith, faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. Although everything around us may be dark and trying, yet we must show that we have implicit confidence in our Redeemer. We should cast ourselves upon the promise, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.” Genuine Christians are the happiest people in the world, and they have the assurance that God will enable them to stand as faithful sentinels for the truth.
6 In the last days there will be a people who will be loyal to God’s holy law. Through obedience to his precepts, they will be prepared to stand in the great day of wrath. Trouble and affliction will come upon them, for Satan will come down, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he has but a short time. He will work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; but we need not be deceived by his fatal delusions. We should study the Scriptures for ourselves, so that when the enemy comes in like a flood, we may not be moved from the foundation of eternal truth, but may find that the Lord will raise up a standard against him. Let no soldier of Christ be discouraged. The Captain of your salvation will aid you in your battles with the enemy. If you have done all on your part that you can do, his arm will be stretched forth in time of need, and you will realize that help has been laid upon One that is mighty to save.
7 Men may talk of the law as a yoke of bondage; but the question of vital interest is, If you are found disobedient to God, can they pay a ransom for your soul? I beg of you, do not take the word of man that the law is abolished, for that law is as immutable as the throne of God. If the law could have been altered to meet man in his fallen condition, Christ need never have died. The cross of Christ is an unanswerable argument demonstrating the changeless character of the law. The very fact that Christ died establishes the law. Says the apostle, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” Christ died to vindicate the justice of God, and to remove the obstacles that man had placed between himself and eternal happiness. Through the intercession of Christ, man may now lay hold of eternal life. While we see that sin and iniquity abounds, we would say, Pray, pray as you never prayed before. We must walk in humility before God, rendering obedience to his holy law, and by and by we shall receive the reward. When the warfare is ended, Jesus will, with his own right hand, place the crown of immortal glory upon our brows, and we shall each hear the heavenly benediction, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
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1 When Wesley began his career in England, there were only a few who rallied around his standard. When the Puritans emigrated from England to America, they were like shipwrecked mariners who had barely escaped with their lives. Left without friends or influence, all they had was their precious faith, their strong will, and their earnest devotion to God. They were as sheep without a shepherd. The believers were few. Like the mustard seed, which is the least of all seeds, so seemed the Pilgrims; but their influence became powerful and far-reaching. The faith of the Puritans was as a coal from the altar of God, an inextinguishable light that glorified the land with its radiance. The Puritans were obliged to practice the most rigid economy and self-denial, yet they did not neglect to build houses in which to worship God. They were guided by the providence of God. They realized their need of schools to educate their children in the way of the Lord, for it was necessary to raise barriers on every side against the influence from which they had fled. The establishment of schools under their own control was of great advantage to the maintenance of their faith. Special effort was made to educate their children and fit them for the work of diffusing the light of the gospel, and of upholding the principles of religious liberty. The history of past reform is repeated in the work of today. The people who have the precious truth for these last days are to turn their attention especially to the provisions God has made for them to become intelligent, in order that they may be qualified to meet the coming issues. The truth for these last days has not been supported by large legacies or advanced by worldly influence. God has given us the privilege of becoming partakers with Christ in his sufferings here, and he has provided that we may have a title to an inheritance in the earth made new. The secret of our success in the work of God will be found in the harmonious working of our people. There must be concentrated action. Every member of the body of Christ must act his part in the cause of God, according to the ability that God has given him. The body has been compacted by that which every joint supplieth to the effectual working of every part.
2 The hearts of our people must move in unison. There must be no holding back by anyone. We must press together against obstructions and difficulties, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart. I look back with pleasure and with gratitude to God on the work that has been done by our people in the past. I look at the small beginning both east and west of the Rocky Mountains, and then to the large institutions that have been established, and exclaim, “What hath God wrought!” When I consider the work that has been done, I do not fear to move forward, but I do fear for those who forget the lessons of the past. We have grown from a few believers to a numerous people, and as God has given us great and important truths, we have great and important duties, and weighty responsibilities to bear.
3 We owe all our prosperity to God, and we should co-operate with him in training our children to become missionaries for home and foreign fields. As a people whom God has highly favored, we should do all that it is possible to do to exercise our God-given powers, to adorn with truth and holiness the cause we profess to love. We must give less attention to fine houses, costly furniture, and changeable suits of apparel. Moral and intellectual training must be provided for the young, and for those newly come to the faith. We must deny self, and plan for increased facilities for the spread of the truth. Our work is to be extended by missionary effort. We must not only gain new ground, but cultivate the fields where the truth has already entered. We must depend less upon the preacher, and more upon personal effort, opening the Scriptures from house to house.
4 We are not at liberty to leave our children unprovided for, nor to subject them to influences unfavorable to the truth and to the perfecting of Christian character. We must not wait for every apparent obstruction to be removed from our pathway, but we must be bold, undaunted soldiers of Christ, who are looking forward to the heavenly reward. We are fast hastening to the Judgment, where we must render an account for all our works. We call upon all to do the very utmost of their ability. Let no one feel that this does not mean me. It means every soul that has tasted of the powers of the world to come. You have solemn, earnest work to do for the Master. Put away pride, put away everything hurtful, and come in sincerity to the foot of the cross. Give yourself to Him who has bought you with his own blood. He requires all that there is of you. Not only are the ministers called upon to labor for the salvation of souls, but every individual member of the church should make efforts to enlighten his friends and neighbors. Let us do our work in such a way that when our Lord shall reckon with his servants we may say, “Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents; behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.”
5 The Lord requires careful thought, and the highest use of the intellect. When he comes to reckon with his servants, he will not inquire how successful you have been in gathering means; he will inquire, What have you done with the talents I have given you? What have you done for me in the person of the poor, the afflicted, the orphan, and the fatherless? I was sick, poor, hungry, and destitute of clothing; what did you do for me with my intrusted means? How was the time I lent you employed? How did you use your pen, your voice, your money, your influence? I made you the depositary of a precious trust by opening before you the thrilling truths that heralded my second coming? What have you done with the light and knowledge I gave you to make men wise unto salvation?
6 Our Lord has gone away to receive his kingdom, but he will prepare mansions for us, and then he will come and take us to himself. In his absence he has given us the privilege of being co-laborers in the work of rescuing souls to enter those mansions of light and glory. We are either building upon the foundation, wood, hay, and stubble, to be consumed in the last great conflagration, and our life-work be lost; or we are building upon the true foundation, gold, silver, and precious stones, which will never perish, but shine the brighter amid the devouring elements that will try every man’s work. Any unfaithfulness in spiritual and eternal things will result in loss throughout endless ages. I present these thoughts to the laymen of the church, that they may awaken to a sense of their responsibility. Work for Jesus. Put your entire interest into God’s cause. Self-deception may make you feel that you are doing about right; but how does your life compare with the life of Jesus? Christ has done everything for you; he withheld not even himself. Now show zeal and earnestness in putting all your powers to work for him, and you will receive eternal life as your reward.
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1 Our citizenship is not in this world. We are pilgrims and strangers on the earth, and we look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Christ has said, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
2 The consolation of these words has come down to our times to comfort the hearts of believers on Jesus in this our day. Our whole being should be thrilled with fervent gratitude that we have such a hope set before us. If we are co-workers with Christ, denying self, we may have connection with God, and obtain grace to help in every time of need, so that we shall not be found wanting when the Saviour comes to redeem his people. We may be found ready to be translated at the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour.’ I cannot make preparation for you. I cannot repent for you. This is work between God and your soul. If you are defiled in heart, you must go to him who can cleanse you from all unrighteousness. You must seek God. You must have the soul temple purified, if you would have the blessing of the Father rest upon you.
3 We cannot bless one another. My faith cannot save you, nor your faith avail for my salvation. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the land, they could deliver neither son nor daughter by their righteousness; they could only deliver their own souls. We should seek God now for his pardoning grace. Now is the time to obtain genuine religious experience for the trying scenes that are just before us. God wants us to be in earnest, he wants us to be happy. When he gave Christ to the world, he gave all Heaven in that one priceless gift. He opened up to us all the treasures of his power and grace. By living faith we may grasp the hand of Infinite Power. We may be so connected with the God of Heaven that his grace may be found sufficient in every emergency of life. Says the prophet, “Five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight.”
4 Open the door of your heart, and Christ, the heavenly guest, will come in. Are there any here who feel rich, and increased with goods, and in need of nothing? Are there any here who feel whole, and do not realize their need of a physician? They must fall upon the Rock and be broken, or the Rock will fall upon them, and crush them to powder. Why cannot we take hold of the righteousness of Christ this very day? There are many of you who profess to believe the present truth, but do you believe in Christ as your personal Saviour? You may have a nominal faith, just such a faith as the people had who crowded about Jesus in the streets of Judea, but this faith will not connect you with him. You need a faith similar to the faith of the poor woman who had been diseased for many years. She had sought help from the physicians, but her disease grew worse and worse. She heard of Christ, and her faith went out to him. She believed that if she could only touch the hem of his garment she would be made whole. Christ understood the longing of her heart; he understands the desire of every heart that is drawn out after him, and he responds to it. This poor woman who yearned after help improved her first opportunity to come into the presence of Jesus. The multitude were all about him, but she pressed through the crowd, until she could touch his garment, and that moment she was healed. Christ realized that virtue had gone out of him. The woman had felt her desperate need, and her faith had made her whole. So it will be with every one of you who go in your need to Jesus and lay hold upon him by living faith. Christ asked who touched him. His disciples were astonished that he should ask such a question when he was surrounded by a great multitude. They said, “Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?” But Jesus knew that somebody had touched him with no casual touch, but with the touch of faith. A longing soul had reached out to him for help which no one but he could give. Jesus said, “I perceive that virtue has gone out from me. And he looked around about to see her that had done this thing,” and when the woman knew she was not hid, she acknowledged the good work that had been wrought in her. She told the story of her suffering and her hopeless condition, and her act of faith in touching his garment. He said unto her, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.”
5 Brethren, if we will come to Christ by living faith, we may receive virtue from him. Thank God, there is an abundant supply of grace in him. Jesus wants us to exercise simple faith, that we may have his virtue. If we will only give the touch of faith, the light, the glory, and the power of God will be imparted unto us. You say that you believe in Jesus, and we have a right to expect that your faith will manifest itself in works of righteousness. We have a right to expect that you will have a sound, healthful experience, that in contrition of soul you will present the offering of praise and thanksgiving to Him who has bestowed rich blessings upon you. Are you willing to work for the glory of God? You say, “I believe.” How do you believe? Do you believe that Jesus saves you now? Do you believe that you can appropriate the merits of your Saviour to yourself? Do you believe that you can cast your helpless soul upon Christ, and that his righteousness will be imputed unto you? If you have genuine faith, you will confess your backslidings and sinfulness. You will no longer stay in the darkness of unbelief; you will come to the light of Heaven. Says the Saviour, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
6 Living faith makes itself manifest by exhibiting a spirit of sacrifice and devotion in the cause of God. Those who possess genuine faith stand under the banner of Prince Emmanuel, and wage a successful warfare against the powers of darkness. They stand ready to do whatsoever the Captain of their salvation commands. They are enabled through the grace of Christ to be an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. There is a great work for us to do if we would inherit eternal life. We are to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live a life of righteousness. Says the word of God, “Faith without works is dead.” We are to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,” deny self, take up the cross, and follow daily in the footsteps of our Redeemer. We are exhorted to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” And he bids us follow him. If we make him our example, we shall not fail of an entrance into his everlasting kingdom. There is a cross to be lifted, if we follow Christ. We shall find that there is a high wall to be scaled, a ladder to be climbed, before we can enter the eternal city; but as we realize our own inefficiency, and cry for divine power, the voice of Jesus will come to us saying, “Take hold of my strength, ‘lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’” The strength of Jesus will be imparted to every soul who strives lawfully for the mastery. All may be overcomers.
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1 “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
2 This comforting assurance was given to the disciples when their hearts were weighed down by sorrow because Christ had told them that he was soon to leave them. They were filled with distress at the thought of losing the presence of their beloved teacher. Although the Saviour’s feet were in the path that led to Calvary, his thoughts were not on himself, nor on the suffering that he was to endure. His sympathy was drawn out to his beloved disciples, who were to bear a severe test. He thought of their disappointment and loneliness, and while he was on the way to Gethsemane, he sought to cheer them, saying, “Let not your heart be troubled.” He tells them that his object in leaving them is to prepare homes, mansions, for them, that he will not always remain away, but will come again, and receive them unto himself. He will not leave them alone to battle with the trials and afflictions of this world, but he will come again and take them to himself, that where he is there they may be also.
3 After his resurrection he spoke words of encouragement and instruction to them. He said: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
4 This promise of the return of the Saviour did not make the disciples feel unhappy and gloomy. They were filled with joy to think that Jesus was coming again. And if the disciples of Christ were filled with joy then, why should not his followers on earth today rejoice that their redemption draweth nigh? Our Lord is coming with clouds and great glory, and all the angels of Heaven will escort him on his way.
5 When he ascended on high after his resurrection, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Those who had transgressed the law of Jehovah had fallen in death. Although they had confessed and forsaken their sins, Satan had claimed them as his lawful subjects and prisoners. He said they were his victims; but when Christ came out of the grave, he led forth from the prison-houses of the enemy a multitude of captives as a sample of the general resurrection. And when he comes again, it will be to break the fetters of the tomb, to call forth the prisoners of hope from their prison-houses, to clothe them with a glorious immortality.
6 As Christ ascended from the earth, a cloud of angels escorted him on his way to the city of God. As they neared the gates they sang, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in.” Then the sentinel angels inquired, “Who is this king of glory?” and the ascending host rolled back the response, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” As the heavenly train pass within the city, the angelic throng come forth to bow in adoration before him. The Saviour waves them back, he cannot yet received their homage. He has a request to present before the Father. He remembers those that he has left in the world alone. He says, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” Then the Father gives the command to the waiting host, “Let all the angels of God worship him,” and they bow in adoration before him, saying, “Worthy, worthy, is the Lamb that was slain, and lives again, a triumphant conqueror.”
7 Satan had not triumphed over Christ, although he had inspired wicked men to take his life. He had gained nothing by his rebellion. Even in the very act of crucifying the Prince of life, he himself had been conquered. Christ had gained the victory in every contest.
8 The sin of Adam and Eve had divorced earth from Heaven, and finite man from the infinite God, but Christ had passed over the very ground where Adam had failed, and at every step he was a conqueror. Every victory he gained elevated humanity in the scale of moral value before Heaven. It was impossible for man to redeem himself, and this was the reason that Jesus took human nature upon himself, that through humanity his divine nature might reach and lift up humanity.
9 When Christ came to the world, he found that Satan had almost everything under his own control. Christ announced his mission at Nazareth. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to teach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken- hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” This was his work. He went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed of the devil. There were whole villages where there was not a moan of sickness in any house, for he had passed through them and healed all their sick. His work gave evidence of his divine anointing. He had come to represent his Father to the world; and love, mercy, and compassion were displayed in every act of his life. His heart went out in tender sympathy to the children of men. This was his work in our world, to elevate humanity by combining divinity with humanity. He took man’s nature that he might reach man’s wants. With his human arm he encircled the race, and with his divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite, and united finite man with the infinite God, and earth with Heaven. Here was man, plunged in degradation, sin, and ruin, and Christ was willing to resign all his glory in order to offer to man the cup of salvation. Astonishment filled Heaven to see man’s indifference, to see man so lacking in appreciation of the things that would make for his peace.
10 When the Son of God received baptism in the river Jordan, “the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him,” and a voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, came from the excellent glory declaring, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Did the voice of God come alone for the sake of Christ?—No; it came in behalf of the humanity that he represented. It came to assure man that he could be accepted in the beloved. Heaven was opened by the prayer of Christ, and it was opened for all who would come unto God by him. Thus divine power is given that it may be combined with human effort.
11 How often we have read over the description of Christ’s baptism with no thought that there was any particular significance in it for us. But it means everything to us. It means that there can be no excuse for our living in alienation from God. You may claim much leniency because of your human nature, of your temptations and trials, and seek to excuse yourself for sin because of inherited tendencies, but Christ gave himself in behalf of humanity, and there is no reason for failure. Christ bore temptations such as you will never be called upon to bear. He suffered as you will never suffer. He knew all your griefs, he has carried your sorrows. He has made it possible for you to be an overcomer. Do not say it is impossible for you to overcome. Do not say, “It is my nature to do thus and so, and I cannot do otherwise. I have inherited weaknesses that make me powerless before temptation.” We know you cannot overcome in your own strength; but help has been laid upon One who is mighty to save. When God gave his only begotten Son, he provided everything essential to your salvation. And “he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” The resources of Heaven are open to us. We should believe this precious truth. And when the enemy comes in like a flood to discourage and to dishearten, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him. When sorrows press you, cling closer to the Mighty One. Instead of faltering and losing faith, praise God that Jesus has died for you. A brother came into meeting at one time and related his difficulties, and trials, and sorrows. I said to him, “Brother, haven’t you anything to praise God for? has not Jesus died that you might live? Is there any reason that you should be discouraged?” How does Heaven look upon our doubts and discouragements, when God has given his beloved Son to die on Calvary’s cross, that we might have peace in this life, and everlasting joy in the life to come? How does Heaven regard us when we speak and act as though it were a very difficult path through which God was leading us? How must it seem to the angels when we act as though we doubted whether it would pay to be a Christian? All Heaven was poured out to us in Christ, and he that spared not his own Son will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly.
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1 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
2 This scripture teaches a very different lesson from that which is presented in the words of many who profess to believe the gospel. We are exhorted to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, and to look for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Some have made an objection to my work, because I teach that it is our duty to be looking for Christ’s personal appearing in the clouds of Heaven. They have said, “You would think that the day of the Lord was right upon us to hear Mrs. White speak in reference to the coming of Christ; and she has been preaching on that same subject for the last forty years, and the Lord has not yet come.” This very objection might have been brought against the words of Christ himself. He said by the mouth of the beloved disciple, “Behold, I come quickly,” and John responds, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” Jesus spoke these words as words of warning and encouragement to his people; and why should we not heed them? The Lord has said that it is the faithful who will be found watching and waiting for him. It was the unfaithful servant who said, “My Lord delayeth his coming,” and began to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.
3 The exact time of Christ’s second coming is not revealed. Jesus said, “No man knoweth the day nor the hour,” But he also gave signs of his coming, and said, “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the door.” He bade them, as the signs of his coming should appear, “Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” And in view of these things the apostle wrote: “Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day.” Since we know not the hour of Christ’s coming, we must live soberly and godly in this present world, “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
4 Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. His people are to preserve their peculiar character as his representatives. There is work for every one of them to do. The rich should bring their means, the honored their influence, the learned their wisdom, the poor their virtue, if they would be effective workers with God. They are to bring themselves into right relation with God, that they may reflect the light of the glory of God that shines in the face of Jesus Christ. We read of a class who put far off the day of the coming of Jesus; but upon such his coming will be as a thief in the night, and they will be suddenly overtaken with destruction. How many there are who are willing to be rocked to sleep in the cradle of carnal security; but it is time for us to wake out of sleep. Says the apostle, “We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”
5 We should be awake to discern the signs of the times, and to give warning to the people. There are many in the world who seek to quiet the alarm of the people, who say,”Peace, peace; when there is no peace;” but we should take an opposite course from this. There are many who say to the aroused people, “Do not disturb yourselves, go on in godlessness, go on glorifying yourselves, and living in pleasure. The day of the Lord is not at hand.” Did not Christ have an object in view when he said, “Behold, I come quickly”? Did he not see that his church would need to keep this solemn event in mind? Shall we say with the last-day scoffers, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation”? I do not mean to be with this class. I mean to arouse men with the message of Christ’s near coming.
6 Those who have a knowledge of present truth are under a great responsibility before the world. They are to warn men of the coming judgments. They are to represent Christ to the people. They are not to go about deploring their condition, talking of their darkness, and murmuring and complaining of the hardness of the way; they are to lift up their minds to God, open the door of their hearts to Jesus, and let him come in and abide with them. We must have Christ enthroned in the heart, that the soul-temple may be cleansed from every defilement. The soon coming of our Saviour must be a living reality to us. The question of all importance for this time is, “How is it with my soul? Am I seeking to reiterate the words of Christ? Am I teaching my children that they have souls to save; that peace and holiness must be a part of their life? Am I teaching them to place their hands in the hands of Christ, that he may guide them?”
7 We have most earnest work to do, and we have no time to waste in drinking at empty cisterns that can hold no water. We should come to Christ without delay for the water of life. We should diligently study the Bible. The study of the Bible is of the greatest importance to us. The Scriptures are able to make men wise unto salvation, yet how few find time to search the word of God! Men are all absorbed in the things of this perishing earth. They are building their hopes upon worthless foundations, and writing their names in the sand. Even those who profess to be followers of Christ do not heed his injunction. They are like the fig-tree whose leaves were abundant, but upon which the Master, seeking fruit, found nothing but leaves. The command will go forth at last concerning the fruitless tree, “Cut it down. Why cumbereth it the ground?”
8 God gives us his rich blessings to enjoy, and he expects us to bring forth fruit to his glory; but many neglect his work. They do not make a full surrender to his will. There are many who seem to feel that to think of God and heavenly things tends to make men gloomy and desponding; that it is detrimental to health to permit the mind to dwell upon religious subjects.
9 When in my youth God opened the Scriptures to my mind, giving me light upon the truths of his word, I went forth to proclaim to others the precious news of salvation. My brother wrote to me, and said, “I beg of you do not disgrace the family. I will do anything for you if you will not go out as a preacher.” “Disgrace the family!” I replied, “can it disgrace the family for me to preach Christ and him crucified! If you would give me all the gold your house could hold, I would not cease giving my testimony for God. I have respect unto the recompense of the reward. I will not keep silent, for when God imparts his light to me, he means that I shall diffuse it to others, according to my ability.”
10 Did not the priests and rulers come to the disciples, and command them to cease preaching in the name of Christ? They shut the faithful men in prison, but the angel of the Lord came to them and released them that they might speak the words of life to the people. This is our work. “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord,” and we must pursue that work with faithfulness. How many are there who fulfill the mission of Christ? After their baptism there are many who act as though they had graduated, as though there was nothing more to learn or to do; but baptism is only the beginning of our work. We are to go on to perfection, reflecting the light of Christ more and more, and bringing all that it is possible of the spirit and power of Heaven into our lives. We are to seek the salvation of souls around us.
11 We are to present the truth as it is in Jesus. Christ came into the world to save sinners. For thirty years he lived our example. He endured insult, ignominy, reproach, rejection, and death; yet he lives. He is a living Saviour. He has ascended on high to make intercession for us. Just before his crucifixion, he prayed that his disciples might be one with him, as he was one with the Father. Is it indeed a possibility that sinful, fallen man may be brought into such exalted relationship with Christ? Such a union with Christ will bring light and peace and comfort to our souls. When he went to Heaven, he told his disciples, “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Who would not have the Comforter in times of trial? There are many who refuse the service of God; but let sickness or sorrow overtake them, let death come into the family, and they will realize the weakness of earthly dependence, and they will then want a God to lean upon.
12 The Lord is coming, and when he shall appear we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” We must have our treasures transferred to Heaven, for where the treasure is, there will the heart be also. Let the light of the Sun of Righteousness into your hearts, and peace will rest upon you. I want you to enjoy the blessing of God. I want to direct your mind to heavenly things. Jesus has promised, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
13 Tell of the love of Christ, talk of his power, and you may have a heaven in this world to go to Heaven in. Respond to the light of God, and you will be like a watered garden; your health will spring forth speedily; your light will rise in obscurity, and the glory of the Lord will be your rereward.
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1 Brethren and sisters, I do hope that this precious opportunity of drawing near to God may not pass without improvement. I hope you will all have an assurance of the blessing of God. You should seek to retain every ray of light and knowledge that has shone upon you here; but you cannot do this unless you walk in the light, accepting and acting upon it. The Lord desires to give us his rich blessing. It is not his will that anyone should labor in his cause without his help and favor. He does not require his children to go in feebleness of heart to win souls for eternal life. There is fullness in him, and it is our privilege to come and obtain that fullness, to receive richly of his Spirit.
2 This morning my attention was drawn to the story of the woman who came to the well to draw water, and found Jesus, weary and thirsty, resting at the well while his disciples went into the village to buy bread. When she had drawn the water, Jesus said to the woman, “Give me to drink.” She was surprised that he should ask this favor of her, and inquired, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” Jesus referred in these words to the divine grace which he alone can bestow, and which is as living water, purifying, refreshing, and invigorating the soul.
3 Jesus had said to the woman, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” The woman of Samaria was in ignorance of the divine Son of God; but we know today who has spoken these gracious words. It is necessary that we have a knowledge of Christ, that we have an acquaintance with him, so that we may know his willingness to bless. In him is all fullness of divine grace, and he says, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” God giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; “but,” says the apostle, giving instruction to him who feels his lack of wisdom, “let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.”
4 It would not be for our good if the Lord should give us what we ask for without faith. We would not render gratitude to the Giver if we received a gift that we did not attribute to his agency. Jesus wants to give us his light, and we should educate our souls to grasp the promises of God by living faith. He will give us the gift of salvation. We may have his richest blessing, and we should earnestly seek for the favor of God. The reason why we are not rejoicing in the freedom of the sons of God, is because we have piled up rubbish and barred the door of our hearts. Let us sweep it away, open the door, and let the Saviour in.
5 We cannot afford to keep Jesus outside. We cannot afford to let him pass by. We cannot afford to be without the knowledge of Christ. Says Jesus, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” We want Jesus to abide in our families and in our churches. We should give ourselves, soul and body, to his work, and submit ourselves to the training process that is to fit us for Heaven.
6 Many of us have idols in our hearts. But you will fail to find satisfaction in the things of this life. Jesus says, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” What is the meaning of these words? They mean that when your mind is attracted by heavenly things, when you dwell upon Christ, then your idols are crucified, and you are satisfied with the love of God. But how little are thoughts of Christ brought into our lives! How few talk of Jesus! How little he is lifted up!
7 There are many who try to correct the life of others by attacking what they consider are wrong habits. They go to those whom they think are in error, and point out their defects. They say, “You don’t dress as you should.” They try to pick off the ornaments, or whatever seems offensive, but they do not seek to fasten the mind to the truth. Those who seek to correct others should present the attractions of Jesus. They should talk of his love and compassion, present his example and sacrifice, reveal his Spirit, and they need not touch the subject of dress at all. There is no need to make the dress question the main point of your religion. There is something richer to speak of. Talk of Christ, and when the heart is converted, everything that is out of harmony with the word of God will drop off. It is only labor in vain to pick leaves off a living tree. The leaves will reappear. The ax must be laid at the root of the tree, and then the leaves will fall off, never to return.
8 In order to teach men and women the worthlessness of earthly things, you must lead them to the living Fountain, and get them to drink of Christ, until their hearts are filled with the love of God, and Christ is in them, a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Language cannot describe the peace and fullness of the joy of the true Christian. Let us seek to drink of the Fountain of life.
9 Do not come at your brethren to pick at their faults, to make a drive at their peculiar traits of character. Educate them to better habits, and better traits, by the power of your own example. If you make it evident that you have come to correct them, you will only arouse their combativeness, and do more harm than if you had not come at all. Reveal Jesus to them, that they may behold him and become like him. If you cultivate fault-finding, and take it upon yourself to correct your brethren, you will soon have no other religion save that of picking flaws and finding defects. You cannot benefit the sinner by coming to him in your own way and in your own strength. Christ alone can save him.
10 Let us press forward to the mark for the prize of our high calling which is in Christ Jesus. Press forward to the perfection of Christian character; be not satisfied with anything less than the fullness of God. You may attain unto the heights of character that Christ has made every provision for you to reach through his divine grace, growing up unto the full stature of men and women in Christ. Temptation will come upon you every day, but you must lay hold of the strength of Christ. Christ is our righteousness. We are not to depend on feeling, but by faith rest in the arms of his love, and claim to be the sons and daughters of God. He will make his strength perfect in our weakness. He will take the poor earthen vessels, make them vessels unto honor, and glorify himself through them; and through his love we shall love others, as he has loved us.
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1 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
2 These are very precious words that are spoken to us. In them is revealed the love of Jesus, and this love seems to flow out in tender longing that the sinner may come unto Christ and find rest. The invitation is extended to all that labor, to all that are heavy laden. Christ makes no exception. All may come who are toiling under their burdens. He does not specify that only those who have peculiar difficulties may be relieved. His invitation is to the whole world. He says, “Come, all ye that labor.”
3 Whatever may be the character of your troubles or wants, you need not go for help to those around you, for Jesus says, Come unto me, and I will give you rest. You need not keep away from me. You who have been seeking for relief and comfort and hope, come unto me. I am the source of your strength and help.
4 When Christ came to this world, men did not recognize his divine character, or realize the nature of his mission. If he had come with pomp and ceremony, to reign as a temporal prince on the throne of Jerusalem, the whole Jewish nation would have acknowledged him as the Messiah. But the prophets did not say that he was to come in this way. They did not tell the people that he was to break the Romish yoke. He was to come as a man of sorrows, to bear the infirmities of humanity. He came as a humble toiler, and worked at the carpenter’s trade. The people saw him toiling up and down the hills. They were acquainted with his brothers and sisters, and knew his life and labors. They saw him develop from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood, and although he left a spotless example of obedience and meekness, they could not realize that he was the promised Messiah. I am glad we have such an example.
5 He chose his disciples from the humble fishermen. He did not go to the learned, for it would have been impossible to give them the right mould. The education they had received tended to exalt self, and he chose those whom he could teach his precepts, and bade them follow him. In following him, in listening to his words, in associating with him, they found the greatest teacher the world has ever known. He opened before them the beauties of nature, and taught them of the enduring realities of the world to come. He educated them to become fishers of men. From the swaying fisherman’s boat, he uttered truths whose influence is as far-reaching as eternity.
6 Jesus had come to earth to do the very work that the Jewish nation had left undone. In a synagogue in Nazareth, he opened the word of God, and read the words of Isaiah that described his mission to men. He read, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” He healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, and preached the gospel to the poor. His words were simple and direct, and no one need look in the dictionary to ascertain his meaning. A child could comprehend his teaching. And as he did his work, so are we to do ours, following his example.
7 He preached the gospel to the poor, and offered men the gift of God without money and without price. He invited the weary and heavy-laden to come and find rest. The only condition was to come; for in coming, men made it manifest that they felt their want, and realized their need of Christ. Jesus wants us to come today He wants us to believe in him as the source of all light and peace. Whoever comes will be able to testify that he is light, and that in him they have found rest.
8 Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” I ask you who have borne Christ’s yoke, Have you found it hard and grievous? For fifty years I have borne Christ’s yoke, and I can testify that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I have never found any difficulty except when I manufactured a yoke of my own, and laid aside the yoke of Christ. I feel grateful that every one of you may find relief from all your troubles. Come to Christ in full faith, and find rest unto your souls.
9 Many profess to come to him, but they do not really come; for they are still in trouble, still under the load of their burdens. You are to follow on in the path of obedience, and submit your will to the moulding of God’s will. If you are in trouble, it is because you are learning lessons of him who was once an exalted angel of Heaven, but who fell from his high position through rebellion against God. Those who murmur against God, are learning from the evil one how to press their wills in opposition to the will of God.
10 Jesus invites us to come unto him; but how many go to every one else but him. We need not seek for help from those who are as weak as we are ourselves. He says, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Men do not esteem lowliness of mind as they should. Intellect is highly exalted and extolled among men. My husband used to say that it was hard for him not to worship intellect; whenever he met a person possessed of a superior mind, he felt like paying homage to his intellectual powers. It is right that we highly esteem the powers of mind that God has given to men; we want an intellectual religion; but we should have all our powers of mind and body consecrated to God. We should have sanctified judgment and reason, devoted to the service of our heavenly Father. We should realize what our work is, and do it to the extent of our ability. The greater our ability, the greater will be our responsibility. There is danger of worshiping intellect; but if we bring our talents to God and devote them to his work, he will give us grace not to think more highly of our powers of mind than we should.
11 “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability.” When they were called to give an account as to how they had employed their lord’s talents, he who had the five had doubled his talents, and he who had two had doubled his; but he who had received but one came to his lord and said, “Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strewed; and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth; lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed; thou oughtest therefore to put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.” The lord rewarded those who had increased their talents, but he condemned him who had buried his lord’s money.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 There are many who seem to be afraid that if they come to Jesus the Lord will get some of their means. They manage someway to bury it all in the world. If the Lord has given you the talent of means, it is that it may be given out to the exchangers, that at his coming he may receive his own with usury. The ability God gives us, is not to be used for self, to gratify selfish ambition and pride. We are to employ our talents that we may be co-workers with Christ in winning souls for eternal life. We are not to despise small opportunities, but to improve them as they come to us.
2 In England a minister went to his church to preach one rainy morning, and found that he only had one man for audience. But he would not disappoint his hearer, and he preached to him with earnestness and interest. As a result the man was converted, and became a missionary, and through his efforts thousands heard the good news of salvation. One discourse did the work for him, and he gathered abundantly for the Master.
3 While in Vallence, France, I spoke at one time to a congregation of six with as much interest as I speak to this congregation today. That discourse resulted in much good. An intelligent man who had given up the truth, again took his stand on the Lord’s side, and he has devoted his talents to doing the Lord’s work. We must sow beside all waters, not knowing which shall prosper, this or that. We must put out our talents to the exchangers whenever there is opportunity.
4 I am glad that we have a Saviour who understands all our woes. It is true we manufacture half of our trouble, and suffer grief that is imaginary and unnecessary. There is much trouble in our families that might be avoided by manifesting courtesy and love. Jesus wants us to have religion in the home. He wants us to reveal his Spirit to those around us. We need to cultivate love. There are some who think that it is an evidence of weakness to show affection, to speak words of kindness. There are persons hungry for affection who seldom receive anything but bitter, unkind words. But if you manifest a harsh, unsympathetic spirit, you will see the same spirit reflected in those around you. All need tenderness and compassion. You should not make it harder for those who have difficulties and sorrows by speaking unkindly and harshly.
5 Why should we not constantly cultivate a Christlike, kind and compassionate and loving spirit? Why should we allow Satan to make us his agents in the family circle, to cast a shadow when we may reflect light? You cannot afford to speak these harsh words; they will meet you again in the day of Judgment. We must put on the whole armor of God, and get a right hold from above.
6 Christ invites all the weary and heavy laden to come to him. He wants you to make him your friend and confidant. You have sought for human friendship and have revealed to others matters that belong only to husband and wife. You have brought in a third party to make mischief by betraying your secrets to those who should know nothing of them; but if you make Christ your familiar friend, he will never betray your confidence. Jesus will take no advantage of your confidence. He will listen patiently. He will know just what counsel to give, just what you should do, and he will adjust every difficulty for your own good. He will be a safe counselor, and will understand the motives which have prompted you to action.
7 When you come to Jesus, leave your burden with him. Do not carry away your load to torture some other soul with it. Leave it with him who alone can understand it all. The religion of Jesus elevates, ennobles, and refines the character. If we are learners in his school, he will put his mould upon us, and enable us to stand with moral power against the temptations of the evil one.
8 When Jesus bowed on the banks of Jordan at his baptism, Heaven was opened to his prayer in behalf of humanity. The Spirit, in the form of a dove of burnished gold encircled his head, and a voice from Heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” What does this say to us? It says to every poor tempted soul, Heaven is opened to the prayers of humanity. Christ has encircled the fallen race with his human arm, and with his divine arm he has grasped the throne of the Infinite. Through the merit of Christ, Heaven is opened to man. “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth; I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” The gates are open, and the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ shines to man. The light of Heaven may shine upon you, as it shone upon him.
9 Mothers, the invitation is for you, in your annoyances and perplexities, to come and find rest at the feet of Jesus. You must obtain his grace in dealing with your children. I never allowed my children to see mother out of patience. I did not try to correct them until I knew that I had perfect control over all my feelings of impatience. When I approached them with voice and spirit subdued, I gained their confidence. We are to learn meekness of spirit from the divine Master.
10 The children should be regarded as younger members of Christ’s family. We should never utter a word that we would not be willing to hear repeated by our children. We are to learn of Christ while we are teaching them. When parents are patient and forbearing, and children kind and obedient, Heaven looks down with joy upon your households. Do you remember what Christ said to Peter? He not only said, “Feed my sheep,” but also, “Feed my lambs.” The lambs must be fed. Ministers should give more attention to the lambs of the flock. These young, tempted souls who have to contend with inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil, need your sympathy and patience, and love. You should speak words of encouragement to them. They are members of Christ’s family. They should be bound to your hearts by the silken cord of love. They must be instructed to come to Christ, and find rest in all their temptations and burdens. They should be brought to him who is meek and lowly in heart, that they may learn of him, and bear his yoke, and they will find that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
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1 The mother is a teacher, and to a great extent she moulds the character of her children. But how few are the mothers who realize the responsibility that is placed upon them! Many mothers spend their time in doing needless nothings. They give their whole attention to the things of time and sense, and do not pause to think of the things of eternal interest. How many neglect their children, and the little ones grow up coarse, rough, and uncultivated. Mothers may have acquired knowledge of many things, but they have not acquired the essential knowledge unless they have a knowledge of Christ as a personal Saviour. If Christ is in the home, if mothers have made him their counselor, they will educate their children from their very babyhood in the principles of true religion. They will teach them obedience and submission. They will not allow them to disobey their commands.
2 When children are permitted to take their own way in opposition to the will of their parents, they lose respect for father and mother, and learn to despise even the authority of God. They are indulged in manifesting passion in the home, and when they are brought into the church, they exhibit the same defects of character there, as they exhibit in the home. If they are ever converted, they will have to learn at the foot of the cross lessons which they might have learned at their mother’s knee. They are marked by the defects of the father and mother. The parents did not go to Christ for the grace of patience and forbearance. The mother did not feel the importance of being Christ-like, of manifesting love and gentleness.
3 When Christ comes in the clouds of heaven, every man will be rewarded according as his work has been. Every father and mother will have to give an account of how they have employed their talents, and how they have borne their responsibilities.
4 A well-disciplined family is a great power for good in the world. To bring up your children in such a manner as will fit them to stand against temptation to evil, so that they will not be corrupted by iniquity, is one of the most important kinds of missionary work. Why is it that there is so much corruption among the youth of today? To a great degree it is because parents neglect their God-given work, and sin lies at their door. Before it shall be too late, I urge you to take up your neglected duties, and arouse to a realization of your responsibilities. You will need the grace of Christ in your work, and he says not only to mothers, but to fathers and children, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
5 Mothers, when you yield to impatience, and deal harshly with your children, you are not learning of Christ, but of another master. Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When you find your work hard, when you complain of difficulties and trials, when you say that you have no strength to withstand temptation, that you cannot overcome impatience, and that the Christian life is up-hill work, be sure that you are not bearing the yoke of Christ; you are bearing the yoke of another master. But for Christ’s sake, for the truth’s sake, I entreat you to repent and be converted. Do not dishonor the name of religion by an inconsistent course.
6 You should begin to seek God where you are. You must be born again. There must be a renovation, a new life created within you, that you may not serve sin, or the lusts of the flesh. Your children must be converted. You have a solemn work to do.
7 You cannot afford to spend time in trifling conversation, or in entertaining fashionable visitors. You should take time to talk and pray with your little ones, and you should allow nothing to interrupt that season of communion with God, and with your children. You can say to your visitors, “God has given me a work to do, and I have no time for gossiping.” You should feel that you have a work to do for time and for eternity. You owe your first duty to your children.
8 The father should not excuse himself from his part in the work of educating his children for life and immortality. He must share in the responsibility. There is obligation for both father and mother. There must be love and respect manifested by the parents for one another, if they would see these qualities developed in their children.
9 Those parents who manifest wisdom in the home will bring into the church the same tact and ability they exercise at home, and the church will be benefited by their influence. They will be interested for the children of their neighbors, and will influence others to be true and loyal to God.
10 When Christ bowed on the banks of Jordan after his baptism, and offered up prayer in behalf of humanity, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God, like a dove of burnished gold, encircled the form of the Saviour, and a voice came from Heaven which said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
11 What significance does this have for you? It says that Heaven is open to your prayers. It says that you are accepted in the Beloved. The gates are open for every mother who would lay her burden at the Saviour’s feet. It says that Christ has encircled the race with his human arm, and with his divine arm he has grasped the throne of the Infinite, and united man with God, and earth with Heaven.
12 Praise God for this. If there is any people who should praise God, it is those who have had these wonderful evidences of his love! I point you to Calvary, and to the suffering Redeemer. O that we may know his love that passeth understanding! If parents have the love of God in their hearts, they will be able to bind their children to them by the tender ties of affection. It is in this way that you may be missionaries for God, you may be home missionaries. You have a work to do that Satan shall not gain the control of your children, and take them away from you before they are out of your arms. Mothers, you should see to it that the powers of darkness do not control your little ones. You should set your will that the enemy shall not raise his banner of darkness in your home. You should be determined to take your children with you to the kingdom of heaven. Your children are worth something; they have been purchased at an infinite price, and eternal life to them is worth more than anything that earth can afford. A pure and holy character is of more value than silver and gold. If you have instructed them in the principles of truth, if you have reproved them when they indulged in evil, if you have manifested the Spirit of Christ, you have done a work that Heaven will approve.
13 Eli did not reprove his sons when they transgressed his commands. He indulged them in their evil ways, and they became more and more corrupt, until the judgment of God fell upon the house of Eli. The Lord said, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house; when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever.”
14 How different was the case of Abraham. God could bless him, for he said, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” God’s law was the rule in the tent of Abraham. Wherever he camped, he built an altar unto the Lord, and offered up sacrifice with supplication and praise.
15 Parents must be converted; they must arouse from the lethargy that has come upon them, and seek God for a realization of the solemn responsibility that has been placed upon them. I entreat you to awake, and take up your neglected work before you are weighed in the balance and found wanting. Every one has a work to do for the Master, and no one can accomplish his God-given work unless he is born again; but the soul in which Christ is abiding, will be able to meet the mind of God, and will receive the approbation of Heaven.
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1 “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
2 When Christ came to the world, appetite and passion exercised almost unlimited control, and it seemed that the world was about to be swept away under its disastrous power. Men were debased, diseased, dwarfed and crippled through the baneful effects of selfish indulgence in evil. But never can the power of appetite be fully understood until the significance of Christ’s temptation and his long fast in the wilderness is comprehended. When Christ was fainting for food, Satan came to him and sought to overpower him with temptation.
3 He did not appear to Christ as he is often falsely represented, as an imp with bat’s wings and iron hoofs. The Scripture plainly states that he transforms himself into an angel of light. It was as a Heavenly angel that he accosted the Son of God. He told the Redeemer that he need fast no longer, that his long abstinence was accepted by the Father, that he had gone far enough, and that he was at liberty to work a miracle in his own behalf. The tempter said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” And Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Oh, if man had but heeded this truth, the race would never have fallen.
4 “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” But again Jesus met him with the Scripture, saying, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
5 “Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” He did not present the kingdoms of the world as they now appear, but in all the glory and attraction in which it is possible to present them. He desired that Christ should acknowledge him as his superior, and on this condition promised to give the world into his hands. But could Jesus admit that the world belonged to Satan? Could he acknowledge him as his superior, when there was but One to whom he owed homage? “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
6 There are many in this world who would concede the principles of right for some worldly advantage. There are many who would forsake their rectitude for gold, or position, or power. But of what advantage is it to sacrifice your hopes of Heaven for earthly wealth and honor? You cannot take your treasure with you to the grave. Only a while at the longest, and life will be passed, and “what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” We would fix our eyes on something more enduring. The home of the saints is more worthy of our toil and affection; for it is an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
7 Appetite exerts a controlling influence in the world. Unlawful indulgence in appetite and passion paralyzes the brain power, and deadens all the moral sensibilities and perceptions. We have all been bought with a price, even with the precious blood of the Son of God, and we have no right to abuse our powers by selfish gratification of lust. We should keep ourselves in a condition to render to God the most perfect service possible. With an eye single to the glory of God, we should seek to live in harmony with the laws of our being.
8 Daniel refused to eat at the king’s table, or to drink of the king’s wine. Why did he do this? Because he knew that indulgence in wine-drinking and luxurious food would enfeeble the powers of mind and body. He desired to keep his mind in a condition to appreciate the inspired word of God. Those who indulge in forbidden things work directly against their own interests and hopes. Selfish motives lead to self-indulgence, and animal appetites and passions bear sway, and dominate over mind and soul. Those who are thus controlled cannot comprehend the truth of divine origin, or appreciate the value of heavenly things. They are ruled by appetite, and the brain power is benumbed. The very foundation of the physical being is undermined. We have no right to destroy the habitation that God has given us. We have been purchased at an infinite cost.
9 It was by a failure to resist the inclinations of appetite that Adam fell in the garden of Eden. But Christ came to take up the battle in behalf of man. He met and contended with the powers of darkness, and at every point where Adam fell, Christ won precious victories. He wrought out a way by which we may be saved. However depraved, however sinful, as men seek for forgiveness of their transgressions, they will find pardon and peace through the merit of Christ. Divinity co-operates with humanity in the work of elevating and purifying the character. When the converting power of God takes hold of the soul, it will work a radical change. Those who have formerly abused their families and friends, will begin to labor earnestly for their salvation. Jesus came to save the lost, to take them out of their fallen condition, to make them more than conquerors, and to give them a seat upon his throne. O that the soul temple might be cleansed of every defilement. O that we might not offer to God a diseased, defiled offering. An infinite price has been paid to bring us into connection with Christ. Self-indulgence must cease. We must come into right relations with God, and we must be cleansed from all iniquity, and walk worthy of the vocation whereunto we are called.
10 When Jacob journeyed to the house of Laban, he lay down to rest in the wilderness, with a stone for a pillow. He was a discouraged, disappointed man. It seemed to him that he was forsaken of friends, and forgotten of God. His own brother was seeking him, that he might take his life. While he slept he had a vision. There appeared before him a ladder, whose base rested on the earth and whose top reached into the highest heavens. God was above the ladder, and his glory shone through the open heaven and lighted up every round of the ladder. The angels were ascending and descending upon it. The plan of salvation was open to Jacob’s mind in this dream.
11 When Jacob awoke, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven.” Christ was the ladder that Jacob saw. Christ is the link that binds earth to Heaven, and connects finite man with the infinite God. This ladder reaches from the lowest degradation of earth and humanity to the highest heavens. We are to ascend the ladder that Jacob saw, but not by our own strength alone. It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance and reformation. We are not left to struggle on alone.
12 Those who have fallen by sin and iniquity may receive the pardoning love of God. By repentance and faith, the transgressors of his law may come to God through Christ. And when we have come to Christ, and have taken the steps requisite in conversion, we are to seek those things that are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. When we are burdened with care and sorrow why do we not go right to our Saviour, and claim his promises, and find him a very present help in every time of trouble? We are not left to be the sport of Satan’s temptations. God has given us precious promises by which we are to become partakers of the divine nature. In Christ is our help. When we come with repentance and faith, however polluted and sinful, we shall find him the sinner’s Saviour. He has said, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The sinner may carry his load to Calvary, and lay it down at the foot of the cross. It is the privilege of every one to leave sin and transgression, and to become a loyal subject of the God of Heaven. We may be clothed with the righteousness of Christ, but his righteousness will not be a covering for the least iniquity. “Wash you, make you clean.” There has been a fountain opened for Judah and Jerusalem, and every stain may be cleansed away.
13 Do not wait to make yourselves better. How many there are who think that they are not good enough to come to Christ. Do you expect to become better through your own efforts? “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” But there is help for us in God. We are prisoners of hope. God has power in reserve for us. Those who are reaching out for help, exercising faith in Jesus, will receive it.
14 Divine power will co-operate with human effort. Brethren, the gates are open, and the glory of God is shining for every soul who looks to Heaven in times of trial and perplexity. How many go to human friends when they are in trouble. But how vain is the help that man can give. Human aid is only as a broken reed. Christ has been manifested to the world as the One who can bind up the broken in heart, and comfort those that mourn. Heaven was open to man through the sacrifice of the Son of God. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” He came into the world that he might understand all the needs of fallen humanity. He bore the griefs and sorrows of men. He was made a perfect Saviour through the sufferings that he bore in man’s behalf, and we through his grace may become perfected, and be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ in the everlasting kingdom.
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1 “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God (which he promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures), concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name; among whom are ye also called of Jesus Christ. . . . I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” Romans. 1.
2 Paul declares that as an apostle he is called to do a special work. The truth had been revealed to him that he might preach the gospel of God, not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. He was not, as were the false prophets, without a divine commission to devote himself to the work of preaching Jesus and him crucified. Christ himself had called him to the work by a heavenly revelation of himself.
3 He was to call men’s attention to the gospel, which God had promised by the word of the prophets. He was to unfold the divine revelations of the Old Testament, and to show how the gospel shed a light into the old dispensation. He was to demonstrate the fact that both prophets and apostles were witnesses of Christ as the Messiah. In his divine nature Jesus was declared to be the Son of God, but the divinity of Christ was the fact that was constantly opposed by the Pharisees. The great argument that substantiated the divinity of Christ was his resurrection from the dead. Overwhelming testimony came to those that believed on him, for he had been seen among them, and those who would not receive the great array of evidence that could be presented, would not have been convinced by any amount of proof.
4 The first offer of the good news of salvation was made to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; but they refused the precious gift of God, and Paul said: “Ye judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life; lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” Both Jews and Gentiles were without Christ, and in darkness. It was a most unwelcome thought to the Jews that they needed salvation. They had been the peculiar people of God, and had looked upon the Gentiles with contempt. Christ was not only presented as the hope and glory of Israel, but also as a light to lighten the Gentiles. This was wholly contrary to their prejudices.
5 The righteousness of God was revealed in the gospel. In it was made known the method by which man was to be reconciled to God. Notwithstanding the justice of God, and the guilt of the transgressor of his holy law, a way was devised whereby satisfaction could be made to the law by the infinite sacrifice of the Son of God. The typical offerings of the old dispensation pointed men forward to the Lamb of God that should die on Calvary’s cross, when type would meet antitype in the death of God’s dear Son. From Adam’s time through successive generations the sacrificial offerings were pointing forward to Christ, and men’s faith was fixed on an offering of infinite value. By faith, patriarchs and prophets depended upon God, who was dealing with them through Christ.
6 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He so loved the world that he consented to give the just for the unjust. The greatness and depth of this love was revealed to Paul to make known to all nations. The plan of salvation was opened to his mind, and he preached, both publicly and from house to house, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The law condemns, but it cannot pardon the transgressor. The penitent, believing soul does not look to the law for justification, but to Christ, the atoning sacrifice, who is able to impart his righteousness to the sinner, and make his efforts acceptable before God. When we take Christ for our Saviour, we are enabled to become obedient children, keeping all the commandments of God.
7 It is faith that engrafts us into the parent stalk of the living vine. Faith that depends on Christ, derives virtue from him as the branch draws sap from the root. Says the prophet, “The just shall live by faith,” and this truth, woven into the religious experience of every Christian, should be that by which the righteous shall live. True faith grows to a greater faith, increasing in strength. It is persevering in its operation. The apostle says, “For herein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.”
8 The Gentiles had no light upon the law of God, and had not followed after righteousness, but those who believed in Christ attained unto righteousness through faith in him. They accepted God’s law as the rule of character. The unbelieving Jews had not attained to the righteous requirements of the law, because they refused the only virtue that could avail to make them righteous and acceptable before God. “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness [which is of the law], have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Christ is the end, or purpose, of the law. The law condemns the sinner, and thus drives him to Christ for righteousness.
9 The Jews professed to believe the prophets, and to acknowledge the authority of God’s law. But with by far the greater part of the nation, this was a merely nominal faith. Christ declared to the Jewish teachers: “Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.” Those who really did believe the law and the prophets, were led by this faith to accept Jesus of Nazareth as the Saviour of men. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were first led to turn from their idolatry to accept of Christ, and through Christ they were brought to a knowledge of the law and the prophets.
10 First, man is to see the righteousness of the law in condemning sin, then he is to behold the righteousness of God in the merits of Christ, providing pardon for sin. “For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” Men may have a knowledge of the truth, and yet fail to be sanctified through the truth.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 The people of Israel had been taken out of idolatry, to become the depositaries of sacred, ever-living truth. The knowledge of the one true God was given to them. They were greatly blessed with divine revelations, enshrouded in symbols and ceremonies, until type met antitype in the death of Christ. Everything in both their private and their public life was connected with a revealed religion. The law of God was given by Christ, and specified so plainly the duties of private, social, and public life, that none needed to err. One God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, was brought to view in the fourth commandment, and his will was to be their will. Those who worshiped the one true God were strengthened in moral power, and developed strong and symmetrical characters, while those who worshiped other gods grew more and more debased, because they exalted human passions and sanctioned vice in their religious services.
2 The religion of Israel was a living light from Heaven, that flashed its rays into all the broad ways and byways of life. Says the psalmist: “He showed his word unto Jacob, his statutes and ordinances unto Israel. He dealt not so with any nation, neither had the heathen knowledge of his laws.” They were taught not only that the Lord was to be worshiped, and his holy law obeyed, that its principles were to govern them both in private and public life, but that their religious services were in anticipation of a better service. Their faith was directed to Him who was to come. By faith their hearts reached forward to the great antitype. They were constantly looking forward for the appearance of the Messiah foretold in prophecy.
3 Satan was not inactive during the Mosaic dispensation. He continually tempted God’s people and led them into idolatry. At the foot of the very mount where the glory of God had been displayed in wonderful majesty, he led them to worship the golden calf, and again and again they fell into the grossest idolatry, because they cherished an evil heart of unbelief. Pride, love of display, love of pomp and pleasure, had a controlling influence upon them.
4 When Christ came into the world, Satan had so filled the minds of men with falsehood in regard to the object of his coming, that those who had been so thoroughly instructed in regard to the long-promised Messiah did not recognize the Son of God as the divine Saviour. He did not come as their proud hearts had imagined he would come. Their superiority to other nations consisted in the light which Heaven had given them; but when they refused to walk in it, they were no better, but rather worse than other nations. Their own selfish ambitions and disregard of God’s commandments dragged them down from the spiritual eminence on which God had set them. They fell into envy, jealousy, hatred of all that was pure and holy in character. They despised the divine One who stood among them, who was able to save to the uttermost, or destroy utterly. But their crime reached its height when Jesus was rejected and crucified.
5 In the days of Paul there were men who professed the truth and who held it in unrighteousness. There were those who claimed to be keeping the law when they were transgressors of the commandments of God, and thus, by precept and example, they made of none effect the holy precepts of Heaven. The apostle points out the iniquity of those who despised the Gentiles because they had no knowledge of the law, when they themselves, who had been blessed with so much light, were ungodly, and insensible of the mercies of God. They departed from the known precepts of the law, and their foolish hearts were so darkened by the practice of iniquity that they did not realize their own inconsistency. Professing themselves to be wise, they became so self-sufficient, and so corrupt of heart that God gave them up to their own foolish imaginations.
6 Those who have a knowledge of the law of God, and become proud of that knowledge, despising others who are more ignorant, are not doers of the law. While the apostle admits that the Gentiles were as dark and sinful as the Jews represented them, still he urges home upon the Jews their own defects of character. He says, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.” Those who acknowledged God, and condemned the practices of the Gentiles, thereby condemned themselves, as they were guilty of similar practices. He asks, “Thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
7 The Gentiles are to be judged according to the light that is given them, according to the impressions they had received of their Creator in nature. They have reasoning powers, and can distinguish God in his created works. God speaks to all men through his providence in nature. He makes known to all that he is the living God. The Gentiles could reason that the things that are made could not have fallen into exact order, and worked out a designed purpose, without a God who has originated all. They could reason from cause to effect, that it must be that there was a first cause, an intelligent agent, that could be no other than the eternal God. The light of God in nature is shining continually into the darkness of heathenism, but many who see this light do not glorify the Lord as God. They do not permit reason to lead them to acknowledge their creator. They refuse the Lord, and set up senseless idols to adore. They make images which represent God and worship his created works as a partial acknowledgment of him, but they dishonor him in their hearts.
8 God bestows upon them favors and blessings constantly. They are partakers of the rich bounties of Heaven, yet they are not thankful for the mercies and blessings that speak to them of God. They do not appreciate the knowledge and grace and forbearance of their heavenly Father. They do not try to establish themselves in truth, and their sinful imaginations lead them away into paths of darkness. When truth is forsaken, the mind fastens upon error, the foolish heart is darkened, and men, professing themselves to be wise in not acknowledging God, become fools, and worship the images of beasts and creeping things, and the works of their own hands.
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1 The Lord has purchased his people for himself, and has manifested his love toward them by the greatest possible evidence, even by shedding his blood and yielding his life on Calvary. He came down to our world to redeem us, to betroth and marry us to himself by an eternal covenant. The marriage union is taken as a symbol of the sacred and enduring character of the relation that exists between Christ and his church. He says, “I will betroth thee unto me forever;” and again, “I am married unto you;” and Paul employs the same figure in the New Testament when he declares, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
2 With untold love our God has loved us, and our love awakens toward him as we comprehend more of the length and depth and height and breadth of this love that passeth knowledge. But when we turn aside to another master, we break our vows to him, and make void the covenant; and we become adulterers, choosing the friendship and favor of others, and proving untrue to him who has died for us. We declare by this act of separation, that we have found his service hard and his love unsatisfying; and thus we dishonor him, and bring his name into reproach before the world.
3 The Lord, infinite in power and wisdom, has declared, “Thy Maker is thine husband.” Everything that will serve for the best good and the highest interest of the people of God will be provided; and although the world seeks to entice them from their allegiance, although they are brought into difficult places, and experience affliction, they are not to seek the counsel of man, but to put their whole trust in God, casting all their care upon him. Christ proves the sincerity of the faith and love of his church by trial and sorrow; and he will bring those who are faithful out of the furnace, refined and purified.
4 There are many who do not bear the testing of their fidelity. When affliction comes upon them, and they are perplexed by circumstances, and cannot discover the purpose of God’s providence, they become impatient and distrustful. They cast away their confidence, forgetful of the tender mercies of the past, and their hearts are filled with unrest and repining. They neglect prayer, and refuse the comfort and instruction of the Bible. They seek for counselors among the children of men, questioning the dealing of God, and striving to know what he has wisely concealed.
5 The Lord, who knows all, will make known the very things that are for the best interests of his children; and if he sees fit to veil the events of the future, it is only because he loves us, and would work out our highest good. Should he permit us to see the future mapped out before us, some of us would be distracted by anticipating coming sorrows, and others would be self-confident and daring, and the very good that our heavenly Father intended to bring about by his all-wise providences, would be thwarted and frustrated.
6 We have an enemy who is ever seeking whom he may devour; and it is his purpose to draw away men’s confidence in God, to make them dissatisfied with their condition in life, and to lead them to seek to know what God has veiled from them, and to despise what he has revealed in his holy word. He controls the minds of evil men, and the spirits of devils become the counselors of those who reject the wisdom of God. But shall we who have a holy God, infinite in wisdom, go unto wizards, whose knowledge comes from a close intimacy with the enemy of our Lord? Shall we be among those who turn “after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them,” and thus prove false to our best friend until his face be set against us?
7 We are living in an age of peril, in an age of apostasy; evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse, Satan is working with all “deceivableness of unrighteousness,” and the servants of God must make no concessions to the enemy, nor listen to his suggestions to doubt God. There are many who become restless when they cannot see the definite outcome of affairs. They cannot endure uncertainty, and in their impatience they refuse to wait to see the salvation of God. Apprehended evils drive them nearly distracted. They give way to their rebellious feelings, and run hither and thither in passionate grief, seeking intelligence concerning that which God has not revealed.
8 If they would but trust in God and watch unto prayer, they would find divine consolation. Their spirit would be calmed by communion with God. The weary and the heavy laden would find rest unto their souls, if they would only go to Jesus; but when they neglect the means that God has ordained for their comfort, and rush off to other sources for information, hoping to learn what God has withheld, they commit the error of Eve, and thereby gain only a knowledge of evil. God is not pleased with this course, and has expressed it in the most explicit terms. This impatient haste to tear away the veil from the future, reveals a lack of unfaltering trust in God, and leaves the soul open to the suggestions of the master-deceiver. Satan can lead the mind to seek unto those that have familiar spirits, and through the agency of his mediums he can reveal extraordinary views of the future. Through his knowledge of the past he inspires confidence, and he has the poor, misguided soul in his power to lead captive at his will; but the Lord says, “The soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.”
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1 Spiritualism is the masterpiece of deception. It is Satan’s most successful and fascinating delusion,—one calculated to take hold of the sympathies of those who have laid their loved ones in the grave. Evil angels come in the form of those loved ones, and relate incidents connected with their lives, and perform acts which they performed while living. In this way they lead persons to believe that their dead friends are angels, hovering over them, and communicating with them. These evil angels, who assume to be the deceased friends, are regarded with a certain idolatry, and with many their word has greater weight than the word of God. Thus men and women are led to reject the truth, and give “heed to seducing spirits.”
2 The word of God declares in positive terms that “the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” This plain scripture directly contradicts the teaching of Spiritualism, and if it were heeded would save souls from the snare of the enemy.
3 Many are investigating Spiritualism simply from curiosity. They have no real faith in it, and would start back horrified at the idea of becoming mediums; but they are venturing on forbidden and dangerous ground. When they are fast in the toils of the deceiver, they find they are in the power of him who makes the most abject slaves of his servants, and nothing can deliver them but the power of God. The only safety for us is in trusting implicitly and following faithfully the instruction of the word of God. The Bible is the only chart that marks out the narrow path which shuns the pitfalls of destruction.
4 It was God’s purpose to deliver Israel from the abominations that wrought havoc in the idolatrous nations around them. They were not to sacrifice to Moloch, nor to make their sons or their daughters pass through the fire, nor to seek unto wizards, nor defile themselves by communion with those who had familiar spirits. The instruction of God to his ancient people is profitable to us today. “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am the Lord your God, and ye shall keep my statutes, and do them; I am the Lord which sanctifieth you.”
5 The Lord presented before his people the results of holding communion with evil spirits, in the abominations of the Canaanites; they were without natural affection, idolaters, adulterers, murderers, and abominable by every corrupt thought and revolting practice. Says the apostle Paul, the “things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God; and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” Sodom had been consumed for the same crime that existed in Canaan; but could it be that the people who had been privileged to behold the glory and power of Jehovah, had need to be warned by these examples, lest they fall into the same errors and die under similar judgments? Men do not know their own hearts, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;” but God understands the tendencies of the depraved nature of man.
6 Satan was watching for an opportunity to lead the people of God into conditions favorable to the development of rebellion and transgression, that they might make themselves as abhorrent to God as were the Canaanites. The adversary of souls is ever on the alert to open channels for the unrestrained flow of evil in our nature, that we have not overcome; for he desires that we may be ruined, and be condemned before God.
7 The condition of society today is the same as when God presented before Israel the abominations of the heathen; and the same warnings are necessary to the remnant people. Spiritualism is advancing through the land in triumph. “The spirits of devils working miracles” are going “forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Men are seeking unto them that have familiar spirits; but the people of God cannot in any sense follow the practices of the world. They must keep the commandments of the Lord. The line of separation must be distinctly marked between the obedient and the disobedient. There must be open and avowed enmity between the church and the serpent, between her seed and his seed.
8 Satan was determined to keep his hold on the land of Canaan, and when it was made the habitation of the children of Israel, and the law of God was made the law of the land, he hated Israel with a cruel and malignant hatred, and plotted their destruction. Strange gods were introduced through the agency of evil spirits; and because of transgression the chosen people were finally scattered from the land of promise.
9 The same experience is repeating in the history of God’s people. God is leading them out from the abominations of the world to keep his law in the land of the enemy, and the rage of “the accuser of the brethren” knows no bounds. “The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” The antitypical land of promise is just before us,—a land where no strange god shall ever come, no evil spirit enter; and Satan desires to destroy the people of God, and cut them off from their inheritance.
10 It is time to heed the Saviour’s injunction as never before: “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” Trust in God, however perplexing may be your situation. Seek his counsel, and turn not after them that have familiar spirits to be defiled by them. He who has died to redeem you, has promised to guide you, and clothe you with his own righteousness, if you will but loathe sin, and purge yourself from evil by washing your robes of character, and making them white in the blood of the Lamb.
11 What love, what wonderful love, that God bears with the perversity of his people, and sends help to every soul that desires to do his will, and forsake sin! If man will but co-operate with the agencies of Heaven, he may come off more than conqueror. Fallen creatures as we are, capable of the most revolting crimes, yet we may become victors, through the power of the grace of Christ, and have a place in his everlasting kingdom, to reign with him forevermore.
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1 “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”
2 I wish to call your attention especially to the commission which Christ gave to his disciples. He said, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” But they were not fitted to present the gospel of Jesus to the world until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The commission Christ gave his disciples then, is our commission today. We are to be witnesses of him to the world; but we cannot impart Heaven’s light, unless we have received it. We cannot reveal a Saviour of whom we have no knowledge.
3 There are many who have a legal, casual faith. They have nominally accepted Christ as the Saviour of the world, but they have no evidence in their hearts that he is their personal Saviour, that he has forgiven their sins, that they have a living connection with God, the source of all light. You cannot teach others of Jesus and his righteousness, you cannot portray his matchless love, and the fullness of his grace, you cannot picture him as the Christian’s all in all, as the comforter and guide of man, unless your own heart is filled with his love. You will not be able to present God as a God of compassion and love unless you can say, “I have tasted and know that the Lord is good.”
4 The fact that others receive blessings will not benefit your soul; unless you exercise faith in Christ on your own behalf, you will be unblessed. That others partake of food will not serve to nourish your physical strength, neither will it nourish your spiritual strength to see others rejoicing in God and his love. You yourselves must partake of the feast which your Saviour has provided. Every one of you must wash and be clean. But you say, How can I do this? Have you not told us we have no power of ourselves to cleanse our souls from one spot or stain of sin? Yes, I have told you this, and yet I say unto you, “Wash you, make you clean.” God has provided a way of salvation at an infinite cost to Heaven. A fountain for sin and uncleanness has been opened for Judah and Jerusalem.
5 The Father “gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” There are many who act as though Christ was the friend of men, but that the Father was their enemy. If this were so, would God have delivered his Son to death that man might have life? Jesus says, “I and my Father are one,” Philip said to Christ, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Jesus turned to him and said, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
6 Christ came into the world to do a special work. He did not come to originate truth. It was already originated. He did not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for he himself had spoken through these representative men. He himself was the originator of truth. Every jewel of truth came from Christ. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to error. Men had taken them to adorn tradition and superstition. Christ came to take them out of the false settings of error and to put them into the framework of truth. He came from Heaven to give the world a correct representation of the Father. Through Satan’s suggestions and temptations, the Father had been represented as a being of a stern and unforgiving nature. The Christian life had been represented altogether too much as a life of hardship and sorrow. God was pictured as a being who was watching with jealous eyes, spying the mistakes and errors of men that he might delight himself in punishing them by the severest discipline, and that there could be no peace or joy in his service, Satan clothed the Father in his own forbidding attributes of character. All this was a false representation, and Christ came to reveal the character of God, and the nature of his service.
7 Christians misrepresent their heavenly Father when they go mourning and groaning, as though they were burdened with an enormous load, when their countenances are expressive of gloom and despondency, and the shadow encompasses their souls. But let them not think they are serving God in so doing; they are doing Satan’s work in misrepresenting God and his service. They should go before the Father, and plead with him for a view of his goodness. They have lost sight of Jesus and his love. Let them go to Christ and study his character, for he came to represent the Father. Shall we receive Satan’s misrepresentations of our God, and go on in discouragement, lacking peace and joy in the Holy Ghost? Shall we go on mistrusting our heavenly Father’s love and doubting his goodness? What greater injury could we do to our children and our friends than to give them such false impressions of Christian life? It was at an infinite cost to the Father that man’s salvation was purchased. The Father suffered with the Son to bring salvation within our reach. It is not his will that one soul should perish, but that all should come to repentance and receive eternal life. He has done all that it is possible to do to save fallen man. There was no other way by which man could be brought into harmony with his unchangeable law, save by the death of Christ. Christ became our surety, our sacrifice, Saviour, and example, and when all Heaven has been poured out to us in this gift of God, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?
8 How much we lose by doubting the love of God! Why do we not come boldly to a throne of grace, and by living faith lay hold of the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour? This must be an individual work. I cannot be saved by another’s faith, nor can another be saved by my faith. Every soul must be saved by his own righteousness. Can we manufacture this righteousness? No. But Jesus has furnished it for us. When the sinner comes to him he takes his load of sin, and gives him his righteousness. The vilest sinner may claim all that was provided in the plan of salvation through the merits of Christ. He may have the attributes of the Saviour. He may go forth to tell of a living Saviour, and to win men to the truth; for he knows what it is to lay hold of Christ by living faith. He has taken the requisite steps in repentance, confession, and restitution, and he can teach others the way of salvation. He can present Christ as one who left his royal throne, who clothed his divinity with humanity that he might save fallen man. He can present him as one who was rich and yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He can go without the camp, bearing his reproach. He is willing to deny self that others may be saved.
9 Suppose that Christ had always remained in Heaven, there would have been no salvation for man; but he came from Heaven to represent the Father, to tell us of the glory and riches of eternity, and to save sinners by the sacrifice of himself. He died that we might live; that we might lay hold of his righteousness, and by faith claim his merits. Have you an experimental religion? Are you laborers together with God? Have you received the endowment of the Holy Spirit? Those who have received a knowledge of Christ cannot hold their peace. It is those who have not tasted the love of Jesus that can fold their hands in carnal security, and have no burdens for souls. It is those who are not laborers together with God.
10 Those who are living branches of the True Vine, will seek to fulfill the commission of Christ, to be witnesses of him unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Jesus has said, “Ye are the light of the world.” Has God given you intellect? You should use it to his glory. You should connect yourself with him who is the source of all light, if you are to be a light in the world. Jesus has said, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” When we come into straitened places, he will be with us. He will be at our right hand to uphold us. Those who keep a connection with God, may be as was Nehemiah in the king’s court. One day the king asked him a question that involved consequences of the greatest importance to God’s people, and Nehemiah felt his weakness and he darted up a prayer to Heaven. Help came to him in a moment. The very answer that was appropriate for the occasion was on his lips. It will be so with those who follow Christ. In a time of great need they will not be left to themselves. They can send up a prayer to Heaven, and God will provide the needed grace and wisdom. If we are to be laborers together with God, if we are to fulfill Christ’s commission, we must come to the fountain of life. We must drink of the well of salvation ourselves, if we would refresh others. Brethren, let us open our hearts to Heaven’s light, that we may be able to flash its bright rays on the pathway of others. Let us kindle our tapers at the divine altar, that we may be light-bearers in a world of spiritual darkness.
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1 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7, 8.
2 There are many who do not understand the simplicity of faith. They make great efforts to understand how to exercise faith, and think they must have a transporting emotion, a joyful flight of feeling, or they have not faith. But if they had what they desire, it would not prove that they had faith. What is faith? It is simply taking God at his word; it is believing that God will do just as he has promised. We should be a far greater power of good than we now are, if we would comply with the conditions that God has laid down in his word, and trust him implicitly. It is our unbelief that brings us under the description the Spirit of God has given of the Laodicean church in its condition of lukewarmness. There is nothing more disgusting to our taste than tepid water, and from the use of this figure in describing our condition, we can understand how our want of faith and love, and our indifference, is regarded by the Lord.
3 All Heaven is looking upon us; we are a spectacle to the world,—to angels and to men. The angels expect a great deal more of us than we give, in view of what God has done for us. They have seen with amazement the infinite sacrifice that has been made by Christ to rescue us from the bondage of sin, and make it possible to elevate us through his own righteousness to a seat upon his throne. He has brought divine power within our reach through the merits of his blood. We may become partakers of the divine nature, and why should not Heaven look upon us with sorrow and disappointment to see that we are lukewarm in the service of God? We give our attention to the trivial affairs of earth, while the salvation of our souls is treated as a thing of secondary importance. God has given us power and ability to improve to the best account in his service. He has made it possible for us to lay hold of the arm of infinite power that we may be strong in his might. But with all these great gifts and superior privileges within our reach, why are we content to be inefficient in his service. We cannot work out our salvation unless we increase in faith and love.
4 A person will manifest all the faith he has. If he believes that we are really living in the last days, he will devote his time and talents to the service of God. He will not be satisfied to bury his capabilities in the earth, employing them to further the perishing interests of time. He will be seeking the power that God alone can give; and the matter of most importance to him will be to see that he has a living connection with Heaven, that he may do his duty to his fellow-men, and to his God. Day by day, and hour by hour, he will realize that he is to be a laborer together with God, a co- laborer with Jesus Christ.
5 All our powers are the gift of God. He has endowed us with reason, and he intends that we shall use this power that we may understand our situation and glorify him. If we use our abilities simply for the glorification of self, we are not fulfilling the will of God. God gave Nebuchadnezzar his reason, but the king used his ability to exalt himself. He walked about in the great city, and said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” He forgot the honor of God, and God removed his reason, and he was sent out to dwell with the beasts of the field, to eat grass as an ox. The relation of this experience of Nebuchadnezzar is to show us what a man will become if God removes his precious endowment of reason. God can take away the powers of the mind, and leave nothing in the breast of a man but the instinct of a beast of the field.
6 The Lord desires that we should do our best. He desires us to so exert the powers of mind that he has given us that we may reach the high standard of the law of God. He wants us to keep his law as the apple of our eye. Heaven is interested in every individual soul, because each one of us has been purchased by the precious blood of Christ. We are Christ’s property. Says the apostle: “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
7 Heaven is doing all that is possible to do, that we may obtain the victory, and work out our salvation while God is working in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. It is our privilege so to live that we may be elevated to the throne of God, that Christ may look upon the redeemed, and see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied.
8 Will the talents that God has given you here, glorify him in the world to come? It rests with you to decide. God has stated the conditions upon which you may be saved in his kingdom. Says the Saviour: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” If you fulfill these conditions through the grace of Christ, you will behold the matchless charms of the King in his beauty, you will see the attractions of heaven, you will realize at last what is “the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” that will be given to the overcomer. Will you have the eternal riches that are reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the power of God through faith? This is the question that each one will have to decide for himself.
9 If we come to God, feeling our nothingness, feeling that we are helpless without Christ, feeling that we must have the power that God alone can give, we shall not be disappointed. Will God give us a stone if we ask for bread? No; he will satisfy our wants from his abundant fullness. Jesus has brought within our reach the power of earth and heaven. He has clothed his divinity with humanity. He came to our earth as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, that we might know the blessing of endless joy in his everlasting kingdom. Ought we not to give to God all that he requires of us? If you have tasted the blessedness of peace and joy in believing, do your best to bring others to the fountain of living waters from which you have drunk. Lift up Jesus. His blood has bought us. He pleads in our behalf. It is Christ who will clothe us with his righteousness.
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1 “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.” Zechariah 3:1-5.
2 Satan is ever ready to offer resistance to the work that Christ is willing to do for the souls of men. Jesus asks, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Have I not chosen this people for myself? Although they have transgressed, the command is given, “Take away the filthy garments.” This will be said concerning every soul that truly repents of sin, and believes in Christ. The righteousness of Christ will be imparted unto him. Christ came to bring divine power to man, to clothe him in his righteousness. He says, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” He knows us by name. He knows all our trials and sorrows. He has wept and prayed, and he knows how to succor everyone who mourns. Satan will tell you that you cannot hope in God’s mercy; that you are too great a sinner to be saved. But you should tell him that Jesus has said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
3 When Christ bowed on the banks of Jordan, he offered up a prayer in behalf of humanity, and heaven was opened unto him, and the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove of burnished gold, and encircled his form, and a voice came from heaven which said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” What did this mean? It meant that heaven was opened to the petitions of humanity. When Jesus died on Calvary, the Father accepted the sacrifice, and humanity was exalted in the scale of moral worth with God, because Christ had become a partaker of humanity, and had undertaken its redemption.
4 The proclamation of Christ on the cross, “It is finished,” tells you that you are prisoners of hope. There are many who idolize feeling. But your hope is not founded upon feeling; it is founded on the word of God. Has not God given you abundant evidences of his love? I point you to Calvary. The light of the cross should dispel every doubt from your mind. God loves you, and he wants to save you. You should cling to the Mighty One, and lay hold on the merit of a crucified and risen Saviour. He is your perfection. He has brought you his righteousness at an infinite cost. Will you accept it?
5 We should talk faith, and educate the soul to praise God. Says the apostle, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” While you appreciate the love of God, you will have living faith. You must climb up by Christ; he is the ladder. We could not scale the battlements of heaven were it not for the fact that Christ is the ladder. The base of the ladder rests upon the earth, and the top reaches into the highest heavens. The base of this divine ladder touches the earth. If it had stopped one inch short of that, humanity could never have reached the first round; but it is the goodness of God that leadeth you to repentance, and the grace and mercy of God shines down on every round, for God is above the ladder. Its topmost round reaches into the heaven of heavens. The light of God’s love brightens the whole length of the ladder, and every step upward is a step toward him. When we are mounting this ladder, we are on our way to the mansions which Christ has gone to prepare for those that love him. Says the apostle, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
6 We should weave faith into all our religious experience. We should lift up our souls, and talk of the glory of God. How many there are who get into a strain of sadness, and talk in a hopeless way. What is the matter?—Satan has been misrepresenting the character of God to them. He has cast his shadow athwart their pathway, and, instead of talking faith, they have talked doubt. They have magnified the power of the enemy, and have become discouraged. When you feel darkness coming upon you, why not talk of the power of him who is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of peace? Why not say, “I have a mighty Saviour. My faith is fixed on him; it is entwined about Christ. He is my hope and righteousness;” and if you do this, it will not be long before your lips will speak forth the praises of God.
7 We should seek to understand the truth of heavenly origin. Christ is the author of truth, and he intends that we shall understand its principles. But how many say, We have read the Bible, and we cannot understand this or that, and therefore we reject the whole of it. Why is it that they cannot understand some part of the truth?—It is because they seek to interpret the word of God according to their own preconceived opinions. There are others who read the Bible only to prove their own position, and to bend everything according to their own way of thinking. He who cherishes error, has no one to blame but himself; for he who seeks diligently for truth will find it, and be sanctified through it. We should desire to know the truth in every point. The understanding is to be sanctified through the knowledge of the truth. We should desire to see its beauty, and to have its precious light shining upon our pathway.
8 Satan would have our minds belittled by contact with trivial things. The mind that feeds upon common thoughts, will be a common mind; but if it is carried up to the height of eternal things, the things of eternity will become full of interest, and the mind will be elevated and ennobled. Our physical being is composed of what we eat, and our spiritual nature is also composed of what it feeds upon. If you allow the mind to dwell upon common things, it will be of a common order. If you are here as pilgrims and strangers, you will talk of the country to which you are traveling. You will act as though you expected to dwell there. The mine of truth has been left to us to explore, and how shall we know what are its hidden treasures unless we dig in its depths? We must search as a miner searches for gems in the earth. There is nothing that can give us greater breadth of mind than the daily study of God’s word. We should wrestle with the difficult problems of the Scriptures. The divine Teacher will help you in the study of truth. The angels will be at your side to aid you to understand its principles and appropriate its promises.
9 Let us fill memory’s hall with beautiful pictures of divine things. Why is it that we talk so much of the commonplace affairs of life? We should have a more elevated conversation. Says the apostle, “Be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” If we should obey this injunction, it would place us on vantage ground. Let us talk of the hope of immortality, and seek to win others to Christ. We should not act as though we were bearing a grievous yoke when we seek to fulfill the requirements of God. Jesus says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Our Saviour is not in Joseph’s new tomb. He is risen, and has ascended up on high, where he ever liveth to make intercession for us.
10 Let us talk of the blessed eternal inheritance that is reserved in heaven for us who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. As you dwell upon heavenly things, you will become assimilated to the divine. Shall we not honor God? Shall we not seek to educate all within the sphere of our influence to honor him? If we ever join the song of the redeemed above, we must begin to sing the song here. If we would fill the vault of heaven with rich music, we must learn the notes of praise below. Talk not to me of earth; for my eyes have looked upon the King in his beauty, and it is the greatest and most glorious work to honor God. Let me be little and unknown, but let my name have a place in the Lamb’s book of life, and be immortalized among the heavenly host. I want to praise God with an immortal tongue. No mortal language can describe the glory of Heaven. We should let the theme of God’s love absorb the whole mind and attention. We should make a life-long effort to seek by patient continuance in well-doing, for immortality and eternal glory. I want to receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away, when the faithful people of God receive their crowns of life. When we catch a little glimpse of the glory of God, our hearts are filled with inexpressible joy. We must look away from self to Jesus, for he has provided that we may have joy and peace in the Holy Ghost; and as we behold the matchless charms of Christ, we shall be changed into the same image.
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1 When Christ cried out from the cross, “It is finished,” all Heaven triumphed. The controversy between Christ and Satan in regard to the execution of the plan of salvation was ended. The spirit of Satan and his works had taken deep root in the affections of the children of men; but the holy angels were horror-stricken that one of their number could fall so far as to be capable of such cruelty as had been manifested toward the Son of God on Calvary. Every sentiment of pity and sympathy which they had ever felt for Satan in his exile was quenched in their hearts. That his envy should be manifested in such a revenge upon an innocent person was enough to strip him of his assumed robe of celestial light, and to reveal the hideous deformity beneath; but to manifest such malignity toward the divine Son of God, who had with unprecedented self-denial and love for the creatures formed in his image, come from heaven and assumed their fallen nature, was such a heinous crime against Heaven that it caused the angels to shudder with horror, and severed the last tie of sympathy existing between Satan and the heavenly world.
2 When Christ died on Calvary’s cross, he exclaimed in his expiring agony, “It is finished;” and Satan knew that he had been defeated in his purpose to overthrow the plan of salvation. When the Son of God came forth from Joseph’s sepulcher, a triumphant conqueror over death, and broke the fetters of the tomb, he led forth the captives that Satan had bound in the grave. He presented to the world a sample of the great resurrection day, when all who have fallen asleep in Jesus shall be raised to a glorious immortality. They shall come forth from their graves at the trump of God, and shall ascend to the city of God, and see the King in his beauty.
3 When Christ cried, “It is finished,” the great sacrifice was complete. Satan and his angels were uprooted from the affection of the universe. Satan had taken such a course of deception that the angels of heaven had been in doubt of his real character. God moves in a straightforward course. It was impossible for God to lie; but Satan was as crooked as a serpent. All Heaven rejoiced when Christ rose from the dead. He had power to bind the strong man, and to despoil him of his goods.
4 We should behold Christ and his matchless charms. We should accept him as our righteousness. He came to exalt the law of God. He took upon him our nature that he might reach man in his fallen condition. His death exalts the law of God, and presents to the universe and to the world the law of God as changeless in its character. The transgression of the law could be forgiven only through the sacrifice of the Son of God. There are many who claim to believe that the death of Christ releases men from the obligation of obeying the divine precepts; but this is Satan’s masterpiece of falsehood. One time when I was traveling to Oregon on a steamer, a number of persons collected upon the hurricane deck, just outside of my state-room, the door of my room being open. A Baptist minister was talking to them concerning the law. After a while he said: “Mrs. White is on board, and she is a great stickler for the law. She says that no one can be saved except through keeping the law. She places all our salvation on the perfect keeping of the law.” After he had misrepresented me and the Seventh-day Adventists for some time, I went to him and said: “Elder B., Mrs. White is here to speak for herself. I have listened to your words, and will assure you that Mrs. White believes no such thing. There is no quality in law to save the transgressor. It was because the law was broken, and there was nothing but death before the sinner, that He who was equal with the Father, came to earth and took upon him the garb of humanity. It was because of man’s sin that Christ stepped down from the royal throne, laid aside his royal robe, and clothed his divinity with humanity. He came to bring to man moral power, to unite the fallen race with himself, that through faith in Jesus Christ we may become partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust. Says the apostle, ‘Sin is the transgression of the law.’ But Christ was manifested to take away sin, to save his people from their sins. The soul that believes in Christ may be cleansed from all defilement, and, through the grace of Christ, may be restored to divine favor.
5 “The law points to Christ, and every transgression of the law can be atoned for only by the blood of the Son of God. The law is like a mirror, to reveal to man his defects of character, but there is nothing in the law that will remedy the defects it points out. Paul declares: ‘I have kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Why did he preach repentance toward God?— Because man had broken the law of God, and therefore was not in harmony with God. Why did he preach faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ?—Because Christ had died on Calvary, and had opened a fountain for sin and uncleanness for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in, and be cleansed.
6 “But while Jesus died for the sins of men, he did not abolish one tittle of the law. He said in the sermon on the mount, ‘Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
7 “We are saved through the merit of the blood of Christ, but Christ’s righteousness does not cover the sin of transgressing God’s law, without repentance. We must do all in our power to keep the commandments of God, and then he will impute unto us his righteousness, because we believe in Christ and seek to obey the divine law. This is the reason that Christ came to this world, that he might bring his righteousness to man, that man might lay hold of his strength, and make peace with God. God accepts the efforts of man to keep the law, because Christ imputes his righteousness to him. We could not keep the law in our own strength.
8 “The death of Christ is an unanswerable argument that demonstrates the unchangeable character of the law of God. If God could have changed one precept of his law, then Christ need not have died.”
9 I said to the minister, “Did you ever hear me speak?” He answered that he had not. “In the thousands of pages I have written, have you ever read anything to the effect that I believe the law will save us?” He answered, “No.” “Then why have you made the statements which you have? I hope you will not repeat them again.”
10 After this talk, the minister took his party to the other side of the boat, but what I had said did not influence him to discontinue his false statements.
11 The apostle John says, “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” We need not expect to be highly esteemed by the world, for the world did not esteem Christ. But the fact that we are not esteemed by the world is no reason why we should drape memory’s hall with mourning, and fill it with dark pictures. Let us remember constantly that Christ gave his life for us; that although the world knoweth us not, he loves us with infinite love. We should talk of his matchless love. Let us not have any doleful tales to tell. The Bible is full of the rich promises of God. Let us behold the Saviour; for by beholding, we shall become changed.
12 If we look at the disagreeable side, if we gather up doubts, we shall have doubts, we shall sow doubts, and reap a harvest of darkness. We should lie low at the foot of the cross. Let us not utter one word of unbelief. The enemy may bring about a train of circumstances that will influence our feelings, but we should not let this discourage us; we must live by faith. “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” We are to look away from earth, to breathe in the atmosphere of heaven. If we continually dwell in the atmosphere of earth’s cares, we shall find our spiritual life dying out; but if we uplift our thoughts to heaven and heavenly things, we shall realize that our spiritual life is renewing and growing stronger day by day. If we follow on to know the Lord, we shall know that his goings forth are prepared as the morning.
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1 Through all our trials we should think of the plan of salvation, we should educate the soul to exercise faith in Christ and to render praise to God. Christ suffered reproach. He was reviled and rejected of men. They even said that he had a devil, but he did not shrink from the cross of suffering, and we should not murmur at the self-sacrificing part of religion. All Heaven is interested in the trying of our souls, the whole universe is interested to see how we shall bear the cross and endure the shame. You are to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. God does not work with man without his co-operation. Divine power will combine with human effort, and enable you to successfully meet the enemy of your souls. In Christ you must meet every difficulty; and if others do not sympathize with your ideas, you must not wound them by enmity, but press close to the bleeding side of your Saviour.
2 If you have doubts, you should not gratify the evil one by telling others concerning them. If you trust in Christ, as surely as he died on Calvary’s cross, you will obtain the victory. It was living faith that caused the woman who had suffered under disease for years to touch the hem of Christ’s garment. This is the faith that we must have, and then we shall not speak of our trials and conflicts; for through them all, we shall have joy unspeakable and full of glory. Jesus has said, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” We should unfurl the banner of the Prince of Peace, and in perplexity and sorrow we must not lose sight of Him who is mighty to save.
3 Jesus came to this earth, marred and seared by the curse, for the purpose of bringing moral power to men. He fought the battle in man’s behalf in the wilderness of temptation, and it was the same battle that everyone of us must fight till the close of time. Christ was not overcome in this conflict. He who worked miracles for others, worked none for himself. He had clothed his divinity with humanity, and he had come to bring divine power to man. He met the enemy at every step with “It is written.” He used the word of God to thwart the temptations of the evil one. This is where our safety lies. We should study the word of God, and be so filled with it, that we can meet the enemy of our souls with “It is written,” as did our example. Then we could hope for the grace that God has promised, to enable us to be overcomers. You should be full of hope in the work of the Lord. A discouraged man cannot glorify God. Whatever you do, you should not lose your hope and faith. When you become discouraged it is an evidence that you have allowed the enemy to come in between your soul and God. You must lay hold of the hope set before you, and you will come off victorious, and be ready to sing the praises of God.
4 When Christ came to this world, he found that Satan had everything as he wanted it. The adversary of God and man thought that he was indeed the prince of the earth, but Jesus laid hold of the world to take it out of the power of Satan. He came to redeem it from the curse of sin and the penalty of transgression, that the transgressor might be forgiven. He planted the cross between earth and heaven, and between divinity and humanity; and as the Father beheld the cross, he was satisfied. He said, “It is enough, the offering is complete.” God and man may be reconciled. Those who have lived in rebellion against God, may become reconciled, if as they see the cross, they become repentant, and accept the great propitiation that Christ has made for their sins. In the cross they see that “mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
5 We do not appreciate the love of God as we should. When God gave his Son to die for the sins of men, he gave all Heaven in that one gift. There was nothing that God could withhold from humanity after giving up his beloved Son; for Christ himself had assumed humanity. He was made a child that he might understand the temptations of childhood, and know its weaknesses and be able to help the children to be overcomers. He passed from youth to manhood, and carried our griefs and bore our sorrows. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. When we come to him in sincerity pleading for pardon, he forgives. We need not wait to make ourselves acceptable; for we can never. We cannot do works that will commend us to God when we have sinned. We must come to the cross, and lay our burden of sin upon Jesus Christ, and believe that we are pardoned for Christ’s sake who died for us. When we acknowledge our sin, and seek pardon through Christ, the law is exalted. It is the moral standard of God, and tells us what sin is. Says John, “Sin is the transgression of the law.” Those who have sinned must hang their helpless souls on Christ.
6 You should place your will on the side of God’s will. You cannot be overcome of the enemy unless you press positive resistance against God’s will. We can be more than conquerors through faith in him who has loved us and given himself for us. When you come to God, you must come with confidence. When Satan presses upon your soul his temptations to doubt that God will have mercy in your case, you should press back his suggestions with the promises of God. Our heavenly Father has expressed his love for us individually in the cross of Calvary. The Father loves us, he is full of compassion and tender mercy.
7 Jesus came to this earth to represent the character of the Father to the world. He said, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father.” Satan had misrepresented the character of God, and placed him in a false light. But Jesus came to reveal the Father’s love and compassion toward the fallen children of men. When those who profess to be the servants of God draw down their countenances in gloom, and are ever complaining, they misrepresent their heavenly Father. They are confirming the impression that Satan has made concerning his character. They say to the world, “The service of God is a hard service. It is bondage to keep the law of God.” This is all false. What is it that puts the shackles on men’s wrists? Is it obedience to law? No, indeed. Those who keep the laws walk at liberty. It is the transgressor that is in bondage. The curse of the law is not upon those who are striving to fulfill God’s holy precepts through faith in the Redeemer. They are covered with his righteousness. They are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
8 How wrong it is for those who profess to be engaged in the service of God, to dishonor God by misrepresenting his service. The Lord has proclaimed himself as “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” Will we believe this declaration of his character? He says again, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God; for he will abundantly pardon.”
9 How long we have resisted the pleading of the Spirit of God! How long he has borne with us! We would not bear such resistance as we have made against him. But he says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” “As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” It is because the Lord is not like one of us that he can forgive sins when we come to him with repentance. Satan tries to discourage every soul that seeks to come to God. He will tell you that you are a sinner, unworthy of the love of God. And you can tell him that you know it, but that you have repented of your transgressions and by faith you depend upon the merits of the blood of Christ, and the mercy of God is for you. Reach over the doubts that he suggests to your mind, and grasp the promise of God. Tell your enemy that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
10 The followers of Jesus should be living stones in the temple of God, so that they may emit light to those around them. They should work with a cheerful heart to show forth the praises of Him who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. They should seek to unfold to men the glories of the law of liberty. If they go forth to labor for God with a gloomy countenance, and despondent heart, they will not accomplish anything that will glorify their Redeemer; for their attitude of doubt will destroy the effect of their words. The conflict is coming on the law of God in the world. Satan carries on the same warfare from age to age against the precepts of Jehovah. The sinner hates the law because it points out his shortcoming, and he tramples upon it in derision.
11 Those who profess to love God should search the Scriptures diligently, for they cannot afford to be found transgressors of the law. The time is coming when no one will be able to render an excuse to God for disobedience to his law. There are those who say now that they cannot keep the commandments of God. They excuse themselves from obedience to the fourth commandment because of business, or their family, or social relations. But these excuses will not be found to avail in the day of God. They will not stand the test of the judgment.
12 Christ left the royal throne, he stepped down from his high command in the heavenly courts, and for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty, might be made rich; and what answer can be framed before him for trampling on the holy law of God? When God gave his Son, he made provision in him for every emergency connected with man’s salvation; and in the day of reward and meeting out the penalty for transgression, every mouth will be stopped, and all the world will become guilty before God. But of those who have obeyed the precepts of heaven, Jesus says, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Do you want to enter into the city of God? Christ has stated the condition upon which you may enter. It may seem to you now that commandment-keepers are in the minority; but it will not seem so when the gates of the heavenly city swing back on their glittering hinges. God is on the side of those who obey him. God is a majority. Christ is on their side, the angels of heaven are on their side, and all the good are on their side. The doers of the law of God are in the majority. They have access to the power that the world cannot give or take away. Let us not exalt Satan by dwelling upon his power. Let us talk of the power of God. Let us think of the King in his beauty. Let us behold Christ, and by beholding, become changed into his divine image.
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1 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
2 We should take heed that we do not make a mistake in this life that can never be remedied either here or in eternity. It is the purpose of your heavenly Father that his servants should carry the truth to all nations, but it is the design of the enemy to fasten their affection on the things of this life, and so thwart the purpose of God. There was a great work to be done after the ascension of Christ, but the disciples did not comprehend this fact. After the crucifixion they were placed in a situation of peculiar sorrow and trial. They had lost their Master, and were in despair, unable to understand why he should be taken from them.
3 While two of the disciples were journeying toward Emmaus, talking sadly of what had occurred, a stranger drew near and joined them as they toiled up and down the hills from Jerusalem to their place of abode. The stranger asked, “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?” They were surprised that he should ask such a question, and said, “Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel; and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.”
4 “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken; ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” The disciples were not able to believe the testimony of the women at the sepulcher. Their hearts were filled with unbelief and disappointment. Though Jesus had told them while he was yet with them that he would suffer these very things, all his words were forgotten in the hour of trial; but when this stranger showed from the prophecies the relation of these events to the Sacred Word, they were filled with new hope. Light began to break upon their minds, and when they came to their journey’s end, they insisted that the stranger should abide with them. He entered their dwelling at their urgent invitation, and as they sat at meat, as he lifted up his hands, they saw the print of the nails, and recognized their risen Lord. As they rose to greet him, he vanished from their sight.
5 Then they began to talk of their experience as he talked with them by the way, and they said, “Did not our heart burn within us?” But the disciples were not content to enjoy this great blessing alone. They felt that they must hasten back over the rough way to communicate the good news to those who were bowed down in sorrow and disappointment. How is it with us? Do we feel this interest in others? When we have found some precious jewel in the mine of truth, are we content to keep it to ourselves? We cannot do this, if Christ is with us. If we have found the field that contains the treasure, we shall want everybody to rejoice with us.
6 The disciples went back the way they had come, but the distance did not seem long as they talked of their hope. They hastened through the streets of Jerusalem to the upper chamber where the disciples were wont to gather. They knew just where to find them. They had also heard the reports of the women, but they did not believe them to be true, and now these two others come to add their testimony to the certainty of Christ’s resurrection. The disciples from Emmaus told over all the circumstances of their meeting with Jesus, and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread. They declared that though their hopes had been buried with Christ, they now believed that he would indeed reign on the throne of David. And while they were uttering these words of faith, Jesus himself stood among them, and said, “Peace be unto you.” Those hands that were uplifted in blessing, were the same hands that had been pierced upon the cross. He unfolded to their minds the prophecies concerning his life and death and resurrection. He took up the Old Testament and confirmed it by the facts that are now recorded in the New Testament. He proved to the disciples that he was indeed the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.
7 Christ did on this occasion just as he desires us to do now. We are to show that the specifications of prophecy have been fulfilled in the history of the world. In the light of the prophetic word the disciples did not have the least reason for unbelief, for all had come to pass according to the Scriptures. We should take the Old Testament to explain the New Testament, and the New Testament to reflect light into the Old. The typical service pointed forward to Christ, and in him type met antitype. The disciples were to carry on this very work, for they were to go forth to teach all nations that the Messiah had come.
8 When Jesus spoke to them of the work that they must do, and how the Holy Ghost should come upon them, they asked, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” He told them that a great work was to be accomplished before he should reign on the throne of David. He said, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The disciples were to begin their work where he had sown the seeds of truth. Multitudes had heard his words, and believed them, but they did not have the moral courage to acknowledge him as their Saviour, lest they should be turned out of the synagogue. When the Holy Ghost was poured out, the seed that Christ had sowed blossomed and ripened into fruit. Courage and hope inspired the disciples, and they were ready to go to the uttermost part of the earth to proclaim a risen Saviour. The early disciples accomplished their work, and from age to age, men have been raised up to carry forward the gospel. Advanced light has shone upon every succeeding generation, and today we are nearer the great white throne, we are nearer the consummation of the Christian’s hope, than ever a people were before. We have more distinct views of Jesus than any have had before.
9 Is it not appropriate to read this text at this time, “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal”? How many are laying up their treasures upon the earth. I have known those who professed to love God, and yet who would add field to field and place to place, and the more they accumulated, the less willing they were to give to the cause of Christ. I dare not ask for property. I do not know how I would bear the test. I do not want anything here on which to place my heart. I want my treasure in heaven. I once knew a woman whose husband was a drunkard, and she was obliged to wash for a living. She used to wish that she had riches so that she could help the cause. And the Lord tested her with riches, but she did not remember the cause of God. She built a fine house, and furnished it with every luxury. She added land to land, and kept promising herself that she would give to the cause as soon as she had accomplished this or that. I visited her.
10 One of her sons was intemperate and wild. I said, “You should give your means to God while you can. You do not know what may happen. Don’t wait. It will prove a perfect loss to you if you do, for you will be tested again with poverty, if you cling to your earthly possessions.” She promised that she would give to the cause. She said she meant to do it, but she never gave anything. She became a poor woman, poorer even than she had been in the beginning. When she died, she had nothing to leave to the cause of Christ. It is much safer to be tested with poverty than with wealth; but if God gives you riches, he intends that you shall use them for his glory, to save souls for whom Christ has died. God has given us all that we have, and we should not consider that it is ours at all. All we enjoy is ours, only because of the righteousness of Christ. We should say, “All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own do we give unto thee.” We should not rob God, but let his means flow into the treasury.
11 Says the prophet, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” If we have robbed God, we should repent and make restitution as far as it lies in our power. If we had faith in God, we should see that we are only stewards of his means. You should mix faith with your prayers, and come up to God’s requirement, that he may open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that you shall not be able to receive. As soon as you humble your heart before God, he will fill you with his Spirit and power. How do you expect sinners to be converted unless you do something to place the light of truth before them? You are to “lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven.” You should put your treasure in an unfailing bank, into bags that wax not old.
12 We read of disciples who, although they were poor, sent a contribution by the hand of Paul to distribute for the necessity of the poor saints at Jerusalem. Oh, that selfishness might all go out of our hearts! We should let our sympathies go out to the precious souls for whom Christ has died. I would not be deprived of doing something in the work of salvation, for all this world can afford. Christ left the royal throne, he clothed his divinity with humanity, he came to a world all marred and [scarred] by the curse, to rescue lost humanity, to rescue you and me. Oh, I want my heart exercised to carry on the work that he has left for me to do. I want to see the gospel preached to perishing souls. I want an interest in everything that is started for the advancement of the cause of Christ. Every one of us can do something, and we must come up to the responsibility that has been placed upon us. If we do this, we shall see every soul melted into tenderness and humility before God.
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1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure.”
2 Those who are looking and waiting for the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, will purify their hearts. They will realize that they must make continual progress in the divine life, that they must have a daily increasing faith, so as to be able to overcome.
3 We have no right to study our own pleasure and convenience; for we have been bought with a price, even with the life of the Son of God, therefore we should glorify God in our bodies, and in our spirits, which are his. Our Saviour has given to every man his work, and it is for each one to do his work to the very best of his ability. It is not for us to overlook the duties that lie directly in our pathway; but in the fear and love of God we must take them up in order, and the blessing of God will abide upon us. You should let your light shine before those who are in darkness. How carefully you should walk before those who do not have a knowledge of the truth, that you may recommend it to them. Our work does not end in simply living an exemplary life in a passive way; we are to work aggressively, and follow up our work with prayer, that God may prosper our efforts. If we do this we shall be as lights in the world. We need living faith, that we may take God at his word; for there is a battle for every soul to fight and it must be fought manfully, or we shall never see the city of God. Lack of faith has been manifested by the professed people of God in every age, and even at the present time the same want of faith is apparent.
4 When God sought to lead the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, they manifested lack of faith by fearing the result of leaving the bondage of Pharaoh. When they came up to the Red Sea, with mountains on either side, and the armies of their enemies in their rear, they forgot how God had wrought for them with mighty signs and wonders, and they allowed unbelief to control their minds. They began to accuse the Lord, and to blame Moses for bringing them out of Egypt into the wilderness; but God commanded them to go forward, and when their feet touched the waters in obedience to his word, the sea opened before them and they passed through it on dry land. Our greatest need today is an increase of faith. We may be bound about by circumstances that make it seem impossible to advance, but if we do the best we can, the Lord will open the way before us.
5 The Lord does not propose to do that which we can do ourselves. He will educate us to do his work, and as we go forth to his service, he will work mightily with our efforts. God claims our talents, he requires that they shall be employed in his service. A portion of our substance is the Lord’s also, and if we render him his just dues, he will recognize the offering and commend our course. He does not estimate the value of our gifts to his cause by their amount in money, he looks upon our motives. It is the heart service that makes the gift valuable. When we fulfill our obligations in faith, we shall not rob God even in little things, but we shall bear every responsibility that he places upon us to his glory.
6 When the Majesty of Heaven became a babe, and was intrusted to Mary, she did not have much to offer for the precious gift; but when she brought her two doves to the altar, they were received as an acceptable offering to the Lord. She could not offer the rare treasure that the wise men came to Bethlehem to lay before the Son of God, and yet the mother of Jesus was not rejected because of the smallness of her gift. It was the willingness of her heart that the Lord looked upon, and her love made her offering sweet.
7 Everyone who will do his best, to the utmost of his ability, will find that God will open ways before him. Everyone who will put his talents out to the exchangers will find that they will increase. We should ever remember that Christ for our sake became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich, and in faith and love we should act well our part. Let us show by our actions that we believe that we are responsible to God for the best use of our talents. In return for his mercies and blessings, let us render to him all he claims, and his favor will rest upon us.
8 I love Jesus, and I must plead with him that I may have more of his Spirit. God is willing to bless us, and he wants us to have a part in his kingdom. As we go out to labor for souls, our hearts should go up to God in gratitude and love for his rich blessing which he has so bountifully bestowed upon us. Let us all make it a principle that we will serve God through all time. Let us not neglect secret prayer. Let us meditate much on the goodness of our God, and on that love that has been manifested toward us in the gift of Christ. In our association with one another in public or in private life, may we ever seek to breathe an influence that will tell on the side of truth. We should grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
9 Let us show by our works how much we value the truth and the souls of our fellowmen. Let us be diligent, sincere, and faithful. Let us trade with the talents that God has bestowed upon us, and intrusted to us as his stewards, and if we work with disinterested, self-sacrificing effort, the Lord will bless us, and by and by we shall have a glorious reward, even eternal life.
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1 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
2 In these words is presented before us the work that is required of every follower of Christ. Through the grace of Christ we are to perfect a Christian character. We must not think that we can wait until Christ comes, and that he will then give us the necessary virtue and grace. It is in this life that we are to represent Christ. He gave himself for us that he might cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
3 We are not to continue in sin that grace may abound; we are to cease from transgression. The love of Christ manifested in the infinite sacrifice which he has made in Calvary, is without a parallel. It is sincere, devoted, measureless, and meets the emergency of the sinner’s case, awakening in the heart of those who receive it, respect and reverence for the holy law of God. In the light reflected from Calvary, the law is seen to be holy, just, and good. It cost the life of the Son of God to pay the debt of transgression which the sinner had incurred. It is when the sinner has a realization of the offensive character of sin, a realization to some extent of what it cost the Son of God to redeem him, to give him another trial and probation, that his heart is filled with love and gratitude, and an earnest faith awakens that works by love and purifies the soul. This faith and love will be seen in the soul of him who is truly converted to God; and he who experiences the love of God, will ever feel humiliation and repentance for past transgression. If Christ had to make so great a sacrifice, if he had to endure such sufferings because of my sin, shall I not bow in humility, and regret that I have inflicted such grief upon his divine soul? Shall I not fear lest I shall crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame? The soul who appreciates the precious gift of salvation will ever behold Christ dying upon the cross, and the language of that soul will be the language of unselfish sorrow that he has ever committed sin to so wound the Son of God. I shall always grieve that I have sinned, and have cost the Man of Calvary so great anguish. I look upon him whom I have pierced, and I mourn that I have transgressed the law of God. When we have a proper appreciation of the sacrifice that has been made in our behalf, we shall not plead for the privilege of continuing in transgression. We shall put away sin, and our hard hearts will melt under the amazing love of Christ for our souls.
4 With correct views of Jesus, we cannot allow our affections to be placed upon earth and earthly things, but we shall center them upon heaven and heavenly things. The hours of probation that are granted us here, are very precious hours; and we are to take heed unto ourselves, lest at any time our hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and the day of God come upon us unawares. If Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, we shall ever keep in view the fact that he is soon coming; and when we consider the infinite sacrifice that has been made in our behalf, we shall have respect unto the recompense of reward.
5 If we are thinking soberly, if we are living righteously, we shall have a good influence over those that are associated with us; for we shall be breathing in the atmosphere of heaven. And we should think soberly; for we are not here to bless ourselves only, but as sinners and debtors to God, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and help others that they, too, may be saved. If we would have the Lord purify us unto himself, we must do on our part all that we can that iniquity may be removed from us. We must have a living experience with Christ; and if we love God, we shall want to talk of him to others, and lead them to the fountain of life.
6 It may look like a discouraging task to seek to present the truth in a large city like this, when there are so few to engage in the work. But if there is only one to lift up the banner of truth, a great work may be done. Isn’t it something that there is one scattering the divine rays of truth? If there is only one to go to work, let him begin, and let his light shine; and if he walks in the light, he will leave a bright track heavenward. God has given us our intellect that we may use it for him. With all our powers of mind, we should exalt the standard of holiness, exemplifying the truth by our own piety and integrity, and thus we shall teach others how to glorify God.
7 There are many who desire to forget God; but these will not inherit eternal life. It will be those who walk in harmony with his divine precepts, that God will save in his kingdom. They will often have to endure trial and suffer affliction, but they must remember Jesus, the Lord of Glory, who was supreme over all. He was self-sacrificing. He suffered the loss of all things, that he might bring eternal life within our reach. And he has said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
8 The lawyer who came to Jesus, asked: “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” Here are stated the conditions of eternal life; but if you are setting your affections on the things of this life, if you are not loving God with all the heart and your neighbor as yourself, you are not fulfilling these conditions, and cannot expect that you will be saved unless you repent and turn to God with all the soul.
9 I have spent the last forty years of my life in the service of God, and my only regret is that I have not given every hour of my life to his work. I feel that it is my duty to have every power of my being devoted to him. I often wish that the curtain which separates heaven from earth could be swept back, and that we might behold the glories of the eternal world, and have a more vivid sense of the great sacrifice made for man; that we might understand more fully what high claims heaven has upon us. Says the apostle, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
(Concluded next week.)
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1 All Heaven is interested in our salvation, and I would that our minds were spiritualized, that we might fully realize this great fact. Although Christians will experience trials and difficulties, they should be the happiest people on the earth; for if they are obedient children, they can address God as their Father and Friend. “As a father pitieth his children so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” God has a deep interest in those who are striving to obey his precepts.
2 Although the children of God may at times be placed in situations that are trying and full of sorrow, they need not imagine that the Lord has forsaken them. Joseph was cast into prison without any provocation, and it seemed that God had forgotten him; but Joseph trusted in the Lord. He had been true to the Lord under temptation, declaring, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
3 And the Lord did not forsake him. Heaven gave him wisdom to answer the tempter, and a firm purpose to resist evil. If one of us were called to go through such trial as Joseph endured, would we have borne without complaint and murmuring? He forgot his own trials, and sought to help others. Even in the prison he made himself a necessity and a blessing.
4 Look at the case of Daniel in Babylon. He was surrounded with all the luxury of the king’s court, but he refused to participate in the banquets of extravagance. He would not defile himself with a portion of the king’s meat, or take of his wine. When men have the principle that will enable them to stand amid temptation, as did Daniel, the God of heaven will look upon them with approval, and will send them needed help and strength at the moment of their trial. If Daniel had weakly yielded to temptation to indulge appetite, he would have placed himself in a position where he could not have received the wisdom and grace the Lord had for him. He would have brought upon himself physical and mental weakness.
5 God does not take any man into connection with himself, to give him wisdom and grace, unless he places himself in right relation to the precepts and principles of truth. Man has a work to do to close the door against temptation. He must build a wall around himself, and then God will train his powers for the highest use. It is not possible for us to tell what a man may become, and what he may achieve through the power and grace of Christ. The reason why we are so weak in moral power, is that we are continually venturing on Satan’s ground. We should be careful where we go, and see to it that we take no backward steps. For when professed Christians do not live up to the light that God gives them, they can do more harm than open sinners.
6 When Daniel had been exalted in the court of Babylon, he was not free from trial and temptation. The wise men of the court were filled with envy, and plotted for his destruction.
7 How earnestly the enemies of Daniel watched for an opportunity to accuse him before the king, but they decided that they could find nothing against him, except in his fidelity to his God. They induced the king to frame a decree, according to the custom of the Medes and Persians, that could not be changed, to the effect that if any man for thirty days offered prayer to anyone except the king, he should be thrown into the den of lions. The king was flattered by this proposition, and as he did not understand the motive that prompted it, he signed the desired decree, and made it a law. Did these men think because they had deceived Darius that they had deceived the Lord also? Daniel knew all about the decree, but when the time came for prayer, “he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
8 The report was quickly carried to the king, and too late he saw that the decree had been proposed and carried into effect through the envy and jealousy of his court. Daniel had determined that he would be true to God. He would let the world know that no king, prince, or power, had a right to come between his soul and God. God did not forsake him, for though he was cast into the den of lions, the angels of heaven were with him, and he suffered no harm. The king, filled with sorrow, spent a restless night in his chamber, and at early light he came to the den, and cried, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”
9 Daniel was soon delivered from the den of lions, and his enemies who had plotted his ruin were themselves destroyed.
10 Through the trial that was permitted to come upon Daniel, great good resulted to the nation; for it gave opportunity to call the attention of great and small to the fact that God was able and willing to save him who trusted in him. Daniel showed to the nation that Jehovah was a living God. He brought out chapters in his experience showing that God had manifested himself to his servant in a remarkable manner. He told them how he had stood before them as a prophet of the Most High God, and that no earthly power had the right to interfere with a man’s personal relation to his God. Thus God was manifested above every king, emperor, or statesman, as the one to be honored and obeyed.
11 Daniel was counted peculiar, and every man who makes God his counselor, and who seeks him in simplicity of heart, will be counted peculiar by the world. But this is the faith we need, this is the experience that we must have; for Christ has died to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. We should live with an eye single to his glory, and then we shall be able to gain the victory over the world. We must come out from the world and be separate, if we would be the sons of God, the heirs of heaven. If we do this, we shall enter in through the gates into the city, we shall have a right to the tree of life, and we shall see the King in his beauty.
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1 We have most precious promises in the word of God, which ought to give us courage and confidence. They should enable us to come out of uncertainty and darkness, to come where we may know that the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. There is nothing wanting in the store-house of our God.
2 Jesus has said, “Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” The disciples of Christ are to do greater works than Jesus himself has done. He says further: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” “If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it.” Christ spoke these words for the comfort of all who should have faith in him, and it is our privilege to believe that God will do just as he has said he would.
3 It is not enough to say, “I believe;” we must exercise the living faith that claims the promises of God as our own, knowing that they are sure and steadfast. The enemy of our souls would be glad to steal away these precious promises from us, and cast darkness before our eyes, so that we should not be able to appropriate the good things that God means that we shall have. God is waiting to do great things for us as soon as we come into a right relation with him; but if we hold ourselves in doubt and unbelief, the enemy can keep the control of our minds, and intercept the promises of God. Unbelief always results in a great loss to our souls. It was said concerning one place where Christ visited, “He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Christ cannot work in our behalf if we do not manifest faith in him. We should train our souls to have faith in God. But instead of this, how many there are who educate themselves to doubt. I have heard testimony after testimony in meeting in which there did not seem to be one word of genuine faith, but which cast a shadow over the whole congregation. It is not God’s will that we should be in this position. Brethren and sisters, it is our privilege to walk in the light, as Christ is in the light. He is at our right hand to strengthen us, and he tells us that greater works than he has done shall we do, because he goes to the Father. He is ready to impart unto us the rich blessing and grace of God.
4 How shall we encourage you to have faith in God? You say, “How can I talk faith, how can I have faith, when clouds and darkness and despondency come over my mind? I do not feel as though I could talk faith; I do not feel that I have any faith to talk.” But why do you feel in this way?—It is because you have permitted Satan to cast his dark shadow across your pathway, and you cannot see the light that Jesus sheds upon your pathway. But another says: “I am very frank; I say just what I feel, I talk just as I think.” Is that the best way to do?—No; God wants us to educate ourselves so that we shall speak right words,—words that will be a blessing to others, that will shed rays of light upon their souls.
5 Suppose that at times we are destitute of the joy we should like to experience, can we not feel assured that the promises of God are still yea and amen in Christ Jesus? The promises of God do not rest upon feeling. They have a foundation as distinct from feeling as light is from darkness. We must learn to move from principle, and when we learn to do this, we shall move understandingly, and not be controlled by varying emotions.
6 Christ has said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Brethren, can you explain why we are not more efficient in ministering to others, and why we are not better able to help the church, than we were ten years ago? There is no reason why we should not be growing in efficiency and power to do the work of God. The Lord wants us to use every iota of the ability he has given us, and, if we do this, we shall have improved and increased ability to employ. God desires that we shall have a thorough understanding of the truth as it is in Jesus. We should dig in the mine of truth for the rich treasures of knowledge that are hidden in God’s word. If we employ our talents in searching the Scriptures, and in imparting knowledge to others, we shall become channels of light. You should not allow the channel between God and your soul to become obstructed. You should not be moved by circumstances. You should refuse to listen to the suggestions of Satan, that he may not paralyze your efforts to do good.
7 What we need is Bible religion; for if Christ is abiding in us, and we in him, we shall be continually advancing in the divine life. If we are connected with the source of all wisdom and power, we shall not fail of becoming strong men and women in Christ Jesus. If we fully receive the truth of heavenly origin, we shall not fail of becoming sanctified through it; and when trials come we shall not go to complaining, as did the children of Israel, and forget the source of our strength. We must gather up the divine rays of glory, not to hide our light by putting it under a bushel or under a bed, but to set it on a candlestick, where it will give light to others. We must put our talents out to the exchangers, that we may accumulate more talent to bring to Jesus. In this way we shall be growing Christians, and every word we speak will be ennobling and sanctifying. We should educate ourselves to speak in such a way that we shall not have cause to be ashamed of our words when we meet them in the judgment. We should seek to have our actions of such a character that we will not shrink from having our Saviour look upon them. Christ is here this morning; angels are here, and they are measuring the temple of God and those who worship therein. The history of this meeting will be carried up to God; for a record of every meeting is made; the spirit manifested, the words spoken, and the actions performed, are noted in the books of heaven. Everything is transferred to the records as faithfully as are our features to the polished plate of the artist.
8 We must fight the good fight of faith. Satan will try to sever the connection which faith makes between our souls and God. He will seek to discourage us by telling us that we are unworthy of the grace of God, and need not expect to receive this or that favor because we are sinners. These suggestions should not cut off our confidence; for it is written: “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” There is no reason why we should not claim the promises of the Lord. There is no reason why we should not be light-bearers. There is no reason why you should not advance, why you should not become more and more intelligent in prayer and testimony, and make manifest that God hears and answers your petitions.
9 We should have more wisdom and confidence today than we had yesterday. Why are we so well satisfied with our feeble attainments? Why do we settle down content with our present deficient experience? We should not always be fed upon the milk of the word; we must seek for meat, that we may become strong men and women in Christ. God will give you everything that you are prepared for, everything that will minister to your strength. He will make peace with you if you lay hold of his strength. But he will not let his power drop upon you without effort on your part. You must co-operate with God in the work of salvation.
10 We need to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We must educate ourselves to talk faith, to pray in faith, and to abstain from dropping one seed of doubt and discouragement. We desire that young men shall go forth from this conference to become experienced workers in the cause of God. Let the older ministers take heed that they make straight paths for their feet, that the lame be not turned out of the way. Let no watchman or shepherd of the flock place himself on the judgment-seat, to criticise others, to pick flaws and find fault with the brethren. Oh, that everyone at this meeting would take his position on the Lord’s side! We must have light in ourselves. Do not believe anything simply because others say it is truth. Take your Bibles, and search them for yourselves. Plead with God that he will put his Spirit upon you, that you may know the truth and understand its principles. If you gain an experience of this kind, there is nothing that will turn you from the truth. You will be like Daniel in the lions’ den, and like Joseph in Pharaoh’s prison.
11 From the light that God has given me, I can say that not half of those who profess to believe the present truth have a thorough understanding of the Third Angel’s Message. Many believe the truth because they have heard it preached by someone in whom they had confidence. When our people search the word of God for themselves, we shall hear less murmuring than we hear today. We need that faith that will lead us to study the Bible for ourselves, and take God at his word.
12 Christ says: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.”
13 Brethren, you must take advanced steps. God wants every one of you to turn from your iniquity, and connect with him, the source of all wisdom and truth, that when you open your lips the words of Christ may flow forth. Shall we not let the Spirit of God come among us, and flow from heart to heart? The Spirit of God is here this morning, and the Lord knows how you will receive the words that I have addressed to you on this occasion.
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1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
2 The love of God toward fallen man is incomprehensible. The apostle cannot find words to describe it, but he calls upon the world to “behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” The love of the infinite God for his rebellious children is the most wonderful thing that the universe knows, and it will be constantly unfolding throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.
3 I feel an intense interest that all should comprehend, as far as possible, the love of God. We cannot afford to draw away our attention from this subject, for in it is contained the mystery of God,—the plan of salvation. We may put to the stretch every power of our mind, and yet we shall not be fully able to comprehend the heights and depths of the love of God; for the human mind is not capable of understanding its full significance. It is our privilege, however, to obtain clearer and more distinct views of the plan of salvation. We should not be content with a superficial knowledge of this wonderful plan, but we should seek to behold it in all its greatness, that as far as possible we may understand the love of God.
4 It is our privilege to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. We should become better and better acquainted with the things of God. It is Satan’s design to engage the attention of men with matters of worldly interest, so that they shall have no desire to contemplate the wonders of the love of God.
5 When our first parents transgressed the holy law of God, the Lord promised that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head; the serpent was to bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. But he was to have no power to touch the head. Humanity was lost, and Christ appeared as the world’s Redeemer, the seed to whom the promises were made. He died to redeem mankind. Those who believed in him excited the wrath of the evil one, for Satan claimed man as his property. Satan persecuted the people of God. He tortured them, and put them to death; but in dying they became conquerors. They revealed in this steadfast faith a mightier one than Satan. Satan could torture and kill the body, but he could not touch the life that was hid with Christ in God. He could incarcerate in prison walls, but he could not bind the spirit. Living faith connected the people of God with Him who only hath immortality. They could look beyond the gloom to the glory that was to be revealed at the appearing of Jesus. Paul suffered much. He was persecuted from city to city, in perils oft, in prison, in scourging, in bonds, in fastings, in wearinesses and painful watchings, but he looked beyond the sufferings of the present time to glory beyond, and said: “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” This is what God would have his people do. He would have us reckon and consider the rich reward of the eternal world, that we may appreciate the privileges that are brought within our reach through the plan of salvation.
6 Christ came to our world to become our sacrifice. He came to discover to our eyes the gems of truth, to place them in a new setting,—the frame-work of truth. He brought out of the treasure-house of God things new and old, that we might be able to trace down the links in the great plan of salvation. Through the sacrificial offerings of the Jewish dispensation, we are pointed forward to Christ, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. When Christ came, it was to engage in the conflict with the enemy of God and man, on this earth, in the sight of the universe of heaven. But why was it necessary to wage the warfare in the sight of other worlds?—It was because Satan had been an exalted angel, and when he fell, he induced many angels to join him in his revolt against God’s government. He worked in the minds of the angels as he works in the minds of men today. He made a pretension of loyalty to God, and yet he argued that angels should not be under law. He inculcated his ideas, his rebellion and enmity, and hatred of God’s law originated in the minds of the angels in heaven through his influence. He caused the fall of man through the same temptations with which he had caused the fall of angels; and in the world where he proposed to work out his principles of rebellion, the battle had to be fought, that all might behold the real nature and results of disobedience to God’s great moral standard. He represented God in a false light, clothing him with his own attributes. Christ came to represent the Father in his true character. He showed that he was not an arbitrary judge, ready to bring judgments upon men, and delighting in condemning and punishing them for their evil deeds. The Lord proclaimed his character to Moses in the mount. “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.”
7 This was the description that God gave of his own character. Jesus came to represent the goodness and mercy and love of the Father, and Satan was filled with enmity toward the Son of God, and strove from his very birth to destroy him. He worked through wicked Herod to accomplish his design, but the Lord preserved the life of the young child Jesus, and thwarted the design of the evil one. Repeatedly the life of Christ was in peril. Many times even after the people had listened to his gracious words, and had seen the manifestation of his power in healing the sick and blessing those around him, they were ready to destroy him. He hated sin with a perfect hatred. It was the pure, spotless life of Jesus that stirred up the hatred of Satan and a profligate nation; for Christ did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. The Jewish nation was filled with doubt and prejudice, and this led them to hate the Son of God. Because of their unbelief, they were on the enemy’s side, under the control of the evil one.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 Jesus was hunted from place to place during his ministry. Priests and rulers were on his track. They misrepresented his mission and labor. He came unto his own and his own received him not. Angels watched the conflict at every step. They saw the spirit and work of the enemy. They looked with amazement upon the devices of Satan against the divine Son of God. They saw that he who had only been second to Jesus in power and glory had fallen so low that he could influence men to hunt the steps of Christ from city to city. When Christ sought the garden of Gethsemane, the enemy pressed darkness upon his soul. Even his disciples did not watch with him through that hour of trial. They heard the agony of prayer that came from his pale and quivering lips, but they soon allowed sleep to overcome them, and left their suffering Master to wrestle with the powers of darkness alone.
2 It was in the garden of Gethsemane that the mysterious cup trembled in his hand. Would he drink of the bitter portion and save a lost world? or would he forbear and let it perish? The destiny of the fallen race trembled in the balance. If he drank of the cup of suffering, he must open his breast to the griefs and woes and sins of humanity. He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” He had said to his disciples, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” His suffering almost extinguished his life. The drops of blood beaded his forehead, and dewed the sod of Gethsemane. “His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” When he fainted as in death, an angel came to the divine Sufferer, and offered him the cup of consolation to strengthen him for the conflict.
3 The Saviour of the world arose, and for the third time sought his disciples, and found them sleeping. He looked sorrowfully upon them, and his words aroused them: “Sleep on now, and take your rest; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
4 Even while these words were upon his lips, the footsteps of the mob that was in search of him were heard. Judas took the lead, and was closely followed by the murderous throng. Jesus turned to his disciples, as his enemies approached, and said, “Rise, let us be going; behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” The countenance of the Saviour wore an expression of calm dignity; no traces of his recent agony were visible as he stepped forth to meet his betrayer.
5 He suffered himself to be taken by the murderous throng, and was dragged from one tribunal to another. Although Isaiah had written, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of peace,” yet he was now mocked, derided, spit upon, scourged, and maltreated. Was he innocent?—Yes; but innocence does not save men from persecution when the evil one controls the minds of their tormentors. Jesus is our pattern. He has given us an example that we should follow in his steps. Many will have to pass through scenes similar to those through which Jesus passed. After he was judged, he was brought forth to the people, and Pilate declared, “I find no fault in this man,” but the people cried, “Crucify him, crucify him.” “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”
6 Christ was the Son of God, equal with the Father; and yet he was abused, ridiculed, scourged, and crucified. There are many who have thought that the Father had no part in the sufferings of the Son; but this is a mistake. The Father suffered with the Son. When the Son of God hung upon Calvary, the darkness gathered like the pall of death about the cross. All nature sympathized with its dying Author. There were thunderings and lightnings, and a mighty earthquake, but the hearts of men were so hardened that they could quarrel at the foot of the cross upon which hung the world’s Redeemer, about the dividing of his vesture. Their hearts seemed to be wholly under the control of the powers of darkness. Angels looked upon the scene with sorrow and amazement. As man’s substitute and surety, the iniquity of men was laid upon Christ; he was counted a transgressor that he might redeem them from the curse of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon his heart; and the wrath of God, and the terrible manifestation of his displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of his Son with consternation. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour, in this hour of supreme anguish, pierced his heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. Sin, so hateful to his sight, was heaped upon him till he groaned beneath its weight. The despairing agony of the Son of God was so much greater than his physical pain, that the latter was hardly felt by him. The hosts of Heaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight. They heard his despairing cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” they saw the divine Sufferer die beneath the sins of the world.
7 Jesus was laid in the tomb. He went into the darkness of the grave, and tasted death for every man. But he did not long remain under the power of the enemy. A mighty angel came from heaven and rolled back the stone from the sepulcher, and for fear of him the keepers did fear and quake, and became as dead men. Christ came forth from the tomb a triumphant conqueror, and led forth from their graves a multitude of captives.
8 The Roman guard hastened to tell the rulers what had occurred, and they were bribed to testify that his disciples had stolen his body away by night. When the women who had followed Jesus came to the sepulcher, the angel said unto them: “Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him; lo, I have told you.”
9 We have a risen Saviour; he has ascended up on high, and ever liveth to make intercession for us. Through him those who believe in him shall be crowned with glory, honor, and immortality; for “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
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1 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. . . . Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
2 We are not always so situated that we can enter into our closets to seek God in prayer, but there is no time or place in which it is inappropriate to offer up a petition to God. There is nothing that can hinder us from lifting up our hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street, in the midst of a business engagement, we may send up a petition to God, and plead for divine guidance, as did Nehemiah when he made his request before the king Artaxerxes. A closet of communion may be found wherever we are. We should have the door of the heart open continually, and our invitation going up that Jesus may come and abide as a heavenly guest in our souls.
3 Although there may be a tainted, corrupted atmosphere around us, we need not breathe its miasma, but may live in the pure atmosphere of heaven. We may close every door to impure imaginings and unholy thoughts by lifting the soul into the presence of God through sincere prayer. Those whose hearts are open to receive the support and blessing of God, will walk in a holier atmosphere than that of earth, and will have constant communion with God. But those who reserve their thoughts of God, their earnest soul longings for purity and grace, for certain times, and places, and occasions, will be overcome by temptation. The thoughts will be impure, the promptings of the natural heart will be fulfilled, and the man will be worsted in the conflict; for he will be drawn away of his own lust and enticed. The injunction of the Saviour is, “Pray without ceasing.” The heart is to be continually going out in desire for the presence and grace of Jesus, that the soul may have divine enlightenment and heavenly wisdom.
4 We need to have more distinct views of Jesus, and a fuller comprehension of the value of eternal realities. The beauty of holiness is to fill the hearts of God’s people, and that this may be accomplished, we should seek for divine disclosures of heavenly things. Brethren, we should pray in all places, and under all circumstances. Our petitions may be only broken ejaculations, or they may be but secret thoughts of the heart, but whatever we have opportunity for, let the soul be drawn out and upward, that God may grant us a breath of his heavenly atmosphere. Let the spirit groan after God, and mingle faith with fervent desire. We should encourage gratitude and praise, and always be found warring against every unholy impulse, crushing out of the soul every unclean lust. This is the warfare that must be accomplished. We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts may turn to God as naturally as the flower turns to the sun. The sunflower keeps its face sunward. If it is turned from the light, it will twist itself on the stem, until it lifts up its petals to the bright beams of the sun. So let everyone who has given his heart to God, turn to the Sun of Righteousness, and eagerly look up to receive the bright beams of the glory that shine in the face of Jesus. Thus we may educate the soul to press its way out of the corrupted moral atmosphere of the world, of sin and selfishness, into the atmosphere that is divine and health-giving.
5 We are to pray in the Spirit, with the understanding also, and God will prompt the longings of the soul, and satisfy the desires of the heart. We must become intelligent as to the conditions upon which God will hear and answer prayer. There are many useless, meaningless words employed in prayer, but these heartless petitions are not acceptable, and cannot prevail with God. If the soul is stained with impurity, if iniquity is cherished in the heart, the offering of prayer is an abomination to God.
6 The psalmist says: “Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Says the prophet Isaiah: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
7 The psalmist says again: “Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it; thou delightest not in burnt-offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” “Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly; but the proud he knoweth afar off.”
8 The Lord is under no obligation to grant us his favors, yet he has pledged his word that if we will comply with the conditions stated in the Scriptures, he will fulfill his part of the contract. Men often make promises, but do not live up to them. Often we have found that in trusting to men we have leaned upon broken reeds; but the Lord will never disappoint the soul that believes in him. “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed.” He still speaks to the soul, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” “With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee.”
(Concluded next week.)
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1 God condescends to meet man in his human weakness. The Lord has pledged us his word, so that there need be no occasion for questioning and doubt. The Scripture says: “God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.”
2 How gracious and merciful is our God to thus meet the thoughts of human minds! Surely God could do no more for his people than he has done. These precious promises are not given to a few talented ones, but to all, high or low, free or bond, rich or poor, who have endeavored to comply with his requirements.
3 Those who, through faith in the merits of the blood of Christ, have clean hands and a pure heart, will receive the white robe, the crown of righteousness, and the life that will run parallel with the life of God. There is no limit to the blessings that we may receive in answer to sincere, fervent prayer. The love of God to fallen man is measureless, and if our Father sees that we will not be lifted up with the blessings he has power to bestow upon us, but will receive them with humble and grateful hearts, he will abundantly grant unto us our requests. He says: “Ask, and if shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
4 The prayer that ascends from a broken and contrite heart, though it should come from the lips of the lowliest saint, is never disregarded. It is as sweet music in the ears of our heavenly Father; for he waits to bestow upon us the fullness of his blessing. It is not in our power to estimate the supplies that are provided by the Lord to meet our demands. What power might attend the church did we but call frequently and in faith for the abundant treasure of the store-house of God. We have only begun to taste of the richness of the divine promises. It is our privilege to drink largely of the fountain of boundless love. What a wonder it is that we pray so little! God is ready and willing to hear the sincere prayer of the humblest of his children, and yet there is much manifest reluctance on our part to make known our wants to God. What can the angels of God think of poor, helpless, human beings, who are subject to temptation, when God’s heart of infinite love yearns toward them, and he is ready to give them more than they can ask or think, and yet they pray so little, and have so little faith? The angels love to bow before God, they love to be near him. They regard intercourse with God as their highest joy, and yet the children of earth, who need so much help that God only can give, seem satisfied to walk without the light of his Spirit, the companionship of his presence.
5 The darkness of the evil one incloses those who fail to pray to God. The whispered temptations of the enemy entice them to sin, and it is all because they do not make use of the privileges that God has given them in the divine appointment of prayer. Why should the sons and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s store-house, where are the boundless resources of Omnipotence? Without unceasing prayer, without diligent watching, we are in danger of growing careless, and of deviating from the right path. Our backsliding may be so gradual that we may fancy ourselves in a good spiritual condition when we are surely on the enemy’s ground. The adversary seeks continually to obstruct the way to the mercy-seat, that we may not by earnest supplication and faith obtain supplies of grace and power to resist temptation.
6 There is so much cowardice and helplessness, and so much dependence upon others, that we are inefficient to do the great work which has been committed to us. God’s work cannot be done without a spirit of independence. Every man is to know by personal experience that he can lean upon God alone, and find in him a support and helper. Every man must learn to say humbly and firmly, “Looking unto Jesus, I dare to stand alone; for the Father is with me.” This was the attitude of Jesus. He said to his followers before his hour of trial: “Ye shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”
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1 It became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in the redemption of the world to save sinners by the blood of the Lamb. The great sacrifice of the Son of God was neither too great nor too small to accomplish the work. In the wisdom of God it was complete; and the atonement made testifies to every son and daughter of Adam the immutability of God’s law. The value of the law of Jehovah is to be estimated by the immense price that was paid in the death of the Son of God to maintain its sacredness.
2 The law of God is a transcript of his character; it portrays the nature of God. As in Christ we behold the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, so also in the law the attributes of the Father are unfolded. Although the law is unchangeable, his having provided a means of salvation for the law-breaker does not in the least detract from the dignity of the character of God, since the penalty of man’s transgression was borne by a divine Substitute. The Father himself suffered with the Son; for “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” Man, with his human, finite judgment, cannot safely question the wisdom of God. Hence it is unbecoming for him to criticise the plan of salvation. Before the theme of redemption, let man lay his wisdom in the dust, and accept the plans of Him whose wisdom is infinite.
3 God grants men a probation in this world, that their principles may become firmly established in the right, thus precluding the possibility of sin in the future life, and so assuring the happiness and security of all. Through the atonement of the Son of God alone could power be given to man to establish him in righteousness, and make him a fit subject for heaven. The blood of Christ is the eternal antidote for sin. The offensive character of sin is seen in what it cost the Son of God in humiliation, in suffering and death. All the worlds behold in him a living testimony to the malignity of sin, for in his divine form he bears the marks of the curse. He is in the midst of the throne as a Lamb that hath been slain. The redeemed will ever be vividly impressed with the hateful character of sin, as they behold Him who died for their transgressions. The preciousness of the Offering will be more fully realized as the blood-washed throng more fully comprehend how God has made a new and living way for the salvation of men, through the union of the human and the divine in Christ.
4 The death of Christ upon the cross made sure the destruction of him who has the power of death, who was the originator of sin. When Satan is destroyed, there will be none to tempt to evil; the atonement will never need to be repeated; and there will be no danger of another rebellion in the universe of God. That which alone can effectually restrain from sin in this world of darkness, will prevent sin in heaven. The significance of the death of Christ will be seen by saints and angels. Fallen men could not have a home in the paradise of God without the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Shall we not then exalt the cross of Christ? The angels ascribe honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan. Angelic perfection failed in heaven. Human perfection failed in Eden, the paradise of bliss. All who wish for security in earth or heaven must look to the Lamb of God. The plan of salvation, making manifest the justice and love of God, provides an eternal safeguard against defection in unfallen worlds, as well as among those who shall be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Our only hope is perfect trust in the blood of Him who can save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. The death of Christ on the cross of Calvary is our only hope in this world, and it will be our theme in the world to come. Oh, we do not comprehend the value of the atonement! If we did, we would talk more about it. The gift of God in his beloved Son was the expression of an incomprehensible love. It was the utmost that God could do to preserve the honor of his law, and still save the transgressor. Why should man not study the theme of redemption? It is the greatest subject that can engage the human mind. If men would contemplate the love of Christ, displayed in the cross, their faith would be strengthened to appropriate the merits of his shed blood, and they would be cleansed and saved from sin. There are many who will be lost, because they depend on legal religion, or mere repentance for sin. But repentance for sin alone cannot work the salvation of any soul. Man cannot be saved by his own works. Without Christ it is impossible for him to render perfect obedience to the law of God; and heaven can never be gained by an imperfect obedience; for this would place all heaven in jeopardy, and make possible a second rebellion.
5 God saves man through the blood of Christ alone, and man’s belief in, and allegiance to, Christ is salvation. It is no marvel to angels that the infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God was ample enough to bring salvation to a fallen race, but that this atoning sacrifice should have been made is a wonder to the universe. It is a mystery which angels desire to look into. The angels are amazed at the indifference and coldness manifested by those for whom so great a salvation has been provided. They look with grief and holy indignation upon those who do not seek to appreciate the unspeakable gift of God. Instead of offering adoration to God, finite men think themselves capable, without divine unction, of determining what is worthy of praise or blame in their fellow-men. But to be glorified by man is no glory. We should learn to value the praise of man at what it is worth. The Lord says, “Them that honor me I will honor.” Let every breath of praise, every word of exaltation, flow to him who is worthy, flow to Jesus, the Prince of life, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Elevate the cross of Christ. Elevate the Mediator. Lift up Jesus. In him is everything noble. Contemplate God in Christ. He is surrounded with angels, cherubim and seraphim continually behold him. Angelic voices day and night cry before him: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come . . . . Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before thee.” But although God only is holy and worthy to be praised, human tongues are perverted to praise and glorify man rather than God.
6 The greatest gift that God could bestow upon men was bestowed in the gift of his beloved Son. The apostle says, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” There was nothing held in reserve. No second probation will ever be provided. If the unspeakable gift of God does not lead man to repentance, there is nothing that ever will move his heart. There is no power held in reserve to act upon his mind, and arouse his sensibilities. The whole character of God was revealed in his Son, the whole range of the possibilities of heaven is displayed for the acceptance of man in the Son of the Infinite One. The way for man’s return to God and heaven has no barriers. The matchless depths of the Saviour’s love have been demonstrated; and if this manifestation of God’s love for the children of men does not prevail to draw men to himself, there is nothing that ever will.
7 Those who will be saved in the kingdom of God will be those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The image of Christ will be perfected in every soul who accepts the gift of his grace, and those who are perfected through his grace, will stand before God equal in elevation, in power and purity, to the angels, and will be honored with them before the eternal throne. The angels of heaven will love those whom Christ has loved, and has bought with his own precious blood.
8 The attention of all the inhabitants of all worlds will be directed to the cross of Christ, around which will cluster the exceeding and eternal weight of glory. The imagination becomes exhausted in its stretch to comprehend the wonderful work of redemption. The plan of salvation is too high to be fully reached by human thought. It is too grand to be fully embraced by finite comprehension. The apostle says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Can we wonder that Heaven is amazed because men act as though the gift of God were valueless? What will be the eternal loss of those who reject so great a salvation, offered freely through the merits of God’s only-begotten and well-beloved Son!
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1 The tender mercies and loving-kindnesses of the Lord have been toward us all the days of our life, and the whole world should be filled with thankful voices, proclaiming the benevolence and love of God. The psalmist says: “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” When we were sold under sin, He who was rich in glory, for our sake became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. Well may we ask our souls, “How much owest thou unto my Lord?” The benevolence of Christ is exercised every day in the year. He gives daily his gifts unto men. His Holy Spirit is constantly at work, drawing the hearts of men, guiding them into all truth. Before the crucifixion of Christ, he told his sorrowing disciples that he would send them another Comforter, which should abide with them forever. The grace of Christ is multiplied toward us, and given without stint. The streams of salvation are continually flowing for us.
2 In view of what Christ has done and is doing for the children of men, should we not bring gratitude offerings to him? Should our gifts flow only to one another, and the Giver of every good and perfect gift be forgotten? The Lord has said, “Them that honor me, I will honor.” We should not wait to make an offering to God until we are out of debt. His cause demands the means that he has given to us in trust, and we should present a portion on the altar of God as freely as the infinite sacrifice was made for us. We have no time to lose in passing our treasures on to the bank of heaven. Whatever we may do, let us not forget God. If we love him with all the heart, we shall remember his claims upon us. God requires that we shall be like him, that we shall imitate the self-sacrificing example of Christ, and live a life of self-denial. We should prayerfully consider the question, “How much owest thou unto the Lord?”
3 Are there those who are robbing God in tithes and offerings? Seek to make your accounts straight; do not leave your obligation to God as the last thing to be settled. Let those who have borrowed, try to pay their debts; especially see to it that no poor person who has labored hard for his means, is left in perplexity because you fail to pay what you owe him. Let no injustice be done to your neighbors, but let everything be made right as far as possible between you and your fellow-men. This is keeping the last six commandments.
4 Let those who have means give of their means to the glory of God. Let them show that they appreciate the gift of God’s dear Son, that they love him with undivided affection, and will manifest their faith in his mission and work by replenishing the treasury of God. The means that God intrusts to men is for the forwarding of his work in the earth. God’s word appeals to you to give. There are souls to be saved. There are those who know not the truth, and they must be enlightened by missionary effort. How many have withheld their tithe? How many have withheld themselves from the service of God? When those who have for years withheld their tithes become convicted, and reckon up and see how large is the sum they owe to God, they must not become discouraged and do nothing to diminish the debt. If you can, pay the whole amount, but if you cannot, do the best you can, begin to pay tithes from the first of 1890. Confess to the Lord your robbery toward him, and give yourselves in full surrender as an offering to the Lord. Tell the Lord that if he will place it in your power, you will meet your obligation to him, and render back to him his own.
5 Do something, do it soon. In the sight of God, in the sight of heavenly angels, make decided moves toward a better life. What does God speak to us at this time? He says: “And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Let the purifying process go on in every soul. Pray that every sin may be revealed, that the corruption of the heart may be made plain; and when it is exposed, pray for grace to put away defilement. Make wrongs right between you and your brethren; and when you do your part, God will not fail to do his part.
6 Why delay? Why go on in weakness? Why not cast your soul in all its helplessness upon Christ, and lay hold on the merits of his precious blood? He waits to receive you. He longs to help you. And when the soul temple is cleansed from every defilement, you will have a new and precious experience. The Lord says: “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.” But if the work of repentance and reformation is neglected, if you pass on your way, sinning in word and action, the Lord says: “I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
7 If the Lord did not continue his guardian care over us by day and night, Satan would exercise his power against us, and we should be consumed. The Lord has appointed his angels to shield his people, that the wicked one may not destroy us. But because of the preserving care and tender mercies of the Lord, men become careless. The wise man says, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” The patience and forbearance of God should soften instead of hardening the hearts of men. Do not presume upon the forbearance of God, but rather seek to understand his dealings with the children of earth. An unerring register is kept with the accuracy of Omniscience of the iniquities of nations and individuals; Christ declares, “I know thy works.” But although the figures rapidly accumulate, God’s mercy does not cease until a certain amount is reached, which marks the limit of divine forbearance. There is still time for wrongs to be righted by confession and restitution to man and God. By faith we may claim the merits of the blood of Christ, and those who will receive his counsel may be purged and made white. Shall we not now draw nigh to God? Shall there not be confession of sin while it is called today? The record in the books of heaven may be canceled by the shed blood of Jesus. The Lord says, “Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.” This is the charge the Lord makes against the unfaithful ones.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 Satan is in controversy with God. Says the prophet: “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.”
2 We should seek to appreciate the unparalleled mercy and the inexpressible love of God in not giving those who have dishonored him into the hands of the enemy of souls. It is the care of God that preserves them from Satan’s power. Satan constantly presents the sins and wrongs of those who claim to be the children of God, and he taunts the angels of God with their defects. What will bring the Lord’s people into a right position before him? The Lord answers the question in Malachi, saying, “Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.” When we seek the Lord with full purpose of heart, he will be found of us.
3 Daniel purposed in his heart that he would be true to the God of heaven. He determined that he would not eat of the king’s meat, or drink of his wine; and his three companions determined that they would not dishonor God by bowing down before the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar set up in the plain of Dura. When we purpose to serve the Lord with a determination like that of these faithful servants of God, the Lord will take our part, and enable us to lay hold of his strength. When there is no repentance for sin, no effort made to reform, Satan will not molest the soul; but when the heart is touched by the love of Christ, when sin is confessed, and in the strength of Christ efforts for reform are put forth, then Satan arouses to oppose the work that God would do for his children. At every step he will seek to hedge up the way; but if the children of God will press on, the Lord will work in their behalf, and reveal himself as a sin-pardoning Saviour, who will impart his grace and righteousness to all that come unto him.
4 The prophet speaks of a class who are insensible of their need. They ask, “Wherein shall we return?” They do not realize that they are far from God. But the answer is, “Will a man rob God?” as though this was a crime of which man could scarcely be guilty. Angels look with amazement upon the ingratitude of those for whom God has done so much in continually bestowing his favors and gifts. Men forget the claims of God, and indulge in selfishness and worldliness. The Lord says: “Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.”
5 God cannot bless men in lands and flocks when they do not use his blessings for his glory. He cannot trust his treasure to those who misapply it. In the simplest language the Lord has told his children what he requires of them. They are to pay tithes of all they possess, and to make offerings of that which he bestows upon them. His mercies and blessings have been abundant and systematic. He sends down his rain and sunshine, and causes vegetation to flourish. He gives the seasons; sowing and reaping-time come in their order; and the unfailing goodness of God calls for something better than the ingratitude and forgetfulness that men render to him. Shall we not return to God, and with grateful hearts present our tithes and offerings? The Lord has made duty so plain that if we neglect to fulfill his requirements we shall be without excuse. The Lord has left his goods in the hands of his servants to be handled with equity, that the gospel may be preached in all the world. The arrangement and provision for the spread of his truth in the world has not been left to chance. The tithe is the Lord’s, it is his interest money, and it is to be paid regularly and promptly into his treasury. We are to render him his own with gladness for his love toward those who are so undeserving of his mercy. The gospel of Christ is to go to the uttermost part of the earth, and when men fail to pay God his interest money, they are unfaithful stewards. Souls just as precious as their own are to be saved, and missionaries must be sent, that the precious light of the truth which the Lord has permitted to shine upon us in these last days may be diffused. We should see to it that there is provision made for the cause of God and for the relief of the poor; for these claims cannot be neglected; they must be met with the unvarying promptness that their importance demands. The Lord says: “Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.”
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1 At the first advent of Christ, darkness, covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Light and truth seemed to have departed from among men, and Satan appeared to reign in undisputed power. Rival sects existed, and among those who professed to be the servants of God were displayed love of preeminence and strife for power and position. Souls who were desirous of light were filled with perplexity and sorrow. Many were sighing, “What is truth?” Ignorance prevailed, but many were looking for something better, looking for light that would illuminate the moral darkness of the world. They were thirsting for a knowledge of the living God, for some assurance of a life beyond the tomb. There were men not of the Jewish nation who prophesied that an inspired instructor would come to teach them of the truth. There were among the Jews men who had not polluted their integrity, who read with eager anticipation the sure word of prophecy that pointed to the advent of the Redeemer. They rejoiced in the promise that God had made to his servant Moses: “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
2 Again they read how the Lord should anoint Him to preach good tidings unto the meek, to bind up the broken-hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. They read how he would set judgment in the earth, how the isles should wait for his law, how the Gentiles would come to his light, and kings to the brightness of his rising.
3 Christ came just as prophecy had foretold. He was the “way, the truth, and the life,” and the beams of the Sun of Righteousness dispelled the moral darkness so that the honest in heart might see the truth. The absence of outward display and worldly grandeur, called forth comments of disapprobation from the people. Doubt and criticism met him on every side. Christ himself had chosen the human conditions of his life. He had selected the lowliest place in society. He was the Majesty of heaven, and he knew that the world would bear sway by magnificence, carrying everything before its display and grandeur; but Jesus honored those whom the world looked upon with contempt. Christ’s birthplace was devoid of conveniences, not to speak of riches and luxury. And his entire life in this world was in keeping with the humble home of his early experience.
4 The Saviour of the world proposed that no attraction of an earthly character should call men to his side. The light and beauty of celestial truth alone should be the drawing power. The outward glory, the worldly honor, which attracts the attention of men, he would not assume. He made himself accessible to all, teaching the pure, exalted principle of truth as that which was only worthy of their notice. But although so humbly born, so unpretending in life, God did not leave him without a witness. The principalities of heaven did him homage. Wonders in the heavens above and signs in the earth beneath attested his power and majesty. At his baptism a voice from heaven fell upon the ears of men, declaring, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The bright glory of God in the form of a dove of burnished gold encircled him. John declared: “That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
5 Christ came to represent the Father. We behold in him the image of the invisible God. He clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to the world that the erroneous ideas Satan had been the means of creating in the minds of men, in regard to the character of God, might be removed. We could not behold the glory of God unveiled in Christ and live; but as he came in the garb of humanity, we may draw nigh to our Redeemer. We are called upon to behold the Lord our Father in the person of his Son. Christ came in the robe of the flesh, with his glory subdued in humanity, that lost man might communicate with him and live. Through Christ we may comprehend something of him who is glorious in holiness. Jesus is the mystic ladder by which we may mount to behold the glory of the infinite God. By faith we behold Christ standing between humanity and divinity, connecting God and man, and earth and heaven.
6 Christ came to save fallen man, and Satan with fiercest wrath met him on the field of conflict; for the enemy knew that when divine strength was added to human weakness, man was armed with power and intelligence, and could break away from the captivity in which he had bound him. Satan sought to intercept every ray of light from the throne of God. He sought to cast his shadow across the earth, that men might lose the true views of God’s character, and that the knowledge of God might become extinct in the earth. He had caused truth of vital importance to be so mingled with error that it had lost its significance. The law of Jehovah was burdened with needless exactions and traditions, and God was represented as severe, exacting, revengeful, and arbitrary. He was pictured as one who could take pleasure in the sufferings of his creatures. The very attributes that belonged to the character of Satan, the evil one represented as belonging to the character of God. Jesus came to teach men of the Father, to correctly represent him before the fallen children of earth. Angels could not fully portray the character of God, but Christ, who was a living impersonation of God, could not fail to accomplish the work. The only way in which he could set and keep men right was to make himself visible and familiar to their eyes. That men might have salvation he came directly to man, and became a partaker of his nature.
7 The Father was revealed in Christ as altogether a different being from that which Satan had represented him to be. Said Christ, “Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” The love of Jesus, expressed for the fallen race in his life of self-denial and sufferings, is the manifestation of the Father’s love for a sinful, fallen world. Christ endured shame and grief and death for those who despised his love and trampled upon his mercy. He paid the debt of man’s transgression upon the cross of Calvary with his own precious blood. The men of his own nation, the leaders of the people, were so ensnared by the deceptions of Satan that the plan of redemption for a fallen race seemed to their minds indistinct and unexplainable.
8 Man was God’s workmanship, made after his image, endowed with talents, and fitted for a high destiny. But Satan has worked to obliterate the divine image, and to impress his own image instead of the image of God in man’s nature. Jesus condescended to humble himself, to take human nature, and by uniting divinity with humanity, he proposed to elevate man in the scale of moral value. All heaven was poured out in the gift of God’s dear Son. Through faith in him the sinner could be justified, and God could yet be just in justifying the sinner; for Christ had become a propitiation for the sins of the repentant soul. The only plan that could be devised to save the human race was that which called for the incarnation, humiliation, and crucifixion of the Son of God, the Majesty of heaven. After the plan of salvation was devised, Satan could have no ground upon which to found his suggestion that God, because so great, could care nothing for so insignificant a creature as man. The redemption of man is a wonderful theme, and the love manifested to the fallen race through the plan of salvation, can be estimated only by the cross of Calvary. The depth of this love even angels cannot sound. That God could consent to become flesh, and dwell among fallen beings, to lift them up from their helplessness and despair, is an unfathomed mystery. He whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, whose dominion endureth throughout all generations, made himself to be sin for us that he might lift up all that are bowed down, and give life to those who are ready to perish.
9 Oh, that men might open their minds to know God as he is revealed in his Son! Truth came forth from the lips of Jesus, uncorrupted with human philosophy. His words were from heaven, such as mortal lips had never spoken nor mortal ears ever heard. His heart was an altar on which burned the flames of infinite love. Goodness, mercy, and love were enthroned in the breast of the Son of God. He set up his tabernacle in the midst of our human encampment, pitched his tent by the side of the tents of men, that he might dwell among them and make them familiar with his divine character and love. No one could love Christ and pay homage to him without serving and honoring the infinite God. Those who had an appreciation of the character and mission of Christ, were filled with reverence and awe, as they looked upon him and felt that they were looking upon the temple of the living God. Officers were sent to take the Son of God, that the temple in which God was enshrined might be destroyed. But as they drew near and heard the words of divine wisdom that fell from his lips, they were charmed, and the power and excellence of his instruction so filled their hearts and minds that they forgot the purpose for which they had been sent. Christ revealed himself to their souls. Divinity flashed through humanity, and they returned so filled with this one thought, so charmed with the ideas he had presented, that when the leaders of Israel inquired, “Why have ye not brought him?” they replied, “Never man spake like this man.” They had seen that which priests and rulers would not see,—humanity flooded with the light and glory of divinity. Those who would behold this glory would be drawn to love Jesus and to love the Father whom he represented. Christ exalted the character of God, attributing to him the praise, and giving to him the credit, of the whole purpose of his own mission on earth,—to set men right through the revelation of God. In Christ was arrayed before men the paternal grace and the matchless perfections of the Father. In his prayer just before his crucifixion, he declared, “I have manifested thy name.” “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” When the object of his mission was attained,—the revelation of God to the world,—the Son of God announced that his work was accomplished, and that the character of the Father was made manifest to men.
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1 “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
2 The Lord does not delight in the deficiencies of his people, and as we are the objects of his love and pardoning mercy, we should seek most earnestly to come into harmony with his will. The purest, meekest, most child-like Christian will be the most effectual agent in the hands of God for the advancement of his work. The accepted instrument of God will make no great display, but his work will be as enduring as eternity. We are to be laborers together with God. The preaching of the word is an important part of the divine plan of making known Christ and him crucified. The apostle asks: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
3 Those to whom the gospel is committed should labor diligently to convert souls; and in doing this work, they will save themselves and those who hear them. Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. The faithful workers who have consecrated all to Christ, will receive a hundred-fold in this life, and in the world to come life everlasting. The Lord confers special honors upon the men to whom he has given the work of proclaiming the glad tidings of salvation. The Lord’s ambassadors are to stand as a mouth-piece for God, showing forth the love, goodness, and compassion of our heavenly Father. The prayer of Christ for his disciples was: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.”
4 The apostles had been associated with Christ in his work, but there were still greater attainments for them than they had yet reached. They needed to be purified, renewed, and consecrated to God for the important mission before them. The Master had opened before them many precious gems of truth that had been hidden beneath the rubbish of error; he had placed them in their proper frame-work of truth; and yet all this labor of the Son of God would be in vain unless the truth should be enshrined in the inner sanctuary of the soul. The revealed truth of God must become an abiding principle in the hearts of his followers. The teacher of truth must be a living representation of its sanctifying power. The truth he reveals to others must become a living agent to transform his soul into the divine image. The minister must dedicate all his intrusted capital of power to the Lord’s service.
5 Ministers and people have lost much by not dwelling more continually upon the work of our Redeemer. We should contemplate the love that led Christ to give himself as a ransom for fallen man, and this amazing love should be revealed in every discourse. The sacrifice of Christ not only makes apparent his compassion for the children of men, but also makes manifest the love of the Father; and this love ought to draw all men to God. The closest relation exists between God and his people, and the ambassador of God’s truth should ever represent Christ. He should exemplify, by precept and example, the love of God, that those who are instructed by him may be brought into a position where they shall receive the divine blessing. The servants of God are to be earnest, penitent, trustful, thankful. Their lives should be living epistles, known and read of all men. They should be continually looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. The subjects dwelt upon by the gospel minister will be of a character to elevate, ennoble, and sanctify the soul. The teacher of divine truth should present the necessity of close communion with God, and dependence upon the righteousness of Christ. When the minister fully realizes his own helplessness without the aid of Christ, the danger of his becoming exalted will be removed, and Christ will absorb everything; his presence will pervade the whole soul, and impress all the senses.
6 Faith in the abiding presence of Jesus will not bring gloom and depression, but it will bring the peace that elevates the mind, the pure and holy joy that is inexpressible and full of glory. It is thus that the Christian will become a light to the world. The truth we believe should make us earnest, full of love, and kindle in us desires to communicate to others that which we have found so great a blessing to ourselves. The representatives of Christ will emit light that will shine into the hearts of the people, and lead them to hold up the standard of divine truth. They will be the agents through whom God will call the attention of men to Him who was lifted up on the cross of Calvary.
7 The people of the world would gladly forget all about eternal things; but they cannot do this while the ambassadors of Christ are working together with God to shed light upon the world. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The duty of letting your light shine can be well done only when you diffuse the light of truth in a humble, Christ-like character. Regulation, ceremony, and display may be found in the church, but without inward holiness it will not shed forth warm, softening rays of light that will subdue the heart, awaken the sympathy, and inspire faith and love in the soul. Christ has said, “Without me ye can do nothing.”
8 The minister whose discourses simply move the feelings of the people, does not exert the most healthful influence, nor work for his own spiritual advancement or for that of his hearers. The preaching that calls forth the praises of men to a poor, fallible mortal, instead of to God, does not lead to the best results. If a minister has really accomplished a good work, if he has set forth Christ crucified among you, if he has drawn men and women, not to himself, but to God, the church will not bemoan that he cannot always minister to them. If he has indeed been a messenger of light, if he has done a work for the Master, if the church has been illuminated, the church in her turn will let her light shine in clear, steady, bright rays. We shall know those to whom has come the light of life, for they will arise and shine, because the glory of God has risen upon them. To every man the Lord has given his work, and if the members of the church have indeed opened their hearts to the Sun of Righteousness, wherever they are found they will be a light, for in them Christ will be glorified. They will bear an effective testimony. A living energy will attend their words, because they have a rich endowment in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
9 The success of a church does not depend on the efforts and labor of the living preacher, but it depends upon the piety of the individual members. When the members depend upon the minister as their source of power and efficiency, they will be utterly powerless. They will imbibe his impulses, and be stimulated by his ideas, but when he leaves them, they will find themselves in a more hopeless condition than before they had his labors. I hope that none of the churches in our land will depend upon a minister for support in spiritual things; for this is dangerous. When God gives you light, you should praise him for it. If you extol the messenger, you will be left to barrenness of soul. Just as soon as the members of a church call for the labors of a certain minister, and feel that he must remain with them, it is time that he was removed to another field, that they may learn to exercise the ability which God has given them. Let the people go to work. Let them thank God for the encouragement they have received, and then make it manifest that it has wrought in them a good work. Let each member of the church be a living, active agent for God, both in the church and out of it. We must all be educated to be independent, not helpless and useless. Let it be seen that Christ, not the minister, is the head of the church. The members of the body of Christ have a part to act, and they will not be accounted faithful unless they do act their part. Let a divine work be wrought in every soul, until Christ shall behold his image reflected in his followers.
10 I would warn the churches everywhere to respect your ministers, but do not make idols of them; for you not only imperil your own souls, but the souls of God’s messengers. Do not flatter and extol your minister, telling him what a fine discourse he has preached. Let him stand in his position as Christ’s ambassador. Listen to his words as to one sent from God; heed his instructions, and show by your life that you have heard to some purpose. And as a humble Christian, without any parade, let the minister fulfill his duties, and give to others what he has received of God. We are nearing the judgment, and the Lord has set watchmen upon the walls of Zion, who are never to hold their peace day or night. They are to watch for souls as they who must give an account.
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1 Christ’s church is to be a blessing, and its members are to be blessed as they bless others. The object of God in choosing a people before all the world, was not only that he might adopt them as his sons and daughters, but that through them he might confer on the world the benefits of divine illumination. When the Lord chose Abraham it was not simply to be the special friend of God, but to be a medium of the precious and peculiar privileges the Lord desired to bestow upon the nations. He was to be a light amid the moral darkness of his surroundings. Whenever God blesses his children with light and truth, it is not only that they may have the gift of eternal life, but that those around them may also be spiritually enlightened. Jesus has said of his followers, “Ye are the light of the world,” “a city set upon a hill” that “cannot be hid;” “Ye are the salt of the earth.” And when God makes his children salt, it is not only for their own preservation, but that they may be agents in preserving others. The religion of Christ is not a selfish religion. It is not to be kept under lock and key, but it is to be an influence of power going forth from every genuine Christian to enlighten those that sit in darkness. Every soul connected with a true Christian will be made better thereby. We are to be God’s light-bearers, reflecting the steady beams of heaven upon others.
2 It is through the merits of Christ that all our spiritual and temporal blessings are given us to enjoy. The salvation of Christ was placed within our reach that we might lay hold upon it by faith, that we might weave the love of Christ into our characters, and practice it in our lives, that we might be a blessing to all our race. But not one of us can shed light upon others unless we ourselves have gathered rays of divine illumination from the word of God. We must have the Christ-like mould of character or we cannot be true representatives of our Lord. We can do nothing without the help of God. The Spirit of God must work with our efforts, and if God’s blessing attends us, we shall be channels of light. The Lord is willing to give us all an experience, which, if improved, will bring us from the lowlands of earth into close, heavenly relationship with God, and every fiber of selfishness will be uprooted from our natures. Do you shine as living stones in God’s building? There are many who say, “I am so full of business, I cannot give time to religious things.” But if they cannot give time to the service of the Lord, can they expect that he will command his angels to prosper the work of their hands? We have not the genuine religion, unless it exerts a controlling influence upon us in every business transaction. We should have practical godliness to weave into our life-work. We should have the transforming grace of Christ upon our hearts. We need a great deal less of self, and more of Jesus.
3 Many who profess to believe the truth, deal too closely with their hired help, and God is not well pleased, and cannot bless and prosper such in their business. They need the converting, sanctifying power of the truth in their souls. They need to become Christ-like. Everyone who has to deal with others, should make their case his own; for just as we deal with others will God deal with us. We are treating Christ as we treat his children; for he is represented in the person of his saints. The truth of God must sanctify the soul, refine and elevate the character, and we must obtain the heavenly mould, before we shall be fitted for the courts above.
4 Many are situated where they are brought in contact with believers in present truth, and with those who do not believe, and how important that all the lower lights should be trimmed and burning, that all may catch rays of light from the shining lamps of those who profess to be the followers of Christ. We need plenteous grace for this time of spiritual declension. We need plenteous grace to keep us humble, to make us prayerful, pitiful, tender-hearted, and courteous, that we may deal with others as the Lord designs we should.
5 Have you, who have hired help, let your light shine to your workmen, that they, too, may be laborers together with God? God has given you precious privileges and advantages in sending you the light of his truth, and you are to improve these blessings, and let others share your mercies. What large missionary fields there are right around your homes, what opportunities every day for you to speak of the value of God’s promises, to revive poor souls who are compelled to labor hard for small wages, to encourage the hearts of those who are struggling with poverty, who have scarcely the bare necessities of life! The children of God are called upon to show forth the praises of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous light; for they are to be Christ’s representatives. They should ever seek to teach those with whom they come in contact, of higher, holier truths than the questions of commonplace life. The Lord says through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.”
(Concluded next week.)
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6 The liquor dealer digs a pit for his neighbor to fall into. He has seen the consequences of liquor drinking too often to be ignorant of any one of their various phases. He knows that the hand of the man who drinks at his bar is likely to be raised against his own wife, his helpless children, or his aged father or mother. He knows, in very many instances, that the glass he hands to his customer will make him a raging madman, eager for quarrel and thirsting for blood. He knows that he is taking bread from the mouths of hungry children, that the pence which fall into his till, and enable him to live extravagantly, have deprived the drunkard’s children of clothes, and robbed his family not only of the comforts, but of the very necessaries, of life. He is deaf to the appeals of weeping mothers, whose hearts are breaking from cruelty and neglect.
7 Crimes of the darkest dye are daily reported in the newspapers as the direct result of drunkenness. The prisons are filled with criminals who have been brought there by the use of liquor; and the blood of murdered victims cries to heaven for vengeance, as did the blood of Abel. The laws of the land punish the perpetrator of the deed; but the liquor seller, who is also morally responsible for it goes free; no man calls him a murderer; the community looks calmly on his unholy traffic, because justice is fallen in the streets, and equity cannot enter. But God, who declared that if a man owned a dangerous ox, and knew it to be so, yet let it loose upon his neighbors, if it caused the death of any man or woman, he should pay the penalty with his own life—that just and terrible God will let fall the bolts of his wrath on the liquor vender who sells violence and death to his fellow-men in the poisonous cup of the inebriate, who deals him out that which takes away his reason and makes him a brute.
8 Parents who freely use wine and liquor leave to their children the legacy of a feeble constitution, mental and moral debility, unnatural appetites, irritable temper, and an inclination to vice. Parents should feel that they are responsible to God and to society to bring into existence beings whose physical, mental, and moral characters shall enable them to make a proper use of life, be a blessing to the world, and an honor to their Creator. The indulgence of perverted appetite is the greatest cause of the deterioration of the human race. The child of the drunkard or the tobacco inebriate usually has the depraved appetites and passions of the father intensified, and at the same time inherits less of his self-control and strength of mind. Men who are naturally calm and strong-minded not infrequently lose control of themselves while under the influence of liquor, and, though they may not commit crime, still have an inclination to do so, which might result in the act if a fair opportunity offered. Continued dissipation makes these propensities a second nature. Their children often receive the stamp of character before their birth; for the appetites of the parents are often intensified in the children. Thus unborn generations are afflicted by the use of tobacco and liquor. Intellectual decay is entailed upon them, and their moral perception is blunted. Thus the world is being filled with paupers, lunatics, thieves, and murderers; and disease, imbecility, and crime, with private and public corruption of every sort, are making the world a second Sodom.
9 For the sake of that high charity and sympathy for the souls of tempted men for whom Christ died, Christians should come out from the popular customs and evils of the age, and be forever separated from them. But we find in the clergy themselves the most insurmountable obstacle to the promotion of temperance. Many are addicted to the use of the filthy weed tobacco, which perverts the appetite, and creates the desire for some stronger stimulant. The indifference or disguised opposition of these men, many of whom occupy high and influential positions, is exceedingly damaging to the cause of temperance.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Bible Echo, Australia.
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1 There is a work for every Christian to do right at his own door, in his own neighborhood. But how many lose sight of eternal interests and are completely swallowed up in their temporal affairs. There is no necessity for this, for Jesus says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Make your own and your neighbor’s eternal welfare the first and most important consideration. Your neighbors have souls to save or to lose, and God expects those to whom he has given the light, to make decided, interested efforts for others. They must remember the holy claims of the truth in every transaction of life. Let believers and unbelievers see in the life of those who claim to have a knowledge of advanced truth, a steady, clear, strong light shining forth in zeal, in devotion, in nobility of character, in their dealings with men. Then the Lord will deal bountifully with you, his servants. We should take time to pray. The time is all the Lord’s, and we should be careful not to give others, in our example, a specimen of how we may rob God. Do not steal the time that should be given to God’s service, and for gaining spiritual strength, and appropriate an extra half hour to your temporal affairs. May God forbid that those who have had the light of the truth, shall be found as were the foolish virgins, without oil in their vessels.
2 Suppose that you let your light shine, and through your devotion to the cause of God, a few others are led to consecrate their service to him, then they will be a blessing to still others that you could not reach by your personal influence. The Lord says, “I will make the places round about a blessing.” Your light is to be far-reaching. You are God’s hired servant to give light, to give time, thought, tact, to his work; and if you do this, you will receive the approbation of your heavenly Father and the gift of eternal life. Talk of the Bible truth, live it out, and when Jesus comes the “Well done” will be spoken to you.
3 May the Lord open the eyes of our brethren that they may see the precious opportunities on every hand, and improve them. Be much in prayer. Let no person, or personal interest, separate you from God, who is the source of your strength. When you arise in the morning, gather all the members of your household together, as did Abraham, and invite them to seek God with you. If your business presses strongly, and urges you to your work, then there is still greater need to take time to pray, to present your petitions to a throne of grace, and secure the protecting care, the aid, the mercy and blessing of God. Do not grudge the time that God requires, and hurry through a faithless, formal prayer, that you may rush to your business. God can do much for you, even in your labor, if you ask him. He can send his angels to preserve you from accidents, from breakage, and losses of life and property. The reason why those who neglect the privileges that God has provided, have no more comfort and peace and joy, is that they do not pause to have communion with God, who is the source of their strength. Can God pour out his Spirit, can he bless us, when there is so much indifference to his service? He cannot give us his rich blessing without our co-operation in his plans. He says, “Them that honor me I will honor.”
4 It is just as convenient, just as essential, for us to pray three times a day as it was for Daniel. Prayer is the life of the soul, the foundation of spiritual growth. In your home, before your family, and before your workmen, you should testify to this truth. And when you are privileged to meet with your brethren in the church, tell them of the necessity of keeping open the channel of communication between God and the soul. Tell them that if they will find heart and voice to pray, God will find answers to their prayers. Tell them not to neglect their religious duties. Exhort the brethren to pray. We must seek if we would find, we must ask if we would receive, we must knock if we would have the door opened unto us. If there are only a few assembled, there are enough to claim the precious promises of God. The Father, the Son, and the holy angels will be present with you to behold your faith, your steadfast principle, and there you will have of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit. God has rich blessings in store for those who will bring not only all the tithes into his store-house, but also time and strength of bone and brain and muscle into his service. Those who will do this, will walk in the light, and will triumph in God.
5 Let each professed follower of Christ carry out the principles of practical godliness in his own house. Religion in the home is the best proof of genuine piety. It is not the stranger, the visitor, the minister, that can best judge of your Christian devotion; it is your children, your servants, the workmen who toil in your fields, who can best tell whether or not you love God and keep his commandments. If your household, your workmen, are not better for your Christianity, then the truth has not wrought its designed work upon your soul. Let not your workmen say; “This man for whom we work has a queer sort of religion. There are no morning or evening prayers in his house. We begin and end the day with drudgery, and we have so much to do on the Sabbath that we can scarcely get time for secret prayer.”
6 Carry your Christianity into your family. Let a bright, steady light be burning. Let impressions be left upon minds of the truth of your God, and the value of his service, that will be as far-reaching as eternity. Oh, how much need there is of prayer, of tears, of faith! You should pray for the ministers, for those who are weak in faith. You should let your prayers follow the laborers as sharp sickles in the great harvest-field. You should wrestle with God as did Jacob. We may have pentecostal seasons even now, if the people will pray fervently, and believe in the promises of God. And when prayer and faith abound among God’s people, the world will see a steady light shining forth from them.
7 We should study the experience of past life, study it just as we study the proof-sheets of an article, to find the errors and to note them on the margin of the page. We should do this daily, and note our faults so that we may avoid them in the future. Do not forget to examine yourselves whether you are in the faith. Prove your own selves, for unless Christ is in you, you are reprobates. Reform every unchristlike action, seeking the Spirit of your divine Master. Take your hearts, by nature cold as an iron wedge, and let melting mercy fall upon them, that they may be subdued by the grace of God, and impressed by the Spirit with the image of your divine Lord.
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1 “So run that ye may obtain.” Not all who run obtain the prize. Some miss the crown that is to be given at the end of the race. Not everyone that seeketh, not everyone that striveth for the mastery, is victorious. Paul says, “If a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.”
2 Multitudes have had light upon the truth for this time. They have understood the claims of the law of God, but because the world keeps Sunday, they reason to themselves that they cannot be singular. They say, “I will serve God, and be correct in everything else; but I cannot keep the Sabbath, because I should lose my influence in the world. I cannot afford to be unpopular.” They say, “I will run, I will strive to obtain the crown of life, and the Lord will not refuse to give me the reward simply because I did not keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. I will keep Sunday as sacredly as anyone can keep the seventh day.” But the Lord has said, “Yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.” “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment; and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
3 Many profess to be children of God who have not taken heed to their ways. They have not understood what Christ meant when he prayed that his disciples might be sanctified through the truth, and added, “Thy word is truth.” The man who presumed to come to the wedding feast with the citizen’s dress on represents that class who decide that their own righteousness is sufficient to recommend them to God, and they do not purify their souls by looking to Christ, and striving to run so that they may obtain. They do not put away the evil of their doings. They do not the words of Christ. They do not see the necessity of putting on the robe that has been prepared for them at an infinite cost, the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and they will be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
4 In the parable of the ten virgins, five of them are described as wise, and five as foolish. The foolish virgins took no oil in their vessels with their lamps. They did not obtain the grace of Christ. They were just like the wise virgins as far as theory and appearances were concerned. They had their lamps, but they had no oil. They made a profession, but they did not know what genuine conversion meant; and when the bridegroom came, they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. “When once the master of the house is risen up,” saith Christ, “and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are; then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.”
5 There will be multitudes who run but cannot enter into heaven’s gates; for they are not crowned unless they strive lawfully. In life and spirit and character they must come into conformity with the will of God.
6 Genuine faith works by love, and purifies the soul. There is a faith that has power to cleanse the life from sin. The devils believe that Christ came into this world as man’s Redeemer, that he wrought mighty miracles, that he was one with the Father, that he died a shameful death to save fallen man. The devils believe that he rose from the dead, that he ascended into the heavens, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. The devils believe that he is coming again, and that shortly, with power and great glory, taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel. They believe all that is recorded in the Old and New Testaments. But will this faith save the demons of darkness? They have not the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. That faith, and that alone, which cleanses the soul-temple, is the genuine faith. Everything that defileth must be put away, all filthiness of the flesh and spirit must be removed from us, if we would enter in through the gates into the city. Jesus says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
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1 The religion of the Bible comprises not only faith but works. The Christian is not simply to believe on Christ, but to do the will of God. Genuine love to God will open the heart, and make a man liberal and charitable. He will know what it means to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and will continually desire that the power and grace of Christ shall be expressed in his life, that glory may redound to God. Every opportunity to do good to those for whom Christ died will be sought out and improved. The love of God will transform the character, and fashion it after the lovely character of Christ. The apostle says, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
2 In doing the works of Christ, in imitating his life, in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, in being eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, in manifesting compassion to the widow and the fatherless, we shall be manifesting the characteristics of true religion. The doing of the works of Christ will not bring remorse. If we carry out the principles of God’s love for Christ’s sake, we shall know genuine happiness and peace. Ambition, covetousness, vanity, inordinate affection, malice, revenge, and envy, carry with them a weight of woe. The exercise of evil passions sows a harvest after their kind that will bring no pleasure to reap. God declares that there is no peace to the wicked, and without repose of mind there can be no true happiness.
3 Everyone who is a new creature in Christ Jesus will have new and elevated motives of action, for the Spirit of Christ within will prompt his deeds. To love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves is genuine sanctification. Pride will be expelled from the sanctified heart, and with all lowliness of mind we shall esteem others better than ourselves. To esteem others better than themselves is a great trial to those who are naturally self-inflated. There are many who despise those who have had advantages inferior to their own, in birth or education. They exalt their own judgment and experience, and look disparagingly upon those who have had to battle with greater obstacles. But could they see as God sees, they would have a different estimation both of themselves and of those whom they think inferior. Every step of progress that is made by those who have to battle for advancement, wins the approval of God, and we should take heed that we despise not one of these little ones, for their angels do always behold the face of the Father.
4 Those who are attaining to holiness, are daily growing in love, in meekness, in patience, and in loveliness of character. As faith increases, holiness grows in the soul. As the knowledge of God is enlarged, love is increased, because God is love. The love of God is unlike the carnal attribute which fastens the mind upon the human, and leads men to neglect the service of God. There are many who have only a kind of half-way religion. At times they appear to be humble, to esteem others better than themselves; and again self rises, and their meekness is broken by impatience. Their love for God is not equal to their love for themselves, and love for their neighbor is fitful, mingled with envy, evil surmising, and jealousy. Those who are in this condition have never fully submitted their will to God’s will. They should consider the example and spirit of the Captain of their salvation. He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.” When we have the mind of Christ, we shall love and work as Christ has loved and worked. When the love of Christ is in the heart, it exerts a controlling influence over the thoughts and affections.
5 Whatever may be our condition or position in life, it is our privilege to have the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Faith that produces love to God and love to our neighbor is true faith. This faith will lead to genuine sanctification. It will increase our reverence for sacred things. The name of God will not be used carelessly. It is dishonoring God to speak of him as though he were on a level with finite man. We should speak with reverence the sacred name of Christ, for, although he humbled himself and became obedient to the death of the cross, yet he thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Let us take this precious name upon our lips with profound reverence. Some have allowed their feelings to control their judgment, in meetings for worship, and have indulged in words and attitudes that have not been in harmony with the solemn worship of God. We have heard men shout and jump, and pound the desk, and use vain repetition, and this they thought was worship to God. But it was not according to the direction or will of God. All that is coarse in attitude or word makes the service of Christ a matter of ridicule, and brings confusion into the house and worship of God. True religion is not to be found in noise, in contortion of the body, which profiteth little, but it is made manifest in good works, and in the holy temper of the soul. Genuine sanctification will make a man calm and sensible. He will be humble, gentle, kind, forbearing, full of love,—this is the fruit of sanctification. Those who possess these graces of the spirit will alone be counted worthy of eternal life.
6 So deceitful is the human heart, so skillfully do the cherished passions justify themselves, that many will pass on in deception, satisfied with counterfeit religion and fraudulent sanctification, until probation closes, and the harvest is past.
7 One of the chief characteristics of true love is humility. The apostle says: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” The man who has true zeal for God will be distrustful of self, and little in his own eyes. Love teaches us to be meek as well as lowly. Sanctified love will enable us to exhibit the grace of patience; it will help us to restrain impetuosity and fretfulness, so that we shall repine at nothing. Love to God and our neighbor will melt away all hatred, bitterness, wrath, malice, prejudice, envy, and evil surmising.
8 A Christian once said that when he reached heaven he expected to meet with three causes of wonder. He would wonder to find some that he did not expect to see there. He would wonder not to see some that he expected to meet, and, lastly, he would wonder most to find so unworthy a sinner as himself in the Paradise of God. Many who have stood in high places as Christians upon earth, will not be found with the happy throng that shall surround the throne. Those who have had knowledge and talent, and yet have delighted in controversy and unholy strife, will not have a place with the redeemed. Their hearts were not in harmony with the meekness and self-denial of Christ. They desired to do some great work, that they might be admired and flattered by men, but their names were not written in the Lamb’s book of life. “I know you not,” are the sad words that Christ addresses to such. But those whose lives were made beautiful by little acts of kindness, by tender words of affection and sympathy, whose hearts recoiled from strife and contention, who never did any great work in order to be lauded of men, these are found recorded in the Lamb’s book of life. Though the world counted them as insignificant, they are approved of God before the assembled universe. They are astonished to hear the word, from the lips of the divine Master, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
9 I would impress upon all Christians that patience, resignation, humility, and self-control are the fruits of real faith and love, fruits of true zeal for God. But impatience, fretfulness, discontent, and all manner of unkindness, are revealings of an unsanctified heart. What mischief false zeal has wrought in the church. Bigotry, love of one’s own opinion and way, has been called zeal for God, but it is of the earth, earthy. The Scripture says, “It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing.” We are to serve the Lord with the whole heart, might, mind, and strength. We are to walk faithfully in the path of his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Those who study carefully what God requires of them, and will carefully avoid what he has forbidden, will always do zealously what he has enjoined.
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1 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
2 Christ is willing to take possession of the soul temple, if we will only let him. He is represented as knocking at the door of our hearts for admission, but Jesus never forces himself upon us; he will come in only as an invited guest. If we seek him, we shall certainly find him. Many seem to have an idea that Christ is a great way off. It was difficult for the children of Israel to understand that Christ was their divine leader, and that he was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day, and in the pillar of fire by night. If we could only realize that we do not have to ascend into the heavens to bring Christ down, nor descend into the earth to bring him up, but that he is near us, how different would be our actions. There would not be so much trifling conversation. We would not be so easily led into temptation, and there would not be so many things in our lives to displease Jesus. We would realize that the divine eye is upon us, and that the record is passing up to heaven which we must meet again in the day of final accounts; for the judgment is to sit, the books are to be opened, and everyone is to be judged according to the deeds done in the body.
3 In order to let Jesus into our hearts, we must stop sinning. The only definition for sin that we have in the Bible is that it is the transgression of the law. The law is far-reaching in its claims, and we must bring our hearts into harmony with it. Men may wrap themselves about with their own righteousness, they may reach their own standard of character, but they do not reach the standard that God has given them in his word. We may measure ourselves by ourselves, and compare ourselves among ourselves; we may say we do as well as this one or as that one, but the great question is, Do we meet the claims that Heaven has upon us? The reason why iniquity prevails to such an alarming extent is that the law of God is made void in the earth. His law spoken from Sinai and exemplified in the life of Christ, is perfect, converting the soul. It condemns every sin, and requires every virtue. Not only does it demand a correct outward deportment, but its principles reach even to the thoughts and affections of the heart. “Behold,” said the psalmist, “thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” In the light of the law, covetousness is seen to be idolatry, lust adultery, and anger murder. No wonder that the carnal mind is enmity against God, and not subject to his law.
4 Those who are loyal to God’s law will not always find the way smooth. God has not promised his people exemption from trials, but he has promised that which is far better. He has said: “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” “The God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation.” “As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth.” All who love and fear God will suffer persecution. But Jesus will be near to sustain everyone who is afflicted for the truth’s sake. When in the prison of Philippi, the scourged and heavily-manacled servants of Christ had such divine consolation that they sang praises to God, and the walls resounded with their triumph. To these faithful messengers, that cold dungeon, reeking with dampness, was made as the gate of heaven. The glory of the Sun of Righteousness beamed forth into that inner prison, making it radiant with a divine effulgence. Christ, the royal messenger, came to John when on his sea-bound isle, and gave him the most wonderful revelations of himself, and of what was to take place in the world’s history prior to his second appearing. Jesus revealed himself to Stephen while he was surrounded with pitiless foes. The martyr was given a view of the glory of God with Jesus standing at his right hand to give help to his suffering servant.
5 Like Paul and the worthies who suffered for the truth’s sake, we may be brought into positions of great trial because of our fidelity to God. But Christ is a tender, pitiful Saviour, and will never forsake his children. When on earth, his heart was ever touched with human woes. On every occasion he relieved the afflicted and suffering that were brought to him; he turned none away. A woman who had suffered for years believed that Christ had power to heal her of her infirmity if she could only go to him and tell him her great need. The multitude thronged him as he passed on his way, but she pressed her way through the crowd, and as Jesus came near, she reached forth her hand, and succeeded in touching the hem of his garment, and in a moment she felt that she was made whole. Hers was not the casual touch; it was the touch of faith. This should impress us all with the importance of having living faith in Jesus as our personal Saviour. Many say that all we have to do is to believe, but they make the service of Christ altogether too superficial. They are satisfied with a nominal belief in Christ; but it is not enough to merely assert that Jesus is the Son of God. We must abide in him as the branch abides in the vine. We must have an experimental faith, a faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Then we have evidence that we bear fruit to the glory of God. What is it to bear fruit to the glory of God? It is to manifest the love of Jesus in our daily life, to be kind and courteous and forbearing to those around us, and to try to lead them to the Saviour. The divine light that shines in the face of Jesus shines also in the heart of the believers, and they walk in the light as he is in the light. That same Jesus represents himself as standing at the door of our hearts and knocking for entrance. Every one of us has a work to do to open the door, if we would have Jesus as our guest. The work of perfecting the soul through obedience to all God’s requirements must be constantly going on in our lives. If we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us. Will you open the door of the heart, and let the light of heaven in? Will you just now invite Jesus as a welcome guest to take possession of your heart? We should desire his presence above everything else on the earth. We should regard him as the one altogether lovely, the chief among ten thousand. Why do we keep the door of the heart closed, when he has given us such a gracious invitation to open the door and let him in?
6 Some seem to think that if they accept the religion of Christ, they will take a step down; but that is not so. Those who receive honors from earthly kings feel that they are exalted; how much more are they exalted who receive honors from the King of heaven! The Monarch of the universe has promised to adopt into his family all who come out from the world and are separate. All who are faithful in his service will become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. Is not this an exalted privilege? We should seek to increase in knowledge and wisdom; for we are to take our talents of intellect into the future world. Our minds should become strengthened, and our hearts refined and elevated, that Jesus may take possession of them. We must imitate his character if we would find ourselves in the society of holy angels in the kingdom of glory. All who enter there will be obedient to the law of God. That law may be trampled under foot here by those who are rebels to God’s government, but Jesus said, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” It would be a terrible thing to meet the Lawgiver over the broken law. We should pray, as did David, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
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1 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2 When the children of Israel were passing through the wilderness toward Canaan, they brought upon themselves the judgments of God by murmuring and complaining. They were bitten by fiery, poisonous serpents of the wilderness, and were smitten with death. A messenger came through the camp, with the news that a remedy had been provided. By the direction of Christ a brazen serpent had been lifted up, and those who would but look upon it would be healed. When this messenger [message] was announced, some of the sick and dying did not accept it. Here and there throughout the camp were heard the words, “It is impossible for me to be healed, because I am in such a dreadful condition. Those who are not in so bad a state as I am, may, perhaps, look and live.” Others thought they had a remedy of their own that could cure the poisonous bite of the serpent; but only those who accepted the message and looked to the brazen serpent were healed. This serpent represented Christ. He says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.”
3 Man is poisoned by sin; but a remedy has been provided for the fallen race in the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Every hope that we have of salvation out of Christ is a vain hope. We cannot dishonor our Saviour more than by doubting that he will save us. Whatever may have been our life of transgression, however deep may be the stain of our sin, there is One who is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. Jesus is the remedy for sin. We may have intellect, but human intelligence can devise no way of salvation; we may have earthly possessions, but that will not provide a ransom for the sin of our soul. Salvation is the gift of God through Christ, and the promise is, “Whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
4 It is not enough to have a nominal faith. We must have faith that will appropriate the life-giving power to our souls. We suffer great loss because we do not exercise simple, living faith in Christ. We should be able to say, “He is my Saviour; he died for me; I look to him as my complete Saviour and live.” We are to look to Christ day by day. We are to regard him as our example in all things. This is faith. The true believer in Christ is represented by a branch connected with a living vine. The sap and nourishment of the vine extends through every vein and fiber of the branch, and thus the branch becomes knit with the life of the vine, and bears precious fruit. Every soul that abides in Christ will do the works of Christ. Those who love God will keep his commandments; for Christ has said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” Jesus made an infinite sacrifice in leaving his majesty, to come to a fallen world, that he might lift up sinful man; and everyone that is connected with Christ, as the branch is united with the vine, will manifest the spirit of his Redeemer.
5 We honor our Lord and Master when we place implicit confidence in him. If we distrust the message that he has sent us, we shall be in a position similar to that of the Israelites who were bitten by the fiery serpents, but who would not look and live. If we accept the message of love that has come to us in invitations, exhortation, and reproof, it will prove life and healing to our souls.
6 We should not be satisfied with anything less than a close connection with Christ. Freedom and salvation are offered to us, and we should grasp the precious promises of God by living faith. But if we only partially believe, if we do not show in our experience the power of living faith that works by love and purifies the soul, we shall fail to meet the expectation of our Lord and Master. Jesus says, “Without me, ye can do nothing,” but if he abides in us and we in him, we can do all things through the power of his might. We should trust him as a child trusts his earthly parents. We should feel such love toward him that we cannot betray his confidence in us, or distrust him under any circumstances. We should have a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. We should be like the afflicted woman who pressed her way through the throng to touch the hem of Christ’s garment. She gave no casual touch; it was the touch of faith; for virtue went out from Christ and healed her. Although the throng were pressing and crowding about the Saviour, he recognized the touch of faith. He turned and asked, “Who touched me?” His disciples looked up in wonder and replied: “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me; for I perceive that virtue has gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”
7 Neither learning, oratory, nor wealth can bring men into favor with God; but simple, trusting faith will bring his blessing. We are to take God at his word. The experience that comes through living faith is the experience that God wants every one of us to have. We should reach out the hand of faith, and grasp the arm of infinite power. The simplest prayer that is put up in faith is acceptable to heaven. The humblest soul that looks up to Christ in faith is connected with the God of the universe. We may walk in the light as Christ is in the light. We are to look into the great mirror of God’s law and see if our characters are condemned therein. If condemnation is resting upon us, we need not despair, for he has provided a way whereby we may not perish, but have pardon and life. The promise is given that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I am glad every day I live that this precious promise has been recorded for us. We may be filled with rejoicing that we have a living Saviour who is mighty to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. Jesus desires you to ask much that you may receive much, and we need him with us at every step as we advance. When we see that there are defects in our characters, we must be zealous and repent and reform; for if we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Scripture declares that God will not hear us. Christ has given us an invitation full of mercy. He says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” There is nothing worse than a scarlet sin except the sin that can have no forgiveness in this life or in the life to come.
8 When I see my Saviour so full of mercy toward us, it seems to me that every heart ought to be melted into tenderness and gratitude toward God. Sin should be hated because it grieves our very best Friend; we should desire to know the truth even though it require a sacrifice, and no one who has stood in defense of truth has done so without sacrifice. Those who have living faith in Christ will pass through difficulties as did Paul. They will say with him: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Paul measured the difficulties of the present with the glory of the eternal. And the glory to come so far overbalanced the suffering of the present, that he said it was not worthy to be compared with it. We must keep our eyes fixed upon the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus, and as we do this, we shall receive comfort, and peace, and joy.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 The Christian is not to live for this present life. We are to look to Jesus, who through an ignominious death made a way for our escape. We must every one of us lay hold of the hope that is set before us in the gospel, if we would have everlasting life. You should ask yourself, “How much am I willing to sacrifice for the truth’s sake?” Before you answer this question, I would direct you to the life and sacrifice of Jesus for you. As you see him whom your sins have pierced, lifted upon the cross of Calvary, you will in contrition of soul lay all at his feet. When we remember how much our salvation has cost, we may be sure that eternal life is worth everything. The enemy is determined that we shall not come into possession of this precious boon. We are traveling through an enemy’s land, and we must keep on the whole armor of righteousness, that we may fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.
2 Satan will come in many ways to tempt the soul away from Christ. He will first tell you that you are good enough of yourself; that you do not need a work of reformation wrought for you. He will suggest to you that you have made but few mistakes in your life, and that these will be overbalanced by the good you have done. If you have lived such a life as he would make you believe you have, it would be like a chain with unsound links in it, wholly worthless. One sin unrepented of is enough to close the gates of heaven against you. It was because man could not be saved with one stain of sin upon him, that Jesus came to die on Calvary’s cross. Your only hope is to look to Christ and live. He came to save to the uttermost all who came unto him; and he is fully able to do all that he has undertaken to do for you. He will lift us up from the degradation into which we have fallen because of sin.
3 We should exercise living faith in Christ. When our hopes of life seem to be slipping away, Jesus is ready to put his everlasting arms beneath us, and to draw us to his heart, and to comfort, encourage, and bless us. As soon as you surrender wholly to Christ, he will accept you. Christ has said that it was his will that your joy should be full. Why should you not have fullness of joy, when through Christ you have the prospect of eternal life at his coming? Why should we not every day show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light? “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? He wants us to grow better in his love every day. As we follow on to know the Lord, we shall know that his goings forth are prepared as the morning. The sun rises in dimness; but as it begins to climb the heavens, its rays become more and more bright. Thus it is with the Christian in his life. He catches the bright beams of light from Christ, and by trusting in him he becomes better acquainted with his Saviour. It is a difficult matter for human nature to have perfect confidence in divine power, but the Lord will strengthen our faith, and we may have a precious experience in the knowledge of Jesus. We do not have the simplicity we should have in coming to our heavenly Father. We are sinners, but Christ has died for us, and it is our privilege to place ourselves upon the platform of his promises. If we have the love of Jesus in our hearts, we shall express it in our actions toward others. We shall proclaim to those who are out of Christ the beauty of faith and religion. It is not our place to inquire whether we shall have trials if we walk in the path of obedience; we are to search for the truth as for hidden treasures, and to accept it whatever may be its cost.
4 Christ prayed that his disciples might be sanctified through the truth. It is not error but the truth of God that sanctifies the soul. When we follow in the humble path of obedience, we leave a bright track heavenward for others to walk in. It is our privilege to have a deeper experience in the things of God. Will you review your past life, will you see where your defects and mistakes have been, and when you see that they are many, will you remember that Jesus lives to make intercession for you, and not sink down in discouragement? Jesus pleads his blood before the Father, and says, “I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions as a thick cloud.” Let this be the language of your heart: “Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” Do not even for a moment distrust your Saviour’s power to save you. Fall in your helplessness at the foot of the cross; today believe the promise of God. Jesus loves us with a love that is infinite. Oh, what love, what matchless love, he has shown for the children of men! Jesus does not desire you to wait to make yourself better; he desires you to take him today as your Saviour. This very day say: “He is mine, and I am his. I will give my soul into his keeping, and he will keep that which I have committed to his trust against that day. Through faith he will give me victory over the temptations of the enemy. I shall see of his salvation. I shall triumph in God.” Do you not think that such language as this will drive back the enemy from the tempted soul? Satan tries to interpose himself between us and Christ, but we must drive him back by talking faith, and by exalting the power of Jesus to save us. Shall we not take steps in advance without delay? Shall we not show that we are not afraid to trust our Saviour in the darkness as well as in the light? I have been tested on this point. One loved one after another has been torn from me by death, and it has seemed as though it would crush me; but in these hours Jesus has seemed to say to me: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
5 The peace that Jesus gives is not the peace of the world. In my sorest trials, when I could not understand why they had come upon me, the only course I could take was to believe that Jesus doeth all things well. After the death of him who had stood by my side for thirty-six years, I was in great distress, in such anguish that it seemed that I would die; but I had to fight the fight of faith. While Satan suggested temptations, and sought to make me distrust God, I would continually say, “He knows what is best for me, and I will trust him.”
6 We should not think that Jesus has forsaken us when clouds and darkness come upon our souls. He is a pitying, loving Redeemer. He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. He is not willing that any of us should perish, but that all should have eternal life; but he wants us to follow him as the sheep follow the shepherd; and by and by he will lead us to living waters, and wipe away all tears from our eyes.
7 Jesus loves you, and when trials come upon your soul, as they surely will, you must be often found with God in prayer. The enemy may tell you that God will not hear you; but you must rest in his promise that he will hear the prayer of the contrite soul. Keep your petitions continually ascending to Jesus, and believe that he hears you, and he will hear you and deliver you from every trial and temptation. The apostle says: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ; whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
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1 The blood of Christ was shed to atone for sin and to cleanse the sinner; and we must take hold of the merits of Christ’s blood, and believe that we have life through his name. Let not the fallacies of Satan deceive you; you are justified by faith alone, but faith in Christ does not absolve you from obligation to keep God’s unchangeable law, which is as sacred as his throne. Faith is essential, but genuine faith will enable its possessor to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit.
2 Sin is the transgression of the law, and no man can be saved in sin. The sinner must repent toward God, and become obedient to God’s law through faith in Christ. Faith is the hand that lays hold on Omnipotence. When we do those things that are lawful and right, through the grace of Christ, we are keeping God’s commandments; and to such God has pledged his word that he will do great things. Like Daniel, you may make confession of your sin, and present daily supplication unto God; but however poor and unworthy and erring you may feel yourselves to be, it is your privilege to appropriate the promises of God. You may obtain the grace and help which Christ alone is able to give you. God can no more forget one of his children who is seeking to be obedient to his holy requirements than he can forget himself. The Scriptures declare that Christ has graven us on the palms of his hands, that he holds us in everlasting remembrance.
3 An impulse, an emotional exercise, is not faith or sanctification. Sanctification is the doing of all the commandments of God. Some of you have failed to do this, because you have taken your eyes away from Jesus, and have looked to yourselves. Some have kept Christ apart from their lives because they felt their own unworthiness; but Christ died upon the cross of Calvary for the unrighteous and unworthy. If they look to him, will they perish?—No; they are to look and live. You who feel that your work is unworthy and full of imperfections, you who are weary and heavy-laden, Jesus invites you to come to him, that you may find rest to your souls. Jesus desires you to wear his yoke, to lift his burdens, and he says his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.
4 Noah was a preacher of righteousness; but all his warnings were despised by the generation to whom they were addressed. Truth will never be popular with the world; for the world is at enmity with God’s law. The world is full of sin, full of falsehood, full of transgression. Jesus preached the truth faithfully, affectionately, earnestly, practicing self-denial; and did the world flock to his banner?—No; when did truth ever meet with more stern and positive rejection than at the time of Christ? If we place ourselves in right relation to God, that we may teach the truth, practice the truth, and become sanctified through it, we shall not always meet with success in our efforts for others; we shall have to trust the result with God, and not drive ourselves to the brink of despair because men will harden their hearts and reject the plainest declaration of the Scriptures. We must hold fast our faith, and strengthen our souls by firm reliance upon the promise of God. You may say, “I know I am an unworthy laborer, but I rely upon Christ’s righteousness. The merit of the blood of Christ is my only plea. I know I am a sinner, but the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.” We must honor God by believing his promises.
5 There are those who have had an excellent experience, who have been strong in the truth, who have known what it is to believe God, and their faith has been counted unto them for righteousness, but Satan has worked to discourage them and to break their hold upon God. Although clouds have encompassed them, the Lord has not forsaken, the Lord will lift them up, give them physical strength, and encourage and revive their faith. We shall have to wage a constant battle with Satan, if we preserve our faith to the end amid the discouragements that will press upon us. We must look away from self, for Jesus is our only hope. The language of the soul must be, “He is mine; I will never let go his arm. He will bless me; the cleansing blood will be applied to my soul.”
6 Whatever may be our difficulties, Jesus knows all about them; we may tell them all to our sympathizing Saviour. He pities our every weakness, he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Let us carry our burdens to him trustingly, and we shall see his salvation. If we pray for it, if we believe for it, we shall have the heavenly endowment of his Spirit. Stretch forth your hands in faith today, for Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. Send up your petitions, crying, “Abide with us; we need thy presence, thy love, thy pardon.” He will not pass you by, he will abide with you and bless you.
7 The Lord is willing to give each of you a rich experience; for he would have you able to appreciate the knowledge of the truth he has given you, and to value the precious tokens of his love. He desires to give you greater evidences of his love, still more marked answers to your prayers, a deeper and closer acquaintance with himself; for the Lord has a work for each one to do. If you will come up to your exalted privileges, you will have increased faith. Remember that faith is not feeling. We are inclined to measure our religious attainments by our emotions; but feeling is no criterion by which to judge. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Those who have had moral courage to stand in defense of the faith in times past, should now be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. We have a work to do for the Master, and we should put on the whole armor of righteousness. When Satan tells you of your unworthiness, you can acknowledge it, but at the same time you can present a compassionate Saviour, who will save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. Talk faith, talk hope and courage, and come into the light. It is by beholding the loveliness of the character of Christ that we are to be changed into his image. Look away from the darkness, look away from yourself to your compassionate Redeemer, and let your soul be inspired by faith and prayer. Bring Jesus into your life, the virtues of his character into your character.
8 We are not to yield to the suggestions of Satan. It is his design to deceive you either by flattering your vanity, or by causing you to become discouraged in dwelling upon your unworthiness. He will seek to surround you with the society of those who will confuse your faith and break your connection with God; but you should keep a holy trust in God, and maintain a Christian character consistent with your religious faith. You should be meek yet resolute, cheerful yet devout, that sin may not be sanctioned by you in any form.
9 In your home life you should manifest patience, forbearance, and love. You should walk circumspectly, wisely, and in a perfect way. You should begin and end the day with prayer, and be full of faith and gratitude toward God. Let your words be select, well chosen, seasoned with salt, that your soul may be constantly reaching up for higher attainments. If this is your attitude, the peace of God will not be an occasional visitor, but an abiding guest, ruling in the heart. The Spirit of God will soften and subdue the soul, and ennoble the character. What is healthful piety but a well-balanced experience? We must have more faith. The language of the soul should be, “Because Jesus lives, I shall live also.” There is freedom for us in Christ, and if we look to him in faith at all times, we shall have the blessed assurance of his presence; but if we distrust his love and power, we shall dishonor God. It is our privilege to have Jesus as our constant helper.
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1 “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” It is our privilege to appropriate to our own use the promises which God has given us in his word. We have had great light, most wonderful truths have been unfolded to us; and our faith should correspond to the light and power of the truth that has been opened to our understanding. Our prayer should be as was the prayer of David, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” We have a great and solemn work before us. We are to present the last message of mercy to the world,—the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. We should have faith corresponding to the message we have to bear to the world. We shall need more than finite wisdom in doing this work. We must have divine power connected with our efforts, that we may reach the people.
2 It is our privilege to take God at his word. As Jesus was about to leave his disciples to ascend into heaven, he commissioned them to bear the gospel message to all nations, tongues, and peoples. He told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. This was essential to their success. The holy unction must come upon the servants of God. All who were fully identified as disciples of Christ and associated with the apostles as evangelists, assembled together in Jerusalem. They put away all differences. They continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, that they might receive the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit; for they were to preach the gospel in the demonstration of the Spirit and in the power of God. It was a time of great danger for the followers of Christ. They were as sheep in the midst of wolves, yet they were of good courage, because Christ had risen from the dead, and had revealed himself to them, and had promised them a special blessing, which would qualify them to go forth to proclaim his gospel to the world. They were waiting in expectation of the fulfillment of his promise, and were praying with special fervency.
3 This is the very course that should be pursued by those who act a part in the great work of proclaiming the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven; for a people are to be prepared to stand in the great day of God’s preparation. Although Christ had given the promise to the disciples that they should receive the Holy Spirit, this did not remove the necessity of prayer. They prayed all the more earnestly; they continued in prayer with one accord. Those who are now engaged in the solemn work of preparing a people for the coming of the Lord, should also continue in prayer. The early disciples were of one accord. They had no speculations, no curious theory to advance as to how the promised blessing was to come. They were one in faith and spirit. They were agreed. The disciples of Christ should become one with him, and one with each other. All differences should disappear. Soul should blend with soul. No strife should be permitted to sway the soul; no love of supremacy, no thought of self, should be cherished; we should be one in Christ.
4 It is the privilege of God’s people to go forth to their work in the strength of Jesus. We should go forth, not depending upon our talents, but wrestling with God for sanctification through the truth. We should feel a constant assurance that Jesus is present to help us. If success attends our labors, we should give all the glory to God. The frail, defective beings of earth should not take one particle of honor to themselves. The worker for God is to be clothed with humility; for Christ has condescended to be his helper. Paul may plant, and Apollos water, but it is God that gives the increase.
5 We shall have to meet many false doctrines and deceptive theories, and it will require more than human intelligence to discern their falsity, and to keep clear of their influence. Many claim sanctification who are wholly deceived in themselves; and we should inquire, How can we present their deceptions in a true light, that souls may be delivered from the snare of the enemy? There is only one test for all doctrines, and that is God’s great standard of righteousness. Says the prophet, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Many of those who claim sanctification present themselves, like the enemy of God and his law, in the garments of their own righteousness. They oppose the commandments of God, and show that their heart is carnal. Many years after the crucifixion of Christ, the apostle wrote these words, that test the profession of those who claim holiness, and yet oppose the law of God,—”The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be.”
6 With ruthless hands many have sought to remove the landmarks, to tear down God’s great moral standard, and to erect one of their own. In claiming holiness they measure themselves by their own standard. They do not test their actions and character by the law of God. It was by his own standard that Satan measured his actions, he represented himself before men as an angel of light; but his pretension does not make him such, by any means. There is a class of persons who are not following the example of Christ in keeping God’s law, yet they claim to be holy. They are ready to appropriate the promises of God without fulfilling the conditions upon which they are given. But their faith has no foundation; it is like sliding sand. There is another class who see the claims of the law of God, and, although it involves a cross, they choose the path of obedience, coming out and separating themselves from the world. They do not consult convenience, nor shrink from accepting the truth for fear of reproach. They step out from the path of transgression, and place their feet in the way of God’s commandments. The promises of God, which are given on condition of obedience, are for those who walk in the light of his holy word. Those who do his will may claim all the benefits the Lord has promised. The obedient do not simply cry, “Believe, all you have to do is believe in Christ;” but their faith is like Noah’s and Abraham’s, which led them to keep the commandments. They follow the example of Christ, they listen and wait to catch every word of direction from the Captain of their salvation. They respond to the voice that says, “This is the way, to walk ye in it.” Every step that Noah and Abraham took in obedience to God’s word was a step of victory. A “Thus saith the Lord” fortified Noah in doing his work of warning the world. The testimony in regard to Noah is, “And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.” The path of obedience is the path in which our safety lies; for it is the willing and obedient that shall eat the good of the land. If we keep the commandments of God, we may claim his recorded promises in all their fullness. Many feel so unworthy that like the poor publican they dare not lift up so much as their eyes to heaven. They should encourage faith. We may have an intelligent faith; we may not only say we believe, but we may in meekness and confidence be able to define what we believe, and why we believe as we do. We should exercise living faith, not a blind credulity. All heaven is at the command of those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.
7 We need to come up to a higher standard, to go forward and claim our exalted privileges. We should walk humbly with God, make no proud boasts of perfection of character, but in simple faith claim every promise in the word of God; for they are for the obedient, not for the transgressors of God’s law. We are simply to believe the testimony of God, and have entire dependence on him, and all possibility of self-glory or pride will be removed. We are indeed saved by faith, not by a passive faith, but by the faith which works by love, and purifies the soul. The hand of Christ can reach the veriest sinner, and bring him back from transgression to obedience; but no Christianity is so lofty that it can soar above the requirements of God’s holy law. This would be beyond Christ’s power to help, it would be outside of his teachings and his example; for he says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love,” and all who follow Christ will render obedience to God’s holy law.
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1 “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Those who engage in the work of God in any capacity should strengthen themselves for the work. They should not lift themselves up in self-conceit, but by their humility of spirit, make it manifest that they are strong in the grace of Christ. As opposition and trials increase, the Christian should grow stronger in the power that comes from Heaven. There is always great weakness where there is self-sufficiency, but when, through humble contrition of soul, we take hold of the strength of Jesus, special help will be given as our need may require. We are exhorted to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”
2 Great self-sufficiency was manifested by Peter when he confidently declared, “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.” Peter supposed himself to be strong, but when the test came he discovered that he was weakness itself. He had been with Jesus and had often obtained his help, but past grace does not avail for present needs. Daily, hourly, we must have divine strength imparted to us. We must trust at all times in Christ, dwell upon his words till we long to realize their fulfillment in our own case. The reason that more power does not attend the proclamation of the truth for this time, is that there is too much reliance placed upon the ability of man, too much trust in the talent and tact of the workers, and not enough reliance upon the arm of Infinite Power. The gospel of truth is not preached in demonstration of the Spirit and in the power of God. Self is ready to take the credit if any measure of success attends the work, self is flattered, self is exalted, and the impression is not made upon minds that God is all and in all.
3 Paul gave a solemn charge to Timothy that has the same importance in this day as it did when given. He said, “And the things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” This injunction we must cherish, as did Timothy, as a sacred trust from the apostle. Paul saw that the night in which he could no longer work, was fast hastening upon him. He was to die a martyr’s death, and the precious light given him of God was not to lose any of its brightness, but to be committed to others as a rich legacy. Timothy was to train up others to succeed him in the ministry of the gospel. He was not to think that his work was done in merely teaching the truth to unbelievers; he was to impart the knowledge he had received, to repeat the precious instruction he had heard from the lips of Paul, and to record the things which he himself had witnessed, that the light of truth might be passed along to others who were faithful, and who should be ordained to the ministry. These, in their turn, were to realize their responsibility, and teach others also, and thus the sacred truth of the gospel would be communicated from one to another throughout the ages.
4 Timothy was to have discernment that would enable him to choose men of fidelity and integrity, for he was to commit the word of God to faithful men. The men to whom the solemn truth of God was to be given in trust were not to be self-seekers, but men who would lose sight of self, and have an eye single to the glory of God, and work for the salvation of souls. They were to be willing to do everything in their power to advance the Redeemer’s kingdom. They must not only be capable of comprehending the evidences of the truth themselves, but they must be able from their knowledge and experience to impart truth to others; they must be apt to teach. This was the precious light that Paul had received through inspiration, and it was his work to see that no part of this instruction should be lost. He charged Timothy with the responsibility of committing it to faithful men, who would in their turn transmit the precious legacy of truth, pure and uncorrupted, to others. The words, the ideas, of men were not to be mingled with the sacred truth of God in any way to lessen its divine importance. Men of ability, of humility,— men who had a conscientious realization of the fact that they were not to misstate the lessons given them by Paul, were to be chosen, who would not take from or add to the sacred teaching of Scripture. Mark the care with which Paul guards the matter so that the light and knowledge of the gospel shall be imparted in its purity. Timothy was instructed to commit it to faithful men, who would seek others equally faithful, so that the precious truth might reach even to our day, and shine upon our pathway in undimmed brightness.
5 The New Testament was not then written, therefore there was need of the greatest caution, that the teachings of Christ might be imparted without adulteration. What a responsibility rests upon the chosen men of God for this time; for they, too, are to train up others to succeed them in the ministry, and they are also to see to it that self does not mingle with their work.
6 The work of the ministry is no common work. Christ is withdrawn only from the eye of sense, but he is as truly present by his Spirit as when he was visibly present on earth. The time that has elapsed since his ascension has brought no interruption in the fulfillment of his parting promise,—”Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” God has provided light and truth for the world by having placed it in the keeping of faithful men, who in succession have committed it to others through all generations up to the present time. These men have derived their authority in an unbroken line from the first teachers of the faith. Christ remains the true minister of his church, but he delegates his power to his under-shepherds, to his chosen ministers, who have the treasure of his grace in earthen vessels. God superintends the affairs of his servants, and they are placed in his work by divine appointment.
7 The work of the messengers the Lord sends to earth is not understood, and the message of truth is too lightly regarded. The energizing presence of Christ is not felt as it should be among the ministers of God. They do not sacrifice all to him as they should; but Paul further charged Timothy to “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” All Christians are represented as soldiers of the cross of Christ, but especially this figure applies to the ministers of the gospel. They are to fight under the banner of Prince Emmanuel, and wage war against his enemies, trusting in Christ, for he is the Captain of their salvation. The soldiers of Christ must prove themselves faithful, they must have courage, and be willing to endure hardness. They must expect to have hard things to meet, and they must accustom themselves to bear burdens with patience and fortitude, always maintaining and representing the simplicity of Christ.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 We should educate the mind so that we can hold communion with God constantly. We must learn to glance upward in sincere desire, sending a prayer to Heaven in all places and under all circumstances. You may have that faith that will place your hand in the hand of Jesus, and by faith you may keep hold of him. You should keep your mind filled with the precious promises of God. As Christians we do not make half enough of the promises, for God will never fail in any good thing which he has promised. We should take these promises singly, view them critically in all their richness, meditate upon them until the soul is burdened with their greatness, and delighted with their strength and power. I am so sorry that we deprive ourselves of the blessing we might have, and it is simply because we do not cherish the thought that the promises of God are for us. God has left them in this word for us, and we should dig for them as for hidden treasures. Why are we so easily satisfied with little flashes of light when there is a heaven of illumination for us? We drink at shallow streams, when there is a great fountain just above us, if we will only rise a little higher in the pathway of faith. Our natures must be raised from their earthliness, they must be kindled and purified in the upper brightness of God’s divine presence. But you must remember that only those who obey the commandments of God through his grace have a right to appropriate the promises written for the consolation of the children of God. The psalmist says: “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.”
2 When a man gives himself to the work of the gospel and is made overseer of the church of God by the Holy Ghost, he is to keep himself as free as possible from everything that would hinder his work. The apostle writes: “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” Christ has given the command, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.” And when one gives himself to the ministry he should not in his very first move entangle himself with the perplexities and burdens of this life, but he should seek to be free that he may attend to his Captain’s orders. He must so arrange his affairs that he may be able to give undivided attention to the work of saving souls. If he is so circumstanced that he is drawn away from his duty to God, he should not claim to be an enlisted soldier in the service of God. The greatest anxiety of the soldier should be to please his captain, and the greatest care of Christ’s soldiers should be to please their divine Master. Many have become cumbered with care; earthly things have taken up their attention until their spiritual discernment is dimmed. They cannot appreciate the wants of the cause of God, and therefore cannot put forth well-directed efforts to meet its emergencies, and to advance its interests. They constantly seek to shape the work in accordance with their circumstances, in place of shaping circumstances to meet the demands of the cause of God.
3 The minister’s first thought should be, How shall I labor so that I will meet with God’s approval? If a soldier loads himself down with extra burdens, he unqualifies himself both for the march and the battle, and if a minister becomes absorbed in the temporal things of this life, he cannot be a success as a soldier of Christ. “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully . The husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruits.” The minister is to present the truth to others, not in a harsh, dictatorial manner, manifesting fretfulness when opposed, and becoming impatient when those for whom he labors are slow to accept the truth; he is to be patient, gentle unto all men, in meekness instructing those who oppose themselves, if peradventure God may give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. The laborer for God will not receive the crown unless he strives according to the requirement of God, and that is in the spirit of Christ.
4 The apostle says: “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
5 Those who strive lawfully will have complete victory at last, but there is too much striving that is not done in the Spirit of Christ. We should strive to obtain the victory over every unholy passion of the soul, over every spiritual weakness, over every defect of character. We should seek to excel in the graces of the Spirit of God, in meekness, patience, goodness, love, peace, and joy. If we strive for this, it will be a worthy, lawful striving that will be rewarded of God. In contending for the faith, we must be careful to stand as did Christ before the people; we must have a spirit that will correspond to the purity and greatness of the doctrines we advocate. We must teach the truth as it is in Jesus. We must labor as does the husbandman, with diligence and patience, that we may be partakers of the fruits. We must do the will of God before we can receive the promise. “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”
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1 The words of Jesus addressed to this generation may well be regarded with sorrow and awe. He asks, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Christ looked down the ages, and with prophetic eye marked the conflict between the antagonistic principles of truth and error. He saw how real Christianity would become almost extinct in the world, so that at his second advent he would find a state of society similar to that which existed before the flood. The world would be engaged in festivity and amusement, in theatrical shows, in the indulgence of base passions. Intemperance of every grade would exist, and even the churches would be demoralized, and the Bible would be neglected and desecrated. He saw that the desperate revelries of the last days would only be interrupted by the judgments of God.
2 Society is now in a state of demoralization, and this will ripen until the nations become as lawless, as corrupt, as were the inhabitants of the world before the flood. The degradation that is found in the world today is largely due to the fact that the Bible no longer exerts a controlling influence upon the minds of men. It has become fashionable to doubt. The law of God has been made void to those in sacred office, and what can be expected of those who have listened to their sophistry and error? What can be expected of the youth who have come under the influence of those who have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel? It is no wonder that the Bible has come to be lightly regarded.
3 Infidelity is increasing in our land. Our youth are sent to college, and are brought into association with those who hold skeptical views; for even well-educated young men now boast of their unbelief in the word of God. Who is chargeable for this state of affairs? Is it not chargeable to those who from the sacred desk have belittled the claims of the law of God? Is it not chargeable to those who lead men away from the path of truth by terming the law of God a yoke of bondage, and who thereby picture transgression as a state of liberty? Oh, if those who make light of the requirements of God’s law, did but know what they are doing, if they did but realize that they were undermining the faith of our youth in the Bible, sending them adrift without anchor or compass on a shoreless sea, they would recoil with horror from their fearful work!
4 I feel the most intense anguish for our youth. I warn you, as one who knows the danger, not to be entrapped by Satan through the little knowledge of science which you may have acquired. It is better to have a pure and humble heart than all the knowledge you can possibly gain without the fear of the Lord. The youth of today will be likely to meet skeptics and infidels wherever they may go, and how necessary that they be equipped, so that they may be able to give a reason of their hope with meekness and fear. Thomas Paine has passed into his grave, but his works live to curse the world, and those who doubt the truth of God’s word, will place these infidel productions in the hands of the young and inexperienced, to fill their hearts with the poisonous atmosphere of doubt. The spirit of Satan works through wicked men to carry on his schemes for the ruin of souls.
5 We are living in an age of licentiousness, and men and youth are bold in sin. Unless our youth are sacredly guarded, unless they are fortified with firm principles, unless greater care is manifested in choosing their associates and the literature which feeds the mind, they will be exposed to a society whose morals are as corrupt as were the morals of the inhabitants of Sodom. The appearance of the people of the world may be very attractive, but if they are continually throwing out suggestions against the Bible, they are dangerous companions; for they will ever seek to undermine the foundations of your faith, to corrupt the conscientiousness of old-fashioned, gospel religion.
6 The youth often come in contact with those of skeptical tendencies, and their parents are in ignorance of the fact, until the terrible work of evil is consummated, and the youth are ruined. The young should be instructed diligently, that they may not be deceived in regard to the true character of these persons, and not form friendships with this class, or listen to their words of sarcasm and sophistry. Unless our young people have moral courage to sever their connection with these persons when they discover their unbelief, they will be ensnared, and will think and talk as do their associates, speaking lightly of religion and the faith of the Bible.
7 Could the eyes of deluded youth be opened, they would see the exultant leer of Satan at his success in ruining souls. In every conceivable way he seeks to adapt his temptations to the various dispositions and circumstances of those whom he wishes to entangle. He will try every device, and if the subjects of these temptations do not seek God, they will be blinded to his deceptions, and will be self-confident, self-sufficient, and in ignorance of their condition and danger. They will soon come to despise the faith once delivered to the saints. I speak to the youth as one who knows, as one to whom the Lord has opened the perils that attend their pathway. Self-confidence will lead you into the snare of the enemy. The youth do not ask counsel of God, and make him their refuge and strength. They enter society with all assurance, confident that they are fully able to choose the right and to comprehend divine mysteries, because of their powers of reason, as though they could discover truth for themselves. We fear more for those who are self-confident than for any others, for they will surely be entangled in the net that has been set by the great adversary of God and man. Some associate who has been chosen as a familiar friend, who has been tainted with the corruption of doubt, will instill his leaven of unbelief into the minds of this class. By fulsome flattery of their talent, their intellectual superiority, by inciting in them an ambition for high position, their attention will be gained, and moral blight will fall upon them. Those who are exalted in their own opinions will despise the blood of the Atoning Sacrifice, and will do despite to the Spirit of grace.
8 The children of Sabbath-keeping parents, who have had great light, who have been the objects of the tenderest solicitude, may be the ones who will leave a heritage of shame, who will sow to the wind and reap the whirlwind. In the judgment the names of those who have sinned against great light, will be written with those who are condemned to be separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. They will be lost, lost, and will be numbered with the scorners of the grace of Christ. I would rather see my children laid in the grave, than see them taking the path that leads to death. The terrible fact that I had nurtured children to fight against the God of heaven, to swell the ranks of apostates in the last days, to march under the black banner of Satan, would indeed be a thought of horror to me.
9 Our youth will meet temptations on every hand, and they must be so educated that they will depend upon higher power, higher teaching, than can be given by mortals. There are despisers of our Lord everywhere, who habitually throw contempt upon Christianity. They call it the plaything of children, invented to impose on the credulity of the ignorant. Those who have not moral power cannot stand in defense of the truth; they have not courage to say: “Unless such conversation ceases, I cannot remain in your presence. Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, is my Saviour; in him is centered my hope of eternal life.” But this is the very way in which to silence them. If you argue with them, they will have arguments with which to meet you, and nothing you may say will touch them; but if you live for Christ, if you are firm in your allegiance to the God of heaven, you may do for them that which argument will fail to do, and convince them of the fallacy of their doctrines, by the power of godliness.
10 There is no sadder spectacle than that of those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ, who have been intrusted with talents wherewith they may glorify God, turning to jest the messages graciously sent to them in the gospel, denying the divinity of Christ, and trusting to their own finite reasoning, and to arguments that have no foundation. When tested with affliction, when brought face to face with death, all these fallacies they have cherished will be melted away like frost before the sun. How terrible it is to stand by the coffin of one who has rejected the appeals of divine mercy! How terrible to say: Here is a life lost! Here is one who might have reached the highest standard, and gained immortal life, but he surrendered his life to Satan, became ensnared by the vain philosophies of men, and was a plaything of the evil one!
11 The Christian’s hope is as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast, and entereth into that which is within the veil, whither Christ the forerunner is for us entered. We have an individual work to do to prepare for the great events that are before us. The youth should seek God more earnestly. The tempest is coming, and we must get ready for its fury, by having repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly, and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent; confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. Oh, let us seek God while he may be found, call upon him while he is near! The prophet says: “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.”
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1 Before Lucifer was banished from heaven, he sought to abolish the law of God. He claimed that the unfallen intelligencies of holy heaven had no need of law, but were capable of governing themselves and of preserving unspotted integrity. Lucifer was the covering cherub, the most exalted of the heavenly created beings; he stood nearest the throne of God, and was most closely connected and identified with the administration of God’s government, most richly endowed with the glory of his majesty and power. The prophet writes of his exaltation, saying: “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
2 The angels had been created full of goodness and love. They loved one another impartially and their God supremely, and they were prompted by this love to do his pleasure. The law of God was not a grievous yoke to them, but it was their delight to do his commandments, to hearken unto the voice of his word. But in this state of peace and purity, sin originated with him who had been perfect in all his ways. The prophet writes of him: “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Sin is a mysterious, unexplainable thing. There was no reason for its existence; to seek to explain it is to seek to give a reason for it, and that would be to justify it. Sin appeared in a perfect universe, a thing that was shown to be inexcusable and exceeding sinful. The reason of its inception or development was never explained and never can be, even at the last great day when the judgment shall sit and the books be opened, when every man shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body, when the sins of God’s repentant, sanctified people shall be heaped upon the scapegoat, the originator of sin. At that day it will be evident to all that there is not, and never was, any cause for sin. At the final condemnation of Satan and his angels and of all men who have finally identified themselves with him as transgressors of God’s law, every mouth will be stopped. When the hosts of rebellion, from the first great rebel to the last transgressor, are asked why they have broken the law of God, they will be speechless. There will be no answer to give, no reason to assign that will carry the least weight.
3 The change from perfection of character to sin and defection did come even in heaven. Lucifer’s heart was lifted up because of his beauty, his wisdom was corrupted by reason of his brightness. Self-exaltation is the key to his rebellion, and it unlocks the modern theme of sanctification. Satan declared that he had no need of the restraints of law, that he was holy, sinless, and incapable of doing evil; and those who boast of holiness and a state of sinlessness, while transgressing the law of God, while willfully trampling under-foot the Sabbath of the Lord, are allied on the side of the first great rebel. If the sanctified, holy angels became unsanctified and unholy by disobedience to God’s law, and their place was no longer found in heaven, think you that men, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, will be received into glory who break the precepts of that law which Christ came to magnify and make honorable by his death upon the cross? Adam and Eve were in possession of Eden, and they fell from their high and holy estate by transgression of God’s law, and forfeited their right to the tree of life and to the joys of Eden.
4 Satan had told them that they were under restriction, under bondage to the law, and that they might be free and independent by disregarding the divine prohibition concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He informed them that they would be as the angels if they would but partake of its fruit, for they would then be able to discern both good and evil. But what angels would they be like?—Not holy angels, but like the angels who had left their first estate, who were reserved under everlasting chains unto the judgment of the great day. The holy pair had received the positive word of God in regard to what they should do, but they presumed on God’s mercy, and ate of the forbidden fruit.
5 Is not the story of the fall repeated by thousands of lips today, and even from the pulpit do we not hear the words of the tempter, “Thou shalt not surely die”? Is not the law of God represented as a yoke of bondage which men are free to violate as they choose? Satan insinuated to Adam and Eve that they might reach a higher, happier state by violation of the divine command, and today the same falsehood is spread through the world, even by those who claim to be sanctified. Do not these who claim sanctification while violating the commands of God, become a false and fatal sign to the world? Do they not say to the sinner, “It shall be well with thee”? The Lord has defined sin as the transgression of his law, but they say they are saved in sin, and thus make Christ the minister of sin. These professed Christians are doing the very work that Satan did in Paradise, they are leading souls astray by precept and example. They say to the sinner, to the transgressor, It shall be well with thee; you will rise to a higher, holier state by violating the law of God. The lesson that is heard throughout the land is, “Disobey and live.” But how different is this teaching from the lessons of Christ. He declared: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
6 If the law of God should relinquish its claims upon men, if its restraints were removed, the result would be a state of society in which lawlessness would be rife, and our world would be in a condition similar to that which existed before the flood, which brought down on the earth the wrath of God. If the law of God could have been changed, or altered in one of its statutes, it would have been so altered when sin originated in heaven, when the brightest son of the morning, who was good, noble, and lovely above all the beings that God had created, found fault with the precepts of that law in the counsels of angels. If ever a change was to have been made, it would have been accomplished when rebellion revealed itself in heaven, and so have prevented the great apostasy of the angels. The fact that no change was made in God’s administration, even when the most exalted of the angels drew away from allegiance to God’s law, is evidence enough to reasonable minds that the law, the foundation of God’s government, will not relax its claims to save the willful transgressor.
7 Satan and his followers were expelled from heaven in consequence of rebellion, and the spirit of the evil one now works in the children of disobedience; Satan carries on his rebellion against God in this world. He seeks to corrupt all; but the instruments most favorable to his purpose of ruining souls, are men who have had great light and blessing from God; for they can accomplish more harm in making void the law than can those who have been less favored of heaven. They use the same flattering sophistry that Satan used in heaven and in Eden; they speak of the law as a yoke of bondage, and picture the liberty of him who disregards its claims, as a state of holiness and sanctification. Those who claim holiness and make a boast that they cannot sin, though at the same time living in transgression of the law, are in the same condition as the angels that sinned in heaven. They make great pretensions to the favor of Heaven, claim to possess exalted knowledge of spiritual things, while they go on in reckless disregard of the word of the Lord.
8 Satan deceives and corrupts the world and makes men believe that they are sinless and holy while sinning against God, but in so doing he is only carrying on his original work. He has introduced no new arguments, he has created no new empire of darkness from which to draw supplies for the furtherance of his deceptions. And sin that was sin in the beginning is sin today; and sin, the apostle declares, is the transgression of God’s law. In these days it is Satan’s determined purpose to intensify sin by making it legal in the children of disobedience. He is to reveal to the world and to heaven what is the order and result of a government carried on according to his ideas of administration and law. He is working with secret yet with intense zeal in both Church and State, to cause men to throw off all the restraints of God’s law, and take a decided stand with him in the ranks of rebellion; but when his work is accomplished, the Lord will interpose, and vindicate his honor as the supreme Ruler of the universe.
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1 When our first parents were placed in the beautiful garden of Eden, they were tested in regard to their loyalty to God. They were free to choose the service of God, or by disobedience to ally themselves with the enemy of God and man. If they would abstain from that which God had forbidden, they might keep possession of their beautiful Eden home, and remain in the favor of God, but if they disregarded God’s commands, and listened to the voice of Satan, as he spoke through the serpent, they would not only forfeit their claim to Eden, but to life itself. The penalty for sin had been set before them, and they were informed as to the tremendous issues depending on their action in obeying or disobeying the requirements of God.
2 With what intense interest the whole universe watched the conflict that was to decide the position of Adam and Eve. How attentively the angels listened to the words of Satan, the originator of sin, as he placed his own ideas above the commands of God, and sought to make of none effect the law of God through his deceptive reasoning! How anxiously they waited to see if the holy pair would be deluded by the tempter, and yield to his arts. They asked themselves, Will the holy pair transfer their faith and love from the Father and Son to Satan? Will they accept his falsehoods as truth? They knew that they might refrain from taking the fruit, and obey the positive injunction of God, or they might violate the express command of their Creator.
3 The mildest test was given them that could be given; for there was no need of their eating of the forbidden tree; everything that their wants required had been provided. The special work of Satan was to misrepresent the character of God, and in the first effort at man’s overthrow he impeached the veracity of God. God had said to them of the forbidden tree, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die;” but the enemy of all righteousness declared: “Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Satan represented God as a deceiver, as one who would debar his creatures from the benefit of his highest gift. The angels heard with sorrow and amazement this statement in regard to the character of God, as Satan represented him as possessing his own miserable attributes; but Eve was not horror-stricken to hear the holy and supreme God thus falsely accused. If she had turned her thoughts toward God, if she had looked upon beautiful Eden and remembered all the tokens of his love, if she had fled to her husband, she might have been saved from the subtile temptation of the evil one. One word of repulse would have brought to her the aid that God could give. One word in vindication of her Creator would have caused the accuser to flee, and her integrity would have been untarnished. If she had resisted the first temptation, she would have stood on higher, holier ground than ever before; but she yielded to the flatteries of her enemy, and became a captive to his will.
4 Our first parents fell through disobedience to God’s express command, and this is where thousands fall today. The Lord says, “Thou shalt not,” but Satan persuades that it is for man’s interest to disobey God. There are many who even claim to be sanctified, who do not yield obedience to God’s expressed command, and these cannot be sanctified through the truth. They seek to climb up to heaven some other way than the way which has been appointed. They say, “Believe, only believe,” and they make a great boast of their faith, but the faith they claim to possess is simply presumption, and they have no knowledge of what constitutes genuine faith. The Jews cast aside Christ, and rejected the idea that faith in him would be efficacious in saving their souls; but they trusted in their works as a means of salvation. Genuine faith in Christ works by love and purifies the soul. Faith and works go hand in hand, for faith without works is dead. God requires of every soul today what he required of our first parents in Eden,—perfect obedience to his law. There must be found in the life unswerving allegiance to God, righteousness without a flaw in the character. We must be clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and stand without blemish before God. The requirement that God has made in grace is the requirement that God made in Paradise.
5 It is a dangerous theory that leads men to declare that all that is necessary to salvation is to simply believe in Christ, while disregarding his plain commands. The gospel is not the Old Testament standard lowered, it requires faith that works righteousness, that keeps the commandments of God. Says the apostle, “This is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous.” When men claim to be saved while living in violation of God’s law, they claim that to which they have no right. Their salvation is not assured, but they are deceived by the falsehood of the evil one. The same sophistry is indulged, the same lie repeated by men, as was first spoken in Eden through the mediumship of the serpent. Though the medium is changed, the sentiment is the same.
6 God’s law appeals to man as an intelligent being; he possesses a mind to understand its demands, a conscience to feel the power of its claims, a heart to love its requirement of perfect righteousness, a will to render prompt and implicit obedience. God does not compel men to render obedience to his law. If man purposes to defy God, and transgress his law, as did Adam, he may do so, but he must suffer the terrible consequences. If he chooses to obey God, he may attain to the experience of the psalmist when he says, “I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.”
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1 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” In all the fullness of his divinity, in all the glory of his spotless humanity, Christ gave himself for us as a full and free sacrifice, and each one who comes to him should accept him as if he were the only one for whom the price had been paid. As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive; for the obedient will be raised to immortality, and the transgressor will rise from the dead to suffer death, the penalty of the law which he has broken.
2 Obedience to the law of God is sanctification. There are many who have erroneous ideas in regard to this work in the soul, but Jesus prayed that his disciples might be sanctified through the truth, and added, “Thy word is truth.” Sanctification is not an instantaneous but a progressive work, as obedience is continuous. Just as long as Satan urges his temptations upon us, the battle for self-conquest will have to be fought over and over again; but by obedience, the truth will sanctify the soul. Those who are loyal to the truth will, through the merits of Christ, overcome all weakness of character which has led them to be moulded by every varying circumstance of life.
3 Many have taken the position that they cannot sin because they are sanctified, but this is a delusive snare of the evil one. There is constant danger of falling into sin, for Christ has warned us to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. If we are conscious of the weakness of self, we shall not be self-confident and reckless of danger; but we shall feel the necessity of seeking to the Source of our strength, Jesus our righteousness. We shall come in repentance and contrition, with a despairing sense of our own finite weakness, and learn that we must daily apply to the merits of the blood of Christ, that we may become vessels fit for the Master’s use. While thus depending upon God, we shall not be found warring against the truth, but we shall always be enabled to take our stand for the right. We should cling to the teaching of the Bible, and not follow the customs and traditions of the world, the sayings and doings of men. When errors arise and are taught as Bible truth, those who have a connection with Christ will not trust to what the minister says, but, like the noble Bereans, they will search the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so. When they discover what is the word of the Lord, they will take their stand on the side of truth. They will hear the voice of the true Shepherd saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Thus you will be educated to make the Bible the man of your counsel, and the voice of a stranger you will neither hear nor follow.
4 If the soul is to be purified and ennobled, and made fit for the heavenly courts, there are two lessons to be learned,—self-sacrifice and self-control. Some learn these important lessons more easily than do others, for they are exercised by the simple discipline the Lord gives them in gentleness and love. Others require the slow discipline of suffering, that the cleansing fire may purify their hearts of pride and self-reliance, of earthly passion and self-love, that the true gold of character may appear, and that they may become victors through the grace of Christ. The love of God will strengthen the soul, and through the virtue of the merits of the blood of Christ we may stand unscathed amid the fire of temptation and trial; but no other help can avail to save but Christ, our righteousness, who is made unto us wisdom and sanctification and redemption. True sanctification is nothing more or less than to love God with all the heart, to walk in his commandments and ordinances blameless. Sanctification is not an emotion, but a heaven-born principle that brings all the passions and desires under the control of the Spirit of God; and this work is done through our Lord and Saviour.
5 Spurious sanctification does not glorify God, but leads those who claim it to exalt and glorify themselves. Whatever comes in our experience, whether joy or sorrow, that does not reflect Christ and point to him as its author, bringing glory to him, and sinking self out of sight, is not true Christian experience. When the grace of Christ is implanted in the soul by the Holy Spirit, its possessor will become humble in spirit and will seek for the society of those whose conversation is upon heavenly things. Then the Spirit will take the things of Christ and show them unto us, and will glorify, not the receiver, but the Giver. If, therefore, you have the sacred peace of Christ in your heart, your lips will be filled with praise and thanksgiving to God. Your prayers, the discharge of your duty, your benevolence, your self-denial will not be the theme of your thought or conversation, but you will magnify Him who gave Himself for you when you were yet a sinner. You will say: “I give myself to Jesus. I have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.” As you praise him, you will have a precious blessing, and all the praise and glory for that which is done through your instrumentality will be given back to God.
6 The peace of Christ is not a boisterous, untamable element made manifest in loud voices and bodily exercises. The peace of Christ is an intelligent peace, and it does not make those who possess it bear the marks of fanaticism and extravagance. It is not a rambling impulse, but an emanation from God. When the Saviour imparts his peace to the soul, the heart will be in perfect harmony with the word of God; for the Spirit and the word agree. The Lord honors his word in all his dealings with men. It is his own will, his own voice, that is revealed to men, and he has no new will, no new truth, aside from his word to unfold to his children. If you have a wonderful experience that is not in harmony with the expressed directions of God’s word, you may well doubt it; for its origin is not from above. The peace of Christ comes through the knowledge of Jesus whom the Bible reveals.
7 If happiness is drawn from outside sources, and not from the Divine Fount, it will be as changeable as varying circumstances can make it; but the peace of Christ is a constant and abiding peace. It does not depend on any circumstance in life, on the amount of worldly goods, or the number of earthly friends. Christ is the fountain of living waters, and happiness and peace drawn from him will never fail, for he is a well-spring of life. Those who trust in him can say: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.”
8 We have reason for ceaseless gratitude to God that Christ, by his perfect obedience, has won back the heaven that Adam lost through disobedience. Adam sinned, and the children of Adam share his guilt and its consequences; but Jesus bore the guilt of Adam, and all the children of Adam that will flee to Christ, the second Adam, may escape the penalty of transgression. Jesus regained heaven for man by bearing the test that Adam failed to endure; for he obeyed the law perfectly, and all who have a right conception of the plan of redemption will see that they cannot be saved while in transgression of God’s holy precepts. They must cease to transgress the law, and lay hold on the promises of God that are available for us through the merits of Christ.
9 Our faith is not to stand in the ability of men but in the power of God. There is danger of trusting in men, even though they may have been used as instruments of God to do a great and good work. Christ must be our strength and our refuge. The best of men may fall from their steadfastness, and the best of religion, when corrupted, is ever the most dangerous in its influence upon minds. Pure, living religion is found in obedience to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Righteousness exalts a nation, and the absence of it degrades and ruins man.
10 From the pulpits of today the words are uttered: “Believe, only believe. Have faith in Christ; you have nothing to do with the old law, only trust in Christ.” How different is this from the words of the apostle, who declares that faith without works is dead. He says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” We must have that faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Many seek to substitute a superficial faith for uprightness of life, and think through this to obtain salvation. The Lord requires at this time just what he required of Adam in Eden,—perfect obedience to the law of God. We must have righteousness without a flaw, without a blemish. God gave his son to die for the world, but he did not die to repeal the law which was holy and just and good. The sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is an unanswerable argument showing the immutability of the law. Its penalty was felt by the Son of God in behalf of guilty man, that through his merits the sinner might obtain the virtue of his spotless character by faith in his name. The sinner was provided with a second opportunity to keep the law of God in the strength of his Divine Redeemer. The cross of Calvary forever condemns the idea that Satan has placed before the Christian world, that the death of Christ abolished not only the typical system of sacrifices and ceremonies but the unchangeable law of God, the foundation of his throne, the transcript of his character. Through every device possible Satan has sought to make of none effect the sacrifice of the Son of God, to render his expiation useless, and his mission a failure. He has claimed that the death of Christ made obedience to the law unnecessary, and permitted the sinner to come into favor with a holy God without forsaking his sin. He has declared that the Old Testament standard was lowered in the gospel, and that men can come to Christ, not to be saved from their sins but in their sins. But when John beheld Jesus he told his mission. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” To every repentant soul the message is, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
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1 We must have greater wisdom than we have yet manifested in regard to the manner in which we treat those who in some points of faith honestly differ from us. It is unbecoming in anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ to be sharp and denunciatory, to stoop to ridicule the views of another. The spirit of criticism unfits men for receiving the light that God would send them, or for seeing what is evidence of the truth. Should the Lord reveal light after his own plan, many would not respect or comprehend it; they would ridicule the bearer of God’s message as one who set himself up above those who were better qualified to teach.
2 The papal authorities first ridiculed the reformers, and when this did not quench the spirit of investigation, they placed them behind prison walls, loaded them with chains, and when this did not silence them or make them recant, they finally brought them to the fagot and the sword. We should be very cautious lest we take the first steps in this road that leads to the Inquisition. The truth of God is progressive; it is always onward, going from strength to a greater strength, from light to a greater light. We have every reason to believe that the Lord will send us increased truth, for a great work is yet to be done. In our knowledge of truth, there is first a beginning in our understanding of it, then a progression, then completion; first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear. Much has been lost because our ministers and people have concluded that we have had all the truth essential for us as a people; but such a conclusion is erroneous and in harmony with the deceptions of Satan; for truth will be constantly unfolding.
3 The greatest care should be exercised lest we do despite to the Spirit of God by treating with indifference and scorn the messenger, and the messages, God sends to his people, and so reject light because our hearts are not in harmony with God. When Christianity is truly received, it will always transform the heart and mould the character. Let those who have been accounted worthy to be expositors of God’s word, who have been intrusted with the care of the flock of God, like humble, wise men, open their Bibles with grateful hearts and study its precious utterances. The messenger of God should not only search the Scriptures, but he should also urge the people to study the word of truth. As the miner seeks for gold in the rocks and the mountains, so men should dig in the mine of truth, that they may find out what God has revealed concerning the salvation of man.
4 If you come to the Bible to find texts simply to prove your theory or vindicate your opinion, you will not be enlightened by the Spirit of God; but if you come with fasting and humiliation of soul, with love for man and God in your heart, your prayers will be answered, and light will break upon you. We every one need to seek the Lord with our whole heart and in humble prayer. We need to lay down the prejudices that have for years bound us about. If you have been in the truth for many years, and some brother who is much younger in years and in the faith is called upon to teach, your age, your position, your intelligence, and understanding of the Scriptures, will not give you license to treat this brother with indifference and disrespect. Timothy learned many things of Paul. Although a young man, he obtained knowledge of the word of God by patient industry. He put his powers to the task of understanding the word of God, and he was richly rewarded. Paul writes to Timothy: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained . . . . Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” Grave responsibilities were laid upon Timothy, who was a mere youth. The injunction comes sounding down to our time concerning him and other youthful disciples of Christ, “Let no man despise thy youth.”
5 Samuel was chosen as a servant of God even from his childhood. God could communicate to him his word, although he had to pass by the ancient Eli, who had not been careful to do the will of God or to carry out his instruction. It will not answer to think that unless messages shall come from old and honored servants of God, they cannot be authoritative and God-given. With all deference to the youthful agent, Eli accepted the word of God from the lips of the child Samuel. Great care should be manifested by those who have acted a prominent part in the work, that they may not think that light cannot come to God’s people except through them. When they are meek and lowly of heart, without prejudice or self-exaltation because they have been highly privileged, they will be one with youthful men whom God has educated to act a special part in his work. These young men would find a great blessing in depending upon the experience of older brethren, if those who have been long in the work do not stand upon their dignity, if self does not assume prominence, and the younger brethren seem insignificant. But if this is the case, the Lord cannot use them in the work.
6 There is a witness ever present with you who reads the motives, who knows the thoughts and purposes of the heart. It is safe to be always kind and courteous, to manifest a hearty friendship and love for your brethren. In counsels or assemblies where differences of views are to be discussed, you should remember that the Master of assemblies is with you. Unfairness, hard speeches, and efforts to turn others away from an impartial decision, will all be recorded in the books of heaven. If, upon a candid investigation, your cherished ideas should be weakened by a comparison with the law and the testimony, do not let a willful, hard, stubborn spirit rise up in opposition to that which you see to be evidence against your views. If a brother differs with you, do not become provoked; treat him with candor; do not overwhelm him with assertions. Do not handle the word of God deceitfully, presenting detached passages of Scripture which you think favor your ideas, and withholding other passages which seem to weaken your position. Let God speak in his word. If you think your brother believes an error, you should deal with him considerately, manifesting tenderness, patience, and courtesy. You should reason with him from the word of God, comparing scripture with scripture, considering carefully every jot of evidence. In no case should his words be made a matter of ridicule, for “with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
7 Paul charged Timothy: “Flee also youthful lusts; but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those who oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
8 “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if any man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” Let every man obey these directions. You have before you the example of Christ. Although the homage and service of all was his due, yet he sought not honor of men; he came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” All the world belonged to him; but when he was rejected in towns and cities, he did not assert his right to his own, he went to another village to teach the truth whether men would hear or whether they would forbear. Let every soul be careful lest he prove himself to be among those who despise and wonder and perish, who turn from Christ in the person of his saints, and bring upon themselves the condemnation that fell upon the Jews.
9 The teachers of the people in the time of Christ were fully satisfied with themselves. They held counsels and strengthened one another in their ideas and opinions, and Satan was in their assemblies controlling their decisions. They strove to make the people afraid of hearing the words of Christ. They threatened to turn those who would heed his doctrine out of the synagogue, and this was regarded by the people as the greatest curse that could fall upon them. The scribes and Pharisees had formed their plans, and they did not intend to change their course of life or their manner of teaching. They would hear Christ, but they refused to let his teachings have any weight with them. They feigned to be his friends in order to draw him out on different subjects. They questioned him concerning difficult problems, that whatever he might answer, they would be able to turn his words against him.
10 On one occasion the scribes and the Pharisees “brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last.”
11 Although Jesus gave evidence of his divine power, yet he was not permitted to teach his lessons without interruption. The rulers sought to hold him up to ridicule before the people. They would not allow him to state his ideas and doctrines in a connected way, but, although frequently interrupted, light flashed into the mind of hundreds, and when the rulers heard the words of Jesus, that were clothed with power and held the people spell-bound, they were angry, and said, “Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil.” Jesus met these charges with quiet dignity, fearlessly and decidedly claiming that covenant rights were centered in himself, and were not received through Abraham. He declared, “Before Abraham was, I am.” The fury of the Jews knew no bounds, and they prepared to stone him, but the angels of God, unseen by men, hurried him out of their assembly.
12 There are men among us who profess to understand the truth for these last days, but who will not calmly investigate advanced truth. They are determined to make no advance beyond the stakes which they have set, and will not listen to those who, they say, do not stand by the old landmarks. They are so self-sufficient that they cannot be reasoned with. They consider it a virtue to be at variance with their brethren, and close the door, that light shall not find an entrance to the people of God. It will require heavenly wisdom to know how to deal with such cases. Light will come to God’s people, and those who have sought to close the door will either repent or be removed out of the way. The time has come when a new impetus must be given to the work. There are terrible scenes before us, and Satan is seeking to keep from our knowledge the very things that God would have us know. God has messengers and messages for his people. If ideas are presented that differ in some points from our former doctrines, we must not condemn them without diligent search of the Bible to see if they are true. We must fast and pray and search the Scriptures as did the noble Bereans, to see if these things are so. We must accept every ray of light that comes to us. Through earnest prayer and diligent study of God’s word, dark things will be made plain to the understanding.
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1 “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.”
2 Joshua represents those who are seeking God and keeping his commandments. Ever since the fall, Satan has sought to bring a reproach upon God’s cause. The word of God declares that he is an accuser of the brethren. As the end is brought near, he will work with more determination to bring God’s people under condemnation. Satan is represented as presenting the mistakes and errors that he has caused the people of God to commit, urging this as a reason why the Lord should not bless and guard them. He claims that it is his right to do with them as he pleases. It is impossible for us to understand his plans unless we have the Spirit of God abiding in our hearts. It is the care of the heavenly angels that keeps us from being destroyed by Satan’s cruel power; for those who seek God and are preparing for the coming of Christ, are the objects of his enmity. He constantly seeks to bring them into reproach before God. He is represented as resisting the work of Jesus in behalf of his people. Joshua stands before the angel of the Lord, and Satan stands at his right hand to resist him. But “the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?”
3 Jesus speaks of his people as a brand plucked out of the fire, and Satan understands what this means. The infinite sufferings of the Son of God in Gethsemane and on Calvary were endured that he might rescue his people from the power of the evil one. The work of Jesus for the salvation of perishing souls is as if he thrust his hand into the fire to save them. Joshua, who represents God’s people, is clothed in filthy garments, and stands before the angel; but as the people repent before God for the transgression of his law, and reach up by the hand of faith to lay hold on the righteousness of Christ, Jesus says, “Take away the filthy garments from them, and clothe them with change of raiment” It is through Christ’s righteousness alone that we are enabled to keep the law. Those who worship God in sincerity and truth, and afflict their souls before him as in the great day of atonement, will wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Satan seeks to bind about the human mind with deception, so that men will not repent and believe, that they may have their filthy garments removed. Why will you cling to your miserable defects of character, and by so doing bar the way, that Jesus may not work in your behalf?
4 During the time of trouble, the position of God’s people will be similar to the position of Joshua. They will not be ignorant of the work going on in heaven in their behalf. They will realize that sin is recorded against their names, but they will also know that the sins of all who repent and lay hold of the merits of Christ will be canceled. Jesus says: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” The judgment of the dead has been going on, and soon the judgment will begin upon the living, and every case will be decided. It will be known whose names are retained upon the book of life, and whose are blotted out. Every day the angels of God keep a record of the transactions of men, and these records stand open to the eyes of angels, and Christ, and God. Those who have manifested true repentance for sin, and by living faith in Christ are obedient to God’s commandments, will have their names retained in the book of life, and they will be confessed before the Father and before the holy angels. Jesus will say, “They are mine; I have purchased them with my own blood.”
5 The time of trouble is soon to break upon us, and the decree will go forth that everyone who will not keep the first day of the week shall be put to death. Those who have not regarded the Sabbath as they should, who have exalted their business above God’s commandment, will trample upon the Sabbath and keep the first day of the week, because they have consulted their own convenience before the honor of God. They did not learn to bring themselves into harmony with the Sabbath, but sought to bring the Sabbath to meet their own convenience. With the preparation they have made, they are no more fitted to stand in the day of judgment than the greatest sinner. Their ideas are confused; they have tried to serve God and mammon; they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Those who love God with all the heart, and their neighbor as themselves, will be the only ones who will stand the test of the decree. When Satan brings his power to bear upon half-hearted professors, he will sweep them over to his side, he will claim his right to do with them as he pleases. But of those who honor God, the Lord says, “They shall be mine, . . . in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
6 Those who are in the favor of God will not be deceived. Many now pass as Sabbath-keepers who, when the test comes upon the question, will no longer have a place among those who observe God’s commandments. The prophet says, “Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Those who are determined to have their own way, who measure themselves by their own standard, will have their time of trouble. The prophet declares: “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.”
7 The Sun of Righteousness shall arise upon those who have kept the commandments of God. Those who think that they can set their will against God’s will are in the greatest danger. Those who wish to be covered in the day of God’s anger, must be true to God now. Now is the time to show our fidelity to God, and our faith in Christ. The sins that have been committed against God will be blotted out if they are repented of. Christ said: “Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.” Who are these that stand by?—The angels of God. They will be as a wall of fire round about the people of God, and the hosts of evil will not be able to pass their ranks. The angels of Satan are working with the children of disobedience to inspire them with madness against those who are loyal to the law of God. Although the people of God are despised by the world, and “it doth not yet appear what we shall be,” yet the wicked will one day see God’s people glorified; they will see the promise fulfilled, “Them that honor me, I will honor.”
8 While we are in the world, we should be the light of the world; for God has a work for each one to do. Only a few will choose to obey the truth, and we should seek for the grace of God that we may represent his service aright. There is a spirit in the church which greatly misrepresents the exalted character of the truth. In place of having your attention turned toward Jesus, in place of studying his life and character that you may copy the divine pattern, you have measured yourselves among yourselves, and in this way the truth of God has been greatly dishonored. Envy, jealousy, criticism of others, love of supremacy, have all flourished among the professed people of God. Some have claimed that special messages have been given them of God, and their attention has been turned away from the preparation of heart necessary to meet Christ in peace. Satan will invent everything possible to lead men away from the real work. If the members of the church are not subject one to another, if they go here and there with a message God has not given them, the church will become demoralized, and fanaticism of the worst order will come in. There are conscientious souls who will accept anything that calls for sacrifice. Christ has said, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” God sends his messenger, and if the people will receive the message, they will not be led into error.
9 The Lord wants you to consult together. If, in years past, there had been more consultation concerning the work in Norway, it would have been far in advance of what it is today. Personal effort, personal opinion, personal plans, have placed upon the work a mould that does not elevate and ennoble the people of God. The enemy is trying to make of none effect the word of God. Those in the church who ought to set an example to the flock, have had such a lax hold of God that they have not been able to influence the people.
10 You are to be obedient to all the requirements of God. When you bring your own work into God’s time, when you violate the Sabbath, your moral sense becomes clouded, and you cannot discern that your course is an offense to God. If your eyes could be opened, you would see the Saviour by your side with blood-stained hands. He was wounded for your transgressions; will you refuse to accept the great sacrifice that was made in your behalf? For your sake, Christ became poor, that you through his poverty might be made rich in heavenly riches. Today we present the cross of Calvary. It speaks in plain language to every soul that is not deluded by the temptation of Satan in consequence of disobedience to God’s law. Christ came to our world and died a shameful death because the precepts of the law could not be changed. He endured the cross, despised the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He suffered all this for the joy that was set before him,—the joy of bringing many sons and daughters to God. He died to bring us into harmony with the law of Heaven. He has said: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
11 Many are in peril today; their eyes have been blinded; and as Christ said to Nicodemus, I say to them, “Ye must be born again.” I expect to meet my words in the last great day. When I look at the people here who are trying to serve God, I would try to fulfill the words of the prophet, and comfort the people of God. Your Saviour is a living Saviour, who is pleading with the Father in your behalf. Everyone who will keep the word of his patience will be saved from the temptation that will come upon all the world. The smallest acts are written in the book of God, but God says that he will not despise a humble and a contrite heart. If you had all the wealth of the world, it would not provide a ransom for your soul, or elevate you in the favor of Heaven. Will you be a child of God? Will you walk in humility before him? Your talents, your ability, your means, belong to God. Give all to him; for he has purchased all with an infinite price.
12 We exhort you to come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Shut out everything that will separate you from God; put away sin from among you. The people of the world may seem to pass on without perplexity, and to be more favored than the righteous. David says: “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. . . . When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” There are many who are in the same condition of mind today as was David; but if they would go into the sanctuary, and understand the latter end of the wicked, they would be no more envious of them.
13 “Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth; for everyone that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and everyone that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.”
14 The angel is represented as flying through the midst of heaven with a roll in his hand, on which are written the deeds of our daily life. God bears long with the children of men, but there is a time coming when he will cease to bear with them. God wants them to get under the cover of his wings. Jesus is pleading his blood in our behalf, but Satan is standing at his right hand, resisting every effort in our behalf. May God help us to humble our hearts, before it shall be forever too late to make wrongs right.
15 Let the Spirit of God fashion our character and our work. We are responsible for the manner in which the truth is presented. We should seek to impress unbelievers with its exalted character. Christ is soon coming, and those who have not kept the Sabbath sacredly should reform. God will frown upon those who disregard his commandments, and he cannot bless the church that retains Sabbath-breakers in its fellowship.
16 Oh, that Christ might walk among you, that he might say, “Take away the filthy garment, and clothe them with change of raiment.” We want to know that we are on the Lord’s side. We want to dwell with him through all eternity. Those who sit with Christ on his throne must be partakers with him of his sufferings. They must drink of the cup that he drank of, and be baptized with the baptism that he was baptized with.
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1 Through Jesus, the Son of God, the Father is more fully revealed to the world. Jesus said to his disciples: “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The souls of thousands are crying out today, “Show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. We cannot claim God as our Father until we see him.” Jesus says to every such soul, as he said to Philip: “‘Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me?’ Have you seen my works, have you listened to my teachings, have you witnessed the miracles that I have wrought in my Father’s name, and yet have you not understood the nature of God? I have prayed with you and for you, and yet can you not comprehend that I am the way, the truth, and the life, and that in my life I have unfolded to you the character of my Father? I am the brightness of my Father’s glory, I am the express image of his person. ‘Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.’”
2 The time had come for Jesus to stand in contradiction to the work of Satan, to rebuke and oppose his power. At the beginning of his ministry, John was baptizing in the Jordan, and Christ came to him to receive the baptismal rite. As man’s example he took the step in conversion requisite for the repenting, believing sinner; and the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him, and lo, a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” He was consecrated to his office by God himself. He was anointed by the Spirit, invested with the authority, and endowed with the attributes, of God; and his mission was to reveal the Father to the world.
3 As Christ was to reveal the Father, so those who believe in Jesus are to reveal Christ to the world in spirit and character; they are to be good, and to do good. Wherever Jesus went, he taught his disciples concerning the kingdom of God; he turned every event into an occasion of usefulness, and his followers are to do the same.
4 After the ascension of Christ, his disciples were left to carry forward the work which he had been doing. They were to be the instruments through which the Lord should speak, and many were to believe on their word, and engage in the work that Jesus had done when he was upon earth. God’s appointed agents are to study carefully the lessons which Christ taught his disciples. They are to contemplate his precious instruction, and to imitate the holy characteristics of his teachings; if they fail to do this, they fail to represent Christ as he represented the Father. There is need of fervent and frequent prayer that we may understand the import of his instruction, and carry forward the work he has given us to do. We are to bear in mind that it is only a small proportion of what Jesus taught and did that has been recorded.
5 That the disciples of Christ might be prepared for the great work which they were to do, Jesus had instructed them to tarry in Jerusalem until they should be endowed with power from on high. On the day of Pentecost, as they were assembled together, and with one accord were seeking for the fulfillment of his promise, the Spirit of God descended, and the hearts of those who believed were filled with the Holy Ghost. The most signal evidence of the power of God was manifested, and thousands were converted in a day. Our Saviour has provided that those who go forth to fulfill his commission of preaching the gospel to the world, shall not go without the divine unction. He has said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” If men would come to God and make an entire surrender to him in full assurance of faith, they would have grace to do the great work committed to them.
6 When Moses was called out to lead the children of Israel, he prayed earnestly to the Lord, and said: “See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people; and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight; and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken; for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
7 The Lord did not rebuke Moses as presumptuous because he asked greater and greater favors at his hand. Every laborer in the cause of God should have firm, earnest faith and determined purpose, that he may know that he has the favor and presence of God with him. Co-workers with God may obtain all that they ask for if they will but seek the Lord with faith. In the time of Christ, many of his disciples remained ignorant of the very thing that it was their privilege to know. Jesus sought to teach them of spiritual things. He reproached his disciples because of their dullness of comprehension. If it had been impossible for them to comprehend the things he uttered, he would not thus have reproved them. They might have exerted their mental powers to a greater extent, and stimulated their souls, by prayer and faith, and so have been enabled to understand the mysteries of godliness. Jesus saw that they did not lay hold of the real meaning of the great truths that he presented, and he compassionately promised that the Holy Spirit should recall these sayings to their minds, and revive in their remembrance many of the truths which they had lost. He tried to impress upon them the fact that he had opened before them great truths, the value of which they had failed to comprehend. After his resurrection, when he opened to them the scriptures concerning himself, he said unto them, “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you. . . . Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.” Although Christ had been with them, and they had heard his exposition of the prophecies, they had failed to comprehend the great plan of the atonement, and they needed the power of the Spirit of God to make plain to their minds its deep significance.
8 When the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples of Christ, they saw their Saviour in a light in which they had never seen him before. Gladness and peace came to their souls. Jesus had told them what would be the result of the operation of the Holy Spirit. He had said. “He shall glorify me.” Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, the soul is sanctified by obedience to the truth, and Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He unfolded to man the important lesson that the sum of all science is to be found in the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. This knowledge can be incorporated into everyone’s experience. The Scriptures declare, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
9 The knowledge of God and Christ lies at the foundation of all knowledge. Through the study of the Bible, moral power is developed; and while the mind is put to the task of comprehending its truths, the intellect expands; as the image of Christ, the Author of all truth, brightens to the vision, the understanding becomes enlarged to comprehend more fully the elevated character of the standard of perfection. Those who study the Bible in the right manner, drink from a fountain which is inexhaustible. The teaching of Christ is simple, and yet the greatest and best disciplined minds are charmed with his profound and comprehensive utterances. In all his lessons, Jesus presented to men the worthlessness of ceremonial obedience. He sought to impress men with the spirituality of the law, unveiling its vital principles, and making plain its eternal obligations. The righteousness of the law was presented to the world in the character of Christ, and the holy, benevolent, and paternal attributes of God were revealed in his dealings with mankind. He explained the solemn relation which existed between man and God, between man and his fellow-man. He taught the necessity of prayer, repentance, faith, virtue, and perfection of character.
10 Through Christ, moral power is brought to man that will change the entire affections, and enable man to work with a will for the cause of God. Where all the power of mind and body was before concentrated to work the works of evil, by the Spirit of God a revolution is brought about. The Holy Spirit enlightens, renews, and sanctifies the soul. Angels behold with inexpressible rapture the results of the working of the Holy Spirit in man. By the revelation of the attractive loveliness of Christ, by the knowledge of his love expressed to us while we were yet sinners, the stubborn heart is melted and subdued, and the sinner is transformed and becomes a child of God. Love is the agency which God uses to expel sin from the human soul. By it he changes pride into humility, enmity and unbelief into love and faith. He does not employ compulsory measures; Jesus is revealed to the soul, and if man will look in faith to the Lamb of God, he will live.
11 Jesus has given this invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” In coming to Jesus, we reveal our faith. The law condemns the sinner, and by this condemnation he is led to see the necessity of a Saviour. He seeks refuge in Jesus, and the Son is glorified and exalted as the Redeemer of the world; he is the sinner’s substitute and surety.
12 No man can keep the law of God apart from Christ, and God will not accept his unaided efforts. The nature of man is in opposition to the divine will, depraved, deformed, and wholly unlike the character of God expressed in his law. Man is accepted through the righteousness of Christ, through obedience to God’s law. God imputes beauty, excellence, and perfection to man through the merits of his Son, and thus places the highest honor upon Christ by making him the pattern by which he works to fashion the character of all believers. Christ is presented to men that they may catch his temper, his perfection; and as the model is complete and perfect in every part, so, as man is conformed to the image of Christ, he is made complete in him; for aside from Christ there never can be righteousness in the human heart.
13 When the Spirit was poured out from on high, the church was flooded with light, but Christ was that light; the church was filled with joy, but Christ was the subject of that joy. When the Spirit is poured upon his people in this day, Christ’s name will be upon every tongue, his love will fill every soul; and when the heart embraces Jesus, it will embrace God; for all the fullness of God dwells in Christ. When the beams of Christ’s righteousness shine upon the soul, joy, adoration, and glory will be woven with the experience.
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1 “Without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” There are many in the Christian world who claim that all that is necessary to salvation is to have faith; works are nothing, faith is the only essential. But God’s word tells us that faith without works is dead, being alone. Many refuse to obey God’s commandments, yet they make a great deal of faith. But faith must have a foundation. God’s promises are all made upon conditions. If we do his will, if we walk in truth, then we may ask what we will, and it shall be done unto us. While we earnestly endeavor to be obedient, God will hear our petitions; but he will not bless us in disobedience. If we choose to disobey his commandments, we may cry, “Faith, faith, only have faith,” and the response will come back from the sure word of God, “Faith without works is dead.” Such faith will only be as sounding brass and as a tinkling cymbal. In order to have the benefits of God’s grace, we must do our part; we must faithfully work, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. We are workers together with God. You are not to sit in indolence, waiting for some great occasion, in order to do a great work for the Master. You are not to neglect the duty that lies directly in your pathway; but you are to improve the little opportunities that open around you. You must go on doing your very best in the smaller works of life, taking up heartily and faithfully the work God’s providence has assigned you. However small, you should do it with all the thoroughness with which you would do a larger work. Your fidelity will be approved in the records of heaven. You need not wait for your way to be made smooth before you; go to work to improve your intrusted talents. You have nothing to do with what the world will think of you. Let your words, your spirit, your actions, be a living testimony to Jesus, and the Lord will take care that the testimony for his glory, furnished in a well-ordered life and a godly conversation, shall deepen and intensify in power. Its results may never be seen on earth, but they will be made manifest before God and angels.
2 We are to do all that we can do on our part to fight the good fight of faith. We are to wrestle, to labor, to strive, to agonize to enter in at the strait gate. We are to set the Lord ever before us. With clean hands, with pure hearts, we are to seek to honor God in all our ways. Help has been provided for us in Him who is mighty to save. The spirit of truth and light will quicken and renew us by its mysterious workings; for all our spiritual improvement comes from God, not from ourselves. The true worker will have divine power to aid him, but the idler will not be sustained by the Spirit of God. In one way we are thrown upon our own energies; we are to strive earnestly to be zealous and to repent, to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts from every defilement; we are to reach the highest standard, believing that God will help us in our efforts. We must seek if we would find, and seek in faith; we must knock, that the door may be opened unto us. The Bible teaches that everything regarding our salvation depends upon our own course of action. If we perish, the responsibility will rest wholly upon ourselves. If provision has been made, and if we accept God’s terms, we may lay hold on eternal life. We must come to Christ in faith, we must be diligent to make our calling and election sure.
3 The forgiveness of sin is promised to him who repents and believes; the crown of life will be the reward of him who is faithful to the end. We may grow in grace by improving through the grace we already have. We are to keep ourselves unspotted from the world, if we would be found blameless in the day of God. Faith and works go hand in hand, they act harmoniously in the work of overcoming. Works without faith are dead, and faith without works is dead. Works will never save us; it is the merit of Christ that will avail in our behalf. Through faith in him, Christ will make all our imperfect efforts acceptable to God. The faith we are required to have is not a do-nothing faith; saving faith is that which works by love, and purifies the soul. He who will lift up holy hands to God without wrath and doubting, will walk intelligently in the way of God’s commandments.
4 If we are to have pardon for our sins, we must first have a realization of what sin is, that we may repent, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. We must have a solid foundation for our faith; it must be founded on the word of God, and its results will be seen in obedience to God’s expressed will. Says the apostle, “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” Faith and works will keep us evenly balanced, and make us successful in the work of perfecting Christian character. Jesus says, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Speaking of temporal food, the apostle said, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” The same rule applies to our spiritual nourishment; if any would have the bread of eternal life, let him make efforts to obtain it.
5 We are living in an important and interesting period of this earth’s history. We need more faith than we have yet had; we need a firmer hold from above. Satan is working with all power to obtain the victory over us, for he knows that he has but a short time in which to work. Paul had fear and trembling in working out his salvation; and should not we fear lest a promise being left us, we should any of us seem to come short of it, and prove ourselves unworthy of eternal life? We should watch unto prayer, strive with agonizing effort to enter in at the strait gate.
6 There is no excuse for sin, or for indolence. Jesus has led the way, and he wishes us to follow in his steps. He has suffered, he has sacrificed as none of us can, that he might bring salvation within our reach. We need not be discouraged. Jesus came to our world to bring divine power to man, that through his grace, we might be transformed into his likeness. When it is in the heart to obey God, when efforts are put forth to this end, Jesus accepts this disposition and effort as man’s best service, and he makes up for the deficiency with his own divine merit. But he will not accept those who claim to have faith in him, and yet are disloyal to his Father’s commandment. We hear a great deal about faith, but we need to hear a great deal more about works. Many are deceiving their own souls by living an easy-going, accommodating, crossless religion. But Jesus says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross , and follow me.”
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1 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
2 The scribes and Pharisees trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. They looked with contempt upon the Samaritans, and Jesus related this parable to show them that it is the spirit of the man that makes him of value with God, and not his nation or profession. The priest and Levite had passed by the man who was in need of their help, and had left him to die by the wayside; but the Samaritan had had compassion upon him, and had acted the part of a Christian neighbor to him. It would not have been best to present this lesson to the haughty priests except in a parable, yet in this parable Jesus made it evident that they had only a religion of ceremonies. They rested in outward observances of the law, but did not keep it in heart. The Scriptures declare that “by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” In the gospel the great standard of righteousness is not presented in a dimmer light than in the Old Testament. Christ declared that not one jot or tittle of the law should pass until heaven and earth should pass. The divine Teacher held up the perfect standard of righteousness as the only thing by which to test human character. The law reveals to men the deformity of the heart, and the gospel enforces the law by presenting Christ in contrast to man.
3 In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus gave a picture of himself and his mission. Man had been deceived, bruised, robbed, and ruined by Satan, and left to perish; but Christ had compassion on our helpless condition. He left his glory to come to our rescue. He found us ready to die, and he undertook our case. He healed our wounds, he opened to us a refuge of safety, made complete provision for our needs at his own charges. He died to redeem us. We are to look to Christ’s life, we are to see his Spirit and work, that we may view our life and work in the light reflected from the life of Christ. We may see how far short we come of keeping the commandments of God, how far short we come of loving our neighbors as ourselves.
4 When the rich young ruler came to Christ, inquiring the way of salvation, Jesus told him to keep the commandments. The ruler answered that he had kept them from his youth up, but he who could penetrate into the secrets of the heart, showed him that he had failed. Jesus said to him: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.”
5 Conviction of sin is the first step in conversion, and by the law is the knowledge of sin. When the sinner has a realization of his sin, he is in a condition to be drawn to Christ by the amazing love that has been shown for him on the cross of Calvary. When he is humble and penitent, he does not look for pardon to the law which he has broken, but he looks to God, who has provided forgiveness and sanctification through his well-beloved Son. As he beholds the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world, he grows to love him, and by beholding he becomes changed into his image. The apostle wrote, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The meek and holy Sufferer bore our sins, that the plan of salvation might be opened before men, that whosoever should believe on him might not perish, but have everlasting life.
6 All who see their own ignorance and sin, will have some appreciation of the great work of redemption, through which man is chosen as the object of God’s patience and loving-kindness. As man sees the sinfulness of his nature in the light of the law, he will realize his great need of a Saviour. We all need to search the Scriptures, that we may become acquainted with the conditions of salvation, by which reconciliation may be brought about between man and God. Man must find the path that leads back to the Father’s house, and every step away from transgression is a step toward Paradise. Every step in repentance, contrition, obedience, and faith, is a step toward the Father. True faith in Christ will lead to obedience to the requirements of God.
(To be continued.)
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1 There are many who say, “Believe, believe; all you have to do is to believe.” But faith must have foundation, and those who preach that all we must do is to believe, do not themselves know what constitutes true faith. They do not carefully search the Scriptures to know on what ground faith should rest. The advocating of faith, and the disparaging of the keeping of the commandments of God, is only another phase of the controversy originated by Satan in heaven. Indifference to the precepts of the law lowers the conception of what constitutes righteousness; and one who opposes the law at this time, places himself in a more perilous position than that in which Adam and Eve were when they disobeyed God’s commandments, for they afterward repented of their sin, and turned away from their allegiance to his enemy.
2 After Satan brought sin into the world, he tempted man to set himself in rebellion against the authority of God. He inspired him with hatred against God because of the results that followed sin. He suggested that God was arbitrary, destitute of mercy and benevolence, because the penalty of the law fell upon the transgressor. When fallen man views God in this light, he casts aside his authority as a moral governor. God has a right to enforce the penalty of the law upon transgressors, for law without a penalty would be without force. God’s law is the foundation of all law and government. The fact that Christ suffered the penalty of the law for all transgressors, is an unanswerable argument as to its immutable character, and it will justly condemn those who have sought to make it void. When the curse fell upon the beloved Son of God, who became sin for us, the Father made it manifest that the unrepenting transgressor of his law would have to suffer its full penalty. The word of God declares, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” The law of God was upheld and vindicated by the Son of God. The death of Christ, as an expiatory sacrifice, opens a way whereby the sinner may be pardoned, and turn from the path of transgression into the path of truth and righteousness, while at the same time it vindicates the honor and unchangeableness of the law. In the plan of salvation, justice and mercy clasp hands together.
3 The sinner will find no saving quality in law; he must look to the surety and substitute, for it is the blood of Christ that cleanseth from all sin. The repenting prodigal is taken into fellowship with God, and he becomes one with Christ, as Christ is one with the Father. The obedient children of God recognize the law as a divine law, the sacrifice on Calvary as a divine sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit as their divine sanctifier. All the claims of the law are met in Jesus. In him we have a perfect foundation for our faith. The Son of God did not die that man might always remain a transgressor; for Christ is not a minister of sin. He died that by that act man might no longer remain a rebel against God’s law. He died to point men to the way of faith and obedience, that they might see to the end of that which is abolished. When sinners have a view of the plan of salvation, there is no more disposition to cavil concerning the law; for the way of truth and light is open to their understanding. They see that “whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” In the light of the law the sinner is convicted as was Paul.
4 Christ revealed himself to Paul in a flood of glory, and he was struck down helpless before him. He asked, “Who art thou, Lord?” and the Lord answered, “I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest.” Paul then inquired, “What will thou have me to do?” When Christ is revealed to the soul, the sinner’s relation to the law is made plain. There must be repentance toward God for the transgression of his law, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ as the sinner’s substitute. The convicted sinner sees his bruised, demoralized condition, feels his need of a physician, sees Christ as his only hope, and lays hold of him by faith. He is deeply conscious of his sin and ruin, and seeks the divine remedy in the world’s Redeemer.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 Man is prone to forget God, even while claiming to be his servant. When Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth, announcing himself to be the Messiah, the people thought they loved him. They were glad to hear the tidings he brought them as he read the words of the prophet Isaiah concerning himself, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Divine light flashed upon their darkened minds, and their hearts were stirred to adoration. But when Christ showed them that they were no more in favor with heaven than were the Gentiles, who had had less light and fewer privileges, but who had walked in all the light they had, and improved all the opportunities they had been given, they dragged him from the synagogue, and sought to hurl him from the brow of the hill.
2 The multitudes who had been fed by Christ in the desert place imagined that they loved Jesus; but when he reproved them, charging them with caring more for the bread which perisheth than for the bread of life, they were angry, and many turned away from him. The rich young ruler came to Jesus, calling him master. He had listened to his wonderful words, he had seen his wonderful works; but when Christ showed him that he loved his riches more than his neighbor, he went away sorrowful, clinging to his idols. Simon thought he loved Jesus, but when he found that a poor, sorrowful, repentant woman was esteemed more highly than himself, the shallowness of his love was proved.
3 Many will see beautiful characteristics in Christ, and will admire them; but that love which embraces his entire character, will never dwell in a heart filled with self-righteousness, will never dwell in a heart that does not realize and abhor its own sinfulness. Not to hate ourselves in sin, is not to love Jesus. Not to see our own deformity, is not to see the beauty of Christ; for it is when the heart is fully aroused to its own state of degradation that Jesus will be appreciated. The more humble our views of self, the more exalted will be our views of Christ, and the more clearly we shall discern the sacred, spotless character of our Redeemer.
4 There are many who say, “We are holy, we are sinless.” By their words they give the impression that they think themselves as good as Jesus, and some have even dared to assert that they were Christ; but even to entertain such thoughts as these is blasphemy. Not to see the marked contrast between ourselves and Jesus is not to know ourselves, and to be ignorant of our Lord.
5 Jesus died to save his people from their sins, and redemption in Christ means to cease the transgression of the law of God, and to be free from every sin; no heart that is stirred with enmity against the law of God, is in harmony with Christ, who suffered on Calvary, to vindicate and exalt the law before the universe.
6 Those who make bold assumptions of holiness give proof in this that they do not see themselves in the light of the law; they are not spiritually enlightened, and they do not loathe every species of selfishness and pride. From their sin-stained lips fall the contradictory utterances: “I am holy, I am sinless. Jesus teaches me that if I keep the law I am fallen from grace. The law is a yoke of bondage.” The Lord says, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” We should study the word of God carefully, that we may come to right decisions, and act accordingly; for then we shall obey the word and be in harmony with God’s holy law.
7 While we are to be in harmony with God’s law, we are not saved by the works of the law, yet we cannot be saved without obedience. The law is the standard by which character is measured. But we cannot possibly keep the commandments of God without the regenerating grace of Christ. Jesus alone can cleanse us from all sin. He does not save us by law, neither will he save us in disobedience to law.
8 Our love to Christ will be in proportion to the depth of our conviction of sin, and by the law is the knowledge of sin. But as we see ourselves, let us look away to Jesus, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. By faith take hold of the merits of Christ, and the soul cleansing blood will be applied. The more clearly we see the evils and perils to which we have been exposed, the more grateful shall we be for deliverance through Christ. The gospel of Christ does not give men license to break the law; for it was through transgression that the flood-gates of woe were opened upon our world. Today sin is the same malignant thing that it was in the time of Adam. The gospel does not promise the favor of God to anyone who in impenitence breaks his law. The depravity of the human heart, the guilt of transgression, the ruin of sin, are all made plain by the cross where Christ has made for us a way of escape.
9 Self-righteousness is the danger of this age; it separates the soul from Christ. Those who trust to their own righteousness cannot understand how salvation comes through Christ. They call sin righteousness, and righteousness sin. They have no appreciation of the evil of transgression, no understanding of the terror of the law; for they do not respect God’s moral standard. The reason there are so many spurious conversions in these days, is that there is so low an appreciation of the law of God. Instead of God’s standard of righteousness, men have erected a standard of their own by which to measure character. They see through a glass darkly, and present false ideas of sanctification to the people, thus encouraging egotism, pride, and self-righteousness. The doctrine of sanctification advocated by many is full of deception, because it is flattering to the natural heart; but the kindest thing that can be preached to the sinner is the truth of the binding claims of the law of God. Faith and works must go hand in hand; for faith without works is dead, being alone. The prophet declares a truth by which we may test all doctrine. He says, “To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Although error abounds in the world, there is no reason why men need remain in deception. The truth is plain, and when it is contrasted with error, its character may be discerned. All the subjects of God’s grace may understand what is required of them. By faith we may conform our lives to the standard of righteousness, because we can appropriate to ourselves the righteousness of Christ. In the word of God the honest seeker for truth will find the rule for genuine sanctification. The apostle says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. . . . For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally-minded is death; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.”
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1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
2 The love of the Father is an infinite love; and as John contemplates its fullness, he can find no language in which to express his wonder. He exclaims, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” It is not possible for the human mind to fully comprehend the height, the depth, and the breadth of this love, which passeth knowledge.
3 Our first parents transgressed the law of God in the garden of Eden, and fell from their high estate, and death was pronounced upon Adam and his posterity; but the human race was not left to hopeless misery. The Son of God consented to become man’s substitute and surety; he consented to take the wrath of the Father upon himself. Through the infinite sacrifice of Christ in man’s behalf, the star of hope illuminated the dark future of Adam, and another probation was granted him in which to prepare for eternal life. Jesus came to our world to be a man of sorrows, to become acquainted with grief. He did not take his position with the lofty and rich of this world, although he owned the world. Had he done this, there might have been some excuse for the haughty bearing of the rich, as though they thought salvation was only for them. Jesus said that he came to preach the gospel to the poor. With his human arm he reached to the very depths of human woe, in order that he might lift up fallen man, and elevate and ennoble the race, and finally exalt the overcomers to his throne.
4 Jesus might have remained in heaven, to receive the adoration of the heavenly host, but he did not do this. For man’s sake he stepped down from the throne, laid aside his royal robe, clothed his divinity with humanity, and for our sake became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. In assuming humanity, he exalted the fallen race before God, and made it possible for sinful man to become an heir of heaven. Can we wonder that John exclaimed, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God”? Men think that it is a great honor to be connected with an earthly king, but John tells us that by a life of obedience we may become the children of the heavenly King, and have connection with the Majesty on high. When Christ became man’s substitute and surety, it was that he might unite finite man with the infinite God, and connect earth with heaven. The Son of God took upon him the nature of man, bore insult, ignominy, shame, and death, in order to save a wicked world. He was tempted in all points like as we are, that he might become acquainted with our temptations; by this experience of suffering and trial, he opened the way that the sons and daughters of Adam may return to allegiance to God, and make their way back to the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. That Jesus has been tempted in all points like as we are, that he is able to succor those who are tempted, has given men confidence to come to him and pour out all their sorrows before him; for he has borne our griefs, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. After he has made an infinite sacrifice for us, will any of us be so ungrateful as to refuse to accept it? He was our example in all things, and we are to study the life and character of our Lord, and learn of him meekness and lowliness of heart.
5 He received baptism at the hands of John, and in coming up out of the water he bowed upon Jordan’s banks, and offered up a prayer to Heaven. Never before had angels listened to such a prayer as came from his lips. The Father heard the petition of his Son in man’s behalf, and the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit, like a dove of burnished gold, encircled him, while a voice from the highest glory was heard, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” How many have read over this relation, and have not had their hearts stirred by its significant truths! Many have thought that it did not concern mankind; but it is of the greatest importance to each one of them. Jesus was accepted of Heaven as a representative of the human race. With all our sin and weakness, we are not cast aside as worthless; we are accepted in the Beloved; for heaven has been opened to our petitions through the Son of God. The gates are ajar, and the light of heaven will shine upon all those whom Jesus came to save, if they will but come within the circle of the beams of the Sun of Righteousness; for ample provision has been made for the salvation of every soul.
6 Man did not, of himself, have moral power to enable him to gain the victory over Satan. From his baptism in Jordan, Jesus went into the wilderness of temptation, and fasted forty days and forty nights. He was assaulted by the fierce temptations of Satan, and, passing over the ground where Adam fell, he resisted every suggestion of the wily foe. He redeemed Adam’s disgraceful failure and fall. When he was faint and hungry from his long fast, Satan appeared to him as an angel of light, tempting him to employ his divine power in his own behalf. He urged him to command the stones to become bread; but Jesus met him with the word of God, the only weapon that could defeat him, the weapon that each one of his followers must use if they would obtain the victory. Jesus said to the evil one, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
7 The lesson here presented to us by our great Exemplar is that it is of far greater consequence to obey the word of God than to sustain our natural life. We are God’s property, and we are not to feel it our privilege to use even that which we claim as our own as we please, in eating and drinking and feasting. The favor of God is of far higher value to us than our temporal food. Jesus made it manifest, though assailed with the fiercest pangs of hunger, that he trusted in his heavenly Father with unshaken confidence. He knew that his Father was acquainted with his position of trial, and would strengthen him to endure it. In the unfaltering trust of Jesus there is a lesson for us; we are to have an eye single to the glory of God.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 When Satan saw that Jesus maintained faith in God in the first temptation, he changed the character of his temptation, and came to him in another guise. He took him to the pinnacle of the temple, and appealed to his unswerving faith. And he said unto him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Jesus met him again with the word of God, saying, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Another precious lesson is presented to man in the attitude of our Saviour. We are not to presume that God will manifest miraculous power in our behalf to save us from the consequences of our own folly. It is proper for us to manifest perfect confidence in God when in the path of duty, but if we go aside from the way of his direction, we have no ground to presume that God will deliver us. Satan knew he could not hurl Christ from the lofty pinnacle, for his power was prescribed. Jesus overcame the artful foe in this temptation also.
2 “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.” Satan claimed to be the prince of the world, but he offered to release his claim upon the earth if Jesus would thus acknowledge his supremacy. And he said unto him, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” When Jesus was invited to acknowledge allegiance to the prince of the powers of darkness, his indignation was stirred. Divinity flashed through humanity, and he said, “Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Satan then left Jesus. The Prince of Life was faint and dying on the field of battle; but angels came and ministered unto him. The lesson Jesus has given us in his dealing with these temptations is summed up in these words, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
3 Adam fell through yielding to appetite. Man never could have overcome the power of appetite unless Christ had overcome in his behalf; but now man may obtain the victory. Christ came to bring divine power to unite with human effort, so that although we have been debased by perverted appetite, we may take courage, for we are prisoners of hope. We are not required to overcome in our own strength; by living faith we can grasp the hand of Infinite Power, and when Satan comes with his temptations, we can point to the cross of Calvary, and say, “Christ died for me; in his name I can and will overcome. I want the Eden home that Adam lost. I must, I will, fight the battles of the Lord, and become a victor, and have a place in the kingdom of glory.”
4 Only in the light shining from the cross of Calvary can we estimate the value that God places upon man. He says, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” Man can be thus elevated through the merits of Jesus. How few look at religion in its true light. Many have it confused with traditions and ceremonies. The religion of Christ will convert men, and separate them from the world; but it does not take them out of the world, for God has said, “Ye are the light of the world.” Our work is to reflect light in good works to those who know not God. God has given us a cross to bear, but under no circumstances does he want us to manufacture tests and crosses for ourselves. Jesus says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
5 Why is it that so many wear a sad countenance, that so many complain of the cross and of the hardness of the way that leads to heaven? It is because they are yoked up with the world, and not with Christ. They do the very things that Christ has told them not to do. They place their affections upon the things of earth; but Christ says: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
6 We are to make God the supreme object of our affection. There are many who are seeking to serve God and mammon at the same time; but if they continue in this course, they will lose both worlds. Everyone that truly submits to the yoke of Christ will say that his yoke is easy; all who bear his burdens will say that they are light. The religion of Christ never degrades the receiver. When the truth of God takes possession of the mind and soul, it purifies, refines, and ennobles the character. Some have said that religion brings us all down upon a level; but there is no low level in the religion of Christ. The truth of God brings those who receive it, up to walk in a high and holy pathway cast up for the ransomed of the Lord. Those who are coarse, harsh, and uncourteous in manner, will, as they learn in the school of Christ, become meek and lowly in heart. Those who claim to be serving God, and yet are not daily refined, are in darkness; for everyone that is in harmony with Christ will bear the Christ-like mould. We are to be sanctified through the truth. Our conversation is to be on heaven and heavenly things. God would not have the mind dwell upon the trivial matters of earth, but upon the themes of eternal interest. There are some who seem to have the impression that in order to be humble you must be odd, impolite, uncourteous; but this is an evidence, not of true humility, but of selfishness. The religion of Christ will never make you uncourteous. We do not think it essential to imitate the politeness of the world, which is simply affectation and display; but everyone who is connected with Christ will be elevated in character, and be an example of piety to others.
7 The world is not in harmony with the religion of Christ. When the people of the world are hungering and thirsting for the treasures of earth, the people of God will be hungering and thirsting for righteousness. The true followers of Christ will not make a compromise with the world; but they will be as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Christ gives the test by which the world will judge of our relation to him. He says, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” If Christ abides in my heart by faith, and abides in the hearts of my brethren, we shall love one another, and present an example of unity to the world.
8 We are sojourners here, pilgrims and strangers on the earth; but we are fitting up for a better country, even a heavenly. We must now learn the language of that country, and prepare for the life that runs parallel with the life of God. Our life in this world is but a vapor, that vanisheth away. Then shall we devote all our powers to securing the treasures of earth for this little, short life-time, or shall we apply all our abilities in such a way that we may gain the future, immortal life? Christ says, “Ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
9 Everyone that shall see the King in his beauty, must be without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. We now have an opportunity to form characters for the future life, and what a rich blessing we shall receive if we obtain the recompense of the reward! There is no comfort in sin. Men are made miserable because they refuse to obey the commandments of God. The whole world lieth in wickedness, but Christ came to remove the woe that comes as a consequence of sin. He came to our world to show us how to live a pure, holy life, and I have purposed in my heart that he shall not have lived and died in vain for me. I want to say with the apostle: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” I want to leave a bright track heavenward for all that may be attracted in the way of life.
10 Who will be among the happy throng that will sing praise around the throne of God? Who will serve God, whatever may be the consequences? I see in Jesus matchless charms. Let us lift up the Man of Calvary. If those who are burdened with sin will come and give their hearts to Jesus, and then go forth to gather sheaves for him, what joy will be theirs by and by. Although glory will be given to Jesus for full redemption, there will be those in heaven who will say to the co-workers with God, “I never would have had the light if you had not opened the word of God to me. I never would have accepted the truth if you had not manifested Christ in your life.” God would have us co-laborers with himself, that, when the pearly gates of the city of God shall be swung back upon their glittering hinges, he may say to us, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” “Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
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1 “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick of his place, except thou repent.”
2 Many think that repentance is a work which wholly devolves upon man as a preparation to come to Christ, his mediator; but this is an error and deception. Repentance must precede forgiveness, but the sinner does not repent until he has faith in Christ as his mediator. The Bible does not teach that man must repent before he comes to Christ. Our Saviour has been lifted up upon the cross of Calvary, and the love of Christ shining from the cross speaks constantly to the sinner of the sufferings of Jesus for fallen man. His love for the fallen race constantly draws sinners to him. The transgressor may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist, he will be drawn to Jesus, and a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the sufferings of God’s dear Son.
3 Could sinful man repent of his sins in his own strength, there would be no more virtue in that repentance than in the offering made by Cain. Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. If it were possible for man to repent of himself, the virtue of the atoning sacrifice would be in vain. But this is not possible. As Peter bore his testimony before the high priest and the Sadducees, he spoke by the power of God in reference to Christ, and said, “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Repentance comes from Christ just as much as does pardon for transgression. That repentance is a work which man must do without any special help from Christ, is a false theory. The sinner cannot take the first step in repentance, without the help of Christ. He cannot keep the moral law unless Christ imputes to him his righteousness. The grace that works contrition and repentance, as well as the forgiveness of sins, is the grace of Christ. If one step could be taken without Christ, every step in the way of salvation might be taken without him. It is true that great reformations in outward conduct are often made where there is no expressed faith in Christ; many have not even a knowledge of Jesus; but it is a divine influence that makes man capable of any change, and leads him to reformation. This reformation is the result of a blind faith, and the one who changes the habits of his life without an intelligent faith in Jesus, worships he knows not what, but he worships that which leads him to respect his own manhood; and as he takes steps toward the light, increased light will shine upon him, that he may see the sinfulness of sin, and be led to recognize the fact that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
4 The repentance required of those who seek God is that repentance that needeth not to be repented of,-a repentance manifested in a radical change of mind and heart. The heart must be brought in subjection to Christ, and a repentance that works such a result can never be brought about by man; it can only proceed from Christ, who has ascended on high, and has imparted gifts unto men. Christ said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” When the heart and mind submit to the drawing power of Christ, the love of Jesus will lead the sinner to repentance, and as he earnestly seeks help from God, power from on high will be given him. The Saviour says, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.”
5 We are to watch unto prayer, and our earnest efforts to overcome evil in our character, will make manifest the sincerity of our prayers. We are to look into the royal mirror, the law of God, that we may understand our moral standing, and detect the imperfections of our character; then we are to appropriate the righteousness of Christ, that we may keep the law of God. As we realize the worthlessness of our own righteousness, as we feel our dependence upon Christ, we fall upon the Rock and are broken, and then Jesus moulds and fashions our characters after his own divine character. Let us all bear in mind that those whom God pardons are first made penitent. Some will say that we leave man with nothing to do, with no task to take up in the struggle. This is not so; all the powers with which God has endowed man must be employed in order that we may do the will of God.
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1 Man can never be saved in indolence. Christ has said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work;” and man, for whom Christ has given his life, is designated as a co-laborer with him. No one can be saved in idleness and slothfulness. We must watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. We must keep down pride, self-esteem, envy, jealousy, evil-surmising, evil-speaking, and refrain from evil-doing. We must wrestle with infirmities, with human passions; we must keep the perfect Pattern before us; we must search the Scriptures for their hidden treasures of truth. We should be diligent to dig in the mines of truth for new and precious gems; we should bring forth from the treasure-house of God’s word things new and old. Those who are indeed followers of Christ must leave the ninety and nine and go into the wilderness to hunt for the lost sheep that has strayed from the fold. He who loves Jesus must seek to convert sinners from the error of their way, must seek to save souls for whom Christ has died, and hide a multitude of sins. To every man the Master has given his work; and in order to do this work acceptably, he must gather every ray of light God sends, and reflect it upon others. He must abase self and exalt Jesus, realizing more and more his own unworthiness and the worthiness of Christ. Through an experimental knowledge of the way of life, he must be able to lead the sinner to repentance, faith, and obedience. He must cast down the idea that has prevailed, that repentance is to spring from ourselves, and that then we are to come to Christ; this is a false theory, a deception fatal to the soul.
2 There are many who conclude that they are saved, simply because they have good impressions; but this is not enough. The entire affection must be renovated. Every individual must learn by experimental knowledge where lies his true strength. No one can leave his first love without a forfeiture of the Christian character. The Church must come up out of the wilderness, leaning upon the arm of her Beloved. When each member of the church can say, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me,” then Christ, the hope of glory, will be revealed in his people.
3 Faith is the gift of God, and “without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Those who feel that they are sinful and poor and wretched, are the very ones to whom the invitation of mercy is extended; they may ask and receive. Jesus says, “I came not to call the righteous,”-those who are clothed with the garments of their own righteousness,-”but sinners to repentance.” Those who are rich and honorable in their own eyes cannot hunger and thirst after righteousness, therefore they cannot ask in faith and receive the blessing of God; for they feel no need. They are full, therefore they must go away empty. We must not think for a moment that we can do anything to merit the blessing of God. It is by faith alone that we can claim his promise; by faith alone we can say, “I receive the things I ask for of thee; for thy word is sure, it cannot fail.”
4 How precious to the believer are the rich promises of God! Jesus himself endured the penalty of the law in his own body upon the accursed tree, that he might make it possible for all the human family to keep the commandments of God. Without the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour, fallen man could never meet the claims of the law, God could not sustain his holiness and justice, and justify the sinner; but how glorious is the truth of the atonement! what a firm foundation have the saints of the most high God upon which to rest their salvation! Not one of the promises can fail; the condemned sinner may be purified and made white through the righteousness of Christ. Those who love Jesus will love the law of God, because it is a transcript of his character. Through the merit of Christ the transgressor is freed from the charges the law held against him. The world’s Redeemer has carried the burden of guilt and woe that rested upon the sinner, and he is able to strengthen him for the conflicts he will meet day by day in his pathway to heaven. Why should not the Christian rejoice always? By faith the followers of Christ may view the eternal glory of their Redeemer. The thought that we are privileged to commit the keeping of our souls to God as unto a faithful Creator, is a most precious thought; for he says that those who love him shall be his when his jewels are made up. Oh, what love God has manifested for his church, that he has purchased with his own precious blood!
5 From the beginning of my labor with pen and voice, my greatest fear has been that I should make altogether too feeble efforts in seeking to set forth Christ crucified among you. I have never feared that I should place the subject before you in too strong a light. Every line my pen has traced, has been unsatisfactory because of the feebleness of my language to unfold the wonderful theme of redemption. My expressions have fallen far below the magnitude of the subject. The pen of man, the tongue of an angel, can never adequately describe the love of God as manifested in Christ. We see through a glass darkly; we have but dim and imperfect glimpses of him who is the expression of his Father’s glory. Oh, that every worker in the cause of God might have a practical experience in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Oh, that every ambassador of Christ might raise his hands, as did John, and say to the people, not with lips only, but with heart and soul, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!”
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1 It should be your determined purpose to bring every power of your being into the service of Christ. His service is profitable for the life that now is, and for that which is to come. If your thoughts, your plans, your purposes, are all directed towards the accumulation of things of earth, your anxiety, your study, your interests, will all be centered upon the world. The heavenly attractions will lose their beauty. The glories of the eternal world will cease to have the force of reality to you. Your heart will be with your treasure, and every faculty of your mind will be so concentrated on the work you have chosen, that you will not heed the warnings and entreaties of the word and Spirit of God. You will have no time to devote to the study of the Scriptures and to earnest prayer that you may escape the snares of Satan and render intelligent obedience to your heavenly Father.
2 “The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” If the eye is single, if it is directed heavenward, the light of heaven will fill the soul, and earthly things will appear insignificant, and uninviting. The purpose of the heart will be changed, and the admonition of Jesus will be heeded. You will lay up your treasure in heaven. Your thoughts will be fixed upon the great rewards of eternity. All your plans will be made in reference to the future immortal life. You will be drawn toward your treasure. You will not study your worldly interest; but in all your pursuits the silent inquiry will be, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Bible religion will be woven into your daily life.
3 The true Christian does not allow any earthly consideration to come in between his soul and God. The commandment of God wields an authoritative influence over his affections and actions. If everyone seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness would be always ready to work the works of Christ, how much easier would become the path to heaven! The blessings of God would flow into the soul, and the praises of the Lord would be on your lips continually. You would then serve God from principle. Your feelings might not always be of a joyous nature; clouds would at times shadow the horizon of your experience; but the Christian hope does not rest upon the sandy foundation of feeling. Those who act from principle will behold the glory of God beyond the shadows, and rest upon the sure word of promise. They will not be deterred from honoring God, however dark the way may seem. Adversity and trial will only give them an opportunity to show the sincerity of their love. When depression settles upon the soul, it is no evidence that God has changed. He is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” You are sure of the favor of God when you are sensible of the beams of the Sun of Righteousness; but if clouds sweep over your soul, you must not feel that you are forsaken. Your faith must pierce the gloom. Your eye must be single, and your whole body will be full of light. The riches of the grace of Christ must be kept before the mind. Treasure up the lessons that his love provides. Let your faith be like Job’s, that you may declare, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Lay hold on the promises of your heavenly Father, and remember his former dealing with you, and with his servants; “all things work together for good to them that love God.”
4 The most trying experiences in the Christian’s life may be the most blessed. The special providences of the dark hours may encourage the soul in future attacks of Satan, and equip the servant of God to stand in fiery trials. The trial of your faith is more precious than gold. You must have that abiding confidence in God that is not disturbed by the temptations and arguments of the deceiver. Take the Lord at his word. You must study the promises, and appropriate them as you have need. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Become rooted and grounded in the word, and then you will not renounce the important truths for this time, which are to exert a sanctifying influence upon your life and character.
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1 No man can be a Christian without having the Spirit of Christ; and if he has the Spirit of Christ, it will be manifested in kind words and a refined, courteous deportment. The religion of Jesus is designed to soften whatever is hard and rough in the temper, and to smooth off whatever is rugged or sharp in the manners. External change will testify to an internal change. The truth is the sanctifier, the refiner. Received into the heart, it works with hidden power, transforming the character. But those who profess to be followers of Christ, and are at the same time rough, unkind, and uncourteous in words and deportment, have not learned of Jesus. A blustering, overbearing, fault-finding man is not a Christian; for to be a Christian is to be Christlike. It is no mark of the Christian to be continually jealous of one’s dignity. All these manifestations show that men are still servants of the wicked one.
2 Very many who are seeking for happiness will be disappointed in their hopes, because they seek it amiss, and indulge in sinful tempers, and selfish feelings. By neglecting to discharge the little duties and observe the little courtesies of life, they violate the principles on which happiness depends. True happiness is not to be found in self-gratification, but in the path of duty. God desires man to be happy, and for this reason he gave him the precepts of his law, that in obeying these, he might have joy at home and abroad. While he stands in his moral integrity, true to principle, and having the control of all his powers, he cannot be miserable. With its tendrils twined about God, the heart will be full of peace and joy, and the soul will flourish.
3 Kind words, pleasant looks, a cheerful countenance, throw a charm around the Christian that makes his influence almost irresistible. It is the religion of Christ in the heart that causes the words to be gentle, and the demeanor winning, even to those in the humblest walks of life. In forgetfulness of self, in the light of peace and happiness he is constantly bestowing on others, is seen the true dignity of the man. This is a way to gain respect, and extend the sphere of usefulness. It costs but little to be gentle and kind; and the one who pursues this course will not complain that he does not receive the honor that is his due. But Bible rules must be written on the heart; Bible rules must be carried into the every-day life.
4 Genuine faith is followed by love,—love that is manifested in the home, in society, and in all the relations of life,—love which smooths away difficulties, and lifts us above disagreeable trifles that Satan places in our way to annoy us. And love will be followed by obedience. All the powers and the passions of a converted man are brought under the control of Christ. His Spirit is a renewing power, transforming to the divine image all who will receive it.
5 To become a disciple of Christ is to deny self, and follow Jesus through evil as well as through good report. It is to close the door to pride, envy, doubt, and other sins, and thus shut out strife, hatred, and every evil work. It is to welcome into our hearts Jesus, the meek and lowly One, who is seeking admittance as our guest.
6 “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Jesus is a pattern for humanity, complete, perfect. He proposes to make us like himself,—true in every purpose, feeling, and thought,—true in heart, soul, and life. The man who cherishes the most of the love of Christ in the soul, who reflects the image of Christ most perfectly, is, in the sight of God, the truest, most noble, and most honorable man. But he that has not the Spirit of Christ is none of his.
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Page 519
1 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.”
2 To love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves is to keep the first four and the last six commandments. God has given to man a large field in which he may work; and in doing the work appointed him of God, man will not lift up himself, but will exalt Christ. He will cherish love for God, and love for his brethren, and for all men. Love will soon die out of the heart if it is left without cultivation; we can only keep divine love in the soul by doing the words of the Master. Are there not many claiming to keep the commandments who are living in transgression of the sacred precepts? We cannot keep the law of God unless we give to our Creator and Redeemer our undivided affection. It is impossible to keep the last six commandments unless we keep the first four.
3 John says: “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” “We love him, because he first love us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
4 Are we obeying the words of Christ, or are we following the impulses of our own depraved hearts? Do we have a clear conscience that we are doing our whole duty to our God in the line of raising joyful thanksgiving and praise for his constant care and love? We must cultivate the precious traits of character that abound in Jesus in all their divine fullness. We must daily learn in the school of Christ, and practice the graces of his spirit, till our lives shall shed the divine fragrance of his life. We shall be representatives of Christ if we are thoughtful of others, ministering to their necessities.
5 When we come into close sympathy with Jesus, he will impart his love, and this will flow out in loving acts, in tender compassion to others. When we fail to love God supremely, we surely fail to love our neighbor as ourselves. When you love God with all your heart, might, mind, soul, and strength, you will be as a living stream in the desert to all around you. There will be no expressed doubts, no sowing of tares in your suggestions. You will not rest satisfied with a meager experience. You will say with Paul: “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
6 There is no standing still in the Christian life. The follower of Jesus sees ever before him higher things to be attained, and he will not be satisfied with a low standard. There is great danger in being satisfied, in not pressing forward for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Why is it that so many are content with a limited knowledge of Christ? Why do not all professed Christians strive earnestly for growth in knowledge and experience, that they may grow up into Christ, even to the full stature of men and women in him? It is painfully evident that many have ceased to advance heavenward. There is no growth in Christian character; they are but dwarfs in their religious life. When you see such persons, you long to open before them the value of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. You desire to inspire them with spiritual vigor that they may grow. You do what you can to open before them the privileges and opportunities of the gospel; you urge them to have faith and love and hope, and yet when you meet them in a year’s time, you are pained to see the same listless spirit, the same stunted growth. They say the same things as before; there is no new idea in their testimonies, no fresh feature in their experience.
7 Again you set before them the prize of the high calling of God. They assent to all you say, declare that they are benefited, but the next year you meet them with sadness, for you see that they indeed can say, “I have not attained;” and yet they would not go further and say, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” It is evident that they are not convicted of sin, nor converted to God. They have not responded to the drawing power of Christ. Like Nicodemus, the Holy Spirit must move upon them, and they must be born again. The truth must be received into good and honest hearts, before light can shine forth to the world in clear, distinct rays. Every follower of Christ is required to let his light shine forth to the world. But then they fail to gather increased light from the Sun of Righteousness, how can they diffuse light to others?
8 Why cannot the followers of Christ understand that they are to be taught, disciplined, and trained—that they are to learn obedience by the things which they suffer? Why is it that we do not have more love for Jesus? more love for the truth? “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned; and in keeping of them there is great reward.”
9 In the truth, Jesus is unfolded in all his matchless loveliness; but of what advantage will be our knowledge of truth, if it does not lead us to Jesus, if it does not increase our knowledge of him and our love for him? As soon as you surrender your whole heart to God, you will render self-denying, cheerful obedience. God requires that we shall be found in him, not having our own righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ. When, with grateful appreciation of his love, we open the door of our heart to Jesus, saying, “Come in,” the heavenly Guest is with us. When we love Jesus, we love all whom Jesus loves.
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Page 520
1 When God created man, he endowed him with a well-balanced mind, with noble qualities and powers. Man was perfect in his being, and in harmony with God. His thoughts were pure, and his aims holy. But through disobedience to God, his powers were perverted, his affections misplaced, his high and holy purposes were lowered, and selfishness took the place of love. The fall did not create in man a new set of faculties, but worked the perversion of all that was good in his character.
2 Through the plan of salvation a way was provided whereby man could return to God; and in returning to his allegiance to God, he places himself in right relation to his Creator, where he is susceptible to the reproving, warning, instruction, and comfort of the Holy Spirit, where he can live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, and be in direct communication with God through Christ. In such a connection and communion, he is placed where he can regain the moral image of God.
3 The affections, perverted by sin, become degenerated and depraved; but through a connection with Christ they are brought into a higher, holier channel; and, aided by divine grace, man may be an overcomer. The faculties, warped in a wrong direction through the influence of sin, need no longer be misused and perverted, need no longer be wasted on accomplishing selfish purposes, or fastened upon the perishing things of earth. When the soul has been convicted of sin, has accepted of Christ, the character becomes transformed, and there is an elevation and purification of all the powers of the being. They are no longer debased by selfish aims and unholy actions. What may not man become through the grace given him of God! Through the sanctification of the truth, he may become a partaker of the divine nature, and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. He may show forth an example of righteousness, of true holiness.
4 Through the degradation of man’s highest, noblest powers, sorrow, crime, and suffering came into our world, a result of breaking the commandments of God. Oh, that men would practice the holy principles of the law of God! We see those who are eagerly bent on amassing wealth. They give all their energy, tact, wisdom, and inventive power to the gaining of worldly treasure,—treasure that they will never need themselves, and that will fail to benefit their children. They are so intent on the pursuit of this one object that they have no time for prayer, no time to seek or serve God, or to place themselves on the side of Christ. Heaven and eternal things have no charms for them. All their moral powers are dwarfed, and they spend their lives for the one purpose of obtaining worldly treasure. The opportunity granted them of Heaven for gaining eternal life is squandered in striving for the perishing things on earth.
5 Would that the melancholy picture described above were only applicable to those who are of the world, who have made no profession of Christ! Sadder is it to see those who profess godliness presenting to the world an exhibition of misused powers! The passion for laying up treasures upon the earth, for making provision for an unknown future, for laboring for corruptible possessions, which pass away with the using, is not all confined to those who have not tasted the good word of God. It is sad indeed to see men who have had a knowledge of Christ, casting away their hope of an immortal inheritance for the sake of heaping up treasure upon earth.
6 If men were as eager candidates for the honors of heaven as they are for those of earth, if they were as anxious for an immortal inheritance as they are for worldly gain, if they employed the same concentration of mind and energy for the accumulation of divine riches as for the accumulation of treasures that pass away, what might not be done in the world? What light would flash upon the world from men who were whole-hearted in the service of their God! Such would reflect the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness upon the pathway of others.
7 Oh, how many mind earthly things, striving only for that which is perishable and fleeting! The whole power of their being is employed in securing earthly treasure, and their talents are dwarfed, their spirituality is crippled. God sets before men a heaven to gain, a crown of immortal glory to win, honors that will never tarnish, joy that will never fade. Oh, shall we allow Satan to pervert our powers, to set our eyes upon an unworthy object, so that we shall mind earthly things, and give soul and body for the fleeting treasures that serve us but a day, and miss of securing the eternal inheritance?
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Page 521
1 Genuine conversion brings the soul into living connection with Christ, and makes the person who has this experience a channel of light to the world. We have all had objectionable traits of character transmitted to us, and many have cultivated these until wrong habits of thought and action have taken deep hold on the nature; but when the truth of heavenly origin finds a place in the heart, a new, divine power begins to fashion the character after the divine Pattern. In the soul consecrated to the service of Christ will be a growing distaste for coarse thought, rough manners, and unseemly language, for it is all in opposition to the chaste, pure Spirit of Christ, which dwells within. How necessary that everyone who professes to be a follower of Christ should be so indeed, and practice the truth he professes!
2 Among the youth there are many whose names are on the church record, but who fail to bring themselves under discipline that they may improve in thought, speech, and manners. They persist in carrying with them their objectionable traits of character. They have vulgar sentiments, coarse manners, low habits. They carry these to others through their school association, and through life they sow tares instead of precious wheat. If low, common ways are indulged in childhood and youth, in the forming period of life, the future will be marred by blemishes; and even in manhood, many will fail to see the necessity of overcoming these defects, and of rectifying their hateful malformations of character. Temptation will overcome them, because they are weak in moral power.
3 Those who have divine enlightenment will see the necessity of overcoming, for they will realize something of the purpose of Heaven in regard to the influence they are to exert upon others for their salvation. If those who have serious faults to overcome, would rely on God with earnest faith, he would work for them; and the more diligently they devoted themselves to the cultivation of virtue and the discharge of duty, the more grace would they receive to become like the Pattern. With the experience of conversion to Christ, a new life begins. The apostle says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Whoever accepts Jesus will make determined efforts to overcome through the strength imparted to him from Heaven; his whole character must and will be transformed. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith, he will go on from grace to grace, from strength to strength, and power will be given him to uproot every evil. He will turn from the service of Satan to the service of God. Faith, living, active faith, works by love and purifies the soul; it becomes an abiding principle in the life. Everyone who has accepted the righteousness of Christ is placed on high vantage-ground. His conversation, his habits, will be of a high, refined character, after the example of his Lord, and then he will not lie against the truth. He will rise above all baser things into the pure atmosphere of heaven.
4 Every soul who is drawn to Christ is to be a co-laborer with him. The apostle writes, “Ye are laborers together with God.” But to be laborers together with God necessitates some high qualifications. The Lord requires those who would labor with him to be refined in language, to be polished in manner, and he is ready to bestow the grace of Christ on every earnest seeker. Through the help that Christ can give, the laborer with God may cultivate habits of neatness, of thoroughness, and present to the world an example which will in all things be worthy of imitation; for he may grow up unto the full stature of a man in Christ Jesus.
5 Those who have a careless, clownish manner, either in the family or in society, dishonor their divine Lord. Even ministers have thus misrepresented Christ, when in the pulpit they have made a display of theatrical actions and eccentric manners. This is not of God. Eccentricities are sometimes looked upon as virtues by men, but they do not aid in representing Christ. Careless attitudes and irreverent expressions may serve to please men of unrefined tastes, anecdotes may amuse, but the minister who seeks to cater to such tastes has a meager appreciation of the dignity, simplicity, goodness, and loveliness of the character of the divine Lord.
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1 When through repentance and faith we accept Christ as our Saviour, the Lord pardons our sins, and remits the penalty prescribed for the transgression of the law. The sinner then stands before God as a just person; he is taken into favor with Heaven, and through the Spirit has fellowship with the Father and the Son. Then there is yet another work to be accomplished, and this is for a progressive nature. The soul is to be sanctified through the truth. And this also is accomplished through faith. For it is only by the grace of Christ, which we receive through faith, that the character can be transformed.
2 It is important that we understand clearly the nature of faith. There are many who believe that Christ is the Saviour of the world, that the gospel is true and reveals the plan of salvation, yet they do not possess saving faith. They are intellectually convinced of the truth, but this is not enough; in order to be justified, the sinner must have that faith that appropriates the merits of Christ to his own soul. We read that the devils “believe, and tremble;” but their belief does not bring them justification, neither will the belief of those who give a merely intellectual assent to the truths of the Bible bring them the benefits of salvation. This belief fails of reaching the vital point, for the truth does not engage the heart or transform the character.
3 In genuine, saving faith, there is trust in God, through the belief in the great atoning sacrifice made by the Son of God on Calvary. In Christ, the justified believer beholds his only hope and deliverer. Belief may exist without trust, but confidence born of trust cannot exist without faith. Every sinner brought to a knowledge of the saving power of Christ, will make manifest this trust in greater degree as he advances in experience.
4 The words of the apostle shed light upon what constitutes genuine faith. He says, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” To believe with the heart is more than conviction, more than assent to the truth. This faith is sincere, earnest, and engages the affections of the soul; it is the faith that works by love, and purifies the heart.
5 God reveals Christ to the sinner, and he beholds him dying upon Calvary for the sin of his creature. He then understands how he is condemned by the law of God, for the Spirit works upon his conscience, enforcing the claim of the broken law. He is then given the opportunity of defying the law, of rejecting the Saviour, or of yielding to its claims, and receiving Christ as his Redeemer. God will not compel the service of any man, but he reveals to him his obligation, unfolds to him the requirements of his holy law, and sets before him the result of his choice-to obey and live, or to disobey and perish.
6 The command from Heaven is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” When the force of this requirement is understood, the conscience is convicted, the sinner is condemned. The carnal mind, which is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, rises up in rebellion against the holy claims of the law. But as the sinner beholds Christ hanging upon the cross of Calvary, suffering for his transgression, deeper conviction takes hold upon him, and he sees something of the offensive nature of sin. Where there is a true conception of the spirituality and holiness of the divine law, the sinner is under condemnation, and his sins stand arrayed before him in their true character. By the law is the knowledge of sin, and in its light he understands the evil of secret thoughts and deeds of darkness. God’s law presents matters in a light in which he has never before viewed his life. He sees that what we speak with our tongue, what we do with our hands, what we exhibit in our outer life, is but a very small part of what goes to make up our character. The law penetrates to the thoughts and intents of the heart. It searches out the dark passions indulged in secret, the jealousies, envyings, theft, murder, malignity, ambition, and evil that lurk hidden from the eyes of men. How often do men exalt those in whose hearts are dark things that for want of opportunity to display themselves are kept from sight. But God’s law registers all hidden evil. The wise man declares, “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
7 Many who claim to believe that the law has a binding obligation upon human intelligences, think lightly of secret sins, and carry themselves with boldness, as satisfied in their self-righteousness as if they were really doers of the word of God. Their work bears the impress of their defective character, and God cannot stand as their helper. God cannot cooperate with them.
8 Character is tested and registered by Heaven more by the inward spirit, the hidden motive, than by that which appears to men. Men may have a pleasing exterior, and be outwardly excellent, while they are but whited sepulchers, full of corruption and uncleanness. Their works are registered as unsanctified, unholy. Their prayers and works, devoid of the righteousness of Christ, do not ascend before God as sweet fragrance, but they are abomination in the eyes of the Lord. To those who will open their eyes, the law presents a perfect likeness of the soul, a complete photograph of the inner man; and as this picture is unveiled before the sinner, he is constrained to acknowledge that he is sold under sin, but that the law is holy, and just, and good.
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Page 523
1 Paul declared, “I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” The apostle recognize the claims of the law, and did not break out against it because it revealed to him his true situation. He acknowledged the likeness which it presented, but he did not say to the law, “Cleanse me, purify me.” He turned at once to Calvary. He fell on the Rock Christ Jesus, and was broken. He knew that repentance which needeth not to be repented of. He understood that “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified;” for it is not the province of law to save, but to condemn; not to pardon, but to convict. It cannot to any degree lessen the rigor of its claims. If one requirement could be set aside, the whole law might be abolished; for to change any commandment to save a defaulter would make of none effect the value of the rest. The law cannot save those whom it condemns; it cannot rescue the perishing. There is but one hope for the sinner. Is it in outward ceremonies? in rigorous performance of religious duties? is it in mourning and penance, and in devoting hours to prayer and meditation? in practicing self-denial? in giving to the poor, and in doing deeds of merit?—No, none of these things will work the salvation of the soul. The question is asked, “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”—No; no man can stand before God in his own merit. Those who are saved will be saved because Jesus has paid the full debt; and man can do nothing, absolutely nothing, to merit salvation. Christ says, “Without me, ye can do nothing.” Then whose is the merit?—It all belongs to our Redeemer. All the capabilities of man come alone through Christ, and we may say of our best performances, “All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given to thee.”
2 It is the grace of Christ that draws men unto himself, and in him alone is hope and salvation for the sinner. Man is unworthy of any favor from God; but as Christ becomes his righteousness, he may ask and receive, in his name and through his merit, the grace and favor of God. Jesus bore the just penalty of the law, that we might have his grace; but this fact does not mean the subversion of the law. Paul asks, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” The bestowal of the grace of Christ upon the repentant sinner is that he may be brought into perfect harmony with the government of heaven. In the cross, mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
3 When we look to the cross of Calvary, we see that the highest claims of the law were met in the efficiency of the offering. Hence, Jesus is called “the Lord our righteousness.” When we lay hold on the merit of Christ, and are able to say, “The Lord is my Saviour, my righteousness,” then we are justified by faith, and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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1 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2 Who can measure the love of God? Angels cannot comprehend it; it is to them a depth of mystery that they cannot fathom. Angels marvel at the divine love manifested for fallen men; but men themselves remain indifferent and unimpressed. Few respond to the love of God. Few appreciate the marvelous love of Christ in his life of suffering, in his death of shame. Behold him humiliated, mocked, sent from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod to Pilate, condemned, crucified, suspended on the cross, a reproach of men, despised of the people. The sentence of condemnation that was merited by guilty man, angels saw fall upon the innocent Son of God, the loved Commander of their hosts. Well might they be astonished at the love that sustained the Sufferer, who died that we might live. Paul writes, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This should be the language of our hearts also. It is in the cross that our hopes of eternal life are centered; and as we look to Calvary, seeing what sin has done, how can we live any longer therein? It was our sin that caused the Son of God to humble himself unto death, even the death of the cross; and in him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead.
3 Christ was the Majesty of heaven; and yet behold him dying in man’s stead. What love is this! “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
4 Well might the angels forsake heaven when Christ was crucified, and behold the spectacle of the cross with sorrow and astonishment. They looked upon a sight never before seen, never to be forgotten. Beholding him upon the cross revealed to them, as it should to us, the hatefulness of sin. They saw how much it cost to free man from the terrible power of evil. And after this display of divine love, shall man exalt himself? shall man be lifted up? Shall he robe himself in the filthy rags of his own righteousness, and presume to stand before God? Shall he reject the precepts of God, and live in rebellion against the commandments of the Lord?
5 In the cross is an unanswerable argument as to the immutability of the divine law. Looking to Calvary, we can see how vain are man’s efforts when devoid of Christ’s merit to give them efficiency. The great acquisition to an impenitent world is the cross of Calvary. Paul gloried in the cross, and well he might; for it was here that he humbled himself that he might be lifted up to true greatness. The price paid for his redemption revealed to him the value of his soul. The Son of God had to die for the sins that Paul had committed; the blood shed on the cross was for him, to save him from eternal ruin. The precious blood of Christ was of such value that a full atonement was made for the guilty soul, and this was to Paul his “glory.” It was through the blood of Christ that he had redemption, even the forgiveness of sins.
6 Paul realized his weakness, and well he might distrust his own strength. Referring to the law, he says, “The commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.” He had trusted in the deeds of the law. He says, concerning his own outward life, that as “touching the law” he was “blameless;” and he put his trust in his own righteousness. But when the mirror of the law was held up before him, and he saw himself as God saw him, full of mistakes, stained with sin, he cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
7 Paul beheld the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He heard the voice of Christ saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” He determined to avail himself of the benefits of saving grace, to become dead to trespasses and sins, to have his guilt washed away in the blood of Christ, to be clothed with Christ’s righteousness, to become a branch of the Living Vine. He walked with Christ, and Jesus became to him—not a part of salvation, while his own good deeds were another part, but—his all in all, the first and last and best in everything. He had the faith that draws life from Christ, that enabled him to conform his life to that of the divine example. This faith claims nothing for its possessor because of his righteousness, but claims everything because of the righteousness of Christ.
8 In the gospel the character of Christ is portrayed. As he descended step by step from his throne, his divinity was veiled in humanity; but in his miracles, his doctrines, his sufferings, his betrayal, his mockery, his trial, his death by crucifixion, his grave among the rich, his resurrection, his forty days upon earth, his ascension, his triumph, his priesthood, are inexhaustible treasures of wisdom, recorded for us by inspiration in the word of God. The waters of life still flow in abundant streams of salvation. The mysteries of redemption, the blending of the divine and the human in Christ, his incarnation, sacrifice, mediation, will be sufficient to supply minds, hearts, tongues, and pens with themes for thought and expression for all time; and time will not be sufficient to exhaust the wonders of salvation, but through everlasting ages, Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed soul. New developments of the perfection and glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, will be forever unfolding. And now there must be perfect reliance upon his merit and grace; there must be distrust of self, and living faith in him.
(To be continued.)
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1 Those who depend upon their own righteousness instead of relying upon the righteousness of Christ, will lose the prize; they will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary and found wanting. Let everyone who is striving for the precious boon of eternal life distrust his own strength, and, in much prayer, cast his helpless soul upon Christ. There is too little searching of the word of God for definite direction in the way of life. The larger number of those who profess to believe on Christ have only superficial ideas as to what constitutes Christian character. A sad awakening will come to such souls sooner or later. The thoughts of these superficial believers are not deep or strong enough to comprehend the work of the atonement, and the relation of that work to their own work and life. So terrible a deception has come upon many, so many false ideas have become inwrought in the character, that it seems necessary to tear the whole experience to pieces in order that self-dependence and self-sufficiency may be laid aside, and outward obedience deepened to inward piety and truth. Do not deceive yourself with the idea that your own inherent righteousness will bring you into harmony with God. Do not fail to look upon yourself as a sinner in the sight of God. Do not fail to look upon Jesus lifted up upon the cross; and as you look, believe and live; for by faith in the atoning sacrifice you may be justified through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Believe that you are forgiven, that you are justified, not in transgression and disobedience, but in submission to the will of God. If through faith you lay hold of the righteousness of Christ, then be not careless of your thoughts, your words, your works. Study much, and pray that as Christ has shown you the way, he may by his grace keep you in the way. For we are “kept by the power of God through faith;” and even faith is not of ourselves, but it also is the gift of God.
2 In order to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, it is essential that you meditate much upon the great themes of redemption. You should ask yourself why Christ has taken humanity upon himself, why he suffered upon the cross, why he bore the sins of men, why he was made sin and righteousness for us. You should study to know why he ascended to heaven in the nature of man, and what is his work for us today.
3 If thoughts of Christ, his work and character, are cherished, you will be led to sink deep the shaft of truth, and you will be enabled to come into possession of precious jewels of truth. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to you. As you meditate upon heavenly things, and walk with God, as did Enoch, you will lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset, and will run with patience the race set before you. We think that we are familiar with the character of Christ, and we do not realize how much is to be gained by the study of our glorious Pattern. We take it for granted that we know all about him, and yet we do not comprehend his character or mission. If we neglect to search the Scriptures, which testify of him, we shall be led from the truth into the error of the wicked one. Our building must be founded upon the Rock Christ Jesus or it will not stand the test of the tempest.
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1 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. . . . For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
2 A great change takes place in the character of him who accepts Christ; for “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” When we see those who profess Christianity manifesting the old carnal desires in word and action, we may know that they are not in Christ, that the transforming grace of Christ has not touched the soul, moulded the character, and cleansed the defilement of the heart. They lack the essential elements of Christian character.
3 Those who have an experimental knowledge of the grace of Christ will feel their obligation to him to be representatives of his power to the world. They will realize that he who knew no sin was made to be sin for them, that they might be made the righteousness of God in him. An appreciation of this fact will enable us to get correct views of the work of our Redeemer. True believers will realize that while they were separated from him through impenitence and sin, he did not forsake them, but rather interceded for them, that they might have the benefits of the salvation which he had purchased for them at an infinite sacrifice. In accepting Christ they know that they must come out from the world, and be separate, and touch not the unclean, that they may be the children of God. They must love Christ supremely. It is impossible for finite minds to make a just estimate of the love of God toward his fallen creatures. We are ever in danger of forgetting this great love, because we fail to meditate upon it, and allow ourselves to become absorbed in the things of this world. We permit our hearts to be divided by placing our affections on things below, and so separate from the true Source of happiness. Christ should be the theme of our thoughts, the object of our tenderest affection. We should let our minds dwell upon the precious characteristics of our Lord; we should contemplate the rich promises of his word; we should meditate upon the glories of heaven. We should not be satisfied with but occasional glimpses of our Redeemer, but our minds should be stayed upon God by continual trust in his word. We should search the Scriptures diligently in order that we may have an understanding of the claims that Christ has upon us, and that we may have right views of the truth. Our wills must be subdued, and brought into harmony with the will of God.
4 Precious light has been permitted to shine upon our pathway, and around us are the angels of heaven, who are interested in our welfare. God is willing to do great things for his people, and he has promised that if we ask we shall receive; but many fail to grasp the promises of blessed assurance and help. These precious promises are to be fulfilled to those who keep the commandments of God, and who do those things that are pleasing in his sight. We should praise God for his abundant goodness, and manifest our love to him by our obedience. The love of Christ manifested toward us in his life of humiliation and self-denial, in his death on Calvary, should call forth songs of gratitude from our lips. The hope of his soon coming should fill us with sacred joy, and we should lay hold of the merits of the divine character of him who endured insult, mockery, shame, and death in our behalf. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
5 God has given us a perfect standard of character, which we are ever to keep before us. Through the strength that Christ can impart, we may keep the law of God. We should be obedient children, whatever difficulty we may have to encounter. We must not expect to enter heaven without conflict and trial, but we have the assurance that if we will not consult our own pleasure, but the will of God, we shall not be left to fight the battle alone.
6 There is a great work to be done in the world, and every one of us should let his light shine upon the pathway of others. We need to gather divine rays of light from Christ. We need to search the Scriptures, and dig deep in the mines of truth; for the precious jewels do not always lie on the surface; we should search for them as for hidden treasure. There is a heaven of bliss to gain, for Christ has gone to prepare mansions for us; and now is the time for us to seek a preparation for that which he is preparing for us. In order to do this, we must bring Christ into our life daily; for those who dwell in the abodes of bliss must have hearts free from all envy, jealousy, hatred, malice, and selfishness. Jesus is waiting to do great things for us, to fill us with all the fullness of God. We should believe in his promises, for “he keepeth truth forever,” “and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
(Concluded next week.)
Page 527
1 There is a connection between earth and heaven through Christ, the mystic ladder that Jacob saw in his vision at Bethel. When we were separated from God, Christ came to reconcile us to the Father. In pitying love he placed his human arm about the fallen race, and with his divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite, thus connecting finite man with the infinite God; through the plan of salvation we are united with the agencies of heaven. Through the merits of a crucified and risen Redeemer, we may look up and see the glory of God shining from heaven to earth. We should be grateful to God for the plan of salvation. We have been blessed with many blessings, and in return we should give to God our undivided hearts. How sad it is that through our indifference to our eternal interests we are far from Christ, we do not keep our eyes directed above, to the eternal glory that awaits the overcomer. We do not see the glory of God shining upon every round of the ladder; we do not climb up by Christ, making advancement in the divine life. If we did this, we should reflect the image of Christ, have purity of character, and become like lights in the world. We should constantly behold him, until we should be charmed with the graces of his character; then we would not fail to talk of him and his love. We should then be in possession of rich blessings which the world cannot give or take away, and we should lose our relish for sin.
2 Darkness will sometimes gather about the Christian, but let the hand of faith reach up and lay hold of the arm of Jesus; for he has promised that if we follow him, we shall have the light of life. Christ is our leader; we cannot lead ourselves; but in order to obtain his help, we must believe. We should pray much; but we do not always have the spirit of prayer, and Satan takes advantage of our weakness on this point. We should never be discouraged, however, but in times of temptation and trial we should hang our helpless souls upon Jesus. We must learn to rest our case with our Redeemer; he has promised to be with us to the end of the world. We should learn to trust the word of God; for heaven and earth could easier pass away than that one of his promises could fail. When you do not feel the spirit of prayer, you should remember that feeling is not faith; you should seek to prove the pledged word of God. I have had to learn by experience that feeling is no criterion for us; we must take the word of God as the man of our counsel. If we had true faith, we could move the world; we could plead with God and with our friends, and many conversions would be the result.
3 If we want our faith to grow, we must bring it into exercise; and the nearer and clearer views we get of Jesus, the more we shall see our need of him. God is willing to reveal himself to us in a remarkable manner; the reason we do not see greater manifestations of his power is that we lack faith. If God should answer some of our faithless prayers, it would astonish us. We should go to God in earnest, and mix faith with our petitions; persevering faith will bring us answers of peace. Christ says, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Our minds should be filled with the thought of our precious Redeemer, and we would become more and more like him, and thus reveal Christ to the world. We should so lift up the risen Saviour that the world may see that we are acquainted with him. Shall we not take such advance steps in the divine life that men may see that the grace of Christ has had a transforming effect upon us?
4 I see matchless charms in my Redeemer, I see unsurpassed loveliness in his character, and I want to be like him. But oh, how much pain Christ has to bear because of our crooked and perverse ways! Let us walk with God as did Enoch of old; then our Saviour will not be ashamed to call us brethren. But we cannot expect to receive this favor unless we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. God has given us precious advantages, that we might understand his will as revealed in his word; and in return shall we not yield our will to him, and with all the heart believe what he has said to us? If we will, our heavenly Father will bestow abundant blessings upon us, and he will say to us by and by, “My child, come up higher;” but if we neglect our duty, we have nothing but condemnation to look for. While probation lasts, we must make the most of our opportunities in seeking the Lord, and the promise is given, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”
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1 The year 1890 is drawing near its close. Let us individually consider what is the record made in the books of heaven concerning our life and character, and our attitude toward God. Has our love for God been increasing during the past year? If Christ is indeed abiding in our hearts, we shall love God, we shall love to obey all his commandments, and this love will continually deepen and strengthen. If we represent Christ to the world, we shall be pure in heart, in life, in character; we shall be holy in conversation; there will be no guile in our hearts or upon our lips. Let us examine our past life and see if we have given evidence of our love for Jesus by seeking to be like him, and by working, as he worked, to save those for whom he died.
2 Of the zealous, self-sacrificing disciples of Christ, it is written that Jesus was not ashamed to call them brethren, so fully did they manifest his Spirit, and bear his likeness. By their works they constantly testified that this world was not their home; their citizenship was above; they were seeking a better country, even a heavenly. Their conversation and affections were on heavenly things. They were in the world, but not of the world; in spirit and practice they were separate from its maxims and customs. Their daily example testified that they were living for the glory of God. Their great interest, like that of their Master, was for the salvation of souls. For this they toiled and sacrificed, counting not their lives dear unto themselves. By their life and character they made a bright track heavenward. Upon such disciples, Jesus can look with satisfaction as his representatives. His character will not be misrepresented through them.
3 How is it with those who now profess to be Christ’s followers? Can the Lord Jesus and the witnessing angels now look with pleasure upon his church? Our spiritual life, our zeal, our self-sacrifice, our love for sinners,—do these give evidence that Jesus can trust us to represent his character to the world? Wherein is Christ made all in all? Where are the people who are showing forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light? Will the world ever learn the melting, subduing power of the grace of Christ,—its refining, uplifting influence,—from the church in its present condition? I answer, No. Christ says, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” And through the apostle James he declares, “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world”—in patterning after their pride, conforming to their selfish practices and sinful indulgence—”is the enemy of God.” Christ does not acknowledge them as brethren,—laborers together with him. The lack of self-sacrifice on the part of professed Christians emboldens the worldling in his carnal security. Their self-indulgence misrepresents the self-denying life of Jesus, their pattern. While professing to be disciples of Christ, they follow the impulse of their own unsanctified hearts, and thus give the world a false conception of Jesus.
4 God has made the advancement of his cause in the world dependent upon the labors and sacrifices of his followers. The salvation of our souls was purchased by the infinite gift of the Son of God. Jesus left heaven, laid aside his glory, left the communion and adoration of the sinless angels, and for our sake humbled himself, even to the death of the cross. And now we, who have become partakers of his great gift, are to be partakers also of his sacrifice, extending to others the blessings of salvation.
5 There was not one trace of selfishness in the life of Christ. All who are laborers together with God, will have the same spirit as their Master had. They will be continually growing away from selfishness, and renouncing self-indulgence, even in things that had once appeared innocent to them.
6 There is now such a demand as never before for labor and money to sustain the cause of Christ, to send the gospel to the world. Everywhere there are doors open for the entrance of the word of life. Everywhere there are souls that sit in darkness, only waiting to receive the light from heaven. It is not in foreign lands alone that the need exists. Close beside your own doors there are souls that you might win for Jesus,—souls to whom your life may be the revelation of Christ. To these souls, God has set you as a light-bearer on the way to heaven. If your light burns dim, if it goes out in darkness, they may be lost. You cannot neglect these souls, you cannot refuse to become a partaker with Christ in his labor and sacrifice, and yourselves find entrance as redeemed sinners into the city of God. Those who fail to represent Christ, who have not his self-sacrificing love, and are not doing his work, give evidence that they themselves are not united to him. Whatever their profession, they do not belong to Christ.
7 There is a sad withholding from God on the part of his professed people. The means and efforts that should be given to Christ are devoted to self-pleasing. God is robbed of time, money, and service. Self-love, self-gratification, exclude the love of Jesus from the soul, and this is why there is not in the church greater zeal and more fervent love for Him who first loved us. So many indulge selfish ease, while souls for whom Christ died are perishing.
8 This is why the Lord cannot impart to his church the fullness of his blessing as he longs to do. To honor them in a distinguished manner before the world would be to put his seal upon their works, confirming their false representation of his character. When the church shall come out from world, and be separate from its maxims and habits and practices, the Lord Jesus will work with his people. But his blessing cannot be bestowed in its fullness while they are so corrupted with the spirit and practices of the world.
9 Shall Christ continue to be misrepresented by his professed people? Shall the grace of God, the divine enlightenment, be shut away from the church because of her lukewarmness? Shall there not be a renunciation of the world, a turning to God with full purpose of heart? “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” Then Jesus will not be ashamed to call them brethren. They will be partakers of Christ’s suffering, and when his glory shall be revealed, they will be glad also “with exceeding joy.”
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1 “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.”
2 The destruction of Babylon pictures to some degree the final destruction of the world, of which the prophet writes, “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Destruction came upon Babylon while the king and his lords were engaged in feasting and revelry. Cyrus and his army marched up the bed of the river Euphrates; for trenches had been dug, and the river turned from its course, so that there was no obstruction to their entering the city, provided the gates were opened. The guardsmen were indulging in merriment and revelry, and the city was left without defense. Before the officers were aware, the enemy had entered the city, and escape was impossible. Those in one part of the city were slain or captured before those in another part knew that the city was invaded. No alarm was sounded, no cry could be raised to warn the people that the forces of Cyrus were upon them.
3 The monarch, his princes, and guardsmen, were given up to feasting, and, intoxicated with strong drink, they knew nothing of the peril of the kingdom. There was a noise at the palace gates, the doors were forced open, the troops of Cyrus rushed in, and in a short time the king and his guests were lying mangled in the heaps of the slain, and the drunken slept a perpetual sleep. Thus was the prophecy of Isaiah and Jeremiah fulfilled to the letter.
4 The prophet describes Babylon as the glory of kingdoms, and in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar it was represented by the head of gold. But although it was the greatest kingdom of the earth, the prophet had declared: “I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son and nephew, saith the Lord. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.”
5 Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord declares what shall come upon those who pursue a course similar to that of these despisers of his word. He says: “The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together; the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” He looks down the ages, and declares what shall be: “Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt; and they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” The prophet then describes the signs of the day of God, and Christ also speaks of these signs as tokens of his near coming. “For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”
6 Babylon is a symbol of the world at large. When its doom was made certain, its kings and officers seemed to be as men insane, and their own course hastened its destiny. When the doom of a nation is fixed, it seems that all the energy, wisdom, and discretion of its former time of prosperity, deserts its men of position, and they hasten the evil they would avert. Outside enemies are not the greatest peril to an individual or a nation. The overthrow of a nation results, under the providence of God, from some unwise or evil course of its own. But the people who fear God, who are loyal to his laws, who carry out the principles of righteousness in their lives, have a sure defense; God will be the refuge of those who trust in him.
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1 To neglect to comply with the conditions of salvation is to choose a character of defection and sin, wholly unlike the character of Christ. It is to bar the only way whereby sinners may escape the wrath of God. If men show no disposition to come into communion with Christ, and through him into communion with God the Father, but hour by hour, and day by day, dare to manifest indifference to Christ by withholding the service which is due to God, robbing the Lord of their time, their reasoning powers, their co-operation, rendering back no talent improved, but rather uniting with Satan to further the influence and power of evil, can God honor them by the gift of eternal life? Can the impenitent sinner, who treats with contempt the gift of God, declaring by his words and attitude that he does not want to wear the yoke and bear the burden of Christ, does not desire that his life shall be hid with Christ in God,—can such a one enter into the kingdom of heaven? Would the sinner, who hated God and would not yield to the overtures of mercy on earth, enjoy everlasting life with Christ and the Father? Could he who despised the companionship of the Father and the Son on earth come into fellowship with them in heaven?
2 Satan was once an angel of light, but he was cast out of heaven when he became rebellious against God. Sin separates both men and angels from God. And “if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment,” how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? God “spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.” The history of the past furnishes examples of the fate of those who persist in indifference to the provisions of salvation. God revealed his character to Moses, declaring how he would deal with the obedient and the disobedient. “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.”
3 Satan is the author of all doubt, all transgression. He leads men captive, binding them to do his will; in order to fulfill his purpose, he holds them in the veriest slavery. To break this bondage, the Lord, in man’s behalf, has given to the world his only-begotten and well-beloved Son. Through the power of Christ, the captives of Satan may all be set free. Had there been no interference on the part of God, Satan and men would have united in an unbroken warfare against the God of heaven. When Christ came to the world, evil angels conspired with evil men, and the energies of apostasy were united to destroy the Saviour of the world. This enmity was due to the fact that Christ would not license the evil passions of the natural heart, and made a decided warfare against all lust and every form of evil.
4 In the great controversy between good and evil, each one of us has to choose on which side he will stand, and our life and character will make manifest who is our master. If we refuse to be obedient to the law of God, we shall make terms with Satan, and Christ will be unloved, and unhonored in our heart and life; but the heart insensible to so great salvation, closed to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, must indeed be hard as adamant.
5 The heart is like a field, and good and evil are like seeds that take root and bear their harvest, either for eternal life or eternal death. Those who refuse to be moulded by the operations of the Spirit of God, who refuse to be drawn to Christ, to stand under his banner, and to war the good warfare, educate others by both precept and example to cut themselves off from the Source of their strength, and to neglect the great salvation provided for them.
6 Parents who refuse the knowledge of God, influence their children against the truth by their own unbelief and hardness of heart. The Lord speaks to fathers and mothers by all the lessons of the gospel; he admonishes them by the agony and death of his own beloved Son; he warns them by the terrors of his judgments upon the impenitent nations of the past, and entreats them by all the rewards of eternity, to bring up their children in the fear and nurture of the Lord.
7 Christ manifested his interest in the salvation of every soul. When he endured the death of the cross, he made provision for the pardon of every soul, and to those who would obey his commandments, he promised eternal happiness in his kingdom. How is it that so few respond to this love? God is our Creator, and we are dependent upon him for every blessing, for shelter and food and clothing, for religious opportunities, for the grace we enjoy; and yet how cold are our hearts! Many are even led to behold Calvary, they are pointed to the crucified Saviour, and yet they are unmoved by the manifestation of Infinite Love. But shall we look with stoical indifference upon all the revealing of his love? Rather, shall not our hearts be melted and subdued in fervent gratitude and love? Shall we not sing the praise of our Creator and Redeemer? God has endowed men with emotional powers, and these are to be exercised and strengthened, but many seem to be devoid of feeling. They manifest no gratitude, give no praise to God, the giver of all their mercies. They display affection toward their friends, but the great Source of all blessing, the gracious Benefactor, receives not that love to which he is entitled. All heaven looks with amazement upon this unnatural exhibition of ingratitude toward Him who sends his sunshine and rain on the evil and on the good.
8 An enchanting power has been at work, stealing away the senses of man, deadening all his powers, so that he might not be able to respond to high and holy things, and carry out his purposes to serve God and man. Satan, the great deceiver, has been taking possession of the human mind.
9 Paul said concerning those who were in this state, “Who hath bewitched you that ye should not believe the truth?” The sorcerer, Satan, has been putting his spell upon men, and they have surrendered to the powers of darkness. A beguiling infatuation controls the reason, and men do not love the Saviour, and so refuse to do his will. Heaven is astonished that the love of Christ does not awaken every power of the being, and call forth songs of adoration, and a life of obedience to God.
Page 531
1 “And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore will worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
2 Thus the possession of worldly power was offered to Christ on condition that he would pay homage to Satan. What a contrast between the way in which our Saviour met this test and the way in which men meet it. The hope of gaining power in the world by means of wealth or position brings them to the service of the god of this world. Love of gain controls their affections, and what Satan failed to secure from the world’s Redeemer, he easily obtains from men. Even those whose names are enrolled on the church records, who hold positions of trust as the followers of Christ, will sacrifice principle, throw away their religious experience, simply to obtain some coveted earthly treasure.
3 There is no reason that man should fall a prey to the devices of the enemy. Christ has conquered in man’s behalf, and if man places himself under the leadership of the Captain of his salvation, he, too, may be a conqueror. The trouble is that men will not submit themselves to Christ. They step out of the ranks of King Emmanuel, and place themselves in the ranks of the enemy. They devote all their powers to the gaining of wealth or some other earthly treasure, and they have other gods before the Lord of hosts.
4 The man of the world is not content when his immediate wants are supplied, or even when he has an abundance stored away for future use; but the more he gets, the more he desires to have. He wants a greater capital, a larger stock, a larger income. Every power of his mind is bent on the object of his covetous desires,—the amassing of fortune. The man of God has an entirely different end in view. He is seeking for heavenly riches, for eternal joy. As we behold the diligence and energy of those who are seeking for temporal wealth, how it should stir us who profess the name of Christ to earnestness in the work of salvation! With how much greater zeal and perseverance should we put to the stretch every power, that we may gain the heavenly prize! We should work with as much greater earnestness as our object is higher, as our treasure is of more value. The man of the world is laying up treasure on earth, doing that which the Lord has commanded should not be done. The sincere Christian is laying up his treasure in heaven, where nothing can tarnish or destroy. How should we labor to obtain the reward offered to those who are faithful in the service of their God! Is not an eternity of bliss worth a life-long, persevering effort? Those who truly follow Christ will not be left to misdirect their efforts. They will be led to set their affections on things above, not on things on the earth. Transformed by the grace of God, their life will be hid with Christ in God. The energy of the true Christian will be employed in gaining spiritual power. He will appreciate his intrusted talents, and will feel his responsibility to use them for the glory of God. The servant of God will prize his property, but will not hoard it. He will value it only as it can be of use in advancing the kingdom of God on the earth. He will work as did Christ, to bless humanity. He will put his powers to their highest use, not to glorify self, but that every gift may be strengthened to render to God the best use. He will be “not slothful in business,” but “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
5 God does not condemn prudence and foresight in the use of the things of this life, but he does condemn feverish ambition, undue anxiety, concerning the things of the world. This spirit of greed and lust is in the world, all about us, but it will not do for us to float along with the current of covetousness that flows on all sides. We are to be laborers together with God. God has imparted to us moral powers, and made us susceptible to the influences of his Spirit. He has given his only-begotten and well-beloved Son as a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world, that we all might be reconciled to God. He has brought light and truth to our knowledge, and we must use our powers in harmony with these saving agencies. We must with earnestness lay hold of the helps that God has provided. We must pray, we must study the Scriptures, we must believe and obey the word of God. We must make use of every opportunity and privilege God gives us, that we may make our calling and election sure. We are to be laborers together with God; for he will not complete his work without human co-operation. Jesus has made an infinite sacrifice in our behalf, and he expects far more of his followers than they give him. He looks for voluntary, zealous, disinterested effort and co-operation. The love of God has brought the treasure of heaven within the reach of man, and shall we be indifferent to such love, to such opportunity? God is waiting, angels are waiting, to see what will be done by the people to whom have been committed the treasures of truth. Oh! if you who have been so highly favored of heaven fail to come up to the help of the Lord, what will be your doom? How will you escape? If you fail, it had been better that you had never been born, for not only will you lose heaven yourselves, but you will influence others by your example; you will scatter from Christ.
6 Many nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples are to be enlightened; and can it be possible that the chosen, royal people of God, those who have a knowledge of Christ, will remain indifferent to those who are dying without a knowledge of God, when this is life eternal? Oh! that all might realize what a privilege it is to become laborers together with God! Christ has said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Fidelity to Christian principle demands that each professor of Christ come into active service in his vineyard. Those who withhold their talent from the cause of God, will have no part in the reward at last. The light must shine forth from every soul that receives the grace of Christ.
7 But with what indifference many professed Christians look upon those in ignorance and sin. They do nothing with their money, nothing with their influence, nothing with tongue or pen. They do not even take upon themselves the burden of their own souls, but leave themselves a constant anxiety for others, and thus bring care upon the church. These would be a burden and clog in heaven itself. For Christ’s sake, for your soul’s sake, make diligent work for eternity. Christ has gone to prepare heavenly mansions for all who will comply with the conditions stated in the word of God. Souls for whom Christ died are dwelling in darkness and error; God has done his part to enlighten them, and is waiting for the co-operation of his followers. The plan of salvation has been fully developed. The blood of Jesus has been shed for the sins of the world. The word of God has been given, and it speaks to man in counsels, in reproof, in warning, in instruction, in promises, in encouragement. The Holy Spirit has been given to help man in all his efforts to overcome, and yet the world is perishing in darkness and sin. Who will be laborers together with God to win souls to Christ? Who will bear to dying souls the glad tidings of salvation? The people whom God has blessed with light and truth are to be messengers of salvation. Their money should flow in a channel of beneficence to bless their fellow-men, and they should devote all their powers to the cause of God, becoming laborers together with him. They should be self-denying, self-sacrificing, like him who, “though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
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1 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
2 In these words Christ invites all the weary and heavy laden to come to him and find rest. It is through Jesus alone that we can find peace and happiness, and yet men seek to find rest and satisfaction in almost everything except in Christ. All we enjoy in this life is provided for us through his merit and love, and we only can have hope of heaven through faith in his name.
3 Jesus sees the great mass of mankind seeking after happiness in vain, and he would turn men’s attention to himself, away from the false hopes and delusive joys of the world; he would have them place their affections upon him, their mighty Helper and Deliverer.
4 Jesus invites all the weary and heavy laden to come to him. There is no one excluded from the school of Christ, no one debarred from the privilege of learning the precious lessons he would teach his followers. But notwithstanding the fact that Christ has promised rest to all who are heavy laden, how many of us cling to our griefs, and will not part with our sorrows, and refuse the comfort and hope he assures to those who will come to him. The condition upon which we shall find rest to our souls is in coming and in taking upon us the yoke of Christ, and in learning of him who is meek and lowly of heart. He says: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
5 But instead of taking the yoke of Christ, how many bind upon their souls a galling yoke, a grievous burden. Many wear a load of care, worldly perplexities are accepted, worldly customs are followed, worldly fashions practiced, and their character is marred, their life made a weariness. Jesus would have them lay aside this yoke of bondage, and take upon them his yoke of love, that they may learn to be meek and lowly in heart. The weakest soul, wearing Christ’s yoke, bearing his burden, may become strong in his grace, and he will find the yoke easy, the burden light.
6 The greatest Teacher the world has ever known, says, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” The pain, the sorrow, the unrest, the disappointment, that come into every life, are evidence that there is no rest outside of Christ. Jesus has redeemed us to himself, we are his property, and he desires us to learn the path of peace and joy by learning to obey the law of God, the rule of his kingdom. All the suffering and distress of this woe-stricken life is the result of disobedience to the law of God, of refusing to come to Christ, that meekness and lowliness of heart may be learned of the great Teacher. If men would come to Christ and learn his meekness and lowliness, they would not refuse to render obedience to the law of God. But they forsake the fountain of living water, and hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
7 But Christ is able to do all that he has promised to do for the sin-sick soul. Those who have an experimental knowledge of Christ can testify to his faithfulness and truth. We may have an appreciation of our sinfulness, and realize that we are full of uncleanness, but as the light of heaven reveals the heart’s depravity, we should not become discouraged, for there is help in Jesus for the vilest sinner. The promises of God are for all who will accept them, and Jesus says, Come, and I will give you rest. He does not say, Come, and perhaps I will give you rest, but the promise is positive, “Ye shall find rest.” As we take his yoke, and learn of him, we find sweet solace in his promises, and our hope of eternal life grows stronger and brighter.
8 I have seen persons in trouble, who, instead of looking to Jesus, kept looking at their trouble, kept talking of their discouragements, and kept dwelling upon their trials. Why did they not comply with the invitation of Jesus? Why did they not come to him? It was because they had a divided heart; but God wants the whole heart. When we are in trial and sadness, we must look to Jesus. We must take our sorrow to the Lord in prayer; for he has said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Why is it that we do not comply with the conditions upon which the promises are based? We have a precious Saviour, and he knows our trials before we present them before him. He loves us with a love that is infinite, and he will do for us all that he has promised to do. We need not walk in darkness. We need not go on in uncertainty. We are willing to believe what our friends tell us, then why not believe the word of our best Friend? Why not take God at his word? Why not “come” and find rest unto our souls, according to the invitation and promise of Jesus?
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1 Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.” How can we learn the lessons he would teach us?—We can learn them by looking constantly unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. As we study the Example, as we behold the character of Christ, note his life of humility, patience, self- denial, and love, we become changed. If we do not keep the Pattern before us, we shall make a failure of the Christian life; we shall make crooked paths for our feet, and others will follow in our steps, and many be turned out of the right path.
2 The character of Christ is without spot or stain, and we should be like our Lord. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Do we retaliate when others injure us? Jesus did not; when he was reviled, he reviled not again. Jesus said that the world hated him, and that the world would hate those who followed him. He was a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. He knows how to succor those who are tempted now.
3 Jesus was meek and lowly of heart, and we must earnestly strive to be like him. If we are indeed learning of him who is meek and lowly of heart, we shall be afflicted. Trials will come upon us, but day by day we must come to Christ and find rest, for he will lift the soul above the daily sorrow and perplexity into a realm of peace. We must remember that Jesus endured insult and mockery and false accusation. He has told us that we must learn to endure suffering, as he has endured it in our behalf. When we have his Spirit, we shall bring our trials to him and find rest unto our souls. Those who are seeking peace and rest will find it alone in Jesus. We are to come to him trusting implicitly that he will give us all that he has promised. The experience I have had for the past forty years proves to me that the promises of God are unfailing.
4 Many think that Jesus is a great way off, high in the heavens, and far from the sound of their prayers; but he says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst.” When we assemble for religious service, we may be certain that Jesus is with us. However few and humble the worshipers may be, the heavenly Guest is there. Jesus does not want you to remain away from him in order that you may make yourself more worthy of his favor and blessing, for you cannot do this. The blood of Jesus Christ is the only efficient agent for the cleansing of sin. He wants us to trust him as our best Friend, and when we do this, we shall find comfort and rest. Genuine Christians are the only really happy people in the world, and it is because they have a living faith in a living Saviour. They have the assurance that Jesus is by their side ready to help them in every time of need, and they know that he will never leave them nor forsake them while they trust in him.
5 Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you.” If we were bearing his yoke, we would not be wearing yokes of our own manufacturing. We would not be impatient, full of fault-finding, hateful, and hating one another. If we wear the yoke of Christ, we shall be patient, loving, and unrevengeful under injury; for we shall be learning of him who is meek and lowly of heart. If we are indeed the followers of Christ, we shall be called upon to bear reproach, but if we are not understood, if we are falsely accused, we must not be discouraged, but remember that our Lord suffered mockery and scorn, and even the chief priests and rulers hedged up his way, and falsely accused him of evil. Whatever may befall us, we should look to Jesus, knowing that he is our best Friend, or Elder Brother.
6 In the Christian life, we must daily lift up the soul, and be in constant communion with Heaven. When we abide in Christ, and his words abide in us, our words and actions will testify to the fact that we are learning of the divine Teacher. As we learn meekness, self-control, patience, and love, from day to day our light will grow brighter, we shall go from strength to strength, and become more and more like Jesus. As the light of Christ shines upon us, we shall reflect it to others, and thus become the light of the world. Oh, if the disciples of Christ were all reflecting the light of Christ, how many who now sit in darkness would be won to his service, would praise God for his marvelous grace and love! It is the duty of every one of us to make straight paths for our feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way. We should order our steps according to the word of God, and leave a bright path heavenward. Jesus says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
7 The children of God profess to be pilgrims and strangers on the earth, seeking a better country. It is not for them to set their affections on things below. They are not to conform to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. They are to learn daily in the school of Christ, so profiting by the lessons of the divine Teacher that they shall be able to serve God better and better, better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today. This is the hour of probation, when opportunity is given us to perfect such characters as will fit us for a place in the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love him. In order to perfect Christian character, we must dwell upon the perfection of Christ, and as we behold his matchless charms, we shall desire to be like him, and become changed, reflecting more and more of his spirit of love.
8 Jesus has prepared many mansions, he has made a place for his children in the city of God. He has not forgotten those who are upon earth. His great heart of love is open to our griefs, our sorrows, our trials; for he has loved us with an everlasting love, and with loving-kindness he has compassed us about. He invites all the weary and heavy laden to come unto him and find rest. Then come to him all ye that are heavy-hearted, who are care-worn, and bowed down beneath heavy burdens. Carry your burdens to him, and when you rise to go to your daily task again, do not gather them up, but leave them all with him. When you are tempted to gather your cares and griefs again to your heart, say, “No, I’ll not do it. I have taken them to the Burden-bearer, and I will leave them with him.” Keep the heart stayed upon him, and meditate upon his loving-kindness all the day long.
9 We have a cruel enemy ever upon our track, and Jesus bids us to watch and pray lest temptation come upon us unaware, and we be led into the snare of the evil one. Satan will seek to discourage you, he will tell you that it is of no use for you to go to Christ, that you are too sinful; but take the promise of God, and declare in his face: “It is written,” “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” The blood of Jesus is able to cleanse you from all unrighteousness, and he can save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. He has esteemed you of so great value that he has given his life for you, and will you allow anything to separate you from him? Let nothing come between you and your Lord. Come unto him in full assurance of faith, lay your every care upon him, for he careth for you. Take his yoke upon you and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly in heart, and find rest unto your soul.
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1 I will never advocate the popular theory that it does not matter what doctrine men espouse, if they only have faith. “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” Genuine faith will be expressed by good works. We are looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ. We may not be living when Christ shall come in power and great glory, for all are subject to death at any time, but if we are righteous, in harmony with the law of God, we shall respond to the voice that will call the people of God from their graves, and shall come forth to receive immortality. It is only the blessed and holy who will be ready for the first resurrection; for when Christ comes, he will not change the character. The change that will take place will be that change spoken of by Paul when he says: “We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” The word of God declares that we must be found blameless, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Now we are to learn obedience, submission to the divine will, that God may work in us to will and to do of his good-pleasure, and that we may work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. But our own efforts are of no avail to atone for sin or to renew the heart. Only the blood of Christ can atone for us; his grace alone can create in us a clean heart, and enable us to obey God’s law. In him is our only hope.
2 An infinite sacrifice has been made. Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to the world to be our example. He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. The prophet says: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Jesus bore insult and mockery while he was toiling, going from place to place to save fallen men. He was hunted by the scribes and the Pharisees, and he fled from town to town, from city to city, to escape their malice, and to preserve his life till his mission should be completed. He was the light of the world, but the world knew him not. Those who professed to be devout servants of God, acted as spies, and sought to find something in him by which they might condemn him. His life was one of self-denial and self-sacrifice for others, one of love, that reached out to the suffering and the fallen.
3 Behold him in the garden of Gethsemane. The burden of the sins of the world was upon him, while the powers of darkness oppressed his soul, and he poured out his prayer of agony to his Father, saying, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Great drops of blood fell from his brow and moistened the sod of the garden, and the mysterious cup trembled in his hand; the destiny of a lost world was hanging in the balance. Should he wipe the drops of agony from his brow, and go out from Gethsemane, and leave lost man in his sins?
4 Then came up before him the misery of the lost race, and he consented to take the cup of suffering and drink it to the very dregs. He gave himself up to the hands of his enemies. Judas betrayed him into the power of the exultant priests and rulers. He was taken to the judgment-hall, and it seemed that all humanity was lost from the hearts of these men, who professed the greatest piety. They dragged him from one tribunal to another that they might rejoice and gloat over the sufferings of their prisoner. They exulted that at last the man Jesus was in their power, and they delighted to insult, mock, and humiliate him. Thus, pale and weak and weary, he was treading the wine-press alone, and of the people there was none with him. But yet he was not unnoticed; angels were watching the divine Sufferer. The heavens grew dark, the earth was rent when he cried in agony, hanging between two thieves, and dying as a malefactor. And who was he?—He was the Majesty of heaven, the divine Son of God. He was suffering that sinful man might not perish in his transgression. Jesus did not endure all this that we might continue in sin, but that he might save us from our sins. He came to bring moral power to men, to unite humanity with divinity, so that through his grace man might be an overcomer. How desirous we should be to build upon Christ, to rivet our souls to the eternal Rock! The religion of Jesus is the only genuine religion, and this we should possess, cost what it may, but we should desire nothing of that cheap counterfeit of religion that has a name to live and is dead. We should seek for the converting power of God in our hearts. We should forsake sin because it is an offense to God, the transgression of his law, and turn to Christ, to love and follow him, that he may not be ashamed to call us brethren.
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1 The king upon his throne has no higher work than has the mother. The mother is queen of her household. She has in her power the molding of her children’s characters, that they may be fitted for the higher, immortal life. An angel could not ask for a higher mission; for in doing this work she is doing service for God. Let her only realize the high character of her task, and it will inspire her with courage. Let her realize the worth of her work, and put on the whole armor of God, that she may resist the temptation to conform to the world’s standard. Her work is for time and for eternity.
2 Among the first tasks of the mother is the restraining of passion in her little ones. Children should not be allowed to manifest anger; they should not be permitted to throw themselves upon the floor, striking and crying because something has been denied them which was not for their best good. I have been distressed as I have seen how many parents indulge their children in the display of angry passions. Mothers seem to look upon these outbursts of anger as something that must be endured, and appear indifferent to the child’s behavior. But if an evil is permitted once, it will be repeated, and its repetition will result in habit, and so the child’s character will receive an evil mould. I have heard persons argue that their children were too young to be corrected. They said, “When the children are older, they will be ashamed of their manifestations of temper, and will overcome the habit of displaying anger.”
3 The little ones, before they are a year old, hear and understand what is spoken in reference to themselves, and know to what extent they are to be indulged. Mothers, you should train your children to yield to your wishes. This point must be gained if you would hold the control over your children, and preserve your dignity as a mother. Your children quickly learn just what you expect of them, they know when their will conquers yours, and will make the most of their victory.
4 The mother’s influence is an unceasing influence; and if it is always on the side of right, her children’s characters will testify to her moral earnestness and worth. Her smile, her encouragement, may be an inspiring force. She may bring sunshine to the heart of her child by a word of love, a smile of approval.
5 The power of a mother’s prayers cannot be too highly estimated. She who kneels beside her son and daughter through the vicissitudes of childhood, through the perils of youth, will never know till the judgment the influence of her prayers upon the life of her children. If she is connected by faith with the Son of God, the mother’s tender hand may hold back her son from the power of temptation, may restrain her daughter from indulging in sin. When passion is warring for the mastery, the power of love, the restraining, earnest, determined influence of the mother, may balance the soul on the side of right.
6 The work of the mother is fraught with tremendous responsibility; but when her influence is for truth, for virtue, when she is guided by divine wisdom, what a power for Christ will be her life! Her influence will reach on through time into eternity. What a thought is this,—that the mother’s looks and words and actions bear fruit in eternity, and the salvation or ruin of many will be the result of her influence.
7 To fashion the character after a heavenly mould is no ignoble work. Is it a little matter to develop, train, and educate the powers of your children in such a way that they shall bring glory to God? Is it a little thing to teach a child how to restrain his passions, how to cultivate his noble powers, how to use God’s wondrous gifts of intellect and affection? The parents receive the child a helpless burden in their arms; he knows nothing, and he is to be taught to love God, is to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He is to be fashioned after the divine model.
8 When parents see the importance of their work in training their children, when they see that it involves eternal interests, they will feel that they must devote their best time and thought to this work. Amid all the activities of life, the mother’s most sacred duty is to her children. But how often is this duty put aside that some selfish gratification may be followed. Parents are intrusted with the present and eternal interests of their children. They are to hold the reins of government, and guide their households to the honor of God. God’s law should be their standard, and love should rule in all things.
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1 We hear much of the education of women, and it is a subject that is deserving of careful attention. The highest education for woman is to be found in the thorough and equal cultivation of all her talents and powers. The heart, the mind, the spirit, as well as the physical being, should be properly developed. There are many who are uncultured in mind and manners. Many are full of affectation, and the aim of their life seems to be to make a display. When we see this state of affairs, we cannot help breathing a prayer that God will bless the world with women who are developed as they should be in mind and character, women who have a true realization of their God-given responsibility.
2 How essential to a mother is the knowledge of the love of God. She who has children to train cannot do it successfully without the fear of God before her eyes; for in the training of her little ones she must have in view their eternal interests and the interests of society. The education of children for practical life receives far too little attention. Our girls who are blossoming into womanhood are not thoroughly educated when they simply have a knowledge of books. Mothers who hold a place in fashionable society crave for their daughters only superficial accomplishments. They desire to see them making a pleasing appearance, and when this is accomplished, they feel that their responsibility is over. But the superficial accomplishments of society will not take the place of solid acquirements, in useful branches of knowledge, and it is often found that those best versed in the ways of society are least educated. Music, painting, embroidery, are too often regarded as the most essential part of education, but these accomplishments are not sufficient either to develop the mind or to prepare one for the practical duties of life. Education should be a strengthening process, preparing its recipient for a higher, nobler life. Its object should be to fit the soul for usefulness in this life; the thought of display should be no part of the motive in obtaining an education. Mothers are committing a great mistake in confining the minds of their children to the attainment of superficial accomplishments; for the mind thus trained narrows down to the standard set before it, and instead of growing in efficiency because obstacles are met and overcome, the children manifest weakness of mind and instability of purpose.
3 No one who is not growing daily in capability and helpfulness is fulfilling the purpose of life. And mothers who are training their daughters for display should consider their work in the light of this thought. Let them read the instruction of the apostle. He says: “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” It is the heart that needs culture; for it is with the heart-life that women have to do. The mother should call into exercise all the purer, nobler emotions which are to be wrought into principles. The precious finer feelings are to be carefully nourished that they may bloom into actions of goodness, truth, and holiness. How carefully and prayerfully should the soil of the heart be cultivated and enriched. Precious seed should be sown, both by precept and example. The words that are spoken by a mother should be choice words. The looks, the dress, and every act, should be of such a character that its reproduction in the daughter may not in any way deface her character. If the character of the mother is pervaded with benevolence and love, the character of the children will also be pervaded, to a greater or less degree, with these noble feelings. Unselfishness, patience, gentleness, kindness, forbearance, must all be cultivated by the mother; she is a learner as well as a teacher. These precious traits must be well cultivated, for they will be found essential in the home-life of the mother. The best impulses must be encouraged, the noblest affections cherished. If the mother’s heart is filled with holy love, her life and character will be a savor of life unto life to her children and friends, and will bring forth abiding fruit. She will be enabled to mould the developing minds of her children so that they may be useful in this life, and be fitted for the future, immortal life.
4 The same Heavenly Father who gave to woman hands to labor and a heart to love, gave her talents to be improved that she might become a home missionary. The extent to which the mind can be cultivated is little understood, but the greatest and most essential education is that which results in the formation of a true character. Children should be educated so that they will answer the purpose of God. The education essential for the performance of life’s practical duties is the noblest education your children could have. In this education the judgment must be matured before the taste, principle must be cultivated before fancy and inclination. After true principles are established, and the character is given balance, the taste may be indulged, and the fancy may be disciplined. The mind that is filled with wisdom, and established in principle, will be symmetrical, and will have the inward adorning that is of great price in the sight of God. The spirit, too, must have its proper discipline; and nothing so enlarges the soul, ennobles the mind, and enlightens the intellect, as the religion of Christ. Religion will give to him who is in pursuit of knowledge a holy purpose and a definite aim. He who is enlightened by the spirit of God will feel that he is a steward of the grace of God, endowed with gifts for whose improvement he is responsible.
5 Mothers, keep before your daughters the value of a true education, the worthlessness of that education that is simply acquired for display. Constantly seek to elevate the mind of your daughters, for the influence of woman in the missionary work, in the field of reform, is of vast importance. She can be a power for Christ in the world. When Christ is enthroned in the heart, his grace will appear in the life. The deportment, the good works, the tender spirit, will all proclaim their possessor a child of God. What might not women do if they would open their minds and hearts to receive the light of heaven from the Source of all truth? and then they would live up to their God-given responsibility and privilege.
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1 God has given to the father and mother a sacred trust, and he requires them to rule in his love and fear. Many abuse their trust, and become despots, controlling by severity and oppression. All such will see their actions reproduced in their children, and in their old age will probably reap a harvest in despotism from their misgoverned children.
2 The training of children puts the parents as well as the children to school. The dependent children look to father and mother to have their wants supplied, and in this is a lesson to the parents of their own dependence upon their heavenly Father. The children look to the parents for precept and example, and for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, and the parent sees himself as dependent upon God for wisdom and knowledge. The father and mother find that they have to acquire habits of self-control in order to teach the same to their children. Parents may find cause for humiliation in the manifestation of perversity in their children; for their own evil nature is reflected, and their own defects of character reproduced. Oh, what need there is that parents flee to God in order to obtain his grace and power to train their children in the way of the Lord!
3 Parents should ever remember that the salvation of their children is placed in their hands. They should teach their children from infancy the true aim of life. There are unnumbered dangers around the youth in this degenerate age, and parents should study how they may teach their children to avoid the perils in society and in private life. The mother should teach her children how to gain eternal life; and in training them in obedience with reference to immortal life, she will be securing for them the best happiness for this life, besides developing in them the most manly and womanly characters. Connection with Heaven will ever lead to purity, to elevation of character, to the acquirement of Christian courtesy.
4 The mother may be compared to a sculptor working for eternity, and she need not look upon her task as drudgery. It is her life-work, and if that work is well done, God will look with approval upon the humble worker. Angels, who have ministered to her through her days of trial and temptation, will say, “Well done.” Her husband, her children, may not have appreciated her hard conflicts with herself, her daily vexations, and may not have known how near she came to despair; but Heaven appreciated all, and her reward will be great when she kneels before the throne and says, “Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given me.”
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1 “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” Just before his betrayal and crucifixion, during the last peaceful moments that he spent with his disciples, Christ prayed for his followers in the words I have read; and he said: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” Those who profess to be followers of Christ should seek to answer the Saviour’s prayer, by becoming sanctified through the truth, the word of God. But how few see and feel the importance of knowing what is truth! How few diligently search for the truth as for hidden treasures! And yet there is power in the truth to sanctify the soul.
2 There are many who declare that it does not matter what a man believes, if he is sincere in his faith; but the words of Christ have a different import; the truth is the medium through which the soul is to be sanctified; therefore we should search the Scriptures diligently, that we may know what is truth. The truth received into the heart and practiced in the life will elevate, ennoble, and purify the soul. The espousal of error does not lead to this result; its influence is of a widely different character. Truth is from above, error is from beneath, and those who will not give close attention to the study of God’s word will not understand the principles that should control the life, and will be inclined to accept error, because it is easier for them to do this than to search for truth. In order to know the truth as it is in Jesus, we must give ourselves to thoughtful, prayerful study of the Scriptures. We must know what the word of God is to us, what the truth is to us, and what it means to be doers of the word of God, and not followers of cunningly-devised fables. The greatest blessing bestowed upon the world is the privilege of understanding the oracles of God. The word of God should not be a dead letter to us, but spirit and life; for through the truth we are to be sanctified.
3 The word of God has been neglected and abused, and this is as Satan would have it, for well he knows that through a knowledge of the truth, through obedience to its divine precepts, believers will be sanctified, fitted for eternal life. The truth, God’s word, has been brought within the reach of all; and if men will but make the right effort, they may lay hold upon the knowledge of God.
4 Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” How many of us place a right estimate upon the word of God? Do we receive the testimony of the Scriptures as the voice of God? Through the Scriptures the voice of God comes to us as veritably as it came to Israel when he spoke on Sinai in the audience of all the people. How many of us regard it in this light? If we did regard it thus, what a change would be seen in our daily words and actions. With what reverence and awe would we search the word of God to know the truth, the medium through which the soul’s sanctification is accomplished. No indifference, no carelessness, is allowed in our searching of the Scriptures. Our spiritual development depends upon our knowledge of the truth, upon our practice of its divine principles as embodied in the precepts of the law and in the teaching of our Lord.
5 The words of Christ were not always comprehended by the disciples; and even when they were understood in a measure, the comprehension of them did not measure their full significance. In order to understand the sayings of our Lord, we should carefully and prayerfully contemplate the words of truth, not merely to reach that comprehension of them which the people of an earlier age might have had, but to reach a deeper significance; for if our minds are illuminated by the Spirit of God, more and more of the force and meaning attached to them by the Saviour himself will come to our hearts. When Christ expounded the Old Testament to his disciples, it was to bring out deeper spiritual truths than had been understood before, even by those who had written them. The disciples acknowledged that they did not understand him when he spoke to them of his sufferings and death, quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He reproached them for their slowness to comprehend his words, and promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to recall his sayings to them when they were better qualified to understand. They did not clearly distinguish the spiritual from the earthly. He had left in their possession truth whose value they could not estimate, and of whose worth they had no realization. After his resurrection he opened their minds that they might understand the Scriptures, and told them the same things which before they could not comprehend, saying, “These are the things which I spake unto you while I was yet with you.” We should pray that our understanding may be opened, that we may comprehend what Christ has said unto us; for we are to be sanctified through his word.
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1 Christ prayed for his disciples “that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” The unity of believers is to be an evidence to the world of the divine power and mission of Christ. This should be the mighty argument to convince the world that Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of fallen man. The love existing between believers is to be similar to the love existing between the Father and the Son. And this love in the soul is the evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are to love God supremely, and our neighbors as ourselves. It is in the lack of this love that thousands fail, and are found transgressors of the law. Supreme love for God will lead to love for our fellow-men, and the commandment of Christ is, “Love one another as I have loved you,” “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another.” We cannot have this love unless Jesus is abiding in the heart by living faith. The very unity of disciples, the love manifested one for another, will be evidence to the world that God has sent his Son into the world as its Redeemer. This unity and love will exist wherever the Spirit of the Lord abides; heart will be bound to heart, and works of righteousness will appear in the daily life.
2 Jesus saw there was constant danger that his disciples would lose the divine image, through Satan’s suggestions of using policy toward one another, and he gave many lessons upon that sanctified, unselfish love that should be cherished by believers one for another. Love is the fruit of genuine sanctification. A true estimate of man is the thing that is lacking in the hearts of many professed followers of Christ. A confession of love, a profession of friendship, is not enough to meet the divine requirement; there must be deeds of kindness, feelings of tenderness, sincere sympathy and love toward our fellowmen. The fruits we bear will reveal the condition of our hearts, and give evidence of our sanctification through the truth. This sanctification takes in not only our greatest, but our smallest actions. The little things done for Christ’s sake, humble acts of kindness, a cheerful disposition to do others good,—this is confession of Christ. There must be patient continuance in well doing, a wise improvement of talents. Jesus must be formed within, the hope of glory, before you can rightly represent him to the world in words and works. In every little matter of life, in your deportment, in your forbearance, patience, long-suffering, you make known to others whether or not you are abiding in the living Vine. Jesus must be revealed in our every-day life, by the practice of the virtues that he revealed in his life.
3 The church is made up of persons of different temperaments and of various dispositions; they have come from different denominations; for the Cleaver of truth has separated one here and one there from the great quarry of the world, and in the church of Christ all these various members must be cemented together by the Spirit of God. If the love of Christ is in the hearts of the members of the church, through the abundant grace of Christ, there will be oneness, unity, among brethren. We must close the door of the heart to every suggestion that shall have the least tendency toward keeping us from this state of harmony. We must not hamper the soul and cripple its powers by the indulgence of selfishness. Selfishness is sin, and it grieves away the Spirit of Christ. When we cherish unkind thoughts, and harbor suspicions against our brethren, we are cutting ourselves off from the channel of God’s light and love. Jealousy is as cruel as the grave, and should never be cherished in the heart, much less expressed in the actions. How cruel it is to cherish evil surmising against those who are members of Christ’s body! Accusation, condemnation, and revenge are all of Satanic origin, and evil thoughts of others should be at once rejected from the mind, for these things repulse, and separate the hearts of brethren. Satan rejoices when he can create division in the church of God; for weakness follows, and the things that remain are ready to die.
4 Those who keep the truth will be found faithful to God and to one another. While base passions will surge in the hearts of unregenerated men, while pollution will corrupt the multitudes, those who love Christ and one another with pure, unselfish love will stand in Christ-like nobility, free from the contaminations of the age. By a life of truth and faithfulness they will confess their Lord before men. Their separation from evil will be manifested by silence as well as by words. By purity of character, by forbearance, by the manifestation of unselfish love for others, by the peace and joy of heart, the living witnesses for Christ will be made manifest, and will preach effective sermons of the power of Christ in the soul. Thus will genuine sanctification be displayed.
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1 John was the disciple whom Jesus loved, because he was believing and trustful, and loved his Master with devotion. His love for Christ was characterized by simplicity and ardor. There are many who think that this love for Christ was something natural to the character of John, and the disciple is frequently represented by the artist as of a soft, languid, feminine appearance, but such representations are incorrect. John and his brother were called the “sons of thunder.” John was a man of decided character, but he had learned lessons from the great Teacher. He had defects of character, and any slight shown to Jesus aroused his indignation and combativeness. His love for Christ was the love of a soul saved through the merits of Jesus; but with this love there were natural evil traits that had to be overcome. At one time he and his brother claimed the right to the highest position in the kingdom of heaven, and at another he forbade a man to cast out devils and heal diseases because he followed not with the disciples. At another time when he saw his Lord slighted by the Samaritans he wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume them. But Christ rebuked him, saying, “The Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
2 In the character and teaching of Christ, the disciples had both precept and example, and the grace of Christ was a transforming power, working marvelous changes in the life of the disciples. The natural traits of character, the spirit of criticism, revenge, ambition, evil temper, were all in the beloved disciple, and had to be overcome in order that he might be a representative of Christ. He was not only a hearer but a doer of the words of his Lord. He learned of Jesus to be meek and lowly of heart, to wear his yoke, to bear his burden. This was the result of companionship with his Master.
3 The opportunities and advantages offered to John were given to Judas also. The same principles of truth were set before his understanding, the same example in the character of Christ was his to contemplate and imitate. But Judas failed to become a doer of the words of Christ. Evil temper, revengeful passions, dark and sullen thoughts, were cherished, until Satan had full control of the man. John walked in the light, and improved the opportunities given him to overcome; but Judas chose his defects, and refused to be transformed into the image of Christ, and therefore became a representative of the enemy of Christ, and manifested the attributes of the evil one. When Judas came into association with Christ, he had some precious traits of character that might have been used of God and made a blessing to the church. If he had been willing to wear the yoke of Christ, to become meek and lowly of heart, he might have been among the chief of the apostles; but he hardened his heart when his defects were pointed out, and in pride and rebellion chose his own selfish ambitions, and so unfitted himself for the work God might have given him. John and Peter, though imperfect, became sanctified through the truth.
4 It is the same today as it was in the days of Christ. As the disciples were brought together, each with different faults, some inherited or cultivated tendency to evil, so in our church relations we find men and women whose characters are defective; not one of us is perfect. But in Christ, and through Christ, we are to dwell in the family of God, learning to become one in faith, in doctrine, in spirit, that at last we may be received into our eternal habitation. We shall have our tests, our grievances, our differences of opinion; but if Christ is abiding in the heart of each, there can be no dissension. The love of Christ will lead to love of one another, and the lessons of the Master will harmonize all differences, bringing us into unity, till we shall be of one mind and one judgment. Strife for supremacy will cease, and no one will be disposed to glory over another, but we shall esteem others better than ourselves, and so be built up into a spiritual temple for the Lord.
5 In the work of overcoming there will be confessions to be made one to another, but the word of God forbids man to put an erring man in God’s place, making confessors of frail humanity. We are to confess our faults one to another, and pray one for another that we may be healed. The appointment of men to the confessional of the Roman Church is the fulfillment of the design of Satan to confer upon men power which belongs to God only. God is dishonored by the absolution of the priest and by the confession of the soul to man. Confessions of secret sins are made to men whose own hearts may be as sinks of iniquity. There are sins which are to be confessed to God only, for he knows the whole heart and will not take advantage of the trust reposed in him; he will not betray our confidence, and if we submit ourselves to him, he will cleanse the heart from all iniquity.
6 The lessons given to Peter, Judas, and the other disciples are profitable to us, and have a special importance at this time. We have need of constant watchfulness, for we are nearing the coming of Christ, nearing the time when Satan is to work “with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” We must study the Pattern, and become like Jesus, who was meek and lowly of heart, pure and undefiled. We should ever remember that God is near us, and all things great and small are under his control. We must obey his law, come to Christ in faith as to him who is a rewarder of all them that diligently seek him; thus we shall be overcomers, and at last have a seat with him upon his throne.
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1 The value of salvation, purchased at infinite cost, makes its neglect more terrible, and insures certain destruction to the soul who is indifferent to its provisions and benefits. The mercies of God, so inexpressibly great, will, if neglected and scorned, make the sinner’s doom more sure. When man despises the love of God, he chooses the association of those who are at enmity with God and not subject to his law, and he could not be happy with God even in the kingdom of heaven. The Bible declares that “he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Those who are at enmity with God sow to the flesh, and they cannot enter heaven; for they would be out of harmony with God, and with the spirit and joy of his kingdom.
2 The Bible declares that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate God. Many wonder over this statement, but it can be understood. The father who sows iniquity educates his children to sow iniquity, for through the sight of the eyes and the hearing of the ears the children will receive seed that will bear a harvest of evil, unless they yield the heart to divine influences outside of their own family. Those who set themselves to work evil may carry on their work with bold defiance of God, but the influence of their unbelief and impenitence will reach beyond their own generation. The kind of training that evil men give their children will perpetuate ungodly principles and habits; the children will be averse to religion, they will not recognize the claims of God upon them, and when they attain maturity, they will stand forth with godless characters, defiant of Christ and the claims of God’s law.
3 The Lord cannot give those who are insubordinate a place in his kingdom of peace. Satan and the angels that united with him were expelled from heaven because of insubordination, and men who choose evil rather than righteousness, unite with the great rebel, and they can no more enter the kingdom of God with their characters wholly unlike God’s, than can Satan himself become an inhabitant of heaven.
4 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
5 Parents whose affections are given to God, who love to meditate upon his character, who are sowing seeds of truth and righteousness, are making sure of a rich harvest; for that which they sow, they will reap. Every good deed accomplished for Christ’s sake, with reliance upon his merits through personal faith in his power, places them upon vantage-ground in the family and in the neighborhood, and gives them fresh strength for the practice of virtue. They grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their love and reverence for God are manifested in a life of obedience to his commandments. They sow love and reverence for God in the hearts of their children, and the practice of virtue and righteousness produces a harvest—to be reaped from the virtuous lives of the children.
6 As parents educate their children according to God’s order, teaching them both by precept and example to love and reverence God, to obey every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, they educate themselves, and strengthen their own souls in the love of Christ. He who teaches the lessons of Christ sows precious seed that not only reproduces itself in the hearts of those taught, but takes new root, and springs up afresh in the heart of the teacher. In presenting the truth so that it may be comprehended by undisciplined youthful minds, the parent or teacher finds that it has new power and vividness to his own soul. In seeking to impress its importance upon the conscience of the young, we realize its value to a greater extent than before, and better appreciate the divine character of our Redeemer. By dwelling upon the character of Christ, the teacher, beholding him, will become changed; he will catch his Spirit, and diffuse the light of the Sun of Righteousness, flashing the bright beams of Christ’s righteousness into the minds of his pupils, and his own soul will be refreshed, and he will realize that whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
7 As you lift up Christ to others, you will behold his charms in a new light, and as you teach, your faith and works will agree. Those whom you instruct will receive ideas, which will be communicated to others, and they in turn will give the lessons you have given them, and use the illustrations you have impressed upon their minds, in teaching their children or pupils. Thus the good seed will be continually scattered, and will reproduce itself in an abundant and blessed harvest.
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1 Jesus left the glory of heaven, laid aside his royal robes, and clothed his divinity with humanity, that he might uplift fallen man, and make him a partaker of the divine nature. The heart of Infinite Love was touched with the sorrows of man. As Jesus looked upon the lost race, his heart was stirred with pity, for he saw them bound in cruel captivity to the prince of evil. Jesus freely devoted all his power and majesty to the cause of fallen humanity, that a plan might be worked out that would make the salvation of man possible, and bring the ruined race back to allegiance to God.
2 Satan had misrepresented the character of God to the world, and had tempted man to rebellion; but Jesus came to make manifest in his own life and character what was the true nature of the Father. Everywhere he went, he revealed the Father as a God of infinite love and unbounded compassion.
3 Christ says, “I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Through knowledge of Christ we may be brought into union with the Father. Oh, that our dull comprehension might be enlarged, that we might realize what there is in this thought of oneness with Christ! Perfection of character is offered to fallen man through the righteousness of Christ. The repentant sinner may be robed in the robe of righteousness, and God will behold in him only the unspotted purity of his Son. Then we shall be loved by the Father as he loves his Son. Jesus declares that nothing less than oneness with him and his Father will ever satisfy the divine requirement; but when we are united with Christ, our life is hid with Christ in God, and we are represented as members of the body of Christ.
4 Christ may abide in our hearts by faith. God manifested in the flesh is the mystery that has been hidden “from ages and from generations.” Oh, the depth of the riches of the love of God that hath abounded to man in the person of his Son! God in Christ, and Christ in God, and Christ abiding by faith in man, is so large a truth that the mind cannot fully comprehend it. It is so great a theme, so grand a conception, so far beyond the power of reason to explain, that, as we speak of it, we feel our insufficiency. Our comprehension is too restricted, our language too limited, to unfold this great truth. The mind fails and sinks down weary under the effort, and we can speak of this truth only in softened, subdued tones, acknowledging our helplessness, and bowing in adoration before the infinite love that has provided so great a salvation.
5 We cannot explain the unsearchable riches of Christ, but we can embrace them by faith. Let us bring faith into exercise. When Paul obtained some glimmerings of the light, and the immensity of the plan of salvation, and saw something of the richness of the treasures of grace, his soul was oppressed with a sense of their overwhelming greatness. He says: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
6 In Christ the character of the Father was made manifest, and, by contemplation of Christ, we may be changed into the same image. We are to represent Christ to the world as he represented the Father. By appropriating the righteousness of Christ, we represent not only the character of Christ, but also the character of the Father. We can have a knowledge of God only through a knowledge of Christ. Christ declared, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Christ was the brightness of his Father’s glory. Turning from every other representation of God as dim and veiled in comparison, we may, with open face, behold in Christ the glory of the Lord.
7 The less we cherish self, and the lower we lie at the foot of the cross, the more distinct and full will be our comprehension of the excellency of our Lord and Saviour. But all the lessons that Christ has given will be lost to us unless we appropriate them and bring them into our daily life. We cannot reflect the likeness of Christ to the world unless we grow continually in love for God and man. Every power of the renewed soul must be put to the stretch that the character may be fashioned after the divine Pattern. When the image of Christ is reflected in the life and character of his followers, the church will be vocal with praise to Him who is glorious in holiness.
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1 “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Those who enter the city of God as overcomers will hear the words of commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” A strong, well-balanced, symmetrical character is built by the thorough and faithful performance of duty. Joseph had an unblemished character, and as he was found faithful in that which was least, he was finally intrusted with the affairs of a nation. Daniel is another example of integrity, for he was so faithful that even his enemies were not able to point out one flaw in his performance of duty. They declared, “We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” The secret of Daniel’s strength was found in his conscientious attention to what the world would call things of minor importance. He was found before God three times a day in prayer and thanksgiving, and he was equally steadfast in his attention to his duties to the king. It is this conscientious attention to what the world despises that makes a strong, symmetrical character.
2 By indulgence in little extravagances men become careless in the use of money and form spendthrift habits, while self-denial in little things leads to self-denial in greater things. If moments are carefully treasured and put to a wise use, hours will not be wasted. If small opportunities are improved, greater opportunities will not be neglected. If limited talents are employed, larger usefulness will come; and by patient continuance in well doing, you will gain power to do well and patiently. Our work may not be noticed by men, and no credit may be given to the faithful soul; but God marks the diligent servant, and gives wisdom to do a larger work. It is faithfulness in little things that makes a man great in the sight of God.
3 The apostle Peter presents before us the ladder of progress that we must climb round by round in order to meet the approval of God. He says: “Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” Those who would make men of honor, men of trust, men of fidelity, must begin to be faithful in the smallest matters, and they must begin at home. Everyone who would be perfect must mount this ladder of progress. Many have neglected to put their feet upon the first rounds of the ladder. They want to mount to the topmost rounds without the trouble of climbing, but the only sure way is to take the painstaking way of going up by gradual advance, round after round. Many of the youth of today are superficial in all their undertakings. At the very beginning a fatal mistake is made in their education. Their careless habits are passed over by indulgent parents who would criticise with severity the same mistakes in others. Thus many fail to lay the right foundation. Peter says, “Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.” A virtuous character must precede all other acquirements. All sowing of wild oats will be followed by a harvest of the same order. “God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
4 The youth should remember that there is a day coming, and it is not far distant, when an account will have to be rendered for wasted opportunities, misspent hours, and neglected privileges. The nature, the effect of all our past life is registered in the books of heaven. We cannot change the figures, cannot undo the past, nor erase the record of good done or ill committed. Day by day the deeds done in the body make our record above, and in the judgment the books will reveal our evil course, unless through sincere repentance, through thorough reformation, our sins are blotted out by the blood of the atonement. We shall be judged, every man according as his works have been. Let everyone think upon the character of his works, and repent, and become transformed by the power of Christ.
5 In these perilous times, when a form of godliness is popular in the world, and a profession of Christianity is fashionable, only a few will discern the living way of self-denial and cross-bearing. “Watch and pray” is the injunction of Him who endured temptation in our behalf. Christ knows our danger, for he has contended with our powerful foe. He knows that our enemy is on the track of all who are striving to do the right. With all his specious arts and devices, Satan seeks to ensnare the servants of God, and turn them from Christ into the broad path that leads to destruction. He watches our going out and our coming in, and, although unseen, he works earnestly and diligently, seeking to destroy those who are ignorant of his designs. He works with agencies and instruments that will best conceal his malicious intentions.
6 Through the influence of the evil one, even the religion of Christ has been perverted to the minds of many who profess to know and obey the truth. But no matter how high is your profession, you will not stand the test unless you are doers of the word of God. Those only who have a living, abiding principle in the heart, who will not turn aside to do anything that has even an appearance of evil, who will not venture to tarnish the soul with impurity, are washing their robes and making them white in the blood of the Lamb. The washing of the robes of character must go on from day to day, that at last we may be found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but blameless before Him with whom we have to do. This work of purifying ourselves even as He is pure must be taken up individually. We should examine our motives, our actions, in the light of God’s holy law. We should ever ask, “Is this the way of the Lord?” Every earnest, sincere seeker will be answered of the Lord. The petitions of honest inquirers are always heard by the Author of our salvation. He has promised, “The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach his way.” Angels of God are watching to see the development of our character; they are weighing moral worth; and may the great day of God reveal the fact that we have not been weighed in the balances and found wanting.
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1 Christ said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
2 The apostle John presents before us in these words the necessity of a close connection with Christ. It must be as intimate as is the connection between the vine and the branches. As the graft becomes part of the living stalk, so the Christian is to become one with his Lord. Fiber by fiber, vein by vein, the graft is identified with the vine, drawing its life from the vine, and manifesting the life of the vine by its life and fruit. If the Christian is nourished by the life of Christ, he will manifest this in his life and character. He will follow in the steps of Jesus in all things, following in the path of self-denial and sacrifice.
3 Christ denied himself. He did not count heaven a place to be desired while we were lost, and he left the heavenly courts to suffer a life of shame, reproach, insult, and mockery. For our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich. He lived a life of self-sacrifice and self-denial, and passed over the ground that we must travel, in order to leave us an example that we might follow in his steps. And we love him, because he first loved us. We should cultivate love for Christ by yielding obedience to all his commandments. If we truly follow our Lord, we shall depart from all iniquity, the transgression of God’s law, and become loyal and true to the requirements of Heaven. The church has been made the depository of precious truth, and its members are not only to believe these truths, but to disseminate their glorious light to those who sit in darkness, that souls may be brought to the Sun of Righteousness. In this way they may represent Christ to the world.
4 Christ has said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” A great change must take place in us before we can live a true Christian life. We must become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruptions which are in the world through lust. We must be nourished by the life of the Living Vine, and then we shall become fruit-bearing branches. Christ has said, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.” The branch planted in Christ will bear the same order of fruit as he himself has borne. If we are in Christ, we shall love the things which he loved, hate the things which he hated, and be obedient unto all the commandments of God. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so will the soul pant after the things pertaining to the Spirit of God. And we shall make manifest to the world that we are the children of God by the fruits we bear.
5 “Faith without works is dead.” If we really believe in Christ, we shall work the works of Christ. We shall say, “Jesus is my Saviour, and I will commit the keeping of my soul to him as unto a faithful Creator.” The apostle declares: “What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” He who is purest, meekest, most obedient, will be most mighty upon earth. He who realizes that his strength, talent, means, all belong to God, will comprehend the meaning of the text I have quoted.
6 All was lost in Adam, and the race was left in hopeless misery, but “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ offered to become man’s surety and representative. He offered man another trial, and came to bear our guilt, to suffer the penalty of our sin. He came not to please himself, but to work out the plan of redemption. He became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Those who follow in his steps will not shun self-denial and the cross, but will imitate the example of Christ. And do you imagine in this life you will be unhappy? No; you will esteem it a privilege to be a partaker with Christ of his sufferings. You will have respect unto the recompense of the reward. Jesus will withhold nothing from those that walk in obedience to his commands; he will withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly.
7 Jesus has promised to be our friend, to stand close at our side, and we should tell him our griefs and trials as a child would tell its earthly parent its troubles. Without Christ you can do nothing, but with him you can do all things, for his grace will be sufficient for you. We must bring Christ into everything, and then we shall bear abundant fruit to the glory of God. Our good works cannot save us, for they are as filthy rags without Christ. Self-righteousness is as the offering of Cain. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground unto God, instead of bringing the blood of a slain lamb, the type of Christ, slain for the sins of the world. Abel brought that which God had commanded, and his faith was made manifest, his offering was accepted. These two brothers represent two classes of those who profess the religion of Christ. One are worshipers as was Cain, the other are worshipers as was Abel. How many claim to be the children of God, and yet refuse obedience to the plain commandment of God! The commandment reads: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, not thy stranger that is within thy gates.” But instead of conforming their practice to the word of God, they make excuses, and offer to God the first day of the week, which he has not commanded or sanctified. Is not this offering as defective as was the offering of Cain? He who truly believes in Christ will be obedient to all of God’s commandments. There is no bondage in obedience; obedience brings peace and assurance and fullness of joy. Those who complain that the Christian life is full of trial, show that they think a great deal more of their inconveniences than they do of the rich blessing of God, the reward of faithful obedience. They are not connected with the Living Vine, for he that is connected in vital connection with the Living Vine will be in a flourishing condition.
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1 Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Those who truly come to Christ, find rest unto their souls; and is it not an evidence that you have not come to him if you find the Christian life one of hardship and perplexity? Does it not prove that you are wearing a yoke of your own manufacture? Have you not gathered up burdens that Christ never meant you to carry? We are to live a life of meekness and simplicity, following the example of Christ, our Master. Christ is close at our side to counsel and help us in every time of need.
2 Why do we go to others with our trials and difficulties? Why not take all our griefs and burdens to the Lord in prayer? The reason we do not bring all our care to Christ is that we have too little faith in him.
3 By living faith we must abide in Christ. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The promise is positive; there is no “perhaps” about it. We need more faith; we are not simple enough to believe just what the Lord has spoken. If you did believe, you would come and say, “I take thee at thy word, Lord; I am trusting, believing in thy promise. “This is living faith. We have an example of the faith that lays hold of Christ in the story of the woman who touched his garment. Christ was teaching by the seaside, and a crowd had gathered around him, and a poor woman who had suffered many years from bodily infirmity, pressed her way through the crowd, for she felt that if she could only touch the hem of his garment she should be whole. She finally came near the Lord, and reached forth her trembling hand, and touched his garment, and felt that she was made whole. Jesus recognized the touch of faith, and asked, “Who touched me?” His disciples were astonished that he should ask such a question, and said, “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”
4 The touch of living faith brings virtue from Christ to the soul; but without this faith we are like the multitude that thronged the Saviour and yet felt nothing of his saving power, because they did not bring themselves in close connection with Christ.
5 We must realize our need of Christ, believe in his power to supply our wants, and then come unto him. Our love is to be quickened by the love he has given us. By trusting, confiding faith, we may have joy in the midst of sorrow. I know this by experience. Affliction upon affliction has fallen upon me. When my eldest-born was taken from me by death, I found Jesus a precious helper. And when my youngest-born was laid in the grave, I rejoiced that Christ was my Saviour. When my husband was taken away by death, and we laid the faithful, worn warrior away to rest till the morning of the resurrection, I felt that it was my duty to testify to the people of the sustaining power of Jesus’ grace and love. Since then I have taken up my life-work alone, and yet not alone, for Jesus has been with me.
6 The faith that will bring us peace in sorrow and tribulation is the faith we must all have, for it is an anchor to the soul, entering into that within the veil. In times of sorrow or joy we all need a Saviour to love us, and he is at our right hand to help and comfort in every time of trial and affliction. He says, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
7 When our minds are engrossed with the things of this life, we cannot bear fruit to the glory of God. Living faith, expressed by a life of faithful obedience, will avail to lift us out of this bondage to the world. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Steadfast faith gives evidence that we are closely connected with the Saviour. Let us put away everything like fretfulness, and make melody in our hearts unto the Lord. Let us talk of his love, and sing of his grace and power. Faith will connect us with him, and we shall be part of the Living Vine, and bear much fruit. We shall be patient and loving, and all the powers of our being will be devoted to God. Whatever gift you have, it is of God, and it should be given back to him; but how many devote their God-given ability to the glorification of self! Christ wants us to come close to himself, to accept the great sacrifice he has made for us. He is anxious to be our Helper, to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows. Will you let him help you? Say to the world, “Jesus is my Saviour; he saves me today, making me his obedient child, and enabling me to keep all his commandments.” If you knowingly disregard one of God’s commandments, you do not have saving faith. Genuine faith is a faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. Genuine faith will lead you to seek for the salvation of precious souls for whom Christ has died. We are to reveal Christ to them in our character and life.
8 If we are living Christians, we shall not inquire, when some new requirement is presented to us, “Is this convenient?” but we shall render willing obedience to all the commands of the Lord. It was not convenient for Christ to come from his throne of glory to this dark world and die, but it was expedient for us; for it is through his death that we are to find life and salvation.
9 Christ never repulses those who would come close to him; he welcomes them. Shall we not believe his promises, and become one with the Living Vine? If we do this, we shall bear much fruit. How I long to see the people of God come up to their high privilege. Jesus says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
10 The Christian’s mission in the world is to reveal the character of Christ, to represent the Lord to the fallen children of men. If we are ever to enter heaven, we must bring heaven into our life here. We must be pure and holy, and if we gain heaven at last, we shall be with the Saviour throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. We shall hear him say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The crown of glory will be placed upon the brow of the overcomer, and he will enter the city of God a conqueror. We are now upon the battle-ground, and Jesus will do the fighting for us, if we will only let him. He will lift up a standard for us against the enemy; for he hears our prayers, and help will come when we most need it. Then let us live for the future, immortal life, “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
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1 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” “Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God; and I will write upon him my new name.” “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
2 The words, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” are repeated after these promises, weighty with importance to the children of God. It is for our eternal interest to know and understand what the Spirit saith unto the churches, and we should search carefully for light and knowledge that we may not be in ignorance of what God has commanded and promised in his precious word. We have souls to be saved or lost, and with the greatest earnestness we should inquire, “What shall I do in order to obtain eternal life?” At the best, life is but short, and it is necessary that we should live this short life in harmony with the law of God, which is the law of the universe. We must have ears to hear, and hearts to understand, what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
3 The angels of God attain unto no higher knowledge than to know the will of God; and it is their greatest delight to accomplish the perfect will of the Heavenly Father. Fallen man has the privilege of becoming intelligent in regard to the will of God. While probationary time is granted us, we should put our faculties to the very highest use, that we may make of ourselves all that it is possible; and while we endeavor to reach a high standard of intelligence, we should feel our dependence upon God, for without his grace, our efforts cannot bring lasting benefit. It is through the grace of Christ that we are to be overcomers; through the merits of his blood we are to be of that number whose names will not be blotted out of the book of life. Those who are final overcomers will have the life that runs parallel with the life of God, and wear the crown of the victor. When such great and eternal reward awaits us, we should run the race with patience, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
4 We have no hesitancy in telling you that in order to obtain the immortal inheritance and the eternal substance, you must be overcomers in this probationary life. Everything that blots and stains the soul must be removed, must be cleansed from the heart. We must know what it means to be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruptions that are in the world through lust. Are you willing to wage war against the lusts of the flesh? Are you ready to battle against the enemy of God and man? Satan is determined to enslave every soul if he can; for he is playing a desperate game to win the souls of men from Christ and eternal life. Will you permit him to steal from you the graces of the Spirit of God, and plant in you his own corrupt nature? or will you accept the great provision of salvation, and through the merits of the Infinite Sacrifice made in your behalf, become a partaker of the divine nature? God has given his only-begotten Son, that through his shame, suffering, and death, you might have glory, honor, and immortality. Are you not willing to lay hold on the gracious hope set before you in the gospel? Is it humiliating to seek to win a crown of immortal glory?
5 Christ was one with the Father from the beginning; he shared the glory of the Father; and yet he consented to become fallen man’s substitute and surety, to stand in man’s place, that he might bring hope and salvation to every soul who would receive him as a sin-pardoning Saviour. With his human arm he encircles the lost race, and with his divine arm he grasps the throne of the Infinite, connecting man with God, and earth with heaven. It was impossible for man, who had weakened his moral power through transgression of God’s law, to keep the commandments of God; but Christ came to save his people from their sins, and by faith the soul is clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and brought into the favor of God. Christ stepped down from his exalted throne, left the royal courts, clothed his divinity with humanity, and became a man among the children of men; he humbled himself even to the suffering and death of the cross, that man might be exalted, that man might become a partaker of the divine nature, be an overcomer, and have a place with Christ upon his throne in glory.
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1 “Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. . . . Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.” While they were engaged in this sacrilegious feast, a bloodless hand traced opposite the king, characters of writing that could not be read or interpreted by any of the magicians or wise men of the court. “Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him.” But if they could not understand the writing, why were they so troubled? The writing on the wall gave evidence that there was a witness to their evil deeds, a guest not invited or welcome to their idolatrous feast, and his presence convicted of sin, and foretold doom and disaster. Before them passed, as in panoramic view, the deeds of their evil lives, and they seemed to be arraigned before the Judgment, of which they had been warned.
2 Belshazzar was most terror-stricken of them all; for great had been his opportunities for knowing the God he had blasphemed and derided. He knew the history of his grandfather; how, because of his exaltation of self, his wisdom and reason had been taken away, and he had gone forth to be a companion of the beasts of the field. But Belshazzar disregarded the lesson as completely as though these things had never occurred, and made himself guilty of the very sins for which his grandfather had been condemned. He was guilty because he had had the privilege of knowing and doing the right, and of leading others in the way, and yet refused to heed the light that God had permitted to shine upon his pathway. He had every opportunity of becoming acquainted with God and with his truth, but he would not deny himself in order to know and do righteousness. Now in the midst of his most pronounced idolatry and defiance of God, the bloodless hand writes his doom.
3 Daniel is remembered, and brought to the banqueting hall. The servant of God sees the evidences of the degradation and idolatry of the feast, so suddenly brought to an end; but Daniel was not disconcerted in the presence of the king and his lords.
4 “I have even heard of thee,” said the king, “that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. . . . And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts; now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.” Then Daniel reviewed the past, bringing before Belshazzar the light which he had received from the history and judgment of Nebuchadnezzar. God had given his grandfather a kingdom, majesty, glory, and honor; but instead of feeling gratitude to God Nebuchadnezzar had taken the glory to himself, and his mind was lifted up and his heart hardened. God deposed him from his throne, and took his glory from him. Daniel faithfully repeated the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s renown and degradation, and set forth the mercy of God in granting him another opportunity of acknowledging God as the Supreme Ruler in heaven and earth, the One to whom kings and nations owed allegiance. “And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.”
5 Then the writing on the wall was read and interpreted. Belshazzar heard the irrevocable sentence: “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.” “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” “Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” Belshazzar was without excuse, for abundant light had been given him to reform his life. He had had opportunity for knowing the truth; but he lost all the benefits of the knowledge by his course of self-indulgence; he did not meet the mind of God, as a man or a king, and because of this the kingdom had been taken from him. He who has power to set up and to tear down, gave the kingdom to another.
6 In the history of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, God speaks to nations of today. We are to take to heart the lessons he sought to teach these rebellious kings; for if Belshazzar had pursued a course in harmony with the instruction given to his grandfather, he would have retained not only his kingdom but his life. He disregarded the lessons, and went on in rebellion against God, committing the very sins for which his grandfather had been reproved and punished. He, too, lifted himself up in pride and exaltation, and the final judgment of God fell upon him and his house. His great sin was that, notwithstanding God had given him light, he refused to walk in the paths of righteousness.
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1 The condemnation that will fall upon the nations of the earth in this day will be because of their rejection of light, and will be similar to that which fell upon the kings of Babylon; it will be because they have failed to make the most of present light, present opportunities for knowing what is truth and righteousness. Our condemnation in the judgment will not result from the fact that we have lived in error, but from the fact that we have neglected heaven-sent opportunities for discovering truth. The means of becoming conversant with the truth are within the reach of all; but, like the indulgent, selfish king, we give more attention to the things that charm the ear, and please the eye, and gratify the palate, than to the things that enrich the mind, the divine treasures of truth. It is through the truth that we may answer the great question, “What must I do to be saved?”
2 On every page of God’s word the injunction to obedience is plainly written, and yet how often his commands are lightly regarded or wholly set aside! The command for the observance of the holy Sabbath of the Lord is placed in the very bosom of the decalogue, and is so plain that none need err as to its import, and yet it is treated with as great profanation as were the sacred vessels at the feast of Belshazzar. God sanctified and blessed the seventh day, setting it apart to be observed as holy time. Yet the Sabbath of the Lord has been used as a common working day, while a day which possesses no sanctity whatever has been put in the place of God’s sanctified day. The religious world has accepted error for truth, and many who claim to be the children of the light are the children of darkness. The condemnation of those who trample upon God’s holy Sabbath, and exalt a Sabbath instituted by the man of sin, will not come because they have conscientiously observed the first day of the week, but because they neglected opportunities for searching the Scriptures and learning, not what man has said, not what the ministers say, not what the fathers have said, but what saith the infinite God? What day has God specified as his holy day? What did he command men to honor when he spoke with an audible voice from Sinai? That voice is to be obeyed above every other; the edicts of kings and nations are void before a command of God. The Lord of hosts commands our obedience.
3 If ministers would search their Bibles, they would know what saith the Scriptures; but the voices of false shepherds cry, “Lo here! or, lo there!” but we are safe only in following Him who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The Lord declares, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
4 In the transgression of Eve there are important lessons for us to learn. Eve was deceived by a strange voice telling a story that contradicted the plain statements of the word of God, and she accepted the words of the deceiver as the words of truth; she believed a lie, and suffered the consequences of her deception and transgression. So it is with the sons and daughters of Eve in our day; they believe the same strange voice. It is not the voice of God or of Christ which declares to you that the law of God is not binding; for Jesus has said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” He said again, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.”
5 You should turn from those who promise you wonderful liberty in breaking the commandments of the Lord, and should avail yourself of every opportunity for becoming acquainted with the truth. The fact that you conscientiously believe a lie will not save you from ruin, when the truth might have been yours. You can be saved in honest obedience to the truth; but if God vouchsafes to you the privilege of knowing and obeying the truth, and you neglect so great salvation, your very privileges will be recorded against you, to appear for your condemnation in the judgment. God has sent his ministers, his light-bearers, who hold forth the word of life; he has given you his word, he has sent his Son to be your Saviour and example, and you will be without excuse if you fail to appropriate the promises of God and become his obedient child.
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1 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” “He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” All who are in living connection with Jesus, will be imbued with his Spirit, and will work the works of Christ.
2 “Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you; bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.” “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” Angels in the form of men have come as strangers to the dwellings of the righteous, to preserve them in times of peril, to protect them from the plans the enemy had laid to destroy them. Angels, as travelers, visited Abraham, and his courtesy to them, whom he supposed to be men like himself, was rewarded with the promise from God that Sarah should have a son. Lot, also, urging the strangers to abide with him because it was unsafe to remain in the street, entertained angels, and was blessed by being delivered from the city that was doomed to destruction.
3 But there is a fulfillment of this scripture in a broader sense. No child of God, however poor or oppressed, is neglected or passed by; for heavenly angels minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. As you open your doors to the children of God, whether high or low, rich or poor, and extend to them your hospitality, you invite these unseen visitors with them. Could your eyes be opened, you would see that you were not only entertaining the guests who needed the comforts and attentions you could bestow, but that guests from heaven were also partakers of your hospitality, you were entertaining angels unawares.
4 You are not controlled by the Spirit of Christ when you select a few associates congenial to your own mind, and lavish favors upon them, while you neglect those who most need the help you can give them. Yet how often the encouraging words, the kindly acts, are all given to a few whom you estimate by your finite judgment to be worthy of them; while the very ones whom the Lord would have you regard and bless receive no particular favor, no words of sympathy or compassion. These things need to be considered. The admonitions of God should be heeded in our every-day life. “When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”
5 The reason why many walk apart from God is that they do not choose to do his words and keep his way. They do not follow the example and teachings of Christ. They misrepresent his character. Professing to be Christians, they lie against the truth. Jesus came from heaven to earth that he might, through association with humanity, by precept and example, reveal to men the character they must possess if they would be admitted to the family of heaven. He brought light and life, richness and fullness of good, that men might be partakers of his divine nature. He is the living vine, and every branch “in him” partakes of the life and fatness of the vine. The dry, leafless twig is grafted into the vine stock, and, fiber by fiber, vein by vein, becomes united to it. The adopted branch becomes one with the vine; it is nourished by the parent stock, and buds and blossoms and bears fruit.
6 The sinner who comes to Christ in faith, is joined soul to soul with his Redeemer, united in holy bonds with Jesus. Then he has love and benevolence through his constant union with Christ. And through faith and experience he has confidence that Jesus not only will but does save him to the uttermost. This confidence brings to his soul an abiding trust, a peace, a joy, that passeth understanding. Christ is to him an all-sufficient Saviour; he clings to Christ, receiving of his Spirit, until he works as Christ worked, is compassionate as Christ was compassionate, having an unselfish love, giving disinterested service, not to a few who are most congenial, but to those who most need the help he can give.
7 If Christ had waited for man to make himself worthy of the divine presence and love, not a soul could have been a partaker of the divine nature. All must have perished. But there is hope for our world, for Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost; and this is exactly the work that must be done by every branch of the True Vine. Cherishing likes and dislikes is not Christ’s way, but according to the principles and sentiments of the natural, unrenewed heart, and the fruit borne is in accordance with it.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 Christ and his obedient children love one another. Their tastes are identical. The true followers of Jesus are so abiding in him that they love that which he loves, and hate that which he hates. One spirit pervades the whole body. How then can the branches of the True Vine bear anything but good fruit? If Christ’s words abide in the Christian, how can he do otherwise than work the works of Christ? He lives, he abides, in Christ, and like Christ ever has an eye single to the glory of God. “If ye keep my commandments [not profess to regard them, and then work contrary to them], ye shall abide in my love.” You shall be united with One superior in vital power and wisdom, the weaker depending on the stronger, “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.”
2 “Without me ye can do nothing.” It is at the peril of the soul that so many feel able to work in their own finite wisdom. Without Christ we cannot subdue a single sin nor resist the slightest temptation. It is connection with a power that is almighty which will make us overcomers. Then let everyone who comes to Jesus walk humbly, and feel daily that he needs a power out of and above himself, to soften his stony heart; that he needs to be melted over, that the dross of self may be consumed. The same power that turned the water to wine at the marriage feast of Cana is able to eradicate all evil from our nature, and to make us partakers of the divine nature. The very same power that made the leper clean can make the heart pure, fit for the society of God, of angels, and of the redeemed host. Holy obedience will be found only in the righteousness which Christ imparts to the believing soul. “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” And every soul that abides in Christ and has Christ abiding in him, is as dear to God as is his own beloved Son. Accepted in the Beloved, he is an object of the Father’s tender care, and he will bear much fruit as the result of his union with the True Vine.
3 Sanctification of the soul, body, and spirit is the sure result of this union with Christ. What is the character of the fruit?—Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Wherever there is union with Christ, there is love. This is the crowning grace of the divine attributes. If love is not the abiding principle in the heart, whatever other good qualities we may possess will profit nothing. “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own.” “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.” “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” “Is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.”
4 Obedience to all the commandments of God is the sure result of supreme love to God, and love to our neighbor. This is Christianity. Have we this love? Christ is asking us each, “Lovest thou me?” Can we answer from the heart, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee?” If you love Jesus, you will love him for whom Jesus died. Oh, that all could look on Jesus, and learn what is love! Purity and divine compassion shine forth in his character. The meekness and lowliness of Christ made his influence fragrant among the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the oppressed. Oh, how many who claim to be Christians need the pruning knife of God! Unless by looking to Jesus, the perfect standard of character, they learn their own defects, they become lifted up when in prosperity, and flaunt the world’s colors; luxury, pride, and selfishness mark their footsteps. They study their ease, they seek to benefit themselves, to the neglect of their fellow-men. And they go on in this way until the Husbandman, seeing the unproductive branches, with his pruning knife cuts the tendrils and the stray offshoots. “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
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1 The cross of Calvary is to be a constant reminder of the future, nobler world, the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all who love him. We are to be enthusiasts. And as we by faith view the glories within the temple of God, we shall seek to awaken enthusiasm in others, a desire to behold things unseen. Our work is to attract minds away from earth to heaven; to take others with us as companions, to walk the path that is cast up for the ransomed of the Lord. The children of the Heavenly King are to move among men, not as citizens of the world, but as citizens of the kingdom above. We are pilgrims and strangers in this world, seeking a better country, even a heavenly. “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
2 We do not realize the claims of redemption. Christ has purchased us by his own precious life. His tender care has been over us every moment of our existence. Then has he not a right to our service? He has the claims of redemption, but we have lost the sense of what it means. Redemption has been accepted in a vague way by us, but it seems like a long-past transaction, when we were lost to heaven, lost to God, condemned by the law, without hope. But here we are with the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness shining upon us. Look at the cross of Calvary. Shall its solemn mysteries fade from our minds? It is a theme that should quicken us into gratitude, that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” How can the church look upon these words, and yet be slothful servants?
3 The Lord has work for all to do. God intends that men shall be laborers together with him. He has laid fathers and mothers under tribute to him, to begin the work in their homes in a decided, Christ-like spirit, that the love of Christ may win their children. They must do everything possible to save their loved ones. Christ is constantly making intercession for the fallen race. He will furnish the grace, the Holy Spirit, if human agencies will become his channels to communicate the same to the world. The benevolence of Christ, his yearning love for souls, is deep and full. Where are the workers to help him? Where is the money to sustain them in their fields of labor?
4 The cross of Christ is to be the great center round which everything must revolve. Everything else must be in subordination to it. The cross is planted midway between divinity and humanity, between heaven and earth. It never moves nearer the earth. All things concerning the salvation of man must lie in the shadow of the cross. Heavenly intelligencies, uniting with the earthly, bow to this central attraction, and voices from heaven and earth unfold to the universe the plan of redemption. The cross is not to lose its significance to either world. All property, all wealth, that finds its way into the Lord’s treasury, finds its true place in the arrangement of God.
5 The truth must ever struggle with error in order to lift high the standard of God’s law, and to exalt Christ, because he bore its penalty that he might save man, and yet vindicate the immutability of the law. If Christians are like Christ, they will not hoard their Lord’s money, or bind it up in worldly projects, but will invest their all in the cause of God and bring an ample revenue of glory to lay at the feet of their Redeemer.
6 Brethren and sisters, will you work for selfish purposes? Will you let the world with its selfish aims and principles come between you and your God? Will you serve mammon? Christ plainly declares that you cannot serve God and mammon. Will you subscribe your name on the pages of the world’s record, or will you relate yourself to God, and let him write your name in the record books of heaven, to be immortalized in the universe of God? Christ has the first claim on you. “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
7 I entreat you, spring into action at once, and be all that the name Christian signifies. You will then have no desire to live for self. You will have the high distinction of living wholly for Christ. By his mediatorial right all things belong to Christ. For him and by him all things were created. But when man sinned, the Son of God chose to assume human nature, and come to our world to die for the guilty race. By the cross of Calvary was revealed to the sinless universe the character of Satan. In putting to death through human agencies the Lord of life and glory, Satan made manifest the wickedness of his deceptive character. Christ had cast up the immeasurable sum of guilt to be canceled because of sin, and he gathered to his dying soul this vast responsibility, taking the sins of the whole world upon himself. Human nature was to him a robe of suffering; and when the crisis came, when he yielded himself a victim to Satan’s rage, when he hung agonizing upon the cross, dying the cruelest, most ignominious of deaths, the hosts of evil exulted, but man was saved.
8 While we contemplate the cross, the Son of God assuming the mass of human guilt, the mystery of redemption seems wonderful. Jesus points us to the love of God; the Father provided this propitiation because he loved us, that there might be a medium through which he could be reconciled to man and man to him. And our Lord, having committed himself to the wonderful work of redemption, would withhold nothing necessary to the completion of his plan. He poured out all heaven to man in that one great gift. And then he completed the work by surrounding man with unlimited blessings, favor upon favor, gift upon gift, opening to our view all the treasures of the future world.
9 But what of man? Is he so palsied with sin that he is incapable of appreciating the elements of a divine life? Christ draws man, but, alas! how few respond to the influence. Human selfishness is the barrier to eternal life. How can Heaven look upon any disloyalty or rebellion against the authority of God? It is stirred with indignation at the greatness of the guilt of man, the widespread rebellion that would turn all things created by him for the benefit of man, into weapons of war against him, exalting human wisdom above God’s, and human achievements above the works of God. Wherever we may go, into business places, into national councils and government offices, God is there to assert his original claims. He declares, “I made all things; all are mine.” The cross was planted midway between heaven and earth in order that Christ might reach both ways, and bridge the gulf that sin had made between God and man.
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1 “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” The knowledge of God and of Christ is the only knowledge which can lead to true and eternal happiness. This knowledge all may obtain; all may win the crown of glory, and the life which measures with the life of God.
2 Sin, that cost Adam beautiful Eden, exists everywhere in our world. Evil triumphs wherever God is not known or his character contemplated. We could not commit sin if we realized the presence of God, and thought upon his goodness, his love, and his compassion. Satan knows that if he can obscure the vision so that the eye of faith cannot behold God, there will be no barrier against sin. It is necessary to know God in order to be attracted to him. And the perception of his image as represented in Christ changes the sinner’s views of evil. The shadow of Satan obscures the character of Jesus and of God; but if we by faith gain a knowledge of God, and hold steadfastly to Jesus, we shall be changed. In Jesus is manifested the character of the Father, and the sight of him attracts. It softens and subdues, and ceases not to transform the character, until Christ is formed within, the hope of glory. The human heart that has learned to behold the character of God may become, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, like a sacred harp, sending forth divine melody.
3 What benefit to the world are those professed Christians who have nothing to say about Jesus? Are they indeed standing under the banner of Prince Emmanuel when they are not doing him the service of faithful soldiers? Has your study of the law of God, the standard of all righteousness, led you to exclaim with Isaiah: “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts”? Has the sight brought you to see that your only hope is in Christ, the sin-pardoning Saviour? Has the sight of Jesus on the cross, dying for the guilt of man, brought you in contrition to the foot of the cross, so that you can say with Job, “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes”? Have you made an entire surrender of your will to God’s will, your ways to God’s ways? Have you renounced self-confidence, self-boasting, and accepted Jesus, who is made everything to you,—wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption? Do you see Christ as the anti-type of all the types, the precious, glorious substance of all the shadows, the full signification of all the symbols? The types and shadows were instituted by Christ himself, to transmit to man an idea of the plan devised for his redemption.
4 When Moses was feeding his flock in the pastures of Midian, the Lord was preparing him for a position of great responsibility; he was to be a laborer together with God. Educated in the court of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, he was imperfectly qualified to take his place as the leader of a suffering, tempted people, to help them in their oppression, sympathize with their sufferings, and conduct them through a rough and dangerous desert to the land of promise. The Lord in his providence took Moses from the king’s court, and gave him the humble work of a shepherd, that, while caring for the sheep in the desert, he might be trained for the trials and hardships and perils of the wilderness, and qualified for the office of a shepherd of his own flock, for a church whose God was the Lord.
5 Forty years was Moses in this training school in the mountains. At Mount Horeb the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. “He looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from of thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”
6 How many today see evidences of God’s work, but their attention is not arrested! The enemy has cast his hellish shadow over them, so they do not perceive that God would have them pay special attention to his requirements, and be prepared to answer at any time as did Moses, “Here am I.”
7 In the Jewish service, under the special direction of God the sacrifices were to be offered only at the tabernacle, through the medium of the priest. If he who wished to make an offering was negligent, and failed to carry out the specified arrangement of God, he was to be cut off from his people. “What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people.”
8 This was strictly enjoined in the typical service, in order to give it its fullest significance. The object was to impress the minds of the people with the great truth that man can have access to God only through Christ. The Saviour says, “No man cometh to the Father but by me.”
9 All religious service, however attractive and costly, that endeavors to merit the favor of God, all mortification of the flesh, all penance and laborious work to procure the forgiveness of sin and the divine favor,—whatever prevents us from making Christ our entire dependence, is abomination in the sight of God. There is no hope for man but to cease his rebellion, his resistance of God’s will, and own himself a sinner ready to perish, and cast himself upon the mercy of God. We can be saved only through Christ. Not by any good works which we may do, can we find salvation. There is no mercy for the fallen race except that which comes as the free gift of God. There is no blessing we receive but that which comes through the mediation of Christ. It is ever to be borne in mind that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him” as his personal Saviour, able to save to the uttermost all who come unto him, “should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Father gave his well-beloved Son, that through this divine channel his love might reach to man. The Father loves those who believe on Christ, even as he loves the Son, for they are made one with Christ. Jesus encircles the race with his human arm, while with his divine arm he lays hold upon infinity. He is the “daysman” between a holy God and our sinful humanity,—one who can “lay his hand on us both.”
10 The terms of this oneness between God and man in the great covenant of redemption were arranged with Christ from all eternity. The covenant of grace was revealed to the patriarchs. The covenant made with Abraham four hundred and thirty years before the law was spoken on Sinai was a covenant confirmed by God in Christ, the very same gospel which is preached to us. “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” The covenant of grace is not a new truth, for it existed in the mind of God from all eternity. This is why it is called the everlasting covenant. The plan of redemption was not conceived after the fall of man to cure the dreadful evil; the apostle Paul speaks of the gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ, as “the revelation of the mystery, which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith.” (Revised Version.)
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1 We are Christ’s soldiers, and we must have an abiding faith in our great Leader, looking unto him as the Author and Finisher of our faith. We have a common enemy also, even our adversary the devil. There is the greatest necessity for wisely-laid plans and careful management in the cause and work of God, that all may fight the good fight with faith and courage, and never suffer defeat.
2 The privates in an army must obey orders. They often have to perform duties, the purpose of which they cannot see. They are sometimes brought into places of danger when no reason for the move is given them. So in the army of Christ; we must have confidence in our great Commander, we must rely implicitly upon his guidance, and he will bring us safe out of every danger, victorious through every conflict.
3 The best soldiers are those who are trained, who are intelligent, faithful, courageous, true. A soldier needs to think. Through right discipline he should acquire habits of carefulness and painstaking. The training of all the faculties, whether mental or physical, the ability to use every power, are essential to those who would obtain the victory. If this is so in earthly warfare, how much more essential is such a preparation for those who are soldiers of Christ. They must realize that they are not their own, that they belong to God.
4 The warfare in which we are engaged is largely mental, and the mind that is the most thoroughly trained will do the most acceptable work. Poor soldiers will they be whose powers have, through long disuse, become well-nigh incapable of exercise. It is a most dangerous thing for one who professes to be a soldier of Christ to be inexperienced, inefficient, and unable to render real, earnest, sincere service to the Lord. The servants of Christ should seek to understand the requirements for this time. The conditions of warfare are not what they were years ago, because increased light has been shining upon us, and great and solemn warnings have come to us. Unless we have an understanding of the times in which we live, we may, even with the best of intentions, make great mistakes, and stand in the way of the advancement of the work. The claims upon the Christians are the same now as ever,—perfect obedience,—but Satan’s attacks are more deceptive. His manner of warfare is so different from that expected that, unless the senses are sharpened to comprehend his plans, we shall not be prepared for defense. Satan has many wily agents who will avail themselves of every means to assault those who vindicate the claims of God’s law. They may not meet them in open warfare, with arguments, but will work with all their power to press them into difficult places, to restrict their privileges and liberties, and to annoy them in other ways.
5 Of all men on the face of the earth, the servants of Christ should not, under any circumstances, leave their faculties uncultivated. The greater the work, and the more worthy the Master we serve, the more efficient should be his workers. Those who wish to honor God will render to him the very best and most thorough service in their power. God requires every faculty to be in its highest state of culture and vigor. Under the old dispensation men were not allowed to lay on his altar the maimed, or the halt, or the blind; and shall men and women in the Christian age be content to offer him defective service, which is the result of uncultivated intellects, and faculties crippled and dwarfed from disuse or idleness? God calls for better service and higher work than we give him. Christ says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
6 Soldiers engaged in battle have to meet difficulties and hardships. Coarse food is given them, and that often in limited quantities. They have long marches, day by day, over rough roads and under burning suns, camping out at night, sleeping on the bare ground, with only the canopy of heaven for a covering, exposed to drenching rains and chilling frosts, hungry, faint, exhausted, now standing as a target for the foe, now in deadly encounter. Thus they learn what hardship means. Those who enlist in Christ’s army are also expected to do difficult work, and to bear painful trials patiently for Christ’s sake. But those who suffer with him shall also reign with him. Then who of us have entered the service to expect the conveniences of life, to be off duty when we please, laying aside the soldier’s armor and putting on the civilians’ dress, sleeping at the post of duty, and so exposing the cause of God to reproach? The ease-loving ones will not practice self-denial and patient endurance; and when men are wanted to make mighty strokes for God, these are not ready to answer, “Here am I; send me.” Hard and trying work has to be done, but blessed are those who are ready to do it when their names are called. God will not reward men and women in the next world for seeking to be comfortable in this. We are now on the battle field. There is no time for resting, no time for ease, no time for selfish indulgence. After gaining one advantage, you must do battle again; you must go on conquering and to conquer, gathering fresh strength for fresh struggles. Every victory gained gives an increase of courage, faith, and determination. Through divine strength you will prove more than a match for your enemies.
7 In spite of all the good qualities a man may have, he cannot be a good soldier if he acts independently of those connected with him. Occasional and uncertain movements, however earnest and energetic, will in the end bring defeat. Take a strong team of horses. If, instead of both pulling together, one should suddenly jerk forward and the other pull back, they would not move the load, notwithstanding their great strength. So the soldiers of Christ must work in concert, else there will be a mere concourse of independent atoms. Strength, instead of being carefully treasured to meet one great end, will be wasted in disconcerted, meaningless efforts. In union is strength. A few men and women who unite together, having the glory of God in view, will be growing in strength and wisdom, and gaining new victories. There is much hard work to be done for the Master, and much wisdom must be brought into the work. It is the unconquerable perseverance, the never-failing endurance, which will bring the victory. Many have a theory of truth, but know scarcely anything of the sweet victories through that faith which overcometh the world. An experience must be gained by each one for himself, or we shall never sit down with the suffering Man of Calvary. It will cost us all we have, but as a reward we shall inherit all things.
8 Our enemy may appear to have the advantage of us in number, in the variety of resources, and in position; but we must not be discouraged, nor turn cowards. We have Christ with us, and he is continually going forward, leading to advanced truths and greater light. Those who will follow must go forward in spite of manifold foes, powerful and difficult to resist because they work in a subtle, underhand manner. We shall have to meet, not only human power, but the principalities of the kingdom of darkness,—”wicked spirits in high places.” Even our friends will oppose us, and we shall have to meet scornful sneers, because we venture to choose the better way. Our motives will be misjudged, and even our character and habits maligned. But “ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” We have an incessant strife, but is not the reward at the end of the conflict worthy of all the labor? Will not the eternal weight of glory more than compensate for every wound, every grief, every sorrow? Will not every sacrifice bring returns in treasures that are without price?
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1 “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Those who walk in darkness are following another leader than Jesus. Darkness is the atmosphere of Satan. “The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” There is light for the willing and obedient. You are to “show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” No words of complaint, no murmuring at hardship and trial, will escape the lips of him who is walking in the light as Christ is in the light. He will rejoice in the light, and will enjoy the pure atmosphere that surrounds the Light of the world. The light shining from Christ upon his obedient children, will be reflected from their lives into the darkness of the world. The Light giver makes them light bearers. “Ye are the light of the world.”
2 How many who profess to believe the word of God are, day by day, with earnest faith and prayer, gathering the precious light from Jesus, and letting it shine forth to the world so brightly that the darkness and evil are rebuked, and the world is forced to give glory to God? Are you bringing the purity, the patience, and the love of Jesus into your life? Is your light shining in clear, steady rays? If not, your profession is only mockery. Have the mists of worldliness gathered about your soul, so that your light is growing feeble and obscure? Come close to the great Source of light, that they may be dispelled. Why remain in darkness? Why talk gloom? “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.”
3 When Jesus was to leave the disciples, he said to them, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” These words were spoken to all who should be disciples of Christ to the end of time. The Master has given to his servants talents, “to every man according to his several ability.” He knows the capacity of every man, and he bestows his gifts according to the capability of each person to use them. God’s whole family, from men in humble stations to those in high positions of trust, are made responsible moral agents. All are intrusted with the goods of heaven. Our work is to trade upon the capital intrusted to us, and by use to multiply the gifts of God. Some have talents of wealth, some of influence, others of intellect; and every capability and power is from God, and should be appreciated. With God’s blessing, and unwearied diligence in putting out to the exchangers the intrusted talents, there will be a constant gain to the faithful stewards, and they will have more talents to use for the Master.
4 The word of God is to be our meat and our drink. No earthly consideration should be allowed to absorb the mind and affections so that the Lord will be crowded out of our thoughts and knowledge. We are to keep the Lord ever before us. He is at our right hand, to help us in every emergency.
5 Christ plainly defines the duty of every believer. We are to exercise repentance toward God for having transgressed his holy law; to receive the truth into the heart; to give ourselves to Christ, and with genuine faith make him our personal Saviour; to obey his commandments, cherishing his love, which will lead to unity and peace. No one will be excusable for so managing his business that he must be a slave to the world, and have no time for missionary work. Faithful, spiritual workers will show in their own life and character the power of the grace of Christ. They will shine as lights in the world.
6 Every professed Christian who has not the missionary spirit, will be a missionary for the enemy; for by precept and example he gives the impression that the work of the Lord is of secondary importance, not worthy of consideration, and that it can be set aside at his own pleasure or convenience. Such persons are false lights in the church, beguiling others to follow them away from the path of self-denial, away from the cross of Christ, into careless indifference. All who continue in this course will make shipwreck of faith.
7 There is a work for every one of us to do in this world. There are great responsibilities to be borne, and there are small duties to be done. With deep regret we see many who have physical strength and mental capabilities, devoting those God-given powers to unworthy objects. They have no time, no vital energy, to give to eternal things. This is because they choose to follow their own inclinations, and do not ask, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” A large number of Christ’s professed followers choose the work that is most gratifying to themselves. What is life if it is not devoted to the service of God? Everyone who has enlisted under the banner of Christ has pledged himself to become a missionary for God. Is there any work that can compare in importance with that which the Lord of glory has undertaken in man’s behalf? He left his honor, his riches, his high command, to lift up fallen man, to enlighten him, to refine him, to ennoble his life. The Majesty of heaven has evinced how highly he values man formed in the image of God. He who reigns supreme in the heavens, who created the world, who made man in his own likeness, who weighs the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance, came to our world as a missionary, to bring back to God the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. And he has taken man into his confidence and service, and given to everyone his work, that all may be sharers with him in the joy of seeing souls redeemed. He has condescended to make fallen men laborers together with him. The thought is almost beyond belief,—that Jesus looks to his followers, to you and me, to be helpers in the great work of saving sinners for whom he has given his own precious life. Now is a precious and important time for us, when we can be channels of light to others.
8 Let not one who has named the name of Christ refuse to take up the work God has given him to do. Let no one indulge the thought, “I have no influence; I am too insignificant to be a light to others.” If you have reasoning powers, you will have an influence, either for good or for evil. You will be Christ’s missionary, gathering with him, or you will scatter from him. By doing nothing you will encourage in others a spirit of indifference and slothfulness. Our life always exerts an influence, whether consciously or unconsciously. You may not occupy a prominent position, yet you must associate with some who will be affected by your example, either being led away from devotion and self-sacrifice, or being encouraged to work with all the ability they have, for the conversion of souls. Listen to the words of the apostle: “In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works.” In this world we shall never know the result of our words and example, but when the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened, then all secrets will be revealed. Our only safety is in closely following the Pattern. While we present Jesus to the world, our example should correspond to the doctrines we advance; but if our daily life is unlike that of Christ, we are only helping on the cause of the enemy; we are representing the character of the great deceiver.
(Concluded next number.)
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1 We must daily and hourly press close to the side of Jesus, to receive strength and grace to do that which he has given us to do. We may be laborers together with God. Our precious, golden moments must not be wasted in self-pleasing, but they must be given to glorifying God.
2 Our missionary work should begin with our own hearts, to set them in order. If we have unkind thoughts and feelings toward others, we must put them away. Nothing of this kind should be cherished. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” We must ourselves be faithful Christians if we expect to do the work of a missionary. Our words must be like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
3 The first missionary that Jesus sent to the region of Decapolis was the man out of whom he had cast the legion of devils. The man had begged to accompany Jesus constantly, but Jesus “suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” This man bore in his own person the evidence that Jesus was the true Messiah. He related his own experience, telling how great things God had done for him, and thus the way was prepared for the message of truth from the lips of Jesus himself.
4 We all have an important work to do for God, and we should watch for opportunities of presenting Jesus to those who know him not. And opportunities will not be lacking if we are prepared by the grace of Christ to be workers together with God. Your example in living for Christ, in showing that you have the mind of Christ, will be far more impressive than any words you may utter, any profession you may make.
5 “As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” Through the grace given us, we must control our thoughts and feelings, and have the mind that dwelt in Christ. He has sent each one of us to be a missionary to the world; and if you partake constantly of his Spirit, by earnest prayer and faith, you may live as he lived. Then what good you might do in your own family, in the church, in the world! The bright beams of light from Jesus would be reflected from his light-bearers into the darkness, and many who are longing for light and truth would come to Christ for the pardon of their sins. As we do the work committed to us, an invigorating power will come to our own life, and we shall better comprehend the unsearchable riches of Christ.
6 You must not become discouraged. The minister may have only a few to hear him, but how do you know that among the few hearers there is not one with whom the Spirit of the Lord is striving, and that by your message he may not be led to give his heart to God? God may give you a message for that very soul. That one, if converted, may become a missionary, and may bring the light to many more hearts. The one for whom you labored may become as a thousand. You may be disappointed in numbers, but not in the result. Therefore do not look at the empty seats, but tell the few what the Lord is doing in bringing the truth before the world. Speak with all the earnestness and faith and assurance that you would have if thousands were before you.
7 The messenger is to speak the truth in all simplicity, bringing before his hearers the unsearchable riches of Christ. Sow beside all waters, and when we can do no more for him, can bring no more sheaves into the garner of the Lord, when every man shall receive as his works have been, all the efforts made in behalf of souls will be remembered. Christ has left his work to be carried forward to completion by his true followers, while he goes before them as he did before Moses, guiding them in the way.
8 There is great need of personal influence. The influence of God-fearing men and women is wanted as workers for the Master, as devoted missionaries. Jesus will bestow his grace in rich abundance upon those who let it flow out to others. He who left heaven to save fallen men, sends none forth to work in his vineyard at their own charges. He says, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end.” “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” We are to feel our dependence, that we can do nothing without him, and then when we call, he will answer us. We must have hearts full of faith, having God’s glory constantly in view. We need to be aroused upon one point,—that God has made us stewards; and we need to pray constantly for tact and a clear conception and heavenly wisdom to use his gifts of speech, of influence, aright for the Master, who has said, “Occupy till I come.” All the blessings we enjoy are from the Lord, granted to us because of his great goodness.
9 We must have faith in the Scriptures. All who are pressing forward to the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, will see and feel the necessity of having humble thoughts of themselves, and praying earnestly for wisdom from Jesus, that they may have an understanding heart to believe and live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. As this faith does not originate with ourselves, but is the gift of God, it will be constantly given to all who seek for it earnestly and prayerfully.
10 There are those who have only a nominal faith; they draw nigh to God with their lips, while the heart is far from him; but the true wrestler for the victory has a real, living faith, which is implanted in his heart by the Holy Spirit, and it makes every difference in the world with his life and words and actions. He has an aim in life, a living purpose, which shapes the character. This hope is not vague; it rests on a solid basis, which is the truth. It braces the soul for trial, and nerves it for duty, irrespective of inconvenience or inclination. A stubborn, willful spirit is not of Christ, but of Satan; hence, it will not be cherished by him who has the mind of Christ. All impurity of thought will be overcome, and the mind will be trained to pure and holy thoughts. Backbiting and evil speaking will be put away. Jealousy and selfishness will be overcome, for they are Satanic, and not Christlike. Bitter are the fruits of self-indulgence, of unsanctified traits of character. There is no rest or happiness in a life of opposition to God. But sweet is the joy and peace experienced by those who close the door to Satan, and open it to Christ.
11 The one who has struggled day by day for the victory, and conquered, knows how to help others. He has patience to try to strengthen the faint-hearted who have been overcome again and again. By precept and example the one who has had to watch and pray and fight the battles against self, can reveal to others the preciousness of faith and hope, which give light amid the darkness, joy in the midst of sorrow.
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Page 556
1 Suppose that because some ship had disregarded his warning beacon and gone to pieces on the rocks, the lighthouse keeper should put out his lights, and say, “I will pay no more attention to the lighthouse;” what would be the consequence? But that is not the way he does. He keeps his lights burning all night, throwing their beams far out into the darkness, for the benefit of every mariner that comes within the dangerous reach of rocks and shoals. Were some ship to be wrecked because the lights went out, it would be telegraphed over the world that on such a night, at such a point, a ship went to pieces on the rocks because there was no light in the tower. But if some ships are wrecked because they pay no attention to the light, the lighthouse keeper is guiltless; they were warned, but they paid no heed.
2 What if the light in the household should go out? Then everyone in that house would be in darkness; and the result would be as disastrous as though the light were to go out in the lighthouse tower. Souls are looking at you, fellow-Christians, to see whether you are drunken with the cares of this life, or are preparing for the future, immortal life. They will watch to see what the influence of your life is, and whether you are true missionaries at home, training your children for heaven.
3 The Christian’s first duty is in the home. Fathers and mothers, yours is a great responsibility. You are preparing your children for life or for death; you are training them for an abiding place here in the earth, for self-gratification in this life, or for the immortal life, to praise God forever. And which shall it be? It should be the burden of your life to have every child that God has committed to your trust receive the divine mould. Your children should be taught to control their tempers and to cultivate a loving, Christlike spirit. So direct them that they will love the service of God, that they will take more pleasure in going to the house of worship than to places of amusement. Teach them that religion is a living principle. Had I been brought up with the idea that religion is a mere feeling, my life would have been a useless one. But I never let feeling come between heaven and my soul. Whatever my feelings may be, I will seek God at the commencement of the day, at noon, and at night, that I may draw strength from the living Source of power.
4 Mothers, you have no right to spend time in ruffling, and tucking, and embroidering your children’s dresses for display. Has not your time been given you for a higher and nobler purpose? Has it not been given you to be spent in beautifying the minds of your children, and cultivating loveliness of character? Should it not be spent in laying hold of the Mighty One of heaven, and seeking him for power and wisdom to train your children for a place in his kingdom, to secure for them a life that will endure as long as the throne of Jehovah?
5 But how many mothers there are who are so far from God that they devote their time to their own gratification, and leave their children to be cared for by unconsecrated hands. Or perhaps the mother sits at her work night after night, while her children go to bed without a prayer or a good-night kiss. She does not bind their tender hearts to her own by the cords of love; for she is “too busy.” And is this as God would have it?—No, indeed! Something has taken away the mother’s reason, and what is it? Is it not a desire to meet the world’s standard and to conform to its customs?
6 Some may wonder why it is that we say so much about home religion and the children. It is because of the terrible neglect of home duties on the part of so many. As the servants of God, parents, you are responsible for the children committed to your care. Many of them are growing up without reverence, growing up careless and irreligious, unthankful and unholy.
7 If these children had been properly trained and disciplined, if they had been brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, heavenly angels would be in your homes. If you were true home missionaries, in your daily life exemplifying the teachings of the word of God, you would be preparing yourselves for a wider field of usefulness, and at the same time fitting your children to stand by your side, as efficient workers in the cause of God. What an impression it makes upon society to see a family united in the work and service of the Lord. Such a family is a powerful discourse in favor of the reality of Christianity. Others see that there is an influence at work in the family that affects the children, and that the God of Abraham is with them. And that which has such a powerful influence on the children is felt beyond the home, and affects other lives. If the homes of professed Christians had a right religious mould, they would exert a mighty influence for good. They would indeed be the “light of the world.”
8 A well-ordered Christian household is an argument that the infidel cannot resist. He finds no place for his cavils. And the children of such a household are prepared to meet the sophistries of infidelity. They have accepted the Bible as the basis of their faith, and they have a firm foundation that cannot be swept away by the in-coming tide of skepticism.
9 Then, Christian friends, fathers and mothers, let your light grow dim—no, never! Let your heart grow faint, or your hands weary—no, never! And by and by the portals of the celestial city will be opened to you; and you may present yourselves and your children before the throne, saying, “Here am I, and the children whom thou hast given me.” And what a reward for faithfulness that will be, to see your children crowned with immortal life in the beautiful city of God!
Page 557
1 The Spirit of inspiration addresses those who refuse to be drawn to Christ, “Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” How is this? Divine agencies are constantly at work to bring men into harmony with God. Every means in heaven and in earth is employed to draw men to the great Center of the world’s hope. And as they fasten their eyes upon the dying Man of Calvary, they are led to exclaim, “Why, oh why, is all this suffering?” And the answer comes, “It is the revelation of the goodness of God, to lead thee to repentance.”
2 Christ suffered the penalty of man’s transgression of the holy law of God. The mercy and love of God, so full, so rich, so free, breaks down every barrier, and the soul is surrendered to God. Such agony, such humiliation of the Son of God, leads the sinner to repent of the sins that have cost such a sacrifice. He has repentance toward God, because his holy law has been transgressed; and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, the sinner’s only hope, the One who can save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. The sinner’s position before God is then that of one whose sins are forgiven, whose transgressions are covered, and he becomes a partaker “of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” A new element of life and power is imparted, which cannot be accepted and received by man until he views Christ as his only hope; then through Christ he discerns the magnitude of his guilt in transgressing the law of Jehovah.
3 Man must be emptied of self before he can be in the fullest sense a believer in Jesus; and when self is subdued, then the Lord can make of man a new creature. New bottles can contain new wine. Truth will be received into the heart, the character will be transformed into the likeness of Christ; the Son of God will be revealed to the world by his followers, as the Father was revealed to the world by the Son. And all who reveal Christ, are revealing the Father also.
4 The word of inspiration pronounces judgment against all who pass by the wonderful exhibition of the love of God, and refuse the gift that the Father has given to the world, even his only-begotten Son. “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in welldoing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.” Mark the terms; for it is essential for everyone to know the conditions on which we are called to the service of Christ, to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. We are “laborers together with God.” And we should desire most earnestly to know, and we must know or die in our sins, what terms or conditions he requires in this partnership. You cannot trust to the multitude, because they walk in a false way. You must learn for yourself what are God’s requirements, and know whether you are obeying them.
5 Is not the reward of obedience rich and full? What more can we ask? Has not the Lord Jesus opened for us the gates of paradise? Has he not, in doing this, given the faithful seeker all the treasures of the eternal world? “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth [the commandments of God], but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first [for he has the greatest light, and his guilt will be proportioned to the knowledge which he might have had, had he followed on to know the Lord], and also of the Gentile; but glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile; for there is no respect of persons with God.”
6 Mark the words of Christ: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” In keeping his commandments there is “great reward.” It is in obeying the commandment that man is called a worker together with God. “Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot [but Judas the brother of James], Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” Mark the answer: “If a man love me, he will keep my words.” There will be no betraying of sacred trust, no disrespect or careless inattention to the words of Jesus, but the commandments of God will be revered. Human enactments and requirements may lead men away from God. The “Thou shalt” and “Thou shalt not” of earthly laws often interpose obstacles in the way of obeying God’s holy requirements.
7 Every idol that men raise—their own ideas and opinions—obscures the true commandments of God, and then the only progress made will be into error and darkness. Those who are doers of the words of Christ will exemplify their love for him; and when the church is living, not in profession merely, but in spirit and in truth, by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, they will keep the commandments. Their words and example will reflect light to the world, because they work the works of God. Their light will shine clear and distinct amid the moral darkness, for it is the light of the gospel, which “is the power of God unto salvation.”
8 “And my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning [the law of Jehovah, the ten commandments]. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.”
9 “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” God has made known his truth to the world through his Son. Christ taught his apostles, and they have given to us his words. The words of Christ are to dwell in his followers, and thus the truth is to be made manifest to the understanding and conscience of men. The aggressive power of the gospel is more dependent upon the personal piety of its disciples than upon any other means; and the world has a right to expect the highest virtue and the purest, Christlike works from them. Christ abiding in the soul by faith will enable us to represent his character in all meekness and gentleness, in true goodness and love. Thus, through the consistent lives of the people of God, the world will see the Father and the Son.
10 “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” The Holy Spirit is ever waiting to do its office work upon the human heart. Those who desire to learn can place themselves in close connection with God, and the promise that the Comforter shall teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance, whatever Christ had said to his disciples when he was upon the earth, will be fulfilled. But if we disconnect from God, we can be no longer students in the school of Christ. Then we shall feel no special burden for the souls for whom Christ has died.
11 It was most difficult for the disciples of Christ to keep his lessons distinct from the traditions and maxims of the rabbis, the scribes and Pharisees. The teachings which the disciples had been educated to respect as the voice of God, held a power over their minds and moulded their sentiments. The disciples could not be a living and shining light until they were freed from the influence of the sayings and commandments of men, and the words of Christ were deeply impressed upon their minds and hearts as distinct truths, as precious jewels, to be appreciated, loved, and acted upon.
12 Jesus came to the world, lived a holy life, and died, to leave to the church his legacy in the valuable treasures he intrusted to them. He made his disciples the depositaries of most precious doctrines, to be placed in the hands of his church unmixed with the errors and traditions of men. He revealed himself to them as the light of the world, the Sun of Righteousness. And he promised them the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father was to send in his name.
13 After his resurrection he said unto them: “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
14 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” The glorious promise is unto us who live in the last days: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”
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Page 558
1 “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.” The divine Spirit that the world’s Redeemer promised to send, is the presence and power of God. He will not leave his people in the world destitute of his grace, to be buffeted by the enemy of God, and harassed by the oppression of the world; but he will come to them. The world cannot see the truth; they know not the Father or the Son, but it is only because they do not desire to know God, they do not wish to look upon Jesus, to see his goodness, his love, his heavenly attractions. Jesus is inviting all men to accept him; and wherever the heart is open to receive him, he will come in, gladdening the soul with the light and joy of his presence.
2 “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own [the Jewish nation], and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me; for he was before me. And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by [or through] Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
3 “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more.” The world will be pleased that they are no more to have their feelings disturbed by the solemn warnings and forcible truths that he set before them in symbols and parables; for whenever they looked at the things of nature, the objects with which he illustrated his instructions, the lessons he had taught them, were brought to mind. Christ held the key to all the treasures of wisdom, and he could diffuse knowledge as no other one could. He was indeed more than a teacher come from God; he was the only-begotten Son of the Father, the one sent into the world to save those who should believe on him.
4 How terrible a thing it is to reject the Saviour! how perilous to neglect the great salvation! Christ would fill the world with his redeeming power, he would scatter abundantly the imperishable seeds of truth in all hearts, if the world was only prepared to receive them. Kings and nobles marveled at the gracious words that proceeded from his lips. Many of the priests and rulers were convinced that he was the promised Messiah, but they dared not acknowledge him for fear of being thrust out of the synagogue. They could not consent to join themselves to Jesus and his disciples, and be in the minority.
5 Christ saw that that which prevented the truth from reaching many hearts was their misconception of the nature and claims of the law. They neglected to cultivate spirituality. They did not know the Lord whom they professed to serve and obey. They did not discern the relation of Jesus to the Father, neither did they know by experience the paternal character of God, or understand that his law requires us to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. If they would have emptied the soul of selfishness, pride, and self-love, and humbled their hearts to be instructed by the greatest Teacher the world ever knew, they would have recognized the grace of God in the gift of Jesus to our world to save those who were ready to perish.
6 It was difficult to make any permanent impression upon the minds of even the disciples in regard to the spiritual nature of Christ’s kingdom. If they had only comprehended this, they would have received his teachings as a precious treasure. The necessity of prayer, of repentance, and of having a forgiving spirit toward one another, was often urged. The necessity of confessing faults, of walking in humility, was faithfully presented to the disciples of Christ. But because of the blindness of their minds and the hardness of their hearts, many of his lessons seemed almost lost upon them. But now, as he is about to leave them, he promises to send the Holy Spirit to bring to their remembrance all things that he had said unto them. And lest they should sink down in discouragement, as they look at the warfare in which they are to engage, he promises the Holy Spirit to enlighten and renew them, and purify the soul from all defilement.
7 After declaring that the world should see him no more, Jesus added, “But ye see me; because I live, ye shall live also.” He referred to his living after his resurrection. He would not leave them comfortless; he revealed himself to them after his resurrection, that they might not look upon him as dead, lying in Joseph’s new tomb, but as a living Saviour, one who could lay down his life and take it again. “Because I live, ye shall live also.” “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. . . . Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” He died, that whosoever would believe on him might have life eternal; for “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” “Because I live, ye shall live also;” for I will bring you from your graves; for this power is given unto me.
8 “At that day ye shall know,” without a dimming veil to obstruct your view, “that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” How many read this promise, so rich, so glorious, and yet do not grasp its preciousness! Jesus virtually says to all such, “Your faith is feeble; you do not discern my oneness with the Father; neither do you comprehend the fact that I am identified with all who believe in me, that they are one with me, their interest is my interest, my interest and work is theirs.” The perfect oneness of Christ with his obedient believing children is the same as that which exists between the Father and the Son.
9 “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” Here is the word plain and decided: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” For every sacrifice we make in Christ’s service, he has given us his word as a guarantee that he will reward us, but not as though he was in any way indebted to us; for the most solemn obligations rest upon us to devote to God all our powers, they belong to him as our Maker, yet the returns made to man for obedience are a hundred-fold in this life, and in the world to come, life everlasting.
10 The Lord knows our weakness. He valued man, even though finite, and incapable of any good in and of himself; and for this reason he sent Jesus. Every struggle of the human mind against sin, every effort to conform to the law of God, is Christ working through his appointed agencies upon the human will; and if the will is submitted to God, we shall not transgress the holy principles of his law. Every power we have is the Lord’s, and men are laid under tribute to him, whether they obey or disobey his requirements. God will surely require the past. “For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Those who work the works of God, which can be done only by accepting Christ as our only hope, will, through the rich promises made, be sharers in the recompense awarded to the just.
11 Oh, if we only knew and could comprehend what Jesus is to us, what an amount of needless worry would be forever laid aside! Unbelief would be swept away. Then the Lord Jesus could unfold to us the value of the human soul. Then would every voice be heard, as was the voice of John, “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us.” Wonderful statement! Let the souls who have been undecided and hesitating, trust in God, and no longer cherish doubt and unbelief; for they have the assurance that Christ identifies his interest with ours. Take courage, only believe, and do not give up the struggle.
12 True as the love of a mother to her child, is the love of Jesus to us. It abides unchangeable as himself. The dear Saviour does not fail, neither is he discouraged; and if we are one with him, our faith will be of the same enduring nature. We shall cling to Jesus with unyielding faith, surrendering our will and way to his, binding up our hearts with his great heart of love. We shall live as he lives, work as he works, and because we depend on him as our helper, we shall not fail or be discouraged in the great work of saving our own souls or the souls of others. Oh, what love, what matchless love! He will not fail or be discouraged in watching over our interests, in summoning us to arise to a nobler, purer life. We must draw nearer to the throne of God, where we may breathe the atmosphere of heaven, and through the mercy of God be permitted to glorify Him who is the One “altogether lovely,” the “Chiefest among ten thousand.”
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Page 559
1 Christ said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.” But Nicodemus could not understand this, because he, like the rabbis and scribes and Pharisees, looked at the natural law instead of the spiritual. No man explain it, because it is supernatural, but the new birth shows practical results. As “the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth,” so will it be with everyone that is “born of the Spirit.” One of the strongest evidences that the new birth has taken place is that the new-born soul is not self-centered.
2 The Spirit of God operates differently with different individuals. All have the peace of Christ, and fervent, joyous gratitude ascends as incense to heaven. And as the deep movings of the Spirit of God are felt on one’s own heart, there is awakened a desire that others shall be born again. The love of God constrains him to labor most earnestly, with tears and prayer, that his relatives and friends may be reconciled to God.
3 Every truly-converted soul is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. All such have implanted in them an earnest zeal and longing to turn many souls to righteousness. They do not wait for these souls to come to them, by they go forth to seek and save those that were lost. They have the heavenly anointing; a new spiritual strength is imparted to them; for this is the work of the Comforter. They know by their own experience, and through the Spirit of God, how to reach the people. They know how to be patient, and how at all times to manifest the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Through the Spirit of Christ they reach souls in darkness and rebellion against the holy law of God, presenting the truth as it is in him. They are not silent partners, but laborers together with God, longing to bear their testimony for Christ, that they may comfort others with the consolation wherewith they are comforted. If they fall into discouragement, and lose their fervor, because those who have been long in the faith are so indifferent, then they need to pray more and work harder, that they may not fall into the same lethargy, and become unfaithful and disappoint the Master, who has given to every man his work.
4 The atmosphere in many churches is oppressive, because they do not let in the pure air that comes from the throne of God. Their life is not hid with Christ in God. They are not constantly submitting to the discipline of Christ, seeking to acquire his virtues and obtain that wisdom which the Comforter is ever ready to impart. Without a constant, growing interest in the cause of Christ, they will not, cannot, be laborers with God.
5 Those who are self-centered are losing most precious opportunities. “Ye are the light of the world.” A clouded sky does not awaken pleasant feelings; but when the clouds part, and the cheerful beams of the sun shine forth, we say it is as the smile of God. And when the mournful countenance lights up, sending forth the pleasant beams of cheerfulness, we feel comforted. If not a word is spoken, we see the light of Jesus in the human face.
6 The light that shines upon us is not to be hoarded, but to be given to others in clear, steady rays. It is to be an attractive light. The mind is to be stored with the “all things” that Christ will teach us, and the things he will bring to our remembrance, that will strengthen, bless, and console us, and give us his peace; but this great blessing can be retained and increased only by dispensing to others. The attractions of heaven are our light, the words and promises of Christ are our assurance. On these we must rely, and reveal Christ to our world. We must keep the sunny side of our religion in view, instead of becoming a shadow by talking doubts. Murmuring and complaining will never give the right impression of what Jesus has promised to all who will believe on him, accept his word, and be doers of it.
7 “Peace I leave with you, may peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” “Be careful [that is, unduly anxious] for nothing.” “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid;” “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”
8 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” The disciple of Christ is not to bear a troubled, anxious countenance, as though he were comfortless. Said Christ, “I will not leave you comfortless.”
9 There is in these rich promises the pledged word of One who has evinced how much he loves and values man, and we should ever remember that we are co-workers with God. And as we are thus linked with Jesus, we must manifest the spirit of Christ at all times; we must not fall into discouragement, because of Christ it is said, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged.”
10 Unexpected disappointments will come. Jesus was often grieved at the hardness of heart of the people, and you will have a similar experience. Your prayers, your tears, your entreaties, may fail to awaken a response. Hearts are dead in trespasses and sins. There seems to be no penitence, but only indifference and opposition, and from some even contempt, when you looked for certain victory. But you are not to relax your efforts. If one refuses, turn to another. Have faith that the Comforter will do the work which it is impossible for you to do. Have faith in all the blessed promises which Christ has given you. Work with charity and invincible courage, for you must do this if you would succeed. “Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
11 “You do not have to follow your own way, to plan and devise in your own wisdom; if you did, you would certainly fail. But place yourself as a learner in Christ’s school. He will teach you; he will discipline and train you in his manner of working. And the Comforter will bring all things to your remembrance. You will find, as you submit to the educating process, that you are becoming spiritually efficient. Even your memory will be strengthened. The words of Jesus will flash into your mind when you need them, and you can repeat the rich promises of God to your own heart and to others. When perplexed, you will not burden others, but will go to the help provided—the Comforter. In this way you will grow, looking unto Jesus, trusting in him, believing him. You will cast all your care on him. And while you move in God’s order, carrying on the aggressive warfare, and are personally useful in co-operating with Jesus, you will grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
12 Growing Christians are always working Christians. No one should be idle now. The thought of being laborers together with God in turning sinners from the error of their ways, should spur us on to diligent efforts. One soul saved for whom Christ has paid the purchase money of his own blood, will give joy to the Redeemer.
13 The Comforter is to abide with you forever, aiding in every effort. The Holy Spirit is promised to every soul who will be a follower of Jesus. Shall we who profess to love Jesus, profess to have this great hope, which is big with immortality and full of glory, go with disconsolate hearts and mournful countenances? Why are we not all alive with love for Jesus? Why are not our hearts joyful in God, even amid trials and temptations? “My peace I give unto you.” Then why do you not take it, and show that you are indeed doers of the words of Christ? “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Shall we not be joyful in God?
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1 “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father; for my Father is greater than I.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” The faith here brought to view is not a casual faith, it is a living, earnest, active faith, that takes God at his word, and relies upon his pledged promises. This faith brings peace, and constitutes the children of God the light of the world. They live in the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. It is enough to make the soul joyful to have such assurances,—a Comforter always with us, and we revealing to the world in hopefulness, in joyfulness, that we have been called out of darkness into his marvelous light.
2 Christ said, “I am the Light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The quickening, sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God is given to every member of the church who is joined to Christ as the branch is united to the vine. We must show that we believe the words of Christ that he has gone to the Father to be an advocate in the courts above for every humble child of God.
3 If we truly love Jesus, we shall encourage cheerfulness and warmth of love, as we consider our opportunities and privileges. Jesus must go away in order to come again. It is a cause of rejoicing that we have an advocate with the Father, that our prayers ascend to the Father in his name, and that he is there to prepare mansions for those who love him, and also to prepare a people for those mansions. He gives us the assurance that it is because he loves us that he has gone away, because he can, by the side of his Father, better represent our cases. He hears our prayers, and knows our needs, and has sent his Spirit in his name, to do even greater things than he did when he was on the earth.
4 “Now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.” When the Holy Spirit should be manifested to them on the day of Pentecost, they would then see that, although Christ was removed from them, he was ever working in their behalf; and that if they believed on him, his representative, the Comforter, would act in his name, to be a present help in every time of need. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
5 The enemy is at work to draw men and women into the attractive amusements of the world, and to eclipse their views of Jesus and heaven. Here is where Christ’s living agents, those who have tasted and found that the Lord is good, should reveal him in words, in actions, in cheerfulness, in patience, in long-suffering, in hopefulness, in joyousness. “Blessed are your eyes, for they see” the marvelous love of God; “and your ears, for they hear” the precious words of him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And we must see to some purpose, that we may present the glad tidings,—show that it is glad tidings. Put off the spirit of heaviness. Speak of the mercy, the goodness, and the love of Jesus; for “we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Keep your face heavenward. Look at the heavenly attractions, and then you may in truth “show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” With all the precious promises given us from the lips of Jesus, let us act our thankfulness. Let us contemplate our duty in the light of the commandments of God.
6 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, . . . and thy neighbor as thyself.” We are altogether too indifferent to God’s blessings. We share his loving care through Jesus Christ, and then forget how much it has cost the Father and the Son to make us fallen mortals sharers of his paternal sympathies. We are made the depositaries of rich blessings, and have monopolized them, as if they were wholly our own; but all who are enlightened by the grace of Christ should communicate the same to others. For God, through the Comforter, will work with every effort made in sincerity and truth, with his glory in view. He has paid the redemption price for a lost world, the world that Jesus loved, the world for which he died. Let the compassion and love of Jesus urge us to earnest efforts to reveal Christ to the world.
7 “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.”
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Page 561
1 Jesus, with his disciples, was on his way to Gethsemane, and, as his custom was, he used the things of nature to illustrate his lessons to them. He varied his messages of mercy to suit his changing audience. He had tact to meet the prejudiced minds, and to surprise them with figures and illustrations that exactly met their case. Thus his lessons struck conviction to the heart. He ever had a message for the illiterate, who could not read the Scriptures for themselves; and by voice and look and the expressions of human sympathy, he made the heathen to understand that he had a message for them. His character and the expression of his countenance brought warmth to all hearts, a yearning desire to know more. He himself was the living embodiment of the truth he taught, the essence of all spiritual life, example of the peace which he promises to all who come to him.
2 But this is a very solemn moment for his disciples. They are receiving the last lesson from his lips. Jesus does not allow his mind to dwell on the suffering that is just before him; he has a purpose,—to give his disciples a lesson that will be a benefit to them after he shall be removed from them. He would impress it upon their minds that, if they are successful, they must be constant partakers of the Spirit of Christ, whose blessing alone can make them fruitful in good works, in the conversion of souls.
3 From the beautiful symbol of the vine is drawn one of the most important lessons which Christ gave to his disciples. Whenever their eyes henceforth shall look upon the vine, this lesson of Christ’s will be repeated. When they see an unproductive branch, they will know that that branch must be taken away; and when they see the fruit-bearing branches, they remember that such must be pruned, that they may bear more fruit. And all this brings vividly to mind the warning and instruction conveyed in the Saviour’s words: “I am the True Vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away.”
4 “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” True faith will be revealed; for it works by love and purifies the soul. There is the renunciation of self, of pride, of all sin, and an entire reliance upon the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour. There is evidence that the soul has communion with God, is constantly seeking his grace, and imparting that grace to others.
5 But there may be an appearance of being united to Christ when no vital union exists. If you have not faith in him as your personal Saviour, you are symbolized by the withered branch, which will be taken away because it is fruitless. An appearance of Christianity and a profession of piety may place you in the church, but it cannot unite you to Christ. There is no virtue in having our names registered on the church books, if we have no vital connection with Jesus. If you have not a union with Christ, you will produce no fruit to his glory. Your unfruitfulness will bear testimony that you are not abiding in Christ, and that your formality is but a stumblingblock to sinners. You must draw life from the True Vine in order to bear fruit.
6 It is impossible to tell just when the useless branches will be taken away. God will give everyone a chance to repent, and will set all the human and divine influences to work to attract minds and hearts to Jesus; but if these influences are resisted, the time will come when a voice is heard from heaven, saying, “He is joined to his idols; let him alone.” He did not represent Christ, he made no growth in grace, he had no genuine Christian experience, and gave no light to bless and benefit the world.
7 How carefully should we compare our life and character with the true standard! Are we individually fruit-bearing branches? If, after trial, we do not bear fruit to the glory of God, he will take us away. “But he answered and said, Every plant, which my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” Growth in the knowledge of Jesus is essential. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” “But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” There can be growth in grace only by a vital union with Jesus, represented by abiding in Christ, making advancement in religious experience, and becoming more and more intelligent in the knowledge of God and of Christ.
8 “Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” The entire Christian experience, from its beginning to its close, is marked with temptations and conflicts. But the more we look to Jesus, the more we think of him and love him, the more we shall grow into oneness with him; and the more our former lusts in our ignorance will be purged from us. The Lord Jesus has received power to impart his wisdom and blessings, that every soul may make improvement. There is no possibility of being in Christ as the branch is in the vine, and yet bearing no rich clusters of fruit.
9 “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” This he said, referring to the lessons he had just given them. They were without excuse if they missed the way or became discouraged; for he had promised them the Comforter. He had told them he would not leave them comfortless, but that if he went away, he would prepare mansions for them, and would come again and take them to himself. If they loved him, they would show it by obeying his commandments. He told them he would give them whatsoever they should ask in his name. He could say no more to them in the line of promises than he had spoken. Everything depended upon their obedience.
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1 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” These are statements of the highest consequence to every one of us. Everyone who is indeed a child of God will be doing something in the great and solemn work of saving souls. Said Christ, “He that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Let each one of us ask himself: “What am I doing for Christ? Am I winning souls for his kingdom?” If you are not interestedly at work in the service of Christ, your interest and work are reckoned on the side of the prince of darkness. There are professed Christians who, by wrong words, deportment, and spirit, are doing a great deal to counteract the work that others are seeking to do for the Master.
2 Satan can so associate himself with a certain class who are weak in moral power that, by leading them to make a careless remark about being so particular, so over-righteous, so wonderfully conscientious, or by a careless laugh, he can create impulses for evil. Even the most secret whisper of an evil thought, a suggestion of wrongdoing, will be passed from mind to mind, growing in force, extending and widening, and all the time exerting its deleterious influence to separate souls from God, until the branches that bear no fruit are taken away.
3 Satan was a beautiful, exalted angel, and would have remained so forever had he not withdrawn his allegiance from God. From the moment when he ceased to exert his influence for good, he became an influence for evil. He might have been the center of a hallowed influence, loyal and true, being good, and doing good, but he would not. In separating himself from God, he became a power for evil. Each act of selfishness exerts an influence on others.
4 In the hands of Satan, temptation has become a science. He is the god of this world because the world has chosen him as its master. In Satan’s hands, the world is a treasure house of evil, upon which he can draw for his weapons and help to do him service. It is dangerous for the followers of Christ to walk on Satan’s ground, or place themselves in his power; for if they do this, they do a work in connection with him that will extend down through the ages, and be as lasting as eternity. In his temptation of our first parents, Satan could not force them to transgress, but he could suggest allurements to sin, and the mind that is open to his suggestions is the medium through which he works to allure other minds. That first sin is at work still; it is constantly being reproduced, as one mind is brought to bear upon another for evil. Satan is the root of all evil. Every evil branch draws its sustenance from him, and presents its unholy, poisonous fruit for others to taste.
5 How striking is the power of influence as here presented! And how necessary it is for each of us to know the character of our influence, when that first sin could bring such a flood of woe upon our world! Not an evil deed has been performed but an unseen witness has marked it, and followed its influence from one person to another, and a faithful record has been made of it. If men could only read the record of the past, a most solemn impression would be made upon their minds. The record of the future would be altogether changed in its character. They would see that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that their life experience must be in keeping with the way of the Lord. What a scene will be presented when Jesus shall open the book of remembrance, and read from its unerring pages the history of every soul!
6 It is for our well-being, for our eternal interest, to heed the words of Christ, “Abide in me, and I in you.” This work is mutual. You must choose to abide in Christ, and then Christ will choose to abide in you. The soul must feel its dependence on Christ, and that only in entire dependence can we receive strength to work the works of Christ. All who have lived to themselves, self-centered, should know that they are not abiding in Christ, and that Christ is not abiding in them. Let these souls, so full of self and self-esteem, determine now, in these last hours of probation, that they will take Christ as all and in all, and then in and through him they may exclaim, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”
7 In giving Christ to our world for the redemption of the human family, God planned to change the destructive tendencies of man’s influence, and he lays special claim upon that influence, seeks to press it into his service, and by his Holy Spirit sanctify the ability. He wants to make man a chosen vessel unto honor, to be a coworker with him in suppressing evil, and extending righteousness in the earth. Christ, co-operating with human agencies, will restore man to favor with God. Satan planned to draw men’s minds away from God, that the knowledge of God might become extinct, and that the human agency might, through his power, become a means of destruction; but Christ, the Restorer, came to counteract the work of Satan, to set in operation plans of the highest order, and by giving man a glimpse of the future world, and the exceeding great reward, to make him see things in their true light. With the golden chain of his matchless love, he would bind men to the throne of God. The plan of God was that the highest influence in the universe, emanating from the Center of all power, should be brought to bear on human minds. The goodness and love of God subdues the heart, and then man becomes a channel to communicate these divine impressions to his fellow-men. Thus in Christ he is a fruit-bearing branch. No man, saint or sinner, liveth to himself.
8 Christ sets in operation all good influences to oppose sin and evil. For every supposed sacrifice we make in his service, he has promised to requite us, but not as if he were in debt to man, as the magnitude of the gift shows. He has pledged his word to repay us a hundred-fold in this present life, and in the world to come to give us everlasting life. But that which to us bears the appearance of a sacrifice is not so in reality; for whatever Christ asks us to give up for his sake is only that which it would be to our injury to retain. And in its place he gives us that which is of the highest value. Every struggle against sin, every victory over evil, every holy principle exerted for God, he registers as a good work, and he who does it will be a claimant for his grace at the recompense of the just.
9 “I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.” Is this the test? Then is not here given a reason why so little is accomplished by so many laborers? They have not a living connection with Christ. The dry branch is to be united to the living vine, grafted into it. Fiber by fiber, vein by vein, the graft grows into the vine stock, until the life of the vine becomes the life of the branch, and the branch buds and blossoms, and matures its clusters of rich fruit. Jesus says to all, whatever their riches, their learning, their talents, their position, “Without me ye can do nothing.” There is the soul dead in trespasses and sins, and how is that soul to be made a partaker of the divine nature?—By coming to Christ and connecting with him, as the dry, sapless branch connects with the vine, and thereby lives. The sinner may unite his ignorance to Christ’s wisdom, his weakness to Christ’s strength, his frailty to Christ’s enduring might; and in this union there is confidence, love, and dependence. When this union is formed, the principle of the law of association takes effect, the will is surrendered to Christ’s will, and the sinner has the mind of Christ. The humanity in Christ has touched our humanity, and our humanity has touched divinity. Thus, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, man becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. He then abides in Christ, living by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. New and heavenly principles are received through mental, moral, and spiritual association with Christ.
10 Satan has tried to prevent men from receiving a correct view of God. Our ideas of God have become perverted. The true ideas have been lost, and the mind has been thrown into confusion in regard to him. Passion has taken the place of reason. To see God as he is, is to love and reverence him as supreme. To know God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, is eternal life. Satan knows that if the attention of men is turned to Christ, they will believe on him.
11 The greater the efforts of Satan to accomplish our destruction, the greater is the victory achieved in overcoming them. The world’s Redeemer presents the plan of the battle, with all the difficulties, and bids us count the cost. He does not wish his followers to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. They must know what they will have to meet, and the preparation they must make in order to counteract his devices. He shows them the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against himself and his followers, but he makes it plain to them that they shall have the help of the Holy Spirit in the battle. Angels of God, unseen by mortal sight, will mingle in their ranks. As soldiers of Jesus they must put on the armor, for they “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” They could do nothing against such formidable foes without Christ to direct the warfare.
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1 “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,” are the words of Christ, which, abiding in the heart of the believer, transform his character. They are not a dead letter, but they are spirit and life. They are motive power to all action. If they are lightly regarded, nominally received, without working in us, they are useless, and will only condemn us in the judgment. We shall grow no better under their influence, but shall continually become worse in character, more careless, more self-willed, more filled with self-esteem, puffed up in our own conceit; so that we are worse off than if we had no knowledge of them. Christ’s words are to a purpose, to lead men to will and to do. They are an impelling power, causing men to resolve and to act. But none are forced against their will. God’s grace will not supply the place of man’s co-operation. No amount of light, conviction, or grace can transform the character, only as man shall arouse to co-operate with God. The Holy Spirit puts forth its energies to break the power of Satan’s attractions and temptations upon the human mind; but the will must yield, human co-operation must be enlisted, for this is the indispensable condition of salvation.
2 “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What! must man do this work of himself unaided?—No, no. This is his part in the action, but hear the conclusion: “For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good-pleasure.” Your will must blend with the divine will, and you must submit to the divine working. Your energies are required to co-operate with God. Without this, if it were possible to force upon you with a hundred-fold greater intensity the influences of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven. The stronghold of Satan would not be broken. There must be the willing and the doing on the part of the receiver. There must be an action, represented as coming out from the world and being separate. There must be a doing of the words of Christ. The soul must be emptied of self, that Christ may pour his Spirit into the vacuum. Christ must be chosen as the heavenly guest. The will must be placed on the side of God’s will. Then there is a new heart, and new, holy resolves. It is Jesus enthroned in the soul that makes every action easy in his service. He is the fountain of all righteousness, the source of all happiness, the reservoir of all power. There must be a full trust in Christ’s words, and Christ must be all in all to the receiver. Grace, truth, and joy will fill the soul.
3 “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Christ abiding in the heart will prompt right desires. Then we may press to the mercy seat, and in the name of Jesus, our Advocate, in the full assurance of faith, claim all that the soul needs. What a hold on heaven has everyone who complies with the conditions Christ has given! He surely is not left comfortless. He need despair of nothing; he may hope for everything; for he has a right, a guarantee from Christ to call at every step of the way for the divine agency to work with his effort, and to bless with that effort all with whom he associates.
4 “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” This is evidence of our being indeed sons and daughters of God, because we do the will of our Heavenly Father, and work the works of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. We do not devote our God-given powers to needless things, and so fill our minds and hearts with worldly cares and activities, that a sense of the great work to be done in connection with the Holy Spirit, is excluded. We realize our dependence on his aid in reaching those who are out of Christ, who know not the saving power of the truth.
5 The indolent professed Christian may well be startled by the words of Christ, “Why stand ye here all the day idle? Go ye also into the vineyard.” Work while the day lasts, for “the night cometh, when no man can work.” Let not the night find you belated, your work negligently done.
6 The worker is not to follow inclination, or to live day by day merely to amuse himself. God has intrusted you with talents, to be wholly consecrated to him. If he has given you but one, use that one, and you will certainly have two or even more to render back to the Master.
7 Active Christian influence Christ expects of us. We are to educate and train ourselves in the service of Christ, by constant activity, becoming efficient in work for the Master. “It is your Father’s good-pleasure that ye bear much fruit;” not the least possible amount. Day after day is passing into eternity with its burden of record. What fruit are we bearing?
8 “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love.” Here Christ places us in the same position toward himself that he occupies toward the Father. With this intimate connection we should have much power in the work of saving souls. Nothing can be so valuable as this intimate communion with Christ. He identifies his interest with that of the hearers and doers of his word, as the Father identifies his interest with that of the Son, and this union with Christ means everything to us. “Continue ye in my love.”
9 The True Witness says to the church of Ephesus: “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly; and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” We must continue in the love of Christ. We must keep that love aglow on the altar of the heart, and this love, thus kept burning, will increase our love for one another.
10 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” This is a wonderful requirement, to love one another as Christ has loved us. If we are doers of the words of Christ, we cannot harbor pride or selfishness. The purifying blood of Christ alone can purge away everything of this character,—all envy, all evil surmising, all thinking evil and practicing evil toward one another.
11 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” Here again the Lord Jesus presents his relationship to the Father as the exact counterpart of our relationship to himself. Let these lessons, so full of instruction, be carefully considered. Nowhere else can be found such large and comforting assurances. Nothing shows so much as this how the Lord Jesus estimates the souls he came to save, and his purpose in exalting them to the closest, most elevated and sacred companionship with himself. He identifies man with himself before the Lord and the whole universe.
12 What a favor, what mercy, what inexpressible love, is thus revealed! This intimacy of Jesus with man can be brought about only through his taking upon himself our sins and imputing unto us his own righteousness.
13 “He hath made him to be sin for us, . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” If Christ is abiding in the soul, our prayers and works are wholly acceptable to God. Through obedience to all the commandments of God, we are accepted in the Beloved. We enter into the rights and privileges of Jesus, and the victories which he achieves.
14 All those who say, “I am saved! I am saved!” but do not obey God’s commandments, are resting their salvation on a false hope, a false foundation. No one who has an intelligent knowledge of the requirements of God, can be saved in disobedience. Just so far as men have a knowledge of the words of Christ, so plainly laid down in the Bible, they will be held responsible.
15 In the fourteenth chapter of John much is said about keeping the commandments of God. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” No one can abide in Christ and treat the law of God with indifference and disrespect; for this would be arraying Christ against Christ. In a heart renewed by the Spirit of truth there will be love for all the commandments of God. Jesus declares, “I have kept my Father’s commandments;” and all who love Jesus will live in communion with God and with the Son. Those who make so much show of rejoicing, saying they are in Christ, but do not obey the commandments of God, do not partake of the nourishment of the living vine. All who are grafted into the parent stock will have a vital union with the living vine. They will love that which Christ loves; their taste will be identical with his. Jesus plainly stated that when we treasure up his words and do them, we give evidence that we have that genuine love which makes us one with the Father. We are one in taste and inclination. The Spirit of Jesus fills the Christian with his love, his obedience, his joy. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
16 Man has voluntarily departed from God. Jesus came to do a work which no other could do,—to bring man back to his allegiance to God. How unreasonable it is for fallen man to say that Christ’s great work of redemption was for the purpose of making it possible for man to be saved in transgression of the law of God! If one precept of God’s law could be changed, then Christ need not have died; but it was because the law of God was unchangeable, and would hold the sinner in its claims, that Jesus came and died, to reconcile man to God. His death shows the immutability of the law. The law of God is as changeless as his own character. Man’s only hope was in the death of Christ. And in his death Christ bore testimony to the whole universe that Satan’s efforts to change the law were an utter failure. Now it is demonstrated that even for the human beings that have been deceived by Satan and made to transgress the law, there can be no pardon except through the death of the only-begotten Son of the Infinite God himself, who suffered the penalty of man’s transgression. And this is the testimony that in the judgment will condemn every transgressor.
17 Was such an infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God for the purpose of perpetuating sin?—No; it was not possible. There was no possibility that man, who had estranged himself from God, would be able to keep God’s holy law. Christ died that he might, by virtue of his own righteousness, elevate humanity. He gave man another trial. Man, weak, sinful, ignorant, must look to Jesus if he would live. “Without me ye can do nothing.” He has learned to be obedient to all the commandments of God, through Jesus Christ, who is made to him wisdom, sanctification, and righteousness.
18 “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” He who is united to Christ is accepted in the Beloved. That soul is dear to the heart of God. The benefits of this union will be manifest. The child of God, abiding in Christ, will have the character of Christ. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Wherever a soul is united to Christ, there is love. Whatever else the character may possess, it is valueless without love, not love that is soft, weak, sentimental, but such love as dwells in the heart of Christ. Without love, everything else profiteth nothing; for it cannot possibly represent Christ, who is love.
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1 “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily.” Now mark the following words: “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
2 “Ye are complete in him.” Is not this a wonderful statement? Notwithstanding all our various temperaments, our different defects and imperfections, notwithstanding the attacks of the enemy, his grievous temptations and suggestions, we are said to be complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power. Very much has been presented before you in the words which I have read, but we shall be able to notice but few of the points contained in this scripture, in the short address which I shall give. But I desire that you should be able in some measure to comprehend the possibilities to which we may attain in our Christian life. We are to walk even as Christ walked, or the words of inspiration would not so present the course of the follower of Christ: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.”
3 In order to attain to this high calling of God in Christ Jesus, you must begin the day with your Saviour. The very first outbreathing of the soul in the morning should be for the presence of Jesus. “Without me,” he says, “ye can do nothing.” It is Jesus that we need. His light, his life, his Spirit must be ours continually. We need him every hour. And we should pray in the morning that, as the sun illuminates the landscape and fills the world with light, so the Sun of Righteousness should shine into the chambers of mind and heart, and make us all light in the Lord. We cannot do without his presence one moment. The enemy knows when we decide to do without our Lord, and he is there ready to fill our minds with his evil suggestions, that we may fall from our steadfastness; but it is the desire of the Lord that from moment to moment we should abide in him, and thus be complete in him, accepted in the Beloved. God designs that every one of us shall be perfect in him, so that we may represent to the world the perfection of his character. He wants us to be set free from sin, that we shall not disappoint the heavenly intelligences, that we may not grieve our divine Redeemer. He does not desire us to profess Christianity and yet not avail ourselves of that grace which is able to make us perfect, that we may be found wanting in nothing, but unblamable before him in love and holiness.
4 “Well,” I hear one say, “if that is what I must be, I might as well give up, for I can never reach that standard.” But this is what you must be, or you will never enter heaven, and heaven is our desire and aim. But we desire to enter heaven, for there there is no disappointment, no sorrow, no sin, no one who shall say, “I am sick.” There, there is no burial train, no mourning, no death, no parting, no broken hearts; and Jesus is there, peace is there. Oh, we must be with him, for in his presence is fullness of joy, at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore! And it is here that we must behold him, and become changed into his image. “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Oh, it is important that we behold him here by the eye of faith, that we may be made like him, but what will it be to behold him as he is without one dimming veil between?
5 And who is he?—He is the One who has made an infinite sacrifice in our behalf, the One who has brought eternal redemption to our view; and should we behold in him all he is to us, how gladly would we yield our hearts to him, to love him and obey him! Can we not do it now? Is there not need that we behold him by faith, and become changed into his image, when the world is covered with moral darkness like the pall of death, that we may reflect light into the gloom, that as we flash the light of heaven along the pathway of those who are in perplexity and error, they may see that there is brightness and attractiveness in the Christian’s hope? But all this depends upon your reception of the Holy Spirit. It is your privilege to be anointed from on high, or you cannot represent Jesus as he is, and the world cannot take knowledge of you that you have been with him, and have learned of the Divine Teacher. You are to walk in him, to love him, because he first loved you.
6 Jesus did not seek you and me because we were his friends, for we were estranged from him, and unreconciled to God. It was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. But he has promised to give us his Holy Spirit, that we may become assimilated to his nature, changed into his image. Therefore we must put away everything like passion, impatience, murmuring, and unrest, and find a place for Jesus in the heart. We must have the buyers and the sellers cleared out of the soul temple, that Jesus may take up his abode within us. He stands at the door of the heart as a heavenly merchantman; he knocks there, saying, Open unto me, buy of me the heavenly wares, buy of me the gold tried in the fire, which is faith and love, the precious, beautiful attributes of our Redeemer, which will enable us to melt our way into the hearts of those who do not know him, those who are cold and alienated from him through unbelief and sin. He invites us to buy of him the white raiment, which is his glorious righteousness, and the eyesalve, that we may discern spiritual things. Oh, shall we not open the heart’s door to this heavenly voice? He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
7 But everyone who is Christ’s, who has tasted of the powers of the world to come, has crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts. As the physical nature is sustained by the food we eat, so the spiritual nature must be sustained by the word and Spirit of God. God desires us to have a healthful experience. We shall be feeble and dying Christians if we have the experience described by the apostle as fashioned after “the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” It is Christ abiding in our hearts by faith that we must have, and then we shall manifest the fruits of the Spirit, which the word of God declares are “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”
8 But sometimes those who profess to be followers of Christ will say, “You must not be surprised if I am rough, if I speak bluntly, if I manifest temper, for it is my way.” You ask us not to be surprised. Is not heaven surprised at such manifestations, since the plan of salvation has been devised, since an infinite sacrifice has been made on Calvary’s cross, that we might reflect the image of Jesus? Will your way enter heaven? Suppose one comes up to the pearly gates and says, “I know that I have been rude and unkind, and it is my disposition to lie and to steal, but I want an entrance into the heavenly mansions.” Will that way find an entrance into the portals of the heavenly city?—No; it is those who keep Christ’s way that will enter there. He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” If anyone thinks he can climb up some other way, he will find that it will not lead him to the mansions of glory. We want Christ’s way, His life must be in us. Jesus has said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. . . . He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” We should study to understand the meaning of these words, for they are of vital importance to us. Jesus has explained their significance. He says, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
9 We should take time to study the Bible, for we must know what saith the Scripture. The Bible is the garden of God, and as we see the lovely flowers of promise, we should gather them to our souls, for “exceeding great and precious promises” have been given unto us, that by these we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” Does this mean that we are not to associate with the world?—No, for how then can you bring to them the light of truth if you do not come in contact with them? But you cannot do them good if your association with the world leads you to beg the world’s pardon for your faith in Christ, for then you do not mould the world, but the world moulds you. Jesus has signified what is to be your position in the world. He says: “Ye are the light of the world.” “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
2 Since God has given us this assurance, why is it that we see so many clouded, mixed experiences?—It is because many of the professed followers of Christ have given heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. It is because they have not responded to the drawing of Christ. When you respond to the drawing of Jesus, you draw others to him by your consistent life and Christian example, for by faith you become rooted and grounded in the truth. You must search the precious word of God, that you may know what is truth.
3 Jesus prayed that his disciples might be sanctified through the truth. Let no one think that he can permit himself to indulge in any sin, however secret it may be, for God requires truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part wisdom. You need not feel complacency because you are sure that your brethren do not know of your misdeeds. Does not One who is acquainted with your brethren know all about your life? Does not he read your heart as an open book? You cannot indulge in sin and still be a witness for the Lord, for in works you deny him. Where is the holy boldness that should characterize your faith and prayers because you are not under condemnation before man or God? Where is your ringing testimony on the side of truth?
4 If you are indulging in any known sin, you cannot utter words to the glory of God, because there is something in your heart that condemns you. The Spirit of God is not in your soul. But let the heart, with all its affections, be surrendered to God, and you will have joy and peace in the Holy Ghost. Your intellect, your ability, your soul, body, and spirit have been purchased at an infinite price by the Son of God, and all belong to him. And yet, though Christ has redeemed men, how few render to him that which is his own. How many rob him in thought. Oh, shall we not gird up the loins of our minds, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and hope unto the end for grace that shall be given unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ?
5 We cannot enter heaven with any deformity or imperfection of character, and we must be fitted for heaven now in this probationary life. We want the deep movings of the Spirit of God, that we may have an individual experience, and be complete in Him who is the fullness of the Godhead. Through the power of the righteousness of Christ, we are to depart from all iniquity. There must be a living connection of the soul with its Redeemer. The channel of communication must be open continually between man and his God, that the soul may grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. But how many do not pray. They feel under condemnation for sin, and they think they must not come to God until they have done something to merit his favor or until God has forgotten about their transgressions. They say, “I cannot hold up holy hands before God without wrath or doubting, and therefore I cannot come.” So they remain away from Christ, and commit sin all the time in so doing, for without him we can do nothing but evil. Just as soon as you commit sin, you should flee right to the throne of grace, and tell Jesus all about it. You should be filled with sorrow for sin, because through sin you have weakened your own spirituality, grieved the heavenly angels, and wounded and bruised the loving heart of your Redeemer. When you have asked Jesus, in contrition of soul, for his forgiveness, believe that he has forgiven you. Do not doubt his divine mercy, or refuse the comfort of his infinite love.
6 If your child had disobeyed you, and committed wrong against you, and that child should come with a breaking heart to ask your forgiveness, you know what you would do. You know how quickly you would draw your child to your heart, and assure him that your love was unchanged, and his transgressions forgiven. Are you more merciful than your merciful Heavenly Father, who “so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? You should go to God as children go to their parents. Ask your Heavenly Father to forgive your errors, and pray that, through the grace of Christ, you may be able to overcome every defect of your character.
7 Jesus came to this world to save his people from their sins. He will not save us in our sins, for he is not the minister of sin. We must respond to the divine drawing of Christ, and repent of our sins, and unite ourselves to Christ as the branch is united to the vine. Jesus says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” Jesus is drawing all men, and who will respond to this drawing? Many will be greatly influenced by the life and example of those who profess to have responded to this divine love that is drawing the hearts of men. Many will watch you who profess his name, to see whether it makes you better men and better women. They will watch to see if you are Christlike, kind and courteous in your family. The Lord has said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
8 Your home life will be an index to your Christianity. A man’s religion before God is no more or less than the religion that is manifested in his family. Those who profess to be followers of Christ will reveal in the home circle just what is their attitude toward Christ. As the mothers brought their children to Christ that he might place his hands upon them, and bless them, so parents should take their children to him today.
9 Talk to your children as though you would have them Christ’s children. The agencies of heaven will co-operate with you in your work of drawing the children to Jesus. God is a lover of the beautiful, but that which he most loves is a beautiful character. These lovely flowers on the desk today are an expression of the love of God for us and for what is beautiful. Flowers are the adornments that God has made for the earth. Christ has said, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Jesus tells us that there is something higher for our consideration and aim than what we shall eat, and what we shall drink, and what we shall wear, and that is beauty of character, that shall last as long as eternity.
10 Jesus would have the fathers and mothers teach their children of this beauty of character. He would have them teach their children that God loves them, that their natures may be changed, and brought into harmony with God. Do not teach your children that God does not love them when they do wrong; teach them that he loves them so that it grieves his tender Spirit to see them in transgression, because he knows they are doing injury to their souls. Do not terrify your children by telling them of the wrath of God, but rather seek to impress them with his unspeakable love and goodness, and thus let the glory of the Lord be revealed before them.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 When Moses prayed, “Lord, show me thy glory,” the Lord took this atom of humanity, and yet this mighty man of faith, and placed him in the cleft of the Rock, and covered him with his hand, and the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” He first puts Moses in the cleft of the Rock, and this is where each one of us must be placed before we can see the glory of the Lord, for no man knoweth “the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” The glory of the Lord is his goodness and love. Then do not teach your children that God frowns upon them, but that when they sin they grieve the Spirit of Him who always loves them. Draw your children to Jesus.
2 But if you would draw your children to Jesus, you must not enter your home with cross words, with a frown upon your brow. If you come from your business weary and worn, just plead with God for his grace, for his restful Spirit, that your heart may be melted into tenderness, that your lips may be filled with words of kindness and comfort. Bind your children to your heart. Recommend your religion to them by its pleasantness. Your children are a part of you, and you do not want to have them separated from you in the day of Christ’s coming. Give them a representation of the character of Christ, and let your home be as a heaven upon earth. Do not live in such a way that your children will feel that they do not want to go to heaven if father is to be there. Do not live in such a way that your wife will think heaven is an undesirable place if you are to be there, and let not the wife manifest such a spirit that husband and children will feel a relief in being away from her presence.
3 The religion of Christ will take away all the ruggedness of the character, and will melt and subdue the soul. It is the Spirit of God that we need, and we are looking for its revelation among us, even at this conference, and if this is to be, we must now begin the work of reformation by turning unto the Lord with full purpose of heart. Let the work begin, that the heart may be softened, and that Christ may mould and fashion you after his own divine image. But many feel that they cannot go to Jesus in confidence. They say: “It does not seem as if God heard my prayers. I have tried and tried to rid my soul of sin, but I cannot do it.” Then say, “Lord, I am powerless, and I cast my helpless soul on thee.” That is what Jacob did. All night long he had been wrestling with One whom he supposed was his enemy, but it was the great I AM, the mighty God, the Prince of peace, and just as long as he continued his wrestling, he found no comfort, no hope. It was a life-and-death question with him, and his strength was almost exhausted. Then the Angel touched his thigh, and he knew that he wrestled with no common adversary. Wounded and helpless, he fell upon the One with whom he had wrestled, just as you and I must do, just as any soul does when he falls upon the Rock and is broken. “Let me go, for the day breaketh,” pleaded the Angel, but Jacob ceases not his intercession, and Christ has to make terms with this helpless soul. He cannot tear himself away from a soul wounded and helpless, and crying unto him for help. And Jacob pleads, with determined spirit, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” Who was it that inspired his spirit of persistence?—It was He who wrestled with him, it was He who gave him the victory, who changed his name from Jacob to Israel, and said, “As a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
4 But many of you say, “The nearer I seek to come to Christ, the worse I feel.” Did not Jacob have this very experience? Will you not be bruised and wounded as you see the wounds and bruises that sin has made in you and in your divine Redeemer in your behalf? Have you not felt distressed again and again as you have looked to yourself for merit? I have. And now the question is, What will you do? You can say, “I cannot wash away one stain of sin from my soul, I must come to Jesus—
‘Just as I am, without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me.’ I can only come, saying:—
‘Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling.’”
5 You might say, “I’ll give all my goods to feed the poor; I’ll give my body to be burned,” but that would not better your case. Man can do nothing to merit the favor of heaven. That which avails for the sinner is to accept with gladness the sacrifice that Christ has made, to appreciate his love, and to lay hold of his righteousness by faith. You are to realize that he loves you, and that you love him because he first loved you. Then you will feel that every power belongs to him. You take his free gift to you, and then come to him and give yourself freely to him. Say, “I come to present myself to God in the name of Him who has died for me. I give my heart to Jesus, and I desire his blessing and his Spirit;” and the power of God will come upon you.
6 But when you ask God for his blessing, do not mark out a way in which you think the Lord must give you that blessing. You will not always receive the blessing in just the way you think it will come. Just ask the Lord to give you the very blessing you need, in the very way in which he sees it will be for your best good. Let your prayer be, “Give me that which my soul needs in order that I may be a faithful sentinel for God.”
7 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Can we not believe the promise of God, and know that he will do just that for us which he has declared. That which we need is the vital touch of faith, that we know that the mercy of God is extended toward us. God accepts us through Christ, and we are not to feel that we are of no value in his sight. He sent his only-begotten Son into the world to die for us, and we are to value ourselves in the light of the cross of Calvary. Jesus declares, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” And we may all be made precious in Christ, for he says, to those who feel their own weakness, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.”
8 If the life of Jesus were in you, you would be filled with vital energy. The church would not be in a cold, backslidden state, but we should see the revival of the missionary spirit. You would not rest in ease, taking the privileges of the gospel as if they were meant exclusively for you, but you would seek to extend the glad tidings of salvation to this and that relative, to this and that neighbor or friend. You would go to them, not in a Pharisaical spirit, but in the spirit of love, seeking to break down all opposition. You would melt your way into their hearts by telling them of the love of Jesus. You would select those for whom you carried a burden to present to the Lord in prayer, praying him to give you this or that soul as a precious sheaf for the heavenly garner, to bring to the feet of the Master.
9 We are all to be missionaries, and we are now on missionary soil, and it is essential for every one of us that we have the righteousness of Christ to go before us, and the glory of the Lord to be our rearward. My heart is lifted up as I think of the blessings that are in store for those who rightly relate themselves to God, and it causes a hope to spring up within me that we may be baptized with the Holy Ghost in this place. Jesus is holding out his precious gift to you, and will you receive it? It is the Comforter that he promised should come and abide with you forever. Thank God for this precious promise.
10 I want to glorify him by my words and in my character. I want to reveal to others that do not know him what a Savior I have found, that they too may love him. How important it is that we reveal the fact that we have been with Jesus and learned of him. Do any of us who profess to know him indulge in light, trifling conversation? Oh, do not permit your lips to utter that which will be as a stumbling-block to those who are looking to see what benefit you have received by your faith in Christ. Lift the minds of those around you to dwell upon eternal realities. God will work with the church, but not without their cooperation. “Ye are laborers together with God.” May every soul of you who has tasted of the good word of God, “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
11 The Father knows how you represent him to the world. He knows just what impression you make upon those around you. Your words and actions are all written in the books of heaven, and in order to rightly represent Jesus to the world, the converting power of God must be felt upon your own heart from day to day. When you go forth to the people, in the market-place, as you walk the street, in whatever occupation you are engaged, you are to have a living connection with God, and represent the character of Christ to the world. Jesus said, “As the Father hath sent me, so have I sent you.” As Christ was to represent the Father, so the followers of Christ are to represent their Lord to men. Your life is to be hid with Christ in God.
12 Self must be hidden in Christ. There is to be no great I in heaven except the great I AM, and we must learn to lift up Christ before the people, realizing and rejoicing in the fact that he must increase and we must decrease. I would glorify his name before you, for I want you to be like him, to love him. Jesus says, “Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” The saving salt, the savor of the Christian, is the love of Jesus in the heart, the righteousness of Christ pervading the soul. If the professor of religion would keep the saving efficacy of his faith, he must ever keep the righteousness of Christ before him, and have the glory of God for his rearward. Then the power of Christ will be revealed in life and character.
13 Oh, when we come to the pearly gates, and have an entrance into the city of God, will any who enter there find room to regret that they devoted their lives unreservedly to Jesus? Let us now love him with undivided affections, and co-operate with the heavenly intelligences, that we may be laborers together with God, and, partaking of the divine nature, be able to reveal Christ to others. Oh, for the baptism of the Holy Spirit! Oh, that the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness might shine into the chambers of mind and heart, that every idol might be dethroned and expelled from the soul temple!
14 Oh, that our tongues might be loosed to speak of his goodness, to tell of his power! If you respond to the drawing of Jesus, you will not fail to have an influence on somebody through the beauty and power of the grace of Christ. Oh, let us behold him and become changed into the image of Him in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead, and realize that we are accepted in the Beloved, “complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power.”
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1 When Jesus spoke the words of truth and life to the people, they were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. There was not an endless repetition of fables and maxims and customs, trivial ceremonies, to which they had been accustomed to listen. The object and limit of his instruction appears to have been to present the character of his kingdom, and the qualifications essential for those who would enter therein. He sought to enlarge their perceptions, that they might feel their dependence upon divine power, the work of the Holy Spirit to produce the change in them, that they might be the children of the light and the day.
2 Jesus was to reveal the Father in himself. He said to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” While he spoke of his meekness and lowliness as that which all must learn, he sought to direct the minds of his hearers to himself as the center of attraction. He assured them that he was the bread of life. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life.” “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” Then, lest they should not discern the spiritual meaning of his words, he states definitely: “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
3 Dullness of apprehension on the part of the disciples hindered the freedom of his communication. He could not unfold to them, as he desired, the spiritual truths connected with his work of salvation. The Lord’s words have a depth, a breadth, and height of meaning that none but those who eat his flesh and drink his blood can comprehend. His sayings were to the disciples as a new revelation; but they were not new. He was but unfolding the old truths, long obscured. His teaching were to simplify the truth, to enlighten the understanding, to open blind eyes to the wonderful works of redemption, the divine revelation in regard to the doctrines of grace. By his own practice Christ substantiated every doctrine. He appealed to the Old Testament Scriptures, laying open in a clear light the spiritual bearing of truths that had become obscured through tradition and misinterpretation.
4 The Lord requires the same manner of teaching on the part of all his servants. All who are laborers together with God should instruct the people that a life of personal piety, by simple repentance and belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world, prepares the soil of the heart for the reception of truth. The Holy Spirit makes us capable of apprehending the doctrines, and giving the true importance to every statement of truth, receiving it in the sense which Christ himself attached to it.
5 The apostle Paul says: “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves, your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” If the love of God is abiding in the soul by faith, if the mind and heart are brought under the discipline of truth, Jesus will be magnified, self will be hidden, and Christ will appear as all in all. When, in all our efforts for the presentation of truth, Christ is made to appear as the great central light, the work will be conducted in meekness and lowliness of heart, and Christ will be with us to convict and convert souls.
6 We should not feel that it is necessary to work ourselves up into a highly emotional state before we can reach hearts. We need not seek for something sensational to suit the appetite of the people, for something new and strange to startle them. Christ Jesus is the old and the new. His self-sacrificing love for man dates back before the creation of our world, yet it is ever new. It is the most marvelous theme that can ever be unfolded to human minds. Infinite condescension led him, with unchanging purpose, to advance to the cross of Calvary to die a shameful death, revealing to man what love such as Jesus possessed can do. God in Christ gave himself for the saving of the world, and the presentation of this truth will do more to convert sinners than any other argument.
7 The reason why more are not turned from sin to obedience and holiness, from the service and power of Satan to the service of God, is that the teachers do not work in the same lines with Christ. They do not dwell sufficiently upon Christ’s self-denial in lifting the cross and bearing it in behalf of man. As did the Master so must his servants do. His self-sacrifice in becoming the substitute and surety for man led him in the path of humiliation; and this was the appointed way for humanity. He was our example in all things. In Christ are the cross and crown united; and all who are partakers with him in his sufferings and humiliation here will, if they hold fast their confidence to the end, be partakers with him in his glory hereafter.
8 These are truths that the people need to have presented before them. They may plead before God the righteousness of Christ, the love of God in giving to our world his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Lift up Jesus; talk more, a great deal more, of this only way whereby man may be saved. Dwell much more on the unselfishness of Christ. Present his love before the people. Teach men that their life is complete only when hid with Christ in God.
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1 From the very opening of his public ministry to his last prayer for his disciples Jesus kept it constantly before them that they were to be one with him in his work for the recovery of the world from the slavery of sin, from Satan’s dominion. When he sent forth the twelve and then the seventy to proclaim the kingdom of God, he was teaching them their duty to impart to others what he had made known to them. In all his work he was training his church for individual labor, to be extended as their numbers increased, and eventually to reach to the uttermost parts of the earth.
2 Just before his ascension he bade them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” This obligation was urged upon them again and again. On the day of his resurrection, in that meeting with his disciples in the upper chamber, he opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. And he said: “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in this name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” And he added, “Ye are witnesses of these things.” This great work required great efficiency. The tide of iniquity was strong. A mighty leader was in command of the agencies of evil, and Christ’s followers could resist and overcome the powers of darkness only through the help that God should give them. Jesus assured them, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Here is the only boundary to their labor; it is to extend to the whole world. But first there is home missionary work to be done. Those who are nearest are to receive the first attention. Jerusalem would be the very hardest field of labor for the disciples. The most unpromising places are those where much light has been given, but where it has been neglected or despised. Here peculiar dangers would assail the disciples, as with the lamp of life in their hands they should go forth to remove the rubbish of tradition and reveal the hidden jewels of truth.
3 “Go,” said Christ, “and ye shall move under the shield of Omnipotence. First labor among those that are nigh. Here you will gather some souls, who will strengthen your forces to push the work in the regions beyond. But you must work as one, even as I and my Father are one.” “And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
4 Thus the Lord Jesus makes provision for the aggressive work, and takes upon himself the whole responsibility of conducting the warfare, of supplying the needed qualifications, and he promises success.
5 His last act on earth was to bless his disciples, and while his hands were outstretched in benediction, he ascended to heaven, surrounded by the angelic host. The last lesson he gave his followers was that they held in trust the conveyance of his gospel to all the world. In harmony with this was his first work in heaven. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out on the praying disciples, and they testified of its source to all wherever they went. Here the missionary spirit was poured out in unlimited power upon those who should testify of Christ and convince the world of sin.
6 The apostles obeyed the directions of Christ. They began the work in Jerusalem, where was the deepest prejudice against Jesus, where he had been crucified as a malefactor. Thousands received the message and were converted. The malice of the enemies rose high. Some of the disciples were imprisoned, but they were not intimidated. Even in the prison evidence was given that angels of heaven were in the army in which they were enlisted. When the high priest and the Sadducees “laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison, . . . the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” And when Peter was held in prison, to be offered next day as a sacrifice for his faith, angels came to open the strong-barred gates, and set the Lord’s servant at liberty. The disciples continued to speak with all boldness the words of truth, setting forth Jesus, his ministry, his crucifixion, his resurrection and ascension; and daily “believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.”
7 As success attended the ministry of the word, there was danger that the disciples would linger too long in Jerusalem and Judea, forgetful of the Saviour’s commission to go to all the world. Then he allowed persecution to come with such violence that the disciples were forced to flee from Jerusalem. They were “scattered abroad,” and so widely was the gospel preached that Paul declared, even in his day, it had been made known to every creature.
8 The commission given to the first disciples is given to us also. When Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel.” He said also, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” We are to begin, as they did, with the home field, and to extend our labors to all the world.
9 The mission of Christ—how little it is understood! His infinite condescension in descending from the throne of heaven to the cross of Calvary —how little is it appreciated! Yet here is the source of every other mission. The messengers of the gospel receive their inspiration at the cross. Then, reaching out through all the circles nearest them, they are to encompass the world.
10 All the followers of Christ are to be laborers together with God. Filled with the Spirit, having the mind of Christ, in perfect sympathy with him, they are, in their sphere, to bend every energy to the salvation of souls. Christ expects, yes, requires all who claim discipleship to make this work their first consideration. Here all will show their real estimate of the claims of Christ, and their sympathy with him who gave his life for the saving of the world.
11 All who have received the message are to repeat it, and to all whom they have opportunity to reach. Christ would lift us from the narrow circle that our selfishness prescribes; he abolishes all territorial lines and artificial distinctions of society. He makes no difference between neighbors and strangers, friends and enemies. He teaches us to look upon every man who needs our aid as our neighbor, and the world as our field.
12 And the time to work is now. “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” Look out over the earth. See the vast multitudes of human beings in the darkness of error. Many there are who are longing and weeping for light, praying—to whom they know not. Multitudes who think they know God are yet in ignorance of him. There is need for the voice of Christ’s messengers to be heard, as Paul’s was heard in Athens; “whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.”
13 All the members of the church, as reapers in the great harvest field, are to be earnestly praying and diligently working. Not once should they think or speak of failure. They are not to rely on their human ability, but wholly on the divine agency. If you are in the way of the Lord, his promise is yours, “Thy righteousness shall go before thee.” We have no righteousness but that imparted by Christ. “And the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.” Angels of God will go before you, preparing hearts to receive the divine message; and the promised power, which is the glory of the Lord, shall be your rearward.
14 The Lord Jesus is our example and our efficiency in all things. Our means of doing good are never exhausted. Our source of power is the fullness of Christ. Upon this we may draw, and draw again. There is no limit to the supply. “Without me,” says Christ, “ye can do nothing.” But he also says, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” Therefore we are to pray without ceasing, for we have the promise, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do.” When you make God your trust, and call upon him with your whole heart, he will be found of you.
15 On every hand there are sheaves to be gathered for the garner of God. But where are the reapers? The field is wide, and there is a place for everyone to work, according to his ability. He who fails to do something manifests indifference to the claims of Christ. If we are not, as faithful stewards, working for him, we are serving another master. Jesus says: “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Inaction in Christ’s service is an evidence of positive hostility against him.
16 Professed Christians, Jesus is speaking to you: “Why stand ye here all the day idle? Go work in my vineyard.” Work while it is called day, for the night cometh, when no man can work. We are never to set a limit to our efforts in his service, saying, “This will I do, and no more.” It is enough for us to know that we are Christ’s servants. The ransom money has been paid for our souls, and every jot of power or ability we have is the gift of God, not inherent in ourselves, and hence not to be employed to please or glorify self.
17 It is an exalted privilege that Christ offers to men, of being connected with him in the great work of salvation. And he who feels that he is not his own, and keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, will grow into the likeness of the Saviour, his will becomes one with Christ’s, and his influence for Christ is constantly increasing.
18 God does not require of the man with one talent the improvement of two or five. But he does require of every man, not merely the talent intrusted, but also that which might be gained by its right improvement.
19 The obligation which Christ lays upon us is so broad and deep that in fulfilling it we shall lose sight of self. There is no place for self-gratification in the work of Christ. He says, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Jesus does not present to his followers worldly glory, earthly riches, and a life free from trial, but he asks them to walk in the path where he has led the way. He denied himself, he endured suffering, he was despised and rejected, because the world knew him not.
20 Our Lord does not deceive his followers. He shows us the confederacy of evil arrayed against us, Satan, the mighty prince of evil, leading his hosts. But the Saviour tells us we are not to fight alone; all the heavenly intelligences will come to our help. Amid the darkness of the world we are to catch the radiance from the throne of God, and diffuse it, not merely to irradiate the surrounding gloom, but, as a church, we may unitedly shed a light that will extend to the uttermost part of the earth.
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1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Christ does not here teach that members of the church who are unworthy shall not be dealt with according to the rules that he himself has given. And in this same chapter he warns us to beware of false prophets, and says, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” But Christ puts his rebuke upon those who are criticising others, upon those who are self-sufficient, presumptuous, and censorious, judging the motives of others, and seeking to condemn them. This class give evidence that they are looking for failings in others, and these are what they will see and comment upon. They pass by many estimable qualities, to dwell upon and distort and magnify seeming inconsistencies.
2 The practice of passing judgment upon others is common, indeed, it is almost universal, even among those who claim to be Christians. Many regard it as a mark of superior discernment to criticise the motives of others. But in the light of the Saviour’s words it is a very serious thing thus to sit in judgment upon another. The wisdom displayed in discerning stains upon the character of others is that described by the apostle James, which “descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.”
3 When one by his words or deeds gives occasion for unfavorable judgment, the consequence must come upon his own soul. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” But it is not safe for finite man to take upon himself the responsibility of judging others, for we cannot read the heart. Self-centered human beings are inclined to judge according to appearances, and hence make grave mistakes. More than this, they are themselves imperfect, and for this reason are not qualified to sit in judgment on others. The Saviour says: “How wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” When one is very forward to criticise and try to correct others, it is too often the case that he himself has faults, of which he may be all unconscious, that are far more serious than those that he condemns, and thus even when he tries to correct others, his efforts may do far more harm than good. How much more when he sits in judgment to criticise and condemn!
4 If men could see themselves as God sees them, they would have such a sense of their own weakness and defects, and would see such a work to be done for themselves, they would have such a sense of their own need of the long-suffering mercy of God, and the forbearance of their fellowmen, that they would have no disposition to judge and condemn others.
5 We need to put a restraint upon ourselves in this matter of making the faults of others the theme of conversation, or even making mention of them. It fosters in us an unhappy disposition, a habit of looking for evil, magnifying trifles. The habitual fault-finder looks at everything through a distorted medium, and, finally, nothing will look good, or amiable, or sincere in the life or character of others. When anything is said in their favor, he will stand ready with some accusation of evil.
6 Some excuse this habit of judging and condemning on the ground that they are nervous; and the nervous system has to bear the responsibility of a heart that is not garrisoned against the temptations of Satan. Pride is hurt when another receives confidence or respect which they do not. They have a high estimation of themselves, and this leads them to think they do not receive the attention which is their due. The grace of God is the only remedy for these maladies of the soul. The work of the Holy Spirit will be far more effectual in correcting this evil disposition than will the skill of the physician who treats the nervous system. The trouble is in the heart.
7 When Miriam and Aaron accused Moses, they were doing the very work that Christ here condemns. They were jealous of Moses, and this jealousy led to the exhibition of selfishness, bitterness, and almost hatred. They censured Moses because he did not consult them, and move according to their judgment. “And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?” Moses did not seek to vindicate his course, but God interposed. “And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow.” Numbers 12:5-10.
8 He who spoke to the disciples in the sermon on the mount is the same that spoke to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, and let the signal marks of his displeasure rest upon Miriam for her censure of one through whom God had chosen to communicate his will. God had laid the burden of his work upon Moses, and when others presumed to heap upon him the burden of their censure and condemnation, the Lord declared them guilty of a great sin. He judged and condemned her who had unjustly judged and condemned his servant. He to whom the hearts of all men are as an open book, read the hidden motives. He saw that the heart was leprous with sin, and he caused the plague of the heart to be revealed in the dreadful judgment of physical leprosy. As leprosy was sure death if permitted to take its natural course, so the leprosy of sin would destroy the soul unless the sinner received the healing of the grace of God.
9 Since we cannot read the heart of another, let us beware of ascribing wrong motives to any man, lest we find ourselves involved in guilt similar to that of Miriam,—condemning those whom the Lord is teaching and guiding,—and thus bring upon ourselves the rebuke of God.
10 And yet how many there are who place the worst possible construction on the words and acts of others. By these would-be judges every little thing is scrutinized in the light of their own perverted understanding; and instead of considering that they themselves may be in error, as were Aaron and Miriam, they repeat their suspicions to others, who take up the reproach; and thus the very work is wrought that Satan desires to accomplish. This work is what is called “rejoicing in iniquity.” Love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things; love never faileth.” This is the Christ side of the question. The opposite spirit has already been described. It leads one to dwell on all the faults of others, and overlook their good qualities. When an error is committed, it looks back to gather up all the similar deeds, and treasures up all these, to confirm the darkest suppositions and attribute the worst motives.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 The Lord has brought his children into church relation that they may be benefited and blessed by associating with one another. All have not had the same education and training. Widely different circumstances have had an influence in forming the character. Everyone has his own ideas and habits, his own stamp of character.
2 We are in a school where there is need of constant watchfulness, not to mark the things that do not please us in another, but to guard ourselves, lest we, by word or deed, come in collision with our brethren or our neighbors. If love dwells in the heart, the feelings and words will be kind. There will be no harsh criticism or censure. Love must be nurtured as a tender plant if it grows to perfection.
3 Comparing ourselves among ourselves is not wise. Let not the difference be made prominent. There are imperfections in human nature, and if one chooses the work of magnifying little things and becoming irritated over the faults of others, he will always find occasion. Until we cease to demand in others perfection which we do not possess ourselves, we shall find time to do little else than dwell upon the mistakes and disagreeable things. But it will be found that these are very poor food for the soul. Those who feed upon it are doing the greatest injury and injustice to themselves. They are developing character that will unfit them to enter the family of God in heaven; for if permitted to enter there, they would carry on the same work which has been their meat and drink here in this life.
4 There is a depth of meaning in the Saviour’s words, that but few appreciate: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Paul says, “Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” And God declares by the prophet: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”
5 When we condemn or criticise others, we declare ourselves guilty; in the very act of judging them, we are breaking God’s law. Our own character is revealed in the way we treat others. He who is censorious, self-sufficient, in judging others, shows that he himself is devoid of the grace of Christ. It is those that are blinded by the enemy to their own defects of character who are forward in criticising and condemning. Their own lack of the spirit of forbearance and love leads them to make a world of an atom. He who is watching for the defects of others, ready to accuse and condemn, is doing the same work in which Satan has been engaged since his rebellion. He links himself with him who is the accuser of the brethren.
6 Thus in accusing others we are passing sentence upon ourselves, and God declares that this sentence shall stand. Remember this, you who are so ready to criticise others. The sentence which you think to pass upon them you are passing upon yourselves, and thus it stands in the records of heaven. God accepts the sentence, your own verdict against yourselves. Are you willing to abide by it in the final day?
7 God declares that he has committed all judgment unto the Son. Not to finite men, who can judge only from the outward appearance, but to Him who reads the heart, who knows the secret springs of action, and who deals tenderly and compassionately,—to Him it is given to decide the case of every soul. And those who take upon themselves the work of passing judgment or pronouncing upon the motives of another, are assuming the prerogatives of the Son of God. Are they not thus also linking themselves with Satan, the usurper?
8 Jesus did not come to the world as a judge, but as the Friend and Saviour of sinners. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
9 When the Samaritans refused to receive Jesus, because he was on his way to Jerusalem, the disciples filled with indignation, said: “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
10 With this example before them, how can the professed followers of Christ manifest so little of the tender mercy and compassion of their Lord? If there is in their number one even of perverse disposition, one who makes them trouble, how can they feel at liberty to cut him off from the church so readily, and treat him as an alien and an outcast? Let us be careful how we hurt and bruise the souls of men and women for whom Christ died. Suppose that one has erred, do not therefore thrust him into the dungeon of despair; do not pass him by with a harsh word, or with positive neglect. Let everyone who is charged with wrong have ample opportunity to explain himself, but do not bring him before a set of hard-hearted judges, who stand ready to magnify the wrong, and to pronounce condemnation. Do not take the testimony of one or two against him without thoroughly sifting that testimony. See whether the accuser is not, by his own unadvised course toward the accused, a sharer in his guilt, if guilt there be. Only those whose hearts are filled with sympathy, those who love as Christ loved, who realize the value of the precious souls for whom he paid the ransom of his own life, are qualified to deal with the erring.
11 When a man fails in business, not because he is dishonest, but through misfortune, or lack of judgment, do not seek to humiliate him, or to crowd him into the hardest places. Do not sit down and make no effort to help him. He is a soul for whom Christ has given his precious life. Many a man has been driven to desperation, and has given up in despair, because of the spirit of distrust and censure manifested toward him by his brethren, and these perhaps the very ones who did their part in bringing about the train of circumstances that helped or drove him into the hard place.
12 Even if you cannot help the man, do not condemn him; you yourself may sometime have a similar experience, and what you have meted out to your brother may be meted out to you. Remember that those with whom you deal have sensibilities just as keen as your own. A kind word, a helping hand, an arm thrown around them in compassion, may save them from ruin.
13 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.”
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1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”. I would that we all could continually bear in mind what Christ is to us, and what we are to him. If we could constantly realize this relation between Christ and our souls, we would rejoice in hope of the glory of God, even in the midst of tribulation. But when tribulation comes upon us, how hard it seems to rejoice; for we are like Peter, and look upon the troublous waves about us instead of keeping the eye fixed upon Jesus. But I would have you see the importance of keeping the eye fixed upon him who is the Author and Finisher of our faith; for when we take our eyes off the difficulties and trials and fix them upon our Helper, we shall see his matchless charms, and know that “all things work together for good to them that love God.”
2 The Lord would not have us depreciate ourselves, or think that he has forsaken us, when tribulation comes upon us; for we are of value in his sight. He declares, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” He places upon us a value equal to the sufferings of Christ, who died for us upon Calvary’s cross; he clothes us with his righteousness; and when trial comes upon us, his eye is upon the purchase of the blood of his only-begotten Son. In this we are to rejoice.
3 The Lord will have a tried people. We are to be tested and proved, to see whether we are worthy of an entrance into the city of God, to have right to the tree of life. If we gain eternal life, we gain everything; and if we lose it, we lose everything; it would be better for us had we never been born than to lose heaven. It is only as we depend upon the strength and righteousness of Christ that we can stand the testing of God. We shall have to educate the mind, and again and again bring to our remembrance the fact that Christ has his hand upon us. With his own divine lips he has said, “Without me ye can do nothing,” but through Christ we can do all things. It is not for us to mark out the way in which we shall walk; but if we take everything that comes to us as in the providence of God, even our tribulation will work patience, and we need not sink in discouragement while we look by faith to Jesus. When the fogs and mists rise here in Oakland, you cannot see the sun, but you do not despair of ever seeing the sun again. You know that behind the clouds the sun is still shining. And by and by the mists roll back, and the sun shines forth, and gladdens the hearts of men by its radiant beams. Then why should we despair when our spiritual sky is clouded? Can we not have faith that the Sun of Righteousness is still shining? Can we not say, “I know that my Redeemer liveth”? We should let our faith penetrate the darkness. It is Satan that casts his dark shadow between our souls and God so that we may not see Jesus; but by living faith we may keep him in view, and let nothing interpose between the soul and God. Then you will be in a position where you can rejoice in tribulation.
4 If I had given way to the attacks of the enemy, I should long ago have been out of the work; for Satan has been on my track ever since I started in the service of the Lord. But after all the trials and conflicts through which I have had to pass, I have only this testimony to bear: There is help for every soul in God. There is no respect of persons with God; for every soul for whom Christ has died is precious in his sight. Jesus loves every soul, from the least to the greatest. The entire family circle is precious before him, and whatever he permits to come upon us is for the purpose of perfecting our characters. He desires that we shall bring the solid timbers into our character building in this life, that nothing may mar our religious experience, or unfit us for the future immortal inheritance. We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.”
5 We may gain a better knowledge of God through tribulation than through any other experience; for we may then learn to trust God in the dark. Paul says: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Can we measure such a reward as is promised in these words, an exceeding and eternal weight of glory?
6 We are living in the last days, and we read that “the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” The powers from beneath are moving the people to take the measures that will bring the people of God into tribulation. Satan is ever seeking to weaken the church by bringing in dissension and discord, that we shall not fulfill the words of Christ, and be one as he and the Father are one, and so bear a decided testimony to the world of the divinity of Christ. But we must look by faith to Jesus, and the trial will lose its force, and no art of the enemy can avail to cripple our hope in Christ; for we shall realize that we have a Saviour who is mighty to save. Through the darkness of trial and sorrow, we shall be able to distinguish the marks of the crucifixion in his hands and feet and side, and shall hear the voice of the Lord of glory saying: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Our whole future eternal life depends on whether we shall so live that our names may remain graven upon the palms of his hands.
7 We are to follow our Lord in the path of self-denial and self-sacrifice. We are not to choose the easiest path. The way that we shall be required to walk will necessitate the exercise of living faith; for it is by faith that we are to rejoice in tribulation, and send forth steady beams of light into the moral darkness that surrounds us. There are about us many who have not an experience in the things of God, and we are to be to them as living epistles to be known and read of all men. The Lord would have us receive that mould of character which will make us fit to be living members of the heavenly family. We are to shed forth light to those who are in darkness and the shadow of death. We are to put out our talents to the exchangers, using, to the best of our ability, the power that God has given us. Jesus is looking to see how you behave yourselves now, that he may judge you worthy of a place in the mansions above; that he may gather you home as children of his family, subjects of the Heavenly King. You are to clothe yourselves now with the garment that has been woven in the loom of heaven, even with the glorious righteousness of Christ, that you may be prepared to stand at his appearing, and be found worthy of a place at his right hand.
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1 God wants every member of the church to stand faithfully at his post of duty, to realize his responsibility, and create a heavenly atmosphere about his soul by continually gathering the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness to shed upon the pathway of those about him. When you do this, you will be holy in all manner of conversation. You will not indulge in jesting and joking and in trifling conversation, because Christ will then abide in your hearts by faith, and you will have a realizing sense of his sacred presence.
2 We are to be representatives of Christ, as Christ was a representative of the Father. We want to be able to attract souls to Jesus, to point them to the Lamb of Calvary, who taketh away the sin of the world. Christ does not clothe sin with his righteousness, but he removes the sin, and in its place he imputes his own righteousness. When your sin is cleansed, the righteousness of Christ goes before you, and the glory of the Lord is your reward. Your influence will then be decidedly on the side of Christ; for instead of making self a center, you will make Christ a center, and will feel that you are a guardian of sacred trusts.
3 When you remember that Christ has paid the price of his own blood for your redemption and for the redemption of others, you will be moved to catch the bright rays of his righteousness, that you may shed them upon the pathway of those around you. You are not to look to the future, thinking that at some distant day you are to be made holy; it is now that you are to be sanctified through the truth. The prophet exhorts: “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” And Jesus says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . unto the uttermost part of the earth.” We are to receive the Holy Ghost. We have had an idea that this gift of God was not for such as we are, that the gift of the Holy Spirit was too sacred, too holy for us; but the Holy Spirit is the Comforter that Christ promised to his disciples to bring all things to their remembrance whatsoever he had said unto them. Then let us cease to look to ourselves, but look to him from whom all virtue comes. No one can make himself better, but we are to come to Jesus as we are, earnestly desiring to be cleansed from every spot and stain of sin, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are not to doubt his mercy, and say, “I do not know whether I shall be saved or not.” By living faith we must lay hold of his promise, for he has said, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
4 We are to be witnesses for Christ, reflecting upon others the light which the Lord permits to shine upon us. We are to be as faithful soldiers marching under the bloodstained banner of Prince Emmanuel. There is to be no indifference, no stupidity among the followers of Christ; for they are to reflect Christ to the world, to serve God with the whole heart, to be watching, waiting, and praying, and not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. The Captain of our salvation knows the plan of the battle, and we shall come off more than conquerors through him.
5 Do not continue to talk of your weakness; for Jesus came to bring moral power to combine with human effort, that we might advance step by step in the heavenward way. Let your faith lay hold on the promise of God, and if clouds have encompassed your path, the mists will begin to roll back. Let us not lose sight of the fact that the angels of God are ready to help us in every emergency. What could we do if we were left to battle with the powers of darkness unaided? But God has not left us as a prey to the mighty, for he has provided that his grace shall be our support.
6 To every one of us is committed some sacred responsibility; for we are to show by both precept and example that the Lord is our strength and our Redeemer. By our lives we are to make confession of Christ; but you cannot do this unless you are crucified to self and to the world. The carnal affections and lusts must be denied, or you will never be able to endure the struggle and obtain the victory. You must be able to give the right testimony, and say, “We are abundantly able to go up and possess the goodly land.” What is your condition? Are you putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, and making no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof? Or are you settling down into hopeless lethargy and death?
7 The enemy is working with an increasing intensity, and the powers of darkness are uniting with evil men to form a confederacy against the people of God. Shall we be able to meet every assault of the enemy with the sword of the Spirit? Can we follow the example of our Lord at every step, and when tempted to disloyalty to God, say, “It is written.” Our adversary is acquainted with the Bible, and he knows that if you are to stand his fierce assaults of temptation, you will have to wear the armor of Christ’s righteousness. We are not safe in placing ourselves on the ground of the enemy, we must keep our feet in the way that is cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, that we may not be as false lights along the shore. The Saviour has commanded, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” You should never rest until you know how to win souls to Christ, and give all the praise and honor and glory to God for your success.
8 Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may lift us up. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. We must have the Holy Spirit, or we shall not be able to represent Christ to the world. The Lord has said: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
9 Let those engaged in the office of publication remember that they are handling sacred things. Let them remember that the angels of God are round about them. Let them plead that the light of God’s Holy Spirit may shine into the chambers of their heart and mind. Through the power of Christ they may be victorious over every besetment. Jesus says: “Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
10 How strange it seems that with all the assurances of God’s love, with all the manifestation of his power in our behalf, many are cold and indifferent, even among those who profess to believe the truth for this time. They do not bear a ringing, living testimony to the praise of God, for their faith and love have diminished to a feeble flame. Oh, that we all might be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Oh, that we might be as vessels unto the Lord. We want to see all the folly weeded out of the hearts of those who profess to be followers of the Lord, that the joy of the Lord may come in. Jesus has said: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” I desire that you shall be saved with an everlasting salvation. I want you to be around the great white throne triumphant conquerors, to sing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” and lives again. I want you to be with Jesus, in whose presence there is fullness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore. There, there will be no sin, no sorrow, no sickness, no death, no burial train, no sound of mourning. Oh, I want to see the King in his beauty. I want to praise him with an immortal tongue. I want to give glory to God, who has provided for us the richest blessings of heaven; for when he gave his Son, he gave all. Heaven’s resources were exhausted in Christ, and all the treasures of eternity are at our command through the infinite merit of our Redeemer.
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1 Jesus saw how Satan had control of the souls and bodies of men, how he had cast his shadow athwart the path of humanity, so that men could not discern the love of the Father toward the fallen race. Satan claimed to be the prince of this world, and he held men under his power, and Jesus came to break this bondage. The mission of Jesus is set forth in his words by the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
2 From the time when Jesus entered into the world Satan was upon his track. The evil one was determined that the power of Christ should not be exercised to break men’s bondage, and Satan and his angels, in league with evil men, were united against Christ and his work. But Jesus was not to fail nor be discouraged, and he steadily went forward to accomplish his mission. He worked his works of mercy, and rolled back the shadow of misrepresentation that Satan had cast athwart the pathway of humanity that they might not behold the love of the Father. Satan had filled the minds of men with heresy, and the truth of heaven was obscured by human opinion, superstition, and tradition. Jesus came to bring to light the precious jewels of truth, and to place them in their proper setting in the framework of truth, where their true luster might appear. He came to represent the Father. He said, “I and my Father are one.” “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
3 The enemy is continually seeking to misrepresent the character of God to us, and we should have the words of Christ abiding in us, so that when the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord may lift up a standard for us against Satan. We want to have the precious jewels of truth to adorn our knowledge. We should prize the truth above everything else, and be like the man who sold all that he had to buy the field that contained the treasure. We need the light and peace of Christ in our hearts, we need to have our souls barricaded with truth, that we may know God and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent; for the knowledge of God is life eternal. If we have a correct knowledge of the character of God, Satan will not be able to overwhelm our souls with doubt and discouragement. The enemy will come to you and say: “It is of no use for you to pray. Did you not do that evil thing? Have you not transgressed against God? and have you not violated your own conscience?” Answer him, “Yes; but Christ has bidden me to pray.” He has said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
4 Do not listen to the enemy’s suggestion to stay away from Christ until you have made yourself better, until you are good enough to come to God. If you wait till then, you will never come. You might wait till the judgment, but you would not be fit to come to Christ. It is today that you are to yield to the drawing power of Christ, and come to him as you are. He will continue to draw you as you come, until every thought shall be brought into captivity to him. When the enemy seeks to keep you from your Saviour, tell him that Jesus has said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” And why does Christ draw you to himself?—It is that he may make you more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir. One soul is of more worth to Jesus than the whole world.
5 Then if we are so precious to Jesus, shall we not seek to come into as close relation to him as is the branch to the vine? Shall we not abide in him as he has commanded us to do? The moment we separate from Jesus, the enemy knows it, and he begins to cast his shadow across our pathway, that we may lose sight of Jesus. Satan presents his specious temptations, that we may fall into sin, and then when we yield to his allurements, he has more power over us, and will keep the mind in darkness. Oh, let the tempted soul rise up, and in the strength of Jesus say: “I will have no more connection with the enemy. I stand under the blood-stained banner of the Prince Emmanuel.”
6 Satan will point to the filthy garments of those who have been in his power when they seek to come to the Saviour. But let the repenting soul repeat the promise of Jesus, “Him that cometh to me, I will in nowise cast out.” Let him tell the enemy, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” Tell the enemy that you know your garments are stained with sin, but that by faith you claim the righteousness of Christ. Turn to Jesus, and tell him all your trouble. Christ sees all your circumstances, and knows all your temptations and sorrows. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” What is it that is expected of you?—You are expected to open the door of the heart, that your soul may be illuminated with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, that you may be all light in the Lord.
7 When the enemy tells you that you are a sinner, tell him, “Yes, I know it.” The accuser of the brethren told the repenting publican that he was a sinner, and he dared not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but cried, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner,” and he went down to his house justified. If you are a sinner, you need to seek Jesus. Your coming will not be unwelcome to him, for he invites all those that are weary and heavy laden to come to him, and find rest unto their souls. In the days when Christ was upon earth, certain Greeks came, saying, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” All about the Master were those who were cruel and vindictive, who were seeking an opportunity to put Jesus out of the way, who rejected the Lord of glory, and how welcome was the request to see Jesus. The Master’s heart warmed with satisfaction that someone wanted to see Jesus. When the voice of God speaks to the heart, and the heart responds to it, we shall hear the inquiry, “Sir, I would see Jesus.” Heaven is all ready to receive those who would see Jesus. And now let us come to him, asking for the very things we need, believing that we shall receive them. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
8 There are many who desire an evidence from the Lord as to what course they shall pursue. They want some tangible proof that they are in the path of duty. When the General Conference advised that I should visit Australia, I wanted an evidence that it was my duty to make the journey. In a few days after boarding the steamer I should be sixty-five years old, and it seemed like a great undertaking for a woman of my age to come across the ocean; but no evidence came, so I took my journey, trusting in the Lord, and wholly by faith. I had no evidence but the word of God, for Christ has declared, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . unto the uttermost part of the earth.” I knew that if God had directed me to this land, it was that I might give the message that he had given me, and I have every reason to praise God, for he has preserved me in health on the voyage. Thank God for that.
9 The best evidence that we can have is the word of God. There are many who, like the Jews, are ready to cry out, “Show us a sign, work us a miracle.” But is there not a miracle performed every time a soul who is at enmity with God is converted, and learns to love God and to keep his commandments? Is it not a miracle that we can break from the bondage of Satan? Enmity against Satan is not natural to the human heart. It has to be put into the heart by the manifestation of divine power. It is a miracle when the heart is changed, and we love Jesus, and desire to do those things that please him. We then want to come into close unity with him, and be connected with him as is the branch with the vine. How closely the branch adheres to the vine, drawing sap and nourishment from the stock, until it blossoms and bears fruit. Those who truly know the Lord do not regard it a task to serve their Master. They do not count it a hardship to deny self for his sake, and to be colaborers with him for the salvation of souls.
10 Let us elevate our souls by faith in Christ, for he alone can cleanse us from sin, and purify us from all unrighteousness. Without him we can do nothing. Let us be true to God; let us pray that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon us. The Lord has said, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” The Holy Spirit is the gift of God; will we take it? Will we say, “I will place my hand in the hand of Jesus; I have no power, no merit, of my own”?
“Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling.”
11 I point you to the cross of Calvary. The cross is everything to us. It is the pledge of our salvation, the pledge that we shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away. It is to be our support in every trial, our refuge in every sorrow. It is the assurance to us that the Father loves us, and has given his Son for us. It is the assurance to us that our joy may be full.
12 Oh, shall we go mourning along the way to Mount Zion?—No; let us make melody in our hearts unto the Lord. There is a path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, and we are on our way to the haven of rest. Let us go forward united to Christ as closely as is the branch to the vine, with our life hid with Christ in God.
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1 The Saviour said: “I am the Vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
2 What great reason we have to praise God for the wonderful promises contained in these words; and shall we not let gratitude spring up in our hearts as we meditate upon the provisions that have been made for our salvation? Shall not all distrust and doubt be banished from our souls, that we may give evidence that we have indeed been grafted into the living Vine? Jesus says, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” In all the teachings of Christ he seeks to unfold to us the relation he sustains to us, and the relation we should sustain to him, by revealing his relation to the Father, and the Father’s love to him.
3 “These things,” said Christ, “have I spoken unto you,” that you should be sad and discouraged, wavering and distrustful?—No; but “that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Christ desires that we should be happy, and he points out the way in which we may have fullness of joy. Is there anything more that we can desire? Is not this completion of joy, the joy of Christ, fulfilled in you? God has made provision that this joy may be yours.
4 Jesus saw that man was plunged in sin and misery, and had not moral power to overcome in his own strength, so Jesus gave himself, that he might unite man with himself, and make provision that sinners might lay hold of his strength and make peace with God. When Adam and Eve transgressed, Jesus said: “I will take upon me the sin of the fallen race. I will bear the penalty of sin, that I may impart to men my strength and righteousness.” When Jesus came to the world it was as our substitute and surety. He passed through all the experiences of man, from the manger to Calvary, at every step giving man an example of what he should be and what he should do. Behold him on the banks of the Jordan, asking for baptism at the hands of John. “But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him; and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
5 What does this scene mean to us? How thoughtlessly we have read the account of the baptism of our Lord, not realizing that its significance was of the greatest importance to us, and that Christ was accepted of the Father in man’s behalf. As Jesus bowed on the banks of Jordan and offered up his petition, humanity was presented to the Father by him who had clothed his divinity with humanity. Jesus offered himself to the Father in man’s behalf, that those who had been separated from God through sin, might be brought back to God through the merits of the divine Petitioner. Because of sin the earth had been cut off from heaven, but with his human arm Christ encircles the fallen race, and with his divine arm he grasps the throne of the Infinite, and earth is brought into favor with heaven, and man into communion with his God. The prayer of Christ in behalf of lost humanity cleaved its way through every shadow that Satan had cast between man and God, and left a clear channel of communication to the very throne of glory. The gates were left ajar, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God, in the form of a dove, encircled the head of Christ, and the voice of God was heard saving, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
6 The voice of God was heard in answer to the petition of Christ, and this tells the sinner that his prayer will find a lodgment at the throne of the Father. The Holy Spirit will be given to those who seek for its power and grace, and will help our infirmities when we would have audience with God. Heaven is open to our petitions, and we are invited to come “boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” We are to come in faith, believing that we shall obtain the very things we ask of him.
7 Christ would have his joy fulfilled in us. He would have us abide in him, that we may bring forth much fruit. The only thing for which each should have anxiety is to know how it is with his soul. The question to put to ourselves is, “Am I fighting the good fight of faith? Am I a living graft in the True Vine? Am I a branch of the parent stock, drawing sap and nourishment from Jesus?” How shall we know how to answer this question? Jesus has said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” And our fruits are dependent upon our abiding in Christ. Jesus says, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
8 What is it to bear fruit? It is not all comprised in coming to meeting once a week, and bearing our testimony in prayer or social meeting. We are to be found day by day abiding in the Vine, and bringing forth fruit, with patience, at our home, in our business; and in every relation in life manifesting the Spirit of Christ. There are many who act as though they thought an occasional connection with Christ was all that was necessary, and that they can be accounted living branches because at times they make confession of Christ. But this is a fallacy. The branch is to be grafted into the Vine, and to abide there, uniting itself to the Vine fiber by fiber, drawing its daily supply of sap and nourishment from the root and fatness of the Vine, until it becomes one with the parent stock. The sap that nourishes the Vine must nourish the branch, and this will be evident in the life of him who is abiding in Christ; for the joy of Christ will be fulfilled in him who walks not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
9 Our professions are worthless unless we abide in Christ; for we cannot be living branches unless the vital qualities of the Vine abound in us. In the genuine Christian the characteristics of his Master will appear, and when we reflect the graces of Christ in our lives and characters, the Father loves us as he loves his Son. When this condition is fulfilled in those who profess to believe the present truth, we shall see a prosperous church; for its members will not live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and they will be flourishing branches of the living Vine.
10 If Jesus is with you, all the heavenly intelligences will minister unto you. The apostle says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” All heaven is interested in the salvation of men. Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Then when we bow in prayer, let us remember that Jesus is with us. When we go into the house of God, let us remember that we are not going into the place of worship alone. We bring Jesus with us. If the people of God could have a realizing sense of this fact, they would not be inattentive hearers of the word. There would not be a cold lethargy upon hearts, so that those who profess his name cannot speak of his love. If we had a realizing sense of the fact that all heaven is bending over us, anxious to bless us, we would not see the indifferent, listless worship that so much characterizes the service of our churches in this day. We have altogether too low ideas of what it means to be Christians, of what the service of God requires. Jesus came to be our example, to teach us that the Father seeketh those to worship him who worship him in spirit and in truth.
11 Jesus came to the world not as an angel of light; we could not have endured his glory if he had come thus. One angel at the tomb of Christ was of such exceeding brightness that the Roman guard fell powerless to the ground. As the angel came from the heavens, he parted the darkness from his track, and the sentinels could not endure his glory; they fell as dead men to the earth. Suppose that Jesus had come in the glory of an angel, his brightness would have extinguished the feeble life of mortal men. For our sake Jesus emptied himself of his glory; he clothed his divinity with humanity that he might touch humanity, that his personal presence might be among us, that we might know that he was acquainted with all our trials, and sympathized with our grief, that every son and daughter of Adam might understand that Jesus is the friend of sinners. But he left not his divinity without a witness. Again and again in his sojourn on earth, divinity flashed through humanity, and the glory of God was manifested among men. At one time the priests and rulers, who hated Christ and who were studying how they might put him to death, sent the officers to take Jesus; but when the officers came into his presence, they were spellbound at his words. They listened entranced to the gracious utterances of his lips, and when they returned without taking him prisoner, the priests and rulers asked, “Why have ye not brought him?” The officers replied. “Never man spake like this man.” They had been charmed with his words, which had seemed to them as precious jewels. They had listened in utter forgetfulness of their errand, and had returned pondering his teaching. Divinity had flashed through humanity, and they had been deeply impressed, and would not lay hands upon him.
12 This was the Saviour who had come to fight our battles for us; for he alone could conquer the powers of darkness. “Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” “For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
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1 The purpose and plan of grace existed from all eternity. Before the foundation of the world it was according to the determinate counsel of God that man should be created, endowed with power to do the divine will. But the defection of man, with all its consequences, was not hidden from the Omnipotent, and yet it did not deter him from carrying out his eternal purpose; for the Lord would establish his throne in righteousness. God knows the end from the beginning; “known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Therefore redemption was not an afterthought—a plan formulated after the fall of Adam—but an eternal purpose to be wrought out for the blessing not only of this atom of a world but for the good of all the worlds which God has created.
2 The creation of the worlds, the mystery of the gospel, are for one purpose, to make manifest to all created intelligences, through nature and through Christ, the glories of the divine character. By the marvelous display of his love in giving “his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” the glory of God is revealed to lost humanity and to the intelligences of other worlds. The Lord of heaven and earth revealed his glory to Moses, when he offered his prayer to Jehovah in behalf of idolatrous Israel, and pleaded, “Show me thy glory.” And the Lord said: “I will make all my goodness to pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. . . . And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock.” “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” Moses was hidden in the cleft of the rock when the glory of the Lord was revealed to him, and it is when we are hidden in Christ that we obtain some view of the majesty and love of God.
3 The prayer of Moses was heard and answered, and we also may present our earnest petitions to God, and receive of his grace and power. Jesus has said: “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” The promises of God are not yea and nay, but yea and amen in Christ. If we would importune God, laying before him our needs in simplicity, with unfaltering confidence, in the name of Christ, we should receive of the abundance of the blessing of God. Tell the Lord exactly what you want in the way of spiritual blessings; and you need not fear to lay before him your temporal needs and perplexities. He has said: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” He has said: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” “Him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out.”
4 It is the privilege of every follower of Christ to behold the glory of God, to understand his goodness, and know that he is a God of infinite mercy and love. Jesus has said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Jesus came to reveal the Father, to make his glory known before the children of men. No one was excluded from the privileges of the gospel. Jesus stooped from infinite greatness, from indescribable glory, and assumed the nature of man, and to him who had known such exaltation, who had suffered such humiliation, the rank and caste and distinctions of human society seemed trivial and unworthy. The exaltation of the great had no influence upon his mind. Christ had come to deliver man from the terrible power of the enemy, and to him who had so great a mission to accomplish, poverty and humiliation, discomfort and reproach, seemed insignificant. When one came to Christ, thinking that the Saviour was to establish a temporal kingdom and would have honors to bestow upon those who advocated his cause, Jesus said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.” Jesus made the worlds; for “without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
5 Indulgence and ease and luxury were unknown to the Son of God. Had he presented himself to the world in worldly pomp and state, it would have been out of harmony with his lowly birth and humble life. Jesus chose to take the position of the lowly, and not the state of those who had power and wealth and influence. He did not design that outward display should attract men to him; the power of celestial truth was to be the drawing power. Sinless and exalted by nature, he consented to take the habiliments of humanity, to become one with the fallen race. In the nature of man he took the risk of meeting the temptations of the fallen angel, permitting himself to be tried on every point wherewith man was tempted.
6 Satan gloried in the opportunity of thus besieging the Son of God. Because he had taken upon him the nature of man, Satan deemed that the victory was certain, and with every malignant device in his power, he strove to overcome Christ. The issues at stake were beyond the comprehension of man, and the steadfast resistance of Christ to the temptation of the enemy brought the whole confederacy of evil to war against him. In an unpitying confederacy, men and evil angels united their forces, and arrayed themselves against the Prince of peace. The temptations that assailed Christ were as much more intense and subtle in their character than those which assail man as his nature was purer and more exalted than is the nature of man in its moral and physical defilement. In his conflict with the prince of darkness in this atom of a world, Christ had to meet the whole confederacy of evil, the united forces of the adversaries of God and man.
7 How Satan and his angels triumphed as they discovered that the Son of God had taken upon him the nature of man, and had come to be man’s substitute, to engage in the conflict in his behalf.
8 The human family had been overpowered by the deceptions of the enemy; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, and it was the enemy’s hope that Christ also would be a victim to his seductive wiles; but at every point he met the tempter and put him to flight. Christ was the conqueror over the powers of darkness. We do not comprehend the infinite condescension of Christ in consenting to war with the enemy, or the infinite risk he ventured in engaging in the great controversy in our behalf.
9 The mystery of the gospel had been spoken in Eden when the lost pair were first in the guilt of transgression, for God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” If Satan could have touched the head with his specious temptations, the human family would have been lost; but the Lord had made known the purpose and plan of the mystery of grace; for “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
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1 Although the Saviour had no wealth, displayed no outward grandeur, came with no worldly pomp, yet his words of promise, of command, of reproof, were uttered with the dignity of goodness, greatness, and power. The people listened with wonder and admiration, and the impression made upon their minds was expressed by the officers who came to take him, in obedience to the command of the rulers and priests. They listened entranced to his words of heavenly wisdom, and, forgetting their errand, they returned without their prisoner. The priests and rulers asked, “Why have ye not brought him?” and they answered, “Never man spake like this man.”
2 No one could listen to his gracious words and escape the conviction that he was a being of superior goodness and wisdom. The emotions of his listeners changed from admiration of his eloquence to desire to attain to the lofty character which he presented, both by precept and example. As he discoursed on themes of eternal interest, they hung upon his words as if spellbound under their power. Those who were thus attracted to the vital truths which Christ presented, were standing on holy ground, near to the rivers of the water of life. With what deep, impressive power he called to the multitudes on the last day of the feast, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” At another time he declared, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
3 Christ is an open fountain, an inexhaustible fountain, from which men may drink and drink again, and ever find a fresh supply. But none will ever come to him save those who will respond to the drawing of his love. None will feed on the bread of life which came down from heaven, no one will drink of the water of life flowing down from the throne of God, save those who yield to the pleadings of the Spirit. Since God has given the treasures of heaven in the gift of his only-begotten Son, how shall the sinner escape who neglects so great salvation, and sets at naught the great provision of God? The justice of God is manifested in the condemnation of all who are finally impenitent and unbelieving. There will be no excuse for the sinner who willfully rejects and neglects so great salvation.
4 The gift of life has been freely, graciously, joyously offered to fallen man. Through Christ we may become partakers of the divine nature, and obtain the gift of eternal life; for it has been abundantly provided for all who will come and receive it through God’s appointed means. When Paul beheld the wonders of redemption and the foolishness of those who did not comprehend its nature, he exclaimed, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?”
5 Jesus said, “Ye also have seen me, and believe not.” How had they seen him?—By the eye of faith, by the witness of the Holy Spirit, by the revelation of Christ to their souls. But they had resisted the work of the Holy Spirit, until the impression of the precious truth of Christ wore away their hearts. They did not give heed to their convictions. They did not cultivate their faith, but indulged in questioning and caviling until they were hardened in unbelief and rebellion.
6 Those who go on to know the Lord know that his goings forth are prepared as the morning, and everyone who receives the precious jewels of truth will hasten to impart the knowledge of his riches in Christ to those who are around him. When men respond to the drawing of Christ and view Jesus as the royal Sufferer on the cross of Calvary, they enter into oneness with Christ, they become the elect of God, not by works of their own, but through the grace of Christ; for all their good works are wrought through the power of the Spirit of God. All is of God, and not of themselves. The Lord chose us by his Spirit. Jesus says, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”
7 The fruit we are to bring forth is the fruit of the Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Your fruit is to remain, to be of such a character that it shall not perish, but reproduce after its kind a harvest of a precious order.
8 The grace of Jesus Christ alone can change the heart of stone to a heart of flesh, and make it alive unto God. Men may perform great deeds in the eyes of the world; their achievements may be many and of a high order in the sight of men, but all the talent, all the skill, all the ability of the world will fail to transform the character and make a degraded child of sin a child of God, an heir of heaven. Men have no power to justify the soul, to sanctify the heart. Moral disease cannot be healed save through the power of the great Physician. The highest gift of heaven, even the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, is alone able to redeem the lost. What gratitude, what love, should fill our hearts as we contemplate the love of God! The heart should be softened and subdued as we meditate upon the risk that Jesus took in order that man might be elevated and restored. The world’s Redeemer endured sufferings commensurate to all the guilt of a lost world. The sacrifice of Christ on Calvary’s cross is a consideration that surpasses all the overwhelming power of sin; and when a sense of sin presses upon the heart of the sinner, and the burden seems intolerable, Jesus invites him to look to him and live. There is power in Christ to cleanse the soul. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
9 How the wondrous provision of the plan of God for the salvation of men widens and exalts our ideas of the love of God! How it binds our hearts to the great heart of Infinite Love! How it makes us delight in his service, as our hearts respond to the drawing of his loving-kindness and tender mercy! John calls upon men to behold the marvelous love of God. He exclaims: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
10 This is the work that is before us. We are to have the faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. Through faith our lives are to be hid with Christ in God. We shall then be God’s hidden ones; for the value of Christian character is not discerned by the world. The world admire honesty, and the manifestations of the virtues and graces of Christian character; but at the same time they make a jest of true Christian conscientiousness, because it is a rebuke to their own lives of sin. The living stones that shine in the spiritual temple of the Lord are a great annoyance to Satan, and he ever seeks to cut off the light, and eclipse the Sun of Righteousness, by interposing his shadow between the soul and God.
11 But Jesus says unto us: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” The Lord would save us from the corruptions of the world; for he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Jesus, our precious Saviour, has redeemed us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has clothed us with the garments of salvation, even in his own robe of righteousness. Christians are to be clothed with humility as with a garment, and not to be prominent in the world, seeking for position or popularity. If heaven has sent you to be indeed light bearers amid the moral darkness, you will be content to shine in any place which God may assign to you. The praise of men, the attraction of the world, its pleasures, its amusements, its bribes, will all be powerless to win the true Christian from his allegiance to God. Neither will threatening, persecution, loss of liberty or life, induce him to turn from the commandments of God, to obey the dictates of men. He will fill his appointed place, and let his light so shine before men that they may see his good works, and glorify his Father who is in heaven.
12 Before men and angels, Christians are required to show by precept and example the value of Christian character. Those who receive Christ as their personal Saviour will be able to do this, and for them Christ has gone to prepare mansions in heaven. There are some who declare that all men are entitled to a place in heaven, and in the same breath they acknowledge that all men are not fitted for that heavenly abode. If all men would but accept the truth as it is in Jesus, and give it a place in the inner sanctuary of the soul, that they might become sanctified through it, they would be fitted for heaven.
13 A title to a possession in this world must be without flaw, or it is valueless, and the right of inheritance is not given. And will heaven be given to those who have a faulty title? The apostle reveals the line through which the heavenly inheritance is to come. He says: “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” If we are Christ’s, our title to the heavenly inheritance is without flaw, for we are then under the only saving covenant, the covenant of grace; and through grace we shall be able to make our calling and election sure by putting on the excellency of Christ in faith, in spirit, in character; for no one will be entitled to the heavenly inheritance who has not been purified, refined, ennobled, elevated, and wholly sanctified. Those whose lives are hid with Christ in God, who have been clothed upon with his righteousness, will have a right to the inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
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1 I want to speak to you today from the words of the Saviour found in Matthew the fifth chapter. “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain; and when he was set, his disciples came unto him.” As far as possible we should try to bring before us the scene of our Saviour’s labors, that we may fasten our attention upon the occasion of the lessons which our Lord addressed to the people. The words of our lesson are from the lips of no other than the Majesty of heaven. They are not the words of man, that may be criticised, but are the words of Him who was equal with the Father, one with God. In these words we recognize the voice of the highest authority that ever spake to man.
2 “And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are”—those who are filled with joyful emotion? who are highly elated? who feel that they are rich in spiritual attainment?—No; “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Do you ask what it means to be poor in spirit? The next verse is of a like character, and says, “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” To be poor in spirit means that we feel our deficiency and need because we have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It is this that causes us to mourn. But because the Saviour says, “Blessed are they that mourn,” are we to come to the conclusion that he would have us always lamenting our poverty of spirit, our lack of spiritual grace? Is it necessary to make it manifest that you are mourning, in order to be counted among those whom the Saviour pronounces “blessed”?—No; for by beholding we become changed, and if we talk of our poverty and weakness, we shall only become more poverty-stricken, more feeble in spiritual things. If we talk darkness, we shall have darkness. To be poor in spirit is to be never satisfied with present attainments in the Christian life, but to be ever reaching up for more and more of the grace of Christ. The poor in spirit is one who looks upon the perfection of Jesus’ character, and sees his own unlikeness to him who is glorious in holiness. The poor in spirit is one who is ever responding to the drawing of Christ, and who is obtaining nearer and nearer views of the perfect righteousness of Christ, and in contrast sees his own unworthiness and unlikeness to his Lord.
3 He is poor in spirit, but he is not making a parade of his poverty; he shows that he is of this class by manifesting humility and meekness, by not depreciating others that he may exalt himself. He has no time for doing this; he sees many defects in his own character which demand his attention, and he knows that he cannot afford to be found criticising others. As he beholds the infinite love and mercy of God towards sinners, his heart is melted. He feels his poverty of spirit, but instead of calling attention to his weakness he seeks continually for the richness of the grace of Christ, for the robe of his righteousness. The language of the heart of him who is poor in spirit is, “Less of self and more of Thee.” He desires Jesus. He knows that there is nothing in him whereby he can procure the freedom which Christ has purchased for him at the infinite price of his precious blood. He sees that the good works which he has done are all mingled with self, and he can take no glory to himself because of his attainments in the Christian life. He realizes that there is merit in naught else but the blood of Christ. But it is because of this very realization that he is blessed; for if he did not feel his need, he would not obtain the heavenly treasure.
4 When Christ was upon earth, the Pharisees made bitter complaint against him because he was the friend of publicans and sinners. They said to his disciples: “Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” The Pharisees felt that they were whole; they felt that they were rich and increased with goods and had need of nothing, and knew not that they were poor and miserable and blind and naked and wretched. They were satisfied with their moral condition, but Jesus said, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” It is the needy that Jesus is seeking. Brethren and sisters, do you feel that you are needy? Are you saying, as did the Greeks that came to Jerusalem, “We would see Jesus”? The Greeks came to seek Jesus at the time when the Pharisees were upon his track, trying by every possible way to find something whereby they could accuse and condemn him. How grateful to the Master was the sincere desire and confidence of the Greeks at this time of trial and sorrow. The Greeks wanted to see him because they had heard of his mighty works, they had heard of his wisdom and truth, and they believed on him; for they knew that he was the desire of their hearts.
5 The great danger with the people who profess to believe the truth for this time is that they shall feel as if they were entitled to the blessing of God because they have made this or that sacrifice, done this or that good work, for the Lord. Do you imagine that because you have decided to keep the Sabbath of the Lord, God is under obligation to you, and that you have merited his blessing? Does the sacrifice you have made look of sufficient merit to you to entitle you to the rich gifts of God? If you have an appreciation of the work that Christ has wrought out for you, you will see that there is no merit in yourself or in your work. You will see your lost condition and become poor in spirit. There is but one thing for the poor in spirit to do, and that is to look continually to Jesus, to believe in him whom the Father hath sent.
6 When the people came to Jesus, they asked him at one time: “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” Now the question is, Are we doing this? Do we feel our need? God has committed to us sacred trusts. The hereditary trusts of patriarchs and prophets have come down along the lines to us, and with them precious light has shone upon us. We have received divine enlightenment, and yet we have not made the advancement in the pathway of holiness that we should have made. Our obligation and responsibility have been faithfully pointed out, but we have not taken hold upon the strength of God, that we might fulfill our obligations to him. Throughout all the churches there is one subject of vital importance that has been neglected. We have failed to make the Holy Spirit the theme of our thought and instruction. Light has come to us concerning the offices of the Spirit of God, and with burdened heart some have presented to the church the great provision that God has made for the people in the gift of his Holy Spirit.
7 Jesus said to his disciples: “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” The Comforter is to come as a reprover, as one who is to lay open before us our defects of character, and at the same time to reveal to us the merit of Him who was one with the Father. Jesus says, “He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” In Christ dwelt all the fullness of the God-head bodily, and we are to be complete in him. With all our defects of character, we are to come to him in whom all fullness dwells.
8 But many of you say, “I have prayed, I have tried, I have struggled, and I do not see that I advance one step.” What is the trouble? Have you not thought you were earning something, that you were by your struggles and works paying the price of your redemption? This you never can do. Christ has paid the price of your redemption. There is only one thing that you can do, and that is to take the gift of God. If you feel that you are poverty-stricken in spirit, you can come in all your need, and plead the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. But you cannot come expecting that Christ will cover your wickedness, cover your indulgence in sin, with his robe of righteousness. He has come to save his people from their sins. The people of God are to be as branches grafted into the living Vine, to be partakers of the nature of the Vine. If you are a living branch of the True Vine, Jesus will prove you by affliction, that you may bring forth fruit more abundantly.
9 The reason why we have not more of the Spirit and power of God with us is that we feel too well satisfied with ourselves. There is a marked tendency among those who are converted to the truth, to make a certain measure of advancement, and then settle down into a state of solidity, where no further progress is attained. They stand right where they are, and cease to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But the religion of Christ is of a character that demands constant advancement. The Lord does not design that we shall ever feel that we have reached to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Through all eternity we are to grow in knowledge of him who is the head of all things in the church. If we would draw upon his grace, we must feel our poverty. Our souls must be filled with an intense longing after God, until we realize that we shall perish unless Christ shall put upon us his Spirit and grace, and do the work for us.
(To be continued.)
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1 But as we come to feel our utter reliance upon Christ for salvation, are we to fold our hands and say, I have nothing to do, Jesus has done it all?—No; we are to put forth every energy, that we may become “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” We are to be overcomers, to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are to be continually watching, waiting, praying, and working. But do all that we may, yet we can do nothing to pay a ransom for our souls. But while we see our helplessness, we are to be continually looking unto Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. We can do nothing to originate faith, for faith is the gift of God. Neither can we perfect it, for Christ is the Finisher of our faith. It is all of Christ.
2 All the longing after a better life is from Christ, and is an evidence that he is drawing you to himself and that you are responding to his drawing power. You are to be as clay in the hands of the potter, and if you submit yourself to Christ, he will fashion you into a vessel unto honor, fit for the Master’s use. The only thing that stands in the way of the soul who is not fashioned after the divine Pattern is that he does not become poor in spirit; for he who is poor in spirit will look to a higher Source than himself, that he may obtain the grace which will make him rich unto God. While he will feel that he cannot originate anything, he will say, “The Lord is my helper.”
3 The Lord has commanded us, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” But what does this mean? It means that you feel your necessity, that you are poor in spirit, that you rejoice with trembling. It means that you know that in the very words you utter you may make a mistake, that in the very best of your work self may be so mingled that your efforts may be valueless, that you realize that your efficiency is in Christ. Oh, let the cry of the soul continually be—
“Hangs my helpless soul on Thee.”
4 Look to Jesus when you come in and when you go out, and pray without ceasing. You should realize that temptation is on every side. Around you are those whose conversation is only chaff and nonsense. In the world pride and vanity are displayed, and you will be tempted to feel poverty concerning these things that the world admires, which can never satisfy the soul’s hunger. Oh, then pray, “Lord, make me a jewel for thy kingdom.”!
5 This is the meaning of working out your salvation with fear and trembling. If you do not work out your salvation in this spirit, your righteousness is of as much worth as was the Pharisee’s who went into the temple to pray, who exalted and extolled himself, and thanked the Lord that he was not as other men were. He was rich in spirit, or thought that he was; for he knew not that he was poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked. But at the same time a poor publican entered the temple, and he would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, and cried, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.” The Pharisee saw this man, and thanked God that he was not as this publican, and he went down to his house feeling satisfied with himself-feeling rich in spirit and lifted up in spiritual pride. But he who had so exalted himself in his own eyes was not exalted in the sight of God, for Jesus says that the publican went down to his house justified rather than the other.
6 “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The humility that Jesus speaks of in the text is not a humility on stilts, as was the Pharisee’s, parading itself before the eyes of men, that his righteousness might be seen and praised of men. Humility is before honor. The apostle exhorts the followers of Christ: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Fear lest you shall make a mistake, and bring dishonor upon the name of the Lord. Cry unto him, believing that he has power to save. This is the humility that we want. We need a physician and restorer for our souls, and when we come unto Christ petitioning for his grace, the Comforter will breathe his words into our souls, “My peace give I unto you.” “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We are to come as little children to God; and as we realize our poverty, we are not to tell it to men, but to God. Do not tell your weakness to those who can give you no strength. Tell it to God; for he will know just what to do for you. Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; . . . to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified.”
7 How thankful we should be that we have a heavenly Intercessor. We may be clothed in Christ’s righteousness, that the Father may bestow his favor upon us. Jesus presents us to the Father robed in his righteousness. He pleads before God in our behalf. He says” “I have taken the sinner’s place. Look not upon this wayward child, but look on me. Look not upon his filthy garments, but look on my righteousness.” When we are forgiven for our sins, when our filthy garments are taken away, then we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling; but we are not left to do the work alone, “for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” God works and man works, and as this co-operation is maintained, the richest blessings will come upon those who labor together with God. The Lord says, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
(To be continued.)
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1 “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” But although the Lord says the mourner shall be comforted, it is not that he shall exalt himself as did the Pharisee. He who has mourned for his sin knows that there is nothing in him whereby he has merited the returns that God has bestowed. He beholds in Jesus “the Chiefest among ten thousand” and “the One altogether lovely,” and he centers his affections upon Christ. If Jesus were the center of attraction to you, the One on whom your affections were placed, would you hide this love in your heart, and never let it out?—No; you would tell of his love, you would catch his spirit, and imitate his example.
2 “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” But the earth promised to the meek will be a better one than this. It will be purified from all sin and defilement, and will bear the image of the divine. Satan has placed his throne in the earth; but Jesus says where the usurper has set up his throne, there will I place my throne, and there shall be no more curse. The glory of the Lord is to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Jesus is working for us. He desires to give his children a home where there will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more death; but all will be joy and gladness. He says: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.”
3 The Lord desires to take every son and daughter of Adam, and purify them from their iniquity, and lift them up from their state of misery and degradation and wretchedness, and write upon them his divine superscription. But it is man’s sin and unbelief that oppose the work that God would do for humanity. Jesus died for the whole world, but in stubborn unbelief men refuse to be fashioned after the divine pattern. They will not yield themselves to Christ to be molded after the heavenly model. Oh, shall we not submit, and give up our own way, that the Lord may have a chance to do the work for us?
4 How tenacious are men of their own way. They try to excuse their sinful habits by saying, “Oh, this is my way.” But will your way be acceptable to God? Will you present your way at the gate of the city into which nothing that defileth shall enter, and expect to have an entrance there? The Lord will say: “I know your way, and it is a wicked way. You would not permit me to rule over you on earth, and you are not prepared for an entrance here. You refused to be led by my spirit, you rejected my counsel, and set at naught my grace, and heaven would not be heaven to you, for nothing that defileth can enter here. We emptied sin from heaven when we cast out the great deceiver, and we cannot have sin here again.” Then let us yield our wills to God, that he may mold and fashion us after the Divine Pattern.
5 How blessed will be the lot of those who enter into that glorious abode where there will be no more sin, no more suffering. What a prospect is this for imagination. What a theme for contemplation. The Bible is full of the richest treasures of truth, of glowing descriptions of that heavenly land. We should search the Scriptures, that we may better understand the plan of salvation, and learn of the righteousness of Christ, until we shall exclaim in viewing the matchless charms of our Redeemer, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” In the word of God we shall see the infinite compassion of Jesus. The imagination may reach out in contemplation of the wonders of redeeming love, and yet in its highest exercises we shall not be able to grasp the height and depth and length and breadth of the love of God, for it passeth knowledge. In Christ was the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In him every treasure of heaven was given, and he has it in trust for us. Oh, then why do we not trust him? why do we doubt his tender mercy and love? Do you think that he who died for you, cares not whether you are saved or not? Do you imagine that he cares not for the bereaved, the mourning ones, that he looks not with pity on the poor in spirit, who are under the bondage of Satan? The tender, compassionate Jesus, who died for the sins of the world, will not turn away from the cry of the needy. He asks: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”
6 Jesus invites the needy to come to him and find completeness in him who is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The Saviour of men designs to cleanse his children until no particle of selfishness shall remain. While we feel our poverty, we are to eat of the flesh and drink of the blood of the Son of God. We are to co-operate with Christ in working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. The heavenly intelligences are waiting to co-operate with the most helpless, the most sinful soul who feels his need. Those who are great sinners may find great grace.
7 Jesus said to Simon, “I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? And Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. . . . To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”
8 In view of our weakness, how does it become us to indulge in criticism of others? Do not fault-finding and picking flaws in the character of those with whom you associate make it evident that you are stricken with spiritual poverty? You are feeding on the faults of others, instead of growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are to be laborers together with him in bringing souls to the knowledge of the truth. But we must not expect that souls are to be converted simply by hearing a sermon. We are to bring them one by one to Christ, and all that have ever tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the world to come are to be missionaries for God. When you become engaged in the work of Christ, seeking to bring in those who are lost, you will not have time to look for the defects in the character of your brethren. You must now build yourselves up in the most holy faith, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. You are not to stand to one side as a spectator, looking on to see what this one or that one is doing; your business is to see that you are making straight paths for your feet, that the lame be not turned out of the way. When a follower of Christ turned to one of his brethren and asked, “Lord, what shall this man do?” Jesus answered, “What is that to thee? follow thou me.” The follower of Christ is not to look to any man. He is to look to a crucified and risen Saviour.
(Concluded next week.)
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Page 580
1 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” All through this sermon on the mount is a line of advancement for Christian experience. The angels of darkness are to stand back, that the soul purchased by the infinite sacrifice of Christ may attain unto perfection of character. The word is sounded: “Stand back, this soul is not yours, it has been purchased by the precious blood of Christ. Stand back, I and my Father are one, and we have come to draw this soul to righteousness.” If the soul is not drawn to Christ, it is because the will is not on the side of God’s will, but on the side of the enemy. If man will but cooperate with God, God will work in him to will and to do of his good pleasure, and man will work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. The reason you do not realize the help of the Lord to a far greater degree is that you are so self-centered, your will is not on the side of God’s will. The Lord would have you make it manifest in your manners, in your dress, in your spirit, that you are blessed. He would have you show that the line of demarkation between the world and the followers of Christ is a distinct line, so decided that the difference between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not is always discernible. If the people of the world do not see that you are different from those around them, they will not be influenced by your profession of religion; for you will not be a savor of Christ, and you will win no soul to the service of God.
2 Yet there will be no one saved in heaven with a starless crown. If you enter, there will be some soul in the courts of glory that has found an entrance there through your instrumentality. Then why not entreat the Lord to put upon you his Spirit, that you may be able to awaken an interest in the truth in the minds of those around you? Think of your neighbors and friends and relatives who are out of Christ. Think of those you have left in various foreign lands; how much do you care for their souls? You should be so filled with love for the lost that you cannot forbear working for the salvation of souls. What you need is Jesus. He says, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” If the rich blessing of Jesus is in your hearts, you will be able to refresh others.
3 How many have their names upon the church books who know not what it means to have Christ abide in their hearts by faith. There are many who make a profession of Christianity who will have to be born again or they cannot see the kingdom of heaven. They will have to become partakers of his love and grace before they can present to others the great salvation that has been provided for those who are dead in trespasses and sins. But the promise is given to those who feel their want, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” God has promised the fullness of salvation, and yet the world is full of those who are hungering and thirsting after the pleasures, the fashions, the applause of the world. Many are hungering and thirsting, that they may have their own way. But those who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness are directing their desires along the channel where the fullness of heaven shall be given. Why not determine that you will place your will on the side of God’s will, that you may become a laborer together with God. Jesus says, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me.” Then is there any excuse for our weakness, for our coldness, for our lethargy? There are many who seem to think that when they have acknowledged that they are full of weakness, they have put a plaster over their sins. But we are not to talk of our inefficiency, but to find in Christ a full salvation. He says, “Him that cometh unto me I will in nowise cast out.”
4 When our weakness becomes strength in the strength of Christ, we shall not be craving for amusement. These holidays that are considered so indispensable will not be used simply for the gratification of self, but will be turned into occasions in which you can bless and enlighten souls. When weary, Jesus sought for a place of rest in the desert, but the people had had a taste of the heavenly manna, and they came out to him in large companies. In all their human woe and suffering and distress, they sought his retreat, and there was no rest for the Son of God. His heart was moved with compassion, for they were as sheep without a shepherd, and his great heart of love was touched with the feeling of their infirmities, and he taught them concerning the kingdom of heaven.
5 Jesus has presented to us precious truth full of spiritual light and vitality. But has this truth been brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul? Does Christ abide in your hearts by faith? If Christ is in you, you will make him manifest to others. We must have more of Jesus, and less, far less, of self. The prayer of our hearts should be, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” Jesus must abide in the heart; and where he is, the carnal desires will be subdued and be kept in subjection by the operation of the Spirit of God. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
6 I feel like mourning that the image of Christ is not clearly discernible in those who profess to be his followers; for I know that Jesus is disappointed, that the heavenly intelligences are disappointed, and those who are seeking for the truth are disappointed. Unless Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, you cannot rightly represent him to those with whom you come in contact.
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Page 581
1 The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” There never was a time when there was greater need for the exercise of mercy than today. The poor are all around us, the distressed, the afflicted, the sorrowing, and those who are ready to perish. Those who have acquired riches have acquired them through the exercise of the talents that were given them of God; but these talents for the acquiring of property were given to them that they might relieve those who are in poverty. These gifts were bestowed upon men by Him who maketh His sun to shine and His rain to fall upon the just and the unjust, that by the fruitfulness of the earth men might have abundant supplies for all their need. The fields have been blessed of God, and “of his goodness he hath prepared for the poor.” In the providence of God events have been so ordered that the poor are always with us, in order that there may be a constant exercise in the human heart of the attributes of mercy and love. Man is to cultivate the tenderness and compassion of Christ; he is not to separate himself from the sorrowing, the afflicted, the needy, and the distressed. Job declares: “When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.”
2 How many there are who claim to be followers of Christ, yet who do not follow him in truth. They do not manifest the sympathy and love of Christ by being merciful and compassionate. They do not make the widow’s heart sing for joy; they treat the fatherless with coldness, indifference, or contempt. Said Job: “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor; and the cause which I knew not I searched out.” This was an evidence that Job had righteousness that was after Christ’s order. Through Jesus men may possess a spirit of tender pity toward the needy and distressed. They may have the mind of Christ. He was the Son of God, rich in heavenly treasures, yet for our sake he became poor, he descended to the lowest humiliation and was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, that he might exalt us to be joint heirs with himself. The whole world was in need of that which Christ alone could give them. He did not withdraw himself from those who called upon him for help. He did not do as many now do, say, “I wish they would not trouble me with their affairs, I want to hoard up my means, to invest it in houses and lands.” Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, turned from the splendor of his heavenly home, and in the gracious purpose of his heart he demonstrated the character of God to men throughout the world. The requirement of God from those who claim to be his children is that they be doers of his word, that they follow his example, represent the life of Christ in tender, pitying love to the world; that they reflect his image.
3 Jesus says, “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father which is in heaven is merciful.” To pursue the course that Jesus did, to follow in his divine footsteps, is not in harmony with the feelings of the natural heart; but if we are Christians, we shall practice the words and works of Christ, who gave himself in order to ransom an apostate race. The root of selfishness has a firm growth in many hearts, and worldliness and pride spring from this root; but selfishness is not a Christian characteristic; it is an attribute of the great apostate. No one can live for himself and at the same time be united with Christ. Conformity to the world, attachment to the world, manifests a decided denial of Christ.
4 The rich are not to be favored above the poor. How inconsistent is it to make favorites of men because the Lord has intrusted his goods to them to be wisely dispensed to those who are needy. Unless the rich manifest the spirit that moved Christ to come to our world to seek and to save that which was lost, they are none of his. They are training under another general. The important question is not, “Is a man rich?” But the important question is, “What use does he make of his riches?” The value and character of a man is determined by the use to which he puts his intrusted talents. Does he do good in this life? Does he seek to bless humanity, to build up the kingdom of Christ in the world? Shut away the rich from the poor in large and costly dwellings, make churches too splendid for the entrance of the poor, so that the rich man may not be brought in contact with the distressing needs of the fatherless and the widow, and the result will be that his sympathies will be withered, mercy will not be exercised, and the rich man will be in imminent danger of losing his soul.
5 Christ says, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God.” Unless the grace of Christ controls the heart, the tendency of the rich man is to grow more proud, more self-sufficient, more self-righteous. He acts as if he were made of better flesh and more costly blood than his poorer brother. But Christ looks on, and says, “All ye are brethren.” There is no respect of persons with God. The rich man has plenty, and makes no effort to put himself in the poor man’s place; but because he does not consider the poor, he becomes unfeeling, indifferent, and hard-hearted. He does not try to understand the conflicts, temptations, and struggles of his poor brethren, and mercy dries up in his heart.
6 The poor are robbed daily of the education and training they should have concerning the tender mercies with which the Lord would have them regarded; for he has made ample provision that they should be comforted with the necessities of life. They are compelled to feel the poverty that narrows life, and they are often tempted to become envious, jealous, and full of evil surmisings. Their sympathies are alienated from their more prosperous neighbors; but when men are born again, when they are truly converted, old things pass away, and behold, all things become new. A new moral taste is created, and he that was exalted because God had intrusted him with means will seek to aid and exalt others. His responsibilities will seem weighty upon him and will humble his heart before God; for he will realize that his goods are intrusted of the Lord, that he may relieve the needy, comfort the distressed, feed the fatherless, and make the widow’s heart sing for joy.
7 But instead of using their means for the Master, how many embezzle it, invest it for themselves, furnishing their homes with rich carpets, fine furniture, and multiplying lands and houses to glorify themselves in the earth, while the needy call upon them in vain. If they do anything for the poor, they call them paupers, and look upon them with contempt. They do not consider from whence comes their intrusted capital, and that they are all the time receiving unnumbered blessings from God. If he should withhold his beneficence, they would be numbered with the poor. We are all dependent upon the benevolence of a gracious God. The day will come when those who have cherished selfishness and covetousness, who have defrauded the poor, who have withdrawn mercy and love from them, will be made manifest.
(Concluded next week.)
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Page 582
1 God has placed property in the hands of men in order that they may learn to be merciful, to be his almoners to relieve the suffering of his fallen creatures. Further than this, they are to consider the wants of the cause of God, and keep his treasury supplied according to the gifts bestowed upon them. Satan has had power to make men haughty and like himself in character, so that the money given them of God has been used for the gratification of self, and the cry of the poor has reached unto God against them; for they have been unmerciful in their conduct toward the needy. Whatever we spend for that which is not necessary for health and godliness will be charged as robbery against God; because all that was spent for the gratification of self someone needed to obtain necessary food and clothing.
2 Those who have the Spirit of Christ will see all men through the eyes of divine compassion. No matter what may be the social position, no matter what his wealth or how high his education, if a man is in Christ, he will not be unkind, uncourteous, hard-hearted, and merciless. Since every soul is entirely dependent upon God for every blessing he enjoys, how patient, how merciful, we should be to every creature. God looked upon man in his lost condition, in his degradation and guilt, and paid the same price for the ransom of the poor and the outcast that he paid to ransom the rich with all his intrusted talents. There is no respect of persons with God. All are candidates for heaven or hell. All need to be taught every hour of God, to be diligent students, that in their time they may make a wise use of their intrusted ability, that they may be living agencies to cooperate with the heavenly intelligences for the saving of men’s souls, that with tender hearts, overflowing with mercy and true goodness, they may work as Christ worked. The apostle says, “Ye are laborers together with God.” You are to look after the poor, you are to look after the fatherless ones, who need your wisdom, your care, your love, and help. You are to look after the widow. You are to look after those who go in want, in hunger, in rags, who are depraved in principle; for Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. God cares for the outcast, and do you think yourself too good, too honorable, to bear the yoke with Christ, in seeking to save the perishing? Will you despise your fellow-men? Will you become an offense to God by slighting and despising his image in man? In distinct lines Christ has revealed the relation of man to his fellow-man. Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, has settled that question forever in the example he has set to the world. Ask yourself: Am I my brother’s keeper? And who is my neighbor?
3 There is in society an increasing tendency to separate the rich from the poor, to set them apart in distinct, definite classes; but this is not at all after God’s order, but after the policy of Satan. Heaven looks with pain and amazement upon the scenes that are daily enacted among those who are called Christians. Many cannot read the meaning of the great plan of redemption because Satan has cast his shadow upon their pathway. Many who could be as lights in the world, as the salt of the earth, who command great resources for doing good to their fellow-men, are not in union and sympathy with Christ, that they may be laborers together with God. They have felt that a high value was set upon them, that they were placed above their brethren, and even above their own flesh and blood. They have expended their Lord’s goods in lifting up their souls unto vanity, in cultivating pride, envy, self-exaltation. They have surrounded themselves with costly luxuries, and placed themselves in a position which it was impossible for their brethren to reach, and they have left the poor in their poverty to get along as they could without sympathy and love. God looks down from heaven, and hates all these pretensions. He calls for men who have intellect, men who have property, men who have moral worth, to change this order of things.
4 Let every leader of the people associate with the people; for they really need his help, so that sympathy shall not congeal in the human breast.
5 No church should become so lifted up that its members shall feel above the poor, and the poor feel that they cannot enter freely into the house of God. A church that is too rich for the poor to feel at home in is too aristocratic for Jesus to make one in its assembly. This narrow exclusiveness that shuts man away from his brother is an abomination in the sight of God. When men are converted, they will have an abiding sense of the fact that they have been bought with a price. Whatever may be the sum of our talents, whether one, two, or five, not a farthing of our money is to be squandered upon vanity, pride or selfishness. Every dollar of our accumulation is stamped with the image and superscription of God. As long as there are hungry ones in God’s world to be fed, naked ones to be clothed, souls perishing for the bread and water of salvation, every unnecessary indulgence, every overplus of capital, pleads for the poor and the naked. It is no light thing to be intrusted with riches, although men treat their position and property as though they were not accountable to any one, as though it was by their own virtue that they had these things. “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God.” Those who consecrate themselves to God, with their riches, becoming laborers together with him, are the only ones to whom the King of glory will give the benediction: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.”
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Page 583
1 Christ came into the world to represent the Father to man; for Satan had presented him before the world in a false light. Because God is a God of justice, of terrible majesty, who has power to destroy as well as to preserve man, Satan caused men to regard him with fear, to look upon him as a tyrant. Jesus had been with the Father from the everlasting ages, before the creation of man, and he came to reveal the Father, declaring “God is love.” Jesus represented God as a kind Father, who careth for the subjects of his kingdom. He declared that not a sparrow falls to the ground without the notice of the Father, and that the children of men are of more value in his sight than many sparrows, that the very hairs of their head are all numbered.
2 The Lord is represented in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament not only as a God of justice but as a Father of infinite love. The Psalmist says: “The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. . . . The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. . . . He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. . . . But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.”
3 Satan had clothed the Father in his own attributes, but Christ represented him in his true character of benevolence and love. In the character in which Christ presented him to the world it was as if he gave a new gift to man. Jesus said in his prayer to the Father: “O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” “Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.”
4 The Son of God declared in positive terms that the world was destitute of the knowledge of God; but this knowledge was of the highest value, and it was his own peculiar gift, the inestimable treasure which he brought into the world. In the exercise of his sovereign prerogative he imparted to his disciples the knowledge of the character of God, in order that they might communicate it to the world. The only nation who claimed to be worshiping the true God at the advent of Christ had not a proper conception of his character. They were sitting in Moses’ seat, but they did not present God as Moses presented him, but after the distorted representation of Satan. The character of God was falsified before the people. Truth was so overlaid with tradition, religion was so burdened with man-made tests and commandments, that the purity and luster of truth were completely hidden, and virtue was considered unattainable. The existing religion left man without God and without hope in the world. But the Sun of Righteousness shines forth into the midnight darkness of superstition and error, and rolls back the cloud, and presents himself as the one in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, as the exact representation of the Father. This is his message to the world: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
5 As a transgressor of the law man was condemned as hopelessly ruined; for he was the enemy of God, without strength to do any good thing; but Christ came to reveal to him the justice and love of God, to give repentance to Israel and remission of sins. When the sinner beholds Jesus lifted up upon the cross, suffering the guilt of the transgressor and the consequences of sin, he beholds God’s abhorrence of evil in this fearful manifestation, and sees his love for fallen man: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
6 The Lord could have cut off the sinner and utterly destroyed him; but the costlier plan was chosen. In his great love he provides hope for the hopeless in giving his only-begotten Son to bear the sins of the world. Since God has poured out all heaven in that one rich gift, he will withhold no needed aid from man. All the agencies of heaven are at the command of the believing soul, that he may be successful in the warfare against the powers of darkness. He who believes in Jesus Christ as fully able to save his soul, believes the gospel, and hath eternal life. This is the point to which every soul must come, and everyone who believes the message of God should lift up Jesus, point men to Christ, and say, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” This is the message that everyone will bear who believes in Jesus Christ as his Saviour. This is the message we are to bear to warn the impenitent, encouraging those who love and fear God, inducing souls to look to the cross of Calvary, to behold the Lamb of God. The soul imbued with the love of Christ is one with him; he communes with Christ, Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, and the Christian goes forth to represent the Father and the Son to the world.
Page 584
1 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This message is for the world, for “whosoever” means that any and all who comply with the condition may share the blessing. All who look unto Jesus, believing in him as their personal Saviour, shall “not perish, but have everlasting life.” Every provision has been made that we may have the everlasting reward. Christ is our sacrifice, our substitute, our surety, our divine intercessor; he is made unto us righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
2 The intercession of Christ in our behalf is that of presenting his divine merits in the offering of himself to the Father as our substitute and surety; for he ascended up on high to make an atonement for our transgressions. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
3 From these scriptures it is evident that it is not God’s will that you should be distrustful, and torture your soul with the fear that God will not accept you because you are sinful and unworthy. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” Present your case before him, pleading the merits of the blood shed for you upon Calvary’s cross. Satan will accuse you of being a great sinner, and you must admit this, but you can say: “I know I am a sinner, and that is the reason I need a Saviour. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. ‘The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ I have no merit or goodness whereby I may claim salvation, but I present before God the all-atoning blood of the spotless Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is my only plea. The name of Jesus gives me access to the Father. His ear, his heart, is open to my faintest pleading, and he supplies my deepest necessities.”
4 It is the righteousness of Christ that makes the penitent sinner acceptable to God and works his justification. However sinful has been his life, if he believes in Jesus as his personal Saviour, he stands before God in the spotless robes of Christ’s imputed righteousness.
5 The sinner so recently dead in trespasses and sins is quickened by faith in Christ. He sees by faith that Jesus is his Saviour, and alive forevermore, able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him. In the atonement made for him the believer sees such breadth, and length, and height, and depth of efficiency,—sees such completeness of salvation, purchased at such infinite cost, that his soul is filled with praise and thanksgiving. He sees as in a glass the glory of the Lord, and is changed into the same image as by the Spirit of the Lord. He sees the robe of Christ’s righteousness, woven in the loom of heaven, wrought by his obedience, and imputed to the repenting soul through faith in his name. When the sinner has a view of the matchless charms of Jesus, sin no longer looks attractive to him; for he beholds the Chiefest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely. He realizes by a personal experience the power of the gospel, whose vastness of design is equaled only by its preciousness of purpose.
6 We have a living Saviour. He is not in Joseph’s new tomb; he is risen from the dead, and has ascended on high as a substitute and surety for every believing soul. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The sinner is justified through the merits of Jesus, and this is God’s acknowledgment of the perfection of the ransom paid for man. That Christ was obedient even unto the death of the cross is a pledge of the repenting sinner’s acceptance with the Father. Then shall we permit ourselves to have a vacillating experience of doubting and believing, believing and doubting? Jesus is the pledge of our acceptance with God. We stand in favor before God, not because of any merit in ourselves, but because of our faith in “the Lord our righteousness.”
7 Jesus stands in the holy of holies, now to appear in the presence of God for us. There he ceases not to present his people moment by moment, complete in himself. But because we are thus represented before the Father, we are not to imagine that we are to presume upon his mercy, and become careless, indifferent, and self-indulgent. Christ is not the minister of sin. We are complete in him, accepted in the Beloved, only as we abide in him by faith.
8 Perfection through our own good works we can never attain. The soul who sees Jesus by faith, repudiates his own righteousness. He sees himself as incomplete, his repentance insufficient, his strongest faith but feebleness, his most costly sacrifice as meager, and he sinks in humility at the foot of the cross. But a voice speaks to him from the oracles of God’s word. In amazement he hears the message, “Ye are complete in him”. Now all is at rest in his soul. No longer must he strive to find some worthiness in himself, some meritorious deed by which to gain the favor of God.
9 Beholding the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, he finds the peace of Christ; for pardon is written against his name, and he accepts the word of God, “Ye are complete in him.” How hard is it for humanity, long accustomed to cherish doubt, to grasp this great truth! But what peace it brings to the soul, what vital life! In looking to ourselves for righteousness, by which to find acceptance with God, we look to the wrong place, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We are to look to Jesus; “for we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” You are to find your completeness by beholding the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
10 Standing before the broken law of God, the sinner cannot cleanse himself; but, believing in Christ, he is the object of his infinite love and clothed in his spotless righteousness. For those who believe in Christ, Jesus prayed: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth: . . .that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” “O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
11 Who can comprehend the nature of that righteousness which makes the believing sinner whole, presenting him to God without spot or wrinkle or any such thing? We have the pledged word of God that Christ is made unto us righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. God grant that we may rely upon his word with implicit trust, and enjoy his richest blessing. “For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.”
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1 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” At the beginning of the chapter from which this verse is taken, Jesus says: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” To the repenting sinner, God is ever ready to show his mercy and truth; he is ready to bestow upon him forgiveness and love; and he requires that those who have been blessed by his compassion, shall reveal the same mercy and love toward their fellowmen; for this is doing the works of Christ, this is keeping the commandments of God. Those who show true gratitude glorify God by loving him supremely and their neighbors as themselves. They manifest the fact that they have received not the spirit which is of the world, but the Spirit which is of God. By an experimental knowledge they know what are the good things freely given them of God; for they are illuminated by the Holy Spirit. They work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who worketh in them to will and to do of his good pleasure. Christ abides in the soul of the believer, a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.
2 When we look upon ourselves as the purchased possession of Christ, we shall more clearly realize our need of his constant presence in order that we may represent him by manifesting sympathy and love to all who are brought within the sphere of our influence. Our life is charged with solemn responsibilities, and it is only when we are fully consecrated to God, only when he cleanses us, and puts his own life and spirit upon us, that we can rightly represent him to others. Our accountability extends to our thoughts, words, and acts, as well as to our larger transactions among our fellow-men.
3 In order to fulfill the law, we are to carry out the golden rule, and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Our influence must be sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God, if it is to be a blessing to humanity. We are not to be anxious as to what we will do for weeks or months or years ahead; for the future does not belong to us. One day alone is ours, and during this day we are to live for God, beautify our characters by faith in the righteousness of Christ. This one day we are to place in the hands of Christ in solemn service, in all our purposes and plans to be guided by him. This one day we are to do unto others exactly as we wish them to do unto us. We are to be ready to speak kind words from hearts full of sympathy and love. We are to manifest patience, revealing to the world what it means to be a practical doer of the words of Christ, ever remembering that our life is bound up with the life of Him who died for us. Christ and the child of humanity become one, so that the Spirit and character of Christ are represented in his followers day by day and hour by hour. By faith Christ becomes unto the believer righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
4 Jesus says, “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” It is not enough to talk about the strait gate, to point to the strait gate, to preach sermons about the strait gate; the only safe thing for every soul to do is to enter in at the strait gate. The only safe thing for the sinner to do is to respond to the drawing of Christ’s love, to repent, and come to Jesus, asking him with a penitent heart for the gift of his righteousness, whereby he may obtain wisdom and grace to abandon sin. It is not safe to wait for a flight of feeling, to wait to make yourselves better before entering the strait gate; the only safe thing to do is to obey the invitation, “Come, for all things are now ready.”
5 Excitement will not avail to save any soul. To have faith in Christ, to become a child of God, it is not necessary to be stirred with powerful emotion. You are to come to Jesus just as you are, for you know it is the only right thing to do. You know that it is at the peril of your souls that you refuse to enter the strait gate. You manifest saving faith when you respond to the drawing of Christ, and join yourself with him. The Saviour says to the sinner: “Come; I am thy salvation. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” Will you forsake all for Christ? Will you learn of Jesus, who is meek and lowly of heart? Will you enter in at the strait gate? If you cling to any besetting sin, you will find the way too narrow for you to enter. Your own ways, your own will, your evil habits and practices, must be given up if you would keep the way of the Lord. He who will follow Christ cannot follow the world’s opinions or meet the world’s standard.
6 The road to death is broad, and the gate is wide. The whole fallen race may go in thereat, with all their worldliness, all their selfishness, all their pride, dishonesty, and moral debasement. The gate is so wide, the road is so broad, that there is room for every man’s opinions and doctrines, space for everyone to follow his inclinations, to do whatever his self-love would dictate. The covetous, the spendthrift, the infidel, the profligate, the gambler, the murderer, the hypocrite, and the self-deceived, all find paths suited to their taste, in which to walk. Divided in their opinions, they yet find one point for purpose and action; for they all agree in opposing the counsel of God.
7 There are many in the broad way who are not fully satisfied with the path in which they walk. They long to break from the slavery of sin, and seek to make a stand against their sinful practices in their own strength. They hear the warning call to repentance. They hear that the only hope of the sinner is found in Christ. They look toward the narrow way and strait gate; but selfish pleasure, love of the world, unsanctified ambition and pride, place a barrier between them and the Saviour. They realize that all their idols must be expelled from the soul, that every sinful indulgence must be given up, all worldly encumbrances must be laid aside, in order to enter the strait gate. Jesus says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
(To be continued.)
Page 586
1 In order to walk in the narrow way the believing one must follow the leader, turning not to the right hand or to the left. On every hand waits the enemy to present before the soul the attractions of the world. Jesus presents the attractions of the eternal world; but many who see that they cannot enter heaven and indulge themselves in this world, turn away from the eternal realities and choose the broad way that leads to destruction. The Lord saw the danger incurred by his followers in mingling with the world, and he entreats them to examine themselves, and see that they make no mistake as to which road they will travel. The line of demarkation between the church and the world has become sadly obliterated because many professors of religion have thought they could please themselves, and meet the world’s standard, and at the same time have their names upon the church book. Even in the pulpits of the land there are many false shepherds who cry to those who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, “Peace and safety,” when there is no peace or safety. Jesus gives a positive warning against these false shepherds. He says: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
2 In every age false prophets have been the most dangerous enemies Christianity has had. Men have appeared who claimed to be champions of truth, professing to have a great burden for the souls of their fellow-men. But they taught false doctrines, and perverted the truth. The spirit they manifested, the work they wrought, testified to the character of their religion. Such men have arisen and do arise, and will continue to arise, in our own day. They will criticise, judge others, will be always ready for controversy, and will resist the truth. They will put false interpretations upon the Scriptures. They will misstate the words of those who advocate truth, and some who listen to them, who do not have spiritual discernment, will be misled by these false teachers, and be found fighting under the black banner of the adversary of God and man.
3 There are many who profess to know Christ, “but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear; clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.” There are many who can make excellent speeches, speak smooth things, and prophesy deceit; but they are not to be received simply because of their smooth words and fair speeches. It is an easy matter to talk. The question is, What fruit do they bear unto holiness? It is the fruit that testifies to the character of the tree. To say and to do not is to be as a tree full of pretentious leaves, yet barren and fruitless. The punishment that awaits the hypocrite will be unmingled with mercy. Those who profess to know Christ, and in works have denied him, have passed themselves off as gold, but in the sight of God they have been as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. In professing faith in the gospel, the hypocrite may gain the confidence of men, but nothing short of doing the sayings of Christ will give him an entrance into the strait gate, into the way cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in,—the only way that leads from earth to heaven.
4 Those who profess to have light from the Lord, who win the confidence of men, and lead souls to ruin, will bring swift destruction upon themselves. They are represented as that class who “destroy the way of my paths, saith the Lord.” Wearing the insignia of Christ, they serve the Lord’s worst enemy, and heed not the injunction, “Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Christ plainly states that this class of teachers are as wolves in sheep’s clothing. They talk of grace, they preach of grace, apparently they pray for grace; but they have not the grace of Christ in their hearts. In the pulpit such ministers may appear to be excellent; but they destroy the force of their words when out of the pulpit by such a course of iniquity that they prove themselves to be ministers of sin, wolves in sheep’s clothing.
5 Christ came to teach us how to live. He has invited us to come to him, to learn of him to be meek and lowly of heart that we may find rest unto our souls. Because Jesus has lived our example, we have no excuse for not imitating his life and works. Those who profess his name and do not practice his precepts are weighed in the balances of heaven and found wanting. But those who reflect the image of Christ will have a place in the mansions which he has gone to prepare.
6 Jesus will reward every man according to his works. He says, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Jesus calls upon me to judge him by his actions. He said, “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.” He does not ask men to take him for their Saviour if they can find anything in his life and character contrary to his claims. Men are to be known in the same way; for a profession of Christianity does not make a man a Christian. If his words, his deportment, his business transactions, are not of a Christlike order, he denies his profession. As Christ was in the world, so his followers are to be. The world notices every inconsistency in him who professes to be a Christian. The sun may shine day after day in pure splendor, and call forth no remark; but let an eclipse take place, and everyone’s attention is attracted to the darkened orb of the day. So it is with a Christian; for he is a spectacle unto the world, to angels, and to men. Satan is constantly on the alert to cause the Christian to stumble, that he may point the world to the inconsistency of the follower of Christ. Men may not have observed you in your consistency, but in your waywardness, in your unchristlikeness of character, how the world subjects you to criticism. How Satan delights to taunt the ministering angels, unseen by human eyes, by presenting the inconsistent Christian in all his deformity before them, by pointing to the garments spotted with the flesh, for to Satan this is an occasion of triumph. Then let us walk carefully and prayerfully before the Lord, knowing that the world will judge us by our fruits.
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1 “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” This was the promise that Jesus made to his disciples just prior to his ascension, and he bade them tarry in Jerusalem until they should be endowed with power from on high. Jesus had said: “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. . . . I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
2 The disciples were unable to comprehend the meaning of the words of Christ, and needed the heavenly enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. This is the condition of the followers of Christ in these days just before his coming in the clouds of heaven. The things of earth have the supreme place in the heart, while the things of heaven are held in subordination. The people of God need the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, that the instruction of Christ may be brought to their remembrance. They need to have their understanding enlightened, that they may understand the Scriptures.
3 After the crucifixion of our Lord, two of his disciples were traveling towards Emmaus, and as they walked together, they noticed a man toiling along the road with them; but they had no thought that it was their risen Lord. Jesus drew near, and joined himself to them, and asked, “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?” And they answered: “Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and has not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel; and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the women had said; but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken; ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went; and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and break, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures? . . . Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.”
4 What was it that made their hearts burn within them as they talked by the way?—It was the illumination of the Holy Spirit. When we take hold of the Scriptures as truth, the word will kindle within us the love of God, and our hearts will burn within us. Have we not experienced this when we have studied the word of God? Have we not found out that faith in the word of God brought gladness to the heart? We need to be touched with the enthusiasm that is kindled by love of God in the heart. Why is it that we do not manifest more of this enthusiasm in the service of God?—It is because those who profess to love God do not serve him with undivided heart.
5 Christ has said, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” No man can serve two masters. No matter how long you have been a Christian, if you do not seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, you do not know Christ or the power of God. If you do not make the service of God your first business, you commit robbery toward God. The question you should ask your soul is: “What right have I to rob God of intelligent service? What right have I to take God’s gifts of strength and intellect and devote them simply to advancement of self?” You may have a position of trust and responsibility, and be crowded with work and care, but should you permit yourself to be so burdened that you cannot take time to understand what is your relation to God? Jesus says, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Then of what benefit are you to your fellow-men unless you have a connection with Christ? When you become absorbed in the temporal things of life, eternal things are dropped out of your reckoning, and because of your interest in the fleeting things of earth, you rob God of your ability to serve him in sending the gospel to all the world. “Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up.”
6 The disciples asked: “Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” In order to go in the path of destruction, there is no necessity for searching for the way; the gate is wide, and the way is broad, and the feet naturally turn in the path that leads to death. Those who go in this way are intoxicated with the spirit of the world, and how sad it is to see those that profess to be children of God walking in the road that leads to perdition.
7 The line of demarkation between the church and the world has been well nigh obliterated; and unless there is reformation, unless the eyes of those who have been blinded by the enemy are opened, they will be lost. Jesus has given us a warning for this time. He says: “Take ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”
8 We need to watch that the enemy may not steal a march upon us and allure us away from allegiance to Christ by attracting us to the things of the world, that the things of eternal interest shall be looked upon as of minor importance, so that we shall make an atom of a world and a world of an atom.
9 The enemy leads those who do not yield entirely to God to exalt self, to seek for supremacy and power. When the eye is not single to the glory of God, eternity is dropped out of your reckoning. Oh, we need to pray for the vitalizing influence of the Spirit of God. Unless the professed people of God yield themselves to the influence of God’s Holy Spirit, they will be overcome by the temptation of Satan; they will have a name to live and be dead, be a curse to the world; for while professing to be the children of God, they will lead men in the path to death. Their record in the books of heaven will be hard to meet. Souls are to be saved. The messengers of God are to fulfill the words of the prophet: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”
10 What we need is a conscience quickened by the Spirit of God; for with many, conscience has been stupefied by indulgence in sin and unbelief. We must know what religion is, and realize that we must have a living connection with the God of heaven; for “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
11 Why do we devote so little time to prayer? Would you not be surprised if you should know God when you do not seek his face? The message to you is, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” You have often been taught of the love of God, and you know that it was a whole Saviour who died on Calvary’s cross; but the fact that so great a sacrifice was made in our behalf will condemn our poverty and lukewarmness before God. What excuse can you offer to God that you have had a murmuring spirit, that you have represented your Saviour to the world as a hard master, that you have been exacting and severe with others, domineering over those who were under your control? What excuse can you give to God for manifesting cruelty to dumb creatures that were provided for your use? The spirit of unkindness, of pomposity, of complaining, is not the manner of spirit that will find an entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
12 Religion is a personal matter. We are not to be saved as churches, but as individuals who have appropriated the merits of Christ. The question each one should ask is: “Is it well with my soul? Has the transforming grace of Christ renewed my heart? Have I a kind, tender, compassionate spirit? Am I like Him who, though he was rich, yet for my sake became poor, that I through His poverty might be made rich? What sacrifice have I made for Him who died for me?”
(To be continued.)
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1 “For he shall grow up before him,” says the prophet Isaiah, “as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
2 Jesus did not come to the earth in the glory that belonged to him in the courts of heaven. He covered himself with the habiliments of humanity, that he might reveal unto many the mercy and compassion of the Father by coming into the closest relationship with the sons of men. Clothing his divinity with humanity, he took step after step in the path of humiliation, that he might save unto the uttermost all who would come unto God by him.
3 If he had come in the glory of an angel, men could not have endured his brightness; but he came taking upon him the form of a man, in all things made like unto his brethren, tempted in all points like as we are, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.
4 In view of what Jesus has borne for us, have we any cause for pride? Have you great talents? Who gave them? It was Christ; he gave them that you might employ them in his service. We need the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, that we may realize what is our obligation, and have power from on high to carry out our purposes to serve God and him only. But how little is said concerning the Holy Spirit, although it is a divine influence whereby we are to reach the souls of men. We should study upon this subject. We should talk of it in our families, in our meetings, and pray that we may be baptized with the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will not come upon the man whose mind is a highway for sensuality. We cannot afford to make a mock at sin. We cannot afford to say to the sinner, It shall be well with thee. We can only point the transgressor to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
5 When the heart is emptied of self, it will be ready for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and then you will be fitted to strengthen the sheep and lambs of the flock of Christ; for self will be hid with Christ in God. The Spirit of Christ will be manifested in your daily life. The apostle says, “Be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” You are to be found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Your whole body, soul, and spirit are to be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord. What we need is the deep movings of the Spirit of God; for the standard of Christian life is expressed in these words: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
6 In order to fulfill this divine requirement, we need to look upon Him whom our sins have pierced, and become changed into His image. We need the endowment of the Holy Spirit.
7 Those who profess to be waiting for the coming of Christ, are represented in the parable by the five wise and the five foolish virgins. The wise virgins had oil in their vessels with their lamps; they had their lamps trimmed and burning, and were ready to go out and meet the bridegroom. But the foolish virgins had no oil in their vessels; and when the solemn cry was sounded, they were found unprepared, and could not go forth to meet the bridegroom. Many profess to be wise; but have they the Holy Spirit? As a people, we profess to know the truth, but of what avail will this be if we do not carry out its principles in our life? How many say, “Oh, yes, the coming of Christ is at the door. The end is so near that there is no time to carry the message to those who sit in darkness. There is no need of spending money on foreign work; for the end will come before it will be accomplished.” Is this the way that you carry out the injunction of your coming Lord, to preach the gospel in all the world for a witness to all nations? It is your business to be ready for the coming of the Lord, and you cannot be ready while failing to carry out his commands. There are some who seem to feel no responsibility concerning paying their tithes into the treasury of the Lord. They withhold from Him who has given them everything else, the small portion He has named as His own. They say they cannot see that it is their duty to pay tithe; but there is no reason why they should not see it, except that self is before their eyes.
8 May God help you that you may repent, and pay your honest debts to God, saying, “Of thine own have we given thee.” God has given us everything, providing for us the rain, the sunshine, the dew, and all the bounties of nature, and can we be hard-hearted, ungrateful, and selfish? Would you not think that you would naturally be glad to give back to God his own? If anyone is robbing God, he may see by studying the Bible that he should repent and make restitution; for his case has been presented in the word of God. He should fear to continue in blindness of mind, lest for his selfishness he should lose eternal life, which Christ died to obtain for him.
9 The Lord says concerning those who withhold their tithes, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?” And the answer is: “In tithes and offerings. . . . Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.”
10 Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” God asks for his portion; he knocks at the door of the heart. We are to divest ourselves of everything that separates our souls from him. When this is done, we shall see of the salvation of God.
11 The soul is of more value than the whole world. Jesus has said: “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” There are souls to be saved. The gospel is to be preached in all the world for a witness, and may God help us to fulfill all our God-given responsibility. If we had a realizing sense of the worth of souls, would we be found expending money and time in the needless decoration of our persons or our homes? Would we be satisfied in serving self alone? We should open our Bibles to those around us. The work of warning the world does not all devolve upon the minister. Every Christian has a work to do, and let everyone resolve to be clear from the blood of souls. If you were consecrated to the Master, your prayers, like sharp sickles, would follow the laborers in the harvest field, and you would be workers together with God. Rise above the world and fix your eyes upon Him who is chiefest among ten thousand, the one altogether lovely.
12 All heaven has been poured out in the one rich gift of Christ. When God gave his Son, he gave the choicest gift of heaven. The treasures of heaven are at your command. We are not to go in our own strength, but in the strength of the Lord, for he has said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” There is no limit to the power that may be vouchsafed to the worker for God. Jesus says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Do you believe that promise? Our minds have been so engrossed with earthly things that we have lost sight of heavenly things, and may God help us to arouse before it is eternally too late.
13 In seeking to reform our lives, let us not look at the defects of our brethren; we are to copy the Pattern. When Peter was charged with a certain duty by the Master, he pointed to John, and asked, “Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” You are to keep your eye single to the glory of God. A saint on earth is to be just what a saint in heaven is. A man in the church will be the same sort of a Christian there as he is in his family. If he is a Christian in his home, he will be a Christian in heaven. How is it with you? Do you stand the test? The Lord will bring circumstances to bear upon you that will lead you to make manifest your true character. You will be tested upon one point, and then upon another, until it is made manifest whether or not you have the spirit of a true Christian.
14 If those who handle the word of God will come to God as little children, they will see of his salvation, and Jesus will walk among them to make them vessels unto honor. Those who follow in the light need have no anxiety lest that in the outpouring of the latter rain they will not be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If we would receive the light of the glorious angel that shall lighten the earth with his glory, let us see to it that our hearts are cleansed, emptied of self, and turned toward heaven, that they may be ready for the latter rain. Let us be obtaining a fitting up to join in the proclamation of the angel who shall lighten the earth with his glory. Let us be colaborers with Christ. Now is the time for us to let self die, to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts, to deny the cravings of appetite and passion. The minds of many are channels for impure thoughts. They do not have a realizing sense of the offensive character of sin. I call upon you to clear the King’s highway. Weighty responsibilities are resting upon you; for you are to represent the character of your Lord to the world. Faith without works is dead. There must be corresponding works, or the faith is worthless, a mere pretension, an empty profession. You are to manifest your faith by a life of integrity, making it evident that Christ is abiding in the heart, and that you are able to show forth what is the hope of his calling.
15 Then ask yourself: “Am I a Christian? Am I looking unto the Author and Finisher of my faith? Is my hope of eternal life centered in him? Have I fallen upon the rock and been broken?” God help us that we may surrender all to him, seek him as never before, that he may be found of us, and that we may love him with all the heart.
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16 You may well be alarmed for your soul if you allow cares to supplant the truth of God in your heart. If your associates are worldlings who flatter you, telling you how smart you are, and what great things you can do, and you love this unhallowed nonsense, you may well feel that you are in peril; for your moral taste is perverted, your perceptions are blunted.—Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 In repenting of our sins, we need not go into a cell, as did Luther, and scourge ourselves as a punishment for our iniquity, thinking by so doing to gain the favor of God. The question is asked by the prophet, “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” The Scripture says, “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” “But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and savest such as be of a contrite spirit.” “Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it; thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
2 You are to die to self, to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. You need not devise ways and methods of bringing about your own crucifixion; self-inflicted penances are of no avail, and will be found worthless when the test comes upon you. We are to surrender the heart to God, that he may renew and sanctify us, and fit us for his heavenly courts. We are not to wait for some special time, but today we are to give ourselves to him, refusing to be the servants of sin. Do you imagine that you can leave off sin by your own human power a little at a time? You cannot do this; Jesus was treated as a sinner when he assumed the likeness of sinful flesh, that the sinner might be treated as righteous. The Father loves us who believe in Christ as he loves his only-begotten Son. Thus by faith we can grasp the righteousness of Christ, and our Saviour saves us from all sin. The converted soul will hate the thing that Christ hates, and love the thing that Christ loves. Has he not by his death and suffering made provision for your cleansing from sin? You must take the blood of Jesus and apply it to your heart by faith; for that alone can make you whiter than snow. But you say, “The surrender of all my idols will break my heart.” This is what is needed. In giving up all for God, you fall upon the rock and are broken. Give up all for him without delay, for unless you are broken, you are worthless.
3 Why wait any longer? Why not take God at his word and say, “I give myself to thee; it is all that I can do.” If Satan comes to cast his shadow between you and God, accusing you of sin, tempting you to distrust God and to doubt his mercy, say, “I cannot allow my weakness to come between me and God; for he is my strength. My sins, which are many, are laid upon Jesus, my divine sacrifice.” Satan desires to keep you in the lowlands of sin, but will you not decide that you will go free? Will you not say:—
“Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling”?
4 Jesus wants all there is of you. He has paid an infinite price for your soul; all that you have and are belongs to him. May God help you to look and live. Christ is coming in a little while. He has been our brother in suffering, and what joy it brings to hope that we shall soon see him as he is! We shall suffer here but a few days longer, and then enter into an eternity of happiness; for there is rest in the kingdom of God. For those who fight the good fight of faith, there is reserved the glory of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Let the determination of every soul be, “I must run the race with patience; I must overcome.” If we do not overcome, we lose the crown; and if we lose the crown, we lose everything; there is eternal loss for us. But if we attain to the hope of our calling, we gain the crown, we gain all things; we become heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.
5 What greater reward could we desire than that presented in the word of God? The invitation is extended to all, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” We are to live by the day for God, and not take upon us the burdens of tomorrow. We are to fight the good fight of faith today; and when tomorrow comes, strength for its duties will be given. The question today should be: “Am I the Lord’s? Have I the witness of the Spirit today? Does my name come into the lips of the divine Intercessor today? Am I a coworker with heavenly intelligences today? Am I laboring together with God today? Am I a watchman upon the walls of Zion today, sounding a note of alarm to the people, saying, The morning cometh, and also the night?”
6 When the watchman sounds the alarm, do the people have no part in the work of warning the world? Do they hear the watchman’s voice only to go on indifferently, and act as though they heard nothing? No; they are to catch the message of warning and hope, and sound it again, following the injunction of Scripture, “Let him that heareth say, Come.” The people are to be ready to hear the word, and then they are to call to others to catch the divine message from the throne of glory, and send it on to those who sit in darkness. If this were the attitude of the church, do you think that there would be division and discord, evil surmising, evil speaking, and criticising among the professed followers of Christ? May God help us that we may all become converted, and be alive to the importance of the times in which we live. The lower lights must be kept burning.
7 You say that you want heaven. How much do you want it? What is your faith worth? You will act out all the faith you have. What will be the verdict of the judgment if you go to your farm, to your family, to your earthly affairs, and care not for the message of heaven? There is a world to be warned, and while you sleep, Satan is sowing tares. All heaven is interested in the work that engages the attention of Christ and his angels in the heavenly court, and will you be indifferent who have been purchased at infinite cost? What we need is elevation of character, nobility of soul. Thank God it is not too late for wrongs to be righted. We may still find pardon; we may still find a hiding-place in the Rock of Ages, that has been cleft for us. We may still accept the light, and grow up into Christ, our living head. Jesus says to the trembling, repenting soul, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Will you let him reason with you? Will you commit to him the keeping of your soul as unto a faithful Creator? Come, then, and let us live in the light of his countenance, and pray, as did David: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. . . . Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. . . . O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.”
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Page 590
1 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” We need have no fear that we shall run into extremes on the right hand or on the left in seeking the Lord. We are to go forward, inquiring at every step, Is this the way in which the Lord would have me go? We are to consecrate ourselves to him, in order that we may render him acceptable service. Whatever may be our calling in life, we may do our duty with an eye single to the glory of God. We are called to do our daily tasks with exactness and fidelity, realizing that Jesus has his eyes upon us, and that we are doing our work for his sake. Whether pleasing or unpleasing, we are to do the duty that lies directly in our pathway. If the Lord would have us bear a message to Nineveh, it will not be as pleasing to him to have us go to Joppa or to Capernaum. The Lord has reasons for sending us to the place in which our feet are directed. There may be souls pleading with God for light in the very place to which the Lord calls you, and God would have you make plain unto them the way of salvation.
2 When we are called to work for those we love, however hard may be the work, however unpleasant, we can still do it with ease and grace. When the heart is full of love for Jesus and those for whom he died, all our service will become easy; for his sake the burden will be light. We are surrounded with responsibilities, and we feel that it is necessary to exert our influence wholly on the Lord’s side. When we realize what is involved in our service to Christ, we are driven to the throne of grace to ask the Lord for the very things we need. He whose eyes are anointed with spiritual discernment feels that it means something to be a worker together with God. He will realize that it is perilous to trust in self; for self-confidence is vain. It is only when we accept solemn responsibility, relying upon God and distrusting self, that we can become efficient workers in his cause. To be clothed with humility does not mean that we are to be dwarfs in intellect, deficient in our aspirations, and cowardly in our lives, shunning all burdens for fear we shall not carry them successfully. In the strength of Christ we are to take up our responsibilities, bearing them for his sake, and ever going to him for rest.
3 Jesus says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We are to come to the Lord with all our burdens, seeking wisdom from above to guide us at every step.
4 We need not walk stumblingly, or in uncertainty. If we ask guidance of the Lord, the promise is, “Ye shall receive.” The promise is yea and amen in Christ Jesus. “Seek and ye shall find.” This is what we need to do every hour of our life; for if we seek the right way in sincerity, we shall find it. We must feel the need of help from the Lord, and seek for it in humble prayer. There is need of dependence upon God; for Christ has said, “Without me ye can do nothing.”
5 However active you may be, if Jesus is not in all you do, your work will savor of self; dishonor his holy name, work injury to others, and be accounted as worse than nothing. A service that springs from self cannot be sanctioned with the presence of Christ, and will bring no reward to the toiler, but give his name a place upon the losing side. It is vain to ask the Lord to assist you to do a work that will have an injurious influence upon others, and bring disgrace upon his cause.
6 How many are seeking to gain heaven in their own way. They go to the Lord with hypocritical prayers, and do as did the Pharisee, present their merits before the God of heaven, and make themselves an offense before God. It is not to such knocking that the door will be opened. To the earnest, humble seeker, the promises of God are full of hope and assurance. The asking, the seeking, the knocking, are the things to which we are to give our first attention. The world, our temporal and personal affairs, are not to be placed first, and our spiritual interest to be considered second. The Lord says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Through the name of Jesus, the divine advocate, you are to come as a repentant sinner to a merciful, forgiving Father, believing that he will do just as he has promised to. Let those who desire the blessing of God knock, and wait at the throne of mercy with firm assurance, saying, “For thou, O Lord, hast said that everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” To leave no chance for unbelief or misunderstanding or misinterpretation of his word, the Lord repeats his promise; he makes assurance doubly sure. He longs to have those who would seek after God believe in him who is able to do all things. Jesus looked upon those that were assembled to listen to his words, and earnestly desired that that large mixed multitude might understand their privileges and appreciate the mercy, the beneficence, and loving-kindness of God. He sought to make the matter clear to their darkened understanding by the use of the most familiar and commonplace occurrence. He says, “What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Christ makes an appeal to them on the ground of their natural parental love. The father would not turn from his son who is hungry asking for bread; and should anyone dishonor God by imagining that he would not respond to the appeals of his children? Would they think him capable of trifling with his child, of tantalizing him by raising his expectations only to disappoint them? Would he promise to give him good and nourishing food, and then give him a stone? If ye, then, being human and evil, give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? The Lord assures those that ask him that he will give them the Holy Spirit.
(To be continued.)
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Page 591
1 If Christians give the impression by a mournful attitude that they have been disappointed in the Lord, they misrepresent their Heavenly Father, and put arguments into the mouth of his enemies. How false is such an impression when the gifts of God are freely bestowed upon those who seek, who ask, who knock! The Lord specifies no conditions except that you hunger for his mercy, desire his counsel, and long for his love. “Ask.” The asking makes it manifest that you realize your necessity; and if you ask in faith, you will receive. The Lord has pledged his word, and it cannot fail. That you feel and know that you are a sinner is a most efficient argument to present to God in asking for his mercy and compassion. The conditions upon which you may come to God are not that you shall be holy, but that you shall ask God to cleanse you from all sin, and purify you from all iniquity.
2 The words of Jesus in connection with the promise of receiving upon presenting your petition to God have an application to every soul. He says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Or, as Luke says, “How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” In the teachings of these verses there is not a place in which to put a peg to hang a doubt upon. In the relation chosen to represent the love of God, the beseeching soul is brought close to the heart of Jesus. The Holy Spirit imparts love, joy, peace, strength, and consolation; it is as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. The blessing is free to all: “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat,; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” With overflowing heart you may say:—
“In my hand no price I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling.”
3 Then come, and seek, and find. The reservoir of power is open, is full and free. Come with humble hearts, not thinking that you must do some good thing to merit the favor of God, or that you must make yourself better before you can come to Christ. You can never do anything to better your condition. In the name of Jesus, come with full assurance of faith, because you are a sinner; for Christ said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. You are to ask, to seek, to knock, and to believe that you are accepted through Christ Jesus, trusting him alone to do those things for you which you can never do for yourself.
4 No man can look within himself and find anything in his character that will recommend him to God, or make his acceptance sure. It is only through Jesus, whom the Father gave for the life of the world, that the sinner may find access to God. Jesus alone is our Redeemer, our Advocate, and Mediator; in him is our only hope for pardon, peace, and righteousness. You must trust him, saying:
“Just as I am, without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
5 Jesus is our atoning sacrifice; we can make no atonement for ourselves, but by faith we can accept the atonement that has been made. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” It is by virtue of this precious blood that the sin-stricken soul can be restored to soundness. While you are putting up your petition to God, the Holy Spirit applies the faithful promises of God to your heart. In moments of perplexity, when Satan suggests doubt and discouragement, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up as a standard against him the faithful sayings of Christ, and the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness will flash into your mind and soul. When Satan would overwhelm you with despair, the Holy Spirit will point you to the intercession made for you by a living Saviour. Christ is the fragrance, the holy incense, which makes your petitions acceptable to the Father. When the light of Christ’s righteousness is fully understood and accepted, love, joy, peace, and inexpressible gratitude will pervade the soul, and the language of him who is blessed will be, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.”
6 Importunate Prayer.
In coming to God the prayer of importunity should be offered, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” You are invited to spread out all your perplexities before the Lord; but do not gratify the enemy by pouring them into the minds of others, lest they stumble over them to their ruin. Jesus knows how to cure all the maladies of the soul. When we beseech the Lord to pity us in our weakness and distress, to guide us by his Holy Spirit, that we may understand his word, he will no more turn away from the prayer of the humble suppliant than the parent will turn away from the hungry child who comes to him for bread. When you turn away from the broken cistern that can hold no water, and in the name of Jesus, your Advocate, come directly to God, asking for the things you need, difficulties will disappear, the righteousness of Christ will be revealed as your righteousness, the virtue of Christ as your virtue. You will then understand that justification can come alone through faith in Christ; for in Jesus is revealed the perfection of the character of God; in his life is the revelation of the genuine principle of true holiness. Through the atoning blood of Christ, the sinner is set free from bondage and condemnation; through the perfection of the sinless Substitute and Surety, he may run in the race of humble obedience to all of God’s commandments. Without Christ he is under the condemnation of the law, always a sinner, but through faith in Christ he is made just before God, and loving God, he keeps his commandments, and realizes through an experimental knowledge that the Father loves him, and takes up his abode with him.
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Page 592
1 “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” It is those that have done good who will come forth to the resurrection of life. The question of most importance to us is, How can we do good? The greatest good that we can do is to help one another to become earnest followers of Christ, and in the day of God we shall be able to render no excuse for not doing good to those around us. We are to love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves, and the Lord Jesus Christ has provided means by which we may fulfill the conditions upon which we may obtain eternal life. We cannot do evil, and work wickedness, and yet stand justified before God at last. Now is our day of probation, and we are now to perfect characters that will stand the test of the judgment. When Christ comes, there is to be no change of character; this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption; and those who are alive and remain upon the earth will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, if their characters are blameless and pure. Transformation of character must take place during the precious hours of probation.
2 There are many who in their hearts murmur against God. They say, “We inherit the fallen nature of Adam, and are not responsible for our natural imperfections.” They find fault with God’s requirements, and complain that he demands what they have no power to give. Satan made the same complaint in heaven, but such thoughts dishonor God. And the Lord knoweth our thoughts afar off. He speaks to his people, saying, “O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.” The complainers have an opportunity to bring their accusations against him; their Maker gives them an opportunity to speak. What charge have you to bring against Him that ruleth in the heavens? What have you to say against His dealings with you? What against His government? What against His law? If you have any excuse to offer for your neglect to comply with the conditions upon which your salvation is based, now make them known. If you have any excuse for sin, for impenitence, for covetousness, or for sensuality, you are permitted to give your reasons. Those who would justify themselves in wrongdoing, and lay the blame of their disobedience upon God, will be heard. They argue that they are born with strong passions and appetites, and are surrounded with objects that solicit to sin, and under such circumstances how is it just to condemn them? But God answers: “I did all that could be done for your forefather Adam; I gave him the noblest qualities and the highest powers; my requirements were light upon him. It was because he did not believe my word, did not choose to stand the simple test I imposed upon him, but believed the word of my enemy, that he fell from his holy estate. But in his fallen condition did I not send help? I sent my Son, who was equal with myself, that he might live an example upon earth, and die for man’s transgressions, that you might make no mistakes or failures in obtaining eternal life.”
3 Since such ample provisions have been made for our salvation, shall we be excusable if we put forth no effort to obtain eternal life? God has given his beloved Son to die that we might be saved. What an infinite condescension on the part of the God of heaven! By the death of Jesus Christ life and immortality are brought to light. What a hope we have! And with such a hope as this shall we cling to sin? Shall we not consent to be purified from every spot and stain? It is for us to search the Scriptures; for said Christ, “They are they which testify of me.” And while we have the precious testimony of the word of God before us, we can be both hearers and doers of the word. As we see the weakness of human nature, instead of trying to justify ourselves in wrongdoing, let us become more familiar with the word of God. It will strengthen our minds in the time of temptation. We do not think half enough upon the Bible. The ministers may explain the Scriptures, but this is not enough; we must practice their teaching in our lives. We must be fortifying our souls with the precious promises of Jesus. We are to avail ourselves of all the help God has provided for us, that we may not fall at last. If it is not in accordance with your inclination to study the word of God, I beg of you to plead with God for his divine Spirit; for those who love Jesus take comfort in communion with him.
4 Our Heavenly Father paid an infinite price that we might come to him; and if our past life has been full of sin, we can now repent and come to God. The promise is that all who repent and turn from their transgressions shall be forgiven. None need be discouraged because their past life has been marked with objectionable characters. Hear what the God of heaven says: “When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him.” “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” I am so grateful today that we have a living Saviour. There are many who go about as mournfully as though Christ were still in Joseph’s tomb with a great stone rolled before the door. Our hearts should be full of hope and joy, and we should be able to say with grateful tongues, Christ is risen, and is at the right hand of God to make intercession for us. He has carried his blood into the sanctuary, and will cleanse us from every sin.
5 Since Jesus has made such an infinite sacrifice for us, how cruel it is that we should remain indifferent. Individually we have cost the life of the Son of God, and he desires us to walk out by living faith, believing in him with all the heart. He would have you bring the truth of God into the inner sanctuary, to soften and subdue the soul; for when Christ is dwelling in your heart by faith, you will love those for whom he died. Suppose that the trump of God should sound tonight, who is ready to respond with gladness? How many of you would cry, “Oh, stay the chariot wheels; I am not ready”? Of how many would it be written, as it was written of Belshazzar, “Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting”? To be wanting in that day is to be wanting forever; for when Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, we must be all ready to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Your only safety is in coming to Christ, and ceasing from sin this very moment. The sweet voice of mercy is sounding in your ears today, but who can tell if it will sound tomorrow? How precious will be the appearing of Christ to those who have done good upon the earth. Jesus, our Redeemer, is coming back to the world, and all those who believe in him, who love him, and keep his commandments, will be able to say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.”
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1 The holy law of God is both brief and comprehensive; for it is easily understood and remembered; and yet it is an expression of the will of God. Its comprehensiveness is summed up in the following words: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” “This do, and thou shalt live.” “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them; I am the Lord.” “Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.” “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.”
2 If the transgressor is to be treated according to the letter of this covenant, then there is no hope for the fallen race; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. The fallen race of Adam can behold nothing else in the letter of this covenant than the ministration of death; and death will be the reward of everyone who is seeking vainly to fashion a righteousness of his own that will fulfill the claims of the law. By his word God has bound himself to execute the penalty of the law on all transgressors. Again and again men commit sin, and yet they do not seem to believe that they must suffer the penalty for breaking the law. They parade their good intentions before the Lord, and soothe their consciences by pleading his mercy; but the only ground of hope for the fallen sons and daughters of Adam is to turn from their sins and accept the righteousness of Christ, giving up all hope of salvation on the ground of self-righteousness. The Lord can save no man because of his good works.
3 In the gospel of Christ Jesus, proclaimed by the angels as glad tidings of great joy, the terms of salvation were fully revealed. The law stands in all its original force and purity; not one jot or tittle was to be set aside or altered; for the law is the transcript of the character of God. But the Lord made a covenant of grace whereby his mercy is extended to fallen man, and provision is made so ample and powerful that souls ruined by the fall may be uplifted to glory, honor, and immortality. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Encircling the throne of God is the rainbow of the covenant, a symbol of the pledged word of God that he will receive every sinner who gives up all hope of eternal life on the ground of his own righteousness, and accepts the righteousness of the world’s Redeemer, believing that Christ is his personal Saviour, able to save him from his sin, and to keep him from falling. Unless Christ is the ground of our hope, we shall not inherit eternal life.
4 The provision made for the salvation of men through the imputed righteousness of Christ, does not do away with the law, or lessen in the least its holy claims; for Christ came to exalt the law and make it honorable, to reveal its exceeding breadth and changeless character. The glory of the gospel of grace through the imputed righteousness of Christ, provides no other way of salvation than through obedience to the law of God in the person of Jesus Christ, the divine substitute. In the old dispensation believers were saved through the grace of Christ, as presented in the gospel, as we are saved today. The only means of salvation is provided under the Abrahamic covenant.
5 The condescension of God in extending his mercy to the sinner is described by Zacharias as a salvation come unto us “through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” This salvation comes to us not as a reward for our works, not bestowed because of the merits of sinful man, but it is a gift unto us, having its foundation for bestowal in the spotless righteousness of Christ. It is when the sinner realizes that he is without hope, lost, condemned to eternal death, incapable of doing anything to redeem himself, and believes in Jesus as his righteousness and salvation, that the word of God is fulfilled toward him. The Lord says, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
6 The Psalmist says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” The apostle declares, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Then for what reason should the Lord set aside his law to provide an escape for the sinner, or to make it possible for him to transgress with impunity? There is no reason, and the law of the Lord “endureth forever.” In his sermon on the mount Jesus said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
7 Under the covenant of grace God requires from man just what he required in Eden,—perfect obedience. The believing sinner, through his divine Substitute and Surety, renders obedience to the law of God. Christ kept the law perfectly, and through him the believer shall not perish, but have everlasting life. He says, “I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” Mercy granted to man is the reward of the merit of Christ, “who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Through the plan of salvation, God can be just, and yet be the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
8 The apostle says: “The kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Now mark what the apostle says of those who cherish this hope. He continues: “Faithful is the saying, and concerning these things I will that thou affirm confidently, to the end that they which have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.” (Revised Version.) Good works will follow as the blossoms and fruit of faith. Appropriation of the righteousness of Christ will be manifested in a well-ordered life and godly conversation.
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1 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” How many who ask a blessing of the Lord would be surprised should they receive their request. Of what is this want of expectation that our prayers will be answered, a proof?—It proves that we have no definite belief that the blessing will be granted, that we have no genuine faith that God will hear, that we do not watch for the answer, so that when it is received, we may connect it with the prayers we have offered. The Lord: said “What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Luke says: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
2 If we would only believe, we should receive the Holy Spirit. The question is asked, “Is the Lord’s arm shortened that it cannot save? is his ear heavy that he cannot hear?”—No, he now works in the hearts of those who ask, who believe that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. We must not be discouraged if Satan seeks to leaven the mind with subtle unbelief while we are engaged in prayer, and our hearts are impressed with the high standard of holiness to which we would attain. The enemy will suggest that the Lord will not keep us from sinning, and make us obedient to all his requirements. He will direct our mind to our past imperfections, to our sins, failures, and mistakes, and tell us we need not expect to come off conquerors at last. We are not to listen to the suggestions of the enemy, or think that our unaided efforts can save us, but we are to believe that Jesus does the work for us. At times when we have exercised a little faith, we have experienced a little help, and we have hoped to be victorious overcomers. But have we had faith that through Christ we should be able to overcome every temptation as he overcame? We have not generally exercised this quality of faith.
3 Many think that they have not time to pray, or that it would be useless to pray if they had time; for they have an inheritance of unchristlike traits of character that are strong by heredity, and stronger by cultivation. The least crossing of their will arouses their combativeness and upsets their temper. I am describing not simply the experience of children and youth, but of men and women, fathers and mothers, who have had a limited experience in the Christian life. They have allowed secular interests to divert the mind and to engage the attention. They have indulged a strong passion to meet the world’s standard, and have been filled with a desire for human praise. While they are thus unemptied of self, they cannot expect to receive answers to their prayers; for evil tempers and corrupt inclinations will make prayer of none effect. The Psalmist says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” The tremendous load of evil upon these souls must be rolled off into the sepulcher, that they may believe, not from impulse, but from calm assurance, that God is true, knowing that whatever he has promised he will fulfill.
4 The Lord has promised to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him, and as an illustration of our need and his willingness to give, he presents before us a hungry child asking his earthly parent for bread. The question is asked, “What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?” He appeals to the strong, natural affection of the parent for his child, and then says: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Is it any wonder that we receive not, when we believe not? Should we receive in our faithless condition, we would not appreciate the grace given us of God, or render glory to him for the benefits. “Taste and see that the Lord is good;” this is asking and receiving. Those who have tasted of the goodness of God cannot keep the knowledge of this blessing to themselves; for Christ is in them a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. Those who are most blessed of God have the most constant indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and they diffuse the light of heaven to others. Wherever there is distinguishing mercy, there is always distinguishing duty. Jesus said to his followers: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
5 To none will it be granted to enjoy the presence of Christ in the paradise of God if they do not enjoy his presence and love in this probationary life, if they do not have a likeness of character to him on earth. Since nothing short of Christlikeness is expected of the followers of Jesus, God has left abundant promises whereby this expectation may be fulfilled. The apostle says: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” The storehouse of unlimited resource is opened to all who knock in faith.
6 Unbelief is the sin that so easily besets us; and this sin is obnoxious to God. However secret is its working in the heart, the guilty one stands revealed and convicted before heaven. The Redeemer of the world has pledged his word, saying, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” Is it any marvel then that the blessing of God is withheld when you dishonor his name by your unbelief? Who is it that has made to you these promises? It is He who “so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Who is it that says, “Ask, and it shall be given you”? Who is it that stands before the great multitude holding forth the divine promise?—It is He who came into the world to rescue us from the bondage of Satan, and make us free men and women in Christ Jesus.
7 Then come to God with full assurance of faith, knowing that he who hath promised is faithful, and will fulfill his word. Like Habakkuk, say, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me.” Having asked the Lord for good things, as a hungry child asks his parent for bread, believe from your heart that the Heavenly Father giveth not the Spirit by measure unto you; for to them that ask in faith the Holy Spirit will be given in its fullness, as free as the river that proceedeth from the throne of God, slaking the thirst of all who will come and drink. Come, then, feeling that all Heaven invites you. Come, then, in steadfast faith, knowing that all Heaven welcomes you. Fasten your soul on the blessed assurance, God has spoken this promise, God has invited me, not to mock me, not to disappoint me, for before I knocked, he was unlocking the door for me; while I was yet speaking, he answered, “Here I am.” Then put away this distrust of God; come to him now, and let all the angels of God have occasion for rejoicing, as they see those who are athirst partaking of the waters of life.
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Page 595
1 “And he spake also a parable unto them: No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he saith, The old is better.”
2 At the time Jesus uttered this parable, the old typical service was soon to pass away, and the temple courts were to be left desolate. Christ, the great Antitype, both Sacrifice and High Priest, clothed in his own spotless righteousness, was soon to be slain as a lamb without blemish, for the sins of the world. But both his disciples and the disciples of John misapprehended the relation of his teaching to the doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees. The disciples of John had sought to unite the teaching of the reformer with the doctrines held by the Jewish leaders; but the teaching of scribes and Pharisees was fast hastening to decay, and to unite the truth with their jargon of tradition would make confusion worse confounded.
3 The principles presented by Christ, the manner of observing feasts, of praying to God, could not be properly united to the forms and ceremonies of Phariseeism. Instead of closing up the breach that had been made by the teachings of John, the teachings of Christ would make the separation between the old system and the new more distinct, and to attempt to unite the two would only result in making the breach wider. Jesus illustrated this fact, saying, “No man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.” The bottles to which he refers in his illustration were made of skins, and, after once being used as vessels in which to place the new wine, they were worthless to serve the same purpose again. In this familiar illustration Jesus presented the impossibility of making those who are satisfied with a legal religion the depositaries of the living truth of heaven.
4 Those who would not receive the light and grace of Christ, who rejected the truth he came to bring them, were compared to old bottles, to worthless and worn-out garments. Rejecting the truth themselves, they were ever seeking to sow the seed of doubt and questioning in the mind of the disciples, in order that the truth unfolded to them by Christ should not make its impression on heart and spirit. They exalted ceremonies, human exactions, and the commandments of men, as more essential than the teachings of Christ. The difference between the fresh, pure doctrines of heaven and the lifeless teaching of the Pharisees made manifest the fact that the vital truth of God could find no place for expansion in the old religious rites that were ready to vanish away.
5 As a result of intercourse with Christ, the disciples were led to behold the precious gems of truth recovered from systems of error, and reset in the framework of truth. As their minds expanded to comprehend the doctrines of Christ, they saw that the faith which works by love and purifies the soul could find no place for union with the old religion of the Pharisees, which was made up of ceremonies, injunctions, and the traditions of the elders. An effort to unite the teachings of Jesus with the established religion would have shown the utter mistake of such a course. For the new doctrines, like fermenting wine, would have burst the old decaying bottles of the Pharisaical tradition. To the Pharisees the teaching of Jesus was new in almost every respect, was unrecognized and unacknowledged as truth. They professed to have respect for the religion of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. But, although Christ taught the original truths that had been committed to the fathers, his teaching was new to the Pharisees, because they had perverted, and misinterpreted, and burdened down the requirements of God, until the truth had lost its original significance and beauty.
6 The Pharisees opposed the teachings of Jesus with all their force, and Jesus turned from the recognized religious leaders to find in others new bottles for the new wine. In the untutored fisherman, in the publican at the market-place, in the woman of Samaria, in the common people who heard him gladly, he found his new bottles for the new wine. Priests and scribes and rulers were fixed in a rut of ceremonies, observances, and traditions. For long years they had lost their vitality, and their hearts had become contracted, like the old withered, dried-up bottles to which he had compared them; but in the fishermen, the Samaritans, the publicans and sinners, Jesus found hearts that he could impress and make receptacles for his divine truth.
7 God’s people must go on from light to a greater light, or they will become, as did the Pharisees, unwilling to receive additional light. They will find themselves in the condition represented by withered, dried-up bottles. In their religious faith they will be unmovable, inflexible, like the withered fig tree dried up by the roots. Those whom Jesus chose for his work were people to whom the world gave little attention; the fishermen, the despised publicans and Samaritans, had no connection with the schools of the scribes and Pharisees; but Christ saw in them the requisite qualifications for the work of God. The Pharisees looked upon his association with publicans and sinners as a matter that merited their condemnation; for it was in marked contrast to their habits, customs, and traditions. But Christ taught his disciples lessons concerning the broad character of his kingdom, which was to be perpetuated through eternal ages.
8 The lessons which Jesus taught in the parables should be carefully studied; they contain instruction for his people in these last days, that we may not make the mistakes which the Jewish nation made in the time of Christ. The gospel was first preached to the Jews; but they felt whole and in no need of a physician. Christ came to minister to the sin-sick soul; for only those will be converted who feel and know that they are sinners. Christ came holding forth precious truth for the acceptance of men, presenting heavenly principles to be woven into the life, bestowing spiritual benefits to be passed on to others. Christ, the consolation of Israel, had come unto his own, but his own received him not. He must find new bottles to contain his new wine.
9 Why could not the old bottles contain the new wine? Why were the lessons of Jesus refused? The life of Christ should have been a constant inspiration. But the scribes and Pharisees refused him, because they allowed pride, ambition, and bigotry to stand in their way. Jesus did not follow the teachings of the schools; he did not copy any living model, nor draw his lessons from any earthly source. His teachings were simplicity itself, so clear that a child could understand them, so deep that the prejudiced Pharisees and priests could not comprehend them. No one but a heavenly teacher could present so lofty a morality in such simple words, making his sayings applicable to the necessities of all. The brightness of the Father’s glory was revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. But the old bottles could not contain the precious new wine. The bigoted Pharisees, scribes, and rulers had no preference for the new wine; they were filled with the old, and, until emptied of the old traditions, old customs, old practices, they had no place in mind or heart for the truth of Christ.
10 In the question, “What shall we do that we might work the works of God?” the attitude of scribes and Pharisees is set forth; for the question meant, What shall we do to deserve heaven? Mark the answer of Christ: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent.” The price of heaven is the Messiah. The way to heaven is Christ. “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent. “But the Pharisees scoffed at his doctrine, and the Sadducees derided him. The most precious truth could find no harmony with the false theories and commandments of men. But the common people, who were not filled with the wine of superstition and tradition, heard him gladly. They recognized the heavenly power of his teaching, and were charmed with the new truth concerning his kingdom. Many, many, found the living Bread that came down from heaven, and drank of the living Water. Their hungry souls were satisfied with heavenly manna, and refreshed with the streams of salvation. In their acceptance of his doctrine, they proved the truth of his words, “My sheep know my voice, and they follow me.”
11 Let it not be with us who are living in the last days as it was with the Pharisees. Let it not be said of us, as it was of them, that new wine cannot be put into old bottles. Let not those who have been long in the truth, who have been made the depositaries of the law of God, exalt the ideas and opinions of men above the advancing truth of heaven, lest they be left as old, withered bottles, whose place will be filled by new bottles which the Lord shall select for the new wine. We must be in a position where we shall ever have an appetite for the fresh manna, for the new wine of heaven.
12 Let all beware lest they imitate the example of the Jews, and, fearing they must give up some cherished idea, or discard some idol of opinion, refuse the truth which cometh down from the Father of lights. It was adherence to tradition that proved the ruin of the Jews, and will prove the ruin of many, many souls in every age. Let us fear to become satisfied, with that which we already have acquired, but ever advance with the light, that Jesus may not have to cast us aside as worthless bottles, when he would present to us new truth.
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1 “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” This man was a ruler, and held in high esteem by the people, and he thought it was a condescension for him to admit as much as he had to Christ. Thinking himself righteous, he was astonished at the answer of Jesus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
2 The blindness of Israel in discerning spiritual things closed their senses to the mission and work of Christ. This change represented as a new birth they would have to experience before they could take in the meaning of what constituted the kingdom of God. Their whole conception had been perverted. All they could see was a temporal kingdom, established in Jerusalem, and they would not change these ideas, because they wanted this kind of a kingdom. Jesus had lessons of highest importance to give to the ruler in Israel, and the lesson which Christ gave to him is of the highest consequence to every soul. It is neither profound learning nor high positions nor professions that give character to the man. The question to be answered is, Is the man quickened into spiritual life? Is he a new man in character? In proportion as the spirit and life of Christ are in us, in that proportion is man enlightened and can discern spiritual things. There is greater indulgence in sin than many dream of, and he who commits sin will seek for all kinds of excuses to palliate sin.
3 Churches are represented as having faith in Christ for salvation; but do they have faith in Christ? Christ has said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” This vital union with Christ is represented by the union of the vine and the branch. Jesus says: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.” “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” Here is represented the same vital connection with Jesus Christ as is represented by eating his flesh and drinking his blood.
4 Christ overcame every temptation of the enemy, because in him divinity and humanity were combined; but there is no safety for any soul who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness, a round of ceremonial exactions. To attend services on the Sabbath, to pray occasionally or regularly, makes no one a Christian. The important thing is to become united to Christ, to believe in Christ as a personal Saviour, to live by faith in the Son of God. The question to ask the soul is, “Am I a partaker of the divine nature, represented as being born again? Has a new moral taste been created? If not, the soul is in deadly peril. He who is born of God is a new man. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The old imperious will is gone. The pride is cleansed from the soul. Selfishness is uprooted. The quick, passionate temper no longer masters the man; for Jesus Christ has brought the thoughts into captivity to himself. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let no arrogancy come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
5 “Every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.” Why, then, do not men exercise themselves unto godliness? Why do they bear thorn berries? it is because they are not grafted into the tame olive tree. They are not converted. Their works testify of them that they do not abide in Christ. They do not, as is represented by Christ, eat his flesh and drink his blood. If they did, they would through faith have a vital connection with Christ, and work the works of God. The character is transformed, not by a slight change in some customs and practices, but by a work divine; for the Lord says, “A new heart will I give thee.” This is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. “I live,” said Paul; “yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Has the dry branch been grafted into the living vine stock? Then has the graft taken connection with the vine fiber by fiber? Is it one with the parent stock? If it is, then will it bear the fruit of the vine. If we are one with Christ, we shall be Christlike. This is the great power of God. And yet we are commanded: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good-pleasure.” The great privileges of the Christian have been opened before us. He who daily depends upon Christ will work out Christ in spirit, in words, in actions. He may be compelled to rebuke sin, to reprove, to exhort, to rebuke with all long-suffering and doctrine. On special occasions his spirit may be stirred within him to expose sin and wickedness; but in it all he has the Spirit of Christ. It is a work that must be done. We may live a life of close connection with Jesus, of oneness with Christ. The mind should be kept in a prayerful frame, looking to Jesus moment by moment, asking at every step, “Is this the way of the Lord?” This is the way Enoch walked with God. We are to be learners of one another, and doers of the word of God.
6 Let those who believe in Jesus show their saving faith in a well-ordered life and a godly conversation. “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.” That means you and me. “And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
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1 Jesus hath said: “I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts; and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.” We should be thankful that the Lord knows our circumstances and experiences. Jesus is near, close to us, and he has given the precious promise, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” What reason we have for encouragement! We are assured that the Lord hears our prayers. The promise is, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Who is this that speaks? Is it one whose word is doubtful, one who does not know what he is talking about?—No, it is the world’s Redeemer. He who so loved us that he died on Calvary, that “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2 Shall we take his pledged word as truth? The Lord hears our sincere prayers, and knows how to answer; for nothing is hidden from him. The Psalmist says: “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” The Lord looks upon the heart; he seeth all its workings, and he “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
3 The Holy Spirit indites all genuine prayer. I have learned to know that in all my intercessions the Spirit intercedes for me and for all saints; but his intercessions are according to the will of God, never contrary to his will. “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities;” and the Spirit, being God, knoweth the mind of God; therefore in every prayer of ours for the sick, or for other needs, the will of God is to be regarded. “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” If we are taught of God, we shall pray in conformity to his revealed will, and in submission to his will which we know not. We are to make supplication according to the will of God, relying on the precious word, and believing that Christ not only gave himself for but to his disciples. The record declares, “He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”
4 Jesus is waiting to breathe upon all his disciples, and give them the inspiration of his sanctifying spirit, and transfuse the vital influence from himself to his people. He would have them understand that henceforth they cannot serve two masters. Their lives cannot be divided. Christ is to live in his human agents, and work through their faculties, and act through their capabilities. Their will must be submitted to his will, they must act with his spirit, that it may be no more they that live, but Christ that liveth in them. Jesus is seeking to impress upon them the thought that in giving his Holy Spirit he is giving to them the glory which the Father has given him, that he and his people may be one in God. Our way and will must be in submission to God’s will, knowing that it is holy, just, and good.
5 John says, “This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us; and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” Let us dwell much upon these points before the people, that their ideas may be enlarged, their faith increased. They should be encouraged to ask largely, and expect without a doubt the riches of his grace; for through Jesus we can come into the audience chamber of the Most High. Through his merits we have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Oh, that we may have a deeper experience in prayer! With confidence we may come to God, knowing what it is to have the presence and power of his Holy Spirit. We may confess our sins, and right there, while asking, know that he pardons our transgressions, because he has promised to forgive. We must exercise faith, and manifest true earnestness and humility. We can never do this without the grace of the Holy Spirit. We must lie low at the feet of Jesus, and cherish no selfishness, reveal no self-uplifting, but in simplicity seek the Lord, asking for his Holy Spirit as a little child asks bread of his parents.
6 We should act our part, take Christ as our personal Saviour, and, standing under the cross of Calvary, “look and live.” God sets his children apart for himself. And as they connect themselves with him, they have power with God, and prevail. Of ourselves we can do nothing; but through the grace of his Holy Spirit, life and light are imparted, and the soul is filled with longing, earnest desire for God, for holiness. Then it is that Christ leads us to the throne of grace, and clothes us with his righteousness; for the Lord God of heaven loves us. We would be willfully blind and stubborn to doubt that his heart is toward us. While Jesus, our Intercessor, pleads for us in heaven, the Holy Spirit works in us, to will and to do of his good pleasure. All heaven is interested in the salvation of the soul. Then what reason have we to doubt that the Lord will and does help us? We who teach the people must ourselves have a vital connection with God. In spirit and word we should be to the people as a wellspring, because Christ is in us a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. Sorrow and pain may test our patience and our faith; but the brightness of the presence of the Unseen is with us, and we must hide self behind Jesus.
7 Talk courage to the church; lift them up to God in prayer. Tell them that when they feel that they have sinned, and cannot pray, it is then the time to pray. Many feel humiliated at their failures, that they have been overcome by the enemy in the place of overcoming. Worldliness, selfishness, and carnality have weakened them, and they think it is no use to approach unto God; but this thought is one of the enemy’s suggestions. Ashamed they may be, and deeply humbled; but they must pray and believe. As they confess their sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive them their sins, and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. Though the mind may wander in prayer, be not discouraged, bring it back to the throne, and do not leave the mercy seat until you have the victory. Are you to think your victory will be testified by strong emotion?—No; “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” The Lord knows your desire; by faith keep close to him, and expect to receive the Holy Spirit. The office of the Holy Spirit is to control all our spiritual exercises. The Father has given his Son for us that through the Son the Holy Spirit might come to us, and lead us unto the Father. Through divine agency, we have the spirit of intercession, whereby we may plead with God, as a man pleadeth with his friend.
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1 Angels, cherubim, and seraphim bow in holy reverence before God. “Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands” of angels are round about the throne, and are sent to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. The ruling principles of God’s throne are justice and mercy. It is called the throne of grace. Would you have divine enlightenment?—Go to the throne of grace. You will be answered from the mercy seat. A covenant has been entered into by the Father and by the Son to save the world through Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” No power save that of Omnipotence could make such a covenant. The rainbow above the throne is a token that God through Christ binds himself to save all who believe in him. The covenant is as sure as the throne, and his throne is established in righteousness. Then why are we so unbelieving, so distrustful? Why doubt so frequently, and trust God so fitfully? Whenever we come to the throne of God to ask his mercy, we may look up, and behold the rainbow of promise, and find in it assurance that our prayers shall be answered.
2 But let no one flatter himself that he may transgress the commandments, and yet receive the favor of God. In the government of God, justice and grace stand side by side. The law cannot be transgressed with impunity. Justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne. In Christ mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Christ himself gave the law from Mount Sinai, and he has not lessened a jot or tittle of its claims. He has given his own life to atone for man’s transgression of the law, and to enable him to obey its precepts. Justice is satisfied with the divine sacrifice. Through the merits of Christ God can be just and justify the sinner who believes in Jesus.
3 Christ knows the sinner’s trials; he knows his temptations. He has taken upon himself our nature; he was tempted in all points like as we are, and he knows how to succor those who are tempted. He has wept, and he knows our sorrows, he has experienced all our griefs. To all who believe and trust in him, he will be a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest. As a man, Christ ascended to heaven. As a man, he is the substitute for humanity. As a man, he liveth to make intercession for us. He is preparing a place for all who love him. As a man, he will come again with kingly power and glory to receive his children. And that which should cause us joy and thanksgiving is that God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.”
4 Those who claim that it was not possible for Christ to sin, cannot believe that he took upon him human nature. Christ was actually tempted, not only by Satan in the wilderness, but all through his life, from childhood to manhood. In all points he was tempted as we are; and because he successfully resisted temptation under every form, he gave man a perfect example, and through the ample provisions Christ has made, we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Jesus says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Here is the beginning of our confidence, which we must hold steadfast unto the end. If Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations, he will help us to resist. He came to bring divine power to combine with human effort.
5 Jesus was free from all sin and error; there was not a trace of imperfection in his life or character. He maintained spotless purity under circumstances the most trying. True, he declared, “There is none good but One, that is God,” but again he said, “I and my Father are one.” Jesus speaks of himself as well as the Father as God, and claims for himself perfect righteousness.
6 In Christ dwelt the fullness of the God-head bodily. This is why, although tempted in all points like as we are, he stood before the world untainted by corruption, though surrounded by it. Are we not also to become partakers of that fullness? and is it not thus, and thus only, that we can overcome as Christ overcame?
7 We lose much by not dwelling constantly on the character of Christ. “Believe me,” he says, “that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth.” Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” And he says of the Spirit of truth, “Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.” “I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.” “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
8 Why are we so dull of comprehension? Why do we not cling to Jesus, and draw from him by faith the strength and perfection of his character, as the vine branch draws the sap from the living vine? We are to look to Jesus, and as temptations close us about, climb up step by step in the work of overcoming. Abiding in Christ, we become one with him. Then we are safe, entirely safe, against all the assaults of Satan. Christ living in the soul is revealed in the character. Man is nothing without Christ. But if Christ lives in us, we shall work the works of God. We shall represent Christ in our life, we shall talk of Christ because we meditate upon him. We shall grow up into Christ to the full stature of men and women in spiritual understanding.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” The eternal Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. This theme will quench unbelief; and yet, sad to say, Jesus has been dropped out of many discourses that have been preached by Seventh-day Adventist ministers. And why?—Because the ministers had not Jesus abiding in the heart by faith; they were not clothed with Christ’s righteousness. Jesus could not lead them by the side of still waters, and into the green pastures of his matchless love, because they would not be led. They had not the love of Jesus in their hearts, and it is the love of Jesus that, as a golden chain, binds our hearts in tenderest sympathy with humanity, and brings us into complete unity with every soul who believes. The Spirit of Jesus in my heart will recognize Jesus in the hearts of my brethren and sisters. Our prayers and hopes are one.
2 Christ said to his disciples, “Love one another, as I have loved you.” Is this commandment obeyed? Do we love one another with that unselfish love which Jesus has manifested for our souls? If we are Christ’s, we shall be one, even as he is one with the Father. His grace will unite the hearts of his disciples. Jesus took the nature of humanity in order to reveal to man a pure, unselfish love, to teach us how to love one another.
3 The power of an ever-abiding Saviour is greater now than ever before, because the emergencies are greater; and yet we are weak in spiritual life and experience. Oh, how much we have lost as a people by our lack of faith! We have suffered loss to our own souls, and have failed to reveal to others, by our words and in our character, what Christ is and will be to everyone who comes to him believing. He is “made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” To give glory to God is to reveal his character in our own, and thus make him known. And in whatever way we make known the Father or the Son, we glorify God.
4 False views of God, and hence of Christ, are largely entertained today. Well may we offer the prayer of Moses, “Show me thy glory.” What did the Lord answer?—”I will make all my goodness pass before thee.” God might have answered Moses: “Why do you ask this question? Have I not revealed to you my glory in the deliverance of my people from Egyptian bondage? Did I not deliver you by the right arm of my power, and lead you dry shod through the midst of the Red Sea? Did I not reveal my glory in giving you bread from heaven? Did I not bring you water out of the flinty rock? Have you not looked upon my glory in the pillar of fire by night, and the cloud by day?” Moses might have answered that all this only kindled his desire for greater manifestations of God’s power. The Lord granted the prayer of Moses, and he desires to answer us in the same way. We need to have our perceptions quickened, our hearts enlarged, that we may comprehend his glory—his goodness, his forgiveness, his forbearance, his inexpressible love.
5 “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful”—precious ray of light from the Sun of Righteousness—”and gracious”—another bright beam from the Light of the world—”long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth”—oh, what flashes of his glory!—”keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Bring all these precious rays together, and talk of them, shed their light upon the path of him who walketh in darkness. Look to Christ, behold the attractive loveliness of his character, and by beholding you will become changed to his likeness. The mist that intervenes between Christ and the soul will be rolled back, as we by faith look past the hellish shadow of Satan, and see God’s glory in his law, and the righteousness of Christ.
6 Satan is seeking to veil Jesus from our sight, to eclipse his light, for when we get even a glimpse of his glory we are attracted to him. Sin hides from our view the matchless charms of Jesus; prejudice, selfishness, self-righteousness, and passion blind our eyes, so that we do not discern the Saviour. Oh, if we would by faith draw nigh to God, he would reveal to us his glory, which is his character, and the praise of God would flow forth from human hearts, and be sounded by human voices. Then we would forever cease to give glory to Satan by sinning against God and talking doubt and unbelief. We would no longer stumble along grumbling, and mourning, and covering the altar of God with our tears. If we would behold Jesus, believing his words, we would reflect the image of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, and what a wave of glory would flow back from earth to heaven!
7 The word of God must be exalted with pen and voice; neglect it not; it is the highest folly to keep out of sight the manna for which the world is starving. It is not God’s plan that his word should be given a secondary place in our system of education. We want the word of God as our guide. It is our light; without its divine rays we grope in darkness. Its study affords discipline that strengthens and elevates and enriches the soul. It furnishes us unto all good works, and guides into safe and high enterprises. It is the wisdom of God.
8 The Holy Spirit is given to all who will heed its voice; it is a purifier, a sanctifier. Not a soul is safe without it, for all are struggling with natural defects of character, with sinful tendencies. Who will be so foolish as to think they can struggle single-handed with enemies that have overmatched them again and again? The heart needs to be constantly softened and subdued by the Spirit of Christ. In contact with the world, or even with that which has to do with the advancement of God’s cause, the heart grows hard and selfish, unless constantly brought in contact with the heart of Infinite Love. The conscience grows callous and feeble when we neglect to receive the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Those who flatter themselves that they can safely occupy their time in business, having no special seasons of prayer either in public or private, drawing no spiritual strength from the Source of all light and power, are under a delusion of the enemy.
9 All should fear to accept and hold responsible positions, without daily and hourly consecration to Christ, an entire surrender of the will to God. They should fear to encounter temptations unless their souls are under the transforming grace of Christ and they are determined to inquire at every step, “Is this the way of the Lord?” to ask, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
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1 “The disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables; because they seeing, see not; and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive; for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
2 Jesus said to his disciples, “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” He did not mean by mysteries the things that could not be understood; but those things that could be comprehended by the human mind when enlightened by the Spirit of God. To those who were humble of heart, who trusted not in their own wisdom or righteousness, the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven could be revealed. “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent [the worldly wise,] and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.”
3 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, he taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in man. For all things are yours.” Nothing is withheld from him who earnestly and sincerely seeks for truth and wisdom. For “ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”
4 “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
5 In his instruction to his followers the Lord used scenes from nature, occurrences from life, the habits and customs of the world, as illustrations whereby to convey to the minds of men the significance of truth. If they desired to understand divine things, they might have perceived the import of his words; for the divine Teacher was ever willing to explain what he taught, to the honest inquirer after truth. In figurative language he brought before the multitudes that which pertained to their eternal interest. He pictured before them the perils of the times, and made plain the way of escape to those who had ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to understand.
6 It is only the honest seeker after truth who can be benefited by the presentation of truth. Those who have not a heart to receive the truth, be it ever so plainly presented, will find a way whereby they can misinterpret its plainest portrayal, and evade its evident conclusions. Jesus had to meet this class in his day, as we have to meet them today. They perverted his word, distorted his utterances, and presented his teaching in a false light, declaring that the mission he proclaimed he had come to accomplish, was needless and would not be fulfilled. “Without a parable he spoke not unto them.” In this way he could present the plainest truths, and the Pharisees and Sadducees were placed at a disadvantage; for they could not find fault with his words, or bring an accusation against him. His warnings, rebukes, and denunciations were spoken in the language of parables. In figures and symbols he presented the principles of truth, and those who had a heart to understand were not left in doubt as to the meaning of his words; for the Holy Spirit was ever present to make the right impression upon heart and conscience.
7 This characteristic of the teaching of Jesus is presented in the words of the Psalmist when he says, “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things which have been kept secret since the foundation of the world.” The words of Christ were necessarily clothed in mystery, in order that those who would have made him an offender for a word should have no opportunity to take advantage of his plain speaking. Christ had to deal with many who would hear, and not understand, who would have eyes, and not perceive, and hearts that stubbornly refused to admit one ray of heavenly light. They clung tenaciously to their old traditions and superstitions, and they could not consent to give up the customs and habits handed down to them by their fathers. They were fortified against truth by their proud self-righteousness. They would not admit that they were in need of a Saviour, or consent to alter the character of the instruction which they had been giving to the people. Christ taught the precious truth of redemption through faith in himself, through the unmerited favor of God bestowed upon men because of the merits of his only-begotten Son. His mission to the world was to reveal to men the character of God, and by the revelation of his love win men to the Father.
8 Christ came to teach men of God, and he made manifest the fact that everything in nature teaches of spiritual and eternal things. To the eye that is not dimmed, the ear that is not closed, the heart that is not gross through selfishness, prejudice, and pride, the glories of nature unveil the things of the Father. “For the invisible things of him from the beginning of the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.” To illustrate heavenly truth, Jesus employed the things of nature, and imparted to man divine enlightenment. He harmonized science and the word of God, leading the mind from nature to nature’s God, and blending the spiritual with the natural. So wide was his view of truth, so extended his teachings, that every phase of nature was employed by the great Teacher in illustrating truth. The scenes upon which the eye daily rests are all connected with some spiritual truth, so that nature is clothed with the parables of the Master. Through familiar objects he attracted the minds of his hearers to his subject, and impressed upon them solemn, eternal truth.
9 The Lord Jesus was the maker of the things in heaven and earth, and the expositor of his own truth, and he called upon nature to reflect the light of the glory of God. The birds of the heaven, the flowers of the field, the trees of the forest, the fruitful fields, the barren land, the grain ripe for the sickle, the fruitless tree, the goings forth of the morning, the setting of the sun, the sowing of the seed, the gathering in of the harvest,—all were employed as emblems of divine truth. He connected the visible works of the Creator with the words of life, and led the mind up from nature to nature’s God. Every humble shrub and delicate flower bears testimony to the heart of the love of God. If the eye is not closed, if the ear is not heavy, if the heart is open to receive the impressions of the divine Spirit, nature will speak of the harmony of the natural with the spiritual. Through illustrations drawn from the natural world, Christ has taught lessons of vast importance to the soul; and in thinking of his words while contemplating the object with which he associated his lessons, the divine significance becomes clearer to the mind, and the truth of God enlightens the understanding like a flash of light. Mysteries grow clear, and that which was hard to grasp becomes evident.
10 The heart that has not become hardened through error, and has not been perverted through false theories,—the heart that honestly desires to know what is truth, will joyfully accept the message which Christ brings to the soul. Great multitudes listened with attentive ear to the precious words that fell from the lips of Christ. Many among them were wayside hearers, many were stony-ground hearers; but many were hungering and thirsting for a knowledge of spiritual things, such as they failed to receive from the religious teachers of the time. In the exposition of truth by these Jewish leaders were mingled the doctrines and commandments of men, and their injunctions were burdened with exactions which the people could not bear. The people were as men lost on a highway, where the sign-boards were placed above their reach, and the directions were written in a language they could not understand. But Jesus, the greatest Teacher this world ever knew, looked with compassion upon the people, as on sheep that had no shepherd, and invited them to come to him. He said: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Who is it that makes this gracious announcement, that extends to men this precious invitation?—It is he who is one with the Father. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
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Page 601
1 The Lord has momentous truths to reveal to those who would understand the things of the Spirit. His lessons are for all, and adapted to the needs of all. While his lessons are clothed in language so simple that a child might understand them, the truth is so deep that the most learned may well be charmed, and worship the Author of matchless wisdom. Though the wisest may find abundant food for thought in his simplest utterance, the humblest may comprehend his truth, and appropriate his promises to the need of the soul. Jesus taught men for the purpose of arousing desire to understand the things of God, that they might behold the excellence of the divine character, and make application for the righteousness of Christ, in which they might stand accepted before the Lord Jehovah. Have you a sense of want in your soul? Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Then this is an evidence that Christ has wrought upon your heart, and created this sense of need in your soul, in order that he may be sought unto to do for you, through the endowment of the Holy Spirit, those things which it is impossible for you to do for yourself.
2 Among the multitudes that listened to the words of Christ, were scribes and Pharisees, Sadducees and elders, rabbis and priests, Herodians and rulers. Most of this class were proud, world-loving, bigoted, ambitious men, who loved the praise of men more than the approval of God; for they were ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. In their ignorance they did not scruple to supplant the teaching of the prophets with their own expositions of the word of God. They wrested the Scripture from its relation to truth, and made it serve the cause of error. But they were exceedingly jealous of their position as teachers of the people, and looked with hatred upon the divine Teacher, who taught as one having authority. Above all things they desired to find something whereby they might bring accusation against him; and for this purpose they set spies upon his track to see if they could not catch something from his lips that would cause his condemnation, and forever silence him who seemed to draw the world after him. But Jesus knew the hearts of all, and understood the character of the men who watched him with malignant looks from the multitudes that gathered to hear his words, and he presented truth in such a way that they could find nothing whereby they might bring his case before the Sanhedrin. In parables he exposed the hypocrisy and wicked works of those who occupied high positions, and clothed in imagery truth of so cutting a character that had it been spoken in direct denunciation, they would have put an end to his ministry. But while he evaded the treacherous spies, he made truth so clear that error was manifested, and the honest in heart could readily discern what was truth.
3 The parables of Christ have been placed on record, and to the honest, diligent searcher after truth, their meaning will be made plain, their mystery unveiled. Those who will not seek for truth as for hidden treasure, make manifest the fact that they do not sincerely desire to know what is truth. Christ still says to his true followers, “It is given to you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven.” “Whosoever hath to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.” He who responds to the drawing of Christ, will be found inquiring as to what is truth, that his feet may be directed into the way of righteousness. Christ is drawing all men, but all do not respond to his drawing. Those who yield their will to God’s will, who are willing to follow where the Spirit of God may lead, who receive the light and walk therein, will seek for still more of heavenly enlightenment, and “shall have more abundance.” But whoever resists the drawing of the Spirit of God, and refuses to walk in the light, choosing to walk in the path of his own selecting, will not be compelled to yield his stubborn will, or be forced to walk in the path of peace and holiness. Those who follow this course are of those who, having eyes, see not, but are blind to the terrible results of their choice, and walk in sparks of their own kindling, and shall lie down in sorrow.
4 Isaiah prophesied of the moral darkness that would enshroud those who were lifted up in their own esteem; he said: “Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” The Jewish leaders had corrupted their hearts with vain imaginations, with earthly, sensual, and devilish knowledge; and although they professed to believe in the typical sacrifice that had prefigured the Lamb of God through all the centuries since the fall of man, they set themselves in opposition to Christ, and rejected the Light of the world. As a pall of death they covered their souls with error; and though Christ presented to them the inner meaning of the Jewish economy, that they might discern that he was the great Antitype, they closed their eyes, that they might not perceive, and hardened their hearts, that they might not understand.
5 Jesus was the originator of the religion of the Jews, and how clearly could he open to the mind the significance of every shadow and symbol, and reveal the relation of the whole system to himself. That which had been misinterpreted, he set before them in its clear connection with truth, and made plain the glory of the Levitical service. He sought to open to men the fact that the Jewish system of religion presented in types and shadows the whole mystery of the gospel. The service of the past was in no way to be held in contempt; for in Christ, type met antitype, and shadow substance.
6 The lessons that Christ presented in his words of truth are like precious pearls; for in them he bestowed upon men an inestimable possession. Much that he taught is still but dimly understood, and the rubbish of error covers many a glorious gem of truth. These jewels of truth should be searched for with as great diligence as men search for hidden treasure. Those who know the love of Christ should regard it as did the man who found the hidden treasure, and for joy thereof went and sold all that he had, that he might buy the field, and dig over every inch of it to discover the rich veins of gold and silver. The teaching of Christ is more precious than any mine of earth can be, and it demands more zeal on our part to seek for the gems of truth than does any possession we can secure in the world. We should put forth most strenuous efforts to understand the full meaning of the truth he would convey to the mind in parables or maxims. Let him who would comprehend spiritual things, dig deep in the mines of truth.
Page 602
1 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. . . . Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
2 If we are doers of the word, we shall daily bear the cross after Jesus, subdue self, and thus bring harmony into the home life. The sweetest type of heaven is a home where the Spirit of the Lord presides. If the will of God is fulfilled, the husband and wife will respect each other, and cultivate love and confidence. Anything that would mar the peace and unity of the family should be firmly repressed, and kindness and love should be cherished. He who manifests the spirit of tenderness, forbearance, and love, will find that the same spirit will be reflected upon him. Where the Spirit of God reigns, there will be no talk of unsuitability in the marriage relation. If Christ indeed is formed within, the hope of glory, there will be union and love in the home. Christ abiding in the heart of the wife, will be at agreement with Christ abiding in the heart of the husband. They will be striving together for the mansions Christ has gone to prepare for those who love him.
3 Those who are constantly at disagreement in the home life, who do not practice the words of the Lord, will not enter into the heavenly mansions, because they would find that which did not suit their taste even in heaven. Heaven is to be the home of those only who are sanctified, refined, and made meet for the society of the saints in light. If we manifest the character of Christ here, keeping all the commandments of God, we shall be cheered and blessed with glimpses of the pleasant home in the mansions Jesus has gone to prepare. Those who, through the grace given us, represent, not their own crude ideas, their own peculiar, hereditary, and cultivated objectionable traits of character, but the character of Christ, will be fit inhabitants for the heavenly city. Our ways, our will, are to be under subjection to God’s will, to be disciplined by his Holy Spirit. If we are courteous and gentle at home, we shall carry the savor of a pleasant disposition when away from home. If we manifest forbearance, patience, meekness, and fortitude in the home, we shall be able to be a light to the world. All murmuring, all complaining, will be put aside by the true Christian.
4 We are children of the Heavenly King, members of the royal family, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. The mansions Jesus has gone to prepare are to receive only those who are true, who are pure, who love and obey his words. In the mansions above we shall meet to part no more. We shall know each other in our heavenly home. But if we would enjoy eternal bliss, we must cultivate religion in the home; for the home is to be the center of the purest and most elevated affection. Peace, harmony, affection, and happiness should be perseveringly cherished every day, until these precious things abide in the hearts of those who compose the family. The plant of love must be carefully nourished, else it will die. Every good principle must be cherished if we would have it thrive in the soul. That which Satan plants in the heart,—envy, jealousy, evil surmising, evil speaking, impatience, prejudice, selfishness, covetousness, and vanity,—must be uprooted. If these evil things are allowed to remain in the soul, they will bear fruit by which many shall be defiled. Oh, how many cultivate the poisonous plants, that kill out the precious fruits of love and defile the soul! Some of these who cherish evil, think they have a burden for souls. They make public profession of their love to God, and yet see no necessity for weeding the garden of the heart, for uprooting every unsightly, unholy weed, for letting the beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine into the soul temple. They do not know Jesus. They have no knowledge of what it is to be a practical Christian, that is, to be Christlike.
5 There is need of prayer, of genuine faith, of patient, untiring effort to war against every evil disposition, so that even our thoughts may be brought into subjection to Christ. That which will make the character lovely in the home is that which will make it lovely in the heavenly mansions. The measure of your Christianity is gauged by the character of your home life. The grace of Christ enables its possessors to make the home a happy place full of peace and rest. Unless you have the Spirit of Christ, you are none of his, and will never see the redeemed saints in his kingdom, who are to be one with him in the heaven of bliss. God desires you to consecrate yourself wholly to him, and represent his character in the home circle.
6 When religion is manifested in the home, its influence will be felt in the church and in the neighborhood. But some who profess to be Christians, talk with their neighbors concerning their home difficulties. They relate their grievances in such a way as to call forth sympathy for themselves; but it is a great mistake to pour our trouble into the ears of others, especially when many of our grievances are manufactured, and exist because of our irreligious life and defective character. Those who go forth to lay their private grievances before others might better remain at home to pray, to surrender their perverse will to God, to fall on the Rock and be broken, to die to self that Jesus may make them vessels unto honor. When self is crucified, and Christ lives in the soul, they will cherish sincere and noble affections, such as will give fragrance to the character, and be revealed to the world in consistent words and actions. Let us all heed the words of the Lord,—”Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
7 In many families there is a great lack in expressing affection one for another. While there is no need of sentimentalism, there is need of expressing love and tenderness in a chaste, pure, dignified way. Many absolutely cultivate hardness of heart, and in word and action reveal the Satanic side of the character. Tender affection should ever be cherished between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters. Every hasty word should be checked, and there should not be even the appearance of the lack of love one for another. It is the duty of everyone in the family to be pleasant, to speak kindly. Children are to respect and reverence their parents, and parents are to manifest patience, kindness, and affection for their children. Each one should seek in every possible way to please and make happy the members of the family circle.
8 Our words and actions in the home bear testimony to our true character, and they are recorded in the books of heaven. The daily acts of life tell the measure and mould of our disposition and character. Where there is a lack of home religion, a profession of faith is valueless. Then let no unkind words fall from the lips of those who compose the home circle. Make the atmosphere fragrant with tender thoughtfulness of others. Only those will enter heaven who in probationary time have formed a character that breathes a heavenly influence. The saint in heaven must first be a saint upon earth. The habits of speech, the character of our actions, put a mould upon us; and that which we cultivate in our association with others in this life, goes down into the grave with us, and will be unchanged when we come up from the grave. Many are deceiving themselves by thinking that the character will be transformed at the coming of Christ; but there will be no conversion of heart at his appearing. Our defects of character must here be repented of, and through the grace of Christ we must overcome them while probation shall last. This is the place for fitting up for the family above.
9 Then, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, do not educate yourselves in the line of vulgarity of action, word, or thought. Coarse sayings, low jests, lack of politeness and true courtesy in the home life, will become as second nature to you, and will unfit you for the society of those who are becoming sanctified through the truth. The home is too sacred a place to be polluted by vulgarity, sensuality, recrimination, and scandal. Silence the evil word, put away the unholy thought; for the True Witness weighs every word, sets a value on every action, and declares, “I know thy works.” Then let love, truth, kindness, and forbearance be the precious plants that you shall cultivate in the garden of the heart. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in welldoing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
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Page 603
1 When the sanctuary was to be built, the Lord directed Moses, saying, “Look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.” Moses was full of zeal to do God’s work. The most talented, skillful men were at his command to carry out his suggestions; and yet it was not given to him to make a bell, a pomegranate, a tassel, a fringe, a curtain, or any vessel of the sanctuary, except according to the pattern shown him as God’s ideal. God called him into the mount, and revealed to him the heavenly things. The Lord covered him in order that he might see God and live, and behold the things that God would have made according to the pattern. Forty days he was in direct communication with God; and when he descended the mount, his face shone with glory, and he was ready to give directions as to how the sanctuary should be made according to the pattern shown him in the mount.
2 It is in neglecting to follow the exact directions of the word of God that many err. They turn away from God’s plans, to follow their own ideas. Christ himself declared, “The Son of Man can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” So utterly was he emptied of self that he made no plans for himself. He accepted God’s plan for him, and day by day the Father unfolded his plans. If Jesus was so wholly dependent, declaring, “I do nothing of myself,” how much more should the human agents depend upon God for constant instruction, so that their lives might be the simple working out of God’s will. Oh, that failing, erring mortals would be content to seek wisdom from God, and be entirely submissive in working out his directions, in exemplifying his character! If ever mortals needed to send to heaven an earnest cry, “Lord, show me thy way; teach me the way of the Lord,” it is now. Only those will have a fitness for the mansions above who give to God full and implicit obedience. God knows that we would not appreciate his rarest gifts if we were not perfectly submissive to his will.
3 And in keeping the way of the Lord there is great reward. We shall be tempted by the adversary of souls to deviate from God’s way, to neglect to search the Scriptures in order that we may find out whether we are walking in the sparks of our own kindling, or seeking the light which God has given us. Oh, that we may be vessels unto honor, prepared for the Master’s use! Oh, that the work of the grace of God may so go forward in our hearts that we may come to see the matchless charms that are revealed in Jesus!
4 Whatever may be our temperament, we are to form a character after the divine Pattern; we have no excuse for retaining the mold and superscription of our nature; for Christ has died that we may have his mold and superscription. We cannot retain self and yet be filled with the fullness of God. We must be emptied of self. If heaven is gained by us at last, it will be only through the renunciation of self, and the receiving of the mind of Christ. Pride and self-sufficiency must be crucified, and the vacuum supplied with the Spirit and power of God. Are we willing to pay the price required of us for eternal life? Are we ready to sit down and count the cost, and conclude that heaven is worth the sacrifice of dying to self, of having our will brought into perfect conformity with the will of God? Until we are willing, the transforming grace of God will not be manifested upon us. When we present our emptied nature to God, he will by his Holy Spirit supply the vacuum made by the renunciation of self, and give us of his fullness. The Lord would not have us perish. He would have us consecrate to his service all there is of us; for he desires to bless us more than we desire to be blessed. He would have us abide in Christ, receive his blessing, and diffuse it to others while we live, that we may enjoy a blessed eternity. Life is short, but eternity is endless.
5 We should ask ourselves, For what are we living and working? And what will be the outcome of it all? We need the religion of Jesus Christ daily; for everything we do or say comes under the notice of God. “We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” What we are at heart, we reveal in life. Our thoughts, our words, our actions, are the result of what we are; and our influence is a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death, according to whether we abide in Christ or not. In the judgment we shall be brought face to face with those whom we have had opportunity to help by directing them, through choice words of counsel, into right, safe paths. If we have a daily connection with God, we shall have a living, abiding interest in the saving of the souls of men, and our influence will be a savor of life unto life.
6 The Lord has blessed us with the light of truth, and we are to let that light be seen, by being doers of the word. We are to let the bright rays of God’s word extend to others, to cheer and bless all that are in the house. If we do not have oil in our vessels, accept of the grace of Christ, which is abundantly provided for us, our light will burn dim, and, if neglected, will die out. But if from the treasure of the heart you bring forth good things, then your light shines out to those who are in darkness. But if you indulge in slang phrases and foolish talk, you bring forth from the treasure of the heart evil things, and darkness comes upon your soul, and upon the souls of others; for evil words bring forth a harvest after their kind. Evil words do more mischief than you have any idea of; they are seeds sown to produce a harvest, and your influence as a Christian is weakened. Foolish, idle jesting fails to exalt the character of Christ; and when he is not lifted up, souls are not drawn to him. The Lord Jesus calls upon you to place yourself in the channel of light, that the result of thorough faith in Christ as your personal Saviour may appear. Christianity is not to be put on and off at will, but it is to be our constant adorning; we are to be clothed with Christ’s righteousness as a garment.
7 Let no one rob God of the service he requires. Half-hearted service is of no value. Have we not tried our own way again and again, and found it was but foolishness? In following our independent judgment, have we not virtually said, “Lord, I want not thy way, for it does not please me; I want my own way; and if I cannot do as I please, I will not serve thee?” How many have let go of Christ, to follow their own plans? Did Christ, the Majesty of heaven, have his way? Behold him in travail of soul in Gethsemane, praying to his Father. What forced those blood drops of agony from his holy brow? Oh, the sins of the whole world are upon him! It was separation from the Father’s love that forced from his pale, quivering lips the cry, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Three times was the prayer offered, but was followed by, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, O God, be done.” This must be our attitude: “Not my will, but thine, O God, be done.” This is true conversion.
8 The church of Christ is to represent his character. Its members, if their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, will be united by a vital connection with Christ, as the branch is united with the living vine. Jesus says, “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” Christ devoted himself entirely to the work of saving souls. He left the glories of heaven, and clothed his divinity with humanity, and subjected himself to sorrow, and shame, and reproach, abuse, denial, and crucifixion. Though he had all the strength of the passion of humanity, never did he yield to temptation to do that which was not pure and elevating and ennobling. He says. “I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified.” He devoted himself wholly to God in an infinite sacrifice to redeem the world. What a wholeness in his life, his character! The plan of salvation, devised prior to the beginning of time, expresses the love of Christ to man, the devotion of the Son to the Father’s glory. “To the intent that now the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This eternal purpose embodied before the universe the glory of the divine love in the salvation of man.
9 Charged with his exalted mission, Jesus came into the world as the visible representative of the invisible God. He said to Philip: “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? . . . From henceforth ye know him and have seen him.” “I and my Father are one.” What height, and depth, and breadth of meaning in the Saviour’s words! They are clothed with a mysterious power that can only be spiritually discerned.
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Page 604
1 In order to save fallen man, under a sense of the infinite magnitude of the task, Christ undertook to represent to the world the character of God in his great love for the world. Nothing was allowed to divert his attention for a moment. His one effort was to carry out the plan of God laid before the foundation of the world. Said Christ, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.” As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” That is: “My Father hath so loved you, that he even loves me more for giving my life to redeem you. In becoming your substitute and surety, by surrendering my life, by taking your liabilities, your transgressions, I am endeared to my Father; for by my sacrifice, his will is fulfilled, his law vindicated, and God can be just, and yet justify him who believes in Jesus.”
2 This is a love that passeth knowledge. Shall we not be filled with astonishment at the amazing riches of the grace of Christ? Jesus alone could do the work. Knowing the height and depth of the love of God, he engaged to come into the world to make it manifest to sinners. Nothing less than the infinite sacrifice made by Christ in behalf of fallen man could express the love of God to lost humanity. It is impossible for us to conceive of the riches of his grace abundantly provided for all who believe on Christ. And having thus himself represented the love of the Father, he has enjoined upon those who believe in him to represent his character to the world, and thus reflect the glory of God in their own character.
3 Jesus says, “As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world,” to be witnesses for me. Christ calls upon each of his followers to represent his goodness, his mercy, and his love to the world, as he has represented the love of the Father. He has made those who believe in him as their personal Saviour, partakers of the divine nature, that they should not perish, but have everlasting life; and those who are saved by his grace are to reveal his power to others, that others may be saved through their instrumentality. All who are truly converted are commissioned of God to be light bearers to the world.
4 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” It is the privilege and duty of every child of God to obtain day by day a living experience in the things of Christ. Through a connection with Christ, we are to go forth in his Spirit, with his mind, as agents to cooperate with the divine, to bear to the world the message of the love of God to man. We are to proclaim that Christ is our advocate, that the bow of promise encircles the throne, that the Lord is waiting to be gracious. This work must not be set aside because it requires self-denial and self-sacrifice. Looking to the Author and Finisher of our faith, we must see there our pattern, and shape our life after the example he has given.
5 All the heavenly intelligencies are looking with intense interest to see what the human agencies will do at this time. As ministering spirits sent forth to minister unto them who shall be heirs of salvation, they look with yearning desire upon the world for whom Christ died. They know that Jesus has died that the world might believe in him and not perish, but have everlasting life. They know that Jesus now says to the sincere, believing ones: You have given yourselves to me, and I have given you to the world as my representatives. Ye are to be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. You are my witnesses, dedicated to me, that ye should go forth to represent the gracious character of God.”
6 When by faith we grasp what Jesus has done for us, all hardness of heart will be melted under the softening, subduing influence of his matchless love, and we shall bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. We shall then feel that we are under obligation to task to the uttermost our capability, that our talent may be brought into highest service to diffuse the light and grace we have received. There will not be exhibited a disposition to tear down, but the mind and spirit which dwell in Christ Jesus, to restore, to build up. Jesus was a fountain of healing mercy for the saving of the world; for by precept and example he represented the justice and love of God to men. When the nature of man is renewed by grace, he will be full of tenderness, sympathy, and love. Thus the character of God will be unfolded to the world as it is, and Satan will not be able to fasten the minds of all humanity in his snare, charging God with his own attributes, and misrepresenting his character.
7 Jesus could not express in words to the understanding of man the love of the Father; he could only say, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” But he did express the love of God in his actions. Never can we equal the goodness and the love of Jesus, but he calls upon every man and woman, youth and child, to behold him, and by beholding his perfection of character, to become changed into his image. Call every talent into exercise to copy the Pattern. Christ died to save man, and he calls upon us to live as seeing Him who is invisible, that we may save souls. Then seek the Lord most earnestly. Eternal life at the right hand of God is worth a lifelong, persevering, untiring effort. Look to the cross of Calvary, and be no longer half-hearted. It is either life or death with every one of us; and when we surrender all, then Jesus will open ways that we may serve him with every power of our being. The Lord would have us gather up the rays of light, and be witnesses for Christ.
8 Says the prophet, “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.”
9 The church may individually be all that they profess to be; for if they will seek the Lord with all the heart, they will be filled with the Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Pattern, and everyone who copies the Pattern will estimate the value of his own soul as the purchased possession of Christ. He will see that the Lord requires all the members of his church, as living, human agencies, to exert a sanctified influence in unity to build up the Redeemer’s kingdom in the earth. The careless inaction, the indolence, the neglect to improve a single faculty and intrusted capability which might have been employed for blessing humanity, robs the world of the promised influence of the Holy Spirit, which might have accompanied with its presence the living witness for God. A message from heaven is sent to the world by those whom the Lord has called. They are to make known the salvation of God, that, by the testimony of those who are sanctified, many may be saved.
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Page 605
1 Many have confused ideas as to what constitutes faith, and they live altogether below their privileges. They confuse feeling and faith, and are continually distressed and perplexed in mind; for Satan takes all possible advantage of their ignorance and inexperience. Through manifold temptations, Satan often succeeds in making the experience of the Christian dark and bitter, according to his evil designs. We are to accept of Christ as our personal Saviour, or we shall fail in our attempt to be overcomers. It will not answer for us to hold ourselves aloof from him, to believe that our friend or our neighbor may have him for a personal Saviour, but that we may not experience his pardoning love. We are to believe that we are chosen of God, to be saved by the exercise of faith, through the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit; and we are to praise and glorify God for such a marvelous manifestation of his unmerited favor. It is the love of God that draws the soul to Christ, to be graciously received, and presented to the Father. Through the work of the Spirit the divine relationship between God and the sinner is renewed. The Father says: “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. I will exercise forgiving love toward them, and bestow upon them my joy. They shall be to me a peculiar treasure; for this people whom I have formed for myself shall show forth my praise.”
2 The Father sets his love upon his elect people who live in the midst of men. These are the people whom Christ has redeemed by the price of his own blood; and because they respond to the drawing of Christ, through the sovereign mercy of God, they are elected to be saved as his obedient children. Upon them is manifested the free grace of God, the love wherewith he hath loved them. Everyone who will humble himself as a little child who will receive and obey the word of God with a child’s simplicity, will be among the elect of God. Of the church at Ephesus, the apostle writes:—
3 “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him; in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”
4 In the council of heaven, provision was made that men, though transgressors, should not perish in their disobedience, but, through faith in Christ as their substitute and surety, might become the elect of God predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. God wills that all men should be saved; for ample provision has been made, in giving his only-begotten Son to pay man’s ransom. Those who perish will perish because they refuse to be adopted as children of God through Christ Jesus. The pride of man hinders him from accepting the provisions of salvation. But human merit will not admit a soul into the presence of God. That which will make a man acceptable to God is the imparted grace of Christ through faith in his name. No dependence can be placed in works or in happy flights of feelings as evidence that men are chosen of God; for the elect are chosen through Christ.
5 Jesus says, “Him that cometh unto me I will in nowise cast out.” When the repenting sinner comes to Christ, conscious of his guilt and unworthiness, realizing that he is deserving of punishment, but relying on the mercy and love of Christ, he will not be turned away. The pardoning love of God is appropriated, and joyful gratitude springs up in his heart for the infinite compassion and love of his Saviour. That provision was made for him in the councils of heaven before the foundation of the world, that Christ should take upon himself the penalty of man’s transgression and impute to him his righteousness, overwhelms him with amazement, and calls forth from his lips words of praise and songs of gratitude.
6 Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. To many it has been a mystery why so many sacrificial offerings were required in the old dispensation, why so many bleeding victims were led to the altar. But the great truth that was to be kept before men, and imprinted upon mind and heart, was this, “Without shedding of blood is no remission.” In every bleeding sacrifice was typified “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Christ himself was the originator of the Jewish system of worship, in which, by types and symbols, were shadowed forth spiritual and heavenly things. Many forgot the true significance of these offerings; and the great truth that through Christ alone there is forgiveness of sin, was lost to them. The multiplying of sacrificial offerings, the blood of bulls and goats, could not take away sin.
7 In the old dispensation many failed to see the force of the lesson presented to them in sacrifice and offering, and they were without excuse. But today we are living when type has met antitype in the offering of Christ for the sins of the world; we are living in the day of increased light, and yet how few are benefited with the grand and all-important truth that Christ has made an ample sacrifice for all! What justice required, Christ had rendered in the offering of himself, and “how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” Those who reject the gift of life will be without excuse; “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
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Page 606
1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
2 These words are simple and plain, but do we understand them? Do we have a practical knowledge of what they mean? If we do not, as professed followers of Christ, we are to understand that we need to make haste, and place our affections on those things that are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Why are we commanded to do this?—Because if we place our affections on the things of earth, we shall become earthly, common, and evil. Our minds take the level of the things on which our thoughts dwell, and if we think upon earthly things, we shall fail to take the impress of that which is heavenly. We would be greatly benefited by contemplating the mercy, goodness, and love of God; but we sustain great loss by dwelling upon those things which are earthly and temporal. We allow sorrow and care and perplexity to attract our minds to earth, and we magnify a molehill into a mountain. In speaking of that which we are called upon to endure, Paul says: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look”—at our difficulties, while we magnify our trials, and think only of our hardships? No, but “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
3 Temporal things are not to engage our whole attention, or engross our minds until our thoughts are entirely of the earth and the earthly. We are to train, discipline, and educate the mind so that we may think in a heavenly channel, that we may dwell on things unseen and eternal, which will be discerned by spiritual vision. It is by seeing Him who is invisible that we may obtain strength of mind and vigor of spirit. This is the way in which Daniel received strength. He was called to act a part in the first place in the kingdom of Babylon, and proved himself a noble statesman in all his connection with the court. He lived a noble life, and presented a worthy example. His eye was fastened on things unseen and eternal. He realized that he was fighting in the sight of the heavenly intelligences, and his dependence was in God.
4 We may not be called upon to act a part in public affairs, but in whatever place we are called by the providence of God, we may confidently expect that God will be our helper. We are not to be a toy to circumstances, but to be above circumstances. We are not to be controlled by circumstances. When we are placed in trying positions, and find things about us that we do not like, that try our patience, and test our faith, we are not to sink down in despondency, but to take a firmer hold upon God, and prove that we are not setting our affection on things on the earth, but on things above; that we are looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus is to be the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He is to be our strength in every time of trial. God must be our sole dependence. When we drop God out of our reckoning, and cease to place our affections upon him, we deprive ourselves of great benefit. We cannot afford to do this, and God cannot afford to have us do it! Why?—Because we have been bought with an infinite price, even with the precious blood of his only-begotten Son. God cannot afford to have us glorify the powers of darkness by turning our eyes upon things seen and temporal; for instead of being workers together with him, we cast our influence on the side of the enemy.
5 You are to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, at the same time realizing that it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. When we are laborers together with God, we cannot set our affections upon things below; for where our affections are, our thoughts will be; and where our thoughts are, there will be our treasure. When we dwell upon things seen and temporal, we fail to obtain divine knowledge, as did Daniel. What is our position today? Are we learners in the school of Christ, earnestly seeking to know what is the will of God concerning us? How many in this congregation believe that Christ is their personal Saviour? How many can say, “He saves me”? I know that he wants that I should be saved. He looks upon me as of value in his sight, and therefore I know that my thoughts, my words, and my works, all pass in review before him. Everything that is connected with the purchase of the blood of Christ is of value in the sight of God. By the price paid for our redemption we are under obligation to devote our entire affections to Christ. We are to give God all there is of us; and in giving to God our all, are we to consider that we sustain a great loss?—No, for in giving to him our talents, we are doubling them. Every gift he has given to us, when returned to him, receives his blessing, that it may have increased influence in the work of God. Wherever you may be, you are to realize that you belong to Christ, and that your influence is to be as far-reaching as eternity.
6 At one time a lawyer came to Jesus, and said, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Is there anyone here that wants that question answered? Jesus turned the question back upon the questioner, and said unto him, “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” The lawyer answered him in a way that made manifest that he understood what the law comprehended. He quoted the words found in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, and said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart [not giving half to the world and a third to self, but all to God. Will there be anything left for the world?] and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” Our whole being is required in the service of God. No reservation is to be made. But someone says, “Well, I do not know how I would succeed in the things of this world were I to carry out this instruction.” You would succeed much better; for you would find that godliness is profitable unto all things, providing that which is essential for your welfare in this world and your happiness in the next. You would succeed much better; for you would have God to work with you. You would live as seeing him who is invisible, realizing that you were working in the sight of the unseen world.
7 This is the way in which Moses succeeded. He lived as seeing Him who is invisible, and was therefore able to count the reproaches of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. If men would live in this way, we should see their faces aglow with the glory of God; for they would be viewing the glory of the eternal, and by beholding, would be transformed into the image of Christ. But instead of this, how general is forgetfulness of God! How few are constantly beholding the unseen Guest, realizing that he is at their right hand! How many ignore his presence! Did we treat others as we treat Jesus, what discourtesy it would be thought!
8 Suppose a friend were with us, and we should meet an acquaintance on the way and direct our whole attention to our new-found acquaintance, ignoring the presence of our friend, what opinion would men have of our loyalty to our friend, of our degree of respect to him? And yet this is the way we treat Jesus. We forget that he is our companion. We engage in conversation, and never mention his name or include his instruction in our words. We talk of worldly business matters, and where it does not bruise the soul, where it is essential, we do not dishonor Jesus, but we do dishonor him when we fail to mention him in our intercourse with our friends and associates. He is our best friend, and we should seek for opportunities to speak of him. We should ever remember that he is at our right hand, that we should not be moved, and we should ever keep him in view. Our conversation should be of a character that would be of no offense to God. We are to be overcomers, copartners with Jesus, not lending our influence to the work of the enemy. Although “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” yet not a soul of us will be saved who fails to cooperate with God. Although our salvation is dependent upon our cooperation with God, yet we can take no glory to ourselves; for Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith; all the glory is to rebound to God. Christ is the beginning and the end, and we are utterly dependent upon him.
9 Jesus says, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Since this is our position, shall we permit our minds to wander to the ends of the earth? Shall we spend our probationary time in jesting and joking? Shall we fail to realize that it is a solemn thing to live? Men generally agree that it is a solemn thing to die; but it is a far more solemn thing to live. Why?—Because every soul surrounds itself with an atmosphere that has a telling influence upon those with whom we are brought in contact. Many gather to themselves the atmosphere that breathes from the powers of darkness. Even professed followers of Christ often permit the hellish shadow of Satan to interpose between the soul and God. Their thoughts, their words are of a cheap, common order, and they give others the impression that religion is a cheap thing. Oh, we cannot afford to give any such instruction! We who may be imbued with the Spirit of Christ, who may have his love in our hearts, his vivifying influence in our souls, should shed upon men a beneficial influence. We should be copartners with Jesus. He says:—
10 “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”
11 These are the truths upon which we should dwell. Our bodies are built up from what we feed upon, and our minds, our experiences, will be after the order of that which composes our spiritual food. Jesus says: “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
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1 We are looking forward to the change from mortality to immortality; but what more can we have than it is now our privilege to have? We may have Jesus abiding in our hearts by faith. He died on Calvary’s cross, that he might abide in you, and you in him. We may have the presence of Christ with us, as had Daniel in Babylon. God gave him wisdom in all knowledge, and he had understanding in all mysteries. But we may be as was Daniel. The Source of Wisdom is open to us. We may come to God, we may grow in wisdom.
2 There is no need of our being ignorant. James says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” The exhortation is given, “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” How is it possible that we may grow in grace? It is possible to us only as we empty our hearts of self, and present them to heaven, to be moulded after the divine Pattern. We may have a connection with the living Channel of Light; we may be refreshed with the heavenly dew, and have the showers of heaven descend upon us. As we appropriate the blessing of God, we shall be able to receive greater measures of his grace. As we learn to endure as seeing him who is invisible, we shall become changed into the image of Christ. The grace of Christ will not make us proud, cause us to be lifted up in self, but we shall become meek and lowly in heart. It was the grace of Christ that made Moses the meekest man on earth. As we learn of the divine Master, we shall manifest this precious attribute. How long did it take Moses to learn the lesson of meekness, and become fitted to be a general to lead the armies of Israel out of Egypt? He went through a long discipline. For forty years he tended sheep in the land of Midian, learning how to be a good shepherd to the flock. In his position of shepherd he was called upon to care for the weak, to guide the wayward, to seek for the wandering. This was an essential training for him who was to be the leader of Israel; for in the care of the flock of God he would be called upon to nourish the weak, to instruct the wayward, and to bring the lost one back to the fold. This is the work of the follower of Christ. We are to watch for souls as they that must give an account, to do all in our power that those with whom we associate may grow to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus.
3 We are to realize to what we are called in Christ; for by faith we are to attain unto his righteousness. Since this is the standard for our attainment, how can any of us be satisfied with our present attainments? If we have been dwelling upon things seen and temporal, let us turn our attention to the things unseen and eternal. Let us not wait for a revival in the church, or for special conviction; but, realizing our need, and knowing that all heaven is at our command, let us now yield our hearts to God. Let us not think that we may wait until some Conference meeting, until a large company is called forward, to seek God’s blessing. It is best for us to be awake individually, today yielding our hearts to God. Decide now to dedicate yourself to him, not only as a congregation, but as individuals; decide to seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Do not wait one for another. Do not look about you to see if your neighbor is going to make the surrender, but, realizing that each one of us must give an account of himself to God, that we have a living Saviour, who is our substitute and surety, draw nigh to God.
4 The word of the Lord says, “Draw nigh to God, and” perhaps he will draw nigh to you? No, the promise is, “He will draw nigh to you.” God does not do anything for man without his cooperation. He draws you by the tender cords of his love, and as you respond to this drawing, you draw nigh to him. As you are seeking his face, the angels minister unto you. He has at his command ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of angels. They are constantly ascending and descending; for are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation? They are ministering in the cities, towns, and villages. They receive their commission from God, whose eye beholds all things; and when a soul is in discouragement, he sends help from heaven, even before the prayer for help is uttered. Before we ask, he commissions his ministers to go forth with divine aid. During the sleepless nights I have passed through the months of my illness, I have taken indescribable comfort in these thoughts. As soon as my mind was fixed on Jesus, the clouds of darkness were transformed, and all was light in the Lord. My soul was melted with his love. Fix the eyes upon Jesus, and say, “Lead me, guide me.” Your prayer will ascend before the Father as fragrant incense; for the merit of Christ will make it of value before God.
5 When Christ’s righteousness is your plea, you will be accepted in the Beloved. Jesus encourages us to present his merit at the throne. He says, “If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Oh, educate the soul to believe the promises of God. Would he make such promises if he did not love us? We are his purchased property; bought at an infinite price. Would you know the manner of love that has been bestowed upon you? I point you to the cross of Calvary. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ died in behalf of the world. Our Heavenly Father has valued us at the price of Jesus, and, having been bought at such a cost, what right have we to spend our God-given capabilities in the service of the world and sin? What right have we to fritter away our time, to use our talents in aiding the work of the powers of darkness? “Set your affections on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
6 It means something to be a Christian, a joint heir with Jesus Christ. To what?—To an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. But are we preparing for such an inheritance when the mind is all full of lightness and trifling and folly, when we devote our God-given time to that which has no substantial value? We need the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to his disciples, “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. . . . When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.”
7 We are to commune with God through the agency of the Holy Spirit; and when we pray, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities. The plow-share of truth must go deep. We are full of self, satisfied with our condition. Jesus says,”Thou sayest I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” We must fall on the Rock and be broken, and then the Spirit of God will take possession of us, and mould us after the divine Pattern.
8 Then make the surrender at once. Don’t wait till you get home, but make it manifest that you realize what is required of you. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.” You are to set your affections upon God. In order to do this it is not necessary to sound a trumpet before you, to make a proclamation to the world that you have turned from darkness to light, and that you do not wish anyone to come near you to cast a cloud of darkness over you. Religion means the making of a daily consecration of yourself to God; it means meekness and lowliness of heart; it means to take everything that comes to you as a blessing, to let praise flow back to God. The Lord says, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.” As we praise God, the soul becomes strong in spiritual power.
9 At morning, noon, and night we should meditate upon the goodness and love of God, that we may know God; for this is life eternal. The Father has given the best gift, the greatest treasure of heaven, to us, and we are of value to God, and should render praise to him. But when we surround ourselves with a dark atmosphere, we forget that the Father knows our trials, and has sent them to us in love. The praise that should reach him never comes to his throne; for our affections are not centered upon him.
10 We should lay hold upon God with all our strength, and love him with undivided heart. Do not look to see what others are doing, but be yourself a copartner with him, a laborer together with God, a partaker of the divine nature. We are to consecrate ourselves to God, to help others, to surround ourselves with a fragrant atmosphere. Our words are to be cheerful and kind; we are to come heart to heart as members of the family of Christ. We are to be one, as Christ is one with the Father. Let us seek for this oneness, and by and by we shall see him as he is, and enjoy his presence through the ceaseless ages of eternity. We shall have the life that measures with the life of God. It will take all eternity to comprehend the science of redemption, to understand something of what it means that the Son of the infinite God gave his life for the life of the world. Then shall we not seek for glory, honor and eternal life? Shall we not make it our first business? We can have but a short lifetime here, but the life to come is eternal. We may attain unto this through daily consecration of ourselves to God, through the aid of the Holy Spirit, through following the example of Christ, who was tempted in all points like as we are, yet who sinned not, that he might be able to succor those who are tempted. Let us come to the throne of infinite love, and there wait and watch to see the fulfillment of the promises of God. Make your appeal to heaven, knowing that what God hath said he will do, and will make his light shine through you to others. You may not know that you are giving light to others, but God will know it. To those on the right hand the Lord will say: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto thee, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” They did not know that they were doing good to others; for it was the Spirit of Christ that wrought with them, and others took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus, and learned of him. Let us have personal religion, and become rooted and grounded in love.
11 While the Conference was assembled at South Lancaster, Mass., a faithful old sister was dying, and she sent in this message to those assembled, “The anchor holds.” This is what we want, a hope that we can cast like an anchor, entering into that which is within the veil. We want to be able to bear testimony that the anchor holds in the time of sickness, trial, or bereavement. In our darkest hours we want to be able to see matchless charms in Jesus, to set our affections on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, that our life may be hid with Christ in God, that when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we also may appear with him in glory.
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Page 608
1 From this far distant field of Australia I would address you in America, asking to what use you are putting your intrusted talents? Every talent is to be returned to the Master with interest; for the Lord has a work for one and all to do, which, if performed, will result in the accumulation of talent and blessing. All are called upon to work while it is day; for the night cometh, in which no man can work. There are towns and villages and cities that are white already to harvest; but where are the reapers? Seed sowers are needed, and the reapers should be ready to follow after. Time is short, and there is need of earnest laborers to go all through Michigan, for in this State especially the fields are white for the harvest.
2 Let not the work that needs to be done wait for the ordination of ministers. If there are not ministers to take up the work, let men of intelligence, with no thought of how they can accumulate the most property, establish themselves in these cities and towns, and lift up the standard of the cross, using the knowledge they have gained in winning souls to the truth. The knowledge of the truth is altogether too precious to be hoarded up, and bound about, and hid in the earth. Even the one talent intrusted by the Master is to be faithfully employed to gain other talents also. Where are the men and women who have been refreshed with rich streams of blessing from the throne of God? Let them ask themselves what they have done to communicate this light to those who have not had like advantages? How will those who have neglected to use their talents stand in the judgment, when every motive will be brought under scrutiny? The heavenly Master has committed to every one of his servants talents. “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability.”
3 God has not given talents to merely a chosen few, but to everyone he has committed some peculiar gift to be used in his service. Many to whom the Lord has given precious talents have refused to employ them for the advancement of the kingdom of God; nevertheless, they are under obligation to God for their use of his gifts. Everyone, whether serving God or pleasing himself, is a possessor of some trust, whose proper use will bring glory to God and whose perverted use will rob the Giver. That the possessor of talents does not acknowledge God’s claims upon him, does not make his guilt the less. If he chooses to stand under the black banner of the prince of darkness through this life, he will stand unconfessed by Christ in the day of final accounts.
4 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The ransom money has been paid for every son and daughter of Adam, and that those who have been ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, refuse allegiance to him, will not shield them from the retribution that will come upon them in the last day. They will have to answer for their neglect to use their intrusted talents for the Master. They will have to answer for their reproaches against their Maker and Redeemer, and for their robbery of God in withholding their talents from his service, and burying their Lord’s goods in the earth.
5 The human family is composed of responsible moral agents, and from the highest and most gifted to the lowest and most obscure, all are invested with the goods of heaven. Time is an intrusted gift of God, and is to be diligently employed in the service of Christ. Influence is a gift of God, and is to be exerted for the forwarding of the highest, noblest purposes. Christ died on Calvary’s cross that all our influence might be used to lift him up before a perishing world. Those who behold the Majesty of heaven dying on the cross for their transgressions, will value their influence only as it draws men to Christ, and they will use it for this purpose only. Intellect is an intrusted talent. Sympathy and affection are talents to be sacredly guarded and improved, that we may render service to Him whose purchased possession we are.
6 All that we are or can be belongs to God. Education, discipline, and skill in every line should be used for him. The capital is his, and the improvement is the usury that rightfully belongs to the Master. Whether the amount intrusted is large or small, the Lord requires that his householders do their best. It is not the amount intrusted or the improvement made that brings to men the approbation of heaven, but it is the faithfulness, the loyalty to God, the loving service rendered, that brings the divine benediction, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” This reward of joy does not wait until our entrance into the city of God, but the faithful servant has a foretaste of it even in this life.
7 Instead of burying our talents in the earth, those who are willing to trade upon them, will not trade in vain. God pronounces his blessing upon unselfish, unwearied diligence; and though we may have but one talent, and can make but a small investment, yet God will make the effort fruitful in results. The man who works in faith will realize that his intellect, his affections, his whole power, belongs to God, and he will seek to make diligent use of his powers, and will improve his faculties and talents. But, instead of realizing that all our faculties belong to God, how many are reckless, little thinking that their influence, their cheap, light words, are moulding the characters of those with whom they associate, and bringing down their minds to a low level. If they did but understand what they are doing, and could realize that they are accountable for their influence, and that in the sight of heaven they are wasting their opportunities, would they so belittle their talents of speech and mind, and so mould the minds of their companions to what is low and ignoble, by their trifling, cheap conversation? It is by the influence of reckless triflers that the confederacy of evil is strengthened and the intrusted talents of God are corrupted and buried in the earth.
8 But the very talents that men pervert to the service of evil have been bestowed by the Lord for their elevation and the elevation of those with whom they associate. Through the exercise of the faculties of the mind, through the power of speech, they are to be constantly improving, and feeding other minds with rich, intellectual food, thus becoming a blessing to the world. Shall we not individually make the best possible use of the natural powers of mind and body? Shall we not carefully treasure every intrusted talent, and by exercise strengthen every faculty, and live in such a way that the young and inexperienced and the aged and experienced shall be benefited by association with us?
9 The atmosphere that surrounds the soul is fraught with influence for good or evil according to the character of the thoughts. It may be full of poison and malaria, or be fragrant and pure and health giving. This moral influence will be according to our connection with Christ or our separation from him, who is light and life. Those who are united with Christ will realize that he has given them trusts according to their several ability; and, whatever their surroundings, they will consider them favorable for the development of moral character. We are to make the most of every advantage and opportunity. We may continually remember that we must train and improve our ability that we may not disappoint our Master, but reach the highest possible standard, and thus influence others to follow in the footsteps of our Example. We may say, “Neither society nor intimate companions must have their ideas of Christian character cheapened by my course of action.” Those who take and keep this position will find that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Such will receive the commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
10 In the work of disseminating the gospel, Christ sent his disciples out by two and two. In our efforts we should follow the plan of our Master. There are many that think it would be more advantageous to scatter our forces as much as possible so as to take in as much territory as possible; but Christ’s way is best, and it will always result in loss to follow other methods than his. If two workers could come to this distant field, qualified by the Holy Spirit, and would deny self and take up the cross and follow Jesus, making it manifest that they were true disciples, an important work could be accomplished in the cities and their suburbs. We desire that men and women should come to these fields who have a knowledge of the truth, who are not as children tossed to and fro, who want not a pleasant time, but who are willing to carry burdens.
11 Oh! that the Lord would baptize men and women who were once in darkness and have seen great light, with his Holy Spirit, that they may realize their duty to let the light shine forth to others who are in darkness.
12 The advantages of you who have heard the truth in America have been great; but what use are you making of your privileges? What are you doing with your talents? Are you putting them out to the exchangers? Have you treasured up the truth in good and honest hearts, accepting the light ray after ray as it has come to you, and do you feel under obligation to diffuse the light you have received? Do you comprehend what the Lord would impress upon you by the parable of the talents? The Lord committed to every man talents according to his ability, and all were to trade upon these intrusted goods. By doing as their Lord commanded, they doubled their talents. But there was one who had but one talent intrusted to him, and he went and wrapped it in a napkin, and hid it in the earth; and when the Master returned and reckoned with his servants, he returned the talent to his Lord, bearing false witness against his Master, accusing him of being a hard man, who reaped where he had not sown, and gathered where he had not strewn, and he made this misapprehension of his Lord’s character an excuse for his slothfulness. But the Lord penetrated his disguises and answered him according to his estimate:—
13 “Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed; thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give unto him that hath ten talents. For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
14 But upon those who faithfully employed their talents, and who by wise use of their gifts doubled their ability, the Lord pronounced his divine benediction. To them he said, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
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1 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” In the word of God is contained everything essential to the perfecting of the man of God. It is like a treasure house, full of valuable and precious stores, but we do not appreciate its riches, nor realize the necessity of equipping ourselves with the treasures of truth. We do not realize the great necessity of searching the Scriptures for ourselves. Many neglect the study of the word of God in order to pursue some worldly interest, or to indulge in some trifling pleasure. A passing affair is made an excuse for ignorance of the Scriptures given by inspiration of God. Oh, we might better put off anything of an earthly character than the investigation of the word of God, which is able to make us wise unto life eternal.
2 “Given by inspiration of God,” “able to make us wise unto salvation,” rendering “the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”— the Book of books has the highest claims to our reverent attention. Superficial study of the word of God cannot meet the claims it has upon us, nor furnish us with the benefit that is promised. We should seek to learn the full meaning of the words of truth, and to drink deep the spirit of the holy oracles. To read daily a certain number of chapters, or to commit to memory a stipulated amount of Scripture, without careful thought as to the meaning of the text, will profit but little. To study one passage until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained. We cannot obtain wisdom from the word of God without giving earnest and prayerful attention to its study. It is true that some portions of Scripture are, indeed, too plain to be misunderstood; but there are many portions whose meaning cannot be seen at a glance; for the truth does not lie upon the surface. In order to understand the meaning of such passages, scripture must be compared with scripture; there must be careful research and prayerful reflection. Such study will be richly repaid. As the miner discovers precious veins of metal concealed beneath the surface of the earth, so will he who perseveringly searches the word of God as for hid treasure find truths of the greatest value which are concealed from the careless seeker.
3 You must dig in the mine of truth till you find its richest treasure, and by comparing scripture with scripture you may find the true meaning of the text. But if you do not make the sacred teachings of God’s word the rule and guide of your life, the truth will be nothing to you. Truth is efficient only as it is carried out in practical life. If the word of God condemns some habit you have indulged, a feeling you have cherished, a spirit you have manifested, turn not from the word of God, but turn away from the evil of your doings, and let Jesus cleanse and sanctify your heart. Confess your faults, and forsake them wholly and determinedly, believing the promises of God, and showing your faith by your works. If the truths of the Bible are woven into practical life, they will bring the mind up from earthliness and debasement. Those who are conversant with the Scriptures will be men and women who exert an elevating influence.
4 In searching for heaven-revealed truths, the Spirit of God is brought into close connection with the sincere searcher of the Scriptures. An understanding of the revealed will of God enlarges the mind, expands, elevates, and endows it with new vigor, by bringing its faculties into contact with stupendous truth. No study is better to give energy to the mind, to strengthen the intellect, than the study of the word of God. No other book is so potent in elevating the thoughts, in giving vigor to the faculties, as is the Bible, which contains the most ennobling truths. If God’s word were studied as it should be, we would see breadth of mind, stability of purpose, nobility of character, such as is rarely seen in these times.
5 But the study of the word of God is made a secondary consideration, and a great loss is sustained thereby. The understanding takes the level of the things with which it becomes familiar. If all would make the Bible their study, we would see a people who were better developed, who were capable of thinking more deeply, who would manifest greater intelligence than those who have earnestly studied apart from the Bible the sciences and histories of the world. The Bible gives the true seeker for truth an advanced mental discipline, and he comes from contemplation of divine things with his faculties enriched; self is humbled, while God and his revealed truth are exalted. It is because men are unacquainted with the precious Bible histories that there is so much lifting up of man and so little honor given to God.
6 The Bible contains that which will give the Christian vigor of spirit and intellect. The Psalmist says, “The entrance of thy word giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” The Bible is a wonderful book. It is a history that opens up to us the past centuries. Without the Bible we would have been left to conjectures and fables in regard to the occurrences of past ages. It is a prophecy that unveils the future. It is the word of God unfolding to us the plan of salvation, pointing out the way by which we may escape eternal death and gain eternal life. Of all the books that flood the world, however valuable, the Bible is the Book of books, most deserving of our study and admiration. It gives not only the history of this world but a description of the world to come. It contains instruction concerning the wonders of the universe, it reveals to our understanding the character of the Author of the heavens and the earth. In it is the revelation of God to man.
7 The searching of all books of philosophy and science cannot do for the mind and morals what the searching of the Bible can do, if its teaching is made practical. He who studies the Bible holds converse with patriarchs and prophets. He comes in contact with truth clothed in elevated language, which exerts a fascinating power over the mind and lifts the thought from the things of earth to the glory of the future immortal life. What wisdom of man can compare with the revelation of the grandeur of God? Finite man who knows not God, seeks to lessen the value of the Scriptures, claiming that their supposed knowledge of science will not harmonize with the word of God; but the word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
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1 Those who boast of wisdom beyond the teaching of the word of God, need to drink deeper of the fountain of knowledge, that they may learn their real ignorance. Men boast of their wisdom when it is foolishness in the sight of God. Let no man deceive himself. “If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, he taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” The greatest ignorance that now curses the human race is in regard to the binding claims of the law of God; and this ignorance is the result of neglecting the study of the word of God. It is Satan’s plan to so engage the mind that men shall neglect the great guidebook, and thus be led into the path of transgression and destruction.
2 The Bible is not exalted to its place among the books of the world, although its study is of infinite importance to the souls of men. In searching its pages the imagination beholds scenes majestic and eternal. We behold Jesus, the Son of God, coming to our world, and engaging in the mysterious conflict that discomfited the powers of darkness. Oh, how wonderful, how almost incredible it is, that the infinite God would consent to the humiliation of his own Son that we might be elevated to a place with him upon his throne! Let every student of the Scriptures contemplate this great fact, and he will not come from a study of the Bible without being purified, elevated, and ennobled. The truth will be opened to the mind, and applied to the heart by the Spirit of God. Through connection with God the Christian will have clearer and broader views, unbiased by his own preconceived opinions. His discernment will be more penetrating, his judgment be better balanced and far seeing. His understanding, exercised in contemplation of exalted truths, will be expanded, and in obtaining heavenly knowledge, he will better understand his own weakness and grow in faith and humility. When there is little attention given to the word of God, divine counsels are not heeded, admonitions are in vain, grace and heavenly wisdom are not sought that past sins may be avoided, and every stain of corruption may be cleansed from the character. David prayed: “Make me to understand the way of thy precepts; so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.” “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
3 There is a great work to be done by earnest Bible students, for gems of truth are to be gathered up, and separated from the companionship of error. Though the Bible is a revelation from heaven, yet many do not comprehend its divine teaching. We are to discover new aspects of truth in both Old and New Testaments, to behold the exceeding breadth and compass of truths which we imagine we understand, but of which we have only a superficial knowledge. He who earnestly searches the Scriptures will see that harmony exists between the various parts of the Bible, will discover the bearing of one passage upon another, and the reward of his toil will be exceedingly precious.
4 All over the field of revelation are scattered glad springs of heavenly truth, of peace and joy. These glad springs of truth are within the reach of every seeker. The words of inspiration, pondered in the heart, will be as living streams flowing from the river of the water of life. Our Saviour prayed that the mind of his followers might be opened to understand the Scriptures. Whenever we study the Bible with a prayerful heart, the Holy Spirit is near to open us the meaning of the words we read. The man whose mind is enlightened by the opening of God’s word to his understanding, will not only feel that he must more diligently seek to understand the word of God, but that he must have a better understanding of the sciences. He will feel that he is called to a high calling in Christ Jesus. The more closely connected man is with the Source of all knowledge and wisdom, the more he will be convinced that he must advance in intellectual and spiritual attainment. The opening of God’s word is always followed by a remarkable opening and strengthening of man’s faculties; for the entrance of God’s words giveth light. By contemplation of great truths the mind is elevated, the affections purified and refined; for the Spirit of God through the truth of God quickens the lifeless spiritual faculties, and attracts the soul heavenward.
5 Then take your Bible and present yourself before your Heavenly Father, saying, “Enlighten me; teach me what is truth.” The Lord will regard your prayer, and the Holy Spirit will impress the truth upon your soul. In searching the Scriptures for yourself, you will become established in the faith. It is of the greatest importance that you continually search the Scriptures, storing the mind with the word of God, for you may be separated from the companionship of Christians, and placed where you will not have the privilege of meeting with the children of God. You need the treasures of God’s word hidden in your heart, that when opposition comes upon you, you may bring everything to the Scriptures.
6 Truth is eternal, and conflict with error will only make manifest its strength. We should never refuse to examine the Scriptures with those who we have a reason to believe desire to know what is truth as much as we do. Suppose a brother holds a view that differs from yours, and he comes to you, proposing that you sit down with him and investigate that point in the Scriptures; should you rise up filled with prejudice, and condemn his ideas, while refusing to give him a candid hearing? The only right way would be to sit down as Christians and investigate the position presented in the light of God’s word, which will reveal truth and unmask error. To ridicule his ideas would not weaken his position, though it were false, or strengthen your position, though it were true. If the pillars of our faith will not stand the test of investigation, it is time that we knew it, for it is foolish to become set in our ideas, and think that no one should interfere with our opinions. Let everything be brought to the Bible; for it is the only rule of faith and doctrine.
7 We must study the truth for ourselves; no living man should be relied upon to think for us, no matter who he may be or in what position he may be placed. We are not to look upon any man as a perfect criterion for us. We are to counsel together, and be subject one to another, but at the same time we are to exercise the ability God has given us to learn what is truth. Each one of us must look to God for divine enlightenment, that we may individually develop a character that will stand the test in the day of God.
8 We are living in the last days, when error of a most deceptive character is accepted and believed, while truth is discarded. Many are drifting into darkness and infidelity, picking flaws with the Bible, bringing in superstitious inventions, unscriptural theories, and speculations of vain philosophy; but it is the duty of everyone to seek a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. The importance and benefit of Bible study cannot be overestimated. In searching the Scriptures our minds are caused to dwell upon the infinite sacrifice of Christ, on his mediation in our behalf. As we see his love, as we meditate upon his humiliation and sufferings, the same spirit of self-denial and sacrifice for the good of others will be kindled in our hearts. As we behold Jesus by the eye of faith, we shall be “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
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1 The law of love is the foundation of God’s government, and the service of love the only service acceptable to heaven. God has granted freedom of will to all, endowed men with capacity to appreciate his character, and therefore with ability to love him and to choose his service. So long as created beings worshiped God they were in harmony throughout the universe. While love to God was supreme, love to others abounded. As there was no transgression of the law, which is the transcript of God’s character, no note of discord jarred the celestial harmonies.
2 But known unto God are all his works, and from eternal ages the covenant of grace (unmerited favor) existed in the mind of God. It is called the everlasting covenant; for the plan of salvation was not conceived after the fall of man, but it was that which was “kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested and by the Scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith.”
3 The purpose and plan of grace existed from all eternity. Before the foundation of the world it was according to the determinate counsel of God that man should be created and endowed with power to do the divine will. The fall of man, with all its consequences, was not hidden from the Omnipotent. Redemption was not an after thought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam, but an eternal purpose, suffered to be wrought out for the blessing, not only of this atom of a world, but for the good of all the worlds that God had created.
4 Before Him who ruleth in the heavens, the mysteries of the past and future are alike outspread, and God sees beyond the woe and darkness and ruin that sin has wrought, the outworking of his purpose of love and blessing. Though clouds and darkness are round about him, yet righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
5 Through creation and redemption, through nature and through Christ, the glories of the divine character are revealed. By the marvelous display of his love in giving “his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” the character of God is revealed to the intelligences of the universe. Through Christ our Heavenly Father is made known as the God of love.
6 When man sinned, all heaven was filled with sorrow; for through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, a partaker of the Satanic nature. The image of God in which he had been created was marred and distorted. The character of man was out of harmony with the character of God; for through sin man became carnal, and the carnal heart is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. To the angels there seemed to be no way of escape for the transgressor. They ceased their songs of praise, and throughout the heavenly courts there was mourning for the ruin sin had wrought. Out of harmony with the nature of God, unyielding to the claims of his law, naught but destruction was before the human race. Since the divine law is as changeless as the character of God, there could be no hope for man unless some way could be devised whereby his transgression might be pardoned, his nature renewed, and his spirit restored to reflect the image of God. Divine love had conceived such a plan. It was through Satan’s misrepresentation of God’s character that man was led to doubt the reality of his love, and came to look upon God as his enemy. As Satan had done in heaven, so he did on earth,—declared God’s government unjust, the restrictions of his law unnecessary, and bade man, as he had angels, to throw aside the yoke and let the dictates of their own nature be their only guide and law. He promised liberty; but as he himself is the servant of corruption, he brought the race into bondage, to sin, misery, and death. He represented God as claiming all and giving nothing, as requiring men’s service for his own glory, but denying himself nothing for man’s good.
7 In the work of creation, Christ was with God. He was one with God, equal with him, the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, the representative of the Father. He alone, the Creator of man, could be his Saviour. No angel of heaven could reveal the Father to the sinner, and win him back to allegiance to God. But Christ could manifest the Father’s love; for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Christ could be the “day’s man” between a holy God and lost humanity, one who could “lay his hand upon us both.” None but Christ could redeem man from the curse of the law. He proposed to take upon himself the guilt and shame of sin,—sin so offensive in the sight of God that it would necessitate separation from his Father. Christ proposed to reach to the depths of man’s degradation and woe, and restore the repenting, believing soul to harmony with God. Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, offered himself as a sacrifice and substitute for the fallen sons of Adam though in this offering all heaven was involved in infinite sacrifice. But the Father so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that through his smitten heart a channel might be found for the outflowing of infinite love for fallen man. Man had become so degraded by sin, his nature so perverted by evil, that it was impossible for him of himself to come into harmony with God, whose nature is purity and love. But Christ redeemed him from the condemnation of the law, and imparted divine power, and through man’s cooperation, the sinner could be restored to his lost estate.
8 The grace of Christ alone could change the heart of stone to a heart of flesh, make it alive unto God, and transform the character, so that a degraded child of sin might become a child of God and heir of heaven. Man had no power to justify the soul, to sanctify the heart. Moral disease could be healed only through the power of the great Physician. The highest gift of heaven, even the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, was able to redeem the lost.
9 The only hope for the fallen race was found in becoming reconciled to God. Satan had so misrepresented God that man had no true conception of the divine character. Christ came to the world, and in carrying out the plan of salvation, revealed the fact that “God is love.”
10 When the plan of salvation was revealed to the angels, joy, inexpressible joy, filled heaven. The glory and the blessedness of a world redeemed outmeasured even the anguish of the Prince of Life. Through the celestial courts echoed the first strain of that song that angels sang above the hills of Bethlehem,—”Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will to men.” And the lost pair in the garden of Eden, standing as criminals before the righteous Judge, waiting the sentence their transgression merited, heard the first notes of the divine promise. Before the life of toil and sorrow which sin had brought upon them was depicted before them, before the decree that the wages of sin is death was pronounced, they heard the promise of redemption. Though they must suffer from the power of their mighty foe, still through the merits of Christ they could look forward to victory. The mystery of the gospel was spoken in Eden, when God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” If Satan could have touched the head with his specious temptations, the human family would have been lost; but the Lord had made known the purpose and plan of the mystery of grace, declaring that Christ had bruised the serpent under his feet.
11 But not only had man come under the power of the deceiver, but the earth itself, the dominion of man, was usurped by the enemy. Through the plan of salvation, the sacrifice of Christ, not only was man but his dominion to be redeemed. Through the merits of Christ all that man lost through sin was to be restored. The time would come when there would be “no more curse, but the throne of God should be in it, and his servants should serve him.” The promise would be fulfilled, “The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever.”
12 Through the plan of salvation a larger purpose is to be wrought out even than the salvation of man and the redemption of the earth. Through the revelation of the character of God in Christ, the beneficence of the divine government would be manifested before the universe, the charge of Satan refuted, the nature and results of sin made plain, and the perpetuity of the law fully demonstrated. Satan had declared that the law of God was faulty, and that the good of the universe demanded a change in its requirement. In attacking the law, he thought to overthrow the authority of its Author, and gain for himself the supreme allegiance. But through the plan of salvation the precepts of the law were to be proved perfect and immutable, that at last one glory and love might rise to God throughout the universe, ascribing glory and honor and praise to him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.
(To be continued.)
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Page 612
1 To fallen man was revealed the plan of infinite sacrifice through which salvation was to be provided. Nothing but the death of God’s dear Son could expiate man’s sin, and Adam marveled at the goodness of God in providing such a ransom for the sinner. Through the love of God, a star of hope illumined the terrible future that spreads before the transgressor. Through the institution of the typical system of sacrifice and offering, the death of Christ was ever to be kept before guilty man, that he might better comprehend the nature of sin, the results of transgression, and the merit of the divine offering. Had there been no sin, man would never have known death. But in the innocent offering slain by his own hand, he beheld the fruits of sin,—the death of the Son of God in his behalf. He sees the immutable character of the law he has transgressed, and confesses his sin; he relies upon the merits of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.
2 The plan of saving sinners through Christ alone was the same in the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and in every successive generation that lived before the advent of Christ, as it is in our day. The patriarchs, the prophets, the martyrs from righteous Abel, looked forward to a coming Saviour, and they showed their faith in him by sacrifices and offerings. The sacrifice of beasts shadowed forth the sinless offering of God’s dear Son, and pointed forward to his death upon the cross. But at the crucifixion type met antitype, and the typical system there ceased.
3 The Son of God is the center of the great plan of redemption which covers all dispensations. He is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” He is the Redeemer of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam in all ages of human probation. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Christ is the substance or body which casts its shadow back into former dispensations. When Christ died, the shadow ceased. At the death of Christ the typical system was done away, but the law of God, whose violation had made the plan of salvation necessary, was magnified and made honorable. The gospel was good tidings of great joy to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses; for it presented to them a coming Saviour. A more clear and glorious light now shines upon the Christian. Those who lived before the coming of Christ looked forward by faith to his coming, but what had to be grasped by faith by them is assurance to us; for we know that Christ has come, as foretold by the prophets. It is just as essential for us to have faith in our Redeemer, who came to earth and died our sacrifice, as it was for the ancients to believe in a Redeemer to come, represented by their offerings and sacrifices.
4 In becoming man’s substitute, in bearing the curse which should fall upon man, Christ has pledged himself in behalf of the race to maintain the sacred and exalted honor of his Father’s law. He came to convince men of sin, which is the transgression of the law, and through divine mediation bring them back to obedience to God’s commandments. God has given the world into the hands of Christ, that he may completely vindicate the binding claims of the law, and make manifest the holiness of every principle. Christ was the Father’s “appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” He was the “brightness of his glory, the express image of his person.” And he upheld “all things by the word of his power.” He possessed divine excellency and greatness. It pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell. And Christ “thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” Yet Jesus exchanged a throne of light and glory which he had with his Father, counting it not a thing to be desired to be equal with God, while man was lost in sin and misery. He came from heaven to earth, clothed his divinity with humanity, and bore the curse as surety for the fallen race. He was not compelled to do this; but he chose to bear the results of man’s transgression that man might escape eternal death.
5 The coming of Christ to our world was a great event, not only to this world, but to all the worlds in the universe of God. Before the heavenly intelligences he was to take upon himself our nature, to be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet to leave an example of perfect purity and unblemished character.
6 Satan and his angels exulted as they discovered that the Son of God had taken upon himself the nature of man, and had come to be man’s substitute, to engage in the conflict in our behalf. The human family had been overpowered by the deception of the enemy; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, and the enemy hoped that Christ also would become a victim to his seductive wiles. Satan gloried in the opportunity of besieging the Son of God with fierce temptations. Because he had taken upon himself the nature of man, Satan deemed that his victory was certain, and with every malignant device in his power he strove to overcome Christ. The steadfast resistance of Christ to the temptations of the enemy brought the whole confederacy of evil to war against him. Evil men and evil angels united their forces against the Prince of Peace. The issues at stake were beyond the comprehension of men, and the temptations that assailed Christ were as much more intense and subtle than those which assail man as his character was purer and more exalted than is the character of man in his moral and physical defilement. In his conflict with the prince of darkness in this atom of a world, Christ had to meet the whole confederacy of evil, the united forces of the adversary of God and man; but at every point he met the tempter, and put him to flight. Christ was conqueror over the powers of darkness, and took the infinite risk of consenting to war with the enemy, that he might conquer him in our behalf.
7 The Redeemer of the world clothed his divinity with humanity, that he might reach humanity; for, in order to bring to the world salvation, it was necessary that humanity and divinity should be united. Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between God and man, and humanity needed divinity, that a power from above might restore man to the likeness of God. Christ was God, but he did not appear as God. He veiled the tokens of divinity, which had commanded the homage of angels and called forth the adoration of the universe of God. He made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. For our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.
8 He humbled himself to pass through man’s experiences, and he would not turn aside from the plan by which salvation could come to man. Knowing all the steps in the path of his humiliation, he refused not to descend step by step to the depths of man’s woe, that he might make expiation for the sins of the condemned, perishing world. What humility was this! It amazed the angels. Tongue can never describe it. Pen can never portray it. The imagination cannot take it in. Sinless and exalted by nature, the Son of God consented to take the habiliments of humanity, to become one with the fallen race. The eternal Word consented to be made flesh. God became man.
9 But he stepped still lower; he humbled himself to bear insult, reproach, accusation, and shameful abuse. In the world which he had made, which was sustained by the word of his power, there seemed to be no room for him. He had to flee from one place to another until his life work was accomplished. He was betrayed by one of his followers, and denied by another. He was mocked and taunted. He was crowned with thorns, and forced to bear the burden of the cross. He was not insensible to ignominy and contempt; he submitted to it, but he felt its bitterness as no other being could feel it. Pure, holy, and undefiled, he was yet arraigned as criminal before the eyes of the world. From the highest exaltation the adorable Redeemer took step after step in the path of humiliation. He consented to die in the sinner’s stead, that by a life of obedience man might escape the penalty of the law. He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death. And what a death! It was the most shameful, the most cruel—the death upon the cross as a malefactor. He died not as a hero in the eyes of men, loaded with honors; he died as a condemned criminal, suspended between the heavens and the earth—died a lingering death, exposed to the tauntings and revilings of a debased and profligate mob. “All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.” He was numbered with the transgressors, and even his kinsmen according to the flesh disowned him. He was forced to see the sword pierce the heart of his mother,—he beheld her sorrow. He expired amidst derision. But all his sufferings were counted as of small account in consideration of the result he was working out in behalf of man, and for the good of the whole universe. He expired on the cross exclaiming, “It is finished,” and that cry rang through every world, and through heaven itself. The great contest between Christ, the Prince of Life, and Satan, the prince of darkness, was practically over, and Christ was Conqueror. His death answered the question as to whether there was self-denial with the Father and the Son.
(Concluded next number.)
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Page 613
1 Through the death of Christ a door of hope was opened for fallen man. Man was under sentence of death for the transgression of the law of God. He was under condemnation as a traitor, as a rebel; but Christ came to be his substitute, to die as a malefactor, to suffer the penalty of the traitors, bearing the weight of their sins upon his divine soul. He descended lower and lower till there was no lower depths of humiliation to sound in order that he might lift up those who would believe in him, and cleanse the guilty from moral defilement, and impart to them his own righteousness. He died to make an atonement, to redeem, cleanse, restore, and exalt man to a place at his right hand.
2 Through his life upon earth he scattered blessings wherever he went. Though at his word legions of angels would render him homage, yet he walked the earth unhonored, unconfessed. In place of praise he met reproach. He walked among men as one of the poor and lowly. Though he healed the sick, relieved the oppressed, bound up the broken hearted, yet few called him blessed, and the great of the earth passed him by with disdain.
3 As a member of the human family he was mortal, but as God he was a fountain of life to the world. He could have withstood the advances of death and refused to come under its dominion, but voluntarily he laid down his life that he might bring life and immortality to light. He bore the sin of the world, endured the penalty, yielded up his life as a sacrifice, that man should not eternally die. Contrast his suffering and humiliation with the riches of his glory, with the wealth of praise pouring forth from immortal tongues, with the anthems of adoration, with the homage of millions of holy angels in the heights of the sanctuary, and seek to comprehend what manner of love inspired the heart of Jesus.
4 How much has God loved the race of men?—Look to Calvary. As you behold Jesus upon the cross, does not the heinous character of sin appear? It was sin that caused the death of God’s dear Son, and sin is the transgression of the law. Says the prophet: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. . . . It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” When the sinner realizes that Christ died for him, that he might impute his righteousness unto him, he magnifies the love of God in providing the plan of salvation.
5 “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” At infinite cost the salvation of man has been purchased. The world may refuse the gift, but this will not lessen its value, or relieve men of its responsibility. When he was upon earth Jesus said to those who refused him, “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.” There are many who are refusing to respond to the drawing love of Christ today. Jesus calls, but many refuse to respond to the invitation. They will not avail themselves of the privilege of having Jesus for their personal Saviour. They do not come in humility and faith, that they may know by a personal experience what they are to Jesus, and what he is to them. But the promise is, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” Jesus will not rest until he leads his followers unto the realms of perfect joy and glory.
6 The plans of God cannot fail. Men make great plans, but fail to accomplish the object that they design. They begin to build and are not able to finish. They do not count the cost. But Jesus counted the cost of the salvation of every son and daughter of Adam. He provided abundant means whereby all might be saved, if they would but comply with the conditions and lay hold upon eternal life. Unfailing resources are at his command to complete the work which he has begun. Those who respond to his love, yielding their wills to him, will not perish, but have everlasting life.
7 How the wondrous provision of the plan of God for the salvation of men widens and exalts our ideas of the love of God! How it binds our hearts to the great Heart of infinite love! How it makes us delight in his service, as our hearts respond to the drawing of his loving-kindness and loving mercy! John calls upon men to behold the marvelous love of God. He exclaims: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Those who are true, who are pure, who love and obey the words of God, will be counted children of the Heavenly King, members of the royal family, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ.
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1 Jesus had given the lesson concerning the sower and the seed. He had said, “Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up; some fell upon stony places,” and made a pretentious show of life, but “because they had no root, they withered away.” And some fell among thorns and briers, and the rank growth of the thorns choked out the seed, and it yielded no fruit; but some fell upon soil prepared for its reception, and it sprang up and increased, and bore fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold.
2 When the soil has been prepared for the reception of the seed, the sower casts it in, and by processes which men cannot control or understand, the seed begins to grow, and advances to maturity. Jesus compared the growth of the kingdom of God to the sowing of seed, and to its development into the full measure of maturity. The seed is the word of God, and the soul who receives it, is said to be born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, which liveth and abideth forever. “And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.”
3 This parable of the kingdom was designed to illustrate to the disciples the growth and progress of Christian character. The good seed of the word falls into the heart, and at once the first development of Christian experience is made manifest. This experience is likened to the tender blade, and to the young child. The blade is beautiful, and the child is attractive, but should there be no further development, we would look upon the plant as stunted, and the child as dwarfed. The young convert is to advance in knowledge, to grow in grace. Christ looks upon his children, and he is not ignorant as to how the seed is developing. Temptations will come, and it will be only through constant trust in his Redeemer that perfection of Christian character can be attained. The convert is to look to the mighty Helper, lest he be surprised off guard, and seduced by the enemy. He is not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices, nor rest satisfied with the knowledge he has attained; for “this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”
4 The experience of the Christian in his earliest love is full of simplicity and freshness; but as his opportunities multiply, his experience should enlarge, and his knowledge increase. He should become strong to bear responsibility, and his maturity should be in proportion to his privileges. But the young convert is not to worry or perplex his mind with questioning as regards his advancement and growth. He is to trust himself wholly to Jesus, and with fear and trembling work out that which God works in; for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Advancement in Christian experience can be accomplished only through cooperation with heavenly agencies, for it is a result of growth in grace. Feeling his helplessness, the young Christian is to place himself in the channel of light, and improve all the opportunities that are graciously bestowed upon him, that he may gain a deeper experience, and take deep root in Christ, as the plant roots in the soil. His faith must increase, his consecration be maintained, his love be made perfect, as is represented by the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear. His zeal should be ardent and tireless; and with unwavering trust in Christ, his growth may be unmarred; for a genuine experience will result in the development of a Christlike character.
5 But unless there is an hourly dependence upon Christ, increasing knowledge and privileges will result in self-trust and self-righteousness. The young Christian is in danger of forgetting that it is Christ that has begun the good work in him, and that it is Christ that must finish it. The soul must renounce all merit, and trust wholly in the merit of Him who is too wise to err. Man of himself can do no good thing. Said Jesus, “Without me ye can do nothing.” The soul is to stay itself upon God. In the gift of Christ all Heaven was poured out, and through Christ the Holy Spirit is promised to the believer. Jesus said to his disciples, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Christ not only offers pardon to the believing, repenting soul, but he promises him the constant aid of the Holy Spirit.
6 In the growth of the seed in the soil, man cannot see the working of unseen agencies that develop the plant to perfection, bringing up first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But though young in the faith, you may know that you have passed from death unto life, if the fruits of the Spirit are made manifest in your life. If you are growing in faith and hope and love, you may know that your spiritual vision has been cleared. If you delight to dwell upon the plan of salvation, upon the glorious manifestations of the divine character, if your heart, in contemplation of the love of God, glows with thankfulness and joy, you may be sure that you have been illuminated by the beams of the Holy Spirit, and heavenly agencies are bringing your character up to maturity of Christian life. You may not realize that you are growing up into Christ, your living Head. Your part is simply to submit your ways and your will to God. You are to trust yourself fully to God, knowing you cannot make yourself grow. A Paul may plant, and an Apollos may water, but it is God that giveth the increase.
(Concluded next number.)
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Page 615
1 Through vital connection with Christ, the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven will be unfolded, and according to your capacity to receive, the Lord will bless you, if you are willing and obedient. But the young Christian may often be brought into strait places, and into trying circumstances, as were the children of Israel. Of old the Lord brought his people into these trying places that he might finally bring them blessing. He says: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” God knew what was in the hearts of his people before he brought trial upon them; but they were ignorant of the condition of their own hearts. Under trial and test their deficiencies were made manifest, and they felt indeed that they had not understood themselves. But the fierce flames of trial and temptation did not consume them, but rather worked for their purification and refinement, and aided them in the development of Christlike character.
2 Let the young Christian seek to fulfill all the responsibilities that devolve upon him, and meet obstacles and difficulties with courage, keeping an eye single to the glory of God, that his profiting may appear unto all. In whatever circumstances you may be placed, the Lord designs that you shall find his grace sufficient, that your love may abound more and more, that you may approve things that are excellent, and be filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Christ Jesus, unto the glory and praise of God. But unless the Christian continues to grow, he will retrograde, and his experience will become sickly and be fruitless of good. Jesus says, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”
3 In order to bear much fruit, we must make the most of our privileges and opportunities, becoming more and more spiritually minded. We must put away all commonness, all pride, all worldliness, and daily receive divine aid. If you grow spiritually, you must employ all the means which the gospel provides, and be prepared to gain in piety by the influence of the Holy Spirit; for the seed is developed from blade to full corn by unseen and supernatural agencies. The promise with which Jesus consoled his disciples just before his betrayal and crucifixion was that of the Holy Spirit; and in the doctrine of divine influence and agency, what riches were revealed to them; for this blessing would bring in its train all other blessings. The Holy Spirit breathes upon the soul who humbly rests on Christ, as the author and finisher of his faith; and from such a believer fruit will come forth unto life eternal. His influence will be fragrant, and the name of Jesus will be music in his ears, and melody in his heart.
4 The Christian will be a savor of life unto life to others, although he may not be able to explain the mysteries of his experience. But he will know that when clouds and darkness compassed him about, and he cried unto the Lord, the darkness was dispersed, and peace and joy were in the temple of the soul. He will know what it is to have the pardoning love of God revealed to the heart, to experience the peace that passeth all understanding, to have praise and thanksgiving and adoration welling up in the soul unto him who has loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. He has peace through Jesus Christ, and joy in the Holy Ghost. One with Christ, his soul is filled with submission to his will, and heaven is enshrined in his heart while he is enfolded in the bosom of infinite love. Christians of this order will bear much fruit to the glory of God. They will rightly interpret the character of God, and manifest his attributes unto the world.
5 Jesus illustrated the compassionate mercy and tender love of God in many of the parables that he uttered, and in his own life and character he gave us an exhibition of infinite love. He represents himself as the life of the world. He says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” There is no growth where there is no life. Where there is no life, there is no fruit.
6 But how shall we know that we are in Christ?—We may know it by the character of our fruit. The fruit borne on the Christian tree is holiness of heart,—wholeness to Christ. God will be in the thoughts of the Christian, and he will love those for whom Christ has died. He will follow in the path of self-denial, and his life will be fragrant with the love of Jesus. He will delight more in contemplation of the love of God than in anything earth can offer. He will prefer his plain, homely duties rather than romantic novelties, and will be satisfied with the place God has appointed him. When the heart is renewed by the Spirit of God, when consecration to God is maintained, there can be only love and thankfulness and praise in the heart, because Jesus is within, the hope of glory, and they live as seeing him who is invisible. Christ is in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life, and the true follower of Christ strengthens the good purposes of everyone with whom he comes in contact. Such believers are living, growing Christians. They carry with them the fragrance of holiness, and are reaching on to the measure of the stature of men and women in Christ Jesus.
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Page 616
1 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.”
2 The world’s Redeemer passed over the ground where Adam fell because of his disobedience to the law of Jehovah. The only-begotten Son of God came to our world as a man, to reveal to the world the fact that men through divine power could keep the law of God. Satan, the fallen angel, had declared that no man could keep God’s law, and he pointed to the disobedience of Adam as proving the declaration true. But the Son of God placed himself in man’s stead, and passed over the ground where Adam fell, and endured temptation stronger than ever was or ever will be brought to bear upon the human race. Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan in the same manner in which every tempted soul may resist the evil one. He referred the tempter to the inspired record and said, “It is written.” Christ overcame the temptations as a man, by relying solely upon the word of God; and every man may overcome as Christ overcame.
3 We need not place the obedience of Christ by itself as something for which he was particularly adapted, because of his divine nature; for he stood before God as man’s representative, and was tempted as man’s substitute and surety. If Christ had a special power which it is not the privilege of a man to have, Satan would have made capital of this matter. But the work of Christ was to take from Satan his control of man, and he could do this only in a straightforward way. He came as a man, to be tempted as a man, rendering the obedience of a man. Christ rendered obedience to God, and overcame as humanity overcome. We are led to make wrong conclusions because of erroneous views of the nature of our Lord. To attribute to his nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan, is to destroy the completeness of his humanity. The obedience of Christ to his Father was the same obedience that is required of man. Man cannot overcome Satan’s temptations except as divine power works through humanity. The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what God in his own divine person could do, but what he could do through humanity. Through faith man is to be a partaker of the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset. It was the Majesty of heaven who became a man, who humbled himself to our human nature; it was he who was tempted in the wilderness and who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself.
4 We are not to serve God as if we were not human, but we are to serve him as those who have been redeemed by the Son of God and through the righteousness of Christ we shall stand before God pardoned, and as though we had never sinned. We shall never gain strength in considering what we might do if we were angels; but as obedient children we are to turn in faith to Jesus Christ, and show our love to God through obedience to his commands. Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus says, “Follow me.” “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Jesus leads the way. Do not wait and continue in disobedience, hoping circumstances may change, making it easier for you to obey. Go forward, for you know the will of God. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
5 The Garden of Eden, with its foul blot of disobedience, should be carefully compared with the Garden of Gethsemane, where the world’s Redeemer suffered superhuman agony when the sins of the whole world were rolled upon him. Listen to the prayer of the only-begotten Son of God, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And the second time he prayed, saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” And the third time he prayed, saying the same words. Oh, it was here the mysterious cup trembled in the hands of the Son of God! Shall he wipe the bloody sweat from his agonized countenance and let man go? The wail, wretchedness, and ruin of a lost world roll up before him. “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”
6 The conflict is ended. Jesus consents to endure the curse of sin. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Here we see what was involved in Adam’s disobedience, and what the obedience of the Son of God means to us. Adam did not consider what would be the consequences of disobedience. He did not set his mind in defiance against God, nor did he in any way speak against God; he simply went directly contrary to his express command. And how many today are doing the very same thing, and their guilt is of much greater magnitude, because they have the example of Adam’s experience in disobedience and its terrible results to warn them of the consequences of transgressing the law of God. So they have clear light upon this subject, and no excuse for their guilt in denying and disobeying God’s authority. Adam did not stop to reckon what would be the result of his disobedience.
7 With the after sight we are privileged to have in this age, we can see what it means to disobey God’s commandments. Adam yielded to temptation, and we have sin and its consequences laid distinctly before us. Reasoning from cause to effect, we see it is not the greatness of the act of disobedience which constitutes sin, but the fact of variance from God’s expressed will in the least particular, for this is a virtual denial of God, a rebellion against the laws of his government. The happiness of man is found in obedience to the laws of God. In obedience to God’s law he is surrounded as with a hedge and kept from the evil. No man can depart from God’s specified requirements, and set up a standard of his own which he decides he can safely follow, and still find peace and joy. Were each one left to follow his own way, there would be a variety of standards to suit different minds, and the government would be taken out of the Lord’s hands, and man would grasp the reins. The law of self would be erected. The will of man would be made supreme; and the high and holy will of God would be dishonored, disrespected. To what extent man would choose to follow the promptings of his selfish heart it is impossible to tell. But whenever man chooses his own way, there is controversy between the man and God.
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Page 617
1 Since the fall of our first parents, obedience has not been deemed an absolute necessity. Men have followed the imagination of their own hearts, which the Lord has said is “evil, and that continually.” The Lord Jesus declares, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” How? as a man? “Lo I come to do thy will, O God.” To the accusations of the Jews he stood forth in his pure, virtuous, holy character, and challenged them to point out a defect in his life. He said, “Who of you convinceth me of sin?” The world’s Redeemer came not only to be a sacrifice for sin, but to be an example to man in all things. He was a teacher, such an educator as the world never saw or heard before. He spake as one having authority, and yet he invites the confidence of all. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
2 The only-begotten Son of the infinite God has, by his words and in his practical example, left us a plain pattern which we are to copy. By his words he has educated us to obey God, and by his own practice he has showed us how we can obey God. This is the very work he wants every man to do, to obey God intelligently, and by precept and example teach others what they must do in order to be obedient children of God. Jesus has helped the whole world to an intelligent knowledge of his divine mission and work. He came to represent the character of the Father to our world; and as we study the life, the words, and works of Christ, we are helped in every way in the education of obedience to God; and as we copy the example he has given us, we are living epistles known and read of all men. We are the living human agencies to represent to the world the character of Christ. Not only did Christ show us how we may become obedient children, but he showed us in his own life and character just how to do those things which are right and acceptable with God, so there is no reason why we should not do those things which are pleasing in his sight.
3 We are ever to be thankful that Jesus has proved to us by actual life that man can keep the commandments of God, contradicting Satan’s falsehood that man cannot keep them. The great Teacher came to our world to stand at the head of humanity, to thus elevate and sanctify humanity by his holy obedience to all the requirements of God, showing it is possible to obey all the commandments of God. He has demonstrated that a lifelong obedience is possible. Thus he gives men to the world, as the Father gave the Son, to exemplify in their life the life of Christ.
4 Christ redeemed Adam’s disgraceful failure and fall, and was conqueror, thus testifying to all the unfallen worlds and to fallen humanity that through the divine power granted to him of heaven man can keep the commandments of God. Jesus, the Son of God, humbled himself for us, endured temptation for us, overcame in our behalf, to show us how we may overcome; by the closest ties he bound up his interest with humanity, and gave positive assurance that we shall not be tempted above that we are able; for with the temptation he will make a way of escape.
5 The Holy Spirit was promised to be with those who were wrestling for victory, demonstrating the power of might by endowing the human agent with supernatural strength, and instructing the ignorant in the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit is to be our helper. Of what avail would it have been to us that the only-begotten Son of God had humbled himself, endured the temptations of the wily foe, and wrestled with him during his entire life on earth, and died, the just for the unjust, that humanity night not perish, if the Spirit had not been given as a constant working, regenerating agent to make effectual in our cases what had been wrought by the world’s Redeemer?
6 The Holy Spirit implanted in the disciples, enabled them to stand firmly against idolatry, and to exalt the Lord alone. The Holy Spirit guided the pens of the sacred historians that the record of the precious words and works of Christ might be presented to the world. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work seeking to draw the attention of men to the great sacrifice made upon the cross of Calvary, to unfold to the world the love of God to man, and to open to the convicted soul the precious promises in the Scriptures. It is the Holy Spirit that brings to the darkened minds the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. It is the Holy Spirit that makes men’s hearts burn within them with an awakened intelligence of the truths of eternity. It is the Holy Spirit that presents before the mind the moral standard of righteousness and convinces of sin. It is the Holy Spirit that produces godly sorrow which worketh repentance that needeth not to be repented of, and inspires faith in Him who alone can save from all sin. It is the Holy Spirit that works to transform character by withdrawing the affections of men from those things which are temporal and perishable, and fixing them upon the immortal inheritance, the eternal substance which is imperishable. The Holy Spirit recreates, refines, and sanctifies the human agents, that they may become members of the royal family, children of the Heavenly King.
7 Jesus says: “Follow me.” “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Consider it not a hard duty. The commandments of God are his expressed character flowing out of a heart of love in thoughtful plans that man may be preserved from every evil. They are not to exercise an arbitrary authority over man, but the Lord would have men act as his obedient children, members of his own family. Obedience is the outgrowth and fruit of oneness with Christ and the Father. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
8 When we unmistakably hear his voice and obey, every murmuring thought will be repressed; and we will leave all consequences with Him who gave the commandment. If, as we see the footprints of Jesus, we step in them and follow him, we shall have love and power.
9 The question is often asked, “What difference does it make which day we keep for the Sabbath?” But it does make a difference; for the same principle is involved as was involved in Adam’s case. He was put to the same test. For he was to prove by obedience his loyalty to God or by disobedience to forfeit the right to the tree of life. Satan presented this same specious question. What difference does it make whether you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or of any other tree of the garden? Adam’s sin consisted in doing the thing the Lord had forbidden him to do, and this opened the flood gates of woe on our world. We should carefully meditate upon the life of Christ, and desire to understand the reason why he came at all. We should search the Scriptures as Christ has enjoined upon us to do, that we may know those things that are testified of him. By searching we may find the virtues of obedience in contrast with the sinfulness of disobedience. “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
10 The Lord Jesus has bridged the gulf that sin has made. He has connected earth with heaven, and finite man with the infinite God. Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, as our example, could only keep the commandments of God in the same way that humanity can keep them. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
11 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The glory mentioned is character, and by faith we become changed from character to character. “And be renewed in the Spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” “Ye are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
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1 We should contemplate the love of Jesus, his mission and his work in reference to us as individuals. We are to say, Jesus so loved me that he gave his own life to save me. The Father loves me, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It becomes us to ascertain upon what terms Christ promises the gift of eternal life. I answer, It is upon our faith. We must have faith in the promises. Jesus says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye who love me know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:12-17, 21.
2 “He that hath my commandments” means he that hath light upon what constitutes the commandments of God, and will not disobey his commandments, although it might seem an advantage to do so. “If a man love me, he will keep my words [my commandments]; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” If it were not possible for us to keep the commandments of God, we should all be lost. But under the Abrahamic covenant, the covenant of grace, every provision for salvation has been made. “By grace ye are saved.” “For as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”
3 John writes to the children of God, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.” And what is sin?—”Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” And if any man sin, he need not give up his hope in Christ. He need not say it is of no use longer to attempt to keep the commandments of God; for this would be placing himself wholly on Satan’s ground. Satan follows you with his temptations, in order that he may persuade you to yield and sin; and when you sin, then he tells you it is of no use for you to try, and you might just as well announce yourself an open transgressor of the law of God, for you cannot keep his commandments. In the name and strength given of God we may be obedient to all his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. We are happy in doing them. “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby do we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.”
4 The Lord would not leave the enemy any opportunity to perplex the soul or to becloud the mind as to the commandments of which he is speaking. It is the commandments which he made when the foundations of the earth were laid, “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Away back in the world’s history, before there were any people distinguished as Jews, he laid the foundations of his law, when he laid the foundations of the world. “The old commandment is the word which ye heard from the beginning.” John, the beloved disciple, as mouthpiece for God, gives the inspired message, and it comes echoing down the lines, from age to age, to our time. Thank God, we are not left in mist and confusion in regard to the commandments.
5 We are required to keep the commandments of God, and to demonstrate before the heavenly worlds that we are obedient children, loyal and true to the government of God. We may not expect the world, which is under the power and dominion of Satan, to obey God and keep his commandments. There are but two classes in our world, the obedient and the disobedient, the holy and the unholy. When our transgressions were laid upon Jesus, he was numbered among the unholy on the sinner’s account. He became our substitute, our surety, before the Father and all the heavenly angels. By imputing the sins of the world to Jesus, he became the sinner in our stead, and the curse due to our sins came upon him. It becomes us to contemplate Christ’s life of humiliation and his agonizing death; for he was treated as the sinner deserves to be treated. He came to our world, clothing his divinity with humanity, to bear the test and proving of God. By his example of perfect obedience in his human nature, he teaches us that men may be obedient.
6 And the apostle writes, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” It is here plainly revealed that whosoever believeth in Jesus Christ becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Let divinity and humanity cooperate, and fallen man may be more than conqueror through Christ Jesus.
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Page 619
1 Jesus Christ was the light of the world; for “by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the first born from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight; if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.”
2 If Christ had thought it necessary, he could have opened to his disciples mysteries which would have eclipsed and put far out of sight all the discoveries of the human mind. He could have presented facts concerning every subject that would have gone beyond human reasonings, and yet not misrepresented the truth in any particular. He could have revealed that which was unknown, that which would have put imagination to the stretch, and attracted the thoughts of successive generations to the close of earth’s history. He could have opened doors into mysteries that the human mind had sought in vain to open. He could have presented to men a tree of knowledge from which they might have plucked from age to age; but this work was not essential to their soul’s salvation, and the knowledge of the character of God was necessary to their eternal interests. As it is, men have devoted their time and talents to the pursuit of certain kinds of knowledge merely for the gratification of curiosity, and have neglected the momentous subjects that have been plainly revealed, which concern their eternal interests.
3 Jesus, the Lord of life and glory, came to plant the tree of life for the human family, and to invite the members of a fallen race to eat and be satisfied. He came to reveal to them what was their only hope, their only happiness, both in this world and in that which is to come. “For this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” He would allow nothing to divert his attention from the work which he came to do. He knew that men would seek out many inventions, and follow the imagination of their own hearts. He knew that they would use their God-given intellect to please and glorify themselves, that they would forget God, and lose the knowledge of his way and will. Jesus saw that men needed to have their minds attracted to God, that they might become acquainted with his character, and obtain the righteousness of Christ represented in his holy law. He knew that it was necessary that men should have a faithful representation of the divine character, that they might not be deceived by the misrepresentations of Satan, who had cast his hellish shadow athwart men’s pathway, and to their minds clothed God with his own Satanic characteristics.
4 Jesus came to the world to reveal, in their beauty, original truths that had been lost sight of through the misconception of men, and had been buried beneath a mass of tradition and error. He severed the old familiar truths from the companionship of error, that they might no longer be clouded and hidden by the customs and superstitions of men, but stand forth in their original, purity. For ages truth had been thrust from its true position, and Jesus reinstated it, reset it in the framework of truth, and established it anew upon the basis of its own eternal merit. The principles of justice and right that through the working of Satan upon the human mind had become powerless in their influence upon men, he revivified, and commanded them, like the stars in the firmament, to stand fast forever and ever.
5 The Redeemer of the world did not come to encourage curiosity, to stimulate human speculation, but to show the real character of truth, so long falsified by Satan, and set before the world in a distorted light. The suggestions of Satan had been received by the depraved human heart, had been repeated by human agents, and traced by human pens; but Jesus restored the jewels of truth to the world, and made them shine before the eyes of men in all their original splendor and beauty. The Son of Man, our Lord, possessed an intellect of the highest order, and nothing before or since his appearance has been presented that approached to the elevation of the themes which he presented in his lessons to his disciples, which by their testimony have been transmitted to us. Apparently he borrowed the thoughts of minds inferior to his own, but this was not the case in reality, for he was the originator of all truth, and he had given to men all the light they had upon all mysteries, all the knowledge they had in every branch of science. In him were hid all the treasures of wisdom and truth, both of heavenly and earthly things. In quoting the utterances of patriarchs and prophets, he quoted that which he himself had imparted. The uttermost stretch of the human mind can embrace but a fractional part of the infinite whole, and even that fractional part is the outworking of the mind of Him who comprehends all science, all mystery and knowledge. All the wisdom of men should roll back glory and praise to the great Originator.
6 The Redeemer of the world gave evidence of his superiority over the men of the world in the way in which he presented truth to the human mind. However great and wise the teachers of the world might have been regarded in his day or may be regarded in our day, yet in comparison to him they are not to be admired; for all the truth they uttered was but that which he originated, and all that came from any other source was foolishness. Even the truth they uttered, in his mouth was beautified and made glorious; for he presented it in simplicity and dignity. Such attractiveness was in his words that not only the common people heard him gladly, but wise and noble men declared, “Never man spake like this man.”
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Page 620
1 “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee.”
2 In these words of denunciation a solemn warning is given to the churches of today. It will make every difference with us as regards our eternal future whether we receive or reject the message and the messenger that God sends. All truth originates with God, and according to its character is invested with influence to move men. Spiritual truth is above all else, and Christ came to reveal this manner of truth to the world. The Father came in vital connection with the world through his well-beloved Son, and the revelation of divine truth through the Son was designed to draw men to the Father.
3 Satan has been the central object of the world’s worship; but where stands Satan’s seat, the throne of God should have been planted. Christ purposed that his cross should become the center of attraction, whereby he should draw the hearts of men to himself. Taking upon him human nature, he became one with the fallen race, and by virtue of the divine nature he laid hold of the throne of the Infinite, and enlisted the cooperation of every heavenly instrumentality to carry out his plan for redeeming a lost race. He sends down upon the hearts of men the bright beams of his righteousness in order to dispel the shadow which Satan has cast upon the world. To counteract his work, Satan and his hosts combined their forces with evil men, and sought to overthrow the work of Christ; but heavenly agencies, united in their great Head, advanced to meet the confederacy of evil, and evil and error were in conflict with goodness and truth.
4 The love of God was to be revealed to the world in the death of his beloved Son, crucified on Calvary for the sins of the world. He was to present to the world the gospel, which was to be the power of God unto salvation. This was not a new truth, but through the traditions of men it had become obscured, and the original truths, by separation from their Author, had lost their meaning to the world. When Christ came, a flood of light was to be shed upon the utterances of patriarchs and prophets. Through this revelation, neglected obligations were to be taken up. Obedience was to take the place of rebellion, and the truth would work a transformation of character in all who should receive it. The great atoning Sacrifice was to be the central and supreme truth, about which all other truths were to cluster. And Christ himself came to the world to bear this truth to his rebellious subjects.
5 Before the coming of Christ, prophets had been sent, and message after message had been delivered to the people of God; but they had beaten one and stoned another, and at length the loving Father said, “They will reverence my Son.” But when he came with the message of divine love, their hearts had grown so hard through their rejection of light, their resistance had become so stubborn, that they said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.” The work of rejection of light was to result in the murder of their Lord. Among the most diligent enemies of Jesus were the scribes and Pharisees. They were ready to bear false witness, and in their blindness even thought that they were doing God service. Jesus went through all the land of Canaan, and mighty works were wrought in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum; but notwithstanding all his mighty works in these cities, they did not believe on him. The great mass of the people would and did listen to the great Teacher, and they would have taken their position with him had it not been for the counterworking of the scribes and Pharisees and those who sat in Moses’ seat. But the priests and teachers, filled with intense hatred and unreasonable prejudice, made every possible effort to make his words and works of no effect. They saw the fruit of his doctrine and the results of his work, but when they had exhausted all their objections, they inquired for a sign of his authority.
6 The lessons that Jesus taught, the work he wrought, gave unanswerable evidence that he was the Son of God. Abundant evidence was given of the most conclusive character, but they closed their eyes lest they should see, and their ears lest they should hear, and refused to listen to his appeals. What sadness it brings to the heart as we read that “he came unto his own, and his own received him not”! He had to leave his own, and go from city to city, and from place to place, in order to preserve his life until his work was done. We read, “He walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.”
7 At one time the people came to the priests and asked, “When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?” And so enraged were the Pharisees at the evident conviction that had settled upon the people, that they immediately dispatched officers to arrest him. He was teaching the people and healing the sick, and when the officers came within the sound of the melody of his voice, and heard his gracious words, they stood as men entranced, and forgot what had been their errand. Hardened as were their hearts, they were melted under his words of truth and compassion; and when the chief priests and Pharisees inquired, “Why have ye not brought him?” they answered, “Never man spake like this man.” Then answered them the Pharisees: “Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.”
8 The Pharisees charged the people with ignorance of the prophecies, and yet it was themselves who were willingly ignorant that Jesus met in his life and works and character every specification of the Scriptures. There was no want of evidence of his Messiahship, no dimness of light concerning his divine claims; but they did not wish to believe, and permitted prejudice to blind their eyes.
9 The Man of sorrows, who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, who was bruised for our iniquities, and wounded for our transgressions, by whose stripes we are healed, was indeed without form or comeliness to the Jews; and yet he was the predicted Messiah, who was to shine before the ancients gloriously, to reign from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. As he came in his humiliation to our earth, no conquering armies were visible to mortal eyes, and the unbelieving Jews decided that he could not be the illustrious King for whom they were looking, as there was no outward display. And why did the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Jerusalem reject the Lord of life and glory? Why did they keep up a continual controversy with him? It was because those who claimed to believe and teach the word of God interpreted its utterances to suit their own preconceived opinions, so that the word of God might seem to harmonize with the traditions and commandments of men. It was because the people did not see the necessity of searching the Scriptures for themselves, of comparing scripture with scripture, that they might know the truth. They gave credence to what the priests and Pharisees taught, in place of seeking to understand the true meaning of the word of God for themselves, instead of using the reason and judgment which God had given them that they might understand. They placed the priests and rulers where they should have placed God, and rejected the truth of God, that they might keep their own tradition. Let us take a lesson from the mistake of the Jewish people, and not be found committing a similar error.
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Page 621
1 “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost; so that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything. For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
2 The apostle wrote these words of encouragement in order that we upon whom the ends of the world have come, might receive benefit. Through the grace of Christ such a transformation of character is to take place in us that the word of the Lord may leave an impression upon many minds, that “in every place your faith Godward is spread abroad.” When the people of God yield themselves to be controlled entirely by the Holy Spirit, in them will appear that Christlikeness which is in accordance with the richness and grandeur of the truth. But in order that Christ shall be revealed in the human agent, self must die. The believer is to study the life and character of Christ, that by beholding he may become changed into his divine image in life and character.
3 How cautious should each one be lest he cultivate an unsanctified independence! The enemy is vigilant, working with tremendous power to subvert souls who have had presented before them the light of truth. Satan watches that he may take advantage of every unconsecrated element of character in the human agent, in order that he may use him who professes to be a servant of Christ to further his Satanic designs. He will take advantage of prejudice, of preconceived opinion, of side issues, that he may make of no effect the words of God’s messenger to the church. Contention and strife will be aroused, and the message of heaven will be rendered of no effect through the working of this evil leaven.
4 In the days of Paul there was need of warning the churches against bringing in their own ideas and opinions, of setting their stakes, and of holding the measuring tape in their hands, so that if the message or the messenger differed in some little degree from their preconceived ideas, they closed the door firmly against the light and the lightbearer. In the words of Paul, the Lord warns every man to take heed as to entertaining this spirit of jangling and strife. He says: “As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity [love] out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned; from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” “And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness; from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
5 From the words of Paul we can see that he had the same difficulties to deal with in his day that we have to deal with in our day. There were in the early church those who made much of matters of minor importance, and wrought mischief among the believers in creating strife and contention. Through pride men and women are led to take the position that rendering service to a brother or sister in certain ways has a degrading tendency; but it is just as commendable to serve in what are called menial positions as to minister from the pulpit. There is no degradation in doing the duties that must be done in the house, and there is no humiliation in being able to do well and thoroughly the duties that devolve on a housemaid or a man of all work. It will never injure self-respect to be a good servant if the right view is taken of the subject.
6 But in whatever branch of the Lord’s work you are, you should study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, willing to be taught, ready to learn, faithful in your work, and ever growing in power and efficiency.
7 There is no safety for any of us unless we trust fully in God, and take a decided stand, guarding the avenues of the will, resisting the first insinuations of Satan, rejecting his counsel to yield to questionable impulses. This requires watchfulness, perseverance, and continual adherence to the word of God under all circumstances. We are here as probationers, and are deciding our own eternal destiny. Then how important it is that we daily educate and train the will power to render obedience to God in the least as well as in the greatest tests. How important to ever remember the fact, “Thou God seest me. Thou knowest every thought, and art acquainted with every action”! How important that we regard ourselves as pupils in the school of Christ, that we learn to repress every vain, trifling word! Jesus has been tempted in all points like as we are, and it is our Saviour who admonishes and warns us concerning evil. He has identified his interest with that of suffering humanity, and he bids us “watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” We should esteem his counsel as of the highest value. You are not to be off guard for an instant, but as a faithful sentinel to stand at your post of duty, and having done all to stand. But with all our watchfulness we are to remember that “except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” Man must cooperate with the heavenly agencies; he must use his God-given abilities to their utmost in earnest endeavor to keep his own soul from being degraded by sin; but he must not trust in his own finite strength, for it will be as a broken staff, a bruised reed. With his human endeavor he must mingle faith in a divine Deliverer, and express his dependence upon God in prayer. The promise is given, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall make peace with Me.” There is no safety for us outside of entire dependence on Jesus Christ. His wisdom, his power, his grace, his love must be our only support. We are to unite prayer with watchfulness, and thus lay hold upon his mighty power, feeling our insufficiency to cope with self and the powers of darkness.
8 Then looking unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, with perfect assurance we may commit the keeping of our souls unto him, while we cooperate with divine agencies. Every soul may say: “Lord, without thee I can do nothing in saving or keeping my soul from sinning against thee; but thou art able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the presence of thy glory with exceeding joy. To thee I commit the keeping of my soul as unto a faithful guardian, and I leave all in thy hands, knowing that thou doest all things well.”
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Page 622
1 When John was cast into prison, he sent messengers to Jesus to inquire, “Art thou He that should come? or look we for another?” For an answer to this inquiry Jesus showed them his works. “And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.”
2 Jesus had seen these messengers as they left John, and he was prepared to answer them. He wrought as only God could for those who were afflicted and suffering, and under the cruel power of the destroyer. He who was seeking to deliver manifested his mighty power, and wrought wonderful miracles. The voice of the mighty Healer penetrated the deaf ear; a word, a touch of his hand opened the blind eyes to behold the light of day, the scenes of nature, the faces of friends, and the face of the Deliverer. Jesus rebuked disease and banished fever. His voice reached the ears of those who were dying, and they arose and became strong. Paralyzed demoniacs obeyed his voice, and their madness left them, and they worshiped him. All this was witnessed by the disciples of John, and they bore back to John the report of Christ’s marvelous works. This report was as heaven’s light flashing in amid the darkness of the prison. John accepted and appreciated this light.
3 And Jesus said unto his followers: “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” These words apply to us as well as to them. There is great reluctance to discern and gratefully receive the light from heaven. Moral darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people. Satan has the heart service of the world; his hellish shadow pervades and overshadows all human society, and how positively essential that Christ’s professed followers should be channels of light. Says Christ, “Ye are the light of the world;” then how important that we place ourselves directly under the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Those who are sanctified through the truth will be bright and shining lights in the world.
4 The whole earth is to be lightened with the glory of God. But how difficult for some to see and acknowledge the light and be converted, that I, Christ says, should heal them. The atmosphere of selfishness, pride, formality, and self-righteousness surrounds their souls, and it is very difficult for them to discern light as light and appreciate it. Some walk away from the light into darkness, and how much greater is the darkness that enshrouds their souls because they have had the light. Refusing to walk in the light, they stumble at most precious things. Refusing to see the truth, they stumble and know not at what they stumble. The light that has been graciously given has not been appreciated and brought into the practical life, and many are not doers of the word. Every true believer should have a realization of his solemn responsibility before God, to be a missionary seeking to save those that are lost. We should see armies of consecrated workers seeking to do, not their own will or pleasure, but the will of God. They should be laborers together with God. They should work, pray, and continually look unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of their faith. Those who surrender wholly to God will put thought and prayer and earnest, consecrated tact into their labors.
5 Young men and young women, if you are true disciples of Christ, you will consecrate every talent, and be able to reach out for the unconverted, by ways and methods that will be effective. You will be active, working agencies for Christ. In every church there should be devoted workers. All should realize that they are to seek counsel of God, that by well-directed personal efforts they may save souls for whom Christ died. No sinner should come within the sphere of a Christian’s influence and feel that his interest has not been enlisted on the side of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. Those who profess to believe the truth should walk in the light of the precious beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
6 Who of our youth will give themselves to God for the purpose of laboring for the salvation of their fellow youth? Who will put their talent out to the exchangers? Who will feel their sacred accountability and put to use every ability given them of God to win souls? Young men and young women, cannot you form companies, and, as soldiers of Christ, enlist in the work, putting all your tact and skill and talent into the Master’s service, that you may save souls from ruin? Let there be companies organized in every church to do this work. It is stated that when the householder left his servants, “he gave to every man his work.” Not one was to be idle.
7 I appeal to both young and old, and ask, Is Jesus your personal Saviour? If you do not realize that he is yours, by all means make him yours. Then without delay teach others what you have experienced in the Christian life. Instead of being as frail reeds blowing in the wind, show yourselves as those who have root in themselves—that you believe and that you practice the truth, and its sanctifying power is upon your life and character. Then you will be walking in the light while you have the light. Will the young men and young women who really love Jesus organize themselves as workers, not only for those who profess to be Sabbath keepers, but for those who are not of our faith; for there is no respect of persons with God? All souls are precious; they are the purchase of the blood of the Son of God. Why has there been so little interest and soul burden for sinners? Many outside the ranks of Sabbath keepers, who have not had the light, give more promise of becoming children of God, joint heirs with Jesus, than do those who have had the light of truth, and who have not appreciated it, but have walked in the sparks of their own kindling. No one can labor successfully for souls without true, earnest, unselfish interest. Those who do so labor will see souls converted, and will themselves grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. They will not have a dwarfed experience in the things of God. They will be learners in the school of Christ, and educators as well, making known to others the things which they have learned of Jesus.
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1 They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
2 The work expected of those who honor God has been plainly opened before us. “They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations.” This prophecy refers to the fourth commandment, which has been broken down and laid waste. The prophet brings to view a class of people who see and feel the importance of exalting the day that God has specified as his own, which is being dishonored and disregarded by the Christian world.
3 Paul, in his second epistle to the Thessalonians, points out the power that has attempted to break down the law of God. He warns the believers concerning the great apostasy and the blasphemous antichristian power that would be developed and perform its work before Christ should come the second time. He says: “That day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
. . . The mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth [hindereth] will let [hinder], until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” The prophet Daniel, describing the same power, says, “He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws.”
4 How strikingly have these prophecies been fulfilled by the Romish Church! Not only has this power attempted to change the times and laws of God, but she openly avows that she has made such changes, and she declares that by the observance of Sunday, which rests solely upon her authority, the Protestant world is acknowledging the supremacy of Rome. It is the breach which has thus been made in the law of God that the people described by Isaiah are seeking to build up.
5 “Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people. . . . The sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, everyone that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer.”
6 Mark the conditions of the promise; it is to him “that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.” And the time when this promise especially applies is when “My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed.” There is a special work for God’s people in these last days, to turn away their feet from trampling upon the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and to exalt it before men, calling it “a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable.”
7 But when the claims of the Sabbath are presented, there are many who ask, What difference does it make what day we keep as the Sabbath, so long as we observe one day in seven? We answer, It makes all possible difference whether we obey or disregard the word of God. God has given us the Sabbath as a memorial of the great work of creation. He says: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work; . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” He declares through Moses, “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.” And the children of Israel include all who believe in Christ. For “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed.” Again, by the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord says, “Hallow my Sabbaths; for they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.” The Sabbath is a sign of God’s creative power; it shows him to be supreme, the Maker and Upholder of the universe, the One from whom we receive “life and breath and all things,” and hence the One to whom our allegiance is due.
8 Satan is determined that the knowledge of God, of his creative power, shall be banished from the contemplation and remembrance of men. But he cannot accomplish his purpose while the fourth commandment is kept; for the Sabbath directs the minds of men to the Creator. Therefore Satan has worked through the Papacy to set aside this precept. He inspired the Romish Church to “think to change” the times and laws of God. In setting aside the true Sabbath, which is the sign of God’s power and authority, and substituting the institution which is the sign of Rome’s supremacy, the “man of sin” is indeed “sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself that he is God.” He is turning the minds of men away from God, and directing them to himself, and to the one whose instrument he is,—to the prince of evil.
9 The Sunday sabbath, the child of the Papacy, has been accepted by the Protestant church, who have fostered and cradled it as if of heavenly birth. But their human sanction can never give it acceptance with God. It is a rival, spurious Sabbath, usurping the place of the holy day upon which God rested, which he blessed and sanctified, and gave to man as an everlasting memorial of the Creator’s work. When the facts are brought before them, will Protestants, by their deference to the Sunday, consent to recognize the sacrilegious claims of the man of sin? Will they choose to worship him instead of God?
10 Can we who see the Sabbath as the sign of the living God consent to renounce that sign? Do we wish to renounce it? Or do we desire to keep and cherish the sign which God has given to designate his commandment-keeping people? The world’s persistent unbelief of this grand truth does not lessen its importance. Although we may refuse to obey, it remains the truth still; if not allowed to guide, it will condemn us.
11 Now is the time when God calls upon us to honor his precepts that have been made void. As soon as the light shines upon us, we are to seek, by voice and pen and influence, to make up the breach in the law of God.
12 The mystery of iniquity, which had already begun to work in Paul’s day, will continue its work until it be taken out of the way at our Lord’s second coming. The climax of the working of iniquity will soon be reached. When the land which the Lord provided as an asylum for his people, that they might worship him according to the dictates of their own consciences, the land over which for long years the shield of Omnipotence has been spread, the land which God has favored by making it the depository of the pure religion of Christ,—when that land shall, through its legislators, abjure the principles of Protestantism, and give countenance to Romish apostasy in tampering with God’s law,—it is then that the final work of the man of sin will be revealed. Protestants will throw their whole influence and strength on the side of the Papacy; by a national act enforcing the false Sabbath, they will give life and vigor to the corrupt faith of Rome, reviving her tyranny and oppression of conscience. Then it will be time for God to work in mighty power for the vindication of his truth.
13 Our Duty.
The prophet says: “I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. . . . And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” When do her sins reach unto heaven? When the law of God is finally made void by legislation. Then the extremity of God’s people is his opportunity to show who is the governor of heaven and earth. As a Satanic power is stirring up the elements from beneath, God will send light and power to his people, that the message of truth may be proclaimed to all the world.
14 The Lord calls upon his people to rise to the emergency; the human agencies are to cooperate with the divine. It is always difficult to hold fast to the profession of faith, when a deadening, paralyzing influence is exerted in the religious world against loyalty to God. But because iniquity abounds, shall God’s people permit their love to grow cold? Shall our hearts faint? Shall we not rather stand to our allegiance, and bear the noblest testimony that man can bear to the honor of God? Those who are not whole-hearted will lean to the world’s side of the question; they will advise that the plain, decided truth be suppressed. But such is not the teaching of the word of God.
15 “The dragon [Satan and all that are imbued by his spirit] was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” The true children of God will not be less fervent in their adherence to his law because it is made void. As opposition to God’s law increases, the chosen and faithful will love his commandments above gold, while the world counts them as dross. All who are loyal to heaven will put on the whole armor of God, that they “may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
16 “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The time when God is especially dishonored by those who make void his law is the time when every loyal subject should unfurl the banner inscribed “The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
17 The Lord’s injunction to Joshua when he was about to take command of the armies of Israel, was: “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee; turn not from it to the right hand nor to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Those who do thus meditate in the commandments of God, and whose hearts are stayed on the Lord, are the ones who will be found repairers of the breach in God’s holy law. They will build the old waste places, and raise up the foundations of many generations.
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1 Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”
2 The gifts of God are on every hand, and all his gifts come to us through the merit of Jesus, whom he gave to the world. The apostle Paul breaks forth in an exclamation of gratitude, saying, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” And with Christ God has given us all things. The opening bud, the blooming flowers in their variety and loveliness, delightful to the senses, are the work of the Master Artist’s expressions of his love toward us. What beautiful things his hands have made, and yet many behold the lovely things of nature, and do not associate God with these blessings. They do not realize that the beautiful things about them are tokens of God’s love to fallen humanity, his efforts to attract them to himself. The Lord has taken great care that everything should be grateful and pleasant to us, and yet how much greater effort he has made to provide us with that gift whereby we may perfect a Christian character, after the pattern of Christ.
3 Through the flowers of the field God would call our attention to the loveliness of Christlike character. Jesus says, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” God is a lover of the beautiful. He desires that we shall consider the lovely flowers of the valley, and learn lessons of trust in him. They are to be our teachers. They grow, as God has designed they should, in purity and natural simplicity. The Lord takes care of the flowers of the field, and clothes them with loveliness, and yet he has made it evident that he looks upon man as of greater value than the flowers for which he cares. He has lavished upon us such gifts as human hand could not fashion, and yet the great mass of humanity take his gifts as a matter of course, or as if they came by chance. They offer no grateful thanks; their hearts are not awakened with love toward the gracious Giver.
4 Suppose that our benevolent Father should grow weary with man’s ingratitude, and for a few weeks should withhold his innumerable bounties. Suppose he should become discouraged in seeing his treasures applied to selfish ends, in hearing no response of praise and gratitude for his unmerited mercies, and should forbid the sun to shine, the dew to fall, the earth to yield her increase. What a sensation would be created! What dismay would fall upon the world! What a cry would be raised as to what we should do to supply our tables with food and our bodies with clothing! And yet, dependent as we are upon his bounties, many have taken his gifts as have the beasts of the field, and have never said, “I thank thee, kind Father, for thy daily benefits.” If his mercies should be withdrawn, it would be no more than we deserve; for it would be treating us as unworthy of such unrequited love.
5 God has not only supplied us with temporal benefits, but has provided for our eternal welfare; “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” Oh, if we did but know the gift of God, if we did but appreciate what this gift of God means to us, we would have been earnestly seeking for it with unwavering perseverance! We would have offered such supplication, such appeals to God, that the gift of grace would not have been withheld, and the living water would have come to satisfy our longing, thirsty souls. “If thou knewest the gift of God.” Yes, if the gift of God had been known, there would not be prayerless homes, and hearts as unimpressible as stone.
6 Jesus Christ, the Majesty of heaven, has been offered to the world, has been given to man as his Saviour and Redeemer. Well may the inhabitants of heaven and the unfallen worlds look with astonishment upon man’s lack of discernment, upon his ingratitude. Many have hated and spurned the gift of God, although Jesus clothed his divinity with humanity, and for our sake became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. He left the courts of heaven, and came to the world, all seared and marred and polluted with sin; he practiced self-denial and self-sacrifice, descending lower and lower in the path of humiliation, that we might be enriched and exalted. Rich in houses and lands, in worldly honor?—No, but that we might have all heaven’s imperishable treasure, an eternal weight of glory.
7 “If thou knewest the gift of God.” Oh, if the deceptive, bewitching power of Satan were only resisted, blinded eyes would be opened, unbelieving hearts would be made to perceive, and unsaved souls would have a knowledge of the unspeakable gift, and would press to the throne of grace with importunate prayer, entreating that they might drink of the living water. God is willing to impart to men the knowledge of his gift. Jesus is “to give the knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” If thou knewest the gift of God.” Who is there among those who already know the gift of God, who will fail to make known its preciousness to those who know it not? If you know the gift of God, if you have an experimental knowledge of what the blessings are that Christ came to bestow upon the perishing, will your lips be silent, your heart ungrateful? Will you have no interest in others, and be indifferent as to whether or not they know the way of salvation? Will you not make known to others the precious light of truth, that they also may know, that they also may ask of him, and receive the living water?
8 Speaking of Jacob’s well, Jesus said unto the woman: “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” How many are drinking of broken cisterns that can hold no water! Some think that if they could only have a certain salary, that would lift them above temporal want, they would be happy. But when the Lord grants them their heart’s desire, and tests them by a larger measure of favor, they are just as desirous of a larger amount, and so it is with other things. Their hunger and thirst increase in proportion as his gifts increase, and humanity is ever crying, Give me this or that favor, and I will hunger and thirst no more; but when the desire is gratified, there is still a greater need. But there is one gift that God desires to bestow that will be as living water, and he who partakes of Christ will never hunger, never thirst.
9 Jesus, the loving Saviour, entreats the woe-stricken inhabitants of earth to come to him. He says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Oh, have you found this rest? Have you been to the fountain of living water to drink? The knowledge of God is the most vital to you. Have you found it? Jesus says: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” The evidence of our knowledge of God and of his Son is seen in the fact that we reveal him in life and character, that we make him known unto others.
10 Shall we open our hearts to Jesus Christ? Shall we enthrone him in the temple of the soul? Shall we not cast away our idols, and surrender our all to God? God has had power to make the flowers fair and fragrant, and he has power to give meekness and lowliness to the heart, to impart purity and nobility to the character, to make us complete in Jesus. We may have loveliness of disposition, a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Let us consider the precious gifts of God, think upon his tender mercies, yield our all to him, that he may give us hearts filled with gratitude, lives filled with the fragrance of deeds of love, a disposition to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, seeking to save those that are lost.
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1 The question is asked, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” It is dangerous to give time, thought, and strength to the pursuit of worldly gain, even if success follows persevering effort; for in thus doing there is danger of making God and his righteousness secondary. It is better far to be in poverty, to endure disappointment, and have our earthly hopes shattered, than to have our eternal interests imperiled. Flattering inducements may be presented to us, and we may think to obtain wealth and honor, and so set our heart and soul on worldly enterprises. But as we cannot serve God and mammon, we are led to give up the service of God.
2 Money has become the measure of manhood in the world, and men are estimated, not by their integrity, but by the amount of wealth they possess. Thus it was in the days before the flood. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. . . . And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”
3 Let us not be determined to get rich. If we see that poverty will be our portion in abiding in the simple truth, let us abide by the truth and enter into life. Jesus said that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” The devotees of the world may smile at this statement, but it is nevertheless the counsel of eternal wisdom. Jesus has left his followers a legacy of peace. He says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The Christian who is called into the world by his business, if he follows Christ, will bear his cross, and meet his perplexities in the Spirit of Christ. He will not make the world his God, and give brain and bone and muscle to the service of mammon. He will realize that Heaven is looking upon him, and whatever success attends him, he will give glory to God. He will realize that God knows, as man does not, that a few more years will roll by, and the treasures of earth be no more.
4 Our Saviour came to the world to adjust the claims between heaven and earth. He knows that man, formed in his image, has been endowed by his Creator in such a way that he may rise to the highest eminence of moral efficiency through cooperation with divine agency provided for his assistance. With what sorrow Jesus looks upon man wasting his energies in pursuit of that which profiteth nothing. In tones of sorrow in which mingle tears, Jesus asks, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? “The arch-deceiver has inspired in man, by his temptations, by his presentation of flattering inducements, an inordinate desire to get the riches of this world, and he leads men to practice every form of sin in order that they may gain every earthly treasure. In the acquirement of this world’s wealth, the precious promises of God are cast aside as worthless. Through the service of mammon the love of God has been expelled from the heart, and the love of the world has rushed in to fill the vacuum, and to firmly enthrone itself in the heart, to rule and reign in the life. The power of God alone can force it from its usurped position. Through love of the world the spiritual vision is blinded, and the pleasures and attractions of the future world are hid from sight.
5 It is the vision of the world to come that balances the mind, so that the things which are seen do not obtain control over the affections, which have been bought with an infinite price by the world’s Redeemer. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit the things unseen and eternal are brought before the soul, and the advantages of the eternal, imperishable treasure are made to appear before the mind’s eye in their attractive beauty. In this way we learn to look to the unseen and the eternal, and to esteem the reproaches of Christ greater value than the treasures of the world.
6 The angels are the servants of Christ, and there are ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands who are sent to minister unto them that shall be heirs of salvation. Angels that excel in strength minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and impart to them divine power; for they become partakers of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust. Heavenly agencies are ever at the side of him who is wrestling for the victory, in order that while lawfully striving for the mastery, he may not be worsted in the conflict. But if the human agent places little value upon the precious things which God, through the gift of his only-begotten Son, has made possible for man to obtain, if he loses eternity out of his reckoning, and listens to Satan’s false representation, and is attracted to the things of earth instead of heaven, he sustains great loss, so cultivating the powers of his mind and soul that he will not have a fitness for eternal life. In this way he not only concentrates his mind and affection upon that which cannot possibly bring him happiness in this life, but through the idolizing of the most contemptible things, he degrades himself to a low moral level. In his insane pursuit after earthly gain, he accepts Satan’s method, and practices dishonest ways, and is blind to the result. Why should he not do this way when he disconnects himself from Him who is the source of all good, all righteousness and truth? Why will not Satan give him his mind and his attributes, and so mould him by his influence that he shall reflect the image of the earthly? The mind of him who follows the suggestion of Satan becomes like his leader; evil propensities gradually take him captive, and he becomes a slave of Satan. He is led on into deeper idolatry, beholding not the celestial imagery but the deceiving representation of the enemy. Satan pictures before him the advantage of worldly gain, and fills memory’s hall with false representations. The mind looks upon these, and becomes debased according to the subjects presented.
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1 “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Through every age the experiment of serving two masters whose interests were divergent has been tried over and over, but the world’s Redeemer solemnly assures us, as one who knows that the experiment is utterly impracticable, that “no man can serve two masters.” He has given important lessons on this matter, lessons that we neglect at the peril of our souls. We are to be intensely in earnest in regard to heavenly things. We are to watch, to pray, to wait, and to work. “Why,” he asks, “stand ye here all the day idle?” and adds, “Go work today in my vineyard.” Work, earnest work, is before us. We are to consecrate our life wholly to the service of God, and to trade diligently on our Lord’s intrusted talents. We are to permit nothing to interpose between us and God, but to look well to our soul’s eternal interest, and meet the claim that God has upon his human agents. We would inquire of those who profess the solemn truth for this time, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? Is your heart reaching heavenward, and does your soul contemplate heavenly things? Have earthly things more attraction for you than heavenly things? If heaven is the theme of your contemplation, it will be the theme of your conversation. To him who is growing in grace and in a knowledge of the truth, the heavenly attractions become all absorbing, and he grows up into Christ, his living head. Responding to the glory of Christ, our righteousness is brought forth as the light, and our judgment as the noonday. In contemplating the matchless charms of Jesus, in realizing the light of his presence by faith, we have a foretaste of the joy of the heavenly world. He who follows on to know the Lord will know that his goings forth are prepared as the morning.
2 How much more may we enjoy in this life than that which we have enjoyed! In our present spiritual condition we have only a faint idea of what our life might become, of what our homes might be, if we would cultivate heavenly affections, and yield ourselves wholly to the service of God. We would live in joyful communion with God. Our human affections and sympathies are not to wane away and become extinct, but through living connection with God, our love is to deepen, our interest to become more intense, our efforts more successful in promoting the happiness of those around us. Through Jesus Christ, households are to have blissful harmony and unity, and parents are to live together in peace and love, neither speaking nor thinking evil one of another. Parents and children are to be kind, forbearing, forgiving, having their hearts softened by the grace of Christ.
3 The truth of heavenly origin received into the heart never makes its possessor coarse, rough, uncourteous, hard hearted, and unsympathetic. The reception of the truth is to work a result exactly opposite to this. Its influence will encourage, and strengthen the tender, finer feelings of human nature. Those who believe the truth, will reveal its influence in their daily life. They will have the mind of Christ. They will be affectionate parents, loving children, faithful friends, and agreeable associates. They will not feel that they have occasion to blush when they give expression to feelings of tenderness and sympathy to those of their own flesh and blood.
4 He who cherishes the softening, subduing influence of the love of God, will not be coarse and rough and unforgiving, revengeful and full of bitterness. The true Christian will make his home a type of the heavenly home, and this he can do only as he has the abiding love of Christ in his soul. Souls about us are perishing for sympathy which is never expressed. Many have a cold, stern manner, and do not hesitate to reprove, while they withhold all praise, and never give a word of commendation to brighten the pathway of those who serve them. As the heavenly home would not be a home of bliss without the presence of Christ, neither can the earthly home be a happy one without his abiding love. Let us heed the words of Christ, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” If this injunction is obeyed from the heart, the life will be full of grace and peace, and our conversation will not consist simply of a set of dry phrases, but will bring happiness, peace, and joy to the members of the household. Thoughts and actions will reveal that we are in harmony with the divine will.
5 We shall be judged by our thoughts and words. There is need that we pray much, that all our thoughts may be brought into captivity to Jesus. We should hourly seek the grace of God, that our natural irritability of temper shall not overcome us, or our desire to have our own way make us brace ourselves against the work of God. We should educate ourselves after the divine order, that we may not tear down but build up the interests of humanity. The workers must not draw apart. They will have to meet discouragements from without, and not one who claims to be making up the breach in the law of God, of building up the old waste places, restoring the foundations of many generations, should be found undoing the work that God has set his workmen to accomplish in different branches of his cause.
6 Cultivate confidence, love, and faith in one another. Let confidence be so thoroughly grounded that your love one for another may not be easily chilled or turned aside. Cultivate good will toward the children of God, and especially toward those whom God hath sent to bear a special message to the world. Do not find fault with and cast reflections one upon another. If you see anything in the servants of God which seems to you unworthy of their high calling, let it not be a matter of discouragement to you, but let it be an incentive to reach a higher level.
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1 John says: “I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which was the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
2 If we would bear in mind the momentous events which are soon to take place, we would not be so weak in character. We would feel that we were living in the presence of God, and awed and amazed we should heed the injunction, “Be still and know that I am God.” Oh, when shall we ever realize the full value of our Saviour’s work and intercession? When shall we rely upon him with full confidence, and live a noble, pure, and devoted life? To what heights may the imagination reach when sanctified and inspired by the virtue of Christ! We may take in the glories of the future, eternal world. We may live as seeing him who is invisible. Walk by faith and not by sight. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
3 Through searching the Scriptures we may come to understand what we are to Christ, and what he is to us. By beholding him we are to become changed into his image, becoming co-laborers with him, representatives of him in life and character. We must learn to realize that we are to live as the sons and daughters of God, loving God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. We are to live a pure, perfect life for Christ’s sake. We are to love perfection because Jesus is the embodiment of perfection, the great center of attraction. The life we now live we must live by faith in the Son of God.
4 If we follow Christ we shall not have a spasmodical experience, and be moved by circumstances and influenced by our surroundings. We shall not let feeling control us, and indulge in fretting, envying, fault-finding, jealousy, and vanity.
5 It is indulgence in these things that puts us out of harmony with the harmonious life of Christ, and prevents us from becoming overcomers. We should be actuated by the noble purpose of winning daily victories, and by watchfulness and sincere prayer attain to complete control of self. When petty trials come upon us, and words are spoken that cut and bruise the soul, speak to yourself and say, “I am a child of God, heir with Jesus Christ, a co-laborer with heaven, and I cannot afford to easily take offense, to be always thinking of self; for this will produce a distorted character, and is unworthy of my high calling. My Heavenly Father has given me a work to do, and let me do it worthily for his name’s sake.”
6 We should consider earnestly and continually the excellence of the character of Jesus Christ, and we may impart his blessings, and lead men to follow in his footsteps. If the ministers of Christ would do this, there would be no reason for deploring their inefficiency. If they came to the people filled with the meekness and lowliness of Christ, knowing what it is to grow up into the full stature of men in Christ Jesus, power would attend their labors, and people would receive impressions from their association with them that would be of eternal benefit. The work of God would go deeper than it now does, and the soul would be changed into the likeness of Christ. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing.” “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed in the same image from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord.” “For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. . . . The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? . . . Now the Lord is that Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” “Wherefore also we pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power; that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
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1 The abominations of the earth have defiled the minds of men, and made gross their imagination, until nothing is pure to the mind’s eye. God designed that the mind should be elevated and noble, that through the merits of the crucified and risen Saviour, the soul should be pure and exalted; but through the contemplation of defiling things, through setting the affections upon the so-called treasures of this earth, the mind is debased, and incapable of appreciating heavenly things. God designed that man’s mind should be capable of rising to heights of pure delight, that we might take in the significance of things infinite and eternal, looking upon views of which God is the center; yet through submitting themselves to Satan, men have lowered themselves to fulfill the devices and plans of Satan, thus completing the ruin of soul, body, and spirit.
2 But “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Lord Jesus sees with what masterly power Satan is working to obliterate in man the image of God, and to place upon him his own image and character. Through his love for the fallen human family, Christ consented to come to this world. He clothed his divinity with humanity, and engaged in the task of correcting the evils which are ruining the world. As he looked upon the world, he saw that the senses of men were closed to the eternal realities, and he sees today the same blindness to spiritual things. He lifts up his voice in warning. Listen, what does he say?—”What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
3 Earth and earthly things will perish with the using. A few years will pass by, and death will come. Your eternal destiny will be fixed, eternally fixed. If your soul is lost, what will compensate you for its loss? Christ the Life Giver, Christ the Redeemer, Christ the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, points you to a nobler world. He brings it within range of your vision. He takes you to the threshold of heaven, and brings you to contemplate the glories of eternal realities, that your aspirations may be quickened to grasp the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. As you contemplate heavenly scenes, desire is kindled in your heart to have friendship with God, to be wholly reconciled to him.
4 Our Saviour’s work is to adjust the claims between earthly and heavenly interests, to put the duties and responsibilities of the life that now is in proper relation to those that pertain to eternal life. The fear and love of God are the first things that should claim our attention. We cannot afford to put off that which concerns our soul’s interest till tomorrow. The life which we now live we are to live by faith in the Son of God. We are redeemed from the beggarly elements of the world with a redemption that is full and complete, that cannot be increased by any supplement from human sources.
5 But in the midst of this flood of mercies, this plentitude of divine love, many hearts continue in indifference, careless, and unimpressed by the provisions of God’s grace. Shall we who claim to be Christians make no effort to break the spell which Satan has cast upon these souls? Shall we let them go on in hardness of heart, without God, and without hope in the world?—No; although every appeal we may make may be slighted and refused, we cannot cease to pray for them and to make tender entreaty for their souls. We must do all we can, through the aid of God’s Holy Spirit, to break down the barriers by which they have sought to make themselves impregnable to the light of God’s truth. We must seek to open their eyes to their blindness, to loose them from the captivity of Satan. These poor, deceived, blinded, deluded souls look upon religion as something that will fetter them, that will deprive them of their liberty, when the truth is that an infinite sacrifice has been made in order to emancipate them from the slavery of Satan, to break every yoke, and to let the oppressed go free. They are victims of the father of lies, and it is the truth of God alone that can set them free, and sanctify them to a blessed service. They seem to feel afraid of the truth lest it should bring them into subjection to Christ. Shall we who know the value of truth arouse our sleeping energies, and become laborers together with God, putting forth personal effort, that we may by both precept and example win souls to Christ?
6 If once the vision were cleared to behold eternal realities as they really are, many of these poor, deluded souls would decide for Christ and heaven. Would this incapacitate them for the affairs of this life?—No. But Christ would teach them the value of eternal life, and by comparing earthly treasure with heavenly treasure would show them of how little esteem the world is in contrast with eternal blessedness among the redeemed hosts. He would show them that the world and its engrossing engagements are to be kept in subjugation to heavenly interests. Jesus did not come to annihilate the world and its appropriate interests. He made the world, and he had such respect for the world that he came in person to dispute Satan’s usurped authority and power over his own purchased possession. In dealing with the souls of men he deposes the world and its interests from its position of usurped authority, and assigns to it its proper place in subordination to the will of God.
7 The object of the world’s Redeemer in coming to earth was to impress the minds of men with high and solemn considerations, so that every moment of life might be regarded by them as burdened with momentous interests and freighted with eternal results. The world was in rebellion against him, and he might have swept away all rebellion by annihilating those who were in resistance to his will; but instead of this, he set before men the value of life, the attractions of the heavenly world, and he invites every son and daughter of Adam to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. In place of exhausting the powers of brain, bone, and muscle in securing the bread which perisheth, he warns us not to drop eternity out of our reckoning, but to seek for the bread which cometh down from heaven. It is safe for us to put forth our chief endeavors to secure eternal substance. He encourages us to have our principal interest in heaven, and in so doing to secure our peace on earth; “for where the treasure is, there will the heart be also.”
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1 When Christians complain of being in darkness, when they dwell upon their trials and discouragements, and murmur against God, they virtually say that they are not following the example of Christ in offering to God humble, fervent prayer for grace and strength that they may be fortified for trials and strengthened for duty. Christ’s professed followers may be strong in the Lord if they avail themselves of the provisions made for them through the merits of Jesus. God has not closed the heavens against the humble prayers of repenting, humble, believing souls. The humble, simple, earnest, persevering prayer of the faithful one will now penetrate heaven, as surely as did the prayer of Christ. Heaven opened to his prayer, and this shows us that we may be reconciled to God, and that communication is established between God and man through the righteousness of our Lord and Saviour. Christ took upon him humanity, and yet he was in close, intimate relationship with God. He linked humanity with his divine nature, making it possible for men also to become partakers of the divine nature, and thus escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2 Christ is our example in all things. In response to his prayer to his Father, heaven was opened, and the Spirit descended like a dove and abode upon him. The Holy Spirit of God is to communicate with man, and to abide in the hearts of the obedient and faithful. Light and strength will come to those who earnestly seek it in order that they may have wisdom to resist Satan, and to overcome in times of temptation. We are to overcome even as Christ overcame.
3 Jesus opened his public mission with fervent prayer, and his example makes manifest the fact that prayer is necessary in order to lead a successful Christian life. He was constantly in communion with his Father, and his life presents to us a perfect pattern which we are to imitate. He appreciated the privilege of prayer, and his work showed the results of communion with God. Examining the record of his life, we find that upon all important occasions he retired to the grove, or to the solitude of the mountains, and offered earnest, persevering prayer to God. He frequently devoted the entire night to prayer just before he was called upon to work some mighty miracle. During these nightly seasons of prayer, after the labors of the day, he compassionately dismissed his disciples, that they might return to their homes for rest and sleep, while with strong crying and tears he poured forth earnest petitions to God in behalf of humanity.
4 Jesus was braced for duty and fortified for trial through the grace of God that came to him in answer to prayer. We are dependent upon God for success in living the Christian life, and Christ’s example opens before us the path by which we may come to a never-failing source of strength, from which we may draw grace and power to resist the enemy and to come off victorious. On the banks of Jordan Christ offered prayer as the representative of humanity, and the opening heaven and the voice of approval assures us that God accepts humanity through the merits of his Son.
5 Christ was the Son of the Most High God, yet throughout his life he did not seek to magnify or exalt himself by any of his works, but sought simply to proclaim the glory of the Father. For thirty years he seemed to be unhonored and unknown, and yet he lived a diligent, faithful life. As individuals we also are not to seek to glorify ourselves, but to keep our souls open to the cheering beams of the Sun of Righteousness, that we may show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. The injunction to each one of us is, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” The ardent desire of the apostles was to know God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. Jesus lives; he is before the Father in the heavenly courts, making intercession for those who are still upon the earth in the turmoil and strife of life; for the church militant is not yet the church triumphant.
6 By communion with God we may constantly have a cultivation in mind and heart and character that will elevate us and direct our thoughts heavenward, that we may become partakers of the divine nature. We are to be human agents that will cooperate with divine intelligences. We are to be quickened under the influence of divine power, that will not only strengthen us, but attract our minds from the dust and rubbish of earth, that will set us free from the polluting, deceiving influences of the world, so that we may contemplate heavenly things. Through this influence our hearts are to be purified, our affections sanctified, and set not upon earthly things but upon heavenly things. The treasure of earth will soon pass away, and “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” The soul is capable of purification and sanctification, capable of attaining, through the offering of Christ, the heavenly treasure, even the gift of life that shall measure with the life of Jehovah.
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1 We have but one probation in which to form character, and our destiny depends upon the manner of character we form. Those who on earth have formed characters that through the grace of Christ bear the heavenly mould, will be ripened through the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit for the eternal reward. They become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. It is a realization of the fact that our characters are Christlike, that calls forth the song of praise and thanksgiving to God and to the Lamb. Those who appreciate the goodness, mercy, and love of Christ, and by beholding him become changed into his image, will be partakers of eternal life. The attributes of their character are like those of Christ, and they cannot fail of the rest that remains for the people of God.
2 But those who have developed a character after the Satanic order would not be at home in heaven. The sinful, selfish, passionate accuser and criticiser would be miserable in heaven; and even in the counsels of the court of God, because of his lack of wisdom, he would reveal his uncourteous, unsympathizing, harsh disposition. If he were placed upon the very loftiest pinnacle, and held supremacy in angelic councils, he would still want to be in a higher position, and even covet the throne of God. There would be no happiness for such a man in heaven. He could not practice evil thinking, evil speaking, be boisterous, critical, and condemnatory, amid the peaceful hosts of the redeemed. Could such a one enter heaven, he would find that he had brought his untamable, unmanageable self along, and heaven itself could not afford him relief from his innate disposition. Heaven begins in the soul, and as heavenly-mindedness increases, Christ is more and more appreciated, and finally becomes the Chiefest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely. But as Satan is allowed to control the mind, his attributes become a part of the character of the one whom he controls, and the sinner exercises himself unto more and more ungodliness.
3 If we would see heaven, we must have heaven below. We must have a heaven to go to heaven in. We must have heaven in our families, through Christ continually approaching unto God. Christ is the great center of attraction, and the child of God hid in Christ, meets with God, and is lost in the divine being. Prayer is the life of the soul; it is feeding on Christ; it is turning our faces fully toward the Sun of Righteousness. As we turn our faces toward Him, He turns his face toward us. He longs to give us divine grace; and as we draw nigh to God with full assurance of faith, our spiritual conceptions are quickened. We do not then walk in blindness, bemoaning our spiritual barrenness; for by diligent, prayerful searching of the word of God, we apply his rich promises unto our souls. Angels draw close to our side, and the enemy with his manifold devices is driven back.
4 Prayer is the strength of the soul, and yet this exercise has been sadly neglected. By simple, earnest, contrite prayer, heavenly mindedness is greatly increased. No other means of grace can be substituted and healthiness of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the soul into immediate contact with the wellspring of life, and strengthens the spiritual sinew and muscle of our religious experience; for we live by faith, seeing Him who is invisible. Neglect the exercise of prayer, or engage in prayer spasmodically, now and then, as it is deemed convenient, and you lose your connection with God. The Christian life becomes dry, and the spiritual faculties have no vitality. The religious experience lacks health and vigor. There is a growing tendency to substitute the writings and sayings of men for the word of God.
5 It is because of a neglect of prayer and of searching the Bible that the multitudes accept men-made theories, vain philosophies, or the flashing speculations of the human mind. God never designed that the soul should be nourished with the traditions and speculations of human invention. The imagination must plume for a higher flight than human ability can originate; for the mind must ascend to the Source of all wisdom. Souls all about us are starving for the bread of life, famishing for the living water, clear as crystal, that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb. But the bread of life is denied these poor souls, and even from the pulpits discourses on science and vain philosophy are substituted for the word of God. It is the word of God that is as pure provender, thoroughly winnowed from all the chaff of human uncertainties and suppositions.
6 It is the grace of God alone which can vitalize and refresh the soul. The precious sure word of prophecy reveals to him who is a searcher for truth, the riches of the grace of Christ. The word of God is a spiritual granary from whence the soul may receive that which will nourish its life. In perusing the word of God we find doctrines, precepts, promises, admonitions, exhortations, and words of encouragement, that will meet the case of emergency in every human mind. Here the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works; for “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. . . . Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called, which some professing have erred concerning the faith.” “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith, so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and a faith unfeigned; from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” “And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.”
7 This instruction is vital, and may be considered with profit. We are to rely upon the word of God, and not upon the assertion or speculation of human philosophy. The soul is to be nourished by the pure, unadulterated word of God; and by persevering search the Bible student will find a “feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” Then the language of the heart will be, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.”
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1 “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
2 God’s people will be composed mostly of persons from the common walks of life. “Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” One of the tokens of Christ’s divine mission was, “The poor have the gospel preached unto them.” Through our large cities there are many in lowly circumstances who are serving the Lord in singleness of heart, according to the best light which shines upon their pathway. They are hidden ones, for their life is hid with Christ in God. They have an humble opinion of their merits, and yet they love Jesus according to the knowledge they have of him, and put their trust in him as their personal Saviour. They have had no opportunity to understand the philosophy of theology, and are not wise in worldly wisdom; yet they know enough to love Jesus, and Jesus loves them. In humble ways they have done according to their ability what they could to bless others, and they will be surprised when the heavenly benediction is spoken upon them by the Heavenly Master: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
3 Those to whom these blessed words are spoken are those who have cherished the principles and spirit of the character of Christ. They loved the Lord Jesus, and served him in the simplicity of true godliness. They were a blessing to all with whom they associated, although they knew but little of the theory and doctrine of theology. Even among the heathen there are those who cherish the spirit of kindness, who have given all the help within their power to the missionaries that have been sent them. They worship God ignorantly, and to many of them the message of light is never brought; yet they will not perish, for they will receive the blessing, because they have wrought the works of God. Many who have never heard the message of salvation are all ready to receive the light, and God designs that it shall go to them like clear rays of glory. They will hear the living messenger, who brings the living message, as he says: “Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
4 How surprised and gladdened will be the hearts of the lowly among the nations, and among the heathen, to hear from the lips of the Saviour: “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” They will answer, saying, “Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
5 Christ identifies his interest with that of suffering humanity. Every kindly action, if it is simply the giving of the cup of cold water, if it is the best that can be given, will be remembered and rewarded. How glad will be the great heart of Infinite Love as his simple-hearted followers look up with surprise and joy at his words of approval, “Ye have done it unto me.” But to those who have been self-centered, who have lived but to please and serve themselves, he will say: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”
6 Through life the class that are bidden depart from Christ have served and glorified themselves; and in their self-indulgence and self-pleasing it was impossible to form a character after Christ’s likeness. They had the word of God, they may have even understood the theory of the truth, but they did not exercise themselves unto godliness. Satisfied in their sufficiency, their daily acts decided their own destiny, and they formed a character exactly contrary to the character of Christ. They failed to comprehend the value and significance of the infinite sacrifice made to save their souls. Had they responded to the great love that had been manifested for them, they would have been convinced of their own weakness and sinfulness, and would have loved God with the whole heart and their neighbors as themselves. But they did not desire an experience in wearing the yoke of Christ, and they cared not to carry his burden in willing service for the Master, and so failed to become colaborers with Christ. They excused themselves from all responsibility for Christ’s sake. They were slothful servants, and misapplied their talents, and used their ability for the service of self and the world. While making a profession of godliness, their Christless lives misrepresented the character of their professed Lord. They refused everything of a spiritual nature, and would have nothing to do with that which required sacrifice and self-denial, and their souls were as destitute of the grace of Christ as were the hills of Gilboa of dew or rain.
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1 “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. . . . Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God; which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles; that, whereas they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
2 Among many who have claimed to accept the precious light of truth, there is a perverted idea of what constitutes Christian character. They have not performed the words of Christ, and instead of advancing, following on to know the Lord, they have been retrograding, backsliding. Christ represents the truth as a treasure that is hid in the field, for which, if men would possess it, they must search diligently. In the field of revelation are hid the unsearchable riches of Christ. As yet we have only come in possession of the most accessible treasures, and yet many have settled down, feeling that they are rich and increased in goods, and in need of nothing. Every part of the field of revelation is to be diligently explored, and searched with persevering effort, in order that precious jewels of truth may reward the diligent seeker, and may be restored to their proper framework in the plan of redemption. Let the shaft sink deep into the mines of truth. If you come to the searching of the Scriptures with contrition of soul, with a humble, teachable spirit, rich and precious treasures will reward your search.
3 The Lord sends his ministers to hold forth the word of life, to preach, not “vain philosophy” and “science falsely so called,” but the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” Paul gives his dying charge in the following words: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” In this charge every minister has his work laid out before him, and this he can do through the fulfillment of the promise that Jesus gave to his disciples: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
4 In the teachings of Christ, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is made prominent. What a vast theme is this for contemplation and encouragement! What treasures of truth did he add to the knowledge of his disciples in his instruction concerning the Holy Spirit, the Comforter! He dwelt upon this theme in order to console his disciples in the great trial they were soon to experience, that they might be cheered in their great disappointment. He said: “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
5 The world’s Redeemer sought to bring to the hearts of the sorrowing disciples the strongest solace. But from a large field of subjects, he chose the theme of the Holy Spirit, which was to inspire and comfort their hearts. And yet, though Christ made much of this theme concerning the Holy Spirit, how little is it dwelt upon in the churches! The name and presence of the Holy Spirit are almost ignored, yet the divine influence is essential in the work of perfecting the Christian character. Some are not at peace, not at rest; they are in a state of constant fretfulness, and permit impulse and passion to rule their hearts. They know not what it means to experience peace and rest in Christ. They are as a ship without anchor, driven with the wind and tossed. But those whose minds are controlled by the Holy Spirit walk in humility and meekness; for they work in Christ’s lines, and will be kept in perfect peace, while those who are not controlled by the Holy Spirit are like the restless sea.
6 The Lord has given us a divine directory by which we may know his will. Those who are self centered, self-sufficient, do not feel their need of searching the Bible, and they are greatly disturbed if others do not have the same defective ideas, and see with the same distorted vision that they do. But he who is guided by the Holy Spirit has cast his anchor within the veil wherein Jesus has entered for us. He searches the Scriptures with eager earnestness, and seeks for light and knowledge to guide him amid the perplexities and perils which at every step compass his path. Those who are restless, complaining, murmuring, read the Bible for the purpose of vindicating their own course of action, and they ignore or pervert the counsels of God. He who has peace has placed his will on the side of God’s will, and longs to follow the divine guidance, while he who is full of unrest is constantly struggling to sustain himself, and make it appear that he is right, and is sustained by what he estimates as wisdom. But he is controlled by caprice and by the changing passions of a soul not abiding in Christ. To the sincere, contrite heart, truth is truth; and if it is allowed, it will sanctify the soul and transform the character into the divine image. To the other, truth is a theory, and is not brought into the practical life. Those who realize what is the character of the work that they must do in order to represent Christ, will walk softly and tremblingly before God, looking unto Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of their faith. They dare not trust themselves, they dare not kindle a fire of their own, and walk in sparks of their own kindling, for the Lord has said that all such shall lie down in sorrow. The Lord has intrusted to his people the treasures of sacred truth, and in no case will they be excusable if they present the truth in their own unsanctified spirit, or use the truth as a scourge by which to afflict others.
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1 We are to present the truth as it is in Jesus, made fragrant and attractive by the grace and the courtesy that characterized the life of Christ. Godliness is to be an ornament to the life, as well as the saving salt of character. Why do those who claim to be advanced in knowledge, make themselves objectionable, and bring the truth into disrepute? It is because the truth has not been permitted to sanctify their unholy dispositions. Those who misrepresent the truth are harsh, unsympathetic, and denunciatory. They climb upon the judgment seat, as though they had been ordained to measure character, and lord it over God’s heritage. In their uncourteous ways, they make it manifest that love is not in their hearts, and they do not know the plague spot of their own souls. They do not keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, nor value the soul as Christ’s purchased possession, although they are charged with treating Christ as they treat the least of his little ones. What is it that constitutes the loveliness of the soul?—It is the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Jesus said , “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” If the things of nature are so clothed in loveliness by our Heavenly Father, shall not the soul be clothed in more desirable beauty? Through the merits and virtues of Jesus Christ, the soul may wear the image of Him who created man in His own likeness. It is holiness of life and Christlikeness of character that constitute the beauty of the soul. Through sin the divine image in man has been marred, and Satan has placed upon the soul the stamp of his own image and character; for it has been Satan’s purpose to obliterate the image of God in man, so that man should not occupy the mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love him. Through apostasy Satan lost heaven, and he is determined that the human race, whom he has led to transgress the law of God, shall not enjoy the pure and inexpressible glory from which he is shut out.
2 The Lord Jesus came to earth that he might recreate the image of God in man. He says to the repenting sinner, “A new heart will I give you.” “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” He who abides in Christ, and has Christ abiding in his heart by faith, cannot retain the same unlovely traits of character as were made manifest in his life before he had a connection with Christ. Christ came to save men from their sins, not in their sins. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” “We then as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”
3 Christ came to the world that we might become new creatures, created after the similitude of his own character; that we might have purity like the purity of God, have perfection like his perfection. In the work of regeneration, the original loveliness begins to be restored. The attributes of the character of Christ are imparted to the soul, and the image of the divine begins to shine forth. “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” It is plainly declared that a change takes place in the character of the human agent.
4 In the Christian life we are not assured that we shall be freed from trials, but that grace will be given us to bear them. We are individually called to go through temptations and trials, but the object for which they are permitted to come upon us is that we may be perfected in grace and love, that the image of selfishness may disappear, and the image of Christ appear in our characters, as we advance from glory to glory, from character to character, following on to know the Lord. The soul polluted by sin, through divine power is recreated after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness.
5 Ushered into the Christian life we no longer complain of darkness; for we have the light of life and joy which Christ said would be in all who abide in him. “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” In place of having less love as we advance in the Christian life, we are to have love that will increase more and more until our love is perfected; and where there is perfect love, there is full joy. We can be happy when we see God in everything. When we can see him in affliction, we have comfort and solace in our sorrow. When the sunshine of prosperity smiles, we recognize that the blessing flows from the fountain of life, and when trial and affliction are ours, we realize that the hand of the Lord is in all our perplexities, and thus we come to understand that sunshine and shadow are needful to perfect the character of the believer, and give him the true joy of perfect trust in God; for through faith he looks beyond the things that are seen to the things that are unseen. He says, “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
6 Praise God, we have a divine road to heaven. We need not depend upon the conjectures and opinions of men, but upon the infallible decision of the word of God. The word of the infinite God is true, and cannot be distorted to suit men’s pleasure, or be turned aside to suit the inclinations of the unsanctified soul. No man can safely judge the word of the Supreme Ruler of the universe. In it is his revealed will. In it we have a guide to the world of bliss, to eternal life. The road to life is summed up in the knowledge of God. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
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1 In all our afflictions Jesus was afflicted, and the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. In this life we shall be proved to see whether or not we shall be able to bear the test of God. Satan’s temptations will come upon us, and we shall be tried, but the question of most importance to us is, Shall we be overcome? or shall we be overcomers? Jesus has said, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” How precious, how full is this promise! Shall we not have the mind stored with heavenly truth, that, like our great Example, we may be able to meet Satan with the weapon of God’s word, saying to him as he tempts us to do evil, “It is written”? Satan knows better than many professed Christians what is written, for he is a diligent student of the Bible, and he works to pervert the truth, and lead men into the paths of disobedience. He leads men to neglect the searching of the word of God; for he knows that it testifies against him, that his works are evil. It describes him as the apostate angel who fell from heaven, and drew many of the hosts of heaven after him in a course of rebellion against their Creator.
2 Satan is seeking continually to draw away the minds of men from God and his word. He knows that if he can cause men to neglect the word of God, he can soon cause them to depart from its precepts, and finally to forget their Maker. They will then take the suggestions and instructions of the adversary of God and man, and evil men and evil angels will form a confederacy against the God of heaven.
3 Those who would be loyal to God will be subject to trials and temptations; but if they are truly alive unto God, and have their life hid with Christ in God, they will also know what it is to have the blessings which God bestows upon the faithful and obedient. Every soul will have its trials, disappointments, sickness, and sorrow. Bereavements will come, and because of their own frailties and mistakes, or through sympathy for their friends, heavy grief will press upon the heart. But whatever may be the character of their sorrows, whether heavy or comparatively light, there is no necessity for becoming restless, impatient, rebellious, or morose. There is no need of speaking rash, faithless words. It is a great mistake to dictate to the Lord. Elijah knew not what he was doing when he said to God that he had had enough of life, and asked to die. The Lord did not take him at his word; for there was a great work for Elijah to do before he should be translated to heaven.
4 Instead of murmuring against God in times of trial, let us remember that Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, suffered being tempted. Jesus did not permit the enemy to plunge him into the mire of unbelief, despondency, and despair. But how often we permit it, and because we have but little moral power, not doing the works of Christ, we do not resist the first insinuations of the evil one! The promise is given: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” How precious to the tempted soul is this positive promise! If anyone is tempted, let him keep his eyes upon Jesus, and draw nigh to God, talking of his goodness and mercy. When the tempted soul realizes that Jesus is drawing nigh unto him, the annoyances that he thought unbearable will vanish. “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
5 When this precious experience is ours, then there will be vital energy in the church. Love for Christ must be revived, and not permitted to grow cold. We must not only pray for unity with Christ and with one another, but actually have it, know what it means by real experience. Troublous times are before us, but this is not to worry us. To worry is to doubt; but we would impress upon all the necessity of going to God for help, whatever may be your afflictions and troubles.
6 Do not think to obtain help by going to the gods of Ekron. Jesus has left an invitation for every burdened soul. He says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
7 John, who leaned upon the bosom of Christ, says, “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us.” If we can individually say this from the heart, we are indeed rich in faith, living on the promises of God. Amid our trials, disappointments, bereavements, and afflictions, we are to learn that God is love, and that he that dwelleth in God, dwelleth in love. “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we [in heaven?] in this world.” We have reason ever to thank God that he knows all the storms, disappointments, and trials that come upon his people. He follows them through every experience, with tender, pitying love, and expresses his desire to heal our wounds, and restore unto us the joy of his salvation.
8 Jesus has said, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” There is but one channel of light, but that is always accessible to us, and through that channel flow streams of forgiveness and love. The streams of God’s mercy can cleanse the darkest stain, bring peace to the greatest sinner. The blood of Christ was shed for the sins of the world. In the sacrificial offering, offered by the Jews, was seen a symbol of Christ, whose blood was to be shed for the salvation of the world. In the sacrificial system the truth of the atonement was to be impressed upon the world, that all might know that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Many have wondered why it was that God appointed so many sacrifices in the old dispensation; but it was to teach the world in ever-bleeding sacrifices concerning Christ, the victim of man’s transgressions. The offering for sin was a most solemn, sacred offering, and was placed upon the altar with impressive ceremony, and every detail was explained by the priest to the people, that they might understand that the Son of God was to be made an offering for their sins. This is the central truth of the plan of salvation, and it should be often repeated in the hearing of both believers and unbelievers.
9 The angels behold with amazement the indifference with which men hear these sacred truths. They look with sorrow upon those who profess to believe advanced truth, to see how little they make manifest the fact that they are the purchase of the blood of the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” It is only through faith in the cleansing blood that we may have forgiveness of sin, that clings to us like a moral leprosy. Jesus need not have suffered for himself, for “he knew no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth;” yet he suffered agony in proportion to the purity and majesty of his character. Angels are amazed that those for whom so much has been done by the Son of God, still continue to cherish sin. The inexpressible sufferings of Christ were endured that the souls of men might be saved from sin and its penalty. Oh, why is it that men are so indifferent? Why is it that the plan of salvation is so little mentioned in our conversation? We dwell but lightly upon these vital truths, that mean so much to us, and continue willing captives of Satan and sin. Oh, that we might cultivate habits of contemplation of the self-sacrifice, self-denial, and love of Christ, until we should have a deeper sense of the malignant character of sin, and hate it as the vile thing that it is! Let the mind and heart awaken to gratitude, and let us come to the Father in the name of Jesus, asking for the forgiveness of sins, for the cleansing from all unrighteousness. Let us plead with God that he may “cleanse us with hyssop,” that we may be clean, wash us, that we may be “whiter than snow.” He will restore unto us the “joy of his salvation,” put within us a new heart, a right spirit, put a “new song” into our mouths, “even praise unto our God.”
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1 Of Christ it is written, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” God hates sin. It is the work of Satan to allure to evil. Satan has worked adroitly with bewitching power to fascinate the mind with iniquity, and make righteousness to appear undesirable. We need to remember continually that our secret sins are in the light of God’s countenance. Of ourselves we cannot see or realize how grievous are our secret sins in the sight of God. Under the influence of Satan we are led to pursue a course of evil until our hearts become hardened, our conscience seared, and our thoughts are brought into captivity to the prince of evil. But God is ever seeking to impress our hearts by his Holy Spirit, that we shall be convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come. We may place our will on the side of God’s will, and in his strength and grace resist the temptations of the enemy. As we yield to the influence of the Spirit of God, our conscience becomes tender and sensitive, and sin that we have passed by with little thought, becomes exceeding sinful; for we begin to realize that our secret sins are in the light of his countenance.
2 There is hope for the sinner. Christ uplifted upon the cross of Calvary furnishes that hope; for mercy has provided to the uttermost demand the victim that justice calls for, for man’s transgression. Through the merits of Jesus Christ, God can forgive sin, and be the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Precious truth of inestimable value to every repenting soul! Shall we not individually seek to appreciate, as far as it is possible, the fact that God forgives sin, that he loves us if we believe in Jesus, though we are erring, ignorant, and sinful, even as he loves his Son? The moment we ask for forgiveness in contrition and sincerity, God forgives. Oh, what a glorious truth! Preach it, pray it, sing it. Lift up the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Say to the people, “Behold the man of Calvary!” God is waiting to forgive all who come unto him with sincere repentance. The Psalmist says, “There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mightest be feared.”
3 Oh, that the salvation of souls was the aim and object of every soul who professes the name of Christ! Let those who know the pardoning love of God speak to the youth, the unconverted, and in tenderness urge them to give their hearts to Jesus. Oh, make an offering of yourselves to the Lord ere it be too late! Jesus has given his own precious life for you. If God had not loved you, he would never have sent his well-beloved Son to live in humiliation, to suffer and to die. “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Do not allow the enemy to crowd this truth out of your mind. It is a theme for meditation. What have we done to show our appreciation of this great love? What have we given to Jesus, who has given himself for us? The gift that will be most grateful to him, most precious and fragrant, will be yourself. You that have not decided to become sons and daughters of God, I would now entreat you to delay no longer. Place your will on the side of God’s will. He delights in mercy. “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?”
4 Come to Jesus just as you are, weak, sinful, ignorant, unworthy, and he will receive you. He says, “A new heart also will I give thee.” Among the Jews there was a continual remembrance made of sin. Every year on the day of atonement a fresh sacrifice was brought forth; for sin was still remembered, and the blood of the sacrifices could not take away sin. But sins forgiven through Christ are remembered no more. The Lord says, “I will remember their sins no more.”
5 The Lord accepts the sinner who comes to him through the merits of Jesus, and he treats the transgressor as though he were innocent. Will not the youth and the unconverted begin to inquire, “What shall I do to be saved?” The answer is: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Train and educate the mind to think and to talk of Jesus, and Satan will lose his power over you. He cannot long bear to be in the company of those who meditate and converse upon the love of God. In this way the mind is strengthened. Moral power increases by dwelling upon the goodness, beauty, mercy, and love of Christ. Training the mind in this way will make it natural for you to inquire at every step: “Is this the way of the Lord? Will Jesus be pleased to have me do this? Will this course please self, or my Lord?
6 The Lord would have us follow in his footsteps, and be influenced by the dictates of his Holy Spirit. The influence of man upon man, unless controlled by the Holy Spirit, is a dangerous influence; for Satan causes his suggestions to be acted upon, and draws men into his service through human instrumentalities. But the Lord Jesus by the agency of his Holy Spirit changes this order of things. He takes upon himself the sin of man, and by the power of his divine love draws men to himself, sanctifies and makes them holy. When men are under the control of Christ, he employs them as his agents, and leads them to devote their powers to doing a work exactly opposite to that which Satan had designed they should do.
7 Jesus would enlist men in his service. He would direct their perverted powers in such a way that, through his grace, they may become agents for the working of unmingled good to every other man, and each become his brother’s keeper in disinterested love, and thus the world be restored to God. Through faith in Jesus Christ the chain of mutual dependence is fastened to the throne of God, and through the agency of man humanity is bound to God. “God has promised his Holy Spirit, the highest power in the universe, to be embodied in men, that through faith in Jesus Christ humanity may be elevated. An influence emanating from God draws and concentrates the power of the universe, that a lost and rebel race may be reconciled and restored to God.
8 Then let those who would stand firmly for God, hold fast their profession of faith without wavering. Let them maintain a close and living connection with God, because in this is involved the life of the soul. Let them follow in the footsteps of Jesus, obeying to the letter his word of direction,—”If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me,” “so shall he be my disciple.” In the grace of Christ alone can this be done. Whatever may be the Christian’s business, if it be a lawful calling, God has provided grace that his chosen, his elect, shall not be discomfited by the enemy. God has provided that men shall be Christians in the market place, in the house of commerce, in all manner of taxing cares in private or public life, as well as at the prayer meeting. Every business enterprise may be conducted on Christian principles; but in attempting to serve God and mammon, there will be betrayal of sacred trusts; there will be the putting of mammon first and Christ last.
9 In order to be the blessing to the world which God would have his children, we need to pray and to watch unto prayer. Never should we be placed in a position where we shall be so pressed by care that we shall neglect the study of the Bible or fail to attend the prayer and social meeting. We are not to lose heaven out of our reckoning. The things which belong unto our eternal happiness, which make rich and add no sorrow, are not to be crowded out of our minds by any manner of responsibility. It is not the getting of houses and lands, heaping up treasure on earth, that is to give us peace and happiness; but it is our connection with God, a realization that we are laborers together with him, that is to constitute our joy. We have no right to place ourselves where we shall be loaded down with cares, that will lessen and finally supplant the influence of the truth upon us to sanctify the soul. Let us remember that every moment is charged with responsibility, and that we are to deal with all in the highest integrity, both as regards this life and that which is to come.
Page 636
1 The professed church of God may be possessed of wealth, education, and knowledge of doctrine, and may say by her attitude, “I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;” but if its members are devoid of inward holiness, they cannot be the light of the world. The church is to reflect light into the moral darkness of the world, as the stars reflect light into the darkness of the night. These who have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof, do not reflect light into the world, and will not have power to reach the hearts of the unsaved. Without vital connection with Christ the value of truth cannot be made to appear in good fruit in the world; but if Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, his saving grace will be manifested in sympathy and love for perishing souls.
2 Every soul truly converted to God will be a light in the world. Bright, clear rays from the Sun of Righteousness will shine forth through human agents who use their intrusted ability to do good; for they will cooperate with heavenly agencies, and labor with Christ for the conversion of souls. They will diffuse the light which Christ sheds upon them. The Sun of Righteousness shining in their hearts will shine forth, enlightening and blessing others.
3 The rays of heaven shining from human agents will exert a subduing influence upon those whom Christ is drawing to himself. The church is weak before the angels of heaven, unless power is revealed through its members for the conversion of those who are perishing. Unless the church is the light of the world, it is darkness. But of the true followers of Christ it is written: “We are laborers together with God; ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”
4 The church may be composed of those who are poor and uneducated; but if they have learned of Christ the science of prayer, the church will have power to move the arm of Omnipotence. The true people of God will have an influence that will tell upon hearts. It is not the wealth or the educated ability which the members of the church may possess that constitutes their efficiency. The members of the church may have been so situated that they may have had every spiritual advantage, they may have been so situated that they have had opportunity to know the truth, to know Jesus Christ their Lord; but notwithstanding their advantages, if they are not humble, praying men and women, there will not be with them the hiding of the power of God. They will not exert that influence that will be far reaching as eternity in its results, and men will not see their good works, and glorify God because of his people’s faithfulness. It is when the Sun of Righteousness shines forth from the people of God that Christ is glorified and his kingdom advanced. It is then that they are chosen vessels of salvation, and are fit for the Master’s use.
5 If the churches established in our world would follow Christ, they would pray as Christ prayed, and the result of their prayers would be seen in the conversion of souls; for when communication is opened up between souls and God, a divine influence is shed upon the world. When the members of the church abide in Christ, they deliver an effective testimony in their lives. They fulfill the words of Christ, “Ye are my witnesses.” By their influence all the day long by precept and example, they say, “Come,” “behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
6 The Lord is our light. The Lord is our salvation. This is the period in the earth’s history when light will surely be given to the Lord’s chosen people. The world’s Redeemer “is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Jesus says, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” To those who will appreciate light, and who in their turn will impart light to others, God will give increased light. Saints and prophets of former ages were recipients of precious light and knowledge that was to be unfolded to the chosen of God in these last days. The disciples of Christ were honored in having Christ, the Light of the world, among them. But they failed to appreciate their great privileges and blessings, until Jesus had left them. When his presence was no longer with them, they realized that they had been blessed with association with the only begotten Son of the infinite God. That they might fully realize the blessing that had been bestowed upon them, the Lord Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, which would bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever he had said unto them. In their blindness and unbelief they had not comprehended the value of the celestial truth presented to them; but the Holy Spirit was to illuminate the lessons of Christ before their minds, that they might have an appreciation of heavenly things.
7 Jesus is the fountain head of knowledge, the treasure-house of truth, and he longed to open before his disciples treasures of infinite value, that they in turn might open them to others. But because of their blindness he could not unfold to them the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. He said to them, “I have many things to say unto you; but ye cannot bear them now.” The minds of the disciples were to a great degree influenced by the traditions and maxims of the Pharisees, who placed the commandments of God on a level with their own inventions and doctrines. The scribes and Pharisees did not receive or teach the Scriptures in their original purity, but interpreted the language of the Bible in such a way as to make it express sentiments and injunctions that God had never given. They put a mystical construction upon the writing of the Old Testament, and made indistinct that which the infinite God had made clear and plain. These learned men placed before the people their own ideas, and made patriarchs and prophets responsible for things they never uttered. These false teachers buried up the precious jewels of truth beneath the rubbish of their own interpretations and maxims, and covered up the plainest specifications of prophecy regarding Christ. They made the keeping of the commandments of God appear to be a rigorous round of ceremonies, so needless and foolish that the force of God’s law was destroyed. They heaped exactions upon the commands of God that could never be met, and thereby lessened respect for God.
8 When the Author of truth came to our world, and was the living interpreter of his own laws, the Scriptures were opened to men like a new revelation; for he taught as one having authority, as one who knew whereof he was speaking. The minds of men were confused with false teaching to such an extent that they could not fully grasp the meaning of divine truth, and yet they were attracted to the great Teacher, and said, “Never man spake like this man?”
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Page 637
1 Satan is continually seeking to influence human minds by his subtle arts. His is a master mind, given of God, but prostituted with all its noble capabilities to oppose and to make of no effect the counsels of the Most High. He had an advanced experience in his connection with the God of heaven, and he wields his knowledge of the attributes of God in such a way as to misinterpret the divine character. Satan was an apostate, and all who follow in the way of apostasy will work in the same lines of evil. There was a time when Satan was in harmony with God, and it was his joy to execute the divine commands. His heart was filled with love and joy in serving his Creator, until he began to think that his wisdom was not derived from God, but was inherent in himself, and that he was as worthy as was God to receive honor and power. When he found that he could not be as God, he was filled with rebellion, and would not submit his will to the will of God.
2 When men apostatize from the truth, many will raise the question, What is the reason this has happened? And when they can find no reason for apostasy, they will be inclined to believe that the apostates have never had a genuine experience in the truth and cause of God, that they were wholly insincere in their professions; but this is not safe reasoning. What was it caused Satan to rebel? Was there any just reason that could be assigned for his sin? The place where sin originated has been pointed out, but the reason for sin cannot be found; for there is no reason for its existence. It is written of Satan, “Thou wast perfect in all thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” All who apostatize are destitute of any real excuse. Their apostasy will be manifested in rebellion and self-exaltation, as it was seen in the first apostate. Of him it is written, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.”
3 The Lord himself gave to Satan his glory and wisdom, and made him the covering cherub, good, noble, and exceeding lovely. But beauty, wisdom, and glory were bestowed upon God’s creature as a gift of love. For like reasons the Lord has bestowed upon human agencies talents of intellect, qualities of mind and character, that they may be able to fill positions of trust, and glorify their Creator and Redeemer. But, like Satan, men become lifted up in self because of their beauty and wisdom, and pervert their talents, and corrupt their characters, and use their God-given gifts for the glory of self rather than for the glory of God and the good of others. The whole world has been corrupted by the false principles Satan has led men to follow.
4 Satan works with his arts of infatuation, and weaves a spell about the human mind. The power of spiritual witchcraft steels the heart so that it is not susceptible to heavenly influences, which would counteract the power of the deceptive infatuation. Satan is the root of all deception, the origin of all falsehood, and it was through his witchcraft that the enchanters and sorcerers were bold to withstand Moses, imitating the miracles he wrought. It is Satan who presents the world before the mind in an attractive light, who makes the glories of empires pass before the vision as he did before Christ, promising, “All this will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
5 Satan came to Christ in the wilderness of temptation and presented before him in a magnificent panoramic view the splendors of the kingdoms of the earth, and promised all their power to Christ if he would but assent to the superiority of the prince of evil. Satan pretended to doubt the divinity and mission of Christ, and asked of him a sign of his authority and power. He had said, “If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread;” “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” But at his audacious request that Christ should bow down and worship him, divinity flashed through humanity, and Jesus said, “Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Satan had the evidence he desired in his summary dismissal, and, under the rebuke of Him who was equal with God, he fled from the field of conflict, a conquered foe.
6 Jesus endured the temptations of Satan in our behalf, that in his name we might come off more than conquerors. But we can overcome only by believing in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. We must know what is written in order that we may not be defeated by the sophistry and enchantments of Satan. The wily foe will work upon our minds in such a way that he will lead us to follow in the way he has gone, and cause us to dream of greatness, worldly honor, and distinction. If we have been ensnared by his enchanting power, let us in the name of Jesus rebuke his power, and break with Satan without delay. Whatever may be the character of the draught you have taken, in whatever way Satan may have led you to exalt self at the expense of Jesus, through the power of divine grace escape from the delusion, away with the infatuation. We inquire, “Who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth?”
7 Those who cry unto God for deliverance from the terrible spell that Satan would weave about them, will set a high estimate upon the Scriptures. Our only safety is in receiving the whole Bible, not taking merely detached portions, but believing the whole truth. Your feet are upon sliding sand if you depreciate one word that is written. The Bible is a divine communication, and is as verily a message to the soul as though a voice from heaven were heard speaking to us. With what awe and reverence and humiliation should we come to the searching of the Scriptures, that we may learn of eternal realities. When the spell of Satan is broken, and the Bible becomes to us the living word of God, we shall be safe in following our convictions of duty; for if we watch unto prayer, they will be inspired by the Spirit of God. Let everyone study the Bible, knowing that the word of God is as enduring as the eternal throne. If you come to the study of the Scriptures in humility, with earnest prayer for guidance, angels of God will open to you its living realities; and if you cherish the precepts of truth, they will be to you as a wall of fire against the temptations, delusions, and enchantments of Satan.
8 It is the wisdom of God that makes men great. The utterances of men are to be judged, because they are the fruit of human ability, and work either good or evil according to the source from which men draw their inspiration; but the word of God is able to save your souls, to make you wise unto salvation. The Psalmist says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Then let us hide the word of God in our hearts, that we may “be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
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Page 638
1 “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Those who have set before them in clear lines the self-sacrifice and self-denial of Jesus, his life of shame and suffering, his reproach, rejection, and crucifixion, and yet refuse to open their hearts to him, although he says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me,” commit great sin. How great is the magnitude of sin of those who have had Jesus set before them, who have been warned and entreated, and yet pass on their way, following the imagination of their own hearts, and saying, “I will wait for a more convenient season to exercise repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ”!
2 I am deeply moved in behalf of those who are putting off the time of surrender to Jesus, and yet I know that my interest is very feeble in comparison with his who knows the value of your souls, for he paid the price of the soul’s redemption with his own blood. In earnest love for your soul, he is waiting for you to decide to throw off the yoke of Satan, and take his yoke, which is easy, and his burden, which is light. There is nothing too precious for us to give to Jesus. Jesus has purchased wife, husband, and children at infinite cost, and though it is right for us to love those whom God has given us, yet God is ever to hold our supreme affection. Your attitude toward God and the truth has a decided influence upon your family, and the atmosphere that surrounds your soul will affect them in every way. If you are bestowing your affections upon the things of this world, the atmosphere which surrounds your soul will be of a malarious character, that will be death to spirituality, and will weaken hope and faith in God. Satan will cast his hellish shadow over your soul, and lead you captive at his will, unless you give yourself without reserve to Christ.
3 Christ has purchased all your capabilities and talents. Why not give him that which is his own? Your intellect is God’s property, made to be used for his service and glory. Your affections belong to God, and he demands them as his right. Give him your talents, your best and sharpest thoughts; for they are the purchase of his own blood. He has intrusted them to you as his children. Give all back to him. Seek in earnest prayer for his blessing upon them, and surrender to him husband, wife, children, and your all. Dedicate yourself to his service in a precious offering; and as you give all to Jesus, your heaven will begin upon earth; for as long as you keep all on the altar, Christ is yours, heaven is yours, eternal life is yours. All things are yours, and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. Surely the God of heaven could give no greater proof that he longs for your salvation than the proof he has given in the gift of his only-begotten Son.
4 The free gift of grace is yours; will you by faith accept it? Your surrender to God must be as free and complete as has the offering of Christ been free and complete for you. Then you will be accepted of God in every work you do, in every prayer you offer. Hesitate no longer. “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” In the face of present and acknowledged duty, make no delay to meet the demand of God; for if you do, the light you have will become darkness. The mind and judgment will be come perverted; for when precious opportunities are neglected, blessings unappreciated and unimproved, all good purposes become weakened, and there is less strength to resist temptation to commit presumptuous sins. The ties of worldly influence are subtle and strong, and can be severed only through the power of the grace of Christ. Make it your purpose to break away from every influence and habit, to give up every practice that weakens spirituality, and sunder every tie that binds you to Satanic agencies.
5 Christ says: “Follow me;” “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
6 The word of God should be your study, and if your heart is susceptible to the influence of the truth, you will find in the Bible, instruction that will be a sure guide to your soul from darkness to light, from unbelief to faith. “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
7 The more our faith fastens and holds to Christ, the more peace we shall have. Faith grows by exercise, and God’s rule is one day at a time. Day by day we are to go on, doing the work for each day, conscious that we are working in the sight of angels, cherubim, and seraphim, in the sight of God and of Jesus Christ. Ye are a spectacle unto the world, to angels, and to men. We should pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” As our day is, so our strength will be. We are to be constantly looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and if we live thus in dependence upon him, the Holy Spirit will bring to our remembrance all things whatsoever he has spoken unto us, and will sanctify every faculty, and keep us reminded of our daily and hourly dependence upon our Heavenly Father’s care, wisdom, love and guardianship. When we are thus minded, we have the spirit of a little child, the spirit that Jesus said his followers must possess in order to enter his kingdom. As a little child we are to trust in our Heavenly Father. When this is our spirit, we can more easily discern the temptations of Satan; for we are constantly drawing nigh to God. The feeling of self-sufficiency, that works the ruin of so many souls, has no atmosphere in which to flourish.
8 “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” This precious promise is from One who means every word he speaks. Then why are we fearful, distrustful, unbelieving? Let us go on, doing our duty with an eye single to his glory, filling up our time, working out God’s plan as in the sight of an invisible world.
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Page 639
1 “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” “For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? For though thou wash thee with niter, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord.”
2 Why is that the people in this age are so easily drawn away from the observance of God’s commandments? Why is it that they relish the mockery of those who profess to be teachers of righteousness, who yet cast contempt upon the commandments of Jehovah? Is it not because the heart of this people is carnal? In the scriptures quoted the Lord presents his reproof to those whom he terms “my people,” who have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns that can hold no water. “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Those who profess to be the children of God, cast contempt upon his law, and trample upon the fourth precept,—”Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
3 Instead of keeping the commandments of God, and hallowing the Sabbath day, the churches have substituted for God’s holy Sabbath, a day instituted by the Papacy, and do not observe the one of divine appointment. The man of sin, who has “exalted himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God,” has thought himself able to change the time and the law of God, and has given to the world a spurious sabbath, thus making a breach in the law of God. The Christian world have accepted the papal sabbath, and have cherished it as a day of divine appointment. Thus they have forsaken the plain commandment of Jehovah, and have honored an institution nowhere approved by the Scriptures. In this, surely, they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water, and have hewed for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water. The Lord of heaven will inquire of the Christian churches, “Who hath required this at your hands?”
4 The sin of those who have been enlightened as to the origin and support of Sunday, is very grievous in the sight of God, when they cling to the tradition of men, and thus make void the commandment of God. When the binding claims of the fourth commandment are presented, many use every subterfuge to avoid the conclusion that God requires the observance of the day which he sanctified and blessed. When every other argument against keeping the commandments of God is shown to be vain, the opposers of his law take refuge in the delusion that there is no law, that the commandments of God were abolished by Christ at the cross. What an astonishing statement, that God has no law! Kings of the earth have laws whereby the nations are governed, and has the God of the universe no law? Those who advocate this doctrine say they rejoice in the glorious liberty wherewith Christ has made them free; but from what have they been made free?—Not from sin surely, since sin is the transgression of the law, and where there is no law, there is no transgression. If there is no law, then it is right for every man to follow the depraved impulses of his own heart; for there is no standard by which evil can be detected. It is plain from the results of this doctrine who is the originator of such a theory, for it is manifestly of Satan’s devising, since Christ came to save his people from their sins. Christ is not the minister of sin, and the idea that he came to give liberty to men to break his Father’s law, and to free them from the penalty of willful transgression, is utterly out of harmony with his example and teaching.
5 The world and the church are both standing in a position of rebellion against God in casting aside his law, and trampling upon his holy commandment. The larger proportion of the Christian world accept the observance of Sunday, knowing that it is an institution of the Papacy, and keep the day, that they may be in harmony with the customs and practices of the world, thus choosing to honor the tradition of men rather than the commandment of God. To this state of apostasy the words of Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are appropriate,—”He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment, a God of truth without iniquity, just and right is he. They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise?” God chose his people, and planted them a noble vine; how is it that they are turned into a degenerate vine? The description that has been given of the apostasy of Israel, has an application to the churches that have made void the law of God. Isaiah says, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters; they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”
6 The great sin of God’s ancient people was their disregard of the commandments of the Lord, and especially their disregard of the day that God had sanctified and blessed. Because of their disregard of his commandments and ordinances, the Lord removed his defense from them, and permitted their enemies to afflict them and scatter them. Has the Lord changed? Did his holy commandments need to be amended?—Not at all. He says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips.” Has, then, the Majesty of heaven, the Governor of the universe, no law?—Only Satan’s sophistry could induce men to entertain such a thought.
7 Jesus was the invisible leader of his ancient people, and every command and direction given to the people through Moses, was the command and direction of Jesus Christ. Jesus has brought before us the importance of giving heed to what has been written in the law and the prophets. In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man is represented as begging that someone be sent back to warn his five brethren, that they come not to the place of torment in which he is found, but the answer is: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
8 Jesus in the New Testament does the same work as Jesus in the Old Testament did; but men are so determined to do away with the law of God, in order that they may find a way of avoiding the observance of the Sabbath, that they array Jesus in the New Testament against Jesus in the Old Testament. These blind leaders of the blind, who are ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God, pour contempt on the law of God, and at the same time seek to hold up Christ in contrast to the law. But this they cannot do; for Christ gave the law to his chosen people, and in seeking to make void the law of God on the ground that Christ abolished it, they do insult to both the Father and the Son. Jesus says, “I and my Father are one.”
9 The blind teachers of this age, who seek to turn the people away from the law of God, tell the people that the law is Jewish, given only to the Jews, and spoken only for their observance. Where is their authority for such a statement? The prophet says, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” The Lord gave his law before there was a Jew in the world. Heavenly intelligences were governed by God’s law before man was created, and the Sabbath was blessed and set apart for holy use immediately after God had made the world, and had rested from his work of creation.
10 Oh, that I had language to present these lofty themes! I lay down my pen in sorrow that my words are so feeble to deal with grand and awful truth; as I contemplate, I seem to shrink into nothingness before its vast significance. The themes connected with the law and the gospel seem too great for such a weak, ignorant mortal as I to handle. From time to time I venture in the simplest language to present that which has been revealed to me concerning the plan of salvation, but again and again I mourn that my expression falls so far short of the glory of the truth as it is in Jesus.
11 My brethren, be not satisfied with a superficial knowledge of truth, with a surface view of the law of God. Dig deep in the Scriptures of truth, and with an understanding enlightened by the Holy Spirit, dwell upon the holy requirements of the law of Jehovah, until you can reveal to the people their spiritual and eternal character. Your researches have not been deep enough. You need the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to aid you to search into the truth with reverence and awe, bringing your mind to the task with intense desire, that will not be quenched until you see wondrous things out of the law. Dig deep into the mine of truth, and be not satisfied until you have a more perfect comprehension as to what constitutes the strength of the law of God. You need to search and search, and to weep and fast and pray, in order that you may have revealed unto you such a view of the law of God that you will be fitted to go forth and watch for souls as they that must give an account.
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Page 640
1 Sodom was situated in a beautiful and fertile plain, and reveled in an abundance of everything that nature and art could bestow. The inhabitants of Sodom seemed to be strangers to want and to work. A poor man was not permitted to become an inhabitant of the city. He was driven out by abuse, or if not driven out, was the victim of an iniquitous plan that compassed his ruin. The people of this wicked city took no thought for the future life. Idleness and wealth and love of excitement carried them into every excess of pleasure and indulgence. The sensual, animal nature was cultivated, and as, like the world before the flood, the imagination of their hearts was evil, and evil continually, they set their minds to work to find out new, unnatural ways whereby they might gratify their abominable, corrupt passions.
2 Inspiration gives a testimony concerning the corrupt condition of the world before the flood. The Bible says: “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” Before the flood they employed all their powers for the gratification of base passions, and cast contempt upon the law of God, and as it was in the days of the flood, so it was in the time of Sodom. They would not admit for a moment that their devotion to sensual pleasure brought upon them guilt and danger. They knew not that the cloud of divine wrath, which their sin had for years been loading, was about to break forth in vengeance upon them.
3 Before the time of Sodom’s overthrow, two angels visited Abraham and were courteously entertained. As they were passing on their way to Sodom, Abraham accompanied them, and they revealed to the patriarch the errand for which they had come,—to destroy Sodom. They told Abraham that because of the grievous wickedness of the inhabitants, the city was to be destroyed. Abraham knew that Lot was in this place, and although he had been taught of God, he could not believe that the inhabitants of Sodom were so utterly corrupt. He began to plead that the righteous should not perish with the wicked, that if a certain number of the godly were there, the city might be spared. Pleading for the city, he decreased the number of righteous that would be likely to be found in the city, until he reached the number of ten. But although God would have spared the city if ten righteous persons could have been found there, that number could not be made up to redeem the city.
4 As the evening draws on, the men of Sodom see the two messengers approaching, but as they have concealed their heavenly character, they appear as common men coming in from the country to visit Sodom. If the veil could be removed from our eyes we should often see in the form of men, the powerful messengers of mercy or of wrath among us. They warn, they caution, they reprove, they protect from a thousand dangers, and yet we know not that the angel’s blessing has come to us.
5 As the angels draw nigh unto Sodom, only one man manifests an interest in the strangers. Lot welcomed them in, invited them to his house. He was ignorant in regard to the character of these men, and knew not the terrible errand upon which they had come; but the courtesy which he manifested was in harmony with his character, and he was saved from the general ruin. Had he appeared indifferent to these strangers, he would not have secured to himself such help as only the angels can give. Many a house has been closed to strangers who were God’s messengers of hope, and blessing, and peace. In neglecting the commonest duties of life, withholding kindness and courtesy and hospitality, we miss the richest blessings heaven has to bestow.
6 When the men of Sodom saw that Lot opened his doors to these strangers, that he did not treat them with derision and contempt, they were stirred with passion. As Lot in Eastern fashion bows in deference, and invites them to share his home, they taunt and jeer. Lot was a man of great wealth, but in showing respect to these travelers he did not meet the mind of these ease-loving Sodomites. They crowded about the house of Lot, and as the crowd increased, vile speeches were made which revealed the state of corruption that existed among the people, and the worst suggestions were received and acted upon. The crowd became more clamorous in their cries to have Lot bring forth the strangers to them; for they had become so base through the indulgence of evil passions, that every good thought had been uprooted, and reason was so clouded that they would even do violence to the angels of heaven.
7 The angels had come to see if there were any in the city who were not corrupted, and could be persuaded to flee from the impending doom that threatened Sodom. That night the evil doers added the last drop to their cup of iniquity, and the wrath of God could no longer be delayed. The night of the destruction of Sodom the inhabitants of the city were doing that which they had been doing through all their past life. They were no more base and dissolute and corrupt than on other nights when strangers had entered their city; but there is a point beyond which there is no reprieve, and that night the inhabitants of Sodom passed the mystic boundary that decided their destiny. Lot expostulated with them at his door, and refused to permit them to do violence to the strangers who were in his house. But the evil doers had no idea of being restrained from accomplishing their purpose, but thought to beat Lot to the ground, and get access to the strangers. Before this was done, the angels drew Lot into the house, and smote the men with blindness, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
8 The angels then told Lot what was their errand, and made known to him that God would bring destruction upon the wicked city. Lot believed the word of the angels, but his family was reluctant to receive their message, for they had so long lived in sight and sound of wickedness that their senses were blunted to the grievous character of sin. Lot had afflicted his soul for the debasing sins that the Sodomites were continually committing, and yet even he had not thought their sin was of the debasing character it was, nor deemed that it was so firmly seated as to yield to no remedy. He begs permission of the angels to go forth and warn his daughters and sons-in-law who live in the city. He made his way through the rabble, who were prevented from injuring him by the power of the angels, and gave his message to his children. With grief and terror he begs them to leave the doomed city, and flee with him ere its destruction shall be accomplished, but they look upon him as upon one who is mad, coming to them with such a message at the midnight hour. They laugh at his fears, and think some horrible nightmare has crazed his brain. They will not trouble themselves about the matter, but treat it as a joke, and these who will not receive the message, sleep on, heedless of the last warning of their lives.
9 Anxious and disappointed, Lot returns to his home through the rabble, and finds the angels still waiting, urging that Lot and his family leave the city before the sun is fully risen. As they go out they see no visible token of God’s displeasure. Everything seems to say peace and safety. The sun is illuminating the eastern hills with golden beams, and everything in nature seems to say peace. But the words of the angels ring in the ears of Lot, saying, “The Lord will destroy this city.” Unbelief did not prevent the destruction of Sodom. Trifling and gayety did not secure its inhabitants against the doom that overtook the wicked city. They flattered themselves that long days of indulgence in sin were yet to be theirs, but in such an hour as they thought not of, ruin encompassed them.
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Page 641
1 How hard it was for Lot to leave Sodom! Part of his family had to be left behind, and all the wealth he had accumulated had to be sacrificed. He must go out from Sodom a poor man. The labor of years has to be counted in vain. He does not feel the terrible necessity for God’s judgment to fall upon the wicked city, and he still lingers. The angels urge his immediate departure; but Lot, stupefied with sorrow for the loss of his children and property, still hesitates. The angels lay hold of his hands, and the hands of his wife and children, and with merciful violence hasten them out of the city. When they reach the city limits, a word of command is given with startling vehemence: “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest ye be consumed.” A few moments’ delay now, a few moments of hesitancy, a few moments’ disregard of the warning, will cost the fugitives their lives. They are not even to turn their eyes back to see if their beautiful home has survived the general ruin, or the storm will burst upon them. God has delayed his retributive judgment only that they may escape. What care, what tenderness, to these four who flee from the doomed city!
2 Lot is confused, terrified, and distracted. He begs to be allowed to rest at a little settlement on this side the mountains. Unbelief sprang up in his heart, and he said: “Oh, not so, my Lord; behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die; behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one; oh, let me escape thither (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.”
3 But why should Lot not have trusted the mercy of the angels in directing him to escape to the mountains, since he ascribed to them the saving of his life? Lot’s stay in Sodom had not tended to increase his faith in God, nor had his intercourse with those who knew not God tended to convert them from the error of their way. He had pleaded that the angels permit him to take up his abode in the city of Zoar, saying, “Is it not a little one? and my soul shall live,” as though the God who had directed his escape from Sodom did not understand how to preserve the life he had saved. But what mercy and condescension are manifested by the God of heaven! His request is heard, and his plea granted; yet how much better would it have been to heed the angel’s voice, and go to the mountains, as far as possible from the wicked city. The angel bids him to hasten, because the fiery storm would be widespread and terrible.
4 One of the four fugitives ventures to cast a lingering look behind, to see the coming storm, and the number is less by one; for she stands as a memento of God’s wrath, turned into a pillar of salt. Had Lot earnestly and firmly fled to the mountains, as the angels had directed, without pleading for a new plan, his wife would not have transgressed the commandment of the angels, and would have been at his side.
5 When the first beams of the morning dawn, the inhabitants of Sodom are not aware of the departure of Lot and the angels. They were determined to abuse the strangers, but as they come to the house of Lot, it is found vacant, and the hour of doom comes upon them. And the Lord rains fire and brimstone upon the city, and the beautiful plain that looked like Paradise when the angels passed over it, now looks like a parched and blackened desert. The smoke of the burning goes up like the smoke of a great furnace, and the whole heaven is illuminated with the flames of the great conflagration. Sodom has become a place of desolation and ruin.
6 The sin of the people rose up to heaven, and because of the iniquity of the people, the Lord poured out the vials of his wrath. The fearful doom of Sodom stands forth as a warning for all time, and especially for those who live in the last days. The destruction of Sodom was a symbol of the destruction that will come upon the finally impenitent, when tempests of fire come from above, and fountains of flame break forth from the crust of the earth. The fate of this ancient city should be a warning to all who live for self, and who corrupt their ways before God. The sin of Sodom is the sin of many cities now in existence, that have not been destroyed as was Sodom. Ezekiel says, “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me; therefore I took them away as I saw good.”
7 The warning that was given to Lot comes down to us who live in this degenerate age,—”Escape for thy life.” The voice of the tempter is crying peace and safety. The evil one would have you feel that you have nothing to fear, and bids you eat, drink, and be merry. Which voice will you heed, the voice of heaven, or the voice that lures you to destruction? The Redeemer of the world, the compassionate Friend of man, discloses to our eyes the fact that there is a sin greater than the sin of Sodom. It is that of sinning against greater light. To those who have heard and have not heeded the gospel invitation to repent and have faith in Christ, the sin is greater than was the sin of Sodom. To those who have professed the name of Jesus, who have professed to know God, and to keep his commandments, and yet who have misrepresented Christ in their daily life and character, who have been warned and entreated, and still dishonor their Redeemer by their unconsecrated lives, the sin is greater than that of Sodom.
8 Jesus said: “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.”
9 The warning of Christ sounds down along the lines to our day. He would arouse the people for whom he gave his life, and attract their attention to himself, the source of all wisdom, righteousness, strength, and hope, and peace. He would have his people let their light shine forth to the world in good works. The sins of Sodom are repeated in our day, and the earth is destroyed and corrupted under the inhabitants thereof; but the worst feature of the iniquity of this day is a form of godliness without the power thereof. Those who profess to have great light are found among the careless and indifferent, and the cause of Christ is wounded in the house of its professed friends. Let those who would be saved, arouse from their lethargy, and give the trumpet a certain sound; for the end of all things is at hand.
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Page 642
1 “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
2 In the question the disciples asked Jesus, they showed that they thought all disease and suffering the result of sin. This is indeed truth, but Jesus showed that it was an error to suppose that everyone who was a great sufferer was also a great sinner. While he corrected their errors, he spat upon the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation, Sent,” and he went his way, and came seeing. Jesus answered the question the disciples put to him in a practical way, and in the way he usually answered questions put to him from curiosity. The disciples were not called upon to discuss the question of who had sinned or not sinned, but to understand the power of God, his mercy and compassion, in giving sight to the blind. It was that all might be convinced that there was no healing virtue in the clay or in the pool wherein he was sent to wash, but that virtue was in Christ.
3 Although the Pharisees quibbled at and misrepresented his words, yet they made no attempt to give credit to the clay or to the waters of Siloam. They could but be astonished at the wonderful work which he had done, yet they were more than ever filled with hatred; for this was a most convincing argument that he was the Son of God. They could not controvert this testimony, and the miracle could not be hid. The neighbors of the young man, and those who knew before of his blindness, said, “Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he; others said, He is like him; but he said, I am he.”
4 The friends and neighbors of the young man who had been healed looked upon him with doubt; for when his eyes were opened, his countenance had been changed and brightened, and made him appear like another man. From one to another the question was passed, “Is it he?” And some said, “It is like him;” but he who had received the great blessing settled the controversy by saying, “I am he.” He then told them of Jesus, and by what means Jesus had healed him, and they inquired, “Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.”
5 The Pharisees thought that they could make a decided impression against Jesus by charging him with breaking the Sabbath, upon which they had heaped traditions and exactions. They knew not that it was He who had made the Sabbath, who knew all its obligations, who had healed the blind man. They appeared wonderfully zealous for the observance of the Sabbath, and yet were planning murder on the very day that they professed to guard with their exactions. They regarded themselves as guardians of the Sabbath, and thought themselves capable of interpreting the principles of the fourth commandment, and in their interpretation declared that, by the bestowal of the blessing of healing, the commandment had been transgressed. This they did because they were anxious to find some way in which to condemn Jesus. They put their construction upon the law, misapplied and misinterpreted it, in order to make Jesus out to be a sinner, and therefore not the Messiah. Many were greatly moved, and convicted that this man who opened the eyes of the blind, was more than a common man. In answer to the charge that Jesus was a sinner, because he kept not the Sabbath day, they said, “How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?”
6 Through this great miracle the power of the Lord Jehovah was made manifest. The work done upon the blind man spoke to their senses and told them that One mightier than a common man was there. Could One that was divine break the Sabbath? They appealed again to the blind man, “What sayest thou of Him, that He hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.” The Pharisees then asserted that he had not been born blind and then received his sight. They called for his parents, and asked, saying: “Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not; he is of age; ask him; he shall speak for himself.”
7 There was the man himself, declaring that he had been the blind man, and had had his sight restored; but the Pharisees had been taking advanced steps in prejudice and hatred of Christ, and no sign or miracle would be acknowledged by them as evidence of his Messiahship. They would rather deny the evidences of their own senses than admit that they were mistaken, and that their teaching was wrong, so powerful is prejudice, so distorting is Pharisaical righteousness. Here were fallen men, who yet persisted in walking away from the light, yet they claimed to sit in Moses’ seat, and were professedly the wisest of man, expounders of the law of God. In their exactions and distinctions they bound heavy burdens upon others, and covered up the commandments of God with the traditions and commandments of men.
8 The Pharisees had one hope left, and that was to intimidate the parents of him who had received his sight. With apparent sincerity they asked the parents, “How doth he now see?” The parents trembled, for they knew what would be the consequences of confessing Christ. The great work wrought for their son had awakened conviction in their hearts, and they answered: “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not; he is of age; ask him; he shall speak for himself.” They shifted all responsibility from themselves to their son, for they dared not openly confess Christ. “These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.”
9 The dilemma in which the Pharisees were placed, their questioning prejudice, their unbelief in the facts of the case, were opening the eyes of the multitude, and especially the eyes of the common people. The mighty healer had frequently wrought his miracles in the open street, and his work was always of a character to relieve mankind of woe and suffering. The question that agitated the minds of many was, Would God do such mighty works through one that was an impostor, a deceiver, as the Pharisees insisted that Jesus was? The controversy was becoming very earnest on both sides. Those who were convinced by the miracles, claimed that Christ was the Son of God, and this growing conviction in the minds of the people greatly annoyed the Pharisees. There were two decided parties. “There was a division among them.” Unable to agree among themselves, the Pharisees again appealed to the man who was born blind. They thought that they could deceive this man, who had been blind and was uneducated, by their perversions and reasonings. But to their question as to what he thought of Him who had restored his sight, he firmly and boldly replied, “He is a prophet.”
10 The Pharisees see that they are giving publicity to the work that has been done by Jesus, for the multitude is increasing. They cannot deny the miracle. What can they say or do to counteract the effect of Jesus’ work? The blind man is filled with joy and gratitude, and beholds the wondrous things of nature, and is filled with intense delight at the beauty of earth and sky. He freely recites his experience, and though they cannot deceive or mislead him, yet they determine to do the talking, and say, “Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner.? Do not ever say again that this man gave you sight; God has done it. The blind man answered and said, “Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not; one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” Then they questioned again: “what did He to thee? how opened He thine eyes?” With many words they tried to deceive him, and confuse his senses, so that he might think he was deluded. Satan and his evil angels were on the side of the Pharisees, and united their energies and subtlety with man’s reasonings in order to counteract the influence of Christ. They blunted the convictions that were deepening in many minds; for angels of God were also on the ground to strengthen the blind man who had had his sight restored.
11 The Pharisees made apparent their prejudice and unbelief. They did not realize that they had to deal with anyone stronger than the uneducated man who had been born blind; but this was not true. Divine light shone into the chambers of his soul, and as these hypocrites tried to make him disbelieve, God helped him to show by the vigor and pointedness of his replies that he was not to be ensnared, and they could not pervert and misconstrue his experience. “He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear; wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be His disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art His disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses; as for this fellow, we know not from whence He is.”
12 The Lord Jesus knew the ordeal through which the man for whom he had worked this miracle was passing, and gave him grace and utterance, so that he became a witness for Christ. And he answered the Pharisees: “Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence He is, and yet He hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, He could do nothing.” The blind man, who now could see, looked upon the wonders of creation, and would he turn from his Restorer to gain the favor of those who sought to entangle him in his talk, or heap ridicule upon him? He felt able to withstand their influence. The Pharisees saw that they could not by their reasonings pervert the man’s experience, and they were astonished and held their peace, spellbound, before his pointed, determined words. For a few moments there was silence. The frowning priests and Pharisees gathered about them their robes, as though they feared contamination from contact with him. They shook off the dust of their feet against him, and treated him with derision and contempt, hurling their denunciations against him: “Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.” The believer on Jesus was cast out of the synagogue, but was received into union with Jesus Christ.
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Page 643
1 “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees that were with him heard these words, and said unto him. Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”
2 The Pharisees were spiritually blind, and were leaders of the blind. The physical blindness that Jesus had healed in the man born blind, was not as dangerous as the moral blindness of those who had evidence piled upon evidence in regard to the divine character of the world’s Redeemer, and yet who closed the eyes of their understanding, and refused to see, because they were too self-exalted to be instructed by Christ. They claimed to be learned in the Scriptures, to have spiritual eyesight, yet they made the plainest specifications concerning Christ a different matter from that which the records testified. “The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” The light of the world was shining amid the moral darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. The darkness that blinded the minds of the Pharisees was much more deplorable than was the darkness that blinded the eyes of the man who had been born blind.
3 The Pharisees had said to the believing man who had had his sight restored, “Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?” Their foolish hearts had been darkened. He who is blind in a physical way is incapable of distinguishing the tints of the flowers, and things of beauty are nothing to him. The beautiful canvas of the heavens, the stars marshaled in order, the solemn beauty of the sun and moon, are not seen, their forms not discerned. Thus it is with the man who closes his eyes to light and knowledge. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. The man who refuses to have his understanding quickened by the Spirit of God is in a state of blindness. He cannot appreciate the beauties of holiness, neither can he discern the deformity of sin. What a dreadful thing is willful spiritual blindness. Those who are spiritually blind, claim to be able to lead the blind; but they have closed their eyes to the light which has been graciously given them of God to show them the way to heaven, and in place of traveling the royal path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, they follow another leader, even Satan.
4 How precious to the Jewish nation would have been the light of the Sun of Righteousness! What Christ would have been to the people was all shadowed forth in the types, offerings, and prophecies. They would have been justified through his blood, sanctified through his Spirit. They would have known what it was to have the combined work of the Son and the Spirit in the soul. But the scribes and the Pharisees became blind by failing to acknowledge the spiritual light that God sent to them. “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” Blinded by unbelief, they refused to accept the evidences God had graciously given them, and clung to the traditions and maxims of men, that God had not given them. They walked in a way of their own choosing, because it agreed better with their sinful practices than the way of the Lord, and they did not discern the fruit of holiness; for they had chosen darkness rather than light.
5 He whose heart is not open to receive the bright beams of light from the Sun of Righteousness, will meet with terrible loss; for the light that is in him will become darkness, because of the rejection of additional light, and he will walk in darkness, and lead others out of the path of peace and joy and righteousness in the Holy Ghost. He who is thus blinded will cease to grow in grace. The Lord Jesus is waiting to give the light of life to those who are in darkness, in order that they may show forth the praises of Him that hath called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. If the rejectors of the Lord Jesus Christ could have seen what would be the result of turning away from the world’s Redeemer, of cherishing their own ideas and exalting themselves in their own wisdom, what a picture would they have beheld!
6 The miracles that Jesus worked, the spirit and power that attended his ministry, were a live, conclusive testimony to every unprejudiced mind. It was not evidence that was wanting, but an honest heart of faith. With what power Christ worked to save the Jewish nation! He foresaw the result, yet he did not waver in his purpose to bring every evidence to convince them, notwithstanding the fact that Jerusalem would despise the day of her visitation, and the people would fasten themselves in prejudice and unbelief. Christ left no means untried in order that he might win them. The guilt, the responsibility of their rejection of his mercy, lay with themselves.
(Concluded next number.)
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Page 644
1 The Jewish nation stood forth among the nations of the earth as a proud, haughty people, who claimed to have great knowledge and to manifest great piety. The Jews looked down upon the Gentiles as upon those who were far beneath them, because of darkness and error. Yet the pretentious fig tree bore not fruit, but leaves only. If they had had spiritual understanding, they would have seen and understood the mission of Christ. The light dimly seen at first would have increased in brightness, expanding unto the perfect day. If they had followed on to know the Lord, they would have known that his goings forth are prepared as the morning. Oh, what a light would have shone upon Judah and Jerusalem had they but welcomed the light that was sent them of heaven! What a transforming power would have been manifest in life and character! They would have been just what Jesus longed to have them be,—a living, shining light in the darkness. They would have borne the noblest credentials that any one of the followers of Christ can bear. They would have been representatives of Christ, monuments of the power of the Spirit of God upon human hearts. The Spirit of God would have worked a miracle upon the heart, changing it from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. They would have known what is meant by the regeneration of the Spirit, for the whole moral taste would have been changed, and they would have loved the things they once hated, and hated the things they once delighted in.
2 The words of Christ to the Pharisees come home with power to every living soul to whom the light of the Sun of Righteousness has been revealed. To those who have caught a glimpse of celestial truth, to whom have come some rays of enlightenment, is the warning given. For your souls’ sake do not turn away and be disobedient to the heavenly vision. You may have seen something in regard to the righteousness of Christ, but there is truth yet to be seen clearly, and that should be estimated by you as precious as rare jewels. You will see the law of God and interpret it to the people in an entirely different light from what you have done in the past, for the law of God will be seen by you as revealing a God of mercy and righteousness. The atonement, made by the stupendous sacrifice of Jesus Christ, will be seen by you in an altogether different light. You will see sin in its heinous character. But this the Jews did not desire to see. Jesus said to them, “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.” “For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” “Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness of the truth. But I receive not testimony from man; but these things I say, that ye might be saved.” He appeals to them to recall the deep conviction that was upon them under the messages of John. He said: “He was a burning and a shining light; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you; for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.” The witness of the Father had been given. “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him; and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
3 Although the men whom he was then personally addressing had not heard the voice, yet they had heard the report, and knew that the testimony of John was not borne in a corner. John’s testimony had been positive, had been given in the demonstration of the Spirit and with power. He had testified of what his eyes had seen, of what his ears had heard, of what his hands had handled, of the word of life. Jesus said, “There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.” The scribes and Pharisees had believed the words of John at the time, but pride and unbelief worked in their hearts after Satan’s order, and envy, jealousy, and downright hatred of Christ were revealed.
4 Jesus said to his disciples: “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; . . . but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”
Page 645
1 “Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This Man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
2 The mission and work of Christ did not harmonize with the work of the Pharisees. They were full of self-conceit, and they saw that Christ did not approve of their works. He gave them no flattering words to nourish their pride. They were disappointed that Jesus, who manifested to the world so lofty a character, did not mingle with them, and practice their manner of teaching, rather than go about in so unpretending a manner, working among all classes of people. They saw among the people who listened with rapt attention those who did not belong to the Jewish nation, and who had never manifested the least interest in their teaching.
3 When the Pharisees expressed their discontent because of the class of people with whom he mingled, Jesus set the matter before them in the parable of the lost sheep. But their understanding was darkened; for Satan had power over their minds, and they arrayed themselves in opposition to Jesus. The Pharisees said that if Jesus were a true prophet, he would harmonize with them, and voice their precepts and maxims, and treat the wretched publicans and sinners as they treated them. In giving his Son to die for the sins of the world, the Lord God made manifest what was the estimate he placed upon men; for in giving Jesus to the world, he gave heaven’s best gift. For this costly sacrifice the most profound gratitude is demanded from every soul. Whatever may be the nation kindred, or tongue, whether a man is white or black, he still bears the image of God, and “the proper study of mankind is man,” viewed from the fact that he is the purchase of the blood of Christ. To show contempt for, to manifest hatred toward any nation, is to reveal the characteristic of Satan. God has placed his estimate upon man in giving Jesus to a life of humiliation, poverty, and self-sacrifice, to contempt, rejection, and death, in order that man, his lost sheep, might be saved. Is it then a remarkable thing that all heaven is interested in the ransom of man? Is it a wonderful fact that ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels are employed in ascending and descending on the mystic ladder to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation? Angels do not come to the earth to denounce and to destroy, to rule and to exact homage, but are messengers of mercy to cooperate with the Captain of the Lord’s host, to cooperate with the human agents who shall go forth to seek and to save the lost sheep. Angels are commanded to encamp round about those who fear and love God.
4 The sympathy of all heaven is enlisted on behalf of the sheep that is wandering far from the fold. If the Pharisees had been working in harmony with God, in place of uniting with the adversary of God and man, they would not have been found despising the purchase of the blood of Christ. As the delusions of Satan are broken from human minds, as the sinner looks to Calvary, and sees the costly offering that has been given to save an apostate and ruined race, he contemplates and is deeply moved by the love of God, and becomes repentant. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us.” Oh, that we might comprehend the love of God and even to a faint degree take in the compassion that has been manifested toward fallen man! How would we look and live! By beholding Christ man becomes changed and transformed in character from glory to glory. The conflict between light and darkness is entered upon. Look, poor sinner, represented by the lost sheep after whom the shepherd is seeking, look to the cross! The Pharisees may hold in contempt the very one whom the Lord is anxious to save. In the poor blind man restored to sight by the compassionate Shepherd, was one whom the self-righteous Pharisees thought worthy only of sneers and hatred.
5 Jesus, the Son of the Highest, is combating the powers of Satan, who is laying every possible device whereby he may counteract the work of God. The prize for which the powers of light and darkness are contending, is the soul of man. The Good Shepherd is seeking his sheep, and what self-denial, what hardships, what privations he endures! The under shepherds know something of the stern conflict, but little in comparison to what is endured by the Shepherd of the sheep. With what compassion, what sorrow, what persistence, he seeks the lost! How few realize what desperate efforts are put forth by Satan to defeat the Shepherd’s purpose. When the Shepherd at last finds his lost sheep, he gathers it in his arms with rejoicing, and bears it back to the fold on his shoulders. And the harps of heaven are touched, and an anthem of rejoicing is sung over the ransom of the wandering and lost sheep. “Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance.”
6 How does the contrast appear between the scowling scribes and Pharisees and the Christ they condemned, misinterpreting his mission, and putting upon his words the worst possible construction? The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. A lost sheep never finds its way back to the fold of itself. If it is not sought for and saved by the watchful shepherd, it wanders until it perishes. What a representation of the Saviour is this! Unless Jesus, the Good Shepherd, had come to seek and to save the wandering, we should have perished. The Pharisees had taught that none but the Jewish nation would be saved, and they treated all other nationalities with contempt. But Jesus attracted the attention of those that the Pharisees despised, and he treated them with consideration and courtesy. Because he did this, the Pharisees sought to bring a charge against him, and destroy his influence.
7 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This love on behalf of man, expressed in the gift of his only-begotten Son, called forth from Satan the most intense hatred, both toward the Giver and toward the priceless Gift. Satan had represented the Father to the world in a false light, and by this great Gift his representations were proved untrue, for here was love without a parallel, proving that man was to be redeemed by an inconceivable cost. Satan had tried to obliterate the image of God in man in order that as God looked upon him in his wretchedness, in his perverseness, in his degradation, he might be induced to give him up as hopelessly lost. But the Lord gave his only-begotten Son in order that the most sinful, the most degraded, need not perish, but, by believing on Jesus Christ, may be reclaimed, regenerated, and restored to the image of God, and thus have eternal life.
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Page 646
1 “I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.”
2 In the East it is the custom of the shepherd to name his sheep, and as the sheep learn their names, they respond to the voice of the shepherd. The shepherd goes before them and leads them out, guiding them from the fold to the pasture. The sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd and follow him. Jesus declared himself to be the true shepherd, because he gave his life for the sheep. He says; “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
3 Jesus spoke these words in the hearing of a large concourse of people, and a deep impression was made upon the hearts of many who listened. The scribes and Pharisees were filled with jealousy because he was regarded with favor by many. Among the multitude were also rulers, who were deeply impressed as they listened to his important words. While he represented himself as the True Shepherd, the Pharisees said, “He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?” But others distinguished the voice of the True Shepherd, and said:—
4 “These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not; the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.”
5 With what firmness and power he uttered these words. The Jews had never before heard such words from human lips, and a convicting influence attended them; for it seemed that divinity flashed through humanity as Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” The words of Christ were full of deep meaning as he put forth the claim that he and the Father were of one substance, possessing the same attributes. The Jews understood his meaning, there was no reason why they should misunderstand, and they took up stones to stone him. Jesus looked upon them calmly and unshrinkingly, and said, “Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of these works do ye stone me?”
6 The Majesty of heaven stood, calmly assured, as a god before his adversaries. Their scowling faces, their hands filled with stones, did not intimidate him. He knew that unseen forces, legions of angels, were round about him, and at one word from his lips they would strike with dismay the throng, should they offer to cast upon him a single stone. He stood before them undaunted. Why did not the stones fly to the mark?—It was because divinity flashed through humanity, and they received a revelation, and were convicted that his were no common claims. Their hands relax and the stones fall to the ground. His words had asserted his divinity, but now his personal presence, the light of his eye, the majesty of his attitude, bore witness to the fact that he was the beloved Son of God.
7 Had the Pharisees misunderstood his words, he could and would have corrected their wrong impression. He could have told them that he was no blasphemer, although he had called himself the Son of God, and that his words need not necessarily mean that he had invested himself with divine prerogatives, and made himself equal with the Father. But he made no such statement. The impression they had received was the very impression he desired to make. Jesus answered them: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; say ye of Him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works; that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” Again the hatred and the wrath is stirred within the breast of the Jews, and they sought “to take him; but he escaped out of their hand, and went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle; but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there.
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Page 647
1 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them; but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.”
2 Here it was demonstrated that a worse blindness than that of physical blindness closed the understanding of the Jewish people. By his infinite power Jesus could heal those who were physically blind, but those who were spiritually blind could not discern their need of enlightenment; for they thought themselves righteous. The treatment that Jesus received from those of his own nation is symbolic of the treatment he was to receive from the whole world. He lived in the world, and he had a deep, earnest love for the world, and especially for the Jewish nation. The question was brought to an issue that had been the point of controversy since the fall, concerning the character of God. Satan had charged God with exercising arbitrary power, and of alienating the human race from himself. Satan sowed seeds of enmity, and kept them well watered, in order that he might be successful in deluding souls, and thus triumph over Christ, making the gulf more deep and impassable between earth and heaven. He presented his falsehoods as truth, and became bold in transgression, seeking to wear out the goodness, mercy, and forbearance of God, to extinguish from his heart all love for man, and thus so exasperate divine justice that God would leave the world under Satanic jurisdiction. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Instead of being softened by the long patience of God, they encourage themselves in continual resistance.
3 Satan took the field in person against Jesus Christ. Evil angels conspired with evil men to resist good, to trample upon righteousness, and all the energies of evil were confederated together to destroy the champion of God and truth. While success seems to attend the masterly activity of Satan, Jesus takes the field to contest his power. Jesus came “unto his own, and his own received him not.” He was charged with an embassage of mercy, sent of the Father at a crisis when rebellion had overspread the world, in order that man should not perish, but have everlasting life through faith in the Son of God. Through Christ they were to bruise the serpent’s head, and gain eternal life.
4 Jesus was the truth, yet he was scorned as a deceiver. He was hunted from place to place as a malefactor. His own nation took the most active part in throwing contempt upon him. His friends, and even his own brethren, denied and forsook him. Every cruelty that an apostate angel could instigate was set in operation. He was buffeted with temptations, lacerated with stripes, crowned with thorns, mocked and derided as a false king, and at last crucified on the cross.
5 Satan has kept up his system of cruelty, and still employs his planned agency of crookedness and deception, and accuses and condemns and tortures in order that he may control the conscience. While exercising his power in torturing those whom he controlled through demoniacal possession, he yet laid the blame of it upon the Lord God of heaven. He put his own interpretation on his Satanic actions, and charged God with being the author of all evil. In the parable of the shepherd Jesus puts his own interpretation on his work and mission, and represents himself as the good shepherd, feeding and taking charge of the sheep. He said, “He that entereth not in by the door [by himself] into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” Christ said that all who came before him claiming to be the Messiah were deceivers. At the time of Christ’s coming there was much agitation concerning the appearance of the world’s Messiah. The Jewish nation expected that a great deliverer would come, and there were men who took advantage of this expectation, turning it to the service of themselves, that they might be thereby profited and glorified. Prophecy had foretold that these deceivers would arise. The deceivers did not come in the way in which it was prophesied that the world’s Redeemer should come; but Christ came, answering every specification. Types and symbols had represented him, and in him type met antitype. In the life, mission, and death of Jesus every specification was fulfilled.
6 Jesus was the good shepherd to whom the porter openeth, who knows the sheep, calleth his own by name, and leadeth them out. He it is who is stronger than the thief and the robber, those who enter not in at the door, but climb up some other way. The Pharisees were not able to discern that this parable was spoken against them, the professed leaders of the people, pastors of the flock. Jesus presented himself in contrast to them, and when they reasoned in their hearts as to what he could mean by the parable, he said: “I am the door of the sheep. . . . By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” Christ presented himself as the only one in whom were qualifications for making a good shepherd. He is represented as the “Chief Shepherd.” Peter writes, “When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” Again he is called the great Shepherd. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever.” “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.”
7 The Pharisees had just cut one off from the fold because he had acknowledged that Jesus had wrought a wonderful miracle, and had opened his eyes. They had called the blind man to them after his healing and had said: “Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner. He could never have wrought the miracle. As to this man doing the miracle, you are wrong. It is only a deception.” But the restored man answered, “Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not; one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” Then they asked again, “What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? How hard they were to convince! How hard they tried to cover up with unbelief the mighty work of Jesus, and sought to persuade the man to disbelieve his own senses! They were false shepherds indeed, and sought to scatter the sheep. But the blind man who had been made to see answered their caviling, asking them if they too would be his disciples. They were indignant that this ignorant man should presume to teach them, and could scarcely find words to express their contempt. They were men who had been educated in the schools, and claimed to be expositors of the Scriptures. They were not to be thought of as disciples of any pretender, and declared themselves to be the disciples of Moses.
8 But the man upon whom the miracle was wrought was not to be intimidated by their scorn, and said: “Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.” The indignation of the scribes and Pharisees knew no bounds. Gathering their robes about them, as though they feared contamination, shaking the dust from their feet against him, and treating him with the utmost contempt and derision, they said, “Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?” And in no gentle manner they thrust him out of the synagogue. The sheep was cast out of the fold for being a living witness to the power of Christ. Many have been cast out of the church whose names were registered upon the book of life. Wolves in sheep’s clothing were ready to cast out of the fold and devour one who was entitled to the Lord’s pasture; but Jesus, the True Shepherd, sought him, and gave him a place within the fold.
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Page 648
1 “Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” The Lord Jesus presented the heavenly treasures to the Jewish people, but many of them would not receive them. The educated men thought themselves too wise to need instruction, too righteous to need salvation, too well honored to need the honor that Jesus would confer upon them in making them laborers together with God. In the scribes, Pharisees, and rulers, Jesus found not the bottles for his new wine. He was obliged to turn from them to humble men, whose hearts were not filled with envy, covetousness, and self-righteousness. The lowly fishermen obeyed the call of the divine Teacher, while the scribes and Pharisees refused to become converted.
2 The disciples that Jesus called were uneducated, and were far from being perfect in character when Jesus united them with himself; but they were willing to learn from the greatest Teacher the world ever knew. They were truly converted men, and became the new bottles into which Jesus could pour the new wine of his kingdom. But though they were converted to Christ, yet, because of their limited earthly comprehension—the result of the teaching they had had from the Jews—they were unable fully to understand the spiritual nature of the truth he could impart. The burden of his instruction was the necessity of his followers having pure and holy hearts, for holiness alone would fit them to become subjects of his heavenly kingdom.
3 The divine Sower scattered grains of precious seed, which we cannot see until a skillful laborer, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, gathers them together and presents them to us as a complete system of truth, unfolding the depths of divine love. For all ages Jesus, the author of truth, through prophets and people, had presented truth upon truth to the Jews, from the pillar of cloud and fire. But the truth he had given had become mingled with error, and it was necessary to separate from the companionship of heresy and evil. It was necessary to readjust it in the framework of the gospel, in order that it might shine forth in its original luster and illuminate the moral darkness of the world. Wherever he found a gem of truth that had been lost from its setting, or had been marred with error, he reset it, and stamped upon it the signature of Jehovah. He proved himself to be the word and the wisdom of God.
4 The commonplace matters of time and earth had engrossed the minds of the people at the time of Christ, just as Satan had designed that they should. Sin had expelled from the heart the love of God, and instead of the love of God there was found in the heart the love of the world, the love of sinful indulgence of evil passions. Christ alone could adjust the claims between heaven and earth. Man’s vision had become blinded, because he did not keep in view the spiritual and eternal world. But the kind of teaching that Christ gave to the world did not harmonize with the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees; for their religion consisted in a round of forms and ceremonies, and the offering of sacrifices, which had been designed by Christ to keep his sacrifice in mind, had lost its significance. Unless the sacrifices were offered in faith, accompanied with contrition and humility, they were valueless in the eyes of God, and even an abomination to him. God repeatedly had declared that the sacrifices acceptable to him were a broken and a contrite heart. He said, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
5 In Christ’s perfection of character was found the ransom for the sinner, the way in which the rebel against God might be reconciled to God. Those who will submit to the drawing power of Christ, may be justified by a just God. Jesus is the ladder which Jacob saw. The base of this ladder rests upon the earth, in the human nature of our Lord, and its top reaches the throne of God, in his divinity. The light of the glory of God illuminates the whole ladder, and that light shines into every believing heart, enlightening, strengthening, encouraging. Angels of shining brightness ascend and descend upon this ladder, and minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. Through the merit of Christ, intercourse between heaven and earth has been opened, and the system of sacrifices instituted at Adam’s fall had no virtue except as they showed forth the great Mediator between God and man. Jesus was the true Sacrifice, who was to die for man’s transgression. The sacrifice of Cain was rejected because it was not an offering that acknowledged the sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world. In Cain’s offering there was no confession of sin, no acknowledgment that he was in need of a Saviour. Today there are thousands and tens of thousands who are making the same mistake as did Cain, and as did the Pharisees in the days of Christ. They are trusting in self, and depending upon their own wisdom, and do not realize their own spiritual poverty. To them comes the Laodicean message: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
6 As in the days of Christ, the Pharisees do not know their own spiritual destitution. The Lord says, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Faith and love are the gold tried in the fire. But with the Pharisees the gold has become dim, and the rich treasure has been lost. To them it is said: “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
7 But while these messages of reproof are addressed to those who have backslidden, and who have left their first love, yet He who knows all things has given us this precious promise: “I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” One who has been anointed with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, is able to lead every soul who will submit to be led, and He has trodden every step of the way before us. “If any man lack wisdom,” let him lean upon his fellow-man?—No; “let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.”
8 In the person and work of Christ the holiness of God is revealed; for Christ came to reveal the Father. Satan had cast his shadow athwart the pathway of humanity, and misrepresented the character of God. The controversy of Satan did not end when he was expelled from the courts of heaven. He hated Christ for his position in the courts of God, and he hated him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated him when he came to a ruined world, to show mercy and manifest his compassion toward a race of sinners. Through the chief priests and Pharisees the hatred of Satan was manifested toward the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.
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Page 649
1 We are to form characters after the divine Model, Jesus Christ, and bring every power and capability of our natures into subordination to him in this life, that we may through him have a right hold of the future immortal life. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” Those who have a character that will be found worthy of a place in the kingdom of God, will be those who have become acquainted with God, who have obeyed the explicit directions given in his word. They will be entitled to a seat at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
2 The only way in which we can distinguish between the true Christian and the pretender to Christianity is by the fruit of the life. The works will testify whether or not Christ, the hope of glory, is formed within. Everyone who enters the kingdom of heaven will have been tested and proved. Judas was one who was favored in being associated with Christ and his disciples. He was with Jesus during the time of his public ministry, and he possessed qualities of character that would have made him a blessing to the church had he but submitted to the discipline that Jesus desired him to have. He was privileged to have the same advantages as did John and the other disciples, and might have been benefited by the education and training of the greatest Teacher the world ever knew.
3 In Christ he beheld a character that was pure, harmless, and undefiled, and his heart was drawn out in love for his Master. But the light that was shed upon him from the character of Christ, brought with it the responsibility of yielding up every natural or acquired trait that was not in harmony with the character of Christ. In this Judas did not stand the test. The love of the world was deeply rooted in his heart, and he did not give up his love for the world, nor surrender his ambition to Christ. He never came to the point of surrendering himself fully to Jesus. He felt that he could retain his own individual judgment and opinion. While he accepted the position of the minister of Christ, yet he never brought himself under the divine moulding of Christ. He clung to his objectionable traits of character, and indulged in his own sinful habits, and, instead of becoming pure and Christlike, he became selfish and covetous. Selfishness became the controlling power of his life.
4 Judas listened to the lessons which Christ gave to his disciples and to the multitudes, and he did not offer any opposition, or seem to question their importance. He made no outward murmur until the time that Mary anointed the feet of Jesus. The record says:
5 “Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”
6 In the circumstance of Mary’s anointing Jesus’ feet, the plague spot of Judas’ character was revealed. The crisis had come in the life of Judas, and the ruling trait of character took its supremacy over every other trait. Covetousness, which is idolatry, had been cultivated, and had strengthened in his heart, and when temptation came upon him, he was held under its control. The temptations of Satan will ever thus meet a response from the elements of depravity that are in the human character that have not been resisted and overcome. The covetous greed that Judas had indulged for years, now held in control and overpowered every other characteristic of his nature. He harmonized with the drawings of Satan, and evil triumphed as he yielded to temptation. Although he was professedly a follower of Jesus, yet he was in heart strengthening the evil of his character. Jesus knew every transgression, and he now looked sorrowfully upon him who was numbered with the twelve, and who was yet not a doer of the words of Christ.
7 The disciples could not discern the evil of Judas’ heart; only the eye of God could discern the hidden motive, the unholy desire. When an impure thought is welcomed, an unholy desire cherished, a rebellious purpose formed, the purity of the soul is stained and its innocence is ruined, temptations prevail, and hell triumphs. “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” A man is tempted to sin when some attractive object or indulgence is presented to him, and he is drawn to overstep principle, and to violate his conscience in doing that which he knows to be wrong. This was what Judas was doing. He had no oil in his vessel with his lamp. He professed to have a deep interest in the welfare of the poor, but all his professions were pretenses, mere hypocrisy. He wanted to give others the impression that he was a very pious man, but the fact was that he was nothing else than a self-conceited sinner.
8 It was his day to seek grace and purity and holiness; but he failed to seek them. He did not cultivate humility, and die to the world. He did not cultivate hope and love, and manifest pure devotion to God. He did not obtain a strong, noble character, full of faith and holy endeavor, but permitted the wild, unsanctified elements of character to prevail. During his whole life he continually repeated acts of selfishness, though wearing the garb of religion.
9 Those who are satisfied in having merely a form of religion, who do not carry out the lessons of Christ in their practical life, make manifest the weakness of their character when trial and temptation come upon them, and they prove that they were not Christians. Every duty that is performed in love to Jesus, in simplicity and humility, divested of all selfishness, has its effect on the character and shapes it after the divine Model. Through faithfulness in the Christian life the soul is braced to withstand sudden assaults of temptation; for the true Christian learns to depend upon Christ for strength and grace. When the first temptation is met and resisted, the second is more easily met and resisted. We may be able to resist every temptation that assails the heart by calling upon our mighty Deliverer.
10 It is not in the power of Satan to force anyone to sin. Sin is the sinner’s individual act. Before sin exists in the heart, the consent of the will must be given, and as soon as it is given, sin is triumphant, and hell rejoices. But there is no excuse for sin, either great or little. Christ has been provided as the tempted one’s refuge. “For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.”
11 “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
12 Temptation is not sin, and is no indication that God is displeased with us. The Lord suffers us to be tempted, but he measures every temptation, and apportions it according to our power to resist and overcome evil. It is in time of trial and temptation that we are enabled to measure the degree of our faith and trust in God, and to estimate the stability of our Christian character. If we are easily jostled and overcome, we should be alarmed; for our strength is small. Let us consider the words of comfort that have been left on record for our instruction: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” God has apportioned the temptation in proportion to the strength he can supply, and he never permits us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist or to endure. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation.” “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” Through prayer and the word of God we shall be enabled to overcome temptation.
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1 “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain-glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” Many are deceiving their own souls, because, while they assent to the truth, they fail to become sanctified through the truth. To have a right religious experience it is essential not only to have an intelligent idea as to what is the theory of truth, but the heart and mind must be trained, and the habits must be in harmony with the expressed will of God. The word, the requirements of God, must be studied; for if we weave into our experience incorrect principles, we shall cherish false ideas as to what constitutes a Christian, and shall not be found obeying the voice of God. We cannot spiritually discern the character of God, or accept of Jesus Christ by faith, unless our life and character are marked by purity, by the casting down of imaginations, and of every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and by bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
2 It is sin that has dragged down and degraded the faculties of the soul; but through faith in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, we may be restored to holiness and truth. All who would learn of Christ must be emptied of human wisdom. The soul must be cleansed from all vanity and pride, and vacated by all that has held it in prepossession, and Christ must be enthroned in the heart. The constant strife in the soul that results from selfishness and self-sufficiency must be rebuked, and humility and meekness must take the place of our natural self-esteem. I am pained beyond measure when I see men and women professing the name of Christ, and yet manifesting not the Spirit of Christ; for I know that they are dwelling in fatal delusion. Many are satisfied with a mere semblance of religion, and they have no experimental knowledge of the virtues of Christ, no vital connection with Jesus. They listen to the most searching presentation of truth, but make no application of the truth to their own souls, because they are clothed with a garment of self-righteousness. Every salutary impression is warded off with the thought that they are Christians, and that the close, searching appeals are not meant for them. The most solemn message from the great Teacher through his delegated servants is lost upon them, because they do not see the need of any such warning or appeal. They have not come to the point of realizing that they are sick and in need of a physician. Christ said, “They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.”
3 Solemn conviction of sin will lead individuals to tremble at the word of God, and surrender their ways, their ideas, and their will to God. I tremble when I see so many who feel perfectly contended. They will admit that they have little experience in religious things, and when given an opportunity to gain an experience, they do not advance, because they do not feel their need, and so the matter ends where it began; for they do not seek divine enlightenment with true contrition of soul.
4 It is only at the altar of God that we kindle the taper with holy fire. It is only the divine light that will reveal the littleness, the incompetence of human ability, and give clear, distinct views of the perfection and purity of Jesus Christ. It is only as we behold Jesus that we desire to become like him. It is only as we view his righteousness that we hunger and thirst to possess it. It is only as we ask in earnest prayer, in humility and simplicity, as a little child asks an earthly parent for some good thing, that God will grant unto us our heart’s desire. Such prayer is heard and answered. The Lord is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that earnestly desire it, than are earthly parents to give good gifts to their children. Christ has promised the Holy Spirit to guide us unto all truth and righteousness and holiness. The Holy Spirit is not given by measure to those who earnestly seek for it, who by faith stand upon the promises of God. They plead the pledged word of God, saying, “Thou hast said it. I take thee at thy word.”
5 The Comforter is given that he may take of the things of Christ and show them unto us, that he may present in their rich assurance the words that fell from his lips, and convey them with living power to the soul who is obedient, who is emptied of self. It is then that the soul receives the image and superscription of the divine. Then Jesus Christ is formed within the hope of glory.
6 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Those who are called to be shepherds of the flock of God are called to be laborers together with God. The Lord Jesus is the great Worker, and he prayed to his Father that his followers might be sanctified through the truth. If we are doers of the word of God, we shall understand that we cannot retain any sinful habit, or indulge in any crooked or guileful way. His truth, his word, must be brought with divine power into our human hearts, and we must purify our hearts by obeying the truth. We must renounce all the hidden things of dishonesty, all craftiness and Satanic wiles. We must be where we shall be enabled to discern the snares of him who lieth in wait to deceive. Sin must be sensed in its true, hateful character, and expelled from the soul. All who preach the word in verity and truth can afford to be fair in its presentation. We are not to be deceitful in any way. Not handling the word of God deceitfully, we are to let the cross of Christ stand in prominence in all our teaching. We are not to hide the gospel, or cover the cross of Christ with ornamental roses, and thus make the preaching of it of no effect. Let no one shun the cross of self-denial. Make the instruction plain as to what it means to be a Christian. “If any man will come after me,” said Jesus, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”. “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” Food is the substance of which we partake, that our bodies may be strengthened and built up. In like manner we are to feed upon that which will build up our spiritual nature. Jesus said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Our bodies are composed of that upon which we feed; so our spiritual life will be composed of that upon which we feed. If we feed on Christ, by thinking of him, by obeying his words, we are built up in him, and grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth unto the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. “Receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
7 As God works in us to will, we are to cooperate with God, manifesting a determination like that of Daniel to do the will of God, working in harmony with the divine Agent. Then we shall have rest in God. Teachers of the word of God are not to keep back any part of the counsel of God, lest the people shall be ignorant of their duty, and not understand what is the will of God concerning them, and stumble and fall into perdition. But while the teacher of truth should be faithful in presenting the gospel, let him never pour out a mass of matter which the people cannot comprehend because it is new to them and hard to understand. Take one point at a time, and make that one point plain, speaking slowly and in a distinct voice. Speak in such a way that the people shall see what is the relation of that one point to other truths of vital importance. Every man who becomes a teacher must also become a learner, and daily sit at the feet of Jesus. It is impossible for anyone to rightly divide the word of truth, unless he earnestly seeks wisdom from on high that he may understand what is taught in the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit must attend the word spoken to the heart. It will be difficult to create prejudice in the hearts of those who are seeking for truth as for hidden treasure, if the speaker will hide himself in Christ; for he will then reveal Christ, not himself.
8 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” But though God has set these different laborers in the church, there is to be no neglect on the part of one in the performance of duty. Let no one neglect to give faithful and plain instruction upon tithing. Let there be instruction as to giving to the Lord that which he claims as his own; for the commendation of the Lord will not rest upon a people who rob him in tithes and offerings. There will be need of often setting before the people their duty in this matter, that they may render unto God his own. Let the one who first presents the truth be faithful in presenting this duty, and let him also who follows up the interest, make plain the requirement of God on tithing, that the people may see that in all points the laborers are teaching the same truth, and are of one mind in urging them to yield obedience to all the requirements of God.
9 But let laborers have discretion, and not give strong meat to those who are as babes, but feed them with the sincere milk of the word. In no case mingle your own spirit and ideas with the truth, and cover up the precepts of God by traditions or suppositions. Let the people have the truth as it is in Jesus, and do not mingle it with concoctions of your own devising, for your presentation of the truth will taste so strongly of self that it will disgust the hearers. Be able to say with Paul: “I have kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” There is most earnest work to be done in order that you may so search the Scriptures that you may be able to declare unto those with whom you meet the whole counsel of God.
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1 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2 The scribes and Pharisees had built up a wall of separation between their nation and every other people. They passed by the publicans and sinners, as though communication with them would bring upon them some moral defilement. Imagine their contempt of Christ when he received publicans and sinners and ate with them. The Lord desired to break down the wall of separation; for he loved the souls who had never known a better way. He is no respecter of persons, and willeth not the death of any sinner, but would that all men might come unto him and live.
3 In this age, as then, there are lost sheep to be sought and saved. There are many who need personal labor. No prophet, like John the Baptist, has cried out the message of warning to them. No one has pointed them to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” But this is not because the Lord has no interest in these souls who are ready to perish, represented as lost sheep. But the Lord is not chargeable with any neglect on his part. Look to Calvary and answer decidedly, No, no. The Lord has made every provision to save men in giving his Son. Jesus thought it not robbery to be equal with God, for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily. When he claimed the highest prerogatives, he did not make an empty boast. Yet when he was among men, he did not call together a concourse of people, and sound a trumpet before him, and command attention. The great Teacher came in simplicity, though he was the light of the world. He taught the people in plain, simple words, which all could understand. He said, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. . . . My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” “All things that the Father hath are mine.” With the familiarity and ease of eternal habitude, Jesus lays his hand on the throne of God.
4 In giving Jesus to the world God gave all heaven in one gift. Then why is it, when God has left nothing undone that could be done, that there are not more brought from darkness to light?—It is because the human will does not cooperate with the divine intelligences. If the Lord’s will and way were carried out, humanity would be reached through humanity, and every lost prodigal would be brought home, and saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who tasted death for every man. Sin would no longer exist. But it is humanity that bars the way. It is for lack of the copartnership of man, because of rebellion, that the way is blocked up. The revelation of God’s truth comes to us through human agents. Christ came to the world as the Son of Man. This was the only way in which he could reach humanity. Jesus enters into humanity, that through his power and grace humanity may become partaker of the divine nature. “Ye are laborers together with God.” Man must cooperate with Jesus Christ, and through earnest endeavor work out his own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. Man works out what God works in, not by means of finite endeavor, but by the strength imparted through the divine nature. Those who are building up a Christlike character, will not, cannot, withhold their interest from the work of aiding Christ in seeking and saving that which is lost.
5 The Jews looked upon the whole world as cursed, and Satan claimed the world. He claimed the publicans and sinners as his own subjects, but Christ came to dispute his claims and challenge his usurped authority. In this work man is brought into cooperation with God, and is to work as God works for the salvation of fallen men. What are we individually doing to let our light shine forth to others? It is the neglect of men in failing to cooperate with Jesus that leaves the world so long unreclaimed. Jesus has said of his followers, “As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world.” As Christ represented the Father, so he has commissioned his believing ones to represent him in character. We are to show forth his self-denial and self-sacrifice, and to establish his kingdom in righteousness. We are to speak the words that Christ has spoken, and do the works that Christ has done. The work of Christ was not to destroy, but to save. He gave his disciples lessons that are of the highest value; for through their words many are to come to the knowledge of Bible truth, and teach others also the lessons which they have learned. The disciples were to know that they were not simply combating the influence of finite enemies, but that they were also contending with demons. Light and darkness were in opposition, truth and delusion, good and evil, heaven and hell. Satanic supernatural agencies were united with evil men to corrupt and destroy.
6 The publicans and sinners, so despised by the Pharisees, were drawn to Christ, and their hearts were awakened to ask, “What is truth?” The Pharisees, closed their eyes and their ears lest they should see and hear and be converted from the error of their ways, and thus be saved. Heavenly intelligences watched the battle with awe and reverence. As those who are lost, and bound by Satan, struggle to burst the bands that enchain them, they are led to fly to Christ, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The sinful, repenting soul becomes hopeful, follows Jesus, and catches the words from his lips. Heaven looks upon the scene with rejoicing; but the scribes and Pharisees look on with lowering brow and with sneering, contemptuous words.
7 What a contrast is the attitude of the Pharisees to that of the angels! The angels look upon Jesus as the Commander of heaven, the Son of the highest, and see him contending with the prince of darkness. The prize for which they are battling is the human soul, for which Christ has come to die, that he may redeem the lost. It is well to contemplate the divine condescension, the sacrifice, the self-denial, the humiliation, the resistance the Son of God must encounter in doing his work for fallen men. Well may we come forth from contemplation of his sufferings, exclaiming, Amazing condescension! Angels marvel as with intense interest they watch the Son of God descending step by step the path of humiliation. It is the mystery of godliness. It is the glory of God to conceal himself and his ways, not by keeping men in ignorance of heavenly light and knowledge, but by surpassing the uttermost capacity of men to know. Humanity can comprehend in part, but that is all that man can bear. The love of Christ passes knowledge. The mystery of redemption will continue to be the mystery, the unexhausted science and everlasting song of eternity. Well may humanity exclaim, Who can know God? We may, as did Elijah, wrap our mantles about us, and listen to hear the still, small voice of God.
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1 The commandment for Sabbath observance reads: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle; not thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
2 The Sabbath commandment is placed in the very bosom of the Decalogue, amid the unchangeable precepts of Jehovah. And yet from many pulpits of our land a contemptuous cry is raised against the Sabbath instituted by the Lord God of heaven, and it is stigmatized as “the old Jewish Sabbath.” Let all who are seeking for truth remember that the Sabbath was instituted in Eden before there was a Jew in existence, and that the Saviour said, “The Sabbath was made for man.” The fourth commandment was spoken with the other nine of God’s moral precepts, amid the thunders and grandeur of Mount Sinai, and in the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary above, is the ark of God. It is called the “ark of the testament,” and under its cover,—the mercy seat,—are the ten commandments that were written with the finger of God.
3 On the tables of the law, written with the finger of the infinite God, is the fourth commandment. Does the commandment read, “The first day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God?”—No, it reads: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested [the first day?] the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day; and hallowed it.” Thus it reads today in the sacred law as engraven by the finger of God, and thus it is preserved in the ark in the temple of God in heaven.
4 The institution of the Sabbath was made when the foundation of the earth was laid, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Like the other nine precepts of the law, it is of imperishable obligation. It is the memorial of God’s creative power, the reminder of his exalted work. The fourth commandment occupies a sacred position in the law, and bears the same hallowed nature as do the other great moral precepts of God. God has stamped it with his divine authority as a law of his eternal government. No change can come to it, nothing can alter the thing that has gone out of his lips, or lessen in any degree its sacred obligation. The law of the Sabbath is placed in the very midst of the Decalogue, and walled in with the sacred immutability of truth, justice, and holiness.
5 The fall of Adam was a terrible thing, and the consequences of his sin so fraught with evil that language cannot portray it. By his disobedience of the divine law, the world was thrown into disorder and rebellion. Because of his disobedience, man was under the penalty of breaking the law, doomed to death. The only definition given in the word of God as to what is sin, is found in 1 John 3:4: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” The law of God is that standard by which character is to be measured in the judgment. Do those who are contending that the first day of the week should be observed instead of the day commanded by Jehovah, understand what they are doing? Do they realize that they are leading men to trample upon one of the precepts of Jehovah?
6 What significance has the Sabbath if its observance is transferred to the first day of the week? God gave it to men as a memorial of his creative work in six days and his rest upon the seventh. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you; everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”
7 Satan, the apostle, the rebel against the government of God, has proposed to obliterate the fourth commandment, which brings to view the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and, instead of the Sabbath, he designs to cause all men to honor a common working day. God blessed the seventh day, he rested upon it and sanctified it for man’s observance, but Satan is determined to set aside the claims of the Sabbath, and cause men to accept a spurious sabbath. The excuse for refusing to observe the Sabbath of God’s appointment is often made that it does not make any difference upon which day we rest, so long as it is one day in the seven. But it makes every difference upon which day you rest. Resting upon the day God commanded reveals the fact that you honor the Maker of heaven and earth; but disregarding that fact makes it evident that you do not honor God or obey his commandment to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Your non-observance of the memorial of creation shows that you place no merit upon the day that has been sanctified and blessed, and think that you will be excused if you observe the day that has been appointed by the Papacy, which has exalted itself above God and all that is worshiped.
8 You accept a common working day instead of the day that has been sanctified and blessed, but in thus doing you offer positive insult to the God of heaven. In holding to an observance commanded by the Papal Church, you exalt the opinions and traditions of men above the commandments of the God of heaven.
9 The Lord understood in just what lines the enemy would work in seeking to tear down his memorial, thus destroying from the minds of men the reminder of his creative work and rest. But to his children he has given this message,—that the Sabbath shall have such significance in their eyes that they will not be moved away from obedience to his requirements: “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. . . . It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.”
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1 “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
2 The scribes and Pharisees prided themselves upon the idea that they were God’s chosen people, and they were filled with self-righteousness. “Christ came unto his own, and his own received him not.” He did not flatter the Pharisees or exalt them in any way. He received the publicans and sinners whom the Jews heartily despised, and, because his lessons of humility, compassions, and love rebuked their selfishness and pride, they would none of him, but turned from him in scorn. They made great ostentation, wore long robes, and stood praying on the corners of the streets, but none of these pretensions to piety awed the great Teacher or drew from him one word of approval. They flattered themselves, but he did not flatter them. The teaching of Christ was against all vanity and pride, for these were abhorrent to the Most High. It is the humble and the contrite whose prayers are heard in heaven. The Lord declares that he knoweth the proud afar off. He says, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
3 When the scribes and Pharisees saw the publicans and sinners following Christ and listening with living interest to his teaching, they could not tolerate either teacher or listeners. They hated Christ and said, “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” By this accusation they thought to make the false impression that Jesus loved the association of those who were sinful and defiled, and was insensible to their wickedness. To this reproach Jesus replied by the parable of the lost sheep. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
4 The parable of the lost sheep places man in the position of one who is helpless and undone. All are lost unless they are transformed in character. The lost condition of the sheep necessitates the coming of the True Shepherd, that, at any cost to himself, he may seek and save those that are perishing. Those who are wise in their own conceit do not realize the position in which they are placed by this parable. The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost. Doth not the shepherd leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it?
5 In giving his only-begotten Son to save us, the Lord God shows what is the estimate he puts upon man. To the question, What is the price of the soul of man? the answer is, The life of the only-begotten Son of God. And as Christ came to save man, high or low, rich or poor, white or black, are any to be treated with contempt? Satan has studied to lay in ruins the image of God, and, through intemperance and sin, obliterate all trace of his character in man. Christ came, clothing his divinity with humanity, that he might meet humanity and not extinguish humanity by divinity. He came to save the lost sheep, and became a servant in lowly ministry to lift up the lowly.
6 The science of salvation is a grand theme, and all the glory of restoring the image of God in man is to be laid at the feet of the Eternal. Holy angels have left the royal courts, and have come down to earth to encamp in the valleys in chariots of fire, a vast army, not to despise, not to rule, or require man to worship them, but to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation. Could human eyes be opened, they would see in times of danger when Satan goes forth as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, that heavenly beings encamp around the little flock who love and fear God.
7 The heavenly Shepherd left the ninety and nine to seek the lost one. However dark the night, however severe the tempest, the Shepherd goes forth, at every step calling by name his lost sheep, until he hears its terrified, faint, and dying cry. Then he hunts amid the dangerous places, crosses the tangled briers, and finds his sheep. He rescues it from peril, places it on his shoulder, and with rejoicing returns to the fold. At every step he cries, “Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. “And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
8 Could we see the heavenly angels watching with intense interest the steps of the Shepherd as he goes into the desert to seek and to save the lost, what wonder would fill our hearts! “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons [in their own estimation], which need no repentance.” It is he who is sick who feels the need of physician, and the mission of Christ to the world was to seek and to save those who were perishing. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
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1 In the parable of the shepherd seeking for the lost sheep is a representation of the tender patience, perseverance, and great love of God. As we contemplate the unselfish love of God, our hearts well up with gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving. We praise him for the priceless gift of his only-begotten Son. There is no animal so helpless and bewildered as is the sheep that has strayed away from the fold. If the wanderer is not sought for by the compassionate shepherd, it will never find its way back to the fold. The shepherd must take it in his arms himself, and bear it to the fold. This care on the part of the shepherd, and helplessness on the part of the sheep, represent God’s care for the sinner and the condition of the soul that has wandered away from God. He is as helpless as the poor lost sheep, and, unless divine love comes to his rescue, he will never find his way to the Father’s house.
2 There is no possible way in which, of himself, man may recover his purity. The natural powers are perverted. Jesus, the good Shepherd, says, “I know my sheep, and am known of mine.” The Pharisees were ready to accuse and condemn Jesus, because he did not, like themselves, repulse and condemn the publicans and sinners. The Pharisees put their trust in the law, and yet Jesus declared they did not keep the law. They thought that the law would justify them, and they would not consider the compassion and mercy that Jesus presented in his lessons as necessary to be brought into their practical life. Jesus came to the world to erect the cross, and beneath it all publicans and sinners may find refuge, and the Pharisees also may find peace, but only on the same terms by which those thought to be the greatest sinners may come to Christ.
3 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Christ never invited the wicked to come to him to be saved in their sins, but to be saved from their sins. Oh, what hope does this give the sinner, for there is a way whereby he may return to his Father’s house! The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon his pathway, making it the royal path of holiness. The scribes and Pharisees can be saved only by entering in at the door of the sheepfold, —through faith in Jesus Christ.
4 The mercy and compassion of Christ stand out in clear contrast beside the indifference of the Sadducees and the contempt of the Pharisees toward those they looked upon as inferior to themselves. Christ did not ordain the plan of salvation for any one people or nation. He said: “I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” Christ is not only the propitiation for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. The value of the offering of Jesus Christ cannot be estimated; yet, by beholding the sufferings of the Son of God on Calvary, we may obtain some idea of the value at which God estimates the world. The value of the offering was deemed sufficient to save every soul from Adam’s time down to the close of earth’s history. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Salvation is proffered to all men. The Jews, the Greeks, the Gentiles, the bond, the free, all tribes and nations, may come to Christ.
5 But while heaven rejoices over the restoration of one lost sheep, the scribes and Pharisees looked upon Jesus with contempt, and the result of his expressed compassion and love led them to determine to kill him. When the Lord works through human instrumentalities, and they are moved with power from above, Satan leads his agents to cry, “Fanaticism,” and to warn the servants of God not to go to extremes. Let all be careful how they raise this cry; for, while there is spurious coin, the value of the genuine is unreduced. Because there are many spurious revivals and spurious conversions, it does not follow that all revivals are to be held in suspicion. Shall we have no reason to rejoice on earth when angels rejoice in heaven? Will not those who claim to be children of God stand in harmony with the angels of heaven in their rejoicing? Let them not voice the words and reveal the contempt expressed by the Pharisees as they said, “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” We have abundant reason given by our Lord to make us afraid of sneering at his work in the conversion of souls. The manifestation of God’s renewing grace on sinful man, pronounced in heaven as genuine, causing angels to rejoice, has by many through unbelief been termed fanaticism, and the messenger through whom God has worked has been spoken of as one having zeal not according to knowledge.
6 Let every desponding, distrustful soul take courage, even though he may have done wickedly. Read the parable of the lost sheep, the lost piece of silver, and the prodigal son, and take courage. You are not to think that perhaps God will pardon your transgressions, and permit you to approach into his presence, but you are to remember that it is God who has made the first advance, that he has come forth to seek you while you were still in rebellion against him. With the tender heart of the shepherd, he has left the ninety and nine, and gone out into the wilderness to seek his wandering one. His lost sheep is precious to his heart of love, and he will bring back every wanderer to his Father’s house who will let him do so. In the return of the lost sheep to the fold not only does the shepherd rejoice, but the angels also rejoice over the restoration of the wanderer more than over the ninety and nine who think themselves just persons.
7 Try to contemplate the rejoicing of heaven over the success of the Shepherd in finding the one that was lost, and in no case be intimidated by the indifference, the contempt, and scorn of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus said: “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
8 If diligent search was made by the woman who had lost a piece of silver only, should there not be persevering effort made by those who are seeking to save the human soul, and as much more diligent effort made as the human soul is of greater value than is the piece of silver? How is it that greater zeal is manifested in obtaining the common things of life than is manifested in saving the soul for whom Christ has died? Is not the saving of the lost a work that should arouse every dormant faculty of our being? If the ardor and enthusiasm encouraged as necessary to the success of attaining worldly things is not commendable in seeking the salvation of the lost, which has a twofold object,—to bless and to make us a blessing,—what is? Through conversion we are personally placed in vital connection with Jesus Christ, who is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Every truly converted person carries about with him that which signifies and proves the power of Christianity upon the human soul. The search for the piece of silver was diligent; but of how much greater diligence should be our search for the lost, since every soul who lays hold of Jesus Christ by faith is capable of the highest achievements, and, if obedient and faithful, will have life that measures with the life of God, and live through eternal ages.
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Page 655
1 “And he said, A certain man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry. . . . Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends; but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”
2 It was to answer the accusation of the scribes and Pharisees to the effect that Jesus chose the companionship of sinners that he spake the parables concerning the lost sheep, the lost silver, and the prodigal son, and in these presentations showed that his mission to the world was not to make miserable, not to condemn and destroy, but to recover that which was lost. This was the reason he did not exclude himself from those who were sinful. These were the very ones that needed a Saviour. The Pharisees felt that they had need of nothing to make them spiritually perfect. They were just in their own eyes, and felt no need of repentance, and they condemned Christ in his work of seeking to save those who felt themselves lost and undone.
3 The prodigal son was not a dutiful son, not one who would please his father, but one who desired his own way. He wished to follow the dictates of his own inclination, and was tired of counsel and advice from the father who loved him, and who only wished him to act in such a way that his happiness would be insured. The tender sympathy and love of his father were misinterpreted, and the more patient, kind, and benevolent the father acted, the more restless the son became. He thought his liberty was restricted, for his idea of liberty was wild license, and as he craved to be independent of all authority, he broke loose from all the restraint of his father’s house, and soon spent his fortune in riotous living. A great famine arose in the country in which he sojourned, and in his hunger he would fain have filled himself with the husks that the swine did eat.
4 This was the result that followed this youth’s impetuous course. He did not know that the best place in the world is home; for the home atmosphere had become disagreeable to him, because he could not be as independent as he desired. Any place looked better to him than home. Evil companions helped to plunge him deeper and deeper into sin, and a false excitement was kept up, and he imagined that he was happy in being free from all restraint. He had no one now to say: “Do not do that; for you will do injury to yourself. Do this, because it is right.” But when his means failed, and he was obliged to take time to consider, he found himself without the bare necessities of life; and, to make his situation more trying, a famine had come upon the land.
5 Starvation stared him in the face, and he joined himself to a citizen of the place. He was sent to do the most menial of work,—to feed the swine. Although this to a Jew was the most disreputable of callings, yet he was willing to do anything, so great was his need. Miserable and suffering, he sat in the fields doing his task. Because he had been unwilling to submit to the restraint of home, he now had the place of the lowest of servants. He had left home for liberty, but his liberty had been turned into the lowest of drudgery.
6 Where now is his riotous joy? Stilling his conscience, benumbing his sensibilities, he had thought himself happy in scenes of revelry; but now, with money spent, with pride humbled, with his moral nature dwarfed, with his will weak and unreliable, with his finer feelings seemingly dead, he is the most wretched of mortals. He is suffering keen hunger, and cannot fill his want, and, under these circumstances, he remembers that his father has bread enough and to spare, and resolves to go to his father. He says: “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.”
7 Having made this decision, he does not wait to make himself more respectable. It seems that the only way to save his life is to return; for there is bread in his father’s house, and he is perishing with hunger. “And when he was a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” The father sees before him one who is on the verge of starvation, and with the marks of dissipation upon him; but this does not make him hesitate. He covers him with his own robe. And the son says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son;” but the father brings him into the house, and says to the servants, “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”
8 The home looks just as it did when he left it; but what a difference there is in himself. How could he have abused his father’s love, and have chosen his own way? The father has no words of upbraiding to offer, and, though the son wept out his repentance, the father thought only of rejoicing, weeping with joy on the neck of his son. The father does not give him a chance to say, “Make me as one of thy hired servants.” The welcome he receives assures him that he is reinstated to the place of son.
9 Is not the reception of the prodigal son a representation of the way in which the Lord receives the repenting sinner? In the cross of Calvary mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Every penitent feels himself enfolded in the arms of the Heavenly Father. There is no taunting, no casting up of his evil course. He realizes that he is met by the Lord—”the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”
10 “Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends; but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”
11 Mark the points in the parable: The elder brother coming from the field, hearing the sound of rejoicing, inquires what it all means, and is told of the return of his brother, and how the fatted calf has been killed to provide for the feast. Then is revealed in the elder brother selfishness, pride, envy, and malignity. He feels that favor to the prodigal is an insult to himself, and the father remonstrates with him, but he will not look upon the matter in the right light, nor will he unite with the father in rejoicing that the lost is found. He gives the father to understand that, had he been in the father’s place, he would not have received the son back, and forgets that the poor prodigal is his own brother. He speaks with disrespect to his father, charging him with injustice to himself, while he shows favor to one who has wasted his living. He speaks of the prodigal to his father as “this thy son.” Yet, notwithstanding all this unfilial conduct, his expressions of contempt and arrogance, the father deals patiently and tenderly with him. He presents before the elder son the facts of the case, and vindicates his course of action toward the returned wanderer, and seeks to awaken tenderness in the heart of the brother.
12 Did the elder son finally come to see his unworthiness of so kind and considerate a father? Did he come to see that, though his brother had done wickedly, he was his brother still, that their relationship had not altered? and did he repent of his jealousy, and ask his father’s forgiveness for so misrepresenting him to his face?
13 How true a representation was the action of this elder son of unrepenting and unbelieving Israel, who refused to acknowledge that the publicans and sinners were their brethren, who should be forgiven, and should be sought for, labored for, and not left to perish, but led to have everlasting life! How beautiful is this parable as it illustrates the welcome that every repentant soul will receive from the Heavenly Father! With what joy will the heavenly intelligences rejoice to see souls returning to their Father’s house! The sinners will meet with no reproach, no taunt, no reminder of their unworthiness. All that is required is penitence. The Psalmist says, “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it; thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise.” “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”
14 “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
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1 “Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.” From Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, beam forth rays of life and light. Would you have Jesus lift upon you the health and light of his countenance?—Then turn your face toward him, and look and live. Talk of Jesus; dwell on his matchless charms; eat of the bread of life; take of the water of life freely. Do you desire to love God supremely and your fellow-men as Jesus loved them?—Keep your heart in meditation upon the spotless character of Christ. His divine heart was moved with compassion and love for suffering humanity. His love cannot be fathomed, except as we take in the sacrifice made on Calvary. Through the renunciation of all selfishness, we need to be able to comprehend what is the height and depth and length and breadth of the love of God, which passeth knowledge.
2 If we constantly cherish the love of Christ, we shall have the love that cannot be repressed. We shall love the atmosphere of light and love and truth and righteousness. We shall be constantly inquiring after truth, and, knowing that there is such a wealth of precious ore of truth to be found, we shall not grasp for thorns and thistles. Humbly and sincerely we shall search after divine knowledge, realizing that all we can carry with us to heaven is that which is akin to heaven. We shall know that it is very poor policy to be cultivating ourselves in the art of seeing everything that is objectionable, for all the knowledge of God that we can here obtain we shall carry with us to heaven. We can safely cultivate purity, love, and devotion to God and our Redeemer. The love of God must be planted in the heart in this life, and it will enable us to have happiness, and joy, and peace, because the kingdom of heaven will be set up in our hearts. Heaven is to begin on earth. The word of God will reveal to us whatsoever is real and abiding, and these permanent excellences will find a place in our hearts, so that we may now have within us the perfection of heaven.
3 Can anyone think it possible that pride can exist in the heart and yet that heart have a place in the kingdom of God? It was pride that caused the fall of Satan. His heart was lifted up because of his beauty. All his wisdom and glory were the gift of God; but the very gift bestowed by the generous love of God was perverted to wrong use in exalting himself, as if his glorious endowments were something that he himself had originated. At that time no pride had been before manifested, and the results of evil had not been made manifest. Pride will never be admitted into heaven. Can we cherish envy in our hearts and yet be found in the kingdom of God?—No; envy cannot be transplanted into the kingdom of God. Satan originated this terrible evil, and its result was that Satan desired and sought to take the place of the only-begotten Son of God. It was because he could not have the place of Christ that Satan revolted in heaven.
4 Heart burnings, unhappiness, result where unlawful yearnings are cherished for the place and position of another. He who is full of envy looks upon the one he envies with dislike and seeks to show himself superior to his rival; unless he sees and repents of his sin, he will grudge against the one he envies, and all love of Christ will die out of his heart. Can one who cherishes envy be permitted to enter into the kingdom of heaven?—No; for envy brings evil surmisings, deception, pride, accusations, and enmity, and all these have been expelled from heaven. Unless we are divested of all that is evil, we shall not enter into the kingdom of God, but will find ourselves shut out of its gates.
5 What is it that will gain us an entrance into the kingdom of God?—A character after the likeness of that of Jesus Christ. The Lord God has given to the world all opportunity, all privilege, the grace of the Holy Spirit, the gift of Jesus Christ, in order that we might have a character like that of our Lord, and find abundant entrance into the kingdom of God. Christ’s mission to the world made it evident that the human race was standing under the menace of incensed justice, on the verge of eternal ruin, in helplessness and ignorance. To our help Jesus came, bringing the fullest assurance of relief. What has the Father done?—”God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
6 The question has been asked, “Would not a lesser gift from God have been adequate for the redemption of lost man?” “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The question is unanswerable, and it is not profitable for us to spend our time in making conjectures. All our thoughts and imaginations will not alter in the least any part of the plan of redemption devised from all eternity. God loved the world to such an extent that he gave full and complete evidence of the fact. He did not leave any chance for the tempter to say that he did not love us, for he gave a gift whose value could not be estimated. Had he done less, Satan and his agencies would have sought to have inspired jealousy against God by intimating that he could have done more than he did. God so loved the world that he determined to give a gift beyond all computation, and make manifest how immeasurable was his love. The gift of God would be a wonder to all worlds, to all created intelligences, ever enlarging their ideas of what God’s love was in its infinity and greatness. Contemplation of this love would uproot from the heart all selfishness, and so transform the soul that men would cherish generosity, practice self-denial, and imitate the example of God. God so loved the world that he gave heaven’s best gift, in order that the most guilty transgressor should not be deferred from coming to Christ, however great his sin, and be enabled to ask for pardon at a throne of mercy.
7 Since God has given the greatest gift in his power, we are to render to him our whole heart. He has poured out to the world the treasures of heaven, giving with such largeness that there is nothing more to bestow, no reserve grace or power or glory, and we are to respond to this love by rendering willing service to Jesus, who has died for us on Calvary’s cross.
8 At the time when sin had become a science, when the hostility of man was most violent against heaven, when rebellion struck its roots deep into the human heart, when vice was consecrated as a part of religion, when Satan exulted in the idea that he had led men to such a state of evil that God would destroy the world, Jesus was sent into the world, not to condemn it, but, amazing grace! to save the world. The unfallen worlds watched with intense interest to see Jehovah arise and sweep away the inhabitants of the earth, and Satan boasted that if God did do this, he would complete his plans and secure for himself the allegiance of unfallen worlds. He had arguments ready by which to cast blame upon God, and to spread his rebellion to the world’s above; but at this crisis, instead of destroying the world, God sent his Son to save it. The apostle caught a glimpse of the plan, and he kindled into inspiration upon the great theme. Language cannot express his conception, but ever falls below the reality. John exclaims: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
9 Before the coming of Christ to the world evidences abundant had been given that God loved the human race. But in the gift of Christ to a race so undeserving was demonstrated the love of God beyond all dispute. This gift outweighed all else, showed that his love could not be measured. We have no line to measure it, no plummet by which to sound its depths, no chain by which to encompass it, no standard with which to compare it. All we can say is that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
10 Jesus said, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life.” He gave his life for the sheep. The only-begotten Son of God accepts all the liabilities that fall upon the transgressor of the law, vindicates its unchangeable and holy character. The death of Christ removes every argument that Satan could bring against the precepts of Jehovah. Satan has declared that men could not enter the kingdom of heaven unless the law was abolished and a way devised by which transgressors could be reinstated into the favor of God, and made heirs of heaven. He made the claim that the law must be changed, that the reins of government must be slackened in heaven, that sin must be tolerated, and sinners pitied and saved in their sins. But every such plea was cast aside when Christ died as a substitute for the sinner. He who was made equal with God bore the sin of the transgressor, and thereby made a channel whereby the love of God could be communicated to a fallen world, and his grace and power imparted to those who came to Christ in penitence for their sin.
11 The sum and substance of the arguments of Satan is that sin may be immortalized, that Christ abolished the law, and that evil doers may be in favor with God. But the death of Christ tells a different story; for he died to vindicate the claims of the law, to give to the world and to angels an unanswerable argument of the immutability of the law of Jehovah.
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Page 657
1 “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” I repeat the words of John, “Behold the Lamb of God!” We are to contemplate the character of Christ. We are to meditate upon the cross of Calvary; for it is the unanswerable argument of Christianity. The message we are to bear to the impenitent, the warning we are to give to the backslider, is, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! Those who bring the message to the soul may turn aside from the truth, but he who would be saved must keep his eye on Jesus. By beholding Christ he will learn to hate sin, that has brought to his Redeemer suffering and death. By beholding, his faith is made strong, and he comes to know “the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” The sinner sees Jesus as he is, full of compassion and tender love, and by beholding the manifestation of his great love toward fallen man in his sufferings of Calvary, he is transformed in character.
2 While our salvation is wholly dependent upon Jesus, yet we have a work to do in order that we shall be saved. The apostle says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” The work that we are to do is not independent of what God is to do, but a work of cooperation with God. The power and the grace of God is to be wrought into the heart by the divine Worker, but some go astray here, claiming that man has a work to do that is wholly independent of any work of God. Another class take the other extreme, and say that man is free from all obligation, because God does the whole work—both the willing and doing. But the true ground to take is that the human will must be in subjection to the divine will. The will of man is not to be forced into cooperation with divine agencies, but must be voluntarily submitted. Man has no power of himself to work out his own salvation. Salvation must be the result of cooperation with divine power, and God will not do that for man which he can do for himself. Man is wholly dependent on the grace of Christ. He has no power to move one step in the direction of Christ unless the Spirit of God draws him. The Holy Spirit is continually drawing the soul, and will continue to draw until by persistent refusal the sinner grieves away the tender messenger of God.
3 In the heavenly councils it has been decided by what means and methods the grace of Christ shall prove effectual in saving the soul. And it is clear that unless the sinner consents to be drawn, unless he will cooperate with divine agencies, the end will not be attained. The work to be done is a united work. The divine and the human are to work together, and the sinner is to depend upon grace, while rendering willing obedience to the dictates of the Spirit of God. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
4 God has endowed men with reason and with intellectual faculties, but if these are untrained, left uncultivated, men will become like the savage heathen. The mind must be cultivated, and it is necessary that teachers present line upon line and precept upon precept, guiding and training the free-will moral agent so that he shall understand what it is to cooperate with God. God works in the human agent by the light of truth, and the mind, enlightened by truth, is capable of seeing truth in distinction from error. Open to the light of truth, free from prejudice, unbound by the opinions and traditions of men, the enlightened mind clearly sees the evidences of the truth, and believes it as from God. The man enlightened by truth will not call falsehood truth, and light darkness. The Spirit reveals to the mind the things of God, and to him who cooperates with God is the realization that a Divine Presence is hovering near. When the heart is open to Jesus and the mind responds to the truth, Jesus abides in the soul. The Spirit’s energy works in the heart, and leads the inclinations toward Jesus. By living faith, the Christian places entire dependence on divine power, expecting that God will and do that which is according to his good pleasure. As fast as the soul resolves and acts in accordance with the light that is revealed, the Spirit takes the things of God and gives more light to the soul.
5 “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name.” “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” The Spirit of God is not commissioned to do our part of the work, either in willing or doing. It is the work of the human agent to cooperate with divine agencies. As soon as we incline our will to harmonize with God’s will, the grace of Christ is supplied to cooperate with our resolve. But it is not to be a substitute to do our work,—to work in spite of our resolutions and actions. Therefore, our success in the Christian life will not be because of an abundance of light and evidence, but will depend upon our acceptation of the light given, upon the rousing of the energies, and operating with the heavenly ministers appointed of God to work for the salvation of the soul.
6 If the sinner or the backslider settles himself in sin, the light of heaven may flash about him to no purpose, as it did about Saul when the bewitching power of the world’s deception was upon him. Unless the human agent inclines his will to do the will of God, as finally Saul did, the light will shine in vain, and a thousand-fold more light and evidence would do no good. God knows when the sinner has sufficient evidence, and says to such, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
7 Paul had a terrible awakening when the light from heaven flashed upon him, and a voice said to him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” Paul answered, “Who art thou, Lord?” And Christ said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” And the Lord said, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” The Lord always gives the human agent his work to do. Paul was to work in compliance with the divine command. If Saul had said, “Lord, I am not in the least inclined to follow your directions in working out my salvation,” then, should the Lord have showered upon him a light tenfold as bright, it would have been useless. It is man’s part to cooperate with the divine. Here is where the conflict is to be sternest, hardest, and most fierce—in yielding the will and way to God’s will and way, relying upon the gracious influences which God has exerted upon the human soul throughout all the life. The man must do the work of inclining. “For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do.” The character of the actions will testify what has been the nature of the resolve. The doing was not in accordance with feeling and natural inclination, but in harmony with the will of the Father in heaven. Follow and obey the leadings of the Holy Spirit; obey not the voice of the deceiver, which is in harmony with the unsanctified will, but obey the impulse God has given. This is what the heavenly intelligences are constantly working to have us do,—the will of our Father which is in heaven.
8 Everything is at stake. Will the human agent cooperate with divine agencies to will and to do? If a man places his will on the side of God’s will, fully surrendering self to do his will, the rubbish will be cleared from the door of the heart, the defiance of the soul will be broken down, and Jesus will enter to abide as a welcome guest.
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Page 658
1 There is great need that all who claim to be Bible Christians should take the Scriptures as they read. There is need of arriving at right conclusions as to what the Scriptures mean in their reference to the man of sin, who thought to change times and laws. He had no real power to change the time and the law of God, but he thought himself able to do this work; for he “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” He is an imitator of the first great rebel, the originator of sin. In heaven Satan thought to change the laws of God, and for this purpose he changed his character and his position in the heavenly courts, and influenced others until they united with him in the work of rebellion against God; but he did not succeed in changing the law of God. God did not alter or change his form of government to suit Satan’s ideas, but made it manifest that the foundation of his government in heaven and earth is as unchangeable as is the throne itself.
2 When Satan could not induce all the angels to revolt against the law of God, he made the earth the scene of his rebellion, and through the man of sin seeks to carry out his diabolical purpose. Through the Papacy, the Roman power, the man of sin, the purpose of Satan is carried out among men; the law and the time of God are set aside. In this we see that Protestantism is giving encouragement to popery; and false systems of worship, against which our fathers manfully opposed themselves, imperiling even property and life, are fostered and cherished and encouraged to extend and gain wide influence. Protestants do not search their Bibles as they should, and do not heed the warning that has been given concerning the work of the man of sin. The Roman Church claims that the pope is invested with supreme authority over all bishops and pastors, and this claim of supremacy was once denied by Protestants. They took the position that the Bible, and the Bible alone, constituted the rule of faith and doctrine, that the word of God is the only unerring guide for human souls, and that it is unnecessary and harmful to take the words of priests and prelates instead of the word of God.
3 To the Romanist the Bible is a forbidden book, because it plainly reveals the errors of the Roman system; and whoever searches the Bible with an enlightened understanding, cannot long be in harmony with Romanism. He who searches the Bible to understand the truth, will find no authority in the word of God for the assumption of power on the part of popes and cardinals. There is no word of God that sanctions their assumed superiority or supremacy over their people, as there is no word to sanction the claim that Lucifer made in heaven of superiority over Christ. The claim of the Papacy to superiority is made under the influence of the first great usurper, who so persistently urged his right to supremacy over the host of God. Through the Dark Ages,—that long night of ignorance and superstition,—the claim of the Papacy to superiority and supremacy was conceded by emperors and kings, although God had sanctioned no such concession, and raised up men to dispute the claim, and to break the Romish yoke from the church of God. Through his appointed agencies God summoned the church to reassert her independence, and in the strength of God she stood forth in the liberty wherewith Christ had made her free. She broke away from the papal yoke, and with the word of God in her hand, met the giant evil of Romanism, even as David met Goliath in the name of heaven, using his sling and a few pebblestones. The defier of Israel was slain before the man of faith; and while men cling to the word of the Lord, they cannot affiliate with the great system of error.
4 The Lord has pronounced a curse upon those who take from or add to the Scriptures. The great I AM has decided what shall constitute the rule of faith and doctrine, and he has designed that the Bible shall be a household book. The church that holds to the word of God is irreconcilably separated from Rome. Protestants were once thus apart from this great church of apostasy, but they have approached more nearly to her, and are still in the path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome. Rome never changes. Her principles have not altered in the least. She has not lessened the breach between herself and Protestants; they have done all the advancing. But what does this argue for the Protestantism of this day? It is the rejection of Bible truth which makes men approach to infidelity. It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy.
5 It is souls like Luther, Cranmer, Ridley, Hooper, and the thousands of noble men who were martyrs for the truth’s sake, who are the true Protestants. They stood as faithful sentinels of truth, declaring that Protestantism is incapable of union with Romanism, but must be as far separated from the principles of the Papacy as is the east from the west. Such advocates of truth could no more harmonize with “the man of sin” than could Christ and his apostles. In earlier ages the righteous felt that it was impossible to affiliate with Rome, and, though their antagonism to this system of error was maintained at risk of property and life, yet they had courage to maintain their separation, and manfully struggled for the truth. Bible truth was dearer to them than wealth, honor, or even life itself. They could not endure to see the truth buried under a mass of superstition and lying sophistry. They took the word of God in their hands, and raised the standard of truth before the people, boldly declaring that which God had revealed unto them through diligent searching of the Bible. They died the cruelest of deaths for their fidelity to God, but by their blood they purchased for us liberties and privileges that many who claim to be Protestants are easily yielding up to the power of evil. But shall we yield up these dearly bought privileges? Shall we offer insult to the God of heaven, and, after he has freed us from the Romish yoke, again place ourselves in bondage to this antichristian power? Shall we prove our degeneracy by signing away our religious liberty, our right to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience?
6 The voice of Luther, that echoed in mountains and valleys, that shook Europe as with an earthquake, summoned forth an army of noble apostles of Jesus, and the truth they advocated could not be silenced by fagots, by tortures, by dungeons, by death; and still the voices of the noble army of martyrs are telling us that the Roman power is the predicted apostasy of the last days, the mystery of iniquity which Paul saw beginning to work even in his day. Roman Catholicism is rapidly gaining ground. Popery is on the increase, and those who have turned their ears away from hearing the truth are listening to her delusive fables. Papal chapels, papal colleges, nunneries, and monasteries are on the increase, and the Protestant world seems to be asleep. Protestants are losing the mark of distinction that distinguished them from the world, and they are lessening the distance between themselves and the Roman power. They have turned away their ears from hearing the truth; they have been unwilling to accept light which God shed upon their pathway, and are therefore going into darkness. They speak with contempt of the idea that there will be a revival of the past cruel persecution on the part of Romanists and those who affiliate with them. They do not recognize the fact that the word of God fully predicts such a revival, and will not concede that the people of God in the last days shall suffer persecution, although the Bible says, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
7 Popery is the religion of human nature, and the mass of humanity love a doctrine that permits them to commit sin, and yet frees them from its consequences. People must have some form of religion, and this religion, formed by human device, and yet claiming divine authority, suits the carnal mind. Men who think themselves wise and intelligent turn away in pride from the standard of righteousness, the ten commandments, and do not think it is in harmony with their dignity to inquire into the ways of God. Therefore they go into false ways, into forbidden paths, become self-sufficient, self inflated, after the pattern of the pope, not after the pattern of Jesus Christ. They must have the form of religion that has the least requirement of spirituality and self-denial, and as unsanctified human wisdom will not lead them to loathe popery, they are naturally drawn toward its provisions and doctrines. They do not want to walk in the ways of the Lord. They are altogether too much enlightened to seek God prayerfully and humbly, with an intelligent knowledge of his word. Not caring to know the ways of the Lord, their minds are all open to delusions, all ready to accept and believe a lie. They are willing to have the most unreasonable, most inconsistent falsehoods palmed off upon them as truth.
8 Satan’s masterpiece of deception is popery; and while it has been demonstrated that a day of great intellectual darkness was favorable to Romanism, it will also be demonstrated that a day of great intellectual light is also favorable to its power; for the minds of men are concentrated on their own superiority, and do not like to retain God in their knowledge. Rome claims infallibility, and Protestants are following in the same line. They do not desire to search for truth and go on from light to a greater light. They wall themselves in with prejudice, and seem willing to be deceived and to deceive others.
9 But though the attitude of the churches is discouraging, yet there is no need of being disheartened; for God has a people who will preserve their fidelity to his truth, who will make the Bible, and the Bible alone, their rule of faith and doctrine, who will elevate the standard, and hold aloft the banner on which is inscribed, “The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” They will value a pure gospel, and make the Bible the foundation of their faith and doctrine.
10 For such a time as this, when men are casting aside the law of the Lord of hosts, the prayer of David is applicable,—”It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.” We are coming to a time when almost universal scorn will be heaped upon the law of God, and God’s commandment-keeping people will be severely tried; but will they lose their respect for the law of Jehovah because others do not see and realize its binding claims? Let God’s commandment-keeping people, like David, reverence God’s law in proportion as men cast it aside and heap upon it disrespect and contempt.
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Page 659
1 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” The doing of these things is the keeping of the commandments of God; but the people to whom these words are addressed, though claiming to keep God’s commandments, are yet transgressors of his law. The prophet is instructed by the Lord to give them a message of warning and reproof. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God; they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.”
2 Though making high professions, they were not sincerely seeking to understand the plain “Thus saith the Lord.” The Lord condescends to open before them the errors and deceptions which they were cherishing, while professing to be his worshipers. He says: “Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?” “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifice upon me? . . . bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; . . . and when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.” How much lifting and spreading forth of the hands in self-righteousness and self-importance there is, while at heart many of the professed workers for God are transgressing the principles of the law of God in their daily practices.
3 The Lord says to this class of professors: “Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
4 Why is it that so many are deceiving their souls, apparently delighting in the service of God, and yet trampling upon his precepts? The law of God is a transcript of his character; it is the standard of righteousness. “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Man is required to render obedience to the revealed will of God in the smallest requirement of the law. Terrible results followed the transgression of the law when our first parents sinned. The flood gates of woe were opened upon our world. With the history of sin before us, how dare we disregard and ignore any one of the commandments that God has given us? The law of God is the foundation of his government, and is exactly what is needed to preserve life and righteousness. Every principle of the law emanates from the Infinite God, and man will fail in his duty to God and his neighbor unless he believes and weaves the principles of the law into his life. Without faith it is impossible to please God, for it is through faith that we may render obedience to the law.
5 Man belongs to God, both by creation and redemption. “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Man owes to God his life, and should therefore yield all his powers in submission to the will of God. “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
6 The Lord has universal supremacy and sovereign authority over the human family. They are recipients of his mercies and bounties, and dependent upon him for life and protection. To them he says: “Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein; I am the Lord your God. . . . Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them; I am the Lord.” “And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.”
7 God has given to the world a clearly-defined revelation of his will, and he has shown the richness and fullness of his mercy and grace through Jesus Christ, that we might be partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
8 In order that we may make no mistakes where our eternal interests are involved, the Lord has given us plain instruction as to what to receive as truth. He says, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” We shall be in danger of being misled if we trust to ministers, or councils of men, or depend upon the interpretation that men may put upon the Scriptures. Whatever doctrine is brought to us, we should diligently search the Scriptures, as did the noble Bereans, to know for ourselves whether the messenger’s exposition is in harmony with the sure word of prophecy. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” God has given us the precious endowment of reason and intellect, and we shall be held accountable for our mistakes if we do not use the mind in earnest study of the word of God. God has endowed us with capabilities whereby we may understand what is acceptable unto him. Our human ideas, our human wills, are not to take the throne, but the will of God is to be supreme.
(To be continued.)
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Page 660
1 “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Professed Christians would do well to inquire what God they are serving. Are they serving the God that made heaven and earth, who gave the human race his law, in the bosom of which he placed the fourth commandment, requiring men to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy”? The seventh-day Sabbath is a memorial of the creative power of God, and is to be sacredly observed throughout all generations.
2 After Israel had been in bondage in Egypt, and through witnessing idolatry had almost forgotten God and the precepts which he had given, the Lord led them forth into the wilderness. He had them assemble about Mount Sinai, and there, amid awful grandeur, Jesus Christ, who was the founder of the whole Jewish economy, spoke the ten precepts of God to the people. Christ unites in himself both the law and the gospel; they are not divided. Those who are offering prayers to the God of heaven and earth will not refuse to be obedient to the plainest precept of the law. They will listen to the voice of Christ, and will “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” as the day on which the Creator of the heavens and the earth rested from all the work which he had done. They will not turn away from the holy commandment, and accept a spurious sabbath instead of the holy, sanctified day that God instituted in Eden as a memorial of his creative power. The Sabbath was given to man as a sign that was to show to whom the allegiance of the people was given.
3 In the counsels of the synagogue of Satan it was determined to obliterate the sign of allegiance to God in the world. Antichrist, the man of sin, exalted himself as supreme in the earth, and through him Satan has worked in a masterly way to create rebellion against the law of God and against the memorial of his created works. Is this not sin and iniquity? What greater contempt could be cast upon the Lord God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, than is cast upon him by ignoring the Sabbath, which he instituted, sanctified, and blessed, that it might ever be a memorial of his power as Creator? How dare men change and profane the day which God has sanctified? How dare the Christian world accept the spurious sabbath, the child of the Papacy? The Christian world has nourished and cherished the spurious sabbath, as though it had a divine origin, when the fact is that it originated with the father of lies, and was introduced to the world by his human agent, the man of sin. The false sabbath has been upheld through superhuman agency in order that God might be dishonored. It is a sign of Satan’s supremacy in the earth, for men are worshiping the God of this world.
4 The Prince of Light and the prince of darkness are contending for the victory. When Jesus, the Prince of Life, came forth from Joseph’s sepulcher, his triumph was assured. As he came forth from the grave, and proclaimed himself the resurrection and the life, the end of Satan’s reign on the earth was made certain; but well may the hosts of heaven be astonished to see men exalting him who is the leader of the great rebellion against God. Those who are choosing to honor Satan by exalting the spurious sabbath are making a choice similar to that which the people made when they rejected Christ, that Barabbas, a robber and murderer, should be given unto them.
5 But because the great majority of the world have accepted the spurious sabbath, it does not give it importance and sanctity in the eyes of heaven. The dishonor to God is none the less because great numbers accept the false sabbath and ignore the Sabbath of the Lord their God. The confederacy of evil in the earth has always been to outward appearance the largest confederacy. At a time of rebellion in Israel men of renown, men famous in the congregation, joined with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in their work of rebellion. In spirit and principle the whole congregation of Israel were one with the workers of iniquity. After the earth had opened and swallowed up the most prominent of the rebels, and a fire from the Lord had burst forth and consumed two hundred and fifty of the princes of Israel, the people were still full of unbelief and rebellion. They came to Moses and Aaron the next day, saying, “Ye have killed the people of the Lord.” They persisted in stubborn resistance of light, and would not be convinced, even when God worked in a miraculous way to convince them of the truth. But large numbers on the side of error do not strengthen the cause of iniquity. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
6 The Lord hath a controversy with his people, and, although in his great mercy he bear long with them, yet if they persist in living in transgression of his law, they will not stand in the day of his rebuke. He has seen the backsliding and iniquity of his professed people. He has noted the unbelief, the hypocrisy, the pride, the selfishness, the disobedience to his law, and he will punish for these things. God cannot be in harmony with the people who will not obey his commandments who are wickedly departing from his precepts and by their example of disobedience at leading their children and their neighbor in the way of transgression. The professed church of Christ is strengthening the hand of sinners in their evil work by making void through their traditions, the commandment of Jehovah.
7 If parents had educated their children to reverence the law of God, as Christ enjoined that they should educate them, we should not see wickedness reaching so great proportions. Through disobedience the world is fast becoming as it was in the days before the flood and as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. The church has taken the world into her fellowship, and has given her affections to the enemies of holiness. The church and the world are standing on the same ground in transgression of the law of God. The church prefers to assimilate to the world rather than separate from its customs and vanities.
8 But God will bless all those who do his commandments. He will give grace upon grace to all them that fear him, and walk in the light of truth as they find it by diligently and prayerfully searching the Scriptures. There will be a remnant who will do the will of God. “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shall raise up the foundations of many generations and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
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Page 661
1 “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged; till he have set judgment in the earth.”
2 There is need for every soul to study the Pattern, Christ Jesus. Those who follow his methods of labor will have freedom in utterance and earnestness in manner. They will be inspired by the sacred themes of truth. Christ understood the needs of all classes, and was successful in preaching the gospel to the poor. He understood all their temptations. We need to study methods whereby we may preach the gospel to the poor and downtrodden and degraded of humanity. But let no one think that God will approve of a method which will require a man to act the part of a clown, or like a man who has lost his senses. Such methods as these are wholly unnecessary and inappropriate.
3 Among the Salvation Army workers such methods as these have been employed; but it is more necessary that they should study and preach the word than act in a sensational way in order to draw the attention of the people. It is the word of truth that, like a strong, golden chain, will bind men to God, where they will learn of the great Teacher. It is the word of God that is to test character. The Lord has precious, conscientious souls who have joined the Army; but they need to advance and receive other and higher truths of the word of God.
4 Those who are teaching the way to life have much to learn, and the Lord invites all who will to come to him and learn of him who is meek and lowly of heart. He declares, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Take your text from the word of God, and make use of the scenes of nature, and of events and objects about you, to make the meaning plain, and find your way to the hearts of the people, and angels of God will make a personal application of the truth to the hearts of those who are ignorant. You need not be formal or mechanical. You need not depend upon notes, neither need you be rough and uncouth, and use coarse language and slang expressions, thinking that in this way you will reach the uneducated classes. Look at the manner in which Jesus addressed the poor. His language was pure, but it was simplicity itself, and through the imagination and the heart he reached the hearts of the people. Boisterous gesticulation, jumping up and down, and pounding on the desk, is not after the order of Christ, and the good that has been accomplished has not been on account of these things, but in spite of them.
5 Personal labor is far more effective than is preaching, and yet this essential feature of the work has been strangely neglected. The ministers of different denominations do little personal labor; but we should not wait for needy souls to come to us. We should go forth to seek and to save that which is lost. We should seek individual intercourse with the wealthy as well as with the poor; for generally the rich are poorer in spiritual knowledge and experience than are the poor. The sermons that they hear do not touch them, and laborers are needed who will dare not only to seek out the jewels from among the low and degraded, but who will also go to the rich, and bring to them a knowledge of the word of the Lord. There are some who have had a knowledge of the word of God who have once been in high position, but have become poor through misfortune and failure, and are obliged to occupy a position among the very poor. In circumstances of this kind some are seeking to keep alive the feeble flame that they have kindled at the divine altar. There are also souls who, through intemperance, have been brought very low, who are in misery hardly to be conceived of by those who have never acted the part of a true missionary. There are souls in the strongholds of sin who have nothing to give them a ray of hope, or inspire in them a spark of courage that they may live a better life.
6 Oh, that all who claim to be Christians might have a view of the misery, the destitution, of those who are low down in the scale of humanity, and might realize at the same time that these are souls for whom Christ died! God understands every woe. His heart is touched with human woe and sorrow, and it is time that all Christians should wear his yoke, and work in his line, identifying themselves with human sympathy in the way in which he identified himself with our fallen race.
7 Whatever may be your office, your position, your wealth, if you are a laborer together with Christ, you will seek out the needy and the distressed, the bereaved and afflicted, and will make their interests your own. You will possess the spirit of self-sacrifice and self-denial, which led Jesus to yield up his life as a sacrifice for man on Calvary’s cross. You will carry forward his work, and walk in his footsteps, and will look upon all as the purchase of the blood of the Son of God. Jesus died for every son and daughter of Adam, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The love of Christ in the heart will be manifested in unselfish missionary labor, and will be more mighty to deal with the evil doer than will the sword and the courts of justice. These are necessary to strike terror to the heart of the law breaker, but the loving missionary can do more than this. The medical missionary can take up his appointed work, and relieve not only the physical maladies, but, through the grace and love of Christ, can lead the sinner to the great Physician, who can heal the soul of its leprosy of sin.
8 However much we may deserve rebuke, the heart will harden under reproof; but it will melt under the love of Christ. It is to manifest his love to the fallen that Jesus has enlisted every follower of his, that the transgressor may be brought back to allegiance to God. Jesus accepts all who will give themselves to his service, who will cooperate with heavenly agencies, as they seek to restore the moral image of God in man. The work we are given is to bid the sinner hope in God, and not feel that he is an outcast in the world, a discouraged, desperate sufferer, but that he is a prisoner of hope. Let your words to him be, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Present before him a love that cannot be measured, and bring the lost back to faith in God.
9 He who is actuated by the love of Jesus will see in every soul, whether rich or poor, a value that cannot be computed, in comparison with which the world sinks into insignificance. Oh, the love that God has revealed for the soul is infinite, beyond estimation! He who is a partaker of the divine nature will love as Christ loved; he will work as Christ worked, and will manifest sympathy and compassion. He will not fail not be discouraged. This love can exist and be kept pure and refined and elevated only by continual communion with Jesus Christ. All coldness and hardness of heart will pass away from those who come into the sunshine of Christ’s presence; and those who abide in him, and let him abide in them, will naturally, willingly obey his injunction, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
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1 Charged with an embassage of mercy, Christ came to the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He saw that rebellion had overspread his provinces, and that despite was done to God in every section and by every tenant of the earth. Man was in rebellion against God; but “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2 When sin first entered the world, God had promised a deliverer. He had said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” When Jesus came to the world, his own nation despised him, his friends denied him, his brethren did not believe on him. The unbelief with which he was met was indeed a bruising of his heel. Christ, the world’s Redeemer, was buffeted with temptation, but it had been written of him, “He shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth.” Through the very bruising of his heel by Satan, because of affliction, temptation, and sorrow, Christ was gaining the victory in behalf of the human family; for he triumphed over his enemy in not yielding to his temptation, and thus bruised the head of the serpent. He endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, and every pang of anguish he suffered, every temptation he resisted, as man’s substitute and surety, was elevating the human family in the scale of moral worth, and was procuring for man deliverance from Satan’s power and bondage. The character of Satan, through his efforts to overcome and destroy the Son of God, was developing before the universe, and was being made manifest in its true malignity before the unfallen worlds that had been created by Christ. Every time he stung the heel of Christ with his murderous fang, the serpent was making more sure his own discomfiture and ruin.
3 Could Satan have caused the Son of the infinite God to become in the least degree a partaker of his own hellish attributes, then Satan would have wounded the head of Christ, and in hellish exultation he would have triumphed over him, and the world would have remained his dominion, the human family his slaves. The synagogue of Satan would have been victorious, and man would have perished, without God and without hope. Satan could cause pain to the Son of God, but he could not force him to transgress the law of God. He could cause him to suffer, but he could not defile him. He did make the Saviour’s life one of sorrow and affliction; but Jesus patiently endured grief, for he knew that through his conflict with the powers of darkness, the chains of Satan could be broken from the human family, and he would place them on vantage ground before God. With his human arm Jesus encircled the human race, and with his divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite. To him was given power to unite whoever would consent to be drawn to him, to the Father’s throne.
4 Jesus became the world’s Redeemer, rendering perfect obedience to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. He redeemed Adam’s disgraceful fall, and threw the kingdoms of this world back into favor with God, uniting the earth, that had been divorced by sin from God, to the continent of heaven. It was in the very sight of Heaven that Satan led on the Jewish priests and rulers, and made them his agents to stir up the passions of the murderous mob against the Prince of life. It was in the hearing of Heaven that the hoarse cry was raised against the Majesty of heaven, “Crucify him; crucify him.” It was in the sight of Heaven that they scourged him, that they plaited the crown of thorns, that they mocked and derided him. But in these very scenes it was made manifest to angels and principalities what is the power of Satan over the human mind. It was made plain that under the dominion of the deceiver men became liars and murderers. The railings of the multitude reached the ears of God and holy angels. The hoarse cries, that sounded like the bellowing of wild beasts, made their record for time and eternity. Those who instigated the suffering that Jesus endured as a malefactor, will yet behold him in all his glory. They will see that He whom they derided and rejected and crucified, that He whom they set aside for a robber and murderer, is none other than the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.
5 In the scenes that transpired at the judgment hall, and at Calvary, we see what the human heart is capable of when under the influence of Satan. Christ submitted to crucifixion, although the heavenly host could have delivered him. The angels suffered with Christ. God himself was crucified with Christ; for Christ was one with the Father. Those who reject Christ, those who will not have this man to rule over them, choose to place themselves under the rule of Satan, to do his work as his bond slaves. Yet for them Christ yielded up his life on Calvary.
6 In the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross, the temple seemed to be destroyed, the head seemed to have been bruised; but this was not so. Satan, in the very act of grasping his prey, demolished his own throne. Satan, evil angels, and evil men united in a desperate companionship, and thought to claim the victory, but it was in the death of Christ, in the cruel suffering and crucifixion, that the Son of God accomplished the very work for which he was ordained from before the foundation of the world. He died a victim to jealousy and hate, a victim to false religious zeal. But in his dying agony he was victor over the powers of earth and hell. He reinstated man in the position from which Satan had hurled him through temptation and sin, and, by his own perfect obedience to the law of God, placed him on vantage ground. In his death he broke the spell that had held millions in slavery, under perfect subjection to Satan’s rule and jurisdiction.
7 A stronger than the strong man armed had come and overpowered the one who had seduced man, and led him away from allegiance to God. Against Christ evil angels and evil men had combined in an unholy confederacy of rebellion. They had made war on God and his government. But help had been laid upon One who was mighty to save, who could measure weapons with the apostate. Satan was next in power to Christ; he was highly exalted the covering cherub, and none but Christ could engage in battle with him, enduring successfully the temptations with which he had beset the human family.
8 Satan had come to Christ in the wilderness, representing himself as an angel of light; but though he attacked Christ in the moment of his greatest weakness, he was vanquished by the Prince of life. Thus, as man’s substitute and surety, did he make it possible for every son and daughter of Adam to be an overcomer, to return to allegiance to God, and render perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah. All this man is required to do, notwithstanding his weakness, his degradation and sinfulness; for moral power has been provided for him in Christ. Through faith in Christ man is made complete: for Christ gave his life in order that we might be rescued from the power of Satan.
9 Jesus measured weapons with the prince of darkness in the garden of Gethsemane, where the agony was so great that he sweat as it were great drops of blood. It forced from his pale and quivering lips a cry of agonizing prayer, when he besought his Father, saying, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Three times he raised this prayer to God, but at last added the submissive words, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
10 He had said, “Destroy this temple [speaking of the temple of his body], and in three days I will raise it up.” On the cross he received the wounds that will mark his form through the ceaseless ages of eternity; but those very wounds will be his glory, the insignia of his triumph over him who bruised his heel; for he shall bruise the serpent’s head. On the cross he cried, “It is finished,” and bowed his head and died. He descended into the grave; but after three days a mighty angel, clothed with the panoply of heaven, parted the darkness from his track, and caused the Roman guard to fall as dead men at his feet. The angel rolled back the stone from the sepulcher, and the Roman seal was broken, and Christ came forth from the prison of death, and, over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, proclaimed himself “the resurrection and the life.” Through him it was announced that every son and daughter of Adam might be emancipated from their bondage to Satan, to sin and transgression; for, as man’s substitute and surety, Jesus had won the victory. The world and its inhabitants were his inheritance, purchased at infinite cost, and every soul who believed in his name, might be an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. When Christ rose from the dead, the victory was proclaimed in triumph by the loftiest order of heavenly intelligence, and joy, inexpressible joy, filled the courts of God.
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1 “And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom; and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.” The Lord does not remove all the difficulties and trials and hardships from the pathway of his people. He would have them learn to put their trust in him, believing that the invisible God is their mighty helper. The children of Israel became accustomed to the presence of the pillar of cloud, that covered them as a canopy by day, and was as a pillar of fire by night. They came to look upon the cloud as a common thing. They did not appreciate the fact that they were favored with the presence of the only-begotten Son of God, who was equal with God; and, in spite of all their perversity, their murmuring and rebellion, he had done wonderful things for them in all their journeyings.
2 The Lord had said: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; than I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee.” The one great object of the care and guardianship of Christ was the church in the wilderness. He said of Israel: “I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.” Egypt was desolated with plagues and became a wasted land, in order that Israel might be freed from bondage; but the people did not appreciate the goodness and mercy and love of God. The Lord, their Redeemer, undertook to lead and guide them, but when he brought them into strait places, they were discouraged because of the way, and spake against God and Moses, saying: “Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.”
3 The Lord had fed them with the bread of heaven, even with angels’ food; and yet they murmured against him. By his power he had held in check the wild beasts of the forests, and the reptiles of the wilderness, so that they had not hurt his people; but now he removed his restraining hand, and let the poisonous serpents do as they would have done all along the way had the Lord not restrained them. The real trouble that now came upon them served to bring them to their senses, and to awaken their paralyzed thoughts as to what course to pursue. “Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. . . . And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
4 Throughout the camp of Israel there were the suffering and the dying who had been wounded by the deadly sting of the serpent. But Jesus Christ spoke from the pillar of cloud, and gave directions whereby the people might be healed. The promise was made that whosoever looked upon the brazen serpent should live; and to those who looked the promise was verified. But if anyone said: “What good will it do to look? I shall certainly die under the serpent’s deadly sting;” if he continued to talk of his deadly wound, and declared that his case was hopeless, and would not perform the simple act of obedience, he would die. But everyone who looked, lived.
5 Jesus said: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Christ is speaking to us now as certainly as he spoke to the children of Israel in the wilderness. He is the Healer of both body and soul. Our attention is now called to the Great Physician. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Just as long as we look at our sins, and talk of and deplore our wretched condition, our wounds and putrefying sores will remain. It is when we take our eyes from ourselves, and fasten them upon the uplifted Saviour, that our souls find hope and peace. The Lord speaks to us through his word, bidding us “look and live.” “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”
6 There is every reason why we should be encouraged to hope for the salvation of our souls. In Jesus Christ every provision for our salvation has been made. No matter what may have been our sins and shortcomings, there is a fountain open in the house of David for all sin and uncleanness. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” This is the word of the Lord. Shall we accept it? Shall we believe on him?
7 David had been bitten by the fiery serpent,—he had been poisoned with the venom of sin,—yet hear the words that describe his experience after looking upon the uplifted Saviour: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. . . . I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found; surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.” “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. . . The Lord redeemeth the souls of his servants, and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.”
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Page 664
1 It is in looking upon our sinful condition, and talking and mourning over our wretchedness, that distress becomes more keen, and pain accumulates. Let the sinner arise in the strength of Jesus, for he has no strength of his own, and let him assert his liberty. Let him believe that the Lord has spoken truth, and trust in him, whatever may be the feelings of the heart. Let the sinner say, I will look away from my own misery, from the wound of the serpent, to the uplifted Saviour, who has said, “Him that cometh to me, I will in nowise cast out.” Look upon Jesus. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
2 Let no one make his feelings his idol, and bow his soul down to worship and serve his sensations. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” It is your privilege to believe that Christ has borne your sins; for God hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. You are under the shelter of the sure refuge, under the cover of the atoning blood of the acceptable sacrifice.
3 All legalism, all the sorrow and woe by which you may encompass yourself, will not give you one moment of relief. You cannot rightly estimate sin. You must accept God’s estimate, and it is heavy indeed. If you bore the guilt of your sin, it would crush you; but the sinless One has taken your place, and, though, undeserving, he has borne your guilt. By accepting the provision God has made, you may stand free before God in the merit and virtue of your Substitute. You will then have a proper estimate of sin, and the godly sorrow of true repentance will take the place of hopeless discouragement and grief, for you will turn from sin with grief and abhorrence.
4 Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Do not think for an instant that any human being has a more loving heart, and a more tender compassion for you, than he who died on Calvary to save you. Do not turn from the divine to the human. The human messenger may bid you hope, on the ground that God’s word bids you hope. Your Heavenly Father invites you to come to him as a little child to a loving parent, and say, Thou hast said: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
5 Christ is the friend of sinners. When the scribes and the Pharisees accused him of eating with publicans and sinners, Jesus said, “I come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” If you feel yourself to be the greatest of sinners, then Christ is just what you need; for he is the greatest of Saviours. Lift up your head, and look away from yourself, away from the poisoned wound of the serpent, to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. What will all your groaning and the torturing of your soul avail? You may entertain thoughts that condemn you, but in them there is no salvation. Put away your thoughts, and receive the thoughts of God, through which your mind may be elevated, your soul purified and uplifted. The Lord says: “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” Why will you carry your burden of sin, when Christ has come to be your burden bearer? Roll your sins at the foot of the cross. Unload! unload! He takes away the sins of the world. “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
6 You have been pronounced a sinner, and Christ has announced himself a Saviour. Accept the remedy God has provided for you in a sin-pardoning Saviour. How would you have felt had you been in the camp of Israel and seen the people groaning and shrieking in distress because of their swollen and painful wounds, when the brazen serpent was uplifted, and when by one look they might be healed? Would you not have exclaimed: “Why do they not look at the uplifted serpent? How strange it is that they do not perform the one simple act by which they might receive healing!” But is it not as inconsistent for you to refuse to look at the crucified Saviour?—Heed the invitation: “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
7 Why should the repenting sinner forsake his thoughts? It is because they are not in accordance with truth. He is tempted to believe that because of his sins God has given him up to the will of his enemy, and that there is no pardon for so great a sinner as he. But all these thoughts are dishonoring to God, because man is God’s possession, both by creation and redemption. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him [as his personal Saviour, and accepts him as the only provision whereby he can be saved] should not perish, but have everlasting life.” You are one of the whosoever may believe. But while you cherish unbelief, and permit feeling to govern you, your case will look hopeless to yourself. Forsake these unbelieving thoughts. God says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
8 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Poor, doubting, discouraged soul, I would address you as one of that world for whom God gave his Son. He loves you, and will save you if you will but receive the gift of his only-begotten Son. Moses prayed that God would show him his glory, “and the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” This is the character of the God in whom you are to put your trust. “God is love.” Repeat this sentence whenever temptation presses upon you. Remember that he is just and merciful, true and gracious, and will by no means clear the guilty. God can be just, and yet be the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. He will accept you just as you are; for there is no hope of your becoming better until you come to Jesus for pardon and sanctification. Mourning and weeping will not purify you. You may mourn your life away in unbelief, and in bitterness of soul, but the power to cleanse the vilest sinner is vested wholly in him who can save unto the uttermost.
9 God does not ask you to feel that Jesus is your Saviour, but to believe that he died for you, and that his blood now cleanseth you from all sin. You have been bitten by the serpent, and as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness that the dying might look and live, so Christ was lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Saving faith is simplicity itself. You must cry no more; you must cease to hang down your head as a bulrush. Look to the uplifted Saviour, and, however, grievous may have been your sins, believe he saves you. All the remedies and medicines of the world would have failed to cure one soul who had been bitten by the venomous serpent; but God had provided a remedy that cannot fail. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Be not among the number to whom the Saviour said, “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.” Oh, how he longed to save them; for while we were yet sinners (not waiting for us to make ourselves good), Christ died for us.
10 Believe now that God loves you; for he hath declared it, and when Satan tries to fasten the burden of sin and horror upon you, take your Bible, and read, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” You cannot repulse the enemy by relating your fearful doubts, by telling him that you are horrified by the thought that you are lost. All this is music in his ears. He wants to make you as miserable as he is himself, but you can answer him by proclaiming the promise that you believe in the Son, and therefore shall not perish. As you turn your eyes away to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, the controversy with the enemy will be ended for that season. You can repulse him by declaring that “Christ was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of my peace was upon him, and with his stripes I am healed.”
11 Take the word of Jesus Christ as more sure and valuable than any word that can come from the human agent. Thank God with your whole heart and soul and voice that you are barricaded with the rich promises of his infallible word, so that the wicked one shall not touch you. God will give you the Holy Spirit, even though it may seem to you that it is too good to be true. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
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Page 665
1 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
2 A great and infinite sacrifice has been made in our behalf. We are the objects of God’s love, and he has shown to us that he identifies his interests with those of suffering humanity. As Christ has given himself for us, we should place a proper estimate upon the soul. He has given us heavenly endowments, done everything that a God could do, in order that we might not perish, but have everlasting life, the life that measures with the life of God. Can our finite minds grasp this great and wonderful fact?—Not unless we empty ourselves of vanity and break away from the bondage of Satan.
3 The mission of Christ to the world was to break the chain of Satan from the soul, and to set at liberty those that are bound. It cost an infinite price to deliver the captives of Satan from the captivity of sin. In the councils of heaven it was determined that Christ should die for the sins of the whole world. He laid aside his royal crown, his royal robe, clothed his divinity with humanity, that he might touch humanity, and yet he was not received by the world. Goodness, mercy, and love attended his steps. He healed the sick, he comforted the desponding, brought hope to the despairing, and preached the gospel to the poor. Those who listened to his teaching did not need to consult a dictionary to find out his meaning. His words were so simple that a child could grasp his meaning. He did not take a text and then give a discourse on science, though he could have opened the mysteries of science to the world. He could have told the world that of which they had not dreamed. He did not preach from a newspaper, but he bent his energies toward one object,—the salvation of the lost. He did not build so grand a house of worship that the poor were excluded from its doors, but he sought the great thoroughfares of travel, and sought out the people, that they might hear the gracious tidings he had to bear to them. He would lead the multitudes to the seashore, and, in a fisherman’s boat, would put out a little from the shore, and there preach to the people who thronged his steps.
4 Ministers of the gospel who believe that the end of all things is at hand, preach the gospel in simplicity to the people, preach the truth as it is in Jesus. Christ prayed before leaving his disciples, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” When the truth is received and believed, it will have a sanctifying effect upon the heart and character. Jesus came to earth that he might transform the character and develop in man the moral image of God. Oh, we must not meet Jesus unready! We do not desire that you shall miss your way. If we knew the value of the human soul, we would not be indifferent to our own salvation or to that of others.
5 Jesus, the Prince of life, took the battle field to meet and to contend with the prince of darkness, and to dispute his claims. From the time of his birth until he hung on Calvary’s cross he warred with the evil one in our behalf. His purity of character was a rebuke to the world, and men hated him because of his divine and holy character. He did not come to our world as an angel of glory, but as a man. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and condemned sin in the flesh. With his human arm he encircled the race, and with his divine arm he grasped the throne of the infinite, linked man with God, and earth with heaven. Oh, who are there who are colaborers with Christ, who are feeding the starving flock of God?
6 We read concerning the mission of Christ as it was announced by himself in Nazareth, and can understand what is the character of the work that the follower of Christ must do: “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” The work of Christ was to rescue those who were bowed down by the power of Satan, and to set them free from his yoke of bondage. Then why is it that so many choose to remain bound to Satan’s chariot? Why is it that men do not accept of God’s promises?—The reason is that Satan is presenting to every human intelligence the temptations he presented to Christ in the wilderness, and they are carried away with his delusions. They look on the things that are temporal, and lose sight of that which is spiritual and eternal; they do not realize the value of the exceeding and eternal weight of glory. They permit the business of this life to engross their attention and to take up their time.
7 Christ has sent forth an invitation bidding men to the marriage supper of the Lamb, but, as it is represented in the Bible, “they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it; I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” These matters of temporal interest were of more value in the minds of those who were bidden to the wedding than the eternal weight of glory.
8 On every side we see that it is the affairs of this life that are engaging the minds and affections of men. Christ came to break the spell of infatuation that Satan has wrought upon the human mind. He came to bring eternity to our view, in order that we should not lose heaven out of our reckoning, but extend our vision beyond the things of this life.
9 Many do not know God, they do not know Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. If they did, do you think man would engage in a business that would ruin his fellow-men? Would there be found in the world the public houses that now abound on every side? Would you see men in the possession of reason of going into public houses to sell it for a draught of liquor, and coming out madmen? Look at that man who has entered the public house and has come out again. Look at his bleared eyes, at his countenance, from which all intelligence has departed. His tongue is thick; his words are of a low, sensual character. His lips utter that which is degrading and profane. Nature protests that she has never made him what he is. He is the slave of habit, but Christ came that he might set at liberty those who are bound. The Lord declares, “Ye are laborers together with God;” but are these men who sell the vile poison which degrades men to a level below the brute creation, laborers together with God?
(Concluded next week.)
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1 Fathers and mothers, are you laborers together with God? How are you bearing the weighty responsibilities that rest upon you? How are you educating and training your children? Are you from their babyhood teaching them habits of self-control? Do you educate them to know that they cannot have everything they want? Are you teaching them to become missionaries for God, that they may go to the islands of the sea and proclaim the message of mercy to those who are in the darkness of error? Teach them that Christ, the precious Saviour, came to our world to save men from the transgression of the law of God. When God gave Jesus to the world, he gave all heaven in one rich gift. God made it manifest to the world, to angels, seraphim and cherubim, that his gift could not be excelled; for in the gift of Christ all was given.
2 Christ came to the world as a sin bearer. John exclaims, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” Jesus takes our sins away, and then imparts his own righteousness. The whole world is lying in wickedness. We see on every side crime, murder, embezzlement, pleasure seeking, gambling, horse racing, and every manner of evil. Who is the leader in all this engrossing of the minds of men in evil? It is Satan, who soon expects to gather in the harvest of the whole earth. But when the judgment shall sit, and the books be opened, every man shall be judged out of those things which are written in the books according to his works. What preparation are we individually making to meet that great day? Are we seeking to remove temptation from the rising generation? Are we making the name of Christ a familiar one in our homes? God grant that you may educate your children for heaven.
3 Fathers and mothers, a sacred trust has been committed to you. You are to be godly, firm, temperate. Let no one find you smoking or drinking. Remember that you transmit these depraved appetites to your children. God wants you to keep before them the fact that there is a heaven to win, a hell to shun. He wants you to keep them pure from the vicious, vile habits of the world. Keep your children at their home, and if people say to you, “Your children will not know how to conduct themselves in the world,” tell your friends that you are not so concerned about that matter, but that you do want to take them to the Master for his blessing, even as the mothers of old took their children to Jesus. Say to your advisers: “Children are the heritage of the Lord, and I want to prove faithful to my trust. The presence of God must be in my household, in order that as a family we shall present to the world evidences of his divine power. My children must be brought up in such a way that they shall not be swayed by the influences of the world, but where, when tempted to sin, they may be able to say a square, hearty no. They must be trained in such a way as to be able to say, ‘I will cling to the promises of God.’” “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Tell your friends and neighbors that you want to see your family inside the gates of the beautiful city. Teach your children to know God; teach them that eternal life is of more value to them than the fleeting pleasures and honors of the world. Train them, mothers, from their earliest years in the principles of Christianity, in love, in truth, in genuine Christian politeness.
4 The wealthy classes are not excused from serving Christ, and from educating their children for the courts of heaven. What difference will it make with the judgment of your children if you have lived in palaces equal to that of Solomon? Is not Christ everything to us? and is it not necessary for us to be laborers together with God? We should tell our children that we desire them to join the army of the Lord. We should teach them to have beauty and loveliness of character. Jesus says, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Teach your children that the beautiful flowers that God has caused to grow are the expression of his love for us. Clothe your children in simple garments, and take time to open the Scriptures to them.
5 It is a most grievous thing to let children grow up without the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God did not unfit Daniel to be one of the greatest statesmen in the proud court of Babylon. The God of heaven recognized him as his child. He would not defile himself with strong drink and with the rich food from the king’s table. And God gave him wisdom. But would God have given him wisdom if he had not walked in his counsel? Satan does not give true wisdom to men. When Daniel and his fellows were examined by the king, they were found to be ten times better than all the astrologers that were in the king’s court. The record declares: “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. . . . And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.”
6 We need the wisdom of God to carry with us through this life into the future, immortal life. We know not when our probation shall end. I have just read of a man who went out with his cart to his business, and in one hour he was killed. We hear of many who are cut off in a moment. We value every human soul, because God has given great opportunities to men, and in eternity alone can the length of the chain be measured by which you are to be saved. You can measure the love of God only as you look to Calvary.
7 What have you done with your intellect, in order that you may be complete in Christ Jesus? If mothers and fathers had learned of Christ, the greatest Teacher the world ever knew, we should see families that would be symbols of the family of heaven. If God endowed them with wealth, they would not use it all for the adornment of their poor bodies, but would realize that God had given it to them in trust, to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked.
8 The Bible is the garden of God. Are you discouraged? Are you bereaved? The word of God tells you not to sorrow as those who have no hope, for there will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, and when the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life.” A little longer, and we shall see the King in his beauty. A little longer, and he shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and we shall have a robe of purity, whiter than any fuller on earth could whiten it. It is the garment woven in the loom of heaven, not to cover over our sins, for Jesus takes away the sin of the world, but to clothe us in the righteousness of Christ. I want to behold him until I shall be changed into his likeness; for by beholding we become changed. We should talk of the crown of life, of the heaven of bliss that awaits the faithful. May God help us to press the battle to the gate. He will place the crown of life upon our heads as we proclaim, “Worthy, worthy is the Conqueror.” We shall exclaim, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.”
9 Do you want heaven? Then will you show the line of demarkation between you and the world, and hear at last the words of approbation, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
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1 The home circle should be an educating circle. Fathers and mothers should realize that they themselves should be in subjection to our Heavenly Father, in order that they may understand how to educate and train the children to be under discipline, and in subjection to parental authority. Parents have brought children into the world, and the children have no voice or part in the matter. Parents are under most weighty responsibility to so educate and train these children that they shall not miss the way leading to eternal life. Parents make a most terrible mistake when they neglect the work of giving their children religious training, thinking that they will come out all right in the future, and, as they get older, will of themselves be anxious for a religious experience. Cannot you see, parents, that if you do not plant the precious seeds of truth, of love, of heavenly attributes, in the heart, Satan will sow the field of the heart with tares? He will pre-occupy the field, and sow the seeds of stubbornness, of selfishness, of love, of pleasure, and turn the mind into channels of pride and sinfulness.
2 As parents, we shall do well to consider the case of Abraham, “the father of the faithful.” He was a representative man, and his example in the home life is worthy of imitation. The Lord said of him, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” Abraham was selected by God to introduce into society a higher standard than that found in the world. He was to cultivate home religion, and cause the fear of the Lord to permeate his household. He who blesses the habitation of the righteous, said of Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.” There would be on his part no betraying of sacred trusts, no indulgence of sin in excusing his children in evil ways. This sinful indulgence of children is the veriest cruelty that could be practiced toward them; for it confirms them in evil.
3 Children are the heritage of the Lord, and should be trained and disciplined in such a way that they will form characters which the Lord can approve. Both parents and children are under the government of God, and are to be ruled by him. Fathers and mothers should combine their influence and authority and affection, and rule their homes after the direction that God has given us in his word. They are not to rule by impulse. There is to be no oppression on the part of parents, and no disobedience on the part of children. We are not to reach the standard of worldlings, but the standard that God himself has erected. Parents should inquire diligently what God has said in his holy word; for the word must be the rule from which there can be no turning aside. The motto of parents should be, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
4 It is very delicate work to deal with human minds. The discipline necessary for one would crush another; therefore let parents study the characters of their children. Never be abrupt and act from impulse. I have seen a mother snatch something from the hand of her child which was giving it special pleasure, and the child would not understand what to make of the deprivation. The little one burst forth into a cry, for it felt abused and injured. Then the parent, to stop its crying, gave it a sharp chastisement, and, as far as outward appearances were concerned, the battle was over. But that battle left its impression on the tender mind of the child, and it could not be easily effaced. I said to the mother: “You have deeply wronged your child. You have hurt its soul, and lost its confidence in you. How this will be restored I know not.” This mother was very unwise; she followed her feelings, and did not move cautiously, reasoning from cause to effect. Her harsh, injudicious management stirred up the worst passions in the heart of her child. To act from impulse in governing a family is the very worst of policy. When parents contend with their children in such a way, it is a most unequal struggle that ensues. How unjust it is to put years and maturity of strength against a helpless, ignorant little child! Every exhibition of anger on the part of the parents confirms rebellion in the heart of the child. It is not through one act that the character is formed, but by a repetition of acts that habits are established and character confirmed. To have a Christ-like character it is necessary to act in a Christlike way. Christians will exhibit a holy temper, and their actions and impulses will be prompted by the Holy Spirit.
5 It takes far less time and pains to spoil the disposition of a child than to imprint upon the tablets of the soul, principles that will result in habits of righteousness. Let parents be careful never to correct their children in anger. Never lay your hand upon a child when you are provoked and filled with passion. In so doing you will make him partaker of your own impulsive, passionate, unreasonable spirit. You may ask, “Shall I never punish my child by the use of the rod?” It may be necessary to whip a child at times. But every other resort should first be tried before you cause your child physical pain. If you are a Christian father or mother, you will reveal the love you have for your poor, erring little ones. If you do have to punish your child, you will manifest real sorrow for its affliction. You will bow before God with the child, and, with a heart full of sorrow, will ask the Lord to forgive the erring little one, and not permit that Satan shall have control of his soul. Present before the little ones the sympathizing Redeemer. Speak his own words to them, telling them that Jesus said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Your prayer, uttered in contrition of soul, will bring angels to your side, and the child’s heart may be all broken in penitence, and thus the victory be gained, and there be no necessity of using the rod at all.
6 But if you take a child and correct it in the heat of passion, you pursue a course that may make a demon of your child, and then you may wonder why it is that your children have such unlovely traits of character, when you have so faithfully tried to break their stubborn wills. Here is where so many make a great mistake, in thinking that it is necessary to break and destroy a child’s will. What you are to do is to guide and discipline and train the will by precept and example. In order to do this you must first learn how to control your own hasty temper, and subdue your own will, in order that you may mould and fashion the character of your child. If you act out your hasty temper, and show an undisciplined will before your child, you will certainly educate him to imitate your words and actions, and you have no reason to wonder why your children are so bad. It is your manner of training that is ruining your household.
7 Have you love for your child? Do you cultivate affection for the little ones you have brought into the world, and express that love in your words and manners? If your child is playing with something that is not a proper article for him to use as a toy, do not snatch it from him; but get him to exchange it for something that will be proper for him, and that will give him as much pleasure. Let your children have evidence that you love them, and that you want to make them happy. The more unlovely they are, the greater pains you must take to win their confidence and love; and when they realize that father and mother will use every justifiable means to make them happy, the barriers will be broken down. What a victory is gained when it is possible to mould the character of your children after the character of Christ! It should be the constant aim of parents to develop the capacities of their children in such a way that they will be fitted to honor God and bless humanity.
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1 It is the work of parents to educate and discipline themselves, in order that they may educate and discipline their children. Let parents remember that they have transmitted to their children their own hereditary tendencies. Let them deal sharply with themselves as they see themselves mirrored in the dispositions of their children. Let parents open the door of their own hearts to Jesus, that his love and grace may take possession of the soul, and bring their will and ways into conformity to Christ’s will and ways; then they will be able to impart divine instruction to their children.
2 It is a mistake for parents to notice every little defect in the manners of their children. They should not criticise them continually, but when they see wrong traits of character developing, they should make most strenuous efforts to correct the wrong by strengthening traits of an opposite nature. If you roughly lay hold on these disagreeable developments, and battle with them concerning their objectionable traits, you will be in danger of causing two evils to exist in trying to eradicate one. When children are inclined toward evil, seek to draw their minds away from the things that will mar them, and turn their attention in a different channel.
3 If you would train a precious pink, or rose, or lily, how would you minister to it? Ask the gardener by what process he makes every branch and leaf to flourish so beautifully, to develop in symmetry and loveliness. He will tell you that it was by no rude touch, no violent effort, for this would only break the boughs, but by little attentions oft repeated. He moistened the soil and protected the plants from the fierce blasts and from the scorching sun, and God, by his miraculous power, caused the plants to flourish and to blossom into loveliness. Parents should follow the method of the gardener in dealing with their children, and if the grace of Christ is in the heart, parents will seek in various ways to educate and train their children, to fashion their characters after the divine model. Parents should not be satisfied until they see the image of the divine in the characters of their children. They may give God all the glory for their success, because it has been the grace of Jesus Christ that has made the fathers and mothers wise to train their children.
4 That cannot be a happy home where love is not cultivated between husband and wife, between parents and children. If parents have been self-centered, and have trained their children in an atmosphere where love was not manifested in affectionate words and actions, then change the atmosphere of your home as quickly as possible. Let husbands love their wives, and let the wives see that they reverence their husbands. The plan of salvation was devised in order to transform the natural character, and fashion it after the divine image. When the grace of Christ is received in the heart, it will soften whatever is harsh, and subdue that which is coarse and unkind. Courtesy will be expressed in the affairs of home life. Let father and mother remember that they themselves are but grown-up children. Though great light has shone upon their pathway, and they have had long experience, yet how easily are they stirred to envy, jealousy, and evil surmisings! Because of their own mistakes and errors, they should learn to deal gently with their erring children.
5 Just as you conduct yourself in your home life, you are registered in the books of heaven. He who would become a saint in heaven, must first become a saint in his own family. If fathers and mothers are true Christians in the family, they will be useful members of the church, and will be able to conduct affairs in the church and in society after the same manner in which they conduct their family concerns. Parents, let not your religion be simply a profession, but let it become a reality. When truth is brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul, it has a wonderful and powerful effect upon the life. It will expel the love of self, indulgence of self, hastiness and petulance of temper, sensitiveness, and pride. These are the things that drive Christ from the heart, and when they are manifested in the life, the professors of religion cannot experience that noble joy that makes the servant of Christ free. He who professes to love the truth, and yet does not bring it into practical life, is bearing a heavy yoke. He admits the principles of truth to be right, and yet fails to carry them out in his actions, and thus cuts off his influence. He is subject to various caprices of his own natural character, and robs God of the service for which he was purchased by the precious blood of Christ.
6 Until Christianity is planted in the heart, it cannot control the life, for it is the evil in the heart that must be corrected. It is not enough to have a form of godliness without holiness to the Lord, for it is like cleansing the outside of the cup while impurities remain within. A belief of doctrines, however pure they may be, will not save a soul from death, unless they are brought into contact with the life. The heart must be purified through obedience to the truth.
7 Parents, you need to study your Bibles in order to know how to bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. You cannot continue to indulge in your fitful manner of managing your children, and yet be accounted as true and faithful before God. You must watch for the souls of your children as those that must give an account. You should consider it your duty before God to educate your children in some useful employment. They cannot be permitted to spend their lives in amusing themselves simply, without being exposed to temptation. You should train your children to orderly habits, teaching them to bear responsibilities according to their years. You should train them also in habits of economy, instructing them to bind about their wants and restrict their desires for indulgence in dress and holiday pleasures.
8 Parents who profess to believe the truth should earnestly strive for the salvation of their children, teaching them, both by precept and example, that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It is with God, who looks upon the heart, that we have to do. Have the parents given the whole heart to God? Have parents appreciated the countless blessings he has bestowed? Have they educated themselves in presenting gratitude offerings to God in response for all his blessings until their affections are set on things above, and not on things on the earth? The heart is the citadel of the whole man, and, until the heart is wholly on the Lord’s side, the enemy will find his stronghold there, and no human power can dislodge him. The Lord alone can do this work.
9 There are many professed Christian parents whose souls are preoccupied with so many other things that there is no room in the soul temple for the presence of Jesus. They have given to their idols the devotion that is due alone to God. The door of the heart is closed against the truth, and Christ is misrepresented in spirit, in character, and in actions. Their children are unconverted, wayward, and pleasure loving, and no recommendation to the truth. Should some of these youth be cut down with disease and have no opportunity to repent, they would be lost, forever lost. They are indulging in worldly follies and pleasures, and this will not give their souls a fitness for the society of heavenly angels. Souls are perishing because they have not an experimental knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Many sit under the sound of the gospel, but they do not take it as the truth, because parents keep practical religion apart from their lives. The glad tidings that should awaken every soul is of none effect to them. They are pointed to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, but they say, There will be time enough tomorrow, and the bewitching power of sin holds them firmly in its grasp. As they cannot serve Christ and the world at the same time, they choose the service of sin and receive its wages.
10 My brethren and sisters, will you not face heavenward? Will you not open the chambers of the mind to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness? Will you not open the door of the heart, and welcome Jesus in? There is healing in his wings. He will create the kindness and love in your hearts that should be cherished and exhibited in your family, and this love will not only embrace your own household, but will flow out to those around you in the church and the world. We do not plead for a manifestation of what the world calls courtesy, but for that courtesy which everyone will take with him to the mansions of the blessed. Oh, what rays of softness and beauty shone forth in the daily life of our Saviour, and were revealed in all the associations which he cherished! There never was so perfect an illustration of genuine courtesy as that which was exemplified in the life of Jesus. He bids parents to come unto him and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly of heart. He says to the children, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.” Send them not to the rabbis, send them not to the Pharisees, but take the little children to Jesus for instruction and discipline.
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1 The family institution is a divine ordinance. Parents stand in the place of God to their children. How grievous in the sight of heaven is the neglect of parents to train their children for the future immortal life. Christians should look upon children as the younger members of the Lord’s family, intrusted to the parents and to the church to be trained up as children of God, to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The Christian family is to be a school of Christ, where parents are to be the visible teachers, but Christ himself the great invisible teacher. The lessons which Christ imparts to the parents they are to repeat to their children line upon line and precept upon precept. Patiently, tenderly, and lovingly their steps are to be guided in the narrow path of holiness. Parents are not to compel their children to have a form of religion, but they are to place eternal principles before them in an attractive light.
2 The mother is to teach the children through their earlier years, and in order to fulfill her great responsibility, she needs to be moulded and fashioned after the similitude of the character of Christ. She is never to use her influence fitfully, unwisely, arbitrarily, simply because it is in her power to do so. She must ever remember that she must render up an account to God for the way she has done her intrusted work. The father should see to it that the mother is not overburdened with the care of many children. Children are not to be crowded upon her so that her physical strength and training capabilities are taxed. Men and women should carefully, conscientiously consider, with an eye single to the glory of God, what is involved in bringing children into the world. When mothers bring forth children in rapid succession, the burdens of caring for and training them are so heavy that they become discouraged, and are not able to accomplish the work that they should in educating their numerous and fast-increasing flock.
3 A mother is but a human being, and the husband and father of the family should unite his efforts with hers in building up a proper family discipline. If he neglects to do his part, failure is registered in the books of heaven against his name, and he will have to give an account of himself before the great white throne. Many fathers think family discipline a light matter, and it does not enter their mind that they have a part to act in cheerfully training and governing the children. The father frequently manifests passion and impatience, and alienates the hearts of his children from him, and yet he often charges the blame of this upon the poor management of the mother. Let Christian parents take heed how they deal with the younger members of the Lord’s family. The father and mother should always be at agreement, not working counter to each other, in order that right impressions may be made on the minds of their children. Let parents seek wisdom of God; for he has said, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.”
4 It is the privilege of parents to rear their children in a divine atmosphere. As soon as the little ones are intelligent to understand, parents should tell to them the story of Jesus, that they may drink in the precious truth concerning the Babe of Bethlehem. Impress upon the children’s minds sentiments of simple piety that are adapted to their years and ability. Bring your children in prayer to Jesus, for he has made it possible for them to learn religion as they learn to frame the words of the language. Let children hear from the lips of their mother words of gentleness, purity, and truth. Let her maintain her authority, permitting no disobedience on the part of her children. Command your children and your household after you (as did Abraham) to keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment. Parents must keep their hearts and minds in the love of God, and bring their children to the altar of prayer, where day by day the household may offer up supplication and thanksgiving.
5 When parents become old, and have young children to bring up, the father is likely to feel that the children must follow in the sturdy, rugged path in which he himself is traveling. It is difficult for him to realize that his children are in need of having life made pleasant and happy for them by their parents. Many parents deny the children an indulgence in that which is safe and innocent, and are so afraid of encouraging them in cultivating desires for unlawful things that they will not even allow their children to have the enjoyment that children should have. Through fear of evil results, they refuse permission to indulge in some simple pleasure that would have saved the very evil they seek to avoid, and thus the children think there is no use in expecting any favors, and therefore will not ask for them. They steal away to the pleasures they think will be forbidden. Confidence between the parents and children is thus destroyed. If fathers and mothers have not themselves had a happy childhood, why should they shadow the lives of their children because of their own great loss in this respect? The father may think that this is the only course that will be safe to pursue; but let him remember that all minds are not constituted alike, and the greater the efforts made to restrict, the more uncontrollable will be the desire to obtain that which is denied, and the result will be disobedience to parental authority. The father will be grieved by what he considers the wayward course of his son, and his heart will feel sore over his rebellion. But would it not be well for him to consider the fact that the first cause of his son’s disobedience was his own unwillingness to indulge him in that in which there was no sin. The father thinks that sufficient reason is given for his son’s abstaining from his indulgence since he has denied it to him. But parents should remember that their children are intelligent beings, and they should deal with them as they themselves would like to be dealt with.
6 It is true that Christ is to be the model for children. He was subject unto his parents; but Christ is also the father’s example, and his tender love should be shown by his human agent. The father should be enabled to say, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Christ is the model of perfection, both in outward manner and inward grace, for he was meek and gentle of heart. He did not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. He enjoyed seeing children and youth happy. He never spoke an unkind, discourteous word. Even in his denunciations of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, keen and searching though they were, there was no manifestation of an irritated temper. Divine grace alone can correct our objectionable tendencies.
7 When circumstances arise that tempt and irritate us, we should manifest love and sympathy, and cultivate patience under every provocation to anger. Under trying circumstances parents may think it right to manifest sternness; but this is the time when they will need to apply the oil of grace in order to prevent friction in the family. Harshness of temper must be softened and subdued by the love of Christ, in order that parents may be able to deal wisely with their children. When, by the wrong course of some members of the family, a most difficult combination of things comes into existence, which is hard to harmonize, different manifestations of mind will make themselves apparent in those who are to be reproved. Some will be excessively sensitive, others manifest a cold, proud reserve, others be nervous and timid, and others still be excessively irritable. Under such circumstances there will always be need of forbearance, patience, and love. Let all by repentance, forgiveness, and love seek to bring all the sunshine that is possible into the home life, that alienation may be healed, and the family come into unity.
8 The Christian must modify his stern traits of character through the grace of Christ, and cultivate that which is gentle and peaceful. Great harm is done to the cause of Christ when Christians permit their unholy traits of character to misrepresent the gentle, courteous spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Old age at times expects too much of inexperienced youth, and youth expect too much of the aged. Let all take Christ for their example, who never spoke a hasty, discourteous word, or performed a rude action. It is just as much the sacred duty of the aged to grow old gracefully, mellowing in disposition in the autumn of life, as it is for the youth to represent the graces of the character of Christ. Manners are the expression of character, and divine grace can do everything to sanctify the character. Therefore, “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
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1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” Before the last developments of the work of apostasy there will be a confusion of faith. There will not be clear and definite ideas concerning the mystery of God. One truth after another will be corrupted. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” There are many who deny the preexistence of Christ, and therefore deny his divinity; they do not accept him as a personal Saviour. This is a total denial of Christ. He was the only-begotten Son of God, who was one with the Father from the beginning. By him the worlds were made.
2 In denying the miraculous incarnation of Christ, many turn from other truths of heavenly origin, and accept fables of Satan’s invention. They lose spiritual discernment, and practice that which is brought to them and impressed upon their minds through the agency of Satan. As the convict is branded and defaced by a hot iron, so their consciences are seared and marred by sin. They proclaim their own righteousness, and exalt themselves before the people in order to gain confidence and to draw to their side those who have not received the love of the truth. “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
3 Spiritualism is about to take the world captive. There are many who think that Spiritualism is upheld through trickery and imposture; but this is far from the truth. Superhuman power is working in a variety of ways, and few have any idea as to what will be the manifestations of Spiritualism in the future. The foundation for the success of Spiritualism has been laid in the assertions that have been made from the pulpits of our land. The ministers have proclaimed, as Bible doctrines, falsehoods that have originated from the arch-deceiver. The doctrine of consciousness after death, of the spirits of the dead being in communion with the living, has no foundation in the Scriptures, and yet this theory is affirmed as truth. Through this false doctrine the way has been opened for the spirits of devils to deceive the people in representing themselves as the dead. Satanic agencies personate the dead, and thus bring souls into captivity. Satan has a religion, he has a synagogue and devout worshipers. To swell the ranks of his devotees he uses all manner of deception.
4 The signs and wonders of Spiritualism will become more and more pronounced as the professed Christian world rejects the plainly revealed truth of the word of God, and refuses to be guided by a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” accepting instead the doctrines and the commandments of men. Through rejecting light and truth many are deciding their destiny for eternal death; and as men reject truth, the Spirit of God will gradually withdraw itself from the earth, and the prince of this earth will have more and more control over his subjects. He will show great signs and wonders as credentials of his divine claims, and through Spiritualism will work against Christ and his agencies.
5 The Scriptures positively forbid intercourse with evil angels on the supposition of communion with the dead. Through this deception Satan can educate souls in his school of falsehood, and make of none effect the lessons that Christ would teach, which, if practiced, would result in the eternal life of those who obey. Satan is seeking to form a great confederacy of evil by uniting fallen men and fallen angels. But the Lord says: “When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” “And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.” “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.”
6 The great power that attends Spiritualism has its origin in the great leading rebel, Satan, the prince of devils. It is through his artifice that evil angels have been able to substitute themselves for the dead, and through lying hypocrisy they have led men to have intercourse with devils. Those who commune with the supposed spirits of the dead are communing with those who will have a corrupting, demoralizing power upon the mind. Christ commanded that we should have no intercourse with sorcerers and with those who have familiar spirits. This class are represented in the Gospel as among those who shall perish in their iniquity,—”the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.”
7 For years Spiritualism has been growing in strength and gaining in popularity by advocating a certain kind of faith in Christ, and thus many Protestants are becoming infatuated with this mystery of iniquity. It is little wonder that they are deluded, when they persistently retain the error that, as soon as the breath leaves the body, the spirit goes immediately to heaven or hell. Through the hold this doctrine has upon them the way is prepared for the delusive working of the prince of the power of the air. Satan personated the serpent in Eden, regarding this creature as best adapted for his line of temptations. Satan has been increasing in skillful methods by constantly practicing upon the human mind. It is his one purpose to complete the work which he began in Eden, and work the ruin of mankind. Through his mysterious workings he can insinuate himself into the circles of the most educated and refined, for he was once an exalted being, in a high position of responsibility among the heavenly hosts. It is a mistake to represent him as a monstrous being with hoofs and horns, for he is still a fallen angel. He is capable of uniting the highest intellectual greatness with the basest cruelty and the most degrading corruption. If he had not this power, many would escape his snares who are now charmed with his attractive representations and taken captive by his delusions.
8 As the Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from the earth, Satan’s power will be more and more manifest. The knowledge that he had through being in connection with God, as a covering cherub, he will now use to subordinate his subjects who fell from their high estate. He will use every power of his exalted intellect to misrepresent God and to instigate rebellion against Jesus Christ, the Commander of heaven. In the synagogue of Satan he brings under his scepter, and into his counsels, those agents whom he can use to promote his worship. It is not a strange matter to find a species of refinement, and a manifestation of intellectual greatness, in the lives and characters of those who are inspired by fallen angels. Satan can impart scientific knowledge, and give men chapters upon philosophy. He is conversant with history, and versed in worldly wisdom.
9 Almost every phase of talent is now being brought into captivity to the prince of the power of darkness. Worldly minded men, because they wish to exalt themselves, and have separated from God, do not love to retain God in their knowledge, for they claim to possess a higher, grander intellect than that of Jesus Christ. Satan envies Christ, and makes the claim that he is entitled to a higher position than the Commander of heaven. His self-exaltation led him to despise the law of God, and resulted in his expulsion from heaven.
10 Through the Papacy he has manifested his character, and brought out the principles of his government. Of this power the apostle Paul says: “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling a way first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. . . . For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. . . . Shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
11 The confederacy of evil will not stand. The Lord says: “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces. . . . Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us. For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary.”
12 Satan will use his agencies to carry out diabolical devices, to overpower the saints of God, as in times past he used the Roman power to stay the course of Protestantism; yet the people of God can look calmly at the whole array of evil, and come to the triumphant conclusion that because Christ lives we shall live also. The people of God are to advance in the same spirit in which Jesus met the assaults of the prince of darkness in the past. The evil confederacy can advance only in the course which Jesus has marked out before them; every step of their advance brings the saints of God nearer the great white throne, nearer the successful termination of their warfare. The confederacy of evil will finally be destroyed; for the prophet says, “Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Even of him whose heart was lifted up because of his beauty, who corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness, the Lord says: “I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.”
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1 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Prior to and at the first advent of Christ, religious teachers set forth strange ideas that were so mingled with portions of truth that they were full of deceptive power, and led souls away from God, although they still preserved the appearance of being his true worshipers. We find a similar condition of society in these last days, and those who depart from the faith, mingle with their belief diversities of human opinion. The Bible is brought into criticism. Is it because the Scriptures are inconsistent and contradictory that ministers differ so widely in their interpretation?—No, the trouble is that men are doing today as they did in the time of Christ, and are teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Religious teachers are in the same condition as were the Pharisees of whom he said, “Ye are both ignorant of the Scriptures and of the power of God.” The very men to whom these words were spoken were presumed to teach and interpret the Scriptures to the people.
2 Are the Scriptures vague and inconsistent? Is there any foundation for the conflicting opinions and various sentiments and doctrines that find credence in the religious world? If so, then we may entertain doubts of their divine origin; for it is not the inspiration of God that leads people to come to diverse opinions. Those who undertake to interpret the Bible, have corrupted the word of God and wrested the Scripture from its true meaning, by seeking to harmonize the truth of God with the inventions and doctrines of men. The Scriptures are perverted and misapplied, and the gems of truth are set in the framework of error. These teachers are blinded, and cannot clearly discern what is the true meaning of the Scriptures.
3 In the time of the apostles, teachers of this character sought to insinuate themselves among the teachers of truth. They tried to mingle the chaff with the wheat, and their theories were called “strange doctrine;” but the Lord would have us distinguish truth from error. The apostle exhorts us to “come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Peter, John, Jude, and Paul had to contend with men who sought to unsettle the unstable, and who made the word of truth of none effect. Those who were filled with vain philosophy and impressed with science falsely so called, were prejudiced against the truth.
4 Human inventions please the carnal mind, and pacify the conscience as it clings to sin. It was not palatable to men to see and practice the faith that works by love and sanctifies the soul. Sin was not forsaken and despised, and in order to excuse it a means had to be devised by which the edge of the sword of truth might be blunted; so men brought in human reasonings and assertions. If men had permitted the word of God to do its work upon the heart and intellect, they would have distinguished and separated the spurious from the true. If they had received the Scriptures in their simplicity, they would not have given themselves up to worldly pursuits, to fulfilling their temporal hopes. But they made of none effect the word of God through their traditions, and wrested the Scripture from its true meaning. The Lord says that the word of truth is able to make men wise unto salvation. It is a safeguard and shield, and protects men from the delusions of the enemy. “Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light; for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”
5 Jesus, who gave his life to save men, has given us a warning as to what shall come to pass in the last days. The disciples came to him privately to ask him concerning the end of the world, and Jesus said: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many,” Satanic delusions and deceptions will increase as we near the end of earth’s history. Jesus warned his followers as to what should take place just prior to his coming. He said: “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”
6 The deceiving power of Satan will continually increase to the very end. Through his agencies he will do great wonders, “so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do, . . . saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
7 Our world is fast approaching the boundary line when probation will no longer be granted.
8 A long-suffering God bore with the inhabitants of the world in the time of Noah; but at last he declared to his servant saying, “My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth; and God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
9 The condition of society today is similar to what it was in the time of Noah; and if Jesus was among us, he would say, “Can ye not discern the signs of the times?” “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”
10 “Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such as hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.” The world is given up to the pursuit of temporal affairs, as men were in the days of Noah. They are eating, drinking, planting, building, marrying, and giving in marriage. These things are all lawful in themselves, but it is the carrying of them to excess that is sinful. The world has had great light, and has been greatly favored, and yet the people of the world come short of living up to their responsibilities. The warning Christ gave to the cities that had been most highly favored and had not repented, applies to the world in this day: “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee.”
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1 “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” These are the chosen of God; they are those to whom Christ addresses the words: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
2 The people of the world are so engrossed in temporal affairs that eternal realities seem of subordinate importance to them. They cannot distinguish truth from error. In spirit and in practice they are repeating the history of the Jews, and in these last days the chosen of God who keep his commandments will be objects of contempt, both to those in high position and those in the common walks of life. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
3 In this age of the world there are those who live in the midst of the corrupt society of the world to whom the Lord says: “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. . . . These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth: I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come, and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
4 We are to know the meaning of the words: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The enmity that exists in the heart against evil has no natural existence, but is an enmity that has been created through the agency of the Holy Spirit. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” The natural man is in transgression, and his nature is in harmony with that of the first transgressor. There is no natural enmity between fallen men and fallen angels; both are partakers of the same spirit through indulgence in evil. It is according to the law of the synagogue of Satan that in the controversy of the evil against the good, fallen men and fallen angels shall unite in a desperate companionship. From the beginning Satan has worked continually to dethrone the Creator, and whatever may be the divisions among evil men and evil angels, there is no division in their opposition to God. They are banded together as with iron cords to oppose the Creator and Redeemer of man. Satan is determined to utterly deprave human nature through making of none effect the commandments of God. He originates traditions, and through his maxims he succeeds in assimilating to his own nature the nature of those who do not yield allegiance to the law of God.
5 The harmony of nature between Satan and evil men is the key to all religious persecution from the day when Cain killed Abel to the present time. The same principle that actuated Satan in the courts of heaven to war against God is now working in the children of disobedience, and actuates them to manufacture spurious commandments that contradict the statutes of Jehovah. It is the power of apostasy that exalts religious potentates to the place of God. The false is honored above the true; and thus it is that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is trampled in the dust, while the spurious sabbath is exalted by earthly powers.
6 The origin of false commandments may be clearly discerned by the principles which underlie them. All that is not in accordance with the known and expressed will of God, is at enmity with God, and has its origin in the synagogue of Satan. The will of God is expressed in his law, and sin is the transgression of the law. Those who disregard the commandments of God, and teach for doctrines the commandments of men, are working in Satan’s line, and are in harmony with the great leader of apostasy. When the Jews were claiming Abraham for their father, while not doing the works of Abraham, Jesus said to them: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do; he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.” “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
7 Light is shining amid the moral darkness in this age of the world. The Holy Spirit is working on the hearts of men to convince them of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment to come. But those who refuse the light, and accept the excuses that Satan may frame as reasons why they should not obey the truth, will manifest Satanic enmity against those who obey God rather than man. Those who steadfastly follow the practice and customs of the world in the very face of light and truth, will obstinately oppose the commandments of God, and render unswerving loyalty to him who first rebelled against God, and was expelled from the courts of heaven; but in the face of the enmity of the world, those who truly believe in Christ will take him for their example in all things. Jesus says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” The beloved disciple said: “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.”
8 Are the world keeping the law of God?—No; but, although they do not keep the law, yet the professed Christian world unite with the opposers of truth in placing contempt upon those who keep the commandments of God. There is open war both in the professed Christian church and in the world against those who keep the fourth commandment and render obedience to all the moral precepts of Jehovah. The fourth commandment reads: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
9 Let every soul who reads this commandment understand that it is to be observed exactly as it is written. It is not to be misapplied or wrested from its true meaning. The man of sin thought to change the time and the law of God; but no power in heaven or earth could change that which had been written by the finger of God, and placed in the ark of the testimony under the mercy-seat.
10 In holy vision John was taken into the heavenly sanctuary. He says: “The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.” The sanctuary that Moses was commanded to make was to be after the pattern of the heavenly sanctuary. In the ark were placed the ten commandments which had been written by the finger of God. The law that was placed in the ark on earth was a copy of the law that is contained in the ark of the testament in heaven, and the precepts of Jehovah are immutable. The ten commandments constitute the moral standard of character. God requires on the part of man perfect conformity to his law, and a curse is pronounced against everyone who continues not in all things written in the law to do them.
11 The human race do not stand in the righteousness of character which Adam possessed at his creation. Although neglect to keep the requirements of God is sin, and the wages of sin is death, yet there is no claim made that man may have eternal life except through the obedience and righteousness of Jesus Christ, who is the representative and head of all humanity. The sinner can find hope only through dependence upon the perfection of Christ. We are to avail ourselves of the merit of the sinless offering that was made through the death of the only-begotten Son of God. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
(Concluded next week.)
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1 God has made provision in Jesus Christ that we shall keep the commandments of God. In this age of the world the powers of apostasy are seeking in every way to entice men into disobedience. The very work that Satan did in Eden he is doing today. He persuaded Adam and Eve that God had withheld some great good from them, and, while insinuating that God had not their welfare at heart, he pretended to have a deep interest in their advancement. Satan’s falsehood prevailed; he succeeded in winning their confidence through promising them a greater breadth of knowledge than they had yet attained, even declaring that they should be as gods. God had placed upon them a very slight test. They were simply prohibited from partaking of one tree in the midst of the garden. Yet a violation of this one slight prohibition resulted in the fall of the human race. Though the action might be accounted small, yet it was disobedience and transgression; and; when weighed in God’s balances, it was seen to be a most heinous sin. Adam’s disobedience to God was the result of unbelief and ingratitude, and led him to take his position on the side of the great apostate, in giving credence to Satan’s statements rather than to the word of God.
2 The history of Adam’s transgression is before the human family, and is written for our admonition and warning, that we may realize how terrible is the sin of violating the least commandment of God.
3 We have full light upon the fact of how the Lord regarded Adam’s transgression, and yet men presume to violate the fourth commandment. After the Lord created the world in six days, he rested on the seventh day, and sanctified the day of his rest, and bade men observe the day of rest throughout all generations. And yet men are repeating Adam’s transgression, and are entering into a confederacy with Satan to war against God, in trampling upon the Sabbath institution. The church and the world are choosing Satan for their god and sovereign, and setting aside the God that made heaven and earth and all things that are therein.
4 Man lost his righteousness through transgression, and “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Through the righteousness of Christ, our substitute and surety, our obedience to God’s commandments is made acceptable. Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, and endured the test upon the point of appetite, ambition, and love of the world, thus making it possible for man to keep the commandments of God through his imputed righteousness. Through faith in Christ, man becomes partaker of the divine nature, and is complete in him, as long as he walks in the light. But when light has come to a soul that has been in darkness in regard to the binding claims of the law of God, and the transgressor refuses to walk in the light, he is guilty before God, and is charged with apostasy. He chooses that sin shall have dominion over him, and therefore the penalty of the law is upon him. By his continued transgression he reveals the fact that he is at enmity with God, that his heart is carnal, and not subject to the law of God. He repeats the transgression of Adam, accepts the insinuations of the fallen foe, takes his place on the side of the man of sin, and exalts Satan above God. In refusing the light, he becomes one with the ranks of apostasy, and chooses to act with the confederacy of Satan.
5 It was necessary that Christ should take upon him our nature, in order to prove the falsity of Satan’s statements. The apostate cast contempt upon the law of God, and declared that it was impossible for men to keep God’s commandment, which had been preordained in the counsels of heaven. Therefore Christ became man’s representative and surety, thus demonstrating to heavenly intelligences, to unfallen worlds, and to the human race, that, through cooperation with divine agencies, humanity could be pure and holy. By partaking of the divine nature they could meet the demand of a perfect and holy law. Of Christ it is written: “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.”
6 Adam failed to obey the commandments of God. Shall the sons and daughters of Adam continue in transgression, and also fail to obey? No one can enter into life who persists in disloyalty, since Christ was given to our world that he might save his people from their sins. When the young man came to Christ, saying, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. It was not possible for the young man, or for anyone, to keep the commandments of God except through the merit of Jesus Christ. Without the shedding of the blood of Christ there could be no remission of sin, no imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the believing sinner. Christ endured the penalty of sin in his own body on the cross, and fulfilled all righteousness. The merit of the righteousness of Christ is the only ground upon which the sinner may hope for a title to eternal life; for Christ hath given himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God, as a sweet-smelling savor. An infinite price was paid for man’s redemption, not that he might be saved in his sins, not to make void the law of God. Paul says: “Do we then make void the law of God through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” For though “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight,” yet the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, is witnessed by the law and the prophets.
7 How strange it is that the church and the world are joined together in a confederacy to do a work that God has especially prohibited! They disobey the commandments of God with impunity. The prohibition of God in the Garden of Eden was disregarded by Adam and Eve, and the most terrible consequences resulted. The Lord is placing the same test upon the human family today, and proving them by bringing to their attention the Sabbath, which is a memorial of God’s creative power. In this memorial God testifies to the world and to heavenly intelligences that he made the world in six days, and rested—on the first day?—No, but on the seventh day. The same instruction comes to us today as when the Lord spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations.”
8 The Lord sends messengers of truth to the people; but when he brings words of stern truth to bear upon their consciences, there are many who are in no way pleased or grateful. The message of truth disturbs them in their ease- loving service of God, and they do not like the rugged, thorny path that is pointed out to them. They do not wish to separate from the world, to practice self-denial and self-sacrifice, and to attain unto the likeness of Christ. They desire to live at peace, and glorify self, and do not wish to identify their interest with that of Jesus Christ. They count that separation from the pleasures of the world, separation from the world’s careless neglect of piety and devotion, is too heavy a cross for them to bear.
9 In rejection of light the hearts of men are hardened, and they finally unite with the agencies of apostasy in a work of compelling the conscience of those who do not agree with them, in persecuting and putting to death those who love God and keep his commandments. But the Lord says to his chosen people: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. . . . And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. . . . Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”
10 The remnant people of God are to endure persecutions. “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” They are to give the warning message against the power represented by “the beast.” The prophet says of this power, which represents the Papacy: “There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” The remnant church of God are to give the warning of the third angel to the world: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.”
11 The church of God, despised and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. They walk in narrow paths on earth; they are purified in the furnace of afflictions. For Jesus’ sake they endure opposition, hatred, calumny. They follow Christ through sore conflicts; they endure self-denial, and experience bitter disappointments; but their painful experience teaches them the guilt and woe of sin, and they look upon it with abhorrence. Being partakers of Christ’s sufferings, they are destined to be partakers of his glory. In holy vision the prophet saw the triumph of the people of God. He says: “I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”
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1 Why is it that there is so much suffering in our world? One reason is that the rich do not fulfill their God-given responsibilities, and, as good stewards of the grace of God, make distribution for the wants of the poor. Men have perverted their God-given powers, and think only of how they may accumulate wealth. There are thousands of rich people who have every luxury, and do not know what to do with their possessions. They make their bodies idols, and heap treasure upon themselves. The rich and the poor have been represented in the Bible in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Those who do not deal out their bread to the hungry, clothe the naked, and bring the poor that are cast out into their houses, are committing the sin of Sodom. The iniquity of Sodom was pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness, neither did they strengthen the hands of the poor and needy. The Lord says, “They were haughty, and committed abomination before me; therefore I took them away as I saw good.”
2 Idleness is sin. To every man and woman God has given his or her work, and all are to employ their time in doing good to others. Through luxury and haughtiness, hard-heartedness and inconsiderate thoughtlessness are developed in the character, and these are found in a large degree among those who hold high positions in the world. Those who have an abundance have little sympathy for the hungry, the naked, and the homeless.
3 What true satisfaction can persons have who load their bodies with costly jewels, while there are thousands destitute, shivering in their nakedness, crying to God in their hunger and distress! Oh, that those who deck themselves with jewels, and make idols of themselves, might see how they appear in the eyes of their Creator! Oh, that they might realize how the Saviour, who has died for them, looks upon them, witnessing every extravagance, and contrasting it with the destitution of the poor, who cry unto him, and who cry not in vain! Not one who decks himself with jewels and costly array will stand before God guiltless. No one can turn from the truth, violate justice, give up integrity, neglect the poor, and yet flatter himself that he has not forsaken God. All idolatry of self dishonors God, and he who dishonors God fails to benefit humanity. The eternal principles of right and wrong are violated. Needless expenditure of means, indulgence in extravagances, the putting on of gaudy trappings, and decking the body with flashing jewels, is an evidence that the soul has turned from God to self, and at the last day the poor will rise up in judgment and condemn those who have lived for the gratification of selfish desires. The sentence will be passed that, while many were in nakedness and starvation, the rich sinners were squandering money to gratify pride and ambition, and by so doing degraded themselves.
4 A man may be lifted up because of his wealth to sit among princes; but if he has not a living connection with the Lord Jesus Christ, he has a cheap mind, for he has lost eternity out of his reckoning. In the sight of God he is accounted of the earth, earthy and degraded, the slave of lust and ambition. He has sold himself to his riches, which will soon pass away. He has bowed himself down to an idol that can no more bless him than can the gods of wood and stone. All ungodly gain brings with it a hidden curse, and all well-gotten gain is intrusted to the man as so much capital to be employed in doing good to others. Rich men have the responsibility laid upon them of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, educating the fatherless, and helping the widows in their necessity. If they neglect this work, they neglect Christ in the person of his saints.
5 The destiny of souls will be decided by that which we have done or left undone. Jesus says: “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
6 The larger the intrusted wealth, the greater the responsibility. He who had large supplies yet who failed to succor the needy, will have large retribution. Justice will come upon the possessor of wealth if he has selfishly withheld it from those who needed its benefit. The condemnation that will come upon him who had great gifts will be that it was in his power to do good, to relieve the suffering, and he failed to do it. If men would keep the commandments of God, they would practice mercy and the love of God. Man would be upright in his dealings with his fellow-man; but he who serves not God places no restrictions upon his ambitions, and gives himself up wholly to covetousness, and thus he ruins his soul. He becomes miserable and discontented and unsatisfied, because he would grasp more of the world’s wealth than he can get in his possession; and thus the more the covetous rich man has, the more miserable he becomes.
7 Those who would be happy, who would be a blessing to the world, must make the Bible their standard of character, and work in Christ’s lines. Can it be possible that those who have riches and who spend money only for the gratification of self, have Bibles? If they have, do they read them? Have they read of the foolish rich man, who was abundantly blessed of God? Why?—In order to test and prove him, and make it manifest that he was not a character that could be trusted with eternal riches. What did the rich man do?—Just what many today are doing. Instead of opening his eyes to see the suffering around him, instead of opening his ears to hear their cry of distress, instead of appropriating his goods to supply their deficiencies, he said: “What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do; I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” But what decision does the Lord make in regard to this disposal of matters?—”But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
8 What will be the reward of those who spend their money in extravagance? These persons have souls, which Christ has purchased with his own blood, and if they are saved at all, they must be saved through God’s appointed way. Their bodies may be weighed down with jewels, with gold and silver, but will this enhance their value in the sight of God? Will this purchase for them the crown of eternal life, that fadeth not away? Will this buy for them the exceeding and eternal weight of glory, that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, that hath not entered into the heart of man, that God hath prepared for them that love him? God has prepared indescribable glories for them that love not gold, not display, not extravagance, not luxuries and ornaments, but that love him. Those who love God with all their hearts, and their neighbor as themselves, will reap the eternal reward.
9 But not only in the world is the love of riches prevalent, but even in the church gold and silver have been made an idol of. There are many who profess the Saviour’s name who have not helped the poor, nor strengthened the needy, nor regarded him who was ready to perish. The people of God are commissioned to be laborers together with God. Have the offerings of the church been made in proportion to the fields that cry for help? Has the love of Christ constrained those who profess his name to give to advance the gospel message in home and foreign mission fields? To every soul the reward will be, not according to profession, but according to what has been done. Actions will measure the love you have for Christ and for perishing souls. Christ will say to you, whatever has been your course, “Inasmuch as ye have done it [or did it not] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
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1 The following clipping will show the way in which some of those who have great possessions recklessly squander means for the gratification of pride and ambition, and forget that they must also give an account to God for the intrusted talents he has given them:—
2 One of the most significant economic events in some time was the Astor-Willing wedding in Philadelphia last week. To use one of Dr. Holmes’ expressions, the impression which its descriptions left upon the mind was not that it was brilliant with gold, but heavy with bullion. Here are a few sentences from the account of it in one of our New York papers; “The Willing mansion was changed to a palace of roses. . . . No bride or bridesmaids ever wore more expensive dresses. . . . The day’s ceremonies may be estimated to have cost between $25,000 and $30,000. . . . Probably never before have bridal gifts been so numerous and costly. . . . The tiara of diamonds which was the groom’s gift to the bride is probably unsurpassed by any in America. . . . The elder Mr. Astor’s gift to his daughter-in-law was a double bowknot of diamonds, from which is hanging a huge brilliant, and a diamond necklace and crescent of diamonds and sapphires four inches long. The present of the groom’s mother was five diamond stars, each as large as a silver half dollar, inclosed in a massive box of solid silver, and eight silver dishes, each about three feet long, modeled after her own service. . . .
3 “The wedding presents represented $2,000,000. So much then for the day. Now as to the young people’s start in life: Preceding their trip to Europe, Mr. Astor and his bride will spend about three weeks cruising in Mr. William Astor’s yacht Nourmahal, in Florida waters. Despite the fact that her furnishings were scarcely worn and almost new, the boat was refurnished out and out with the most costly and magnificent furniture that money could secure. The complement of officers is fifty-two men, not including servants and personal attendants. It takes from $8,000 to $10,000 per month to keep her in service, besides the cost of food and wines.” Twenty-five thousand dollars for the day’s ceremony, two million dollars worth of presents, a cruise in a half-idle yacht costing ten thousand dollars per month to maintain. When we read this we are reminded of Thackeray’s description of the extravagance of the prince regent during the Napoleonic wars. If he had been a manufacturing town, or populous rural district, or an army of five thousand men, he would not have cost more. The nation gave him more money, and more and more. The sum is past counting.
4 Looked at soberly, the sums lavished upon our American commoners are as disgraceful to our institutions as were the squanderings of the prince regent to those of England. If the scandal is less, it is because the disastrous concentration of hereditary wealth has as yet awakened less serious thought among us than the disastrous concentration of hereditary power had awakened in England. In the case of the Astors, quite as much as of the prince regent, the enormous sums expended are the gift of the nation, obtained without compensating services on the part of the recipients. The burden upon the labor of the country is as great, the benefit of the comfort or culture or character of the recipients is as small.
5 The Lord Jehovah is the Benefactor of the universe. He is of tender compassion, full of goodness, and his love is toward suffering humanity. The Psalmist says: “The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” The only begotten Son of God, who was the exalted Commander of heaven, who received the adoration of the angels, though he was rich, yet for our sakes he left the royal throne, departed from the heavenly courts, laid aside his royal robes, and for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. He announced his mission in Nazareth, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Did Christ make a mistake in not seeking for worldly popularity, in not making a great display?
6 In the clipping presented in this article the question of why there is so much suffering in the world is in a great part answered. Why is there so much hunger, nakedness, ignorance, and degradation?—It is because the word of God is disregarded, the law of God is transgressed. The Lord Jesus, who knew the value of man, gave his life to redeem him from the slavery of sin and Satan. He has lifted his voice in warning to the sons of men. He says: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Men are not careful to be the doers of the words of Christ; and this is why so much sin, misery, and want prevail in the world. He says again: “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
7 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And he said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou has answered right; this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out twopence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
8 Jesus marked out in a plain way the line of conduct that we all should pursue. We are to love God supremely, and our neighbors as ourselves. The question asked by the lawyer is of importance to each one of us, and the answer is plain and decided, so that no man need walk in darkness, because he has the light. The whole duty of man is comprised in keeping the first four and the last six commandments. The Spirit that prompts men to reveal in life the love of God will also make a man an obedient member of the heavenly family. If men love worldly things, name, position, wealth, or any object that leads them to forget God, they love that which makes them idolaters. Nothing should be permitted to so hold the affections that God is thrust out of the mind. The second commandment will be easily disobeyed if the first is not kept. Supreme love of God will sanctify the affections, and the fruit of love to God will be love to mankind. Those who have been tested and proved on this matter of loving others as themselves, will be pronounced meet for an inheritance with the saints in light. They will not become exalted, as did Lucifer in the courts of light. They will not create rebellion in heaven, because another has a brighter crown than they have. Heaven will be the home of the pure and undefiled, and those who reach that home of joy will feel rich, receiving a reward that they do not in the least feel that they deserve.
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1 Jesus has said, “He that gathereth not with me, scattereth.” Who is with Christ in the manner in which they treat the poor and suffering? Jesus has said again, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” “So shall ye be my disciples.” In what contrast to the manner of Christ in his humiliation is the manner of those who exalt themselves, and have no care for the needy around them! The rich people of the world are called the great ones, but what does the Creator call them? Thousands and even millions of dollars have been expended in extravagant display, by those who do not know what to do with their abundant means, while at the same time thousands are starving for bread, thousands living in comfortless homes, who are naked and destitute. The souls of the poor are just as valuable in the sight of God as the souls of the rich. The riches of the world belong to God, and he does not estimate men by the amount of money they possess. God intrusts money to men in order that he may see what use they will make of it.
2 Those who expend their money for self-gratification are only living on husks. What comfort can they take in looking upon their decorated persons, when the poor are all about them, suffering for the necessities of life? How can they desire to load themselves down with treasures, which are necessary neither for comfort, health, or happiness, when, if they distributed their treasures in a wise way, they might make many comfortable who cry in want and suffering, who are dying for the want of proper food and shelter? The cry of the destitute enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. He will call for an account from everyone who has shut up the bowels of mercy and compassion.
3 The Lord has imparted his goods in abundance, and if men and women possessed the attributes of Christ’s character, they would not heap up for themselves treasures, and fail to provide homes for the orphans, schooling for the poor, and food and clothing for the needy. What will rich men do in the judgment when they have failed to be good stewards of the grace of God? “Then shall he also say unto them on his left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was ahungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”
4 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel. He that is the way, the truth, and the life, has illuminated the track that leads heavenward. He came to our world to identify his interest with that of suffering humanity, to demonstrate before the world the goodness, mercy, and love of God to fallen man. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The requirement of God concerning those that shall enter the pearly gates, is that they be like Jesus, that they bear his image, and have his mind. They are to imitate his example, and live his life.
5 Being and doing good is essential to Christian character. No man liveth unto himself. All who win the precious boon of eternal life, will exemplify in life the life of Jesus Christ. They will follow in his steps who went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, who cheerfully gave his life a ransom for a lost world.
6 Conformity to the world and worldly attachments are forbidden by the word of God. Paul says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” The Holy Spirit with the cleaver of truth has separated men from the world, that they may go forth as missionaries for God into all the highways and byways of life. They are not only to seek and to save those that are lost, but they are also to minister to the wants of suffering humanity. Jesus says to them: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” This is the reason that they that will be rich, lay up their treasures on earth. They love the world, and the love of the Father is not in them. They decide to risk the consequences of disobeying Christ’s words and fully resolve to lay up treasure upon earth. “They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” “The wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.”
7 To lay plans for the gaining of worldly treasure simply that you may be rich and heap up treasure upon earth, is not laying plans in harmony with God’s will. Selfishness and sin are at the bottom of all such gain. Such men do not love God with all the heart and their neighbors as themselves. Many of the human family are perishing about them, and, though it is in their power to confer blessing upon them, they withhold the good they could do to them, and fail to supply the necessities of those who want. But the cries of orphans and widows come up before God. Their tears are all registered in the books of heaven; and those who have had the opportunity to help, and yet refused the aid they might have given, are charged in the ledger of heaven with robbery toward God, and are sentenced as those who have oppressed and defrauded the poor.
8 How many have failed when they have been tested with wealth! Many have professed the name of Christ, and have apparently lived as Christians, until their circumstances have changed and they have come into the possession of property. Under the test and proving of God, they have failed to bear the additional responsibility as God would have them, and have not acted as wise stewards. Many who have previously been earnest Christians, have begun to backslide from the time they have received a legacy, or have been successful in some business enterprise that has brought them into possession of greater influence and wealth. Their selfishness has been exhibited in a failure to pay their tithes. When in poorer circumstances they have paid to God his own, but when the tithe amounted to a large sum, when they had a greater talent whereby they might trade for the Master, they began to rob God of his own, and place the tithes of the Lord to their own account. They have been foolish enough to think that by this manner of dealing with God they were enriching themselves. Some have felt greatly troubled over their sin, and have confessed their misdoing, and resolved to pay to the Lord his own. But when they have reckoned up the amount they owed him, Satan suggested that it was too large a sum to be put into the treasury of the Lord, and again they have yielded to his suggestions. They have deceived themselves with the thought that they would by investing it have a larger sum at last to place to the Lord’s account. The only safe way is to deal with the Lord as he has directed in his word. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
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1 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
2 With breathless attention the large congregation awaited Jesus’ answer. The priests and Pharisees hoped to find something against him, and listened, that they might take advantage of his words, and interpret them in such a way as to bring upon him condemnation. But Christ, the true searcher of hearts, understood the intents and purposes of his enemies. He turned the matter over to the lawyer who had asked the question, saying, “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” The Jews accused Jesus of making too little of the law, but he turned the question of salvation the lawyer had asked to the keeping of God’s commandments. And the lawyer said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.”
3 The lawyer had asked a plain, decided question, and the answer is equally plain and decided. The scribes, priests, and Pharisees could find nothing by which to put him on trial for his life, except through the testimony of false witnesses, who accused him of violating the law. They had thought to entangle Jesus by having the lawyer ask this question, but the answering of it is required at the questioner’s hand. Christ knew that the lawyer was not satisfied with the position and works of the Pharisees, and, by the answer that he made to his own question, it is evident that he had been studying the Scriptures with a desire to obtain their real meaning. He had a vital interest in the matter, and asked in sincerity, “What shall I do?” The answer of the lawyer, commended by Jesus, and coming from one well instructed in the law, placed Jesus in such a position that the priests and Pharisees could not find occasion against him. In answering the question, “What is written in the law?” the lawyer passed over all the mass of ceremonial and ritualistic ordinances as of no value, and presented only the two great principles on which hang all the law and the prophets, and Jesus commended his wisdom, and said, “This do, and thou shalt live.” Jesus presented the law as a divine unity, and showed that it is not possible to keep one precept and break another, but that man’s position in the courts above will be according to his obedience to the whole law.
4 In his sermon on the mount Jesus had presented the truth concerning his estimation of the law. He had said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For . . . except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
5 The views entertained by the scribes and Pharisees are still in vogue in the world, and men think that by a partial obedience to the law, they will be cleared from sin; but Jesus taught that if any man offended in one point, he was guilty of breaking the whole law. The commandments are connected one with another as links in a chain, and if one link is broken, the chain is worthless. It is impossible for a man to obtain eternal life and break the commandments of Jehovah. Men cannot obey one commandment without rendering obedience to all the commandments. We are to regard the whole law as holy, just, and good. The first four precepts reveal the duty of man to God, and the last six reveal the duty of man to his fellow-man. On these two great principles hang all the law and the prophets; and when they are carried out in the life, they constitute the righteousness of their keeper.
6 In all the instructions of Jesus, he presents before us the character of God. We are called upon to love God with undivided heart. We are not to render to him a formal service, a barren faith, to acknowledge his superior power in a casual way, but we are to render to him praise and thanksgiving, and make it manifest that we are under his rule and dominion. He will accept nothing but the whole heart, the supreme love. There must be nothing that will draw the mind away from him. Anything that interposes itself between God and the soul, assumes the form of an idol. Every other thing that can attract the heart is inferior to God, and no man can serve two masters whose interests are at variance. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
7 Jesus found himself surrounded by scribes, Pharisees, and lawyers, and the lawyer asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” To this question Jesus presented a parable that laid bare the sanctimonious pretensions of priests and Levites. With fearlessness and fidelity he exposed the false doctrine of those who taught the traditions of man, and disregarded the commandments of God. He illustrated what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. But he also showed that this love will never be exercised by those who do not keep the first four precepts of the law. Where love to God is practiced, natural self-idolatry will not exist. No man can love God supremely unless he loves his neighbor as himself. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?” Love to God is the golden chain that binds the ten precepts of Jehovah together.
8 To answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus presented the parable of the good Samaritan. He knew that the Jews included only those of their own nation under the title of neighbors, and looked upon the Gentiles with contempt, calling them dogs, uncircumcised, unclean, and polluted. But above all others they despised the Samaritans. They cursed them, and would have no dealings with them. Jesus himself had been taught, both by precept and example, thus to regard this hated people, and the lawyer had been educated by the same kind of teaching. Yet Jesus said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.”
9 In journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho the traveler had to pass through a portion of the wilderness of Judea, and the road led through a wild, rocky ravine. It was here that robbers attacked the traveler, stripped him of all that was valuable, wounding and bruising him, and leaving him half dead by the wayside. As the sufferer lies thus, a priest passes by, but merely glances at the wounded man; and, as he does not wish to be put to the trouble and expense of helping him, he passes by on the other side. Then a Levite passes. Curious to know what has happened, he stops and looks at the sufferer; but he has no feeling of compassion to prompt him to help the dying man. He does not like the work, and, as he thinks it is no concern of his, he too passes by. Both these men were in sacred office, and claimed to know and to expound the Scriptures. They had been trained in the school of national bigotry, and had become selfish, narrow, and exclusive, and they felt no sympathy for anyone unless he was of the Jews. They look upon the wounded man, but cannot tell whether he is of their nation or not. He might be of the Samaritans—and they turn away. Had they not read of Job, who said, “The stranger did not lodge in the street; but I opened my doors to the traveler”? Had they not read of Lot, when the two angels came to Sodom, how he bowed himself to the ground, and said, “Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways”?
10 Jesus, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud and fire, had taught them a very different lesson from the lesson they had received from bigoted and exclusive teachers. The merciful Saviour of the Gospels was the One who had instructed the Hebrews in the wilderness; and, had they read the Scriptures correctly, and practiced the teaching he had given, they would have pursued a very different course of action from the one they did pursue. The weightier matters of the law were judgment, mercy, and love. The stranger was to be treated with kindness, and it was to be understood that strangers were under God’s special protection. Directions had been given to Moses for the children of Israel to this effect: “If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help him.” And was not a man better than an ox?
(Concluded next week.)
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1 In the parable Jesus presented a stranger, a neighbor, a brother in suffering, wounded and dying. How much more should their hearts have been moved with pity for him than for a beast of burden! But, though priests and scribes had read the law, they had not brought it into their practical life. They had read: “For The Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward; he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.”
2 In speaking of the manner in which the priest and the Levite treated the wounded man, the lawyer had heard nothing out of harmony with his own ideas, nothing contrary to the forms and ceremonies that he had been taught were all the law required. But Jesus presented another scene: But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two-pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
3 After Christ had shown up the cruelty and selfishness manifested by the representatives of the nation, he brought forward the Samaritan, who was despised, hated, and cursed by the Jews, and set him before them as one who possessed attributes of character far superior to those possessed by those who claimed exalted righteousness. The Samaritan manifested the pity and love that the priest and Levite gave no evidence of possessing. He gave a demonstration that he had a heart that could feel for suffering humanity, that he had nobility of soul to show mercy to one whom he knew not, that his love was of the right quality, flowing out in disinterested benevolence, and making him treat the wounded stranger as he would desire to be treated were he placed in similar circumstances.
4 Everyone who claims to be a child of God should note every detail of this lesson. The wounded and bruised sufferer was a man, and the Samaritan showed himself to be a man. He did not stop to consider whether or not this man would be pleasant or disagreeable, whether he was a Jew or a Gentile. He knew that he was in need of help from humanity. “Thy neighbor” does not mean one of the church or faith to which you belong. If our names are upon the church book, we should represent the mercy, compassion, and tenderness of Jesus Christ, with no thought as to race, color, or class distinction. The Samaritan realized that there was before him a human being in need and suffering, and as soon as he sees him, he has compassion upon him.
5 He takes off his own garment with which to cover his nakedness, and uses the oil and wine he has provided for his own comfort to heal and refresh the wounded man. He forgets that he may be in danger of similar treatment from robbers by tarrying in the place, and places the man on his beast, and moves slowly along, with even pace, so that the stranger may not be jarred and made to suffer increased pain. He brings him to a comfortable inn, takes care of him through the night, watching his case carefully, and in the morning, as the suffering has improved, he ventures to leave him to the care of the inn keeper. He hands him a sum of money, bidding him care for the stranger, and saying that if he spends more than he has provided, he will repay him on his return.
6 The Samaritan followed the impulse of a kind and loving heart. Christ so presented the scene that the most severe rebuke was placed upon the unfeeling actions of priest and Levite. But this lesson is not only for them; but for Christians of this day, and is a solemn warning to us that for humanity’s sake we may not fail to show mercy and pity to those who suffer. Like Judaism, Christianity has become perverted, and selfishness and cold formality have quenched the fire of love, and dispelled the graces that would make fragrant the character. Holding up before the lawyer the course of the Samaritan, Jesus said to him (for he was no pretender), “Go, and do thou likewise.” There are many who are sentimental, and who are ready to weep over any tale of woe, but who do not manifest real love in doing for the needy those things that should be done. But those who have read this lesson, and have been benefited, will be able to distinguish real love from sentimentalism.
7 In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus presented his own love and character. The life of Christ was filled with works of love toward the lost and erring. In the man bruised and wounded and stripped of his possessions, the sinner is represented. The human family, the lost race, is pictured in the sufferer, left naked, bleeding, and destitute. Jesus takes his own robe of righteousness to cover the soul, and whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The Lord Jesus gives no encouragement to the idea that one is superior to another, and justifies no one in cherishing feelings of contempt or even indifference toward his fellow-men. The law of God is the standard to which all must attain, and sinful man can obey that law only by the merit and grace of Jesus Christ, who has died for his salvation.
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Page 679
1 There is a work that must be done for the wealthy, to arouse them to a realization of their relationship to men and their accountability to God. They must be awakened to the fact that they are to give an account to Him who shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. Those who are rich are put under responsibility to labor for others in the love and fear of God. But many of the rich trust in their riches, and do not realize the danger in which they are placed. God has something to give them of vastly more value than gold or silver or precious jewels. The soul needs to be attracted by the things that are of enduring value. The need to understand the value of true goodness. Jesus says unto them, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He asks them to exchange the yoke of their own manufacturing for his yoke, which is easy, and for his burden, which is light. He says, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” He is calling: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” “Him that cometh unto me I will in nowise cast out.”
2 Those who will listen to the voice of Christ, will recognize the voice of superior goodness, the voice of the True Shepherd. Oh, that the wealthy might feel their responsibility to be faithful stewards of the means which God has intrusted to their care! Oh, that they might understand that they must be agents for God, if they would meet his approval! Oh, that they might know that they were standing upon holy ground, and might be distinguished workers, engaging with Christ in the grand work of elevating those whom Christ died to save!
3 The Lord has intrusted to human beings capabilities of talent and influence; he has intrusted to men an abundance of money, not to be lavishly spent in selfish ways, for the gratification of unholy desires, but for the performance of their part in the great work of redemption. He has intrusted riches to the wealthy in order that they may bless humanity, by relieving the wants of the suffering and needy. This is the work that has been committed to them, and in doing this work they are not to feel that they have done some wonderful thing. Many endow some large institution, or give large sums to the church, and fail to relieve the distress of the suffering poor right about their doors. But the rich are to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help those who are in trying circumstances, those who are wrestling with all their power to keep themselves and their families from the pauper’s home.
4 God does not mean that the misery which we see about us in the poverty of the masses, shall exist. He does not intend that one shall have all the luxuries of life, and that others shall cry for bread. All the means intrusted to men over and above what is required to supply their own necessities, is intrusted to them for the blessing of humanity. If those whom God has made stewards, love God, they will love those who are formed in his image. Stewards of this character will not give with a patronizing air, as though they had done something for which they should be praised and honored; but they will realize that they are but trading on their Lord’s goods, and that in the judgment they will have to give an account of the way in which they have employed their Lord’s capital. They will understand that they are laborers together with God.
5 Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, laid off his royal crown, laid aside his kingly robe, clothed his divinity with humanity, and left his high command. He was adored and worshiped by the angelic hosts, and yet for our sake he became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. He came to give us, not the perishable treasure of houses and land and gold, but that which is enduring and imperishable, even eternal riches. Will men then refuse to be laborers together with God? Will they refuse to take their part in the work of redeeming lost humanity? In every large city there are men, women, and children who do not receive as much consideration as do the beasts. In England I saw poor children who were clad in dirty rags, who were half starved, whose countenances were stamped with vice and degradation. People live in damp, dark cellars reeking with filth, and children are born and brought up in these vile holes of misery. From earliest infancy through life, they see nothing but that which is unlovely, degraded, and vile. There is no view of nature’s loveliness to attract the eye, and they hear the name of God only in oaths of horrible profanity. In places of this kind children are left to come up as they may. They are moulded and fashioned by the low precepts and wretched examples of those around them. Disagreeable surroundings greet their sight, impure words fall upon their ears, and the fumes of liquor and tobacco fill their atmosphere. Brought up in immoral degradation, it is no wonder that they turn out to be thieves, beggars, and murderers.
6 They subsist upon insufficient food, of a character unfit for the human stomach, and from these abodes of misery, piteous cries are sent up to heaven by those who know not how to pray. At the same time that this dreadful wretchedness is in existence, those to whom God has intrusted means are adding farm to farm, building house to house, and mansion to mansion, and even providing palaces for their dogs, and hiring servants to care for them. Dogs are fed and cared for in a luxurious way, while human beings are left in destitution, misery, crime, disease, and death.
7 Is it a wonder that our Lord exclaims, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God”? Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, became poor for our sake. He penetrated into the very inner circles of life. He sought to call the attention of men to the fact that, while they were devoting themselves to their busy activities, they were neglecting their eternal interests. He sought to impress upon them the fact that God had given them endowments of talent, means, and influence to be improved and increased, that they might grow in efficiency, and be better able to be laborers together with God.
8 God has made human beings his almoners and agents, to distribute the benefits of his providence. They are to use wisely his intrusted talent of means, as well as the endowment of his grace in other directions. Men are required to engage with heavenly intelligences in restoring, reshaping the human character. The rich are to help the poor. It is not according to God’s plan that the rich should give to the rich. It is the oppressed, the downtrodden, the discouraged, the hungry, the naked, the suffering poor, whom Jesus says “ye have always with you.” We need to take closer views of eternity, and by doing this we shall not be unfitted for our work in this world; we shall not be disqualified for taking a Christlike part in the affairs of society.
9 The gospel of Christ is not only to be believed, but it is to be acted upon. We are to be doers of the word; and in doing or not doing according to the instruction of Christ, we are deciding our eternal destiny for life or death. God does not desire fitful service, emotional spasms of religion. We are to act from principle, to have a firm, abiding trust in Christ. If Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, it will be made manifest in the development of our character and actions; for there will appear the likeness of Christ in our life. We shall represent the Father and the Son to the world. The command is given, “Work while it is day; for the night cometh, in which no man can work.”
10 Jesus calmly asks, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” If we employ these hours realizing our accountability to God, acting as serious, candid agents for God, keeping eternity in view, we shall live in such a way as to secure the eternal inheritance, and by our precept and example shall bring souls to Christ. But we have no time to devote to the indulgence of self in sin, no time for selfish pleasure seeking. Time is golden. We have characters to form for eternal life, and angels of God are watching what progress we are making. Angels are weighing moral worth. Oh, that we all might realize the value of time! A ruler exclaimed, when the physician told him that he could live but a few minutes, “A kingdom for an hour’s time.” He had been granted year after year. He had had twelve hours of the day. Was not the time granted him that he might secure his eternal interests? Now is the appointed time, now is the day of salvation. Oh, may none put off the day of repentance and reformation! Now is the accepted time.
11 Jesus Christ has engaged to save every soul who will believe in him as a personal Saviour. He has engaged us in his service, and has pointed out to us the work that he expects us to do. He has given us a glimpse of eternity, in order that we may realize that temporal things are of little moment beside that which is eternal. Something higher than the affairs of this life is to engage our attention, and call forth the energies of our being, that we may glorify our Redeemer. Christ calls upon us as human agents to cooperate with heavenly agencies in the work of saving the world. Not one is to feel that he can use his time as he chooses. Heavenly requirements are not to be ignored. It is the universal tendency of men to subordinate the eternal realities to temporal matters, to make the claims of the future, immortal life subservient to the commonplace affairs of this fleeting life. But the Lord has said: “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” The god of this world claims the service of men, and seeks to keep them in continual slavery to his will. But Christ, the uplifted Saviour, calls to men in authoritative tones, saying, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things [of secondary importance] shall be added unto you.”
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1 Seated upon the Mount of Olives, which was over against the temple, with his disciples around him, Jesus seeks to make clear in a prophetic discourse the deeper mysteries of the kingdom of God. Through his favorite medium, by parables, he endeavors to imprint upon their minds the special truths connected with his second coming to our world. The sun has set behind the mountains, and the heavens are curtained with the shades of evening. A dwelling house is lighted up brilliantly, as though for some festive scene. The lights shine from the open spaces, and an expectant company wait around, indicating that a marriage procession is soon to appear. In many parts of the East wedding festivities are held in the evening. The bridegroom goes forth to meet his bride, and bring her to his home. By torchlight he will bring her along the streets from her father’s house to his own, where a supper is prepared for the guests invited to the wedding.
2 Lingering near the bride’s house are ten young women, in attire suitable for the occasion. Ten was the usual number who were chosen as bridesmaids. Each of the bridal attendants has a lamp and a small vessel for oil. Their lamps are lighted, and as hour after hour of waiting goes by, they grow weary of watching, and, one after another, they fall asleep. About midnight the sleepers are awakened with the cry, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh.” They exchange their slumbers for life and activity. They spring to their feet. The wedding procession is in sight, with the brilliant torches shining, and they can hear the joyous music as they approach. The ten virgins seize their lamps, and begin to trim them to go forth; but five of the watchers have been wise and five foolish. Five have neglected to fill their vessels with oil. They have not expected the bridegroom to tarry so long, and have not prepared for the emergency. They are in distress, not because they see that their lamps are going out, but because they know that there is nothing in their vessels by which to replenish them. They address a piteous appeal to those who have provided themselves with oil; but they are denied, for the wise virgins have only enough to fill their own lamps, and they are bidden to hasten away and buy oil from the dealer. And while they are away on this errand, the bridegroom comes. The wise virgins, with lamps trimmed and burning, join the procession, and go in to the wedding, and the door is shut.
3 Soon after the door is shut, the foolish virgins come, knocking for admittance to the banquet hall, but they meet with an unexpected answer to their call. The Master of the feast says, “I know you not.” There is no evidence given that the foolish virgins did obtain oil, but there is abundant evidence that they did not enter into the marriage feast, but were left standing outside in the empty streets in the blackness of the night.
4 Jesus used the parable of the ten virgins to represent the condition of the church before his coming, and the question that concerns each one of us is, Are we among the five wise or the five foolish virgins? Without going into the details of the parable, we may ask ourselves, What is our condition before God? Those that were wise went in to the wedding. We shall make it manifest what is our true condition by our conduct and conversation. Jesus has warned us as to what should be our position at this time. He says, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.”
5 He who relaxes his vigilance because he knows not the day nor the hour when his Lord shall come, who becomes careless, and neglects to have his vessel filled with oil (the grace of Christ), will be found unprepared, and will not go in to the wedding. How solemn is the oft-repeated warning that our Lord has given to watch! He says, “Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.” If a much-loved friend in the last hours of his association with us should give us counsel, warning, or instruction, how carefully would we treasure his words, how faithfully would we follow his instruction, and give attention to his cautions! Christ is our best Friend, for he has purchased us at infinite cost, and has made us his sons and daughters, and these soul-stirring words have been uttered by him for our benefit. Shall we not regard his claim upon us, and give him our service and our sympathy? If we do this, we shall not be neglectful of his warning, “Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at evening, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you [my disciples] I say unto all, Watch.” “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.”
6 Now is the time to look to it that we have on hand an abundant supply of the oil of the grace of Christ. It was the wisdom of the wise virgins in supplying themselves with oil that made the difference between their fate and that of the foolish virgins, who had neglected to keep oil in their vessels with their lamps. In the Scripture, oil is used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The wise virgins are those who have faith and love and patience, whose experience day by day is nourished by the Holy Spirit. They do not conform to the world in careless inattention. They do not put off their daily preparation, but follow Jesus wherever he leads the way. God is not pleased with a flickering faith. It is compared to a lamp that is going out. He is pleased with those whose experience is like that of a lamp that is burning brightly. His followers are to shine as lights in the world. Christ’s servants are to keep their lamps trimmed and burning, that they may add their light to the light of others who are following Christ. Those who are not daily desirous of gaining a living, daily experience in the things of God, will not meet his approval, but will be found with those whose lamps are going out, and will not be prepared to go in to the marriage supper of the Lamb. We cannot be ready to meet the Lord by waking up at the last minute, when the cry is heard, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,” gathering up our lamps, from which the oil has burned away, and thinking then to have them replenished. Our only hope is daily to love God, to love the truth, not for the sake of its clear arguments, but for truth’s sake alone. We must bring the truth into our hearts and minds, and every day be living, shining lights, learning daily more and more of Jesus. Our conversation must be in heaven, from whence we look for our Lord Jesus Christ. We should talk much of his coming; then we shall be constantly receiving the grace which cometh from above, from the Source of all spiritual power.
7 The time is far spent. It is too late now to sleep the careless sleep of indifference. It is time now to rejoice greatly because of the Bridegroom’s voice. It is time to sing of the marriage supper of the Lamb. The question for us to settle is, Which class shall we be among, the wise or the foolish? God help us to be among the wise. “Blessed are they that are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
“The watchmen on the mountains
Proclaim the Bridegroom near;
Go meet him as he cometh
With hallelujahs clear.
“The marriage feast is waiting;
The gates wide open stand;
Up, up, ye heirs of glory,
The Bridegroom is at hand.”
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Page 681
1 The solemn fate of the five foolish virgins, presented in the parable of the ten virgins, is recorded to warn those who, while professing the faith of Christ, have become cold and backslidden.
2 The five foolish virgins represent the careless, indolent, self-satisfied professor of religion. They have a calm expectation of entering heaven sometime, yet they have not purified their souls by obeying the truth. They understand the theory of truth, but have no vital connection with God. They trust to feeling, and neglect to search the Scriptures. They are satisfied to walk in the sparks of their own kindling. We are all exhorted to be diligent, that we may make our calling and election sure. But I am greatly troubled, fearing, yes, knowing, that there are many who profess the truth who are not testing their lives and characters by God’s great moral standard of righteousness. They are careless; they have not the oil of grace in their vessels with their lamps. They are cherishing hidden sins, which no human eye can see. They know that they are not pure, and without spot, and should diligently seek God, that they may cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the sight of God.
3 There are many ideas in the world as to what is sin. The deist says that sin is dishonesty, a lack of patriotism, honor, and manliness. Those who have little idea as to what constitutes religion will tell you that sin is murder, adultery, robbery, and crime. But what does the word of God define it to be? John writes, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” Without the law we have no knowledge of what sin is. Those who have no respect for the law will be deceived by entertaining hopes of entering heaven.
4 But a knowledge of the law is not enough. He who accepts the law, who acknowledges the claims of the law, who yet feels satisfied with himself, and has no experience in being born again, will fail of keeping the law, and will come under its condemnation. God’s law not only covers every deed of outward life, but also penetrates to the intents and purposes of the heart. The man who will meet Christ in peace will be the man who follows in his footsteps, who takes him for his example and righteousness. Jesus said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” He was perfect, pure, spotless. His life was the embodiment of all that was noble and holy, and whoever obeys Christ, fulfills the law of God, meets every claim upon him, treats every being as the purchase of the blood of Christ.
5 He who does not yield to the claims of the law of God, sets himself above God, breaks away from God’s rule of right, and becomes disloyal, as did the great deceiver in the beginning. Would that some who claim to be commandment keepers could see how their cases stand in the register above. Oh, that all who are falling short of the principles of righteousness might realize that they do not meet the broad, far-reaching claims of the law of God upon them! Repentance for sin is the first step in conversion. Repentance is an intense hatred of sin in all its forms. Phariseeism permits of self-complacency, and those who are self-righteous, appear to have a form of piety, but at heart they are corrupt. They may talk of their hope of heaven, when, in fact, they have not taken the first step toward heaven.
6 We are not under a system of mere requirements, mere justice, and unsympathizing rigor. The penalty of transgressing the law has fallen upon our Substitute and Surety, and for a time has been suspended, so that the guilty do not feel its weight; but the object of this suspension is not to teach us that its claims are over, its exactions set aside, but to attract us to holiness, to obedience. Nothing is changed except the manner of bringing men to obey the law. Obey its claims we must. The first step toward obedience is repentance. We are to see the excellence of its requirements by beholding the wrong of disobedience.
7 He who is truly repentant, he who is regenerated, hates sin. All manner of selfishness is distressing to him. Indifference to God on the part of those around him grieves him. He is not led to exalt self in the performance of his duty, but abhors self. “I abhor myself” is the language of the godly of all ages, who have had a clear view of the purity and holiness of Christ. But those who are but superficial Christians seek to exalt self by depreciating others. The clearer the views of the character of Christ the more humble will be our views of self. Like Job, Isaiah, Daniel, David, and Paul, we shall feel that our comeliness is turned in us into corruption.
8 Those who are represented by the foolish virgins have not this sense of their own unworthiness. They have no oil in their vessels with their lamps. The same principles of truth are presented in the parable of the two builders,—one built upon the rock, and the other upon the sand. Jesus says: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”
9 It is not a matter of little consequence to us as to how we hear and how we treat the truth of God. To misunderstand the truth, to fail to appreciate it, because we do not cherish light that comes to us, will tend to make us careless in our character building, and we shall have our foundation laid upon the sand. The wise builder builds upon the Rock Christ Jesus, no matter what may be the inconvenience. He builds not upon human but upon divine merit, accepting the righteousness of Christ as his own, and as his only hope of salvation. The foolish builder built upon the sand, and through his carelessness, or prejudice, or through the deceptions of the natural heart, he cherishes a self-righteous spirit, and places human wisdom in the place where God’s wisdom should have the supremacy; and how terrible are the consequences!
10 There are many unwise builders, and when the storm of temptation comes and beats upon them, it is made evident that their foundation is only sliding sand. They are left in gross darkness, without faith, without principles, and without foundation. The five foolish virgins had a real interest in the gospel. They knew what was the perfect standard of righteousness; but their energies were paralyzed with self-love; for they lived to please and glorify themselves, and had not the oil of grace in their vessels with which to replenish their lamps. They were often distressed by the enemy, who knew their weakness, and placed darkness before them in the semblance of light. Truth, precious, life-giving truth, represented as oil, appeared to them as unessential, and Satan took advantage of their blindness, ignorance, and weakness of faith, and they had a fluctuating experience, based on uncertain principles.
11 All who wait for the heavenly Bridegroom are represented in the parable as slumbering because their Lord delayed his coming; but the wise roused themselves at the message of his approach, and responded to the message, and their spiritual life was replenished. Their spiritual discernment was not all gone, and they sprang into line. As they took hold of the grace of Christ, their religious experience became vigorous and abundant, and their affections were set upon things above. They discerned where was the source of their supply, and appreciated the love that God had for them. They opened their hearts to receive the Holy Spirit, by which the love of God was shed abroad in their hearts. Their lights were trimmed and burning, and sent forth steady rays in to the moral darkness of the world. They glorified God, because they had the oil of grace in their hearts, and did the very work that their Master did before them,—went forth to seek and to save those who were lost.
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Page 682
1 “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.” “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth upon him.”
2 By searching the Scriptures we are to know God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. The Bible has not been given for the benefit of ministers only; it is the book for the people; it is the comfort of the poor man. It is a great mistake for ministers to give the impression to the people that they should not read the Bible because they cannot understand its sacred teachings, and should be content with the interpretation given by those whose business it is to proclaim the word of God. Ministers who thus educate the people are themselves in error. The Bible and the soul were made one for the other, and through the agency of the word and the Holy Spirit, God moves upon the heart. To him who receives the love of the truth, the word of God is as a light that shineth in a dark place, pointing out the path so plainly that the wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein. He realizes that “the entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
3 The uneducated man, in earnest desire of soul, may in his humility and simplicity reap from the Bible far greater consolation than the learned or more exalted and honored man. He may never be able to present to another the same evidences of the inspiration of the word that a learned man could, but he can bear in his life and character a testimony of strength, showing forth in his outward demeanor the evidence of the power of the truth. God means that the poor and uneducated should have his word as a sure light and guide in the path of righteousness. If they are sincere, and desire earnestly to know the will of God, they will not be left in darkness. It is the privilege of everyone to be wise for himself in reading the Scriptures. No man can safely trust his soul to the minister, or to men who are learned and talented. Jesus charged the priests and rulers, who were regarded as learned in the Scriptures, as being ignorant both of the Scriptures and the power of God. Those to whom God has intrusted talents are responsible for the use of their gifts, and should study the Bible as a book that may be understood. A single text has proved in the past, and will prove in the future, a savor of life unto life to many a soul. As men diligently search, the Bible will open out new treasures of truth, that will be as bright jewels to the mind.
4 If the poor and unlearned are not capable of understanding the Bible, then the mission of Christ to our world was useless; for he says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” The command to search the Scriptures, Christ addressed not only to the Pharisees and scribes, but to the great multitude of the common people who crowded about them. If the Bible is not to be understood by every class of people, whether they be rich or poor, what would be the need of the Saviour’s charge to search the Scriptures? What profit would there be in searching that which could never be understood? What would be the consistency of this command, if the searching of the Scriptures would not dispel the clouds of error, and would not lead men to an understanding of the revealed will of God to man?
5 Let everyone who has been blessed with reasoning faculties take up the neglected Bible, and search the Scriptures, that he may understand what is the will of God concerning him. In this book heavenly information is given to men. The Bible has been addressed to everyone,—to every class of society, to those of every clime and age. The duty of every intelligent person is to search the Scriptures. Each one should know for himself the conditions upon which salvation is provided. Satan has interposed his shadow between your soul and the bright beams of light that shine from heaven to guide you to the portals of bliss. Through his confederacy of evil angels and evil men, Satan has wrought in such a way as to bury up the truth under the rubbish of human traditions, customs, and practices.
6 In Christ’s day, as in our day, the people were looking to the educated men, to the scribes and Pharisees, to explain to them the meaning of that which the God of heaven had revealed. These teachers had departed from God, and were following their own understanding, and did not follow the ways of the Lord. They thought they must interpret the Scriptures in a way that would harmonize with their course of action. They were seeking the praise of men, and departing more and more from the plainly revealed way of the Lord, following the traditions of men’s devising. Of them Christ declared, “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
7 The Pharisees and the religious teachers so misrepresented the character of God that it was necessary for Christ to come to the world to represent the Father. Through the subtlety of Satan, men were led to charge upon God Satanic attributes; but the Saviour swept back the thick darkness which Satan had rolled before the throne of God in order that he might intercept the bright rays of mercy and love which came from God to man. Jesus Christ revealed the Father in his true character to the world, representing him as full of mercy, love, and light. Christ took upon him humanity in order that the light and radiance of divine love should not extinguish man. When Moses pleaded, “I beseech thee, show me thy glory,” he was placed in the cleft of the rock, and the Lord passed by before him. When Philip asked Christ to show them the Father, he said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” He revealed the Father to Philip as he had revealed him to Moses when he passed by before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” Jesus proclaimed himself to the world as the perfect representation of the Father, and invited the love and confidence of the world to be centered in the Father. He said: “I am in the Father and the Father in me.” “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. . . . Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.”
8 In plain language the Saviour taught the world that the tenderness, the compassion, and love that he manifested toward man, were the very attributes of his Fathers in heaven. Whatever doctrine of grace he presented, whatever promise of joy, whatever deed of love, whatever divine attraction he exhibited, had its source in the Father of all. In the person of Christ we behold the eternal God engaged in an enterprise of boundless mercy toward fallen man. Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, that his humanity might touch humanity, and divinity reach divinity.
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Page 683
1 Among the different denomination there seems to be a determination developing to bind the consciences of their members. They are building up barriers about their own sects, and forming a purpose to listen to nothing outside of their own doctrines. They are restricting themselves from hearing anything new, or any doctrine presented by any other people than those who belong to their own church. But it would be well for them to inquire from what origin this determination arises, and who has sent forth this order? Certainly the Lord has made no such restrictions, for he has his message, and his messengers are to go forth and present it to the people, in warnings, reproofs, and instruction in righteousness; and he has given the people directions as to what they shall do. The apostle says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
2 Ministers of popular churches are many of them softening down and diluting the plain word of truth. They are obscuring the light, and changing the message, in order to accommodate it to the prejudices, and adjust it to the opinions and habits, of the people. Thus they cater to the taste of the world-loving members of the church. But while they are so free to change the truth of God, on the other hand they advise their members to exercise the greatest caution lest they hear the message of God from the messengers he chooses to send to the people.
3 Oh, let there be no cautioning of the people on the danger of studying the word of God! Let there be no concealment of truth, no measures taken to evade or ignore truth. Let no one entertain the erroneous idea that the people of this or that denomination are in need of no more light. Open the door of the heart, place yourselves in a position where you may catch new revelations of the character of God. Light comes from the very throne of God. When some familiar truth presents itself to your mind in a new aspect, when a text of Scripture suddenly bursts upon you with new meaning like a flash of light that scatters the mist, and you see the relation of other truths to some part of the plan of redemption, God is leading you, and a divine Teacher is at your side. Will you not then open the door of your heart to receive more and more of the heavenly illumination?
4 It is by contemplation of heavenly things that the soul is brought into fellowship and communion with the Spirit of God, and the soul that is teachable, that is continually seeking for fresh rays of light, will be blessed with brighter and brighter views of divine things. But there are many classes of religious teachers who seem to be determined to close every avenue whereby fresh rays of light from heaven may come to the people. They would bind the members of their churches by certain rules and regulations that forbid them to go to other places of worship, or listen to messengers outside of a certain class of teachers. In this way men and women are led to give up the liberty that God has ordained for them, and they fail to improve the mind and gather up the divine rays of light which emanate from sources outside their own church.
5 “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price.” We are God’s property, and are to honor and glorify God. But we do not honor and glorify God when we become the servants of men, when we consent to have our liberty restricted by men or by councils of men. We have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, in order that we may be just and generous to our own souls. I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God, that you break every band that would restrict your liberty in Christ. God has light to impart to all his children that is of a more radiant character than any we have received, and you have no right to bind yourself in such a way as to shut yourself away from the light. You have no right to do after the inventions of any society of men, who would circumscribe the limit of your thought, and cause you to become a mere mechanical Christian.
6 You have many things to learn, and much to unlearn. You will have to sit at the feet of the great Teacher and learn of him concerning themes that are higher and nobler than the themes which now engage your attention. I am free to address you who have shut yourselves away from the light, because I know that a higher Teacher than man is calling you. You have lost much in your religious life, because you have failed to improve the opportunities that have been presented to you from the Father of lights. Fresh rays of light from heaven are always given that the character may be transformed, that the soul may be able to contemplate truth in a new relation. When Jesus is welcomed into the heart, he will refine and mould and fashion the character. Those who receive him more fully, will not have less energy in their religious life, but their religion will be of a higher, holier type than ever before. They will work in such a way that their usefulness will be increased. God would have his professed children reach a higher standard, and ever go on, still reaching up to that which they have not attained. They should cherish every divine inspiration, for as his property he requires this of them.
7 No man or woman is to bind himself in such a way as to become a slave of men in any way. No man or set of men have the right of laying out to others what they shall or shall not do in religious matters, or in any way prescribing their faith. A voice speaks to us to which we are bound to listen. It is the voice of Christ, who says, “Follow me.” He says, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The Christian is never to be tame and dull. Those who are imbued with the Spirit of Christ, will work in the Master’s vineyard, and the heavenly fire of the soul will ever be kept burning. Our security is in Christ, in studying the guidebook he has given. Those who are studying the ways and methods of men and following their customs, are deceived if they think that they are following the directions of God in the matter.
8 Jesus says: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” The service of Jesus does not consist in outward show simply. It is not a matter of form and ceremonies, of parade, exclamation, gestures, noise, and a display of the commonplace passions. Pure religion consists in keeping the heart and mind in communion with the great Leader, Jesus Christ. It consists in having the inward adorning of a meek and quiet spirit. The indwelling Holy Spirit will give life and tone and style that will not be after the inventions of men, not in imitation of any earthly, human leader, but after the Pattern, Christ. Religion does not consist in playing upon words, in uncouth gestures; bodily exercise profiteth little in this matter. There is no divine eloquence in this kind of exercise.
9 The religion of Jesus Christ is ever to be distinguished from all other religions by its holiness of character. In true religion will be found great truths clearly defined in words, and inwrought in the life of its professors as a principle from the divine Author. In true religion the Holy Spirit will work in connection with human agents, confirming the truth of God. Every part of the service of Christ will be characterized by decorum and reverence. The truth of Christ cannot be confined to a certain range, yet it will be active to create for its environment, manners and habits and practices that will be in harmony with its Author. Everything will be done decently and in order. Wild methods and strange freaks and confusion are not authorized by the God of order. The methods employed by the church of Christ should be such as will win souls from allegiance to the prince of darkness, and cause them to take their stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel.
10 Some may say that these methods of reaching men will not avail to reach those who are poor and low down in the scale of humanity. But this matter must be regarded in an altogether different light by those who would be soldiers in the army of Christ. Do not cherish the error that you must follow after a pattern presented to you by some man. Study your Bible more, and let the habits and practices of men have less and less of your attention. Do not dishonor your God by thinking that it requires but little knowledge of what saith the Scriptures, to be a useful worker in his cause. You are to study the manner of the great Teacher, and keep his example ever before you. No human being is to be your Pattern. The Lord of heaven is to be the Teacher and Pattern for everyone who would win souls to God.
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Page 684
1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every Spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”
2 In this age of the world we see every grade and degree of skepticism. There are rank infidels, those who believe in the lying wonders of Spiritualism, and those who reject the claims of divine truth. All these are placed among the class that John has written of, and are controlled by the spirit of antichrist. Ignorance of the character of God, pride of understanding, and the love of sin, are the source of infidelity. Men deny the divinity of Christ, cast away the Bible, and thus seek to free themselves from personal accountability to God. They bring the Bible into conflict with “science, falsely so called.” These doubters can start inquiries which the most humble and pious Christian would be perplexed to know how to answer. But because their queries cannot be answered, is no evidence that the Bible is not true. A little child has asked questions in regard to God, the soul, and the future, that the most learned could not answer. The truth of God’s word will be revealed to those who are of a lowly heart, who will comprehend its duties and obey its precepts. It is pride of opinion that leads to skepticism, and to the denial of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Skepticism has its origin in love of sin, love of ambition, and self-exaltation.
3 Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, is the channel through which all our blessings come, and those who refuse to acknowledge him as the divine Son of God, virtually say, “I will not have this man to rule over me.” Those who are self-willed, puffed up with pride and self-importance, while they will not give up their wills to be in harmony with God’s will, yet will accept the delusions of false prophets, and be led to refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God. Skeptics and infidels may profess to be doing good work, but they are greatly deceived. They are trampling upon the blood of the covenant, and counting that which should have sanctified them as an unholy thing. There are many who have not taken the ground that infidels take, and yet they are in the first stages of infidelity. They question everything that is of a divine character, seeking to bring down everything to the level of that which is common and natural. Their minds are like a sponge, and absorb every suggestion of unbelief. They pass these suggestions to others, and thus sow the seeds of skepticism, and what they sow they will reap. When a believer seeks to answer one question started by a skeptic, he will propound another and another. The only way to do is to let skeptics alone until they truly desire light. Let those who engage in controversy with these wily opponents remember that they are not meeting men, not wrestling “against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” The confederacy of evil is seeking to poison human minds with error, and obscure the light of truth.
4 Skeptics think that they can mingle their darkness with light, and thus confuse the believer in the Bible. It is not because they have so great a depth of reasoning that they do not believe, but because they are ignorant both of the Scriptures and power of God. The truth of God will be assailed by the cavils of infidelity. It is considered a special proof of intellectual greatness to be bold in denying the divinity of Christ; but this is not a proof of intellectual greatness, but is an evidence that the mind is bound about with earthliness so that it does not comprehend spiritual truth. God does not require men to believe the Scriptures without giving them abundant evidence of their truth, and the evidences of Christianity would overwhelm the most gifted man who diligently sought for truth, and was willing to consecrate himself to its promulgation. Those who do accept the evidences of God’s word will have an experience that will be as a barrier against infidelity, for they will be translated out of darkness into the precious light of faith, hope, and assurance. The converted soul can say, I needed help, and I found that help in Jesus. He has met every want, satisfied the hungering of my soul, and the Bible to me is the revelation of Jesus Christ. He can say to the infidel, “You ask me why I believe in Jesus? and I answer, Because he is to me a divine Saviour. The Bible to me is the voice of God. I have the witness in myself that the word of God is true, and that Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God. I am following no cunningly devised fable.”
5 When men pour contempt upon Christianity, tell them what you know by experience. The beings of the celestial world are amazed when those whom Christ has purchased with his own blood, whom God has invited with the voice of mercy, turn into a jest the messages of the gospel, and deny the divinity of their Redeemer. They are building upon a sandy foundation, with threads and fragments of human reasoning, but their theories will vanish like dew when the glory of the Lord is revealed. Believers do not claim that every question and objection which Satan can invent and instill into the minds of men can be answered in so many words. Men will be given sufficient evidence on which to found their faith; but if they are determined to doubt, they will stumble on the dark mountains of unbelief. They will show that they have never submitted their proud hearts to Jesus Christ, and make an excuse for not doing so the fact that with their finite minds they cannot solve all the difficulties which they imagine are in the Bible.
6 Spiritualism is a dangerous phase of infidelity, and we should not go into the assemblies of Spiritualists prompted by motives of curiosity. In so doing we are placing ourselves on Satan’s ground, and cannot expect help from God unless he has a work for us to do to speak some message to those who are ignorant and deceived, and immediately leave the assembly. “They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” The erroneous doctrine that the soul is immortal is almost universally received by the world, and the belief that the dead go immediately to heaven gives Spiritualism a deep hold upon the people. Believing this doctrine men have nothing with which to shield themselves from the errors of Spiritualism. Through evil spirits they receive communications, and accept them as messages from their lost loved ones. Satan and his agents personate their dead friends, and thus impart to them Satanic delusions. But God has given us a rule whereby to test what is truth. The prophet says: “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” “He that is of God heareth God’s word.” “We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”
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Page 685
1 The father is priest in his own household. Whatever may be the character of his business, it is not of so great importance that he be excused in neglecting the work of educating and training his children to keep the way of the Lord. In the morning his first duty should be to conduct family prayer, offering up supplication and thanksgiving to God. Parents should make the seasons of prayer as interesting as possible, selecting scriptures that can be understood by the children and youth. They should pray with fervency, but not to such a length as to make the seasons of prayer tedious. Educate your children by your own practice to pray in a clear, distinct voice, lifting up their faces, and offering up their simple petitions, or repeating the Lord’s prayer.
2 The religious service of the home should not be governed by circumstances. Prayer should not be offered occasionally, and, when a large day’s work is to be done, neglected, as though it was of no especial consequence. Prayer means very much, and we should come to God offering up thanksgiving before him. “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. . . . O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness.”
3 The Lord has committed to parents a special and important work, of which they have a very faint realization. At the birth of every child they are to hear the voice of God saying to them, “Take this child and train it for me.” This work of training is to be continued through babyhood, childhood, and youth. Those who are parents need to awake from their deathlike slumber, that they may have a realization of what are their God-given responsibilities. Let them make straight paths for their feet upward and onward toward heaven, and lead their children in safe paths. To a great extent the simplicity of pure godliness is a matter of the past.
4 To train children to walk in the narrow path of purity and holiness is thought an altogether odd and old-fashioned idea. This is prevalent even among parents who profess to worship God, but their works testify that they are worshipers of mammon. They are ambitious to compete with their neighbors, and to compare favorably, in the dress of themselves and their children, with the members of the church to which they belong.
5 Children derive life and being from their parents, and yet it is through the creative power of God that your children have life, for God is the Life-giver. Let it be remembered that children are not to be treated as though they were our own personal property. Children are the heritage of the Lord, and the plan of redemption includes their salvation as well as ours. They have been intrusted to parents in order that they might be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that they might be qualified to do their work in time and eternity. If parents are negligent in doing the solemn work committed to them, they will have to meet their account at the judgment seat of Christ.
6 Parents, you cannot serve God and serve Baal at the same time. The standard of the world is not to be your standard. The world is under the leadership of the prince of the powers of darkness, and you cannot afford to follow its fashions and customs. Your duty is to practice God’s word, and do the work that he has given you to do according to his will. God will cooperate with parents who love, fear, and honor him, respecting and obeying his commandments. Is it any marvel that society is forgetful of God, and desires not to know the way of God, when professed Christians to a large extent follow the imagination of their own heart? They are filled with vanity, and educate their children for the world. Influenced themselves by Satanic agencies, what can be expected of their children? They inspire them with their own spirit, with their own desire to be in favor with the world. They partake with the world in love for pleasure, in desire for the gratification of pride, and the desire for display. In place of being partakers of the divine nature, they imbibe Satan’s deceptions and illusions. Thus their influence in the home is to mould the character of their children after the standard of the world. Though they have a form of godliness, yet their influence is wielded for the ruin of their family.
7 What an account will such professed Christian parents have to render in that great day when every case shall be decided! These world-loving parents profess Christ, and have their names registered in the church books, but in works they deny him. Shall not parents who truly desire to love God be partakers of the divine nature? Shall they not exert in the home an influence altogether different from that of these hypocritical professors? Shall not the love of Christ be in them as a well of water springing up unto eternal life? Shall it not be made manifest that Christ abides in the soul temple by the spirit, word, and action of the parents who realize their responsibility before God? Shall they not pour into the minds of their children that which the Lord Jesus has abundantly given them of his Holy Spirit? Shall not his love, his purity, his patience, his meekness and lowliness of heart, his perseverance, integrity, and zeal be made manifest in the character of godly parents?
8 The Word of God.
Let parents seek to mould and fashion the intellect and affections of their children in accordance with the word of God. Let them train them in such a way that their children shall be fashioned after the similitude of Jesus Christ. Here is your work, parents, to develop the characters of your children in harmony with the precepts of the word of God. This work should come first, for eternal interests are here involved. The character building of your children is of more importance than the cultivation of your farms, more essential than the building of houses to live in, or of prosecuting any manner of business or trade. Parents should carefully study their children, in order that they may correct wrong tendencies and encourage from their earliest years right principles and proper habits. The doing of this will not require any violence or harshness in your management, but you may manifest an abundance of love. Selfishness and self-indulgence must be cultivated out of the character of your children, by revealing to them Bible requirements in the most interesting way. Unite them with yourselves in works of kindness and tender regard for the suffering and destitute. From their earliest years let them be your helpers in benevolent enterprises, and educate them in habits of self-denial and self-sacrifice for the good of others. Thus you will guard them from habits of extravagance in recklessly spending money for selfish gratification.
9 The work that rests upon parents cannot be evaded or ignored without peril to themselves and their children. Parents should bring principles of truth into their own life, and perfect a Christian character in order that they may present before their children such an example as will command their respect and admiration. Let parents so live that their children will have confidence in their judgment, piety, and devotion. In this way they may train their children to be missionaries from their earliest years. They may be taught to have firm reliance upon God, and may be trained by precept and example to fear to offend their Creator, to love to keep his commandments. Children should be trained to trust in God as their very best friend.
10 Let parents seek to impress upon children and youth the blessedness of serving God. The Psalmist says: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity; they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.”
11 The Importance of the Work.
The word of God abounds in precious jewels of truth, and parents should bring them forth from their casket and present them before their children in their true luster. Parents, you think you have no time to do all this work; but if you do not train your family, Satan will supply your deficiency and educate them after his own Satanic order. Better to neglect anything of a temporal nature, to be satisfied to live economically, to bind about your wants, than to neglect the work of training yourselves and your children in the way that God would have you. In the word of God you have a treasure house from which you may draw precious stores, and as Christians you should furnish yourself for every good work. Look upon the family circle as a training school, where you are preparing your children for the performance of their duties at home, in society, and in the church. Seek to cultivate every power of mind and body in order that the whole family may be soldiers for Christ. Teach your children to love truth because it is truth, and because they are to be sanctified through the truth, and fitted to stand in the grand review that shall erelong determine whether they are qualified to enter into higher work, and become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King.
12 Fathers and mothers, awake to your God-given responsibilities. Let your lamp be trimmed and burning, sending forth clear, distinct rays into the home circle, and your light will reach beyond yourselves to your neighbors. The father represents the divine Lawgiver in his family. He is a laborer together with God, carrying out the gracious designs of God, and establishing in his children upright principles, enabling them to form pure and virtuous characters, because he has preoccupied the soul with that which will enable his children to render obedience not only to their earthly parent, but also to their heavenly Father. Like Abraham, he will command his children and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment. To do the words of God means to work earnestly in the home. But parents who are doers of the commands of Christ will find that the beams of the Sun of Righteousness will brighten the darkness, and the love of Christ make smooth the rough paths.
13 Our world is becoming as it was in the days of Noah. Parents have neglected to purify and make precious the material that God has given them in their children, and, instead of adding them to the army of the Lord, they have given them to the world. In neglecting to train them for Christ, children have developed characters after the order of Satan. The Lord will cleanse the earth the second time of its moral pollution by the fires of the last day. Parents, will you not cherish the faith that works by love and purifies the soul? If you do this, everything is gained. Your children will be imbued with the spirit you cherish, and a light will shine forth extending from the home like a genial atmosphere. Your influence will be like a heavenly radiance that shines from the throne of God in clear, strong rays, to light the moral darkness that pervades the world.
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Page 686
1 The Lord God of heaven has never left the world without a witness. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Sadness comes to my soul as I consider how abundant have been the resources that have been open to the church, and yet how tardy has been the appropriation of the light of heaven, how feeble have been the rays that have shone forth into the world. God has appointed to the church a sacred mission. He has said, “Ye are the light of the world.” The light of the church has grown dim as the moral darkness of this degenerate age has increased. The people of God should increase in light and power. It is something more than a profession that distinguishes the children of obedience from the children of disobedience. The children of God should manifest genuine piety, Christian zeal, earnest self-denial and self-sacrifice. They should wage aggressive warfare in proportion to their opportunities and privileges.
2 The church should realize that infinite resources are at her command. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?” The church must be as was Abraham, who “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded, that what he had promised he was able also to perform. And therefore, it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.” “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
3 As living agencies we are to enter into a moral cooperation with God. The weakest, feeblest child of God has his or her appointed work, and it is because there is so large a number who are not doers of the word of Christ, but hearers only, that there is not greater progress and growth in the church. Many do little except to study their own pleasure and convenience, to gratify their own likes and dislikes; yet, according to the several ability, everyone has a certain work to do. Many do not lay hold of the work they could do, because it does not please their taste, and so they do nothing. There are duties that look commonplace and cheap to them, which lie directly in their pathway; but, because they are not inviting, they do not take them up. If they loved God supremely, and their neighbors as themselves, they would take up these little duties, which God designed should test their fidelity. They would keep their souls in the love of God by seeking out their friends, and would devise some plan whereby they might reach their hearts. With an eye single to the glory of God, they would seize the opportunities which are brought within their reach, and be instant in season and out of season. They would seek on every occasion to do good to those who need help. Satan will seek to blind the eyes of the understanding, so that we shall not take up the responsibilities that lie in our pathway, and be faithful in the little services which God has enjoined upon us. The faithful child of God, though he may have been apparently one of the weakest, has wrought much good by humble service.
4 For a period of time the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, was only a Babe in Bethlehem, and could only represent the babe in its mother’s arms. In childhood he could only do the work of an obedient child, fulfilling the wishes of his parents, in doing such duties as would correspond to his ability as a child. This is all that children can do, and they should be so educated and instructed that they may follow Christ’s example. Christ acted in a manner that blessed the household in which he was found, for he was subject to his parents, and thus did missionary work in his home life. It is written, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.” “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
5 It is a sad thing when parents grow cold in their spiritual life, and, because of waning piety and want of devotion to God, they do not realize the high responsibility that devolves upon them to patiently and thoroughly train their children to keep the way of the Lord. Parents should not permit business cares, worldly customs and maxims, and fashion to have a controlling power over them, so that they neglect their children in babyhood, and fail to give their children proper instruction as they increase in years. Children need to be trained to do useful things, and their duties should be made as pleasant as possible. Parents should give them pleasant words of instruction and approval in useful work, but they could not do a worse evil to their children than to gratify their selfish desires, and leave them to follow their inclinations, thus giving them the impression that they are to live to please and amuse themselves. They should not be left to choose their own society, and be given money to spend according to their youthful wisdom. Children need parents who shall educate and discipline them, pruning away the natural and selfish tendencies. Children need parents who do not feel they have the right to govern their children by impulse and passion. Children are the heritage of the Lord, and unless parents give them such a training as will enable them to keep the way of the Lord, they neglect solemn duty. It is not the will or purpose of God that children shall become coarse, rough, uncourteous, disobedient, unthankful, unholy, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. The Scriptures state that this condition of society shall be a sign of the last days.
6 We need in our churches children and youth who are trained to work upon the “Christian Endeavor” principle. The beginning must be made at home. Parents, who are the responsible agencies in the home life, should set their children a godly example, learning daily lessons of duty and obedience to God’s requirements. They should themselves become missionaries. They should consecrate themselves entirely to God, remembering that the greatest work that devolves upon them is to train their children to be Christlike, faithful soldiers. This should be the essential work of their life, and, by training their children, they will be constantly repeating the lessons they have learned in their youth, and thus the wise, God-fearing parents will diffuse an influence from their own home circle to that of others that will act as did the leaven that was hid in three measures of meal. Home missionary work is the highest service that parents can render to God.
7 Parents should let nothing interfere with the character building of their children. Those who have been training their children in an improper way need not despair; let them become converted to God, and seek for the true spirit of obedience, and they will be enabled to make decided reforms. In conforming your own customs to the saving principles of God’s holy law, you will have an influence upon your children. You will have the righteousness of Christ, and will obey the precepts of God’s law, and recognize the spirit of the law as an expression of the character of God. It is of the greatest importance that the attributes of his character be brought into your character, that you may train and educate your children to be obedient to God’s commandments, and thus secure happiness in this world, and life eternal in the world to come.
8 In educating your children, you should rely upon a “Thus saith the Lord.” Let them never hear an irreverent expression from your lips, nor catch the sound of a harsh, passionate word. Be what you wish your children to be. Parents have perpetuated by precept and example their own stamp of character to their posterity. The fitful, coarse, uncourteous tempers and words are impressed upon children, and children’s children, and thus the defects in the management of parents testify against them from generation to generation. This is the reason that iniquity abounds, the reason that many will have to meet a terrible account in the day of judgment. Let there be most deep and thorough repentance before God. Seek God for grace, for spiritual discernment to discover the defects in your management of your children and exercise repentance toward God for your neglected work as home missionaries.
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Page 687
1 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Lucifer disputed the justice of this requirement in heaven, and thought its existence altogether unnecessary. He said in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” He had been made beautiful, he had been highly exalted in heaven, and his heart was lifted up because of his beauty; he had corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness. Of him it had been said:—
2 “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold. . . . Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” “Thus saith the Lord God: Because thine heart was lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God. . . . I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. . . . I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.”
3 Under the symbol of the king of Tyrus, the Scriptures give us a description of the character and destiny of the first great rebel against the law of God. He who knows the end from the beginning, had his laws and commandments before the world was created, and Satan chose to question his claims before the angels of heaven, because the law set forth the Omnipotent as the only true and living God, and forbade the worship of any other being. The authority of God was backed up by the requirements of his law, which was to hold jurisdiction over all created intelligences. The will of God was to be recognized in his requirements and acknowledged as supreme in the heavenly universe.
4 It is the prerogative of God alone to prescribe the duty of men and angels. The will of God is a perfect will, and must be obeyed as it is set forth in his holy law, because every requirement is just, and is set forth by infinite wisdom. The law of God should be obeyed even though there were no authority to enforce it, and no rewards for its obedience. The highest interests of men and angels are conserved in obeying the law of God. God’s will expressed in his law is the supreme will, and no invention, no device of men can take its place. Obedience to the commandments of men instead of to the commandments of God will be as abomination in the sight of God; for what God requires is essential to the highest good of his subjects, and is therefore essential for the glory of God.
5 Through the obedience of his commandments it is the purpose of God to remove from the heart every species of selfishness. He would barricade the soul from all indulgence in perverted appetites, and expel from the heart all rebellion and ingratitude. Can it be possible that any of us should wish that God would abolish his commandments, when it is for our happiness and life to obey them? What blessing or advantage would man gain by doing away with the commandments of God? Were he to abolish the first commandment, the authority of God would not stand as supreme, as the authority of the only true and living God. What advantage would accrue to man should he gain reputation, learning, wealth, and honor, and yet be one who, while receiving benefits from God every hour, ignored God, and did not conform his practical life to the precepts of Jehovah? Knowledge, power, education, reputation, or wealth is not to be permitted to come in between the soul and God. The Lord must hold the first place in our affections; for “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God gave his Son to the world in order that men might be redeemed from transgression and sin.
6 Through faith in Christ as our personal Saviour, we receive moral power by which we may surrender every faculty to the service of God. With a full sense of our obligation to God, we may devote every intrusted ability to the service of Christ, and bring every power under the control of the will of God. In doing the will of God we are assured of developing characters after the divine similitude.
7 Religion is a practical matter, and calls for a daily devoting of all we have and are to God. All worldly business is to be done as a part of religion, and is to redound to the honor and glory of God. Every amusement is to be considered in this light, and it is to be regarded as injurious or useful only as it respects the glory of God. If those who would indulge in amusements can find commands whereby they may be justified in them as doing the will of God, they will be justified in believing that they are promoting the glory of God and the good of society. We are required to render perfect obedience to the rule laid down by the apostle, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” He who ever keeps this rule in view, and lives according to its requirement, will form a character after the divine likeness; for in this way men will become holy, blameless, and without rebuke.
8 We are living under the scrutiny of the whole heavenly host, and the angels are watching to see whether we improve the opportunity to do good unto all men, and especially unto those that are of the household of faith. To love God supremely and to love our neighbor as ourselves, will require from us to be continually in the spirit of humble prayer, relying alone upon God for our sufficiency. The only character that is of value in the sight of God is that character which is free from every taint of selfishness. “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” Selfish living, indulgence in self gratification, will bring no true happiness in this life, and give no hope of a future, immortal life. But to him who by patient continuance in welldoing, seeks for glory, honor, and immortality, God will render eternal life.
9 Faith does not make void the law, and though there are persons who insist that through faith in Christ they are freed from obligation to keep the law, yet the teaching of prophets and apostles contradicts their position. “Faith without works [obedience] is dead.” Men’s characters are estimated according to their works. James says, “Show me thy faith without thy works [if it were possible], and I will show thee my faith by my works.” Faith in the great plan of redemption without corresponding works is not reckoned as faith. Christ our Redeemer did not suffer the penalty of the law for our sins in order to deliver us from obligation to keep God’s commandments. Christ suffered the penalty of the law, which was death, in order to give to man another trial, to provide for him another probation, and allot to him another opportunity of proving loyal to the authority of God. Every soul is to be tested, for he is held responsible for obedience to the divine law, and, although Christ has died for man’s transgression, those who continue in disobedience will suffer the penalty of their sin. The condition upon which men will be offered the benefits of salvation is through repentance toward God, because of transgression of his holy law, faith in Christ, by which he receives power from on high to become an obedient subject of the government of God. Those who would be saved must take Christ as their personal Saviour, and become not only hearers, but doers of his words. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Page 688
1 God is the Governor of the universe. He has put everything under law. Everything in the natural world is under law, from the tiniest flower of the garden to the mighty cedars of Lebanon. The beasts of the fields obey God’s law. The ocean obeys his mandate, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” When God speaks to man, his voice is to be heard, and his word is to be obeyed. Man is an intelligent being, and has a mind by which to understand God’s will, and a conscience by which to feel his accountability. He has a heart with which to love the law of God, which is holy and just and good. But God compels no man to do him honor, and to render obedience to his law. Compulsion is the work of Satan and his agents.
2 As intelligent creatures we may know and do the will of God, or we may stubbornly refuse to submit our finite will to the will of the Infinite. This responsibility that is placed upon us should fill us with a sense of awe. The requirement of God to us is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” On these two principles hang all the law and the prophets; and it is for our present and eternal interest to have a proper understanding of the far-reaching principles of the law of God. “By the law is the knowledge of sin,” and “sin is the transgression of the law.” Sinners must know what is sin before they can have a desire to be rid of sin. It is a matter of eternal interest that we do not misconceive this vital question. When appeals are made in the pulpits of our land, and sinners are invited to repent and to be converted, it is the privilege of the sinner to inquire, What is sin? This we must know, for it is at the peril of our souls that we continue in sin. The apostle gives us light on this subject, and says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.”
3 Christ was manifested to take away our sins, and in him was no sin. But were the law abolished, as some claim, we would have no need of a Saviour to take away sin, for “where there is no law, there is no transgression.” “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came [home to the conscience], sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which [if obeyed] was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is [a yoke of bondage, against me, and something to be trampled underfoot because it points out my sins?—No.] holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin.”
4 But though we are carnal, we are to reckon ourselves “dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. . . . But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. . . . But now being made free from sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.”
5 In order that there might be no mistake, and no excuse for disobedience, the apostle makes it very plain as to what commandments are to be regarded,— “an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.” In this reference to the law of Jehovah he carries the mind back to the commandment which is a memorial of the creation of the world, when by his work on the six days, and his rest on the seventh, God laid the foundation for the Sabbath. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, God placed the fourth commandment in the bosom of the Decalogue. In this commandment a special charge is given to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Then follow the reasons for this special charge: “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
6 In the fourth commandment we have the fact set forth that the Maker of heaven and earth is the true God. “But the world in its wisdom knew not God.” There is much wisdom in our world, but men, proud in their knowledge, do not employ their wisdom as did Daniel. They do not behold the beauty, the majesty, the justice, the goodness of God. They do not see the wisdom and holiness of his truth in his law, which is the transcript of his character.
7 If those who believed in God during the old dispensation were enjoined to arise and shine, how much greater is the obligation today to arise and shine, when our light is brighter, and shines with clearer and more steady rays. Our obligation to shed forth light is as much greater than was the obligation of the people of ancient times, as our light is more clear and definite. “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” The disciples of Christ are to make him known to the world. We have reasoning faculties, and as our capacity increases as we improve upon the talents that God has given us, we should gather up the divine rays of light that patriarchs, prophets, and apostles have left to us as hereditary trusts, and should still continue to seek for truth as for hidden treasure. We are called upon of God to let the light which he has given us shine forth in clear and steady rays. Everyone who believes in Christ as the light of the world is to be as a lighthouse on a dangerous coast, sending forth bright rays of light to warn souls, lest they make shipwreck of faith. But instead of thus shining, there are thousands who are living a godless, Christless, worldly life, whose names are registered upon the church books as Christians. They believe about Christ, but they do not believe in him.
8 He who obeys the law through the imputed righteousness of Christ, meets every claim that the Bible presents; but he who sets himself above God, and tramples upon his law, and still professes to be a child of God, is working on the enemy’s side of the controversy. In our day, even from the pulpits of our land, professed ministers of the gospel are, as were the Pharisees, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. The only safety for the soul at this time is to inquire at every step, What saith the Lord to his servant? The word of the Lord endureth forever. The Bible is to be our guidebook, and instead of consulting the wisdom of men, and accepting as divine truth the assertions of finite mortals, we should search the sure word of prophecy. God has spoken, and his word is reliable, and we must rest our faith upon a “Thus saith the Lord.” God would have us study the events that are taking place around us, and compare them with the predictions of his word, in order that we may understand that we are living in the last days. We want our Bibles, and we want to know what is written therein. The diligent student of prophecy will be rewarded with clear revelations of truth, for Jesus said, “Thy word is truth.”
9 Those who profess to be followers of Christ will be found guilty before God unless they are laborers together with God, and earnestly seek to lift up their fellow-men. Prophecy is rapidly fulfilling; and all men are ranging under their chosen standards. One class are preparing to be used of the Holy Spirit, and another class are ranging under the black banner of the prince of evil. This class have no love for either God or their fellow-men, and Satan uses them as vessels to honor himself. The very atmosphere of our world is tainted with physical and spiritual miasma. The principles of truth are corrupted. God has been dishonored, his law has been transgressed, and the earth has become defiled under the inhabitants thereof, and the vials of the wrath of God will be poured out upon the world.
10 Calamities by land and sea, by fire and flood, by pestilence and famine, by horrible accidents, by earthquakes in divers places, all testify in unmistakable language that the end of all things is at hand, and that great Babylon is coming into remembrance before God. The Lord is even at the door, and men’s hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which shall come upon the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. But there is a defense for those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The prophet declares, “Thy righteousness shall go before thee.” Whose righteousness?—The righteousness of Christ. And he continues, “The glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.” “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”
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1 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Before man was created, the heavenly intelligences were governed by the principles of the law of God. When man was created, God gave to Adam and Eve a knowledge of his ten precepts. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, God laid the foundation for marriage and for the Sabbath institution. In their happy innocency, the Lord placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and gave them employment in dressing and keeping the garden which he had made for them. In activity of body and mind they had the means of obtaining good, and of glorifying their Heavenly Father. Like the angels of God, who are ever engaged in doing good, in carrying out God’s commands, man was ever to engage in earnest work.
2 Adam and Eve were placed upon trial, that it might be demonstrated as to whether they would obey the word of their Creator, or disobey his requirements. The Creator of man was his Father, and had an entire right to the service he could render. Body, soul, and spirit, man was the sole property of God. God revealed himself to the innocent pair in Eden, and conversed with them freely. God was their teacher, and instructed them in regard to their work. He made it plain to them that by obedience to his holy law they would retain happiness, and finally be blessed with immortality. Eternal life should be theirs if they regulated their conduct according to the principles of the law of God. Man was not left in uncertainty to suppose as to what course he should pursue, or to take any risk by venturing on some line of conduct which he might think a safe course. As children are educated by faithful parents, so Adam and Eve were instructed as to what was required of them as intelligent creatures of God. Every provision was made whereby blessings might be secured to the human race, and but one mild restriction was placed upon the sinless pair to test their loyalty to God.
3 The Lord had said unto them, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” In every matter God was to obeyed; but the test of man’s obedience in everything was to be found in his faithfulness in carrying out one particular command, in abstaining from taking of the forbidden tree. The result of obedience would be eternal life, and the outworking of disobedience would be death. Adam and Eve were tempted of Satan. The tempter came to them, saying: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” They believed the words of the serpent, that were in contradiction to the words of God, their Maker. Falsehood was taken instead of truth, and the flood gates of woe were opened upon our world.
4 It was as Eve was standing near the forbidden tree that Satan gave utterance to the query of her mind, and thus the controversy on earth was begun. For when she saw that the tree was “good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Satan presented to man the bribe of attaining to a higher position, of gaining knowledge and wisdom beyond that with which their Creator had endowed them, through an act of disobedience to his divine will. Satan had lost his derived power and glory, had lost heaven through pride and ambition, for he thought to place his throne above the stars of God, and to be like the Most High; and now, at a favorable opportunity, he presents the temptation which had originated with himself, in order to lead the creatures of God to doubt divine wisdom, and to cast reflection upon divine providences. Satan did not scruple at deception in order to gain his purpose and bring shadow over the life and character of the holy pair, to cause sorrow and grief in heaven, and to thwart the purpose of God in the creation of man. Pretending to be the friend of man, he placed himself as the enemy of God, and used all his power to prove that Jehovah had made a mistake in instituting the law to regulate the conduct of his creatures. But in casting contempt upon the law of God he was only seeking to further his hellish design of bringing the human race under his own control.
5 After Satan had induced man to sin against God, he claimed that man had chosen him as his leader in the place of God, and that his work from henceforth should be to unite with him in making void the law of Jehovah. It was his work now to enlist the beings whom God had created, to be the agents of Satan, and to cooperate with him in obliterating the moral image of God from the soul. Through all the ages he has worked upon the same principles that he worked upon in causing the fall of man. He presented the restriction of God in such a way to the mind of Eve as to create jealousy, and said to her, “God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Satan cast reflections upon the character of God, representing him as selfish and oppressive.
6 Our first parents were without an experience for themselves; but, had they lived by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, they would not have disobeyed their Creator. The terrible and tremendous effects of their disobedience opened their eyes. They discerned that the holy covering of light that God had provided for them had departed from them, and that they were naked. Oh, if they had but heeded the instruction that God had given them,—to call upon him when they were threatened with evil from the fallen foe,—they would have had the presence of angels to shield them in the hour of temptation, and the fascinating charm of Satan would have been broken! But they did not look for the fallen foe to come to them with soft words and fair speeches, as a friend who would give them information fraught with weighty importance to them. Had Satan come to them with rough words, charging God with dishonesty, accusing him of being overbearing, and of giving them commandments that would require the degradation of their independence, they would have understood his attack; but in flattering their pride, in presenting to them a prospect of exaltation, he caused them to forget God, and sin entered into the world. The beings that God had created placed themselves on the enemy’s side. The human family was lost.
7 Will God abolish his law because Adam sinned? Had he done this, he would have immortalized sin, which is the transgression of his law. No, this would have been impossible. Wherever there is a kingdom there must be statutes and laws, and the law of God is the transcript of his character. But provisions had been made in the counsels of the Father and the Son to meet this emergency. It had been provided that, should Adam fall a prey to the tempter’s power, a ransom should be found in the Son of God, who should become man’s Redeemer. An opportunity should be given to man to repent of his sin, and, through faith in Christ as his personal Saviour, to be restored to the divine image and favor. After the fall, the Lord said unto the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
8 The controversy was to wage between Christ and Satan throughout all time. The costly ransom that was provided reveals the value that God set upon man. Christ volunteered to become man’s surety and substitute, and took upon himself the penalty of transgression, in order that a way might be provided whereby every son and daughter of Adam may, through faith in their Redeemer, cooperate with heavenly intelligences, and oppose the workings of Satan, and thus bring in everlasting righteousness. The Lord Jesus would take man into partnership with himself. Human intelligences have been endowed by their Creator with capabilities and powers, which, if surrendered to God, will promote his glory in building up his kingdom in the earth. Human beings can reach human beings through the imparted gift of the Spirit of God. Through faith man accepts the world’s Redeemer as his Captain, and when standing under his blood-stained banner, he becomes a partaker of the divine nature, and in cooperation with God is to act an important part in revealing the glory of God to a world in the darkness of transgression. Unless man shall fully cooperate with Christ in the work of rescuing souls from evil, the plan of salvation can never be carried out. But through the scheme of redemption, notwithstanding the opposition of Satan’s united agencies, the Lord will bring good out of the evil that Satan designed should exist. The counsels of God will stand before unfallen worlds, before heavenly intelligences, before the fallen world, and he will accomplish all the good pleasure of his will.
9 Man has the honor of being taken into partnership with God, and the secrets of the Lord are with them that fear him. God will give light and knowledge, so that, by conforming to his directions, man may become one with Jesus Christ; and the Father will love him who is conformed to his law, as he loves his only-begotten Son. Satan has laid his plans for the purpose of divorcing man from God, and causing him to break God’s holy law. He has come to man in our day as he came to Adam in Eden, and through his agents is saying today that the law is not binding on man, but that it is abolished. Those to whom God has given reasoning powers should use them to better advantage than did Adam when he transgressed the law of God. We have the example of Adam before us to warn us from treading on the dangerous ground upon which Adam fell. Adam accepted the false suggestions and the foul misrepresentations concerning God, rather than a plain “Thus saith the Lord.” Let not the presumptuous assertions and claims of men be reiterated as the voice of God. Let those who would serve God remember that it is written, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
Page 690
1 “I will walk at liberty; for I seek thy precepts. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.” The commandments of God are not a yoke of bondage, and in obedience to them we have nothing of which to be ashamed. We should not feel that we are severely restricted in being required to keep God’s law. The Lord withholds from us nothing which is for our good. We should be ashamed of disobedience to his precepts.
2 There are men who profess to open the Scriptures to others, and who claim to be ministers of the gospel, who yet place stumbling-blocks in the way of those who are seeking for safe paths. But let the sincere seeker for truth look to the Author of truth, and not to the would-be instructor who knows not the way of light. Go to the Fountain of knowledge, and become acquainted with what saith the Scriptures, and take no mortal man’s inferences and assertions. The fallacies of men have in them no power to sanctify the soul; and the word of God is not to be adulterated with the customs and traditions of the world. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” “And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
3 The next verse opens with this warning: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” Let us consider the moral law, which was specified by the loved disciple as the “old commandment which ye had from the beginning,” which was spoken from Mount Sinai amid smoke and flame, thunder and earthquake. The commandments are:—
4 “I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
5 “II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
6 “III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
7 “IV. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
8 “V. Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
9 “VI. Thou shalt not kill.
10 “VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
11 “VIII. Thou shalt not steal.
12 “IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
13 “X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”
14 If this code of morals had been respected and obeyed, the world would not now be in the state in which it is,—corrupted under the inhabitants thereof. If human agents had cooperated with God, and had obeyed the laws which lie at the foundation of his government, we should not see and hear so much concerning iniquity and crime, suffering and death. Christ magnified the law, and made it honorable. He saw the necessity of expounding the law which he himself had spoken amid flame and thunder and tempest. The rabbis had heaped the rubbish of their traditions upon the law, and made of no effect the commandments of God, because they taught as doctrines the commandments of men. He showed the people that the law of God penetrated to the motives of the heart, and the lover of self was a transgressor of the law. He rescued the commandments from their companionship with error, and placed them in the framework of the gospel, and presented them to men in their true significance and importance; and to those who listened the law seemed a new revelation. Far from taking anything from the sacredness of a single precept, he revealed to men the exalted character of the whole law. But because he cleansed from the law the rubbish of tradition, and freed it from the exactions of men, and from the multitude of minute requirements of men, that confused the people, and hindered them from seeing the real significance of the requirements of Jehovah, the Pharisees were saying in their hearts that Christ had come to do away with the law. But while they were musing in their hearts, he spoke words that revealed to them the fact that he read their thoughts as an open book:—
15 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
16 Christ then proceeds to show that the commandments are exceeding broad, and penetrate to the very motives that control the heart.
17 The great adversary, the first rebel and apostate, makes war on the commandments of God, for “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” This is the reason that he would have the world believe that the law of God is not binding, for then he can keep men in ignorance of the fact that they are sinners and in need of a Saviour. In this way he can lead them to reject the great salvation, that has been purchased for them at infinite cost.
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Page 691
1 “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.” The conditions upon which the promises of God are to be fulfilled, that we may prolong our days, and abide in the tabernacle of God, to dwell in his holy hill in the heavens, are found in the injunction to keep God’s commandments and live, and his law as the apple of the eye. Jesus said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” The law of God, with its commands of “Thou shalt,” and “Thou shalt not,” is in full force today, and is as binding on life and character as when it was proclaimed from Sinai.
2 The living out of the law of God means a life of purity that is impossible to man unless he cooperates with God, becoming a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Every sinful indulgence, every form of vice, all selfish ambition, is condemned by the moral law. The cheap, loose, inattentive type of mind and character which is so prevalent in this generation, is not sanctioned by the law of God. That law condemns the sensual vice that clothes itself in an appearance of loveliness until the soul is ensnared and learns by bitter experience how hateful are the results of indulgence in sin. The law of God is an emanation from the divine mind, and the commandments cover the moral obligation of men.
3 During the brief probation of life, we are to be educated and disciplined for the future immortal life, and the rule of life is to be the commandments of God. “Thou shalt,” and “Thou shalt not,” are not grievous commands. The law of God is not a yoke of bondage, for the doers of the law shall find life and strength in obedience, and through the grace given them by Jesus Christ they are enabled to be truly obedient to God’s holy rule of life. To keep God’s commandments is to keep the soul in the love of God, to secure life from evil, and to discipline the character for a heaven of love.
4 Those who teach that the binding claims of the law of God have been abolished, think that they know all about the commandments of God; but they make it manifest by their course of disobedience that they are ignorant of the first and last principles of the law, and that they know nothing of the character of God, which is portrayed in the law. The young ruler who came to Jesus asking what he should do to inherit eternal life, thought himself very wise, and in self-complacency, and with a touch of offended dignity, assured Christ when he bade him keep the commandments that he had kept them all from his youth up, and yet Jesus opened up to his mind the fact that he was self-deceived, and knew nothing of keeping the commandments of God. When he was directed to sell what he had, and give to the poor, and come and follow the Lord of life, he went away sorrowful. Those who imagine that they understand the law of God while living in disobedience, make their ignorance manifest by their life and example, and reveal the fact that they have no comprehension of the depth and significance of its precepts.
5 The law is our teacher, instructing us as to what is rectitude and perfection of character, in order that through the righteousness of Christ we may have a living connection with God. “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.” “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.”
6 “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Thus are stated the conditions upon which we may expect the blessing of the Lord. The result of cooperation with God is set forth,—”I shall not be moved.” Those who keep the commandments of God are promised the gift of eternal life; but he who disobeys the law shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
7 “Hear, ye that are afar off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty; they shall behold the land that is very far off.” “But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; he will save us. Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast; they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.”
8 “Love is the fulfilling of the law.” God is love, and when we love God supremely and love our neighbor as ourselves, we reflect the character of the Father and the Son. But those who truly love God will be obedient to all his commands. Obedience is the test of love. Jesus says, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Now lest there should be any misunderstanding as to what commandments should be obeyed, John says, “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.” John writes again: “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another; and this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world.” “For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous;” they are not a yoke of bondage, as commandment breakers would have us believe. “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
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1 Christ says: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. . . . Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.”
2 It is not enough that we believe a portion of truth, we must grasp truth after truth, and by both precept and example we must teach the truth as it is in Jesus. When sorrow comes, we may see the love of Christ in it all, and the fullness of divine love may keep the soul in perfect peace. If we abide in Christ we must ever be searching after truth as for hidden treasures, in order that our apprehensions of truth may be quick and comprehensive. We shall not then be putting on the garments of resistance, and be prepared to be prejudiced against the very things which we need in our time. Christ is continually unfolding old truths in a new light. The only way in which we will be prepared to have a more perfect apprehension of truth, is by keeping the heart tender and subdued by the Spirit of Christ. We cannot afford to cultivate hardness of heart; for if we are students in the school of Christ, we shall be continually growing in knowledge.
3 Jesus gives the invitation: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When we come to Jesus as humble learners, seeking to know the mind of Christ, we shall have no disagreeable surprises. That which we received from him will be to us light, and life, and salvation. We shall walk in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, advancing from light to a greater light, and at every step our hearts will well up with gratitude for the precious revelations of his love. We shall not walk in darkness, we shall behold him who is our only help, him who only has the words of eternal life.
4 We are never to feel that there is no more truth to be unfolded to us. The history of the past few years has taught us that the words which Jesus spoke to his disciples are appropriate to us. He said: “I have many things to say unto you; but ye cannot bear them now.” But I trust that we shall not have the experience of those disciples who, when new truth was revealed to them, walked no more with him, but “because of the word they were offended.” Will the experience of these disciples be repeated that called forth from Christ these words: “There are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. . . . From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
5 “Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but, by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the God of this world hath blinded the mind of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves; but Jesus Christ the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
6 Could our eyes be opened, and could each see the conflict of angelic agencies with the Satanic confederacy, who are combined with evil human agencies, what astonishment would come upon the soul. The holy angels are working with terrible intensity for the salvation of men, because the destroyer of souls is seeking to make of no effect the salvation which has been purchased at infinite cost. Could our spiritual vision be opened, we should see that which would never be effaced from the memory as long as life should last. We should see souls bowed down under oppression, loaded with grief and pressed down as a cart beneath the sheaves, and ready to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying swiftly to aid the tempted ones who stand as on the brink of a precipice. These tempted souls are unable to help themselves, and avoid the ruin which threatens them; but the angels of God are forcing back the evil angels, and guiding the souls away from the dangerous places, to plant their feet on a sure foundation. We should see battles going on between the two armies, as real as those fought by opposing forces on earth. When the power of Satan over souls is broken, we see men binding their will to the cross, and crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts. It is indeed a crucifixion of self; for the will is surrendered to Christ. The will of man is none too strong when it is sanctified and put on the side of Christ. The will is a power, and as many triumphs are to be won in spiritual warfare, and many points of progress to be made in the spiritual journey, and many lessons to be learned from Christ, the great Teacher, it is necessary that the will should be sanctified. In surrendering the will, the root of the matter is reached. When the will is surrendered, the streams that flow from the fountain will not be bitter, but will be as pure as crystal. The flowers and fruit of Christian life will bloom and ripen to perfection.
7 Jesus Christ is our example in all things. He began life, passed through its experiences, and ended its record, with a sanctified human will. He was tempted in all points like as we are, and yet because he kept his will surrendered and sanctified, he never bent in the slightest degree toward the doing of evil, or toward manifesting rebellion against God. Have men and women who profess to be followers of Christ, been simply gratifying their own tastes, been confirming themselves in selfishness, in obstinacy, simply living to gratify their carnal propensities? Those who persist in living in this way will at some time in their experience become offended by the truth presented from the word of God. They cannot be one with Christ or abide in him, because they refuse the terms upon which salvation is provided. They do not wear Christ’s yoke or lift Christ’s burden; for they will not learn of him meekness and lowliness of heart. Those who have a sanctified will, that is in unison with the will of Christ, will day by day have their wills bound to the will of Christ, which will act in blessing others, and react upon themselves with divine power. Many cultivate those things which war against the soul; for their desires and their will are set against God, and employed in the service of Satan.
8 Let us no longer gratify the enemy by complaining of the strength of our evil will; for in so doing we are feeding and encouraging our wills against God, and pleasing the evil one. Let us remember that we are children of God, pledged to cherish a holy will which cometh to us from God. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
9 When we resist the devil, he will flee from us, and we will rise above the human weakness in a way that will be a mystery even to ourselves. The judgment day is not that which will decide our eternal interests; but it is the yielding to influences that either subject our character to the moulding of Christ, or oppose our will to the will of God. The one absorbing aim of the life of Christ was to do the will of his heavenly Father. He did not become offended with God; for he lived not to please himself. The human will of Christ would not have led him to the wilderness of temptation, to fast, and to be tempted of the devil. It would not have led him to endure humiliation, scorn, reproach, suffering, and death. His human nature shrank from all these things as decidedly as ours shrinks from them. He endured the contradiction of sinners against himself. The contrast between the life and character of Christ and our life and character is painful to contemplate. What did Christ live to do? It was the will of his heavenly Father. Christ left us an example, that we should follow in his steps. Are we doing it?
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1 The Lord Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, laid aside his royal robe and relinquished his royal crown, gave up his high command, and came into the world, all seared and marred with the curse. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Did the world appreciate the light?—No; they refused to accept the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Thus it will be until the close of time. The Son of God came personally into the world, and men did to him as they listed. “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.”
2 The Son of God came to our world with his heart overflowing with love for fallen man. He was in the express image of God, and equal with God in character. He was the brightness of his Father’s glory, the express image of his person. He came to meet and to conquer his adversary, Satan, the fallen angel, who had become exalted because of his brightness and wisdom, and who desired to place his throne above the throne of God. Satan desired to set aside the law of God, whose precepts could not be altered any more than could his character or his throne. Satan sought to be first among the ranks of heaven, to have the supremacy in the courts of God, and for this sin he was cast out of heaven, and became the lowest of all creatures. Christ came to controvert Satan’s assertions, and to reveal his misrepresentations of the character of God. The Son of God clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to the world without parade or display, that he might be accepted, not because of outward attractions, but because of his heavenly attributes of character, as revealed in his words and works. He presented to men lessons whereby their souls were brought into comparison with the law of God, not in a legal light, but in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, that man by beholding might be changed into the divine image.
3 Jesus taught that in no case is man to give up his mind to the guidance of his fellowman, or to follow his own vain imagination. This is what men will do if they drop eternity out of their reckoning, for they will fail to contemplate the things of heaven, and will make the world and the things of time their first consideration. When Christ came to the world, he found men engaged in pursuing phantoms as though they were realities, and eternal realities were looked upon as unreal and unimportant. They were wholly given up to strife for worldly conveniences and for providing possessions for the future.
4 Jesus presented to men eternal considerations, and urged upon them the necessity of not losing eternity out of their reckoning. He sought to attract their minds to contemplation of sacred truth, of a high, immortal character, capable of expanding and elevating the mind and ennobling the soul. He sought to reveal to them the fact that man cannot serve God and mammon, for, through serving the world and seeking for worldly gain and honor, the service of God is made a secondary matter.
5 The Lord Jesus requires that those who would serve God shall make the world and its interests subordinate to the interests of pure and undefiled religion, and he gave to man in his own life an example of what it meant to be a loyal worshiper of God. If men follow the precepts and example of Christ, they will not become the sport of Satan’s temptations. They will not let day after day go by without a thought of God, as they follow out their own devices and plans, as did the inhabitants of the world in the time of Noah. In Noah’s day men carried out their plans with no reference whatever to God, upon whose power they were continually dependent. We should continually realize that God is at our right hand, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.”
6 In his lessons Jesus presents different symbols and illustrations as he seeks to restore the moral image of God in man, and save the soul from utterly yielding itself to the power of the destroyer. Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden;” and, although you have followed in a course that I have forbidden, and in so doing, you have bound your own souls under Satan’s oppressive yoke, and have carried the burden he has imposed upon you, yet “come unto me, . . . .and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Shall we practice this lesson? Shall we daily learn that peace, rest, happiness, power, and true greatness are in becoming meek and lowly of heart? Jesus bids us learn of him, for he was meek and lowly in heart. If he had thought that the best way to save perishing souls was to charm the senses and attract them to his standard through pomp and display, he could have surrounded himself with worldly attractions, and presented to them maxims and sentiments that would have won the approval of the world.
7 But there was but one remedy by which man could be saved,—man must believe God’s word, and follow the example of humility and meekness of heart. Jesus leads the minds of men from their worldly philosophy and self-exalting sentiments to the purity and virtue of the gospel. He leads them away from their false religions of fancy and human reason. There is a religion in the world that is apparently beautiful, but which leads men to turn with disgust from the representation given by Christ of the office work of the Holy Spirit. Of the Comforter which he was to send to his disciples, he says, “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” The natural heart does not enjoy this constant reproving of sin and continual exalting of righteousness. Men feel disgusted when they are represented as helpless to do good; yet Jesus declares, “Without me ye can do nothing.” The word of God requires humility and practical godliness, and the picture of man’s dependence upon God is mortifying to the selfish independence of man, to his grand ideas of eloquence and finery and parade, which he esteems as essential for the conversion of the world.
8 Those who are enamored of this religion of fancy do not relish the idea of destroying the old man with his deeds, and bringing into subjection every rebellious thought to the dominion of Christ. They do not desire to submit themselves to the control of the Spirit of God, which works in the human heart to expel every corruption and to establish vital principles of virtue, temperance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and Christlike love. Yet those who receive the Spirit of God, though they were dead in trespasses and sins, will experience the active working of that power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The vital power of the Holy Spirit will raise up those who realize their helplessness, and who come confessing their sins and believing in Jesus. All the faculties are to be brought under the control of the Spirit of God. Unaided humanity may struggle with all its power, may exercise reason, eloquence, and philosophy in seeking to repair the ruins of a fallen, disordered world; men may listen to the theories of men, but the question to ask is, What have been the results? Jesus answers, “Without me ye can do nothing.” When all the wisdom of the schools, all the accumulations of human ability, are brought to bear upon those who are dead in trespasses and sins, they avail nothing for the reformation of character. Human selfishness remains in all its depravity. The Spirit of God alone can make and keep men pure. Its work upon the soul is represented as bringing life to the dead, and freeing the soul from the slavery of sin, which has brought it under the condemnation of the law, where wrath and tribulation fall upon every evil doer. It is the grace of Christ which brings salvation to everyone who receives it. Those who are converted, experience peace and assurance forever. In place of being slaves, they are made free through Jesus Christ. Brought into the liberty of obedient children, they can say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man.”
9 We see and are compelled to acknowledge human depravity, but we do not need to stop at this conclusion, for through faith in Christ life and immortality are brought to light. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” Jesus is the one of whom Isaiah said: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
10 Man is full of frailties and imperfections, and dependent upon God, and yet he stretches himself to enormous proportions of importance, and makes boast of his human wisdom and achievements. He forgets that he is in the world which God has made by his own wisdom. And shall man refuse to admit his obligation to the law of the Creator? The truly converted soul will stand true to the law of God, and be obedient to all his commandments.
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1 The law of God is immutable in its character, for “it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one tittle of the law to fail.” The law of God is a revelation of the divine will, a transcript of the divine character, and must forever endure. Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or a tittle of the law has been changed. The Psalmist says, “Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever.” In the very bosom of the Decalogue is the fourth commandment, as it was proclaimed:—
2 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
3 The claim so often put forth that Christ changed the Sabbath is disproved by his own words. In the sermon on the mount he said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Both by precept and example the Saviour taught the sacred obligations of the Sabbath commandment. Throughout his ministry upon earth no small share of his teaching was directed toward instructing men as to what was lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. He set aside the traditions of men, and because he did not concede to the perverted customs of the Jews, by which they heaped exactions upon the people in regard to the Sabbath, he was accused of Sabbath breaking. But this was a false charge, for he declared that the works of mercy and necessity which he had done were lawful works and in harmony with Sabbath keeping. In their ignorance and superstition the Jews had condemned the guiltless. Are there not others who have followed this course and have charged Christ with Sabbath breaking, with violation of the law of God?
4 Jesus said at the close of his earthly ministry, “I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” Neither the Saviour nor his followers ever broke the law of the Sabbath. Had the Jews been able to sustain their charge against Christ as a Sabbath breaker, as they tried to do, they would have had no need of bringing false witnesses in order that they might secure his condemnation and death. But because no fault could be found with him, in order to secure his death it was necessary that men should perjure their souls by testifying to a lie.
5 Christ not only honored the Sabbath throughout his life upon the earth, but he provided that its sacred claims should be remembered and honored after his death and resurrection. When warning his disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem, which did not take place until forty years after his ascension, he said, “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day; for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time.” In accordance with his instruction, the followers of Christ were enabled to depart from the besieged city, and escape to the mountains, not taking their flight either in the winter, nor upon the Sabbath day. After the death of Christ the disciples “rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” After the ascension of Christ, Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, preached to both Jews and Gentiles “on the Sabbath day.”
6 Then how can we account for the observance of the first day of the week by the majority of professed Christians, when the Bible presents no authority for this change either in the precepts or in the example of Christ or his followers? We can account for it in the fact that the world has followed the traditions of men instead of a “Thus saith the Lord.” This has been the work that Satan has always sought to accomplish,—lead men away from the commandments of God to the veneration and obedience of the traditions of the world. Through human instrumentalities he has cast contempt upon the Sabbath of Jehovah, and has stigmatized it as “the old Jewish Sabbath.” Thousands have thoughtlessly echoed this reproach, as though it were something to which was attached great weight of argument; but they have lost sight of the fact that the Jewish people were especially chosen of God as the guardians of his truth, the keepers of his law, the depositary of his sacred oracles. They received the lively oracles to give unto us. The Old and New Testaments both came through the Jews to us. Every promise in the Bible, every ray of light which has shone upon us from the word of God, has come through the Jewish nation.
7 Christ was the leader of the Hebrews as they marched from Egypt to Canaan. In union with the Father, Christ proclaimed the law amid the thunders of Sinai to the Jews, and when he appeared on earth as a man among men, he came as a descendant of Abraham. Shall we use the same argument concerning the Bible and Christ, and reject them as Jewish, as is done in rejecting the Sabbath of the Lord our God? The Sabbath institution is as closely identified with the Jews as is the Bible, and there is the same reason for the rejection of one as of the other. But the Sabbath is not Jewish in its origin. It was instituted in Eden before there were such a people known as the Jews. The Sabbath was made for all mankind, and was instituted in Eden before the fall of man. The Creator called it “my holy day.” Christ announced himself as “the Lord of the Sabbath.” Beginning with creation, it is as old as the human race, and having been made for man it will exist as long as man shall exist. Hallowed by the Creator’s rest and blessing, the Sabbath was kept by Adam in his innocence in holy Eden, by Adam fallen, yet repentant, when he was driven from his happy estate. It was kept by all the patriarchs from Abel to Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob. When the chosen people were in bondage in Egypt, many, in the midst of the prevailing idolatry, lost their knowledge of God’s law; but when the Lord delivered Israel, he proclaimed his law in awful grandeur to the assembled multitude, that they might know his will, and fear and obey him forever.
8 From that day to this the knowledge of God’s law has been preserved in the earth, and the Sabbath of the fourth commandment has been kept. Christ has given no hint that the seventh-day Sabbath has ever been or ever could be changed, and no apostolic example for the change from the seventh to the first day of the week can be cited. The custom of observing the first day of the week instead of the seventh day of divine appointment has no authority save that of tradition, popular custom, and the command of the Church of Rome. The Church of Rome has been the agent by which Satan has made this breach in the law of God, and turned the professed Christian world away from the precepts of Jehovah. Through his insinuation men made the claim that because Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, therefore the first day of the week should be celebrated as the Christian sabbath, but the Scriptures give no authority for this manner of reasoning. The prince of evil well knew that could he set aside the true foundation for Sabbath observance, he could make the fourth commandment of no significance in the minds of men. Thus, under the pretense of honoring Christ, Satan succeeds in tearing down God’s great memorial, turning the minds of men away from their Creator in a false zeal for a spurious institution. He led the Jews to have a false zeal for the Sabbath, and then induced them to reject Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 Satan’s chief agent in bringing about the rejection of the fourth commandment, and the institution of the first day of the week as a day of rest, has been the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church does not deny the part she has acted in this change, but makes a boast of her power as shown in the change which she has brought about in the world. Papists acknowledge that the Bible gives no sanction to this change, and that Protestants have no Scriptural authority for Sunday worship. The Catholic Church changed the day of rest from the seventh to the first day, and without the shadow of divine sanction it has been accepted by almost all the Protestant churches, and Rome, pointing to the adherents of her doctrines, claims the supremacy. In changing the fourth precept of God’s law, the papal power has thought itself able to exalt itself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. This was the very work that the prophecy foretold would be done by this power. In trampling upon the fourth commandment, the first commandment is broken. Their idolatry is similar to that of Israel’s when she substituted a god which her own hands had made, for the living and true God, and followed after the example of Egypt; for when the Catholics substitute a sabbath of their own making for that which God commanded, they too worship that which their own hands have made, and follow the example of the heathen who worshiped the sun on the first day of the week.
2 Through the pope of Rome the same work has been carried on here on earth as was carried on in the courts of heaven before the expulsion of the prince of darkness. Satan sought to correct the law of God in heaven, and to supply an amendment of his own. He exalted his own judgment above that of his Creator, and placed his will above the will of Jehovah, and in this way virtually declared God to be fallible. The pope also takes the same course and, claiming infallibility for himself, seeks to adjust the law of God to meet his own ideas, thinking himself able to correct the mistakes he thinks he sees in the statutes and commands of the Lord of heaven and earth. He virtually says to the world, I will give you better laws than those of Jehovah. What an insult is this to the God of heaven!
3 Many thousand who have accepted the change made in the day of rest have done so ignorantly, and unwittingly have placed themselves under the banner of the prince of darkness. The Christian church has accepted the false sabbath, but the day of light has now dawned. The times of their ignorance God winked at, but now he commandeth men everywhere to repent. It is demonstrated that no change is necessary in the law of God. Were there a change needed in the law of God, and could such a change be made, the rebellion of Satan would be justified, and the universe would have to concede that Satan was wiser than God, and had a right to supreme authority. But Jesus came to magnify the law and to make it honorable, and his death on Calvary in the sinner’s behalf, proves the immutability of the law of heaven.
4 The work of the papal church was to be of an exactly opposite character to that of Christ. Daniel in holy vision saw that he “would think to change times and laws.” The laws of God and the time of God were to be changed by this antichristian power. The laws of God are the only laws which men are prohibited from changing, for secular powers may change as they see fit the laws of secular governments. In the prophecy it is plainly shown that this papal power would with deliberate intention change the law of God. In the Catholic catechisms the second commandment is not taught as obligatory, but for this change they do not hold themselves responsible of intention to change the law, as they declare that the whole significance of the precept is contained in the first commandment. But the change of the fourth commandment, the institution of the first day of the week as the Sabbath instead of the seventh day, is a change for which she holds herself responsible of intention to change, and makes a boast of her power, because the whole professed Christian world acknowledges her mandate in this particular. It is by thus trampling upon God’s commandments (sin is the transgression of the law) that the Roman Church has proved its right to the title given in prophecy to one who shall be the “mystery of lawlessness.”
5 The Papacy, claiming to be the vicegerent of the Son of God, is in truth the vicegerent of another power. She points to the Sunday institution as the sign of her authority; but in the change of the law and time of God, she is only doing that which Satan tried to do in heaven,—prove the law of God faulty, and the Lawgiver fallible. In boasting of her power above the law of God, she is but echoing the sentiments of the great deceiver. God instituted the Sabbath as a sign of his authority and power, and the Papacy, acting for the prince of evil, points to the Sunday as a sign of her power and jurisdiction. The day of the sun, Sunday, was a day devoted to the most vile of the heathen worship, for it was celebrated in connection with sun-worship. This Sunday-sabbath has been accepted by many who know it to be the foundling of heathenism, which has been cherished and nourished by the Church of Rome, and by her clothed in the garments of sanctity. But while many are now aware of its origin, there are true Christians in every church who do not know the origin of the Sunday-sabbath, and believe that they are keeping the day which God sanctified and blest. This is true of worshipers even in the Catholic Church; and while this ignorance and integrity remain, God accepts of their sincerity; but when light shall fall upon their pathway, God requires them to come into harmony with his law, and to observe the Sabbath of his appointing. The time has come when the glory of the Lord is to fill the earth, and when the whole earth shall be lightened with his glory. The cry is sounding to the honest in heart to “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
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1 Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. He says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” Christ is drawing all unto himself, but all do not respond to his drawing. If all men would respond to his drawing, there would be no variance, no discordant note in the household. If all would respond to his drawing, he would never have said: “Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Some respond to the drawing of Christ. The truth convicts them, and they repent, become converted, and are made the children of God. They reverence and love Jesus Christ, and surrender themselves in obedience to his will. In Christ they find the highest realization of their hopes. In him the troubled soul finds rest and peace. He stands before the repenting, pardoned soul as the complete Pattern, and they seek to be like him, acknowledging to all that they have given their hearts to him.
2 But while one member of the family gives his heart to God, the others do not. They are still under the control of the Saviour’s worst enemy, and they feel annoyed and angry that there has come to be a division in their household. He who has accepted of Christ is no less dutiful than before; on the contrary, he is more kind, more faithful, more affectionate, because his nature is being purified and sanctified and ennobled by the truth. But the Master of the Christian and the master of the unbelievers are in deadly conflict. Those who love not God are at enmity with those who do love God, and they are stirred up with bitter opposition by the spirit of Satan, who keeps them from responding to the drawing of Christ. Satan deceives the soul with false pretensions. He perverts the judgment, and misleads the mind, so that the very best motives of those who believe in God are misinterpreted by unbelievers, and the disloyal are led to think that they are badly used and treated unkindly by those who have placed their trust in God. Christ is the believer’s hope and consolation, the one about whom he weaves the best affections. The Christian confesses Christ in word and deed, in spirit and actions, and the enmity that is created in the unbelieving heart against the children of God is not against men simply, but against Christ.
3 Christ longs to give those who do not understand him, correct views of his character, to set them right, to take away their burden of sin and resistance, and give them rest. The divine Comforter is full of pity, sympathy, and love, and seeks to woo them to God. He seeks to direct their attention to Christ as he really is, full of mercy, compassion, and pardoning love, willing to forgive their transgression and sin, when they repent and seek him for forgiveness. But Satan interposes his hellish shadow between Christ and the soul. The sinner sees not Jesus, but fastens his gaze upon the cloud of darkness, and desires not the Lord of life and glory. He does not realize that Jesus alone can give him peace and rest, and quiet the tempest that Satan has created in the human soul, and so he does not come unto him. Under the dark cloud of impenitence, sinners are in a state of insanity. They will not listen to reason, and Jesus, their best Friend, is accounted as an enemy, and those who believe in him are also placed in the same light. Such is the power of the deceiver, who whispers his suggestions in the ear of the unbeliever, that Paul asks, “Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?” Truth has everything commendable in it, yet many are making the sad mistake of rejecting the truth, which would bring to them peace, rest, and salvation. The Holy Spirit comes early and often with the message of salvation to the impenitent heart, only to be rejected.
4 The conflict goes on in many homes, and those who serve Jesus are misjudged and persecuted, when their hearts are breaking with longing that their unconverted relatives and friends may be converted to the Jesus whom they see and love. They are pleading earnestly with God that their loved ones may be drawn to him, when the hearts of their relatives are bound as with iron fetters to Satan’s car, and they are asking, as did Pharaoh, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” They cherish pride, envy, and hatred, and are continually creating contention, because some of their family love Jesus and they do not. Jesus, full of grace and truth, again and again has knocked at the door of their hearts, and has asked for admission there; but they have padlocked the door, and refused to receive him. The happiness of the members of the family who have accepted Jesus amazes and exasperates them, until, like Cain, they would raise their hand to destroy them. “The brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child.”
5 Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, came to shed his bright beams into every home. To those who receive the light of life, it is as a savor of life unto life, but those who reject it, find it a savor of death unto death. Whatever we do, and wherever we may be, we are God’s property, and we can never cease to be responsible to him. He has given us faculties, privileges, and opportunities, and he holds us responsible for the use to which we put his intrusted gifts. If we take this responsibility, and meet the requirements of God as we should, we shall be constituted the light of the world, because Christ is formed within, the hope of glory.
6 Jesus says: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” The words that Christ addressed to his disciples were addressed to us as well as to them. We have presented before us the unwearied conflict that we must wage on this earth as long as time shall last. We can place no person before Christ in our affections. If a person who has been convicted by the Spirit of God smothers his convictions, and continues to trample underfoot the commandments of the Lord, and rejects the truth of God simply because he sees it will bring disunion into the family relations, he shows that he loves the peace that is not of Christ, but of the world. He prefers to be in harmony with the world rather than to be in unity with Christ. But to have the peace of Christ it is necessary to place Christ and his service first. Those who yield their convictions of truth to please father or mother, sister, or brother, husband or wife or children, prove themselves unworthy of Christ. They do not estimate his excellency. They view him not as the Son of God, whom the Father gave for the sins of the world, in order that they might not perish, but have everlasting life; and therefore they shun the cross. But there is a cross to be lifted by everyone who by faith accepts a crucified and risen Saviour.
7 He who is truly penitent does not forget his past sins, and grow careless about them as soon as he has obtained forgiveness. On the contrary, the clearer the evidence he has of divine favor, the more he sees to regret in his past life of sin. He loathes, abhors, and condemns himself, and is more and more astonished that he should have continued in rebellion so long. He renews his repentance toward God, while he grasps more decidedly the hand of Jesus Christ, and finds that repentance is a daily, continued exercise, lasting until mortality is swallowed up of life. He who thus repents, appreciates the righteousness of Christ as above silver and gold, above every earthly tie and affection.
8 No soul can take an advance step in the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, without obtaining fresh supplies from the Fountain of grace and truth. Where enmity exists between man and Satan, it is an enmity that has been put there by the Lord Jesus Christ; for fallen men and fallen angels are naturally in harmony. Both stand on the same platform, and are nourished by the same atmosphere. Both are evil through apostasy from God. The enmity that exists in the natural heart is made manifest when a soul leaves the ranks of apostasy and joins the army of the Lord Jesus Christ. When a soul is truly converted to God, it will be made manifest that evil men are in league with evil angels, in a desperate companionship.
9 The announcement that there should be enmity between Satan and the seed of the woman was very unwelcome to the prince of evil; for it was the promise of a Redeemer. Satan thought to induce men, as he had angels, to stand on his side, and join in rebellion against God; and, with men as his allies, he planned to control the earth, and wage war against the King of heaven.
10 Whenever a soul falls in love with Jesus, every other affection is placed is subservience to this pure, refining principle of heavenly love. Pride, passion, and ambition, which have held sway over the natural heart, are surrendered to Jesus Christ. With Paul, the converted soul can say: “But what things were gain to me those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
11 The world’s Redeemer was scorned as a deceiver, hunted down as a malefactor; and shall those who become the servants of Christ expect to be treated any better than was their Lord? If they work the works of Christ, friends and relatives will rise up against them. They will persecute, forsake, and betray them. Let the believer not become discouraged because of the things he must suffer. Let his only anxiety be that hatred be kindled against him for no other reason than that of faithfulness in the discharge of his duty for Christ’s sake. The true child of God will say, I know I have to do with God, who trieth the heart, and hath pleasure in uprightness. I will set the Lord ever before me, and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
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1 The word of God is the foundation of our faith, and therefore it is by the word of God that we may obtain evidence of our standing before God. We are not to make our feelings a test by which to discern whether we are in or out of favor with God, whether they be what we consider encouraging or not. As soon as one begins to contemplate his feelings, he is on dangerous ground. If he feels joyous, he is confident he is in a favorable condition, but when a change comes, as it will, for circumstances will be so arranged that feelings of depression will make the heart sad, then he will be naturally led to doubt that God has accepted him. It is not wisdom to look at the emotions, and try to test your spirituality by your feelings. Do not study yourself; look away from self to Jesus. While you acknowledge yourself as a sinner, yet you may appropriate Christ as your sin-pardoning Redeemer. Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Satan will not be slow in presenting to the repentant soul suggestions and difficulties to weaken faith and destroy courage. He has manifold temptations that he can send trooping into the mind, one in succession of another; but the Christian must not study his emotions, and give way to his feelings, or he will soon entertain the evil guest, doubt, and become entangled in the perplexities of despair. Expel the suggestions of the enemy by contemplating the matchless depths of your Saviour’s love.
2 Do not exalt your feelings, and be swayed by them, whether they be good, bad, sad, or joyful. The apostle says, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” It is the word of God that is to be your assurance. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” The soul’s supply of nutrition is in Jesus Christ. A legal religion will always be a troublesome guest, and it is a deception to imagine that there is such a thing as natural religion that is acceptable to God. The religion of Christ teaches its possessor self-distrust, but at the same time enables him to grasp the hand of Christ firmly, and still more firmly, as temptations press upon the soul.
3 There is a warfare in which every soul must engage who would have the crown of life. Inch by inch the overcomer must fight the good fight of faith, using the weapons of God’s word. He must meet the foe with, “It is written.” He must keep the armory well supplied with, “It is written.” In this way he must meet the advances of the enemy, and educate and train the soul for the still more severe attacks of the foe. Truth, the word of God, faith and righteousness, and the hope of salvation, must be the armor of the successful warrior, and his eyes must be anointed to be keen and sensitive to detect the devices of the enemy. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” If God had not made provision by which you might be thoroughly equipped for your warfare with the powers of darkness, then these commands and promises would be but mockery to you, and would tantalize your soul; but our God is true. We may depend upon him under all circumstances. The word of God cannot fail, and in it we are to find our assurance.
4 By the word of God we are to overcome every temptation of the enemy. Satan may present every attraction, bring to our notice every deceiving, alluring bribe, in seeking to eclipse the brightness of Jesus from our view, and to obliterate from our minds his plainest requirements, but we are to meet his deceptions with the word of God. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
5 When the enemy begins to draw away the mind from Jesus, to shut away his mercy, his love, his all-sufficiency, do not devote precious time to the consideration of your feelings, but flee to the word. In the Scriptures Christ is presented as the One by whom God made the worlds. He is the light of the world, and, as the seeker for light studies the word, he finds heavenly illumination. Christ, the all-absorbing theme, is revealed to his soul, and he sees the requirements of God to be of a Christlike character. He studies the conditions on which redemption may be his, sees the divinity of his Saviour, the value of his atonement, the efficacy of the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost; and Christ becomes all and in all to his soul. He sees in the Scriptures that which the casual reader does not see, a significance and value beyond computation. He comes with a teachable spirit to the word, and is instructed by both the Old and New Testaments.
6 Christ opens the mind to comprehend the meaning of the sacred word, and the Holy Spirit conveys its true significance to the soul, which before had not been seen or appreciated. The searcher for truth feels as did the disciples when Christ overtook them on their journey to Emmaus. They told him their pitiful story, and he reproved them for their unbelief and slowness of heart. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” When their eyes were opened, and they realized that it was Christ himself who had been talking with them, they said one to another, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
7 What do we hope to accomplish by longing to have the whole world converted to Jesus, by believing in his pardoning love, when we do not ourselves believe in his love or find rest in his grace? How can we possibly lead others to a full assurance, to simple, childlike faith in our heavenly Father, when we are measuring and judging our love to him by our feelings? We cannot be lifted up in thought, or know what it is to be the sons and daughters of God, unless we trust implicitly to the word of God, for Satan will ever be on the ground to dispute our claims. We must educate the soul to trust in God’s word with unwavering confidence. Let gratitude and thankfulness flow out of the heart, and cease to hurt the heart of Christ by doubting his love, which has been assured to us by most astounding evidences; for he so loved us as to give his own life for us, that we should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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1 “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.” The seventy were appointed to go on their missionary journeys some months after the twelve had been appointed to visit the lost sheep of the house of Israel. When the twelve were sent forth, they were restricted to the tribes of Israel, lest their missionary efforts should create prejudice among the Jews, whose teaching had been of such a character as to make them narrow in their ideas in regard to the extension of the gospel to other nationalities. The disciples themselves could scarcely comprehend the fact that the blessings of God were for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews, and had to unlearn many lessons that made them conservative in their views concerning the mission and work of the Messiah. But evidences were given them that prepared them to understand that the tidings of the kingdom of Christ were to be preached to all nations. Now that their sympathies were broadening, and their ideas expanding in regard to the purpose of God, Christ desired them to act out their faith before he should be removed from them, that there might be no misunderstanding in regard to the extension of the gospel.
2 Jesus’ great heart of love was filled with longing to proclaim the words of life to all nationalities, and he did this in a large measure. He placed himself in the great thoroughfares of travel, where the crowds passed to and fro, and preached to large concourses of different peoples. But he saw numerous fields opening up for missionary labor. There was abundant opportunity for the twelve disciples to work, and not only for them, but for a very large number of workers. He educated a larger number to employ in missionary work, and, as he sent forth seventy more laborers into the harvest field, he said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.” In giving his laborers direction as they began this most important work, he said, “Salute no man by the way.” The salutation to which he referred was not that of giving a friendly grasp to the hand, but was a long series of ceremonies, that consumed time to no profit, and their business was too urgent to trifle away precious moments in unnecessary forms. They were bearing a message that was to be as a savor of life unto life to those who received it, and as a savor of death unto death to those who rejected it; and all these superstitious positions and ceremonies of salutation, if performed, would lessen the importance of the message, and seem to make it of little moment.
3 The sending out of the disciples on a missionary tour was a most important movement, as it was a breaking away from the old, narrow conservatism of the Jews, and would have a tendency to lead them away from their prejudices against other nations, and establish them in a larger charity. He wished them to be impressed with the necessity of planting the truth in the hearts of all men, with the thought that all who would come might come to him, and by believing in him have life through his name. The time was approaching when he should leave his followers, but he promised them that the Spirit should come to lead them into all truth, to illuminate to their minds the Scriptures which he had himself given to patriarchs and prophets. No longer were the Gentiles to be kept in heathenism, or, as it were, in the outer courts of the temple.
4 The Pharisees were daily plotting to stop the spread of the gospel of Christ, and were misinterpreting God’s word, by threatening the people, and seeking to intimidate them, and they deepened the darkness that enveloped the souls of men, and bound more firmly the chains of superstition and error that Jesus was breaking from those who believed in him. The Pharisees and rulers and rabbis sought to controvert the truth by their assertions, and manifested great zeal in pursuing their evil course. They hesitated at nothing that would carry out their hatred of Christ. The seventy were sent out with the warning, “Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.” But though sent out to meet opposition, they were not to be spiritless, powerless, and feeble. They were to exercise every proper means that was consistent with the commission they were given, and spend and be spent in seeking to win souls to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. A new and mighty movement was to be inaugurated, a new epoch was to be ushered in, advancing the truth to the world.
5 The world’s Redeemer marks out the course the disciples were to pursue. There must be no betraying of sacred trusts on the part of those intrusted with the work, no yielding save to one Guide. Christ laid out before them the rules of action they were to follow, the manner in which they were to pursue their work, and there must be no swerving from God’s word. He sent them forth two and two. This was the order in which the laborers were to go forth. He was about to leave the work, and he determined to put it in the hands of faithful men, who would teach others also to carry forward and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all nations, tongues, and peoples. He had revealed to his followers invisible realities, and had told them of coming events, reaching down to the end of earth’s history. He had opened up to them principles concerning redemption and moral government by holding forth to them the words of life, and all these great truths which he had communicated to them were not only for their enlightenment, but that they also might communicate truth to others who were in darkness. The seventy were to go forth to do a work similar to that which was being done by the twelve. They were all endowed with supernatural endowments as the seal of their heavenly calling. They were ordained to proclaim that which Jesus at the beginning of his ministry had bidden them to keep secret. Repeatedly Jesus had charged them not to proclaim his Messiahship, but to let the people receive him upon the testimony of his words and works. His works presented the divine credentials that bore sufficient evidence of his claims. But before the close of his earthly ministry, it was his purpose to give men unmistakable evidence of the fact that he was the Sent of God, that he was the center and soul of the kingdom of Israel; and this fact was to be proclaimed throughout all the borders of Judea; and in his last journey toward Jerusalem, prophecy should be so publicly fulfilled that no student of Scripture need be in doubt concerning his character and mission. The specifications of prophecy were to be fulfilled to the letter.
6 It was the work of the seventy disciples to give publicity to his work. They were his delegated forerunners, sent forth to create an interest in him, and to bear their message heralding his approach. The Saviour gave them special instruction as to how they were to conduct themselves, and what preliminary work must be done by them. The instruction was after the same order as he gave to the twelve when he sent them forth. “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.” They were not to keep their goods, bind them up in a napkin, and hide them in the earth. The Lord would have them put to use the talents he had given them, and put them out to the exchangers, by using every ability of money, mind, or influence in furthering the communication of the light of truth to souls who sat in darkness.
7 He said to them, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
8 The spirit of prophecy had distinctly predicted that God would raise up an inspired Teacher, who should instruct the people. This great Teacher had appeared among men, but they knew him not. Christ, the foundation of the whole Jewish economy, who had been prefigured in sacrifices and offerings, had appeared in the Jewish nation, but their eyes were blinded. He had himself inspired the prophets to testify of the manner of his coming, and at sundry times and in divers places Christ himself had spoken to man. There had been no time when he was not in communication with his chosen people. The Jewish services all testify of him, pointing out the attributes of his divine character. Important truth concerning him was veiled in types and shadows and symbols, and was to be fulfilled in Christ’s mission and ministry. From time to time the veil had been lifted and the mystery had been revealed concerning the plan of salvation. The reality had been made plain, the substance had appeared, explaining the shadow. Jesus Christ was revealed, the One who was to give his life for the redemption of the world. Those who believed in him in the ages before his personal advent, “died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
9 “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Here is plain evidence that Moses understood the mission of Christ and the work he was to do. He expected the substance to be revealed, and the unfinished economy of the Jewish nation would be completed in perfect fulfillment of every specification that God had given in types and shadows. He would bring his own system of arrangements to perfection. For Moses truly said unto the fathers: “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.”
10 The work of the chosen twelve, and of the seventy who were sent out, was to proclaim the Messiahship of Jesus, and to herald his personal coming wheresoever they should go. They were to say, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!”
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1 Christ ever rebuked the Pharisees for their self-righteousness. They extolled themselves. They came forth from their religious services, not humbled with a sense of their own weakness, not feeling gratitude for the great privileges that God had given them. They were exalted to heaven in point of opportunity, in having the Scriptures, in knowing the true God, but their hearts were not filled with thankfulness to God for his great goodness toward them. They came forth filled with spiritual pride, and their theme was self—”myself, my feelings, my knowledge, my ways.” Their own attainments became the standard by which they measured others. Putting on the robes of self-dignity, they mounted the judgment seat to criticise and to condemn. But no human being has been authorized of God to do this work. It is the very essence of Phariseeism. It is gathering about the soul the very shadows of darkness so that the light of life cannot penetrate the darkness. Satan deluded the Jews with a natural or legal religion, which was full of selfishness and hypocrisy, and thus were light and knowledge perverted; but this exalting of self, this self-righteousness, is nothing short of deception and self-destruction. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”
2 The soil of the hearts of the Pharisees is a hopeless and profitless soil, where the seeds of heavenly truth cannot take root. Oh, how self-deluding is this feeling of superiority that all Pharisees cherish! They suppose that others are at fault, and speak words of reproof and condemnation, and their words are strong and hard as nether millstones, and crush all hope and courage out of the soul. The goodness of heart manifested in the works of true Christians, puts into the heart of Pharisees roots of bitterness whereby many are defiled. They are full of evil thoughts, and suspect the purest. They make a man an offender for a word. Exalted self claims all their faith, honor, and love.
3 As Christ redoubled his efforts, manifesting his love in works of mercy, in pouring a flood of light upon a sin-stricken world, because the Pharisees could not controvert his doctrine, they threatened, hunted, and persecuted the Son of God. The people rejoiced in the wonderful works that Christ was doing; but the Pharisees, under the training and discipline of Satan, were so blinded that they charged Christ with casting out devils through the prince of devils. What a terrible pass for men to come to who profess to be the children of God! Those who begin to criticise and judge others know not to what lengths they will be led.
4 Jesus “spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” Let every disciple of Christ inquire in all humility of mind, What must I do to be saved? If we sincerely desire to understand, we shall know. It is not because of our riches, our knowledge, our superiority of position, that Jesus loves us and blesses us, but because we believe in him as our personal Saviour. Jesus loved us while we were yet sinners, but having chosen us he says he has ordained us to go and bring forth fruit. Has each one something to do?—Certainly, everyone that is yoked up with Christ must bear his burden, work in his lines. Christians are not to be strengthless and indolent. No. “Ye are laborers together with God.” The life of Christ’s pardoning love in the soul is as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. If the well of water is in the heart, then the entire life will reveal the fact, and the refreshing grace of God will be made manifest. Religion is not simply to have joyous feelings, to be conscious of having privileges and light, to have rapturous emotions, while expending all the energies to keep a balance in the Christian life, while doing nothing for the salvation of souls. Religion is doing the words of Christ; it is standing as faithful sentinels, not doing to earn salvation, but doing because, all undeserving, you have received the heavenly gift. Religion is to work out God’s plans, to cooperate with the intelligences of heaven. In this way you fulfill the words of Christ, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”
5 It is the high privilege of the sons and daughters of God to go forth and present to others the truth as it is in Jesus; for we are to watch and to seek for souls as they that must give an account. We are to feel a constant sense of our indebtedness to God for the gift of his Son, and be ever watching for opportunities to enlist others in the army of the Lord. It is not he that enjoyeth righteousness, but he that doeth righteousness, that is righteous. Jesus said, “Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” The doing of the will of God is a result of possessing the faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
6 “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledging of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” If we will follow on to know the Lord, our views will broaden. They will not be bound about by self. We should pray the Lord to enlarge our understanding, so that we may not only understand that Jesus Christ is our substitute and surety, but that we belong to Christ as his purchased possession. Paul says, “Ye are bought with a price,” and draws this conclusion, “Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
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1 It was a grief to the Saviour that his disciples failed to comprehend the character of his kingdom. He plainly stated to his followers the humiliation, suffering, and death that awaited him; but they seemed to be unable to understand it, and on the way to the scene of the Saviour’s trial and death, disputed among themselves who should be greatest in his kingdom. Judas was numbered among the twelve. He was accepted, not because he was perfect, but notwithstanding his imperfections. Peter, James, and John were not perfect characters, but they were received by the Master in order that they might be moulded by the words he should speak and the example he should set before them. Judas had witnessed the power which the disciples had over the unclean spirits, and could testify that the devils were subject unto them.
2 But the often-repeated statements of Christ in regard to his kingdom not being an earthly kingdom, created thoughts of disaffection in the mind of Judas. He had marked out a line upon which he expected Christ to work. He had planned that Christ should deliver John the Baptist from prison, and, lo! John was left to be beheaded in prison, and Jesus withdrew himself and his disciples into a country place, instead of avenging the death of John. Judas wanted more aggressive warfare established, and thought that if Jesus would not hold them back from carrying out their schemes, they would be more successful. Doubt became more established in his mind as he saw the gathering enmity of the Jewish leaders, and saw the challenge go by unheeded by Christ when they requested that he should show them a sign from heaven. His heart was open to unbelief, and the enemy supplied mind and heart with thoughts of questioning and rebellion. Why did Christ dwell so much upon that which was discouraging, portraying his trials and persecutions, and describing the trials and persecutions which his disciples must endure? Why did he refer to his own humiliation and death? Were their hopes to be all disappointed? Was it not the prospect of having a high place in the new kingdom which God was to establish that led him to espouse the cause of Christ? Judas had not decided that Jesus was not the Son of God, he had not made up his mind that he performed miracles through the agency of Satan, but yet he was questioning, and seeking to find some way by which he could explain the mighty works which he did.
3 The other disciples were as unwilling as was Judas to receive the statement concerning Christ’s humiliation and death, for it seemed to them to mean an end to all their hopes; but when Christ presented before them his true mission, they were not offended, but appreciated the spiritual good that was to come, although they but dimly perceived its nature. Jesus said unto them: “I am the Bread of Life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that Bread that came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth of this Bread shall live forever. . . . Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? what and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before? It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given him of my Father.”
4 Jesus, the Lord of life and glory, was about to suffer an ignominious death, and he spoke plain truth in order that the characters of all those who professed to be his disciples might be developed, so that the true and faithful might not have added to their trials the discouragement that these doubters and questioners should bring upon them at his death. Judas was among those who said, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon; for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”
5 It was at this very time that Judas made shipwreck of faith. After this he permitted doubt, envy, suspicion, bitterness, and hatred to be his guests. He became jealous at once when he was not included among the three who were chosen to witness the transfiguration of Christ upon the mount. When the disciples disputed by the way as to who should have the supremacy, his voice was often heard. In all that Christ said to his disciples there was always something with which he disagreed, and the leaven of disaffection was fast developing under the influence and presence of Judas. When he witnessed the manifestation of the fervent love of Mary as she anointed the feet of Christ with the precious ointment, his very spirit seemed turned to gall. He manifested his covetous nature, and displayed his malice and hatred.
6 Judas was not a doer of the words of Christ. He had had every advantage given him in order that he might learn lessons concerning Him who brought to light life and immortality, but he failed to overcome his selfish spirit, and cherished covetousness, which is idolatry, and did not cleanse the soul temple of its defilement. Every human soul has some mastering passion which must be overcome or it will overcome him and plunge the soul into ruin. Christ said: “Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.”
7 Each one has a work of overcoming to do. If the objectionable trait of character is not overcome, Satan will take advantage of the defect, and thereby defile the whole man.
8 While Jesus was at Bethany, he told his disciples of what was to come to pass in a few days from that time. At the Passover the case of Judas was decided. Satan took control of heart and mind. He thought that Christ was either to be crucified, or would have to deliver himself out of the hands of his enemies. At all events, he would make something out of the transaction, and make a sharp bargain by betraying his Lord. He went to the priests and offered to aid them in searching for him who was accounted the troubler of Israel. Thus it was that the Lord was sold as a slave, purchased by the temple money used for the buying of the sacrifices.
9 Satan bound Judas to his side to be his human agent to work the death of the Son of God. But conscience was not yet dead in Judas, and when he saw Jesus deliver himself into the hands of those who would condemn and crucify him, Judas rushed in to the priests, exclaiming: “I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.” As he saw Jesus given into the hands of his enemies, he remembered the words he had spoken in Gethsemane, “Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?” His master passion had spent its force, and reason again held sway; but he felt nothing but despair. He knew that Christ was the Son of God, and that he was his betrayer. The leaders of Israel heartily despised his base conduct; though they had taken advantage of his covetousness and hatred, yet when he repented, and turned to them with a confession of his guilt, they spurned him, and left him to die in his sins. Judas failed to have a place among the sanctified because he failed to learn of Christ the daily lessons that he would teach his followers, of meekness and lowliness of heart. He failed to learn the lessons of faith that the other disciples finally learned, and thus became heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
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Page 701
1 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” As our heavenly Father is perfect in his sphere, so also those for whom Christ died are to be perfect in their sphere. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” We are to believe in salvation through Christ, and make manifest that faith in our life, not by our own strength, but by trusting in the strength and efficiency of Christ. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began; but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
2 The Lord wills not the death of any sinner, but that all should come to repentance. His mercies are without number, and he will not leave those for whom he has given the ransom of his life to become the sport of Satan’s temptations. All heaven is given to those who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. No soul can more dishonor God than by professing to believe in Christ, and yet go in mourning and sorrow to present to the world the aspect of orphans. “The Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”
3 The Lord does not leave his wounded and bruised sheep to the power of Satan to be torn to pieces. He is ever strengthening his own in their weakness. He delivers those who are tried and tempted from the power of Satan. The Lord never forsakes the soul that puts his trust in him. Those who claim to be the sons and daughters of God must trust always in Jesus. To do otherwise is to disown the fact that he loves us. When we go mourning and full of depression, covering ourselves with the garments of heaviness, we represent Christ to the world as a hard, tyrannical Master. But this is untrue. This is misrepresenting the One who gave his own life for us, that he might make it possible for us to believe in him, and trust in his interest and love for sinful man. “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” Speaking of his watchful care over us he says, “I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.”
4 What great injustice is done to the Saviour, who gave his life for us, when those who profess to believe in him walk in the shadow of darkness. Jesus has said, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” If you have been walking in darkness, you have been following another leader than Jesus, and it is time for you to turn about and follow Jesus, the Truth, the Life, the Way, and the Light of the world. Is the Lord pleased to have you tossed about as the restless waves of the sea?—No, no. I tell you he wants you to be strengthened, stablished, rooted and grounded in the truth, and built up in the most holy faith. You are not your own; you are bought with a price which cannot be estimated. You belong to God, the mighty God, bought with the price that was paid for you on Calvary’s cross. Then when you keep yourself in a state of fluctuating fear and doubt, you grieve the heart of Christ, who has given you unmistakable evidence of his love, and of his desire to have you with him in his kingdom. He says, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”
5 Do not lose sight of Jesus, and separate from his companionship, and keep company with the prince of darkness, entertaining his suggestions, and heeding his directions, and acting out his plans. Cling to him who has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” That you should take up with Satan, the apostate and traitor, and do after his works, after you have a knowledge of Jesus Christ, is a mystery to the universe of heaven.
6 Let no Christian seek to excuse himself in sin on the ground that others who have claimed to follow Jesus have committed the same errors. Your sin is none the less heinous because others have been guilty, and your manifest duty is to confess your sin to Jesus Christ, your Intercessor. Take the weight of your woe to no human being. You have one Mediator, Jesus Christ, the righteous. In contrition of soul go to him and tell all your sins. The promise is sure, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John says: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” “That ye sin not”—here is where you bring yourself into condemnation when you continue to sin. But in the strength of Christ cease to sin. Every provision has been made that grace should abide with you, and that sin may appear to you the hateful thing it is. But if any man sin, he is not to give himself up to despair, and talk like a man who is lost to Christ. “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only; but also for the sins of the whole world.”
7 The temptations of the enemy will come, but shall we give him the advantage to break down all the barriers, by yielding one iota from the strictest principles of integrity? If we yield in the least, he will follow one temptation with another, until we shall go directly contrary to the plainest statements of the word of God, and follow the mind and will of Satan. Satan and his confederacy of evil angels is ever on the alert to see by what means they may ensnare and ruin souls who have enlisted under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. You did run well for a season, you did taste and see that the Lord is good, but when you fell into sin you walked in darkness. When you yielded to temptation, you must have ceased to look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. But, having confessed your sins, believe that the word of God cannot fail, but that he is faithful that hath promised. It is just as much your duty to believe that God will fulfill his word, and forgive your sins, as it is your duty to confess your sins. You must exercise faith in God as in one who will do exactly as he has promised to do in his word, and pardon all your transgressions.
8 How may we know that the Lord is indeed our sin-pardoning Redeemer, and prove what is the blessedness, the grace, the love there is in him for us? O, we must believe his word implicitly, with contrite and submissive spirit. There is no need to go mourning and ever repenting, and under a cloud of continual condemnation. Believe the word of God, keep looking unto Jesus, dwelling upon his virtues and mercies, and there will be created in the heart an utter abhorrence of that which is evil. You will be among those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. But the more closely we discern Jesus, the more clearly we shall see our own defects of character. As we see our failings, let us confess them to Jesus, and, with true contrition of soul, co-operate with the divine power of the Holy Spirit to overcome all evil. If we confess our sins, we must believe that they are pardoned, because the promise is positive: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Let us no more dishonor God by doubting his pardoning love.
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1 Every true disciple of Christ is to win souls to Jesus Christ by manifesting his Spirit and doing his works. The Lord has not placed any man upon the judgment seat to find fault with and to condemn his brethren. The prayer of Christ for his followers just before his crucifixion was to be a standing warning signal against the doing of anything of the kind, because the influence of criticism and judging of others would not gather with Christ but scatter away from him. Jesus prayed: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory [character] which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
2 O, that our minds were expanded so that we might take in the significance of this statement! The love that God has for those who believe in Jesus is to be demonstrated as the same love with which he loves his Son, by the unity of the disciples with Christ. They are to manifest forth to the world his character, cherishing that tender love one for another that will bear to the world the credentials of the power of Christ to link heart to heart in the strongest bands of fellowship and brotherhood. But the fact that the prayer of Christ is so lightly regarded, that so little effort is put forth to cultivate unity among those who profess to believe in Jesus, makes manifest the fact that the spell of Satan is upon the church. He who is full of criticism of the brethren, does not represent the oneness for which Christ prayed, but is displaying variance, discord, and disunion. If one brother errs from the truth, the Lord has given direction as to what should be done by the church, and by its individual members. No one need make a mistake or stumble. The Lord says: “If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church.”
3 It is not to be told to the church until the previous directions have been faithfully and tenderly carried out; but it is never to be published to the world. Satan and his angels will make all that is possible of differences in the church to make of no effect the saving grace and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let there be no divisions among the professed children of God, for in union there is strength.
4 Christ is so greatly misrepresented by those who claim to believe in him, who disregard his prayer for the unity of his followers, that angels are amazed. The angels of God are commissioned to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and it is their business to bind heart to heart by the golden chain of love that links each soul through Christ to God. All, all are to be bound together, brother to brother with Christ in God. The instruction for this time is, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.”
5 Our individual work is to surrender ourselves to God, that we may be purified, ennobled, and sanctified through the truth. We need to cultivate and strengthen that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. No one need to make a mistake. Jesus has plainly revealed to us what are the requirements of genuine religion. He says, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.” The human agent cannot comprehend this command or obey it unless he is continually a partaker of the divine nature, having a living realization of the great sacrifice made for him, that through faith in Christ he need not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” It is our privilege to bear the divine credentials to the world that the Saviour, in whom we believe, is the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We shall do this when we who stand under his banner present to the world a united front. But what must be the grief of Christ and heavenly angels when they behold us doing exactly opposite to that which he desired! What must be his feelings as he sees his professed children paying no heed to his prayer to his Father that they should all be one, as he and the Father were one! “This is my commandment,” he said, “That ye love one another as I have loved you.” “These things,” he says again, “I command you, that ye love one another.” We must live the requirements of God in Christ Jesus. We must arouse and be in earnest.
6 When you discern evil in those who profess to love God, you are not to close your eyes to it, but do just as you have been directed to do in the word of God,—deal faithfully and in a Christlike manner with those who are erring. Flatter no one. Do not link up closely with a few just because you think them congenial, to the exclusion of others who need your help and sympathy, for this savors of hypocrisy and partiality. In doing this way, faults are left unreproved and excused in those you esteem your friends, while those who follow the Lord more closely are neglected and passed by, and some who are in greater need of help, of tender words of encouragement and sympathy, are left outside your circle. A union of this kind is not a sanctified union, and reveals the fact that those who are linked in it need the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
7 There was never a time when the world needed a more plain and decided testimony against moral wrong than today. Deal faithfully with those who are inconsistent, and labor to restore such an one, in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Study the word of God critically and prayerfully. and you will receive divine enlightenment. All that God requires of us is that we shall live up to all the knowledge he has given us. We are to live upon the word of God, not upon the defects we see in the characters of others. To live upon others’ errors is to do that which is fatal to spirituality. Do not set yourself up as a judge of others. Look to Jesus, talk of Jesus. Dwell upon the great plan of salvation, and keep the mind guarded lest you think and speak evil of others, pronouncing judgment upon them.
8 Let everyone who has named the name of Christ seek by all means to establish and to preserve the unity for which Christ prayed. Let there be harmony among the followers of Christ. The reason of disunion is found in the fact that unbelief has darkened the mind, and the hellish shadow of Satan has fallen athwart the temple of the soul. It is Satan’s purpose to cut off every ray of light that comes from the Light of the world to illuminate and brighten the human soul. Instead of beholding the defects of humanity, turn your eyes to Christ, until, charmed with his beautiful character, you become changed into his divine image.
Page 703
1 There is a great work to be done in the Master’s vineyard, and God calls for men to do his work to whom he has given ability for that work. Those who are successful in the work of God should not become proud and selfish and lift up themselves with boasting. They should constantly remember that they have nothing but that which God has given them in trust. The Lord has furnished that by which men may become successful preachers and teachers to labor for the good of their fellow-men. It is true that men must put forth efforts so as to use their capabilities in the very best manner. Through cultivation the value of God’s gifts bestowed upon men for improvement will be made manifest. God requires that men should put forth taxing effort in the line of study, and in this work divine power will surely combine with human effort. The Lord can do nothing without man’s cooperation, and it is thus that man works out his own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in him to will and to do of his good pleasure.
2 The cause of God needs efficient men; it needs men who are trained and educated to do valuable service as schoolteachers, and as preachers in word and doctrine. There are men who have labored with a measure of success who have had little training in either school or college; but they have put hard study into their work. They would have attained a far greater measure of success, and have been more efficient laborers, if at the very start they had acquired mental discipline. But by diligently applying themselves, and putting to use the knowledge they had already attained, by studying and by practicing, they made a success of their work.
3 Faithful shepherds of the flock will not be ashamed of the banner of truth, however unpopular it may be. They will not hold their peace from proclaiming the truth in all places. Whether in season or out of season, they will herald the glad tidings of salvation, they will be missionaries for God, facing danger, enduring privation, and suffering reproach for the truth’s sake. The third angel is represented as flying swiftly through the midst of heaven, proclaiming his message with a loud voice. This representation symbolizes the work of God’s witnesses near the end of time. With no shame upon their countenances, with no hanging down of their heads as a bulrush, but with uplifted heads, with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them, with rejoicing that their redemption draweth nigh, they go forth as bold soldiers of Jesus Christ. They make it manifest that they have tasted of the powers of the world to come, that their feet are not upon the sliding sand but upon the solid rock, and that they are not to be easily moved away from the faith that was once delivered to the saints. They will be strengthened by their Leader to cope with difficulties, and will be messengers of righteousness, representing the character of the great Example, and revealing the triumphs of his grace.
4 The Lord has endowed men and women with capabilities and talents that are to be improved by exercise, not for the glory of self, but for the glory of the divine Giver. From those who believe the truth the rays of truth must shine forth. The truth must be heard from their lips, reflected from their countenances, and demonstrated in their characters. The grace of Christ ever has a refining, elevating, ennobling influence on the character. There are men and women of refinement and education who will throw the whole weight of their influence on the Lord’s side, will ignore worldly interests, part with friends, and become missionaries for God, going forth to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ. Their unconquerable fidelity will be registered as approved of God in the books of heaven. They will make it manifest to the world that there is power in Christianity to exalt the character in righteousness and true holiness. The Gospel will be seen to be the power of God unto salvation.
5 Those who are reckless in regard to obeying the law of God in this world, can never be intrusted with the judgment of the world hereafter. Those who have not especial respect and reverence for a “Thus saith the Lord” in this world, will not have a place among the saints who are to judge the world. Transgressors of the law of God would not feel at home in society that is pure and holy, for they would not cheerfully submit to the law of Jehovah which is to govern all the universe. How then could they judge the unlawful? Not being in harmony with the law of God in this life, they would be unfitted to have a place among those who hearken unto his commandments and cheerfully obey his statutes. This world is the training school for the future kingdom to which we are bound. It is not enough to have an intellectual religion, for this will not sanctify the soul. A mechanical, ceremonial religion is a snare, and cannot take the place of genuine heart work. Theological training must not be neglected, but experimental religion must accompany it.
6 The work of teachers in our schools is not to be of the same order as the work done in the colleges and seminaries of the world. The great, grand work of education is not to be of an inferior order in scientific branches, but at the same time knowledge must be imparted which will fit up a people to stand in the great day of God’s preparation. Those who teach in our schools must have a deep religious experience. They must be closely connected with God, so that they may be able to bring divine wisdom and knowledge into their work of educating the youth for the future, immortal life. Students must be trained to place their will on the side of God’s will, in order that they may be able to sing the new song and blend with the harmonies of heaven. They are to be, as were Joseph and Daniel, moral heroes, living noble, devoted lives of self-denial and self-sacrifice. They are not to seek worldly recognition and worldly fame as the end of their efforts. Their plans, their ideas, must be in harmony with the law of God; the object for which they must strive is the blessing of humanity and the salvation of the lost.
7 From age to age the heroes of faith have been marked by their fidelity to God. They have been brought conspicuously before the world, in order that their light might shine forth to those who are in darkness. The devotion and godliness that characterize the light bearers will result in glorifying God.
8 The world is full of men, women, and youth who are eager for distinction. Their highest aim is to obtain a knowledge of science; but they feel no sense of obligation to God for their intrusted talents. They do not realize that their influence should be exerted to bring men closer to Jesus, to help men to view the life and character of Christ, and to behold the matchless mercy, purity, humility, and loveliness of the world’s Redeemer. Seeking the highest place for themselves, they do not understand that they might become agents by which to bring men in contact with the divine life, to inspire them to unselfish labor in imparting the light of truth to those who are in darkness. God has qualified some men with more than ordinary ability. They are deep thinkers, they are energetic and thorough in their pursuits, but they are working wholly for selfish ends, and are leaving God’s honor and glory out of the question. Some of these have been blessed with the light of truth, and yet they are rapidly drifting away from faith, trust, and confidence in God, and do not recognize his blessings; and, unless arrested in their mad course, they will be found in the dark, restless, turbulent waters of skepticism and infidelity. This will be the result of honoring themselves and of not making God first and best in everything. Some of these will be suddenly arrested by the chastisements of God, and they will be led through a series of affliction until they shall inquire for the old paths, zealously repent, and return to their first love. Through sorrow they may be led to place their feet in the way that is cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. They will no longer seek for a place where money and selfish interests are the only objects to be attained. All worldly success without God is dry and barren waste. They will value the working of the Spirit of God upon the heart more highly than they value gold and the praise of mortals. Their minds will become free from the influence of selfishness and skepticism, for there will be an amazing change in heart and character, in thought and feeling. The aspirations will be stirred toward that which is divine, and the effort of the life be to practice that which is holy.
9 True religion has power to enable man to overcome stubbornness, pride, selfishness, worldly ambition, questioning, and unbelief. There is grace and strength in Christ to enable us to rise superior to the alluring, infatuating temptations of Satan, and to lead us to the cross of Calvary, to become active, devoted, loyal workers for the cause of truth. What is redemption?- It is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven, and it requires something higher, something more divine, than a mere knowledge of books. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, from habits and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from the feelings and practices which are opposed to loyalty to God. We are here to learn submission to the divine will, or we shall not be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Those who are corrupt in their sympathies, who have never had the divine touch, never can sing the song of the redeemed. They would be unhappy in heaven; they would feel that they were inharmonious elements. Their dark souls and untrained powers would utterly disqualify them to join the heavenly host in ascribing praise unto God and to the Lamb.
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Page 704
1 The Lord gave to Israel evidences of his presence, in order that they might fear his name and obey his voice, and might realize that God was their leader and ruler, and that Moses was simply the Lord’s general, to direct their ways through the wilderness to the promised land. Jesus Christ, the Captain of the Lord’s host, was the divine leader. The people whom God had chosen to be his especial treasure, under oppression, servitude, and idolatry, had become disorganized and demoralized. Their associations in Egypt had left a degraded mold upon their habits and appetites, and there was need that they should be transformed in character. Christ had visibly manifested his presence and power among them. The glory of God had been revealed in a most remarkable manner, so that they exceedingly feared that they would be consumed by the presence of the Lord. They had heard the voice of God, as Christ bade Moses and Aaron draw near to the cloudy pillar in which he was enshrouded, and the Lord talked with his servants. They were assured that he had heard their murmurings, and had granted what their appetites craved, flesh in the morning, and bread in the evening. They had murmured against Moses and Aaron, declaring they would have been better off had they remained in Egypt. From the pillar of cloud and fire Christ taught them that their murmurings were directed, not against Moses, but against their divine Leader. Moses and Aaron had led them according to his directions, and they were assured that it was not the man Moses that was guiding them but the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 From time to time the character of God and his dealings with them were opened up to the Israelites. Christ was lifting them up from their demoralized condition by the revelation of himself. The Lord promised that if they would be obedient to his commandments he would supply their necessities by his own miraculous power.
3 God has brought out a people in these last days and has given to them a knowledge of his law. Christ has shed a flood of light upon their pathway, revealing himself as the invisible leader of Israel in both the Old and in the New Testament. Christ has made his people the depositaries of his law. They are to keep and to teach the commandments of God, and to show their binding obligations upon men. Christ has promised that to those who obey his commandments he will be as a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, guiding them in and lighting them along the pathway cast up for the ransomed of the Lord, that they may enter in at the gate of the eternal city.
4 They are to keep the fear of the Lord ever before their eyes; for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is better to obtain a knowledge of God’s revealed will through an understanding of his word than to have the praise of men, the honors of the world, and great pleasure. God’s word assures us that in keeping his commandments there is a great reward. No earthly consideration should for one moment be looked upon as an inducement to turn from the commandments of God and refuse to lift the cross. Christians should look upon riches, ease, pleasure, and worldly honors, as those things that are represented by wood, hay, and stubble, that will perish in the fires of the last day.
5 Let none to whom has been represented the duty of keeping God’s commandments, seek to find some objection by which they may seem to excuse themselves from obedience. Let them remember the great perverter of God’s word, who was a liar from the beginning of his rebellion in heaven, and let them know that he is ready to lead them blindfold away from the plainest statements of God’s word, and make that which is clear and distinct uncertain and questionable. It is his work to deceive and to make of no effect the words of Jehovah. Plant your feet on the platform of eternal truth. Follow every ray of light that you see, and that which is shadowy will be made clear to your understanding as you walk in the light. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
6 When Moses led the Israelites to the waters of the Red Sea, the command of God was, “Go forward.” As the people moved forward in the path that Providence indicated, as they did that which was commanded, the waters of the sea rolled back. They did not see a broad path opening for them by the power of God. They were not lifted up and borne to the other side in the arms of the angels; but as they moved forward, the power of God was revealed, and on one side the sea was piled up like a wall of congealed water, leaving a path for their feet to walk upon in the hitherto buried sands of the Red Sea. What lesson should we learn from this?—To go forward, walking in the light that God permits to shine upon our pathway, and not stopping to question and doubt.
7 Many have the idea that the Jewish age was one of darkness, superstition, and ignorance. They have received the erroneous idea that repentance, and faith, and divine enlightenment were reserved for the Gospel dispensation, and that these have no part in the Hebrew religion. Many think that the Jewish religion consisted only in forms and ceremonies, but there never could have been a greater deception. The Jewish nation was taken into close relationship with God, and was esteemed by him as a peculiar people, an holy priesthood, a royal nation.
8 Today the Christian world looks upon the Jews as a people who are under the divine curse because of their rejection and crucifixion of Christ. But, instead of looking upon them as sinners above all others, they should seek to learn a lesson from their condition, and inquire why it is that the judgment of God fell upon them in so signal a manner. It was because they rejected the great light which had been given them from the time of their delivery from Egyptian bondage. It was because the Lord had revealed to them, through his prophets, and through holy men of old, his will, and they chose to walk in their own ways, and to follow their own will. Calamity overtook the Jews because they failed to keep the commandments of God. God had told them if they did not keep his commandments, he could not fulfill his covenant of promise, for this covenant was to be fulfilled only upon condition of obedience. The history of Israel should be to us a most solemn warning of the calamities that will overtake us if we are disobedient to God’s commandments. “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”
9 Do the words of Christ spoken in reproof to the Pharisees, find an application in our days? He said, “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! [Because you keep the law of God?—No.] for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” Do we not in our own day find just such teachers, who will not obey the plainest statements of truth, who turn from the light of God’s word, and then do their utmost to pervert the Scriptures and to blind the eyes of those who are seeking to understand the word of God? These transgressors of God’s law seek with all their power to hedge up the way so that souls shall grope in vain for the door that Christ has opened, and which he says no man can shut. Are there not teachers today who seek to close, if possible, the door of the understanding? They will not enter into the light themselves, and neither will they permit others to enter in. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer; therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”
(Concluded next week.)
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Page 705
1 There are many who claim to be sanctified. They are not slow to declare before the people that they have not committed sin for years. But this profession does not constitute proof of their statement. If they were holy, their conversation would be holy, their testimony would be in accordance with the divine will, their prayers would be modeled after the prayers of Christ. They would pray, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” We are living in days when deception is on every hand. We are warned to “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” We are to know them by their fruits. The Lord said, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
2 If persons come to you claiming to be sanctified, and yet making void the law of God, and teaching others that they may transgress it with impunity, their sanctification, when weighted in the balances of the sanctuary, has no more weight with God than had the long, pretentious prayers of the Pharisees. The higher the profession, the more deceptive the pretention, the more likely the unwary are to be deceived, and the greater will be the wrath of an offended God. Those who make high claims, and who disregard the law of God, are registered in the books of heaven as rebels against the divine government. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
3 Was this fearful denunciation pronounced against the Pharisees because they kept the law of God?—No, it was because they did not keep the law of God, and were not doers of his word. Had they kept God’s law, they would have discerned that Jesus was the Son of God, and would have appreciated his mission. So it is in our day. If those who profess to believe in Christ, really did believe in him, they would do his work, they would have respect unto his commandments.
4 Jesus has made it evident that his attitude to the law was one of loyalty. He says, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” There are some who tell the people to throw the Old Testament into the fire; but such statements are not in harmony with what Jesus told the people. Jesus declared that his work was not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. He came to magnify the law, to exalt its honor, to show by his suffering and death that the law is immutable, and that God cannot annul its penalty for transgression. He further declared: “Verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” He showed them what it was that constituted the sin of the Pharisees, that, though they were punctilious in the observance of outward forms, they did not in heart obey the commandments of God. “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
5 The attitude of Christ to the law is unmistakable, but how men have presumed to misstate, misapply, and pervert his words! They have drawn an altogether different lesson from that which he designed to teach, and have therefore put themselves under the condemnation that Christ pronounced upon the Pharisees: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
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Page 706
1 “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
2 We are not only to contemplate the glory of Christ, but also to speak of his excellences. Isaiah not only beheld the glory of Christ, but he also spake of him. While David mused, the fire burned; then spake he with his tongue. While he mused upon the wondrous love of God, he could not but speak of that which he saw and felt. Who can by faith behold the wonderful plan of redemption, the glory of the only-begotten Son of God, and not speak of it? Who can contemplate the unfathomable love that was manifest upon the cross of Calvary in the death of Christ, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, and have no words by which to extol the Saviour’s glory? We cannot become partakers of his love, and give no expression to our reverence and adoration.
3 As believers behold Christ, they will be led to assemble together, and to speak one to another words that will express their fervent love. They will say, He is “the chiefest among ten thousand,” “Yea, he is altogether lovely.” “In his temple doth everyone speak of his glory.” The sweet singer of Israel praised him upon the harp, singing: “I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts; and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. . . . They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.” This will be the character of the conversation of those who are described in the Scriptures as those that “feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.” God is represented as listening to their words and writing them in a book.
4 John, the beloved disciple, bore a living testimony, saying: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us); that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
5 Surely, those who speak one to another of the goodness of the Lord are highly privileged. Peter exclaims, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” We have rich themes for thought and conversation, and if we will dwell upon these themes, our souls will be encouraged and uplifted. Those who are subjects of the grace of God, upon whom the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness are shining, are to be God’s witnesses. Should they hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. God will be glorified.
6 If the members of the church are one with Christ, there will be union one with another. The unity of believers will be a living testimony to the world of the power of the Gospel. When there is love one to another, the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness will be diffused to a world that lies in darkness. Why can we not see from the lessons of Christ, and especially from his prayer for the unity of believers, that Christians must be perfect in unity in order to represent the glory of their Redeemer? If those who believe the truth would bring the prayer of Christ into their practical life, they would grow up into the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. As believers in Christ, we are “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
7 The believer in Christ should understand that dissension and division in the church are brought about through the working of the powers of darkness, in order that those who profess to be the children of God may not present the oneness for which Christ prayed. God’s people greatly dishonor his name, and misrepresent his truth, when they manifest a lack of love one for another. As love for God grows cold, they lose the childlike simplicity that knits heart to heart in loving tenderness. Hard-heartedness comes in, and there is a drawing away one from another. Many are saying by their actions, “I care not for the prayer of Christ.” They feel under no special obligation to love others as Christ has loved them, and Jesus can do little for these souls, for his words and Spirit are not permitted to enter into the heart.
8 Many are in darkness, and know not the cause; they are not at peace with God; they are not one with Christ nor in unity with the brethren. They seem to think that they are at liberty to act out the natural feelings of the heart. They testify by their words and actions that they do not desire to be in union with those who do not exactly meet their mind, even though they are believers. All who entertain evil surmisings, and cherish ill feelings to others, need to be converted. They need to learn to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
9 Love for one another is not to be manifested by praise and by flattery of one another, but by true fidelity. The love of Christ will lead us to watch for souls, and if we see one in danger, we will tell him so, plainly and kindly, even at the risk of his displeasure. The religion of Christ is not to be controlled by impulse. We need to pray much and lean wholly upon God. We need to hold the truth with firmness, and in all righteousness and truth; but while we speak the truth with fidelity, we should speak it in love.
10 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another.” How much?— “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” Do we regard this commandment sufficiently? Do we permit it to control mind and heart, and mold the character? “By this shall all men know ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Thus believers are to bear to the world the credentials which will testify that they are indeed the children of God. Jesus says: “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
11 What can I present before my brethren and sisters that is more important for their study and practice than the prayer of Christ? The entire seventeenth chapter of John is full of marrow and fatness. Are there not urgent reasons why we should take heed to those words of Christ? Is it not time we sought for the unity for which the Saviour prayed? Shall we not open our hearts to the melting love of Jesus? Shall we not let that love take the place of the coldness and hardness that have been too often revealed in the character? May the Lord have compassion upon us; may he forgive our perversity, heal our backslidings, and unite the hearts of all that believe the truth in that oneness for which Christ prayed, that we may be one even as he and the Father are one.
Page 707
1 In his epistle to Titus, Paul bids him to exhort the brethren to be “ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” The mercy and favor which God manifests towards us is an example of how we should treat the erring. When those who claim to believe the truth humble their hearts before God and obey his word, then the Lord will listen to their prayers.
2 If your brethren have erred, you must forgive them. You should not say, as some have said who ought to know better: “I do not think they feel humble enough. I do not think they feel their confession.” What right have you to judge them, as if you could read the heart? The word of God says: “If he repent, forgive him, And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” And not only seven times, but seventy times seven should you forgive him, just as often as Christ forgives you.
3 God has freely forgiven our sins, not asking us to render any equivalent. The Lord has given us this example in order that men may see how they should treat their fellowmen. As God for Christ’s sake has forgiven your sins, you should forgive your brethren who trespass against you. If you are an overcomer at last, it will not be because of your own righteousness, but because of the righteousness of Christ, because of the long forbearance, mercy, and forgiveness of God. But if you do not cherish kindness, love, and a forgiving spirit toward your brethren, you will not be of the number who will receive the forgiveness of God. The lesson that Jesus would impress upon his disciples is that those who profess his name should not cherish a revengeful spirit, or do an unkind action. The whole work of Christ had a tendency to counteract the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees, who encouraged revenge and retaliation.
4 Jesus taught that the poor were not to rise up against those who are in power. They were not to resist their oppression; but at the same time he pronounced a terrible woe upon those who tyrannize over the poor: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.” God enjoins upon the servant to be faithful to his master, and to be contented for Christ’s sake, but he assures the master that he also has a Master, who will requite him full measure for his deeds. He gives the rule, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” We do not receive forgiveness because but as we forgive. The ground of all forgiveness is that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
5 Christ gives lesson after lesson in his school to teach us to learn to trust, not in our merits, but in the merits of Christ’s righteousness. The conditions of salvation are presented in various ways, in order that correct impressions may be made on varied minds, and that none may be deceived. Repentance and faith are the conditions upon which salvation is provided. Abraham was justified by faith; but it was the faith which worked obedience. Let all who claim to believe present truth be doers of the word, which plainly teaches that the spirit of forgiveness must be cherished, that it is indispensable to our receiving forgiveness of God. The sinner who is forgiven and accepted through Christ will forgive his brother willingly, freely, and thoroughly.
6 Jesus brought out an important lesson in the parable of the unjust steward. He said: “Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.” This steward was in a high position, and had been intrusted with a vast amount of property, but upon examining his accounts, he was found unfaithful; he owed his Lord ten thousand talents. When the king saw the evidence of his servant’s unfaithfulness, he commanded him to be sold, with his wife and children, his houses, his lands, and all that he had, that payment might be made. Alarm seized the unfaithful man, as ruin stared him in the face, and he pleaded for delay, saying, “Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” But his lord knew that he could never pay the debt. While the servant acknowledged the justice of the sentence against him, he begged for mercy. “Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”
7 What joy was this, what relief from the shadow of his wrong course, which surrounded him like a cloud! He went forth from the presence of his lord with the whole debt canceled. But circumstances occurred which tested the true spirit of this man—whether he would manifest the same forgiveness and mercy to another that had been shown toward him, or whether the joy and gratitude which he expressed were of a selfish nature, and his heart was still unsoftened. “The same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence; and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.”
8 In this parable Christ illustrates the spirit of selfishness and severity which brother exercises toward brother. Both are human, both are in need of mercy, patience, and forbearance; but one whom God has forgiven much will not forgive a small offense in his fellow-man. Too many professed Christians have an unfeeling, relentless spirit, which is the result of pride, self-sufficiency, and hardness of heart, and they deal in an exacting way with those whom they think to be in error, and thus show that they do not appreciate the great love that God has manifested for them; for their hearts are not subdued and softened by its influence.
9 When the unjust steward whose great debt had been forgiven met another inferior to him in position, who owed him but a small sum, he was filled with anger, and with threats and violence claimed the money that was due him. When the poor debtor fell at his feet, and used the very same prayer which he himself had uttered before his lord, he was merciless. He accused the man of an intention of not paying him, and disregarded his prayers and tears. He who had been forgiven so much, would himself forgive nothing. He claimed his right, and, taking advantage of the law, afflicted the distressed debtor by casting him into prison. This conduct grieved those who witnessed it, for they knew the whole story of his pardon, and they carried a report of his doings to the king. Then the king’s anger was stirred, and he ordered the man to come before him. “Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me; shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.”
10 Will not those whose names are upon the church books, who claim to be the sons and daughters of God, consider their relation to God and their fellow-men? We must depend entirely upon the mercy of a sin-pardoning Saviour, and shall we allow our hearts to remain hard and unsympathizing? Can any provocation authorize us to cherish unkind feelings, or cause us to harbor ill feelings or seek revenge? Can we cast the first stone in condemnation of a brother, when God is extending his mercy toward us, and forgiving our trespasses against him? Should God enter into judgment with us our debt would be found to be immense, yet our heavenly Father is willing to forgive. Men will be dealt with by God not according to their opinion of themselves, not according to their self-confidence, but according to the spirit which they reveal toward their erring brethren.
11 A spirit of harshness and severity is the spirit of Satan. Pride of heart, if cherished, creates envy, evil surmising, and leads to revenge. There is danger of our exaggerating casual words or actions into intentional offenses, and of thinking that some one has done us an injustice that merits our coldness, indifference, or contempt. Yet the Lord has charge of these very persons whom we accuse; angels of God minister unto them. He who reads the heart may see more genuine goodness in them than in him who harbors ill feelings against them for a supposed wrong. “If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; if he repent, forgive him.” Treat him and his errors as you wish God to treat you when you offend him. Charity does not rejoice in evil; revenge does. Be careful to manifest zeal for yourselves that you may show out of a good conversation your meekness of wisdom. Avoid every bitter word, every unkind action. Love as brethren; be kind; be courteous. Do not scandalize the truth by bitter envying and contention; for such is the spirit of the world. Let not these unholy traits once be named among you.
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Page 708
1 “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”
2 Sanctification is not a happy flight of feeling, not the work of an instant, but the work of a lifetime. If any one claims that the Lord has sanctified him, and made him holy, the proof of his claim to the blessing will be seen in the fruits of meekness, patience, long-suffering, truthfulness, and love. If the blessing that those who claim to be sanctified have received, leads them to rely upon some particular emotion, and they declare there is no need of searching the Scriptures that they may know God’s revealed will, then the supposed blessing is a counterfeit, for it leads its possessors to place value on their own unsanctified emotions and fancies, and to close their ears to the voice of God in his word. Why need those who claim they have had special manifestations of the Spirit, and the witness that their sins are all forgiven, conclude that they can lay the Bible aside, and from henceforth walk alone? When we ask those who claim to have been instantaneously sanctified, if they are searching the Scriptures as Jesus told them to do, to see if there is not additional truth for them to accept, they answer, “God makes known his will to us directly in special signs and revelations, and we can afford to lay the Bible aside.
3 There are thousands who are being deceived by trusting to some special emotion, and discarding the word of God. They are not building upon the only safe and sure foundation,—the word of God. A religion that is addressed to intelligent creatures will produce reasonable evidences of its genuineness, for there will be marked results in heart and character. The grace of Christ will be made manifest in their daily conduct. We may safely ask those who profess to be sanctified, Do the fruits of the Spirit appear in your life? Do you manifest the meekness and lowliness of Christ, and reveal the fact that you are learning daily in the school of Christ, shaping your life after the pattern of his unselfish life? The best evidence that any of us can have of our connection with the God of heaven is that we keep his commandments. The best proof of faith in Christ is distrust of self and dependence upon God. The only reliable proof of our abiding in Christ is to reflect his image. Just so far as we do this we give evidence that we are sanctified through the truth, for the truth is exemplified in our daily life.
4 There are thousands, yes, millions, who are making a mistake in their religious life. They make religion a thing independent of their life, of their thoughts and words, and daily actions. Their religion is a delusion of the senses. Their ideas and principles presented as sanctification are deceitful workings. Some speak of hearing voices and of seeing sights of a supernatural character; but there is no sign in their daily course of action that the Spirit of God has wrought a change in the natural heart, for they are carnal, at enmity with God’s law, and neither love God nor obey his commandments.
5 Nervous excitement in religious matters is no evidence that the Spirit of God is working upon the heart. We read of frenzied contortions of the body, of shrieking and screaming in the work of Satan upon the minds and bodies of men; but the word of God affords us no example of any such manifestations in connection with those upon whom he pours out his Spirit. It is clear that distempered fancies, wild outbursts, and contorted bodily exercises are the workings of the enemy. Yet many think that the disorder of the mind, which is intensified by the power of Satan, is a warrant that God is causing these deceived souls to act in so uncomely a manner. The whole spirit and tone of the Bible condemns men in acting without reason or intelligence. When the Spirit of God moves upon the heart, it causes the faithful, obedient child of God to act in a manner that will commend religion to the good judgment of sensible-minded men and women. The Spirit of God illuminates the mind with the word of God, and does not come as a substitute for the word. The Holy Spirit ever directs the believer to the word, and presents its passages to the mind, to reprove, correct, counsel, and comfort. It never leads its possessor to act in an unbecoming way, or to manifest extravagant and uncalled-for developments that bear not the least resemblance to that which is heavenly, and lower the standard of what is pure and undefiled religion in the minds of men.
6 There was nothing of this character found in the life or teachings of Jesus. All that is of heaven is pure, peaceable, refined, and ennobling, free from everything that is extravagant or fanatical in thought, word, or action. The religion of Christ bears the heavenly credentials, and when the heart has been impressed with the divine image, the soul is in harmony with all God’s commandments. But the sanctification that leads its possessors to refuse to study the Scriptures, and persuades them to believe they know it all, and that there is no advanced truth for them to accept, is of a spurious order. They are yet carnal, for it is the carnal mind that is “enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” They are deluded by the adversary of God and man. They have illusions, and a bewitching power is upon them as they cry out: “I am saved, I am saved. I cannot sin.” We only can distinguish the true from the false by the manifestation of the graces of the Spirit, which Christ has promised to implant in the heart.
7 Many who claim to be sanctified, who are yet breaking the commandments of God, and filled with enmity against God, are boldly presumptuous, and, while disobeying the words of Christ, yet dare to appropriate the promises given to the loyal and obedient. They have no right to one of the promises of God, because they do not fulfill the conditions upon which the promises are to be fulfilled. They will talk of faith and holiness when their foundation is built up of rotten timbers, and they are depending on their own self-righteousness. But their presumptuous assurance is not faith. They do not know what constitutes faith.
8 While there are many who lay claim to the promises of God while they are not fulfilling their conditions, there is another class who are humble and conscientious, but faint hearted, and they overlook the precious promises of God that are for their appropriation. They are continually in fear that Jesus does not love them. They walk in fear and trembling, and the hand of faith seems too feeble to reach up and grasp and hold the promises of God. They continually look to themselves to find an assurance that they are good enough to become the children of God. But to look to self is to look in the wrong direction. The parable of the Pharisee and the publican has forcible lessons for both these classes. The Pharisee is full of self-sufficiency, and rests in carnal security that he is saved, while the publican has a deep sense of his unworthiness, and stands afar off. He does not feel worthy to draw nigh to God, but smites upon his breast in self-condemnation, and will not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven to meet the eyes of the heart-searching God. His cry is one of soul agony, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Yet this was the one that Jesus himself declares went down to his house justified. But the Pharisee had no such divine favor. The publican looked away from himself, for he could see nothing there in which to trust for salvation. He felt the need of a physician, and his humble prayer was heard, while the prayer of the boasting Pharisee was an offense to God.
9 The promises contained in the seven beatitudes are not to be fulfilled to the one who feels self-sufficient, who turns from the Scriptures of revealed truth to a false theory, crying: “I am saved, I am saved. I cannot sin.” The precious promises of the beatitudes are for those who feel their poverty of spirit, to the true mourners, to the meek, to the peacemakers, to the pure in heart, to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. It is the weary and the heavy laden that Christ invites to come unto him, and to them his promise is sure, “Ye shall find rest unto your souls.” But the rest comes in wearing Christ’s yoke, in bearing Christ’s burden.
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1 Christ came to the world to convince men, by evidence that could not be controverted, that “God is love.” This fact, so long disputed by Satan, is forever put at rest with unfallen worlds and with heavenly intelligences. It is put at rest with those who look upon an uplifted Saviour, who are convinced by the manifestation of the love of God displayed at Calvary. The wondrous condescension of God in giving Christ to the world to work out the principles of divine character, leaves every human intelligence without a shadow of excuse in withholding his allegiance from the God of heaven. Jesus was one with the Father, and revealed the perfection of God, and yet he came to the world in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, and condemned sin in the flesh by his own life of perfect obedience to the law of God, showing that men may become partakers of the divine nature, and may through faith in Christ lay hold on moral power that has been brought within their reach through the love so abundantly expressed in their behalf. Human agents may form characters after the divine similitude, because of the great love wherewith Christ has loved us. The Saviour said: “I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” “The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” “This commandment have I received of my Father.”
2 Here was the power that braced the human nature of Christ, and that showed itself mighty to save. In Christ was wisdom not born of earth, but of heavenly extraction, by which the plan of salvation was unfolded, which called forth the admiration of the universe of God. The plan of redemption unfolded in the practical life of the world’s Redeemer. He held fast to man with his human arm, and would not let him go; and with his divine hand he grasped the throne of the Infinite. In all the details of his life he gave to earthly and heavenly intelligences an example of humility, of faithfulness in honoring and accepting every requirement of the law of God. He manifested holiness (wholeness) in accepting and expressing that law, in bringing it before the world, and in pressing close to his heart that violated law of God, planning for its honor, bidding those who would discern God’s way to look up and rejoice, and saying, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Thrones and kingdoms shall be yours if you will endure testing and proving of God, for only the loyal shall enter the portals of bliss.
3 Jesus placed the cross in line with the light coming from heaven, for it is there that it shall catch the eye of man. The cross is in direct line with the shining of the divine countenances, so that by beholding the cross men may see and know God and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. In beholding God we behold the one who poured out his soul unto death. In beholding the cross the view is extended to God, and his hatred of sin is discerned. But while we behold in the cross God’s hatred of sin, we also behold his love for sinners, which is stronger than death. To the world the cross is the incontrovertible argument that God is truth and light and love.
4 The plan of Satan was by his lying philosophies to widen the breach that existed between God and man. He argued that man could not keep the law of God, and therefore that God had been obliged to change the laws which he had made, and had abolished the rule of his government. Satan’s work was to keep the agitation against God in progress, and keep the question to the front as to whether God was light and love or not. Satan had charged God with his own attributes, and thus sowed in the hearts of men the seeds of enmity against God, for man accepted the statements of him who was a liar from the beginning. Uniting fallen man with himself, he kept a series of false theories in regard to God in continual circulation, asserting them to be truth, in order that he might cover up the truth, and interpose his shadow between men and the way and the life.
5 Satan could establish pronounced enmity toward God only by bringing into contempt the laws of his government. In doing this he deceived many, and through his subtle reasonings he caused many to transgress. Thus he thought to cultivate so large a harvest of enmity toward God as to discourage the divine power, exhaust the forbearance of God, and counteract his love, so that God would abandon man to his deceiver by withdrawing his mercy and grace. He thought to so work with human agents as to cause the last spark of love to die from the heart of God, and cause him to lift the sword of justice and destroy the rebel race. Then Satan supposed that his claims would be vindicated before unfallen worlds, before unfallen angels.
6 But what was the result of his malignant workings?—The signals of mercy were continually exhibited, and, although those who could have received the heavenly offers of love and mercy, continually answered back with defiance, and responded, “We want not thy ways, O God; depart from us,” and the principles of hatred to the law of God were continually increasing, yet the forbearance of God did not cease; he did not fail or become discouraged. Love and hatred stood face to face with each other. Were men to receive the annihilating stroke of an offended God? “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” At the crisis, when iniquity had overspread the world, and Satan seemed about to triumph, Jesus came with the embassage of divine mercy. Satan, exulted in the idea that he had led men to such a state of evil that God would destroy the world, but Jesus came, not to condemn but to save the world.
7 But was the law of God that pointed out man’s transgression extinguished by the death of Christ? If that was so, Satan had gained everything he had aimed to obtain. No! truth, everlasting truth, was vindicated in the manifestation of the justice of God, which is in its true essence the love of God. The cross of Christ testifies to the immutability of the law of Jehovah. God could give his only-begotten Son, but he could not abolish one jot or tittle of his law, to meet man in his fallen condition. To set aside one tittle of the law would be to make null and void the whole law. The cross of Calvary for all time, through all eternity, is the unanswerable argument in regard to the immutability of the law of God.
8 The whole world stands condemned before the great moral standard of righteousness. In the great day of judgment every soul that has lived on the earth will receive sentence in accordance as to whether his deeds have been good or evil in the light of the law of God. Every mouth will be stopped as the cross with its dying Victim shall be presented, and its real bearing shall be seen by every mind that has been sin blinded and corrupted. Sinners will stand condemned before the cross, with its mysterious Victim bowing beneath the infinite burden of human transgression. How quickly will be swept away every subterfuge, every lying excuse! Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. They will then understand that they have chosen Barabbas instead of Christ, the Prince of Peace.
9 The mystery of the incarnation and the Crucifixion will be plainly discerned; for it will be presented before the mind’s eye, and every condemned soul will read what has been the character of his rejection of truth. All will understand that they have erred from the truth by receiving the misinterpretations and bewitching lies of Satan instead of “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” They read the announcement, “Thou, O man, hast chosen to stand under the banner of the great rebel, Satan, and in so doing thou hast destroyed thyself.” Whatever may have been the endowment of talent, whatever may have been the supposed wisdom, the rejecter of truth has then no ability to turn unto God. The door is shut, as was the door of the ark in Noah’s day.
10 The great men of earth will then understand that they have surrendered mind and heart to ensnaring philosophy which pleased the carnal heart. Hope and grace and every inducement had been held out by One who loved them, and gave his life for them, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, but they refused the love of God. Their lofty opinions, their human reasonings, were extolled; they declared themselves sufficient in themselves to understand divine mysteries, and they thought their own powers of discrimination were strong enough to discern truth for themselves. They fell an easy prey to Satan’s subtlety, for he presented before them specious errors in human philosophy, which has an infatuation for human minds. They turned from the Source of all wisdom, and worshiped intellect. The message and the messengers of God were criticised and discarded as beneath their human, lofty ideas. The invitations of mercy were made a jest, and they denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, and derided the idea of his preexistence before he assumed human nature. But the tattered shreds of human reasoning will be found to be only as ropes of sand in the great day of God.
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1 Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Of Christ it was written, “He will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” How did he do this?—He lived out the law in the sight of the heavenly universe, in the sight of unfallen worlds, and in the sight of sinful men. In this earth he performed his mission, and fulfilled his office, and, by obedience to the law of God, he testified to all its immutable character, while at the same time proving that its precepts could be perfectly obeyed through his grace by every son and daughter of Adam.
2 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.” “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.”
3 The Lord Jesus was the only one who could make up the gap, and restore the hedge of the law of God. He came not to abrogate the law, but to carry out every specification. The Lord Jesus had a very different conception of the law from that of the scribes and Pharisees, the rabbis and Sadducees. They had corrupted the truth with traditions and maxims of men. The symbols that pointed to Christ had been perverted. They went through a round of ceremonies which were destitute of virtue because they were destitute of life. Any form, any outward symbol, if it be not prompted by holiness and true goodness, is but mockery. True goodness, true obedience to God, is not in need of outward show and parade. Vital godliness will be revealed without a great effort at display. Spiritual life will be made manifest by transformation of character in him who is possessed of the divine power that works sanctification. A name to live, and no vital activity, is a contradiction, for death is there.
4 Jesus said of his followers, “Ye are the light of the world.” They are to shine amid the moral darkness. How?—Not by making long prayers to be seen of men, not in laying claim to high position, not in following a long, prescribed, tedious round of ceremonies, but by being imbued with the working principle of love to God. The people of God are to shine by working the works of God with earnest zeal as obedient children, showing earnestness and loyalty to Christ, not being hearers only, but doers of his words. They are to shine by working out their salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God that worketh in them, both to will and to do of his own good pleasure.
5 The followers of Christ are drawn to him, and the Holy Spirit is imparted to them, so that they are not a mass of corruption, but are as salt. Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.” The religion of the Pharisees was well described by the term of salt that had lost its savor. The Pharisees, who loved the honor of men, who loved their own maxims and traditions, made idols of their own little specifications, and lost sight of the doctrines of the Bible, and spiritual death was the consequence.
6 In his sermon on the mount Jesus presented the true principles of the law of God, and divested the precepts of God from the rubbish of man’s inventions which had been accumulating for ages, corrupting the true principles of religion, and making them consist in a ceaseless round of ceremonies. Jesus presented the truth in its unadulterated form, and showed that the principles of the law must be planted in the heart. He leaves it to his followers to change all their previous ideas concerning the exacting requirements of men, and for love of him follow after purity of character and conduct. But he does not in any way give license to the idea that the law of God is not binding, for his kingdom is established upon the law of God.
7 Jesus said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Then in the most solemn manner he takes up the specifications of the law, and shows how far-reaching is every precept which is to be written in their hearts and to be made manifest in their character. And as the people listened to his words, they said, “Never man spake like this Man.”
8 The Lord Jesus came to our world to represent the character of his Father. He came to live out the law, and his words and character were daily a correct exposition of the law of God. His own personal example testified to the world, to angels, and to men that he was keeping the law of God, and was a standard and pattern to mankind. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Jesus was a living manifestation of what the law was, and he revealed in his personal character its true significance, and showed it to be the only remedy for the existing evils, when it was set free from the rubbish of men’s traditions and maxims. As it was expounded by the scribes and Pharisees, it was misleading because misrepresented, and it perverted the characters of those who received the traditions and commandments of men.
9 The Lord Jesus gave to men a representation of the character of God in his life and example. The law of God is the transcript of the character of God. And in Christ they had its precepts exemplified, and example was far more effective than the precept had been. Christ founded his kingdom upon the law of God, and those who followed Christ, imitating his life and character, were pronounced loyal and true to all God’s commandments. Jesus was a living illustration of the fulfillment of the law, but his fulfilling it did not mean its abolition and annihilation. In fulfilling the law, he carried out every specification of its claims.
10 Adam fell through disobeying the commandments of the Lord; but Christ took the field of battle to resist the temptations of Satan, and to refuse to transgress a “Thus saith the Lord.” He declares, “I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill”—to do all the requirements of the law. There could be no deviation on his part from one single specification of the law. If there had been the least failure in carrying out any particular of its commands, we should have had in Christ a worthless sacrifice. The Pharisees charged Christ with breaking the Sabbath. Christ had declared himself the Lord of the Sabbath, and he had carried out every principle of the Sabbath commandment, and asked them how it was that they condemned the guiltless. Shall we take the words of Pharisees, who accused Christ of sin, or take the words of Christ, who declared himself guiltless? Shall we take the charge of the Pharisees as true, and have nothing better than a sinner for our Saviour?—No, no; never defile the lips with such guile, and bear false witness against Jesus, as did the Jews.
11 Jesus is the Light of the world, and those who claim that he broke the law of God are in the darkness of error. Their minds are perverted, their understanding is darkened in the same manner as was the understanding of the Pharisees whom Christ addressed, saying, “Ye are ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God.” They made void the law of God through their tradition. Professing to be the followers of God, they had turned from the holy commandment, and were as salt that had lost its savor. Impure salt has no saving virtue. If the followers of Christ do not derive their life, their fragrance, and their saving qualities from Jesus Christ, they have no spiritual worth. But all who conform their life, their heart, their mind, fully and ungrudgingly to his service, reflect his image, and shed the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness into the darkness of a world that lieth in wickedness.
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1 Fathers and mothers who claim to be Christians, and who have not been doers of the words of Christ, who have not educated and trained their children in correct habits, have not brought them up to love and fear God, as God has directed them to. The words of Moses to Israel, concerning the statutes and judgments of the Lord, are also the word of God to us; he says: “Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.”
2 “Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
3 Who gave these commands?—It was the Lord Jesus, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud. He presented to the people the only true standard of character, which is the law of God. “And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God hath commanded you? then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” The Lord commanded the parents to rehearse to the children his past dealings with them, for the mighty works of God were ever to be kept fresh in their minds. “And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God [not with a servile fear, but], for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.”
4 The Lord gave them a warning, lest they should fall into sin, forget God, and practice idolatry. But should they practice idolatry, and be taken captive by their enemies, the Lord makes provision for their reinstatement in his favor, and says:—
5 “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice (for the Lord thy God is a merciful God); he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he sware unto them.”
6 What voice were they to be obedient to?—To the voice that spake the law to them from Mount Sinai. “Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?”
7 In these latter days the light has been shining unto the people of God in clear, bright rays. It is shining upon many who have been led into idolatry through keeping a spurious sabbath, by following the tradition of men instead of the commandments of God; but if they now turn unto the Lord with all their heart to keep his commandments, God will show himself merciful.
8 Parents have a solemn duty to perform. They should labor most earnestly to counteract their own false teachings. They should lift up the true standard of character, and bring their own habits and practices into harmony with God, and be doers of the word of Christ. They should take up their neglected work, and educate and train their children in accordance with the directions given in the word of God. There should be no neglect on the part of parents, no neglect on the part of instructors, to faithfully perform their duty in the fear of God, in lifting up the standard before the young by both precept and example.
9 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Parents and teachers should feel it their duty to deal faithfully with those who are in their charge; but they must also realize that they must deal lovingly and mercifully with the erring. They will need to have long patience and forbearance, to cultivate the power of presenting heavenly inducements in such a way as to inspire courage and hope in those who are defective in character, in order that the erring may make decided efforts to reform, exercising faith in God, who has given them precious evidences of the great love wherewith he has loved them.
10 Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord says, “I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” The Lord has estimated the value of the human soul by the value of the sacrifice made upon the cross of Calvary. Then let every human agent remember that the claims of God are upon him, and that he is not his own. Let those who are obtaining an education, thinking that they will engage in the work for the Master, to advance his truth in the earth, take heed to themselves, and closely examine themselves to know whether or not they are in the truth. Is the truth working by love, and purifying the soul from its moral defilement? God will not accept as his colaborers those who have no real sense of holiness and virtue. Those who wear the yoke with Christ will be in harmony with the purposes of Christ, and will represent Christ in character. They will be lights to the world.
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1 The cross of Christ is the mighty agency through which God has planned to move the world. Christ as the atoning sacrifice has influenced the heavenly intelligences to such a degree that it is their highest joy to work as the messengers of Christ, to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation. O, how important has this world become! Every eye in the universe of God is looking upon this world, for here it is that the great battle is in progress. Christ, the prince of life, is in conflict with Satan, the prince of darkness, over every fallen soul, that he may rescue the human race from the slavery of Satan. Satan and his agencies are opposing every effort for the advancement of the good.
2 The cross of Christ is to be so distinctly presented before the world that every other power will be eclipsed, and the human race be drawn in homage to Christ Jesus. The Father has given everything into the hands of Christ,—all power, dominion, and glory have been bestowed upon the Son of God. When the eye is directed to Calvary, the soul beholds Jesus, the royal Sufferer, dying for the sin of man, in order that man may have another trial, another opportunity to obtain eternal life. When Jesus Christ is evidently set forth before the sinner’s eyes, manifest in the flesh and crucified for him, the Spirit has taken of the things of Christ, and has shown them to the sinner, and the result has been transformation of character, the sinner becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.
3 But, though the greatest Gift of heaven has been bestowed in order to attract the attention of men heavenward, men are ensnared by the temptations of Satan, and their minds seem to be enchained to the earth. Our Saviour came to the world to correct this evil, and to fasten the affections of the soul on things above. He lifted up his voice in warning, saying, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” The world’s Redeemer calls the attention of men to the nobler life which they have lost sight of, and brings again unseen and eternal realities within range of their vision. He opens before their eyes the glories of heaven.
4 “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth: I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” Jesus takes men to the very threshold of heaven, and opens before them the sanctuary, flooded with the glory of the Lord of hosts, sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his glory filled the temple. It has been maintained by some, both by pen and voice, that it would incapacitate human beings for conducting wisely the affairs of this life, to look upon unseen realities. It has been argued that earthly matters would seem so inferior when contrasted with heavenly things, that every thought and impulse would be engaged with the world that is to come, and that earthly affairs would be neglected.
5 But Jesus presents to the mind the realities of the world to come, yet all his lessons, both to his disciples and to the promiscuous crowds that thronged his steps, were of a character to create a wholesome, appropriate interest in the affairs of this life, and to bring eternal realities before the mind as of supreme importance. He takes the world as it were in his hand, and assigns to it its proper place, and directs his disciples as to what are their duties in regard to the things of this life. He would have every son and daughter of Adam learn of him, the greatest Teacher the world ever knew. By both precept and example he taught them that every moment of life was fraught with eternal responsibility. He weeded life of its vanities and follies, distinguishing between the tares and the wheat, and presenting before men the pure, the precious, the desirable in comparison with the finite and perishable.
6 The Lord Jesus made the world. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Yet he who made all things, he who was equal with the Father, one with God, who was in the express image of his person and character, left the glory which he had with the Father before the world was, clothed his divinity with humanity, and came into our world in order that humanity might touch divinity, and divinity sanctify humanity. He came that the fallen sons and daughters of Adam might be recovered from the effects of Adam’s transgression and fall, and, through his divine, uplifting power, become sons and daughters of God. He sees that the world is largely under the control of the enemy of God and man, and cannot break the spell of infatuation that is over them. Satan, who first tempted Eve in Eden, and through her caused the fall of Adam, continues his temptations, seeking by every power to retain men in disobedience. Every lying device is put into operation to misrepresent the Father and to dispute the authority of his only-begotten Son. Satan casts a hellish shadow before the world to hide God and the world’s Redeemer from sight, so that if they were viewed at all, it might be through the mists and fogs of superstition, tradition, and error, and not in truth.
7 The mission of Christ to our world was to set things in order, to bring life and immortality to light through the gospel. He saw the world chasing after happiness and finding it not, meeting with failure on every hand, and yet ever eager to give every flattering inducement a trial to attain that for which they sought. He pointed out to them the true source of happiness. The world’s Redeemer would have them direct their attention to the world on high, and he gives them lessons in which eternal realities are ever brought to view, where he showed to men that which is good and imperishable. The treasure they seek is not to be found upon earth. They should set their affections on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. He said to them, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
8 Satan has blinded the eyes of those who see nothing beyond the earthly, temporal interests. They are unable to behold things which are afar off, while they see with magnified vision the merest atoms of worldly interests assume large and attractive proportions. They are spiritually blind, and the Lord Jesus performs a greater miracle when he restores spiritual vision to those who have been blinded by the glitter and tinsel of this world, than if he healed the most malignant disease. He found the world, who have souls to save or to lose, mistaking phantoms for realities.
9 The great deceiver sought to blind the eyes of Christ by the glitter and tinsel of the world, and presented before him the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them. He who had fallen from heaven, pictured the world as possessing the gilding of the world above, in order that he might induce Christ to accept the bribe, and fall down and worship him. Calling him by his true name, Jesus rebukes the deceiver. Divinity flashed through suffering humanity, and he made manifest through his word the authority of heaven. He reveals to the deceiver that, though he had resumed the disguise of an angel of light, his true character was not hidden from the Saviour of the world. He called him Satan, the angel of darkness, who had left his first estate, and had refused allegiance to God.
10 Jesus overcomes the great deceiver, and sees his working with the children of disobedience to keep them in disobedience. He sees him deluding them by innumerable deceptions, and beholds men ready to take the offered bribe to have the world and worship the deceiver, rather than renounce the world and worship the Son of God. Absorbed in providing for their temporal necessities, engaged in the chase for the worldly advantages and attractions which Satan holds out before them, they stake all to win the glittering prize, and lose both worlds. Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, urges them to have respect unto the recompense of the reward, to value their everlasting happiness, and to keep eternity in view. He seeks to heal the defective spiritual eyesight of the soul with whom he comes in contact and brings heaven before their vision. He knows the necessities of mortals. He does not lose sight of their temporal needs; but he presents also that which is nobler and higher than things that are temporal, and bids them consider the claims of the future immortal life. He would draw the mind and engage the attention in contemplating eternal realities.
11 Those who serve mammon, put Bible religion in a secondary place. But those who love and serve God will subordinate their temporal interests to their eternal interest, and, instead of spending all their energies in securing property, indulging in worldly pleasure, to secure that which is simply temporal and perishable, they will seek for immortality by patient continuance in welldoing, and exercise their spiritual energies in securing eternal treasure.
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1 We are exhorted to pray always, to watch unto prayer, lest Satan crowd in between the soul and God, or mingle with our prayers to such a degree that God and Christ shall be shut out from our view, that the pledged word of God shall be made of no effect. He would so engage the mind that those who profess to be Christians shall have only a few stray thoughts of God, and engage in occasional, listless seasons of prayer. He would have them neglect to come to God, who is the great reservoir of power.
2 The great Teacher, Jesus Christ, would show us something better than anything we have yet known. He would impress upon our minds the necessity of putting forth an earnest effort, of making that sincere supplication for wisdom and grace that would be in proportion to the object that we as Christians are in pursuit of. What is the chaff to the wheat? “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Satan is constantly at work to present worldly things in so attractive a light that the Christian may be bribed to make the world his first consideration. Should he induce the Christian to seek for worldly treasures, and make the things of God of secondary importance, he could readily efface the image of God from the soul. The things that are seen are diversified in character, and they solicit the attention and crave the highest place in the thoughts, and there is continual danger that the things of this world will gain the supremacy, and cause us to neglect the things of priceless value. Jesus has brought heaven to view, and presents its glory to our eyes in order that eternity may not be dropped out of our reckoning. With warning voice he cries: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
3 The Lord has the interests of his creatures in view. He presents heaven before the vision, and in so doing is planning for our peace on the earth. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” We are to make investments in heavenly interests, and always work with heaven in view, laying our treasure up in the bank of heaven. As obedient children of God, we shall receive the impress of the divine image, and our anticipations cannot be exaggerated in regard to the value and security of our heavenly investments, for we are made certain of the stability of heaven. While we keep heaven in view, we are enabled to enjoy the mercies bestowed in this life with superior relish. We do not set the heart upon them, and if we lose them we have a treasure in heaven.
4 The Lord says, “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Those who heed this instruction will not be placing their treasure in an uncertain bank. They will be making sacrifices for Jesus; and every sacrifice and self-denial made in his name will bring its recompense of reward. Those who acquit themselves as faithful stewards of their Lord’s goods, who consecrate their talents to his service, using their means and influence and ability to further his cause in the earth, have the promise that they shall be requited, not because the Lord is indebted to any human agency, but because they have the mind of Christ. They make it evident in their life that the truth has transformed their characters, that through the Spirit their souls have been sanctified. To such the Lord of heaven promises that in this life they shall have an hundred-fold, and in the world to come eternal life.
5 Every effort to overcome selfishness and sin, every effort to use the talents God has given, not to glorify self, but to honor God, will make us more meet to be among those who shall be blessed in the kingdom of God. Those who deny self become partakers of the divine nature, and are one with Christ and the Father. The daily experience of this life is preparing us to become members of the royal family. Jesus came to this earth to engage in a struggle with Satan and his angels in behalf of fallen men. Jesus knows the temptations and difficulties that man will have to meet in the battle, and he knows and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. While he takes his followers to an eminence, and shows to them the vast confederacy of evil that is arrayed against them, he also shows them the crown of life. He reminds them that there is much at stake, and shows them the plan of the battle, pointing out their dangers, and bidding them count the cost. He sets before them the fact that if they are victorious in the conflict, they gain everything. He tells them that heavenly angels will cooperate with them against the hosts of evil, and that they may become workers together with God, because they are children of light and not of darkness. Their warfare will consist in pressing back the powers of darkness, in taking the strongholds of the enemy, and he shows them that they have One mightier than the angels of heaven in their ranks. The Captain of the Lord’s host is with them, and gives them divine assistance. His voice is heard saying, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
6 The children of the heavenly King are fighting in the sight and presence of the whole universe of God, and this fact should nerve us for the conflict, leading us to go on conquering and to conquer. It is impossible for man in his own unaided strength to overcome the natural propensities to evil. There is no saving quality in the law, to save the transgressor of the law, and yet no man who has had light as to the binding claims of the law will be excused from obedience by the great Lawgiver because it is inconvenient to keep God’s commandments, because it would injure man’s popularity, or hurt his worldly interests. In the judgment the law will be seen to be the test of character. It is the settled purpose of Satan to deceive men today as he deceived Eve in Eden, and lead them to disregard the command of God, and accept something beside God, something independent of God, something in opposition to God.
7 Those who accept of the suggestions of Satan do not live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, as did Abraham. They do not keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment. They go in pursuit of riches, and are filled with desire for other things. They take upon them the care of this world. There is a care that is essential. It is a prudent forethought concerning temporal matters, and it is in harmony with reason; but the care that is condemned is that which is brought upon the soul by following the suggestions of Satan, practicing falsehoods in order to gain wealth or to procure position. This kind of care is the result of distrust and alienation from God; and the human agent, instead of being a laborer together with God, becomes a colaborer with Satan. Circumstances seem beyond the control of the one who renders allegiance to the evil one. He works at cross purposes with God. He is not pleased with himself. He has so many vain desires, so many perplexing thoughts, and does so many things that he despises. When he hears the word of God, he feels condemned, but wicked purposes master him, for he has no strength to resist Satan’s suggestions, and the word of God does not find a lodgment in his heart. While his eyes and his thoughts are drawn to the earth, he cannot see eternal realities.
8 “No man can serve two masters.” The theories of Satan continually choke the word in his mind. There is no vacuum for the Holy Spirit within in which to find room to dwell. The character on the world’s side is strengthening, while the character on Christ’s side is growing more and more feeble by being engrossed in inferior matters. The atom of this world becomes a world, and the eternal world becomes an atom.
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1 Those who possess the faith that works by love and purifies the soul will represent Christ, in whom their hope of eternal life is centered, by denying self, by sacrificing self for the good of those for whom Christ died. They will have the experience for which Paul bowed his knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, “of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
2 Those who have experienced the blessing of God should be the most grateful of persons. They should send up to God words of thanksgiving because Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh, clothing his divinity with humanity, in order that he might bring before the world the perfection of God in his own character. He came to represent God, not as a stern judge, but as a loving father. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God is love. This was the great truth that Christ came to the world to reveal. Satan had so misrepresented the character of God to the world, that man stood remote from God; but Christ came to display to the world the Father’s attributes, to represent the express image of his person. “As the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.” “This commandment have I received of my Father.” The object of Christ’s mission to the world was to reveal the Father.
3 The Lord Jesus is an example in all things. By the works which he did he made it plain that he was in council with the Father, and that he was in every move fulfilling the eternal purposes of God. In spirit, in works, in his whole earthly history, he revealed the mind and purpose of God toward his heritage among men. In his obedience to the law of God, he exemplified in his human nature the fact that the law is a transcript of divine perfection. In the gift of Christ to the world God would overwhelm fallen man with a marvelous manifestation of his great love wherewith he has loved us; but while he would that all should come to repentance, the declaration no less expresses his character, that he will by no means clear the guilty. Should he give the least sanction to sin, his throne would be corrupted. At immense cost, he opens a way of refuge for the sinner, providing that through the work of the Holy Spirit man shall be transformed into an obedient child of God, a loyal subject of his kingdom. He who receives Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, also is provided with heavenly protection and heavenly light; for the angels of God are sent to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. The representation given to Jacob of a ladder whose base rested upon earth, and whose top reached to the throne of God; whereon ascended and descended the angels of heaven, is a representation of the plan of salvation. Had the ladder failed to connect with earth by one inch, the connection between earth and heaven would have been broken, and man would have been hopelessly lost. But the ladder is planted firmly upon the earth, that heaven may connect with earth, and that the fallen sons of men be redeemed and rescued. Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, whose base is upon the earth, and whose topmost round reaches the throne of God. Down this ladder streams the glory of God, and on it ascend and descend the angels of heaven to communicate the light and the glory of God, whose train fills the temple, to the lost children of earth. Through Christ heavenly intelligences may communicate with human agents.
4 Christ declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Christ alone can bridge the gulf that sin has made between earth and heaven, and make it possible to reach fallen man with the overtures of mercy. But through the merits of Christ, man has been given a second probation, that he may be tested and proved by another trial to see whether he will be obedient to all the commandments of God, and be brought back in freedom from sin, with his loyalty proved, to have a right to the tree of life, and to enter in through the gates into the city.
5 In order that man might be thus privileged, Christ, the divine Son of God, joined himself to human nature, that man might understand that the living true God would have every son and daughter of Adam a partaker of the divine nature through union with himself, and thus manifest to the world, to unfallen worlds, and to the synagogue of Satan, that the redemption of the fallen race is possible. God would have his children bear testimony to the fact that God cannot be satisfied until the fallen race is redeemed, reclaimed, and reinstated to their holy privileges, having free access to the tree of life. He would have them bear testimony to the fact that through the grace of Christ, they may represent Christlikeness of character, and find greatest joy in the assurance of his great love wherewith he has loved us. Once separated from God by the lying devices of Satan, they are reunited to him by learning the lesson of redeeming love, as manifested in the great sacrifice of Christ in giving his precious life for mankind. The human is united to the divine by a tie so strong that unfallen worlds, angels, and men are amazed, for those who believe in the love of God to them are secure in the refuge of his love, and not all the arts of Satan can induce them to continue in transgression of the law of God.
6 O, cannot the sinner understand that Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, in order that he might reach humanity? Can he not see that Jesus lived the life that all the human race may live, and that no soul shall enter the portals of bliss unless he obeys the laws of the kingdom of God? Christ made the law of God binding upon every soul, in order that, through obedience to the divine precepts, man might be brought back to loyalty to God. Every sinner converted to God must live in conformity to all the commandments of God. Jesus lived among men, consuming himself by continual self-denial and in labors of love. The fact that Christ lived among men in human nature is a testimony to us that God is with us. God dwells in every abode, hears every word that is uttered, listens to every prayer that is offered, tastes the sorrows and disappointments of every man, regards the treatment that is given to father, mother, brother, sister, friend, and neighbor. He understands our necessities, and his beloved Son is the channel through which his love, mercy, and grace shall flow to satisfy our need.
7 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
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1 We are to find the assurance of our acceptance with God in his written promise, not in a happy flight of feeling. Were we to ground our hope upon joyful emotions, there are many of God’s true people who would be without assurance. There are in the fold of Christ not only the sheep, that he leads into green pastures, but the lambs, that the Shepherd gathers in his arms and carries in his bosom. Jesus cares for the weak and feeble in their simplicity, and would quicken their life by his own heart beats. If all had strong assurance, in what would the babe differ from those of more advanced experience? The word of God is rich in pearls of promises; but there are weak and trembling souls, who dare not venture to think that they are bringing forth fruit meet for repentance, and who fail to appropriate the promise; yet they are precious in the sight of the Lord. Mary Magdalene was very near to Christ, yet she stood weeping and lamenting, crying, “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.”
2 It would be the ruin of many a soul always to have unclouded assurance in joyful feelings that they are accepted to God. Without feeling we must learn to lean upon his word. We must learn to grasp the promise, because we can never perish if we come to the feet of infinite Love. The absolute assurance will be ours when we hear from the lips of the Master the welcome words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” We shall have trials of faith, but they will only tend to increase our spiritual sinew and muscle; for we shall have to exercise faith, and put forth our trembling hand to lay hold upon a “Thus saith the Lord.” But in this way we shall bring honor and glory to God. The doubts and fears against which we have been called to struggle are the precious trials of our faith, God’s workmen that work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Again and again we must raise our eyes to Him who has been lifted up upon the cross. “Look and live,” were the words that were echoed throughout the encampment of Israel when the brazen serpent was erected. This required an act of faith on the part of the suffering victims who had been bitten by the fiery serpents, but they were assured that if they did look, they should live. We also are to look and live.
3 While there are many counterfeits of faith in the world, there is a genuine faith, and it is this faith which works by love and purifies the soul. God in his providence set forth Noah as a representative of what true faith would do. The Lord designed that Noah in his life and character should present before the antediluvian world a marked example of the results of believing the word of God. He did not walk in sparks of his own kindling. He obtained all his discernment, all his power, all his strength, from the source of all light; for he held communion with God. It was because he had faith in God, because he was a man of prayer, that he was a man of power. He kindled his taper at the divine altar, that he might be a light to the world. He had a message intrusted to him from God. In his day there was so fearful a departure from God and his ways that hatred of God’s law, contempt of truth and righteousness, was well nigh world-wide. The wickedness of men was very great, yet there was hope for them if they would turn from their wickedness, and the Lord made Noah his messenger to proclaim to the inhabitants of the Old World their sins, and to set before them wherein they had provoked the wrath of God. He told them what God proposed to do in the world. He declared to them the word of God. “And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man; for that he also is flesh. Yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. . . . And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. . . . But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
4 “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” “The earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
5 “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. . . . Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”
6 Noah had faith in God. His position was a trying one; he had to fight the good fight of faith at every step. One hundred and twenty years of probation was granted to the inhabitants of the world, and Noah was to live through that generation. Everything around him was in confusion. On all sides was sin and wickedness, disregard of God and his holy law; but he was to live among men, and not be a partaker of their wicked works, but to be an example of righteousness, and faith, and entire obedience to God. Amid world-wide contempt of God, he was a faithful preacher of righteousness, exemplifying to the world what a man’s life could be by reposing confidence in the sure word of God, by rendering obedience to all his commandments. Nearly the whole world was against Noah; yet there were many who had not had light in regard to the redemption that had been promised to our first parents. The significance of the sacrificial offerings had been perverted, and they no longer shadowed forth to the people the method of the atonement.
7 The message given by Noah, the building of that strange boat, called forth questions, just as God designed it should, and excited the curiosity of the people. Crowds of people came from all parts of the world to see the strange and wonderful structure, and heard the message of condemnation and the promise of deliverance. The words that had been spoken to Adam were rehearsed,—that sin and Satan should not always triumph. There was to be victory for those who feared God. When his voice was lifted in warning of what God was about to bring upon the world in judgment because of the wickedness of men, great opposition was manifested against the words of the messenger. The opposition, however, was not entirely world-wide; for some believed the message of Noah, and zealously repeated the warning. But the men who were accounted wise were sought, and were urged to present arguments by which the message of Noah might be counteracted. And as the world was at peace and not at war with the prince of evil, they were glad of any excuse to set aside the “Thus saith the Lord” and to listen to the philosophers of the age, who presented the impossibility of such a change taking place in the forces of nature as Noah predicted. There is no enmity between fallen man and fallen angels; both are evil through apostasy, and evil, wherever it exists, is in league against God. Fallen men and fallen angels were united for the dethronement of God.
8 Thus it was that the wise men of this world talked of science and the fixed laws of nature, and declared that there could be no variation in these laws, and that this message of Noah could not possibly be true. The talented men of Noah’s time set themselves in league against God’s will and purpose, and scorned the message and the messenger that he had sent. When they could not move Noah from his firm and implicit trust in the word of God, they pointed to him as a fanatic, as a ranting old man, full of superstition and madness. Thus they condemned him because he would not be turned from his purpose by reasonings and theories of men. It was true that Noah could not controvert their philosophies, or refute the claims of science so called; but he could proclaim the word of God; for he knew it contained the infinite wisdom of the Creator, and, as he sounded it everywhere, it lost none of its force and reality because men of the world treated him with ridicule and contempt.
9 Noah did not mix the soft, pleasing deceptions of Satan with his message. He did not utter the sentiment of many of his day who declared that God was too merciful to do such a terrible work. Many asserted that God would grant the wicked another season of probation; but Noah did not indulge them in the faintest hope that those who neglected the present opportunity, who rejected the present message, would be favored with another opportunity of salvation. God means that men shall not only love him, but that his fear shall be in their hearts. Noah’s faith was mingled with fear; for it is written that Noah, being warned of God, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house. His faith intensified his fear; for it was no cowardly fear that moved him. He dared not suppress the words of God for fear of men, or withhold his message in dread of the consequences that might result because of the opposition and hate of the wicked and unbelieving about him. He knew the power of God, and realized that God would fulfill his word. His fear of God did not separate him from God, but served to draw him closer to him, and to lead him to pour out his soul in earnest supplication. There were many who at first received Noah’s message, but the fear of men was greater than the fear of God, and they turned away from the truth of God to believe a lie. As time passed on, and reproach and ridicule were heaped upon them, their hearts failed them, and they did not bear the test. It is the testing time that will measure professed faith and assurance in God. Courage and integrity cannot be estimated rightly by men until the day of trial puts them to the test.
10 The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; but it is a part of the Gospel to warn the sinner of the doom that awaits the unbelieving and unrepentant soul. The love of God has been manifested in the gift of his dear Son to the world, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; but, while salvation is promised on condition of faith in God’s Son, condemnation is pronounced upon those that believe not. “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” God has indescribable love for the sinner, but he declares, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; for it is his will that all men should have eternal life through faith in the Son of God.
11 The Lord promises a blessing to those who do his commandments, and declares that they shall enter in through the gates into the city, and shall have a right to the tree of life. But when God issues a command, he means that we shall obey him. Our circumstances, our surroundings, our financial prospects, are not to be considered in the matter, or made an excuse; for he will give strength to every one who sets about in sincerity to fulfill his word, because it is God that has spoken.
12 The long-suffering God bore with the inhabitants of the Old World one hundred and twenty years, but his patience, his long forbearance, was made an excuse for indifference and impenitence and abuse of his providences. No soul is ever deserted of God, given up to his own ways and doings, forsaken of heaven, as long as there is the least hope of his salvation. God follows men with entreaties, with warnings of danger, with assurances of compassion, until it is sure that further opportunities and privileges would be wholly in vain. Noah’s light was to shine forth for one hundred and twenty years amid the moral darkness of people who were encompassed within a certain limit of years. Under Noah’s direction his carpenters built an ark, and they were impressed day by day with the unwavering faith, the unswerving integrity, of the messenger of God. Every blow of the hammer, every advance that was made, was a warning to the world of the flood that swept away the unbelieving and ungodly. Noah’s faith was a working faith; it was a saving faith, that moved him with fear, and led him to act in accordance with the word of God. This is the quality of faith that will save the soul. Is it yours?
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Page 716
1 “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit; therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.” From the beginning of sin Christ was with his people to dispute the authority of Satan; for he saw that the conflict must be carried on here in the earth. Satan withstood the Son of God in every effort to redeem his people. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night, Christ directed, guided, counseled the children of Israel in their journeyings from Egypt to Canaan. But how unwilling were the children of Israel to be led, how unwilling to be controlled by the voice of the Angel of the Lord! How eager they were in vindicating their own course, in justifying themselves in their rebellious feelings, and to follow their own ideas and plans!
2 It was the mighty Counselor who was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud and fire, and who was beholding the encampment of his people. It was he that corrected them in their evil ways, and encouraged them to trust in the living God to lead them safely to the land of promise. They were continually under the eye that never slumbers nor sleeps, and yet they murmured against Moses, the man whom God had appointed as their visible leader, and to whom Jesus Christ talked face to face, as a man talketh with his friend. Notwithstanding the fact that the Lord wrought through his servant Moses, yet when the enemy tempted them to evil surmising, jealousy, and fault-finding, they did not resist his temptations and stand firmly for principle. But their failure is explained by the inspired word, and a warning given to us upon whom the ends of the world are come, lest we also fall after the same example of unbelief. “Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their hearts; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.”
3 The children of Israel fell under the power of the enemy by cherishing an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, and when once they were found on the enemy’s side, he pressed his advantage, and made them his allies to the utmost extent. The sin of unbelief, by which their confidence in the Son of God was destroyed, led Israel far astray. At the very time when they should have been praising God and magnifying the name of the Lord, talking of his goodness, telling of his power, they were found in unbelief, and full of murmuring and complaint. The deceiver was seeking through every means possible to sow discord among them, to create envy and hatred in their hearts against Moses, and to stir up rebellion against God, and by listening to the voice of the great deceiver they were led into affliction, trial, and destruction.
4 When Jesus came as a man to our world, Satan had led the Jews into the practice of a religion that pleased the powers of darkness. The professed people of God had departed from God, and were following another leader. Through their own perversity, they were going on to destruction; but Christ came to dispute the authority of Satan. He was met on every hand by the temptation of the enemy, who sought to appear not as a fallen, evil angel, but as an exalted, loyal angel. He sought to veil his true character of the deceiver, the falsifier, the apostate, the accuser of the brethren, and the murderer, and to present himself as one who had the honor of God at heart. But the life of Christ was made one long scene of conflict. Satan stirred up the evil hearts of men, and set envy and prejudice at work against the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. He caused men to question and to doubt the word, works, and mission of Christ.
5 Although the Jews had long waited for the coming of the Messiah, yet when he came, they would not believe on him. They followed Christ from place to place, in order that, if possible, they might catch some word from his lips to misstate, misconstrue, and publish abroad, giving it a meaning that had neither been expressed nor intended. Thus the way of Christ was hedged up by men who claimed to be just and holy men. They were suspicious of Christ because his teaching did not agree with their preconceived ideas and opinions, and if they acknowledged Christ to be right, at the same time they acknowledged themselves to be in the wrong. The work of Christ testified to his divine mission and character, and marked him out as the light of the world. He bore the divine credentials, but, filled with self-righteousness, they would not permit themselves to believe in his heavenly authority. Blinded by prejudice, they could not discern his true character. They turned from the voice of the true Shepherd, and listened to the suggestions of the enemy of all righteousness.
6 Christ was a living representation of the law. There was no violation of its holy precepts in his life. Looking around upon a nation of witnesses, who were eagerly seeking for something to question, searching for some mistake or error, in order that they might have something whereby to condemn him, he could ask, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” They made high professions of godliness, and claimed to be advanced in knowledge, and because Jesus did not praise and glorify them as a nation superior to others, they were offended, and were determined to counteract his influence and make of no effect his teaching.
7 Christ was one with the Father, on a level with the eternal throne, and the glory of God fell directly upon him, and was reflected to the world in the luster of the greatness of the character of the Son of God. His voice came with the authority of the living oracles, as from one who reigned in the midst of the central glory; yet those for whom he was laboring, in order that he might save them from eternal ruin, did not know his voice or believe his word. The enemy was at work upon human hearts in the days of Christ, in order that he might keep the light from the people. Many of the wise men who listened to the teachings of Christ, were convinced that the power of God was with him, but they would not accept him as the Messiah. With a great show of prudence they guarded the people, lest they should be led astray, and cautioned them not to be hasty in receiving the new doctrines that were taught by this new Teacher; for his theories and practices were at variance with the doctrines that they had received from the fathers. They said to the people: You are in danger of being deceived. Do not commit yourselves to these new doctrines, for if this man is the Christ, he will give some remarkable evidence of divine character. In this way Satan led men who might have been a power for Christ, to work on the enemy’s side in the controversy, and to become agents whereby he instilled into the hearts of the people questioning, suspicion, doubt, and hatred. Although many of the priests and rulers believed on him, they delayed in acknowledging him, for fear of being put out of their positions.
8 The leaders of the people were ever watching for an excuse for their attitude of unbelief, and when he wrought his most convincing miracles, were ready to catch up anything that would appear like an objection to his divine claims.
9 When Jesus had healed the palsied man, he had said to him, “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins (he said unto the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.”
10 In the miracle which Christ had wrought, he had changed the man’s heart, and had renewed him in mind and body, thus demonstrating to the Pharisees the fact that he had power to forgive sins, and to bring righteousness and peace to the sinner. Yet the Pharisees saw in his words of divine power, a matter for unbelief and accusation. Conscious of his high integrity and authority as the Son of God, his words had amazing power, and even as he descended step by step in the path of humiliation on the way to Gethsemane and the cross, his words were such as commanded the respect of men and caused them to exclaim, “Never man spake like this man.” With what authority he rebuked the sins of men in high authority! Truth was to him truth, and it never suffered at his hands. To him truth was a living reality, for he was the Author of truth. “To this end,” he says, “was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.” The truth came from his lips with the freshness of a new revelation. He exalted the truth always. But men did not love the truth, they loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. They did not desire to be told of their errors and sins, to be reproved and corrected. The hearts of those whom he longed to save were determined to resist him.
11 Jesus saw that, however deeply rooted were the principles that were set in opposition to the principles he proclaimed, yet they were delusion and falsehood, and had originated in the enemy of all righteousness. Jesus said to the people, “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Christ was the embodiment of truth and holiness. He it was who had stood in the councils of God, and dwelt in the innermost sanctuary of the Eternal. He knew whereof he spoke. He was presenting to them the truth of the highest order, revealing to men the infinite mind, giving to men the words of eternal life. He was revealing to them the character of the Father, but the men who stood high in knowledge and position, who claimed to possess superior spiritual understanding, failed to comprehend the knowledge that Jesus came to impart. They failed to grasp with their human understanding that which had been from everlasting, and was known to the Father and to the Son. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and, lacking the Spirit of God, they were left in the blindness of darkness. Refusing the light of heaven, “because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful,” they “became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
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Page 717
1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
2 It is of the greatest importance to us that we surround the soul with the atmosphere of faith. Every day we are deciding our own eternal destiny in harmony with the atmosphere that surrounds the soul. We are individually accountable for the influence that we exert, and consequences that we do not see will result from our words and actions. If God would have saved Sodom for the sake of ten righteous persons, what would be the influence for good that might go out as a result of the faithfulness of the people of God, if every one who professed the name of Christ were also clothed with his righteousness! If God could tell the abode, and designate the trade, of Simon the tanner, and definitely direct the centurion as to how he would find him living by the seaside, he also knows us by name, knows what is our trade or business, where we live, and what are our experiences. He knows whether we are clearing the King’s highway from all rubbish and hindrance, so that he can beckon our souls onward and upward, or whether we are filling the path with rubbish and blocking up our own way, and placing stumbling blocks in the way of sinners, to hinder the salvation of precious souls for whom Christ died.
3 We need a more heavenly atmosphere to surround our souls. We need to have our lips touched with a live coal from off the altar. We need to hear the word from Christ, “Be thou clean.” If we have scattered darkness, if we have accumulated rubbish, and hoarded doubts, if we have planted seeds of doubt and discouragement in the minds of others, may God help us to see our sin. We cannot afford to drop a single word of doubt; for it will germinate and grow, and bring forth a bitter harvest. We should take heed to the exhortation, “Be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” One seed of doubt sown, and it is beyond the power of men to kill it. God alone can pluck it from the soul. Our words are an indication of what is in the heart. Jesus says: “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
4 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It is our duty to encourage faith, to talk faith, that we may have faith. If we talk doubt, and encourage doubt, we shall have abundant doubt; for Satan will help us in this kind of work. We need sanctified hearts and sanctified lips; we need to breathe in the rich, bracing atmosphere that comes from the heavenly Canaan. We need to be filled with all the fullness of God. We shall then have life, power, grace, and salvation.
5 How shall we obtain these great blessings? Christ has died that we might receive them by faith in his name, for he has freely offered us life and light. Then why should we persist in driving pegs on which to hang gloomy scenes of doubt? Why should we fill the chambers of the mind with the shadows of unbelief? Why not let the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine into the heart and mind, and dispel the gloom and the shadows that Satan would bring upon the soul? Turn to the light, to Jesus, the precious Saviour. Instead of beholding the flaws and defects of some human being, why not contemplate the matchless charms of Him who is the chiefest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely? We need not make any human being our pattern; for God has given us a perfect example in the life and character of his only-begotten Son, and by beholding him we shall become changed into his image. Look upon Him whose throne is high and lifted up, the train of whose glory fills the temple.
6 The garden of the promises of God has been presented before us, and by the precious promises of God we are to lay hold on faith, hope, and love. Through these graces the church may shine forth in the righteousness of Christ. Living faith grasps the hand of divine power, and faith is an anchor to the soul both sure and steadfast, entering into that which is within the veil. John says, “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” He describes the great multitude who shall stand before God as overcomers, and says, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” The palms signify that they have gained the victory, and the white robes that they have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Thank God that a fountain has been opened to wash our robes of character, and make them as white as snow. And they “cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
7 Are you filled with sorrow today? Fasten your eyes on the Sun of Righteousness. Do not try to adjust all the difficulties, but turn your face to the light, to the throne of God. What will you see there?—The rainbow of the covenant, the living promise of God. Beneath it is the mercy seat, and whosoever avails himself of the provisions of mercy that have been made, and appropriates the merits of the life and death of Christ, has in the rainbow of the covenant a blessed assurance of acceptance with the Father as long as the throne of God endures. Faith is what you need. Do not let faith waver. Fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life. It will be a severe fight, but fight it at any cost; for the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. Put your hand in the hand of Christ. There are difficulties to be overcome, but angels that excel in strength will cooperate with the people of God. Face Zion, press your way to the city of solemnities. A glorious crown, a robe woven in the loom of heaven, awaits the overcomer. Though Satan would cast his hellish shadow athwart your pathway, and seek to hide the mystic ladder from your view that stretches from earth to the throne of God, on which ascend and descend the angels who are ministering spirits to those who shall be heirs of salvation, yet press your way upward, plant your feet on one round after another, and advance to the throne of the Infinite.
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Page 718
1 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
2 The record of every life is written in the books of heaven. Every sin that has been committed is there registered. Every regret for sin, every tear of repentance, every confession of guilt, and the forsaking of every darling sin, is also recorded. When the judgment shall sit and the books are opened, every case will have to stand the test of the law of God. God has a law by which he governs intelligences both in heaven and in earth. Jehovah is the supreme Governor of nations, and no greater or more fatal deception could take hold on human minds than that which leads men to declare that the law of God has been abolished. Were this so there could be no judgment; for there would be no rule by which character could be tested, and actions weighed. But we read that the judgment is to sit, and that the books are to be opened, and that every man is to be rewarded according as his works have been. If God has no moral standard by which to measure character, there can be no judgment, no reward.
3 But, according to the unerring word of God, every man will be judged and rewarded according as his works have been, and we are admonished to so speak and to so do as “they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” When sin has been repented of, confessed, and forsaken, then pardon is written against the sinner’s name; but his sins are not blotted out until after the investigative judgment. No finite being can tell how his case stands in the sight of Him whose eyes are like a flame of fire, who says: “I know thy works. . . . I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.”
4 Those who presume to think that the law of God has been done away, and that it no longer exists, have set up an imperfect standard of their own. Measuring themselves by their own finite standard, they pronounce themselves pure and perfect. Satan has just such a standard, by which he declares that he is righteous; but these false standards cannot compare with God’s unerring standard of righteousness. No one who has an appreciation of the verity of the law of God will claim an exalted character for himself. Our true position, and the only one in which there is any safety, is that of repentance and confession of sins before God. Feeling that we are sinners, we shall have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is able to pardon transgression, and impute unto us righteousness. When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, then the sins of the repentant soul who received the grace of Christ and has overcome through the blood of the Lamb, will be removed from the records of heaven, and will be placed upon Satan, the scapegoat, the originator of sin, and be remembered no more against him forever. The sins of the overcomers will be blotted out of the books of record, but their names will be retained on the book of life. The True Witness says, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” When the conflict of life is ended, when the armor is laid off at the feet of Jesus, when the saints of God are glorified, then and then only will it be safe to claim that we are saved and sinless. True sanctification will not lead any human being to pronounce himself holy, sinless, and perfect. Let the Lord proclaim the truth of your character.
5 John declares, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” But we are to accept the precious promise that, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We shall make manifest by our works as to whether or not we have personal faith in Christ as our Saviour; for it is by the righteousness of Christ that we are sanctified. We are day by day to study the lessons of Christ, and grow up into him in all things. If we follow on to know the Lord, we shall know that his goings forth are prepared as the morning. He is perfecting Christian character after the divine model, is growing in faith, in influence and power, and this work will progress in his character until faith is lost in sight, and grace in glory. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to the obedient soul, and the peace of Christ is an abiding principle in the heart.
6 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” There is no quality in law to save the transgressor of the law. The law can condemn, but it cannot pardon, therefore the transgressor would have been left to perish in his wretchedness if a plan had not been devised for his salvation. Jesus Christ alone was able to save fallen man. He became man’s surety and substitute. He became man’s advocate to plead his case before the Father. It was for our sake that he condescended to become man. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” Christ became the comfort and hope of the fallen race. Our Saviour is the Son of man as well as the Son of God. He took humanity upon him, and presented a model for humanity in his pure and perfect character. “He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” His life was as complete as a pattern, as his death was complete as a sacrifice. He was tempted in all points like as we are, therefore he knows how to succor those that are tempted.
7 It should be to us a cause of continual gratitude and rejoicing that Jesus knows our weakness and is acquainted with our temptations. We are too much in the habit of thinking that the Son of God was a being so entirely exalted above us that it is an impossibility for him to enter into our trials and temptations, and that he can have no sympathy with us in our weakness and frailties. This is because we do not take in the fact of his oneness with humanity. He took upon him the likeness of sinful flesh, and was made in all points like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. He has engaged himself to save every son and daughter of Adam who will consent to be saved in God’s appointed way.
8 While we are admonished to obedience, we are not to think that we can merit salvation by our good works. Salvation is the free gift of God, and it is to be received by faith. It is provided for the repentant soul by Christ through the great plan of redemption. But the proof of our love to him, the evidence of our faith, will be found in our obedience to God’s holy law. Our Saviour says, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” Christ enjoins upon us the keeping of the commandments because he knows that in keeping them there is great reward, the revealing of a character after the divine similitude.
9 We must not dishonor God by unbelief in Christ as our Mediator; for he is fully able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him. “And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” Christ made it possible for fallen man to keep the commandments of God, for he will lift from the degradation of sin every fallen soul who will lay hold of the promises of God by faith, and comply with the conditions of salvation. The humanity of Christ is a marvel to the heavenly angels who are with him in the heavenly courts, and know the infinite price he paid for the redemption of man. They marvel at his grace given to the fallen race, so that, by becoming partakers of the divine nature, they may keep the law of Jehovah. These wonderful mysteries angels desire to look into.
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Page 719
1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us); that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
2 John, the writer of these words, by the providence of God was spared till old age came upon him. He had been a disciple of Christ from the beginning of his ministry, he had listened to the teaching of Christ, and had witnessed his miracles. He had followed him through the different stages of his missionary work on earth, and had seen his agony in Gethsemane, his betrayal, trial, rejection, condemnation, his suffering and death on Calvary’s cross. He had looked upon him after his resurrection, and had witnessed his ascension, and he had a message to repeat everywhere that was present truth to the world then, and will be present truth as long as the world shall stand. John declared to the people that which he had seen and heard, that which his hands had handled of the word of God.
3 The Lord Jesus appeared to John and showed him what he should write to the people, unfolding to them what should come to pass hereafter, and the messages which John wrote in ages past are now present truth for the world. In his providence, God has spared the lives of some who, like John, can witness to the force of the messages that apply to our own time; for they have had an experience from the first in the fulfillment of God’s prophetic word, and have experienced the power of God in the establishment and the promulgation of the messages of warning for this time. They can tell of the wonderful way in which the Lord has revealed truth, and, like John, can bear witness to that which they have seen and heard and handled of the word of God.
4 The mighty dealings of God with his people in the past are to be rehearsed for the benefit and blessing of those who follow in the faith, and through the word of God see Jesus, their High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven. The messages of John had a great influence in setting forth the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. No one could doubt the sincerity of John, and the messages from his lips had great power in turning many to the faith of Jesus Christ. The truths stated by John were the very message that the Lord would have him bear; but the Jews who rejected the truth were greatly annoyed at his testimony, and they thought that as long as John kept ringing his testimony in the ears of the people that Jesus was the Messiah, they should prevail nothing against those who had faith in Jesus whom they had crucified. Many were continually turning from their unbelief, and accepting Christ as the Messiah, and the enemies of truth declared that the testimony of John must be silenced in order that the miracles and mission of Jesus might be forgotten. They hoped to put John to death upon the false accusations of his enemies; but the Lord had his faithful witness preserved from death. Though imprisoned on the isle of Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, he did not cease to bear witness to the truth. His was a message of joy, proclaiming the fact that Christ was not in the tomb, but was a risen Saviour who had ascended on high, and was interceding for his people until he should return again to take them unto himself.
5 “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” Those who are doers of the words of Christ will walk in the light as Christ is in the light. The loyal heart will pattern after the example of him who pleased not himself. Christ’s followers will not choose to do one duty, and pass over another because it is distasteful. God sends light to his people, but if they refuse to walk in the light, they will not receive a blessing. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
6 Those who walk in the light of Christ reject no message of truth, and the fruit of their acceptance of truth is unity among themselves. Christ is their center, Christ is to them the way, the truth, and the life. But those who simply cry, “Christ, Christ,” and do not accept the words of Christ, are not partakers of his divine nature, and do not eat of his flesh, or drink of his blood. Those who live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God will not, cannot, be at variance; for they are like the many branches that are united to one stock. This is the unity that will exist among those in whose hearts Christ is formed, the hope of glory. Those who are united with Christ will have respect unto all God’s commandments, and will accept the light that shines upon their pathway.
7 If we are doers of the word of God, we shall be followers of Christ, and our lives will be characterized by holiness in aim, holiness in aspiration, holiness in action, which is progressive sanctification. We shall have Christlike sympathy for all souls, both saints and sinners; but with this experience there will be no vain boasting of our sinlessness. We shall rather speak in the language of Paul, and say: “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded; and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”
8 Paul was of the number who had left positions of honor, set aside worldly inducements, and gone from his friends in order that he might do the will of God. He would not allow any worldly attraction to influence him; but he made it the purpose of his life to follow Jesus, and pressed and urged his way against every obstacle in order that he might reach the mark for the prize of his high calling in Christ Jesus. But if there was any one who could hope to be justified in claiming perfection of character, it was Paul; but we hear from his lips no presumptuous boasting. He says rather that he does not count himself as one that has attained, but only as one who is following after, pressing on toward the mark for the prize of his high calling in God through Christ Jesus. Christ arrested him in his blind course of self-righteousness, when he was persecuting the saints of God, and turned him from a life of sin in ignorance to a life of faithfulness, in order that through divine grace he might be cleansed and sanctified, and wear at last the conqueror’s crown.
9 The attitude of Paul is the attitude to be taken by every one of the followers of Christ; for we are ever to be urging our way, striving lawfully for the crown of immortality. Not one may claim to be perfect. Let the recording angels write the history of the holy struggles and conflicts of the people of God, let them record their prayers and tears; but let not God be dishonored by the proclamation from human lips, declaring, “I am sinless. I am holy.” Sanctified lips will never give utterance to such presumptuous words. Paul had been caught up to the third heaven, and had seen and heard things that could not be uttered, and yet his modest statement is, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after.” Let the angels of heaven write of Paul’s victories in fighting the good fight of faith. Let heaven rejoice in his steadfast tread heavenward, keeping the prize in view for which he counts every other consideration as dross. Let the angels of heaven rejoice to tell his triumphs, but let Paul utter no vain praise of himself in making a boast of his attainments.
10 Let those who feel inclined to make a high profession of holiness, look into the mirror of God’s law, which discovers to us the defects of our character. Those who see the far-reaching claims of the law of God, those who realize that it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, will not presume to make the boast of sinlessness, and venture to declare, “I am perfect, I am holy.” “If we,” John says, not separating himself from his brethren, “say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
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Page 720
1 The character of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be reproduced in those who believe in him as their personal Saviour. They will be “rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” Our acceptance with God is not upon the ground of our good works, but our reward will be according to our works. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
2 “The carnal [or natural] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Human nature could not keep the law, even if it would. Apart from Christ, without union with him, we can do nothing. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” The law requires us to present to God a holy character. It demands of men today just what it demanded of Adam in Eden,—perfect obedience, perfect harmony with all its precepts in all relations of life, under all circumstances and conditions. No unholy thought can be tolerated, no unlovely action can be justified. As the law requires that which no man of himself can render, the human family are found guilty before the great moral standard, and it is not in the province of law to pardon the transgressor of law. The standard of the law cannot be lowered to meet man in his fallen condition. No compromise can be made with the sinner to take less than the full requirement of the law. The law cannot acquit the guilty, it cannot cleanse the sinner, or give power to the transgressor to raise himself into a purer, holier atmosphere. Standing before a holy, good, and just law, and finding ourselves condemned because of transgression, we may well cry out, What shall we do to be saved?
3 There is but one way of escape for the sinner. There is but one agency whereby he may be cleansed from sin. He must accept the propitiation that has been made by the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. The shed blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” A complete offering has been made; for “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,”— not a son by creation, as were the angels, nor a son by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a Son begotten in the express image of the Father’s person, and in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
4 John said, “We have seen, and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” The Son of God took upon him human nature,—”the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” “God was manifest in the flesh.” The union of divinity with humanity brings to the fallen race a value which we scarcely comprehend. The human and the divine were united in Christ, in order that he might represent those who should believe in him. He took our nature, and passed through our experiences, and as our representative he assumed our responsibilities. The sins of men were charged to Christ, and, innocent though he was, he engaged to suffer for the guilty, that through faith in him the world might be saved. “We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” Christ reconciled the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. O, what compassion and love are here revealed! How is humanity exalted through the merits of Christ! His sacrifice was ample and complete. The Holy One died instead of the unholy. He clothed himself in our filthy garments, that we might wear the spotless robe of his righteousness, which was woven in the loom of heaven. He paid the whole debt for all who would believe in him as their personal Saviour. His blood cleanseth from all sin and purifieth from all unrighteousness. In him, through him alone, we have forgiveness of sins. Through faith in his blood we have justification in the sight of God.
5 It will avail nothing for us to do penance, to afflict the body for the sin of the soul, or to flatter ourselves that by our good works we shall merit or purchase an inheritance among the saints. When the question was asked Christ, “What shall we do that we might work the works of God?” he answered, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” We are not to do something in order to purchase our entrance into heaven; for the Lord gives us heaven through the merit of Jesus Christ, and not through any merit of our own. Good works are the result of faith and love; for, conscious of the debt of love and gratitude which we owe to God for the infinite sacrifice made in our behalf, we show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. Every one is under bonds to God to manifest obedience to all his commandments, relying fully on the righteousness of Christ for his acceptance with God. Accepting the grace of Christ, we are to live to the honor and glory of God, keeping the commandments at any sacrifice to ourselves. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
6 The atonement of Christ was not made in order to induce God to love those whom he otherwise hated; it was not made to produce a love that was not in existence; but it was made as a manifestation of the love that was already in God’s heart, an exponent of the divine favor in the sight of heavenly intelligences, in the sight of worlds unfallen, and in the sight of a fallen race. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” We are not to entertain the idea that God loves us because Christ has died for us, but that he so loved us that he gave his only-begotten Son to die for us. The death of Christ was expedient in order that mercy might reach us with its full pardoning power, and at the same time that justice might be satisfied in the righteous substitute. The glory of God was revealed in the rich mercy that he poured out upon a race of rebels, who through repentance and faith might be pardoned through the merits of Christ, for God will by no means clear the guilty who refuse to acknowledge the merit of a crucified and risen Saviour. It is only through faith in Christ that sinners may have the righteousness of Christ imputed unto them, and that they may be “made the righteousness of God in him.” Our sins were laid on Christ, punished in Christ, put away by Christ, in order that his righteousness might be imputed to us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Although sin was charged to his account on our behalf, yet he remained perfectly sinless.
7 O, what a history we have in the life and death, resurrection and exaltation of Christ! He was the incarnate God, the Lord of life and glory; yet for our sakes he was delivered into the hands of wicked men. Satan and the whole confederacy of evil men and evil angels raged around him, and he suffered that which would have been insupportable to any human being. His life was one of utter self-denial and self-sacrifice, full of achievements of divine mercy, goodness, and power. Disease fled at his touch, the blind saw, the deaf heard, demons were cast out, the dead were raised. The tempest-tossed waters were stilled at his command, and as he hung upon the cross, nature gave signs that she sympathized with her dying Author. The earth reeled and heaved beneath the feet of men; the sun clothed itself in sackcloth. When the mighty angel descended from heaven, parting the darkness from his track, the Roman guard fell as dead men before the resplendent glory, and Christ in his Godhead shone forth as he burst from the tomb, and rose triumphant over death and the grave. The disciples understood, when they saw him arisen from the dead, what he meant when he said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
8 Shall our faith ever falter again? What stronger evidence could God have given us that Jesus is the Son of God? What greater evidence could be given of the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ than that which has been given by those who were eyewitnesses of his Majesty? Will those who claim to believe in Christ as a personal Saviour, dishonor God by doubting that he to whose guardianship they have committed their souls will keep that which has been committed to his trust against that day? Jesus is a risen Saviour. He came forth from the grave to vindicate his previous claims, to confirm the faith of his followers, to establish the truth of his Godhead before men, to make doubly sure the assurance that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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Page 721
1 Last Sabbath, July 28, my son, W. C. White, and myself, drove to Kellyville, to speak to the church, by special request. There was a person acquainted with our faith, but who was not one with us, who said he would come to the meeting to hear one of our ministers speak. We were the only ones who could respond to the request. We were glad to see in the assembly, besides this interested person, the family of Brother Radcliff, from Castle Hill, who had come ten miles to the meeting. We had a very precious season, for the promise of the Saviour was fulfilled, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst.” When Jesus meets with his people, his blessing rests upon those who assemble for the purpose of worshipping God. We need to cherish and cultivate a spirit of true worship, a spirit of devotion, upon the Lord’s holy, sanctified day. We should assemble together believing that we shall receive comfort and hope, light and peace, from Jesus Christ.
2 As we rode slowly up the hills, everything our eyes rested upon was peaceful and pleasant. In every direction we looked, the scenery was lovely. The orange and mandarin orchards displayed their golden fruit, and we remarked that the world is still beautiful and pleasant, although it has been marred by the wickedness of men.
3 I spoke from Matthew, the fifth chapter, and W. C. White followed me with a short discourse, after which we had a social meeting, when a number of testimonies were borne. We know that the Lord comforted those who were witnesses for Christ. The preaching service should generally be short, so that an opportunity may be given to those who love God to express their gratitude and adoration. Prayer and praise offered to God by his believing children honor and glorify his name. The company of believers may be few in number, but they have been taken by the Cleaver of truth as rough stones from the quarry of the world, and have been brought into God’s workshop to be hewed and squared by ax and chisel, to be fitted up by test and trial for a place in God’s heavenly temple, and they are very precious in the sight of the Lord. Though they are to be hewed and squared, and fitted and polished for the heavenly building, yet even in the rough, they are precious in the sight of God. The ax, and the hammer, and the chisel of trial and test, are in the hands of One who is skillful, and are used not to destroy, not to bring to nothingness, but to work out the perfection of every soul, so that, as precious stones, transformed and polished, the children of God may find their place in the building of God.
4 I would that every soul who sees the evidences of truth, would accept of Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. Those who thus accept of Christ are looked upon by God, not as they are in Adam, but as they are in Jesus Christ, as the sons and daughters of God. The Lord will no more cast off the humblest, lowliest believer in Jesus than he will demolish his throne. We are accepted in the Beloved. We are members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
5 The church of God upon the earth are one with the church of God above. Believers on the earth, and those who have never fallen in heaven, are one church. Every heavenly intelligence is interested in the assemblies of the saints who on earth meet to worship God in spirit and truth and in the beauty of holiness. In the inner court of heaven they listen to the testimonies of the witnesses for Christ in the outer court on earth, and the praise and thanksgiving that come from the church below are taken up in the heavenly anthem, and praise and rejoicing resound through the heavenly court because Christ has not died in vain for the fallen sons of Adam. While angels drink from the fountain head, the saints on earth drink of the pure stream flowing from the throne of God, making glad the city of God. O that we could all realize the nearness of heaven to earth! When the earth-born children know it not, they have the angels of light as their companions; for the heavenly messengers are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. A silent witness guards every soul that lives, seeking to win and draw him to Christ.
6 The angels never leave the tempted ones a prey to the enemy, who would destroy the souls of men if permitted to do so. As long as there is hope, until they resist the Holy Spirit to their eternal ruin, men are guarded by heavenly intelligences. Let us all bear in mind that in every assembly of the saints below are the angels of God, listening to the thanksgiving, the praise, the supplication that is offered by the people of God in testimonies, songs, and prayers. Let them remember that their praises are supplemented by the choirs of the angelic host above.
7 As we journeyed homeward, my mind was called out in contemplation of these precious themes, and I was filled with an intense longing to pass along some of these precious thoughts to my brethren and sisters. O that with pen and voice I could represent the privileges of the children of God as they really exist! O that we who are pilgrims and strangers in this foreign country, seeking a better country, even a heavenly, might comprehend Christ, the way, the truth, and the life! He says, “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” The path he has marked out is so plain and distinct that the veriest sinner, loaded with guilt, need not miss his way. Not one trembling seeker need to fail of finding the true path, and of walking in pure and holy light; for Jesus leads the way. The path is so narrow, so holy, that sin cannot be tolerated therein, yet access to the path has been made for all, and not one desponding, doubting, trembling soul needs to say, “God cares naught for me.” Every soul is precious in his sight; “for God so loved the world,” even in its blackness and disobedience, even with the heavy shadow of sin and Satan upon it, “that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
8 When Satan was triumphing as the prince of the world, when he claimed the world as his kingdom, when we were all marred and corrupted with sin, God sent his messenger from heaven, even his only-begotten Son, to proclaim to all the inhabitants of the world: I have found a ransom. I have made a way of escape for all the perishing. I have your emancipation papers provided for you, sealed by the Lord of heaven and earth. You may have freedom upon the condition of faith in Him who is able to save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by Him. A ransom has been provided at infinite cost, and it is not because there is any flaw in the title which has been purchased for lost souls that they do not accept it. It is not because the mercy, the grace, the love of the Father and the Son are not ample, and have not been freely bestowed, that they do not rejoice in pardoning love, but it is because of their unbelief, because of their choice of the world, that they are not comforted with the grace of God. It is their love of disobedience, their pleasure in sin, their enjoyment of rebellion, that have blunted their perceptions until they fail to discern the things which make for their peace. If they are lost, it will be because they will not come unto Christ that they might have life.
9 God waits to bestow the blessing of forgiveness of sins, of pardon for iniquity, of the gift of righteousness, upon all who will believe in his love and accept of his salvation. Christ is ready to say to the repenting sinner: “Take away the filthy garments from him. . . . Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments.” “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.” Christ is the connecting link between God and man. The blood of Jesus Christ is the eloquent plea that speaks in behalf of sinners. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.
Norfolk Villa, Granville, N. S. W., July 30, 1894.
Page 722
1 After his defection in heaven, the Lord declares of Satan that he abode not in the truth. After his sin, he became a rebel, an avowed antagonist of God, and for the purpose of working out his rebellion, he established an infernal empire, and unfurled the standard of rebellion, rallying around him the powers of evil. Satan worked upon such principles as would conform those who sympathized with him to his own corrupt standard, and would assimilate them with his own Satanic nature. It was his determined purpose to efface from man the image of God, and stamp upon the souls of his subjects his own image and superscription. He employed in his work the most deceptive methods, and was successful in leading men to cooperate with him in rebellion against God. Christ gives to him the title of “the father of lies,” “the accuser of the brethren,” “a murderer from the beginning.” By his bewitching power he instilled into man the same spirit of opposition and hatred of God as he himself had, and set up his throne as the rallying point for the confederacy of wickedness.
2 Satan claims the world as his kingdom, and counts as his subjects those who unite with him in opposition to the God of heaven, because they have chosen him as their ruler. He is unable to dethrone Jehovah; but he exalts himself as the ruler of this world, and plants his throne between the soul who would worship toward heaven, and the divine being Jehovah, who alone is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise, to whom alone belong all power, dominion, and might. Satan arranges his plans in such a way as to intercept the worship due to God, and to transfer to himself the adoration due to God alone. But the Lord did not leave the fallen race to the mercy of the devices of the enemy. He selected a people for himself, and gave directions for the erection of a temple for the benefit of those who would be his true worshipers, in order that the presence and the name of the Lord might not be forgotten in the earth. This temple of the true God was to stand as a protest against the usurpation of the enemy, a testimony to the fact that there is a living and true God, a proclamation of the character of Jehovah, and his right to the supreme regard of men. Satan was stirred with enmity toward the worshipers of God, and determined to seduce this people into idolatry, and cause the name of God to be blotted from the earth.
3 Satan determined to sit upon the throne of God in the earth, to sit in the temple of God, showing himself to be God. For ages he seemed to rule as though the world was entirely his own, and his assumption to supreme authority seemed undisputed. The powers of hell seemed to hold men under their control, and Satan revealed his hellish principles in taking possession of the human body, and plunging his subjects into misery and crime. To all appearances the world had become his subjects, with the exception of a small minority who dared to withstand his power and to dispute his authority. Through his agents he invented instruments of torture, and put his victims to cruel suffering, and then he charged his own attributes upon God, and indicted the law of God as the cause of men’s misery. Temptation became a science in his hands, and men were educated to be sinners. The confederacies of evil were numerous, and every demon power had a part to act in carrying out the plottings of evil, and every worker was to be ready to spring into action to do his assigned work at an instant’s notice. Could the curtain have been withdrawn so that men could have seen what measures were being taken to gain access to the human soul, could they have realized how successful the demoniacal plottings were to prove, they could have stood back with horror, and would have broken with Satan without delay.
4 But though men failed to see the deep plottings of the enemy of God and men, these plottings were not hidden from the hosts of heaven. They were known to God, and a way of escape was provided for all who would believe in the plan of salvation, devised from the foundation of the world. Jesus came to our world to oppose the usurper, and Christ was the object of Satan’s hate. Christ was the rightful sovereign of the world, and Satan proposed to seduce him from his loyalty to the law of God. He led him into the wilderness of temptation, and tempted Christ, saying that if Jesus would bow down and worship him he would make him the king of the world. He declared: “All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” But Christ had come to the world to dispute the assumed authority of Satan, and to overthrow his claims to the kingdom of this world. “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
5 Christ came to reveal to the world, in the sight of heavenly intelligences, the true character of the Father, and to present his claims to the sovereignty of the universe. Jesus represented the character of the Father in a way to disprove the lying representations of the enemy, for the Son of God revealed the Father as a being full of mercy, compassion, goodness, truth, and love. Far from casting off the fallen sons of Adam, Jesus had come to take upon himself their guilt, woe, and misery, and to suffer the penalty of the law which man had transgressed. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He was the express image of his Father’s person, the brightness of his glory.
6 Christ was the way, the truth, and the life. He came down from the royal courts of heaven, and appeared in untarnished glory, in perfection of beauty, in holiness of character, the chiefest among ten thousand, and the One altogether lovely. So unblemished was he that he could say, “Satan cometh, and hath nothing in me.”
7 But though no taint of evil could be found in the Son of God, though no flaw could be detected, though men could find no fault in him, yet, controlled by the Satanic hate of their leader, men rose up against the Prince of life, and with demoniacal fury they cried, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him.” When Pilate brought forth Jesus and Barabbas, and asked, “Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? they said, Barabbas.” They preferred a robber and a murderer to the Son of God, and when asked what should be done with Jesus, they cried, “Let him be crucified.” But the great object for which Christ had come to the earth was not defeated by his death and suffering. Though he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth, yet he revealed the love of God for a fallen world; for “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
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Page 723
1 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” The heritage of the people of God is discerned through faith in the word of God. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Through faith the children of God obtain a knowledge of Christ, and cherish the hope of his appearing to judge the world in righteousness, until it becomes a glorious expectation; for they shall then see him as he is, and be made like him, and ever be with the Lord. The sleeping saints shall then be called forth from their graves to a glorious immortality. When the day of deliverance shall come, then shall ye return, and discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. When Christ shall come, it will be to be admired of all those that believe, and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2 Those who are looking for the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, as King of kings and Lord of lords, in life and character will seek to represent him to the world. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” They will hate sin and iniquity, even as Christ hated sin. They will keep the commandments of God, as Christ kept his Father’s commandments. They will realize that it is not enough to acquiesce in the doctrines of truth, but that the truth must be applied to the heart, practiced in the life, in order that the followers of Christ may be one with him, and that men may be as pure in their sphere as God is in his sphere. There have been men in every generation who have claimed to be the sons of God, who paid tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and yet who led a godless life; for they neglected the weightier matters of the law,—mercy, justice, and the love of God. There are today many who are in a similar deception; for while bearing an appearance of great sanctity, they are not doers of the word of God. What can be done to open the eyes of these self-deluded souls, except to set before them an example of true piety, and be ourselves not hearers only, but doers of the commandments of the Lord, thus reflecting the light of purity of character upon their pathway?
3 The sons of God will not be like the worldling; for the truth received in the heart, will be the means of purifying the soul, and of transforming the character, and of making its receiver like-minded with God. Unless a man becomes like-minded with God, he is still in his natural depravity. If Christ is in the heart, he will appear in the home, in the workshop, in the market place, in the church. The power of the truth will be felt in elevating, ennobling the mind, and softening and subduing the heart, bringing the whole man into harmony with God. He who is transformed by the truth will shed a light upon the world. He that hath the hope of Christ in him will purify himself even as He is pure. The hope of Christ’s appearing is a large hope, a far-reaching hope. It is the hope of seeing the King in his beauty, and of being made like him.
4 When Christ shall come, the earth will tremble before him, and the heavens will be rolled together as a scroll, and every mountain and every island will be moved out of its place. “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; for God is judge himself.” In view of the great day of God, we can see that our only safety will be found in departing from all sin and iniquity. Those who continue in sin will be found among the condemned and perishing. John saw the fate of those who choose the path of transgression: “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
5 A terrible doom awaits the sinner, and therefore it is necessary that we know what sin is, in order that we may escape from its power. John says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” Here we have the true definition of sin; it is “the transgression of the law.” How often the sinner is urged to leave his sins, and come to Jesus; but has the messenger who would lead him to Christ clearly pointed out the way? Has he clearly pointed out the fact that “sin is the transgression of the law,” and that he must repent, and forsake the breaking of God’s commandments? Christ will come to consume the false prophet, to sweep away the hosts of apostasy, to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of God; and it is of the highest importance to each one of us that we know the conditions by which we shall escape the sinner’s doom. It is of the greatest moment that we understand the nature of our fall and the consequences of transgression. Man’s conscience has become hardened by sin, and his understanding darkened by transgression, and his judgment has become confused as to what is sin. He has become benumbed by the influence of iniquity, and it is essential that his conscience be aroused to understand that sin is the transgression of God’s holy law. He who does not obey the commandments of God is a sinner in the sight of God.
6 “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and for this reason the Lord has provided a remedy for sin: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” The true test of religious experience is here given. He that abideth in Christ is perfected in the love of God, and his purposes, thoughts, words, and actions are in harmony with the will of God expressed in the commandments of his law. There is nothing in the heart of the man who abides in Christ that is at war with any precept of God’s law. Where the Spirit of Christ is in the heart, the character of Christ will be revealed, and there will be manifested gentleness under provocation, and patience under trial. “Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” Righteousness can be defined only by God’s great moral standard, the Ten Commandments. There is no other rule by which to measure character. “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.” It was the refusal of Satan to obey the commandments of God that brought sin and apostasy into the universe. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
7 Through the devices of the great apostate, man has been led to separate himself from God, and has yielded to the temptations of the adversary of God and man in committing sin and breaking the law of the Most High. God could not alter one jot or tittle of his holy law to meet man in his fallen condition; for this would reflect discredit upon the wisdom of God in making a law by which to govern heaven and earth. But God could give his only-begotten Son to become man’s substitute and surety, to suffer the penalty that was merited by the transgressor, and to impart to the repentant soul his perfect righteousness. Christ became the sinless sacrifice for a guilty race, making men prisoners of hope, so that, through repentance toward God because they had broken his holy law, and through faith in Christ as their substitute, surety, and righteousness, they might be brought back to loyalty to God and to obedience to his holy law.
8 It was impossible for the sinner to keep the law of God, which was holy, just, and good; but this impossibility was removed by the impartation of the righteousness of Christ to the repenting, believing soul. The life and death of Christ in behalf of sinful man were for the purpose of restoring the sinner to God’s favor, through imparting to him the righteousness that would meet the claims of the law, and find acceptance with the Father. But it is ever the purpose of Satan to make void the law of God, and to pervert the true meaning of the plan of salvation. Therefore he has originated the falsehood that the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary’s cross was for the purpose of freeing men from the obligation of keeping the commandments of God. He has foisted upon the world the deception that God has abolished his constitution, thrown away his moral standard, and made void his holy and perfect law. Had he done this, at what terrible expense would it have been to Heaven! Instead of proclaiming the abolition of the law, Calvary’s cross proclaims in thunder tones its immutable and eternal character. Could the law have been abolished, and the government of heaven and earth and the unnumbered worlds of God maintained, Christ need not have died. The death of Christ was to forever settle the question of the validity of the law of Jehovah. Having suffered the full penalty for a guilty world, Jesus became the Mediator between God and man, to restore the repenting soul to favor with God by giving him grace to keep the law of the Most High. Christ came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them to the very letter. The atonement of Calvary vindicated the law of God as holy, just, and true, not only before the fallen world, but before Heaven and before worlds unfallen. Christ came to magnify the law and to make it honorable.
Page 724
1 The great object that brought Christ to the earth was to reveal the Father. When Moses had desired a closer acquaintance with God, and had prayed, “I beseech thee, show me thy glory,” the Lord had answered, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
2 “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” The glory of the Lord is his character that was revealed to Moses; but how different is the representation of himself from that made by Satan, the father of lies!
3 But who that is not infinite can understand the infinite? Christ declares, “No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son shall reveal him.” It is recorded of Epictetus that when his hearers said to him, “You have uttered many excellent things of God; but we cannot as yet understand what he is,” he truly and nobly replied, “Were I able fully to set forth God, I should either be a god myself, or God himself would cease to be what he is.” The greatness of God cannot be measured or comprehended. And that doctrine that denies the absolute Godhead of Jesus Christ, denies also the Godhead of the Father; for no man knoweth the Son but the Father.
4 The mightiest created intelligence cannot grasp divinity. The principalities and powers of heaven are overwhelmed with the vastness of the theme of Christ’s character and the mystery of the union of divinity and humanity. The most eloquent notes of cherubim and seraphim fail to describe him; but the angels of God delight to be in his presence. They rejoice in beholding his face, and hasten to obey his command, to fulfill their commission of love to those for whom Christ died.
5 The sufferings of Christ for the redemption of a fallen race were a necessity, and his exaltation is a part of the plan by which his chosen shall at last behold his full and inexpressible glory. Our Lord Jesus Christ could not have become the Redeemer unless he had first been the Sacrifice. How precious is it to contemplate the faithfulness of God to his promises! After his humiliation, suffering, and death, the Son of God steps back to the position of his former glory, and is one with the Father in power and dominion. While on earth he lived a life of humiliation, toiling for the good of men. He suffered, he died, he triumphed over death and the grave, and was received up into glory. But before he takes his seat upon the throne with his Father, he prefers the request: “I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Jesus had represented the Father to his disciples, and before the throne of God he now represents his believing children, saying: “These have known that thou hast sent me.” “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
6 Jesus said, “I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it.” He had represented the Father’s character to the world. When Philip had said unto him, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” he had said, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The Father was one with Christ in all his sufferings, in all his humiliations. The Father’s heart yearned over his Son; his love knew no variableness, neither shadow of turning. God looked upon his Son as the faithful servant of the everlasting covenant, and approved of the work he accomplished by his life of humiliation, toil, and suffering. He heard his expiring cry at the cross, as he went to the very depth of humiliation, and with his last breath exclaimed, “It is finished.” God was pledged to raise his Son, in whom he was well pleased, to the very highest exaltation as the Redeemer of humanity, and to give him a name above every name. As a servant on the earth, his life had been one of toil and faithfulness; as sacrifice, he had died a death of shame and suffering, to make expiation for the human family, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
7 In the purity of his life he had revealed the Father, and the glory of God had beamed forth from his character. The perfection of the Father had been displayed before unfallen worlds, before heavenly intelligences, and to sinful men. In the mediatorial work of Christ, the love of God was revealed in its perfection to men and angels. Having overcome the temptation and borne the test in the wilderness, having overcome in our behalf, he bends his steps toward Calvary, and in the perfection of humanity he grasps the world, and in the fullness of his divinity he lays hold upon the throne of God, and proclaims the result of his terrible conflict with the enemy, exclaiming, “Now is the prince of this world cast out,” now is the last enemy destroyed. The usurper to the throne and kingdoms of the world is put to flight; his confederacy of evil is broken and scattered. With his human arm he encircles the race of Adam, and with his divine arm he grasps the throne of God, and unites finite man with the infinite God, and earth with heaven. He sees as a result of his victory a new heaven and a new earth, from which every trace of evil is removed, and where God is all in all to its righteous inhabitants.
Page 725
1 “Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” Jesus has left us a warning upon this very point. He said, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” “For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.” John continues, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”
2 These deceivers will come, and, while claiming to be doing a special work for God, while professing to have advanced piety, to be sanctified, to see visions, and to have dreams, they will be doing the work of the enemy, and be found breaking the commandments of God. We should be on our guard, and bring these pretenders to the test; “to the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Shall we take heed to the solemn warnings of Christ, of Paul, and of John upon this point, and not be deceived by the subtle devices of the enemy, for Christ has said that the signs and wonders wrought by these deceivers will be so great that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect.
3 Of the elect, John writes: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.” Those who have heard the voice of God proclaiming his holy law on Mount Sinai, in the hearing of the people, know his voice, and when men claiming to be led by Christ, and professing to be entirely sanctified, assert that the law of God is abolished, and ridicule and make light of the great moral standard, and set at naught the testimony of prophets and apostles, we can confidently say that we hear not in their teachings the voice of the true Shepherd. The true Shepherd’s voice has been heard, bearing a different testimony. Jesus says: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The voice that magnifies the law of God we recognize as the voice of the true Shepherd; but we know that those who would make of no effect the commandments of God, are false shepherds, who would exalt tradition above the commandments of Jehovah.
4 John writes: “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” There are those who claim to have great light, who say that they have communication with the spirits of the dead, who deny the divinity of Christ, and in so doing deny the Father, whom Christ represented on earth. “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” The class which denies the Father and the Son is rapidly increasing in the world, and the name given to this class by the Bible is antichrist. There are many who have their names upon the church records, who claims to possess superior piety, and yet should Christ appear among them, they would rebuke the Son of God. There are men who profess to be ministers of the Gospel who are teaching heresy, and deceiving many, and leading thousands in the way of apostasy.
5 But John writes to the true followers of Christ, saying: “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” We have here a most precious promise, which will be fulfilled to those who let the truth abide in them. Then hold fast to the truth, and be not beguiled from steadfast adherence to the truth by any of the arts of the deceiver. “These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” Our character is to be moulded after the character of Christ. O what humiliation he endured in our behalf! While in this world he lived a life of obedience to the commandments of God, leaving us an example that we should follow in his steps. We must wait for God to reveal his plan, that our life may be the unveiling of the character of Christ. We can be sanctified only as we render obedience to the truth as it is unfolded to us. We cannot live in conscious disobedience of any precept of God, and not be on the losing side. We need to behold the character of Christ, and by beholding become changed into his image.
6 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
7 John cannot find adequate words wherein to describe the amazing love of God to sinful man; but he calls upon all to behold the love of God revealed in the gift of his only begotten Son. Through the perfection of the sacrifice given for the guilty race, those who believe in Christ, coming unto him, may be saved from eternal ruin. Christ was one with the Father, yet when sin entered our world through Adam’s transgression, he was willing to step down from the exaltation of one who was equal with God, who dwelt in light unapproachable by humanity, so full of glory that no man could behold his face and live, and submit to insult, mockery, suffering, pain, and death in order to answer the claims of the immutable law of God, and make a way of escape for the transgressor by his death and righteousness. This was the work which his Father gave him to do, and those who accept Christ, relying wholly upon his merits, are made the adopted sons and daughters of God, are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” Let no one be so deluded by the enemy as to think that it is a condescension for any man, however talented or learned or honored, to accept of Christ. Every human being should look to heaven with reverence and gratitude, and exclaim with amazement, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”
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Page 726
1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
2 It was by seducing the minds of Adam and Eve through the error of the wicked, that Satan led them to transgress the law of God. Through sin, darkness has covered the earth, and gross darkness the people; but God sent truth into our world in untarnished glory, beauty, and perfection, and placed it in contrast with error. Neither men nor devils were able to detect a flaw in the character of Christ; but the revelation of the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, placed darkness in such contrast that men would not receive the light. The carnal heart is enmity against God, and is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be. Not believing on Christ, the world knew him not.
3 After the transgression of the law of God, our first parents were called into the presence of God. “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle. . . . And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
4 This prophecy refers not only to the enmity between Christ and Satan, but also to the enmity that exists between the world and the followers of the world’s Redeemer. Christ was the special one who should bruise the head of the serpent; but the prophecy also includes all those who shall overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. In the words addressed to the serpent is a delineation of the great, unended conflict that has been waging in the world from the beginning of sin. The earth is the battle field for the conflict, and the result of the conflict, while it brings temporal loss upon the followers of Christ, will bring eternal ruin upon Satan, evil angels, and evil men, who unite with the enemy in the controversy against Christ.
5 The Lord says, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman.” The enmity does not exist as a natural fact. As soon as Adam sinned, he was in harmony with the first great apostate, and at war with God; and if God had not interfered in man’s behalf, Satan and man would have formed a confederacy against heaven, and carried on united opposition against the God of hosts. There is no natural enmity between evil angels and evil men; both are evil through transgression of the law of God, and evil will always league against good. Fallen men and fallen angels enter into a desperate companionship.
6 The prophecy of enmity between the serpent and the seed of the woman was the first intimation that Satan had that God would provide a way of salvation for the fallen race. Satan had made his calculation that he would induce men to ally themselves with him as he had induced angels, and by this desperate confederacy he would not hesitate to war against heaven, and seek to dethrone the Lord of hosts.
7 The enmity against Satan never worked with such power as it did in the time of Christ. Never had a son of Adam felt such utter hatred of sin as did the spotless Son of God; and bear in mind that sin is the transgression of the law. The purity and holiness of the character of Christ stirred up the very worst passions of the human heart; for his sinless character was in marked contrast to the character of men of a fallen race, who loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. His perfect obedience to the commandments of God was a continual rebuke to a sensual and perverse generation. His spotless character was shedding light into the midst of the moral darkness of the world, and the darkness comprehended it not.
8 The world knows not the followers of Christ. They do not recognize their holy origin, and they will not be in harmony with them any more than they were in harmony with Jesus, their Lord. The righteous zeal manifested by Christ for the honor of God as the supreme Ruler, the unsparing denunciation of sin, the unmasking of the hypocrisy of those who made a pretense to piety, and thus deceived the people, the heavenly loveliness of his own unblemished character, aroused the enmity of the world against him, who hated nothing but sin. He warred against lust and hypocrisy, and this stirred up against him the most bitter hostility. The serpent himself came to the assistance of his seed, and evil angels and evil men conspired together in a confederacy of apostasy to destroy the champion of God, and to make void the law of the Most High.
9 Those who become the sons of God cannot avoid coming into conflict with the hosts of apostasy. “The world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” The Redeemer of the world subjected himself to every kind of insult and mockery, and endured the contradiction of sinners against himself. What love, what wondrous love, the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son to go through humiliation, suffering, and death to pay the debt of man’s sin, and to purchase for the repenting transgressor the righteousness of his spotless life, in order that iniquity might not be perpetuated, but that through the condescension of Christ, the transgressor might be brought back to allegiance to God. Through the merits of the Redeemer, God accepts the efforts of sinful man in keeping his law, which is holy, just, and good.
10 Those who truly unite with Christ, will be found doing the same work that Christ did while on the earth,—they will be found magnifying the law and making it honorable. But these who stand to vindicate the honor of God’s law, will be objects of Satan’s enmity; for he was a despiser of the law from the beginning, and his seed will war against the righteous, and the wicked will endeavor to exterminate the good from the face of the earth.
11 Satan has sown plentifully the seed of dangerous heresies, that will produce a harvest of corruption, and will be as tares among the wheat. He is filling the hearts and minds of men with fables, and causing them to turn away their ears from hearing the truth. The advocates of truth are regarded as enemies to Christianity, and yet, although Satan causes the world to regard the followers of Christ as foes to progress, yet whenever a soul takes a decided stand for truth, the head of the serpent is bruised by the seed of the woman, and the serpent can bruise but the heel of the seed. When nominal Christianity is declared wanting, and is found insufficient, and practical godliness is alone declared genuine religion, the enmity of Satan is aroused at once, but his anger is an evidence of his bruising. He is seeking to hold the people in the deception of a form of godliness without its power, to keep them satisfied with a profession of piety; when their hearts are carnal and at enmity with the law of Jehovah. When the advocates of truth reveal the efficiency of truth in their life and character, a blow is struck against the kingdom of Satan.
Page 727
1 “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people. Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.” Satan would not have entered into Judas if he had not opened the door to give him admittance. He would not have entered into him if he had been a doer of the words of Christ. “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Had he been a doer of the words of Christ, he would have taken heed, and would have barricaded the soul, so that Satan could not have entered.
2 Judas had had great light; he had had many opportunities to understand what were the requirements of God. Numbered among the twelve, he had listened to the lessons of Christ; he had heard the truth, and he had no excuse for failing to form a character after the likeness of Christ. It had been his privilege to behold the character of Christ, to contemplate his goodness, his compassion, to see his works of mercy, to behold his wonderful miracles in healing the sick and giving life to the dead. He should have been rich in faith, and bound to Christ with cords of love which nothing could sever; but though a hearer of the words of Christ, he was not a doer of his word. Had Judas improved his opportunities and appreciated his privileges while being in close relationship with Christ as a disciple, he would have watched unto prayer, and would have overcome his besetting sin, avarice and covetousness, which is idolatry, and would have become transformed in character. But, although Christ gave lessons in condemnation of this sin, Judas did not feel his danger. He did not make his request to God for the aid of the Holy Spirit to help his infirmities, nor did he earnestly strive for the best gifts in order that he might accomplish the greatest good and receive grace for grace.
3 In this age, if those who come under the precious influence of the truth do not become transformed in character, they will, like Judas, go from light to darkness; and how great will be their darkness. God had intrusted to Judas talents of ability, and if he had used these gifts of God in blessing humanity with the rays of light that shone upon him from the Sun of Righteousness, he would have had increased light, and his path would have been as the path of the just, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. But he was more eager for position, for rank and wealth, than for the glory of God and the good of humanity. He became so narrow in his ideas, so selfish in his plans, that good and holy impressions could not be made upon his heart and mind. Had he as eagerly sought for the spirit of true goodness, mercy, compassion, forbearance, and true courtesy, as he did for power and wealth, he would not have possessed the attributes of Satan, but would have manifested the attributes of the character of Him who daily lived not to please himself, but went about doing good, healing all who were possessed of the devil. Judas had talents of influence, and had he received the Spirit of Christ, he would have been transformed in character so that he could have accomplished the work to which God had called him. God qualifies his disciples for the work which he would have them do, and gives them talents according to their several ability. But in order that they may do the work for which they are called, they are admonished to wait, to watch, to pray, lest Satan shall take advantage of them.
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Every one who truly becomes the disciple of Christ will be tested and tried. If the human agent will fully determine that he cannot and will not live without Christ, he will be an overcomer. Although, like Peter, James, and John, he may reveal defects of character, yet he will receive the lessons of reproof from the Saviour, and will be transformed in character. The angels of God will be around the tempted soul who is striving for the victory. His determination, his importunity, will bring to him the necessary strength and grace.
5 James and John thought that they could obtain the favor of God, and, for the asking, have a seat at the right hand and at the left hand of Christ when he received his kingdom. But Jesus answered and said: “Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” This inquiry meant, Can you bear the test and proving of God? Can you drink the cup of self-denial, of humiliation, reproach, suffering, ignominy, and death? They said, “We are able.” O, how little did they understand what would be the sufferings of Christ! Had they known, they would have shrunk back from such a statement, and their answer would have been one of far less assurance and self-confidence. Could they have realized that their Lord would be subjected to such utter humiliation as he was, could they have seen him staggering and falling under the cross, and known that their own path would be one of reproach, of ignominy, of imprisonment, of persecution and shame, before they could win the crown, they would never have said in self-confidence, “We are able.” But they did become partakers of the sufferings of Christ. They did drink of the cup of which he drank, and were baptized with the baptism with which he was baptized.
6 It is essential that the lessons of humility that Christ has given should be thoroughly understood. These disciples of Christ loved Jesus, and were ever close to him. James and John desired the privilege of being nearest to Jesus in the kingdom of heaven. This led them to ask for a seat upon his right hand and upon his left hand. But every disciple, from age to age, is individually required to take up his cross and follow where Christ leads the way, learning in the school of Christ his meekness and lowliness of heart.
7 Those who reign with Christ in his kingdom must have a fellowship in his suffering. Every defect in character condemned by the law of God, must through the grace of Christ, which is freely given to every soul who desires it, be overcome. Every hereditary and cultivated tendency to evil must be seen, subdued, and cleansed, that the soul temple may become fit for the indwelling of the Spirit of God. The divine will must be accepted, and the human will brought into harmony with God, though it cause bitter agony and tears. Traits of character that are offensive to God are often very dear to man, and are cherished as virtues. How blind is humanity unless the light of heaven is accepted and cherished! When truth is laid hold of resolutely, and a firm, determined purpose is cherished to bring the life into harmony with truth, then is cultivated the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Then the disciples of Christ manifest that steadfastness of purpose that will not fail nor be discouraged. God will bestow his gifts to the striving soul in proportion to his willingness to receive, and his readiness to impart for the glory of God.
8 But the same resistance to light is manifested now as was manifested in the days of Christ. O, why did not the Jewish nation know and understand Jesus? He could have been everything to them. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
9 No one of us has the power to save himself. Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, can alone give power to reform, to believe in himself as the Restorer. He alone can break every yoke. All the outward ceremonies of the Jews, all their sacrificial offerings, were of no virtue, for the One prefigured in them stood in the midst of them, and, sad fact, they knew him not. He came unto his own, the nation he had redeemed from Egyptian slavery, but they would not receive him.
10 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
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1 I had a wonderful dream last night, or this morning. A few persons were assembled, and we were conversing together as to how the work should be carried on in this country, when there is such a dearth of means with which to advance it. We seemed as sheep in the midst of wolves. We offered up tearful prayers. Our hope and courage and faith were severely tested and tried. We could not see how we could advance the very work that we were anxious to do, which the Lord was impressing upon us should be done. In our solemn council, we decided that methods must be devised by which the work could be made more thorough and effectual.
2 While we laid open our situation before God, a voice was heard full of sweetness and melody, saying: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering; for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.” The voice continued, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship. Walk not in the shadow of the cross, but in the path where the Sun of Righteousness is ever shining, to impart life and vitality, and to give grace for grace. The cross of Calvary is to you a pledge of forgiveness, of righteousness, of peace, and of fullness of joy. It is as a well of water to every believer, springing up unto everlasting life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
3 “The cross speaks life and not death to the soul that believes in Jesus. Welcome the precious, life-giving rays that shine from the cross of Calvary. God would not deprive his people of blessings. It is Satan that interposes his shadow of darkness and creates misgiving and doubts, in order that we may not discern the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining from the cross of Calvary. Reach up for the blessing, believe for the blessing. Your Saviour who died upon the cross is God’s gift to a fallen world, and that gift embraces all heaven. Walk not in the shadow of the cross. Do not give expression to weeping, lamentation, and woe; but encourage your soul to hope and joy. The cross points you upward to a living Saviour, who, as your advocate, is pleading in your behalf.”
4 I remember that my husband sometimes used to halt in the shadow of the cross, and he could see nothing but the dark side. He was sore tried and perplexed. He suffered being tempted. So sorely were we tried that I thought death would be preferable to the sufferings we endured. Clouds surrounded us, and everything was unfavorable to the light, hope, and courage of the soul. We are in the same danger now of not discerning the light that shines from the cross of Calvary. We have been halting in the shadow of the cross. At times we have failed to gather about us the warm, bright rays which come to us from an uplifted Saviour. Brethren, the cross speaketh better things than the blood of Abel, in behalf of every soul that receives Jesus Christ. When you are deeply shadowed, it is because Satan has interposed himself between you and the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness. In times of trouble the brightness is eclipsed, and we do not understand why the assurance seems to be withdrawn. We are led to look at self and at the shadow of the cross, and this prevents us from seeing the consolation that there is for us. We complain of the way, and withdraw the hand from the hand of Christ. But sometimes God’s favor breaks suddenly upon the soul, and the gloom is dispelled.
5 Let us live in the sunlight of the cross of Calvary. Let us no longer dwell in the shadow, complaining of our sorrows, for this only deepens our trouble. Let us never forget, even when we walk in the valley, that Christ is as much with us when we walk trustingly there, as when we are on the mountain top. The voice said to us, “Will you not roll your burden upon the burden bearer, the Lord Jesus? Will you not live on the sunny side of the cross, saying: I know him whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day? Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
6 I have indeed been halting under the shadow of the cross. It is not a common thing for me to be overpowered, and to suffer so much depression of spirit as I have suffered for the last few months. I would not be found to trifle with my own soul, and thus trifle with my Saviour. I would not teach that Jesus has risen from the tomb, and that he is ascended on high, and lives to make intercession for us before the Father, unless I carry out my teaching by practice, and believe in him for his salvation, casting my helpless soul upon Jesus for grace, for righteousness, peace, and love. I must trust in him irrespective of the changes of my emotional atmosphere. I must show forth the praises of Him who has called me out of darkness into his marvelous light. My heart must be steadfast in Christ my Saviour, beholding his love, his gracious goodness. I must not trust him now and then, but always, that I may manifest the results of abiding in Him who has bought me with his own precious blood. We must learn to believe the promises, to have an abiding faith, so that we may take them as the sure word of God.
7 Many who love God, and who seek to honor God, fear that they have no right to claim his rich promises. They dwell upon their painful struggles, and the darkness which encompasses their path, and in so doing they lose sight of the light of the love that Jesus Christ has shed upon them. They lose sight of the great redemption that has been purchased for them at infinite cost. Many are standing afar off, as if they were afraid to touch even the hem of Christ’s garments; but his gracious invitation is ever extended to them, and he is pleading, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Granville, N. S. W.
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Page 729
1 “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for their’s is the kingdom of heaven.” These comforting words of Christ are addressed not to the proud, not to the boastful and self-conceited, but to those who realize their own weakness and sinfulness. Those who mourn, the meek who feel themselves unworthy of the favor of God, and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, are all included in “the poor in spirit.”
2 But thousands of souls know not their poverty. They are filled with a craving for something which they do not possess. The wealth that men accumulate does not satisfy, although it preoccupies the soul, and keeps it from the possession of true riches. But those who are accounted blessed are those who empty themselves, who have room for spiritual and eternal riches. They are the hungry, thirsty souls who reach out for the strength and grace of Christ. They are not among those who think themselves whole and are satisfied with their own righteousness. They are not of those who feel no need of higher attainments. They are those who feel the need of forgiveness, and who long for the grace of Christ that bringeth salvation.
3 There is forgiveness for the penitent, for Christ is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. . . . If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
4 Christ came to this fallen world to contest the claims of Satan for the sinful human race. He knows the conflict of every soul with the powers of darkness, and through the gift of his Holy Spirit has undertaken to make men more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. For God is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him, than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children. But the battle of overcoming is one that is presented to every soul who would enter into the kingdom of God. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” The followers of Christ are to war against every evil tendency which they have inherited or cultivated; for evil practices defile the soul. Many have been deceived in themselves, and have considered their character to be as good as the average. Though the word of God lifts up the danger-signal to warn them, they yet press on from one point of resistance and disobedience to another, and while living in sin they flatter themselves that they have acted in a meritorious way, that they are not depending upon any one for help, but can of themselves be good and do good. They do not believe the word of Christ when he says, “Without me ye can do nothing.”
5 Those who strive for eternal life will practice self-denial, because they love Jesus. They will count themselves as pilgrims and strangers in this world. They center their hopes above, and are looking for the day of God. Where the heart is, there will the treasure be also.
6 The young ruler who came to Christ flattered himself that he had placed his hopes upon heavenly things, and that he needed little in order to gain eternal life. He came to Christ and said, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother, and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?”
7 The world’s Redeemer knew that while the young man had a theory of religion, and flattered himself that he was keeping God’s commandments, he was very far from doing so.
8 He did not love God with his whole heart, might, mind, and strength, nor his neighbor as himself. Jesus brought to bear upon him a test that would expose to the young ruler the weakness and poverty of his heart. Jesus said, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me.” When the young man asked of Christ, “What lack I yet?” he thought himself a perfect man. The words of Christ revealed to him his idol; but did he quickly expel it from his heart, that he might be perfect? Jesus looked with pity upon the young ruler, for he loved him. “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions! Though Jesus had come to the world to save him, he rejected the Saviour and yielded to his inclination to cling to his idols. The young man loved his possessions more than he loved God.
9 There are many in the same danger, who allow their means to come between them and their Saviour, and when the test is brought to bear upon them, and Christ bids them “sell all that thou hast, and come and follow me,” they draw back. They love money more than they love God and his righteousness.
10 Many profess to believe the Bible, and with the young ruler they are saying, “All these things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?” They address Christ as Lord, and yet they fail to recognize his claims in the poor and the oppressed, and thus cut themselves off from true union with Christ. They will not practice the self-denial that is necessary in order to keep the commandments of God. Like the young ruler, they turn away from the treasures of heaven, because they allow their spiritual eyesight to be perverted, and value the earthly treasure above the heavenly. Christ offers to them the precious treasure of his grace; but they have no room for his rich gift. Their attitude is that of the young ruler, as he asked, “What lack I yet?” Christ turns from those who feel whole to those who acknowledge their poverty of spirit, who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and he will supply their needs from his immense storehouse of grace.
11 Longing for God.
The poor in spirit feel their poverty, their want of the grace of Christ. They realize that they know little of God and his great love, and that they need light in order that they may know and keep the way of the Lord. They dare not face temptation in their own strength, for they realize that they have not moral force to resist evil. They have no pleasure in reviewing their past life, and little confidence in looking to the future, for they are sick at heart. But it is to such that Christ says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Christ saw that those who feel their poverty may be made rich.
12 The true Witness delineates the condition of those who feel that they are “rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” Of them he says, thou “knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” They are a class who have had great privileges, who have been blessed with light and knowledge, and who have not responded, who trust in their own righteousness, and boast of their spiritual advantages. But the true Witness says, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire [faith and love] that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed [that is the righteousness of Christ], and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
13 What great privileges are within the reach of those who feel the poverty of their soul and submit to the will of God! The remedy for soul-poverty is found alone in Christ. When the heart is sanctified by grace, when the Christian has the mind of Christ, he has the love of Christ, which is spiritual riches, more precious than the gold of Ophir. But before there can be an intense desire for the wealth contained in Christ, which is available to all who feel their poverty, there must be a sense of need. When the heart is full of self-sufficiency, and preoccupied with the superficial things of earth, the Lord Jesus rebukes and chastens in order that men may awake to a realization of their true condition.
14 A Work of Faith.
Whom Christ pardons he first makes penitent, and it is the office work of the Holy Spirit to convince of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. The sinner acknowledges the perfection of God, the righteousness of Christ, and thus glorifies God. By beholding this perfection the sinner sees his sins, and repents, and believes in the atonement of Jesus Christ, “whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
15 The Jewish nation were under a fatal deception in flattering themselves that they were the elect of God, when in character they were wholly unchristlike. They refused to accept the virtues of Christ, and rejected him who alone could help them; for it is through the acceptance of Christ that faith makes us partakers of the divine nature. Cain presented an offering to God, and thereby acknowledged him as his sovereign; but he made no confession of sin, no acknowledgment of guilt, expressed no desire, and felt no need of a Mediator who could cleanse him from sin. But he who does not see Christ as his all-sufficiency will become attracted and ensnared by the things of earth that can not satisfy the soul. He will not experience the blessing that is pronounced upon all those who have a sense of their deep soul-poverty. But those who distrust self, who feel that they have not strength for the burdens of life, will find strength by looking to Jesus. Christ says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He bids you exchange your soul-poverty for the riches of his grace. No one is worthy of his favor, but Christ, our surety, is worthy, and is abundantly able to save all who shall come unto him. He says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
16 You may come to Jesus in faith, and without delay. His provision is rich and free, his love is abundant, and he will give you grace to wear his yoke and to lift his burden with cheerfulness. You may claim your right to his blessing by virtue of his promise. You may enter into his kingdom, which is his grace, his love, his righteousness, his peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. If you feel in deepest need, you may be supplied with all his fullness; for Christ says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Jesus calls you to come. “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for their’s is the kingdom of heaven.”
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1 “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” It is not pleasing to the Lord that we should cover the altar with tears, even when we are oppressed with a sense of unworthiness. The mission of Christ to this world was to heal the broken-hearted. He received mourners, and comforted those who were sorrow-stricken, those who had lost courage and hope. Upon such he pronounced his blessing, and declared they should be comforted.
2 The Lord works through human instrumentalities, and has commissioned to his followers the duty of ministering to those who are desponding and distressed. There are hearts all around us that need to be uplifted, that need the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The Lord looks to those whom he has comforted and blessed to enlighten those who are in darkness, and to relieve those who are in sorrow. Those who have received light and peace and joy are not to pass by those who mourn, but are to come close to them in human sympathy, and help them to see a sin-pardoning Saviour, a merciful God.
3 Christ has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, and he will give joy and gladness to those who mourn. Will you, my brother and sister who have felt the sorrows of earth, do service for Christ in helping the very ones who need your help? Will you who are strong bear the infirmities of the weak? Our Saviour was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He identified his interests with those of the weak and suffering. In looking to Jesus we look to one who comforts all who mourn in Zion. How many more might have been comforted and blessed if human messengers had performed the service which Christ had enjoined upon them to suffering humanity! “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
4 Those who love Jesus will have the mind of Christ, and will comfort all who mourn; those who are poor, tempted, and discouraged they will help to walk in the light of the cross, and not in the shadows and in the darkness. They will point out to them the fact that the blood of Christ speaketh in their behalf “better things than that of Abel.” Christians are to minister to all that mourn, to comfort many sorrowful hearts whose memory is filled with pictures of disappointment, of forfeited friendships, and of bitter bereavements, whose history has been one of sorrow and mourning.
5 The Lord Jesus has given to his people the special work of comforting all that mourn. Christ is working for this class, and he calls upon human beings to become his instrumentalities in bringing light and hope to those who are mourning in the midst of apparently dark providences. Christ calls upon us to show them a bright side by our sympathy and love, and prevent the troubled soul from charging God with unfaithfulness. Our heavenly Father is never unmindful of those whom sorrow has touched. But many think that God has no care for them, as a result of the negligence of his professed followers; for these fail to act their part as colaborers with Christ in comforting those who mourn.
6 When David went up by the Mount Olivet, “and wept as he went up, and had his head covered,” and went barefooted, the Lord was looking pityingly upon him. He was clothed is sackcloth, and his conscience was scourging him. The outward signs of humiliation testified of his contrition and brokenness of heart. He would not consent that the ark of God should be borne before him as an emblem of the presence of God. He said to the ark bearers, “Carry back the ark of God into the city; if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation; but if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.” He was not willing that the ark should be imperiled by his vicissitudes. The precious symbol, the hallowed burden, was to be taken back to its temple. If his trouble, his expulsion from the throne, had been the work of human power, if his conscience had been clear and without reproach, he would gladly have welcomed the ark, and would have permitted the bearers to carry it before him; but because of consciousness of sin, in his repentance and contrition, he could not consent to the presence of the ark. When Shimei uttered curses upon him, he hears them in silence, and will not consent that the man shall be requited according to his course of action. David said: “So let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seekest my life; how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him. It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will require me good for his cursing this day.” David was looking to God, before whom he humbled himself, and the Lord saw his submission and did not desert his servant. The Lord wrought out a victory for David.
7 The furnace fire may kindle upon the servants of God, but it is for the purpose of purifying them from all dross, and not that they may be destroyed and consumed. The High and Holy One says: “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.” We honor God by trusting in him when all looks dark and forbidding. Let those who are afflicted look unto him, and talk of his power, and sing of his mercy. “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness [cleansed from all earthly defilement] as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”
8 Never was David dearer to the heart of infinite love than when, conscious [conscience] smitten, he fled for his life from his enemies, who were stirred into rebellion by his own son. In tearful, heartbroken utterances, he presented his case to God, and pursued his sorrowful course; but no word of repining escaped from his lips. The Lord says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.” There is a blessing pronounced upon all who mourn. Had there been no mourners in our world, Christ could not have revealed to man the parental character of God. Those oppressed by the conviction of sin are to know the blessedness of forgiveness, and to have their transgressions blotted out. Had there been none who mourn, the sufficiency of Christ’s expiation for sin would not have been understood.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 The Lord has special grace for mourners, and its power is to melt hearts, to win souls. His love opens a channel into the wounded and bruised soul and becomes a healing balsam to those who sorrow. His love is as a precious link which binds the souls of the finite to the throne of the Infinite, from whom all blessings flow to the needy and distressed; for he comforts all who mourn. The Lord Jesus is a restorer of all that was lost, and identifies his interests with those of suffering humanity. He lifts up the contrite heart, and refines the mourning soul until it becomes his abode.
2 “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” To all outward appearances the cause of mourning does not seem to be a blessing. Bereavements come in manifold form, and we ask in mournful tones, Why are we thus afflicted? Jesus answers, “Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it that if may bring forth more fruit.” The Lord “doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” God has manifested his love for man in giving to the human family as their substitute and surety his beloved Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” a life that runs parallel with the life of Jehovah. Christ was the brightness of his Father’s glory, and in order that he might abide with him through the ceaseless ages of eternity, he came to the world to care for our apostate race. All heaven was given to us in Christ, and the Lord is bestowing rich and free mercies upon us, making every provision, in order that we shall individually stand as his representatives, making manifest to the world the efficiency and power of the grace which God alone can bestow. In view of what the Lord would make his people, it is not strange that the moral powers are disciplined by trial and sorrow. When the spiritual powers are dwarfed and crippled, when they fasten upon temporal and inferior things, the Lord permits affliction to come, just as the pruning knife is thrust into the vine branches. The tendrils entwined about earthly things must be unclasped, and earthly supports must be removed in order that the tendrils may entwine about God, and that the branch may bring forth much fruit. Christ says, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”
3 The Lord sees that we are in danger of deceiving ourselves, and that a change must be brought about in our life or spiritual death will be the consequence. The Lord has endowed men with varied capabilities and talents, and has designed that they should be sanctified to his use, but they are perverted from the Master’s service, and employed in the service of self. The needs of the future are presented in such pressing urgency that men devote their might, mind, soul, and strength to acquiring that which must perish with the using. Their God-given talents are absorbed in that which is earthly and temporal, and the Lord draws nigh with affliction, and urges them not to drop eternity out of their reckoning. The Lord permits affliction and sorrow for the purpose of attracting minds to the only source of strength. He would have the human agents become acquainted with the great Physician, and realize what healing there is in the balm of Gilead. He would draw the mind away from earth. He would reveal himself in all human affliction as the Comforter.
5 When the ways of the Lord are understood, his providences will not obscure our faith, even though they be full of suffering and sorrow. They will purify the heart, refine and elevate the character, ennoble the thoughts and practices, so that much fruit shall be borne to the glory of God. Satan has cast his hellish shadow of corruption and iniquity, and has covered the earth with darkness as with a funeral pall, but the Sun of Righteousness still shines, and God would have every afflicted soul look to the brightness of Calvary’s cross. Faith, hope, and courage may be drawn from the Source of all light and truth.
6 Let every mourner look up and be comforted. Every service rendered to the Master in helping others, is blessing yourself, and the benediction that is spoken to those that mourn, will result in your own comforting. You will discern the invisible, and know the reality there is in Christian experience. Let there be rejoicing amid affliction until even amid the shadows that have thickened about you, you may have a truly grateful spirit. Christ himself will brighten your gloom with bright gleams of light, and his divine light will be all the more precious and glorious as it shines forth amid clouds and darkness. “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.”
Page 732
4 Those who are comforted of God, who experience peace and rest in him, will bear rich clusters of fruit in comforting others with the consolation which they themselves have received from the compassionate Saviour. The Lord Jesus often draws souls to himself through some human agent to whom he has given a valuable experience in mourning and sorrow. He often reaches hearts by causing those who have suffered to come close to others who are passing through affliction, who can point the mourners to the bow of promise that encircles the throne of God. They can tell those who are in bereavement or in physical suffering that there is One who knows their weakness, and who will be to them hope, comfort, peace, and joy. They can encourage them to trust in God, who desires that the frail human sufferer shall lean hard upon his everlasting arms. Christ would encourage the timid disciples to look up to him. For the purpose of uplifting and encouraging others the Lord has prepared helpers for every emergency. Let every one in the Lord’s service be ready to see the needs of others, and to draw from their experience that which will be a blessing to those that mourn. Let them shed forth the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
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1 “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” The meekness that is born of sorrow, when the heart has been exercised aright through yielding submission to the will of God, brings forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness. Those who have humbly sought God for comfort and peace in the midst of trial, have had imparted to them the gentleness of Christ. Those who have learned of Him who is meek and lowly of heart, express sympathy, and manifest gentleness toward those who are in need of consolation; for they can comfort others with the consolation wherewith they are comforted of God. In seeking to save souls who are ready to perish, they make Jesus their pattern in all things. They respond to the comfort given them of God, and become inheritors of his kingdom. Through the operations of the Holy Spirit a new nature is implanted within them, and they are sanctified of soul, and the Lord gives grace for grace.
2 Jesus expects that his gentleness and condescension will be reproduced in those whom he blesses. Jesus came to our world, and chose the lowliest life, took the humblest position, leaving us an example that we should follow in his steps. The Majesty of heaven was meek and lowly in heart, and he expects all his followers to catch his spirit of meekness and lowliness, and become wise in helping those that mourn. There is no time in life when we shall not need to cultivate meekness and lowliness of heart. Those who minister in connection with Christ, will be called upon to manifest meekness and lowliness, that they may reveal this attribute to those who are learners in the school of Christ. A possession of the gentleness of Christ means the possession of true dignity. The adorning that is of value with God is a meek and quiet spirit, and it is of more value than gold and silver and precious gems. The attributes of God are goodness, mercy, love, long-suffering, and patience, and his followers are to possess the same attributes of character, representing Christ in true spirituality. Meekness, the treasure of inward wealth, may be possessed in the midst of poverty and sorrow. The soul reveals the source of its strength in the manifestation of meekness and lowliness of heart; for the grace of meekness has its origin in the source of all blessedness, and those who possess this grace are in harmony with Christ and the Father. The followers of Christ thus become one with each other. If meekness and love are not a part of our character, we are not the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and our whole experience is feeble and uncertain.
3 Meekness is a fruit of the Spirit, and an evidence that we are branches of the living God. The abiding presence of meekness is an unmistakable evidence that we are branches of the True Vine, and are bearing much fruit. It is an evidence that we are by faith beholding the King in his beauty and becoming changed into his likeness. Where meekness exists, the natural tendencies are under the control of the Holy Spirit. Meekness is not a species of cowardice. It is the spirit which Christ manifested when suffering injury, when enduring insult and abuse. To be meek is not to surrender our rights; but it is the preservation of self-control under provocation to give way to anger or to the spirit of retaliation. Meekness will not allow passion to take the lines.
4 When Christ was accused by the priests and Pharisees, he preserved his self-control, but he took his position decidedly that their charges were untrue. He said to them: “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?” He knew that his position was right. When Paul and Silas were beaten and thrust into prison without trial or sentence, they did not surrender their right to be treated as honest citizens. When there was a great earthquake, and the foundations of the prison were shaken, and the doors were opened, and every man’s bands were loosed, and the magistrates sent word to the prisoners that they might depart in peace, Paul entered a protest, and said: “They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? Nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. . . . And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.” Through the action of Paul and Silas the name of God was magnified and the authorities were humbled. It was necessary that the honor of God should be vindicated at this time.
5 At all times and in all places the Christian should be that which the Lord designs that he should be,—a free man in Christ Jesus. Duty performed in the Spirit of Christ will be done with sanctified prudence. We shall be guided as with a light from heaven when we have a vital connection with God. Holy men wrote as they were moved upon by the Holy Spirit. To be meek does not mean that we shall regard ourselves as in a servile condition; for Christ is our sufficiency. Christ pronounced his benediction upon those who felt their need of divine grace. He pronounces a blessing upon the weary and heavy laden of every age. Human agents who accept his guidance, who hear his word, will be led into clear light, and will bear fruit to the glory of God. Those who have repented of their sins, who have cast their weary, heavy-burdened souls at the feet of Christ, who have submitted to his yoke, and become his colaborers, will be partakers with Christ in his sufferings, and partakers also of his divine nature. In the world the Christian will be slighted and dishonored, and will consent to be least of all and servant of all. He will submit to be injured, to be despitefully used and persecuted, but wearing the yoke of Christ he will find rest unto his soul, and the yoke will not be galling. He will hear the Saviour saying: “I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.” Jesus not only commands his followers, but he instructs them, he helps the helpless, he invigorates the fainting, he inspires the faithless with faith and hope. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” If men have mourned with godly sorrow, the fruit of meekness and humility will be manifest in the character. Their affections will be drawn from earthly things, and they will have learned, through trial and testing, the precious lesson that great truths can be brought into the little things of life as well as into the great things. Practical religion is far-reaching in its influence, and will aid us in fulfilling the duties of daily life. Daily we are to learn of Him who is meek and lowly in heart, and find rest unto our souls. It is in obeying the word of God that peace and rest come in. O, what fragrance might be brought into the daily life if all were to follow simply and completely the teachings of the word of God, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path! Like the rays of the sun in heaven, which brighten the earth, so are the commandments of God exceeding broad.
6 In the audience to whom Jesus spoke in his sermon on the mount there were not only those who were weary and heavy laden, but the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the rabbis and rulers, and the so-called great men, who were ambitious to receive the honor of men. He knew that there was strife in the Jewish nation, and desire for supremacy in the hearts of men. He knew that there was unhappiness in homes because the precious jewel of meekness had been lost. Meekness and lowliness of heart serve as a shield, and break the fierce darts of the enemy. The meek often have a thorny path to travel; for meekness is often set down as weakness or insensibility, while those who lose self-control conclude that their pride is sensitiveness. But Jesus is our pattern, and it is from him that we receive strength and grace to walk in humility and contrition before God. But whatever may be our trials, God understands them, and invites us to share the blessing that he has pronounced upon the meek and lowly in heart.
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1 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” Jesus says: “The bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.” In these words is expressed a desire for the bread of life; but those who expressed this desire did not have that longing for spiritual life of which our text speaks. The true bread of life is found only in Christ. Those who do not recognize that the bounties of rich grace, the heavenly banquet, have been prepared at an infinite cost to satisfy those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, will not be refreshed.
2 “Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. . . . And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son [by faith], and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day. . . . I am that bread of life. . . . This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. . . . Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. . . . It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
3 While sitting at Jacob’s well, Jesus uttered the same truths when speaking with the Samaritan woman. He said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” The same truth is brought out again in the parable of the vine and the branches. Jesus says: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” Christ is the vital principle by which spiritual health and strength and righteousness are imparted to the life, to be revealed in the Christian’s daily practice.
4 Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are filled with a longing desire to become Christlike in character, to be assimilated to his image, to keep the way of the Lord, and to do justice and judgment. We should ever cultivate an earnest desire for the righteousness of Christ. No temporal wants should attract and divert the mind to such a degree that we should not experience this soul hunger to possess the attributes of Christ. The command is, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Everything else must be subordinated to this end. We are not to be satisfied with the cheap, common things of daily occurrence. In witnessing the afflictions, the sufferings of humanity, and the prevalence of iniquity, we become heartsick and dissatisfied. It is unsatisfactory business to bring only wood, hay, and stubble to the foundation. When in trouble and affliction the soul longs for the love and power of God. There is an intense desire for assurance, for hope, for faith, for confidence. We would seek for pardon, for peace, for the righteousness of Christ. We long that a change shall take place in our circumstances, so that the trials of life shall not expose us to so many temptations. Every soul who seeks the Lord with the whole heart is hungering and thirsting after righteousness. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.”
5 The soul hunger will be satisfied when our hearts are emptied of pride, vanity, and selfishness; for faith will then appropriate the promises of God, and Christ will supply the vacuum, and abide in the heart. There will be a new song in the mouth, for the word will be fulfilled, “A new heart also will I give you.” The testimony of the believer will be: “Of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. . . . No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
6 Christ was the representation of God. Beholding him we exercise faith, and affection entwines about him as seeing Him who is invisible. Without Christ the hunger and thirst of the soul would remain unsatisfied. The feeling of want, the craving after something not temporal, not tainted with earthliness and commonness, could never be appeased. The mind must grasp something higher and purer than anything that can be found in this world.
7 Jesus Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. The world’s Redeemer was symbolized in types and shadows through their religious services. The glory of God was revealed in Christ within the veil until Christ should appear in the world, and display to the world all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In Christ we behold the image of the invisible God; in his attributes we see the attributes of the character of the Infinite. Jesus said: “I and my Father are one.” “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
8 Christ was crucified for the sin of the world, and after his resurrection and ascension, all the world were invited to look to him and live. We are enjoined to look at the things unseen, to keep before the mind’s eye the most vivid images of eternal realities, that by beholding we may become changed into the image of Christ. Christ is the mystic ladder uniting the earth with the universe of heaven, and as our faith lays hold upon him, we see him standing as our advocate, our assurance, our life. Unless we keep our attention fixed upon Jesus, Satan will intercept the bright gleams of light from the throne of God, and we shall lose the knowledge of the character of God as it is revealed in the ten moral precepts, and as it is seen in the life of his only-begotten Son. Satan constantly seeks to obstruct the view of Christ by placing a representation of himself before us; but unless our faith shall pierce his hellish shadow, and we obtain a view of the holiness of God’s character, we shall be divested of our strength, and become purposeless, helpless, weak, and inefficient, the deluded prey of Satan’s temptations. We shall give to the world the strength of the faculties of soul, mind, and body, and deprive Christ of the service which he has purchased with his own blood.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 Those who yield to the temptations of Satan have a hungering and thirsting for the pleasures of the world. They crave earthly excitement, and many have their minds so thoroughly occupied with amusements, with feverish desires for earthly pleasure, with ambitions that are tainted and corrupted, that they drop into their graves not having an experimental knowledge of God. They listen to the great deceiver as he lays out his plans to them line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until they devote their whole life to doing the service of the great apostate. They hunger and thirst for selfish indulgences until all their powers are perverted. But “blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”
2 How carefully should every soul for whom Christ has died, watch and pray lest the moral taste should become perverted, lest by feeding the thoughts upon earthly, common things they come at last to desire nothing better! It is necessary that we follow out the command of Christ, and search the Scriptures; for in them “ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.” That which Jesus accomplished for the people when he was upon the earth, he accomplished by opening the Scriptures to their understanding. Those who followed him became familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures, and thus fed upon the bread of life, and found strength to walk in the way of God’s commandments. Those who continually feed upon the word of God will not turn aside, as did Adam and Eve, and disobey God’s law. The word of God will give them grace and strength to work out the righteousness of Christ through the abundance of grace given unto them. The life of Christ was in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Holy Scriptures. He was himself the living word. “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
3 We ourselves may corrupt and pervert the moral taste so that there will be no hungering and thirsting after righteousness. If ever there was one who could live upon the earth and have no necessity for the written word, it was the Author of the word of God. Christ had the Spirit without measure, yet he used the Scriptures to prove the certainty and necessity of his sufferings, death, and resurrection. While in the wilderness of temptation he met and conquered Satan with the word of God, defeating his temptations by, “It is written. “In his conflict with the Pharisees he continually presented the Scriptures, and revealed to them their true meaning. He said to them, ‘How readest thou?’ The life of God was manifested in the flesh, and was the living word, and the life of God was manifested in human speech. The human agent who becomes familiar with the Scriptures and who is a doer of the word, will find that the word is interwoven with the life of the soul; for he will have a personal experience in the things of God. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Obedience is doing the word of Christ. The word of God is a channel of communication with the living God. He who feeds upon the word will become fruitful in all good works. He who labors together with God will be the discoverer of rich mines of truth which he must work to find the hidden treasure. When surrounded with temptations, the Holy Spirit will bring to his mind the very words with which to meet the temptation at the very moment when they are most needed, and he can use them effectually with commanding power. The apostle says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
4 Our hungering and thirsting after righteousness will be in proportion to the food upon which we feed the soul. We shall hunger and thirst after righteousness more and more as we separate from the world, its customs, its practices, and conform our lives to the standard of righteousness. Jesus clothed his divinity with humanity that through faith humanity might lay hold upon divinity, and through hungering and thirsting after righteousness, come into close union with the divine. The privileges of the human agent are very great. We cannot be satisfied without God, neither is the Lord satisfied without the love which he has purchased at an infinite price. God has given us Christ, and with him all heaven, in order that he might reclaim our lost race, and attach us to himself, that we also might be filled with all the fullness of God.
5 “Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” The words of God are wellsprings of the water of life. When we receive the word, obeying it in sincerity, it has power to reproduce itself and to multiply itself in the minds of men. Christ declared, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” The words which he spoke from the pillar of cloud in the wilderness were the same as he spoke in his sermon on the mount. Through his human life he lived by faith, exercising a continual dependence upon the word. “The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”
6 Would you become assimilated to the divine image? Would you be one who is hungering and thirsting after righteousness? Would you drink of the water which Christ shall give you, which shall be in you a well of water springing up into everlasting life? Would you bear fruit to the glory of God? Would you refresh others? Then with heart hungering for the bread of life, the word of God, search the Scriptures, and live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Your soul’s sanctification and righteousness will result from faith in the word of God, which leads to obedience of its commands. Let the word of God be to you as the voice of God instructing you, and saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Christ prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.”
7 Christ found himself in fashion as a man, that he might represent to man in human life and character that which was expressed in his holy word. He was one with the Father; his life corresponded with the life of God, and his character was like unto that which was represented in the standard of righteousness, the ten moral precepts. Righteousness is living the law of God as Christ lived it; it is the health, the activity of every spiritual energy in the service of God. It is the uplifting of the soul tof God in prayer, the turning of the soul to God, even as the flower turns to the light. There is health and heaven for the soul in abiding under the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness; for thus shall we be uplifted from the low, dark cares of the earth, which bring depression and gloom, to dwell in the light that is above and beyond them. Righteousness is the possession of increasing usefulness. It is the hiding of the soul in Christ with God. It is experiencing fellowship with God. It is exemplifying to the world the fact that God has vindicated his word to the world, and has fulfilled his promise in saying, “We will come and make our abode with him.” Righteousness prepares the human agent for the mansions which Christ has gone to prepare for those who love him.
8 It is the opposite of righteousness, the transgression of the law of God, to seek so earnestly and persistently for temporal advantages as to exclude things of eternal interest. How languid, how feeble are the efforts of the professed people of God to attain unto the likeness of Christ in character! How few seem to realize that life eternal depends upon our course of action in probationary time! But those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will purify their souls through obeying the truth. It is by beholding that we become changed into the likeness of Christ. By looking unto Jesus, by talking with Jesus, by fashioning the life after Christ’s example, we become meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, for our taste is perfected for the purity of heaven.
9 Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness become fitted for ministering upon the earth. We have no need for those who are weak and unchristlike in character. We are to look unto Jesus and live. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” By beholding the perfection of Christ, hunger and thirst for righteousness are to be created in the heart. The Lord alone can give us the bread and water of life, that we may be filled. This fullness is the glory which Christ declares he has given to his disciples,—the character which is to fashion them after the divine similitude. Those who experience soul hunger are to be blessed with satisfaction. Their earnest, prayerful struggles will not be in vain; for there is no failure with God. For all our imperfections there is forgiveness with God. We are to believe that a rich satisfaction awaits us. He who is truth says that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. It is for us to comply with the condition upon which the promise is to be fulfilled. We are to come to God with a contrite spirit, and as soon as we seek him in earnest he will fill us.
10 Christ is standing at the door, knocking, and inviting us to accept his presence. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” With Christ abiding in the soul, the human agent becomes a partaker of the divine nature, and is a coworker with Jesus Christ. He manifests ardor and earnestness, and possesses that perseverance, so that, like his Master, he will not fail nor be discouraged. Let all turn away from the heart cravings for selfish gratification; let all empty the soul of self-love, selfish desires and ambitions, and Christ will supply the vacuum; he will reign in the heart that is emptied of self, and from his divine presence will flow forth living streams to revive and refresh the souls of those who are ready to perish. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”
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1 “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” We are continually receiving rich mercies from the hands of God. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus has commanded, saying, “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” The merciful man does good to his own soul; for the merciful shall obtain mercy. The possession of this precious grace produces the fruit of kindliness and love. The hardness, the coldness of heart that many professing Christians cherish, is a characteristic of the great apostate. Were Christlike mercy exercised by all who profess to be Christ’s followers, the world would bear an altogether different aspect. Praise would ascend to God from many voices that are now silent. The love and tenderness of Christ revealed in the characters of those who are his followers, would beget love in others. It is impossible for us to represent Christ, and be cold, unsympathetic, and bound about by selfishness.
2 We are placed in this world, and surrounded by men and women who need our compassion, and we are responsible for putting into exercise the tender mercies of our God. He has richly bestowed upon us his love, and deposited with us his mercy, that we may become stewards of the same, in ministering his love to others. Paul writes: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” Suffering humanity continually surrounds us, and demands the exercise of mercy. “The poor ye have always with you.”
3 It is the duty of the children of God to be all light in the Lord, and scatter blessings upon the path of others. They are not to say, “Be ye warmed, and be ye fed,” and do nothing to relieve the necessities of those who are in want. The Lord would have his children actively engaged in works of mercy. There are broken-hearted ones who need the expression of kindly words, who need practical help to relieve their necessities. With many life is a painful struggle. They feel their deficiencies, and are miserable and unbelieving. They think they have nothing for which to be grateful. Let the sons and daughters of God reveal the Christlike attributes of character, administering to these needy souls. Let them show what a great debt of gratitude they owe to God as recipients of temporal and spiritual good.
4 We are the Lord’s purchased possession, and as his human agents it is our positive duty to administer in temporal and spiritual things from the store which God has given us. Love must be kept in constant exercise to inspire faith in God, that praise may be called forth from human hearts to God, and that the golden chain of love may bind the hearts of humanity together. Those who are recipients of the mercy, sympathy, and compassion of God should pass it along to others. But many who claim to love God and to be keepers of his commandments, are cold and unsympathetic and unchristlike. They have little love to exercise except for a few who are congenial to them, and their affection for these few whom they fancy does more harm than good. They do not manifest love towards those who would appreciate the least manifestation of affection. Those who are truly Christlike possess an underlying principle of love. But however closely related human beings may be, they are not to be idolized, they are not to be surrounded with superabundant affection, while other souls who are just as dear to the heart of Infinite Love are not embraced within their circle. Selfish love is a snare to the souls of those who are entangled in it. The life and practice of Christ show that the circle for our love should be unlimited. Christ does not acknowledge that love as sanctified which is showered without stint upon a few favorites, while the heart is cold toward the very ones who need a manifestation of love.
5 The Son of the infinite God is our Pattern. Heaven is full of mercy, and it is constantly outflowing not only to a favored few, but for the blessing of those who need it most, for the benefit of those who have the least pleasantness and happiness brought into their lives. The life of God is bound up with the life of those for whom Christ died. He whose life is hid with Christ in God will possess the attributes of the divine character, and will be a partaker of the divine nature, making it manifest to the world that God is merciful, full of tender compassion, abundant in grace and truth. The severity which God manifests through his providences toward those who are rebellious and wicked, is manifested for the salvation of the wayward. O, how Christ yearned over the souls whom he came to save, with intense desire that they might understand eternal life! “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
6 Satan is a vigilant watcher and worker, and seeks to intercept every ray of heaven’s light in order that it shall not come to the soul; but Christ is also working, and by mercies given, and by mercies withheld, he seeks to lead men and women to look above the earthly to the heavenly and eternal. Every man is intrusted with capabilities, with a stewardship for the great Householder, and he is to look to the great Counselor for directions and for wisdom. Christ would have his servants work for those who understand him not; for he looks with infinite compassion upon the human family under the deceptive wiles of Satan. He sees them employing their God-given probationary time in seeking everything but the one thing essential. The voice of Jesus pleads with men, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink, and the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.” No creature that God has created is looked upon with indifference. God has an intense desire to relieve the woes of mankind and apply his balsam to their wounds. His love is ever exercised for the needy and oppressed. His heart is full of joy when the sinner breaks with Satan, and looks up to God as to a merciful, sympathizing, loving Father. Jesus declared, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” The Lord is ever active in exercising his mercy; he would have every soul become acquainted with the paternal character of God. When men obtain a correct view of the unceasing mercy of God, they will be attracted, and by beholding will become changed into the same image. Those whom God has made stewards of capabilities and means, he commands, for their own interest, to lay up their treasure in heaven, and as he has given freely to them of his bountiful mercy, to give freely to others. Instead of living for themselves, Christ is to live in them, and his Holy Spirit is to lead them to dispense wisely their goods, being merciful to others even as he is merciful to all. No man can be a follower of Christ and live for himself. The Christian is to be an agent for God, dispensing his blessings to others, and thus laying up for themselves treasure in heaven. His treasure will thus never be lost, but will ever accumulate increasing interest, and a good foundation be laid against the time to come.
7 How much better it is to deposit uncertain riches in the bank of heaven, by rendering benefit to the Lord’s heritage, than to use up God-given wealth in the gratification of self by obtaining those things which perish in the using. In blessing others, they are made glad with the thought that God has not forgotten them, and gratitude springs up in the hearts of those who have been suffering and oppressed. It is thus we make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, and the very wealth which we dispense to others is that which has been lent in trust to be used as the Householder shall direct, that his faithful servants shall use it in works of mercy and compassion. But in working on these lines a welcome is insured into the everlasting habitations. In proportion as goods are intrusted they should be dispensed to others. The humblest men and women are to trade upon the Lord’s talents, realizing that what has been lent to them should be returned with usury to God. Though we have but one talent, if it be faithfully consecrated to God, and employed in acts of mercy in temporal or spiritual things, we thus ministering to the wants of the needy, our talent will increase in value, and be noted upon the heavenly record as exceeding our powers of computation. Every merciful action, every sacrifice, every self-denial, will bring a sure requital, a hundred-fold in this time, and in the world to come everlasting life.
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1 “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” The Lord honors his human agents by taking them into partnership with himself. The heart of Christ is full of forgiving mercy and truth. He is afflicted in all the afflictions of his people. We are to be compassionate, and find joy in coming with a kindly interest to bind up the wounds of those who have been pursued and left half dead by the ruthless hand of the destroyer. We are to be ready to heal the bruises that sin has made. Those who do this are Christ’s ministers, and the world has a living testimony of the love of God before them in his representatives. God is revealed before the world in those who practice the works of Christ, and through his messengers he is known as a God of mercy, goodness, and forgiveness. “He who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? God in Christ is ours, and his bounties of love and mercy are inexhaustible. He desires that every one shall be benefited by the rich provisions that he has made for those who love him; he invites us all to share with him in his glory. The bliss of heaven has been provided for every soul who loves God supremely and his fellow-men as himself.
2 Men would no longer be the slaves of sin if they would but turn from Satan’s alluring, delusive attractions, and look to Jesus long enough to see and understand his love. New habits will be formed, and powerful propensities for evil will be held in check. Our Leader is a conqueror, and he guides us on to certain victory. Our Advocate, Jesus, is pleading before his Father’s throne in our behalf, and he is also pleading with the sinner, saying, “Turn ye, for why will ye die?” Has not God done everything possible through Christ to win men from Satanic deception? Has he not given himself? Did he not for our sake become poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich? Is he not a risen Saviour, ever living to make intercession for us? Is he not ever following up his great work of atonement by the work of the Holy Spirit on every heart? The bow of mercy still arches the throne of God, testifying to the fact that every soul who believes in Christ as his personal Saviour, shall have everlasting life. Mercy and justice are blended in God’s dealing with his heritage.
3 Those who are partakers of the divine nature are one with God in Christ, and one with each other to work the works of God, which are works of mercy and tender compassion. It is mercy that has saved us, and when we manifest mercy toward our fellow-men, we are only working in Christ’s lines. Mercy is continually active throughout the vast universe. Mercy abounds in the heart of God, and it is from this source that all our happiness comes. God’s family upon earth is large, and his children are suffering in the suffering mortals around us; and every soul who is imbued with the Holy Spirit, will practice works of mercy, and reveal to others tender love, pity, and compassion. From the true Christian heart every fiber of selfishness will be uprooted, because it is opposed to the practice of Christ. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
4 O, that men could know what they might do for the Master by practicing mercy and love! Could they realize what Christ has done, they would move along broader lines than they now do in the practice of benevolence. True, it will seem to be at great cost, because self must be denied, and individual pleasure must become a secondary matter. Satan is continually urging us into the service of self, and many who should be examples in bearing good fruit in self-denial and self-sacrifice, are full of pride and self-esteem, and the record in heaven of them is, “Ye despise the poor, the afflicted, and the suffering, for whom Christ has died, who are under the heavenly benediction, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.’”
5 How many who profess to be followers of Christ climb upon the judgment seat, and pronounce condemnation, magnifying some fault which to finite beings seems to be an offense against God! But this work, that is so pleasing to the great adversary of souls, would all cease if the Spirit of Christ were in the heart. Mercy rejoices not in iniquity. We imagine that others do not appreciate us; we magnify our mites of merciful actions into something very great, and excuse ourselves from the duty of showing mercy, because others manifest ingratitude toward us. Suppose, because of our ingratitude, God should work upon this same plan? We do not appreciate his many mercies and benevolences toward us; but he continues to deal out of his abundance his riches of grace. Suppose the human agent who dispenses the gifts of God to those who need them, does meet with ingratitude, let him remember that he is not using his own goods but his Lord’s, and God looks down from heaven to see how his steward is treating his heritage, for whom he has given his precious life. God has made ample provision to supply the necessities of the poor, and there is no case of need for which some one is not responsible. Men should yield to the controlling influence of the Spirit of God in order that mercy and compassion may be shown to the sufferer. We should trade upon the Lord’s goods by relieving, as far as possible, the woes of humanity. Every Christian brother and sister should step into his own place, and stand at his own post of duty. We might do much more than has been done to alleviate the sorrows of those who are hungry, naked, and in peril, in temporal and spiritual things. The channel is constantly open, and streams of mercy ever flow from Him who has a treasure of supply, and He will give to those who are dispensers of His bounties. But God’s glory will not be advanced if men and women appropriate to their own individual selves his matchless mercy and rich gifts. Such are not the ones upon whom is pronounced the heavenly benediction. O, that the cold hearts of men which are hardened by selfishness might be warmed by the love of Jesus! O, that their hearts might be broken and sanctified! O, that they might come under the control of the divine will! O, that every church member might have the understanding enlightened, that the stony heart might be exchanged for the heart of flesh, and the fierce, wicked, Satanic spirit might be cast out, and the mercy and love of Christ possess and control the soul! O, that the temple of the soul might be cleansed, and become the habitation of the Spirit!
6 “As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” He who believes in Jesus becomes a living channel of light and blessing to confer benefits upon the needy and suffering. He becomes a laborer together with God. The branch bears the same clusters of fruit as the vine. The Christian becomes one with Christ in God, and God loves him as he loves his own Son. When the disciples of Christ become one with him, as he is one with the Father, they will be a power in the world in revealing God’s mercy, forgiveness, and truth. Those who do the works of Christ are accepted in the Beloved. Union with Christ means the dispensing of his blessings. The bright beams from the Sun of Righteousness shine forth in mercy and love. The fruits of the Spirit are “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”
7 Multitudes must enter into the Saviour’s Spirit; for he came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. When they are imbued with the Spirit of Christ, they will value men as Christ has valued them; they will work as Christ has worked; they will not fail nor be discouraged. They will see open doors through which mercy and grace are ever flowing. They will gaze upon the cross of Christ, and estimate the value of the souls by the cost of redemption. They will be sharers with Christ in his intense earnestness to save the souls of the perishing, who know not God. The love, pity, and tenderness of Christ will break every barrier down, and men, women, and youth will respond to the truth, and will present themselves to share the burden with Christ. The love and pity of Christ will constrain them to be partakers with him of his self-denial and sufferings.
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1 “Given by inspiration of God,” “able to make us wise unto salvation,” rendering “the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”— the Book of books has the highest claims to our reverent attention. Superficial study of the word of God can not meet the claims it has upon us, nor furnish us with the benefit that is promised. We should seek to learn the full meaning of the words of truth, and to drink deep the spirit of the holy oracles. To read daily a certain number of chapters, or to commit to memory a stipulated amount of Scripture, without careful thought as to the meaning of the text, will profit but little. To study one passage until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained. We can not obtain wisdom from the word of God without giving earnest and prayerful attention to its study. It is true that some portions of Scripture are, indeed, too plain to be misunderstood; but there are many portions whose meaning can not be seen at a glance; for the truth does not lie upon the surface. In order to understand the meaning of such passages, scripture must be compared with scripture; there must be careful research and prayerful reflection. Such study will be richly repaid. As the miner discovers precious veins of metal concealed beneath the surface of the earth, so will he who perseveringly searches the word of God as for hid treasure find truths of the greatest value which are concealed from the careless seeker.
2 You must dig in the mine of truth till you find its greatest treasure, and by comparing scripture with scripture you may find the true meaning of the text. But if you do not make the sacred teachings of God’s word the rule and guide of your life, the truth will be nothing to you. Truth is efficient only as it is carried out in practical life. If the word of God condemns some habit you have indulged, a feeling you have cherished, a spirit you have manifested, turn not from the word of God, but turn away from the evil of your doings, and let Jesus cleanse and sanctify your heart. Confess your faults, and forsake them wholly and determinedly, believing the promises of God, and showing your faith by your works. If the truths of the Bible are woven into practical life, they will bring the mind up from earthliness and debasement. Those who are conversant with the Scriptures will be men and women who exert an elevating influence.
3 In searching for Heaven-revealed truths, the Spirit of God is brought into close connection with the sincere searcher of the Scriptures. An understanding of the revealed will of God enlarges the mind, expands, elevates, and endows it with new vigor, by bringing its faculties into contact with stupendous truth. No study is better to give energy to the mind, to strengthen the intellect, than the study of the word of God. No other book is so potent in elevating the thoughts, in giving vigor to the faculties, as is the Bible, which contains the most ennobling truths. If God’s word were studied as it should be, we would see breadth of mind, stability of purpose, nobility of character, such as are rarely seen in these times.
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1 “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.” Impurity in thought or practice obscures spiritual vision, so that the soul can not contemplate and be charmed with the character of God. The world is full of disobedience, and the understanding of men has become so darkened by a sinful course of action that righteousness is not clearly discerned, and is not therefore appreciated above unrighteousness. The pure in heart shall see God, whose character is represented in the law. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.”
2 He who has an eye single to heavenly and divine things, will delight in beholding God in Christ Jesus, and by beholding he will become changed into his image. “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” He is seeking to be like the Pattern. When in perplexity he inquires, “How would Jesus do under similar circumstances? It is important that I follow Christ, that I conform my conduct to the model of his example. Without holiness no man shall see God. I must obey the commandments of God; for his law is a transcript of his character.”
3 The pure in heart shall see God. While all men shall behold Christ as a judge, the pure in heart shall behold him as a friend; for Jesus has said, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” The pure in heart shall see Christ as a friend and elder brother. Those who are constantly looking unto Christ for his counsel, who pray in sincerity for his Holy Spirit, will be grieved if a cloud hides him from their sight. Satan will pass his hellish shadow across their pathway in order that the human agent shall not discern God, but may behold him who obtrudes himself between the soul and God, suggesting, as he did to Adam, his lying sophistry to lead men into transgression. He frames lies to substitute for a “Thus saith the Lord.”
4 The Christian world in this age are inclined to accept the sophistries of Satan in the place of the words of God. Many have separated themselves from God by wicked works, and they love not to behold God, or to retain him in their knowledge. They do not want to see God any more than did Adam when he hid himself from the approach of his heavenly Father. But let us not follow the example of Adam; for not one of the human family can hide himself from God. You may turn your face from God so that you can not see him, but you can not place yourself where God will not see you; for the darkness is as the light to him, and he knoweth every secret thing.
5
“And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.” What kind of fear? Not servile fear. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Every human being should fear to offend God, should fear to lose his favor by engaging in anything of an impure character. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”
6 We are to look unto Jesus as our only hope for the taking away of our sins; for in him is no sin. He became sin for us, that he might bear our guilt, standing before the Father as guilty in our place, while we who believe in him as a personal Saviour shall, because of his merits, be accounted as pure from the contaminating influence of sin. Through the imputed righteousness of Christ, we are accounted guiltless. Christ has given to every human being the evidence that he alone is able to bear human grief, sorrow, and sin. Those who claim Christ as their substitute and surety, hanging their helpless souls upon Christ, can endure as seeing him who is invisible. The benediction, “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God,” belongs to them.
7 When you are betrayed into sin, do not despair. Do not delay and mourn in hopeless unbelief, but take your case at once to Jesus. “We have not an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” but in order that he might be a perfect Saviour for humanity, he was “tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.” He understands every device that the enemy prepares for the unwary. He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities; he himself suffered being tempted. Though he was without sin, and was not tainted with guile, yet by a painful experience he understands what it means to come into conflict with the arch-deceiver. He suffered, resisting his temptations, and he knows what man will meet in resisting evil. He gives encouragement to the souls who trust in him as their Saviour, promising that they shall not be tempted above that which they are able to bear. “With every temptation,” he says, “I, your Lord and Saviour, have made for you a way of escape.”
8 Christ passed over the ground where Adam failed, and redeemed his disgraceful failure. He was made perfect through suffering, and is able to succor all who shall be tempted, and to make a way of escape, that they may be able to endure temptation. Though he was a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. He knows how to sympathize with every human being; for he has identified his interest with the interests of those he came to save. What a wonderful high priest is Jesus! We may lay our very soul burden upon him. We may lay our hand of faith upon the promise of God, that he will pardon the guilty, and impute to us the purity of Christ. Through the faith that works by love the soul is purified, and the human agent can discern God; for he is a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The one great need of the sinner is righteousness, and the word of God is called “the ministration of righteousness;” for it presents a sinless Saviour to the defiled soul, One who was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The righteousness of Christ is a free gift; we can obtain it without money and without price. Christ himself has become the sin bearer. In his own person he answered all the claims of the law, and through the offering of himself, he made it possible for the human agent to keep the law of God, and to stand before God as innocent, accepted in the Beloved.
9
Though men have fallen through transgression, they may receive moral power from Christ, and return to their allegiance. They may receive the Holy Spirit as the representative of the Lord. If they believe the testimony of the Spirit, obey the requirements of the Gospel, following on in the ways of purity and holiness, they shall know that “his goings forth are prepared as the morning.” The Holy Spirit leads men to Christ, links the soul to the Saviour, and causes the human agent to identify himself with Christ.
10 Christ alone can save from sin; for he can make over to us his righteousness, and place it to our account. God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son for us, that by this infinite sacrifice he might not only show the terrible character of sin, but condemn sin in the flesh. Men can not continue in sin and stand faultless before God; for God will not tolerate sin. The human agent must separate himself from sin, crying out with earnest soul hunger, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” The Lord will answer such a cry, saying, “A new heart also will I give thee.”
11 If men in responsible positions of trust, no matter in what line they may work, would cultivate that faith which works by love, and purifies the soul, they would experience the creating power of the Holy Spirit. What a change would be made in families! What a wonderful change would be made in our churches! It is because there is so great a lack of the purity and righteousness of Christ that there are unhappy families and polluted churches that stand in need of cleansing. Unless this cleansing shall take place, the building can not be fitly framed together, can not grow into an holy temple unto the Lord. Many hold the truth in unrighteousness; they have a theory of the truth, but are not sanctified, soul and body, through the truth. Being destitute of heart purity, they do not discern sin in its true character, and have not correct views of righteousness and of judgment to come. Controlled by the spirit of the world, their hearts are impure, earthly, sensual, and they can not commune with the only true God, can not know God, nor Jesus Christ, whom he has sent.
12 There is hope for a man who is hungering and thirsting after righteousness, who is longing for heart purity, who is desirous of having fellowship with the Spirit of God. Such a man prays, and watches unto prayer. He seeks for strength to keep the heart with all diligence knowing that out of it are the issues of life. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” Fellowship with God means much, and those who have this fellowship with God, hear the voice of invitation saying “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The more lowly the soul in its own estimation, the more distinctly and clearly will God be discerned. He who is in communion with God will recognize the divine excellence of heavenly things, and respond to the invitation, “Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.” The word of God comes in power to the soul, impressing the mind with the exceeding great and precious promises. Those who learn of Christ, look earnestly unto him that they may catch his Spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. Their feelings become pure, their words pure and tender, and the earnest of the inheritance leads them to walk in love, drawing near to God, to listen to the voice of the true Shepherd.
13
He who has taken no pleasure in contemplating God in this world, who has felt it no privilege to commune with God, will not be prepared to see God or to appreciate his character in the future life. Those who are occupied with earthly things, enjoy a low, cheap level, and their souls could not bear the purity of the saints in light. The conversation of heaven would be a language which they could not understand, and they could not endure the purity of infinite holiness. Heaven would not be a place of perfect bless to them; for the faculties of the mind would not be capable of dwelling upon heavenly things.
14 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” If we were breathing in the atmosphere of the world, we should not be regarded by the world as strangers, but if our affections are set on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God, we will be misunderstood by the world. But we shall see God, because our eye is single to his glory. Our whole body will be full of light; for we are dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Purified by the faith that works by love, we shall see and appreciate the preciousness of Christ. “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.”
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1 “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.” How many are there who are truly desirous of being blessed, who would not only hear but do the words of Christ? Those who will not rely upon themselves, but who will put their trust in a power out of and above themselves, will be enabled to become doers of the words of Christ. Those who have glimpses of the perfection of Christ’s character, will be filled with a longing to become like him. They will desire to be peacemakers and to receive the blessing he has promised to the peacemakers.
2 If the grace of Christ is abiding in the soul, we shall have the mind of Christ. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus.”
3 If the mind which was also in Christ Jesus be in you, you will practice the lessons of Christ, and because you appreciate his great mercy and love, you will be peacemakers. You will look to Jesus, and will draw nourishment from him, the living Vine, and as a branch you will bear the same kind of fruit as does the parent stock. The enemy of all righteousness will be ready to lead you into a course that will be the very opposite of that which the peacemaker should take. He who loves discord and strife, will tempt you to act a part in connection with himself to stir up strife. He will lead you to think that you see in some brother or sister something that is wrong, and Satan will urge you to go and tell it to others; but Christ has told you to go to your brother and “tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” Which leader are you going to obey? It is not in accordance with the natural heart to deal frankly and faithfully one with another. It appears easier to tell your brother’s fault to some one else than it does to tell it to him alone; but it is his ear alone that should hear your accusation. He who departs from the plain light which Christ has caused to shine upon his pathway, loses the privilege of becoming Christ’s missionary, and becomes the agent of the evil one. How many church trials might be saved, how much bitterness and wrath might be saved, if Christ’s professed followers would only obey his words! “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.” They who are blessed are those who work in harmony with God, who are laborers together with Christ. The grace which the Spirit of God imparts is a wellspring of life to the soul, and will refresh all who come in contact with the peacemaker.
4 How many souls have been lost because those who profess to be the followers of Christ have been busy in carrying out the plans of Satan, and have thereby stirred up strife, and have discouraged souls, and driven them on to Satan’s battle ground, when they might have helped them by words of kindness and consolation. Satan is the one who works up strife. He lost heaven because he was filled with envy, jealousy, and evil surmising, because he desired to be equal with God. It is important that we consider that the spirit we cherish now, the works that we now do, will testify to our fitness or unfitness for the future life. We are now upon trial, and it is to be seen whether or not we will fulfill the Lord’s prayer, and do the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven. Those who are carrying out Satan’s plans, and are hurting and bruising souls by their course of action, prove that they are not the children of Christ. Whoever has the word of God, the appointed instrument of salvation, abiding in him, will overcome the wicked one, and he will grow up into Christ in all things. But of how many may it be said, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God”! How many when beset by temptation do wrong by not being peacemakers! Their weakness is found in the fact that they do not study the Scriptures for the purpose of practicing them in their daily life. The Psalmist says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee;” but how many are destroyed for lack of knowledge!
5 It is best that every one of us should do right because it is right, and thus we may create about us an atmosphere of peace. We shall not then be found pressing to the side of Satan’s human agents, to catch their spirit and to repeat their words of accusation and reproach against those who are seeking to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord. We shall not link in with the adversary of souls, and aid him in stirring up suspicion and strife, and in causing souls who love God to be tempted to do evil. Through the grace of Christ, these souls would be raised up to sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus; but if the agents of Satan come to them as accusers of others, they may fall from their steadfastness, and be turned out of the path of holiness.
6 Those who are filled with envy, jealousy, and evil surmising, and who indulge in evil speaking, make it manifest that they are unfit for the kingdom of heaven because they are not peacemakers. Through trial and test, it is proved that they are weighed in the balances and found wanting.
7 “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (not for their coarse, harsh spirit that leads them to stir up strife and dissension, but “for righteousness’ sake”). The righteous are those who desire peace, and will have peace at the cost of everything save the sacrifice of principle. Truth they can not sacrifice, though adherence to it costs them distress, reproach, suffering, and even death. “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, place the commandments of God first in their lives, and they allow no human policy, no promise of reward, no offer of honor, to come between them and their God. They can not be induced to deny Christ and to betray his cause. The rich promises of God have a place in their memory, and when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him. The Holy Spirit opens to the understanding the preciousness of the Scriptures.
8 “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” These words are full, and broad, and deep, and you are not to be downcast, not to be shaken in faith, not to be filled with murmuring or complaining. Time and courage and faith are all precious, too precious to sacrifice to dejection, to mourning. Christ tells you to rejoice, and to be exceeding glad. All heaven is watching, and is ready to help you. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
9 The church itself needs converting, so that its members may be made channels of light, may be blessed and made a blessing. A vague reliance upon God’s mercy will not obtain for us access to the throne of grace, or draw down the blessing from God the Father which he has provided for those who do his will. Faith must center in the word of God, which is spirit and life. Every page of the sacred word is illumined with the beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The word of God is to be the support of the afflicted, the comfort of the persecuted. God himself speaks to the believing, trusting soul; for God’s Spirit is in his word, and a special blessing will be received by those who accept the words of God when illuminated to their mind by the Holy Spirit. It is thus that the believer eats of Christ, the Bread of Life. Truth is seen in a new light, and the soul rejoices as in the visible presence of Christ.
10 Christ chose twelve men from among the multitude, whom he named his apostles. They were to catch the words from his lips, and receive them into their hearts, that they might be witnesses of him to the world. While those who listened to Christ in the multitude were deeply impressed with his teaching, though the crowd constantly pressed close upon Christ, yet the disciples understood that they were not to be crowded away from his presence. They pressed close to his person, in order that they might not lose a word of the instruction that was of so much importance. They were eager, attentive listeners. They understood that “the flesh profiteth nothing,” but that the words he spoke unto them were “spirit and life.” They came unto him because he had the words of eternal life.
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1 The congregation that assembled to hear Christ’s sermon on the mount was a mixed multitude. Christ’s heart yearned over them with pitying tenderness; for he knew how great were their needs. He used illustrations from the things of nature and from their daily practices to make clear to their minds matters of eternal importance. His utterances were full of tender love as he spoke to the weary and the oppressed. He was often interrupted by appeals from the sick and the afflicted, and while he healed their physical maladies, he administered comfort to their hungry souls. His words, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” fell like a refreshing shower upon some thirsting souls, who knew not what to do to obtain salvation. And he began to teach them many things. He spoke unto them of the kingdom of God, presenting righteousness as of the first consideration. He laid open before them the claims of the law of God. The commandments of God had been buried up under a mass of human sayings, and it was necessary that as a detector he should separate the sacred from the common.
2 His discourses created discussion among the people, and though discussion is not the most desirable thing, yet it is preferable to cold, dead apathy. Christ’s interpretations of the Scriptures were as new to those who claimed to be expositors of the law as they were to the multitudes that thronged his steps; for truth had been mutilated in the hands of the scribes and rabbis. Christ came to remove the rubbish, and to let the jewels of truth shine out in their priceless beauty. He knew that his discourses would create controversy, and excite the passions of the scribes and Pharisees; but he knew also that controversy would be better than calm, when no one inquired, “What is truth?” Calm comes after storm, and inquiry must be roused in order that advanced truth may be discovered. When controversy is awakened, the advocates of truth are accredited with causing disturbance. Those who are engrossed with business, who are seeking for gratification of the carnal senses in following after pleasure, care nothing for eternal realities; but should not eternal matters be presented to those who are, as it were, sleeping the sleep of death? Let earnestness be awakened even amid contention, and many will search for truth as for hidden treasure. In every audience where Christ presented the truth in clear lines, there were angry interruptions on the part of the priests and rulers, and their protests led to sharp contention, but in these audiences there were many who said, “This is the Christ of God.”
3 The Scriptures were sufficiently clear to prove that Christ was the Son of God, the Messiah, the “light to lighten the gentiles,” and “the glory of thy people Israel;” but the minds of men were so darkened by the misapplication of Scripture, that, although prophecy was fulfilling before their very eyes, in the teachings and miracles of Christ, yet they failed to recognize the fulfillment of prophecy and remained in darkness. At times they were convinced of the truth, but the humiliation of acknowledging the truth was greater than they would endure.
4 Why did not the Jewish nation accept of the evidences that were so clear and convincing? The Holy Spirit bore witness in the miracles that Christ did. All the divine attributes were revealed in him, and though he bore the sufferings of humanity, he was the Majesty of heaven. He did not find a select few to whom to teach the great eternal truths, but he set these matters before the multitude; for the world was his field. He set forth the law of his kingdom before both saint and sinner, before the great men of the world and before the common people. The truth he taught was sent home to the hearts of those who heard by the power of the Holy Spirit, to search their hearts as with a lighted candle. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Christ taught the mysteries of the kingdom of God by presenting truth to the minds of men through some natural object that unfolded its spiritual nature. His was not a subtle, man-invented theory that but few could perceive; it was the presentation of that which met the needs of the suffering and oppressed. However prejudiced men were, they yet realized that his words met their want. His words were simplicity itself, and the most unlearned could comprehend their import as he promised rest to the weary, and blessing upon the poor and mournful. He did not present truth in ambiguous language. There was too much at stake to do this; for the ignorant are many, and the life of peace and rest is obtained by the reception of truth. It was necessary that it should be made so plain that no one of his hearers should be misled.
5 Priests and rulers had interposed themselves between the people and God, and they sought to interpose between them and the great Teacher, even as they do in this day. How great will be the responsibility of men who seek to hinder souls from entering into the kingdom of heaven! The whole tenor of Christ’s teaching was contrary to that of the rabbis. In his sermon on the mount he tore away the middle wall of partition that separated men one from another through national prejudices, and taught the exercise of a love that was to embrace the human race. He said to the people: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
6 Christ teaches that we are to recognize our neighbor in every race and condition of men. No distinction is to be made as to who is our neighbor, on the ground of poverty, or wealth, or position. The followers of Christ are to see their neighbor in any one who needs their help. “All ye are brethren.” The Lord has not established a kingdom merely for the rich, and the one essential thing for an entrance into his kingdom is Christlikeness of character. The Lawgiver explained the meaning of the divine precepts, and showed that they were not arbitrary requirements, but that in the doing of them there is life; for Christ from the pillar of cloud had distinctly told them that those who did them should live in them. The Ten Commandments are called in the New Testament the royal law of liberty. In obeying the divine precepts, men will assimilate to the divine character; for the character of God is expressed in his holy law. In substituting their own ideas, in erecting their own standard, they will come to misrepresent the Father and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent, coming far short of Christlikeness of character. In erecting a standard for themselves, they will cling to their own deficiencies, practice their former habits, and fall far below the perfection of Christ’s character. But through the grace of Christ, we should ever strive to reach the perfect standard.
7 We are in a world of imperfection, and on every hand is the image of false Christs,—Christians who are Christians only in name; for they are retaining objectional attributes of character, that mark them as subjects of the enemy, rather than subjects of the Prince Emmanuel. Were they under the control of Christ, they would bear his image and superscription; but they are false christs, misrepresenting Jesus, denying him every day in character, although professing to believe on his name. Christ expounded the precepts of the law in his sermon on the mount; for he knew that some who were departing from it, would return to allegiance, and become representatives of the Son and the Father.
Page 742
1 The Lord Jesus in his lessons of divine truth sought to lead the minds of his hearers to look beneath the typical sacrificial offerings to the essential things which were symbolized by the Jewish ordinances. He exalted the law of God, showing that it is more comprehensive in its character than any civil law for the government of earthly kingdoms. He had inspired the prophets to discern the pure and holy principles which they had communicated to the world. He had presented before them his work of divine instruction; but notwithstanding the fact that Christ had laid down line upon line and precept upon precept, yet the Jewish nation had sunk into painful idolatry. They made everything of form and ceremony and neglected spiritual worship. They clothed themselves with zeal in making rigid external observances, and concluded that their nation had fallen into decay because they had been too lax in their outward forms. The teachers made a study of formulating new exactions in their religious ceremonies. The people were called upon to go through a weary round of offerings for purification. The rabbis were not content to follow the specifications that had been given through Moses to the people; but they made minute specifications that must be fulfilled. They must engage in long, tedious prayer, take part in various fasts, in the washing and cleansing of vessels, and in many meaningless ceremonies.
2 When the Lord chose John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ to prepare his way before him by announcing to the world the coming of the divine Teacher, he was specially directed not to receive his education in the schools of the rabbis; for they had mutilated the law, burdening it down with such requirements that men could not obtain a correct idea of truth. He must go far back of their teachings, and on no account be moulded by their imposing display. Their religion was barren of spirituality, was a mere mechanical piety. John must obtain his education in the wilderness, breathing the pure air, and studying the unadulterated word of God through his prophets. Christ had taught them righteousness,—love to God and their neighbor, which were the requirements of the law. When the great Teacher himself came from heaven, he stripped the law of the rubbish of men’s opinions, and repudiated their human traditions. He lifted up the royal law, which had been degraded by priest and rabbi, and presented it as the expressed character of the only true God. He showed that in its least as well as in its greatest enactments it would be forever binding upon the inhabitants of both heaven and earth.
3 The rabbis saw that the teaching of Christ was counteracting the traditions of the elders, and making of no effect the religious ceremonies that they had been taught as all-essential. Christ’s explanation as to what constitutes true virtue and true principles condemned them in their mere external observances. He openly rebuked their hypocrisy, saying to his disciples, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
4 The Pharisees were charged with breaking the commandments of God. Christ himself was the divine Word, and had instructed Israel; but they had interpreted the word of God in their own way. In their blindness, in their separation from God, they sought to make the holy teachings of the prophets, seem to sustain them in their unrighteous course of action. Thus they were misleading the nation and causing them to drink from corrupted fountains. They were confused in their conceptions of truth. The rabbis magnified trifles into mountains of importance, while matters of eternal moment were depreciated in their eyes. The true principles of morality were boldly undermined.
5 But Jesus presented the law in its original significance. In clear, distinct language he opened before the multitudes the misleading principles of these hypocritical teachers, who were twisting the plainest precepts of the royal law, through the means of their traditions, so that an entirely opposite conclusion would be reached than the plain precept of God required. The man who was punctilious in the matter of observances was looked up to with the greatest reverence, although his inner life was selfish, immoral, and depraved. The teachings of the prophets were not regarded, and the principles not obeyed which wrought holiness of life. All these were set aside as unessential; but the exactions of the rabbis, in which was not a particle of divinity, in which was only darkness, were regarded with superstitious reverence.
6 With what pity and sympathy the Lord looked upon these misled people; but in the sermon on the mount he announced the royal law in clear and decided utterances. Those who served under his banner must possess a piety, a righteousness beyond anything presented in the precept or example of the scribes and Pharisees. He would not permit men to think that he had come to do away with the law of the prophets. This was not his errand. He said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
7 The principles of Christ’s kingdom are to be carried out in practical life, in the practice of self-denial and self-sacrifice for the good of others. Christ revealed the Father as one who loved humanity from the very beginning of the world. The love of God was made evident by the flowers growing in beauty around them. He had given them these beautiful things. He cares for the flowers and the birds, and would he not have a greater love for one formed in his own image? The whole world, the evil and the good, lay in the sunshine of his eternal love. In view of the Father’s love, we are exhorted by the Saviour to love others. In the sermon on the mount he said: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
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Page 743
1 Christ had sojourned in the world for thirty-three years; he had endured its scorn, insult, and mockery; he had been rejected and crucified. Now, when about to ascend to his throne of glory—as he reviews the ingratitude of the people he came to save—will he not withdraw his sympathy and love from them? Will not his affections be centered on that world where he is appreciated, and where sinless angels adore him and wait to do his bidding?— No; his promise to those loved ones whom he leaves on earth is, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Before his conflict he had prayed the Father that they might not be taken out of the world, but should be kept from the evil which is in the world.
2 At length the little company reached the Mount of Olives. This place had been peculiarly hallowed by the presence of Jesus while he bore the nature of man. It was consecrated by his prayers and tears. When he had ridden into Jerusalem, just prior to his trial, the steeps of Olivet had echoed the joyous shouts of the triumphant multitude. On its sloping descent was Bethany, where he had often found repose at the house of Lazarus. At the foot of the mount was the Garden of Gethsemane, where he had agonized alone, and moistened the sod with his blood.
3 Jesus led the way across the summit, to the vicinity of Bethany. He then paused, and they all gathered about him. Beams of light seemed to radiate from his countenance, as he looked with deep love upon his disciples. He upbraided them not for their faults and failures; but words of unutterable tenderness were the last which fell upon their ears from the lips of their Lord. With hands outstretched in blessing them, and as if in assurance of his protecting care, he slowly ascended from among them, drawn heavenward by a power stronger than any earthly attraction. As he passed upward, the awestruck disciples looked with straining eyes for the last glimpse of their ascending Lord. A cloud of glory received him out of their sight, and at the same moment there floated down to their charmed senses the sweetest and most joyous music from the angel choir.
4 While their gaze was still riveted upward, voices addressed them which sounded like the music which had just charmed them. They turned, and saw two beings in the form of men; yet their heavenly character was immediately discerned by the disciples, whom they addressed in comforting accents, saying, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” These angels were of the company that had been waiting in a shining cloud to escort Jesus to his throne; and in sympathy and love for those whom the Saviour had left, they came to remove all uncertainty from their minds, and to give them the assurance that he would come to earth again.
5 All Heaven was waiting to welcome the Saviour to the celestial courts. As he ascended he led the way, and the multitude of captives whom he had raised from the dead at the time when he came forth from the tomb, followed him. The heavenly host, with songs of joy and triumph, escorted him upward. At the portals of the city of God an innumerable company of angels awaited his coming. As they approached the gates of the city, the angels who were escorting the Majesty of heaven, in triumphant tones addressed the company at the portals: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.!”
6 The waiting angels at the gates of the city inquire in rapturous strains, “Who is this King of glory?” The escorting angels joyously reply in songs of triumph: “The Lord, strong and mighty! The Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in!” Again the waiting angels ask, “Who is this King of glory?” and the escorting angels respond in melodious strains: “The Lord of hosts! He is the King of glory! Then the portals of the city of God are widely opened, and the heavenly train pass in amid a burst of angelic music. All the heavenly host surround their majestic Commander as he takes his position upon the throne of the Father.
7 With the deepest adoration and joy, the hosts of angels bow before him, while the glad shout rings through the courts of heaven, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing!” Songs of triumph mingle with music from angelic harps, till heaven seems to overflow with delightful harmony and inconceivable joy and praise. The Son of God has triumphed over the prince of darkness, and conquered death and the grave. Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever!”
8 He is seated by the side of his Father on his throne. The Saviour presents the captives he has rescued from the bonds of death, at the price of his own life. His hands place immortal crowns upon their brows; for they are the representatives, and samples, of those who shall be redeemed, by the blood of Christ, from all nations, tongues, and people, and come forth from the dead, when he shall call the just from their graves at his second coming. Then shall they see the marks of Calvary in the glorified body of the Son of God. Their greatest joy will be found in the presence of Him who sitteth on the throne; and the enraptured saints will exclaim, My Beloved is mine, and I am his! He is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely!
9 The most precious fact to the disciples in the ascension of Jesus was that he went from them into heaven in the tangible form of their divine Teacher. The very same Jesus who had walked, and talked, and prayed with them, who had broken bread with them, who had been with them in their boats on the lake, who had sought retirement with them in the groves, and who had that very day toiled with them up the steep ascent of Olivet, had ascended to heaven in the form of humanity. And the heavenly messengers had assured them that the very same Jesus whom they had seen go up into heaven, should come again in like manner as he had ascended. This assurance has ever been, and will be to the close of time, the hope and joy of all true lovers of Christ.
Page 744
1 “Salt is good; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out.” Salt possesses preservative qualities which prevent corruption. Christ, who was the light of the world, who was a propitiation for our sins, and for the sins of all who believe in him, said, “I sanctify myself, that they may also be sanctified through the truth.” Christians should have a vital connection with God; their lives, their character, purified through the truth, should possess saving qualities that would keep the world from going into utter moral corruption. Christians receive instruction from Jesus their Example. They should pray in faith that they may be connected with his saving grace, that the righteousness of Christ may be imparted to them. Their influence will save the world from a large amount of crime and iniquity, and work the reformation of many souls.
2 But of how much value is salt that has lost its savor? When those who claim to be Christians, do not in their words and actions reveal the attributes of Christ, they are represented as salt that has lost its savor. Whatever may be their profession, they are looked upon by men and angels as insipid and disagreeable. Of such Christ says: “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” They have a form of godliness, a profession of religion; but it is contradicted by their lives. Any attempt on their part to advocate truth has no weight; for they have lost their connection with God. The sincere believer diffuses vital energy, which is penetrating, and imparts new moral power to the souls for whom he labors. It is not the power of the man himself, but the power of the Holy Spirit, that does the transforming work. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” The salt has retained its savor, and it has an influence that is perceived and estimated upon the characters of those who possess it. The Lord says, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” He who receives Christ by living faith has a living connection with God, and is a vessel unto honor. He carries with him the atmosphere of heaven, which is the grace of God, a treasure that the world can not buy. He who is in living connection with God may be in a humble station, yet his moral worth is as precious as was that of Joseph and Daniel, who were recognized by heathen kings as men with whom was the Spirit of God. They were representative men, and were intrusted with the most important responsibilities. Because of their living connection with God, they had power with God and with men, and of them it could truly be said, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” They represented the character of Christ, and were as salt possessing saving qualities essential for the transformation of the character of those with whom they associated.
3 Daniel was beloved of God. He who brought in everlasting righteousness, the Anointed, the Holy One of God, gladly accepted the consecrated agency of his servant, through whom he worked by imbuing him with his Holy Spirit and imparting to him grace for grace. Of Daniel and his companions in Babylon the heavenly record states, “God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” Thus was the Lord God of heaven represented in the courts of Babylon. He was also represented in the kingdom of Egypt by his servant Joseph. These men were representatives of what it means to be “the salt of the earth.” Through these agents God could and did work to make known his majesty to the heathen kingdoms of the world.
4 It was their moral integrity that constituted them the “salt of the earth.” Joseph would not sacrifice his purity of character. When tempted to evil, he met the tempter, saying, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Jesus of Nazareth is the representative of the Father. He is the vital chain by which man is bound to God. In him all fullness dwells, and from him the Christian may receive a constant supply of grace, that is represented by the saving properties of salt. Those who have a personal interest in Jesus Christ will possess those qualities of character which are represented by salt, which will work for the saving of the world. Thus it is that Christians become living witnesses for heaven. By their life they testify, saying, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”
5 But Christ uttered a sorrowful fact when he said, “If the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?” How shall the world be preserved from moral corruption? Let these words have due weight upon the mind. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Anointed One of God, is seeking to assimilate our characters to his own. Although we profess great things, we are represented as salt that has lost its savor, and as entirely worthless, unless the Holy Spirit can use us as channels by which to communicate to the world the truth as it is in Jesus. By precept and example we are to reveal to the world that Christ has made reconciliation for sin, that he is our only hope, the One who has brought in everlasting righteousness. He is the Anointed Priest that ever liveth to make intercession for every individual soul. Our only efficiency is Jesus Christ. We are to represent to the world his love, both in words and works. We are constantly to express to the world our appreciation of God’s unspeakable gift, which he has given to us because of the great love wherewith he hath loved us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
6 In the gift of Jesus is included the whole heavenly treasure. But what a fearful responsibility rests upon those who hear the truth, and who claim to believe it, and who are yet not sanctified through the truth. They testify to the world that the truth which they claim to believe has no sanctifying power, and thus they make of none effect the truth of God. It is the privilege of those who accept of Christ to reach a high standard in character, and thus become living epistles, known and read of all men, as were Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon. There is no reason why we should not possess fragrance of character through the merits of Christ, and be recognized in heaven as laborers together with God. Through Jesus Christ we may have a saving influence upon the world. Christ would have every one of us a savor of life unto life. He would impute to us his righteousness, in order that we may communicate his goodness, mercy, and love to fallen humanity. When we enter into the joy of our Lord, praise will ascend to the throne of God, and we shall say, “No credit belongs to us; Christ did it all, and to his name be all the glory.”
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Page 745
1 “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” God has tested the character of men from the time of Adam unto the present time, and he has always blessed the loyal and obedient. But those who keep the law of Jehovah are not in favor with the world, or with professed Christians who are making void the law of God. Abel kept the commandment of the Lord, and was hated by his brother Cain, and from the time of Abel’s persecution and death at the hands of his brother, there have been two classes upon the earth who have manifested the same characteristics as were displayed by these two brothers. Righteous men have always been the objects of the combined assaults of evil men and evil angels. Christ himself was betrayed, insulted, mocked, scourged, and crucified through the instigation of evil angels working through a class of men who, while they professed great sanctity, were the worst of hypocrites and deceivers.
2 After the fall of Adam in Eden, the Lord said, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The enmity is developed and made manifest in one class by the reception of truth, while it is developed in others by their antagonism to truth and righteousness. One class vindicate the law of God, preserving order, arresting wickedness, and vindicating the honor of God. The other class make void his law, and persecute those who render obedience to God’s commandments. The Searcher of hearts said of Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” There would be on the part of Abraham no betrayal of sacred trust, no yielding to any power or any guide but One. Abraham recognized the fact that Jehovah had a law, and he determined that he would keep that law as the apple of his eye. He recognized the fact that he was amenable to the Lawgiver, and he would not be turned aside from his duty. God rules by the combined influence of authority and affection, and blessings follow in the track of those who obey his law. The Holy One has given us rules by which we are to be guided to the courts of heaven, and these rules form the standard, from which there can be no turning aside. The first principles of holiness are yet to be learned when God’s voice is not heard and obeyed as the supreme authority.
3 Satan, with all his masterly power, has interposed himself between man and the law of God, that through falsehood and sophistry he may inspire men with the same rebellion against God and his law as actuates himself. Those whom he can not deceive, he hates. He misinterprets their words and actions, and causes the world to persecute and destroy, in order that earth may hold no soul who is not in league with the prince of this world and the ruler of its darkness. History testifies to the fact that no man can serve God without coming in conflict with the united forces of evil. The conflict between the believer and his foes may be painful and protracted, and at times the soul may, through manifold temptations, yield to the power of the evil one; but God will not give his servant up to be the prey of the destroyer as long as he cries unto him. The pitiful Saviour knows his weakness, and through his servant John, he has sent the repenting sinner a message of consolation: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”
4 Of those who honor Jesus, and keep the commandments of the Lord, Christ has said, “Marvel not if the world hate you.” We can expect no better treatment from the world than the treatment given to the law of God. Those who vindicate the law of God by keeping the commandments, will be targets for the wrath of the dragon, and opposition to righteousness will not end until evil is destroyed; for as long as human nature is under the control of the enemy of all righteousness, enmity to the righteous will be manifested through the children of men. The offense of the cross has not ceased by any means. Satan has his most efficient batteries masked under pretensions to godliness, and he will cause them to open fire upon the followers of Jesus Christ. The servants of God must expect that they will be reviled, misrepresented, maligned, persecuted, and oppressed; for all who “will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” The people of God will stand firm to the faith only through the grace of God. “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” The great rebel against God is leading his armies to the conflict; but let the followers of Christ bear in mind the fact that he can bruise only the heel, while those who are loyal to Christ by their fidelity and piety shall bruise the head of the serpent. While men are making void the law of God, we must pray, as did David,”It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.” Through Christ believers will gain the mastery, and inch by inch they will contest the ground, and obtain the victory.
5 Let the followers of Christ do all that is possible to teach repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. One soul gained brings joy to the Father and to the Son, and there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of heaven, and an anthem of praise goes up from countless harps and voices through the heavenly courts. Those who break the law of God, and teach others to break God’s commandments, are not following Jesus, who says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments;” they are following another leader. It was Christ’s own voice that proclaimed on Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments, and he will not countermand his statutes. Satan in his rebellion in heaven sought to find some flaw in the law of God, in order to support his argument that the law of God must be changed; but his efforts were in vain. He did not succeed, and after he had deceived thousands of angels, and had drawn them to his side, he was cast out of heaven. But the law of God was not changed in one jot or tittle. God is wise and unchangeable, and those who flatter themselves that they can find a safer rule of life than that which God has given, are deceived by the same delusions that led the angels of heaven to join the ranks of Lucifer in questioning the authority of God’s law and the justice of his government.
6 Those who have true Bible religion will yield their will to God’s will as supreme, and will reverence God by rendering obedience to his righteous and just laws. They will place themselves under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel, and acknowledge themselves as under the control of the Ruler, not only of earthly intelligences but of the hosts of heaven. Can man frame a constitution for the governing of the world that is better adapted to the purpose than that which God has framed? In what particular is the moral code wanting? Can it be amended by finite men? If so, then man can exalt himself to the place of God. Can the human family afford to do without one of the commandments that God has given? Read the Ten Commandments carefully, and see which one can be dropped out. The man of sin thinks himself able to change the times and the laws of God, and the Protestant world have accepted the authority of the papal power, and in so doing have apostatized from God. All nations have been made drunk by partaking of the wine of Babylon, by accepting the presumptuous work of the man of sin, who has tampered with the law of God, and thought to change the precepts of Jehovah.
7 But the original law of God is safely deposited in the ark in the heavenly sanctuary, and will be presented to man just as God engraved it on the tables of stone. To the king on his throne and the humblest of his subjects, the law of righteousness will constitute the standard of character, and by its precepts will every work be tried and every thought be brought into examination. The fourth commandment will be found in the bosom of the Decalogue just as it was written by the finger of God, and every soul who has presumed to exalt the false sabbath above the Sabbath which was sanctified and blessed and given to mankind for respect and observance, will be found out of harmony with the law of God. God gave the Sabbath to be a sign between him and his people, that they might know that it was the Lord who was their sanctifier. Those who have knowingly trampled upon the true Sabbath, while they have exalted to its place a spurious institution, will have to answer for their action before the Lord who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is therein. God has proclaimed himself a jealous God.
8 Can men presume to think that a better path can be found than that which Jehovah has marked out for them? Obedience to God’s commandments places the feet of man in the royal path that leads to holiness and heaven. Paul inquires, “Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?” Well may this question be asked of those who have minds by which to search for reasons as to why men should depart from God. Satan could present no defined reasons as to why he wished the law of God changed or abolished. He simply declared his conviction that the angels would be better off without the law, but could not tell in what way they would be advantaged. He desired to exalt himself above God, and to convince the hosts of heaven that his wisdom was superior to that of the Omnipotent. The human family have been made drunk with the wine of Babylon, and drunken men will not reason. They have taken large drafts of Satan’s sophistry, and they are determined that they will not see the foolishness of accepting another standard, while casting aside the law of the Lord of hosts.
9 True sanctification is found in yielding the will to the will of God, in rendering obedience to his commandments, and in making his standard of righteousness the aim of our life. If men would consent to follow the Lord fully, if they were not confused with the wine of Babylon, they would see that to tamper with the Lord’s standard, to depart from his commandments, is the worst species of rebellion. This is well represented as the wine of the wrath of the abomination of Babylon, the cup which she has presented to all nations to drink. Were it not for this, thousands, yes, millions, would be found in the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. But the will of God, expressed in his law, the direction which he has given to guide men in the path to heaven, is authoritative and divine. We have more than a royal road to heaven, we have a divine pathway in which to travel. The opinions of men are not to weigh as amendments to the law of God; for the law of God is the expression of the will and mind of God, of him who is unchanging in counsel. The precepts of the law are not given to the human family as propositions to criticize. They are the positive declarations and decisions of an infallible Judge, and they will stand through eternal ages. They are the very laws that will test character, by which we are to be judged for the deeds done in the body. Who hath bewitched you, that you who are finite by nature, who are sinful and erring, should presume to handle the law of God in the manner in which you do? How is it that you think yourselves at liberty to cancel the decisions of Jehovah, to remove the ancient landmarks, and substitute in place of the true guideboards false waymarks that will lead men to follow the path of the first great apostate in place of following Jesus Christ? God has not left his law to be endorsed, reviled, or annulled according to the pleasure of his creatures. The wise man declares the true attitude of man to the law, and says: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
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Page 746
1 Christ spoke a parable to convey to the people a truth which would ever be remembered. He said: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none; cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it; and if it bear fruit, well; and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.” For three years Christ had carefully sought for fruit among the Jewish people. Rich opportunities and privileges had been granted them. For three years and a half Christ had tabernacled among men. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” He was as the shadow of a great rock in a desert land, where no water is. He constantly refreshed humanity by opening to men the cool streams of the brook flowing from Lebanon. He was ever seeking to refresh his vineyard. He sought to leave his imprint upon the hearts and characters of his followers. He identified his interest with that of fallen humanity. Their weakness was his weakness. Their necessity was his necessity. As a humble suppliant who sought divine strength from the hand of his Father, he took the attitude of petitioner, that he himself might be invigorated and refreshed by converse with God.
2 Christ took upon himself human nature, but daily he linked it with the divine nature. He devoted whole nights to prayer, leaving an example for all humanity; for as he relied upon God, the Source of all strength, so are we to be invigorated and refreshed, to be strengthened for duty and braced for trial, through communion with God.
3 Christ labored for his vineyard. The Prince of heaven, he was yet the intercessor for man, and he had power with God, and prevailed for himself and for his people. Morning by morning he communicated with his Father in heaven, receiving from him daily a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Lord awakened him from his slumbers in the early hours of the new day, that his soul and his lips might be anointed with grace which he should impart to others. His words were given him fresh from the heavenly courts, words that he might speak in season to those that were weary and oppressed. Of Christ we read, “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know to speak a word in season to him that is weary; he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.”
4 The Son of God, having humanity upon him, lived in our world as a human agent. He passed over the ground which man must travel. He supplicated for suffering humanity till his humanity was charged with a heavenly current that should connect humanity with divinity. He uttered supplications for a people over whom the prince of darkness was striving for mastery. He healed the sick, relieved the suffering and oppressed, consoled the bereaved, and restored the backslider, seeking and saving that which was lost. Christ worked for his vineyard, speaking words in season. But what an ominous sentence is this—”And if it bear fruit, well; and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down”! Our Saviour was calling the Jewish nation to repentance. To them he said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” In the parable of the vineyard Christ represented to them the manner in which God had dealt with them. He showed them the blessings that God had given them; for the vineyard was a symbol of the Jewish nation.
5 Well might the Jewish nation inquire, “What mean these words, And after that thou shalt cut it down.” They might have been answered, “O inhabitants of Jerusalem, this is your day of opportunity and privilege, your day of merciful visitation.” It was still time for them to know the things which belonged unto their peace. Jesus was in the midst of them, the only one who had power to save them; but their unbelief, their resistance, was bringing to them its sure results of hardness of heart and impenitence, and was filling them with stubbornness and rebellion. Jesus was diffusing light, scattering his blessings upon every hand, showering mercies upon the unthankful and the evil. His mercies were unacknowledged, and Jesus, the Light, the Way, and the Truth, was rejected. Still a brief space was theirs before the irrevocable words should be spoken. Shall the season of trial close, and after that the mandate from heaven be pronounced. “Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?” They had fulfilled the word, “They would none of My counsel; they despised all My reproof.” They had none to blame but themselves if they perished in their sins. Jesus had said to them, “Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.”
6 The Lord had often punished the enemies of the Jewish nation, and had saved his people when their foes purposed to destroy them. As a mighty warrior he had raised his hand to press back the powers of darkness, working in behalf of his people in order that the Jews and that other nations might have an opportunity to see the character of God as represented in Christ Jesus. He gave them an opportunity to repent and to believe on the only-begotten Son of God. And “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” He bore long with the Jewish nation, even when they were given up to idolatry. He saw them not as fruit-bearing trees, but as cumberers of the ground. These were not merely useless, but decided hindrances. Their religion was misleading, and wrought ruin instead of salvation.
7 But the great Teacher had undertaken the task of correcting the evil that existed in the world. He sought to break the spell which paralyzed every spiritual energy. With what authority he spoke, with what winning grace he gave his invitations, his assurances, and promises! His commands and denunciations were alike clothed in language that was elevating and uplifting. His utterances were the expression of paternal tenderness and love. In no instance did he lower the standard of the law of God. He came to show the world its value, its elevated character. He was the Desire of nations, the world’s only hope, and was obedient to all the commandments of God, thus showing forth the divine character. He came to test the Jewish nation, to try them after the plan of God. If they persisted in continuing in transgression, they would miserably perish. This will be the fate of all who turn a deaf ear to the words of invitation and warning sent of God. Those who refuse to listen in this their day of test and trial, will have to meet the results of their own perversity. They may grasp eagerly for the treasures of the earth, seek its honors and pleasures, but what a scene will the judgment present when the books are opened, and every man is rewarded according as his works have been!
8 The soul’s value is estimated by the cross of Calvary. The Lord appreciates the souls for whom he died, and wants them to be the subjects of his kingdom; but the god of this world blinds the perceptive powers of men so that they do not see their peril. To them Christ is saying, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!” He is still pleading that they may understand the day of their visitation, saying, as did the gardener concerning the unfruitful tree, “Let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it, and if it bear fruit, well; and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.”
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Page 747
1 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.”
2 The class here mentioned by the apostle are not mere heathen. He describes them as “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” He says, “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth; men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.” This is a delineation of the character that will be made manifest among those who profess godliness in the last days. But there will be another class. The apostle says: “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
3 Those who are deceivers are those who have turned away their ears from hearing the truth, and who have opened the door of their heart for the entrance of the sophistries of Satan. At first those who are finally deceived do not believe what they assume themselves; but as they misinterpret the Scriptures, as they claim to have received new light, as they enter into by-paths, as they repeat their own falsehoods, they come to look upon their theories as matters of importance. They deceive others, presenting the arguments that were prepared by the synagogue of Satan. Every repetition of their errors confirms them in their false theories. They are inspired by the Satanic agencies to present falsehoods before others, and finally come to believe a lie, deceiving and being deceived. But Paul enjoined Timothy, saying: “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
4 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils [Spiritualism]; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”
5 “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”
6 God has furnished every one with a full armor, but we are under the necessity of putting it on.
7 “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another.”
8 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.”
9 “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
10 As a people are we sufficiently considering this warning? If we neglect to take heed, if we regard the warning with indifference, if we allow earthly, temporal things to take our attention, and we lose our realization of the essential character of prayer, we shall be found among those who are not accounted worthy to escape. The righteousness of Christ should be our first consideration. The service of God should be our first business. Christ has said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” How many admit that the commandments are of God, and yet neglect to fully obey them! John leaves no doubt as to what commandments we are required to obey. Years after the resurrection of Christ, he writes:—
11 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins’ and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.”
12 No change in the law has been made from the beginning. It is the same as it was before the fall of Satan; and in the heavenly courts the angelic family obey the law of God as they did when the foundation of the earth was laid, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.
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Page 748
1 In the prayer of Christ for his disciples, he said concerning them: “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one [in spiritual union]; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
2 The glory of Christ is his character, and his character is an expression of the law of God. He fulfilled the law in its every specification, and gave to the world in his life a perfect pattern of what it is possible for humanity to attain unto by cooperation with divinity. In his humanity Christ was dependent upon the Father, even as humanity is now dependent upon God for divine power in attaining unto perfection of character. God’s law is an exponent of his character, an expression of his holiness; but, viewed by him who has fallen through sin, it is a voice of condemnation, a ministration of death. It is not in the province of law to pardon the transgressor; for “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” “By the law shall no flesh be justified.” No ray of hope shines forth from the law to the sinner, and its transgressor can find no answer from the law to his anxious inquiry, “What shall I do to be saved?” “How shall I be just with God?”
3 But through Christ a way of escape has been provided. Our Redeemer came in the flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, to lay hold of the repenting soul with an unyielding grasp, and at the same time to grasp the throne of God, becoming the connecting link between humanity and divinity, between earth and heaven. He is the only refuge for the guilty soul. In searching to know God, man is directed to Christ, who lived out the law of God, and manifested to the world the attributes of the Father. In the Son of God the inexpressible goodness of God is revealed; for in him mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ in the flesh, condemning sin in the flesh, was a perfect revelation of God to the world. Christ declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
4 In answer to the request of Philip, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” Jesus said: “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” The Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the glory of the Godhead. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. God has revealed himself to men; he stooped to take upon him our nature, and in his Son we see the glory of the divine attributes. Those who see not in Christ the divine character are in the shadow of Satan’s misrepresentation of divinity. “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.”
5 In Christ Jesus is a revelation of the glory of the Godhead. All that the human agent can know of God to the saving of the soul, is the measure of the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, to which he can attain; for Christ is he who represents the Father. The most wonderful truth to be grasped by men is the truth, “Immanuel, God with us.” Christ is the wisdom of God. He is the great “I AM” to the world. As we contemplate the glory of the divine character as revealed in Christ, we are led to exclaim, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” This wisdom is displayed in the love that reaches out for the recovery of lost and ruined man.
6 The work of God in the creation of man needed no undoing. There was nothing imperfect, nothing incomplete. He spake and it was done. The very dust of the ground from which man was formed was pure, and the breath of life which God breathed into his nostrils was holy. He was placed in Eden, the garden of God, and its atmosphere was undefiled, and from the beams of the sun in the heavens which blessed and cheered the earth, to the fountains and streams that watered the garden, all was holy, all was clothed with spotless purity and unexcelled loveliness, and was in harmony with the character of the Father and the Son, by whom the worlds were made, and in whom was life, and the life is the light of men.
7 But in the transgression of man both the Father and the Son were dishonored. Man committed sin, and sin is the transgression of the law, which is holy, just, and good. Through sin the temple of God which he had builded for his own indwelling and glory, was reduced to ruin, was fallen and in decay. Satan beguiled the holy pair to their own destruction, and introduced an element of character that was antagonistic to God and to their fellow-creatures. Before the entrance of sin, the hearts of God’s children had been filled with love toward their Creator, and they were in harmony with his will; but upon yielding to the tempter a warring element began to work in the human agent. Even the earth itself shows the curse of transgression, and signs of enmity appear. Darkness covers the earth like the pall of death, and will continue to shroud the glory of God until death is swallowed up in victory.
8 In the creation of God before the entrance of sin, every part of nature was in perfection; God had nothing to take down as unnecessary to his plan. He needed to set into operation no power by which to dispossess; he needed to inaugurate no opposing force. But through the calamity of sin, the work of disintegration was begun, and the beautiful temple of God’s building was defiled and laid in ruins. God no longer was a dweller in the heart of man. To oppose and bring to naught the work of the enemy, the promise was given, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
9 In the councils of heaven, hope was furnished for the fallen race. Jesus Christ offered his life as a ransom for the lost, as the price by which he might purchase the right to re-create the sinner, and form again the image of God in the soul. Fallen man was to be renewed in the divine likeness. He was to be uplifted, to be pardoned and redeemed, not by the law, but by Jesus Christ, our Righteousness. Angels fly through the midst of heaven, proclaiming the glad tidings that a ransom has been found, and that the treasures that have been hidden from ages and generations in Christ, are to be displayed before a wondering universe.
10 In Christ is found a resource that has never before been called out. Clothing his divinity with humanity, with the wealth of the treasures of heaven at his command, he was to come to our world to counteract the ruin that Satan has wrought. What a scene was that when angels, cherubim, and a seraphim rejoiced as they hastened through the heavenly courts, proclaiming that a ransom had been found, and that God could be just, and yet be the justifier of him who believes in the ransom that had been provided! The law could be magnified and made honorable, and yet fallen man could be restored to more than his former dignity and glory, and exalted as an overcomer of the Satanic hosts. Every one who should believe in Jesus, should be recreated to walk in newness of life, and from the ruins that Satan had wrought through sin, should arise in purity and holiness the fallen temple of the Lord. Man was to be reconstructed, to be formed after the image of Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God. “Unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Page 749
1 “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” The Son of God clothed divinity with humanity. Isaiah describes him, saying: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.” God in human nature is the mystery of godliness. Christ, the only-begotten of the Father, was the express image of his Father’s person, the brightness of his glory, and he came to the world not to condemn the world, but to save it. God was in Christ in human form, and endured all the temptations wherewith man was beset; in our behalf he participated in the suffering and trials of sorrowful human nature. “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” In his human nature he was “tempted in all points like as we are,” he “suffered being tempted,” but there was no taint of sin upon him.
2 The condescension on the part of the Son of God was included in the plan of God for the unfolding of divine wisdom to fallen men. Divinity united with humanity could alone reach humanity, and impart spiritual life to those who were “dead in trespasses and sins.” In order to work the restoration of the fallen, it was necessary that man’s will should come into harmony with the divine will. God purposed that men should conform to the divine Model. The glory of the wisdom of God continually shines forth to humanity in the Son of God. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Every step that Christ advanced from the manger to Calvary established his character as the One who could say without any qualification, “I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” What exalted ideas of the law of God do we obtain as we behold Jesus fulfilling every precept, and representing the character of God before the world! It was by fulfilling the law that Christ made known the Father to the world.
3 The plan of redemption is perfect in all its parts. It does not lessen the claims of the law of God in one jot or one tittle, in saving the sinner from the just penalty of the law. Through the provision of the death of God’s only-begotten Son in sinners’ behalf, the immutability of the law of God is demonstrated for time and eternity. Justice honors the law of God in providing a substitute for the transgressor; for Christ gave his own life a ransom in order that God might be just and yet be the justifier of him who believes in Jesus. The work of saving the lost through the merit of Christ magnifies the law, and harmonizes with every perfection of Jehovah. In the plan of salvation the highest honor is paid to the law of heaven’s government, and yet mercy is freely dispensed to the fallen sons of Adam. Every believing soul, cooperating with the Great Restorer, is blessed with heavenly grace and endowed with the richest treasures of the glory of God. The imagination can not picture anything more glorious than that which is attained through the plan of redemption. Well may we exclaim, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”
4 Through the obedience of the Son of God, through his submission to bear the death penalty for human transgression, the law is magnified and made honorable before the universe. Angels, cherubim, seraphim, and worlds unfallen behold the law vindicated and exalted. Through the unfolding of the perfection of the divine nature they see the image of God restored to man, and the honor of the divine government maintained. The wisdom of God has abounded towards all the sons and daughters of Adam. Christ laid down his life, shed his blood, suffered the death penalty for the sinner, and became the sin bearer for every repenting, believing soul. We see sin fully punished in the Substitute, and the sinner fully saved through His merit. We see the law of God highly exalted, with no jot or tittle of its authority laid aside, while the transgressor, relying upon the merit of the Substitute, is justified by the law. Through the plan of salvation we see mercy and truth met together, righteousness and peace embracing each other. There is no vacillation in the principles of God’s commandments; but they are pronounced by the angels of heaven, by the inhabitants, of our fallen world, and by souls justified, as “holy, and just, and good.”
5 Christ, the highly exalted of God, God dwelling in humanity, is to be loved and obeyed. His life is a pattern for the whole world to copy. Every one of us may know God in Christ, one with every believer. Every one may exclaim with Paul, “The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.” In the cross of Christ is the sure evidence that there is pardon for sin. Christ crucified is the source of all wisdom and virtue for man.
6 We may say, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” But, though we rely upon God, we shall not be exempt from trial and temptation. Oftentimes we will have to suffer severe disappointment and endure heaviness of heart because of the world’s misunderstanding and misinterpretation of our motives and purposes. But, while cast down, we shall not be forsaken of God, unless we shall sever the golden link of the chain which binds us through Christ to God. Jesus is our Pattern. The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, was tempted in all points like as sinful man is tempted. But through Christ we may be placed upon vantage ground, and become partakers of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust.
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1 The word of the Lord is to be obeyed without question; it is to be the supreme authority in our life. Saul departed from the express commandment of the Lord, and sought to quiet the compunctions of conscience by persuading himself that the Lord would accept his sacrifice, and overlook his disobedience. When Samuel, the prophet, came to meet him, Saul acted as though he regarded himself as a righteous man, and exclaimed, “Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” But the unmistakable tokens of his disobedience were so manifest that his assertion of obedience was of little weight. “And Samuel said, What meaneth then, this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God.” “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams, For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
2 Though disobeying the express command of the Lord, Saul claimed to have performed the directions, that had been given him; and in this day there are those who claim to be the children of God who take a similar course. But John tells us that “he that committeth sin is of the devil.”
3 There are those who claim to be wholly sanctified, and yet they persist in keeping up an unrelenting warfare against the law of God. We do not need to specify to what class they belong, for John has plainly declared that “he that committeth sin is of the devil.” “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,” that is, is not found in transgression of the law of God. We are not to be deceived by the high pretensions of those who claim advanced piety; for our Saviour has given us a rule by which to measure their claims. He says: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
4 “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity; they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I have learned all thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes. . . . Give me understanding, and I will keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. . . . Take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments. So shall I keep thy law continually forever and ever. And I will walk at liberty; for I seek thy precepts. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. . . . O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.”
5 The language of David will be the language of every truly obedient and sanctified heart. But those who are continually pouring out bitterness against the law of Jehovah, have another spirit. They are following the leadership of him who first brought sin into the world, and who has worked, and is still working, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Through his misrepresentations of the law of God, Satan led many of the angels of heaven to take his side in apostasy and rebellion, and by this same method he has secured the world, and even the largest share of the professedly Christian church, to be at enmity with the law of Jehovah. But the fact that Satan has the world on his side, does not argue that the truth is error, or that error is truth. Numbers can not make sin anything but sin,—the transgression of the law of God.
6 “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil; whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” Every character must be brought to the test of this measurement; but it has been the determined purpose of Satan to tear down the standard of the law of God, and erect in its stead a lower standard, a finite measure by which men may measure themselves among themselves; and thus their ideas as to what constitutes righteousness have become lowered and confused. This is the reason that so large a number who profess to be followers of Christ, claim to be perfect and sanctified when they are sinners in the sight of God.
7 “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” John refers in these words not to a new commandment, but to the old commandment, which ye heard from the beginning, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” Those who are unreconciled to the law of Jehovah, are unreconciled to those who magnify the law of God, calling it holy, just, and good. They manifest the same spirit of bitterness, malice, and hate, as did Cain toward Abel. The younger brother carried out the express direction of God in bringing the sacrifice to the altar; but Cain, exalting his judgment above that of the Infinite, determined to bring an offering according to his own ideas. When the Lord manifested his approval of Abel’s course, and refused to accept the offering of Cain, Cain was filled with envy, jealousy, and hate, and slew his brother, whose righteous works condemned his sinful course.
8 Many, many in the Christian world are following a course after the order of that which Cain followed. The Lord has given to men his law, and has promised that he will bless those who keep his commandments. In the fourth commandment he has enjoined upon men the keeping of the Sabbath, a memorial of his creative works and power; but men have sought out many inventions, and Satan has been permitted to wind his way into the faith and doctrine of the professedly Christian church, until the Sabbath of the Lord, the memorial of creative power, has been set aside, and the law made void by sinful men, while a spurious sabbath has been instituted in its place. Men declare that the first day of the week is commemorated in honor of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, when not one line in the word of God can be found requiring this at their hands. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” But many sweep away the Ten Commandments entirely, announcing that they were nailed to the cross with the ceremonial law of types and sacrifices. While professing to honor the Son by keeping a day in honor of his resurrection, they pour contempt upon the law of Jehovah, and are following the course of Cain in offering that which God has never commanded, and in ignoring a plain command which he has given. Those who obey the voice of God, as did Abel, receive from the hands of the disobedient, treatment similar to that which Abel met with from the hands of Cain. John says, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.”
9 The word of God is to be of supreme authority. The Lord says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” God could not change one tittle of his law without ceasing to be supreme. Men can not bend the law of God to suit their ideas, and, failing to bring it into harmony with themselves, they break its commands and violate its precepts. All too late the world will learn that they can not judge the word of God, but that the word of God will judge them. Would that men would consider how foolish and how wicked it is to contend with God! Would that they would cease to oppose their will against the will of the Infinite! Those who oppose God will yet learn that in so doing they have forsaken the only path that leads to holiness, happiness, and heaven.
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1 “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
2 Satan declared that it was impossible for the sons and daughters of Adam to keep the law of God, and thus charged upon God a lack of wisdom and love. If they could not keep the law, then there was fault with the Lawgiver. Men who are under the control of Satan repeat these accusations against God, in asserting that men can not keep the law of God. Jesus humbled himself, clothing his divinity with humanity, in order that he might stand as the head and representative of the human family, and by both precept and example condemn sin in the flesh, and give the lie to Satan’s charges. He was subjected to the fiercest temptations that human nature can know, yet he sinned not; for sin is the transgression of the law. By faith he laid hold upon divinity, even as humanity may lay hold upon infinite power through him. Altho tempted upon all points even as men are tempted, he sinned not. He did not surrender his allegiance to God, as did Adam.
3 The Pharisees accused Christ of breaking the Sabbath because he had healed a man upon the Sabbath day; but his words made it evident that he had not violated the command of God. He declared that they were ignorant both of the Scriptures and the power of God, and reminded them that if they had known what this meaneth, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,” they would not have condemned the guiltless. He carried their minds back to the law and to the testimony, to the words which he himself had spoken when enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, and revealed to them the principles of the law of God. He showed them that to relieve the suffering of either man or beast on the Sabbath day was in harmony with the commandment of God. He said to them: “What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.” He pointed them to the action of David, how when he was hungry, and they that were with him, “he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests.” It was their own ignorance of the true import of the law of God that emboldened them to charge upon Christ the sin of Sabbath-breaking. Could they have found one action that violated any commandment in the Decalogue, they would have lost no time in condemning Christ. But it was because no fault could be found in him that they had to hire men to bear false witness against him. In their anxiety and determination to put him to death, they had to perjure their souls.
4 Christ took human nature upon him, and became a debtor to do the whole law in behalf of those whom he represented. Had he failed in one jot or tittle, he would have been a transgressor of the law, and we would have had in him a sinful, unavailing offering. But he fulfilled every specification of the law, and condemned sin in the flesh; yet many ministers repeat the falsehoods of the scribes, priests, and Pharisees, and follow their example in turning the people away from the truth.
5 God was manifested in the flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, by manifesting perfect obedience to all the law of God. Christ did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He corrupted not human nature, and, tho in the flesh, he transgressed not the law of God in any particular. More than this, he removed every excuse from fallen man that he could urge for a reason for not keeping the law of God. Christ was compassed with the infirmities of humanity, he was beset with the fiercest temptations, tempted on all points like as men, yet he developed a perfectly upright character. No taint of sin was found upon him.
6 Through the victory of Christ the same advantages that he had are provided for man; for he may be a partaker of a power out of and above himself, even a partaker of the divine nature, by which he may overcome the corruption that is in the world through lust. In human nature Christ developed a perfect character. “For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; tho he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.”
7 The humanity of Christ is called “that holy thing.” The inspired record says of Christ, “He did no sin,” he “knew no sin,” and “in him was no sin.” He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” He tabernacled among men. This testimony concerning Christ plainly shows that he condemned sin in the flesh. No man can say that he is hopelessly subject to the bondage of sin and Satan. Christ has assumed the responsibilities of the human race, and the sins of all that believe are charged to him. He has engaged to be liable for them. He obeyed every jot and tittle of the law, to testify before unfallen worlds, before holy angels, before the fallen world, that those who believe in him, who accept of him as their sin-offering, who rely upon him as their personal Saviour, will be advantaged by his righteousness, and become partakers of his divine nature. He testifies that through his imputed righteousness the believing soul shall obey the commandments of God.
8 John pointed to Christ, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” The Son of the infinite God does not remove from man his obligation to keep all of God’s commandments. But with Christ formed within, the apostle declares, “Ye are complete in him, which is the Head of all principality and power.” All our transgressions are transferred to Christ. While he who knew no sin was made sin for us, and the sinless is accounted sinful, the righteousness of Christ is placed upon the undeserving, so that the repenting sinner is declared to be sinless before God. But if a man blinds himself to the light, and hardens his conscience, and will not acknowledge himself as a sinner lost and undone, and in need of a Savior, his sin will remain. He does not believe in the only-begotten Son of the infinite God. Like Cain he refuses to offer to God the blood of the Son of God. He refuses to acknowledge that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only- begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
9 It is all-important that we understand the art of believing, that we individually accept the provision which has been made whereby we may have eternal life. Divine compassion was moved by the ruin of man, and God sent Christ into the world in order that his own arm might bring salvation to the human race, who were found in peril, in helplessness, and bound in captivity to Satan’s chariot car. God beheld man lost and ruined, and with no possibility of recovering himself. His intrusted capabilities and powers were perverted from their intended design, and degraded in the service of self, Satan, and sin. He saw men dropping the solemn realities of eternity from their reckoning, and, viewing the ruin to which they were hastening, divine compassion is moved for a fallen world, and provision for their recovery is made from the limitless resources of divine love. Provision is made that those who discern their apostasy may return to their allegiance. Those who return will find the Father’s heart open to receive them, full of yearning tenderness and compassion towards them. Human agents are all too precious to God to be left without every possible effort on his part for their recovery. In the recovery of every soul, God will realize a peculiar joy. “Likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
10
It was for the recovery of the law that Christ exhibited holy integrity in the midst of universal corruption, and manifested unwavering adherence to the right when truth, equity, and righteousness were objects of popular contempt and scorn. He lived out the law of God, thus giving fullest recognition of the supreme right of God to govern and to be obeyed even in a world sunken in unbelief and making void his law. The more severely he was tried, the more faithfully did he adhere to the truth of God. This must also be our experience, and if we are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, the more surely will we be partakers of his glory. The more decided the unbelief and corruption of the world become, the more clear and conspicuous should the integrity and loyalty of the followers of Christ shine forth. The more generally apostasy prevails, the more steadfast should the children of God stand in defense of the laws of God’s government. Christ is our example. When wickedness was swelling like a roaring torrent around him, he stood like a rock. He was a true, faithful, authoritative, unbending witness for God. What a character was that of Christ! By beholding him, we shall become changed into his image, from character to character. If we would indeed be witnesses for Christ, we must behold him, work as he worked, pray as he prayed. We must fight the fight of faith, clad in the armor of Christ’s righteousness. Christ declared that he did nothing of himself, but only that which he saw his Father do.
11 Ministers of God, study the lesson of the life of Christ. Jude describes Christians as those “that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.” To those he gives this salutation: “Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
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1 Those who love and serve God will manifest the fact by loving and serving their fellow-men. Paul presents before us the example of liberal-minded converts, who in their deeds of charity exceeded his most sanguine expectations. Their love to their fellow-men was the result of giving themselves to the Lord. They surrendered themselves to the working of the divine Spirit, and their hearts were drawn out in tender, Christlike compassion for the relief of those who were needy and suffering. They recognized the obligation that rested upon them, and worked in harmony with the will of God, and thus glorified their heavenly Father.
2 Those who have the mind of Christ can not look with indifference upon human suffering. They can not be heartless, cold, and selfish. Those who are naturally inclined to tenderness and sympathy when unreservedly surrendered to God will cooperate with him in doing deeds of mercy, in relieving the distressed, tho it may call for the practice of self-denial. But those who do not cultivate gratitude to God for his mercy and love to them, who do not appreciate the great gift of Christ to our world, will not manifest sympathy for the suffering and needy, will not seek to comfort the bereaved, to minister to the fatherless and the widow. They may, like the Pharisees, make long prayers, and yet rob the widow and the fatherless, forgetting in their hardness of heart that the Lord will judge those who neglect the needy and the suffering as though they had neglected him in the person of his saints.
3 “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.” The Lord has intrusted his goods to his human agents, and when the individual members of the church become doers of the words of Christ, they do not live to please and glorify self; but they live to do the highest service possible for Jesus Christ in serving their fellow-men. In so doing they gain an experience that is of more value than great riches. Tho the work calls for self-denial, tho their means may be limited, they seek for the relief of suffering humanity. They cherish the faith that works by love and purifies the soul from selfishness, and which brings them into close relation with God. When the truth first finds men, it finds them possessed of the spirit of the world; but it does not leave them with this spirit. When the truth is received, it begins to work the work of sanctification upon heart, and mind, and character. The truth purifies, elevates, and transforms the soul until men reveal a likeness to the character of Him who gave Himself to save a perishing world. Selfishness, self-serving, pride, extravagance, and display are the natural results of rebellion against God; but it is the work of Christ to subdue our evil practices, to detach our tendrils from earthly things, and to entwine them about God. He who receives the love of truth will be transformed in character; but if the truth is not welcomed into the heart, if the door closed against the entrance of the word of God, the heart and character remain unchanged. Those who resist truth, still cherish the love of the world.
4 It was the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia that resulted in liberality and unselfishness. Paul writes of their benevolence, saying, “How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” He says: “For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.” The people of whom Paul writes were under the oppressive hand of poverty, but even “their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” The Holy Spirit wrought great changes in the character of those who sought after truth as for hidden treasure. The church of Macedonia became representative of what a church may be when enlightened by the word of God. They had tasted of the heavenly manna, and had been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and were transformed into the likeness of Christ. But the grace of God is able to do the same transforming work for the human character today. Paul says: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (as it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth forever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness); being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God.”
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Page 753
1 “And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.”
2 Jesus had been invited to the house of this chief Pharisee, and he had accepted the invitation in order that, as his custom was, he might sow seeds of truth in his conversation at the table. There were many who through this means had been privileged to become acquainted with Christ. He met them on familiar terms, and disclosed truth to their minds. They were convicted of the truth not only by what he said, but by the purity and elevated nobility of his character. The occasions when men met with him at the homes of their countrymen were not to be forgotten; but even after his humiliation, his trial, rejection, condemnation, and crucifixion, after his resurrection, when he came forth from the tomb a triumphant conqueror, men would remember the words which he had spoken at the times when they had shared with him the hospitality of the people.
3 The Pharisee who had invited Christ to his house on this occasion was a ruler in Israel, a member of the Sanhedrin, a man of repute and influence. Jesus had not accepted his invitation for the purpose of gratifying his appetite, or to furnish himself with an hour of amusement; but he had accepted it for the purpose of representing the character of God. He was to bear witness of the truth, and (as far as possible) to leave the impress of his own divine image upon human souls. He was the Teacher sent of God, the Light of the world, who had risen to shed divine rays of light upon all who were in the darkness of error. He was the Revelation of God, and was to speak words that the Holy Spirit should afterward bring to their remembrance.
4 Christians may safely accept invitations to dinners where a promiscuous company shall gather, if they will but follow the example of Christ, and act from the same motives as did our Saviour. Their influence will be on the right side if they speak words that will impress with divine truth those who are assembled, and thus sow seed unto eternal life.
5 But the Pharisees had not invited Christ for the sake of hearing of eternal things. Filled with jealousy and envy, he and his guests had laid plans by which they hoped to bring Christ into disfavor. The man with the dropsy who sat before Christ had been purposely chosen as a means by which to bring Christ under condemnation. The suffering man was placed directly before Christ, “and they watched him” to see whether he would violate their traditions and heal the man on the Sabbath day, in order that they might find occasion to condemn him to death. They knew that Christ always expressed sympathy for human woe, and that he ever exercised his power to relieve suffering humanity. Jesus read their hearts as an open book. They had no need to tell him what were their thoughts. He forestalled all their arguments, and revealed the fact that he read their questionings and purposes. “And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, and saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” If he had healed the man without closing the mouths of his accusers, they would at once have charged him with Sabbath breaking. He asked this question before the guests in order that these men might not venture to take the position that it was not lawful. They would have been obliged to answer, if they answered honestly, “The law does not forbid the work that relieves the suffering of man or beast on the Sabbath day.” Jesus gave them an opportunity to disclose their sentiments, and to point out the ground of their objection to his works of mercy. But “they held their peace.” They were wise enough to see that this was the best policy. They knew that their Guest understood the law perfectly, and that he was able to make plain their misrepresentations and to unveil their subterfuges before those who were present. And he took the man with the dropsy, “and healed him, and let him go.”
6 But, notwithstanding their silence, Jesus knew that the Pharisees were planning in their minds just how they might fasten guilt upon him. And he “answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?” When he asked them. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” the record says. “They held their peace.” And when he presented his argument, “they could not answer him again to these things.” But, although they could not answer him, they were none the less displeased because their scheme to condemn him had called forth their own condemnation. They knew that it was the practice of their people to save the life of a dumb creature, even if it required attention on the Sabbath day. They felt it in accordance with the Sabbath commandment to lead their ox or their ass to water, and why was it not altogether proper to relieve human suffering on the Sabbath?
7 Christ had spoken in a calm, convincing manner. By restoring the sick man to health he had given evidence that in him was life. By the lessons he had given, by the miracle he had performed, he had answered the question as to whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath day. He showed the fallacy of the arguments of the scribes and Pharisees which they had advanced on several occasions previous to this in accusing him of violating the Sabbath in healing the sick and relieving the suffering. They were constrained to keep silent, for they could find no argument by which to answer the Lord Jesus which would not place them in a most unfavorable light. The reasoning that they had used when among themselves had seemed very conclusive, and they had leavened the minds of many who were present by the subtlety of their arguments. But now, before they could present their arguments, Christ had answered them, and they were left helpless; for all recognized that Christ had spoken words of truth and righteousness.
8 Christ understood how to act in a calm, intelligent manner, and to bring to naught their plans to bring him into condemnation. The words of the Lord were as sharp arrows that went to the mark, and wounded the hearts of his accusers. Every time Christ addressed the people, whether his audience was large or small, his words took saving effect upon the souls of some of his hearers. No message that ever fell from the lips of Christ was to be lost. Every word he spoke placed a new responsibility upon those who heard it. Ministers who are giving the last message of mercy to the world, who are presenting the truth in sincerity, who are relying upon God for strength, need never fear that their efforts are in vain. No one can say that the arrow of truth has not sped to the mark, and pierced the souls of those who are listening. Although no human eye could see the flight of the arrow of truth, although no human ear heard the cry of the wounded soul, yet the truth has silently cut its way to the heart. God has spoken to the soul, and in the day of final account God’s minister will stand with the trophies of redeeming grace to give honor unto Christ, to whom honor is due. God, who seeth in secret, will openly reward those who have declared the truth in his name.
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1 “But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me. It can not be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It can not be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal can not equal it; and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or pearls; for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?. . . Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”
2 We shall learn how to depart from evil by studying the word of God, and by fulfilling the directions that are given us in the Scriptures. The psalmist says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Those who ever bear in mind the fact that they are learners, those who are willing to be instructed, those who open their hearts to receive every ray of light that shines from the word of God, or that is presented to them by messengers whom God has commissioned to preach the Gospel, will learn the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. We are to study both the Old and the New Testament, for it takes the complete Scriptures to unfold the Gospel. The Bible is the treasure-house of wisdom.
3 The character of sin, and God’s treatment of sin, are first unfolded to us in the transgression of Adam. Sin is the transgression of the law, and when Adam and Eve sinned, they opened the floodgates of woe upon our world. The promise given to Adam that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, and that it should bruise his heel, was the first proclamation of the Gospel. But while a way was provided for the forgiveness of sin, yet in no way did this provision lessen its hateful character in the sight of God, or do away with the dire consequences that would fall upon impenitent transgressors. Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and men could always say, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
4 Christ became our substitute and surety. He took the case of fallen man upon himself. He became the Redeemer, the Intercessor. When death was proclaimed as the penalty of sin, he offered to give his life for the life of the world, in order that man might have a second probation, and that individually he might enjoy the privileges that would come to us through this divine provision, and receive power to form a character after the divine image. But God has a day in which he will judge the world by that Man whom he hath ordained. All judgment is given into the hands of the Son. Christ has engaged to become the sinner’s surety, but he does not engage to lessen or detract from the obligation to the divine law. Should Christ change the law in any particular, the demands of Satan would be fulfilled, and God and Christ and the universe would be brought under bondage to his claims. Christ is the star of hope. He is the one to contest the claims of Satan; he is the seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent’s head. He overcame Satan in heaven, and cast him out because of his rebellion and apostasy.
5 It was when he was in conflict with man that Satan gained his first victory. Changing his appearance, assuming the disguise of a serpent, in the most subtle, artful-manner he assailed Eve, saying, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” The woman erred when she entered into controversy with the serpent. The Lord had not said, “Ye shall not touch it.” He had said, “Of every tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
6 “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,” she began to be charmed with Satan’s representations, and thought that God was unnecessarily restricting their liberty, and holding them back from that which would be for their advancement. “She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.” She told her husband what the serpent had said, “and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” They forgot the great love that God had manifested toward them in giving them life, in providing them with a beautiful garden, in furnishing them with pleasant employment. They forgot his mercies, and thought him selfish and unkind. “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” The garments of light which had enveloped them disappeared when they sinned against God.
7 There was nothing poisonous in the fruit of the tree of knowledge itself, nothing that would cause death in partaking of it. The tree had been placed in the garden to test their loyalty to God. The Lord designs that we shall contemplate the lesson that Adam failed to learn in his first experience, and would have us realize that the claims of God in this age are no less than they were in the Garden of Eden. The Gospel, first given to Adam in Eden, has lost none of its high claims since that time. We are required to obey all the commandments of God. The Sabbath commandment is placed in the midst of the Decalogue, and it was instituted in Eden at the same time that God instituted the marriage relation. God gave the Sabbath as a memorial of his creative power and works, “for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” He made its observance obligatory upon man, in order that he might contemplate the works of God, dwell upon his goodness, his mercy, and love, and through nature look up to nature’s God. If man had always observed the Sabbath, there would never have been an unbeliever, and infidel, or an atheist in the world. If Adam and Eve had contemplated the works of God in creating the world, if they had considered the reason that God had in giving them the Sabbath, if they had looked upon the beautiful tokens he had given them in withholding nothing that would add to their happiness, they would have been safe, they would have adored him for his goodness and love toward them, and in place of listening to the sophistries of Satan in casting blame upon God, in ascribing to him motives of selfishness, they would have considered the works of his hands, and songs of melody and thanksgiving and praise would have burst forth from their lips in adoration of him who had bountifully supplied them with every good thing. If they had considered how he had made them the object of his overflowing love, they would not have fallen; but they forgot the presence of God. They forgot that angels surrounded them to guard them from every danger, and they looked away from their great Benefactor.
8 The Sabbath is a test to this generation. In obeying the fourth commandment in spirit and truth, men will obey all the precepts of the Decalogue. To fulfill this commandment one must love God supremely, and exercise love toward all the creatures that he has made. The Lord exhorts us to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;” and since this is his exhortation, will any one charge us with wearying them in bringing this commandment to their remembrance?
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1 “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Those who are one with Christ, will present their petitions to the Father in the name of Christ, and will ask nothing that it is not his good pleasure to grant. Jesus continues: “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” This is Bible election; for if we keep his commandments, we abide in him, and are elected in him.
2 The Saviour is our substitute and surety. He stands at the head of the human family. He has been subject to all the temptations that annoy and oppress us. He was tempted in all points like as we are, and therefore he is able (knows just the method) to succor those that are tempted. He was afflicted in all our afflictions. Christ is our refuge, our source of strength. In him all power is provided for us if his word abide in us, and it is for us to choose whether we will serve God or Baal.
3 Christ says, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” How few comprehend the fullness of this promise! The disciples did not take it in, they did not comprehend the meaning of these words, until the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them. Of him Jesus had said: “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” As we contemplate these words, our hearts should glow with love to our Saviour, because he has left nothing unsaid that concerns our salvation. Though we may be harassed and beset with trials and temptations that come to us through the devices of the synagog of Satan, yet we have one who is fully able, and always willing, to give us the very help that we require in the time of need. We have been invited to ask help, to come boldly to the throne of grace, to ask what we will, that it may be done unto us. And if the words of Christ abide in us, we are the elect of God, and will bring forth fruit in steady faith, cherishing the faith that works by love and purifies the soul from every moral defilement. “Much fruit” is the evidence that the words of Christ abide and work in the soul.
4 Those who live the life of the world, though they may be looked upon as educated and refined, manifest that they are selfish, that the words of Christ do not abide in them. They separate themselves from the needy and distressed, and use the gifts which God has intrusted to them to bless their fellow-men in exalting and glorifying themselves. They are interested only in that which will bring them the most money. The value of the man is measured in the world by the amount of money he possesses, and so men cultivate the love of money, place the world first, and make it manifest that the words of Christ do not abide in their hearts. They do not follow in the footsteps of our Redeemer, who gave his life for the ransom of the world. They separate themselves from those who are in poverty, from those who have not been favored with advantages to obtain an education. They value men according to the amount of money they have, but Jesus places an altogether different estimate upon the human soul. He is weighing men in the golden scales of the sanctuary, and inquires, “What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
5 Christ announced that his mission was “to preach good tidings unto the meek.” He said, The Lord “hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion; to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called Trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” How perfectly these words harmonize with the words of Christ in the fifteenth chapter of John! If we may judge of men by their actions, we may think that the worldly-wise man looks upon himself as made of better material than the uneducated and uncultured, and esteems himself as altogether too high for association with this class. But his spirit, his attitude and actions, are delineated on the record above, and will determine whether or not he can be trusted with the eternal riches of heaven. Angels of God are marking the development of character, and weighing moral worth. No one will be trusted in heaven who has the spirit of the first great apostate, who lifted himself up, and became exalted in his own esteem, became envious of the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom he derived his glory, his wisdom, and beauty.
6
The character of the mission of Christ is delineated in the words of Isaiah which we have quoted. He did not come to minister simply to the highest grade of society. The Lord pitied those who felt their need of a Saviour, and those who are touched with the Spirit of Christ, if they have had better opportunities than others for cultivation, for refinement and nobility of character, will feel that they are debtors to those who have been less favorably situated, and they will minister as far as possible of their benefits to those who are wanting in these things. God has given this manner of work to his elect people. They are to reveal to the world that they are disciples of the greatest Teacher the world ever knew, and that they are working along the same lines as he worked. They are to open their treasures to those who need them, and this will bring them in contact with the very ones who appreciated the labors of Christ; for we read that the common people heard him gladly. Their hearts were not engrossed with the things of the world, and they could discern the things of eternal value. Those who are in high positions, who are intrusted with rich capabilities, are likely to worship themselves, to make themselves a center, to indulge themselves in intemperate desires, to fear to give back to God his own, and to neglect the example of Christ, who took upon himself the garb of humanity, in order that he might reach and lift humanity by his divine influence.
7 Christ designs that men shall be agents through whom his words of truth, hope, and forgiveness may come to the people. The disciples of Christ are to be channels for his righteousness, his gentleness, and love. They are to be Christ’s representatives. This means that they are to act in Christ’s stead. He has ascended on high, but he has commissioned his disciples to work along the very lines along which he worked when he was in the world. Christ followed the very best methods for reaching the hearts of men. The scribes and Pharisees did not approve of the kind of work that Christ was doing. His example cast reflection upon them, and laid bare their selfishness. They regarded themselves as educated and refined, and they brought accusation against him, saying, “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” They asked the people what they thought of a man who was guilty of this. They classed him with sinners because he associated with sinners; but Jesus did not seem at all abashed by the charge. He looked keenly at his accusers, and said, “I came not to call the [self] righteous, but sinners to repentance.” They passed by the very ones who needed help, who would receive the light that they rejected, and who were nearer the kingdom of heaven than were those who looked upon them as sinners, whose society would contaminate their morals.
8 Christ came to lift up the fallen. He presented the parable of the Pharisee and the publican to represent to us the way in which Heaven regards the proud, pretentious boaster, and how God looks upon the soul who feels his true need, who knows himself a sinner, and longs for greater nearness to God. Such a one has more discernment of heavenly things than has the man who thinks himself an important personage, and esteems himself righteous. The further men separate from God, and the less they render obedience to his commandments, the more confidence they will place in themselves. Their thoughts will be selfish, and their actions after the same character. They will pride themselves upon their judgment in managing business, but will be very ignorant of the things which concern their future well-being. So infatuated will they be with the things of this world that the words which Paul addressed to the Galatians are applicable to them, when he says, “Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?” They cast aside the things that are imperishable as matters of very little consequence. They think that riches mean greatness and honor, that they mean love of ease, selfish gratification, and display. They desire to command positions of power, to have the flattery and reverence of the world. They freely indulge in sin until their moral power is palsied. They make wealth an idol. At the shrine of wealth thousands upon thousands are laying idolatrous sacrifices. But it is not temporal wealth that makes men of value. Heaven does not estimate men in the same way as does the world. He who abides in Christ is found of value with God. The promise is fulfilled in him, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.”
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1 “Thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men for thee; and people for thy life.”
2 God brought his chosen people out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders. He laid the land desolate by plagues, and slew the firstborn of the Egyptians in order to bring deliverance to his people. He opened to them a path through the Red Sea, and in the pillar of cloud and fire he stood as a wall of protection between his people and Pharaoh, who with his armies, chariots, and horsemen came in pursuit of Israel. At the word of command the Red Sea rolled upon the hosts of the Egyptians, while Israel sang songs of triumph and praise.
3 The Lord brought his chosen people out of Egypt in order that they might keep holy the Sabbath day, and fulfill the precepts of his law. He fed them with manna in the wilderness, and by a double miracle placed his seal upon the sacredness of the Sabbath institution. In awful grandeur the Lord came down on Mount Sinai and proclaimed his law to the people. The Israelites had so long lived in the midst of idolatry that they were shaping their religious life after the idolatrous customs of the land of their bondage. The Son of God gave to them his law of Ten Commandments, and proclaimed to them the rules and statutes of God in heaven and earth.
4 He represented his people as a wild vine that he had taken from Egypt, and planted in Canaan, where he nourished and cared for it; but when he looked for it to bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes. His people forgot God, and went into rebellion, but he did not withdraw his love. He sent his prophets to warn them, he instituted the sacrificial system so that they might have before their minds the one great Sacrifice, the one efficient Offering that was prefigured in their typical system. But for all his love and care, Israel abused their privileges from age to age, and their religion became a hollow formalism. Christ saw Pharisaical pride, self-exaltation, cruel, Satanic attributes, developed and cherished by the people who bore his name. They would not accept his invitation of mercy, and from national apostasy came a spirit of cruel persecution that ended in killing the very messengers that he sent to warn them of the result of their evil course. Christ saw his vineyard spoiled through cruel husbandmen until it became fruitless through ingratitude, through grace resisted, through their refusal to accept the opportunities and privileges which the God of compassion and love provided for them. For a thousand years they multiplied transgression upon transgression, and even rejected the Son of God, and were ready to put him to death. The cloud of God’s retributive judgment was about to burst upon them in unrestrained fury.
5 Jesus had dealt with Israel as would a loving father with a son. His love to Israel was represented in the parable of the prodigal son; but they had beaten back the waves of mercy, and, knowing what would fall upon Jerusalem, as he stands upon the mount of Olivet, his form is shaken with sobs of anguish. His heart is breaking with yearning. Tears flow forth from his eyes as he says, “How can I give thee up?”
6 The careless and the impenitent go on in their reckless course of disobedience, and harden themselves in rebellion against God; but they do not consider the value of the human soul. The world’s Redeemer was constantly seeking to lead men to a true appreciation of the value of the soul. He asked the question, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” A world sinks into insignificance in comparison with the soul. When Christ wept upon the mount of Olivet, he beheld with prophetic eye, not only the loss of one soul, but the destruction of a nation.
7 The world’s Redeemer had come from his royal courts, stepped down from his royal throne, had clothed his divinity with humanity, and for our sake had become poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. In accepting Christ the sinful nations who were about to be destroyed might have accepted the riches of heaven, obtained an eternal weight of glory. Must his offering be in vain? In his mission on earth among men he had displayed the same power as he had displayed in delivering the nation from Egyptian bondage, in opening a path through the Red Sea, and in discomforting the army of Pharaoh. He had revealed enough of his divinity to show them that he was the Son of God, and that he was able to deliver them from the Roman yoke, if it so pleased him, and to give them temporal triumph; but it was the fact that he did not exercise his power in bringing to them temporal benefits in the way they desired, that led the scribes and the Pharisees to reject the world’s Redeemer. He bore a message denouncing every abomination in the land. He exposed their hypocrisies, and revealed the fact that their sanctity was only a cloak to iniquity.
8 The untainted purity of his life, the faultless character of his words and works, was a bitter reproof to the self-righteous but unclean pretenders to religion. He rebuked their course in weaving human traditions and the maxims of men into the laws of God, so that men were confused in regard to the laws of God’s government, and were led to make void his law through following human inventions. He said to them: “This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, . . . making the word of God of none effect through your tradition.” He charged the religious teachers with being ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God.
9 The Jews hated Christ because he bore a beautiful, spotless character. He could hate but one thing, and that was sin. This hatred of sin on his part provoked their bitterest hostility. If he had given license to their pride, had fostered their ambition, and passed over their evil passions, their injustice, their fraud, their robbery of the poor, they would have applauded Jesus. They would not have been displeased that he healed the sick, that he had compassion on the suffering, that he raised the dead; but they were displeased because he condemned their evil works, and put them to an open shame by exposing their evil motives. He rebuked their long prayers on the corners of the streets, and the wearing of their long robes for the purpose of making people think they were very pious, when at the same time they would devour with exactions widows’ houses. They would not consent to reform and to be transformed in character; but they were determined by any possible means to get rid of Him who revealed their true character to the people, and paid no regard to their claims of superior sanctity. The fiercest and most inveterate enmity was put between Christ and these bigoted pretenders. The whole energy of the ranks of apostasy was called forth, and evil men conspired with evil angels for the destruction of the Champion of God and truth.
10 On the mount of Olivet Christ took a retrospective view of the ages and centuries that had passed, and realized what would be the crowning act in the nation’s apostasy. In putting to death the Son of the Infinite God they would add the last figure to the sum of their guiltiness. Can we wonder that the heart of Christ was filled with grief, and that while he wept in agonizing sobs, his form swayed as a tree before the tempest? He saw the retribution that would fall upon Jerusalem, and exclaimed: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”
11 The sheep gate was before Christ, and the path which led to the temple, and for centuries the victims had been conducted thither for sacrifice. The lambs that had been slain had been a representation of the great anti-typical sacrifice that in a few hours would be made for those who rejected his grace and compassion, the refusers of his offers of mercy. The only-begotten Son of the Infinite God would be led through the sheep gate as a lamb to the slaughter, while through the priests and rulers and through the common people would be manifested Satanic attributes. For a few moments the Son of God stands upon Mount Olivet, expressing the intense yearning of his soul that Jerusalem might repent in the last few moments before the westering sun shall sink behind the hill. That day the Jews as a nation would end their probation. Mercy, that had long been appointed as their guardian angel, had been insulted, despised, and rejected, and was already stepping down from the golden throne, ready to depart. But, O, that the rejecters of God’s mercy, full of zeal to sustain themselves in their own way, might yet turn from their man-made inventions, repent, and seek reconciliation with God! The shadows of twilight are beginning to gather, and, O, that Jerusalem might know the things that belong unto her peace! But now the irrevocable sentence is spoken, because “she knew not the time of her visitation.”
12 Jesus hears the tramp of the besieging army. He sees the temple in ruins. He sees famine and distress in the city. His prophetic eye sees Calvary, the hill upon which he shall be lifted up, planted with crosses as thick as the forest trees. He sees the very ones nailed thereon who clamored for his condemnation, and who cried out under their Satanic delusion, “His blood be on us and on our children.” The retribution that has fallen upon them is most terrible; for they are left to the mercy of the leader they have chosen, and Satan and his confederacy of evil angels wreak their spite upon the human family.
13 All this Jesus sees as the result of their refusal to accept his offers of mercy. Thus they have worked their own present and eternal ruin, and as a nation divorced themselves from God. He could say to the whole nation as he had said to Philip, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me?” They had refused the messages of warning, of reproof, and mercy, that had been sent to them through the prophets, God’s delegated servants, tho these messengers had been sent to save them from taking such steps as would prove their ruin. At last God had sent his Son, and they had said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.”
14 “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me?” These words are applicable to very many in our own day. Many do not know him, tho he has been lifted up for us and crucified. They do not know him, tho a mighty angel from heaven parted the darkness from his track, and rolled back the stone from the door of the sepulcher, and Jesus, the Lord of light and glory, came forth from the rent sepulcher proclaiming himself the resurrection and the life.
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1 “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
2 Christ dwells in him who receives him by faith. Tho trials may come upon the soul, yet the Lord’s presence will be with us. The burning bush in which was the Lord’s presence did not consume away. The fire did not extinguish a fiber of the branches. Thus will it be with the feeble human agent who puts his trust in Christ. The furnace fire of temptation may burn, persecution and trial may come, but only the dross will be consumed. The gold will shine brighter because of the process of purification. Greater is He that is in the heart of the faithful, than he that controls the hearts of unbelievers. Complain not bitterly of the trial which comes upon you, but let your eyes be directed to Christ, who has clothed his divinity with humanity, in order that we may understand how great his interest in us since he has identified himself with suffering humanity. He tasted the cup of human sorrow, he was afflicted in all our afflictions, he was made perfect through suffering, tempted in all points like as humanity is tempted, in order that he might succor those who are in temptation. He says, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” He will make a man precious by abiding with him, by giving unto him the Holy Spirit. He says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
3 The Lord has instructed us to call God our Father, to regard him as the fountain of paternal affection, the source of the love that has been flowing from century to century through the channel of the human heart. All the pity, compassion, and love which have been manifested in the earth have emanated from the throne of God, and, compared to the love that dwells in his heart, are as a fountain to an ocean. His love is perpetually flowing forth to make the weak strong, to make the faint-hearted firm, and give moral courage to the wavering. God works through Christ, and man may come unto the Father in the name of the Son. Our science and our song is, “Hear what the Lord hath done for my soul.
4 Who can comprehend the gift of Infinite Love? “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” For centuries before the manifestation of Christ to the world, God exercised forbearance toward a rebellious world. He saw his holy law trampled in the dust, and he let his judgments fall upon the world in a flood; but man did not learn the lesson from this experience, and turned to his rebellious ways.
5 Again men multiplied upon the earth, and again they took the attitude of rebellion against God. Loyalty to the law of God was not only condemned, but punished as a crime. Men made void the law, and naturalized the principles of sin. Those who did not disregard the law of God were subject to the strongest enmity; for every species of sin was legalized. Satan boasted before the angels of heaven that he held dominion over the creation of God. The unity of society was made by enmity to God. A corrupt harmony existed among men in their aversion to God, which bound them together in one vast army. The universe of heaven, and the angels of God, were watching for the exhibition of justice, but when the unfallen worlds expected retribution to be administered, mercy prevailed, and the counsel of God was with the Prince of heaven. He was to unfold the scheme of redemption, to make manifest the plan of salvation. He who was equal with God, who was great in counsel, mighty in working, was equal to the emergency that had arrived in the government of God. God sent his Son into the world, not to pass sentence of condemnation upon a rebellious race, but to make manifest his love, and to hold out the hope of eternal life to those who should believe in his Son.
6 Here was love, and amazing grace that triumphed over justice. Retribution fell upon no less a personage than the Son of the Infinite God, and the universe of heaven rejoiced in the glory of God’s benevolence and self-denial in giving the Prince of heaven to our world. Such love was beyond the comprehension of heavenly angels. Christ came to the world to seek his lost pearl, and he had to go through the gates of death to recover his lost jewel. For “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” All who look to him in faith will be healed of their spiritual maladies. He is the Balm in Gilead, he is the great Physician. Christ was the one who consented to meet the conditions necessary for man’s salvation. No angel, no man, was sufficient for the great work to be wrought. The Son of man alone must be lifted up; for only an infinite nature could undertake the redemptive process. Christ consented to connect himself with the disloyal and sinful, to partake of the nature of man, to give his own blood, and to make his soul an offering for sin. In the counsels of heaven, the guilt of man was measured, the wrath for sin was estimated, and yet Christ announced his decision that he would take upon himself the responsibility of meeting the conditions whereby hope should be extended to a fallen race. He understood the possibility of the human soul, and united humanity to himself, even as the vine knits the grafted branches and twigs into its being, until, vein by vein, and fiber by fiber, the branches are united to the living Vine.
7 The merchant man sold all to buy the pearl of lost humanity. The sinner also is to lay down his all in order to become a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. He who unites with Christ has his life hid with Christ in God. Christ and the believing soul are joined by the bands of love, and the Lord calls this union “continuing in his love.” He says: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love.”
8 Jesus takes man into copartnership with himself, and the unity and love between Christ and his Father bear the credentials to the world of Christ’s divinity. Transformed in character, the believer presents the fact that Christ alone can reshape, purify, and ennoble the soul. The love that God has manifested toward men has no parallel. Jesus says, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life” for the sheep. In this expression he would prove to man that the Father’s love is so large, so unbounded towards man, that he even loves the Son for the sacrifice which he made for the recovering of humanity. God himself suffered in the suffering of his Son. While Jesus walked the earth in the habiliments of humanity, he could say, “I and my Father are one” Having undertaken the work of redemption, the Lord spares nothing, however costly, which is essential to the completion of his design. He withholds not heaven itself, but continues to surround men with its favors, heaping gift upon gift, until the world itself is flooded with its boundless mercy and love. Jesus says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
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1 The law of God is the expression of his character. God possesses absolute, invariable, and immutable independence, and his law is without variableness, unalterable, eternal, because it is the transcript of his character. No event can take place that will in any sense make it necessary to declare a law of a contrary nature. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Any change in the law would mar its perfection. The slightest variance in its precepts would give reason to the hosts of heaven and to unfallen worlds to think that God’s counsels and declarations are not to be relied upon, but need to be remodeled, because they are of a faulty character. Should any change be made in the law of God, Satan would gain that for which he had instituted controversy.
2 Satan has sought to cast contempt upon the law of God, and to fasten reproach upon God before his created intelligences. He has sought to make men believe that the law must be modified, because it does not meet the needs and possibility of men. But God is truth itself, and in no instance can Satan find a flaw with his will or character. If his law could be changed in one jot or tittle, Satan would have an advantage in the controversy, and would carry the human family with him in fastening reproach upon God; for if one jot or tittle is in need of change, all may be faulty. But in the future the evil one himself will have to confess that his charges against God have been unjust, for with God is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. He will make this confession before the fallen world, before unfallen worlds, before the hosts of heaven. He will acknowledge that God has spoken immutable, eternal truths, and that he can not alter the thing that has gone out of his lips.
3 Satan and his confederacy of evil have tempted the world to believe a lie as they tempted Adam and Eve in Eden. It has been the purpose of the enemy to unsettle the whole fabric of truth, and to set the world adrift in the mazes of skepticism; but truth is immutable. A wily foe has perverted the senses of men so that they have chosen falsehood rather than truth. The Christian world has accepted the falsehoods of Satan, and has believed and advocated a change in the fourth commandment, which was given as a commemoration of God’s creative power in making the world. This falsehood has been working out its baleful results in making of no effect the whole law, in placing upon the human mind the impression that God is not invariable, invincible truth. This is the cup of intoxication that the Christian world is drinking, with which the inhabitants of the earth are becoming drunken. Satan is seeking to destroy the force of the Ten Commandments, urging his agents to declare that Christ nailed them to his cross. The cross is an immutable argument of the unchangeable character of the law of God. Christ died in order that a way might be provided for saving the sinner, in meeting the demands of the broken law. The law was written with the finger of God upon tables of stone, and John saw the temple of God open in heaven, and in the temple the ark of his covenant. “I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; . . . and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”
4 In the book of Revelation the prophet describes the scenes of the Gospel age, and he sees in heaven the ark of the testimony. There the holy law of God shines in holy dignity, just as when God wrote it with his own finger on tables of stone. John describes the work that will be done in the last days, when the Protestant churches form a confederacy with the Catholic power, and work against the law of God and against those who keep his commandments. John says, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” The Protestant world have cherished an institution of the Papacy,—they have observed Sunday in preference to the Sabbath of the Lord their God,—and in compelling men to keep Sunday, under penalty of law, they are exalting the first day of the week, a spurious sabbath, and casting dishonor upon the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. But the Lord says: “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people; but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.”
5 Had the generations in the past given the religion of the Bible a welcome, had they received the message born by Christ and his apostles, we should see a different state in the world that we see today. The Gospel would long since have been preached to every family under heaven; but men have not followed on to know the Lord, that they might know that his goings forth are prepared as the morning. It is men that have ceased to make progress. God has been willing to fulfill his word to his people. The promise is, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Everything was provided whereby men might have become laborers together with God in spreading the knowledge of the truth to those who are nigh, and to those that are afar off. The Gospel has been published to a large part of the human race; but the law of God, the foundation of his government, has been clouded by the superstitions and inventions of men. Even the priests, who should have published the law of God, have presumed to declare that it has no claims upon the human race. At the very time when it is most essential for us to understand the sacred claims of the law, and conform to its claims as the standard of righteousness, so that we might be justified in the judgment, false shepherds are educating the world to make void the law of God through their traditions.
6 The Lord would have his people take a different course. He says: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God.” The Lord speaks to his people, saying: “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord; look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. . . . My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.”
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Page 759
1 In his sermon on the mount, Jesus presented the manner of spirit and works that will be manifested by those who love God and who keep his commandments. His followers were to sustain to the world the relation brought to view in his words, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” But the Pharisees thought that this new Teacher was dwelling altogether too lightly on the law and its requirements. They had expounded the requirements of the law in altogether a different way from that of the world’s Redeemer, and had made the law a body of rigorous exactions; for they were “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Our Lord came to strip from the truth the external observances which had been supplied to take the place of true religion. He preached his sermon on the mount in order to clearly define the true principles of the law of God, which had been misapplied and misinterpreted, and which had been strained to mean that which God had never designed. The Lord Jesus cleared away the rubbish of “they say,” swept out the old traditions of former teachers, and brought to light the teachings of the prophets and of holy men of old who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Christ himself had communicated the truth to these representative men, and in his lessons which he gave to the people he was clearing away the rubbish of man’s opinions by the truth which he himself had imparted to the writers of the Scriptures.
2 Jesus preached the truth of the Old Testament Scriptures with freshness and power, and elevated the word of God above the traditions and maxims of men. All that he said fell upon the ears of his hearers as a new revelation. He did not repeat the common-place traditional maxims after the manner of the rabbis, nor did he speak with hesitation and uncertainty as they did. He spoke with calm assurance and with marked independence. The religion that prevailed at the time of Christ’s public ministry was lifeless. Tho it was taught by men of education and talent, yet their instruction in a large degree consisted in senseless repetitions; but the words of Christ, spoken so earnestly and in such power, stirred the hearts of the people, and created an intense interest. They listened in vain for the senseless repetitions of the unchangeable exactions, and they were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught as one having authority and not as the scribes.
3 But when the Pharisees saw what a vast difference there was between the teaching of Christ and their own teaching, when they began to realize that the majesty, beauty, and purity of the truth which he taught was exerting a gentle but powerful influence, and was taking hold of the minds of men and working a reformation in their characters, they saw that their own instruction was made of no effect, and they reasoned that unless something was done to put a stop to the ministry of Christ, all the world would believe on him. They saw that his bearing of divine love and tenderness was drawing the hearts of all the unprejudiced to him. The frowning countenances of the priests and rulers, their sneers and vindictiveness, set off in favorable contrast Christ’s patience and forbearance; for he was calm under the most unjust criticism and hostility. It was evident that their enmity arose from the fact that Christ did not exalt them as teachers of piety and godliness. The teachings of Christ continually rebuked their ungodly practices. He presented truths of the most vital importance, and they did not harmonize with the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees; for these instructors had taught that which misrepresented the character of God. They had misinterpreted his commandments, and because Christ did not teach the commandments as the rabbis did, they decided that he was destroying the law. Upon their astonished ears fell the words: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Then, stretching his hands toward his disciples, he said, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
4 At another time he said to the people, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” Our heavenly Father requires that his people shall walk in the light that he gives them. His requirements are always reasonable and just, and he can not accept less than he claims, which is perfect obedience to his commandments. In the sermon on the mount the Lord revealed that it was failure to walk in the light that was separating the Jewish people from God, and as a sure result darkness was coming upon them in the same proportion as the light had been permitted to shine upon their pathway. Had the chosen people of God improved their God-given responsibility, and rendered obedience to the plainly revealed will of God as it had been made known to them through patriarch and prophet, they would have been prepared to have exhibited to the world character and works of an elevated order, in harmony with the light which had accumulated upon their pathway.
5 The traditions of men, to which they gave so much heed, were as chaff to the wheat. Christ cleared away the rubbish of men’s opinions, the multiplied exactions with which men had surrounded the commandments of God, so that the true character of the law was revealed. Jesus had given the law, and he was the one who could expound its true principles. It was essential that this should be done in order that the character of God might be vindicated before the inhabitants of a fallen world, and before the inhabitants of worlds unfallen. Jesus showed the contrast that there was between error and truth, between the words of finite men and the word of God. The word of God was plain, but men’s words had made it mysterious and unintelligible. But the instruction which Christ gave was unmistakable. His disciples were to obey the precepts of the law, and to represent the character of God to the world. He said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
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Page 760
1 “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous.”
2 Wherever the holy precepts of God are observed, it is an evidence that the word and the Spirit of God have penetrated the human heart and transformed the natural character. The law of God is the true standard of character, and the commandments can not be disregarded and ignored without detriment to character. Wherever there is departure from the precepts of Jehovah, the moral attributes are deformed. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.”
3 As the law of God was in Eden, so it stands today. It requires of us what it required of our first parents,—”purity of heart.” Through Jesus Christ moral power may be imparted to man, and when it is combined with human effort, we may reach the divine standard. The faith that works by love is an active agent, and purifies the soul, separating from the character everything that is out of harmony with the standard of righteousness. Outward conformity to the law is not sufficient. In his sermon on the mount, Jesus says, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
4 The Pharisees, tho professing to keep the commandments of God, were exalting their own traditions above the law, and requiring needless exactions from the people. Many in our day are doing as did the Pharisees, and, while laying claims to high piety and sanctification, they are following their own ideas, and refusing to meet the condition upon which God has promised eternal life. Paul presented the true steps by which men may come to God. He says: “I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” “I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God [because of the transgression of God’s law], and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,” by which men may return to allegiance to the law of heaven.
5 Christ came to our world because the human race had departed from God, broken his law, and multiplied transgression upon transgression. Among the religious teachers at the time of Christ, deception and hypocrisy were practiced. Men built themselves up in their own self-righteousness, and misled the people by presenting before them a false standard. That which they presented as true piety was a spurious article; it misinterpreted the percepts of God to the people, and broke the principles of the divine law. While claiming to be the people of God, they transgressed his word, and, instead of a Thus saith the Lord, they substituted their own requirements. They were zealous in carrying out a round of ceremonies, and satisfied themselves with forms, while their lives were corrupt before God. Jesus came to exalt the law and make it honorable. In his sermon on the mount he weeded out the traditions of men, and proclaimed the truth, placing it in sharp contrast with errors that were hoary with age. He made truth appear in its preciousness and value before the multitude.
6 The Pharisees substituted external ceremonies for true heart piety, and made occasions of religious observances serve for their own exaltation. They made a show of paying tithe, and of abstaining from food, and taught that these outward semblances of humility met the demands of the whole law of God. Self-flattery became woven with every phase of their religious life, and thus they lifted up their souls unto vanity. But Christ described the religion of the Pharisees as like salt that had lost its savor. Christ, the Author of truth, was fully able to separate truth from the companionship of error, and to place it where it would shine in its original brightness.
7 Christ was a teacher from his youth up. At twelve years of age he was found among the doctors, listening to them and asking them questions. He asked such questions as suggested the discovery of deep truths that had been lost from the doctrines that were taught, and yet which were vital to the salvation of souls. Wherever he went, he presented himself as one hungering and thirsting for a knowledge of God. His questions were of such an order as baffled the wisdom of the wise men, yet every question he asked put before them a divine lesson, and placed truth in a new aspect. They could see that their teachings were out of harmony with the real meaning of the Scriptures. But while presenting deep truths to their minds, his manner was modest and humble. Tho perplexing the scribes and learned doctors with his deep questions, yet he was gentle and unassuming.
8 Curious to test his knowledge, the doctors and the scribes turned upon him with questions, and they were amazed at his answers. He expounded the inspired word, giving a spiritual significance to the utterances of the prophets that the wise men had not seen nor conceived. While in the temple he had laid out lines of truth which, if followed, would have worked a great reformation in the religion of the day. But he looked in vain to see the leaders of the nation leading the people upward by presenting to them in simplicity the word of the Lord. The Old Testament Scriptures which he had expounded to them were vital with truth, and would have made both teachers and learners wise unto salvation.
9 If these truths had been presented and obeyed, a deep interest in spiritual things would have been the result. But the truth, which should have brightened and expanded through contemplation and practice, became the condemnation of the priests, scribes, and Pharisees. Instead of becoming elevated, ennobled, and sanctified through the truth which had been presented to them, they allowed its precious, vital influence to pass away from them, and let the truth slip. If they had opened their hearts to receive the truth which Christ presented in his sermon on the mount, their minds would have been illuminated, and they would have seen that their sacrificial system was but a shadow and example of the life and teachings of Christ. If they had not turned their hearts from God, they would not have become envious of Christ, nor would they have refused the precious truths which he came to unfold to them. They would not have exalted their human inventions and traditions as sacred; they would not have set aside the Scriptures, and made them a confused jumble of inconsistencies; but they refused Christ, and, tho they had been made the depositaries of sacred truth, yet they persisted in misinterpretation of the Bible, and thus closed the word of God to the people.
10 In our day there is similar danger of closing the Bible to the people through misinterpretation of the word of God. Many are casting contempt upon the Old Testament Scriptures, but these are not to lose their sacredness; throughout all time they are not to be dropped out of our instruction. Paul writes concerning the experiences of the people of God in ancient times, “All these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” The prophets spoke less for their own time than for the ages which have followed, and for our own day. Peter says: “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you; searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”
11 In this age of the world we find the same influences at work to make of no effect the word of God. The traditions of men are again exalted above the commandments of God. But Christ declares, “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Christ declared that he came to our world not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill every specification of the law by living out its precepts. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” The light that shines from the Old Testament Scriptures is the light that was imparted to the prophets and wise men by Jesus Christ.
12 Let us see to it that we study the words of Christ in both the Old and the New Testaments, and take heed that we be not agents who shall work to make of no effect the word of God by exalting the traditions and opinions of men.
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Page 761
1 “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them.” Mark gives a little different version of the circumstance, and says: “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them; and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.”
2 The disciples thought that the work of the Master was altogether too important to be interrupted, or, as they thought, hindered, by the introduction of a company of children who were being conducted by their mothers into the presence of Christ. The disciples supposed that these children were too young to be benefited by an interview with Jesus, and concluded that he would be much displeased and annoyed by their presence. But it was the disciples with whom he was displeased. The Saviour understood the care and burden of the mothers who were seeking to train their children according to the word of God. He knew their travail of soul; he had seen them engaged in earnest prayer in behalf of their little ones. He himself had drawn them into his presence. One weary mother had left her home with her little ones clinging to her. As she went on her way, she met a neighbor, and made known her errand, and created a desire in her neighbor’s heart to have Christ also bless her children. Thus several mothers came together, leading their little ones along. Some of the children had passed beyond the age of babyhood to childhood and youth. When they made known their errand, Jesus heard with sympathy and compassion their timid, tearful requests. But he waited to see how the disciples would treat these mothers and their little ones. When he saw them sending them away, mistakenly supposing that they were doing the Master a great favor, he showed them their error, and tenderly received the mothers and their little ones. He took the children in his arms, and laid his hands upon their heads. He pillowed the weary heads of the little ones upon his breast of infinite love. He gave them the blessing for which they came.
3 On the occasion of receiving the children, Christ gave his disciples a lesson which they never forgot. They listened with amazement to the words, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.” The mothers who had led their children to Jesus, were comforted by his compassion. But the mothers of today are also to understand and cherish these words. They are to lay hold of them with the same faith as did the women who brought their children to Jesus, who had sought Christ with trembling fear and yet with eager earnestness. These mothers were encouraged to take up with new cheerfulness their burden of care and love, and to work hopefully for their children. Every care-burdened mother should receive the words of Christ in the same spirit.
4 But he also stated truth that is of general application. He said, “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child [ready to be taught and led of Christ, ready to believe in him as a personal Saviour], he shall not enter therein.” Men and women are only grown-up children. They are under discipline to God even as children are under discipline to their earthly parents. The church is composed of men and women who have the same nature, the same dispositions, as did the little children who were brought to Christ. The members of our churches are composed of persons who have like impulses, who manifest the likes and dislikes, who display the same passions, as did the children who upon receiving Christ were to compose his heavenly kingdom.
5 How appropriate it was that these children should be brought to Christ for his intercession and blessing! They were types of what the members of his church should become. The children of God are to possess the humility, the loving trust, the teachable spirit, the innocence, uncorrupted by worldly deception, that were possessed by the little children.
6 Christian mothers should realize that they are coworkers with God when training and disciplining their children in such a manner as will enable them to reflect the character of Christ. In this work they will have the cooperation of heavenly angels; but it is a work that is sadly neglected, and for this reason Christ is robbed of his heritage,—the younger members of his family. But through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, humanity may be a coworker with divinity. The lessons of Christ upon the occasion of receiving the children, should leave a deeper impression upon our minds. The words of Christ encourage parents to bring their little ones to Jesus. They may be wayward, and possess passions like those of humanity, but this should not deter us from bringing them to Christ. He blessed children that were possessed of passions like his own. We often err in training our children. Parents often indulge their children in that which is selfish and demoralizing, and instead of having travail of soul for their salvation, they let them drift along, and grow up with perverse tempers and unlovely characters. They do not accept their God-given responsibility to educate and train their children for the glory of God. They become dissatisfied with their children’s manners, and disheartened as they realize that their faults are the result of their own neglect, and then they become discouraged. But if parents would feel that they are never released from their burden of educating and training their children for God, if they would do their work in faith, cooperating with God by earnest prayer and work, they would be successful in bringing their children to the Saviour. Let fathers and mothers devote themselves, soul, body, and spirit, to God before the birth of their children. Let them heed the directions that God revealed to the wife of Manoah. The angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, . . . thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.” The burden of this message was a burden of instruction to the wife of Manoah. She was greatly troubled, and Manoah sought the Lord in earnest prayer, and said: “O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe.”
7 In this instruction it is manifest, that before the birth of her child the mother is to be careful in her habits. She must not indulge a perverted appetite, or partake of wine or strong drink, or eat of any unclean thing. The habits of a mother have an influence upon the appetites and passions of her child. The Lord regarded instruction to the mother of such importance that he sent an angel, who veiled his glory, in order to give a direct message to the wife of Manoah, and prescribe the course of action which she should pursue. The instruction given to the wife of Manoah is the instruction that all mothers should follow in order that the prenatal influence may be of a right character.
8 She who expects to become a mother should keep her soul in the love of God. Her mind should be at peace; she should rest in the love of Jesus, practicing the words of Christ. She should remember that the mother is a laborer together with God. He is the great worker as well as the lawgiver. While we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, God is to work in us to will and to do of his good-pleasure. “Ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” Mothers, let your hearts be open to receive the instruction of God, ever bearing in mind the fact that you must act your part in conforming to the will of God. You must place yourself in the light, and seek from God wisdom, that you may know how to act, that you may acknowledge God as the chief worker, and realize that you are a laborer together with him. Let your heart be drawn out in contemplation of heavenly things. Exercise your God-given talents in doing the duties which God has enjoined upon you as a mother, and work in partnership with divine agencies. Labor intelligently, and, “whether ye eat, or whether ye drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
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Page 762
1 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren; and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that, while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. . . . And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.”
2 An angel from heaven came to instruct Zacharias and Elizabeth as to how they should train and educate their child, so as to work in harmony with God in preparing a messenger to announce the coming of Christ. As parents they were to faithfully cooperate with God in forming such a character in John as would fit him to perform the part God had assigned him as a competent worker. John was the son of their old age, he was a child of miracle, and the parents might have reasoned that he had a special work to do for the Lord, and the Lord would take care of him. But the parents did not thus reason; they moved to a retired place in the country, where their son would not be exposed to the temptations of city life, or induced to depart from the counsel and instruction which they as parents would give him. They acted their part in developing a character in the child that would in every way meet the purpose for which God had designed his life. By no careless neglect on their part shall their son fail to become good and wise, “to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” They sacredly fulfilled their obligation.
3 At the time of the birth of John the people generally were addicted to the use of unfermented wine. At the wedding feast in Cana, Christ turned the water into wine. By a miracle he transformed the water into the pure juice of the grape. Wine is good only when it is not fermented. It is then harmless; yet, notwithstanding this, the Lord God of heaven laid down the prohibition that John was to drink neither wine nor strong drink. Unfermented wine soon became sour in Palestine, and neither sweet wine nor sour wine was to pass the lips of John. Christ knew all things; he looked down the ages to our own time, and saw what would be the condition of society in the close of the world’s history. He saw thousands upon thousands perishing in the use of wine and strong drink. The world would gradually come into the same state as it was in the days before the flood. But heaven has lifted a danger signal, that men may take warning, and cooperate with God for their own self-preservation. He has given us examples of absolute abstinence, and provided instruction that, if followed, will result in the creation and preservation of the vigor, skill, and excellency of our children.
4 Fathers and mothers should have clear, unclouded minds, unaffected by the indulgence of perverted appetite,—such minds as God can connect with himself for the salvation of souls who are ready to perish. Those who use wine and fermented liquors weaken their physical and mental powers. Their minds become so clouded that it is impossible for them to discern sacred things. But if the human agent shall cooperate with divine agency, his physical and mental development will become higher and better. His mind will enlarge, and he will grow in power to do good. The grandest, most effectual work can be done by parents who follow the instruction of the Lord, and who train their children physically, mentally, and morally according to the Lord’s directions. If parents neglect to properly instruct their children, and the youth are left to have their own will and way from the days of their childhood, their characters will be greatly perverted; for the enemy will step in and rejoicingly take into his hands the work of training the children and youth.
5 Why is it that parents do not understand the greatness of the work that has been committed to them? The most patient, unremitting culture is required in order that children and youth may be preserved from the formation of habits that will deteriorate their character. Parents, with much prayer, should carefully guide the inexperienced feet of their children into safe paths. To let the child do as it pleases is to insure proficiency in evil. Satan will manage to make children wise in disobedience, in selfishness, and in all manner of waywardness. Look upon a field that is left unworked, and what an unsightly place it is! Weeds and tares overshadow the precious plants, until finally nothing of worth appears. Early childhood is generally a period when marked depravity is made manifest. The child manifests a strong inclination to evil, and it requires a firm, wise hand to control the little one, or it will grow up in sin, a disagreeable, evil element of society. Parents who do not control their children will be controlled by them, and will indulge their children in vain desires, will gratify perverse appetite and inclination. Unless some one, in the providence of God, shall step in, and undertake the missionary work of training the child, will take it away from its parents, where they will have no opportunity to interfere in its discipline, or to indulge it in perverseness, there will be no hope that the terrible work done by its parents will be counteracted, or the peril of the child’s soul be removed.
6 A child who is thus neglected, who is allowed to be willful and disobedient, will carry a malarious influence that will taint and pollute those who come into association with him. At a very early age children become susceptible to demoralizing influences; but parents who profess to be Christians do not seem to discern the evil of their own course of management. O, that they might realize that the bias which is given to a child in its earliest years gives a tendency to character, and shapes the destiny either for eternal life or eternal death! Children are susceptible to moral and spiritual impressions, and those who are wisely trained in childhood may be erring at times, but they will not go far astray. But a child left to form its own character is more likely to choose evil influences than good.
7 Association with evil-minded children is dangerous to the character of children who have been tenderly and carefully reared. Guard your children from every objectionable influence possible; for in childhood they are more ready to receive impressions, either of moral dignity, purity, and loveliness of character, or of selfishness, impurity, and disobedience. Once let them become influenced by the spirit of murmuring, pride, vanity, and impurity, and the taint may be as indelible as life itself. Parents are to look upon their children as intrusted to them of God to be educated for the family above. Train them in the fear and love of God; for “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
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Page 763
1 “And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in nowise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” The compassionate heart of Christ was touched at the sight of this suffering woman, and we should suppose that every human being who looked upon her would have rejoiced that she was loosed from her bondage, and healed of an affliction that had bowed her down for eighteen years. But Jesus perceived by the lowering, angry countenances of the priests and rabbis that they felt no joy at her deliverance. They were not ready to utter thankful words because one who had been suffering and deformed by disease was restored to health and symmetry. They felt no gratitude that her deformed body was made comely, and that the Holy Spirit made glad her heart till it overflowed with thankfulness, and she glorified God. The psalmist says, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me.” But in the midst of the words of gratitude is heard a discordant note. “And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day.” He was indignant that Christ had caused an unhappy woman to sound a note of joy upon the Sabbath. In a loud voice, harsh with passion, he said to the people, “There are six days in which men ought to work; in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
2 If this man had really had conscientious scruples in regard to the true observance of the Sabbath, he would have discerned the nature and character of the work that Christ had performed. If he had cultivated truth and righteousness in his heart, he would have given an entirely different interpretation of the work which was performed on the Sabbath day, and which he said belonged to the six working days. The work that Christ had done was in harmony with the sanctification of the Sabbath day. The people on this side and that side wondered and were glad at the work that had been wrought for the suffering woman; and there were those whose hearts were touched, whose minds were enlightened, who would have acknowledged themselves the disciples of Christ, had it not been for the lowering, angry countenances of the rabbis. The people knew that if they expressed their admiration of Christ, it would cost them something. Many believed on him, but dared not confess their faith, fearing that they would be turned out of the synagogue. They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
3 In the work of mercy which Christ had performed, his divine power shone forth, and testified that his resources were found in the only true and living God. Many were obtaining a correct knowledge of God, and by faith in Christ were getting a better acquaintance with the Way, the Truth, and the Life. To the angry rebuke of the ruler of the synagogue Jesus replied with dignity and authority. In distinct utterances the voice of Christ was heard saying: “Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” They had condemned Christ for relieving a suffering woman, who had been under affliction for eighteen years, when they themselves would not scruple in relieving the thirst of a beast on the Sabbath day. They would not leave their ox or their ass tied up in the stall when it was in need of water, but would lead it out where water might be obtained. He pointed out their inconsistency, saying, You feed your cattle on the Sabbath, and yet you are angry with the people who are solely distressed and suffering, who are under the oppressive power of Satan, because they come on the Sabbath day to be healed. You do a work of mercy for your beast, but pass judgment because I have broken Satan’s power and set free a daughter of Abraham on the Sabbath. “And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.”
4 The rabbis had taught the people that all who were of Jewish extraction were holy and peculiarly favored of heaven. Why did they not lift up their voice in gratitude to God because this suffering daughter of Abraham was freed from her long bondage? The woman had not been possessed in spirit, but the Lord had suffered Satan to exercise his will in bringing disease upon her; for God was demonstrating the character of his kingdom before the whole universe of heaven. This opportunity must be given him to reveal the character of apostasy. The inhabitants of worlds unfallen could view in this case the attributes of Satan and the character of God. The law of God is a transcript of his character. The rebel leader was in opposition to the law of God, and revealed the fact that his principles were those that actuated one who is lawless, disobedient, unholy, an accuser, a liar, and a murderer. The true character of the ruler of the synagogue was laid bare, and it was made manifest that he was on the side of the great rebel, tho sanctimoniously professing to be very punctilious concerning the law of God. He knew not the principle of love that underlies the commandments, and preferred that the woman should suffer rather than that Jesus should work a miracle to heal her, and thus counteract his work of misrepresentation. Tho the rebuke of Jesus brought reproach upon his adversary, and tho the people rejoiced because of all the glorious things that were done, yet the ruler never forgave Christ for departing from the maxims, customs, and commandments of men, with which the rabbis had burdened the law of God and obscured its spiritual significance.
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Page 764
1 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him; and he can not sin, because he is born of God.” The standard which is to test every doctrine, every theory, every profession, is the law of God. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,”—break the law of Jehovah. If a man is born of God, he will respect the principles of the divine government, and will not wilfully transgress the law of God in thought, or word, or action. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.” Jesus prayed that his disciples might be sanctified through the truth, and added, “Thy word is truth.”
2 The new birth is accomplished by the reception of the word of God; but those who belittle the word of God, those who cast contempt upon the law of Jehovah, place themselves under the banner of the prince of darkness. Satan began the work of rebellion in heaven by opposition to the constitution and government of God; and this is the manner of work he has carried on ever since the fall of man. Through the agency of evil men he seeks to make void the law of the Most High. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” Christ vindicated and honored the law of God, declaring that upon the principles of the Ten Commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Those who manifest disrespect for the law of Jehovah, make it evident that they have not been born again, and the truth does not abide in them.
3 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” This statement must be so read as to harmonize with the statement that if we are born of God, we shall not commit sin; for “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him.” John says, “I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.”
4 “Whoso abideth in him sinneth not,” that is, does not wilfully transgress the law of God; for “sin is the transgression of the law.” But what conclusion are we to draw from the profession of those who claim to be sanctified, to be living without sin, and yet who openly cast contempt upon the law of God? They claim to possess advanced piety, and at the same time, by thought, and word, and deed, they transgress the law, and teach others by precept and example that they may sin with impunity. John tests their pretentious claims, and says, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” Those who claim to be sanctified, and who at the same time openly defame the law of God, are in terrible deception, and are blasphemers of the God of heaven. John says, “Let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness [keeps the commandments of God] is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin [transgresses the law] is of the devil.” God has placed the transgressor of the law in the ranks of the powers of darkness, in the company of the first great apostate.
5 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Even those who are striving in sincerity to keep the law of God, are not always free from sin. Through some deceptive temptation, they are deceived, and fall into error. But when their sin comes home to their conscience, they see themselves condemned in the light of the holy precepts of God’s law; but they do not war against the law which condemns them; they repent of their sin, and seek pardon through the merit of Christ, who died for their sins in order that they might be justified by faith in his blood. They do not avoid confession and repentance when the neglected law of God is brought to their attention, by exclaiming, as do the self-righteous pretenders to holiness, “I am sanctified, I am holy, and I can not sin.” This is the class whom the apostle rebukes; for he says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” It is evident that where a claim to sinlessness is made, there the law of God has not been written in the heart; for the commandments of God are exceeding broad, and are discerners of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The apostle speaks words of encouragement to those who realize that they are sinners, and says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” “If we say we have no sin,” when our thoughts, words, and actions, reflected from the law of God, the great moral mirror, reveal us as transgressors, we make God a liar, and prove that his word is not in us.
6 The apostle draws a sharp distinction between the condition of the avowed transgressor, who dares to live in defiance of God’s law, and yet make claim to holiness, and the condition of him who, tho yielding his heart to the claims of the law of God, still sees defects in his character, and bows in humility before God to make confession of sin. Paul says: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.” How dangerous is the position of men who, while claiming sanctification, still will not receive the light of the law by which sin is detected! Sanctification is conformity to the will of God, and the will of God is expressed in his holy law. Those only are truly sanctified who live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. How terrible is it to be a false light, and, while claiming salvation through the merit of the blood of Christ, to be sowing the seed of rebellion against the law of God in the hearts of men!
7 Paul continues, “I was alive without the law once [supposing himself to be righteous]; but when the commandment came [home to his conscience], sin revived, and [the law(?) died].” This is what many would be glad to have us believe; but it is a fatal falsehood, and we can not believe it in the light of God’s word; for Paul declares: “Sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” The testimony of Paul was in harmony with the words of the Lord in the Old Testament; for he says: “Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein; I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them.” “And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly polluted; then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.” “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.”
8 Paul waged no war against the commandments of God because of the sharp work they had done in detecting his sin; but, altho he was condemned to death by the sentence of the law, he exclaims, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Those who wage war against the commandments of God make it manifest that their minds are carnal; for “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh can not please God.” But even when we stand in defense of the law of God, and in opposition to the world, who are making void that law, and who are coming under the temptation of the enemy of God, yet we are not to say that we have no sin, but in meekness repent of sin, and make confession of our shortcoming before the Lord. The law points out our defects of character, but when we see that we have come short, we shall not feel like berating the law which has condemned our sin, we shall not be disposed to call the commandments of God a yoke of bondage, but, like Paul, we shall acknowledge our sin, and self will die. For “if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
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Page 765
1 It is no sign that Jesus has ceased to love us because we experience doubts and discouragements. Affliction comes to us in the providence of God in order that we may see that Christ is our helper, that in him is love and consolation. We may receive grace whereby we may be overcomers, and inherit the life that measures with the life of God. We must have an experience so that when affliction comes upon us, we shall not depart from our faith, and choose fables.
2 There were men among the disciples of Christ who did not always manifest faith in the word of God. When Christ told them that he would go away and prepare mansions for them, and come again and receive them unto himself, and said, “Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know,” Thomas said unto him, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” Jesus said unto him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” Thomas did not believe in the word of God, and did not discern the divine character of Christ. But he was not alone in his unbelief. “Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
3 We should be in a position where we may believe that God is willing to do for us more than we can ask or think. With the key of faith we may unlock the storehouse of God. Then why should we not be believing Christians instead of doubters? Faith will enable us to show the compassion of Jesus in a much larger measure than we do when we remain in doubt. How foolish it would be to go into a cellar, and mourn because we were in the dark! If we want light, we must come up into a higher room. It is our privilege to come into the light, to come into the presence of God. We are to come to him confessing our sins, and believing in the promise that we shall be cleansed from all unrighteousness. The apostle says: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. . . . My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
4 We should grow daily in faith in order that we may grow up to the full measure of the spiritual stature in Christ Jesus. We should believe that God will answer our prayers, and not trust to feeling. We should say, My gloomy feelings are no evidence that God has not heard me. I do not want to give up on account of these sad emotions; for “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The rainbow of promise encircles the throne of God. I come to the throne, pointing to the sign of God’s faithfulness, and cherish the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. We are not to believe because we feel or see that God hears us. We are to trust to the promise of God. We are to go about our business believing that God will do just what he has said he would do, and that the blessings we have prayed for will come to us when we most need them. Every petition enters into the heart of God when we come believing. We have not faith enough. We should look upon our heavenly Father as more willing to help us than an earthly parent is to help his child. Why not trust him? “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” I wish that the beams of light which shine from God’s word could find ready entrance into our hearts; for then we should receive comfort. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Christ is inviting us to open the door of our heart, to clear the rubbish away, and let the Saviour in. Shall we not remove the burden that is piled at the door, and make Christ first, last, and best in everything?
5 We desire to be Christians, then let us sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of him. He will give us strength to overcome every defect in our character, and to oppose to these hereditary or cultivated defects the virtues of Jesus Christ. We must push our way through the deceptive darkness to the divine light. Jesus says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Discouragement and gloom come upon us not because the truth is not sufficient for us, but because we do not bring it into our hearts, and let it have a controlling influence over our lives and actions. Jesus has loved us with a love surpassing that of a mother for her child. The question has been asked, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?” And the answer is given: “Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” By the hand of faith let us grasp the promises of God, and be upon vantage ground. Then we shall be where Satan can not come near and say, “God can not help you. You have sinned, and you can not claim the promises.” The adversary would have us think that the way to life is so difficult that it will be impossible to reach the bliss of heaven. But God has placed us in circumstances where the very best of our natures may be developed, and where the highest faculties may be exercised. If we cultivate that which is good, the objectionable tendencies will not gain the supremacy, and at last we shall be accounted worthy to join the family above. But if we desire to be saints above, we must first be saints upon the earth.
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1 When the Lord was invited to the house of the chief Pharisee, he not only reproved those who chose out the highest places, but gave them instruction as to what kind of guests they should invite to their feasts. “Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee.”
2 This is a lesson of great importance to those to whom the Lord has intrusted riches, and many do not consider the interests of those who are in less favorable circumstances than they are themselves. “When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and thou shalt be blessed; for they can not recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”
3 How few who claim to be Christians practice the lesson that Christ has given on this point! In principle this was not new teaching; for the Old Testament gave rules that should control the action of those who loved God. From the pillar of cloud, Christ had given instructions to his people, saying: “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother; but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. . . . For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” These words had been given to Moses to speak to the children of Israel. They were among the last words that he spoke to the Hebrew nation. Their invisible Leader, who was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, gave these words of instruction to the people who had been chosen of God to be the light of the world.
4 How closely does the instruction given at the lips of Moses harmonize with the instruction that fell from the lips of Christ at the Pharisee’s house! He presented to the Pharisees the principles that were ever to be maintained by his representatives in the world. Christ saw abundant reason for repeating the principles that he had given in the Old Testament; for his professed people failed to carry them out in practical life. The poor were not to cease out of the land; they were always to remain in it, in order that there should be need for the continual exercise of beneficence. Through this means a counteracting influence was set into operation against the temptation to become selfish, to appropriate the Lord’s intrusted gifts, to use the opportunities and privileges which he had given them in gratifying themselves. Should they neglect the poor, and fail to diffuse light, then they would represent Satan, while flattering themselves that they were representing the principles of the character of God. The Lord reminds those assembled that God desires them to impart of his bounty to those who are less fortunate.
5 In his conversation at the table the Lord was not speaking new truth, advancing new doctrines, or expounding new principles. He was repeating an old commandment which he had previously given to Moses to be given to them. He wished them to understand that his teachings in nowise lessened the force of the commandments previously given. The feasts and the suppers that were given by the priests, the Pharisees, and rulers, were given merely for selfish enjoyment. They called in their favorites, their wealthy relatives and friends, who would in their turn invite them to feasts at their houses, and, if possible, spread before them more abundant supplies. Jesus sought to extend their vision, to show them that they had a duty, which was obligatory upon them for all time, and that was to minister to the poor, the lame, the halt, and the blind. He also would have them consider the fact that no duty done to the needy, the afflicted, and the sorrowing, would lose its reward.
6 No man should be content to settle down in the comfortable home that was provided for him through the benevolence of God, and close his eyes and hands, so that he shall not see the wants of the poor, nor administer to their necessities. Every man is called upon to cultivate the attributes that God will approve. We should cast aside selfish, earthly ambitions. Instead of exhausting our powers in strife for the first and highest place, seeking to be esteemed as honorable by men, we should seek to help others to enjoy the precious things that are given to us of God. We should not drop eternity out of our reckoning, but remember that in blessing others we shall bring a sure return to ourselves. Those who follow the example of Christ will receive nothing less than heaven, and the life that measures with the life of God.
7 The Lord Jesus entreats human agents not to cheat themselves out of heavenly treasures, and deprive themselves of an immortal inheritance by hoarding their earthly treasures, and by seeking to provide for themselves a portion in this life. He would have them understand that they are a part of the great web of humanity, and that they are to interweave their interests with the interests of others, and recognize that they are a part of the web of humanity, by supplying the needs of God’s suffering poor. Christ gives cautions and warnings that are of the highest importance, urging men to establish their principal interest in heaven. “But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and thou shalt be blessed; for they can not recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” In his sermon on the mount he brought forth the same truth when he said: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
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Page 767
1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man; and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, Tho I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, tho he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
2 This judge was a man appointed by the law to give decisions upon cases that were brought before him. He had no love or reverence for God, and therefore no unselfish love for his neighbor. He had no regard for the rights of men. Judges were required to show a special attention to widows; but this man cared nothing for the rights of any. The Lord gave instruction through the prophet Jeremiah as to what judges should do for those who called upon them. “Thus saith the Lord: Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, and do no wrong; do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.” The widow and the fatherless were objects of the Lord’s special care, but those who feared not God, who had no regard for their fellow-men, took advantage of the cases of those who were helpless and destitute. A judge unfaithful to his trust suffered might to triumph over right.
3 The widow who came to plead with the unjust judge to avenge her of her adversary was determined that the judge should attend to her case. For a while he refrained from answering her request, but afterwards, because he was getting weary of the continual coming of the widow, he said that he would avenge her. In the position which he occupied, the judge could have immediately delivered this woman from her oppressors, but he had no disposition to do so. Instead of delivering her, he united with her adversaries to do that which would bring oppression upon her. For a long time justice was delayed, but at length because of sheer weariness on account of her persistent importunity, he decided to do the act that he should have done long before.
4 What revelations will be made in the day of final reckoning that will show how much suffering unjust judges have brought upon their fellow-men! It will be made manifest that their injustice has not come upon men because of ignorance of what were their rights, but because they were unmindful of the privileges that God had given to their fellow-men. Tho they stood as judges, they themselves brought upon men terrible oppression, and assisted the robber, the thief, in robbing their fellow-men. The day is coming when these judges will be arrayed before the throne of eternal justice, and will have to give an account before Him who is the judge of both the quick and the dead. When the books are opened and men are judged according to the works written in the books, sentence will be pronounced against the evil judges who have brought so great oppression upon the innocent and the helpless. They will be called upon to behold every deed of injustice, and to see the sufferings that they have thereby caused their fellow-men. Those actions that had the appearance of external propriety, and even of goodness, will be unmasked, and the hypocrisy of men will be seen in its true character. Those who do a deed of justice simply to rid themselves of the trouble of listening to the pitiful tales of suffering that the afflicted pour into their ears, are placed in sharp contrast with the all-merciful, all-pitiful Father, who considers the appeals of his suffering children with infinite compassion and love. The Lord calls upon men and angels to hear what the unjust judge said. Heaven is cognizant of the actions of men. The Lord places in contrast the spirit and action of the unjust judge with his own Spirit and action, saying: “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, tho he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.”
5 These words are to administer comfort to all those who are oppressed. God hears the cries of his children. Jesus gives them the assurance that God has not forsaken, that he will come forth to vindicate their cause. There is One who has suffered in their behalf, who has borne with them their sorrows and afflictions, and who will appear as their deliverer. The people of God who suffer persecutions for their faith, who are falsified, scorned, and derided, are often tempted to think themselves forsaken of God. To the eyes of men they are in the minority, and to all appearances their enemies triumph over them, yet let them not violate their conscience; for the Lord will give them a signal victory. God will hear the humble prayers of his contrite ones. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
6 The question is asked, “And shall not God avenge his own elect?” The elect of God are the objects of his special care. Of his people Christ said, “Ye are the light of the world.” The elect are those whom God has made the depository of sacred responsibilities. They are those whom God has called out of darkness into his marvelous light, to show forth his praises, and to shine as lights amid the moral darkness of the world. The unjust judge had no special interest in the widow who importuned him for deliverance, yet to get rid of her pitiful appeal, he heard her plea, and delivered her from her adversary. But how different is the attitude of God toward his children! “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He loves his people with infinite love. God has from the beginning chosen us for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.
7 We are called to be laborers together with God. The Lord has a particular regard for those who are chosen and faithful, who cry day and night unto him. It may seem that the trials and sufferings continue, and that God does not regard them. Delay may seem long; but their prayers are not in vain; for he will avenge them speedily, that is, at last, and in a way not expected by them, when the most trying point is reached. There is no danger that the Lord will neglect to hear the prayers of his people. He will be true to his word. The danger is that his tried, tempted people will become discouraged and will not persevere in prayer, so that God will avenge them of all that wicked men have brought upon them. The Lord asks: “Can a mother forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”
(Concluded next week.)
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Page 768
1 The Saviour manifested divine compassion toward the Syro-Phenician woman. His heart was touched with pitying tenderness, as he saw her woe and grief. He longed to give her an immediate assurance that her prayer was heard, and her request fulfilled; but he desired to teach his disciples a lesson; and for a short period of time he seemed to act out the feelings that prompted them, and neglected the cry of her heart. He acted towards her in the same manner as the Pharisees taught the people to act toward all such so-called heathen. Christ even repulsed her. He knew the heart of the woman. He knew what sorrow pressed upon her soul, and understood her persistent determination not to be driven away until her request was granted. When she made known her request to Christ, he said, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto dogs.” But she had an answer ready, and said, “The dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master’s table.” This is all I ask. Give me the privilege of eating the crumbs that fall from the table. Did she go away empty and discouraged?—No, she received her request. The Lord commended her for her great faith, and sent her away with the precious boon she had asked. He then turned to his disciples and said, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Did the disciples ever forget this lesson?—No. This case is placed on record to show what is the result of persevering in presenting our needs to the Hearer of prayer. Of Christ it was written. “The bruised reed shall he not break, the smoking flax shall he not quench.” No soul will be left to perish who asks in faith for the help of Christ. The weakest, the most struggling soul, may live, and find hope and sufficiency in God. When Jesus comes into the storm and the darkness, midnight is as bright as noonday. The faith that recognizes Christ leads the soul to rest implicitly upon the promises, because God is behind them. There is hope for the most desponding. Those who take Christ at his word, who surrender their souls to his keeping, their lives to his ordering, will find peace, quietude, and rest. He will impart grace to the needy soul.
2 The Lord calls attention to the words of the judge, saying: “Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him? He so presents the unjust judge and himself as to show that it is an impossibility that God shall fail his people in a time of necessity. Just before the Lord is near to come, the proving of God will be upon his people. The church will be tried until the time when the Lord shall appear in the clouds of heaven. Those who receive answers to their prayers are those who walk in the light of God’s commandments. But let not that man who walks contrary to the expressed will of God, expect that he will receive anything of the Lord. The Lord says: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter; that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. . . . He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth men; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” Again the Lord assures us: “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.”
3 In order to receive the precious gifts of God, we must meet him upon the platform of his own devising, complying with the conditions that he has laid down in his word. There is much turning aside from the word of God. Because iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold. When a trial of faith comes upon those that profess to be the children of God, they do not perseveringly present their petitions before the throne of mercy, depending upon the Holy Spirit, waiting and watching, and continuing to present their requests, searching the Scriptures at the same time to know what is the mind of God. Place your feet in the path of God’s commandments, and be assured that your prayers will be answered. There is a great lack of earnestness, a great lack of vital interest in prayer. Yet we are exhorted to be “instant in prayer,” “to pray without ceasing.” We are to keep a spirit of intercession, and present all our wants to God. We are to tell him about the smallest things of life,—our cares, our business, our desires and needs. You can never weary the Lord by your importuning. It is by beholding Jesus that you become changed into the divine similitude. We may behold him by continuing in prayer, until we are not aware that we are praying; for our souls turn to the Sun of Righteousness as a flower turns to the light.
4 We should study the prayer of Christ that has been given to us in the seventeenth chapter of John. In living out that prayer, we may be lifted day after day into a pure, holy atmosphere, and thus have faith to believe that we receive that thing we ask of God. The Saviour said: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou has sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” What a statement is this! How can the finite man grasp it? Man may become elevated, ennobled through obedience to the commandments of God, and become loyal and true subjects of his kingdom. We may become one with Christ in spirit and character, and testify to the world that God loves us as he loves his Son. What possibilities are there before the fallen human agent! Let perfect obedience be rendered to God through the imputed righteousness of Christ, and we shall reveal to the world the fact that God loves us as he loves Jesus. It will be made evident that “he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
5 Why is it that we are so disposed to distrust God? Why do we as a church doubt his love? Let faith increase by exercise. Let it be sustained by works of righteousness. It is sin that darkens the reason of man, and clouds the understanding. Let the affections be given to God in order that his law may be written in the heart, and the whole man will become a new creature, born again of the Spirit. Then it will be made manifest that the law of God “is perfect, converting the soul.” The Lord Jesus has revealed to us the value of the human soul. He says: “O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Again the promise is made, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” Shall we co-operate with God, and possess the faith that works by love and purifies the soul?
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Page 769
1 “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him; for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.”
2 The reception of Christ by Zacchaeus was one of the bright spots in the Saviour’s experience as he journeyed through Jericho. The members of his own family did not believe on him as the world’s Redeemer, and their unbelief brought anguish to the Saviour’s heart. He knew that they were losing precious opportunities to become acquainted with him, and to receive the precious lessons of truth which he was giving to his people. He had been rejected by the scribes and Pharisees, and by the chief priests and religious leaders of his own nation, because his teachings did not harmonize with the teaching of the professed people of God. They could not be reconciled to the fact that Jesus, who was unrecognized as a religious teacher by the rabbis and scribes, should teach as one having authority. Neither could they bear the manifestation of love and mercy that he gave to those who were considered outcasts and sinners.
3 Zacchaeus was a Jew, and yet a publican. He was even chief among the publicans, having oversight of those who gathered in the taxes in behalf of the Roman Government. A publican was one who was despised by the Jewish people, and the fact that Zacchaeus was a Jew, and still occupied this position, made him doubly offensive. They looked upon him with contempt, altho he was a man of considerable wealth and of some influence in the position which he held. Some looked upon Christ with hatred, and thought themselves much better than Zacchaeus; but they did not respond to his heavenly teaching or yield to the drawing influence of the Holy Spirit. They were surprised to see Zacchaeus accept Christ so readily. They were astonished to see him come down joyfully from the tree to give the hospitality of his house to one who was apparently poor in earthly possessions. They did not understand that Christ had become poor for humanity’s sake, in order that through his poverty they might be made possessors of eternal riches.
4 Zacchaeus had heard of Christ’s merciful works, had listened to the repetition of his wonderful teaching, and had longed to see Christ for himself. The words of the Saviour that had been reported to him by those who had heard him, had taken deep hold of his heart, and had made him realize that he needed to reform his life. He felt deeply the need of repentance, of making restitution to those whom he had unjustly taxed, and of whom he had demanded exorbitant rates. He desired to know more of the principles and doctrines of this wonderful Teacher. The seed of truth had been sown in his heart, and he had nurtured it, and it was about to bring forth a harvest unto the glory of God.
5 The scribes and Pharisees murmured among themselves as they heard the words of gracious favor to Zacchaeus. They were eager to find something with which to accuse Christ, and to lead the people to reject him. Christ was the Prince of God, yet he was not honored even as are earthly princes. He did not come in splendid state, and pass through the cities of men in gorgeous equipage. He made one of the multitude among which he traveled. He spoke words of encouragement to the despondent, relieved those who were suffering, healed the sick and afflicted, and blessed those who came within the sphere of his influence. He came as the missionary of heaven to represent the Father, and he rejoiced whenever he met a soul who received him without prejudice, and responded to the gracious drawing of the Spirit of God. Tho the scribes and Pharisees murmured that favor had been shown to Zacchaeus, his heart rejoiced as Jesus said, “I must abide at thy house.”
6 Zacchaeus could hardly think that he had heard aright. He was overwhelmed with the condescension of the great Teacher in choosing his home as the place of his abode. It had been in his power to oppress those from whom he was appointed to gather the taxes. He was convicted that his practice was out of harmony with the Old Testament Scriptures. He knew the Scriptures, and under the influence of the words that had been reported to him, that had come from the lips of the great Teacher, he had become aware that he was a sinner in the sight of God. He began at once to follow the conviction that had taken hold upon him, and to make restitution to those whom he had robbed. This was an evidence of genuine conversion. The scribes and Pharisees expressed their indignation, saying that Christ had gone to be the guest of a man that was a sinner; but the fact of the matter was the Holy Spirit was working upon this man’s mind, and the multitude had a clear evidence of the fact. “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”
7 In thus doing Zacchaeus was following out the very instructions which the Lord had given in the Old Testament Scriptures, and showed himself to be a doer of the words of Christ. When the publicans had come to be baptized of John in the Jordan, they asked, “What shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.” In restoring fourfold for what he had taken in extortion, he was following the word of the prophet when he said, “He shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” Jesus recognized his sincere repentance, and accepted his work toward reformation. “And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.” Not only was Zacchaeus blessed, but all his household with him.
8 What a lesson is there for us in the history of Zacchaeus’ conversion! If we have injured others through any unjust business transaction, if we have overreached in trade, or defrauded any man, even tho it be within the pale of the law, yet if we are Christians, we shall confess our wrong, and make restitution as far as in us lies. We should give evidence that there is a genuine work of grace within our hearts. If earthly courts award to us property that is not justly ours, we are not to accept the decision of unjust judges. Tho we may be clear on the records of men, yet in the books of heaven we will be written as oppressors, and the case will go against us when judgment shall take place in the courts of God.
9 Before Zacchaeus had looked upon the face of Christ, he had begun the work that makes him manifest as a true penitent. Before being accused by man, he had confessed his wrong. He had yielded to the convictions of the Holy Spirit. He had begun to carry out the spirit of the words written for ancient Israel, as well as for ourselves. He said to the Saviour, “The half of my goods I give to the poor.” The Lord had said long before: “If thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him; yea, tho he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.” “Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God.” These words had been spoken by Christ when he was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud. The same Teacher had spoken these words as had spoken the sermon on the mount. It was Christ who had said, “Ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments.” Christ had presented the same principles on the mount of beatitudes as he had on Mount Sinai. He had said that on the principles of love to God and to our neighbor, hung all the law and the prophets.
10 When the human agent is awakened by the Holy Spirit, the least that he can do is to acknowledge his wrong, and to work earnestly to restore both principal and interest to those whom he has defrauded. Among the publicans existed a confederacy, so that these men could oppress the people, and sustain one another in the fraudulent practices. Zacchaeus by his repentance and reformation protested against this confederacy. He restored fourfold to those whom he had oppressed. If we have wronged any one by taking away that which was justly his due, we should consider that it is right for us to restore not only that which we have taken, but all that it would have accumulated if it had been put to a wise and right use during the time it has been in our possession.
11 To Zacchaeus the Saviour said, “This day is salvation come to this house.” Christ went to his home to abide with him, to give him lessons of truth, to instruct his household in the things of his kingdom. Salvation comes to the soul when Christ is received as a personal Saviour. The case of Zacchaeus was a most grateful token to Christ as he journeyed on his way. Tho the scribes and the Pharisees accused Zacchaeus of being a sinner, and murmured against Christ because he had condescended to be his guest, yet the Lord looked upon the matter in an altogether different light. Instead of denominating Zacchaeus a sinner, he recognized him as a “son of Abraham.” He had made it manifest that he was worthy to be called a son of Abraham; for he resembled Abraham in character, and was full of faith, accepting Christ as his Saviour, as did also the “father of the faithful.” Of himself Christ said, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Those who had condemned others, who thought themselves beyond the need of repentance, were shown to be greater sinners than those they condemned. Those whom they accused would go into the kingdom of heaven, and those who thought themselves righteous, and who vindicated their own course, would be cast out. Jesus had come, as he said, not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, and those who receive him joyfully, will recognize the fact that salvation has come to their souls.
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Page 770
1 When Christ came to the world, John says that “he came unto his own, and his own received him not.” The Jewish nation had set up a standard of character that they deemed righteous, and they did not realize their need of the righteousness of Christ. They were self-deceived, as was the man who presented himself at the wedding feast not having on the wedding garment. The Jews did not appreciate the incomprehensible love of God in giving Christ to be our Mediator, and to be the representative of God to man. They did not appreciate the fact that Christ was our intercessor, invested with the fulness of divine love. They did not realize the necessity of an Advocate at the right hand of the Deity. Satisfied with their own self-righteousness, they would none of Jesus.
2 Shall any of us be as unappreciative as were the Jews, or shall we look upon Christ as a perfect specimen of our perfected humanity uniting in himself the attributes of Deity with our human nature? The only-begotten Son of God made manifest what humanity may become. In his sanctified human nature he revealed what man must be. Through him mercy was enabled to deal justly in punishing the transgressor of the law, and justice was enabled to forgive without losing its dignity or purity. At the cross mercy and truth embraced each other, righteousness and peace kissed each other. O, what a wonderful provision was made for man! How is it that we do not appreciate the heavenly gift? By the course that we individually pursue, we testify as to what value we place upon the golden privileges that are granted to us.
3 We should consider the fact that to Christ our nature was a robe of humiliation and suffering. He humbled himself to become a man, so that a body should be found, a Lamb without blemish should be provided as a sinless offering, that God might be just and the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Humanity was in union with divinity. What was the exceeding sorrow he bore, when, the sinless, he took upon himself the mass of the guilt of the world? As we stand and view his cross and contemplate the amazing sacrifice of the only begotten of the Father, as we look upon the holy Sufferer, we realize something of the offensive character of sin, and at the same time have a feeble comprehension of the love of God for a fallen, apostate race.
4 God does not love us because he provided this great propitiation, but he so loved the world that he made the propitiation from the foundation of the world. He has made every provision whereby his grace and favor may come to man. But was the great sacrifice made in order that Adam’s sin might be perpetuated, and the flood-gates of woe be ever left open upon our world?—No, it was to bring us back to our loyalty to God, to keep his commandments and live, and his law as the apple of our eye. Christ says, “Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.” Perfect obedience to the law of God is the test by which it is known that our love is perfect toward Christ. The Father reveals his love to Christ by receiving and welcoming the friends of Christ as his friends. The Father is fully satisfied with the atonement that Christ has made. He suffered the penalty of the law in order that man might have an opportunity to exercise repentance towards God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. In behalf of sinners Christ has borne hardships, insults, calumny, abuse, an misrepresentation. He was refused by those he came to save, rejected by his own nation. The Lord of glory was put to a most shameful death, and God himself was in Christ, suffering with his only-begotten Son, in order to reconcile the world unto himself. All this was done in order that fallen man might have another chance by which to redeem himself. Christ imputes his righteousness to the repentant, believing soul, and he who receives Christ becomes the friend of God. Humanity is glorified by the incarnation of Christ. Through the plan of salvation the divine government stands unimpeached, while salvation of penitent souls is secured.
5 In his prayer for his disciples Christ said: “I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” In his prayer Christ includes all those who shall hear the words of life and salvation through the messengers whom he sends. We are to look with respect upon God’s workmen, remembering that they are laborers together with God. The people of God through their union with Christ become one with each other. This is the object of their sanctification, “that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
6 Can the human mind comprehend this statement? Can we by faith comprehend the fact that we are beloved by the Father even as the Son is beloved? Could we indeed lay hold of this and act up to it, we would indeed have the grace of Christ, the golden oil of heaven, poured into our poor, thirsty, parched souls. Our light would no longer be fitful and flickering, but would shine brightly amid the moral darkness that like a funeral pall is enveloping the world. We should by faith hear the prevailing intercession that Christ continually presents in our behalf, as he says: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
7 We have an advocate at the throne of God, which is encircled by the bow of promise, and we are invited to present our petitions in the name of Christ before the Father. Jesus says: Ask what ye will in my name, and it shall be done unto you. In presenting my name, you bear witness that you belong to me, that you are my sons and daughters, and the Father will treat you as his own, and love you as he loveth me. Your faith in me will lead you to exercise close, filial affection toward me and the Father. I am the golden chain by which your heart and soul are bound in love and obedience to my Father. Express to my Father the fact that my name is dear to you, that you respect and love me, and you may ask what you will. He will pardon your transgressions, and adopt you into his royal family,—make you a child of God, a joint heir with his only begotten Son. Through faith in my name he will impart to you the sanctification and holiness which will fit you for his work in a world of sin, and qualify you for an immortal inheritance in his kingdom. The Father has thrown open, not only all heaven, but all his heart, to those who manifest faith in the sacrifice of Christ, and who through faith in the love of God, return unto their loyalty. Those who believe in Christ as the sin-bearer, the propitiation for their sins, the intercessor in their behalf, may through the riches of the grace of God, lay claim to the treasures of heaven. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Jesus says, “Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
8 The summing up of the benefit of prayer is that devotion that leads to faith in God’s promises. This faith is the key that opens the divine treasury, is the hand by which we appropriate to our use the richest gifts of God. The prayer of the contrite heart unlocks the treasure house of supplies, and lays hold of omnipotent power. This kind of prayer enables the suppliant to understand what it means to lay hold of the strength of God, and to make peace with him. This kind of prayer causes us to have an influence over those with whom we associate. The prayer of faith is not listless, dry, and uninteresting. It wells up from perfect trust and assurance, and by its fervor makes manifest to the world, to angels, and to men, that you do believe in God, and have made Christ your personal Saviour. The Lord Jehovah accepts the argument that is presented in the name of his Son, and places the resources of his merit at your command. It is our privilege and duty to bring the efficacy of the name of Christ into our petitions, and use the very arguments that Christ has used in our behalf. Our prayers will then be in complete harmony with the will of God. Then it is that Christ clothes the contrite suppliant with his own priestly vestments, and the human petitioner approaches the altar holding the holy censer, from which ascends the incense of the fragrance of the merit of Christ’s righteousness.
9 Our Redeemer encourages us to present continual supplications. He makes to us most decided promises that we shall not plead in vain. He says: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” He then presents the picture of a child asking bread of its father, and shows how much more willing God is to grant our requests than a parent is to grant his child’s petition. He says: “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
10 Our precious Saviour is ours today. In him our hopes of eternal life are centered. He is the One who presents our petitions to the Father, and communicates to us the blessing for which we asked. He is the medium of prayer through which man speaks to God, and the medium through which God imparts blessing to humanity. He is the Intercessor and the Bestower. Herein is the love of God made manifest, “not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” God has given assurance upon assurance, heaped gift upon gift, multiplied grace upon grace, and imparted his divine treasures to humanity, in order that we may believe the love that God hath for us. Beholding this love, John exclaims, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
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1 “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.” The disciples were to precede Christ, and prepare the way before him, as John had preceded and prepared his way. They were to preach the kingdom of God. They were to go two and two, and in this way pass over a large territory. The Lord was taking his last journey from Galilee toward Jerusalem. The disciples were not only to preach the kingdom of God, but were to heal the sick, and prepare the field for the coming of the great Physician. They were to proclaim his divine character, and awaken an interest in the minds of the people, announcing him to be the Messiah, and giving publicity to his work and mission.
2 These disciples were enjoined to salute no man by the way. They were not to enter into formal salutations that would open a way for controversy. The life of Christ was drawing to a close. They were to prepare the way for the last work that he was to do in person for the inhabitants of the world. He sent them forth empty-handed, to depend upon the hospitality of those whom they should meet. They were in no way to disguise their humble origin. As they mingled with the people, they were to sit with them at their tables, to go with those who should invite them, to pay no attention to caste or position. Their one object was to proclaim the Gospel to every man, no matter what might be the nation or character of his hearers. “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.” This circumstance happened just on the outskirts of the village. The ten men were a most distressing spectacle. The law prohibited a leper from entering towns or villages, and lest any one should come unexpectedly upon them, they were to utter the mournful cry, “Unclean! unclean!” These lepers were made up of Jews and Samaritans, and the prejudice that existed between them was broken down by this terrible malady, and, doomed to death, they associated together. The lepers were not ignorant of Jesus. They had heard of his wonderful works of mercy, and how he had healed those who were in the same condition as they were themselves. Recognizing the great Teacher and Healer, they raised their voices in a pitiful wail of distress, and cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” They were cut off from society, and presented themselves to Jesus as subjects of pity. His heart was stirred with divine compassion, and he said to them, “Go show yourselves unto the priests.” When they heard this word, they believed that it meant their restoration, and they hastened to obey. They knew that Jesus understood the law and how their disease had excluded them from society. It was necessary for a cleansed leper to have the testimony of a priest that he was clear of his plague, and to have his permission, in order again to associate freely with his fellow-men. They hastened to obey the word of Jesus; “and it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”
3 Jesus was a helper to the helpless, a friend to the needy. He had daily manifested compassion and love for the human race. While he received the lowly, the sick, the poor, and the afflicted, he presented principles to the Pharisees, scribes, and rabbis that condemned their pride, their selfishness, and self-glorying. These bigoted teachers were filled with envy because the masses turned away from their instruction to listen to Jesus. They spoke evil of Christ and of his doctrine. They had it in their hearts to destroy him, but they knew not what they could do, because the people were very attentive to hear him. The greater good he wrought for the people, and the more they were led to glorify God on account of his mighty works, the more desperate and determined his enemies became. They said among themselves, “Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.”
4 Those who thought themselves righteous and in need of nothing, rejected the word of Christ, yet the poor and afflicted received his assurances. The ten lepers went on their way in obedience to his command, and they knew that a great change had taken place in themselves, and that they were healed. Their faith had been tested by Christ’s direction; but they did not defer a moment to act upon his word. If there was any prospect that they might be healed, they would make the venture. The tones of his voice had thrilled their hearts, and inspired them with hope, with faith and confidence. They were not only cleansed, but made entirely whole. Divine power had wrought a new creation.
5 When they presented themselves to the priest, he declared that they were free from every taint of leprosy. One of the number was filled with joy and thankfulness, and determined to return and to find the wonderful Healer, in order to give him thanks for the restoration. He came rejoicing at every step, and with a loud voice he glorified God. When he came into the presence of Christ, he fell upon his face, and with an overflowing heart expressed the love and gratitude which he felt. This man who returned to give praise to Christ was a stranger, a Samaritan. His nation was despised and hated by the Jews. Christ had healed of the leprosy men who were Jews, but none of the nine returned to glorify God on behalf of his work for them. This Samaritan believed in Christ as the Redeemer of both soul and body. He made manifest the fact that he was more susceptible to the grace of God, and more appreciative of divine love, than were the other nine. Jesus called the attention of his disciples to the fact that he was a Samaritan, and said: “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.”
6 The disciples of Christ, as Jews, had been educated to hate the Samaritans, and this was a lesson that would be of great benefit to them in their future experience. Jesus would have them understand that there were many precious souls among the Samaritans who would not refuse to come to the Gospel feast. This Samaritan that had returned to give praise to God was no mean citizen, and he would prove an effective witness for Christ. After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, he would bear decided witness that Christ was the Son of God. He would repeat the story of his restoration, and with a heart full of intense love and interest, he would say to those with whom he came in contact, “Will you believe in Jesus?” It was testimonies of this kind that turned men from the established teachings and endless repetitions and worthless traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. Unlearned men testified to the power of Christ, and spoke boldly of the grace of God, and their glowing testimonies were placed in sharp contrast to the heartless, exacting ritual of the Pharisees. And the people were constrained to say that these men had been with Jesus, and had learned of him.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 The leper that returned to give glory to God was rewarded for his faith and gratitude. But how sad it is that only one of the ten appreciated the blessing that was bestowed upon them! In every age God has poured out his blessings upon men, and has healed and restored them as he healed the ten lepers. But how often the proportion of those who recognize and appreciate God’s mercies is even less than one to ten! The nine did not report themselves, but went on their way, satisfied that they were restored. They did not give honor to God, and to Jesus Christ, whom he had sent to be their healer. The Lord works continually to benefit mankind. He is continually imparting his bounties. He raises up the sick from beds of languishing, he delivers men from peril which they do not see; he commissions heavenly angels to save men from calamity, to guard them from the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and from the destruction that wasteth at noonday, but their hearts are unimpressed. They do not consider God’s blessings, they do not rejoice in his love. They center all their thoughts upon themselves. They do not appreciate Christ’s pitying tenderness and matchless love. Only a few discern that their blessings are the result of the never-failing mercies of God through Jesus Christ; but those who do discern this fact, make melody in their hearts to God, and, as did the cleansed leper, they offer to him a tribute of praise and thanksgiving.
2 There are many who claim that Jesus has cleansed them from the leprosy of sin. But how few continue to offer a tribute of praise, ascribing glory to God! The great gift that God has bestowed upon the world in his only-begotten Son, calls for as hearty a response of love and gratitude as that which fell from the lips of the Samaritan, who returned to give God glory. When our human friends bestow upon us gifts and favors, we feel an inclination to manifest gratitude, and to return gifts and favors to them. But how indifferent and careless, how unappreciative, are the hearts of men of the love of God! How little men seem to think of the blessings that are showered upon them by our kind heavenly Father! The Lord asked, “Where is my glory and my praise for the boundless love I have shown to men?” It is impossible for God to give a greater manifestation of his tender compassion and benevolent love. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” All heaven was comprised in that one gift. It is through the merits of the gift of Christ that we receive all our mercies. We may rejoice with heart and soul and voice as we partake of our daily food; for it is the gift of God through Jesus Christ.
3 In the councils of heaven the Lord planned to reshape the broken, perverted characters of man, and to restore to them the moral image of God. This work is termed the mystery of godliness. Christ, the only-begotten of the Father, assumed human nature, came in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh. He came to testify to the unchangeable character of the law of God that had been impeached by Satan. Not one jot or tittle of it could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition. Christ lived the law in humanity, in order that every mouth might be stopped, and that Satan might be proved an accuser and a liar. Christ revealed to the world the character of God as full of mercy, compassion and inexpressible love. He came to lift up man. It was provided that whosoever should believe in Christ as his personal Saviour should be saved. In all his works he taught men that it was his mission not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.
4 Through the plan of salvation, power was to operate in the re-creation of man. The remedy for the sinner was of a supernatural character. It was not essential that fallen man should understand the philosophy of the scheme of redemption, or comprehend how divinity and humanity were united in Christ. It was not essential that doctors of divinity, that men of learning, should be able through worldly wisdom to unfold all that pertained to the grand scheme of redemption. It was made plain that it was essential that fallen man should believe in the word of God, and obey to the letter his commandments. The word of God may be compared to a treasure-house, and the more we search it, the more we find its hidden riches. Here we may behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. It is in the word of God that we find encouragement to turn our eyes to Christ, to lift up our voice in hope and expectation, saying, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” It is in the word of God that we find what is the effectual remedy for the leprosy of sin. Here it is that we see the ransom that has been provided, hear the gracious invitation, and look upon the mercy of God, that has no parallel, toward those who are rebels and enemies.
5 As messengers that are chosen of God, we are to herald the glad news of salvation, and earnestly co-operate with him in saving perishing souls. We should seek to lead those who are bound in the slavery of sin, to accept the costly sacrifice that heaven has made for man. The conditions upon which salvation is assured are plain and simple, so that the wayfaring man need not err therein. To neglect or reject these conditions is to lose all hope of salvation. God alone is able to say on what terms fallen, rebellious man may be saved. How foolish it is for men to spend their energies in seeking to climb up some other way than that way which is so simple and so easy to be understood that the most illiterate may take advantage of its provisions. Professed theologians seem to take pleasure in making that which is plain, mysterious. They clothe the simple teachings of God’s word with their own dark reasonings, and thus confuse the minds of those who listen to their doctrines. Let the Lord explain what he would have the sinner do to inherit eternal life. He has furnished ample provision for his salvation, for he gave himself in Christ. He provided a salvation as full and complete as was the offering full and complete. A lawyer came to Christ asking what he should do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus said unto him, “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”
6 The lawyer spoke just as he was convicted, and Christ confirmed him in his interpretation of the law. “And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” How beautiful was this truth in its simplicity! This is what God requires of us. Through faith in Jesus Christ as our substitute, surety, and righteousness, we may lay hold upon divine power, so that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The keeping of God’s commandments is an evidence of our faith in Christ as our divine Saviour. John says, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous.” Again he writes, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
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1 “Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him; and the third day he shall rise again.”
2 He spoke these words to his disciples as he was taking his last journey toward Jerusalem. Luke speaks of this conversation, and gives it in more detail. He says: “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on; and they shall scourge him, and put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things; and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
3 The disciples of Christ could not believe that Christ should be treated with such contempt, that men should scourge him, and put him to death. They expected that he would set up a temporal kingdom, that he would sit upon David’s throne, and reign as a temporal prince in Jerusalem, bringing all nations into subjection to his will. Altho Christ plainly told them what would be his fate, they were not prepared to change their ideas. They were unwilling to believe the disagreeable truths that he opened to them, were unwilling to give up the thought that Christ would be a conqueror. They would not harbor the idea that he would be rejected and treated as a slave by his enemies. Not believing the words of Christ, they did not comprehend the words of the prophets, and thought them out of harmony with the words of Christ. We marvel that they could not comprehend these things; for as we stand this side of the cross, we see clearly how the predictions of prophets were fulfilled to the letter. Because they did not believe the words that Christ spoke to them (and he always spoke truth and never deceived them), they were unprepared for the trying scenes through which they were called to pass.
4 Jesus plainly revealed to them the fact that he was to be rejected and crucified, and yet, clinging to their idea of a temporal kingdom, the mother of Zebedee’s children, with her sons, came to him, “worshiping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom.” Had they comprehended the statement which Christ had made to them concerning his death, their hearts would have been too deeply moved to make such a request. “But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. Then he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.”
5 They were to be partakers with Christ in his sufferings. All who follow Christ will deny self, will share in his humiliation, will suffer affliction and persecution, and be hated of all men for his name’s sake. James was killed with a sword by Herod, and John’s life would have been extinguished if God had not kept his light burning to be a faithful witness of his personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. But if the words of Christ had been rightly comprehended, they would have understood what he meant when he said that to sit on his right hand and on his left was not his to give, but would be given to those for whom it is prepared by his Father. Those who would be thus distinguished in the kingdom of God, would be prepared for these places by manifesting the love of Christ, by giving to the world in their own character a representation of his character. “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he hath.” He that employs his God-given abilities in improving the opportunities sent to him, will have light proportionate to his faithfulness, and because he hath, he shall have more abundantly. But if the capabilities that God has intrusted to men are not used, their abilities will diminish, and because they are slothful servants, and do not make an application of their talents to the service of God, they will become less and less qualified to do his work. Their light will diminish, and they will cultivate the powers by which they scatter away from Christ. They will lose all that is good, and be unfitted to take a place in the courts of heaven. Because they have failed to improve their privileges, they will lose soul, body, and spirit. Their loss will be the natural result of their course of action; for he who works against God can have no place in his kingdom.
6 The request that was made for the exaltation of John and James in the kingdom of Christ, will be granted, if they so improved their talents in the service of God as to fit them for that place. But John and James were on test and trial, and if they proved true, if they held fast the faith once delivered to the saints, they would have the position that the Father had prepared for them, and the position would be according to their unselfish fidelity in using the talents God had intrusted to them in the service of Christ. Each one of us will be dealt with according to the same rule. Shall we not all take the lesson to heart? The way in which we use the Lord’s intrusted talents will make a decided difference as to what shall be our future, eternal reward. Those who feel under obligation to God to improve every talent he has lent them to his glory, will be rewarded in proportion to their faithful zeal in his service. Those who misapply the precious talents God has given, who, instead of using them for God’s glory, make them serve selfish purposes, will be rewarded as was the man in the parable who went and hid his Lord’s money in the earth. Those who are careless, indolent, selfish, who think more of their own exaltation than they do of the honor of God, will not be found keeping the first four and the last six commandments, and can not be rewarded as those will be rewarded who have manifested pure devotion in the service of God. The record of our lives is accurately kept by the recording angel, and we shall each be rewarded according as our works have been. There will be many who will be greatly surprised in the last day. Jesus says, “Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
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1 God had signally blessed the Jews, and they had been unfaithful to their trust; tho professing to be the people of God, they would have no place in the kingdom of heaven. They had been made the depository of sacred truth; they had had light far in advance of any other nation on the face of the earth, and yet by misappropriating the great gifts lent to them in trust, by dishonoring and misrepresenting God, by becoming self-righteous and self-important, they had lost the precious graces of the Spirit of God, and were wholly unfit for the heavenly courts. They had not honored God, therefore God could not honor them. They had counted other people as unworthy to associate with them. They had despised them, and fully believed that they themselves would go into heaven before others. But those whom they despised, who made a more faithful use of their privileges, would be accepted to God, and would enter heaven, to sit down with distinguished men who did not reject the world’s Redeemer, or cast contempt upon the law of Jehovah.
2 The words that Christ spoke to John and James, recorded in Matthew 20:21, 22, contain a deep, unchangeable truth. Tho they did not understand its full significance when it was spoken to them, they afterward appreciated its meaning; for the Holy Spirit enlightened their minds. These words are written for our instruction as well as theirs. We are in the same danger as were those who supposed that they were the very favorites of heaven, who supposed that Christ had come to exalt the Jews as a nation, and to break the yoke of bondage under which they groaned with such a sense of humiliation. They excluded the gentiles from any participation in the kingdom of God; but Jesus distinctly told them that many who were called heathen would be saved, while those who had neglected to improve their rich opportunities, and who did not appreciate the treasures of truth, would be cast into outer darkness.
3 If we would be children of God in deed and in truth, we must seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and decide that we will be doers of the words of Christ, that we will obey God rather than men. We are to honor human agencies in whom we see the loveliness of Christ’s character, but we are not to dishonor God, and him who was the Sent of God, by giving to men flattering titles. The greatest Teacher the world ever knew left no example of this character for us to follow. He did not call any fallible, sinful man by a title that belongs alone to God. No human being heard the title of reverend or right reverend from his lips as applied to man. Our highest honor is our humility. Christ, who was the most exalted among men and angels, bids us to learn of Him who is meek and lowly of heart. Those who took high titles to themselves, were rebuked by Christ as hypocrites. He said that they would not enter into the kingdom of heaven themselves nor permit others to do so. They made great pretensions, and presented themselves before the people as those who had superior knowledge of the Scriptures, but Christ said of them that they were ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. He said, “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
4 The Pharisees sought in every way to destroy the force of the truth, and to eclipse the light of God from the view of the people. Professing to be representatives of God, under the garb of religion, they committed the grossest transgressions. Christ came to represent the Father, and therefore they were stirred with enmity against him, and were determined to put him out of the way. Christ placed the principles of the Gospel before the minds of his disciples and the people in order that they might see how great was the contrast between the spirit of true religion and that of the religion professed by the Pharisees.
5 John and James, who made the request that they might sit, one on the right hand and the other on the left hand of Christ in his kingdom, did not make this request in the spirit that many have thought they did. They both loved Christ, and desired to be as close as possible to his person. It was customary for John to take his position next to the Saviour at every possible opportunity. James also longed to be honored with as close a connection with Christ as John desired. But when the ten heard of the request that had been made, “they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.” Jesus called his disciples to him, and said: “Ye know that the princes of the gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” This means that those who would be great in the church of God must act as true shepherds in his church. They are to follow the example that Christ has given. “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
6 The Mind of Christ.
Jesus did not come to earth with outward pomp and display. His works of divine love and mercy were to testify to his divine origin and character. Those who would not receive him because of his outward humility, would be of no value to the Saviour, no blessing to humanity. He clothed his divinity with humanity, and yet he did not require that any one should minister unto him. He came to labor for others. He ever strove to do men good; he provided for their necessities. Among his disciples he was in every sense a care-taker, a burden-bearer. He shared their poverty. He practiced self-denial on their account. He went before them to smooth the more difficult places, and now he was nearing the time when he would consummate his work for men on earth by laying down his life. He paid his life as the price for our redemption.
7 The lessons given to the disciples of Christ, are full of significance, and present most profitable instruction for us who believe. We are not to act after the manner, precept, or example of men who are in authority in earthly positions, but to minister to others, to be servants to all, “even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” The kingdom of God is established on different principles than are the kingdoms of this world. There is to be no rank among the servants of Christ. Christ says, “All ye are brethren.” The rich, the poor, the learned, the unlearned, the bond, and the free are equally God’s heritage, and he who is most exalted in the sight of God is he who has most genuine humility, the deepest sense of his unworthiness, the greatest realization of his dependence upon God. Those who truly love God, truly love their fellow-men. They constantly seek to do good to all those who are connected with them. They are laborers together with God.
8 Christ did not reprove John and James and their mother for offering this request to sit upon his right hand and upon his left hand in the kingdom. In presenting the principles of love that should actuate them in their dealings one with another, he presents to the indignant disciples the instruction that he would have them practice in their daily lives. They were to take his life as an example, and follow in his steps. The apostle presents this matter before us also in its true light, and says: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.”
9 Christ lived the law. He copied no human model, he drew no lessons from the maxims that guided the world. He was the brightness of his Father’s glory, the express image of his person. He thought it not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God, and yet there was not one act of oppression in his whole life. He bore patiently with Judas. Judas condemned himself in betraying his Lord, gave himself up to the enemy, passed sentence upon himself, and put himself to death. How tenderly Jesus dealt with Peter; tho he denied him three times, yet he looked upon Peter with sorrowful regret, with pardoning love! It was that look that broke the heart of the disciple. Let us look upon the spotless life of Christ, appreciate his unstained purity of character, and pray earnestly, “Be thou my pattern.”
10 Christ was ever touched with human woe. He healed the sick. He worked miracles. He condescended to go to those who could not come to him. He raised the dead. And yet he bore with meekness and patience the charge that he cast out devils through the prince of devils. He denounced every abomination in the land. His own spotless, untainted purity put to shame every evil practice. It was this character that showed up in contrast the character of those who were deceiving the people and lording it over God’s heritage. His lips were free from all guile; zeal for God’s honor was unceasingly apparent in his life, and yet the most inveterate hatred was aroused against the only-begotten Son of God, who hated sin alone, yet loved the sinner. Satan could find nothing in Christ by which to lead him from the path of rectitude. Judas declared, “I have betrayed innocent blood.” Pilate, who condemned him, said, “I find no fault in him.” But, tho spotless, tho blameless, he was delivered to be crucified. Shall we who have been purchased by the blood of Christ complain of hardships? shall we for whom Christ has died oppress one another? Shall we who are mortal, erring men, heap reproach upon those who are mortal, erring men like ourselves? Shall we think it too great a disgrace to suffer reproach for the name of Christ?—God forbid. Let us go without the camp, and, if required, bear reproach cheerfully, gladly, for Christ’s sake. If we have found Christ precious to our souls, then we owe it to Jesus to tell others of his preciousness, to lead them to understand what they shall do to inherit eternal life. We have received much of heaven; we are to impart much of heaven. We are to make known the ways of Christ upon earth.
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Page 775
1 “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” The solemn and joyous ceremonies were carrying the people to the highest state of enthusiasm, when the clear, melodious voice of Jesus was heard among that immense throng of all classes and grades of society. Some, the priests and rulers, the scribes and Pharisees, were full of prejudice and bitterness. Some were scoffing, and some planning how they could compass the death of Christ; yet this great and wonderful ceremonial had been instituted by himself, and was a representation of his mission.
2 As Jesus looked upon that vast congregation, he read the heart sorrow beneath the outward display of joyous exultation. He saw many whose souls were parched as the desert, many overwearied by participation in the great ceremonial pointing to himself. How he longed to pour into their heart the current of his love! Many were almost fainting from weariness, but that voice, unlike any other, fell upon the ear in soothing accents, “If any man thirst,” for assurance of truth, for restful hope, for deliverance from sinful propensities, “let him come unto me, and drink.” He need not go to the priests or rabbis, but let him come unto me. “He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” When he should ascend to the Father, then the Comforter which the Saviour promised to send would come. Jesus promised to manifest himself through the Holy Spirit to every individual who shall seek him and believe on him.
3 The attention of the people was arrested. That clear, penetrating voice conveyed his words to the farthest bounds of the congregation. What effect did they have?—”Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?” Unbelief arose in many minds, because they were reasoning upon false pretenses. In their ignorance they had received hearsay, and supposed that Jesus had been born in Galilee. But he was born in Bethlehem. Some of the priests and rulers would have taken him, but they dared not lay hands on him in so public a manner. The people were not of the same mind as the priests and rulers. The latter sent officers to take Jesus, and stop that voice which was awakening so great an interest in that immense gathering. The officers came into the Saviour’s presence; they heard his words, they looked upon his face, and it was as if glorified. His words spoke directly to their hearts, and they forgot their errand, and returned without Jesus. The priests and rulers asked, “Why have ye not brought him?” The answer came promptly, “Never man spake like this man.”
4 It seemed to them that a halo of light was round about him, as tho he was surrounded by the glory of God. They stood in his presence filled with awe and reverence. Take him?—No; impressions were made on the minds of these hardened officers that were never effaced.
5 The Pharisees on first coming into the presence of Christ had felt all this reverence, all these convictions; their minds and hearts were deeply moved. With almost irresistible power the conviction was forced upon them that “never man spake like this man.” Had they yielded to the Spirit’s influence, they would have received Jesus, and would have advanced from light to a greater light; but they wrapped their robes of self-righteousness about them, and trampled down the convictions of conscience. The Pharisees answered the officers with scorn and contempt: “Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.” Here was one who was the very foundation of the Jewish ceremonies, one who made the law, one who on Mount Sinai proclaimed the law, one who knew every phase and principle of the law. But he was unrecognized and unacknowledged by the leaders in Israel.
6 Nicodemus, who went to Christ by night, had received light. The lessons of Christ were as seed dropped into the heart, to spring up and bear fruit. A light had been kindled that would increase and shine brighter and brighter to the perfect day. The words of Nicodemus carried weight with the rulers and Pharisees; for he was chief ruler among the people, and stood high in the Sanhedrin. He said, “Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” They answered him with bitter derision, “Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look; for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” Had he not been searching the prophecies? had he not heard Christ himself? He could have testified, with the officers sent to arrest Jesus, “Never man spake like this man.” The lesson given that night to Nicodemus was for him as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawn, and the day star arise in the heart. Who were the deceived ones?—The men who stifled conviction, who turned away their ears from hearing the truth, and were turned unto fables.
7 History is being repeated. In our day we meet the same false reasoning among the rulers and the ministers as the people met when Christ was upon the earth. We need to consider the words of Christ. “Take heed that no man deceive you.” The Jews were deceiving themselves. It was not because of a lack of light and evidence that Christ was not received, and believed, and honored as the Messiah; it was the malignity and jealousy and prejudice that bound so large a number with its cruel power. Minds clouded with prejudice, warped with envy and unholy passion, will not come to the word of God for their decision. Those who sat in Moses’ seat instilled into the minds of the people their false interpretations of Scripture. The truth was buried beneath their own doctrines and maxims and traditions. They taught the people that Christ was to appear as a great conqueror to break the Roman yoke from off the nation. They could not bring their proud hearts to believe the prophecies.
8 It was too humbling to their proud hearts to accept one who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. They received that part of the prophecy which foretold one who was to shine before his ancients gloriously, who was to reign from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. As there was no outward show of a conqueror in Jesus, they turned their faces from him, they resisted his words, and worked by every conceivable means to counteract his influence. Thus they fulfilled the very prophecy that pointed to him as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
9 Jesus did the works of God, healing the sick, feeding thousands by a miracle, treading the white-capped billows to reach his disciples in the tempest-tossed boat. When Peter, looking away from Jesus to the waves, was sinking, the cry of distress was heard “Lord save, or I perish.” That imploring cry reached the ears of him who is infinite in compassion. Jesus would save to the uttermost the poor, trembling, imperiled soul. In the night storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus was awakened by the cry of his disciples, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” O, if at the beginning of the storm they had only awakened to the fact that Jesus was on board, they need not have worked so long with terror-stricken hearts! But when they cried to him for help, how quickly his word of power, “Peace, be still,” quieted the storm. Prophecy was fulfilling in all the events of the life of Christ, from the manger to the cross. The conviction is forced upon the unprejudiced student of the Bible that Jesus in human flesh is the only-begotten Son of the Father. He is that rock which was smitten in the desert by the rod of Moses, and from which streams of pure water gushed forth.
10 And on the last great day of the feast he addressed the weary, the homesick, sin-sick souls, many longing to understand the Lord and his ways, many disappointed and perplexed—to them comes the musical voice of invitation, clear, decided, positive, and with convincing power of love, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
11 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so has the Son of man been lifted up, that whosoever looks unto him in faith, may not perish, but have everlasting life. Look to Jesus, uplifted on the cross. When the serpent was lifted upon the pole in the camp of Israel, the proclamation went forth that all who were bitten by the fiery serpents were to look to that brazen symbol; and whoever looked was immediately healed. The people were not to reason how this was possible, not to question wherein was the virtue to make them whole. They were to do exactly as they were bidden. Those who stopped to reason, died. Just so we are to look to Jesus; sinful, erring, weak, unworthy, we are to take the word of God, the invitation of Christ: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Page 776
1 Jesus was the Commander of heaven, one equal with God, and yet he condescended to lay aside his kingly crown, his royal robe, and clothed his divinity with humanity. The incarnation of Christ in human flesh is a mystery. He could have come to earth as one with a remarkable appearance, unlike the sons of men. His countenance could have shone with glory, and his form could have been of remarkable grace. He could have presented such an appearance as to charm the beholder; but this was not according to the plan devised in the courts of God. He was to bear the characteristics of the human family, and the Jewish race. In all respects the Son of God was to wear the same features as did other human beings. He was not to have such beauty of person as would make him singular among men. He was to manifest no wonderful charms by which to attract attention to himself. He came as a representative of the human family before heaven and earth. He was to stand as man’s substitute and surety. He was to live the life of humanity in such a way as to contradict the assertion that Satan had made that humanity was his everlasting possession, and that God himself could not take man out of his adversary’s hands.
2 Christ appeared upon the scene as a babe, as a child, having no extra advantages in the world. He came of poor parentage, he had no privileges that the poor have not known, He experienced the difficulties that the poor and lowly experience from babyhood to childhood, from youth to manhood. There is a mystery surrounding the birth of Christ that can not and need not be explained. Nearly two thousand years ago a voice strange and mysterious was heard in heaven, proceeding from the throne of God, and saying: “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.” “Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” God manifest in the flesh came to our world, being justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
3 In contemplating the incarnation of Christ in humanity, we stand baffled before an unfathomable mystery, that the human mind can not comprehend. The more we reflect upon it, the more amazing does it appear. How wide is the contrast between the divinity of Christ and the helpless infant in Bethlehem’s manger! How can we span the distance between the mighty God and a helpless child? And yet the Creator of worlds, he in whom was the fulness of the Godhead bodily, was manifest in the helpless babe in the manger. Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity! Divinity and humanity were mysteriously combined, and man and God became one. It is in this union that we find the hope of our fallen race. Looking upon Christ in humanity, we look upon God, and see in him the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person.
4 Christ lived the life of a toiler from his earliest years. In his youth he worked with his father at the carpenter’s trade, and thus honored all labor. Tho he was the King of glory, yet by his practice of following a humble employment, he rebuked idleness in every member of the human family, and dignified all labor as noble and Christlike. Those who indulge in idleness depart from the lesson that Christ has given in his example for all humanity. From childhood he was a pattern of obedience and industry. He was as a pleasant sunbeam in the home circle. Faithfully and cheerfully he acted his part in doing the humble duties that his lowly calling required. As the world’s Redeemer, he had chosen a most humble position. He had clothed his divinity with humanity in order that he might be able to reach humanity. He could sympathize with the poor; for he understood the inconveniences of poverty. He himself had shared the burdens of the lowly. The world’s Redeemer did not live a life of selfish ease and pleasure. He did not choose a position that would bring to him the praise and flattery of men. He knew by experience the hardships of those who toil for their living, and could comfort and encourage all humble workers. The record of the history of the humble labor of his life of burden bearing, is written for our admonition and comfort. Those who have a true conception of the life of Christ, can never feel that they must make a distinction between classes, and set up the wealthy as superior to the lowly poor. The King of glory lived a life of toil.
5 It is written of Jesus in childhood that “the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.” When only twelve years of age, he made manifest the fact that his mind was developing along spiritual lines. His parents went to Jerusalem every year to the feast of the Passover, and in his twelfth year Jesus accompanied them to the city. “And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance; and when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.” For three days they sought him anxiously; for they were awakened to a sense of the responsibility of the charge that God had placed upon them. “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”
6 His parents listened in amazement as they heard his searching inquires. Jesus was taking advantage of the providential occasion that had opened to him to diffuse light. He had led the rabbis and teachers to speak of the prophecies concerning the appearing of Messiah. They had presented their view of the matter, speaking of the wonderful elevation that this blessing would bring to the Jewish nation; but Jesus presented the prophecy of Isaiah, asking them the meaning of those scriptures that brought to view the humiliation, suffering, and death of the Son of God. Tho taking the attitude of a learner, Christ imparted light in every word he uttered. He interpreted the Scripture to the darkened mind of the rabbis, and gave them clear light in regard to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world. The sharp, clear questions of the child learner brought a flood of light to their darkened understanding. The truth shone out as the clear shining of a light in a darkened place, as he received and imparted the knowledge of the plan of salvation.
7 It is plainly stated that Christ grew in knowledge. What a lesson is found in this incident in the life of Christ for all youth! If they shall diligently search the word of God, and through the Holy Spirit receive divine guidance, they will be able to impart light to others. By communicating the grace given them, new grace will be imparted from Heaven. The more the human agent communicates to others the riches of the grace of Christ, the more clear and vigorous will become his understanding, and the more richly will the grace of God abide in his own heart. If the youth will remain as humble as did the child Jesus, they will become channels of light.
8 The doctors and the wise men were amazed at the question of the child Jesus, and, desiring to encourage such a student of the prophecies, they sought to draw out the knowledge he had obtained. Joseph and Mary were as much astonished, as they heard the wise answers of their Son, as were the learned men themselves. When there was a pause in the conversation, Mary, the mother of Jesus, approached her Son, and asked, “Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.” Divine light shone through humanity as Jesus lifted his right hand, and asked, “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.” They did not comprehend the true meaning of his words. But, tho he was the Son of God, he went down with his parents and came unto Nazareth, and was subject unto them. And, tho his mother did not understand at that time the meaning of his words, yet “she kept all these sayings in her heart.”
9 At the age of twelve the Holy Spirit was abiding upon Jesus, and he felt something of the burden of the mission for which he had come to our world. His soul was stirred into action. As one who would learn, he asked questions of no ordinary character, by which he flashed light into the minds of his hearers, and brought them to an understanding of the prophecies and the true mission and work of the Messiah they were expecting. The Jewish people were cherishing erroneous ideas. They were anticipating grand and wonderful things, hoping for their own personal exaltation above the nations of the earth at the Messiah’s appearing. They were looking for the glory that will attend the second coming of Christ, and overlooking the humiliation that would attend his first advent. But Jesus, in his questions about the prophecies of Isaiah that pointed to his first appearing, flashed light into the minds of those who were willing to receive the truth. He himself had given these prophecies before his incarnation in humanity, and as the Holy Spirit brought these things to his mind, and impressed him with regard to the great work that he was to accomplish, he imparted light and knowledge to those around him.
10 Tho he increased in knowledge, and the grace of God was upon him, yet he did not become lifted up in pride, or feel that he was above doing the most humble toil. He took his share of the burden, together with his father, mother, and brethren. He toiled to sustain the family, and shared in the work that would meet the expenses of the household. Tho his wisdom had astonished the doctors, yet he meekly subjected himself to his human guardians, bore his part in the family burdens, and worked with his own hands as any toiler would work. It is stated of Jesus that (as he advanced in years) he “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
11 The knowledge he was daily obtaining of his wonderful mission did not disqualify him for performing the most humble duties. He cheerfully took up the work that devolves upon youth who dwell in humble households pressed by poverty. He understood the temptations of children; for he bore their sorrows and trials. Firm and steadfast was his purpose to do the right. Tho enticed to evil, he refused to depart in a single instance from the strictest truth and rectitude. He maintained perfect filial obedience; but his spotless life aroused the envy and jealousy of his brethren. His childhood and youth were anything but smooth and joyous. His brethren did not believe on him, and were annoyed because he did not in all things act as they did, and become one of them in the practice of evil. In his home life he was cheerful, but never boisterous. He ever maintained the attitude of a learner. He took great delight in nature, and God was his teacher.
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Page 777
1 In the child life of Jesus the condition of society began to open to his mind, as he saw the great contrast between the practices of men and the teachings of the Old Testament Scriptures. When reproved for his simple habits and practices, he presented the word of God as a justification of his actions; but his brethren charged him with supposing himself superior to them, and reproved him for setting himself up above their teachers, and the priests and rulers of the people. He knew that if he obeyed the word of God, it would be impossible to find rest and peace in the home circle among his brethren. He had a deep and growing knowledge concerning the erroneous ideas, customs, and traditions which were increasing among men, and bringing about a decrease of piety, simplicity, and truth. Men were departing from the Scriptures and giving heed to the doctrines of men. He saw the people following superstitious rites which possessed no virtue. He looked upon men engaging in a service that was a mere round of ceremony, in which, by human tradition, the sacred truth was hidden from the worshiper. He knew that in their faithless services they could find neither peace, rest, nor satisfaction. They could not know the freedom of spirit that would come to them by serving God in truth.
2 Jesus was a nonconformist, and did not always remain a silent spectator to men’s erroneous practices. His clear penetration in distinguishing between the false and the true, greatly annoyed his brethren, who held to the traditions of men. They insisted that the traditions of the rabbis must be heeded, as tho they were the requirements of God. He taught by precept and example that religious service should be divested of all human inventions; but his non-performance of the things which the rabbis prescribed, and which were not according to divine directions, was a source of annoyance to his brethren, to the Pharisees, and the priests.
3 When they sought to bring Jesus to accept the minute human inventions, maxims, and traditions, that they claimed came from the ancient rabbis, he asked them for their authority in Holy Writ. He told them that he would heed every word that proceeded from the mouth of God; but that he would not proceed to obey the inventions of men. He pointed out to them the fact that it was evident that through their traditions and inventions, they were exalting the word of men above the word of God. The rabbis knew that they had no authority in Holy Scripture for demanding his obedience to their traditions; they realized that in spiritual understanding and practice he was far in advance of them; and yet they were angry because he would not implicitly obey their dictates. Failing to convince him that human tradition was to be considered sacred, they sought Joseph and Mary, and set before them his course of non-compliance to their traditions and customs.
4 Jesus knew what it was to have his family divided against him on account of his religious faith. He loved peace, he craved the love and confidence of the members of the family, but he knew what it was to have their affections alienated from him. Because he pursued a straightforward course, and would not conform to the practices of men, but was true to the requirements of Jehovah, he suffered rebuke and censure. His brethren reproved him for standing aloof from the ceremonies that were taught by the rabbis; for they regarded the traditions of men more highly than the word of God. Jesus made the Scriptures, which were read in the synagogues, his constant study, and when the scribes and Pharisees sought to enforce upon him their rigid exactions, they found him thoroughly furnished with the word of God. They could prevail nothing against him. He seemed to know the Scriptures from beginning to end, and presented them in their true import. They were ashamed to be worsted by a child, who they claimed ought to obey every injunction, and not show disrespect to their traditions and maxims. They claimed that it was their business to explain the Scriptures, and that it was his place to accept their interpretation. They were indignant that this child should stand in opposition to their word when it was their calling to study and explain the Scriptures.
5 The scribes, rabbis, and Pharisees could not force Jesus to neglect the word of God, and follow the traditions of men; but they influenced his brethren to make his life a bitter one. His brethren threatened him, and sought to intimidate him, and to compel him to take a wrong course; but he passed on, making the Scriptures his guide. From the time his parents found him in the temple asking and answering the questions among the doctors, his course of action was a mystery to them. He would not enter into controversy, yet his example was a constant lesson. He seemed as one who was set apart. Whenever it was possible he went out alone to contemplate the scenes of nature, and to commune with the God of nature. Whenever it was his privilege, he turned aside from the scene of his labor and responsibility to go into the field, to wander by the lakeside, to meditate in the green valleys, to hold communion with God on the mountain side or amid the trees of the forest. He would return to his home to take up again the humble duties, and to give an example of patient labor.
6 Jesus loved the society of children, and he exerted a great influence over them. The poor and the needy were objects of his special attention. In every gentle, tender, and submissive way, he sought to please those with whom he came in contact. But tho so gentle and submissive, nothing could induce him to practice ceremonies, to follow maxims and customs, that led away from the word of God. Some admired his perfection of character and often sought his company. But those who accepted the sayings of men as the word of God, when they saw his non-conformity to the traditions of men, turned away from him, and avoided his presence.
7 Throughout his childhood and youth, he manifested the perfection of character that marked his after life. He grew in wisdom and knowledge. As he witnessed the sacrificial offerings, the Holy Spirit taught him that his life was to be sacrificed for the life of the world. He grew up as a tender plant, not in the large and noisy city, that is full of confusion and strife, but in the retired valleys among the hills. He was guarded from his earliest years by heavenly angels, yet his life was one long struggle against the powers of darkness. Satanic agencies combined with human instrumentalities to make his life one of temptation and trial. Through supernatural agencies, his words, which were life and salvation to all who received and practiced them, were perverted and misinterpreted.
8 Because his life was free from all taint of sin, and condemned all impurity, he was opposed both at home and abroad. His hours of happiness were found when communing with nature and with nature’s God. Because he conformed to a “Thus saith the Lord” with such fidelity, he presented a marked contrast to those who were around him, and many felt rebuked by his stainless life, and avoided his presence. But there were some who sought his society, feeling at peace in his presence, because he never contended for his rights. Tho he loved his brethren, yet they hated him, and manifested the most decided unbelief and contempt. In his home life, where all should have been at peace, he was constantly confronted by envy and jealousy. His labors were made unnecessarily severe because he was willing and uncomplaining. He did not fail nor become discouraged. He lived above these difficulties, as if in the light of God’s countenance. He did not retaliate when he was roughly used, but bore insult patiently, and in his human nature became an example for all children and youth. He endured the heat and the cold, the sun and the rain, of his native hills and valleys.
9 The life of Christ was marked with respect, devotion, and love for his mother. She often remonstrated with him, and sought to have him concede to the wishes of his brethren. His brethren could not persuade him to change his habits of life in contemplating the works of God, in manifesting sympathy and tenderness toward the poor, the suffering, and the unfortunate, and in seeking to alleviate the sufferings of both men and dumb animals. When the priests and rulers came to Mary to persuade her to force Jesus to give allegiance to their ceremonies and traditions, she felt much troubled. But peace and confidence came to her troubled heart as her Son presented the clear statements of the Scriptures in upholding his practices. At times she wavered between Jesus and his brethren, who did not believe that he was the Sent of God. But evidence was powerful and abundant that his was a divine character. She saw him sacrificing himself for the good of others. She saw him meeting the people where they were. She saw him constantly growing in grace and knowledge, and in favor with God and man. His life was as leaven working amid the elements of society. Harmless and undefiled, he walked amid the careless, the thoughtless, the rude, the uncourteous; amid the unjust publicans, the reckless prodigals, the unrighteous Samaritans, the heathen soldiers, the rough peasants, and the mixed multitudes. All were objects of his compassion. He addressed himself to them, not to upbraid and discourage, not to utter words unwisely, but to present lessons from his childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood, that would be a savor of life unto life to those who should believe.
10 He treated every human being as possessed of value. He taught men to look upon themselves as endowed with precious talents, that, if rightly employed, would elevate and ennoble them, and secure for them eternal riches. By his example and character, he taught that every moment of life was fraught with eternal results. From childhood to youth, from youth to manhood, his life was the outworking of the standard of righteousness. He weeded life from all vanities, and taught that it was to be cherished as a treasure, and to be employed for holy purposes. He taught that the character was precious, and that every moment of life was to be passed in the service of God, was to be as saving salt, to preserve society from moral corruption. Christ passed by no human being as worthless and hopeless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul who needed help. In whatever company he found himself, he presented lessons by precept and example that were appropriate to the time and circumstances. He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the idea that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as the children of God among a crooked and perverse generation, among whom they would shine as lights in the world. This was the reason that, after his public ministry began, so many heard him gladly.
11 From his very childhood he had worked for the people in an unobtrusive manner, letting his light shine amid the moral darkness of a crooked and perverse nation. He made manifest the character of God to our world in bearing the burdens of private life, and in the larger field of activity. He encouraged everything that pertained to the real interests of life, but labored to break up romantic and dreamy contemplations. He taught by precept and example the fact that future position would be decided by human beings themselves, that destiny is marked by our own course of action. Those who cherish right principles, who work out God’s plan in a narrow sphere of action, doing right because it is right, will find wider fields of usefulness. Those who are true to God’s holy commandments in a humble place, are qualifying themselves to do God’s service in ministering to their fellowmen in a higher position. The Lord will give such clear insight and discernment, and bless them with such views of eternity as will elevate and purify their characters. It is possible for us to be conscious of the favor of God, as was Christ.
12 The Jews had built up walls of separation between themselves and other nations, and the brethren of Christ were angry because he did not heed the prescribed boundaries, but mingled with all classes of people. Through childhood, youth, and manhood Christ walked alone. In his purity, in his faithfulness, he trod the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with him. But now it is our privilege to act a part in the work and mission of Christ. We may wear the yoke with him, and be laborers together with God. To whatever work we are called, Christ will work with us and in our behalf. He is doing all that is possible to set us free, and to make our cramped and narrow lives broad and efficient. He would have us recognize our responsibility, and realize that in shunning our work we are incurring great loss. In his day he saw many that were falling far below their privilege of usefulness. To the indolent he said, “Why stand ye here all the day idle?”
13 We are enjoined to work while it is today, for the night cometh, in which no man can work. Jesus recognized and carried the awful weight of responsibility for the salvation of the human family. He knew that unless there was a decided change in the principles and purposes of the human race, all would be irretrievably lost. This was the burden of his soul, and he was alone in carrying this load. No one could appreciate the weight that rested upon his heart. Filled with intense purpose, he designed that his life should be a lamp in the world, that he himself should be “the Light of the world.”
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1 It is the duty of parents to educate and discipline their children from their earliest years. They should seek to kindly and tenderly lead them to Jesus, and impress upon the children the fact that they are anxious to secure the blessing of God upon their little ones. Parents should feel the necessity of this as much as did the mothers who brought their children to Jesus to receive his blessing. The disciples of Christ could not see why these mothers should be so anxious to bring their children into the presence of Christ. They sought to convince the mothers that this was a very improper thing to do; but Jesus reproved his overzealous disciples, and encouraged the mothers to bring their children into his presence. He said to his disciples, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” These precious words are to be cherished, not only by every mother, but by every father as well. These words are an encouragement to parents to press their children into his notice, to ask in the name of Christ that the Father may let his blessing rest upon their entire family. Not only are the best beloved to receive particular attention, but also the restless, wayward children, who need careful training and tender guidance.
2 Parents need not feel that it is necessary to repress the activity of their children, but they are to understand that it is essential to guide and train them in right and proper directions. These active impulses are like the vines, that, if untrained, will run over every stump and brush, and fasten their tendrils upon low supports. If the vines are not trained about some proper support, they waste their energies to no purpose. So it is with children. Their activities must be trained in the right direction. Give their hands and minds something to do that will advance them in physical and mental attainments.
3 The Lord has promised blessing to the children. He loves to purify and impress their minds, and to lead them in the way of righteousness. Children and youth may be trained in such a way as to become workers in the Master’s vineyard. The Lord desires them in his service, and looks to parents to train them in such a way as to make them missionaries at home and abroad. They should be so educated that it will be their pleasure to relieve the cares of their toil-worn fathers and mothers. If parents had not neglected the fulfilling of their responsibilities in doing their parental duties to their children, there would not be so few children and youth enlisted as young soldiers in Christ’s army. With proper instruction children will be gained to Christ, and may become channels of blessing to other children and youth. Their influence may be widespread, and methods should be devised so that their active temperaments may find plenty to do in blessing others. When parents thoroughly act their part, giving them line upon line, and precept upon precept, making their lessons short and interesting, and teaching them not only by precept but by example, the Lord will work with their efforts, and make them efficient teachers.
4 O, that the youth and children would give their hearts to Christ! What an army might then be raised up, to win others to righteousness! But parents should not leave this work for the church to do alone. If parents would search the Scriptures so that they might learn what their duty is from the word of God, they would be awakened to their duty. They would find that the world is converting the church, and that they themselves are offering the same trivial excuses for non-performance of duty as the world offers for not heeding the word of God. Let parents comply with the conditions stated in the word of God, repent of their sins, and be converted. Children have heard the Scriptures misinterpreted, and have thought the misinterpretation must be the truth. When the light of truth is presented, many of these very children are convinced that God has spoken to them. How responsible is the position of parents when their children discern truth, and they use the arguments they have heard in the pulpits to prevent their children from following in the path of righteousness, and teach for doctrines the commandments of men! Parents must educate their children tenderly and kindly, and be representatives themselves of the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. There is greater need of this kind of education now than ever before; for the world is in the church, moulding and fashioning it after a worldly standard.
5 Education means more than the mere studying of books. It is necessary that both the physical and mental powers be exercised in order to have a proper education. When in counsel with the Father before the world was, it was designed that the Lord God should plant a garden for Adam and Eve in Eden, and give them the task of caring for the fruit trees, and cultivating and training the vegetation. Useful labor was to be their safeguard, and it was to be perpetuated through all generations to the close of earth’s history. To have a whole-sided education, it is necessary to combine science with practical labor. From infancy children should be trained to do those things that are appropriate for their age and ability. Parents should now encourage their children to become more independent. Serious troubles are soon to be seen upon the earth, and children should be trained in such a way as to be able to meet them. Many parents give a great deal of time and attention to amusing their children, encouraging them to bring all their troubles to them; but children should be trained to amuse themselves, to exercise their minds in devising plans for their own satisfaction, doing the simple things that are natural for them to do.
6 Children of two to four years of age should not be encouraged to think that they must have everything that they ask for. Parents should teach them lessons of self-denial, and never treat them in such a way as to make them think they are the center, and that everything revolves about them. Many children have inherited selfishness from their parents, but parents should seek to uproot every fiber of this evil tendency from their natures. Christ gave many reproofs to those who were covetous and selfish. Parents should seek, on the first exhibition of selfish traits of character, whether in their presence, or when in association with other children, to restrain and uproot these traits from the character of their children. Do not let the child receive the impression that, because he is your child, he must therefore be deferred to, and permitted to choose and direct his own way. He should not be permitted to choose articles of food that are not good for him, simply because he likes them. The experience of parents should have a controlling power in the life of the child.
7 How carefully should parents manage their children in order to counteract every inclination to selfishness! They should continually suggest ways by which their children may become thoughtful for others, and learn to do things for their fathers and mothers, who are doing everything for them. But if parents are not careful, they will treat their children in such a way as will lead the children to demand attention and privileges that will call for the parents to deprive themselves in order to indulge their little ones. The children will call upon the parents to do things for them, to gratify their wishes, and the parents will concede to their wishes, regardless of the fact that it is inculcating selfishness in their children. But in doing this work parents are wronging their children, and will find out afterwards how difficult a thing it is to counteract the influence of the education of the first few years in a child’s life. Children need to learn early that they can not be gratified when selfishness prompts their wishes.
8 Fathers should train their sons to engage with them in their trades and employments. Farmers should not think that agriculture is a business that is not elevated enough for their sons. Agriculture should be advanced by scientific knowledge. Farming has been pronounced unprofitable. People say that the soil does not pay for the labor expended upon it, and they bemoan the hard fate of those who till the soil. In this country (Australia) many have given up the idea that the land will pay for working it, and thousands of acres lie unimproved. But should persons of proper ability take hold of this line of employment, and make a study of the soil, and learn how to plant, to cultivate, and to gather in the harvest, more encouraging results might be seen. Many say, “We have tried agriculture, and know what its results are,” and yet these very ones need to know how to cultivate the soil, and to bring science into their work. Their plowshares should cut deeper, broader furrows, and they need to learn that in tilling the soil they need not become common and coarse in their natures. Let them learn to bring religion into their work. Let them learn to put in the seed in its season, to give attention to vegetation, and to follow the plan that God has devised.
9 The farmer and his sons have the open book of nature before them, and they should learn that farming is a noble occupation, when the work is done in a proper manner. The opinion that prevails that farming degrades the man, is erroneous. The earth is God’s own creation, and he calls it very good. The hands may become hard and rough, but this hardness need not extend to the soul. The heart need not become careless, nor the soul defiled. The effeminate paleness may be tanned from the countenance, but the testimony of health is seen in the red and brown of the complexion. Christlikeness may be preserved in the farmer’s life. Men may learn, in cultivating the soil, precious lessons about the cultivation of the Spirit.
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1 The Lord permits trials to come to his loved ones in order that through trial they may have increased knowledge concerning the God of their salvation. The Lord says, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as tho some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” Again he says to those who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, that for a season they are “in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, tho it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”
2 James writes: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. . . . Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
3 We may say with Job: “He knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” “For thou, O God, hast proved us; thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.” Our heavenly Father gave his only-begotten Son to cope with the powers of darkness, and to restrain Satanic agencies, so that they might not prevail against his tried and chosen ones, and overcome and destroy them. Jesus, our great High Priest, is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and he works to bind up those who are wounded and bruised by the enemy. He does not leave the tempted soul to the mercy of the destroyer. The children of God are to work in Christ’s lines. They are to seek the wandering, straying sheep of his pasture. Those who claim to love God are to form a guard around perishing souls to save them from ruin. Instead of saying, “Let the erring go, we will not try to help them,” we are to strengthen the hands which hang down, and confirm the feeble knees. We shall never form characters after the divine similitude if we cherish the meager, stunted piety that looks out only for our individual selves, and does not lead us to do earnest, positive work for the salvation of others. We are to let our light shine in such a way as to guide souls into the haven of safety, that they may find refuge in Christ. Those who have not a positive religion, have no influence to entice others into the fold of safety. Their religion brings dishonor on the truth, and gives those who are not of our faith an excuse for their own defective lives. Those who are indolent, who center everything upon self, bring contempt upon the cause they profess to love.
4 The Lord permits trials to come upon us in order that we may make earnest, heart-felt intercession. Trial brings us to God, and leads us to form a closer connection with Christ our Saviour. Trial forces us to do as the word of God directs. We put into practice the command, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Do we believe these words, that are full of divine efficiency? The Lord says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
5 Our sufficiency in every time of need is found in the promise of God. We are to rejoice, to educate our hearts and lips to praise God. We are to speak cheerful words, to travel the path heavenward in such a manner as to make manifest to others that we consider it the greatest privilege that we could possibly have. Rejoice, press closer to Jesus, talk of his love, and tell of his power. Let the youth have excellent examples before them, that they may see what is Christian fortitude, courage, and stability. Let every word and action be of such a character as will be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Let the youth see in older Christians the way in which they may use their talents for the purpose of honoring their Creator and Redeemer. Experienced Christians should seek the society of the youth in order that they may help them to understand the way of salvation. Let them present the beauty of holiness, and as they teach others, they themselves will learn how to win the feet of the youth to walk in safe paths.
6 Satan is continually presenting his alluring charms, in order that he may draw the feet of the youth to take their stand under his black banner. He presents evil in false colors. Under the semblance of an angel of light, he hides the deformity of his character, and thus deceives thousands. Let not those who are striving for a glorious inheritance with the saints in light, present a forbidding, cold, unsympathetic aspect. Let them not act in such a way as will lead the youth to avoid their society. When this is the case, they are not shining as lights in the world. They are interposing their defective selves between the light of the world and the soul of the sinner. At every step shed light upon the pathway of those with whom you come in contact. Satan has cast his hellish shadow athwart the pathway of every soul, in order that he may eclipse every ray of light that shines from Christ to the human agent. Both young and old will have to encounter trials, but let faith be encouraged. Let it penetrate through the darkness, so that the soul may enter into that which is within the veil, and walk in the light of the beams of the Sun of Righteousness. He that believes in Jesus as his personal Saviour, defeats the powers of darkness, and causes the hosts of heaven to sing a song of triumph.
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1 Of the Lord Jesus Christ in his youth the divine testimony is given, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.” After the visit to Jerusalem in his boyhood, he returned with his parents, “and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. . . . And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
2 In the days of Christ the educators of the youth were formalists. During his ministry, Jesus declared to the rabbis, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.” And he charged them with “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Tradition was dwelt upon, amplified, and reverenced far above the Scriptures. The sayings of men, and an endless round of ceremonies, occupied so large a share of the student’s life, that the education which imparts a knowledge of God was neglected. The great teachers were continually enlarging upon little things, specifying every detail to be observed in the ceremonies of religion, and making its observance a matter of highest obligation. They paid “tithe of mint and anise and cummin,” while they “omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.” Thus there was brought in a mass of rubbish that hid from the view of the youth, the great essentials of the service of God.
3 In the educational system there was no place for that personal experience in which the soul learns for itself the power of a “Thus saith the Lord,” and gains that reliance upon the divine word which alone can bring peace and power with God. Busied with the round of forms, the students in these schools found no quiet hours in which to commune with God and hear his voice speaking to their hearts. That which the rabbis regarded as superior education was in reality the greatest hindrance to true education. It was opposed to all real development. Under their training, the powers of the youth were repressed, and their minds were cramped and narrowed.
4 The brothers and sisters of Jesus were taught the multitudinous traditions and ceremonies of the rabbis, but Christ could not be induced to interest himself in these matters. While hearing on every hand the reiterated “Thou shalt,” and “Thou shalt not,” he moved independently of these restrictions. The requirements of society and the requirements of God were ever in collision, and while in his youth he made no direct attack upon the customs or precepts of the learned teachers, he did not become a student in their schools.
5 Jesus would not follow any custom that would require him to depart from the will of God, nor would he place himself under the instruction of those who exalted the words of men above the word of God. He shut out of his mind all the sentiments and formalities that had not God for their foundation. He would give no place for these things to influence him. Thus he taught that it is better to prevent evil than to attempt to correct it after it has gained a foothold in the mind. And Jesus would not by his example lead others to place themselves where they would be corrupted. Nor would he needlessly place himself in a position where he would be brought into conflict with the rabbis that might in after years result in weakening his influence with the people. For the same reasons he could not be induced to observe the meaningless forms or rehearse the maxims that afterward in his ministry he so decidedly condemned.
6 Tho Jesus was subject to his parents, he began at a very early age to act for himself in the formation of his character. While his mother was his first human teacher, he was constantly receiving an education from his Father in heaven. Instead of poring over the learned lore handed down by the rabbis from century to century, Jesus, under the divine Teacher, studied the words of God, pure and uncorrupted, and studied also the great lesson book of nature. The words, “Thus saith the Lord,” were ever upon his lips, and, “It is written,” was his reason for every act that varied from the family customs. He brought a purer atmosphere into the home life. Tho he did not place himself under the instruction of the rabbis by becoming a student in their schools, yet he was often brought in contact with them, and the questions he asked, as if he were a learner, puzzled the wise men; for their practices did not harmonize with the Scriptures, and they had not the wisdom that comes from God. Even to those who were displeased at his non-compliance with popular customs, his education seemed of a higher type than their own.
7 The life of Jesus gave evidence that he expected much, and therefore he attempted much. From his very childhood he was the true light, shining amid the moral darkness of the world. He revealed himself as the truth, and the guide of men. His conceptions of truth and his power to resist temptation were proportionate to his conformity to that word which he himself had inspired holy men to write. Communion with God, a complete surrender of the soul to him in fulfilling his word irrespective of false education or the customs or traditions of his time, marked the life of Jesus.
8 To be ever in a bustle of activity, seeking by some outward performance to show their superior piety, was, in the estimation of the rabbis, the sum of religion, while at the same time, by their constant disobedience to God’s word, they were perverting the way of the Lord. But the education that has God back of it, will lead men to seek after God, “if haply they might feel after him and find him.” The Infinite is not, and never will be, restricted by human organizations or human plans. Every soul must have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will and ways of God. In all who are under the training of God is to be revealed a life that is not in harmony with the world, its customs, its practice, or its experiences. Through study of the Scriptures, through earnest prayer, they may hear his message to them, “Be still, and know that I am God.” When every other voice is hushed, when every earthly interest is turned aside, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. Here rest is found in him. The peace, the joy, the life of the soul is God.
9 When the child seeks to get nearest to his father, above every other person, he shows his love, his faith, his perfect trust. And in the father’s wisdom and strength the child rests in safety. So with the children of God. The Lord bids us, “Look unto me, and be ye saved.” “Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest.” “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
10 “Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places of the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
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1 “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
2 This scripture sets forth the comforting fact that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. For Christ to abide in our hearts means that we shall contemplate Christ, behold Christ, and ever cherish the dear Saviour as our best and most honored friend, one that we would not on any account grieve or offend. Thus cherishing Jesus, we shall have grace divine; “for by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
3 The time will never come when the hellish shadow of Satan will not be cast athwart our pathway, to obstruct our faith, and eclipse the light emanating from the presence of Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness. But our faith must not stagger; it must cleave through the shadow. Our faith is not in feeling, but in truth. The inspired apostle speaks of our being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. The church of Christ is represented as being builded for “an habitation of God through the Spirit.” If we are rooted and grounded in love, we shall be “able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” O precious possibilities and encouragement! In the human heart cleansed from all moral impurity, dwells the precious Saviour, ennobling, sanctifying the whole nature, and making the man a temple for the Holy Spirit.
4 Christ therefore is a personal Saviour. We bear about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, which is life and salvation and righteousness to us. Wherever we go, we bear the abiding presence of One so dear to us; for we abide in Christ by a living faith. He is abiding in our hearts by our individual, appropriating faith. We have the companionship of the divine Jesus, and as we realize his presence, our thoughts are brought into captivity to him. Our experience in divine things will be in proportion to the vividness of our sense of his companionship. Enoch walked with God in this way; and Christ dwells in our hearts by faith when we appreciate what he is to us, and what a work he has wrought out for us in the plan of redemption. Then we shall be most happy in cultivating a sense of this great Gift of God to our world, and to us personally.
5 Thoughts of this order have a controlling power on our character. O, that every Christian might realize that he has a divine Companion with him always! “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” As the mind dwells upon Christ, the character is moulded after the divine similitude. The thoughts are pervaded with a sense of his goodness, his love. We contemplate his character, and thus he is in all our thoughts. His love incloses us. If we gaze even for a moment upon the sun in its meridian glory, when we turn away our eyes, the image of the sun will appear in everything upon which we look. Thus it is when we behold Jesus; everything we look upon reflects his image, the Sun of Righteousness. We can not see anything else, or talk of anything else. His image is imprinted upon the eye of the soul, and affects every portion of our daily life, softening and subduing our whole nature. By beholding, we are conformed to the divine similitude, even to the likeness of Christ. To all with whom we associate, we reflect the bright and cheerful beams of his righteousness. We have become transformed in character; for heart, soul, mind, are irradiated by the light of Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us. Here again there is a realization of a personal, living influence dwelling in our hearts by faith.
6 When his words of instruction have been received, and have taken possession of us, Jesus is to us an abiding presence, controlling our thoughts and actions. We are imbued with the instruction of the greatest Teacher the world ever knew. A sense of human accountability and the value of human influence gives character to our views of life and of daily duties. Jesus Christ is everything to us,—the first, the last, the best in everything. Jesus Christ, his Spirit and character, colors everything; it is the warp and the woof, the very texture of our entire being. The words of Christ are spirit and life. We can not then center our thoughts upon self; it is no more we that live, but Christ that liveth in us, and he is the hope of glory. Self is dead, but Christ is a living Saviour. Continuing to look unto Jesus, we reflect his image to all around us. We can not stop to consider our disappointments, or even to talk of them; for a more pleasant picture attracts our sight,—the precious love of Jesus. He dwells in us by the word of truth.
7 What said Christ to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well? “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” The water to which Christ referred was the revelation of his grace in his word. His Spirit, his teaching, his love is as a satisfying fountain to every soul. Every other source to which men resort proves unsatisfying; but the word of truth is as cool streams, represented as the waters of Lebanon, which are always satisfying. In Christ is fulness of joy forevermore. The pleasures and amusements of the world are never satisfying, or healing to the soul. But Jesus says, “Whosoever eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life.”
8 Christ’s gracious presence in his word ever speaks to the soul, representing him as the well of living water to refresh the thirsting. It is our privilege to have a living, abiding Saviour. He is the source of spiritual power in us, and his influence will flow forth in words and actions that will refresh all within the sphere of our influence, begetting in them desires and aspirations for strength and purity, for holiness and peace, for that joy which brings no sorrow with it. Such an experience will be the result of having Christ as an indwelling Saviour.
9 Jesus says, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” He walked once a man on earth, his divinity clothed with humanity, a suffering, tempted man, beset with Satan’s devices. He was tempted in all points like as we are, and he knows how to succor those that are tempted. Now he is at the right hand of God, he is in heaven as our Advocate, making intercession for us. We must always take comfort and hope as we think of this. He is thinking of those who are subject to temptations in this world. He thinks of us individually, and knows our every necessity. When tempted, just say, He cares for me, he makes intercession for me, he loves me, he has died for me. I will give myself unreservedly to him. We grieve the heart of Christ when we go mourning over ourselves as tho we were our own saviour. No; we must commit the keeping of our souls to God as unto a faithful Creator. He ever lives to make intercession for the tried, tempted ones. Open your heart to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and let not one breath of doubt, one word of unbelief, escape your lips, lest you sow the seeds of doubt. There are rich blessings for us; let us grasp them by faith. I entreat you to have courage in the Lord. Divine strength is ours, and let us talk courage and strength and faith. Read the third chapter of Ephesians. Practice the instruction given. Bear a living testimony for God under all circumstances.
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1 “All the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?”
2 By the command of God, the children of Israel were brought to Rephidim, a place destitute of water. He who was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud was leading them, and it was by His express command that they were encamped at this place. God knew of the lack of water at Rephidim, and he brought his people hither to test their faith; but how poorly they proved themselves to be a people whom he could trust! Again and again he had manifested himself to them. He had slain the first-born of all the families in Egypt to accomplish their deliverance, and had brought them out of the land of their captivity with a high hand; he had fed them with angels’ food, and had covenanted to bring them into the promised land. But now, when difficulty rose before them, they broke into rebellion, distrusted God, and complained that Moses had brought them and their children out of Egypt only that they might die of thirst in the wilderness. By their lack of faith they dishonored God, and placed themselves where they could not appreciate his mercies.
3 Many today think that when they begin their Christian life they will find freedom from all want and difficulty. But every one who takes up his cross to follow Christ comes to a Rephidim in his experience. Life is not all made up of green pastures and cooling streams. Disappointment overtakes us; privations come; circumstances occur which bring us into difficult places. As we follow in the narrow way, doing our best, as we think, we find that grievous trials come to us. We think that we must have walked by our own wisdom far away from God. Conscience-stricken, we reason, if we had walked with God, we would never have suffered so.
4 Perhaps doubt and despondency crowd into our souls, and we say, The Lord has failed us, and we are ill-used. He knows about the strait places through which we are passing. Why does he permit us to suffer thus? He can not love us; if he did he would remove the difficulties from our path. “Is the Lord with us, or not?”
5 But of old the Lord led his people to Rephidim, and he may choose to bring us there also, in order to test our faithfulness and loyalty to him. In mercy to us, he does not always place us in the easiest places; for if he did, in our self-sufficiency we would forget that the Lord is our helper in time of necessity. But he longs to manifest himself to us in our emergencies, and reveal the abundant supplies that are at our disposal, independent of our surroundings; and disappointment and trial are permitted to come upon us that we may realize our own helplessness, and learn to call upon the Lord for aid, as a child, when hungry and thirsty, calls upon its earthly father.
6 Our heavenly Father has the power of turning the flinty rock into life-giving and refreshing streams. We shall never know, until we are face to face with God, when we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known, how many burdens he has borne for us, and how many burdens he would have been glad to bear if, with childlike faith, we had brought them to him.
7 In the hour of need we can gain no power by looking to ourselves. Our eyes need to be anointed with the heavenly eye-salve, that we may discern our spiritual poverty and lack of faith. God is declared in all his dealings with his people; and with clear, unclouded eye, in adversity, in sickness, in disappointment and trial, as well as in prosperity, we are to behold the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus, and trust to his guiding hand. Remember the power and love God has shown us in time past. He “so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Then will he not find a way for us out of our difficulties?
8 By their doubt and unbelief God’s people do much to grieve the heart of God, and tempt a withdrawal of his mercy. But through all, his love is unchangeable. The waves of mercy may be beaten back, but again and again they flow to the hearts of undeserving human beings. God loves his purchased possession, and he longs to see them overcome the discouragement with which Satan would overpower them. Let no thought of unbelief afflict your souls; for unbelief acts as a paralysis upon the spiritual energies. Do not magnify your difficulties, but keep the Lord in your remembrance, watching unto prayer.
9 And to us the Scripture comes: “Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a Son over his own house, whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. So I swear in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.”
Page 783
1 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
2 Let every one who names the name of Christ read this scripture again and again, and then inquire, Am I clothed with the whole armor of God, that I may be a successful co-laborer with Christ? The more we know of ourselves, the more we probe our motives and desires, the more heartfelt will be our consciousness of our utter inability to fight the battle of the Lord in our own strength, and the more deeply we shall feel the need of having our loins “girt about with truth,” in order that we may have purity of purpose, and know that we are not serving ourselves, but the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 “Above all,” declares the inspired word, “taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Stablish your hearts in the belief that God knows of all the trials and difficulties you will encounter in the warfare against evil; for God is dishonored when any soul belittles his power by talking unbelief.
4 This world is God’s great field of labor; he has purchased those that dwell on it with the blood of his only-begotten Son, and he means that his message of mercy shall go to every one. Those who are commissioned to do this work will be tested and tried, but they are always to remember that God is near to strengthen and uphold them. He does not ask us to depend upon any broken reed. We are not to look for human aid. God forbid that we should place man where God should be. He has promised to help us, and in the Lord Jehovah is “everlasting strength.”
5 A lesson of faith is given us in the experience of Christ with the disciples of John the Baptist. Imprisoned in the lonely dungeon, John had fallen into discouragement, and he sent his disciples to Jesus, asking, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” Christ knew on what errand these messengers had come, and by a mighty demonstration of his power he gave them unmistakable evidence of his divinity. Turning to the multitude, he spoke, and the deaf heard his voice. He spoke again, and the eyes of the blind were opened to behold the beauties of nature, and to look upon the face of their compassionate Restorer. He put forth his hand, and at his touch the fever left the afflicted ones. At his command demoniacs were healed, and falling at his feet, worshiped’ him. Then turning to the disciples of John, he said, “Go and show John again the things which ye do see and hear.”
6 That same Jesus who wrought those mighty works, is our Saviour today, and is as willing to manifest his power on our behalf as he was in the behalf of John the Baptist. When we are hedged about by adverse circumstances, surrounded by difficulties which it seems impossible for us to surmount, we are not to murmur, but to remember the past loving-kindness of the Lord. Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, we may endure as seeing him who is invisible, and this will keep our minds from being clouded by the shadow of unbelief.
7 Shortly before Christ’s ascension, Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Grieved at his unbelief, Christ turned to him, saying, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?” Is it possible that I have walked with you, and talked with you, and fed you by miracles, and yet you have not comprehended that I was the Sent of God, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” that I came from heaven to represent the Father? “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father;” for I am the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person. “How sayest thou then, show me the Father.” “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work’s sake.”
8 Too often we grieve the heart of Jesus by our unbelief. Our faith is short-sighted, and we allow trials to bring out our inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrong. When brought into strait circumstances, we dishonor God by murmuring and complaining. Instead of this we should show that we have learned in the school of Christ, by helping those that are worse off than ourselves, those who are seeking for light, but are unable to find it. Such have a special claim upon our sympathy, but instead of trying to uplift them, we pass by on the other side, intent on our own interests or trials. If we do not show decided unbelief, we manifest a murmuring, complaining spirit.
9 “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Christ has already proved himself to be our ever-present Saviour. He knows all about our circumstances, and in the hour of trial can we not pray that God will give us his Holy Spirit to bring to our minds his many manifestations of power in our behalf? Can we not believe that he is as willing to help us as on former occasions? His past dealings with his servants are not to fade from our minds, but the remembrance of them is ever to strengthen and uphold us.
10 No amount of tribulation can separate us from Christ. If he leads us to Rephidim, it is because he sees that it is for our good and for his name’s glory. If we will look to him in trusting faith, he will, in his own time, turn the bitterness of Marah into sweetness. He can open the flinty rock, and cause cooling streams to flow forth. Then shall we not lift our voices in praise and thanksgiving for past mercies, and go forward with full assurance that he is an ever-present help in time of trouble? He has been with us in our past experiences, and his word to us is, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
11 “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”
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Page 784
1 “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”
2 In this parable two classes are brought to view,—those who hear the words of Christ, and do them; and those who hear, and do not. Christ tells us that those who hear and do, build upon the rock, and that those who hear, and fail to perform, choose the shifting sand for their foundation.
3 God has a standard of righteousness by which he measures character. This standard is his holy law, which is given to us as a rule of life. We are called upon to comply with its requirements, and when we do this, we honor both God and Jesus Christ; for God gave the law, and Christ died to magnify it, and make it honorable. He declares: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” And the Holy Spirit, speaking through the apostle John, declares: “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.” “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
4 There are many hearers, but few doers, of the words of Christ. His words may be theoretically accepted, but if they are not stamped upon the soul, and woven into the life, they will have no sanctifying effect upon the character. It is one thing to accept the truth, and another thing to practice it in the daily life. From those who hear only, God’s word calls forth no grateful response. The commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength,” is acknowledged to be just, but its claims are not recognized; its principles are not carried out.
5 We are all sinful, and of ourselves are unable to do the words of Christ. But God has made provision whereby the condemned sinner may be freed from spot and stain. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But while Christ saves the sinner, he does not do away with the law which condemns the sinner. It is the work of redemption to exalt that law, and Christ’s great sacrifice was made in order that man might be a doer of that law. The law shows us our sins, as a mirror shows us that our face is not clean. The mirror has no power to cleanse the face; that is not its office. So it is with the law. It points out our defects, and condemns us, but it has no power to save us. We must come to Christ for pardon. He will take our guilt upon his own soul, and will justify us before God. And not only will he free us from sin, but he will give us power to render obedience to God’s will.
6 Those who are represented in the parable as building upon the sand, are not conscious of their danger. When Christ comes to reward every one according to his works, they say to him, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?” But Christ turns from them, saying, “I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Only those who are doers of the word of God are fitted to have a place in my kingdom; but you have walked contrary to his commandments, and your course has led others astray.
7 Today many erect a standard of their own, thinking to gain heaven, even tho they neglect to do God’s will. But all such are building upon the sand. They are hearers only. They may make high professions, but they are destitute of all true godliness. Pretention is no evidence of true Christian character. If their profession does not harmonize with God’s word, their holiness is not genuine; for true holiness is bestowed only upon those who “are doers of the word,” and “not hearers only.” When they stand before the judgment seat of God, those who now disregard his word may expect to be awarded a place among the redeemed; but in sadness Christ will say to them, “Depart from me; I never knew you.”
8 On what foundation are you building? This question comes home to us all. We are living amid the perils of the last days. The law of God is almost universally disregarded. Satan is not idle; he walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may turn from the right way. And he does not always appear as a lion; he has the power to come as a lamb, and then his voice is soft and low. But shall we allow him to control our hearts? Under his direction, shall we build upon a foundation that will not stand the storm? We can not afford to do this. Shall we not rather strive to be among that number of whom John writes, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus”?
9 Our salvation cost the life of the Son of God, and God demands of us that we build our characters upon a foundation that will stand the test of the judgment. Do you know that your foundation is deep and sure, so that the floods of trouble which are to come upon the earth shall not overthrow you? Do you know that you are not leading others astray by your example? If you waste the hours of your probation by building upon the sand, your life will be a failure. If you choose to ignore God’s word, you must be lost when the tempest sweeps down upon you; for only the doers of God’s word can build upon the rock.
10 Just before his crucifixion Christ prayed for his followers, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” The word of God has a sanctifying power upon all who truly believe and do it. Shall we not take this word into our lives, and thus build upon the true foundation a character that will gain for us an eternal weight of glory? John saw a company standing round the throne of God. “And one of the elders answered,” he writes, “saying, . . . What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” To be among that number is the happy privilege of all who will render willing obedience to the words of Christ.
11 “Blessed are they,” Christ said, “that hear the word of God, and keep it.” Look well to the foundation of your hope. Let your life testify that you are doers of the word of God. Then when Christ shall appear in the clouds of heaven, you can exclaim, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.” The crown of life will be placed upon your brow, and you will hear the voice of the Saviour, saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
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Page 785
1 “While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
2 The life of Christ was one of earnest activity. Tho opposed at every step, he was continually engaged in teaching the people and in healing the sick. To all appearance, the work he took upon himself was a great tax upon him, and this was a source of anxiety to his relatives. They heard that he devoted entire nights to prayer, that through the day he was thronged by great companies of people, and did not give himself time so much as to eat. The sons of Joseph, his brethren, enlisted Mary to go with them; for they knew that his love for her would add to their influence in seeking to prevail upon him to be more prudent. They felt that their own honor was compromised in the criticisms that came upon Jesus. They were not at all pleased with his startling denunciations against the religious leaders of the Jews, and felt the reproach that came upon them in consequence of their relation to him. They knew what a great tumult his words and works created, and were not only alarmed at his bold statements, but indignant at his denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. His words previous to their coming to seek to compel him to cease this manner of doing had thoroughly aroused them. The record says that he began “to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.” He had said: “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.” And with the sternness of a judge he said: “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.”
3 To the charge of the Pharisees that he and his disciples had broken the Sabbath, he had plainly shown them that their charge was false, and that he had done nothing contrary to the law. In the very face of their rebukes he had healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath day, and had declared himself Lord even of the Sabbath. The Pharisees were filled with madness against him, and they had made their threats to the brethren of Christ as to what they would do. They held a council against him, and planned how they might destroy him. “But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence; and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; and charged them that they should not make him known; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the gentiles trust. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb; and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”
4 The people were convicted that Christ was the son of David. They were amazed at his mighty works and words. But the more Christ healed the infirmities of the people, the more vehement were the accusations of the Pharisees. They acknowledged that there was a manifestation of supernatural power; but they would not agree that it was the power of God. They charged him with casting out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. Every charge they brought against Christ was proved false. To this charge he stood forth, presenting arguments against their position, and showing that all their theories were as ropes of sand. He said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand; and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.”
5 Those who made this charge against Christ were on perilous ground. They were quenching the last ray of light emanating from the throne of God to their prejudiced, benighted souls. Jesus warned them of their danger, saying: “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
6 Tho Christ had given them evidence upon evidence of his divine power in healing the sick, in casting out devils, in opening the eyes of the blind, and in doing many mighty works, yet certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees came to him, and said: “Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas; for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Then he goes on to illustrate the manner of their unbelief, and the consequences that would come upon them. He said: “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonas, and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”
7 Jesus spoke with supreme, personal authority, and yet he always made the impression upon the people that he spoke by the authority of his Father. He placed himself on a level with the eternal throne. The glory of God fell directly upon him, and was shed upon those who would receive the light, and who would become light-bearers to others.
8 While many of the people believed on him, his own brethren, connected with him by ties of relationship, were unbelieving, and thought he was beside himself in thus claiming divine authority, and in placing himself before the Pharisees as a reprover of their sins. His brethren knew that they were seeking to find occasion against him, and they felt that in the words he had spoken, he had given occasion enough. They must make some determined effort to prevent him from uttering words that would not only involve him in difficulty, but bring down upon his family the denunciations of the Pharisees. While he was speaking these decided words against those who were unbelieving, his disciples brought in the message that his mother and his brethren were without, and desired to speak with him. He knew what was in their hearts. He knew that they did not understand his character or mission, or realize that he came forth from the bosom of the Father. They did not realize that he was born to bear witness unto the truth, and did not understand his words of calm authority, that came forth from his lips with an earnestness proportionate to their reality and importance.
9 After hearing the message that his mother and his brethren were without, and desired to see him, he asked: “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hands toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
10 He had come to earth as man’s substitute and surety, and those who would receive him by faith, believing that he was the Sent of God, were more closely related to him than were those who were united to him by the ties of human relationship. Such would not perish, but have everlasting life. They would become one with him, as he was one with the Father. His mother, as a believer and doer of his words, was more nearly and savingly related to him because of this fact than because of her natural relationship in the flesh. Those who were his brethren in a natural way, would not be the least benefited by their relationship to him, unless they accepted him as their personal Saviour. But how precious are the words of Christ to those who believe! What cause of rejoicing should they be to every soul who is linked to Christ by saving faith! What a support Christ would have found in his earthly relatives if they had believed in him as in one from heaven, and had co-operated with him in doing the work of God. But the inspired word declares, “Neither did his brethren believe on him.” Christ had stated a sad fact in his experience when in Nazareth he said, “No prophet is accepted in his own country.”
11 Christ uttered no sentiments, notions, or opinions that were simply such. That which he spoke was the truth. He had come forth from the bosom of the Father, and was the revealer of the infinite mind. He spoke with the authority of the divine oracle. He uttered the words of eternal life, unfolded truths of the highest order. Then what comfort should come to the believer as he reads these words: “Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
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Page 786
1 “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
2 All who advocate truth in distinction from error, have a special work to do in vindicating the law of God. Men inspired by a power from beneath, have regarded it their duty to uphold, as the sabbath of the Lord, the first day of the week. By disregarding the claims of God, ministers, who claim to preach the Gospel, are echoing the words told to Adam and Eve in Eden, that if they transgressed the law, they would not die, but would be as gods, knowing good and evil. The influence and example of these men have caused a lie to be received as truth. With persevering energy they have labored to establish a spurious sabbath, and this man-made institution has received the homage of the greater part of the world. But this does not make a day holy which God has given us as a common working day. Though this error is hoary with age, though the world is bowing in reverence to it, it still remains an error and a delusion; for God says, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
3 Well-nigh universal contempt is shown to the law of God, and all who are loyal to him have a sacred and solemn work to do in magnifying the law, and making it honorable. God placed his sanctity upon the seventh day, and gave it to man to keep holy; and he says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” By rendering obedience to his commandments, we uphold the honor of God in the earth.
4 Satan works against the law with untiring energy, and God calls upon his people to be witnesses for him by pressing the battle to the gates. This work must advance, or it will go backward. In this war there is no release. Those who take part in it must put on the whole armor of God, that they may fight manfully in the warfare against evil.
5 Often God’s soldiers will find themselves brought into difficult places, they know not why. But are they to relax their hold because difficulties arise? Is their faith to diminish because they can not see their way through the darkness? God forbid. They are to cherish an abiding sense of God’s power to uphold them in their work. They can not perish, neither can they lose their way, if they will follow his guidance, and strive to uphold his law.
6 The experience of the children of Israel in the wilderness should guide us in our work. The word of the Lord declares, “All these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” In their journeyings the Lord brought the children of Israel into hard places, to test their faith and their fidelity to him. He had pledged himself to bring them into the promised land, and if they had waited patiently for the Lord, reviving their faith in him by recounting his great goodness and his wonderful works in their behalf, he would have shortened their test. But they forgot their heavenly Leader. Murmuring and complaining, they vented their wrath and bitterness upon Moses, forgetting that their emergency was God’s opportunity.
7 Today God says to his people, Do not imitate the children of Israel by showing unbelief when brought into difficulties. For “there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
8 “Dearly beloved,” says the apostle Peter, speaking by the Holy Spirit, “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles; that, whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” God has led us out to stand in defense of his law, and he calls upon us to let our light so shine that others, seeing our good works, may be led to glorify our heavenly Father. We have no time to waste in thinking of our individual difficulties. When we bemoan the hardness of the way, we turn from the path of faith. God can make us fully able to go up and possess the promised land. He says, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
9 If our path is not always made plain and easy, if we are not always so well favored as we think we should be, let us look to God, and say in faith, By the mighty cleaver of truth God has separated us from the world, from its customs and maxims, and has chosen us as his peculiar people, and he is able to work for us. Let us go forward in the strength of the Lord God Almighty, striving to uplift his law in the earth. So shall we testify to his truth. “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he; before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be any after me.” “I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you; therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord.” “That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me.”
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Page 787
1 God chose Israel as his people, and gave them gracious promises on condition of obedience. He faithfully performed his promises. He demonstrated his power in their deliverance from Egypt; he opened them a path in the Red Sea, and caused them to pass safely over, while their enemies, in pursuit, perished beneath its waters. He subdued the nations before them; he guided them with his counsel; he enriched them with his bounties.
2 The mixed multitude who came up from Egypt with Israel were continually departing from God, and making themselves a snare to his people. God saw that Israel would, in their future intercourse with other nations, be in danger of following their example; and he provided for this. His law was to be read and explained to them as a nation; his dealings toward them were to be repeated; the warnings, the reproofs and counsels which the Lord gave them, were to be presented before them. His law was proclaimed from Mount Sinai, that all might hear. Point by point, it was explained to meet the minds of both the learned and the ignorant. It was necessary that all should become intelligent in regard to its binding claims, especially in reference to the Sabbath and intermarriage with other nations.
3 The Sabbath and marriage were instituted in Eden, when man was upright and innocent before God. They were established when the foundations of the earth were laid, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. But men broke the rules which God gave respecting these institutions, and brought upon themselves condemnation and woe.
4 When the law was spoken, the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, stood by the side of his Son, enshrouded in the fire and the smoke on the mount. It was not here that the law was first given; but it was proclaimed, that the children of Israel, whose ideas had become confused in their association with idolaters in Egypt, might be reminded of its terms, and understand what constitutes the true worship of Jehovah.
5 What condescension was this, that the infinite God should stand side by side with his Son, while the law, which is the foundation of his government, was given. He would give his people an intelligent knowledge of his will. He does not command men to obey him when they do not understand what he requires. Here was displayed his wisdom, power, and love. Man was so dear to the Creator of the world that he spoke to him through Jesus Christ, with an audible voice, giving unmistakable evidence of his presence and majesty.
6 But we have on this occasion an illustration of the power of temptation upon men. Satan with his host stood in the midst of the armies of Israel to exercise his influence over the people of God’s choice. He tempted them, and many yielded to his suggestions; for while the holy law of God was still sounding in their ears; while the glory of God was displayed before their eyes, and God himself was guiding, guarding and sustaining them by his miraculous power, the children of Israel rebelled against him, and imitated the practices they had witnessed in Egypt. They turned their faces again toward Egypt; they turned from God to idols.
7 The Lord in his dealings with Israel always magnified his law before them, and promised them rich blessings if they would keep his precepts. And when he permitted their enemies to triumph over them, it was because he wanted them to draw nigh unto him, and find in him their friend and refuge. Their ingratitude and rebellion; their contempt of God’s restrictions and reproofs; their persecution of those whom God sent to save them from utter degradation and ruin; their relapse into idolatry; their hardness and impenitence of heart in following a course Satan chose for them, rather than the way of obedience in the path of truth and true holiness, brought misery upon themselves. When in the grief and bitterness of bondage, suffering under the cruel tyranny of the heathen, they called upon God, he heard and pitied them. He did not cast them off. He did not permit them to become extinct. He wrought for them again and again, as only God could, that he might bring them into a closer relationship with himself.
8 This has been the history of God’s people since the fall of Adam. The church has turned from his law, and followed fables of human devising. Frequently his requirements have been made a matter of convenience, and men have obeyed or disobeyed, as business or inclination dictated. But the Lord means what he says, and men can not set aside his law with impunity. He will not pass over any transgression more lightly now than he did in the day when he pronounced judgment against Adam.
9 Our Saviour, too, raised his voice in protest against those who regard the divine commandment with carelessness or indifference. He declared: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
10 And yet God, instead of destroying a sinful race, has given his Son to die for them. His own people have been changeable and rebellious, and he has been obliged to withhold great blessings which he longed to bestow, because they chose their own way instead of his. But he is ever ready to hear their prayers, pardon their transgressions, and do them good, when, with contrition of soul, they return to him. The Saviour also is full of compassion and love. He never spurns the truly penitent, however great their guilt. But he requires strict obedience. “Sin is the transgression of the law;” and Jesus died, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, that the honor of God’s law might be preserved, and yet man be restored to the favor of heaven. By repentance, faith, and obedience, he may perfect a righteous character, and, through the merits of Christ, become a son of God.
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Page 788
1 “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”
2 There is work for every one to do if he will co-operate with God. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Holy intelligences are waiting to work through us. If we will consecrate heart and mind to the service of God, doing the work he has for us to do, and walking in the footsteps of Jesus, our hearts will become sacred harps, every chord of which will send forth praise and thanksgiving to the Lamb sent by God to take away the sins of the world.
3 The life of Christ and his labors of love shame and condemn the unbelief shown by many. He has promised: “Ask, and it shall be given you,” “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things unto them that ask him?” Those who do not know Jesus as their personal Saviour, do not avail themselves of the promised blessings; but to all who believe, he is as the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God. His branches reach to this world, that the blessings which he has purchased for us may be brought within our reach. Why, then, do we spend our precious time bemoaning our weakness, when Christ has made every provision for us to be strong? He has given us a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, which will present to us the precious fruit from the Tree of Life. From this tree we may pluck and eat, and we may then guide others to it, that they also may eat. Why should we mourn our inefficiency, when the heavenly angels are waiting to co-operate with us, to make us living agencies, blessing the world with the messages God will give us to bear.
4 If you have neglected to place your hand in the hand of Christ, you are in constant danger of being deceived. Many are spiritually weak because instead of cultivating faith, they look at the discouraging features of their work. In the time of trial they turn to humanity for aid, but in doing this, they lean upon a broken reed; for in humanity they will often be sorely disappointed. The distrust and suspicion thus awakened bear their own fruit.
5 Christ would have our thoughts center upon him. After he has given us many tokens of his willingness to help in any emergency, he is grieved if we withdraw our eyes from his sufficiency to look at our own weakness or the weaknesses of others. Look away from self to Jesus Christ, the Life of every blessing, every grace, the Life of all that is precious and valuable to the children of God. We have no cause to bemoan our own inefficiency, because Christ has shown himself to be an ever present help in time of need.
6 The Lord Jesus is our strength and happiness, the great storehouse from which, on every occasion, men may draw strength. As we study him, talk of him, become more and more able to behold him,—as we avail ourselves of his grace, and receive the blessings he proffers us, we have something with which to help others. Filled with gratitude, we communicate to others the blessings that have been freely given us. Thus receiving and imparting, we grow in grace; and a rich current of praise and gratitude constantly flows from our lips; the sweet spirit of Jesus kindles thanksgiving in our hearts, and our souls are uplifted with a sense of security. The unfailing, inexhaustible righteousness of Christ becomes our righteousness by faith.
7 When temptations assail you, as they surely will, when care, perplexity, and darkness seem to surround your soul, look to the place where you last saw the light, rest in Christ’s love and under his protecting shade; for in his shadow we may find rest and peace. When sin struggles for the mastery in the human heart, when guilt oppresses the soul and burdens the conscience, when unbelief clouds the mind, remember that Christ’s grace is sufficient to subdue sin and expel the darkness. Jesus, the sin-pardoning Saviour, is our Advocate in the courts of heaven, and he calls upon us to “arise and shine,” because his glory has risen upon us.
8 One reason of the spiritual feebleness of today is the low estimate that believers in Christ are constantly inclined to form of themselves. Christ paid an infinite price for us, and he desires his chosen heritage to value themselves according to the price he placed upon them. Do not disappoint Jesus by placing a low estimate upon yourselves. Embrace the opportunities and privileges which will increase your value with God; for by accepting the treasures of his grace you will become precious and lovely in his sight. Practical godliness will run through your lives like threads of gold, and as God beholds your consecration to him, he will say, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” All heaven rejoices over the weak, faulty human soul that gives itself to Jesus, and in his strength lives a life of purity.
9 Our path to the Paradise of God will be often intercepted by the tempter, who is intent on weakening our faith by hiding the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Our Saviour has warned us that through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God. “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” For every service we render, every self-denial, every sacrifice we make, the Lord has guaranteed to requite us, not because it is a debt he owes, but because his heart is full of infinite love, full of mercy and tenderness. In this life he will repay us a hundredfold, and in the world to come he will give us everlasting life.
10 Every moment is exceedingly precious. Those who overcome much, love Jesus the most, and in that day, when every one is rewarded according to his works, they will be put next to Christ, within the inner circle; honored, yes, greatly honored. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”
11 In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Know that he loves you, and will be your constant efficiency. “Arise and shine; for thy light is come.” “Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.”
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Page 789
1 In speaking of the true doctrines of his kingdom, Jesus said: “No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.”
2 The priests, rabbis, Sadducees, scribes, and Pharisees, who had hitherto held undisputed authority in matters of religion, and who were unwilling to give place to Christ, and to receive the truths of his kingdom, were represented as old bottles. They were found unfit to contain the new wine of his doctrines, and it was necessary to find depositories for the truth outside of those who were satisfied with their own spiritual attainments. In the teaching of Christ provision was made for a change of heart, for a new development of character. His system was designed for the whole human family. It was founded on faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. The truth received into the heart would make decided changes in the character. Brought into the soul temple, it would cleanse from all moral defilement. Those who profess to receive the truth, and yet who are unchanged in character, make it manifest that they have received but a theory of the truth, and do not know what is the vital influence of its operations. Practical godliness leads its possessor to keep the commandments of God. It lifts the soul out of its moral depravity, and the believing, repenting one realizes not only that his sins are forgiven, but that he is cleansed from all unrighteousness. By faith he beholds the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.
3 These developments were not seen in the life and character of those who followed the religion of the scribes and Pharisees. Their dry forms and set ceremonies were destitute of vital power, and they were represented as salt that had lost its savor. They did not bless the ones with whom they came in contact. There was no preserving quality in their religion to keep the world from going into complete corruption. Their religion was of no more value than savorless salt, that was only fit to be cast out and trodden under foot of man. It is only those who preserve the saving power of Christianity who cooperate with God in saving the world. Such are represented as the salt of the earth. But if men lose their spirituality, if their piety becomes sickly, if, because iniquity abounds, their love grows cold, then their religion has lost its savor. Their energy and efficiency has gone.
4 But Christ represents his people who have not lost their vital connection with God, as the light of the world. He says: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The Jews had erected a partition wall between themselves and every other people, but this was not after the direction of the Lord. When the Lord gives light and knowledge, it is not that men may exclude themselves from others, that they may hide the light in selfishness, so the divine rays shall not come to the people through the human channel that God has appointed; but he gives light, that it may be diffused, that men may see the good works of his followers, and be led to glorify God.
5
The scribes and the Pharisees listened to the words of Christ, and decided that he was making light of the law. Instead of this he was showing them distinctly that the law must be enshrined in the heart, and revealed in the character. Outward conformity to the letter of the law was not sufficient. The very principles of the law must be planted in the heart, and love to God and love to man must be revealed in the character, words, and actions. Those who believe in Christ as their personal Saviour would have the faith that works by love, would manifest his Spirit and grace, and cooperate with him in educating and disciplining souls for his heavenly kingdom. In his own life he gave the world an example of what he meant by his sermon on the mount, for he kept his Father’s commandments. He stripped from the holy precepts the human inventions and exactions with which men had covered up the true principles of the standard of righteousness. He showed the law of God to be holy, just, and good. He showed that it had power to convert the soul, and that it required from the human race a whole-hearted service to God and to man. Instead of depreciating the law, he showed that the commandments of God are the foundation of his kingdom, a reflection of the divine character. Those who were to be subjects of his kingdom were to reach a higher standard than that of the scribes and Pharisees. He presented the spirituality of the law, and said, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” His own life was a constant expression of the law of God, and he gave to his followers an example that they should walk in his steps.
6 Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish system, and he swept aside the maxims, injunctions, traditions, and precepts with which men had encumbered the plan of salvation. When he swept away the rubbish with which men had buried up the truth, they thought he was sweeping away the truth itself. But he met their unspoken thoughts, saying: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The maxims, traditions, and doctrines of men had served the purpose for which Satan had instigated them, and had eclipsed the dignity and honor of the holy law. Forms and ceremonies had taken the place of vital godliness; but Christ came to exalt the law, to rid it of the rubbish that men had placed upon it, and thus to let it shine forth in its exalted character, and reveal to the world the divine glory of its Author.
7 The religious teachers of the Jewish age were very jealous of their authority and doctrines, and to condemn the sternness of their exactions, to seek to lighten the intolerable burden which they urged upon the people and failed to lift themselves, was regarded as treasonable and blasphemous. The words of Christ stirred up their hatred. They termed him a meddler, an intruder, one who was seeking to overturn the established customs of the nation. Satan had almost undisputed sway upon the earth, and this was the secret of the enmity manifested against Christ, who, as the Light of the world, was shining amid the moral darkness. Darkness had covered the earth, and gross darkness the people, and the god of this world stirred up the hearts of his subjects to war against him who had come to condemn evil and to exalt righteousness. The time had come when a work must be done upon the earth. When the earth was in such a condition as this, the Lord had promised: “The Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” The prophet said Christ was to come when “judgment was turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey; and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head . . . . So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob.”
8 As in the days of the Jews, so it is in our day. We see the same enmity manifested against the word of God in our own day as was manifested in the time when Christ was upon the earth. Men still cling to their traditions, and revere their customs, and feel hatred against those who show them that they are in error. In this day, when we are bidden to call attention to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and point out the fact that it is vain to think we are worshiping God in teaching for commandments the traditions of men, we see the same enmity manifested. Of the remnant people of God it is written: “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Page 790
1 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him.”
2 There is opened before all Christians a path of continual advancement. They have an object to reach, a standard to gain, which includes everything good, and pure, and noble, and elevating; and they should make constant progress toward perfection of character. The ideal of Christian character is Christlikeness. The religion of Jesus Christ never degrades the receiver, never makes him coarse or rough, discourteous or self-important, passionate or hard-hearted. On the contrary, it refines the taste, sanctifies the judgment, and softens the heart. It purifies and elevates the thoughts, bringing them into captivity to Christ.
3 The living God has given us in his law a transcript of his character, and this law he calls upon us to obey, saying, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” As God is perfect in his high sphere of action, so man may be perfect in his human sphere.
4 The case of Daniel may be studied with profit by all who desire perfection of character. He and his companions were sincere, faithful Christians. To them the will of God was the supreme law of life. They knew that in order to glorify God all their faculties must be developed, and they sought to gain knowledge, that they might perfect a Christian character, and stand in that heathen nation as fitting representatives of the true religion. In order to preserve health, they resolved to avoid the luxuries of the king’s table, they refused to partake of any stimulating drink, but practiced strict temperance in all things, that they might not enfeeble brain or muscle. They exerted all their powers to work out their own salvation, and God worked in them to will and to do of his good pleasure. Under his training, their faculties were able to do the highest service for him; and of them it is written: “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”
5 When Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image was set up on the plains of Dura, Daniel’s three companions were commanded to fall down and worship it; but their principles forbade them to pay homage to the idol, for it was a rival to the God of heaven. They knew that they owed every faculty they possessed to God, and while their hearts were full of generous sympathy toward all men, they had a lofty aspiration to prove themselves entirely loyal to their God.
6 These faithful witnesses were cast into the fire for refusing to obey the command of the king, but God manifested his power for the deliverance of his servants. One like unto the Son of man walked with them in the midst of the flame, and when they were brought forth, not even the smell of fire had passed upon them. “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him.” “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.”
7 Thus these three Hebrew youth, imbued with the Holy Spirit, declared to the whole nation their faith that he whom they worshiped was the only true and living God. This demonstration of their faith was the most eloquent presentation of their principles. In order to impress others with the power and greatness of the living God, his servants must reveal their own reverence for him, making it manifest that he is the only object of their honor and worship, and that no consideration, not even the preservation of life itself, can induce them to make the least concession to idolatry.
8 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and all who live in communion with their Creator, will have an understanding of his design in their creation, and a sense of their own obligation to employ their faculties to the very best purpose. They will seek neither to glorify nor to depreciate themselves, but they will glorify God; for the man who consents to be molded and fashioned after the divine similitude, is the noblest specimen of the work of God.
9 The Divine Agent.
But without the divine working, man can do nothing toward the perfection of his character. God calls every man to repentance; yet man can not even repent unless the Holy Spirit works upon his heart. A principle of divine origin must pervade his conduct, and bind him to God. But the Lord wants no man to wait until he thinks he has repented, before he turns his steps toward Jesus. The Saviour is continually drawing men to repentance; they need only to submit to be drawn, and their hearts will be melted and subdued, fit temples for the indwelling of Christ.
10 The Holy Spirit comes to convince of sin, and to soften hearts hardened by estrangement from God. It comes to reveal the love wherewith God loves us, and the possibilities that open before every believing child of God. But are not some afraid of this heavenly guest? At times it comes with an all-pervading influence, but is it received? Do those to whom it comes bow before God with contrite hearts, pleading that they may be prepared to receive the blessings he is presenting to them? I entreat of all to receive this heavenly visitant as an abiding guest; for it will guide you into all truth, and give you joy and peace in the Lord.
11 God calls upon all men to avail themselves of the blessings he has set before them, that they may co-operate with him in carrying forward the great work of redemption. He has given his Holy Spirit as a power sufficient to overcome all man’s hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong. By yielding his capabilities to the control of this Spirit, man will be impressed with God’s perfect character, and will become an instrument through which he can reveal his mercy, his goodness, and his love.
12 The Culture of the Mind.
In the attainment of a perfect Christian character, the culture of the intellect is necessary, in order that we may understand the revelation of the will of God to us. This can not be neglected by those who are obedient to God’s commandments. In our intellectual faculties, we possess God’s endowment. These faculties were not given us for the service of self, but for the service of God; and they are to be treated as a higher power, to rule the things of the body. They are derived from God, not self-created, and should be consecrated to his work.
13 The knowledge which will give the highest culture, is obtained from God’s word. The words of revelation, carefully studied, strengthen the intellect as well as the heart. The experimental knowledge of true godliness, found in daily consecration and service for God, gives true culture of the mind, soul, and body. This consecration of our powers prevents self-exaltation; and the impartation of divine power honors our sincere striving after wisdom in order that we may know how to use our faculties to honor God and to bless our fellow men.
14 This is the will of God concerning every human being, even your sanctification. In urging our way heavenward, every faculty must be kept in the most perfect condition, in order that it may do the most faithful service. The powers with which God has endowed man are to be put to the test. That which God requires of those whom he has created and redeemed, is summed up in the words: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength.” “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you, to will, and to do of his good pleasure.”
15 Co-operating with God.
Man is allotted a part in the great struggle for everlasting life. He must respond to the working of the Holy Spirit. It will require a struggle to break through the powers of darkness, but the Spirit that works in him can and will accomplish this. Man is no passive instrument, to be saved in indolence. He is called upon to strain every muscle in the struggle for immortality, yet it is God that supplies the efficiency. No human being can be saved in indolence.
16 Christ assumed human nature, to demonstrate to the fallen world, to Satan and his synagogue, to the universe of heaven, and to the worlds unfallen, that human nature, united to his divine nature, could become entirely obedient to the law of God, that his followers by their love and unity would give evidence that the power of redemption is sufficient to enable man to overcome. And he rejoices to think that his prayer that his followers might be sanctified through the truth, will be answered; they will be molded by the transforming influence of his grace into a character after the divine similitude. All who would possess a perfect Christian character must wear the yoke of Christ. If they would sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, they must learn of him while on this earth. Christ says to all such: “Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” “Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
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Page 791
1 The example of Christ is authoritative for every son and daughter of Adam. His life was the law of God lived and exemplified, a perfect pattern for all humanity, showing what man may become by partaking of the divine nature. Representing as he did the character of God, he was a perfect standard of moral excellence in humanity.
2 How did the world’s Redeemer walk? Not to please himself, but to glorify God, and work the works of him that sent him, in uplifting man, who was formed in the divine image, and by precept and example teaching righteousness.
3 He did not have a smooth path for his feet to travel. Those who ought to have been co-laborers with him in all his works, were so far separated from God by selfishness that they counteracted the work of Christ. His convenience, his comfort and pleasure, were not studied. He was the Commander of all heaven; yet he was here on earth as one that serves. Uncomplainingly he endured privations, lived the life of a poor man. The luxuries indulged in by many who claim to be sons and daughters of God, he did not bring into his life. He was a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. His whole life was one of self-denial, expressing, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
4 Christ never flattered any man; he never deceived, never defrauded, never changed his course of straightforward righteousness to obtain favor or applause. He ever expressed the truth. The law of kindness was upon his lips; there was no guile in his mouth.
5 The Son of God so conducted his life that even his unbelieving countrymen were compelled to say, “He hath done all things well.” His character was without a flaw. He did not leave the example of a life of idleness and self-indulgence, altho he was heir of all things in heaven and earth, the only-begotten Son of the Father.
6 Here is where human intelligences have lost sight of the Pattern. Men, because entrusted with talents of means; follow, not the standard of the character of Christ, but the standard of the world. Because they have abundance of money, houses, and lands, they train their children to a life of idleness and selfish indulgence, making them useless so far as doing good in the world is concerned. By their unwise training, the youth are unfitted in character for the future eternal life. Christ, in his life, gave us altogether a different example; he worked at the carpenter’s trade with his father.
7 Youth are now educated in the belief that it is the possession of plenty of money that gives men value. The sure result is pride and vanity, pleasure-loving, and abundance of idleness. Thus the way is open for Satan to corrupt life and character with his temptations to vice. Sinful practices become common. Whether rich or poor, high or low, Satan finds employment for the youth who are not trained to useful industry, and guarded and barricaded with principle.
8 Time is not considered as a precious treasure, a trust from God, for which every human being must give an account. Money, too, is entrusted of God to be used, not in needless extravagance by parents to the ruin of their children, but as a means of doing good to their fellow men. Even from their earliest years, as reason develops, the principles of the character of God, as given in his law, should become the rule of life and character.
9 Christ is our pattern, and those who follow Christ will not walk in darkness; they will not seek their own pleasure. The glory of God will be the standard at which they will unceasingly aim. The two grand precepts of the moral law are to regulate the conduct of all human intelligences: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” The Lord of heaven demands of us supreme love and worship.
10 The Lord will work through the human agent if he will unite himself with Christ, and the record for him in the books of heaven will be, as in the case of Enoch, that he walks with God. Like Enoch, he will have a sense of God’s abiding presence. The reason that so large a number of those who profess to be children of God always feel in uncertainty, is because they feel that they are orphans. They do not cultivate the precious assurance that Jesus is the sin-bearer; that altho they have transgressed the law, and are sinners in his sight, yet the object of the incarnation of Christ was to bring to the repenting, believing sinner everlasting peace and assurance. The great Advocate assumed human nature, and became like unto his brethren, to impress upon the human mind that no one who through faith accepts him as a personal Saviour is an orphan, or is left to bear the curse of his own sins. Christians may daily cultivate faith by contemplating the One who has undertaken their cause, their “merciful and faithful High Priest.” Having suffered, being tempted, not merely in a few things, but in all things like as we are tempted, he is able to succor all that are tempted. Even now in heaven he is afflicted in all our afflictions, and as a living Saviour he is asking intercession for us.
11 The human agent is to compare his life with the character of Jesus Christ, and through the grace which he imparts to all true believers, seek to reach the perfection of his example who lived the law of Jehovah.
12 Christ’s testimony of himself was, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” Those who follow Christ will be constantly looking into the perfect law of liberty, and through the grace given them by Christ, will fashion their character to meet the divine requirements. The heart must be opened to receive Christ, and abide in him. As the branch is connected with the living vine, a vital union is formed between the parent stalk and the branch, and the same fruit appears on the branch as is seen on the vine. Every faculty of mind and body is to be enlisted in the service of Christ, following his example, and catching his spirit, thus building the character after the divine similitude. Our faith is daily to be exercised, and to increase by exercise in him who has redeemed us, not only because he loved us, but because, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
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Page 792
1 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
2 The love of God is a golden chain which binds finite man to the infinite God. It is a love which “passeth knowledge.” No science can explain it, no wisdom fathom it. The more we feel the influence of this love, the greater will be our amazement at it. Job exclaims: “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?” “The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.” “O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and love of God!” exclaims Paul, “how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out.” “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.”
3 God’s creatures are never absent from his mind. Even the birds which fly in the heavens, and the flowers of the field, are objects of his tender care. “Behold the fowls of the air,” said Christ, “they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” If the great Master Artist has bestowed such care upon these things, how much greater will be his regard for man, who is the “image and glory of God!” His care and love for his children are unceasing, and he longs to see them reveal a character after his similitude. “I will make a man more precious than fine gold,” he declares, “even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.”
4 And tho sin has existed for ages, seeking to counteract the tide of love flowing from God to the human race, tho man has lost the image of God through yielding to this sin, yet the love and care which God bestows upon the beings he has created, has not ceased to increase in richness and abundance. He “so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He who was in the form of God, who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, descended from his throne, clothing his divinity with humanity that he might reach humanity. He was in the beginning with God; yet he came to announce to the human race, fallen and degraded, that he had brought them the gift of everlasting life.
5 God’s gift to this earth was beyond all computation; nothing was withheld. The love demonstrated in the life of Christ, from the manger to the cross, the mystery of his divinity veiled in humanity, the bright beams of righteousness manifested to the world in his words and works,—these are themes which the angels desire to look into. How would men receive this gift? Could they fail to appreciate the sacrifice? Could the world resist this boundless love? At the time of Christ’s advent the hearts of men were corrupted by sin. Hatred against God was cherished by the entire race. A wakeful impiety was exercised by the enemies of God; the principles of injustice were wide-spread; and a master-power was at work, seeking to eclipse the love of God, and gain control of the minds of men. And so Christ, the Bread of life, came to his own, “and his own received him not.” The light of God shone on the darkness of this world, but the darkness comprehended it not. The inestimable gift of heaven was not appreciated; the healing flood of life and heavenly grace was disregarded.
6 God has given men intellect in order that he may lead their minds higher and still higher, opening to them the mysteries of divine love. The contemplation of the theme of redemption enlarges the mind and sanctifies the will. By beholding Christ, the Lamb of God, who “taketh away the sin of the world,” our conception of his love is deepened and broadened. Why, then, are our ideas so narrow? Why do we not comprehend that love which is so deep and broad?
7 As in the days of Christ, the enemy of God works constantly to lead men to place the will in his control, that God may be forgotten. He knows that if this is done, he can control the whole man. He tempts men in many ways to forget their Creator. To some he offers tobacco and alcoholic drinks. Others he tempts by pointing them to their own degradation and helplessness. Those who yield to his temptations can have no conception of the love of God. The will becomes enslaved, bound to pursue a course which the word of God does not justify. Reason is enfeebled; the power to distinguish between right and wrong is lost; sacred and eternal realities are estimated as of less value than gold, silver, houses, lands, and bank stock. The love of God fades from the mind; and the captives in the tempter’s power live on, “having no hope, and without God in the world,” because they do not behold the Lamb of God.
8 Sin can triumph only by enslaving the mind. Christ came to our world to break the power of Satan, and emancipate the will of man. He came “to proclaim liberty to the captives,” to “undo the heavy burdens,” and to “let the oppressed go free;” and he calls upon us to cooperate with him by entering his service, wearing his yoke, and lifting his burdens. And, if we consent, he can and will so identify himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity with his will, that when obeying him, we shall but carry out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing his service.
9 Man is not his own; he has been bought with a price, even “the precious blood of Christ.” By pouring the whole treasury of heaven into this world, by giving us in Christ all heaven, God has purchased the will, the affections, the mind, the soul, and the strength of every one. And man is safe only when he places himself under the control of God. When this is done, the will becomes firm and strong to do right; the heart is cleansed from all selfishness, and filled with a Christlike love and tenderness. The mind yields to the authority of the law of love, and “every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” The powers, hitherto “members of unrighteousness,” and “servants of sin,” are consecrated to the service of a God of love.
10 “Thus saith the Lord God, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out, . . . I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” This precious assurance of God to his Son, the Anointed, embraces all who receive Jesus Christ; for the word of God declares, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
11 Satan is determined to shut out all light and communication from above. As if in defiance to the mercy of Omnipotence, he caused the Son of God to be crucified. But Christ rose from the grave, and today he is our Advocate in the courts of heaven, reconciling us “unto God . . . by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” He has a claim to our wills and affections, and in a voice full of love and mercy he calls, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
12 The Lord directs every mind that yields to the power of his love, and reveals to it the mystery of godliness. Yield yourself entirely into his keeping; for his love is everlasting and unchangeable. Consecrate your powers to him. The divine influence of his love will diffuse itself through the chambers of your mind; your soul-temple will be cleansed from all selfishness; your heart, filled with all that is pure and lovely, will reveal the mysteries of redeeming love. Then you shall be indeed God’s workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus unto good works,” “sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use.”
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Page 793
1 “Be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself; that the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.”
2 This was David’s dying charge to Solomon. The aged monarch had already invested his son with kingly authority, and now he bids him perform faithfully the duties devolving upon him. He counsels him not to show himself merely a warrior, a statesman, or a sovereign, but to reign as a strong, good man. He entreats him to display a noble, manly nature, to show mercy and loving-kindness to his subjects; and he adds, “Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.”
3 In his early youth Solomon was a noble character. He was named “Jedidiah,” which means “Beloved of the Lord.” He was the pride and hope of his father, and “tender and only beloved in the sight of his mother.” And during the first years of his reign Solomon fulfilled the promise of his youth. He loved God, and was beloved of God. The Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Ask what I shall give thee.” And Solomon answered the Lord in these words, “Give thy servant an understanding heart, . . . that I may discern between good and evil.” The Lord granted this request, “and Solomon’s wisdom excelled all the wisdom of the children of the east; for he was wiser than all men.”
4 Had Solomon relied continually on the Lord, had he kept the precepts and commandments enjoined upon him, what a history would have been his! But the unerring pen of inspiration, while it records his virtues, also bears faithful witness to his sad downfall. After a morning of promise and a manhood of integrity, Solomon took a course displeasing to the Lord. He did not continue to walk before God in truth. Raised to the pinnacle of human greatness, and surrounded with the gifts of fortune, he became dizzy. He was extolled by kingly powers for his unsurpassed wisdom, and he could not stand the flattery. Thus the very gift of heaven,—the wisdom which was entrusted to him by God, and which should have reflected honor upon the Giver,—filled Solomon with pride. He built the temple, and it was a marvel of richness and glory, unequalled by any work of human art. A greater than Solomon was the designer of this building; the wisdom and glory of God stood revealed there; but the honor was diverted from God and given to Solomon.
5 God singled out the children of Israel as his people. He separated them from other people, making them the repository of his law; and it was his design that they should preserve his honor in the earth. They were forbidden to mingle with idolatrous nations, and in no case were they to intermarry with them. A wise barrier was thus erected between them and the rest of the world, and their safety consisted in observing these landmarks. But he who by his loyalty and integrity, could have done much to preserve God’s people from backsliding, he who at the dedication of the temple had urged them—”Let your hearts therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments,”—he set the example of apostasy. In his thirst for political power, he cultivated and encouraged alliances with pagan kingdoms, and violated the express command of Jehovah by taking wives from among them.
6 Solomon thought himself strong enough and wise enough to maintain the purity of his religion and yet deviate from the commands of God. He thought he could convert his wives to the true religion, and that by thus binding himself with idolatrous nations, he could win them all to the service of the true God. But we can not incorporate light with darkness. Christ has no fellowship with Belial. By a union with idolaters, the king’s own faith was perverted. The power and purity of true religion lost their influence over him. His conscience became marred and blunted; his finite judgment, in which he placed so much confidence, led him far astray, and wild license was regarded by him as independence and toleration. He lost his connection with God, and no longer realized that God was his wisdom and his strength.
7 Solomon thought to gain more power by thus allying himself with the heathen nations around him; and he was enriched with the gold and silver which was transported from Ophir and Tarshish, but it was at the cost of sacrificing noble principles and betraying sacred trusts.
8 One false step leads to another. Solomon’s alliance with heathen nations was followed by evils which led the children of Israel to violate the law of God. The people became contaminated with the principles and practices of the heathen. Polygamy was introduced into Palestine. The pure religious service instituted by God was replaced by idolatry of the darkest hue. Human sacrifices were offered; and the licentious rites practiced by the inhabitants of the Noatic world, were countenanced.
9 And “it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God.” From being one of the greatest kings that ever wielded a scepter, whose exalted wisdom made him renowned throughout the world, Solomon became profligate and intemperate, the tool and slave of others. His character, once noble and manly, became enervated and effeminate. His faith in the living God was shaken and supplanted by atheistic doubts. Unbelief marred his happiness, weakened his principles, and degraded his life; gloomy and soul-harassing thoughts troubled him night and day. The justice and magnanimity of his early reign were changed into despotism and tyranny; and his extravagance was sustained by grinding taxes, which were imposed upon the people. Poor, frail human nature! God can do but little for men, because they so soon lose their sense of dependence upon him.
10 The Lord would have all learn a lesson from the record of the life of Solomon. He desires his servants to preserve their holy and peculiar character. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” is his command; “for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?”
11 While we are to be kind and courteous to all, we are not to connect with those who we know are acting in opposition to God. Solomon was estranged from God by the influence of his heathen wives; and God has forbidden his people to unite with unbelievers; for in so doing, they bring untold sorrow upon themselves, and reproach upon the cause of God. They may think, like Solomon, that their influence over those who are in the wrong will be beneficial; but too often they themselves, entrapped and overcome, yield their sacred faith, sacrifice principle, and separate themselves from God. By one false step they place themselves where they can not hope to break the chains that bind them.
12 I would warn all, both young and old, Be careful what friendships you form and what companions you choose. Take heed lest what you now think to be pure gold turns out to be base metal. Worldly associations tend to throw obstructions in the way of your service to God; and many souls are ruined by unhappy unions, either business or matrimonial, with those who can never elevate or ennoble. Because of this, many men and women are without hope and without God in the world. Their noble aspirations are dead; by a chain of circumstances they are held in Satan’s net.
13 Beware of following any voice but that of God. Those who call themselves sons and daughters of God, and yet walk contrary to his wise arrangements in order that they may follow the promptings of their own unsanctified hearts, which are ruled by passion and impulse, will have a bitter harvest to reap in this life, and their course may result in the loss of their souls.
14 Keep your religion pure and untainted. Worldly interests may tempt you to yield your principles, but “what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Worldly greatness is no equivalent for integrity, honesty, a pure heart, and a noble, unwavering purpose to do right. Even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like him who possesses the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, untouched by the tinsel and show of the world.
15 God would have us learn the solemn lesson that we are working out our own destiny. The characters we form in this life decide whether or not we are fitted to live through the eternal ages. No man can with safety attempt to serve both God and the world. God is fully able to keep us in the world, but not of the world. His love is not uncertain and fluctuating. Ever he watches over his children with a care that is measureless and everlasting. But he requires us to give him our undivided allegiance. “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye can not serve God and mammon.”
16 Solomon was endowed with wonderful wisdom, but the world drew him away from God. We need to guard our souls with all diligence, lest the cares and attractions of the world absorb the time that should be given to eternal things. God warned Solomon of his danger, and today he warns us not to imperil our souls by affinity with the world, saying, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you, and I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
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Page 794
1 Jesus taught his disciples that a humble and contrite spirit is an inward principle; that the austere, gloomy countenance is not an index to a humble, submissive spirit. While the heart should have the grace of humility, the countenance should be cheerful, not gloomy and repulsive. His words of instruction to them were: “Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”
2 Like other observances of a religious character, fasting, when practiced from right motives, will prove a blessing. But this, like almsgiving, had been perverted. The Pharisees put on an outward appearance of great sanctity, of humiliation and contrition, while in their hearts they cherished sins of a revolting character. They made their religion unattractive by their stern, forbidding appearance. But the true Christian will never chill the atmosphere with severe exactions and painful stiffness. He is to have a sweet, subduing, cheerful and saving influence upon those with whom he comes in contact.
3 The object of the Pharisees in giving publicity to their prayers,—to be exalted in the opinions of men,—was that which Christ condemned. And the same self-righteous prayers he rejects today wherever they are offered among the professed people of God. In our day, as in Christ’s, unworthy motives often prompt the prayers and almsgivings. These things are done to obtain the approval of men; but they bear the disapproval of the world’s Redeemer. God’s name is profaned every day in the meaningless prayers of many who profess to be Christians.
4 This sin is not found alone with the illiterate, but frequently even with men who have ability and influence. They will professedly pray to God, while in truth they are preaching a sermon to him. As though he lacked information, they give him a definite account of everything. Their prayers are to the people; God scarcely enters their minds. All such prayers are as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, with no heart, no purpose, no point. Such prayers will be only a curse to the ones who thus profane this sacred privilege. Nothing is so repulsive to Christ as insincere devotion, voluntary humility, and hypocritical almsgiving. He said, “When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;” appear comfortable and cleanly. It is a great mistake to suppose that the unwashed face and tangled locks proclaim your sanctity.
5 This lesson to the disciples is applicable to every Christian to the end of time. Devotion to God does not consist in groans and sighs and a sad countenance. Many give to the world wrong impressions in regard to the religion of the Bible by complaining of trials and crosses and hardships. The true servants of the heavenly King are the most happy people in the world. While their service is earnest and sincere, they carry with them the rays of the Sun of Righteousness, to lighten the path heavenward for all those who will walk in it. The religious life is one of conflict and trial; yet of spiritual happiness and joy.
6 Some professed followers of God utter loud prayers, and exercise the body in a violent manner. The prophets of Baal worked themselves up into a frenzy when praying to their idol gods. These heathen cried, and cut themselves with lancets and knives until they presented a frightful appearance. But they were more sincere than are many who today offer prayers in a storm of excitement. Their conduct was in keeping with their ideas of devotion to their gods. But Christians have a living and all-powerful God, whose ear is quick to detect the real needs of the suppliant, and by their excited and unnatural manner they dishonor their prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God.
7 Our hearts have been pained when we have listened to prayers which have been made to men and not to God. Self-righteous, self-confident prayers never rise higher than the lips that utter them. Prayer offered in spasmodic fervor, merely a storm of words, will not be heard and answered by God.
8 Some think it a mark of humility to pray to God in a common manner, as though talking with human beings. They profane his name by needlessly and irreverently interlarding their prayers with “God Almighty,”—awful and sacred words, that should never pass the human lips except with bated breath and solemn and subdued tones.
9 The humble, intelligent prayer of faith, that comes from unfeigned lips, is wholly acceptable to God. It is the heart-felt prayer that is heard in heaven and rewarded by an answer on earth. “But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word.” “For thus saith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and a humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
10 Jesus taught his disciples that only that prayer which arises from unfeigned lips, prompted by the actual wants of the soul, is genuine, and will bring heaven’s blessing to the petitioner. He gave a brief, comprehensive prayer to his disciples. This prayer, for its beautiful simplicity, is without a parallel. It is a perfect prayer for public and private life; it is dignified and elevated, yet so simple that the child at its mother’s knee can understand it. The children of God have repeated this prayer for centuries, and yet its luster has not dimmed. Like a gem of value it continues to be loved and cherished. This prayer is a wonderful production. None will pray in vain if in their prayers are incorporated the principles contained therein. Our prayers in public should be short, and express only the real wants of the soul, asking in simplicity and simple trusting faith for the very things we need. Prayer from the humble, contrite heart is the vital breath of the soul hungering for righteousness.
11 God understands the needs of humanity. He knows what we desire before we ask him. He sees the soul’s conflict with doubt and temptation. He marks the sincerity of the suppliant. If the heart is afflicted, if the spirit is humble before God, he marks it. He will accept the humiliation and affliction of soul, and will reward according to the purity of the motives that prompted the action.
12 As a faithful physician, the world’s Redeemer has his finger upon the pulse of the soul. He marks every beat; he takes note of every throb. Not an emotion thrills it; not a sorrow shades it; not a sin stains it; not a thought or purpose passes through it, with which he is not acquainted. Man was purchased at an infinite cost, and is loved with a devotion exceeding that which a father feels for his child. The prayer that comes from a sincere heart will ever find a response in heaven.
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Page 795
1 “I am the True Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.”
2 Every true believer must have a living connection with Him in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Just as the body needs the vitalizing air at all times, so the soul needs divine grace. Apart from Christ, we are helpless, without hope, and without God in the world; but truly united to him, we are a power for good.
3 In the parable of the vine and the branches, Christ presents the necessity and advantage of a vital union with him. And what symbol so simple, and yet so striking, could he have used to show the need of entire dependence upon him? Separated from the vine, the branch is dead and worthless. United to the vine, it receives the nourishment drawn from the roots, and thus is enabled to bear fruit. Such is the relation of the believer to Christ. On our part, we must have implicit faith in Christ as our personal Saviour. The result of this faith is seen in the fruit we bear. Christ constantly supplies us with grace, and in our turn we impart this grace to others, thereby revealing that we receive our nourishment from the True Vine. God acknowledges this union, and our petitions are accepted through Jesus Christ. One with him, as he is one with the Father, we are accepted in the Beloved. Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren, and heavenly intelligences co-operate with us in our efforts to serve him.
4 By the nature and abundance of the fruit it produces, the branch proves that it is a part of the vine, and by the fruit which we bear, we show whether or not we are truly united to Christ. The true branch bears rich clusters of genuine fruit, and if we are truly united to Christ, we reveal in our lives the fruits of the Holy Spirit. “Herein is my Father glorified,” said Christ, “that ye bear much fruit.”
5 The branch which does not derive its nourishment from the vine, is unable to bear fruit. Having no real, vital connection with the vine, not receiving the sap which flows through the parent stock, it is fruitless. So it is with those who are not truly united to Christ. They may claim to know him, their names may be on the church roll, but unless they are living branches of the True Vine, this is of no value. There is a union with the church that avails nothing with God. Their profession will not save them, for their want of faith, their lack of fruit, proves that they are false branches. They are hearers, and not doers, of the word of God, and their future is shown in this parable. Their separation from Christ involves a ruin as complete as that represented by the dead branch. “If a man abide not in me,” said Christ, “he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
6 Those who claim to know Christ, and yet indulge a jealous, fault-finding spirit, sowing seeds of dissension by word and action, reveal only too surely that they are not branches of the True Vine. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
7 As the husbandman prunes the branches of the fruit-bearing trees, that they may bear more fruit, so the Lord prunes those who are endeavoring to serve him. Often by pruning away the unhealthy growth of temporal and secular interests which endanger heart and character, he causes pain. But he works with no wanton hands and indifferent heart. It is in love to his children that he cuts away the growth which threatens to destroy the health and life of the soul.
8 The Lord permits trials to come to us in order that we may be cleansed from earthliness, from selfishness, from sharp, unchristlike traits of character; that we may be led to look to him as the source of all strength. He suffers the deep waves of affliction to pass over our souls in order that we may have deep heart-longings to be cleansed from all defilement, and come forth from the trial purer and holier, with a deeper knowledge of him.
9 “As many as I love,” God says, “I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent,” In order that we may die to self, we are called upon to endure trial, and when the chastening hand of the Lord is laid upon us, we are not to fret and complain, not to rebel, not to worry ourselves out of the hand of Christ. We are to humble ourselves before God, pleading with him to give us rest and peace. We enter the furnace of affliction with our hearts darkened by selfishness; but if patient under the crucial test, we shall come forth reflecting the divine image, as gold tried in the fire. “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
10 Christ left his heavenly home, and came to this world, to show that only by being connected with divinity can man keep the law of God. In itself humanity is tainted and corrupted; but Christ brought moral power to man, and those who live in communion with him overcome as he overcame. We are not left in this world as orphans; Christ has united fallen man to the infinite God. He has opened a way for our prayers to ascend to God, and the fragrance of his righteousness ascends with the prayer of every repentant sinner.
11 Before men and before angels, by a life of perfect obedience, Christ represented the character of God. Today he is calling upon us to unite with him, that we may partake of his divine nature, and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. “I, if I be lifted up from this earth,” he said, “will draw all men unto me.” His gracious invitations of mercy are going forth to all mankind. He is inviting all to come into close connection with him; and those who respond will find life and salvation. As we connect with him, unbelieving fear is swept away before living faith, and humble, grateful confidence becomes an abiding principle in the soul.
12 The result of a vital union with Christ should make all willing to give up everything if only we may be united with him. As the nourishment of the vine is carried to every true branch, so Christ’s righteousness is imparted to every one who unites with him. “He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” As our substitute and surety, our sins are placed to his account. His grace is given us in large measure, and this vitalizing power makes us channels of blessing to the world. “If ye abide in me,” he said, “and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
13 The Lord is at hand. Heavenly angels wait to co-operate with God’s children in sounding the message, “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” The angels can not take our place, but they stand ready to co-operate with us in drawing souls to Christ; and they are soliciting us to work in fellowship with them. These angels survey the ground occupied by those who claim to follow Christ. They see the advantage gained by the enemy when men and women refuse to unite with Christ, and neglect their God-appointed work, and they sorrow over the souls lost in consequence of this neglect.
14 Those who are truly striving to honor God will be laborers together with him. Truly united to Christ, they willingly wear his yoke, and bear his burdens. They realize that they are not their own, but that Christ has purchased them at an infinite price; and their own ambitious prospects are lost sight of in their desire to work for God. To all such God can say, Child, come up higher. I have tested you, and I know that I can trust you to enter heaven’s courts and not rebel. But those in whose hearts selfishness is cherished, who have no connection with Christ, can never enter the kingdom of heaven.
15 Shortly before his crucifixion, Christ prayed for his disciples: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” O that these words might be written with the finger of God upon every soul. When God’s children surrender all to him, when they are willing to be pruned of all selfishness and worldliness and to be united to the True Vine, when one interest predominates—to be one with Christ as he is one with the Father—then they can indeed bear witness for the truth. True branches of the living Vine, they will bear “much fruit” for him, “being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the honor and praise of God.”
Page 796
1 Christ prayed for his disciples, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world.”
2 While Christians are to be in the world, they are not to be of the world. In order to be a saving power, they must separate from all worldliness. As oil does not mix with water, so they are not to mix with that which God condemns. They must keep themselves “unspotted from the world;” for they can not touch that which is unclean, and remain unpolluted. The truth as it is in Jesus must sanctify their souls. Its deep, living principles must preside over thought and word and action.
3 On every hand there is that which would tempt the Christian to forsake the narrow way; but those who would perfect a character fit for eternity must take the will of God as their standard, separating entirely from everything that is displeasing to him. Thousands are betrayed into sin because they leave the citadel of the heart unguarded. They become engrossed with the cares of this world, and true godliness is driven from their hearts. They rush eagerly into speculation, seeking to accumulate more of this world’s treasure. Thus they place themselves where it is impossible for them to advance in the Christian life. “Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” And while you pray, strive earnestly to guard your heart from all pollution; for prayer without effort is a solemn mockery.
4 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Every moment of our time belongs to God, and we have no right so to burden ourselves with cares that there is no room in our hearts for his love. At the same time, we are to obey the injunction, “Not slothful in business.” We are to labor, that we may have to give to him that needs. God does not desire us to allow our powers to rust through inaction. Christians must work; they must engage in business; and they can go a certain length in this line, and commit no sin against God.
5 But too often Christians allow the cares of life to take the time that belongs to God. They devote their precious moments to business or to amusement. Their whole energies are employed in acquiring earthly treasure. In so doing they place themselves on forbidden ground. Many professing Christians are very careful that all their business transactions shall bear the stamp of strict honesty, but dishonesty marks their relations with God. Absorbed in worldly business, they fail to perform the duties they owe to those around them. Their children are not brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The family altar is neglected; private devotion is forgotten. Eternal interests, instead of being put first, are given only the second place. God is robbed because their best thoughts are given to the world, because their time is spent on things of minor importance. Thus they are ruined, not because of their dishonesty in dealing with their fellow men, but because they have defrauded God of what is rightfully his own.
6 The maxim, “Religion must give way to business, is Satan’s device to lead men astray.” He who follows this rule may think that he is the soul of honor, but his life is one long act of complicated robbery against God. And when this life closes, of what use to him will be the treasure he has lost so much to gain?
7 The folly of giving all to the world is illustrated in the parable of the foolish rich man. He had been greatly prospered by the Lord, but instead of giving God what was his due, “he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do, I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” Is it any wonder that the Lord said to him: “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided”?
8 Like the rich man, many today are living wholly for the world. The deception of the enemy is upon them, and their senses are perverted. Under this spell they sacrifice eternal riches for worldly treasures, which will be theirs no longer when their life history closes; and in God’s eyes they are fools.
9 Through the love of the world Satan deadens the senses of men. Are you going to allow him to lead you astray? It is infinitely better for you to struggle with poverty now, to endure privation and neglect, to see your cherished hopes shattered, and to know that you have a title to the heavenly mansions, than to possess much worldly treasure, and in the last great day hear the irrevocable sentence: “I know you not.” “Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.”
10 But while Christians are to be distinct from the world, they are not to seclude themselves, raising a wall between themselves and their fellows, because of the temptations that they fear will assail them. They have a work to do for those around them. Great sacrifices have been made for their redemption, and Christ says to them, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” Temptations will assail them, their work will be made hard; for their foes will be tireless in their efforts to dishearten them. But Christ is their Leader, the Captain of their salvation. If they are clothed with the whole armor of God, if they fight as in view of the heavenly universe, they will conquer in his name.
11 When trials come to those who have separated from the world, is it not enough for them to know that Christ endured the same afflictions? He was the Majesty of heaven, the well-beloved Son of God. But when he came to this earth to deliver men from the bondage of sin, they saw in him no beauty, that they should desire him. They did not understand his union with the Father; they had no conception of his divine character. “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” The world’s Redeemer was “despised and rejected of men.” Those whom he came to save esteemed him “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”
12 Even so it is with the followers of Christ. They are the sons and daughters of God, joint-heirs with Christ. The kingdoms of the world belong to them. But worldly men are actuated by worldly principles; they can understand no others. They see a people few in number, weak and unpopular, struggling against evil. In their ranks very few of the wealthy or learned are to be seen. They see them bearing the cross of humiliation, acquainted with sorrow and grief. They see them afflicting their souls before God, chastened and humbled because of their sins. All this the world sees, and they think that there is nothing desirable in the lot of a Christian.
13 But tho God’s people are strangers among men, accounted weak, foolish, and unworthy of notice, tho the world fails to discern the relationship that exists between them and God, yet they are more precious in his sight than the gold of Ophir. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
14 “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” The followers of Christ must not be surprised if they are not recognized by the world. As the world discerned not Christ, as it refused to acknowledge his divinity and sonship, so it will slight and neglect his followers. “The world knoweth us not,” writes John, “because it knew him not.” But this should not be a source of discouragement and trial. “Know ye not,” asks James, “that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
15 We are living in the great day of intercession, the day of atonement, and to each one comes the word of warning, “Keep thyself unspotted from the world.” You cannot with safety join hands with the world. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father; but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” Better than all the friendship of the world is the friendship of Jesus Christ. Better than a title to the noblest palace on the earth is a title to the mansions which Christ has gone to prepare. And better than all the words of earthly praise, will be the words of Jesus to his faithful servants, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
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Page 797
1 The Bible is an unerring guide for man in every phase of life. In it the conditions of eternal life are plainly stated. The distinction between right and wrong is clearly defined, and sin is shown in its most revolting character, clothed with the robes of death. If this guide is studied and obeyed, it is to us as the pillar of cloud, which led the children of Israel through the wilderness; but if it is ignored and disobeyed, it will witness against us in the day of judgment. God will judge all by his word; according as they have fulfilled or disregarded its requirements, they will stand or fall.
2 The Bible demands that right principles be observed in all business transactions. In the strongest terms it condemns false dealing, and calls for purity in thought and word and action. “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion every man to his neighbor. And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in his heart.” “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
3 “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,” said Christ, “do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” These words are of the highest importance, and should be our rule of life. But do we carry out this divine principle? Do we, when brought into contact with our fellow men, deal with them just as we would desire them to deal with us in similar circumstances?
4 God tests men by their daily life. But many who make high professions of service to him, can not bear this test. In their eagerness for gain they use false weights and deceitful balances. The Bible is not made their rule of life, and therefore they do not see the necessity of strict integrity and faithfulness. Anxious to amass wealth, they allow scheming dishonesty to come into their work. The world watches their conduct, and is not slow to measure their Christian worth by their business dealings. God sees their dishonesty, too, and he asks: “Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?” “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth, wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.” “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.”
5 God’s children should remember that by their conduct in business deal they are deciding whether or not they are entitled to be called his sons and daughters. We determine the character of a tree by its fruits, and Christ said of men: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” If we allow unfaithfulness to characterize our work, we are bearing briers and thorns. While we continue in this way, we can not truly serve the Lord, and we can never hope to enter his kingdom.
6 It is not the greatness of the offense that makes it wrong in the sight of God. He has established principles of justice which he can not change without changing his whole nature; and the least departure from truth and rectitude is looked upon as a transgression of the law of God. The man who will overreach his fellow man in small matters, will, under stronger temptation, overreach him in greater matters. By continued indulgence in petty sins, men become accustomed to wrong-doing. In their eyes, sin loses its exceeding sinfulness; but holy angels, whose work it is to watch the development of character, and weigh moral worth, make a record of every transgression in the books of heaven. In the day of judgment many will be shut out of the city of God by sins which they supposed to be unworthy of notice.
7 When pecuniary gain is involved, one act of dishonesty is not thought to be so sinful. But those who secure property by false representation bring condemnation on themselves. And the Bible always tells the same story. With it sin is always sin, whether committed by the possessor of millions or by the beggar in the streets. Better a life of deepest poverty crowned with God’s blessings, than all the world’s treasure without it. We may be very rich; but unless we have the consciousness that God honors us, we are poor indeed.
8 Men may claim to be true servants of God, but if they swerve from the path of uprightness, deformity and impurity still exist in their character. They may try to appear what they are not; they may talk of the mercy and love of Jesus; but their words are as “sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.” They may be blinded to the guile in their hearts, and may think themselves righteous; but in the eyes of a holy God they are in the bonds of iniquity.
9 Christ defined an honest man as one who would manifest unbending integrity in all his business transactions, whether his course brought loss or gain to him. And the man who is indeed connected with God, who keeps his law in truth, also keeps his life pure. His plans are in harmony with the lessons of Christ; his words and actions are approved by a just God; for all his dealings with his fellow men show uprightness. His principles are based upon the sure foundation, and his conduct in worldly matters is a transcript of the principles that govern him. His unbending integrity shines forth as a light in the moral darkness of the world.
10 He who would be a faithful servant of Christ, must listen to the instruction of the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. His ideas and principles must be kept pure by the power of God. Every day he must learn to become more worthy of the trust committed to him. His mind must be quickened by divine power; his character uncontaminated by worldliness. At times he must turn aside from active life to commune with God, to hear his voice saying, “Be still, and know that I am God.” The truth as it is in Jesus must be brought into his place of business; its searching maxims must try the purposes of his soul; its principles must be applied to every transaction. The Christian who is thus sanctified to God can take Jesus with him wherever he goes. No guile is found in his mouth; for his affections are placed on things above; not on the things of this earth. He is indeed a light in the world, a living epistle, “known and read of all men.”
11 Ever be true to right principles. Do not disconnect from them for a moment; if they are inwrought with all you do, they will be life to your soul, abiding with you in all your difficulties, witnessing to all your business transactions, guiding you in all the relations of life, controlling in places where no eye but God’s sees, no ear but God’s hears. If you hold fast your integrity under all circumstances, you may know that God’s signature is upon your work.
12 Then, tho you may hear of wars and pestilences, of thefts, robberies, and bankruptcies, you may rest in the assurance that you possess true riches; for your treasure is laid up in heaven, “where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
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Page 798
1 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied: “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Christ said unto him, “Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” Here is a plain question plainly answered. The condition of eternal life is explicitly defined. It is to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. This is the principle that underlies God’s law, which is holy, just, and good.
2 But the lawyer, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, “And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
3 God’s law requires that justice and right be exercised between man and his fellow man; it requires that we shall not injure our neighbor in his property, his feelings, his health, or his good name. It requires compassion for the afflicted, even if he be our enemy, that in all our associations with our fellow beings we shall show the same love and care that we would wish to have exercised toward ourselves. Who can stand before this great moral standard, and plead not guilty?
4 We may ask, How could the priest and Levite satisfy their consciences, and think themselves heaven-bound, while leaving in suffering and distress a fellow creature unto whom they might minister? But these men represent a large class who claim to be God’s children. Each one has some flimsy excuse to offer for failing to do his duty toward those who are suffering around him. But Christians can not harmonize this neglect with the requirement of God, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
5 You may see nothing to love in your neighbor’s course of action; but this the Lord does not require of you; it is your neighbor himself, the soul God has purchased at an infinite cost, that he would have you love. You may say, I can never do this; but if you do not, you are not a partaker of the divine nature; you can never behold the purity of heaven, never walk the golden streets. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord; and only by obeying the dictates of God’s will, can you make it manifest that you have attained to this perfection.
6 There are many who congratulate themselves upon having a kindly feeling for men generally. They sometimes supply money to the poor, and contribute to public funds; and when they have done this, they consider their duty performed. Wherein, they argue, can I be deficient? They perform a part of their duty; but not all. Self stands supreme. Their neighbor is not loved in the way that Christ would have his children regard each other as members together of the family of God.
7 When human sympathy is blended with love and benevolence, and sanctified by the Spirit of Jesus, it is an element which can be productive of great good. Every ray of light shed upon others will be reflected upon our own hearts. Every kind and sympathizing word spoken to the sorrowing, every act to relieve the oppressed, and every gift to supply the necessities of our fellow beings, given or done with an eye to God’s glory, will result in blessings to the giver. Those who are thus working are obeying the law of heaven, and will receive the approval of God.
8 The principles that should govern our actions are plainly marked out in the divine word. Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, are the conditions of salvation. In James’ day there were men arising who were doing just as many are doing in our day,—preaching that faith in Christ releases men from obedience to the law of God. James declares that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” He presents before them the case of Abraham, who was justified by living faith, his works proving, or corresponding to, his faith. “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.” It is by the constant exercise of faith and love that believers are made to shine as lights in the world.
9 If you have been violating the law of God, will you not, my friend, stop and consider? It is not impossible for you, who have been deceived all your life, to look more closely into the law of God, and learn a lesson there. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Has this love entered into your experience, or have you sought to avoid this plain injunction? Look into the great mirror, God’s law. Does it not tell you that you have not loved your neighbor as yourself? You may seek to shield yourself from its holy light; you may refuse to look into the mirror and discern your deformities of character. You may adopt a standard current with the world; but their customs and practices are not God’s standard. Those truly love their neighbor as themselves who realize their responsibilities and the claims that suffering humanity has upon them, and carry out the principles of God’s law in the daily life.
10 Let no man deceive his own soul. Christ’s words clearly show that if we do not follow his injunctions, we shall be lost. But altho the law can convince us as transgressors, it can not save us from its penalty. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” By looking into this mirror, we may discover the spots in our character; but in order to have them cleansed, we must wash in the fountain prepared by the world’s Redeemer. The law is not to be abolished; this would not remove our defects. Christ came not to save men in their sins, but from their sins. When we feel condemned by the law, and come with humble, penitent hearts to God for pardon, Jesus, our Advocate, takes our sins, and imputes unto us his righteousness. We can look to a crucified and risen Saviour, and claim his merits. He, the Great Physician, will heal the wounds that sin has made; for his blood was shed to make the sinner whole. Thus he is made unto us sanctification and righteousness and redemption. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 799
1 “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say,” “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
2 At the request of the disciples for instruction in regard to prayer, the Lord gave them the prayer here recorded, every word of which possesses deep meaning.
3 The Saviour knew that his disciples were dull of comprehension, and as he sought to impress upon them the willingness of their heavenly Father to hear and answer prayer, he simplified his teaching by illustrations. “Which of you,” he said, “shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not; the door is now shut; and my children are with me in bed; I can not rise and give thee. I say unto you, Tho he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.”
4 Here, at the unseasonable hour of midnight, a belated traveler is represented as arriving at the house of his friend, who has nothing with which to supply his necessities. But the host does not sit down, and make no effort to meet the needs of his guest. He goes to a neighbor, saying, “Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.” The neighbor answers, “Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I can not rise and give thee.” But tho he will not grant his petition because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, he rises and gives him as many as he needs.
5 This illustration should be most carefully considered. The traveler needs food; and his friend renders him all the assistance in his power. Tho his neighbor is unwilling to be troubled, he will not desist his pleading; his friend must be relieved; and at last his earnest importunity is rewarded; his wants are supplied.
6 But none of the excuses urged by the reluctant neighbor will be offered by our heavenly Father. He says: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
7 “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
8 With such encouragement as this promise affords, why should there be a reluctance on our part to make known our requests unto God? Christ compares the love of a parent, who is so willing to relieve the necessities of his children, with that of our Father in heaven. He would impress upon his followers their true relationship to God. They are his children, his by creation, and by redemption. God is their Father in a sense that implies a closer relationship than that of a child to its earthly parents. He “so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If earthly parents know how to give good gifts unto their children, how much more shall our Father in heaven “give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him”?
9 In his lessons Christ presented the relation that the human agents should sustain to God and to one another. He does not leave one soul in darkness in regard to the Source of our strength. He points us to prayer as a refuge in all perplexities and disappointments. He says, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” The needy soul may be supplied with grace if he will ask in simple, trusting, childlike faith in God as his Father, through Jesus as his Saviour. Christ understands the needs of humanity. He will not be indifferent to the soul who desires his love and his presence. He is waiting to be gracious, to impart the bright beams of his righteousness. It was for this that he came to our world. He says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” But it is only by our own consent that Jesus can release us from our bondage to Satan. His promise is, “Him that cometh to me, I will in nowise cast out.” Then let us not dishonor God by refusing to come to him.
10 Christ announced his mission to the world when, in the synagogue at Nazareth, he read from the prophecy of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” What a work was before him!—To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. This period embraces age after age, extends from century to century, while probation shall last. God is waiting to hear the asking and knocking; watching to see humanity draw nigh unto him, who alone can help us. He longs to forgive their sins, to receive them as his own. He will receive every contrite soul who comes to him; for it was to do this work that God anointed his only-begotten Son.
11 But why did not Christ finish the statement recorded in Isaiah? Why did he omit the clause, “and the day of vengeance of our God”? The latter portion of this sentence was just as much truth as the first part; and Christ did not deny the truth by his silence, by withholding a portion of his own words given to his chosen prophet. But this last clause was that upon which his hearers delighted to dwell, and which they were inclined to practice, pronouncing judgment upon all who were not of their religious faith. Instead of giving to the people words of truth and righteousness and forgiveness, they had taught them that God hated all the heathen world. The paternal character of God had been misrepresented, and buried beneath human traditions.
12 But the time had come for the fulfilment of the prophecy, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” Isaiah 9:2. The work of Christ was to present to the world the open door of mercy, through which all might have an abundant entrance through faith and repentance. He held in his hand all the treasures of wisdom. Eternal truth fell from his lips like precious jewels, and its meaning was flashed into the minds and hearts of those who received his words. He had come to uproot tradition and superstition, and sow the earth with truth; in the place of the commandments of men, to give them the commandments of God. The insufficiency of formal, ceremonial obedience to save the soul, he made to appear in its true light when contrasted with the eternal obligations resting upon the human family.
13 Christ encourages the sincere requests made to him in simple, trusting faith. All who seek of him shall find; all who knock will have the door opened unto them. The excuse will not be made, Trouble me not; the door is closed; I do not wish to open it. God’s is a divine friendship, a treasure house where abundant supplies of spiritual riches are stored for every one who has a sense of his need and asks in faith.
14 The Lord desires that we shall avail ourselves of the rich supplies awaiting our demand, that we may relieve the necessities of those who are hungering and thirsting for the bread and water of life, by pointing them to the source of righteousness and salvation. But unless dependent upon the grace and wisdom that come alone from God, we can not supply the help of which humanity around us stands in such great need. We can not work successfully for perishing souls unless we often and urgently make our requests known unto God, our Friend in every emergency.
15 In the work that Christ has left for his followers to do, we may have divine help. His promise is, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” And this promise is “unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” When perplexities arise, the first thought should be directed to God in prayer. This was the practice of Christ, and he is our efficiency. We need not fail nor be discouraged. In looking unto him whom our sins have pierced, we see the One whom the Father has given to be the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 800
1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” We are not our own. By creation and by redemption we belong to God. The clay out of which we are formed is his production; and “hath not the potter power over the clay?” Not only this, but we have been bought with a price, even “with the precious blood of Christ.” The great Master Artist alone is the rightful owner of the work of his hands; and he has a claim on our willing service; “for in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
2 “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” The cattle upon a thousand hills are his; all the gold and silver belong to him. He has made men the stewards of his goods. To some he has intrusted special talent; to others worldly possessions. All have some capacity of usefulness. These talents are given that they may be used to honor and glorify God. He claims our time; for it is his. Our strength should be used in his service; our intellect and our means should be given willingly to him.
3 God has not given men talents capriciously. He who knows all things, who is acquainted with each one, has given to every man his work. Those to whom he has intrusted much are not to boast, for what they possess is not their own; it is lent them on trial; and the greater the endowment, the greater the returns required. Day by day God is testing men, to see whether they will acknowledge him as the giver of all that they have. He watches to see whether they will prove themselves worthy of eternal riches. The use they make of their precious endowments, decides their destiny for eternity.
4 Of all the gifts that God has bestowed upon men, none is capable of being a greater blessing than the gift of speech. With the tongue we convince and persuade; with it we offer prayer and praise to God; and with it we tell others of the Redeemer’s love. God would have us consecrate this gift to his service, speaking only such words as will help those around us. And if Christ rules in our hearts, our words will reveal the purity, beauty, and fragrance of a character molded and fashioned by him. But if we are under the guidance of the enemy of all good, our words will echo his sentiments. Watch well your words. Consecrate your gift of speech to the Lord’s service; for he will one day require it at your hands.
5 Every one of us exerts an influence on those with whom we come in contact. This influence we have from God, and we are responsible for the way it is used. God designs that it shall tell on the side of right; but it rests with each one of us to decide whether our influence shall be pure and elevating, or whether it shall act as a poisonous malaria. Those who are partakers of the divine nature exert an influence that is Christlike. Holy angels attend them on their way, and all with whom they come in contact are helped and blessed. But those who do not receive Christ as their personal Saviour can not influence others for good. Whatever their station in life, they carry with them an influence that Satan uses in his service. Such lose all hope of eternal life themselves, and by their example lead others astray. Guard well your influence; it is “your reasonable service” to place it on the Lord’s side.
6 God also intrusts men with means, not to be used selfishly. He desires that his gifts be used to help those who need assistance. He gives men power to get wealth. He waters the earth with the dew of heaven and with the showers of refreshing rain. He gives the sunlight, which warms the earth, awakening to life the things of nature, and causing them to flourish and bear fruit. Is it too much for him to ask for a return of his own?
7 God permits misfortune to come to men, adversity to try them, in order that he may test those whom he has placed in more favorable circumstances. If his stewards are faithful, he declares them worthy to walk with him in white. But if they use his gifts solely for their own benefit, it will be said to them, “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your care the true riches?”
8 Many, instead of consecrating their means to God s service, look upon their money as their own, and say that they have a right to use it as they please. Like the inhabitants of the Noatic world, they use God’s gifts in their own service. Even some who profess to know and love the Lord do this. God has revealed his will to them. He has called upon them to surrender all that they have to him; but the love of the world has perverted their will, and hardened their hearts. They refuse to obey him to whom they owe all that they have. Regardless of his call, they clasp their treasures in their arms, forgetting that the Giver has any claim upon them. Thus the blessings given by God are turned into a curse, because a wrong use is made of them.
9 Christ understood the danger of the love of money; for he said, “How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” He looked with sorrow upon the enthusiasm shown for the things that perish, and, lifting the curtain that veiled eternity from view, he declared, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” Today he calls upon us to give close attention to our eternal interests. He would have us subordinate every earthly interest to his service. “For what shall it profit a man,” he asks, “if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
10 God’s right to our service is measured by the infinite sacrifice he has made for our salvation. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” For our sake Christ lived a life of sorrow and privation. He was pure and holy, yet on him was laid the iniquity of us all. He gave relief to the afflicted; yet he himself was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” With a touch of his hand he healed the sick; yet he suffered grievous bodily pain. He cast out demons with a word, and delivered those bound by Satan’s temptations; yet temptations such as have never beset any man assailed him. He raised the dead by his power; yet he suffered the agony of a most terrible death.
11 All this Christ suffered for us. What are we giving him in return? He, the Majesty of heaven, submitted patiently to scorn and insult. Can we complain if the service of God requires patience and self-denial? He who laid the foundations of the world consented to become a servant for our sake; and with his own footsteps smoothed the rough path for our feet. Should we look upon any sacrifice as too great? Should we hesitate to render to God our reasonable service?
12 There is no religion in the enthronement of self. God asks us to be true to him, to trade upon the talents he has given us, that we may gain others. His will must be made our will in all things. Any departure from this standard degrades our moral nature. It may result in lifting us up, in enriching us, and in seating us beside princes; but in the eyes of God we are unclean and unholy. We have sold our birthright for selfish interest and gain, and in the books of heaven it is written of us, Weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and found wanting.
13 But if we regard our talents as the Lord’s gifts, and use them in his service by showing compassion and love toward our fellow-men, we are channels through which God’s blessings flow to the world; and at the last great day we shall be greeted with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
14 Time, laden with precious, golden opportunities for serving the Lord, is fast passing into eternity. Dear reader, are you improving these opportunities as they pass? You can not afford to slight them; for you must stand before the judgment seat of God, to answer for the deeds done in the body. Do your words cheer and encourage those who come to you for help and comfort? Does your influence strengthen those with whom you associate? Are your possessions faithfully given to the Lord?
15 Consecrate yourself today to the Lord’s service. Remember how brief is the period of life allotted to you. Say not presumptuously, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain.” God may have different plans for you. You have no lease of life in which to carry out your own purposes. Life is but a vapor that “appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” You know not how soon your hand may lose its cunning, your step its firmness. Cast your care upon the Lord, and on no account allow the things of the world to separate you from him. Consecrate all you have and are to him. This is but “your reasonable service.” Do not delay; for there is peril in a moment’s delay. A few more years at the longest will be yours to work for the Master, and then the voice which you can not refuse to answer will be heard, saying, “Give an account of thy stewardship.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 801
1 Before sin entered our world through the transgression of God’s law, it was the glory of Adam and Eve to obey God’s requirements. They lived in perfect conformity to his will. Not a cloud rested upon their minds to obscure their view of God. There was no doubt or uncertainty in regard to their moral obligations, and all the strength of their affections was given to their heavenly Father. A beautiful soft light, proceeding from God, enshrouded the holy pair, and was reflected from every object upon which they looked. God was their teacher, and in the beauties of nature around them his lessons were repeated. The invisible things of God were clearly seen and understood by the things which he had made.
2 Had man remained true to God, the light of Heaven would have continued to guide him. But when sin entered, he severed his connection with Jehovah, and the light which had enshrouded him departed. Sin so defaced the image of God in him, so darkened his understanding, that it became necessary for God to send his only-begotten Son to shine as the light of the world.
3 Ever since his fall from the purity of heaven, it has been the object of Satan to instill his spirit into the sons of men, and cause them to follow the same path that he traveled when he sought to become equal with God. He has led sinful, erring men, transgressors of God’s law, to attach to their names “Reverend” and “Right Reverend”—names which should be applied to none but God himself. These are not following the example which Christ gave us in his life on earth. He has said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And he invites his followers, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.”
4 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Those who “follow on to know the Lord,” will know that “his going forth is prepared as the morning.”
5 Why is it that men to whom the Lord has given capabilities and talents, resist the drawing of Christ, refuse to wear his yoke, and bear his burdens? It is because they are proud of their knowledge and influence, “puffed up” with the favor and applause they receive because of these talents. They make their boast of science and philosophy, and place these above Christ, the God of science and true philosophy. Thus these worldly-wise men magnify themselves, seeking to eclipse by their flashing meteors the Light of the world. But are these men above Christ? Can the stars outshine the sun? Can the whole firmament of heaven do more than declare the glory of God?
6 The Lord calls these men fools because they place such value upon the gifts bestowed upon them, while they despise the Fountain of supply, and reject the Source of all wisdom and light, who can make these gifts to constantly increase. The principle that prompts men to place their human ideas first leads to many false conjectures and delusions. Christ has made no man independent. He has given men talents that they may improve them by exercise, learning of him how to use them wisely. He has said, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
7 Reason was never given man to lead him to suppose that he can climb higher than the Source from which that reason flows. God gave man his reasoning powers, and he can remove them, as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, when they are not used to his glory. In Noah’s day the inhabitants of the earth sought out many inventions. They were wise to do evil. The imaginations of their hearts were only evil continually, and God swept them from the face of the earth.
8 Through his prophet the Lord exhorts us: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
9 The glory of God is seen in the life and character of Christ. In the pure, lofty piety exhibited in his life in humanity we have an example of what pure religion is. His life of uncompromising holiness creates in the hearts of those who are in rebellion against God, a desire to follow their own inclinations, as did the inhabitants of the antediluvian world; for “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” The Lord has said, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate.” But men rebel against the light because the path it marks out involves a cross.
10 Perfection of character can be attained only through Jesus Christ. He alone is able to dispel the darkness that has gathered about the souls of men. He will lift fallen humanity into a pure and holy atmosphere, if men will believe on him as their personal Saviour. He will inspire in their hearts and minds an enthusiasm that will make them noble, and mould them after the divine similitude.
11 The Christian believer possesses the key to true philosophy. In connection with Christ, co-operating with him in good works, he may shine amid the darkness of this world. Christ is the Truth, the Life and the Light of the world, and by beholding him his followers will be changed into the same image, from glory to glory.
12 Satan would cast his shadows across our pathway, to prevent the light of heaven from shining into the chambers of the mind, into the soul temple; but the mists from beneath can not dim the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The true brightens beyond the clouds of doubt and unbelief.
13 The words, “I am the light of the world” have been sounding down through the ages to the present time. They are no less true now than they were in Christ’s day, and today they have the same comfort for the follower of Christ, the same hope for those that sit in the darkness and shadow of death. God appeals to his children to uplift before the world the Man of Calvary, that with him human nature may be lifted up. “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 802
1 In Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, light and truth are given, and principles laid down, which apply to every condition of life, and to every duty that God requires at our hands. Christ had come to magnify and make honorable the law that he himself had proclaimed from Mount Sinai to his chosen people during their wilderness wandering. He laid aside the glory which he had with the Father before the world was, and clothed himself with humanity, that he might minister to the sons of men.
2 In all his lessons Christ sought to impress upon the minds and hearts of his hearers the principles which underlie his great standard of righteousness. He taught them that if they would keep God’s commandments, love for God and for their fellow-men must be manifested in their daily life. He sought to instill into their hearts the love he felt for humanity. Thus he sowed the seeds of truth, the fruits of which will produce a rich harvest of holiness and beauty of character. The holy influence of love will not only be far-reaching while time shall last, but its results will be felt and appreciated throughout eternity. It will sanctify the actions, and have a purifying influence wherever it exists.
3 Seated upon the mount, surrounded by his disciples and a large and promiscuous gathering Jesus “opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” These are not murmurers and complainers, but those who are content with their condition and surroundings in life. They do not cherish the feeling that they deserve a better position than that which Providence has assigned them, but manifest a spirit of gratitude for every favor bestowed upon them. Every proud thought and exalted feeling is banished from the soul.
4 Just here we might distinguish between genuine and false sanctification. Sanctification does not consist in merely professing and teaching the word of God, but in living in conformity to his will. Those who claim to be sinless, and make their boast of sanctification, are self-confident, and do not realize their peril. They anchor their souls upon the supposition that having once experienced the sanctifying power of God, they are in no danger of falling. While claiming to be rich and increased in goods, and in need of nothing, they know not that they are miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
5 But those who are truly sanctified have a sense of their own weakness. Feeling their need, they will go for light and grace and strength to Jesus, in whom all fulness dwells, and who alone can supply their wants. Conscious of their own imperfections, they seek to become more like Christ, and to live in accordance with the principles of his holy law. This continual sense of inefficiency will lead to such entire dependence upon God, that his Spirit will be exemplified in them. The treasures of heaven will be opened to supply the wants of every hungering, thirsting soul. All of this character have the assurance of one day beholding the glory of that kingdom which as yet the imagination can only faintly grasp.
6 Those who have felt the sanctifying and transforming power of God, must not fall into the dangerous error of thinking that they are sinless, that they have reached the highest state of perfection, and are beyond the reach of temptation. The standard the Christian is to keep before him is the purity and loveliness of Christ’s character. Day by day he may be putting on new beauties, and reflecting to the world more and still more of the divine image.
7 ‘Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” And the apostle Paul, writing to the church at Colosse, says, “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.”
8 It is a matter of rejoicing that some have subjected their will to the will of God, have cast off the works of darkness, and have consented to walk in the light as Christ is in the light. But even to these the testing of God will continue until probation ceases. He wants to determine whether we will endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
9 We are opposed by a subtle foe. The world, with its customs, its attractions, and corruptions, is to be resisted. The power of Satan will be exercised toward every soul, to overcome and destroy him. The way of safety, for the strong as well as for the weak, is to seek daily for heavenly wisdom, to take hold of divine strength. By this means we may obtain grace to enable us to manifest a Christlike spirit under every difficulty and trial.
10 “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” By these words Christ would not lead us to think that mourning in itself has any power to remove the guilt of sin. He gives no sanction to bigotry, to pretense, or to voluntary humility. Mourning is not to be manifested in melancholy looks, or expressed by crying and lamentation; nor does he desire that we shall deprive ourselves of social intercourse. While our hearts may be filled with sorrow as we see wickedness defiling the souls of men, we are to cherish a spirit of cheerfulness in keeping with the precious privilege granted us of being sons and daughters of God. We can not hope to draw souls to Christ while we surround ourselves with an atmosphere of gloom.
11 There was nothing unsocial in the life and character of Christ. He did not seclude himself from the world; but at the same time he did not conform to its habits and customs. He was cheerful, yet sober. He sympathized with those who were in sorrow, and rejoiced with those who had cause for rejoicing. Wherever he went, his presence diffused light and blessing.
12 Much of the sorrow that is felt among men today is sorrow that their evil deeds have been brought to light, and that, as a consequence, they themselves have been placed in unpleasant circumstances. But this is not that godly sorrow which works repentance.
13 Judas did not carry out in his life the faith he professed. He cultivated a spirit of selfishness, which grew into covetousness and dishonesty, and led him to sell his Master for thirty pieces of silver. He did not realize what he was doing until it was too late to undo the fearful work. He mourned for the result of sin, but had no real sense of its grievous character. Pharaoh, too, repented when he saw the result of his hardness of heart, in the plagues that were visited upon his people. But his repentance was not sincere; for when at his request the plagues were removed, his heart was not humble; his proud spirit and determined will were not placed in submission to God.
14 David sinned grievously against God; but he “sorrowed after a godly sort.” He prayed that the Lord would remove the cause of his displeasure: “For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.” And Peter’s sorrow for his apostasy was sincere. He brought to God a broken and contrite heart; and this God has promised that he will not despise. His repentance was accepted of heaven, and Jesus intrusted to him not only the care of the sheep of his flock, but also of the tender lambs, the young converts to the faith.
15 The apostle Paul describes true sorrow when he says: “Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge!”
16 This is genuine repentance. It will lead to a transformation in the life. It is the absence of this true sorrow that makes many of the conversions of this time superficial. Reformations are not made in the life. But when sin is viewed in the light of God, and its true character realized, it will be put away from the heart and life.
17 We who were dead in trespasses and sins, God has quickened and renewed by his own power. He has elevated and ennobled us, not because we were worthy, but because goodness and mercy are the attributes of his character, because of the great love wherewith he hath loved us.
18 This love, which is without a parallel, brought the Son of God from the courts of heaven, to suffer and die that we might live through him. The horror of darkness that enshrouded the Saviour in Gethsemane, and forced from his pores great drops of blood, was experienced by him on account of our sins. Here, indeed, we have reason to mourn, that our sins have caused such inexpressible agony to God’s dear Son.
19 True sorrow for sin brings the penitent soul near to the bleeding side of Jesus. There he may effectually plead for pardon, and obtain grace to conquer; there his darkened understanding may be enlightened, and the stony heart transformed to a heart of flesh. There the rebellious sinner is subdued, and his will brought into conformity to the will of God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 803
1 God’s law is his great standard of righteousness. This law is perfect in all its requirements; and God calls upon us to obey it; for by it our cases will be decided in that day when the books of heaven are opened, and the deeds of all come up in review before the Judge of the universe.
2 But there are, and ever have been, two classes in this world; and the question, What constitutes the difference between these two classes? is grave and important. One class love and fear God; the other do not wish to retain him in their knowledge. One class render obedience to his law; the other disregard and disobey his requirements.
3 Those who are unwilling to obey God’s law declare that it is done away, that God has abolished it. But if this law is perfect, why should God abolish or change it? That which is perfect can not be improved by any change. An attempt to remodel a perfect enactment only causes imperfection. God has neither abolished nor changed his law. It is the foundation of his government; and it will stand forever, the immutable, unalterable standard which all must reach would they be saved. “Till heaven and earth pass,” declared Christ, “one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
4 “The law of the Lord is perfect,” writes the psalmist, “converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. . . . Moreover by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward.” How then does the God of heaven look upon those who pour contempt upon his law? Let not the words spoken against the law of God by those who refuse to obey it, be regarded as wise; for God has said, “The wise in heart will receive commandments; but a prating fool shall fall.”
5 After Adam lost Eden by disobedience, and sin entered the world, men became more and more disobedient. The entire world, with a few exceptions, were given up to depravity and corruption. “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.’ And by a flood the Lord swept the earth of its moral corruption.
6 But even in that age the Lord had his representatives. These men loved God; they obeyed him; and he gave them light and truth. Christ walked with them, giving them moral power to obey him, and opening before them the future of this earth’s history, and the scene of his second coming. “Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him.” Of him Jude writes, “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
7 Noah, too, witnessed for God in that age of wickedness. “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” When God was about to destroy the inhabitants of the earth with a flood, he said to Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”
8 What constituted the difference between Enoch and Noah, and those who were destroyed by the flood? Enoch and Noah were obedient to the law of God; the others walked in the imagination of their own hearts, and corrupted their ways before the Lord, disregarding all his requirements. By their disobedience they separated themselves from him, and provoked him to destroy them. Enoch and Noah were found righteous when tested by the law of God. Had the antediluvians kept the way of God, had they obeyed his commandments, they too would have been found righteous, and would have received the Lord’s commendation.
9 In his letter to the Romans Paul writes of the obedient and the disobedient. “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,” he says; “for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” These are the obedient. As faith in God increases, the more distinctly we endure the seeing of him who is invisible, and we are strengthened to obey him.
10 The apostle then presents the great army of the disobedient, those who do not love to retain God in their knowledge, but choose their own disloyal ways, and follow the imagination of their own hearts: “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse; because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.”
11 Peter also outlines two classes, one approved of God, because obedient to all his commandments; the other disloyal to him, sinning against him because transgressing his law; for “sin is the transgression of the law.” “There were false prophets also among the people,” he writes, “even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you.” But he says, “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.
12 “As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Now, as then, the servers of mammon, careless, indifferent, and disobedient, go on and on, neglecting the great salvation so freely offered to them, failing to recognize God, or to offer him thanksgiving and praise. The Lord has manifested himself in his works, which the eye can see and the senses discern; in terms too plain to be misunderstood, he has declared his will in his word. But the disobedient do not see God in the manifold works of creation; they do not hear his voice speaking to them out of his word. The light of truth is offered to them, but they choose sin. They follow their own imaginations, as did the inhabitants of the Noatic world, placing their desires and ambitions above all else.
13 It is a marvel to the heavenly host that God bears so long with the transgressors of his law. But God is long-suffering, and abundant in mercy. His sun shines upon the evil and upon the good, upon those who are so blinded by the deceiving power of Satan that they deny the existence of Omnipotence, and upon those who strive earnestly to do his will. He gives men richly “all things to enjoy,” and tho all do not acknowledge him as worthy of their praise or service, yet he bears patiently with them, and his voice of entreaty is still heard: “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” He would have “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
14 God ever commends obedience. For their obedience Enoch was translated to heaven, and Noah was saved from the flood that deluged the earth. “Behold,” writes the psalmist. “the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.” “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off.”
15 Weakened through sin, we can not of ourselves keep the law of God. But Christ came to our world to restore the moral image of God in men, and to bring them back from the path of disobedience to a path of obedience. His mission to the world was to reveal the character of God by living the law, which is the foundation of his government; and those who will accept him as their personal Saviour will grow in grace, and in his strength will be enabled to obey the law of God.
16 When Christ comes in the clouds of heaven only two classes, the obedient and the disobedient, will meet him. And only those who, having had the light upon God’s requirements, have been obedient to him, can meet him with joy. Those who have persisted in a course of disobedience, will flee in terror, hiding in the dens of the mountains, and saying to the rocks and the mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” But those who have honored God by their obedience, will look up, and say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the Lord, we have waited for him; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 804
1 The training of children is one of the most solemn responsibilities ever committed to mortals. Children are the Lord’s heritage, and he would have them educated to be coworkers with him. He has a special interest in this work; for in children he sees talent and influence, which, when controlled by his Holy Spirit, will become a power for good, and bring glory to his name. Christ died to save children, and he is ready to do a great work for them if parents will cooperate with him by training and educating them according to the instructions he has given. This should be the first work of all parents.
2 God holds us responsible for every ray of light that he has permitted to shine upon us. We are to reflect this light to others in clear and certain rays. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” These are made the depositaries of truth. This truth they hold in trust, and it is their duty to make it known to all, especially to the children. But too often our neglect to fulfil our responsibilities as God requires us to, leaves us in an uncertain position. Few can bear the light of God’s word without a feeling of self-reproach because of a defective performance of duty.
3 As the child is in habits and manners, so the man will be. What earnest work, then, should be bestowed upon the character building of children! When very young, children are susceptible to divine influences. The Lord takes these children under his special care; and when they are brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, they are a help and not a hindrance to their parents. But too often the indifference of parents leads them to neglect their children; they have little idea of how to train them for the Master.
4 Those who deal with children need a large supply of the grace of Christ. God would have them dealt with wisely, tenderly, and yet firmly, that their feet may not stray over the boundary, to the side of the enemy. Those parents who realize their God-given responsibility in this matter, will have faith in God, and will work with travail of soul for their children, that their minds, their hands, and their hearts may be consecrated to the service of God.
5 The character and experience of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, should be an encouragement to parents in the training of their children. John did not make his home in the cities and villages. From childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood, he lived in the wilderness. But he did not live thus for any selfish purpose. In his time the Jewish religious teachers had well-nigh lost all spiritual life. Nothing in their teaching stood out clear and convincing. They had so inclosed themselves within themselves, and were regarded as possessing such sanctity, that none of the people disputed what they said or taught.
6 But the life of John was a special life; and it was the will of God that he should separate from the busy haunts of men, and learn his life lessons from nature and from nature’s God, receiving his impressions from him alone. His work was to prepare the way for the Messiah. He looked upon his mind as belonging to God, and he brought his thoughts into obedience to Christ. He trained his mind to contemplate the great and important truths of the Word of God, and insensibly it broadened and acquired an expansion that enabled him to comprehend spiritual things.
7 So it will be now. The mind that is given to God, to be molded and fashioned after the divine similitude, will grow in power. As we work in God’s lines, recognizing our accountability to do the work he has given us to do, we continually receive a supply of grace to impart to others.
8 It is important that the standard God has set for us be not lowered. We feel alarmed at the discrepancy seen between our obligations to God and the manner in which we meet them. But we can not cure this evil by lowering the standard, in order that our deficiencies may pass. With the example of John and of Christ before us, can we do less than elevate the standard of purity and holiness?
9 God has honored the young. He chose Joseph in his youth to do a special work for his people. He called Samuel, and committed to him a solemn message. By a solemn vow, before his birth, Hannah had given Samuel to the Lord. After his birth, true to her vow, she took him to the tabernacle. “But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.” How many prayers the mother stitched into this token of love for her child! Of Samuel it was said, as of John the Baptist and of Christ, “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord, and also with men.” From this we see that the Lord watches over children, noting with intense interest the characters which they form.
10 When parents have the Word of God before them, defining what he approves and what he disapproves, they have no excuse for following a wrong course. But, notwithstanding this, there is a neglect to teach children in the way of the Lord,—a fearful, terrible neglect; and many children are lost to Jesus for want of careful training. Parents have neglected their God-given responsibilities and Satan has taken possession of their children. Under his direction, by their evil communication they corrupt other children. Thus Satan has the children, even of professed Christians, under his control. But still the parents pass on in differently, as if they were not neglecting one of the most solemn responsibilities ever given to man.
11 Parents, if you wish the minds of your children to be evil, let them have their own way. There will then be such a development of wrong that the heavenly angels will look down with grief and sadness upon parents and children.
12 God has given parents a warning in the history of Eli’s family. Eli neglected the duty resting upon him as a parent. He indulged his sons, failing to restrain their wrong habits and practises. “The sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.” Yet in spite of this, tho utterly unfitted for the work of God, they served in holy office; and God was dishonored.
13 Eli remonstrated with his sons, saying: “Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear; ye make the Lord’s people to transgress,” But he took no decided measures to restrain them, and “they hearkened not unto the voice of their father.” The Lord held Eli responsible for the terrible example set by his sons. He was judge in Israel, but he neglected the duties resting upon him.
14 God sent a messenger to Eli, to unfold to him what he had done for him by exalting him to the most honorable position in the kingdom, making him priest and judge, and connecting him with himself as the one who was to carry out his mind; the messenger was to tell him also of the punishment to come upon himself and house because of his sin. “Behold, the days come,” he said, “that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. . . . And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.”
15 The Lord came no more to Eli. By failing to judge his own sons, by neglecting to separate them from the Lord’s service, he dishonored God. The Lord spoke no more to him. Calling the youthful Samuel, he revealed to him what was to come upon Eli.
16 How much might have been averted had Eli followed the counsel of the Lord, and carefully trained his sons in their childhood and youth! Let parents take this lesson to heart, and instead of allowing their children to indulge and gratify self, educate them to control themselves, and to keep God’s glory in view.
17 Parents should teach their children to work for Christ; they should school them for actual service. O, that I could make my voice heard and my influence felt nigh and afar off, that parents might realize their responsibility in this matter! Your children are the Lord’s heritage; and he will one day ask of every parent, “Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?”
18 Parents, take your children with you into your religious exercises. Throw around them the arms of your faith, and consecrate them to Christ. Do not allow anything to cause you to throw off your responsibility to train them aright; do not let any worldly interest induce you to leave them behind. Never let your Christian life isolate them from you. Bring them with you to the Lord; educate their minds to become familiar with divine truth. Let them associate with those that love God. Bring them to the people of God as children whom you are seeking to help to build characters fit for eternity.
19 Of Abraham the Lord declared, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” Abraham made straight paths for his feet, lest the lame should be turned out of the way. He faithfully discharged his duty, and the Lord blessed him, and made him a blessing. This is the path in which the Lord would have all parents walk. Parents, study this example which has been left on record for you, and strive earnestly to follow it. When you fulfil your God-given duties, as did Abraham, God will commend you in the heavenly courts, as he did Abraham.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 805
1 The Law and the Gospel can not be separated. In Christ mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. The Gospel has not ignored the obligations due to God by man. The Gospel is the Law unfolded, nothing more nor less. It gives no more latitude to sin than does the Law. The Law points to Christ; Christ points to the Law. The Gospel calls men to repentance. Repentance of what?—Of sin. And what is sin?—It is the transgression of the Law. Therefore the Gospel calls men from their transgression back to obedience to the Law of God. Jesus in his life and death taught the strictest obedience. He died, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, that the honor of God’s Law might be preserved, and yet man not utterly perish.
2 The work of salvation in both the Old and the New Testament dispensation is the same. Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. The types and shadows under which the Jews worshiped, all pointed forward to the world’s Redeemer. It was by faith in a coming Saviour that sinners were saved then. It is through faith in Christ that they are justified today.
3 In giving his Son, God gave himself, that man might have another trial. If God could have changed his Law to meet man in his fallen condition, would he not have done this, and retained his only-begotten Son in heaven?—He certainly would. But because his Law was as changeless as his character, he gave his beloved Son, who was above Law, and one with himself, to meet the penalty which his justice demanded.
4 Satan is working with all his deceptive power to ensnare the world. He would have them believe that this great sacrifice was made in order to abolish God’s Law. He represents Christ as opposed to the Law of God’s government in heaven and in earth. But the Sovereign of the world has a Law by which to govern his heavenly intelligences and his human family, and the death of his Son fixes the immutability of that law beyond any question. God has no intention of doing away with his great standard of righteousness. By this standard he can define what a correct character is.
5 Christ consented to die in the sinner’s stead, that man, by a life of obedience, might escape the penalty of the Law of God. His death did not make the Law of God of none effect; it did not slay the law, lessen its claims, or detract from its sacred dignity. The death of Christ proclaimed the justice of his Father’s law in punishing the transgressor, in that he consented to suffer the penalty of the law transgressed himself, in order to save fallen man from its curse. The death of God’s beloved Son on the cross shows the immutability of the Law of God. His death magnifies the Law and makes it honorable, and gives evidence to man of its changeless character. From his own divine lips are heard the words, “Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” The death of Christ justified the claims of the law.
6 But the doctrine is now largely taught that the Gospel of Christ has made the Law of God of no effect; that by “believing” we are released from the necessity of being doers of the word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned. To the church of Ephesus he says: “I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
7 Those who are teaching this doctrine today have much to say in regard to faith and the righteousness of Christ; but they pervert the truth, and make it serve the cause of error. They declare that we have only to believe on Jesus Christ, and that faith is all-sufficient; that the righteousness of Christ is to be the sinner’s credentials; that this imputed righteousness fulfils the law for us, and that we are under no obligation to obey the law of God. This class claim that Christ came to save sinners, and that he has saved them. “I am saved,” they will repeat over and over again. But are they saved while transgressing the law of Jehovah?—No; for the garments of Christ’s righteousness are not a cloak for iniquity. Such teaching is a gross deception, and Christ becomes to these persons a stumbling-block as he did to the Jews,—to the Jews because they would not receive him as their personal Saviour; to these professed believers in Christ, because they separate Christ and the Law, and regard faith as a substitute for obedience. They separate the Father and the Son, the Saviour of the world. Virtually they teach, both by precept and example, that Christ, by his death, saves men in their transgressions.
8 It is necessary that every intelligent being shall understand the principles of the law of God. Christ through the apostle James declares, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” These words were spoken this side of the death of Christ; therefore the Law was binding upon all at that time.
9 The Saviour raised his voice in protest against those who regard the divine commandments with indifference and carelessness. He said, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” And he also declared, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the Law till all be fulfilled.”
10 Men may talk of freedom, of Gospel liberty. They may assert that they are not in bondage to the Law. But the influence of a Gospel hope will not lead the sinner to look upon the salvation of Christ as a matter of free grace, while he continues to live in transgression of the Law of God. When the light of truth dawns upon his mind, and he fully understands the requirements of God, and realizes the extent of his transgressions, he will reform his ways, become loyal to God through the strength obtained from his Saviour, and lead a new and purer life. “Whosoever abideth in him,” says John, “sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 806
1 Supreme love to God will be shown by every man or woman who is a true follower of Jesus Christ. “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name,” writes the psalmist; “for the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.” Those who surround his throne, the sinless angels, bow down and adore him, praising his name, and crying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” We are his creatures, the work of his hands, and he is justly entitled to reverence, honor, and love.
2 Only by obedience to him can we prove our love. If he is our fear, we shall seek to honor and glorify him, and shall find our highest happiness in doing his will. Any failure to render willing obedience to him will show that our love for him is false.
3 In love, with a desire to elevate and ennoble us, God provided for us a standard of obedience. In awful majesty, amid thundering and lightning, he proclaimed from Mount Sinai his ten holy precepts. This law reveals the whole duty of the human family; the first four precepts define our duty to God, and the last six our duty to man. A certain lawyer came to Christ, and tempted him, saying: “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
4 God requires perfection of character from his children. He demands that his law be remembered and meditated upon, that unswerving obedience be rendered to its requirements. “And now, Israel,” he asks, “what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes.” But sin entered this world, and by yielding to the temptations of the enemy, man became degraded and sinful. His ability to distinguish between right and wrong was lost; his power to obey was weakened. Full of sin, he was of himself unable to meet God’s standard of righteousness.
5 God saw man’s hopeless condition. He looked with sorrow upon the world, which was steadily growing more and more degraded and sinful. He could not change his law to meet man’s deficiencies; for he says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” But in his great love for the human race, in his desire that man should not be left to meet the penalty of his transgression, but that he should be elevated and ennobled, he “gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ laid aside his royal robes, and came to this earth, bringing with him a power sufficient to overcome sin. He came to live the law of God in humanity, that by partaking of his divine nature, we also might live that law.
6 The Jews had misinterpreted the law of God, robbing it of its spirituality, and making it burdensome by their many exactions. Christ came to correct this. The very One who ages before had spoken the law from Mount Sinai, now came to magnify it and make it honorable. In his Sermon on the Mount he explained the law, showing what each precept comprehended. Covetousness was shown by him to be idolatry, lust adultery, and anger murder. He made manifest the spirituality of the law, and pointed out that it reaches to every phase of life.
7 Before the universe of heaven, before the fallen angels, and before those whom he had come to save, Christ lived the law of God. By his supreme obedience to its requirements, he exalted and enforced it. By his purity, goodness, beneficence, devotion, and zeal for the glory of God, by his unsurpassed love for his fellow-men, he made known the perfection of the law. By his blameless life he illustrated its excellence.
8 Christ was the representative of the love of the infinite God, and all his words and actions were the outflowing of God’s love to humanity. And in word and action he was all that God required him to be. The law was a controlling power in his life. Ever the language of his heart was, “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.”
9 This example of obedience is presented to the world. Christ is to be made our pattern in all things. He says to us, “Learn of me.” “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
10 The law which Christ gave from the mount, and which he exemplified in his sinless life, is far-reaching in its character. It condemns every evil action, and demands perfect obedience. Those who truly follow Christ will keep God’s commandments as he kept them. If they sincerely accept him as their personal Saviour, they will be actuated by an earnest desire to fulfil their duty to God, and to represent him in character. And if the law were perfectly obeyed, the earth would not now be corrupted under the inhabitants thereof. Oppression and injustice would not exist. Love, harmony, and joy would be seen. The power of Christianity would be revealed in the churches, and the world would have no cause to charge the followers of Christ with inconsistency. The converting power of the Holy Spirit would be felt, and thousands would be added to the church of such as should be saved.
11 But too often professed Christians forget their duty to their Maker. Dreading the cross, they neglect to honor him by rendering obedience to his commandments; and religion is misinterpreted and despised by unbelievers, because so many who profess to follow Christ, do not reveal his character in their lives. Christianity loses its power because Christians constantly transgress the law of God, because selfishness is seen, and idolatry and covetousness manifest themselves.
12 We may say that it is impossible for us to reach God’s standard; but when Christ came as our substitute and surety, it was as a human being. “He took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.” He “was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” With his divinity veiled by humanity, he lived a life of perfect obedience to the law of God. “He was tempted in all points, like as we are,” that he might be “able to succor them that are tempted.” He has “given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Shall we, for whom he has done and suffered so much, choose our own way in preference to that of God?
13 Much responsibility rests upon those who profess to know and love God. As dutiful sons and daughters of God, he expects them to let their light shine, not by pretension and assertion, but by good works, revealing to the world by their simple, elevated piety the binding claims of God’s law and the power of Christ to keep them from transgression. But when those who claim to love God reveal by their works that they have little conception of his requirements, God is dishonored. If they could see themselves as God sees them, if they could realize how far short they fall of doing the will of God, they would be filled with terror lest their lives should be cut off in the midst of their disobedience.
14 “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous.” “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” “Wherefore receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
15 Obedience must come from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. As we endeavor to honor God, discouragements will come to us; the enemy will try with all his power to make us swerve from the right; but we need not, because of this, give up the warfare against evil. Our duty is to guard carefully the weak points in our characters, seeking by divine grace to make them strong. There is no one living that has any power which he has not received from God, and the source whence it came is open to the weakest human being. If we draw near to God, the unfailing source of strength, we shall realize the fulfilment of the promise, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” If we lift the cross, leaving the results with God, who has given us the law which we are trying to keep, we shall find that all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
16 As Christ lived the law in humanity, so we may do if we will take hold of the strong for strength. As we realize that we can do nothing of ourselves, we shall receive wisdom from on high to honor and glorify God. And as we behold “the glory of the Lord,” we shall be changed into the same image, “from glory to glory;” and at the last great day we shall receive the benediction, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 807
1 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
2 The law of God condemns all selfishness, and is at variance with all evil-thinking and evil-speaking. It enjoins upon men and women that kindness, gentleness, and forbearance, that tender guarding of the interest of others, which was revealed in the life of our Saviour. He who takes this law as his standard must carefully heed the words of Christ, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” By unselfishness of heart and character, by a sincere love for our fellow-men, we may show that we are striving to honor our Maker; but if, finding the last six precepts of the law hard to keep, we transgress them by failing to manifest love for one another, by a lack of kind words and actions, we can not, with any truth, claim to be rendering acceptable service to God.
3 He who earnestly desires to fulfil the will of God must daily look into the law of God, the great moral looking-glass, that he may see himself as God sees him. But too often Christians neglect to do this. The mirror is not looked into as constantly as it should be, and our defects of character pass unnoticed. The command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” is disregarded; we fail to respect the rights of our fellow-men. Self, highly estimated, calls for recognition, and we listen to its voice, walking far apart from those we should help, not regarding their wants and woes.
4 Many apologize for their spiritual weakness, for their outbursts of passion, for the lack of love they show their brethren. They feel a sense of estrangement from God, a realization of their bondage to self and sin; but their desire to do God’s will is based upon their own inclination, not upon the deep, inward conviction of the Holy Spirit. They believe that the law of God is binding; but they do not, with the eager interest of judgment-bound souls, compare their actions with that law. They admit that God should be worshiped and loved supremely, but God is not in all their thoughts. They believe that the precepts which enjoin love to man, should be observed; but they treat their fellow-men with cold indifference, and sometimes with injustice. Thus they walk away from the path of willing obedience. They do not carry the work of repentance far enough. The sense of their wrong should lead them to seek God most earnestly for power to reveal Christ by kindness and forbearance.
5 Many spasmodic efforts to reform are made, but those who make these efforts do not crucify self. They do not give themselves entirely into the hands of Christ, seeking for divine power to do his will. They are not willing to be molded after the divine similitude. In a general way they acknowledge their imperfections, but the particular sins are not given up. “We have done the things we ought not to have done,” they say, “and have left undone the things we ought to have done.” But their acts of selfishness, so offensive to God, are not seen in the light of his law. Full contrition is not expressed for the victories that self has gained.
6 The enemy is willing that these spasmodic efforts should be made; for those who make them engage in no decided warfare against evil. A soothing plaster, as it were, is placed over their minds, and in self-sufficiency they make a fresh start to do the will of God.
7 But a general conviction of sin is not reformative. We may have a vague, disagreeable sense of imperfection, but this will avail us nothing unless we make a decided effort to obtain the victory over sin. If we wish to cooperate with Christ, to overcome as he overcame, we must, in his strength, make the most determined resistance against self and selfishness.
8 Genuine reforms of character are not common. This is an obstacle in the way of spiritual advancement. What work shall be instituted to purify and cleanse self of its moral defilement? What shall be done to awaken those who confess their wrong, and yet never forsake their own way? A man who has professed Christ sees his old selfish nature rising, and gaining strength with each wrong action. His besetting sins bind him with fetters of iron, and he sees himself under the condemnation of the law. What shall he do? Whatever his calling or profession, whatever his rank or station in life, that man must realize in himself the truth of the words spoken to Nicodemus: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye must be born again.” “Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.”
9 There are many, too many, who claim to be servants of God, but who have no experimental knowledge of him. Their acknowledgement of Christ is misleading, because they have not faith to believe that he will give them power to overcome their sins. They do not receive him as their personal Saviour, and their characters reveal hereditary and cultivated defects. Their conduct is not brought into harmony with the law of God, but is influenced by their own inclinations. Selfishness binds them hand and foot. God looks with sorrow upon their bondage. If they would submit to his guidance, the light of his holy Word would flash upon their minds through the Holy Spirit’s power, convicting them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment,—of sin, especially because they have claimed to do God’s will, and yet have neglected it. If they receive Christ as their personal Saviour, their sins will be forgiven; for God’s Word declares, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Of Christ it is written, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
10 A theory of truth may be taught and accepted, but this is of no avail to save unless the divine power of God is revealed in the life by unselfish actions and kindly words. Are you converted? Is Christ revealed in your daily life? No theory of truth will save you; no partial confessions will avail. With your whole heart you must serve God.
11 “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love,” writes Paul, “in honor preferring one another.” “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ be in you, except ye be reprobate.” “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” “If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
12 If men and women will critically examine their conduct, measuring it by the law of Jehovah, they will be enabled to see that sin is not limited to those things which the world condemns, but that selfishness and oppression, even in the smallest degree, are sins against God. They will see that by yielding to their inclinations, and refraining from obedience, they are depriving themselves of the richest blessings God can give.
13 “A new commandment I give unto you,” said Christ, “that ye love one another. As I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” He who fulfils his duty to his neighbor must of necessity love God supremely; but he who has little love for those who are in darkness, who are in great need of the revelation of the love of Jesus, is marked in the courts of heaven as a defaulter. He is weighed in the balances, and found wanting.
14 Love to God must be brought into our daily life. Then, and then only, can we show true love for our fellow-men. When this is done, when Christ is enthroned in our hearts, we manifest by our daily life, by our conversation, by our unselfish interest in one another, by our deep love for souls, that we are doers of the Word of God. The reality of our conversation is marked by a deep earnest piety, which purifies the soul, and works unceasingly for the good of others.
15 “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God.” “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” “The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover a multitude of sins.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 808
1 Had the Jewish nation been true to their trust, and communicated to the world the light they had, they would have remained the depositary of the truth of God. God had brought his people out of the cruel bondage of Egypt, and had exalted them before the nations around them. They were favored with every temporal and spiritual blessing. God’s presence went with them, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. They were under his guardianship, and his love and care were manifested in protection and blessing. But they were unfaithful; they rebelled against God, and transgressed his holy law spoken from Mount Sinai by his own voice, and written on tables of stone by his own finger; and God sent his Son to make known to the world his character and the laws of his kingdom.
2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. . . . And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
3 At the time when he was most needed, Jesus, the Son of God, the world’s Redeemer, laid aside his divinity, and came to earth in the garb of humanity. He came to live out in his life God’s holy law that had been misrepresented, and buried beneath human tradition and the commandments of men. Forms and ceremonies had been put in the place of the Word of God, until its pure and holy principles were almost extinct.
4 Christ came as the representative of God, the Light of the world. His mission to earth was to dispel, with his clear, bright rays, the moral darkness that was enshrouding the world. He gave no heed to the traditions and maxims of men. These human inventions were opposed to the Gospel of the kingdom he had come to establish. He sought to remove from the law the mass of rubbish with which men had covered it. Of priests and rulers he said, “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
5 In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ declared: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
6 Many professing Christians of today are closing their hearts and minds to the Sun of Righteousness, whose bright beams would chase away the darkness and mist that exist there. They refuse the light, and make God’s requirements and will of secondary importance. In place of the rest day given them by Jehovah, they accept a counterfeit Sabbath; they worship an idol, and transgress God’s holy law in trampling upon the Sabbath which he has instituted and blessed.
7 The object of the Sabbath was that all mankind might be benefited. After God had made the world in six days, he rested, and blessed and sanctified the day upon which he rested from all his work which he had created and made. He set apart that special day for man to rest from his labor, that as he should look upon the earth beneath, and the heavens above, the tangible proofs of God’s infinite wisdom, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his Maker. Had man always kept the day which God has blessed and sanctified, there would never have been an infidel in our world; for the Sabbath was given as a memorial of the Creator’s work; it was given, that upon that day in a special sense, man might draw his mind away from the things of earth to the contemplation of God and his mighty power.
8 “But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting King; at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.” The heathen in their blindness bow down to idols of wood and stone. “These be our gods,” they say. But in the fourth commandment we have the proof that our God is the true and living God. In it is the seal of his authority: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” In the heavens, that declare the glory of their Maker,—the sun, shining in his strength, giving life and beauty to all created things; the moon, and the stars, the works of his hands,—we see the superiority of the God we worship. He is the God that “made the heavens and the earth.”
9 Great blessings are promised to those who place a high estimate upon the Sabbath, and realize the obligations resting upon them in regard to its observance: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
10 Christ commanded his followers, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.” Peter exhorts us, “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” The earth itself is not more interlaced with golden veins and precious things than is the Word of God. It is the field of revelation, the storehouse of the unsearchable riches of Christ. The truths contained therein are as treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, for joy thereof he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field, that he may search every part of it, and make himself master of its treasure.
11 That field is the Word of God; and it must be searched before its precious things can be brought to light. But by the grace of God, and the enlightenment of his Holy Spirit, we may make ourselves the possessors of its hidden treasure. Then let us search the Scriptures daily, as did the noble Bereans of Paul’s day, to find out if these things be so, and be willing to receive “with all readiness of mind” the pure Word of God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 809
1 “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ; to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.” “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
2 What is this mystery of which Paul writes to the Ephesians and to the Colossians, saying that it was given to him to fulfil the word of God, the mystery “which hath been hid from ages and from generations?” One translation reads, “which hath been kept in silence through eternal ages.”
3 Many have endeavored to define the mystery which Paul here mentions. But it embraces much, and our ideas in regard to the love, the goodness, and the compassion of God are strangely limited. Because our knowledge of spiritual things has become so dwarfed and enfeebled, we have not advanced from light to greater light. The Lord has not been able to open to our understanding many precious things. In view of the losses which we have sustained by our earthliness and commonness, we have much to make us humble.
4 God had a knowledge of the events of the future, even before the creation of the world. He did not make his purposes to fit circumstances, but he allowed matters to develop and work out. He did not work to bring about a certain condition of things, but he knew that such a condition would exist. The plan that should be carried out upon the defection of any of the high intelligences of heaven,—this is the secret, the mystery which has been hid from ages. And an offering was prepared in the eternal purposes to do the very work which God has done for fallen humanity.
5 Paul was taken up into the third heaven, and there he saw and heard things which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Mysteries which had been hidden for ages were revealed to him, and as much as he could bear of the workings of God, and of his dealings with human minds, was made known. The Lord told Paul that he must preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Light was to be given to the Gentiles. This is a mystery which had been hidden for ages.
6 The Jews had grown into a belief that everything pertaining to the Gentiles was cursed and unclean. Prejudice had built up the wall of nationality and religious seclusion. But God himself instructed Paul that his work was to present Christ to the Gentiles. The great work of redemption was to be brought before all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. Because of their disobedience, the Jews were broken off from the olive tree, and those among the Gentiles who would accept Christ as their Saviour were to be grafted into the good olive tree, and made one with the original branches. But in no case are they to boast because of this, lest they be broken off as were the natural branches.
7 The Gentiles knew nothing of circumcision, but they were to be brought under the covenant of grace given to Abraham. The Lord talked with Paul, and told him that the blessings given to the Jewish nation were given equally to the Gentiles. And Paul writes to them: “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
8 The incarnation of Christ is a mystery. The union of divinity with humanity is a mystery indeed, hidden with God, “even the mystery which hath been hid from ages.” It was kept in eternal silence by Jehovah, and was first revealed in Eden, by the prophecy that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, and that he should bruise his heel. To present to the world this mystery that God kept in silence for eternal ages before the world was created, before man was created, was the part that Christ was to act in the work he entered upon when he came to this earth. And this wonderful mystery, the incarnation of Christ and the atonement that he made, must be declared to every son and daughter of Adam, whether Jew or Gentile. His sufferings perfectly fulfilled the claims of the law of God. None of the apostles could have filled the deficiency, had there been any.
9 God has given us warnings that must be heeded if we would escape the perils of the last days. Temptations, fierce and strong, will try us. The enemy will strive to take from us the hope of eternal life. If we are not growing up into Christ, our living head, we are growing in distrust and unbelief, and are giving our allegiance to the world.
10 Since the promise given in Eden, God has revealed his mysteries through his prophets. According to the command of the eternal God, they have been made known to all nations. God, being rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, quickens us together with Christ, and raised us up to sit together in heavenly places in him, “that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
11 But many mysteries yet remain unrevealed. How much that is acknowledged to be truth is mysterious and unexplainable to the human mind! How dark seem the dispensations of Providence! What necessity there is for implicit faith and trust in God’s moral government! We are ready to say with Paul, “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
12 We are not now sufficiently advanced in spiritual attainments to comprehend the mysteries of God. But when we shall compose the family of heaven, these mysteries will be unfolded before us. Of the members of that family John writes: “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” “And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.”
13 Then much will be revealed in explanation of matters upon which God now keeps silence because we have not gathered up and appreciated that which has been made known of the eternal mysteries. The ways of Providence will be made clear; the mysteries of grace through Christ will be unfolded. That which the mind can not now grasp, which is hard to be understood, will be explained. We shall see order in that which has seemed unexplainable; wisdom in everything withheld; goodness and gracious mercy in everything imparted. Truth will be unfolded to the mind free from obscurity, in a single line, and its brightness will be endurable. The heart will be made to sing for joy. Controversies will be forever ended, and all difficulties will be solved.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 810
1 “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good-pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”
2 In our efforts for salvation, we are accountable only to God. Forgiveness for our sins is possible only because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. He died for us; and this has linked us to God in continual dependence. Those who desire forgiveness must present their prayers to God, trusting in the merits of Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man. Their confessions must not be given through any human channel, as priest or pope; they must be presented to God, who has given Jesus as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. And if we confess our sins in humility and contrition, we receive full forgiveness. “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning-star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
3 But the fact that we receive forgiveness through the grace of Jesus Christ, does not free us from taking a part in the struggle for immortal life. There are many false teachers in the world today who teach that belief alone is necessary for salvation. These grow in popularity because they please the people. False doctrines are received in the place of truth. A spurious faith is shown instead of the faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
4 But heaven’s first law is obedience in all things. By creation and by redemption we are God’s property, and we are to submit to the working of his Holy Spirit, co-operating with it, but not attempting to work it ourselves. Under its guidance we are made contrite in heart. Our souls are not lifted up in vanity, but are humbled before God.
5 When mind and heart are yielded in perfect obedience to God, we feel a repentance that needeth not to be repented of. The stubborn heart is subdued. The change of which Christ told Nicodemus when he said, “Ye must be born again,” is wrought in us. But we can learn this lesson from God only. It is not enough that the outward conduct is reformed, while sin is cherished and indulged in the heart. The change must commence in the heart, and work outward.
6 The repentance of those who truly seek forgiveness will lead them to work for Christ. It will be a living, working, transforming grace. Those who feel this repentance will reveal it in their lives. Every power of mind and soul and body will be brought into obedience to Christ. The sincerity of their prayers will be proved by their endeavors to serve God. This change, from unrighteousness to righteousness, is wrought by co-operation with God.
7 “This is life eternal,” said Christ, in his prayer to his Father, “that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” But we can not gain a knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ if we neglect to study the Scriptures. The mind is God’s purchased possession. This gift is to be appreciated by us, and used as a treasure house, in which to store the knowledge of God. We need to do much thinking as we work for God. The psalmist says, “I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.” God would have us store our minds with the principles of his holy word, that we may know “what saith the Lord.” He would have us train our minds to wrestle with difficulties, taxing them to remember Scripture until remembering is no longer an impossibility, until the word of God is to us a harmonious whole. If the mind is habitually given difficult tasks, it acquires efficiency and power.
8 Train your mind to search the Scriptures. In this way you can gain a knowledge of God, and work out your own salvation. Fill it with divine truth. It will then be in perfect harmony with the heart, which, cleansed from all selfishness and moral defilement, rejoices to render homage to the law of God.
9 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day;” said Christ; “the night cometh, when no man can work.” This is the example Christ has left us to follow. He was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, yet he came to this earth, and went about doing good. He was the greatest Teacher the world ever knew. Tender, compassionate, ever considerate for others, he represented the character of God, and was ever engaged in service for him. And as Jesus was in human flesh, so God means his followers to be.
10 “We are laborers together with God,” declares Paul, writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In the struggle against evil, we must put every muscle to the stretch, exercising every God-given qualification for the right, in order that we may resist temptation and advance step by step in the Christian life. Saved in indolence, in inactivity, we can never be. It is not possible for us to drift into heaven. No sluggard can enter there. If we do not strive to gain an entrance into that kingdom, if we do not seek earnestly to learn what constitute its laws, we are not fitted to take part in it. Those who enter there must be loyal and faithful servants of God, yoking up with Christ, working his works, overcoming as he overcame, wrestling day after day with hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, which must be oft crucified.
11 They must be “laborers together with God,” unwearied in prayer, their minds constantly turned heavenward for the assistance of the Holy Spirit, using at the same time every means that God has provided for their help.
12 If you would work as Christ worked, if you would overcome as he overcame, go straight to him for help needed to subdue the inclinations of the carnal mind and the passions of the natural heart. Resist every sinful indulgence, every inclination to gratify wrong desires, remembering that Christ is all and in all, and that he is able to do “exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think.”
13 As agents for Jesus we are to work for him. Why then are so many acting as did Meroz,—doing nothing,—while those sitting in darkness receive no light, no help from the children of God? How much do such idlers resemble the angel who is represented as flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? To these idlers in the market-place, Christ is saying, “Go work today in my vineyard.” Angels who minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation are saying to every one, There is work for you to do. “Go, stand and speak . . to the people all the words of this life.” If those addressed would heed this injunction, diffusing the knowledge which they have, and presenting Christ as the only Mediator, the Lord would prepare their way before them.
14 The hearts of those who work with Christ must throb in unison with the heart of Christ. They must be wholly consecrated to his service, ready to do his bidding, to go wherever his Providence leads them, to speak the words he gives them to speak. As they do this work, their spiritual faculties are awakened and energized. Knowing that they are in harmony with God, they feel joyous and happy. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit they obtain an experience that is invaluable to them. Their intellectual and moral powers attain their highest development; for grace is given in answer to the demand.
15 As God said to Moses, so he says to us, “Go forward.” We are to give to others the unsearchable riches of Christ, working in faith, and realizing our responsibility as God’s human agents, to whom he has given this work. In God’s service we shall meet with obstacles and difficulties. But these must not be allowed to discourage us. Events belong to God, and his servants will meet with difficulties and opposition; for these are his chosen methods of discipline, and his appointed conditions of sure progress and success. In spite of trials, do your God-given work in sincerity and faith, that your character may be formed after the divine pattern. “Behold, I come quickly, said Christ; “and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” He will render to all according to their deeds. “To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality,” he will render eternal life; “but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath. . . . But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 811
1 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”
2 Before Christ’s first advent the world seemed indeed to have become the grave for all piety. It was Satan’s seat; man was in the power of the great apostate, helplessly receiving his lies of God and of Christ as truth. The heavenly angels looked upon the world polluted by sin under the inhabitants thereof, and thought how much easier it would be to exterminate it than to reform it. But the Son of God himself came to work a reformation.
3 Heaven’s councils decided that Christ, the great Teacher, must himself come to the world. God has spoken through nature, through types and symbols, through patriarchs and prophets. Lessons must be given to humanity in the language of humanity. The messenger of the covenant, the Sun of Righteousness, must rise upon the world. His voice must be heard in his own temple. Christ must come to utter words which would be clearly and definitely understood. He, the Author of truth, must separate truth from the chaff of man’s utterance, which had made it of none effect. The principles of God’s moral government, and the plan of redemption, must be clearly defined. The lessons of the Old Testament must be fully set before men.
4 “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son.” Man’s terrible necessity demanded help without delay. Who met this necessity? —An illustrious teacher, the Son of God. The eternal Word came to our world to win the confidence of humanity. The prophet that had been revealed to Moses, like unto his brethren, whom they should hear in all things, came as man’s Redeemer. Hear, O heavens, and be astonished, O earth; for the appointed instructor of man was no less a personage than the Son of God!
5 Tho rebellion had overspread his dominion, tho corruption and defiance might be seen in every part of the alien province, yet God gave his beloved Son for its recovery, that every son and daughter of Adam might be saved. Christ did not come to sweep the living agencies of evil off the face of the earth; he came with an embassy of mercy. He took the penalty of man’s transgression upon his own divine soul.
6 Prophecy has clearly outlined the work of Christ. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all the mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion; to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called Trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law.”
7 God did not design that his wonderful plan to redeem man should achieve only insignificant results. What could be greater and more costly than the plan of redemption? The whole heavenly force is enlisted in the great work of elevating, refining, and sanctifying the human soul. Divine power is exercised to save rather than to destroy the work of God’s hands. All this stupendous machinery is set in motion to save men from Satan’s army, from the slavery of sin, and to lead them to enlist in the work of salvation.
8 Christ was the brightness of his Father’s glory. When we begin to trace out the greatness of the plan of redemption, we feel the poverty and feebleness of human words. The most powerful intellect can but feel its emptiness as it seeks to comprehend these grand themes. Individually we need faith, for human wisdom is but ignorance. Our understanding is too weak to penetrate the mystery of the incarnation, God manifest in Christ, his only begotten Son.
9 As Paul contemplated this subject, he was oppressed with its weight, its greatness, its incomprehensible magnitude. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given,” he writes, “that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
10 In Christ God beheld the reflection of his own image. God was manifest in the flesh because of the entire identity of his character with Christ’s character. That God should be thus manifest in the flesh was a wonder to the heavenly host, “even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations.” But as soon as the light revealed itself in the world, it was assailed by the whole energies of apostasy. The great apostate worked with a fierce determination to destroy the champion of God and of truth. With his band of evil, he determined by one desperate act to cut off all communication between the world and heaven. He confederated with the priests and rulers of the Jewish nation to kill Christ; and when the question was asked the people at the trial of Christ, “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” they cried with hearts filled with frenzy, “Let him be crucified.” With one voice they made their choice between Barabbas, the robber and murderer, and Christ, the Son of God.
11 What a sight for the heavenly universe! From the heavenly courts the angels watched every movement with intense interest. They saw their Commander in the hands of a merciless power. They saw his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. They saw him insulted, mocked, derided, scourged. They saw him staggering under the burden of his own cross, fainting, to all appearances dying. Yet no command was given them by the God of heaven to break their ranks and go to the help of the divine Sufferer. They saw him hanging on the cross in shameful humiliation and agony. What would man receive for this Satanic work?
12 Full provision has been made that man shall become one with Jesus Christ. Life and immortality are brought to light through Christ. The truth is to make a deep imprint on mind and character. As we see Christ and contemplate his character, and identify ourselves with him, we know God. Our knowledge of God is measured by our knowledge of Christ.
13 Man’s elevation is not measured by his knowledge of worldly things, but by his knowledge of the one thing needful for salvation. He can be lifted from his degradation if he will accept Jesus, the appointed One, who can save to the uttermost all who come unto him. But if he thinks that in receiving Christ he is taking a step downward, he is down already. He falls as Adam fell. Like the Jewish nation, he refuses the only provision whereby man may be freed from Satan’s tyrannical power, and exalted as God designed he should be.
14 If we stand apart from Jesus Christ, refusing to make him our personal Saviour, the words of Paul are applicable to us: “For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” God gave his Son to a shameful death, for the salvation of the world; and the greatness of the sin of neglecting the salvation thus brought within man’s reach is proportionate to the greatness of the offering. How careful should every human being be in regard to slighting this salvation! How dare any one trifle with his eternal interests? Such neglect denies Christ, refuses his overtures of mercy, and throws scorn and contempt on the Saviour.
Mrs. E. G. White
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Page 812
1 As the world’s Redeemer, the Son of God took upon him our human nature. He humiliated himself, veiling his divinity with humanity, that he might in his life upon earth share in the experiences of the poor, the oppressed, and suffering of the human race. He was subject to the frailties of humanity, and as he journeyed from Judea to Galilee, he was weary with labor and travel. Hungry and thirsty, he tarried to rest at Jacob’s well, near the city of Sychar, while his disciples went to buy food in the city. He who had subjected himself to humanity was the Majesty of heaven, the Creator of every good and perfect gift. In giving himself to redeem our world, Christ gave himself a living sacrifice. He emptied himself of his high prerogatives, left his mansions of glory, his throne and high command, and became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.
2 As Jesus sat by the well side, the cool, refreshing water, so near and yet so inaccessible to him, only increased his thirst. He had neither rope nor bucket with which to draw, and he waited until some one should come to the well. He might have performed a miracle, and thus have obtained a draught from the well, had he wished; but this was not God’s plan. Nothing must be allowed to separate him from the lot of humanity, which he had voluntarily assumed.
3 “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water; Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.” The woman answered, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” Christ was near to the woman of Samaria, and she knew him not. She was thirsting for the truth, yet knew not that He, the Truth, was beside her, and was able to enlighten her. And today there are thirsting souls sitting close by the living fountain. But they are looking far away from the well that contains the refreshing water, and, though told that the water is close by, they will not believe.
4 Jesus answered the woman, saying, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?” Yes, Jesus could have answered, The one who is speaking to you is the only begotten Son of God; I am greater than your father Jacob, for before Abraham was, I am. But he made answer, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
5 The woman was so astonished at his words that she rested her pitcher on the well, and, forgetting the thirst of the stranger and his request to give him to drink, forgetting her errand to the well, she was lost in her earnest desire to hear every word. “Sir,” she said, “give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”
6 Jesus now abruptly changed the subject of conversation, and bade the woman call her husband. She frankly replied, “I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband; for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband; in that saidst thou truly.”
7 As the past of her life was spread out before her, the listener trembled. Conviction of sin was awakened. She said, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.” And then, in order to change the conversation to some other subject, she endeavored to lead Christ into a controversy upon their religious differences. “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain,” she said, “and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ; when he is come, he will tell us all things.” But what was her astonishment when Jesus said, “I that speak unto thee am he.”
8 The conviction of the Spirit of God had come to the heart of the Samaritan woman. She believed that the words of Christ were the truth. No teaching that she had hitherto heard had aroused her moral nature, and awakened her to a sense of her higher need.
9 Christ reads beneath the surface, and he revealed to the woman of Samaria her soul thirst, which the water from the well of Sychar could never satisfy. He himself lost all sense of hunger, and thirst, and weariness. His thirst was satisfied in seeing her drink of the water of life. He was rejoicing in spirit that his words had aroused her slumbering conscience, and quickened her spiritual perceptions.
10 Christ understands the needs of the world, and through him alone can the Father supply them. He is thirsting to give the needy souls the water of life freely. Christ is thirsting for the recognition of those for whom he left the courts of heaven, his honor, his glory, his royal throne, his high command. He is thirsting for the love, the cooperation that must be given him as their personal Saviour. He would have them come unto him, taking hold of his grace by faith, partaking of him, the Living Water.
11 The natural thirst of the woman of Samaria had led her to a thirst of soul for the water of life. Altho she had made no request of him to satisfy her spiritual wants, Christ offered her an abundant supply for her soul’s great need. And through the words spoken to her, the water of life was to flow forth to many thirsting souls.
12 Forgetting the errand that had brought her to the well, the woman left her water pot, and went into the city, saying to all whom she met, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”
13 As yet Christ had not taken the refreshing draught that he desired, nor tasted the food that his disciples had brought. They saw that their Master was intently absorbed in meditation, his face beaming with divine light, and they scarcely dared to interrupt his communion with heaven. But they knew that he had been a long time without food, and, placing some before him, they prayed him to refresh himself. Turning lovingly to them, he said, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of.”
14 The disciples, thinking that he was speaking of temporal food, inquired among themselves, “Hath any man brought him aught to eat?” But Jesus explained: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor; other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.”
15 Christ looked forward to the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost should descend upon his disciples. He would teach them that they were not to look upon this as the result of their own labor. They were not to lose sight of the fact that patriarchs, prophets, and holy men had been sowing the seeds of truth. God’s ancient chosen people had been enriched with precious truth, which was to them as the river of God. Christ had been their invisible leader through all their travels in the wilderness. Gracious illustrations of his love were given them in the covenant signed by God in the rainbow of promise, which was ever to be an assurance that seed-time and harvest time should remain, and that the world should never again be destroyed by a flood. Christ was just as truly the water of life to Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah, and all who received his instruction then, as he is at the present time to those who ask of him the refreshing draught. God has given his Word to his chosen ones, and made known his way. Through his Son he has been supplying them with the dews and showers of his grace. But his blessings are often overlooked, and men take the glory to themselves.
16 The rain is not seen until it begins to fall, and it often comes wholly unexpectedly. So the Lord’s precious gift of grace is often nearer than we think. If we will only have faith, and wait patiently for a little while, his help will come, and will surprise us as he surprised the woman of Samaria. He shall come down like showers upon the fruitful earth.
17 When the Lord gave his message to the Laodiceans, who thought themselves rich and increased in goods, and in need of nothing, he did not conceal from them their true condition. He said: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” This was the message of truth that Christ opened before them. They needed everything. But he did not present to them their great necessity without also providing a remedy. He opens before them a fountain of supply for every need: “I counsel thee to buy of me,” he says, “gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” It is necessary for us to know our soul’s need in order to receive the heavenly treasure provided for us in Christ.
18 In Eden the Lord gave the promise that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head. And the work which Christ carried forward at Jacob’s well, in proffering the water of life to the woman of Samaria, is a fulfilment of that promise. And he will continue this work until every soul shall have been tested and tried.
19 The woman, in apparently withholding from Christ the water he asked of her, represents many who are withholding from him the recognition, the sympathy and love, that he is hungering and thirsting for in response to his great love for us. Christ has not withheld his grace and love from any member of the human family. For each he has an inexhaustible supply. And yet how little acknowledgment he receives, how little thanksgiving, how little fruit, in good works. He is hungering for the sympathy and love of those whom he has purchased with his own blood. He is watching and waiting for that love which we can not withhold from him with any safety.
20 The world’s Redeemer knows the necessities of every soul. When we are oppressed and languid, he knows it, and he it is that supplies the spiritual refreshment. Ask ye of him; watch unto prayer, and it will come. Jesus is the bread of life, to be eaten every day; he is the water of life to the parched and fainting soul, and all may partake of his grace.
21 Earth’s cisterns will often be emptied, its pools become dry; but in Christ there is a living spring from which we may continually draw. However much we draw and give to others, an abundance will remain. There is no danger of exhausting the supply; for Christ is the inexhaustible well-spring of truth. He has been the fountain of living water ever since the fall of Adam. He says, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” And “whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 813
1 “And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams.” “And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. . . . Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter.” “It is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
2 Upon hearing this, the king was very angry, and commanded that all the wise men should be slain. But God revealed the dream to Daniel in a night vision. “Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.”
3 Daniel was taken in to the king, and said to him: “The secret which the king hath demanded can not the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show to the king. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these: . . . Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.”
4 After describing the image which the king had seen, Daniel said, “This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron. . . . And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
5 This dream was given to the king of Babylon, the events of the future, reaching down to the end of time, were opened before him, that he might have light on this important subject. It was also given for the benefit of all future generations. The record was traced by the prophetic pen that the light might be shared by those kingdoms which should succeed the kingdom of Babylon.
6 Tho this wonderful dream caused a marked change to take place in the ideas and opinions of King Nebuchadnezzar, his soul was not cleansed from its pride, its worldly ambition, its desire for self-exaltation, by the converting power of God. The rise and fall of the kingdoms which were to succeed Babylon, were minutely described to him by the prophet; but instead of treasuring the conviction which had been made on his mind in regard to the fall of all earthly kingdoms, and the greatness and power of Jehovah’s kingdom, the king, after the immediate impression wore away, thought only of his own greatness, and studied how he might make the dream turn to his own exaltation and honor.
7 He said much regarding the interpretation given by Daniel, but the words, “Thou art this head of gold,” produced the greatest effect upon his mind. These impressed him so much that his wise men, who had not been able to tell the dream, proposed that he make such an image as the one seen in his dream, and that he set it up, that all might see the head of gold, which was a representation of his kingdom.
8 This pleased the king. His pride and vanity found full scope in the thought that he could thus represent his importance; and he resolved that instead of merely copying the image he had seen, he would make an image that should excel the original. It was his design that the whole image should represent the greatness of Babylon. Therefore that which had been said regarding the kingdoms that were to follow, should be blotted from his mind, and from the minds of those who had heard the dream, by the splendor of the image he was about to make. This image should not deteriorate in value from the head to the feet, as had the one he had been shown, but should be composed throughout of the most precious metal.
9 God had spoken plainly to Nebuchadnezzar in regard to his kingdom. “In the days of these kings,” said Daniel, “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. . . . The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.”
10 The king had acknowledged the power of God, saying, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets;” but notwithstanding this acknowledgment, he now united with the men he had once sentenced to death, to dishonor God. He had purposed to destroy these men, because he had discerned their deceptions, and because he was convinced that their learning did not possess the power he had supposed; and they had been saved from a cruel death by the intercession of Daniel. Now he joins with them to frame a design for his image, and to make the light from heaven serve his pride, and forward his exaltation. The kingdom of Babylon was interpreted to be the kingdom that was to break in pieces all other kingdoms, and to stand forever; and they endeavored to make an image which would fitly represent Babylon as eternal, indestructible, and all-powerful, —a kingdom that would last forever.
11 “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.” As an idol, an object of worship, the image was placed in the most favorable position; and a proclamation was issued that all should worship it.
12 Thus the grand lesson given by God to the heathen, and to all people, was misconstrued and misplaced. That which was designed by God to teach lessons of truth, and to give the world clear, distinct rays of light, Nebuchadnezzar turned from its purpose, making it minister to his pride and vanity. The prophetic illustration was made to serve for the glorification of humanity. The symbol designed to unfold important events was turned into a symbol which would hinder the spread of that knowledge which God designed the kingdoms of the earth should receive. By the height and beauty of his image, by the material of which it was formed, the king sought to make error and false doctrine magnificent and attractive, more powerful, seemingly, than anything God had given.
13 Those who are willing to be taught, may learn a lesson from the conduct of the king of Babylon. As the enemy sought to make God-given light serve his own purposes, by leading the king to work for his own glory instead of working for the glory of God, so he works today to pervert truth in order to hinder God’s purposes. All false religion has its origin in a corruption of the true. When unmixed with evil, truth is a mighty power to save; but if we allow the enemy to work through us, if by the light given us we seek to exalt self, even this truth may become a power for evil.
14 So it was in Christ’s day. In their pride the Jewish leaders perverted the meaning of their religious services. Those who sat in Moses’ seat could not bring their proud hearts to believe the prophecies, and they instilled into the minds of the people their false interpretation of Scripture. The truth was buried beneath their own doctrines, and maxims, and traditions. They taught the people that Christ was to appear as a great conqueror, to break the Roman yoke from the neck of the nation. They received that part of the prophecy which foretold one who was to shine before his ancients gloriously, who was to reign from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; and they expected the Messiah to exalt Israel to universal dominion. When Christ did come, with no outward show of a conqueror, they turned their faces from him, resisting his words, and working by every conceivable means to counteract his influence.
15 The enemy would lead us all to the use, as did Nebuchadnezzar, the light and knowledge of God for our own exaltation. But self-exaltation can find no place in the work of God. “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving- kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 814
1 “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar, the king, sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, . . . unto the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.” “Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up.”
2 “At that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. . . . There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee; they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
3 These men who thus accused the Hebrews had been saved from death by Daniel’s appeal to the king in their behalf, but they were envious of the three Hebrews, and were desirous of hurting their influence; they therefore carried the complaint to the king that these men had dared to disobey his commands.
4 The thought that his slightest wish should not be respected at the dedication of the image, filled the king with rage, and he commanded that the men be brought before him. “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?” How short-lived is the exaltation bestowed by men! How little dependence can be placed in them! These three men, once honored, and intrusted with great responsibilities, are now the objects of the wrath of a king whose will is law. Truly we can not trust in princes.
5 As the three Hebrews stood before the king in their moral dignity, innocence, and purity, he was convinced that they were superior to the men in his kingdom. They had always been faithful in the performance of their duties, and he decided that he would be gracious, and give them a second trial. “If ye be ready,” he said, “that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well; but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” And then, with hand stretched upward in defiance, he asked, “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”
6 His senses were perverted by the prospect of his own greatness, and he seemed to lose all knowledge of a monarch above all earthly kings. When his dream was shown him by Daniel, he had acknowledged, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings;” but he now took all this back, and sought to demonstrate before the representatives of the different nations, who had assembled at the dedication of this image, that he, the king of Babylon, was the greatest king in the universe, and that all must bow low to his supremacy, and submit as slaves to his will. And all went well in the carrying out of this arrangement till the disobedience of the Hebrew captives.
7 With the furnace in sight, the captives answered the king’s horrible threat, saying: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” Their faith rose with the knowledge that God would be glorified in this transaction, and with a firm, triumphant ring of implicit trust and confidence in their voices, they said, “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
8 When the king saw that his will was not received as the will of God, he was “full of fury,” and the form of his visage was changed against these men. Satanic attributes made his countenance appear as the countenance of a demon; and with all the force he could command, he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than its wont, and commanded the most mighty men to bind the youth, and cast them into the furnace. He felt that it required more than ordinary power to deal with these noble men. His mind was strongly impressed that something unusual would interpose in their behalf, and his strongest men were ordered to deal with them.
9 The king’s command was urgent. He was anxious to punish the men who had dared to exercise their will in opposition to his will; and without delay, with all their clothing upon them, they were cast into the fire. “Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.”
10 Surrounded by the officers of his government, by the Chaldeans, and by distinguished and great men from many countries, the king, filled with Satanic fury, looked on the scene, waiting to see how soon the men who had defied him would be utterly consumed. But his triumph suddenly came to an end. He saw something that he thought must be an illusion. He turned pale, and, shading his eyes with his hand, he directed his gaze to the furnace, watching it with intense interest. All did not discern as quickly as did the king the result of his cruel project. With alarm he asked his great men, “Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” “True, O king,” was the reply. With a voice trembling with excitement, he cried, “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
11 How did this heathen king know what the Son of God was like? Through their steadfast adherence to right principles, the Hebrew captives had been called to fill positions of trust in the courts of Babylon. They were tempted by others to be untrue, in order to gain advantages; but they were faithful in all their business transactions. In life and character they represented the truth; and when they were asked a reason for their course of action, they gave it without hesitation. Plainly and in simplicity they presented the living principles of the truth, and thus those around them were made acquainted with the Source of their strength. In this way the king of Babylon became acquainted with the form of the Son of God.
12 With feelings of deep humiliation and remorse, the king stood as near the blazing furnace as he dared, and in a clear, loud voice called out, “Ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither.” They obeyed the voice of the king, and came forth unhurt, without even the smell of fire upon them.
13 The fact that these youth came forth from the fire having received no harm, save only that their fetters had been burned away, was beyond the comprehension of the wise men, and made a decided change in the sentiments of the people. The tidings of this wonderful deliverance were carried to many countries by the representatives of the different nations. Thus God was glorified by the faithfulness of his children.
14 History will be repeated. False religion will be exalted. The first day of the week, a common working day, possessing no sanctity whatever, will be set up as was the image at Babylon. All nations and tongues and peoples will be commanded to worship this spurious sabbath. This is Satan’s plan to make of no account the day instituted by God, and given to the world as a memorial of creation.
15 The decree enforcing the worship of this day is to go forth to all the world. In a limited degree, it has already gone forth. In several places the civil power is speaking with the voice of a dragon, just as the heathen king spoke to the Hebrew captives.
16 Trial and persecution will come to all who, in obedience to the Word of God, refuse to worship this false sabbath. Force is the last resort of every false religion. At first it tries attraction, as the king of Babylon tried the power of music and outward show. If these attractions, invented by men inspired by Satan, failed to make men worship the image, the hungry flames of the furnace were ready to consume them. So it will be now. The Papacy has exercised her power to compel men to obey her, and she will continue to do so. We need the same spirit that was manifested by God’s servants in the conflict with paganism. Giving an account of the treatment of the Christians by the emperor of Rome, Tertullian says, “We are thrown to the wild beasts to make us recant; we are burned in the flames; we are condemned to prisons and to mines; we are banished to islands,—such as Patmos,—and all have failed.” So it was in the case of the three Hebrew worthies; their eye was single to the glory of God; their souls were steadfast; the power of the truth held them firmly to their allegiance to God. It is in the power of God alone that we shall be enabled to be loyal to him.
17 “If ye love me,” said Christ, “keep my commandments.” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” And has not Christ manifested himself to his faithful children? Did he not walk in the furnace with the captives who refused to yield to the golden image one tittle of the reverence which belonged to God? Did he not manifest himself to John, banished to the Isle of Patmos for his faithfulness? Have not those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, who, tho they have been compelled to suffer, have refused to worship the institution of the Papacy, realized the presence of the divine Comforter in their lonely prisons?
18 The commandments of finite, sinful men are to sink into insignificance beside the Word of the eternal God. Truth is to be obeyed at any cost, even tho gaping prisons, chain-gangs, and banishment stare us in the face. If you are loyal and true, that God who walked with the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, who protected Daniel in the lions’ den, who manifested himself to John on the lonely island, will go with you wherever you go. His abiding presence will comfort and sustain you; and you will realize the fulfilment of the promise, “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 815
1 Christ declared of the Jews, “In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” This is being done today. The commandments of men are exalted, and men are trying to force their fellow-men to render obedience to them. But in no case are we to take the word of men before the Word of God. “We ought to obey God rather than men,” declared Peter. And Christ in his Sermon on the Mount spoke clearly and distinctly regarding the importance of God’s commandments. “Think not,” he said, “that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
2 But God never compels men to obey him. Together truth and error take the field. The light shines forth amid moral darkness, and men are left to choose their own leader.
3 After the king of Babylon had witnessed the wonderful deliverance wrought by God for his faithful servants, and had seen the men walk unhurt from the fire, he published a decree that any one speaking a word against the God of heaven, who had so wonderfully saved his servants, should be cut in pieces, “because,” he declared, “there is no other god that can deliver after this sort.” Thus, through the deceiving power of the enemy, God’s truth is misinterpreted and misapplied, and his way confused by human inventions.
4 The king had a right to worship the God of heaven, and to do all in his power to exalt him above other gods; but he had no right to use his authority in compelling his subjects to change from the worship of idols to the worship of the true God. He had no more right to threaten men with death for not worshiping the true God than he had to make the decree consigning to the flames all who refused to worship the golden image.
5 Today, as in the days of Babylon, the accuser of the brethren is working through human agencies to hurt and destroy those who are dear to the Lord. Men in power do not realize that they can not in justice control the minds of their fellow-men, and Satan works through them to corrupt right dealing. Those who try to keep the commandments of God, will meet with much opposition. Satanic attributes will take possession of the hearts of men, making them as hard as steel; and all who depart from evil will make themselves a prey to the hatred of those that refuse to obey the law of God.
6 But when the State forms laws directly opposed to the laws of Jehovah, and thus strives to compel men to obey them, it is following the example set by the king of Babylon. When it takes the guardianship of the religious interests of the nation, a spirit of intolerance is manifested if men seek to practise the truth, which, by earnest study, they have found in God’s Word. Those who are actuated by such a spirit of oppression can not understand what religious liberty means.
7 Every man has a right to worship God according to his own convictions; no one is called upon to obey laws that are opposed to the laws of God; and the only position the State can take, and have the approval of God, is to guard the rights of every individual, permitting no oppression to come upon any one because of religious belief.
8 As Nebuchadnezzar tried to force his subjects to obey his mandates, so men will try to force us to disregard the Word of God. They will endeavor to compel us to render homage to man-made statutes; but in God’s strength we are to refuse to dishonor him. The laws of earthly kingdoms are to be obeyed only when they do not conflict with the laws of God. When governments are tyrannical and overbearing, when they trample on God’s law, their laws are contemptible in his sight. And when they try to control the minds and consciences of those whom Christ died to make free, God’s children are to show their loyalty to him by refusing to disobey his commandments.
9 When the judgment shall sit, and the books of heaven shall be opened, all will be judged, not by the laws that human minds have enacted, but by the law of God, which existed before the foundations of the world were laid. And the men who have been co-workers with the first great rebel, and who have not, as guardians of the State, searched the Word of God, that as rulers they might deal righteously and mercifully, will be judged by the law they have disregarded and dishonored.
10 In that day when every work shall be brought into judgment, when the Lord Jesus, with the marks of the crucifixion on his body, shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, those who, while holding positions of trust, have caused God’s people to suffer, will cast their idols of silver and gold to the moles and to the bats; “to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” “For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
11 They have shown no respect for God, no fear to transgress his commandments; but have refused to give their fellowmen rights equal to their own, and have tried to make them disobey God. They have stubbornly adhered to man-made commandments, and they will be judged accordingly. Those who persist in enacting laws which men can not obey without dishonoring God, and those that obey these laws, and trample on the law of the eternal God, must prepare for the result; for God will not change, nor alter the thing which has gone out of his mouth.
12 “As the Father hath loved me,” said Christ, “so have I loved you; continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him, But whoso keepeth his Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.”
13 God honors those who honor him by obedience to his precepts. John, the beloved disciple, was banished to the isle of Patmos for his faithfulness. “I John,” he writes, “who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” Did John here mean Sunday?—There is but one day called the Lord’s day, and that is the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath instituted at creation. God created the world in six days, and on the seventh he rested and was refreshed. He blessed and sanctified this day, and set it apart to be observed as a memorial of creation. And on the seventh day John heard behind him “a great voice, as of a trumpet saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches.” “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.” Thus Christ honored John for his steadfast obedience to him.
14 Adam and Eve lost all access to Eden and to the tree of life because they took the word of another before the Word of God. By this act of disobedience they opened the flood-gates of woe upon our world. But those who steadfastly adhere to God’s Word, will hear the benediction, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” No flaming sword guards that tree from those who, after the light has been given them, in the face of all opposition turn from the commandments of men to obey the commandments of God. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 816
1 Judas was one of the twelve disciples who were chosen to be coworkers with Christ. He was intrusted with the little fund made up from the contributions of the believers, but he had not been fitted for the position of trust which he occupied. Covetousness had not been cleansed from his heart, but was cherished and cultivated. By his unsanctified, subtle reasoning, he magnified his position to one of great importance. His avarice grew as it was indulged, until it was fast becoming the most prominent feature of his character.
2 The evils of covetousness and avarice, injustice and fraud, were plainly dwelt upon by the Saviour. And, altho the name of Judas was not called, nor direct application made to him, yet he felt himself guilty of these things. But he did not separate himself from sins so hateful, and purify his soul by obeying the words of Jesus. Instead of this, he took offense at the word spoken to correct the growing evils of the attributes of Satan.
3 The principles that should govern the heart made new were constantly the theme of the teachings of Christ. But they were not received by Judas. The lessons which the other disciples received and acted upon provoked Judas. Under the impulse of Satan, he acted directly contrary to the principles that Christ was endeavoring to inculcate as to what constitutes Christian character. A power was working from the heart that had been left unclean, unholy, and unsanctified. Tho Judas professed to be a disciple of Christ, this inward principle was constantly at work, and from time to time overmastered him, causing him to give expression to the propensity that was corrupting the whole man. The very principle of the Gospel enjoining mercy to the poor, was made an excuse for his covetousness. On the plea of waste, he made objection when Mary anointed the feet of her Master with the precious ointment.
4 Christ was in sympathy with suffering humanity. His efforts were always put forth to uplift and restore, never to weaken, to oppress, or destroy. The truly converted man will in heart and life make manifest the outworking of the divine life. The weak and unfortunate will ever awaken in his heart feelings of tender pity and Christlike compassion. There will be no hardness of heart, no harsh, coarse spirit. The water of life, as an inner spring, will be ever uprising to bless all within the sphere of his influence. By such, gifts and offerings are brought to God with a willing heart, a ready mind. They perform acts of mercy and benevolence, not because they are compelled to do so, but because they are partakers of the divine nature, partakers of the character of Christ.
5 Had Judas had that true life of which Christ is the substance and the source, he would have fed upon that which is conducive to growth in Christ, the bread of life. Cherishing in his heart the life of Christ, feeding on the bread which came down from heaven, he would have had the power of assimilation to Christ. He would have appropriated the nutriment of the living bread,— would have received into his own nature the spirit and life of the words of Christ, and thus would have become one with him. He would have become, in character, all that he professed to be.
6 True life is progressive; wherever there is life, there is growth. Had Judas been a doer of the words of Christ, had Christ been abiding in his heart by faith, this growth would first have been manifested in a downward course,—in lowly, humble acquaintance with himself and with God. He would have been learning the lessons that Christ gave to his disciples when he asked them, “What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?” The subject of the conversation had been who should be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. It was a matter that should never have come into their conversation, for its tendency was to arouse selfish feelings, selfish expressions, and eclipse the love of Christ in the soul.
7 Taking a little child, and setting him in the midst of them, Christ said: “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted [from your own natural, selfish characters], and become as little children [free from guile, hypocrisy, and all selfishness and unkindness], ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.” What a lesson is this, not only for the disciples and Judas, but also for all who believe on Christ today!
8 Judas heard all this, but he thought, as many think today, that such teaching was uncalled for. But if this were so, why did Christ dwell upon such themes? He further added: “Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”
9 Here Christ would teach us that the character-building needs close and careful attention. This is the work that Judas’ keen perception might have discerned if he had received the lessons which Christ sought to teach him. His objectionable traits of character would then have disappeared, and he would have become meek and lowly of heart, like his Master.
10 And this work is something that we as well as Judas must do. Those who have hereditary tendencies to evil, those who are putting forth thorn branches to wound all with whom they come in contact, should see that the offending members are cut away. Painful as this work may be of separating the evil from our character, it must be done. Selfishness and covetousness, which is idolatry; the harsh and unkind spirit, that, manifested in word or deed, will wound and destroy souls, must be taken out of the life, or the entire man will become offensive to himself and to God. His hard-heartedness will cause him to neglect the very ones who need his help.
11 “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently; being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you.”
12 This is the bread which came down from heaven, even the Word of God. And this Word, received and appropriated by the living agents, will produce that faith which works by love, and purifies the soul. It will cut away the hereditary tendencies to evil, and the wrong traits of character that have been strengthened by cultivation. However dearly we may prize these, it is better to separate them from our life practise now than to have their predominating power defiling and corrupting the whole man. And not only this, they destroy our influence for good, and, instead of being a savor of life unto life, we become a savor of death unto death.
13 “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” Judas might have been all this. Blessed as he was with abundant opportunities of eating of the bread of life, he might have formed a firm, Christlike character.
14 “Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious; but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the Word, being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed.”
15 God has given his only-begotten Son to our world as our sin-bearer, that he might take away our iniquities. Through his divine merits, every son and daughter of Adam who will believe on him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, will be presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Those who return to their loyalty to God are precious in his sight; for Christ died to redeem these souls from the bondage of sin; he died to secure the eternal happiness of fallen man.
16 And “he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Our Redeemer has risen from the dead. He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And now he ever liveth to dispense his blessings in rich currents of grace and power as the circumstances of his believing children may require. And to the sinner his voice is heard in loving invitation: “Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
Mrs. E. G. White
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Page 817
1 What is temptation?—It is the means by which those who claim to be the children of God are tested and tried. We read that God tempted Abraham, that he tempted the children of Israel. This means that he permitted circumstances to occur to test their faith, and lead them to look to him for help. God permits temptation to come to his people today, that they may realize that he is their helper. If they draw nigh to him when they are tempted, he strengthens them to meet the temptation. But if they yield to the enemy, neglecting to place themselves close to their Almighty Helper, they are overcome. They separate themselves from God. They do not give evidence that they walk in God’s way.
2 Thus the Lord determines character. Thus he decides whether we are obedient or disobedient. He does not do this for his own enlightenment; for he reads all things as an open book. He does it that the secret motives of men’s hearts may be manifest, that his true witnesses may be strengthened, that others may become intelligent in regard to the ways and works of God as contrasted with the ways and works of the enemy.
3 Temptations will pour in upon us; for by them we are to be tried during our probation. This is the proving of God, the revelation of our own hearts. There is no sin in having temptation; but sin comes in when temptation is yielded to.
4 When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted, he was led by the Spirit of God. By going into the wilderness, he did not invite temptation. But Satan knew that the Saviour had gone there, and he thought it the best time to approach him.
5 Christ went to the wilderness to be alone, to contemplate his mission and work. He had taken the steps which every sinner must take, in conversion, repentance, and baptism. He himself had no sins of which to repent, and therefore he had no sins to wash away. But he was our example in all things, and therefore he must do that which he would have us do. Christ fasted and prayed, bracing himself for the blood-stained path which he must travel. He was the Son of the eternal God, but as man’s surety, he must meet and resist every temptation with which man is assailed.
6 When Christ had fasted for forty days and forty nights, the enemy came, tempting him to make bread of the stones. Christ knew that he would be assailed upon appetite, for it was upon this point that Adam and Eve had failed. And with the terrible weight of the sins of the world upon him, he withstood the fearful test upon appetite, upon the love of the world, and upon that love of display that leads to presumption. He endured these temptations, and overcame in man’s behalf, working out for him a righteous character, because he knew that man could not do this of himself.
7 The world’s Redeemer, the second Adam, by his suffering and death worked out a redemption for the human race. He was tempted in all points like as we are. He knew that the enemy would come to every human being, to take advantage of hereditary weakness, and to ensnare, by his false insinuations, all whose hope and trust is not in Christ. And by passing over the ground which man must travel, by showing that, through the divine power granted him, man can overcome every form of temptation, Christ prepared the way for us to gain the victory.
8 If Satan can persuade people to follow a course that is contrary to the principles underlying and running through every enactment of God’s law, he has a chance to work upon their minds. One venturesome step in deceptive practises, under the specious direction of Satan, leads to a second such step. Those who follow this course depart from God. The poisonous malaria of worldly principles is so disguised by the enemy that the actors become willing to work in lines which are contrary to the will of God. They make use of the world’s artifices in order to gain an advantage over their neighbors. This creates a train of thought which separates the soul from the Spirit of God. The mind becomes more and more infatuated, and the power to overcome temptation is destroyed. The tendencies thus cultivated are transmitted to the offspring, as Adam’s disobedience was transmitted to the human family.
9 Christ came to our world as man’s surety, preparing the way for him to gain the victory by giving him moral power. It is not his will that man shall be placed at a disadvantage. He would not have those who are striving to overcome, intimidated and discouraged by the crafty assaults of the serpent. “Be of good cheer,” he says, “I have overcome the world.”
10 With such a general to lead us on to victory, we may indeed have joy and courage. He came as our champion. He takes cognizance of the battle that all who are at enmity with Satan must fight. He lays before his followers a plan of the battle, pointing out its peculiarities and severity, and warning them not to join his army without first counting the cost. He tells them that the vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against them, and shows them that they are fighting for an invisible world, and that his army is not composed merely of human agencies. His soldiers are coworkers with heavenly intelligences, and One higher than angels is in the ranks; for the Holy Spirit, Christ’s representative, is there.
11 Then Christ summons every decided follower, every true soldier, to fight for him, assuring them that there is deliverance for all who will obey his orders. If Christ’s soldiers look faithfully to their Captain for their orders, success will attend their warfare against the enemy. No matter how they may be beset, in the end they will be triumphant. Their infirmities may be many, their sins great, their ignorance seemingly insurmountable; but if they realize their weakness, and look to Christ for aid, he will be their efficiency. He is ever ready to enlighten their dullness and overcome their sinfulness. If they avail themselves of his power, their characters will be transformed; they will be surrounded with an atmosphere of light and holiness. Through his merits and imparted power they will be “more than conquerors.” Supernatural help will be given them, enabling them in their weakness to do the deeds of omnipotence.
12 Those who fight for Christ are fighting in the sight of the heavenly universe, and they should be soldiers, not cowards. Those who truly desire to serve God will not follow their own wisdom, or the wisdom of the arch-deceiver, who is playing the game of life for their souls. By faith they are to look calmly upon every foe, exclaiming: “We fight the good fight of faith, under the command of an omnipotent Power. Because he lives, we shall live also. Through Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, we may withstand all the fiery darts of the enemy.”
13 Abraham certified his obedience to God when, with Isaac by his side, he journeyed on his way, in response to the command, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Job was permitted to suffer; he was severely tempted; but he would not speak one word against God. During Christ’s life on earth the scribes and Pharisees, instigated by Satan, tempted him in every possible way. But he never allowed these temptations to lead him from the path of obedience. When God speaks, let us obey, no matter how the enemy may tempt us to disobey; for the path of obedience is the only safe path.
14 Christ’s example shows us that our only hope of victory is in continual resistance of Satan’s attacks. He who triumphed over the adversary of souls in the conflict with temptation understands Satan’s power over the race, and has conquered in our behalf. As an overcomer, he has given us the advantage of his victory, that in our efforts to resist the temptations of Satan, we may unite our weakness to his strength, our worthlessness to his merits. And, sustained by his enduring might, under strong temptation, we may resist in his all-powerful name, and overcome as he overcame.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 818
1 “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” It was here that the mysterious cup trembled in Christ’s hand. Here the destiny of a lost world hung in the balance. Should he refuse to stand as man’s surety? Satan encircled his humanity with a horror of great darkness, tempting him to think that God had forsaken him.
2 In this hour of trial Christ’s human nature longed for sympathy. In the supreme agony of his soul, he came to his disciples with a yearning desire to hear some words of relief from those whom he had oft blessed and comforted and shielded in sorrow and distress; for the law of kindness was ever on his lips. The One who had always had words of comfort for them was now suffering superhuman agony, and he craved sympathy; he longed to know that they were praying for him and for themselves. How dark seemed the malignity of sin! No earthly potentate can show himself more keenly observant of his subjects than was Jesus. He was jealous for his law as no earthly king can be, for he was the king, eternal, invisible, immortal. If he could only know that his disciples understood and appreciated the terrible temptation to let the human race bear the consequences of its own guilt, while he stood innocent before God, he would be strengthened.
3 “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep.” Had he found them praying, he would have been relieved. Had they been seeking refuge in God, that Satanic agencies might not prevail over them, he would have been comforted by their steadfast faith. But, unheeding the repeated warning, “Watch and pray,” they had fallen asleep. They knew not the necessity of watchfulness and earnest prayer in order to withstand the temptations of Satan.
4 As one surprised, Christ addressed them, saying, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” They roused themselves, and looked sorrowfully at their Lord. “Watch and pray,” he said, “that ye enter not into temptation.” Then the divine Sufferer excused the disciples, saying, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
5 Christ went away the second time, and prayed earnestly, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” Again darkness pressed upon his soul with almost unbearable agony, and again he felt a longing for companionship, for some words which would bring relief, and break the spell of darkness that well-nigh overpowered him. “And he came and found them asleep again; for their eyes were heavy;” “neither wist they what to answer him.” They saw his face marked with the bloody sweat of agony, and they were filled with sorrow; for “his visage was so marred, more than any man.”
6 Again Christ went away, and prayed that if it were possible this cup might pass from him. His soul was filled with an overpowering fear of separation from God in consequence of sin. Satan told him that if he became the substitute and surety for a sinful world, he would nevermore be one with God, but would be under his control.
7 Three times the prayer ascended to God, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” always followed by the words, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” Shall the cup pass from the Suffering One? Shall the sacrifice of Christ, ordained before the foundation of the world, and symbolized in every sacrifice offered since Adam’s transgression, be given up? Shall the glorious purpose of God the Father, and Jesus Christ his Son, entered upon to save a perishing world, be of no account? Shall that which angels eagerly desired to look into and understand, that which had been the burden of prophecy, that which lay at the foundation of types and shadows, fail after all, leaving Satan and his apostate forces and confederacy of evil to come off triumphant?
8 O, how much Christ had already suffered as the Son of man, in order to redeem and save men! How much he had borne as their substitute! Now the time had come when all the types and symbols pointing to his suffering and death were to be fulfilled. Shall he fail, and come short in his work of redemption? Shall the prince of darkness triumph? Shall his proud boast become truth? Shall the prey be left helpless in the hands of the mighty, or shall the captives be delivered, Satan overcome, and it be demonstrated that obedience to the law is possible; for all have been made more than conquerors through Christ?
9 It was the will of God that none should perish, but that all should have eternal life through faith in the sacrifice of Christ. Him God the Father sealed to become man’s Restorer. The worlds unfallen and the heavenly angels watched with intense interest as the conflict drew to its close. Satan and his confederacy of evil, the legions of apostasy, watched intently this great crisis in the work of redemption. The powers of good and evil waited to see what answer would come to Christ’s thrice-repeated prayer. In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the Sufferer, the heavens opened, a light shone forth amid the stormy darkness of the crisis hour, and an angel who stands in the presence of God, occupying the position from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ. What message did he bring? Had he come to tell Christ that the price to be paid was too great, that it would cost too much to save the world, and that man must be left to his doom, to be destroyed by the wrath of an offended God? Did he tell him that he need not drink the bitter cup, that he need not bear the guilt of man?
10 The angel did not come to take the cup from Christ’s hand, but to strengthen him to drink it, with the assurance of the Father’s love. He came to give power to the divine-human Suppliant. He pointed him to the open heavens, telling him of the souls that would be saved as the result of his sufferings. He assured him that his Father is greater and more powerful than Satan, that his death would result in the utter discomfiture of Satan, and that the kingdom of this world would be given to the saints of the Most High. He told him that he would see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied, for he would see a multitude of the redeemed, saved, eternally saved.
11 Christ’s agony did not cease, but his depression and discouragement left him. He still carried the load of guilt, and he fulfilled the demands of the divine law, and glorified the Father by drinking the bitter cup.
12 “Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” The storm of the hellish host had in nowise abated, but he who was its subject was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. He had borne that which no human being can ever bear; for he had tasted the sufferings of death for every man. “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine fat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me.”
13
As Satan tempted Christ, so he will tempt Christ’s followers. The Son of man was betrayed into the hands of sinners. Many, for Christ’s sake, will undergo a similar experience. Priests and rulers will instigate men to testify falsely against them. Christ has told us of the persecution that will come upon those that love and fear God through men who are working in copartnership with Satan. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, God’s people will learn more of the terrible character of sin as they feel the cruelty of those who are controlled by it. But all the cruelty manifested toward them is charged against the doers as done to Christ, who has redeemed human souls with his own blood, and has called them by his name.
14 The strength given to Christ in the hour of bodily suffering and mental anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, has been and will be given to those who suffer for his dear name’s sake. The same grace given to Jesus, the same comfort, the more than mortal steadfastness, will be given to every believing child of God, who is brought into perplexity and suffering, and threatened with imprisonment and death, by Satan’s agents. Never has a soul that trusts in Christ been left to perish. The rack, the stake, the many inventions of cruelty, may kill the body, but they can not touch the life that is hid with Christ in God.
15 “Nation shall rise against nation,” said Christ, “and kingdom against kingdom; and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish.” “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 819
1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehendeth it not. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” These ringing words come sounding down the line to our time. They are full of assurance; for John meant every word that he uttered. Inspired by God, these words possess a power that none can estimate who does not believe in Christ as his personal Saviour. They have a deep meaning, and a broad compass, and are eternal truth to all who believe them.
2 John is calling the attention of the world to Christ as the life and light of men. Life and light, possessed by no other being that has ever breathed, are found in Christ. A human being lives, but his is a given life, a life that will be quenched.
3 “What is your life? It is even vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” But Christ’s life is not a vapor; it is never-ending, a life existing before the worlds were made.
4 Adam was a created being, dependent upon the tree of life for his existence. Through his disobedience, he forfeited the precious privilege of eating of this tree, which was to perpetuate the life breathed into him by God, and for which he was dependent on God. After disobeying God, the precious gifts and endowments which he derived from God were no more his. Adam’s disobedience to God’s commands brought the human family under the death penalty. “In Adam all die,” and eternal death, not eternal life, is the final punishment of all who continue in transgression.
5 But Christ said, “I will take the penalty of Adam’s transgression.” In Eden the first Gospel sermon was preached. God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
6 And “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, . . . to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Christ died in behalf of the human family, giving men a probation, that they might have opportunity to see the evil of sin, and to choose as their leader, either the apostate who was expelled from heaven, or the Prince of Life, who gave himself as an atoning sacrifice, that all might return to their loyalty.
7 Christ’s suffering and death have placed life in and through him upon an eternal basis of security. He took human nature. He became flesh even as we are. He was oft hungry, thirsty, and weary. He was sustained by food, and refreshed by sleep. He had natural affection; for we see him weeping in sympathy with the sorrows of others, and lamenting over the retribution coming upon Jerusalem because of her impenitence. While in this world, Christ lived a life of complete humanity in order that he might stand as a representative of the human family. He was tempted in all points like as we are, that he might be able to succor them that are tempted. As the Prince of Life in human flesh, he met the prince of darkness, and, passing over the ground where Adam fell, he endured every test that Adam failed to endure. Every temptation that could be brought against fallen humanity, he met and overcame.
8 Had he not been fully human, Christ could not have been our substitute. He could not have worked out in humanity that perfection of character which it is the privilege of all to reach. He was the light and the life of the world. He came to this earth to work in behalf of men, that they might no longer be under the control of Satanic agencies. But while bearing human nature, he was dependent upon the Omnipotent for his life. In his humanity, he laid hold of the divinity of God; and this every member of the human family has the privilege of doing. Christ did nothing that human nature may not do if it partakes of the divine nature.
9 During Christ’s life, the warfare between him and the enemy was constantly going on. Every movement of his life was watched. Satan strove to gain the victory; he sought to ensnare Christ, and lead him into temptation. Satan was once an exalted, holy being, in office in the heavenly courts. But he became disloyal, a transgressor of the law of Jehovah. He aimed to be the highest power in the universe. His sin is unexplainable. If it could be explained, there would be an excuse for sin. It is the mystery of iniquity, without any cause.
10 After receiving baptism at the hand of John, Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Here he was severely tempted by Satan. But he yielded not. He withstood every assault, every deceptive influence, every temptation. Had he yielded in the slightest degree, the human family would have been under the control of the power of Satan.
11 The battle going on in this world was witnessed by the heavenly universe, and by the worlds unfallen. They saw the purposes of hate cherished by the wily foe against the only-begotten Son of God. Satan’s enmity against truth and righteousness was seen. By his treatment of Christ, Satan demonstrated the falsity of his own attributes, and of his deceiving, crooked pretensions as the friend of God. He showed himself to be the enemy of God and of man. The sacrificial offering upon the cross of Calvary sounded the death knell of Satan and of all who choose him as their leader. He fell forever from the sympathy of the heavenly angels.
12 When Christ, dying upon the cross, cried with a loud voice, “It is finished,” Satan and the angels that sympathized with him in heaven, and fell with him, were vanquished. When Christ proclaimed over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, “I am the resurrection and the life,” man was placed on vantage ground. The matter was worked out. The mystery of godliness was victorious. Through Christ, man was severed from the slavery of the hateful apostate. For all who believe in Christ a victory was gained. They would no longer be counted as sinners, sons of rebellion, but as sons of God, through their acceptance of the righteousness of Christ.
13 As Adam lost the gift of life and immortality by his disobedience, so all born of Adam forfeit this gift. That one transgression opened the flood-gates of woe upon our world. Adam had no power in himself to redeem the past, or to win back the gifts bestowed by Christ. But by his incarnation, Christ was made fully competent to place man where he would no longer be an outcast, excluded from the tree of life. Christ himself bore the penalty of sin, that he might bring life and immortality to light.
14 If man will cooperate with God by returning willingly to his loyalty, and obeying the commandments, God will receive him as a son. Through the provision Christ has made by taking the punishment due to man, we may be reinstated in God’s favor, being made partakers of the divine nature. If we repent of our transgression, and receive Christ as the Life-giver, our personal Saviour, we become one with him, and our will is brought into harmony with the divine will. We become partakers of the life of Christ, which is eternal. We derive immortality from God by receiving the life of Christ for in Christ dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. This life is the mystical union and cooperation of the divine with the human.
15 As children of the first Adam, we partake of the dying nature of Adam. But through the imparted life of Christ, man has been given opportunity to win back again the lost gift of life, and to stand in his original position before God, a partaker of the divine nature. “As many as received him,” writes John, “to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” “I am come,” said Christ, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
16 “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” And the life which Christ offers us is more perfect, more full, and more complete than was the life which Adam forfeited by transgression. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 820
1 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son.” Hear, O heavens, and be astonished, O earth! The heaven-appointed Teachers appears, and he is no less a personage than the Son of the Infinite God. Unroll the scroll, and read of him. Moses declared to the children of Israel: “The Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Here is the prediction announcing the distinguished arrival. His words were not to be disregarded; for his authority was supreme, and his power invincible.
2 Unroll the scroll still further, and read what Isaiah says of his work: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion; to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.”
3 Again we read of Christ as the messenger of the covenant yet to come, and as the Sun of Righteousness yet to arise. The prophets made him their earliest and their latest theme.
4 When will the human mind awake to the importance of Christ’s mission to our world? He spoke of his work as above every other consideration. But the Jews, claiming to understand the Scriptures, and to be the only true interpreters of God’s Word, did not in the light of their interpretation see Jesus as the Messiah. At his coming they did not receive him, because they had gathered a false idea as to the manner of his coming. This Jesus, a peasant and a carpenter, of obscure origin, the Son of God, the Messiah? It could not be.
5 But the peculiarity separating the Jews from other nations disappeared in Christ. He placed himself where he could give instruction to all classes of people. Often he told them that he was related to the whole human family, Jew and Gentile. “I am not come to call the [self] righteous, but sinners to repentance,” he declared. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. For this he left the ninety and nine; for this he laid off his royal robes, and veiled his divinity with humanity. The whole world is Christ’s field of labor. A sphere narrower than this does not enter his thoughts.
6 Christ maintained an all-sided, firm self-possession in his remarkable sympathy for others. He did good with a tranquillity and patient continuance never equaled by any human being. The Pharisees and Sadducees were always on his track; and many of them, as they listened to his words, and noted his calmness, even when assailed by passionate, uncourteous men, believed on him. Constantly Christ had to meet the underhand, deceptive opposition of the very men who should gladly have received and acknowledged him. But he was ever calm, while his adversaries, because they could not prevail against him, were in a fever of indignant excitement. Their indignation and malignity showed what spirit they were of.
7 All the contempt and bitterness that Christ met day by day could not rob him of his self-possession. When he was reviled, he reviled not again. He was not roused by passion to revile those who made use of every opportunity to revile him. He never overstepped the bounds of decorum. Who was he?—The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. The storm raised by his opponents beat about him, but he heeded it not. He could afford to be calm; for he was the living embodiment of truth.
8 And those today who bear the message of truth to the world should study the life of Christ, and practise his lessons. Never forget that you are children of the heavenly King, sons and daughters of the Lord of hosts. Maintain a calm repose in God, even when meeting with those who are moved by a power from beneath to uphold falsehood. Be sure that the best weapons they possess are not able to destroy the truth, however they may strive to blacken it by misrepresentation. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
9 Christ spoke no words revealing his importance, or showing his superiority; he did not ignore his fellow-beings. He made no assumption of authority because of his relation to God, but his words and actions showed him to be possessed of a knowledge of his mission and character. He spoke of heavenly things as one to whom everything heavenly was familiar. He spoke of his intimacy and oneness with the Father as a child would speak of its connection with its parents. He spoke as one who had come to enlighten the world with his glory. He never patronized the schools of the rabbis; for he was the Teacher sent by God to instruct mankind. As one in whom all restorative power is found, Christ spoke of drawing all men unto him, and of giving the life everlasting. In him there is power to heal every physical and every spiritual disease.
10 Christ came to our world with a consciousness of more than human greatness, to accomplish a work that was to be infinite in its results. Where do you find him when doing this work?—In the house of Peter the fisherman. Resting by Jacob’s well, telling the Samaritan woman of the living water. He generally taught in the open air, but sometimes in the temple, for he attended the gatherings of the Jewish people. But oftenest he taught when sitting on a mountainside, or in a fisherman’s boat. He entered into the lives of these humble fisherman. His sympathy was enlisted in behalf of the needy, the suffering, the despised; and many were attracted to him.
11 When the plan of redemption was laid, it was decided that Christ should not appear in accordance with his divine character; for he could not then associate with the distressed and the suffering. He must come as a poor man. He could have appeared in accordance with his exalted station in the heavenly courts; but no, he must reach to the very lowest depths of human suffering and poverty, that his voice might be heard by the burdened and disappointed, that to the weary, sin-sick soul he might reveal himself as the Restorer, the desire of all nations, the Rest-giver. And to those who are longing for rest and peace today just as truly as those who listened to his words in Judea, he is saying, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 821
1 “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast; the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew; and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.” At this time Christ’s work bore the appearance of cruel defeat, and to his disciples the case seemed hopeless. But Christ was approaching the consummation of his work. An event which concerned not only the Jewish nation, but the whole world, was about to take place. When Christ heard the eager, hungering cry, “We would see Jesus,” his countenance lighted up, and he said, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” He went out to the court of the temple where the multitude was assembled; for at the time when the disciples came to him, he was in that part of the temple from which all but the Jews were excluded. He met the Greeks and had a personal interview with them.
2 These men, coming from the west at the close of Christ’s life on earth, represent what the wise men from the east represented at the beginning of Christ’s life. At the time of Christ’s birth the Jewish people were not studying the prophecies regarding the momentous events about to take place. So engrossed were they in their own ambitious plans that they knew not the time of the Messiah’s advent. Angels found them unprepared to receive the Saviour, and the communication which should have been given to priests and rulers, was given to humble shepherds. These, guided by a bright star, came to the birthplace of Christ, and worshiped him. The magi, too, came to the manger with gifts, and frankincense, and myrrh.
3 So these Greeks, representing the nations, tribes, and peoples that would awake to their need of a power out of and above finite power, came to see Jesus. They had heard of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and they longed to be instructed as to the hopes of the Jewish nation regarding the Messiah. Some supposed, and had circulated the report, that Christ had driven the priests and rulers from the temple, and that he was to take possession of David’s throne, and reign as king of Israel. “We would see Jesus,” they said.
4
The hour of Christ’s glorification had come. He was standing in the shadow of the cross, and the inquiry of the Greeks showed him that the sacrifice he was about to make would bring all who accepted him into perfect harmony with God. He knew that the Greeks would soon see him in a position they did not then dream of. They would see him placed beside a robber and murderer, who would be chosen before the Son of God. They would hear the people, inspired by the priests and rulers, making their choice. As the bellowing of wild beasts their voices would be heard, saying, “Release unto us Barabbas.” And to the question of Pilate, “What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ?” the answer would be given, “Let him be crucified.”
5 By making this propitiation for man’s sins, Christ knew that his kingdom would be perfected and would extend throughout the world. He would work as the Restorer, and his Spirit would prevail. For a moment he looked into futurity, and heard the voices proclaiming in all parts of the earth, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The anticipation of this, the consummation of his hopes, is expressed in the words, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” But the way in which this glorification must take place was never absent from Christ’s mind. Only by his death could the world be saved. As the grain of wheat, the Son of man must be cast into the ground, and die, and be buried out of sight; but he was to live again.
6 None of the people, not even the disciples, understood the nature of Christ’s kingdom. O, how his patience must have been taxed by the low estimate placed by men upon his mission and character! They seemed unable to believe that he would not sit on David’s throne, that he would not take the scepter, and reign as a temporal prince in Jerusalem.
7 Words true and full of significance when rightly placed are misleading when misapplied. The utterances of the prophet describing the second appearing of Christ were applied by the Jewish teachers to his first advent. The description of Christ’s second coming is true, but this truth, tho beautiful and grand, could not be made to harmonize with his first coming. The word was true, but it was truth placed in the wrong setting.
8 Christ had often tried to tell his disciples the truth concerning his work, but they were unable to take it in. He gave them lessons which they could in nowise comprehend. He longed to open everything before them; but he was obliged to say, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear them now.” He was laboring to keep back the revelation he desired to make. He knew that if he told them what he desired to, his words would not be appreciated or understood. The impressions made upon their minds by the maxims and traditions with which they had been familiar from their youth, were difficult to efface.
9 But after Christ’s crucifixion, Jew and Greek, barbarian and Scythian, bond and free, would be able to understand his work, and to comprehend the words which upon this occasion he addressed to his disciples, “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” he said, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Christ saw that the fallow ground of the heart must be broken up, the soil thoroughly worked, the good seed sown and carefully harrowed in. It was not pleasant for the disciples to submit to this. Many opposite influences had been at work confusing and beclouding their minds. But with what wisdom Christ presents his future, illustrating it by the things of nature, that the disciples might understand that the purpose of his mission was to be fulfilled by his death. “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” he said. When Christ said, “Verily, verily,” the disciples always understood that something of importance was to follow, and now, as they listened to his words, they saw divinity revealed in humanity. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” When the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it springs up, and bears fruit. So the death of Christ would result in fruit for the kingdom of God. Life was to be the result of his death, in exact accordance with the law of the vegetable kingdom.
10
Every harvest this lesson is repeated. Those who till the soil have the illustration of the Saviour’s words ever before them. Year by year man preserves his grain by apparently throwing away his choicest sample. For a time this must be hidden under the furrow, to be watched over by the Lord. Then appears the blade, then the ear, and then the corn in the ear. But this development can not take place unless the grain is buried out of sight, hidden and, to all appearances, lost.
11 The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in their turn the seeds of this fruit are planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary will bear fruit unto eternal life. The contemplation of this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, will live through the eternal ages.
12 With this lesson Christ connects the self-sacrifice that all should practise. “He that loveth his life shall lose it,” he declares; “and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be; if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.”
13 This is the only honor we should seek. And we should seek it with a determination and an earnestness proportionate to the value of the treasure we have in view,—eternal life in the kingdom of God. Christ claims the complete consecration of man to himself. This is the condition upon which man is exalted. As he submits his mind, his body, his soul, to God, so he will be honored. Self-renunciation is the great law of self-preservation, and self-preservation is the law of self-destruction.
14 He who lives for self, and devotes his life to self-serving, will lose his life. He may gather much, but he imparts little. All such are as the grain that is eaten. Those who think and plan for self only, who desire everything to minister to their ideas and advance their interests, pursue a course of selfish idolatry. God says of them, “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.” Those who love this temporal life so well that they will scheme for themselves, and work upon worldly plans, will find at last that they are bankrupt; for they are without the eternal riches. But those who hate this life, who choose death rather than a life without Christ, win heaven. Those who devote their lives to God’s service, who honor him, and commit the keeping of their souls to him as unto a faithful Creator, will bring forth fruit unto eternal life. The Lord will keep that which is committed to his trust against that day. He will honor the man who serves him with the whole heart.
Mrs. E. G. White.
(To be continued.)
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Page 822
1 “Now is my soul troubled,” said Christ,—stirred to its very depths; “and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.” This is the cry of the humanity of Christ, as he contemplated the future. He was about to enter upon the hour of his humiliation. To his human nature, the death on the cross could not but be clothed with horror. But glory was to come from humiliation. Life and immortality were to be brought to light by his death.
2 The severity of the coming conflict and trial was veiled from the disciples. Christ saw the view they took of his work, and he knew that telling them now of his suffering and death, would not give them satisfactory light. It would not correct their belief in regard to his mission. He could not open before them all that must come upon him.
3 While in the presence of his disciples Christ seemed to them as one who saw things afar off, things which were unseen by them. He did not keep before them the scenes of his humiliation; these he must bear alone. But a faint glimpse of his soul anguish is given in the words, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.” These words were spoken in anticipation of the future. In anticipation he was already drinking the cup of bitterness. His humanity shrank from this hour of abandonment, when to all appearances he would be deserted even by God, when all would see him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He shrank from public exposure, from being treated as the worst of criminals, from a shameful and dishonored death.
4 Then came divine submission to his Father’s will. “For this cause,” he added, “came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.” Before the world was created, the plan was laid that the Majesty of heaven should come to the earth as the sin-bearer. As Christ said these words, a cloud seemed to enwrap him; once more divinity shone through humanity. There came a voice from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Christ’s life, from the manger to the time when he spoke these words, had glorified God, and his future divine-human sufferings would indeed glorify his Father’s name.
5
Some present, beholding the revelation of God, said that it thundered. Others, the Greek inquirers and the disciples, catching the words of the voice, said, “An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.” This is the crisis of the world. If I become the propitiation for the sins of men, the world will be lighted up. The defaced image of God will be reproduced and restored, and a family of believing saints will finally inhabit the heavenly home. This is the result of the crucifixion of Christ. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”
6 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” A short time only remained till the wall of partition reared by the Jews to keep others from the privileges which they enjoyed, would be broken down. Christ saw, as the result of his death, the ingathering of nations, tribes, and peoples. Lost in the contemplation of the scenes of triumph called up before him, he did not immediately speak. He saw the cross, the cruel, ignominious cross, with all its attending horrors, blazing with glory. But before the harvest can be reaped, the grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die. Even so must Christ be crucified. Only by his death could the work of redemption be accomplished.
7 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” The question is asked, Why then are all not drawn to Christ?—It is because they will not come; because they do not choose to die to self; because they wish, as did Judas, to retain their own individuality, their own natural and cultivated traits of character. Altho they are given every opportunity, every privilege, yet they will not give up those tendencies which, if not cut away from the character, will separate them from Christ. If, continuing to cherish these traits of character, they were admitted to heaven, they would cause a second rebellion.
8 Many people were round about Christ as he spoke these words, and one said, “We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever; and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.” The Jews wished to provoke a controversy with him there and then, that they might have something with which to accuse him. Already a conspiracy for the purpose of putting him to death had been formed.
9 Notice the power of unbelief. “Tho he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.” Christ had worked many miracles before the Jews. As an evidence of his divine mission, he had raised Lazarus from the dead. But the men who witnessed this miracle had set their hearts against Christ, and nothing could lighten the darkness that encompassed them. “Tho he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him; that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”
10 “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagog; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
11
Today Jesus reads the hearts of all; he knows the sentiments of every soul. And to us, at the very close of this world’s history, he is saying: “He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me. . . . I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”
12 Christ’s teaching made the disciples realize their own imperfections. And those who now behold Jesus, and fully submit to the sanctifying process that cuts away natural tendencies and habits, will be made patient, kind, forbearing, and full of compassion. This is a hope big with immortality, and full of glory.
13 God has graciously given men a probation, that they may through Christ obtain that power which will constitute them his sons. But full and entire consecration to God is required of us. While our Redeemer was laboring and suffering for us, he denied himself, and his whole life was one continued scene of toil and privation. Had he chosen, he could have passed his days on earth in ease and plenty, and appropriated to himself all the pleasures and joys of this life. But he did not. He lived not to glorify himself, but to do good, to save others from suffering, and help those who most needed help. He endured to the end. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and he bore the iniquity of us all. The bitter cup was apportioned to us. But the dear Saviour took the cup from our lips and drank it himself, and in its stead he presents to us a cup of mercy, blessing, and salvation. O, what an immense sacrifice was this! What love, what boundless love!
14 After this manifestation of love, shall we shrink from the small trials we have to bear? Can we love Christ, and refuse to lift the cross? Can we love to be with him in glory, and not follow him from the judgment-hall to Calvary? If Christ be in us, the hope of glory, we shall walk even as he walked. We shall imitate his life of self-sacrifice; we shall drink of the cup from which he drank, and be baptized with the baptism wherewith he was baptized; for Christ’s sake we shall welcome a life of devotion, trial, and self-denial. Thus beholding him, we shall be changed from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 823
1 Christ was sent to represent God in humanity. When he came to our world, his divinity was clothed with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity, and divinity lay hold of the throne of divinity. Thus moral power was brought to man. When God’s Word is understood by us, we shall better understand the work and mission of Christ, and shall be able to trace out his working in behalf of humanity. For our sakes Christ became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He descended in humiliation from depth to depth in our behalf until he reached the cross. He could go no farther in self-denial and self-sacrifice. It was impossible for divine condescension to reach a lower depth. This wonderful sacrifice moved all heaven, and can we look upon it without our hearts breaking at the sight?
2 Christ came to communicate the life of God to humanity. He declared, “I live by the Father,” my life and his being one. “For as the Father hath life in himself.” “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”
3 These words offended many of the disciples. Because of the earthliness of their minds, his words were insufferable to them, and they misinterpreted their meaning. “This,” they said, “is an hard saying; who can hear it?” Who can consent to any such talk? But Christ does not soften down his symbolical representation. All who desired could trace out the truths concerning his person and office. “Doth this offend you?” he asks. “What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” In giving his flesh and his blood for the life of the world, Christ gives eternal life to all who will receive it in faith. No human being can be nourished by the food which another eats. Each must eat for himself. And so it is that in eating the words of Christ, each must receive for himself. Thus we eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God. In obedience to his Word, we become partakers of the divine nature in the same way as our bodies are built up from the food we eat. Those who eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God become one in spiritual life with Christ.
4 Christ will receive all who come unto him by faith. Yet thousands are perishing in their sins, heedless and reckless in their disobedience of God’s law. And many in their blindness become offended, because they are meeting a false standard. It is the loving and obedient heart that will come unto Christ; and his promise is, “Him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out.”
5 Altho the sacramental service is not mentioned here, yet it is embodied in the figures presented. As the believer celebrates the ordinance in spirit and in truth that keeps before the mind the crucifixion of the Lord, he is eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God. Through faith these representations of Christ can be clearly understood. The Holy Spirit will prepare the mind and quicken the perceptive faculties to grasp the grand truths conveyed in them.
6 “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” These men had joined themselves to Christ as learners. But their carnal mind interpreted literally the figure Christ presented. They were gross in their understanding. This we shall see in every age of the world. As long as time shall last, the wheat will be found among the tares, and the tares among the wheat. But “by their fruit,” Christ declares, “ye shall know them.”
7 The lesson that we are to learn is that whenever the counsel that God chooses to send is neglected, it will certainly place man in a position of distrust and suspicion. If he does not thoroughly reform the defects in his character, if he does not die to self, he will separate farther and farther from righteousness and truth.
8 We need not be surprised if we pass through a similar experience. Men who do not make Christ their all and in all, but have a superficial faith, will not understand the words of Christ. Many unite themselves with Christ expecting to secure some temporal advantage, but the Gospel requirements offend them. Not having united with Christ to do the will of God, they have no spiritual life. Had they received his word, they would have had understanding. Said Christ: “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory; but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.”
9 But not all of those who had heard and believed in Christ were to turn away from him. To his disciples Jesus said, “Will ye also go away?” Simon Peter answered: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon; for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”
10 The desire of the disciples was to be with Christ. “To whom,” said they, “shall we go?” Shall we go back to seek counsel of the formalist? We can not understand why so many go away. The thought arose in their minds that Christ had made a mistake in speaking words that would offend. These disaffected disciples, they thought, might have been held if Christ had not spoken so decidedly in regard to partaking of his flesh and blood. “But,” said they, “shall we leave the great Teacher? The scribes and Pharisees have dealt most unfairly with Christ. Shall we teach the tradition of the elders? Shall we take sides with them in lifeless formalism, in teaching for doctrine the commandments of men?”
11 Christ yearned over his disciples. He longed to have them come into sacred relationship with himself, and understand him. To believe in Christ is something more than a mere sentiment. It is a living faith in a personal Saviour, who can and will ransom from sin. The Saviour foresaw that in the hour of temptation every one of his beloved disciples would be severely tested, and he told them that his words would be understood after his crucifixion, his resurrection, and his ascension. “The Holy Ghost,” he said, will “bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” And he comforted them with these words: “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
12 This assurance of our Saviour should be sufficient to teach us the importance of living the life of Christ in this world, that we may lay hold of the future immortal life. We should put every faculty of mind and heart to diligent effort proportionate to the value of the reward presented, even everlasting life. Our service for God is to decide our eternal destiny.
13 “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? And is it not wholly appropriate that the same question should come to us, when so great love has been expressed for us in the gift of Christ as our ransom,—How shall we not freely give him all things? When such love has been expressed in our behalf, shall our love and gratitude be only as a ripple on the surface?
14 Of every Christian the Lord requires growth in efficiency and in capability in every sense. He has freely given even his own blood and suffering to secure our obedience. Do we strive to keep a vital connection with God, so that we shall realize our obligation? Do we feel that all we have is a loan from Jesus? It is not our own. We are stewards of his grace, placed in charged of his goods. Our talents must be used, not for self-serving, but in devoted, whole-hearted service for God. And it is only those who receive his Word, his life, who can do him service from pure and loving hearts.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 824
1 “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
2 There is a condition to the rest and peace here offered us by Christ. It is that of yoking up with him. All who will accept the condition will find that the yoke of Christ will help them to bear every burden needful for them to carry. Without Christ at our side to bear the heaviest part of the load, we must indeed say that it is heavy. But yoked with him to the car of duty, the burdens of life may all be lightly carried. And just as a man acts in willing obedience to the requirements of God, will come his peace of mind. He will give evidence of clear judgment and a steadfastness of character in cooperating with God to redeem himself through faith in Christ.
3
Meekness and humility will characterize all who are obedient to the law of God, all who will wear the yoke of Christ with submission. And these graces will bring the desirable result of peace in the service of Christ. In learning Christ’s meekness and lowliness, we shall submit the entire being to his control. Then the transforming grace of Christ will work upon heart and character, making human beings, fallen in sin, complete in him.
4 Christ would teach this lesson to all who will follow him. As our Substitute and Surety, standing at the head of humanity, he is our example. He was obedient to all the requirements of God. He, the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, laid aside his royalty, his position as Commander in the heavenly courts, came to our world as a man, and became subject to the law. And all this that man might become like his Master, obedient, not to the enemy of God, but obedient to his Father in heaven, that he might engage in the service that God requires of each of his obedient children.
5 This constitutes the condition of salvation. And God enjoins this condition upon every human being just as verily as he enjoined it upon Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Our first parents fell because, when tempted by Satan, they disobeyed God. With few exceptions the human family has since been in service to Satan, doing his work, wearing his yoke, and bearing his burdens. But they have found his yoke uncomfortable and galling, his burdens heavy and grievous to be borne.
6 But Christ pledged his own life in order that the transgressor might be spared, that man might have another trial. He would himself stand in man’s place; he would clothe himself in the garb of humanity, and live the life of man from the very beginning. He would pass through the stages of infancy, childhood, youth, and manhood, that he might show man how to live, how to employ his hours of probation.
7
Christ acknowledged himself subject to the law. If this were not so, he could not be our Saviour. And God designs that man shall live up to every specification of the law, that he may reveal a character after the pattern given him by Christ. He desires that while in the world, his followers shall not be of the world. Their experience may find expression in the words, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
8 In his Son, God has placed before man the life he is to live. It is not for him to be constantly branching out in lines of his own choosing, and placing his will in opposition to the will of God. Yet many are expending their powers in hopeless pursuit of things they can never attain. How different are the lives of such when compared with that of their Example, the Son of God, who for their sake pledged himself to a life of self-denial, of poverty, and of suffering, unappreciated, unacknowledged, despised, and rejected! He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. . . . He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” Christ was often weary and hungry and filled with sorrow in the consciousness of unrequited love. The nation whom he came to save and bless did not realize his mission. They had departed from God, and were constantly misunderstanding and misinterpreting him. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
9
In view of the abundant evidence God has given of his love, his sympathy, and his benevolence, he requires our willing obedience. His love will prove a safeguard to every soul. It will bar the path to sin and selfish indulgence. In looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, in studying his life of self-denial and self-sacrifice, we are armed with the same mind to do the same service. “Whosoever will come after me,” says Christ, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” To the true follower of Christ there is a pleasure in doing the things that Christ has done in his behalf. He does not regard the Lord’s requirement as an arbitrary exaction, but a clear specification of his only safety from the advances of the wily foe, who is ever seeking to entangle his feet and make his path difficult.
10 God knows that if we were left to follow our own inclinations, to go just where our will would lead us, we should fall into Satan’s ranks and become possessors of his attributes. Therefore the law of God confines us to his will, which is high and noble and elevating. He desires that we shall patiently and wisely take up the duties of service. It is for our present and eternal good to work the works of God. If his will is cheerfully and gratefully accepted, the results will be seen in the service rendered and in the character developed.
11
A sullen submission to the will of the Father will develop the character of a rebel. By such a one service is looked upon as drudgery. It is not rendered cheerfully, and in the love of God. It is a mere mechanical performance. If he dared, such a one would disobey. His rebellion is smothered, ready to break out at any time in bitter murmurings and complaints. Such service brings no peace or quietude to the soul.
12 Christ assumed humanity, with all its humiliation and service, that he might set men free from the bondage of Satan. He knew that the service of Satan can bring only wretchedness and misery in its train. The sinner is a stranger to repose. He says, “I want my freedom.” He hopes to get rid of all restraint by casting aside the law of God. But it is this desire that has made the world what it is today, corrupt as in the days of Noah, and polluted as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
13 Law and service are a part of every true life. Idleness is sin. Money is supposed to carry its possessor above service. Because a man has money, he is allowed to spend his time in idleness. But Satan engages all such in the meanest kind of work. It is the Lord who has a right to our service. The more an individual lives to himself, and the less for the good of others, the less noble and pure will be his life. His moral power degenerates while he is living for himself. Compare the idle life with that of one who looks his responsibilities in the face, and takes up his life service for God and for his fellow-men.
14
All who have a sense of their duty to their fellow-men will accept the invitation to work in co-partnership with Jesus Christ, by a life of obedience and service. In this way alone can they give the divine credentials to the world. These will entertain a high conception of life. It is not to them a round of worldly pleasure and amusement. This can never satisfy the hungry soul. The truth is noble, elevating, and sacred, and the wisdom and knowledge given us in it are as a tree of life to all who will accept them.
15 In the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah God has placed before us the work he would have us do for him and for our fellow-men. He says: “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
16 Then why not try this kind of service? The Lord calls his yoke easy, and his burden light. Yet the yoke will not give us a life of ease and freedom and selfish indulgence. The life of Christ was one of self-sacrifice and self-denial at every step; and with consistent, Christlike tenderness and love, his true follower will walk in the footsteps of the Master; and as he advances in this life, he will become more and more inspired with the Spirit and life of Christ.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 825
1 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
2 The law of God is binding upon men of every age and in every country. All mankind are under obligation to obey every injunction set forth in its ten precepts. The fourth commandment is a part of that law. God has made that command specially significant, by placing it in the very bosom of the Decalog.
3 God’s holy law was not instituted at Sinai, altho it was there first proclaimed. The thunder and lightnings that enveloped Sinai presented a scene of awe and terror which no voice or pen can describe. The splendor and majesty of God’s glory there revealed caused the people whom he had rescued from the bondage of Egypt to tremble with fear. And as they heard the voice of God amid the smoke and the fire, the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of a trumpet, they moved afar off from the mount, and said unto Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
4 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.” “Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.”
5 During the absence of Moses in the mount, whither he had gone to receive the tables of the law, the children of Israel lapsed into idolatry. When Moses returned and saw that they had broken their covenant with God, shame and confusion on their account took possession of him, and he there threw down the tables and broke them. As they had broken their covenant with God, Moses, in breaking the tables, signified to them that so also God had broken his covenant with them.
6 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first; and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.” In writing the law upon tables of stone it was God’s design to teach men the lasting character of his law, and the perpetual obligation of all mankind to obey that law which is the transcript of his character.
7 At the very beginning of the fourth precept God said, “Remember,” knowing that man, in the multitude of his cares and perplexities, would be tempted to excuse himself from meeting the full requirements of the law, or in the press of worldly business would forget its sacred importance. It is not the first day, or any common day, but the seventh that God has blessed and set apart for a sacred use. As he surveyed his work of creation, he saw that it was very good, and he rested on that day. And he designed that man should keep it holy because he himself on that day had rested. The teachers of our day, however high their claims to sanctity, who would pronounce the law of God Jewish, are wresting the Scriptures, misleading the people, and making God’s law of none effect. The Sabbath was given to Adam and Eve in Eden for all their posterity. The Jews were not more closely related to Adam than were any of the other nations on the earth. Instead of losing its force now, the law is to be more fully understood. When the typical sacrifices ceased at the death of Christ, the original, as engraved on the tables of stone, stood immutable, holding its claims upon men in all ages. And in the Christian age the duty of man is not limited, but more especially defined and simply expressed.
8 God rested on the seventh day, not merely to furnish an example to the Jews. The Sabbath commandment is obligatory upon all men to the end of time. And not only this, its observance is to be carried into the future world, to be perpetuated throughout eternity.
9 God has given man six days in which to do his work, and carry on the usual business of life; but he claims one day, which he has blessed and sanctified. And he gives this to man as a day in which he can rest from labor and devote himself to the worship of his Maker. It is the grossest presumption for mortal man to venture upon a compromise with the Almighty in order to secure his own petty temporal interests. “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,” was thundered from Sinai. No partial obedience, no divided interest, is accepted by him who declares that the iniquities of the fathers shall be visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate him and that he will show mercy unto thousands of generations of them that love him, and keep his commandments.
10 Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy, and in all his specific directions regarding the ceremonial observances, these were distinguished from the Decalog. They were to pass away. Type was to meet antitype in the one great offering of Christ for the sins of the world.
11 Christ and his disciples kept the Sabbath. When accused of breaking the Sabbath by rubbing the ears of wheat in his hands and eating with his disciples to satisfy his hunger, he denied the charge made against him. He assured his accusers that they had condemned the guiltless; for he had done only those things that were perfectly in harmony with the Sabbath commandment. If the priests and rulers could have substantiated their accusation, they would have had no need to suborn men to bear false witness against God at his trial.
12 The death of Christ upon the cross shows the immutability of the law of God. His death magnified the law and made it honorable. From his own divine lips are heard the words: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
Mrs. E. G. White
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Page 826
1 “And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile; for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” The disciples had just returned from their first missionary tour. They came to Jesus and told him all things. Their intimate relationship with him encouraged them to lay before him all their favorable and unfavorable experiences, their joy at seeing results from their labors, and their sorrow at their failures, their faults, and their weaknesses. They had committed errors in their first work as evangelists, and as they frankly told Christ of their experiences, he saw that they needed much instruction. He saw too that they had become weary in their labors, and that they needed to rest.
2 But where they then were they could not obtain the needed privacy; “for there were many coming and going, and they had not leisure so much as to eat.” The people were thronging after Christ, anxious to be healed, and eager to listen to his words. Many felt drawn to him; for he seemed to them to be the fountain of all blessings. Mercy and truth and the very essence of love were expressed in his words. He was indeed the very fountain of all good, able to meet all the necessities of a fallen world and of a tried church. No one appealed to him in vain. All that poor, suffering, helpless sinners need is found in him. He is not only mighty, that does not fully express it, but almighty to save, ready to take the sinner’s load of guilt, and impute to him his righteousness.
3 The physical restoration of every soul that came to Christ to be healed is an assurance that he is fully able to take away sin, and to heal the diseased soul. He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Many of those who then thronged about Christ to receive the precious boon of health, accepted him as their Saviour. Many others, afraid then to confess him, because of the Pharisees, were converted at the descent of the Holy Spirit, and before the angry priests and rulers acknowledged him as the Son of God.
4 But now Christ longed for retirement, that he might be with his disciples; for he had much to say to them. In their work they had passed through the test and trial of conflict, and had encountered opposition of all kinds. John the Baptist had just been beheaded, and his disciples, full of grief at his death, had taken up his body, and laid it in a tomb, and had then come and told Christ.
5 Hitherto the disciples had consulted Christ in everything, but for some time they had been alone, and at times they had been much troubled to know what to do. They had found much encouragement in their work; for Christ did not send them away without his Spirit, and by faith in him they worked many miracles: but they needed now to feed on the Bread of Life. They needed to go to a place of retirement, where they could hold communion with Jesus, and receive instruction for future work.
6
“And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile.” Christ is full of tenderness and compassion for all in his service. He would show his disciples that God does not require sacrifice but mercy. They have been putting their whole souls into labor for the people, and this was exhausting their physical and mental strength. It was their duty to rest. Christ called them to rest that they might spend a few hours with him. How thoughtful and tender was his love and care for them!
7 “And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.” With his disciples Jesus crossed the water, and chose a retired place away from the cities, away from the thoroughfares of travel, at a little distance from the lake, where they would be in seclusion, and away from the bustle and agitation of the city. The scenes of nature were in themselves a rest, a change grateful to the senses. Here they could listen to the words of Christ without hearing the angry interruptions, the retorts and accusations of the scribes and Pharisees. Here they could enjoy a short season of rest and precious fellowship in the society of their Lord.
8 The rest which Christ and his disciples took was not self-indulgent rest. The time that they spent in retirement was not devoted to pleasure or frivolous amusement. They talked together regarding the work of God, and the possibility of bringing greater efficiency into the work. The disciples had been with Christ, and could understand him; to them he need not talk in parables. He corrected their errors, and made plain to them the right way of approaching unbelievers. He opened more fully to them the precious treasures of divine truth. Important truths from the inexhaustible storehouse were presented to them. They were vitalized by divine power, and inspired with hope and courage.
9 Christ’s words of compassion are spoken to his workers today just as surely as they were spoken to his disciples. “Come ye yourselves apart, . . . and rest awhile,” he says to those that are weary. He does not urge us to work to the utmost of our strength. We are to remember that there is important work to be done on the morrow, and for that reason we are to take care of our physical powers. There is much work to be done, day after day; but we must not strive to load ourselves with more burdens than we can carry.
10 Altho we are required to be self-denying, to make self-sacrificing efforts, yet God has fixed a limit. His workers are to show no presumption. God does not require his servants to ruin their health by continual taxation. This is not the fast that will glorify God. The mind can not act healthfully if the worker weakens his physical machinery by overexertion. God would have all study the laws of health, and then use reason when working for him, that the life which has been given may be preserved.
11 The religion of Jesus Christ requires every human being to obey the laws of the physical organism. We may be fitted for the labors of tomorrow by the judicious exercise and care of our powers today. The servants of Jesus Christ are not to treat their health indifferently. The Lord remembers that we are but dust, and he does not expect more of us than we can do.
12 Let no one labor to the point of exhaustion, thereby disqualifying himself for other duties. Do not try to crowd two days’ work into one. All should use their strength wisely, and at the end those who work carefully and wisely will be found to have accomplished as much as those who so expend their physical and mental strength that they have no deposit from which to draw in a time of need.
13 God’s work is world-wide; it calls for every jot and tittle of the ability and power that we have; but there is danger that God’s workers will abuse their powers as they see that the field is ripe for the harvest. But God does not require this. After they have done their best, they may say, “The harvest truly is great, and the laborers are few; but God knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”
14 Christ’s workers should take time to rest. I speak not this to those that are constitutionally tired, those who think they are carrying heavier burdens than any one else. Those who do not labor have no need of rest. Those who can not show that they have been using their spiritual and physical powers for God, working earnestly and thoroughly for him, with mind, and soul, and strength, are not in need of the sympathy that Christ gave to his disciples. It was to those who were worn down in his service, not those who were always sparing themselves, who did not earnest, self-sacrificing work, that Christ addressed his tender, compassionate words. And today it is to the self-forgetful, those who work to the very extent of their ability, who are distressed because they can not do all they would do, and who in their zeal go beyond their strength, that Christ addresses the words, “Come ye yourselves apart, . . . and rest awhile.”
15 The disciples sought Jesus, and told him “all things,” and he comforted and encouraged them. If today we would take time to go to Jesus with our troubles, we should be stronger. We should not be disappointed; for he would be at our right hand, and we should not be moved. We need more simplicity, more trust and confidence in our Saviour. “Ask, and it shall be given you,” he has promised. “Come unto me,” he says, “all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 827
1 Christ had retired to a secluded place with his disciples, but this rare season of peaceful quietude was soon broken. The disciples thought they had withdrawn where they would not be discovered; but as soon as the multitude missed the divine Teacher, they inquired, “Where is he?” Some among them had noticed the direction in which Christ and his disciples had gone, and soon an immense crowd was looking for Christ. Fresh additions were made to this number, until the congregation was composed of no less than five thousand men, besides women and children.
2 From the hillside Jesus looked upon the moving multitude, and his great heart of love and compassion was stirred with sympathy. Interrupted as he was, and robbed of his rest, he was not impatient. He saw a greater necessity demanding his attention as he watched the people coming, and still coming. He was “moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd.” Leaving his mountain retreat, he found a convenient place where he could minister to their spiritual destitution. They received no help from the priests and rulers; but the healing waters of life flowed from Christ as he taught the multitude the way of salvation.
3 The people listened to the words of mercy flowing so freely from the lips of the Son of God. They heard the gracious words, so simple and so plain that they were as the balm of Gilead to their souls. The healing of his divine hand brought gladness and life to the dying, and ease and health to those suffering with disease. The day seemed to them like heaven upon earth, and they were utterly unconscious of how long it was since they had eaten anything.
4 “And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed; send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat.” Surprised and astonished, they say unto him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.”
5 He who taught the people the way to secure peace and happiness was just as thoughtful of their temporal necessities as of their spiritual need. The miracle of the loaves shows us that God’s dealings with his people are full of goodness and truth. The people were weary and faint. Many had been standing for hours. They had been so intensely interested in Christ’s words that they had never once thought of sitting down, and the crowd was so great that there was danger of their trampling upon each other. Jesus would give them a chance to rest, and he bade them sit down. They could sit down and rest in comfort; for there was much grass in the place. Christ arranged to give them all the rest they needed. O, how few understand the sympathy and love of Jesus!
6
Christ never worked a miracle except to supply a genuine necessity, and every miracle was of a character to lead the people to the tree of life, whose fruit is for the healing of the nations. The simple food passed around by the hands of the disciples contained a whole treasure of lessons. Christ could have spread before the people a rich repast if he had thought that this diet would convey the instruction essential for their souls. But food prepared for the gratification of perverted appetite would have conveyed no lesson for their good. Christ taught them in this lesson that the natural provisions of God for man had been perverted. And never did a people enjoy the luxurious feasts prepared for the gratification of perverted taste as this people enjoyed the rest and the simple food Christ provided so far from human habitations.
7 If men today were simple in their habits, living in harmony with nature’s laws, as did Adam and Eve in the beginning, there would be an abundant supply for the needs of the human family. There would be fewer imaginary wants, and more opportunities to work in God’s ways. But selfishness and the indulgence of unnatural taste have brought sin and misery into the world, from excess on the one hand, and from want on the other. A condition of things has been created which reveals that Satan has been leading others to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which the Lord prohibited Adam and Eve from eating.
8 The book of nature should be studied by all. The soil is cultivated, and the seed is put into the ground. Then God, through his miracle-working power, sends the rain and sunshine, causing the seed to send forth, first the blade, then the ear, and then the corn in the ear. Thus the materials are provided from which man, using his God-given faculties, prepares the loaf which is placed upon the table. In this way God feeds thousands, and ten times ten thousand, a multitude which can not be numbered.
9 But men are accustomed to this process, and they drop God out of their thoughts, thinking that they themselves are doing the work. They do not give God the glory due to his name. But it takes just as much power to prepare the harvest which men garner as to make a few barley loaves serve for so many thousands. God gives us all that is needed to sustain life, and in so doing, he is daily working miracles. Were it not for these miracles, which are so graciously repeated in our behalf, we would be weary, hungry, starving, and dying. But God, full of mercy and compassion, constantly cares for us; and because there is no cessation of his goodness, because we are surrounded by his miracles, we cease to appreciate his continually increasing mercies. Fixing our eyes upon human instrumentalities, we give the glory to men, and ascribe the miracles of God to natural causes. Men allow the enemy of God to lead them to glorify men in the place of praising their Creator. Many convert the rich provisions of nature into unnatural stimulants, and thus pervert the good things of God. They becloud the intellect, and wear out the delicate organs of the system by the indulgence of the appetite. They banish God from their thoughts, and act as did the inhabitants of the Noatic world, polluting the earth by their sins. Thus man dishonors his God.
10
After the miracle of feeding, there was an abundance of food left. But He who had all the sources of infinite power at his command, said, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” This lesson was twofold. Nothing is to be wasted. We are to let slip no temporal advantage. We should neglect nothing that will tend to benefit a human being. Let everything be gathered up that will relieve the necessity of earth’s hungry ones.
11 Those who were at that feast so richly provided were to go forth and give to the needy the bread that Christ had provided to appease physical hunger, and they were to give them also the bread that cometh down from heaven, to satisfy the hunger of the soul. They were to repeat what they had learned of the wonderful things of God. Nothing was to be lost. Not one word that concerned their eternal salvation was to fall useless to the ground.
12 “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost,” meant more than putting the bread into the baskets. These words contain a precious spiritual lesson. We are to sink the shaft deep into the mines of truth, gathering out the precious ore, which is of more value than gold or silver or the costly dwellings of earth, with their expensive furniture.
13 This miracle was evidence that Jesus is the world’s Redeemer, that he possesses omnipotent power; and it is also a most precious lesson of his beneficence. Christ designed that it should teach his disciples the compassion and interest they should feel for their fellow-men who were seeking to know the way of salvation. Interested efforts should be made, that those who are anxious to hear the Word of life may have the opportunity. When weary and hungry they should not be neglected. All that is possible should be done by their brethren, that none may be sent away faint, weary, and discouraged. It is a Christian duty to study the best ways of helping the people. No one is to make the way to Christ wearisome and objectionable. Remove everything that would obstruct the path.
14 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen?” the Lord asks, “to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. . . . If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 828
1 The miracle of the loaves is a lesson for Christ’s followers in all time. While bearing our human nature, Christ was constantly giving, by precept and example, lessons of dependence upon God. When he fed the five thousand, the food was not nigh at hand. Apparently he had no means at his command. Here he was, with five thousand men, besides women and children, in the wilderness. He did not invite this large multitude to follow him; they came without invitation or command; but he knew that after they had listened so long to his instruction, they would feel hungry and faint; for he was one with them in their need of food. The providence of God had placed him, the Son of God, where he was; and he depended on his heavenly Father for the means to relieve his necessity.
2 And when we are brought into strait places, we are to depend on God. We are to exercise wisdom and judgment in every action of life, that we may not, by careless, reckless movements, place ourselves in trial. We are not to plunge into difficulties, neglecting the means God has provided, and misusing the faculties he has given us. If we do this, the Lord will leave us to our own mistakes. But when, after following the best knowledge that we have, we are brought into strait places, and compassed with difficulties, God will deliver us. We are not to give up in discouragement, but in every emergency we are to seek wisdom from Him who has infinite resources at his command. Often we shall be surrounded with trying circumstances, and then, in the fullest confidence, we must depend wholly upon God, and neither fail nor be discouraged. He will keep every soul that is brought into perplexity through trying to keep the way of the Lord.
3
The path of duty, tho it may not always be pleasant to the natural feelings, is the only path of safety. When the Lord tests us with trials, he does not leave us to the will of the enemy. He has appointed a way of escape for us; but our faith in his pledged word must be exercised. Having the assurance of the partnership of Christ, we can overcome many difficulties. Constantly relying upon him for strength, looking to him for counsel, not trusting in self, but in God, we shall work the works of Christ.
4 The work of building up the kingdom of Christ will go forward, tho to all appearances it moves slowly, and means are so limited that impossibilities seem to testify against advance. The work is of God, and he will not only furnish us with means, but will send us helpers, true, earnest disciples, whose hands also will be filled with food for the starving multitude. God is not unmindful of those who labor in love to give the Word of life to perishing souls, who in their turn reach forth their hands for food for other hungry souls.
5 The disciples were bidden to feed the hungry multitude before eating themselves. After the wants of all had been supplied, the command was given, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” Twelve baskets full were gathered up; and then Christ and his disciples ate of the precious, heaven-supplied food.
6 In our work for God there is danger of relying too largely upon what man with his talents and ability can do. Thus we lose sight of the one Master-worker. Too often the worker for Jesus fails to realize his personal responsibility. He is in danger of shifting his burdens upon organizations, instead of looking to and relying upon Him who is the source of all strength. But it is a great mistake to trust in human wisdom or numbers in the work of God. Success is not dependent upon talent or numbers.
7
In the place of shifting your responsibility upon some one whom you think more richly endowed than you are, work according to your ability, even tho you have but one talent. All our works must be wrought in God. Each one is to do his own work in the Lord’s vineyard. We must not look for some one else to do the work that lies directly in our pathway. Personal responsibilities must be borne; personal duties must be taken up; personal efforts must be made for those who do not know Christ. And for those who do this work in faith the Holy Spirit will work as it worked for the disciples on the day of Pentecost.
8 Christ’s life of constant usefulness and unselfishness is an example to us. We must forget ourselves if we would scatter blessings to those around us. As the follower of Christ bends over the sacred record of his Master’s life and miracles, if he seeks the aid of the Spirit of God, he will not ask in vain for wisdom. He will discern beneath the surface jewels of truth which will captivate him; for in the life of Christ there is a richness and beauty which is not seen by the casual reader.
9
By feeding the five thousand, Christ showed how every true believer is to be a laborer together with God. Christ’s workers are to obey his instructions implicitly. They are not to plan according to their own ideas. The work is God’s and his plans must be followed if we would bless others. Self-denial and self-sacrifice should be practised daily. Self can not be made a center; it can receive no honor. Every receiver should look directly to God, and should acknowledge the conversion of souls to be accomplished, not by his own efforts, but by the power of God. No sensitiveness is to be shown lest self shall not be duly acknowledged. The hours are precious; they are not to be spent in self-pleasing, but in serving God.
10 In this act of supplying the temporal necessities of a hungry multitude is wrapped up a deep spiritual lesson for all Christ’s workers. Christ received from the Father; he imparted to the disciples; and they imparted to the multitude. All who are united to Christ will be doers of his word, receiving the bread of life, the heavenly food, from Christ and imparting it to others.
11
Our Saviour’s example is an object lesson to us. In full reliance upon God, he took the small store of loaves, and, altho there was but sufficient for himself and his disciples, he commenced to place the food in their hands, bidding them distribute to the people. The food multiplied in his hands; and the hands of the disciples, reaching out to Christ, himself the Bread of Life, were never empty. The little store of food was sufficient for all. So we are to rely implicitly upon Christ for our supplies.
12 Our Saviour placed in the hands of his disciples the food for the people, and as they emptied their hands, they were again filled with the food, which multiplied in Christ’s hands as fast as it was called for. The disciples were channels of communication. This should be a great encouragement to the disciples of Christ today. Christ is the great center, the source of all strength. His disciples are to receive their supplies from him. He has given his life for the life of the world, and he says, “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life.”
13 A Paul may plant, and an Apollos water, but God only giveth the increase. This is so that no man may boast. The most intelligent, the most spiritually-minded, can bestow only as they receive. Of themselves they can manufacture nothing for the needs of the soul. We can impart only that which we receive from the hands of Christ; and we can receive only as we impart to others. As we continue imparting, we continue to receive; and the more we impart, the more we shall receive. Thus we may be constantly believing, trusting, receiving, and imparting.
14 God is the treasure-house of all wisdom, and the humblest worker that depends on this undiminished supply will be able to work the works of Christ. If the aim of the worker is to glorify God, there will be abundant channels of usefulness opened for him, in which he may work with all hope of success. God has provided such helpers for him in the heavenly intelligences, that failure will not be seen or mentioned. Christ has promised, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” If God be for us, who can be against us? If Christ is our companion, because we wear his yoke and lift his burdens, we shall gain advanced victories. The opposition of men will be strengthless, and their wisdom weakness, as the disciples of Christ reach out their empty hands of faith to One who is always ready to impart. Men may oppose, but no weapon can prosper that is formed against those who are imbued with the love of Christ, and armed with the Gospel weapons.
15
This miracle contains lessons of more value to us than silver or gold. Carried out in experience, they would never lose their force. The work of the Holy Spirit is to impress the minds of those who should live in all generations with the importance of these lessons. It was God’s design that they should sound down the line to our time.
16 We need to receive more of the heavenly grace, that we may have more to impart to others. Thirty years after the day of Pentecost the apostle Paul wrote: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.” If in that short time the work had extended so far through the cooperation of the heavenly intelligences, should we not take courage? Christ has promised, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” “I will pray the Father,” he said again, “and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.”
17 As the disciples of Christ, do we act a part in the great work of saving souls for whom he has died? Do we point them to the Lamb of God, that they may believe in him, and have everlasting life? The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work, but if we will move forward in faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, he himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. Shall we not, as servants of Christ, learn to impart as we receive from him? If we go to the Source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the Bread of Life.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 829
1 “For we are laborers together with God; ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Before the world was, God destined his Son to minister to the human family, and in him we may receive the highest ideal of true ministry. God has exalted such ministry as worthy of the highest place in the work to be accomplished in our world; and only through his Son, who was equal with himself, could he exemplify it. God invested his Son with the ideal of ministry, and bade him work it out in humanity. It was not simply a theory that Christ was to hold in regard to the character of ministry; he worked it out after the similitude which God had given him. Out of his own fulness he ministered to all.
2 Christ was the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. And he is the example his followers are to copy, both in manner of address and in the subjects of his lessons. His words were most simple. The truth spoken bore its own credentials to the people who heard. The very tones of his voice expressed his warm, tender sympathy for his hearers. And Christ was a practical teacher. The truth coming to the people in deep, earnest tones from a man who was one in nature with themselves was what they needed above everything else. Never did so many people congregate to listen to the teachings of one man as gathered to hear Christ. Men, women, and children listened to his words with solemn, earnest attention.
3 Christ came to give expression to the law of God, to represent the Father’s character. He came to minister to man, to restore in him the moral image of God. Tho he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.
4 God did not create man sinful. Adam came forth from the hand of his Maker without the taint of evil. The holy pair might have retained their innocence, had they lived by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, had they refused to listen to the strange voice declaring another story than that which God had told them. But they abused their high and holy privileges. They were left free to choose between good and evil, and they chose the evil. And as they chose to believe the lie of Satan and disobey the express command of God, that which was pure and godlike in their nature became perverted and defiled.
5 But Christ came to be the propitiation for man’s sins. John, the beloved disciple, declares: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
6 In his humanity, Christ lived a perfect life, thus elevating humanity in the scale of moral worth with God. With his human arm Christ lays hold of man, while with his divine arm he grasps the throne of the Infinite. Thus he imbues man with his own spiritual nature, and lifts him to his side, to be cherished and loved as the Father loves his Son.
7 Christ declared, “I am among you as one that serveth.” And yet how many of us want, not to serve, but to be served. Man’s selfish nature needs a divine teacher to show him by practical godliness the example he must follow. Christ sets our duty before us in clear lines. To those on his right hand he is represented as saying in the judgment, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” Those who, with the love of God burning in their hearts, minister to their fellow-beings, are accounted as ministers unto Christ himself. And the reward offered to such is, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Christ has promised: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” But those who have no sense of the blessings of ministry will not appreciate heaven; they will not see the necessity of doing the will of God in this life, but will go where inclination leads.
8 Every faculty that we possess has been provided for us in Christ; for when God gave his Son to our world, he included all heaven in his gift. And God would have men value their powers as a sacred gift from him. A spark of God’s own life has been breathed into the human body, making man a living soul, the possessor of moral endowments, and a will to direct his own course of action. He has the privilege of becoming a partaker of the divine nature. This will give him power to conquer evil, and love and choose that which is good. He has a conscience, which, under the control of God, will approve the right and condemn the wrong. And he may, if he will, have fellowship with God. He may walk and talk with God as did Enoch. This holy companionship is denied to none who will believe on Christ as their personal Saviour.
9 By thus centering his affections upon the contemplation of God, man may develop a noble character. Consecrated to God, each faculty should be a worker in the character we are to build. Brick by brick these workmen are building the temple, and if the structure is erected on a solid foundation, the Rock, it will stand the storm and tempest that will surely beat against it. The warning comes to us, “But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon”. As one flaw makes the chain worthless, so one defect will spoil the character, and if not overcome, will gain the mastery. Self is our greatest enemy, and day by day each must strive for the victory. There must be no careless, haphazard work in the foundation chosen or in the structure built thereon. Our physical, mental, and moral powers must be trained, every ability must be cultivated and used to the fullest extent, every power must be brought into working order.
10 Man is called upon to cooperate with God. Day by day he must be careful how his work of character-building is performed; for this work is to last, not merely for time, but for eternity. He may, if he will, become pure in thought, noble and upright in action. Every deed may be of a character that will receive the approval of God. God takes pleasure in the man who through faith in Jesus will stand as a polished stone in his temple, honored of God and man. He declares, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.”
11 God looks with pleasure upon the man, woman, youth, or child who will fear and love him, and refuse to be enticed amid a world of corruption. Through his prophet he has said: “O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord; say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips. Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine; the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him; I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall therein.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 830
1 “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up; and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.”
2
This scheme, devised in the counsel of Satan, was made in order to compel the three Hebrew children to obey human laws in direct opposition to the laws of Jehovah. The most learned of the nation, men who were noted for their aptness and educational advantages, thus worked to form a confederacy that would exalt the king of Babylon and excite enmity against the Hebrew captives. They prevailed upon the king to enact certain laws which these youth could not consent to respect.
3 The worship of the image which the king had set up, was made the established religion of the country. But the Hebrew children were determined not to dishonor the God of heaven, who made the world, and all things that are therein. Their God was the King of kings and Lord of lords, and they would serve him, at whatever cost.
4 “Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar , O king, live forever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image; and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee; they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Hitherto the king had shown great regard for these youth. Their faithfulness in all their duties could not but increase his confidence in them, and he had exalted them to positions of high honor. But he was filled with rage that his word had been disregarded, and commanded that they be brought into his presence.
5 “Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well; but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” The sentence of death did not change their decision. The martyrs knew what would lessen the fierceness of the fire kindling upon nerve and muscle. In beholding Christ, in the manifestation of his presence, the most cruel death was made bearable.
6
The last resort of the king of Babylon was force, and he put his terrible threat into execution. Filled with fury against these men for thus defying him, he commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated. “And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.” “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”
7
The Children of God today must not expect to meet less of persecution and trial than did these ancient worthies. Just as long as we are followers of Christ we must be witnesses for him. Tribulation will assuredly come; for Satan knows that Christ has purchased salvation for the whole world, and he is determined to wrest every soul possible out of his hand.
8 Christ forewarned his disciples of this, saying: “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.” It is not the world, who make no profession, from whom the persecution comes. It is those who profess to be doing God service who manifest the most bitter hatred.
9 But tho man may have power to harm the bodies of those who exalt the law of God above all human enactments, he can not harm their souls. God’s grace will be given in every way proportionate to the trial suffered to come upon us. Christ has promised, I “will manifest myself to him;” “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.” And again he comforts us with the words: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
10 Our victory as believers is obtained through the grace of Christ, which he can and will bestow upon all who will put their trust in him. This is the good news with which Christ would have us comforted. In all the tribulation which the child of God must receive, whatever his position in the world, he may be of good cheer in contemplation of the truth that Christ has overcome the world.
11 It is a great thing to be right with God, the soul in harmony with its Maker. Amid the contagion of evil example, which by its deceitful appearance would lure the soul from duty, angels will be sent to our rescue. But if we invite temptation, we can not have divine aid to keep us from being overcome. The three worthies endured the fiery furnace, for Jesus walked with them amid the flames. If they had, of themselves, walked into the fire, they would have been consumed. Thus it will be with us. If we do not deliberately go into temptation, God will sustain us when the temptation comes.
12
But let no one think that an entirely new set of energies are to be communicated when we are brought into trying circumstances. We are to seek daily for the converting power of God. We should daily seek to recover in ourselves the moral image of God. Every affection, every attribute that has been perverted, must be restored by the grace of Christ. Lesser trials nobly borne under the control of God, will purify, refine, and ennoble us for endurance when the time shall come for greater test and greater trials.
13 Then let us look the future decidedly in the face, and say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” We must cherish the presence of Christ, for we need him in the less as well as the greater trials. By a willingness for his sake to endure shame and reproach, by learning the meekness and lowliness of Christ, we shall prove the sincerity of our Christianity. When we are called to imprisonment and shame, when degraded by our fellow-beings, who are inspired by the spirit of Satan, God will give his grace to sustain us. His promise is, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”
14 The righteous have ever obtained help from above. How often have the enemies of God combined to destroy the character and influence of a few simple persons who trusted in God! But because the Lord was for them, none could prevail against them. Only let the followers of Christ be united, and they will prevail. Let them be separated from their idols and from the world, and the world will not separate them from God. Christ is our present, all-sufficient Saviour. In him all fulness dwells. It is the privilege of Christians to know that Christ is in them of a truth. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” All things are possible to him that believeth; and whatsoever things we desire when we pray, if we believe that we receive them, we shall have them. This faith will penetrate the darkest cloud, and bring hope to the drooping, desponding soul. It is the absence of this faith and trust which brings perplexity, distressing fears, and surmisings of evil. God will do great things for his people when they will put their entire trust in him. Christ will prove a never-failing source of strength, a present help in every time of trouble.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 831
1 “Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.” Here Jesus hoped to find the rest and quiet that his human nature needed. Tyre and Sidon were not like Jerusalem, where every one knew of Christ’s wonderful works; nor like Galilee, where multitudes followed him daily. He hoped that where his work was not so widely known he might find retirement. But this was not his only purpose in taking this journey.
2 “Behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.” The people of this district were of the old Canaanite race. They were idolaters, and were despised and hated by the Jews. To this class belonged the woman who now came to Jesus. She was a heathen, and was therefore excluded from the advantages which the Jews daily enjoyed.
3 This woman had heard of a wonderful prophet, who, it was reported, healed all manner of diseases. As she heard of his power, hope sprang up in her heart. Inspired by a mother’s love, she determined to present her daughter’s case to him. It was her resolute purpose to bring her affliction to Jesus. He must heal her child. She had sought help from the heathen gods, but had obtained no relief. And at times she was tempted to think, What can this Jewish Teacher do for me? But the word had come, He heals all manner of diseases, whether those who come to him for help are rich or poor, and she determined not to lose her only hope.
4 Christ knew this woman’s situation. He knew that she was longing to see him, and he placed himself in her path. By ministering to her sorrow, he could give a living representation of the lesson he designed to teach. For this he had brought his disciples into this region. He desired them to see the ignorance existing in cities and villages close to Judea. Those who had been given every opportunity to understand the truth, were without a knowledge of the needs of those around them. No effort was made to help those in darkness.
5 The Jews thought themselves superior to any other people because they were the descendants of Abraham. No others, they thought, had a right to the promises or the love of God. They had been specially blessed by the Lord, but it was that they might in their turn be a blessing to others. But this they had lost sight of. In their pride and self-sufficiency they built a wall between themselves and the surrounding nations. But with all their advantages, the Jewish priests and rulers were ignorant of the Scriptures. They failed to see their true import. They stood in important and responsible positions, as the leading men of the nation, but they were in need of understanding the first principles of pure and undefiled religion. They should have been willing to minister to those around them, but they passed by on the other side, unheeding their wants.
6 Christ did not immediately reply to the woman’s request. He received the importunities of this representative of a despised race in the same manner as the Jews would have done. In this he designed that his disciples should be impressed with the cold and heartless manner in which the Jews would treat such a case, as evinced by his reception of the woman, and the compassionate manner in which he would have them deal with such distress, as manifested by his subsequent granting of her petition.
7 But, altho Jesus did not reply, the woman did not lose faith. As he passed on, as if not hearing her, she followed him, continuing her supplications. Annoyed by her importunities, the disciples asked Jesus to send her away. They saw that their Master treated her with indifference, and they therefore supposed that the prejudice of the Jews against the Canaanites was pleasing to him. But it was a pitying Saviour to whom the woman made her plea, and in answer to the request of the disciples, Jesus said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Altho this answer was in accordance with the prejudice of the Jews, it was an implied rebuke to the disciples, which they afterwards understood as reminding them of what he had often told them,—that he came to the world to save all who would accept him.
8 The woman urged her case with increased earnestness, bowing at Christ’s feet, and crying, “Lord, help me.” Jesus, still apparently rejecting her entreaties, according to the unfeeling prejudice of the Jews, answered, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” This was virtually asserting that it was not just to lavish the blessings brought to the favored people of God upon strangers and aliens from Israel. This answer would have utterly discouraged a less earnest seeker; but the woman saw that her opportunity had come. Beneath the apparent refusal of Jesus, she saw a compassion that he could not hide. “Truth, Lord,” she answered; “yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
9 Jesus had just departed from his field of labor because the scribes and Pharisees were seeking to take his life. They murmured and complained, they manifested unbelief and bitterness, and refused the salvation so freely offered them. Here Christ meets one of an unfortunate and despised race, that has not been favored with the light of God’s Word; yet she yields at once to the divine influence of Christ, and has implicit faith in his ability to grant the favor she asks. She begs for the crumbs that fall from the Master’s table. If she may have the privileges of a dog, she is willing to be regarded as a dog. She has no national or religious prejudice or pride to influence her course, and she immediately acknowledges Jesus as the Redeemer, and as being able to do all that she asks of him.
10 The Saviour is satisfied. He has tested her confidence in him, and he now grants her request, and finishes the lesson to the disciples. Turning to her with a look of pity and love, he says, “O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” From that hour her daughter became whole. The demon troubled her no more. The woman departed, acknowledging her Saviour, and happy in the granting of her prayer.
11 This was the only miracle that Jesus wrought while on this journey. It was for the performance of this act that he went unto the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He wished to relieve the afflicted woman, and at the same time to leave an example in his work of mercy toward one of a despised people, for the benefit of his disciples when he should no longer be with them. He wished to lead them from their Jewish exclusiveness to be interested in working for others besides their own people.
12 This act opened the minds of the disciples more fully to the labor that lay before them among the Gentiles. They saw a wide field of usefulness outside of Judea. They saw souls bearing sorrows unknown to those more highly favored. Among those whom they had been taught to despise were souls longing for help from the mighty Healer, hungering for the light of truth, which had been so abundantly given to the Jews.
13 Afterward, when the Jews turned still more persistently from the disciples because they declared Jesus to be the Saviour of the world, and when the partition wall between Jew and Gentile was broken down by the death of Christ, this lesson, and similar ones which pointed to a Gospel work unrestricted by custom or nationality, had a powerful influence upon the representatives of Christ in directing their labors.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 832
1 “And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting.” Christ went to the temple, the place where God should have been worshiped, where heart-searching prayers should have been made, and thanksgiving offered to God for the great ransom he had provided. But the scene that met his eye was strangely different from this.
2 The Jewish leaders had instructed the people that at Jerusalem they were to be taught by precept and example to worship God. Here, during the Passover week, large numbers assembled from all parts of Palestine, and from distant lands. Many were unable to bring with them the sacrifices which were to be offered up as typifying the one great Sacrifice. For the convenience of these, animals were bought and sold in the temple courts. Here all classes of people assembled to purchase their offerings. Here foreign coins were exchanged for the coin of the sanctuary.
3 The dealers asked exorbitant prices for the animals sold. And the priests and rulers, as well as the dealers, enriched themselves at the expense of the people. They gathered riches by selling to the worshipers, who had been educated to believe that the blessing of God would not rest upon their children or their lands if they did not offer sacrifice. The animals sold at a high price; for after coming from so far, they would not return whence they came without performing the act of devotion for which they had come.
4 The precincts of God’s temple should have been regarded as holy. The temple was dedicated to the Almighty, and should have been jealously guarded. But in contrast to this, it was made a market-place, and a house of merchandise.
5 The priests and rulers should have kept the fear of God before their eyes. The buying and selling should have been carried on with an eye single to the glory of God. The dealers should have sold their oxen, sheep, and doves at a just price. They should have been able to appreciate the situation of the purchasers, and been willing to help those who were not able to buy the required sacrifices. But this they did not do. The spirit of avarice, the desire to accumulate riches, by unfair means, had become more and more common.
6 There came to this feast those who were suffering, who were in want and distress. The blind, the lame, the deaf, were there. Some were brought on beds. Many came who were too poor to purchase the humblest offering for the Lord, too poor even to buy food with which to satisfy their own hunger. These were greatly distressed by the statements of the priests. The priests boasted of their piety and compassion; they claimed to be the guardians of the people; but they were without sympathy or compassion. The sick, the suffering, the dying, made their vain plea for favor. Their suffering did not awaken any pity in the hearts of the priests.
7 As Jesus came to the temple, he took in the whole scene. He saw the unfair transactions. He saw the distress of the poor, who thought that without shedding of blood there would be no forgiveness of their sins. He saw the outer court of his temple converted into places of unholy traffic. The sacred inclosure had become one vast exchange.
8 Christ saw that something must be done. Numerous ceremonies were enjoined upon the people, without the proper instruction as to their import. They offered their sacrifices without understanding that they were typical of the only perfect sacrifice. And among them stood the One symbolized by all their service. He was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. He had given directions in regard to the offerings. He understood their symbolic value, and he saw that they were now perverted and misunderstood. The temple service had become a mere form. Spiritual worship was fast disappearing. No link bound the priests and rulers to their God. Christ’s work was to establish an altogether different form of worship. He had come to the world as a man, that he might meet humanity where it was, and show men what constituted true worship.
9 With searching glance Christ took in the scene before him, as he stood upon the steps of the temple court. With prophetic eye he looked into futurity, and saw not only years, but centuries and ages. Indignation, authority, and power were expressed in his countenance. Instantly every voice was hushed. The eyes of those engaged in their unholy traffic were riveted upon his face. They could not withdraw their attention from him. It was as if they were arraigned before the Judge of the whole earth.
10 Divinity flashed through the garb of humanity. When Christ had made a scourge of small cords, “he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” He drove out the sacrilegious robbers, saying, “It is written, My house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
11 Overpowered with terror, the priests and rulers fled from the temple courts, and from the searching glance that read their hearts. Christ looked upon the fleeing men with yearning pity for their fear, and their ignorance of what constituted true worship. In this scene he saw symbolized the dispersion of the Jewish nation for their wickedness and impenitence.
12 Why did the priests flee from the temple? Why did they not stand their ground? He who commanded them to go was a carpenter’s son, whom they regarded as a poor Galilean, without earthly rank or power. Why then did they not resist him? Why did they leave the gain so ill acquired, and flee at the command of One whose outward appearance was so humble?
13 Christ spoke with the authority of a king, and in his appearance and the tones of his voice, there was that which they had no power to resist. At the word of command, they realized as they had never realized before their true position as hypocrites and robbers. When divinity flashed through humanity, not only did they see the expression of indignation on Christ’s countenance, they realized the import of his words. They felt as if before the throne of the eternal Judge, with their sentence passed upon them for time and for eternity. For a time they were convinced that Christ was a prophet; and many believed him to be the Messiah. The Holy Spirit flashed into their minds the utterance of the prophets concerning Christ, “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” Would they yield to this conviction?
14 Repent they would not. They knew that Christ’s sympathy for the poor had been aroused. They knew that they had extorted from the people more than what they had sold them was worth. Because Christ discerned their thoughts, they hated him. They would challenge him as to the power by which he had driven them forth, and who gave him this power.
15 Slowly and thoughtfully, but with hate in their hearts, they returned to the temple. But what a change had taken place during their absence! When they fled, the poor remained behind; and these were now looking to Jesus, whose countenance expressed his love and sympathy. With tears in his eyes, he said to the trembling ones around him, Fear not; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. For this cause came I into the world.
16 The people pressed into Christ’s presence with urgent, pitiful appeals, Master, bless me. His ear heard every cry. With pity exceeding that of a tender mother, he bent over the suffering little ones. All received attention. Every one was healed of whatever disease he had. The dumb opened their lips in praise; the blind beheld the face of their Restorer. The hearts of the sufferers were made glad.
17 As the priests and temple officials witnessed this great work, what a revelation to them were the sounds that fell on their ears! The people were relating the story of the pain they had suffered, of their disappointed hopes, of painful days and sleepless nights. But when the last spark of hope seemed to be dead, Christ had healed them. The burden was so heavy, one said; but I have found a Helper! He is the Christ of God, and I will devote my life to his service. Placing palm branches in their children’s hands, parents said to them, He has saved your life; lift up your voice and praise him. The voices of children and youth, fathers and mothers, friends and spectators, blended in thanksgiving and praise. Hope and gladness filled their hearts. Peace came to their minds. They were restored, soul and body, and they returned home, proclaiming everywhere the matchless love of Jesus.
18 At the crucifixion of Christ the voices of those who had thus been healed did not join with the rabble throng in crying, Crucify him, crucify him. Their sympathies were with Jesus; for they had felt his great sympathy and wonderful power. They knew him to be their Saviour; for he had given them health of body and brought light to their souls. They listened to the preaching of the apostles, and the entrance of God’s words into their hearts gave them understanding. They became agents of God’s mercy, and instruments of his salvation.
19 So Christ fulfilled the words of prophecy: “The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. . . . To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 833
1 Three times a year the Jews were required to assemble at Jerusalem for religious purposes. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, Israel’s invisible Leader had given the directions in regard to these gatherings. During the captivity of the Jews, they could not be observed; but when the people were restored to their own land, the observance of these memorials was once more commenced. It was God’s design that these anniversaries should call him to the minds of the people. But with few exceptions, the priests and leaders of the nation had lost sight of this purpose. He who had ordained these national assemblies and understood their significance, witnessed their perversion.
2 The Feast of Tabernacles was the closing gathering of the year. It was God’s design that at this time the people should reflect on his goodness and mercy. The whole land had been under his guidance, receiving his blessing. Day and night his watchcare had continued. The sun and rain had caused the earth to produce her fruits. From the valleys and plains of Palestine the harvest had been gathered for future use. The olive berries had been picked, and the precious oil stored in bottles. The palm had yielded her store. The purple clusters of the vine had been trodden in the wine-press.
3 This feast continued for seven days, and for its celebration, the inhabitants of Palestine, with many from other lands, left their homes, and came to Jerusalem. From far and near the people came, bearing in their hands a token of rejoicing. Old and young, rich and poor, all brought some gift as a tribute of thanksgiving to Him who had crowned the year with His goodness, and made His paths drop fatness. Everything that could please the eye, and give expression to the universal joy, was brought from the woods; the city bore the appearance of a beautiful forest. Booths or tabernacles of boughs were erected in the streets, in the courts of the temple, or on the housetops. The hills and valleys surrounding Jerusalem were also dotted with these leafy dwellings, and seemed to be alive with people.
4 With sacred song and thanksgiving the worshipers celebrated this occasion. “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever,” arose triumphantly, while all kinds of music accompanied the united singing. The hills were made vocal, as the vast multitude, waving their branches of palm or myrtle, took up the strain and echoed the chorus.
5 At the first dawn of day, the priests sounded a long, shrill blast upon their silver trumpets, and the answering trumpets, and the glad shouts of the people from their booths, echoing over hill and valley, welcomed the festal day. Then the priest dipped from the flowing waters of the Kedron a flagon of water, and, lifting it on high, while the trumpets were sounding, he ascended the broad steps of the temple, keeping time to the music with slow and measured tread, chanting meanwhile, “Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.” He bore the flagon to the altar, which occupied a central position in the temple court. Here were two silver basins, with a priest standing at each one. The flagon of water was poured into one, and a flagon of wine into the other; and the contents of both flowed into a pipe which communicated with the Kedron, and was conducted to the Dead Sea. This display of the consecrated water represented the fountain that at the command of God had gushed from the granite rock to quench the thirst of the children of Israel. Then the jubilant strains rang forth, “The Lord Jehovah is my strength and song;” “therefore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
6 As the sons of Joseph made preparation to attend the Feast of Tabernacles, they saw that Christ made no movement signifying his intention of attending. They watched him with anxiety. Tho they did not rank themselves with his disciples, yet they were impressed by his works, and they hoped that he would give an evidence of his power that would lead the Pharisees to see that he was what he claimed to be. What if he were the Messiah, the Prince of Israel! They cherished this thought with proud satisfaction.
7 So anxious were they about this that they urged Christ to go to Jerusalem. “Depart hence,” they said, “and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world.” They had witnessed his works, and when it was rumored that he spent his night in prayer, after working all day, they with his mother came to him, thinking to compel him to cease from so continually taxing his strength. Now they said, “If thou do these things, show thyself to the world.” The “if” expressed doubt and unbelief. They attributed cowardice and weakness to him. If he knew that he was the Messiah, if he really possessed such power, why not go boldly to Jerusalem, and assert his claims? Why not perform in Jerusalem the wonderful works reported of him in Galilee?
8 They reasoned from the selfish motives often found in the hearts of those ambitious for display. This spirit was the ruling spirit of the world. They were offended because, instead of seeking a temporal throne, Christ declared himself to be the Bread of Life. When he made this declaration, many of his disciples forsook him, and John says, “Neither did his brethren believe in him.” They turned from him to escape the cross of acknowledging what his works revealed,—that he was the Sent of God.
9
“Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come; but your time is alway ready. The world can not hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast. I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.” His brethren had spoken to him in a tone of authority, prescribing the course he should pursue. He cast their rebuke back to them, classing them not with his self-denying disciples, but with the world. “The world can not hate you,” he said; “but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” The world does not hate those who are like it in spirit; it loves them as its own.
10 The world was not a place of ease and self-aggrandizement for Christ. He was not watching for an opportunity to seize its power or its glory. It held out no such prize for him. It was the place into which his Father had sent him. He had been given for the life of the world, to work out the great plan of redemption. He was accomplishing his work for the fallen race; but he was not to be presumptuous, not to rush into danger, not to hasten a crisis. Each event in his work had its appointed hour. He must wait patiently. He knew that he was to receive the world’s hatred; he knew that his work would result in his death; but to prematurely expose himself would not be the will of his Father.
11 “When his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.” In the midst of the feast, when the excitement concerning him was at its height, he entered the court of the temple, in the presence of the multitude. Because of his absence from the feast, it had been urged that he dared not place himself in the power of the priests and rulers. All were surprised at his presence.
12 Standing thus, the center of attraction to that vast throng, Jesus addressed them as no man had ever done. His words were most clear and convincing, and again, as at Capernaum, the people were astonished at his teaching; “for his word was with power.”
13 The feast was drawing to a close. The morning of the last crowning day found the people wearied from the long season of festivity. Suddenly Jesus lifted up his voice in tones that rang through the courts of the temple: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” The condition of the people made this appeal very forcible. They had been engaged in a continued scene of pomp and festivity; their eyes had been dazzled with light and color, and their ears regaled with the richest music; but there had been nothing to meet the wants of the spirit, nothing to satisfy the thirst of the soul for that which perishes not. Jesus invited them to come and drink of the fountain of life, of that which should be in them a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.
14 The priest had that morning performed the imposing ceremony which represented the smiting of the rock in the wilderness. That rock was a symbol of Him who by his death would cause living streams of salvation to flow to all who are athirst. Christ’s words were the water of life. There in the presence of the assembled multitude, he set himself apart to be smitten, that the water of life might flow to the world. In smiting Christ, Satan thought to destroy the Prince of life, but from the smitten rock there flowed living water. As Jesus thus spoke to the people, their hearts thrilled with a strange awe, and many were ready to exclaim with the woman of Samaria, “Give me of this water, that I thirst not.”
15 The cry of Christ to the thirsty soul is still going forth, and it appeals to us with even greater power than it did to those who heard it in the temple on that last day of the feast. The fountain is open for all. The weary and exhausted are offered the refreshing draught of eternal life. Jesus is still crying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 834
1 There are many suffering from ill health today because they do not pay attention to the laws of health. They do not exercise their reason in caring for the human machinery that God has intrusted to them and thus they present to God a crippled offering. Many persons confine themselves in ill-ventilated rooms, where the air is not charged with its appropriate supply of oxygen. In expiration we are constantly throwing off from the lungs impurities that defile the air, and there is positive necessity of having a constant supply of pure air. Many breathe air that is poisoned, and the blood is not purified in the lungs, and passes into the body without being vitalized by a fresh current of air. The result is that such persons are troubled with giddiness, restlessness, with confused thoughts, and gloomy spirits. The process of digestion is not properly carried forward, the brain is clouded, and the heart depressed. Such persons are suffering for want of exercise in the pure air. If they would have their organs perform their work properly, and be saved from the inroads of disease, they must change their course of action.
2 Schoolrooms are often death traps, as also are ill-ventilated bedchambers. If buildings are constructed in such a way that they can not have a constant supply of fresh air, the health of their inmates will surely be impaired. Ministers are often forced to pay a severe penalty for speaking in close, ill-ventilated buildings. The preacher marvels that he has not power to impress the people, when they, as well as himself, are suffering from lack of vitalizing air, and are thus rendered incapable of appreciating the subject upon which he is speaking. The want of the circulation of pure air in a church makes many a meeting of no effect; for labor is expended for naught, because the people can not keep awake.
3 There are many who imagine that they are health reformers, and that they are practising right habits in matters of diet. Many have wretched feelings, which they attribute to an insufficient amount of food, when these wretched feelings are due to a different cause altogether. Sometimes it is because the food is not of the right quality, or has not been properly prepared. Others who have indulged their appetite from childhood, think that it is essential for them to have food that tastes good, no matter how unhealthful may be its character. Thus they cultivate a perverted taste, and as a result have a diseased stomach. They abuse and overtax their digestive organs by eating that which they like rather than that which is good for them. On the other hand, many who think themselves patterns of strict propriety in matters of diet are in reality not intelligent health reformers, and their example is not worthy of imitation. They have educated their tastes in the wrong direction, and will have to learn anew what constitutes health reform. Some who have professed to be health reformers have said that they were furnished with rich food from their youth, and that their tastes were cultivated to enjoy this kind of a diet. But such should understand that they should take a different course, and educate themselves to enjoy simple, nutritious food. They should study to prepare inexpensive dishes for the table. Those who profess to be health reformers should not mislead others by their own habits of eating. Neither by precept nor example should they give a false example in these matters. If we do not begin to practise economy now, we shall be compelled to practise economy in the near future. Time is money; it belongs to God. To use precious time in preparing a variety of dishes that will only result in dyspepsia, is certainly putting time to a wrong use. The cook should not be made a slave, or be required to cater to appetite. Let the diet be of such a character that she may prepare it, and yet have time for the reading of her Bible, for prayer, and for relaxation from labor. We should not cherish self-indulgence, or teach others by our example to follow in a selfish course. We should understand what we are about, and consider what kind of impressions we are making upon the minds of those who look to us for guidance.
4 As applied to diet, true hygiene demands the intelligent selection of the most healthful articles of food, prepared in the simplest and most healthful manner. It is customary to provide a variety of vegetables and other articles of diet for the first course at dinner. Then fashion requires that dessert shall come on the table in puddings, custards, or other kinds of sweets. To introduce such combinations into the stomach after partaking of vegetables and fruit is anything but wise. A large share of the endless mixtures called health reform dishes is in reality anything but healthful. Grains and fruits, or vegetables with bread and accompaniments, are all that the system needs. It would be better not to tax the stomach with unhealthful desserts, and not to demand that the cook expend time and strength and ingenuity in preparing them. It would be much better to discard the sweet puddings, jams, and marmalade, which cause fermentation in the stomach. When these are banished from our tables, when we have sweeter stomachs, we shall have sweeter tempers, and be better enabled to live a Christian life.
5 There is real common sense in health reform. We can not all eat the same things. Some articles of food that are wholesome and palatable to one person may be hurtful and unpalatable to another. Some can not use milk, while others can subsist upon it. Some can use dried beans and peas, while others find them indigestible. Some, whose stomachs are sensitive, can not use the coarser kinds of graham flour. It is impossible to make an unvarying rule by which to regulate every one’s dietetic habits. Do not indulge the idea that we are health reformers only as we use mush for breakfast. There are some who can not eat mush and have a healthy stomach.
6 But while we would recommend simplicity in diet, let it be understood that we do not recommend a meager diet. Let there be a plentiful supply of fruits and vegetables that are in a good condition. Overripe fruit or wilted vegetables ought not to be used. Vegetables and fruit should not be eaten at the same meal. At one meal use bread and fruit, at the next bread and vegetables. Thus we may have all the variety that we need to desire, and if we must have puddings and custards, let bread and these articles form the meal.
7 In order to preserve health, we must practise temperance in all things,—temperance in labor, temperance in study, temperance in eating and drinking. Our heavenly Father sent light on health reform to guard against the evil that results from a debased appetite. He would have us know how to use with discretion the good things he has provided for us. By exercising temperance in our daily life, by loving purity and holiness, we may become sanctified through the truth.
8 Intemperance in eating and drinking, intemperance in labor, intemperance in almost everything, exists on every hand. Those who make great exertions to accomplish just so much work in a given time, and continue to labor when their judgment tells them that they ought to rest, are never gainers. They are living on borrowed capital. They are expending vital force which they will need at a future time. When the energy they have so recklessly used, is demanded, they fail for want of it. Physical strength is gone, and mental power unavailable. They realize that they have met with loss. Their time of need has come, and their physical resources are exhausted. Those who violate the laws of health will sometime have to pay the penalty. God has provided us with constitutional force, and if we recklessly exhaust this force by continual overtaxation, our usefulness will be lessened, and our lives end prematurely.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 835
1 “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”
2 It is the privilege of every member of the family of God to know his will in regard to his course of action. The Lord would be sought unto by all who would be instructed and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. He is ready to commune with his people. He declares: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and I smote him; I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips; peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it can not rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
3 Every individual must seek by earnest prayer to know the Word of God for himself, and then to do it. Only by daily putting his trust in God, and not in the arm of flesh, will any soul obtain the experience essential to answer the prayer of Christ, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
4 “Come unto me,” is the invitation of Christ. By this he does not mean that we shall go to the next town or to the ends of the earth to learn what course to pursue. He desires us to trust in him as our present Helper, as One who will overrule all things for the best. “If any of you lack wisdom,” he says, “let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”
5 “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” This is the lesson given to every soul. The strength of every soul is in God and not in man. Quietness and confidence is to be the strength of all who give their hearts to God. In all our temporal concerns, in all our cares and anxieties, we need to wait upon the Lord. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men,” is the word that comes to us. The Lord has united our hearts with his. If we love him, and are accepted in his service, we shall bring all our burdens to the Lord, and wait upon him. Then we shall have an individual experience, a conviction of his presence and his readiness to hear our prayer for wisdom and for instruction, that will give us assurance and confidence in his willingness to succor in perplexity.
6 God would have us rejoice, and praise him every day for the privilege granted us in the words of Christ: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” A kind and loving Friend and Father is overruling all things. And if this is true of individuals and nations, how much more of his church, his chosen ones.
7 The church is established, not on theories of men, not on long-drawn-out plans and forms. It is built on the Rock Christ Jesus, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This is the Rock upon which the church may build successfully. It is the living presence of God. The weakest may depend upon it. Those who think themselves the strongest may become the weakest unless they depend upon Christ, as their efficiency, their worthiness. As long as the members of the church shall through faith draw nourishment from Christ, and not from man’s opinions and devisings and methods; if, having a conviction of the nearness of God in Christ, they put their entire trust in him, they will have a vital connection with Christ, as the branch has connection with the parent stock.
8 The Lord would have all come to him as their refuge. He would have them come to him for counsel and instruction, for comfort and for hope, in all their anxieties. To him you may tell all your griefs. You will never be told, “I can not help you.” To him all your troubles are worthy of consideration. You may have his help under every difficulty. You may, I may, the weakest one in all the ranks of believers may, trust in a loving, pitiful, faithful High Priest, who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He keeps us safe from Satan’s power even while we are full of perplexities, discouragements, and trials. Every believer is to keep looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith. All who will do this, will work calmly and quietly, as if in view of the whole heavenly universe. They will trust to no man’s opinion of their virtues, but feeling an individual responsibility resting upon them in temporal and eternal things, they will put their trust in God.
9 “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.” “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
10 The Elder Brother of our race is by the eternal throne. He looks upon every soul who is turning his face toward him as his Saviour. He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity, what are their wants, and where lies the strength of their temptations. The weakness of our human nature will not bar our access to the heavenly Father; for Christ was tempted in all points like as we are, “yet without sin.”
11 Christ has not a casual interest in us. His love for us is stronger than that of a mother for her child. Says the prophet, “Can a woman forget her sucking child? . . . yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” Our Saviour has purchased us by human suffering and sorrow. He suffered insult, reproach, abuse, mockery, rejection, and death. God is near in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, in his intercession, his loving, tender, ruling power over his church. Seated by the eternal throne, he watches his children with intense interest. He is watching over you, trembling child of God. He will make you secure under his protection. His promises are: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.” “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.” “They that wait on the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which can not be moved, but abideth forever.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 836
1 “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
2 Our future, eternal happiness depends upon having our humanity, with all its capabilities and powers, brought into obedience to God, placed under the control of Divinity. Many have no real faith in Christ. They say, “It was easy for Christ to obey the will of the Father; for he was divine.” But God’s Word declares, “He was tempted in all points like as we are.” Christ was tempted according to his elevation of mind; but he would not weaken or cripple his divine power by yielding to temptation. In his life on earth he was a representative of what men may become through the privileges and opportunities granted them in him.
3 In order that the human family might have no excuse because of temptation, Christ became one with them. The only being who was one with God lived the law in humanity, descended to the lowly life of a common laborer, and toiled at the carpenter’s bench with his earthly parent. He lived the life which he requires of all who claim to be his children. Thus was cut off the powerful argument of Satan that God required of humanity a self-denial and subjection that he would not himself render. The weapons that Satan designed to use against God, were taken from his hands.
4 When Satan tempted our first parents in Eden he said, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? . . . Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Thus he tried to flatter Eve into believing that they should be raised above the sphere of humanity. But Christ, by the example he has set before us, encourages the human family to be men, obeying the Word of God within the sphere of their humanity. He himself became a man, not a bond-slave to Satan, to work out his attributes, but a man in moral power, obedient to the law of God, which is the transcript of his character.
5 Christ became a man that he might mediate between man and God. He clothed his divinity with humanity, he associated with the human race, that with his human arm he might encircle humanity, and with his divine arm grasp the throne of Divinity. And this humiliation on his part was that he might restore to man the original mind, the image of God, which he lost in Eden through Satan’s alluring temptations, that man might realize that it is for his present and eternal good to obey the requirements of God. Disobedience is not in accordance with the nature which God gave to man in Eden.
6 The Lord has given Jesus to our world, to a life of suffering and a shameful death, in order to save perishing souls. In the place of punishing the guilty sinner, the Lord allowed his only-begotten Son to suffer the penalty of transgression, that man might have another opportunity, that another probation might be granted him in which to return from his transgression to his loyalty to God. By thus dying for man, Christ has shown that his love for the human family is measureless. And having done this, he will not withhold any facilities, any gift of heaven, that will enable man to accomplish the glorious work of salvation.
7 God would have us realize that all this was done to counterwork sin and rebellion against him, and bring in everlasting righteousness. Christ is able and willing to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him. Through his servant he declares, “For as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” As obedient children, we have the privilege of relationship with God. “If children,” he says, “then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
8 God loves his children the same as he loves his only-begotten Son. Then let us have a sense of our relationship to him, and walk circumspectly before the world. This world is our training-place for the world to come. If we would be saints in heaven, we must first be saints on earth. Wherever we are we must bear in mind that we are near to God. If we would only believe that angels of God are constantly around us to protect us from Satan’s snares, and to be a present help in every time of need, we would grow strong. Having a sense of our companionship we would do the things that are pleasing in the sight of God. How careful would we be lest our words should offend Christ, whose character we are to represent to the world. We need to meditate and converse on the mercy and love and compassion of God for us. Satan is not at all pleased with such pure, ennobling, and elevating themes, and he draws apart from us. God’s promise is, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”
9 Through the moral power Christ has brought to man, we may give thanks unto God, who has made us meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. Through Jesus Christ every man may overcome in his own behalf standing in his own individuality of character. The word comes to him, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” Our whole earthly solace hangs upon him whose mission to earth was to give power unto men.
10 Christ would have us yoke up with him. “Learn of me,” he says, “for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Then we shall be overcomers. We “shall see his face,” and his name shall be in our foreheads. We shall be his chosen ones on earth, to enjoy the kingdom of his grace; we shall be with him in the heavenly world, to share in the kingdom of his glory. We shall be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; for he is our portion and our inheritance. We shall be partakers of his divine nature, and one with him in his perfection. We shall have the same life as Jesus; for we are sons and daughters of God.
11 God has a kingdom awaiting his children whom he has tested and tried in a world marred and corrupted by sin. Mansions are prepared for all who have subjected themselves in obedience to the divine law. Christ declared to his disciples: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
12 Jesus asks no more of men than that they shall follow in his footsteps. He was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory; but for our sake he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. Almost his last words to us are. “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.” Instead of being sorrowful, your hearts troubled, you should rejoice. For your sake I came into the world. For your sake I have been a disinterested worker in the world. In the future I shall be engaged, just as devotedly, in an important work in your behalf. I came into the world to redeem you; I go away to prepare an abiding place for you in my Father’s kingdom. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 837
1 “And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” This parable was spoken to show the need of true humility.
2 Both these men are represented as resorting to the same place for prayer. Both came to meet with God. But what a contrast there was between them! One was full of self-praise. He looked it , he walked it, he prayed it; the other realized fully his own nothingness. The Pharisee was looked upon as righteous before God, and thus he was in his own estimation. The publican, in his humility, looked upon himself as having no claim to the mercy or approval of God.
3 “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, . . . or even as this publican,” the Pharisee prayed proudly. The publican would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” The Searcher of hearts looked down upon both men, and he discerned the value of each prayer. He looks not on the outward appearance; he judges not as man judges. He does not value man according to his rank, talent, education, or position. “To this man will I look,” he declares, “even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” He saw that the Pharisee was full of self-importance and self-righteousness, and the record was made against his name, “Weighed in the balances, and found wanting.” His self-righteous prayer was unanswered. But the poor publican, who could only say, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” moved the pity of the Lord; and his prayer was accepted. “I tell you,” said Christ, “this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
4 “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are.” This prayer represents the prayers of many. They think that because they perform outward religious duties, they are entitled to the approval of God. Like the Pharisee, they say, “God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are.” But they are self-centered and self-sufficient, and, altho they pray, they are unblessed of God. He says to them: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.”
5 The Majesty of heaven humbled himself from the highest authority, from the position of one equal with God, to the lowest place, that of a servant. His home was in Nazareth, a place proverbial for its wickedness. His parents were among the lowly poor. His trade was that of a carpenter, and he labored with his hands to do his part in sustaining the family. In order to save sinful man, he left his riches, his splendor, his honor, his glory, for a life of humility, shame, and reproach. He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. He came not to do his own will, but the will of Him that judgeth righteously. From his lips were heard the words, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” His humility did not consist in a low estimate of his own character and qualifications, but in humbling himself to fallen humanity, in order to raise them with him to a higher life.
6
Among the peculiarities which should distinguish God’s people from the world is their humility. That man is nearest God, and is the most honored of him, who has the least self-importance and self-righteousness, the least trust and confidence in self, who waits on God in humble trusting faith. Instead of being ambitious to be equal with each other in honor and position, or perhaps even higher, we should seek to be the humble, faithful servants of Christ.
7 Christ has invited us: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” In humility and lowliness of mind we find great peace and strength. They shine brightest who feel most their own weakness; for such make Christ their righteousness. God brings men over this ground again and again, increasing the pressure until perfect humility and a transformation of character bring them into harmony with Christ, and they are victors over themselves.
8 In self-love, self-exaltation, and pride, there is great weakness; but in humility there is great strength. Pride and self-importance, when compared with humility and lowliness, are indeed weakness. It was our Saviour’s gentleness, his plain, unassuming manners, that made him a conqueror of hearts. But in our separation from God, in our pride and darkness, we are constantly seeking to elevate ourselves, forgetting that lowliness of mind is power.
9 True humility means working for God, trusting entirely to his guidance. God looks down from heaven with pleasure on the trusting, believing ones who have a full sense of their dependence on him. To such he delights to give when they ask him. “He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with good things.” “The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the Lord that seek him.” “He that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.” Through good and bad report, through darkness, through all the antagonism of the agencies of Satan, the Sun of Righteousness calmly shines on, searching out evil, repressing sin, and reviving the spirit of the humble and contrite ones.
10 “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 838
1 “He that is not with Me, is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me, scattereth abroad.” The mind, the heart, the strength, of every son and daughter of Adam, belongs to God. None of us are at liberty to shape our own course of action as we please. And we can not possibly be neutral. Our influence is cast either for the right or for the wrong. Do not think that because you do not manifest decided hostility against Christ, you are doing him service. Those who think thus deceive their own souls. Every time that you are not guided by the Holy Spirit, your influence is used against Christ. You are scattering abroad. We can not withhold from Christ a portion of his intrusted goods and resources without giving the power of darkness an advantage. By withholding that which God has given us to use in his service, be it time, or means, or influence, we work against him.
2 God’s workers should earnestly co-operate with heavenly intelligences, using every particle of light and grace for the saving of the souls for whom Christ has died. When one of Christ’s professed servants relaxes his hold, Satanic agencies take up the work, hurting and destroying where an active, interested worker might save and strengthen.
3 Souls are in the darkness of error, ignorant of God, of Christ, and of the truth. But too many of those who call themselves Christians, carry no burden for their fellow-beings. They expect the minister to devise all the plans, and set in operation all the influences that are to win souls to the cross of Christ. By far the larger number of professed Christians feel themselves detached from the perishing world around them. Yet they are a part of the great web of humanity, and Heaven looks upon them as brothers to sinners, as well as to saints. As they mingle with others, they exert an influence that either helps souls on the way to heaven, or helps to drive them to perdition. Each one acts himself.
4 I would that those who profess to be servants of Christ could, with the angels, look down from the heavenly courts upon the world, and upon the churches that profess to be serving God and obeying his orders. What would they see?—They would see God’s precious time spent, and nothing accomplished. They would see his intrusted means used for self-gratification and self-indulgence.
5 What more would they behold from the lofty heavens, from which angels descend, cooperating with every one who is dedicated to the service of God? —They would see that this world is the scene of a continuous conflict. They would see that human beings are required to fill posts of duty. They would see unnumbered agencies of evil at work, taking advantage of those who are off guard, to set in operation influences fraught with evil.
6 What further would they see?—They would see that in the great judgment day those who have not worked for Christ, who have drifted along, carrying no responsibility, thinking of themselves, pleasing themselves, will be placed by the Judge of the whole earth with those who did evil. Both receive the same condemnation. If those who thus wasted their lives were given another probation, would they not work soberly and righteously, with soul and mind and strength, to accomplish something for the Master, who left them an example by his life of self-denial and self-sacrifice, by his diligence in the work of saving perishing souls?
7 When Satan succeeds in lulling the professed followers of Christ to carnal security, so that they fall asleep at their post, a shout of joy runs through the ranks of the invisible foe. The enemy uses the listless, sleepy indolence of Christians to strengthen his forces and win souls to his banner. Many who think that, tho they are doing no actual work for Christ, they are yet on his side, are enabling the enemy to preoccupy ground and gain advantages. By their failure to be wide-awake, diligent workers for the Master, by leaving duties undone, and words unspoken, they have allowed Satan to gain control of souls.
8 There is an abundance of work to be done in our world, and no one with reason and a knowledge of the will of God will be excused from doing his share. “Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, against the mighty.” These words mean much to those who have no spirit to labor, no desire to wear the yoke or lift the burdens in the service of Christ. Our faith must be a living faith. It must work by love, and purify the soul. We are to study to show ourselves approved, workmen that need not to be ashamed. We are to employ our intrusted capabilities in God’s service, thus demonstrating our fidelity to him. If we do only a third of what our talents enable us to do, with the other two-thirds of our power we are working against Christ.
9 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” “Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 839
1 While in the upper chamber, just previous to his betrayal, Jesus poured forth the burden of his soul in words of comfort, of counsel, and of prayer which would ever remain imprinted on the hearts and minds of his disciples. But throughout his whole discourse, he made no mournful allusion to his own sufferings and death. The Shepherd knows he will be smitten, that the rod lifted in his Father’s hand will fall heavily upon him because of the law transgressed, but he thinks only of his followers. His heart of tenderest love is ever seeking to cheer them, and to prepare them for their disappointment and his absence. Looking around upon the little flock so soon to be left without a shepherd, he tenderly said: “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
2 Christ longed to have his disciples understand the privileges and advantages coming to them through his death upon the cross. If they had heeded these last lessons, what instruction they would have received! One who loved them was seeking to give them special instruction. He was thinking of them, praying for them. His eye read every phase of their experience during the terrible ordeal through which he was about to pass. O, if they could have looked into that heart of infinite love! If they could only have seen how sorry he was for them! Had they known more of Jesus, more of the deceptions of the human heart; if they could have known of the sorrow of Christ’s heart, that the Shepherd was to be smitten and his sheep scattered; had they but comprehended that he was to gather them again, to speak to them with comforting assurance, they would have known more what his great sacrifice meant.
3 The last supper ended, Christ bent his steps toward the place of his severest suffering in humanity. Jesus had often resorted to Gethsemane with his disciples for meditation and prayer; but never before had he visited the spot with a heart so full of sorrow. In tones of deepest anguish he addressed his disciples: “All ye shall be offended because of me this night; for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.”
4 The period that is to answer to the prophetic past has come, and Jesus takes his disciples over the terrible scenes about to be enacted. He speaks of their scattering and forsaking him at the very time when he most needs their sympathy and their prayers. But he does not allow this thought of sadness to leave a depressing gloom upon them. He wants their hearts to know no fear, but to trust in him. He revives them with hope, assuring them that he will break the fetters of the tomb. “After I am risen,” he says, “I will go before you into Galilee.”
5 But now Peter feels that he must speak, and assure his Master that he will never be guilty of forsaking his Lord. “Tho all men should be offended because of thee,” he says, “yet will I never be offended.”
6 Peter did not realize that in this very assertion he was refusing caution and reproof from Christ. The time had come when silence was eloquence, when to think in quietness was far better than any speech he could have made. But Peter knew so little of his own heart that he denied the truthfulness of Christ’s statement.
7 In answer Jesus said, “Verily I say unto thee, that this night before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” Jesus could see the future. He could read even the thoughts of the heart. He knew that Peter’s first denial would not stop there. His first denial would give occasion to deny again, and the second brought circumstances in its train to lead him to deny the third time, and that with cursing and swearing.
8 On one occasion Christ had declared to his hearers: “Verily, verily I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that heareth me, even he shall live by me.” These words were spoken to test them; and when they heard them, many of his disciples said among themselves, “This is an hard saying, who can hear it?” The spiritual perception of these followers could not grasp Christ’s words, and “from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” Turning to the twelve, Jesus said, “Will ye also go away?” But Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
9 What honor Peter might have done his Lord had he received his words. When tempted to deny his Lord it was his privilege to solicit Christ’s help as earnestly as when, ready to sink beneath the tempestuous waves, he cried, “Lord, save, or I perish.” Then his cry for help brought him a hand that grasped his own; and now, had he said: “Lord, I receive thy word; altho I can not see that it is possible. I love thee, but I do not know myself; and I ask thee to save me from denying thee, whom I so love,” Christ would have saved him from himself. He would have asked for him help of his heavenly Father. He would have prayed that Peter might have been made watchful over his temper, vigilant when most strongly assailed by the enemy, wide-awake to Satan’s wily assaults. Then how watchful Peter would have been to maintain his loyalty to Christ! While others might deny their Lord, he would have remained steadfast. He would have listened silently, and learned of Jesus how to conduct himself under charges and provocation, and in the darkest hour. Then he would have come close to the Saviour, and would have done honor to Christ.
10 But he proved unfaithful, unworthy of being the depository of the rich treasure of God’s grace. At this time Peter should have been examining himself. How distrustful of self should he have been! But he refused to admit that the picture presented before him was correct, and in the place of inviting research, altho the Holy Spirit of God had revealed to him the character he would manifest under test and trial, he refused to accept it.
11 Peter should have taken it for granted that Jesus knew him better than he knew himself. He should have humbled his heart, and asked for special grace that this thing might not be. But this opportunity presented to him he lost by not heeding or believing the warning given. In a most decided manner he declared, “Tho I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.” Peter was thoroughly honest in this assertion, but he was not half as wise as he thought himself to be. He was ignorant of himself. He did not realize his own weakness. He needed a distrust of self, and deeper views of God. If he had humbled his soul before God, in the place of denying the searching and reading of his inmost soul, he would have said with the prophet, “Woe is me; for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.”
12 And so it is today. The reason why so many of Christ’s professed disciples fall into grievous temptation, and make work for repentance, is that they are deficient in a knowledge of themselves. Here is where Peter was so thoroughly sifted by the enemy. Here is where thousands will make shipwreck of faith. But, altho we may have temptations, altho we may be beset by the wily foe, yet if we have the fear of God before us, angels that excel in strength will be sent to our help, and we shall be more than a match for the powers of darkness. Jesus lives. He died to make a way of escape for a fallen race, and he lives today to make intercession for us. As we travel in the narrow way, and have to contend with principalities and powers and meet the opposition of foes, we should bear in mind that provision has been made for us. Help has been laid upon One that is mighty, and through him we may conquer. Mrs. E. G. White.
(Concluded next week.)
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Page 840
1 Peter needed a deeper, broader knowledge of Jesus Christ. He had listened to his words and enjoyed his lessons. He had acknowledged him to be the Son of God, and he believed him to be thus; but he had only touched the margin of faith in Christ. There were depths in the knowledge of his character which demanded his homage, his faith, his tribute of perfect trust and unshaken confidence. “Thou shalt see greater things than these,” is the promise that invites increased expectation.
2 Jesus stood ready to reveal himself to Peter. In his great love he told him of his denial. He sought to reveal the defects of his character, and his need of the help which Christ alone could give. He told Peter that he was mistaken in his ideas of himself, and that in not receiving and believing the words of Christ, he was doing the very evil of which Christ had declared he would be guilty. How earnest, then, should have been Peter’s prayers, that the Lord would teach him how to resist the wiles of the devil, how to be watchful against his temptations! But Peter’s boastful assertions, while refusing to see himself as Christ viewed him, were causing his light to grow dim.
3 Jesus did not try farther to make Peter believe that he knew the course he would pursue; but he knew that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” “Simon, Simon,” he said, “behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
4 The object of conversion is twofold, personal and relative. It is to bless us, and to make us a blessing. This is an individual work; but those who profess to believe the Word of God have so long accustomed their minds to be content with little things that they have disqualified themselves to discern and appreciate the great things prepared for them. In the place of receiving into good and honest hearts the Word that God sends in messages to help them, to elevate, ennoble, and sanctify them, they cavil and gossip over it, because it cuts directly across their inclinations. In the place of seeing their need of conversion, they regard the means which the Lord has provided to change their characters as idle tales. To them their habits are stronger than truth. Individual conversion means a change of character. Man must place himself in personal relation to Christ, that, in the place of following his own hereditary and cultivated tendencies, he may have the mind of Christ, placing himself under the moulding influence of the Holy Spirit.
5 O, that Peter had better learned the lesson given in the fifteenth chapter of John, of the necessity of abiding in Christ! “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,” said Christ, “except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” Peter was listening to his words as, pointing to a vine on which was a withered branch, he said: “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth [pruneth] it, that it may bring forth more fruit. . . . As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. . . . If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
6 Peter denied the Man of Sorrows in his acquaintance with grief, in the hour of his humiliation; but he was filled with shame and sorrow for his act. With blinding tears he made his way to the solitudes of the Garden of Gethsemane, and there prostrated himself where he had seen his Saviour’s prostrate form. He remembered with remorse that he was asleep when Jesus prayed during those fearful hours. His proud heart broke, and penitential tears moistened the sod so recently stained with the bloody sweat-drops of God’s dear Son. He left the garden a converted man.
7 Then how tender and charitable, how meek and forgiving, Peter revealed himself to be! While under the test, he had been but a very dim reflector of the character of his Lord. How much of infirmity, of unmortified sin, of carelessness of spirit, of unsanctified temper, of heedlessness in entering into temptation, he revealed, rather than giving up his own way and will! But now he was ready to pity the tempted. He was humbled, and could sympathize with the weak and erring. He could caution and warn the presumptuous, and was fully fitted to strengthen his brethren.
8 Peter’s history has a lesson for us. We need an abiding Christ with us, as Enoch had when he walked with God three hundred years. We can have what Enoch had. We can have Christ as our constant companion. Enoch walked with God, and when assailed by the tempter, he could talk with God about it. He had no “It is written,” as we have, but he had a knowledge of his heavenly Companion. He made God his counselor, and was closely bound up with Jesus. And Enoch was honored in his course. He was translated to heaven without seeing death. And those who will be translated at the close of time will be those who commune with God on earth. Those who make manifest that their life is hid with Christ in God will ever be representing him in all their life practises.
9 The highest testimony that Peter could have borne for Christ under trial would have been to reveal his steadfast principles, and in revealing the pure, holy beauty of the character of Christ, show that Christ was abiding in him. The Lord would have his followers reveal in their life-practises his life of self-denial, lifting the cross at every step. We are to show our consecration in every act. And this will be the highest testimony that we can bear to the Redeemer’s glory.
10 The Word must be studied, it must rule in the heart, that we may be prepared to bring from the treasure-house good things. Let the Word of God dwell in you richly; then when you are assailed, you will have the armor of God to wear. Having done all, you may stand. When the host of hell seek to destroy with temptations, you will be ready with sharp perception to discern their wiles, and meet them as Christ met his enemy in the wilderness,—with, “It is written.”
11 When men feel themselves strong, then it is that they need the words of inspiration brought to their minds, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Had Peter taken heed, he would not have disgraced himself, and put Christ to open shame. Often the tempted one does not realize that he has unseen, heavenly agencies working in his behalf; but this is so. When we feel our personal weakness, when we depend on Christ, and not on self, we have done what we can. Then the heavenly intelligences are ready to lift up a standard for us against the enemy, saying to the Satanic agencies, “Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther.” At such times if words were to pass from Christ to us, they would be, spoken gently and sympathisingly, “Abide in my love. Be of good cheer. Thou art in Christ’s heart; thou art not alone.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 841
1 While he was still among them, Christ sought to give to his disciples all the encouragement possible; for they were to be sorely tried. “Let not your heart be troubled,” he said, “ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
2 Christ himself was the truth. The world would not listen to his pleadings. They would not accept him as their guide; therefore they could not discern unseen things; spiritual things were unknown to them. But his disciples had discerned in him the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and his promise to them was that they should have his abiding presence. They should have an experimental knowledge of the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. He who had begun a good work in them would perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ.
3 The thought that their Teacher was going to leave them filled the disciples with sorrow; but Christ comforted them with the assurance that he was coming again to take them to the place he would prepare for them. He assured them that if he went not away, he could not provide them with an advocate; that if they only knew of the blessings that were to come because of his departure, they would not mourn; they would rejoice in the presence of the Holy Spirit, who was to be with them always. He told them that if he went not away, they could not do a greater work; but that, deprived of his personal presence, by faith they would see and know him, and by continuance in his love, by showing their appreciation of the truth in revealing to others what the truth is, by obeying his commandments and bearing a living, vital testimony, by doing his work that he would leave in their hands, carrying it forward to completion, they would become representatives of himself.
4 “I will not leave you comfortless,” Christ continued; “I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me; because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
5
Christ attaches a weight of importance to the obedience of his people to the commandments of God. They are to have an intelligent knowledge of them, and bring them into their daily life. But man can keep the commandments of God only as he is in Christ, and Christ in him. And while he is in Christ, having light on his commandments, it is not possible for him to disregard the least of them. None will keep the law of God unless they love Him who is the only-begotten of the Father. And, none the less surely, if they love him, will they express that love by steadfast, willing obedience. And all who love Christ will be loved of the Father, and he will manifest himself to them. In all their emergencies and perplexities they will have a helper in God.
6 But it was difficult even for the disciples to understand the words of Christ. That Christ should manifest himself to them, and yet be invisible to the world, was a mystery to them. They could not understand the words of Christ in spiritual sense. They were thinking of the outward, visible manifestation. They could not take in the fact that they could have the presence of Christ with them, and yet he be unseen by the world. They had yet to learn that the inward spiritual life, all fragrant with the obedience of love, would give them the spiritual power they needed.
7 “Lord, how is it,” questioned one of the disciples, “that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
8
Christ had sought to make the lessons which they did not understand as clear as possible to their befogged minds. But they had failed to understand them. Now he declared that the time was not far distant when every word which they could not grasp would be clearly comprehended as living truth. No more, he says, will you say, I can not comprehend. No longer will you see through a glass darkly. You shall comprehend with all saints what is the length and breadth and depth and height of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. Your Teacher, ascended to heaven, will advocate the cause of all who believe in him. He will plead that spiritual power may be given to you, that in the strength of One mightier than all the enemies of God and man, you may be able to overcome your spiritual foes. He asks you to trust in him, and commit yourself into his keeping.
9 The promise of the Comforter presented a rich truth to the disciples. It assured them that they should not lose their faith under the most trying circumstances. The Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Christ, was to be their Guide, teaching them all things, and bringing all things to their remembrance. This comforter was to be the representative of Christ their Advocate, who is constantly pleading in behalf of the fallen race.
10 He who knows the end from the beginning had provided for the attack of Satanic agencies; and he will fulfill his Word to the faithful in every age. That Word is sure and steadfast; not one jot or tittle of it can fail. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work, teaching, reminding, testifying, coming to the soul as a divine comforter, and convincing of sin as an appointed judge and guide. If men will keep under the protection of God, he will be to them as an impregnable fortress. He will give evidence that his Word can never fail. He will prove a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn; as the Sun of Righteousness he will arise with healing in his beams.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 842
1 In the East, in Christ’s day, the customary greeting when one visited the house of a friend was, “Peace be to this house;” and in leaving it he used the same words. But how different in character is Christ’s farewell! “Peace I leave with you,” he says; “my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
2 The world in its busy activity will try to give us peace. Its cry is, “Peace and safety;” but no dependence is to be placed on its alluring representations. But the peace that Christ leaves as his legacy, he gives not as the world giveth. His gift is of higher value than can be computed; it is eternal.
3 Of Christ the prophet Isaiah had written, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
4 Christ bears the title of “Prince of Peace,” yet he says of himself, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I am not come to send peace on earth, but a sword.” In explanation of this apparent contradiction, he declared, “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but in me ye shall have peace.” Christ warned his disciples that the time would come when they should be hated of all men for his sake; that they would be brought before kings and rulers; and that to destroy their lives would be deemed a service done to God. The peace which he bequeathed to his followers was not a peace which would prevent all divisions; it was a peace given and enjoyed in the midst of divisions.
5 Christ brought this peace with him to the world; he carried it with him throughout his earthly life. And now the time had come when he must give his life in order that that peace might ever abide in the heart by faith. As then he left his peace with his disciples, so now he is implanting and maintaining it in the hearts of all who will welcome its presence. From him alone can come that peace which the world can neither give nor take away. His peace was the consciousness of having done the will of his Father; and that peace in his follower is the consciousness that he is doing the will of God, and reflecting his character in good works.
6 “If ye loved me,” said Christ, “ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father; for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.”
7 The time had come for Satan’s last attempt to overcome Christ. But Christ declared, He had nothing in me, no sin that brings me in his power. He can find nothing in me that responds to his Satanic suggestions. No other being could say this but the One who was offering up his life as a sinless sacrifice for a sinful race.
8 “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
9 But why this severe conflict with the prince of the world, when Jesus, through his childhood, youth, and manhood, had lived the law of God? By a word Christ could have mastered the powers of Satan, but he came into the world and took humanity that he might endure every test, every provocation that it is possible for man to bear, and yet not be provoked, or retaliate in word, in spirit, or in action. For the honor and glory of God he was to offer himself a living, spotless sacrifice to the Father. He must bear, under fierce temptations, the test that Adam failed to endure. He suffered, being tempted; but there was no yielding to the temptations of Satan. He did as the Father had given him commandment.
10 Christ was a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. The worlds unfallen, the heavenly intelligences, and the fallen race were watching every movement made by the representative of the Father and the representative of perfect humanity. And in his mouth was found no guile; his character was without a flaw.
11 All the humiliation which Christ endured was in behalf of the fallen race, that man might have the mind of Christ. Christ revealed to the world the love of God for fallen man and the perfect love which he bore his Father. And in humanity this same love is to be revealed. In the fallen race the very image of God is to be reflected. The cold heart is to be quickened and glow with divine love. It is to beat in unison with the heart of the Redeemer. The honor of Christ must stand complete in the perfection of the character of his chosen people. He desires that they shall represent his character to the world. In the work of redemption, in the sufferings which Christ was called upon to endure, you are to co-operate with him, that you may be complete in him. In being united to him by faith, believing and receiving him, you become part of himself. Your character is his glory revealed in you. Then, when you shall appear in his presence, you will find the benediction awaiting you, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over the many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 “And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the Mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.” “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.” As Christ left the disciples, bidding them pray for themselves and for him, he selected three, Peter, James, and John, and went still farther into the seclusion of the garden. These three disciples had been with him at his transfiguration; they had seen the heavenly visitors, Moses and Elias, talking with Jesus, and Christ desired their presence on this occasion also. And he “began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch with me.”
2 Christ expressed his desire for human sympathy, and then withdrew himself from them about a stone’s cast. Falling upon his face he prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
3 At the end of an hour, Jesus, feeling the need of human sympathy, rose from the ground, and staggered to the place where he had left his three disciples. He longed to see them. His human nature yearned for human sympathy. He longed to hear from them words that would bring him some relief in his suffering. But he was disappointed. They did not bring to him the help he craved. Instead, he “findeth them sleeping.”
4 Just before he bent his footsteps to the garden, Jesus had said to his disciples, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night;” and they had given Christ the strongest assurances that they would never forsake their Lord, that they would go to prison with him, and if need be would suffer and die with him. And poor, self-sufficient Peter had added, “Altho all shall be offended, yet will not I.” But the disciples trusted in their own strength; they did not look to the mighty Helper, as Christ had counseled them to do. Thus at the most critical moment, when the Son of God was in need of their sympathy and heart-felt prayers, they were found asleep. Even the ardent Peter, who, only a few hours before had declared that he would die with his Lord, was sleeping.
5 Addressing Peter, Jesus said: “Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” Even in his great agony he was willing to excuse the weakness of his disciples. “The spirit truly is ready,” he said, “but the flesh is weak.”
6 Again the Son of God was seized with super-human agony, and, fainting and exhausted, he staggered back to the place of his former struggle. His suffering was even greater than before. Only a short time before Christ had poured out his soul in songs of praise in unfaltering accents, as one who was conscious of his Sonship to God. He had spoken to his disciples in words of tenderness and love. Now his voice came to them on the still evening air, not in tones of triumph, but full of human anguish. So lately he had been serene in his majesty, he had been like a mighty cedar; now he was as a broken reed. The words of the Saviour were borne to the ears of the drowsy disciples, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” Their first impulse was to go to him; but he had bidden them tarry there, watching unto prayer lest they should enter into temptation. But when Jesus came to them again, he found them sleeping; “for their eyes were heavy.” “And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.” “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
7 Hear that agonized prayer of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane! While the disciples were sleeping beneath the spreading branches of the olive trees, the Son of man,—a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,—was prostrate upon the cold earth. As the agony of soul came upon him, large blood drops were forced from his pores, and with the falling dew moistened the sods of Gethsemane, while from the pale and quivering lips came the words, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”
8 Christ was now standing in a different attitude from that in which he had ever stood before. Hitherto he had been as an intercessor for others; now he longs for an intercessor for himself. In his soul anguish he lay prostrate upon the cold earth. Christ had suffered insult at the hands of the men whom he came to bless and save; he had been charged with being linked with Beelzebub, that his miracles of healing were wrought through Satanic agencies; but these things did not cause him the intense agony of soul he was now suffering. He was bearing the penalty of transgression for a sinful world. This proceeded not from Satan nor from man. It is best described in the words of the prophet, “Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the Man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts.” Christ was realizing his Father’s frown. He was now suffering under divine justice. He saw what justice meant. He felt that as man’s substitute and surety he must be bound to the altar. He had taken the cup of suffering from the lips of guilty men, and proposed to drink it himself, and in its place give to men the cup of blessing.
9 Satan urged upon Christ all the force of his temptations. He presented before him that the sin of the world, so offensive to God, was chastisement too great. He would never again be looked upon as pure and holy and undefiled, as God’s only-begotten Son. He had himself become a sinner, and would suffer the penalty of sin. The wrath that would have fallen upon man, was now to fall upon him.
10 It was here that the mysterious cup trembled in his hand. It was here the destiny of a lost world was hanging in the balance. Would his human nature bear the strain? Would the sins of an apostate world, since Adam’s transgression to the close of time, be laid upon him? Would he drink the cup? Or would he wipe the blood drops from his brow, and cast from his soul the guilt of a perishing world, which was placing him, all innocent, all undeserving, under the penalty of a just law? Would he refuse to become man’s substitute and surety, refuse to give him another trial, another probation? It was not yet too late to refuse to drink that awful cup of suffering, the wrath of his Father against transgression. He might have said, “Let the wilful transgressor receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to my Father.” But no; he did not make this choice. Altho sin was the awful thing that had opened the flood-gates of woe upon the world, he would become the propitiation of a race that had willed to sin. Mrs. E. G. White.
( Concluded next week.)
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1 The heavenly universe had watched with intense interest the entire life of Christ,—every step from the manger to the present awful scene. And what a scene was this for ten thousand times ten thousands of angels, of cherubim and seraphim, to look upon. They beheld the Son of God, their loved Commander, in his superhuman agony apparently dying on the field of battle to save a lost and perishing world. All heaven had listened to that prayer of Christ. His soul agony, which three times forced from his pale and quivering lips the cry, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt,” convulsed all heaven. They saw their Lord inclosed by legions of Satanic forces, his human nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. Everywhere he may look is a horror of great darkness beyond the measurement of human minds. And there was silence in heaven; no harp was touched. Could mortals have viewed the amazement of the angelic host as they watched in silent grief the Father separating his beams of light, love, and glory, from the beloved Son, they would better understand how offensive sin is in his sight.
2 In the supreme crisis, when heart and soul are breaking under the load of sin, Gabriel is sent to strengthen the divine Sufferer, and brace him to tread his blood-stained path. And while the angel supports his fainting form, Christ takes the bitter cup, and consents to drink its contents. Before the suffering One comes up the wail of a lost and perishing world, and the words come from the blood-stained lips. “Nevertheless, if man must perish unless I drink this bitter cup, thy will, not mine, be done.”
3 Prophecy had declared that the “mighty One,” the holy One from Mount Paran, was to tread the winepress alone; “of the people there was none” with him. His own arm brought salvation; he was ready for the sacrifice. The fearful crisis was past. That agony which none but God could endure, Christ had borne.
4 The human nature of Christ was like unto ours, and suffering was more keenly felt by him; for his spiritual nature was free from every taint of sin. Therefore his desire for the removal of suffering was stronger than human beings can experience. How intense was the desire of the humanity of Christ to escape the displeasure of an offended God, how his soul longed for relief, is revealed in the words, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”
5 Yet Christ had not been forced to take this step. He had contemplated this struggle. To his disciples he had said, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished.” “Now is your hour, and the power of darkness.” He had volunteered to lay down his life to save the world. The claims of God’s government had been misapprehended through the deceptive words and works of Satan, and the necessity of a mediator was seen and felt by the Father and the Son. And now the great antitype of all the sacrificial offerings had come. In Christ type had met antitype. In the sacrifice of himself was the substance which all the sacrifices symbolized. In surrendering his spotless soul a living sacrifice, Jesus was bearing the sin of the world; he was enduring the curse of the law; he was vindicating the justice of God. Separation from his Father, the punishment for transgression, was to fall upon him, in order to magnify God’s law and testify to its immutability. And this was forever to settle the controversy between Satan and the Prince of heaven in regard to the changeless character of that law.
6 The Son of God endured the wrath of God against sin. All the accumulated sin of the world was laid upon the Sin-bearer, the One who was innocent, the One who alone could be the propitiation for sin, because he himself was obedient. He was one with God. Not a taint of corruption was upon him. Yet “being in the form of God,” he “thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. . . . For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.”
7 And was all this suffering undergone to give men the liberty to transgress the law of God?—No, no. This scene of suffering was because of the law transgressed. In order to save the sinner, and yet meet the demands of the law, it was necessary for Christ to suffer the sinner’s penalty. Satan’s falsehood that has placed the Christian world as transgressors of God’s law would not have been found in such company if his temptations had not taken with them as they did with Adam, if by their tradition man had not made void the law of God in the place of leading men to obedience to all its commands.
8 Strengthened by the angel sent from heaven, Jesus for the third time returned to his disciples. And again he found them sleeping. The disciples looked with terror and amazement upon his face, which was marked with blood, and marred more than the sons of men. Only a short distance had separated them from their Lord, and they had heard the exclamations from his divine lips. And they had prayed as they had heard the strong cries of the Sufferer. They did not intend to forsake their Lord, but they seemed paralyzed by a stupor which they might have shaken off if they had continued pleading with God. Had the disciples heeded the words of their suffering Master, “Pray ye, that ye enter not into temptation,” they would never have allowed sleep to stupefy their senses. They would have been partakers with him in his suffering.
9 And in thus sleeping they sustained a great loss. Christ designed to fortify them for the severe test of their faith to which they would soon be subjected. If they had spent that mournful period in watching with the Saviour, Peter would not have been left to his own feeble strength to deny his Lord in the time of trial. The disciples might have stood on vantage-ground through the terrible scenes that were before them. They might have stood secure, defended by the heavenly angels. In God they might have overcome the wicked one. If they had remained watching, they would not have lost faith as they beheld the Son of God dying upon the cross.
10 And now they hear the heavy tramp of soldiers in the garden. “Behold,” said Christ, “the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up; let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.” Judas believed that Christ would not permit himself to be taken. “And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, Master; and kissed him.” “But Jesus saith unto Judas, Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?”
11 “And, behold, one of them which was with Jesus, stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I can not now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?”
12 To the multitude Christ turned and said: “Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not; but the Scripture must be fulfilled.” The disciples were now all together again, surrounding their Lord, but with these words terror seized them, and at the suggestion of Peter, they “all forsook him and fled.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 It may be surprising to some that Christ’s work was confined to so small a circumference, that it was not extended to the heathen nations surrounding Palestine. But the heathen nations were not prepared for his work. And had he devoted his time to the conversion of the Gentile world, he would have closed the door whereby he could bear his message to the Jewish nation. As it was, Jewish prejudice against him was strong. One discourse given by him in Nazareth so enraged the people that they would have killed him if divine power had not saved him from their wicked purposes. The mob drove him out of the synagog, and pushed him hither and thither, quarreling among themselves as to how they could stop his voice entirely. But presently they lost sight of him. He was gone, they knew not whither.
2 Christ was surrounded by religious enemies. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Why did not the Jewish people receive their Lord? —Because truth did not languish on his tongue. They were displeased with him because he did not receive his instruction from the religious teachers of the nation. Yet he showed that he had a perfect knowledge of the Jewish economy as represented in the Scriptures.
3 The scribes and Pharisees taught the law, but they taught also the commandments of men, mingling human traditions with the divine precepts, covering the genuine requirements of God with man-made forms and ceremonies. Thus their true religious service was corrupted.
4 Christ gave the true interpretation of the law and the prophets, and the true significance of every type and symbol. While the professed teachers of the law made this law a rigorous burden by their unimportant exactions, Christ stood alone, living the law of God. Altho rejected by his own people, he did not fail nor become discouraged. His discrimination between true and false religion was so clear and sharp that the Pharisees were reproached by his words. He did not spare their pretentious godliness, which was mingled with selfishness, hypocrisy, covetousness, and unfair dealing. He did not try to obliterate the distinction which should exist between the righteous principles that should ever govern the lives of those who claim to be children of God, and the principles of the world.
5 Christ taught that the idea of remodeling the religion of the scribes and Pharisees was out of the question. A new piece of cloth can not be sewed on an old garment; for the new will draw away from the old, and the rent will thereby be made worse. So the religion of Christ could not be joined with false religions; for the new principles to be introduced would not harmonize with the old.
6 The temple service, formed after the divine pattern, and once so pure, so sacred and so holy, had been tainted with evil. It could not be remodeled. It was mingled with the defective plans of men, and could not be rebuilt by human power. The true heavenly Architect, he who created men, “so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” One sent from heaven came to restore the ruined temple in its sacred and beautiful proportions.
7 While the Pharisees loaded the people with grievous, man-made exactions, Christ revealed the love of God. The untainted purity of his life, his humility and meekness, his sympathy with all classes, high and low, rich and poor, showed the Pharisees to be whited sepulchers, deceiving the people by their profession of sanctity. The contrast between Christ’s life and the lives of the religious teachers shed rich light on the pathway of those who claimed to worship God. In his person and mission he revealed the love and holiness of God, and priests and rulers should have set before him an open door; but they chose darkness rather than light.
8 While Christ’s field of labor lay among the Jews, he instructed his disciples to go forth to those without the camp, bearing to them the message of a Saviour’s love. Frequently the people of other nations came to him to be healed, or to make some request for their relatives and friends. They listened to Christ’s instruction, and as they heard his words of truth, they were deeply impressed. These people represented the great human family, who knew not God or the truth, but who felt a soul-longing for something they had not. In speaking words of hope to these weary, unsatisfied souls, in healing their infirmities, Christ was setting an example to be followed from one end of the world to another. He was speaking and acting for humanity at large. He was giving a message to those who would afterward become his disciples. In the few years of his work he must set forth the object of his mission, and lay the foundation of the work that was to be taken up by his disciples. He must show that his work was to set souls free from the slavery of sin. And, altho generation after generation would pass away, his lessons of practical service would be repeated by his witnesses. He was to ascend to heaven, but his work was to be carried forward with greater power than before, because he and his Father would co-operate in doing greater things for his people than they had seen while he was among them.
9 “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature,” is Christ’s command to his workers. He himself descended from heaven in the garb of humanity that he might give power to man, enabling him to be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. His long human arm encircled the race, while with his divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite. By living, not to please himself, but to please his heavenly Father, by spending his life for others, by seeking to save suffering humanity, Christ gave practical lessons of self-denial and self-sacrifice.
10 We are to work while it is day; for the night cometh, in which no man can work. Our life is represented as a day. When night comes to us, we fall asleep. But tho the worker ceases his busy activity, the work goes on; for others take it up. Human agents may pass away, but Christ’s work does not cease; it goes forward, each worker doing God service by working as Christ worked.
11 We often feel that in the work of God there are greater interests to be handled, that we are unable to touch. We seem to be bound about. Let all remember that Christ’s work while on earth was confined in a narrow compass. Yet multitudes from all parts of the world heard his lessons.
12 Christ worked out before his disciples and before the world a perfect example of true religion. And when men show that patience, sympathy, and love for the souls of their fellow-men that Christ showed, Christ will be revealed in his followers. “We are laborers together with God,” writes Paul; “ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” By his Holy Spirit God is framing the building, using sanctified men and women to compose his temple. But none can do a good work, at home or abroad, unless they receive power from above. If we would work as Christ worked, we must look to Christ to give our work efficiency and perfection. We must depend upon Christ, our risen and ascended Saviour, our substitute, our surety, our power, and our sufficiency.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” “O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things; his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.”
2 The great plan of redemption was laid before the foundation of the world. And Christ, our Substitute and Surety, did not stand alone in the wondrous undertaking of the ransom of man. In the plan to save a lost world, the counsel was between them both; the covenant of peace was between the Father and the Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, would become a servant. The only-begotten Son, in whom the Father delighted, was given for the ransom of a fallen race.
3 Those who represent God the Father as unloving, ready to break forth on his sinful creatures in vindictive wrath, do not speak the truth. In his prayer to his Father, Christ said, “O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee.” The world has measured God by their own finite measurement. They have misjudged and misinterpreted his truth and righteousness. But Christ could say, “I have known thee, for I have been in the secret chambers of the Most High.” If the world had been admitted into the counsels of God, they would have one and only one testimony to bear, and that is, “God is love.”
4 The Father gave himself to the world in the gift of his Son. It was the love of the Father for fallen man that devised in union with the Son the plan of redemption. And in this great gift the character of God is exemplified to all who shall receive the world’s Redeemer by faith, as a God of holiness and a God of love. In the crucifixion of his dear Son upon the cross of Calvary, he gives to all the sons and daughters of Adam an expression of his justice and his love. This offering made manifest the immutability of the holiness of his law. In the cross of Calvary justice and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
5 The Lord God omnipotent is the God of his people. He is also a tender, loving Father, ready to hear their prayers; for God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. God sent forth his Son to be the propitiation for them through faith in his atoning blood.
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What was the cause of the suffering of God’s dear Son in the garden of Gethsemane—suffering so intense that it forced from his lips words that revealed the greatest mental distress: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death?” Christ had often sought the Father in his trouble and anguish of Spirit, as he beheld with keen distress the situation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Often in the lonely mountains he had prayed most earnestly, with strong crying and tears, because of all the people on the face of the earth, none were so filled with bitterness and hatred against him as were those who had been favored with every temporal and spiritual advantage. This was the people for whom the Son of God had done so much, in order that they might become a treasure-house of rich truth, to impart the same to the world. And this people, who claimed to know God, were opening their hearts to the attributes of Satan.
7 To Christ these things were a terrible trial. He had suffered insult from the hands of the men whom he came to bless and save, he had been charged with being linked with Beelzebub, that his miracles of healing were wrought through Satanic agencies, but these things did not cause him the intense agony of soul that he was now suffering. He was bearing the penalty of transgression for a guilty world. This proceeded not from Satan nor from man. It is best described in the words of the prophet, “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts; smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.”
8 The spirit that the Pharisees manifested toward Christ has been manifested through all ages by those who claim to believe present truth. They have watched for some word or action which they could use to the disadvantage of the messengers whom God has sent to reprove, rebuke, and reform them from their evil works. And when sin has been reproved, their hatred has become as deeply rooted as it was in the hearts of the Pharisees.
9 “And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
10 This demonstration on this occasion was answering to the prophetic past: “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” The priests and elders would fain have robbed Jesus of this adoration, but prophecy must be fulfilled. If the voice of his people were silent, Christ declared God would put a voice in the stones, and the proclamation would be made in his behalf, “Behold your God.”
11 “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” At the time when the enthusiastic multitude were gazing upon Jerusalem, the metropolis of the world, the temple with its towers rising toward heaven, gilded with the rays of the fast westering sun, a strange note was brought in amid the general rejoicing, a cry of human agony, followed by the irrevocable sentence upon Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s day will soon be ended.
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Who now will hold their peace when the very work which God has foretold should be done is being accomplished? “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
13 The truth of the third angel’s message has been proclaimed by some as a dry theory. But we must all place in that message Christ, as the first and the last, the I AM, the bright and morning Star. The message must be given, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” The second coming of Christ is near, even at the door. Who are prepared to look upon the bright and Morning-star? Who are ready to glorify God? Who will bring the bright and morning-star of hope, of mercy, of forgiveness, and of peace into their own hearts, and proclaim the last message of mercy to be given to the world? “O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”
14 God’s people must give to the world a representation of the character of God in Jesus Christ. The Christian churches are fast losing their knowledge of God. His character has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. But a message has come from God which must be proclaimed. The trumpet must give a certain sound. “I Jesus have sent mine angel to proclaim these things to the churches.” The truth, the revelation which Jesus gave to John, must be sounded forth everywhere. “Lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
15 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you that these things shall come unto this generation. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”
16 Our work is now to rouse the people. Satan with all his angels has come down with great power, to work with every conceivable deception to counterwork the work of God. The Lord has a message for his people. This message will be borne, whether men will accept or reject it. As in the days of Christ, there will be the deep plottings of the powers of darkness, but the message must not be muffled with smooth words or fair speeches, crying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace, to those who are turning away from God. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God; they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.”
17
This whole chapter is applicable to those who are living in this period of the earth’s history. Consider this chapter attentively; for it will be fulfilled. At this time the message is to come to the people to warn them against being one of the number represented by Jesus Christ as fulfilling the prophecy: “As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” “Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
18 The life of Christ, in its self-denial and self-sacrifice, is to be made manifest at this time. This is the time when there should be decided testimonies borne by all of God’s commandment-keeping people. “Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” This is our message to every family who claims to know the truth, “Be ye also ready.” Self must die. The appetites and passions must be brought into strict conformity to the Word of God. Selfish indulgence is weakening physical, mental, and moral power, so that there is no distinction between the sacred and the common. “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 847
1 As the Saviour met with His disciples for the last time before His baptism of suffering, His thoughts were not of His approaching agony and death, but of the bitter disappointment that was to come upon His disciples. He saw them downcast and sorrowful; and, with a heart full of sympathy and tenderness for them, He said: “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”
2 Thomas showed his unbelief by saying mournfully, “Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way?” This question showed that the disciples had not understood Christ’s oft-repeated lessons in regard to the kingdom of heaven and the future life. But Christ did not rebuke them. He answered Thomas, not alone to instruct him and his fellow-disciples, but for the benefit of all who should believe on Him through their word, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
3 Jesus here made more distinct and plain than ever before the great central truth of all the Gospel. Every lesson given by the great Teacher called forth questions requiring explanation. His answers to these questions presented the truth with freshness and power. This truth is appropriate to all ages, and is spoken to us just as truly as tho Christ in person were among us, teaching us of the things of the kingdom of God.
4 Truth must be presented to the people in clear lines, and never was this more needed than when Christ came to this earth. Satan had arranged matters after his own order. Truth was not appreciated. Where God should reign supreme, the enemy of God and man was seen. Light was called darkness, and darkness light. Licentiousness and fiction had taken the place of righteousness and truth. Men seemed to be fascinated by evil. Any new ideas that started into life, even tho they were mere vagaries, seemed to possess a bewitching power.
5 The standard of morality was low. The impure mysteries of the worship of the people had a degrading power on them; and anything that called to remembrance the goodness, mercy, and love of God, was destroyed. The people could not even endure hereditary nobility of character, because this had a tendency to lift them from their debasement. Men of talent, through whom Christ was working to bring about a reformation, were despised, and many of them suffered a violent death.
6 Statues were worshiped. Art was made to minister to sin. Nearly every work of art and science was mingled with defilement. Genius was used to obliterate the knowledge of God. The richness of intellect was blotted out of existence. Satan’s dark shadow brooded over everything, and the only people who could have revealed God to the world were so destitute of faith and love that they could not be expected to do anything to stem the tide of woe.
7 Christ came to illuminate the chambers of the mind, to dispel the darkness, and to fill the soul-temple with hope and gladness. And the truth He brought lost nothing by being questioned and critically examined. Christ often illustrated His lessons by parables, which were afterward explained to the disciples, who were to herald the Gospel message.
8 The perversion and misinterpretation of the Scriptures by the Pharisees, and even by those who claimed to believe His words, made it necessary for Christ to speak plainly. It is thought by some to be a misfortune when erroneous theories are advanced, but the Lord has said, “All things work together for good to them that love God.” The contention among the Corinthians made it necessary for Paul to write his wonderful epistles to them. If the Gentiles had not backslidden from the faith, Paul would not have written, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you out of the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another.” It was a misapplication of the Scriptures, to prove falsehood and error true. If the Thessalonians had not misinterpreted the instruction they received, they would not have entertained the belief that the Lord was immediately to be revealed in the clouds of heaven, thus making it necessary for Paul to present the truth as it is in Jesus, leaving on record truth important for all time. And so opposition against light and truth called from Christ a clearer definition of the truth. Every time that error is advanced, it will work for good to those who sincerely love God; for when the truth is shadowed by error, those whom the Lord has made His sentinels will make the truth sharper and clearer. They will search the Scriptures for evidence of their faith. The advancement of error is the call for God’s servants to arouse, and place the truth in bold relief.
9 There are those who would rather start speculative ideas, and dwell on new themes, so arousing a desire for something new and strange, than learn the precious lessons given by Christ. By some these speculative ideas are made all and in all. And thus they neglect to seek for the qualifications that they must possess if they would win the eternal reward. The one thing for us to know is Christ, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “This is life eternal,” He said, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”
10 “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” If men and women would hear these words, meditate on them, and believe them with the whole heart, all controversy would be ended. Men think too much of what they themselves can do. They become elated and self-confident. They fail to realize their entire dependence upon God. They think that God is dependent on their ability in His work of saving souls. If these looked to Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, they would realize the truth of the words, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” “No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me,” Christ declared. But while the good works even of the best men can not save them, none can be saved without bearing the fruit of good works. The sanctifying power of Christ upon the heart will produce precious fruit, and His Spirit and power will make our works acceptable to God. If by His Holy Spirit Christ abides in the soul, our features, our attitude, our words will reveal Him to the world.
11 Christ prayed that His followers might be one, “as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou has sent Me.” If the truth were received, its transforming power, as seen in the lives of Christ’s followers, would have a convicting power on the most hardened sinners. The holy conversation, humble deportment, the meekness and kindness, would present such a marked contrast to the spirit and character of worldlings, the line of demarcation would be so evident, that this in itself would bring conviction. The words would reveal the purity and fragrance of heaven, and they would also be sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of joints and marrow, and of soul and spirit.
12 “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Through sin the world had been separated from heaven. Men might have looked hopelessly at the heavenly battlements, and in distress and anxiety exclaimed, How shall we reach the abode of bliss? With Thomas they could say truthfully, “Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way? But with His own body Christ bridged the gulf that sin had made. I have provided a way, He says, whereby you may again be united with heaven. I have bridged the deep and impassable gulf. To every soul that desires to cross that gulf I will give help and strength.
13 Thus the exiles are made prisoners of hope. They are placed on probation. God would have us realize the estimate He places on us. He would have us consecrate our whole energies to the help of the heavenly angels, who are striving to lead men to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Men are working out their own destiny, but God helps every soul that appeals to Him in its helplessness. Those who look to Jesus as the Author and Finisher of their faith, never look in vain. They will never miss the road to Paradise; for they are walking in the true way, and from Christ they receive moral power.
14 Christ is the ladder to heaven. The base of this ladder rests firmly on the earth, brought to the very level of humanity, while the topmost round reaches and rests firmly on the throne of God. Jacob saw the glory of God shining above this ladder, while the brightness of the Sun of Righteousness illuminated its whole length. Descending this ladder of shining brightness were angels of God, with communications to the inhabitants of this earth.
15 Only by Christ’s aid can we be saved. If by our own efforts we could reach heaven, Christ need not have left the royal courts, to come to a world all seared and marred by the curse, to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, to be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet without sin. But we can reach heaven only by the mystic ladder, Jesus Christ; and He came to this earth that we might be enabled to do this. Here the battle between the prince of darkness and the Prince of light was fought, and here Christ conquered in our behalf. Of His own free will He laid down His life, that He might take it again; and today a living Saviour stands in the heavenly courts as our Intercessor, pleading for us, that through His merits we may be enabled to resist the temptations of the enemy, and be more than conquerors through Him. He knows how to succor them that are tempted, and to deliver the godly out of temptation. Surely He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 848
1 In the announcement, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Christ by no means pointed His disciples to a new way. Since the days of Adam, the Lord has had His representatives, men who have kept alive the influences imparted to them from heaven. Since the first Gospel sermon was preached, when in Eden it was declared that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, Christ has been uplifted as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The same Christ that is at work today among all classes of people, was at work in the days when Adam lived, when Abel died by the hand of his brother because he presented to God the blood of the slain lamb, representing the blood of Christ. Abel’s faithful adherence to God’s commands in bringing a lamb as his sacrifice, offended Cain. He had another way, and this way he wanted Abel to follow, instead of following the way of the Lord. Abel would not yield God’s way for the way of his brother, and he was murdered. But tho dead, Abel yet speaks.
2 Enoch was one of God’s representatives. During his life on earth he walked with God, and God took him to heaven without seeing death. Enoch prophesied of the great event which is the consummation of all things earthly,—the second coming of Christ. Noah’s persevering righteousness and faith made him a representative man. The deep, earnest fidelity of Abraham cause him to be called by God “the father of the faithful.” For his self-sacrificing zeal Moses received the testimony that he was the meekest and most humble of all the human family. These were characters illustrious for spirituality and moral excellence.
3 In every age Christ has been the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He was the Originator and foundation of the Jewish economy. In the pillar of cloud He guided the children of Israel in their wanderings. Everything was adjusted and arranged by the hand of Divinity. And all the knowledge that came direct from God to them, all the power and glory of that ancient economy, had been poured into the treasury of the Christian church. Nothing has been lost. The accumulated light of generations is given to the church of today, not to be hoarded, but to be circulated. Messengers are to be sent to every part of the earth, proclaiming Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
4 The earthly temple is no more. Its mysterious vail has been rent asunder; its sacred vessels have been demolished, and the Jewish people are scattered to every part of the world. But the judgments that fell on that nation are a symbol of those that will fall on all who, like Jerusalem, know not the time of their visitation. Let not man mock the ancient Jewish economy, of which Christ was the Originator, and the One to whom the types and shadows pointed. In these types and shadows is revealed the everlasting Gospel.
5 The idea that the Old Testament no longer possesses vital interest because the New Testament has been written, is an idea fatal to the soul of him who believes it. Both the Old Testament and the New are necessary. The New Testament does not contain another Gospel, a new religion. It is but the unfolding of the Old. The past ages are of peculiar value to us; and those who are ignorant of the Scriptures, and of the power of God as manifest in the history of His people, understand but dimly the manner of His working.
6 In the Scriptures the past is brought down to our time. The Word of God offers us the treasures of inspired wisdom that have been accumulating from age to age. Before us are examples of piety and devotion. The lives of these men have been placed on record, not to exalt them, but to make us wise unto salvation, to show us the errors and mistakes of good men, and to lead us to imitate their virtues. Let those who talk of the patriarchal and prophetic age as a Christless age, read their Bibles with humble heart, praying for power to follow the example of holy men of God.
7 Christ was the way by which patriarchs and prophets were saved, and to pour contempt upon this way is to pour contempt upon Christ, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, and giving directions to Moses to be given to the children of Israel. There was plenty of light in the old way to lead every soul to the abodes of bliss.
8 The prophets of God spoke less for their own time than for the ages to come, and especially for the generation that would live amid the last scenes of this earth’s history. “Not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into.” “All these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” The prophets and apostles meet and unite their witness, testifying of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. The wonderful events in the history of the children of Israel are not to be lost sight of or ignored because of the lapse of time. They are jewels of truth that have been placed in false settings. Christ came to redeem them from error, and to reset them in the framework of truth, that they might shine in their native purity and attractive loveliness. By Him they have been made to give forth a brighter and more powerful luster than ever before.
9 The patriarchs and prophets were representative men, and through them, from century to century, a flood of knowledge was poured into the world. Adam, repentant and converted, was a Christian; Abel was a Christian; Enoch was a Christian; Noah was a Christian; Abraham was a Christian. In types and symbols the Gospel was revealed to those of former dispensations. The Old Testament Scriptures show us the power possessed by those who looked to Christ. The glorious beams of continually-increasing light are all concentrated in our time. All testify of Christ, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” But never was this truth so clearly defined as in Christ’s answer to the words, “Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way.” Christ is revealed to us in His first advent. We see Him sacrificing riches, power, and glory for poverty, temptation, privation, and suffering.
10 Christ is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There are not many ways to heaven. Each one may not choose his own way. Christ says: “I am the Way. . . . No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” Unless we are individually in this way, we can not reach the heavenly mansions. The Question for each one to ask himself is, Am I following Christ because I know that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Am I in the path that leads to perfect obedience? Those who walk in this way never lose their strength, but constantly receive new power for their heavenward march.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 849
1 In answer to Christ’s words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Philip Said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?” Christ said, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?”
2 Christ came to our world to reveal the Father. Whatever attractions He possessed, He manifested only those that dwell in the character of God. His words revealed the goodness, mercy, and love of the Father. His excellence was the perfection of the Father. In His every word and work may be seen the manifestation of the attributes of His Father.
3 In Christ dwelt all the fulness of the God-head. But the only way in which He could reach men was to vail His glory by a garb of humanity. The angels beheld the hiding of His glory, that divinity might touch humanity. Christ ever retained the utmost hatred for sin, but He loved the purchase of His blood. He suffered in the place of sinful men, taking them into union with Himself. This is the mystery into which angels desire to look. They desire to know how Christ could live and work in a fallen world, how He could mingle with sinful humanity. It was a mystery to them that He who hated sin with intense hatred felt the most tender, compassionate sympathy for the beings that committed sin.
4 Satan had worked long to efface the true impression of God, and to represent Him as a God having no love. This is Satan’s character. He is destitute of mercy and compassion. Overbearing and revengeful, he delights in the misery that he brings on the human family. With these attributes he attempted to clothe the God of heaven.
5 Christ came to remove these unjust impressions. He came to assure men that they need not fear to approach God because of His greatness and majesty. He constantly sought to carry the attention of His hearers to God. He presented the greatness of the Father’s love, declaring that He had so great a care for His children that even the hairs of their head are numbered. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without the notice of the heavenly Father. He sympathizes with all the creatures He has made, and if the heart is given into His hands, and attuned by His power, it will respond by strains of melody and thanksgiving.
6 In His wisdom the Saviour teaches us to approach God with the confidence of a child. He instructs us to call Jehovah by the endearing name of “Father,” that we may not separate from Him in awe and coldness. Constantly He points us to the emblems of fatherly love, seeking to encourage faith and confidence in God. He pleads with us to have a correct idea of the Father. He throws back the accusation of the enemy, declaring, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” He would have the memorials of redeeming grace arrest our attention, that we may know that all the goodness, mercy, patience, forbearance, seen in Him, belong to God.
7 But notwithstanding the fact that the disciples were privileged to be with Christ, and were greatly blessed by His instruction, they were slow to appropriate His words to themselves, and many times they remained in ignorance of the true meaning of the precious utterances that fell from His lips. He pleaded with them to have faith in Him. “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.” “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Is not the fruit I bear sufficient evidence?
8 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me [not with a fluctuating faith, but as the only-begotten Son of God, and a personal Saviour], the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” This promise the disciples held fast by faith, and on the day of Pentecost it was graciously fulfilled by the Lord. They were bidden not to leave Jerusalem till they had been endued with power from on high. They therefore remained in Jerusalem, fasting and praying. They emptied from their hearts all bitterness, all estrangement, all differences; for this would have prevented their prayers being as one. And when they were emptied of self, Christ filled the vacancy. The Holy Spirit came upon them, and filled all the house where they were sitting. Then was the promise fulfilled: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.’
9 The Holy Spirit leads men to co-operate with God. This is the design in divine help. And in our turn we are to lead others to Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As we engage in this work with heart and soul, we are blessed and strengthened. God stands ready to co-operate with us, but this He can not do till we do our duty. If ministers and teachers would learn the lessons given here so clearly and explicitly, a great change would take place in the ministry of the Word. They would realize their entire dependence upon God, and would work for Him with whole-hearted earnestness. The Holy Spirit would work in and through them, and the unconverted would be rescued from their insensibility.
10 The great reason why the church has not more efficiency and power is that its members love the world. They reject the Spirit of God, and fill their hearts with idols. They love the world, and the things of the world, and of all such the words of inspiration declare, “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” They are not, as was Christ, in the world but not of the world. The Lord can not manifest Himself to professed Christians who love the world; for spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
11 The Holy Spirit is given to bring to our remembrance the words and works of Christ, spoken for the salvation of the soul; and if this Spirit were recognized and appreciated, spiritual life would increase one hundred-fold. But many do not choose to remember. They seek rather to forget the good impression made on mind and heart. They do not desire to yield their way for God’s way. God bears long with them, and his Spirit is constantly employed to bring spiritual things to their remembrance, that subjects of vital importance may find a lodgment in their hearts. The Spirit takes of the things of God, and presents them to mind. Constantly the mind is given glimpses of God. If men listen for the voice of God, these spiritual impressions become more and more frequent, and extend from one to another till the leaven seems to go through the whole church. A divine presence hovers over the people, and a revival is the result. Souls are converted. The sympathies and energies of the people are enlisted on the side of the truth. God works in them, to will and to do of his good-pleasure, breaking the spell of the world, and engrossing the thoughts with subjects of eternal interest.
12 The most powerful motives and attractions that can be imagined are offered to reclaim man, and win him from the path of transgression to the path of humble obedience. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?” No stronger inducement could be offered. Nothing is withheld. In Christ God gave Himself. He has enriched the world with a gift beyond all parallel. This gift is the source of all patience, forbearance, and mercy. In it is love sufficient to fill the whole world. It is of infinite value; for with it was given all that heaven could bestow.
13 Our great peril is in regarding the Lord’s plans with cool indifference. All heaven is actively engaged in working out the plans of God for the salvation of an unbelieving world. How then do finite men dare to put aside God’s plans for their own? By doing this, they place their souls in great peril. Shall we not respond to God’s love by giving ourselves to Him without reservation, by walking in His way, by determining to do His will? Angels are enlisted in this work. They do the bidding of God by co-operating with human endeavor. They are filled with amazement; for they are unable to measure the greatness of God’s love. The chosen instruments of righteousness join in the testimony, saying, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” As the followers of Christ see Him, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, they exclaim, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Charged with a special message, they proclaim Christ, and Him crucified.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 850
1 As Christ was speaking His last words of instruction to His disciples, before His crucifixion, Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Amazed at his dullness of comprehension, Christ asked with pained surprise, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?” The disciples had been Christ’s companions for nearly three years; they had listened to His words, witnessed His mighty works, and heard Him say to the Pharisees as He read their thoughts, “I and My Father are one,” and He was astonished that they did not yet know Him. If they had not been so slow of comprehension, if they had been more devoted hearers and doers of the Saviour’s words, they would not thus have grieved His heart of love by their unbelief.
2 Philip’s doubt called for the utterance of golden truth, which it was essential for the disciples to hear. “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” Christ asked. “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.” Not long before this, Christ had declared solemnly and decidedly: “He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me. And he that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness.”
3 Christ showed that the treasures of eternity were at His command. He was under no control in the disposal of them. He who thought it not robbery to be equal with God brought into the world the accumulated treasures of eternity. With authority and decision He said that those who suffered here for His name’s sake should receive their reward in heaven, thus showing His oneness with God.
4 Speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul says of Christ: “God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
5 In His teaching Christ referred to Jonah. The prophet went to Nineveh to deliver God’s message, and the warning rang through the streets of the godless city. His message humbled the nation at that time the mightiest in the earth. The proclamation of their destruction caused them to repent in great humiliation, and their doom was averted. The law of God was revered and the God of Israel honored and exalted throughout the heathen world. This experience the Jews kept ever in remembrance. But said Christ, “A greater than Jonas is here.”
6 Solomon was one of the greatest kings that ever wielded a scepter. He built the magnificent temple at Jerusalem, giving character and greatness to the Jewish nation. The Jews extolled and honored him, yet standing before them, Christ declared, “A greater than Solomon is here.” He spoke of patriarchs and prophets who longed to sit at His feet and learn of Him, who would have thought themselves highly honored could they have ministered to Him. Turning to His disciples, He said: “Blessed are your eyes; for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”
7 Christ appropriated to Himself the title of authority, and affirmed His claim to our entire service and allegiance. “Ye call Me Master and Lord,” He said; “and ye say well; for so I am.” Had any one but God manifest in the flesh made such a claim, it would have been pronounced blasphemy in the heavenly courts. But Christ made no false claim. He was indeed one with God. How slow of comprehension the disciples must have been to ask, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
8 “This is life eternal,” Christ declared, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” These words mean much. It is only by knowing Christ that we can know God. The Sent of God calls upon all to listen to these words. They are the words of God, and all should give heed to them; for by them they will be judged. To know Christ savingly is to be vitalized by spiritual knowledge, to practise His words. Without this, all else is valueless.
9 Christ came to this world to reveal the Father. What patience, what pitying tenderness, what divine compassion, what strength of purpose, he manifested! He did not fail nor become discouraged. He was the embodiment of purity, and His love was without a parallel. At every step He practised self-denial and self-sacrifice. In His death He was the revelation of the reconciliation between God and man. By taking our nature, He bound Himself to us through eternal ages. He is our representative and head. He represents our race before God, still and forever bearing the humanity of the race. He pleads before the Father the perfect righteousness of all who accept Him.
10 Christ calls upon us to hear His words, that we may know Him. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” We are not to hear as did those of whom the apostles said, “The Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Those who hear savingly are those who hear in faith, and who give earnest heed to the things which they have heard, lest at any time they should let them slip.
11 “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,” Christ says; “but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”
12 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
13 God has measured how much it cost to save man. This salvation was accomplished only by the sacrifice of Himself in His Son. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Earthly parents love their children. How then did God feel when the Son of His love was despised by those whom He came to elevate and ennoble and save? He saw Him dying on the cross, mocked at and jeered at by the passers-by, and He hid as it were His face from Him. Christ was bearing the sin of the whole world, and dying in the sinner’s stead. Exalt the God of heaven, you who can realize the depth of His self-sacrifice; for He suffered with His Son.
14 The sinner must see Jesus as He is, full of grace and truth. Heavenly peace will be felt by those who know Him who first loved us, who is the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. Every lingering doubt will be swept away. Their hearts will burn with the fire of divine love, and their characters will be transformed. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 851
1 Today we hear Philip’s words of doubt repeated by those who have had evidence upon evidence, weighty and most solemn. Professed believers in Christ are many, but few have an experimental knowledge of Him. To all practical purposes, they are ignorant of Christ. They know Him afar off, but they have no true conception of Him. Many from age to age have been, as it were, in the presence of Christ, have witnessed the manifestation of heavenly light, have seen the deep moving of the Spirit and power of God, and yet have failed to appreciate these gracious tokens of His goodness and love. Show us a sign, they say. If you have the truth, show us a sign. But the character and influence of the truth is a continual sign. Its transforming influence upon humanity testifies to its divine power, and yet the spiritual senses of unbelievers are so dulled that they can not comprehend it. They echo the words, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” And the Saviour, ever our Priest and King, addresses the unbeliever, “Have I been so long time with you [in your companionship], and yet hast thou not known Me?”
2 This inability to comprehend divine truth, and to see in Christ the character of God, wounds the Saviour as verily today as when He said to Philip, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?” “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth.” The Son of the infinite God tasted death for every man. He left the royal courts, and clothed His divinity with humanity. For our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. When here He did not rank with kings and nobles, with the wealthy of the earth, but with the poor, those who were obliged to toil for their living. He was misunderstood, falsified, hated, maligned, by His own nation. He was “despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps; who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously; who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.”
3 The sins of every man were punished in Christ. They were placed on the innocent Sin-bearer as tho they were His own. They were charged to His account. Christ so loved man, fallen tho he is, that He bound up His interest with each sinner. In Him divinity and humanity were united, He linked Himself with every son and daughter of Adam. Having taken the responsibility of dying in the sinner’s stead, His interests are identified with those of every member of the human family. And every evil deed, every transgression, every rebellion, whether of thought or action, pierces the heart of Christ, for He has pledged Himself to represent humanity.
4 In the cross of Calvary mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. By taking human nature Christ fastened each sinner to Himself with threads of sympathy and love that can never be broken until He shall say with awful majesty: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Individually we must accept Christ as our only hope. We must know Him. He is our Days-man, and before Him we must confess and renounce our sins. He made a complete renunciation of Himself for man, and man, through Jesus, must make a complete renunciation of himself to God.
5 By studying Christ’s words we have every opportunity for knowing Him. This we must do would we be saved. “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” He said, “except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever. . . . It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
6 Do we know Christ, or does His voice come down to us through the ages, saying with sorrowful pathos, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me?” What is the character of our faith? Is it the same as that of the multitudes who thronged and pressed Christ? or is it like that of the woman who was healed by touching Him? She urged her way through the crowd, saying, “If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.” And how quickly Christ distinguished the touch of faith from the casual touch of the crowd! What is our relation to Christ? Is it illustrated by that of those who thronged and pressed Him, and yet who received no benefit, because they did not touch Him by faith?
7 Many are lamentably ignorant of Christ, because they take pleasure in unrighteousness. Like the multitude, they continually touch Christ, but they receive no virtue; for it is not their determination to know Him. They desire to follow their own inclinations. When they see that they can profess to follow Christ without practising self-denial, they are on His side; but when they are called upon to deny themselves, they are no longer attracted to Him. By their course of action they say, I want not Thy way, O Lord, but my own way!
8 Who today are of the number that have had every opportunity to know their Lord, and yet are saying, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us”? What can we say to those who as far as personal experience is concerned are so ignorant of Christ? The living oracles of God are in your possession. Search the Scriptures; for they testify of Christ. If you really desire to have a knowledge of Him you may obtain it. Search the Scriptures, that you may know Him whom to know aright is life eternal. Behold Him, that by beholding, you may obey His Word. Continue to search as for hidden jewels, that you may be spiritually enriched. Meditate upon Christ’s words, and learn what He is to you. As you confess Him, lift Him up, and talk of Him, you will gain faith in Him; and will be imbued with a zeal to become true stewards of His grace.
9 Do we place an estimate on our Saviour that is according to the light given us? Are we friends or enemies of Christ? This question involves our eternal interests. We must make our calling and our election sure. We can not trust to a fluctuating, haphazard faith. We must be able to say that we have not followed cunningly-devised fables. Christ must be our personal Saviour; and He can not be this unless we have an experimental knowledge of Him. A casual knowledge of Him will not avail. Our knowledge must be practical; it must make us like Him.
10 Christ waits at the door of the heart, saying, Open to Me; but He will not force Himself upon any one. Are we listening for His voice? Is our pride humbled and subdued by His divine compassion and pitying love? Open the door of the heart; for Christ is waiting to enter. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock,” He says; “if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Look to Jesus, you who are tempted and tried; for He is near, waiting to help you by His redeeming pity and grace. Keep looking to Him, and you will learn to know Him. His name is the precious birthright of every Christian. His example is to be studied and practised. This will elevate, refine, and purify the daily life. With its divine power it will brighten even the humble, every-day duties. Doubts will vanish before the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
11 Is Christ formed within you, the hope of glory? For some one else to know Christ, and confess Him as His leader, will not avail for you. You must know Him for yourself. You must obtain such a knowledge of Him that you can say with the Samaritans, “Now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” You must be able to say with Paul, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 852
1 “And when He was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto Him as He was teaching, and said, By what authority doest Thou these things? and who gave Thee this authority? This took place soon after Christ had driven from the temple those that were defiling it by unholy traffic. At that time divinity had flashed through humanity. Christ had said, “Take these things hence.” “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves;” and the priests and rulers fled as if pursued by an armed band of soldiers, or by the presence of an offended God.
2 After fleeing thus, they saw no marks of divine judgment upon them, and they felt ashamed of their hasty retreat at the command of a humble Galilean. What could they answer to those who would inquire why they had fled? We will return, they said, and resume our position in the temple. We will challenge this Man as to His authority. But the very fact that they had fled from Him was sufficient evidence of His divinity.
3 Now they came to Christ with the question, “By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave Thee this authority?” They hoped that He would say something that they could construe for the advancement of their evil work. But Christ made His reply conditionally on their answering a question He put to them. “The baptism of John, whence was it?” He asked, “from heaven, or of men?”
4 The priests saw that they were in a dilemma from which no sophistry could extricate them. If they said that John’s baptism was from heaven, their inconsistency would be made apparent. Christ would say, Why then have you not believed on John? After the baptism of Christ, John had seen the glory of God, like a dove of burnished gold, resting upon Him, while the voice of the Infinite One proclaimed, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And John had testified of Christ, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Why, then, if the Pharisees believed on John, did they deny the Messiahship of Christ?
5 If the Pharisees stated their true belief, and affirmed John’s baptism to have been of men, the wrath of the people would be turned against them, instead of against Christ; for they believed John to be a prophet.
6 With intense interest the multitude waited to hear the decision of the Pharisees. Hypocritically professing ignorance, they said, “We can not tell.” “Neither tell I you,” said Christ, “by what authority I do these things.”
7 The Pharisees were silenced. Baffled and disappointed, they stood with lowering brows, not daring to press further questions upon Christ, while the people stood by, amused to see these proud, self-righteous men defeated.
8 Christ’s purpose was not to humiliate His opponents. He did not wish to give the impression that He was glad to see them in a hard place. He had an important lesson to teach. He had mortified His enemies by allowing them to become entangled in the net they had spread for Him. Their acknowledged ignorance in regard to the character of John’s baptism gave Him an opportunity to speak, and He improved the opportunity by presenting before them their true position, adding another warning to the many already given. It was His custom to let circumstances furnish opportunity for His lessons.
9 “What think ye?” He said. “A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not; but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir; and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”
10 The priests and rulers could not but give a correct answer to Christ’s questions; and thus He obtained their opinion in favor of the first son. This son represented the publicans, those who were despised and hated by the Pharisees, who held no intercourse with them. The publicans were grossly immoral. They were indeed transgressors of the law of God, showing in their lives an absolute resistance to His requirements. They were unthankful and unholy, and when told to go and work in the Lord’s vineyard, they gave a contemptuous refusal. But appearances are deceiving. Christ did not judge from appearances, but from the fruit borne. When John came, preaching repentance and baptism, the publicans received His message and were baptized.
11 The second son represented the leading men of the Jewish nation. Some of the Pharisees had repented and received the baptism of John, but the leaders among them would not acknowledge that He came from God. His warning and denunciation did not lead them to make amendment. They “rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of Him.” They treated His message with disdain. Like the second son, who, when called, said, “I go, sir,” but went not, the Pharisees professed obedience, but acted disobedience.
12 The priests and elders made great professions of piety. They claimed to be looking eagerly for the promised Messiah, and apparently they were waiting with anxious expectancy for the call to the great supper, when they would immediately go in. They were proclaiming everywhere the great events that were to take place when the King of the Jews should come. They boasted constantly of how He was to conquer their enemies, and set up His own kingdom. But they applied to His first advent the prophecies relating to His second coming, and when He did come, they knew Him not.
13 They claimed to be obeying the law of God, but they were so exacting in their requirements that they made it impossible for any one to keep it. They themselves were constantly disobeying it. The law is holy, just, and good, but the Jewish leaders only rendered it a false obedience.
14 Before the Pharisees, Christ, who knew their hearts, held up their religious pretensions as God viewed them. He stripped from them their robe of apparent righteousness, laying bare their hypocrisy. The very people they despised and ignored believed in John. His preaching sent conviction to their hearts, and showed them the sinfulness of sin. And, altho at first they refused to obey the call, “Go, work today in My vineyard,” yet when John’s words fell upon their ears, calling them to repentance, they received his message. They had before made no profession of obedience, but after they heard his words, they saw their error, repented of their neglect, and obeyed. They were denounced and cursed by the Pharisees as infidels, but they showed by their faith and works that they were going into the kingdom of heaven before the self-righteous Pharisees, who had been given great light, but whose works did not correspond to their profession.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 853
1 “Hear another parable,” Christ said: “There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country; and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on the inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?”
2 The Pharisees had been listening to the parable, and without realizing that they were condemning themselves, they answered, “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner; this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
3 “And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude, because they took Him for a prophet.” Christ’s application was so plain that they could not misunderstand or misapply it. Notwithstanding their own blindness, they could not fail to see that Christ had rebuked them. They recognized their own methods and practises. But did the picture held up before them, that they might see their sinful course, lead them to repent?—No; their hearts were filled with hatred and murder. Notwithstanding the sentence they had pronounced on the unfaithful stewards, they were ready themselves to fill out the picture saying, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him.” “But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude.” God put His restraining power upon the priests, and they were unable to carry out their murderous designs. When they sought to stir up the people by accusing and denouncing Christ, they found that the public sentiment was in His favor. His words had impressed the multitude as being words of truth, and they believed Him to be a prophet sent from God.
4 By this parable the past and the future history of the Jews was faithfully illustrated. Christ presented before them their true religious character, and then asked, “When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?” The Pharisees answered as Jesus meant that they should; for they were always ready to condemn others. Christ’s design in asking this question was that they should condemn themselves, and admit the justice of the punishment that was soon to fall upon them. He wished to show them the justice of taking away their national privileges, which work had already commenced, and which would end, not only in the destruction of their temple and city, but in the dispersion of the nation.
5 The Jewish nation was indeed a vineyard inclosed. God’s law was a moral hedge about them. This law was altogether superior to the law of any other nation. They were forbidden to intermarry with other peoples, and were warned to keep from idolatry. Every facility which would enable them to become the greatest and most righteous people on the face of the earth was provided. God designed that they should preserve their peculiar, holy character, and represent Him in a godless world.
6 A wonderful manifestation of God’s love had been given in the remarkable deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. “For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.” Because of the stubbornness of Pharaoh, the whole land of Egypt was ruined.
7 God brought His people out from slavery and idolatry that they might keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. He Himself ruled over them. But in their desire to be like the nations round them, they rejected the Lord’s rule. “Make us a king,” they said to Samuel, “to judge us like all the nations. . . . And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”
8 Elijah came to maintain the honor of God, but he was rejected by the people. Because of the sins of the nation God sent a drought upon the land. The suffering of men and animals was terrible; but this did not lead Ahab, the ruler of the people, to repentance. Instead it provoked him to sullen defiance. His and Jezebel’s anger was kindled against Elijah and the prophets of the Lord; and they slew all that they could find. Jezebel served Satan with all the idolatrous devotion of her nature. She was the agency through whom he wrought to eclipse every ray of light that God designed should come to the nation. She was determined to uproot the religion so hateful to her, and which, as she thought, was the cause of the drought.
9 Spiritual blindness was upon Ahab, and he met Elijah with the question, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” This he asked as if to lead Elijah to make some explanation of the drought. Had he been spiritually enlightened, he would have seen behind Elijah the working of the God of Elijah, the great I AM. But Ahab was dishonoring God, and those who dishonor God do not desire to retain the thought of God. They do not like to think of Him as one who knows all their thoughts, and who will surely punish them for their wrong actions. They educate the mind to think of other things, and they lose the habit of seeing God in the providences and transactions of daily life. Those who make this world supreme are conformed in character to the world, and Ahab could only trace the calamity of the world to Elijah. “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” he said. With a sharp reproof, Elijah threw back the accusation. “I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.”
10 Jeremiah suffered the severest persecution from his own countrymen, because he bore a faithful message from God. Isaiah, who was permitted by the Lord to see wonderful things, was sawn asunder, because he faithfully reproved the sins of the Jewish nation. The prophets who came to look after the Lord’s vineyard, were indeed beaten and killed. “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented” —men of whom the world was not worthy. They were cruelly treated, and banished from the world.
11 Thus Satan strove to gain control over the human mind, that he might wreak his hatred and revenge on the only-begotten Son of God. But the last act of the tragedy was yet to be enacted. The Son of God was yet to be killed by the unfaithful stewards.
12 God sent a forerunner before His Son. Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, a priest of the Lord, saying: “Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a Son, and thou shalt call his name John. . . . And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zacharias doubted, and, because of his unbelief, he was struck dumb by the Lord. But at the birth of his son, his tongue was loosed, “and he spake, and praised God. And fear came on all them that dwelt round about them; and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people. . . . And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.”
13 John’s mission was to prepare the way for Christ. But the Jewish people rejected John’s message. They refused to prepare for the reception of the Son of God. They treated God’s messenger with disdain, and his solemn words of warning as idle tales. This hardened their hearts, and prepared them to reject the still clearer light that came to them. And when the Son of God came to present His Father’s claims, they said, “This is the Heir; come, let us kill Him.” He came to save them from themselves, but they refused Him, choosing a robber and a murderer in His stead.
14 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they “are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 854
1 The Jewish leaders felt complete in themselves. They felt no need of a physician. They would not humble their hearts to accept Christ. He presented before them their hypocrisy, pride, and formalism. In their hands the pure gold had become dim. God’s law, pure, far-reaching, and comprehensive, was adulterated with laws of human invention. And the farther the priests separated from right principles, the heavier the law of God was by them loaded with exactions.
2 This is the danger today. As men fail to practise obedience in its simplicity, they depart from God. Plans and methods that bear the marks of man’s natural attributes, are brought in to be obeyed, while the principles of truth, love to God and to man, are left out of the life. Kindness, love, and mercy, are not seen in the character.
3 Christ says: “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” His yoke is not painful and galling. He does not require His followers to pass through the ceremonies often enjoined by men. But because of their unlikeness to Christ, and their false pretensions to obedience, men bring in a yoke that is galling to the neck that wears it. They take the power into their own hands, while acting themselves like undisciplined children. Thus in the minds of men God’s ways and works are mingled with the perversity and disobedience of men.
4 When Adam and Eve were placed in the garden of Eden, everything contributed to their enjoyment. They were simply instructed to dress the garden and keep it. No noxious weeds sprang up, demanding patient toil. How different from this was the work of Christ! The seeds of the Gospel were to be sown on soil in which the enemy had already sowed tares. The rubbish of error had long been accumulating. As the people separated from God, false ideas were accepted, and the leaders of the people taught for doctrine the commandments of men.
5 Christ came to this world to live the law and represent the character of God, that the delusions which Satan had brought upon the world might be dispelled. In the sermon on the mount, He who gave the law became an expositor of the law. That sermon, so full of what it means to love and obey God, is the unfolding of His character. The law is shown to be a representation of God’s character, that man may see that he must render obedience to the law if he would become a member of the royal family, a child of the heavenly King. This law requires nothing short of perfect spiritual obedience.
6 Bible religion does not allow a life of inactivity and idleness. One can not believe for another, or depend upon another’s evidence. The individuality of one can not be submerged in another. God’s work is a personal work. No one can be saved without earnest faith, earnest work, and faithful improvement of every God-given ability. Idleness is sin. While Christ, our Mediator, is presenting in our behalf His atoning sacrifice, we are to work in His vineyard. The Old and New Testaments declare without reservation that those who would enter into life must keep the commandments. The Lord Jesus holds out none of His precious promises as a premium for disobedience. Disobedience is sin, and in the Word of God the terrible consequences of sin are faithfully portrayed.
7 A certain lawyer stood up before Christ, and tempted Him, saying, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.”
8 The question asked by the lawyer is an important one for every son and daughter of Adam. It concerns all, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends.
9 Those who profess to love God with heart and mind and strength, will be severely tempted to justify self in neglecting to love their neighbor as they love themselves. In the parable of the good Samaritan Christ showed the lawyer who his neighbor was. The priests and Levites who listened to His illustration knew that the picture was true to life.
10 To us as to the lawyer, Christ says, “Go, and do thou likewise.” Many say, “I go;” but they go not. In their inmost soul they do not desire to render obedience to God’s requirements. They justify disobedience. They make a reservation. They allow the rules and commandments of their own invention to supersede the holy commands of God.
11 The term “neighbor” includes all who have need of the grace and patience that Christ has promised to supply. Those to whom God would have you minister may be unconverted, uncourteous, and uncouth. They may have disagreeable qualities. By these your kindly deeds may be unappreciated, and totally unrequited. But because of this, you must not forget that they are still your neighbors, whom you are to love as you love yourself. All need to pray much, and watch unto prayer, that their faith fail not. No one can keep the commandments of God who does not cherish love in his heart; for without love there is no true obedience. Supreme love to God is required, and when this is an abiding principle in the soul, our love to those around us will be seen in our deeds and words.
12 Thousands are inventing a gospel to take the place of the Gospel of God. They are substituting the commandments of men for the commandments of God. But in the Gospel of Christ honor and dignity are given to the law of God. I have kept my Father’s commandments, Christ said, in all their purity and holiness. “I have taught from house to house,” Paul said, “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Repentance toward God is the first requirement, because His law has been broken. The sinner must be converted and led to Christ as the only remedy for sin. He must have faith in Christ as his personal Saviour. Christ came not to lessen the guilt of sin, that man may have liberty to be disloyal. He came to live the law of God, leaving man no excuse for violating one precept. He did not come to retract from the dignity of the law. By taking the sin of the world upon His soul, He exalted the law, and made it honorable. His death is an unanswerable argument in favor of the immutability of the moral law, and forever settles the question that its character is changeless, and will stand forever, through time and eternity.
13 Christ came to exalt the law, which had been trampled in the dust, that we might acknowledge its beauty and loveliness, and before angels and men advocate its supreme authority. By keeping the law in humanity, He made it possible for man to keep it. He imputed to us His righteousness, that we might become partakers of the divine nature. He came to this earth that we might be loyal sons and daughters of the heavenly King. God’s children never claim to be perfect, because they are often weakened by temptation, but they honestly strive for the victory. Satan tempts them to throw away their hope, because they fall under temptation; but they may be reassured by the words of Christ, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” “Him that cometh to Me, I will in nowise cast out.” He came not to save men in sin, but from sin. And all who feel their need of a Saviour, and come to Him believing in His power, will gain the victory over sin. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 855
1 The prayer offered by Christ just prior to His crucifixion, for His disciples and for us, should be carefully studied by all who profess to be children of God. “This is life eternal,” Christ prayed, “that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
2 Christ declares that the science by which a heart polluted with sin may be made pure and holy, contains the sum of all wisdom. A knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ is the foundation of all true religion. Thousands are seeking for knowledge that is worthless; but there is a knowledge that is positively necessary for us to obtain. We must know God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. This knowledge is the science of salvation, and is of more value than all earth’s treasures. To all who appreciate it, this knowledge gives an inheritance among the sanctified, crowns that fade not away, and a life that measures with the life of God.
3 Before he was expelled from heaven, Satan had an acquaintance with God. He knew his character; but ever since then, his effort has been to misrepresent that character. It is at his suggestion that religion has been made a series of penances and mortifications, or of splendid sights and pageantries. There are many forms of religion instituted by the enemy of God, that are as Christless as was the offering of Cain.
4 Left to his finite wisdom, man debases everything he handles. He drops the spirituality and truth of the Gospel out of his reckoning. This is the danger today. In the home and in the church, we are suffering for want of Christ-like simplicity. Thank God that He has not left His kingdom to be molded by human hands and minds; for then it would have been made up of forms and ceremonies. The most trivial matters would have been exalted as supreme. But Christ declared that His kingdom is truth and righteousness, peace and joy.
5 “I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word. . . . They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth.”
6 At the time when Christ spoke these words, the world was destitute of the knowledge of God. Christ came to reveal God. The wise man Solomon had a knowledge of God. When he offered his prayer at the dedication of the temple, he felt the need of divine power. But through association with corrupting influences, he separated from God, and forsook the temple worship for idol groves. So the world has separated from God. God came to uplift men from their degradation. It was His prerogative alone to give to His disciples the precious treasures He came from heaven to bring.
7 “I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” God’s people are to shine as lights in the world, in contrast with the moral darkness. Those who belong to the kingdom of Christ have nothing in common with those who follow the maxims, customs, and practises of the world. The Lord designs His people to be a peculiar people; for the church is His fortress in a revolted world. Those who follow Christ will walk, as He did, in heaven’s light. They will not be of the earth, earthy. Altho in the world, they will not be of the world. Uplifted to heaven, the soul will breathe a pure atmosphere. These appreciate their Heaven-bought privileges. They may necessarily be associated with the world, but they are united to Christ. Wherever they go, they take Him with them, and He is ever at their right hand to help them.
8 Did the believers in the truth live the truth, they would today all be missionaries. Some would be working in the islands of the sea, while others would be serving Christ as home missionaries. All are not called upon to go abroad; they may be successful in business lines, and are thus prepared to aid missionary efforts by their means. They may show to the world that business may be conducted on religious principles, that business men may live in strict fidelity to the truth. There may be Christian lawyers, Christian physicians, Christian merchants. Christ may be represented by all lawful callings.
9 “As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their Word: that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
10 The world watches to see what fruit is borne by professed Christians. It has a right to look for self-denial and self-sacrifice from those who claim to believe advanced truth. God designs that those who believe in His name shall show to the world an unmistakable representation of His own character, manifesting goodness, mercy, and love. These attributes all who belong to Christ’s kingdom must possess. The truth must sanctify them, making them kind, tender, and true to each other, binding them together in the bonds of closest union, and building them up in the most holy faith. Genuine faith and love is the fruit borne by the Christian tree.
11 It is possible for us to be one with Christ, even as He is one with the Father. If we are grafted into the living vine, if we draw our nourishment from Christ, there will be unity in diversity. Those only who derive nourishment from the Eternal Word, the Son of God, are branches of the True Vine. If we are truly united to Christ, the fruits of His Spirit will be seen in our lives; and tho there may be many branches, each branch will bear the fruit of the True Vine.
12 Had those who name the name of Christ a knowledge of the Book that unfolds the character of God, they would not be at variance one with another. Those who are one with Christ are one with each other. This union is a living testimony to the power of the Gospel of Christ. Those thus united demonstrate to the world that God has sent His Son to redeem them. They are a manifestation of what the truth can do for humanity. They are living witnesses to the power of redemption. The love of God dwells in their hearts, as it dwelt in the heart of Christ, leading them to obey God’s holy law. Christ’s character is His glory, and the glory of believers is the representation they give of Christ’s character. Unbelievers are convicted and converted as they see Christ’s Spirit revealed by His children.
13 “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee; but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
14 Satan is full of plans and devices to lead our feet in paths that are not cast up for the ransomed of the Lord, but Jesus lifts up His voice and says: Follow Me. My sheep hear My voice, and a stranger will they not follow. The most exalted privileges are offered us. We are made laborers together with God. Wherever you may be, whatever business you may be engaged in, you may have Christ by your side. He is always seeking to draw you to Himself. Prayer and praise will come from the heart of those that respond to this drawing; for Christ is to them a well of water, springing up into everlasting life, with grateful hearts God’s children will speak the praises of Him who has called them out of darkness into His marvelous light.
15 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. . . . Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 856
1 A life of idleness and self-pleasing is not the life of a Christian, nor has it ever been. Christ was a worker, and He gives to all His followers a law of service, that they may promote the temporal and spiritual interests of their fellow-men. He presents to the world a higher conception of life than they have ever thought of. The true recognition of God’s work is service. A life of obedience and service is not only the true life for man, it is the most distinguished and the noblest. By it man brings himself in connection with the light and life of the world, and in connection with his fellow-men. This makes the law of service the connecting link which binds men to God and to their fellow-men, and constitutes them laborers together with God, living to be good and to do good.
2 Christ was a successful worker with the common people. This was the class that always heard Him gladly. His heart was yearning to make souls happy. “Come unto Me,” He said, “all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” We have the record that on one occasion, after a day of ceaseless toil, our Redeemer lay fast asleep in a fisherman’s boat. His exhausted human nature cried for rest and sleep.
3 What a lesson is this for the human beings who do nothing to bless others. Behold the Saviour! How pressing were the necessities that sought Him for relief! Teaching in the temple, healing the sick, explaining the Scriptures in the streets, by the wayside, in His retired walks,—the subjects so urgent left Him no time for repose; His sympathies were drawn out for the oppressed; He comforted the mourner; He brought hope to the hopeless; He healed the scars and bruises that sin had made. He “went about doing good.”
4 It is the prerogative of God to command; it is the duty of man to obey. Yet nothing is forced upon any soul. The honor of duty is conferred upon him as a son of God, an heir of heaven. He is to labor for God in disinterested, true-hearted, honorable service. And in obedience to all His commandments, a spirit of love for God is revealed. It was in this atmosphere that Christ lived and worked.
5 When those who profess Christ learn that they must put on Christ in words, in spirit, and actions, they will not be led to feebleness and inactivity, to self-love and self-pleasing. It becomes us as Christians to recognize clearly our duty toward God by taking up the responsibilities that bind us to our fellow-men by the strong links that the law of God has defined. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, all our service merging itself into the life of Jesus Christ. The noble life which Christ has made it possible for us to live,—one of obedience and service,—will make us partakers of the divine nature. When we possess the inner strength of piety, which animated Jesus Christ, the experience of the great apostle will be ours. Then we can say, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” That life will reveal that it is a part of Christ’s life. Its possessor will wear Christ’s yoke and lift His burdens. The transformation of the human character makes the yoke of Christ easy, and His burden light.
6 Every one may find something to do in saving souls and advancing the truth of God. It is because men are not more than half converted that the church is so lifeless. There are many who are, and have been all their lives, only half Christians. Their names are in the book of life, and if they will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, if they will respect the voice that says to them, “Seek ye My face,” and reply, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek,” they will see God with a clear, elevated, spiritual sense. The religious sentiment awakened in the heart will be recognized as the voice of God, and will be obeyed.
7 The fact that our names are registered in the church books will never make us Christians; it is in doing the Word that we become sons and daughters of God. Judas was chosen as one of Christ’s disciples. Christ did not reject him because he was not perfect. He had power to heal the sick. But, notwithstanding the lessons of Christ, he failed to be converted daily, and to be an instrument sanctified and polished for the Master’s use. He was subject to temptation. Satan found that the hereditary and natural tendencies of Judas could be used to dishonor the Master and imperil his own soul.
8 These things are not understood as they should be, and the result will be as it was in the case of Judas. Some will depart from the faith. Having a knowledge of the truth, while not sanctified by it, they will constantly work out wrong characters. And these really do more harm because of the knowledge of the truth which they have. They confederate with apostates, and betray sacred trusts.
9 God calls for the undivided interests of the men whom He has chosen. Only the pure in heart shall see God. This seeing God in a clear spiritual light is salvation to the soul of the believer. As soon as a soul decides to die to self, the new light begins, and grows stronger and stronger until he is able to endure the seeing of Him who is invisible. And as man sees God, he becomes fashioned in character after the divine similitude. His words, his spirit, his attitude, his actions in everything, testify to the clearness of his judgment. In proportion to his views of God will be his spiritual force of character; and the consecration to God of his life, his time, his powers, is the result.
10 All our powers belong to God. They are His by creation and by redemption. God has given to every one his measure of power, and He expects each to put it forth on the side of truth. The Christian is to stand with undivided interest on the Lord’s side. Our every word and action should be a work for God. Then we shall manifest our faith in God and our confidence in man.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 857
1 Christ would never have given his life for the human race if He had not had confidence in the souls for whom He died. He knew that a large number would respond to the love He had expressed for humanity. It is not every heart that responds, but every heart may, and can if it will, respond to that love which is without a parallel. “My sheep hear My voice,” Christ said. A heart yearning for God will recognize His voice. God can not work for one soul who does not respond to His grace offered, His love bestowed. But He is waiting for a response from souls. He bids them to the marriage feast; He sets before them the banquet that will satisfy every want. His word is full of marrow and fatness. “Ye shall seek Me and find Me,” He says, “when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.”
2 Christ is everything to those who receive Him. He is their comfort, their safety, their health. He is acquainted with all their peculiar weaknesses, all their wants and griefs. He appreciates the human beings for whom He has done so much. When about to suffer, bearing the sins of the whole world, He left them a rich legacy,—”even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him. But ye know Him,” he said; “for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me; because I live, ye shall live also.”
3 “I am come,” said Christ, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” “In Me is no darkness at all.” With sadness Christ saw that there were some who loved not the light, and would not come unto the light, because their deeds were evil. They would not come to Jesus to be delivered from the power of evil. But why can not all who need help and rest come to the Burden-bearer, that they may have light and life? The Lord wants them to receive Him, to learn to bear His yoke and lift His burdens, that Heaven may behold that they are laborers together with God. There need be no cloud between the soul and Jesus. We are not one of us to act as if the word, the life and the light, were to be given to us grudgingly. Christ’s great heart of love is longing to flood the soul with the bright beams of His righteousness. “And let him that is athirst come,” He says. “And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely.”
4 Every one will be tested and tried in the way that is the most trying. Men can not trust to their own wisdom. Self-sufficiency, if indulged, will prove a stumbling-block. Self must die—not to have a resurrection every other day. The words must be spoken from the heart, “I live, yet not I; but Christ liveth in me.” The “I” is a very hard personality to kill. “I” rises into life in full proportions if given the least encouragement. Then, confident in their own supposed wisdom, men forsake the right way. Thus many who have been real Christians, who have known the right way, but have forsaken it, come under the jurisdiction of Satan, to be used as his instruments against the truth as it is in Jesus.
5 Satan’s masterly power will be exercised to prevent men and women from obtaining the crown of life. But when the Lord sees that we will trust Him implicitly, He will work in our behalf, and we shall see the salvation of God. The Lord proves us, He tests us to see if we will make the Lord our only trust. We need a much keener faith than we now reveal. We need constantly to cultivate an earnest, living faith, and to keep our petitions constantly ascending, seeking the Lord for clear discernment. Sharp spiritual eyesight will be given every true seeker. The Lord bids us, “Seek ye My face.” And individually we should respond, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” This is the call of God, and this the appropriate answer to that call. The Lord wishes us to know Him as a kind, tender Father, who has our interest and happiness in mind.
6 We are now amid the perils of the last days, when many shall be purified, made white, and tried. But the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. The warning is given, “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” O, that the work of reformation so essential might begin! O, that all on duty would stand at their post, saying, “Here am I, send me”! He who is wise in counsel is waiting for all to see their need of help; and it is abundantly provided; it is waiting for you. As a present help in every time of need, God’s presence is revealed. As you call upon His name for help, He says, “Here I am,” close beside you, ready to help you if you are ready to be helped.
7 Communion with God, personal and direct, is waiting for each one. Then watch unto prayer, and you will know that your life is hid with Christ in God. Those who live in these last days are to be overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. There is no time now for levity, self indulgence, and stupidity in the understanding of the work we have to do. Activity and devotion are to be united; work and piety must blend. Sufficient strength will be given for daily duties. The lamp must burn; and this is impossible unless it is fed with the holy oil. And the oil which is so precious is efficacious only as its light is shed upon the pathway of others.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 858
1 “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Philip was a real home missionary. In an interview with Jesus he had received light and knowledge. As he listened to the gracious words that fell from the Saviour’s lips, he believed, and his first thought was that he must communicate to some one else the light he had received. He told Nathanael of the Saviour. Nathanael was walking in the light as far as he had received it, and God did not permit him to stumble along in ignorance and blindness. As he was praying under a fig tree, Philip, with glad notes of joy in his voice, interrupted him, saying, “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.”
2 The words that fell on Nathanael’s ear were words of assurance. Philip did not speak of the Saviour in a hesitating manner; his voice was full of hope as he said, “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write.” But, altho a sincere seeker after truth, Philip was not yet fully convinced. He added doubtfully, “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
3 When Nathanael heard the words, “Jesus of Nazareth,” the prejudice that he had received by inheritance and education, filled his mind, and he answered, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” But Philip did not stop to enter into a controversy, but answered: I have no arguments to advance. Jesus is here. Come and see Him for yourself.
4 On Philip’s face Nathanael saw an expression he had never before seen there,—an expression of heavenly peace,—and he immediately left his place of prayer, and hastened with him to Jesus. When Christ saw him coming, He said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” “Whence knowest Thou me?” questioned Nathanael. “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee,” Christ answered.
5 Before this evidence Nathanael’s traditional prejudice was swept away. Christ’s words captivated his soul; he saw the Saviour by divine enlightenment, and, turning to Him, his face aglow with the light that had flashed into his mind, he said, “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.” He had advanced into more perfect light than had Philip; his perception went farther; his faith meant more; for he saw in Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God.
6 This conversion from ignorance to light pleased the Saviour, and he said, “Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.” You have opened your mind and heart and have confessed Me without one word of questioning unbelief. “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
7 There is in this narrative a lesson which all need to learn and practise. Christ gave His life that those who have sinned might be saved; and He calls upon His children to make personal efforts for the saving of souls that are ready to perish. That which Christ has taught and done, His representatives are to teach and do; His influence is to be diffused to others by the well-ordered lives and godly conversation of His followers. God’s people are to be links in the golden chain that binds souls to one another and to God.
8 Those who have received light from Him who is the light of the world can, if they will consecrate themselves to Him, be instruments in His hands of enlightening many souls. As they share their light with others, it is not lessened, but increased and made more brilliant. As we give to others the riches of the grace of Christ, we too grow in grace; for as we bestow, we receive from the Source of all, light and power to bestow.
9 Preaching the Word is one way of spreading the truth, but it is not the only or the most effectual way. It is by personal interviews that the truth is most effectually communicated. Visiting the people in their homes, speaking to them personally, not in regard to worldly matters, but about Christ’s power to save to the uttermost all who come to Him—this makes the deepest impression. A few simple words, spoken from a heart filled with the love of Christ, will frequently do more good than the most powerful sermon. Speak calmly, tenderly; drop the seeds of truth into the minds of your hearers, praying that God will bless your work; and your words will spring up and bear fruit to the glory of God.
10 This is the work God would have His children do. Whatever may be our circumstances, we can be laborers together with God. We are not all called upon to preach, but each one can tell those around him of the wonderful love of Jesus. Those who have not been blessed with our privileges, those who have not received the light that has flashed into our minds, are to be sought out and labored for. To these souls we must go, saying as did Philip, “We have found Jesus.” And as they see our earnestness for the Master, they too will be led to look and live.
11 All heaven co-operates with Christ in His work of making plain the heavenward path, and co-operates also with those who strive to follow His example. If we could only realize how much is accomplished by personal effort for those in darkness, there would be one hundred at work where now there is but one. But this work is a solemn work, and unless we have the co-operation of heaven, we can not do it effectually. We may speak words of warning, but they will lack power. The words that are accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit will find an assent in the judgment of candid, unprejudiced minds. The consciences of those who hear these words will be awakened. The soul hungering and thirsting after righteousness, admits the truth of the evidence presented by those who with power hold forth the words of life. The truth is sought for as hidden treasure; the eye of faith, receiving the heavenly anointing, beholds the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
12 As individuals and members of the church of God, we need to remember the work that has been committed to us. We are living in a time when every believer must show growth, or he will dwarf into nothingness. Paul writes to Timothy, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” As the Word of God is received into the heart, it transforms the life and character; and then the influence that flows from us is a positive, life-giving power. “Unto me, whom am less than the least of all saints,” Paul writes again, “is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what in the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
13 Those who look at human souls in the light of the cross of Calvary need not err in regard to the estimate which should be placed upon them. But as witnesses chosen by God do we value Christ’s purchased possessions as we should? Are we pleading with God that He will help us to help the souls that are wounded and bruised and struggling with temptation, and lead them to Him? Are we improving the light God has given us, that we may impart it to others? Are we making it evident that we love the souls for whom Christ has died, or are we passing them by on the other side? Are we ready to make any sacrifice within our reach to co-operate with Him, to be laborers together with God.
14 No one who has true love for Christ will remain indifferent and indolent. All who are bearing the test of God, who obey His commandments, love the perishing human race. They follow the example of their Saviour, by putting forth earnest, self-sacrificing efforts for those around them, by seeking out, in the highways and hedges, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, bearing to all the message that they are the objects of Christ’s special love and guardian care, and inviting them to come to Him.
15 The Lord Jesus expects more of His children than they give, yes, a great deal more. He has called and chosen them; and every man according to his several ability has been given his work. All are to be “laborers together with God,” and, as His agents, they are to strive earnestly to win souls for Him. Why then are there so many who have no burden for the souls for whom Christ has died? The angels are constantly seeking to set every one at work in the vineyard of the Lord. They rejoiced when by the sacrifice of Christ the world was brought into favor with God, and again connected with heaven; and they sorrow when they see that those for whom so much has been done have no interest to win souls for Christ.
16 Every soul who claims to know God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, should seek to do his utmost for the enlargement of His kingdom, praying, “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” and working in harmony with the prayer. Entire consecration and unity are needed in this work. How can any one be silent when they know what Christ expects from every human being? I implore all who name the name of Christ to be no longer selfishly indifferent to their duty. Live unto Christ, who died and rose again. God will greatly bless self-denying, self-sacrificing workers. Each angel has his mission, and is at his post of duty, ready to co-operate with you, and, by combining divine power with human effort, make of none effect the opposition of foes. They will make a place for you to walk, even among principalities and powers, beating back spiritual wickedness in high places. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 859
1 The Hebrews were held in bondage by the Egyptians, but the Lord delivered them from their bondage with a strong arm. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, Christ, their invisible Leader, guided them through the wilderness. Through Moses, their visible leader, he educated and instructed them, that they might love and serve the only true and living God. For their food the Lord gave them manna from heaven. Day by day this food was given, and on the sixth day enough fell for the Sabbath. This miracle testified constantly to the Sabbath commandment, which was given in Eden.
2 The Lord brought the children of Israel to Mount Sinai, and there He spoke the Ten Commandments, and enjoined upon His people the observance of the Sabbath. “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you; every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.”
3 To Adam and Eve in Eden the Lord gave the use of every tree in the garden save one. So the Lord has given to men six days in which they are to engage in common labor; but He has put His sanctity upon the seventh day, declaring it to be holy. That day is to be sacredly observed as a memorial of creation. “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all His work.”
4 God has declared in His Word that the seventh day is a sign between Him and His chosen people,—a sign of their loyalty. “I am the Lord your God,” He says; “walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” The day God set apart to be kept free from secular labor He designed should be respected in commemoration of His wisdom, power, and goodness in creating the world and man. The Sabbath was instituted before the Jews were distinguished as a people, and was given to all mankind to keep holy, “that ye may know,” God declares, “that I am the Lord which do sanctify you.” If the Sabbath is accepted, the rest of the commands in the Decalogue will be obeyed; for no one can truly keep the Sabbath and disregard one precept of the law.
5 From the pillar of cloud Christ constantly set before His church in the wilderness the requirements of God. “Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. . . . Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man servant and thy maid servant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.”
6 The seventh day is God’s chosen day. He has not left this matter to be remodeled by priest or ruler. It is of too great importance to be left to human judgment. God saw that men would study their own convenience, and choose a day best suited to their inclinations, a day bearing no divine authority; and He has stated plainly that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.
7 Every man in God’s world is under the laws of His government. God has placed the Sabbath in the bosom of the Decalogue, and has made it the criterion of obedience. Through it we may learn of His power, as displayed in His works and His Word. But today the world is following the example of those that lived before the flood. Now, as then, men choose to follow their own inclinations, rather than to obey the commandments of God. The inhabitants of the antediluvian world glorified themselves instead of commemorating the glorious works of creation. They did not obey the law of God; they did not honor the Sabbath. Had they done this, they would have recognized their duty to their Creator. This was the original and supreme object of the command, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
8 Men could not place themselves more decidedly in opposition to God’s work and to His law than by upholding a day that is without one evidence of sanctity, and professing to worship Him on that day. Those who have corrupted the law by substituting a false sabbath for the holy Sabbath of God, and who compel the observance of this false sabbath, exalt themselves above God, and honor the spurious above the genuine.
9 Sanctification is claimed by professed Christians who ignore God’s holy rest day for a spurious sabbath. But God declares that the sanctification coming from Him is bestowed on those only who honor Him by obeying His commands. The sanctification claimed by those who continue in transgression is a spurious sanctification. Thus the religious world is deceived by the enemy of God and man.
10 In the temple service the Lord gave special directions that the priests were to use on their censers only the sacred fire of God’s own kindling, which was kept burning day and night. But Nadab and Abihu perverted their senses by the use of wine, so that they could not distinguish between the sacred and the common. They “took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not.”
11 Those who ignore the Lord’s Sabbath to keep holy the first day of the week, offer strange fire to God. It is a strange sabbath, which He has commanded them not. Will He accept it at their hands? Men have sought out many inventions. They have taken a common day, upon which God has placed no sanctity, and have clothed it with sacred prerogatives. They have declared it to be a holy day, but this does not give it a vestige of sanctity. They dishonor God by accepting human institutions and presenting to the world as the Christian Sabbath a day which has no “Thus saith the Lord” for its authority. As did Nadab and Abihu, they offer the common in place of the sacred.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 860
1 “And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates. . . . Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers. To cast out thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.
2 “And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all His household, before our eyes; and He brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He sware unto our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath commanded us.”
3 How positive are these words! How full of assurance! Here it is plainly stated that obedience to the Lord’s specified statutes will bring the richest blessings.
4 “Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. . . . . Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.” Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command thee this day; lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God. . . . And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.”
5 The Lord often tested His people, to see if they would have faith in Him. He allowed the supply of water to fail, that they might be reminded of their past deliverance, and be led to put their trust in God. But their continual blessings, for which they should ever have been grateful, led them to forget their dependence. No sooner did their supply of water fail, than they lost sight of God, and blamed Moses as the cause of their calamity. In the place of trusting God, who had so long and so liberally supplied their wants, they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron, and bitterly reviled them for bringing them out of Egypt. O, how easily this unbelief springs into life! This is the danger today. The people of God must keep a constant watch over their hearts, lest they allow Satan to interpose between them and God.
6 God has a controversy with the inhabitants of this world. Satan has come to them disguised as an angel of light, and under his direction the majority of Christians bow at idolatrous shrines, and worship an unknown god. If man had always obeyed the fourth commandment, there would not now be an infidel or an atheist in our world. All would recognize and honor the power of the Creator. How vain will be the resistance of humanity against God! By His infinite power He called the earth into existence. With a word He could depopulate it, and return it to its original state, and with a word raise up a new race of beings.
7 Man broke the law of God, and defied His will. This law reveals to the world the attributes of God’s character, and not a jot or tittle of it could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition. God could not abolish His law to save men; for this would have immortalized transgression. But He gave men unmistakable evidence that He loved them, and that justice is the foundation of His throne and the evidence of His love. He carried out the penalty of transgression, but He allowed it to fall upon a substitute, even His only-begotten Son. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In this wonderful gift is shown the depth of God’s goodness. He so loved men that, in order to save them, He gave His Son to the world, and in that gift He gave all heaven. He gave Himself in His Son, that sinners might have another trial, another opportunity to show their obedience. This was the only provision God could make. Thus a way was provided whereby sinners might return to their loyalty.
8 God is calling upon all to behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. Christ lifts the guilt of sin from the sinner, standing Himself under the condemnation of the Lawgiver. He came to this world to live the law in humanity, that Satan’s charge that man can not keep the law might be demonstrated as false. He kept the law in humanity, and when He was accused falsely by the Pharisees, He turned to them, asking with a voice of authority and power, “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” He came to reveal to the heavenly universe, to the worlds unfallen, and to sinful men, that every provision has been made by God in behalf of humanity, and that through the imputed righteousness of Christ, all who receive Him by faith can show their loyalty by keeping the law. As the repenting sinner lays hold of Christ as His personal Saviour, he is made a partaker of the divine nature.
9 We may all rest in the assurance that whatever the love of God has devised in man’s behalf will be executed. Justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne; mercy and truth go before His face. In the cross of Christ mercy and truth met together; righteousness and peace kissed each other.
10 But it is not by abolishing one jot or tittle of the law of God that salvation is brought to the fallen race. If God were a changeable being, no confidence could be placed in His government. If He retracted what He said, we could not then take His Word as the foundation of our faith. Had He changed His law to meet fallen men, Satan’s claim that man could not keep the law would have been proved true. But God did not alter His law. The death of Christ testifies to the heavenly universe, to the worlds unfallen, and to all the sons and daughters of Adam, that the law of God is immutable, and that in the judgment it will condemn every one who has persisted in transgression. The God who rules the world in love and wisdom testifies in the death of His Son to His changeless character. He could not change His character as expressed in His law, but He could give His Son, one with Himself, possessing His attributes, to a fallen world. By so doing, He magnified His name and glory as a God above all gods.
11 Christ has declared, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The truth of God’s Word alone is permanent and abiding. The loyal subjects of God’s kingdom will not be found trampling upon His law, pronounced by Inspiration to be “holy, and just, and good.” Every false religion is of Satan’s originating, and the warning must be given to the world. Why do men continue so blindly in unbelief when the Word of God is so plain and unmistakable? When the judgment shall sit, and the books are opened, what excuse will they give for taking sides with the first great rebel, thus making the Word of God of none effect in their lives? God’s wisdom and truthfulness are changeless, and in that great day when sentence is executed against the despisers of His law, the cross of Christ will show that He is a God of love in thus executing judgment. Those who refuse to obey His law during probationary time could not with safety be received into His kingdom; for they would labor as earnestly and zealously against the law of His government as did the first apostate. There would be a second rebellion in heaven.
12 God is true. He reigns, and will reign, notwithstanding that the church and the world have entered into a confederacy to abolish His law. Age after age Satan has been blinding men by his wiles. He has co-operated with human agencies in an effort to make falsehood truth. He has worked with intensity to defy the God of heaven by making His law of none effect. But he has not done this; for in the ark of God in heaven are the tables of stone upon which are written the precepts that are the foundation of His government. And the Sabbath, which God declares to be the sign of the loyalty of His people, is placed in the bosom of the Decalogue. Its sanctity reaches into eternity; for God declares that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, His subjects shall come up to worship before Him in the earth made new.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 861
1 By the crucifixion of Christ the immutability of the law of God was forever established. Had it been possible, God would have changed His law to meet man in his fallen condition. But this law is unalterable, and the only way in which man could be saved was for a substitute to be provided, who would bear the penalty of transgression, and thus give man an opportunity of returning to his loyalty.
2 Charged with an embassage of mercy, love, and pardon, Christ came to His own. But His own received Him not. He was buffeted by temptation, and bruised and lacerated by the cruel lash. He was crowned with thorns, and crucified. His hands and feet were pierced by nails.
3 Behold the spectators who reviled Christ while He hung on the cross. Were they the abandoned class, the heathen, who knew not God? “They that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself He can not save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of God.”
4 Those that Christ had declared were whited sepulchers, who deceived the people by an outward appearance of sanctity, were now reviling One who came from heaven to save a perishing world, and in whose heart a zeal for right and justice and for the glory of God was the highest object. Those who chose Barabbas, thus yoking up with Satan, gave evidence that a profession of piety and of love for God, and a claim to know the Scriptures, neither made them the sons of God nor led them to represent His character. To those who had true religion, and there were such among the spectators, it must indeed have appeared as tho Satan were linked up with the men who were triumphantly shouting in blasphemy against the Commander of all heaven.
5 Obedience to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God is required. Had Christ conceded one jot or tittle of this, the hostility of Satan and his army would not have burst upon Him with irrepressible fury. He was able to perform marvelous works, and had He but given some license to sin, had He permitted evil passions to go unrebuked, men would have rendered Him their homage. But He rebuked all sin and hypocrisy, and men said, He is an impostor. The principalities and powers of darkness assembled round His cross. The arch apostate, still retaining his lofty stature, led the apostate host, who were leagued with human beings in the strife against God. When the Lord created these beings to stand before His throne, they were beautiful and glorious. Their loveliness and holiness were equal to their exalted station. They were enriched by the wisdom of God, and girded with the panoply of heaven. But who could recognize in the fallen angels the glorious seraphs that once ministered in the heavenly courts?
6 Satanic agencies confederated with evil men to lead the people to believe that Christ was the chief of sinners, and to make Him an object of detestation. But the priests and rulers failed to realize that in Christ divinity was enthroned in humanity. Christ’s humanity could not be separated from His divinity. Could one sin have been found in Christ, the world would have plunged into blackness and ruin. If Satan could have so bruised Christ’s heel that He would have yielded to the physical torture, his triumph would have been complete. He could have shouted victory. The world would have been his kingdom. But Satan could only cause pain. He could not touch Christ’s head unless Christ proved false to God. Satan and his angels united with the priests and rulers in mocking and deriding the Son of God. He filled them with vile and loathsome speeches. He inspired their taunts. But by all this he gained nothing. He was permitted to bruise Christ’s heel, but Christ was bruising his head. By working through the priests against Christ, Satan was effecting his own downfall.
7 Hanging on the cross, the Son of God bore the insults of His enemies. Heavenly angels were not far away. They heard the mocking taunts and saw the wagging heads. Gladly would they have broken their ranks and gone to the Son of God in His humiliation and bodily anguish; but they were not permitted to do this. It must be demonstrated before the universe what men will do when under the control of Satan. The insult, abuse, and mockery that Christ bore were part of God’s great plan. The result of Satan’s working through the professedly pious men must be shown.
8 As the prince of darkness inspired the Jewish priests to join the rebellion against God, so he will again inspire men. He will persuade them to apostatize from the service of God, and to use their religion as a weapon against their Creator. They may profess great zeal in God’s service, but, poor souls, they are serving the prince of darkness, and as their general, Satan leads them.
9 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” The wrath of God fell upon Christ. This was the hiding of the Father’s countenance. Tho innocent, Christ was treated as a sinner, that through His merits sinners, tho guilty, might be treated as the loyal and obedient children of God. Christ died with the sins of the world imputed to Him, that His righteousness might be imputed to the sinner. When the sense of the loss of His Father’s favor was withdrawn, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of bitterness.
10 “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar; and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished.” There was a shriek, shrill and agonizing, and the Son of God expired. He died of a broken heart. When the spear was thrust into His side, there flowed forth blood and water. His heart was broken by His mental agony. And the hearts of all who seek the Lord and find Him will be broken as they see the result of sin.
11 In His dying agony on the cross, Christ was scorned by the people who claimed to be waiting for the Messiah, but who showed by their actions the value of their spirituality. Surely Christ has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Surely he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. But did not Satan understand that while He was bruising the heel of the Son of God, the Son of God was bruising his head? What great and wonderful effects have resulted from the crucifixion! What a view of the character of God, Christ’s sacrifice has opened to the universe! His love for man, far surpassing all human love, has lifted the law of God to its own eternal dignity. The attributes of God have been revealed, and the holy requirements of His law have been vindicated. The effects of the sacrifice on the cross are still felt; but all who would be saved must themselves have an interest in the crucified One.
12 In His great suffering, Christ felt no pang of bitterness against His Father. He felt no remorse for His own sins, but for the sins of the fallen race. But those who refuse the gift of Christ will one day feel the sting of remorse. Entire obedience to the law of God is the condition of salvation. Those who refuse this, who refuse to accept Christ, will become embittered against God. When punished for transgression, they will feel despair and hatred. This will be the experience of all who do not enter into Christ’s suffering; for it is the sure consequence of sin.
13 We read of chains of darkness for the transgressor of God’s law. We read of the worm that dieth not, and of the fire that is not quenched. Thus is represented the experience of every one who has permitted himself to be grafted into the stock of Satan, who has cherished sinful attributes. When it is too late, he will see that sin is the transgression of God’s law. He will realize that because of transgression, his soul is cut off from God, and that God’s wrath abides on him. This is a fire unquenchable, and by it every unrepentant sinner will be destroyed. Satan strives constantly to lead men into sin, and he who is willing to be led, who refuses to forsake his sins, and despises forgiveness and grace, will suffer the result of his course.
14 By dying on the cross, Christ gave His life as an offering for sin, that through His power man might turn from his sins, be converted, and become a laborer together with God. Greater love than this can never be shown. More could not be done than has been done to demonstrate the immutability of God’s law. Christ did not die to abolish the law or to detract in the slightest degree from its influence or power. He died to exalt the law and make it honorable. Full of goodness, compassion, and love, he hated only one thing, —sin, “the transgression of the law.” In the very act of dying to save what was lost, Christ reached the perfect standard of obedience as our substitute and surety. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” No pang of anguish that Christ endured was in vain. Thus the ransom was paid for all who accept Christ as their personal Saviour. From the Word of God they receive their title to freedom. “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; . . . for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 862
1 In the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of Matthew is described the second coming of Christ to our world: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
2 Then the warning is given: “Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. . .
3 Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” What earnest zeal should these words arouse in the heart of the true believer! Here the condition of the church at Christ’s second coming is portrayed.
4 Again its spiritual condition is described in the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise and five foolish: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” And we may all ask, Can it be that I shall be among the wise virgins?
5 Here also is given the parable of the talents. The man who hid his lord’s money in the earth, was pronounced an unprofitable steward of his lord’s goods, and the sentence was issued, “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And this is an illustration of the last general judgment, when each shall be dealt with according to the use he has made of his talents. The righteous alone will shine forth in the kingdom of God in that great decisive day when every character shall appear just as it is. They that have done good will have a part in the resurrection of life; they that have done evil will be awarded according to their works. The obedient and the disobedient decide the whole matter.
6 The Word declares, “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory.” Then the triumph of Christ will have come. What a scene will this be upon which the whole universe will gaze! How the love of God is here displayed through His Son to all who have proved true and faithful! In that day Christ does not present before men the great work He has done for them in giving His life for their redemption. He presents before them the faithful work they have done for Him. What surpassing love is this! He even mentions the work of the heathen world, who have had no intelligent knowledge of the law of the Lord, but who have done the very things the law requires, because they heeded the voice speaking to them in the things of nature around them. The grace of God working upon their darkened minds, softened their savage nature, untaught by the wisdom of men.
7 While among men, Christ pronounced sentence upon rabbis, rulers, Pharisees, and Sadducees, because of their hypocrisy, their rejection of light. Looking at them searchingly, He said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.” But He addressed the woman who was guilty of sin in words of tenderest compassion. He knew all about the character of the sin committed; but He traced upon the ground the sins of her accusers, who had laid their net for the woman, that thus they might find occasion for condemning Christ. Their curiosity led them near to Christ, to see what He had written in the sand; but they did not care to look more than once, and one by one they hastily left His presence. Those who had acted a part in bringing this poor woman before Him were far more guilty than she, and Christ knew it. The guilty persons expected that before they could take themselves away, Christ would single them out, and expose them and their deep-laid plot before the gathered throng. These professors were spiritually blind. Maxims and traditions were cherished by them, and obedience to God’s requirements was regarded as a thing of naught. Christ was grieved with them. He looked upon them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their heart. He could detect every phase of their hypocrisy, and their great sin brought from His divine lips a scathing rebuke.
8 The humble, tho ignorant, are Christ’s most hopeful disciples. The uneducated heathen in all their cruelty are regarded in a more favorable light than are those who have had great light, who have had evidence upon evidence, but who, when the Lord in His mercy reproves them for the sins they are cherishing as virtues, are offended, and (mark the words), like the disciples of Christ’s day, go back, and walk no more with Him. Christ recognizes every act in the savage that reflects His own mercy and compassion. When the Holy Spirit puts Christ’s Spirit into the savage, and he befriends God’s servants, the quickening of the heart’s sympathy is contrary to his nature, contrary to his education. Christ implants His grace in the heart of the savage, and he ministers to the necessity of the missionary even before he has heard or comprehended the words of truth and life. Behold that crowd collected about some of God’s servants to murder them; but the Lord is working upon the heart and mind of perhaps only one man to plead in behalf of those servants who love and fear God. When the war council has been carried on to determine the destruction of some Christian’s life, on several occasions the intercession of one savage has turned the decision and his life has been spared. O, the love that goes forth to the savage for this one act! To such in the judgment Christ is represented as saying: “I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.” “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 863
1 “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” This invitation presented a direct contrast to the teaching of the priests and rulers. They laid heavy burdens upon men, enforcing ceremonies that reached to every step in life. The service of God was made a ritual burden, and the people were constantly under a sense of violation. They lived in continual unrest; for they could not possibly fulfil the requirements laid down by the priests.
2 The rigorous exactions bound on the Jews did exactly what Satan designed they should do. The people saw the impossibility of keeping man-made commandments, and this made them careless in regard to God’s commandments. The commandments of men were placed on a level with the commandments of God. Wearing so grievous a yoke, the people could in no way present to the world a correct representation of God.
3 The Sabbath was so cumbered with useless restrictions by the priests that its true significance was lost. It was made a burden, and its meaning was hidden by traditions and man-made rights. This was done by the priests because they knew that their want of true godliness must be supplied by an outward pretense of piety. Christ declared: “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men; they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments.”
4 The rule of the Jewish priests was cold and loveless. Their many exactions could have originated only with the instigator of all sin. Christ said of these leaders: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.”
5 “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat; all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.” It was the Lord’s appointment that the Scriptures should be read publicly every seventh month. During their captivity the Jews had not observed this command. They repented of their sins, and when they returned to Jerusalem, they made request to have the Scriptures read to them. A platform was erected, and Ezra read to them from morning till midday. But sin had increased, and at the time of Christ’s advent the priests taught for doctrine the commandments of men; and the people had become very ignorant of the Word of God.
6 Christ came to reveal God. He did not lay upon His followers so many exactions that they became discouraged, and by their actions taught that the law of God is a yoke of bondage. He invited the weary and heavy-laden to come to Him and find rest. He asked them to bring their cares and burdens to One who would indeed be to them a true helper. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden,” He cried. Let the yoke that is so galling to the neck be exchanged for My yoke. You have received incorrect ideas of what constitutes godliness. Learn of Me, and you will find rest unto your souls. “For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
7 Today it is claimed by some that the law of God is a yoke of bondage. But this is not so. The human additions to it are what makes it grievous to be borne. The law is holy, just, and good. But none can keep this law without accepting the righteousness of Christ. In His strength all may be wholly obedient. Through His grace they can show to the world a character like His, holding up by precept and example the high and holy standard of the divine law. They do not weave their own requirements with God’s, passing them off as genuine. They have learned in the school of Christ, and ever, as did Mary, they will sit at His feet. Thus they may be teachers of truth.
8 Jesus came to our world, His divinity clothed with humanity, to live a man among men. He came to live the law of God. When He came, He found that the only nation that claimed to have a knowledge of God, was mistaking tradition for truth, and pretense for piety. Interest in internal things was well-nigh obliterated. Delusion was taught as truth. Eternal realities were obscured by phantoms. Satan had misinterpreted the Father.
9 Christ taught that temporal interests must be subordinated to the things of eternity. He urged men, instead of being all-absorbed in the things of time, to contemplate the life that measures with the life of God. He showed His followers the confederacy of evil arrayed against all who fix their eyes on heaven. He told them plainly that they were engaged in a warfare against Satanic instrumentalities, and that angels of God fought their battles for them, but that these angels could do nothing without the cooperation of humanity. He told them that if they would do God’s service, they must be consecrated to Him. If they fought manfully in the battle of the Lord, they would receive immortality and a crown that would brighten through eternal ages.
10 In the warfare of good against evil, unseen, heavenly agencies are in the ranks of God’s servants. “Be of good cheer,” Christ said, “I have overcome the world.” With all heaven engaged in the warfare against sin, how can we be listless? Why not accept the help of the Holy Spirit, and fight as in the presence of the heavenly universe, looking undauntedly into the face of every foe, and saying with heart and voice: “Be of good cheer. Christ has overcome the world. Because He lives, we shall live also”? At every step we should advance heavenward, the eye fixed upon the crown of life, the hands employed in saving those who are ready to perish.
11 “Ye are the light of the world.” The rays of light, shining from the living stones in the temple of God, disturb those who are resting in false security. The world would gladly forget eternity, but it can not wholly succeed in doing this while there are men and women who cheerfully and gladly wear Christ’s yoke and bear His burden, singing as they carry them in His strength. Linked up with Christ, they are channels of light. Full of earnestness, love, and true Christlike sympathy, they reveal Christ to the world. Christ fills them with His Spirit; and they are indeed living stones, emitting the light of the Sun of Righteousness.
12 God has His chosen standard-bearers. They are precious in His sight, and as long as they hold aloft the banner on which is inscribed the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, the trumpet gives a certain sound, and the attention of worldlings is called to eternal realities.
13 These men and women are in harmony with Christ. Their lives are guided by His principles. They keep His commandments, not as if they were a galling yoke, but willingly, cheerfully. As they advance in harmony with the great standard of righteousness, they make melody to God in their hearts, singing as they walk in the way of happiness:—
14 “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.
15 “Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart.
16 “They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. . . .
17 “Give me understanding, and I shall keep Thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”
18 “My hands also will I lift up unto Thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in Thy statutes. . . .
19 “Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore doth my soul keep them.
20 “The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
21 “I opened my mouth, and panted; for I longed for Thy commandments.”
22 “Make me to understand the way of Thy precepts; so shall I talk of Thy wondrous works.”
23 This is the light in which we may regard the law of the Lord. Instead of giving the impression that the yoke of Christ is grievous, we may demonstrate the truthfulness of the words, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
24 Satan has arranged matters to suit himself. He has declared the religious life to be a life of exaction, of galling sacrifice. Shall we not strive to counteract this by revealing Christ as He is,—a compassionate Redeemer, who is constantly saying, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest”? Show the world that you keep the commandments of God because it is for your happiness to do so, even in this life. The reward of obedience is indeed pledged, in this life and the next. “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 “Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of Me this night; for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto Him, Tho all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice. Peter said unto Him, Tho I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.”
2 Jesus entered into controversy with no man. He had a work to do in the world. After his baptism John pointed to Him as “the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” Even when in the wilderness of temptation He was met by Satan, He held no controversy with His foe. He took His stand upon the written Word. The weapon with which He met and repulsed the enemy was, “It is written.” And Christ obtained the victory on the point of appetite in behalf of the whole world, that every soul might have His example before them.
3 And now the steps of Christ are tending to the last place of His humiliation and suffering in humanity. Turning to His disciples, He said in tones of deepest pathos, “All ye shall be offended because of Me this night;” for it is written, “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My Fellow, saith the Lord of hosts; smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” These words were spoken as from a breaking heart.
4 Throughout His whole discourse, Christ had made no mournful allusion to His own sufferings and death. The Shepherd knows He will be smitten, that the rod lifted in His Father’s hand will fall heavily upon Him because of the law transgressed. But Christ thinks only of His disciples. His heart of tenderest love is ever seeking to cheer them. He must prepare them for the absence of His bodily presence. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He said: “ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” He alludes to their scattering and forsaking Him at the very time when He most needs their sympathy and prayers. But He does not allow this thought of sadness to leave a depressing gloom upon them. He adds, “But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.”
5 The period that is to answer to the prophetic past had come. Christ takes His disciples over the terrible scenes to be enacted, and revives them with hope. He assures them that He will break the fetters of the tomb in the morning of the resurrection, when He will meet them in Galilee. He wanted their hearts to know no fear, but trust in Him.
6 But now Peter feels that he must speak, and assures his Master that he will never be guilty of denying his Lord. He did not realize that in that very assertion he was refusing caution and reproof from Christ. When men feel themselves so strong, then it is that they need the words of Inspiration brought to their minds, “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” Had Peter done this, he would not have disgraced himself, and put Christ to open shame. The time had come when silence was eloquence, when to think in quietness was far better than any speech he could have made. But Peter knew so little of his own heart that he denied the truthfulness of Christ’s statement.
7 Christ had told Peter that he was mistaken in his ideas of himself, and that in not receiving and believing the words of Christ he was doing the very evil that Christ had declared he would be guilty of. We see this same spirit manifested today. We need ever abiding in the soul the treasure of the Word of God, that when the host of hell shall seek to destroy with temptations, we may be ready with sharp perception to discern his wiles, and meet him as Christ met him in the wilderness, with, “It is written.” When we feel our personal weakness, when we depend on Christ and not on self, we have done what we can. Then the heavenly intelligences are ready to lift up the standard for us against the enemy, saying to the Satanic agencies, “Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther.” The tempted one often does not realize that he has unseen heavenly agencies working in his behalf, but this is so.
8 “Peter answered and said unto Him, Tho all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.” O, how poorly will many who feel so self-sufficient, stand the test! Jesus could see the future. He could read even the thoughts of the heart. He knew that Peter’s first denial would not stop there. Having denied his Lord once, occasion was given to deny again, and the second denial brought circumstances in its train to deny the third time, and that with cursing and swearing. Peter should have taken it for granted that Jesus knew him better than he knew himself. He should have humbled his heart, and asked for special grace, that this thing might not be. But he lost this opportunity in not heeding or believing the warning given.
9 In a most decided manner he declared, “Tho I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee.” Peter was thoroughly honest in his assertion, but he was not half as wise as he thought himself to be. He was ignorant of himself. He did not realize his own weakness. It is the privilege of the believer to know that Christ knows all things, and that He would never have made that statement if Peter had known his own heart.
10 Jesus did not try farther to make Peter believe that He knew what course he would pursue. But He knew that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” At this time Peter should have been examining himself. How distrustful of self should he have been! But he refused to admit that the picture presented before him was correct, and in the place of inviting research, altho the Holy Spirit of God had revealed to him the character he would manifest, under test and trial, he refused to accept it. If he had humbled his soul before God, in place of denying the searching and reading of his inmost soul, he would have said with the prophet, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.”
11 Peter needed a deeper, broader knowledge of Jesus Christ. He had listened to His words and enjoyed His lessons. He had acknowledged Christ as the Son of God, and believed Him to be this; but he had only touched the margin of faith in Christ. There were depths in the knowledge of His character which demanded his homage, his faith, his tribute of perfect trust and unshaken confidence. “Thou shalt see greater things than these,” is the promise that invites increased faith and expectation. Jesus stood ready to reveal Himself to Peter. In His great love He told Peter of his denial. He sought to reveal the defects of his character, and his necessity for the help which Christ alone could give. Peter needed a distrust of himself, and deeper views of God.
12 When Peter had done the very thing Christ had told him he would do, he was filled with shame and sorrow. He was a repentant man, and became thoroughly converted. Then how tender and charitable, how meek and forgiving, Peter revealed himself to be!
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 The object of conversion is twofold, personal and relative. It is to bless us, and make us a blessing. This is an individual work; but how frequently is it the case that those who profess to believe the Word of God so long accustom their minds to be content with little things, that they disqualify themselves to discern and appreciate the great things prepared for them! In the place of receiving in good and honest hearts the Word the Lord sends in messages to help them, to elevate, ennoble, and sanctify them, they cavil and gossip over it, because it cuts directly across their inclination and appetite. In the place of seeing their need of conversion, they regard the means which the Lord has provided to change their characters, as idle tales. Their habits to them are stronger than truth. Unless they will heed the warnings, they will wrap themselves in a deception that, as in the case of Judas, will cause them to become traitors and blind. Individual conversion means a change of character. The human agent must place himself in personal relation to Christ, that in the place of following his own hereditary and cultivated tendencies, he may have the mind of Christ, placing himself under the moulding influence of the Holy Spirit.
2 The soul of Paul was constantly thirsting for greater knowledge. He exclaimed: “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith; that I may know him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.” And how earnest and anxious should every soul be to have a faithful presentation of themselves, of their dangers, and of the trials that await them, that they may lay hold of a power outside of themselves!
3 The Word must be studied; it must rule in the heart, that we may be prepared to bring from the treasure-house good things. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly; then when you are assailed, you will have the armor of God to wear. Having done all, you may stand. We need an abiding Christ with us, as Enoch had when he walked with God three hundred years. We can have what Enoch had: we can have Christ as our constant companion. Enoch walked with God, and when assailed by the tempter, he could talk with God about it. He had no “It is written,” as we have, but he had a knowledge of his heavenly Companion. He made God his Counselor, and was closely bound up with Jesus. And Enoch was honored in this course. He was translated to heaven without seeing death. And those who will be translated at the close of time, will be those who commune with God on earth. Those who make manifest that their life is hid with Christ in God will ever be representing Him in all their life practises. Selfishness will be cut out by the roots.
4 When many of the disciples left Christ and walked no more with Him, because He had claimed to be that bread which came down from heaven, He had declared: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even shall live by Me.” And what did His own disciples say to His words? —”This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” The spiritual perception of His hearers could not grasp Christ’s words, and “from that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.”
5 Turning to the twelve, Jesus said, “Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” But while under the test in the judgment-hall, Peter was but a very dim reflector of the character of his Lord. How much of infirmity, of unmortified sin, of carelessness of spirit, of unsanctified temper, of heedlessness in entering into temptation, he revealed rather than giving up his own way and will!
6 Peter would not let his mind take any close view of the cross. The highest testimony he could have borne for Christ under trial was to reveal His steadfast principles, and in revealing the pure, holy beauty of the character of Christ, show that Christ was abiding in him. The Lord would have His followers reveal in their life practise His life of self-denial, lifting the cross at every step. We are to show our consecration in every act. And this will be the highest testimony we can bear to the Redeemer’s glory.
7 What honor Peter might have done his Lord had he received His words! But he proved himself to be unfaithful, unworthy to be the depositary of the rich treasure of God’s grace. His boastful assertions, while refusing to see himself as Christ saw him, were causing Peter’s light to grow dim. Yet at this time it was his privilege to solicit Christ’s help as earnestly as when, ready to sink beneath the tempestuous waves, he cried, “Lord, save, or I perish.” Then his cry for help brought him a hand that grasped his own; and if, when Christ told him that he would deny his Lord, Peter had said, “Lord, I receive Thy word; altho I can not see that it is possible. I love Thee, but I do not know myself, and I ask Thee to save me from denying Thee, whom I so love,” Christ would have saved him from himself. He would have asked for him help of His heavenly Father. He would have prayed that Peter might have been made watchful over his temper, vigilant when most strongly assailed by the enemy, wide-awake to Satan’s wily assaults. Then how watchful Peter would have been to maintain his loyalty to Christ! While others might deny their Lord, he would remain steadfast He would listen silently, and learn of Jesus how to conduct himself under charges and provocation, and in the darkest hour. Then he would strive to do honor to Christ and come close to his Saviour.
8 O, that Peter had learned more of the lesson given in the fifteenth chapter of John, of the necessity of abiding in Christ! “As the branch can not bear fruit of itself,” said Christ, “except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” Christ longed to have His disciples understand the privileges and advantages coming to them through Him. Peter heard these lessons as Christ pointed to the vine on which was a withered branch, and said: “Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth [pruneth] it, that it may bring forth more fruit. . . . As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. . . . If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
9 This lesson we will all learn if we believe on Jesus Christ. O, that it might have been received by Judas, who was plotting his Master’s death! If all could have heard this last lesson Christ gave to His disciples, what instruction they would have received! If they had known more of Jesus, more of the deceptions of the human heart; if they could have known the sorrow of Christ’s heart that the Shepherd was to be smitten and His sheep scattered; had they known that He was to gather them again, to speak to them with comforting assurances, they would have known more what His great sacrifice meant. One who loved them was seeking to give them special instruction. He was thinking of them, praying for them. His eye read every phase of their future experience during the terrible ordeal through which He was about to pass. Then how eager would they have been if they could do nothing more than look with sympathy and love upon their Lord, and with faith undimmed show that they realized that His eye was upon them, and that at this trying moment He was guiding, upholding, and caring for them. O, if they could have looked into that heart of Infinite Love, if they could only have seen how sorry He was for them! If words could have passed from Him to them, they would have been, spoken gently and sympathizingly: “Abide in My love.” “Be of good cheer, thou art in Christ’s heart, thou art not alone.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do [through the grace and power of Christ]; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” This promise was spoken by lips that never deceived, and we must take the pledged Word of God and believe it, and act upon it. We must receive His Word as spoken to us; and if we regard it thus, we shall come to the throne of grace with full assurance of faith.
2 Many who profess to be children of God have lost their simplicity; there is no genuine faith in their prayers, no confidence in the promise that if we believe we shall receive the thing we ask of Him. But if we have this faith, we shall not be disappointed; for God will honor His word. The Lord would have us tell Him all our perplexities, and ask Him for those things that we need. His promise is, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” God will give us the very things we need. It is our privilege to ask, it is God’s prerogative to know what is for our good, that receiving them we may glorify His name by giving of them to others.
3 We need to have more of Jesus, and far less of self. We need a childlike simplicity that will lead us to tell the Lord all our wants, and believe that according to His riches and goodness and love He will satisfy our needs. “If ye shall ask anything in My name,” He says, “I will do it.” If you love Me, you will show that love by keeping My commandments. “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth.”
4 The Comforter is promised only as the Spirit of truth. There is no comfort in a lie. The work of the Comforter is to define and maintain the truth; and there should be no worry lest the comfort will not follow. The Holy Spirit first dwells in the heart as the truth, and this He does through the truth. The world, said Christ, can not receive the Spirit of truth, “because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
5 “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” This is the only true test of character. In doing the will of God we give the best evidence that we love God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. The oft-repeated words of love for God are of no value unless that love is made manifest in the life practise. Love for God is not a mere sentiment; it is a living, working power. The man who does the will of his Father who is in heaven shows to the world that he loves God. The fruit of his love is seen in good works.
6 “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This means more than an assent to the truth that Christ came into the world and died for the salvation of the race. The understanding may be convinced, but the text means more than this. It means entire sincerity. It means faith, intelligent faith, that will cling to the Saviour as the only hope of a fallen world. It means a faith that will grasp the wonderful provision made, and will engage the affections and control the life, resting upon the merit of a crucified and risen Saviour. It means a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
7 The apostle James saw that dangers would arise in presenting the subject of justification by faith, and he labored to show that genuine faith can not exist without corresponding works. The experience of Abraham is presented. “Seest thou,” he says, “how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” Thus genuine faith does a genuine work in the believer. Faith and obedience bring a solid, valuable experience.
8 There is a belief that is not a saving faith. The word declares that the devils believe and tremble. The so-called faith that does not work by love and purify the soul will not justify any man. “Ye see,” says the apostle, “how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” Abraham believed God. How do we know that he believed? His works testified to the character of his faith, and his faith was accounted to him for righteousness.
9 We need the faith of Abraham in our day, to lighten the darkness that gathers around us, shutting out the sweet sunlight of God’s love, and dwarfing spiritual growth. Our faith should be prolific of good works; for faith without works is dead. Every duty performed, every sacrifice made in the name of Jesus, brings an exceeding great reward. In the very act of duty, God speaks and gives His blessing.
10 “Being justified freely by His grace,” the apostle Paul says, “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness; that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
11 Here the truth is laid out in plain lines. This mercy and goodness is wholly undeserved. The grace of Christ is freely to justify the sinner without merit or claim on his part. Justification is a full, complete pardon of sin. The moment a sinner accepts Christ by faith, that moment he is pardoned. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is no more to doubt God’s forgiving grace.
12 There is nothing in faith that makes it our saviour. Faith can not remove our guilt. Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all them that believe. The justification comes through the merits of Jesus Christ. He has paid the price for the sinner’s redemption. Yet it is only through faith in His blood that Jesus can justify the believer.
13 The sinner can not depend upon his own good works as a means of justification. He must come to the point where he will renounce all his sin, and embrace one degree of light after another, as it shines upon his pathway. He simply grasps by faith the free and ample provision made in the blood of Christ. He believes the promises of God which through Christ are made unto him sanctification and righteousness and redemption. And if he follows Jesus, he will walk humbly in the light, rejoicing in the light, and diffusing that light to others. Being justified by faith he carries cheerfulness with him in his obedience in all his life. Peace with God is the result of what Christ is to him. The souls who are in subordination to God, who honor Him, and are doers of His Word, will receive divine enlightenment. In the precious Word of God, there is purity and loftiness as well as beauty that, unless assisted by God, the highest powers of man can not attain to.
14 Faith earns nothing for us; it is the gift of God, which we may receive and cherish by making Christ our personal Saviour. We may refuse the gift, and talk doubts, and become unhappy by cherishing unbelief. But this will grow into an impassable barrier, shutting us away from the Spirit of God, and closing our hearts to His light and His love. Thus we dishonor God, and make of none effect to us the priceless sacrifice. We give Satan an opportunity to triumph over us, when we might triumph over him.
15 We are none of us excusable, under any form of trial, for letting our hold upon God become loosened. Although the compassion of man may fail, still God loves and pities, and reaches out His helping hand. God’s everlasting arms encircle the soul that turns to Him for aid. He is our source of strength, or stronghold in every trial. When we cry unto Him for help, His hand will be stretched forth mightily to save. In earnest resolution and prayer to God for the help we need, we shall find strength. God loves to have His children ask Him, and trust Him to do for them those things which they can not do for themselves. Then let us heed the voice of Him who spoke as never man spake: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. If ye love Me, keep My commandments.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
2 These words call for earnest thought. They mean more than many suppose. If we would be lights in the world, we must open the mind to receive Him who is the Light of the world. We must have the mind of Christ. It is a precious privilege to know Christ by personal experience, and to walk humbly before God.
3 Satan claims this world as his kingdom. Here he has set his seat. But even amid the moral darkness some light shines. God has a little flock. His people are not popular; for the world has chosen darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. But Christ says to His chosen ones: “if ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
4 God’s loyal and faithful children are found in a world where atheists and worldly religionists abound, a world that ever since the day when Cain lifted up his hand against Abel, has rejected every provision that Heaven has made to restore the moral image of God in man. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” But even this Gift was cast aside as worthless. “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”
5 It is amazing to the angels that those who live in God’s house, and daily receive His favors, should refuse His only-begotten Son. And God asks: “Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant; there have they dealt treacherously against Me.”
6 Christ, the great Teacher, said to His hearers: “Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” “For ye were sometime darkness,” writes Paul, “but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light.”
7 We are in the world, where, because of their sin, our first parents lost the beautiful Eden that God had given them. Adam and Eve were placed in the garden, and were given permission to eat of every tree in the garden but one. But they ate of the forbidden fruit, and their sin opened the flood-gates of woe upon our world. From that time sin grew worse, till God destroyed the world by a flood, saving only Noah and his sons. Since that time sin has been steadily increasing. Men have not learned that God means what He says. Sodom was destroyed by bolts of fire from heaven. God threatened to destroy Nineveh. The inhabitants repented, and their destruction was averted. But they turned once more to their idolatry, their sins reached to heaven, and their destruction came.
8 The world is fast becoming as it was before the flood. Satan has set up his throne on the earth, and the law of God is trampled underfoot. God made the world in six days, and rested on the seventh, sanctifying it as the day of His rest. He gave it to man as a memorial of His creation, saying, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” But Adam’s sin is repeated. The Sabbath of the Lord is discarded and scorned, while a spurious sabbath, the child of the Papacy, is accepted by the Protestant world, and is cherished and exalted as supreme. But it has not a vestige of sacredness, more than has any common working day.
9 “Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed My covenant, and trespassed against My law. Israel shall cry unto Me, My God, we know Thee. Israel hath cast off the thing that is good; the enemy shall pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by Me; they have made princes, and I knew it not; of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. . . . I have written to him the great things of My law, but they were counted as a strange thing.”
10 How true is this today! Laws enacted by finite authority are exalted above the law of Jehovah. Men trample underfoot God’s holy law, and say of God’s people, as the Jews said of Christ, “We have a law, and by our law He ought to die.” Over and over again this will be repeated. Christ has told us that in the world we shall have tribulation, but that in Him we shall have peace. Those who live during the last days of this earth’s history will know what it means to be persecuted for the truth’s sake. In the courts injustice will prevail. The judges will refuse to listen to the reasons of those who are loyal to the commandments of God, because they know that arguments in favor of the fourth commandment are unanswerable. They will say, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die.” God’s law is nothing to them. “Our law” with them is supreme. Those who respect this human law will be favored, but those who will not bow to the idol sabbath will have no favors shown them.
11 All that is brought against the validity of the fourth commandment is of human invention. There is not one word in the Bible to sustain the first day of the week. It is a spurious sabbath, baptized by human enactment, and given to the world to be kept holy. But, false tho it is, the world cherishes it, thus pursuing a blasphemous course. The sins of the inhabitants of the cities and towns have reached to heaven, and it is time for men to pray in humility before God. “Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him; even a meat offering and a drink-offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them; wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 868
1 “Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people; but because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them; He will not be slack to him that hateth Him, He will repay him to His face. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.”
2 These words were spoken by Christ when enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, and were given to Moses for the chosen people of God. The Lord has not left the world without witness. He has His loyal, chosen people. They do not make this world their home, but they are here to witness for God; and as long as probation lasts, a living witness will be borne by these faithful messengers. Satan and his angels confederate with evil men against God’s people, the champions of righteousness. They strive to counteract their testimony, and to destroy them. So Christ was treated. The Prince of Life came to His own, but they refused to receive Him. Though rebellion against His law had become widespread, He came on an embassage of mercy, to save, not to condemn the world. He called upon all to behold Him, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. But He was scorned as a deceiver, and hunted from place to place as a pretender.
3 Christ has ascended on high, but before leaving this earth, He said to His chosen people: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent Me.” Many, because of their faith, will be cut off from house and heritage here; but if they will give their hearts to Christ, receiving the message of His grace, and resting upon their Substitute and Surety, even the Son of God, they may still be filled with joy.
4 We may all know, if we wish, of the provision which has been made for the salvation of every one that lives on the earth. But there is a serious question for each one to answer: Have you personally accepted that salvation? A mere assent to the theory of truth is of no value to you. Your name may be enrolled on the church books, but do you love the truth of God’s Word? Do you regard it as a privilege to be able to gain an experimental knowledge of the truth? Do you associate with those who are faithful and true, who believe and practise the truth? In the sixth chapter of John is recorded Christ’s lesson on the bread of life, spoken that His children might have an understanding of the terms of salvation. Read and understand the truth as it is here presented. Cling to the truth of Christ’s Word, eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
5 By the mighty cleaver of truth, God has separated a people from the quarry of the world, and brought them into His workshop. Here the Master Worker can successfully hew them with ax and chisel, and polish them for a place in His kingdom. No longer are they like the mass from which they were taken. They stand like noble pillars, to be used for God’s glory.
6 The future glory of the adopted sons and daughters of God is not now discerned. By the world God’s people are scorned and despised. But they have the sympathies of a better world than this, even a heavenly. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” He has that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. The Spirit of God brings every faculty, every organ of the body, into conformity with right. Even the thoughts are brought into obedience to Christ. In every habit and practise, the desire to be like Jesus is cherished. The aspirations are upward; the heart is filled with joy at the anticipation of the future; for he looks “for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
7 Through bigoted religionists, Satan has sought to uproot the vine of the Lord’s planting. But the roots strike deep, and can not be torn up. The husbandman cares for his own vineyard, watching over the precious plants. If these plants will receive the nourishment God offers them, they will grow and bring forth much fruit to His glory.
8 The Word of God, just as it reads, is the ground of our faith. That Word is the sure word of prophecy, and it demands implicit faith from all who claim to believe it. It is authoritative, containing in itself the proof of its divine origin. “We have not followed cunningly-devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty.” “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
9 The only evidence the world can have that God’s people believe His Word is to see them practising that Word and following Christ’s example in all things. Those who do not practise the truth in true piety and godliness, who shun the reproach that always comes to the true believer, will never enter the kingdom of heaven. For us the Redeemer endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself. There was not one iota of suffering that was not borne in our behalf, that we might be justified before God. Every pang of distress and anguish endured by Him was to secure deliverance for us. Could Satan have led Christ to commit one sin, the serpent would have bruised the head of the Seed of the woman. Satan would have triumphed in the fact that he had succeeded in overcoming our Saviour. The world would have become his property. But Christ did not yield in one instance, and He says to us, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” With one hand Christ holds fast to humanity, while with the other He grasps the throne of the Infinite.
10 What are we who claim to be one with Christ?—”Ye are laborers together with God.” Between the true believer and the unbeliever there will ever be the same conflict that there was between Christ and those who rejected Him. Those who are partakers with Christ in His sufferings, will also be partakers with Him in His glory. But those who evade the cross here, deny Him who has bought them at an infinite price, and in the day of judgment they will be denied. Many, many, are misrepresenting and denying Christ by their low standard of Christianity. Those who truly believe in Christ will show their faith by a well-ordered life and godly conversation. By working in Christ’s lines, they will show that they have been adopted into the family of heaven. Of all such God says, “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 869
1 Truth in Christ and through Christ is measureless. The student of Scripture looks, as it were, into a fountain which deepens and broadens as he gazes into its depths. As he searches the Word of God, the grand theme of redemption opens to his research. What subject is so vast and mysterious as the manifestation of God’s compassion for man? Herein is love, not that we loved God; for why should we not love Him? but that God loved us, sinful human beings.
2 Before Christ’s advent, darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. He who is the Light of the world saw that Satan was throwing his shadow athwart the pathway of men, that he might prevent them from gaining a knowledge of God and of the future world. Men were sitting in the shadow of death. The only hope for the world was for this gloom to be lifted, and God revealed to the world. A teacher from heaven must come to this earth. The Sun of Righteousness must banish the darkness. Man’s necessities could be met in no other way.
3 The prophetic roll testifies of the Messenger that was to visit the earth: “Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench; He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for His law.” “He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.”
4 “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son.” God could reveal Himself in no other way. The Eternal Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”
5 With mercy that is without a parallel, God strove to melt the hardened, sin-bound heart of man. His only-begotten Son, the Majesty of heaven, came to live among men. His life was far from being one of ease or pleasure. Painful toil was a part of each day’s experience. Weary, hungry, sorrowful, opposed and misrepresented by His brethren, His soul acquainted with grief, He did indeed bear the yoke in His youth. No other human being was ever so weighted with responsibility. He had a mission to perform, and constantly the words were on His lips, “I will not fail nor be discouraged.”
6 “Come unto Me,” Christ cried, “all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” This is Christ’s recognition of duty. What is a yoke?—That which restrains. What is a burden?—Something to be carried. Obedience and service are combined in Christ’s words.
7 Many take views of life entirely opposite to Christ’s teaching. They look upon a life of freedom and idleness as the happiest. But Christ acknowledges no such principle. He put His neck under the yoke of obedience; and He says to us, Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me how to obey and how to serve. In this you will find rest.
8 What is God’s law?—It is the expression of His character. What is service?—The work that human beings are to do for Christ. By wearing the yoke of obedience, we may be laborers together with Him. Through perfect obedience Enoch walked with God. The life in which the mind, soul, heart, and strength are given to God forms a part of the divine plan.
9 It was the spirit of uncomplaining submission in which our Saviour did His duty that made His yoke easy and His burden light. He conformed to the law of obedience and service, and the same principle that made Him so useful everywhere, He requires His followers to obey. In this way every man must be educated before he can love God supremely and his neighbor as himself.
10 During His life on earth Christ went about doing good. His sensibilities were most acute; for in Him was all that is elevated in mind, exalted in sentiment, and fine and delicate in feeling. In His nature was seen the perfection of humanity. His sensibilities were all in continual activity. Wherever He looked, He saw work to be done. At times He suffered beyond what any language can express as He realized that unaided humanity would be extinguished. Supernaturally sustained, He endured the seeing of men for whom He gave His life, perishing within reach of abundant help. With tender longing He looked pityingly upon them, and said with quivering lips, “Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.”
11 Man’s insensibility to wrong was sufficient to blunt Christ’s affections. Those who were the objects of His tenderest regard requited His compassion by fixed hostility and defiance. A constant demand was made on His forbearance, a demand sufficient to drain any heart but the one replenished at the Fountain Head of compassion itself. Were it not for the hidden Source from whence Christ drew His strength, He could not have lived. But thus supplied, He failed not, neither was He discouraged. His affections languished not. Throughout His life He constantly ministered to others. After His resurrection His first work was to convince His disciples of His undiminished love and tender regard for them. To give them proof that He was their living Saviour, that He had broken the fetters of the tomb and could no longer be held by death, that He had the same heart of love as when He was with them as their teacher, He appeared to them again and again, drawing the cords of love still closer around them.
12 All that Christ suffered, He suffered for us, that His grace might lighten the load we have to carry. He looked steadfastly to His Father for strength to live a perfect life and develop a complete, symmetrical character, that He might say to every struggling soul: Fear not; for I have overcome the world. I will give you the aid of My Spirit.
13 Not in this life shall we comprehend the depths of God’s love in giving Jesus to be the propitiation for our sin. The work of our Redeemer on this earth is, and ever will be, a subject that will put to the stretch our highest imagination. Man may strain every mental muscle and sinew in the endeavor to solve this mystery, but his mind will become faint and weary. The most diligent searcher will see before him a boundless, shoreless sea.
14 The truth as it is in Jesus can be experienced, but never explained. Its height, and breadth, and depth pass our knowledge. We must look to the source, in the great heart of the infinite God, our Creator. We may strain our imagination to its utmost, and then we shall only see dimly the outline of a love that is unexplainable, that is as high as heaven, but that stooped to earth to stamp the image of God on all mankind.
15 Yet it is possible for us to see all that we can bear of the divine compassion. This is unfolded to the humble, contrite soul. To be permitted to have a view of God is the highest privilege accorded to man. This privilege should be prized above all earthly distinction or honor. We shall understand God’s compassion just in proportion as we appreciate His sacrifice for us. “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 When the Saviour invited Matthew to follow Him, the publican did not stop to think of earthly loss. He considered nothing so profitable to him as discipleship to Christ; and without framing one excuse, without waiting to ask what he should do to obtain a livelihood, he arose and followed Christ.
2 In his grateful humility, Matthew desired to show his appreciation of the honor bestowed upon him; and, calling together those who had been his associates in business, in pleasure, and in sin, he made a great feast for the Saviour. If Jesus would call him , who was so sinful and unworthy, He would surely accept his former companions, who were, thought Matthew, far more deserving than himself. Matthew had a great longing that they should share the benefits of the mercies and grace of Christ. He desired them to know that Christ did not, as did the scribes and Pharisees, despise and hate the publicans and sinners. He wanted them to know Christ as the blessed Saviour.
3 At the feast the Saviour occupied the most honored seat. Matthew was now the servant of Christ, and he would have his friends know in what light he regarded his Leader and Master. He would have them know that he felt highly honored in entertaining so royal a guest.
4 Jesus never refused an invitation to such a feast. The object ever before Him was to sow in the hearts of His hearers the seeds of truth,—through His winning conversation to draw hearts to Himself. In His every act Christ had a purpose, and the lesson which He gave on this occasion was timely and appropriate. By this act He declared that even publicans and sinners were not excluded from His presence. Publicans and sinners could now bear the testimony that Christ honored them with His presence and conversed with them.
5 The Pharisees beheld Christ sitting and eating with publicans and sinners. He was calm and self-possessed, kind, courteous, and friendly; and while they could not but admire the picture presented, it was so unlike their own course of action that they could not endure the sight. The haughty Pharisees exalted themselves, and depreciated those who had not been blessed with such privileges and light as they themselves had had. They hated and despised the publicans and sinners. Yet in the sight of God their guilt was the greater. Heaven’s light was flashing across their pathway, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it;” but they spurned the gift. Turning to the disciples of Christ, they said, “Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” By this question they hoped to arouse the prejudice which they knew had existed in the minds of the disciples, and thus shake their weak faith. They aimed their arrows where they would be most likely to bruise and wound.
6 Proud but foolish Pharisees, who fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness! Christ eats with publicans and sinners, that He may draw them to Himself. The world’s Redeemer can not honor the fasts observed by the Jewish nation. They fast in pride and self-righteousness, while Christ eats in humility, with publicans and sinners.
7 Since the fall, the work of Satan has been to accuse, and those who refuse the light which God sends, pursue the same course today. They lay open to others those things which they consider an offense. Thus it was with the Pharisees. When they found something of which they could accuse the disciples, they did not speak to those whom they thought to be in error. They spoke to Christ of the things which they thought to be so grievous in His disciples. When they thought that Christ offended, they accused Him to the disciples. It was their work to alienate hearts.
8 The world’s Redeemer heard every word uttered against Him by the Pharisees. “When Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice; for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” These self-righteous men, who felt no need of help, could not appreciate the work of Christ. They placed themselves where they could not accept the salvation which He came to bring. They would not come unto Him that they might have life. The poor publicans and sinners felt their need of help, and they accepted the instruction and aid which they knew Christ was able to give them.
9 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ came to seek and to save those that were lost. He came to reach to the very depths of human woe and misery. He placed Himself where He could reach the needy, the suffering, the oppressed, just where they were; and, altho to all appearance they were the most unpromising, with what intense interest did He work for them! What holy joy arose in His heart as He saw them opening their hearts to Him, that He might fill them with His transforming grace, and imbue them with His spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice. He came to honor men with the privilege of being participants in the blessings of His kingdom. He called upon them to repent of their sins, receive of His pardoning love, and unite with Him in sowing the seeds of truth, laboring for the souls that were ready to perish.
10 It is not possible to give to Christ more service than is His due. If you have, as had the Pharisees, a self-complacent spirit, if you wrap about you the garments of self-righteousness, and leave sinners in darkness and transgression, you give evidence that you are not converted; and those whom you deem publicans and sinners will go into the kingdom of heaven before you. Those who would object to eating with publicans and sinners should closely criticise their own course of action. They have important lessons to learn. What saith the Scriptures?—”To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.”
11 The follower of Christ is not to live to himself. He who lives to himself is not a Christian. He has not been created anew in Christ Jesus. From the moment the sinner views Christ upon the cross, every barrier is broken down. He sees sin in its offensive character, and exercises repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. He lays hold of the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. Then all his transformed powers will be held as sacred to God’s service. Every talent, every qualification, reason, knowledge, affection, speech, property, will be appreciated as a precious trust. He will live with an eye single to the glory of God. He will be a man of prayer, that he may have the spirit and wisdom of Christ to win souls from sin to holiness, from error to truth.
12 The disciple who loves Christ will love the souls for whom Christ has died, and will devote himself unreservedly to Christ. He will work as Christ worked; he will do as Christ did. He will go where the sinner is. He will educate all his powers, his tact and ability, that he may become a laborer together with God. He will hold the secret of the cross before those who do not know God. Every soul who is indeed united with Christ, will be a laborer together with God for the uplifting and saving of humanity. No other being in the world has the shadow of a claim upon our service. Every part of our nature, every moment of our existence, has been purchased with the precious blood of the Son of God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years. There is an increasing indifference concerning the doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal hierarchy; the opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we do not differ so widely upon vital points as has been supposed, and that a little concession on our part will bring us into a better understanding with Rome. The time was when Protestants placed a high value upon the liberty of conscience which has been so dearly purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery, and held that to remain at peace with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely different are the sentiments now expressed!
2 The defenders of popery declare that she has been maligned; and the Protestant world is inclined to accept the statement. Many urge that it is unjust to judge the Romish Church of today by the abominations and absurdities that marked her reign during the centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty as the result of the barbarism of the times, and plead that civilization has changed her sentiments.
3 Have these persons forgotten the claim of infallibility for eight hundred years put forth by this haughty power? So far from relinquishing this claim, the church in the nineteenth century has affirmed it with greater positiveness than ever before. As Rome asserts that she has never erred, and never can err, how can she renounce the principles which governed her course in past ages?
4 The papal church will never relinquish her claim to infallibility. All that she has done in her persecution of those who reject her dogmas, she holds to be right; and would she not repeat the same acts, should the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now imposed by secular governments be removed, and Rome be re-instated in her former power, and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and persecution.
5 It is true that there are real Christians in the Roman Catholic communion. Thousands in that church are serving God according to the best light they have. They are not allowed access to His Word, and therefore they do not discern the truth. They have never seen the contrast between a living heart-service and a round of mere forms and ceremonies. But God looks with pitying tenderness upon these souls, educated as they are in a faith that is delusive and unsatisfying. He will cause rays of light to penetrate the dense darkness that surrounds them. He will reveal to them the truth as it is in Jesus, and they will yet take their position with His people.
6 But Romanism as a system is no more in harmony with the Gospel of Christ now than at any former period in her history. The Protestant churches are in great darkness, or they would discern the signs of the times. The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and modes of operation. She is employing every device to extend her influence and increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined conflict to regain control of the world, to re-establish persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done. Catholicism is gaining ground in our country upon every side. Look at the number of her churches and chapels. Look at her colleges and seminaries, so widely patronized by Protestants. These things should awaken the anxiety of all who prize the pure principles of the Gospel.
7 Protestants have tampered with and patronized popery; they have made compromises and concessions which papists themselves are surprised to see, and fail to understand. Men are closing their eyes to the real character of Romanism, and the dangers to be apprehended from her supremacy. The people of our land need to be aroused to resist the advances of this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.
8 Many suppose that the Catholic religion is unattractive, and that its worship is a dull, stupid round of ceremony. Here they mistake. While Romanism is based upon deception, it is not a coarse and clumsy imposture. The religious service of the Romish Church is a most impressive ceremonial. Its gorgeous display and solemn rites fascinate the senses of the people, and silence the voice of reason and of conscience. The eye is charmed. Magnificent churches, imposing processions, golden altars, jeweled shrines, choice paintings, and exquisite sculpture appeal to the love of beauty. The ear also is captivated. There is nothing to excel the music. The rich notes of the deep-toned organ, blending with the melody of many voices as it swells through the lofty domes and pillared aisles of her grand cathedrals, can not fail to impress the mind with awe and reverence.
9 This outward splendor, pomp, and ceremony, that only mocks the longings of the sin-sick soul, is an evidence of inward corruption. The religion of Christ needs not such attractions to recommend it. In the light shining from the cross, true Christianity appears so pure and lovely that external decorations only hide its true worth. It is the beauty of holiness, a meek and quiet spirit, which is of value with God.
10 Brilliancy of style is not an index of pure, elevated thought. The highest conceptions of art, the most delicate refinement of taste, often spring from minds wholly earthly and sensual. They are often employed by Satan to lead men to forget the necessities of the soul, to lose sight of the future, immortal life, to turn away from their infinite Helper, and to live for this world alone.
11 A religion of externals is attractive to the unrenewed heart. The pomp and ceremony of the Catholic worship have a seductive, bewitching power by which many are deceived; and they come to look upon the Roman Church as the very gate of heaven. None are proof against her influence but those who have planted their feet firmly upon the foundation of truth, and whose hearts are renewed by the Spirit of God. Thousands who have not an experimental knowledge of Christ will be swept into this deception. A form of godliness without the power is just what they desire. The Romanist feels at liberty to sin, because the church claims the right to pardon. To him who loves self-indulgence, it is more pleasing to confess to a fellow-mortal than to open the soul to God. It is more palatable to human nature to do penance than to renounce sin. It is easier to mortify the flesh by sackcloth and nettles and galling chains than to crucify fleshly lusts. Heavy is the yoke which the carnal heart is willing to bear rather than bow to the yoke of Christ.
12 There is a striking similarity between the Church of Rome and the Jewish Church at the time of Christ’s first advent. While the Jews secretly trampled upon every principle of the law of God, they were outwardly rigorous in the observance of its precepts, loading it down with exactions and traditions that made obedience painful and burdensome. As the Jews professed to revere the law, so do Romanists claim to reverence the cross. They exalt the symbol of Christ’s sufferings, while in their lives they deny Him whom it represents.
13 Papists place crosses upon their churches, upon their altars, and upon their garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia of the cross. Everywhere it is outwardly honored and exalted. But the teachings of Christ are buried beneath a mass of senseless traditions, false interpretations, and rigorous exactions. The Saviour’s words concerning the bigoted Jews apply with still greater force to the Romish leaders: “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Conscientious souls are kept in constant terror, fearing the wrath of an offended God, while the dignitaries of the church are living in luxury and sensual pleasure.
14 Satan instigates the worship of images, the invocation of saints, and the exaltation of the pope, to attract the minds of the people from God and from His Son. To accomplish their ruin, he endeavors to turn their attention from Him through whom alone they can find salvation. He will direct them to any one that can be substituted for the One who has said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”—Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 872
1 “Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but Thy disciples fast not?” The disciples of John were very sorrowful. Their master was in prison, and their days were passed in mourning and frequent fasts. They had not accepted Jesus as the world’s Redeemer as fully as had John. They thought Christ needed to reform in His practise, because He did not do in every particular as John did. They saw how differently the disciples of Christ were being molded from themselves and the scribes and Pharisees. While they were mourning and fasting because of the imprisonment of John, they saw Jesus sitting and eating with publicans and sinners. Misinterpreting His object, they united with the Pharisees in condemning His practise.
2 Christ’s answer met both classes of complainants. “Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn,” He said, “as long as the Bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.” The disciples of Christ had the Bridegroom with them. He was everything to them. It would not be appropriate for them to spend their days in mourning and fasting. They must now be catching the rays of light from Jesus, learning the spiritual nature of His kingdom, and the grace of His character, that they might work when He should leave them.
3 Christ was constantly working to instruct those who were to fill the office of apostles. The work for which the Lord was preparing them was to teach the commandments of God. Nearly two thousand years ago there was heard from the throne of God in heaven a voice of mysterious import: “Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; . . . burnt-offering and sin-offering hast Thou not required. . . . Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of Me: I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.”
4 Christ did not come to abrogate the law given on Sinai, but to enforce it. He was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. That which He had spoken from Sinai was the foundation of the government of heaven, and was to be as enduring as eternity. He knew the strength of the law of Jehovah. He knew its immutability. It was because the law of God could not be changed to meet man in his fallen condition, that Christ clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to our world to take upon Him the sins of a fallen race. He became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
5 Christ, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, came to our world to reveal truth, to present God to the world in His true character. Would you know God? Look upon His only-begotten Son. “He that hath seen Me,” “Christ said to Philip, “hath seen the Father.” Christ saw how men’s devices and ideas had been interwoven with truth, and He came to rescue truth from the rubbish of error, and reset it in the framework of the Gospel, presenting the law of God in its original dignity and purity. Who could so well cope with superstition and the misinterpretation of the Word of God as He who was the Author of all truth? Who was so well fitted to conquer the power of darkness as He who knew the enemy as an angel fallen? Who could so well rescue the gems of truth, which, through the devices of Satan, had been made to serve in companionship with error, as He who had given these truths?
6 Christ veiled His divinity beneath the garb of humanity. This was the only way in which He could approach men. Had He not done this, He could not have conversed with men, and gathered them around Him to hear the grand and elevating truths which were to be to them eternal life. It was a part of the plan that He should hide the brightness of His glory, that, during His earthly life, He should humble Himself to man’s estate. The world’s Redeemer was to make a solemn oblation of Himself. His divine greatness had long been the subject of prophecy. His work had long been foretold. He must identify Himself as the subject of prophecy. He, the Light of the world, must lighten every man that cometh into the world. If He displaced types and shadows, it was only because type had met antitype in Himself. He must occupy the place which the types had prefigured. He must stand out prominently as the only One who could redeem the world.
7 How could those who had the presence of God with them, believing in Him, trusting in Him, loving Him, daily being taught by Him, mourn and fast as did the Pharisees? The children of the bride-chamber could not fast while the Bridegroom was with them. But Christ knew that the days were coming when the Bridegroom would be taken away from them. Then when days of trial and temptation came, and the presence of the Comforter was not clearly discerned, the disciples could more consistently mourn and fast.
8 When He should approach the cross, and descend into the depths of humiliation; when His disciples should witness Him in whom their hopes of eternal life were centered, in the hands of wicked men; when they should hear His own nation clamoring for His blood, and see Herod and his soldiers plaiting the crown of thorns for His sacred brow; when they should see Him clad in the purple robe, and His persecutors bowing before Him, striking Him with the reed which they had placed in His hand; when they should see Him who they thought was to take His place on David’s throne, scourged as the worst of criminals, and the murderous Barabbas chosen in the place of their beloved Teacher; when they should see Him lifted up on the cross, and dying as a malefactor—then they would have cause to mourn and fast. Then their faith would be tried, and their hope and courage would fail.
9 But the Life-giver comes forth from the sepulcher. From above the rent sepulcher of Joseph there is heard a shout of triumph from the heavenly universe. Jesus is risen, and is again with His disciples, talking with them, opening to them the Scriptures, and testifying that Christ must needs have suffered, been crucified, and the third day have risen again. This Christ had told His disciples before, but they did not then want to hear it. The nature and character of His Kingdom they could not fully comprehend. But after His resurrection they were not left in darkness on these points. Christ Himself opened their minds that they might understand the Scriptures concerning Himself. And so when He led them out as far as to Bethany. “He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
10 These angel messengers had been commissioned to separate from the company who were escorting Christ to heaven, and go and tell the disciples that the same Jesus whom they had loved on earth would come again. Then the disciples remembered the words of Christ, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
11 “And they . . . returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” What a period of triumph was this for the church! Jesus was not in Joseph’s new tomb. He had arisen, and had ascended to heaven. Heavenly messengers had told the disciples that He would come again. Mrs. E. G. White.
(Concluded next week.)
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Page 873
1 The disciples were not to fast and mourn after the ascension of Christ; for this was just what the prince of darkness wanted. He desired that they should give to the world the impression that they had been deceived and disappointed, that their expectations had not been realized. Before His ascension Christ had declared: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.”
2 If by faith they would accept and practise the teachings of Christ, they would have, not a cloud of heaviness and mourning, but the peace of Christ. Said Christ: “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father; for My Father is greater than I.”
3 Christ had told His disciples: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they shall deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
4 After enumerating the persecutions they should meet for His name’s sake, Christ said: “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”
5 There are times before us that will try the souls of men, and there will be need of watchfulness, of the right kind of fasting. This will not be like the fasting of the Pharisees. Their seasons of fasting were occasions of outward ceremony. They did not humble their hearts before God. They were filled with bitterness, envy, malice, strife, selfishness, and self-righteousness. While their heads were bowed in pretended humiliation, they were covetous, full of self-esteem, self-importance. They were oppressive, exacting, proud in spirit.
6 Everything in the Jewish service had been misinterpreted and misapplied. The purpose of the sacrifice offerings had been perverted. They were to symbolize Christ and His mission, that when He should come in the flesh, the world might recognize God in Him, and accept Him as the world’s Redeemer. But their lack of true heart service for God had blinded the Jews to a knowledge of God. Exactions and ceremonies and traditions were the sum total of their religion.
7 The Pharisees had yet to learn that righteousness exalts a nation, that form and ceremony can not take the place of righteousness. Christ was teaching the people as verily when enshrouded in the pillar of cloud as when seated on the mount. The same compassionate consideration for the poor was enjoined as in the lessons given to the disciples. But the responsibility of every individual in the sight of God, His mercy, love, and compassion, were not included in the lessons given to the people by the rulers in Israel. Said Christ, “No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.” The truth, the life, the light, which should characterize true godliness, could not be united with the manufactured religion of the Pharisees.
8 The scribes and Pharisees were annoyed that Christ did not approve of their pretension. Instead, Christ reproved them for depending upon forms and ceremonies for salvation, while their hearts were full of wickedness. “Ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,” He said, “and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Ye teach “for doctrines the commandments of men.”
9 Thus it is in our day. Forms and outward ceremonies pass for true religion. But through His servant Christ presents before us true Christianity. “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
10 The lesson given to the Pharisees and the disciples of John is for us. There is a work to do in seeking to bring sinners to repentance. The time spent in needless mourning and bodily humiliation might far better be devoted to merciful acts for suffering humanity. So long as souls are under the dominion of Satan, there must be no saving of self. There is stern, practical work to be done. The works of righteousness revealed in showing kindness to the needy, clothing the naked, relieving the oppressed, give evidence that the Spirit of God is operating on the heart. In the place of advancing and enriching ourselves, oppressing others, and neglecting the simple duties of life; in the place of putting on an appearance of great devotion and afflicting our bodies, we should humble our hearts before God. “Go ye,” says Christ, “and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice; for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
11 “Is it such a fast that I have chosen?” God says, “a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be their rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 874
1 “If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he can not be My disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, can not be My disciple.”
2 Great multitudes followed Christ, and He welcomed with joy all who came to Him for instruction; but the Searcher of hearts knew who in the throngs that daily pressed about Him were really disposed to own Him as the promised Messiah. Many who witnessed His miracles thought that the power which could heal the sick, feed five thousand men with five barley loaves and two small fishes, and raise the dead, would be a great help to them in their temporal necessities. They had followed Christ in the hope that He would be exalted to David’s throne. They wanted the highest place. But Christ would not have men count upon ease and earthly advantages in connecting themselves with Him. In His lesson He taught them that self-denial and the most difficult sacrifice must be expected of all who would become His disciples. Those who engage in His service must be ready to give up their dearest friends and relatives, to be despised as fanatics and fools, and to suffer bodily harm for His name’s sake. If they should become discouraged by what the world might say or do; if they should not endure the test of their love and loyalty; if they refused to keep God’s commandments because their neighbors made sport of them, they could not perfect that faith which works by love, and purifies the soul.
3 That Christ should at their feasts presume to speak words of reproof to them, and that He should devote so much time to instructing those whom they regarded as sinners, greatly offended the Pharisees; but Christ saw it necessary to give, in His own life, an example to His followers. He acted out His own teaching. In the synagog at Nazareth He had declared: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
4 Christ met with the greatest success among the needy and the unfortunate, and these received the richest blessings of His grace and ministry. His work was to do good to those whom the Pharisees despised. The needy, the broken-hearted, were the objects of His special attention. His words to them were words of truth and light. He did not tell them that they should become exalted, honored, and wealthy, by believing in Him. He showed them the worthlessness of all human greatness. And through His words, the Spirit of God, quick and powerful, spoke to those poor, weary, dispirited souls in their fruitless search after happiness. “He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me,” He said, “can not be My disciple.” “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” “So shall he be My disciple.” The cross one lifts and bears after Jesus, is the pledge to him of a crown of glory in the kingdom of God.
5 In His infinite mercy God took into His hands the salvation of all who would believe in Him. Because of the rebellion in the heavenly courts, the love of God was to be vindicated, not only before all heaven, but before all the worlds that He had made. Everything would be done to keep the first human beings loyal, but if they should be overcome by temptation, Christ engaged to become man’s Sacrifice, his Substitute and Surety. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
6 To Thomas Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John declares of Him, “He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” Yet how often is Christ insulted and made ashamed by those who, while claiming godliness, place out of sight Him in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered! How is the attractive loveliness of Him who should ever be uplifted, obscured by the deceptive faith of His professed people! How is His beauty veiled, His honor withheld! God is revealed in Christ, and those who would be benefited by His salvation must center their faith in the Substitute and Surety, the Substance—the glory and power of all who believe in Him.
7 Those who believe in Christ must be willing, if necessary, to forsake father and mother, sisters and brothers, and, if need be, sacrifice their own lives, in order to be doers of the Word, Those who refuse to do this, who refuse to lift the cross, can not be Christ’s disciples.
8 “For which of you” said Christ, “intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold him begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”
9 If they would, the scribes and Pharisees could have comprehended the lesson. In the sacrifices that prefigured Christ, the Jewish nation had been laying the foundation of their religious faith, and they had come to the place where they could advance no farther. That which was to complete the building was to them a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. All the irreligious service was represented by the unfinished tower, because they refused to receive Christ. Type had reached antitype in Christ, but the one prefigured in all their sacrificial services, He who alone could make atonement for their sins, was among them [unacknowledged]. He who alone could give efficiency to their faith was refused. And their refusal to receive the world’s Redeemer left them with their salvation incomplete; without Christ they were a ruin.
10 Christ continued: “Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he can not be My disciple.”
11 The only hope for the Jewish nation was in their acceptance of Christ, in forsaking their sins, and being reconciled to God. United to Christ, they would indeed become a great nation. He would work for them as He had worked for them in the past. If they were obedient, He would lead them to the heavenly Canaan as He had planted them in the earthly Canaan. Had they accepted Christ, His death would have been brought about by other people. But tho they had the Word of God to instruct them in regard to these things, the Jews marched steadily on to do unto Christ as the prophecies had foretold. They continued their course of pride and religious bigotry, ostentatiously boasting of their superiority, without thought as to the result. The world was against them, yet they were pursuing their own course, blindly playing into the enemy’s hands. How much better would it be for them to desire conditions of peace from the only One who could create peace!
12 “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he can not be My disciple.” To the young ruler who declared that he had kept the commandments from his youth up, and with self-assurance asked, “What lack I yet?” Christ said, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. His lack was plainly revealed. His earthly possessions were his idol. If the young ruler had appreciated Christ, he would have heeded His instruction. But the love of the world was not overcome, and the love of God could find no room in his heart. He did not receive Christ and believe in Him.
13 All who follow Christ will hear His words, and appreciate them. They will distinguish between truth and error. And the truth received into the mind will change the heart and give new character to the life.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 875
1 The faith of our Lord Jesus Christ is an intelligent faith. The service of God is a work of self-denial, of soberness, of thoughtfulness, of decided purpose to obey all the requirements of God, even if they take away that which is as dear to us as the right eye or the right arm. Christ would have His followers use their intellect in spiritual matters as in business transactions, conscientiously weighing evidence irrespective of results. He desires them to think deeply. They must not begin to build the tower and leave it unfinished. They must not engage in warfare when there is before them the prospect of certain defeat. Life, eternal life, is to be gained or lost, and the conviction of the Spirit of God comes to every man who has the Scriptures and will study them for himself.
2 Christ is truth, and those who hesitate to obey the truth, deny Christ. They show that they are ashamed to stand under His blood-stained banner, ashamed to own that they are doers of the Word, ashamed to place themselves on the side of Christ as keepers of His law. They feel that it is dishonoring to them to love His commandments, to respect the memorial of God’s work of creation. Christ declares, “Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.”
3 This is the sure result. Will you risk it? Will you become disloyal to God because your neighbors are disloyal? Will you be found among the transgressors because your neighbors are there? Are you content to be outside the city of God, to perish with the companions you have chosen in the world?
4 God would have His people place a proper estimate upon the compassion and love and energy that He has bestowed upon men in order to reclaim them. He gave for them the best Gift of heaven. But men work out their own eternal destiny. If they love praise from their neighbors more than the approval of God, the truth will soon become a dead letter to them. If they refuse the offer of salvation, if they rebel against the government of God, they will share the fate of Satan and his angels.
5 Bible religion is not impulse. It is not a zeal that rushes on, Jehu-like, and does not consider the situation. The whole plan of salvation is placed before us. There is eternal life to win, eternal death to shun. Selfish considerations are not to be cherished. There must be a fixed purpose to serve God, who has given His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
6 The mystery of godliness deepens upon consideration. It was because the Father and the Son loved the world with infinite love, that Christ subjected Himself to such amazing humiliation. All that God could do, He did in giving Himself in His Son, that He might become the propitiation for the sins of the world. Christ gave His life to reproach; He suffered, being tempted; He was falsely accused, and His motives were misjudged. But if men consider not the dear sacrifice made for them, if they are not willing to die to self and to the world, they become spiritually blind. They do not discern the value of eternal riches. They do not love or honor the Christ-life. They know not at what they stumble. They are enslaved by their own carnal inclinations, which they are not willing to relinquish. And when trials and difficulties arise, they give up building a temple for God, a pure, holy character after the divine similitude. Instead of driving them to the solid rock, the least rebuff makes cowards of them. Scorn and ridicule make them ashamed of Jesus, and they turn from Him to associate with and do honor to His persecutors. Thus, like Peter in the judgment-hall, they put Christ to open shame. Such can not endure all things for Christ’s sake. They can not endure to the end. They have not counted the cost. They have not been converted to Christ.
7 No man who after a time resolves to go back to the beggarly elements of the world, is worthy to be called a disciple of Christ. If he does not intend always to be on the side of truth and righteousness; if he does not mean to be a brave, whole-hearted soldier, to endure opposition from a determined foe, and to press close to the bleeding side of Jesus, not faltering or turning back, “he can not,” says Christ, “be My disciple.”
8 “Salt is good; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out.”
9 Christ was calling the Jews to repentance, but they would not heed His message. They approached the altar, and presented their slain beasts in expiation of their sin, while He whom their offerings typified was among them unacknowledged and disowned. The Jews crucified Christ, because they refused to know Him as the One in whom their hopes of eternal life were centered. Christ’s heart was full of tenderness and love and sorrow on their account. He knew that they were fastening upon themselves the guilt of crucifying Him who was the foundation of all their religious service. When riding into Jerusalem, He exclaimed, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” How loath He was to pronounce the irrevocable sentence, “But now they are hid from thine eyes!” Blindness of mind had indeed come to Israel, in that they would not come to Christ that they might have life.
10 The compelling power could go no farther than this. The Jewish nations had been educated, taught of God; to them had been committed the living oracles of God; but they perverted their sacred trust. They invented so many religious restrictions, which were placed above the real injunctions of the Holy One, that minds became confused. The “Thus saith the Lord” and the “Thus saith” of the priests and rulers, were mingled together. The commandments of God were set aside, and the sayings of men put in their place.
11 Their lack was the same as that of Cain. In every offering that pointed to Christ, the shedding of blood was to represent the death of the Saviour. But for His offering Cain brought of the first-fruits of the ground, by which no faith in Christ was manifested. Cain’s offering was refused. So with the religion of the Jewish nation. Their faith and doctrines became as salt without a savor. They had a form of religion, as had Cain; they had an altar, as had Cain; they had a sacrifice, as had Cain; and, like Cain, they lacked the only thing by which their offerings could express faith in God’s promise, —the slain Lamb.
12 And the evil that existed in the Jewish nation is apparent today. The salt has lost its savor. The very ones who condemn and despise the Jewish nation because they refused to see in Christ all the specifications of prophecy, are in a similar deception. They have nailed to the cross the law of God, which made a necessity the gift of God’s Son to the world. They have crucified the law of God, the foundation of His government in heaven and in earth. But all who thus claim to accept Christ and yet refuse to obey the law which Christ came to vindicate, place themselves in a position similar to that of the man who began to build, and was not able to finish.
Mrs. E. G. White
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Page 876
1 The atonement of Christ has been made to save all the sons and daughters of Adam from the penalty of the violated law, on condition that they repent of their transgressions, and are converted through the exercise of faith in Christ. The Lord God of heaven is to be glorified by the obedience of His subjects. This wonderful plan of salvation devised in heaven was not to vindicate transgression. In satisfying the claims of justice, Christ does not release the sinner from his obligation to keep that law. By His death Christ makes it possible for us to keep that law. The sinner is held under obligation to the law. Altho Christ died in the sinner’s stead, the sinner is liable to all the penalty of the law if he does not comply with the conditions of the Gospel; and these prescribe obedience, if he would be benefited by the obedience offered. The atonement was made to take away the sin of the world. The suffering of Christ upon the cross is a living testimony borne to all human intelligences that sin is the transgression of the law. And in bearing the penalty of transgression, Christ speaks to every soul, saying, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,” that through His merits He should become an accepted substitute for the sinner, “how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?”
2 God will save no man while he continues in transgression after the light has come. The great sacrifice of the Son of God was made that it might be possible for man to become obedient through faith. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The atonement in the offering of Christ for the sin of the world is the great argument that the law of God is binding upon every human being. “Think not that I am come,” said Christ, “to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
3 The same evidence that was given by God to prove His divine authority gave a representation of His character when there was no power to save, when no arm brought salvation. In the depths of omnipotent wisdom and mercy the Father took the work of salvation into His own hand. He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to live the law of Jehovah. The law, revealed in the character of Christ, was a perfect manifestation of the Father. And by His perfect obedience and the sacrifice of Himself, which He through the eternal Spirit once offered up unto God, He has fully satisfied the justice of the Father, and purchased not only reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven for all those whom the Father has given him.
4 The everlasting inheritance is purchased only for the elect. Says the apostle Peter: “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
5 Christ is everything to us. We can not even repent unless divine impressions are made upon the heart. While Christ pardons none but the penitent, those whom He pardons are first made repentant. Those who have that faith which works by love and purifies the soul, have direct testimony in the Word of the grace bestowed by an ever-living Saviour. Without the saving grace of God, man can not endure the test of temptation. He is fit for no good work. Did the wonderful miracles wrought by Christ bring the Jewish nation to repentance?—No; the Jews who witnessed these miracles wickedly charged Him with performing these through Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. Bethsaida and Chorazin, tho they witnessed miracles of sufficient power to have convinced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, did not submit to the evidence of truth.
6 These wonderful manifestations of the power of God produced the same effect upon the Jews as the power of the Gospel now exerts upon the multitude. They are convicted, but not converted. They are determined not to yield their will to the will of God. The danger of resisting the heavenly manifestation is presented before them, but they frame excuses for not yielding. Many are deceiving their own souls. They do not love Jesus, nor accept the terms of salvation. They act out the same spirit as did the disciples who turned from Christ because they did not immediately comprehend His words. “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.” The Holy Spirit’s power is working upon mind and heart; the understanding is convinced, the conscience is aroused, and yet Christ says of them, “Ye will not come unto Me, that ye might have life.”
7 A test will come to every soul. The natural faults of character, if not determinedly overcome for Christ’s sake, will completely master the human soul. Daily there is a battle to be fought which will cost mortification. It may cost reputation; but Jesus risked all this and a hundred-fold more that He might bring salvation within the reach of every soul. All the humiliation that man could bring upon Him He endured, that through His amazing condescension man might become the sure stepping-stone to His fellow-man, so sinful, so weak in moral power. Why, then, should fallen man be unwilling for Christ’s dear sake to become a partaker of shame and reproach?
8 When the grace of God works upon the heart, a fervent zeal, a heavenly spirit, a melting, overflowing sympathy for souls that are impenitent, is seen in the life. The humble follower of Christ delights to contemplate His wondrous, surpassing beauty. He has discovered that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and he loves to think of His matchless charms. Day by day a transforming power is at work upon his own life and character, and is filing his soul with an inexpressible love. He finds that the Saviour is willing to be his guide in this life, and his portion through eternity. His heart is won, his choice is made. He yokes up with Christ, and has a compelling power in winning souls to the Saviour. He can not change the heart, but He may convince of the truth which defines their duty and convicts of sin.
9 This subject is but dimly comprehended. It will bear searching, and the patient, persevering, diligent seeker for truth will be rewarded. Every spiritual muscle is to be put to the stretch to comprehend the Word. And after long-continued taxation, of intellect, of patience, of the whole man, he will find an infinity beyond. The prayer of the great apostle, whose heart was burning to know and understand these things, should be our prayer: “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 877
1 Peter was a man of hasty disposition, and everything he did was apt to be done under strong impulses. He was quick to anticipate, and of vivid imagination, but he was wanting in caution and calm forethought. His affections were strong, and he was willing to undertake anything in the service of his Master; but his impulsive temperament it was necessary to hold in check, for his impetuous nature often led him into unpleasant and false positions; and though, while in connection with Christ and under the influence of His divine teaching, Peter learned many lessons, yet, his natural traits of character often appeared.
2 When Christ on one occasion asked his disciples what the people thought of him, and who they said he was, they replied, “Some say that Thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” Then, addressing Peter, Jesus said, “Whom say ye that I am?” With readiness and decision Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
3 The heart of Peter had been touched by the Holy Spirit of God. Rays of light from heaven had flashed into his soul and warmed his heart with love for Christ. Jesus was acknowledged as well as known as the Messiah so earnestly looked for by the Jewish nation. “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.”
4 In His answer, Christ did not exalt Peter above his brethren, nor give him superiority over his fellow apostles. He did not address Peter alone, but the established Christian church. To Peter He said, “Thou art Peter”—by interpretation a stone—then, turning to His disciples, He said, “On this rock,” referring to Himself, “I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
5 It was not the purpose of Christ to exalt one above another. In all His teachings He sought to lead His disciples to humility of heart. “Learn of Me,” He said; “for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Had Peter felt the necessity of taking the lessons of Christ more fully to heart; had he learned the meekness and lowliness of Christ, he would have saved himself sorrow which left its impress upon his memory as long as life lasted.
6 The more of the Spirit of Christ we have, the more humble we shall become. When we obtain clear views of Christ, no words of self-exaltation will escape our lips. When the Lord gave to Job a view of His majesty, Job ceased to vindicate his own righteousness. He felt his sinfulness, and humbled himself before the purity and holiness of God. “I abhor myself,” he said, “and repent in dust and ashes.” Yet by the pen of inspiration, God presents Job as perfect and upright, one that feared God and eschewed evil. “There is none like him in the earth.”
7 After Jesus had worked the miracle to feed the five thousand, those who believed Him to be the Messiah wanted to make Him king, and they determined that if Christ would not consent, they would take Him by force and proclaim Him king of Israel. In this, the disciples and all the people present save the Pharisees would have united. But Jesus read the purpose of their hearts; He knew that this movement would arouse the jealousy of the priests and rulers, and thus cut short His work and defeat the purpose of His mission.
8 Jesus had sought to reveal to His disciples the nature of the kingdom He had come to establish. He had often told them, “My kingdom is not of this world;” but they had failed to comprehend His lessons. Now He dismissed them, telling them to take their boat, and go to the other side of the lake.
9 The disciples obeyed, but they murmured within themselves. They were more impatient and dissatisfied with Christ than they had ever been since they acknowledged Him as their Lord. He who could feed five thousand people in so miraculous a manner could break the Roman yoke, and make the Jewish nation free and exalted. Why, then, when popular feeling was enlisted in His favor, could they not take advantage of the occasion, and make Him king of Israel?
10 After dismissing His disciples and the multitude, Jesus turned to the lonely mountain for prayer. In His humanity He felt the need of strength from God. But the burden of the divine Master was for His disciples. He prayed that they might be braced for duty, and fortified for trial.
12 At last the disciples saw that their efforts were in vain, that they were unable to help themselves. With feelings of remorse they remembered their impatience with Jesus, and called upon God for pardon. And now the time had come for Jesus to help them. Placing His feet upon the waters, He stepped from one white-capped wave to another, as if walking upon dry land. But a short time before in His humanity Christ had poured out His supplications to God among the rocks of the mountains; now in His divine majesty He walked the crested waves, that He might bring deliverance to the disciples He loved.
13 The disciples saw the Saviour walking upon the water, and they were afraid. They did not recognize their Master, but saw in this apparition an omen of their destruction. But Jesus quieted their fears. Above the roar of the tempest His voice was heard, “Be of good cheer: it is I: be not afraid.” Then Peter in his joy cried, “Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.” Jesus bade him come, and Peter sprang confidently out of the boat, and, with his eyes fixed upon Jesus, stepped from one white wave to another.
14 While Peter kept his eyes fixed on Christ, he knew no fear. But the boisterous waves aroused his fears. He looked down upon the hungry waters that seemed to talk with death. His faith failed, and as he felt himself sinking beneath the wave, he cried, “Lord, save me.”
15 His prayer was heard. Jesus’ hand was stretched out to grasp the sinking Peter, and His voice was heard saying, “O thou of little faith; wherefore didst thou doubt?” When Jesus was received with Peter into the boat, “immediately they were to land,”—the place where Christ had appointed to meet them.
16 Here is presented a case of mingled faith and unbelief. While Peter looked in faith to Christ, he walked the stormy billows in safety; but when he looked away from Jesus to the angry waters, he was afraid, and began to sink. No change had taken place in Jesus or in the waters. The change was in himself. Jesus had not bidden His disciple come to Him to perish; but instead of looking to his Lord, and thinking of His power, Peter began to think of his perilous position. He saw the great waves rolling and pitching about him; his faith gave way, and but for the power of Christ he would have been engulfed.
17 Christ sought to prepare His disciples for the trial that must come to their faith in His betrayal, His trial in the judgment-hall, and in His crucifixion. When alone with His disciples at Caesarea Philippi, He said, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” But Peter was not willing to accept anything of this nature in the mission of Christ.
18 Such an event as this, he thought, must bring the Christian church to naught. The Lord could prevent this, and such a terrible thing must not happen. With all the power of his strong feelings he exclaimed, “Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee.”
19 The words of Peter turned the minds of the disciples from the lesson Christ desired to impart, and called from Christ the severest rebuke He had ever uttered. “Get thee behind Me, Satan,” He said; “thou art an offense unto Me; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” It was Satan who instigated doubts in the mind of Peter, and led him to presumptuously rebuke his Lord.
20 And it is Satan who today works to deceive humanity in the same lines. It is he who puts thoughts of unbelief into the mind. It is he who suggests that those truths which involve a cross be left out of the experience and belief of God’s professed children. Many would have God’s commandments, His great moral standard of righteousness, blotted out, because it involves a cross. “Speak to us of Christ’s willingness to save the vilest of sinners,” they say. “Speak to us of faith in Christ, of the mercy of Jesus, and His promises, but do not talk of repentance and the putting away of sin.” Truths so unpopular as the law of God are altogether unwelcome to the carnal heart.
21 The Lord is now dealing with His people who believe present truth. He designs to bring about momentous results, and while in His providence He is working toward this end, He says to His people, “Go forward.” There are times when the Christian path seems beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before, and bondage or death behind; yet the voice speaks clearly above all discouragements, “Go forward.” We should obey this command, be the result what it may. The clouds that gather above our way will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. The voice of the Lord bidding His faithful ones go forward, frequently tries their faith to the uttermost. But those who think it impossible to yield to the will of God until all is made clear and plain before them, will never yield at all. Faith is not certainty of knowledge; it is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 878
11 Meanwhile the disciples, in their boat on the sea, were battling with a fearful storm. The furious wind lashed the water into waves which mounted so high that the disciples expected every moment to be engulfed in the angry deep. But a lonely Watcher on the shore saw them toiling at their oars. He regarded with deepest interest that boat with its precious cargo; for these men were to be the light of the world; they were to take up and carry forward in His name the work He was soon to leave. He prayed for them.
Page 879
1 “The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
2 “Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
3 “After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents; behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
4 “He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
5 The man intrusted with the one talent manifested an avaricious spirit. He claimed to have great discernment—such discernment as many pride themselves in possessing today,—a distrust of those who are doing service for God, a jealousy of God. He thought that his lord possessed a spirit like his own. But it was he that possessed the ungenerous, unjust attributes, not his lord, who in mercy and love had intrusted the talent to him. His words plainly showed that he knew not his lord. The principle which led him to rob his master of the improvement of his talent, made him ungenerous, and led him to covet that which was not his own.
6 This man cast down his intrusted gift, saying, “Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed; and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth; lo, there thou hast that is thine.
7 “His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed; thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
8 The lesson of this parable is applicable in our day. From the lowest and most obscure, to those placed in highest positions of responsibility, we are God’s property. We are all intrusted with the goods of heaven,—talents of intellect, wealth, reason,—and we are not to regard lightly any of these gifts. They are the Lord’s capital, to be used, sanctified, and returned to the Lord improved by use. To every man God has given his work, and all will have to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ to give an account of what they have done for their Master.
9 Every gift of God is to be used, and by use to accumulate. Every faculty of the mind, every gift of grace that Heaven has provided for the human agent, is to be freely imparted to others in refining, elevating, ennobling works. God has given the faculty of thought to be used as a sacred treasure; the wise improvement of the powers of the mind will increase our ability to represent the character of Christ to the world. With all the mind, the heart, the soul, the strength, the intrusted gifts of God are to be used for the blessing of others. We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
10 This work of improvement is an individual work, and the proper use of our powers will constitute us laborers together with God. We are to use our faculties faithfully, doing our best to benefit those of our own household. And this influence will be felt outside the home circle. By the members of the family it will be communicated to all with whom they are brought in contact.
11 There must be no burying of our talents in the earth, to corrode through inaction. A persistent indulgence of self, a refusal to exercise our God-given abilities, will insure our eternal separation from God, the loss of an eternity of bliss. These gifts are bestowed upon us in accordance with our ability to use them, and the wise improvement of each will prove a blessing to us, and will bring glory to God. Every gift gratefully received is a link in the chain which binds us to heaven.
12 The gifts of him who honestly trades with his Lord’s goods will be increased; but from him who does not, will be taken away even that which he has. Through failing to put to the best use the intrusted endowments of Heaven, he loses that which might have multiplied in his hands.
13 Spiritual idleness means spiritual unfaithfulness. Could every idler in the market-place understand the penalty of slothfulness, he would be up and doing. The Word declares that he which is unfaithful in that which is least is unfaithful also in much. All his work bears the impression of unfaithfulness. None will be pleased to meet their unfaithfulness in the judgment; for the “wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead; so that they are without excuse; because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” These words represent the case of the servant who hid his Lord’s treasure, in the place of using it to the glory of God.
14 The more we have of this world’s goods, the greater will be our accountability to God. Let the question be asked sincerely, heartily, What do I with my Lord’s intrusted talents? There are those who have great light, great opportunities; they realize the Master’s kindly affections, and are stirred to make returns. But other influences come in. The demands of the family are absorbing. Will these teach their children that they can not be faithful stewards, and still gratify their intemperate desires to dress like the worldling? Will they spend time and means in self-gratification to such an extent that there is nothing left for the poor or the cause of God? Will they suffer wife or children to lead them into false or forbidden paths? Will they open the door to selfish indulgence, and shut the heart to the call for means for the Lord’s treasury? Will they tie up their means in houses and lands, or keep their means buried in the earth, so that it can never rise to heaven in gifts and offerings to accumulate there?
15 How many will be disappointed in the day of final reckoning! “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
16 “Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.
17 “Then shall He say also unto them on His left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; naked, and ye clothed Me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 880
1 The Lord has given to His church a work of personal service. He has intrusted the knowledge of the truth of redemption to every converted soul. This knowledge we are to give to others. A responsibility rests upon us to work for all, our friends, our acquaintances, those who are bound up with the world and alienated from God.
2 How earnestly and untiringly Christ, our great Example, labored to reach all, the most lowly, as well as those in higher positions! His heart was ever touched by human woe. Constantly He walked and worked in the cities, inviting the weary to come to Him, crying: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
3 Christ is the mighty Healer of all spiritual and physical maladies, and He employed every means to arrest the attention of the impenitent. He longed to break the spell of infatuation upon those who were deceived and deluded by the enemy. He longed to give the sin-polluted soul pardon and peace.
4 How tender and considerate were Christ’s dealings with all! Look upon the sympathetic Redeemer. With the eye of faith behold Him gathering the weak and weary to Himself. Helpless, sinful human beings crowded about Him. See the mothers with their sick and dying little ones in their arms, pressing through the crowd that they might come within reach of the Saviour’s notice. Watch them urging their way to Him, pale, weary, almost despairing, yet determined and persevering, bearing in their arms their burden of suffering.
5 As these anxious ones are crowded back, Christ makes His way to them, step by step, till He is close by their side. Tears of gladness and hope fall freely, as they catch His attention, and look into the eyes which express such tender pity and love for the weary mother as well as for the suffering child. He invites her confidence, saying, What shall I do for thee? She sobs out her great want, “Master, that thou shouldest heal my child.” She has shown her faith by urging her way to Him, tho she did not know that He was making His way to her; and Christ takes the child from her arms. He speaks, and at His touch and word disease flees. The pallor of death is gone; the life-giving current flows through the veins; the muscles receive strength.
6 The Saviour speaks words of comfort and peace to the mother; and then another case just as urgent, presents itself. A mother asks help for herself and her children; for they are all sufferers. With willingness and joy Christ exercises His power, and the mother and her children praise and glorify Him who doeth all things well.
7 No frown on Christ’s countenance spurned the humble suppliant from His presence. The priests and rulers sought to hinder the suffering from going to Him, saying that He healed the sick by the power of the enemy. But His way could not be hedged up. He was determined not to fail or become discouraged. Suffering privation Himself, He traversed the country, scattering blessings wherever He went, and seeking to reach obdurate hearts.
8 At one time Christ found Himself in a desert place, surrounded by a multitude who had followed Him to hear His words. “When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” The Redeemer’s soul was drawn out in heartfelt compassion for the weary people. Their physical weakness and suffering excited His deep interest and sympathy. He longed to relieve the hunger and thirst that made some faint and fall by the way. There was no thought in that heart of infinite love of indifferently passing by, without helping those who needed help.
9 The compassionate Saviour, who drew hearts to Him by being touched with the feeling of their infirmities, saw a still greater need than bodily suffering. He saw symptoms of a deeper illness. Outward affliction is the result of a diseased heart; and the physical suffering of the people suggested to the Saviour the cause that produced this effect. It was this soul-trouble that led the great Physician to come to the earth as a restorer. The sufferings of the body excited His pity, but He was moved to a still greater compassion by the needs of the soul.
10 Christ’s sympathy for outward necessities was followed by ministry for the soul. Many in that multitude never forgot the experiences of that day. While they were rested, fed, and healed of physical infirmities, their slumbering senses were aroused. They felt their spiritual need, and commenced to live a new life.
11 So it must be in the work which we as children of God are to do for suffering humanity. While ministering to the physical needs of those who need our help, we are to show them that their hearts must be cleansed from defilement.
12 The compassion Christ manifested as He looked upon the multitude was not a strange thing to Him; for this love and compassion dwells in the heart of the Father. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It was compassion that brought Christ from heaven. It was compassion that led Him to clothe His divinity with humanity, that He might touch humanity. This led Him to manifest unparalleled tenderness and sympathy for man in his fallen condition.
13 Today there is a multitude to be reached. The world is full of suffering and distress, of disease of every stripe and type. There is constant need of deep, Christlike sympathy. This sympathy should be manifested at all times and in all places.
14 God could have sent angels to work for man’s reformation, but He did not do this. Humanity must work for humanity. God uses those who are willing to be used. The church is His instrumentality, and if the church had cherished a sense of her responsibility, fervent, earnest messengers would have carried the truth to countries far and near. God’s living Word would have been preached in every corner of the earth.
15 There are heathen at our doors; but there is infidelity in our churches, and this infidelity palsies the working element. The work of saving souls is so limited that the advancement of the kingdom of God is slow. A backslidden church is the sure result of a neglect by the church to use her talents in the work of cooperating with Jesus to restore the moral image of God in man.
16 What was Christ’s last commission to His disciples?—Lifting up His hands, He blessed them, and said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” He who has been truly converted, who loves God supremely and his neighbor as himself, can not rest content with doing nothing. He has a longing to save the souls who are out of Christ, and he goes forth proclaiming, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” As he comes to Christ Himself, his whole soul breathes out for Christ. The Holy Spirit molds his heart, and the light that shines into his mind can not be shut in. He receives the knowledge that the Lord gives to every true seeker to impart to others.
17 It is a most fatal mistake to suppose that the work of saving souls depends alone on ordained ministers. It is by the Spirit’s power that souls dead in trespasses and sins are quickened to hear the Word of life. And the command to work unselfishly and earnestly, rests upon every soul. All who are ordained unto the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow-men. Whatever their work, whatever their business, their first interest should be to seek for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and by precept and example, in word, spirit, and action, show their earnest zeal for Christ. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 881
1 God designs the family to be a symbol of the great family in heaven. In the home the foundation is laid for the prosperity of the church. The influences that rule in the home life are carried into the church life; therefore, church duties should first begin in the home.
2 The home is to be regarded as a sacred place. Those who are united by the ties of nature have the strongest claims upon one another. In their dealings with each other they should manifest kindness and the tenderest love. The words spoken and the deeds performed should be in accordance with Christian principles. Every word should be guarded; for we are responsible to God to represent in our lives the character of Christ. The cross is to be borne daily. Every day we should surrender ourselves to God. Thus we may gain special help and daily victories. In this way the home may become a school, where workers for Christ may be trained.
3 But too often the duties of the home life, the duties of husband and wife, brother and sister, parent and child, are misunderstood. By our words and deportment in the home we can degrade our religion. By manifesting a wrong spirit, we can misrepresent the principles which should rule the life. The members of a family should manifest honesty, candor, frankness, forbearance, and tenderness toward one another. By speaking encouraging words each should seek to help the other. Such words often exert an influence that makes reproof unnecessary. Look upon matters in a cheerful light, seeking to lift the shadows that, if cherished, will envelop the soul. Cultivate sympathy for others. Let cheerfulness, kindness, and love pervade the home. This will increase a love for religious exercises, and duties large and small will be performed with a light heart.
4 Every one who names the name of Christ has pledged himself to represent his Master in character. He is under pledge to Christ to do his best; for provision has been made that divine grace shall so work that the characters of men and women may be moulded after the similitude of the character of Christ. To those who receive Him, Christ gives power to become the sons of God. Jesus is to be uplifted, talked of, thought of. When He dwells in the heart, family worship will not be a form of dry, set phrases. The heart will be imbued with love for the Saviour, and this love will be expressed in praise and prayer. Dark words of hopelessness and discouragement will not be heard.
5 Religion is to be cherished in the home life. The members of the family are to show that they are in possession of a power received from Christ. They are to improve in every habit and practise, thus showing that they realize constantly that to be a Christian means nothing less than conformity to the character of Christ.
6 They are to show by a good example that they have that faith which works by love and purifies the soul, making the character true and undefiled, until by growth in grace the natural bent of the thoughts and feelings is heavenward.
7 The right principles followed daily, hourly, in the home, bring Jesus very near, and where He is, there is light and peace and joy. What are the conditions of Christ’s indwelling presence?—”If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
8 Precious charge, given to every believer! A Christlike influence surrounds him who has given himself to the Lord. He feels that he is under obligation to serve God, and he manifests a love that makes all duties pleasant. But if Christians allow themselves to be selfish, they become impatient, petulant, harsh. Satan takes the lines into his own hands, and controls them. They speak and act without regard to the influence they exert on others. They do not stop to think that the enemy is using them to bring confusion, sadness, and discouragement into the home. Their thoughts are unsanctified and unholy; for God is forgotten. Yet some who act thus are professedly servants of Christ. They think they have a great duty to perform, but it is outside the home. They have no time to do missionary work at home; but they are anxious to work for sinners afar off. A desire for outward effect controls their thoughts and actions.
9 Missionary work is to be done in the home. Here those who have received Christ are to show what grace has done for them. A divine influence controls the true believer in Christ, and this influence makes itself felt throughout the home, and is favorable for the perfection of the characters of all in the home.
10 The faithful performance of home duties has an influence upon those not in the home. Our spiritual progress in the home is carried into our missionary work abroad. In the father’s house is to be given the evidence of a fitness to work for the church. With earnest, humble hearts the members of the family are to seek to know that Christ is abiding in the heart. Then they can go forth fully armed and equipped for service.
11 The reason why there are so many decided failures in missionary lines is that self is not under God’s discipline, but is wrestling for recognition. Any one could take up the work, as some professed missionaries do, making short visits to this one and that one, talking of the mistakes others have made, and giving the impression that the speaker has wisdom which enables him to shun such weakness. But this kind of work places human ability in the control of a power from beneath. Let souls fear for themselves and for others. Let missionaries have a living experience in spiritual conflict. Envy, love of the supremacy, evil-speaking, self-gratification, are altogether too common among professed Christians. No one can be a laborer together with God, and yet manifest a desire for the highest place. “Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth); proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” If this instruction had been followed, there would today be more men with well-balanced minds, men fit to be “laborers together with God.”
12 By practising self-denial in the home, we are fitted to work for others. The effort to make the home what it should be,—a symbol of the home in heaven,—prepares us for work in a larger sphere. The education received by showing a tender regard for each other, enables us to know how to reach hearts that need to be taught the principles of true religion. The church needs all the cultivated spiritual force which can be obtained, that all, and especially the younger members of the Lord’s family may be carefully guarded. The truth lived at home makes itself felt in disinterested labor abroad. He who lives Christianity in the home will be a bright and shining light everywhere.
13 Home duties should be performed with the consciousness that if they are done in the right spirit, they give an experience that will enable us to work for Christ in the most permanent and thorough manner. O, what might not a living Christian do in missionary lines by performing faithfully the daily duties, cheerfully lifting the cross, not neglecting any work, however disagreeable to the natural feelings! In the Christian household, where God is feared, where God is loved, where God is worshiped, where faithfulness has become second nature, where a haphazard, careless inattention to duties is not permitted, where quiet communion with God is looked upon as essential to the faithful performance of these duties, ministers are best prepared for work abroad.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 882
1 In His parables our Lord illustrated divine truth by common practises. “He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man; and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, Tho I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.”
2 Tho this judge was professedly a wise, discriminating man, his heart was hardened by sin. His course of action revealed his real character. The fruit he bore was the fruit borne on an evil tree. He acted just according to his feelings. By selfish indifference and positive injustice, he exhibited perverse human nature. If he was made irritable by being thwarted in any of his plans, the innocent suffered in consequence. The weak, who needed sympathy and help, were made the objects of his derision. He knew that wrong actions were committed, but he did not do his best to make wrong right. He did not perform the duties which his position as judge of the actions of the people required him to perform. He relieved those he chose to relieve, and neglected many that he should have relieved.
3 A certain widow presented her case before this judge, and she was repulsed. But she would not fail or become discouraged. Tho she was again and again turned away, she still continued to beg for justice. What use had the cities for a judge unless he could relieve the cause of the oppressed? The Lord put into the woman’s heart a persistency that the indifference of the judge could not quench. Often the judge heard her complaint; often were her sufferings presented before him. And finally the judge yielded to her request. But he did not do this willingly, for the truth’s sake, because pity and compassion had been stirred in his breast, but because the widow troubled him.
4 If this judge had had the mind that is in Christ Jesus, he might have saved himself all trouble. He might have saved the woman the earnest, soul-harassing persistency that finally moved him. He understood the difference between right and wrong. Had he feared God, the widow need not have gone to him again and again, to be treated with contempt by those who had no sympathy, and to be torn from the judgment-seat. But he did not possess Christlike attributes. He cared only for that which would further his ambition. He could have relieved the woman, but he would not. He could have restrained wrong, and his position before God required him to do this; but this course was not in harmony with his hard-hearted determination to let the widow ask and seek and knock in vain. He wanted to show his arbitrary power. He wrapped his garments of selfishness about him, and let her plead in vain. When he saw that he was revealing his true character, when his position was made uncomfortable by some who pitied the widow, he listened to her. “Tho I fear not God, nor regard man,” he said, “yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.” Self was his god, and to save his reputation, to avoid giving further publicity to his partial, one-sided judgment, he avenged the persevering woman.
5 Christ presented this parable to reveal the injustice then being shown, and which would soon be shown at His trial. He would have his people in all times realize what little dependence can be placed on earthly judges in the day of adversity. The elect people of God will be called to stand before men who do not make the Bible their guide and counselor, who follow their own unconsecrated, undisciplined impulses. Those who have decided to be loyal to the truth, to obey the commandments of God, will understand by experience that they have adversaries who are controlled by a power from beneath. Such adversaries beset Christ at every step—how constantly and determinedly no earthly being can ever know—and Christ’s disciples, like their Master, will be followed by continual temptation. But Christ is their refuge, as He was the refuge of the importunate widow.
6 With all assurance we may ask Christ to undertake our case; for when He gave His life as the propitiation for the sins of the world, He undertook the case of every soul. “Submit yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God [not only in prayer, but in all your actions], and He will draw nigh to you.”
7 “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 883
1 From this parable God would have us learn to respect the cause of the poor. “Ye shall not respect persons in judgment,” He declares; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s.” “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker; but he that honoreth Him hath mercy on the poor.” This is one of the lessons we are to learn from the parable of the unjust judge. It is an admonition to all who claim to be righteous. “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise,” God says. “Therefore turn thou to thy God; keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.” Those who fear God, who accept Christ as a personal Saviour, will reveal a Christlike character. The character of God will speak through them in vindication of truth.
2 In God’s people is begotten tender sympathy and compassion for the distress of suffering humanity. Christ awakens in them a deep interest in others; and as they labor to supply the necessities of those around them, the Lord works in their behalf. They realize the truth of the words: “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?”
3 To those who co-operate with God by helping others, the promise is given, “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that be of thee shall build the old waste places; and thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”
4 In this parable Christ draws a sharp contrast between the unjust judge and God. The judge, tho fearing neither God nor man, listened to the widow because of her constant petitions. Altho his heart remained like ice, yet the widow’s importunity resulted in her success. He avenged her, tho he felt no pity or compassion for her, tho her misery was nothing to him. “And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, tho He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.”
5 The judge yielded to the widow’s request merely because of selfishness, that he might be relieved of her importunity. How different is God’s attitude in regard to prayer! Our heavenly Father may not seem to respond immediately to the prayers and appeals of His people; but He never turns from them indifferently. In this parable and the parable of the man rising at midnight to supply his friend’s necessity, that the friend might minister to a needy, wayfaring man, we are taught that God hears our prayers. Too often we think that our petitions are unheard, and we cherish unbelief, distrusting God when we should claim the promise, “Ask, and it shall be given you seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Let us draw the instruction that we should from these parables. The Lord is our judge; He is our lawgiver. We give evidence of the strong ground of our confidence in God by importunate prayer, combined with good works. But faith without works is dead, being alone.
6 The unjust judge revealed his own natural traits of character. Are there any claiming to be sons and daughters of God who copy this pattern? Should the Lord answer their requests, they would think it was because of their goodness. They would fail to see their defects of character. But those who judge righteously, who deny self, may expect the answer: “Here I am. What shall I do for you?”
7 What is prayer—merely the presentation of our soul hunger?—No; the presentation of our perplexities and necessities, and of our need of God’s help against our adversary the devil. As the elect of God we need to understand the nature of our wants and the motives that prompt us to prayer. We need to remember that we are in need, and that our wants must be supplied from the heavenly storehouse. Prayer is to be offered for the preservation of life, for the preservation of every power and faculty, that we may render the highest service to our Maker. It is to be offered for temporal necessities and blessings. In the prayer Christ gave His disciples, the request is made for daily bread. “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things,” the Saviour said. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” The realization of our need urges us to pray earnestly, and our Father is moved by our petitions.
8 God’s special work is to benefit His people in every way, to enlighten, to purify, to transform and strengthen man’s moral and spiritual powers. We need to be as Christ has said,—instant in prayer. As soon as difficulty comes, let us offer our simple, sincere prayers. Christ will present these, mingled with the fragrance of His Spirit, to the Father. They will be wholly accepted; for if we have taken Christ to be our personal Saviour, we are born again. We are sons and daughters of God, members by adoption of the royal family.
9 God revealed His character to Moses. In answer to the prayer of His servant, “I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory,” He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. . . . And He said, Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me, and live. . . . Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock; and it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand while I pass by.”
10 “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”
11 This is the provision made for the people of God in all ages. He who dwelleth in the heavenly sanctuary judgeth righteously. Those who wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, are His special care. “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God,” the armor that He has provided for every believer, “that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
12 Pray on, church of God, pray on; for the General of the heavenly army, with angels that excel in strength, is with His people on the field of battle. In the hour of peril, be steadfast. The adversary of souls is determined to oppose all who plant their feet on the platform of eternal truth, who would uplift the banner on which is inscribed, The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. They are the objects of Satan’s deadly hatred. But rest assured that Christ fights with His army. He himself leads His followers, and He will renew the strength of every faithful soldier.
13 We never need distrust God. The just Judge repulses no one who comes to Him in contrition. He has more pleasure in His church, struggling with temptation here below, than in the imposing host of angels that surround His throne. Not one sincere prayer is lost. Amid the anthems of the celestial choir, God hears the cries of the weakest human being. You who feel most unworthy, commit your case to Him; for His ears are open to your cry “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Will He not fulfil the gracious Word given for our encouragement and strength?
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 884
1 “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment.” Christ’s reply was direct and explicit. Supreme love to God is an evidence that the truth is an abiding principle in the mind and heart. The second is like the first, said Christ; for it flows out of it, and is founded upon it: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
2 “And the scribe said unto Him, Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth; for there is one God; and there is none other but He; and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love His neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.” This response from one of the scribes, the plain statement of his convictions, was more than the scribes and Pharisees expected to hear. Truth, that condemned their own traditions and example, had been expressed by Christ and voiced by one of their own number.
3 When Jesus saw that the scribe had moral courage to speak the truth in the face of the frowning Pharisees, and that “he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask Him any question.”
4 The law of God, plainly defined by Christ, is not so many separate precepts, some of which are of great importance, while others are of small importance, and may be belittled and ignored: Our Lord presents the first four and the last six commandments as a divine whole. Under the two heads, love to God and love to our neighbor, a divine unity binds all the precepts together. By these two principles man’s character is tested, and he is shown to be obedient or disobedient.
5 These two principles are immutable, as eternal as is the throne of God. Those who obey the first, loving God supremely, will pour out the riches of God’s goodness in love and compassion to their fellow-men. This is a faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. This means far more than a mere acknowledgment of the truth, more than ceremonious worship, or the offering of sacrifices. Those who truly obey the law offer to God the whole service required by Him.
6 In keeping God’s commandments there is great reward, even in this life. Our conscience does not condemn us. Our hearts are not at enmity with God, but at peace with Him. But self-love, self-exaltation, can not in any way be acceptable to God.
7 The grace of God, which, if received, leads to the practise of right things, is the line of demarcation between God’s children and the multitude that believe not. While one is brought into captivity to Christ, another is brought into captivity and bondage to the prince of darkness. He who has responded to the drawing of Christ is aglow with His love. He shows forth the praises of Him who has called him out of darkness into His marvelous light. He can not help employing his talent of speech to show forth the grace which has been so abundantly bestowed on him. He has enlisted in the army of those who strive to advance the glory of God, and has thus become a channel of light. Willing and obedient, he is one of the number who are called by inspiration, “a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.”
8 With the peace and joy of those who thus serve God, there is always seen a godly fear, “lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” This sanctified fear is entirely proper. It is not a servile, cowardly fear; it is a dread to do anything that Christ will not approve. This fear regulates the Christian experience. Those who feel it sanctify the Lord in their hearts. They regard God with a reverence and love that leads to self-abasement. But their fear is very different from the terror of a slave, who lives in expectation of the lash. This genuine fear leads to firm reliance on God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 885
1 Many and abundant are the promises of God to all who will be obedient to His commandments. All who have faith in Christ obtain a rich experience in His goodness and love, a goodness which is of more value than gold. It is a goodness that has been recognized in times of great necessity. Then let not any of God’s chosen ones suffer their faith to fail at the time when they should reveal the inward power of the Christian’s hope. Every soul will be tested and tried, but God has made provision that at such times His grace shall be abundantly supplied. When His people look to Him, and call upon His name, He will hear their cry, and say, “Here I Am.” He declares:—
2 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee; they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. . . . When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together; that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.”
3 We do not honor God if, when oppressed and afflicted, we doubt His goodness, if we cherish sadness, and mourn and repine. We dishonor God when we permit our souls to be cast down. Even when in trouble our faith should not fail. None need to feel that God has forsaken them. There should be no expressions of unbelief; for unbelief, when cherished, shuts from us the richest manifestations of the grace of God. Our lack of faith keeps from us the working of the Holy Spirit. On the part of those who are chosen of God to be His people and His representatives, it is a grievous mistake to dwell upon trying experiences, as tho the Way, the Truth, and the Life were a disagreeable companion. This pleases and glorifies the enemy, and reveals to the world that they do not recognize in Jesus a very present help in time of need.
4 It is our duty to be jealous for the glory of God, and bring no evil report even by the sadness of the countenance, or by ill-advised words, as tho the requirements of God were a restriction upon our liberty. The whole person is privileged to bear a decided testimony in every line,—in features, in temper, in words, in character,—that the service of the Lord is good. Thus we may proclaim, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Our words should be positive on the side of the Lord. “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. . . . I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments.” “I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.” “O how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies; for they are ever with me.”
5 When farmers seek to recommend their products, they do not exhibit the poorest specimens. The women bring in their best lumps of golden butter. The men bring the best fruit and vegetables of every kind, and their appearance does the skilful workers credit. No dwarfed specimens, but the very choicest that the land can produce, are brought. And why should not Christians reveal the most attractive fruit in unselfish actions? Why should not the fruit of the commandment-keeping people of God appear in good works? Their words, their deportment, their dress, should be as fruit of the very best quality. “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Christ said, “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
6 God loves His commandment-keeping people. Through their obedience they give honor to His holy name, testifying of their love for Him. But are they doing this? The men of the world who hear the sacred truths of the Word of God, are surprised that the people professing to believe these high and holy truths have not a more intense and earnest zeal to work for the salvation of their fellow-beings. Our faith and intensity of zeal should be proportionate to the great light which shines upon our pathway. Faith, humble, trusting faith in God, will reveal itself in the home, in the neighborhood, in the church. The Holy Spirit’s working will not, can not, be hindered. God delights to manifest Himself to His people as a Father, as a God in whom they can trust implicitly. Let the church-members have the precious traits of the character of Christ, and there will be much more said in praise and thanksgiving to God for the treasure of His grace. And the more we reveal to others the power of an indwelling Saviour, the more of His power will be revealed to us. Mark how full and complete is the provision made for all who accept it:—
7 “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, tho now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, tho it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”
8 In faith and richness of experience we fall far below our privilege as Christians. God designs that no worthless, cheap words shall proceed from our lips. He requires that the fruit of the lips shall be sanctified. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind,” says the apostle, “be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear; forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
9 The bright and cheerful side of our religion will be represented by all who are daily consecrated to God. They will express their gratitude to God in bringing Him their thank-offerings. We do not want to dishonor God by the mournful relation of trials that appear grievous. Trials are Christ’s workmen to perfect in us the Christian graces, and these tests are not to sink the believer’s faith, but raise it equal to the occasion, that unto all it may appear more precious than gold that perisheth, tho it be tried by fire. Every trial is designed to exalt the truth to a higher appreciation, that praise to God alone may be upon the lips of the true disciple. And the growth in grace is to the honor and glory of God at the appearing of Jesus Christ, “whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, tho now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
10 All trials that are received as educators will produce joy. The whole religious life will be uplifting, elevating, ennobling, fragrant with good words and works. The enemy is well pleased to have souls complaining and stumbling. He is pleased to see them depressed, downcast, and mourning; but God designs that the mind shall take no low level. The psalmist says: “Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” “I will extol Thee, O Lord; for Thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me. . . . Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.”
11 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto Him, and were lightened; and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 886
1 Christ knew that the disciples could not take in the representation He had given them in answer to their question, “When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Christ knew the terrible future of the once chosen people of God, but He knew also that His disciples could not fully understand His description of the fearful scenes to be enacted at the destruction of Jerusalem. In His answer, the two events,—the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world,—are merged into one. It was in mercy to his disciples that Christ thus blended these two events, leaving them to study out the meaning for themselves.
2 Christ had made every effort to keep His disciples informed in regard to the truth. He had given them every opportunity to know the truth. He had invited them to place their confidence in Him as their Messiah, and in His mission and work. But they had not yet a proper understanding of the nature of His Kingdom. They were thrilled with distress as they listened to His lamentation over Jerusalem; but they did not realize the true meaning of His words. Had Christ opened to them future events as He saw them, they would have been unable to endure it. To the last they looked for a temporal kingdom, which was to be established at Jerusalem.
3 Christ’s declaration of the scenes to be acted at the destruction of Jerusalem, they associated with His personal coming, when He Himself would punish the Jews, but would also free them from the Roman bondage. He had told them definitely that He would come a second time, and probably His judgments would then fall upon those who rejected His love. He would then, they thought, lay low every stone in the building; for they believed that no earthly power could do this.
4 But retribution was to fall before this on the apostate nation, which was still further to show its malignity to Christ by its treatment of His followers.
5 From the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ passed on to a much greater event, the last link in the chain of his earth’s history,—the coming of the Son of God in majesty and glory. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
6 Christ gave special directions with regard to this event. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree,” He said: “When His branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these thing, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation [the generation that sees the signs] shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My father only.” Christ stated plainly to His disciples that He Himself could not make known the day and hour of His second appearing. Had he been at liberty to make this time known, what need would there have been for Him to extort them to maintain an attitude of constant expectancy, living and working and waiting as tho each day was, not their own, but the Lord’s, cultivating fidelity, faith, and love, and purifying the soul through the truth?
7 Christ tells His disciples that the time of His appearing is involved in secrecy. There will be those who claim to know the time of that great event. Very earnest are they in mapping out the future, which the Lord has placed in a thick cloud, that the day, the month, and even the year may not be known. Notwithstanding the continued failures of these time-setters, they still continue their work. But their reasoning is false, and the Lord has warned them off the ground they occupy; for the coming of the Son of man is God’s mystery. “Secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.”
8 “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” God does not here bring to view a temporal millennium, a thousand years in which all are to prepare for eternity. He tells us that as it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of man comes again.
9 How was it in Noah’s day?—”God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Had man co-operated with God, there would have been no Cain-worshippers. Abel’s example of obedience would have been followed. Men might have worked out the expressed will of God. They might have obeyed His law, and in obedience they would have found their safety and salvation. God and the heavenly universe would have helped them to retain the divine likeness. Longevity would have been preserved; and God would have delighted in the work of his hands. But the inhabitants of the antediluvian would turned from Jehovah, refusing to do His holy will. They followed their unholy imagination and perverted ideas. “And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The earth is field with violence . . . . Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch . . . . And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die.”
10 Remember the warning, “As the days of Noe were, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be.” It was because of the wickedness of the inhabitants of the old world that they were destroyed; and today the world is following in the same way. It presents no flattering signs of millennial glory. Human lawmakers open their law books, and pronounce sentence against those who do not keep their laws. But those who frame and enforce these laws are themselves transgressors of God’s law, and their transgressing is filling the earth with wickedness and moral pollution. Their betting, their horse-racing, their gambling, their dissipation, their lustful practices, their untamable passions, are fast filling the world with violence. Bank failures ruin thousands of families. Widows and orphans are left to starve. And yet those in authority are making and enforcing laws to uphold the first day of the week, which God has given us as a common working day.
11 These lawmakers speak to those under their supervision, saying, Verily, the first day of the week ye shall keep, because it is the world’s Sabbath. The churches keep this day as holy, and those under our supervision shall keep it also, because it is so enforced on our statute-books. We have chosen Sunday as the Sabbath, and therefore every one must keep it.
12 What is this day that is so universally exalted?—It is a spurious Sabbath, a common working day. It is accepted in the place of the seventh day, which the Lord has sanctified and blessed, and the sure consequence of this course may be seen in the punishment of which fell upon Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. As priests of God, they had been commanded to offer always the fire of God’s own kindling, which was kept burning before God day and night. This law was ever to be observed. But Nadab and Abihu had used wine too freely. Their minds were not keen, but confused; and they were unable to distinguish between the sacred and common. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.”
13 The Lord has given directions regarding His Sabbath: “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you. Every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.”
14 The statutes of the Lord are to be reverenced and obeyed. But those who strive to make His law a dead letter, He will certainly punish. God is supreme authority in all His requirements, and when His law is set aside as a matter of no consequence, the transgressor must surely bear the consequences of his own sin, though God bears long with him.
15 “Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, who his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Mrs. E.G. White
Page 887
1 “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” By this parable Christ seeks to illustrate the work of the Holy Spirit upon the human heart. The process is invisible by which the leaven changes the meal into which it has been introduced; but it continues to work until the meal is converted into bread. So the leaven of truth, working inwardly, produces a complete change in the human heart. The natural inclinations are softened and subdued. New thoughts, new feelings, new motives, are implanted. But while every faculty is regenerated, man does not lose his identity. New faculties are not supplied, but a thorough change is made in the employment of those faculties. The heart is cleansed from all impurity, and man is fitted with traits of character that will enable him to do service for God.
2 The leaven of truth, hidden in the heart, will not produce the spirit of rivalry, the love of ambition, the desire to be first. Thousands upon thousands of those to whom God has intrusted talents become slaves to their earthly possessions. They abuse their intrusted capabilities, and scheme and plan to obtain those things which have no value with God. They buy and sell, and get gain, but they neglect to secure the precious things that are placed within their reach,—the bread of life, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Money is of value only as it is used as the Lord’s intrusted means, only as we hold it in trust as a precious gift of heaven with which to bless humanity. If it is used to indulge and glorify self, it becomes a curse, and an incumbrance and a constant temptation.
3 In his letter to Timothy, Paul speaks of a class of people who dishonor God. In the place of seeking for purity of heart, for love and unity, they reveal that they know not what it means to have the leaven of truth in the heart to mold the affections and sanctify the soul. They are proud, “knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. From such,” the apostle warns Timothy, “withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
4 With the follower of Christ the love of money will not be all-absorbing. For Christ’s sake he will labor for it, deny self, cut off every needless expenditure, that the means which come into his possession may be used in the great work of saving souls who are without Christ and without hope in the world. Thus he will cooperate with the world’s Redeemer, who for our sake became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. The Commander of the angelic host laid aside His royal robes and crown of honor. He left the royal courts of heaven, and clothed His divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity, and that divinity might lay hold of the power of God in behalf of the fallen race. The love of ease and pleasure and self-exaltation did not characterize the life of Christ. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All who make an unreserved surrender of themselves to God will share in the self-denial of Christ, and will have fellowship with Him in His sufferings.
5 The meal in which the leaven is hidden represents the heart that receives and believes in Jesus. Christ works out the principles which He alone can work in. The world regards as a mystery the man who is imbued with these principles. The selfish, money-loving man lives only to eat and drink and enjoy his worldly goods. He loses the eternal world from his reckoning. But the man who receives and believes the truth will have that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. The world can not know him, for he is keeping in view eternal realities. A motive power is working within to transform the character. The love of Jesus with its redeeming power has come into the heart to conquer the entire being, body, soul, and spirit. When counter-influences work to oppose the grace of Christ which bringeth salvation, this love masters every other motive, and raises the human being above the corrupting influences of the world.
6 Because he clings to Jesus in faith and prayer, because he looks unto Him who died that man might have all the power that God has to bestow, the believing soul enters into fellowship with Christ. His life is hid with Christ in God. He is widely separated from the motives which move and control the world, and therefore the world knows Him not.
7 The apostle Paul declares: “You hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, . . . and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
8 Here is brought to view the change that must take place in the heart. And “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” The Scriptures are to be the great agency in this transformation. Christ prayed, “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth.” The true Christian will show himself a believer in sanctification, and his works will testify of him that he is born of God.
9 The apostle exhorts us: “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 888
1 The religion of Christ can bless only where it works and influences, as the leaven the meal. When the leaven of truth is hidden in the heart, it becomes a vital working power, to bring into conformity to itself all the capabilities of the being. The mind, the affections, the motives, all the powers become converted through the truth. All are worked by the same spirit. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.
2 The apostle Paul says: “I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office; so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation; he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.”
3 The people of God must strive to be one, as Christ is one with the Father. The figure of the members that compose the body represents the church of God and the relation its members should sustain to one another. Through His servant Paul, the Lord has placed these truths before us for our consideration, that those who have the privilege of being brought together in church capacity may be united understandingly and intelligently.
4 Again the apostle says: “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. . . . For even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached Thee fell on Me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning; that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.”
5 The apostle James, in writing of this, says: “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
6 And Christ declares: “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you; continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. . . . This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
7 How broad, how full, is this love! The disciples were to love one another as Christ had loved them. This was to be their testimony to the world that Christ was formed within, the hope of glory. At the time the disciples did not understand the new part of that commandment; but after the sufferings of Christ, after His crucifixion and resurrection and ascension to heaven, they began to have some idea of what the love of God comprehended, and of the love they were to exercise one toward another. After the Holy Spirit rested upon them on the day of Pentecost, that love was revealed. John could say to his fellow-disciples: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. . . . If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.”
8 Here the beloved disciple faithfully portrays our religious obligations to one another. The test of genuine religious experience and sanctification through the truth is clearly defined. The teaching of the Word is clear and explicit in regard to the love we should have for one another. Our course of action is to be fashioned after the divine standard. And the love of Christ in the heart will be like the leaven; its life-giving power will bring all there is of mind and soul and strength into complete harmony with the divine life.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 889
1 The truths contained in the Word of God must not be received merely as a theory. Through the reception of Christ as our personal Saviour, the precious truths which that Word contains will become as threads of gold to bind us to Christ and to one another. As the penetrating power of the leaven produces an entire change in the meal, so the power of the Word of God, through His grace, will work a transformation in the soul.
2 But the question arises, Why are there so many, claiming to believe God’s Word, in whom we do not see a reformation in words, in spirit, and in character? Why are there so many who can not bear opposition to their purposes and plans, who manifest an unholy temper, and whose words are harsh, overbearing, and passionate? The answer is, They are not converted. They need to be born again. The Word of God has not had the opportunity of doing its work upon the heart. The sunshine of Christ’s righteousness has not been permitted to shine into the soul temple. Their natural and cultivated tendencies to evil have not been worked upon by the transforming power of the truth, and as the result, preconceived opinions are retained. All this reveals the absence of the grace of Christ, and a disbelief in His power to transform the character.
3 The truths of the Word of God meet in one grand practical necessity, — the conversion of the soul through faith. When the believer is united with Christ, that faith is manifested in holiness of character, in consistent obedience to every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. The grand principles of the Word of God are not to be thought too pure and holy to be brought into the daily life. The truths of the Word of God are truths which reach to heaven and compass eternity; and yet their vital influence is to be woven into the human life. The influence of the Word of God is to have a sanctifying effect on our speech, our actions, our associations with every member of the human family. It must bring under its control the temper and the voice. The apostle exhorts us: “As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
4 It is a mistake for any to suppose that they can with safety pass by the little things with indifference. In the home and in the church there are matters which are looked upon as “little things.” But it is these “little things” that have the great results. It is the “little things” that discipline the soul, and prepare men to act with lowly-mindedness under large responsibilities. The leaven of truth is a living principle. This principle is to be practised in the little things, and exert an influence over the daily life. The large and small things are always linked together. It is because the “little things” are not always seen and linked with those of higher interest that so many professed Christians fail. Many whose characters are now being weighed in the balances of the sanctuary are pronounced wanting, because they do not bring the truth into the practical life.
5 As members of the royal family, we are in solemn covenant with God to promote piety in the home and in the church. But many act as if the truths of God’s Word did not exist. The same love of self, the same selfish indulgence, the same temper and hasty speech are seen in their lives as in the life of the worldling. The same sensitive pride, the same yielding to natural inclination, the same perversities of character, are seen as if the truth were totally unknown to them. They close the windows of the soul and shut out the righteousness of Christ, and then complain that they have no joy, no assurance and happiness in believing the truth. But the sin lies at their own door; for they have not hidden the leaven of truth in the heart. When the waters of life flow in pure, sweet currents to the parched soil of the heart, there will be a development of fruit to the glory of God. Then the truth will not be brought into disrepute by the perverse disposition, the defective hereditary and cultivated tendencies now revealed in word and action.
6 The leaven of truth must have life in itself, or it will not work out of the heart the deadly errors that are there. The Word of God enjoins upon believers: “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, . . . do; and the God of peace shall be with you.”
7 Should not the consideration of these matters arouse every Christian to the solemn resolution to be more faithful? The words of inspiration should have weight with us: “Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This scripture is given to us to heed and to practise. As men and women who profess godliness, we need to ask ourselves, Are we obeying the Word of God? Is the leaven of truth hidden in the heart, working in the character, and conforming the entire being to the will and ways of God? We need the converting power of God. The leaven of evil which works in disobedience and denial of the truth must be eradicated, and the leaven of the Word of God implanted in the heart, to work with its vital properties to restore the lost image of God in man. And, the transformation having taken place through the leaven of truth, a work is intrusted to us. Christ commissions us: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 “The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”
2 The Jews and the Greeks represent the two great classes who receive or reject the Gospel. Those who treat indifferently the light which the Lord has given them for their souls’ salvation, who resist the convictions of the truth because it is unpopular and involves self-denial, will justify themselves, as did the disciples when Christ declared Himself to be the Bread of life. “As the living Father hath sent Me,” He said, “and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that bread which came down from heaven.”
3 Christ stated plainly that it was not because these disciples were convinced of His divinity, not because they saw in Him the great Teacher sent from God, that they sought Him. He knew that they did not seek evidence as a means of establishing their faith in Him as the Sent of God. He said, “Verily I say unto you, Ye seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.” If Christ could furnish bread to satisfy their temporal wants, they thought it would be profitable for them to unite with Him. But Christ said, “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you; for Him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” In accepting Christ as their personal Saviour, they would have everything. In this gift of God, all heaven, with its inexhaustible treasure, was at their command.
4 But there came the unbelieving question, “What sign showest Thou then, that we may see, and believe Thee? what dost Thou work?” Had not the Jews just had fresh evidence in the feeding of the five thousand? What work, what sign, could Christ present before them to increase their faith? If evidence should be piled upon evidence, it would not, could not, do more for them than had the evidence which had already been given. It was not evidence that they wanted; it was an excuse to avoid the cross involved in the acceptance of the Gospel.
5 The cross is erected where two ways diverge. One of these is the path of obedience, leading to heaven. The other is the broad road, where man can easily go with his burden of sin and corruption; but it leads to perdition. In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ exhorted His hearers, “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” On another occasion one came to Christ and said, “Lord, are there few that be saved?” And He said, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”
6 “If any man will come after Me,” said Christ, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Will the convicted man take the path of obedience to God’s commandments? Will he, with the whole heart, with undivided purpose, seek after that life which is eternal? If so, he will obtain the riches that are imperishable, a life that measures with the life of God. All the heavenly universe is looking on to see which path he will take. Is it the way that is narrow? is it the strait gate that he is aiming to enter? Then he has taken the way of the cross, the path that leads to heaven. This decision will cut directly across his human inclination, his selfish, worldly considerations, his natural bias of character; but it will place him among the company whom Daniel saw in vision, those who are purified, made white, and tried.
7 This is the experience which all should gain. Our work is to accept the truth, to “believe on Him whom God hath sent.” In this age fables and errors are preached as truth, and the tendencies of the natural heart are misdirected. But those who believe the truth, the Word of the living God, will be determined to secure those mansions which Christ has gone to prepare, and that life which runs parallel with the life of Jehovah. If the man who is convinced of the truth draws back from the cross that points to the narrow way, and chooses instead the broad road, because he can there indulge his natural and cultivated tendencies to evil, he will never reach heaven. He will never be numbered among those who are purified, made white, and tried. Those who reject the truth because they fear that it will exact too much from them, that it will cut across their selfish propensities, and will hedge up their way to worldly advancement, are accounting themselves unworthy of eternal life.
8 Through His servant Isaiah, the Lord declares: “Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry; they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath He covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I can not; for it is sealed; and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord saith, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”
9 How verily have these words been fulfilled by the Jewish nation, and by every nation that has followed the same course, turning away from the truth unto fables! The Lord Jesus was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. Its imposing rites were of divine appointment. They were designed to make the worship of God impressive, and to teach the people that at the time appointed One would come to whom these ceremonies pointed. But the Jews exalted the forms and ceremonies, and lost sight of their object. The traditions and maxims and enactments of men hid from them the spiritual lessons that God intended to convey. These maxims and traditions became an obstacle to their understanding and practise of true religion. And when the reality came, in the person of Christ, they did not recognize in Him the fulfilment of all their types, the substance of all their shadows. They rejected the Antitype, and clung to their types and useless ceremonies. The sum was proved, the Son of God had come, but they continued to ask for the proof. The message brought to them from heaven, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” they answered by demands for a miracle. Their demand for a sign from Christ and the apostles was not for the purpose of obtaining a clearer understanding of the truth of the Gospel. All the evidence that Christ would give them would not satisfy them. And to this day the Jewish nation require a sign, and look for the Messiah to come,—one adapted to all their inventive imaginations,—to place them again in possession of the Holy Land.
10 The Gospel of Christ was a stumbling-block to the Jews, because they required signs instead of a Saviour; but the Lord would not have His people rest in signs and outward forms. He would not have them wait until every seeming objection is removed before they believe. God will never remove all seeming difficulties from our path. Those who wish to doubt may find opportunity; those who wish to believe will find plenty of evidence on which to base their faith.
11 The plan of salvation is such that those who are wise in their own estimation, who are puffed up by the teachings of vain philosophy, can not see the beauty and power and mystery of the Gospel. But to those who are of a humble heart the Word is revealed as the power of God to their salvation. The operation of the Spirit of God is foolishness to the unrenewed man. The apostle Paul says, “If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the eyes of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 891
1 In the conversion of Paul are given important principles which we should ever bear in mind. Many have received the idea that they are responsible to Christ alone for their light and experience, independent of His acknowledged followers in the world. But Christ’s manner of dealing with Saul at his conversion shows this to be an error.
2 Saul had reasoned that the believers in Christ were ignorant and poor; that they were possessed of little intellectual culture, and were lacking in the high moral endowments which would enable them to succeed in difficult enterprises. He claimed that they were sustained by no special authority. But God, who looks into the tiny seed which He Himself has formed, and sees wrapped within it the beautiful flower, the shrub, or the lofty, widespreading tree, saw the ignorance of Saul in regard to the mission and work of Christ. He saw that he was conscientiously bigoted; that he was blinded in his misunderstanding of Christ and of His followers; that he needed another kind of education.
3 Saul had an abundance of energy and zeal to work out an erroneous faith in persecuting the saints of God, confining them in prisons, and putting them to death. His hand did not do the work of murder; but he had a voice in the decisions, and zealously sustained them. He prepared the way, and gave the believers of the Gospel into the hands that took their lives.
4 In doing this work Saul honestly thought he was prosecuting an ignorant, fanatical sect. He did not realize that he himself was the deluded and deceived one, and that he was ignorantly following the banner of the prince of darkness. “Yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter” against the disciples of the Lord, Saul appealed, not to the lower, ignorant class, but to the highest religionists in the world, the men who had acted a part in putting Christ to death, who possessed the spirit and sentiment of Caiaphas and his confederacy. If, thought Saul, these great men had religious, determined helpers, they would certainly put down this little handful of fanatical men. So to the high priest Saul went, “and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.” In reference to this zeal Paul himself says that he was “exceedingly mad against them.” “I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.”
5 But the miraculous revelation of Christ brought light into the darkened chambers of Saul’s mind. Jesus of Nazareth, against whom he was arrayed, was revealed to him as the Redeemer of the world. Then Paul saw his mistaken zeal, and cried out, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” Jesus did not there and then tell him, as He might have done, the work that He had assigned him. Paul was to receive instruction in the Christian faith, and move understandingly; and Christ sent him to learn of the disciples whom he had been so bitterly persecuting. The very men he had been purposing to destroy were to be his instructors in the religion he had despised and persecuted.
6 The light of heavenly illumination had taken away Paul’s eyesight, and Jesus, the great Healer of the blind, did not immediately restore it. To the question of Paul He said, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Jesus could not only have healed Paul of his blindness, but He could have forgiven his sins and told him his duty. From Christ all power and mercies were to flow, but He did not give Paul, in his conversion to truth, an experience independent of the church recently organized upon the earth.
7 Saul having been directed to go to Damascus, was led thither by the men who had accompanied him to help bring the disciples bound to Jerusalem. At Damascus he tarried with Judas, devoting the time to fasting and prayer. Here his faith was tested. For three days he was in darkness of mind in regard to what was required of him; and for three days he was without sight. In his uncertainty he cried earnestly to God. His pride was gone. A little before he had been self-confident, thinking he was engaged in a good work, for which he would receive a reward; but all was now changed. He was humbled to the dust in penitence and shame. His supplications for pardon were fervent.
8 Then an angel was sent to Ananias, directing him to go to the house where Paul was praying. The angel informed the servant of God that Saul had seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand upon him, that he might receive his sight. “Go thy way,” said the angel, speaking in the name of Christ; “for he is chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.”
9 Ananias obeyed the direction of the angel. Upon the man so recently filled with hatred toward the disciples he laid his hands, saying, “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.”
10 Jesus might have done all this for Paul directly, but this was not His plan. Paul had something to do in the way of confession to the men whose destruction he had premeditated. Paul was to take the steps necessary in conversion. He was to unite himself to the people whom he had persecuted for their religion; and God had a responsible work for His servants to do in His stead.
11 Christ here gives all His people an example of the manner of His working for the salvation of men. The Son of God identifies Himself with His organized church. His blessings are to come through the agencies He has ordained, and He desires men to connect themselves with this channel of blessing.
12 The light and power and glory that had arrested Paul at his conversion did not cease its operations upon him after he was converted to believe in Christ as the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega. He became an effectual missionary worker. He proclaimed the truth as it is in Jesus. He was a clear, eloquent speaker, and could meet his adversaries on almost any ground on which they chose to approach him. He met every class of people, from men of renown to the heathen idolaters, setting before them the evidences of Christianity. His religion came from God, and no power on earth could extinguish the light of Heaven.
13 Listen to the testimony of the persecutor, after his conversion. Addressing the church in Galatia he said: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel; which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ. But tho we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. . . . For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 The Lord of heaven is not regardless of us and our concerns, but is in communication with the fallen inhabitants of this world. Christ has not laid aside His human nature; He stands in the presence of God as our substitute and surety, our living intercessor. To Him is given all power in behalf of humanity, and all things have been committed into His hands, that He may complete the work of redemption, which was begun in such humiliation and at such an immense sacrifice.
2 The Lord is in active communication with every part of His vast dominions. He is represented as bending toward the earth and its inhabitants. He is listening to every word that is uttered. He hears every groan; He listens to every prayer; He observes the movements of every one; He approves or condemns every action. The hand of Christ draws aside the vail which conceals from our eyes the glory of heaven; and we behold Him in His high and holy place, not in a state of silence and indifference to His subjects in a fallen world, but surrounded by all the heavenly host,—ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, all waiting to go at His bidding on errands of mercy and love.
3 Christ had such an experience in His humanity that He desires to be close beside every one who passes through suffering for the truth’s sake,—those who are tortured, imprisoned in dungeons, and bound in chains. He ministers to all such. He is the friend of all who love and fear Him, and He will punish those who dare to lead them from safe paths, or put them in positions of distress as they conscientiously endeavor to keep the way of the Lord.
4 God has always had a care for His people. When Moses turned aside at the sight of the burning bush, the Lord called, “Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And He said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters; for I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto Me; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
5 Christ taught His disciples that the amount of divine attention given to any object is proportionate to the rank assigned to it in the creation of God. He called their attention to the birds of the air. Not a sparrow, He said, falls to the ground without the notice of our heavenly Father. And if the little sparrow is regarded by Him, surely the souls of those for whom Christ has died are precious in His sight. The value of man, the estimate God places upon him, is revealed in the cross of Calvary. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And will not God judge those who cause pain or disappointment to the ones for whom Christ has given His life? Then let men be careful how, by word or action, they cause one of God’s children sorrow or grief.
6 In order to enlarge our comprehension of the benevolence and love of our heavenly Father, Christ reminds us that God sends His rain on the just and on the unjust, and “maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good.” Christ leads us forth into the open field of nature, and seeks to teach us the lesson that the Hand which upholds the world, and paints the lily of the field, and the flowers of varied beauty, is the hand of the great Master-Artist. It is He who gives to each its distinctive beauty. He tells us that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these simple, natural flowers, which He has given as an expression of His love for man.
7 Every drop of rain, every ray of light shed on our unthankful world, is an evidence of God’s long forbearance and love. If the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; if the lovely flowers, which delight our senses, reveal such exquisite skill and care on the part of the great Master-Artist, we can not have exaggerated ideas of the regard and value which God has placed on the human beings made in His likeness. And He will not pass by a selfish, discourteous, or unkind action of one human being toward another. That one should lead another to dishonor His name and transgress His law, is a matter that will not be disregarded in the day of final recompense.
8 Who can measure or anticipate the gift of God? For ages sin had interrupted the flow of divine benevolence to man; but God’s mercy and love for the fallen race have not ceased to accumulate, nor lost their earthward direction. The inhabitants of the world, their reason perverted, have turned the earth into a lazar-house. But God still lives and reigns, and in Christ He has poured on the world a healing flood. In the gift of God’s dear Son, a definite view of His character has been given to the race that is never absent from His mind. His very heart is laid open in the royal law. That infinite standard is presented to all, that there may be no mistake in regard to that kind of people God would have compose His kingdom. It is only those who are obedient to all His commandments who will become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. These will be honored with a citizenship above, a life that measures with the life of God,—a life without sorrow, pain, or death throughout eternal ages.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 893
1 The value of a gift is proportionate to its adaptability to the needs of perishing souls. When Christ gave Himself, He opened up a spiritual fountain of divine influence, that by faith in Him, man might partake of the divine nature. In Christ is gathered all the glory of the Father. In Him is all the fulness of the Godhead. He is the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person. The glory of the attributes of God are expressed in His character. Every page of the New Testament Scriptures shines with His light. Every text is a diamond, touched and irradiated by the divine rays. The Gospel is Christ unfolded, and Christ is the Gospel embodied. We are not to worship the Gospel, but Christ, the Lord of the Gospel. The Gospel is glorious because it is made up of Christ’s righteousness. Our Saviour is a perfect representation of God on the one hand, and a perfect representation of humanity on the other. Thus He has combined divinity and humanity.
2 That we might have eternal life, God’s only-begotten Son suffered the deepest humiliation and agony, and died a shameful death on the cross. This precious salvation is presented to those for whom this sacrifice was made, but many refuse to accept it. “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?” God asks. “Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.” Yet in Me is found salvation, the pearl of great price.
3 Is it not wondrously strange that the perversity of the human heart makes poor souls ignorant of what is worth seeking for? They think themselves possessed of superior wisdom. They set more value on gold and silver than on the crown of glory, that fadeth not away. Many a woman adorns herself with rings and bracelets, and thinks that she will be highly esteemed because of these ornaments; but she does not seek for the pearl of great price. It is not of as much value in her sight as the jewels with which she adorns her poor mortal body. The one jewel of inestimable value has no worth in her mind.
4 Our estimate of the value of salvation is being tested. The precious jewels of truth are being presented to us. But many listen with weariness to the presentation of the most precious and important truths. Their countenances do not glow with animation. They are listless and uninterested. Who would believe that such realized that by their life practise they were deciding their eternal destiny? They should be wide-awake, earnestly seeking for the kingdom of God and His righteousness. But do they look like people to whom a priceless gem is being presented?
5 At this time the warning comes to us, Take heed lest in seeking for the pearl of great price, you are deceived into accepting the spurious for the genuine. To all who truly believe in Christ, He is precious, but many refuse to accept Him; and so there are two classes in our world, the obedient and the disobedient. Christ brings every one to the point, saying: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments. . . . He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. . . . If a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.”
6 The test is plainly defined: “He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My sayings; and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.” “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
7 In the Sermon on the mount, our Lord compared the truth to pearls, and He warned His disciples to beware how they threw away truth of the highest value on those who would not appreciate it. “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,” He said, “neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
8 Satan’s power is wholly destructive; God’s power is constructive. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of continual progress. If we follow on to know the Lord, we shall know that “His going forth is prepared as the morning.” It is like the sun, which in the morning sheds its mild beams in the east, and keeps on increasing in strength until it reaches the perfect day. How much need, then, is there for us to keep a sharp watch unto prayer, and be earnest and zealous in our efforts to secure the great salvation! When this is held up before us, we should be intensely anxious to secure it, lest we lose the opportunity offered us.
9 The world estimates a man by the amount of money he has, by the value of his residence and its furniture, or by the number of acres in his estate. Christ places a different estimate upon His people. He calls those who obey His commandments His jewels. “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
10 “For Zion’s sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God; “And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of His people; for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land.’
11 Those here represented have found Christ, the gift of God, for whom the world should be surrendered. Those who seek for peace and rest will be unsuccessful unless they find Him, the One of whom John said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” But the soul that finds Jesus feels that all his wants are satisfied. In Him the words are fulfilled, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” This is the reward of obedience.
12 Christ is not changeable. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is our salvation, the treasure for which all may seek, and be successful in their search. Those who find this gem do not need to be told how valuable it is; for they appreciate it and will sell all they have to possess it, saying, I count all things but loss that I may win Christ.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 894
1 During the Jewish economy, the influence of God’s Spirit had been seen in a marked manner, but not in full. For ages prayers had been offered for the fulfilment of God’s promise to impart His Spirit, and not one of these earnest supplications had been forgotten.
2 Christ determined that when He ascended from this earth He would bestow a gift on those who had believed on Him and those who should believe on Him. What gift could He bestow rich enough to signalize and grace His ascension to the mediatorial throne? It must be worthy of His greatness and His royalty. He determined to give His representative, the third person of the Godhead. This gift could not be excelled. He would give all gifts in one, and therefore the divine Spirit, converting, enlightening, sanctifying, would be His donation.
3 Standing near His trial, condemnation, and crucifixion, Christ said: “I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world can not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
4 This is a wonderful announcement. Christ longed to be in a position where He could accomplish the most important work by few and simple means. The plan of redemption is comprehensive; but its parts are few, and each part depends on the other, while all work together with the utmost simplicity and in entire harmony. Christ is represented by the Holy Spirit; and when this Spirit is appreciated, when those controlled by the Spirit communicate to others the energy with which they are imbued, an invisible chord is touched which electrifies the whole. Would that we could all understand how boundless are the divine resources!
5 But the time had now come. The Spirit had been waiting for the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. For ten days the disciples offered their petitions for the outpouring of the Spirit, and Christ in heaven added His intercession. This was the occasion of His ascension and inauguration, a jubilee in heaven. He had ascended on high, leading captivity captive, and He now claimed the gift of the Spirit, that He might pour it out upon His disciples.
6 The Spirit was given as Christ had promised, and like a rushing mighty wind it fell upon those assembled, filling the whole house. It came with a fulness and power, as if for ages it had been restrained, but was now being poured forth upon the church, to be communicated to the world.
7 What followed this outpouring?—Thousands were converted in a day. In Christ’s day many heard the Gospel, but they did not become sufficiently interested to search for the pearl of great price. But on the day of Pentecost three thousand were converted by the preaching of the Gospel. A wonderful communication was made that day between heaven and earth. Those who witnessed this scene had recently witnessed in the same city the crucifixion of the world’s Redeemer. But how little those who beheld Him hanging on the cross understood what His death meant! How few realized that “God so loved the world, that He gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life!”
8 On the day of Pentecost, Christ’s witnesses proclaimed the truth, telling men the wonderful news of salvation through Christ. And as a flaming two-edged sword the truth flashed conviction into human hearts. Men were brought under Christ’s control. The glad tidings were carried to the uttermost bounds of the inhabited world. The church beheld converts flocking to her from all directions. The altar of the cross, which sanctifies the gift, was rebuilt. Believers were reconverted. Sinners united with Christians in seeking the pearl of great price. The prophecy was fulfilled, the weak “shall be as David,” and David “as the angel of the Lord.” Every Christian saw in his brother the divine similitude of benevolence and love. One interest prevailed. One object swallowed up all others. Every pulse beat in healthy concert. The only ambition of the believers was to see who could reveal most perfectly the likeness of Christ’s character, who could do the most for the enlargement of His kingdom. “The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” The Spirit of Christ animated the whole congregation; for they had found the pearl of great price.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 895
1 While the death of Christ appeared to be a hellish triumph over His humanity, it was a victory so full and broad and deep that it encompassed the world. Christ was cut off, but not for Himself. He died the just for the unjust, that He might bring many sons and daughters to God. Tho innocent and undeserving of punishment, our Substitute and Surety was brought under the curse and condemnation that should have been ours. He, the perfection of holiness, was arrayed in our defiled garments, that we might be clothed with His glorious righteousness.
2 For three hours Christ hung upon the cross, gazed upon by thousands. Thousands heard the revilings of the priests and rulers; they heard the challenge, “Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” They heard the taunt, “He saved others; Himself He can not save.” But, altho dying the ignominious death of the cross, Christ died as one who had endured the test and proving of God. He lost none of His divine power as a sin-pardoning Saviour. When the dying thief said, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom,” Jesus manifested His divine attributes. The repentant sinner need not wait until Christ shall receive His coronation. Before the spectators about the cross, Jesus shows that even in His suffering humanity He has power to forgive sin. Tho nailed to the cross, His hand is not weakened that it can not save. His ear is not heavy that it can not hear. Divinity flashes through humanity. From those pale and quivering lips the words are distinctly heard by the dying penitent and by all surrounding the cross, “Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in paradise.”
3 Through the vail of suffering humanity break forth the beams of the Sun of Righteousness to that poor, repentant soul. The dark cloud that has veiled Christ’s humanity is rent away, and mercy, love, and pardon, His power to save unto the uttermost all that come unto Him, are made manifest.
4 This was a rebuke to His crucifiers and the apparently heedless mob, who were taking up the words of mockery of the priests and rulers. While in the power of deceived religious zealots, who were closing the door of paradise to themselves, He, the sin-pardoner, opened the door for the entrance of the thief when he should rise from the dead with those who believe on Christ. At the very time when Satan and all his synagog united with priests and rulers to humiliate Him who made the earth and all that is therein, He revealed His God-head, His redeeming power, and bestowed the most precious gift that can come to mortal man. He spoke the words of life-giving power at the very time when principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world thought that they had laid His kingly claim in the dust. His kingly power is not exercised in coming down from the cross to give proof that He is the Son of God; but He shows that His death is life-giving power for all who will believe in Him. He asserts His divine prerogative, and assures the poor sinner, “Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in paradise.”
5 The stubborn priests and rulers may taunt Him, and ridicule His claims of sonship with God. They may mock Him in His dying agony, and forever close to themselves the gate of paradise, notwithstanding their claims to piety and knowledge; but the thief who has received Him, who has believed on Him in His humiliation, shall have life with Christ in the paradise of God.
6 “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.” Not only did the darkness enshroud the immediate vicinity of the cross, but “there was darkness over the whole land.”
7 God dwells in the thick darkness; He hides His glory from human eyes. The Father, with His heavenly angels, was inclosed in that thick darkness. God was close beside His Son, tho not manifesting Himself to Him or to any human being. Had one ray of His glory and power penetrated the thick darkness that enveloped Him, every human spectator would have been destroyed. And in that thick darkness God hid from prying eyes the last human agony of His Son. He clothed nature with sackcloth, that she might not look upon her suffering, dying Author in His last humiliation.
8 All who had seen Christ during His trial had been convicted of His loyalty and royal character. That face, once beheld by humanity, was never forgotten. As in Cain’s face was expressed his guilt as a murderer, so in the face of Christ were revealed innocence, serenity, benevolence, the image of God. But His accusers would not heed the signet of heaven, and that countenance was hidden by the mantle of God.
9 “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, He calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take Him down.” “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit; and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.”
10 The conviction forced upon many at the time of Christ’s trial, at the time when the three hours’ darkness enshrouded the cross, and when His last words were uttered, was as seed sown that ripened into harvest, when, after His ascension, the Gospel was proclaimed by His disciples. The shaking earth, the piercing cry, the sudden death, forced from many the words: “Assuredly this was a righteous man.” “Truly this was the Son of God.” Many who had scoffed and jeered at the Son of God were now terribly afraid. They hastened from the scene, stumbling, falling, in awful terror lest the shaking earth, the rent and trembling rocks, should put an end to their own lives.
11 When Christ on the cross cried out, “It is finished,” the vail of the temple was rent in twain. This vail was significant to the Jewish nation. It was of most costly material, of purple and gold, and was of great length and breadth. At the moment when Christ breathed His last, there were witnesses in the temple who beheld the strong, heavy material rent by unseen hands from top to bottom. This act signified to the heavenly universe, and to a world corrupted by sin, that a new and living way had been opened to the fallen race, that all sacrificial offerings terminated in the one great offering of the Son of God. He who had hitherto dwelt in the temple made with hands, had gone forth never again to grace it with His presence.
12 In the light and assurance of His Word, and through His atoning sacrifice, we may see how God can vindicate His justice. He opens our eyes to behold His holiness in its true luster, and yet justifies the sinner who comes to Him by Christ. In the pardon given to the dying thief, it was made manifest that Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree. He bore our griefs and sorrows. That heart of human and divine love was exercised for the relief of the woes of the world.
13 The Father laid our sins where none but His own eyes could discern them. And as He hid His face from the innocence of Christ, so He will hide His eyes from the guilt of the believing sinner, because of the righteousness imputed to him. The righteousness of Christ laid upon us will draw upon us the most precious blessings in this life, and will bestow upon us everlasting life in the kingdom of God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 896
1 In the parable of the pearl of great price, the pearl is not represented as a gift. The merchantman bought it at the price of all he had. Many question what this means, when Christ is presented in the Scriptures as a gift. He is a gift to all who give themselves, soul, body, and spirit, to Him, without reserve. We are to give ourselves to Jesus, to live a life of full obedience to all His requirements. All that we are, all the talents and capabilities that we possess, are the Lord’s, to be consecrated to His service. Only thus can we obtain the priceless gem of salvation.
2 Salvation is a free gift, and yet it is to be bought and sold. In the market of which Divine Mercy has the management, the precious pearl is represented as being bought without money and without price. In this market all may obtain the goods of heaven, which are lent on trust. The treasury of the jewels of truth is opened to all. “Behold, I have set before thee an open door,” the Lord declares, “and no man can shut it.” No sword guards the way through this door. Voices from within and at the door say, Come. The Saviour’s voice earnestly and lovingly invites us: “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed; and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.”
3 The Gospel of Christ is a blessing which all may possess. It takes men as they are, poor, wretched, miserable, blind, and naked. The only condition Christ presents to those who come to Him to be clothed with His righteousness is obedience to His commandments. And by the obedient soul the law is found to be a law of perfect liberty, liberty to lay hold by faith on the hope that is sure and steadfast. When we render back to God His own, when we wash our robes of character, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, then we shall be entitled to a celestial crown.
4 The poorest are as well able as the richest to purchase salvation; for no amount of worldly wealth can secure this treasure. It is obtained by willing obedience, by giving ourselves to Christ as His own purchased possession. Education, even though it be of the highest class, can not, of itself, bring a man nearer to God. The Pharisees were favored with every temporal and spiritual advantage, and they said with boastful pride, We are rich, and have need of nothing. Yet they were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Christ offered them the true riches, but they disdained to accept it; and He said to them. “Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”
5 We can not buy salvation, but we are to seek for it as interestedly and perseveringly as if we would abandon everything in the world for it, selling all that we have to obtain this treasure which is above price. By accepting Christ, by making Him all and in all, we shall obtain an invaluable experience; for good works will surely follow all who receive Him. The true, strong, joyous life of the soul begins when Christ is formed within, the hope of glory. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
6 We are to seek for the pearl of great price, but not in worldly marts or in worldly ways. The price we are required to pay is not gold or silver; for this belongs to God. Abandon the idea that temporal or spiritual advantages will win for you salvation. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten,” God declares; “be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” God calls for your willing obedience. Open the door, and let Christ in. He asks you to give up your sins. “To him that overcometh,” He promises, “will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.”
7 Christians are to be careful to maintain good works. They are to seek to save the souls that are perishing out of Christ. The Gospel is to be preached as a witness to all nations. Christ does not say that all will receive the Gospel. Many will not appreciate it, because things of minor importance claim their attention. Yet the Gospel is to be preached as a witness to all. The light is to shine amid moral darkness. The truth is to be placed in contrast with error. Christ says to His followers: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not he hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The work of grace is a progressive work. “And beside this,” Peter writes, “giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
8 We are to guard against deception. “I say unto you,” Christ declared, “that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Every one who professes godliness is tested, as a merchant tests a piece of silver to see whether it is genuine. God has given His people the lesson essential for them to practise. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness,” He says, “and all these things [the things needful for this life] shall be added unto you.” Would that all who claim to be Christians were doers of these words.
9 Christ has given the invitation: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Great indeed are the promises given in God’s Word. Christ gave His life for us, and He offers us salvation freely and without price. Those who are seeking for rest will find it by coming to Christ. All their wants will then be satisfied; for Christ cleanses the heart and renews the mind. But many turn with disdain from the salvation offered, giving the things of eternal interest only a passing thought. This is why they do not rightly estimate the value of the heavenly treasure.
10 Service to God is comprehensive. It means the consecration of all that we are, of all the talents that He has lent us. It means that we must devote everything to His glory. But there is a wonderful deceitfulness in sin. To the heart unchanged by righteousness, Satan presents a counterfeit righteousness. Those who trust in this righteousness build on shifting sand, and the storm of test and trial will overcome them. Many who think that they are walking in the way to heaven are walking in strange paths, because they have not given up all to obtain eternal life.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 897
1 It is God’s plan that old and young shall study His Word. This is necessary for intellectual and spiritual growth. Christ has given us the Scriptures as our rule of life. This book contains His teaching, and is worthy of the closest study. “The words that I speak unto you,” He declared, “they are spirit, and they are life.” These words, falling from the lips of Christ with divine authority, were to the disciples as a new revelation. They were not new, but they seemed so to the disciples, because their eyes were opened to see wonderful things in God’s Word.
2 Should the angel Gabriel or one of the seraphs be sent to this world to take upon himself human nature, and to teach men the mysteries of science and the knowledge of God, how eagerly men would listen to his instruction! Supposing that he were able to set us a perfect example of purity and holiness, sympathizing with us in all our sorrows, bereavements, and afflictions, and suffering the punishment of our sins, how eagerly we would follow him! What exaltation he would receive! Men would desire to place him on the throne of David, and gather the nations under his banner.
3 If, when the heavenly being returned to his home, he left behind a book containing the history of his mission, with revelations regarding the history and destiny of the world, how eagerly would its seal be broken! How anxiously would men seek to obtain a copy! Thinking men would grasp the precious instruction, for the benefit of future generations. Thousands from all parts of the world would copy the words of this book. With intense interest they would read and reread its pages. For a time all other interests would be subordinated to this.
4 But One surpassing all that supposition can present, came to this world. Nearly two thousand years ago a voice of strange and mysterious import was heard from the throne of God: “Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me. . . . Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me), to do Thy will, O God.”
5 The prophet Isaiah bears striking testimony to Christ: “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
6 Of Himself Christ declares: “Before Abraham was, I AM.” “I and My Father are one.” “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.”
7 Christ reproached His disciples with their slowness of comprehension. They were influenced by maxims and traditionary lore, so that the truths spoken by the greatest Teacher the world has ever known were often lost truths to them. Christ led them to realize that He had put them in possession of truth of which they little suspected the value. After His resurrection, as He was walking to Emmaus with two of the disciples. He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, so explaining the Old Testament to them that they saw in its teaching a meaning that the writers themselves had not seen.
8 Christ’s words are represented as being bread from heaven. As the disciples ate the words of Christ, their understanding was quickened. As they diligently sought for the truth as for hidden treasure, they understood better the value of the grace and righteousness of Christ. In their comprehension of His teaching, they stepped from the obscurity of dawn to the radiance of noon.
9 The work of no human author is perfect. The depth of human intellect may be measured. The richest mines of human production are not inexhaustible. But the highest, deepest, broadest flight of the imagination can not find out God. There is infinity beyond all that we in our own strength can comprehend; the Holy Spirit must reveal Him to us. Many are too well satisfied with the surface truths of revelation. Precious gems of truth are passed by because their value is not seen. Let the Bible student tax his mind as he studies God’s Word; for the meaning often lies hidden beneath the surface. The knowledge thus gained will be like heavenly seed planted by the divine Sower.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 898
1 Our Saviour compared the blessing of redeeming love to a pearl of great price. He illustrated this truth by the parable of a merchantman seeking goodly pearls, “who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
2 Christ is the Pearl of great price. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In Eden, before the heavenly universe, before the unfallen worlds, and before Satanic agencies, God declared that the eternal Son was to be given as the ransom for a fallen world. The Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, and it should bruise His heel.
3 And “when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son.” God’s wrath against sin must be exhausted. The punishment for sin must be borne. Having taken a survey of all that would be required of Him, Christ summed up the guilt to be canceled. He then gathered the entire responsibility to His heart, and bent His whole being to the task. He clothed His divinity with humanity, and as our Substitute and Surety, prepared Himself for the sword that was to smite Him. “For their sakes,” He declared, “I sanctify Myself,” in fulfilment of the covenant made before the foundations of the world were laid. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Christ died that He might bring life and immortality to light. Thou, O Lamb of God, didst come to offer Thyself as a living sacrifice, withdrawing Thyself from the heavenly universe, and setting Thyself apart to make a complete offering! “Therefore doth My Father love Me,” He said, “because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.”
4 The crucifixion of Christ took place at the celebration of the Passover. At this time people from all parts of the world were assembled at Jerusalem. Representatives from foreign courts, kings, noblemen, princes, men who exerted a wide influence, witnessed the scenes of Christ’s death. “Lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled, and hasted away.” It was then that Jehovah struck a blow that was felt to the remotest parts of the earth. The tidings of Christ’s death were carried by strangers to every part of the world.
5 This is the vital, all-absorbing truth on which God would have men in all ages fix their attention. He would have the death of His Son the great center of attraction. When Christ came forth from the tomb, He proclaimed over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, “I am the resurrection and the life.” This God had appointed. In His wisdom He was fulfilling His plan of infinite magnitude, the unfolding of which commenced at the fall.
6 After His resurrection Christ ascended to His appointed honor. As He rose from the earth, His hands were outstretched in blessing to His disciples. And while they stood gazing upward to catch the last glimpse of their ascending Lord, He was received into the rejoicing throng of cherubim and seraphim. As these heavenly beings escorted their Lord to His home, they sang in triumph, “Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; . . . to Him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens.”
7 God desired to impress the minds of the believers with the glorious reception accorded to His Son in the home He had left. For the sake of sinful humanity, Christ had become poor, that through His poverty man might be made rich. He had now conquered the world, and His ascension to heaven was made with great honor. Commander of the heavenly host, He returned to His own dominion, amid joyful demonstrations. “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels.” These escorted Him who was the resurrection and the life, together with a multitude of captives, raised from their graves to join the armies of heaven. And before the heavenly universe He was enthroned, a gracious High Priest and mighty Redeemer to all who call upon Him in truth.
8 Just before His crucifixion Christ said: “I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world can not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
9 This is a wonderful announcement. Christ would thus accomplish the most important work by few and simple means. The plan of redemption is comprehensive, but its parts are few, each depending on the other, and all working together in utmost simplicity and entire harmony. The Holy Spirit represents Christ. When this Spirit is appreciated, and those controlled by the Spirit communicate to others the energy with which they are imbued, an invisible chord is touched which electrifies the whole. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.” Would that we could all understand how boundless are the divine resources!
Page 899
1 It is God’s plan that old and young shall study His Word. This is necessary for intellectual and spiritual growth. God would have all realize that the truth is capable of expanding and increasing in grace and power. The student of the divine Word finds that an effort to comprehend truth calls forth all his powers. The truth is deep, and broad, and high. Were it otherwise than this, it would not be the truth. But its clearness is equal to its depth. Upon those who search the Scriptures, the truth found therein has an elevating, ennobling influence, enabling them to reach the standard of perfection.
2 But much ignorance of God’s Word prevails, even among those who preach this Word. There are many teaching the Word of life to others when they are themselves dull of comprehension. They do not bring the truth into the inner sanctuary of the soul. It is not a living reality to them, because they do not practise it. It has not been digested, and converted into spiritual muscle and sinew.
3 Many who claim to believe the Bible do not eat the heavenly manna. Light shines upon them, but it is not appreciated. Many refuse to accept the light God sends from heaven, because it does not justify transgression of the law. They close their eyes, for fear they will see, and be converted.
4 Thus it was with the Jewish rabbis. “Show us a sign,” they cried in unbelief. Even after Christ had fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes, they came to Him with this demand. The miracle just performed was evidence sufficient, but the priests had closed their eyes to the light.
5 The professed Christian world has had opportunity to obtain light and knowledge, but many close their eyes lest they shall see. Well-educated, intelligent men preach at the Word and round the Word, but they do not touch its inner meaning. They do not present truth in its genuine simplicity. These men, regarding themselves as authority, tell their hearers that it is not possible to understand either Daniel or the Revelation. Many ministers make no effort to explain the Revelation. They call it an unprofitable book to study. They look upon it as a sealed book, because it contains the truth in figures and symbols. But the very name that has been given to it—”Revelation”—is a denial of their suppositions. The Revelation is a sealed book, but it is also an open book, recording marvelous events that are to take place in the last days of this earth’s history. Its teachings are definite, not mystical and unintelligible, and God would have us understand it.
6 Many teachers of God’s Word need to become learners before they can truly teach the Scriptures to others. Were Christ on earth, He would say to them, Ye teach for doctrine the commandments of men; ye are ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They know little of true moral and religious science, and less of the Word of God. A knowledge of the Scriptures would make them wise unto salvation, but they stand only on the threshold of knowledge. They have never entered in to obtain true spiritual understanding. Because of the simplicity of the truth, they think it necessary to clothe it with their far-fetched explanations. But did they do no more than read the Scriptures, the common people would understand God’s Word far better. The Scriptures are made intricate by the way in which they are interpreted. Better would it be for the student to compare scripture with scripture, using one passage to unlock another. Scripture can be correctly interpreted only by scripture.
7 John bears testimony of Christ, the Giver of the Word, saying, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” In the simplest language John sets before us true practical godliness. This simplicity does not show shallowness, but depth. John is speaking to real men and women, and the Holy Spirit directed him to write in such a way that they would be brought in contact with a real, living God. He shows us what God is doing, and what man must do to meet God’s requirements.
8 John does not present the truth hesitatingly, but in a decided manner. He speaks positively. “That which was from the beginning,” he says, “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us); that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
9 “For the life was manifested, and we have seen it.” Yes, the eternal life that was with the Father was manifested to us. Christ clothed His divinity with humanity, and became a man of flesh and blood. John talked with Him, learned of Him, and loved Him with a pure, sincere, undeviating fidelity.
10 As Paul beheld Christ in His power, he broke out into exclamations of admiration: “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” “For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. . . . For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 900
1 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”
2 In ancient times it was customary for men to hide their treasures in the earth. The country was always in danger of being invaded by marauding armies, and the earth was looked upon as a safe hiding-place. Often the owner himself was unable to find the treasure he had secretly buried. It was not uncommon to find in neglected land old coins and ornaments of gold and silver.
3 A man hires land to cultivate, and as the oxen plow the soil, buried treasure is unearthed. As the man discovers this treasure, he sees that he has a fortune before him. He restores the gold to its hiding-place, making sure that no one knows of his discovery. He returns to his home, and sells all that he has to purchase the field containing the treasure. His family and his neighbors think that he is acting like a madman. Looking at the field, they see no value in the neglected soil. But the man knows what he is doing, and when he has a title to the field, he searches every part of it to find the treasure that he has secured.
4 This parable illustrates the truth that painstaking effort should be made to secure the heavenly treasure. The treasures of the Gospel are hidden, for many have eyes, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear not; they have intellect, but they discern not the hidden treasure. A man might pass over the place where treasure had been hidden. In dire necessity he might sit down to rest at the foot of a tree, knowing not of the riches hidden at its roots. So it was with the Jews. They had eyes, but they did not see Christ. The treasure-house of all knowledge was opened to them, but they knew it not.
5 Christ wept over Jerusalem, saying, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” “Therefore,” He said, “speak I to them in parables; because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive; for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
6 Christ gave the Jewish people abundant evidence that He was the Messiah, but His teaching called for a decided change in their lives. They saw that if they received Christ, they must give up their cherished maxims and traditions, their selfish, ungodly practises. It involved a cross to receive changeless, eternal truth. Therefore they would not admit the most conclusive evidence that God could give to establish faith in Christ. They professed to believe the Old Testament Scriptures, yet they refused to accept the testimony contained therein concerning Christ’s life and character. They were afraid of being convinced, lest they should be converted, and be compelled to yield up their preconceived opinions. The Treasure of the Gospel, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, was among them, but they rejected the greatest Gift that heaven could bestow.
7 “Among the chief rulers also many believed on Him,” we read, “but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagog.” They were convinced; they believed Christ to be the Son of God; but it was not in harmony with their ambitious desires to confess Him. They had not the faith that works by love and purifies the soul, the faith that would have made them doers of the Word, and secured for them the heavenly treasure. They were seeking worldly treasure.
8 And today the world is eagerly seeking for earthly treasure. Men think that if they could obtain their desires, they would have peace. But were they to gain all that they seek, they would not find rest. These longing souls forget that they carry the disturber of their peace with them. By precept and example they exalt earthly riches above eternal riches. Minds which should have been educated to reach the highest attainments, allow worldly business to exclude God from their thoughts. They are restless and unhappy, and they wonder why it is. But if they would seek for the peace Christ came to give, they would find rest. He declared: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
9 The Saviour saw that men were absorbed in getting gain, and He undertook to correct this evil. He sought to break the infatuating spell which was paralyzing every spiritual sinew and muscle. Lifting up His voice like the trump of God, He cried, “What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” He presents before fallen humanity the nobler world they have lost sight of, that they may behold eternal realities. He takes them to the threshold of the infinite, flushed with the indescribable glory of God, and shows them the treasures there.
10 Many poor souls torture themselves, many go on long pilgrimages, thinking to find Christ. But if this were the way to secure the treasure, many would be in a hopeless condition. The afflicted, the lame, and the blind would fail to find Christ. But salvation is given without money and without price. It is not necessary to go on pilgrimages to gain it. All we are asked to do is to believe on Christ as our personal Saviour, and be doers of His Word. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
11 “The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation?
12 The treasures of God’s Word are to be sought for, and they are found by all who seek for them in sincerity. But they are hidden from those whose minds are filled with worldly, ambitious thoughts. Paul speaks of a class who have lost their spiritual eyesight. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
13 Paul speaks of a class who have lost their spiritual eyesight. “If our Gospel be hid,” he declares, “it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
14 Faith in Christ as the world’s Redeemer calls for an acknowledgment of the enlightened intellect, controlled by a heart that can discern and appreciate the heavenly treasure. The Scriptures are not to be adapted to meet the prejudices and jealousy of men. They can be understood only by those who are humbly seeking the hidden treasure. These receive the truth of prophecy, and submit to its authority. They are sanctified, soul, body, and spirit. This faith is inseparable from repentance and transformation of character. To have faith means to find and accept the Gospel treasure, with all the obligations which it imposes. Such believers are represented by the man who found hidden treasure in a field.
15 Philip found the Lord, and fully believed in Him. He was so filled with joy because he had found this treasure, that he went to look for Nathanael. He found him under a fig tree, and said unto him, “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” The treasure that Philip had found was a knowledge that Christ, the Son of God, was among them.
16 If the heavenly treasure could be made plain to the eye of men, as the gold was revealed to the man’s wondering, delighted eyes, those thus blessed would be so rejoiced that they could not hide the treasure. They would go everywhere, saying, Hear what the Lord has done for me. Their hearts would be filled with rejoicing; for the value of this treasure is above gold or silver. The contents of the richest of earth’s mines can not compare with it. “It can not be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. . . . The gold and the crystal can not equal it; and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls; for the price of wisdom is above rubies.”
17 “Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.” He may conjecture and imagine, but he can not see the treasure with the eye of faith. Christ gave His life to secure for us this inestimable treasure. But without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, no treasure for any perishing soul. Received by faith into the heart, the Gospel changes the whole man. Taken into the life, it transforms the character, making the coarse refined, the rough gentle, the selfish generous. By it the impure are cleansed, washed in the blood of the Lamb. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 901
1 “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all?” Christ’s answer was direct and explicit. “The first of all the commandments,” he said, “is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment.” “The second is like, namely this,” Christ continued; for it flows out of it and is founded upon it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
2 “And the scribe said unto Him, Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth; for there is one God; and there is none other but He; and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.”
3 This response from one of the scribes, the plain statement of his convictions, was more than the scribes and Pharisees thought to hear. Truth that condemned their own traditions and example had been expressed by Christ, and voiced by one of their own number.
4 When Jesus saw that the scribe had the moral courage to speak the truth before the frowning Pharisees, and that “he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask Him any question.”
5 The law of God is not made up of so many separate precepts, some of which are of great importance, while others are of less importance, and may be ignored. Christ presents the commandments as a divine whole. Under two heads, love to God and love to our neighbor, all the precepts are bound together in a sacred unity. These two principles are immutable, as eternal as the throne of God. By them man’s character is tested, and he is shown to be obedient or disobedient. Those who obey the first, loving God supremely, will pour out the riches of God’s goodness in love and compassion to their fellow-men. They will do far more than merely acknowledge the truth; they will offer far more than a ceremonial worship; they will give to God the whole service required by Him; for supreme love to God is an evidence that the truth is an abiding principle in the heart.
6 But when man fell, the law of self was set up. This law harmonizes with the will of sinful humanity. There is no strife between them. But when the Word of God speaks to the conscience, telling of a higher than human will, even the will of God, man’s will desires to go its own way, irrespective of consequences. The charm of obedience was broken by Adam’s disobedience. A sense of the importance of obedience as an absolute necessity, ceased to exist in the mind. And now man thinks, If I choose, I can obey God; and if I choose, I can disobey Him.
7 Christ came to this earth to show the human race how to obey God. He might have remained in heaven, and from there given exact rules for man’s guidance. But he did not do this. In order that we might make no mistake, He took our nature, and in it lived a life of perfect obedience. He obeyed in humanity, ennobling and elevating humanity by obedience. He lived in obedience to God, that not only by word of mouth, but by His every action, He might honor the law. By so doing, He not only declared that we ought to obey, but showed us how to obey.
8 Our only safety is in dying to self, and depending wholly on Christ. We need to keep ever before us the reality of Christ’s humanity. When He became our Substitute and Surety, it was as a human being. He came as a man, to render obedience to the only true God. He came not to reveal God as wanting in power, but God in all His fulness. He came to show what God is willing to do and what He has done that we might be made partakers of the divine nature. While enduring the contradiction of sinners against Himself, our Saviour lived a perfect human life. This He did that we also might be perfect. He is everything to us, and He bids us look to Him, for “without Me,” He says, “ye can do nothing.”
9 The obedience that Christ rendered is exactly the obedience that God requires from human beings today. It was the obedience of a son. He served His Father in willingness and freedom, and with love, because it was the right thing for Him to do. “I delight to do Thy will, O My God,” He declared; “yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Thus we are to serve God. Our obedience must be heart-service. It was always this with Christ. If we love Him, we shall not find it a hard task to obey. We shall obey as members of the royal family. We may not be able to see the path before us, but we shall go forward in obedience, knowing that all issues and results are to be left with God.
10 In keeping God’s commandments there is great reward, even in this life. If we are obedient, our conscience does not condemn us. Our hearts are not at enmity with God, but at peace with Him. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb. Moreover by them is Thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward.” “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them.”
11 The grace of God is the line of demarcation between God’s children and the multitude that believe not. While one is brought into captivity to Christ, another is brought into captivity to the prince of darkness. The heart of the one who responds to the drawing of Christ glows with the Saviour’s love. He shows forth the praises of Him who has called him from darkness into marvelous light. He can not help using his talent of speech to tell of the grace which has been so abundantly bestowed on him; for he has enlisted with those who are striving to advance the glory of God, and has thus become a channel of light. Willing and obedient, he is one of the number called by Inspiration “a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 902
1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. . . . And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.”
2 Christ made a complete sacrifice in our behalf, when He gave Himself as an offering for sin; and He asks us to give ourselves entirely to Him. He asks for the whole heart; He will accept nothing less than the undivided affections. “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
3 What is it to serve God?—It is to resemble Him in character, to imitate Him. To serve God is to obey Him, to keep His commandments, to make an open confession of standing, not under the black banner of the great apostate, but under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. Those who serve God strive earnestly to obey His will. Thus they show to what army they belong.
4 But since sin entered the world, men have been serving self. The world today takes much satisfaction in talking of the progress of the age. But in this God does not delight. In the antediluvian world there were many wonderful works of art and science. Fresh from the hand of the Creator, these descendants of Adam possessed capabilities that we do not now see. But they forgot God; and so it is today. Men have sought out many inventions; but what is the influence exerted by the improvements and the abundant facilities for intercourse that are everywhere seen? Men have not kept God’s commandments, and therefore the railways, the telegraph wires, the cables that connect the nations and kingdoms of the earth, have not brought the fallen world any nearer the higher world.
5 Obedience to God’s law brings men into harmony with heavenly intelligences. It is the duty of each human being to offer God whole-hearted service, to strive to find the right path, the narrow way, that leads through the gate of self-denial into the city of God. The road that leads to death is broad, and full of indulgence; but at the end thereof is no city whose builder and maker is God. The road that leads to heaven is narrow, and few there be that find it; for by no device can this path be made smooth or easy. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Christ declared. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
6 Christ came from heaven to pass through the strait gate and travel in the narrow path, and He calls upon us to follow Him. As we do this, we should remember at every step that we are honored. Those who walk in the narrow way must daily receive God’s restoring grace. This is given to heaven-bound travelers as they become worn by continual conflicts, and are tempted to cease making progressive movements. Those who do not receive this grace faint by the way, but those who do receive it are strengthened and encouraged.
7 Jesus is the ladder to heaven. Angels ascend and descend this ladder of shining brightness; and God calls upon us to mount this ladder. But we can not do this while we load ourselves down with earthly treasures. We wrong ourselves when we place our convenience and personal advantages before the things of God. There is no salvation in earthly possessions or surroundings. A man is not exalted in God’s sight, or accredited by Him as possessing goodness, because He has earthly riches. If we gain a genuine experience in climbing, we shall learn that as we ascend we must leave every hindrance behind. Those who mount must place their feet firmly on every round of the ladder.
8 The church is Christ’s instrumentality in this world. By it He seeks to represent the divine character. It is the privilege of each one to show that Christ has not disappointed him, but has given him refreshment by the way. We may not all be able to preach the Word, yet we all may minister. But this we can not do unless we receive Christ’s grace, for we can not give what we do not possess. The faith that works by love and purifies the soul is the only true faith. The faith that does not produce fruit, that does not reveal the Christlikeness, is a false faith.
9 God is love, and all who truly serve Him will reveal His purity of character. They will be transformed into His image. Their form of speech will be changed. Hasty words of censure, a passionate spirit, are inspired by the enemy of all good. The children of God are patient. They are merciful, even as Christ is merciful. They are kind, pitiful, tender-hearted, and firm as a rock to principle.
10 But until men see their defects in the mirror of God’s law, until they realize that they must meet that law in character, they can not truly serve God. They will manifest a spirit that is opposed to the way of the Lord. They will not feel it essential to be free from sin. Such can not offer to God acceptable service. The Son of God came to our world in human form to show man that divinity and humanity combined can obtain the victory over sin. Through Him we may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. “Whosoever abideth in Him, sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him.”
11 “Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; . . . whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”
12 “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.”
13 God calls for complete consecration, and anything short of this He will not accept. A love for spiritual things should be encouraged, yea, must be encouraged, if we would grow in grace. Desires for goodness and true holiness are right so far as they go, but if we stop here, they will avail nothing. Good purposes are right, but they will prove of no avail unless resolutely carried out. Many professed Christians have no sense of the spiritual strength they might obtain were they as ambitious, zealous, and persevering to gain a knowledge of divine things as they are to obtain the perishable things of this life. Many are satisfied to be spiritual dwarfs. They have no disposition to make it their object to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; hence godliness is a hidden mystery to them; they can not understand it. They know not Christ by experimental knowledge.
14 Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. They made no earnest effort, and therefore they will be weighed in the balance and found wanting. The will must be exercised in the right direction. We must say, I will be a Christian. I will know the length and breadth, the height and depth, of perfect love. Listen to the words of Jesus: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” Ample provision has been made by Christ to satisfy the soul that hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 903
1 “Then began He to speak to the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of his vineyard; but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
2 “What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?” Christ asked his listeners; and the scribes and the Pharisees answered, “He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others.” When they said this, they saw that they had condemned themselves, and they exclaimed, “God forbid.” And He beheld them, and said, “What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”
3 In this parable Christ exposed the deceptions of the priests and rulers, and declared that the Lord would punish the Jewish nation with fearful severity. It had treated His servants with contempt, injustice, and cruelty; the kingdom would be taken from them, and given to those who would obey its Ruler.
4 The Pharisees watched Christ narrowly as He gave this parable. They were cut to the heart by the Saviour’s words; for they could not fail to see that He read every purpose of their hearts. To them these words were an evidence of His divine character; but they dreaded to hear them, because they were condemned by them. They feared that Christ would lay before the people the wicked deeds that those they had been taught to reverence had committed, and that thereby they would lose their popularity. They decided that Christ knew too much of their lives to be allowed to live. They were filled with rage, and had they dared, they would have laid hands on Him, and silenced His voice, so that He would no longer annoy them. But they feared the people.
5 They had often planned to entrap Him in His words, but thus far their attempts had been baffled. They now took counsel with the Herodians, and, having laid their plans, they sent out spies, “which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of His words, that so they might deliver Him unto the power and authority of the governor.” They did not send the old Pharisees, whom Jesus had often met, but young men, who were ardent and zealous, and whom, they thought, Christ did not know.
6 Feigning to be interested in a certain question, the spies approached Christ. With apparent sincerity, as tho desiring to know their duty, they said, “Master, we know that Thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest Thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly.” Had the speakers been sincere, these words would have been a wonderful admission, but they were spoken to deceive. Their testimony, however, was true. The Pharisees did know that Christ taught truly, and by their own testimony will they be judged.
7 “Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?” they continued. This was a question over which there was much contention. Many denied the right of the Romans to demand tribute, and the Pharisees paid their taxes unwillingly. The spies decided to ask Christ this question, thinking that He would answer it by a simple yes or no. If He told them it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, He would be going contrary to the opinions of the Jewish nations, and would be put out of popular favor; and if He said that it was unlawful, they could accuse Him to the Romans. Thus they hoped to catch Him in His words, whatever way He might answer.
8 The spies thought that by their apparent honesty they had sufficiently disguised their purpose. But Jesus read their hearts as an open book, and revealed their hypocrisy. “Why tempt ye Me?” He asked, giving them evidence of His divinity by showing that He discerned their hidden purpose. “Show Me a penny,” He said. They brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image and superscription hath it?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Pointing to the inscription, Jesus said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.”
9 Thus Christ rebuked the hypocrisy and presumption of the Pharisees, and His answer seemed so wise to the bystanders that they admired His tact and wisdom. His reply was no evasion, but a candid answer, and not only were the Pharisees rebuked by His words, but in many minds a vexed question was settled.
10 Many who heard these words ever after upheld the right principle. They could not but see that the principle underlying the question had been laid down in straight lines.
11 When the Pharisees heard Christ’s answer, they marveled, and left Him, and went their way. They were convinced; but, altho they marveled at Christ’s wisdom, they would not yield. Another evidence of the Saviour’s divinity had been given them, but they hardened their hearts against it. And from that time evidence had no effect on their deeply-rooted prejudice.
12 The Pharisees could not at that time satisfy their wrath, but they were none the less determined to carry out their purposes. At every opportunity they manifested their bitter opposition against Christ. There was no more peace for Him; for the caviling of His enemies was continual, and their plans to entrap Him abundant. They set spies on His track, to report His movements. They thought this unknown to Christ, but He was much more accurately acquainted with their movements than they were with His. He knew every step that would be taken and every event that would take place.
13 But in spite of the opposition of the priests, Christ kept His mission ever before Him. With a heart ever touched with human woe, He ministered to those around Him. His words were spoken with clearness, simplicity, and authority. His discourses were such as had never before been heard. His principles were so clearly and wisely inculcated that none needed to make a misstep if they but followed Him. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 904
1 “And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, He was hungry; and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if haply He might find anything thereon; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.”
2 It was not a common thing in the East for a fig tree to present full foliage so early in the season. It is the nature of the fig tree for the fruit to make its appearance before the leaves. Therefore upon a tree covered with leaves one might expect to find well-developed figs. Christ approached the tree, expecting to find fruit upon it; but after searching from the lowest bough to the topmost twig, He found nothing but leaves. And Christ uttered against it a withering curse.
3 The next morning as the Saviour and His disciples were again wending their way to the city, the blasted branches and drooping leaves attracted their attention. “Master,” said Peter, “behold the fig tree which Thou cursedst is withered away.”
4 This instance in the ministry of Christ was a singular one. It was unlike His ways and works. We trace His life, and see that His acts were ever performed to restore, not to destroy. He scattered mercy wherever He went, in words of counsel and deeds of goodness. He came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. The disciples could not understand this act in punishing a tree for its barrenness, and they said, “Declare unto us the parable of the fig tree.”
5 It was the purpose of Christ that this fig tree should teach His disciples a lesson. He desired to impress upon them the true state of Jerusalem, and her final doom; and to do this He invested the tree with moral qualities, and made it the expositor of divine truth. Just before this Christ had made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. For the second time He had cleansed the temple, driving out from its courts the traffickers, saying: “Take these things hence.” “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Dishonest dealing was practised by the men who brought cattle to sell in the temple courts; but the word of command was given; divinity flashed through humanity, and no trafficker or priest in his gorgeous dress looking on that countenance dared to remain. In haste all fled from the temple courts. Now under the symbol of the blighted tree Christ presents before His disciples the righteous anger of God in the destruction of Jerusalem. That tree flaunting its pretentious foliage in the very face of Christ was a symbol of the Jewish nation, who had been separating from God until, in their pride and apostasy, they had lost their power of discernment, and knew not their Redeemer.
6 The Jewish nation had indeed been the favored people of God. The Majesty of heaven had been their leader in the wilderness. He had brought them water out of the flinty rock; He had given them bread from heaven to satisfy their hunger. He had turned from them the wrath of God when their iniquities had called forth His anger. And after more than a thousand years of blessings bestowed and blessings withdrawn, He fulfilled His purpose of coming to the world in person. He veiled His divinity with humanity. Had Christ come in His divine form, humanity could not have endured the sight. The contrast would have been too painful, the glory too overwhelming. Humanity could not have endured the presence of one of the pure, bright angels from glory; therefore Christ took not on Him the nature of angels; He came in the likeness of men.
7 But thirty years was all that the world could endure of its Redeemer. For thirty years He dwelt in a world all seared and marred with sin, doing the work that no other one ever had done or ever could do. And for three years He waited, and prayed, and worked, and wept, crying, “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding.” “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” But the Jewish nation would not receive their Messiah. Throughout the years of His public ministry they sought to put Him to death; and this act was to prove their ruin.
8 The Gentile world was represented by the leafless, fruitless fig trees. The Gentiles were destitute, as were the Jews, of godliness, but they had not claimed to be in favor with God. They made no boast of exalted spirituality. They were blind in every sense to the ways and works of God, With them the time for figs was not yet. They were still looking forward to a day which would bring them light and hope.
9 The Jews as a nation had laid claim to righteousness above every other people, while they stood out in proud defiance of God. As a people they were self-confident, exalted, selfish, and boastful. The barren tree was a fit representation of them. Ambition, and erroneous views in regard to Christ’s advent, had deceived the Jewish nation, and when Christ came as the meek and lowly One, they would not receive Him. Israel had perverted the Scriptures, and had taught for doctrine the commandments of men. They made void the law of God through their traditions. That law which they claimed to observe so strictly, they made a yoke of bondage. Satan had put his leaven into the most precious, everlasting truth, to make of none effect God’s sacred institution.
10 The law of God, if observed with heart obedience, would have produced altogether a different influence; but vainglory, selfishness, and oppression marked the character of the Jews. They were proudly displaying their ceremonies before the very face of Christ, who was the foundation and center of the whole Jewish economy, while they rejected the Antitype of all their types, the Substance of all their shadows. They were so blinded by Satan that they knew not the time of their visitation. And God declared, “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself.”
11 Christ had often sought the Father in anguish of spirit, as He beheld the situation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Often in the lonely mountains He had prayed with strong crying and tears, because that of all the people on the face of the earth, none were so filled with bitterness and hatred against Him as were those who had been favored with every temporal and spiritual advantage. This was the people for whom the Son of God had done so much, in order that they might become a treasure-house of rich truth, to impart the same to the world. Those who claimed to know God were opening their hearts to the attributes of Satan. In the blighted fig tree Christ sees the ruin of the nation, and the sight draws tears to His eyes.
12 The bright future of prosperity and glory which Jerusalem might have enjoyed rises before Him. Had Jerusalem but known the time of her visitation, had she accepted the world’s Redeemer, she would have been healed of her grievous malady; she would have been exalted as the world’s metropolis. No Roman army would have stood at her gates. No Roman yoke would have rested upon her shoulders. As the favored citadel of truth, the dove of peace would have gone forth from her to all the nations of the earth. She would have been as a diadem of glory to her God.
13 But instead of this, Christ sees Jerusalem surrounded with the besieging army. He sees the inhabitants suffering from starvation, delicate mothers slaying and eating their own children, fathers, mothers, and children contending for a morsel of food, and forcing the fragments from the mouths of their starving relatives. He sees the gates open to the invaders, and those who have defied them and refused to surrender, He sees suffering beneath the scourge, the rack, and the cross. He sees Jerusalem in ruins, the beautiful, costly temple, the pride of the nation, torn down until not one stone is left upon another. Its site is plowed as a field. Terrible picture. The sight calls forth deep emotion from the Son of God.
14 The explanation of this strange act of Christ in the cursing of the fig tree was to stand as a living, warning appeal to all Christian churches. The blighted tree was to repeat its lesson in every age to the close of earth’s history. God is looking for piety, self-denial, self-sacrifice, compassion for man, and zeal for God. He longs to see in man a deep yearning of soul to save his fellow-man from unbelief and ruin. But the present condition of the Christian churches is similar to the condition of the Jews in Christ’s day. The Lord and all heaven behold the fruitless fig tree. They see men trampling upon the law of Jehovah, making the covenant between Him and His commandment-keeping people a thing of naught. But to the people who trample upon that law which God has ordained, Christ says, as He said to the Jewish nation, “Thou hast destroyed thyself.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 905
1 “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father; for My Father is greater than I.” “If ye love Me, keep My commandments. . . . He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. . . . If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.”
2 This is an expression of God’s love for fallen man. By these words our Saviour places in our hands a line enabling us to sound something of the depths of His infinite love, and prove the sincerity of our love for Him. The finite mind can not comprehend this love in all its depth and magnitude. As we study the sufferings of Christ, the results of sin are so distressing to us that we cry out to the Lord to take away our sins. As we continue to look, we become more capable of enduring the sight of what Christ suffered, and we realize more and more clearly His love for us. The cross of Christ is invested with a wonderful attraction and unlimited power; for in the suffering connected with the crucifixion scene, God’s love becomes to us more and more impressive.
3 Through disobedience to God’s command Adam fell from his loyalty. Thus he opened the flood-gates of woe upon our world. His posterity perpetuated his sin, while they found fault with their first parents. The depth to which men fell justified the employment of great means to procure a ransom. God saw that man could never rescue and restore himself. Therefore He exercised His divine benevolence to the fullest extent to redeem those who had lost their connection with Him. He “so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God’s love exceeds the love of an earthly father. It can be measured only by the power and strength of His character. Proportionate to His power was His infinite compassion for fallen men, and His desire to restore in them His image. The high and holy One, who inhabiteth eternity, travailed in the greatness of His power and in His immeasurable love to rescue fallen man.
4 Only by the gift of God’s Son could the ransom of the human race be obtained. Without this sacrifice, all that remained for man was death in his sins. But by giving His life for the life of the world, Christ bridged the gulf that sin had made, joining this sin-cursed earth to the universe of heaven as a province. God chose this world to be the theater of His mighty work of grace. While the sentence of condemnation was suspended over it because of the rebellion of its inhabitants, while the clouds of wrath were accumulating because of transgression of God’s law, a strange and mysterious voice was heard in heaven: “Lo, I come . . . to do Thy will, O God.” “Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared me.”
5 “The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old,” Christ says. “When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” But the only-begotten Son of God humbled Himself to come to this earth. He took the sinner’s place; the guiltless suffered for the guilty. This was the hiding of His glory. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death.”
6 God accepted the death of His Son to save a rebellious race. But in this was there no sacrifice made by the Father? The Creator Himself, the Omnipotent God, suffered with His Son. Abraham was permitted to know something of the meaning of this great sacrifice. He is called the father of the faithful, because he carried out in heart purpose the fearful test, as fully as if he had by his own hand taken the life of his son.
7 Our Substitute and Surety came from heaven, declaring that He had brought with Him the vast and inestimable donation of eternal life. Pardon is offered to all who will return to their allegiance to the law of God. But Satan has called this world his territory. Here his seat is, and he holds in allegiance to himself all who refuse to keep God’s commandments, who reject a plain. “Thus saith the Lord.” There are but two parties in this world. All rank either under the banner of the obedient or the banner of the disobedient. Those who have given their allegiance to Satan make rigorous human enactments, in opposition to God’s commands, and by precept and example strive to lead their fellow-beings into sin. They exalt the laws of men above the divine law. Over them the condemnation of God is suspended. The clouds of His justice are gathering. The material of destruction has been piling up for ages; and apostasy, rebellion, and disloyalty are continually increasing. The remnant people of God will understand the word spoken by Daniel, “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.’
8 The Lord made the richest gift He could make in giving His only-begotten Son to the world. Why then are not more grace and power given to the church? Man by his own choice has severed himself from God. His mind and soul are so bound up in Satan’s plans that he is palsied. He is incapable of appreciating, appropriating, or imparting the elements of divine life. A connection with the deceiver, who was so long in the heavenly courts, makes him ingenious to pervert the blessings given him, and to employ them as weapons against God. Therefore the Lord can not venture to bestow upon man the blessings that He otherwise would.
9 Jesus is now sending His message to a fallen world. He delights to take apparently hopeless material, those through whom Satan has worked, and make them the subjects of His grace. He rejoices to deliver them from the wrath that is to fall upon the disobedient. He has committed Himself to the work of our redemption. He resolved that He would spare nothing, however costly, withhold nothing, however dear, which would restore the moral image of God in man. And He holds in store gift upon gift, waiting for the proper channels through which He can communicate the treasures of eternal life.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 906
1 After Jesus had spoken the parables recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, he ended by inquiring, “Have ye understood all these things?” They said unto Him, “Yea, Lord. Then said He unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”
2 “Things new and old.” The Gospel is not merely the New Testament. It is the Old Testament as well as the New. One is not complete without the other. Jesus declared that the truths of the Old Testament are just as valuable as those of the New. Christ was just as much man’s Redeemer in the beginning of the world as He is today. No one has ever been saved except by faith in Him. In the Old Testament dispensation, as well as in the New, He was the only one who could speak pardon to the sons and daughters of Adam.
3 Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. But the Jewish nation unduly exalted the forms and maxims which had been handed down from rabbi to rabbi. They taught error instead of truth. Many of the doctrines they cherished were not in the Bible, but were the opinions of men. The Jewish leaders thought themselves to be the most religious people in the world; but Christ said to them, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God,” “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Ye make void the law of God by your traditions.
4 This many of the teachers in the churches are doing today. They propagate error by teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. In no way do their lives honor God or the Scriptures. Falsehoods which have been handed down from century to century are taught as the Word of God. If these are questioned, those who advocate them do not say, “Let us search the Word of God, which is the test of all doctrine; let us compare scripture with scripture, for the Word of God is the treasure-house of all knowledge.” Instead, they utterly refuse to make unprejudiced investigation.
5 Many of those to whom the people look for instruction are not leading their flocks to the pure water of life. If by reading the Word one is awakened to search for truth, if by seeking to know what the Scriptures teach, he shows that he would become a wise householder, he is charged with doing great mischief. He sees the truth, not as the ministers have declared it, but as Christ has presented it in the Old and New Testaments, and as a faithful steward he tells those around him; for he would have them share with him the message of grace. But how is he treated by the religious teachers?—Just as Christ was treated by the Jewish leaders. He is held up to ridicule. The ministers denounce him from the pulpit, declaring that he is causing division in the churches. Eternal interests are at stake, but those who ought to receive the light with rejoicing, fight against the Word of God as dangerous. They do not say to those they think are misled: “Come, let us examine this subject together. If you have received light, give it to us; for we need every ray of light that is shining from the Word of God. Our souls will be imperiled if we entertain and teach error.”
6 If those who are now advocating error would listen to God speaking in His Word, they would see that they are teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. They would refuse to follow the example of the Jews by reiterating assertions which have not a “Thus saith the Lord” for a foundation. This is the only true course for those to pursue who would teach God’s Word. True knowledge will be found by every humble searcher. Men of every rank, learned and unlearned, may understand the Scriptures for themselves. The Eternal Mind has declared the truth, and this truth is of the highest value to those who receive and practise it.
7 By Christ’s death on the cross, human beings have been raised in the scale of moral value. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ looked into the mind of man, and He saw that it was debased and corrupted by sin. He determined to present in the most attractive light the principles of the Gospel, that man might receive and obey them. He desired to refine, purify, ennoble the powers He had given to man, that they might act the part for which they were created. If permitted, the lower passions will obtain the mastery over the whole being. Christ would have these passions subject to the higher powers of the mind.
8 Christ presented the cross to His disciples. “If any man will come after Me,” He said, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” The cross must be lifted by all who receive Christ as their Saviour. God does not forgive sin to encourage us to continue in sin. It is to bring sin to a close, that the divine nature may take possession of the being, and the riches of heaven be poured into mind and heart. God has made every provision that the divine resources may flow freely, and we are to deem no sacrifice too costly in order that the treasures of truth may be given to the world. To fall short of this is a betrayal of sacred trust.
9 Those who claim to preach Christ while they declare that the law of God is abrogated, do not preach the truth. Had not God’s law been unchangeable, Christ need not have suffered on Calvary. He died that the transgressor of the law might be pardoned, and return to his loyalty. He took human nature upon Himself, and suffered for us, that we might have another trial, that we might be given opportunity to leave the banner of rebellion, and stand under the banner of the Prince of Light. And He declared, “I have kept My Father’s commandments.” In Him is no sin. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” Christ’s sacrifice would have converted the world to truth if false teachers had not upheld false doctrines, making it appear a virtue to trample on the law of Jehovah.
10 God would have His people proclaim to the world the great truths of redemption. He would have them tell of the great sacrifice made to restore the almost obliterated moral image of God. When men partake of the divine nature, they will bring forth from the treasure of the heart things new and old. They will open to those around them the great truths of the Word of God in our world.
11 In order to possess the heavenly treasures, man must have a faith in the truth that works by love and purifies the soul. He must search diligently and earnestly, and He must impart to others what He has received. He can not continue to receive heavenly treasure without communicating to those around him. He must not consult his own pleasure or ease. A great responsibility rests on him to give the truth to others, that they also may receive its saving principles, and with heaven-born zeal develop an enlarged comprehension of and appreciation for the heavenly treasure. As a faithful householder he is to bring forth from the Old and New Testaments eternal, unchangeable truth. As he does this, the treasure in his possession will increase.
12 When the truth is received into the heart, the habits and customs are conformed to Christ. The learner feels bound to uplift the Saviour. The truth works by love and purifies his soul, and he regards God’s commands, not as being abrogated, but as unchangeable truth, given to the world from the beginning. He presents the treasures of God’s Word in a fresh and agreeable way, because the truth has taken possession of his mind, his heart, his entire being. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 907
1 Truth constantly enriches the receiver. Every truth received is a refining power. The minds of those who receive truth increase in activity. By the God of heaven they are imbued with a power corresponding to the origin and importance of the truth. As men exercise their talents, seeking to improve every capability, their mental and spiritual powers strengthen; for where there is spiritual life, there is development and growth. There is no possibility of the treasures of the householder diminishing, if rightly used. Mighty truths have been buried beneath the sophistry of error, but they will be found by the diligent searcher. As he opens the treasure-house of the jewels of truth, it is no robbery; for all who appreciate these jewels may possess them, and then they too have a treasure-house to open to others. He who imparts does not deprive himself of the treasure; for as he examines it, that he may present it in such a way as to attract others, he finds new treasures.
2 The talents lent us on trust are to be used to benefit and bless others. They are lent to be improved. Their value is in themselves. Whether or not the one to whom they are intrusted realizes their value, they remain the same. But if he does not appreciate them, they are of no value to him. Money may be locked up in various ways. It is still money, but it is of no special benefit to any one. But money wisely invested brings money in return, which may be used to gain more money. Thus it is with the householder’s treasures, the Word of the living God. The use made of the gems of truth determines their value to the possessor. They are to be used to help and bless and save those for whom the Lord gave His only-begotten Son. Then they are of the highest value to us. In this way we may increase our talents, adding jewel to jewel.
3 The apostle Paul charged Timothy: “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” What height and depth and breadth there is in these words! Paul understood that those who have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit have a most important talent in their keeping. His words teach the same lesson taught by Christ’s words, “Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”
4 “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,” Paul writes again; “for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.”
5 The faith professed must be the faith acted. Those who have received the light of truth are in the possession of knowledge which they must impart to others. Those who would teach God’s Word must themselves receive the divine treasures. They must not be satisfied with repeating set discourses, depending on notes. They are to add to their treasure, constantly improving in their manner of presenting the truth. They are not to be dwarfs in religious knowledge, but are to open their hearts at the first knock of Christ. “If any man hear My voice,” He says, “and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
6 To those who welcome Christ as an honored guest, He will communicate precious things. In their turn they are to open their treasures of light and blessing to other souls. Thus an endless variety of good results will be obtained.
7 But all the praise and glory are to be given to God. No human being is to seat himself on the highest seat, accepting the praise of others, and forgetting that his treasures belong to God. God’s blessing is promised to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, but nothing is so offensive in His sight as to hunger and thirst after the praise of men. When the Lord weighs in the balances of the sanctuary the actions of those who have striven to be first, when they see how He regards such strife, they will bow low at His footstool, ashamed of their course of action.
8 All can not be first; all can not be masters. It is a great misfortune to be unable to see in others higher excellences and powers of greater usefulness than in yourself. Let us walk humbly before God, acknowledging Him as the great Master. If we will partake of the divine nature, God will fit us to find happiness in activity, and rest in wearing Christ’s yoke. If we use aright the powers God has given us, praying, waiting, watching, and working, wearing Christ’s yoke and learning daily of Him to be meek and lowly in heart, great joy will be brought into our lives.
9 Were it not for God’s gracious gifts and blessings, we should be bankrupt for eternity. Then let no one sound his own praises, feeding upon his own supposed wisdom. If his talents were of his own manufacture, there would be some consistency in self-praise. But man has nothing of his own. Let us not reveal our lack of true wisdom by exalting self. Let us bow low in humility at the feet of Him who has intrusted to us our talents. Let us use and improve these talents, handing principal and interest back to the Giver.
10 Jesus Christ is the great truth for this time. In Him are bound up all the truths that concern our salvation. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Christ died for the whole world, yet how few fill the place God has assigned them as householders! The Lord expects His householders to prepare the way for His second advent by helping in every possible way those for whom He gave His life. The signs of His second coming are clearly pointed out in prophecy. When He came to the world the first time, divinity and humanity were blended. This is our only hope. The Son of man is fully qualified to be the originator of a humanity that will blend with divinity by partaking of the divine nature. He offers to make us golden threads in the web of humanity. He would have us act our part by co-operating with Him in healing the springs of life which have been perverted, and setting them flowing in sanctified channels.
11 As a sacred trust, every talent is to be employed aright. Those whom God has made His stewards are to search the Scriptures earnestly, that they may communicate truth to others, leading them to the path which has been cast up for the ransomed of the Lord. By precept and example we are to teach others that through the grace of Christ they may be obedient to all God’s commandments, and be clothed with Christ’s righteousness. This is the work God requires His servants to do. We are not to follow our own perverse nature, but are to be like little children. We are to lay aside our own will, following implicitly the dictates of God’s will. “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
12 The treasures of truth in our possession must be given to the world, that others may have an opportunity of learning the value of truth. The necessities of those who are suffering from spiritual poverty must be relieved. When this is done, not only will the minds of those helped be impressed, but the mind of him who does the work will be quickened by the power of the Holy Spirit. By the power that comes from God alone, he will be enabled to make the truth plain to others. The truth is the power of God unto salvation to all who receive it, and it sheds a flood of light into the heart, and exerts a convincing influence upon the mind, stimulating and strengthening the one who is communicating the treasures of God’s Word.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 908
1 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
2 God stands back of every promise He has made. He has given us the privilege of coming to Him, and we need not fear of wearying Him. In order to inspire us with assurance and confidence, Christ says: “What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”
3 God desires us to believe these promises; He desires us to come before him with earnestness and assurance, to tell Him all about our necessities. Christ has given His life to make it possible for the human family to have another trial, to form such characters that the Lord can make them His sons and daughters, members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. We must not doubt the Word of promise. We have the Word of God, and, like the importunate widow, we are to plead for His blessing, for power to live as the children of God.
4 As workers together with God, Christ’s disciples are to represent the character of their Redeemer. Christ says: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. . . . And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me; because I live, ye shall live also.”
5 But there are conditions to the fulfillment of these promises. “If ye love Me,” He says, “keep My commandments.” He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” Those who bring their petitions to God, claiming that His promise has been made for them, while they do not comply with the conditions, insult Jehovah. They bring the name of Christ as their authority for the fulfillment of the promise, but they do not those things by which they show their love and faith in Jesus Christ.
6 Many have forfeited, and are forfeiting, their conditions of acceptance with the Father. We need to closely examine the deed of trust wherewith we approach God. If we are disobedient, we bring to the Lord a note to be cashed, when we have not fulfilled our part of the contract. We complain that our check is not honored, when it is a forged check. We approach God with His promises, and ask Him to fulfill them, when by so doing He would dishonor His name.
7 The promise is, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” And John declares: “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.”
8 The conditions are plainly stated, and those who read the Word need make no mistake. If we will prove ourselves true and faithful, the Lord will comply with the conditions He has made. Those who are doers of the Word give evidence that they are believers of the Word. They will have strong consolation because of the promises made, and in confidence will lay hold on eternal life.
9 There is a phase of this subject which is too often lost sight of, but it is of consequence to every soul who would seek the Lord in prayer. Have you been honest with your God? Search carefully; for the Lord says to His church and to every individual, “I know thy works.” Everything is known to God. All is open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, and He says: “Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return.”
10 Spiritual blindness comes upon men when they choose their own way, and venture to transgress the commandments of God. God has given men His ordinances to keep them in harmony with His ways and will, that God may co-operate with man, and man with God, in advancing His kingdom in the world. The Lord has given in trust to man everything which he calls his own, and He claims a certain portion of this for Himself. This is the return that man is to make to his God, to sustain the ministers whom the Lord has appointed to give the message of mercy to a fallen world. The watchmen upon the walls of Zion must be provided for in no haphazard manner. The Lord has intrusted the advancement and upbuilding of His kingdom to His sentinels, and they must do their appointed work. They must be faithful in their ministry, speaking the words that God has given them. The message is to be borne to the people: “Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. . . . Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house; and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
11 Through His servant God declares: “Behold, I will send My Messenger, and He shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. And who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap; and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.”
12 These preparations must be made by all who expect to receive anything of the Lord. Even those who worship idols make special preparations, and bring their gifts to the altar, before they ask their gods to do for them the things that they desire. And shall those who believe in God, the living God, approach Him with little reverence and in human superiority? Shall they be like the Pharisee, who praised and adored himself, and in his pride and self-sufficiency depreciated those whom he regarded as sinners? The Lord will not hear the prayers of such.
13 If the Lord were as fitful, as impulsive, as changeable, as human beings are, those who show such fruits of unrighteousness would be consumed in their sins; but the Lord bears long with the perversity of men. He is constantly reproving them through His Word, constantly drawing them, that they may repent and be converted, that He may heal them. Few consider that it is a solemn thing to pray. How few watch unto prayer, and seek to speak and act in harmony with their prayers! The apostle Paul says: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good-pleasure.”
14 Christ seeks to keep before our minds the course our heavenly Father pursues toward His obedient children, in delaying to answer their prayers. God would not have His people give up in discouragement if their prayers are not at once answered. He wants them to search their own hearts carefully, and with humility of mind. Have they used the talent of speech, given them to offer praise and thanksgiving to God, in hurting or discouraging any of God’s children? Have they used the precious gift of God, the voice, to wound the soul of saint or sinner? If they have done this, let them put things right, let them remove the poisonous sting. These efforts to preserve Christian love and unity are essential to a preparedness to come before God in faith and confidence, to seek Him with all the heart.
15 The Word exhorts us, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Make confession to the ones you have injured. If others manifest wrong feelings toward you, or have injured you, carry them some token of regard. Tell them that you do not want anything of contention or division to exist between you; for this dishonors God. Then, tho you may not be able to soften the heart of the one who has wronged you, tho your kindness may be repulsed, you have done your duty, and God will bless you. He will give you His peace of mind and His grace. He will increase your trust in Him. Then you can bring your offering to God. Bring soul and voice and being to His altar, to be used to glorify Him, and He will accept the offering.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 909
1 There is great need of heeding the words of Christ: “I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Here are presented the free receiving and the free giving. We are to communicate the light that God has richly bestowed upon us. The blessing of the Lord, received, must be passed to others. Some will say: “I am not fit to serve God. How can I do this work of communicating truth? The opposition to the commandments of God is so strong, what can I, a poor, weak creature, do?” It is well for you to realize your weakness, but you are to lean wholly upon God for strength. Is anything too hard for the Lord to do?
2 The arm of the Lord is not shortened that it can not save. His ear is not heavy that it can not hear. God can and will work through human agents. He can sanctify the heart, and make the human agent a vessel unto honor. Take the Word; read it, consider, pray over it; let it enter into your understanding; let the light flood the soul temple, that you may testify of these things in the churches. The Word of God is infallible; accept it as it reads; look with confidence to God; trust Him to qualify you for His service. We are not authorized to trust in ourselves; Christ is our helper, our sufficiency. It is His to give us the victory. Christ has brought life and immortality to light, and we are to look unto Him, and take this great salvation which He has won for us through His own death. Only believe; walk by faith, not by sight.
3 There are many souls yearning unutterably for light, for assurance and strength beyond what they have been able to grasp. They need to be sought out and labored for patiently, perseveringly. Present Jesus because you know Him as your personal Saviour. Let His melting love, His rich grace, flow forth from human lips. You need not present doctrinal points unless questioned, but take the Word, and with tender, yearning love for souls, show them the precious righteousness of Christ, to whom you and they must come to be saved.
4 Satan is working with his masterly power to hold you back, to keep you in his army. Ever bear in mind that the powers of good and evil are striving for the mastery over every soul that is seeking Jesus. Satan works to drag the inquiring souls away from the cross; but Christ is drawing them, and all who are co-operating with Christ will exert a compelling influence in bringing others to Him.
5 As laborers for the salvation of souls, ask wisdom from God, believing that He will bestow the gift you ask. Receive the precious endowment by faith, nothing doubting. As we seek God in sincerity, believing His Word, acknowledging His goodness, His mercy, and His love toward ourselves, there flows forth from us the living water to refresh and revive the spirit of the humble and the contrite. The souls that are seeking for truth need to have words spoken to them in season, for Satan is speaking to them by his temptations. If you meet with repulse when trying to help souls, heed it not. Speak to those who will listen. Impart the knowledge of the truth you have obtained; but let it be the truth as it is in Jesus. Work while it is day, for “the night cometh, when no man can work.” Sow the seed in faith, and with an unsparing hand. Work as if you could behold the universe of heaven looking upon you. One soul saved is worth more than the whole world. All who are willing to examine and understand the truth, will find the precious, priceless, hidden treasure.
6 Never forget that we can not assimilate to the world, and be God’s people. There is divinity in the Word. In presenting the Word to others, never make it a “suppose so,” a “guess,” or a “maybe.” Speak as one who has authority from God through His Word. Declare with Peter: “We have not followed cunningly-devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty. . . . We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 910
1 “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight; if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; . . . whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the Word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
2 Christ came to this earth working the works of God, healing the sick, and raising the dead to life. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” But the priests and rulers of the Jewish nation refused to acknowledge Him as the Messiah. “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”
3 The scribes and Pharisees accused Christ of blasphemy because He made Himself equal with God. But He promptly met and denied their accusations. “Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?” they asked Him; “whom makest Thou Thyself?” Jesus answered: “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing; it is My Father that honoreth Me; of whom ye say, that He is your God; yet ye have not known Him, but I know Him; and if I should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you; but I know Him, and keep His saying. Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
4 Here Christ shows them that, altho they might reckon His life to be less than fifty years, yet His divine life could not be reckoned by human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not measured by figures.
5 “Before Abraham was, I am.” Abraham greatly desired to see the Messiah in His day. He offered up the most earnest prayer that he might see Him before He died. “He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. . . . Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
6 But Abraham saw Christ. A supernatural light was given him, and he acknowledged Christ’s divine character. He had a distinct view of Christ, the Messiah. He saw His day, and was glad. He was given a view of the divine Sacrifice for sin. It was Jesus Christ that had promised him, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.”
7 But Abraham was tested. The command came for him to take his son, his only son, Isaac, and offer him as a sacrifice upon a mountain which God would show him. O, in what an agony of conflicting emotion Abraham bowed at the foot of the altar which he had reared for Jehovah, praying for light! But the more he prayed, the darker his mind became. He heard the command, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering.” He thought of the promise, “As the stars, so shall thy seed be,” yet he was on his way to sacrifice the son in whom this hope was centered. With his own hand, by the divine command, he must cut off the only hope of having this promise made true.
8 But as Abraham stood with knife upraised to obey God, his hand was stayed, and he heard a voice, saying, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.”
9 This terrible ordeal was imposed upon Abraham that he might see the day of Christ, and realize the great love of God for the world, so great that, to raise it from its degradation, He gave His only-begotten Son to a most shameful death.
10 Abraham learned of God the greatest lesson ever given to mortal. His prayer that he might see Christ before he should die, was answered. He saw Christ; he saw all that mortal can see and live. By making an entire surrender, he was able to understand the vision of Christ, which had been given him. He was shown that in giving his only-begotten Son to save sinners from eternal ruin, God was making a greater and more wonderful sacrifice than ever man could make.
11 “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh; as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” This was kept in mind by the Jews. When brought into the most difficult places, where there seemed to be no way of deliverance, they would say, “In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.”
12 This lesson was of great value to all Israel. By it Abraham was shown that God does not require parents to offer their sons and daughters for the sins of the world. This was done by heathen nations, and at times had been practised by the people calling themselves the Israel of God. But they were ever to bear in mind that no human being can be accepted as a sin-offering. The Son of God alone can bear the guilt of the world.
13 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” What a history is this! The Jews were so blinded by the deception of the enemy that, without any form of trial, they would have stoned Christ to death. They saw that He made Himself equal with God, and because they had no knowledge of God or of Jesus Christ, they thought this to be blasphemy. Had they had a knowledge of God, they would not have rejected His Son, and charged Him with blasphemy.
14 How many today are passing over the same ground! In their ignorance of God, in their misinterpretation of His Word, men wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction. They cherish error as truth, and have a zeal not according to knowledge.
15 The incarnate I AM is our abiding Sacrifice. The I AM is our Redeemer, our Substitute, our Surety. He is the Daysman between God and the human soul, our Advocate in the courts of heaven, our unwearying Intercessor, pleading in our behalf His merits and His atoning sacrifice. The I AM is our Saviour. In Him our hopes of eternal life are centered. He is an ever-present help in time of trouble. In Him is the assurance of every promise. We must acknowledge and receive this almighty Saviour; we must behold Him, that we may be like Him in character. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
16 John the Baptist sent messengers to Christ, saying, “Art Thou He that should come, or look we for another?” Jesus said to the messengers, “Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached.”
17 The divinity of Christ’s religion is shown in its adaptability to meet suffering humanity, its condescension to a low estate. Its glory is reflected upon those who receive it. But the Pharisees could not believe it; for they looked for a Saviour who was never promised. The Gospel is to be preached to the poor—not to the spiritually proud, those who claim to be rich, and in need of nothing, is it revealed, but to those that are humble and contrite. One fountain only has been opened for sin, a fountain for the poor in spirit. It is free to all who thirst for the water of life. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
18 Jehovah is the name given to Christ. “Behold, God is my salvation,” writes the prophet Isaiah; “I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day ye shall say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted.” “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.”
19 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven,” Christ declared; “if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 911
1 “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. As Thou has given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou has sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”
2 This is a plain statement of the pre-existence of Christ. Had He not had an existence before He assumed human nature, how could He possess glory with the Father before the world was? This is a grand theme for all to contemplate who are searching for truth. The Holy Spirit will be beside all such, to present to them the glory of this wonderful truth. O, that the human mind might be strengthened that it might comprehend the glory of the Redeemer!
3 Christ is not praying for the manifestation of the glory of human nature; for that human nature never had an existence in His pre-existence. He is praying to His Father in regard to a glory possessed in His oneness with God. His prayer is that of a mediator; the favor He entreats is the manifestation of that divine glory which was possessed by Him when He was one with God. Let the vail be removed, He says, and let My glory shine forth,—the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.
4 Christ defines the manner in which He has glorified the Father: “I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee.”
5 How did the Father answer Christ’s prayer?
6 For a period of time Christ was on probation. He took humanity on Himself, to stand the test and trial which the first Adam failed to endure. Had He failed in His test and trial, He would have been disobedient to the voice of God, and the world would have been lost.
7 Satan has asserted that men could not keep the commandments of God. To prove that they could, Christ became a man, and lived a life of perfect obedience, an evidence to sinful human beings, to the worlds unfallen, and to the heavenly angels, that man could keep God’s law through the divine power that is abundantly provided for all that believe. In order to reveal God to the world, to demonstrate as true that which Satan has denied, Christ volunteered to take humanity, and in His power, humanity can obey God. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” All heaven is Christ’s to give to the world.
8 Christ emptied Himself of His honored position in the heavenly courts. He became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was, as we are, subject to the enemy’s temptations. Satan exulted when Christ became a human being, and he compassed His path with every conceivable temptation. Human weakness and tears were His portion; but He sought unto God, praying with His whole soul, with strong crying and tears; and He was heard in that He feared. The subtlety of the enemy could not ensnare Him while He made God His trust, and was obedient to His words. “The prince of this world cometh,” He said, “and hath nothing in Me.” He can find nothing in Me which responds to his sophistry.
9 Amid impurity, Christ maintained His purity. Satan could not stain or corrupt it. His character revealed a perfect hatred for sin. It was His holiness that stirred against Him all the passion of a profligate world; for by His perfect life He threw upon the world a perpetual reproach, and made manifest the contrast between transgression and the pure, spotless righteousness of One that knew no sin. This heavenly purity annoyed the apostate foe as nothing else could do, and he followed Christ day by day, using in his work the people that claimed to have a superior purity and knowledge of God, putting into their hearts a spirit of hatred against Christ, and tempting His disciples to betray and forsake Him.
10 Christ was buffeted with temptations, and convulsed with agony. He was lacerated with stripes, crowned with thorns, and crucified. The fallen foe, once exalted to heaven, bruised Christ’s heel, but this was all he could do. While engaged in doing despite to Christ, his head was being bruised. While enduring the contradiction of sinners against Himself, Christ was filled with sorrow and anguish. This was represented as the bruising of His heel. A pain, heavier than ever oppressed another, was weighing down His humanity.
11 But although Christ’s divine glory was for a time veiled and eclipsed by His assuming humanity, yet He did not cease to be God when He became man. The human did not take the place of the divine, nor the divine of the human. This is the mystery of godliness. The two expressions human and divine were, in Christ, closely and inseparably one, and yet they had a distinct individuality. Though Christ humbled Himself to become man, the Godhead was still His own. His Deity could not be lost while He stood faithful and true to His loyalty. Surrounded with sorrow, suffering, and moral pollution, despised and rejected by the people to whom had been intrusted the oracles of heaven, Jesus could yet speak of Himself as the Son of man in heaven. He was ready to take once more His divine glory when His work on earth was done.
12 There were occasions when Jesus stood forth while in human flesh as the Son of God. Divinity flashed through humanity, and was seen by the scoffing priests and rulers. Was it acknowledged? Some acknowledged that He was the Christ, but the larger portion of those who upon these special occasions were forced to see that He was the Son of God, refused to receive Him. Their blindness corresponded to their determined resistance of conviction.
13 When Christ’s indwelling glory flashed forth, it was too intense for His pure and perfect humanity entirely to conceal. The scribes and Pharisees did not speak in acknowledgment of Him, but their enmity and hatred were baffled as His majesty shone forth. The truth, obscured as it was by a vail of humiliation, spoke to every heart with unmistakable evidence. This led to the words of Christ, “Ye know who I am.” Men and devils were compelled, by the shining forth of His glory, to confess, “Truly, this is the Son of God.” Thus God was revealed: thus Christ was glorified.
14 By raising Christ from the dead, the Father glorified His Son before the Roman guard, before the Satanic host, and before the heavenly universe. A mighty angel, clothed with the panoply of heaven, descended, scattering the darkness from his track, and, breaking the Roman seal, rolled back the stone from the sepulcher as if it had been a pebble, undoing in a moment the work that the enemy had done. The voice of God was heard, calling Christ from His prison-house. The Roman guard saw heavenly angels falling in reverence before Him whom they had crucified, and He proclaimed above the rent sepulcher of Joseph, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Can we be surprised that the soldiers fell as dead men to the earth?
15 Christ’s ascension to heaven, amid a cloud of heavenly angels, glorified Him. His concealed glory shone forth with all the brightness that mortal man could endure and live. He came to our world as a man; He ascended to His heavenly home as God. His human life was full of sorrow and grief, because of His cruel rejection by those He came to save; but men were permitted to see Him strengthened, to behold Him ascending in glory and triumph, surrounded by a convoy of angels. The same holy beings that announced His advent to the world were permitted to attend Him at His ascension, and to demand a triumphal entrance for the royal and glorified Being. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates,” they cry as they near the heavenly portals; “and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” The angels at the gates respond in lofty strain, “Who is this King of glory?” And from thousands and ten thousands of voices the answer comes: “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” Again the angels at the gates cry, “Who is this King of glory?” and again the response swells triumphantly upward, “The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.”
16 Thus the prayer of Christ was answered. He was glorified with the glory which He had with His Father before the world was. But amid this glory, Christ does not lose sight of His toiling, struggling ones upon earth. He has a request to make of His Father. He waves back the heavenly host until He is in the direct presence of Jehovah, and then He presents His petition in behalf of His chosen ones.
17 Father,” He says, “I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.” And then the Father declares, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” The heavenly host prostrate themselves before Him, and raise their song of triumph and joy. Glory encircles the King of heaven, and was beheld by all the heavenly intelligences. No words can describe the scene which took place as the Son of God was publicly reinstated in the place of honor and glory which He voluntarily left when He became a man.
18 And today Christ, glorified, and yet our Brother is our Advocate in the courts of heaven. “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” “We have not an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” “For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 912
1 Nevertheless I tell you the truth,” said Christ to His disciples; “it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. . . . When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you in all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.”
2 Christ’s triumphant ascension to heaven was the signal that His followers were to receive the promised blessing. For this they were to wait before they entered upon their work without the visible presence of their beloved Teacher. While He was yet with them, He commanded that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, “which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
3 When Christ entered within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned, amid the songs of millions of angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon His followers in rich currents according to Christ’s promise, and they were no more orphans. How quickly Christ fulfilled His promise, and sent from the heavenly courts the guarantee of His love! After His inauguration, the Spirit came and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had from all eternity with the Father. During His humiliation upon this earth, the Spirit had not descended with all its efficacy; and Christ declared that if He went not away, it would not come, but that if He went away, He would send it. It was a representation of Himself, and after He was glorified it was manifest.
4 Then the people beheld the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. How glorious did the Saviour appear, in the eyes of the awe-stricken multitude, invested with the robes of divinity! O, if He would only visit them again in human form, how gladly would they receive Him! How did Peter look upon his denial of Christ in the hour of temptation, as with his brethren, he endured the seeing of Him who is invisible? He longed to witness to Christ’s divinity and glory. And he was given opportunity.
5 “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” “Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and harken to my words. . . . Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know; Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. . . . This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. . . . Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
6 This chapter is full of interest to all who love the Lord. Divine power was arrayed on the side of redemption. See the people coming in from all directions to hear the apostle witness to the truth as it is in Jesus. They press in, crowding the temple. Priests and rulers are present, the dark scowl of malignity still on their faces; their hearts still full of the spirit of abiding hatred toward Christ; their hands not cleansed from the blood they had shed when they crucified the world’s Redeemer. They thought to find the apostles cowed with fear, because the strong hand of oppression and murder had testified of their purpose. But mark how intently they gaze, how earnestly they listen, as if spellbound. They find the apostles, instead of being sad, disheartened, and discouraged, ready to yield up their faith in Christ, full of courage, proclaiming, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the divinity of Christ. They hear them declare with boldness that the Man recently humiliated, spit upon, derided, smitten by cruel hands, crowned with thorns, and crucified, is the Prince of Life, and that He is now sitting at the right hand of God.
7 Those who listened to the disciples had taken an active part in the death of Christ. Their voices had mingled with the rabble throng in His rejection. When Jesus and Barabbas stood before them in the judgment hall, and Pilate asked, “Whom will ye that I release unto you?” they shouted, “Release unto us Barabbas.” “What shall I do then with Jesus?” “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” They choose a robber, a murderer, rather than the Son of God. Pilate delivered Christ to them, saying: I find no fault in this Man. Take ye Him and crucify Him. I wash my hands, as innocent of His blood. Then there arose, like the bellowing of wild beasts, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” The deed was done; Christ was crucified.
8 Now these people hear the disciples declaring that it was the Son of God they had crucified. Priests and rulers trembled. Conviction and anguish seized the heart of the people. “They were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. . . . Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
9 Now the disciples understood the words spoken by Christ when He was yet with them, “At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.”
10 “Ye shall receive power,” Christ had said, “after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” By the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were qualified for the very work Christ had given them to do,—the work of gathering in the harvest. The great Teacher came to sow the world with truth; and after His ascension, the harvest revealed the power of His teaching.
11 Today, as in the days of the apostles, these rich promises, the inexhaustible supplies of heaven, are at the command of every soul that is united with Christ. He pitied poor sinners so much that He left the courts of heaven and laid aside His robes of royalty, humiliating Himself to humanity, that He might become acquainted with the needs of men, and help them to rise above the degradation of the fall. He bound Himself closely to the Father, that He might bring their united strength to bear upon the souls of men, and save them from eternal ruin. In like manner should His servants cultivate spirituality, if they hope to succeed in their work.
12 The Holy Spirit, sent from heaven by the benevolence of infinite love, takes the things of God, and reveals them to every soul that has an implicit faith in Christ. By its power the vital truths, upon which the salvation of the soul depends, are impressed upon the minds of men, and the way of life is made so plain and clear that those who are ignorant, who have not had the advantage of great learning, need not err therein. Faith is simple; it means no more nor less than belief in the Word of the infinite God. Believing, all may have life through His name. When the Jews asked, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” the answer came from the lips of One that never lies, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.
13 The principles of divine truth, received and cherished in the heart, will carry us to a height of moral excellence that we had not deemed it possible for us to reach. Belief in Christ makes it possible for each one to be an overcomer. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 913
1 “Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This Man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them , doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
2 The scribes and Pharisees prided themselves upon the idea that they were God’s chosen people, and they were filled with self-righteousness. “Christ came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” He did not flatter the Pharisees or exalt them in any way. He received the publicans and sinners whom the Jews heartily despised, and because His lessons of humility, compassion, and love rebuked their selfishness and pride, they would none of Him, but turned from Him in scorn. They made great ostentation, wore long robes, and stood praying on the corners of the streets, but none of these pretensions to piety awed the great Teacher or drew from Him one word of approval. They flattered themselves, but He did not flatter them. The teaching of Christ was against all vanity and pride, for these were abhorrent to the Most High. It is the humble and the contrite whose prayers are heard in heaven. The Lord declares that He knoweth the proud afar off. He says, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.”
3 When the scribes and Pharisees saw the publicans and sinners following Christ and listening with living interest to His teaching, they could not tolerate either Teacher or listeners. They hated Christ, and said, “This Man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” By this accusation they thought to make the false impression that Jesus loved the association of those who were sinful and defiled, and was insensible to their wickedness. To this reproach Jesus replied by the parable of the lost sheep. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
4 The parable of the lost sheep places man in the position of one who is helpless and undone. All are lost unless they are transformed in character.
5 The lost condition of the sheep necessitates the coming of the True Shepherd, that, at any cost to Himself, He may seek and save those that are perishing. Those who are wise in their own conceit do not realize the position in which they are placed by this parable. The Son of man came to seek and to save that which is lost. Doth not the shepherd leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it?
6 In giving His only-begotten Son to save us, the Lord God shows what is the estimate He puts upon man. To the question, What is the price of the soul of man? the answer is, The life of the only-begotten Son of God. And as Christ came to save man, high or low, rich or poor, white or black, are any, to be treated with contempt? Satan has studied to lay in ruins the image of God, and through intemperance and sin obliterate all trace of His character in man. Christ came, clothing His Divinity with humanity, that He might meet humanity and not extinguish humanity by Divinity. He came to save the lost sheep, and became a servant in lowly ministry to lift up the lowly.
7 The science of salvation is a grand theme, and all the glory of restoring the image of God in man is to be laid at the feet of the Eternal. Holy angels have left the royal courts, and have come down to earth to encamp in the valleys in chariots of fire, a vast army, not do despise, not to rule, or require man to worship them, but to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation. Could human eyes be opened they would see in times of danger when Satan goes forth as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, that heavenly beings encamp round the little flock who love and fear God.
8 The heavenly Shepherd left the ninety and nine to seek the lost one. However dark the night, however, severe the tempest, the Shepherd goes forth, at every step calling by name His lost sheep, until He hears its terrified, faint, and dying cry. Then He hunts amid the dangerous places, crosses the tangled briers, and finds His sheep. He rescues it from peril, places it on His shoulder, and with rejoicing returns to the fold. At every step He cries, “Rejoice with Me; for I have found My sheep which was lost.” “And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, “Rejoice with Me’ for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
9 Could we see the heavenly angels watching with intense interest the steps of the Shepherd as He goes into the desert to seek and to save the lost, what wonder would fill our hearts! “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons [in their own estimation], which need no repentance.” It is he who is sick who feels the need of a physician, and the mission of Christ to the world was to seek and save those who were perishing. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 914
1 Christ is the great Missionary to the poor, the sick, and the suffering. “The poor have the Gospel preached unto them,” He declared. The King of heaven, He could have lived among the wealthiest, but He chose poverty, honoring it by making it His lot, redeeming it from its humiliation by consecrating Himself to a life of poverty, stripping from it forever the reproach of scorn by blessing the poor, the inheritors of God’s kingdom. Poverty with Christ is wealth of the highest value. Such poverty is sanctified and blessed.
2 Poverty abounds in this world; and why?—Because of selfishness. Many are made poor by the dishonest stewardship of those who are trading on their Lord’s goods. Today, crime of every kind is practised in order to obtain money. Selfishness, deceit, robbery, and bloodshed are making this world a veritable Sodom, and its inhabitants as the inhabitants of the antediluvian world. In the greed for possession, God’s law is transgressed. But retribution will overtake the wrong-doers. Riches can not save one soul from death. He who gives himself up to work the works of Satan creates a force of evil that he can not repress.
3 There is a false religion, endangering the souls of all who advance it, which teaches that selfish pleasure and enjoyment is the sum of happiness. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus shows us that this is false. It was the rich man’s duty to help Lazarus by giving of his abundance. But he refused to do this, and gave himself up to intemperate, luxurious living. There came a time when the rich man would have given all he possessed to exchange places with Lazarus, once poor and covered with sores. He fell sick, and during his sickness he learned what suffering meant. He is represented as calling constantly upon Lazarus to relieve him in his burning fever. But he had no knowledge of God, and Abraham is represented as answering, “Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you can not; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.”
4 Christ took His position with the poor, that He might lift from poverty the stigma that the world has attached to it. He knows the danger of the love of riches. He knows that this love proves the ruin of many souls. It places those who are rich where they indulge every wish for grandeur. It develops the weakness of humanity, and shows that, notwithstanding their abundance, many of the rich are not rich toward God. The man possessing houses and lands, uplifted and deceived by the respect paid to him, looks down upon the poor man, who, nevertheless, may possess virtues that the rich man does not. When weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, the selfish, covetous rich man will be found wanting, while the poor man who has depended only upon God for his goodness, will be pronounced heir to eternal riches.
5 God has made the rich man His steward, and if he walks in Christ’s steps, maintaining a humble, godly life, he will become meek and lowly in heart. He will realize that his possessions are only lent treasures, and will feel that a sacred trust has been committed to him to help the needy and suffering. This work will bring its reward in rich treasures laid up beside the throne of God. Thus the rich man may make a success of life, as a faithful steward of his Lord’s goods.
6 All suffering is not the result of a perverted life. Job is brought before us as a man whom the Lord permitted Satan to afflict. The enemy stripped him of all he possessed; his family ties were broken; his children were taken from him. For a time his body was covered with loathsome sores, and he suffered greatly. His friends tried to make him see that he was responsible, by his sinful course, for all his afflictions. But he denied the charge, declaring, “Miserable comforters are ye all.” By seeking to prove Job guilty before God, and deserving of punishment, his friends brought a grievous test upon him, and placed God in a false light; but Job did not swerve from his loyalty, and God rewarded his faithful servant.
7 There is a connection between the religion of Christ and poverty. Christianity is the solace of the poor. Christ has ever been the poor man’s Friend. In His humanity there are golden threads that bind the believing, trusting poor to His own soul of infinite love. He is the Great Physician, the mighty Healer of all diseases. While in our world, He bore our infirmities and carried our sorrows. He was poor, yet He was the source of all goodness, all blessings. He is a reservoir of power to all who consecrate themselves to the work He came to do.
8 Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, possessed heaven’s activity, heaven’s ambition. He longed to extend His kingdom to all parts of the world. He endured the agony of the cross to accomplish this work, cheered by the prospect of a universal triumph. In dying for the sinful race, He destroyed him who had the power of death. The blood of the cross sealed the irrevocable covenant which ensures to our Redeemer the heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.
9 Christians have a sacred duty to perform in carrying forward the work that Christ came to accomplish. He declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” He longs to have men and women cooperate with Him. They may be ignorant, but if they are meek and lowly, He will make them vessels fit for the Master’s use. They will be whole-hearted, sincere disciples, who can comprehend God’s great design in favor of a perishing race.
10 The Lord calls for volunteers who will be self-denying, who will endure hardness as good soldiers of the cross of Christ. He calls for workers who are willing to be laborers together with Him. We can do much to help the poor and brighten their lives, if we will but realize it. Those who work with unselfish hearts, who share Christ’s sympathies, who strive earnestly to fulfil His purpose for humanity, will help to swell the tide of His joy, and will give honor, majesty, and praise to His name.
11 The last great battle in behalf of truth and righteousness is to be fought, and God would have His soldiers go forth in faith. Christians, do you discern the signs of the times? Can you, with humble tread, put your feet in the footsteps of your Redeemer? Can you give yourselves heartily to a good work, a perilous undertaking? Verily, the Lord has need of armies of workers, and some of the most precious souls will be found in the pit of degradation. God calls upon us to work for this class. Do not lose your purity because you are among the impure, but “building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference; and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 915
1 “And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” “For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new testament, that by means of death . . . they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
2 Jesus is our Advocate, our High Priest, our Intercessor. Our position is like that of the Israelites on the day of Atonement. When the high priest entered the most holy place, representing the place where our High Priest is now pleading, and sprinkled the atoning blood upon the mercy seat, no propitiatory sacrifices were offered without. While the priest was interceding with God, every heart was to be bowed in contrition, pleading for the pardon of transgression.
3 Type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb slain for the sins of the world. Our great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that is of any value in our salvation. When he offered Himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people. We are now standing in the outer court, waiting and looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. No sacrifices are to be offered without, for the great High Priest is performing His work in the most holy place. In His intercession as our advocate, Christ needs no man’s virtue, no man’s intercession. He is the only sin-bearer, the only sin-offering. Prayer and confession are to be offered only to Him who has entered once for all into the most holy place. He will save to the uttermost all who come to Him in faith. He ever liveth to make intercession for us.
4 This makes of no avail the offering of the mass, one of the falsehoods of Romanism. The incense that is now offered by men, the masses that are said for the deliverance of souls from purgatory, are not of the least value in God’s sight. All the altars, sacrifices, traditions, and inventions, whereby men hope to earn salvation, are fallacious.
5 Priests and rulers have no right to interpose between Christ and the souls for whom He has died, as though invested with the Saviour’s attributes, and able to pardon sin. They are themselves sinners, and are only human. One day they will see that their deceptive doctrines have led to crime of every stripe and type. They are responsible for many terrible wrongs which men have perpetrated upon their fellowmen. Martyrs have been tortured and put to death by men instigated by Satan to perform wicked deeds. These things have been done under the rule of the man of sin, who has placed himself as God, sitting in the temple of God, and taking upon himself the prerogatives of God, that he may carry out his own schemes. The Judge of the whole earth will call those who have done those deeds to account. The case of every soul that has been imprisoned, every human being that has been tortured, has been noted by the recording angel.
6 “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, He hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.”
7 The mightiest human being, whatever may be his claim, is not infinite. He can not understand infinity. Christ plainly stated, “No man knoweth the Father but the Son.” A teacher was once endeavoring to present the exaltation of God, when a voice was heard saying, “We can not as yet understand who He is.” The teacher nobly replied, “Were I able fully to set forth God, I should either be a god myself, or God Himself would cease to be God.” The mightiest created intellect can not comprehend God; words from the most eloquent tongue fail to describe Him; in His presence silence is eloquence.
8 Christ represented the Father to the world, and He represents before God the chosen ones in whom He has restored the moral image of God. They are His heritage. To them He says, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” No man “knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.” No priest, no religionist, can reveal the Father to any son or daughter of Adam. Men have only one Advocate, one Intercessor, who is able to pardon transgression. Shall not our hearts swell with gratitude to Him who gave Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins? Think deeply upon the love that the Father has manifested in our behalf, the love that He has expressed for us. We can not measure this love; for measurement there is none. Can we measure infinity? We can only point to Calvary, to the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned; . . . Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.”
10 “For their sakes,” Christ prayed, “I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, . . . that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me. . . . Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee; but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
11 Thus the great Intercessor presents His petition to the Father. No middle-man comes between the sinner and Christ. No dead prophet, no buried saint is seen. Christ Himself is our Advocate. All that the Father is to His Son He is to those whom His Son in humanity represented. In every line of His work Christ acted as a representative of the Father. He lived as our substitute and surety. He labored as He would have His followers labor, unselfishly, appreciating the value of every human being for whom He suffered and died.
12 The promise of the Father was pledged that if Christ clothed His divinity with humanity, if He endured the test that Adam failed to endure, His obedience would be counted as righteousness to His people. Thus He would conquer in their behalf, and place them on vantage ground. Thus they would be given a probation in which they might return to their loyalty by keeping God’s law. And in this Christ would see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 916
1 The greatest and most favored nation upon the earth is the United States. A gracious Providence has shielded this country, and poured upon her the choicest of Heaven’s blessings. Here the persecuted and oppressed have found refuge. Here the Christian faith in its purity has been taught. This people have been the recipients of great light and unrivaled mercies. But these gifts have been repaid by ingratitude and forgetfulness of God. The Infinite One keeps a reckoning with the nations, and their guilt is proportioned to the light rejected. A fearful record now stands in the register of heaven against our land; but the crime which shall fill up the measure of her iniquity is that of making void the law of God.
2 Between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah will come the last great conflict of the controversy between truth and error. Upon this battle we are now entering,—a battle not between rival churches contending for the supremacy, but between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition. The agencies which will unite against truth and righteousness in this contest are now actively at work.
3 God’s Holy Word, which has been handed down to us at such a cost of suffering and blood, is but little valued. The Bible is within the reach of all, but there are few who really accept it as the guide of life. Infidelity prevails to an alarming extent, not in the world merely, but in the church. Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, and the perpetuity of the law of God, are practically rejected by a large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible, and a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures, and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths. Many ministers are teaching their people, and many professors and teachers are instructing their students, that the law of God has been changed or abrogated; and they ridicule those who are so simple-minded as to acknowledge all its claims.
4 In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law of God, they deny the authority of the Lawgiver. It is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. Satan leads men to conceive of God in a false character, as having attributes which He does not possess. A philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the true God, as He is revealed in His Word, in Christ, and in the works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature, while they deny the God of nature. Tho in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The god of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists, the god of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions, is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia.
5 No error accepted by the Christian world strikes more boldly against the authority of Heaven, none is more directly opposed to the dictates of reason, none is more pernicious in its results, than the modern doctrine, so rapidly gaining ground, that God’s law is no longer obligatory upon men. Every nation has its laws, which command respect and obedience; and has the Creator of the heavens and the earth no law to govern the beings He has made? Suppose that prominent ministers were publicly to teach that the statutes which govern our nation and protect the rights of its citizens were not obligatory,—that they restricted the liberties of the people, and therefore ought not to be obeyed; how long would such men be tolerated in the pulpit? But is it a graver offense to disregard the laws of States and nations than to trample upon those divine precepts which are the foundation of all government? When the standard of righteousness is set aside, the way is open for the prince of evil to establish his rule in the earth.
6 It would be far more consistent for nations to abolish their statutes, and permit the people to do as they please, then for the Ruler of the universe to annul His law, and leave the world without a standard to condemn the guilty or justify the obedient. Would we know the result of making void the law of God? The experiment has been tried. Terrible were the scenes enacted in France when atheism became the controlling power. It was then demonstrated to the world that to throw off the restraints which God has imposed is to accept the rule of the cruelest of tyrants.
7 Wherever the divine precepts are set aside, sin ceases to appear sinful, or righteousness desirable. Those who refuse to submit to the government of God are wholly unfitted to govern themselves. Through their pernicious teachings, the spirit of insubordination is implanted in the hearts of children and youth, who are naturally impatient of control; and a lawless, licentious state of society results. While scoffing at the credulity of those who obey the requirements of God, the multitudes eagerly accept the delusions of Satan. They give the rein to lust, and practice the sins which called down judgments upon the heathen.
8 Let the restraint imposed by the divine law be wholly removed, and human laws would soon be disregarded. Because God forbids dishonest practices,—coveting, lying, and defrauding,—men are ready to trample upon His statutes as a hindrance to their worldly prosperity; but the results of banishing these precepts would be such as they do not anticipate. If the law were not binding, why should any fear to transgress? Property would no longer be safe. Men would obtain their neighbors’ possessions by violence, and the strongest would become richest. Life itself would not be respected. Those who disregard the commandments of God sow disobedience to reap disobedience. The marriage vow would no longer stand as a sacred bulwark to protect the family. He who had the power, would, if he desired, take his neighbor’s wife by violence. The fifth commandment would be set aside with the fourth. Children would not shrink from taking the life of their parents, if by so doing they could obtain the desire of their corrupt hearts. The civilized world would become a horde of robbers and assassins; and peace, rest and happiness would be banished from the earth.
9 Already the doctrine that men are released from obedience to God’s requirements has weakened the force of moral obligation, and opened the flood-gates of iniquity upon the world. Lawlessness, dissipation, and corruption are sweeping in upon us like an overwhelming tide. In the family, Satan is at work. His banner waves, even in professedly Christian households. There is envy, evil surmising, hypocrisy; estrangement, emulation, strife, betrayal of sacred trusts, indulgence of lust. The whole system of religious principles and doctrines, which should form the foundation and framework of social life, seems to be a tottering mass, ready to fall to ruin. The vilest of criminals, when thrown into prison for their offenses, are often made the recipients of gifts and attentions, as if they had attained an enviable distinction. The greatest publicity is given to their character and crimes. The papers publish the revolting details of vice, thus initiating others into the practise of fraud, robbery, and murder; and Satan exults in the success of his hellish schemes. The infatuation of vice, the wanton taking of life, the terrible increase of intemperance and iniquity of every order and degree, should arouse all who fear God to inquire what can be done to stay the tide of evil.
10 Courts of justice are corrupt. Rulers are actuated by desire for gain, and love of sensual pleasure. Intemperance has beclouded the faculties of many, so that Satan has almost complete control of them. Jurists are perverted, bribed, deluded. Drunkenness and revelry, passion envy, dishonesty of every sort, are represented among those who administer the laws. “Justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.”
11 Our land is in jeopardy. The time is drawing on when its legislators shall so abjure the principles of Protestantism as to give countenance to Romish apostasy. The people for whom God has so marvelously wrought, strengthening them to throw off the galling yoke of popery, will, by a national act, give vigor to the corrupt faith of Rome, and thus arouse the tyranny which only waits for a touch to start again into cruelty and despotism. With rapid steps are we already approaching this period. When Protestant churches shall seek the support of the secular power, thus following the example of that apostate church, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will there be a national apostasy which will end only in national ruin.
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Page 917
1 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” The more we study the subject of the redemption of the human race, the greater depths we find, and there, as we think of the Redeemer’s glory, are depths we can not reach. It is the glory of the Prince of Life, and the mightiest powers of man can not fully comprehend it. The angels themselves desire to look into this mysterious and wonderful theme. Writing by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the apostle Peter says: “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you; searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”
2 It was in order that the heavenly universe might see the conditions of the covenant of redemption that Christ bore the penalty in behalf of the human race. The throne of Justice must be eternally and forever made secure, even tho the race be wiped out, and another creation populate the earth. By the sacrifice Christ was about to make, all doubts would be forever settled, and the human race would be saved if they would return to their allegiance. Christ alone could restore honor to God’s government. The cross of Calvary would be looked upon by the unfallen worlds, by the heavenly universe, by Satanic agencies, by the fallen race, and every mouth would be stopped. In making His infinite sacrifice Christ would exalt and honor the law. He would make known the exalted character of God’s government, which could not in any way be changed to meet man in his sinful condition.
3 Who is able to describe the last scenes of Christ’s life on earth, His trial in the judgment hall, His crucifixion? Who witnessed these scenes?—The heavenly universe, God the Father, Satan and his angels. Wonderful events took place in the betrayal of Christ. At His mock trial, His accusers found nothing by which He could be proved guilty. Three times Pilate declared, “I find no fault in Him at all.” Nevertheless he ordered Him to be scourged, and then delivered Him up to suffer the most cruel death that could be devised.
4 “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief; when Thou shall make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” It pleased God to bruise His only-begotten Son, to suffer temptation to come to Him, to permit Satan to develop his attributes and the principles of his government. The enmity of the apostate against the Commander of all heaven must be seen. It must be shown that Satan’s mercy is cruelty. What a battle was this, between Christ and Satan! It was waged up to the very time of the resurrection, yea, up to the time of the ascension. Then it was transferred to Christ’s followers, and today Satan wars against them.
5 During His lifetime Christ’s spirit was grieved because His own nation looked upon Him as a root out of dry ground, having no form or comeliness that they should desire Him. He longed for careworn, oppressed, weary human beings to come to Him, that He might give them the light and life and joy that are only to be found in Him. The veriest sinners were the objects of His deep, earnest interest, pity, and love. But when in the greatest need of human sympathy, in the hour of His trial and temptation, even the most promising of His disciples forsook Him. He was indeed compelled to tread the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with Him. An atmosphere of apostasy surrounded Him. On every side could be heard sounds of mockery, taunting, and blasphemy. Satanic agencies full of animosity strove to inspire the human family with deadly animosity against the law of Jehovah; and in his enmity the apostate was joined by the professed worshipers of God, for whom Christ had done so much.
6 The Lord of hosts suffered with His Son, but He did not abate one jot of the penalty. The world’s Redeemer heard the people taking the oath of allegiance to a rival sovereign. He heard them divorcing themselves from God, refusing to obey His rule, saying, “We have no king but Caesar.” As He hung on the cross, He heard them say tauntingly, “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of God.”
7 The Lord permits men to go to a certain length in sin, and then, as in the destruction of the old world, He will arise and punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will disclose her blood, and no more cover her slain.
8 “Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at Thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; so shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”
9 Thus it was. The terrible scenes of the crucifixion revealed what humanity will do when under Satan’s control. They revealed what the outcome would be if Satan was to control the world. Those who witnessed these scenes never lost the impressions made upon their minds. Many were converted, and told others of the awful scene they beheld. Many who heard the report of Christ’s death were converted, and commenced searching the Scriptures. Thus were fulfilled the words, “So shall He sprinkle many nations.”
10 “Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent; in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar; and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.”
11 Christ was this Branch, the highest branch of the highest cedar. He was the plant of the Lord’s setting. “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.” Christ’s every act was acceptable to the Father. God loved His Son in His humiliation. He loved Him most when the penalty for the transgression of His law fell on Him.
12 Christ was the Majesty of heaven, the Commander of the heavenly hosts. But He put off His crown, and divested Himself of His royal robe, to take upon Him human nature, that humanity might touch humanity. As the world’s Redeemer, He passed through all the experiences through which we must pass. He found Himself in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself to do the greatest work that could be done for the human race. A beam of righteousness from heaven shone amid the moral darkness of this earth, to enlighten every man that cometh into the world.
13 Christ suffered in man’s stead, giving His life for the life of the world. All who repent and turn to Him are His heritage. His death proved God’s administration and government to be without a flaw. Satan’s charge in regard to the conflicting attributes of justice and mercy was forever settled beyond question. Every voice in heaven and out of heaven will one day testify to the justice, mercy, and love of God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 918
1 There are many who have received the idea that the Jewish age was one of darkness, superstition, and ignorance, that repentance and faith and divine enlightenment were reserved for the Gospel dispensation, that these had no part in the Hebrew religion, which, they claim, consisted only in forms and ceremonies. A greater deception than this could not exist. The Hebrew nation was taken into close relation to God, as a peculiar people, a holy nation. The Lord gave to Israel evidences of His presence, that they might fear His name and obey His voice, and that they might know that He was leading them to the promised land. The power of God, which was revealed in so remarkable a manner in their deliverance from Egypt, was seen from time to time through all their journeyings.
2 And in these manifestations and revelations God was uplifting Israel from a demoralized condition. Great changes were to be wrought in this disorganized people; for oppression and servitude and idolatrous association had molded their habits, their appetites, and their characters.
3 The Lord had promised Israel that if they would obey His commandments, He would supply their necessities by His miraculous power. But the Hebrews were not willing to submit to the directions and restrictions of the Lord. They wanted their own way. They desired to follow the leadings of their own minds and be controlled by their own judgment.
4 The Lord heard their murmurings, and the divine presence was revealed in so remarkable a manner that they were afraid. A voice was heard from the glory, bidding Moses and Aaron draw near to the cloudy pillar where Christ was enshrouded. And the Lord talked with Moses and Aaron, and the Israelites heard His voice telling them that He had heard their murmurings. They heard Him promise that they should have what their appetites craved,—bread in the morning, and flesh in the evening. In all His dealings with them, God was seeking to teach His people that it was not Moses with whom they were finding fault, but that their murmurings were directed against their divine Leader.
5 The Christian world, who today look upon the Jewish nation as under the curse of God, should inquire, Why did the Lord let His judgments fall upon Israel in so signal a manner?—It was because they had rejected the great light given to them since the day of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. It was because God revealed to them His will by prophets and by holy men, and they walked in their own ways.
6 Their calamities did not come because they kept the law of God, but because they disregarded that law. God had told them that if they did not obey His commandments, He could not keep His covenant with them. The history of the Israelites is portrayed for our warning. They had great light and exalted privileges; yet they did not live up to that light nor appreciate their advantages, and their light became darkness. They walked in the light of their own eyes, instead of following the leadings of God. Their history is given for the benefit of those who live in these last days, that we may avoid following the same example of unbelief. The apostle Paul says: “We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him?”
7 In these last days God has brought to His people a knowledge of His law. A flood of light has been poured upon the New Testament, revealing the truths of the Old. God has brought out from the world and from the church a people whom He has made the depositaries of His law. They are to teach that that law must be obeyed if men would enter into life. To those who keep His commandments He will be a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, to lighten and lead the way in the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in.
8 In keeping the commandments, we have the assurance that there is great reward, and no earthly consideration should induce Christians to refuse to lift the cross in keeping all of God’s commandments. Riches, ease, pleasure, ambition, and worldly honors are as dross that will perish in the fires of the last days. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Better far obtain a knowledge of God’s will through an understanding of His word than have the praise of men and the honor of the world.
9 There is a great similarity between our history and that of the children of Israel. God led His people from Egypt into the wilderness, where they could keep His law and obey His voice. The Egyptians, who had no regard for the Lord, were encamped close by them; yet what was to the Israelites a great flood of light, illuminating the whole camp, and shedding brightness upon the path before them, was to the hosts of Pharaoh a wall of clouds, making blacker the darkness of the night. To us as a people has been committed the law of God. To those who obey them, the commandments of God are as a pillar of fire, lighting and leading the way to eternal salvation. But to those who disregard them they are as the clouds of night.
10 “Go forward,” God said to Israel, when the flowing waters of the Red Sea blocked their passage as they moved out in the path which Providence had indicated. As they placed their feet in the waters of the sea, they did what the Lord required of them. They did not see what God would do next. They did not see the broad path opened for them by the power of God until they manifested their faith by moving forward. And then God’s power was revealed. The waters on either side were piled up like a wall, leaving an open path before them.
11 The voice of God bidding His faithful ones go forward, frequently tries their faith to the uttermost; but we must not seek for some object upon which to hang our doubts and unbelief. If we wait until every shadow of uncertainty is removed, we shall never plant our feet upon the platform of eternal truth. Those who will not follow the light because some things are not entirely clear to their understanding, will never believe the truth. Faith is not certainty; it is “the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.”
12 God will do marvelous things for those who trust in Him. It is because His professed people trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf, that they have not more strength. He will help His believing children in every emergency, if they will place their entire confidence in Him. He will work mightily for a faithful people who obey His word without questioning or doubt.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 919
1 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Man is to be perfect in his sphere, even as God is perfect in His sphere. How can such a lofty standard be reached? The required perfection is based on the perfection of Christ, “who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” He gave the command requiring perfection, He who was by birth a human being, though allied to divinity. He has passed over the road we are to tread, and He says, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” But with Him we can do everything. Thus a perfect character can be obtained. God never issues a command without furnishing the grace sufficient for its fulfilment. Ample provision has been made that man shall be a partaker of the divine nature.
2 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” This is the standard God holds before His children. It is a standard of Christlikeness. Christianity means entire surrender to the will of God. Then it can be said of us, “Ye are complete in Him.”
3 When such possibilities are presented to us; when we see that it is our privilege to attain Christian perfection, should we not strive to reach the standard? Should not our one purpose be to appreciate and understand the high honor conferred upon us? Christ has shown us how the heavenly universe values the beings for whom He made so great a sacrifice. Men and women are God’s by creation and by redemption, and those who receive Christ He invests with His strength. They are bound up with Him, and are fully capable of reaching the highest elevation of character.
4 It is the Lord’s will that we should cherish a solemn sense of our accountability to Him, as the owner of the talents He has lent us. He desires us to appreciate His entrusted gifts, doing all in our power to reach the standard He has set before us.
5 In the varied lines of Christ’s work, each part depends on every other part, and the perfection of the work depends on the co-operation of each part. God has made provision for the reciprocal action and the mutual relation of all animated beings. He has arranged that all shall be connected together, and the whole to God. No one can be dropped out of the Lord’s plan without affecting the whole. Nothing is independent of the rest.
6 In creating man, God designed that each human being should be a part of the web of humanity. He pledged Himself to make every provision for the happiness of men and women by making it possible for them to be like Him. It is His purpose that nothing shall be wanting to their happiness if they remain loyal to His commandments. They are the objects of His special love and care, and He would make them consecrated channels through which blessings from His abundant resources shall flow to the world. How important then that each act his part with fidelity, striving with all his power to fulfil God’s purpose for him.
7 Speaking of Christ, John says: “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. . . And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
8 Here we are shown what we may become by looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. If humanity will co-operate with divinity, He who made so great a sacrifice in behalf of the human race will complete that which He has begun. Of Himself man cannot obtain completeness, but every gift of heaven is granted to those who will co-operate with Christ, striving day by day for the mastery over the deceptive temptations of the enemy. By searching, we cannot find out God, but Christ has declared Him. “Show us the Father,” Philip said, and Jesus answered: “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.”
9 Christ came to clothe His people with his righteousness. But they would not receive Him, and with pale and quivering lips and broken utterance He exclaimed, “If thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!” Then came a pause, for the Saviour was reluctant to pronounce the irrevocable sentence—”but now they are hid from thine eyes.” It was with a burst of agony that Christ spoke these words. He was bearing a great burden for the people of His care, but they knew not the time of their visitation. The superhuman agony of the Son of God was keenly felt in the heavenly courts, but those for whom He shed bitter tears knew not their day of grace.
10 This is the great sin of which men and women are guilty today. They appreciate not the blessings and privileges within their reach. “In this thy day.” The day is nearing its close. We are living amid the last scenes of this earth’s history. Can it be that we shall be among the number that Christ mentioned with so much sorrow as He halted on the crest of Olivet? O, that all would know in this their day the things that belong to their peace. Shall Christ say to any one of us, “But now they are hid from thine eyes”? He will be obliged to do so if we fail to show our appreciation of His mercy by doing all in our power to co-operate with Him.
11 When Christ said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,” He had in view purity of purpose and action. It is essential for every soul who desires increased knowledge, to possess this purity. There is great need of purity as well as of knowledge.
12 Perfection can be attained only through the grace given by God. He will be the efficiency of every soul who strives for clear, far-seeing moral faculties. But He requires the co-operation of the human agent. Temperance must be practised in all things, in eating, in drinking, in all the habits of life. Christ said to His disciples, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” He would have us follow Him as tho wholly in earnest. He would have us cultivate a whole-souled earnestness. Some may call this enthusiasm; but if there is any subject in the world worthy of enthusiasm, it is the subject of redemption. We must be heartily enthusiastic over the wonderful work of our salvation. Each one may be so inspired by the life-work of Christ that he will become full of an earnest desire to be a true-hearted Christian. But those who think it will be just as well to be half for Christ and half for the world are under a great deception. They are neither cold nor hot. They are neither successful worldlings nor successful Christians, and Christ says of them: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
13 The Lord calls for sincere, earnest work. Half-heartedness spoils us for both worlds. When weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, those who have done surface work will be found wanting. Without life in Christ there can be no spiritual growth, no real development. We each need to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. We turn our blessings into a curse both to our own souls and to the souls of others when we do not do this.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 920
1 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ knew the motives of His questioner, and He threw upon him the burden of the answer. “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” He asked. The lawyer answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” “Thou hast answered right.” Christ said, “this do, and thou shalt live.” Supreme love to God and love to our neighbor are the great principles of the law. Upon these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Those who keep the first will not transgress the second; for supreme love to God includes all other requirements.
2 It is essential to our eternal well-being to know more of God; for love to God depends on a conception of His goodness. His excellence, and a knowledge of His will. It requires an appreciation of His character. His law is the transcript of His character, and this law He calls upon us to obey. God calls for an entire surrender of the entire being. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” is the first great command, and upon this command depends all the rest. This is the substance of all obedience. Let those who profess to be Christians remember that profession will not save them. The life which Christ alone can give is given upon condition of obedience, an obedience which takes in the whole man,—mind, heart, soul, and strength. This is true sanctification. “This do, and thou shalt live,” is the only genuine definition of sanctification.
3 “Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest-up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”
4 Christ presented the requirements of God’s law with great force and clearness, but many of His hearers turned away, careless and indifferent. And today God’s ministers preach the Word with power sent down from heaven, but on the minds of many no permanent impression is made. The messages given by God are not received and practised. It is not thought necessary to bring the controlling power of God into the daily and hourly transactions of life. God is not known by an experimental knowledge, and therefore He can not encircle them with the realities of the unseen world. The eternal reward of the righteous does not impress their minds. The great day of the Lord, which is right upon us, awakens neither alarm nor rejoicing in their hearts. They have a form of godliness, but not the power of the truth. Wrapped in self, nothing can help them till they realize their true condition.
5 Those who claim to be the children of God, and yet do not obey His commands, who are hearers but not doers of the Word, are regarded by the Lord as bankers regard fraudulent bank-notes. They are not genuine. They claim the name of Christian, but in reality they are heathen. To those who do not practise it, the Word of God is a dead letter. Christ says of such, “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth.” If they realized that they were sinners, He could plead in their behalf, and the Lord would arouse them by His Holy Spirit. But He can not present them to the Father; for they are worse than dead in trespasses and sins. They hear the Word, but make no application of it to themselves. Instead, they apply the Word to their neighbors. God can be no power to lukewarm Laodiceans.
6 Without a working faith it is impossible to please God. Truth may be made ever so clear, it may be urged home ever so strongly; yet if not received by faith, it can not work in the heart. The themes presented may be ever so glorious, yet if not mixed with faith in them that hear, the work of presenting these themes will be labor in vain. The message may be one of hope, which if received would be a savor of life unto life, but if not received and acted upon, it is a savor of death unto death. Until the faith that works by love and purifies the soul opens the door for the heaven-sent blessing, the blessing remains outside. Faith must be exercised if we would keep the great principles of God’s law.
7 It is our duty to use all our powers in an effort to know the Word of God. All our capabilities are to be used in the work of becoming acquainted with Him. We love God with an intensity proportionate to the knowledge we have of His attributes and the value we place on the object of which we are in pursuit. To love God with all the heart is to obey His law with pleasure, to meditate upon the eternal excellence of His character. Such love can never be hidden. Let us study His character in the light of His Word, working as those who realize that they are judgment bound, that they will be called upon to give an account for the words they speak and the attributes of character they possess.
8 Our eternal welfare depends upon our obedience to God, and therefore we should make it our one aim to seek Him most earnestly, that we may gain a knowledge of Him. This is to be our first consideration. All else is to be made secondary to this object. The Word which is our guide declares, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Seeing then that all the powers of mind, soul, and strength are to be given to God, in order that we may use our capabilities to His glory, and in this way increase them, let us search His Word earnestly and diligently to learn our duty to our Creator. Thus we may understand that God makes no requirement without making ample provision for the fulfilment of that requirement. Through the redeeming grace of Christ, man may accomplish everything that God requires of him.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 921
1 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place, and said unto them: Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way; I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many be called, but few chosen.”
2 In this parable Christ employed an illustration with which all were familiar. In Europe this custom still remains. Those desiring to find work wend their way to the market-place, and there stand about, hoping to be employed. And those, also, who are in need of workmen go also to the market-place.
3 This lesson was called forth by the disputing of the disciples as to who should be greatest. It is a continuation of the lesson of the preceding chapter. Here we read that Peter said to Christ: “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed Thee; what shall we have therefore?” And Jesus answered: “Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”
4 Christ gave this lesson to reach down through the ages to our time. He saw that there would come into the church a spirit of self-righteousness, leading men to think that by their works they could earn heaven. In the parable those who were hired first, represent those who bring into their service an envious, self-righteous spirit. Because they had been first in the field, they claimed the preference. “Friend,” answered the master, “I do thee no wrong. In giving thee a penny, I have kept my part of the agreement.”
5 There are those who, whenever they make any advancement, take credit to themselves. If the Lord helps them, they are uplifted by pride, as tho by their own goodness they had advanced. They are eager for flattery, and jealous if they are not placed first. They feel superior to all others. These fail to treat the poor and needy as they should. They act unjustly and unrighteously. Christ does not desire to have them in His service, for they are eager for reward, and think they should receive a compensation for everything they do.
6 God sees not as man sees. Man judges by appearances; the Lord judges the motives. He knows whether sincerity and fidelity are brought into the work. Our Saviour repeatedly declared that the first should be last, and the last first. Unconsciously men act out their true character. Some work in a humble, lowly way, but they are imbued with the Spirit of God, and constantly they do little things to help others. They bring into their service a spirit of self-sacrifice and self-abasement. They long to do more for their Redeemer. These are the ones who will stand first. They think little of what they do, and are astonished to see that the Lord has noticed the kind word spoken to the disheartened, the gift bestowed to relieve the distressed. But the Lord measures the humble, childlike spirit of love and tenderness, in which these acts were performed, and makes the reward proportionate.
7 We should all have respect unto the recompense of reward. But, while we desire earnestly to receive blessing, we must have perfect confidence that Christ will reward all according to their works. Paul kept ever in view the crown of life which was to be given to him, and not to him only, but also to all those who love Christ’s appearing. But it was victory through Jesus Christ that made the crown of life so desirable to him. Jesus would not have us ambitious to obtain reward, but ambitious to do God’s will because it is His will, irrespective of the reward we are to receive.
8 The gift of God is eternal life. The Lord desires all who receive His grace to trust entirely in Him. He calls upon us to exercise pure, simple faith, trusting in Him, without a question as to what recompense we shall receive. We are to work heartily in His service, showing that we have perfect confidence that He will judge righteously.
9 In the account of the judgment scene, when the reward is given to the righteous, and sentence is passed on the wicked, the righteous are represented as wondering what they have done that they should receive such reward. But they cherished an abiding faith in Christ. They were imbued with His Spirit, and, without conscious effort, they performed for Christ, in the person of His saints, those services that bring a sure reward. But their motive in working was not to receive compensation. They regarded it as the highest honor to be allowed to work as Christ worked. What they did was done from love to Christ and to their fellowmen, and He who has identified Himself with suffering humanity accredited these acts of compassion and love as tho done to Himself.
10 Unconsciously those on the left hand, also, act out their proud, selfish spirit. In their lifetime they did not cherish the attributes of sympathy and love. Self was exalted, and the fatherless and widow, in their sorrow and poverty, received only inattention and neglect at their hands. Yet, in the parable, they are represented as asking: “Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?” The answer comes: “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.”
11 Our every endowment, our every talent, we owe to the Lord. Every victory gained is gained through His grace. Therefore, it is entirely out of place for us to boast. “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
12 “Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks; walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of Mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” The slightest degree of self-sufficiency prevents a full appreciation of God’s goodness and mercy. When Ephraim spoke tremblingly, he exalted himself in Israel, but when he offered to Baal, he died. God declares, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit.” The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is in the sight of God of great price.
13 “Many are called,” Christ said, “but few are chosen.” If we would remember that we are on test and trial before the heavenly universe, that God is proving us, to see what spirit we are of, there would be more serious contemplation, more earnest prayer. Those who work in simplicity realize that of himself man can do no good thing. They are full of gratitude and thanksgiving for the privilege of holding communion with God. Interwoven with their service is a principle that makes their gifts and offerings wholly fragrant. They have the same confidence and trust in God that a child has in its earthly father.
14 It is not so much for our activity and zeal that we are rewarded, but for the tenderness, the graciousness, the love that we have mingled with our work for the sick, the oppressed, the afflicted. Those who see the necessities of others, and yet pass by on the other side, too busy to minister to the purchase of Christ’s blood, who are so eager to do great things that they forget the little things, will find themselves last and least when, in the judgment, the settlement is made. Salvation is wholly of grace. Love and humility are the traits of character that give the possessor the first place in the kingdom of God. Actions which express this love and humility call forth from Christ the words: “Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 922
1 In His prayer to His Father Christ said: “I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” When Christ expired on the cross, crying with a loud voice, “It is finished,” His work was completed. The way was laid open, the vail was rent in twain. Man could approach God without sacrificial offerings, without the service of earthly priests. Christ Himself was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Heaven was His home. He came to this world to reveal the Father. His work on the field of His humiliation and conflict was now done. He ascended up into the heavens, and is forever set down on the right hand of God.
2 Christ’s life on this earth had been a life of toil, a busy, earnest life. He rose from the dead, and for forty days remained with His disciples, instructing them preparatory to His departure from them. He was ready for the leavetaking. He had demonstrated the fact that He was a living Saviour; His disciples need no longer associate Him with the tomb of Joseph. They could think of Him as glorified amid the heavenly host. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He said, “ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
3 All heaven waited with eager earnestness for the end of the tarrying of the Son of God in a world all seared and marred with the curse. In proportion to Christ’s humiliation and suffering was to be His exaltation. He became the Saviour, the Redeemer, only by first becoming the Sacrifice. And having magnified the law and made it honorable, by accepting its condition, He hastened to heaven to perfect His work and accomplish His mission by sending the Holy Spirit to His disciples. Thus He would assure His believing ones that He had not forgotten them, tho in the presence of God, where there is fulness of joy forevermore.
4 Christ came to earth as God in the guise of humanity. He ascended to heaven as the King of saints. His ascension was worthy of His exalted character. He ascended from the Mount of Olives in a cloud of angels, who triumphantly escorted Him to the city of God. Not in His own interest did He go, but as the covenant-making Redeemer of His believing sons and daughters, who are made thus through faith in His name. He went as one mighty in battle, a conqueror, leading captivity captive, amid acclamations of praise and celestial song.
5 As He ascended, the challenge was given by the escorting angels: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” Joyfully the waiting sentinels make response, “Who is this King of glory?” This they say, not because they do not know who He is, but because they would hear His praises. The answer comes back: “The Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.”
6 Again the response is heard, “Who is this King of glory?” for the angels never weary of hearing His name exalted. In strains of heavenly music the escorting angels make reply, “The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.” Emmanuel, God with us, “is gone up with a shout; the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.”
7 What a contrast between Christ’s reception on His return to heaven and His reception on this earth! In heaven all was loyalty. There was no sorrow, no suffering, to meet Him at every turn. There were no scowling priests to exercise their ingenuity in finding some word of His which they could misinterpret, and thus gain opportunity to harass, abuse, insult, and deride Him. His entrance to the courts above was not begged; for all heaven was honored by His presence.
8 As He enters heaven, the angels hasten to do Him homage, but He waves them back, and going to His Father makes the plea: “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.” What is the Father’s answer?—”And let all the angels of God worship Him.” The pledge made before the foundation of the world is renewed. Christ’s relation to His Father embraces all who receive Him by faith as their personal Saviour.
9 The time had come for the universe of heaven to accept their King. Angels, cherubim, and seraphim, would now stand in view of the cross. The Father bows His head in recognition of the One of whom the priests and rulers had said, “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him.” The Father accepts His Son. No language could convey the rejoicing of heaven or God’s expression of satisfaction and delight in His only-begotten Son, as He saw the completion of the atonement.
10 Christ said to His disciples: “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” This was the gift of gifts. The Holy Spirit was sent as the most priceless treasure man could receive.
11 The Holy Spirit was to descend on those who love Christ. By this they would be qualified, in and through the glorification of their Head, to receive every endowment necessary for the fulfilling of their mission. The Life-giver held in His hand not only the keys of death, but a whole heaven of rich blessings.
12 All power in heaven and earth was given to Him, and having taken His place in the heavenly courts, He could dispense these blessings to all who received Him. The church was baptized with the Spirit’s power. The disciples were fitted to go forth and proclaim Christ, first in Jerusalem, where the shameful work of dishonoring the rightful King had been done, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. The evidence of the enthronement of Christ in His mediatorial kingdom was given. God testified to the great work of atonement in reconciling the world to Himself, by giving Christ’s followers a true understanding of the kingdom which He was establishing upon the earth, the foundation of which His own hand had laid.
13 The Father gave all honor to His Son, seating Him at His right hand, far above all principalities and power. He expressed His great joy and delight in receiving the Crucified One, and crowning Him with glory and honor. And all the favors He has shown to His Son in His acceptance of the great atonement are shown to His people. Those who have united their interests in love with Christ are accepted in the Beloved. They suffer with Christ, and His glorification is of great interest to them, because they are accepted in Him. God loves them as He loves His Son. Christ, Emmanuel, stands between God and the believer, revealing the glory of God to His chosen ones, and covering their defects and transgressions with the garments of His own spotless righteousness. The seal of heaven has been affixed to Christ’s atonement. His sacrifice is in every way satisfactory. In Him mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. The Father embraced His Son, and in this included all who receive Him. “To them gave He power to become the sons of God.” They are His chosen ones, joint-heirs with Christ in the great firm of heaven. They overcome as He overcame.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 923
1 The future of society is indexed by the youth of today. Is the outlook flattering? Parents are bringing upon the stage of action children who will show in life and character the training they have received. Some will be ruined in one way, and some in another. Mismanagement by parents is swelling the ranks of Satan, and children are being lost to Christ.
2 Home religion is fearfully neglected. Men and women show much interest in foreign missions. They give liberally to them, and thus seek to satisfy their conscience, thinking that giving to the cause of God will atone for their neglect to set a right example in the home. But the home is their special field, and no excuse is accepted by God for neglecting this field. Nothing can counteract the wrong example set by harsh words spoken to wife or children. It is the neglect to cherish rectitude in the home which sends into the world godless children and youth, with warped characters, who unite with evil angels to corrupt others.
3 Do not think that by instructing the poor, or by spending your means in placing youth in schools where they will obtain true knowledge, you can offset the lack of Christian piety in the home. Parents are responsible for the formation of their children’s characters; and if they allow their children to be disobedient, unruly, and unholy, tainting and corrupting others by evil ways, they will be held accountable for the result of their neglect.
4 Nothing that fathers and mothers can do for those afar off will atone for a wrong course of action in the home. God requires parents, by self-control, by an example of solid character-building, to disseminate light within the immediate circle of their own little flock. No trifling, common conversation is to be indulged. God looks into every secret thing of life. By some a constant battle is maintained for self-control. Daily they strive silently and prayerfully against harshness of speech and temper. These strivings may never be appreciated by human beings. They may get no praise from human lips for keeping back the hasty words which sought for utterance. The world will never see these conquests, and if it could, it would only despise the conquerors. But in heaven’s record they are registered as overcomers. There is One who witnesses every secret combat and every silent victory, and He says, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
5 It is a serious solemn work to care for those for whom Christ has died, to teach children not to lavish their affections upon the things of this world, not to waste time and labor on that which is worth less than nothing. In order to educate their children aright, mothers must be learners in the school of Christ. The Christian mother will spend much time in prayer; for she will realize that her children are to be taught to be true to the government of God. With patience and forbearance they are to be trained; scolding and passionate reproof will never work reforms. Fathers and mothers commit a grievous sin when they educate their children to give way to temper by giving way themselves, and by training them according to wrong methods. Children are to be disciplined in a way that will enable them to take their place in the family of heaven.
6 Mothers, deal gently with your little ones. Christ was once a little child. For His sake honor the children. Look upon them as a sacred charge, not to be indulged, petted, and idolized, but to be taught to live pure, noble lives. They are God’s property; He loves them, and calls upon you to co-operate with Him in helping them to form perfect characters. The Lord requires perfection from His redeemed family. He calls for perfection in character-building. Fathers and mothers especially need to understand the best methods of training children, that they may co-operate with God.
7 The Lord has entrusted to parents a solemn, sacred work. They are to cultivate carefully the soil of the heart. Thus they may be laborers together with God. He expects them to guard and tend carefully the garden of their children’s hearts. They are to sow the good seed, weeding out every unsightly plant. Every defect in character, every fault in the disposition, needs to be cut away; for if allowed to remain, these will mar the beauty of the character.
8 Parents, there is a great responsibility resting upon you. The little ones in your arms will soon grow out of babyhood into childhood. Your boys and girls need to be carefully nourished. The best gift you can bestow upon them is the gift of love in their childhood. Give time to them. Give them a place in the home. Do not send them out-of-doors that you may entertain your visitors, but teach them to be quiet and respectful in the presence of visitors. Do not banish them from your presence by harsh words.
9 The little ones must be carefully soothed when in trouble. Children between babyhood and manhood and womanhood do not generally receive the attention they should have. Mothers are needed who will so guide their children that they will regard themselves as a part of the family. Let the mother talk with her children regarding their hopes and their perplexities. Let parents remember that their children are to be cared for in preference to strangers. They are to be kept in a sunny atmosphere, under the mother’s guidance. Be careful that you are not rude to your children, either in speech or in temper. Require obedience, and do not allow yourself to speak carelessly to your children, because your manners and your words are their lesson-book. Help them gently, tenderly, over this period of their life. Let the sunshine of your presence make sunshine in their hearts. These growing boys and girls feel very sensitive, and by roughness you may mar their whole life. Be careful, mothers. Never scold; for that never helps.
10 Firmness is ever to be united with love in the home life. Otherwise love is worthless. It is a sad fact that any weakness or indecision on the part of the mother is quickly seen by the children. Then the tempter works upon their minds, leading them to persist in following their inclinations. If parents would cultivate the qualities necessary for them to use in the proper training of their children, if they would plainly lay before the children the rules they must follow, and not suffer these rules to be broken, the Lord would co-operate with them, and bless both parents and children. But if parents leave their children to do as they please, Satan will lead them where he pleases, and they will become the helpless prey of the powers of darkness.
11 Parents will never arouse to their responsibility of bringing their children up with correct habits, until they are wholly converted to God’s way and will, as was Abraham. Of him God said: “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken of him.” God’s rich promises to Abraham in regard to his posterity were made on condition that Abraham co-operated with Him in the education and training of his household and children. If Abraham chose his own way, following his own impulses, indulging blind affection, the child of promise would develop a character that would not bring honor to God’s name, and God would not be able to use him to carry out His will and way.
12 God chose Abraham because He knew that he would cultivate home religion, and cause the name of the Lord to be revealed, feared, and loved; “I know him,” He said, “that he will command his children and his household after him.” He will not betray sacred trust by yielding to blind affection, which is opposed to the Lord’s discipline.
13 But today the lines are too often placed in the hands of the children, and parents are guided by them. By blind indulgence a door is opened to the tempter.
14 God is our Lawgiver and King, and parents are to place themselves under His rule. This rule forbids all oppression from parents and all disobedience from children. The Lord is full of loving-kindness, mercy, and truth. His law is holy, just, and good, and must be obeyed by parents and children. The rules which should regulate the lives of parents and children flow from a heart of infinite love, and God’s rich blessings will rest upon those parents who administer His law in their homes, and upon the children who obey this law. The combined influence of mercy and justice is to be felt. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Households under this discipline will walk in the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.
15 God has given the very best and wisest laws for the guidance of parents. The holy standard of His law is ever to be exalted in the home; then the way will be prepared for holiness and true religion. The grace of Christ will have a controlling power for good on parents and children.
16 Patiently, lovingly, as faithful stewards of the manifold grace of Christ, parents are to do their appointed work. It is expected of them that they will be found faithful. Everything is to be done in faith. Constantly they must pray that God will impart His grace to their children. Never must they become weary, impatient, or fretful in their work. They must cling closely to their children and to God. As they work in patience and love, earnestly endeavoring to help their children to reach the highest standard of purity and modesty, success will crown their efforts. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 924
1 “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus was called, and His disciples, to the marriage.” Christ was present at the creation of the world, as Commander in the heavenly courts. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life: and the life was the light of men.”
2 Adam was appointed by God to be monarch of the world, under the supervision of the Creator. “God said, Let us make man in Our image, after our likeness, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him.” “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. . . . And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an helpmeet for him. . . . And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.”
3 He who gave Eve to Adam as a helpmeet performed His first miracle at a marriage festival. In the festal hall, where friends and relatives rejoiced together, Christ commenced His public ministry.
4 By His presence at this gathering our Saviour sanctioned marriage, recognizing it as an institution He Himself had established. In the beginning, when the Sabbath law was given, the marriage law was also given. It was then that God bestowed on man His two great gifts,—the Sabbath as a day of rest, and woman as a helpmeet.
5 Marriage has received Christ’s blessing, and is to be regarded as a sacred institution. True religion is not to counterwork the Lord’s plans. God ordained that man and woman should be united in holy wedlock, to raise up families that, crowned with honor, would be symbols of the family in heaven. And at the beginning of His public ministry Christ gave His decided sanction to the institution that had been sanctioned in Eden. Thus He declared to all that He will not refuse His presence on marriage occasions, and that marriage, when joined with purity and holiness, truth and righteousness, is one of the greatest blessings ever given to the human family. Priests and popes have made laws forbidding people to marry, and secluding them in monasteries. These laws and restrictions were devised by Satan to place men and women in unnatural positions. Thus Satan has tempted human beings to disregard the law of marriage as a thing unholy, but at the same time he has opened the door for the indulgence of human passion. Thus have come into existence some of the greatest evils which curse our world,—adultery, fornication, the murder of innocent children born out of wedlock.
6 Jesus came to our world to correct mistakes, to restore the moral image of God in man. Wrong sentiments in regard to marriage had found a place in the minds of the teachers in Israel. They were making of none effect this institution. Man was becoming so hard-hearted that for the most trivial excuse he would separate from his wife, or, if he chose, he would separate her from her children. This was considered a great disgrace, and was often accompanied by the most acute suffering on the part of the discarded one. Christ came to correct these evils, and His first miracle was wrought on the occasion of a marriage.
7 The Scriptures state that both Jesus and His disciples were called to the marriage feast. Christ has given Christians no sanction for saying, when invited to a marriage, We ought not to be present on so joyous an occasion. By attending this feast Christ taught us that He would have us rejoice with those who rejoice, in the observance of His statutes. He never discouraged the festivities of mankind when they were carried on in accordance with the laws of heaven. A gathering that Christ honored by His presence it is right that His followers should attend. After attending this feast, Christ attended many others, sanctifying them by His presence and instruction.
8 The feast was in progress, and an important point in the ceremony had been reached, when it was discovered that the supply of wine had failed. Mary went at once to Jesus, saying, “They have no wine.” She had an interest in this gathering, and Christ had ever been to her a wise counselor. The answer was, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” This should have been translated, “What hast thou to do with Me?” This answer was not in any sense disrespectful. Christ was ever respectful, kind, and courteous to all, and He was especially so to His mother. But He was engaged in His Father’s work, and He was to follow the dictation of no one but God.
9 Mary understood His words as encouragement, not rebuke, and she said to the servants, “Whatsoever He saith unto you do it.” “And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.” In those days the Jewish religion was made up of forms and ceremonies. A certain amount of washing was required by the law, but the people carried this matter to an extreme, prescribing certain forms never required by God, and making a tedious process of that which was intended to cleanse and refresh. Seeing the stone jars standing there, Christ bade the servants fill them to the brim. This was done; and then He said: “Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants which drew the water knew); the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 925
1 The wine created by Christ at this time was the best wine those present had ever tasted. But it was entirely free from all fermentation. Christ Himself had forbidden the use of fermented drink, saying: “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.”
2 Fermented liquor confuses the senses and perverts the powers of the being. God is dishonored when men have not sufficient respect for themselves to practise strict temperance. Fermented wine is not a natural production. The Lord never made it, and with its production He has nothing to do. Paul advised Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake and oft infirmities, but he meant the unfermented juice of the grape. He did not advise Timothy to take what the Lord had prohibited.
3 The use of fermented wine caused Nadab and Abihu to confuse the sacred and the common, and death was their penalty. After this, severe restrictions were placed on those connected with the sacred service. They were prohibited when they came before the Lord, from touching wine or using grapes in any way, that they might avoid the result of becoming familiar with fermented liquor. When food or drink which bewilders the brain is placed in the mouth, the destroyer sees his opportunity to enter and dethrone the reason.
4 Some who claim to be Christians feel at liberty to use intoxicating drink, and in this particular they claim to be in harmony with Christ. But Christ did not set the example they claim to imitate. Be assured that He did not make intoxicating wine on the occasion of His first miracle. He gave to those present a drink which it is safe to give to all humanity,—the pure juice of the grape. Christ never placed a glass of fermented liquor to His lips or to the lips of His disciples. Drunkenness was rare in Palestine, but Christ looked down the ages, and saw in every generation what the use of wine would do for the users, therefore at this feast He set a right example.
5 Christ did not give publicity to His action, and at first only a few knew of the embarrassment of the governor. But after the new wine was brought in, great astonishment was expressed by the guests regarding its superiority over the wine first placed before them. The miracle became known, and the very work Christ desired to see done was accomplished. The faith of the disciples was confirmed. This miracle was to them a convincing testimony that their Master was the world’s Redeemer.
6 Christ’s future work shows the influence of this miracle. “When He was come into Galilee,” we read, “the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did at Jerusalem at the feast; for they also went unto the feast. So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where He made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto Him, and besought Him that He would come down, and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto Him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth; and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when He was come out of Judea unto Galilee.”
7 Jesus did not touch the water in the jars. He simply looked upon it, and at once it became like wine fresh from the cluster. Only a few days before, Christ had refused to work a miracle to satisfy His hunger. He was weak and emaciated; for He had been without food for forty days and forty nights; but He would not command the stones to become bread to satisfy His appetite. To the suggestion of the enemy He answered, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Neither would He accept a challenge to imperil His life by casting Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple to prove that He was the Son of God. In answer to the challenge, He said, “It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” But on the occasion of the wedding feast He performed a miracle, to show that marriage is not forbidden by God.
8 The divine love emanating from Christ never destroys human love, but includes it. By it human love is refined and purified, elevated and ennobled. Human love can never bear its precious fruit until it is united with the divine nature, and trained to go heavenward. Jesus wants to see happy marriages, happy firesides. The warmth of true friendship and the pure love that bind the hearts of husband and wife are a foretaste of heaven.
9 God has ordained that there should be perfect love and harmony between those who enter into the marriage relation. Let bride and bridegroom, in the presence of the heavenly universe, pledge themselves to love each other as God has ordained they should. Let no draught of unkindness chill the atmosphere of love which should surround them. The wife is to respect and reverence her husband, and the husband is to love and cherish his wife. As the priest of the household, the husband and father should bind his wife and children to his heart. The wife should feel that the large affections of her husband sustain her before her children are born, and after their birth he should co-operate with her in the management of the little ones, who should be wisely, firmly, tenderly, lovingly educated.
10 The family relationship should be sanctifying in its influence. Christian homes, established and conducted in accordance with God’s plan, are a wonderful help in forming Christian character. Families here should be a symbol of the great family above. Parents and children should unite in offering loving service to Him who alone can keep human love pure and noble.
11 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church; for we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.” If this instruction were heeded by those who enter into the marriage relation, the home life would be pure and elevated, garrisoned by holy love.
12 God made from man a woman, to be a companion and helpmeet for him, to be one with him, to cheer, encourage, and bless him. And he in his turn is to be her strong helper. All who enter the matrimonial life with a holy purpose, the husband to obtain the pure affection of a woman’s heart, the wife to soften and improve her husband’s character, and give it completeness, fulfil God’s purpose for them. Christ came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil its every specification. He came to pull down and destroy the works of oppression that the enemy had raised up everywhere. It was in perfect harmony with His character and work to make known the fact that marriage is a holy institution. He came not to destroy this institution, but to restore it to its original sanctity. He came to restore the moral image of God in man, and He began His work by sanctioning the marriage relation. Thus He who made the first holy pair, and who created for them a paradise, put His seal upon the institution first celebrated in Eden, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 926
1 God desires us to give attention to the words of truth. We are to hear and practise them; for the truth is a message of heaven to those who take heed. The oft-repeated charge of the Lord is, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Of the Israelites the apostle says, “The Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” This opens before us the reason why so little is accomplished by the many discourses given. The words may be indited by the Holy Spirit, but if those who hear do not hear with a desire to be benefited, the words spoken do not profit them.
2 It makes every difference whether the Word spoken is received into good and honest hearts. The Israelites had the Word spoken to them by Christ from the pillar of cloud, but, like many who today hear the glad tidings of truth and righteousness, they did not hear with consecrated ears. They brought guilt upon themselves by failing to hear by faith, and practise the Word spoken. Selfishness and pride, murmuring and unbelief, compassed them about as with a garment.
3 It was faith that men lacked in the days of Noah, and it was this lack that brought destruction upon them. How different would have been the result had they heeded Noah’s appeals as the voice of God speaking through him! But they were unwilling to hear and receive the Word which would have saved them.
4 The teacher of truth is to take heed how he presents the truth. He is to speak every word plainly and distinctly, with that earnest conviction which carries conviction to hearts. If the words spoken are crowded upon each other, the impression that should be made is lost. The talent of speech needs to be cultivated, that the truth be not spoken in an excited, spasmodic style, but slowly and distinctly, that not a syllable may be lost.
5 Rapidity of speech can and should be corrected. The teacher must learn daily in the school of Christ, that he may speak in such a way as to make the best and most lasting impression upon his hearers. The appointed guardian of truth, he must conscientiously guard the sacred treasures. He is not to gather only a limited number of surface truths, but is to purchase the field, that he may possess the treasure it contains. He is to seek to improve in methods of labor, and make the very best use of the organs of speech. If the words of truth are of sufficient importance to be spoken before an audience, they are of sufficient importance to be spoken distinctly. The guidance of the Spirit never leads to indistinctness of speech. The Spirit takes the things of God and presents them through the human instrument to the people. Then let them come from our lips in the most perfect manner possible.
6 When the pure Gospel of Christ is cherished and appreciated, the jewels of truth will be presented as precious pearls. Every teacher in our schools, every minister in our conferences, is to make an earnest effort to obtain knowledge from the Source of all knowledge. All are to have a daily increasing appreciation of the wisdom which is eternal life to the receiver. The teacher of truth needs to learn daily of Christ. He is not to be satisfied with human acquirements; for they are narrow and insufficient. He is to hunger for a deeper knowledge of Christ. “This is life eternal,” the Saviour said, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”
7 God would have us realize that as His delegated messengers we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, until we perfect a character that is in entire conformity to His will. His attributes have been presented to us that we may cherish them, and thus learn to use the treasures of truth in such a way as to draw souls to Him.
8 Christ says to us, “A new heart also will I give you.” You shall act on new, strong principles. By believing and obeying, we are brought into fellowship with Christ, and we partake of the glory revealed by Him. The willing, obedient soul will continue to advance, following the Lord Jesus step by step, until he is complete in Him. God loves those who are one in Christ, even as He loves His only-begotten Son.
9 Earnest and sincere is the Author of our redemption. He humbled Himself that He might uplift the perishing and give them a knowledge of the true God. He desires His followers to represent Him by showing a faith that works by love and purifies the soul, by telling others of the love that has done so much for them. He has made the plan of redemption so definite and complete that the attention of all who are led to look to Him will be attracted.
10 The words of the true Christian are a power for good; for they are the living echo of the Scriptures. When the teachers of truth learn from Christ as they should, those who listen to their words will not say with indifference, I have heard that discourse a number of times; it is only a repetition. If the Lord’s ambassador is what he should be—an earnest seeker for the hidden treasure—he will have a daily-filled treasure-house from which he can draw things new and old; and if his hearers take heed how they hear, they will go from the service fully prepared to testify, Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us, and opened to us the Scriptures?
11 Many religious teachers have opposed the precious light sent from heaven. They have refused to obey the words, “Take heed how ye hear.” They think they complete their work and secure their conquests by a continual repetition of fables and traditions, and by shouting, “Victory.” But their efforts are the essence of feebleness, tho put forth with an authority which misleads those who do not search the Scriptures for themselves.
12 Through His Holy Spirit the Lord is seeking to teach men humility. Those who are privileged to hear truth need to listen with receptive minds, appreciating the precious words spoken. Those who are trusted with the presentation of the sacred oracles need to feel the necessity of being taught by the great Teacher. They must remember that instruction is often sent through their fellow-laborers and through laymen whom the Lord has set apart to teach the truth.
13 Let every teacher be a constant worker. Then the Lord will educate and train the soul, molding and fashioning it after the divine similitude. Teachers may learn in many ways. They are to gather every ray of light from those who, they have reason to know, have a living experience in the things of God. They are to accept abundantly from the great Teacher, that they may give abundantly. They are not to depend on old discourses, which they have had for years, but they are to go on progressing, digging for the precious jewels of truth, that they may present them to their hearers.
14 The teacher must be willing to surrender his will to the will of God. Preparation for the Gospel ministry can be obtained only by searching the Scriptures and seeking the Lord with full purpose of heart. At the altar of God, by self-renunciation, the soul is educated to believe and receive and impart. Those who receive this education realize their own insufficiency and the wonderful power of God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 927
1 “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Just before He left them, Christ gave His disciples this promise of the Holy Spirit, and while the words were upon His lips, He ascended. A cloud of angels received Him, and escorted Him to the city of God. The disciples returned to Jerusalem, knowing now that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Their faith was unclouded, and they waited for the fulfilment of the promise, preparing themselves by prayer for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
2 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” In that assembly there were mockers, who did not recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit, and they said, “These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words; for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”
3 After the crucifixion of Christ, the disciples were a helpless, discouraged company,—as sheep without a shepherd. Their Master had been rejected, condemned, and nailed to the ignominious cross. Scornfully the Jewish priests and rulers had declared: “He saved others; Himself He can not save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”
4 But the cross, that instrument of shame and torture, brought hope and salvation to the world. The disciples rallied; their hopelessness and helplessness left them. They were transformed in character, and united in bonds of Christian love. They were but humble men, without wealth, and with no weapon but the Word and Spirit of God, counted by the Jews as mere fishermen. Yet in Christ’s strength they went forth to witness for the truth, and to triumph over all opposition. Clothed with the divine panoply, they went forth to tell the wonderful story of the manger and the cross. Without earthly honor or recognition, they were heroes of faith. From their lips came words of divine eloquence that shook the world.
5 Those who had rejected and crucified the Saviour expected to find the disciples discouraged and crestfallen, ready to disown their Lord. They heard with amazement the clear, bold testimony of the apostles, given under the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples worked and spoke as their Master had worked and spoken, and all who heard them said, “They have been with Jesus, and learned of Him.”
6 As the apostles went forth, preaching Jesus everywhere, they did many things that the Jewish rulers did not approve. The people brought their sick, and those vexed with unclean spirits, into the streets; crowds collected round them, and those who had been healed shouted the praises of God, and glorified the name of Him whom the Jews had condemned, crowned with thorns, and caused to be scourged and crucified. Jesus was now extolled above priest and ruler, and there was danger that the doctrines of the rabbis would be brought into disrepute, for the apostles were even declaring that Christ had risen from the dead.
7 The Jewish leaders thought themselves competent to decide what the apostles should do and teach, and they determined that their work must and should be stopped, for it was proving them (the rulers) guilty of the death of Jesus. They saw too that converts to the faith were multiplying. “Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees,” who hold that there will be no resurrection of the dead). The assertion made by the apostles that they had seen Jesus after His resurrection, and that He had ascended to heaven, overthrew the fundamental principles of the Sadducean doctrine. This was not to be allowed. Filled with indignation, the priests laid violent hands upon the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
8 The disciples were not intimidated or cast down by this treatment. The words of Christ, in His last lesson to them, were brought to their minds by the Holy Spirit: “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.” “They shall put you out of the synagogue; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” “These things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.”
9 In the Jewish nation those whom the Lord had made depositaries of truth, had proved unfaithful to their trust, and the Lord chose others to do His work. In their blindness these leaders gave full sway to what they called righteous indignation against the ones who were setting aside cherished fables. They would not admit that there was a possibility that they themselves did not rightly understand the Word, or that they had misinterpreted or misapplied the Scriptures. They acted like men who had lost their reason. What right have these men, they reasoned, some of them mere fishermen, to present ideas contrary to the doctrines which we teach the people?
10 The God of heaven sometimes commissions men to preach that which is contrary to established doctrines. Men in authority are not always to be obeyed, even tho they may profess to be teachers of Bible truth. By night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, and said to the disciples, “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” This command was obeyed by the apostles; “they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught.”
11 In the meantime, “the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told, saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors; but when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence; for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.”
12 “And when they had brought them, . . . the high priest asked them, saying, Did we not straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” The Spirit of the Lord moved upon Gamaliel, a Pharisee and doctor of the law, whose advice was, “Refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught, but if it be of God, ye can not overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed.”
13 Yet the attributes of Satan so controlled the priests and rulers that, notwithstanding the wonderful miracles wrought by the apostles, they were so filled with prejudice and hatred that they could hardly be restrained. “When they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 928
1 The promise of the Holy Spirit was the brightest hope and the strongest consolation that Christ could leave His disciples when He ascended to heaven. The truths of God’s Word had been buried beneath the rubbish of misinterpretation; the maxims of men, the sayings of finite beings, had been exalted above the Word of the living God. Under the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles separated truth from false theories, and gave to the people the Word of life.
2 The Holy Spirit is often rejected because it comes in unexpected ways. Evidence upon evidence that the apostles were speaking and acting under divine inspiration had been given to the Jewish priests and rulers, but still they firmly resisted the message of truth. Christ had not come in the way they expected, and tho at times they were convinced that He was the Son of God, yet they stifled conviction, and thus became blinder and more hardened than before. They crucified Christ, yet Christ in His mercy gave them additional evidence in the works wrought by the disciples. He sent His servants to tell them what they had done, and even in the terrible charge that they had killed the Prince of Life, He gave them another call to repentance. But, feeling secure in their own righteousness, the Jewish teachers were not prepared to admit that the men who had reproved them for crucifying Christ were speaking by the direction of the Holy Spirit.
3 Every act of resistance makes it harder to yield. Being the leaders of the people, the priests and rulers felt it incumbent on them to defend their course of resistance. Having committed themselves to a course of opposition to Christ, every act of resistance became an additional incentive to pursue the same course. They regarded the events of their past career as treasures to be jealously guarded, and the hatred and malignity which inspired those acts they concentrated against the disciples.
4 The Spirit of God inspired His servants, who, irrespective of the fear or the favor of men, declared the truths which had been committed to them. And under the demonstration of the Spirit’s power the Jews could not but see their guilt in refusing the evidences God had sent. But they would not yield their wicked resistance. Their obstinacy became more and more determined, and resulted in the ruin of their souls. It was not that they could not yield; they could, but would not, It was not alone because they were guilty and deserving of wrath, not alone because they had put to death the Son of God, that they were cut off from salvation; it was because they armed themselves with the attributes of Satan, and determined continually to be opposed to God, persistently rejected light, and stifled the convictions of the Holy Spirit. The spirit that works in the children of disobedience worked in them, leading them to abuse the men through whom God was speaking. The malignity of their rebellion was intensified by each successive act of resistance against God and the message He had given His servants to declare. Every day, in their refusal to repent, the Jewish rulers took up their rebellion afresh, preparing themselves to reap that which they had sown.
5 The wrath of God is not declared against men merely because of the sin they have committed, but because they choose to continue in a state of resistance, because they repeat the sins of the past in spite of the light and evidence given them. If the Jewish leaders had submitted, they would have been pardoned; but they were determined not to yield. In the same way, the sinner, by continued resistance, places himself where he knows nothing but resistance.
6 How was it with the rebellious inhabitants of the antediluvian world?—After rejecting the message brought them by Noah, they abandoned themselves to sin as never before, doubling the enormity of their corrupting practises. The judgments which God brought upon the antediluvian world declared it incurable. The destruction of Sodom showed that the inhabitants of the most beautiful city in the world were incorrigible in sin. Those who refuse to reform by accepting Christ, find nothing reformative in sin. Their minds are set to carry out their purpose of revolt, and they are not, and never will be, forced into submission. Today there is danger that, as of old, the Holy Spirit will be rejected because it comes in a way not in accordance with the minds of men. Because it comes, not to praise men, or to build up their erroneous theories, but to reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come, many turn away from it. They are not willing to exchange their own righteousness (which is unrighteousness) for the righteousness of Christ, which is pure, unadulterated truth. The Holy Spirit flatters no man, neither does it work according to human devising; and if it comes as a reprover, it is man’s place to hear and to obey its voice.
7 We need to pray for the impartation of the divine Spirit as the remedy for sin-sick souls. The surface truths of revelation, made plain and easy to be understood, are accepted by many as supplying all that is essential; but the Holy Spirit, working upon the mind, awakens an earnest desire for truth uncorrupted by error. He who is really desirous to know what is truth can not remain in ignorance; for precious truth rewards the diligent seeker. We need to feel the converting power of God’s grace, and I urge all who have closed their heart against God’s Spirit to unlock the door, and plead earnestly, Abide with me. Why should we not prostrate ourselves at the throne of divine grace, praying that God’s Spirit may be poured out upon us as it was upon the disciples? Its presence will soften our hard hearts, and fill us with joy and rejoicing, transforming us into channels of blessing.
8 The Lord would have every one of His children rich in faith, and this faith is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit upon the mind. It dwells with each soul who will receive it, speaking to the impenitent in words of warning, and pointing them to Jesus, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. It causes light to shine into the minds of those who are seeking to co-operate with God, giving them efficiency and wisdom to do His work.
9 The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted a soul who is looking to Jesus. It takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to the seeker. And if the eye is kept fixed upon Jesus, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image. Through the gracious influence of the Spirit the sinner is changed in spirit and purpose, till he becomes one with Christ. His affection for God increases; he hungers and thirsts for righteousness, and by beholding Christ he is changed from glory to glory, from character to character, and becomes more and more like his Master. Christ is formed within, and by His Spirit He fulfils the promise, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 929
1 Full and free the invitation comes to us: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” What an invitation! It was this invitation that Christ gave to Enoch before the world was destroyed by a flood. That time was no more favorable to the development of Christian character than is the present time, yet we read that Enoch walked with God. Christ was as verily Enoch’s Saviour as He is our Saviour, and in His power, notwithstanding the corruption of that degenerate age, Enoch perfected a Christian character. The voice saying to us, “He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness,” said the same words to Enoch, assuring him that if he followed the Saviour, he would not walk in the darkness of ignorance. The Lord instructed Enoch, and made him His watchman. He was a faithful witness for God, warning the inhabitants of the old world not to follow the example of the Cain-worshipers, but to serve the living God. “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
2 It is our privilege to walk as did Enoch. Christ has assured us that those who walk in His steps are His disciples, His true representatives. He says, “I am the Light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life.” Is not this sufficient assurance? Should not these words fill us with holy peace and joy?
3 “Herein is My Father glorified,” Christ said, “that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you; continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” The greatest sin we can cherish is the sin of unbelief. Many say, I do not know how to be a Bible Christian. It is because you do not receive Christ as a sin-pardoning Saviour. Therefore your experience is full of inconsistency and unbelief. No one can have joy and peace who does not receive and obey Christ’s words.
4 We need the riches of faith and love. But we can obtain these only by surrendering the will to Christ. When we take the Saviour at His word, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight, complete unity will prevail. We shall constantly grow more like our Leader. His character has been clearly revealed, and we have been plainly told that we are to be like Him. Our watchword is, “Go forward.” Pressing onward to the Light of life means victory. We see in our hearts much that is dark and forbidding, and there is much we do not see at all, but God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things. Do not deplore the crookedness of your past life; for this does not bring strength, but weakness. All unbelief is moral deformity. In bemoaning our past, there is no healing balm, but only sorrow and sin, that makes the heart sick and faint. Thus we become more and more discouraged. Might we not better look to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world?
5 Unbelief greatly dishonors God. Our lack of faith is withholding from us precious blessings which are hanging over us, and which God would have us receive and appreciate. When we practise the Word, we shall be perfect in Him who is our righteousness. If the Word is believed by us, soberly, meekly, if it is received and appropriated, it will give us a precious experience, that will make us wise unto salvation. But, like the children of Israel, we are in danger of indulging a spirit of unbelief and murmuring.
6 The fruit of righteousness is quietness and assurance forever. If we had exercised more faith, if we had trusted less to our own wisdom, God would have manifested His power on human hearts. “These signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” It is faith, an active faith, that makes the gracious promise of any avail. We have been losing faith, in the place of increasing it. Our lack of faith is the reason why we have not seen more of the power of God. We exercise more faith in our own working than in God’s working for us.
7 A great Teacher from heaven visited our world. Jesus Christ is His name. He is the Lord our Righteousness. He was visited by the prince of darkness, and was tempted in all points like as we are. He reached to the very depths of human woe, and all who carry their sorrows to Him, as to One who can be touched with the feelings of their infirmities, will receive the oil and wine of consolation. They will know from experience that Christ is their personal Saviour, one who comforteth those who are cast down, who bindeth up the broken-hearted. This experience grows as they in turn impart that which they have received. Christ is formed within, the hope of glory. He is made unto them wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. They can say, “I know in whom I have believed.”
8 “What think ye of Christ?” What is He to you personally? Is your faith centered in Him as your Redeemer? Do you believe that He saves you from sin, that He imputes to you His righteousness?
9 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith results in spiritual knowledge. By faith we are encouraged to grasp still more; for we behold God in the promise, and are armed with stability. The true Christian knows in whom he believes. He has the evidence of things unseen; and a knowledge that is regenerating, overpowering, follows this. This may not be believed by skeptics, but it is to the receiver no speculation, no mere theory. The Gospel offers to him a remedy for the moral disorders which sin has caused. He does not merely read the Bible, but experiences the Bible. He has not merely heard of the righteousness of Christ; by faith he has opened the windows of his soul to the Sun of Righteousness. Skeptics may stand back and argue the impossibility of the remedy he has taken, but their words are nothing to him against experience. It is a matter of knowledge with him. The believing man, even tho he be unlearned, has a knowledge that can not be wrested from him. The one who trusts his Saviour implicitly finds the gate of heaven ajar, and flooded with glory from the throne of God. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 930
1 “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” The Lord demands all the powers of the being. It is His design that we should be conformed to Him in will, in temper, in spirit, that the soul may hold communion with Him who is full of love, and peace, and power. God would have us keep close to the heart of Infinite Wisdom and Love. He has chosen us from eternity, that we may be holy, our consciences purged from dead works to serve the living God. The Lord gave Himself to die for us, that He might purify us from all iniquity. He will carry on His work of perfection for us if we will allow ourselves to be controlled by Him.
2 This work of righteousness can not be carried forward unless we exercise implicit faith. We must move every day under the guidance of God’s mighty power. Every day we need to feel the deep working of the Spirit of God. We must have a faith that emanates from God. Not one thread of selfishness must be drawn into the fabric of our lives. When our faith works by love, the love that Christ revealed in His life, it will be of a firm texture. But not until self dies can Christ live in us; not until self dies can we possess the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Our faith must increase. We must know the sanctification of the Spirit. In earnest prayer we must seek God, that His divine Spirit may control us. God will then be glorified by the example we set. We shall be workers together with Him. Sanctification of soul, body, and spirit, will surround us with the atmosphere of heaven.
3 Christ came to this world to enlighten men and women by His wisdom, by the shining of his righteousness. He came to reveal God’s purpose for us. He was a wonderful teacher. His lessons were uttered in the language of independent goodness, and it is our privilege, by studying these lessons and beholding Him, to be changed into His likeness. It is His desire to commit divine instruction to faithful stewards, who will both teach and practise the truth, who will live by every word proceeding from the mouth of God. Those who claim to know and teach the truth, and yet do not live by the Word, can not be laborers together with God. Those who do not walk in the light, bring in the opinions and practises of self. True conversion, true sanctification, will be the cause of a change in our views and feelings toward one another and toward God.
4 Christ declares: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Again Christ says: “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you; continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.”
5 This love goes beyond the expression of the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Here men are required to love one another as Christ has loved them. The disciples did not then comprehend the significance of these words. They knew not the high, unselfish character of heavenly love. But after Christ had by His death on the cross demonstrated His love for them, they understood His words.
6 This heaven-born love is not selfish and changeable. It is not a love dependent on human praise. The heart of him who drinks the blood of the Son of God overflows with a holy love for God and for those for whom Christ died. He does not love His fellow-creatures because they love and please Him, because they appreciate His merits and rightly estimate His value, but because they are Christ’s purchased possession.
7 God designs that everything possible shall be done to enable us to stand heart to heart, mind to mind, shoulder to shoulder. We have not pressed forward toward the mark of the prize of our high calling. Self has found too much room. The want of genuine faith and love is the lack of the church today. Our Christian experience is imperfect because we do not love as Christ has loved us. While we are filled with admiration for self, while we measure others by ourselves, how can we understand the Scriptures? What comprehension can we have of true faith? The lack of love and confidence in one another weakens our trust in God.
8 What fulness is expressed in the words: “I am the Light of the world.” “I am the Bread of life.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “I am the good Shepherd.” “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” This life is what we must have, and we must have it more abundantly. God will breathe this life into every soul who dies to self and lives to Christ. But entire self-renunciation is required. Unless this takes place, we carry with us the evil that destroys our happiness.
9 I wish we could be what God would have us,—all light in the Lord. We need to reach a higher standard. But we can never do this until self is laid on the altar, until we let the Holy Spirit control us, molding and fashioning us according to the divine similitude. Truth must be received into the life. Then our words will testify that Christ’s Spirit is working through us. God lives and reigns in us, and we bear witness to the truth. Draw nigh to God. Learn from the great Teacher. Surrender all to God.
10 We are not to hold ourselves in our own hands. We are to drop self into the hands of God. Daily we must consecrate ourselves to God’s service. We must come to God in faith. If we have accumulated suppositions and imaginary difficulties, which keep us from a perfect union with our brethren, let us at once begin to remove the obstacles. We need to humble ourselves before God. It is self that we have first to deal with. Criticise the heart closely. Search it to see what hinders the free access of God’s Spirit. We must receive the Holy Spirit. Then we shall have power to prevail with God.
11 The necessity of the Holy Spirit’s working in the heart should be realized by all. Unless this Spirit is accepted and cherished as the representative of Christ, whose work it is to renew and sanctify the entire being, the momentous truths which have been intrusted to us will lose their power on mind and character. Many today are in this position. They refuse to enter into right relation with God, as doers of His Word. They do not see the necessity for this.
12 We need to pray as we have never prayed before for the baptism of the Holy Spirit; for if ever there was a time when we needed this baptism, it is now. There is nothing the Lord has more frequently told us He would bestow upon us, and nothing He would be more glorified in bestowing, than the Holy Spirit. When we partake of this Spirit, we shall be born again. A firm, unwavering faith in God will be manifested. The Sun of Righteousness will be in our midst, with healing in His wings. Souls once lost will be found, brought back, and kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
13 “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” We must take God at His word, and believe that He will do just as He has said. If He chastises us, it is that we may be partakers of the divine nature. It is His purpose to carry on a daily sanctification in us. Shall we not see our work? Shall we not present to others the privilege they have of growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ?
14 A mere assent to truth is not enough. Daily we must live the truth. We must shut ourselves in with God, surrendering all to Him. To listen to the great and grand truths of the Word is not enough. We must ask ourselves the question, Does Christ dwell in my heart by faith? He alone can show us our necessity, and reveal the dignity and glory of the truth. At the altar of self-sacrifice,—the appointed place of meeting between God and the soul,—we receive from the hand of God the celestial torch, which searches the heart, revealing our great need of an abiding Christ.
15 When we feel our heart need, when we long after the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit, Christ draws nigh to us. Self is crucified. Christ lives in us, and the power of the Spirit attends our efforts; then the soul is refined and elevated. Light from the heavenly sanctuary shines upon us, and we are enabled to exert an influence which is a savor of life unto life. By a union with Christ, by living faith, we are privileged to enjoy the efficacy of His mediation. We are crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, risen with Christ, to walk in newness of life.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 931
1
Those who enter the service of God must be faithful to their Leader. If during their former lifetime they have not given the powers of mind and soul and strength to the Lord, when they are converted they will realize that every capability belongs to God. The truly converted man will bring even his thoughts into obedience to the will of God. His mental and physical powers will be laid on the altar of sacrifice. His time is the Lord’s; it is not to be idled away. All are bound by the most solemn obligations to redeem the time. Waste it not; make the most of it; do your best, as long as you live in the world, to be a blessing. Christ regarded every moment as precious. Thus should His followers regard their time. Those who are not directly engaged in the work of seeking to save that which was lost, should have some work. They should use the powers of mind and body to a purpose, that they may be able to place their gifts and offerings in the Lord’s treasury, and bring a faithful tithe to Him. It is the duty of all who enjoy God’s bounties to engage in useful employment. To every man is given his work, and upon the faithful performance of this work depends the blessing he receives.
2 He who wastes his precious time robs God of service due to Him. He is guilty of a neglect which God will not excuse. How can God welcome such an one into the courts above with the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”?
3 The strength belongs to God. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” This statement covers the use of the physical powers. There is no reason why a man who has strength of body should not use that strength in Christ’s service. Every part of the being is to be employed to the glory of God. The Lord would not have given us such a definite specification had He not designed us to study carefully how much it comprehends. If you have physical strength, that strength is Christ’s property. He who has in the past looked upon himself as above labor will when converted change his habits and use his physical powers to some purpose. An indolent man can not serve God; for he gives to others an example entirely contrary to the principles of Christ. No idler can be a practical Christian. Christ is our example, and He worked at the carpenter’s trade with his father Joseph. There are no gentlemen idlers in God’s vineyard; for there is earnest, practical work to be done.
4 After the precious message of truth is heard and received, the heart is touched and convicted; and when it turns to Jesus, the will is brought into subjection to Christ. The soul temple is cleansed from moral defilement, and made ready for Christ’s indwelling. The deep moving of the Spirit fills the soul with earnest love for Christ. The receiver of truth could feast forever on the truth he hears; but he must go farther than merely receiving; he must impart the precious knowledge of the Redeemer’s love; he must strive to uplift the crucified Saviour. Heart and soul are to be consecrated to God’s service.
5 He who has a family is under obligation, as a steward of God, to set a right example to his children. He is to educate them to be intelligent and useful, to employ the strength given them by God in advancing His work in the world. By precept and example he is to train them to be faithful stewards. They are to be educated to realize that they hold in trust lent treasures, which are to be used to the very best advantage in God’s service.
6 Teach your children that nothing is to be withheld from God, that all their gifts are to be used to promote His glory. Teach them to cherish a sense of their accountability to use wisely their intrusted capabilities, improving and perfecting them by use. They are accountable for the judicious exercise of every faculty.
7 God can not excuse those who have been bought by the blood of His Son, from working faithfully in His service. Every true Christian is a coworker with Christ. Nothing can be more offensive to God than to cripple or abuse the gifts lent us to be devoted to His service. The value of a soul is estimated by the price paid for it. It is written: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God,” “who will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 932
1
In answer to an earnest invitation, Christ was on His way to exercise His skill as a divine, compassionate Physician. As He went, the multitude pressed as closely as possible to Him, anxious to get near the center of attraction. In the throng there was a woman who had long been troubled with a painful malady. For twelve years she had suffered with this disease. She had spent all she had on physicians, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. She was told of Christ’s power, but she did not think herself worthy of His notice. “If I may but touch His garment,” she thought, “I shall be whole.” She watched her opportunity, and Christ in His infinite love knowing her heart’s desire, moved in her direction. By faith she put forth her hand, and, touching the hem of His garment, was instantly made whole. Her faith was not in the garment, but in the virtue which the garment covered.
2 Happiness now filled the woman’s soul, and she was seeking to escape from the crowd and go quietly on her way, when Christ’s voice was heard, saying plainly and distinctly, “Who touched Me?” It was a strange question to ask, and as He looked round to see who had touched Him, Peter and the other disciples said, “Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?” But Christ desired to teach a lesson which would sound down through the ages to our time, and He said, “Somebody hath touched Me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me.” “And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.” “Daughter,” Christ said, “be of good cheer; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”
3 We need to understand this lesson; for it has a deeper meaning than many realize. It is possible to be in Christ’s presence, and even to press close to Him, and yet receive no blessing, because we touch Him only with the casual touch of the multitude. There are hundreds and thousands who think they have faith in Christ; but they do not touch Him with the faith manifested by the suffering woman.
4 Why do we not show more faith? We do not know what blessings we are losing because of our unbelief. To exercise faith it is not necessary to become worked up into an ecstasy of feeling. This is not at all essential. Exercising faith means taking God at His word, believing in His power to save to the uttermost all who come to Him, relying on His word because He is behind the promise and can do all things. If we come to Him in living faith, we shall receive of His fulness. “If ye ask anything in My name,” He says, “I will do it.” Then comes the condition: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments. “Obedience makes us witnesses for God.
5 We need to take in the real meaning of Christ’s words. We may read them over and over again, and yet miss their true significance. In this way we lose the blessing of the promises here given. Do not be satisfied to follow Christ a great way off. Many today are doing this. They think that they are trusting in the Saviour, but their faith resembles that of the multitude, who touched Him with only a casual touch.
6 What a friend we have at court! After His resurrection Christ spoke to His disciples, saying: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” This promise is as surely given to the people of God in 1899 as it was to those in whose hearing Christ spoke. But do we not often forget this promise, and limit the Holy One of Israel? God can not honor indifference, neither can He honor unbelief. Why need any one be mystified? Why do human beings so often go to human beings with inquiries regarding their temptations and their desire to please God? Where is their faith?—It is centered in human instrumentalities, not in the One who “so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
7 “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because He hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.” Many are wearing continually the yoke of condemnation because they do not take the Word of God as yea and amen in Christ Jesus. They may have a casual faith in Christ as the Son of God, but this is of no avail.
8 “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.” They will not come to the light, for fear their deeds will be reproved. This is the position taken by many. Their names are in the church books; they observe a round of ceremonies; but they do not love the truth. They have been satisfied to stand at the door. They do not press their way into Christ’s presence, to share with Him the glory of His royal life. Their characters are not brought into harmony with the truth. They have not that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. Evil speaking, evil surmising, dishonest actions, cast a dark shadow across their pathway. Their faith sinks into this shadow of shame, and they feel that they are separated from Christ. There is a sting in the conscience, a condemnation in the life. They feel a desire to hide away from God. Light has come into the world, but they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.
9 Is not this the reason of our dwarfed spirituality? Is not this the reason why we have so little faith? We live under a sense of condemnation. The time has come when it is for our eternal interest to believe in Christ. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” He says, “I will write My law in their hearts.” In those who come to Him in faith He will create a divine principle of holiness which will rule in the soul, enlightening the understanding and captivating the affections.
10 Why did God permit the children of Israel to be bitten by serpents in the wilderness?—It was because of their wicked unbelief and continual rebellion, their perversity and murmuring. They did not stop to think how much God was saving them from, how many evils He was holding in check. He had forbidden the poisonous serpents to touch them. He had restrained the wild beasts of the forest. He had saved His people from a thousand dangers. He sent them test and trial, to see whether they had learned the lesson of submission, and were prepared to receive the rich blessings He had in store for them. Thus He sought to correct their selfishness, that they might take their place in His divine theocracy as a representative people. It was His purpose that they should reveal His character and bear a living testimony to the world that God honors those who honor Him. He desired them to be a pure, holy, intelligent people, who could be used as light-bearers to the world. But instead of remembering that the Angel of the Lord was constantly guiding and protecting them, the children of Israel lost sight of God’s merciful and wonderful dealing, and magnified the trials sent to prove them. God could not work with a people who continually lost sight of their advantages, and dishonored Him by unbelief. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 933
1 The Conflicts of the True Church—Persecuting Powers—The
Last Great Power—A Warning Message—The
Seal of God, the Mark of the Beast.
To the apostle John on the isle of Patmos were opened scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the experience of the church. Subjects of intense interest and vast importance were presented to him in figures and symbols, that the people of God might become intelligent concerning the perils and conflicts before them. The history of the Christian world to the very close of time was revealed to John. With great clearness he saw the position, dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing message which is to ripen the harvest of earth, either as sheaves for the heavenly garner, or as fagots for the fires of the last day.
2 In vision John beheld the trials which God’s people would endure for the truth’s sake. He saw their unyielding firmness in obeying the commandments of God, in the face of the oppressive powers that sought to force them into disobedience, and he saw their final triumph over the beast and his image.
3 Under the symbols of a great red dragon, a leopard-like beast, and a beast with lamblike horns, the earthly governments which would especially engage in trampling upon God’s law and persecuting His people, were presented to John. The war is carried on till the close of time. The people of God, symbolized by a holy woman and her children, were represented as greatly in the minority. In the last days only a remnant still existed. Of these John speaks as they “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
4 Through paganism, and then through the Papacy, Satan exerted his power for many centuries in an effort to blot from the earth God’s faithful witnesses. Pagans and papists were actuated by the same dragon spirit. They differed only in that the Papacy, making a pretense of serving God, was the more dangerous and cruel foe. Through the agency of Romanism, Satan took the world captive. The professed church of God was swept into the ranks of this delusion, and for more than a thousand years the people of God suffered under the dragon’s ire. And when the Papacy, robbed of its strength, was forced to desist from persecution, John beheld a new power coming up to echo the dragon’s voice, and carry forward the same cruel and blasphemous work. This power, the last that is to wage war against the church and the law of God, was symbolized by a beast with lamblike horns. The beasts preceding it had risen from the sea, but this came up out of the earth, representing the peaceful rise of the nation which is symbolized. The “two horns like a lamb” well represent the character of the United States Government, as expressed in its two fundamental principles, Republicanism and Protestantism. These principles are the secret of our power and prosperity as a nation. Those who first found an asylum on the shores of America rejoiced that they had reached a country free from the arrogant claims of popery and the tyranny of kingly rule. They determined to establish a government upon the broad foundation of civil and religious liberty.
5 But the stern tracing of the prophetic pencil reveals a change in this peaceful scene. The beast with lamblike horns speaks with the voice of a dragon, and “exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him.” Prophecy declares that he will say to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, and that “he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Thus Protestantism follows in the steps of the Papacy.
6 It is at this time that the third angel is seen flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.” “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” In marked contrast to the world stands the little company who will not swerve from their allegiance to God. These are they of whom Isaiah speaks as repairing the breach which had been made in the law of God, they who are building the old waste places, raising up the foundation of many generations.
7 The most solemn warning and the most awful threatening ever addressed to mortals is that contained in the third angel’s message. The sin that calls down the wrath of God unmixed with mercy must be of the most heinous character. Is the world to be left in darkness as to the nature of this sin?—Most assuredly not. God does not deal thus with His creatures. His wrath is never visited upon sins of ignorance. Before His judgments are brought upon the earth, the light in regard to this sin must be presented to the world, that man may know why these judgments are to be inflicted, and may have opportunity to escape them.
8
The message containing this warning is the last to be proclaimed before the revelation of the Son of man. The signs which He Himself has given declare His coming to be near at hand. For well-nigh forty years has the message of the third angel been sounding. In the issue of the great contest two parties are developed, those who “worship the beast and his image,” and receive his mark, and those who receive “the seal of the living God,” who have the Father’s name written in their foreheads. This is not a visible mark. The time has come when all who have an interest in their soul’s salvation should earnestly and solemnly inquire, What is the seal of God? and what is the mark of the beast? How can we avoid receiving it?
9 The seal of God, the token or sign of His authority, is found in the fourth commandment. This is the only precept of the Decalogue that points to God as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and clearly distinguishes the true God from all false gods. Throughout the Scriptures the fact of God’s creative power is cited as proof that He is above all heathen deities.
10 The Sabbath enjoined by the fourth commandment was instituted to commemorate the work of creation, thus to keep the minds of men ever directed to the true and living God. Had the Sabbath always been kept, there would never have been an idolater, an atheist, or an infidel. The sacred observance of God”s holy day would have led the minds of men to their Creator. The things of nature would have brought Him to their remembrance, and they would have borne witness to His power and His love. The Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God. It points to God as the Creator, and is the sign of His rightful authority over the beings He has made.
11 What, then, is the mark of the beast, if it is not the spurious sabbath which the world has accepted in the place of the true?
12 The prophetic declaration that the Papacy was to exalt itself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, has been strikingly fulfilled in the changing of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. Wherever the papal Sabbath is honored in preference to the Sabbath of God, there the man of sin is exalted above the Creator of heaven and earth.
13 Those who assert that Christ changed the Sabbath are directly contradicting His own words. In His Sermon on the Mount He declared: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
14 Roman Catholics acknowledge that the change in the Sabbath was made by their church, and they cite this very change as evidence of the supreme authority of this church. They declare that by observing the first day of the week as the Sabbath, Protestants are recognizing her power to legislate in divine things. The Roman Church has not relinquished her claim to infallibility, and when the world and the Protestant churches accept the spurious sabbath of her creating, they virtually acknowledge her claim. They may cite the authority of the apostles and fathers in defense of this change, but the fallacy of their reasoning is easily discerned. The papist is sharp enough to see that Protestants are deceiving themselves, willingly closing their eyes to the facts in the case. As the Sunday institution gains favor, he rejoices, feeling assured that it will eventually bring the whole Protestant world under the banner of Rome.
Mrs. E. G. White.
(Concluded next week.)
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Page 934
1 A Sign of Authority—How Receive the Mark—National
Apostasy—Rome the Same—An Image to
the Papacy—The Trials of the Remnant Church.
The change of the Sabbath is a sign or mark of the authority of the Romish Church. Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose to observe the false sabbath in the place of the true, are thereby paying homage to that power by which alone it is commanded. The mark of the beast is the papal sabbath, which has been accepted by the world in the place of the day of God’s appointment.
2 There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion. None are condemned until they have had the light and have seen the obligation of the fourth commandment. But when the decree shall go forth enforcing the counterfeit sabbath, and the loud cry of “the third angel” shall warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, the line will be clearly drawn between the false and the true. Then those who still continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast.
3 With rapid steps we are approaching this period. When Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power in sustaining a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will the papal Sabbath be enforced by the combined authority of church and State. There will be a national apostasy, which will end only in national ruin.
4 Marvelous in her shrewdness and cunning is the Roman Catholic Church. She presents a fair front to the world, covering with apologies her record of horrible cruelties, and declaring that her spirit of persecution no longer exists. But she is the same as in the days of the Reformation, when men of God stood up at the peril of their lives to expose her iniquity; the same as when she assumed the power to control kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. She may clothe herself in Christlike garments, the better to carry forward her purposes; but she still retains the venom of the serpent, and her principles are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in churches, and in the hearts of men. Her spirit is no less cruel and despotic now than when it crushed out human liberty, and slew the saints of the Most High.
5 By compromises and concessions, Protestants have tampered with and patronized popery, giving her vantage-ground which papists themselves are surprised to see and fail to understand. The Protestant world needs to be aroused to resist the advances of this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.
6 When the State shall enforce the decrees and sustain the institutions of the church, then will Protestant America have formed an image of the Papacy. Then the true church will be assailed by persecution as were God’s people in ancient times. Almost every century furnishes instances of what human hearts, controlled by rage and malice, can do under a plea of serving God by protecting the rights of the church and State. The Protestant churches that have followed in the steps of Rome by forming alliances with worldly powers have manifested a similar desire to restrict liberty of conscience. How many non-conformist ministers have suffered under the power of the Church of England! Persecution always follows a restriction of religious liberty on the part of secular governments.
7
It is urged by many that the intellectual and moral darkness prevailing during the middle ages favored the spread of dogma, superstition, and the oppression of popery, and that the general diffusion of knowledge, and the well-nigh universal acceptance of the principles of religious liberty, forbid a revival of superstition and tyranny. It is true that great light, intellectual, moral, and religious, is shinning upon this generation. Since 1844 light from the heaven of heavens has beamed from the open door of the temple of God. But it is to be remembered that the greater the light bestowed, the greater the delusion and darkness of those who reject the Word of God and accept fables, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.
8 Satan will excite the indignation of apostate Christendom against the humble remnant who conscientiously refuse to accept false customs and traditions. Blinded by the prince of darkness, popular religionists will see only as he sees, and feel as he feels. They will determine as he determines, and oppress as he has oppressed. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. The church and the world will unite, and the world will lend to the church power to crush out the right of the people to worship God according to His Word.
9 The decree which is to go forth against the people of God in the near future is in some respects similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews in the time of Esther. The Persian edict sprang from the malice of Haman against Mordecai. Not that Mordecai had done Haman harm, but he had refused to flatter his vanity by showing him the reverence which is due only to God. The king’s decision against the Jews was secured under false pretenses. Satan instigated this scheme in order to rid the earth of those who preserved a knowledge of the true God. But his plots were defeated by a counter-power that reigns among the children of men. Angels who excel in strength were commissioned to protect the people of God, and the plots of their adversaries returned upon their own heads.
10 History repeats itself. The same masterful mind that plotted against the faithful in ages past is now at work to gain control of the Protestant churches, that through them he may condemn and put to death all who will not worship the idol sabbath. We have not to battle with man, as it may appear. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. But if the people of God will put their trust in Him, and by faith rely upon His power, the devices of Satan will be defeated in our time as signally as in the days of Mordecai.
11 The decree is to go forth that all who will not receive the mark of the beast shall neither buy nor sell, and, finally, that they shall be put to death. But the saints of God do not receive this mark. The prophet of Patmos beheld those that had gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God, and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
12 To every soul will come the searching test, Shall I obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Satan is putting forth his utmost efforts in the rage of a last despairing struggle against Christ and His followers. False teachers are employing every device possible to stimulate the hardened sinner in his rebellious daring, to confirm the questioning, the doubting, the unbelieving, and, by misrepresentation and falsehood, to deceive, if it were possible, the very elect. Who are prepared to stand firmly under the banner on which is inscribed, “The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”?
13 Christ never purchased peace and friendship by compromise with evil. Tho His heart overflowed with love toward the human race, He could not be indulgent to their sins. Because He loved men and women, He was a stern reprover of their vices. His life of suffering, the humiliation to which He was subjected by a perverse nation, show His followers that there must be no sacrifice of principle. God’s tried people must maintain watchfulness, with fervent prayer, lest, in their eagerness to prevent discord, they surrender truth, and thus dishonor the God of truth. Peace is too dearly obtained if purchased by the smallest concession to Satan’s agencies. The least surrender of principle entangles us in the snare of the enemy.
14 Paul writes to the Romans, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” But there is a point beyond which it is impossible to maintain union and harmony without the sacrifice of principle. Separation then becomes an absolute duty. The laws of nations should be respected when they do not conflict with the laws of God. But when there is collision between them, every true disciple of Christ will say, as did the apostle Peter when commanded to speak no more in the name of Jesus, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 935
1
God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2 As speech is to thought, so is Christ to the invisible God. He is the manifestation of the Father, and is called the Word of God. God sent His Son into the world, His divinity clothed with humanity, to make known in His life and character the attributes of the Father, that men might bear the image of the invisible God. He was the embodiment of the law of God, which is the transcript of His character.
3 The world saw God imaged in the purity and benevolence of Christ; but because of its depravity and darkness, it did not recognize Him as the Son of God. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” He was “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” In spite of overwhelming evidence, men manifested unbelief which only Satan could inspire.
4 Christ secured probation for man at an infinite cost. He must suffer for the sins of the world, that the purposes of God might not be defeated. He must destroy the apostate; for the death of Satan meant life to all who believe, and death to all who are disobedient. Nothing less than the life of Christ would atone for man’s transgression. He must restore man by placing on vantage ground every one who would believe in Him as a personal Saviour. When there was no heart to pity, His arm brought salvation. God laid help on One that was mighty, saying, “Save man from destruction.” The Son of God accepted the work joyfully, becoming man’s substitute and surety, that He might save him from his sin, and call him from transgression to obedience. He pledged Himself to take man’s nature, and stand at the head of the human race, to satisfy every claim made against them as a people bound in the slavery of sin. Through this gift of God to the world man has been given every opportunity of knowing God and the laws of His government.
5 The truth could come to man only through Christ, for He was the image of the invisible God. He represented the power and glory of the Father, and the divine signature was upon all His words and works. “I can of mine own self do nothing,” He declared; “I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” It is a
that God is love. The superhuman efforts which the Father has put forth for the good of humanity, reveal that His love is without a parallel. Through Christ this love is constantly expended for men. The heavenly universe is in constant activity in behalf of the sons of men. They work that sinners may be convicted of sin. But man is not to deceive himself with the idea that because God is a God of love, He has not a perfect standard of righteousness. The revelation of His love, in giving His Son to die the shameful death of the cross, shows that God has a standard of character. Only by a life of ignominy and suffering and humiliation and the death of the cross could Christ pay the penalty of the broken law. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”
6 In the grave Christ was the captive of divine justice. To the Judge of the universe He had made Himself responsible for the transgression of the law. It was necessary that there be given to the world a stern manifestation of the wrath of God against all who reject light and evidence and stubbornly remain in unbelief. In the crucifixion of His Son is revealed
This penalty Christ bore for the sins of the transgressor. He has borne the punishment for every man, and for this reason He can ransom every soul, however fallen his condition, if he will accept the law of God as his standard of righteousness. The cry of despair from the soul calls forth the tenderest love of God, and this is salvation to every one that believes. He who sees the guilt of his transgression, and understands the infinite sacrifice made in his behalf, will not continue in sin. But if men continue to resist light and evidence, they will cut themselves off from God’s mercy, and then will come the ministry of wrath. God can not save the sinner in his sin. The love of God is immeasurable to those who repent, but His justice is firm and uncompromising to those who abuse his long-suffering love.
7 God destroyed the inhabitants of the old world by a flood, because they refused to obey His commandments. The record states: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” Had man not eaten of the tree of knowledge and every kind of wickedness, God would not have destroyed him. And God “looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
8 It is thought strange by some that our salvation should demand our entire submission to the law of God. But
than to save man in his rebellion. No man can be saved unless he comes under the rule of Christ. Salvation means to us complete surrender of soul, body, and spirit. Because of the unruly elements in our nature, our passions often gain the mastery. The only hope of the sinner is to cease from sin. Then his will is in harmony with the will of Christ. His soul is brought into fellowship with God. Those who enlist in the army of Christ must in all things submit to His authority and consult His will. Implicit obedience is the condition of salvation. God’s law must be obeyed in every particular. It is our salvation to make His law our rule, His life our pattern, His glory our chief aim. To keep ourselves in the love of God, to be bound to obedience by His requirements, this is to be free in Christ.
9 Hurrying them from one temptation to another,
Man may repulse the enemy on one point, and think himself secure, but the wily foe has always another scheme in readiness. He follows us at every step, using every circumstance of life to cause us to regard him with favor; for he is playing the game of life for the soul. He institutes every amusement he can devise to absorb time and keep God out of the thoughts. He has sought to deceive men into the belief that Christ died in order to abrogate the law of God. But Christ did not die to immortalize transgression.
10
for Christ in His human nature kept the law; and He says to every soul, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” Christ is “the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature; for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” The first chapter of Colossians will wonderfully enlighten the mind as to the truth as it is in Jesus. If we will study it, we shall understand how Christ has made it possible for man, fallen through disobedience and transgression, to keep all the commandments of God.
11 Every blessing that Heaven could bestow was given to man in Christ. The Son of God clothed His divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity, and divinity lay hold of the throne of the Infinite. He desired to demonstrate to man that humanity connected with divinity, by faith in Christ, might partake of the divine nature. The death of Christ reveals that not one jot or tittle of the law of God can be altered to meet man in his fallen condition.
12 The Saviour assures us that as long as the heavens and the earth remain, not one tittle of the law shall fail. Christ’s death upon the cross did not destroy the heavens or the earth; both still remain; therefore God’s law remains unchanged. Far from lessening its claims, the death of Christ testifies through all generations to the immutability of the law of Jehovah. Its claims upon man are eternal.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 936
1 The enemy has worked in the religious world to deceive men into the belief that the law of God can be set aside. He has had long years of experience in this work, for he began with our first parents, using his powers to cause them to distrust God. If he could interpose himself between their souls and God, he knew that he would succeed. The prospect of becoming gods, knowing good and evil, was pleasing to Adam and Eve, and they yielded to the temptation. In receiving a knowledge of good and evil, men feel that they are gaining much; but they do not understand the purposes of Satan. They do not understand that they are taken in his snare when they tamper with the law of God. The enemy knows that if the church can be controlled by political enactments, if she can be led to unite with the world, she virtually acknowledges him as her head. Then the authority of man-made commandments will work to oppose the rule of the government of heaven. Under the leadership of Satan men will dispense with the righteous, holy enactments of God concerning the Sabbath, the observance of which is to be a sign between God and His people forever.
2 Satan’s plan has taken with the religious world. He has created an order of things entirely his own, making void the law of God. Through his deceptive working he has gained in the professedly Christian world that which he thought to gain in heaven,—an abrogation of the laws of Jehovah. Through the Roman power he has worked to remove God’s memorial, and has erected a memorial of his own to sever God from His people. Today the Protestant world is estranged from God by its acceptance of a spurious sabbath. Not one iota of sacred authority can they find for doing this; yet, full of zeal, they assert that the Lord’s memorial given at creation should be ignored, despised, trampled upon, and the first day of the week take its place.
3 No deeper wound could be inflicted on God than to ignore His holy day, and place in its stead a spurious sabbath that bears no mark of sanctity. God gave the Sabbath to the world to be set apart for His name’s glory. He says: “It is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. . . . Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.”
4 And who are Israel? The Holy Spirit by the apostle Paul declares, “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed.” Upon all who through Christ become a part of the true Israel, the observance of the Sabbath is enjoined.
5 Those who disregard a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” are casting off their allegiance to God, and exalting human power in His stead. By thus placing themselves in opposition to the God of heaven, men are failing to receive the mark, or sign, by which the people of the world are to know God’s true followers. There is no justification for those who, having the light, close their eyes and their ears to a plain “Thus saith the Lord.” They have taken up the weapons of their warfare against God, and their guilt is made manifest.
6
God calls His people to a special work for these last days. “They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places,” He says; “thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” What is this breach?—It is the broken Sabbath of the Lord. “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath,” He continues, “from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” But there must be no assumption of power on the part of God’s chosen people. Those who take their orders from Christ must not seek to compel others to obey the law of Jehovah. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
7 Even Christ, as the Prince of Life, did not seize the scepter of power and enforce His laws of righteousness. Patiently has He waited in the heavenly courts in behalf of His people who have suffered for their loyalty to Him. Patiently has He waited for the Gospel of the kingdom to be preached in all parts of the world, until every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people shall have received the light of God’s Word. And man, too, must wait patiently until the time when the work shall be accomplished, and every human being has had opportunity to decide for himself. Decisions will be made for and against God; and every man will decide his own case by his decision in regard to the law of Jehovah. Then both classes will be developed; the sentiment of every heart will be revealed. Each party will gather under its chosen leader, as loyal to God and His commandments, or as transgressors of the law, with the first great rebel at its head.
8 God declares: “Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.” “It is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” We are not merely to observe the Sabbath as a legal matter; we are to be intelligent in regard to its spiritual bearing upon all the transactions of life.
9 Christ’s prayer to His Father for His disciples was, “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth.” The sign of God is sanctification through obedience to the truth. This sanctification makes the loyal subject like his great Head, Jesus Christ. He is brought into peculiar and eternal relations to the Saviour on condition that he maintains his allegiance to the end. When we are thus sanctified, we shall not have a spurious faith, a spurious doctrine, a spurious experience. In coming out from the world and accepting the Sabbath of creation, which God has blessed and sanctified, we give evidence of true conversion. We are stamped with the mark of God’s government. As we accept the Sabbath to keep it holy unto the Lord, we are sanctified, soul, body, and spirit.
10 All who earnestly desire to know whether they have the King’s mark will examine His Word critically. A spurious sabbath is now exalted before the people. This is the mark, the sign, of a ruler who stands in opposition to the King of kings, the Lord of hosts. This ruler has sought to show his power and authority by taking a common working day, a child of the Papacy, and giving it to the world as the Sabbath of the Lord. He has sought to destroy the sign which God has said should be preserved to a thousand generations.
11 The observance of the Sabbath, the seventh day by God’s people, is the sign to the world that they are linked to the God of heaven as His loyal subjects, who trust in His everlasting veracity and His power as the Creator of the heavens and the earth; and it is the sign that God recognizes them as His chosen people. Those who understand that the Sabbath is a sign between them and God will represent the principles of His government by bringing into their daily practise the laws of His kingdom. They will live in constant submission to His will, having the words of His law written in their hearts. His injunctions will be regarded as the spring of their existence. Faithful and true, they will heed every command given, and reveal in their daily lives the religion that emanates from God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 937
1
More than eighteen hundred years ago Christ walked on this earth, a Man among men, yet a God. Hear what He said, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” A solemn duty rests upon every one who believes in Christ, to go outside the church and seek in every way to save souls. To be a Christian means to be Christlike, and upon all Christians rests the burden of working as Christ worked.
2 Christ came to this world to represent the character of God as expressed in His law, and in human nature He lived that law. So our lives are to be spent in doing God’s will. We have been made repositories of sacred truth; but this truth is of no value to us unless it is practiced in the daily life. Christians are to do thorough work. Instead of expending their time and means in working for those who have already been blessed with so many opportunities and privileges that they do not know how to appreciate them, let God’s workers go into places where the truth has not been heard. Let earnest zeal and fervent piety be manifested in behalf of those who are in the darkness of error. Of those who work in this way Christ says: “Ye are laborers together with God.” “Ye are the light of the world.” “Ye are the salt of the earth.” Ye are My witnesses.” “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
3 We are to exert a saving influence over those who are without God and without hope in the world. The pathway to the city of refuge is to be kept free from the rubbish of selfishness of sin. Those who profess to be following the Lamb of God are to take every stumbling-block out of the way. But too often those who claim to believe the truth lay stumbling-blocks in the way of others. They say that they know Christ, but in works they deny Him. By their trifling conduct they hurt those they might have helped. They sin against God, and lie against the truth, imperiling their own souls and leading others astray.
4 “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time,” “because the days are evil.” This principle was laid down by the apostle Paul, to whom the Lord gave special light. God’s people are to be lights, shining amid the moral darkness of the world. By a godly life they are to show that the truth exerts an ennobling influence over them.
5 Great efforts are made by many to present an attractive exterior. Far more essential is it to have the truth implanted in the heart; for grace in the heart will work outward. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, that is, it does not consist of ceremonies. There is danger of ceremonies becoming too numerous, of the simplicity of the Gospel being lost in a multiplicity of machinery. When professing Christians work without truth enthroned in the heart, their religion is only a stumbling-block to sinners. “Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.” The church will be perfect only when its members live the truth, vindicating the honor of God by winning souls to Christ.
6 As Christians we are keenly watched by the world. Our words and deeds are remarked upon. The Christian is a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. When we realize that as followers of Christ we are living epistles, read and known of all men, we shall be more careful of how we follow Christ. Those who do not search the Scriptures for themselves receive their impressions of our faith and doctrines by the way in which we practise the teachings of God’s Word. They may have no inclination to study their Bibles, but they do study the lives of those who claim to be Christians. A true Christian is a living commentary, explaining day by day the truth as it is in Jesus.
7 If the truth is enthroned in our hearts, we shall live its principles. Our lives will reveal its cleansing efficacy. We shall show that new cloth has not been joined to a threadbare garment. We are clothed with the garment of Christ’s righteousness, woven in the loom of heaven. The Holy Spirit takes the things of God, and shows them to us. Truth is applied to the understanding and the heart. We see Christ’s sacrifice and intercession in a new light. The work of the Redeemer in our behalf fills us with holy joy and peace, and we are constrained to go out and work for those who need help.
8 Christ gave His life that we should not perish. He has our eternal happiness in view, and He says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” He who heeds these words will indeed become a son of God, a living epistle, known and read of all men. He will not be careless in words or actions, but will make it his aim to seek and to save those that are lost. He will work earnestly and lovingly for those that are wandering in the wilderness of sin.
Page 938
1 The secret of Satan’s power over God’s professed people lies in the deceitfulness of the human heart. Their constant stumbling and falling reveal that they have not maintained a stern conflict with their besetting sins. They have not depended wholly upon Christ, because they have not realized that they are in peril of being overcome by these sins. It is the sin which appears small and unworthy of our notice against which we should be on our guard. If we could understand how deeply we injure our own souls and cause unhappiness to those around us by giving loose rein to unsanctified thoughts and unholy actions, we would strive to put them away. We would co-operate with God in working out our own salvation.
2 It is the inclination to excuse our moral defects that leads to the cultivation of sin. We must never forget that God ascribes sin to the one who transgresses; it is not registered against Satan, but against the sinner. God never accepts the agency of Satan as an excuse for the committal of one sin. When there is any excuse for a seemingly wrong act, it is not sin. Satan triumphs when he hears the professed follower of Christ offering excuses for his defects of character. Sin unrepented of, unconfessed, can never be blotted from the books of God’s record. Through faithful, thorough confession of sin, the heart is cleansed from its moral impurity. There must be a forsaking of the sins the Lord has reproved, before the soul can stand acquitted before God, humbled and repentant, realizing that he has served Satan, pleased him, glorified him, and dishonored his Lord.
3 The love of money is the besetting sin of many. Men and women who profess to worship the true God become so deceived in their pursuit after riches that they suppose gain to be godliness. The apostle Paul declares: “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.”
4 The length and happiness of our lives consists not in the amount of our earthly possessions. The foolish rich man, in his supreme selfishness, laid up for himself treasures that he could not use. He embezzled his lord’s goods that he might add to his increasing store of worldly possessions. Had he used his means as God required, there would have been no necessity for him to tear down his barns that he might build greater. He would have needed no more room for his goods. Had he used his wealth as a bounty from God, he would have laid up treasure in heaven, and would have been rich toward God. So those who use their wealth in doing good will see no necessity for large accumulations in this world. Their treasure will be used to advance the cause of God.
5 The church of Christ has been blessed with great advantages and precious privileges. God has given to His people prophets, apostles, pastors, and teachers, “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” But there are some who are never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Filled with self-sufficiency, they will not place themselves in the position of learners. They desire to be teachers and leaders. To these self-exalted ones God says: “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” True greatness does not depend upon position, but upon purity and fidelity. Our worthiness is not found in self, but in Christ. We are estimated by our faith in the Saviour, by the truth and rectitude of our lives. Shun the perils of self-exaltation, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. The servants of Christ are to consecrate their lives to His service, revealing His character in the beauty of holiness.
6 When the temptations of Satan are yielded to, mind and heart are brought into captivity to a supernatural power. In the place of submitting themselves to Christ, men surrender themselves to Satan, and then pass judgment upon the Most High because they are not happy under the jurisdiction of the ruler they have chosen. “Rebellion,” God declares, “is as the sin of witchcraft.” It leads souls onto Satan’s ground. “Your words have been stout against Me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against Thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are delivered.” This is the language proceeding from the rebellious heart. Once place your feet in Satan’s steps, and this power of argument will come to you, and you will be powerless to resist it.
7 It is Satan’s work to tempt; it is man’s work to resist, and, in the name and strength of Jesus, to say, “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Human nature of itself is utterly helpless before the wiles of Satan; but it is our privilege to plead with God for strength, and to receive it. Jesus has given us an example to show how we may meet and conquer Satan. At infinite cost the Son of God came into the world to counterwork the work of the enemy. He came to destroy sin and bring in righteousness by enabling the human agent to co-operate with the divine. He took His stand upon the Word of God. “It is written,” was the weapon with which He met and repulsed the enemy. Christ obtained the victory in behalf of the world, and thus He made it possible for man to become complete in Him, not having his own righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ.
8 A holy life is accessible to every repenting, believing child of God. We are to work out that which Christ works in. Then work, Christian brethren and sisters, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good-pleasure.” Every provision has been made that you shall come off more than conquerors. Satan is seeking to overcome you, but it is your privilege to turn to the Sun of Righteousness. He is waiting, longing to fill your heart with His love, that your joy may be full. Hold the faith with a firm hand, but be sure that you hold it in righteousness. Live by faith, as seeing Him who is invisible. All your words, all your acts, are open before the eyes of Him with whom you have to do. Nothing is hid from the all-seeing eye of the Eternal. Then act as if you realized that you were in the presence of the heavenly angels, and in the presence of God.
9 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” When we are enlightened by the Spirit of God, we shall behold only the glory of Jesus. Seeing nothing but deformity in ourselves, we shall fix our eyes in faith upon Jesus. And as we contemplate the beauty of Christ’s character, we become transformed into the divine likeness. “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 939
1 Christ set Himself apart to achieve the redemption of man, that man might understand the service he owes to God, and learn how to discharge its duties. His life on earth was a perfect life. Every circumstance He turned into an occasion for imparting truth. Foretelling His work through the prophet Isaiah, He says: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord; . . . to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”
2 There is a sustaining power in the deed done to benefit and bless humanity. This was the power that strengthened the world’s Redeemer. He declared, “I came down from heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” His will was put into active exercise to save the souls of men, but He waited and lived and worked in dependence upon God. In everything He moved in perfect harmony with the Father. The Commander of all heaven, He humbled Himself to stand at the head of fallen humanity, to reveal to human beings perfect obedience to all God’s commandments. His servants today would do well to ask themselves, What kind of a will am I cultivating? Have I been gratifying my own desires, confirming myself in selfishness and obstinacy? If we are doing this, we are in peril; for Satan will always rule the will that is not under the control of the Spirit of God. When we place our will in unison with the will of God, the obedience that was exemplified in the life of Christ will be seen in our lives. God requires us to keep His commandments, that we may cultivate the attributes which made the Saviour’s life pure, holy, and undefiled.
3 Many blessings are lost to Christ’s professed followers because they have so limited an experience in being crucified to the world. There is nothing so hard as the crucifixion of the will. Christ was tempted in all points like as we are; but His will was ever kept on the side of God’s will. In His humanity He had the same free will that Adam had in Eden. He could have yielded to temptation as Adam yielded; and Adam, by believing and obeying God, could have resisted temptation as Christ resisted it. Had Christ so willed it, when tempted in the wilderness He could have commanded the stones to be made bread. He could have cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple; He could have yielded to Satan’s request to fall down and worship him, the usurper of the world. But at every point He met the tempter with, “It is written.” His will was in obedience to the will of God. The will of the Father was revealed throughout His entire life. It was a part of His very being.
4 Christ’s obedience to His Father’s commandments is to be the measure of our obedience. Those who follow Christ, if they would be complete in Him, must keep their will surrendered to the will of God. The man Christ Jesus was the greatest Teacher the world ever knew. During their three years of discipline under His instruction, the disciples received many precious lessons. They also received rebuke for their dulness of apprehension. They could not take in the great scenes presented to them. But when their Teacher was about to leave them, He bade them tarry in Jerusalem until they should be imbued with power from on high before going forth to preach the truth of the kingdom of God. The Saviour well knew that their arguments, however logical, would not melt the hard heart, or break through the crust of selfishness and worldliness. The truth could only be effectual when coming from hearts made warm and lips made eloquent by a living knowledge of the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
5 The evangelist John withdraws the curtain, as it were, and as a consecrated high priest enters into the holy of holies, opening to us the sacred character of Christ. He gives the record of Christ’s last moments with His disciples. As the Saviour gave His last messages to His beloved followers, words filled with weighty importance fell from His lips. These words of inspiration were to be their anchor during the test and trial before them. “Let not your heart be troubled,” He said; “ye believe in God,” who is so plainly revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures. Believe in Me as the brightness of His glory, the manifestation of His character. “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you,” to secure for you the right to a home in My Father’s kingdom. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” I left the courts of heaven to come to you and show you the way, and I will be with you in the mansions I have prepared. Let not sorrow fill your hearts; for I love you, “and whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”
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The instruction Christ gave His disciples when He was among them He gave for the encouragement of His followers to the end of time. In His humanity He prayed for them. He prays for them still, as officiating high Priest within the vail. Abundant provision has been made that those who will seek God with the whole heart may find Him a present help in every time of need; for help has been laid on One that is mighty. Today He commissions His workers, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” God calls for living, acting, working men, men who from the first moments of their religious life will depend upon God and trust in Him who is the Head of the church. “Ye are a chosen generation,” He says, “a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The Lord has a great work for His disciples to do, not in their own wisdom, but in the wisdom which He will give them. In every church we need Christlike workers, those who in life and character are growing in the divine likeness by working to call sinners to repentance. The spiritual life of the church can be kept alive only as the members make personal efforts to win souls to Christ. No amount of mental culture or theological training will do this work. But it can be done by the soul who is humble and contrite, and imbued with the Spirit of God. The bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness must shine upon the heart of the worker and purify his life before light from the throne of God can come to those who sit in darkness.
7 There is a solemn obligation resting upon all. God’s admonition reaches to every soul: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Our faith is to be a faith that works by love and purifies the soul. We are to be imbued with the Spirit of Christ, to work in Christ’s lines. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” the apostle says. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” A sharp warfare must be instituted against selfishness and the corruption that is in the world through lust. The wrong act repeated becomes habit, to act and react upon mind and heart; and unless divine power shall interpose, and the human being become partaker of the divine nature, the sure result will follow. Strengthen not the evil will by turning it in wrong lines. Your life hid with Christ in God will be divested of all selfishness. Causes and effects are linked together. We shall not always be able to see the path before us. Circumstances will develop in a way that we do not expect. But God sees not as man sees. His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways. His hand is above all, and He will cause all things to work together for good to those that love Him.
Mrs. E. G. White.
(Concluded next week.)
Page 940
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Our work is incomplete if we do not educate others to be laborers together with God, visiting and praying with families, showing to the world what Jesus has done for us. God’s Word declares, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” These words are spoken to every follower of Christ. Not only the minister, but every soul connected with Him, is to be a worker in His vineyard. “Herein is My Father glorified,” Christ said, “that ye bear much fruit.” By His own life Christ has paid for your earnest, hearty co-operation. If you do not work as faithful missionaries, you are untrue to your trust, and you disappoint your Saviour.
2 We are in danger of making blunders in our missionary effort, in danger of failing to realize how essential is the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. A new order of things has come into the ministry. There is a desire to pattern after other churches, and simplicity and humility are almost unknown. Young ministers who desire to be original introduce new ideas and new plans for labor. They open revival meetings and call large numbers into the church. But when the excitement is over, where are the converted ones? Repentance for sin is not felt. The sinner is entreated to believe in Christ and accept Him, without any regard for his past life of sin and rebellion, and the heart is not broken. There is no contrition of soul. The professedly converted ones have not fallen upon the Rock Christ Jesus.
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In His Word God has shown us the only way in which this work should be done. We are to do earnest, faithful work, laboring for souls as they that must give an account. “Repent, repent,” was the message rung out by John in the wilderness. To the Pharisees He said: “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the tree; every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
4 Christ’s message to the people was, “Unless ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” And the apostles were commanded to preach everywhere that men should repent. The Lord would have His servants preach today the old Gospel doctrine, sorrow for sin, repentance, and confession. We want old-fashioned sermons, old-fashioned customs, old-fashioned fathers and mothers in Israel, who have the tenderness of Christ. The sinner must be labored for perseveringly, earnestly, wisely, until he shall see that he is a transgressor of God’s law, and shall exercise repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. When the sinner is conscious of his helpless condition, and feels his need of a Saviour, he may come with faith and hope to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Christ will accept the soul who comes to Him in true repentance. A broken and a contrite heart He will not despise.
5 The battle cry is sounding along the line. Let every soldier of the cross push to the front, not in self-sufficiency, but in meekness and lowliness of heart. Your work, my work, will not cease with this life. For a little while we may rest in the grave; but when the call comes, we shall take up our work in the kingdom of God to advance the glory of Christ. This holy work must be begun upon earth. We are not to study our own pleasure or convenience. Our question must be, What can I do to lead others to Christ? How can I make known to men the love of God which passeth knowledge?
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 941
1 Trifling Traditions—Christ’s Position, and Why—Vain
Worship—Rooted Up—How Helped.
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do Thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.” “The Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not.”
2 Many of the Jewish traditions were of so trifling and worthless a character as to cheapen their whole religion, and these traditions were handed down from generation to generation, and were regarded by many as the word of God. Human inventions, which were constantly becoming more foolish and inconsistent, were placed on an equality with the moral law, until at the time of Christ’s first advent, pure doctrine had given place to false ideas. Selfishness, cupidity, self-exaltation had brought in every false practise, until the Jewish nation had lost their high-souled integrity, and their daily practises were acts of robbery toward God and their fellow-men. They robbed God of the pure service He required of them, and they robbed their fellow-men of religious guidance and a holy example. The Word of God was dismissed from their councils, and they laid their souls as manacled victims on the altar of mammon.
3 Christ paid no heed to these human inventions, for He wished by His example to draw a line between human theories and the sacred requirements of God. To the charge of the Pharisees He said: “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother; and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your traditions.
4 The law of God requires that a son should honor his parents, and provide for their necessities, and tenderly care for them when they are old. But these false teachers taught that it was of far greater importance for children to consecrate their property by a vow to the temple service. Then when the parents applied to their children for assistance, they could say, “It is Corban, devoted to God.” They taught that it was sacrilege to recall the property once given to the temple and appropriate it to the necessities of the parents. When such a vow is made, it was held sacred; it must be fulfilled; for, said they, has not God declared, “When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it; for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee”? Thus under a semblance of piety these teachers excused the youth from the obligations of the fifth commandment, while they appropriated to their own selfish purposes the property which should have been used to make their parents happy in their old age, and those to whom it rightfully belonged were often left in distress and want. The all-seeing eye of God looked beneath the action to the motive which prompted it, and He declared: “In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups. . . . Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”
5 Through Isaiah God had declared of this nation: “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters; they have forsaken the Lord; they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” “Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?”
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The One who had spoken through Isaiah was now speaking to His people face to face. He was seeking to weed out the traditions and the false doctrines which had become mingled with the pure principles of God’s Word. The scribes and Pharisees had accused Him and His disciples of transgression because they did not observe the traditions of the elders. Christ now showed them that it is not that which enters into the mouth that defiles the soul, but that which proceeds from the heart, and that by exalting the traditions of men above the law, they were polluting their own souls and the souls of others. Calling the multitude, He said, “Hear, and understand; not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.”
7 These words aroused the indignation of the Pharisees. That their aged traditions should be set aside and treated as fallacious, made them terribly angry. They were angry also that their deceitful hearts should thus be laid bare to the view of the people.
8 “Then came His disciples, and said unto Him, Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But He answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
9 By the words, “Let them alone,” Christ did not mean that His followers were to make no effort to correct their untruthful doctrines. He was charging His disciples to enter into no controversy with them. “Let them alone,” He said. Do not be indignant because they set aside My words. They are blind, and blind men can not see. They are leaders of the blind. They have an influence, and many believe their assertions. But because they do not open their understanding to the Word of God, they walk in darkness. If I tell them that they have no foundation for their tradition, and show them truth in contrast with error, they will not believe Me. It is not evidence of the truth they want; they want an excuse for holding to their traditions.
10 To Peter, who had imbibed the teachings of the Pharisees, the words of Christ seemed new and strange. He said to Christ, “Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; these are the things which defile a man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
11 The teachings of Christ were just what the nation needed to save them from eternal ruin. He taught them pure requirements. He showed that no man who has not first offered himself to God as a living sacrifice, who is not a fit temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in, is fit for the service of God. He taught that purification of life and character could be obtained only through Christ. They could discern heavenly things only by becoming partakers of the divine nature, by laying hold of the light and power and knowledge that He was bringing within their reach.
12 Were Jesus personally teaching in our world today, we should hear from His lips the same truths. If we will submit to the working of the Holy Spirit, God will make us partakers of the divine nature. Only by walking according to the commandments of God can we be clean.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 942
1 A Deceived People—Christ’s Work—Dangerous Error
Now—Cause of Deception.
Christ came to a people who were deceived and deluded by the demon of ambition. At that time they were under the Roman yoke, but they expected One to come who would establish a kingdom from which would be excluded every other people on the earth. He was to break the heathen yoke, to lift up His people, and set them with princes. All nations were to be summoned to appear before the One sent by God, and there called upon to surrender themselves or be consumed.
2 Prophets were continually arising and claiming to have special messages to this effect. Judah was to be honored as the place of power and glory. The kingdoms of the world and the riches of the Gentiles were to be placed at their feet, and they were to be exalted as priests and kings unto God. Those who did not believe in these great things for the Jewish nation were pronounced infidels. If their prayers did not abound in these glowing expectations, they were treated as worse than useless.
3 This was Satan’s masterly working. He controlled their minds and kept them in a state of constant excitement as to who should be greatest in this imaginary kingdom about to be set up on the earth. Poor deluded souls! Satan was deceiving them, and they were receiving his false representations. He was actively seeking to counterwork the work of Christ as foretold by the unerring Word of prophecy. The simplicity of His mission and the character of His work were altogether different from that which the Jews had anticipated. It was in perfect harmony with the prophecies, but not in harmony with the prophecies as they had read them in the light of false and delusive hopes. The people were so infatuated by the falsehoods of Satan that their minds were wholly unprepared for the real Christ.
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was to set before men the character of His kingdom, showing that names and positions and titles are nothing, but that pure virtue and a holy character is accounted as everything in the sight of heaven. In His sermon on the mount, the very first sentences that came from His lips were calculated to lay those ambitions low in the dust. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
5 This whole sermon was an exposition of the law. Christ presented the far-reaching claims of the law of God. He tried to correct their high imaginings by exalting true sentiments, and proclaiming a blessing upon those traits of character that were entirely opposite to the attributes they were cherishing. He presented before them a kingdom where human ambitions and earthly passions can not find an entrance.
6 Christ saw that Israel, who had been so highly favored, in having had committed to them the oracles of God, were misconstruing the Scriptures to meet their own backslidden condition. Their teaching was no longer the Word of God, but the sayings of men. They were making of none effect the commandments of God by their tradition. They were working away from the high and holy standard given them in the Word of God, and were meeting a human standard. Christ’s work was to strip away these false theories, and by His own life reveal the character of God, that He might lift souls who were perishing in ignorance of true godliness into a pure and holy atmosphere.
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Those who are making void the law of God in this age are under a deception fully as dangerous as were the Jews. They depreciate the Old Testament Scriptures and exalt the New. The New Testament presents the same standard of righteousness as the Old. It is the key to the Old. Abel was a Christian; he died for Christ because he acknowledged Him in the blood of the slain lamb. Noah was a Christian. He unflinchingly endured the test of his faith. He was righteous in his day, and is called a “preacher of righteousness.” Christ was the Way for the antediluvian church; He was the Way for the patriarchs, for the prophets , and He is the Way for the Christian church today. Christ is brought to view in the Old Testament Scriptures as a personal Saviour. And the same Christ who was the Way in the Old Testament Scriptures declares in the New, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
8 John the Baptist had prepared the way for Christ, urging upon all repentance and confession of sin. In Galilee Christ followed the preaching of John with the message, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In the synagog of Nazareth He announced His mission, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
9 As He spoke, the Spirit of God impressed the minds and hearts of His hearers. A thrilling power from God attended His Word, and they witnessed to the glorious words that proceeded out of His lips. But Satan began to insinuate his questioning doubts: “Who is this man? Is not this Joseph’s son?” Jesus had laid before this people their true position, and this had infuriated the hearts already filled with unbelief and prejudice. They would not hear from His lips the truth in regard to their condition, and they thrust Him out of the synagog. And they would have cast Him headlong over a precipice, had not angels come to His assistance, and led Him away to a place of safety. How quickly, when unbelief enters the soul, is Jesus expelled, and Satan takes the reins of control. The Holy Spirit is rejected, and the attributes of Satan come in.
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to bless those whom these leading Jews neglected, and despised, and refused to help. In every good work He sought to lead them to accept Him as their personal Saviour. His life was fragrant, a savor of life unto life. He offered Himself to them that they might give Him a home in their hearts. And yet they would not receive Him. He had declared Himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Daily He had brought the truth before the Pharisees, the priests and rulers. But those who should have known by its fruit the character of the tree, did not know Christ. They did not see the truth as truth. While they claimed to keep the law of God, they denied it by their works. Having eyes they saw not, because of the ignorance that was in them through the hardness of their hearts. The impurity of their hearts, the defiling practises of their lives, their selfishness, their envy, their jealousy, their evil-surmising, their transgression of the law of God while they claimed to keep it, bore continual testimony against them.
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The Jews were self-deceived. They rejected the teachings of Christ because He exposed the teachings of their hearts, and reproved their sins. They would not come to the Light, fearing that their deeds would be reproved. They chose darkness rather than light. “This is the condemnation,” said Christ, “that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” The Jews pursued their course of rejecting Christ, until, in their self-deceived, deluded state, they thought that in crucifying Him they were doing God’s service. This was the result of their refusing light. God does not compel any man to believe. He sets light before men, and Satan presents his darkness. While the deceiver is constantly crying, “Light is here; truth is here,” Jesus is saying: “I am the Truth, I am the Way; I have the words of eternal life. If any man follow Me, he shall not walk in darkness.” God gives to us all evidence sufficient to balance our faith on the side of truth. If we surrender to God, we shall choose the light and reject the darkness. If we desire to maintain the independence of the natural heart, and refuse the correction of God, we shall, as did the Jews, stubbornly carry out our purposes and our ideas in the face of the plainest evidence, and shall be in danger of as great deception as came upon them. And in our blind infatuation we may go to as great lengths as they did, and yet flatter ourselves that we are doing work for God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 943
1 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound Him and led Him away to Annas first.” In deference to his age, Annas, the head of the reigning priestly family, was recognized by the people as the high priest. His counsel was sought and carried out as the voice of God. He must first see Jesus a captive to priestly power. He must be present at the examination of the prisoner, for fear that the less-experienced Caiaphas might fail to secure the object for which they were working. His artifice, cunning, and subtlety must be used on this occasion; for at all events Christ’s condemnation must be secured.
2 Christ was to be tried formally before the Sanhedrin, but he was subjected to a preliminary trial before Annas, that the priest might gratify his masterly spirit and show his superiority. Some delay was required in order to assemble the Sanhedrin, and, burning with a desire to hurry matters, Annas waited with ill-concealed impatience. While the members of the counsel were coming together, he asked Jesus of His disciples and His doctrine, hoping that the prisoner would say something that would give him material upon which to work. He thought that he could readily entangle Christ, and secure His condemnation, on the ground that His own words proved Him to be a disturber of the peace and a creator of insurrection.
3 Christ read the priest’s purpose as an open book. As if reading the inmost soul of His questioner, He denied that there was between Him and His followers any secret bond or union, or that He gathered them secretly and in the darkness, to conceal His designs. “I spake openly to the world,” He declared; “I ever taught in the synagog, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou Me? ask them which heard Me, what I have said unto them; behold, they know what I said.”
4 Annas was silenced by the decision of the answer. Fearing that Christ would say something regarding his own course of action that he would prefer to keep covered up, he said nothing more to Him at this time. One of his officers, filled with wrath as he saw Annas silenced, struck Christ on the face, saying, “Answerest Thou the high priest so?” This action was unlawful; it was contrary to law to offer any one the least insult until he had been tried. But the clouds of wrath were gathering ready to burst. From that time till Christ cried out,
insults were offered to Him. The actions of His persecutors were those of barbarians, rather than of civilized human beings professing godliness.
5 To the question of the officer, Christ replied calmly, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou Me?” He spoke no burning words of retaliation. His answer came from a heart sinless, patient, and gentle, that would not be provoked. In His serenity and heavenly dignity He was in that hardened, passionate throng as a star in the midnight darkness.
6 The whole history of Christ’s life on earth is a narrative of sacrifice and suffering. Through transgression man severed his connection with God, and, as a result, he lost the image of God. He cherished the sentiments and the attributes of the apostate. Christ must take human nature, and live the law of God, in order that the one who is the originator of transgression might be unmasked. He came to this earth, and here He suffered, being tempted.
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of His holiness and His hatred of sin. At the hands of the beings He had created and for whom He was making an infinite sacrifice, He received every indignity. His trial by men who acted as fiends act, was to Him a perpetual sacrifice. To be surrounded by beings under the control of Satan was revolting to Him.
8 Christ might have stood forth in godlike dignity, and asked His persecutors, as He asked Job, “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.” “Gird up thy loins now like a man; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me. Wilt thou also disannul My judgment? wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be righteous?” But He who could have doomed His enemies to death, bore with their cruelty. His love for His Father, and His pledge, made from the foundation of the world, to become the sinbearer that He might save all who came to Him in faith, induced Him to bear patiently and uncomplainingly the coarse treatment of those in whose behalf He had clothed His divinity with humanity.
9 The angels witnessed every movement against their loved Commander. Not long before this Christ had said to Peter: “Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I can not now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels?” Why, then, thought the disciples, does He not save Himself and us? And in answer to their unspoken thought, He said, “But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?”
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They are mighty, and they excel in strength. On one occasion, in obedience to the command of Christ, they slew in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand men of the Assyrian army. They can, and will, soon visit the earth with judgments. In quick succession one angel after another will pour out vials of wrath upon the inhabitants of the earth. How easily could the angels, beholding the shameful scene of the trial of Christ, have testified to their indignation by consuming the adversaries of God! But they were not commanded to do this.
11 From Annas the Saviour was hurried to the palace of the officiating high priest, Caiaphas. Here He was falsely accused by His persecutors, and sneeringly questioned by the priests. But while enduring this mockery of an examination, He was pierced by a keener pang than it was in the power of His enemies to inflict. Whose is that voice He hears, denying the Saviour? Is it Judas?—No; it is Peter, apparently His firmest disciple, who but a few hours before had declared that he would never deny his Lord, but if need be would go with Him to prison and to death. But now, with bitter oaths, He is saying, “I know not the Man.” The abuse of the Jews can not cause Christ such pain as this denial. The cock crew as the words were spoken, and, turning, Christ looked His disciple in the face. His look expressed sorrow, yet it was full of compassion and forgiveness. Unable to bear the sight, Peter rushed from the room, but at every step he took, his Master’s face, that precious, suffering, and yet compassionate face, was mirrored before him.
12 “And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led Him into their council, saying, Art Thou the Christ? tell us. And He said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe; and if I also ask you, ye will not answer Me, nor let Me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all, Art Thou then the Son of God? And He said unto them, Ye say that I am. And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of His own mouth.”
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By using their God-given faculties to cause suffering and distress to the Son of God, the priests and rulers decided their eternal destiny. They showed that they had chosen to stand on the side of the great apostate. When Christ comes the second time, not as a prisoner surrounded by a rabble will they see Him. They will see Him as heaven’s King, surrounded by a fitting body-guard. Christ will come in His own glory, in the glory of His Father, and in the glory of the holy angels. Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels, the beautiful and triumphant sons of God, possessing surpassing loveliness and glory, will escort Him on His way. Then the priests and rulers will remember distinctly the scene in the judgment-hall. Every circumstance will appear before them as if written in letters of fire. Then the whole world will know and understand. They will realize who and what they, poor, feeble, finite human beings, have been warring against.
14 “And the men that held Jesus mocked Him, and smote Him. And when they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face, and asked Him saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote Thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against Him.”
15 This is a representation of what priests and rulers will do when Satan controls them. Every soul in his army he leads against good. It was necessary that Christ should suffer this treatment, that he who was once an angel in the heavenly courts, but who apostatized, and who was now endeavoring to clothe his deformity with the garments of an angel of light, might be unmasked, and his true character be revealed through the men he had inspired.
16 After reading this history, will any of the people of God confederate with the powers of darkness, prostituting their God-given faculties to Satan’s work? From this lesson all may learn
even in those who fill the highest positions of trust. These things are recorded for the benefit of all who shall be called upon to suffer similar scorn and derision for Christ’s sake. God’s people will suffer because of the delusion that will come upon men’s minds. Because some conscientiously differ with them on subjects of Bible truth, men will repeat the actions which were done to Christ. But none are to retaliate, or to feel that God has left them to suffer when He might deliver them. “If ye were of the world,” Christ declared, “the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent Me.”
17 All those who in our day turn the truth of God into a lie by their human traditions, will surely set up their human laws to counteract the laws of God. These laws will be made as vigorous as ever the self-righteous Pharisees made their traditions. Men will strive to disguise their ungodly deeds and want of piety by making laws to compel the conscience of others, and in their false religious zeal to enforce these laws they will oppress their fellow-men.
18 History will be, and even now is being, repeated. The same power from beneath that worked in Christ’s day is making itself known. Oppressive laws, which have not in them a particle of the Spirit of God, are being enacted. And the less men submit themselves in obedience to the law of God, the more zealously will they try to enforce human laws. They will teach for doctrine the commandments of men.
19 Our chief interest should be to seek for the truth as for hidden treasure, that we may live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. We are to consider carefully how to build, for human nature is a cruel tyrant when not under the control of God’s Spirit.
20
to all His commandments. We need daily to understand every lesson in the life of Christ, taking heed lest we allow the world, with its forms and practises, its laws and standards, to be our criterion, and draw us away from our Saviour. Let those who love God keep the example of Christ ever before them. Let them remember the many lessons He gave to those whom He had chosen as His representatives. He taught them not to retaliate or resist oppression. In His name they were to approach His Father and their Father, and pour out their sorrows and griefs to Him. He would answer them; for He would be touched with the feeling of their infirmities.
21 “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s person in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 944
1 “Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment; and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment-hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover.” The Jewish priests were strict in observing their own traditions. They would not enter the Roman judgment-hall, for fear of defilement. But their hearts were already defiled by sin. They were seeking the death of Him who was represented by the Passover, and who passed over the houses of the Israelites, and slew the Egyptians. Through their own evil work the priests and rulers had already separated themselves from God, and were confederating with the synagog of Satan. By cherishing envy and jealousy, they were transgressing every precept of the law of God. They were acting out the attributes of the enemy of God.
2 “Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this Man? They answered and said unto him, If He were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye Him, and judge Him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.” “Then Pilate entered into the judgment-hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto Him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of Me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee unto me; What hast Thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is My kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art Thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice.” Christ affirmed that His word was in itself a key which would unlock the mystery to those who were prepared to receive it. It had a self-commending power, and this was the secret of the spread of His kingdom of truth. He desired Pilate to understand that only by receiving and appropriating truth could ruined nature be reconstructed.
3 Pilate was convicted. “What is truth?” he inquired. But he did not wait for a reply. The tumult outside recalled him to the interests of the hour; for the priests were clamorous for immediate action. Going out to the Jews, who stood beyond the door of the hall, he declared emphatically, “I find no fault in Him at all.” O, if Pilate had only stood firm, refusing to condemn a man whom he found guiltless, he would have broken the fatal chain that was to bind him in remorse and guilt as long as he lived! Many who heard his words remembered them ever after. As they thought of the Man pronounced innocent by the judge, and yet given up to mob law, they were led to ask themselves what power they were under.
4 When the priests heard Pilate’s words, they broke out into a torrent of accusation. Standing behind Pilate, in view of all in the court, Christ heard the abuse, but to all the false charges against Him He answered not a word. His whole bearing gave evidence of conscious innocence. He stood unmoved by the fury of the waves that beat about Him. It was as if the heavy surges of wrath, rising higher and higher, like the waves of the boisterous ocean, broke about Him, but did not touch Him. He stood silent, but His silence was eloquence. It was as a light shining from the inner to the outer man. Thus He gave evidence of His superior wisdom.
5 Pilate was astonished at His bearing. Does this Man disregard the proceedings because He does not care to save His life? he asked himself. Christ had spoken to Pilate of His kingdom of truth, and conviction had fastened itself in the mind of the governor. He was fully convinced that the Prisoner had been delivered to him from motives of envy. As he looked at Jesus, bearing insult and mockery without retaliation, he felt that he could not be as unrighteous and unjust as were the clamoring priests. He felt compelled to declare the Prisoner’s innocence.
6 “I find no fault in this Man,” he declared. As the priests heard this, “they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.” When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the Man were a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that He belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. Besides escaping responsibility in regard to the trial of Christ, Pilate thought that this would be a good opportunity to heal an old quarrel between himself and Herod. In this he was not wrong; for the two magistrates made friends over the trial of the Saviour.
7 “When Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad; for he was desirous to see Him of a long season, because he had heard many things of Him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. Then he questioned with Him in many words.” But to all the questions asked by Herod, Christ answered nothing. He knew the wickedness of the men before Him. He knew that were He to say anything, however true and elevating it might be, it would be like casting pearls before swine. They would trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend Him.
8 “And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.” They were acting under the inspiration of the first apostate, the enemy of God. When the rulers of the people are wicked and designing, Satan has every opportunity of representing his character as it is.
9 “And Herod with His men of war set Him at naught, and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe.” The Jewish priests encouraged the insults and cruelty of the mob. One day priests and rulers will see as in a mirror the words spoken and the actions performed in order to stir up the wildest passions of the hardened soldiers to mock and ridicule Christ. But it will be too late, too late to take back that night’s work.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1
Hardened as he was, Herod dared not ratify the condemnation of the Jews, and he therefore sent Jesus back to Pilate. The Saviour, tottering with weariness, pale and wounded, was mercilessly hurried back to the court of the Roman governor. Pilate was very much irritated; for he had congratulated himself on being rid of a fearful responsibility when he referred the accusers of Jesus to Herod. He now impatiently inquired of the Jews what they would have him do. He reminded them that he had already examined the Prisoner and found no blame in Him; that His accusers had failed to sustain a single charge against Him; that he had sent Jesus to Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, and one of their own nation, who also found nothing worthy of death against the Prisoner. “I will therefore chastise Him,” Pilate said, “and let Him go.”
2 Here Pilate showed his weakness. He had called attention to the fact that no fault had been found in Jesus. He had appealed to the humanity of the people, plainly stating his conviction of the Prisoner’s innocence. What justice, then, was there in laying the scourge on One who was not guilty? Why inflict on Him a punishment He had done nothing to merit? This proposal was made to gratify the revengeful hatred of a nation that claimed to hold in their charge the only piety in the world, to please a party of professedly godly men, who had been warned and wept over by the world’s Redeemer.
3 As Pilate took his seat in the judgment-hall, a messenger pressed through the crowd and handed him a letter. It was from his wife, and read, “Have thou nothing to do with that just Man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him.” Pilate’s face grew pale. He was confused by his own conflicting emotions. But while he was hesitating as to what he should do, the priests and rulers were still further inflaming the minds of the people. Some of their own number were sent among the crowd, with instructions to gain over the leading minds by promises of reward. This they did, thinking that the rest would follow the example set.
4 Pilate was forced to action. “At that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.” Turning to the crowd, Pilate asked, “Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him.” Like the bellowing of wild beasts came the answer from the mob, “Release unto us Barabbas.” Louder and louder swelled the cry, “Barabbas, Barabbas.” Thinking that the people had not understood his question, Pilate asked, “Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?” But they cried out again, “Away with this Man, and release unto us Barabbas.” “What shall I do then with Jesus?” Pilate asked. Again the surging multitude roar like demons. Demons in human form were in the crowd, and what could be expected but the answer, “Let Him be crucified”?
5 Pilate was troubled. He shrank from delivering an innocent man to the most ignominious and cruel death that could be inflicted. After the roar of voices had ceased, he turned to the people, saying, “Why, what evil hath He done?” But the case had gone too far for argument. It was not evidence of Christ’s innocence that they wanted, but His condemnation.”
6 Still Pilate endeavored to save Him. “He said unto them the third time,
I have found no cause of death in Him; I will therefore chastise Him, and let Him go.” But the very mention of His release stirred the people to a tenfold worse frenzy. “They were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.” “Crucify Him, crucify Him,” they cried. Louder and louder swelled the storm that Pilate’s indecision had called forth.
7 In the vain hope of exciting the pity of the people, that they might decide that this was sufficient punishment, Pilate now caused Jesus to be scourged in the presence of the multitude. “And the soldiers led Him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed Him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about His head, and began to salute Him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they . . . did spit upon Him, and bowing their knees worshiped Him.” Occasionally some wicked hand snatched the reed that had been placed in His hand, and struck the crown upon His brow, forcing the thorns into His temples, and sending the blood trickling down His face and beard.
8 Thus Pilate took the step which Satan wanted him to take. He gave himself as an instrument into the hands of the Jews, to perform an unjust and unlawful action, to accomplish their purpose against an innocent man. Pilate thought that the marks of the lash on the back of the Sufferer would touch the sympathies of the people. But the rulers were inspired by a power from beneath in their hatred toward Christ. He had reproved them for their unrighteousness, and they were determined to be revenged. This hatred they communicated to the common people.
9 With keen perception the Jews saw the weakness of punishing a man who had been declared innocent. They knew that Pilate was trying if possible to save the life of the Prisoner, but they were under the control of Satan, and were determined that Jesus should not be released. To please and satisfy the Jews, Pilate had scourged Him, and they thought that if they pressed the matter to a decided issue, they would surely gain their end. They were confident that, now that Pilate had acceded so much, he would yield to their desires.
10 Pilate now sent for Barabbas to be brought into the court, and he then presented the two prisoners side by side. Pointing to the Saviour, he said in a voice of solemn entreaty, “Behold the Man.” “I bring Him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in Him.” But what cared the priests for compassion or justice. They had moved the people to a mad fury, and, instead of pitying Jesus in His suffering, they cried, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” Losing all patience with their unreasoning cruelty, Pilate cried out despairingly, “Take ye Him, and crucify Him; for I find no fault in Him.” By thus giving an innocent man up to the passions and prejudices of the mob, Pilate placed himself where the people could compel him to do their will.
11 “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.”
12
“Men will say again, “We have a law, and by our law He ought to die.” “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; and went again into the judgment-hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art Thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto Him, Speakest Thou not unto me? knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?” By saying this, Pilate accepted the responsibility of the issue. “Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above; therefore he that delivered Me unto thee hath the greater sin.”
13 Pilate was now more convinced than ever of the superiority of the Man before him. Why did he feel so deeply in regard to Jesus? He was convicted, and had been during the entire trial, that the Prisoner was more than a common man. Fear came upon him as he thought, What if He is indeed a King? He could have refused to become obedient to the wishes of the mob. But Pilate was a coward. As he tried once more to release Jesus, the Jews cried out, saying, “If thou let this Man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend.” Pilate was afraid that if he released Jesus, the representations carried to Rome would bring censure on himself. Better, he thought, that this Man be crucified, and I be left free. But his soul trembled at the thought of signing the death warrant of a man whom he had declared faultless.
14 Pilate now thought he had done all he could. He did not think of his words, “Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?” When he “saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just Person; see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” O Pilate, if you could as easily wash the stains off your soul as you washed your hands, your guilt would not remain!
15 “Then released he Barabbas unto them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.”
16 What a record was made in the books of heaven of this night’s work. Christ was arraigned twice before the high priests, once before the Sanhedrin, once before Herod, and twice before Pilate. Insult, abuse, personal violence, all this He received from Herod and his soldiers. He was scourged by Pilate, and then mocked and taunted by the rabble throng.
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The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. He was “despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”
18 Christ was vehemently accused by men holding the highest offices in the church, men whose fathers He had delivered from Egyptian bondage. The people chosen by God to be the light of the world stood under the black banner of Satan, and reviled and oppressed their long-expected Messiah. Thus they brought their ruin upon themselves. Their contemptuous speeches reacted on them. What darkness this night’s work brought upon the chief actors in the scene! Nevermore did the memory of it fade from their minds. Nevermore did peaceful sleep come to their pillow. Their wicked deeds testified more loudly against them than did the mark of Cain against him.
19 Transactions such as this have taken place, and will again be enacted. The tide of popular feeling is always fickle. The hosannas of today may be followed by the “Crucify him” of tomorrow. In this our day
20 In their religious bigotry men will resist all evidence and refuse all light. Those who make void the law of God, as the teachers of today are doing, have no standard by which to measure their own character or the character of others. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Instead of being softened by the compassion of God, they presume on His mercy. Instead of manifesting godlike compassion toward others, they cultivate the attributes of the enemy of God and bring oppression upon God’s people by enforcing man-made laws.
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is of more value and is to be regarded more sacredly than any human laws that can be framed. But men will refuse to others the liberty of keeping the commandments of God according to His revealed will. As Roman Catholics have thought, they will still think that human laws should prevail.
22 From the record of Christ’s trial we may see to what pass those come who have perverted ideas of what constitutes godliness, and who allow their passions and prejudices to rule. When men are inspired by Satan with false religious zeal, they have no sense of what true piety means.
23 The times are marked by extraordinary depravity. The religion of the churches of today is of a kind that should make every true follower of God afraid of it. The religious character of professed Christians makes them act like demons. “We have a law,” they say, “and by our law He ought to die.” More than common contempt will be shown to those who make the Word of God their criterion.
24 The scenes of Christ’s condemnation will be acted out in the courts by the people of this age who claim to be serving God. They will be moved with fury against God’s people. Those who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth will know what it means to feel the wrath of the dragon. A power from beneath will cooperate with the apostate churches against those who obey the truth. Men will do the deeds of their fathers, repeating as far as possible the course of action pursued against Christ. Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 946
1 Strength in Christian Unity—Each a Part of the
Whole—Life and Love the Tie that Binds—The
Sure Guide—The Need of the Spirit.
Christian unity is a mighty agency. It tells in a powerful manner that those who possess it are children of God. It has an irresistible influence upon the world, showing that man in his humanity may be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We are to be one with our fellow-men and with Christ, and in Christ one with God. Then of us can be spoken the words, “Ye are complete in Him.”
2 In the plan of redemption a place is allotted to every soul. To each man is given his work. No one can be a member of Christ’s body and yet be inactive. Different lines of work are committed to different men, according to their several ability. The work of God’s people may and will be varied, but one Spirit is the mover in it all. All the work done for the Master is to be connected with the great whole. The workers are to labor together in concert, each one controlled by divine power, putting forth undivided effort to draw those around them to Christ. All must move like parts of well-adjusted machinery, each part dependent on the other part, yet standing distinct in action. And each one is to take the place assigned him and do the work appointed him. God calls upon the members of His church to receive the Holy Spirit, to come together in unity and brotherly sympathy, to bind their interests together in love.
3
Strange, eventful history is being recorded in the books of heaven. Everything in our world is in agitation. Events are changing to bring about the day of God, which hasteth greatly. The world is filled with storm and war and variance. Under one head, the papal power, it has united to oppose God in the person of His faithful witnesses. This union is cemented by the great apostate. All jealousy, evil surmising, and evil speaking are of him, and tend to produce discord and disunion. Then shall God’s people be at variance with one another? Shall they not be cemented together by the Holy Spirit, each worker filled with love and sympathy for his fellow-worker, each filling his appointment with faithful effort, seeking earnestly to prepare the way of the Lord? In the general discord there should be one place where harmony and unity should exist because the Bible is the guide. When the principles of God’s Word are followed, it becomes a bright light shining in a dark place. All who build on this Rock can be sure that their house will stand amid the tempest.
4 The sword of the Spirit, which cuts both ways, is to be in the hands of God’s servants. His inspiration is to be upon them, leading them
5 The Holy Spirit will work with the consecrated human instrument; for this is God’s purpose. God has opened a door between heaven and earth, which no power can close. He calls upon every human being to be pure, holy, sanctified, in order that the work for this time may be accomplished. When God’s people place themselves in proper relation to Him and to one another, there will be a full impartation of the Holy Spirit for the harmonious combination of the whole body.
6
Nothing so manifestly weakens a church as disunion and strife. Nothing so wars against Christ and the truth as this spirit. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”
7 As long as we are in this world we must be linked with one another. Humanity is interlaced and interwoven with humanity. As Christians we are members of one another. The Lord has made us thus, and when disappointments come, we are not to think the worse of one another. We are individual members of the general body. In helplessness and disappointment we are fighting the battles of life, and the Lord designs us, as His sons and daughters, whom He calls His friends, to help one another. This is to be a part of our practical Christian work. Who is my neighbor? Read and understand. It is
Thy brother, sick in spirit, needs thee as thou once needed him. He needs the experience of one who has been as weak as himself, one who can sympathize with him and help him. The very knowledge of our own weakness helps us to help another in his weakness. Let it not be that the sympathetic chords, which should be quick to vibrate at the least touch, shall be as cold as steel, frozen as it were, and unable to help where help is needed. There is a work to be done in human hearts to make them keen and true and sensitive to another’s needs.
8 We can be united with one another only as we are united with Christ. He declared, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me” Christ must be uplifted. His name is all-powerful. Many who have dwelt much upon doctrinal subjects, but who have not learned of Christ, have been found unable to control themselves. They need the Holy Spirit’s power. We should seek to understand what it means to be in complete union with Christ, who is the propitiation for our sins and for the sins of the whole world. Our life should be bound up with His life. We should draw constantly from Him, partaking of the living bread which came down from heaven, drinking from a fountain ever fresh, ever giving forth its abundant treasure. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life a freshness, a simplicity, a humility, a meekness and lowliness of heart, that show all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him.
9
When He draws us to Himself, we are hidden with Him in God, and we show to the world that God loves us as He loves His Son. God imparts His Spirit to us. Truth, with its divine power and influence, takes possession of us, making of believers one harmonious whole, of which Christ is seen to be the soul. Every element is working in right lines. Every worker who fills his appointed place is helping to uplift the cross of Calvary.
10 This is the unity God requires in His service. When God’s chosen people are of one mind, barriers of selfishness will disappear as by magic, and many, many more souls will be converted because of the unity which exists among believers. There is one body and one spirit. Those who have been building territorial lines of distinction, barriers of color and caste, might better take these down much faster than they put them up.
11 He in whose heart Christ abides recognizes Christ abiding in the heart of his brother. Christ never wars against Christ. Christ never exerts an influence against Christ. Christians are to do their work, whatever it may be, in the unity of the Spirit, for the perfecting of the whole body. The church is to be purified, refined, ennobled. The members are to cast from their hearts the idols which have hindered their advancement in spirituality. By the influence of the Spirit, the most discordant may be brought into harmony. Unselfishness is to bind God’s people together with firm, tender bonds. There is a vast power in the church when the energies of the members are under the control of the Spirit, gathering good from every source, educating, training, and disciplining self. Thus is presented to God a powerful organization, through which He can work for the conversion of sinners. Thus heaven and earth are connected, and all the divine agencies co-operate with human instrumentalities.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 The Jewish tabernacle was a type of the Christian church. It was a wonderful structure, made in two parts, the outer and the inner, one open to the ministration of all the priests, the other to the high priest alone, who represented Christ.
2 The church on earth, composed of those who are faithful and loyal to God, is the “true tabernacle,” whereof the Redeemer is the minister. God, and not man, pitched this tabernacle on a high, elevated platform. This tabernacle is Christ’s body, and from north, south, east, and west, He gathers those who shall help to compose it.
3 Through Christ the true believers are represented as being built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Paul writes: “God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, . . . and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. . . . Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.”
4
God employed men to rear the Jewish tabernacle, giving them skill and efficiency for their work. We read: “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, . . . and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. . . . And in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee.” “Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding.” Thus heavenly intelligences co-operated with the workmen whom God Himself selected. And thus the church on earth must unite with the heavenly intelligences in doing God’s work for this time.
5 “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation.” On this stone, laid by the Lord, there would have arisen no building had not the work of redemption been carried on after the Lord’s prescribed plan. And, altho the plan of salvation was carried forward according to the plan ordained from the foundation of the earth, yet men and women will not be saved unless they themselves exercise faith, and build on the true foundation, unless they allow God to re-create them by His Holy Spirit. God works in and through the human agent who co-operates with Him by choosing to help to compose the Lord’s building. A holy tabernacle is built up of those who receive Christ as their personal Saviour. Of them John writes: “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” By receiving Christ and being conformed to His will, man goes on to perfection. This building up of individual characters, which are renewed, constitutes a structure more noble than any mortal workmanship. Thus the great work of God goes forward from point to point. Those who desire a place in His church show this by their willingness to be so conformed to His will that they can be trusted with grace to impart to others.
6 Divine ministration is needed to give power and efficiency to the church in this world. God’s family on earth, subject to temptations and trials, is very near His heart of love. He has ordained that communication be kept up between heavenly intelligences and His children on this earth. Angels from the courts above are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, those who as faithful warriors are partaking of Christ’s suffering. Christ is represented as dwelling in His people. They must be fed with meat in due season. Therefore a connection has been established between them and the church above. God cares for His human creation as a husbandman cares for a vineyard. Christ declares, “I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman.” What a wonderful representation! God is not only the keeper, but the owner of the vineyard.
7
To the church is given the work of making known to the world what is the fellowship of the mystery “which from all ages hath been hid in God who created all things; to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God.”
8 “For this cause,” Paul says, “I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.”
9 Christ is the Minister of the true tabernacle, the High Priest of all who believe in Him as a personal Saviour: and His office no other can take. He is the High Priest of the church, and He has a work to do which no other can perform. By His grace
His ambassadors, those who receive Him, are born again, and are thus fitted to represent Him. “Such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s; for this He did once, when He offered up Himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated forevermore.
10 Christ offered up His broken body to purchase back God’s heritage, to give man another trial. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” By His spotless life, His obedience, His death on the cross of Calvary, Christ interceded for the lost race. And now, not as a mere petitioner does the Captain of our salvation intercede for us, but as a conqueror claiming his victory. His offering is complete, and as our intercessor He executes His self-appointed work, holding before God the censer containing His own spotless merits and the prayers, confessions, and thanksgiving of His people. Perfumed with the fragrance of His righteousness, these ascend to God as a sweet savor. The offering is wholly acceptable, and pardon covers all transgression. To the true believer Christ is indeed the minister of the sanctuary, officiating for him in the sanctuary, and speaking through God’s appointed agencies.
11 Christ is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him in faith. He will cleanse them from all defilement if they will let Him. But if they cling to their sins, they can not possibly be saved; for
12 God has declared that those who receive Christ as their Redeemer, accepting Him as the One who takes away all sin, will receive pardon for their transgression. These are the terms of our election. Man’s salvation depends upon His receiving Christ by faith. Those who will not receive Him lose eternal life because they refuse to avail themselves of the only means provided by the Father and the Son for the salvation of a perishing world.
13 The whole human family is the Lord’s property by creation, and doubly so because of the price paid to redeem them. After men and women had enlisted in the army of the great apostate, God bought them back by the gift of His only-begotten Son. But they make very poor returns for what God has done for them. When their souls are quickened by the living Word, they will realize more clearly what they owe to their Redeemer.
14 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.”
15
For the church on earth, those who are obedient to God’s Word, Christ is performing His office work. Through His appointed instrumentalities. He carries forward His work. If we walked in accordance with the light of God’s Word, we should understand better the mysteries of redemption. Mysteries into which angels desire to look, which prophets and kings and righteous men desired to understand, the church will carry in messages from God to the world. The prophets prophesied of these things, and they longed to understand that which they foretold, but to them this privilege was not given. They longed to see what we see, and hear what we hear, but they could not. They will know all when Christ comes the second time, when, surrounded by a multitude which no man can number, He explains the deliverance He worked out by the great sacrifice He made.
16 Let us try to understand something of the mighty work that Christ did by His incarnation, His life of humiliation, His lessons, His deeds of mercy. “For your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” In the strength of that wondrous love which is unexplainable to humanity, He arose, and, laying hold of the world, held it in His grasp. Satan, claiming the world as his rightful territory, sought by every device to wrench it from the Redeemer’s grasp; but by His life and death of humiliation Christ held it fast. And when in His dying agony the Saviour cried out, “It is finished,” He drew the world back into favor with God. Satan knew that his triumph was short. In dying, Christ proclaimed Satan’s death sentence. This victory was heralded by all the heavenly host. All the angelic family, cherubs and seraphs, sang the praise of the wonderful work which united earth to heaven, and finite man to the infinite God. And when the conflict is forever ended, what songs of praise will burst forth from the redeemed host! That will indeed be music. Without a discordant note, the rich, full anthem will arise from immortal voices, “Worthy, worthy is the Lamb.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 948
1 The worker for God often regards the activities of life as essential for the advancement of the work. He looks upon himself as a necessity, and self is mingled with all that is said and done. Then God interposes. He draws His child away from the earthly, which holds his attention, that he may behold His glory. He says: “This poor soul has lost sight of Me and My sufficiency. His eye is not fixed upon his Lord. I must throw My light and My vitalizing power into his heart, and thus prepare him to work in right lines. By anointing his eyes with the heavenly eye-salve I will prepare him to receive truth.
2 The Lord is compelled to fortify the soul against self-sufficiency and self-dependence, in order that the worker shall not regard his failings as virtues, and thus be ruined by self-exaltation. Sometimes the Lord makes His path to the soul by a process that is painful to humanity; the work of purifying is a great work, and will always cost man suffering and trial. But he must pass through the furnace until the fires have consumed the dross, and he can reflect the divine image.
3 Those who follow their own inclinations are not good judges of what the Lord is doing, and they are filled with discontent. They see failure where there is triumph, loss where there is gain. Like Jacob, they are ready to exclaim, “All these things are against me,” when the very things whereof they complain are working together for their good. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
4 Let us consider the experience of Paul for a little. At the very time when it seemed that the apostle’s labors were most needed to strengthen the tried and persecuted church, his liberty was taken away, and he was bound in chains. But this was the time for the Lord to work, and precious were the victories won. When to all appearance Paul was able to do the least, then it was that the truth found an entrance into the royal palace. Not Paul’s masterly sermons before these great men, but his bonds attracted their attention. Through his captivity he was a conqueror for Christ. The patience and meekness with which he submitted to his long and unjust confinement, set these men to weighing character. Sending his last message to his loved ones in the faith, Paul gathers up with his words the greetings from these saints in Caesar’s household to the saints in other cities.
5 Tho a prisoner, and kept in close confinement, Paul was given some privileges which many of his fellow-prisoners did not have. One which he prized highly was that of being allowed to receive his brethren, and through them he sent messages of instruction and encouragement to the churches. Writing at this time to the Philippians, he says: “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ; even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
6 The sustaining grace of God ministered to Paul in his imprisonment, making him cheerful, and he could even rejoice in tribulation. With faith and assurance he writes to his Philippian brethren, showing them that his imprisonment has resulted in the furtherance of the Gospel. “I would ye should understand, brethren,” he writes, “that the things which have happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear.”
7 We have a lesson to learn from this history, revealing as it does God’s way of working. The Lord can bring victory out of that which to us may seem discomfiture and defeat. It is always His plan to disappoint the enemy. We are apt to forget God, and look at the things which are seen, which are temporal, when we should look at the things which are not seen, which are eternal. When misfortune or sudden calamity comes, we are ready to charge God with cruelty. If He sees fit to cut off our usefulness in some line, we mourn and lament. We do not stop to consider that this may be God’s way of working. We have yet to learn that chastisement is a part of God’s great plan; that under affliction’s rod we may do far more for the Master than when engaged in active service.
8 Because a man is sick, God does not lay him aside; He makes use of the sickness. The man who exercises unshaken faith under suffering, exercises a more telling influence than he could possibly do in health. Often the afflicted one can preach a more effectual sermon from his sick-bed than ever he preached from the pulpit. And it is on the sick-bed that the sustaining power of God is magnified. When we are pressed by suffering or bereavement, God sends the needed help. His promises are proved to be steadfast and unfailing.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 949
1 Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees have all in their turn, and in the most artful manner, sought to entangle Christ in the different questions put to Him, hoping to find something in His answers to answer their purposes against Him. But every question was met in such a plain, intelligent manner that light, most precious light, shone into the minds of that large concourse of people. Seeds of truth were sown that would yield their harvest.
2 As Jesus looked upon His frowning enemies, who were so filled with wrath that, if they dared, they would have killed Him then and there, He turned to His disciples, and said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see, for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”
3 Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees, with their expectations disappointed, stood with lowering brows. They were filled with bitterest hatred because they were silenced. They dared not venture another question, but suggested to a lawyer standing by that he should question Christ concerning the law.
4 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.
5 “But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took our twopence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
6 But Christ saw that convincing Scripture statements were not what his adversaries wanted. The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven would never be seen by these cavilers. The glorious Gospel truth would ever remain a mystery to those who had exalted themselves to high positions of influence because of their supposed knowledge of the Scriptures. Those who wish to see are those who are willing to do the will of God. They will see His doctrines in a new, attractive light. And they will not only see, they will receive, and eat and digest the truth as the bread that came down from heaven.
7 Those who are in high places, but who have turned away from the light that has been shining into their hearts, because too proud to be educated by the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, will become more and more blinded and hardened to spiritual truth. Again, those who have light and evidence, and who cherish that light as a thing of value, to these will be given greater light, and they shall have abundance. They will be rewarded with more grace, an increase of that which they appreciate. But those who have no place in mind and heart for the principles of truth, who will not yield to evidence, will lose their power to discern what is truth. They estimate as of no value that which they have received, and it dies for want of being cherished. Some erroneous principles supply the place of the precious treasures of light and understanding of spiritual truth.
8 Many who hear and recognize the voice of God, refuse to cherish His instruction, because it conflicts with their ambitious designs. Their false theories and reasoning are more agreeable and satisfactory to them, and these are cherished until truth becomes distasteful. Truth is covered up with falsehood. They will not subject themselves to the control of its principles.
9 But no one need be lost. “But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 950
1
I would not in any case counsel restriction of the education to which God has set no limit. Our education does not end with the advantages that this world can give. Through all eternity the chosen of God will be learners. But I would advise restriction in following those methods of education which imperil the soul and defeat the purpose for which time and money are spent. Education is a grand life-work; but to obtain true education it is necessary to possess that wisdom that comes alone from God. The Lord God should be represented in every phase of education.
2 Let students be advised to put into practise the theories they have gained. Daniel pursued this course in Babylon. He put into practical use that which he had learned under tutors. Let students seek heavenly direction, and let them pursue no course, even tho it be advised by their teachers, unless they have most humbly sought wisdom from God, and have received His guidance and counsel.
3 Is it necessary that in order to solve the problem of education one must commit robbery toward God, and refuse to give God the willing service of the powers of the spirit, soul, and body? God calls upon you to be doers of His Word, in order that you may be thoroughly educated in the principles that will give you a fitness for heaven. Let the Word of God be the man of your counsel. The purpose of education should be to take in light in order that you may impart light by letting it shine forth to others in good works. The highest of all education is the knowledge of God.
4 The highest class of education is that which will give such knowledge and discipline as will lead to the best development of character, and will fit the soul for that life which measures with the life of God. Eternity is not to be left out of our reckoning. The highest education will be that which will teach our children and youth, our teachers and educators, the science of Christianity, that will give them an experimental knowledge of God’s ways, and impart to them the lessons which Christ gave to His disciples of the paternal character of God.
5 True education means more than taking a certain course of study. It includes the harmonious development of all the physical powers and the mental faculties. It reaches the love and fear of God, and is a preparation for the faithful discharge of life’s duties.
6 There is an education that is essentially worldly. Its aim is success in the world, the gratification of selfish ambition. To secure this education many students spend time and money in crowding their minds with unnecessary knowledge. The world accounts them learned; but God is not in their thoughts. They eat of the tree of worldly knowledge, which nourishes and strengthens pride. In their hearts they become disobedient and estranged from God; and their intrusted gifts are placed on the enemy’s side. Much of the education at the present time is of this character. The world may regard it as highly desirable; but it increases the peril of the student.
7 There is another kind of education that is very different. Its fundamental principle, as stated by the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, is, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Its aim is not selfish; it is to honor God, and to serve Him in the world. The studies pursued and the industrial training followed should have this object in view. The Word of God is studied; a vital connection with God is maintained, and the better feelings and traits of character are brought into exercise. For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and better than all other knowledge is an understanding of His Word.
8
Teachers are to do more for students than to impart a knowledge of books. Their position as guide and instructor of youth is most responsible; for to them is given the work of moulding mind and character. Those who undertake this work should possess well-balanced, symmetrical characters. They should be refined in manner, neat in dress, careful in all their habits; and they should have that true Christian courtesy that wins confidence and respect. The teacher should be himself what he wishes his students to become.
9 Teachers are to watch over their students as the shepherd watches over the flock intrusted to his charge. They should care for souls as they that must give account.
10 The teacher may understand many things in regard to the physical universe; he may know all about the structure of animal life, the discoveries of natural science, the inventions of mechanical art, but he can not be called educated, he is not fitted for his work as an instructor of youth, unless he has in his own soul a knowledge of God and of Christ. He can not be a true educator until he is himself a learner in the school of Christ, receiving an education from the divine Instructor.
11 Every teacher needs Christ abiding in his heart by faith, and to possess a true, self-denying, self-sacrificing spirit for Christ’s sake. One may have sufficient education and knowledge in science to instruct; but has it been ascertained that he has tact and wisdom to deal with human minds? If instructors have not the love of Christ abiding in the heart, they are not fit to be brought into connection with children, and to bear the grave responsibilities placed upon them, of educating children and youth. They lack the higher education and training in themselves, and they know not how to deal with human minds. There is the spirit of their own insubordinate, natural hearts that is striving for the control, and to subject the plastic minds and characters of children to such a discipline, is to leave scars and bruises upon the mind that will never be effaced.
12 If the children do err and misbehave, then it is all the more essential that those who are placed over them as teachers should be able to teach them by precept and example. In no case are they to lose self-control, to manifest impatience and harshness and want of sympathy and love; for these children are the property of Jesus Christ, and teachers must be very careful and God-fearing in regard to the spirit they cherish and the words they utter; for the children will catch the spirit manifested, be it good or evil. It is a sacred responsibility.
13 The teacher needs to be susceptible to the influences of the Spirit of God. Not one who will become impatient and irritated should be an educator. Teachers of children must consider that they are dealing with children, not men and women. It is much more difficult for some children to learn than others. The dull scholar needs much more encouragement than he receives. If teachers are placed over these varied minds who naturally love to order and dictate and magnify themselves in their authority, who will deal with partiality, having favorites to whom they show preference, while others are treated with exactitude and severity, it will create a state of confusion and insubordination.
14 Teachers who have not been blessed with a pleasant and well-balanced experience may be placed to take charge of children and youth, but a great wrong is done to those whom they instruct. Parents should feel it their duty to co-operate with the teacher, to encourage wise discipline, and to pray much for the one who is teaching their children. The teacher will not help the children by fretting, censuring, or discouraging them; neither will he act a good part in teaching them rebellion, disobedience, unkindness, and unlovableness, because of the spirit he manifests. If teachers are Christians indeed, they will have an abiding Christ, and the Spirit of Him who gave His life for sinners; and the wisdom of God will teach them in every emergency the course to pursue. Children are in need of having a steady, firm, living principle of righteousness exercised over them and practised before them.
15
There is nothing so ennobling and invigorating as a study of the great themes which concern our eternal life. Let students seek to grasp these God-given truths; let them seek to measure these precious things, and their minds will expand and grow strong in the effort. But a mind crowded with a mass of matter it will never be able to use, is a mind dwarfed and enfeebled, because only put to the task of dealing with commonplace material. It has not been put to the task of considering the high, elevated disclosures coming from God.
16 The Bible must be made the foundation for all study. Individually we must learn from this Lesson-book which God has given us, the condition of the salvation of our souls; for it is the only book that tells us what we must do in order to be saved. Not only this, but from it strength may be received for the intellect. The many books which education is thought to embrace, are misleading, a deception and a delusion. “What is the chaff to the wheat?” Satan is now stirring up the minds of men to furnish to the world literature which is of a cheap, superficial order, but which fascinates the mind, and fastens it in a network of his contrivance. After reading these books, the mind lives in an unreal world, and the life, so far as usefulness is concerned, is as barren as a fruitless tree. The brain is intoxicated, making it impossible for the eternal realities, which are essential for the present and the future, to be pressed home. A mind educated to feed upon trash is unable to see in the Word of God the beauty that is there.
17 Every child may gain knowledge as Jesus did,—from the works of nature and the pages of God’s holy Word. As we seek to become acquainted with our heavenly Father through His Word, holy angels will come near, our minds will be strengthened, our character will be elevated and refined, and we shall become more like our Saviour. And as we behold the beautiful and grand in nature, our affections will go out after God, while the spirit is awed, the soul is invigorated, by coming in contact with the Infinite through His works.
18 As divine truth is revealed in Holy Writ, so it is reflected, as from a mirror, in the face of nature; and through His creation we become acquainted with the Creator. And so the book of nature becomes a great lesson-book, which instructors who are wise can use, in connection with the Scriptures, to guide lost sheep back to the fold of God. As the works of God are studied, the Holy Spirit flashes conviction into the mind. It is not the conviction which logical reasoning produces; but unless the mind has become too dark to know God, the eye too dim to see Him, the ear too dull to hear His voice, a deeper meaning is grasped, and the sublime, spiritual truths of the written Word are impressed on the heart.
19 It is a mistake to put into the hands of the youth books which puzzle and confuse them, a study of which can not fail to confound things in their minds. The reason given for this study is that the teacher has passed over the same ground, and the student must follow. But if teachers were receiving light and wisdom from the divine Teacher, they would look at these things in a very different way. They would measure the relative importance of the things to be learned in school; the common, essential branches of education would be more thoroughly taught, and the Word of God would be honored and esteemed as the bread sent down from heaven, which sustains all spiritual life, binding the human agent with Christ in God.
20 Cold philosophical speculations, and scientific research in which God is not acknowledged, are a positive injury. And the evil is aggravated when, as is often the case, books placed in the hands of the young, accepted as authority, and depended upon in their education, are from authors avowedly infidel. Throughout the thoughts presented by these men, their poisonous sentiments are interwoven. The study of such books is like handling black coals; a student can not be undefiled in mind who thinks along the line of skepticism.
21 Yet the study of the sciences is not to be neglected. Books must be used for this purpose; but they should be in harmony with the Bible, for that is the standard. Books of this character should take the place of many of those now in the hands of students. God is the author of science. Scientific research opens to the mind vast fields of thought and information, enabling us to see God in His created works. Ignorance may try to support skepticism by appeals to science; but instead of doing this, science contributes fresh evidences of the wisdom and power of God. Rightly understood, science and the written Word agree, and each sheds light on the other. Together they lead us to God, by teaching us something of the wise and beneficent laws through which He works.
22 Moral philosophy, the study of the Scriptures, and physical training should be combined with the studies usually pursued in schools.
23 Music forms a part of God’s worship in the courts above, and we should endeavor, in our songs of praise, to approach as nearly as possible to the harmony of the heavenly choirs. The proper training of the voice is an important feature in education, and should not be neglected.
24 Students should be taught how to breathe, how to read and speak so that the strain will not come on the throat and lungs but on the abdominal muscles.
25 Physical culture is an essential part of all right methods of education. The young need to be taught how to develop their physical powers, how to preserve these powers in the best condition, and how to make them useful in the practical duties of life. Many think that these things are no part of school work; but this is a mistake. The lessons necessary to fit one for practical usefulness should be taught to every child in the home and to every student in the schools.
26 It is well that physiology is introduced into the common schools as a branch of education; all children should study it. And then parents should see to it that practical hygiene is added. This will make their knowledge of physiology of decided benefit.
27 The work of physical training, begun in the home, should be carried on in the school. It is the design of the Creator that man shall know himself; but too often in the pursuit of knowledge this design is lost sight of. Students devote years to different educational lines; they become engrossed in the study of the sciences and of things in the natural world; they are intelligent on most subjects, but they do not become acquainted with themselves. They look upon the delicate human organism as something that will take care of itself; and that which is in the highest degree essential,—a knowledge of their own bodies,—is neglected.
28 Every student should understand how to take care of himself so as to preserve the best possible condition of health, resisting feebleness and disease; if from any cause disease does come, or accidents do occur, he should know how to meet ordinary emergencies without calling upon a physician and taking his poisonous drugs.
29 There are times when Greek and Latin scholars are needed. Some must study these languages. But the study of Greek and Latin is of far less consequence to ourselves, to the world, and to God, than the thorough study and use of the whole human machinery.
30 There is science in the humblest kind of work, and if all would thus regard it, they would see nobility in labor. Heart and soul are to be put into work of any kind; then there is cheerfulness and efficiency. In agriculture or mechanical occupations men may give evidence to God that they appreciate His gift in the physical powers, and the mental faculties as well. Let the educated ability be employed in devising improved methods of work. This is just what the Lord wants. There is honor in any class of work that needs to be done. Let the law of God be made the standard of action, and it ennobles and sanctifies all labor. Faithfulness in the discharge of every duty makes the work noble, and reveals a character that God can approve.
31
There should be more faithful teachers, who will strive to make students understand their lessons, not by explaining everything themselves, but by letting the students explain thoroughly every passage which they read. Let the inquiring minds of the students be respected. Treat their inquiries with respect. To skim over the surface will do little good. Thoughtful investigation and earnest, taxing study are required to comprehend it.
32 When students enter the school to obtain an education, the instructors should endeavor to surround them with objects of the most pleasing, interesting character, that the mind may not be confined to the dead study of books. All schools should be located, so far as possible, where the eye will rest upon the things of nature instead of masses of buildings. The ever-shifting scenery will gratify the taste and control the imagination. Here is a living teacher, instructing constantly.
33 All narrowness should be avoided. Let teachers so far unbend from their dignity as to be one with the children in their exercises and amusements, without leaving the impression that you are watching them, and without going round and round in stately dignity, as tho you were like a uniformed soldier on guard over them. Your very presence gives a mold to their course of action.
34 Every faculty, every attribute, with which the Creator has endowed us, is to be employed for His glory and for the uplifting of our fellowmen. And in this employment is found its purest, noblest, and happiest exercise.
35 Were this principle given the attention which its importance demands, there would be a radical change in some of the current methods of education. Instead of appealing to pride and selfish ambition, kindling a spirit of emulation, teachers would endeavor to awaken the love for goodness and truth and beauty,—to arouse the desire for excellence. The student would seek the development of God’s gifts in himself, not to excel others, but to fulfil the purpose of the Creator and to receive His likeness.
36
While a good education is a great benefit if combined with consecration in its possessor, still those who do not have the privilege of gaining high literary attainments need not think they can not advance in intellectual and spiritual life. If they will make the most of the knowledge they have, if they will seek to gather something to their store every day, and will overcome all perverseness of temper through the studious cultivation of Christlike traits of character, God will open channels of wisdom to them, and it may be said of them, as it was said of old concerning the Hebrew children, God gave them wisdom and understanding. There is no limit to the usefulness of those who put self to one side, make room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon their hearts, and live lives wholly sanctified to the service of God, enduring the necessary discipline imposed by the Lord without complaining or fainting by the way.
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Page 951
1 Education means far more than many teachers, with all their supposed knowledge, understand. If the human family had appreciated the instruction given by the great Teacher to men in all ages and in all time, how different the race would be! Were we privileged to see what would have been had men and women been obedient to God’s teaching, we would see a new world, a world bearing the impress of heaven.
2 Our heavenly Father has made every provision that this should be. Read the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John. There we are shown what God desires to do for the human race. If the Holy Spirit should come upon us as it came upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, eyes now blinded would be opened; the scales would fall from them.
3 Ever since the fall men have disobeyed God. The Lord gave Cain and Abel directions regarding the sacrifice they were to bring Him. Abel, a keeper of sheep, obeyed the Lord’s command, and brought a lamb as his offering. This lamb, as it was slain, represented the Lamb of God, who was to be slain for the sins of the world. Cain brought as an offering the fruit of the ground, his own produce. He was not willing to be dependent on Abel for an offering. He would not go to him for a lamb. He thought his own works perfect, and these he presented to God.
4 “And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.” Abel offered of the first-fruits of his flock, just as God had directed. “But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very worth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well”—in accordance with My directions— “shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well”—disregarding My word—”sin lieth at the door.”
5 Cain talked with Abel about their sacrifices, and charged God with partiality. Abel reasoned with his brother, repeating to him the very words of God’s command to them both regarding the offerings He required. But Cain was provoked because his younger brother should presume to teach him. He allowed envy and jealousy to fill his heart. He hated Abel because he was preferred before him. As he pondered over the matter, he grew still more angry. He saw his mistake in offering only his own substance before the Lord, without the fitting sacrifice of a lamb; but he determined to vindicate himself and condemn Abel. Satan worked through him, inspiring him with a desire to kill his brother.
6 “And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” There was a witness to this scene,— a heavenly Watcher. He who established the system of sacrifices and offerings, saw the whole transaction.
7 “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.” Because of Cain’s sin, the earth was cursed a second time.
8 By this history the Lord would teach all men that His Word is to be implicitly obeyed. Cain and Abel represent two classes,—the wicked and the righteous, those who follow their own way and those who conscientiously keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment. The enemy of God and man tempted both Cain and Abel; but while Cain accepted the temptation, Abel refused it.
9 Abel did not try to force Cain to obey God’s command. It was Cain, inspired by Satan and filled with wrath, who used force. Furious because he could not compel Abel to disobey God, and because God had accepted Abel’s offering and refused his, which did not recognize the Saviour, Cain killed his brother.
10 The two parties represented by Cain and Abel will exist till the close of this earth’s history. The well-doer, the obedient man, does not war against the transgressor of God’s holy law. But those who do not respect the law of God oppress and persecute their fellow-men. They follow their leader, who is an accuser of God and of those who are made perfect through obedience.
11 “This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that ye should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” The Cain-spirit, which leads men to accuse, condemn, imprison, and put to death their fellow-men, has waxed strong in our world. The transgressors of God’s plain commands are inspired by the spirit of Satan to harm their fellow-men, because they differ from them in religious belief. They disregard God’s law, enacting man-made laws, and trying, by their cruel inventions, to compel men to blaspheme God, as they themselves are doing. But they have been given no right to do this. Those who pass sentence of pain and death upon their fellow-men because of a difference of religion, will have just such sentence passed upon them if they continue to transgress. By their works they bear testimony that should Christ come the second time as He came the first time, they would reject Him and put Him to death.
12 Like Cain, men are today violating a plain “Thus saith the Lord.” God has sanctified and blessed the seventh day, requiring all men to keep it sacred as His memorial of creation. But, inspired by the arch-deceiver, man has set up a rival rest day, which God regards as He did the offering of Cain. Like Cain, those who worship this idol are offended because God’s chosen people will not reject the day specified in His law as holy, to keep a rest day of man’s creation. They try to force their fellow-men to worship this idol. Thus did Nebuchadnezzar, when he set up a golden image in the plains of Dura, and in his pride and self-exaltation sought to compel all to bow down to it. As Cain set aside God’s holy command, and offered a sacrifice of his own choice, so men have set aside God’s holy Sabbath, and have exalted one of their own creation. And as Cain was filled with bitterness against Abel, so they are filled with bitterness against those who by keeping God’s Sabbath cast reflections upon the worship of a day which bears no divine sanction or appointment.
13 Thus it has been, and thus it will be till the end of time. Sin is Satan’s attribute, and it is always leagued against good. The spirit of Cain is manifest in all false religions. Satan’s work is to condemn and destroy, to take away man’s liberty and destroy his life. Transgression always leads men to act as Satan’s agents, to carry out his purposes against God and righteousness.
14 In Nazareth Christ announced that His work was to restore and uplift, to bring peace and happiness. He came to this world to represent the Father, and He revealed His divine power by giving life to the dead, by restoring the sick and suffering to soundness and health. He was in this world as the tree of life.
15 Satan is at war with Christ, the divine Restorer. His agents are leagued against the Saviour’s work of elevating and ennobling man. The first death in our world was caused by the working out of Satan’s principles; and ever since that time Christ and His followers have been the object of his malignant hate.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 952
1 In Nazareth Christ made the announcement that His work was to restore and uplift, to bring peace and happiness. He came to this world to represent the Father, and He revealed His divine power by giving life to the dead, by restoring the sick and suffering to soundness and health. He was in this world as the tree of life.
2 Satan is at war with Christ, the divine Restorer. His agents are leagued against the Saviour’s work of elevating and ennobling man. The first death in our world was caused through the working out of Satan’s principles; and ever since that time, Christ and His followers and Satan and his followers have been two distinct parties. Satan is ever seeking to imbue men with his own spirit and attributes, and those whose hearts are not subdued by the grace of Christ will be guided by the same spirit that decoyed the angels from the heavenly courts. Those who break the law of Jehovah and try to compel their fellowmen to obey man-made laws are in the service of Satan.
3 In Christ’s words to the Pharisees and lawyers, and their conduct toward Him, are presented the distinguishing features of false religion. “He said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchers. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute; that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple; verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. . . . And as He said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge Him vehemently, and to provoke Him to speak of many things; laying wait for Him, and seeking to catch something out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him.”
4 On another occasion Jesus said to the Jews: “If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered Him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you.”
5 What stern truth is here spoken! How many there are who boast that they are not in bondage to any one, when they are bound to the most cruel of all tyrants! They have placed themselves under Satan’s training, and they treat God’s people as he directs them to. How many there are who hear the word of truth, but hate the message and the messenger, because the truth disturbs them in their deceptive practises!
6 “I speak that which I have seen with My Father,” Christ continued; “and ye do that which ye have seen with your Father.” Two classes are plainly brought to view in these words,—the children of light, who obey the truth, and the children of darkness, who reject the truth.
7 In their bigotry and self-righteousness the Jewish teachers answered Jesus, “Abraham is our Father.” “If ye were Abraham’s children,” Christ said, “ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father.”
8 Urged on by the accusing spirit of him whose advocates they were, the Jews answered, “We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” How many there are who, like the Jews, call God their Father, and yet hate with intense hatred the word of truth!
9 “If God were your Father,” Jesus said, “ye would love Me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye can not hear My word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.” “Then took they up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”
10 The converting, transforming grace of God changes the spirit and attributes of him who accepts the truth. He is imbued with the Spirit of Christ. Satan sees this, and he is filled with hatred against Christ and His servant. But there is no enmity between Satan and the human agent who has become so deluded that he wars against God and His holy law; for this is the very work in which Satan has been engaged since his fall.
11 God’s people can expect nothing less than persecution; for their Master was persecuted, and He says to them: “The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.” “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me.”
12 As Christ was being tried, Pilate placed Him side by side with Barabbas, saying to the people, “Whom will ye that I release unto you?” There they stood,—Christ the Son of God, and Barabbas the thief and murderer, bearing in his countenance the marks of Satan’s attributes.
13 The priests and rulers persuaded the people to choose Barabbas, and in answer to Pilate’s question the hoarse cry was raised, “Release unto us Barabbas.” “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” Pilate asked, and again, like the bellowing of wild beasts, the cry went forth, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” And all heaven heard the cry.
14 A messenger had been sent to Pilate by his wife, with the warning, “Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him.” But Pilate did not heed the heaven-sent message. Instead, he used Christ’s trial as an occasion of making friends with Herod. A corrupt confederacy was formed between the two rulers.
15 And when Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing against the multitude, he released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified.
16 Be astonished, O heaven, and be everlastingly ashamed, O inhabitants of earth! With sorrow and indignation the angels heard the choice made by the people and the sentence passed upon Christ. But they could not interfere; for in the great controversy between good and evil, Satan must be given every opportunity to develop his true character, that the heavenly universe, and the race for whom Christ was giving His life, might see the righteousness of God’s purposes. Those under the control of the enemy must be allowed to reveal the principles of his government.
17 Those who see and obey the light of truth will be harassed and oppressed; for enmity will ever exist between Christ and Satan. If God had not interfered with Satan’s evil working, men would have leagued against good in an alliance to dethrone God. Satan caused the fall of part of the heavenly angels by rebelling against God’s law, and he is the instigator of every injustice done to God’s children. He inspires his agents to do all they can to hurt Christ by bruising the bodies of His children. But God is present at every tribunal before which His children are called to stand. He marks how men condemn His servants and silence their voices. He records every act of injustice, every act of oppression. As the blood of Abel cried to Him from the ground, so the prayers of His servants who are imprisoned in dungeons or linked with the vile in chain-gangs, rise to Him. The cruelty done to God’s servants is recorded as done to Christ in the person of His saints, and the time is coming when God Himself will avenge their wrongs.
18 John writes: “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.” “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder; and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps; and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders; and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand. . . . These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 953
1 “Good and upright is the Lord,” says the psalmist; “therefore will He teach sinners in the way. The meek will He guide in judgment; and the meek will He teach His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall He teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.”
2 The wilderness temptation which Christ endured was a personal conflict with the wicked one who had shown himself to be the author of sin. Satan was once a covering cherub in the heavenly courts, the angel next in power to Christ Himself. But he lifted himself up against God, and induced some of the angels to join him in rebellion. There was war in heaven, and Satan and his followers were cast out.
3 Expelled from heaven, Satan determined to set up a kingdom on this earth, and win man to his side. But Christ pledged His word that if man was overcome by temptation, He, the Son of God, would be his surety, that they might have a second trial.
4 Christ came to our world to stand where Adam stood, to endure the temptations which Adam failed to endure. In behalf of the beings He had created, who had through sin become a fallen race, He stepped from the throne which He occupied as Prince of heaven, and clothed Himself with the garments of humanity. He was to be tempted on every point on which man would be tried. After His baptism He went forth to the wilderness. For forty days and forty nights He fasted; then, when He hungered, Satan came to Him as though a messenger from the heavenly courts, and tempted Him. In this contest Christ was at a disadvantage, for His strength was reduced by His long fast. The plan of salvation was so arranged that when Adam was tested, temptation was removed from him as far as possible. When Adam was tempted, he was not hungry. He had the opportunity of satisfying every need. But when Christ was tempted, He was faint from want of food. He was to qualify Himself for the office of Redeemer by successfully resisting every assault of the enemy. His power of resistance was to be an example for all who would hereafter be placed in trying positions.
5 Satan came to the Saviour with the words, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” As he tempted Adam on the point of appetite, so he tempted Christ. He knew that if he conquered here, he could gain the victory in any temptation he might bring. Pointing to the stones lying around them, which resembled loaves of bread, he said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Christ answered, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
6 The enemy well knew the power of God’s word. He knew that this word had supplied bread for the Israelites in their journeyings through the wilderness, and that the same word could supply the necessities of Christ. But this was not God’s plan. He designed that Christ should be treated as man is treated. He was not to exercise miraculous power in His own behalf; for if He did, Satan would say that His test had not been a fair one, because He had made use of supernatural power; and that God should not require man to obey all His requirements if the effort to obey them would destroy life.
7 Satan had declared to his associate angels that he would overcome Christ on the point of appetite. He hoped to gain a victory over Him in His weakness. But Christ gained a complete victory over this temptation, thus placing men and women on vantage ground, where they can overcome as He overcame. Let those whose mental and moral power has become enfeebled by wrong-doing, seek the Lord earnestly, and they will gain the victory, even over long-established appetite. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
8 By the power of God, man is to firmly resist every temptation. The temptations which Christ overcame cover all the temptations that come to man. Each of these temptations marks a special crisis in the life. If man is overcome, Satan has gained the victory, and man has weakened his own power of resistance. But if the tempted one will lay hold of the strength of the Conqueror, he, too, will overcome. Christ said to His disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
9 All who put their trust in God will come off more than conquerors. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. . . . The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in His way. Tho he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand. . . . The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.”
10 After Christ had successfully resisted the first temptation, “the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee; and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.”
11 Satan desired Christ to become guilty of presumption by needlessly exposing His life. He did not repeat the whole of the scripture which he pretended to quote; he left out the words “to keep Thee in all Thy ways;” that is, to keep Thee in all Thy ways while Thou art in the path of duty. Had Christ presumed on God’s mercy by risking His life to give Satan evidence of His Messiahship, He would not have been in the path of duty.
12 Satan knows that if he can persuade human beings to venture out of the path of obedience, he can lead them on and still on in his way. He knows that then he can induce them to follow his plans by presenting something to be gained by disobedience.
13 The second temptation also Jesus firmly resisted. “It is written again,” He said, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
14 All should become familiar with God’s Word; because Satan perverts and misquotes Scripture, and men follow his example by presenting part of God’s Word to those whom they wish to lead in false paths, withholding the part that would spoil their plans. All have the privilege of becoming acquainted with a plain “Thus saith the Lord.” God’s commands and requirements are all calculated to promote industry, economy, temperance, and wisdom. When men yield to the temptation to disregard God’s Word, they range themselves under Satan’s banner. There are false shepherds who will say and do perverse things. Children should be so instructed that they will be familiar with God’s Word, able to know when part of a scripture is read and part left unread, to make a false impression.
15 We are guilty of the sin of presumption when we defile our bodies. Paul declares, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” Our bodies are a wonderful exhibition of God’s incomprehensible skill and unceasing goodness. They are not to be trifled with. With all the power of a sanctified mind and a purified soul, they are to be consecrated to God.
16 Parents, warn your children against the sin of presumption. Teach them that it is presumption to educate an appetite for tobacco, liquor, or any hurtful thing. Teach them that their bodies are God’s property. They are His by creation and by redemption. They are not their own; for they have been bought with a price. Teach them that the body is the temple of God, and that it is not to be made strengthless and diseased by the indulgence of appetite.
17 The Lord did not create the disease and imbecility now seen in the bodies and minds of the human race. The enemy has done this. He desires to enfeeble the body, knowing that it is the only medium through which mind and soul can be developed for the upbuilding of a symmetrical character. Habits which are contrary to the laws of nature, war constantly against the soul.
18 God calls upon you to do a work which through His grace you can do. How many sound bodies are there which can be presented to God as a sacrifice that He will accept in His service? How many are standing forth in their God-given manhood and womanhood? How many can show a purity of tastes, appetites, and habits that will bear comparison with Daniel’s? How many have calm nerves, clear brain, unimpaired judgment? Instead, thousands are today health-destroyers, self-made invalids, because of their disregard of the laws of health.
19 In the Ten Commandments God has laid down the laws of His kingdom. Any violation of the laws of nature is a violation of the law of God. The Lord has given His commandments to be a wall of protection round His created beings, and those who will keep themselves from the defilement of appetite and passion may become partakers of the divine nature. Their perceptions will be clear. They will know how to preserve every faculty in health, so that it may be presented to God in service. The Lord can use them; for they understand the words of the great apostle: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
(Concluded next week.)
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Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Satan’s expulsion from heaven had not reformed him. In this last temptation he touched on the subject of his fall from heaven. He had then become dissatisfied because Christ was preferred before him, and he now declared that if Christ would acknowledge him as supreme, he would relinquish his claim to the world.
2 Christ had heard Satan’s taunting words of scorn regarding His claim to be the Son of God: “Thou the Son of God—born in a stable, hurried off to Egypt for fear of being destroyed by Herod, working as a carpenter in an obscure town of Galilee! If at Thy baptism a voice from heaven said, `This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,’ why art Thou now helpless and starving in this wilderness? Why is the illustrious Son of God wandering, unhonored and unattended, among the wild beasts? Where is Thy retinue of angels? Where are Thy glory and honor?”
3 Satan now presented to Christ the kingdoms of the world in all their glory. The view was the most extensive upon which the eye could rest, and as they looked upon it, Satan said: “All this power . . . is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”
4 In the first temptation Satan had said, “If Thou art the Son of God.” Evidence was now given him that Jesus was indeed all that He claimed to be. Divinity flashed through humanity as the Saviour said, “Get thee behind Me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” With such power were these words spoken that Satan left the battle-field a conquered foe.
5 Christ had gained the victory. Passing over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell, He had not yielded in a single point. The conflict was ended, and He was a conqueror. But the strain had been great, and He lay as one dying. “And, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.” Not only was food supplied to Him; supernatural restoration came. God sent His approval and commendation to revive His Son. How much the Saviour enjoyed the comfort brought to Him! His time of victory had come. He could accept the companionship and service of the angels, since they came unbidden by Himself, sent direct from the Father, whom He had honored by enduring the test under circumstances such as no human being will ever pass through. He had been given opportunity to take sides with the apostate foe of God, but He repulsed every temptation with the words, “It is written.” Well might a voice from heaven declare, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
6 The lesson taught by these temptations is for us all. The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. Today the Lord tries men to see what characters they will develop. He tried the Israelites, that it might be seen what was in their hearts. Paul’s character was perfected by trial. God is today trying the faith of every soul who claims to be in His service. When passing through trials, we may know that thus God is striving to lead us to know Him and place our trust in Him.
7 When we choose our own way, our own will, our own pleasure, when we follow our own impulses, we do not live as sons and daughters of God. We do not love God supremely or our neighbor as ourselves. We are robbing God. Our time, our service, our affection, our property, all belong to Him. When God’s people bring to Him the willing offering of a faithful tithe, their faithfulness will be rewarded. But many who profess to give God all, make a reservation of themselves or of their property. God will accept nothing less than a spiritual priesthood who can bring Him an offering in righteousness. No selfishness is of Christ. Selfishness lies at the foundation of all sin. The time has come when it is for our present and eternal good to know the will of God for ourselves. The path traveled by Christ is the only safe path for us to follow. The Saviour says, “He that will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
8 The prayer Christ offered to His Father, just before leaving His disciples, to be betrayed, rejected and condemned, is for His disciples in all time. In this prayer He said: “Father, the hour is come: glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee; as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”
9 It is not enough to have a theory of the truth. The mind must receive enlightenment from the Holy Spirit regarding the will of God. Then by his service man must bear witness to the light, according to his knowledge of God and of Christ. The Lord must be honored. His followers must trust in Him, believing that He is working in their behalf to bring them through trying places. In this God consults His own glory and their highest good. He seeks to give them an experience that will be of the greatest value to them.
10 Our knowledge of God and of Christ is altogether too meager. True knowledge of God is genuine and practical. Those who have this knowledge will not keep silent. They will communicate to others what they have received. They will make an entire surrender of the will to God, realizing that they are to reach higher and still higher, that they may give others the benefit of their experience as those who have been tried and proved through prayer and patience. We have been given to Christ by the Father, and no man can pluck us out of His hand. By Christ we are to be purified, made white, and tried. Our knowledge of God is to steadily increase. Christ says, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” The leaven of righteousness in the life of believers is revealed by the words, the spirit, the deportment. True virtue is manifested in the daily life.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 955
1 Christ’s lessons of instruction to the Jews appeared to them as altogether new, but in reality they were the old truths which Christ Himself had given to the people of God. The precious treasure committed to Israel was lost sight of as men departed from God, and Christ as the great center of light and life came to the earth to rescue it from the rubbish of error under which it had been buried.
2 As Nicodemus heard Christ, his heart was stirred within him. The words of this humble Teacher aroused him to inquire if these things were so. But Nicodemus was proud of his Jewish faith, and he sought to hide his curiosity from the Saviour. He did not wish to be known as an inquirer, and he put on an appearance of dignity, as tho it were an act of condescension of his part to seek an interview with Jesus. He did not at once make known his errand, but opened the conversation by speaking in praise of the penetration of Christ and of His rare gifts as a speaker. But Christ, after courteously receiving His guest, came directly to the point, and laid open before Nicodemus the object of his visit.
3 Nicodemus was surprised that Christ should understand the burden of his heart. With solemn power the Saviour said: “Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God. . . . The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
4 At thought of a kingdom so pure that he could have no part in it unless he was born again, Nicodemus was filled with amazement. “How can these things be?” he asked. And Jesus said unto him: “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? and no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even as the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
5 When the Israelites were dying from the sting of the fiery serpents, a brazen serpent was uplifted in the midst of their camp, that all might look and live. But there were some who would not accept the help provided. They stopped to reason concerning the foolishness of looking for relief to such a source. That they should be saved by looking to a piece of brass was absurd to their minds, and they said, We will not look. Their decision was fatal, and many of the children of Israel perished.
6 The brazen serpent was uplifted in the wilderness that those who looked in faith might be made whole. In like manner God sends a restoring, healing message to men, calling upon them to look away from man and earthly things, and place their trust in God. That brazen serpent uplifted in the wilderness was a symbol of Christ. The faith which the believing Israelites exercised as they looked at it, we must exercise as we look to Christ. With the same simplicity sinners must receive the Saviour; for He alone can save from sin. He is our ransom. Whoever rejects the salvation He proffers is lost to God and heaven.
7 What would have become of the wounded Israelites had they all refused the only remedy provided for them,—had they said, We will try other means; we shall try the skill of our physicians; there is wisdom enough among us to heal the disease?—Had they done this, they would all have perished. So those who today slight the remedy God has provided for sin, who refuse to accept Christ as a personal Saviour, will perish in their sins.
8 Today God has given to men the truth with power. He has opened His Word to those who are searching and praying for light. But when these messengers gave the truth they had received to the people, many were as unbelieving as were some of the Israelites. Today many are caviling over the truth brought to them by humble messengers. How can this message be truth? they question. How is it possible that by looking to Jesus, and believing in His imputed righteousness, I can gain eternal life? Those who have thus refused to see the truth do not realize that it is God with whom they are in controversy, that in refusing the message sent them, they are refusing Christ.
9 God designs that the message of redemption shall come to His people as the latter rain; for they are fast losing their connection with God. They are trusting in men, and glorifying men, and their strength is proportionate to the strength of their dependence. We are to know more than we know at the present time. We are to comprehend the deep things of God. There are themes to be dwelt upon which are worthy of more than a passing notice. Angels have desired to look into the truths which are revealed to those who are searching God’s Word with contrite hearts. Those who will devote their powers to the study of God’s Word, and especially to the prophecies referring to these last days, will be rewarded by the discovery of important truths. The last book of the New Testament Scriptures is full of truths that need to be understood. Satan has blinded the eyes of men, and they have been glad of any excuse for not studying this book. But here Christ has declared through His servant John what shall be in the last days.
10 As we search the Scriptures, the character of Christ will appear in its infinite perfection. He is the One in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. He is eternal life to all who will eat His flesh and drink His blood. Those who look to Him may be healed of the serpent’s sting. By beholding Him, we may become changed into the same image. Faith, love, and holiness will grow in the soul. “This is life eternal,” Christ said, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” When we realize the value of this knowledge, these glorious truths will glow in our hearts, tremble upon our lips, and pervade our whole being.
11 In giving us His Word, God has put us in possession of every truth essential for our salvation. The storehouse of the unsearchable riches of Christ is open to heart and hand. Thousands of men and women have drawn water from the wells of salvation, yet the supply is not diminished. These men have not exhausted the grand and holy themes of the Word of God. Thousands more may engage in searching out the mysteries of salvation. When the life of Christ and the character of His mission are dwelt upon, rays of light will shine forth, and at every fresh attempt to discover truth, something that has never yet been unfolded will be revealed. The study of the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work, will employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last; and, looking to heaven, with its unnumbered years, he will exclaim, “Great is the mystery of godliness.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 956
1 The Lord would have His chosen workers like their Pattern, who came to reveal God by living His law. Those who bear the vessels of the Lord are to be clean, their characters untainted, their influence uncorrupted, their names registered in the Lamb’s book of life, men and women who are recognized in the heavenly courts as laborers together with God. The apostle Paul exhorts us: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the Word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.” Unless those who believe the truth realize their obligations as followers of Christ, unless they understand the high principles which should be brought into their work, their light will not shine amid the moral darkness of the world. The true Christian will do all in his power to rise to the highest achievements. He will live in unity with his fellow-men, and will be a convincing argument to the world in favor of the grace of Christ.
2 The Saviour says, “He that will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” He who will commence at the lowest round of the ladder and ascend, keeping heaven always in view, will become rich in heavenly treasure, God’s Word is to him a mine of wealth. By bringing earnestness and self-denial into his ministry, he is making provision for an eternal reward. Those who follow Christ in self-denial will bear the fruit the Saviour bore, and even when their life shall close, the seed scattered by the trees of the Lord’s planting will be multiplied to the praise and glory of His name. Men and women who will live the faith in its purity, and consecrate their powers to the development of Christian character, will be a power for good; for the true goodness of unselfish deeds will shine out in their lives.
3 “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” God calls upon those who have talents to act their part in preparing a people to stand in the great day of the Lord. His workers are to be clad in all the armor of God. To be converted one day under the Holy Spirit’s working is not enough. Let the Spirit of God cleanse the soul temple day by day. Let Jesus in. He invites you to receive Him. Covetousness and the other evils that dominate your lives are not such precious traits that you should be unwilling to part with them. I know that we have not risen to the height of our possibilities; for self is cherished as tho it were pure, untarnished gold. There are heights which we have not reached,—heights which, if we do not reach, we shall be “found wanting.”
4 Let us pray more, and eat the words of life. Unless there is a deeper work of grace in mind and heart, unless we reveal true Christian charity, we can never see the face of God. Deny self, and take upon you Christ’s yoke. Then the Lord will greatly bless you. The judgments of God are in the land. He is sending them upon men by land and by sea. While time still lasts, cease from cherishing pride and self-indulgence. Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Humble the heart before God, and pray that He will reveal Himself.
5 Through His inspired apostle, Christ has shown us what the character will be when imbued with the love of Christ. “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” This example is given us that we may know the heights we may reach in and through Christ. The standard He presents is perfection, and through His merits we may attain to this. We come short because we are content to look at earthly things rather than at heavenly.
6 What others may do, what others may say, what others may think of you, will not change God’s thoughts toward you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, and the opinion of men will not change His character. You have a heaven to win. Christ gave His own life that you might obtain the peace and rest and love of God. Keep looking to Jesus, who loves you, and whom you are to love. Invite the heavenly Guest to abide with you.
7 We have no excuse for remaining in spiritual weakness and poverty. God’s Word declares: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Every provision has been made, and it rests wholly with us whether we will believe the words of God.
8 We must have a knowledge of God by living experience. If we follow on to know the Lord, we shall know that His goings forth are prepared as the morning. Christ calls upon us to be filled with all the fulness of God. Then we can truly represent the perfection of the Christian religion. “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him,” the Saviour declares, “shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Christ wants us to be co-laborers with Him. When we are emptied of self, He will give us His grace to impart to others. The two olive branches, which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves, will surely supply the cleansed vessels with light and comfort and hope and love for those who are in need. We must render God more than fitful service. But we can do this only by learning of Jesus, cherishing His meekness and lowliness of heart. Let us hide ourselves in God. Let us have confidence in Him. Let us abide in Christ. Then we all “with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,”—from character to character. God does not expect impossibilities from you or me. Beholding Him, we may be changed into His image.
9 Let the spirit be cleansed from all earthliness, all unholy, uncharitable thoughts. Let the words be clean, sanctified, vivifying, and refreshing to all. Be not easily provoked. Let the praise of God be in your hearts and upon your lips, that no evil thing may truthfully be said of you. God says you may govern yourself. He has provided the aid of the Holy Spirit, that you may put on Christ, and build up a pure, beautiful structure, in which God can delight. Sit in serious, earnest judgment on your defects. Look to Jesus. He gave His life a sacrifice for your sins, that He might present you pure and spotless before the heavenly universe. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 957
1 The Bible is to be our great lesson book. From Genesis to Revelation it is full of instruction on practical goodness. We need to search it diligently, that we may understand every word of God. Thus we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ.
2 In the Word of God we are given explicit instruction in regard to the unity that should exist among Christ’s followers. From the pillar of cloud Christ gave Moses direction as to how man should regard God and his fellowman. The children of Israel were enjoined to treat with love and compassion their brethren and the stranger sojourning with them. It is essential that we understand and practise the principles laid down by the great Teacher regarding unity.
3 Christ’s prayer to His Father, contained in the seventeenth chapter of John, is to be our church creed. It shows us plainly that disunion and variance are dishonoring to God. “This is life eternal,” Christ prayed, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word. . . . I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. . . . I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. . . . Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.”
4 When Christ abides in the hearts of believers, unity will be seen. Love will flow from them to others in a strong current. The privileges and opportunities given them will be appreciated. Their unity will testify in a most powerful manner that they are children of God. It will have an irresistible influence upon the world, showing that man in his humanity may be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 Let us seek earnestly to obey the conditions God has laid down, by striving for the unity that should exist among believers. Christ’s true followers will act upon the principles He has laid down. “They are not of the world,” He said, “even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth. . . . The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” This is the most wonderful statement that ever came from the lips of Christ. Why do we not show that we understand and appreciate these words?
6 We are plainly told that when we receive Christ, a change takes place in us which shows the world that God did indeed send His Son to this earth. But how many who claim to be Christians are Christians in word, deed, and thought? How many reveal to the world the glory which Christ declares He gave to His people? Who among those that have been given such great light reveal this light in clear, distinct rays by their love and unity?
7 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . . full of grace and truth.” Christ came to our world to show us how to live true, upright lives; and all who are Christians will carry out His principles. They will represent Him by their compassionate tenderness for one another. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” “And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” As we receive the precious gift of grace, we are to impart it to others. Thus we show that we are in partnership with Christ. God and man work in harmony. Man receives the grace of Christ, and from him it flows forth in kind words and deeds to his fellow-men.
8 When we are one with Christ, we have power to show to the world that God loves human beings as He loves His only-begotten Son. Why do we not eat the bread and drink the water of life, that the Christ-life may be revealed in our lives, and that the world may see what wonderful privileges are ours? Shall Christ always be disappointed in His people? Will they always refuse to comply with the conditions He has laid down? Shall we not change this feature of our experience? Shall we not believe that God will work with power if we do not hinder Him by disregarding His requirements? What could not God do for us if we would but place ourselves in right relation to Him and to one another?
9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin,” John declares; “for his seed remaineth in him, and he can not sin, because he is born of God. . . . This is the message that ye have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. . . . We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
10 Shall we not be doers of God’s Word? Shall we not work in partnership with Christ? “By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. . . . This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” God desires us to have all that He has provided for us at such an immense cost. The reason why the great and grand truths which have been presented to us do not accomplish more is that we do not live these truths; therefore they are powerless to influence us. We need a deeper appreciation of truth. Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.” Christ had no home that He called His own. Those who invited Him to their houses regarded Him as being too poor to possess a home. But every house was His property.
2 Simon thought that in making this feast he was doing Christ an honor. But, even tho what he furnished had been his own, in partaking of his hospitality Christ would have given more than was bestowed on Him. As He sat at the Pharisee’s table, He ate the provision furnished by His Father. Scribes and Pharisees were tenants in His home. His benevolence provided them with food and clothing. If He had not become man’s surety, they would have enjoyed no blessings. And not only do temporal blessings come from Him, but to all who will receive it, He gives the bread of life.
3 Christ ate with publicans and sinners, as well as with Pharisees. When He was invited to their homes, He accepted the invitation. In this He offended the scribes and Pharisees, who thought that a Jew should not thus forget the wall of partition that tradition had erected. But with God there is no sect or nationality. When thus accused, Christ answered, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” He placed Himself in the very avenue where He could gain access to perishing souls, and plant in human hearts the seeds of truth, seeds that would spring up and bear fruit to the glory of God.
4 Christ never provided a luxury for Himself, but He allowed expressions of respect and love to flow to Him. This was His due. He had nothing in the world which He claimed as His own, yet He made the world and all that is therein. For our sake He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. He bore the weakness of humanity. Could human eyes have been opened, they would have seen that He was stronger than the strong man armed; but He never forgot that in the estimation of the world He was poor man. There was no sham humility about Him. He was humility itself. “Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself.” When any one did Him a favor, with all courtesy and heavenly politeness He blessed the giver. He never refused the simplest flower plucked by the hand of a child and offered to Him in love. He accepted the offerings of children, and blessed the givers, inscribing their names in the book of life.
5 “And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden Him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This Man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him; for she is a sinner.”
6 By curing Simon of leprosy, Christ had saved him from a living death. But now Simon questioned whether Christ were a prophet. Because Christ allowed this woman to approach Him, because He did not indignantly spurn her as one whose sins were too great to be forgiven, because He did not show that He realized that she had fallen, Simon was tempted to think that He was not a prophet. His heart was filled with mistrust and unbelief. Jesus knows nothing of this woman, who is so free in her demonstrations, he thought, or He would not allow her to touch Him.
7 But Simon could not read his Guest’s heart. It was his ignorance of the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He had sent, that led him to think as he did. He had not yet been fully converted from his Pharisaism. He did not realize that on such occasions God’s Son must act in God’s way,—with compassion, tenderness, and mercy. Simon’s way was to take no notice of Mary’s penitent service, her humble action. Her act of kissing Christ’s feet and anointing them with ointment was exasperating to Simon. He thought that if Christ were a prophet, He would recognize sinners, and rebuke them.
8 Reading Simon’s thoughts, Christ answered them before he had spoken, thus showing that He was a prophet of prophets. “Simon,” He said, “I have somewhat to say unto thee. . . . There was a certain creditor which had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.”
9 As did Nathan with David, Christ concealed His home thrust under the vail of a parable. He threw upon His host the burden of pronouncing sentence upon himself. This way of presenting the matter made Simon feel very uncomfortable. He himself had led into sin the woman he now despised. She had been deeply wronged by him. By the two debtors of the parable Simon and the woman are represented. Simon’s sin is shown to be tenfold greater than that of the woman, as much greater as a debt of five hundred pence is greater than a debt of fifty pence.
10 Simon now began to see himself in a new light. He saw how Mary was regarded by one who was indeed a prophet in every sense of the word. He saw that with keen prophetic eye Christ read her heart of love and devotion. Simon was ashamed. He felt that he was in the presence of a being superior to himself.
11 Simon had doubted that Christ was a prophet, but in his very knowledge of this woman, Christ gave evidence of His prophetic character. His mighty works bore witness of Him. His miracles, His wonderful instruction, His long patience, His humility, all were evidences of His divinity. Simon need not have doubted.
12 “I entered into thine house,” Christ continued, “thou gavest Me no water for My feet;” but with tears of repentance, prompted by love, she hath washed My feet, and hath wiped them with the hairs of her head. “Thou gavest Me no kiss;” but this woman, whom you despise, since the time she entered in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. The washing of the feet and the kiss of welcome were attentions that were not invariably shown to guests. It was customary to bestow them on those to whom it was desired to show special regard. These ministrations Christ should have received from His host, but He did not.
13 Christ recounted the opportunities Simon had had to show his love for his Lord, and his appreciation of what had been done for him. Plainly, yet with delicate politeness, Christ assured His disciples that His heart is grieved when His children neglect to express their gratitude to Him by words and deeds of love. Some may think that this scripture is no longer of force, but it is. Writing of those women who were to be honored, Paul said, “If she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.” Many need sympathy and appreciation. But those who would wash the saints’ feet must have sanctified discernment, that they may be able to recognize a saint. The garment of God’s messenger may be travel-stained and worn, but he may be an angel in disguise. Unrecognized, angels talk with men, speaking words that are to their souls as the water of life. Mary was looked upon as a great sinner, but Christ knew the circumstances that had made her thus. He saw that she had great capabilities for good. He saw the better phase of her character, and knew that through His grace she would become a partaker of the divine nature, and would purify her soul by obeying the truth.
14 Christ might have extinguished every spark of hope in Mary’s soul, but He did not. The Heart-searcher read the motives that led to her actions, and He also saw the spirit that prompted Simon’s words. “Seest thou this woman?” He said to him; she is a sinner; “I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And He said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”
15 Those present, thinking of Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead by Christ, and who was at this time a guest in his uncle’s house, began to question, saying, “Who is this that forgiveth sins also?” But Christ continued, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
16 Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite soul away. He does not tell to any all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. He will not reject any who come to Him penitent and believing. Freely will He pardon all who come for forgiveness and restoration.
17 But to know Jesus requires a change of heart. No unconverted person, in his natural state of depravity, loves Christ. A love of Jesus is the first result of conversion. The proof of this love is given: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.”
18 Christ might commission the angels of heaven to pour out the vials of wrath on our world, full of hypocrisy and sin, destroying those who are filled with hatred to God. He might blot this dark spot from His universe. But He does not do this. He is today standing at the altar of incense, presenting before God the prayers of those who desire His help. “Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
19 Jesus is to be loved and trusted. All who will be obedient He leads upward step by step, as fast as they can advance, that, while standing by the side of the Sin-bearer, in the light that proceeds from the throne of God, they may breathe the air of the heavenly courts. Beside his great Intercessor, the repentant sinner stands above the strife and accusation of tongues. “Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.”
20 No human being, even tho united with evil angels, can impeach the souls who have fled to Christ for refuge. He has united the believing soul to His own divine-human nature. In His mediatorial office, His divinity and humanity are combined, and upon this union hangs the hope of the world.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 959
1 In His life and lessons Christ gave a perfect exemplification of the unselfish ministry which has its origin in God. God does not live for Himself. By creating the world, and upholding all things, He is constantly ministering to others. Satan misrepresented God to the world, as he did to Adam and Eve. Selfishness has its origin in Satan, and just as far as it is indulged, so far are Satan’s attributes cherished; but Satan charged God with these attributes, and belief in his principles was becoming more and more widespread. By the Son of God these principles must be demonstrated as false, and God’s character shown to be one of love. By Him the Father must be rightly represented. God committed His ideal to Christ, and sent Him into the world, invested with divinity, yet bearing humanity.
2 Christ stooped to take man’s nature, that He might reveal the sentiments of God toward the fallen race. Divine power was brought within the reach of all, that sinful human beings might reveal the image of God. Christ assumed our nature in order to counterwork Satan’s false principles. He came to give by His ministry an expression of the mind of God.
3 And with clearness and power Christ set forth the attributes of God. He is “the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person,” even “the image of the invisible God;” yet He humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant. Our Redeemer is a perfect revelation of the Godhead; and it is of importance that, as His disciples, we understand through Him God’s relation to us, and our relation to God. He is the world’s great Teacher; and what we know of God through Him is the measure of our practical knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ.
4 That His people might not be misled by the selfishness which dwells in the natural heart, and which strengthens by self-serving, Christ Himself set us an example of true service. He would not leave this great subject in man’s charge. Of so much consequence did He regard it, that He Himself, one equal with God, washed the feet of His disciples. “Ye call Me Master and Lord,” He said; “and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”
5 The ordinance of humility most forcibly illustrates the necessity of true ministry. This ordinance was to be observed by the disciples, that they might ever keep in mind the lessons of humility and ministry that Christ had given them. Not long before this, John and James had come to their Master with the request, “We would that Thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And He said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory.” The other disciples were very much displeased by this request. Jesus called them all to Him, and talked with them about it: “Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you; but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister; and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
6 While the disciples were contending for the highest place in the promised kingdom, Christ girded Himself, and performed the office of a servant, by washing the feet of those who had called Him Lord. He, the pure and spotless One, was about to offer Himself as a sin-offering for the world; and as He ate the Passover with His disciples, He put an end to the sacrifice which for four thousand years had been offered. In the place of the national festival which the Jewish people had observed, He instituted a memorial service, the ordinance of feet washing and the sacramental supper, to be observed through all time by His followers in every country. These should ever repeat Christ’s act, that all may see that true service calls for unselfish ministry.
7 Christ’s words on this occasion should be studied, appreciated, and obeyed. The spirit of selfishness that led James and John to ask for the first place in the kingdom would, if cherished, have resulted in self-serving, and they would have been eternally lost. The sentiments of many who claim to be sons and daughters of God need to be greatly changed. The Son of God was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, that through His poverty we might be made rich. His example should be followed by all who name His name. “We are laborers together with God; ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” Mrs. E. G. White.
(Concluded next week.)
Page 960
1 The ordinance of feet washing is an ordinance of service. This is the lesson the Lord desires all to learn from it. He desires us to think of its whole meaning, not merely of the act of outward cleansing. This lesson was given to reveal the great truth that Christ is an example of what we, through His grace, are to be in our intercourse with one another. It shows that the entire life should be one of humble, faithful ministry. This ordinance means much to us; and when rightly practised, the children of God are by it brought into holy relationship with one another, to bless and help one another.
2 There is an object before all Christians. They are to do the work Christ did while here upon earth. “Wist ye not,” He said, “that I must be about My Father’s business?” I came to show what the Lord requires of all who would win eternal life. Christ’s work was performed according to the law of service, and He says to us, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” After His ascension He appeared to His disciples, who had returned to their fishing. So wearied and discouraged were they that at first they did not recognize His voice. He asked them if they had taken anything, and the mournful answer was returned. “We have toiled all night, and have taken nothing.” In clear, calm tones Christ’s words sounded over the water, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.” They hastened to do His bidding, yet saying at the same time, “We have toiled all night without success; it is not likely that we shall be successful now.” But the success that always follows obedience crowned their efforts. They were not able to draw in the net, so full was it of fish. Immediately they forgot the fruitless labor of the night. They saw Jesus as a risen Saviour, and believed in Him. From this miracle they learned the lesson which all need to learn,—that without the co-operation of Christ, all work will be hard and profitless.
3 If we would work as Christ worked, we must have the mind of Christ. He can not co-operate with those whose lives reveal variance, strife, and bitterness. Those who cherish these attributes are not susceptible to the influence of the Holy Spirit. The divine Comforter strives with them, but they close the door of the heart to His gracious pleading, desiring to be left alone in their foolish, selfish perversity. They find a satisfaction, a kind of rest, without pardon, without wearing Christ’s yoke and learning His meekness and lowliness. But let adversity come, and they find that they have leaned on a broken reed. There is no peace for the wicked. Difference and dissension will be seen among those who are not chosen by the Lord; but let it not spring up and bear fruit among those who claim to be representing Christ. There is no work more sacred for Christians than to maintain peace among themselves. Then they present to the world the unity that Christ prayed might exist, and bear witness that God sent Christ into the world to redeem the human race.
4 Wherever we go, whatever we do, we are to have an abiding sense that we are in the service of the Lord. The world is full of those who need to be ministered unto,—the weak, the helpless, the ignorant. Christ’s followers should cherish no selfish motives, no feeling of self-exaltation. He who shows that he desires the highest place, irrespective of those around him, who thinks that he must be specially favored, is far from grasping the meaning of Christ’s words, “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”
5 The principles of God’s law are to be imprinted on our hearts and carried into every phase of life. Our children should be taught obedience to God’s commandments. When this law is graven on our hearts, we shall indeed minister to others for Christ’s sake. But there are many who do not live out Christ’s merciful, unselfish life. Some who think themselves excellent Christians do not understand what constitutes service for God. They plan and study to please themselves. They act only with reference to self. Time is of value to them only as they can gather for themselves. In all business transactions this is their object. Not for others, but for themselves do they minister. God created them to live in a world where unselfish service must be performed. He designed them to help their fellow-men in every possible way. But in the place of doing this, they grasp everything for themselves. “I” is so large that they can not see anything else. They are not in touch with suffering humanity.
6 Those who thus live for self are like the fig tree, which made every pretension, but was fruitless. When Christ came to it, seeking fruit because He was hungry, no fruit rewarded His search. He pronounced a withering curse on this tree. “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth forever,” He said; and presently the fig tree withered away. This fruitless tree symbolized the condition of the Jewish nation at that time. Every opportunity and privilege were granted them. Christ came to show them the way of life, but they were determined to walk in their own selfish way, and the Lord gave them up as joined to their idols. He left them to perish in the destruction of Jerusalem. Had they kept the law of God, they would have done the same unselfish work that Christ did, and would thus have fulfilled God’s purpose for them.
7 The Jewish nation brought ruin on themselves by refusing to minister to others. Love for God and for their fellow-men was eclipsed by pride and self-sufficiency. Christ came to counteract this influence. He lived the law of God by ministering to those around Him. By the illustration of the withered fig tree He sought to teach the disciples a lesson they would never forget, and this lesson is a warning to every nation, every individual. No one can keep the law of God without ministering to others. Man is not to act as tho there was one rule for the master and another for the servant. Christ was a servant; he lived not to please Himself; and by His life of service He has ennobled all service. Those who for Christ’s sake minister to the hungry and thirsty, the sick and imprisoned, because they see in every being a soul for whom Christ died; those who do not exalt themselves above their fellow-beings, but minister to their necessities, are doing the work Christ came to do. For them a reward is prepared by the Father.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 961
1 The Lord of life and glory humbled Himself to partake of human nature, that in and through Him the fallen sons and daughters of Adam may become united with God. Never could an earthly father feel as great and deep a pity and sympathy for his sons and daughters as our heavenly Father feels for His sons and daughters. Never can love be shown by mortals like the love that God has shown for the human family. God is revealed in Christ as full of mercy, love, goodness, and truth. His compassion can not be measured. Look at the cross of Calvary. Behold there God’s precious gift. He “so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2 This is the truth that is to be proclaimed everywhere. In this age uncertainty and irreligion prevail. There is a famine in the world for the true Word. But how few there are who preach the Gospel unmixed with human tradition! Saith the apostle Paul. “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” Today the simple truths of God’s Word are preached by very few. Let us search and try our hearts to see if we have a burden of soul for those who know not the truth, a burden that leads us to work faithfully for them. The time has come, and this will be seen more and more plainly, when a standard-bearer for God, who ministers in word and doctrine, is far more secure than those who possess gold and silver.
3 We should set a high estimate upon the Gospel, building our hopes on the sure Rock, Christ Jesus. The leaven of truth in the soul will lead us to do the very work that Christ did when He was on this earth, to show the same love for others that He showed for us. All who know this love are privileged above anything that language can express. To understand it means to understand what Paul meant when he said: “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man [through the leaven of truth]; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
4 If we are laborers together with God, the deep interest we have in those for whom Christ died will lead us to use His precious gifts to the very best advantage in rescuing the souls who are dying in their sins. As we use the power we have in God’s lines, we shall be encouraged to exercise faith. We shall be shown what we can do in connection with Christ.
5 There are many souls to be saved. Often you will need to begin your work by feeding the hungry, by ministering to their bodily necessities. This will give you an opportunity to minister to the necessities of the soul. Thus the way is prepared for the uplifting of Christ. With those who do this work because the Lord has given it to them to do, hunting for the lost sheep, speaking loving words in season and out of season, helping the needy, telling them of the wonderful love that Jesus has for them, the Saviour is always precious, impressing the hearts of the poor, the miserable, the wretched, with their need.
6 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen?” God asks, “to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?”
7 This is the recipe Christ has given to fainthearted, doubting, trembling saints. In this word He has given something definite and solid for diseased souls to grasp and lean upon. Let the sorrowful ones, who walk mournfully before the Lord, arise and help some one who needs help. God says to them, “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.” Christ is our righteousness. He goes before us as we do this work, and the glory of the Lord follows.
8 Christ has definitely pointed out our work; for He Himself, the Son of the living God, stooped to uplift the fallen. By pledges and words of assurance He sought to win to Himself the poor, the lost, the suffering. Human beings are precious in the sight of the Lord. Is it not a very strange thing that we regard so lightly those for whom Christ has died, that we put so little of ourselves into the work of doing what we can to rescue those who are suffering from poverty, sickness, and heartache, who need to know that Christ will forgive their sins and pardon their transgressions? Our work is to be done for the love of Christ and for the love of the beings that the Lord loved so much that He gave His only-begotten Son to die for them.
9 Satan has prepared every kind of temptation to ensnare the youth, and not the youth only, but those of all ages. For rich and for poor he has spread his net, that he may ruin God’s workmanship. Every year multitudes are ruined through intemperance, yet there are thousands upon thousands of saloons sustained by law. And the church, which should be a living power, is asleep. Men of discernment, of vital piety, are needed. Such men will look with horror upon the practise of legalizing the work of manufacturing drunkards. But the great majority give their influence to the destroyer, aiding him by voice and vote to destroy the moral image of God in man, not thinking of the families that are degraded by a perverted appetite for liquor.
10 Many a man has not the moral power to pass a saloon, with its attractions and invitations. He enters, and the glass is put to his lips. The intoxicating draught takes away his reason, and places him in the control of a spirit that leads him to violence and murder. His health is ruined, and his power of distinguishing between right and wrong, between the sacred and the common, is destroyed. His wife and children are beggared, and all because Satan’s temptations were not resisted. The liquor seller knows the effect of liquor drinking; for it is demonstrated at his own door in scenes of quarreling and fighting. What an account liquor dealers will have to render to their God! What an account, too, will the poor inebriate have to render! He has brought children into the world with the same desires that control him. His sinful inclinations will be perpetuated in his children and his children’s children. One man becomes defiled by a wrong course of action, and he defiles many others.
11 As men, and women as well, are thus beguiled, will not the Lord work through His church, impressing His people to do their duty in regard to these victims of sin? By many, liquor has been regarded as the only solace in trouble. If God’s people seize the opportunities offered them, they will see the work waiting to be done. They will do the work which God would have had them do in the beginning of their experience, when their souls were filled with joy and gladness because their sins had been pardoned.
12 All who strive in the name of the Lord Jesus to counteract the evil of self-indulgence are doing the very work which Jesus of Nazareth came to our world to do. Make every effort to save all whom you possibly can. Do not argue that the evil is so deep and so widespread, and is increasing so rapidly, that your efforts will be of no avail. Rally round the standard of Christ. See in the degraded specimens of humanity, men and women whom Christ came to save. Altho they may have sunk to the very lowest depths of sin, there is a possibility of saving them. “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” Christ declared. It is the sinners that the church of God is called upon to seek and to save. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, presenting at the same time the love of the great Physician.
13 Among the wealthy there are mirth, liquor drinking, reveling, dissipation. There are balls, games, theaters. All these tempt men and women from their allegiance to God. There are those there like the maiden who danced before Herod, so infatuating the besotted king that Satan gained control of his mind, and led him by a rash movement to sacrifice the life of one of the greatest of the prophets. But, notwithstanding all this, work, work, for Christ’s sake, work. You are under obligation to God to show an interest in those around you. Your neighbor may be yielding to the temptation to destroy himself by liquor drinking and tobacco using. He may be burning up his vital organs by fiery stimulant. He is pursuing this course to the ruin of himself and his wife and children, who have no success in trying to stay the feet that are traveling the road to perdition. God calls upon you to do all in your power to save your fellow-creatures. Souls should not be left to perish. Lift before them the crucified Saviour. Point them to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Some will be led to look upon the Saviour. Christ will inspire them with faith to look and live.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 962
1 It is the special work of Christians to help those who have fallen under Satan’s temptations. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Those who have the mind of Christ, work in the same lines in which Christ worked. If you see a man who has by yielding to temptation weakened his moral power, do all that you can to help him. Let him that is strong support the weak. Help him by speaking words that encourage faith. By your influence seek to strengthen every good trait in his character.
2 The wretched victim of intemperance may refuse to seize the opportunity of regaining his manliness by breaking with Satan. Is it any less your duty to strive to awaken the soul dead in trespasses and sins, by doing all that human effort can do? Remember that you are not dealing with a sane man, but with one who is for the time being under the control of a demon. In the past, Satan has controlled his mind and directed his actions. When he comes to his senses, when he is no longer drunk, do all a human being can do to show him that you are his friend. Do not blame him; for very likely he curses himself; but help him to rise. Without some one to help him, he will go over the same ground again and again.
3 The world has utterly failed to restore the moral image of God in man. Multitudes have been allured to sell their reason for a glass of rum; and the world looks on, without the power to counteract the evil. Shall the priests and Levites see the ruin which Satan is working without making an effort, in the name of the Lord God of Israel, to lift up a standard against the enemy? Shall those who claim to be sons and daughters of God feel perfectly at liberty to enjoy the good things of this life, as did Dives, making no use of that which God gave to be used in carrying out His purposes? Shall the pitying tenderness of the Saviour for wretched, fallen, helpless beings be in vain, for the want of human channels through whom He can communicate His treasures of food and clothing and words fitly spoken?
4 Christ is waiting to exercise His power in behalf of the broken-down victims of intemperance; but few, very few, of those who claim to be His children have co-operated with Him by speaking hopeful words to these discouraged souls, by taking to them, if necessary, the gifts of simple food, unstimulating drink, and clean clothing. Thousands might have been saved if those who have acted as did the priest and Levite had acted the part of the good Samaritan. Who will now awake to their God-given responsibilities? One soul rescued is a soul saved from Satan’s grasp.
5 If poor, helpless beings are saved, it will be by arousing in them the sense that it is not too late for them to be men. Those who would act the part of the priest and Levite, may pass by on the other side, saying of the drunkard, It is time lost to work for such a man. But Christ died for that soul. Shall the heavy ransom paid for him be of no account? Let every soul who believes himself to be a Christian strive with all his power to do the work that Christ did. The Lord will use as His instrumentalities those who faithfully act their part.
6 Remember that every soul you succeed in saving will have the life that measures with the life of God. Those whom you are trying to help will be continually tempted to evil; but do not, because of this, cease your efforts. Remember the helplessness of these tempted human beings. Their fellow-men are co-operating with Satan in presenting his bribes. Let all who name the name of Christ arouse, and make determined efforts to save sinners, knowing that Jesus, the great Physician of the soul and of the body, is their efficiency.
7 There are many in poverty who are being driven to ruin. If the large sums of money now devoted to erecting monuments to the dead were used to help the hungry, starving, dying millions that throng our world, God would be better pleased. Is He not a God of the living? In the judgment a strict account will be required for every misused talent. Those who now engage in horse-racing, cricket matches, gambling, are spending money for that which is not bread. Can they receive the benediction, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”?
8 The cities and villages of today are leavened with the principles of evil that prevailed in the time of Christ. “As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”
9 We must proclaim the truth now. We are guilty of fearful sin if we neglect to co-operate with God in His work of salvation. There is work for every one to do. When God’s people open the door of the heart to His love, the light of His glory will be revealed in their work, as we have not yet seen it. All around you, in our cities, towns, and villages, there are those who are tired, worn, depressed, whom Satan is tempting to indulge in amusements that pave the broad road which leads to ruin and death. He is offering them the apples of Sodom, which, when they are eaten, will be as ashes. Who will take upon themselves the burden of these souls? By judicious effort many can be reached who are now infatuated by pleasures that drive Christ from the soul. Let us press to the mercy-seat, and in the name of Christ claim the power that has been promised to co-workers with Him.
10 Jesus will work wonderful miracles if men will but do their part. In his own strength, man can never recover himself from Satan’s grasp. Only by a union with Christ can this restoration be accomplished. Man must work, he must pray, he must uplift the discouraged and hopeless, by his human endeavor, while he grasps the arm of the Mighty One, and wrestles as did Jacob for the victory. His cry must be, “I can not, I will not let Thee go unless Thou bless me.”
11 What was Bunyan before his conversion? Who wrought in him the great change? His life reveals the power of the divine Physician. He was dead in trespasses and sins, but Christ re-created him. He took his mind under His control, and showed him wonderful things, enabling him to place them in such a form as to be the means of enlightening many in regard to the Christian warfare. Bunyan was redeemed from profanity and reveling, Newton from slave-dealing, to proclaim the uplifted Saviour. These cases show God’s love for humanity. They show us that the God of nature is above nature in His deep and inexpressible love for man. By His power He causes the dead in trespasses and sins to hear the voice of the Son of God and come forth.
12 Do not forget that a Bunyan and a Newton may again be redeemed from among men. Just as wonderful miracles will be wrought upon human minds in the future as have been wrought in the past. Man is dead, without God, and without hope in the world. But over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Not only will all who are in the graves hear His voice and come forth, He is today the Restorer of those dead in sin. Today Jesus is working His miracles. The great Physician stands by the side of the faithful worker, saying to the repentant, discouraged soul, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 963
1
We can not know God and Jesus Christ until we search the Scriptures. In this Word we find out why it was necessary for Christ to leave His high command in heaven, to separate Himself from the angelic family, laying off His royal robe and kingly crown, and clothing His divinity with humanity. For our sake He became poor, that by His poverty He might make many rich, securing for them eternal riches. That He might work in our behalf, He came to live among fallen humanity, in a world marred by sin and misery.
2 Adam listened to the temptation of Satan. He believed a lie, and thus greatly dishonored God. He had not a semblance of excuse for transgressing; and his disobedience changed his relation to God. The law can in no case pardon the transgressor. It can only condemn the guilty. Adam had to meet God over His broken law. His fatal disobedience brings out with clear prominence that of which the apostle writes, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
3 Man’s happiness must always be guarded by the law of God. In obedience only can he find true happiness. The law is the hedge which God has placed about His vineyard. By it those who obey are protected from evil. In transgression Adam became a law to himself. By disobedience he was brought under bondage. Thus a discordant element, born of selfishness, entered man’s life. Man’s will and God’s will no longer harmonized. Adam had united with the disloyal forces, and self-will took the field.
4 By Christ the true standard is presented. He made it possible for man to be once more united with God. He came to take the sentence of death for the transgressor. Not one precept of the law could be altered to meet man in his fallen condition; therefore Christ gave His life in man’s behalf, to suffer in his stead the penalty of disobedience. This was the only way in which man could be saved, the only way in which it could be demonstrated that it is possible for man to keep the law. Christ came to this earth and stood where Adam stood, overcoming where Adam failed to overcome. He is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
5 But while the death of the Son of God saves all who repent, it speaks death to those who will not receive Christ as a personal Saviour. That which is life to the believer is death to the impenitent transgressor. The new and living way is seen and followed by those who receive Christ as their Redeemer. But upon those who refuse to accept His sacrifice, is passed the sentence of eternal death.
6 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. . . . Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. . . . Even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden caused all to sin; but in the Garden of Gethsemane Christ drank the bitter cup of suffering and death, that whosoever believes in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life.
7 Before the foundation of the world, Christ pledged His word that He would give His life as a ransom if man turned from his allegiance to God. He revealed His love by humbling Himself, stooping from heaven to work among fallen, disorderly, lawless human beings. Of himself man could not possibly cope with the enemy. Christ offers Himself and all He has, His glory, His character, to the service of those who return to their loyalty and keep the law of God. This is their only hope. Christ says definitely, I came not to destroy the law. It is a transcript of God’s character, and I came to carry out its every specification. I came to vindicate it by living it in human nature, giving an example of perfect obedience.
8 As Christ took upon Him this work, He saw all it would bring,—His betrayal (because of envy, pride, and love of money) by a professed follower, His trial in the judgment-hall, the scourging, the cruel death. He had led the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage into the land of Canaan. He had now come to lead them from spiritual bondage into the city of God. But they rejected Him, and delivered Him up to death. He came to His vineyard to receive the fruit thereof, but those who should have welcomed Him, said, “This is the Heir; come, let us kill Him, and let us seize on His inheritance.”
9 Looking down the future, Christ saw the return that would be made for His love. He saw Himself condemned to suffer the punishment only inflicted on those most deeply sunken in crime. He saw Himself, in His humiliation, hanging on the cross, while priests and rulers looked on with exultation, saying in mockery: “He saved others; Himself He can not save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”
10 Christ looked down through the ages, and saw His humiliation carried into every successive generation. He heard the false testimony that He died to abrogate the law. He saw that to multitudes this error would be more palatable than the truth. The carnal mind “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” He saw the natural mind, true to the enmity of its character, daily enacting afresh the scenes of Calvary, even down to the close of this earth’s history. He saw that some would show indifference and contempt to the law of God, while others would go to greater lengths in their hatred of it, tearing down its precepts by their falsehoods and ingenious arguments. He saw that the law would be trampled upon and dishonored until God would arise to punish the inhabitants of the earth.
11 Knowing all this, Christ bore the penalty of transgression. He was crucified and buried, but He broke the fetters of the tomb, and over the rent sepulcher of Joseph He proclaimed, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” He was in possession of the great gift of eternal life, and He gave gifts unto men. He sent His message of mercy and pardon to all who would receive Him as the world’s Redeemer. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” He has paid the price for every son and daughter of Adam, and He is abundantly able to save all who accept Him as the Sin-bearer.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 964
1 There is a right side and a wrong side. Let each ask himself the question, On which side am I standing? Those who do not choose the side of Christ range themselves under the banner of darkness, with the great apostate, who in heaven refused to obey God, and who in the Garden of Eden deceived the holy pair, and opened the flood-gates of woe upon our world.
2 On the side of obedience Christ stands, giving to all the invitation, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” “Strive [agonize] to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in”—with all their worldly treasures—”and shall not be able.” “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
3 In every possible way Satan tries to make the broad road attractive and the narrow road grievous, humiliating, and objectionable. He lays ingenious plans to lead men and women to indulge appetite. Cheap, unsatisfying pleasures are made all and in all in this age; for over these pleasures Satan has thrown a glamor, and men and women allow them to take the place of eternal things. There are many who, like Esau, sell their birthright for self-indulgence. To them worldly pleasure appears more desirable than the heavenly birthright.
4 We are to come out from the world and be separate, and our works are to be in accordance with the works of Christ. He declares, “I have kept My Father’s commandments.” Are we on His side, obeying God’s commands, or on Satan’s side, warring against the law of God. “As the Father hath loved Me.” Christ says, “so have I loved you; continue ye in My love.” How can we continue in Christ’s love? By disobeying God’s law?—No, no. By showing to the world that we choose to be among the loyal people of God. “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” This love is more than an impulse, an emotion. It is a living, active, working principle. It is not guided by the feelings, but by the will. In it is comprehended the stern resolve of a mind subdued and softened, which lays hold of the strength of the Infinite, saying, I will serve Thee even unto death.
5 “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.” All who are true and loyal to God will bear fruit, not the fruit of transgression, but the fruit of a glad, willing obedience. They are filled with thankfulness that they are not numbered with those who have chosen the wide gate and broad road as more convenient than the road cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in.
6 Sin is the transgression of the law. Those who continue in sin, notwithstanding the fact that light has come to show them what sin is, those who refuse to lift the cross because doing so would possibly limit their prospect of worldly gain, will meet with great loss. They show that they do not choose to be partakers of Christ’s life of self-denial and self-sacrifice, and they will lose eternal life. “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
7 Both the Old and the New Testament exalt the law of God, and those who reverentially study the Scriptures for themselves, laying aside all the preconceived opinions taught by human wisdom, will not be left in the darkness of error. But many, rather than lift the cross, put their own construction upon a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” and drag the Scriptures in the direction of their own suppositions. They are blind leaders of the blind, and both they and those they are leading must fall into the ditch.
8 When Christ was upon the earth, the great mass of the people would have accepted Him had it not been that they were afraid of what the scribes and Pharisees might do. These leaders, sitting in Moses’ seat, claiming to know God, saw that Christ was drawing the attention of the people from them. They determined to oppose His work, and, once started in the path of opposition, no evidence had any weight with them. The wonderful works Christ did were denied. The gracious words which fell from His lips were misstated and misconstrued. By the priests and rulers the rejoicing shown because of His works of compassion and healing were regarded as a personal slight to themselves. The appeals which Christ made, appeals which were freighted with love, the conclusive arguments which He presented, only kindled fires of hatred in hearts that, once convicted, had refused the light. Christ came to His own, but His own received Him not. He had to forsake Judea in order to preserve His life till the fulness of the time. “After these things,” we read, “Jesus walked in Galilee; for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him.” So will all act who choose to stand on the side of rebellion.
9 High and holy must be the purposes of every one who obtains the character all must obtain who win the crown of everlasting life. God is in earnest with us. We can not play at loose purposes with Him. In His service He requires the whole being, heart, mind, soul, and strength. Christ has made every provision that men and women may obtain salvation; but, notwithstanding the light shining upon them, leading to the strait gate and the narrow way, many are choosing the broad way. What road are we traveling? We may take with us into the broad road all our evil tendencies, our cheapness of character, our associates in evil. We may choose to listen to the words of these companions and to laugh at their wit; but in so doing we shall descend lower and lower in the scale, and at last the words will be spoken: “Cut down the unfruitful tree. Why cumbereth it the ground?”
10 Do not suppose that you can unite yourself with the amusement-loving, the gay and pleasure-loving, and at the same time resist temptation. By trying to serve two masters, you spoil yourself utterly for both. You make neither a successful worldling nor a successful Christian. Your Redeemer has said, and His lips never made a false statement, “Ye can not serve God and mammon.” Then why not do the only safe thing to do,—follow the road you know to be right, irrespective of consequences?
11 The inhabitants of the unfallen worlds and of the heavenly courts are watching with intense interest the conflict between good and evil. They rejoice as Satan’s subtleties are one after another discerned and met with, “It is written,” as Christ met them in His conflict with the wily foe. Every victory gained is a gem in the crown of life. And in the day of final victory all the heavenly universe will triumph. The harps of the angels will sound forth heavenly music, accompanying the music of their voices, as they sing; “Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast out thine enemy; the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love; He will joy over thee with singing.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 965
1 When this earth was created by Christ, it was holy and beautiful. God pronounced it “very good.” Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the purpose of its Creator. Everything upon which the eye rested was lovely, and filled the mind with thoughts of love for the Creator. Every sound was music, in perfect harmony with the voice of God.
2 But a change has come. Sin has brought decay, deformity, death. Today, the whole world is tainted, corrupted, stricken with a mortal disease. The earth groans under the continual transgression of the inhabitants thereof.
3 Human beings have degenerated. One after another they fall under the curse, because sin has entered the world, and death by sin. The truth is not made precious by practise. It does not sanctify the soul. It fades from the mind because the heart does not appreciate its value. In consequence, the mind becomes more and more darkened by the atmosphere, which is malarious because of the perpetuating of Adam’s sin. The conscience has lost its sensitiveness. Through a repetition of sin, the impression made on the conscience by sin has no longer force enough to arrest the transgressor, diseased, depraved, and dying. The voice no longer echoes the voice of God, or gives expression to the music of a soul sanctified through the truth. The heart, in which God should be enthroned, is a place from which come forth all kinds of abominations. How has the fine gold become dim! Man has lost the reflection of God’s character.
4 This calamity is well-nigh universal. There is no place upon earth where the track of the serpent is not seen and his venomous sting felt. The whole earth is defiled. The curse is increasing as transgression increases. The earth is preparing for purification by fire.
5 Satan has come down with great power to work with the children of men. Their senses are perverted by his schemes. He lends enchantment to the view which he presents to them, covering transgression with great desirableness. As he tempted Adam and Eve, saying, “Ye shall be as gods, made wise by partaking of the fruit which God has forbidden you to eat,” so he tempts men and women today.
6 But a hope has been set before every sinner. The instant Adam yielded to Satan’s temptation, and did the very thing which God had said he should not do, Christ, the Son of God, stood between the living and the dead, saying: “Let the punishment fall on Me. I will stand in man’s place. Give him another trial.” Transgression placed the whole world under the death sentence. But in heaven there was heard a voice saying, “I have found a ransom.” He who knew no sin was made sin for fallen man. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ laid off His royal robe and kingly crown, and gave up His command over all heaven. He clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might bear all the infirmities and endure all the temptations of humanity. He was a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. For our sake He became poor, that through His poverty we might be made rich. For us He left the adoration of the angels for the insults and execrations of a mob lashed to madness by the priests and rulers.
7 The words in the first chapter of John are full of meaning: “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. . . . The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. . . . full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
8 All that God could do has been done to save sinners. The Saviour invites all: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” But those who refuse to yoke up with Christ, who will not learn of the great Teacher, can not receive God’s protection. If they are determined to walk in the path of disobedience, Satan will exercise his power over them, after deceiving, to destroy. We may choose God’s way, and live; we may choose our own way, and know that sin has entered into the world, and death by sin.
9 Christ is the true light. Shall this light shine in darkness and the darkness comprehend it not?—God forbid. The Word of God comes to us as a cure for diseased souls and bodies. It is life for those who are dead in trespasses and sins. He who knew no sins was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. On Him the iniquities of us all were laid. He lives to be our Advocate. He did nothing worthy of death, yet He died. And if we hear the glad words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” we shall have done nothing worthy of life. Jesus, the sinless, died having done nothing deserving of death. The sinner is saved without having done anything worthy of salvation. He is wholly without merit. But, clothed with the spotless robe of Christ’s righteousness, he is accepted by God. The living way has been laid open. Life and immortality have been purchased by Christ. Through obedience to God’s commands, sinners may find pardon and peace.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 966
1 A solemn responsibility rests upon us in regard to gaining a knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. How great this responsibility is, is shown by the prayer offered by Christ a few hours before His betrayal. “This is life eternal,” He said, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”
2 Christ came to correct existing evils. He came to adjust God’s claims on man. He sees the selfishness of human beings. He sees that the world is engrossed by business and amusement. He sees the intensity of the efforts made to obtain earthly treasure. He sees that God is forgotten.
3 God has committed His goods to men, that they may advance His work in the world. He calls upon them to use their intrusted gifts in the relief of His suffering children, who plead for mercy and relief. But His plainly-stated claims are ignored. Men can not afford to return to the Lord His own. Yet millions and millions of dollars are spent in distilleries, where is made the liquor which ruins the souls and bodies of men. This life-destroying, maddening agency is dealt out by professedly Christian nations.
4 How many in our world recognize God as the owner of the money they handle? They spend it for self-pleasing, for selfish gratification. But before the bar of God they must give an account of the way in which they have spent this money. Here they must settle for their neglect of the fatherless and the widow. What a terrible account liquor sellers will have to meet in the great day of God! In the books of heaven a record is kept of every tempting glass held out by man to his fellow-man, to forge the chains of an appetite which makes him mad. At the judgment the money and influence that might have been used to relieve suffering human beings will be charged against those who might have helped in this work, but did not. God will render to every man according to his work.
5 Many of the officers in charge of steamers and other vessels place themselves under the control of Satan by liquor drinking. A continuance of this indulgence destroys the brain nerve power, and they become incapable of doing their work. We know not how many times God has interposed to save a whole ship’s company from destruction because there were some on board who loved and feared Him. For their sake He has wrought wondrously. But there comes a time when the line of forbearance is passed. Mercy steps down from her golden throne, and, folding her wings, departs. Then the enemy is permitted to do that which he longs to do. Many of the terrible calamities which happen by land and sea will one day be seen to have been caused by liquor drinking.
6 He who lives for self-indulgence is unable to distinguish between good and evil. His appetite is his god. He worships his stomach. He lives to eat, instead of eating to live. This means self-destruction. Thus beings made in the image of God sink lower and lower. Their physical, mental, and spiritual strength is destroyed.
7 Satan has the world under his control. Christ came in human flesh to give the race another trial. He came to uplift and ennoble men and women. But the power of the Gospel is counteracted by the course pursued by professing Christians. How little is being done by the religious teachers to lift the standard of temperance! There are many ministers who fear to bear a decided testimony on temperance, because they know that this would affect their salary. The members of their churches indulge in liquor drinking, and do not want anything said about this evil. They are willing to have their names enrolled as churchmembers, but they are not willing to live a religion which involves a cross.
8 Much of the preaching of the present day is of a character to lull the people into a spiritual sleep. The doctrine of the millennium is a soothing potion to the sinner who does not desire to cease from sin. And Satan is better pleased with the help which the shepherds of the flock give him when they present truth mingled with error, than with the help given by the boldest unbeliever.
9 Human beings are all living on probation, and they are either working out their own eternal good or their eternal ruin. Satan is continually seeking to turn them away from God. He brings before them one scene of excitement after another,—horse-racing, football matches, pugilistic contests. Around these scenes thousands of spectators assemble, greedy for excitement, anxious to see man getting the better of his fellow-man. As it was in the days of Noah, just prior to the destruction of the world by a flood, so will it be before the coming of the Son of God.
10 God sees the sinfulness of this world. He sees that men have dropped eternity out of their reckoning. He sees that excitement is making them mad; that they are goaded on to do violence to one another, while the multitude, among which are professing Christians, stand by and applaud. “Shall I not judge for these things?” He asks.
11 Sin is the transgression of the law, and yet in this age, when God is about to close the records for eternity, men dare to say that His law is abrogated. A strange statement, indeed, when Christ declared that He came not to destroy the law or the prophets, and that heaven and earth should pass away before one jot or tittle should pass from the law. And by His life He showed that it is possible for man to keep the law. There is nothing in the Scriptures to lead man to suppose that He can break the law and be guiltless. The heavens above us remain to testify to the binding claims of God’s law.
12 God has chosen men and women as instrumentalities through which to work to counteract the evils in our world. He will hold those accountable who have been given great light, and yet are devoting their time and means to self-service, while thousands are perishing for want of help. He is about to pass by those who refuse to take up the work that must be done. Of those who refuse to take up the cross and deny self, the Lord says: “They shall not taste of My supper. I will take illiterate and obscure men, and by My Spirit move upon them to carry out My purposes in the work of saving souls. The last message of mercy will be given to the world, but not by the counsels of the supposed sages, who received My commission, but did not My work. The work will be done, not by the eloquence of the learned, but by a people who love and fear Me. Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit will I work.”
13 If Jesus were made the sum and substance of every discourse given, sinners would be converted. By the message borne they would know what they must do to be saved. Lift Him up, the Man of Calvary, higher and still higher. He who draws nigh to Christ need not try to shine. As he beholds the Saviour, he catches the divine rays of light from the Sun of Righteousness, and he can not help shining. The light that is in him shines forth in clear, bright rays, in words and works of righteousness. Christ’s grace dwells in him richly, and heaven’s light shines through him. He honors Christ by complete obedience. He is stimulated to more vigorous action in the cause of God as he imparts that which the Lord gives him. He is a light-bearer in the world, shedding light on those who are in darkness. He walks close by the side of Christ, conversing with Him and gathering divine principles from His Word. He goes about doing good, comforting the downcast, guiding wandering footsteps in the narrow way, sweetening the cup of bitterness which many drink as the result of their own course of action, watching over those who need the guidance of a firm, steady hand to lead them to the feet of the Master, helping all with whom he comes in contact to fight manfully the battles of the Lord.
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Page 967
1 No one has anything beyond that which God gives him. All that we have, time, ability, strength, has been bought with a costly price. A ransom, which includes every son and daughter of Adam, has been paid for the human race. The precious blood of Christ has been shed to redeem man from earthliness, from spiritual and physical uncleanness. This is the covenant God has made with His people. They are to be His chosen ones. Those who truly receive Christ will not yield to any claim, even for a moment, which would strengthen the powers hostile to righteousness and truth. They put on the yoke of Christ, devoting themselves unreservedly to the Saviour for all time. They pledge themselves to obey God’s commandments, even should every other member of the human family become disloyal.
2 He who receives Christ by faith is a member of the royal family, a child of the heavenly King, an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ. His lot is a part of the cross of Christ. He is bound up with Christ for life and for death in the great plan of redemption. The full and entire renunciation of self that appeared in Christ appears in him. He shows Christlike gentleness, by speaking kind, compassionate words, words which are full of comfort, and hope, and love. He is filled with solicitude for human souls. His watchword is, “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in Me.” He is willing to make any sacrifice to draw lost, perishing souls to the cross of Calvary.
3 A church separate and distinct from the world is in the estimation of heaven the object of greatest value in all the world. The members are pledged to consecrate their service to one Master, Jesus Christ. They are to show that they have chosen Christ as their Leader. In the Scriptures the members of the church of God are represented as striving, laboring, working, fighting the good fight of faith, and praying in faith, ever ready to unsheathe the sword of the Spirit.
4 The blessing of grace is given to men that the heavenly universe and the fallen world may see, as they could not otherwise see, the perfection of Christ’s character. The great Teacher came to our world to show men and women how to live so that in the great day of God it may be said to them, “Ye are complete in Him.” We are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. When we feel that we are strong in our own strength, then comes defeat. Trusting in God we shall be victorious. Entire confidence in God brings success and victory. The Lord Jehovah is our strength and our shield.
5 The truth is to be given to those who are ready to perish. Call the attention of the people to the signs of the times. There are wars and rumors of wars. Nation is rising against nation. Selfishness and covetousness lead to violence, crime, and all kinds of wickedness. Nation is watching nation, to see if there is not some advantage to be gained. A concession made by one nation to another only opens the way for another concession to be called for. The presumptuous, daring deeds of unholy ambition, done to gain power by robbing others, show that men do not realize that those who take the sword shall perish with the sword.”
6 The signs of Christ’s coming are fulfilling. Time is precious, too precious to be frittered away. God needs men who will give the warning message. He needs men who will sell and give alms, that the work of warning the world may not be hindered. The aggressive warfare is to be carried forward with firmness and determination; for Satan has come down with great power to work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish.
7 Christians are to reveal the attributes of Christ, steadfastly persevering in the work God has given them to do. To those who do this work in faithfulness, angels are commissioned to give enlarged views of the character and work of Christ and of His power and grace and love. Thus they become partakers of His image, and day by day grow up to the full stature of men and women in Christ. It is the privilege of the children of God to have a constantly enlarging comprehension of the truth, that they may bring love for God and heaven into their work, and draw from others praise and thanksgiving to God because of the richness of His grace.
8 The Lord is in earnest with us. His promises are given us on condition that we faithfully do His will. He said to Solomon: “As for thee, if thou wilt walk before Me, as David thy Father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe My statutes and My judgments; then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy Father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. But if ye turn away, and forsake My statutes and My commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I pluck them up by the roots out of My land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for My name, will I cast out of My sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.”
9 God’s government is a government of personal responsibility. No one can do his neighbor’s work. No one will be excused for neglecting his own work because his friend or neighbor has failed to do the work the Lord has marked out. Each will be called upon to give an individual account for the way in which he has performed the work of giving the message of warning to the world. At the hand of the unfaithful servant God will require the blood of those who might have been saved had he done his duty faithfully.
10 Paul sums up his instruction to the Ephesians by saying, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,” not in self, “and in the power of His might,” not in self-confidence and self-sufficiency. “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
11 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all,”—having obeyed the instruction given by the Lord,—”to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace.” Let the peace of Christ rule in the heart and express itself in words and works of praise and thanksgiving. Christlike words and deeds are the fruits which the Saviour loves to see in His followers. There is no excuse for dearth in the soul. The peace of Christ, which passeth understanding, is provided for all.
12 “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Satan is near, for the purpose of preventing souls from gaining the spiritual attainments they may receive. Confidence in God, a constant exercise of faith, will quench his fiery darts.
13 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit”— presented to you by the Captain of the Lord’s host—”which is the Word of God.”
14 We have reason for continued gratitude to God in that He has left us a perfect example. Every Christian should strive earnestly to follow the footsteps of the Saviour. We should offer grateful thanksgiving to God for giving us such a mighty Helper, a safeguard against every species of impropriety in thought, word, or deed.
15 God stands ready to furnish His children with light and grace and power. Every soldier in the army of the Lord is to stand firm in the faith, working out his own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God is working with him and for him. God’s soldiers are ever to be ready with the word, “It is written.” When assailed by the enemy, they are not to use words of human wisdom, but words of divine wisdom, keeping the eyes fixed on the Saviour. As they work to press back the powers of darkness, they are to pray always, “with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
16 The only security against falling into sin is to keep ourselves constantly under the molding influence of the Holy Spirit, at the same time working actively in the cause of truth and holiness, discharging every God-given duty, but taking no burden that God has not laid upon us. Christians must stand firmly under the banner of Christ, fighting the good fight of faith perseveringly and successfully, relying not in their own wisdom, but on the wisdom of God, never forgetting that they have a Leader who never has been and never can be overcome by evil. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 968
1 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.”
2 In His work Christ met those who were longing for a better way, those who were hungering and thirsting for the bread of life and the water of salvation. The world was dark, and full of sin and sorrow; surely there was need of light from heaven. The Redeemer saw that the time had come to set men apart to go forth to labor for the people. He knew that those who were to do this work must obtain an individual experience while He was yet with them to instruct them, and correct any errors they might reveal in their manner of working.
3 The Saviour called to Him the twelve disciples who since the beginning of His public ministry had been with Him, hearing His words of instruction and warning, witnessing His deeds of mercy and compassion. With solemn reverential awe the disciples came to receive their commission, to be honored by being made laborers together with their Lord and Master. They were to be imbued with the Spirit of Christ. This was to fit them to engage in the great and solemn work, of bearing to men the message of salvation. They were to work as Christ worked, to shine as lights amid the moral darkness that had enveloped the world.
4 Look upon the touching scene! Behold the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, surrounded by the twelve whom He had chosen, not men learned in the schools of the rabbis, but men who had been learning of the greatest Teacher the world had ever known, simple, humble, true-hearted men, needing to be instructed in patience and tenderness in order to be fitted for the trust placed upon them.
5 Christ is about to ordain His disciples for their work. By these feeble agencies, through His Word and Spirit, He designs to place salvation within the reach of all.
6 God and the holy angels beheld this scene with interest and with great gladness. The Father knew that from these men divine light would shine forth, that the words spoken by them as they witnessed for the truth would echo from generation to generation.
7 Christ gave His disciples “power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” And He commanded them: “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves; for the workman is worthy of his meat.”
8 “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.” Christ knew that, should the disciples make a specialty of laboring for the Samaritans or the Gentiles, they would prejudice the Pharisees against them, and their way would be hedged up at its very commencement. They would be involved in controversy and would become discouraged; for more than human wisdom would be required to meet the arguments of the men who would not receive any evidence, however clear and forcible, that did not coincide with their ideas. The scribes and Pharisees believed that God was a God of the Jews only, and not of the Gentiles. In their blindness they had built up a barrier between themselves and every other nation.
9 It was the Saviour’s design to show His disciples that God is a God of Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, free and bond. But the disciples received slowly the truth that all nations, tongues, and peoples were to receive the Gospel. Until they had a clearer perception of God’s plan, they were not to labor for the Gentiles or for the Samaritans.
10 The Redeemer was sorely tried by the traditions that clung to His chosen disciples. When Jesus was with them, they were not made afraid by the caviling of the priests and rulers. They saw the effect of His words upon the people. They saw how easily He thwarted His enemies when they tried to confuse and perplex Him. Jewish doctrine and maxims could have little influence over them when the Saviour was by their side, for He would always present them the truth just as it reads in the Old Testament Scriptures. But when separated from their Master, they were perplexed and unsettled by the arguments of the priests, who talked to the disciples as they never dared talk to Christ.
11 This weakness on the part of the disciples made it necessary for Christ to reprove them. At times, dull of comprehension, they failed to understand His words. How tenderly He worked with them as He tried to teach them! If, unable to grasp the full import of His words, they came to Him for help, He at once rolled away the cloud, and made His meaning so clear that they could not but see it. He rejoiced when He could lead their minds, step by step, to comprehend the spiritual lessons He sought to teach them.
12 For many months the men who received the Gospel commission had been beside the Saviour. They must now be separated from Him for a short time; for there were lessons they needed to learn in regard to meeting opposition. They must begin to understand what they would have to meet when Christ was no longer by their side in human form.
13 Christ knew that as the disciples went forth in the power of the Spirit, to withstand the agencies working against the truth, they would gain strength and courage. He would follow them at every step, and in time of need His Spirit would bring His words to their remembrance. By living the truth before them He had trained them for service more effectually than He could have done had He been continually dwelling upon doctrine. He knew that when they were separated from Him, the words He had spoken to them would flash into their minds when they were in conflict with the powers of darkness.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 969
1 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” The disciples must show no severity in word or action. While they must ever cultivate the wisdom of the serpent in seeking to save the souls of their fellow-men, they must be as harmless as doves.
2 Christ’s instruction at this time had reference directly to the short journey the disciples were about to make, but He looked beyond this, and saw the work that lay before them, after His betrayal and crucifixion, when by the experience of the day of Pentecost they would be fully prepared to do their work. He lost sight of the beginning of their mission, of their trial trips, when He could be with them, to correct any errors that might appear in their manner of labor, to encourage them to bear trials, and to show them how to meet repulse and derision. He saw before them a broader missionary field, which after His ascension they were to enter as missionaries for Him, in which they would meet fierce opposition and persecution.
3 “But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.” They were not to be intimidated or terrified by opposition. By searching the Scriptures and gaining a clear understanding of the reasons of their faith, they were to prepare for the time when they should be called upon to stand before kings and rulers. They were to regard themselves as under the special care and guardianship of God. Tho they might be bound and imprisoned, yet they were to remember that they were free in Christ. Putting their entire trust in God, they were to perform the highest, noblest work ever given to mortals. They were not to be discouraged or cast down by persecution, but were to show themselves worthy of the sacred trust which had been given them. They would never be alone; for the Saviour assured them that One more mighty than all their enemies would be constantly by their side. “It is not ye that speak,” Christ declared, “but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
4 This promise was indeed fulfilled. After the day of Pentecost, the apostles were filled with the Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. And Paul declared: “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. . . . Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”
5 Over the Prince of life and the holy angels the satanic agencies can not prevail. Altho suffering and death came to the disciples for Christ’s sake, yet not in one instance did Satan triumph. He bruised Christ’s heel, but Christ bruised his head. Standing before governors and kings for the Master’s sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles, the disciples were the means God used for showing the contrast between the spirit which controls those connected with Satan and the spirit which controls those connected with the Prince of life.
6 The promise of help in time of need is given to us as surely as it was to the disciples. When we deliberately adopt a right course of action, when we determine to be true to the claims of the truth, to obey God, not swerving from principle to save property, reputation, or life, wisdom from above will be given us, even as it was given to them.
7 Paul declares: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore,” He enjoins us, “take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Whatever trial may come upon you, however oppressed by persecution you may be, remember that beside you stands One mighty in power, even the Captain of the Lord’s host. Resolve that not one jot or tittle of the sacred law of Jehovah shall be marred or dishonored by your course, that its authority shall not weaken in your hands.
8 Satan is defeated every time God’s servants maintain their integrity in spite of his lying accusations and fierce persecution. An entire surrender of self to Him who has purchased all human beings will enable the suffering one to say: “Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
9 “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord; . . . but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God.”
10 The faith and confidence in God which is essential in time of trial is gained by a diligent cultivation of the qualifications given by God. A daily striving to know God and Jesus Christ will give to the mind a power and efficiency more precious than gold or silver. As we faithfully endeavor to improve our God-given faculties, we are made partakers of the divine nature.
11 The Lord desires His representatives to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. It is His design that the men in positions of responsibility in the world shall have an opportunity of hearing the truth. The truth has been misrepresented. False charges have been made against it. The kings and rulers of this world are to be given an opportunity of knowing and understanding the truth for themselves. They are to see the truth in contrast with error. While they are being critically examined by men who do not love or fear God, the Lord’s servants will have opportunity to speak words of wisdom. “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
12 Thus human beings may bear a powerful testimony for their Lord. The Christian can not remain silent and non-committal until he sees that it is safe for him to speak. He is bound by the most sacred responsibilities to take his position on the side of truth and righteousness and witness for Christ. He is pledged to battle bravely against the disregard of God’s law, even tho he be in danger of being swept away by the fury of the passions aroused by the stand he takes.
13 Jesus seemed to lose sight of the nearer view as He saw what was to come upon the world. He looked into the future, and saw that the world would despise His warnings and reproofs. “The brother shall deliver up the brother to death,” He said, “and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.” Satan was the instigator of all this cruelty. He worked to put to death those who were determined to serve God, according to the light they had received, and according to the dictates of their own conscience. Satan tries to force men even in their worship of God to carry out his ideas. Christ has given no example for this kind of work. He draws men, but He never drives them. “My sheep hear My voice,” He says, “and they follow Me.” Mrs. E. G. White.
(Concluded next week.)
Page 970
1 And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake,” the Saviour continued; “but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Sell not your faith to Satan, even tho by so doing you may save your life. You will lose your soul.
2 “But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another; for verily I say unto you. Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.”
3 The disciples were not to expose themselves unnecessarily to persecution and death. Christ on one occasion left Judea because He knew that if He remained, His life would be cut short by the hatred of the priests and rulers before His work was done.
4 “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.” Always be ready to give to others the light you have received. Avow your principles of action; scorn concealment. Unfurl your colors; for you are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. Shun not responsibility. You can not serve God and Baal. God desires His sons and daughters to stand bravely for the right, that the world may know where they will be found in the time of trial.
5 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Christ has purchased the entire being, mind, soul, and body. The price of man’s redemption has been paid, and all he has and is should be sprinkled with the blood of Christ, dedicated to God; for it belongs to Him. Our motto should be, “I am not my own; for I have been bought with a price.”
6 Jesus came to this world to be our substitute and surety. He is our atoning Sacrifice; for He has offered Himself in our behalf. With unutterable love He seeks to draw all men to Him. God has given Him the priceless gifts of heaven to dispense to men. Today He stands before God as the Advocate of the human race, pleading for the beings He has redeemed.
7 Shall we who have received so much through the suffering of the Son of God fear the consequence of freely acknowledging our faith? Shall we who have tasted the power of the world to come become discouraged and faint-hearted because we are threatened with danger? Christ accepted us in our weakness and unworthiness. Shall we shrink from the trials which accepting Him brings to us? He says to us, “Fear not them which kill the body.” He pledges Himself to give us help, saying: “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore.” “Because I live, ye shall live also.” When brought to the trial of your faith, look at your sinless Sacrifice. “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
8 God understands Satan’s ability to deceive and discourage. Through Christ he has declared his power to save. Christ is bound by the covenant of promise to intercede for all who come to God through Him. He knows that Satan tries to make men feel that God is a stern judge. He knows that the enemy hides from human beings the Father’s love and mercy, trying to make them think that they are too sinful to ask for pity. Therefore in the simplest language the Saviour assures us that God is full of mercy and compassion, and that He, our Saviour, is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, having been in all points tempted like as we, are yet without sin. Fully acquainted with the temptations and devices of the enemy, He presents before His children what they may expect, assuring them at the same time that He will help them bear whatever may come. He knows our difficulties, He understands our distresses. Not a sigh is heard, nor a throb of anguish felt, but the pang vibrates in the heart of Christ. With tender sympathy for our weakness, He points us to the care God has for the little sparrow which flits from bough to bough, and tells us that not one of these tiny birds falls to the ground without the knowledge of the Father: “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
9 “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.”
10 As the disciples listened to these words, they were deeply impressed, and in their hearts they said: “I will live for the Master. No earthly consideration shall induce me to disown my Redeemer.”
11 As we look upon the cross of Calvary, shall we not remember that for us Christ engaged in conflict with the powers of darkness? He endured the penalty of sin in our behalf. He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him to put Him to grief, that He might compass the redemption of the human race.
12 Shall we deny our Redeemer? You say, No, I will never deny Christ. But remember that there are many ways in which you may deny Him. Saul, the first king of Israel, denied the Lord by disobeying His commands. He failed to obey the first law of God’s kingdom,—the law of self-government. He set up his own will as better than the Lord’s will. His life was a failure because he denied God. The apostles, on returning from their missionary journey, “gathered themselves unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.” They did not hide their mistakes, but laid all before Him for His inspection. Every disciple as he came was welcomed by the Master. The good Shepherd knew how to give the needed encouragement. The disciples were weary, but they were so glad to be once more in the presence of their Lord that they forgot their weariness.
13 How many burdens we might lay off if we would do as the disciples did,—take all our troubles, large and small, to Jesus. He has invited us to do this. Let us encourage the habit of intimate communion with Jesus. Thus we shall learn to know Him better, and His divine presence will bring us relief and assurance. We shall be drawn to Him as to a loving friend. As we tell Him our sorrows and perplexities, our mistakes and errors, He will speak peace and comfort to our hearts. He says: “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 971
1 He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.” In these words the duty of every one is plainly outlined. All are to do their best. God has given rich promises to those who will reveal in the daily life the virtue and power of their faith and self-denial.
2 Christ says to us: “Occupy till I come. Do all that is in your power, and much that seems beyond your power, to save perishing souls.” There are many who can not give large offerings of money, because they have no money to give. But by self-denial, by denying inclination, they may save something for the Master; and this discipline will be of great value to them. They may think their gift too small to be worth anything. But as it is laid upon the altar, God will bless it, and the results from it will be surprising. To practise self-denial and self-sacrifice is a discipline necessary to the disciples of Christ.
3 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (as it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth forever).”
4 This promise is made to all who reveal a working faith, a faith which prompts the receiver to relieve the necessities of his fellowmen. This faith works by love, and purifies the soul. But faith without works is dead, being alone.
5 We have the Word of God as our assurance, to inspire us with hope and comfort. God declares that He will not be unmindful of our labors of love in carrying out His will in behalf of our fellow-men. God has made those who believe in Him His stewards. They are to live His law, showing the world by their good works that this law is perfect, converting the soul, uprooting from the heart all selfishness and covetousness, and planting there the precepts of righteousness.
6 The law of God is the transcript of His character. Those who profess to keep this law, but who fail to show that they love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength, who do not devote themselves unreservedly to His service, keep neither the first four commandments, which enjoin supreme love for God, nor the last six, which enjoin unselfish love for one another. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” True love for God will always manifest itself. It can not be hidden. Those who keep God’s commandments in truth will reveal the same love that Christ revealed for His Father and for His fellow-men. He in whose heart Christ abides will reveal Christ in the character, in his work in behalf of those who need to be brought to a knowledge of the Gospel. He will show the fruits of his faith, revealing the Saviour in loving words and in deeds of mercy.
7 Christians are to show that the law of God is not only to be believed theoretically, but is to be acted out in the life as a living principle. They are to show by their lives that the law is written in their hearts. Thus they may represent the Redeemer. Thus they may show that they have the mind of Christ and are doing the works of Christ.
8 Those who claim to have light on the Word of God are to manifest to the world the influence and power that this light has upon the character. If it makes no decided change in us, it is of no value to us. We are like salt which has lost its savor and is good for nothing. We do not reveal to the world any saving, redeeming qualities.
9 Mark carefully the following words: “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God” —thanksgiving offered by those we have helped from love to God.
10 The doing of the law of God is the fruit of His grace in the heart. Obeying this law, we daily remember that God is the giver of all we hold in trust. He provides us with all we have. It is because of His mercy and love that we have strength to labor. He opens up ways by which we may gain earthly treasure, not that self may be exalted, not that the treasure obtained may be hoarded up, but that God’s name may be glorified, that the needy may be helped, that God’s treasury may be provided with that which He claims in gifts and offerings, that the work of uplifting the cross of Christ in regions beyond may move forward.
11 Upon all who consecrate themselves to God as laborers together with Him is laid the responsibility of guarding the interests of His cause and work. They are to live the truth which they claim to believe. They are to keep Christ constantly before them as their pattern, and by their good works cause praise to flow forth from hearts hungering and thirsting for the bread of life. Not only are they to minister to the spiritual needs of those they are seeking to win to Christ, they are to supply their temporal necessities. This work of mercy and love is ever presenting itself, and by doing it faithfully, God’s servants are to show what the Gospel has done for them. They are to be faithful stewards, not only of Gospel truth, but of all the blessings given them. Not only are they to speak words of sympathy, by their deeds they are to demonstrate the sincerity of their love.
12 “The administration of this service not only supplieth the wants of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God.” It warms the heart and awakens the soul, filling it with gratitude to God. “By the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the Gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; and by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.”
13 This work is a savor of life unto life. It is an “experiment” which will always produce the very best kind of results, not only in the receiver, but in the giver.
14 Men and women may shun the reproach they are called upon to bear for Christ’s sake; they may do the works of transgression, but as surely as they do this, they will receive the reward of the evil-doer. They may climb to places of distinction, they may stand high in the literary world, and with proud superiority they may resist the truth of heavenly origin; but in the end they will lose all. Man’s happiness and salvation depend upon eating the bread of life, that is, obeying the words and doing the works of Christ, advancing righteousness and restraining unrighteousness. Nothing can give such self-reliance, such courage, such an increase of talent and ability, as a true estimate of the requirements of God’s law. Nothing will give such firmness and confidence, such an appreciation of the talents bestowed on us, as a realization that we are “laborers together with God,” and that we must have respect unto all His commandments.
15 Those who realize the importance of studying Christ’s life, who seek to develop a character like His, will be attended by holy angels, who at every step will help them to exalt the Saviour. Christ sacrificed His life in order to save those ready to perish. All may share with Him in the divine work of turning souls to righteousness. And to those who do this is given the promise, “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.”
Mrs. E. G. White
Page 972
1 Jesus was in the temple court. At the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, crowds assembled in this place. In the court were erected high standards, upon which were placed branching lamps. After the evening sacrifice, these lamps were lighted, and the flame, bright and strong, filled the court, representing the pillar of fire which had guided the children of Israel through the wilderness.
2 This sight created the greatest enthusiasm among the people. Their admiration was unbounded and their rejoicing universal. But the Saviour looked upon the rejoicing congregation with pitying tenderness. The One who had created the light, who, enshrouded in the pillar of fire, had guarded and protected the children of Israel in their journeyings through the wilderness, now stood in the temple court, and if the worshipers had not separated themselves from God, they would have recognized Him.
3 The Son of God looked at the lamps which represented Him, and His voice, full of a melody which commanded silence, was heard, saying, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” His words fell on the ears of the people with a strange power; for as He spoke, divinity flashed through humanity, sending to the hearts of His hearers the conviction that His words were true.
4 The Light of the world, Christ, came to the place where Satan had set up his throne. He came not to condemn and destroy by His glory, but to restore and uplift by His healing beams. He came as the light and life of men, and He presented Himself in His true relation to the world. His light was to shine, not merely to the Jewish nation, as represented by the lights in the temple courts, but it was to send its far-reaching beams to every nation under heaven. The time would come when upon every human being would shine the light of the Sun of Righteousness.
5 O, that the Jewish people had recognized Christ as the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world! But Satan had determined that if he could not overthrow the Prince of Life, he would so blind the eyes of the nation that they would reject the Saviour. God had worked in majesty and power to make of Israel a chosen nation, a royal priesthood, that they might show forth the light of His truth. They had been exalted to heaven by their privileges. This people Satan determined to use as his agents in quenching all heaven-sent light.
6 He succeeded in gaining the Jewish teachers to his side. While the light in the temple court was causing joy and gladness among the worshipers the hearts of the Pharisees were filled with bitterness and murder. They were under the control of Satan.
7 “I am the light of the world.” Clear and emphatic the Saviour’s words fell upon the ears of all in the court. The people could not at that time understand the meaning of the relation Christ claimed to the world, but His words sank into their hearts, and He knew that afterward many would comprehend His meaning. His words, tho not understood now, would by and by be brought to their remembrance by the Holy Spirit. The beams of the Sun of Righteousness would shine into their minds, and the words He was now speaking would be remembered and understood. Then they would realize that when listening to Christ they had listened to no cunningly devised fable, but to the Word of God, whereunto they were to take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place.
8 To the Jewish teachers Christ seemed only an impostor. They could see only the human side of His character; for in their pride they had overlooked the prophecies relating to the humiliation of the Messiah. They did not believe that He was to come to the world without earthly glory. That a man like themselves should make such claims was something they could not tolerate.
9 Again and again Christ had tried to show the Jewish leaders the relation which He sustained to the human family. And as He saw the lights which shone in the temple court, He made another attempt. But their prejudice and unbelief came at once to the front. “Thou bearest record of Thyself; Thy record is not true,” they said. On one occasion Christ had said, “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.” He meant that if He came bearing witness only to advance His own interest and glorify Himself, they would be justified in not crediting His testimony. To their charge at this time He answered: “Tho I bear record of Myself, yet My record is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go. . . . Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am One that bear witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me. Then said they unto Him, Where is Thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know Me, nor My Father; if ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also.”
10 At another time He said of the Jewish leaders, “If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father.” If the scribes and Pharisees had received the testimony borne by so many in regard to Christ’s work, if with a teachable spirit they had searched the Scriptures to see if His claims were in accordance with prophecy, they would have been enlightened, and would have recognized Jesus as the light of the world. But, self-righteousness and self-sufficient, they received instead the suggestions of one who was expelled from heaven for self-seeking. Instead of searching the Scripture, they opened their hearts to evil imaginings. Determined not to believe that Christ’s claims were just, they resisted every conviction which His words sent home to their hearts.
Mrs. E. G. White.
(Continued next week.)
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Page 973
1 Christ looked with sadness upon the deceived multitude who, while rejoicing in the representation of the light which had led them through the wilderness, were rejecting and turning from the true Light. What pitiful blindness! What strange inconsistency! Standing as He did in the very shadow of the cross, Christ longed to save the people from the doom to which they were hastening. But as He lifted up His voice in earnest accents of entreaty, the Jewish leaders watched Him with cruel malice, hoping to hear Him say something by which they could condemn Him. They had departed from the Word of God, and when the truth revealed itself, they were ready, under Satan’s direction, to attack it.
2 Why did not the priests and rulers recognize Christ? Simon took the infant Jesus in his arms, and said, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”
3 Why did not the Jewish teachers search the Scriptures, beginning at Moses and the prophets, and carefully studying the types and shadows which pointed to Christ? How easily they could have traced out the prophecies concerning His mission! But they read God’s Word as those who understood it not; and the prince of darkness helped them not to see in Jesus the promised Messiah. Under the guidance of Satan they drifted into darkness and unbelief.
4 The world’s Redeemer was not to come the first time surrounded by the host of heaven; for human beings would not have been able to bear the sight. It was necessary that Christ should humble Himself and become a Man of sorrows. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”
5 Thus plainly had the Messiah been set forth in prophecy; but the Jewish leaders did not want to understand these words. They believed not in the Christ represented in the Scriptures, but in a Christ of the imagination, who, they claimed, would come with great power, to conquer every nation, and put down all authority but the authority of the Jews. They looked for a Messiah who would reign as a temporal prince in Jerusalem, and who would exalt the Jews above every other nation. Christ did not come according to their ideas, and therefore they refused to receive Him.
6 “Ye can not tell whence I come, and whither I go,” Christ said to them. Virtually He told them that they had no desire to know whence He came. They had closed the eyes of their understanding to the evidence which again and again He had given them. You have allowed prejudice and imagination to control you, He said. You may claim to have authority over the people by virtue of your piety, you may pride yourselves on your superior knowledge of God, but you do not know the Father, and therefore you do not know Me; for to know the Father is to know Me. It is your lack of a true knowledge of Me that destroys your spiritual eyesight.
7 “I lay down My life, that I might take it again,” He said. “No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.” The Saviour could have avoided the suffering and death which He endured. Had He so chosen, He might have left the human race to the consequences of their apostasy. But in counsel with the Father He pledged Himself to secure the salvation of every human being. An irrevocable covenant was made between the Father and the Son. Christ must go forward and finish the work which He had undertaken, or all the world would perish.
8 Christ’s death on the cross was one of willing obedience, else in it there would have been no merit; for justice would not punish in the place of the sinner an innocent being who was unwilling to bear the penalty. It was the Saviour’s full and free acceptance of the penalty that made His sacrifice wholly acceptable in every point. So the sinner must freely surrender his own will to God, and accept Christ as his substitute and surety. He must rely upon Him as the only one who can change a sinner to a saint. God calls upon us to acknowledge our guilt and accept pardon from Christ, revealing our sincerity by copying His way and doing His will. Of the one who does this the words are spoken, Ye are complete in Him, not having your own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of Christ by faith.
9 “Whither I go, ye can not come,” Christ said. “Then said the Jews, Will He kill Himself?” The answer came, clear and decided: “Ye are from beneath; I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.”
10 The wily spies upon Christ’s track were determined to make Him state in specific terms that He was the promised Messiah. The false ideas of the Messiah with which Satan had filled their minds they had presented to the people, so that the general idea of what Christ should be was very different from the representation given in prophecy. If they would provoke Him to make a claim that He was the Messiah, they could work upon the minds of the Jews to pronounce Him an impostor. “Who art Thou?” they asked; and Christ answered: “Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge of you; but He that sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him.”
11 Christ read the thoughts of His enemies, and did not answer as they wished Him to answer. He did not attempt to prove His Messiahship, but spoke of His relation to God. He accused the Jews of not knowing the Father. Their opposition to His work was the result of this lack of knowledge.
12 “They understood not that He spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. And He that sent Me is with Me; the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him. As He spake these words, many believed on Him.”
13 His words made a deep impression upon many minds; for as He spoke, divinity flashed through humanity, and a convincing power attended the truths He uttered. Many were unconsciously imbued with the heavenly influence which surrounded Christ.
14 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
15 Truth never brings the soul into bondage. It is turning from truth to error that brings the soul into captivity. The one who is bond up in close relationship with Christ is freed from the slavery of sin.
Mrs. E. G. White.
(Concluded next week.)
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1 The Pharisees took offense at the words, “The truth shall make you free.” “We be Abraham’s seed,” they said, “and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest Thou, Ye shall be made free?” Jesus answered: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever; but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
2 Paul declares: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
3 “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed,” Christ continued; “but ye seek to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you. . . . If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill Me, a Man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not Abraham.”
4 Christ declares that lineal connection is superseded by spiritual connection. The Jews were indeed Abraham’s seed according to the flesh, but they manifested a spirit very different from the spirit of righteous Abraham. By their unbelief and persistent rejection of truth they disinherited themselves. Abraham obeyed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. By their works the Jews showed that they bore no real relationship to Abraham.
5 On one occasion when Christ was informed that His mother and brethren were without, desiring to speak with Him, He looked upon the men and women who were feasting on His words, and, stretching forth His hands toward them, said: “Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.” Precious, glorious truth, spoken to comfort all believers, who may indeed be encouraged by knowing how Christ regards them!
6 “Ye do the deeds of your father,” Christ said to the Jews, and they answered scornfully, “We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” “If God were your Father,” Christ said, “ye would love Me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye can not hear My word.”
7 With faithful, unsparing hand Christ unmasked the men who had professed so much and done so little. Behind their pretentious piety there lay concealed deceitful malignity, the controlling principle of their lives. Children of Abraham, children of God, they were not, and neither could they be. By their works they bore evidence that they were the children of the enemy of God.
8 Christ saw that the time had fully come to rend from the Jewish leaders their covering of pretended piety, and to show that they were but whited sepulchers. “Ye are of your father the devil,” he said plainly, “and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not. Which of you convinceth Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me? He that is of God heareth God’s words; ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto Him, Say we not well that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honor My Father, and ye do dishonor Me. And I seek not Mine own glory; there is One that seeketh and judgeth.”
9 “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” The keen eyes of jealousy had been watching Christ, trying to find something whereby He might be condemned. But nothing could be found. “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me,” the Saviour declared. No envy, no worldly ambition, no pride, no selfishness, could be found in Him. “I know thee who thou art,” the evil spirits cried, “the Holy One of God.”
10 Standing in the presence of the multitude, Christ uttered words which, if spoken by any one else, would have been blasphemous. “If a man keep My saying, He shall never see death,” He said. “Then said the Jews unto Him, Now we know that Thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and Thou sayest, If a man keep My saying, he shall never taste of death. Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead; whom makest Thou Thyself? Jesus answered, If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing; it is My father that honoreth Me; of whom ye say, that He is your God. Yet ye have not known Him; but I know Him; and if I should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you; but I know Him, and keep His saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad.”
11 The command given to Abraham to slay his son was the most severe test that could be brought upon him. But as he prepared in faith to obey God, there was opened before him the coming of the Just One, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world for the sins of the human race. As by faith he grasped the promise, Christ revealed Himself to him. Abraham saw the incarnate Saviour, and rejoiced.
12 “Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?” “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” Jesus answered, “Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” Their eyes were blinded that they might not see Him.
13 “Before Abraham was, I am.” Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God. The message He gave to Moses to give to the children of Israel was, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” The prophet Micah writes of Him, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, tho thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of Thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
14 Through Solomon Christ declared: “The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. . . . When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.”
15 In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him.
16 Christ’s words were spoken with a quiet dignity and with an assurance and power that sent conviction to the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees. They felt the power of the message sent from heaven. God was knocking at the door of their hearts, entreating entrance. But they refused to listen. By their persistent rejection of warnings and invitations they caused Him to abandon them to their blindness and its results. Satan was working with all his power to secure them in his cause, and under his control they developed a stubbornness which brought upon them their ruin.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Christ knows that it is not possible for us to resist Satan’s temptations in our own strength. We can do this only by receiving divine help. In our own strength we should surely fail. Provision has been made that in every emergency and trial we may flee to the stronghold. When in faith we ask for help, it will be given us. We have the assurance of this from lips that can not lie. His word is Yea and Amen.
2 Then let every weary, burdened soul ask, and he shall receive. Will not He who gave His beloved Son to die for us give us help in time of need? Let us not dishonor God by unbelief. Let us take Him at His word, remembering His promise. The blessing is ours if we grasp it by faith. Why should our Christian experience be weak and nerveless? Why should our souls be anxious? Why should we not venture out by faith on the promises given?
3 Christ says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect;” and He has the power to make us perfect. But too often we forget this. Too often we forget to look to Christ. He is the Redeemer and Restorer, and those who call upon Him in faith will receive strength to overcome every wrong habit and practice.
4 Those who do not strive to bring the will into conformity to God’s will can not be vessels unto honor. A defective character shows that the grace of God has not been allowed to work in the heart. Wrong habits are a constant hindrance to usefulness. Those who cherish them can not be Christians; for to be a Christian is to be Christlike. We must comply with the conditions laid down in God’s Word. We must grasp in confidence the rich promises of God; then we shall be overcomers.
5 “Ye have not chosen Me,” Christ declares, “but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you.” Before we loved God, He loved us. Before we turned toward Him, His grace was making its impression on our hearts. He has bought us with a price, “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,” and He desires us to walk before Him in holiness, bearing fruit to His glory.
6 God will be to us all that we let Him be. But we must believe that we shall receive of Him the things He has promised. Languid, half-hearted, faithless prayers will bring no returns from heaven. We need to press our petitions to the throne of grace, asking in faith, waiting in faith, receiving in faith, rejoicing in hope; for every one that asketh receiveth.
7 Be in earnest in this matter. Seek God with all the heart. Men put earnestness and energy into temporal business. They know that if they do not, their efforts will not be crowned with success. With intense earnestness learn the science of seeking for the rich blessings promised in God’s Word. Work with persevering effort, and you will receive light and truth and grace. These blessings are for all who serve God aright. We need to fear lest the promise being left us of victory through Christ, we should come short of it.
8 Christ is our example. His life was a life of prayer. Yes, Christ, the Son of God, equal with the Father, Himself all-sufficient, the storehouse of all blessings, He whose voice could rebuke disease, still the tempest, and call the dead to life, prayed with strong crying and many tears. He often spent whole nights in prayer. While the cities were hushed in slumber, angels listened to the pleadings of the Redeemer. See the Saviour bowed in prayer, His soul wrung with anguish. He is not praying for Himself, but for those whom He came to save. In the mountains of Galilee and in the groves of Olivet the Beloved of God prayed for sinners. Then He came forth to minister to them, His tongue touched anew with living fire.
9 Christ was the representative of the race. As our example He prayed to the Father for strength and grace. These prayers reach down to our time. He has identified Himself with us. Being tempted in all points like as we are, He is able to sympathize with those who are tempted. He bowed before His Father as a suppliant, obtaining strength from on high. By communion with God He was invigorated and refreshed for His work of helping those who were in need. Braced for duty and prepared for toil by intercession with the Father, He went forth to encourage and bless others. Those who are indeed friends of Christ will often commune with Him, having implicit faith that He will answer all the prayers offered in His name.
10 God permits a crisis to come now and then, that His children may go to Him. He sees and knows all things. He desires them to feel their helplessness, and to plead with Him, casting their helpless souls upon Him. Then they are ready to be taught. “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” In the Saviour’s presence God’s people will have no fear of evil. The ever-varying perplexities, the abrupt and unexpected changes, of this age will not baffle or discourage them, but will give them fortitude and courage, bracing them for labor.
11 Christ declares, “Every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth.” This is a law of the divine government, a law sure and unfailing, establishing a connection between human and divine agencies. O, what a world of promises we have in the Word of God! To all who seek Him at the footstool of mercy Christ gives power to witness for Him. He has placed Himself under obligation never to disappoint a true seeker for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. And to assure us of this He appeals to the love of earthly parents: “What man is there of you,” He asks, “whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” Do not trust in your own strength. “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Do we make the preparation which it is our privilege that we may be able to stand against the enemy? Do we realize the sacred character of God’s work and the necessity of watching for souls as they that must give an account? We must be vigilant, “knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.’
2 “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
3 These promises are the assurance that through the influence of the Holy Spirit we are strengthened to become like God in character. By beholding His purity and holiness, we become partakers of His nature, overcoming the selfishness of the natural heart. There is a power in truth that will always work if the human agent will heartily co-operate, allowing himself to be brought by faith into captivity to Jesus Christ. The Saviour’s virtues and excellencies then become the savor of the whole being.
4 “And besides this,” the apostle continues, “giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.”
5 This is not a surface work. It means a clear understanding of spiritual things, and a genuine sense of the practical working of the Holy Spirit upon mind and heart. “He that lacketh these things is blind, and can not see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” But “if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
6 Through the application of the truths of the Gospel, men become laborers together with God. But those who while claiming to believe the Bible fail to practise the truth it contains, are blind and can not see afar off. This is why so many men and women live at cross-purposes with God. They do not live and work upon the Gospel plan of addition. Their religious experience is dwarfed.
7 “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
8 A mere creed, tho every jot and tittle of it may be sound, is not enough to restore in man the moral image of God. An ancestral faith, however tenaciously held, can not correct the evils of the natural heart. It is the willing mind, the earnest spirit, the hearty, self-denying efforts, imbued with love to God and man, which bring results approved by God. The whole heart must be given to God, else we shall fail to love Him supremely, and then, necessarily, we shall fail to love our neighbor as ourselves. We can not obey the law unless it is written on the heart. Only the truth as it is in Jesus can illuminate the soul, enabling us to do good and only good to those with whom we are associated.
9 There are those to whom the truth is not truth. The work of the Redeemer exerts no restoring influence upon their lives. The will of God is not obeyed. The countless mercies and blessings bestowed on them are received as a matter of course. What is the matter? They do not obey the injunction, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.”
10 Christ declares, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” To make a profession of faith while we fail, to receive the truth as a thirsty man receives water, leaves the soul as barren as the hills of Gilboa. The heart is the citadel of the being, and until the heart is surrendered to God, the enemy will claim it as his stronghold, and no power on earth can dispossess him. Christianity is not there. Its place is occupied by sophistry. Love for the Saviour and for those for whom He died is not there. There is no experimental knowledge of the words, “We are laborers together with God; ye are God’s husbandry; ye are God’s building.”
11 Are there not many like the fig-tree which bore no fruit? They seem to think that a profession of following Christ constitutes the sum of Christianity. Many dishonor the religion of the Bible by lowering the standard to meet their own attainments. They do not prepare themselves to meet the attacks of the enemy. They do not crucify self. They seem not to realize that they are to fight constantly against the inclinations of the natural heart. O, for more of the spirit of the Master! How much His children need it!
12 We are not obliged to forsake business pursuits in order to live the religion of Christ. We need not flee to the desert and dwell in the caves of the earth in order to obtain a closer walk with God. The Lord does not require us to be useless in society in order to serve Him. Indolence is not a Christian grace. We are to be zealous of good works, “not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
13 In all business relations we must represent God, showing ourselves to be Christians. Men can serve God in business life if amid the temptations of the world they keep His religion pure and undefiled. The Christian is to set his aim high. He is to let his light shine before men, that they may see his good works, and glorify his heavenly Father. Amid the confusion and change of daily life, he is to hold fast his integrity.
14 God’s will is to be our will and His way our way just as much when we are engaged in business as when we are on our knees in prayer. We are to maintain Christian principles under all circumstances, however trying. The religion of the Bible is for all times and all occasions.
15 True goodness is revealed by the bearing of good fruit. This goodness bears the endorsement of heaven. The religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent. It countenances no littleness, no mean transactions. True Christians have a nobility which allows none of the cheap, covetous actions that are a disgrace to the doer.
16 If we would work wisely and intelligently for God, our human passions, our hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong; must be brought under the control of a higher and more commanding generalship than human ability.
17 “Cease to do evil; learn to do well.” This is the lesson each one should learn day by day. We are to walk in accordance with the will of God, who is too wise to err, and too good to do us harm. The Redeemer met Satan’s treacherous advances with the words, “It is written,” and with the imperative command, “Get thee behind Me, Satan.” Christians should receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save the soul. The Word of God is a tower of strength, into which they may run and be saved. Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 God has given His children different talents and capabilities, but all are to work under one great Head. Those who claim to serve God are under obligation to work for Him with faithfulness and unselfishness. They are not to watch for an opportunity to build themselves up to the injury of some one else.
2 Different gifts are imparted to different ones, that we may feel our need of one another. God bestows these gifts, and they are to be employed in His service, not to glorify the possessor, but to uplift the world’s Redeemer. They are to be used for the good of all mankind. God desires His people to help one another in the discharge of their various duties, and in the faithful accomplishment of the work He has given them to do.
3 The Lord wishes His people to reach a higher standard. He desires them to overcome all self-exaltation. No jealousy or envy is to be manifested, no evil surmisings entertained. The power of Satanic agencies is great, and the Lord calls upon His people to unite their forces to strengthen one another, “building up yourselves on your most holy faith.” “Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.”
4 We are laborers together with God. One laborer plants, another waters or cultivates, and God gives the increase. The progress of the work in each individual soul determines the strength of the church. When those who claim to believe the truth are sanctified through the truth, when they learn of Christ, His meekness, and lowliness, there will be complete and perfect unity in the church. The members will answer Christ’s prayer, “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth; . . . that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in One; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
5 When Christ abides in the hearts of believers, all quarrels, all selfish actions, all discourteous words, will be put away. Each one will ask earnestly, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?”
6 Let us strive with earnestness for the victory over sin. Let us be determined not to give place to the enemy by criticizing, by picking flaws, by disparaging others, and seeking to be first. Let us study the prayer made in our behalf, and work for its fulfilment. Let us keep our eyes fixed upon the perfect Pattern. The only way to avoid dissension and strife is to keep looking to Him who came to the world to save sinners, learning of Him, His meekness and lowliness. He says to us, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” How, then, can there be strife among us? If we live in Christ’s presence, there will be no contention.
7 Read the instruction given in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew. In all the oracles of God there is nothing more positive than this, and yet God is dishonored and His cause marred by the doing of the wrongs pointed out in this chapter. These words are for you and for me, and for all who claim to be followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. He shows us the principles upon which we are to act in all cases and under all circumstances. There is to be no striving for the supremacy. Christ teaches that in His spiritual kingdom it is not position, not outward splendor or authority, but inward excellence that constitutes greatness.
8 The disciples came to Jesus with the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
9 This is Christ’s lesson for those He has ransomed by His own blood. He takes a deep interest in the least and feeblest of His children, and regards that which is done for them as done for Himself. The angels, who are in constant communion with the Father, are not ashamed, but glad and willing to minister to those most in need of their help. Then should not we, as servants of Christ, be willing to minister to those whom we suppose to be inferior to ourselves?
10 The greatest in the kingdom of God are those who know and love Him. These are they who are chosen of Him and precious. To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God, this is an unfailing evidence of true sanctification of heart and life.
11 Christ’s teachings are to be to us as the leaves of the tree of life. As we receive and assimilate His words, we shall reveal a symmetrical character. By our unity, by esteeming others better than ourselves, we bear to the world a living testimony of the power of the truth. We are not to fear that unless we seek to be first, we shall not be properly estimated. If men had higher and clearer views of Christ, if they had greater confidence in Him and less confidence in themselves, their characters would be molded and fashioned according to the divine likeness. When self is hid in Christ, the Saviour will appear as the chiefest among ten thousand, and the One altogether lovely.
12 Christ’s presence in the church is its life, its health, and its growth. Let God’s children remember that to be esteemed by men is nothing, but to be commended by God is everything. Christians must give up seeking to be first if they obtain the favor and recognition of God. Those who have correct views of what constitutes true greatness will never contend for the supremacy.
13 Let us put far from us every feeling of self-exaltation. Let us prepare to be good soldiers of the cross by learning the lesson Christ gave when He said, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” He who has crushed down all desire for self-recognition will surely be recognized by the unselfishness of His life. In order to help and encourage others, he is willing to put self aside, to forego his own plans and desires. Such a man is a noble leader in Christ’s army.
14 Look at the Saviour’s patient endurance in suffering and trial, and remember that we too are engaged in a severe and trying warfare. Let us yoke up with Him in unselfish service. “Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. . . . Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. . . . Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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1 God desires us to shine as lights in the world. Darkness has covered the earth and gross darkness the people; and Christ says to His followers, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” We are to give the light of truth to others, ever asking, ever receiving, ever imparting, working in all simplicity through the sanctification of the Spirit.
2 Christ pointed out the position His people should occupy when He said, “Ye are the light of the world.” From the members of the church is to go forth an influence which shall enlighten others. The Light-giver arranges the lamps so that all in His house (the world) may be enlightened. He has an inexhaustible supply of light, and He places those who truly believe in Him, where they will shine brighter and brighter. Constantly our light is to increase in brightness because we are constantly receiving light from the Source of all light. Beholding Christ, we are to become changed into His image, reflecting His light to the world.
3 Each soul united to Christ becomes a light in God’s house. Each is to receive and impart, letting his light shine forth in clear, bright rays. We are held responsible by God if we do not let light shine to those who are in darkness. God has given each member of His church the work of giving light to the world, and those who faithfully act their part in this work will receive an increasing supply of light to impart. By His Spirit the Lord will mold and fashion the human agent, quickening his energies, and giving him light wherewith to enlighten others.
4 Life always shows itself in action. If the heart is living, it will send the life-blood to every part of the body. Those whose hearts are filled with spiritual life will not need to be urged to reveal this life. The divine life will flow forth from them in rich currents of grace. As they pray, and as they speak, God is glorified.
5 There is no limit to the Lord’s efficiency. He is prepared to advance and to add new territory to His kingdom. But His people must do their part in carrying forward this work. “Ask, and it shall be given you,” is the promise. Our part is to rest on the Word with unwavering faith, believing that God will do according to His promise. Let faith cut its way through the shadow of the enemy. When a questioning doubt arises, go to Christ, and let the soul be encouraged by communion with Him. The redemption He has purchased for us is complete. The offering He made was plenteous and without stint. Heaven has a never-failing supply of help for all who are in need.
6 It is the Saviour’s delight to see His followers co-laborers with God, receiving bountifully all the means of fruit-bearing, and giving bountifully, as workers under Him. Christ glorified His Father by the fruit He bore, and the lives of His true followers will produce the same result. Receiving and imparting, his workers will produce much fruit. “Hitherto,” Christ said to His disciples, “ye have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
7 The God of providence still walks among us, tho His footsteps are not seen, tho His positive and direct workings are not recognized or understood. The world in its human wisdom knows not God. The Lord designs that through human beings His glory, not the glory of men, shall be manifested. It is His light that shines through His agencies. Providence and revelation work in divine harmony, revealing God as first, and last, and best in everything.
8 Christ is drawing sinners to Himself by the cords of love, seeking to unite them to Himself, that they may be laborers together with God, not in pride and self-sufficiency, but in meekness and lowliness. When sinners are converted, God is glorified before the principalities and powers of heaven and earth. These converted ones are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. “Ye are My witnesses,” God says. By looking to Me you are to become transformed in character; and by the manifestation of Christlike forbearance and love you are to reveal this transformation.
9 By imparting to others the love and tenderness which God has so abundantly bestowed on us, we are to let our light shine. We should put every gift of God to the best possible use, making it a producer of good. To God we can give nothing which is not already His; but we can help the needy ones around us. We can supply them with the necessities of this life, and at the same time speak to them of the wonderful love of God.
10 Christ has identified His interests with those of His people. He has plainly stated that we can minister to Him by ministering to His suffering ones. Words of encouragement and cheer, spoken when the soul is sick and the pulse of courage is low, these are regarded by the Saviour as if spoken to Himself. The heavenly angels look on in pleased recognition. In no better way can we express our love to God than by unselfish, self-sacrificing actions, performed because the grace of God has been received into our hearts.
11 There are only two kingdoms in this world,—the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan. To one of these kingdoms each one of us must belong. In His wonderful prayer for His disciples Christ said: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”
12 It is not God’s will that we should seclude ourselves from the world. But while in the world we should sanctify ourselves to God. We should not pattern after the world. We are to be in the world as a corrective influence, as salt that retains its savor. Among an unholy, impure, idolatrous generation we are to be pure and holy, showing that the grace of Christ has power to restore in man the divine likeness. We are to exert a saving influence upon these in the world.
13 “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” The world has become a lazar-house of sin, a mass of corruption. It knows not God’s children, because it knows Him not. We are not to follow its ways or imitate its customs. Continually we must resist its principles. Continually we must obey the words, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 979
1 The Bible contains the science of salvation. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
2 He who breathed into man the breath of life and made him a living soul, has breathed into the Scriptures a vital, life-giving power. “The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
3 We need to study the Word of God far more than we do. Thus we shall see ourselves as we are. Let us take God’s holy Word as our counselor. Let us study it with a heart open to receive its instruction.
4 Those who study the Bible with a true purpose will become wise unto salvation. Christ speaks of this as eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of man. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven,” he said; “if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
5 “The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this Man give us His flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. . . . It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
6 By offering Himself on the cross of Calvary, Christ gave His flesh and blood for the salvation of the world. Those who believe in Him as a personal Saviour, those who work His works, receiving His words and practising His principles, are eating the bread of life. Christ’s lessons are their food and drink. They constantly seek to do Christ’s will. Under all circumstances they strive to do as He would do. They look to Him who is the Author and Finisher of their faith, inquiring earnestly, What would Jesus do? What words would He speak? If I speak words that He would not speak were He in my place, I am not abiding in Him, or He in me.
7 Christ’s Word is the bread of life and the water of salvation. Trust in its fulness comes to us through constant communion with God. By it we gain spiritual strength. Christ supplies the life-blood of the heart, and the Holy Spirit gives nerve power. Begotten again unto a lively hope, imbued with the quickening power of a new nature, the soul is enabled to rise higher and still higher. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
8 As our natural life is sustained by physical food, so our spiritual life is to be sustained by spiritual food, even the words of Christ. The Gospel, believed and lived, means eternal life. It gives spiritual health and vigor. It enables us to show in the daily life the fruits of the Spirit.
9 The disciples of Christ are to bring the perfection of His character into their characters. He has given them His Word as their spiritual food. As they eat His Word, they will grow like Him, manifesting unselfishness, integrity, kindness, and love. In all they do, Christlikeness will be revealed. Thus they will show that they are eating the bread of heaven and drawing living water from the wells of salvation.
10 In Christ, “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” These words are not merely to be read as a lesson. They are to be understood, believed, and lived. They will give us spiritual life. Christ’s teachings are to be brought into the daily experience. We have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of our sins.
11 It is by the Word of life that the Christian is to live. From it we are to receive a continually increasing knowledge of truth. From it we are to gain light, purity, goodness, and a faith which works by love and purifies the soul. It is given to us that we may be cleansed from all defilement, and presented faultless before the throne of divine glory. Wondrous victory, gained by Christ in our behalf!
12 Oneness with Christ depends on the renewing of the mind by the Holy Spirit. Thus we are strengthened to walk in newness of life, receiving from Christ forgiveness for our sins. He who has this experience is a cleansed vessel, sanctified and meet for the Master’s use. Self is dead. His words are, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” There is a daily reception of the Holy Spirit, and this brings eternal life to the soul.
13 Those who eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God have a vital, saving union with Him. They are partakers of the divine nature. Christ dwells in the human tenement. True Christians are one with Christ as Christ is one with God. The quickening of the Holy Spirit brings life to the soul. When this is believed, understood, and known by experience, the character of God is revealed in the human agent. Christ abides in the heart.
14 All disunion, all selfish thoughts, words, and actions, are the fruit of the working of an unholy spirit upon the mind. Under the influence of this spirit, words are spoken which do not reveal the Saviour. Christ is not formed within, the hope of glory. Those who live thus are sinners, tho they may be counted as saints. They are without faith. They do not practise the principles of Christ. Many who claim to be Christians commit grievous sins because they do not eat the bread that came down from heaven.
15 Those who receive Christ are meek and lowly. Christ opens within their hearts a fountain of living water, which springs up unto eternal life, refreshing the souls of others. The lives of those who eat the bread of life are purified by the grace of God. They claim and receive all that the giving of Christ’s flesh and blood signifies. Vivified by the Holy Spirit, they are enabled to work the works of Christ.
16 The Word of God should be our counselor in all difficulties, our guide in all the relations of life. In the heart, the home, the place of business, the living oracles of God should reign supreme. When alone, when no human eye sees, no human ear hears, the truth is to be our companion. Ever the soul is to be subject to its control. Upon thought, word, and deed it is to stamp its divine impress. To those who obey, the Word of God is the tree of life. It possesses the elements necessary for the formation of a perfect character, and on the effect which its teaching produces in us depends our destiny for eternity.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 980
1 God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in charge of the Garden of Eden, where everything was beautiful to look upon, and the fruit pleasant to the taste. He said to them, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” They were forbidden to eat the fruit of this tree. This seems a small thing, but it was a test of their obedience and of their trust and confidence in God. God told them that if they disobeyed, death would be the result. Their happiness depended on obedience.
2 By obedience Adam would have lost nothing which it was for his good to retain. But, notwithstanding this, he disobeyed. The temptation to transgress was presented by Eve, who, having herself eaten of the forbidden fruit and realized no immediate harm, offered some of it to Adam, telling him of the great advantages of which they were deprived by not being allowed to eat of it.
3 Thus sin was brought into the world. God closed against the disobedient pair the gates of Paradise, placing an angel with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life. Man must not now eat of the fruit of the life-giving tree; for sin must not be immortalized. One star of hope illumined the dark and dismal future. God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Thus was given the promise of the Redeemer.
4 God pitied the fallen race. He “so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ came to bring life and immortality to those dead in trespasses and sins. Who is he that carries such a weight of responsibility?—”There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
5 Christ declared, “Before Abraham was, I am.” By this declaration He laid open the resources of His infinite nature, imparting in His words assurance of peace and pardon for the guilty race. He spoke with the assurance that He was able to take up and lay down His life as He chose, to secure the salvation of those who have fallen into Satan’s snare.
6 Christ spoke with the authority of greatness, as with a clear, distinct voice He said: “I am the light of the world.” “I am the bread of life.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “I am the Good Shepherd. . . . My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
7 John calls our attention to the love that God has bestowed on us. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” Altho for ages sin has been accumulating, altho through falsehood and artifice Satan has cast the black shadow of his interpretation upon the Word of God, yet the Father’s mercy and love have not ceased to flow earthward in rich currents. If human beings would open the windows of the soul heavenward, in appreciation of the divine gifts, a flood of healing virtue would pour in, leading men to exclaim, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
8 To enlarge our views of God’s goodness, Christ calls upon us to behold the works of His hands. “Behold the fowls of the air,” He says; “they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? . . . For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
9 Tho men have sinned grievously, they are not forsaken. The Hand that upholds the world, upholds and strengthens the weakest and most sinful human being. The great Master Artist, whose skill is infinitely beyond the skill of any human being, who gives to the lily of the field its delicate and beautiful tints, and who cares for the little sparrow, cares also for His children.
10 The care bestowed by Heaven on any given object is proportionate to the place occupied by this object in the scale of creation. If the flower is given a beauty that outvies the glory of Solomon, what can be the estimate that God places on His purchased heritage? Christ points us to the care bestowed on the things that wither in a day, to show us how much love God must have for the beings created in His own image. He desires every mind to grasp this precious truth. He opens before us the volume of providence, and bids us behold the names written therein. In this volume every human being has a page, on which are written the events of his life. And from the mind of God these names are never absent for a moment. Wonderful indeed are God’s love and care for the beings He has created.
11 In behalf of man God has poured out the whole treasury of heaven, and in return He claims and expects our entire affections. For us He gave up His only-begotten Son to a life of rejection, abuse, insult, and mockery.
12 All this God did that man might become filled with the divine love and benevolence. Thus He would assure sinners that sins of the greatest magnitude can be forgiven if the transgressor seeks for pardon, surrendering himself, body, soul, and spirit, to be transformed by the grace of God, and changed into His likeness.
13 Christ imparted His divine benediction, with a copiousness which showed that all power in heaven and earth have been given to Him with which to bless and strengthen humanity. All the treasures of eternity are at His command. There is no restriction of His beneficence. To all, high and low, rich and poor, who receive Him by faith as the Son of God, He is a very present help. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God, that in word and deed He might reveal God.
14 Having brought into the world the great treasures of heaven, owned and created by the eternal God, Christ can give to all eternal life. With His humanity He touches humanity, and with His divinity He firmly grasps divinity. Into man, prostrated, diseased, enfeebled, He can breathe the breath of life, making him a partaker of the divine nature.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 981
1 “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
2 There is no warfare between Satan and his agents, between fallen angels and those who have yielded themselves to evil. Both possess the same attributes, both through sin are evil. But between Christ’s followers and the powers of darkness there is an unwearied conflict, which is to have no end till Christ shall come the second time without sin unto salvation, to destroy him who has destroyed so many souls through his deceptive power.
3 This enmity was spoken of in Eden. God declared to Satan, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” This enmity was revealed as soon as man transgressed God’s law. His nature became evil. He formed a confederacy with the enemy of God. Fallen men and fallen angels have united in a desperate companionship against good. Satan does all in his power to lead men to work with him. Christ has pledged Himself to engage in conflict with the prince of darkness, and Christ’s soldiers, the chosen of God, war against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
4 Satan tempts men and women in many ways. On the right hand and on the left he works with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. To some he comes in a winning garb and with a friendly air. To others he comes in garments of darkness, to scatter and slay. By torturing fears he seeks to dishearten and distract.
5 Again and again he came to the children of Israel, and at no time was he completely repulsed. He always found some soul ready to entertain him. The very men who had seen the glory of God from the mount received him as a welcome guest. Two hundred and fifty princes, men of renown, fell under his subtle power. Members of the priesthood, connected with the sacred work of God, were deluded by his devices, and were found fighting against the Lord.
6 These men mixed the cup of gall for Moses. They thought they were serving the Hebrew host by opening to them a door of freedom. What a terrible delusion they cherished! How fearfully they were deceived!
7 The history of the children of Israel was recorded for the benefit of those upon whom the end of the world is come. We are to take warning from their experience, that we may not dishonor God as they dishonored Him. Satan was continually inciting them to rebellion, but he is even more active today. He attacks first one and then another, and when men are unguarded he succeeds in his purpose.
8 Christ saw that Satan’s power was exercised upon the human family, and that he claimed the whole race as his own. The Saviour pledged His word to give His life in man’s behalf. He laid aside His royal robe and clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might clothe humanity with His garment of righteousness.
9 Jesus came to the world as a human being, that He might become acquainted with human beings, and come close to them in their need. He was born a babe in Bethlehem. He grew up as other children grew. And from youth to manhood, during the whole of His earthly life, He was assailed by Satan’s fiercest temptations.
10 Adam was tempted by the enemy, and he fell. It was not indwelling sin which caused him to yield; for God made him pure and upright, in His own image. He was as faultless as the angels before the throne. There were in him no corrupt principles, no tendencies to evil. But when Christ came to meet the temptations of Satan, He bore “the likeness of sinful flesh.” In the wilderness, weakened physically by a fast of forty days, He met His adversary. His dignity was questioned, His authority disputed, His allegiance to His Father assailed by the fallen foe.
11 All heaven watched the conflict between the Prince of Light and the prince of darkness. Angels stood ready to interpose in Christ’s behalf should Satan pass the prescribed limit. O, what love burned in their hearts as they saw their Commander apparently in the power of His foe! When the last temptation came, when as Satan offered Christ all the world and the glory of it, if He would fall down and worship him, divinity flashed through humanity, and the enemy was resisted, the love of the angels knew no bounds. Their sympathy could no longer be restrained.
12 Christ overcame Satan on every point. The wily foe could not induce Him to swerve from His allegiance to His Father. “Get thee behind Me, Satan,” Christ said; “for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” The Captain of our salvation overcame for us; Satan left the field a conquered foe. But the strain upon Christ had left Him as one dead. “And, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.” Their arms encircled Him. Upon the breast of the highest angel in heaven His head rested. Divine consolation flowed into His soul. The foe was vanquished. Humanity was placed on vantage ground. Christ had conquered. Those who became partakers of the divine nature would be able to resist the temptations of the enemy.
13 Christ lived a human life that He might be man’s example in all things. He endured temptation even as every human being must endure. He believed God, as we must believe. He learned obedience, even as we are required to learn obedience. And He overcame, as we must overcome. His path lay through manifold temptations; therefore He knows how to succor those who are tempted.
14 Wonderful indeed is God’s work in behalf of man. Let the tempted soul remember that he is a representative of Christ. It is only by coming in contact with obstacles and difficulties and overcoming them that we become strong. Our necessity is God’s opportunity. If we will hold fast to Christ, every trial will work out for our good.
15 “We have not an High Priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 982
1 Christ’s workers should be well qualified, well trained men and women, enjoying the vigorous use of all their powers. They should be men and women who have denied self, who in a crisis will know, as did Daniel, what course to pursue in order to honor and glorify God.
2 Infidelity in many specious forms will have to be met. Satan works under disguise, and it will require a well-trained mind, sharpened by divine enlightenment, to meet his wily devices. Men can not now retain with safety defects of character. If they do not make determined efforts to overcome hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, these tendencies will become lusts which war against the soul.
3 My heart is stirred within me as I see so many cities and villages in the darkness of superstition and ignorance, with no one to teach them the special truths so important for this time. I can scarcely restrain myself from crying aloud, Where are the missionaries to carry light to these ignorant ones? Where are the men and women who will work with self-denial and self-sacrifice to save souls?
4 Alas, are there not many like the doomed fig-tree which bore no fruit,—mere cumberers of the ground? They seem to think that to profess Christ constitutes the sum of Christianity. Many live in the hope of some day growing better, but they do not advance a step. They dishonor the religion of the Bible by lowering the standard to meet their own attainments. They do not prepare to meet the assaults of Satan. They do not realize that God calls upon them to engage in a constant warfare against the selfishness and pride of their own hearts. They do not crucify self. O, for more of the Spirit of the Master! How much His people need it!
5 Every day and every hour we need the sanctification of the Spirit, else we shall be taken unawares. Christ, the Commander of heaven, durst not bring against the devil a railing accusation, altho He had every excuse for doing so. We need to learn how to manifest Christlike humility. “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me,” the Saviour says. “I am not boastful. I hide My glory. I am meek and lowly in heart.” When God’s people have sanctified hearts and sanctified tongues, they will do a work that will not need to be repented of. The influence they exert will be a savor of life unto life. The Lord is opening the way for the spread of the Gospel, but we are not ready. Daily we need to be softened and refined by the Holy Spirit’s power. Even our thoughts are to be brought into subjection to Christ. Unconsecrated self is to be crucified. Like Mary, we are to sit at the feet of Christ and learn of Him.
6 As we work for Christ, we need not appeal to the wisdom of human beings. Christ says, “Come unto Me, . . . and I will give you rest.” Have faith in God. What is faith?—”The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Without faith it is impossible to please God. Make faith in Christ a glorious reality. A mighty faith in the Redeemer exerts an influence which nothing can withstand. God Himself comes to the help of His tried and tempted but faithful followers.
7 God is our only sure defense. The new and living way is opened before every one who cheerfully submits to the yoke of Christ. The strength of the Lord is made perfect in the weakness of His followers, whether they be as renowned as Paul or as obscure as the least of the disciples. Those who suppose that they are perfect need to take Christ’s yoke upon them, and learn of Him His meekness and lowliness. Thus they will find out how weak and inefficient they really are. Those who think themselves to be pure in spirit and strong in faith need to learn daily the meaning of the words, “Without Me ye can do nothing.”
8 As laborers together in God we are to be thankful that we are not all cast in the same mould. Every leaf in the Lord’s creation has an identity of its own. God does not ask His followers to be precisely alike. Temptations come to each one in a different way, and God reveals His power by upholding and delivering each one. Deliverance in time of trial is prepared for all who are tempted no matter how diverse their temptations may be. Strength to advance upward and forward is provided for each one.
9 Every soul must fight his own battles. He must himself put on the armor. He must pray for himself. He must commune with God for himself. He must keep his own soul under watchful guidance, knowing that if he does his part, God will not fail of doing His part.
10 As the tempted one draws nigh to God, God draws nigh to him, and lifts up for him a standard against the enemy. As human beings seek the Lord in earnest prayer, they will learn what no human being can teach them. They will see what transgression of the law means, and what a costly price has been paid for the redemption of the race. They will hate the sins that wound the heart of Christ. They will see in Jesus a compassionate, tender High Priest, and will bow in contrition before Him.
11 God’s people are weak because they have not made Him their trust. They have not made Him their dependence, but have laid their burdens on finite minds and human hearts. The help they have received has been like the helpers they have sought. God has been lost sight of. Look to Him who can say, “I will; be thou clean,” and straightway the leprosy of sin departs. Go for help to Him who commands the winds and the waves, and they obey His voice; who speaks, and the dead come forth from corruption to life and health. Glory and majesty surround Him in all His ways.
12 Who ever spake as did Jesus? His prayers were an expression of the divine will. Who ever loved men and women like Him who gave His life for them? He is the Holy One of God, and He is entitled to our praise and adoration. His glory and majesty fill the heavens, and yet He is filled with love and sympathy for His weakest child.
13 How infinitely inferior we are to the perfect Pattern that we are called upon to copy! Yet in His strength we can reach the ideal set before us. We can do “all things” in His power. We are to give to the people of God today the message given to Moses for the children of Israel, “Go forward.” Christ spoke these words. He guided the children of Israel through the wilderness. His right arm brought them victory in their warfare against their enemies; and He is just as willing to help us in our warfare as He was to help them.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 983
1 In the parable of the vineyard Christ opened before the Jews the past history of their nation, showing the deeds of unrighteousness they had done, notwithstanding the great light given them. In the immense congregation surrounding Christ there were many priests and rulers. The divine Teacher’s gaze took in past, present, and future, as He presented before the Jewish rulers their own course of action. Messenger after messenger had been sent by God to the husbandmen in charge of the vineyard, to receive the fruits thereof. These messengers bore to the husbandmen a most solemn message. But they were shamefully treated by them. One was beaten, another stoned, and another killed.
2 Last of all, the owner of the vineyard sent His Son, saying, “They will reverence My Son.” But when the husbandmen saw Him, they said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, and let us seize on His inheritance.”
3 As Christ described His vineyard, fenced about by the commandments of God, and as He spoke of the treatment His messengers had received, the Jewish rulers stood as if riveted to the spot; and when Christ asked, “When the Lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will He do to those husbandmen?” they joined with the people in answering, “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render Him the fruits in their season.” With their own lips they pronounced their sentence.
4 Jesus looked upon them, and seeing His look, they knew that He read the secrets of their hearts. His divinity flashed before them with unmistakable power, and, seeing in the husbandmen a representation of themselves, they involuntarily exclaimed, “God forbid.”
5 With heavenly light shining from His countenance, Christ said, “Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The Stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?” What an impression these words made upon those who heard them! If they had received Christ as the Sent of God, saying, “Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord. . . . Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee; Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee,” how different would have been their future! But they rejected Christ, and He declared, “Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this Stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever It shall fall, It will grind him to powder.” The husbandmen had yielded to God no returns, and in these words is portrayed their final doom. The Stone lies passive under the treatment It receives. It is discarded, stumbled over, mocked at; but at last a living power takes possession of It. It seems to rise from the earth, and falls on those who have treated It with such contempt. On those who do not fall upon It and become broken, whose hearts are not cleansed by the mercy and forgiveness of God from hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, that Stone will fall and grind them to powder.
6 “And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spake of them.” Their hearts were filled with hatred toward Him, “but when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude, because they took Him for a prophet.”
7 Those who are true learners in the school of Christ will study with intense interest the parable of the vineyard. In this parable Christ presented the true condition of the once chosen people of God. He revealed to them their sinful breach of trust. He designed this parable to be a lesson to all, warning them that unless they walk in the ways of the Lord, keeping all His commandments, He can not bless and sustain them. The church on earth is greatly beloved by God. It is the fold provided for the sheep of His pasture. But the Lord will not serve with the sins of His people. Many times He has suffered calamity and defeat to come upon them because they have glorified themselves, weaving false principles into their practise. He willingly forgives those who repent, but He will remove His favor from those who go on sinning, exalting self, and mingling the sacred with the common. Terrible judgments will destroy those who have misrepresented Him, saying, “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these,” when their example is misleading.
8 In His daily life Christ gave men an example of the work they were to do. In the temple, in the highways and byways, by His parables, His miracles, His divine compassion and sympathy, He constantly declared, I came not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. He went about doing good, healing the souls and bodies of those who were sick; and when Pilate gave Him up to the rage of the people for whom He had done so much, it was with the words, “I find no fault in Him.” His was a perfect humanity. In His life, activity and devotion were harmoniously blended. The day found Him teaching in the temple or healing the sick; and the night, praying in Olivet for strength to complete His work. The Son of man, He must brace Himself for duty and temptation. He must have vigor of soul and body. He must leave His followers a perfect example of how to combat the enemy. And He prayed earnestly to His Father for strength to do this. For all who desire to follow Him, His example is left on record. Prayer sanctified His ministry. Strength and vigor for daily duty are derived from worshiping God in the beauty of holiness. The lamp must be filled with holy oil before its light can shine amid the moral darkness.
9 The Lord has a warning for His people. When men is positions of trust grow careless, when they disregard the requirements of God, when they abuse the influence and misappropriate the talents God has given them, they are abusing His goods, and punishment will surely come upon them. Those who are called by Christ’s name are to wear His credentials, showing that they have learned His meekness, His lowliness, His compassion, His love for others. When Christians do this, there will be a different condition of things in the church; for Christ will be revealed. Humanity will be under the influence of divinity.
10 For the good of His church God has intrusted to men of His appointment the work of representing Him by their well-chosen words and their firm resistance of evil. The hearts of these men are to be tender and their characters symmetrical, that they may rightly represent the Saviour. But many in God’s service are harsh and discourteous. Their spirits are loveless; for they are filled with selfishness and covetousness. They think they have a right to make their own terms regarding the value of their labor, and they become oppressive. If, after testing them, God sees that they will not repent, He removes them, and gives their place to men who will better represent Him. If those who are thus raised up by the Lord remain true and loyal, the Lord will work through them in a remarkable manner.
11 The confusion which weakens the church of God is a result of the work of unconsecrated men, whose narrowness of vision prevents them from seeing the loving-kindness shown them by God. They fail to see that God gives to them in order that they may impart to others. All the counsels of God are faithful and true. He disciplines His people that He may lead them in the right way. If they refuse to be instructed, if they will not heed the command to impart what they receive, God can not use them. When God’s people become so blind that they lose sight of principle, when they partake of the same spirit that is stirring the hearts of the ungodly, they can not bear God’s sign or seal. The severity of their punishment will be proportionate to the light which they had but to which they did not give heed.
12 Satan is constantly using mighty principalities and powers to destroy the chosen people of God. Unconsecrated Christians are aiding him in his work. All who fail to keep Christ in view are working away from the right. They are not gathering with Christ, but are scattering abroad. The life-giving power of Jehovah is more needed now than at any former period in the history of the church. God’s people are to stand firm in the acknowledged strength of Jesus Christ. He is their refuge and defense.
13 True faith and sanctified work are greatly needed at this time. God says to His people, “Press together, press together; that you may not be destroyed as were the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee, hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Persecution is coming, and God calls upon all to stand firm in Christian love, their hearts knit together, of one mind and one judgment. His people are to cleave to Him, and they are to love one another as He has loved them. Christ’s life is to be their example. In love, in meekness, in humility, they are to follow Him.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 984
1 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
2 If the disciples had now preached the Gospel to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, they would have lost their influence with the Jews. By exciting the prejudice of the Pharisees, they would have involved themselves in controversy, which would have discouraged them at the outset. Even the disciples were slow to understand that the Gospel was to be carried to all nations. Until they themselves could grasp this truth, they were not prepared to labor for the Gentiles. If the Jews would receive the Gospel, God purposed to make them His messengers to the Gentiles. Therefore they were first to hear the message.
3 The Saviour continued: “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves; for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go hence. And when ye come into a house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
4 The Saviour portrayed before His delegated messengers the treatment they would receive as they bore testimony for Him. He would not allow them to enter upon their work as His messengers without telling them what they would meet. He had a complete knowledge of the struggles they would encounter. He showed them the plan of the battle, pointing out the dangers before them. They were not to go into the work blindfold, but were to count the cost of every trial.
5 “Beware of men,” Christ said; “for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake; for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.”
6 Christ did not wish His disciples to engage in the warfare in their own strength, thinking that they could break down every opposing influence; for then they would be taken unawares by the enemy. He told them what they might expect. He told them that they must count the cost. At the same time He assured them that help from on high would be given them. They were fighting the good fight of faith, and they would not be left alone. Heavenly angels would fight in their ranks, and the mighty General of heaven would lead the way. They might fear that their sinfulness would make them powerless. They might feel that they could not stand against the enemy. They were to remember that Omnipotence could make them more than conquerors if they would go forward in faith, refusing to fail or be discouraged.
7 The Holy Spirit will supply with grace those who feel their inefficiency. Those who trust in the Lord will be surrounded with a wall of light and holiness. Christ says to His soldiers today: “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
8 This spiritual wickedness will develop as time goes on. Laws will be made to compel men to worship God in accordance with human opinions. “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
9 The powers of this earth will unite with the powers from beneath to oppress God’s people. In the Revelation, John writes: “I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by the sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
10 When Satanic agencies shall unite with the professed Christian world in opposing God, these words of the prophet will be fulfilled. In blind zeal “the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
11 God desires His servants to remember the instruction here given, that they may not be deceived in regard to what is coming upon the world. Of ourselves we can do nothing. Without the Spirit of God we are utterly helpless. Our strength lies in hiding in Jesus. God can do more in one moment to convict people than we can do in a lifetime. Therefore let us hold fast to the arm of Omnipotence. Let us lean upon Jesus. Thus we shall grow strong to do His will. The Lord is our helper. He will not leave or forsake us.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 985
1 This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”
2 The world begins its work with pomp and show and boasting; but all will come to naught. God’s way is to make the day of small things the beginning of the triumph of truth and righteousness. For this reason none need be elated by a prosperous beginning, nor cast down by apparent feebleness. God is to His people riches, fulness, and power. His purposes for His chosen people are, like the eternal hills, firm and immovable.
3 Remember that human might did not establish the church of God, neither can human might destroy it. From age to age the Holy Spirit is an overflowing fountain of life. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” There is victory for all who strive lawfully, in perfect harmony with the law of God. They will triumph over all opposition. As they carry forward God’s work in the face of all foes, they will be given the guardianship of holy angels.
4 Christ has pledged Himself to help all who join his army, to co-operate with Him in fighting against visible and invisible foes. He has promised that they shall be joint heirs with Him to an immortal inheritance, that they shall reign as kings and priests before God. Those who are willing to share in this life the humiliation of the Saviour, will share with Him in His glory. Those who choose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, will be given a place with Christ on His throne.
5 Hold fast the Word of life. The tempest of opposition will spend itself by its own fury. The clamor will die away. Carry forward the Master’s work bravely and cheerfully. The Father above, who watches over His chosen ones with the tenderest solicitude, will bless the efforts made in His name. His work will never cease until its completion amid the triumphant shout, “Grace, grace unto it.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 986
1 A great crisis awaits the people of God. A great crisis awaits the world. The most momentous struggle of all the ages is before us. Events which for more than half a century we have, upon the authority of the prophetic Word, declared to be impending, are now taking place before our eyes. An amendment to the Constitution restricting liberty of conscience, has long been urged upon the legislators of the nation; and the question of enforcing Sunday observance has become one of national importance. Are we ready for the issue involved in the Sunday movement?
2 Many who are working for Sunday enforcement have never understood the claims of the Bible Sabbath, and the false foundation on which the Sunday institution rests. And they are blinded to the results of Sunday legislation. They do not see that it would be a blow against religious liberty. But any movement in favor of religious legislation is really an act of concession to the Papacy, which for so many ages has steadily warred against liberty of conscience. Sunday owes its existence as a so-called Christian institution to the “mystery of iniquity;” and its enforcement will be a virtual recognition of the principles which are the very corner-stone of Romanism. When our nation shall so abjure the principles of its government as to enact a Sunday law, Protestantism will in this act join hands with the Papacy; it will be giving life to the tyranny which has long been eagerly watching its opportunity to spring again into active despotism.
3 As this struggle progresses, it may appear to human sight that Satan is triumphant and that truth is overborne with falsehood and error. In the country which has been an asylum for the conscience-oppressed servants of God and defenders of His truth, religious freedom may be placed in jeopardy, and the people over whom God has spread His shield, may meet suffering and trial. But God would have us recall His dealings with His people in the past, to save them from their enemies, and trust in Him. He has always chosen extremities, when there seemed no possible hope for deliverance from Satan’s workings, for the display of His power. Man’s necessity is God’s opportunity.
4 While the Protestant world is making concessions to Rome, and danger is increasing on every hand, let us arouse to comprehend the situation, and to see the contest before us in its true bearings. Let the watchmen lift up the voice, and give with clearness the message which is present truth for this time. “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” Let us show the people where we are in prophetic history, and seek to arouse the spirit of true Protestantism, awaking the world to a sense of the value of the religious liberty they have so long enjoyed.
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Page 987
1
Then began He to speak to the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard; but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. . . . Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?” The priests and Pharisees answered, “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? . . . And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”
2 The Pharisees had watched Christ narrowly as He gave this parable. They were cut to the heart by His words; for they could not fail to see their purpose. The Jewish nation had treated the servants whom God had sent unto them with contempt, injustice, and cruelty; and in consequence the vineyard would be taken from them, and they would be punished with fearful severity. And the Pharisees saw that He had pointed them out as the very ones whose sentence they themselves had pronounced. They were filled with anger against Christ. They decided that He knew too much of their base practises to be allowed to live. They feared that He would expose before the people the wicked deeds they had committed, and the result would be the loss of their popularity.
3 Baffled thus far in their attempts to entrap Christ, the Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians. Having laid their plans, they “sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of His words, that so they might deliver Him unto the power and authority of the governor.” They did not send the old Pharisees, whom Jesus had often met, but young men, who were ardent and zealous, and whom they thought Christ did not know.
4 The representatives of the Pharisees and Herodians approached Christ with apparent sincerity, as if desirous to know their duty. “Master,” they said, “we know that Thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest Thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly.” This was a wonderful admission; but their words were not sincere, but were spoken to deceive. The testimony was true, however. The Pharisees did know that Christ said and taught rightly, and by their own words they will be judged.
5 “Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?” they continued. This was a question over which there was much contention. The Pharisees paid their taxes unwillingly, and many denied the right of the Romans to demand tribute. The spies expected Christ to answer the question by a simple yes or no. If He told them it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, He would lose popular favor. If He said the tribute was unlawful, they hoped to “deliver Him unto the power and authority of the governor.”
6 They appeared to ask honestly, and they thought they had sufficiently disguised their purpose. But Jesus read their hearts as an open book, and sounded their hypocrisy. “Why tempt ye Me?” He asked, thus giving them a sign they had not asked by showing that He read their hidden purpose. They were still more confused when He said, “Show Me a penny.” “Whose image and superscription hath it?” He demanded, and they answered, “Caesar’s.” Pointing to the inscription on the coin, Jesus said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.”
7 Thus Christ rebuked the hypocrisy and presumption of the Pharisees, and to the bystanders His answer seemed so wise that they admired His tact and wisdom. His reply was no evasion, but a candid answer, and in many minds a vexed question was settled. Forever after they held to the right principle. And altho many went away dissatisfied, they saw that the underlying principle had been laid out in straight lines.
8 When the Pharisees heard Christ’s answer, “they marveled, and left Him, and went their way.” They were convinced against their will; but they would not yield and accept Christ. They could not at that time satisfy their wrath, but they were determined to carry out their purpose. Henceforth evidence had no effect on their deep-rooted prejudice. There was no more peace or rest for the Saviour; for they manifested the most bitter opposition and intense hatred, and their plans and schemes to entrap Him were abundant, never ceasing until the purpose of hate was fully accomplished on Calvary.
9 But in spite of the opposition of the priests and Pharisees, Christ kept His mission ever before Him. With a heart ever touched by human woe, He ministered to those around Him. He spoke with clearness, simplicity, and authority, and His sermons were such as had never before been heard. His principles were so clearly and wisely inculcated that none need make a misstep, if they will but follow Him, and keep His words.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 988
1
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
2 This was the most solemn denunciation that had ever been uttered against Jerusalem. After denouncing the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, who worshiped the temple, but were working with Satanic hatred to destroy the One who made the temple in any way sacred, Christ bade adieu to the hallowed courts. He quitted the temple forever, declaring, “Your house is left unto you desolate.”
3 From henceforth Christ saw a cloud blacker than sackcloth hanging over the once favored nation. Looking into the future, He saw the gates of Jerusalem burst open by the assaults of the Roman legions. He saw the walls, white like walls of snow, broken, and the beautiful stones, which had been laid with artistic skill, torn down, so that not one was left standing. The arm strong to save had become strong to smite.
4 The disciples were unable to comprehend Christ’s words in reference to the temple. They called His attention to its massive walls, saying, “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” The stones of the temple were of purest marble, of perfect whiteness, and the pillars supporting the porches were of massive dimensions. They could not understand Christ’s words dooming to destruction these mighty walls, a portion of which had withstood the devastation of armies.
5 As His attention was called to the magnificence of the temple, what must have been the unuttered thoughts of that rejected One! The view before Him was indeed beautiful; but He said with sadness: I see it all. The buildings are wonderful. You point to them as apparently indestructible; but listen to My words. I tell you solemnly the day will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.
6 Solemn judgments had been predicted against Jerusalem by the prophets. Its iniquity and crime had once caused it to be destroyed, and its people carried captive to Babylon. In their humiliation, many sought the Lord with repentance and compassion; and when they returned from captivity, there seemed for a time to be a reformation. “I will not contend forever,” God declared, “neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him. . . . I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him.”
7 But the leaders of the people did not remain converted. They did not “keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” The word of the Lord through His prophets was refused. Then God sent His Son with a message of mercy, calling on them to repent; but they refused to receive Him, and said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance shall be ours.” Thus Christ “came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”
8 The time of greatest responsibility for the Jewish nation was when Jesus was among them. This was the time, too, of their greatest privilege and blessing. And by rejecting the Son of God, and refusing every overture of mercy, they made themselves guilty of the greatest of all sins.
9 “Ye shall not see Me henceforth,” Christ said, “till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” You have refused to see in Me a merciful Saviour, offering you redemption. When God’s heavy judgments fall upon you, you will still refuse to see in Me a sin-pardoning Saviour. But you will one day long for a Deliverer who was once among you, but whom you would not receive. Then you will be ready to bless Him whom once you cursed, but it will be too late. Thus with power and authority our Lord reproved the Jewish people.
10 Jerusalem was lost because of its obstinate refusal to acknowledge the truth. This is the condition of the world today. Men refuse to see the truth so plainly given in the Word of God. “Thus saith the Lord,” is counted of little value, while the words of men are given great authority.
11 Christ did not abolish God’s holy law. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets,” He said; “I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” As the head of the human family, He lived every precept, every jot, and every tittle of the law. He lived in humanity the life that He required His followers to live. He emphasized His words: “Verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” His death on the cross, instead of making void the law, is an unanswerable argument in favor of the changeless character of every precept.
12 The Sabbath commandment is a part of this unchangeable law. The Sabbath was given to the world as the memorial of creation. It begins with the “remember.” “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” Then the reason is given: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” The explanation is full, so that none need be left in darkness unless they choose darkness, just as the Jews did in regard to the message Christ came to bring to the world.
13 The professed people of God may ignore the Sabbath; but they can not make it less binding upon them. No one has any excuse for accepting a Sabbath by him whom God’s Word designates as “the man of sin,” who shall “think to change times and laws.” He thinks thus to show his supremacy above God; but he does not do it. He can not change God’s law; the law-making power is God’s prerogative only. God is over all kings and rulers on the face of the earth. He is God, and beside Him there is none else.
14 The Sabbath, sanctified and blessed by God, was designed as His great memorial of creation. It is ever to stand unmoved, a rock of offense, as Christ was to the Jewish nation. The Sabbath is the test today, as Christ was a test to the Jews.
15 Forty years after Christ uttered His prediction respecting Jerusalem and the temple, His words were fulfilled to the letter. Jerusalem was destroyed, and in the siege it is stated that more than a million people perished. The rejection of the Son of God decided the destiny of that nation. Let Christians take heed, lest by rejecting God’s holy memorial their fate also be decided.
Mrs. E. G. White
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Page 989
1
The old year, with its burden of record, is fast passing away. The new year, with all its possibilities, will soon be ushered in. What advancement have we made in the knowledge of Christ during the past year? Are we prepared to show, more decidedly than ever before, that we are on the Lord’s side? At this time, when the nations of the world are wavering between infidelity and idolatry, are we prepared to stand as faithful ambassadors for Christ? Shall we not, at the beginning of this new year, give ourselves and all we have to God? Shall we not listen to His voice, which calls us to a renewed contest, to a more thorough consecration of ourselves and our intrusted capabilities to His service?
2 To God we owe all we have and are. In Him we live and move and have our being. We have not been forgotten by Him. In His book each human being has a page, on which is recorded his whole history. Constantly and untiringly God is working for our happiness. The treasures which He has placed within our reach are numberless. “The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. The earth is full of His goodness. Creation proclaims, with myriad voice, the forbearance, love, and compassion of the Almighty.
3 Thru all the ages God has manifested for the human race a love that is without a parallel. He so loved man that He bestowed on him a gift that defies computation. That the abundance of His grace might be revealed, He sent His only-begotten Son to our world, to live a man among men, to spend His life in the service of humanity. In our behalf the Son of the Infinite God was numbered with the transgressors. Christ was the channel thru which the Father poured into the world the rich stream of His grace. God could not give less than the fulness, nor was it possible for Him to give more. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
4 God has made us His stewards. To every one He has given some talent, which is to be improved and returned to Him. Every one is the possessor of some trust. Time, intellect, reason, money, the tender ministry to which some are adapted,—these are the gifts of God. From the lowliest to the highest, all have been intrusted with the goods of heaven, and all are called upon to make a return to the Giver.
5 The first thing we are to do is to give ourselves to the Lord. Life, with its endowments and privileges, is God’s gift. Let us remember that it comes from God, and is to be wholly consecrated to Him. Let us say with Paul, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is thru the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”
6 When we have given ourselves to God, we shall be willing to give Him what He has given us. All we have and are is to be laid at Christ’s feet. We have been bought with a price which can not be estimated, and we should count it a privilege to co-operate with God by denying self, by giving of our earthly possessions to make it possible for those in the darkness of error to hear the truth. Each soul saved is worth more than a world; for he is saved unto eternal life. Those who invest their means in this work double their talents.
7 Whether or not we give mind, soul, and strength to God, it all belongs to Him. God speaks to each human being, saying: “I have a claim on you. Give me your zeal, your capabilities, your energy, your means.” He has a right to ask this; for we are His, redeemed by His boundless love and by the agony of the cross of Calvary from the service of sin. On no account are we to devote our powers to self-serving. Day by day we are to return to the Lord that which He has intrusted to us. And we are to ask Him, not only for temporal blessings, but for spiritual gifts. He who asks in faith, believing that God will fulfil His word, and who acts in accordance with His prayer, doing God’s will in all things, will receive rich blessings from on high. And as he receives, he is to impart to those who need help.
8 The Christian has been given the management of his Lord’s goods. Great trust is reposed in him, and he is to treat the property in his hands with as much care as if it were his own; yea, he is to be more exact in his treatment of it, putting more thought, more energy, more devotion into his work, because he has been trusted to stand in his Master’s place. His interests are to be bound up with the interests of his Master. He is to lose all selfishness in working for the One who has honored him by trusting him. If he were to use for his own advantage any portion of the goods intrusted to him, he would prove himself unworthy of the trust placed in him. He would sacrifice his honor at the shrine of mammon.
9 Christ warns us against laying up treasure on this earth, “where moth and rust doth corrupt.” He urges us to use our goods for the advancement of God’s kingdom. He sees men risking everything to secure earthy riches, crazed with the prospect of getting gain; and, lifting up His voice, He cries, “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” In comparison with the value of one soul, the whole world sinks into insignificance.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 990
1 I would point the intemperate to a power out of and beyond themselves, —the power of Jesus. Flee to your Saviour. He has overcome in behalf of just such helpless, sinful ones as you. In His strength you may be honest, faithful men, true to your Maker. But no half-way work will suffice. You must be thorough. And do not think that you can do the work of abstaining gradually. Leave the accursed thing once and forever. “Touch not, taste not, handle not.” Drink not a drop of the liquor which sets depraved appetite on fire.
2 Do not rob God of the powers He has given you for high and holy purposes. Remember that you speak and act in the presence of God and the holy angels. Think, O, think of the superiority of a Christian man over a poor votary of sin! See the difference between a man sunken in vice, the victim of his own passions, and a man reclaimed by the truth of God’s Word, ennobled by beholding Jesus. Look at the condition of those who give themselves up to intemperance. Degraded and belittled, they are without God and without hope in the world. This is the result of their own course. The Word of God declares, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” God does not will that man shall be lost. He has made every provision for his salvation. He gave His beloved Son to save men from misery. But too often they refuse to accept the gift. There are men who, had they accepted the Gospel of Jesus, might be standing among their fellows, their countenances not as they now appear, bloated, depraved, and coarse, but radiant with intelligence, their hopes bright, and their whole demeanor indicating the dignity and self-possession derived from intercourse with good men and the study of God’s Word.
3 Drunkards choose the way of sin, a path strewn with thorns and ending in death. They have no acquaintance with God or His Word. They remember not their high origin, but debase their God-given powers to the level of the brute. Shall these degraded, besotted beings charm you? Shall they induce you to degrade your powers? Would you become besotted like them? Will you allow yourself to sink into debauchery? Shall those who bear scarcely a trace of the moral image of God be your pattern? Will you follow their example in evil-doing? Is not the picture of their condition enough to make you shun the first step in intemperance?
4 Gladly would I write something to lead the intemperate to fasten their grasp by faith upon the mighty Helper. Heaven may invite them, presenting its choicest blessings, but all will be useless unless they are willing to help themselves. They must put forth their powers to overcome, or they will sink lower and lower.
5 We can hardly conceive what man may become, what God can do thru him. Tho fallen and degraded, he may, thru the merits of Christ, be an heir of immortality, his thoughts elevated and ennobled, his heart purified, his conversation in heaven.
6 Let me say to him who is struggling to overcome, God presents before you a strong hope that you may lay hold on eternal life. Lose not your opportunity for becoming a man. When you look at yourself, and think of the strength of temptation, you say, “I can not resist.” I tell you that you can resist. Tho you are weak and degraded, you may be a child of God. Tho self-indulgence has marked your path, it need not always be thus. You can resist temptation. Jesus is your Helper. In His strength you can overcome the power of appetite. Summon will-power to your aid; for unless your will is placed on the Lord’s side, you can never be successful in overcoming, in trying to elevate yourself. Do not think that you can not say, I can and I will. God has pledged Himself to help you in every determined effort you make to regain your manhood. If you accept His help, you will become a bright and shining light in the world, and will at last hear the benediction, “Well done.”
7 God created Adam pure and noble, but thru the indulgence of appetite he fell. Yet notwithstanding the great gulf thus opened between God and man, Christ loved the hopeless sinner. He left His royal throne, clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to our world to bridge the gulf which sin had made, and to unite divine power with human weakness, that in His strength and grace man might wrestle against Satan’s temptations, overcome, and stand in his God-given manhood, a victor over perverted appetite and degrading passions. The last words of David to Solomon, his son, who was soon to be seated on the throne of Israel, were, “Be strong, and show thyself a man.” To the weak and tempted one I address the same words, “Show thyself a man.” I point him to the cross of Calvary. In the name of Jesus I bid him look and live. Destroy not yourself. It is possible for you to gain the ascendency over appetite and passion. Jesus is reaching over the battlements of heaven to lift you in His strong arms and set you upon your feet.
8 Life is in all cases burdened with weighty responsibilities, and happy will it be for those who brace themselves to meet it manfully, with Christ-like steadfastness resisting every temptation, with Christ-like fortitude bearing every trial, and overcoming in the name of the Redeemer. God has made man capable of constant progress in mental and moral worth. No other creature of His hand is capable of such advancement. Man can reach an eminence in self-control that will place him above the slavery of appetite and passions, where he can stand before God with thankfulness and rejoicing.
9 To those who are contending with the power of habit, God says: “Would you walk by and by the streets of the holy city? Then obey the command, Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. I, the infinite God, the Creator of the universe, will receive you. I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters.” “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Connect with Heaven. Thus you may become children of the heavenly King. Do you want higher honor, greater exaltation? Riches God has in abundance for those who overcome; for the streets of the holy city are paved with gold. It is your privilege to enter this city, to partake of the tree of life, to listen to the voice that is sweeter and richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ears. There is strength in the arm of the Lord. Take hold upon it, and you will one day stand victors in the city of God, each wearing on his brow a crown of immortal glory.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 991
1 In His life Christ has given an example of how we should treat one another. He went about “doing good,” ministering to the suffering and teaching the ignorant. He did not come to this world to save the righteous; for there was none righteous. He came to save all who felt their need of a Saviour. For this end He worked untiringly, never thinking of Himself.
2 Christ labored unceasingly to save men from delusion. To this end His servants must work. God has given to every man a measure of light, and he is to let this light shine forth to others. No Christian lives to himself. He who is devoted to self-serving has not yet learned of the divine Teacher, tho he may profess to be a Christian. It is one thing to passively assent to the truth, and another to apply the truth to the practical life. There are many hearers, but few doers.
3 God is measuring the temple and the worshipers therein. There are those who in the providence of God have been placed in positions where they have opportunity to do much good with the blessings they have received. Upon these He places the responsibility of ministering to those who have few blessings and little encouragement. “Freely ye have received,” He says; “freely give.” Human beings in their suffering are crying to God, and their prayers are just as surely ascending before Him as did the blood of Abel. God is not indifferent to the needs of His children, wherever they may be; and His angels are waiting to see what testimony they can carry to the courts above regarding the help which those who are highly privileged have given to these suffering ones.
4 God never forsakes His children. Jacob obtained his birthright by fraud, and then fled to escape his brother’s wrath. He knew that he had sinned. Sad and despondent, he lay down to sleep. But God had not forsaken him. That night he saw a ladder reaching from heaven to earth, the base of it planted firmly on the earth, and the topmost round reaching to the highest heaven. And continually angels of shining brightness ascended and descended this ladder. Jacob understood the meaning of this dream, and he said: “This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.”
5 There are in our Lord’s discourses numerous places where He speaks of being personally injured by an injustice done to His followers. He is affected by all that befalls them; for He has identified Himself with them. He is never an indifferent spectator of the doings of men. He puts Himself in the place of His injured, oppressed children. His soul throbs with compassionate pain as the members of His body suffer; for He is the great sympathetic nerve of the church. All the suffering of the members is felt by Him. At the last great day He says to the selfish, “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.”
6 In the “new commandment” Christ has laid down the rule we are to follow in dealing with our fellow-men. “A new commandment I give unto you,” He said, “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” If we do not obey this command, we shall not glorify our Redeemer. It should be our ambition to excel in all that is noble and good and unselfish. Never should we do anything that will mar our representation of God’s character. We are to hold the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end. The friends of the truth are friends of one another. By the golden links of love they are bound with one another and with Christ. Each one is to labor earnestly for the highest good of his brother.
7 We need as never before to pray with heart and voice for the indwelling of the Spirit, that we may be used in God’s service. We are to unite with our fellow-workers in the upbuilding of God’s kingdom. We are never to be satisfied with present attainments, but are ever to press upward and onward, seeking greater fervency and purer zeal. Our greatest desire should be to be found faithful to the Master.
8 Do you wish your heart to overflow with the love of God? Then cultivate grateful thanksgiving for the unspeakable privilege of knowing the truth. Lose sight of self by beholding Christ. Then you will be changed from glory to glory into His image. Bridle your disposition. Then peace and contentment will fill your soul.
9 God desires His church to be firmly united in the bonds of Christian unity. The want of harmony is the result of the development of the root of bitterness. Unless every fiber of this is eradicated, many will be defiled.
10 James wrote to his brethren: “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
11 The spirituality of many is being killed by their selfishness. Many cherish a spirit of self-sufficiency, which leads them to treat harshly the purchase of Christ’s blood. Unless such are converted, they can never see the kingdom of heaven. God says: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” “The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, . . . to the end He may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 992
1 Christ foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as of the temple. His words were spoken in the hearing of a large number of people; but when He was again alone, Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to Him, saying, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
2 Jesus did not answer His disciples by taking up separately the destruction of Jerusalem, and the last great day of His coming. The city of Jerusalem represented the world, and the utterances regarding its destruction are to be connected with the world’s more terrible destruction. In speaking of Jerusalem, His prophetic words reached beyond that event to the conflagration that will take place in that day when the Lord shall rise “out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.” The description of the two events is mingled, and the entire subject is a warning to those who shall live in the last scenes of earth’s history.
3 “Take heed that no man deceive you,” Christ said. “For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” False messiahs will appear, claiming to work miracles, and declaring that the deliverance of the Jewish nation has come. These will mislead many. Christ’s words were fulfilled. Between His death and the siege of Jerusalem, many false messiahs appeared. But this warning is given to those also who live in this age of the world. The same deceptions practised prior to the destruction of Jerusalem will be practised again. The events that took place at the overthrow of Jerusalem will be repeated.
4 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, there were rumors of wars. Men wrestled for the supremacy. Emperors were murdered. Those supposed to be standing next the throne were slain. “All these things must come to pass,” Christ said, “but the end is not yet.
5 “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” The rabbis, Christ said, would declare that the signs that appeared were tokens of the advent of the Messiah. But be not deceived; they are the beginning of His judgments. The people have not repented, and been converted, that I should heal them. The signs that they argue are tokens of their release from bondage, are signs of their approaching destruction.
6 “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” All this the Christians suffered. Mothers and fathers betrayed their children; children betrayed their parents. Friends delivered their friends up to the Sanhedrin.
7 Thru the apostles God gave the Jewish people a last opportunity to repent. He manifested Himself thru His witnesses, in their arrest, in their trial, and in their imprisonment. He had told His disciples that they would be delivered up to councils; but He told them also that they were not to be anxious as to how they might vindicate the truth, for He would give them a wisdom that all their adversaries could not gainsay nor resist. Yet their persecutors wrought out their purpose in killing Stephen, Paul, Peter, and other Christians, men of whom the world was not worthy. In killing them the Jews crucified afresh the Son of God.
8 On every occasion that persecution takes place, the witnesses make decisions, either for Christ or against Him. Those who show sympathy for the men wrongly condemned, and are not bitter against them, show their attachment to Christ.
9 “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” False prophets and false Christs did arise, deceiving the people, and leading great numbers into the desert. Magicians and sorcerers, claiming miraculous power, drew the people after them into the mountain solitudes. But this prophecy was spoken also for the last days. This sign is a sign of the second advent. Satanic agencies will be prepared to deceive and to delude.
10 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” In times of trial many will be offended because the principles of truth cut directly across their practise or their income. Many will stumble and fall. They have professed to love the truth; but they will then show that they had no vital union with the True Vine. They will be cut away, as branches that bear no fruit, and will be bound up with unbelievers. “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
11 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand); then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains; let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” This warning was given to be heeded forty years after, at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Christians obeyed, and not one of them perished in the destruction of the city.
12 “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.” Christ, who made the Sabbath, did not abolish it, nailing it to His cross. The fourth commandment was not rendered null and void by His death. It was to be held sacred forty years after His death; even as long as the heavens and the earth remain, so long will it hold its claim upon the human family.
13 “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth; behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Here, again, the warning concerning Jerusalem is blended with the warning of the second advent.
14 The disciples heard Christ’s words; but they did not fully understand them. They did not know why He connected the perils at the overthrow of Jerusalem with the perils attending His second advent. The Holy Spirit must guide them into all truth, bringing to their remembrance all things that Christ had said to them. But those who live in this age may understand the general warning, and should appropriate it, applying it to the period where it belongs.
15 “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 993
1 The Sabbath is to be a sign between God and His people. “Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.” This is Bible sanctification.
2 Those who teach for doctrines the commandments of men make void the law of God thru their tradition. Said Christ: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill can not be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Just as long as the heavens remain above us, and the earth is beneath our feet, there can be no semblance of excuse for any power in heaven or earth to change the law of God. “Whosoever therefore,” continued Christ, “shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
3 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good; no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes.” The eye of Him who sees the present condition of things has portrayed the state of things existing in the world and the church today. Psalms 14:1-4. And what has brought about this terrible condition?—It is the making void of the law of God.
4 The men who have the oracles of God not only break the law themselves but teach those who would investigate and obey the light to do the same. The men who claim to be teachers deceive the people, as did the leaders in Israel in Christ’s day. He, the great Teacher, was in the world; He was the light of the world; but Satan interposed his hellish shadow between Him and the souls whom Christ came to save. When accused by the Pharisees, He said, “Ye make void the law of God by your tradition.” “Ye teach for doctrines the commandments of men.” Again He said to those so-called teachers, “Ye are both ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God.”
5 Satan is continuing the work on earth that he commenced in heaven. He leads men to transgress the commandments of God. The plain “Thus saith the Lord” is put aside for the “thus saith” of men. The whole world needs to be instructed in the oracles of God, to understand the object of the atonement, the at-one-ment, with God. The object of this atonement was that the divine law and government might be maintained. The sinner is pardoned thru repentance toward God and faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. There is forgiveness of sin, and yet the law of God stands immutable, eternal as His throne.
6 There is no such thing as weakening or strengthening the law of Jehovah. As it has always been, so it is. It can not be repealed or changed in one principle. It is eternal, immutable as God Himself. To “honor” or “dishonor” it is but the speech of men. The law is to awaken respect and honor in the minds of the human family. Christ honored the law of Jehovah by giving it His implicit obedience. The law of Jehovah was always holy, just, and good, and complete in itself. The law is altogether a different thing from what in their ignorance men have considered it. It is because of Satan’s falsehoods that such blindness exists in regard to the law.
7 The law of God was given for the human family, and in punishing sin, Christ reveals His holiness, and His love even for those whom He has punished. Men did not obey the Word of God in this world; and because He loved them, He gave them a probation; He gave them His only-begotten Son to bear all the guilt of their transgression. If they refuse the expensive Offering of heaven, and will not obey His commandments in their lifetime, while wholly dependent upon God; if they show no gratitude and love by keeping His commandments, Christ can do no more for them. But if they will receive the Son of God, believe in Him, they will find their way back, thru Jesus Christ’s own merits, to the place of sons and daughters of God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 994
1 As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all way; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
2 Instead of showing gratitude to God for His blessings, the antediluvians used His blessings as a means of separation from Him. They did not seek to honor and glorify their Creator. The gold and silver which He entrusted to them they used for self-gratification. Violence filled the land. Appetite and passion bore sway. Men spent their time in dissipation and amusement and in enriching themselves. The earth was polluted under the inhabitants thereof, and God said, “The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence thru them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” He declared that by a flood He would cleanse the earth from its pollution.
3 To Noah was given the work of warning the people of the coming flood. For one hundred and twenty years the faithful preacher of righteousness sounded the warning. In obedience to God’s command he built an ark, that in the day of destruction those who believed his message might find a refuge. By his works as well as by his words, he warned the world. Every blow struck on the ark was a note of warning.
4 At that time the world showed scarcely the first signs of decay. Everything in nature was beautiful and lovely. The lofty trees, the towering mountains, the signs that God had hung in the heavens, appeared so great and grand to the people that they refused to believe that the earth was to be destroyed.
5 The antediluvians had abundant opportunity to learn in regard to the flood, but they would not learn. The warning was given; but they closed their eyes that they should not see, and their ears that they should not hear, the evidence of coming doom. Deception, violence, pride, and iniquity prevailed. The people went on as before, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. These things are not in themselves unlawful, but they were carried to excess. The minds of the people were so engrossed by them that they forgot their God.
6 Does not a similar state of things exist today? Are not our daily papers filled with records of crime, murder, and iniquity of every kind? Do they not testify that as it was in the days of Noah, so it is today?
7 The antediluvians were warned, but the record states that they knew not until the flood came and took them all away. “We can not believe your message,” they said to Noah. “Everything about us is so firm, so enduring. Look at the beautiful earth. It knows nothing of decay, neither will it for thousands of years.”
8 To the people Noah’s course seemed inconsistent. Together they talked about the foolishness of building an ark on dry ground, and the unbelief of one was strengthened by the unbelief of another.
9 But Noah believed that God would do as He had said, and he acted in accordance with his belief. While the people laughed and mocked and jeered, he kept steadily on with his work, teaching and building. He did not stop to listen to the false reports, to contradict the slander thrown at him. To him had been committed the work of warning the world and preparing a refuge for those who would receive his word, and he allowed nothing to turn him from this work.
10 The time came for the Word of God to be fulfilled. Still the people went on in their own way, irrespective of the warning. Still they allowed their minds to be engrossed by the things of the world.
11 The ark is finished, and the people see animals coming from the forest, and of their own accord entering the ark. Soon they see that the heavens are black with birds, and the inquiry is made, “Where can they be going?” Lo, they are flying toward the ark, and two by two they pass into it. With curious interest the people watch the strange sight. They can not understand what it means. They are alarmed; but they try to find some reason for the occurrence, and soon make light of it.
12 Could not the people see from this that the building of the ark was the work of God? Did they not know that animals and birds would not enter the ark in perfect order and of their own accord without the guidance of a divine hand? They might have known; but for a hundred and twenty years they had been hardening their hearts. For a hundred and twenty years they had been training themselves to reject the message of truth. Now, when unmistakable evidence was given them, their hearts were so hard that they laughed it away.
13 Presently they saw Noah and his wife and their sons and their wives passing into the ark; and the door was closed upon them. Only eight persons entered that refuge from the storm, and for a week they waited for the rain to come. Can we imagine the trial that this waiting brought to Noah’s faith? During this time the enemy suggested doubts, while outside the people laughed at the crazy old man who with his family had shut himself in an ark. Daily the sun rose and set in a clear sky, and daily there came to Noah the temptation to doubt. But the Lord had said that the flood was coming, and Noah rested in this word.
14 At the end of seven days clouds began to gather. This was a new sight; for the people had never seen clouds. Previous to this time no rain had fallen; the earth had been watered by a mist. Thicker and thicker gathered the clouds, and soon rain began to fall. Still the people tried to think that this was nothing very alarming. But soon it seemed as if the windows of heaven had been opened; for the rain poured down in torrents. For a time the ground drank up the rain; but soon the water began to rise, and day by day it rose higher and higher. Each morning as the people found the rain still falling they looked at one another in despair, and each night they repeated the words, “Raining still!” Thus it was, morning and evening.
15 For forty days and forty nights the rain poured down. The water entered the houses and drove the people to the temples which they had erected for their idolatrous worship. But the temples were swept away. The crust of the earth was broken, and the water that had been concealed in its bowels burst forth. Large stones were thrown into the air.
16 Everywhere could be seen human beings fleeing in search of a refuge. The time had come when they would have been only too glad to accept an invitation to enter the ark. Filled with anguish they cried, “O for a place of safety!” Some shrieked to Noah, pleading for admission into the ark. But amid the furious blast of the tempest their voices were unheard. Some clung to the ark till they were washed away by the dashing waves. God had shut in those who believed His word, and no others could enter.
17 Parents with their children sought the highest branches of the trees yet standing; but no sooner had they reached this refuge than the wind flung tree and people into the foaming, seething water. Terrified animals and terrified human beings climbed the highest mountains, only to be swept together into the angry flood.
18 Where was now the ark and those at whom the people had jeered and mocked?—Preserved by the power of God, the immense boat was riding safely upon the waters, and Noah and his family were safe inside. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 995
1 The Inspired Record says, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
2 To us has been given the message of Christ’s second coming. At the ascension of our Lord, angels stood beside the disciples, and with them watched the Saviour as He passed into the heavens. Then they turned to the disciples with the words, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” This message was given to the disciples to give to us, and God designs that it shall sound till the end of time. We are to wait and watch for Christ to come in His own appointed time, without sin unto salvation.
3 Those in the world fail to realize that the judgments of God are about to fall upon the earth. Their minds are filled with thoughts of eating and drinking and getting gain. They have allowed these subjects to take their whole attention, and as a result violence fills the world. Sin is on the increase. Iniquity prevails.
4 How is the message of warning received?—Just as it was in Noah’s day. “All things continue as they were from the beginning,” men say.
5 Christ declares, “If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth His coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.”
6 Man was created to glorify his Maker. But iniquity has so increased that at the present time men and women do not appreciate the goodness of God. They do not believe His Word. Self is the god they worship.
7 Ever since his fall, Satan has been working at cross-purposes with God, seeking to obliterate all trace of the divine likeness in man. He has led human beings to indulge an appetite for liquor and tobacco. He knows that those who give themselves up to indulgence of these appetites can not stand in their God-given manhood. They are slaves. Their reason is beclouded, their intellect dulled.
8 All over the world, pride, vanity, and self-indulgence are crippling men and women, so that they dishonor God as their Creator. The wrath of Jehovah is soon to fall upon the ungodly; but human beings are so controlled by the enemy that they see not what is coming. So deeply engrossed are they in the things of this world that they have no time to study God’s Word, no time to think seriously of their spiritual welfare. Their one thought is to gain wealth, to make a display; and tho they make mistakes, they have no time to remedy them, but hurry on, scarcely thinking that soon they must give an account of their life-work.
9 Satan comes to men and women with his specious temptations. Offering them riches and power, he says, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” And thousands upon thousands listen to his words, and worship him by becoming wholly engrossed in a search for wealth or in following the fashions of this degenerate age. Thus the world is being led captive. The beings whom God created in His own image are entirely neglecting to prepare for the Judgment.
10 As the waters of the flood cleansed the earth in the days of Noah, so will the fire of God purify it in the last great day. Then the water from the heavens united with the water in the bowels of the earth; and in the destruction that is coming, fire from heaven will unite with the fire that is stored up in the earth.
11 Are we preparing for what is coming upon the earth? Have we thought seriously of these things? You who are giving yourselves up to pride and vanity, have you thought of the day when you must give an account for the time and money you have wasted?
12 Christ said to His disciples, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me.” They tell us that Christ is soon coming, to take to Himself those who have loved Him and have waited for His appearing; and for those who have devoted time to pleasure-seeking and display, to a search for the riches that perish with the using, they bring the message: “I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”
13 As Noah warned the people of the coming flood, so God desires His people today to give the warning message of Christ’s soon coming. There is no time to lose. Christ’s coming is near at hand, and instead of spending our lives in inactivity, instead of investing our means in the things of this world, we should use our talents to the glory of God. Let us put out our money to the exchangers, that at His coming Christ may receive His own with usury.
14 Those who serve God will meet with trials and temptations. They will have burdens to bear, and difficulties to encounter. Noah was ridiculed and scorned. His work was made a laughing-stock. But none of these things moved him from his purpose, and God’s people must not allow the trials they meet to lead them away from Him. All the difficulties we meet, all the burdens laid upon us, we are to take to the Lord in prayer, asking Him for help. Those who do this will surely gain the victory.
15 Now is our time to prepare to meet Christ. God has given us this time, and if we use it in self-gratification instead of in crucifying self by sacrifice, we shall come up to the Judgment unprepared. In that day many will plead as an excuse, that they did not know that Christ’s coming was near. But this excuse will not be accepted. They did not know simply because they did not want to know. God gave them abundant opportunity for knowing, but they closed their eyes that they might not see, and stopped their ears that they might not hear. Their one thought was to enjoy the things of this world. Like the people of Noah’s day, they spent their lives in self-gratification.
16 The cases of all are pending in the heavenly sanctuary. Day by day angels of God are watching the development of character, and weighing moral worth. In the Judgment the question will not be, “What profession did you make?” but, “What have you done for Me? What fruit have you borne to My glory?” Now is the time to prepare for the coming King. Cultivate the mind; for it is capable of the highest cultivation. Prepare to be among those who shall be saved with an everlasting salvation when the Master comes to gather out His jewels. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”
17 All defects must be remedied. The character must be assimilated to the character of Christ. “Whosoever will come after Me,” the Saviour declared, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Everything that is unlike Christ, all hatred, jealousy, folly, covetousness, must be put away. We must here be like the angels in spirit if we would join them in the kingdom of glory.
18 As John saw the multitude standing around the throne of God, the question was asked, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?”—”These are they which came out of great tribulation,” the angel answered, “and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” At an infinite cost a fountain has been prepared for our cleansing. In the blood of the Son of God we may wash our garments of character, and make them white. If now we crucify self, and live for Christ, God will give us a place in the mansions He is preparing for those who love Him.
19 Thank God that we have a time in which to get ready, a time in which to wash and iron our garments of character, that we may appear before Christ without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
20 In the day of Christ’s coming, many will cry, “Too late, too late.” Others will plead for mercy, but mercy will have folded her wings and taken her departure. Christ will have stepped down from the throne. Then will be heard the terrible cry to the rocks and mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?”
21 Are we preparing to meet the Saviour in peace, or are we absorbed in worldly business and pleasure? Shall we not strive to be among the number who will welcome Christ with the words, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; ‘we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation”?
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 996
1 In His manner of teaching, Christ has given us the secret of all effectual teaching. He did not appeal to the understanding merely. He sought to reach the heart. With the greatest simplicity He presented sublime, eternal truths.
2 Christ’s words were forcible and easy to be understood. His illustrations were those best calculated to impress with convincing power the minds of all classes of people, the learned as well as the unlearned. By the objects with which His hearers were most familiar, on which their eyes rested daily, He illustrated His lessons. A city set on a hill, salt which has lost its savor, the candle set in a candlestick, the vine and the branches, the shepherd and the sheep, the fruitless tree, the narrow gate, thru which men seek to enter but are not able, the wide gate, which admits the multitude, the sower and the seed, the tares among the wheat,—by these things Christ illustrated divine truths, knowing that afterward, whenever His hearers should see these objects they would recall the words He had spoken.
3 Christ spoke with clearness, and in a distinct, melodious voice. His tones were natural and even. Had He raised His voice to an unnatural key, as so many speakers today do, its pathos and melody would have been destroyed, and much of the force of the truth would have been lost.
4 The Jewish teachers had taken away from the people the key of knowledge. The rabbis had shut the kingdom of heaven against the poor and ignorant, leaving them to perish. Christ came to proclaim the Gospel to all humanity, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned.
5 Christ is the originator of all truth. By the work of the enemy the precious gems of truth had been torn from their setting and placed in a frame-work of error. Christ came to replace the jewels of truth in their rightful position. He rescued them from the rubbish of error, gave them a new power, and bade them stand fast forever. He could use these truths with perfect freedom; for He was their author. He had cast them into the minds of each generation; and when He came to the world, He vitalized and re-arranged the truth which Satan had robbed of life. Clothing them with more than their original freshness and power, He gave them to the world for the benefit of future generations.
6 To us has been given the precious legacy of Christ’s teaching. This is recorded in His Word. In order to make it our own, we must search the Word diligently. Many truths are hidden, as the precious ore is hidden in the earth. And we must not only search; we must ask God for wisdom to aid us in searching. The truths essential for us to know are too deeply buried to be discovered by unaided human research.
7 Satan has misrepresented God’s purpose, and caused man to look upon Him in a false light; yet thru the ages God’s love for man has never ceased. Christ, the divine Teacher, came to reveal the Father as a merciful, compassionate Being, full of goodness and truth. The Saviour swept back the shadow in which the enemy had enveloped the Father, declaring, “I and My Father are one; look on Me and behold God.”
8 Christ came to give knowledge to the ignorant and hope to the despairing. He offered men wisdom which would make them wise unto salvation. He sought to lighten their self-imposed burdens of worldly anxiety and care. He invited them to come to Him, to exchange their cumbrous, galling yokes for His yoke, which is light. And down thru the ages have been sounding the gracious words of invitation, “Come unto Me, . . . and I will give you rest.”
9 Christ has most precious lessons for us to learn. Strength of purpose and moral courage are obtained thru His grace. He is made unto us “wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” His treasures of truth have been opened to us, that we may understand the great love wherewith God has loved us. “Wherefore grid up the loins of your mind; be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 997
1 In the sixth chapter of John is recorded the plain testimony which Christ bore to His followers. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth,” He said; “the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him. And He said, Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.”
2 It was necessary that Christ should speak thus plainly in regard to His work. Those who claimed to be His disciples must be tested. They must be proved, and this before He should leave them, lest after His departure their apostasy should come as a surprise to the true disciples, and the trial be too severe for them. The Saviour saw that this test was necessary for the future safety of His church.
3 “There are some of you that believe not. . . . Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.” He desired to impress them with the fact that if they were not drawn to Him, it would be because they were not sensible of the greatness of the Father’s love for fallen human beings. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” It is by a living, ever-increasing faith that the soul sees and appreciates the holiness of Christ. This is the glory that pure faith receives, and it awakens in the soul the decided action which demonstrates the power of God.
4 The plainly spoken truth did its work. By it many were offended. They showed by their actions that truth was unpalatable to them. Closing their eyes to the light, and their hearts to rebuke, they chose the praise of men rather than the admonition of God. They willingly misapprehended Christ’s words. “From that time,” we read, “many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.”
5 With sorrowful heart the Saviour watched the result of His words, and saw that many were departing from Him. His compassion was unappreciated, His love unrequited, His mercy slighted, His salvation rejected; and He felt this keenly. It was such developments as this that made Him a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
6 The news quickly spread that Christ Himself had declared that He was not the Messiah. This garbled statement changed the tide of popular feeling, and turned many away from Him. But Christ did not enter into controversy with those who had left Him. He did not seek to remove from their minds the impression which had resulted in their leaving. He did not try to explain away His words. Looking upon the twelve who remained, He asked, “Will ye also go away?” Peter responded by the inquiry, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” “To whom shall we go?” Separated from Christ, where would they be? Should they leave His lessons of love and mercy for the unbelief and wickedness of the world?
7 Those who were reproved in love were offended, and turned from Christ in disdain, uniting with His enemies. They could not bear the test sent to save them from fatal deception.
8 Today souls are being tested and tried, and many are passing over the same ground trodden by those who forsook Christ. When tested by the Word, they reject the divine Teacher. When rebuked because their lives are not in harmony with truth and righteousness, they turn from the Saviour; and their decision, like that of the offended disciples, is never reversed. They walk no more with Christ. Thus are the words fulfilled, “Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner.”
9 To those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit, Christ’s lessons appear complete in their harmony with His mission of love. Those who are partakers of the divine nature, will be melted into tenderness when the Spirit sends conviction of sin. They will see the great work that must be done for the soul before it is prepared to dwell in the presence of God. They will not be too self-sufficient to receive correction. And in their dealing with one another, they will manifest the pitying tenderness which Christ revealed in His words and works.
10 True, earnest, self-sacrificing Christians will understand more and more of the mystery of godliness. The Spirit of Christ abides with them. They are co-laborers with Christ, and to them the Saviour reveals His purposes. There is seen in them none of the surface-work which leaves the character dwarfed, feeble, and sickly. Daily they grow in grace and in the knowledge of God. They recognize the mercy which administers reproof and reaches out the hand to restrain evil. In word and deed they say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 998
1 When the lawyer came to Christ with the question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” the Saviour laid the burden of the answer on the questioner. “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” He asked. The lawyer answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” “Thou hast answered right,” Christ said; “this do, and thou shalt live.”
2 Supreme love for God and unselfish love for our neighbor,—this is the foundation of all true godliness. The greatest in the kingdom of heaven are those who love the Saviour too well to misrepresent Him, who love their fellow-men too well to imperil their souls by setting them a wrong example.
3 “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
4 God does not ask us to purchase His favor by any costly sacrifice. He asks only for the service of a humble, contrite heart, a heart that has gladly and thankfully accepted His free gift. The one who receives Christ as his personal Saviour has in his possession the salvation provided by Christ. And he is never to forget that as he has freely received, so he is freely to impart. When there is a failure to appreciate the necessities of humanity, an unwillingness to be God’s helping hand, the most costly offerings, the grandest display of liberality, are abominable in the Lord’s sight.
5 The words and works of the Lord harmonize. His words are gracious and His works bountiful. “He causeth grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man.” How liberally He has provided for us. How wonderfully He has displayed His munificence and power in our behalf. Should our gracious Benefactor treat us as we treat one another, where would we be?
6 What marvelous condescension the Saviour showed in His work. How graciously, without prejudice or partiality, He received all who came to Him, rich or poor, white or black. With Him there is no caste. “God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.”
7 Varied were the circumstances and needs of those who besought Christ for aid. One came in behalf of his son, another in behalf of his daughter. A generous, compassionate master came to ask help for his servant, who was stricken with the palsy. He had done all he could for him, but he saw that there was need of a healing power which he did not possess. He came to the Great Physician, saying, “Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.” Christ did not turn the earnest petitioner away. His great heart of infinite love responded to the anxious interest and compassion shown by the master. He is always pleased to see that the superior position of the master has not led him to neglect those connected with him in service. He needed no further entreaty, but gladly responded, “I will come and heal him.”
8 To do good to all, to encourage and strengthen instead of discouraging and weakening,—this is true missionary work. Paul enjoined upon the Philippians, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” And as their example he points them to Christ, “who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
9 Christ did not come to this earth merely to live as any man might live. He descended to the very depths of human woe, becoming obedient to a shameful, ignominious death, even death by crucifixion. So deeply was Paul impressed with the Saviour’s condescension that he traces His history from stage to stage, as if the sacrifice were too great to be comprehended all at once. Step by step he leads us down, until the lowest depths of humiliation are reached, and we see the Saviour hanging on the cross, while the priests and rulers say tauntingly, “He saved others; Himself He can not save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”
10 I present to Christians this wonderful picture. If it is clearly discerned, will it not annihilate selfishness? As we see the royal Sufferer hanging on the cross, let us think of the height from which He descended in our behalf. From the heavenly courts He beheld the misery of the race, and coming to this earth He found a ransom for us, even thru great humiliation and suffering. To rescue us, the Lord of life and glory took up the position and duties of a servant. For us He submitted to mockery, insult, and rejection. He became a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.”
11 Shall we disregard this wonderful sacrifice? Shall it make no impression on our minds? Shall those who take the name of Christian, dishonor their Redeemer by selfishly neglecting the needs of those around them?” Shall they not rather follow the golden rule, “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them?”
12 Before angels and before men we are representing Christ. Shall we not try to represent Him aright? Shall we not love one another as He has loved us? Let not those who have been redeemed by the shedding of Christ’s blood, hinder by their selfishness the working out of His plan of salvation. Let them not become so bound about by selfishness that they will fail to see the necessities of their suffering fellow-beings. Let them rather become God’s helping hand, to restore, to heal, and to bless.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 999
1 God created man for His own glory. It was His purpose to re-populate heaven with the human race, if after test and trial they proved to be loyal to Him. Adam was to be tested, to see whether he would be obedient or disobedient. Had he stood the test, his thoughts would have been as the thoughts of God. His character would have been moulded after the similitude of the divine character.
2 But Adam did not endure the test. Satan, the fallen angel, jealous of God, determined to defeat the purpose of heaven by leading Adam and Eve into sin. He approached Eve, not in the form of an angel, but as a serpent, subtle, cunning, and deceitful. With a voice that appeared to proceed from the serpent, he spoke to her, and his conversation was like the words which today wise and wicked angels speak thru various agencies. As Eve listened, the warnings that God had given faded from her mind. She yielded to the temptation, and as she tempted Adam he also forgot God’s warnings. He believed the words of the enemy of God.
3 In Eden Satan used the serpent as his instrument. Today he makes use of the members of the human family, striving by means of every species of deception to hedge up the path of righteousness cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in.
4 What were the words Satan spoke to Eve?—”Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” The “evil” was disobedience to God’s commands. And Adam did indeed go thru the experience of knowing evil, with all its fearful consequences.
5 The eyes of Adam and Eve were opened, but to what?—To see their own shame and ruin, to realize that the garments of heavenly light that had been their protection were no longer around them as a safeguard. They saw that nakedness was the result of transgression. As they heard the voice of their Creator in the garden, they hid themselves from Him; for they anticipated that which before they had not known,—the condemnation of God.
6 The lie which Satan told Eve, “Ye shall not surely die,” has been sounding thru the centuries from generation to generation. Thus Satan tempted our first parents, and thus he tempts us today. And from age to age men and women have fallen into his snare, notwithstanding that they have before them Adam’s disobedience and its results. Today men think and act the words of the great deceiver, giving the impression that God does not mean what He says.
7 The accusation which Adam brought against Eve, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat,” had no influence to save him from the result of disobedience. God said, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.”
8 Adam and Eve were shut out of Eden, and an angel with a flaming sword guarded the way to the tree of life, that the disloyal, disobedient pair might not gain access to it, and thus immortalize transgression.
9 Mark this point. The Lord did not place in Adam fallen and disobedient the confidence which He placed in Adam loyal and true, living by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. God’s plan was to give man clear-sightedness in all his work. This was arranged for Adam by his heavenly Father. There was to be co-operation between God and man. But this plan was interfered with by Adam’s transgression. Satan led Adam into sin, and the Lord could not communicate with him after he had sinned as He did when he was without sin.
10 Satan’s instrument, the serpent, was cursed. And all who today allow themselves to be used by Satan as his instruments in leading others to disregard the commands of heaven, are under the curse of God. Man’s safety lies in whole-hearted belief in a “Thus saith the Lord.” This is the declaration of truth. Those who from any motive are led away from the truth, to venture into a path of their own choosing, are following a path which will lead them to destruction.
11 Adam and Eve were given a probation in which to return to their allegiance; and in this plan of benevolence all their posterity were embraced. After the fall, Christ became Adam’s instructor. He acted in God’s stead toward humanity, saving the race from immediate death. He took upon Him the work of mediator between God and man. In the fulness of time He was to be revealed in human form. He was to take His position at the head of humanity by taking the nature but not the sinfulness of man. In heaven was heard the voice, “The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.”
12 Christ was anointed “to preach good tidings unto the meek; . . . to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”
13 It is God’s purpose that His name shall be exalted among the nations. “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake will I not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.”
14 This is to be the experience of those who hold fast the beginning of their confidence firm unto the end. The whole of the sixty-second chapter of Isaiah is a representation of the work Christ will do thru those who follow His example. “Go thru, go thru the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord; and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1000
1 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily, I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
2 A government, of whatever character, requires a governor. This world has a governor,—the God of the universe. His guardian-care is universal, extending to man and beast, reaching even to the little sparrow; for Christ declares, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
3 In God’s moral government, which is a government based upon a distinction between right and wrong, law is essential to secure right action. God’s law is the expression of His character, and in His Word it is pronounced holy, just, and good. David says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”
4 Lucifer took the position that as a result of the law of God, wrong existed in heaven and on this earth. This brought against God’s government the charge of being arbitrary. But this is a falsehood, framed by the author of all falsehoods. God’s government is a government of free-will, and there is no act of rebellion or obedience which is not an act of free-will.
5 As Creator of all, God is governor over all, and He is bound to enforce His law throughout the universe. To require less from His creatures than obedience to His law would be to abandon them to ruin. To fail to punish transgression of His law would be to place the universe in confusion. The moral law is God’s barrier between the human agent and sin. Thus infinite wisdom has placed before men the distinction between right and wrong, between sin and holiness.
6 God is supreme. It is not for finite man to question His right to govern the universe. God asserted His right to rule when He declared, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me;” “for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.” He is the Creator and the Preserver of the worlds. He upholds the universe by the word of His power. Nature and science bear witness that He has a right to govern His own creation. Angels are subject to His rule; therefore let man bow in adoration before Him.
7 The Scriptures make it plain that God is Ruler, and that man is under the highest obligation to acknowledge this, and to obey His law with heart and mind, trusting in His power for help and protection. This law which man is called upon to obey as the standard of right for the universe, is the wise and holy counsel of God. It is a moral law, and has its foundation in the difference between right and wrong. Moral law is universal; positive law is not necessarily universal, but may be restricted or extended according to the will of the law-giver. Moral law must be immutable, while positive law may be changed or abolished, as the law-giver may choose.
8 The Decalog, or moral code of God, consists of ten precepts, engraven on stone by the finger of God. These precepts contain the whole duty of man. The first four define man’s duty to his God; the last six man’s duty to his fellow-man. These two great principles were recognized by the Saviour; for He declared that the whole law hung upon love to God and love to man. Other commands may be found in the Scriptures, but only as an amplification of those contained in the ten precepts of the Decalog.
9 Christ’s work was to rid the commandments of the traditions and customs placed upon them by the Jewish teachers. The work of covering the law with useless exactions had been planned by the adversary of God, in order that Christ’s pure ministry should not harmonize with the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. The Jewish leaders had yielded to the temptation to depart from the Lord, and while by their forms and ceremonies making the law a yoke of bondage which the people were not able to bear, they failed to follow its great principles. This led Christ to declare, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
10 At the opening of His ministry, Christ, in His Sermon on the Mount, gave an exposition of the law, which had long been buried under man-made customs and traditions. He brought to light its pure principles, freeing it from the burdensome exactions placed upon it by man. As He showed the far-reaching claims of the law, the Pharisees saw that their pet theories were being swept away by His plain statements. Jealousy took possession of their hearts; for they felt that their teaching and influence were being made of no effect. In their hearts they had so long mingled human tradition with divine commands that when Christ disregarded these traditions, they thought that He was making void the law. But Christ read their thoughts, and suddenly they were startled by the words, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
11 With all the exalted influence and glory he possessed before the fall, Satan could not change the smallest letter of the law; and as an apostate and traitor, he has still been unable to alter it. If he has succeeded in his purpose of gaining the professed Christian world to his side, and if the world and the church have formed a bond of fellowship to make void the law of God, this does not prove that it has been changed. To admit that God made a law so imperfect that it needed to be changed would be to stamp God as changeable and imperfect. God has spoken on this point. Let us heed what He says: “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.”
12 Christ, in His teaching, fully developed the principles of the law, making it plain that it does not concern the outward actions merely, but has to do with the heart, reaching even to the unspoken thoughts. Christ exalted the law, holding it forth in its original purity as a perfect system of morality. His life was a living illustration of the law of God. He made this law honorable by His perfect conformity to its requirements.
13 God’s law, enforced in the Old and New Testaments, is an exclusive rule of duty. The objection sometimes brought against the law, that nowhere in the New Testament are all the commandments of the Decalog specified, has no force; for the expressions so often repeated “the law,” “the commandments of God,” mean the whole, not a part.
14 The Lord has given this rule of righteousness,—the foundation of true religion,—and it must be obeyed. We might better sacrifice all our temporal interests,—houses, lands, riches, liberty, even life itself, than disobey the least of God’s commandments. The Saviour declares, “He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.”
15 We have many noble examples of loyalty to the law in the history of the prophets and apostles, who endured imprisonment, torture, death itself, rather than break one of God’s commands. Peter and John have left a record as heroic as any in the Gospel dispensation. When called before the high priest, and commanded not to speak at all, nor to preach in the name of Jesus, they answered: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we can not but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for that which was done.” When they were called a second time before the council, the Jewish leaders asked them, saying, “Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” In this answer we have evidence that no human authority has a right to place us under obligation to claims which will cause us to disobey our rightful Sovereign, whose subjects we claim to be.
16 God has special regard for righteousness of character. In His Word we are told that He takes pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy. He commands the inhabitants of the earth to stand in awe of Him, and yet He invites the most lowly to seek Him, “if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, tho He be not far from every one of us.”
17 By willing obedience to God’s commands, we show our love for Him. Thus we gain a fitness to be among that number of whom it will be said, “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in thru the gates into the city.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1001
1 It is the Lord’s desire that His followers shall grow in grace, that their love shall abound more and more, that they shall be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the praise and glory of God.
2 Where there is life, there will be growth and fruit-bearing; but unless we grow in grace, our spirituality will be dwarfed, sickly, fruitless. It is only by growing, by bearing fruit, that we can fulfil God’s purpose for us. “Herein is My Father glorified,” Christ said, “that ye bear much fruit.” In order to bear much fruit, we must make the most of our privileges. We must use every opportunity granted us for obtaining strength.
3 A pure, noble character, with all its grand possibilities, has been provided for every human being. But there are many who have not an earnest longing for such a character. They are not willing to part with the evil that they may have the good. Great opportunities are placed within their reach. But they neglect to grasp the blessings that would place them in harmony with God. They work at cross-purposes with the One who is seeking their good. They are dead branches, having no living union with the Vine. They can not grow.
4 One of the divine plans for growth is impartation. The Christian is to gain strength by strengthening others. “He that watereth shall be watered also himself.” This is not merely a promise; it is a divine law, a law by which God designs that the streams of benevolence, like the waters of the great deep, shall be kept in constant circulation, continually flowing back to their source. In the fulfilling of this law is the secret of spiritual growth.
5 Hear Christ’s words: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commended you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” No words can express the blessings received by those who work earnestly to carry out this commission. Of those who after the Saviour’s resurrection obeyed His command to impart the light they had received, we read, “They went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”
6 Everything that could be done was done to make our first parents pure and keep them pure. And since the fall the Lord has wrought out His will in the plan of redemption, a plan by which He is seeking to restore man to his original perfection. Christ’s death on the cross has made it possible for God to receive and pardon every repentant soul. This was arranged in the councils of love. It is possible for us to be more than conquerors thru Him who gave His life for us. If we come to God in faith, He will receive us and give us strength to climb upward to perfection. If we watch every word and action, that we may do nothing to dishonor the One who has trusted us, if we improve every opportunity granted us, we shall grow into the full stature of men and women in Christ. Exceeding great and precious promises have been given us that we may do this.
7 Let those who are oppressed under a sense of sin remember that there is hope for them. The salvation of the human race has ever been the object of the councils of heaven. The covenant of mercy was made before the foundation of the world. It has existed from all eternity, and is called the everlasting covenant. So surely as there never was a time when God was not, so surely there never was a moment when it was not the delight of the eternal mind to manifest His grace to humanity. He is ever calling, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it can not save, neither His ear heavy, that it can not hear.”
8 Christians, is Christ revealed in us? Are we doing all in our power to gain a body that is not easily enfeebled, a mind that looks beyond self to the cause and effect of every movement, that can wrestle with hard problems and conquer them, a will that is firm to resist evil and defend the right? Are we crucifying self? Are we growing up unto the full stature of men and women in Christ, preparing to endure hardness as good soldiers of the cross?
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1002
1 This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”
2 These words are of the greatest importance to us. Professing Christians should manifest a deep, earnest, anxiety to be like the Redeemer in character. They should dwell upon Christ’s life. Then they will be changed into His likeness. Let each examine himself critically, to see whether in the home, in the church, and in the world he is revealing the Christlikeness, so that the Saviour may say, “I am glorified in him.”
3 “I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world,” Christ continued, “but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.” Christians should exercise every ability which God has given them in an effort to answer this prayer. They are to ask God earnestly and frequently to keep them from the evil that is in the world. Christ has charged His followers to pray without ceasing. Never fail to importune God in private prayer. Never cease to intercede with him; for when you fail to pray, you are strengthless to resist Satan’s temptations.
4 Our sanctification is the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is the fulfilment of the covenant that God has made with those who bind themselves up with Him, to stand with Him, with His Son, and with His Spirit in holy fellowship. Have you been born again? Have you become a new being in Christ Jesus? Then co-operate with the three great powers of heaven who are working in your behalf. Doing this you will reveal to the world the principles of righteousness.
5 As we strive to represent Christ to the world, we must exercise faith in Him. He says, “According to your faith be it unto you.” It was by faith that Enoch walked with God. Do not ask others to exercise faith for you. You are yourself to obtain a daily experience in the things of God. You are yourself to realize the truth of the words, “All things are possible to him that believeth.”
6 When you accept Christ, you are in one sense cut away from the world. You are dead to its ambitions, dead to its greed for advantage over your brethren and neighbors. God says, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” This is the pledge of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; made to you if you will keep your baptismal vow, and touch not the unclean thing. You are to turn aside from all that would pervert the pure, sacred principles of truth. You are to enter into no intrigue. Sharp practise with believers or unbelievers, is an offense in God’s sight. It is a sin which places those who commit it in connection with the author of all sin.
7 Those who come out from the world in spirit and in all practise may regard themselves as sons and daughters of God. They may believe His word as a child believes every word of his parents. Every promise is sure to him that believes. Those who unite with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who show by their lives that they are no longer following the course they followed before they united with these divine instrumentalities, will receive wisdom from above. They will not depend upon human wisdom. In order to deal righteously with the world, as members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, Christians must feel their need of a power which comes only from the heavenly agencies that have pledged themselves to work in man’s behalf.
8 After we have formed a union with the great threefold power, we shall regard our duty toward the members of God’s family with a sacred awe. We shall seek to answer the prayer, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” by living pure, sanctified lives, showing the world how the will of God is done in heaven.
9 “Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him.” And when God takes the members of His church to heaven, it will be because they have walked with Him here on this earth, receiving from above strength and wisdom which enables them to serve Him aright. Those who are taken to God will be men and women who now pray in humility and contrition, whose hearts are not lifted up unto vanity. In their dealing with their fellow-men they represent Christ. Those who dishonor God while professing to serve Him, are one with the world. In the last great day they will be found among the number who knew their Lord’s will, but did it not.
10 God calls upon those who have united with Him, who have pledged themselves to die to the world and live unto Christ, properly to represent their profession of faith. If they are partakers of the divine nature, the principles of sacred brotherhood will be sacredly cherished by them. To all they will manifest tenderness, sympathy, and compassion. They will reveal Christ’s longing to receive the members of His family, and to feed their hungry souls with the bread of life.
11 “Sanctify them thru Thy truth; Thy word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified thru the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me thru their word; that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” These words present the grand result of Christian unity. Christians are to be one in Christ. By their unity they are to bear witness to the world that Christ is the Sent of God. All true disciples will realize that this is the standard they must reach. They will strive continually to help one another.
12 “I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me.” They are on My side. They stand under My banner. By receiving Me as their personal Saviour, they have pledged themselves to keep My holy law, to reveal Me in all their transactions in the church and in the world. I have purchased them by My manifestation of love and power in their behalf. For them I have sanctified Myself to the work Thou hast appointed Me, that they also may be sanctified to the work Thou hast appointed them, that by their union with Me and with one another they may reveal to the world that Thou didst send Me to the earth to save sinners.
13 “And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved Me.” The world needs to see a correct representation of the principles of the Gospel. As Christians it is our duty to show the uplifting, sanctifying power of the truth. We have a great work to do, and O, we need so much to close the windows of the soul earthward, and open them heavenward. God will keep the current of His grace flowing into the hearts of those who are willing to be channels of light.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1003
1 When a question was brought to Christ, the answer was, “Have ye not read?” “What saith the Scriptures?” Christ could have answered every perplexing question brought to Him, but He did not do this. He directed His questioners to the great storehouse of knowledge. He knew that He could not always be with them in human form, and He desired to teach them to make the Word their dependence. “Search the Scriptures,” He said. He referred them to His own inspired Word, that when tempted by the enemy they might meet him as He had done, saying, “It is written.” Thus the enemy could be repulsed; for he has no power over the one who relies on the testimony of God’s Word.
2 Of the Word of God the psalmist writes: “The entrance of Thy Word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple.” It is as a light shining in a dark place. As we search its pages, light enters the heart, illuminating the mind. By this light we see what we ought to be.
3 We see in the Word warnings and promises, with God behind them all. We are invited to search this Word for aid when brought into difficult places. If we do not consult the Guide-book at every step, inquiring, Is this the way of the Lord? our words and actions will be tainted by selfishness. We shall forget God, and walk in paths He has not chosen for us.
4 God’s Word is full of precious promises and helpful counsel. It is infallible; for God can not err. It has help for every circumstance and condition of life, and God looks on with sadness when His children turn from it to human aid.
5 As we receive physical strength from the food we eat, so we are to receive spiritual strength as we study the Word of God. It is as necessary that attention should be paid to the cry of the soul for spiritual food as that attention should be paid to the cry of a hungry child for temporal food. A neglect to supply the soul with the bread of life leaves it weak and strengthless, unable to do the will of God. The life of such a one is like the barren fig-tree, destitute of fruit.
6 He who converses with God thru the Scriptures will be ennobled and sanctified. As he reads the inspired record of the Saviour’s love, his heart is melted in tenderness and contrition. He is filled with a desire to be like the Master, to live a life of loving service.
7 Great light shone forth from the patriarchs and prophets. Glorious things were spoken of Zion, the city of God. Thus the Lord designs that the light shall shine forth thru His followers today. If the saints of the Old Testament bore such a bright testimony of loyalty, should not we today, who have the accumulated light of centuries, arise and shine? The glory of the prophecies sheds light on our pathway. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s Son. Christ has risen from the dead, proclaiming over the tomb, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He has sent His Spirit into our world to bring all things to our remembrance. By a miracle of His power He has preserved His written Word thru the ages. Shall we not, then, make this Word our constant study, learning from it God’s purpose for us?
8 The Bereans were commended as being more noble than those of Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily. They did not search the Bible from curiosity, but that they might learn in regard to Christ. Daily they compared scripture with scripture, and as they searched, heavenly intelligences were beside them, enlightening their minds and impressing their hearts.
9 We are to open the Word of God with reverence, with a sincere desire to know the will of God concerning us. Then the heavenly angels will direct our search. God speaks to us out of His Word. We are in the audience-chamber of the Most High, in the very presence of God. Christ enters the heart. The Holy Spirit takes of the things of God and shows them to us. We see more clearly the greatness of God’s love and the fulness of His salvation. We appreciate more fully His gracious design to make us partners in the heavenly firm. We are drawn into full sympathy with the plans of God. His secret is with us, and He shows us His covenant.
10 The truth is likened to treasure hid in a field, “the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth the field.” He desires to cultivate it, that he may obtain possession of its treasure. So we are to take the Word of God and search its pages, that we may find the treasures of truth. It is the Holy Spirit’s office to direct and reward this labor. The searcher finds lodes of precious ore, and he sinks the shaft still deeper for still more valuable treasure. The gold-fields of earth are not so closely interlaced with veins of precious ore as are the fields of revelation with veins of truth that bring to view the unsearchable riches of God.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1004
1 To be a Christian means to be Christlike, to follow the Saviour. Following implies obedience. No soldier can follow his leader unless he obeys orders. Following means imitation. “Learn of Me,” the great Teacher says to those who have taken the name of Christian. Keep your eyes fixed on the Model. Do all things for His glory and in and thru the love He has for you.
2 The Christian is the world’s light, and the only Bible that many read. Thru Christians men see God. How careful, then, should those be who have taken the name of Christian. But many professing Christians crucify the Son of God afresh and put Him to open shame. He who fails to correct the mistakes shown him in the divine mirror, presents before the world a miserable representation of Christ. Angels veil their faces in sorrow. The world sees that he is not what he professes to be, and they turn from him as a counterfeit. Christians are either under Christ’s rule or under the control of the enemy. Their influence is either a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. They are either doing positive good or incalculable harm.
3 Christ’s children have been redeemed from Satan’s bondage, and they are to stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel, working with unselfishness and fidelity for the One who owns them. Ever they are to remember the words, “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” When they took the name of Christian, they pledged themselves to be true to God. They are bound up with Him and the angels in family relation, because Jesus has delivered them from a tyrant’s oppression. In every respect their actions are to be such as become saints. Discarding all that is unbecoming, they are to live a new and holy life. By doing this they show that they are worthy of the sacred trust conferred upon them, that they have been born again, not of the flesh, but of the Spirit, that they no more live to self, but to God, whose they are and whom they serve.
4 Paul says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” Like brave, true soldiers, Christians are to obey the orders of their Captain; for they have made a sacred pledge to rule themselves well. They are to strive earnestly to overcome everything that hinders them from fulfilling their high and holy resolve. Mind and body are to be treated with the greatest respect; for they are Christ’s. Day by day they are to be improved, that to the earnest gaze of the watching angels it may be revealed that Christ has not died in vain.
5 Christians, when you took this name, you promised to prepare in this life for the higher life in the kingdom of God. Take the Christlife as your pattern. Keep eternity ever in view. Follow righteous principles of action, which with their refining, ennobling influence will restore in man the moral image of God. As by faith we adopt the principles which are an expression of the life of Christ, they are in the soul as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. The soul overflows with the riches of the grace of Christ, and the overflow refreshes other souls. Thus may the human agent show that he is keeping the pledge he has made. Thus he may work in partnership with Christ, showing to the world what it means to be a Christian.
6 The Gospel is the voice of duty and the voice of God. What is meant by a failure to obey its principles is shown in the history of Satan, who for his disobedience was cast out of heaven. The highest gifts that could be bestowed in a created being were given to Lucifer, the covering cherub. Before his fall he was a glorious being, occupying a position next to Christ in the heavenly courts. But in seeking to be equal with God he brought upon himself irretrievable ruin.
7 With this lesson before us let us hide ourselves in Christ. He is the source of all wisdom and power. Behold in the cross of Calvary the guarantee for our salvation. Behold the Saviour giving His life for us that we might be Christians.
8 Those who live the life of a Christian are battling against the devil’s lie,—that man cannot keep God’s law. Can we doubt the result of this conflict? God lives, God reigns; and daily He is working His miracles. “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.” Before the universe they show that they are trying to live out the words. “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, . . . think on these things.”
9 “Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,”—these are the fruit of the Christian tree. The tree that bears only leaves, the life that has only profession, must be withered by the curse of God, even as the fruitless tree which flaunted its abundant foliage before the Saviour.
10 God help us to be true Christians, consistent today, consistent tomorrow, upright in action, kindly in word, pure in thought. The true Christian lives the Christ-life. In all his transactions he lifts the banner of the cross. If he is misunderstood, he takes no offense, but pursues the even tenor of his way. He is kind, thoughtful, and forbearing. He closely examines himself, lest in word or deed he shall deny his Lord. He chooses God’s way. Each day of his life he unselfishly ministers to others. The light that is in him shines forth, and he stills the strife of tongues. Day by day, tho unconsciously to himself, he is working out before men and angels a vast, sublime experiment. He is showing what the Gospel can do for fallen human beings.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1005
1 Those who serve God should aim at perfection. Wrong habits must be overcome. Right habits must be formed. Under the discipline of the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, Christians must move onward and upward toward perfection. This is God’s command, and no one should say, I can not do it. He should say instead, God requires me to be perfect, and He will give me strength to overcome all that stands in the way of perfection. He is the source of all wisdom, all power.
2 Individually we are to be loyal to the laws that govern God’s kingdom. Christians are to be light-bearers, saying to all with whom they come in contact, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” They are to be examples of piety, representing Christ in word, in spirit, in action. Their actions are to be a copy of the actions of the Saviour. Thus they are to show the superiority of Christ’s principles over the principles of the world. They are to work upon a higher plane of action than do those who are not Christians. They are to bring the ennobling influence of the Gospel into every phase of life. Their purity and usefulness are to be a source of illumination to others.
3 The world has set up a standard to suit the inclinations of unsanctified hearts, but this is not the standard for those who love Christ. The Redeemer has chosen them out of the world, and has left them His sinless life as a standard. He wants them to rise above all cheapness of word or action. “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” “Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. . . . As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
4 These words are to be believed and practised. Christians are to be superior in wisdom, in knowledge, in skill, because they believe in God and His power. The Lord desires them to reach the highest round of the ladder, that they may glorify Him. He has a treasure-house of wisdom from which they may draw. The religion of Christ never degrades; it never makes men and women coarse and rough. God wants His children to be correct in speech and correct in habits. He desires them to possess knowledge that will give them a standing-place among men.
5 Overcoming, means much more than we realize. It means resisting the enemy and drawing nigh to God. It means taking up the cross and following Christ, doing cheerfully those things that are contrary to natural inclination. Christ came from heaven to show us how to live a life of self-sacrifice. In His strength we are to gain perfection. He has made it possible for us to do this, and when He comes the second time, He will ask us why we have not fulfilled His purpose for us. Day by day, hour by hour, we are preparing for the judgment, deciding our eternal destiny. We are trading on our Lord’s goods. When He comes, He will reckon with us, to see how we have improved His goods. Results proportionate to the talents entrusted will be required, and to every faithful, self-denying Christian will be given a reward proportionate to his work. Nothing that is done in sincerity is in vain. Everything is accurately weighed in the golden scales of the sanctuary.
6 Christianity means perfect conformity to the Christ-life. Those who possess this Christianity will show sound spiritual growth, because they are partakers of the divine nature. Heaven is full of light, and provision has been made that this light shall shine in clear rays upon those who accept Christ, and from them be reflected to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, that by the Holy Spirit’s power they may be raised to newness of life. Christians must be laborers together with God, or they will fail of overcoming, and their influence will cause others to fail. No one is lost who does not also draw others down. Let those who name the name of Christ depart from all iniquity, that Christ may not be ashamed of His professed followers.
7 The eye of the Lord is in every place, beholding the evil and the good. He knows all our temptations, and He expects us to resist them as Christ resisted them. Jesus died for us that we might live His life of purity. Our prayer should be, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” The heart must be purified; for out of it are the issues of life. The will must yield its helm to the command of Christ. Paul describes this as putting on the new man, “which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
8 No compromise with sin can ever be accepted by a pure and holy God. No conversion is genuine that does not radically change the heart, the character, every line of conduct. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” Not a moment should be wasted on a patchwork religion. Our citizenship is above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. This present life is only our training-school. Here we are to be purified that at Christ’s coming we may be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,—prepared to receive the inheritance of the saints in light.
9 The true Christian obtains an experience that brings holiness. The light of truth irradiates his understanding. A glow of love for the Redeemer clears away the cloud that has interposed between his soul and God. The will of God, pure, elevated, and sanctified, becomes his will. His countenance reveals the light of heaven. His body is a fit temple for the Holy Spirit. Holiness adorns his character. God can commune with him; for soul and body are in harmony with the principles of heaven. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1006
1 To men and women God has entrusted talents to be improved by use and returned to Him. Our time, our strength, our intellect, our means, all belong to God. He has lent them to us that we may use them in helping those around us. If we use these gifts for the benefit of others, we become channels of usefulness, and God gives us an increase; for His law is, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” Those who have been blessed by God, and yet refuse to help the needy, are charged in the ledger of heaven with robbery toward their Maker, at whose bar they will be called to account for their neglect of the needy and suffering.
2 God has purchased us by the death of His Son. He desires us to remember that we are His, and that by the right use of our endowments we are to make of ourselves all that it is possible for us to be. Earnestly we are to cultivate the highest powers of our being, striving by persevering effort to rise to the highest spiritual efficiency. In spirit, in word, in action, we are to try to please God. This we may do; for Enoch pleased God, tho living in a degenerate age. The power at Enoch’s command is also at our command.
3 God gives men means, saying, Put it out to the exchangers. Use it where it will bless some one who in turn will bless some one else. As My money is thus put into circulation to help My children, it will steadily multiply itself.
4 Those who have the Spirit of Christ will not selfishly spend on self that which would provide homes for the homeless, and give the destitute food and clothing. They will not lay up their money for the sake of increasing gain. Those who do this are controlled by covetousness. They love neither God nor man. Their fellow-beings are perishing all around them, and yet, tho it is in their power to be a blessing to them, they shut their eyes to their wants.
5 God has a controversy with those who use His gifts for self-gratification. When the judgment shall sit, and the books are opened, these will have a fearful account to settle. If they were not blinded by the enemy, they would fear and tremble at the thought of the time when God will avenge the death of His Son, whom, by their selfishness, they have crucified afresh and put to open shame.
6 Hear the words of the Lord: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. . . . Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just, and he doth not resist you.”
7 This is the condition of things in the world today. Men are grasping all they can obtain, paying their laborers the lowest prices, while they exact the highest prices for what they sell. Selfishness, avarice, and covetousness are cherished. Thousands and thousands of dollars are locked up where they are of no use to any one. Thus the Lord’s capital fails to bring an increase to Him.
8 Talents are of value only as they are used to accomplish the design of the Giver. God has given human beings opportunities and privileges that they may make the most of themselves from a Bible standpoint. If we use our talents wisely, our improvement will be a blessing to ourselves and to others; but when we look upon our talents as of value from the standpoint of accumulating gain for selfish purposes, we fail to carry out the Lord’s purpose, and serious loss to the Master follows. Those who might have been benefited fail to receive the help the Lord designed them to have.
9 In the day of judgment no one will be accepted because through clever schemes and sharp dealing he became rich. To such a one Christ will say, “I gave you talents of skill, talents of worldly treasure, that you might co-operate with Me. I was willing to teach you how to impart aright. I could have made you a channel of communication. I could have helped you to reveal My attributes by imparting to others the wisdom and understanding imparted to you. You could have used My gifts to My glory and for the uplifting of those around you. But you allowed the tempter to corrupt your senses; and under his guidance you have robbed Me of the glory I should have received, had you used your talents to relieve the suffering of My children. You were a receiver, but not a producer. Had you used My money to advance My kingdom, I could now recognize you as a faithful servant. But you withheld the means you should have imparted. I gave you My goods to dispense, but you did not feed the hungry or clothe the naked. You neglected the widow and the fatherless. In their destitution they cried for help, but you heeded them not. Their cries have ascended to Me. Their tears are registered in My book. The time has now come for Me to deal with My unfaithful servants. Wherein do your riches help you now? What peace, what happiness do you find from your transactions? ‘What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’”
10 Let us remember that there will be no second probation. Some flatter themselves with the thought that the Lord will give them another opportunity. Fatal delusion! Just now, day by day, we are preparing for the judgment. We are trading on our Lord’s goods, and at His coming He will reckon with us. And from each one He will expect a return. Let us do faithful, unselfish work. Our reward will be proportionate to the work we have done. “Behold, I come quickly,” Christ says; “and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” The Master calls for every man to do the work given him according to his ability. In the love of the Saviour let Christians arise and work for those nigh and afar off.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1007
1 God, the great governor of the universe, has put everything under law. The tiny flower and the towering oak, the grain of sand and the mighty ocean, sunshine and shower, wind and rain, all obey nature’s laws. But man has been placed under a higher law. He has been given an intellect to see, and a conscience to feel, the powerful claims of God’s great moral law, the expression of what He desires His children to be.
2 God has made known His will so plainly that none need err. He desires all to have a correct understanding of His law, to feel the power of its principles; for their eternal interests are here involved. He who has an understanding of the far-reaching claims of God’s law can understand something of the heinousness of sin. And the more exalted his ideas of God’s requirements, the greater will be his gratitude for the pardon granted him.
3 God’s law reaches the feelings and motives, as well as the outward acts. It reveals the secrets of the heart, flashing light upon things before buried in darkness. God knows every thought, every purpose, every plan, every motive. The books of heaven record the sins that would have been committed had there been opportunity. God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing. By His law He measures the character of every man. As the artist transfers to the canvas the features of the face, so the features of each individual character are transferred to the books of heaven. God has a perfect photograph of every man’s character, and this photograph He compares with His law. He reveals to man the defects that mar his life, and calls upon him to repent and turn from sin.
4 There are those who say, “Give me Christ, but I want nothing of the law.” They talk of the grace of Christ, but they know not the meaning of grace; for God does not use His grace to make void the law. Satan has confused their minds, leading them to look upon the law as a yoke of bondage, a hindrance to spirituality. They talk of faith, but they know not the meaning of the word; for faith is never found apart from truth. The peace which they boast their faith gives them is but self-righteous confidence. Let no one claim that he has been accepted by Christ, and is living without sin, while at the same time he is, like Lucifer, waging war against God’s law, aiding the enemy in the very work which he commenced in heaven and is carrying forward on this earth.
5 Thousands today are transgressing God’s law, advocating the ideas which for ages Satan has been manufacturing. Like the proud Pharisees, they are ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. Wrapped in the darkness of unbelief, they refuse to search the Scriptures for themselves. They accept fables in the place of truth. They claim God’s promises while they break His precepts. In the last great day they will say to Christ, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name cast out devils, and in Thy name done many wonderful works?” But Christ will answer, “I never knew you; depart from Me.”
6 The natural heart rebels against the requirements of God’s law. It was the law against which Satan fought in heaven, and those who are controlled by him will hate its principles. But let them remember that when they cast reproach at the law, they cast reproach at Him with whom the law originated. He who while trampling on the law of God claims that Christ has forgiven his sins, knows not of what he is talking. John declares that sin is the transgression of the law. If there were no law, there would be no sin. Those who claim to love Christ, while at the same time they refuse to obey Him, are like fountains which send forth impure water. Professing to follow Christ, they do the work of the adversary. Their faith is dead; for it is unsupported by good works. They can no more be saved by their faith than can the fallen angels, who believe and tremble, by their faith.
7 For the highest good of His creatures, God has given a perfect law, a law that demands perfect obedience. God compels no one to obey this law. He leaves men free to decide whether they will obey and receive the reward of obedience, or disobey and receive the punishment of transgression.
8 Let us study God’s law in connection with the work of Christ. Man broke the law. Christ came to this earth to make an atonement for transgression. His atonement was complete in every part. As He hung on the cross, He could say, “It is finished.” The demands of justice were satisfied. The way to the throne of grace was opened for every sinner.
9 The law stands firm, and justice sternly points the sinner to its holy precepts. It is not the province of the law to save the sinner, but to condemn, not to pardon, but to convict. It can not be changed to meet man in his fallen condition. Then how is God’s justice to be satisfied and His favor obtained? Not by works; “for by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight.” In his own strength the sinner can not meet the demands of God. He must go for help to the One who paid the ransom for him. It is impossible for him of himself to keep the law. But Christ can give him strength to do this. The Saviour came to this world and in human flesh lived a life of perfect obedience, that the sinner might stand before God justified and accepted.
10 Christ is our hope. Those who trust in Him are cleansed. The grace of Christ and the government of God walk together in perfect harmony. When Jesus became man’s substitute, mercy and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other. The cross of Calvary bears witness to the high claims of God’s law. Christ did not die to encourage man in rebellion against God, but to provide a way whereby he might keep the whole law. His garment of spotless righteousness clothes the repenting, believing sinner. He is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1008
1 It seems so sad that we praise God so little. Gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving need now to be searched for, and cultivated as lost arts. They are more precious to the Lord Jesus than all the treasures of gold and silver which the earth contains. Every human being should appreciate the kindness and love wherewith God has loved us. When we were yet enemies, Christ gave His life that we might be saved. How much have we appreciated this gift?
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In His instruction to His disciples, Christ dwelt upon the great gift of the Spirit, declaring that nothing was too great to be expected from the coming of the divine Spirit. He longed to quicken and enlarge the conception of His disciples by communicating to them His own complete appreciation of God’s love, that they might be able to comprehend the value of the gift of all gifts, given by God with the giving of His beloved Son,—the gift of the Holy Spirit. On all who love and serve God this gift has been bestowed. Christ has made provision for all to receive His Spirit; for He desires to see human nature released from the bondage of sin, and, by the power which God gives, renewed, restored, raised to a holy rivalry with the angels.
3 To the woman at the well Christ said, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water. . . . Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
4 Yes; in giving the Holy Spirit, it was impossible for God to give more. To this gift nothing could be added. By it all needs are supplied. The Holy Spirit is the vital presence of God, and if appreciated will call forth praise and thanksgiving, and will ever be springing up unto everlasting life. The restoration of the Spirit is the covenant of grace. Yet how few appreciate this great gift, so costly, yet so free to all who will accept it? When faith takes hold of the blessing, there comes rich spiritual good. But too often the blessing is not appreciated. We need an enlarged conception in order to comprehend its value.
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Christ declared, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”
6 O what amazing love and condescension! The Lord Jesus encourages His believing ones to ask for the Holy Spirit. By presenting the parental tenderness of God, He seeks to encourage faith in the reception of the gift. The heavenly Parent is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children.
7 What greater thing could be promised? What more is necessary to awaken a response in every soul, to inspire us with a longing for the great gift? Shall not our half-hearted supplications be turned into petitions of intense desire for this great blessing?
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God has promised. If we would reach up higher and expect more, our petitions would reveal the quickening influence that comes to every soul who asks with the full expectation of being heard and answered. The Lord is not glorified by the tame supplications which show that nothing is expected. He desires every one who believes, to approach the throne of grace with earnestness and assurance. Do we realize the magnitude of the work in which we are engaged? If we did, there would be more fervency in our prayers. Our entreaties would rise before God with convincing earnestness. We would plead for power as a hungry child pleads for bread. If we realized the greatness of the gift, if we desired the attainment of the blessing, our petitions would ascend with earnestness, importunity, urgency. It would be as if we were at the gate of heaven, soliciting entrance.
9 I do not understand the tameness in the requests offered to God. We are to urge our way into the very presence of God, into the Holy Place of the Most High. We are to plead for that which we most need,—the bread of life, the leaf from the tree of life. As Jacob wrestled with the angel, saying, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me,” so we are to wrestle in prayer until we prevail. We are to ask with an urgency that will not be turned away, that expects God to bestow His blessings with a liberality that is an assurance to all fear.
10 “Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and His Maker, Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it. I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” This is the Word of the Lord, which is Yea and Amen. Then let your prayers be more fervent, more heavily weighted with faith and hope. Let the intensity of your desire be proportionate to the value of the object you wish to obtain.
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should fill us with a hungering desire for it.
12 Have we reason to believe that an earnest application to the Source of all power for the deep moving of the Holy Spirit upon hearts will be crowned with success? Certainly; but before we talk to others in regard to this, let us first talk with God. Plead with Him as if your life was depending upon the gift you desire. Remember that the blessing is promised unconditionally, absolutely, certainly. If you ask in faith, presenting the name of God’s Son as your indorsement, your prayer will be heard and answered. God’s goodness makes this promise unchangeable. The infallibility of the promise is to inspire faith in the one who asks. “Ask, and ye shall receive.”
13 We should ask with an earnestness that will not be denied. The Lord has an intense desire that every one should take advance steps in absolute certainty, relying upon God. He is the light and life of all who seek Him. The measure which we receive of the holy influence of His Spirit is proportionate to the measure of our desire to receive, of our faith to grasp, and of our capacity to enjoy the great goodness of the blessing, and to impart it to others.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1009
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Every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth.” Christ is here presenting a law of the divine government. Asking for the Holy Spirit is connected with receiving this gift. The Lord reads the hearts of all men. He selects from His subjects those He can use, choosing material which can be worked. He selects—
and through them magnifies His own wisdom and power by causing them to sit among princes. In all ages He has used human beings to carry out His purposes. He chooses subjects who will not be perverted, who in all righteousness and faith will honor His name. He passes by the men who have perverted the capabilities He has given them, and selects men of His own wisdom, who make Him their trust, their dependence, their efficiency. He hews and polishes the rough stones He has quarried out of the world. He works through men who realize that they must submit to the ax, the chisel, and the hammer, lying passive under the divine hand. Through those who voluntarily submit themselves to Him in all matters, who seek Him in faith and hope, He works out His plans.
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Those who ask because they wish to impart to others will not be disappointed. God will reward those who come to Him in earnest faith. He assures us that the thought of His majesty and sovereignty should not keep us in fear. He will do much more graciously than we suppose if we will come to the footstool of His mercy. He urges His sovereignty as a reason for His great and merciful bountifulness in supplying the demands upon Him. He pledges Himself to hear our prayers, declaring that He will hear them. He condescends to appeal from the instinct of parental tenderness to the infinite benevolence of Him whose we are by creation and redemption. He says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.” The needy and soul-hungry never plead with God in vain.
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in the experience of every overcomer. In our weakness we are to accept Christ’s power. He gives us the assurance, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
4 In view of this tell me who should wear countenances more bright and cheerful, more full of sunshine, than those who live by faith in the Son of God. In Him the needy and hungry find all their wants supplied. But let us not forget that those whom God has blessed with the good things of this life are to be His helping hand, to supply the necessities of His needy ones. They are to be laborers together with Him. They are—
and are to use their goods for the advancement of His work, that His name may be glorified. The Lord desires to employ the church as a channel through which to communicate His bounties. If His people would keep the channel open, receiving the spiritual and temporal gifts of His grace, and imparting them to the needy, there would be no sick ones neglected, no orphans crying for food. The hearts of the widow and the fatherless would sing for joy.
5 God has given man the richest of His gifts. This He has done that man may dispense His bounties. Medical missionary work and the Gospel ministry are the channels through which God seeks to pour a constant supply of His goodness. They are to be as the river of life for the irrigation of His church. There is not the semblance of an excuse for the lifeless condition of a people who know the plain “Thus saith the Lord.” God calls their attention to the words, “Ye are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” He reminds us that we have only to ask, and we shall receive; to seek, and we shall find; to knock, and it shall be opened unto us.
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and close them earthward. The Lord has made His church the repository of divine influence. The heavenly universe is waiting for the members to become channels through which the current of life shall flow to the world, that many may be converted, and in their turn become channels through which the grace of Christ shall flow to the desert portions of the Lord’s vineyard.
7 The heavenly universe is burdened with the magnitude of the divine gifts which it has to impart. Angels are longing for the great joy of imparting the grace of God to men who will impart it to their fellow-men. The commission is, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” All who belong to the church are commanded to shine. Every receiver of divine grace is held accountable for the souls of those within his reach who are in the darkness of unbelief, ignorant of the rich blessings God is waiting to bestow upon them.
8 “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” Those who take part in the solemn rite of baptism, in the name of the highest authorities of heaven, pledge themselves to come out from the world, to separate themselves from its idolatrous practises. God places His sign upon them, making them members of the royal family. And they on their part pledge themselves before angels and before men to live for Christ. They are buried with Him in baptism in the likeness of His death and raised in the likeness of His resurrection. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on this earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.”
9 In the day of final accounts, what will the church give as a reason for her strange indifference to bring souls to a knowledge of the truth? My brethren and sisters, keep the temple of God pure and holy, that He may use it to the glory of His name. God will enlarge His faculties and multiply His gifts to you, as you make use of them to gather souls under the blood-stained banner of the Redeemer. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. By yielding to the temptations of the enemy, by losing sight of God, you have lost the sense of what a child of God ought to be. Your powers of perception are clouded. But the way is open for your spiritual life to be reinforced with new power. “Ask, and ye shall receive.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1010
1 The last message of mercy is to be given to the world by the proclamation of Gospel truth. Truth, Bible truth,—this is what the people need. On our knees we are to claim the promises of God’s Word, asking that we may receive pure, unadulterated truth, and that we may realize the necessity of giving this truth to others. Then men and women will be converted. The hand of God will be recognized in the raising up of new churches. The Lord will baptize with the apostolic spirit many who will go forth to do missionary work in places where the people know not the truth.
2 True missionary work will furnish the churches with a sure foundation, a foundation having this seal, “The Lord knoweth them that are His.” Then God will be glorified in His people. Christian missions will be built upon Jesus Christ. Under the supervision of God the work will go forward, and innumerable evidences will be given of the genuineness of the work. The workers will not seek to glorify self, but will praise God as the designer and organizer of every holy, ennobling work. They not only profess to be believers; they are believers. They are sanctified by the truth; for truth acted as well as preached has a purifying influence upon the character.
3 In the home and in the church the true missionary is a living exposition of truth. He eats the flesh and drinks the blood of the Son of God, and his life is moulded according to the divine similitude. He digests and assimilates the Word, saying, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” True missionary work leads those engaged in it to bow before God in humiliation and unfeigned gratitude for the past and present manifestations of His power. They hide self in Christ, praising and glorifying Him as the One altogether lovely.
4 Christian missionary work is of great value to the home churches. By it the members are inspired with holy, sanctified zeal to deny self, to lift the cross of Christ, to labor with self-sacrificing effort to send the truth to regions beyond. Christian missionary work has a reflex influence upon the churches, an influence uplifting and sanctifying. It has a salutary influence upon unbelievers; for as the workers labor under divine superintendence, worldlings are led to see the greatness of the resources God has provided for those who serve Him. God’s truth, demonstrated by the working of grace in the heart, multiplies the agencies of Christian usefulness and makes a decided impression upon the world.
5 God desires His people to be living examples of the purifying influence of the truth. He desires them to reveal in their lives its power to elevate and ennoble. Thus they are to illustrate the excellence of the truth, raising the standard of Christian courtesy, tenderness, and love. With an intensity of effort they are to seek to save those who are perishing. Let the heart yearn even to breaking over those who know not the truth. Let not believers center their thoughts upon themselves. Let them go to work for others, forgetting self in the loving desire to help those around them. Let them think and plan and work for those who know not God. It is not only the learned, the talented, who are to work for others. All who claim to believe in Jesus should do this. This is Christian usefulness. And in this work let us show a holy dependence upon God. Dependence upon God, sanctification of purpose, earnestness in service,—these distinguish between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. We who believe are to illustrate in our lives the excellence of the Christ-life. Church-members are to arise and shine amid the moral darkness of the world. If we are connected with the Light of the world, we shall reflect light to others. If we partake of the Saviour’s rich grace, we shall be a blessing to those around us.
6 God calls upon us to show a hallowed patriotism, to reveal the attributes of the Saviour in the home and in the church, to deny self that we may have to give to the work in the fields afar off. Let all seek to manifest the benevolence of Christ. He gave His life to save a fallen world, and shall Christians, those who claim to be His representatives on the earth, be unwilling to deny self? Shall they remain weak and inefficient because they are too selfish to make sacrifices for Him who gave His life as a sacrifice for them?
7 God help us to arise and take a most decided stand in the center of a large circle of benevolent work. Thus we may glorify and magnify the name of Him who is truth. We are laid under the most solemn obligations to furnish, in Christian missions, a grand illustration of the principles of the kingdom of God. The church is to work actively as an organized body to spread abroad the influence of the cross of Christ. Those who work unselfishly to give the truth to those nigh and afar off are registered in the courts above, “Laborers together with God; . . . God’s husbandry, . . . God’s building.” Controlled by the great Designer, they show what human beings can be when they wear the yoke of Christ, learning His meekness and lowliness.
8 It is because so many of Christ’s professed followers seek to be first that He can not trust them. Were they humble, willing to be taught by Him, they would be a power in showing to the world the influence of the truth upon human character. Those who work in Christ’s lines, never seeking to exalt self, will reveal constant activity and steady progress in missionary enterprises. They will not be satisfied unless church is added to church.
9 God expects those in His service to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. Our aggressive missionary work is to be more abundant than it has been in the past. More territory is to be annexed; the standard of truth is to be planted in new places; churches are to be established; all is to be done that can be done to fulfil the commission, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
10 The life of a church depends on the interest which its members manifest in those outside the fold. Let the church of God remember that Christ gave Himself as a sacrifice to save a world from destruction. For our sake He became poor, that we through His poverty might come into possession of eternal riches. Shall those whom God has blessed with a knowledge of the truth become narrow in their plans? Let them arouse to a sense of their vast obligations, cutting away every thread of selfishness, that the Lord may pour upon them His Holy Spirit. Let them seek the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near. They have no reason for being faithless and complaining. Let them cease all fault-finding and murmuring, and encourage a spirit of gratitude for past mercies and blessings. Let them praise the Lord in unfeigned gratitude for the light of His Word, which shines upon their pathway, to be received into heart and mind, and reflected upon those in darkness. Thus they will be prepared to work to the praise and glory of Christ, and to inscribe upon their banners, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1011
1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.”
2 Joshua represents the people of God. When Satan accused him, the Lord rebuked him, and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angels of the Lord stood by.”
3 Satan endeavors to bring reproach upon those who are trying to serve and honor God. He presents them in a questionable light, as those who are clothed with filthy garments. But God says, “Take away the filthy garments. You have no right to put them upon my people. Take them away. My people may have imperfections of character; they may fail in their endeavors; but if they repent, I will forgive them.”
4 The word of assurance is given to all who have faith in God. Receive this wonderful promise. It is not a human being who is speaking: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.”
5 Among those who stand by,—the hosts of the enemy, who are trying to bring God’s people into disrepute, and the hosts of heaven, ten thousand times ten thousand angels, who watch over and guard the tempted people of God, uplifting and strengthening them. These are they who stand by. And God says to His believing ones, You shall walk among them. You shall not be overcome by the powers of darkness. You shall stand before Me in the sight of the holy angels, who are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation.
6 God loves His believing people, and He has placed their feet in a safe and sure path. He has caused them to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This He has done, not because of their goodness and worthiness, but because of the free promptings of His grace, because He is rich in mercy, because of the great love wherewith He loves them. He has delivered them from the power of darkness, and has translated them into the kingdom of His dear Son. He is very desirous that they shall perfect characters which will enable them to stand before Him, purified and made white.
7 But let them not suppose that the pathway to heaven will be always smooth, that no temptations will come. Peculiar difficulties will arise, which will test their faith, tax their patience, and try their steadfastness. Face the difficulties bravely. Be men and women of unswerving principle. Remember that Christ has said, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The battle is before you, but you are not called upon to fight alone. Christ and the angels are with you. Perseverance is service, willing obedience to God’s way, will win for you a crown of life. Then cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of God.
8 “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
9 Unbelief is repulsive, dark, forbidding. It can only deny and destroy. Faith lifts the head in conscious dignity and firm trust in God. True workers walk and work by faith. Sometimes they grow weary with watching the slow advancement of the work, when the battle wages strong between the powers of good and evil. But if they refuse to fail or be discouraged, they will see the clouds breaking away and the promise of deliverance fulfilling. Through the mist which Satan has thrown across their pathway, they will see the shining of the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The glory of the Lord is to fill the whole earth.
10 Have faith in God. When you make mistakes, turn your defeats into victories. Your love and fidelity will be tested by difficulty, disappointment, and trial. These your faith must overcome. The burden you bear for Christ’s sake, the service you render in the complete surrender of your will to God,—this is the measure of your love for Him. There is fulness for you in Christ. Come to the water of life and drink. Do not stay away and complain of thirst. The water of life is free to all. Spend much time on your knees in prayer. Believe that God hears your prayers, and you will see of His salvation.
11 If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1012
1 The first chapter of Colossians is a decided address to every believer. The Holy Spirit indicted this instruction for the help of those who should afterward compose the church, as well as for those to whom Paul addressed his letter. The apostle writes:—
2 “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth; as ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
3 “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.”
4 This scripture speaks of the vital union which should exist between Christ and His disciples. Constantly we are to strive to obtain this union. The religion which consists merely of profession is but pretense. Those whose union with Christ ends with the writing of their names on the church roll are not channels of light.
5 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” The great object for which Christ came to our world was to demonstrate the falsity of Satan’s claim to the sovereignty of the world, and to reassert the original and supreme ownership of God. As the Restorer and Lifegiver, Christ placed Himself in the enemy’s pathway, disputing his right to the souls and bodies of men and women. He planted His cross midway between heaven and earth, that He might wrestle with and overcome the powers of darkness. He gave His life for the life of sinners, and Satan, the prince of the world, was cast out.
6 “We have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. . . . It pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight; if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.”
7 We have been taught by God concerning the great plan of redemption. This should be to us a matter of earnest thanksgiving. God’s promises will never fail if we constantly watch unto prayer. Having learned the excellent way, we are to be sanctified, body, soul, and spirit. We are to be purified and cleansed through the washing of the Word. It is the privilege of every one to be grounded and settled in the faith. No one who exercises that faith which works by love and purifies the soul will be moved away from the hope of the Gospel.
8 Cherishing goodness in the heart is a work which many have strangely neglected. Those whose hearts are sanctified and cleansed will follow no sharp practises. But evil passions fill the heart that is actuated by selfishness. Selfishness leads to oppression, and as acts of oppression are repeated, the mind is corrupted, and fails to make correct decisions.
9 In no case will Christ serve with unfair, unfaithful dealing. “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.” God calls for intelligent Christians, for men and women who are filled with the knowledge of His will. He calls for men and women who by their good works show that the truth has brought about a change in their lives.
10 God’s servants should daily gain more knowledge of Him, and this knowledge should give spirituality to the understanding. The Lord is pleased when those connected with Him are filled with a knowledge of His will. Daily they should grow in grace and in spiritual understanding, strengthened with might according to His glorious power. They are to increase in spiritual efficiency, that they may give strength to those for whom they labor.
11 God does not ask men and women to enter His service with their natural traits of character, to make a failure before the heavenly universe and before the world. He does not ask a man who is unconverted to attempt to serve Him. Christ invites all to come to Him; but when they come, they are to lay aside their sins. All their vices and follies, all their pride and worldliness, are to be laid at His cross. This He requires because He loves them, and desires to save them, not in their sins, but from their sins.
12 The hard, cruel spirit which judges and condemns has left the trace of the enemy upon the work. But mercy is to come in and lay her broad impress upon every plan. The world is to see principles different from those which have hitherto been presented. God does not call upon any man to manufacture tests and crosses for His people. He presents His requirements before them, and gives them the invitation, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Wear my yoke, and in your daily experience you will find the rest which comes only to the obedient.
13 The truth is to be believed and practised, because it is the Word of the living God. The brightest beams of light from the threshold of heaven are thrown on the pathway in which God requires His people to walk. When sinners accept Christ as their personal Saviour, they realize the greatness of God’s gift to them, and praise and thanksgiving flow to the divine Giver. The recovery of souls from sin is to be a revenue of goodness to men and of glory to God.
14 But how many offer praise and thanksgiving to God? How many, by thanking the Giver, show that they appreciate their blessings? How many give thanks to the Father, “which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light”? We have redemption through His blood. He has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His Son. The heavenly angels are constantly engaged in serving us, bringing to us the most wonderful opportunities and blessings. Why, then, should we be so slow to express our thanksgiving? Whoso offereth praise glorifieth God. A fragrant atmosphere surrounds the believing, thankful soul who offers grateful praise to his heavenly Father. Let all appreciate the blessings of the Lord. We reflect bright beams of light when in the home and in the church we express our appreciation of the Lord’s goodness.
15 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations, but now is made manifest to His saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom we preach, warning, every man and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.” Through His human instrumentalities God desires to demonstrate the power of His grace. By His saints He would make known among the Gentiles the riches of His plan of redemption.
16 In all wisdom people are to be warned and taught. Those who are seeking to win souls to Christ must be guarded in every action, lest they make a wrong impression on those for whom they are working. The Lord will give success to those who in spiritual and temporal lines will deal faithfully with human minds. Let those who work for Christ put on Christ. Then there will be a continual advancement in knowledge and understanding, an advancement that will make an impression on the world. Those who are daily learning of Christ will become so meek and lowly that Christ can lead them. He will go before them as their righteousness. As they follow in His footsteps, fulfilling His requirements, many will take knowledge of them that they have been with Christ. Their lives are conformed to the truth, and as they reveal the Saviour’s character in their lives, they are doing the work that He did. As they behold Christ, they are changed from glory to glory, from character to character. Such believers will move the world.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1013
1 We have considered the obligation resting upon those who have not accepted Christ as a personal Saviour. But how are they to be convinced of the importance of obedience to the truth? Is it not by the work of unselfish, self-sacrificing Christian men and women? “There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
2 Is it not time for the church to arise and shine because her light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon her?
3 In order to reflect light to those in darkness, we must receive the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness. In order to give the bread of life to starving souls, we must ourselves receive this bread from the hand of the Saviour. In order that the soul may be surrounded with the pure atmosphere of heaven, we must breathe His spirit.
4 For the health and vitality of the soul the divine Physician has prescribed communion with Christ. Spiritual health is dependent on the food which is given to the heart and mind, and on the atmosphere which is breathed. The soul needs food, and in order to get this food, the Word of God must be studied. Christ declares:—
5 “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. . . . I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. . . . Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. . . . It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.”
6 The breathing of pure air is essential for physical health. And it is no less true that the air we breathe in the spiritual life must be pure if we would make healthy growth in grace. Breathe the atmosphere which produces pure thoughts and noble words. Choose Christian society. The Christian will not be spiritually healthy unless he carefully guards his associations.
7 Exercise is essential to growth in grace. When the spiritually diseased are given exercise in spiritual things, there is seen a transformation of character. But spirituality can not grow while the heart is full of the corrupting sores of selfishness. The soul must be cleansed and purified by the refining grace of God. The channel of communication between earth and heaven must be kept free from all obstruction, that the soul may receive from Christ a supply of living water. Every spiritual muscle and sinew must be put to the test. God has given us many opportunities to work for Him. Unless we improve these opportunities, we can not be growing Christians. When Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, a decided change will be seen in the religious experience of professing Christians.
8 The young convert to truth must not always remain a child in spiritual knowledge. A child, however beautiful as a child, is a dwarf if it makes no development as years pass by. And every Christian who is indeed a Christian, must grow. He must constantly increase in wisdom and knowledge. Day by day he must approach more nearly to the full stature of a man in Christ Jesus. He must advance into a deeper appreciation of the love of God, and a clearer knowledge of His will. If his light does not shine more and more brightly, his faith becomes weak, his love grows feeble; and unless he seeks and acknowledges his danger, he is doing the cause of God more harm than an avowed unbeliever. Piety leaves the soul-temple. The man turns carelessly from duties and responsibilities. By him the Son of God is crucified afresh and put to open shame.
9 We are living in an age of doubt. The Christian life has been cheapened by unbelief. Even those who claim to be looking for their Lord’s return are not all true to principle. The truth may be taught with so little life, so coldly and so heartlessly, as to make it of none effect. Unless church- members arouse and repent, and consecrate themselves to God, their influence will do more harm than good to unbelievers.
10 “These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works: or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
11 God calls upon us to draw near to Him. As we do this we resist the devil, and he flees from us. Unless we follow on day by day to know the Lord, unless our faith increases, and holiness comes into the daily experience, we shall lose our first love. Its freshness and power will disappear. The candlestick will be moved out of its place.
12 Before we can enter the heavenly courts, we must be refined, purified, elevated, and ennobled. In order to preserve the purity which God requires, the truth must be brought into constant contact with mind and heart. God calls upon His people to walk with Him, as did Enoch. Study His Word, if you desire to have Christ abiding in you, the life-blood of the soul.
13 The Christian church needs to be purged and purified. The members must be consecrated to a higher office than they have hitherto occupied. “Go,” said Christ, “and preach the Gospel to every creature.” God calls for a decided reform. You call yourselves Christians. Are you Christians? Are you not afraid that you misrepresent Christ by taking His name, and saying, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” are we, while you allow the love of money to lead you to withhold your tithe, your offering, and your service from Him? The neglect and indifference of professed Christians are cast by the world as a reproach upon God.
14 How can we, men and women who have a knowledge of present truth, be so listless and indifferent, so careless in regard to the work which must be done to warn souls perishing in sin? Christians need a clear conviction of duty. The heart needs to be filled with the childlike faith which takes God at His word. Then the deathlike stupor resting upon the church will be removed. The Lord will work upon hearts. The soul-temple will be purified. There will be no fungus growth. Sloth and stupidity will no longer endanger faith. There will be seen spiritual elasticity and vigorous growth.
15 God calls for a decided change in His people. Heart-conversion is needed. The Lord calls upon us to reveal to the world the sanctifying power of the truth. He calls upon us to lay ourselves upon His altar, a living sacrifice, consecrating all that we have and are to His service.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1014
1 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
2 The salvation of the soul requires the blending of divine and human strength. God does not propose to do the work that man can do to meet the standard of righteousness. Man has a part to act. Humanity must unite and co-operate with divinity. Grace and sufficiency have been abundantly provided for every soul. But in order to receive this, man must unite with his divine Helper. Unless of his own accord man consents to renounce his sinful practises, Christ can not take away his sin. Man must heartily co-operate with God, willingly obeying His laws, showing that he appreciates the great gift of grace. Feeling his dependence upon God, having faith in Christ as his personal Saviour, expecting efficiency and success only as he keeps the Lord ever before him,—it is thus that man complies with the injunction, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
3 But human effort is not sufficient. It avails nothing without divine power. Of himself man has not strength to wrestle with the powers of darkness. Therefore Christ clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to this earth that He might co-operate with man. To those who will receive Him and trust in His power to save, He imparts the virtue of His righteousness. He gives them power to become the sons of God. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
4 The human agent must remember that he has in himself no merits to present to God. Christ is the fountain of life, the source of immortality. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. The great, grand work of perfecting character can not be accomplished without the help that He is always ready to supply.
5 He who desires to grow in physical, mental, and spiritual power must feel every moment his dependence upon the One who provides efficiency for service. In the work of developing and strengthening the faculties of body and mind, men must constantly receive power from on high. The Lord is watching with earnest interest to see how man will conduct himself in the life which has been given him. Be not careless and indifferent in regard to the work to be done by God and man. On your part you are to believe, receive the grace of God, and honor Christ in the life. On His part, He dwells in your heart, supplying you with divine strength, working in you to will and to do of His good pleasure.
6 Parents are to co-operate with God by bringing their children up in His love and fear. They can not displease Him more than by neglecting to train their children aright. God has given them these children as a sacred trust, to educate for Him. In a sense they stand in the place of God to their children. They are to work out the salvation of those who are too young to understand the difference between good and evil. They are in no case to think that good will naturally predominate in the hearts of their children. They are to guard carefully the words and actions of their little ones, lest the enemy shall gain an influence over them. This he is intensely desirous of doing, that he may counterwork the purpose of God. Kindly, earnestly, tenderly, parents are to work for their children, cultivating every good trait and repressing every evil trait which develops in the character.
7 Parents should be constant learners in the school of Christ. They need freshness and power, that with the simplicity of Christ they may teach the younger members of God’s family the knowledge of His will. Line upon line, precept upon precept, they are to reiterate His lessons. They are to be diligent students of the Bible, that they may be apt in the tillage of the garden of the heart. With persevering effort they are to cultivate the hearts of the children placed in their care; and God will help them in every faithful, patient effort.
8 In the earliest years of the child’s life the soil of the heart is to be carefully prepared for the showers of God’s grace. Then the seeds of truth are to be carefully sown and diligently tended. And God, who rewards every effort made in His name, will put life into the seed sown. There will appear first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
9 Too often, because of the wicked neglect of parents, Satan sows his seeds in the hearts of children, and a harvest of shame and sorrow is borne. The world today is destitute of true goodness because parents have failed to gather their children to themselves in the home. They have not kept them from association with the careless and reckless. Therefore the children have gone forth into the world to sow the seeds of death.
10 In the cultivation of the garden of the heart, the efforts of parents must be unceasing, or unsightly weeds will spring up and choke the good seed. The weeds which spring up, the natural imperfections which appear, must be removed. Day by day parents are to watch vigilantly and correct wisely, insisting upon prompt obedience.
11 Parents, give your time to your children. Teach them to form careful habits. Some parents allow their children to be destructive, to use as playthings things which they have no right to touch. Children should be taught that they must not handle the property of other people. For the comfort and happiness of the family, they must learn to observe the rules of propriety. Children are no happier when they are allowed to handle everything they see. If they are not educated to be care-taking, they will grow up with unlovely, destructive traits of character.
12 Parents do their children great wrong when they allow them to scream and cry. They should not be allowed to be careless and boisterous. If these objectionable traits of character are not checked in their early years, the children will take them with them, strengthened and developed, into religious and business life. Children will be just as happy if they are taught to be quiet in the house.
13 Fathers and mothers be sensible. Teach your children that they must be subordinate to law. Do not allow them to think that because they are children, it is their privilege to make all the noise they wish in the house. Wise rules and regulations must be made and enforced that the beauty of the home life may not be spoiled.
14 If, when parents had first begun to live upon the earth, there had been a firm adherence to the laws of God, the world would now be filled with well-ordered families. From age to age right habits and customs would have been handed down from parents to children, and God would have been loved and honored.
15 The wickedness which exists in the world today may be traced to the neglect of parents rightly to discipline themselves and their children. Thousands and thousands of Satan’s victims are what they are because of the injudicious way in which they were managed during childhood. The stern rebuke of God is upon this mismanagement. The records of heaven show the awful history of the men and women who as children were left to follow their own way.
16 Upon parents rests the responsibility of developing in their children those capabilities which will enable them to do good service for God. To do this work acceptably, parents must exercise self-control. They must choose the good and refuse the evil. There are many parents who themselves need to be converted. Their untrained characters unfit them for the great work of training their children. When a child reveals the wrong traits which it has inherited from its parents, shall they storm over this reproduction of their own defects?—No, no! Let parents keep a careful watch over themselves, guarding against all coarseness and roughness, lest these defects be seen once more in their children.
17 The mother is especially the educator of her children. “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” God sees all the possibilities in that mite of humanity. He sees that with proper training the child will become a power for good in the world. He watches with anxious interest to see whether the parents will carry out His plan, or whether by mistaken kindness they will destroy His purpose, indulging the child to its present and eternal ruin. To transform this helpless and apparently insignificant being into a blessing to the world and an honor to God, is a great and grand work. Parents should allow nothing to come between them and the obligation they owe to their children.
18 The training of children constitutes an important part of God’s plan for demonstrating the power of Christianity. A solemn responsibility rests upon parents so to train their children that when they go forth into the world, they will do good and not evil to those with whom they associate. Our children are to be educated line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. From babyhood the character of the child is to be moulded and fashioned in accordance with the divine plan. Virtues are to be instilled into its opening mind.
19 In the management of their children, parents are to be in perfect harmony with the divine plan. The rules and regulations of the home life must be in strict accordance with a “Thus saith the Lord.” The rules God has given for the government of His church are the rules parents are to follow in the church in the home. It is God’s design that there shall be perfect order in the families on earth, preparatory to their union with the family in heaven. Upon the discipline and training received in the home depends the usefulness of men and women in the church and in the world.
20 The Lord calls upon parents to study and obey His Word. He asks them so to guide and educate their children, that these will rise up and call them blessed. I recommend to parents a study of God’s will and way. I urge them to put on the whole armor of God and gird themselves for the battle. They will be aided and encouraged in every movement they make in the right direction.
21 Without human effort divine effort is in vain. God will work with power when in trustful dependence upon Him parents will awake to the sacred responsibility resting upon them, and seek to train their children aright. He will co-operate with those parents who carefully and prayerfully educate their children, working out their own and their children’s salvation. He will work in them, to will and to do of His own good pleasure.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1015
1 Every Christian should be determined that he will not, in word or action, dishonor the law of God. This law is an expression of the character of God, a revelation of what every minister of the Gospel, every teacher, every man, woman, and child, should be. The Christian will become excellent in wisdom, if he will surrender himself to the guidance of the principles of God’s law. This is not to be an influence among many influences. God designs the heaven-born principles of His law to be the all-powerful influence in the lives of His children, sanctifying and purifying them. It is God’s purpose that these principles shall be followed in our homes, our institutions, our churches. They are His everlasting truths, proclaimed in righteousness, mercy, and love.
2 Supreme love for God, and unselfish love for one another,—these are the two great arms on which hang all the law and the prophets. The greatest of all gifts, all talents, is true, Christlike love. It is the brightest evidence of the power of religion. By it, a daily witness for Christ is borne to the world. The Lord calls upon His churches to manifest this love.
3 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” This was the answer the lawyer gave when Christ asked, “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” And before priests and rulers Christ replied, “Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” Thus He forever settled the great question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
4 Christ has expressly enjoined His followers to respect and love one another. He says, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
5 He who takes the position of teacher, yet fails to show a tender regard for his brethren, might better cease his labors until the converting power of God teaches him the lessons he must learn in order to do successful work. He who really desires to be a vessel meet for the Master’s use must submit to the molding and polishing process carried on by the wheel of God’s providence, until all unshapeliness and roughness have vanished. Only thus can he become a vessel unto honor.
6 No man should take up the work of a minister of Jesus Christ until he has complied with the invitation, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. “ God’s ministers are to show forth in their lives the unselfish love which Christ constantly taught and perfectly exemplified. Thus is to be shown the marked distinction between those who love God and keep His commandments, and those who are standing under the black banner of Satan.
7 No man can separate fellowship with God from a life of holiness. Sanctification takes in the whole being. To walk in the light is to know and obey the truth. To have fellowship with God is to treat one another as children of God. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
8 Many in this our day claim fellowship with God while by their lives they deny the claim. They do not love God supremely and their neighbor as themselves. They are not willing to do to others as they wish them to do to them. Selfishness is shown in the use of God’s money. Extravagance is seen where economy should be practised in order that the cause of God may be advanced. Man ventures to use for self-indulgence means which should be used for the Lord. This is entirely contrary to the lessons Christ has given. It is impossible to harmonize a selfish use of the Lord’s money with the principles of Christ’s life.
9 He whose mind is so filled with his own devisings that he has little time to study the Word of God, no time to find out, by looking into the Divine Mirror, what kind of character he is forming, should not think that he is fitted to hold forth the Word of life to others. Perhaps he catches a glimpse of the mistakes he is making. He sees that his building is unlike the design given him. But he is so absorbed in correcting others that he has no time to correct his own defects, and therefore continues to present before angels and men a miserable representation of Christ. He knows not what it is to feel the saving power of divine grace. He is too busy to act like a Christian, too busy to give expression by courteous words and kindly deeds to Christlike love. Angels vail their faces in sorrow. Men see that he is not what he professes to be, and they turn from him as a counterfeit.
10 The acceptance of Christ’s atonement is the ground-work of true faith. To those who repent and confess their sins, the Holy Spirit, the Author of all sanctification, will give grace to speak kind, tender, respectful words. Those who will look long enough into the Divine Mirror to see and despise their unlikeness to the meek and lowly Saviour, will have strength to overcome. All who truly believe will confess and forsake their sins. They will co-operate with Christ in the work of bringing their hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong under the control of the Divine Will, so that sin shall not have dominion over them. Looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith, they will be changed into His likeness. They will grow up to the full stature of men and women in Christ.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1016
1 Troublous times are right upon us. The signs of the times give evidence that the judgments of heaven are being poured out, that the day of the Lord is at hand. The daily papers are full of indications of an intense conflict in the future. Bold robberies are of frequent occurrence. Strikes are common. Thefts and murders are committed on every hand. Men possessed by demons are taking the lives of men, women, and little children. All these things testify that the Lord’s coming is near.
2 The restraining Spirit of God is even now being withdrawn from the world. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, disasters by sea and by land, follow one another in quick succession. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. Men can not discern the sentinel angel restraining the four winds, that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed; but when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.
3 The time is right upon us when there will be sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal. Even before the last great destruction comes upon the world, the flattering monuments of man’s greatness will be crumbled in the dust. God’s retributive judgments will fall on those who in the face of great light have continued in sin. Costly buildings, supposed to be fire-proof, are erected. But as Sodom perished in the flames of God’s vengeance, so will these proud structures become ashes. I have seen vessels which cost immense sums of money wrestling with the mighty ocean, seeking to breast the angry billows. But with all their treasures of gold and silver, and with all their human freight, they sank into a watery grave. Man’s pride will be buried with the treasures he has accumulated by fraud. God will avenge the widows and orphans who in hunger and nakedness have cried to Him for relief from oppression.
4 The words of Revelation 18 will be fulfilled. John writes: “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.”
5 “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” In the days of Noah God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. “And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. . . . And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold I will destroy them with the earth.”
6 But though men were so wicked, God would not destroy them without warning. “My Spirit shall not always strive with man,” He said, “yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” During this period of probation the message of warning given to Noah was to sound in their ears.
7 At first many were startled by this message. Some believed it, and some died in the faith. But as time went by, the message lost its power over the careless, world-loving people. They forgot all thought of peril, and laughed at Noah for building an ark on dry land. But still the work of building went on. Noah showed his faith by his works, and by his faith and works condemned the world.
8 As Noah warned the world, so the people of God today are to warn the world. By their faith and works they are to condemn transgressors. They will meet the same wicked resistance that Noah met in his day. But they are not to fail or become discouraged. God calls for men who will deal prudently and contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.
9 The Lord sends to His people the warning: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
10 In these words the danger signal is uplifted. The warning is given to those who have received the important truth for this time, yet are not making ready for the coming of Christ. There is no time when spiritual slothfulness is excusable. Only by being clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness can we escape the judgments that are coming upon the earth.
11 We are living in a time that calls for decided action. The world is more bitterly opposed than ever to Gospel reform. But notwithstanding this, God’s work is to go forward. The words of Christ come down to us who are living at the close of the earth’s history: “When these things shall begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” The nations are in unrest. Times of perplexity are upon us. Men’s hearts are failing them for fear of the things that are coming upon the earth. But those who believe in God will hear His voice amid the storm, saying, “It is I; be not afraid.” The world is lying in wickedness and apostasy. Rebellion to God’s law seems almost universal. But amid the tumult of excitement, with confusion in every place, there is a work to be done for God in the world.
12 “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children; . . . let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach.” “Turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him?”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1017
1 Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.”
2 There are those who when they grieve the Holy Spirit draw away from God because they feel that He is not pleased with their course of action. But how much better and safer it is to draw near to God, that the pure light shining from His Word may heal the wounds that sin has made in the soul. The Lord will draw near to him who confesses to his brethren the wrongs he has done them, and then comes to God in humility and contrition.
3 The closer we are to God, the safer we are; for Satan hates and fears the presence of God. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
4 “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” Precious promise! How good and acceptable it will be to the Lord when His people draw near to Him and humble themselves before Him.
5 “Speak not evil one of another, brethren.” How much merchandise has been made of a brother’s mistakes and a brother’s sins by those who are far more guilty in the sight of the heavenly Father than the one they condemn. “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” There is but one answer to this question: No; it is impossible. “Can the fig-tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.” The sum is proved by one who never makes a mistake. The contradiction between the life and the profession of the Christian who speaks evil of his brethren is self-evident.
6 “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” How many sins this consistent conduct would prevent! How many souls it would turn from crooked paths into paths of righteousness. By a well-ordered life and godly conversation, God’s people are to demonstrate the power of the great truths God has given them.
7 “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not,”—tho you may suppose that you have gained the mastery in argument,—”and lie not against the truth.” You may be keen in argument, but with a controversial spirit God is not pleased. “This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” “Easy to be entreated.” It would rather suffer wrong than do an injury to God’s heritage.
8 A contrast is drawn between those who think themselves wise and those whom God has gifted with wisdom. A man may speak fair words, but unless his life reveals good works, his wisdom is worthless. Genuine wisdom is full of gentleness, mercy, and love. The worldly policy which men call wisdom is by God called foolishness. Many in the church have become spiritual bankrupts because they have been satisfied with this wisdom. They have lost the opportunity to obtain knowledge, because they have not realized that the efficiency of Christ is essential to make a successful steward for God, one who will trade wisely on his entrusted goods. They have failed to supply themselves with the heavenly merchandise, and the value of their stock in trade has continually decreased.
9 It is not enough to have knowledge. We must have the ability to use knowledge aright. God calls upon us to live the life of Christ, a life free from all roughness and vanity. Speak no words of harsh command; for they will gender strife. Speak instead words that will give light and knowledge, words that will restore and build up. A man shows that he has true wisdom by using the talent of speech to produce music in the souls of those who are trying to do their appointed work, and who are in need of encouragement.
10 “Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” Let every action be such that it will win the divine approval. Into every business transaction bring mercy, justice, and the love of God.
11 Let sin be called by its right name, and let it be purged from the church by confession, repentance, and reformation, that the members may not present before angels and men a misrepresentation of the truths they profess to believe.
12 Let the words of the apostle, spoken so clearly and distinctly, and with such tenderness and love, break down every barrier. Let God’s people make earnest, thorough work for repentance. Do not be zealous to humble one another. Humble yourselves. Take hold of your own case, and by humble confession stand clear before God. Confess your faults to one another, that you may be healed. How many there are who are carrying a load of unconfessed wrong-doing. They try to shape matters so that their dignity will not be hurt. To make wrongs right from the very first departure, looks to them like extinguishing themselves. They think that if they did this, their usefulness would be destroyed. If they would cease this reasoning, and place themselves in the hands of God, to let Him work out His will in them, how much safer they would be. Delaying the confession of injustice to others is the most dangerous course that can be followed. Thus a compromise is made with Satanic agencies. The burden of unconfessed sin is the heaviest burden that can be borne. Jesus, the great burden-bearer, asks you to transfer your load to Him. Draw nigh to God, and never again separate from Him. Satan shuns the company of those with whom he was once connected in the heavenly courts.
13 Be faithful in little things, and you will be faithful in larger trusts. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in that which is the least is unjust also in much.” Perform faithfully the preparatory work in the perfection of Christian character, and you will gain a grand, eternal victory. “The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1018
1 To the people of God comes the injunction, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” Temptations born of selfishness and covetousness will come to us constantly, and constantly we are to resist them, strengthened by the grace of God. Before a world that is watching professing Christians, ready to make capital of any inconsistencies, those who put on Christ will work out the pure principles of heaven.
2 The church of God is to be the light of the world, shining amid the moral darkness. Let nothing unlike Christ be allowed to make the least appearance among the people to whom God has given the work of revealing His character to those opposed to Him. We are to bring pure principles into all our dealing with believers and unbelievers. Christians are to treat their fellow-workers as they would wish to be treated, being careful not to take the least advantage of them. They are not selfishly to seize opportunities which will place their brother at a disadvantage. Fathers, masters, rulers, are never to take advantage of their position to bring about such a condition of things that questionable principles shall bear sway.
3 I speak to you in the words of the great Teacher: “Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” I lift my voice in warning. Hear the words of Jesus. In all business transactions, watch. Ministers and presidents of conferences, watch unto prayer. Work out your own prayers, and you will find that you are co-operating with Christ.
4 My brethren, you can not afford to make one move on the wrong side, one move that will in any way vindicate the principles which God condemns. Turn away from wicked examples, by whomsoever they may be set; for they should not be followed. God is at work, calling attention to the laws of His kingdom. Bow to no human authority, unless a plain, “Thus saith the Lord,” makes it safe for you to do this. When those who claim to have authority in business lines deviate in the slightest particular from mercy and justice, do not follow in their ways, or seek to vindicate their actions.
5 Those who will be most exalted in the kingdom of God are those who in this life love the Lord Jesus and their fellow-men, those who are always ready to honor Him who made so great a sacrifice for them. He laid aside His kingly crown and royal robe, and stepped from His high command to take His place at the head of a fallen race. Clothing His divinity with humanity, He came to a world all seared and marred with the curse, to become one with humanity, to endure in behalf of humanity the temptations of the wily foe. He came to show men that they may stand on vantage-ground with God, keeping all the laws of His kingdom, acting out His will in love and kindness and loyalty, doing good and not evil.
6 Nothing has been so difficult for the people of God to learn as loyalty to the pure, elevated, unselfish principles of heaven. And as a result, sin and suffering make up a large part of their history. The words spoken to Daniel by the angel are positive: “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand.” Be assured that Satan, as a strong man armed, is continually on the watch, seeking to penetrate to the very heart of God’s working force, striving to bring in questionable methods of dealing, and thereby mar the work of God. He works with all his power to bring his suspicious, evil theories into the business dealing of God’s people. He would be well pleased to eclipse the brightness of God’s principles by the selfishness of the principles on which he works. If he possibly can, he will tarnish the pure gold of character. If he can place the false where the true should be, his object is gained.
7 The originator of all evil, Satan comes with stealthy tread, presenting plausible theories to the people of God, telling them that if they do this or that, even tho it may be questionable, they will gain great advantage, and the end will justify the means. He tries to persuade them that the eating of the forbidden fruit will be to them a source of great good. When men listen to him, the spiritual eyesight is dimmed, and the power of distinguishing between good and evil is lost. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1019
1 Satan’s work is represented in the third chapter of Zechariah. We read: “He showed me Joshua the high priest standing beside the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.”
2 Satan comes to God’s people with temptation, the temptation gains the victory, and those claiming to follow Christ fall a prey to the devices of the enemy, giving him an excuse to point at God’s people as clothed with filthy garments. He points to the defects of such ones as a sample of what is done by God’s commandment-keeping people.
3 The Lord may seem to have forgotten the perils of His church, and the injury done to her by those who follow principles which He can not indorse. But God has not forgotten. Nothing in this world is so dear to the heart of God as His church. He marks every action of the members. It is not His will that worldly policy shall corrupt her record as a representative of heaven. Nothing so offends the heart of Christ as injury done those whom He died to save. His heart of love is grieved when the lame are turned out of the way by the crooked paths made by others. God does not leave His people to be overcome by Satan’s temptations. He will chastise those who misrepresent Him. But He will be gracious to all who sincerely repent.
4 “He answered and spake unto those that stood before Him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.”
5 Standing before God in filthy garments, Joshua well represented the condition of God’s ministers and the lay members of the church. They need to be revived and reformed. They need to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit. But God will rebuke Satan, refusing to hear his accusations against His church, even tho she is far from what she should be.
6 Those who continue in the service of God will, through the revival of God’s appointed agencies, return to whole-hearted obedience, depending on the merits of a crucified Saviour, and trusting in His atonement for salvation. The righteous will continually follow righteousness, because Christ, who is formed within, is righteousness and truth. They will be imbued with a pure, fervent love, a love begotten by the love of God. Their transgressions will be forgiven, and their sins pardoned. And God will look upon them with pleasure.
7 Christ loves His church. He will give all needed help to those who call upon Him for strength for the development of Christlike character. But His love is not weakness. He will not serve with their sins, nor give them prosperity while they continue to follow a wrong course of action. Only through faithful repentance will their sins be forgiven; for God will not cover evil with the robe of His righteousness. He will honor faithful service. He will abundantly bless those who reveal to their fellow-men His justice, mercy, and love. Let those who are engaged in His service walk before Him in true humility, following faithfully in His footsteps, cherishing the holy principles which will live through the eternal ages. Let them in word and action show that they obey the laws which are obeyed in heaven.
8 Remember that those who are truly united to Christ will show Christlike sympathy for one another. Are they not members of His body? Should they not show a kindly interest in their fellow-laborers, and rejoice in helping them? Such believers will exert an influence which produces the fruits of righteousness. Their light will shine forth to others, and the church will feel the benefit of the sanctifying power of the grace of Christ.
9 The way of the world is to begin with pomp and boasting, exalting human agents. But all this will come to naught. God’s way is to make the day of small things the beginning of the glorious triumph of truth and righteousness. Bear in mind that human power and human inventions did not establish the church, and neither will they destroy her. The Holy Spirit will keep every one who in faith and trust is committed to His charge. The overflowing fountain of life is for God’s servants to enjoy. It makes them more than conquerors, victorious over all opposition.
10 I present the following scripture to those who claim to respect the law of Jehovah:—
11 “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far: The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my name. And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in His quiver hath He hid me; and said unto me, Thou art My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, Tho Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. And He said, It is a light thing that Thou shouldst be My servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose thee. Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of Salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them. And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far; and, lo, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me.”
12 God means every word that He says. He continues to carry forward His work of redemption in the hearts of those who will repent and be converted. The church has failed, sadly failed, to meet the expectations of her Redeemer, and yet the Lord does not withdraw Himself from His people. He bears with them still, not because of any goodness found in them, but that His name may not be dishonored before the enemies of truth and righteousness, that the Satanic agencies may not triumph in the destruction of God’s people. He has borne long with their waywardness, unbelief, and folly. With wonderful forbearance and compassion He has disciplined them. If they will heed His instruction, He will cleanse away their perverse tendencies, saving them with an everlasting salvation, and making them eternal monuments of the power of His grace. Under His superintending care, they will carry forward His work without misrepresenting Him in any line. His glorious work, founded on eternal principles, will never decay. It will shine with the light of the Sun of Righteousness, and there will be shoutings of Grace, grace unto it.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1020
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. . . . O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. . . . Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
2 Let those who are engaged in the Master’s service study these eloquent words. What is the object of divine compassion?—The uplifting of fallen humanity. For this purpose messengers from the throne of God are sent to this earth. In Second Kings we read how holy angels came on a mission to guard the Lord’s chosen servants. The prophet Elisha was in Dothan, and thither the king of Syria sent horses and chariots and a great host to take him. “And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
3 Angels of God came down in mighty power, not to consume, not to despise, not to rule or exact homage, but to minister to those who should be heirs of salvation. They came in mighty power to encamp round about the Lord’s faithful servants.
4 Depend on this: If you study the Word of God with a sincere desire to gain knowledge, God will fill your soul with light. The mysteries of heaven will become the treasures of your mind. Your work will be approved by God, and your influence will be a savor of life. Never complain. Let not your lips utter perverseness. Do not talk darkness because appearances are against you. We are in a world of sin and crime. As we work for the Master, we shall feel pressure for want of means, but God will hear and answer our petitions. Let your language be, “The Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”
5 Look on the bright side. If the work is hindered, be sure that it is not your fault, and then rejoice in the Lord, even tho the experience through which you are passing may be hard and grievous. Heaven is full of joy. It resounds with the praises of the One who has made such a wonderful sacrifice for the redemption of man. Should not the church on earth be full of praise? Should not Christians publish throughout the world the joy of serving Christ?
6 The Lord desires us to be strong in His strength and joyful in His love. Thus we reveal the power of redeeming grace. We may triumph in the keeping power of the Redeemer. Through faith in Him we may gain victory after victory over self.
7 Those who enter heaven must learn on earth the song of heaven, the key-note of which is praise and thanksgiving. Only as they learn this song can they join in singing it with the heavenly choir.
8 My fellow-laborers, never let your courage fail. The Christian always has a strong helper in the Lord. When because you are unable to obtain the needed help you come to a pause in your earnest efforts, cast your burden on the Lord. Be content to leave it there, knowing that He is faithful who has promised. The What and How of the Lord’s helping we know not; but this we do know: The Lord will never fail those who put their trust in Him. When He has fully proved His workers, He will bring them forth refined as gold tried in the fire.
9 The lessons that God sends will always, if well learned, bring help in due time. “Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
10 Put your trust in God. Pray much, and believe that in His good work the Lord will guide you step by step. Trusting, hoping, believing in the Lord, holding fast the hand of Infinite Power, you will be more than conquerors. In God you will have victory and success. You will see the salvation of the Lord.
11 Work in faith, and leave the results with God. Pray in earnest faith, and the mystery of God’s providence will bring its answer.
12 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” At times it may seem that you can not succeed. Hindrances will come. You will be tested and tried. But work and believe, putting faith and life and hope and courage into your work. After you have done what you can, wait for the Lord, declaring His faithfulness, and He will bring His word to pass. Wait, not in fretful anxiety, but in undaunted faith and unshaken trust.
13 “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1021
1 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor; other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.”
2 Say not, when you have committed your seed to the ground. There are yet four months—the usual time between seed-sowing and harvest—and then comes the harvest. In speaking thus to the disciples, Christ was referring specially to the work to be done for the Samaritans. The Samaritan woman to whom He had been talking had left her water-pot and had gone into the city, to say to the people there, “Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto Him.” and “many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. . . . They besought Him that He would tarry with them; and He abode there two days. And many more believed because of His own word; and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”
3 The coming of these people to Christ and their conversion to the truth was an object-lesson to the disciples, and it should teach an important lesson to all who are engaged in the work of soul saving. From it ministers should learn that God desires them to go forth into aggressive labor, that He has not given them the work of hovering over the churches, when close by there are souls who are perishing for lack of knowledge.
4 “And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor.” The Saviour spoke these words in anticipation of the ordination and sending forth of His disciples. The earthly work of the great Teacher was soon to close. The apostles were to follow after to perfect this work, to gather the fruit of the seed which He had sown. In the streets of the cities and in the synagogues Christ had been sowing the seeds of truth. The plan of salvation had been distinctly and clearly outlined; for the truth never languished on the Saviour’s lips. As a result of His work an interest had been aroused. The disciples were to follow up the efforts of the divine Sower, reaping where He had sown, that both Sower and reapers might rejoice together.
5 Today in his great harvest-field God has need of both sowers and reapers. Let those who go forth into the work, some to sow and some to reap, remember that they are never to take to themselves the glory of the success of their work. God’s appointed agencies have been before them, preparing the way for the sowing of the seed and the reaping of the harvest. “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor,” Christ said; “other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.”
6 Those who sow the seed, presenting before large and small gatherings the testing truths for this time, at the cost of much labor, may not always gather the harvest. After they have done their part, and they rest from their labors, other servants of God, going over the ground, reap the fruit of their seed-sowing, completing their work.
7 “He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.” Read these words carefully. Study their meaning; for they outline God’s plan. Often the Lord’s workers are bitterly opposed in their field of labor, and thus their work is hindered. They do their best. With earnest, painstaking effort they sow the good seed. But the element of opposition becomes fiercer and fiercer. Some may be convinced of the truth, but they are intimidated by the opposition. They have not the courage to acknowledge their conviction. The lives of the workers may be endangered by those who are controlled by Satan. It is then their privilege to follow the example of their Master, and go to another place. “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel,” Christ said, “till the Son of man be come.”
8 Let the messengers of truth pass on to another field. Here there may be a more favorable opportunity for work, and they may successfully accomplish the work of sowing and reaping. The report of their success will find its way to the place where the work was apparently unsuccessful, and the next messenger of truth who goes there will be more favorably received. The seed sown in trial and discouragement will be seen to have life and vitality. Adversity, sorrow, loss of property,—the changes of God’s providence, recall to the minds of the people with vivid distinctness the word spoken many years before by the faithful servants of God. First will appear the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
9 The rejection of the truth of the Gospel by some prepares the way for its reception by others, who can see the weakness and inconsistency of the arguments used to make the truth of none effect. Thus those who seek to oppose the counsel of God are advancing rather than hindering the truth.
10 As food to the hungry and water to the thirsty, so is the doing of God’s work to those who obey His will because they love Him. Those who are engaged in the work of the ministry are to give evidence that God has a message for them to bear and a work for them to do. They are to labor in the spirit of meekness, showing that they have learned in the school of Christ His lowliness of heart, carrying with them the evidence that they have been with Christ and learned of Him. “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
11 All parts of God’s vineyard are to be worked. There is need of wise men and wise women, who will labor earnestly to accomplish the work committed to them. God will use them as His instruments in the conversion of souls. Some will sow, and some will reap the harvest of the seed sown. Let every one do his very best to improve his talents, that God may use him either as a sower or a reaper. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1022
1 The Lord compares Himself to a potter and His people to clay. He seeks to mold and fashion His people according to His likeness. The lesson they are to learn is the lesson of submission. If they give heed to the Lord’s instruction, surrendering self to the divine will, the hand of the Potter will produce a shapely vessel.
2 Again, the Lord compares Himself to a gardener, and His people to trees and plants. As a gardener straightens the trees which are growing crooked, so the Lord corrects His people. And they are to co-operate with the masterly, efficient hand which seeks to remedy that which is wrong in them. It is His desire that we shall serve Him with heart and soul and strength, not only for a hope of heaven, but that in unselfishness, purity, and holiness we may be a blessing to our fellow-men. We are not merely to be trees of righteousness. Christ said,”It is My Father’s good pleasure that ye bear much fruit.”
3 But how common it is for defects to be looked upon as virtues. The clay refuses to be molded; the tree refuses to be made straight. Thus deformity is brought into the growth. Tendencies to wrong mar the character. There is not seen the perfection which God desires every human being to reveal.
4 How natural it is for man to feel that it is his duty to correct others, when his own character-building reveals marked defects. Christ has warned us of this. He says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” God desires us to criticize ourselves. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.” Make the examination of self thorough and critical. Those who refuse to see themselves in the mirror of God’s Word can not enter the kingdom of heaven. The gates of paradise will close against those who do not work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.
5 This world is a school in which human beings are receiving an education that will decide their eternal destiny. The youth should be carefully and judiciously trained; for the wrong habits formed in childhood and youth often cling to the entire life-experience. May God help us to see the necessity of beginning right. Parents have a most important part to act in this matter. On them rests the responsibility of training their children for God, of helping their little ones to form characters which will gain for them entrance to the courts above. And in school, children are to be educated to obey the requirements of God’s Word. Parents and teachers are to be laborers together with God, working unitedly to help the youth to fit themselves for membership in the royal family.
6 Children are not to be left to grow as they will. As the gardener straightens the young trees in an orchard, so they are to be straightened. Their perversity is to be checked; for if this is not done, they will carry it with them into the religious life, and it will make them crooked church members. Parents who think there is no need of restraining their children, who allow them to shape their own character, will see in the future the sad result of this neglect. They will see that their failure to point out and correct defects has made it impossible for their children to enter heaven.
7 From generation to generation the neglect of parents is perpetuated. The evils uncorrected in a child are seen in the children and in the children’s children. Parents, the sin you permit your child to cherish may result in the ruin of families to the third and fourth generation. To allow a child to grow up with evil tendencies uncorrected is a wrong which can never be undone. But to bring children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is to do a work that will yield fruit unto eternal righteousness.
8 Children should be taught to obey the command, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” From their earliest years they should be trained to carry their share of the home burdens. They should be taught that obligations are mutual. They should also be taught to work quickly and neatly. This education will be of the greatest value to them in after-years.
9 Parents and children should become acquainted with one another. Together they should learn to fulfill their duty to God and to one another. The mother should not accept burdens in the church which compel her to neglect her children. The best church work in which a mother can engage is the training of her children. Let her be sure that in this work there are no dropped stitches. In no other way can a mother help the church more than by devoting her time to those who are dependent upon her for instruction. A well-disciplined, well-ordered family exerts a more powerful influence in favor of Christianity than all the sermons that can be preached.
10 Fathers and mothers, prize your privileges and improve your opportunities. Seek a character so consistent that sin will find no place in word or action. Walk wisely before your children, that when you bow in prayer, the Lord can hear you and answer you. Let your words be seasoned with the grace of heaven. Let the Christlikeness of your words and actions be a sign to your children that you walk with the Saviour. By holding fast to the promises of God and obeying His requirements, you may be evangelists in the home, ministers of grace to your children. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1023
1 There is no part of the being of which Christ is not to be all and in all. He is our life. Personal contact with Him builds the soul up, supplying its ever-recurring needs. He is our sufficiency. The one in whose heart Christ abides is conscious of constant spiritual joy. Our Redeemer is made unto us “wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”
2 God is the owner of all that man has, the owner of the riches which the selfish appropriate to their own use. With one motion of His hand He could sweep away everything they possess. Then for real power we must look beyond the honored and wealthy men of the world. Those whose minds reach heavenward find the first cause of all greatness, all honor, all majesty. In comparison with Him, human beings are but the small dust of the balance.
3 God created man with affections capable of embracing eternal realities. These affections were to be kept pure and holy, free from all earthliness. But human beings have lost eternity out of their reckoning. God, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the One who holds in His keeping the destiny of every soul, is forgotten. Supposing themselves to be mighty in knowledge, men have let themselves down to the lowest level in God’s sight.
4 The mind of man has become earthly. In the place of revealing the impress of divinity, it reveals the impress of humanity. In its chambers are seen the imagery of earth. The debasing practises which prevailed in the days of Noah, placing the inhabitants of that age beyond hope of salvation, are seen today.
5 In vivid language the prophet has described the condition of the world: “Our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; in transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey; and the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment.”
6 But human beings have not been left to live in hopelessness and despair. “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him, and His righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands He will repay recompense. So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.”
7 These promises will be fulfilled when Christians take the position which God wishes them to fill. It is His desire that they shall demonstrate to the world that human beings can live pure, upright lives. That He might “purify unto Himself a peculiar people,” Christ left the royal courts and clothed His divinity with humanity. He lived out in the world the principles of God’s law, showing that His grace has power to redeem men and women and raise them to a plane of moral integrity. Amid the awful confederacy of evil now existing in the world, Christians are to stand firmly and bravely for the Redeemer, protesting by blameless lives against the prevailing apostasy.
8 Christians are to walk humbly with God; for He is their strength. They are to strive for the mastery over self, remembering that their present and future happiness depends on the ascendancy which the spiritual gains over the temporal in the life. They are to cultivate the patience and forbearance of Christ, keeping the thoughts under the softening influence of the Holy Spirit. They are to make a solemn covenant with God that they will govern their words. “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”
9 Christians are to esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of this earth. Coming to the busy world, filled with clamor and confusion, Christ sought to break the spell of earthliness resting on human beings. “What shall it profit a man,” He cried, “if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” He brought to the notice of men the nobler world, which they had lost from sight. He showed them the threshold of eternity, flooded with the glory of God.
10 Before the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the professing Christian pledges himself to overcome pride, covetousness, unbelief. And as he seeks to fulfil this pledge, he grows in self-distrust, placing entire dependence on God. He realizes what it means to be a child of God. He knows that the cleansing blood of Christ secures for him pardon and peace. In spirituality he grows like the lofty cedar. Daily he holds communion with God, and he is mighty in the knowledge of the Scriptures. His fellowship is with the Father and the Son, and he learns more and still more of the divine will. Filled with a constantly increasing love for God and his fellow-men, he bears a powerful testimony for the Master. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1024
1 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him?—Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”
2 Hatred caused the first death in our world. After sin came, God gave to men the promise of the Redeemer, who was to die for the redemption of the race, and thus obtain pardon for them. Man was to show his faith in this promise by offering as a sacrifice a lamb without blemish. Thus he was to show his belief in the great truth that without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin.
3 “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof.”
4 Cain knew that God desired him to bring a lamb without blemish. But he was a tiller of the ground, and he did not wish to add to his offering a lamb of his brother’s flock. My offering is abundant, he thought. But it lacked the very thing that would have made it of value. Without the lamb, all that he brought was valueless.
5 When Cain presented his offering, he saw nothing to signify that it was accepted by God. But when Abel presented his offering, fire from heaven consumed the sacrifice. “The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect.”
6 “And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.”
7 “And Cain talked with Abel his brother,” arguing about his offering, refusing to see that it was his disobedience that had made it unacceptable to God. He was angry that the offering of Abel, his younger brother, had been accepted, while his had been rejected. He was angry with Abel for maintaining that God is just. “And it came to pass . . . that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
8 “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not; am I my brother’s keeper? And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.”
9 Human beings belong to one great family,—the family of God. The Creator designed that they should respect and love one another, ever manifesting a pure, unselfish interest in one another’s welfare. But Satan’s aim has been to lead men to self first; and yielding themselves to his control, they have developed a selfishness that has filled the world with misery and strife, setting human beings at variance with one another. Selfishness is the essence of depravity, and because human beings have yielded to its power, the opposite of allegiance to God is seen in the world today. Nations, families, and individuals are filled with a desire to make self a center. Man longs to rule over his fellow-men. Separating himself in his egotism from God and his fellow-beings, he follows his unrestrained inclinations. He acts as if the good of others depended on their subjection to his supremacy.
10 Selfishness has brought discord into the church, filling it with unholy ambition. If Christians are sanctified through a belief in God’s Word, why do they so often speak words that would bruise the hearts of others? Why do they acknowledge no law but the law of selfishness? Under the baleful influence of selfishness, men have lost the sense of what it means to love one another with a Christlike love.
11 Love for Christ unites man to his fellow-man in unselfish interest. This is the science of benevolence. He whose heart is filled with the love that centers in God, realizes that he must deal justly and tenderly with his fellow-beings because they have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Supreme love for God leads us to seek the highest good of humanity.
12 Selfishness destroys Christlikeness, filling man with self-love. It leads to continual departure from righteousness. Christ says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” But self-love is blind to the perfection that God requires.
13 How great the love of God is! God made the world to enlarge heaven. He desired a larger family. And before man was created, God and Christ entered into a covenant that if he fell from his allegiance, Christ would bear the penalty of transgression. Man fell, but he was not left to the power of the destroyer. “God so loved the world that He gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” To the Redeemer was given all power to impart to fallen human beings for their benefit and blessing.
14 While on this earth the Saviour was sorely tried. He was tempted in all points like as we are. He poured out His soul with strong crying and tears as He looked upon the backslidden condition of the people He had brought out of bondage. He saw them full of pride and self-exaltation, full of selfishness and covetousness. All this He must labor to overcome. He must live among them the life that God requires all His children to live. He must stand free from the slightest taint of impurity. Not in the least particular must He deviate from the principles of righteousness.
15 The gulf made by sin has been bridged. All may come boldly to the throne of grace, seeking help in every time of need. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He took the place of the sinner, that He might present the repentant sinner to the Father, saying, “Lay his guilt on Me. I have espoused his cause.” Holding out His hands, bearing the marks of the crucifixion, the Saviour says, “I have graven that sinner on the palms of My hands. No longer look upon him as guilty. Let him stand before Thee guiltless; for I have borne his iniquity.” At the cross, justice and mercy met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other. God bowed His head in recognition of the completeness of the offering made for sin, and said, “It is enough.”
16 As we contemplate the great love of God, shall not our hearts be subdued and softened, yea, broken? Shall we not be filled with patience, long-suffering, and love? Shall we not die to self?
17 Christ came to this world to reveal the love of God. His followers are to continue the work which He began. Let us strive to help and strengthen one another. Seeking the good of others is the way in which true happiness can be found. Man does not work against his own interest by loving God and his fellow-men. The more unselfish his spirit, the happier he is, because he is fulfilling God’s purpose for him. The breath of God is breathed through him, filling him with gladness. To him life is a sacred trust, precious in his sight because given by God to be spent in ministering to others.
18 “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. . . . If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1025
1 Enduring religion is the religion that leads us to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. This is Christianity. The Christian follows Christ. Lifting the cross, he bears it after his Leader in the path of self-denial.
2 The religion that is built on self is worthless; for God makes no compromise with selfishness. To have pure religion, we must open the heart to receive the heavenly Guest. So long as the door is closed against His entrance, we can have no abiding peace. No sunshine can flood the chambers of the soul, no light break through the mist and cloud.
3 The religion of Christ changes hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong. It banishes self-confidence and egotism, leading man to see himself as he is,—weak and sinful, unable of himself to do any good thing. It leads him to behold Jesus, and beholding, he is changed into His likeness.
4 The religion of Christ is a firm fabric, composed of innumerable threads, woven together with tact and skill. Only by the wisdom that God gives can we weave this fabric. Trusting to ourselves, we draw into it threads of selfishness, and the pattern is spoiled.
5 There are many kinds of cloth which at first have a fine appearance, but they do not endure test. The colors are not fast. They wash out. Under the heat of summer they fade, and are lost. Such a fabric can not endure rough handling, and is worth very little.
6 So it is with religion. When the warp and woof of religion will not stand the test of trial, the material of which it is composed is worthless. And an effort to patch the old cloth with a new piece does not better the condition of things; for the worn-out, flimsy material breaks away from the new, leaving the rent much larger than before. Patching will not do. The only way is to discard the old garment and procure a new one. The religion of self, composed of threads that fade and give way under the stress of temptation, must be cast aside, to be replaced by the religion woven by Him in whose life no selfishness found place.
7 Christ’s plan is the only safe one. He declares, “Behold, I make all things new.” “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” The Saviour gives no encouragement to any to think that He will accept a patchwork religion. Such a religion is of no value in His sight. There may at first seem to be some of self and some of Christ; but it is soon seen that there is none of Christ. The patches of selfishness increase till the entire garment is covered with them.
8 Christ looks with pity on those who have a patchwork religion. The faithful and true Witness sees the want of the soul, and His voice is raised in warning, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
9 A religion formed after the divine pattern is the only one that will endure. Only by striving to live the life of Christ here can we prepare ourselves to live with Him through the eternal ages. That which is of value in this life will be of value in the life to come. A man’s future is decided by the way in which he now allows himself to be influenced. If he cherishes selfish inclinations, refusing to deny self, he can never enter the kingdom of God. But if he fights against self, if he is willing to be governed by the Spirit of Christ, he is transformed in character. He sits at the feet of the Saviour, and from Him learns the lessons all must learn who are saved. Thus he is strengthened to resist evil. God works in him and with him, to will and to do of His good pleasure.
10 Such a one is filled with intense desire to save the souls perishing around him. He walks as Christ walked, in all things following His example. He understands the science of godliness, and consecrates his life to God, willing to spend and be spent in His service. He does not allow his natural inclinations to obtain the victory, but walks worthily before God and his fellow-men.
11 It is Christ’s desire that His children shall reach this place. He longs to reveal through them the treasures of His grace. He says to them, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” And He says this because He knows that it is possible for them to reach perfection. He lived in this world the life that they must live. He met the foe single-handed, as they must meet him. He asked and received power to enable Him to overcome in the conflict. And those who walk in God’s way may have the same power. The same angels that ministered to Christ minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. As He overcame, so we may overcome. “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of His people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
12 Dear brethren and sisters in Christ, my prayer for you is “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1026
1 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful, and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch with Me. And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed.”
2 Christ felt that by sin He was being separated from His Father. The gulf was so broad, so black, so deep, that His spirit shuddered before it. This agony He must not exert His divine power to escape. As man He must suffer the consequences of man’s sin. As man He must endure the wrath of God against transgression.
3 Only a short time before, Christ had offered His intercessory prayer to the Father, not as one overcome in battle, but as one who had gained the victory at each step as He approached the consummation of His work. As one already glorified, He had claimed oneness with God.
4 But now the hour of Satan’s apparent triumph had come. The storm of wrath was about to beat upon the Saviour. A horror of great darkness oppressed His soul. Everything was at stake with Him. In its hardest features Satan pressed the situation upon the Redeemer: “The people who claim to be above all others in temporal and spiritual advantages, have rejected you. They are seeking to destroy you, the foundation, the center and seal, of the promises made to them as a peculiar people. One of your own disciples, who has listened to your instruction, and has been among the foremost in church activities, will betray you. One of your most zealous followers will deny you. All will forsake you.” Christ’s whole being abhorred the thought. That those whom He had undertaken to save, those whom He loved so much, should unite in the plots of Satan, pierced His soul. The conflict was terrible. The sins of men weighed heavily upon the Saviour, and the sense of God’s wrath against sin was crushing out His life. From His pale lips came the bitter cry, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”
5 “And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep.” Had He found them praying, He would have been relieved. Had they been seeking refuge in God, that Satanic agencies might not prevail against them, He would have been comforted by their steadfast faith. But they had not heeded the repeated warning, “Watch and pray.” At first they have been much troubled to see their Master, usually so calm and dignified, wrestling with a sorrow that was beyond comprehension. They had prayed as they heard the strong cries of the sufferer. They did not intend to forsake their Lord, but they seemed paralyzed with a stupor which they might have shaken off had they continued pleading with God.
6 The weakness of the disciples awakened the sympathy of Jesus. Addressing Peter, He said, “Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst thou not watch with Me one hour?” He feared that they would not be able to endure the test that would come upon them in His betrayal and death; and He said, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” Even in His great agony He sought to excuse their weakness. “The spirit truly is willing,” He said, “but the flesh is weak.”
7 Once more Christ sought His place of prayer, and His voice was heard on the still evening air, not in tones of triumph, but full of human anguish. The words of the Saviour were borne to the ears of the drowsy disciples: “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
8 Again Christ felt a longing for companionship, for some words from His disciples that would bring relief. Once more He came to them, “but their eyes were heavy; neither wist they what to answer Him.”
9 Turning away, Jesus sought His retreat, and fell prostrate to the ground, overcome by the horror of a great darkness. The humanity of the Son of God trembled in that trying hour. He prayed not now for His disciples that their faith might not fail, but for His own anguished, agonized soul. The awful moment had come,—that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. It was not yet too late. He might leave man to perish in his iniquity. He might say, “Let the transgressor receive the penalty of his sin; and I will go back to my Father.” Will the Son of God drink the bitter cup of humility and agony? Will the innocent suffer the consequences of the curse of sin, to save the guilty? The words fall tremblingly from His lips. “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
10 Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice. But now the history of the human race comes up before the world’s Redeemer. He sees that the transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish. He sees the power of sin. The woes and lamentations of a doomed world rise before Him. He beholds its impending fate, and His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself. He will become the propitiation of a race that has willed to sin.
11 O tried, tempted soul, remember that He who suffered in Gethsemane is your Saviour. He is touched with the feeling of your infirmities; for He was “in all points tempted like as we are.” Because of this, “He is able to succor them that are tempted.” He was made perfect through suffering. He is watching over you, trembling child of God. Are you tempted? He will deliver. Are you weak? He will strengthen. Are you ignorant? He will enlighten. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment and difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength.
12 To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness on the darkest part of their way. From every temptation and every trial they will come forth with finer faith and a richer experience.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1027
1 All day the people had been thronging the house where were Christ and his disciples. All day the Saviour had been teaching them. They had listened to His gracious words, so simple and so plain that they were as the balm of Gilead to their souls. The healing of His divine hand had brought health to the sick, and life to the dying. The day had seemed to them like heaven on earth, and they were utterly unconscious of how long it had been since they had eaten anything.
2 The sun was sinking in the west, and yet the people lingered. Jesus had labored all day long without food or rest. He was pale from weariness and hunger. But He could not withdraw from the multitude that pressed upon Him.
3 “His disciples came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to Me. And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”
4 In this parable is wrapped up a deep, spiritual lesson for God’s workers. Christ received from the Father; He imparted to the disciples; they imparted to the multitude; and the people to one another. So all who are united with Christ will receive from Him the bread of life, the heavenly food, and impart it to others.
5 In full reliance upon God, Jesus took the small store of loaves; and altho there was but a small supply for His own family of disciples, He did not invite them to eat but began to distribute to them, bidding them serve the people. The food multiplied in His hands; and the hands of the disciples, reaching out to Christ, Himself the Bread of Life, were never empty. The little store was sufficient for all. After the wants of the people had been supplied, the fragments were gathered up, and Christ and His disciples ate of the precious, heaven-supplied food.
6 The disciples were the channel of communication between Christ and the people. This should be a great encouragement to His disciples today. Christ is the great Center, the Source of all strength. His disciples are to receive their supplies from Him. The most intelligent, the most spiritually minded, can bestow only as they receive. Of themselves they can supply nothing for the needs of the soul. We can impart only as we receive, and we can receive only as we impart. As we continue to impart, we shall continue to receive; and the more we impart, the more we shall receive.
7 “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” Mark that pool which receives the showers of heaven, but has no outlet. It is a blessing to no one, but in stagnant selfishness poisons the air around. Now look at the stream flowing from the mountain side, refreshing the thirsty land through which it passes. What blessing it brings! One would think that in giving so liberally, it would exhaust its resources. But not so. It is a part of God’s great plan that the stream that gives shall never lack; and day by day and year by year it flows on its way, ever receiving and ever giving.
8 There is nothing, save the selfish heart of man, that lives unto itself. No bird that cleaves the air, no animal that moves upon the ground, but ministers to some other life. There is no leaf of the forest, or lowly blade of grass, but has its ministry. Every tree and shrub and leaf pours forth that element of life without which neither man nor animal could live; and man and animal in turn minister to the life of tree and shrub and leaf. The flowers breathe fragrance and unfold their beauty in blessing to the world. The ocean, itself the source of all our springs and fountains, receives the streams from every land, but takes to give. The mists ascending from its bosom fall in showers to water the earth, that it may bring forth and bud.
9 The angels of glory find their joy in giving,—giving love and tireless watch-care to souls that are fallen and unholy; heavenly beings woo the hearts of men; they bring to this dark world light from the courts above; by gentle, patient ministry they move upon the human spirit, to bring the lost into a fellowship with Christ that is even closer than they themselves can know.
10 God desires us to give—cheerfully, willingly, gladly. None can keep His law without ministering to others. Happiness is the gift of God to him who, in the spirit of Christ, toils for the good of others.
11 There are many to whom life is a painful struggle. They feel their deficiencies, and are miserable and unbelieving; they think they have nothing for which to be grateful. Kind words, looks of sympathy, expressions of appreciation, would be to many a struggling, lonely one as the cup of cold water to a thirsty soul. A word of sympathy, an act of kindness, would lift burdens that rest heavily upon weary shoulders. And every word or deed of unselfish kindness is an expression of the love of Christ for lost humanity.
12 “Freely ye have received; freely give.” “Arise, shine; for thy light is come; and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” If upon your spirit the glory of the Lord has risen; if you have beheld His beauty who is the chiefest among ten thousand, and the One altogether lovely; if your soul has become radiant in the presence of His glory, to you is this word from the Master sent. Have you stood with Christ on the mount of transfiguration? Down in the plain there are souls enslaved by Satan; they are waiting for the word of faith and prayer to set them free.
13 The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who on earth has drunk most deeply of the spirit of His self-sacrificing love,—love that “vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, . . . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,”—love that moves the disciple, as it moved our Lord, to live and labor and sacrifice, even unto death, for the saving of humanity. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1028
1 Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. In the secret place of prayer, where no eye but God’s can see, no ear but His can hear, we may pour out our most hidden desires and longings to the Father of infinite pity; and in the hush and silence of the soul, that voice which never fails to answer the cry of human need, will speak to our hearts.
2 By prayer man is braced for duty and prepared for trial. Morning and evening our earnest prayers should ascend to God for His blessing and guidance. True prayer takes hold upon Omnipotence, and gains the victory. Upon his knees the Christian obtains strength to resist temptation. And while engaged in our daily work, we should lift the soul to heaven in prayer. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. The silent, fervent prayer of the soul rises like holy incense to the throne of grace, and is as acceptable to God as if offered in the sanctuary. To all who thus seek Him, Christ is a present help in time of need. In the day of trial they will be brave and strong.
3 From the experience of Moses we may see what intimate communion with the Most High it is man’s privilege to enjoy. After Israel had shown such great dishonor to God by worshiping the golden calf, Moses pleaded with God in their behalf. The Lord read the sincerity and unselfish purpose in the heart of His servant, and communed with him face to face, “as a man speaketh unto his friend.”
4 Moses had carried the burden of Israel; he had borne an overwhelming weight of responsibility; when the people sinned, he suffered keen remorse, as if he himself were guilty. Now there pressed upon him a realization of the terrible result should God give Israel up to their darkness and impenitence. He prayed that the favor of God might be restored to His people, and that the token of His presence might continue to direct their journeyings: “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? is it not in that Thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are on the face of the earth.”
5 And the Lord said, “I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken; for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.” Still the prophet did not cease pleading. Every prayer had been answered, but he thirsted for greater tokens of God’s blessing. He now made a request that no human being had ever before made: “I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.”
6 God did not rebuke his request as presumptuous; the gracious words were spoken, “I will make all My goodness pass before thee.” The unveiled glory of God, no man in this mortal state can endure to look upon and live; but Moses was assured that he should behold as much of the divine glory as he could endure. Again he was summoned to the mountain summit; then the hand that made the world, the hand that “removeth the mountains, and they know not,” took this creature of dust, this mighty man of faith, and placed him in a cleft of the rock, while the glory of God and all His goodness passed before him.
7 Those who seek God in secret, telling the Lord their needs, and pleading for help, will not plead in vain. “Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” As we make Christ our daily companion, we shall feel that the powers of an unseen world are all around us; and by looking unto Jesus, we shall become assimilated to His image. By beholding, we shall become changed. The character is softened, refined, and ennobled for the heavenly kingdom. The sure result of our intercourse and fellowship with God will be to increase piety, purity, and fervor. There will be a growing intelligence in prayer. We are receiving a divine education, and this is illustrated in a life of diligence and zeal.
8 Christ’s days were passed in ministering to the crowds that pressed upon Him, and in unveiling the treacherous sophistry of the rabbis, and this incessant labor often left Him so utterly wearied that His mother and brothers, and even His disciples, had feared that His life would be sacrificed. But as He returned from the hours of prayer that closed the toilsome day, they marked the look of peace upon His face. It was from hours spent with God that He came forth, morning by morning, to bring the light of heaven to men.
9 We can no more live the Christian life without prayer than we can live the physical life without food. To grow in grace, we must ask and receive the bread of heaven. The strength gained by prayer gives a preparation for duty and fills the heart with peace.
10 To every sincere, earnest prayer an answer will come. The answer to your prayer may not come just as you desire, or at the time you look for it; but it will come, and in the way and at the time that will be for your best good. The prayers you offer in loneliness, in weariness and trial, God answers, not always according to your expectations, but always for your good.
11 Not one sincere prayer is lost. Amid anthems of the celestial choir, God hears the cries of the weakest human being. We pour out our heart’s desire in our closets, we breathe a prayer by the way, and our words reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe. They may be inaudible to any human ear, but they can not die away into silence, nor can they be lost through the activities of business that are going on. Nothing can drown the soul’s desire. It rises above the din of the street, above the confusion of the multitude, to the heavenly courts. It is God to whom we are speaking, and our prayer is heard.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1029
1 He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” The refining process is hard for human nature to endure; but only by it can the dross be purged from the character. In the furnace of trial we are purified from the dross that prevents us from reflecting the image of Christ. God measures every trial; He watches the furnace fire that must test every soul.
2 Through trial God leads His children to perfect trust. “In the world ye shall have tribulation,” Christ says; “but in Me ye shall have peace.” It is through much tribulation that we are to enter the kingdom of God. The followers of Christ will often be sorely tried and afflicted. Joseph was maligned and persecuted because he was determined to preserve his virtue and integrity. David, God’s chosen messenger, was hunted like a beast of prey by wicked enemies. Daniel was cast into a den of lions because he would not yield his allegiance to God. Jeremiah spoke the word that God gave him, and his plain testimony so enraged the king and the princes that he was cast into a loathsome pit. Stephen was stoned for preaching Christ and Him crucified. Paul was imprisoned, and finally put to death, because he obeyed Christ’s command to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles. John, the beloved disciple, was banished to the Isle of Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3 No cross, no crown. How can we be strong in the Lord without trial? To have physical strength, we must have exercise. To have strong faith, we must be placed in circumstances where our faith will be tried. Every temptation resisted, every trial bravely borne, gives us a new experience, and advances us in the work of character building. Our Saviour was tried in every way, yet He triumphed in God constantly. It is our privilege under all circumstances to be strong in the strength of God, and to glory in the cross of Christ.
4 Through affliction God reveals to us the plague-spots in our characters, that by His grace we may overcome our faults. Unknown chapters in regard to ourselves are opened to us, and the test comes, whether we will accept the reproof and the counsel of God. When brought into trial, we are not to fret and worry. We should not rebel, or worry ourselves out of the hand of Christ. We are to humble the soul before God. The ways of the Lord are obscure to him who desires to see things in a light pleasing to himself. They appear dark and joyless to our human nature. But God’s ways are ways of mercy, and the end is salvation. Elijah knew not what he was doing when in the desert he said that he had had enough of life, and prayed that he might die. The Lord in His mercy did not take him at his word. There was yet a great work for Elijah to do; and when his work was done, he was not to perish in discouragement and solitude in the wilderness. Not for him the descent into the dust of earth, but the ascent in glory, with the convoy of celestial chariots to the throne on high.
5 Our sorrows do not spring out of the ground. God “doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” When He permits trials and afflictions, it is for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will prove a blessing. The cruel blow that blights the joys of earth will be the means of turning our eyes to heaven. How many there are who would never have known Jesus had not sorrow led them to seek comfort in Him.
6 The trials of life are God’s workmen, to remove the impurities and roughness from our character. Their hewing, squaring, and chiseling, their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process; it is hard to be pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is brought forth prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace.
7 But when tribulation comes upon us, how many of us are like Jacob. We think it the hand of an enemy; and in the darkness we wrestle blindly until our strength is spent, and we find no comfort or deliverance. To Jacob the divine touch at break of day revealed the One with whom he had been contending,—the Angel of the covenant; and, weeping and helpless, he fell upon the breast of Infinite Love, to receive the blessing for which his soul longed. We also need to learn that trials mean benefit, and not to despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when we are rebuked of Him.
8 “Happy is the man whom God correcteth. . . . He maketh sore, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and His hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.” To every stricken one, Jesus comes with the ministry of healing. The life of bereavement, pain, and suffering may be brightened by precious revealings of His presence.
9 Each fiery trial is God’s agent for our refining. Each is fitting us for our work as co-laborers with Him. “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1030
1 Ye are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. . . . Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”
2 God has given His subjects a work to perform. By helpful words and kindly actions they are to reveal Christ to the world. By self-denial, by sacrificing that which would be obtained at the loss of another, they are to show the power of the truth to restrain evil inclinations. Those who do this are “the salt of the earth,” preserving it from decay.
3 God requires His followers to exercise toward others the compassion they desire others to exercise toward them. Christians are to bring Christlikeness into their service, that in their hands the truth may not lose its preserving influence. In all their associations in the church and in the world they are to be unselfish and sincere.
4 If a professing Christian is unchristlike; if he cherishes unholy traits of character, studying how he may get the best of a bargain to the disadvantage of some one else, if, forgetting that it is his duty to help others, he cares little whether he destroys his neighbor’s prospects, he is as salt that has lost its savor—fit only to be cast out. He may gain some advantage himself, but what help is he to the world? If the character is not under the moulding influence of the Spirit of God, if the life is not free from selfishness, what does the profession avail?
5 How may we retain in our lives the preservative qualities of the truth? How may we exert a saving influence on the world?—By obeying the plain command of God; by being kind and generous; by relieving the necessities of the needy; by working as Christ worked.
6 “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.”
7 Let these lessons be practised. Not a tithe of what we should be are we in purity, in Christlikeness. This is why we have not more power with God. We profess to believe truth that God declares will refine and sanctify the life. But if our religion is merely nominal, we are as salt without savor.
8 Every true Christian will say from the heart, When I was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I was buried in the likeness of Christ’s death, and raised in the likeness of His resurrection. I have taken a sacred vow to live in close communion with Christ. I am pledged to devote my life to His service.
9 “Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” As you openly renounced sin and Satan, the three great powers of heaven pledged themselves to help you to overcome. You were raised in newness of life by the power that raised Christ from the dead. You came forth from the watery grave pledged to devote your life to the Master’s service. You are henceforth to live a new life, as if reason, knowledge, affection, speech, property, and all else you have, had been anew entrusted to you, with a distinct intimation from heaven that they are to be used for God. You are to live a life of cross-bearing and self-denial, a life bound up with the life of Christ.
10 The character of the Christian is to be a reproduction of the character of Christ. The same love, the same grace, the same unselfish benevolence, that characterized the life of the Redeemer, are to characterize the lives of His followers. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.”
11 In His great mercy, God gives men and women power for service, strengthening them as He strengthened Joseph, Samuel, Daniel, Timothy, and many others who availed themselves of His promises. They believed in Him and relied on Him, and this was their righteousness. Without the help that comes only from God we are in constant danger of falling into the snares that Satan has prepared for our feet. It is the one who obeys God, the one who is not satisfied unless he has the divine presence with him, that is a power for good in the world.
12 “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, I know thy works.” This figure illustrates the eternal vigilance of our Saviour. Christ is in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, walking from church to church, from congregation to congregation, from heart to heart. He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. If the candlesticks were left to the care of human beings, how often they would flicker and go out. But God has not given His church into the hands of men. Christ, One who gave His life for the life of the world, is the Watchman of the house. He is the Warder, faithful and true, of the temple courts of the Lord. We are not dependent on the presence of priest or minister. We are kept by the power of God. The presence of Christ is the secret of our life and light.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1031
1 In all the details of life, Christians are to follow the principles of strict integrity. These are not the principles that govern the world; for there Satan is master, and his principles of deception and oppression bear sway. But Christians serve under a different master, and their actions must be wrought in God. They must put aside all desire for selfish gain.
2 To some, deviation from perfect fairness in business deal may look like a small thing, but our Saviour does not thus regard it. His words on this point are plain and explicit: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” A man who will overreach in a small matter will overreach in a large matter if the temptation comes to him.
3 Christ’s followers are obliged to be more or less connected with the world in business matters. In His prayer for them the Saviour says, “I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.” Christians are to buy and sell with the realization that the eye of God is upon them. Never are they to use false balances or deceitful weights. God says:—
4 “Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. . . . But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have; that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.” “Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates; at his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it; lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. . . . Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge. . . . When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.”
5 In every action of life the true Christian is just what he desires those around him to think he is. He is guided by truth and uprightness. He does not scheme; therefore he has nothing to gloss over. He may be criticized, he may be tested; but through all, his unbending integrity shines out like pure gold. He is a friend and benefactor to all connected with him; and his fellow-men place confidence in him; for he is trustworthy. Does he employ laborers to gather in his harvest? He does not keep back their hard-earned money. Has he means for which he has no immediate use? He relieves the necessities of his less fortunate brother. He does not seek to enlarge his possessions by taking advantage of the untoward circumstances of his neighbor. He accepts only a fair price for that which he sells. If there are defects in the articles sold, he frankly tells the buyer, even tho by so doing he may seem to work against his own pecuniary interests.
6 A man may not have a pleasant exterior; but if he has a reputation for straightforward, honest dealing, he is respected. Stern integrity covers many unpleasant traits of character. A man who steadfastly adheres to the truth wins the confidence of all. Not only do Christians trust him; worldlings are constrained to acknowledge the worth of his character.
7 Satan knows full well what a power for good is the life of a man of unbending integrity, and he puts forth zealous efforts to prevent men from living such lives. He comes to them with alluring temptations, promising them wealth, position, worldly honor, if they will but yield the principles of righteousness. And he has much success. Thousands yield to his bribery. The desire for wealth, for fame, for position, is too powerful for them to resist. Forgetting God, they withdraw their affection from Him, and worship mammon.
8 From the sad history of many who have failed we learn the danger of prosperity. It is not those who have lost their property who are in greatest danger, but those who have obtained a fortune. Adversity may depress, but prosperity frequently elevates to presumption. Prayer is often requested for men and women in affliction; and this is right. But those in prosperity are more in need of the prayers of God’s servants; for they are in greater danger of losing salvation. In the valley of humiliation men walk securely while they reverence God and make Him their trust. On the lofty pinnacle, where praise is heard, they need the help of special power from above.
9 Seeing the fearful danger of love of gain, Paul writes: “They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. . . . Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
10 The temptation comes to a man to pursue a wrong course for the sake of gaining money. He yields, and commits himself to that which the Lord can not indorse. And daily the spiritual life of that man grows weaker. Daily he wanders farther from true happiness.
11 The sad history of Judas is a lesson for all. Judas was blessed with wonderful opportunities. He was with Christ during the entire period of the Saviour’s ministry. Day by day for three years he listened to His instruction and witnessed His marvelous works. Had he been willing to renounce all selfishness, the Lord would have used him to advance His kingdom. But Judas loved gain. He was a speculator. He thought that he could manage the finances of the church, and so make money. Stronger and stronger grew his covetousness, till at last he sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver.
12 How many today are like Judas betraying their Lord! How many are sacrificing principle for the sake of worldly gain! Thus they crucify Christ afresh, and put Him to open shame.
13 In the smallest as well as the largest affairs of life the first question should be, “What is God’s will?” “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Christ calls upon His children to rid themselves of all selfishness, all covetousness, all impurity. “Come unto Me,” He says, “and I will give you rest.” Yield yourselves to My training. Submit your will to My will, your way to My way. Let your life be one with My life. So shall you gain treasure that will endure unto life eternal.
14 True religion is not an experiment. It is an actual imitation of Christ. God keeps a personal account with every man, testing him by the practical results of his work. Soon will be heard the call, “Give an account of thy stewardship.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1032
1 Notwithstanding all that God had wrought for His people in the wilderness, the children of Israel, after their settlement in Canaan, continued to walk in their own ways. “They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them; but were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols; which were a snare unto them. . . . Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against His people, insomuch that He abhorred His own inheritance. And He gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.”
2 While Israel was sorely harassed by the children of Ammon on the east, and the Philistines on the west, the Lord hearkened to the prayers of His people, and began to work for their deliverance. After eighteen years of oppression, they made war against the Ammonites, and effectually destroyed their power. But the backsliding and idolatrous people soon forgot the lesson that Divine Wisdom had so often sought to teach them. As they continued to depart from God, He permitted them still to be oppressed by their powerful enemies, the Philistines.
3 For forty years the children of Israel were constantly harassed, and at times completely subjugated, by this cruel and warlike nation. They had mingled with these idolaters, uniting with them in commerce, in pleasure, and even in worship, until they seemed to be identified with them in spirit and interest. Then these professed friends became their bitterest enemies, and sought by every means to accomplish their destruction.
4 There were still in Israel true-hearted men and women whose souls were filled with anguish because of the condition of the people. Their prayers of confession, penitence, and faith ascended without ceasing to God. He was not indifferent to their cries, and while there was apparently no response to them, He was preparing help for them. In all Israel there was not to be found a man through whom the Lord could work for the deliverance of His people. The erroneous education given to children, indulgence of appetite and conformity to the practises of heathenism, had greatly lessened physical and moral power.
5 Godly fathers and mothers looked with gloomy forebodings into the future. Many a mother had secretly cherished the hope that she might give to God and to Israel a son who should deliver His people. But as parents saw their children growing up with perverted appetites and uncontrolled passions, the inquiry arose, What will the end be? What part will these youth and children act in the great drama of life? In the hearts of some parents hope battled against fear; but in many others reigned only discouragement and despair. What could the mother do to avert the threatened evil? How banish the nameless terror that oppressed her soul? “Spare us, O God, spare us,” was the oft-repeated prayer. “Let not Thy people perish; let us not see our children a prey to the enemy.”
6 At this time the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah, an Israelite of the tribe of Dan, and told her that she should have a son. He gave her special instruction concerning her own habits, and also for the treatment of her child. “Beware, I pray thee,” he said, “and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.” He also directed that no razor should come on the head of the child; for he was to be consecrated to God as a Nazarite from his birth, and through him the Lord would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
7 The woman sought her husband, and after describing the heavenly messenger she repeated his words. Then, fearful lest they should make some mistake in the important work committed to them, the husband prayed earnestly, “Let the man of God which Thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.”
8 In answer to this petition the angel again appeared, and Manoah’s anxious inquiry was, “How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” The previous instruction was repeated,—”Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe.”
9 The words spoken to the wife of Manoah contain a truth that the mothers of today would do well to study. In speaking to this one mother, the Lord spoke to all the anxious, sorrowing mothers of that time, and to all the mothers of succeeding generations. Yes, every mother may understand her duty. She may know that the character of her children will depend vastly more upon her habits before their birth and her personal efforts after their birth, than upon external advantages or disadvantages.
10 “Let her beware,” the angel said. Let her stand prepared to resist temptation. Her appetites and passions are to be controlled by principle. Of every mother it may be said, “Let her beware.” There is something for her to shun, something for her to work against, if she fulfils God’s purpose for her in giving her a child. If before the birth of her child she is unstable, if she is selfish, peevish, and exacting, the disposition of her child will bear the marks of her wrong course. Thus many children have received as a birthright almost unconquerable tendencies to evil.
11 But if she unswervingly adheres to the right, if she is kind, gentle, and unselfish, she will give her child these traits of character.
12 Very explicit was the command prohibiting the use of wine by the mother. Every drop of strong drink taken by her to gratify appetite endangers the physical, mental, and moral health of her offspring, and is a direct sin against her Creator. The command forbidding the use of strong drink was made by the One who made man, and who knows what is for his best good. Dare any one regard it with indifference?
13 Unwise advisers will urge upon the mother the gratification of every wish and impulse as essential to the well-being of her offspring. Such advice is false and mischievous. By the command of God Himself the mother is placed under the most solemn obligation to exercise self-control. Whose voice shall we heed—the voice of divine wisdom, or the voice of human superstition?
14 The mother who is a fit teacher for her children must, before their birth, form habits of self-denial and self-control; for she transmits to them her own qualities, her own strong or weak traits of character. The enemy of souls understands this matter much better than do many parents. He will bring temptation upon the mother, knowing that if she does not resist him, he can through her affect her child. The mother’s only hope is in God. She may flee to Him for grace and strength. She will not seek help in vain. He will enable her to transmit to her offspring qualities that will help them to gain success in this life and to win eternal life.
15 Fathers as well as mothers are involved in this responsibility, and they too should seek earnestly for divine grace, that their influence may be such as God can approve. The inquiry of every father and mother should be, “What shall we do unto the child that shall be born?” By many the effect of prenatal influence has been lightly regarded; but the instruction sent from heaven to those Hebrew parents, and twice repeated in the most explicit and solemn manner, shows how the matter is looked upon by the Creator.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1033
1 It was not enough that the child who was to deliver Israel should receive a good legacy from his parents. This must be followed by careful training. From infancy he was to be trained to habits of strict temperance. From his birth he was to be a Nazarite. Thus he was placed under a perpetual prohibition against the use of wine and strong drink.
2 So today lessons of temperance, self-denial, and self-control are to be taught to children from babyhood. It should be the constant effort of every mother to conform her habits to God’s will, that she may work in harmony with Him in the training of her children. Let mothers place themselves in right relation to their Creator, that by His grace they may build round their children a bulwark against intemperance. If they would but follow the course God has outlined for them, they would see their children reaching a high standard in moral and intellectual attainments, see them becoming a blessing to society and an honor to their Creator.
3 If mothers studied the Scriptures more and the magazines of fashion less, if they realized that their course affects the destiny of hundreds and perhaps of thousands, how different would be the condition of society. The cause of reform is suffering for want of men and women of integrity and steadfastness, men and women whose lives are an illustration of the self-denial and self-control that bar the way against intemperance.
4 Can we look upon the unbelief, the intemperance, the crime, that seem to be deluging the earth, without feeling our souls stirred to their very depths? Infidelity is rearing its proud head, saying, “There is no God.” Intemperance marches boldly through the land, carrying with it degradation, desolation, and death. Ere long the cry of men and nations that have forsaken God, and have been forsaken by God, will rend the heavens. What can hinder the crime, what stay the woe, that is filling the world? The evil might have been prevented, had past generations been trained to fear, love, and obey God. Let us now do what we can to bring about the change that needs to be made. Explicit instruction has been given in the Word of God. Let these principles be carried out by the mother with the co-operation and support of the father. Let children be trained from infancy to habits of self-control. Let them be taught that the object of life is to bring blessing to one another and honor to God.
5 Fathers and mothers, labor earnestly and faithfully, trusting in God for wisdom. Let your aim be the highest good of your children and then require obedience. Keep yourselves constantly under the control of the Spirit of God. Then indeed may we hope to see our sons “as plants grown up in their youth,” and our daughters “as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1034
1 To illustrate the race of the Christian for the crown of life, Paul uses the races of the ancient Greeks. He says: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
2 To win the prize—a chaplet of perishable flowers, bestowed amid the applause of the multitude—was regarded as the highest honor by the Grecian runners. In the hope of gaining this prize they subjected themselves to the most severe training and to continual self-denial. They put aside every indulgence that would tend to weaken the physical powers. We are striving for an infinitely more valuable prize,—even the crown of everlasting life. How much more careful should be our striving! how much more willing our sacrifice and self-denial!
3 There is work—stern, earnest work—before those who win this prize that God holds out. They must “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset, . . . and . . . run with patience.” One of the weights that they must lay aside is the indulgence of appetite. Intemperance has cursed the world almost from its birth. Noah’s son was so debased by the use of wine that he lost all sense of propriety, and the curse that followed his sin has never been lifted from his descendants.
4 Nadab and Abihu were men in holy office; but their minds became so clouded by the use of wine that they could not distinguish between sacred and common things. They “offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.”
5 Alexander found it much easier to subdue kingdoms than to rule his own spirit. After conquering nations, he fell through the indulgence of appetite,—the victim of intemperance.
6 Through appetite Satan controls the whole being. Thousands who might have lived to honor God and bless humanity have gone down to the grave, physical, mental, and moral wrecks because they sacrificed their powers to self-indulgence. Those who gain eternal life must bring every appetite under the control of the Spirit of God. Then will they have power to run the race set before them.
7 The Christian must lay aside all selfishness, living and working for the good of others. The only way to grow in grace is to do the work that Christ has enjoined upon us, helping and blessing those who need the help we can give. Strength comes by exercise; action is the very condition of life. Those who endeavor to maintain Christian life by passively accepting the blessings that come through the means of grace, and doing nothing for Christ, are trying to live by eating without working. And in the spiritual as in the natural world, this always results in degeneration and decay. A man who would refuse to exercise his limbs would soon lose the power to use them. The Christian who will not exercise his God-given powers, not only fails of growing up into Christ, but he loses the strength that he already had.
8 The spirit of unselfish labor for others gives depth, stability, and Christlike loveliness to the character, and brings peace and happiness to its possessor. The aspirations are elevated. There is no room for sloth or selfishness. Those who thus exercise the Christian graces will grow and will become strong to work for God. They are most surely working out their own salvation.
9 The Christian must lay aside all self-seeking. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was the product of self-seeking. The glorification of self was the object of their lives. It was this that led them to pervert and misapply the Scriptures, and blinded them to the purpose of Christ’s mission. This subtle evil even the disciples were in danger of cherishing. It was this that prompted the strife as to who would be the greatest. It was this that came between them and Christ, making them so little in sympathy with His mission of self-sacrifice, so slow to comprehend the mystery of redemption.
10 As leaven, if left to complete its work, will cause corruption and decay, so does the spirit of self-seeking, cherished, work the defilement and ruin of the soul. Yet among the followers of our Lord today, as of old, how widespread is this subtle, deceptive sin! How often our service to Christ, our communion with one another, is marred by the secret desire to exalt self!
11 Only the power of God can banish self-seeking. This change is the sign of His work. When the faith we accept destroys self-seeking and pretense, when it leads us to seek God’s glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. “Father, glorify Thy name” was the key-note of Christ’s life, and if we follow Him, this will be the key-note of our life.
12 The Christian must lay aside doubt. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy’s power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your Helper.
13 There are Christians who think and talk altogether too much about the power of Satan. They think of their adversary, they pray about him, they talk about him, and he looms up greater and greater in their imagination. It is true that Satan is a powerful being; but thank God, we have a mighty Saviour, who cast out the evil one from heaven. Satan is pleased when we magnify his power. Why not talk of Jesus? Why not magnify His power and love?
14 The rainbow of promise encircling the throne on high is an everlasting pledge of God’s love for us. It testifies to the universe that God will never forsake His people in their struggles with evil. It is an assurance to us of strength and protection as long as the throne itself shall endure.
15 Envy, malice, evil-thinking, evil-speaking, covetousness,—these are weights that the Christian must lay aside if he runs successfully the race for immortality. “If thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell.”
16 Why this earnest language, than which none can be stronger?—Because “the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost.” Shall the disciples of Christ show less regard for the souls of their fellow-men than the Majesty of heaven has shown? Every soul has cost an infinite price, and how terrible is the sin of turning one soul away from Christ, so that for him the Saviour’s love and humiliation and agony shall have been in vain.
17 Any habit or practise that would lead into sin and bring dishonor upon Christ, would better be put away, whatever the sacrifice. That which dishonors God can not benefit the soul. The blessing of heaven can not attend any man in violating the eternal principles of right. And one sin cherished is sufficient to work the degradation of character and to mislead others. If the foot or the hand would be cut off, or even the eye would be plucked out, to save the body from death, how much more earnest should we be to put away sin, that brings death to the soul.
18 Every step that the Christian takes is a step of advance. The Lord draws near to him as he strives to reach the object set before him. Each temptation overcome marks a triumph. Each night of conflict and trial, bravely borne, hails the dawn of a better day. Laying aside all that would hinder his progress, forgetting the things that are behind, he presses toward the mark of the prize of his high calling.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1035
1 Christians, remember that you are “a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” Men are watching you, to see the effect of your religion. Sinners are to be saved, not alone by the preaching of the Word, but by lives that reveal the power of Christ’s grace. We are to represent Christ as Christ represented the Father. Do you realize that you are to work the works of Christ, that you are to live His life? God desires your heart to be cleansed from everything unchristlike, that you may be able to speak words in season to the weary. Live very near the mercy-seat. Then you will be enabled to reflect the light of Christ’s example. It is His desire that you shall be “blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
2 No human being can work for God in His own power. Christ says, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” Those who surrender body, mind, and spirit into the hands of God, to be controlled by Him, will see of His salvation.
3 Christ says, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Precious is the experience of finding rest. He who does not, day by day, learn lessons from Christ, can not appreciate the suggestions of the Holy Spirit. But he who learns daily of Jesus, making use of every means of grace, grows in the knowledge of God. Under the influence of the Spirit, his heart is filled with the peace and comfort of hope. His faith and trust are strengthened. His development in Christlikeness is apparent to all with whom he comes in contact.
4 The earnest, sincere performance of the work God gives, is the assurance of acceptance with Him. His word is “Go, . . . teach all nations;” and to the command is added the promise, “Lo, I am with you alway.” The Lord requires of us nothing that He does not give us power to perform. The disciples obeyed the command to bear witness for Christ, and of their experience we read: “They went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” Of you as well as of the disciples these words may be spoken.
5 Do not think that you have received all the spiritual help you need. And do not think that you can obtain spiritual blessings without complying with the conditions that God has laid down. James and John thought that for the asking they could have the highest place in the kingdom of heaven. O how far short they fell of understanding! They did not realize that before they could share Christ’s glory, they must wear His yoke and bear His burdens. Those who strive for the crown of eternal life have a race to run, a battle to fight. The cross comes before the crown.
6 “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Self-righteousness finds no credit in God’s sight. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” God satisfies the yearning desire of His children for peace and holiness. He opens the eyes of their understanding to see the truths of His Word. Thus they are strengthened and established. And while they rest in His love, they are “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”
7 “And we beheld His glory.” It is this beholding that the apostle Paul speaks of in the words, “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,”—from character to character,—”even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness sheds light into the mind of every one who beholds Him, every one who loves Him supremely and shows unswerving faith and trust in Him. The heart is filled with the light that shines in the face of Jesus Christ, and with this light comes spiritual discernment,—the knowledge of the glory of God.
8 Our safety is in beholding Christ. When self is the object of worship, when, filled with self-exaltation, men bow to their own image, losing sight of Christ, they are in fearful danger. Christ is the light of the world. Turn your face from Him, and you walk in darkness. Keep your eyes fixed on His perfection, and you walk in the light of heaven. Through the power of the manifestation of divine glory, you constantly increase in spiritual understanding.
9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1036
1 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink; which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”
2 Notwithstanding thousands of years of experience and progress, the same dark blot that stained the first pages of history remains to disfigure our modern civilization. Drunkenness, with all its woe, is found wherever we go. The resolve to turn God’s blessings into a curse was formed in the councils of the enemy, and by him insinuated into the minds of human beings under his control. He has laid his plans with subtlety and craft. Close by our doors are his death-traps. On the corner of almost every street in our large cities is a saloon, made as attractive as possible, to tempt the weak and unwary.
3 The command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” places on man the responsibility of being his brother’s keeper, not his destroyer; of leading him to God, not away from God. But men who occupy high positions of trust in the world, who have pledged themselves to work for the good of the people, violate the principles of right by licensing the sale of that which they know to be a deadly evil.
4 Under the bewitching power of temptation, man indulges an appetite that knows no restraint, is subject to no control. With trembling eagerness, he seizes the glass held out to him by the liquor-seller, and one taste sweeps away every good resolution. He sells his reason for a glass of rum; he is unable to distinguish between right and wrong; cruelty and murder take possession of his soul; utterly unconscious of his actions, he lifts his hand to do a deed from which, in his sober moments, he would shrink with horror. He is arrested, and those who legalized the sale of that which changed him from a sane man into a madman, are now called upon to pass sentence upon him. He is sent to prison, leaving behind him, very likely, a wife and children to wrestle with poverty and hardship. Let men think seriously of these things; let them beware lest they have the blood of their fellow-men on their hands. There is a higher tribunal than the tribunals of earth—a tribunal before which every man must stand to answer for the deeds done in the body.
5 “Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water; thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards; they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.”
6 “The destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together; and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.” In some cities there are grounds, made attractive by flowers and music, in which all kinds of intoxicating liquors are sold. The time will come when the prophecy shall be fulfilled, “Ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.”
7 The Lord says to liquor-dealers, “Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
8 On the books of heaven, the liquor-dealer is charged with the sins that those to whom he sold liquor were led to commit while under its influence. Look at the drunkard, you who place the bottle to your neighbor’s lips. Look well at your work. That man gave you money, and in return you gave him that which placed him lower than the beasts. The luster has gone from his eye; his brain is paralyzed; and his muscles left without control. Reeling from side to side, he staggers along the street,—a specimen of your handiwork. If drunkenness were not so common, the indignation of the bystanders would be excited, and steps would be taken to stop the sale of liquor.
9 A demon-power is at work in our world, sowing seeds which spring up and yield an abundant harvest. At a railway station a wrong signal is given, there is a collision, and many lives are lost. And when investigation is made, it is found that the one whose work it was to give the signal, had been drinking. A vessel, freighted with precious souls, goes down at sea; and from the survivors it is learned that at the time of the accident those in charge of the vessel were intoxicated.
10 The terrible results of drunkenness,—the accidents, the suffering of women and children, the revolting crimes committed, the transmission of evil from generation to generation,—are traced by God to the men in positions of power, who could do much to remedy the evil. It is their duty to employ every legitimate means for putting an end to the liquor traffic.
11 The drunkard is a slave to habit; but instead of coming to his relief, instead of breaking the chains that bind him, his fellow-men continue to legalize the sale of that which makes him what he is. Only Satan could so harden the heart. Men see their fellow-men sinking deeper and deeper in degradation, yet they make no effort to help them, no effort to place temptation out of their reach. Under the sanction of the law, the infamous traffic goes on, and men fall lower and lower. What would we think of men who could watch a shipwreck without making any effort to save those on board? But even more hardhearted are those who uphold the traffic that makes men drunkards.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1037
1 The most hopeless, the most incurable of all sins is pride, self-sufficiency. This sin stands in the way of all advancement, all growth in grace. It has caused the ruin of thousands and thousands of souls. A man may be a great sinner, but if he realizes that he has sinned against God, if he repents and confesses his sin, and strives to make restitution for the past, he will receive forgiveness. God declares, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” His promise to the contrite, repentant soul is, “Tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; tho they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
2 But when a man is so filled with self-sufficiency that he can not see his faults, how can he be cleansed from sin? “They that be whole need not a physician.” How can a man improve when he thinks his ways perfect? Self-sufficiency was the ruin of the leaders of Israel. They did not come to Christ, because they did not think they needed a Saviour. They refused to admit that they cherished sins which needed to be repented of and forsaken.
3 Many, many Christians are lacking in power because they are self-sufficient, because they do not feel the need of an abiding Christ. They suffer great loss; and the world, in need of their testimony, also suffers great loss. Lying in the darkness of error, the world needs the light which those who claim to love and serve God, should reflect. But many who stand as witnesses of the Saviour exalt self. Jesus is hidden by poor, selfish humanity. The world does not see the pure, holy example that should be a bright and shining light amid its darkness.
4 Some feel that in their Christian experience they have need of nothing more, that they are “rich and increased with goods.” Could they see themselves as God sees them, they would acknowledge that they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” To such the True Witness says, “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire,”—the gold of faith and love,—”that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment,”—the robe of Christ’s righteousness,—”that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
5 Let no one who reads this description become discouraged and say, “If this is my condition, I can never be an acceptable witness for Christ.” Take the Word of God, and search its pages as never before, that you may learn what it means to be a Christian. You need not be discouraged; for the One who died to save you declares, “Ye shall receive power,”—power to overcome self and selfishness, power to reveal Christ as He is, full of grace and truth.
6 In order to work for God successfully, we must die to self, surrendering all to God. In words of great tenderness, Christ invites us, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” When you respond to this invitation, when you learn what it means to find rest by lifting the cross and bearing it after the Lord, you will be true witnesses for Him. But until this lesson is learned, self will appear, and Jesus will be kept in the background.
7 Come to Christ, and His gentleness and love will break down the harsh, cold selfishness that prevents you from revealing Him to the world. Your hasty temper will be subdued, your pride expelled. Jesus will fill your heart with His gentleness, His patience, His love. Then you can lift Him up before sinners. Working for Him, you will lose all thought of self. For His dear sake you will be willing to endure shame and reproach.
8 The Lord says, “Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God.” “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.”
9 We must have a knowledge of ourselves, a knowledge that results in contrition, before we can find pardon and peace. It is only he who knows himself to be a sinner that Christ can save. We must know our true condition, or we shall not feel our need of Christ’s help. We must understand our danger, or we shall not flee to the refuge. We must feel the pain of our wounds, or we shall not desire healing.
10 Are you willing to cast down the idols you have cherished? Are you willing to let Jesus enter the heart to cleanse it from all that defiles? Are you at all times and under all circumstances, obtaining the mastery over yourself? Can you say, “For me to live is Christ,” I am His? Whatever I have, of time, or strength, or influence, all is His? Are you representing Him by your forbearance, your patience, your unselfishness? Are you learning to be like Him?
11 God’s word to us is, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” He calls upon every one to crucify self. Those who respond grow strong in Him. They learn daily from Christ, and the more they learn, the greater is their desire to build up God’s kingdom by helping their fellow-men. The more enlightenment they have, the greater is their desire to enlighten others. The more they talk with God, the less they live to themselves. The greater their privileges, opportunities, and facilities for Christian work, the greater is the obligation they feel to work for others.
12 Human nature is ever struggling for expression. He who is made complete in Christ must first be emptied of pride, of self-sufficiency. Then there is silence in the soul, and God’s voice can be heard. Then the Spirit can find unobstructed entrance. Let God work in and through you. Then with Paul you can say, “I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me.” But until self is laid on the altar, until we let the Holy Spirit mould and fashion us according to the divine similitude, we can not reach God’s ideal for us.
13 Christ said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” This life is what we must have in order to work for Christ, and we must have it “more abundantly.” God will breathe this life into every soul that dies to self. But entire self-renunciation is required. Unless this takes place, we carry with us that which destroys our happiness and usefulness.
14 The Lord needs men and women who carry with them into the daily life the light of a godly example, men and women whose words and actions show that Christ is abiding in the heart, teaching, leading, and guiding. He needs men and women of prayer, who, by wrestling alone with God, obtain the victory over self, and then go forth to impart to others that which they have received from the Source of power. God accepts those who crucify self, and makes them vessels unto honor. They are in His hands as clay in the hands of the potter, and He works His will through them. Such men and women receive spiritual power. Christ lives in them, and the power of His Spirit attends their efforts. They realize that they are to live in this world the life that Jesus lived,—a life free from all selfishness; and He enables them to bear witness for Him that draws souls to the cross of Calvary.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1038
1 The love of Christ is a golden chain binding finite human beings to the infinite God. This love passes our knowledge. Human science can not explain it. Human wisdom can not fathom it. The more we feel the influence of this love, the more Christlike we shall be. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
2 Writing to the church at Rome, Paul declares: “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
3 The Lord’s children are never absent from His mind. Even the birds are the objects of His tender solicitude. “Behold the fowls of the air,” Christ said; “for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” If the Lord cares for the birds, has He not a special care for those who believe in Him? His love and care flow earthward to His children. He knows us by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His children.
4 Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Saviour died. The distress of every one touches His heart. The cry for aid reaches His ear. He came to draw all to Himself. He says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” He cares for each one as if there were not another on the face of the earth. Each child is loved by Him with a peculiar love.
5 To the disciples just before His crucifixion, Christ said, “He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to Him.” Jesus read the future of the disciples. He saw one brought to the scaffold, one to the cross, one to exile among the lonely rocks of the sea, others to persecution and death. He encouraged them with the promise that in every trial He would be with them. That promise has lost none of its force. The Lord knows all about His faithful servants who for His sake are lying in prison or who are banished to lonely islands. He comforts them with His own presence. When for the truth’s sake the believer stands at the bar of unrighteous tribunals, Christ stands by his side. All the reproaches that fall on him, fall on Christ. Christ is condemned over again in the person of His disciple. When one is incarcerated in prison walls, Christ ravishes the heart with His love. When one suffers death for His sake, Christ says, “I am He that liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, . . . and have the keys of hell and of death.” The life that is sacrificed for Me is preserved unto eternal glory.
6 Circumstances may separate friends; the restless waters of the wide sea may roll between us and them. But no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the Comforter. Wherever we may be, He is at our right hand, to support, sustain, uphold, and cheer. Greater than the love of a mother for her child, is the Saviour’s love for His redeemed. It is our privilege to rest in this love; to say, “I will trust Him; for He gave His life for me.”
7 Jesus is our strength and happiness. He is the great storehouse from which we may draw grace and power. How grieved He is when, after He has declared His willingness to help us, we withdraw our eyes from His sufficiency to behold and bemoan our weakness. We are to keep our eyes fixed upon Him. Has He not promised that His strength shall be made perfect in our weakness? Receiving and imparting His blessings, we grow in grace, increasing in strength and holiness.
8 For every service we perform, the Lord has pledged His word to reward us, not because it is a debt He owes us, but because His heart is full of love, full of mercy and tenderness. He promises to repay us a hundred-fold in this life, and in the world to come give us life everlasting. But how many there are who spend their days in gloom and discouragement, looking at the dark side of their experience, forgetting that angels of heaven are waiting to cooperate with them, waiting to make them channels of blessing to the world.
9 Listen to Christ’s words of comfort, spoken to His sorrowing disciples, and to every sorrowing child of His; “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
10 In words of tenderness Christ invites us; “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Lay all your cares upon Me, He says, I will carry them for you.
11 In these words Christ is speaking to every human being. Whether they know it or not, all are weary and heavy laden. All are weighed down with burdens that only Christ can remove. The heaviest burden that we bear is the burden of sin. If we were left to bear this burden, it would crush us. But the sinless One has taken our place. “The Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.” He has borne the burden of our guilt. He will take the load from our weary shoulders. He will give us rest. The burden of our care and sorrow also He will bear. He invites us to cast our cares upon Him; for He carries us upon His heart. Not until we stand face to face with God, when we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known, shall we know how many burdens the Saviour has borne for us, and how many burdens He would have been glad to bear, had we brought them to Him.
12 The Elder Brother of our race is by the eternal throne. He looks upon every soul who is turning his face to Him as the Saviour. He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity, what are our wants, and where lies the strength of our temptations; for “He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” “Come unto Me,” is His invitation. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger you will become in His strength. “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
13 Human love may change, but Christ’s love knows no change. When we cry to Him for help, His hand is stretched out to save. “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1039
1 There is a great work to be done for the Lord. Let not parents forget that their part of this work begins in the home. This is their first field of missionary effort. When they show that they know how to manage their own children, they give evidence that they are prepared to take part in church work.
2 Parents, you are under a solemn obligation to train your children for God. They are His heritage, and to you is given the work of preparing them for acceptance as members of the royal family. You are to give your children such a training that as they grow older, they will take part in the work of the Lord. They are to be taught to be burden-bearers. As they grow older, they will become more and more useful, better fitted to bear their share of the burdens of life.
3 Children are to be taught to be respectful to their parents and to one another. Thus they learn to be respectful to God. They are to be taught to appreciate the abilities God has given them, and to remember that Christ’s love for them calls for the surrender of all to Him. They are to be taught to do right because it is right; to control self, to be kind, loving, and gentle; to forget self in the effort to help others.
4 Parents, do all in your power to keep disagreements out of the home circle. If the children quarrel, remind them that God has said, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Teach them never to let the sun go down on angry feelings or sin unconfessed. Teach them that harmony should reign in the home, even as it reigns in heavens.
5 In dealing with your children, reveal God’s justice and His mercy. Repress every harsh word. Remember that fretting and scolding are as injurious to your children as profanity, and that too much management is as bad as no management at all. Be firm, but let no loud, angry words escape your lips. Rule your children with tenderness and compassion, remembering that “their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.” If you desire the angels to do for your children the work given them by God, co-operate with them by doing your part. Work with loving tenderness; for this is the way Christ works.
6 Remember that your child has rights which should be respected. Be very careful never to bring against him an unjust charge. Never punish him without giving him an opportunity to explain. Listen patiently to his troubles and perplexities. Never tell others in his hearing of his faults, or of his clever sayings or doings. Even in the presence of his brothers and sisters these things should not be spoken of. By speaking of his bright words and acts, you encourage self-confidence. By speaking of his faults, you humiliate him without softening him. Hatred springs up in his heart against your course, which he regards as cruel and unjust.
7 Remember that during their whole lifetime your children will bear the impress of the instruction they receive from you. Think how far-reaching will be the influence of your efforts to train them aright. The lessons you give them, they will by and by give to their children. The influence you exert over them, they will exert over their little ones.
8 Parents who neglect their children in order to do missionary work, make a sad mistake. The course of their untrained, undisciplined children robs them of all influence for good. Parents, do not allow anything to come between you and the work God has given you to do for your little ones. But this will not debar you from doing missionary work outside the home. Teach your children to help other children. With proper instruction they can do much real missionary work. You will find them a great help to you in working for others.
9 As parents teach their children, they will themselves learn precious lessons. Thus they gain an education of the highest value. Thus they learn to work for others. They are preparing to do a high and holy work for God, with their children to assist them as His helping hand.
10 Remember that your children have been brought into the world without voice or consent on their part, and that they are to be treated with the wisdom and tenderness that their necessities demand. You know the way; your children, young and inexperienced, do not. They are helpless and ignorant. They need wise, careful guidance, that their feet may not stray into forbidden paths. Remember that you are moulding their characters for eternity. Patiently train them to habits of neatness, usefulness and purity. By your example show them the charm of becoming behavior. Do not become weary in your labor of love. The angel of mercy pauses not in his efforts until the last sinner has heard the message of mercy. Patiently, untiringly, work for your little ones. Think how young they are, how much they have to learn. Deal with them gently and lovingly. By the cords of unselfish love bind them to you and to Christ.
11 Too often parents give to the world the time and attention that belong to their children. If they would realize the responsibility resting on them, if they would do all in their power for their children, God would work with them, by His Spirit impressing the children’s minds. The Lord will not do the work He has given parents to do; but He will be their helper, cooperating with every sincere, unselfish effort they make.
12 May the Lord impress fathers and mothers with the sacredness of their responsibility. As you unite with the Lord in bringing up your children in His fear, you are preparing for—I was going to say higher responsibilities, but I can not. There is no higher responsibility than the training of children.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1040
1 From a race of slaves the Israelites were exalted above all peoples, to be the peculiar treasure of the King of kings. God separated them from the world, that He might commit to them a sacred trust. He chose them as depositaries of priceless treasures of truth. He purposed, through them, to preserve among men a knowledge of Himself. Thus the light of heaven was to shine out to a world enshrouded in darkness, and a voice was to be heard appealing to all peoples to turn from their idolatry to serve the living God.
2 God’s purpose for His people is expressed in the words that Christ spoke to them through Moses: “Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,” He said; “the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. . . . Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto thy fathers; and He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee. . . . Thou shalt be blessed above all people.”
3 “Behold,” said Moses, “I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?”
4 God desired to make His people Israel a praise and a glory. In obedience to His law they would find their wisdom and understanding. He told them that the keeping of His commandments would bring to them an elevation of life and character that even the heathen world would recognize and commend. But Israel did not fulfil God’s purpose. They forgot God, and lost sight of their high privilege as His representatives. Through disobedience, they developed a character exactly the opposite of the character He designed they should develop by obedience to His law. While the people were firm in their allegiance to God, His commandments were not grievous; but when they separated from Him and gave their powers to the service of the prince of evil, they became aware of their inability to execute the holy enactments of heaven. The law that had once been their delight, became an unendurable weight.
5 The Israelites placed their own mould and superscription upon the truths entrusted to them. Their minds were quickened into activity by selfish ambition. Inspiring them with a power from beneath, Satan infused their minds with subtle sentiments derogatory to God’s character. He invented theories by which he ensnared the minds of all classes. Gradually the law of God was lost sight of, the minutiae of formalism taking its place. The Jewish religion became a religion of rites and ceremonies. The religious leaders, laying great stress on their own opinions, and teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, filled the minds of the people with theories and doctrines that were contrary to the law of God.
6 Amid the confusing din of voices there was need of a teacher direct from heaven to declare with inspired lips the testing truths so important to every human being. And it was at that time that Christ, seeing the condition of the world, chose to change the order of things. The Commander of all heaven, laying aside His glory, His kingly crown, His royal robe, came to our world, His divinity clothed with humanity, that in His humanity He might touch humanity.
7 As a Teacher sent from God, Christ’s work was to explain the true significance of the laws of God’s government. His work was important; for He sought to present truth in contrast to the many false theories so destructive to the salvation of all who entertained them. He came, not to abrogate the law, but to be in His life a correct expositor of the character of God, which the law revealed. To remove the confusion of opinion existing everywhere concerning the meaning of the law, He Himself lived the law in its purity.
8 Christ came as One able to expound the law of God, so long misunderstood and misinterpreted by priests and leaders. He tore away the gloomy framework of error and doubt, tradition and superstition, with which men had surrounded truth and obscured its brightness. Resetting the jewels of truth in the framework of God’s law, He caused them to shine in their original, heavenly luster. He taught a religion entirely different from the religion taught by the Pharisees. He showed that true happiness springs from purity of heart. True religion is not a mere theory; it affects the heart, and is expressed in the life by good works.
9 If the Jewish nation had received the Teacher sent from God, they would have given up the traditions and maxims handed down from rabbi to rabbi, and accumulating from age to age. If they had hidden God’s law in their hearts, if they had given due respect to its sacred principles, it would have exerted a corrective influence on the entire life, and would have remodeled their selfish, avaricious dispositions after the character of God. But instead of following the Great Teacher, they chose to follow their own way. By sinful indulgence they expelled from the heart the love of God and the love of the principles of His holy law. The love of the world filled their hearts, prompting them to disobey.
10 With His chosen people the Lord dealt as a loving father deals with a disobedient son. For a thousand years He gave to them blessings and responsibilities, privileges and opportunities. But as a people the Jews failed of fulfilling His purpose; and to others were entrusted the privileges they had abused, the opportunities they had slighted.
11 The glorious possibilities set before Israel could be realized only through obedience. The same elevation of character, the same fullness of blessing,—blessing on mind and soul and body, blessing on house and field, blessing for this life and for the life to come,—is possible for us only through obedience.
12 In all ages those who have rendered obedience to God have been transformed in character; and in these last days, when iniquity abounds on every hand, our wisdom and understanding before all people will consist in our obedience to the standard of righteousness. The favor of God is promised only to those who obey. “If ye keep My commandants, ye shall abide in My love,” the Master declares. Not in great talents, not in great possessions, not in grand appearance, but in humble service to our Maker, is our strength, wisdom, and understanding.
13 God has committed a work to His people. Both at home and in the regions beyond, there is work to be done. The truths of the Bible have again become obscured by custom, tradition, and false doctrine. The erroneous teachings of popular theology have made thousands upon thousands of skeptics and infidels. Multitudes have been led to cherish an erroneous conception of God, as the Jews, misled by the errors and traditions of their time, had a false conception of Christ. “Had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” If we have the Spirit of Christ, and are laborers together with Him, it is ours to carry forward the work that He came to do, ours to reveal to the world the character of God. And His hand is stretched out to save His people in this age from sinking into the formal, Christless state into which the Jewish nation sank.
14 As the Israelites were set as a light to the surrounding nations in the darkness of heathenism, so today every follower of Christ is to be as a light to those whose minds are darkened by sin. To His people Christ is now saying: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; all they gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1041
1 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
2 Such are the words in which “Paul the aged,” “the prisoner of Jesus Christ,” writing from his prison-house at Rome, endeavored to set before his brethren in Ephesus that which he found language inadequate to express in its fulness,—”the unsearchable riches of Christ,”—the treasure of grace freely offered to the fallen sons of men. The plan of redemption was laid by a sacrifice, a gift. Says the apostle: “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, tho He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.”
3 The first chapter of the Ephesian letter is full of rich encouragement. This scripture sets before us the privileges and the opportunities, the hope and the confidence, given us by and through our Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous. By Paul’s words Christ is uplifted. The apostle desired all to behold the world’s Redeemer, “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace; wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself.”
4
God has a purpose for each one. “God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” These words show us what we may become by striving to fulfill God’s purpose.
5 When Adam fell, God’s attributes of holiness, justice, and truth could not be changed. And yet He desired to reconcile man with heaven’s immutable law. Yearning to save fallen humanity, He sought to devise a plan whereby the sinner need not perish, but might gain everlasting life. Christ, the Eternal Truth, the Light, the Life, the Sovereign of heaven, offered to clothe His divinity with humanity, and give His life as a ransom for the fallen race. God in His wisdom accepted the plan proposed by Christ for the accomplishment of His purpose.
6 A love that passeth all understanding was revealed to save fallen man. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son [wonderful, wonderful condescension!], that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God spared not His only-begotten Son, but delivered Him up as a ransom for us, and for a world lying in sin and ignorance.
7
Christ came to give moral power to man; to elevate, ennoble, and strengthen him. He came to prove the falsity of Satan’s charge that God had made a law which man could not keep. While possessing man’s nature, Christ kept the Ten Commandments. Thus He proved to the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds and to human beings that it is possible for man perfectly to obey the law. He vindicated God’s justice in demanding obedience to His law. Those who accept Christ as their Saviour, becoming partakers of the divine nature, are enabled to follow His example of obedience to every divine precept.
8 Christ came as the Expositor of the prophecies that He Himself had given to His people through holy men of old. He separated the precepts of Jehovah from the maxims and traditions of men. He taught the people that the Ten Commandments are an expression of the truth in all its purity. Of the leaders and teachers of the people He declared: “In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” And to these teachers He said: “Ye have made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.”
9 For thirty-three years the Only Begotten of God dwelt among the children of men. He represented the Father, the One full of goodness, mercy, and truth, the One touched ever by human woe. During these years Christ finished the great work that He came to accomplish. He became the propitiation for the sins of every one who believes on Him.
10
Justice and mercy were reconciled by Christ’s sacrifice. At the cross, Mercy and Truth met together; Righteousness and Peace embraced each other. Through the sacrifice of Christ, Mercy is reaching out, offering to cleanse man from his unrighteousness. Thus is fulfilled the everlasting purpose of God. Man may accept the great gift of redemption, and co-operate with God, his own will being conformed to God’s will.
11 Between unholy man, and God, the embodiment of holiness, there can be no companionship. The prophet Habakkuk declares that God is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look on iniquity.” But Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,” and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Christ is the Sin-Bearer. He bears the iniquity of all who repent and believe, all who accept His robe of righteousness. For our sake the Innocent is pronounced guilty, while through His merits the guilty are pronounced innocent. Repentant sinners may be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,” that they may “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.”
12 The great heart of infinite Love is drawn toward the sinner with boundless compassion. “We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Yes, only believe that God is your helper. He wants to restore His moral image in man. As you draw near to Him with confession and repentance, He will draw near to you with mercy and forgiveness. We owe the Lord everything. He is the author of our salvation. As you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
13
All the paternal love which has come down from generation to generation through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of tenderness which have opened in the souls of men are but as a tiny rill to the boundless ocean, when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God. Tongue can not utter it; pen can not portray it. You may meditate upon it every day of your life; you may search the Scriptures diligently in order to understand it; you may summon every power and capability that God has given you, in the endeavor to comprehend the love and compassion of the Heavenly Father; and yet there is an infinity beyond. You may study that love for ages; yet you can never fully comprehend the length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of the love of God in giving His Son to die for the world. Eternity itself can never fully reveal it. Yet as we study the Bible, and meditate upon the life of Christ and the plan of redemption, these great themes will open to our understanding more and more. And it will be ours to realize the blessing which Paul desired for the Ephesian church, when He prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1042
1 God’s love for the fallen race is a peculiar manifestation of love,—a love born of mercy; for human beings are all undeserving. Mercy implies the imperfection of the object toward which it is shown. It was because of sin that mercy was brought into active exercise.
2 Sin is not the object of God’s love, but of His hatred. But He loves and pities the sinner. The erring sons and daughters of Adam are the children of His redemption. Through the gift of His Son He has revealed toward them His infinite love and mercy. He “so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
3
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” Mercy is an attribute that the human agent may share with God. As did Christ, so man may lay hold on the divine arm and be in communication with divine power. To us has been given a service of mercy to perform for our fellow-man. In performing this service, we are laboring together with God. We do well, then, to be merciful, even as our Father in heaven is merciful.
4 “I will have mercy,” God says, “and not sacrifice.” Mercy is kind, pitiful. Mercy and the love of God purify the soul, beautify the heart, and cleanse the life from selfishness. Mercy is a manifestation of divine love, and is shown by those who, identified with God, serve Him by reflecting the light of heaven upon the pathway of their fellow-creatures.
5 The condition of many persons calls for the exercise of genuine mercy. Christians, in their dealing with one another, are to be controlled by principles of mercy and love. They are to improve every opportunity for helping fellow-beings in distress. The duty of every Christian is plainly outlined in the words: “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.” “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” These are the principles that we shall do well to cherish.
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Let those who desire to perfect a Christlike character ever keep in view the cross on which Christ died a cruel death in order to redeem mankind. Let them ever cherish the same merciful spirit that led the Saviour to make an infinite sacrifice for our redemption. Let not those who themselves have sinned against God, refuse to forgive a repentant sinner. Just as they deal with a fellow-being who is in spirit or in action has done wrong and has afterward repented, so God will deal with them for their defects of character. He who does not show mercy to his fellow-men can not expect to be shielded by the mercy of God. He himself is dependent on the mercy that God has enjoined him to exercise in seeking to restore every unsaved soul brought within the sphere of his influence. If he refuses to cultivate this divine grace, he himself will suffer the result of his neglect. Sometime, when he is in need of the mercy of God and of his fellow-men, he will find himself beyond mercy.
7 The attributes of mercy and love are nearly lost from the hearts of many, many members of the church. We should remember that all make mistakes: even men and women who have had years of experience sometimes err; but God does not cast them off because of their errors; to every erring son and daughter of Adam He gives the privilege of another trial. The true follower of Jesus manifests a Christlike spirit toward his erring brother. Instead of speaking in condemnation, he remembers the words, “He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
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In the church militant, men will be ever in need of restoration from the results of sin. The one who in some respects is superior to another is in other respects inferior to him. Every human being is subject to temptation, and in need of brotherly interest and sympathy. The exercise of mercy in our daily relations with one another is one of the most effective means of attaining perfection of character; for only those who walk with Christ can be truly merciful.
9 The merciful “shall obtain mercy.” “The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” There is sweet peace for the compassionate spirit, a blessed satisfaction in the life of self-forgetful service for the good of others.
10 He who was given his life to God in ministry to His children, is linked with Him who has all the resources of the universe at His command. By the golden chain of the immutable promises his life is bound up with the life of God. The Lord will not fail him in the hour of suffering and need. “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And in the hour of final need the merciful shall find refuge in the mercy of the compassionate Saviour, and by Him shall be received into everlasting habitations.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1043
1 This is the will of God concerning you, even your sanctification.” Great possibilities, high and holy attainments, are within our reach. Sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience, entire conformity to God’s will. It means an unreserved surrender to Him. It means to be pure and unselfish, without spot or blemish.
2 From eternity God has chosen us to be His obedient children. He gave His Son to die for us, that we might be sanctified through His grace. Continual progress in knowledge and virtue is His purpose for us. His law is the echo of His own voice, giving to all the invitation, “Come up higher. Be holy, holier still.” Every day we may advance in perfection of Christian character. For this Christ clothed His divinity with humanity. For this He came to the earth, and lived a life of suffering and privation.
3 But let no one think that it is possible for human beings in their own power to reach the ideal that God presents before them. Our hearts are evil, and we can not change them. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?—Not one.” “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere; but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they can not change the heart; they can not purify the soul. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before man can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.
4
The one great lesson all must learn,—the poor sinner dead in trespasses and sins, and the professing Christian, who has known Christ, but has clung to his sins,—is that Christ will save to the uttermost all who come to Him. “Him that cometh to Me,” He says, “I will in no wise cast out.” The poor, the suffering, the sinful, may find in Christ all they need. As soon as they receive Jesus as their personal Saviour, the cries of distress and woe are changed to songs of praise and thanksgiving.
5 When the sinner feels his need of the Sun of Righteousness, when he comes to Jesus, saying, “Lord, I am sinful, unworthy, hopeless, and helpless; save me, or I perish,” he is accepted in the Beloved. He learns what it means to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. God says, “Let there be light,” and there is light. The heart once darkened by sin is irradiated by the presence of Him who is the light of life.
6 God is ever seeking to bring human minds into association with the divine. He offers us the privilege of co-operation with Christ in revealing His grace to the world, that we may receive an increased knowledge of heavenly things. Looking unto Jesus, we obtain brighter and more distinct views of God, and beholding, we become changed. Goodness, love for our fellow-men, becomes our natural instinct. We develop a character that is the counterpart of the divine character. Growing into His likeness, we enlarge our capacity for knowing God. More and more we enter into fellowship with the heavenly world, and we have continually increasing power to receive the riches of the knowledge and wisdom of eternity. “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1044
1 God’s inexhaustible supply of grace is awaiting the demand of every soul. It will heal every spiritual disease. By it hearts may be cleansed from all defilement. It unites human beings with Christ, enabling them to walk in the path of willing obedience. Through the influence of the Spirit of God, man is transformed; his taste is refined, his judgment sanctified, his heart cleansed; he becomes complete in Christ. The love that was manifested in the death of Christ awakens in his heart a thankful response. The understanding takes hold of Christ. The beauty and fragrance of His character is revealed in the life, testifying that God has indeed sent His Son into the world. No other power could bring about so wonderful a change.
2 The words of Christ will fall with living power upon obedient hearts; the perfect image of God will be reproduced, and in heaven it will be said, “Ye are complete in Him.”
3 Realizing that he lacks wisdom and experience, the Christian places himself under the training of the great Teacher, knowing that only thus can he attain perfection. And the indwelling of the Spirit enables him to reveal Christlikeness. Daily he becomes better able to comprehend spiritual things. Each day of diligent labor finds him at its close better fitted to help others. Abiding in Christ, he bears much fruit.
4 “This is the will of God concerning you even your sanctification.” Is this your will also? Do you long after God, yea, pant after Him, as the hart pants after the water brooks? The world’s pleasure and power will pass away; but the life spent in doing the will of God will abide forever. The results of the efforts put forth to uplift humanity will endure through all eternity.
5 As the sinner, drawn by the love of Christ, approaches the cross, and prostrates himself before it, there is a new creation. A new heart is given him. He becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. Holiness finds that it has nothing more to require. God Himself is “the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” And “whom He justified, them He also glorified.” Great as is the shame and degradation through sin, even greater will be the honor and exaltation through redeeming love. To human beings striving for conformity to the divine image, there is imparted an outlay of heavenly treasures, an excellency of power, that will place them higher than even the angels who have never sinned.
6 Those who consecrate their lives to the service of God will live with Him through the ceaseless ages of eternity. “God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” “They shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads.” In this world their minds were given to God; they served Him with the heart and intellect, and now He can put His name in their foreheads. They do not go into the holy city as those who have no place there; for Christ says to them, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1045
1 Prayer is communion with God. It is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.
2 Jesus Himself, while He dwelt among men, was often in prayer. Prayer went before and sanctified every act of His ministry. It was by prayer that He was braced for duty and for trial. He is a brother in our infirmities, “in all points tempted like as we are;” but as the sinless One, His nature recoiled from evil; He endured struggles and torture of soul in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and a privilege. He found comfort and joy in communion with His Father. And if the Saviour of men, the Son of God, felt the need of prayer, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of fervent, constant prayer.
3 God longs to bestow on us the blessings of His grace. He has a deep, earnest desire for our happiness. He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” He urges us to present our needs. His heart of love is filled with a longing desire to bring us into close touch with Him.
4
Do not entertain the thought that because you have made mistakes, because your life has been darkened by errors, your Heavenly Father does not love you and will not hear you when you pray. He says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” “The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” His heart of love is touched by our sorrows, and even by our utterance of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear; for He holds up worlds, He rules over the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, that they can not find deliverance in Christ. The demoniacs of Gadara, in the place of prayer could utter only the words of Satan; but yet the heart’s unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need is unheeded.
5 The ear of the Lord is open to the cry of every suppliant. Even before the prayer is offered or the yearning desire of the soul made known, the Spirit of God goes forth to meet it. Never has there been a genuine desire, never a tear shed in contrition of soul, but grace from Christ has gone forth to meet the grace working upon the human heart.
6
Christ has opened the way for us to approach God. He says, “Make use of My name. It will be your passport to the heart of My Father and to all the riches of His grace. ‘Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. . . . Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.’” In Christ’s name His followers are to stand before God. Through the value of the sacrifice made for them, they are of value in the Lord’s sight. Because of the imputed righteousness of Christ, they are accounted precious. For Christ’s sake the Lord pardons those that fear Him. He does not see in them the vileness of the sinner; He recognizes in them the likeness of His Son, in whom they believe.
7 True prayer brings power. Prayer has “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire,”—we shall know what this means when we hear the reports of the martyrs who were burned for their faith,—”turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
8 We shall hear about these victories when the Captain of our salvation, the King of heaven, opens the record before those of whom John writes: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
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If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of conversation with God, as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet, joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us, as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there are seen in his life simplicity, humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus, and has learned of Him.
10 Every sincere prayer is heard in heaven. It may not be fluently expressed; but if the heart is in it, it will ascend to the sanctuary where Jesus ministers, and He will present it to the Father, beautiful and fragrant with the incense of His love.
11 How wonderful it is that we can pray effectually; that unworthy, erring mortals possess the power of offering their requests to God. What higher power can man require than this,—to be linked with the infinite God? Feeble, sinful man has the privilege of speaking to his Maker. He utters words that reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe.
12 The cry of the soul can not die away into silence, nor can it be lost. It rises above the din of the street, above the noise of machinery, to the heavenly courts. It is to God we are speaking, and the prayer is heard.
13 The rainbow about the throne is an assurance that God is true, that in Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. We have sinned against Him, and are undeserving of His favor; yet He Himself has put into our lips that most wonderful of pleas, “Do not abhor us, for Thy name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory; remember, break not Thy covenant with us.” When we come to Him confessing our unworthiness and sin, He has pledged Himself to give heed to our cry. The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfilment of His Word unto us.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1046
1 God has given us His Word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Its teachings have a vital bearing on our prosperity in all the relations of life. Even in our temporal affairs it will be a wiser guide than any other counselor. Its divine instruction is the only way to success. There is no social position, no phase of human experience, for which the study of the Bible is not an essential preparation.
2 The Bible is the great standard of right and wrong, clearly defining sin and holiness. Its living principles, running through our lives like threads of gold, are our only safeguard in trial and temptation.
3 The Bible is a chart, showing us the waymarks of truth. Those who are acquainted with this chart will be enabled to tread with certainty in the path of duty, wherever they may be called to go.
4 The Bible contains a simple and complete system of theology and philosophy. It is the book that makes us wise unto salvation. It tells us how to reach the abodes of eternal happiness. It tells us of the love of God as shown in the plan of redemption, imparting the knowledge essential for all,—the knowledge of Christ. He is the Sent of God; He is the Author of our salvation. But apart from the Word of God, we could have no knowledge that such a person as the Lord Jesus ever visited our world, nor any knowledge of His divinity, as indicated by His previous existence with the Father.
5 The Bible was not written for the scholar alone; on the contrary, it was designed for the common people. The great truths necessary for our salvation are made as clear as noonday, and none will mistake and lose their way except those who follow their own judgment instead of the plainly revealed will of God.
6 The Word of God strikes at every wrong trait of character, moulding the whole man, internally and externally, abasing his pride and self-exaltation, leading him to bring the Spirit of Christ into the smaller as well as the larger duties of life. It teaches him to be unswerving in his allegiance to justice and purity, and at the same time always to be kind and compassionate.
7 The appreciation of the Bible grows with its study. Whichever way the student may turn, he will find displayed the infinite wisdom and love of God. To him who is truly converted, the Word of God is the joy and consolation of the life. The Spirit of God speaks to him, and his heart becomes like a watered garden.
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There is nothing more calculated to strengthen the intellect than a study of the Bible. No other book is so potent to elevate the thoughts, to give vigor to the faculties, as the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible. If God’s Word were studied as it should be, men would have a breadth of mind, a nobility of character, that is rarely seen in these times.
9 No knowledge is so firm, so consistent, so far-reaching, as that obtained from a study of the Word of God. If there were not another book in the wide world, the Word of God, lived out through the grace of Christ, would make man perfect in this world, with a character fitted for the future, immortal life. Those who study the Word, taking it in faith as the truth, and receiving it into the character, will be complete in Him who is all and in all. Thank God for the possibilities set before humanity.
10 “Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth forever.”
11 The time devoted to a study of God’s Word and to prayer will bring a hundred-fold in return.
12 The Word of God is the living seed, and as this seed is sown in the mind, the human agent must give diligent care to the successive stages of its growth. How is this to be done?—After the Word has been prayerfully received, it is to be cherished, and practised in the daily life. It is to spring up and bear fruit, putting forth first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
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It is not enough to study the Bible as other books are studied. In order for it to be understood savingly, the Holy Spirit must move on the heart of the searcher. The same Spirit that inspired the Word must inspire the reader of the Word. Then will be heard the voice of heaven. “Thy Word, O God, is truth,” will be the language of the soul.
14 The mere reading of the Word will not accomplish the result designed of Heaven; it must be studied, and cherished in the heart. The knowledge of God is not gained without mental effort. We should diligently study the Bible, asking God for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that we may understand His Word. We should take one verse, and concentrate the mind on the task of ascertaining the thought which God has put in that verse for us. We should dwell on the thought till it becomes our own, and we know “what saith the Lord.”
15 There is but little benefit derived from a hasty reading of the Scriptures. One may read the Bible through, and yet fail to see its beauty or to comprehend its deep and hidden meaning. One passage studied until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view, and no positive instruction gained. Keep your Bible with you. As you have opportunity, read it; fix the texts in your memory. Even while you are walking the streets, you may read a passage, and meditate upon it, thus fixing it in the mind.
16 The life of Christ, that gives life to the world, is in His Word. It was by His word that Jesus healed disease and cast out demons; by His word He stilled the sea, and raised the dead; and the people bore witness that His word was with power. He spoke the word of God, as He had spoken to all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament. The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ. It is our source of power.
17 As our physical life is sustained by food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the Word of God. And every soul is to receive life from God’s Word for himself. As we must eat for ourselves in order to receive nourishment, so we must receive the Word for ourselves. We are not to obtain it merely through the medium of another mind.
18 Yes, the Word of God is the bread of life. Those who eat and digest this Word, making it a part of every action and of every attribute of character, grow strong in the strength of God. It gives immortal vigor to the soul, perfecting the experience and bringing joys that will abide forever.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1047
1 Christ’s followers have been redeemed for service. Our Lord teaches that the true object of life is ministry. Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His followers He gives the law of service,—service to God and to their fellow-men. Here Christ has presented to the world a higher conception of life than they had ever known. By living to minister for others, man is brought into connection with Christ. The law of service becomes the connecting link that binds us to God and to our fellow-men.
2 To His servants, Christ commits “His goods,”—something to be put to use for Him. He gives to every man His work, each has his place in the eternal plan of heaven. Each is to work in co-operation with Christ for the salvation of souls. Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God.
3 To every man God has given talents, “according to his several ability.” The talents are not apportioned capriciously. He who has ability to use five talents receives five. He who can improve but two, receives two. He who can wisely use only one, receives one. None need lament that they have not received larger gifts; for He who has apportioned to every man is equally honored by the improvement of each trust, whether it be great or small. The one to whom five talents have been committed is to render the improvement of five; he who has but one, the improvement of one. God expects returns “according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”
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is a talent that should be diligently cultivated. Of all the gifts we have received from God, none is capable of being a greater blessing than this. With the voice we convince and persuade; with it we offer praise and prayer to God; and with it we tell others of the Redeemer’s love. Not one word is to be spoken unadvisedly. No evil-speaking, no frivolous talk, no fretful repining or impure suggestions, will escape the lips of him who is following Christ. The apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.” A corrupt communication does not mean only words that are vile. It means any expression contrary to holy principles and pure and undefiled religion. It includes impure hints and covert suggestions of evil. Unless instantly resisted, these lead to great sin.
5 Upon every family, upon every individual Christian, is laid the duty of barring the way against corrupt speech. When in the company of those who indulge in foolish talk, it is our duty to change the subject of conversation if possible. By the help of the grace of God, we should try to drop words or introduce a subject that will turn the conversation into a profitable channel.
6 Our words should be words of praise and thanksgiving. If the mind and heart are full of the love of God, this will be revealed in the conversation. It will not be a difficult matter to impart that which enters into our spiritual life. Great thoughts, noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth, unselfish purposes, yearnings for piety and holiness, will bear fruit in words that reveal the character of the heart-treasure. When Christ is thus revealed in our speech, it will have a power in winning souls to Him.
7
to those who know Him not. We should do as Christ did. Wherever He was, in the synagogue, by the wayside, in the boat thrust out a little from the land, at the Pharisee’s feast or the table of the publican, He spoke to men of the things pertaining to the higher life. The things of nature, the events of daily life, were bound up by Him with the words of truth. The hearts of His hearers were drawn to Him; for He had healed their sick, had comforted their sorrowing ones, and had taken their children in His arms and blessed them. When He opened His lips to speak, their attention was riveted upon Him, and every word was to some soul a savor of life unto life.
8 So it should be with us. Wherever we are, we should watch for opportunities to speak to others of the Saviour. If we follow Christ’s example in doing good, hearts will open to us as they did to Him. Not abruptly, but with tact born of divine love, we can tell them of Him who is the “chiefest among ten thousand” and the One “altogether lovely.” This is the very highest work in which we can employ the talent of speech. It was given us that we might present Christ as the sin-pardoning Saviour.
9
Through Christ, God has invested man with an influence that makes it impossible for him to live to himself. Individually we are connected with our fellow-men, a part of God’s great whole, and we stand under mutual obligations. No man can be independent of his fellow-men; for the well-being of each affects others. It is God’s purpose that each shall feel himself necessary to others’ welfare, and seek to promote their happiness.
10 Every soul is surrounded with an atmosphere of its own,—an atmosphere, it may be, charged with the life-giving power of faith, courage, and hope, and sweet with the fragrance of love. Or it may be heavy and chill with the gloom of discontent and selfishness, or poisonous with the deadly taint of cherished sin.
11 By the atmosphere surrounding us, every person with whom we come in contact is consciously or unconsciously affected. This is a responsibility from which we can not free ourselves. Our words, our acts, our dress, our deportment, even the expression of the countenance has an influence that no man can measure. Every impulse thus imparted is a seed sown that will produce its harvest. It is a link in the long chain of human events, extending we know not whither. If by our example we aid others in the development of good principles, we give them power to do good; in their turn they exert the same influence upon others, and they upon still others. Thus by our unconscious influence thousands may be blessed.
12 Throw a pebble into the lake, and a wave is formed, then another; and another; and as they increase, the circle widens until it reaches the very shore. So with our influence. Beyond our knowledge or control, it tells upon others in blessing or in cursing.
13
Every moment is His, and we are under the most solemn obligation to improve it to His glory. Of no talent He has given will He require a more strict account than of our time.
14 Every moment is freighted with eternal consequences. We are to stand as minute-men, ready for service at a moment’s notice. The opportunity that is now ours to speak to some needy soul the word of life may never offer again. God may say to that one, “This night thy soul shall be required of thee,” and through our neglect he may not be ready. In the great judgment-day, how shall we render our account to God?
15 Christ regarded every moment as precious, and thus we should regard it. Life is too short to be trifled away. We have but a few days of probation in which to prepare for eternity. We have no time to waste, no time to devote to selfish pleasure, no time for the indulgence of sin. It is now that we are to form characters for the future, immortal life. It is now that we are to prepare for the searching judgment.
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Success is not the result of chance or of destiny; it is the outworking of God’s own providence, the reward of faith and discretion, of virtue and persevering effort. The Lord desires us to use every gift we have; and if we do this, we shall have greater gifts to use. He does not supernaturally endow us with the qualifications we lack; but while we use that which we have, He will work with us to increase and strengthen every faculty. By every whole-hearted, earnest sacrifice for the Master’s service our power will increase. While we yield ourselves as instruments for the Holy Spirit’s working, the grace of God works in us to deny old inclinations, to overcome powerful propensities, and to form new habits. As we cherish and obey the promptings of the Spirit, our hearts are enlarged to receive more and more of His power, and to do more and better work. Dormant energies are roused, and palsied faculties receive new life:
17 The man who received the one talent “went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.” Just what he did, many today are doing. But let them not think that when Christ comes to reckon with His servants, He will be satisfied with the return of that only which was given. He will call for His own “with usury.” The Lord expects every one to increase His gifts. Every provision has been made for us to do this. He who does not improve his talents is regarded by the Lord as a slothful, untrustworthy servant, unworthy of admittance into the heavenly courts.
18 The denunciations of God are not confined to the most revolting sins. In the day of judgment special reference will be made to the neglect of doing what might have been done, but was not done because of a lack of the qualification Christ died to place within the reach of every one.
19 Take the case of one who claims to know Christ, but who allows self-seeking to hold the largest place in his life. Busied with the things of self, he forgets God. He fails of improving his talents, and thus disqualifies himself for the sphere of usefulness he might have filled. Through his unfaithfulness, souls are lost. He has disappointed his Master. Upon him must fall the penalty of failing to fulfil God’s purpose. God holds him responsible for the evil resulting from his neglect, for the souls he might have saved had he been faithful to his trust. Every hour spent in careless inaction, in indifference to God’s claims, is an hour lost forever. Every opportunity for service allowed to pass unimproved means an eternal loss. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1048
1 Christ says, “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.” He calls for whole-hearted, fearless disciples,—men and women who are ready to do and dare for Him, ready to follow wherever He leads the way. This requires thorough conversion. Half-converted men make half-hearted Christians. They are fruitless trees. On them Christ looks in vain for fruit: He finds nothing but leaves.
2 Many, by the half-hearted, careless way in which they do their work, say to the Master, “I pray Thee have me excused.” Thousands would unite with Christ if they could do this without denying self. If Christ and self could be served at the same time, a large number would join the ranks of those who are journeying heavenward. But it is not for such as these that Jesus calls. His cause does not need such adherents.
3 Christ’s true followers use their knowledge to make others the recipients of His grace. With their lamps filled with holy oil, they go forth to give light to those in darkness. Such workers see many souls turning to the Lord. New truths continually unfold to them, and as they receive, they impart.
4 Those for whom the fetters of sin have been broken, who have sought the Lord with brokenness of heart, and have obtained answer to their yearning requests for righteousness, are never cold and spiritless. They realize that they have a part to act in the work of soul-saving. They watch and pray and work for the salvation of souls. Moulded and fashioned by the Holy Spirit, they gain depth and breadth and stability of Christian character. They gain enduring spiritual happiness. Walking in Christ’s footsteps, they become identified with Him in His self-sacrificing plans. Such Christians are not cold and unimpressible. Their hearts are filled with unselfish love for sinners. They put away from them all worldly ambition, all self-seeking. Contact with the deep things of God makes them more and more like their Saviour. They exult in His triumphs; they are filled with His joy. Day by day they are growing up to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus.
5 Christ hates sin. From Him evil met with stern rebuke. But while He hates sin, He loves the sinner. Laying aside His riches and glory, He came to this earth to seek for us, sinful, erring, unhappy, that He might lead us to heaven. He humbled Himself, and took upon Him our nature, that He might make us like Himself, pure and upright, free from defilement. He suffered more than any of you will ever be called to suffer. He gave His all for you. What have you given for Him?
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will be the returns required by the Master. What have you done to persuade sinners to believe in Christ? All around you, in sin and degradation, are those for whom Christ died, that they might be pure, holy sinless. What are you doing for them? Has your life been filled with good works? Have you sowed in the hearts of those with whom you are brought in contact, seeds that will spring up to bear fruit unto righteousness?
7 When we sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn from Him to be meek and lowly in heart, He can impart to us His treasures of truth, knowing that we shall be wise workers. Not until Christ’s life is a vitalizing power in our lives can we be strong to resist the temptations that assail us from within and from without. We need to press close to the side of Christ. We need to be sure that we are wearing His yoke of restraint and obedience. Then we shall be safe, because we are on the Lord’s side. His truth is in our hearts, and we find His yoke easy and His burden light. We are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. But without Christ’s strength we shall bend like the willow at every breath of criticism. Nothing but His power can make us and keep us true and steadfast. No one can stand firm who does not cherish in His heart the truth of God.
8 We are God’s servants, and we are to be workers together with Him, doing His work in His way, that all with whom we come in contact may see that we not only talk of self-denial, but that we bring it into our lives.
9 There is to be in our service no taint of self-seeking. “Ye can not serve God and mammon.” Lift Him up, the Man of Calvary. Lift Him up by living faith in God, that your prayers may prevail. Do we realize how near Jesus will come to us? He is speaking to us individually. He will reveal Himself to every one who is willing to be clothed with the robe of His righteousness. He declares, “I am He that holdeth thy right hand.” Let us place ourselves where He can hold us by the hand, where we can hear Him saying with assurance and authority, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore.”
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By the way in which we do the work Christ has given us to do in His absence, we decide our future destiny. Many neglect their God-given work. They refuse to be God’s helping hand. Let us fear to fall short of God’s plan for us. His servants are to be ever on duty, working always for the uplifting of those for whom He gave His life.
11 Christ, the Master of the household, has gone to prepare for us mansions in the heavenly city. We are waiting for His return. Let us honor Him in His absence by doing with faithfulness the work He has placed in our hands. Waiting, watching, working, we are to prepare for His return. If we are faithful, if we serve Him with full purpose of heart, He will receive us with the gracious words, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” He will receive us with honor. To us will be given a crown of glory that fadeth not away, and a new name, “which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” Those who follow Christ here will one day “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.”
12 God calls. Do you hear His voice? He calls for earnest, whole-hearted workers. Will you hear, and, denying self, take up the cross and follow Him? Those who refuse, giving themselves up to love of ease and self-seeking, suffer an eternal loss.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1049
1 Those who work for Christ are to be pure, upright, and trustworthy, and they are also to be tender-hearted, compassionate, and courteous. Courtesy is one of the graces of the Spirit. It is an attribute of heaven. The angels never fly into a passion, never are envious or selfish. No harsh or unkind words escape their lips. If we are to be the companions of angels, we too must be refined and courteous.
2 The truth of God is designed to elevate the receiver, to refine his taste and sanctify his judgment. No man can be a Christian without having the Spirit of Christ; and if he has the Spirit of Christ, it will be manifested in a refined, courteous disposition. His character will be holy, his manners comely, his words without guile. He will cherish the love that is not easily provoked, that suffers long and is kind, that hopes all things and endures all things.
3 What Christ was in His life on this earth, that every Christian is to be. He is our example, not only in His spotless purity, but in His patience, gentleness, and winsomeness of disposition. He was firm as a rock where truth and duty were concerned, but He was invariably kind and courteous. His life was a perfect illustration of true courtesy. He had ever a kind look and a word of comfort for the needy and oppressed.
4 His presence brought a purer atmosphere into the home, and His life was as leaven working amid the elements of society. Harmless and undefiled, He walked among the thoughtless, the rude, the uncourteous; amid the unjust publicans, the unrighteous Samaritans, the heathen soldiers, the rough peasants, and the mixed multitude. He spoke a word of sympathy here, and a word there, as He saw men weary, and compelled to bear heavy burdens. He shared their burdens, and repeated to them the lessons He had learned from nature, of the love, the kindness, the goodness of God.
5 He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as children of God.
6 Tho He was a Jew, Christ mingled with the Samaritans, setting at naught the Pharisaic customs of His nation. In face of their prejudices, He accepted the hospitality of this despised people. He slept under their roofs, ate with them at their tables,—partaking of the food prepared and served by their hands,—taught in their streets, and treated them with the utmost kindness and courtesy.
7 Jesus sat an honored guest at the table of the publicans, by His sympathy and social kindliness showing that He recognized the dignity of humanity; and men longed to become worthy of His confidence. Upon their thirsty souls His words fell with blessed, life-giving power. New impulses were awakened, and the possibility of a new life opened to these outcasts of society.
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softens whatever is hard and rough in the temper, and smooths off whatever is rugged and sharp in the manners. It is this religion that makes the words gentle and the demeanor winning. Let us learn from Christ how to combine a high sense of purity and integrity with sunniness of disposition. A kind, courteous Christian is the most powerful argument that can be produced in favor of the Gospel.
9 The principle inculcated by the injunction, “Be ye kindly affectioned one to another;” lies at the very foundation of domestic happiness. Christian courtesy should reign in every household. It has power to soften natures which without it would grow hard and rough. The wife and mother may bind her husband and children to her by strong cords if she is unvaryingly gentle and courteous in words and manner. Christian courtesy is the golden clasp that unites the members of the family in bonds of love that every day become closer and stronger.
10 Those who profess to be followers of Christ, and are at the same time rough, unkind, and uncourteous in words and deportment, have not learned of Jesus. A blustering, over-bearing, fault-finding man is not a Christian; for to be a Christian is to be Christlike. The conduct of some professing Christians is so lacking in kindness and courtesy that their good is evil spoken of. Their sincerity may not be doubted, their uprightness may not be questioned; but sincerity and uprightness will not atone for a lack of kindness and courtesy. The Christian is to be sympathetic as well as true, pitiful and courteous as well as upright and honest.
11 Kind words are as dew and gentle showers to the soul. The Scripture says of Christ that grace was poured into His lips, that He might “know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” And the Lord bids us, “Let your speech be alway with grace,” “that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
12 Some with whom you are brought in contact may be rough and uncourteous; but do not, because of this, be less courteous yourself. He who wishes to preserve his own self-respect must be careful not to wound needlessly the self-respect of others. This rule should be sacredly observed toward the dullest, the most blundering. What God intends to do with these apparently unpromising ones, you do not know. He has in the past accepted persons no more promising or attractive to do a great work for Him. His Spirit, moving upon the heart, has aroused every faculty to vigorous action. The Lord saw in these rough, unhewn stones precious material, that would stand the test of storm and heat and pressure. God sees not as man sees. He does not judge from appearances, but He searches the heart, and judges righteously.
13 True courtesy, blended with truth and justice, makes the life not only useful, but beautiful and fragrant. Kind words, pleasant looks, a cheerful countenance, throw a charm about the Christian that makes his influence almost irresistible. In forgetfulness of self, in the light and peace and happiness that he is constantly bestowing on others, he finds true joy.
14 Let us be self-forgetful, ever on the watch to cheer others, to lighten their burdens by acts of tender kindness and deeds of unselfish love. Leave unspoken that unkind word; let that selfish disregard of the happiness of others give place to loving sympathy. These thoughtful courtesies, beginning in the home, and extending far beyond the home circle, go far to make up the sum of life’s happiness, and the neglect of them constitutes no small share of life’s misery. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1050
1 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
2 Among the inhabitants of heaven, Satan, next to Christ, was at one time most honored of God, and highest in power and glory. Before his fall, Lucifer, “son of the morning,” was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. He stood in the presence of the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding the eternal God rested upon him.
3 Little by little, Lucifer came to indulge the desire for self-exaltation. Because of the exaltation of Christ, the One equal with the Father, he allowed jealousy to arise in his heart.
4 “Why,” he questioned, “should Christ have the supremacy? Why is he honored above Lucifer?”
5 Tho all his glory was from God, Lucifer came to regard it as pertaining to himself. Not content with his position, tho honored above the heavenly host, he ventured to covet homage due alone to the Creator. Leaving his place in the immediate presence of the Father, he went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. He worked with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealed his real purpose under an appearance of reverence for God. He began to insinuate doubts concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings,—laws that he declared were arbitrary, detrimental to the interests of the heavenly universe, and in need of change. Vital interests were at stake. Would Lucifer succeed in undermining confidence in God’s law? Would he make so apparent these supposed defects in the law, that the inhabitants of the heavenly universe would be justified in claiming that the law could be improved?
6 By his rebellion against God’s law, Satan brought sin into existence; for “sin is the transgression of the law.”
7 God in His wisdom did not use measures of force to suppress Satan’s rebellion. Such measures would have aroused sympathy for Satan, strengthening his rebellion rather than lessening his power. If God had at the outset punished his rebellion, many more would have looked upon him as one who had been dealt with unjustly, and would have followed his example. It was necessary for him to have time and opportunity to develop his false principles. There was war in heaven, and the Prince of life overcame the apostate. Satan was cast out of heaven, with the angels who had united with him.
8 In the beginning God placed man under law, as an indispensable condition of his very existence. He was a subject of the divine government, and there can be no government without law. The tree of knowledge, which stood near the tree of life in the midst of the garden of Eden, was to be a test of the obedience, faith and love of our first parents. While permitted to eat freely of every other tree, they were forbidden to taste of this, on pain of death. They were also to be exposed to the temptations of Satan; but if they endured the trial, they would finally be placed beyond his power, to enjoy perpetual favor with God.
9 On this earth Satan sought to carry forward the work that he began in heaven. He declared that man could not obey the law of God. Approaching our first parents while they were on trial in the garden of Eden, he succeeded by falsehood and misrepresentation in turning them from allegiance to God’s law. Through their failure to resist temptation, they were brought under Satan’s jurisdiction. Thus the enemy gained supremacy over the human race.
10 When man rebelled, all heaven was filled with sorrow. The penalty of disobedience to God’s law is death. There appeared to be no escape for those who had transgressed the law. The law could not be changed in order to meet man in his fallen condition. But God’s love for humanity can never be measured. Instead of condemning the human race to eternal death, He gave His only begotten Son for their redemption.
11 The Son of God, heaven’s glorious Commander, was touched with pity for the fallen race. He entered into a covenant with God to save man, and to vindicate His Father’s character as expressed in the law. He came to the earth in the form of man to refute Satan’s lie, that God had given a law which man could not keep. He came to give Himself as a sacrifice for sin, thus revealing to the heavenly universe that the law is as changeless and eternal as is Jehovah Himself.
12 God is omnipotent, omniscient, immutable. He always pursues a straightforward course. His law is truth—immutable, eternal truth. His precepts are consistent with His attributes. But Satan makes them appear in a false light. By perverting them, he seeks to give human beings an unfavorable impression of the Law-giver. Throughout his rebellion he has sought to represent God as an unjust, tyrannical being.
13 In the beginning it was Satan’s purpose to separate man from God. And this purpose he has carried out in every age. Constantly he is at work among the children of men. He sways all classes. The same method of deception, the same logic, that he used to deceive the holy pair in Eden, he has used in all succeeding ages. His plan of work has ever been one of deception. At times he assumes a cloak of piety, purity, and holiness. Often he transforms himself into an angel of light. He has blinded the eyes of men so that they can not see beneath the surface and discern his real purpose. As a result of Adam’s disobedience, every human being is a transgressor of the law, sold under sin. Unless he repents and is converted, he is under bondage to the law, serving Satan, falling into the deceptions of the enemy, and bearing witness against the precepts of Jehovah. But by perfect obedience to the requirements of the law, man is justified. Only through faith in Christ is such obedience possible. Men may comprehend the spirituality of the law, they may realize its power as a detector of sin, but they are helpless to withstand Satan’s power and deceptions, unless they accept the atonement provided for them in the remedial sacrifice of Christ, who is our Atonement—our At-one-ment—with God.
14 Those who believe on Christ and obey His commandments are not under bondage to God’s law; for to those who believe and obey, His law is not a law of bondage, but of liberty. Every one who believes on Christ, every one who relies on the keeping power of a risen Saviour that has suffered the penalty pronounced upon the transgressor, every one who resists temptation and in the midst of evil copies the pattern given in the Christ-life, will through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ become a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Every one who by faith obeys God’s commandments, will reach the condition of sinlessness in which Adam lived before his transgression.
15 Christ took upon Himself the nature of man, and by a perfect life demonstrated the falsity of the claims of him who constantly accuses those that are trying to obey God’s law. And the blood of Christ shed on the cross is the everlasting, uncontrovertible testimony that God’s law is as immutable as is His own character. In the day of judgment, when the death upon the cross is seen in all its meaning, every voice will be hushed. Every one will see that Satan is a rebel, and will acknowledge God’s wisdom, justice, and goodness; with one accord declaring, “Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1051
1 Clad in the vestments of humanity, the Son of God came down to the level of those He wished to save. In Him was no guile or sinfulness; He was ever pure and undefiled; yet He took upon Him our sinful nature. Clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might associate with fallen humanity, He sought to regain for man that which by disobedience Adam had lost, for himself and for the world. In His own character Jesus manifested to the world the character of God; He pleased not Himself, but went about doing good. His whole history, for more than thirty years, was one of pure, disinterested benevolence.
2 Can we wonder that men were astonished at His teaching? “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” The teaching of the scribes and Pharisees was a continuous repetition of fables and childish traditions. Their opinions and ceremonies rested on the authority of ancient maxims and rabbinical sayings, which were frivolous and worthless. Christ did not dwell on weak, insipid sayings and theories of men. As one possessing higher authority He addressed His hearers, presenting before them momentous subjects; and His appeals carried conviction to their hearts. The opinion of all, expressed by many who were not able to keep silent, was, “Never man spake like this Man.”
3 The Bible teaches the whole will of God concerning us. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” The teaching of this Word is exactly that needed in all circumstances in which we may be placed. It is a sufficient rule of faith and practice; for it is the voice of God speaking to the soul, giving the members of His family directions for keeping the heart with all diligence. If this Word is studied, not merely read, but studied, it furnishes us with a storehouse of knowledge which enables us to improve every God-given endowment. It teaches us our obligation to use the faculties given us. Guided by its precepts, we may render obedience to God’s requirements.
4 All who will come to the Word of God for guidance, with humble, inquiring minds, determined to know the terms of salvation, will understand what saith the Scripture. But those who bring to the investigation of the Word a spirit which it does not approve, will take away from the search a spirit which it has not imparted. The Lord will not speak to a mind that is unconcerned. He wastes not His instruction on one who is willingly irreverent or polluted. But the tempter educates every mind that yields itself to his suggestions and is willing to make of none effect God’s holy law.
5 We need to humble our hearts, and with sincerity and reverence search the Word of life; for that mind alone that is humble and contrite can see light. The heart, the mind, the soul must be prepared to receive light. There must be silence in the soul. The thoughts must be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. The boastful self-confidence and self-sufficiency must stand rebuked in the presence of the Word of God. The Lord speaks to the heart that humbles itself before Him.
6 Stirring times are before us, and it is fatal to be careless and indifferent. “Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” We can not afford to be disobedient to God’s requirements. The wrath which the impenitent are now treasuring up against that day when the judgment shall sit, and every case shall be judged according to the things written in the books of heaven, will soon break upon them. Then the voice of mercy will no longer plead in behalf of the sinner.
7 If the invitations given now are refused, if we persist in disobedience, we shall have no second probation. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve,”—God or mammon. Now, while it is called today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart, lest it be the last invitation of mercy.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1052
1 See the weary traveler toiling over the hot sand of the desert, with no shelter to protect him from the rays of the tropical sun. His water supply fails, and he has nothing with which to slake his burning thirst. His tongue becomes swollen; he staggers like a drunken man. Visions of home and friends pass before his mind as he believes himself ready to perish. Suddenly he sees in the distance, rising out of the dreary, sandy waste, a palm tree, green and flourishing. Hope quickens his pulses; he presses on, knowing that that which gives vigor and freshness to the palm tree will cool his fevered blood and give him renewed life.
2 As is the palm tree in the desert—a guide and a consolation to the fainting traveler—so the Christian is to be in the world. He is to guide weary souls, full of unrest, and ready to perish in the desert of sin, to the living water. He is to point his fellow-men to Him who gives to all the invitation, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.”
3 The sky may be as brass, the burning sand may beat about the palm tree’s roots, and pile itself about its trunk; yet the tree lives on, fresh and vigorous. Remove the sand, and you discover the secret of its life; its roots strike down deep into the waters hidden in the earth.
4 Thus it is with the Christian. His life is hid with Christ in God. Jesus is to him a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life. His faith, like the rootlets of the palm-tree, penetrates beneath the things that are seen, drawing life from the fountain of life. And, amid all the corruption of the world, he is true and loyal to God. The sweet influence of Christ’s righteousness surrounds him. His influence elevates and blesses.
5 The humblest and poorest of the disciples of Jesus can be a blessing to others. They may not realize that they are doing any special good, but by their unconscious influence they may start waves of blessings that will widen and deepen, and the blessed results they may never know till the day of final reward. They are not required to weary themselves with anxiety about success. They have only to go forward quietly, doing faithfully the work God’s providence assigns, and their life will not be in vain. Their own souls will be growing more and more into the likeness of Christ; they are workers together with God in this life, and are thus fitting for the higher work and the unshadowed joy of the life to come.
6 As you go through life, you will meet with those whose lot is far from easy. Toil and deprivation, with no hope for better things in the future, make their burden very heavy. And when pain and sickness is added, the burden is almost greater than they can bear. Careworn and oppressed, they know not where to turn for relief. Put your whole heart into the work of helping them. It is not God’s purpose that His children shall shut themselves up to themselves. Remember that for them as well as for you, Christ died. Hold out to them a helping hand. This will open the way for you to help them, to win their confidence, to inspire them with hope and courage.
7 All have trials, griefs hard to bear, temptations hard to resist. Do not tell your troubles to your fellow-mortals, but carry everything to God in prayer. Make it a rule never to utter one word of doubt or discouragement. You can do much to brighten the lives of others and to strengthen their efforts, by words of holy cheer.
8 There is many a brave soul sorely pressed with temptation, almost ready to faint in the conflict with self and with the powers of evil. Do not discourage such a one in his hard struggle. Cheer him with brave, hopeful words that will urge him on his way. “None of us liveth to himself.” By our unconscious influence others may be encouraged and strengthened.
9 The service rendered in sincerity has great recompense. “Thy Father, which seeth in secret, Himself shall reward thee openly.” The faces of men and women who walk and work with God express the peace of heaven. They are surrounded with the atmosphere of heaven. For these souls the kingdom of God has begun. They have Christ’s joy, the joy of being a blessing to humanity. They have the honor of being accepted for the Master’s use; they are trusted to do His work in His name.
E. G. White.
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Page 1053
1 The Lord is honored when we trust in Him, bringing to Him all our perplexities. “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name,” He says, “that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” God’s appointments and grants in our behalf are without limit. The throne of grace is the center of attraction, because occupied by One who permits us to call Him Father. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2 Jehovah did not deem the plan of salvation complete while it was invested only with His own love. He has placed at His altar an Advocate clothed with our nature, whose office it is to introduce us to God as His sons and daughters. Christ intercedes in behalf of all who receive Him. He gives to them power to become the sons of God. And the Father demonstrates His love for Christ by receiving and welcoming Christ’s friends as His friends. He is satisfied with the atonement made. He is glorified by the mediation of His Son. We are accepted in the Beloved.
3 In Christ’s name our petitions ascend to the Father. He intercedes in our behalf, and the Father lays open for our appropriation all the treasures of His grace. “Ask in My name,” Christ says. “I do not say that I will pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loveth you, because you love Me. Make use of My name. This will give your prayers efficiency and power, the Father will give you the riches of His grace. Wherefore ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
4 What more could God do for us than He has already done? The rainbow encircling the throne is an everlasting promise that all who approach Him will find pardon. Christ encourages us to pray always. He seeks to draw us to Him, that He may satisfy His desire to help us. He urges us to present our needs. His heart of love is filled with an earnest desire to bring us in close touch with God.
5 When Satan tells you that the Lord will not regard you with favor, because you have sinned, say, “Jesus gave His life for me. He suffered a cruel death that He might enable me to resist temptation. I know that He loves me, notwithstanding my imperfection. I rest in His love. God has accepted His perfection in my behalf. He is my righteousness, and I trust in His merits. He takes away my sin-stained garments, and clothes me with the robe of His righteousness. Clothed with this garment, I stand before the Father justified.”
6 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?” “I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
7 Yes; Christ has become the medium of prayer and of blessing between God and man. He places the whole influence of His righteousness on the side of the suppliant. He pleads for man; and man, in need of divine help, pleads for himself, using the name of the One who gave His life for the life of the world. As we approach God in Christ’s name, acknowledging our appreciation of His sacrifice, fragrance is given to our petitions. We are clothed with His priestly vestments. The Saviour draws us close to His side, encircling us with His human arm, while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Infinite.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1054
1 It is the mother’s privilege to train her children for heaven. This is her high calling. But the work is a difficult one, requiring more than human strength and wisdom, and oftentimes the weary, over-burdened mother feels that the task is too much for her. But listen, tired mother, to the invitation of the Saviour, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” Go to Him, with your little ones in your arms. He who has said, “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not,” will not turn you away. He will welcome you, and will give you peace and joy. In His presence you will find strength that will give you courage and wisdom for the most trying hour.
2 If mothers would go to Christ more frequently, if they would trust Him more fully, their burdens would be lighter, and they would find rest. Jesus knows the burden of every mother. He is her best friend in every emergency. His everlasting arms support her. That Saviour whose mother struggled with poverty and privation, sympathizes with every mother in her work, and hears her earnest prayers. That Saviour who went on a long journey for the purpose of relieving the anxious heart of a Canaanitish woman, will do as much for the afflicted mother of today. He who gave back to the widow of Nain her only son as he was being carried to burial, is today touched by the bereaved mother’s woe. He who wept at the grave of Lazarus, who pardoned Mary Magdalene, who on the cross remembered His mother’s needs, who after the resurrection appeared to the weeping women, and made them His messengers, is today woman’s best friend, ready to aid her in her need if she will trust in Him.
3 Mothers, be faithful. Do not become discouraged in your work. Talk to your children of Christ, and pray with and for them. Your words will abide in their hearts. They may not seem to heed what you say. They may put on an appearance of indifference and levity, as if your words were disregarded. But do not cease your efforts in their behalf. Your words are in their mind. They can not forget them. You have sown the seed. In years to come, it will spring up and bring forth much fruit.
4 How many times has the remembrance of a mother’s prayers and admonitions checked the absent child when about to yield to temptation. “When I was a child,” said an old man, “my mother used to bid me kneel down beside her, and placing her hand on my head, she would implore God’s blessing on her boy. Before I was old enough to know her worth, she died, and I was left to my own guidance. I was naturally inclined to evil, but again and again I was restrained by the thought of my mother’s prayers. When a young man, I traveled much, and was exposed to many temptations. But when I would have yielded to temptation, I seemed to feel the pressure of my mother’s hand upon my head, and I was saved. Sometimes there came with it a voice in my heart, a voice that must be obeyed: “O do not this wickedness, my son; sin not against thy God.”
5 Christian mother, forget not where lies the Source of your strength. Abound in prayer—fervent, earnest, wrestling prayer. Great and arduous are your duties, and great your need of help from on high. You need wisdom, firmness, patience, self-control. Whither can you go for these but to the mercy-seat of Him who “giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not”? “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.”
6 Constant prayer will fit you for your duties. By prayer you may lay hold of the strength of God, and be enabled to say with the apostle, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.”
7 In the arms of faith carry your children to the Saviour. Plead for them the promises of God. A mother’s voice will never plead in vain. Pride would teach you to ask for worldly honor, earthly greatness, for your loved ones; but O, ask for them a greater boon than these. Reach out and grasp for them a prize the worth of which eternity alone will reveal.
8 O mother, you have a labor of love to perform. Faint not, neither grow weary. Let a sense of the importance of your high calling animate you to run with patience the race set before you. And when you have finished your course, yours will be the unspeakable joy of being welcomed with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” And with your loved ones around you, you will stand on Mount Zion, and cast your crown at Jesus’ feet, saying, Not unto us, but unto Thy name be glory.
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Page 1055
1 The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. . . . For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. . . . God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
2 After the fall of our first parents, Christ declared that in order to save man from the penalty of sin, He would come to the world to conquer Satan on the enemy’s own battle-field. The controversy that began in heaven was to be continued on the earth.
3 In this controversy much was to be involved. Vast interests were at stake. Before the inhabitants of the heavenly universe were to be answered the questions: “Is God’s law imperfect, in need of amendment or abrogation, or is it immutable? Is God’s government in need of change, or is it stable?”
4 Before Christ’s first advent, the sin of refusing to conform to God’s law had become widespread. Apparently Satan’s power was growing; his warfare against heaven was becoming more and more determined. A crisis had been reached. With intense interest God’s movements were watched by the heavenly angels. Would He come forth from His place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity? Would He send fire or flood to destroy them? All heaven waited the bidding of their Commander to pour out the vials of wrath upon a rebellious world. One word from Him, one sign, and the world would have been destroyed. The worlds unfallen would have said, “Amen. Thou art righteous, O God, because Thou hast exterminated rebellion.”
5 But “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God might have sent His Son to condemn, but He sent Him to save. Christ came as a Redeemer. No words can describe the effect of this movement on the heavenly angels. With wonder and admiration they could only exclaim, “Herein is love!”
6 Christ entered upon His mission of mercy, and from the manger to the cross was beset by the enemy. Satan contested every inch of ground, exerting his utmost power to overcome Him. Like a tempest temptation after temptation beat upon Him. But the more mercilessly they fell, the more firmly did the Son of God cling to the hand of His Father, and press on in the blood-stained path.
7 The severity of the conflict through which Christ passed was proportionate to the vastness of the interests involved in His success or failure. It was not merely the interests of one world that were at stake. This earth was the battle-field, but all the worlds that God has created would be affected by the result of the conflict.
8 Satan sought to overthrow Christ, in order that he himself might continue to reign in this world as supreme. And he planned and carried out the murder of Christ in the hope that the Son of God would not endure a death made as terrible as his cunning could make it. He thought to prove the truth of his assertion that Christ was not self-sacrificing.
9 Inspired by Satanic influences, men clamored for the Saviour’s crucifixion. All heaven watched the successive stages of his humiliation,—His trial, rejection, and death. Satan laid every scheme, planned every evil, inflamed every mind to bring affliction on the Son of God. He it was who instigated the false accusations against One who had done only good; he it was who inspired men to commit the cruel deeds that added to His suffering.
10 Satan sought to make it appear that he was working for the liberty of the universe. He was determined to make his arguments so varied, so deceptive, so insidious, that every one would be convinced that God’s law was tyrannical. Even while hanging on the cross, assailed by Satan with his fiercest temptations, Christ was victorious. He did not yield up His life until He had accomplished the work which He came to do, and with His parting breath He exclaimed, “It is finished.” The battle had been won. His right hand and His holy arm had gotten Him the victory. The blood of the innocent had been shed for the guilty. By the life that He gave, man was ransomed from eternal death, and the doom of him who had the power of death was sealed.
11 Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan clearly revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds. Then the prevarications and accusations of him who had once been an exalted angel were seen in their true light. It was seen that his professedly spotless character was deceptive. His deeply laid scheme to exalt himself to supremacy was fully discerned. His falsehoods were apparent to all. God’s authority was forever established. Truth triumphed over falsehood.
12 Not merely in the minds of a few finite creatures in this world, but in the minds of all the inhabitants of the heavenly universe, has the immutability of God’s law been established. Satan’s course against Christ was heralded to every world. When the issue was finally determined, every unfallen being expressed indignation at the rebellion. With one voice they extolled God as righteous, merciful, self-denying, just. His law had been vindicated.
13 The heavenly universe had witnessed the weapons that were chosen by the Prince of Life—the words of Scripture, “It is written,” and the weapons used by the prince of the world—falsehood and deception. They had seen the Prince of Life deal in straightforward lines of truth, honesty, and integrity, while the prince of the world exercised his power of cunning, artful secrecy, intrigue, enmity, and revenge. They had seen the One who bore the banner of truth sacrifice everything, even His life, to maintain truth, while the one who bore the banner of rebellion continued to strengthen his accusations against the God of truth. The heavenly worlds and heaven itself were amazed at God’s long forbearance.
14 When God expressed His abhorrence of Satan, and his indignation against him, the whole universe responded. They had been convinced. The last vestige of affection for the fallen angels had been uprooted; the last tie had been severed. The Lord had demonstrated His wisdom and justice in banishing Satan from heaven.
15 By his own course of action Satan has forged a chain by which he will be bound. The inhabitants of the heavenly universe will bear witness to God’s justice in his destruction. Heaven itself has seen what heaven would be, if he were allowed to remain in it. All the unfallen beings are now united in regarding God’s law as changeless. They support the government of Him, who, to redeem the transgressor, spared not His own Son. His law has been proved faultless. His government is forever secure. The Father, the Son, and Lucifer have been revealed in their true relation to one another. God has given unmistakable evidence of His justice and His love.
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Page 1056
1 The ethics inculcated by the Gospel acknowledge no standard but the perfection of God’s mind, God’s will. God requires from His creatures conformity to His will. Imperfection of character is sin, and sin is the transgression of the law. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole. Every one who receives Christ as his personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes. This it the science of holiness.
2 How glorious are the possibilities set before the fallen race! Through His Son, God has revealed the excellency to which man is capable of attaining. Through the merits of Christ, man is lifted from his depraved state, purified, and made more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir. It is possible for him to become a companion of the angels in glory, and to reflect the image of Jesus Christ, shining even in the bright splendor of the eternal throne. It is his privilege to have faith that through the power of Christ he shall be made immortal. Yet how seldom he realizes to what heights he could attain if he would allow God to direct his every step!
3 God permits every human being to exercise his individuality. He desires no one to submerge his mind in the mind of a fellow mortal. Those who desire to be transformed in mind and character are not to look to men, but to the divine Example. God gives the invitation, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” By conversion and transformation, men are to receive the mind of Christ. Every one is to stand before God with an individual faith, an individual experience, knowing for himself that Christ is formed within, the hope of glory. For us to imitate the example of any man,—even one whom we might regard as nearly perfect in character,—would be to put our trust in a defective human being, one who is unable to impart a jot or tittle of perfection.
4 As our Example we have One who is all and in all, the chiefest among ten thousand, One whose excellency is beyond comparison. He graciously adapted His life for universal imitation. United in Christ were wealth and poverty; majesty and abasement; unlimited power, and meekness and lowliness which in every soul who receives Him will be reflected. In Him, through the qualities and powers of the human mind, the wisdom of the greatest Teacher the world has ever known was revealed.
5 Before the world, God is developing us as living witnesses to what men and women may become through the grace of Christ. We are enjoined to strive for perfection of character. The divine Teacher says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Would Christ tantalize us by requiring of us an impossibility?—Never, never! What an honor He confers upon us in urging us to be holy in our sphere, as the Father is holy in His sphere! He can enable us to do this, for He declares, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” This unlimited power it is our privilege to claim.
6 The glory of God is His character. While Moses was in the mount, earnestly interceding with God, He prayed, “I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.” In answer God declared “I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
7 The glory of God—His character—was then revealed: “The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.”
8 This character was revealed in the life of Christ. That He might by His own example condemn sin in the flesh, He took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh. Constantly He beheld the character of God; constantly He revealed this character to the world.
9 Christ desires His followers to reveal in their lives this same character. In His intercessory prayer for His disciples He declared: “The glory [character] which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
10 Today it is still His purpose to sanctify and cleanse His church “with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” No greater gift than the character that He revealed, can Christ ask His Father to bestow upon those who believe on Him. What largeness there is in His request! What fulness of grace every follower of Christ has the privilege of receiving!
11 God works with those who properly represent His character. Through them His will is done on earth as it is done in heaven. Holiness leads its possessor to be fruitful, abounding in every good work. He who has the mind that was in Christ never becomes weary in well-doing. Instead of expecting promotion in this life, he looks forward to the time when the Majesty of heaven shall exalt the sanctified ones to His throne, saying unto them “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
12 O that we might more fully appreciate the honor Christ confers upon us! By wearing His yoke and learning of Him, we become like Him in aspiration, in meekness and lowliness, in fragrance of character, and unite with Him in ascribing praise and honor and glory to God as supreme. Those who live up to their high privileges in this life will receive an eternal reward in the life to come. If faithful, we shall join the heavenly musicians in singing with sweet accord songs of praise to God and to the Lamb.
13 It is our life-work to be reaching forward to the perfection of Christian character, striving constantly for conformity to God’s will. Day by day we are to press upward, ever upward, until of us it can be said, “Ye are complete in Him.”
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Page 1057
1 Because the world was ruined through sin, God gave His Son to draw men back to Him. He so loved the world that He gave all that heaven could give for the saving of the lost. In every soul that receives this love, it will manifest itself in like manner. God so loved that He gave all. If we love with His love, we too will give all. We shall be co-workers with Him whose mission it is to “preach the Gospel to the poor, . . . to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” All who pray in sincerity, “Be Thou my pattern,” will work in Christ’s lines; they will show that they themselves are striving to follow Christ, and, as the natural result, they will lead others to seek the higher life.
2 “Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” All about us there are souls who have gone out of the way—souls who have been wounded and bruised by the enemy, and who long for help, for comfort, for sympathy. These souls, when brought in contact with us, should find a strong hand stretched out to clasp their hand—a strong, living faith, that will help them to put their trust in Jesus.
3 Let none feel that Christ has placed them on the judgment seat, to pass judgment on a brother or a sister who has fallen into error. Many hearts are sorely stricken, to whom words fitly spoken would bring peace and rest. Such ones are a test to their brethren and sisters. All Heaven looks on to see how we deal with those who need our help. The way in which we relate ourselves to them shows whether the fire of divine love is burning in our hearts.
4 Every one who names the name of Christ is called, so far as lies in his power, to help every other soul in the heavenward way. The Saviour records all such efforts as put forth for Himself; for He has identified Himself with suffering human beings.
5 The power of speech is a precious gift of God, and when used to utter words of hope and courage to the oppressed, it is a savor of life unto life. But it may be a savor of death unto death. Harsh, or even thoughtless words may be a great hindrance to the struggling, fainting soul. They may sting and bruise until he is driven upon Satan’s battle-ground, never again to listen to the voice of Christ.
6 What power for good the church would have, if all its members were so imbued with the Spirit of Christ that they would speak only words of comfort and hope; if no one felt at liberty to judge, to oppress, to cast a shadow on the life of another!
7 Many, blinded by sin, have lost sight of Christ, and are groping in the dark shadow of discouragement. Go to them, with a heart filled with love and tenderness, and tell them of the Saviour. Invite them to receive the righteousness of Christ, to claim justification through faith in the divine Surety. Point them to His atonement for their sins, to His merits, and His changeless love for them.
8 “That he might sanctify the people with His own blood,” Jesus “suffered without the gate,” bearing the reproach. “Let us go therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. . . . Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.”
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Page 1058
1 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
2 He who would enter in at the strait gate must put away all love of the world. There is not room to walk in the narrow way carrying the things of the world. He who would walk in this way must make an entire consecration of his all to God. Christ says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Those who love wealth, worldly honor, high position, can not enter in at the strait gate unless they part with these idols.
3 Our besetting sins must be laid aside. There is no room to walk in the narrow way, and at the same time cherish evil surmisings, doubts, criticisms, envy, unkindness. To enter the strait gate and travel the narrow way demands firmness of purpose, perseverance, steadfastness; for on every hand there are voices inviting the soul into forbidden paths. It demands that we give the future life our first attention. We are to cut away from our lives everything that would hinder our progress. Every inclination to evil must be denied, every habit not in harmony with the word of God must be overcome. We are to be one with Christ. We are to refuse to turn into the path of transgression, even tho natural inclination would lead us to take a course in opposition to God’s will. Those who thus strive to follow Christ will hear His voice saying to them, “He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
4 An entrance to the strait gate does not depend on the possession of riches or learning, but it does depend on the possession of a teachable spirit. We are to search the Scriptures with a determined purpose to know the will of God. He who comes to the Bible with a humble, teachable spirit, with a heart that prefers truth to error, and the favor of God to the friendship of the world, will know of the doctrine. He will not be left to be deceived by the enemy, or to be swayed hither and thither by false doctrines. Christ will guide him day by day, and he will enter the strait gate, to walk in the narrow path that leads to life.
5 Let us not refuse to enter the strait gate because we can not see the whole of the path to the Paradise of God. He who receives the first ray of light sent him, and walks in it, bringing his actions into harmony with God’s Word, will receive more light. He who walks in the light as it comes, not waiting to have every doubt removed, every mystery solved, will follow on to know the Lord. For him the light will shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. His path will be illuminated as he advances. God’s Word will be a lamp to his feet and a light to his path.
6 Let us follow our Leader. He has trodden the way before us, and He will lead us safely. With unquestioning confidence in our Guide, let us go forward as children of light.
Page 1059
1 The Lord created man pure and holy. But Satan led him astray, perverting his principles and corrupting his mind, turning his thoughts into a wrong channel. His purpose was to make the world wholly corrupt.
2 Christ saw man’s fearful danger, and He determined to save him by the sacrifice of Himself. That He might accomplish His purpose of love for the fallen race, He became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. “As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
3 “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.” Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, a new principle of mental and spiritual power was to be brought to man, who, through association with divinity, was to become one with God. Christ, the redeemer and restorer, was to sanctify and purify man’s mind, making it a power that would draw other minds to Himself. It is His purpose, by the elevating, sanctifying power of the truth, to give men nobility and dignity. He desires His children to reveal His character, to exert His influence, that other minds may be drawn into harmony with His mind. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. . . . For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
4 Christ might, because of our guilt, have moved far away from us. But instead of moving farther away, He came and dwelt among us, filled with all the fulness of the Godhead, to be one with us, that through His grace we might attain perfection. By a death of shame and suffering He paid our ransom. From the highest excellency He came, His divinity clothed with humanity, descending step by step to the lowest depths of humiliation. No line can measure the depth of His love.
5 Christ has shown us how much our God can love and suffer in order to secure our complete restoration. The Son of God, in whom dwelt absolute perfection, became sin for the fallen race. He did not know sin by the experience of sinning, but He bore the terrible weight of the guilt of the whole world. He became our propitiation, that all who receive Him may become sons of God. The cross was erected to save man. Christ uplifted on the cross was the means devised in heaven of awakening in the human soul a sense of the sinfulness of sin. By the cross Christ sought to draw all to Himself. He died as the only hope of saving those who because of sin were in the gall of bitterness.
6 To break down the barrier that Satan had erected between God and man, Christ made a full and complete sacrifice, revealing unexampled self-denial. He revealed to the world the amazing spectacle of God living in human flesh, and sacrificing Himself to save fallen men. What wonderful love! As I think of it, I weep to think that so many of those who claim to believe in Christ are encrusted with selfishness. Living for self, they know not their Saviour. O that they had more faith, more love! If they entered into God’s work in the spirit of Christ, if they knew the power of His grace, they would be imbued with holy zeal. They would labor earnestly to give the Lord’s workmen in needy, difficult fields every possible advantage. With their prayers and with their means they would compass sea and land to establish memorials for God.
7 It is because the divine influence has not imbued Christ’s followers that there is so little unselfish work. A message must be borne to the world that will impart new, sanctified impulses to those who are corrupted by sin. By those nigh and afar off the message is to be heard.
8 My soul is filled with sorrow as I see those professing to be children of God bringing their sinful habits and tendencies into the Christian life. Self gains the mastery, and Christ is dishonored. I marvel that professing Christians do not grasp the divine resources, that they do not see the cross more clearly as the medium of forgiveness and pardon, the means of bringing the proud, selfish heart of man into direct contact with the Holy Spirit, that the riches of Christ may be poured into the mind, and the human agent be adorned with the graces of the Spirit, that Christ may be commended to those who know Him not.
Page 1060
1 I cut from an exchange the following paragraphs. They convey an important lesson, and one well worthy of our consideration:—
2 A lady had just parted with some friends who had been her guests for a few days. With a feeling of loneliness she sat down in her deserted drawing-room. Her eyes fell on a Bible, and opening it, she read the words, “What have they seen in thine house?” “Strange words,” she thought. “What do they mean?” Glancing through the preceding chapter, she learned how graciously the Lord had delivered Hezekiah from the dangers of battle and then from sickness. She read how ambassadors came with presents from the king of Babylon, and how Hezekiah entertained them. What did he show them?—”Not the Lord’s doings,” said the lady, with a rising feeling of self-reproach. “Surely,” she thought, “the Lord must have sent these words to me. Two years ago the Lord delivered me in my terrible conflict with unbelief, and brought me into the liberty and joy of a child of God.
3 “Last summer, when I lay in my darkened chamber, sick unto death, I earnestly entreated God to give me back my health, that I might tell my friends of Christ’s love and righteousness, and of the wonderful riches of His grace.
4 “Mrs. R. and her daughter have been my guests, and now the Lord asks me, ‘What have they seen in thine house?’ What can I answer? After dinner yesterday I showed them all our water-color drawings; then I took Mrs. R. to my boudoir to see my new carpet. I do not remember what they saw on Wednesday, except that I showed Mrs. R. the beautiful set of jewels that my uncle gave me. We spent Wednesday afternoon considering what our children should wear next spring. What a precious opportunity I have lost of speaking to her of the spotless robe of Christ’s righteousness. And Marian has gone home longing to have a bracelet like the one she saw on my child. Had I been faithful, she would have left me to speak of Jesus and His glory.
5 “What have they seen in my house? Alas! vanity, idleness, worldly treasure! And what have they heard? True, they heard family reading and prayer. But it must have seemed a mere form. They must have thought that we had far more delight in the worldly songs that were sung, and in the gay conversation, which the form of family worship hardly interrupted. They left me, having seen nothing better than the visitors from Babylon saw in the house of Hezekiah.”
6 Reader, is not this a word to your soul? Look around you, and see how many things you have gathered that war against the soul. Review your social intercourse, your entertainment of guests, and then to God answer the question, “What have they seen in thine house?”
7 I hope that these paragraphs which I have quoted will impress the minds of those who read them as forcibly as they did mine. We are living amid the closing scenes of this earth’s history. It is a time when we should draw very near to God. How is our time occupied? What are we doing to lead those with whom we associate to seek earnestly for higher, holier attainments? The Lord has given us the assurance that we may be laborers together with Him in the work of soul-saving. He desires us to be ever on the watch for opportunities to point souls to Christ, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
8 What have your friends and acquaintances seen in your house? Are you, instead of revealing the treasures of the grace of Christ, displaying those things that will perish with the using? Or do you, to those with whom you are brought in contact, communicate some new thought of Christ’s character and work? Have you always some fresh revelation of His pitying love to impart to those who know Him not?
9 Study the case of Hezekiah. He had been sick unto death. He had appealed to the Lord, and God had added to his life fifteen years. “At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures; there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them. Then said Isaiah unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.”
10 The visit of the ambassadors to Hezekiah was a test of his gratitude and devotion. The record says, “Howbeit, in all the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.” God had raised him from a bed of death, giving him a new lease of life. The Babylonians had heard of his wonderful recovery. They marveled that the sun had been turned back ten degrees, as a sign that the word of the Lord should be fulfilled. They sent messengers to Hezekiah to congratulate him on his recovery. The visit of these messengers gave him an opportunity to extol the God of heaven. How easy it would have been to point them to the God of gods. But pride and vanity took possession of Hezekiah’s heart, and in his self-exaltation he laid open to covetous eyes the treasures with which God had enriched His people. Not to glorify God did he do this, but to exalt himself in the eyes of the foreign princes. He did not stop to think that these men had not the fear or the love of God in their hearts, and that therefore they were not safe confidants. His indiscretion prepared the way for national disaster. The ambassadors carried to Babylon the report of Hezekiah’s riches, and the king and his counsellors planned to enrich Babylon with the treasures of Jerusalem.
11 Had Hezekiah improved the opportunity given him to bear witness to the power, the goodness, the compassion, of the God of Israel, the report of the ambassadors would have been as light piercing darkness. But he magnified himself above the Lord of hosts, and failed to give God the glory. He “rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up; therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.”
12 O that those for whom God has done marvelous things would show forth His praises, and tell of His mighty works. But how often those for whom God works are like Hezekiah,—forgetful of the Giver of all their blessings.
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Page 1061
1 God can not display the knowledge of His will, and the wonders of His grace, among the unbelieving world, unless He has witnesses scattered all over the earth. This is God’s plan: that men and women who are partakers of this great salvation through Jesus Christ, should be His missionaries, bodies of light throughout the world, to be as signs to the people—living epistles, known and read of all men; their faith and works testifying to the near approach of the coming Saviour, and that they have not received the grace of God in vain. The people must be warned to prepare for the coming Judgment. To those who have been listening only to fables, God will give an opportunity to hear the sure word of prophecy, whereunto they do well that they take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. God will present the sure word of truth to the understanding of all who will take heed, that they may contrast truth with the fables which have been presented to them by men who claim to understand the Word of God, and profess to be qualified to instruct those in darkness.
2 Many who have called themselves Adventists have been time-setters. Time after time has been set for Christ to come, but repeated failures have been the result. The definite time of our Lord’s coming is declared to be beyond the ken of mortals. Even the angels who minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation, know not the day nor the hour. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Because the times repeatedly set have passed, the world is in a more decided state of unbelief than before in regard to the near advent of Christ. They look upon the failures of the time-setters with disgust; and because men have been so deceived, they turn from the truth substantiated by the Word of God that the end of all things is at hand.
3 Those who presumptuously preach definite time, in so doing gratify the adversary of souls; for they are advancing infidelity rather than Christianity. They produce scripture, and by false interpretation show a chain of argument which apparently proves their position. But their failures show that they are false prophets, that they do not rightly interpret the language of Inspiration. The Word of God is truth and verity; but men have perverted its meaning. These errors have brought the truth of God for these last days into disrepute. Adventists are derided by ministers of all denominations. Yet God’s servants must not hold their peace. The signs foretold in prophecy are fast fulfilling around us. This should arouse every true follower of Christ to zealous action.
4 In Noah’s day, the inhabitants of the old world laughed to scorn what they termed the superstitious fears and forebodings of the preacher of righteousness. He was denounced as a visionary character, a fanatic, an alarmist. “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man.” Men will reject the solemn message of warning in our day as they did in Noah’s time. They will refer to those false teachers who have predicted the event and set the definite time, and will say that they have no more faith in our warning than in theirs. This is the attitude of the world today. Unbelief is wide spread, and the preaching of Christ’s coming is mocked at and derided. This makes it all the more essential that those who believe present truth should show their faith by their works. They should be sanctified through the truth which they profess to believe; for they are savors of life unto life, or of death unto death.
5 Noah preached to the people of his time that God would give them one hundred and twenty years in which to repent of their sins, and find refuge in the ark; but they refused the gracious invitation. Abundant time was given them to turn from their sins, overcome their bad habits, and develop righteous characters. But inclination to sin, tho weak at first with many, strengthened through repeated indulgence, and hurried them on to irretrievable ruin. The merciful warning of God was rejected with sneers, with mocking, and derision, and they were left in darkness, to follow the course their sinful hearts had chosen. But their unbelief did not hinder the predicted event. It came, and great was the wrath of God which was seen in the general ruin.
6 These words of Christ should sink into the hearts of all who believe in Christ’s soon coming. “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Our danger is presented before us by Christ Himself. He knew the perils we should meet in these last days, and would have us prepare for them. “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man.” They were eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and swept them all away. The day of God will find men absorbed in like manner in the business and pleasures of the world, in feasting and gluttony, and indulging perverted appetite in the defiling use of liquor, and the narcotic, tobacco. This is already the condition of our world, and these indulgences are found even among God’s professed people. Lawyers, mechanics, farmers, traders, and even ministers from the pulpit, are crying “Peace and safety,” when destruction is fast coming upon them.
7 What a responsible position, to unite with the Redeemer of the world in the salvation of men! This work calls for self-denial, sacrifice, and benevolence; for perseverance, courage, and faith. Why there are so little results seen of those who minister in word and doctrine, is, they have not the fruit of the grace of God in their hearts and lives. They have not faith. Many who profess to be ministers of Jesus Christ, manifest a wonderful submission in seeing the unconverted all around them going to perdition. A minister of Christ has no right to be at ease, and sit down submissively to the fact that the truth is powerless, and souls are not stirred by its presentation. They should resort to prayer, and should work and pray without ceasing. Those who submit to remain destitute of spiritual blessings, without an earnest wrestling for those blessings, consent to have Satan triumph. Persistent, prevailing faith is necessary. God’s ministers must come into close companionship with Christ, and follow His example in all things—in purity of life, in self-denial, in benevolence, in diligence, in perseverance. They should remember that a record will one day appear in evidence against them for the least omission of duty.
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Page 1062
1 Christ saw that it was not possible for man to overcome in his own strength; therefore He came in person from the throne of glory, and bore the test that Adam failed to bear. In man’s behalf He resisted the temptations of the enemy, and made it possible for man, by faith in Him, to overcome in his own behalf. Satan knew that everything depended on the result of his effort to overcome Christ. He knew that if Christ bore the test that Adam failed of bearing, the plan of salvation would be carried out to its fulfilment, and his destruction would be certain. He saw that he must either conquer or be conquered. All the powers of the apostate were rallied against the Son of God. Christ was made the mark of every weapon of hell. Satan bent all his energies to the effort to cause Christ to swerve from his allegiance. From the desert to Calvary, the storm of the enemy’s wrath beat upon the Saviour; but the more mercilessly it fell, the more firmly did the Son of God cling to the hand of His Father, and press on in the blood-stained path. All the efforts of Satan to overcome Him only brought out in a purer light His spotless character.
2 In our own strength it is impossible for us to conquer in the conflict with sin. But Christ is acquainted with our necessities and our weakness. He came to this world as a man, and as a man lived a life of obedience. We shall never be called upon to suffer as He suffered; for upon Him were laid the sins of the whole world. That we might have eternal life, He endured reproach, mockery, insult, and a death of shame.
3 We need not expect to gain the victory over sin without enduring suffering, or to win the overcomer’s reward by feeble efforts. Think of how much it cost the Saviour, as in the wilderness He battled with temptation. For forty days He fasted and prayed. Weak and emaciated from hunger, worn and haggard with mental agony, “His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.”
4 The Christian life is a life of constant conflict. It is a battle and a march. Every act of obedience, every deed of self-denial, every trial bravely endured, every temptation resisted, every victory gained, is a step forward in the march to eternal triumph.
5 There is hope for man. Christ says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” But let us never forget that the efforts we make in our own strength are utterly worthless. Our strength is weakness; our judgment foolishness. Only in the name and strength of the Conqueror can we conquer. When we are pressed with temptation, when unchristlike desires clamor for the mastery, let us offer fervent, importunate prayer to the heavenly Father, in the name of Christ. This will bring divine aid. In the Redeemer’s name we may gain the victory.
6 As, seeing the sinfulness of sin, we fall helpless before the cross, asking forgiveness and strength, our prayer is heard and answered. Those who present their petitions to God in Christ’s name will never be turned away. The Lord says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out.” “He will regard the prayer of the destitute.” Our help comes from Him who holds all things in His hands. The peace that He sends is the assurance of His love to us.
7 Nothing can be more helpless and yet more invincible than the soul that feels its nothingness, and relies wholly upon the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. God would send every angel in heaven to the aid of the one who places his whole dependence on Christ, rather than allow him to be overcome.
8 If we accept Christ as our Guide, He will lead us safely along the narrow way. The road may be rough and thorny, and the ascent steep and dangerous; there may be pitfalls on the right hand and on the left. When weary and longing for rest, we may have to toil on; when faint, we may have to fight; but with Christ as our Guide, we shall not fail of reaching heaven. Christ Himself has trodden the rough path before us, smoothing it for our feet. The way is illuminated by Him who is the light of the world. As we follow in His footsteps, the path grows brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
Page 1063
1 Christ’s last prayer before His trial was for the unity of His followers. “That they all may be one, as We are,” He prayed. O that the importance of this prayer might be impressed on our hearts! O that the spirit of this prayer might influence and control our lives!
2 “Neither pray I for these alone,” He continued, “but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them; and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
3 Upon the virtue of Christ’s sacrifice for us we are all agreed. His prayer for us is that we may be made perfect in one. Shall we not, by obeying His word, make it possible for God to answer this prayer?
4 Harmony existing among men of varied dispositions is the strongest evidence that can be borne that God has sent His Son into the world to save sinners. True Christians are distinct in individuality, and they differ in disposition; but they are sanctified by the same spirit, and they are one in the understanding of the things of God. They are different parts of the same great temple.
5 “A new commandment I give unto you,” Christ said, “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
6 Why did Christ call this a new commandment?—Because He was yet to give, in the sacrifice of His life, the crowning evidence of His love. When this offering should have been made, the gift would be complete, and the disciples would understand more fully the meaning of the new commandment. “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
7 Should not this love be appreciated? Shall we not strive to answer the Saviour’s prayer for unity,—the prescription for the cure of all alienation and strife? Shall we not, without an hour’s delay, begin to fulfil His purpose for us, loving one another as He has loved us? Then will come the glorious result; because we are bound together by the golden chain of love, men will know that we are Christ’s disciples. And the heart of the Saviour will be filled with rejoicing.
8 We are sometimes asked, Why does not God work miracles through the church today, as He did in the days of the apostles?—Because the church refuses to be guided and controlled by Him. Christ’s love in the heart, revealing through the life its wondrous power,—this is the greatest miracle that can be performed before a fallen, quarreling world. Let us make it possible for God to work this miracle. Let us put on Christ, and the miracle-working power of His grace will be so plainly revealed, in the transformation of character, that the world will be convinced that God has sent His Son to make men as angels in life and character.
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Page 1064
1 Christ came to this world as a man, to prove to angels and to men that man may overcome, that in every emergency he may know that the powers of Heaven are ready to help him. Our Saviour took the nature of man, with all its possibilities. We have nothing to endure that He has not endured.
2 At Christ’s baptism the glory of God rested upon Him, as a dove of burnished gold. Light from the throne of God encircled Him, while from heaven were heard the words, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
3 Then Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness; and here His test came. He went into the wilderness to be alone, to contemplate His mission and work. By fasting and prayer He was to brace Himself for the bloodstained path He must travel. But Satan knew that the Saviour had gone into the wilderness; and he thought this the best time to approach Him.
4 Before beginning His public ministry, Christ submitted to the fierce assaults of the enemy, knowing that without conflict there could be no victory. He condescended to engage in the contest under any circumstances that the foe might require. In all things He was made “like unto His brethren.” He was “in all points tempted like as we are.” “In that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
5 In the wilderness Christ and Satan met in combat, Christ in the weakness of humanity, apparently with not a friend to aid Him. Satan is subtle. It is by falsehood that he seeks to prevail. With all the power that he possessed, he tried to overcome the Son of Man. Could he lead the Saviour to swerve a hair’s breadth from His allegiance to God, the victory would be his. The world would pass under his control.
6 Satan charmed the first Adam by his sophistry, just as he charms men and women today, leading them to believe a lie. Adam did not reach above his humanity for divine power. He believed the words of Satan. But the second Adam was not to become the enemy’s bondslave.
7 Adam had the advantage over Christ, in that when he was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon him. He stood in the strength of perfect manhood, possessing full vigor of body and mind. He was surrounded with the glories of Eden, and was in daily communion with heavenly beings. It was not thus with Jesus when He entered the wilderness to cope with Satan. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in physical strength, in mental power, in moral worth; and Christ took upon Him the infirmities of degenerate humanity. Only thus could He rescue man from the lowest depths of degradation.
8 Every device that the enemy could suggest was brought against Him. It was when Christ was in a weakened condition, after His long fast of forty days, that the wisest of the fallen angels used the most enticing words at his command in an effort to compel the mind of Christ to yield to his mind.
9 “If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Here is the insinuation of distrust. In the tones of the tempter’s voice is an expression of utter incredulity. Would God treat His own Son thus? Would He leave Him in the desert with wild beasts, without food, without companions, without comfort? Satan insinuated that God never meant His Son to be in such a state as this. “If Thou be the Son of God,” he says, “show Thy power by relieving Thyself of this pressing hunger. Command that this stone be made bread.”
10 In His reply Christ made no reference to the doubt. He was not to prove His divinity to Satan, or to explain the reason of His humiliation. “It is written,” He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” He met Satan with the words of Scripture. In every temptation the weapon of His warfare was the Word of God. Satan demanded of Christ a miracle as the sign of His divinity. But that which is greater than all miracles, a firm reliance on a “Thus saith the Lord,” was a sign that could not be controverted. So long as Christ held this position, the tempter could gain no advantage.
11 When Christ said to Satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” He repeated the words that, more than fourteen hundred years before, He had spoken to Israel: “The Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, . . . and He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out the mouth of the Lord doth man live.” In the wilderness, when all means of sustenance failed, God sent His people manna from heaven, and a sufficient and constant supply was given. This provision was to teach them that while they trusted in God, and walked in His ways, He would not forsake them. The Saviour now practised the lesson He had taught to Israel. By the word of God succor had been given the Hebrew host, and by the same word it would be given to Jesus. He awaited God’s time to bring relief. He was in the wilderness in obedience to God, and He would not consent to obtain food by following the suggestions of Satan. In the presence of the witnessing universe He testified that it is a less calamity to suffer whatever may befall than to depart in any manner from the will of God.
(Concluded next week.)
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Page 1065
1 Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee; and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.”
2 When Satan quoted the promise, “He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee,” he omitted the words, “to keep thee in all Thy ways;” that is, in all the ways of God’s choosing, Jesus refused to go outside the path of obedience. While manifesting perfect trust in His Father, He would not place Himself unbidden in a position that would necessitate the interposition of His Father to save Him from death. He would not force Providence to come to His rescue, and thus fail of giving man an example of trust and submission.
3 Jesus declared to Satan, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord Thy God.” These words were spoken to the children of Israel when they thirsted in the desert, and demanded that Moses should give them water, exclaiming, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” God had wrought marvelously for them, yet in trouble they doubted Him, and demanded evidence that He was with them. In their unbelief they sought to put Him to the test. And Satan was urging Christ to do the same thing. God had already testified that Jesus was His Son; and now to ask for proof that He was the Son of God would be putting God’s Word to the test,—tempting Him. And the same would be true of asking for that which God had not promised. It would be to manifest distrust, and would be really tempting, or proving, Him. We should not present our petitions to God in order to prove whether He will fulfil His word, but because He will fulfil it; not to prove that He loves us, but because He loves us. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him; for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
4 “Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
5 This was Satan’s crowning effort. Into this effort he threw all His beguiling power. It was the charm of the serpent. He exerted the power of his fascination upon Christ, striving to make Him yield His will to him.
6 In His weakness, Christ laid hold of God. Divinity flashed through humanity. Christ stood revealed as the commander of heaven, and His words were the words of One who has all power. “Get thee hence, Satan,” He said, “for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord Thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”
7 Satan had questioned whether Jesus was the Son of God. In his summary dismissal he had proof that he could not gainsay. He had no power to resist the command. Writhing with humiliation and rage, he was forced to withdraw from the presence of the world’s Redeemer. Christ’s victory was as complete as had been the failure of Adam.
8 Christ knew of the long years of conflict to be waged between man and his subtle foe. He is the refuge of all who, beset by temptation, call upon Him. Temptation and trial will come to us all, but we need never be worsted by the enemy. Our Saviour has conquered in our behalf. Satan is not invincible. Day by day he meets those who are on trial, striving by his wiles to gain the mastery over them. But they have a Helper who was tempted in all points like as they are, and who knows how to succor them. Temptation is not sin; the sin lies in yielding. To the soul that trusts in Jesus, temptation means victory and greater strength.
9 Christ is ready to pardon all who come Him confessing their sins. To the tried, struggling soul is spoken the word, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” Thank God, we have a High Priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities; for He was in all points tempted like as we are.
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Page 1066
1 God has from eternity chosen men to be holy. “This is the will of God concerning you, even your sanctification.” The echo of His voice comes to us, ever saying, “Holier, holier still.” And ever our answer is to be, “Yes, Lord, holier still.”
2 No man receives holiness as a birthright, or as a gift from any other human being. Holiness is the gift of God through Christ. Those who receive the Saviour become sons of God. They are His spiritual children, born again, renewed in righteousness and true holiness. Their minds are changed. With clearer vision they behold eternal realities. They are adopted into God’s family, and they become conformed to His likeness, changed by His Spirit from glory to glory. From cherishing supreme love for self, they come to cherish supreme love for God and for Christ.
3 “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Justification means pardon. It means that the heart, purged from dead works, is prepared to receive the blessing of sanctification. God has told us what we must do to receive this blessing. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” “Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
4 The love of God, cherished in the heart and revealed in the words and acts, will do more to elevate and ennoble human beings than all else can. In the life of Christ, this love found full and complete expression. On the cross of Christ the Saviour made an atonement for the fallen race. Holiness is the fruit of this sacrifice. It is because He has died for us that we are promised this great gift. And Christ longs to bestow this gift on us. He longs to make us partakers of His nature. He longs to save those who by sin have separated themselves from God. He calls upon them to choose His service, to give themselves wholly into His control, to learn from Him how to do God’s will.
5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
6 Jesus is the light of the world. Those who do not receive Him as a personal Saviour can never, never come to the light. They can never have eternal life. But those who follow Him have the light of life. He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness shines into their hearts, revealing through their lives the light of the knowledge of Christ. In His light they see light.
7 Accepting Christ as a personal Saviour, and following His example of self-denial,—this is the secret of holiness. God exalted Christ above every name that is named. But Christ first reached to the depths of humiliation, working out in behalf of the human race a perfect character, and drawing men and women to God by His unselfish ministry. He has set an example that all who engage in His service are to follow. The more Christlike our efforts for God, the wider will be their influence for good, and the greater the work they will accomplish.
Page 1067
1 The old year has gone. The words, “I wish you a Happy New Year,” are repeated far and near, by parents and children, brothers and sisters, acquaintances and friends. In a world like ours, this New Year’s greeting seems more appropriate than the “Merry Christmas,” so lately echoed from lip to lip. On every hand are pale faces, brows furrowed from pain and care, or forms bowed with age. Wherever we turn may be seen the garb of mourning. The suffering, the careworn, and the aged can no longer be merry. In many a household there is a vacant chair; a beloved child or a husband and father, whose presence gladdened the last Christmas and New Year’s festivity, is gone from the circle. To that bereaved family a merry Christmas seems a mockery. But whatever the cares and sorrows of life, whatever its mistakes and errors, the words, “A Happy New Year,” uttered as an expression of love and respect, fall pleasantly upon the ear.
2 And yet, are not these kindly wishes often forgotten with the utterance? How often we fail of carrying their import into the daily life, and thus aid in their fulfilment! How often the New Year’s greeting is uttered by insincere lips, from hearts that would not forego one selfish gratification in order to make others happy!
3 Fathers and mothers, while you wish your children a Happy New year, will you not strive in the fear of God to make it a happy year? Will you not lead your dear ones to the true source of peace and joy? Will you not consecrate your own hearts to God, that you may exert a sanctifying influence upon your children? Will you not separate them from sin, and by living faith connect them with God?
4 A mother may bestow upon her daughters an education that will be invaluable, by training them to bear their share of the family burdens. A father may give his sons a capital worth more than gold or silver, by teaching them to love useful employment. Parents, now is the time to form in your children habits of industry, self-reliance, and self-control; to cultivate economy and business tact. Now is the time to teach them to show courtesy and benevolence toward their fellow-men, and love and reverence for God.
5 By a faithful discharge of duty you may make this a happy year for your children. Home should be to them the most attractive place on earth; and it may be made such by kind words and deeds, and, underlying all, a steadfast adherence to the right. Fathers and mothers, teach your children that the only way to be truly happy is to love and fear God; and emphasize this lesson by your example. Let the children see that the peace of Christ rules in your hearts, and that His love controls your lives.
6 Children who greet your father and mother with “A Happy New Year,” will you make this a happy year to them? It is in your power to make it happy or unhappy. You may lighten their burdens and give them courage and hope, or you may fill their hearts with anxiety and distress. You can not make their new year happy if you live for self-gratification.
7 Begin this year with right purposes and pure motives. Bear in mind that day by day your words and acts are recorded in the books of heaven. You must meet them when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened.
8 How often your lips utter the kindly greeting, “I wish you a Happy New Year,” and then in a few moments speak impatient, fretful words! How many children are always ready to dispute about trifles, unwilling to make the smallest sacrifice for others! To such the new year will bring no real happiness. They may indulge in boisterous mirth, but their hearts know no peace or joy. Will you not come to Jesus with penitence and humility, that He may cleanse you from sin, and prepare you for His kingdom? As you do this, you will have the happiest year that you have ever known. It will bring joy in heaven and joy on earth.
9 Many are the gifts and greetings exchanged on New Year’s day, by parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and acquaintances. When the day is over, many feel a sense of relief. They have done their duty in bestowing presents, and smiles and compliments for the occasion, and there the matter is supposed to end. The next day, and the next, and onward to the end of the year, bring fretful, passionate words, faultfinding, recrimination, and careless neglect of the dear ones of the household. Oh, the record of such a year is one that angels are grieved and ashamed to register. It brings to friends and kindred a gift of sorrow, a burden of unkindness, that crushes hope and makes the grave look desirable.
10 Do we truly wish our loved ones a happy new year? Then let us make it such to them by kindness, by sympathy, by cheerfulness, by unselfish devotion. If we connect with God, the source of peace, and light, and truth, His Spirit will flow through us, to refresh and bless all around us.
11 This year may be our last year of life. Shall we not enter upon it with thoughtful consideration? Shall not sincerity, respect, benevolence, mark our deportment toward all? May this year be a time that shall never be forgotten,—a time when Christ shall abide with us, saying, “Peace be unto you.”
Page 1068
1 What is man,” the psalmist inquires, “that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?” “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold, He taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” Thus, Isaiah declares, God regards the inhabitants of this world, not excepting those who stand at the head of the nobility of the earth, those who have acquired the greatest learning, those to whose lot has fallen great riches and much honor.
2 Notwithstanding the insignificance of this world in comparison with the whole universe, Christ volunteered to take upon Himself the nature of humanity, and to bear on His divine soul the sins of mankind, in order that He might redeem the fallen race and enable them to gain life eternal. Laying aside His kingly crown and royal robe, He left His high command in the heavenly courts, clothed His divinity with humanity, and entered the world as a helpless babe. For our sakes He became poor, that through His poverty we might be made rich.
3 Satan, the powerful angel who had been cast out of heaven, had long claimed dominion on earth. Christ came to conquer this foe, in order that through divine grace we also might obtain the victory over the enemy of our souls. Standing at the head of humanity, Christ by perfect obedience to God’s commandments, demonstrated to the universe that man could withstand Satan’s temptations.
4 It was necessary for Christ to clothe His divinity with humanity. Only thus could He become the Redeemer of the fallen race. In order to be a Saviour indeed, it was necessary for Him to know the power of temptation, to endure every trial and affliction that befalls us. In all our afflictions He was afflicted. He endured every hardship that comes to the poor and the needy. He suffered weariness and hunger. He understands every inconvenience to which we may be put. Under all circumstances He remained faithful to every precept of God’s law, living in our behalf a perfect life. From childhood to manhood He stood the test of obedience.
5 Everything that could be done has been done to make our salvation possible. Christ has obtained an everlasting victory, in order that He might open to us the door of heaven. To obtain our salvation, He hung on Calvary’s cross. For our sake He was laid in the tomb. For us He was raised from the dead; and for us, too, He declared over the rent sepulcher of Joseph. “I am the resurrection and the life.” And when at the close of His earthly ministry He ascended to heaven, the portals of the city of God were opened wide, and He entered as a conqueror, there to take up, in the heavenly sanctuary, His ministry in behalf of those for whom He had given His life. The divine human Son of God is now standing in the presence of the Father, pleading our cases and presenting His sacrifice as the atonement for our transgressions.
6 In view of Christ’s infinite sacrifice, how cruel it is for men and women to refuse the great salvation, or to misrepresent their Saviour after professing to give themselves to His service! How cruel of them to doubt that He will hear their prayers! He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
7 Christ represents His heavenly Father as sustaining the same tender relation to us that an earthly parent sustains to his children. “What man is there of you,” He inquires, “whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things unto them that ask Him?” God gives the Holy Spirit to every one who asks in faith.
8 Having access to the Source of all strength, why do we remain so weak that we yield to temptation? Having so great an assurance of power to enable us to overcome, why are we so faithless? Why do we not always come to our heavenly Father, to ask in simple, childlike faith for the things we need? We should pray much more than we do. In every hour of trial we may gain victory through the strength given in answer to earnest prayer.
9 Christ desires that we shall finally enter the heavenly city as conquerors. Through the grace that He constantly imparts to humanity, He is preparing a people to live with Him throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. This preparation every one who chooses to follow Him may receive. Let us glorify His name by accepting the salvation so freely offered.
Page 1069
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John; who bare record of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.”
2 There should be a closer and more diligent study of the Revelation, and a more earnest presentation of the truths it contains,—truths that concern all who are living in these last days. Into the very designs and principles of the church of God these truths are to enter. If we take up the study of this book in a receptive frame of mind, with hearts susceptible of divine impressions, the truths revealed will have a sanctifying influence upon us.
3 To encourage a study of this book, God declares: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”
4 The Revelation is regarded by many as a closed book. Not a few ministers declare that it can not be understood. But it is our privilege to know something in regard to it. By no means should we become weary of looking into it because of its apparently mystical symbols. Christ can give us understanding. The benediction pronounced upon those who read, and hear, and keep the words of this prophecy, may be ours.
5 The Revelation was written to the seven churches in Asia, which represented the people of God throughout the world. “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.”
6 Banished to the solitudes of the Isle of Patmos, John was favored with the presence of Jesus Christ. How comforting are the words of the aged apostle as he wrote to the churches of his Saviour! “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.”
7 “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” Whether we be saved or lost, we shall sometime see the Saviour as he is, in all His glory, and shall understand His character. At His second coming, conviction will be brought to every heart. Those who have turned from Him to the trivial things of this earth, seeking selfish interests and worldly honor, will in the day of His coming acknowledge their mistake. These are the ones spoken of by the Revelator as “all kindreds of the earth,” who “shall wail because of Him.” Let us not be content to be numbered among the “kindreds of the earth.” Remembering that our citizenship is in heaven, let us lay hold on the hope set before us in the Gospel.
8 “And they also which pierced Him.” These words apply not only to the men who pierced Christ when He hung on the cross of Calvary, but to those who by evil-speaking and wrong-doing are piercing Him today. Daily He suffers the agonies of the crucifixion. Daily men and women are piercing Him by dishonoring Him, by refusing to do His will.
9 The Lord desires us to be men and women in Christ Jesus. Our natural dispositions are to be softened and subdued by His grace. Then we shall not be continually crucifying Him afresh. Our Saviour lived on this earth a perfect life. He is our Example. If we now follow Him, doing His will in all things, we shall in the world to come live with Him forever. Let us keep Him constantly in view. It should be our life-purpose to glorify Christ. This is the great purpose that has inspired Christians in every age. It is by cherishing this purpose that we make sure of eternal salvation. Let us learn to know Him whom to know aright is peace and joy and life everlasting.
10 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
11 “I, John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the Isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
12 In his old age the apostle talked continually of Christ, and the people tired of his words, which rebuked their stubborn refusal of Christ as their Saviour. To rid themselves of John’s testimony, they banished him to Patmos. But in sending him to that lonely isle, they did not place him beyond the reach of Jesus. It was there that he was given a wonderful revelation of his Saviour and of the things that were to come to pass on the earth; and it was on Patmos, too, that he wrote out the record of his visions that we have in the book of Revelation,—a record that will be present truth until all the events foretold shall have taken place.
Page 1070
1
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” writes the prophet of Patmos, “and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead. And, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”
2 It may seem wonderful to us that Christ should reveal Himself to John as He is, strange that He should thus address Himself to the churches. But we should remember that the church, enfeebled and defective tho it is, is the object of Christ’s supreme regard. Constantly He watches over it with tender solicitude, and strengthens it by His Holy Spirit. Will we, as members of His church, allow Him to impress our minds and to work through us to His glory? Will we heed the messages He addresses to the church? Let us determine to be among the number who shall meet Him with joy at His coming, and not among those who “shall wail because of Him.” Let us make certain our redemption by obeying the messages that He gives to His church.
3 Christ bears to the church the words of consolation: “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God, and I will write upon Him My new name.”
4 To the overcomer is promised a crown of unfading glory, and a life that measures with the life of God. “To Him that overcometh,” Christ declares, “will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” Let us strive to obtain an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord. Let us diligently study the Gospel that Christ came in person to present to John on the Isle of Patmos,—the Gospel that is termed, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Let us remember always that “blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand.”
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Page 1071
1 Life is disciplinary. While in the world, the Christian will meet with adverse influences. There will be provocations to test the temper; and it is by meeting these in a right spirit that the Christian graces are developed. If injuries and insults are meekly borne, if insulting words are responded to by gentle answers, and oppressive acts by kindness, this is evidence that the Spirit of Christ dwells in the heart.
2 The standard is high to which we must attain if we would be children of God, pure, holy, and undefiled. How could we reach this standard if there were no difficulties to meet, no obstacles to surmount, nothing to develop patience and endurance? Trials are not the smallest blessings that come to us. They are designed to nerve us to determination to succeed. Instead of allowing them to hinder, oppress, and destroy us, we are to use them as God’s means of enabling us to gain the victory over self.
3 In the daily life we often come in contact with those who are full of pettishness. In dealing with such ones, we are enjoined to “stand, and rejoice.” By obeying this injunction we shall be able always to gain the victory. When some one speaks fretfully, simply “stand, and rejoice.” Do not speak a word in reply to the provoking utterance. If the lips are opened to speak in vindication of self, a volume of words will flow out. Keep silent. This is the easiest way to gain the victory.
4 Words spoken in reply to those who are angry, usually act as a whip, lashing the temper into fury instead of soothing it. Great blessings are lost because of passionate words. Let us learn lessons of self-control. Feelings of anger, when met with silence, die out very quickly. Silence is eloquence, and puts to shame the one who is full of wrath. We can mortify Satan by keeping the tongue with all diligence.
5 Not only are we to rejoice, but we are to “glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Wonderful love! “Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
6 The apostle Paul declares, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Those who do not have this peace are liable to become irritable. He who manifests a fretful, scolding spirit may well ask himself the question, Am I a Christian? So long as he frets and scolds, he is not a Christian, and is exerting an influence that does great harm. Let us put on Christ; let us be Christ-like in every word and act; let us so live that others may see the difference between the disposition of a Christian and the disposition of one who makes no claim to be a follower of Jesus.
7 We are to realize that the divine Presence is constantly by our side. Christ has said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” He hears every unkind word, every harsh, cutting expression. Could we see Him standing by our side, would we speak such words? Words that create heart-burnings and disunion should never escape our lips. Let us guard carefully every word and act, walking in all lowliness of mind, cherishing a spirit of meekness and kindness.
8 Fathers and mothers, whether you are in your home or elsewhere, it is never right for you to speak one disrespectful word to each other. If you are harassed, say firmly to yourself, “This is from Satan. He wants me to echo his words, to communicate his spirit; but this I will not do.” Determine to speak in love; to cultivate patience, kindness, long-suffering, courtesy, and delicacy in dealing with one another. Why?—Because you are Christians; because you are preparing for the society of the heavenly angels, for a home in the kingdom of glory, where no harsh, unkind, impatient words are ever spoken. Remember that it is Satan who prompts men and women to speak unkindly. Sanctify your talent of speech. Words are a precious gift, capable of doing much good, of accomplishing a great work for the Master. Every thought, every word, is recorded in the books of heaven. Guard well your thoughts and words, that in the judgment you may not be ashamed to meet your record.
9 As Satan failed utterly in his attempt to cause Christ to sin, so he will fail of overcoming us, if we will act sensibly. Let us firmly resolve that when the enemy tempts us to speak hastily, feeling that we are treated unjustly or are misunderstood, we will not open our lips. If we should speak even one word in reply, the enemy would be almost sure to gain the victory. We must learn the lesson of silence. With tongues bridled, we may be victorious in every trial of patience through which we are called to pass.
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Page 1072
1 There is a higher life for Christians to live than many of them are living. It is the new life in Christ. Those only who constantly behold Him—the One full of grace and truth—can live this life. Beholding Him, they are changed into the same image, from glory to glory. As they behold Him, He gives them power to become the sons of God. With love and compassion, without a trace of harshness, the Saviour meets them in their necessity. With sympathetic helpfulness, by the gentle touch of grace, He changes the sinner into a saint. With unwearying patience, He works to expel from the soul all disturbing elements, changing enmity to love, and unbelief to confidence.
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2 Those who submit to the solemn rite of baptism pledge themselves to devote their lives to God’s service; and the three great powers of heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, pledge themselves to cooperate with them, to work in and through them. As men and women thus enter into covenant relation with God, they take the name of Christian. Henceforth they are to live the life of Christ. They have been buried with Him, and they are to “seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
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3 There is a scriptural figure in which the soul is represented as being delivered from sin to receive the fashion of the new man, Christ Jesus. Those who are “born again” are to live for God, and all that they do and say is to represent His holiness. Constantly they must receive power from Him. This is necessary, in order that the new life in Christ may be lived. No part of the diseased life of sin is to remain. Christ diffuses sanctified activity through all parts of the being, and there is developed unselfishness in the service of God.
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4 The Saviour is the divine example of God’s perfection, and He fashions the soul anew. Those who receive His grace impart it to others, making known His virtue of character by self-denial and sacrifice, by meekness and lowliness, by good words and works. In the life there is seen no deception, no falsehood. The words spoken are faithful, trustworthy words, which mean all that they express. The life is not a falsehood—a claim to represent Christ, and at the same time a denial of Him.
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5 Christ is waiting for us to give ourselves to Him. Then He will mould and fashion us after the divine likeness, taking the things of God, and showing them to us. And as we behold the beauty of the Saviour’s character, we shall grow more and more like Him, until at last God can say of us, “Ye are complete in Him.” To create the soul anew, to bring light out of darkness, love out of enmity, purity out of impurity, is the work of Omnipotence alone. What is the honor conferred upon Christ? Without employing any compulsion, any violence, He conforms the will of the human subject to the will of God, making the life complete, bringing perfection to the character. This is the science of eternity; for by it a mighty change is wrought,—the change that must be wrought in the life of every one who passes through the gates of the city of God.
Page 1073
1 Many think that repentance is a work which devolves wholly upon man, but this is an error. The Bible does not teach that man must repent before he comes to Christ. Repentance must precede forgiveness; but the sinner does not repent till he has faith in Christ as his mediator. Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. His love, shining from the cross, speaks eloquently of the sufferings of the only-begotten Son of God for fallen man. This love draws sinners to Him. The transgressor may resist this love; he may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist, he will be led to the foot of the cross, in repentance for the sins that caused the death of the Son of God.
2 If it were possible for man of himself to repent, Christ’s atoning sacrifice would be in vain. But this is not possible. Repentance comes from Christ just as verily as does pardon. It is a false theory which teaches that repentance is a work which man must do himself, without any special help from Christ. If one step in the way of salvation could be taken without Christ, every step could be taken without Him. But without His help, the sinner can not take the first step in this way. The grace that brings forgiveness brings also contrition and repentance.
3 It is true that great reformations in outward conduct are made by those who have never expressed faith in Christ, and who may not have even a knowledge of Him. But it is none the less true that it is the influence of His grace that put into their hearts the desire to reform. The change in their life is the result of a blind faith. Ignorantly they worship that which leads them to respect true manhood. If they continue to walk toward the light, increased light will shine upon them; and they will bow in adoration before God, filled with gratitude for the love that led Him to give His only-begotten Son as a sacrifice for the lost race.
4 The repentance that God accepts is a repentance that needs not to be repented of,—a repentance revealed by a radical change of mind and heart. The heart must be brought into subjection to Christ, and a repentance that brings about such a change can never originate with man. Only from Him who declared, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me,” can such repentance proceed. As the sinner yields to the drawing power of Christ’s love, sorrow for sin and a desire to turn from his evil ways fill his heart, and as he seeks help from God, strength from on high is given him. The Saviour says, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.”
5 Those whom God pardons He first makes penitent. Some will say that this leaves man with nothing to do, with no part in the struggle against sin. This is not so; all the powers with which man has been entrusted must be employed in the effort to do the will of God. Man can never be saved in indolence. Christ declared, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work;” and those for whom He has given His life are to be co-workers with Him. We must watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation. We must fight against pride, self-exaltation, jealousy, evil thinking, and evil-speaking. Our earnest effort to overcome the evil in our characters will make manifest the sincerity of our prayers.
6 We must exercise faith in God. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” It is by faith alone that we can claim His promise, saying, “I receive the things I ask for; Thy Word is sure; it can not fail.”
7 We must be willing to realize our need. Those who feel that they are sinful and poor and wretched are the very ones to whom the invitation of mercy is extended. Jesus says, “I came not to call the righteous,”—those who are clothed with the garments of their own righteousness,—”but sinners to repentance.” Those who are rich and honorable in their own estimation do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. They feel no need; therefore they do not ask for and receive the blessing of God.
8 Without the help of the Saviour, fallen man could never keep the law of God. But how glorious is the truth of the atonement? What a firm foundation have the saints of the Most High on which to place their hope of salvation! Not one of God’s promises can fail. Through the righteousness of Christ the condemned sinner may be purified and made white. The Redeemer has carried the world’s burden of guilt and woe, and He is able to strengthen His children for the conflicts that day by day they will meet in the path to heaven.
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Page 1074
1 Men and women are generally designed for the home life, and from an early age they should be taught to perform the duties of this life. They should be taught to see and improve opportunities for helping others.
2 Such a training is of untold value to a child, and it can be so given that the child will find pleasure and happiness in learning to be helpful. This is the mother’s work,—patiently to train her children for usefulness. In doing this work, she will gain an invaluable experience.
3 Children are as easily interested in useful employment as in play. Each child should have his given duties, and should be taught to perform them with thoughtfulness and care. And when he does well, let the mother express her thanks. This will fill his heart with joy. Let her show her children that she appreciates their efforts to help. A word of praise will encourage them in well-doing. Thus teaching her children, the mother becomes their companion; and they are bound together by ties of love and helpfulness.
4 In the training of a child, there are times when the firm, matured will of the mother meets the unreasoning, undisciplined will of the child. At such times there is need of great wisdom on the part of the mother. By unwise management, by stern compulsion, she may do her child great harm.
5 Whenever possible, this crisis should be avoided; for it means a severe struggle for both mother and child. But once such a crisis is entered into, the child must be led to yield its will to the wiser will of the parent.
6 The mother should keep herself under perfect control, doing nothing that will arouse in the child a spirit of defiance. She is to give no loud-voiced commands. She will gain much by keeping the voice low and gentle. She is to deal with the child in a way that will draw him to Jesus. She is to realize that God is her Helper; love, her power. If she is a wise Christian, she will not attempt to force the child to submit. She prays earnestly, and as she prays, she is conscious of a renewal of spiritual power. She sees that the same power that is working in her is working also in the child. He becomes more gentle, more submissive. The battle is won. The mother’s patience, her words of wise restraint, have done their work. There is peace after the storm, like the shining of the sun after rain. And the angels, who have been watching the scene, break forth into songs of joy.
7 My brother, my sister, are you living in close connection with God, so that you represent Him in the home? Do your children see in your daily life that which strengthens them in every right purpose? Your words and actions, yes, and the tones of your voice and the expression of your countenance, are leaving on their minds impressions that can never be effaced. The influence that you exert in the home mingles with the first conceptions of your children, and it should be to them a savor of life unto life. If your heart is sanctified by Christ’s grace, you will stand in the home as an oracle of the cross. Christ will teach you to speak right words. He will speak through you, revealing the power of His grace.
8 Let not your hearts grow faint or your hands weary. By and by the portals of the heavenly city will open to you and your children, and you may bring them to God, saying, “Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given me.” What a reward will then be yours!—to see your children crowned with immortal life in the city of God.
Page 1075
1 We have only one life to live, only one probation in which to form characters that God can approve. Let parents take heed, first to themselves, and then to their children. Let them learn from the Word of God what their duty is. The work committed to them is a most solemn and important one,—a work that they can not neglect without incurring heavy guilt. They should make all else secondary to the training of their children, remember that as these children are in the home, so they will be when they go out into the world.
2 Too much importance can not be placed on the early training of children. The lessons that the child learns during the first seven years of its life have more to do with the formation of character than all that it learns in future years.
3 To the mother is entrusted an important part in the training of her children. But all the responsibility does not rest on her. Father and mother should unite in this great work. The husband should show his wife that he appreciates her. If he wishes to keep her fresh and gladsome, so that she will be as sunshine in the home, let him help her to bear her burdens.
4 Parents, make home happy for your children. By this I do not mean that you are to indulge them. The more they are indulged, the harder they will be to manage, and the more difficult it will be for them to live true, noble lives when they go out into the world. If you allow them to do as they please, their purity and loveliness of character will quickly fade. Teach them to obey. Let them see that your word must be respected. This may seem to bring them a little unhappiness now but it will save them from much unhappiness in the future. Let the home government be just and tender, full of love and compassion, yet firm and true. Do not permit one disrespectful word or disobedient act.
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Do not become impatient with your children when they err. When you correct them, do not speak abruptly and harshly. This confuses them, making them afraid to tell the truth. Remember that in them you are meeting your own traits of character,—traits that you have given them. Therefore be very kind, very compassionate, very careful to do nothing that will arouse the worst passions of the human heart. Be so calm, so free from anger, that they will be convinced that you love them, even tho you punish them.
6 Never forget the words, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones. For I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.”
7 Let the mother teach her children to be her willing helpers, gladly assisting her to bear life’s burdens. Let cheerfulness reign in the home. The mother should put forth every effort to make home the most pleasant place in the world for her children. Let the long winter evenings be devoted to useful reading, or to some other form of self-improvement.
8 From the child’s earliest years he is to be made acquainted with the things of God. In simple words let the mother tell him about Christ’s life on earth. And more than this, let her bring into her daily life the teachings of the Saviour. Let her show her child, by her own example, that this life is a preparation for the life to come, a period granted to human beings in which they may form characters that will win for them entrance into the city of God.
Page 1076
1 As our Creator and Redeemer, Christ has embraced the world in His arms of infinite love. All things belong to Him by original and mediatorial efficiency. He is the first and the last, and the efficiency of everything. All the value that there is in any human being is from Christ, and all belongs to Him. All that we have was entrusted to us in order to fulfil His mediatorial plan.
2 In the divine plan, evil was foreseen and provided for. A remedy was provided sufficient for complete restoration. But in this plan man himself must act a part. Humanity is the instrument through which God works for humanity. As Christ labored for sinners; so man must labor, that humanity may be brought into connection with divinity.
3 In His vast plan God has embraced all humanity. He calls for men and women to fill their appointment as agents chosen to carry out His purposes.
4 Christ enlists in His service all who will consent to stand under His authority, all who will wear His yoke and accept the conditions which unite the human with the divine. Those who do this are moulded by the influence that, through the grace of Christ, unites heart to heart, mind to mind, in one complete whole.
5 We were brought into existence because we were needed. How sad the thought that if we stand on the wrong side, in the ranks of the enemy, we are lost to the design of our creation. We are disappointing our Redeemer; the powers He designed for His service are used to oppose His grace and matchless love.
6 God gave His only-begotten Son that man might be restored to oneness with Him. And however indifferent the human agent may think it his privilege to be, he will be judged according to the provisions of grace that cost Heaven so much. Man may ignore his responsibility; he may choose to be inspired and controlled by Satan, to withdraw from all righteous principles. Nevertheless he will be judged as one who might have used all his capabilities in the service of God, but who refused to do this. His failure to do the good he might have done, had he been a partaker of the divine nature, will be recorded against him as a sign that he despised and neglected the great mercy and loving-kindness of God, refusing to recognize the Creator’s claim to his service.
7 Those who love God will not live as if they were under little or no obligation to Him. They will not live to please themselves. They will work as Christ worked. All that they have and are will be placed on the altar of service. Earnestly and untiringly they will labor to save the souls for whom Christ died. He, the Redeemer of the world, can and will save the souls of all who come to Him. And to us He has given the privilege of co-operating with Him in the carrying out of His great plan.
8 The work left for us to do is to endeavor to draw all men to Christ, to uplift a crucified and risen Saviour, to tell others of His compassion, pointing to Him as did John the Baptist, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
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Page 1077
1 Christ came to this world as the unwearied servant of man’s necessity. He clothed His divinity with humanity that He might stand among men as one of them, a sharer in their poverty and their grief. Love for the lost race was manifested in all that He said and did.
2 What a busy life He led! Day by day He might have been seen entering the humble abodes of want and sorrow, speaking hope to the downcast and peace to the distressed. Humble, gracious, tenderhearted, pitiful, He went about doing good, lifting up the bowed-down and comforting the sorrowing. None who came to Him went away unhelped. To all He brought hope and gladness. Wherever He went He carried blessing.
3 During His childhood and youth, the Saviour lived with His parents at Nazareth, willingly acting His part in bearing the burdens of the household. He had been commander of heaven’s hosts, and angels had delighted to fulfil His word; now He was a willing servant, a loving, obedient son. He learned a trade, and with His own hands worked in the carpenter’s shop with Joseph. In the simple garb of a common laborer He walked the streets of the little town, going to and returning from His work. When the time came for His public work to begin, He went forth proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom.
4 Christ brought His wishes into strict abeyance to His mission. He glorified His life by making everything in it subordinate to the will of His Father. When in His youth His mother, finding Him in the school of the rabbis, said, “Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.” He answered—and His answer is the key-note of His life-work—”How is it that ye sought Me? wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?”
5 His life was one of constant self-sacrifice. He came to this world to live in our behalf the life of the poorest, to walk and work among the needy and the suffering. Unrecognized and unhonored, He walked in and out among the people for whom He had done so much. The Owner of the world, He had no home in it. “Foxes have holes,” He said, “and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.” “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” “He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”
6 Christ’s work was not confined to any time or place. It was bounded only by His love and sympathy for those for whom He was soon to give His life. His compassion knew no limit. On so large a scale did he conduct His work of healing and teaching that there was no building in Palestine large enough to hold the multitudes that thronged to Him. In every town and village through which He passed was to be found His hospital. On the hillsides of Galilee, in the great thoroughfares of travel, by the seashore, in every place where there were hearts to hear His message, Jesus healed the people and pointed them to their heavenly Father. His life laid the foundation for a religion in which there is no caste, where Jew and Gentile, free and bond, are linked in a common brotherhood, equal before God.
7 Christ lived a life of prayer. Daily beset by temptation, constantly opposed by the leaders of the people, He knew that He must strengthen His humanity by prayer. In order to be a blessing to men, He must commune with God, from Him obtaining energy, perseverance, steadfastness.
8 Christ is our Burden-bearer. He came to bear the trials that we must bear, to resist the temptations that we must resist. He came to show that by receiving power from on high man can live an unsullied life. With sympathetic love and tender compassion, without a trace of harshness, He meets us in our necessities. He works with gracious helpfulness and unwearying patience. By the gentle touch of love He drives from the soul unrest and doubt, changing enmity and unbelief to confidence and faith. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . . full of grace and truth.” “We have not an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”
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Page 1078
1 When the Lord sees His disciples deficient in spiritual power, day by day losing ground, day by day wandering farther and farther from the Source of strength, He sends them affliction and adversity. Disappointed hopes cause them to stop and think, and there come to them repentance, and a desire to draw near to God. And as they return to Him, He draws near to them, saying, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall make peace with Me.” He receives the repentant sinner with loving assurances of pardon.
2 There is no power in repentance to change the life. But when the helpless soul casts itself on Christ, there comes transformation of character. The Saviour declares, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.”
3 God often brings men to a crisis to show them their weakness, and to point them to the Source of strength. If they will pray, and watch unto prayer, fighting bravely, their weak points will become their strong points. Jacob’s experience contains many valuable lessons for us. All night Jacob wrestled with the angel. Finally the strong wrestler was weakened by a touch on his thigh. He was now disabled, and suffering the keenest pain, but he would not lose his hold. All penitent and broken, he clung to the angel; “he wept, and made supplication,” pleading for a blessing. He must have the assurance that his sin was pardoned. His determination grew stronger, his faith more earnest and persevering, until the very last. The angel tried to release himself; he urged, “Let me go; for the day breaketh,” but Jacob answered, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” Had this been a boastful, presumptuous confidence, Jacob would have been instantly destroyed; but his was the assurance of one who confesses his own unworthiness, yet trusts to the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God.
4 Jacob “had power over the angel, and prevailed.” Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had fastened his trembling grasp on the promises of God, and the heart of infinite Love could not turn away the sinner’s plea.
5 As an evidence that Jacob had been forgiven, his name was changed from one that was a reminder of his sin to one that commemorated his victory. “Thy name,” said the angel, “shall be no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God, and with men, and hast prevailed.”
6 Shall we obtain strength from God, and win victory after victory, or shall we try in our own strength, and at last fall back defeated, worn out by vain effort? Victory is sure when self is surrendered to God. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. He has given His angels charge over His children. Hereafter the witness will be heard, “My feet had well-nigh slipped, but the Lord upheld me.” His way was best—to come in trial to the one He wished to help.
7 And when we obtain the blessing, let us not selfishly hoard it. Let us use for the help of some struggling fellow-being the strength that we have gained. Remember that no one is ever made better by denunciation and recrimination. To charge a tempted soul with his guilt in no way inspires him with a determination to reform. Point the erring, discouraged one to Him who is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him. Show him what he may become. Tell him that there is in him nothing that recommends him to God, but that Christ died for him, that he might be accepted in the Beloved. Inspire him with hope, showing him that in Christ’s strength he can do better. Hold up before him the possibilities that are his. Point him to the heights which he may reach. Help him to take hold upon the mercy of the Lord, to trust in His forgiving power. Jesus is waiting to clasp him by the hand, waiting to give him power to live a noble, virtuous life.
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Page 1079
1 Justice requires that man shall have light, and it also requires that he who refuses to walk in this heaven-sent light, the giving of which cost the death of the Son of God, shall receive punishment. It is a principle of justice that the guilt of the sinner is proportionate to the knowledge given him, but not used, or used in a wrong way. “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin,” Christ said to the Pharisees; “but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.”
2 Christ came that we might have life, and that we might have it “more abundantly.” God expects human beings to accept His Son as the propitiation for sin, and to receive into their lives the truths He came to bring. Those who are overcome in the struggle with sin are without excuse, for the Saviour offers to all power that will enable them to overcome the evil that assails them.
3 If God had failed to act His part, if He had given human beings any reason for neglecting the great salvation offered them, man might plead ignorance as a valid excuse. But He has made the way plain. When has He required any one to do anything without giving him full directions as to what He requires him to do? God would have all men to be saved. He communicates to all a knowledge of His will, that each may say, I know what the Lord desires me to do.
4 To some is given greater light than to others. Each will be judged by the light given him. The degree of light bestowed is the measure of responsibility. Mark the woe pronounced on those who, having seen great light, refused to walk in God’s way. Speaking of the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, Christ said, “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.”
5 To those busy towns about the Sea of Galilee, Heaven’s richest blessings had been freely offered. Day after day the Prince of Life had gone in and out among them. The glory of God, which prophets and kings had longed to see, had shone upon the multitudes that thronged the Saviour’s steps. Yet they refused the heavenly Gift. And as they rejected the Son of God, so God rejected them.
6 The people of each age will be judged by the light they have received. The church of today has been favored with great light and many opportunities—favored even as Chorazin and Bethsaida were favored. How Christ longed to see some fruit from the labor He expended on these cities! And today how greatly He longs to see His church standing in freedom from sin! O that those for whom He has wrought so mightily would strive to be like Him in character! How it would cheer His heart to see them partaking of His nature, their works testifying to their faith in God, and to their realization of the obligation resting on them to work for Him!
7 Many wonder at the blindness of the Jews in rejecting Christ. Had we lived in His day, they declare, we would gladly have received His teaching; we would never have been partakers of the guilt of those who rejected the Saviour. But when obedience to God requires self-denial and humiliation, these very ones stifle their convictions and refuse obedience.
8 God expects us to gain every day a clearer understanding of His will. He asks for the consecration to His service of all that we have and are. We are not our own; we have been bought with a price; and we are to use for God all the gifts He has entrusted to us. He places us where we have opportunity to know His will, and He offers us power to fulfil it. If we choose, we may be witnesses for Him. He who ignores his duty, and neglects his opportunities must bear the consequences of his neglect.
9 If you have caught a glimpse of Heaven’s truth, turn not away. Be not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Walk in the light you have received, and your pathway will grow brighter and brighter. In the light shining from Calvary you will see the sinfulness of sin, and you will see also God’s willingness and power to save from sin.
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Page 1080
1 The Christian pilgrim is not left to walk in darkness. Jesus leads the way. Those who follow Him walk in the sunshine of His presence. The path that the pilgrim treads is clear and well defined. Christ’s righteousness goes before him—the righteousness that makes possible the good works characterizing the life of every true Christian. God is his rearward. He walks in the light as Christ is in the light. As he travels onward in the Christian journey, he combines faith with earnest endeavor to win others to accompany him. Constantly receiving the light of Christ’s presence, constantly he reflects this light to others in words of encouragement and deeds of self-denial. He bears the sign of obedience to God’s law, which distinguishes him from those who are not following the pathway that leads to life eternal.
2 The Christian pilgrim can not be sour, gloomy, depressed. It is a misrepresentation of the Christian faith to be surly, unreasonable, or sour in spirit. He who walks in the light cherishes no such spirit, but, by conscientious, consistent behaviour, heeds the apostle’s admonition to provoke his fellow pilgrims to love and good works. Those who have a careful regard for one another’s needs, those who speak words of kindly sympathy, those who give thoughtful assistance to others, to help them in their work, encourage not only their fellow men, but themselves as well, because they thus become laborers together with God.
3 If it were not for the light that is given us from above, we could not follow step by step in the footprints of Jesus. Christ came to this world in order that we might have this light. He is “the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” He, the Majesty of heaven, the Son of the living God, the One equal with the Father, came to our world to stand by the side of fallen beings, through His sacrifice giving value to humanity. Lower and still lower He stepped in humiliation, until it was impossible for Him to descend any lower. For our sake He suffered and died. While hanging upon the cross, He exclaimed, “It is finished.” He had accomplished His work for us; He had become the propitiation for our sins; He had made it possible for us to be accepted of God through faith in the atoning merits of the Crucified One.
4 If from the beginning of our Christian experience we had walked in the counsel of God, many more would have been converted to the Saviour. But often crooked paths have been made. Let us make straight paths, lest the lame be turned out of the way. Let no one follow a crooked path that some one else has made; for thus he would not only go astray himself, but would make this crooked path plainer for some one else to follow. Dear reader, determine that as for yourself, you will walk in the path of obedience. Know for a certainty that you are standing under the broad shield of Omnipotence. Realize that the characteristics of Jehovah must be revealed in your life, and that in you must be accomplished a work that will mould your character after the divine similitude. Yield yourself to the guidance of Him who is Head over all.
5 We are doing a work for the judgment. Let us be learners of Jesus. We need His guidance every moment. At every step we should inquire, “Is this the way of the Lord?” not, “Is this the way of the man who is over me?” We are to be concerned only as to whether we are walking in the way of the Lord. Unconsciously every true follower of the Master will say, “Are there not but twelve hours in the day? and am I not working at the close of the day? I must walk in the light as one of the children of light. I must lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset, and run with patience the race that is set before me. I am striving for a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
6 To “walk in the light” means to resolve to exercise thought to exert will-power, in an earnest endeavor to represent Christ in sweetness of character. It means to put away all gloom. Let no one rest satisfied simply in saying, “I am a child of God.” Are you beholding Jesus, and by beholding, becoming changed into His likeness? To “walk in the light” means advancement and progress in spiritual attainments. Paul declared, “Not as tho I had already attained, neither were already perfect: but . . . forgetting those things which are behind,” constantly beholding the Pattern, I reach “forth unto those things which are before.”
7 To “walk in the light” means to “walk uprightly,” to walk “in the way of the Lord,” to walk by faith,” to “walk in the Spirit.” to “walk in the truth,” to “walk in love,” to “walk in newness of life.” It is “perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
8 What a terrible thing it is to darken the pathway of others by bringing shadow and gloom upon ourselves! Let each one take heed to himself. Charge not upon others your defects of character. Talk light; walk in the light. “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” Study not how to please self. Lose sight of self, and behold the multitudes perishing in their sins. Gather to your souls the courage that can come only from the Light of the world. Forgetting self, help the many who are within reach around you. Talk faith, and your faith will increase. Cease lamenting. Work in Christ’s lines. With loving endeavor strive to please Him. His excellence will help you to be Christlike. Ever stand ready to lift up the hands that hang down, and to strengthen the feeble knees. Shine as lights in the world, attracting others by the brightness of Christ’s glory revealed through your good works.
9 God will honor and uphold every true-hearted, earnest soul who is seeking to walk before Him in the perfection of Christ’s grace. He will never leave nor forsake one humble, trembling follower of His. He will work in the hearts of those who receive Him, making His children pure and holy, by His rich grace qualifying them to be laborers together with Him. With keen sanctified perception they will appreciate the strength of His promises, and appropriate them, not because of any worthiness of their own, but because by living faith they avail themselves of the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice, and receive the robe of His righteousness.
10 My fellow traveler in the Christian way, as you walk in the light, pray, simply trusting in Jesus your Redeemer. Walk so that your life will reflect rays of light to others. Confide in the love of Jesus, and you will have grace to save perishing souls. Your path will be as the path of the just,—a “shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
Page 1081
1 Christians are engaged in a warfare. The church militant is not the church triumphant. The followers of Christ, marching toward Zion, must fight at every step. His adversary is the one who once stood in the heavenly courts as the first of the covering cherubs. The beams of glory enshrouding the eternal God, once rested constantly upon him. But, not content with his position, tho honored above the heavenly host, he began to covet the glory with which the Father had invested the Son. Lucifer desired to be first in heaven. Thus he introduced sin into the universe. Entering the Garden of Eden after his expulsion from heaven, he succeeded in deceiving our first parents. Ever since he has claimed this world. Declaring that no human-being can keep the law of God’s kingdom, he claims all men as his subjects.
2
It was the existence of sin in the human heart that led Christ to come to this earth. He covenanted with God to lay aside His kingly crown and royal robe, clothe His divinity with humanity, and, standing on this earth at the head of humanity, bear testimony against the assertion of darkness that man could not live without sin. To save sinners, the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, descended step by step to the lowest depths of humiliation.
3 If we should ask Isaiah who Jesus of Nazareth is, we should receive this reply: “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Such are the titles Isaiah gives to the One who came to our world to save the fallen race.
4 Christ came to subject Himself to all the temptations wherewith man is beset. In human nature He suffered all the trials and disappointments, the humiliations and afflictions, that man suffers. In our behalf Christ took humanity upon Himself, and stood at the head of humanity. In His humanity, He touched humanity; in His divinity, as His right, He laid hold on the throne of God.
5 When the Pharisees asked the disciples why their Master ate with publicans and sinners, Christ, overhearing the question, turned to His accusers, and, in the dignity of His mission, said: “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” In His life He has given us a representation of what repentant sinners may become. He was pure and undefiled. From His lips escaped no word that could leave a stain upon His character. All through the Scriptures He has given us assurances that through His grace we may attain the same perfection of character that He attained.
6
By giving Himself, Christ offered a complete sacrifice, that we, by believing on Him, might become “sons and daughters of the Most High.” What are we willing to do in return for this infinite sacrifice? What sacrifice are we willing to make, that we may be sons and daughters of God, “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust?”
7 My brother, my sister, do you desire to be a member of the royal family, a child of the heavenly King? Do you desire to share in the final reward of the faithful? It matters not what your surroundings are; if you look to Christ for counsel and strength, you will be able to withstand every temptation.
8 Let those who are so desirous of worldly pleasure, so ambitious for worldly honor, think of the one who sacrificed His all in order to show them what they may become through His grace and strength. Will those for whom He has died do what they must do to be saved? Will they learn from His life the lessons they should learn in regard to the character they must form in order to be prepared to unite with the loyal, holy family that shall enter through the gates into the city?
9 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” If the affections are set on earthly things the life is tainted and corrupted. Ever remember that by submitting to the rite of baptism you have signified that you “are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” Precious promise!
10
How thankful we should be that Christ came in poverty! No one can say, He knows nothing about the trials and hardships of poverty. Altho He knew that He was the Majesty of heaven and the Redeemer of the lost race, He worked for many years at the carpenter’s trade. From childhood he did his part toward sustaining a family living in poverty. And in His daily work He taught lessons in regard to the perfecting of character. In every detail of the work connected with the construction of buildings—in every stroke He made, in every piece He prepared and joined to other pieces—He showed the care and exactness with which character should be built. It is He who inspired Paul to declare, “Ye are God’s building.”
11 The companions of Jesus often said to Him, Why need you be so particular? It is unnecessary to work in that way. You could just as well work with less exactitude, and save time. Instead of arguing with them, Jesus answered their criticisms by beginning to chant one of the Psalms in which David taught that faithfulness and integrity must mark the character. The spirit of the song affected the hearts of those who were with Jesus, and almost before they realized what they were doing, they caught the strain and joined with [Him] in singing. And when a quarrel arose, instead of stopping to argue or to justify His course, Jesus began to sing. Soon His companions would forget their differences of opinion and their angry words. Those who, a few moments before, had felt provoked with Him or with one another, now joined in singing the hymn of praise.
12 By pursuing the same course we may hide in Christ. Then we shall be partakers of the divine nature.
13
The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, that He might bring many sons and daughters to the Father above. We are standing under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. As faithful soldiers of the cross we are not to fight against principalities and powers, but against spiritual wickedness in high places. We are to meet Satan and his host. In this warfare there is no rest, no release. We must conquer in the name of Jesus, or be conquered. Armed with the mind of Christ, we shall be more than overcomers.
14 The Lord desires us to be victorious over the powers of darkness. He is willing to save to the uttermost all who come to Him. It is through Him that “we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” Through Him we have access to heaven’s treasure-house—His Word, the Holy Scriptures. From this treasure-house we are to draw the weapons of our warfare—the weapons so effectively used by our Saviour. With the sword of truth—”it is written”—He vanquished the foe. Armed with this sword, and protected by the shield of faith, we, the church militant, shall be able to stand unmoved by Satan’s assaults. Continuing to resist the enemy, we shall constantly gain strength, and finally become the church triumphant.
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Page 1082
1 We can not understand the mystery of redemption. It is enough for us to know that God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son to die for us. The penalty of our transgression fell upon a pure, holy, innocent Substitute, even the Son of God. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we might at last stand before God clothed in the robe of sinlessness.
2 The Gospel is the hope of the world. The cross is God’s agency for counterworking Satan’s plans, and restoring man to his original purity. The plan of salvation devised by the Father and the Son will be a grand success. Christ’s atoning sacrifice will arouse the sluggish mind, quickening into activity man’s mental and spiritual powers.
3
Darkness had covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. The time had come when a Teacher from heaven must be sent to the world. Prophecy had foretold the advent of this teacher. “Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days,” — the days when Christ’s authority would be supreme and His power invincible.
4 As the scroll is further unrolled, we read, “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountains; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
5 It is by the power of the cross that man is to be redeemed. “Behold my servant, whom I uphold,” God says; “mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench; He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for His law.”
6 “Thus saith God the Lord, . . . I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. . . . Sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. . . . I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.”
7 “Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.”
8
Christ laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, and clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might know for Himself the sufferings and the temptations of human beings. He came to be their Surety, to overcome in their behalf, to live for them a sinless life, that through His power they might obtain the victory over evil. He came, saying, “I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” He placed Himself on a level with human beings, saying, I will stand at the head of the race, that through My humiliation they may be accepted as members of the royal family. I will declare the name of God unto my brethren. “I will put my trust in Him,”—just as I desire My disciples to do.
9 Only by bearing the penalty of our disobedience could Christ deliver us from eternal death. He became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
10 Thus He placed us on vantage ground, where we could live pure, sinless lives. Repentant sinners stand before God justified and accepted, because the Innocent One has borne their guilt. The undeserving are made deserving, because in their behalf the Deserving became the undeserving.
11 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
12
Christ died to purchase salvation for us. He was raised for our justification, and He ever lives to make intercession for us. His life and death bring salvation to every believing child of God. By His death we are reconciled to God; by His life, as it is wrought out in our life, we shall be saved. We may be poor in temporal things, but we are rich in the treasure that endures forever. We have the deeds to an immortal inheritance, the title papers to a life that measures with the life of God.
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Page 1083
1 The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
2 It greatly dishonors God for any one to disregard the wonderful salvation brought to mankind at so infinite a cost—even the life of the Only-begotten of the Father. Men and women are inexcusable for refusing to accept the invitation of Him who has died for their redemption. Christ offers life eternal to those who choose to be obedient and submissive to God’s will. By bearing the yoke of willing obedience, men and women testify to worlds unfallen, to angels, and to men that they have accepted Christ as their Ruler, and are conforming their lives to His will.
3 Those who refuse to accept Christ’s invitation to wear His yoke of obedience and to learn of Him His meekness and lowliness, will not form characters that fit them to become members of the royal family, children of the Heavenly King. Before the universe such persons bear a direct testimony against Christ. They do their Saviour a great wrong. By their choice they reveal that they despise the great salvation which the heavenly Father has placed within their reach. They do not fully appreciate the value that Christ has placed on them. They fail of realizing that He has purchased them at an infinite cost. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
4
Christ took upon Himself the nature of humanity, to make it possible for Him to suffer and to die as a propitiation for the sins of the fallen race. Through His merits, repentant sinners may unite with Divinity. His they are by creation and by redemption. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
5 The Lord is doing a great work in the earth. With intense interest He is examining every man’s fitness to associate with the sinless angels and with the redeemed family in heaven. Not one of the ransomed host will be disposed to begin a rebellion similar to the one that Satan began before the creation of our race. The Lord gives men and women probationary time in which to acquaint themselves with His terms of salvation. They are given opportunity to unite with Him, as “laborers together with God,” to mould their characters after the similitude of the divine character. By improving this opportunity, they heed His words of counsel: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
6 In these closing days of probation let us profit by the words of warning: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Those who are careless and indifferent, those who have given themselves to the world—body, soul, and spirit—will find themselves, whatever their position, unready for His appearing. “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
7 Christ is made the judge of every man’s character. All judgment is given by the Father into His hands. Daily an examination of the characters of men and women is being carried on. God is particular in requiring every one to conform to His standard of character.
8
Many, many are trusting to their own righteousness. Refusing to submit to the will of Christ or to allow Him to clothe them with the robe of His righteousness, they set up a standard for themselves, forming characters according to their own will and pleasure. They misrepresent the perfect character—the righteousness—of Christ. Themselves deceived, they deceive others, leading many into false paths. Satan is well pleased with their religion, but they are not accepted of God. They will at last receive punishment with the great deceiver.
9 There is a large number of professing Christians who do not really follow Jesus. They do not bear the cross with willing self-denial and self-sacrifice. Altho making a high profession of being earnest Christians, they weave into the fabric of their characters so many threads of personal imperfections that the beautiful pattern is spoiled. Of them in effect Christ says: You boast of being rich and increased with supposed spiritual attainments. In reality you are neither cold nor hot, but are filled with conceit. Unless converted, you can not be saved; for with your unsanctified wisdom you would mar heaven. I can not endorse your spirit or your work. You do not act in accordance with the divine example, but are following a pattern of your own invention. Because of your lukewarm condition I must spew you out of My mouth.
10 I, your Redeemer, know your works. I am familiar with the motives that prompt you to declare boastingly, in regard to your spiritual condition, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” Thou “knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
11 Those who are in this condition are wilfully ignorant. They do not discern the real character of sin. By their wrong doing, they constantly misrepresent the character of Christ and put Him to open shame. Professing to have a knowledge of the truth, they act as novices. They do not seem to understand the truth that must be expressed in word and deed in order to show a decided difference between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. They are false claimants of every Christian blessing and privilege. They claim to be Christ’s representatives, but they are not rich in spiritual grace or in good works. Standing in their own light, they are wretched, poor, blind, maimed. What a position to be in!
12
Notwithstanding their wilful ignorance, they are not left by the Lord without adding warning and counsel. “I counsel thee,” He pleads, “to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
13 There are some who will not hear. So long have they chosen to follow their own way and their own wisdom, so long have they cherished hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, that they are blind and can not see afar off. By them, principles are perverted; false standards are raised; tests are made that bear not the signature of heaven. They are assimilating worldly ideas and forming characters that will exclude them from heaven. And yet some of these very ones make their boasts in the Lord as a people who do righteousness, and forsake not the ordinances of their God!
14
“O fear the Lord, ye his saints.” “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy.” “Trust in Him at all times; . . . pour out your heart before Him.” “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
15 “Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” “For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.” “The Lord knoweth the days of the upright; and their inheritance shall be forever.”
Page 1084
1 Lessons from the Past.
By Mrs. E. G. White.
Satan has ever achieved his greatest successes through the neglect of God’s people to maintain their separation from the world,—its customs, its practises and principles. There are but two great parties among men—the servants of Christ, and the servants of Satan. Their leaders are opposites in every particular. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to conquer the prince of darkness, says, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Here Christ makes a marked distinction between His followers and the world. Those who are of the world are in direct opposition to those who love God and keep His commandments. The heart must be kept with all diligence, that the human be not exalted above the Divine. If those who profess to love and serve God, follow blind impulse, rather than reason and conscience, they will fall by the artifice of Satan. The affections should be guarded and controlled, lest they be placed upon unworthy objects that are forbidden in the Word of God.
2 Samson, that mighty man of valor, was under a solemn vow to be a Nazarite during the period of his life; but, becoming infatuated by the charms of a lewd woman, he rashly broke that sacred pledge. Satan worked through his agents to destroy this ruler of Israel, that the mysterious power which he possessed might no longer intimidate the enemies of God’s people. It was the influence of this bold woman that separated him from God, her artifices that proved his ruin. The love and service which God claims, Samson gave to this woman. This was idolatry. He lost all sense of the sacred character and work of God, and sacrificed honor, conscience, and every valuable interest, to base passion.
3 The life of Solomon should prove a beacon of warning to God’s people in every age. The Lord had erected a barrier between Israel and other nations. He had made that people the depositaries of His law, and their safety lay in preserving their peculiar, holy character. But as King Solomon’s heart was lifted up in pride, he became eager for still greater wealth and power. To secure these, political alliances were formed with idolatrous nations.
4 Honor and riches flowed in to him as the result; but these temporal advantages were dearly purchased at the sacrifice of principle. His kingdom was enriched with the gold of Tarshish, but the fine gold of character was tarnished by the corrupting influence of paganism. Once over the wise barrier which God had erected, the king took, one after another, the fatal steps that led him away from hope and happiness and heaven. From the wisest of the rulers, Solomon became a despot. Satan triumphed as this man, who had thrice been called the beloved of his God, became a slave of passion, and sacrificed his integrity to the bewitching power of woman.
5 The cases mentioned are sufficient to show the danger of corrupting the soul by mingling with God’s enemies. These examples are placed on record for the benefit of those who live amid the perils of the last days. The devices of Satan are no less now than in ancient times. Indeed, as we near the period of Christ’s second coming, Satan redoubles his efforts to work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. The youth especially are in constant and fearful danger of being overcome by his temptations.
6 Watchfulness and vigilance are needed now. The lustful eye must be turned off from beholding vanity. Boldness and immodesty must be met with a decided rebuke. Let none yield to a spirit of self-confidence, and feel that they are in no danger. As long as Satan lives, his efforts will be constant and untiring to make the world as wicked as before the flood, and as licentious as were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. The prayer may well be offered daily by all who have the fear of God before them, that He will preserve their hearts from evil desires, and strengthen their souls to resist temptation. Those who, in their self-confidence, feel no need of watchfulness and unceasing prayer, are near some humiliating fall. All who do not feel the importance of resolutely guarding their affections will be captivated by those who practise their arts to ensnare and lead astray the unwary.
7 Satan exulted to see Samson, a man whom God could have used to His glory, so infatuated that he could betray his strength into the hands of Delilah. Satan knew that he had taken Samson captive. Few who go thus far again see clearly the aggravated character of sin. Reputation, strength, and usefulness are sacrificed for sinful indulgence. Blind infatuation leads men on in the way to destruction. The power of Satan, his arts and machinations,—who can know them? Those who, in defiance of all the warnings and entreaties of God’s Word, venture to indulge in sin are sleeping on the very brink of eternal ruin. Because God bears long with transgressors, of His law, because He sends them warnings and entreaties, because punishment does not immediately follow their evil deeds, they abuse His mercy and forbearance, and blindly rush on in a course of crime. When assailed by temptation, many have not moral strength to say, as did Joseph, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” They do not give a decided refusal to the first invitation to transgress the law of God, and soon unlawful indulgence becomes habitual, and they are ready to deny that it is a sin.
8 Unwise marriages are the curse of this age. Such an alliance can but be disastrous to both parties. That love which has no better foundation than mere sensual gratification will be headstrong, blind, and uncontrollable. Honor, truth, and every noble, elevated power of the mind, is brought under the slavery of passions. The man who is bound in the chains of this infatuation is too often deaf to the voice of reason and conscience; neither argument nor entreaty can lead him to see the folly of his course.
9 Men and women professing godliness should tremble at the thought of entering into a marriage covenant with those who do not respect and obey the commandments of God. It was this that opened the flood-gates of sin to the antediluvians. Such a connection with the world is a direct departure from God’s express requirements,—”Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”
10 In these alliances the creature receives the love which should be given to the Creator. There is danger in entering into any intimate relation with those who have no connection with Heaven. This is the friendship which Inspiration calls enmity with God. We can not be too jealous of ourselves, lest, by associating with worldlings, we fall into the same habits. It was for this reason that the Israelites were commanded to dwell alone, as a people separate from all other nations. The friendship of the Lord’s enemies is more to be dreaded than their enmity; for Satan is constantly working through pleasing, intelligent unbelievers, to tempt the people of God to sin.
11 When one commandment of the Decalogue is broken, the downward steps are almost certain. When once the barriers of female modesty are removed, the basest licentiousness does not appear exceeding sinful. Alas, what terrible results of woman’s influence for evil may be witnessed in the world today! Through the allurements of “strange women,” thousands are incarcerated in prison cells, many take their own lives, and many cut short the lives of others. How true the words of Inspiration, “Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”
12 Beacons of warning are placed on every side in the pathway of life, to prevent men from approaching the dangerous, forbidden ground; but, notwithstanding this, multitudes choose the fatal path, contrary to the dictates of reason, regardless of God’s law, and in defiance of His vengeance.
13 Those who would preserve physical health, a vigorous intellect, and sound morals, must “flee youthful lusts.” Those who will put forth zealous and decided efforts to check the wickedness that lifts its bold, presumptions head in our midst, are hated and maligned by all wrong-doers, but they will be honored and recompensed of God.
Page 1085
1 Standing but a step from His heavenly throne, Christ gave the commission to His disciples. “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth,” He said. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Again and again the words were repeated, that the disciples might grasp their significance. Upon all the inhabitants of the earth, high and low, rich and poor, was the light of heaven to shine in clear, strong rays. The disciples were to be co-laborers with their Redeemer in the work of saving the world.
2 The commission had been given to the twelve when Christ was with them in the upper chamber; but it was now to be given to a larger number. At the meeting on a mountain in Galilee, all the believers who could be called together were assembled. Of this meeting Christ Himself, before His death, had designated the time and place. The angel at the tomb reminded the disciples of His promise to meet them in Galilee. The promise was repeated to the believers who were gathered at Jerusalem during the Passover week, and through them it reached many lonely ones who were mourning the death of their Lord.
3 With intense interest all looked forward to the interview. They made their way to the place of meeting by circuitous routes, coming in from every direction to avoid exciting the suspicion of the jealous Jews. With wondering hearts they came, talking earnestly together of the news that had reached them concerning Christ.
4 At the time appointed about five hundred believers were collected in little knots on the mountain-side, eager to learn all that could be learned from those who had seen Christ since His resurrection. From group to group the disciples passed, telling all that they had seen and heard of Jesus, and reasoning from the Scriptures as He had done with them. Thomas recounted the story of his unbelief, and told how his doubts had been swept away. Suddenly, Jesus appeared among them. Many were present who had never before seen Him; but in His hands and feet they beheld the marks of the crucifixion; His countenance was as the face of God, and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him.
5 But some doubted. So it will always be. There are those who find it hard to exercise faith, and who place themselves on the doubting side. These lose much because of their unbelief. This was the only interview that Jesus had with many of the believers before His ascension. He came and spoke to them, saying, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” The disciples had worshiped Him before He spoke, but these words, falling from lips that had been closed in death, thrilled them with peculiar power. He was now the risen Saviour. Many of them had seen Him exercise His power in healing the sick and controlling Satanic agencies. They believed that He possessed power to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem, power to quell all opposition, power over the elements of nature. He had stilled the angry waters, He had walked upon the white crest billows; He had raised the dead to life. Now He declared that “all power” was given unto Him.
6 Christ’s words on the mountain-side were the announcement that His sacrifice in behalf of man was full and complete. The conditions of the atonement had been accomplished. He was on His way to the throne of God, to be honored by angels, principalities, and powers. He had entered upon His mediatorial work. Clothed with boundless authority, He gave His commission to the disciples, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
7 The Jewish people had been made the depositaries of sacred truth; but Phariseeism had made them the most exclusive, the most bigoted of all the human race. Everything about the priests and rulers,—their dress, customs, ceremonies, traditions,—unfitted them to be the light of the world. They looked upon themselves, the Jewish people, as the world. But Christ commissioned His disciples to proclaim a faith and a worship that would have in it nothing of cast or country, a faith that would be adapted to all peoples, all nations, all classes of men.
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Page 1086
1 Before leaving His disciples, Christ plainly stated the nature of His kingdom. He called to their minds things that He had previously told them in regard to it. He declared to them that it was not His purpose to establish in this world a temporal kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom. He was not to reign as an earthly king on David’s throne. Again He opened to them the Scriptures, showing them that all that He had passed through had been ordained in the councils between the Father and Himself. This was foretold by prophets and men inspired by the Holy Spirit.
2 Christ told the disciples to begin their work at Jerusalem. Jerusalem had been the scene of His amazing condescension for the human race. There He had suffered, been rejected, and condemned. The land of Judea was His birthplace. There, clad in the garb of humanity, He had walked with men, and few had discerned how near Heaven came to earth when Jesus was among them. At Jerusalem the work of the disciples must begin.
3 There were at Jerusalem many who had secretly believed on Jesus, and many who had been deceived by the priests and rulers. To these the Gospel was to be preached. They were to be called to repentance. The wonderful truth that through Christ alone could remission of sins be obtained, was to be made plain. While all Jerusalem was stirred by the thrilling events of the past few weeks, the preaching of the Gospel would make the deepest impression.
4 But the work of the disciples was not to end in Jerusalem. They were to carry the truth to earth’s remotest bounds. To His disciples Christ said, You have been witnesses of My life of self-sacrifice in behalf of the world. You have witnessed My labors for Israel. Altho they would not come unto Me that they might have life, altho priests and rulers have done unto Me as they listed, altho they have rejected Me as the scriptures foretold, they will still have another opportunity of accepting the Son of God. You have seen that all who come unto Me confessing their sins, I freely receive. Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out. To you, My disciples, I commit this message of mercy. It is to be given to all nations, tongues, and peoples. It is to be given to Jews and Gentiles. All who believe are to be gathered into one church.
5 The disciples were to carry their work forward in Christ’s name. Their faith was to center in Him who is the Source of power. In His name they were to present their petitions to the Father, and they would receive answer. Christ’s name was to be their watchword, their badge of office, their bond of union, the authority for their action, and the source of their success. Nothing was to be recognized in His kingdom that did not bear His name and superscription.
6 Thus Christ gave the disciples their commission. He did not tell them that their work would be easy. He showed them the vast confederacy arrayed against them. He told them that they were to fight, not merely against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. But they were not left to fight alone. He assured them that He would be with them, and that if they would go forth in faith, they would move under the shield of Omnipotence. “Lo, I am with you alway,” He said. He made full provision for the prosecution of their work, and took upon Him the responsibility of its success. So long as they obeyed His word, and worked in connection with Him, they could not fail. Go to all nations, He bade them. Go to the farthest part of the habitable globe, but know that My presence will be there. Labor in faith and confidence, for the time will never come when I will forsake you.
7 The disciples went forth preaching the Word. They prepared themselves for their work. Before the day of Pentecost, they met together, and put away all differences. They were of one accord. They believed Christ’s promise that the blessing was to be given, and they prayed in faith. They did not ask for a blessing for themselves merely; they were weighted with the burden for the salvation of souls. The Gospel was to be carried to the uttermost parts of the earth, and they claimed the power that Christ had promised. Then it was that the Holy Spirit was poured out, and thousands were converted in a day.
Page 1087
1 The commission that Christ gave to His disciples just before His ascension is given also to us. To every believer are spoken the words, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” The Lord has given His church a special work of personal service. He could have given to angels alone the work of soul-saving, but He did not do this. Humanity must touch humanity.
2 It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the work of saving souls depends alone on the ordained minister. All to whom the heavenly inspiration has come are put in trust with the Gospel. All who receive the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of souls. For this work the church was established, and all who take upon themselves the sacred vows are thereby pledged to be co-workers with Christ.
3 “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” He who is truly converted is filled with a desire to save sinners. He goes forth proclaiming, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” His whole soul reaches out after others in a desire that they may enjoy the peace that he has found. The light that has entered heart and mind can not be shut in. It must shine forth.
4 To us, as to the disciples, Christ says, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” The power promised to them is promised to us also. Christ assures us that if we go forth in His strength, we shall do the deeds of Omnipotence. But have we placed ourselves where God can give us the power that He gave the disciples,—power which enabled them to preach the Gospel so mightily that thousands were converted in a day? How can we expect the approval of Heaven while we leave our fellow-beings unwarned?
5 The privileges that God has given us, the advantages that He has bestowed, the promises that He has made, should inspire us, with far greater zeal and devotion. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ came to this world to live and die for sinners. He bids His disciples put forth untiring effort for those who know not the joy of communion with Him. He stands ready to give them power for the fulfilment of the commission.
6 The veil has been rent from top to bottom. A new and living way has been opened. And now, all who will may reach forth their hands unto God, and take hold of His strength, and they shall make peace with Him. The heathen world is no longer to be wrapped in darkness. The gloom of superstition is to disappear before the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The powers of hell have been overcome. The truth of the words has been proven, “I am sought of them that asked not for Me; I am found of them that sought Me not; I said, Behold Me, behold Me, unto a nation that was not called by My name.”
7 Go, teach and preach Christ. Instruct and educate all who know not of His grace, His goodness, and His mercy. Teach the people. “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”
8 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! . . . Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”
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Page 1088
1 Nearly two thousand years ago a Voice of mysterious import was heard in heaven, saying, “Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared me. . . Lo, I come, . . . to do Thy will, O God.”
2 Christ came to our world to be man’s surety, to overcome in his behalf, to live for him a sinless life, that in His power they might obtain the victory over sin. He came, saying, “I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee.” He placed Himself on a level with human beings, saying, I will stand at the head of the race, that through My humiliation, they may be accepted as members of the royal family. I will declare the name of God unto My brethren. I will put My trust in Him, just as I desire My disciples to do.
3 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
4 As Christ took upon Him this work, He saw all that it would bring,—His betrayal, because of envy, pride, and the love of money; His trial in the judgment hall, the scourging, the cruel death. He had led the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage into the land of Canaan. He had come now to lead them from spiritual bondage into the City of God. But they rejected Him, and delivered Him up to death. He came to His vineyard to receive the fruit thereof, but those who should have welcomed Him, said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, and let us seize on His inheritance.”
5 Looking into the future, Christ saw the return that would be made for His love. He saw Himself condemned to suffer the punishment inflicted only on those most deeply sunken in crime. He saw Himself hanging on the cross, while priests and rulers looked on with exultation, saying mockingly, “He saved others; Himself He can not save.”
6 Christ looked down through the ages, and saw His humiliation carried into every successive generation. He heard the false testimony borne that He came to abrogate the law of God. He saw the law which He came to magnify and make honorable, trampled upon and dishonored.
7 Knowing all this, Christ bore the penalty of transgression. He was crucified and buried, but He broke the fetters of the tomb, and over the rent sepulcher of Joseph proclaimed, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” To all who receive Him, He gives power to become the sons of God. He paid the redemption price for every son and daughter of Adam, and He is abundantly able to save all who come to Him.
8 Only by bearing, on the cross, the punishment for our disobedience could Christ deliver us from eternal death. He became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Repentant sinners stand before the Father justified, because the Innocent One has borne their guilt.
9 “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with Me. . . . I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold; therefore Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me.”
10 “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.”
11 This is our hope. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
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Page 1089
1 Wherefore didst thou doubt?” Christ asked Peter. To many today the same question might be addressed. Because the outlook is not pleasant, they draw closely around them the garment of unbelief. They look within, and, because all is darkness, they think that God is forsaking them. Why do we thus dishonor God? He has pledged Himself to be our Helper in every time of need. In His Word we may find ground for confidence, and provision for efficiency. It is our privilege to say confidently and yet humbly, The Lord is my helper; therefore shall I not fear. My life is hid with Christ in God. Because He lives, I shall live also.
2 Let us pledge ourselves before God and the angels of heaven that we will not dishonor God by yielding to discouragement and unbelief. Let us close the door of the heart against distrust, and open it wide to faith. If we feel despondent, let us look to Jesus. If we think that our friends misunderstand us, let us remember that Jesus, our Elder Brother, never makes a mistake. He judges righteously.
3 Let every word you utter, every line you write, give evidence of unwavering faith. Do not think of Jesus as the friend of some one else, but as your personal friend. Never are you left to struggle alone. Christ says, “Lo, I am with you alway.” And angels are your helpers. The Comforter that Jesus promised to send abides with you.
4 Constantly exercise faith. Trust in God whatever your feelings may be. “Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.” Let him say with the psalmist, “Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
5 Do not think that because you have sinned, you must always be under condemnation. When the tempter tells you that your sins are so great that you have no right to claim the promises of God, say, “It is written, ‘Tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;’ and ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’”
6 “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” Christ died to rescue souls from the bondage of sin, and those who return to their loyalty are precious in the sight of the Lord. He loves them even as He loves His only-begotten Son.
7 He who died that we might live forever in heaven, is now standing before His Father, pleading in our behalf. He ever lives to make intercession for us, and to dispense to us grace and blessing in abundant measure. He will give His children the help that He sees they need. He has promised, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” He lays upon them no burden greater than they are able to bear.
8 With the hand of faith grasp the promises of God, and stand on vantage-ground. Then you will be where Satan can not come near to you to say, God will not help you, because you have sinned. The enemy desires us to think that the way of life is so difficult that it is impossible for us to reach heaven. But do not allow his insinuations of doubt to keep you from pressing forward. In the strength of God we may be more than conquerors. His purpose for us is that we shall develop perfect characters. He can help us so to live in this world that we shall be accounted worthy to join the family of the redeemed in the courts above. He is willing to do for us more than we can ask or think.
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Page 1090
1 The home is a training-school, in which children are to learn from their parents the meaning of self-discipline and self-control. Let parents remember that in the authority of God they are to do the work that He has laid upon them. In the sanctuary of the home His work for their children is to begin. They are to co-operate with Him by doing all in their power to make themselves fit teachers for their children. They are to acquaint themselves with the duties devolving upon them, and by a faithful performance of these duties prove themselves true to God and to their children.
2 Parents, remember that the training of your children is your life-work. You are under obligation to make yourselves examples of what you desire your children to become. In the home you are to be the Lord’s physicians,—healers of physical, mental, and spiritual afflictions. Keep in touch with your sons and daughters as they grow from childhood to manhood and womanhood. Be sure that their physical habits are such as will help them to build up strong, symmetrical characters. Allow in the home nothing that savors of cheapness or commonness. You are preparing your children for entrance into the City of God, and nothing that defiles can enter there.
3 Be pleasant and cheerful. Remember that love is the power that binds your children to you. Keep your words and actions free from anger. Do nothing that will destroy the harmony of the home. Let the sharp words that you are tempted to speak die unspoken. Such words wound and bruise the hearts of the hearers.
4 It is not the Lord’s will that parents shall be so fully engrossed in other things that they neglect their children. It should be the constant study of both father and mother to train their children in such a way that they will be qualified to act well their part in the service of God. Patiently, wisely, tenderly, parents are to teach their little ones, in their lives showing that strength is gained by obedience.
5 It is the mother’s privilege to bless the world by the faithfulness with which she works for her children; and, in doing this, she will bring joy to her own heart. She may make straight paths for the feet of her children, through sunshine and shadow, to the glorious heights above. But it is only as she herself seeks to follow the teaching of Christ that she can hope to form the characters of her children after the divine similitude. Let every mother go often to God with the prayer, “How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” Let her heed the instruction that God has given, and, as she has need, wisdom will be given to her.
6 But all the burden is not to rest on the mother. The father is to share it with her. Never is his interest in his children to flag. The father who has a family of restless boys should not leave them wholly to the care of the mother. This is too heavy a burden for her. He should make himself their companion and friend, doing all in his power to keep them from evil associates.
7 Fathers and mothers, think earnestly of the importance of your work. It rests with you to decide whether good or evil thoughts shall occupy the minds of your children. Daily sanctify yourselves to God. In all your plans and purposes, let your first question be, How can I best minister to the present and future good of my children. To prepare them to inherit eternal life requires patient, untiring effort. Let not your perseverance fail. Study with your children. Remember that you yourselves are God’s little children, and that you must first learn of Him before you can teach your children aright.
8 Guard the hearts of your children against evil. Forget not the subtlety of the enemy who seeks to gain entrance into the heart, that he may take possession of the whole being. Once firmly seated on the throne of the heart, no human power can cast him from his stronghold.
9 The Heart-searcher knows the cruel power of the enemy, and the weakness of human beings. He knows how untiringly Satan seeks to gain control of the children and youth, and how often he is aided in his efforts by the neglect of fathers and mothers. O, how many families there are where the children, their temporal needs abundantly supplied, are allowed to grow up without a knowledge of the Saviour! Their spiritual needs are neglected. God is not in the home. His place is filled by the enemy.
10 O parents, give your children wise care, that they may grow up to be noble men and women, and that, should death call them before the Saviour comes, they may lie down to rest, knowing that in the morning of the resurrection they will rise to newness of life.
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Page 1091
1
Gather up my influence, and bury it with me,” a man upon his death-bed exclaimed. But could this be done?—No, no! Like the thistle seed carried by the wind, his influence had been borne everywhere, never to be recalled.
2 Throw a pebble into a lake, and a wave is formed, and another; and as they increase the circle widens, until it reaches the very shore. So with our influence. Beyond our knowledge or control it tells upon others in blessing or in cursing.
3 No one can live to himself in this world, even if he would. Each one forms a part of the great web of humanity. No man can be independent of his fellow-men; for the well-being of each affects others.
4 Each soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own, an atmosphere, it may be, charged with the life-giving power of faith and hope and courage, and sweet with the fragrance of love, or it may be heavy and chill with the gloom of discontent and selfishness, or poisonous with the deadly taint of cherished sin. By the atmosphere surrounding us, every one with whom we come in contact is consciously or unconsciously affected.
5 This is a responsibility from which we can not free ourselves. Our words, our acts, our deportment, even the expression of the countenance, has an influence. Upon the impression thus made there hang results for good or for evil which no man can measure. Every impulse thus imparted is a seed sown which will produce its harvest. It is a link in the long chain of human events extending we know not whither. If, by our example, we aid others in the development of good principles, we give them power to do good. In their turn they exert the same influence upon others, and they upon still others. Thus by our unconscious influence many may be blessed. On the other hand, one rash act, one thoughtless word, may prove the ruin of some soul. One blemish on the character may turn many away from Christ.
6 As the seed sown produces a harvest, and this in turn is sown, the harvest is multiplied. In our relation to others this holds true. Every act, every word, is a seed that will bear fruit. Every deed of thoughtful kindness, of obedience, or of self-denial, will reproduce itself in others, and through them in still others. So every act of envy, malice, or dissension, is a seed that will spring up as a “root of bitterness,” whereby many shall be defiled. And how much larger number will the “many” poison! Thus the sowing of good and evil goes on for time and for eternity.
7 No man will perish alone in his iniquity. However contracted may be one’s sphere, he exerts an influence for good or for ill. That our influence should be a savor of death unto death is a fearful thought, yet this is possible. Many who profess Christ are scattering from Him. Frivolity, selfish indulgence, and careless indifference on the part of professed Christians, are turning many souls from the path of life. Many there are who will fear to meet at the bar of God the results of their influence.
8 The strongest bulwark of vice in our world is not the iniquitous life of the abandoned sinner or the degraded outcast; it is that life which otherwise appears virtuous, honorable, noble, but in which one sin is fostered, one vice indulged. To the soul that is struggling against temptation, trembling on the very verge of yielding to evil, such a life is one of the most powerful enticements to sin.
9 God calls for strong, brave Christians, whose influence is always exerted for the right. His cause needs men and women whose every word and act draws those around them to Christ, binding them to Him by the persuasive force of loving service. Men and women who commune with God, who, because they co-operate with the heavenly angels, are surrounded by a holy influence, are needed at this time.
10 It is only through the grace of God that we can make a right use of our influence. There is nothing in us of ourselves by which we can influence others for good. If we realize our helplessness, and our need of divine power, we shall not trust to ourselves. We know not what results a day, an hour, or a moment may determine, and never should we begin the day without committing our ways to our heavenly Father. His angels are appointed to watch over us, and if we put ourselves under their guardianship, then in every time of danger they will be at our right hand. When unconsciously we are in danger of exerting a wrong influence, the angels will be by our side, prompting us to a better course, choosing words for us, and influencing our actions. Thus our influence may be a silent, unconscious, but mighty power in drawing others to Christ and the heavenly world.
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Page 1092
1 It is of the utmost importance that we understand how to pray aright. A careful study of the prayer that Jesus gave His disciples will be of great benefit to us. This prayer is just as valuable to Christ’s followers today as it was to His disciples when it was given to them. Let parents teach their children the meaning of this prayer. And let them teach them that God will not accept it if offered as a form. Only as we offer this prayer with an understanding of its meaning and a realization of our need, will it be acceptable to God.
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2
Christ points us to God as our heavenly Father. We are to ask Him for what we need, even as a child asks its earthly father for what it needs. Jesus says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him.” As adopted children of God, it is our right to ask Him for the things we need. Would that all could understand the value that there is in acknowledging our relationship and loyalty to Him whom we claim as our Father. Before taking up our daily work, we should draw near to God, to talk with Him whom we reverence and love, and to ask for help, not only for ourselves, but for others. He is well pleased when we come to Him in full confidence, asking for grace to overcome. He will not be to us as an offended Judge, but as a loving gracious Father.
3 The infinite God, said Jesus, makes it your privilege to approach Him by the name of Father. Understand all that this implies. No earthly parent ever pleaded so earnestly with an erring child as He who made you pleads with the transgressor. No human, loving interest ever followed the impenitent with such tender invitations. God dwells in every abode; He hears every word that is spoken, listens to every prayer that is offered, tastes the sorrows and disappointments of every soul, regards the treatment given to father, mother, sister, friend, and neighbor. He cares for our necessities, and His love and mercy and grace are continually flowing to satisfy our need.
4
God would have us seek for those things that will honor His name. In no case are we to glorify ourselves; we are to seek God for grace and blessing, that we may glorify His name in our lives; God is glorified, His name is hallowed, when, through the lives of His children, Christ is revealed.
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5 God’s name is hallowed by the angels of heaven and by the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds. When you pray, “Hallowed by Thy name,” you ask that it may be hallowed in this world, hallowed in you. God has acknowledged you before men and angels as His child; pray that you may do no dishonor to the “worthy name by which ye are called.” God sends you into the world as His representatives. In every act of life you are to make manifest the name of God. This petition calls upon you to possess His character. You can not hallow His name, or represent Him to the world, unless, in life and character, you represent the very life and character of God. This you can do only through the acceptance of Christ.
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6
Christ sent forth His disciples with the message, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” The proclamation of this message is our work. Jesus said, “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” His kingdom will not come until the good tidings of His grace have been carried to all the earth. Let us proclaim the message, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Thus we may hasten the coming of the Saviour. “Thy kingdom come.” For ages this prayer has been ascending to God from contrite hearts. It will surely be answered. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. The heavenly gates are again to be lifted up, and with ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of holy ones, our Saviour will come forth as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jehovah Immanuel shall be King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name shall be one. “The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
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7
In their ministry the angels are not as servants, but as sons. There is perfect unity between them and their Creator. Obedience is to them no drudgery. Love for God makes their service a joy. So, in every soul, wherein Christ, the hope of glory, dwells, are re-echoed the words, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God; yea, Thy law is within my heart.” The homes of God’s people on this earth should be a symbol, so far as possible, of the heavenly home, where God has His throne. We are His subjects, His little children, whom He wishes to make happy. The members of every family circle should seek to carry out the methods of God as revealed in His Word. Those who bring their lives into harmony with the prayer that Christ has given will be sanctified through the truth.
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Page 1093
1
Like the child, you shall receive day by day what is required for the day’s need. Every day you are to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Be not disturbed if you have not sufficient for tomorrow. You have the assurance of His promise, “Thou shalt dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” David says, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread.” That God who sent the ravens to feed Elijah by the brook Cherith, will not pass by one of His faithful, self-sacrificing children. Of him that walketh righteously it is written, “Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” He who lightened the cares and anxieties of His widowed mother, and helped to provide for the household of Nazareth, sympathizes with every mother in her struggle to provide her children food. He who had compassion on the multitude because they “fainted and were scattered abroad,” still has compassion on the suffering poor. His hand is stretched out toward them in blessing and in the very prayer which He gave His disciples, He teaches us to remember the poor.
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2
After completing the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus added, “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” He who is unforgiving cuts off the very channel through which alone he can receive mercy from God. We are to have a spirit of compassion toward those who have trespassed against us, whether or not they confess their faults. However sorely they may have wounded us, we are not to cherish our grievances, and sympathize with ourselves over our injuries; but as we hope to be pardoned for our offenses against God, we are to pardon all who have done evil to us.
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3 Calvary alone can reveal the terrible enormity of sin. If we had to bear our own guilt, it would crush us. But the sinless One has taken our place; although undeserving, He has borne our iniquity. “If we confess our sins,” God “is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Glorious truth,—just to His own law, and yet the justifier of all who believe in Jesus. “Who is a god like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in mercy.”
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4
This prayer is itself a promise. If we commit ourselves to God, we have the assurance, He “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Christ will never abandon the soul for whom He has died. The soul may leave Him, and be overwhelmed with temptation, but Christ can never turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom of His own life. Could our spiritual vision be quickened, we should see souls bowed under oppression and burdened with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves, and ready to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying swiftly to aid these tempted ones, who are standing as on the brink of a precipice. The angels from heaven force back the hosts of evil that encompass these souls, and guide them to plant their feet on the sure foundation. The battles waging between the two armies are as real as those fought by the armies of this world, and on the issue of the spiritual conflict eternal destinies depend. Live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold you firmly by a hand that will never let go. Know and believe the love that God has to us, and you are secure; that love is a fortress impregnable to all the delusions and assaults of Satan. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”
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5
The last, like the first sentence of the Lord’s prayer, points to our Father as above all power and authority and every name that is named. The Saviour beheld the years stretched out before His disciples, not, as they had dreamed, lying in the sunshine of worldly prosperity and honor, but dark with the tempests of human hatred and Satanic wrath. Amidst national strife and ruin, the steps of the disciples would be beset with perils, and often their hearts would be oppressed by fear. They were to see Jerusalem a desolation, the temple swept away, its worship forever ended, and Israel scattered to all lands, like wrecks on a desert shore. Jesus said: “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.” “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Yet Christ’s followers were not to fear that their hope was lost, or that God had forsaken the earth. The power and the glory belong to Him whose great purposes would still move on unthwarted toward their consummation. In the prayer that breathes their daily wants, the disciples of Christ were directed to look above all the power and dominion of evil unto the Lord their God, whose kingdom ruleth over all, and who is their Father and everlasting Friend.
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Page 1094
1 Husband and wife are to be faithful to each other as long as time shall last, ever revealing the self-sacrifice that brings true happiness. They are to be one in Christ, and as children are born to them, they are to receive them as a trust from the Lord, to be carefully trained for Him, taught to live pure, holy lives.
2 The husband and wife have duties to perform that before their marriage they did not have. Let them give careful study to the following instruction: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. . . . Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it.”
3 Marriage, a union for life, is a symbol of the union between Christ and His church. The spirit that Christ manifests toward the church is the spirit that husband and wife are to manifest toward each other.
4 Neither husband nor wife is to make a plea for rulership. The Lord has laid down the principle that is to guide in this matter. The husband is to cherish his wife as Christ cherishes the church. And the wife is to respect and love her husband. Both are to cultivate the spirit of kindness, being determined never to grieve or injure the other.
5 Parents can be ministers for Christ in the training of their children. From its babyhood the child is to be taught to obey. Those parents who allow their children to grow up wilful and disobedient are preparing them for a life of sorrow and disappointment. Parents, teach your children to obey. And from the grief you feel when they disregard your wishes, learn how you grieve and disappoint Christ when you disobey Him. The effort to train your children aright will teach you many lessons in regard to your duty to obey the Lord.
6 Never treat your children harshly; for harshness arouses stubbornness and resistance. You will find that they are most easily and successfully governed by kindness and gentleness. Love breaks down all barriers, and gentleness subdues the most stubborn will. Treat your children as you would wish to be treated were you in their place. Let there be no scolding, no loud-voiced, angry commands. Obey the injunction, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
7 Disobedience and rebellion must be punished; but remember that the punishment is to be given in the spirit of Christ. When called upon to discipline your child, remember your own relation to your heavenly Father. Have you walked perfectly before Him? Are you not wayward and disobedient? Do you not often grieve him? But does He deal with you in anger? Remember, too, that it is from you that your children have received their tendencies to wrong. In spite of your years of Christian experience, in spite of your many opportunities for self-discipline, how easily you are provoked to anger! Deal gently, then, with your children, remembering that they have not had the opportunities that you have had to gain self-control.
8 All Heaven is interested in your home. God and Christ and the heavenly angels are intensely desirous that you shall so train your children that they shall be prepared to enter the family of the redeemed. Teach them to be loyal to Christ. Bring into the home the transforming power of the grace of Christ. Make your home an object-lesson that will help other parents to fulfil God’s purpose for them. Teach your children to live Christlike lives. Set your own heart in order. An unreserved surrender to God will sweep away the barriers that have so long defied the approaches of heavenly grace. Bring your lives into conformity to the will of Christ, and your children will be won to Him. The world will take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus, and have learned of Him. In word and deed they will bear witness to the power of His grace.
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Page 1095
1 Prayer is not an expiation for sin. It is not a penance. We need not come to God as condemned criminals; for Christ has paid the penalty of our transgression. He has made an atonement for us. His blood cleanses from sin.
2 Our prayers are as letters sent from earth, directed to our Father in heaven. The petitions that ascend from sincere, humble hearts will surely reach Him. He can discern the sincerity of His adopted children. He pities our weakness, and strengthens our infirmities. He has said, “Ask, and ye shall receive.”
3 Many of the human family know not what they should ask for as they ought. But the Lord is kind and tender. He helps their infirmities by giving them words to speak. He who comes with sanctified desire has access through Christ to the Father. Christ is our Intercessor. The prayers that are placed in the golden censer of the Saviour’s merits are accepted by the Father.
4 Every promise in the Word of God is for us. In your prayers, present the pledged word of Jehovah, and by faith claim His promises. His word is the assurance that if you ask in faith, you will receive all spiritual blessings. Continue to ask, and you will receive exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think. Educate yourself to have unlimited confidence in God. Cast all your care upon Him. Wait patiently for Him, and He will bring it to pass.
5 We are to come to God, not in a spirit of self-justification, but with humility, repenting of our sins. He is able to help us, willing to do for us more than we ask or think. He has the abundance of heaven wherewith to supply our necessities. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” God is holy, and we must pray, “lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
6 We are to pray in the name of Christ, our Mediator. Our petitions are of value only as they are offered in His name. He has bridged the gulf that sin has made. By His atoning sacrifice, He has bound to Himself and His Father those who believe in Him. His is the only name under heaven whereby we may be saved.
7 God is our King, and we are His subjects. A mere knowledge of His will does not set aside the necessity of offering earnest supplications to Him for help, and of diligently seeking, by obeying His law, to co-operate with Him in answering the prayers offered. Thus His kingdom is established in our hearts.
8 “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let them return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” We are to seek “first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” We are to be ready to receive the blessing which God will bestow upon those who seek Him with the whole heart, in sincerity and truth. We must keep the heart open, if we would receive of the grace of Christ.
9 In our prayers we are not to preach a sermon to the Lord. We need not tell him the history of our lives. We can tell Him nothing with which He is unacquainted. He knows our inmost thoughts. Every secret is open before Him. Nothing can be hid from Him.
10 High-flown language is inappropriate in prayer, whether the prayer be offered in the pulpit, in the family circle, or in secret. Especially should one use simple language when offering public prayer, that others may understand what he says, and unite with his petition.
11 God hears the prayers that are offered in the family circle, if they come from devoted hearts. Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”
12 Do not neglect secret prayer. “Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
13 We are not to be so overwhelmed with the thought of our sins and errors that we shall cease to pray. Some realize their great weakness and sin, and become discouraged. Satan casts his dark shadow between them and the Lord Jesus, their atoning sacrifice. They say, It is useless for me to pray. My prayers are so mingled with evil thoughts that the Lord will not hear them. These suggestions are from Satan. In His humanity, Christ met and resisted this temptation, and He knows how to succor those who are thus tempted. In our behalf, He “offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears.”
14 Many, not understanding that their doubts come from Satan, become faint-hearted, and are defeated in the conflict.
15 Do not, because your thoughts are evil, cease to pray. If we could in our own wisdom and strength pray aright, we could also live aright, and would need no atoning sacrifice. But imperfection is upon all humanity. Educate and train the mind that you may in simplicity tell the Lord what you need. As you offer your petitions to God, seeking for forgiveness for sin, a purer and holier atmosphere will surround your soul.
16 When you pray for temporal blessings, remember that the Lord may see that it is not for your good or for His glory to give you just what you desire. But He will answer your prayer, giving you just what is best for you.
17 When Paul prayed that the thorn in his flesh might be removed, the Lord answered his prayer, not by removing the thorn, but by giving him grace to bear the trial. “My grace,” He said, “is sufficient for thee.” Paul rejoiced at this answer to his prayer, declaring. “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” When the sick pray for the recovery of health, the Lord does not always answer their prayer in just the way they desire. But even tho they may not be immediately healed, He will give them that which is of far more value,—grace to bear their sickness.
18 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.”
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Page 1096
1 A life of idleness and self-pleasing is not the life of a Christian, nor has it ever been. Christ was an untiring worker, and He has given to His followers the law of service,—a law that is the link binding man to God and to his fellow-men.
2 Christ found His highest joy in service. Not to be ministered unto, but to minister, did He come to this earth. See Him teaching in the temple, by the sea, on the mountainside, in the great thoroughfares of travel. See Him by the bedside of the sick, speaking peace and hope to the afflicted. He went about doing good, comforting the mourners, helping the helpless, healing the wounds that sin had made.
3 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,” He declared, “because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”
4 A life of service is the truest, noblest life that man can live. By such a life we are brought into touch with Him who is the light and life of the world. Service is an honor conferred on man as an heir of heaven. He is to find his joy in true-hearted, unselfish efforts to help and bless those around him.
5 Countless are the opportunities for unselfish service. There are many to whom life is a painful struggle; they feel their deficiencies, and are miserable and unbelieving; they think they have nothing for which to be grateful. Kind words, looks of sympathy, expressions of appreciation, would be to many a struggling and lonely one as a cup of cold water to a thirsty soul. A word of sympathy, an act of kindness, would lift burdens that rest heavily upon weary shoulders. And every word or deed of unselfish kindness is an expression of the love of Christ for lost humanity.
6 “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” No soul who believes in Christ, even tho his faith may be weak and his steps wavering, is to be lightly esteemed. By all that has given us advantage over another,—be it education, refinement, Christian training, religious experience, we are in debt to those less favored, and, so far as lies in our power, we are to stay up the hands of the weak. Angels of glory, that do always behold the face of the Father in heaven, joy in ministering to His little ones. Trembling souls, who have many objectionable traits of character, are their special charge. Angels are ever present where they are most needed, with those who have the hardest battle with self to fight, and whose surroundings are the most discouraging.
7 We shall individually be held responsible for doing one jot less than we have ability to do. The Lord measures with exactness every possibility for service. The unused capabilities are just as much brought into account as those that are used. We shall be judged according to what we ought to have done, but did not accomplish because we did not use our powers to glorify God. Even if we do not lose our souls, we shall realize through all eternity the result of our unused talents.
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As you open your doors to Christ’s needy and suffering ones, you are welcoming unseen angels. You invite the companionship of heavenly beings. They bring a sacred atmosphere of peace and joy. They come with praises upon their lips, and an answering strain is heard in heaven. Every deed of mercy makes music there. The Father from His throne numbers the unselfish workers among His most precious treasures.
9 At the last great day Christ will say to these workers, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.
10 “Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?
11 “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.”
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Page 1097
1 Just before His crucifixion, Christ said to His disciples, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples.”
2 By this badge they were to be recognized as Christ’s followers and friends. The manifestation of His love was to distinguish them from the world.
3 Why was this a new commandment? The disciples had not loved one another as Christ had loved them. They had not yet seen the fulness of the love that Christ was to reveal in man’s behalf. They were yet to see Him dying on the cross for their sins. Through His life and death they were to receive a new conception of love. In the light shining from the cross of Calvary, they were to read the meaning of the words. “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
4 After His resurrection, they were to take the name of Christian. They were not to be recognized as members of some secret society. By their unselfish love they were to be known as Christians. They were without wealth, learning, or fame. They were not to aspire to be recognized as the great men of the world.
5 The Son of God took human nature upon Him, and came to this earth to stand at the head of the fallen race. He lived here as a man among men. He died on the cross that men and women might live in glory. His work stands before us as the work of the greatest medical missionary that the world has ever known. If we would study His love, and try to comprehend its greatness, we should reveal more of it in our lives.
6 The seventeenth chapter of John is an unfolding of the love that we are to cherish for one another. In this prayer Christ said, “I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work that Thou gavest Me to do.” Christ came to represent the Father by revealing a love that is without a parallel. So untiring were His efforts, that when time came for Him to leave the earth, He could say, “I have finished the work that Thou gavest Me to do.
7 “And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee. For I have given them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.”
8 This prayer touches my heart, and thrills my whole being. Shall we not strive to make our lives, which cost the Son of God so much, such that He can be glorified in us?
9 “Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.”
10 Many are to believe on Christ through the communication of truth by His servants. As they see the beauty of the Word of God, and as they see Jesus revealed in the lives of His children, they will praise Him with heart and soul and voice.
11 “I beseech you therefore, . . . that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Let us gather up our gifts, and bring them to the Master, to be used in His work.
12 Shall those for whom Christ’s prayer was offered be careless and indifferent? The angels of heaven have their appointed part to act in answering this prayer. We, too, have a part to act. We are to be faithful and true, showing Christlikeness in all that we do and say. The world needs light. Darkness has covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. We are to be light-bearers, carrying the light of heaven to those in darkness. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” We are to be witnesses for God, revealing in the daily life the love that led Him to suffer and die for sinners.
13 The world has an abundance of professors of religion. What it needs today is men and women, whose practise is in harmony with their profession, whose lives are fragrant with Christlike love.
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Page 1098
1 In the parable of the Lost Sheep the shepherd goes out to search for one sheep,—the very least that can be numbered. So if there had been but one lost soul, Christ would have died for that one.
2 The sheep that has strayed from the fold is the most helpless of all creatures. It must be sought for by the shepherd, for it can not find its way back. So with the soul that has wandered away from God; he is as helpless as the lost sheep, and unless divine love had come to his rescue, he could never find his way to God.
3 The shepherd who discovers that one of his sheep is missing, does not look carelessly upon the flock that is safely housed, and say, “I have ninety and nine, and it will cost me too much trouble to go in search of the straying one. Let him come back, and I will open the door of the sheepfold, and let him in,” No; no sooner does the sheep go astray than the shepherd is filled with grief and anxiety. He counts and recounts the flock. When he is sure that one sheep is lost, he slumbers not. He leaves the ninety and nine within the fold, and goes in search of the straying sheep. The darker and more tempestuous the night, and the more perilous the way, the greater is the shepherd’s anxiety, and the more earnest his search. He makes every effort to find that one lost sheep.
4 With what relief he hears in the distance its first faint cry. Following the sound, he climbs the steepest heights; he goes to the very edge of the precipice, at the risk of his own life. Thus he searches, while the cry, growing fainter, tells him that his sheep is ready to die. At last his effort is rewarded; the lost is found. Then he does not scold it because it has caused him so much trouble. He does not drive it with a whip. He does not even try to lead it home. In his joy he takes the trembling creature upon his shoulders; if it is bruised and wounded, he gathers it in his arms, pressing it close to his bosom, that the warmth of his own heart may give it life. With gratitude that his search has not been in vain, he bears it back to the fold.
5 Thank God, He has presented to our imagination no picture of a sorrowful shepherd returning without the sheep. The parable does not speak of failure, but of success, and joy in the recovery. Here is the divine guarantee that not even one of the straying sheep of God’s fold is overlooked, not one is left unsuccored. Every one that will submit to be ransomed, Christ will rescue from the pit of corruption, and from the briers of sin.
6 Desponding soul, take courage, even tho you have done wickedly. Do not think that perhaps God will pardon your transgressions, and permit you to come into His presence. God has made the first advance. While you were in rebellion against Him, He went forth to seek you. With the tender heart of the shepherd He left the ninety and nine, and went out into the wilderness to find that which was lost. The soul, bruised and wounded, and ready to perish, He encircles in His arms of love, and joyfully bears it to the fold of safety.
7 When the straying sheep is at last brought home, the shepherd’s gratitude finds expression in melodious songs of rejoicing. He calls upon His friends and neighbors, saying unto them, “Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.” So when a wanderer is found by the great Shepherd of the sheep, heaven and earth unite in thanksgiving and rejoicing.
Page 1099
1 It is for our present happiness and future good that God subjects us to trial. The greatest blessing that His wayward children have is the correction that He sends them. When called to pass through trials, we may know that thus God is striving to lead us to know Him and to place our trust in Him.
2 Your way may seem very dark. Your friends may seem to have forsaken you, and circumstances may seem to be against you. Hereditary tendencies to wrong strive for the mastery, and you are ready to sink down in discouragement. But you are not forsaken. The Lord God of Israel is looking upon you with compassion and sympathy. His thoughts toward you are thoughts of good, and not of evil. He sees the forces arrayed against you, and He sends you the message, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.”
3 Do not depend on human help. Why turn from the One who is all-powerful, to ask help of finite, human beings? Why not make God your counselor, saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” Have we not acted discourteously toward the One to whom we owe all that we have? Let us no longer turn from the light that lighteth every man to the uncertain wisdom of those who have no power save that which they receive from God.
4 Our Saviour is not lying in Joseph’s new tomb. Over the rent sepulcher He has proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life,” He has withdrawn from human sight into the immediate presence of God. There He is making intercession for those who by faith come to God. He presents them to the Father, saying, “By the marks of the nails in My hands, I claim pardon for them. I have made an atonement for them.”
5 Then do not take your sorrows and difficulties to man. When you need help, go to Him to whom has been given “all power in heaven and in earth.” In your weakness and unworthiness come to Christ, saying, “Lord, save, or I perish.” From Him you can learn the manifold wisdom of God, wisdom more precious than words can tell. You may gather strength from Jesus; for in Him all fulness dwells.
6 God sees and tenderly sympathizes with those who are tempted. He hears the voice of supplication and distress. Not a groan, not a sigh, not a tear, escapes His notice. Did not Christ come to this world to work out the plan of redemption in man’s behalf, to show him how to overcome the temptations of the enemy? Will God, then, withhold from His children anything that will perfect their characters? If He did not love us, this great sacrifice would not have been made.
7 In the darkest hour, let faith pierce the cloud surrounding you; for Christ is behind, and He does all things well. We have a covenant-keeping God, who knows all our necessities, a God who unites with His majesty the gentleness and tenderness of the shepherd. He has pledged Himself to supply all our need. Have faith in Him; for His honor is at stake. He will not alter the thing that has gone out of His mouth. He will fulfil His promise. Absolute power is His, and no obstacle can stand before Him. His understanding is infinite. He can not err. He is never in perplexity in regard to the means that He will employ. He says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee. . . . I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”
8 Bring rejoicing into your experience. When you are depressed, sing to the praise of God. Rejoice in the hope set before you,—the hope of eternal life. Talk faith, even tho you seem to be surrounded with darkness. He would have you pluck and eat the leaves of the tree of life.
9 The Lord Jesus has chosen those who believe in Him to be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Him to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Let us believe the messages of cheer that He sends us. Let us live lives of hope and trust. Christ has given us the key that unlocks heaven’s treasure-house of blessing. He declares, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Christ promises not only to present our petitions to the Father, and to intercede in our behalf, but to bestow the blessings sought.
10 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”
11 The gift of Christ is our pledge of help in trouble and of victory in conflict. In Christ is the strength of His people; for to Him all power has been given. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”
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Page 1100
1 Christ asks for unreserved consecration, for undivided service. He demands the heart, the mind, the soul, the strength. Outward observances can not take the place of simple faith and entire renunciation of self. But no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, “Lord, take my heart; for I can not keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristianlike self. Mould me, fashion me, raise me into a pure, holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.”
2 It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be renewed. All our good works are dependent on a power outside of ourselves. Therefore there needs to be a continual reaching out of the heart after God, a continual, earnest, heart-breaking confession of sin, and humbling of the soul before Him. Only by a constant renunciation of self and dependence on Christ can we walk safely.
3 There are many who do not make an entire surrender. They do not die to self that Christ may live in them. They adopt His name, they wear His badge, but they are not partakers of His nature. They have not overcome their unholy ambition and their love for the world. They do not take up the cross and follow Christ in the path of self-denial and self-sacrifice. Almost Christians, yet not fully Christians, they seem near the kingdom of heaven, but they can not enter there. Almost, but not wholly saved, means to be wholly lost.
4 We need to examine ourselves, to see whether we are indeed worthy of the name of Christian. We hear Christ’s voice, clear and distinct saying, “Follow Me.” “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” “So shall he be My disciple.” Are we following Him? He ordered His life and bore His cross for the honor of His father. Are we doing this?
5 The same devotion, the same self-sacrifice, the same subjection to the claims of the Word of God, that were manifest in Christ, must be seen in His servants. He left His home of security and peace, left the glory that He had with the Father before the world was, left His position upon the throne of the universe. He went forth, a suffering, tempted man, went forth in solitude, to sow in tears, to water with His blood, the seed of life for a world lost.
6 His servants in like manner must go forth to sow. When called to become a sower of the seeds of truth, Abraham was bidden, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I shall show thee.” “And he went out, not knowing whither he went.” So to the apostle Paul, praying in the temple at Jerusalem, came the message from God, “Depart; for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” So those who are called to unite with Christ must leave all in order to follow Him. Old associations must be broken up, plans of life relinquished, earthly hopes surrendered. In toil and tears, in solitude and through sacrifice, must the seed be sown.
7 Those who consecrate body, soul, and spirit to God will constantly receive a new endowment of physical, mental, and spiritual power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth His highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ, they are made complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do deeds of Omnipotence.
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Page 1101
1 Just before his death, Joshua called the children of Israel together, and said to them, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” The choice that Israel was that day called to make is one that today all are called to make; for there are still rival powers in the world. Let us consider the character of the powers that claim the homage of men.
2 Christ, the Commander of the heavenly hosts, left the honor and glory that He had with the Father, and came to this world to live as a man among men, that He might rescue human beings from destruction. He might have come attended by ten thousand times ten thousand angels; but this He did not do. He came in lowliness and poverty, without honor or rank. He humbled Himself, taking the nature of the fallen race. He came to help the needy and the distressed; to heal the sick; to speak peace to the suffering; to deliver those whom Satan was afflicting; to bring redemption to all who would accept the Heaven-sent blessing. Such is the character of Him who says, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.”
3 There is another who claims the homage of men, but very different is he from the Prince of life. He was once a covering cherub in the heavenly courts, and of him it is written, “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” But envy entered his heart, and he was cast out of heaven. His work is now the destruction of the children of men; the ruin of souls is his delight, and his only employment. His step is noiseless, his movements are stealthy, his batteries are masked. He has so concealed himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists, much less can they be convinced of his amazing malignity, activity, and power. If he were to show himself openly, in his true character, he would arouse the Christian’s dormant energies, and send him to God in prayer.
4 Under the enemy’s specious, bewitching influence, many obey the worst impulses of the human heart, and yet believe that God is leading them. Could their eyes be opened to distinguish their Captain, they would see that they are not serving God, but the enemy of all righteousness.
5 When Christ was in the world, the battle between Him and Satan was unceasing. At the beginning of His public ministry, our Saviour encountered the wily foe in the wilderness of temptation. Here, during the forty days and nights of Christ’s long fast, Satan, concealing his real character, sought by every means he could devise to overcome the Redeemer. Disguising himself as an angel of light, a Heaven-sent friend, he offered to show Christ an easier way to gain His object than the path of trial and suffering upon which He had entered. But Jesus repulsed the enemy, and forced him to depart, a conquered foe.
6 Today Satan comes with his temptations to the children of men, and here he has better success. One of his most successful devices is to keep men in ignorance of his devices; for they will not be on their guard against an enemy of whose existence they are ignorant. I was once asked, “Do you believe in the existence of a personal devil?” “I do,” I replied. “I do not,” rejoined the questioner. “I think that our evil thoughts and impulses are the only devil there is.” “But,” I asked, “who suggests these thoughts? Where do they originate if not with Satan?”
7 Dear Christian friends, be not deceived by the delusion that Satan has no existence. Just as surely as we have a personal Saviour, we have a personal adversary, cruel and cunning, who constantly watches our steps, plotting to lead us astray. Where the belief is held that he does not exist, there he is most busy. When we least suspect his presence, he is gaining an advantage over us. I feel alarmed as I see so many yielding to his power, while they know it not. Did they but see their danger, they would flee to Christ, the sinner’s refuge.
8 The tempter often whispers that the Christian life is one of exaction, of rigorous duty; that it is hard to be on the watch continually, that there is no need of being so particular. Thus he deceived Eve in Eden, telling her that God’s commands were arbitrary and unjust, given to prevent man from becoming free and exalted.
9 It is true that our Saviour represents His service as a yoke, and the Christian life is one of burden-bearing; yet contrasting these with the cruel power of Satan and the burdens imposed by sin, He exclaims, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” If we try to meet the responsibilities of the Christian life and to perform its duties, without Jesus as a helper, we shall find the yoke galling, and the burden intolerably heavy. But we are not asked to bear the burden alone. Christ will bear the burden of our care and sorrow. He invites us to cast all our care upon Him; for He carries us on His heart. He looks upon every soul who is turning his face toward Him as the Saviour. He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity, what are our needs, and where lies the strength of our temptations; for He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
10 True happiness is found, not in self-indulgence and self-pleasing, but in learning of Christ. Those who trust to their own wisdom and follow their own way complain at every step. But those who take Christ at His word, and surrender the soul to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. The Lord says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee.”
11 Those who choose Christ as their leader, grow daily more like Him. “Strengthened with all might by His Spirit,” they form characters that will win for them entrance into the holy city.
12 We now have the opportunity of deciding whether we shall be numbered with the servants of Christ or the servants of Satan. Day by day, in word and act, we show what choice we are making. Shall we not decide as did Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord?”
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Page 1102
1 By sin we have been severed from the life of God. Of ourselves we are utterly incapable of living a holy life. There are many who realize their helplessness, and who long for that spiritual life which will bring them into harmony with God; they are vainly striving to obtain this life. In despair they cry, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?” Let these desponding, despairing ones look up. The Saviour bids them arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Believe His Word, and it will be fulfilled. Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His Word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practise, the master-passion, which through long indulgence binds you soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is “dead in trespasses.” He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin.
2 The power of faith is shown by the miracle that Christ performed in healing the child possessed with a deaf and dumb spirit. “Master,” the father said to Jesus, “I have brought unto Thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him; . . . and I spake unto Thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.”
3 Jesus asked, “How long is it ago since this came unto him?” The father told the story of long years of suffering, and, then, as if he could endure no more, exclaimed, “If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” “If Thou canst.” Even now the father questioned the power of Christ.
4 Jesus answered, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” There is no lack of power on the part of Christ; the healing of the son depends on the father’s faith. With a burst of tears, realizing his own weakness, the father casts himself upon Christ’s mercy, with the cry, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.”
5 Jesus turns to the suffering one, and says, “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.” There is a cry, an agonized struggle. The demon, in passing, seems about to rend the life from his victim. Then the boy lies motionless, and apparently lifeless. The multitude whispers, “He is dead.” But Jesus takes him by the hand, and, lifting him up, presents him, in perfect soundness of mind and body, to his father. Father and son praise the name of their deliverer. The multitude are “amazed at the mighty power of God,” while the scribes, defeated and crestfallen, turn sullenly away.
6 “If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all the pitying. Saviour’s answer is, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
7 It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men, is the same mighty redeemer today. Faith comes by the Word of God. Then grasp His promise, “Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out.” Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.”
8 “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed,” said Jesus, “ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove.” Tho the grain of mustard seed is so small, it contains that same mysterious life principle which produces growth in the loftiest tree. When the mustard seed is cast into the ground, the tiny germ lays hold of every element that God has provided for its nutriment, and it speedily develops a sturdy growth. If you have faith like this, you will lay hold upon God’s word, and upon all the helpful agencies He has appointed. Thus your faith will strengthen and will bring to your aid the power of heaven. The obstacles that are piled by Satan across your path, tho apparently as insurmountable as the eternal hills, shall disappear before the demand of faith. “Nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
9 Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust His promises. When we come to Him in faith every petition enters into the heart of God. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it most. When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us “exceeding abundantly,” “according to the riches of His glory,” and “the working of His mighty power.”
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Page 1103
1 It is not learned, eloquent workers that are needed now, but humble, Christlike men and women, who have learned from Jesus of Nazareth to be meek and lowly, and who, trusting in His strength, will go forth into the highways and hedges to give the invitation, “Come; for all things are now ready.”
2 The burden that we bear for Christ’s sake, the willingness of our service, the completeness of our surrender,—this is the measure of our love for Him, and of our success in service.
3 Many Christians are working at cross purposes with God. They tell us that they are waiting for some great work to come to them. They neglect the daily duties of life. These seem to them to be uninteresting and unimportant. They long restlessly for a large place. Day by day they lose opportunities to show their faithfulness to God. While waiting for some great work, their life passes away.
4 Do not fail to discharge your daily duties with the strictest fidelity. In the plan that God has for every Christian, there are no non-essentials. There are lessons for each one to learn in the daily experience. Be patient, and perform faithfully the work given you, however humble it be. Go about your work calmly, relying upon God for strength. Look not anxiously into the morrow. Today employ your time to the very best account. Today let your light shine for Christ, even in the performance of little duties. Tomorrow again present yourself to Jesus as one ready to do any work, be it ever so humble. The faithful performance of today’s duties will prepare you to take hold of tomorrow’s work with fresh courage, saying, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped me.” Ever stand as minute men before God. Let the prayer of your heart be, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Imbue me with Thy Spirit; strengthen me for Thy Work.” Thus you will grow up to the full stature of men and women in Christ.
5 In order to do successful work for the Lord, we must be willing to do and to suffer cheerfully for His sake. Selfishness is death. No organ of the body could live, should it confine its service to itself. The heart, failing to send its life-blood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish.
6 Christ came to this earth “as He that serveth.” The angels are “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.”The same law of service is written upon all things in nature. The birds of the air, the beasts of the field, the trees of the forest, the leaves, the grass, and the flowers, the sun in the heavens, and the stars of light,—all have their ministry. Lake and ocean, river and water-spring,—each takes to give.
7 Much prayer is necessary to successful effort. Prayer brings power. Prayer has “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, . . . turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
8 Prayer is the breath of the soul. Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with Him. To the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, men now and then repair; they abide for a season, and the result is manifest in noble deeds; then their faith fails, the communion is interrupted, and the life-work marred. But the life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained by continual communion; and His service for heaven and earth was without failure or faltering.
9 Many, even in their seasons of devotion, fail of receiving the blessing of real communion with God. They are in too great haste.
10 With hurried steps they press through the circle of Christ’s loving presence, pausing perhaps a moment within the sacred precincts, but not waiting for counsel. They have no time to remain with the divine Teacher. With their burdens they return to their work.
11 These workers can never attain the highest success until they learn the secret of strength. They must give themselves time to think, to pray, to wait upon God for a renewal of physical, mental, and spiritual power. They need the uplifting of His Spirit. Receiving this, they will be quickened by fresh life. The wearied frame and tired brain will be refreshed, the burdened heart will be rested.
12 The Christian worker must study the Word of God. How many are surprised into the commission of sin because of a failure to study the Scriptures. They were off their guard, and Satan found them an easy prey. The psalmist declares, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”
13 And in Paul’s letter to Timothy we read, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
14 The life of God, that gives life to the world, is in His word. It was by His word that Jesus healed disease and cast out demons. And by His word He stilled the sea and raised the dead; and the people bore witness that His word was with power. He spoke the word of God, as He had spoken it to all the [prophets and teachers of the] Old Testament. The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ. It is our only source of power.
15 As our physical life is sustained by food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the Word of God. And every soul is to receive life from God’s Word for himself. As we must eat for ourselves in order to receive nourishment, so we must receive the Word for ourselves. Yes, the Word of God is the bread of life. Those who receive and assimilate this Word, making it a part of every action, of every attribute of character, will grow strong in the strength of God. It gives immortal vigor to the soul, perfecting the experience, and bringing joys that will abide forever.
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Page 1104
1 The work of sanctification begins in the home. Those who are Christians in the home will be Christians in the church and in the world. There are many who do not grow in grace because they fail of cultivating home religion.
2 In the home the spirit of criticism and fault-finding should have no place. The peace of the home is too sacred to be marred by this spirit. But how often, when seated at the meal-table, the members of the family pass round a dish of criticism, fault-finding, and scandal. Were Christ to come today, would He not find many of the families who profess to be Christians, cherishing the spirit of criticism and unkindness? The members of such families are unready to unite with the family above.
3 God expects His children to use the talent of speech in a way that will honor the Saviour. Let evil-thinking and evil-speaking be put away as leaven that will produce contention, alienation, and strife. Let the unruly tongue be brought under the control of God.
4 No harsh, passionate word is ever spoken without grieving the Lord Jesus, and hurting the heart of speaker and of hearer. From the Christian home all angry or trifling speeches will be excluded; for in the home above nothing of this character finds place.
5 Parents, be sure to spend some time each day in private prayer, asking the Lord for wisdom, lest self-importance take possession of you, and you give the talent of speech into the control of the enemy. In the home circle, generous, gracious, Christ-like words are of more value than any earthly treasure.
6 Remember that your children will follow closely the example that in word and act you set them. Live lives that will help them to prepare for translation into the courts above when the last trump shall sound, and Christ shall come to gather His faithful ones to Himself. Do not neglect your children. They are your first care. The home is to be their first school. And in this school you yourselves are to learn lessons that will prepare you better to work for their salvation and for the salvation of others. These lessons will be of the highest value to you in your religious experience.
7 As you labor successfully for your children, you are working out your own salvation, and God is working in you, to will and to do of His good pleasure.
8 Kindly but firmly correct every inclination to wrong that may appear in the lives of your children. When you are obliged to correct a child, do not raise the voice to a high key bringing into it that which will arouse the worst passions of the child’s heart. Do not lose your self-control. The parent who, when correcting a child, gives way to anger, is more at fault than the child.
9 Restrain every hasty speech that struggles for utterance. Before you speak that fretful, impatient word, stop and think of the influence which, if spoken, it will exert. Remember that children are quick to hear every word, and to mark every intonation of the voice. Remember, too, that angels hear the words you speak. You are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. Follow a course that will be an honor to Jesus, a course that will bring angels to your side. Let your home be such that Christ can enter it as an abiding guest. Let it be such that people will take knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of Him.
10 The home in which the members are kindly, courteous Christians, exerts a far-reaching influence for good. Other families mark the results attained by such a home, and follow the example set, in their turn guarding their homes against evil influences.
11 Angels of heaven often visit the home in which the will of God bears sway. Under the power of divine grace, such a home becomes a place of refreshing to worn, weary pilgrims. Self is kept from asserting itself. Right habits are formed. There is a careful recognition of the rights of others. The faith that works by love and purifies the soul stands at the helm, presiding over the entire household. Under the hallowed influence of such a home, the principle of brotherhood laid down in the Word of God is more widely recognized and obeyed.
Page 1105
1 Christ gives to all the invitation, “Follow Me.” “He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
2 “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
3 The path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord is far above all worldly schemes and practises. Those who walk in it are to show by their works the purity of their principles. They have a heaven to win, and by a well-ordered life and a godly conversation they are to show the genuineness of their profession. They are to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, lest they shall not perfect a Christian character, striving to walk in the footsteps of Christ, keeping His life and His teaching ever before them. As they do this, God works in them to will and to do of His good pleasure.
4 Those who walk in the narrow way must follow the directions of the Guide-book. Thus only can they reach the gates of the city of God. They are to follow the example of Christ, working as He worked. Then at last they will hear the commendation, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
5 Our Gifts.
God has put men and women in possession of precious gifts. To different ones He gives different gifts. Not all have the same strength of character or the same depth of knowledge. But each one is to use his gifts in the Master’s service, however small this gift may seem to be. The faithful steward trades wisely on the goods entrusted to him.
6 The endowments of mind and body are to be carefully guarded. Our gifts are not to be weakened by self-indulgence. Every power is to be carefully preserved, that it may be always ready for instant use. No part of the physical organism is to be weakened by misuse. Each part, however small, has an influence on the whole. The abuse of one nerve or muscle lessens the usefulness of the whole body. Those for whom Christ has given His life should bring their habits and practises into conformity to His will.
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God’s Word declares, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” But God does not desire the death of any one. When Adam’s sin had forfeited eternal life, at infinite cost God provided for the race a second probation. He “so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Should not those to whom the light of truth for this time has come, place themselves in close connection with God, using their capabilities to advance the work of soul-saving? Should not the one who possesses an understanding of the Scriptures impart the knowledge given him to those who know not the truth? Upon every believer in present truth rests the responsibility of working for sinners. God points them to their special work,—the proclamation of the Third Angel’s Message. They are to show their appreciation of God’s great gift by consecrating themselves to the work for which Christ gave His life. They are to be stewards of the grace of God, dispensing to others the blessings bestowed on them. He who has found comfort in the Word of God is to share this comfort with others. Thus only can he continue to receive comfort.
8 The sincere child of god does not make light of any of His requirements. Should he do this, he would soon make for himself laws that would not be in harmony with God’s requirements. Another, having great confidence in him, would do the same, and thus God would be greatly dishonored. Infidels look at the defective lives of professing Christians, and say, “If I believed what those men and women profess to believe, I could never do the things they do.”
9 Let us make steady advancement. Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily besets, and run with patience the race set before us. Let us hold the truth in righteousness. Then when adversity comes, we shall be able to trust in God, knowing that we have done our best. Trust in God is one of the signs that distinguish the righteous from the wicked. God never forgets His faithful children in their suffering and affliction. With confidence they may say:—
10 “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
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Page 1106
1 The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that Thou has sent Me.” These words seem almost beyond the grasp of our faith, yet we are to believe them, and act in accordance with them. We are to take time to pray, and then we are to live lives that are in harmony with our prayers, believing that the Lord will answer us. The answer may not come in just the way that we expect, but we may rest assured that the Master knows what is best for us. He is too wise to err, and too good to do us harm. We are to meet every trial and disappointment with the words, “Not my will, but Thine, be done.”
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2 “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” To place ourselves in close connection with Christ by fervent, believing prayer—this is our part. For the fulfilment of this part we are responsible. For the rest we are to trust Him who knows what will best help us in our endeavors to do His will.
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3 Let us place ourselves in the line of co-operation with God, making it possible for Him to answer our prayers. He has issued His promissory notes, declaring, “A new heart will I give you.” He says that He will be found of those who seek Him with the whole heart. When you lose your hold on Him, and fail of receiving the fulfilment of the promise, the bank of heaven has not failed; you have broken your covenant with God. He can not fulfil His promises while you refuse to let Him take away your transgressions, because you suppose that by disobeying Him, you have placed yourself beyond help. The Lord says, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” Then cease to worry over the troubles that you so often bring upon your selves; come like a penitent child to Jesus, confessing your sins. “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
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4 Are not these words full of encouragement? God assures us that He will not leave us to grope in uncertainty. He will not leave us to be our own teachers in the all-important matters that concern our eternal destiny. He declares: “I will be your Teacher. I will give you light and knowledge. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” We gain nothing by gathering about us mist and cloud. The Lord desires us to be cheerful and joyful. He desires us to have a cloudless experience.
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5 We need to pray often: “Lord, increase my faith, that I may be strong to quench the fiery darts of the enemy. Make me more than a conqueror through Him that loved me and gave Himself for me.” The Holy Spirit, earnestly sought and constantly cherished, works in the hearts of those who believe, giving them power to become the sons of God. To follow Christ means everything to us. The path of the Christian is as a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. He who follows Christ is assured that he shall have the light of life,—an insight into sacred things, a close, personal acquaintance with God.
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6 Despondency in God’s service is sinful and unreasonable. He knows our every necessity. He has all power. He can bestow upon His servants the measure of efficiency that their need demands. His infinite love and compassion never weary. With the majesty of Omnipotence He unites the gentleness and care of a tender shepherd. We need have no fear that He will not fulfil His promises. He is eternal truth. Never will He change the covenant that He has made with those who love Him.
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7 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee,” He declares; “be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
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Page 1107
1 God has given every one a part to act in His great plan for the uplifting of humanity. Christ has linked together the human and the divine. On this earth, in the garb of humanity, He lived the life that He desires His disciples to live,—a life of unselfish service. Are we living this life? Are we giving the invitation: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? . . . Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon”?
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2 God calls upon us to point those in error to the right way. How can they hear without a preacher? It is not only ordained ministers who are to do this work. Angels of heaven will co-operate with those who labor unselfishly for the Master. Much more than sermonizing is included in service for God. The ignorant are to be enlightened, the discouraged uplifted, the sick healed. The human voice is to act its part in God’s work. Words of tenderness, sympathy, and love are to witness to the truth. Earnest, heartfelt prayers are to bring angels near.
3 In His talk with the Samaritan woman, instead of disparaging Jacob’s well, Christ presented something better. “If thou knewest the gift of God,” He said, “and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.” He turned the conversation to the treasure He had to bestow, offering the woman something better than she possessed, even living water, the joy and hope of the Gospel. This is an illustration of the way in which we are to work. It is of little use for us to go to pleasure-lovers, theater-goers, drunkards, and gamblers, and scathingly rebuke them for their sins. This will do no good. We must offer them something better than that which they possess, even the peace of Christ, which passeth all understanding. We must tell them of God’s holy law, the transcript of His character, and an expression of that which He wishes them to become.
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4 There are many who are engaged in a wild chase after worldly pleasure and earthly riches. Thus they think to gain happiness. But pleasure and wealth are powerless to bring true happiness. Fame, genius, skill,—all are equally unable to gladden the sorrowful heart. Games, theaters, horse-races, will not satisfy the longing of the soul. Human beings were not created to be satisfied in this way. Show them how infinitely superior to the fleeting joys and pleasures of this world is the imperishable glory of heaven. Tell them of the freedom and rest and peace to be found in the Saviour. “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst,” He declares. Lift up Jesus, crying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” He alone can satisfy the restless craving of the heart, and give peace to the troubled mind. Wealth can not do this; pleasure can not do it. Title, rank, learning, power, all are worthless to bless and heal.
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5 There are many souls in perplexity, weighed down by a load of guilt. They desire to be delivered from sin. They have wandered from the springs of true happiness, and have poisoned their lives by drinking of the murky waters of transgression. They need the help of a friendly, outstretched hand. Teach them how to reach upward, how to live so that they will gain the respect of their fellow men. Altho the will has been depraved and weakened, there is hope for them in Christ. He will waken in their hearts higher impulses and holier desires. They need to hear the words of encouragement, that they may lay hold of the hope set before them in the Gospel. The promises of God’s Word will be to them as the leaves of the tree of life. Patiently continue your efforts until, with grateful joy, the trembling hand grasps the hope of redemption through Christ.
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6 It is the one who has been tempted and tried, and whose hope was well-nigh gone, but who was saved by hearing a message of love, who can best understand the science of soul-saving. He whose heart is filled with love for Christ, because he has been sought for by the Saviour, and brought back to the fold, knows how to work for others. He can point sinners to the Lamb of God. He has given himself without reserve to God, and has been accepted in the Beloved. The hand that in his weakness he held out for help has been grasped. By the ministry of such ones, many prodigals will be brought to the Father, to present themselves before Him in contrition and penitence.
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Page 1108
1 Man has fallen. God’s image in him is defaced. By disobedience he is depraved in inclination and weakened in power, unable, apparently, to look forward to anything but tribulation and wrath. But God, through Christ, has wrought out a way of escape, and He says to every one, “Be ye therefore perfect.” It is His purpose that man shall stand before Him upright and noble, and He will not be defeated. He sent His Son to this world to bear the penalty of sin, and to show man how to live a sinless life.
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2 Christ is our ideal. He has left a perfect example for childhood, youth, and manhood. He came to this earth, and passed through the different phases of human experience. In His life sin found no place. From the beginning to the close of His earthly life, He preserved unsullied His loyalty to God. The Word says of Him. “The Child grew, and waxed strong in Spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.” He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
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3 The Saviour lived not to please Himself. We read of Him that He went about “doing good.” He spent His life in loving service, comforting the sorrowful, ministering to the needy, lifting up the bowed down. He had no home in this world, only as the kindness of His friends provided Him one, yet it was heaven to be in His presence. Day by day He met trials and temptations, yet He did not fail or become discouraged. He was always patient and cheerful, and the afflicted hailed Him as a messenger of life and peace and health. His life held nothing that was not pure and noble.
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4 God’s law is the echo of His voice, saying to us, “Holier, yes, holier still.” Desire the fulness of the grace of Christ; yea, long—hunger and thirst—after righteousness. The promise is, “Ye shall be filled.” God has plainly stated that He expects us to be perfect, and because He requires this, He has made provision that we may be made partakers of the divine nature. Only thus can we be partakers of the divine nature. Only thus can we gain perfection. The power is given by Christ. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.”
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5 God’s promise is, “Ye shall be holy; for I am holy.” Holiness is the reflection of God’s glory. But in order to reflect this glory, we must co-operate with God. Heart and mind must be emptied of all that leads to wrong. The Word of God must be read and studied with a sincere desire to gain from it spiritual strength. This Word is the bread of heaven. Those who received it, and make it a part of their lives, grow strong in the strength of God. Our sanctification is God’s object in all His dealing with us. He has chosen us from eternity, that we may be holy. Christ declares, “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Is it your will, also, that your desires and inclinations shall be brought into conformity to the divine will?
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6 He who would build up a strong, symmetrical character, he who would be a well-balanced Christian, must give all and do all for Christ; for the Redeemer will not accept divided service. Daily he must learn the meaning of self-surrender. He must study the Word of God, getting its meaning, and obeying its precepts. Thus he may reach the highest standard of Christian excellence. There is no limit to the spiritual advancement that may be made by the one who is a partaker of the divine nature. Day by day God works with him, perfecting the character that is to stand in the day of final test. Each day of his life he ministers to others. The light that is in him shines forth, and stills the strife of tongues. Day by day he is working out before men and angels a vast, sublime experiment, showing what the Gospel can do for fallen human beings.
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7 Let us not spare ourselves, but carry forward in earnest the work of reform that must be done. Let us crucify self. Unholy habits will clamor fiercely for the victory, but in the name and through the power of Jesus we may conquer them. To him who seeks daily to keep his heart with all diligence the promise is given, “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Living the life of the Saviour, overcoming every selfish desire, fulfilling bravely and cheerfully our duty to God and to those around us,—this makes us more than conquerors. This prepares us to stand before the great white throne free from spot or wrinkle, having washed our robes of character, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
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Page 1109
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”
2 Tho Cornelius was a Roman, he had become acquainted with the true God, and had renounced idolatry. He was obedient to the will of God, and worshiped Him with a true heart. He had not connected himself with the Jews, but was acquainted with the moral law, and was obedient to its precepts. He had not been circumcised, nor did he take part in the sacrificial service; he was therefore regarded by the Jews as unclean. However, he made liberal gifts to sustain the Jewish worship, and was known far and near for his charity and beneficence. His righteous life made him of good repute, among both Jews and Gentiles. Cornelius had not an understanding faith in Christ, tho he believed the prophecies, and was looking for the Messiah to come. Through his love and obedience to God, he was brought nigh unto Him, and was prepared to receive the Saviour when He should be revealed to him. It is rejection of the light given that brings condemnation.
3 The centurion was a man of noble family, and held a position of trust and honor. True goodness and greatness united to make him a man of moral worth. His influence was a blessing to all with whom he came in contact.
4 Believing in God as the Creator of heaven and earth, he revered Him, acknowledged His authority, and sought His counsel in all the affairs of life. He was faithful in his home duties, as well as in his official responsibilities, and had erected the altar of God in his family. He dared not attempt to carry out his plans or to bear the burden of his responsibilities, without the help of God; therefore for that help he prayed much and earnestly. Faith marked all his works, and God regarded the purity of his life and the liberality of his gift, and came near to him. He recognized his piety, and so ordered events that he might receive increased light.
5 While Cornelius was praying, God sent to him a heavenly messenger, who addressed him by name. The centurion was afraid, yet he knew that the angel was sent by God to instruct him, and he said, “What is it, Lord?” “And He said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. He lodgeth with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.”
6 The explicitness of these directions, in which was named even the occupation of the man with whom Peter was making his home, shows that Heaven is acquainted with the history and business of men in every grade of life. The very street on which we live is known to God. He is acquainted with the daily employment of the humble laborer, as well as that of the king upon his throne. And the sins of men, as well as their good deeds, are all known to Him.
7 “Send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter.” Thus God showed His regard for the Gospel ministry, and for His organized church. The angel was not commissioned to tell Cornelius the story of the cross. A man, subject, even as he himself, to human frailties and temptations, was to tell him of the crucified, risen, and ascended Saviour. In His wisdom the Lord brings those who are seeking for truth into touch with fellow beings who know the truth. His appointed way is to communicate truth through human beings. Those who have received light are to reveal it to those in darkness.
8 Speaking of the mystery “which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,” Paul says: “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery; . . . to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.”
9 To us, also, has been committed the sacred trust of making known “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” As His representatives among men, Christ does not choose angels who have never fallen, but human beings, men of like passions with those they seek to save. Christ took upon Himself humanity, that He might reach humanity. Divinity needed humanity, for it required both the divine and the human to bring salvation to the world. Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between God and man. So with the servants and messengers of Christ. Man needs power outside of, and beyond, himself to restore him to the likeness of God, and to enable him to do the work of God; but this does not make the human agency unessential. Humanity lays hold upon divine power. Christ dwells in the heart by faith; and, through co-operation with the divine, the power of man becomes efficient for good.
10 We are to be laborers together with the angels in presenting Jesus to the world. With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to co-operate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in whole-hearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God’s love.
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Page 1110
1 Peter’s Experience.
By Mrs. E. G. White.
Immediately after the interview with Cornelius, the angel went to Peter, who, weary and hungry from journeying, was praying upon the housetop of his lodging-house in Joppa. While praying, he beheld a vision. He “saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth; wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou, unclean. This was done thrice; and the vessel was received up again unto heaven.”
2 Here we may perceive the working of God’s plan to bring to pass events whereby His will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Peter had not yet preached the Gospel to the Gentiles. Many of them had been interested listeners to the truths which He taught; but in the minds of the apostles the middle wall of partition, which the death of Christ was to break down, still existed, excluding the Gentiles from the blessings of the Gospel. The Greek Jews had received the labors of the apostles, and many of them had become believers in Jesus; but the conversion of Cornelius was to be the first one of importance among the Gentiles.
3 By the vision of the sheet and its contents, let down from heaven, Peter was to be divested of his prejudices against the Gentiles. He was to be led to see that through Christ the heathen were made partakers of the blessings and privileges of the Gospel, and were thus to be benefited equally with the Jews.
4 The vision given Peter was an illustration presenting the true position of the Gentiles, showing that, by the death of Christ, they were made fellow heirs with Israel. It conveyed to Peter both reproof and instruction. His labors had heretofore been confined to the Jews; and he had looked upon the Gentiles as unclean, excluded from the promises of God. He was now being led to comprehend the world-wide extent of God’s plan.
5 Notice how close the connections made in the working out of God’s plan. While Peter was thinking about the vision, wondering what it meant, the men sent from Cornelius stood before the gate of his lodging-house, and the Spirit said to him: “Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”
6 To Peter this was a trying command; but he dared not act according to his own feelings. He went down, and received the messengers sent by Cornelius. They told him of their singular errand, and, according to the direction he had just received from God, he at once promised to accompany them on the morrow. He courteously entertained them that night, and in the morning set out with them for Caesarea, accompanied by six of his brethren, who were to be witnesses of all he should say or do while visiting the Gentiles; for he knew that he should be called to account for so direct an opposition to the Jewish faith and teachings.
Page 1111
1
By Mrs. E. G. White.
It was nearly two days before the journey to Caesarea was ended and Cornelius had the privilege of opening his doors to a Gospel minister, who, according to the assurance of God, was to teach him and his house the way of salvation. While the messengers were upon their errand, the centurion had gathered as many of his relatives as were accessible, that they, as well as he, might be instructed in the truth. When Peter arrived, a large company were gathered, eagerly waiting to listen to his words.
2 As Peter entered the house of the Gentile, Cornelius did not salute him as an ordinary visitor, but as one honored of heaven, and sent to him by God. It is an Eastern custom for persons to bow before a prince or other high dignitary, and for children to bow before their parents. But Cornelius, overwhelmed with reverence for the apostle, who had been delegated by God to instruct him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. Peter was horror-stricken, and he lifted the centurion to his feet, saying, “Stand up; I myself also am a man.” He then began to talk with him familiarly, in order to remove the sense of awe and extreme reverence with which the centurion regarded him.
3 To Cornelius and those assembled in his house, Peter spoke of the custom of the Jews, saying that it was considered unlawful for them to mingle socially with the Gentiles, and that this involved ceremonial defilement. It was not prohibited by the law of God, but the tradition of men had made it a binding custom. “Ye know,” he said, “how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for; I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?”
4 Cornelius thereupon related his experience, and the words of the angel that had appeared to him in vision. In conclusion he said: “Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
5 “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” Altho God had favored the Jews above all other nations, yet if they rejected light and did not live up to their profession, they were no more exalted in His esteem than other nations. Those among the Gentiles, who, like Cornelius, feared God and worked righteousness, walking in the light they had, were kindly regarded by God, and their sincere service was accepted.
6 But the faith and righteousness of Cornelius could not be perfect without a knowledge of Christ; therefore God sent knowledge to him for the further development of his character. Many refuse to receive the light which God sends them, and, in excuse, quote the words of Peter to Cornelius, “In every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” They maintain that it is of no consequence what men believe, so long as their works are good. Such ones are in error. Faith and works must unite. We should advance with the light given us. If God brings us into connection with His servants who have received new truth, substantiated by His Word, we should accept this truth with joy. On the other hand, those who claim that their faith alone will save them, are trusting to a rope of sand; for faith is made perfect by good works.
7 To that company of attentive hearers Peter preached Christ,—His life, His miracles, His betrayal, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His ascension, and His work in heaven as man’s representative and advocate. As the apostle spoke, his heart glowed with the spirit of the truth that he was presenting. His hearers were charmed by the teaching they heard; for their hearts had been prepared to receive the truth. The talk was interrupted by the descent of the Holy Spirit, as on the day of Pentecost. “And they of the circumcision that believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid the water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”
8 When the brethren in Judea heard that Peter had preached to the Gentiles, and had met with them, and eaten with them in their houses, they were surprised and offended. They feared that such a course, which looked to them presumptuous, would tend to contradict his own teachings. As soon as Peter visited them, they met him with severe censure, saying, “Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.”
9 Peter laid the whole matter before them. He related his experience in regard to the vision, and pleaded that it admonished him no longer to observe the ceremonial distinction of circumcision and uncircumcision, nor to look upon the Gentiles as unclean; for God was not a respecter of persons. He told them of the command of God to go to the Gentiles, the coming of the messengers, his journey to Caesarea, and the meeting with Cornelius, and the company assembled at his house. His caution was made manifest from the fact that, altho commanded by God to go to the Gentile’s house, he had taken with him six of the disciples, as witnesses of all he should say or do while there. He recounted the substance of his interview with Cornelius, in which the latter had told him of his vision, wherein he had been directed to send messengers to Joppa to bring Peter to him, who would speak words whereby he and all his house might be saved.
10 “As I began to speak,” he said, in recounting his experience, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit. If then God gave unto them the like gift as He did also unto us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?”
11 On hearing this account, the brethren were silenced. They were convinced that Peter’s course was in direct fulfilment of the plan of God, and that their prejudices and exclusiveness were to be utterly destroyed by the Gospel. They held their peace, and glorified God, saying, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”
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Page 1112
1 The experience of Cornelius should bring great encouragement to those who are seeking the Lord with an earnest purpose to do His will. A heavenly messenger was sent to Cornelius for the express purpose of bringing him into touch with one who could teach him more about God. Today angels of God draw near to those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance. Heavenly messengers are passing through the length and breadth of the earth, seeking to comfort the sorrowing, to protect the impenitent, to win the hearts of men to Christ. No one is neglected or passed by. God is no respecter of persons, and He has an equal care for all the souls He has created.
2 To the worker for Christ, also, the experience of Cornelius should bring strength and courage. Angels of God are co-operating with His servants in their efforts to bring to the full light of truth those who are walking in all the light they have. They unite with men in sympathy and labor for the saving of the lost. We can not see them personally; nevertheless they are with us, guiding, directing, protecting.
3 Angels protected Lot, and led him safely out from the midst of Sodom. So they protected Elisha in the little mountain city. When the encircling hills were filled with the horses and chariots of the king of Syria and the great host of his armed men, Elisha beheld the nearer hill-slopes covered with the armies of God,—horses and chariots of fire round about the servant of God.
4 So in all ages, angels have been near to Christ’s faithful followers. The vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against all who would overcome; but Christ would have us look to the things which are not seen, to the armies of heaven encamped about all who love God, to deliver them. From what dangers, seen and unseen, we have been preserved through the interposition of the angels, we shall never know, till in the light of eternity we see the meaning of the providences of God. Then we shall know that the whole family of heaven was interested in the family here below, and that messengers from the throne of God attended our steps from day to day.
5 The very angels who, when Satan was seeking the supremacy, fought the battle in the heavenly courts, and triumphed on the side of God; the very angels who shouted for joy over the creation of the world and its sinless inhabitants; the angels who witnessed the fall of man and his expulsion from his Eden home,—these very heavenly messengers are most intensely interested in the work of all who are seeking to restore the image of God in man.
6 Heaven and earth are no wider apart today than when the shepherds listened to the angels’ song. Humanity is still as much the object of Heaven’s solicitude as when common men of common occupations met angels at noon-day, and talked with heavenly messengers in the vineyards and the fields. Angels from the courts above attend the steps of those who come and go at God’s command.
7 Heavenly beings still visit the earth, as in the days when they walked and talked with Abraham and with Moses. Amidst the busy activities of our great cities, amidst the multitudes that crowd the thoroughfares and fill the marts of trade, where from morning till evening people act as if business and sport and pleasure were all there is to life, where there are so few to contemplate unseen realities,—even here heaven has its watchers and its holy ones. There are invisible agencies observing every word and deed of human beings. In every assembly for business or pleasure, in every gathering for worship, there are more listeners than can be seen with human sight. Sometimes the heavenly intelligences draw aside the curtain which hides the unseen world, that our thoughts may be withdrawn from the hurry and rush of life, to consider that there are unseen witnesses to all we do or say.
8 We need to understand better than we do the mission of the heavenly visitants. It would be well to consider that in all our work we have the co-operation and care of heavenly beings. Invisible armies of light and power attend the meek and lowly ones who believe and claim the promises of God. Cherubim and seraphim and angels that excel in strength,—ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands,—stand at His right hand, “all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.”
9 “Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Page 1113
1 God has so ordered matters that no man is absolutely independent of his fellow men. He has linked the members of His human family together by the cords of reciprocal dependence. And while every man has his own burden to bear, let him not forget the words, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
2 In our dealings with one another, we are to keep in constant exercise the principle of mutual forbearance and helpfulness. Our sympathies are to go out to those around us. We are to be courteous and considerate to all. The poor are to be aided, the sick visited, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the inexperienced counseled, the faint-hearted made more hopeful. All such acts help the hand that helps.
3 The spirit of helpfulness is to be in our hearts a cultivated, active, energetic spirit, not forced to action, but ever watchful for opportunities to help where help is needed.
4 Humanity alone is a very poor combination of opposites. Naturally, human beings are self-centered and opinionated. But selfishness disappears from the lives of those who learn the lessons that Christ desires to teach them. They become partakers of the divine nature, and Christ lives in them. They regard all men as brethren, with similar aspirations, capacities, temptations, and trials, craving sympathy and needing assistance.
5 Never are we to humiliate a fellow being. When we see that mistakes have been made, we are to do all in our power to help the ones who have erred, by telling them of our own experience,—how when we made grave mistakes, patience and fellowship, kindness and helpfulness, on the part of our fellow workers, gave us courage and hope.
6 Harsh judgment is not becoming in those who themselves are continually making mistakes. Remember that you can not read hearts. You do not know the motives which prompted the actions that to you look wrong. Be afraid to disparage character. Let your hearts be sensitive to human need. Men may be brought into places where they need not only the help of kindly words, but the firm grasp of an outstretched hand. Give them the help they need. The time may come when your hands will be upheld by the hands of those to whom you have ministered.
7 There are those who have inherited peculiar tempers and dispositions. They may be hard to deal with, but, are we faultless? They are not to be disparaged. Their errors are not to be made common property. Christ pities and helps those who err in judgment. He has suffered death for every man, and because of this He has a deep interest in every member of the human family.
8 A man may be trying to serve God. But temptations from within and without assail him. Satan and his angels urge him to transgress. And perhaps he falls a prey to their temptations. How then do his brethren treat him? Do they speak harsh, cutting words, driving him farther from the Saviour? Let us remember that we are all erring human beings, struggling and toiling, failing in speech and action to represent Christ, falling and rising again, despairing and hoping. Let us beware of treating harshly those who, tho they have yielded to temptation, are like ourselves, the objects of Christ’s unchanging love.
9 The Lord Jesus demands an acknowledgment of the rights of every man. Men’s social rights, and their rights as Christians, are to be taken into consideration. They are to be treated with refinement and delicacy, as the sons and daughters of God. This matter is not left to our own choice. The life and lessons of Christ have converted it into an obligation that we must discharge as an act of loyalty to God. The natural impulses of the heart must be changed for impulses of Christ. Feelings of love and good-will must control us.
10 “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” “Be kindly affectioned one unto another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” “Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous; not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise blessing, knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”
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Page 1114
1 There is an eloquence far more powerful than the eloquence of words in the quiet, consistent life of a pure, true Christian. What a man is has more influence than what he says. A godly life is a living epistle, known and read of all men.
2 Character is not something shaped from without, or put on; it is something radiating from within. If true goodness, purity, meekness, and equity are dwelling in the heart, this will be manifest in the character; and such a character is full of power.
3 The officers who were sent to take Jesus came back with the report that never man spoke as He spoke. But the reason for this was that never man lived as He lived. Had His life been other than it was, He could not have spoken as He did. His words bore with them a convincing power, because they came from a heart pure and holy, full of love and sympathy, benevolence and truth.
4 True religion consists in doing the words of Christ; not doing them to earn God’s favor, but because, all undeserving, we have received the gift of His love. Christ places the salvation of men, not upon profession merely, but upon faith that is made manifest in works of righteousness. Doing, not saying merely, is expected of the followers of Christ. It is through action that character is built. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Not those whose hearts are touched by the Spirit, not those who now and then yield to its power, but those who are led by the Spirit, are the sons of God.
5 By the quiet, unconscious influence of a holy life, true Christians reveal Christ. The fragrance of the life, the loveliness of the character, show to the world that they are children of God. Men take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus.
6 To those who have named His name Christ says, “You have given yourselves to Me, and I have given you to the world as My representatives.” As the Father had sent Him into the world, so, He declares, “have I also sent them into the world.” As Christ is the divine channel for the revelation of the Father, so we are the channel for the revelation of Christ. While our Saviour is the great source of illumination, forget not, O Christian, that He is revealed through humanity. Every individual disciple is Heaven’s appointed channel for the revelation of God to man. Angels of glory wait to communicate through you heaven’s light and power to souls that are ready to perish. Shall the human agent fail of accomplishing his appointed work? O, then to that degree is the world robbed of the promised influence of the Holy Spirit.
7 When Christ would define the advancement possible for us, He said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” This advancement is not gained without effort. The Christian life is a battle and a march. But the victory to be gained is not won by human power. The field of conflict is the domain of the heart. The battle which we have to fight—the greatest battle that was ever fought by man—is the surrender of self to the will of God, the yielding of the heart to the sovereignty of love. The old nature, born of blood and of the will of the flesh, can not inherit the kingdom of God. The hereditary tendencies, the formed habits, must be given up.
8 He who determines to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers and passions of an unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him. Selfishness and pride will make a stand against anything that would show them to be sinful. We can not, of ourselves, conquer the evil desires and habits that struggle for the mastery. We can not overcome the mighty foe who holds us in his thrall. God alone can give us the victory. He desires us to have the mastery over ourselves, our own will and ways. But He can not work in us without our consent and co-operation. The divine Spirit works through the faculties and powers given to man. Our energies are required to co-operate with God.
9 The victory is not won without much earnest prayer, without the humbling of self at every step. Our will is not to be forced into co-operation with divine agencies, but it must be voluntarily submitted. Were it possible to force upon you with a hundredfold greater intensity the influence of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven. The stronghold of Satan-would not be broken. The will must be placed on the side of God’s will. You are not able, of yourself, to bring your purposes and desires and inclinations into submission to the will of God; but if you are “willing to be made willing,” God will accomplish the work for you, even “casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Then you will “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
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Page 1115
1 “If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.”
2 It was a poor woman who spoke these words,—a woman who for twelve years had suffered from a disease that made her life a burden. She had spent all her means upon physicians and remedies, only to be pronounced incurable. But, as she heard of the great Healer, her hopes revived. She thought, “If only I could get near enough to speak to Him, I might be healed.”
3 Christ was on His way to the home of Jairus, the Jewish rabbi who had entreated Him to come and heal his daughter. The heart-broken petition, “My little daughter lieth at the point of death; I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed,” had touched the tender, sympathetic heart of Christ, and He had at once set out with the ruler for his home.
4 They advanced but slowly; for the crowd pressed Christ on every side. On making His way through the multitude, the Saviour came near to where the afflicted woman was standing. Again and again she had tried in vain to get near Him. Now her golden opportunity had come. She could see no way of speaking to Him. She would not seek to hinder His slow advance. But she had heard that healing came from a touch of His garments; and, fearful of losing her one chance of relief, she pressed forward, saying to herself, “If I may but touch His garment, I shall be made whole.”
5 Christ knew every thought of her mind, and He was making His way to where she stood. He realized her great need, and He was helping her to exercise faith.
6 As He was passing, she reached forward and succeeded in barely touching the border of His garment. That moment she knew that she was healed. In that one touch was concentrated the faith of her life, and instantly her pain and feebleness disappeared. Instantly she felt the thrill as of an electric current passing through every fiber of her being. There came over her a sensation of perfect health. “Straightway . . . she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.”
7 She desired to express her thanks to the mighty Healer, who had done more for her in one touch than the physicians had done in twelve long years; but she dared not. With a grateful heart she tried to withdraw from the crowd. Suddenly Jesus stopped, and looking around, He asked, “Who touched Me?” Looking at Him with amazement, Peter answered, “Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?” “Somebody hath touched Me,” Jesus said; “for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me.” He could distinguish the touch of faith from the casual touch of the careless throng. Some one had touched Him with a deep purpose, and had received answer.
8 Christ did not ask the question for His own information. He had a lesson for the people, for His disciples, and for the woman. He wished to inspire the afflicted with hope. He wished to show that it was faith which had brought the healing power. The woman’s trust must not be passed by without comment. God must be glorified by her grateful confession. Christ desired her to understand that He approved her act of faith. He would not have her depart with a half blessing only. She was not to remain in ignorance of His knowledge of her suffering, of His compassionate love, and of His approval of her faith in His power to save to the uttermost all who come to Him.
9 Looking toward the woman, Christ insisted on knowing who had touched Him. Finding concealment vain, she came forward trembling, and cast herself at His feet. With grateful tears she told Him, before all the people, why she had touched His garment, and how she had been immediately healed. She feared that her act in touching His garment had been one of presumption, but no word of censure came from Christ’s lips. He spoke only words of approval. They came from a heart of love, filled with sympathy for human woe. “Daughter,” He said gently, “be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” How cheering were these words to her. Now no fear that she had given offense imbittered her joy.
10 During all His life on this earth, from childhood to manhood, Christ sought to bring life and joy and peace to others. His days were filled with deeds of mercy and compassion. He was often weary. His human nature longed for rest. But He had little opportunity to rest. The children of sorrow and affliction thronged His steps. They would not be deterred, knowing that if they could come to where He was, they would not seek for help in vain. Had He not said, “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”?
11 The wondering crowd that pressed close about Christ realized no accession of vital power. But when the suffering woman put forth her hand to touch Him, believing that she would be made whole, she felt the healing virtue. So it is in spiritual things. To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul-hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him only as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith, can not receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour, which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction, by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.
Page 1116
1 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
2 “Partakers of the divine nature.” Is this possible? Of ourselves we can do no good thing. How, then, can we be partakers of the divine nature?—By coming to Christ just as we are, needy, helpless, dependent. He died to make it possible for us to be partakers of the divine nature. He took upon Himself humanity, that He might uplift humanity. With the golden chain of His matchless love He has bound us to the throne of God. We are to have power to overcome as He overcame. To all He gives the invitation: “Come unto Me, . . . and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
3 In order to be partakers of the divine nature, we must co-operate with God. Man is no passive being, to be saved in indolence. Let no one think that men and women are going to be taken to heaven without engaging in the struggle here below. We have a battle to fight, a victory to gain. God says to us, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” How?-”For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Man works, and God works. Man is called upon to strain every muscle, and to exercise every faculty, in the struggle for immortality; but it is God who supplies the efficiency.
4 God has made amazing sacrifices for human beings. He has expended mighty energy to reclaim man from transgression and sin to loyalty and obedience; but He does nothing without the co-operation of the humanity. Paul says: “This one thing I do, forgetting the things that are behind, . . . I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The Christian life is a battle and a march. In this warfare there is no release; the effort must be continuous and persevering. It is by unceasing endeavor that we maintain the victory over the temptations of Satan. Christian integrity must be sought with resistless energy, and maintained with a resolute fixedness of purpose.
5 “Ye are God’s husbandry; ye are God’s building.” This figure represents human character, which is to be wrought upon point by point. Each day God works on His building, stroke upon stroke, to perfect the structure, that it may become a holy temple for Him. Man is to co-operate with God, striving in His strength to make himself what God designs him to be, building his life with pure, noble deeds.
6 No one is borne upward without stern, persevering effort in his own behalf. All must engage in the warfare for themselves. Individually we are responsible for the issue of the struggle; tho Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the land, they could deliver neither son nor daughter by their righteousness.
7 There is a science of Christianity to be mastered,-a science as much deeper, broader, higher, than any human science as the heavens are higher than the earth. The mind is to be disciplined, educated, trained; for we are to do service for God in ways that are not in harmony with inborn inclination. Often the training and education of a lifetime must be discarded, that one may become a learner in the school of Christ. Our hearts must be educated to become steadfast in God. We are to form habits of thought that will enable us to resist temptation. We must learn to look upward. The principles of the Word of God,—principles that are as high as heaven, and that compass eternity,—we are to understand in their bearing on our daily life. Every act, every word, every thought, is to be in accord with these principles.
8 The precious graces of the Holy Spirit are not developed in a moment. Courage, fortitude, meekness, faith, unwavering trust in God’s power to save, are acquired by the experience of years. By a life of holy endeavor and firm adherence to the right, the children of God are to seal their destiny.
9 Wrongs can not be righted, nor can reformation of character be made, by a few feeble, intermittent efforts. Sanctification is the work, not of a day, or of a year, but of a lifetime. The struggle for conquest over self, for holiness and heaven, is a life-long struggle. Without continual effort and constant activity, there can be no advancement in the divine life, no attainment of the victor’s crown.
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Page 1117
1 Christ gave Himself for the saving of a lost world. His life on this earth, from its beginning to its close, was one of self-denial. To those who desire to follow Him He says, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” He will not accept half-hearted service. He withheld no part of the price, but gave Himself as a complete offering, a sacrifice fragrant with the incense of His righteousness.
2 Professing Christians are too often unwilling to practise the self-denial that the Saviour calls for, unwilling to restrict their wishes and desires in order that they may have more to give to the Lord. To all comes the temptation to gratify selfish, extravagant inclinations. But let us remember that the Lord of life and glory came to this world to teach humanity the lesson of self-denial. He died for us, that we might live forever in the kingdom of God.
3 Just before His ascension Christ gave His disciples the work to which they were to make all else subordinate. “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth,” He said. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
4 Think of the greatness of the work before God’s people! The world is to be warned. To all parts of the earth the message of present truth is to be carried. This work calls for means. Those who are inclined to be extravagant are to overcome their desire to indulge self. Only thus can they be true followers of Christ.
5 No sacrifice is too great to make for the truth, for heaven. Not a farthing of the money that we handle is our own. All is the Lord’s, entrusted to us to test us, to see if we will make a right use of the Lord’s goods. He who in this life does not prove true and faithful will have no second trial. Those who choose the world will perish with the world. A cloud of heavenly witnesses is watching the conflict between good and evil. Those who live for their own pleasure must one day answer to the Judge of all the earth for their misspent privileges and neglected opportunities. They will lose an eternity of bliss and the riches of everlasting life. God forbid that any should delay until it is too late, and should at last have to say, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”
6 Deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow more closely in the Saviour’s footsteps. Before you spend money, ask yourself, “Can I not save this money? I will deny myself for Christ’s sake. He gave His life to purchase eternal life for me. It was by the sacrifice of Himself that He placed at my command the riches of His grace. He was under no compulsion, no obligation, to grant me His favor. Had He withheld all from me, it would have been no more than I deserved. The rich treasures of grace that are the expression of His love for me were purchased by infinite sacrifice and unparalleled humiliation. These treasures are the tangible proofs of a love abundant and unmeasured. How deep is my indebtedness to my Saviour? How shall I express my appreciation of His bounty, my thankfulness for what He has done for me?”
7 Temptations will come to you to indulge selfish desires. Yield not to them. Restrain your inclination for expensive clothing and rich furniture. It is the express duty of all believers to live with simplicity. Money saved is worth as much as money earned. Money is of value, and to spend it needlessly, to gratify the inclination for expensive clothing or costly furniture, is to set an example that turns the lame, those weak in faith and moral power, out of the way.
8 Keep in view the nobler world by revealing the self-denial and sacrifice of Him who gave His life that repentant sinners might live forever. O, in a work of self-denial, men and women can stand as if within the open portals of the city of God, surveying the glory within.
Page 1118
1 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
2 The two roads mentioned lead in opposite directions; one is narrow and rugged, the other is wider and smoother, but it ends in destruction.
3 Those who travel these two roads are opposite in character, dress, and conversation. Those in the narrow way are serious and earnest, yet cheerful. The Man of sorrows opened the way for them, and traveled it Himself. They see His footsteps, and are comforted. As they travel on, they talk of the joy and happiness that await them in their journey’s end.
4 Those in the broad way are occupied with thoughts of worldly pleasure. They freely indulge in hilarity and glee, giving no thought to the end of their journey.
5 In the road of death all may go, with their worldliness, their selfishness, their pride, dishonesty, and moral debasement. There is room for every man’s opinions and doctrines, space to follow his inclinations, to do whatever his self-love may dictate. In order to go in the path that leads to destruction, there is no need of searching for the way; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad, and the feet turn naturally into the path that ends in death.
6 But the way of life is narrow, and the entrance straight. If you cling to any besetting sin, you will find the gateway too narrow for you to enter. Your own ways, your own will, your wrong habits and unchristlike practises, must be given up if you would keep the way of the Lord. He who would follow Christ can not follow the world’s opinions or meet the world’s standard. Heaven’s path is too narrow for rank and riches to ride in state, too narrow for the plan of self-centered ambition, too steep and rugged for lovers of ease to climb. Toil, patience, self-sacrifice, reproach, poverty, the contradiction of sinners against Himself, was the portion of Christ, and it must be our portion, if we ever enter the Paradise of God.
7 Yet do not therefore conclude that the upward road is the hard, and the downward road the easy, way. All along the road that leads to death there are pains and penalties, there are sorrows and disappointments, there are warnings not to go on. God’s love has made it hard for the heedless and headstrong to destroy themselves. It is true that Satan’s path is made to appear attractive, but it is all a deception; in the way of evil there are bitter remorse and cankering care. We may think it pleasant to follow pride and worldly ambition; but the end is pain and sorrow. Selfish plans may present flattering promises, and hold out the hope of enjoyment, but we shall find that our happiness is poisoned, and our life embittered by hopes that center in self. In the downward road the gateway may be bright with flowers, but thorns are in the path. The light of hope which shines from its entrance fades into the darkness of despair; and the soul who follows this path descends into the shadows of unending night.
8 The pathway to heaven is narrow, but no one need fail of finding it. It has been plainly marked out by the Father’s hand. Not one trembling sinner need fail of walking in pure and holy light. Altho the upward path is sometimes difficult and often wearisome, altho the Christian may have to endure toil and conflict, yet let him go forward with rejoicing, trusting as a little child in the loving guidance of Him “who keepeth the feet of His saints,” knowing that the path he is traveling will bring him at last to the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for those who love Him.
9 “The path of the righteous is as the light of dawn, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
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Page 1119
1 Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
2 In these words Christ is speaking to every human being. Whether they know it or not, all are weary and heavy laden. All are weighed down with burdens that Christ only can remove. The heaviest burden that we bear is the burden of sin. If we were left to bear this burden, it would crush us. But the Sinless One has taken our place. “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” He has borne the burden of our guilt. He will take the load from our weary shoulders. He will give us rest. The burden of care and sorrow also, He will bear. He invites us to cast all our care upon Him; for He carries us on His heart.
3 “Take My yoke upon you,” Jesus says. The yoke is an instrument of service. Cattle are yoked for labor, and the yoke is essential that they may labor effectually. By this illustration Christ teaches us that we are called to service as long as life shall last. We are to take upon us His yoke, that we may be co-laborers with Him.
4 The yoke that binds to service is the law of God. The great law of love revealed in Eden, proclaimed upon Sinai, and in the new covenant written in the heart, is that which binds the human worker to the will of God. If we were left to follow our own inclinations, to go just where our will would lead us, we should fall into Satan’s snare, and become possessors of his attributes. Therefore, God confines us to His will, which is high, noble, elevating. He desires that we shall patiently and wisely take up the duties of service.
5 Men frame for their own necks, yokes which seem light and easy, but which will prove heavy and galling. Christ sees this, and He says, “Take My yoke upon you.” The yoke you desire to place on your neck will become intolerably heavy. Take My yoke; it is easy. Learn from Me the lessons that you so much need to learn. When you submit to My yoke, when you give up the struggle that is so unprofitable, you will find rest.
6 Christ’s yoke is a yoke of restraint and obedience. We are to wear it in order that we may labor in harmony with Him. This may necessitate a complete change in our plans and purposes. “If any man will come after Me,” Christ says, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” The yoke and the cross are symbols representing the same thing—the giving up of the will to God. Wearing the yoke places man in companionship with the Son of God. Lifting the cross cuts away selfishness from the soul, and places man where he learns how to bear burdens.
7 We can not follow Christ without wearing His yoke, without lifting His cross and bearing it after Him. If our will is not in accord with the divine requirements, we are to deny our inclinations, give up our wishes, and follow in Christ’s steps. The Lord does not encourage the most cherished plans of human beings if He sees they are not for the best good of His children. Sometimes His purposes come in direct opposition to the plans in which human beings can not see a flaw.
8 The yoke is placed upon the oxen to aid them in drawing the load, to lighten the burden. So with the yoke of Christ. When our will is swallowed up in the will of God, and we use His gifts to bless others, we shall find life’s burdens light.
9 He who bears the yoke of Christ no longer follows his own way or does his own pleasure. In times of difficulty he looks to his Master to direct his course, and follows not the way of his own choosing. The more trying the circumstances under which he is placed, the more closely he presses to the side of Jesus. He finds that the heaviest labor can be performed, the heaviest burdens borne, because the Lord gives strength, and He gives gladness in doing the work.
Page 1120
1 Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly men are ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly they are waiting and watching the movements of their leaders.
2 An intensity such as never before was seen is taking possession of the world. In amusements, in money-making, in the contest for power, in the very struggle for existence, there is a terrible force that engrosses body and mind and soul. In the midst of this maddening rush, God is speaking. He bids us come apart and commune with Him. “Be still, and know that I am God.”
3 “Come unto Me,” Christ says, “and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest.”
4 In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace. He was never elated by applause, or dejected by censure or disappointment. Amidst the greatest opposition and the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage. But many who profess to be His followers have an anxious, troubled heart, because they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a complete surrender to Him; for they shrink from the consequences that such a surrender may involve. Unless they do make this surrender, they can not find peace.
5 The abiding rest—the consciousness that God is true—who has it? That rest is found when all self-justification is put away, and an entire surrender is made to Christ, to be and do only what He wills. Those who do not comply with these conditions can not find rest.
6 Let us turn aside from the dusty, heated thoroughfares of life to rest in the shadow of Christ’s love, and learn from Him the lesson of quiet trust. Not a pause for a moment in His presence, but personal contact with Christ, to sit down in companionship with Him,—this is our need. Many, even in their seasons of devotion, fail of receiving the blessing of real communion with God. They are in too great haste. With hurried steps they press through the circle of Christ’s loving presence, pausing perhaps a moment within the sacred precincts, but not waiting for counsel. They have no time to remain with the divine Teacher. With their burdens they return to their work.
7 These workers can never attain the highest success until they learn the secret of strength. They must give themselves time to think, to pray, to wait upon God for a renewal of physical, mental, and spiritual power. They need the uplifting of His Spirit. Receiving this, they will be quickened by fresh life. The wearied frame and tired brain will be refreshed, and the burdened heart will be lightened and encouraged.
8 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. He will be to you as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. He will give you rest that the world can neither give nor take away. Come unto Me, He says, and your heart will be filled with the peace that passes all understanding.
9 Nothing of the world can make sad those whom Jesus makes glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect peace. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee.” Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the keeping of the Master-worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory.
10 As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to His invitation, “Come, learn of Me,” and in thus coming, we begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be revealed to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His presence. All that human nature can bear, we may receive here. But what is this compared with the hereafter. There “are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Page 1121
1 The love of God is a golden chain, binding finite human beings to Himself. This love passes our knowledge. Human science can not explain it. Human wisdom can not fathom it. Parents love their children, but the love of God is larger, broader, deeper, than human love can possibly be. All the paternal love that has come down from generation to generation, through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of tenderness that have opened in the sons of men, are but as a tiny rill to the boundless ocean, when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God. Tongue can not utter it; pen can not portray it. You may meditate upon it every day of your life; you may search the Scriptures diligently in an effort to understand it; you may summon every power and capability that God has given you; and yet there is an infinity beyond. You may study that love for ages, and yet you can never fully comprehend the length and breadth and depth and height, of the love of God.
2 To God, the dearest object on earth is His church. “The Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.” “For thus saith the Lord of hosts: After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye.”
3 Disappointment will come to us; tribulation we may expect; but we are to commit everything, great and small, to God. He does not become perplexed by the multiplicity of our grievances, nor overpowered by the weight of our burdens. His watch-care extends to every household, and encircles every individual. He marks every tear. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. The trials and afflictions that befall us here below are permitted to work out His purposes of love toward us, “that we might be partakers of His holiness,” and thus become participants in that fulness of joy which is found in His presence.
4 The Lord’s children are never absent from His mind. He knows the house in which they live. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His children.
5 Only as we contemplate the great plan of redemption can we have a just appreciation of the character of God. The work of creation was a manifestation of His love; but the gift of God to save a guilty and ruined race alone reveals the infinite depths of divine tenderness and compassion. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” While the law of God is upheld, and its justice vindicated, the sinner can be pardoned. The dearest gift that Heaven itself had to bestow has been poured out, that God “might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
6 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” What love, what matchless love, that, sinners and aliens tho we are, we may be brought back to God, and adopted into His family! We may address Him by the endearing name, “Our Father,” which is a sign of our affection for Him, and a pledge of His tender regard for us. And the Son of God, beholding the heirs of grace, is not ashamed to call them brethren. They have even a more sacred relationship to God than have the angels who have never fallen.
7 Human love may change, but God’s love knows no change. “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” Circumstances may separate friends; the broad waters of the ocean may roll between them; but no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the love of God. “I am persuaded,” Paul declares, “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Page 1122
1 From a zealous persecutor of the followers of Christ, Paul became one of the Saviour’s most effective and devoted workers. At the gate of Damascus, the vision of the Crucified One changed the whole current of his life. The days of darkness spent in solitude at Damascus were as years in his experience. The Old Testament scriptures stored in his memory were his study, and Christ his teacher. To him also nature’s solitudes became a school. To the desert of Arabia he went, there to study the Scriptures and to learn of God. He emptied his soul of the prejudices and traditions that had shaped his life, and received instruction from the source of truth.
2 His after-life was inspired by the one principle of self-sacrifice, the ministry of love. “I am debtor,” he said, “both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” “The love of Christ constraineth us.”
3 Henceforth his life was wholly devoted to the service of the Master. Afterward when engaged in ministry for Christ, he would relate, in the power of the Spirit, the circumstances of his conversion. So impressive were his words that those who were filled with the bitterest hatred against the Christian religion, could not withstand them.
4 Paul was an unwearied worker. He traveled constantly from place to place, sometimes through inhospitable regions, sometimes on the water, through storm and tempest. He allowed nothing to hinder him from doing his work. He was the servant of God, and must carry out His will. By word of mouth and by letter he bore a message that ever since has brought help and strength to the church of God. To us, living at the close of this earth’s history, the message that he bore speaks plainly of the dangers that will threaten the church, and of the false doctrines that the people of God will have to meet.
5 From country to country and from city to city Paul went, preaching of Christ, and establishing churches. Wherever he could find a hearing, he labored to counterwork error, and to turn the feet of men and women into the path of right. Those who by his labors in any place were led to accept Christ, he organized into a church. No matter how few in number they might be, this was done. And Paul did not forget the churches thus established. However small a church might be, it was the object of his care and interest.
6 Paul’s calling demanded of him service of varied kinds,—working with his hands to earn his living, establishing churches, writing letters to the churches already established. Yet in the midst of these varied labors, he declared, “This one thing I do.” One aim he kept steadfastly before him in all his work,—to be faithful to Christ, who, when he was blaspheming His name and using every means in his power to make others blaspheme it, had revealed Himself to him. The one great purpose of his life was to serve and honor Him whose name had once filled him with contempt. His one desire was to win souls to the Saviour. Jew and Gentile might oppose and persecute him, but nothing could turn him from his purpose.
7 Writing to the Philippians, he describes his experience before and after his conversion. “If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh,” he says, “I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is of the law, blameless.”
8 After his conversion, his testimony was:—”Yea, verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”
9 The righteousness that heretofore he had thought of so much worth was now worthless in his sight. The longing of his soul was: “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as tho I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I will follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but his one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ.”
10 See him in the dungeon at Philippi, where, despite his pain-racked body, his song of praise breaks the silence of midnight. After the earthquake has opened the prison doors, his voice is again heard, in words of cheer to the heathen jailer, “Do thyself no harm; for we are all here,”—every man in his place, restrained by the presence of one fellow-prisoner. And the jailer, convicted of the reality of that faith which sustains Paul, inquires the way of salvation, and with his whole household unites with the persecuted band of Christ’s disciples.
11 See Paul at Athens before the council of the Areopagus, as he meets science with science, logic with logic, and philosophy with philosophy. Mark how, with the tact born of divine love, he points to Jehovah as the “Unknown God,” whom his hearers have ignorantly worshiped; and in words quoted from a poet of their own he pictures Him as a Father whose children they are. Hear him, in that age of caste, when the rights of man as man were wholly unrecognized, as he sets forth the great truth of human brotherhood, declaring that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” Then he shows how, through all the dealings of God with man, runs like a thread of gold His purposes of grace and mercy. He “hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, tho He be not far from every one of us.”
12 Hear him in the court of Festus, when King Agrippa, convicted of the truth of the Gospel, exclaims, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” With what gentle courtesy does Paul, pointing to his own chain, make answer, “I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.”
13 Thus passed his life, as described in his own words, “in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”
14 “Being reviled,” he said, “we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat;” “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
15 In service he found his joy, and at the close of his life of toil, looking back on its struggles and triumphs, he could say, “I have fought a good fight.”
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Page 1123
1 We are pilgrims and strangers on this earth, looking for a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The path in which we travel is narrow, and calls for self-denial and self-sacrifice, but God has not left us without help. He has filled His Word with wonderful promises to strengthen and cheer His children. In these promises He draws back the veil from eternity, and gives us glimpses of the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory that awaits the overcomer.
2 All along the pathway God places the fair flowers of promise, to brighten our journey. But many refuse to gather these flowers, choosing, instead, the thorns and thistles. At every step they weep and mourn, when they might rejoice in the Lord.
3 How much joy we might bring into our life here below if we would but make these promises our own. As we talk of the mansions that Christ is preparing for us, we shall forget the petty annoyances that we meet day by day. It is our privilege to sing the songs of Zion now, to turn our eyes to the light, to bring hope into our hearts and into the hearts of others. God desires us to gather up His promises, that we may be strengthened and refreshed. Let us take our eyes from the curse, and fix them on the grace so abundantly provided.
4 This life will be much brighter for us if we will gather the flowers and leave the briers alone. Comfort, encouragement, and support have been provided for every circumstance and condition of life. No temptation comes to us that Christ has not withstood, no trial that He has not borne. He knows each one of us by name. When a burden is placed on us, He stands by to lift the heaviest weight. He assures us that His grace is sufficient. Today we have His help. Tomorrow we may be placed in new circumstances of trial, but the promise is, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”
5 Let us rejoice in the love of God. Let us praise Him who has made promises so royal. Let these promises keep our hearts in perfect peace. Jesus lives. His hand is guiding us. Constantly our hearts may be filled with the peace that passeth all understanding, even the peace that Jesus gives.
6 The Saviour will never abandon the soul for whom He has died. The soul may leave Him, and be overwhelmed with temptation; but Christ can never turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom of His own life. Could our spiritual vision be quickened, we should see souls bowed under oppression and burdened with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves, and ready to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying swiftly to these tempted ones who are standing on the brink of a precipice. The angels from heaven force back the hosts of evil that encompass these souls, and guide them to plant their feet on the sure foundation.
7 Thank God, we are not left alone. He who “so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” will not desert us in the battle with the adversary. “Behold,” He says, “I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
8 Live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold you firmly by a hand that will never let go. Know and believe the love that God has to us, and you are secure; that love is a fortress impregnable to all the delusions and assaults of Satan. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”
Page 1124
1 Atheism has no power to restrain crime, or to quicken the higher energies of the being, no power to elevate or purify the soul. It can shed no light into the grave.
2 Men may think that they have succeeded in banishing from their minds all thought of God; but when they are brought face to face with the king of terrors, there is wrung from their unwilling lips the confession that the boasts of a lifetime have been a delusion.
3 Was ever an instance known where a dying Christian gave to his watching friends the testimony that he had been deceived, that there is no God, no reality in the religion of Christ? But how many of those who have drawn about them the dark robes of atheism have let them fall before the grim messenger of death. We might cite many instances where learned men have gloried in their unbelief, and in parading their atheism. But when death claimed them, they have looked with horror into the starless future, and their dying words have been, “I have tried to believe that there is no God, no reward for the faithful, no punishment for the wicked. But how vain has been the attempt. I know now that I must meet the doom of the lost.”
4 Sir Thomas Scott in his last moments cried: “Until this moment I believed there was neither a God nor a hell. Now I know and feel that there are both, and that I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of God.”
5 Voltaire was at one time the lion of the hour. He lived in a splendid mansion, and was surrounded by every luxury that heart could wish. Kings honored him. The great men of the world sought his society. On one occasion men took his horses from his carriage, and drew him themselves in triumph around the city.
6 Was this sufficient to make men who deny Christ happy? Go with me to his death-bed, and listen to his words of mournful despair: “In man there is more wretchedness than in all other animals put together. He loves life, and yet knows that he must die. If he enjoys a transient good, he suffers various ills, and is at last devoured by worms. The bulk of mankind are little more than wretches, equally criminal and unfortunate, and the globe contains carcasses rather than men. I tremble at this awful picture, and wish I had never been born.”
7 Go now to the death-bed of a Christian,—Halburton of Scotland. He was in poverty, and was suffering great pain. He had none of the comforts that Voltaire possessed, but he was infinitely richer. He said: “I shall shortly die. In the resurrection I shall come forth to see my God and to live forevermore. I bless His name that I have found Him, and I die rejoicing in Him. I bless God that I was ever born.”
8 Giving an account of the last days of Sir Davis Brewster, his daughter writes: “He thanked God that the way of salvation was so simple. No labored argument, no hard attainment, was required. To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ was to live. He trusted in Him, and enjoyed His peace.” The last words of this great man of science were: “Life has been very bright to me, and now there is the brightness beyond. I shall see Jesus, who created all things, who made the worlds. I shall see Him as He is. Yes, I have had the Light for many years. O, how bright it is! I feel so safe, so satisfied.”
9 “The way of the transgressor is hard;” but wisdom’s “ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” In the downward road the gateway may be bright with flowers, but there are thorns in the path. The light of hope which shines from its entrance fades into the darkness of despair; and the soul who follows that path descends into the shadows of unending night.
10 But he who takes Christ for his guide will be led safely home. The road may be rough, and the ascent steep; there may be pitfalls upon the right hand and upon the left; we may have to endure toil in our journey; when weary, when longing for rest, we may have to toil on; when faint, we may have to fight; when discouraged, we must still hope; but with Christ as our guide, we shall not fail of reaching the desired haven at last. Christ has trodden the rough way before us, and has smoothed the path for our feet.
11 Those who walk in wisdom’s ways are, even in tribulation, exceedingly joyful; for He whom their soul loveth walks invisible beside them. At each upward step they discern more distinctly the touch of His hand; at every step, brighter gleamings of glory from the Unseen fall upon their path; and their songs of praise, reaching ever a higher note, ascend to join the songs of the angels before the throne. “The path of the righteous is as the light of dawn, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
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Page 1125
1 Every true, self-sacrificing worker for God is willing to spend and be spent for the sake of others. Christ says, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” By earnest, thoughtful efforts to help where help is needed, the true Christian shows his love for God and for his fellow-beings. He may lose his life in service. But when Christ gathers His jewels to Himself, he will find it again.
2 Do not, for the sake of appearance, spend time and money on self. Those who do this are obliged to leave undone many things that would have comforted others, sending a warm glow to their weary spirits. We all need to learn to improve more faithfully the opportunities that so often come to us to bring light and hope into the lives of others. How can we improve these opportunities if our thoughts are centered upon self. He who is self-centered loses countless opportunities for doing that which would have brought blessing to himself and those around him. It is the duty of the servant of Christ, under every circumstance, to ask, What can I do to help others? Having done his best, he is to leave the consequences with God.
3 The Lord has provided for every one pleasure that may be enjoyed by rich and poor alike,—the pleasure found in cultivating pureness of thought and unselfishness of action, the pleasure that comes from speaking sympathizing words and doing kindly deeds. From those who perform such service the light of Christ shines forth to brighten lives darkened by many shadows.
4 The perils of the last days are upon us. Those who live to please and gratify self are dishonoring the Lord. He can not work with them; for they would misrepresent Him before those who are ignorant of the truth. Be very careful not to hinder, by an unwise expenditure of means, the work that the Lord would have done in proclaiming the warning message to a world lying in wickedness. Study economy, cutting down your personal expenses to the lowest possible figure. On every hand the necessities of the cause of God are calling for help. God may see that you are fostering pride. He may see that it is necessary to remove from you blessings which, instead of improving, you have used for the gratification of selfish pride. The truth that we hear will save us only as we gladly accept it, showing in our lives the result of its working, growing in grace and in a knowledge of God.
5
Those who are laboring in places where the work has not long been started will often find themselves in great need of better facilities. Their work will seem to be hindered for lack of these facilities; but let them not worry. Let them take the whole matter to the Lord in prayer. When trying to build up the work in new territory, we have often gone to the limit of our resources. At times it has seemed as if we could advance no farther. But we kept our petitions ascending to the heavenly courts, all the time denying self; and God heard and answered our prayers, sending us means for the advancement of the work.
6 Lay every care at the feet of the Redeemer. “Ask, and it shall be given unto you.” Work, and pray, and believe with the whole heart. Do not wait till the money is in your hands before doing anything. God has declared that the standard of truth is to be planted in many places. Learn to believe, as you pray to God for help. Practise self-denial; for Christ’s whole life on this earth was one of self-denial. He came to show us what we must be and do in order to gain eternal life.
7 Do your best, and then wait, patiently, hopefully, rejoicingly, because the promises of God can not fail. Failure comes because many who could put their means into circulation for the advancement of God’s work are lacking in faith. The longer they withhold their means, the less faith they will have. They are barrier builders, who fearfully retard the work of God.
8 My dear fellow-workers, be true, hopeful, courageous. Let every blow be struck in faith. As you do your best, the Lord will reward your faithfulness. From the life-giving Fountain draw physical, mental, and spiritual, energy. Manliness, womanliness,—sanctified, purified, refined, ennobled,—we have the promise of receiving. We need that faith which will enable us to endure the seeing of Him who is invisible. As you fix your eyes upon Him, you will be filled with a deep love for the souls for whom He died, and you will receive strength for renewed effort.
9 Christ is our only hope. Come to God in the name of Him who gave His life for the life of the world. Rely upon the efficacy of His sacrifice. Show that His love, His joy, is in your soul, and that because of this, your joy is full. In God is our strength. Pray much. Prayer is the life of the soul. The prayer of faith is the weapon by which we may successfully resist every assault of the enemy.
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Page 1126
1 There are those who say, “I might have been a Christian could I have seen in the lives of professing Christians anything better than I have seen in the lives of those making no profession.” They endeavor to excuse their own defects by pointing to the defects of others.
2 To such ones I would say, Do not keep your eyes fixed on the defective example of professing Christians. You will, of course, see in their lives things that are wrong. But if you keep looking at their faults, you will become like them. Look instead at the life of Jesus. There you will see perfection, goodness, mercy, and truth. Take the Saviour as your example. It is in looking at the mistakes of others, instead of to Christ, that you have made your great mistake.
3 Christ came to this world, subject to His Father’s will, to show men and women what God desires them to be, and what, through His grace, they may be. He came to develop for man a perfect character. It is His purpose that we shall gain perfection,—not by keeping our eyes fixed on the defective lives of professing Christians, but by constantly beholding Him, the Sent of God, who in this world and in human nature lived a pure, noble, perfect life.
4 Do not allow yourselves to think that you are justified in sinning because others sin. It is your privilege to place yourself where you may reach the highest point of Christian excellence. Remember that in your life, religion is not to be an influence among others. It is to be an influence dominating all others. Resist every temptation. Make no concessions to the wily foe. Listen not to his suggestions. You have a victory to win, you have nobility of character to gain; but this you can not gain while you are looking at the faults of others. You gain nothing when you attempt to excuse your own defects by pointing to the defects of others.
5 As we move forward in obedience to Christ’s commands, His light shines on our way, and His strength sustains us. Thus we go on from strength to strength, from grace to grace, by obedience becoming more and more Christlike.
6 We are not to follow human leading. Christ is our leader. At all times and in all places we shall find Him a present help. Because there are professing Christians who dishonor Christ in thought, word, and deed, we are to give plainer evidence than ever before of our completeness in Him. We are to walk in the light of His countenance. We are to show that He is light, and that in Him is no darkness at all. If we will submit to His guidance, He will lead us from the low level on which sin has left us, to the loftiest heights of grace. And as we strive for the crown of immortal life, praying that we may be made strong in the strength of Him who is invincible, we can help those who seem to have no power to escape from the snare into which they have fallen.
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Page 1127
1 I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
2 Abiding in Christ is the condition of fruit-bearing. Only as we are united to Him can we accomplish any good work. Without Him, separate from Him, we can do nothing good. In order to have success in the Christian life, it is essential that we realize our continual dependence on the vital current coming from Christ. We are habitually to adhere to Him, and daily to derive from Him the nourishment that will give us spiritual strength. This is our privilege and our source of success.
3 The connection of the branch with the vine, Christ said to His disciples, represents the relation you are to sustain to Me. The scion is grafted into the living vine, and fibre by fibre, vein by vein, it grows into the vine-stock. The life of the vine becomes the life of the branch. So the soul, dead in trespasses and sins, receives life through connection with Christ. By faith in Him as a personal Saviour the union is formed. The sinner unites his weakness to Christ’s strength, his emptiness to Christ’s fulness, his frailty to Christ’s enduring might. Then he has the mind of Christ. The humanity of Christ has touched our humanity, and our humanity has touched Divinity. Thus, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. He is accepted in the Beloved.
4 “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”
5 Is not this a positive promise, upon which you may rely? Bring these words into your daily experience, and your faith in Jesus will be a living reality. There is no reason why God’s children should not receive, hour by hour, the fulfilment of this promise.
6 “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” The joy that comes from any other source than Christ is valueless. It is a pretense, an emotion that brings no abiding satisfaction. Christ has redeemed us with His own life, and we are to appreciate the sacrifice made for us. We are to claim His promises, resting by faith in the knowledge of the atonement made for us. We are to surrender ourselves unreservedly to Him; for His grace alone has sufficient power to save the soul of the repenting, believing sinner.
7 Christ’s will is to become our will. Then the fruit that we bear in words and deeds will glorify God. We shall give evidence of our discipleship. The proof that we are children of God will be clearly seen. We shall be moulded and fashioned in accordance with the divine similitude. But unless we place ourselves wholly under Christ’s control, we can not give evidence of a change of heart.
8 Let Christians remember that the fact that their names are on the church books will not save them. They must show themselves approved of God, workmen that need not be ashamed. Day by day they are to build their characters in accordance with Christ’s directions. They are to abide in Him, constantly exercising faith in Him. Thus they will grow up to the full stature of wholesome, cheerful, grateful Christians, led by God step by step into clearer and still clearer light. Union with Christ is productive of all good.
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Page 1128
1 Many regard Enoch as a man to whom God gave special power to live a life more holy than we can live. But the character of the man who was so holy that he was translated to heaven without seeing death is a representation of the character to be attained by those who will be translated when Christ comes in the clouds of heaven. Enoch’s life was no more exemplary than may be the life of every one who maintains a close connection with God.
2 Surrounded with influences so corrupt that God brought a flood of water upon the earth to destroy its inhabitants for their wickedness, Enoch was by no means free from temptation; yet in the midst of a society no more friendly to righteousness than that which surrounds us, he lived a life of holiness. Breathing an atmosphere tainted with sin and corruption, he remained unsullied by the prevailing iniquity of the age. For three hundred years he “walked with God.”
3 It was through constant conflict and simple faith that Enoch walked with God. He realized that God is “a very present help in trouble.” When in perplexity, he prayed to God to keep him, and teach him His will. What shall I do to honor Thee, my God? was his prayer. His will was submerged in God’s will. His feet were always directed in the path of obedience to God’s commandments. Constantly his meditations were upon the goodness, the perfection, the loveliness, of the divine character. His conversation was upon heavenly things; he trained his mind to run in this channel. As he looked to Jesus, he became changed into the glorious image of his Lord, and his countenance was lighted up with the glory that shines from the face of Christ.
4 Enoch lived an active, zealous life of self-denial. He walked with men as one among them, but not as one of them; as one whose purposes and works and hopes were based, not only on time, but on eternity. He did not give the worldly-wise any reason to question his profession or his faith. By earnest words and by decided actions he showed that he was separate from the world. After periods of retirement he would mingle with the ungodly, exhorting them to abhor the evil and choose the good. As a faithful worker for God, he sought to save them. He warned the world. He preached faith in Christ, the Saviour of the world, the sinner’s only hope.
5 We are living in an evil age. The perils of the last days multiply around us. Because iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold. Enoch’s example is before us. Like him we must walk with God, bringing our will into submission to His will. We must train our minds to love purity, and to think upon heavenly things. Let us remember, too, that our responsibility is proportionate to our entrusted talents. If we abide in the True Vine,—if we bear the fruits of righteousness,—we shall go about doing good. In seeking to save the souls for whom Christ has died, in conquering difficulties, and in keeping ourselves unspotted from the world, we may reveal the genuineness of our religion.
6 The faithful Christian does not seek the easiest place, the lightest burdens. He is found where the work is hardest, where his help is most needed. Very many who claim to be Christians act as if they were in this world merely to please themselves. They forget that Jesus, their pattern, pleased not Himself. They forget that the self-denial and the self-sacrifice that characterized His life must characterize their lives, else in the day of God they will be found wanting, and will hear from His lips the irrevocable sentence, “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” Fearful sentence! Let every professing Christian, by zealous activity in the Master’s cause, seek to avert this fearful doom.
7 Enoch was an Adventist. He directed the minds of men forward to the great day of God, when Christ will come the second time, to judge every man’s work. Jude tells us, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.”
8 Like Enoch, we should earnestly proclaim the message of Christ’s second coming. “The day of the Lord,” the Scriptures declare, “cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, . . . and they shall not escape.” In these words is emphasized the importance of being constantly prepared for this great event. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all children of light, and children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober, . . . putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”
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Page 1129
1 Christ has sojourned in the world for thirty-three years; He had endured its scorn, insult, and mockery; He had been rejected and crucified. Now, when about to ascend to His Father’s throne—as He reviews the ingratitude of the people He came to save—will He not withdraw His sympathy and love from them? Will not His affections be centered on that world where He is appreciated, and where sinless angels adore Him and wait to do His bidding?—No; His promise to those loved ones whom He leaves on earth is, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
2 With hands extended in blessing them, and as if in assurance of His protecting care, He slowly ascended from among them, drawn heavenward by a power stronger than any earthly attraction. As He passed upward, the awestruck disciples looked with straining eyes for the last glimpse of their ascending Lord. A cloud of glory received Him out of their sight, and at the same moment there floated down to their charmed senses the sweetest and most joyous music from the angel choir.
3 While their gaze was still riveted upward, voices addressed them which sounded like the music which had just charmed them. They turned, and saw two beings in the form of men; yet their heavenly character was immediately discerned by the disciples, whom they addressed in comforting accents, saying, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” These angels were of the company that had been waiting in a shining cloud to escort Jesus to His throne; and in sympathy and love for those whom the Saviour had left, they came to remove all uncertainty from their minds, and to give them the assurance that He would come to earth again.
4
All Heaven was waiting to welcome the Saviour to the celestial courts. As He ascended He led the way, and the multitude of captives whom He had raised from the dead at the time when He came forth from the tomb, followed Him. The heavenly host, with songs of joy and triumph, escorted Him upward. At the portals of the City of God an innumerable company of angels awaited His coming. As He approached the gates of the city, the angels who were escorting the Majesty of Heaven, in triumphant tones addressed the company at the portals: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in!”
5 The waiting angels at the gates of the city inquire in rapturous strains, “Who is this King of glory?” The escorting angels joyously reply in songs of triumph: “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” Again the waiting angels ask, “Who is this King of glory?” and the escorting angels respond in melodious strains: “The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.” Then the portals of the City of God are widely opened, and the heavenly train pass in amid a burst of angelic music. All the heavenly host surround their majestic Commander as He takes His position upon the throne of the Father.
6 With the deepest adoration and joy, the hosts of angels bow before Him, while the glad shout rings through the courts of heaven, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Songs of triumph mingle with music from angelic harps, till heaven seems to overflow with delightful harmony and inconceivable joy and praise. The Son of God has triumphed over the prince of darkness, and conquered death and the grave. Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”
7 He is seated by the side of His Father on His throne. He presents the captives he has rescued from the bonds of death, at the price of His own life. His hands place immortal crowns upon their brows; for they are the representatives and samples of those who shall be redeemed by the blood of Christ, from all nations, tongues, and people, and come forth from the dead, when He shall call the just from their graves at His second coming. Then shall they see the marks of Calvary in the glorified body of the Son of God. Their greatest joy will be found in the presence of Him who sitteth on the throne; and the enraptured saints will exclaim, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His! He is the Chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely!”
8
The most precious fact to the disciples in the ascension of Jesus was that He went from them into heaven in the tangible form of their divine Teacher. The very same Jesus who had walked, and talked, and prayed with them, who had broken bread with them, who had been with them in their boats on the lake, who had sought retirement with them in the groves, and who had that very day toiled with them up the steep ascent of Olivet, had ascended to heaven in the form of humanity. And the heavenly messengers had assured them that the very same Jesus whom they had seen go up into heaven, should come again in like manner as He had ascended. This assurance has ever been, and will be to the end, the hope and joy of all true lovers of Christ.
Page 1130
1 The world is preparing for the last great conflict, nation rising against nation. The vast majority of human beings are taking their stand against God. But in every age the Lord Jesus has had His witnesses,—a remnant who trusted in the Word of God. And today, in every place, there are those who hold communion with God. A vital undercurrent of influence is leading them to the light, and when the question comes to them. “Who is on the Lord’s side?” they will take their position for Him. Their characters have been moulded after the divine similitude, because they have read and practised the teachings of His Word.
2 Many in retired homes are God’s hidden ones, serving Him according to the light they have received. These hidden ones greatly delight in the Word of God. His precepts are appreciated and treasured by them, and many are the works of love that they do for Christ’s sake.
3 When Elijah complained that he stood alone in his service for God, the answer that came from heaven was, “I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Men are at best poor judges of the advancement made by the Gospel, of the influence that it has on souls who, perhaps, have never heard the preaching of an ordained minister. All through the world the Lord has His chosen ones. We can see plainly the prevailing degeneracy. Profligacy and infidelity are increasing to alarming proportions. Yet in the most wicked communities there are homes from which sincere, earnest prayers ascend to Christ.
4 In the judgment many secret things will be revealed. Then we shall see what a belief in God’s Word has done for men and women. It will be seen how small companies, sometimes not more than three or four, have gathered together in secret places to seek the Lord, and how they received light and grace, and rich gems of thought. The Holy Spirit was their teacher, and their lives revealed the blessings that come from a possession of the oracles of God. When Christ shall separate the tares from the wheat, it will be seen that God recognizes and honors these lowly followers. In the world they may not have been thought worthy of recognition, but in the heavenly courts they are registered as true and faithful. Through trial and opposition they kept their faith untainted. They gathered strength from the Word of God, which told them of the hope of immortal life in the kingdom of God. Of “them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name,” it is written, “They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
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Page 1131
1 Thus saith the Lord: Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then there shall enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by Myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.”
2 These words show plainly that obedience to God’s commands is the condition upon which His promises are fulfilled. These commands are not grievous. God has given them for the good of His people. His law is the hedge which He has built around His vineyard for its protection. The Lord has plainly declared that He will abundantly bless His people if they will obey the laws of His kingdom. It is their life to obey. In keeping God’s commandments there is great reward.
3 God desires men and women to awake to a sense of His great mercy and loving-kindness. Every blessing we receive comes from Him. The Governor of the universe, He takes cognizance of the words and actions of human beings. He knows whether His children are deserving of praise or of condemnation. Each human being will be rewarded or punished according to his works. Retribution must come upon those who disregard the laws which God has made. Those who are loyal and obedient will be rewarded with the richest blessings. Those who are disloyal and presumptuous, who dishonor the laws of God’s kingdom, refusing to repent, will surely be punished with death.
4 It is Satan’s studied plan to keep God out of men’s thoughts, and in carrying out this plan, he has great success. He is constantly bringing forward plans that keep their minds absorbed in pleasure and money-making. The minds of the great majority of men are so taken up with the things of time, with worldly interests, that the things of eternity find no place in their lives. Irrespective of the warnings in the Word of God, they show a most surprising indifference to the laws of His kingdom.
5 Selfishness, covetousness, and fraud bear sway in the world. There are thousands and millions of people who know nothing of their true relations to God, nothing of the laws that He has made, nothing of the consequence of disobedience. Many are not ignorant of the facts, but they do not apply these facts to their own case. All know that they must die, but they do not ask themselves the question, “What shall be the future of my soul?” They know that there is a judgment to come, but their minds are so darkened that they are utterly unconcerned regarding what this judgment will bring to them. They have no realization of the sinfulness of sin. They follow a course which the Lord of heaven has declared must end in eternal death.
6 God’s character is revealed in the precepts of His law. This is the reason why Satan wishes this law to be made of none effect. But notwithstanding all his efforts, the law stands forth holy and unchanged. It is a transcript of God’s character. It can not be impeached or altered.
7 Wonderful inducements are held out to us to lead us to strive to attain to the standard held up before us in God’s Word. Every encouragement is offered. Every provision has been made that we may be so conformed to the divine character that Christ can take us to live with Him in heaven. Exceeding great and precious promises have been made to us, but they are fulfilled to us only as we gain a knowledge of God. This knowledge is given to those who become partakers of the divine nature. Those who are saved must in this life gain a fitness to dwell with the royal family in the courts of heaven.
8 If we have that faith that works by love and purifies the soul, we shall gain an experience more valuable than gold or silver or precious stones. The Holy Spirit works in the children of obedience. He who is a partaker of the divine nature will think the thoughts of God. His perceptions will be sanctified by the grace of Christ. He will work in Christ’s lines, manifesting His kindness, thoughtfulness, mercy, and love, helping and encouraging those around him.
9 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Wonderful are the possibilities placed before us, and to these possibilities we may attain by studying and practising the truths of the Word of God. But if we do not lay hold of Christ, if we do not daily gain an experimental knowledge of Him as our sufficiency, we are on losing ground.
10 There are many professing Christians who have not yet reached the height and breadth of Christlikeness. We are to behold Christ by faith as the One whose perfection of character we are to gain. With an intense, prayerful desire to be like Him, we are to behold Him, full of tenderness and love. Then, as we behold, we shall be changed into His likeness. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
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11 Fathers, mothers, teach your children lessons of self-denial, by encouraging them to unite with you in dispensing with the things we really do not need, and in giving to the colored work the money thus saved. Tell your children of the poor colored people and their necessities. Implant in each tender heart a desire to deny self in order to help others. Lead the children early to realize the close relationship existing between money and missions.
12 The fields are white for the harvest. Shall not the laborers have means for gathering in the precious grain? Will not those who know the truth see what they can do to help, just now? Will not every one cut off all needless expenditures? See what you can do in self-denial. Dispense with all that is not positively necessary. Come up to the measure of your God-given responsibility. Fulfil your duty toward the colored race.
13 Some may say: “We are being drawn upon continually for means. Will there be no end to these calls?” We hope not, so long as there are in our world souls perishing for the bread of life. Until all has been done that you can do to save the lost, we ask you not to become weary of our repeated calls. Many have not yet done that which they might do, that which God will enable them to do, if they will consecrate themselves unreservedly to Him.
14 The Lord’s servants are to feel a noble, generous sympathy for every line of work carried on in the great harvest field. We are to be interested in everything that concerns the human brotherhood. By our baptismal vows we are bound in covenant relation with God to make persevering, self-denying, self-sacrificing efforts to promote, in the hardest parts of the field, the work of soul-saving. God has placed upon every believer the responsibility of helping to rescue the most needy, the most helpless, the most oppressed. Christians are to enlighten the ignorance of their less-favored brothers. They are to break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free from the power of vicious habits and sinful practises. By imparting the knowledge sent from heaven, they are to enlarge the capabilities, and increase the usefulness, of those most in need of a helping hand.
Page 1132
1 Christ’s words and acts while He was on earth were a revelation of divine truth. They gave evidence that He had come direct from the most excellent glory; but the glory itself was concealed. His actions spoke louder than words, inspiring faith in hearts that had been dead in trespasses and sins. It was His work to reveal the Father. And in the doing of this work He went steadily forward, constantly performing deeds of mercy and compassion, His energy never abating, never flagging. “It pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.”
2 “As the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do,” He declared. “This commandment have I received of My Father.” In all that I do, I consult the will and fulfil the purposes of the eternal God. The words that I speak, the acts that I perform, are the fulfilment of the wishes and purposes of God. They are the manifestation of His great love for human beings.
3 “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ took human nature upon Himself to show us what God desires us to be. Those who through faith are united with Him will learn that righteousness does indeed exalt nations and individuals. Day by day, year by year, a lack of obedience and reverence for God is being proved to be the ruin of nations. In obedience to God’s law there is life. In conformity to His requirements there is a transforming power that brings peace and good-will among men.
4 Christ acted out the will of His Father, giving Himself without reserve to the work of reclaiming the fallen race. He attached men to Himself, that He might work through them for the salvation of sinners.
5 The whole agency of evil is working to oppose God. The spirit that led to the apostasy in heaven is in unceasing activity in all parts of the world. Satan flatters his subjects with the assurance that their forces will be sure to conquer. Before the first coming of Christ, it seemed as if the world were wholly given into the control of the enemy. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, . . . to redeem them which were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” All heaven was interested in this great event. At the appointed time the Instructor appeared. Who was He?—The Son of God Himself, the eternal Word. He came to give the world an evidence of the love of God by dying for the fallen race. He gathered to His own pure, sinless soul the penalty resting upon the sinful race, and offered Himself as a sacrifice.
6 Thus was revealed the love of God, and thus was revealed also the immutability of God’s law. Not a jot or a tittle of this law could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition. But sinners were not left without hope, to die in transgression. A ransom was found. Christ became their substitute and surety. Upon Him were laid “the iniquities of us all.” Those who receive Him as their Saviour are freely granted pardon, and become members of the royal family.
7 “The grace of God that bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men.” This grace teaches us not to use God’s blessings for selfish pleasure, but to impart the divine knowledge to those who do not realize their danger and their responsibility. Seek most earnestly to show them their danger. Thus you will use your knowledge to a purpose in harmony with the will of your Redeemer. The soul is to be cleansed from all self-indulgence, all pride, all vanity. Consecrate the powers of your whole being to the service of God, denying ungodliness and worldly lust. Stand firm in defense of the pure, holy principles of right. Obey the words of the great Teacher. Let your will be conformed to His will. Refuse to be led away by the temptations of the enemy. Cherish constantly a sense of thanksgiving and gratitude. Praise God by being patient, tender, thoughtful, anxious to help others. Work in Christ’s lines, and thus demonstrate the genuineness of your love for Him. It means everything to the believer to realize and improve the privileges that are his. God’s workers are to be faithful minute-men.
8 Those who accept Christ as their redeemer will work earnestly for the salvation of those whom He has redeemed with His blood. The sacrifice of Christ has revealed the value of the human soul, and Christians will reveal a deep, unselfish interest in those who are perishing in sin. Of whatever crime one may have been guilty, do not, for Christ’s sake, show a readiness to make their guilt appear in the worst light. Show pity and sympathy for them; for to save them Christ paid the price of His own blood. Let those who have opportunity to speak to such a one, direct his attention to Christ, the Friend of sinners. Let their words be few and well-chosen, and let them reveal the loving-kindness of the Saviour.
9 It is never too late for Christ to hear words of repentance, never too late for Him to speak words of sympathy.
10 When Christ was crucified, it was with a thief on either side of Him. Upon one of these thieves pressed the conviction that there is a God to fear, a future to cause him to tremble. All sin-polluted as he was, his life history was about to close. “And we indeed justly,” he moaned; “for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss.”
11 He called to mind all he had heard of Jesus, how He had healed the sick and pardoned sin. He had heard the words of those who believed in Jesus and followed Him weeping. He had seen and read the title above the Saviour’s head. He had heard the passers-by repeat it, some with grieved, quivering lips, others with jesting and mockery. The Holy Spirit illuminated his mind, and little by little the chain of evidence was joined together. In Jesus, bruised, mocked, and hanging upon the cross, he saw the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Hope mingled with anguish in his soul as the repentant, dying soul cast himself upon the Saviour. “Lord, remember me,” he cried, “when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”
12 Quickly the answer came. Soft and melodious the tone, full of love, compassion, and power, the words, “Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.”
13 Shall not the compassion that Christ revealed, even in His dying agony, lead us to deal as He would deal with those who are brought into trying places? Let every Christian represent Christ by speaking words of sympathy and compassion to those who are tempted and tried. O, how many who profess to be Christians have not the spirit of the meek and lowly Saviour. O, how many forget their own defects of character, and forget, too, that God gave His only-begotten Son to die a death of shame and agony, that sinners might be pardoned. He has pledged Himself to save all who repent and turn to Him. Those who place their confidence in the merits of the Lamb of God will gain eternal life.
Page 1133
1 “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me.”
2 The apostle tells us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” There is power in the Word of God, and those who frame excuses for neglecting to become acquainted with its teachings, will neglect the claims of God in many respects. The character will be deformed, the words and acts a reproach to the cause of Christ.
3 The student should be as thoroughly in earnest to become intelligent in the knowledge of the Scriptures as to excel in the study of the sciences. If either is neglected, it should not be the Word of God. The injunction of our Saviour, “Search the Scriptures,” should be religiously regarded by every one who professes His name. Parents should make the Book of God their constant guide. They should not plead trifling excuses for not interesting themselves in its study with their children. But, instead of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, they often exalt the temporal above the spiritual and eternal. This example of forgetfulness of God and neglect of His Word moulds the minds of the children after a worldly standard, and not after the exalted standard erected by Christ. How much more profitable to be faithful disciples of Christ, ever searching the Scriptures, that they may be able to give an intelligent explanation of the Word given of God to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
4
Mothers are heard to deplore that they have no time to teach their children, no time to instruct them in the Word of God. But these same mothers find time for needless trimming upon their own dresses and those of their children. They can find time for tucks and ruffles, even tho their own minds and the minds of their children are starved in order to follow custom and fashion. They act as tho they considered the adorning of the mind and the culture of the soul of less importance than the adornment of the apparel.
5 Fathers and mothers, take up your long-neglected duties. Search the Scriptures yourselves; assist your children in the study of the Sacred Word. Do not send the children away by themselves to study the Bible, but read it with them; teach them in a simple manner as far as you know, and be diligent students, that you may guide them wisely. Mothers, dress yourselves and your children in modest apparel, clean and neat, but without needless trimming. When you learn to dress with conscientious plainness, you will have no excuse for being ignorant of the Scriptures. Follow Christ’s injunction, “Search the Scriptures,” then will you gain spiritual strength yourselves, and be able rightly to instruct your children.
6 “They are they which testify of Me,” the Redeemer, Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. The prayer of Christ for His disciples was, “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth.” If we are to be sanctified through the truth, we must have an intelligent knowledge of God’s will as revealed in His Word. We must search the Scriptures, not merely rush through a chapter, taking no pains to understand it; but we must dig for the jewel of truth, which will enrich the mind and the soul.
7 By searching the written Word we are enabled closely to observe the divine Model. As one becomes acquainted with the history of the Redeemer, he discovers in himself serious defects of character; his unlikeness to Christ is so great that he sees the necessity for radical changes in his life. Still he studies, with a desire to become like his great Exemplar. He catches the looks, the spirit, of his beloved Master; by beholding,—”by looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith,”—he becomes changed into the same image. It is not by looking away from Him that we imitate the life of Jesus; but by talking of Him, by dwelling upon His perfections, by seeking to refine the taste and elevate the character, by trying, through faith and love and by earnest, persevering effort, to approach the perfect Pattern. Even unconsciously we imitate that with which we are familiar. By having a knowledge of Christ,—His words, His habits, and His lessons of instruction,—we instinctively borrow the virtues of the character we have so closely studied, and become imbued with the spirit which we have so much admired. Jesus becomes to us the “chiefest among ten thousand,” the One “altogether lovely.”
8 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” But there are very many who profess to be Christians who gratify the desires of the carnal heart in following their own inclinations; and God-given probationary time, granted them to become acquainted with the precious truths of the Bible, is devoted to the reading of fictitious tales. This habit, once formed, is overcome with difficulty; but it can be done, and it must be done by all who would gain eternal life. That mind is ruined which is allowed to be absorbed in story-reading. The imagination becomes diseased, and there is a vague unrest, a strange appetite for unwholesome mental food. Thousands are today in insane asylums whose minds became unbalanced by novel-reading, which results in air-castle building and a sickly sentimentalism.
9 The Bible is the Book of books. Practise its precepts, and it will be to you life and health. “For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant to thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.”
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Page 1134
1 Through the eternal ages God’s law will endure. Its principles are unchangeable. From these principles there can be no sinless swerving. And naught but blessing follows those who reverentially obey.
2 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets;” Christ declared; “I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” I have not come to destroy the law, but to show its immutability, and the holiness of its claims. God could not change His law to meet man in his fallen condition. By suffering the penalty of transgression, I will redeem the race. I have become man’s substitute and surety. I have taken human nature, and have come to this earth to pass over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell. In human nature I will bear the test and proving of God. Satan has declared that man can not keep the law. I will show that his statement is false; that man can keep the law. I have come to remove deception from the minds of men, to make plain that which Satan is trying to make obscure. I have come to establish the law Satan is seeking to make void, to show how far-reaching are the principles of this law. I have come to strip from it the burdensome exactions with which man has loaded it down. I have come to show its length and breadth, its dignity and nobility. I will open before men its purity and spirituality. Not to introduce a new law, have I come, but to establish the law which to all eternity will be the standard of obedience.
3 Some claim that the commandments are not binding on those who are led by the Spirit. What spirit? we inquire. Certainly not the Spirit of Christ; for He declared, “I came not to destroy the law.” “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,” He said, “and shall a teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” He is a rebel against God’s government. He is sinning himself, and is leading others in the path of disobedience. “He shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” For him there will be no place in God’s kingdom. He is a transgressor of the law, and into the holy city no transgressors are admitted.
4 “But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
5 Can not men see that to belittle the law of God is to dishonor Christ? Why did He come to this world to suffer and die, if the law is not binding upon human beings? Who could speak more plainly than He did regarding the immutability of the law? He came to bring light and immortality to light by exalting the law, and making it honorable. Where can be found those who preach the binding claims of God’s law more plainly and decidedly than did Christ when He was upon the earth?
6 From every one God requires perfect obedience. Of himself, man can not obey the law. Never could he pay the debt incurred by transgression. Christ came to this world to bring man power to obey. He came in human nature that He might know the temptations and trials to which man is subjected. He who accepts Christ as a personal Saviour will receive divine aid in the struggle against sin. Through the merits of the Saviour, he will become an obedient subject of God’s kingdom. In the strength of Christ he will overcome every temptation of the enemy.
7 In the day of judgment, every one will receive sentence according to his deeds. Every mouth will be stopped, as the cross is presented, and its real bearing seen. Sinners will stand condemned. Every subterfuge, every excuse, will be swept away. Sin will appear in all its sinfulness. The mystery of the incarnation and the crucifixion of the Son of God will be plainly discerned, and every condemned soul will read clearly the result of a rejection of truth. Those who have chosen to transgress will then understand that they have sinned, and come short. They will read the sentence, Thou, O man, hast chosen to stand under the banner of the great apostate, and, in so doing, thou hast destroyed thyself.
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Page 1135
1 Prayer is the life of the soul, the foundation of spiritual growth. In your home, before your family, and before your workmen, you should testify to this truth.
2 It is just as convenient, just as essential, for us to pray three times a day as it was for Daniel. And when you are privileged to meet with your brethren in the church, tell them of the necessity of keeping open the channel of communication between God and the soul. Tell them that if they will find heart and voice to pray, God will find answers to their prayers. Tell them not to neglect their religious duties. Exhort the brethren to pray. We must seek if we would find, we must ask if we would receive, we must knock if we would have the door opened unto us. If there are only a few assembled, there are enough to claim the precious promises of God. The Father, the Son, and the holy angels will be present with you to behold your faith, your steadfast principle, and there you will have of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit. God has rich blessings in store for those who will bring not only all the tithes into His storehouse, but also time and strength of bone and brain and muscle into His service. Those who will do this, will walk in the light, and will triumph in God.
3 Let each professed follower of Christ carry out the principles of practical godliness in his own house. Religion in the home is the best proof of genuine piety. It is not the stranger, the visitor, the minister, that can best judge of your Christian devotion; it is your children, your servants, the workmen who toil in your fields, who can best tell whether or not you love God and keep His commandments. If your household, your workmen, are not better for your Christianity, then the truth has not wrought its designed work upon your soul. Let not your workmen say: “This man for whom we work has a queer sort of religion. There are no morning or evening prayers in his house. We begin and end the day with drudgery, and we have so much to do on the Sabbath that we can scarcely get time for secret prayer.”
4 Carry your Christianity into your family. Let a bright, steady light be burning. Let impressions be left upon minds of the truth of your God, and the value of His service, that will be as far-reaching as eternity. O, how much need there is of prayer, of tears, of faith! You should pray for the ministers, for those who are weak in faith. You should let your prayers follow the laborers as sharp sickles in the great harvest-field. You should wrestle with God as did Jacob. We may have pentecostal seasons even now, if the people will pray fervently, and believe in the promises of God. And when prayer and faith abound among God’s people, the world will see a steady light shining forth from them.
5 We should study the experience of past life, study it just as we study the proof-sheets of an article, to find the errors and to note them on the margin of the page. We should do this daily, and note our faults so that we may avoid them in the future. Do not forget to examine yourselves whether you are in the faith. Prove your own selves, for unless Christ is in you, you are reprobates. Reform every unchristlike action, seeking the Spirit of your divine Master. Take your hearts, by nature cold as an iron wedge, and let melting mercy fall upon them, that they may be subdued by the grace of God, and impressed by the Spirit with the image of your divine Lord.
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Page 1136
1 The right use of the power of speech has to do with every line of Christian work; it enters into the home life, and into all our intercourse with one another. We should accustom ourselves to speak in pleasant tones, to use pure, correct language, and words that are kind and courteous. Sweet, kindly words are as dew and gentle showers to the soul. The Scripture says of Christ that grace was poured into His lips that He might know “how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” And the Lord bids us, “Let your speech be alway with grace,” “that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
2 In seeking to correct or reform others, we should be very careful of our words. They will be either a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. In giving reproof or counsel, many indulge in sharp, severe speech, uttering words that are not adapted to heal the wounded soul. By these ill-advised expressions, the spirit is chafed, and often the erring ones are stirred to rebellion. All who would advocate the principles of truth need to receive the heavenly oil of love. Under all circumstances reproof should be spoken in love. Then our words will reform, but not exasperate. Christ by His Holy Spirit will supply the force and the power. This is His work.
3
Not one word is to be spoken unadvisedly. No evil speaking, no frivolous talk, no fretful repining or impure suggestions, will escape the lips of him who is following Christ. The apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.” A corrupt communication does not mean only words that are vile. It means any expression contrary to holy principles and pure, undefiled religion. It includes impure hints and covert insinuations of evil. Unless instantly resisted, these lead to great sin.
4 Upon every family, upon every individual Christian, is laid the duty of barring the way against corrupt speech. When in the company of those who indulge in foolish talk, it is our duty to change the subject of conversation if possible. By the help of God we should quietly drop words or introduce a subject that will turn the conversation into profitable channels.
5
to train their children to proper habits of speech. The very best school for this culture is the home life. From the earliest years the children should be taught to speak respectfully and lovingly to their parents and to one another. They should be taught that only words of gentleness, truth, and purity must pass their lips. Let the parents themselves be daily learners in the school of Christ. Then by precept and example they can teach their children the use of sound speech, that can not be condemned. This is one of the greatest and most responsible of their duties.
6
we should make our words such as to be a help and an encouragement to one another in the Christian life. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious chapters in our experience. We should speak of the mercy and loving-kindness of God, of the matchless depths of the Saviour’s love. Our words should be words of praise and thanksgiving. If the mind and heart are full of the love of God, this will be revealed in the conversation. It will not be a difficult matter to impart that which enters into our spiritual life. Great thoughts, noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth, unselfish purposes, yearnings for piety and holiness, will bear fruit in words that reveal the character of the heart treasure. When Christ is thus revealed in our speech, we shall have power in winning souls to Him.
7 The chief requisite of language is that it be pure and kind and true,—”the outward expression of an inward grace.” God says: “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” And if such are the thoughts, such will be the expression.
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Page 1137
1 All are to a great extent under the influence of their own words. They act out the sentiments expressed in their words. Thus the government of the tongue is closely bound up with personal religion. Many are by their own words led to believe that a wrong course is right. Thoughts are expressed in words, and the words react upon the thoughts, and produce other words. The influence is felt, not only upon oneself, but upon others. The Lord God alone can undo the mischievous result of unwise words. Often an opinion or decision, having been once expressed, will be acted upon, tho it may lead to an entirely wrong course. The iron will changes not, because it would be too humiliating to acknowledge oneself in error. The words hastily spoken, to give vent to strong feelings, produce their evil results in hurting, wounding and bruising souls for whom Christ died. Satan is pleased, God is dishonored, and many souls are ruined by hastily spoken words.
2 Speak gently. Speak words of kindness and uplifting; for this is the fruit borne on the Christian tree. Overcome all harshness. Rash speeches do much harm to the souls of those who utter them and to the souls of those who hear. Eternity alone will reveal how greatly those who made these speeches needed to humble their hearts and make confession to God.
3 Gossip reveals a lack of true culture and refinement, and of true goodness of heart; it unfits one both for the society of the truly cultured and refined in this world, and for association with the holy ones of heaven.
4 We think with horror of the cannibal who feasts on the still warm and trembling flesh of his victim; but are the results of even this practise more terrible than are the agony and ruin caused by misrepresenting motive, blackening reputation, dissecting character?
5 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
6 In the Scriptures, backbiters are classed with the haters of God, “with inventors of evil things,” with those who are “without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful,” “full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity.” It is “the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death.” He whom God accounts a citizen of Zion is he that “speaketh the truth in his heart;” “that backbiteth not with his tongue,” “nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.”
7 God’s Word condemns also the use of those meaningless phrases and expletives that border on profanity. It condemns the deceptive compliments, the evasions of truth, the exaggerations, the misrepresentations in trade, that are current in society and in the business world. “Let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one.”
8 “As a madman who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am I not in sport?”
9 Closely allied to gossip is the covert insinuation, the sly innuendo, by which the unclean in heart seek to insinuate the evil they dare not openly express. Every approach to these practises the youth should be taught to shun as we would shun the leprosy.
10 In the use of language there is perhaps no error that old and young are more ready to pass over lightly in themselves than hasty, impatient speech. They think it a sufficient excuse to plead, “I was off my guard, and did not really mean what I said.” But God’s Word does not treat it lightly. The scripture says:
11 “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”
12 “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
13 In one moment, by the hasty, passionate, careless tongue, may be wrought evil that a whole lifetime’s repentance can not undo. O, the hearts that are broken, the friends estranged, the lives wrecked, by the harsh, hasty words of those who might have brought help and healing.
14 “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword; but the tongue of the wise is health.”
15 “Who is the wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” My brethren and sisters, how are you employing the gift of speech. Have you learned so to control the tongue that it shall ever obey the dictates of an enlightened conscience and holy affections? Is your conversation free from levity, pride, malice, deceit, and impurity? Are you without guile before God? Words exert a telling power. Satan will, if possible, keep the tongue active in his service. Of ourselves we can not control the unruly member. Divine grace is our only hope.
16 Wherever there is purity of heart and nobleness of character, it will be revealed in purity and nobility of action and speech.
17 “He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.”
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Page 1138
1 Of all the twelve disciples, Peter, James, and John held the closest relationship to Christ. John could be satisfied with a still nearer intimacy, and this he obtained. At that first conference beside the Jordan, when Andrew, having heard Jesus, hurried away to call his brother, John sat silent, rapt in the contemplation of wondrous themes. He followed the Saviour, ever an eager, absorbed listener.
2 The Saviour loved them all, but John’s was the most receptive spirit. He was younger than the others, and with more of a child’s confiding trust he opened his heart to Jesus. Thus he came more into sympathy with Christ, and through him the Saviour’s deepest spiritual teaching was communicated to the people.
3 Yet John’s was no faultless character. He was no gentle, dreamy enthusiast. He and his brother were called “the sons of thunder.” John was proud, ambitious, combative; but beneath all this the divine Teacher discerned the ardent, sincere, loving heart. Jesus rebuked his self-seeking, disappointed his ambitions, tested his faith. But He revealed to him that for which his soul longed,—the beauty of holiness. “Unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world,” He said, “I have manifested Thy name.”
4 Evil temper, revenge, the spirit of criticism, were all in the beloved disciple. But day by day, in contrast with his own violent spirit, he beheld the tenderness and forbearance of Jesus, and heard His lessons of humility and patience. He opened his heart to the divine influences, and became not only a hearer but a doer of the Saviour’s words. Self was hid in Christ. He learned to wear the yoke of Christ and to bear His burden. For him the darkness had passed away, and the true light was shining.
5 What privilege was theirs who for three years were in daily contact with that divine Life from which has flowed every life-giving impulse that has blessed the world. Above all his companions, John yielded himself to the power of that wondrous life. He says, “The life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.” “Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
6 John’s was a nature that longed for love, for sympathy and companionship. He pressed close to Jesus, sat by His side, leaned upon His breast. As a flower drinks the sun and dew, so did he drink in the divine light and life. In adoration and love he beheld the Saviour, until likeness to Christ and fellowship with Him became his one desire, and in his character was reflected the character of his Master.
7 When John testified of the Saviour’s grace, his simple language was eloquent with the love that pervaded his whole being. He entered into no controversy, no wearisome contention. He declared what he knew, what he had seen and heard. “That which was from the beginning,” he said, “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; . . . that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
8 The love of God was the theme upon which John delighted to dwell. “Behold,” he said, “what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.”
9 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
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Page 1139
1 Out of a heart overflowing with love and gratitude, John bore witness of Christ as a risen Saviour, and no power could stay his words. To please the Jews, the Romans had crucified Christ, and now, to please them still further, they sought to place John where his voice could not be heard by Jew or Gentile. Thinking to silence him forever, they cast him into a caldron of boiling oil. But his voice was not silenced. As the words were spoken, “So perish all who believe in Jesus of Nazareth,” John declared, “My Master patiently submitted to all that Satan and his angels could devise to humiliate and torture Him. He gave His life to save the world. He died that we might live. I am honored in being permitted to suffer for His sake. I am a weak, sinful man. Christ was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. He had no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” The faithful servant was preserved as were the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace. John was removed from the caldron by the very ones who had cast him in.
2 Again the enemies of truth sought to silence the voice of the faithful witness. John was banished to the Isle of Patmos. Here, they thought, he could no longer trouble Israel, and he must finally die of hardship and distress.
3 To outward appearances the enemies of truth were triumphing; but God’s hand was moving unseen in the darkness. The Lord permitted His servant to be placed where Christ could give him a more wonderful revelation of Himself than He had ever yet received; where he could receive most precious enlightenment of the churches. He permitted him to be placed in solitude, that his ear and heart might be more fully prepared to hear and receive the revelations that he was to be given. The man who exiled John was not released from responsibility in the matter. But he became an instrument in the hands of God to carry out His eternal purpose; and the very effort to extinguish light placed the truth in bold relief.
4 John was deprived of the companionship of his brethren, but no man could deprive him of the companionship of Christ. A great light was to shine from Christ to His servant. The Lord watched over His banished disciple, and gave him a wonderful revelation of Himself. Richly favored was this beloved disciple. With the other disciples he had walked and talked with Jesus, learning of Him and feasting on His words. His head had often rested on his Saviour’s bosom. But he must see Him also in Patmos. God and Christ and the heavenly host were John’s companions on the lonely island, and from them he received instruction of infinite importance. There he wrote out the visions and revelations he received of God, telling of the things that would take place in the closing scenes of this earth’s history. When his voice could no longer witness to the truth, the messages given him in Patmos were to go forth as a lamp that burneth. From them men and women were to learn the purposes of God, not concerning the Jewish nation merely, but concerning every nation upon the earth.
5 Of Christ’s appearance to him, John writes: “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches.”
6 “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
7 “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last; I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
8 The appearance of Christ to John should be to us an evidence that we have a risen Christ. It should give living power to the church. At times dark clouds surround God’s people. It seems as if oppression and persecution would destroy them. But it is at such times they are given the most precious lessons. Christ often enters prisons, and reveals Himself to His chosen ones. He is with them at the stake. As in the darkest night the stars shine brightest, so the most brilliant beams of God’s glory are revealed in the deepest gloom. The darker the sky, the clearer and more impressive are the rays of the Sun of Righteousness.
Page 1140
1 It came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of his disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” And Jesus answered them in the words of the Lord’s Prayer.
2 “When ye pray,” He said, “say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
3 “Our Father which art in heaven.” The word “our” expresses a sense of human brotherhood; the word “father” that of childlike trust. In ancient time there was usually associated with the name “father” all the affection and tenderness now centered in the word “mother.”
4 When from the heart we say, “Our Father,” we worship God in truth. This petition carries the suppliant away from earth and human beings to the One who is unerring in judgment, compassionate, merciful, pure, and holy.
5 “Hallowed be Thy name.” Thus we give expression to our reverence for the divine One. All true prayer will first recognize the presence of God, whose eye is open to all that His creatures do. The suppliant’s first work is to honor God by giving expression to his reverence for Him.
6 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” In heaven the will of God is perfectly carried out. Love to God makes service a joy. On earth there is rebellion and variance. The disobedient and rebellious can not understandingly repeat the Lord’s Prayer. Their will has never submitted to discipline, and until they are brought into conformity to the will of God, they can not intelligently pray that His will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. It should be the prayer of every true follower of Christ that God will subordinate everything in this world to His will.
7 Our temporal necessities also are to be the subject of our petitions. We are to call upon God for food. “Give us day by day our daily bread,” Christ said. But we are not to ask God for food, and then sit idly down, doing nothing. In order that our wants may be supplied, our heavenly Father puts work into our hands, that we may co-operate with Him in answering our prayer for food.
8 “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.” Few realize the true import of these words. After completing the Lord’s Prayer, as given in the sixth chapter of Matthew, Jesus added, “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” He who is unforgiving cuts off the very channel through which alone he can receive mercy from God. However sorely we may have been wounded, we are not to cherish our grievances, and sympathize with ourselves over our injuries; but as we hope to be pardoned for our offenses against God, we are to pardon all who have done evil to us.
9 “Lead us not into temptation.” God sometimes allows Satan to tempt His children, that they may be proved and tested. If they rely on their own strength, they will fail in the trial, but if they realize their inability to help themselves, and trust wholly in God, He will provide a way of escape. There are times when it is necessary for men to be exposed to danger, and to be placed among corrupting influences, but a sense of their dependence on God will lead them to keep their hearts uplifted to Him in prayer every hour, for strength to resist and grace to overcome. The experience gained in these fierce conflicts fortifies the soul to pass unscathed through more trying ordeals.
10 Christ prayed to His Father in behalf of His followers, “I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from the evil.” Sin and pollution abound on every hand, and daily, hourly, the prayer should ascend to heaven, “Deliver us from evil.” The offering of this prayer by one who realizes his weakness makes the temptation of the enemy powerless.
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Page 1141
1 “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”
2 To us has been given the message of Christ’s second coming. At the ascension of our Lord, angels stood beside the disciples, and with them watched the Saviour as He passed into the heavens. Then they turned to the disciples with the words, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” This message was given to the disciples to give to us, and God designs that it shall sound till the end of time. We are to wait and watch for Christ to come in His own appointed time, without sin unto salvation.
3 The vast majority of human beings fail to realize that the judgements of God are about to fall upon the earth. Their minds are filled with thoughts of eating and drinking and getting gain. They have allowed these subjects to take their whole attention, and as a result violence fills the world. Sin is on the increase. Iniquity prevails.
4 How is the message of warning received?—Just as it was in Noah’s day. “All things continue as they were from the beginning,” men say.
5 But Christ declares, “If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken; the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.”
6 Man was created to glorify his Maker. But iniquity has so increased that at the present time men and women have very little appreciation of the goodness and power of God. They do not believe His Word. Self is the god they worship.
7 Ever since his fall Satan has been working at cross purposes with God, seeking to obliterate all trace of the divine likeness in man. He has led human beings to indulge an appetite for liquor and tobacco. He knows that those who give themselves up to indulgence of appetite can not stand in their God-given manhood. They are slaves. Their reason is beclouded, their intellect dulled.
8 All over the world, pride, vanity, and self-indulgence are crippling men and women, so that they dishonor their Creator. The wrath of Jehovah is soon to fall upon the ungodly; but human beings are so controlled by the enemy that they do not see what is coming. So deeply engrossed are they in the things of this world that they have no time to study God’s Word, no time to think seriously of their spiritual welfare. Their one thought is to gain wealth, to make a display; and tho they make mistakes, they have no time to remedy them, but hurry on, scarcely thinking that soon they must give an account of their life-work.
9 Satan comes to men and women with specious temptations. Offering them riches and power, he says, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” And thousands upon thousands listen to his words, and worship him by becoming wholly engrossed in a search for wealth, or in following the fashions of this degenerate age.
10 Thus the world is being led captive. The beings that God created in His own image are entirely neglecting to prepare for the judgement.
11 As the waters of the Flood cleansed the earth in the days of Noah, so will the fire of God purify the earth in the last great day. Then, the water from the heavens united with the water in the bowels of the earth; and in the destruction that is coming, fire from heaven will unite with fire that is stored up in the earth.
12 Are we preparing for what is coming? Have we thought seriously of these things? You who are giving yourselves up to pride and vanity, have you thought of the day when you must give an account of the time and money that you have wasted?
13 Christ said to His disciples, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me.” They tell us that Christ is soon coming to take to Himself those who have loved Him and have waited for His appearing; and that to those who have devoted their time to money-getting and pleasure-seeking, He will say, “I know you not; . . . depart from Me.”
14 Now is our time to prepare to meet Christ. God has given us this time, and if we use it in self-gratification instead of in helping others and honoring God, we shall come up to the judgement unprepared. In that day many will plead as an excuse that they did not know that Christ’s coming was near. But the excuse will not be accepted. They did not know simply because they did not want to know. God gave them abundant opportunity for knowing, but they closed their eyes, that they might not see, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
15 Their one thought was to enjoy the things of this world. Like the people of Noah’s day, they have spent their lives in self-gratification.
16 The cases of all are pending in the heavenly sanctuary. Day by day angels of God are watching the development of character, and weighing moral worth. In the judgement the question will not be, What profession did you make? but, What have you done for Me? What fruit have you borne to My glory? Now is the time to prepare for the coming of the King.
17 “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord; the mighty men shall cry there bitterly. . . . Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy; for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” The God who rules in the heavens is our God. We have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice. “Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, . . . Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgement; seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.”
18 Shall we not strive to be among that number who will welcome Christ with the words, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
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Page 1142
1 Christ’s second coming will be in marked contrast to His first coming. Then His glory was veiled with the garb of humanity. He came with no outward manifestation of glory. When He comes the second time, His divinity will not be concealed. He will come with His own glory and the glory of His Father. He will come as one equal with God, as His beloved Son, the Prince of heaven and earth. Instead of a crown of thorns, He will wear a crown of glory. Instead of a garment of humility, He will be clad in a garment of royalty. Upon His vesture will be written the name, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
2 At His first coming, Christ was denied and rejected by men, and by them dragged as a criminal to Pilate’s bar, where they charged Him with blasphemy. He was scourged and crucified. Nails were driven through His hands and His feet. For three hours He hung on the cross, while His enemies said tauntingly, “He saved others; Himself He can not save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of God.”
3 At His second coming, the scene will be changed. He will be acknowledged by all as the King of glory. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The angels will bow in adoration before Him. His enemies will see the mistake they have made, and every tongue will confess His divinity.
4 Christ’s glory did not appear when He was upon this earth. He was then a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Men hid their faces from Him. But He was following the path God had marked out for Him. Still bearing humanity, He ascended to heaven, triumphant and victorious. He has taken the blood of the atonement into the holiest of all, sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat and His own garments, and blessed the people. Soon He will appear the second time to declare that there is no more sacrifice for sin.
5 Then by innumerable voices will be sung the song, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”
6 With earnest longing God’s people await the tokens of their coming King. As the watchmen are accosted, “What of the night?” the answer is given unfalteringly, “The morning cometh, and also the night.” Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountain-tops. Soon there will be a revealing of His glory. The Sun of Righteousness is about to shine forth. The morning and the night are both at hand,—the opening of endless day to the righteous, the settling down of eternal night to the wicked.
7 “The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
8 The Lord is soon coming, and we must be ready and waiting for His appearing. O, how glorious it will be to see Him, and be welcomed as His redeemed ones. Long have we waited, but our hope is not to grow dim. If we can but see the King in His beauty, we shall be forever blessed. I feel as if I must cry aloud, “Homeward bound!” We are nearing the time when Christ will come in power and great glory to take His ransomed ones to their eternal home.
Page 1143
1 This earth has been honored and blessed with the presence of the Son of God. In the Scriptures we read of His incarnation, His teaching, His miracles, His death, and His resurrection. The effort to understand these wonderful subjects puts to the tax the highest powers of the mind, and then there is an infinity beyond which can not be exhausted. The oftener the mind is called to this study, the stronger and clearer it will become. In the daily life will be revealed the mysteries of godliness, which may be experienced, but can not be explained. Throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity the redeemed will study these subjects, ever gaining from them a deeper and clearer knowledge of God and of Christ.
2 What opposites meet and are revealed in the person of Christ! The mighty God, yet a helpless child! The Creator of all the world, yet, in a world of His creating, often hungry and weary, and without a place to lay His head! The Son of Man, yet infinitely higher than the angels! Equal with the Father, yet His divinity clothed with humanity, standing at the head of the fallen race, that human beings might be placed on vantage-ground! Possessing eternal riches, yet living the life of a poor man! One with the Father in dignity and power, yet in His humanity tempted in all points like as we are tempted! In the very moment of His dying agony on the cross, a Conqueror, answering the request of the repentant sinner to be remembered by Him when He came into His kingdom, with the words, “Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.”
3 Christ was God manifest in the flesh. In Him divinity and humanity were united. In Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. He lived in this world a perfect life, revealing the character to which, through divine grace, man may attain. In His life He left an example that every true Christian must follow. No falsehood ever fell from His lips. Never did He do a dishonest act. He stood forth in unsullied purity and goodness, revealing what man must be before he can enter the holy city.
4 Christ’s life was one of constant self-sacrifice. He came to this world to live, in our behalf, the life of the poorest, to walk and work among the needy and the suffering. Unrecognized and unhonored, He walked in and out among the people for whom He had done so much. On the hillsides of Galilee, in the great thoroughfares of travel, by the seashore, in every place where there were those who needed help, Jesus healed the people, and pointed them to their heavenly Father. His life laid the foundation for a religion in which there is no caste, where Jew and Gentile, free and bond, are linked in a common brotherhood, equal before God.
5 Christ lived a life of prayer. Daily beset by temptation, constantly opposed by the leaders of the people, He knew that He must strengthen His humanity by prayer. In order to be a blessing to men, He must commune with God, from Him obtaining energy, perseverance, steadfastness.
6 Christ is our Burden-bearer. He came to bear the trials that we must bear, to resist the temptations that we must resist. He came to show that, by receiving power from on high, man can live an unsullied life. With sympathetic love and tender compassion, without a trace of harshness, He meets us in our necessities. Armed with the weapons of love, He works with gracious helpfulness and unwearying patience. By the gentle touch of grace, He drives from the soul unrest and doubt, changing enmity and unbelief to confidence and faith.
7 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth.” “We have not an High Priest that can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”
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Page 1144
1 God calls for humble, devoted workers, who will impart to others the blessings He has given them. He calls for men who will be wise counsellors, men who will act promptly when they see that the time has come for them to act. Let God’s workers keep close by His side. All the way along the danger has been that those who were doing God’s will would lose sight of His plans, and would fail to work with an eye single to His glory.
2 Christ is waiting for human agents through whom to impart to hungry souls the bread of life. Even the ignorant may understand the Scriptures; for heavenly angels are appointed to minister to them. While the day of retribution still lingers, the Gospel is to be preached to the unsaved, and its glad messages brought home to their hearts. God will co-operate with those who proclaim His truth to the unenlightened and the unwarned.
3 The enemy is continually working through half-converted men and women, leading them to speak words of discouragement, and to stand always on the negative side. Men of activity and clear thought, of spiritual and physical soundness, are needed,—men who can act as leaders and directors; men of wisdom, who, when a crisis comes, will stand boldly in the front ranks, presenting to the enemy an unbroken line of defense.
4 Those who proclaim the truth for this time must put on the whole armor of God, that they may stand bravely at their post, in the face of detraction and falsehood, resisting the enemy with the weapon that Christ used,—”It is written.”
5 The Lord expects His servants to be diligent in business and fervent in spirit. But He does not want them to overwork. It is not work, but overwork, without periods of rest, that breaks people down, endangering the life forces. Those who overwork soon reach the place where they work in a hopeless way. The work done to the Lord is to be done in cheerfulness and with courage. He wants us to bring spirit and life and hope into our work.
6 Bring into the day’s work hopefulness, courage, amiability. Do not overwork. Far better leave undone some of the things planned for the day than to overtax yourself, losing the courage necessary for the performance of the tasks of the next day. Do not today violate the laws of nature, lest you lose your strength for the days to come.
7 Every day consecrate yourself anew to God. Bring to Him an offering untainted by selfishness, and it will be accepted. This is your reasonable service. God calls for a complete sacrifice. It is complete trust in Christ that makes the sacrifice complete, wholly acceptable to God.
8 Keep yourselves where the three great powers of heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, can be your efficiency. These powers work with the man who gives himself unreservedly to God, heart and soul and mind and strength. “If a man love Me,” Christ says, “He will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” The power that comes with Christ’s abiding presence is at the command of His believing ones. The man who makes God his trust is barricaded by an impregnable wall.
9 Let us take no backward steps, but ever move forward and upward in the pathway of light. Walking in this path, we are following Christ. We certainly have not wisdom to guide ourselves aright. We must be daily learners in the school of Christ, receiving instruction from the great Teacher, that we may impart it to others. We are to practise the lessons that He teaches us.
10 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forebearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
Page 1145
1 At the time of Christ’s first advent darkness had covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Truth looked down from heaven, and nowhere could discern the reflection of her image. Spiritual darkness had settled down over the religious world, and this darkness was almost universal and complete.
2 The scribes and Pharisees professed to explain the Scriptures, but they explained them in accordance with their own ideas and traditions. Their customs and maxims became more and more exacting. In its spiritual sense, the sacred Word became to the people as a sealed book, closed to their comprehension.
3 All things proclaimed the urgent necessity on the earth of a Teacher sent from God,—a Teacher in whom divinity and humanity would be united. It was essential that Christ should appear in human form, and stand at the head of the human race, to uplift fallen human beings. Thus only could God be revealed to the world.
4 Christ volunteered to lay aside His royal robe and kingly crown, and come to this earth to show to human beings what they may be in co-operation with God. He came to shine amidst the darkness, to dispel the darkness by the brightness of His presence.
5 When in the fulness of time the Son of the infinite God came forth from the bosom of the Father to this world, He came in the garb of humanity, clothing His divinity with humanity. The Father and the Son in consultation decided that Christ must come to the world as a babe, and live the life that human beings must live from childhood to manhood, bearing the trials that they must bear, and at the same time living a sinless life, that men might see in Him an example of what they can become, and that He might know by experience how to help them in their struggles with sin. He was tried as man is tried, tempted as man is tempted. The life that He lived in this world, men can live, through His power and under His instruction.
6 From the beginning God had spoken through Christ, laying the foundation of the Gospel in the Jewish economy of types and shadows. Before the coming of Christ this economy was unfinished. The ceremonies of the unfinished economy pointed to the reality. God would not leave the plan incomplete. He would work out to its end the plan for the redemption of the race. By sending His Son into the world, He would carry out to its fulfilment the plan ordained in heaven before the world was made.
7 The apostle Peter declared: “Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea,” Peter continues, “and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.”
8 Patriarchs and prophets have predicted the coming of a distinguished Teacher, whose words were to be clothed with invincible power and authority. He was to preach the Gospel to the poor, and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He was to set judgment in the earth; the isles were to wait for His law; the Gentiles were to come to His light, and kings to the brightness of His rising. He was “the Messenger of the covenant,” and “the Sun of Righteousness.”
9 The Jewish teachers, claiming to give instruction in the things of God, turned minds to things that eclipsed the revelation of God. They gave the things of earth the first consideration and the greatest thought. God beheld in these teachers an ignorance that is death to true godliness. Under the education they gave, virtue and purity grew feeble, and self-sufficiency and pride ruled the life.
10 Those who loved God and who realized the danger that lay in the struggle for wealth and power, longed for Heaven’s enlightenment. They longed for a message direct from the heavenly courts. The heavenly inspiration was begotten, and men began to feel after God, if haply they might find Him.
11 And “when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, . . . to redeem them which are under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
12 Wonder, O heavens, and be astonished, O earth. The heavenly Teacher had come. Who was He?—No less a being than the Son of God Himself. He appeared as God, and at the same time as the Elder Brother of the human race. “The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” Christ must come as a human being. Had He come in the glory that He had with the Father, men could not have lived in His presence.
13 Nearly two thousand years ago a voice of mysterious import was heard in heaven, from the throne of the Highest, “Lo, I come.” “Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldst not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me. . . . Lo, I come, . . . to do Thy will, O God.” In these words is announced the purpose that had been hidden from eternal ages. Christ was about to visit our world, and become incarnate.
14 Who is this that thus announced His purpose of visiting a guilty world?
15 We ask Isaiah, and he answers, “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
16 We ask John, the beloved disciple, and he replies: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth.”
17 We ask Him, “Who art Thou?” and the answer comes, “Before Abraham was, I Am.” “I and My Father are one.” “As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.”
18 We ask Paul, and he breaks forth into words of adoring transport: “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
19 “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”
20 “Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever.”
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Page 1146
1 Christ was born a babe in Nazareth, and He grew as other children grow. The powers of mind and body developed gradually, in harmony with the laws of nature. Of Him we read, “The Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
2 When at the age of twelve He mingled with the doctors of the law in the temple at Jerusalem, hearing them, and asking them questions, they were astonished at His questions and answers; for His words opened up subjects of the deepest importance. His knowledge of sacred science was a surprise to these learned men; for He had never been instructed in the schools of the rabbis. They wondered where He had gained His knowledge. They did not comprehend that He had access to a knowledge that they knew not of.
3 Christ did not pass over the ground of scholastic education, yet He was far in advance of any student under the teaching of the priests and rulers. God did not design that His Son should listen to the needless suppositions included in what was called education. The teachers in the schools of that time—the priests and rulers—tho supposed to be perfect in knowledge, were in need of being taught the first principles of true education. They needed to know the meaning of the command, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”
4 Christ’s dignity as a divine Teacher was of an order higher than the dignity of priests and rulers. It was distinct from all worldly pomp; for it was divine. He dispensed with all worldly display, and showed that He regarded the gradations of society, fixed by opulence and rank, as of no value. He had laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, and had stepped down from His high command to bring to human beings power to become the sons of God; and earthly rank was not of the least value with Him. He could have brought with Him ten thousand angels if they would have helped Him in His work of redeeming the race.
5 Christ passed by the homes of the wealthy, the courts of royalty, the renowned seats of learning, and made His home in obscure and despised Nazareth. His life, from its beginning to its close, was a life of lowliness and humility. Poverty was made sacred by His life of poverty. He would not put on a dignity of attitude that would debar men and women, however lowly, from coming into His presence and listening to His teaching.
6 In choosing His disciples, Christ passed by the dignitaries of the Jewish nation, and chose lowly, unlearned fishermen. He chose men who had not been spoiled by praise or flattery, men who were not filled with self-sufficiency.
7 Of Christ’s teaching, the witness borne by those who heard Him is, “Never man spake like this Man.” This would have been true of Christ had He taught only in the realm of the physical and the intellectual, or in matters of theory and speculation solely. He might have unlocked mysteries that have required centuries of toil and study to penetrate. He might have made suggestions in scientific lines that, till the close of time, would have afforded food for thought and stimulus for invention. But He did not do this. He said nothing to gratify curiosity or stimulate selfish ambition. He did not deal in abstract theories, but in that which is essential to the development of character; that which will enlarge man’s capacity for knowing God, and increase his power to do good. He spoke of those truths that relate to the conduct of life, and that unite man with eternity.
8 Christ’s teaching, like His sympathies, embraced the world. Never can there be a circumstance of life, a crisis in human experience, which has not been anticipated in His teaching, and for which its principles have not a lesson. The Prince of teachers, His words will be found a guide to His co-workers till the end of time.
9 No teacher ever placed such signal honor upon man as did our Lord Jesus Christ. He was known as the friend of publicans and sinners. He mingled with all classes, and sowed the world with truth. In the marketplace and the synagog He proclaimed His message. He relieved every species of suffering, both physical and spiritual. Beside all waters He sowed the seeds of truth. His one desire was that all might have spiritual and physical soundness. He was the friend of every human being. Was He not pledged to bring life and light to all who would receive Him? Was He not pledged to give them power to become the sons of God? He gave himself wholly and entirely to the work of soul-saving.
10 Selfishness He sternly rebuked, sparing not even His disciples. “All ye are brethren,” He would say to any one seeking the highest place. Those who were unjust and unfair in their dealings writhed under His parables. He shielded no one, however high his position, who had been guilty of hypocrisy or fraud.
11 It was not only on the cross that Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity. As “He went about doing good,” every day’s experience was an outpouring of His life. In one way only could such a life be sustained. Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with Him. To the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, men now and then repair; they abide for a season, and the result is manifest in noble deeds; then their faith fails, the communion is interrupted, and the life-work marred. But the life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained by continual communion; and His service for heaven and earth was without failure or faltering. As a man He supplicated the throne of God, until His humanity was charged with a heavenly current that connected humanity with divinity. Receiving life from God, He imparted life to men.
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Page 1147
1 Adam became a law to himself, and discord and unhappiness came into his life. A separation was made between him and God.
2 Christ’s life was one of perfect obedience. Constantly He followed the pathway of obedience that He might set an example that all could follow.
3 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned; . . . even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
4 Think of what Christ’s obedience means to us. It means that in His strength we, too, may obey. He came to this world to show us what God can do for us, and what we can do in co-operation with God. In human flesh He went into the wilderness to be tempted by the enemy. He knows what it is to hunger and thirst. He knows the weakness and the infirmities of the flesh. He was tempted in all points like as we are tempted, yet without sin.
5
Our ransom has been paid by our Saviour. No one need be enslaved by Satan. Christ stands before us as our divine example, our all-powerful helper. We have been bought with a price that it is impossible to compute. Who can measure the goodness and mercy of redeeming love?
6 Those who are indeed adopted into the family of God are transformed by His Spirit. Self-indulgence and love for self is changed for self-denial and supreme love for God. No man inherits holiness of character by nature, nor can any man, in his own strength, become loyal to God. “Without Me,” Christ says, “ye can do nothing.” Human righteousness is as “filthy rags.” But with God all things are possible. In the strength of the Redeemer, weak, erring man can be made more than a conqueror over the evil that besets him.
7
As we see the condition of mankind today, the question arises in the minds of some, Is man by nature totally and wholly depraved? Is he hopelessly ruined?
8 Men have sold themselves to the enemy of all righteousness. They can not redeem themselves. Of themselves they can do no good thing. But there is a way of escape. When man sinned, Christ offered to stand as his substitute and surety, in order to provide a way whereby the guilty race might return to loyalty. He took humanity, and passed over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell. Without swerving from His allegiance, He met the temptations wherewith man is beset.
9 Only by accepting Christ as a personal Saviour can human beings be uplifted. Beware of any theory that would lead men to look for salvation from any other source than that pointed out in the Word. Only through Christ can men sunken in sin and degradation be led to a higher life. Theories that do not recognize the atonement that has been made for sin, and the work that the Holy Spirit is to do in the hearts of human beings, are powerless to save.
10 Man’s pride would lead him to seek for salvation in some other way than that devised by God. He is unwilling to be accounted as nothing, unwilling to recognize Christ as the only One who can save to the uttermost. To this pride Satan appealed in the temptation that he brought to our first parents. “Ye shall not surely die; . . . ye shall be as gods,” he said. And by belief of his words, they placed themselves on his side.
11 Of Christ it is written: “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.”
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Page 1148
1 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
2 We are to strive earnestly to reach the standard set before us. Not as a penance are we to do this, but as the only means of gaining true happiness. The only way to gain peace and joy is to have a living connection with Him who gave His life for us, who died that we might live, and who lives to unite His power with the efforts of those who in this life are striving to overcome.
3 Holiness is constant agreement with God. Shall we not be that which Christ so greatly desires us to be,—Christians in deed and in truth,—that the world may see in our lives a revelation of the saving power of truth? This world is our preparatory school, and while here we shall meet with trials and difficulties. But we are safe while we cleave to Him who gave His life as an offering for us. The whole world was gathered in the embrace of Christ. He died on the cross to give the death stroke to Satan, and to take away the sin of every believing soul. He calls upon us to offer ourselves on the altar of service, a living, consuming sacrifice. We are to make an unreserved surrender to God of all that we have and are.
4 In this lower school of earth we are to learn the lessons that will prepare us to enter the higher school, where our education will continue under the personal supervision of Christ. Then He will open to us the meaning of His word. We can not afford to miss the privilege of seeing His face. Shall we not put our whole souls into the work of preparing for admission into the higher school, where we shall see Christ face to face? Shall we not be determined to obey the word of God? Or shall we choose our own wisdom, and trifle away the day of gracious opportunity, wasting the years and months so rapidly passing into eternity.
5 Life is too short, the hours of probation too precious, for us to make a mistake in our religious life. Earnest men and women, filled with courage and devotion, are needed in the Master’s service. The call comes to us, “Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” As we obey this command, the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon mind and body, bringing us into conformity to the will of Christ, and renewing us in His likeness. The hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong will die, and Christ will be formed within, the hope of glory. It will be seen that we are indeed followers of Christ.
6 We are not to trust in our own wisdom, but in the wisdom of God. This will bring into the character the patience, kindness, and love of Christ. And we are to remember that in doing well the work nearest us, we shall be preparing for a wider field of usefulness. There is to be constant growth in grace. We are to make constant advancement in preparing for the future, immortal life. We shall leave behind no knowledge that in this world we have gained of God and heaven. This mental and spiritual wealth we shall take with us when we answer the call, Child, come up higher.
7 Let us strive to help those connected with us. To this work let us devote our tact and ingenuity. Let us reach higher and still higher for purity and devotion, our hearts filled with a desire to know the will of God. Let us consecrate our all to the service of humanity. We shall receive our reward in the future life. Reveal the living charm of the Saviour’s love. Represent Christ by revealing faith and hope and love. In short, copy the Pattern. Let your light shine forth in good works. Christians have no need or desire for the billiard table, the theater, the dancing hall, or the many other forms of worldly diversion. A Christian does nothing which he can not do to the glory of God, upon which he can not ask the Lord’s blessing.
8 Work as in the presence of heavenly intelligences. God calls for loyalty, for faithfulness; for we have been bought with a price. Stand firm for the right, and you will be more than conquerors through Him who loved you and gave His life for you.
9 It is faith and prayer that cast out evil spirits. We may ask Christ with full assurance of faith for enlarged capacity for service, for increased power to help souls. But let us remember constantly that it is through the Holy Spirit that we receive power and efficiency.
10 He who makes advancement in the school of Christ here below will at last pass through the pearly gates of the city of God, to enter the higher school, there to receive instruction from the divine Teacher. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”
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Page 1149
1 Repentance is one of the first-fruits of saving grace. Repentance includes sorrow for sin, and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin until we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life. Repentance is the only process by which infinite purity reflects the image of Christ in His redeemed subjects.
2 The great Teacher, in His lessons, presents the life-diffusing power of His grace, declaring that through His grace men and women may live the new life of holiness and purity. He who lives this life works out the principles of the kingdom of heaven. Taught of God, he leads others in straight paths. The working of the Holy Spirit in his life shows that he is a partaker of the divine nature. Every soul thus worked receives so abundant a supply of the rich grace of heaven that, beholding his good works, unbelievers acknowledge that he is controlled and sustained by divine power, and give to God the glory.
3 There are those who, notwithstanding all the gracious invitations of Christ, continue to reveal ungodliness in their lives. To such ones God says: “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at My reproof; behold I will pour out My spirit unto you; I will make known My words unto you.”
4 The most striking feature of the covenant of peace that the Lord has made with human beings is the exceeding richness of the pardoning mercy offered to the sinner if he repents and turns from sin. “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,” the Lord declares of those who repent, “and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Does God turn from justice in showing mercy to the sinner?—No; God can never dishonor His law by suffering it to be transgressed with impunity. Under the new covenant, perfect obedience is the condition of life. If the sinner repents, and confesses his sin, he will find pardon. Forgiveness is secured for him by Christ’s sacrifice in his behalf. Christ has paid the demands of the law for every repentant, believing sinner. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
5 The atonement that has been made for us by Christ is wholly satisfactory to the Father. God can be just, and yet the justifier of those who believe.
6 “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” By beholding Him, we may be changed into His image. The promise has been made, “I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” Through disobedience man forfeited holiness, accepting in its place the principles of unrighteousness. But by breaking the yoke that Satan has fastened upon him, and taking the yoke of Christ, learning of Him His meekness and lowliness, man is created anew. Christ has promised to write in the heart of every repentant sinner His law, which is holy, just, and good. He promises to renovate the soul, through the medium of truth. He diffuses His own life through the entire being. Thus the sinner is born again, and henceforth, in a life of loving service, he is to work out the grand, ennobling principles that he can take with him into the heavenly courts. There is placed upon him a new mould of character, which the world knows not, but which all must receive who obtain entrance into the courts above.
7 Well may we count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. This knowledge is the highest science that man can study. It is the sum of all true science. “This is life eternal,” Christ declared, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”
Page 1150
1 The education received by Moses in the court of Egypt, as the adopted son of the king’s daughter, was very thorough. Nothing was neglected that was necessary to make him a wise man, as the Egyptians understood wisdom. But this education did not fit him to do the work to which God had appointed him. In the wilds of Midian, Moses spent forty years as a keeper of sheep. Apparently cut off forever from his life’s mission, he was receiving the discipline necessary for its fulfilment. As he led his flocks through the wilds of the mountains and into the green pastures of the valleys, the God of nature gave him the highest and grandest wisdom. In the school of nature, with Christ Himself for teacher, he learned lessons of humility, meekness, faith, and trust, and daily his soul was bound closer to God. In the solitudes of the mountains he learned that which all the instruction received in the king’s palace was unable to impart to him,—simple, unwavering faith and trust in the Lord.
2 Prior to gaining this experience, Moses thought that his education in the wisdom of Egypt had fully qualified him to lead Israel from bondage. Had he not had the greatest advantages of the best schools in the land? Was he not learned in all things necessary for a general of armies to know? He felt that he was fully able to deliver Israel.
3 Moses set about his work by trying to obtain the favor of his people by redressing their wrongs. He killed an Egyptian who was ill-treating an Israelite. In this he manifested the spirit of him who was a murderer from the beginning, and proved himself unfit to represent the God of mercy, love, and tenderness. He made a miserable failure of his first attempt. Like many another, he immediately lost confidence in God and turned, his back on his appointed work. He fled from the wrath of Pharaoh. He concluded that because of his mistake, his sin in taking the life of the Egyptian, God would not permit him to have any part in the work of delivering His people from their cruel bondage. But the Lord permitted him to make this mistake in order that He might be able to teach him the gentleness, goodness, longsuffering, that is necessary for every worker for the Lord to possess.
4 A knowledge of the attributes of God’s character can not be obtained by means of the highest education in the most scientific schools. From the great Teacher alone is this knowledge obtained. Only in the school of Christ are taught effectively the lessons of meekness, lowliness, and reverence for sacred things.
5 Moses had been taught to expect praise and flattery, because of his superior abilities; but now he was to learn a different lesson. As a shepherd, he was taught to care for the afflicted, to seek patiently for the straying, to bear long with the unruly, to supply with loving solicitude the necessities of the young and the feeble.
6 As these phases of his character were developed, he was drawn nearer to the great Shepherd. He became united to the Holy One of Israel. Through humble prayer he held communion with the Father. He looked to the Highest for an education in spiritual things and for an understanding of his duty as a faithful shepherd. So closely linked with Heaven did he become that God talked with him face to face.
7 Thus prepared, Moses was ready to heed the call of God to exchange the shepherd’s crook for the rod of authority; to leave his flock of sheep to take the leadership of more than a million idolatrous, rebellious people. But he was ever to depend on his invisible Leader. Even as the rod was simply an instrument in his hands, so he was to be a willing instrument in the hands of Christ.
8 Faith moves forward in the strength and wisdom of God, not in human self-sufficiency. By faith Moses was enabled to press through difficulties, and to overcome obstacles which seemed almost unsurmountable. It was this implicit faith in God that made Moses what he was. According to all that the Lord had commanded, so did he. All the learning of the wise men could not make him a channel for God’s working. But when he lost his self-confidence, and, realizing his helplessness, put his entire trust in God; when he was willing to obey Heaven’s commands, whether they seemed to human reason proper or not, then the Lord could work mightily through him.
9 By submitting to God’s discipline, Moses became a channel through which the Lord could work. He did not hesitate to change his way for the Lord’s way, even tho it did lead him in strange, untried paths. He placed a very low estimate on his own ability to carry forward successfully the great work entrusted to him. But he did not endeavor to show the unreasonableness of God’s commands, and the impossibility of obeying them. To all human appearances, he had started out in a hopeless undertaking; but he put his trust in Him with whom all things are possible, and went forward without faltering.
10 The faith of Moses puts to shame the unbelief of many in our day who have had far greater opportunities for obtaining a knowledge of God than Moses had. At the command of God, Moses moved forward, tho often it seemed that there was nothing ahead for his feet to tread upon. More than a million people were depending on him, and, step by step, day by day, he lead them through the wilderness. It was not the education received in Egypt that enabled Moses to triumph over his enemies, but an ever-abiding, unflinching faith, which did not fail under the most trying circumstances.
11 When Moses received a command from God to do a certain thing he did it, without stopping to ask what the consequences might be. Those who refuse to move forward until they see every step plainly marked out before them, will never accomplish much; but those who have unswerving trust in the Lord, and who obey without questioning, will be successful workers.
12 Today God is not seeking for men of perfect education, but for men who will honor Him by rendering implicit obedience to His requirements. There is no limit to the usefulness of those who, putting self out of sight, make room for the working of the Holy Spirit on their hearts, and live lives wholly consecrated to God, enduring the discipline imposed by the Lord without complaining or fainting by the way. God longs to reveal His salvation to the children of men; and if men and women will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through human channels.
13 Many who are seeking efficiency for the service of God by perfecting their education in the schools of the world will find that they have failed of learning the more important lessons which the Lord would teach them. By neglecting to submit to the impressions of the Spirit, by refusing to live in obedience to God’s requirements, they have weakened their spiritual efficiency and lost their ability to do successful work for the Lord. By absenting themselves from the school of Christ, they have forgotten the voice of the divine Teacher, and He can not direct their way. Men may acquire all the knowledge that human teachers can impart, but God requires them to gain a higher wisdom than this. Like Moses, they must learn meekness, lowliness, and distrust of self. They must learn that in humanity alone there is no strength. Only by becoming partakers of the divine nature can we gain efficiency for the work of God.
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Page 1151
1 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him. And going on from thence, He saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.”
2 The prompt obedience of these men, without one question, without one promise of wages, seems remarkable; but the words of Christ were an invitation which implied all that He meant them to. There was an impelling influence in His words. He made no long explanation, but what He said had a drawing power.
3 Christ would make these humble fishermen, in connection with Himself, the means of taking men out of the service of Satan, and placing them in the service of God. In this work they would become His witnesses, bearing to the world His truth unmingled with the traditions and sophistries of men. By practising His virtues, by walking and working with Him, they were to be qualified to be fishers of men. They were to be His prime ministers. But He did not tell them to go to worldly schools, to obtain the advantages of worldly cultivation. He did not tell them to go to the Jewish synagogues to learn of the rabbis their customs and traditions, in order that they might be prepared for the work He had for them to do as His evangelists. They were not to be teachers after the manner of the Jewish educators. “Follow Me,” Christ said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
4 Thus the first disciples were appointed to the work of the Gospel ministry. For three years they were workers with the Saviour, and by His teaching, His works of healing, His example, they were being prepared to carry on the work that He began.
5 His treasure of knowledge was put into earthen vessels. By the simplicity of faith, by pure, humble service, the disciples were being educated in the school of Christ to carry responsibilities of the same kind that He was bearing.
6 Certainly Christ chose the foolish things of this world, those whom the world pronounced ignorant and unlearned, to confound the wise. The disciples were unlearned in the traditions of the rabbis, but with Christ as their example and their teacher, they were gaining an education of the highest order. Christ was preparing them to proclaim truths of the highest order.
7
Those who preach Christ must learn daily of Christ, in order to understand the mystery of saving and serving the souls for whom He died. They must bring into their work no pride or self-indulgence. In thought, word, and deed they are to reveal the spiritual refinement, the Christlike courtesy, that connection with the Saviour gives. His love and compassion are constantly to be manifested in their lives.
8 “Follow Me,” said the great Teacher, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Those who obey this call must work with hearts filled with Christlike love for souls. In all things they must follow the example of the Saviour, sharing His tender compassion and His sternness against all evil working. Christ is the great Pattern for all. We are to be workers together with Him. Those who are in His service are to separate from all business entanglements that would tarnish their Christlikeness of character. The fishermen that the Saviour called straightway left their nets. Those who give themselves to the work of the ministry must not entangle themselves in business lines that would bring coarseness into their lives, and hinder them from making advancement in spiritual things.
9 In this closing work of the Gospel there is a vast field to be occupied; and more than ever before, the work is to enlist helpers from the common people. Both the youth and those older in years will be called from the field, from the vineyard, and from the workshop, and sent forth by the Master to give His message. Many of these have had little opportunity for education; but Christ sees in them qualifications that will enable them to fulfill His purpose. If they put their hearts into the work, and continue to be learners, He will fit them to labor for Him.
10 He who knows the depths of the world’s misery and despair, knows by what means to bring relief. He sees on every hand souls in darkness, bowed down with sin and sorrow and pain. But He sees also their possibilities; He sees the height to which they may attain. Altho human beings have abused their mercies, wasted their talents, and lost the dignity of godlike manhood, the Creator is to be glorified in their redemption.
11 The burden of labor for these needy ones in the rough places of the earth, Christ lays upon those who can feel for the ignorant and for such as are out of the way. He will be present to help those whose hearts are susceptible to pity, tho their hands may be rough and unskilled. He will work through those who can see mercy in misery, and gain in loss. When the Light of the world passes by, privilege will be discerned in hardship, order in confusion, success in apparent failure. Calamities will be seen as disguised blessings; woes, as mercies. Laborers from the common people, sharing the sorrows of the whole human race, will by faith see Him working with them.
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Page 1152
1 The knowledge of God is as a great ocean, without bottom or shore. No line can fathom it, no eye measure it. Every needy soul may be supplied from this boundless sea. In every emergency, in every time of need, men and women may receive God’s grace and power, and yet there will be no lessening of the supply. God’s great resources can not be too heavily drawn upon. The gifts provided for all true, earnest seekers after truth are without measure.
2 In all ages God has given human beings divine revelations, that thus He may fulfil His purpose of unfolding gradually the doctrines of grace. His manner of imparting truth is illustrated by the words, “His going forth is prepared as the morning.” He who places himself where God can enlighten him, advances, as it were, from the partial obscurity of dawn to the full radiance of noonday.
3 A cold, lifeless theory is not a knowledge of God. Those who have a knowledge of God must have His love, must understand its sacrifice, its condescension. The hungry mind and heart must receive His grace, to impart to others its fulness, its sufficiency. It is not a head acceptance of truth, but heart reception, that moulds and fashions aright the emotions and impulses of the soul, making it tender and compassionate, humble and contrite. Christ received into the soul makes man one with God in His beloved Son. Then the love of the Redeemer is acknowledged as beyond all estimate. And more than this: the life and character are changed by the presence of the indwelling Saviour.
4 Only when the heart is moulded and fashioned by the love of God can human beings reveal Christ. Then and then only can they impart the knowledge of God as it shines in the face of His Son. The Holy Spirit is with them, quickening their minds, showing that Bible truth has life-giving power, power to convict hearts and transform lives. The lifting up of Christ’s countenance upon the human agent, the glorious light shining from His face, makes all things clear.
5 The knowledge of God is the knowledge of all truth, and is the beginning of all understanding. It is our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption. To those who receive and practise them, the truths of the Word of God are as the leaves of the tree of life. But before man can receive these truths, he must realize his need.
6
Self—the old disobedient nature—must be crucified, and Christ must take up His abode in the heart. Thus the human agent is born again, with a new nature. The newborn child of God begins to have some conception of what God is. To all intents and purposes, truth is truth to him. He has caught a glimpse of God’s glory. A sense of his accountability to God quenches the unholy ambition that keeps upon the soul a galling yoke of guilt. The light in which he enters is softened and subdued, tempered to suit his condition. By daily beholding Jesus and striving to practise His virtues, his spiritual perceptions grow clearer and stronger.
7 God says, “A new heart will I give you.” Every learner may be renewed in knowledge and true holiness. The ransom of an enslaved race was Christ’s purpose in coming to this earth. Christ alone can make us free. And those whom He makes free are free indeed. His power breaks the yoke of bondage that binds man to the great deceiver. But how many there are who are unwilling to allow Christ to break their shackles. How many there are who choose to cling to the thraldom of sin.
8 The Gospel of Christ is truly believed only when it is practised. Faith is justified by works. Self must be hid; Christ must appear as the Chiefest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely. When an unreserved surrender of the powers of the whole being is made to the Saviour, self no longer strives for the mastery. What man needs today is the crucifixion of self and the revelation in his life of Christ, the hope of glory. Then will be fulfilled the words, “Ye are the light of the world.”
9 As yet we have scarcely been a light in the world, because we cling to our sinful practises. We have been too well satisfied with the twilight glow of heavenly enlightenment. We have not yet gained the experience that would make us feel at home in heaven. As yet we are but stepping over the threshold of the sanctuary containing the truth that every one who enters heaven must receive and practise.
Page 1153
1 Read the record of Christ’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. Never before or since has so fearful a strain been brought upon a human being as that which God permitted to be brought upon His Son at this time. It is not possible for His suffering and distress to be exceeded; for He was bearing the sins of the whole world; and in all His suffering He gave an example of absolute submission to the divine will. The sinless Son of God was treated as a sinner, that sinful human beings might be treated as innocent. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” He laid off His royal robe and kingly crown, and clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might live in our behalf a life of sinlessness, and on the cross make an atonement for our transgressions. He consented to take the body of humanity. He could have refused to be thus humiliated; but it was to suffer humiliation and death that He came into the world.
2 It was the anguish of separation from His Father’s favor that made Christ’s sufferings so acute. As the agony of soul came upon Him, “He sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” His terrible suffering, caused by the thought that in this hour of need God had forsaken Him, portrays the anguish that the sinner will feel when, too late, he realizes that God’s Spirit has been withdrawn from him.
3 Christ’s human nature recoiled from the trial, and with strong crying and tears he said, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” The humanity of Christ trembled in that trying hour. The awful moment had come,—that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity hung in the balance. Christ might even now refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty man. It was not yet too late. He might wipe the bloody sweat from His brow, and leave man to perish in his iniquity. He might say, Let the transgressor receive the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to My Father. Will the Son of God drink the bitter cup of humiliation and agony. Will the innocent suffer the consequences of the curse of sin, to save the guilty? The words fall tremblingly from the pale lips of Jesus, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
4 How little can we enter into this dreadful experience through which the Saviour passed. His prayer was heard, in that He feared. What did He fear?— That He would refuse to drink the cup of suffering. But a refusal to drink this cup would mean that no human being could be saved. Only by His suffering and death could human beings be placed on vantage-ground. Only by drinking of the bitter cup of imputed transgression could He save the race from perishing in sin.
5
Christ drank the bitter draught to the very dregs. He was not spared one pang of anguish. This was His hour, and the power of darkness. In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the Sufferer, the heavens opened, a light shone forth amidst the darkness, and the mighty angel who stands in God’s presence, from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ. The angel came not to take the cup from Christ’s hands, but to strengthen Him to drink it, with the assurance of the Father’s love. He came to give power to the divine-human Suppliant He pointed Him to the open heavens, telling Him of the souls that would be saved as the result of His sufferings. He assured Him that His Father is greater and more powerful than Satan, that His death would result in the discomfiture of Satan, and that the kingdom of this world would be given to the saints of the Most High. He told Him that He would see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied, for He would see a multitude of the race saved, eternally saved.
6 Christ had spoken to His disciples of the experience awaiting Him. “I have a baptism to be baptized with,” He said, “and how am I straightened till it be accomplished?” He could not but feel a dread, as He thought of what that hour would bring to Him. Fear came upon Him, as He thought of the strain that His humanity would have to bear, and the prayer came from His lips, “Father, save Me from this hour.” Then He added, “But for this cause came I unto this hour.” He had pledged Himself to bear the penalty of sin. He had entered into a covenant to offer a sacrifice that would make possible the salvation of every repentant sinner.
7 Only through the death of Christ could Satan’s kingdom be overthrown. Only thus could man be redeemed, and God be glorified. Jesus consented to the agony, He accepted the sacrifice. The Majesty of heaven consented to suffer as the Sin-bearer. “Father, glorify Thy name,” He said. As Christ spoke these words, a response came from the cloud which hovered above His head, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Christ’s whole life, from the manger to the time when these words were spoken, had glorified God; and in the coming trial His divine-human sufferings would indeed glorify His Father’s name.
8
Christ bore the sins of the whole world. He was the second Adam. Taking upon Himself human nature, He passed over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell. Having taken humanity, He has an intense interest in human beings. He felt keenly the sinfulness, the shame, of sin. He is our Elder Brother. He came to prove that human beings can, through the power of God, live sinless lives.
9 Satan had made the boast that he would gather the world under his banner of rebellion. He declared that man could not keep the law of God. Christ came to prove this assertion false. He came to meet all the temptations wherewith man is beset, and to endure all the trials that we are called to endure. He was tempted in all points like as we are tempted, yet His life was without spot or stain of sin. He redeemed Adam’s failure, and worked out for us a perfect character.
10
Christ did not yield up His life until He had accomplished the work that He came to do, and with His parting breath He exclaimed, “It is finished.” The battle had been won. His right arm had gotten Him the victory. As a conqueror He planted His banner on the eternal heights. Was there not joy among the angels? All heaven triumphed in the Saviour’s victory. Satan was defeated, and knew that his kingdom was lost.
11 Could one sin have been found in Christ, had He in one particular yielded to Satan in order to escape the terrible torture, the enemy of God and man would have triumphed. Christ bowed His head and died, but He held fast His faith in God. “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”
12 No one need be overcome by Satan’s assaults. Christ has conquered for every son and daughter of Adam. He came to cut every thread that binds human beings to Satan. His life of pure, unselfish service is our example. Let us study His work in our world. As we stand at the foot of the cross, and behold the infinite sacrifice made in our behalf, we shall be humbled and subdued. Our hearts will be filled with a desire to practise the self-denial and sacrifice seen in Christ’s life. Self will sink out of sight. All worldly ambition, all desire for earthly gain, will be quenched. We shall count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. Our highest aim will be to know Him, “and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.”
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Page 1154
1 As a Christian submits to the solemn rite of baptism, the three highest powers in the universe,—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,—place their approval on his act, pledging themselves to exert their power in his behalf as he strives to honor God. He is buried in the likeness of Christ’s death, and is raised in the likeness of His resurrection. The Saviour went down into the grave, but He rose from the dead, proclaiming over the rent sepulcher, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
2 The three great powers of heaven pledge themselves to furnish the Christian with all the assistance he requires. The Spirit changes the heart of stone to the heart of flesh. And by partaking of the Word of God, Christians obtain an experience that is after the divine similitude. When Christ abides in the heart by faith, the Christian is the temple of God. Christ does not abide in the heart of the sinner, but in the heart of him who is susceptible to the influences of heaven.
3 The light that shines forth from the life of the true Christian testifies to his union with Christ. Self is hidden from view, and Christ is revealed. Heaven recognizes the fulfilment of the promise, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” Then those whose lives have been hidden with Christ, those who on this earth have fought the good fight of faith, will shine forth with the Redeemer’s glory in the kingdom of God.
4 My brother, my sister, God’s purpose for you is that you shall live a life that will make others better,—a life which will show that Christ is formed within, the hope of glory. It is His purpose that you shall be able to say with the apostle Paul, “I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” In perfect content, resting in the love of Christ, trusting the Redeemer and Life-giver to work out for you the salvation of your soul, you will know, as you draw nearer and still nearer to Him, what it means to endure the seeing of Him who is invisible. God desires us to rest content in His love. The contentment that Christ bestows is a gift worth infinitely more than gold and silver and precious stones.
5 Love the right because it is right, and analyze your feelings, your impressions, in the light of the Word of God. Misdirected ambition will lead you into sorrow as surely as you yield to it. Cherish an ambition that will bring glory to God because it is sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Consecrate every power of your being to the accomplishment of a holy work. Make every effort, in and through the grace of Christ, to reach the high standard set before you. You can be perfect in your sphere, even as God is perfect in His sphere. Has not Christ declared, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as you Father which is in heaven is perfect”?
6 Our lives are pure only when we are under the control of God, and happy only when we hold communion with Him. The luster possessed by those who have gained the richest experience is but the reflection of the light of the Sun of Righteousness. He who lives nearest to Jesus shines the brightest. And let us thank God that the Master has His hidden ones whose value may not be recognized by the world, but whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. The Lord knoweth them that are His. “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
7 “Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings.”
8 I am so glad that we have a God who understands,—a God who will reward every man according as his work shall be.
9 I long to see Christians who are harmonious in all their parts. It is so sad to see those whose lives are a jumble of opposites. Christians must be Christlike. The life of a true, lovable Christian is the most powerful argument that can be produced in favor of the Gospel.
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Page 1155
1 “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
2 More precious than the golden wedge of Ophir is the power of right thought. We need to place a high value upon the right control of our thoughts; for such control prepares us to labor for the Master. It is necessary for our peace and happiness in this life that our thoughts center in Christ. As a man thinketh, so is he.
3 The merciful shall find mercy, and the pure in heart shall see God. Every impure thought defiles the soul, impairs the moral sense, and tends to obliterate the impressions of the Holy Spirit. It dims to spiritual vision, so that men can not behold God. The Lord may and does forgive the repenting sinner; but tho forgiven, the soul is marred. All impurity of speech and thought must be shunned by him who would have clear discernment of spiritual truth.
4 Evil thoughts destroy the soul. The converting power of God changes the heart, refining and purifying the thoughts. Unless a determined effort is made to keep the thoughts centered on Christ, grace can not reveal itself in the life. The mind must engage in the spiritual warfare. Every thought must be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. All the habits must be brought under God’s control.
5 We need a constant sense of the ennobling power of pure thoughts and the damaging influence of evil thoughts. Let us place our thoughts upon holy things. Let them be pure and true; for the only security for any soul is right-thinking. We are to use every means that God has placed within our reach for the government and cultivation of our thoughts. We are to bring our minds into harmony with Christ’s mind. His truth will sanctify us, body, soul, and spirit, and we shall be enabled to rise above temptation.
6 “The prince of this world cometh,” said Jesus, “and hath nothing in Me.” There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan’s sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So may it be with us. Christ’s humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.
7 And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan?—By the Word of God. Only by the Word could He resist temptation. “It is written,” He said. And unto us are given “exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Every promise in God’s Word is ours. “By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” are we to live. When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the Word. All its strength is yours. “Thy word,” says the psalmist, “have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” “By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”
Page 1156
1 The work of soul-saving is to be carried forward by aggressive warfare, in the midst of opposition, peril, loss, and suffering. The life of a Christian is compared to the life of a soldier. “Thou therefore endure hardness,” Paul wrote to Timothy, “as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
2 Soldiers engaged in battle have to meet difficulties and hardships. Coarse food is given them, and that often in limited quantities. They must make long, weary marches, day by day, over rough roads and under the burning sun, camping out at night, sleeping perhaps on the bare ground, with only the canopy of heaven for a covering, exposed to drenching rains and chilling frosts, hungry, faint, exhausted, now standing as a target for the foe, now in deadly encounter. Thus they learn what active service means.
3 The idea that Christ’s followers can be excused from the conflict, meeting no trials and at all times enjoying the comforts and even the luxuries of life, is a fearful mistake. The Christian life is a battle and a march, calling for aggressive warfare, perseverance, and endurance. It is not mimic battles in which we are engaged. This is no make-believe conflict. We have most powerful adversaries to meet. Those who serve under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel will be given difficult work, which will tax every power of the being. They will have painful trials to endure for Christ’s sake. They will have conflicts which will rend the soul. But if they are faithful soldiers, they will say, “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
4 “I have fought a good fight,” Paul declared. His words to the Corinthians describe the conflict that he endured: “In all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
5 Not all who enter the army can be generals, captains, sergeants, or even corporals. Not all are called to bear the care and responsibility of leaders. There is hard work of other kinds to be done. While there are but few officers, it requires many soldiers to form the rank and file of the army; and its success depends upon the fidelity of every soldier.
6 An army would be demoralized if the soldiers did not obey the orders of the leader. They must act in concert. Union is strength; without union efforts are meaningless. Whatever excellent qualities a soldier may possess, he can not be safe and trustworthy if he claims a right to act independently of his fellow comrades. This independent action can not be maintained in the service of Christ. The soldiers of the cross must move in concert.
7 He who enters Christ’s army must obey His orders. He has placed himself under the Saviour’s leadership, and he is to give Him willing obedience. He is to speak no word, perform no act, that would misrepresent the high and holy principles by which the kingdom of heaven is to be governed.
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Page 1157
1 Man was originally endowed with noble powers and a well-balanced mind. He was perfect in his being, and in harmony with God. His thoughts were pure, his aims holy. But through disobedience his powers were perverted, and selfishness took the place of love. His nature became so weakened through transgression that it was impossible for him, in his own strength, to resist the power of evil. He was made captive by Satan, and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed. It was the tempter’s purpose to thwart the divine plan in man’s creation, and fill the earth with woe and desolation. And he points to all this evil as the result of God’s work in creating man.
2 In his sinless state, man held joyful communion with Him in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. But after his sin he could no longer find joy in holiness, and he sought to hide from the presence of God.
3 It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we can not change them. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?—Not one.” “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Education, culture the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they can not change the heart; they can not purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before man can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.
4 “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, . . . to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” In Christ God has provided
and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the Word of God. Then grasp the promise, “Him that cometh to Me, I will in nowise cast out.” Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, “Lord, I believe help Thou mine unbelief. You can never perish while you do this—never.
5 Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. He does not tell to any one all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.
6 Christ might commission the angels of heaven to pour out the vials of His wrath on our world, to destroy those who are filled with hatred of God. He might wipe this dark spot from His universe. But He does not do this. He is today standing at the altar of incense, presenting before God the prayers of those who desire His help.
7 The souls that turn to Him for refuge, Jesus lifts above the accusing and the strife of tongues. No man or evil angel can impeach these souls. Christ unites them to His own divine-human nature. They stand before the great Sin-bearer, in the light proceeding from the throne of God. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
8 The work of Christ in cleansing the leper from his terrible disease is an illustration of His work in cleansing the soul from sin. The man who came to Jesus was “full of leprosy.” Its deadly poison had permeated his whole body. The disciples sought to prevent their Master from touching him, for he who touched a leper became himself unclean. But in laying His hand upon the leper, Jesus received no defilement.
9
The leprosy was cleansed. Thus it is with the leprosy of sin—deep-rooted, deadly, and impossible to be cleansed by human power. “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores.” But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution. His presence has healing virtue for the sinner. Whoever will fall at His feet, saying in faith, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,” shall hear the answer, “I will be thou clean.”
10 The Saviour never passed by one soul, however sunken in sin, who was willing to receive the precious truth of heaven. To publicans and harlots His words were as the beginning of a new life. Mary Magdalene, out of whom He cast seven devils, was the last at the Saviour’s tomb, and the first whom He greeted in the morning of His resurrection. It was Saul of Tarsus, one of the most determined enemies of the Gospel, who became Paul, the devoted minister of Christ.
11 The dying thief, seeing in Jesus the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world, cried, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom.”
12 Quickly the answer came, full of love, compassion, and power: “Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.”
13 As Christ spoke the words of promise, the dark cloud that seemed to enshroud the cross was pierced with a bright and living light. To the penitent thief came
Christ in His humiliation was glorified. He who in all other eyes appeared to be conquered was a conqueror. He was acknowledged as the Sin-bearer. Men might exercise power over His human body. They might pierce the holy temple with the crown of thorns. They might strip from Him His raiment, and quarrel over its division. But they could not rob Him of His power to forgive sins. In dying He bore witness to His own divinity and to the glory of the Father. His ear is not heavy that it can not hear, neither is His arm shortened that it can not save. It is His royal right to save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by Him. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Page 1158
1 To us has been given the message of Christ’s soon coming. At the ascension of our Lord, angels stood beside the disciples, and with them watched the Saviour as He passed into the heavens. Then they turned to the disciples with the word, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
2 Are we preparing for this great event? Are we preparing to meet the Saviour in peace, or are we absorbed in worldly business and pleasure? In the judgment, the question will not be, What profession did you make? but, What have you done for Me? What fruit have you borne to My glory? Now is the time to prepare for the coming King.
3 As John saw the multitude standing around the throne of God, the question was asked, “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?” The angel answered, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” At infinite cost a fountain has been prepared for our cleansing. If we now wash our robes of character at this fountain, God will give us a place in the mansions that are being prepared for those who love Him.
4
Only the covering which Christ Himself has provided can make us meet to appear in God’s presence. This covering, the robe of His own righteousness, Christ will put upon every repenting, believing soul. “I counsel thee,” He says, “to buy of Me . . . white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.”
5 This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has in it not one thread of human devising. Christ in His humanity wrought out a perfect character, and this character He offers to impart to us. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Everything that we of ourselves can do is defiled by sin. But the Son of God was “manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” Sin is defined to be “the transgression of the law.” But Christ was obedient to every requirement of the law. He said of Himself, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.” When on earth He said to His disciples, “I have kept My Father’s commandments.” By His perfect obedience, He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ the heart is united with His heart; the will is merged in His will; the mind becomes one with His mind; the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. Then, as the Lord looks upon us, He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.
6
Sad will be the retrospect in that day when men stand face to face with eternity. The whole life will present itself just as it has been. The world’s pleasures, riches, and honors will not then seem so important. Men will then see that the righteousness they despised is alone of value. They will see that they have fashioned their characters under the deceptive allurements of Satan. The garments they have chosen are the badge of their allegiance to the first great apostate. Then they will see the results of their choice. They will have a knowledge of what it means to transgress the commandments of God.
7 There will be no second probation in which to prepare for eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments.
8 The days of our probation are fast closing. The end is near. Solemnly there come down to us through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Beware lest it find you unready. Take heed lest you be found at the King’s feast without a wedding garment. “In such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.” “Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
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Page 1159
1 The glory of God is displayed in His handiwork. Here are mysteries that the mind will become strong in searching out. Minds that have been amused and abused by reading fiction may in nature have an open book, and read truth in the works of God around them. All may find themes for study in the simple leaf of the forest tree, the spires of grass covering the earth with their green, velvet carpet, the plants and flowers, the stately trees of the forest, the lofty mountains, the granite rocks, the restless ocean, the precious gems of light studding the heavens to make the night beautiful, the exhaustless riches of the sunlight, the solemn glories of the moon, the winter’s cold, the summer’s heat, the changing, recurrent seasons in perfect order and harmony, controlled by infinite power; here are subjects which call for deep thought, for the stretch of the imagination.
2 If the frivolous and pleasure-seeking will allow their minds to dwell upon the real and true, the heart can not but be filled with reverence, and they will adore the God of nature. The contemplation and study of God’s character as revealed in His created works will open a field of thought that will draw the mind away from low, debasing, enervating amusements.
3 The knowledge of God’s works and ways we can only begin to obtain in this world; the study will be continued throughout eternity. God has provided for man subjects of thought which will bring into activity every faculty of the mind. We may read the character of the Creator in the heavens above and the earth beneath, filling the heart with gratitude and thanksgiving. Every nerve and sense will respond to the expressions of God’s love in His marvellous works.
4 God, who created everything lovely and beautiful that the eye rests upon, is a lover of the beautiful. He shows us how he estimates true beauty. The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is in His sight of great price. Shall we not seek earnestly to gain that which God estimates as more valuable than costly dress, or pearls, or gold? The inward adorning, the grace of meekness, a spirit in harmony with the heavenly angels, will not lessen true dignity of character, or make us less lovely here in this world.
5 The Redeemer has warned us against the pride of life, but not against its grace and natural beauty. He pointed to the glowing beauty of the flowers of the field, and said, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Here He shows that, even though persons may toil with weariness to make themselves objects of admiration, that which they value so highly will not bear comparison with the flowers of the field. Even these simple flowers, with God’s adornment, would outvie in loveliness the gorgeous apparel of Solomon. In the growth and development of nature, learn the principles of Christ’s kingdom. Thus the light of heaven will quicken the mind. Christ Himself will be your teacher. Those who combine with their school education a knowledge of God’s working through physical life, in the garden of nature, will receive lessons simple, yet full of instruction, in regard to His working through spiritual life, in the garden of the heart.
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Page 1160
1 There are many passages of Scripture which, in their tender adaptation to the needs of men, are God’s own messages of comfort to His trusting children. A beautiful illustration of this occurs in the history of the apostle Peter. Peter was in prison, expecting to be brought forth the next day to death; he was sleeping at night “between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison, and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.”
2 Peter, suddenly awaking, was amazed at the brightness that flooded his dungeon, and the celestial beauty of the heavenly messenger. He understood not the scene, but he knew that he was free, and in his bewilderment and joy he would have gone forth from the prison unprotected from the cold night air. The angel of God, noting all the circumstances, said, with tender care for the apostle’s needs, “Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals.” Peter mechanically obeyed; but so entranced was he with the revelation of the glory of heaven, that he did not think to take his cloak. Then the angel bade him, “Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.”
3 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate which leadeth into the city; which opened to them of his own accord. And they went out, and passed through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.” The apostle found himself in the streets of Jerusalem alone. “And when Peter was come to himself, he said, “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”
4 Skeptics may sneer at the thought that a glorious angel from heaven should give attention to a matter so commonplace as caring for simple human needs, and may question the inspiration of the narrative. But in the wisdom of God these things are recorded in sacred history for the benefit, not of angels, but of men, that as they should be brought into trying places, they might find comfort in the thought that Heaven knows it all. Jesus declared to His disciples that not a sparrow falls to the ground without the notice of the heavenly Father, and if God keeps in mind the little birds, how much more will He care for those who through faith in Him may become heirs of eternal life.
5 O, if the human mind were to comprehend—in such a measure as the plan of redemption can be comprehended by human minds—the work of Jesus in taking upon Himself our nature, and what is to be accomplished for us by this marvelous condescension, the hearts of men and women would be melted with gratitude at the thought of God’s great love, and in humility they would adore the divine wisdom that devised the mystery of grace.
6 Today angels of heaven are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. We know not now who they are; it is not yet made manifest who shall overcome and share the inheritance of the saints in light; but angels of heaven are passing throughout the length and breadth of the earth, seeking to comfort the sorrowing, to protect the imperilled, to win the hearts of men to Christ. Not one is neglected or passed by. God is no respecter of persons, and He has an equal care for all the souls He has created.
7 Heaven and earth are no wider apart today than when shepherds listened to the angels’ song. Humanity is still as much the object of Heaven’s solicitude as when common men of common occupations met angels at noonday, and talked with the heavenly messengers in the vineyards and fields. To us in the common walks of life, heaven may be very near. Angels from the courts above will attend the steps of those who come and go at God’s command.
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Page 1161
1 In our behalf the Saviour gave Himself to a life of self-denial and sacrifice. He laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, and stepped down from His position as commander in the heavenly courts, to take humanity upon Himself, and stand at the head of the human race. He came to be tempted as man is tempted, to pass through the vicissitudes through which human beings are called to pass, and to live a life of sinlessness, showing to all the “better part” that they may obtain by living for God, through the grace received from heaven. For our sake He became poor, that we might come into possession of eternal riches He took our nature upon Him, that we might be partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. He subjects Himself to poverty and temptation, that human beings, seeing His example, listening to His teaching, obeying His lessons, might obtain everlasting life—even an eternal weight of glory.
2 O Jesus, what humiliation, what suffering, what trial, Thou didst endure to procure for us happiness in this world and in the world to come! Thou wast wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Thee, and by Thy stripes we are healed.
3 It is a marvel to the angels that human beings should choose to be incapable of realizing how greatly Christ humiliated Himself in their behalf. They marvel that men and women do not rejoice to acknowledge Christ as their Saviour, to accept Him as their Leader, and to follow His example of self-denial.
4 The course followed by human beings seems to the angels strangely inconsistent. They wonder why beings dependent on their Creator for every breath they draw act so unreasonably; why they choose the side of the one who crucified Christ, and who has filled the world with envy and strife and jealousy.
5 Can we, as reasoning beings, regard as wise the choice that leads us to stand under the black banner of rebellion, rather than under the banner of Prince Emmanuel?
6
Christ is the Lord our righteousness. Let us take our stand on His side. Let none be ashamed to acknowledge Him as their leader, their counselor, their guide, and their exceeding great reward. Is this sacrificing anything? Is it an honor to be numbered among Satan’s army? Those who make this choice gain nothing. Only death, eternal death, awaits them.
7 Satan charged God with possessing the attributes that he himself possessed. Christ came to this world to reveal God’s character as it really is. He is the perfect representation of the Father. His life of sinlessness, lived on this earth in human nature, is a refutation of Satan’s charge against the character of God.
8 Christ is the Light of the World, pure, clear, and undimmed. This light shines out in sharp contrast with Satan’s gloom. Into the darkness of error and deception it casts a light that is a perpetual reproach to the sin of the world. Our Redeemer did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. He is “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” He offers to cover our unworthiness with the spotless robe of His righteousness.
9 Christ is constantly inviting us, Look unto Me. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. No man can look to Christ without being strengthened and uplifted. By beholding Him, we are changed into His likeness, and cherish the same spirit. All sullenness, all gloom, are gone. The experience of the Christian is as clear as the sunlight. His constant question is, What shall I render to Thee for all Thine infinite love and mercy to me? I am Thy servant; for Thou hast loosed my bonds.
10
True holiness is wholeness in the service of God. This is the condition of true Christian living. Christ asks for unreserved consecration, for undivided service. He demands the heart, the mind, the soul, the strength. Self is not to be cherished. He who lives to himself is not a Christian.
11 Love must be the principle of action. Love is the underlying principle of God’s government in heaven and earth, and it must be the foundation of the Christian’s character. This alone can make and keep him steadfast. This alone can enable him to withstand trial and temptation.
12 And love will be revealed in sacrifice. The plan of redemption was laid in sacrifice,—a sacrifice so broad and deep and high that it is immeasurable. Christ gave all for us, and those who receive Christ will be ready to sacrifice all for the sake of their Redeemer. The thought of His honor and glory will come before anything else.
13 If we love Jesus, we shall love to live for Him, to present our thank-offerings to Him, to labor for Him. The very labor will be light. For His sake we shall covet pain and toil and sacrifice. We shall sympathize with His longing for the salvation of men. We shall feel the same tender craving for souls that He has felt.
14 This is the religion of Christ. Anything short of it is a deception. No mere theory or profession of discipleship will save any soul.
15 We do not belong to Christ unless we are His wholly. It is by half-heartedness in the Christian life that men become feeble in purpose and changeable in desire. The effort to serve both self and Christ makes one unfit to endure when the test comes upon him.
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Page 1162
1 Before our Lord went to His agony on the cross, He made His will. He had no silver or gold or houses to leave to His disciples. He was a poor Man, as far as earthly possessions were concerned. Few in Jerusalem were so poor as He. But He left His disciples a richer gift than any earthly monarch could bestow on his subjects. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you,” He said, “not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
2 He left them the peace which had been His during His life on the earth, which had been with Him amidst poverty, buffeting, and persecution, and which was to be with Him during His agony in Gethsemane and on the cruel cross.
3 The Saviour’s life on this earth, tho lived in the midst of conflict, was a life of peace. While angry enemies were constantly pursuing Him, He said, “He that sent Me is with Me; the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.” No storm of satanic wrath could disturb the calm of that perfect communion with God. And He says to us, “My peace I give unto you.”
4 Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee.”
5 It is the love of self that destroys our peace. While self is alive, we stand ready continually to guard it from mortification and insult; but when self is dead, and our life hid with Christ in God, we shall not take neglects or slights to heart. We shall be deaf to reproach, and blind to scorn and insult. “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.”
6 Every man’s experience testifies to the truth of the words of Scripture: “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it can not rest. . . . There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Sin has destroyed our peace. While self is unsubdued we find no rest. The masterful passions of the heart no human power can control. We are as helpless here as were the disciples to quiet the raging storm. But He who spoke peace to the billows of Galilee, has spoken the word of peace for every soul. However fierce the tempest, those who turn to Jesus with the cry, “Lord, save us,” will find deliverance. His grace, which reconciles the soul to God, quiets the strife of human passion, and in His love the heart is at rest. “He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so He bringeth them unto their desired haven.” “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”
7 “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” When we receive Christ into the soul as an abiding guest, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, will keep our hearts and minds. There is no other ground of peace than this. The grace of Christ, received into the heart, subdues enmity; it allays strife, and fills the soul with love. He who is at peace with God and his fellow men, can not be made miserable. Envy will not be in his heart; evil surmisings will find no room there; hatred can not exist. The heart that is in harmony with God is a partaker of the peace of heaven, and will diffuse its blessed influence all around. The spirit of peace will rest like dew upon hearts weary and troubled with worldly strife.
Page 1163
1 The only-begotten Son of God came to this world to redeem the fallen race. He has given us evidence of His great power. He will enable those who receive Him to build up characters free from all the tendencies that Satan reveals. We can resist the enemy and all his forces. The battle will be won, the victory gained, by him who chooses Christ as his leader, determined to do right because it is right.
2 Our divine Lord is equal to any emergency. With him nothing is impossible. He has shown His great love for us by living a life of self-denial and sacrifice, and by dying a death of agony. Come to Christ just as you are, weak, helpless, and ready to die. Cast yourself wholly on His mercy. There is no difficulty within or without that can not be surmounted in His strength. Some have stormy tempers. But He who calmed the stormy sea of Galilee will say to the troubled heart, “Peace, be still.” There is no nature so rebellious that Christ can not subdue it, no temper so stormy that He can not quell it, if the heart is surrendered to His keeping.
3 He who commits his soul to Jesus need not despond. We have an all-powerful Saviour. Looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith, you can say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, tho the earth be removed, and tho the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; tho the waters thereof roar and be troubled, tho the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.”
4 Do not think that the Christian life is a life free from temptation. Temptations will come to every Christian. Both the Christian and the one who does not accept Christ as his leader will have trials. The difference is that the latter is serving a tyrant, doing his mean drudgery, while the Christian is serving the One who died to give him eternal life. Do not look upon trial as something strange, but as the means by which we are to be purified and strengthened. “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” James declares, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
5 Our sea will not always be smooth. We shall have storm and tempest. Meeting difficulties is a part of our education, necessary to the formation of a strong, symmetrical character.
6 In the future life we shall understand things that here greatly perplex us. We shall realize how strong a helper we had, and how angels of God were commissioned to guard us as we followed the counsel of the Word of God.
7 To all who receive Him Christ will give power to become the sons of God. He is a present help in every time of need. Let us be ashamed of our wavering faith. Those who are overcome have only themselves to blame for their failure to resist the enemy. All who choose can come to Christ and find the help they need.
8 The world is enshrouded in the darkness of error. Satan and his angels are urging on their warfare against the truth. We must have help. But the help we need will not come from human beings. We must look to Him who has said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth,” “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
9 There stands among you the mighty Counselor of the ages, inviting you to place your confidence in Him. Shall we turn away from Him to uncertain human beings, who are as wholly dependent on God as we ourselves are. Have we fallen so far below our privileges. Have we not been guilty of expecting so little that we have not asked for what God is longing to give.
10 “I will mention the loving-kindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He hath bestowed on them according to His mercies, and according to the multitude of His loving-kindness. For He said, Surely they are My people, children that will not lie; so He was their Saviour. In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.”
11 Let us have more confidence in our Redeemer. Turn not from the waters of Lebanon to seek refreshment at broken cisterns, which can hold no water. Have faith in God. Trustful dependence on Jesus makes victory not only possible, but certain. Tho multitudes be pressing on in the wrong way, tho the outlook be ever so discouraging, yet we may have full assurance in our Leader; for “I am God,” He declares, “and there is none else.” He is infinite in power, and able to save all who come to Him. There is no other in whom we can safely trust.
Page 1164
1 The Saviour knows that in humanity we shall find no solace for our woe, and He pities us because we are so needy, and yet so unwilling to make Him our confidant, our burden-bearer. Of the poor, fainting soul, tired of looking to humanity only to be betrayed and forgotten, Christ says, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.”
2 Do not take your sorrows and difficulties to man. Present yourself to Him who is able to do “exceeding abundantly.” He knows just how to help you. Do not turn from the loving, compassionate Redeemer to human friends, who, tho they may give you the best they have, may lead you into wrong paths. Take all your troubles to Jesus. He will receive and strengthen and comfort you. He is the great Healer of all maladies. His great heart of infinite love yearns over you. He sends you the message that you may recover yourself from the snare of the enemy. You may regain your self-respect. You may stand where you regard yourself, not as a failure, but as a conqueror, in and through the uplifting influence of the Spirit of God.
3 There are many who live under such a pressure of worry that they taste but little of the sweetness of God’s love. They do not know the meaning of the words, “That My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Let us do our best, and then leave everything in the hands of the Lord, saying, I believe Thy promises. Wilt Thou not give evidence of Thy working? He will hear and answer.
4 “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” These words are the pledge that all that an omnipotent Saviour can bestow will be given to those who trust in Him. As stewards of the grace of heaven, we are to ask in faith, and then wait trustingly for the salvation of God. We are not to step in before Him, trying in our own strength to bring about that which we desire. In His name we are to ask, and then we are to act as if we trusted His efficiency.
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by failing to bring our needs and cares and sorrows to our Saviour. He is the wonderful Counsellor. He looks upon His church with intense interest, and with a heart full of tender sympathy. He enters into the depth of our necessities. But our ways are not always His ways. He sees the result of every action, and He asks us to trust patiently in His wisdom, not in the supposedly-wise plans of our own making.
6 Lay all your plans at the feet of the Redeemer. And do not cease to pray. If the answer tarry, wait for it. Let your importunate prayers continue to ascend to God. If it be for His name’s glory, the soothing words will be spoken, “Be it unto thee according to thy word.”
7 We do not depend on God as we should. Let us leave unsaid every word of complaint. Talk faith and courage. Be afraid to doubt, lest this become a habit that will destroy faith. The dealings of Providence may seem dark and mysterious and unexplainable; nevertheless we are to trust in Him, saying, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” Whatever may be your circumstances, however dark and mysterious may seem the ways of Providence, tho your path may lead through deep waters, and trial and bereavement may afflict you again and again, the assurance is still yours, “All things work together for good to them that love God.”
8 Do not let Satan accomplish his purpose to keep you in the chamber of darkness and shadow, where the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness do not penetrate. Dwelling in the darkness, your beliefs will be tinged with gloom and your hopes buried in the night. The Lord bids you look up, saying, O God, here I am; do unto me as seemeth good to Thee. Use me in Thy service. I will no longer make my life an affliction to myself and to others. I will not shun the cross, or refuse to take up the work that Thou hast bidden me do. I am Thine. I will no longer sit in sackcloth and ashes. I will come out of the darkened chamber of death into the upper room, which is filled with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
9 “Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.” “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1165
1 Our last thought at night and our first thought in the morning should be of Him in whom are centered our hopes of eternal life. He died for us. He saw us in peril, exposed to destruction, and He poured out His life to save us. He is our Advocate. He has placed a treasure-house of blessing at our command. Men can not remove one stain of sin. Christ’s merits alone will avail, and they have been placed at our disposal in rich fulness. Every moment we may draw upon Christ for help. As we turn to Him, He answers, “Here am I.” Christ is our Intercessor. He places the incense of His righteousness in the golden censer, to offer up with the prayers of His disciples. The Father hears every prayer offered in contrition and sincerity. Our supplications blend with the supplications of our Intercessor, whose voice the Father always hears.
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Let us, then, pray without ceasing, not in the name of any human being, but in the name of Him who is our substitute and surety. He has given us His name to use. “Ask in My name,” He says. Then let us pray in faith. Let us not falter, but go forward from strength to strength, from victory to victory.
3 Jesus receives and welcomes you as His friend. He loves you. He has pledged Himself to open before you all the treasures of His grace. He says, Make use of My name, and it will be your passport to the heart of My Father, and to all the riches of His grace. “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto ye have asked nothing in My name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
4 Unworthy as we are, God has granted to us His forgiving mercy; undeserving as we are of the least of His favors, He has poured rich blessings upon us. The more unworthy the receiver, the more glorious the mercy of God, and the more earnestly we should show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. To him who is content to receive without deserving, who feels that he can never recompense such love, who lays all doubt and unbelief aside, and comes as a little child to the feet of Jesus, all the treasures of eternal love are a free, everlasting gift.
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The more you trust your Redeemer, the more you will love Him. He is your Friend in life or death. He is the Crown of your rejoicing. He is worthy of your fullest faith. All the sorrows and afflictions that we suffer here only constitute our discipline for the higher life. God designs that thus we shall be fitted for heaven. Wait upon God. Lean upon Him in entire dependence; for His everlasting arms will sustain you. He who says that not a sparrow falls to the ground without the notice of the heavenly Father will care for those who love and trust Him. Jesus knows every throb of pain, every throe of anguish and distress, and He will give His children grace to endure the afflictions that He permits to come upon them. His heart beats in sympathy with suffering humanity and those who suffer most have most of His pity and sympathy.
6 “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.” “Thou hast a mighty arm; strong is Thy hand: and high is Thy right hand.” “Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” If He is for you, who can be against you. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” “Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Let us trust Him who sees the end from the beginning, and who will make all things work together for good to those that love the Lord.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1166
1 The cry of the soul should be, Give me the bread of life. Lift up a full cup of the water of life to my parched lips, that I may be revived and refreshed. Let me see Thee as my helper, the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Thou wast wounded for my transgressions, and bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of my peace was upon Thee, and with Thy stripes I am healed.
2 The Lord does not want His children to worry and fret over things that they can not help. He wants them to go on from strength to strength. Let us learn a lesson of trust from the miracle of feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. There were five thousand men, besides women and children, to be fed, and five loaves and two fishes were all that Christ had. Yet, after all had been satisfied, there were gathered up twelve baskets full of fragments.
3 When Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, that which before seemed but a meager supply will prove to be a rich feast. You will be satisfied yourselves, and you will have something to give to others. Walk humbly with Christ, daily learning His meekness and lowliness. Thus your heart will become a temple for God’s presence.
4 Do not look on the dark side. When the Israelites were content with the portion of manna that God gave, they found it sweet and full of nourishment. When they became dissatisfied, it was loathsome to them. Content is a blessing; discontent, a curse.
5 God wants your mind to be clear, your temper sweet, your love abounding. Then the peace that passes all understanding will fill your heart. The atmosphere surrounding your soul will be refreshing. Your words will be fragrant. Christ came to this world to shed upon you His brightness and peace. Close the windows of your heart against the atmosphere of unbelief, and open them heavenward. It is your privilege to face the light, to talk hope and faith and courage.
6 Be kind and compassionate. Let your countenance reflect the joy of the Lord. Speak of His goodness and tell of His power. Then your light will shine more and more clearly. Above your trials and disappointments will be revealed the reflection of a pure, healthy, religious life. In the out-working of the inner life there will be a wonderful peace and joy. You may reflect the beauty of the character of your risen Lord, who, tho He was rich, yet for our sake became poor, that through His poverty we might be made rich.
7 It is possible for us to reveal the likeness of our divine Lord. We can know the science of the divine life. We can glorify God. Do we do it? O, what an illustrious example we have in the life that Christ lived while on this earth. He has shown us what we can accomplish through co-operation with Him. We are to seek for the union of which He speaks when He says, “Abide in Me, and I in you.” This union is deeper, stronger, truer, than any other union. The heart must be filled with the grace of Christ. His will must control us, moving us to weep with those who weep, and to rejoice with those who rejoice, to feel a deep tenderness for every one in weakness, sorrow, or distress.
8 Being partakers of the divine nature will make us willing always to reach forth a helping hand to those in need of relief. Christ’s heart was ever touched with pity at the sight of human woe. He died on the cross of Calvary to lift from man the penalty of transgression. He came to our world to make it possible for sinful human beings to obtain salvation. He wept over the sorrow and suffering that He saw on every hand. He groaned in spirit in behalf of the tried and tempted, but He would not fail or become discouraged. He must press forward in order to make it possible for them to gain eternal life.
9 Be strong and of good courage. In order to fight successfully, a soldier must have courage and strength. Of ourselves we are weak and feeble. But we have the promise, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1167
1 The one book that is essential for all to study is the Bible. Studied with reverence and godly fear, it is the greatest of all educators. Its pages are filled with truth. Would you gain a knowledge of God and of Christ, whom the Father sent into the world to live and die for sinners? An earnest, diligent study of the Bible is necessary in order to gain this knowledge.
2 The words of the Bible and the Bible alone should be echoed from the pulpits of our land. This book is our great director, given us by God. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. It flashes its light ahead, that we may see the path over which we are traveling, and its rays are thrown back on the past, showing the most perfect harmony in that which, to the mind in darkness, appears like error and discord. In that which seems to the worldling an inexplicable mystery, the student of God’s Word sees light and beauty.
3 We all need a guide through the many straight places of life, as much as the sailor needs a pilot over the sandy bar or up the rocky river; and where is this guide to be found? We point you to the Bible. Inspired of God, written by holy men, it points out with great clearness and precision the duties of both old and young. It elevates the mind, softens the heart, and imparts gladness and joy to the spirit. The Bible presents a perfect standard of character; it is an infallible guide under all circumstances, even to the end of the journey of life.
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Had it been essential for us to study the writings of the early fathers, Christ would have told us to do this. But the fathers do not all speak the same thing. Which of them shall we choose as a guide? There is no need for us to trust to such uncertainty. We pass by the fathers to learn of God out of His Word. This is life eternal, to know God. O, how thankful we should be that the inspired Word of God has been placed in our hands. Holy men of old wrote this Word as they were moved by the Spirit.
5 The commentaries written about the Word do not all agree. Often they come into collision with one another. God does not ask us to be guided by them, but by His Word. All can search the Scriptures for themselves. And they may know that the teaching of this precious Book is unchangeable. The opinions of human beings differ, but the Bible always says the same thing. The Word of God is from everlasting to everlasting.
6 God did not leave His Word to be handed down from generation to generation by oral transmission and traditional unfolding. Had He done this, the Word would gradually have been added to by man. Let us thank God for His written Word.
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that unlocks the mysteries which it is essential for human beings to understand in order to gain eternal life. The Bible is its own expositor. Its bright beams are to shine into all parts of the world, that sin may be revealed. The Bible is a chart, pointing out the waymarks of truth. Those who are acquainted with this chart will be enabled to tread with certainty the path of duty, wherever they may be called to go.
8 He who will search the Bible with a humble, teachable spirit will find it a sure guide, pointing out the way of life with unfaltering accuracy. This book contains nothing that is non-essential, nothing that has not a bearing upon our lives. It teaches man how to simplify life’s complicated experiences. It is an educator, endowing the simple-hearted followers of Christ with the wisdom that comes from the Author and Finisher of their faith.
9 If you would be strong, if you would have the integrity and wisdom of a Joseph or a Daniel, study the Scriptures. Parents, if you would teach your children to serve God and do good in the world, make the Bible your textbook. It exposes the wiles of Satan. It is the great elevator of the race, the reprover and corrector of moral evils, enabling us to distinguish between the true and the false. There is a rich mine of truth in this holy Book.
10 The sailor who has in his possession chart and compass, and yet neglects to use them, is responsible for placing the lives of those on board his vessel in peril. The vessel may be lost by his neglect. We have a Guide-book, the Word of God, and we are inexcusable if we miss the way to heaven, for plain directions have been given us.
11 Whoever will prayerfully study the Bible, desiring to know the truth, that he may obey it, will receive the divine enlightenment. He will understand the meaning of the words,”If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” As he endeavors to reach the highest standard, the Bible is as a light to guide his footsteps homeward. By studying it, he finds that he is a joint-heir with Christ to an immortal inheritance. The Guide-book points him to the unsearchable riches of heaven. Day by day the peace of God is his reward, and by faith he sees a home of everlasting sunshine, free from all sorrow and disappointment.
12 Every means of grace should be diligently improved, that the grace of God may abound in the soul more and more. We must have spiritual knowledge that we “may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ,” that we may “be filled with all the fulness of God.”
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Page 1168
1 When a question was brought to Christ, His answer was, “Have ye not read?” “What saith the Scriptures?” Christ could have answered every perplexing question brought to Him, but He did not do this. He directed His questioners to the great store-house of knowledge. He knew that He could not always be with them in human form, and He desired to teach them to make the Word their dependence. “Search the Scriptures,” He said. He referred them to His own inspired Word, that when tempted by the enemy they might meet him as He had done, saying “It is written.” Thus the enemy could be repulsed; for he has no power over the one who relies on the testimony of God’s Word.
2 Of the Word of God, the psalmist writes, “The entrance of Thy words ‘giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple.” It is a light shining in a dark place. As we search its pages, light enters the heart, illuminating the mind. By this light we see what we ought to be.
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We see in the Word, warnings and promises, with God behind them all. We are invited to search this Word for aid when brought into difficult places. If we do not consult the Guidebook at every step, inquiring, Is this the way of the Lord? our words and acts will be tainted by selfishness. We shall forget God, and walk in paths that He has not chosen for us.
4 God’s Word is full of precious promises and helpful counsel. It is infallible; for God can not err. It has help for every circumstance and condition of life, and God looks on with sadness when His children turn from it to human aid.
5 He who through the Scriptures holds communion with God will be ennobled and sanctified. As he reads the inspired record of the Saviour’s love, his heart will melt in tenderness and contrition. He will be filled with a desire to be like his Master, to live a life of loving service.
6 Great light shone forth from the patriarchs and prophets. Glorious things were spoken of Zion, the city of God. Thus the Lord designs that the light shall shine forth through His followers today. If the saints of the Old Testament bore such a bright testimony of loyalty, should we not today, upon whom is shining the accumulated light of centuries, arise and shine? The glory of the prophecies shed their light on our pathway. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s Son. Christ has risen from the dead, proclaiming over the rent sepulcher, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He has sent His Spirit into our world to bring all things to our remembrance. By a miracle of His power He has preserved His written Word through the ages. Shall we not, then, make this Word our constant study, learning from it God’s purpose for us.
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The Bereans were commended as being more noble than those of Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily. They did not search the Bible from curiosity, but that they might learn in regard to Christ. Daily, they compared scripture with scripture; and as they searched, heavenly intelligences were beside them, enlightening their minds and impressing their hearts.
8 We are to open the Word of God with reverence, and with a sincere desire to know the will of God concerning us. Then the heavenly angels will direct our search. God speaks to us in His Word. We are in the audience-chamber of the Most High, in the very presence of God. Christ enters the heart. The Holy Spirit takes of the things of God, and shows them to us. We see more clearly the greatness of God’s love and the fullness of His salvation. We appreciate more fully His gracious design to make us partakers in the heavenly firm. We are drawn into full sympathy with the plans of God. His secret is with us, and He shows us His covenant.
9 The life of Christ, that gives life to the world, is in His word. It was by His word that Jesus healed disease and cast out demons; by His word He stilled the sea and raised the dead; and the people bore witness that His word was with power. He spoke the word of God, as He had spoken through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament. The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ, and the Saviour desires to fix the faith of His followers on the Word. When His visible presence should be withdrawn, the Word must be their source of power. Like their Master, they were to live by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
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As our physical life is sustained by food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the word of God. As we must eat for ourselves in order to obtain nourishment, so we must receive the word for ourselves. We are not to obtain it merely through the medium of another’s mind. We should carefully study the Bible, asking God for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that we may understand His Word. We should take one verse, and concentrate the mind on the task of ascertaining the thought that God has in that verse for us. We should dwell upon the thought until it becomes our own, and we know “what saith the Lord.”
11 In the Bible we have in clear lines the revelation of God’s character, of His dealings with men, and the great work of redemption. Here is open before us the history of patriarchs and prophets, and other holy men of old. They were men “subject to like passions as we are.” We see how they struggled through discouragements like our own, how they fell under temptation as we have done, and yet took heart again and conquered through the grace of God; and, beholding, we are encouraged in our striving after righteousness. As we read of the precious experiences granted them, of the light and love and blessing it was theirs to enjoy, and of the work they wrought through the grace given them, the Spirit that inspired them kindles a flame of holy emulation in our hearts, and a desire to be like them in character,—like them, to walk with God.
Page 1169
1 Should the angel Gabriel be sent to this world to take upon himself human nature, and to teach the knowledge of God, how eagerly men would listen to his instruction. Supposing that he were able to set us a perfect example of purity and holiness, sympathizing with us in all our sorrows, bereavements, and afflictions, and suffering the punishment of our sins, how eagerly we would follow him. What exaltation he would receive. Men would desire to place him on the throne of David, and to gather the nations of earth under his banner.
2 If, when this heavenly being returned to his home, he should leave behind him a book containing the history of his mission, with revelations regarding the history of the world, how eagerly would its seal be broken! How anxiously men and women would seek to obtain a copy! Thinking people would store up the precious instruction for the benefit of future generations. Thousands from all parts of the world would copy the words of this book. With intense interest they would read and reread its pages. For a time all other interests would be subordinated to a study of its contents.
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But one surpassing all that imagination can present came from heaven to this world. Nearly two thousand years ago a voice of strange and mysterious import was heard from the throne of God, “Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me. . . . Lo, I come . . . to do Thy will, O God.”
4 A prophet said: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
5 Of Himself Christ declares, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” “I and My Father are One.” “As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.”
6 As Paul beheld Christ in His power, he broke out into exclamations of admiration and amazement: “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” “By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. . . . For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.”
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The Bible is God’s voice speaking to us, just as surely as if we could hear it with our ears. If we realized this, with what awe we would open God’s Word, and with what earnestness we would search its precepts. The reading and contemplation of the Scriptures would be regarded as an audience with the Infinite One.
8 Christ reproached His disciples with their slowness of comprehension. They were influenced by maxims and traditionary lore, so that the truths spoken by the greatest Teacher the world has ever known were often lost truths to them. Christ led them to realize that He had put them in possession of truths of which they little suspected the value. After His resurrection, as He was walking to Emmaus with two of the disciples, He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures, so explaining the Old Testament to them that they saw in its teachings a meaning that the writers themselves had not seen.
9
Christ’s words are the bread of life. As the disciples ate the words of Christ, their understanding was quickened. They understood better the value of the Saviour’s teachings. In their comprehension of these teachings they stepped from the obscurity of dawn to the radiance of noonday.
10 So will it be with us as we study God’s Word. Our minds will be quickened, and our understanding enlarged. Those who receive and assimilate this Word, making it a part of every act, of every attribute of character, grow strong in the strength of God. It gives vigor to the soul, perfecting the experience, and bringing joys that abide forever.
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Page 1170
1 No other study will so ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration, as the study of the Scriptures. No other book can satisfy the questionings of the mind, and the craving of the heart. By obtaining a knowledge of God’s Word, and giving heed thereto, men may rise from the lowest depths of ignorance and degradation to become the sons of God, the associates of sinless angels.
2 A clear conception of what God is, and of what He requires us to be, will give us humble views of self. He who studies aright the sacred Word will learn that human intellect is not omnipotent; that, without the help which none but God can give, human strength and wisdom are but weakness and ignorance.
3 As an educating power, the Bible is without a rival. Nothing will so impart vigor to all the faculties as an effort to grasp the stupendous truths of revelation. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. If occupied with common-place matters only, it will become dwarfed and enfeebled. If never required to grapple with difficult problems, it will, after a time, almost lose the power of growth.
4
In its wide range of style and subjects, the Bible has something to interest every mind and appeal to every heart. In its pages are found history the most ancient, biography the truest to life, principles of government for the control of the state, for the regulation of the household—principles that human wisdom has never equalled. It contains philosophy the most profound, poetry the sweetest and most sublime, the most impassioned and most pathetic. Immeasurably superior in value to the productions of any human author are the Bible writings, even when thus considered; but of infinitely wider scope, of infinitely greater value, are they when viewed in their relation to the grand, central thought. Viewed in the light of this thought, every topic has a new significance. In it the most simply-stated truths are involved—principles that are as high as heaven, and that compass eternity.
5 The Bible is the most comprehensive and the most instructive history that men possess. It came fresh from the Fountain of eternal truth, and a divine Hand has preserved its purity through the ages. Its bright rays shine into the far distant past, where human research seeks vainly to penetrate. In God’s Word alone we find an authentic account of Creation. Here we behold the power that laid the foundation of the earth, and that stretched out the heavens. Here only can we find a history of our own race, unsullied by human prejudice or human pride.
6
“The excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.” “The words that I speak unto you,” said Jesus, “they are spirit, and they are life.” “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.”
7 The creative energy that called the world into existence is in the Word of God. This Word imparts power; it begets life. Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and recreates the soul in the image of God.
8 The life thus imparted is in like manner sustained. “By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” shall man live.
9 The mind, the soul, is built up by that upon which it feeds, and it rests with us to determine upon what it shall be fed. It is within the power of every one to choose the topics that shall occupy the thoughts, and shape the character. Of every human being privileged with access to the Scriptures, God says; “I have written unto him the great things of My law.” “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
10
With the Word of God in his hands, every human being, wherever his lot in life may be cast, may have such companionship as he shall choose. In its pages he may hold converse with the noblest and best of the human race, and may listen to the voice of the Eternal as He talks with men. As he studies and meditates upon the themes into which “the angels desire to look,” he may have their companionship. He may follow the steps of the heavenly Teacher, and listen to His words as when He taught upon mountain, and plain, and sea. He may dwell in this world in the atmosphere of heaven; imparting to earth’s sorrowing ones thoughts of hope and longings for holiness: himself coming closer and still closer into fellowship with the Unseen; like him who of old walked with God, drawing nearer and nearer the threshold of the eternal world, until the portals shall open, and he shall enter there. He will find himself no stranger. The voices that will greet him are the voices of the holy ones who, unseen, were on earth his companions—voices that here he learned to distinguish and to love. He, who through the Word of God has lived in fellowship with heaven, will find himself at home in heaven’s companionship.
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Page 1171
1 The central theme of the Bible, the theme about which every other in the whole book clusters, is the redemption plan, the restoration in the human soul of the image of God. From the first intimation of hope in the sentence pronounced in Eden, to that last glorious promise of the Revelation, “They shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads,” the burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the unfolding of this wondrous theme,—man’s uplifting, the power of God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Here we behold the Majesty of heaven, as He humbled Himself to become our Substitute and Surety, to cope single-handed with the powers of darkness, and to gain the victory in our behalf. A reverent contemplation of such themes as these can not fail to soften, purify, and ennoble the heart, and, at the same time, to inspire the mind with new strength and vigor.
2 The science of redemption is the science of all sciences; the science that is the study of the angels, and of all the intelligencies of the unfallen worlds; the science that engages the attention of our Lord and Saviour; the science that enters into the purpose brooded in the mind of the Infinite,—”kept in silence through times eternal;” the science that will be the study of God’s redeemed throughout the endless ages. This is the highest study in which it is possible for man to engage. As no other study can, it will quicken the mind, and uplift the soul.
3 Jesus said of the Old Testament Scriptures,—and how much more is it true of the New,—”They are they which testify of Me,” the Redeemer, Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. Yes, the whole Bible tells of Christ. From the first record of Creation—”for without Him was not anything made that was made”—to the closing promise, “Behold, I come quickly,” we are reading of His works, and listening to His voice. If you would become better acquainted with the Saviour, study the Scriptures.
4
The theme of redemption is one that angels desire to look into; it will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it not worthy of careful thought and study now?
5 The infinite mercy and love of Jesus, the sacrifice made in our behalf, calls for the most serious and solemn reflection. We should dwell upon the character of our dear Redeemer and Intercessor. We should meditate upon the mission of Him who came to save His people from their sins. As we thus contemplate heavenly themes, our faith and love will grow stronger, and our prayers will be more and more acceptable to God, because they will be mixed with faith and love. They will be intelligent and fervent. There will be more constant confidence in Jesus, and a daily living experience in His power to save to the uttermost all who come to God by Him. As we meditate upon the perfections of the Saviour, we shall desire to be wholly transformed and renewed in the image of His purity. There will be a hungering and thirsting of soul to become like Him whom we adore. The more our thoughts dwell upon Christ, the more we shall speak of Him to others, and the more clearly represent Him to the world.
6
In giving us His Word, God has put us in possession of every truth essential for our salvation. Thousands have drawn water from these wells of life, yet there is no diminishing of the supply. Thousands have set the Lord before them, and by beholding have been changed into the same image. Their spirit burns within them as they speak of His character, telling what Christ is to them, and what they are to Christ. But these searchers have not exhausted these grand and holy themes. Thousands more may engage in the work of searching out the mysteries of salvation. As the life of Christ and the character of His mission are dwelt upon, rays of light will shine forth more distinctly at every attempt to discover truth. Each fresh search will reveal something more deeply interesting than has yet been unfolded. The subject is inexhaustible. The study of the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice and mediatorial work, will employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last; and, looking to heaven with its unnumbered years, he will exclaim, “Great is the mystery of godliness.”
7 In eternity we shall learn that which, had we received the enlightenment that it was possible to obtain here, would have opened our understanding. The themes of redemption will employ the hearts and minds and tongues of the redeemed through the everlasting ages. They will understand the truths which Christ longed to open to His disciples, but which they did not have faith to grasp. Forever and forever new views of the perfection and glory of Christ will appear. Through endless ages the faithful householder will bring forth from his treasures things new and old.
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Page 1172
1 The mysteries of the Bible, so far from being an argument against it, are amongst the strongest evidences of its divine inspiration. If it contained no account of God but that which we could comprehend; if His greatness and majesty could be grasped by human minds, then the Bible would not, as now, bear the unmistakable evidences of divinity. The greatness of its themes should inspire faith in it as the Word of God.
2 The Bible unfolds truth with a simplicity and an adaptation to the needs and longings of the human heart, that has astonished and charmed the most highly cultivated minds, while to the humble and uncultured, it also makes plain the way of life. “The wayfaring men, tho fools, shall not err therein.” No child need mistake the path. Not one trembling seeker need fail of walking in pure and holy light. Yet the most simply-stated truths lay hold upon themes elevated, far-reaching, infinitely beyond the power of human comprehension,— mysteries that are the hiding of His glory,—mysteries that overpower the mind in its research, while they inspire the sincere seeker for truth with reverence and faith. The more we search the Bible, the deeper is our conviction that it is the Word of the living God, and human reason bows before the majesty of divine wisdom.
3
God intends that to the earnest seeker the truths of His Word shall be ever unfolding. While “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God,” “those things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children.” The idea that certain portions of the Bible can not be understood has led to neglect of some of its most important truths. The fact needs to be emphasized, and often repeated, that the mysteries of the Bible are not such because God has sought to conceal truth, but because our own weakness or ignorance makes us incapable of comprehending or appropriating truth. The limitation is not in its purpose, but in our capacity. Of those very portions of Scripture so often passed by as impossible to be understood, God desires us to understand as much as our minds are capable of receiving. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” that we may be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
4 It is impossible for any human mind to exhaust one truth or promise of the Bible. One catches the glory from one point of view, another from another point; yet we can discern only gleamings. The full radiance is beyond our vision. As we contemplate the great things of God’s Word, we look into a fountain that broadens and deepens beneath our gaze. Its breadth and depth pass our knowledge. As we gaze, the vision widens; stretched out before us, we behold a boundless, shoreless sea. Such study has vivifying power. The mind and heart acquire new strength, new life.
5
This experience is the highest evidence of the divine authorship of the Bible. We receive God’s Word as food for the soul, through the same evidence by which we receive bread as food for the body. Bread supplies the need of our nature; we know by experience that it produces blood, bone, and brain. Apply the same test to the Bible; when its principles have actually become the elements of character, what has been the result? what changes have been made in the life?—”Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” In its power, men and women have broken the chains of sinful habit. They have renounced selfishness. The profane have become reverent, the drunken sober, the profligate pure. Souls that have borne the likeness of Satan, have been transformed into the image of God. The change is itself the miracle of miracles. A change wrought by the Word, it is one of the deepest mysteries of the Word. We can not understand it; we can only believe, that, as declared by the Scriptures, it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
6 A knowledge of this mystery furnishes a key to every other. It opens to the soul the treasures of the universe, the possibilities of infinite development.
7 And this development is gained through the constant unfolding to us of the character of God—the glory and mystery of the written Word. If it were possible for us to attain to a full understanding of God and His truth, there would be for us no further discovery of truth, no greater knowledge, no further development. God would cease to be supreme, and man would cease to advance. Thank God, it is not so. Since God is infinite, and in Him are all the treasures of wisdom, we may to all eternity be ever searching, ever learning, yet never exhaust the riches of His wisdom, His goodness, or His power.
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Page 1173
1 It is God’s plan that old and young shall study His Word. This is necessary for intellectual and spiritual growth. God would have all realize that the truth is capable of expanding and increasing in grace and power. The student of the Word finds that an effort to comprehend truth calls forth all his powers. The truth is broad and deep and high. Were it otherwise than this, it would not be the truth. But its clearness is equal to its depth. Upon those who search the Scriptures, the truth found therein has an elevating, ennobling influence, enabling them to reach the standard of perfection.
2 But much ignorance of God’s Word prevails, even among those who are themselves dull of comprehension. They do not bring the truth into the inner sanctuary of the soul. It is not a living reality to them, because they do not practise it. It has not been digested and converted into spiritual muscle and sinew.
3 Many who claim to believe the Bible do not eat the heavenly manna. Light shines upon them, but it is not appreciated. Many refuse to accept the light that God sends from heaven because it does not justify transgression of the law. They close their eyes, for fear that they will see and be converted.
4
Thus it was in the days of Christ. The leaders and teachers of Israel were powerless to resist the work of Satan. They were neglecting the only means by which they could have withstood evil spirits. It was by the word of God that Christ overcame the wicked one. The leaders of Israel professed to be the expositors of God’s law, but they had studied it only to sustain their traditions, and enforce their man-made observances. By their interpretations they made it express sentiments that God had never given. Their mystical construction made indistinct that which He had made plain. They disputed over insignificant technicalities, and practically denied the most essential truths. Thus infidelity was sown broadcast. God’s Word was robbed of its power, and evil spirits worked their will.
5 History is repeating. With the open Bible before them, and professing to reverence its teachings, many of the religious leaders of our time are destroying faith in it as the Word of God. They busy themselves with dissecting the Word, and set their opinions above its plainest statements. In their hands God’s Word loses its regenerating power. This is why infidelity is riot and iniquity is rife.
6
When Satan has undermined faith in the Bible, he directs men to other sources for light and power. Thus he insinuates himself. Those who turn from the plain teaching of scripture and the convicting power of God’s Holy Spirit are inviting the control of demons. Criticism and speculation concerning the Scriptures have opened the way for Spiritualism and theosophy—those modernized forms of ancient heathenism—to gain a foothold even in the professed churches of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Side by side with the preaching of the Gospel, agencies are at work which are but the medium of lying spirits. Many a man tampers with these merely from curiosity, but seeing evidence of the working of a more than human power, he is lured on and on, until he is controlled by a will stronger than his own. He can not escape from its mysterious power.
8 In our day, as of old, the vital truths of God’s Word are set aside for human theories and speculations. Many professed ministers of the Gospel do not accept the whole Bible as the inspired Word. One learned man rejects one portion; another questions another part. They set up their judgment as superior to the Word, and the scripture which they do teach rests upon their own authority. Its divine authenticity is destroyed. Thus the seeds of infidelity are sown broadcast; for the people become confused, and do not know what to believe. There are many beliefs that the mind has no right to entertain. In the days of Christ the rabbis put a forced, mystical construction upon many portions of the Scriptures. Because the plain teaching of God’s Word condemned their practises, they tried to destroy its force. The same thing is done today. The Word of God is made to appear mysterious and obscure in order to excuse transgression of His law. Christ rebuked these practises in His day. He taught that the Word of God was to be understood by all. He pointed to the Scriptures as of unquestionable authority, and we should do the same. The Bible is to be presented as the word of the infinite God, as the end of all controversy and the foundation of all faith.
9 The subject of Christ’s teaching was the Word of God. He met questioners with a plain, “It is written;” “What saith the Scriptures?” “How readest thou?” At every opportunity, when an interest was awakened by either friend or foe, He sowed the seed of the Word. He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Himself the living Word, points to the Scriptures, saying, “They are they which testify of Me.”
Page 1174
1 The Bible has been robbed of its power, and the results are seen in a lowering of the tone of spiritual life. In the sermons of many pulpits of today there is not that divine manifestation which awakens the conscience and brings life to the soul. The hearers can not say, “Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” There are many who are crying out for the living God, longing for the divine Presence. Philosophical theories or literary essays, however brilliant, can not satisfy the heart. The assertions and inventions of men are of no value. Let the Word of God speak to the people. Let those who have heard only traditions and human theories and maxims hear the voice of Him whose Word can renew the soul unto everlasting life.
2 To a failure to study and obey the Scriptures may in a great degree be attributed the widespread iniquity in our world today. When the Word of God is set aside, its power to restrain the evil passions of the natural heart is rejected. Men sow to the flesh, and of the flesh reap corruption.
3 And here, too, is the great cause of mental weakness and inefficiency. In turning from God’s Word to feed on the writings of uninspired men, the mind becomes dwarfed and cheapened. It is not brought in contact with deep, broad principles of eternal truth. The understanding adapts itself to the comprehension of the things with which it is familiar, and in this devotion to finite things it is weakened, its power is contracted, and after a time it becomes unable to expand.
4 All this is false education. The work of every teacher, every parent, should be to fasten the minds of the children and youth upon the grand truths of the Word of inspiration. This is the education essential for this life and for the life to come.
5 And let it not be thought that this will prevent the study of the sciences, or cause a lower standard in education. The knowledge of God is as high as heaven and as broad as the universe. There is nothing so ennobling and invigorating as the study of the great themes which concern our eternal life. Let the youth seek to grasp these God-given truths, and their minds will expand and grow strong in the effort. It will bring every student who is a doer of the Word into a broader field of thought, and secure for him a wealth of knowledge that is imperishable.
6 The education to be secured by searching the Scriptures is an experimental knowledge of the plan of salvation. Such an education will restore the image of God in the soul. It will strengthen and fortify the mind against temptation, and fit the learner to become a co-worker with Christ in His mission of mercy to the world. It will make him a member of the heavenly family, and prepare him to share the inheritance of the saints in light.
7 Human theories and speculations will never lead to an understanding of God’s Word. Those who suppose that they understand philosophy think that their explanations are necessary in order to unlock the treasures of knowledge, and to prevent heresies from coming into the church. But it is these explanations that have brought in false theories and heresies. Men have made desperate efforts to explain what they thought to be intricate scriptures; but too often their efforts have only darkened that which they tried to make clear.
8 The priests and Pharisees thought that they were doing great things as teachers, by putting their own interpretation upon the Word of God; but Christ said of them, “Ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God.” He charged them with the guilt of “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Tho they were the teachers of the oracles of God, tho they were supposed to understand His Word, they were not doers of the Word. Satan had blinded their eyes, that they should not see its true import.
9 This is the work of many in our day. Many churches are guilty of this sin. There is danger, great danger, that the supposed wise men of today will repeat the experience of the Jewish teachers. They falsely interpret the divine oracles, and souls are brought into perplexity and shrouded in darkness because of their misconception of divine truth.
10 The Scriptures need not be read by the dim light of tradition or human speculation. As well might we try to give light to the sun with a torch, as to explain the Scriptures by human tradition or imagination. God’s holy Word needs not the torch-light glimmer of earth to make its glories distinguishable. It is light itself—the glory of God revealed; and beside it every other light is dim.
11 But there must be earnest study and close investigation. Sharp, clear perceptions of truth will never be the reward of indolence.
12 No earthly blessing can be obtained without earnest, patient, persevering effort. If men attain success in business, they must have a will to do, and a faith to look for results. And we can not expect to gain spiritual knowledge without earnest toil. Those who desire to find the treasures of truth must dig for them as the miner digs for the treasure hidden in the earth. No half-hearted, indifferent work will avail. It is essential for old and young, not only to read God’s Word, but study it with a whole-hearted earnestness, praying and searching for truth as for hidden treasure. Those who do this will be rewarded; for Christ will quicken the understanding.
13 Our salvation depends on a knowledge of the truth contained in the Scriptures. It is God’s will that we should possess this. Search, O, search the precious Bible with hungry hearts. Explore God’s Word as the miner explores the earth to find veins of gold. Never give up the search until you have ascertained your relation to God and His will in regard to you. Christ declares, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
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Page 1175
1 The enemy knows that to a great degree the mind is affected by that upon which it feeds. He is seeking to lead both the youth and those of mature age to read story books, tales, and other literature. Those who yield to this temptation soon lose their relish for solid reading. They have no interest in Bible study. Their moral powers become enfeebled. Sin appears less and less repulsive. There is manifest an increasing unfaithfulness, a growing distaste for life’s practical duties. As the mind becomes perverted, it is ready to grasp any reading of a stimulating character. Thus the way is open for Satan to bring the soul fully under his domination.
2 Works that do not so decidedly mislead and corrupt are yet to be shunned, if they impart a disrelish for the study of the Bible. This Word is the true manna. Let all repress the desire for reading matter that is not food for the mind. You can not possibly do the work of God with clear perceptions while the mind is occupied with this class of reading. Those who are in God’s service should spend neither time nor money for light reading. What is the chaff to the wheat?
3 Question your own experience as to the influence of light reading. Can you, after spending time in such reading, open the Bible, and read with interest the words of life? Do you not find the book of God uninteresting? The charm of that love-story is upon the mind, destroying its healthy tone, and making it impossible for you to fix the attention upon the important, solemn truths that concern your eternal welfare.
4 In order to have a healthy tone of mind, and sound religious principles, we must live in communion with God through His Word. Pointing out the way of salvation, the Bible is our guide to a higher, better life. It contains the most interesting and most instructive history and biography that was ever written. Those whose imaginations have not been perverted by the reading of fiction will find the Bible the most interesting of all books.
5 Resolutely discard all worthless reading. Such reading will not strengthen your spirituality, but will introduce into the mind sentiments that will pervert the imagination, causing you to think less of Jesus, and to dwell less upon His precious lessons. Keep the mind free from everything that would lead it in a wrong direction. Do not encumber it with trashy stories, which impart no strength to the mental powers. The thoughts will be of the same character as the food provided for the mind.
6 The Bible is the book of books. If you love the Word of God, searching it as you have opportunity, that you may come into the possession of the rich treasure that it contains, and be thoroughly furnished unto all good works, then you may be assured that Jesus is drawing you to Himself. But to read the Scriptures in a casual way, without seeking to comprehend Christ’s lessons or to comply with His requirements, is not enough. There are treasures in the Word of God that can be discovered only by sinking the shaft deep into the mines of truth.
7 The carnal mind rejects the truth; but the soul that is converted undergoes a marvelous change. The books that before were unattractive, because they revealed truths that testify against the sinner, now become the food of the soul, the joy and consolation of the life. The Sun of Righteousness illuminates the sacred pages, the Holy Spirit speaks through them to the soul. To those who love Christ, the Bible is as the garden of God. Its promises are as grateful to the heart as the fragrance of flowers is to the senses.
8 Let those who have acquired a love for light reading now turn their attention to the Word of God. Let them begin to study with fresh interest the sacred records of the Old and New Testaments. The oftener and more diligently the Bible is studied, the more beautiful it will appear, and the less relish will there be for light reading.
Page 1176
1 It is in the written Word of God that a knowledge of God is most clearly revealed to fallen man. This is the treasure-house of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
2 The Word of God includes the Scriptures of the Old Testament as well as of the New. One is not complete without the other. Christ declared that the truths of the Old Testament are as valuable as those of the New. Christ was as much man’s Redeemer in the beginning of the world as He is today. Before He clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to our world, the Gospel message was given by Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah. Abraham in Canaan, and Lot in Sodom, bore the message, and from generation to generation faithful messengers proclaimed the coming One. He was the foundation of their system of sacrificial offerings, the great Antitype of all their religious services. The blood shed as the sacrifices were offered pointed to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. All the typical offerings were fulfilled in Him.
3 Christ, as manifested to the patriarchs, as symbolized in the sacrificial service, as portrayed in the law, and as revealed by the prophets, is the riches of the Old Testament. Christ in His life, His death, and His resurrection; Christ, as He is manifested by the Holy Spirit, is the treasure of the New Testament. Our Saviour, the outshining of the Father’s glory, is both in the Old and the New.
4
In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new. When Christ desired to open to His disciples the truth of His resurrection, He began “at Moses and all the prophets,” and “expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” But it is the light which shines in the fresh unfolding of the New that glorifies the Old. He who rejects the New, does not really possess the Old. For him it loses its vital power, and becomes but a lifeless form. In every page, whether history or precept or prophecy, the Old Testament Scriptures are irradiated with the glory of the Son of God. So far as it was of divine institution, the entire system of Judaism was a compacted prophecy of the Gospel. To Christ “give all the prophets witness.” From the promise given to Adam, down through the patriarchal line and the legal economy, Heaven’s glorious light made plain the footsteps of the Redeemer. Seers beheld the Star of Bethlehem, the Shiloh to come, as future things swept before them in mysterious procession. In every sacrifice, Christ’s death was shown. In every cloud of incense His righteousness ascended. By every jubilee trumpet His name was sounded. In the awful mystery of the holy of holies His glory dwelt.
5
There are those who profess to believe and teach the truths of the Old Testament, while they reject the New. But in refusing to receive the teachings of Christ, they show that they do not believe that which patriarchs and prophets have spoken. “Had ye believed Moses,” Christ said, “ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me.” Hence, there is no real power in their teaching of even the Old Testament.
6 Many who claim to believe and teach the Gospel are in a similar error. They set aside the Old Testament Scriptures, of which Christ declared, “They are they which testify of Me.” In rejecting the Old, they virtually reject the New; for both are parts of an inseparable whole. No man can rightly present the law of God without the Gospel, or the Gospel without the law. The law is the Gospel embodied, and the Gospel is the law unfolded. The law is the root, the Gospel is the fragrant blossom, and the fruit which it bears. The Old Testament sheds light upon the New, and the New upon the Old. Each is a revelation of the glory of God in Christ. Both present truths that will continually reveal new depths of meaning to the earnest seeker.
Page 1177
1 As we near the close of this world’s history, the prophecies relating to the last days especially demand our study. The last book of the New Testament is full of truth that we need to understand. Satan has blinded the minds of many, so that they have been glad of any excuse for not making the Revelation their study.
2 The book of Revelation, in connection with the book of Daniel, demands close study. Let every God-fearing teacher consider how most clearly to comprehend and present the Gospel that our Saviour came in person to make known to His servant John,—”The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.” None should become discouraged in their study of Revelation because of its apparently mystical symbols. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand.” We are to proclaim to the world the great and solemn truths contained in the book of Revelation. Into the very designs and principles of the church of God these truths are to enter. There should be a closer and more diligent study of this book, a more earnest presentation of the truths it contains, truths which concern all who are living in these last days. All who are preparing to meet their Lord should make this book the subject of earnest study and prayer. It is just what its name signifies,—a revelation of the most important events that are to take place in the last days of this earth’s history. John, because of his faithful trust in the word of God, and the testimony of Christ, was banished to the Isle of Patmos. But his banishment did not separate him from Christ. The Lord visited His faithful servant in his banishment, and gave him instruction regarding what was to come upon the world.
3 This instruction is of the greatest importance to us; for we are living in the last days of this earth’s history. Soon we shall enter upon the fulfilment of the events which Christ showed John were to take place. As the messengers of the Lord present these solemn truths, they must realize that they are handling subjects of eternal interest, and they should seek for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that they may speak, not their own words, but the words given them by God.
4 The book of Revelation must be opened to the people. Many have been taught that it is a sealed book, but it is sealed to those only who reject truth and light. The truths that it contains must be proclaimed, that people may have an opportunity to prepare for the events which are so soon to take place. The Third Angel’s Message must be presented as the only hope for the salvation of a perishing world.
5 The perils of the last days are upon us, and in our work we are to warn the people of the danger they are in. Let not the solemn scenes that prophecy has revealed are soon to take place be left untouched. We are God’s messengers, and we have no time to lose. Those who would be co-workers with our Lord Jesus Christ will show a deep interest in the truths found in this book. With pen and voice they will strive to make plain the wonderful things that Christ came from heaven to reveal.
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Page 1178
1 The Bible, with its precious gems of truth, was not written for the scholar alone. On the contrary, it was designed for the common people. The poor man needs it as much as the rich man, the unlearned as much as the learned. It is a great mistake for ministers to give people the impression that they can not understand the teachings of the Word of God, and should be content with the interpretation given by those whose business it is to proclaim the Word of God. Ministers who thus educate the people are themselves in error. To him who loves the truth, the Word of God is as a light shining in a dark place, pointing out the path so plainly that the wayfaring man, tho a fool, need not err therein.
2 The uneducated man, in earnest desire of soul, may in humility and simplicity reap from the Bible far greater consolation than the more highly educated man. He may never be able to present the same evidences of the inspiration of the Word that a learned man could, but he can bear in his life a testimony that will have greater power than any other testimony in convincing men and women of the power of the truths of God’s Word.
3
It is God’s purpose that the poor and uneducated shall have, in His Word, a sure guide in the path of righteousness. If they are sincere, and desire earnestly to know the will of God, they will not be left in darkness. It is the privilege of every one to understand the Word of God for himself. The great truths necessary for salvation are made as clear as noonday; and none need mistake and lose their way except those who follow their own judgment instead of the plainly revealed will of God. A single text has proved in the past, and will prove in the future, to be a savor of life unto life to many a soul. As men diligently search, the Bible opens new treasures of truth, which are as bright jewels to the mind.
4 If the unlearned are not capable of understanding the Bible, then the mission of Christ to our world was useless; for He says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”
5 The command to search the Scriptures, Christ addressed not only to the scribes and Pharisees, but to the great multitude of the common people, who crowded about Him. If the Bible is not to be understood by every class of people, whether they be rich or poor, what would be the need of the Saviour’s charge to search the Scriptures? What profit would there be in searching that which could never be understood? What would be the consistency of this command, if the searching of the Scriptures would not dispel the clouds of error, or lead to an understanding of the revealed will of God?
6 Let every one who has been blessed with reasoning faculties take up the Bible and search its pages, that he may understand the will of God concerning him. In this Book divine instruction is given to all. The Bible is addressed to every one—to every class of society, to those of every clime and age. Every one should read the Bible for himself. Do not depend on the minister to read it for you. The Bible is God’s Word to you. And Christ has made this Word so plain that in reading it, no one need misunderstand. Let the humble cottager read and understand the Word given by the wisest Teacher the world has ever known, and among kings, governors, statesmen, there is none greater than He.
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Page 1179
1 We are pilgrims and strangers on this earth, looking for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The path in which we travel is narrow, and calls for the exercise of self-denial and sacrifice, but God has not left us without help. He has filled His Word with wonderful promises, to strengthen and cheer His children. In these promises He draws back the veil from eternity, and gives us glimpses of the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory that awaits the overcomer.
2
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”
3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, tho the earth be removed, and tho the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; tho the waters thereof roar and be troubled, tho the mountains shake with the swelling thereof,” “For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even unto death.”
4 “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. . . . The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all His works. . . . The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. . . . The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.”
5 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. . . . When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.”
6 “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
7 “And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”
8 “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.”
9 All along the pathway of life God places these fair flowers of promise, to brighten our journey. But many refuse to gather them, choosing instead the thorns and thistles. At every step they weep and mourn, when they might rejoice in the Lord.
10
How much joy we might bring into our life here below if we would but make these promises our own. As we talk of the mansions that Christ is preparing for us, we shall forget the petty annoyances that we meet day by day. It is our privilege to sing the songs of Zion now, to turn our eyes to the light, to bring hope into our hearts and into the hearts of others. God desires us to gather up His promises, that we may be strengthened and refreshed. Let us take our eyes off the curse, and fix them on the grace so abundantly provided.
11 Comfort, encouragement, and support have been provided for every condition of life. Let us rejoice in the love of God. Let us praise Him who has made promises so royal. Let these promises keep our hearts in perfect peace. Jesus lives. His hand is guiding us. Constantly our hearts may be filled with the peace that passeth all understanding, even the peace that Jesus gives: Let us make the promises of God’s Word our own. In times of test and trial these promises will be to us glad springs of heavenly comfort.
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Page 1180
1 Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” In ancient times it was customary for men to hide their treasures in the earth. Thefts and robberies were frequent. And whenever there was a change in the ruling power, those who had large possessions were liable to be put under heavy tribute. Moreover, the country was in constant danger of invasion by marauding armies. As a consequence, the rich endeavored to preserve their wealth by concealing it, and the earth was looked upon as a safe hiding place. But often the place of concealment was forgotten; death might claim the owner, imprisonment or exile might separate him from his treasure, and the wealth that he had taken such pains to preserve was left for the fortunate finder. In Christ’s day it was not uncommon to discover in neglected land old coins and ornaments of gold and silver.
2 A man hires land to cultivate, and as the oxen plow the soil, buried treasure is unearthed. As the man discovers this treasure, he sees that a fortune is within his reach. Restoring the gold to its hiding place, he returns to his home, and sells all that he has in order to purchase the field containing the treasure. His family and the neighbors think that he is acting like a madman. Looking on the field, they see no value in the neglected soil. But the man knows what he is doing, and when he has a title to the field, he searches every part of it to find the treasure that he has secured.
3
This parable illustrates the value of the heavenly treasure, and the effort that should be made to secure it. The finder of the treasure in the field was ready to part with all that he had, ready to put forth untiring effort, in order to secure the hidden riches. So the finder of heavenly treasure will count no labor too great and no sacrifice too dear in order to gain the treasures of truth.
4 In the parable, the field containing the treasure represents the Holy Scriptures. And the Gospel is the treasure. The man who bought the field searched every part of it to find the treasure he had secured. So we are to take the Word of God and search its pages, that we may find the treasures of truth. It is the Holy Spirit’s office to direct and reward this labor. The searcher finds lodes of precious ore, and he sinks the shaft still deeper for still more valuable treasure. The gold fields of earth are not more closely interlaced with veins of precious ore than are the fields of revelation with veins of truth that bring to view the unsearchable riches of God.
5 Many are too well satisfied with the surface truths of revelation. Precious gems are passed by because their value is not seen. Let the Bible student put his mind to the tax as he studies God’s Word; for the meaning often lies hidden beneath the surface. The knowledge thus gained will be like heavenly seed planted by the divine Sower.
6
The mine of truth is never exhausted. The more you search the Scriptures with humble hearts, the greater will be your knowledge, and the more you will feel like exclaiming with Paul, “O, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” Every day you should learn something new from the Scriptures. Search them as for hid treasure, for they contain the words of eternal life. Pray for wisdom to comprehend these holy writings. If you would do this, you would find new glories in the Word of God; you would feel that you had received new and precious light on subjects connected with truth, and the Scriptures would gain constantly a new value in your estimation.
7
Salvation depends upon our knowledge of God’s will as contained in His Word. Never cease asking and searching for truth. It is God’s will that you shall know what He has said to you. But you must exercise faith. As you search the Scriptures, you must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
8 Search, O search the Bible with a heart hungry for spiritual food. Dig into the Word as the miner digs into the earth to find the veins of gold. Do not give up your search till you have ascertained your relation to God and His will concerning you.
9 “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life.” To search means to look diligently for something. Search for the hidden treasures in God’s Word. You can not afford to be without them. Study the difficult passages, comparing verse with verse, and you will find that scripture is the key which unlocks scripture. Those who prayerfully study the Bible go from each search wiser than they were before.
10 That which is worth having is not obtained without earnest, persevering effort. In business life, those only who are willing to put forth determined effort see successful results. Without earnest toil we can not expect to obtain a knowledge of spiritual things. Those who find the jewels of truth must dig for them as the miner digs for the precious ore hidden in the earth.
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Page 1181
1 Let none think that there is no more knowledge for them to gain. The depth of human intellect may be measured; the works of human authors may be mastered; but the highest, deepest, broadest flight of the imagination can not find out God. There is infinity beyond all that we can comprehend. We have seen only the glimmering of divine glory and of the infinitude of knowledge and wisdom; we have, as it were, been working on the surface of the mine, when rich, golden ore is beneath the surface, to reward the one who will dig for it. The shaft must be sunk deeper and yet deeper in the mine, and the result will be glorious treasure. Through a correct faith, divine knowledge will become human knowledge.
2 No one can search the Scriptures in the Spirit of Christ without being rewarded. When a man is willing to be instructed as a little child, when he submits wholly to Christ, he will find the truth in His Word. If men would be obedient, they would understand the plan of God’s government. The heavenly world would open its treasures of grace and glory for exploration. Human beings would be altogether different from what they are now; for by exploring the mines of truth, men would be ennobled. The mystery of redemption, the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice, would not be, as they are now, vague in our minds. They would be, not only better understood, but altogether more highly appreciated.
3 The Saviour saw that men were absorbed in getting gain, and were losing sight of eternal realities. He undertook to correct this evil. He sought to break the infatuating spell that was paralyzing the soul. Lifting up His voice, He cried, “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” He presents before fallen humanity the nobler world they have lost sight of, that they may behold eternal realities. He takes them to the threshold of the Infinite, flushed with the indescribable glory of God, and shows them the treasure there.
4 The value of this treasure is above gold or silver. The riches of earth’s mines can not compare with it.
“The depth saith, It is not in me!
The sea saith, It is not in me.
It can not be gotten for gold,
Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It can not be valued with the gold of Ophir,
With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
The gold and the crystal can not equal it;
And the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of
fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of pearls,
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.”
5 This is the treasure that is found in the Scriptures. The Bible is God’s great lessonbook, His great educator. The foundation of all true science is contained in the Bible. Every branch of knowledge may be found by searching the Word of God. And above all else, it contains the science of all sciences, the science of salvation.
6 In His prayer to the Father, Christ gave to the world a lesson which should be graven on mind and soul. “This is life eternal,” He said, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” This is true education. It imparts power. The experimental knowledge of God and of Christ transforms man into the image of God. It gives man the mastery of himself, bringing every impulse and passion of the lower nature under the control of the higher powers of the mind. It makes its possessor a son of God and an heir of heaven. It brings him into communion with the mind of the Infinite, and opens to him the rich treasures of the universe.
7 This is the knowledge that is obtained by searching the Word of God. And this treasure may be found by every soul who will give all to obtain it. “If thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasure; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
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Page 1182
1 A knowledge of the Word of God depends not so much upon strength of intellect as upon pureness of purpose, the simplicity of an earnest, dependent faith. To those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance, angels of God draw near. The Holy Spirit is given to open to them the rich treasures of truth.
2 God bids us fill our minds with great thoughts, pure thoughts. He desires us to meditate upon His love and mercy, to study His wonderful work in the great plan of redemption.
3 The Bible contains all the principles that men need in order to be fitted either for this life or for the life to come. And these principles may be understood by all. No one with a spirit to appreciate its teachings can read a single passage from the Bible without gaining from it some helpful thought. But the most valuable teaching of the Bible is not gained by occasional or disconnected study. Its great system of truth is not so presented as to be discerned by the careless or hasty reader. Many of its treasures lie far beneath the surface, and can be obtained only by diligent research and continuous effort. The truths that go to make up a great whole must be searched out and gathered up “here a little and there a little.”
4
When thus searched out and brought together, they will be found to be perfectly fitted to one another. Each Gospel is a supplement to the others, every prophecy an explanation of another, every truth a development of some other truth. The types of the Jewish economy are made plain by the Gospel. Every principle in the Word of God has its place, every fact its bearing. And the complete structure, in design and execution, bears testimony to its Author. Such a structure no mind but the Infinite could conceive or fashion.
5 Not alone in searching out truth and bringing it together does the mental value of Bible study consist. It consists also in the effort required to grasp the themes presented. The mind occupied with common place matters only becomes dwarfed and enfeebled. If never taxed to comprehend grand and far-reaching truths, it after a time loses the power of growth. As a safeguard against this degeneracy, and a stimulus to development, nothing can equal the study of God’s Word. As a means for intellectual training, the Bible is more effective than any other book, or all other books combined. The greatness of its themes, the dignified simplicity of its utterances, the beauty of its imagery, quicken and uplift the thoughts as nothing else can. No other study can impart such mental power as does the effort to grasp the stupendous truths of revelation. The mind thus brought in contact with the thoughts of the Infinite can not but expand and strengthen.
6
And even greater is the power of the Bible in the development of the spiritual nature. Man, created for fellowship with God, can only in such fellowship find his real life and development. Created to find in God his highest joy, he can find in nothing else that which can quiet the cravings of the heart, or satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul. He who with sincere and teachable spirit studies God’s Word, seeking to comprehend its truths, will be brought into touch with its Author, and, except by his own choice, there is no limit to the possibilities of his development.
7 In childhood, youth, and manhood, Jesus studied the Scriptures. As a little child, He was daily, at His mother’s knee, taught from the scrolls of the prophets. In His youth the early morning and evening twilight often found Him alone on the mountainside or among the trees of the forest, spending a quiet hour in prayer and in the study of God’s Word. During His ministry His intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures testified to His diligence in their study. And since He gained knowledge as we may gain it, His wonderful power, both mental and spiritual, is a testimony to the value of the Bible as a means of education.
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Page 1183
1 When a real love for the Bible is awakened, and the student begins to realize how vast is the field and how precious the treasure, he will seize upon every opportunity for acquainting himself with God’s Word. His study will be restricted to no special time or place. And this continuous study is one of the best means of cultivating a love for the Scriptures. Keep the Bible always with you. As you have opportunity, read a text and meditate upon it. While walking the streets, waiting at a railway station, waiting to meet an engagement, improve the opportunity to gain some precious thought from the treasure-house of truth.
2 We should not take the testimony of any man as to what these Scriptures teach, but should study the Word of God for ourselves. If we allow others to do our thinking for us, we shall have crippled energies and contracted abilities. The noble powers of the mind may be so dwarfed by lack of exercise in themes worthy of their concentration as to lose their ability to grasp the deep meaning of the Word of God. The mind will enlarge if it is employed in tracing out the relation of the subjects of the Bible, comparing scripture with scripture, and spiritual things with spiritual.
3 There is but little benefit derived from a hasty reading of the Scriptures. One may read the whole Bible through, and yet fail to see its beauty or comprehend its deep and hidden meaning. One passage studied until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view, and no positive instruction gained.
4
In your study of the Word, lay at the door of investigation your preconceived opinions and your hereditary and cultivated ideas. You will never reach the truth if you study the Scriptures to vindicate your own theories. Leave these at the door, and with contrite heart go in to hear what the Lord has to say to you. As the humble seeker for truth sits at Christ’s feet, and learns of Him, the Word gives him understanding. To those who are too wise in their own conceit to study the Bible, Christ says, “You must become meek and lowly in heart, if you desire to become wise unto salvation.”
5 Do not read the Word in the light of former opinions. Do not try to make everything agree with your creed. With a mind free from prejudice, search the Word carefully. If, as you read, conviction comes, and you see that your cherished opinions are not in harmony with the Word, do not try to make the Word fit these opinions. Do not allow what you have believed or practised in the past to control your understanding. Open the eyes of your mind to behold wondrous things out of the Word.
6 We can not obtain wisdom without earnest attention and prayerful study. Some portions of the Scriptures are indeed too plain to be misunderstood; but there are others whose meaning does not lie on the surface, to be seen at a glance. Scripture must be compared with scripture. There must be careful research and prayerful attention. And such study will be richly repaid. As the miner discovers veins of precious metal concealed beneath the surface of the earth, so will he who perseveringly searches the Word of God as for hid treasure, find truths of the greatest value, which are concealed from the view of the careless seeker. The words of Inspiration, pondered in the heart, will be as streams flowing from the fountain of light.
7 We should reverence God’s Word. For the printed volume we should show respect, never putting it to common uses, or handling it carelessly. And never should the Scriptures be quoted in jest or paraphrased to point a witty saying. “Every word of God is pure;” “as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”
8 Never should the Bible be studied without prayer. Before opening its pages we should ask for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. And it will be given. When Nathanael came to Jesus, the Saviour exclaimed, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.” Nathanael said, “Whence knowest Thou me?” Jesus answered, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.” And Jesus will see us also in [the] secret place of prayer, if we will seek Him for light, that we may know what is truth.
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Page 1184
1 The Bible teaches the whole will of God concerning the sons and daughters of Adam. It is the rule of life, teaching us what characters we must form for the future life. We need not the dim light of tradition to make the Scriptures comprehensible. As well might we suppose that the noonday sun needs the glimmering torchlight of earth to increase its glory. The utterances of priest or minister are not needed to save men from error. Those who consult the divine oracle will have light. In the Bible every duty is made plain. Every lesson reveals to us the Father and the Son. The Word is able to make all wise unto salvation. In the Word the science of salvation is plainly revealed. Search the Scriptures; for they are the voice of God speaking to the soul.
2 Christ and His Word are in perfect harmony. Received and obeyed, they open a sure path for the feet of all who are willing to walk in the light as Christ is in the light. If the people of God would appreciate His Word, we should have a heaven in the church here below. Christians would be eager, hungry, to search the Word. They would be anxious for time to compare scripture with scripture, and to meditate upon the Word. They would be more eager for the light of the Word than for the morning paper, magazines, or novels. Their greatest desire would be to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God. And as a result, their lives would be conformed to the principles and promises of the Word. Its instruction would be to them as the leaves of the tree of life. It would be to them a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life. Refreshing showers of grace would refresh and revive the soul, causing them to forget all toil and weariness. They would be strengthened and encouraged by the words of inspiration.
3 Weariness would be forgotten in the sunlight of Heaven. Truth would be interwoven with their lives, and its heavenly principles would be as a fresh, running stream, constantly satisfying the soul.
4
is the rule of the Christian’s life. The entire being should be imbued with the life-giving principles of heaven. The busy nothings which consume the time of so many shrink into their proper position before a healthy, sanctifying, Bible piety.
5 The Bible, and the Bible alone, can produce this good result. It is the wisdom of God and the power of God, and it works with power in the receptive heart. O what heights we might reach if we would conform our wills to the will of God. It is the power of God that we need, wherever we are. The frivolity that cumbers the church makes it weak and indifferent.
6 The whole Bible is a revelation of the glory of God in Christ. Received, believed, obeyed, it is the great instrumentality in the transformation of character. And it is the only sure means of intellectual culture.
7
The reason why the youth, and even those of mature years, are so easily led into temptation and sin, is that they do not study the Word of God and meditate upon it as they should. The lack of firm, decided will-power, which is manifest in life and character, results from their neglect of the sacred instruction of God’s Word. They do not by earnest effort direct the mind to that which would inspire pure, holy thought and divert it from that which is impure and untrue. There are few who choose the better part, few who sit at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary, to learn of Him. Few treasure His words in the heart and practise them in the life.
8 The truths of the Bible, received, will uplift the mind from earthliness and debasement. If the Word of God were appreciated as it should be, both old and young would possess an inward rectitude, a strength of principle, that would enable them to resist temptation.
9 Let men teach and write the precious things of the Word of God. Let the thought, the aptitude, the keen exercise of brain power, be given to the study of the thoughts of God. Study not the philosophy of man’s conjectures, but study the philosophy of Him who is truth. Other literature is of little value when compared with this.
10 The mind that is earthly finds no pleasure in contemplating the Word of God; but for the mind renewed by the Holy Spirit, divine beauty and celestial light shine from the sacred page. That which is to the earthly mind a desolate wilderness, to the spiritual mind becomes a land of living streams.
11
The Scriptures are the great agency in the transformation of character. Christ prayed, “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth.” If studied and obeyed, the Word of God works in the heart, subduing every unholy attribute. The Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin, and the faith that springs up in the heart works by love to Christ, conforming us, soul, body, and spirit, to his own image. Then God can use us to do His will. The power given us works from within outwardly, leading us to communicate to others the truth that has been communicated to us.
12 The truths of the Word of God meet man’s great practical necessity—the conversion of the soul through faith. These grand principles are not to be thought too pure and holy to be brought into the daily life. They are truths which reach to heaven and compass eternity, yet their vital influence is to be woven into human experience. They are to permeate all the great things and all the little things of life.
13 Received into the heart, the leaven of truth will regulate the desires, purify the thoughts, and sweeten the disposition. It quickens the faculties of the mind and the energies of the soul. It enlarges the capacity for feeling, for loving.
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Page 1185
1 It is because so many parents and teachers profess to live the Word of God while their lives deny its power, that the teaching of the Scripture has no great effect upon the youth. At times the youth are brought to feel the power of the Word. They see the preciousness of the love of Christ. They see the beauty of His character, the possibilities of a life given to His service. But in contrast they see the lives of those who profess to revere God’s precepts. Of how many are the words true that were spoken to the prophet Ezekiel:
2 “The children of thy people” “speak to one another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not.”
3 It is one thing to treat the Bible as a book of good moral instruction, to be heeded as far as is consistent with the spirit of the time; it is another thing to regard it as it really is—the Word of the living God—the Word that is our life, the Word that is to mould our actions, our words, and our thoughts. To hold God’s Word as anything less than this is to reject it. And this rejection by those who profess to believe it is foremost among the causes of skepticism and infidelity in the youth.
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If we would live a Christian life, the conscience must be quickened by constant contact with the Word of God. All the precious things which at infinite cost God has provided for us will do us no good; they can not strengthen us and produce spiritual growth, unless we appropriate them. We must eat the Word of God—make it a part of ourselves.
5 The increasing knowledge of Christ that is gained by a study of the Scriptures, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, enables the receiver to distinguish between right and wrong in all the affairs of life.
6 Let us make the Word of God the food of mind and soul. Let the cross of Christ be made the science of all education, the center of all teaching and all study. Let it be brought into the daily experience in practical life. So will the Saviour become to us a daily companion and friend. Every thought will be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. With the apostle Paul we shall be able to say: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
7 Thus, through faith, we shall come to know God by an experimental knowledge. We have proved for ourselves the reality of His Word, the truth of His promises. We have tasted, and we know that the Lord is good.
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are open to those who lay hold of the divine assurances of God’s Word. There are glorious truths to come before the people of God. Privileges and duties which they do not suspect to be in the Bible will be laid open before them. As they follow on in the path of humble obedience, doing His will, they will know more and more of the oracles of God.
9 Let the student take the Bible as his guide, and stand like a rock for principle, and he may aspire to any height of attainment. All the philosophies of human nature have led to confusion when God has not been recognized as all and in all. But the precious faith inspired of God imparts strength and nobility of character. As His goodness, His mercy, and His love are dwelt upon, clearer and still clearer will be the perception of truth; higher, holier the desire for purity of heart and clearness of thought. The soul dwelling in the atmosphere of holy thought is transformed by intercourse with God through the study of His Word. Truth is so large, so far-reaching, so deep, so broad, that self is lost sight of. The heart is softened and subdued into humility, kindness, and love.
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because of holy obedience. From the study of the words of life, students may come forth with minds expanded, elevated, ennobled. If they are, like Daniel, hearers and doers of the Word of God, they may advance as he did in all branches of learning. Being pure-minded, they will become strong-minded. Every intellectual faculty will be quickened. They may so educate and discipline themselves that all within the sphere of their influence may see what man can be, and what he can do, when connected with the God of wisdom and power.
11 “The stability of thy times and the strength of thy happiness shall be wisdom and knowledge”—that wisdom and knowledge that God’s Word alone can impart. It is as true now as when the words were spoken to Israel of obedience to His commandments: “This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations.”
12 Here is the only safeguard for individual integrity, for the purity of the home, the well-being of society, or the stability of the nation. Amidst all life’s perplexities and dangers and conflicting claims, the one safe and sure rule is to do what God says. “The statutes of the Lord are right;” and, “he that doeth these things shall never be moved.”
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Page 1186
1 To each of us God has committed sacred trusts, for which He holds us accountable. He designs that man shall be so educated as to develop his mental and moral powers, that he may have a well-balanced mind and a symmetrical character. But education alone will not prepare him to answer the object of his creation. He needs the grace of God, and divine aid awaits his demand. Divine power united with human effort will enable him to do good and glorify his Creator.
2 Few appreciate the value of man, and the glory that would redound to God were he to cultivate and preserve purity, nobility, and integrity of character. The value that God sets upon man is shown in the price that has been paid for his redemption; His love is expressed in that He withheld not His beloved Son, but gave Him to die for a sinful race. Angels could not, by any sacrifice that they could make, accomplish the work of man’s redemption. It was only through the suffering and death of Christ that he could be restored to the favor of God. For our sakes, He who knew no sin was made an offering for sin. He was afflicted insulted, oppressed. Arraigned as a criminal, He suffered shame, insult, mockery, and pain.
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Christ bore all this to rescue man from the hopeless state into which he had been brought by his disobedience of the law of God; for sin is the transgression of the law, and death is its penalty. He did not suffer to do away with the law, or to lessen its force, but that its claims might be met, and the sinner be spared. Through His perfect obedience, the law was exalted and made honorable.
4 Christ will elevate man, and give him rich and glorious possessions, if he will respect the claims of God’s law; but if he choose the service of Satan, and will ruin his hope of heaven by his stubborn sinfulness, he must lose these blessings. He will have a place with associates similar in character to himself,—with those defiled by sin, who consider it a virtue, an evidence of smartness, to doubt God’s Word and be ranked among skeptics. To choose to be a sinner is to refuse to stand before the throne of God washed from the defilement of sin; it is to refuse the riches of eternal glory; it is to refuse to be a joint-heir with Christ to the immortal inheritance, and to be exalted to an equality with the heavenly angels;—it is to reject all these, and to choose instead the sure consequence of sin, the sinner’s fixed doom.
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Those who might become co-laborers with Christ, and do good service in advancing the interests of His kingdom, but who use their talents and influence to tear down instead of to build up, are like noted rebels; their prominence, the value of the talent they use in the service of Satan, increases their guilt and makes their punishment sure. These will feel the wrath of God. They will experience what Christ suffered in saving men from the penalty of the broken law. The value of man and the measure of his accountability can be known only by the cross of Calvary. He who presents Himself to the sinner as the One strong to deliver, will prove Himself mighty to execute wrath and judgment upon every unrepenting son of Adam. He who holds the worlds in position, who weighs the hills in scales, and the mountains in a balance, who taketh up the isles as a very little thing, will show Himself mighty to avenge His unrequited mercy and spurned love. Those who flatter themselves that God is too merciful to punish the sinner, have only to look to Calvary to make assurance doubly sure that vengeance will be visited upon every transgressor of His righteous law.
6 The penalty for breaking the law of God is proportionate to the price paid to redeem its transgressors. What unutterable bliss is prepared for those who will be saved through Christ, and what depths of woe for those who despise and reject His great salvation! Whatever of a worldly nature men esteem valuable sinks into insignificance when viewed in this light, and how great appears our obligation to use in the service of God all the talents that He has entrusted to our keeping.
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to comprehend the atonement; the mysterious and wonderful plan of redemption is so far-reaching that philosophy can not explain it; it will ever remain a mystery that the most profound reason can not fathom. If it could be explained by finite wisdom, it would lose its sacredness and dignity. It is a mystery that One equal with the eternal Father should so abase Himself as to suffer the cruel death of the cross to ransom man; and it is a mystery that God so loved the world as to permit His Son to make this great sacrifice. The Holy Spirit exalts and glorifies the Saviour. It is His office to present Christ, the great salvation that we have through Him, and the sacred, elevated purity of His righteousness. Says Christ, “He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” The Spirit of truth is the only effectual teacher of divine truth; those who are taught of Him have entered the school of Christ. How must God esteem the race, that He gave His Son to die for them, and appoints His Spirit to be man’s teacher and continual guide. Satan understands this, and he lays his plans to mar and wound man, the workmanship of God, and to prevent him from enjoying the happiness that this great rebel lost through his disobedience and malice.
8 Since his fall from heaven, it has been Satan’s only joy and constant employment to thwart the plan of God by preventing the salvation of perishing men. He has carried on this work with marked success, and will continue it until Christ shall bring his career to an end. He has tried to induce men to aid him in treading the honor of God into the dust, and many have become co-laborers with him, and have encouraged his rebellion. Those who do this, who glory in their skepticism, and lead others to despise the law of Jehovah,
in the ranks of the enemies of Christ, and use their influence to destroy rather than to save souls. They second Satan in his efforts to undermine the law of God by assuring the sinner that he will be saved while transgressing that law. They serve Satan, and will share his terrible fate.
9 The short space of time allotted to men here is exceedingly valuable. Now, while probation lingers, God proposes to unite His strength with the weakness of finite man. We should so educate ourselves that we can serve Him intelligently. Those who have cherished skepticism may, by proper discipline of the mind, learn to cherish faith. Those who truly love God will desire so to improve the talents that He has given them, that they may be a blessing to others. And by and by the gates of heaven will be thrown wide open to admit them, and from the lips of the King of glory the benediction will fall upon their ear like richest music, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Thus the redeemed will be welcomed to the mansions that Jesus is preparing for them. There their companions will not be the vile of earth,—liars, idolaters, the impure, or the unbelieving; but they will associate with those who have overcome Satan and his devices, and through divine aid have formed perfect characters.
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every imperfection that afflicts them here, has been removed by the blood of Christ; and the excellence and brightness of His glory, far exceeding the brightness of the sun in its meridian splendor, is imparted to them. And the moral beauty, the perfection of His character, shines through them, in worth far exceeding this outward splendor. They are without fault around the great white throne, sharing the dignity and privileges of the angels.
11 “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” In view of the glorious inheritance which may be his, “what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” He may be poor; yet he possesses in himself a wealth and dignity that the world could never bestow. The soul redeemed and cleansed from sin, with all its noble powers dedicated to the service of God, is of surpassing worth; and there is joy in heaven, in the presence of God and holy angels, over one sinner that repents,—a joy that is expressed in songs of holy triumph. Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1187
1 Christ promises, “He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The way is plain; the will of God is manifest. We are not to live in doubt and uncertainty, and to rest satisfied while groping our way without a guide. Jesus does not, after giving us general directions, leave us to guess the way amid by-paths and dangerous passes. He leads us in a straight path; and while we follow Him, our footsteps will not slide. It was Jesus that led ancient Israel, tho the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night concealed Him from their view; and in this important period of the world’s history, He will as manifestly lead His people. The path is no uncertain one. The way is marked out, and every step is ordered of the Lord.
2 God has ample light and grace to bestow upon all them that fear Him. Especially will He help His people in these last days, when Satan’s devices are so abundant, so deceptive, and so corrupting. To those who will walk in the truth, the God of truth will give grace according to their needs. He will fill their hearts with peace, and courage, and confidence. But mercy and truth are promised only to the contrite and obedient. God has said that justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne; and those who are disobedient and rebellious will not escape the visitation of His just anger.
3 We can not afford to separate ourselves from Jesus for a single hour. Without Him we are in danger of being overcome of Satan, who is ever watching to suggest doubt, unbelief, and error. The world is flooded with error; it meets us on every hand. It is taught from the sacred desk, and lurks in theology, in literature, in philosophy, in science. Error perverts the judgment and opens the door to temptation, and through its influence Satan seeks to turn hearts from the truth; but an intelligent love for the truth sanctifies the receiver, and keeps him from the enemy’s deceptive snares.
4 Satan uses some professed Christians to lead souls from the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ. Worldly associates and amusements sow the seeds of doubt and skepticism. The sentiment of many worldly professors is, “Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” “Speak unto us smooth things; prophesy deceits.” Many are daily cheating their souls with a form of godliness without the power; but the Lord has removed His smile and the inspiration of His Spirit from them. His displeasure is against them, because their deeds are evil. He demands decided changes in the life and character. Good intentions, good resolutions, good acts, can not be accepted as substitutes for repentance, faith, and willing obedience.
5 The people are too willing to believe their teachers without careful thought and prayerful investigation of God’s Word. They love to have their consciences quieted—love to be rocked to sleep in the cradle of carnal security. In their blind selfishness, they deceive themselves in those things wherein they are willing to be deceived. Our Saviour declared to the Pharisees, “Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.” And in His conversation with Nicodemus He said; “Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” So in this age; the church will neither search the Scriptures nor listen to the truth, lest her works be reproved. She is more willing to depart from the commandments of God than from the customs and friendship of the world. And because great men and worldly wise men are in her favor, because numbers and temporal prosperity are hers, she believes herself favored of God—”rich, and increased with goods, and in need of nothing.”
6 But earthly prosperity is no evidence of the favor of God. Christ and His apostles teach us, both by precept and example, that the true child of God can not enjoy the friendship of the world. If he seeks it, it will become a snare to him; he will adopt the customs, precepts, and standards of the world, and will finally become like them in spirit. But there can be no fellowship between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. Says the apostle John, “The world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” They are unknown, unacknowledged by the world; but their names, cast out as evil by the lovers of sin, are written in the book of life. They are the adopted heirs of Christ, the nobility of Heaven. These are they that came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
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Page 1188
1 If we commit the keeping of our souls to God in the exercise of living faith, His promises will not fail us; for they have no limit but our faith. “All things are possible to him that believeth.” We may make or mar our own happiness. Many pet and excuse the defects in their characters; but these must all be remedied. Every deviation from the right is sin, and sin must be put away. We can not afford to walk carelessly before our brethren or before the world.
2 Many confess their sins again and again, but do not put them away by genuine repentance. Unless we have a firm purpose and the aid of the grace of God, strong resolutions and vigilant watchfulness will be vain and powerless when temptations assail the soul; and under such circumstances some give up in despair, fearing that they must ever remain slaves of sin. These have not a living faith in Jesus. We can not trust in ourselves; if we do, we shall fail. Jesus has spoiled the powers of darkness; and it is through faith in His might that we shall be made strong. He will lift up a standard against Satan in behalf of every trusting, believing soul. We have the assurance that His grace is sufficient for us, and that we shall not be tempted above that we are able to bear. This is our only hope.
3 The apostle says, “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Christian church at Pentecost, great wisdom and grace rested upon the whole body of believers. This blessing was given in answer to earnest, persevering prayer; and today God is just as willing to listen to the petitions of His people. “Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.”
4 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” When these fruits appear in the life, a telling influence will be exerted upon the world. The truly converted man will cease aspiring to be thought great. He will not seek for worldly honor, nor for luxury, ease, or wealth; neither will he be sensitive to reproach or neglect. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Self is no longer the supreme object of love; family and friends are no longer the boundary. His heart is enlarged. Jesus has the first place in his affections; he loves Christians, because he sees in them the image of his Master, and all mankind with a love that prompts him to do them good. This is the fruit growing on the true Vine, more precious in the sight of God than all the wealth and learning of earth’s great men.
5 The unparalleled exhibition of love that was made on Calvary shows how God estimates souls. If we have this love in our hearts, we shall seek to win sinners to Jesus, that for them this great sacrifice may not have been made in vain. The language of the heart will be, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.” We shall say with the psalmist, “I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation; I have not concealed Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.” We shall rejoice to speak of the wisdom and goodness of God as shown in the way He has led His people; for we shall have proved that “the path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
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Page 1189
1 A great crisis is just before us. Men boast of the wonderful progress and enlightenment of the age, but God sees the guilt and depravity of the world. The heavenly Watcher sees the earth filled with violence and crime. Wealth is obtained by every species of iniquity. By robbery of God and of their fellows, men are amassing fortunes. Everything that they can grasp is made to minister to their greed. Avarice and sensuality bear sway. Men revenge themselves on those who, they suppose, have hindered the success of their ambitious projects. They have accepted the enemy of all good as their leader, and have become imbued with his spirit.
2 The world is a theater, and the actors, its inhabitants, are preparing to act their part in the last great drama. God is lost sight of. With the great masses of humanity, there is no unity, except as men confederate to accomplish their selfish purposes. God is looking on. His purposes in regard to His rebellious subjects will be fulfilled. The world has not been given into the hands of men, tho God is permitting the elements of confusion and disorder to bear sway for a season. A power from beneath is working to bring about the last scenes in the drama,—Satan coming as Christ, and working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those who are binding themselves together in secret societies. Those who are yielding to the passion for confederation are working out the plans of the enemy. Cause will be followed by effect.
3 Transgression has almost reached its limit. Confusion fills the world, and a great terror is soon to come upon human beings. The end is very near. God’s people should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.
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The people of each age will be judged by the light they have received. The church of today has been favored with great light and many opportunities—favored even as Chorazin and Bethsaida were favored. How Christ longed to see some fruit from the labor He expended on these cities. And how greatly He longs to see His church of today standing in freedom from sin. O that those for whom He has wrought so mightily would strive to be like Him in character! How it would cheer His heart to see them partaking of His nature, their works testifying to their faith in God, and to their realization of the obligation resting upon them to work for Him.
5 Many wonder at the blindness of the Jews in rejecting Christ. Had we lived in His day, they declare, we would gladly have received His teaching. We should never have been partakers of the guilt of those who rejected the Saviour. But too often, when obedience to God requires self-denial and sacrifice, these very ones stifle their convictions and refuse to obey.
6 God expects us to gain every day a clearer understanding of His will. He asks for the consecration to His service of all that we have and are. If you have caught a glimpse of Heaven’s truth, turn not away. Be not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Walk in the light you have received, and your pathway will grow brighter and brighter. In the light shining from Calvary, you will see the sinfulness of sin, and you will see also God’s willingness and power to save from sin. The Lord holds out to you the offer of partnership with Himself. Uniting with Christ, you can work the works of God.
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On His coronation day, Christ will not acknowledge as His any who bear spot or wrinkle. But to His faithful ones He will give crowns of immortal glory. Those who would not that He should reign over them will see Him surrounded by the army of the redeemed. They will see the head once crowned with thorns crowned with a diadem of glory.
8 In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and the Son. The angels of heaven, touching their golden harps, will welcome the King and His trophies of victory—those who have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. A song of triumph will peal forth, filling all heaven. Christ has conquered. He enters the heavenly courts accompanied by His redeemed ones—the witnesses that His mission of suffering and sacrifice has not been in vain.
Page 1190
1 To each human being God has assigned a work. Abraham was called to go forth from his home, a lightbearer to the heathen. And without questioning he obeyed. “He went out, not knowing whither he went.” So today God’s servants are to go where He calls, trusting Him to guide them and give them success in their work.
2 The disciples of Christ are to feel a noble, generous sympathy for every line of work carried on in the great harvest field. They are to be interested in everything that concerns the good of their fellow men. By their baptismal vows they are pledged to make persevering, self-denying efforts to promote, in the hardest parts of the field, the work of soul-saving. God has placed on every believer the responsibility of striving to rescue the helpless and the oppressed. They are to break every yoke, letting the oppressed go free from the power of vicious habits and sinful practises.
3 Christians are to be Christlike in their earnest desire to save souls. They should regard it as the highest honor to be enlisted in Christ’s army. They should thank God for the privilege of using the talent of speech to win souls to the Saviour. They should look upon no privilege as more precious than that of imparting to others knowledge they have received.
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While you are unconsecrated, golden opportunities to help souls to see Jesus as He is full of grace and truth—are being lost. That which you have not done as a devoted Christian in the year which has now almost passed into eternity, you can not now do. But through the grace of Christ, you may redeem the time by redoubling your exertions. Let your interest in the souls for whom Christ has died deepen and broaden. Do not ask, “What shall this man do?” for then Christ would say to you as He said to Peter, “What is that to thee? follow thou Me.” Keep your own soul in the love of the truth, and work with untiring endeavor to win souls to the Saviour.
5 Look upon the world today. Is the voice of prayer heard amidst the din of confusion? Altars are erected, but it is not to God that the sacrifices are offered. Deceivers, robbers, and murderers are many. Pride of ancestry and pride of wealth minister to the work of soul-destruction. Avarice, sensuality, malice—these are the attributes that bear sway. Thousands are standing on the brink of perdition. Do you not see them, many of them lost, eternally lost, whilst professing Christians sleep the sleep of indifference?
6 Earnest, Self-Sacrificing Men and Women are needed, men and women who will go to God, and with strong crying and tears plead for the precious souls that are going to ruin. There can be no harvest without seed-sowing, no result without effort.
7 Christ gave His life to save sinners, and He says to His followers, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end.” He has laid out before us the work to be done, and has declared that He will give power for the accomplishment of this work. Shall we take Him at His word, believing that He meant just what He said when He declared that the whole world is to hear the message of mercy?
8 The work is fast closing up, and on every side wickedness is increasing. We have but a short time in which to work. God is not willing that any should perish. He has provided abundantly for the salvation of all. If His people had gone forth as they should, giving the invitation of mercy, many souls would have been won to Christ. Let us awake from spiritual slumber, and consecrate all that we have and are to the Lord. His Spirit will abide with true missionaries, furnishing them with power for service. God is an overflowing fountain of efficiency and strength. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes. When this power is utilized, it will be found to be more than sufficient to meet the power of the enemy.
9 It is impossible for men who believe in Christ to see the work that needs to be done and not do anything. Daily the church is to receive from heaven the healing balm of God’s grace to impart to the needy and suffering. The church of God is weighted with the most sacred responsibilities and the most glorious privileges. All who believe the message of Christ’s soon coming will go forth to do something for the Master, relying on the assurance, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” In practical obedience to the divine command, his confidence will increase and his talents will multiply.
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Page 1191
1 If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Nothing but divine power can regenerate the human heart and imbue souls with the love of Christ, which will ever manifest itself with love for those for whom He died. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. When converted to God, a new moral taste is supplied, a new motive power is given, and he loves the things that God loves; for his life is bound up by the golden chain of the immutable promises to the life of Jesus. Love, joy, peace, and inexpressible gratitude will pervade the soul, and the language of him who is blessed will be, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.”
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But those who are waiting to behold a magical change in their characters without determined effort on their part to overcome sin, will be disappointed. We have no reason to fear while looking to Jesus, no reason to doubt but that He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto Him; but we may constantly fear lest our old nature will again obtain the supremacy, that the enemy shall devise some snare whereby we shall again become his captives. We are to work out our “own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you to will and to do of His good pleasure.” With our limited powers we are to be as holy in our sphere as God is holy in His sphere. To the extent of our ability, we are to make manifest the truth and love and excellence of the divine character. As wax takes the impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit of God and retain the image of Christ.
3 We are to grow daily in spiritual loveliness. We shall fail often in our efforts to copy the divine Pattern. We shall often have to bow down to weep at the feet of Jesus, because of our shortcomings and mistakes; but
we are to pray more fervently, believe more fully, and try again with more steadfastness to grow into the likeness of our Lord. As we distrust our own power, we shall trust the power of our Redeemer, and render praise to God, who is the health of our countenance, and our God.
4 Wherever there is union with Christ there is love. Whatever other fruits we may bear, if love be missing, they profit nothing. Love to God and our neighbor is the very essence of our religion. No one can love Christ and not love His children. When we are united to Christ, we have the mind of Christ. Purity and love shine forth in the character, meekness and truth control the life. The very expression of the countenance is changed. Christ abiding in the soul exerts a transforming power, and the outward aspect bears witness to the peace and joy that reign within. We drink in the love of Christ, as the branch draws nourishment from the vine. If we are grafted in Christ, if fiber by fiber we have been united with the Living Vine, we shall give evidence of the fact by bearing rich clusters of living fruit. If we are connected with the Light, we shall be channels of light, and in our words and works we shall reflect light to the world. Those who are truly Christians are bound with the chain of love which links earth to heaven, which binds finite man to the infinite God. The light that shines in the face of Jesus Christ shines in the hearts of His followers, to the glory of God.
5 By beholding we are to become changed; and as we meditate upon the perfections of the divine Model, we shall desire to become wholly transformed and renewed in the image of His purity. It is by faith in the Son of God that transformation takes place in the character, and the child of wrath becomes the child of God. He passes from death unto life; he becomes spiritual and discerns spiritual things. The wisdom of God enlightens his mind, and he beholds wondrous things out of His law. As a man is converted by the truth, the work of transformation of character goes on. He has an increased measure of understanding. In becoming a man of obedience to God, he has the mind of Christ, and the will of God becomes his will.
6 He who places himself unreservedly under the guidance of the Spirit of God will find that his mind expands and develops. He obtains an education in the service of God which is not one-sided and deficient, developing a one-sided character, but one which results in symmetry and completeness. Weaknesses that have been manifested in a vacillating will and powerless character are overcome, for continual devotion and piety bring the man in such close relation to Christ that he has the mind of Christ. He is one with Christ, having soundness and strength of principle. His perception is clear, and he manifests that wisdom which comes from God. Says James, “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” This will be the wisdom manifested by him who takes the cup of salvation and calls upon the name of the Lord. This salvation which offers pardon to the transgressor, presents to him the righteousness that will bear the scrutiny of the omniscient One, gives victory over the powerful enemy of God and man, provides eternal life and joy for its receiver, and may well be a theme of rejoicing to the humble, who hear thereof and are glad.
Mrs. E. G. White.
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Page 1192
1 In order to save fallen man, under a sense of the infinite magnitude of the task, Christ undertook to represent to the world the character of God in His great love for the world. Nothing was allowed to divert His attention for a moment. His one effort was to carry out the plan of God laid before the foundation of the world. Said Christ, “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life that I might take it again.” “As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” That is: “My Father hath so loved you, that He even loves Me more for giving My life to redeem you. In becoming your substitute and surety, by surrendering My life, by taking your liabilities, your transgressions, I am endeared to My Father; for by My sacrifice, His will is fulfilled, His law vindicated, and God can be just, and yet justify him who believes in Jesus.”
2 This is a love that passeth knowledge. Shall we not be filled with astonishment at the amazing riches of the grace of Christ? Jesus alone could do the work. Knowing the height and depth of the love of God, he engaged to come into the world to make it manifest to sinners. Nothing less than the infinite sacrifice made by Christ in behalf of fallen man could express the love of God to lost humanity. It is impossible for us to conceive of the riches of His grace abundantly provided for all who believe on Christ. And having thus Himself represented the love of the Father, He has enjoined upon those who believe in Him to represent His character to the world, and thus reflect the glory of God in their own character.
3 Jesus says, “As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world,” to be witnesses for Me. Christ calls upon each of His followers to represent His goodness, His mercy, and His love to the world, as He represented the love of the Father. He has made those who believe in Him as their personal Saviour, partakers of the divine nature, that they should not perish, but have everlasting life; and those who are saved by His grace are to reveal His power to others, that others may be saved thru their instrumentality. All who are truly converted are commissioned of God to be light bearers to the world.
4 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” It is the privilege and duty of every child of God to obtain day by day a living experience in the things of Christ. Thru a connection with Christ, we are to go forth in His Spirit, with His mind, as agents to cooperate with the divine, to bear to the world the message of the love of God to man. We are to proclaim that Christ is our Advocate, that the bow of promise encircles the throne, that the Lord is waiting to be gracious. This work must not be set aside because it requires self-denial and self-sacrifice. Looking to the Author and Finisher of our faith, we must see there our pattern, and shape our life after the example He has given.
5 The church may individually be all that they profess to be; for if they will seek the Lord with all the heart, they will be filled with the Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Pattern, and every one who copies the Pattern will estimate the value of his own soul as the purchased possession of Christ. He will see that the Lord requires all the members of His church, as living, human agencies, to exert a sanctified influence in unity to build up the Redeemer’s kingdom in the earth. The careless inaction, the indolence, the neglect to improve a single faculty and intrusted capability which might have been employed for blessing humanity, robs the world of the promised influence of the Holy Spirit, which might have accompanied with its presence the living witness for God. A message from heaven is sent to the world by those whom the Lord has called. They are to make known the salvation of God, that, by the testimony of those who are sanctified, many may be saved.
Mrs. E. G. White.
Page 1193
1 Given by inspiration of God,” “able to make us wise unto salvation,” rendering “the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” —the Book of books has the highest claims to our reverent attention. Superficial study of the word of God can not meet the claims it has upon us, nor furnish us with the benefit that is promised. We should seek to learn the full meaning of the words of truth, and to drink deep the spirit of the holy oracles.
2 To read daily a certain number of chapters, or to commit to memory a stipulated amount of Scripture, without careful thought as to the meaning of the text, will profit but little. To study one passage until its significance is clear to the mind, and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained.
3 We can not obtain wisdom from the word of God without giving earnest and prayerful attention to its study. It is true that some portions of Scripture are, indeed, too plain to be misunderstood; but there are many portions whose meaning can not be seen at a glance; for the truth does not lie upon the surface. In order to understand the meaning of such passages, scripture must be compared with scripture; there must be careful research and prayerful reflection. Such study will be richly repaid. As the miner discovers precious veins of metal concealed beneath the surface of the earth, so will he who perseveringly searches the word of God as for hid treasure find truths of the greatest value which are concealed from the careless seeker.
4 You must dig in the mine of truth till you find its greatest treasure, and by comparing scripture with scripture you may find the true meaning of the text. But if you do not make the sacred teachings of God’s word the rule and guide of your life, the truth will be nothing to you. Truth is efficient only as it is carried out in practical life. If the word of God condemns some habit you have indulged, a feeling you have cherished, a spirit you have manifested, turn not from the word of God, but turn away from the evil of your doings, and let Jesus cleanse and sanctify your heart. Confess your faults, and forsake them wholly and determinedly, believing the promises of God, and showing your faith by your works. If the truths of the Bible are woven into practical life, they will bring the mind up from earthliness and debasement. Those who are conversant with the Scriptures will be men and women who exert an elevating influence.
5 In searching for Heaven-revealed truths, the Spirit of God is brought into close connection with the sincere searcher of the Scriptures. An understanding of the revealed will of God enlarges the mind, expands, elevates, and endows it with new vigor, by bringing its faculties into contact with stupendous truth. No study is better to give energy to the mind, to strengthen the intellect, than the study of the word of God. No other book is so potent in elevating the thoughts, in giving vigor to the faculties, as is the Bible, which contains the most ennobling truths. If God’s word were studied as it should be, we would see breadth of mind, stability of purpose, nobility of character, such as are rarely seen in these times.
Page 1194
1 In the prayer of Christ for His disciples, He said concerning them: “The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one [in spiritual union]; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
2 The glory of Christ is His character, and His character is an expression of the law of God. He fulfilled the law in its every specification, and gave to the world in His life a perfect pattern of what it is possible for humanity to attain unto by cooperation with divinity. In His humanity Christ was dependent upon the Father, even as humanity is now dependent upon God for divine power in attaining unto perfection of character. God’s law is an exponent of His character, an expression of His holiness; but, viewed by him who was fallen thru sin, it is a voice of condemnation, a ministration of death. It is not in the province of the law to pardon the transgressor; for “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” “By . . . the law there shall no sin be justified.” No ray of hope shines forth from the law to the sinner, and its transgressor can find no answer from the law to his anxious inquiry, “What shall I do to be saved?” “How shall I be just with God?”
3 But thru Christ a way of escape has been provided. Our Redeemer came in the flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, to lay hold of the repenting soul with an unyielding grasp, and at the same time to grasp the throne of God, becoming the connecting link between humanity and divinity, between earth and heaven. He is the only refuge for the guilty soul. In searching to know God, man is directed to Christ, who lived out the law of God, and manifested to the world the attributes of the Father. In the Son of God the inexpressible goodness of God is revealed; for in Him mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ in the flesh, condemning sin in the flesh, was a perfect revelation of God to the world. Christ declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”
4 In answer to the request of Philip, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” Jesus said: “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” The Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the glory of the Godhead. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. God has revealed Himself to men; He stooped to take upon Him our nature, and in His Son we see the glory of the divine attributes. Those who see not in Christ the divine character are in the shadow of Satan’s misrepresentation of divinity. “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” “Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” “In whom we have redemption thru His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.”
5 In Christ Jesus is a revelation of the glory of the Godhead. All that the human agent can know of God to the saving of the soul, is the measure of the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, to which he can attain; for Christ is He who represents the Father. The most wonderful truth to be grasped by men is the truth, “Immanuel, God with us.” Christ is the wisdom of God. He is the great “I Am” to the world. As we contemplate the glory of the divine character as revealed in Christ, we are led to exclaim, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” This wisdom is displayed in the love that reaches out for the recovery of lost and ruined man.
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Page 1195
1 Into this world came our Lord Jesus Christ as the unwearied Servant of man’s necessity. He “took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses,” that He might minister to every need of humanity. He came to remove the burden of disease and wretchedness and sin. It was His mission to bring to men complete restoration; He came to give them health and peace and perfection of character.
2 The Saviour’s work was not restricted to any time or place. His compassion knew no limit. Wherever there were hearts ready to receive His message, He comforted them with the assurance of their heavenly Father’s love. All day He ministered to those who came to Him; in the evening He gave attention to such as thru the day must toil to earn a pittance for the support of their families.
3 Jesus carried the awful weight of responsibility for the salvation of men. He knew that unless there was a decided change in the principles and purposes of the human race, all would be lost. This was the burden of His soul, and none could appreciate the weight that rested upon Him. Thru childhood, youth, and manhood, He walked alone. Yet it was heaven to be in His presence. Day by day He met trials and temptations; day by day He was brought into contact with evil, and witnessed its power upon those whom He was seeking to bless and to save. Yet He did not fail nor become discouraged.
4 In all things He brought His wishes into strict abeyance to His mission. He glorified His life by making everything in it subordinate to the will of His Father. When in His youth His mother, finding Him in the school of the rabbis, said, “Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us?” He answered,—and His answer is the keynote of His life-work,—”How is it that ye sought Me? Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?”
5 His life was one of constant self-sacrifice. He had no home in this world, except as the kindness of friends provided for Him as a wayfarer. He came to live in our behalf the life of the poorest, and to walk and work among the needy and the suffering. Unrecognized and unhonored, He walked in and out among the people for whom He had done so much.
6 He was always patient and cheerful, and the afflicted hailed Him as a messenger of life and peace. He saw the needs of men and women, children and youth, and to all He gave the invitation, “Come unto Me.”
7 During His ministry, Jesus devoted more time to healing the sick than to preaching. His miracles testified to the truth of His words that He came not to destroy, but to save. He made each work of healing an occasion for implanting divine principles in the mind and soul. This was the purpose of His work. He imparted earthly blessings that He might incline the hearts of men to receive the Gospel of His grace.
8 By the sea, on the mountainside, in the streets of the city, in the synagog, His voice was heard explaining the Scriptures. Often He taught in the outer court of the temple, that the Gentiles might hear His words. The subject of Christ’s teaching was the word of God. He met questioners with a plain, “It is written,” “What saith the Scriptures?” “How readest thou?” At every opportunity when an interest was awakened by either friend or foe, He presented the word. With clearness and power He proclaimed the Gospel message. His words shed a flood of light on the teachings of patriarchs and prophets, and the Scriptures came to men as a new revelation. Never before had His hearers perceived in the word of God such depth of meaning.
9 He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the healing remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself, He presented a lesson appropriate to the time and the circumstances. Every neglect or insult shown by men to their fellow men only made Him more conscious of their need of His divine-human sympathy. He sought to inspire with hope the roughest and most unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as the children of God.
10 Often He met those who had drifted under Satan’s control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory.
11 At the table of the publicans He sat as an honored guest, by His sympathy and social kindliness showing that He recognized the dignity of humanity; and men longed to become worthy of His confidence. Upon their thirsty hearts His words fell with blessed, life-giving power.
12 Never was there such an evangelist as Christ. He was the Majesty of heaven, but He humbled Himself to take our nature, that He might meet men where they were. To all people, rich and poor, free and bond, Christ, the Messenger of the covenant, brought the tidings of salvation. His fame as the great Healer spread throughout Palestine. The sick came to the places thru which He would pass, that they might call on Him for help. Hither, too, came many anxious to hear His words and to receive a touch of His hand. Thus He went from city to city, from town to town, preaching the Gospel and healing the sick—the King of glory in the lowly garb of humanity.
Page 1196
1 In these days when vice and crime of every form are rapidly increasing, there is a tendency to become so familiar with existing conditions that we lose sight of their cause and of their significance. More intoxicating liquors are used today than have ever been used heretofore. In the horrible details of revolting drunkenness and terrible crime, the newspapers give but a partial report of the story of the resultant lawlessness. Violence is in the land. And yet, notwithstanding the many evidences of the increase of crime and lawlessness, men seldom stop to think seriously of the meaning of these things. Almost without exception, men boast of the enlightenment and progress of the present age.
2 Upon those to whom God has given light, rests the solemn responsibility of calling the attention of others to the significance of the increase of drunkenness and crime. They should also bring before the minds of others the Scriptures that plainly portray the conditions which shall exist just prior to the second coming of Christ. Faithfully should they uplift the divine standard, and raise their voices in protest against the sanctioning of the liquor traffic by legal enactment.
3 The evils that are so apparent at the present time are the same that brought destruction to the antediluvian world. “In the days that were before the Flood,” one of the prevailing sins was drunkenness. From the record in Genesis we learn that “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Crime reigned supreme. Men whose reason was dethroned by intoxicating drink, thought little of taking the life of a human being.
4 “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” The drunkenness and the crime that now prevail have been foretold by the Saviour. We are living in the closing days of this earth’s history. It is a most solemn time. Everything betokens the soon return of Christ. The very conditions we see in the great cities of our land, the mad acts of men whose minds have been inflamed by drugged liquor sold under sanction of the rulers of the people, the dead and the dying whose destruction can be traced to the use of poisonous liquor—all these evils are but a fulfillment of our Saviour’s prophecy, whereby we may know that Jesus will soon appear in the clouds of heaven.
5
The Lord can not bear much longer with an intemperate and perverse generation. There are many solemn warnings in the Scriptures against the use of intoxicating liquors. In the days of old, when Moses was rehearsing the desire of Jehovah concerning His people, there were uttered against the drunkard the following words:
6 “And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, tho I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: the Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.”
7 Solomon says: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.”
8 The use of wine among the Israelites was one of the causes that finally resulted in their captivity. Thru the prophet Amos the Lord said to them:
9 “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion! . . . Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall: that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.”
10 “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness.” “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.”
11 These words of warning and command are pointed and decided. Let those in positions of public trust take heed, lest thru wine and strong drink they forget the law, and pervert judgment. Rulers and judges should ever be in a condition to fulfil the instruction of the Lord: “Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in anywise, and they cry at all unto Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.”
12 The Lord God of heaven ruleth. He alone is above all authority, over all kings and rulers. The Lord has given special directions in His word in reference to the use of wine and strong drink. He has forbidden their use, and enforced His prohibitions with strong warnings and threatenings. But His forbidding the use of intoxicating beverages is not an exercise of arbitrary authority. He seeks to restrain men, in order that they may escape from the evil results of indulgence in wine and strong drink. Degradation, cruelty, wretchedness, and strife follow as the natural results of intemperance. God has pointed out the consequence of following this course of evil. This He has done that there may not be a perversion of His laws, and that men may be spared the widespread misery resulting from the course of evil men who, for the sake of gain, sell maddening intoxicants.
13 The relation of crime to intemperance is well understood by men who have to deal with those who transgress the laws of the land. In the words of a Philadelphia judge: “We can trace four-fifths of the crimes that are committed to the influence of rum. There is not one case in twenty where a man is tried for his life, in which rum is not the direct or indirect cause of the murder. Rum and blood, I mean the shedding of blood, go hand in hand.”
14 A district attorney in the city of Boston is reported as declaring that “ninety-nine out of one hundred of the crimes in our commonwealth are produced by intoxicating liquors.”
Page 1197
1 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; . . . that saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? . . . Thine eyes and thine heart are not but for covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.”
2 This scripture pictures the work of those who manufacture and who sell intoxicating liquor. Their business means robbery. For the money they receive, no useful equivalent is returned. Every dollar they add to their gains has brought a curse to the spender.
3 Every year millions upon millions of gallons of intoxicating liquors are consumed. Millions upon millions of dollars are spent in buying wretchedness, poverty, disease, degradation, lust, crime, and death. For the sake of gain, the liquor-dealer deals out to his victims that which corrupts and destroys mind and body. He entails on the drunkard’s family poverty and wretchedness.
4 Houses of prostitution, dens of vice, criminal courts, prisons, almshouses, insane asylums, hospitals, all are, to a great degree, filled as a result of the liquor-seller’s work. Like the mystic Babylon of the Apocalypse, he is dealing in “slaves and souls of men.” Behind the liquor-seller stands the mighty destroyer of souls, and every art which earth or hell can devise is employed to draw human beings under his power. In the city and the country, on the railway trains, on the great steamers, in places of business, in the halls of pleasure, in the medical dispensary, even in the church, on the sacred communion-table, his traps are set. Nothing is left undone to create and to foster the desire for intoxicants. On almost every corner stands the public house with its brilliant lights, its welcome and good cheer, inviting the working man, the wealthy idler, and the unsuspecting youth.
5 Day by day, month by month, year by year, the work goes on. Fathers and husbands and brothers, the stay and hope and pride of the nation, are steadily passing into the liquor-dealer’s haunt to be sent back wrecked and ruined.
6 More terrible still, the curse is striking the very heart of the home. More and more, women are forming the liquor habit. In many a household, little children, even in the innocence and helplessness of babyhood, are in daily peril thru the neglect, the abuse, the vileness of drunken mothers. Sons and daughters are growing up under the shadow of this terrible evil. What outlook for their future but that they will sink even lower than their parents?
7
The licensing of the liquor traffic is advocated by many as tending to restrict the drink evil. But the licensing of the traffic places it under the protection of law. The government sanctions its existence, and thus fosters the evil which it professes to restrict. Under the protection of license laws, breweries, distilleries, and wineries are planted all over the land, and the liquor-seller plies his work beside our very doors.
8 Often he is forbidden to sell intoxicants to one who is drunk, or who is known to be a confirmed drunkard; but the work of making drunkards of the youth goes steadily forward. Upon the creating of the liquor appetite in the youth, the very life of the traffic depends. The youth are led on, step by step, until the liquor habit is established, and the thirst is created that at any cost demands satisfaction. Less harmful would it be to grant liquor to the confirmed drunkard, whose ruin in most cases is already determined, than to permit the flower of our youth to be lured to destruction thru this terrible habit.
9 By the licensing of the liquor traffic, temptation is kept constantly before those who are trying to reform. Institutions have been established where the victims of intemperance may be helped to overcome their appetite. This is a noble work; but so long as the sale of liquor is sanctioned by law, the intemperate receive but little benefit from inebriate asylums. They can not remain there always. They must again take their place in society. The appetite for intoxicating drink, tho subdued, is not wholly destroyed; and when temptation assails them, as it does on every hand, they too often fall an easy prey.
10
Concerning those who practise various forms of wickedness that are today so prevalent in many of our cities, the Lord has spoken plainly. He says:
11 “Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
12 “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands.
13 “Therefore [for the reasons above given] My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and the multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled; but the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. . . .
14 “Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: that say, Let Him make speed, and hasten His work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
15 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
16 “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
17 “Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
18 “Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
19 “Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against His people, and He hath stretched forth His hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.”
20 Has not this prediction been fulfilled in San Francisco, in Valparaiso, and in Kingston? Yet how few recognize the hand of God in these judgments!
21 Well could it be said of the cities of our world today, as the Saviour declared of the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, “Woe unto thee!” “The men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.” When the Lord sees men whom He has spared as He spared the inhabitants of Nineveh, continue to legalize and carry on the liquor traffic, the next stroke of the Infinite will be to destroy life. God has given men an opportunity to repent, to prepare to meet death with Christ’s armor on, if death must come; and yet they continue in the wicked works that brought the cities under the rebuke and the chastening hand of God and caused the devastation of that in which they took so much pride.
22 In recent disasters human lives have been wonderfully spared. Should there not be an acknowledgement of the Lord’s mercy? Should there not be heartfelt repentance? Should not the liquor-saloons that have wrought so much evil be entirely abolished?
23 The honor of God, the stability of the nation, the well-being of the community, of the home, and of the individual, demand that every possible effort be made in arousing the people to the evil of intemperance. Soon we shall see the result of this terrible evil as we do not see it now. Who will put forth a determined effort to stay the work of destruction? As yet the contest has hardly begun. Let an army be formed to stop the sale of the drugged liquors that are making men mad. Let the danger from the liquor traffic be made plain, and a public sentiment be created that shall demand its prohibition. Let the drink-maddened men be given an opportunity to escape from their thraldom. Let the voice of the nation demand of its lawmakers that a stop be put to this infamous traffic.
“If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn
unto death,
And those that are ready to be slain;
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not:
Doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it?
And He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know
it?”
And “what wilt thou say when He shall punish
thee?”
(Concluded Next Week.)
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Page 1198
1 The man who has a vicious beast and who, knowing its disposition, allows it liberty is by the laws of the land held accountable for the evil the beast may do. In the laws given to Israel the Lord directed that when a beast known to be vicious caused the death of a human being, the life of the owner should pay the price of his carelessness or malignity. On the same principle the government that licenses the liquor-seller should be held responsible for the results of his traffic. And if it is a crime worthy of death to give liberty to a vicious beast, how much greater is the crime of sanctioning the work of the liquor-seller!
2
For a time after the great earthquake along the coast of California, the authorities in San Francisco and in some of the smaller cities and towns ordered the closing of all liquor saloons. So marked were the effects of this strictly-enforced ordinance that the attention of thinking men throughout America, and notably on the Pacific Coast, was directed to the advantages that would result from a permanent closing of all saloons.
3 During many weeks following the earthquake in San Francisco, very little drunkenness was seen. No intoxicating drinks were sold. The disorganized and unsettled state of affairs gave the city officials reason to expect an abnormal increase of disorder and crime, and they were greatly surprised to find the opposite true. Those from whom was expected much trouble, gave but little. This remarkable freedom from violence and crime was largely traceable to the disuse of intoxicants.
4 The editors of some of the leading dailies took the position that it would be for the permanent betterment of society and for the upbuilding of the best interests of the city, were the saloons forever to remain closed. But wise counsel was swept aside, and within a few short weeks permission was given the liquor-dealers to reopen their places of business upon the payment into the city treasury of a license-tax considerably higher than had formerly been paid.
5 In the Outlook of Nov. 3, 1906, the situation is thus described:
6 “During the two months and a half after April 18, San Francisco was probably the most orderly large city in the United States. Violence and crime were practically unknown. During that time the saloons and liquor-stores of the city were closed tight. About the middle of July the saloons were permitted to open again. This action of the city government was accompanied by the expectation on the part of many citizens of an outbreak of violence and disorder. Clergymen, and it is said even the police, advised men and women to carry firearms for their own protection. For the past three months San Francisco has been living under a reign of terror. In eighty days eighty-three murders, robberies, and assaults were registered on the police records. A despatch to “Ridgeway’s,” a new weekly periodical, reports the sale in San Francisco during one week in October of over six thousand revolvers. The police have been, and are, powerless to preserve order and protect the city—in the opinion of the best citizens of San Francisco because the heads of the force are corrupt and are doing the will of a corrupt government.”
7 In the calamity that befell San Francisco the Lord designed to wipe out the liquor-saloons that have been the cause of so much evil, so much misery and crime. In legalizing the sale of liquor, the guardians of the public welfare proved unfaithful to their trust. Those who were placed in positions of official responsibility were given opportunity to become thoroughly familiar with the advantages of the closed saloon, but they deliberately chose to enact laws sanctioning the carrying on of the liquor traffic. Did they not know that in doing this they were virtually licensing the commission of crime?
8 Every kind of wickedness continues to be practised in San Francisco. What a record of dishonesty and conniving has been brought to light in the investigations of the action of men in official positions! Are we not almost led to inquire, Whom can we trust? Where can we find men of honor?
9 Thru the liquor traffic Satan is at work to corrupt with his deceiving policies the rulers and the people. As this work is carried on from city to city, the guilt of the whole world will be made manifest, and it will be plainly seen why God permits His judgments to fall on the earth. Because of the pride of the heart, the falsehood, the dishonesty, the profanity that is manifest, the Lord will soon come “out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
10 The people of San Francisco must answer at the judgment bar of God for the reopening of the liquor saloons in that city. O that our cities might reform! In places where the judgments of heaven have fallen, God is now proving those whose lives He has spared as to whether they will continue to allow health and reason to be destroyed by the sale of maddening drink. Today, in many places, men are being tried in courts of justice, because, under the influence of drugged liquor, they have committed all manner of crime. Satan looks on, highly gratified over the persistent determination of men to sell and use these poisonous drinks.
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Page 1199
1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.”
2 The discourse ended, Jesus turned to Peter, and bade him launch out into the sea, and let down his net for a draft; but Peter was disheartened. All night he had taken nothing. During the lonely hours he had thought of the fate of John the Baptist, who was languishing alone in his dungeon. He had thought of the prospect before Jesus and His followers, and of the ill-success of the mission to Judea, and the malice of the priests and rabbis. Even his own occupation had failed him; and as he watched by the empty nets, the future had seemed dark with discouragement. “Master,” he said, “we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net.”
3 Night was the only favorable time for fishing with nets in the clear waters of the lake. After toiling all night without success, it seemed hopeless to cast the net by day; but Jesus had given the command, and love for their Master moved the disciples to obey. Simon and his brother together let down the net. As they attempted to draw it in, so great was the quantity of fish enclosed that it began to break. They were obliged to summon James and John to their aid. When the catch was secured, both the boats were so heavily laden that they were in danger of sinking.
4 But Peter was unmindful now of boats or lading. This miracle, above any other he had ever witnessed, was to him a manifestation of divine power. In Jesus he saw One who held all nature under His control. The presence of Divinity revealed his own unholiness. Love for his Master, shame for his own unbelief, gratitude for the condescension of Christ, above all, the sense of his uncleanness in the presence of infinite purity, overwhelmed him. While his companions were securing the contents of the net, Peter fell at the Saviour’s feet exclaiming, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
5 Altho Peter said to Christ, “Depart from me,” he still clung to the Saviour’s knees, feeling that he could not be parted from Him. “And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” When they had brought their ships to land, Peter and his companions forsook all, and followed Jesus. Thus were these humble fishermen called by the God of heaven to their life-work.
6 Every one who in living faith follows Jesus, with an eye single to His glory, will see of the salvation of God just as surely as these discouraged fishermen saw their boats filled by the miraculous draft. It was because Christ was in the ship that they were successful in their efforts to catch fish. The indwelling presence of the Saviour is equally necessary in the work of winning souls.
7 In order to save the fallen race, Christ, the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to this earth as our Redeemer. Here He lived as a Man among men, meeting the temptations that we must meet, and overcoming thru strength from above. By His sinless life He demonstrated that thru the power of God it is possible for man to withstand Satan’s temptations.
8 We may endeavor to resist temptation in our own strength, doing our best to overcome; but we shall meet with disappointment after disappointment. And thus it is in our efforts to win men and women to the Saviour. Dependence on our own wisdom will result in repeated failure, causing us much anxiety and sorrow. This was the condition of mind in which Christ found the fishermen on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, after their night of unrewarded labor.
9 Long had the fishermen toiled that night; often had they been disappointed, as time and again the net was drawn up empty. But now, at the bidding of the Divine One, they launched out into the deep, and once more cast their net into the sea. And what an abundance of fish they gathered! The sight of the miraculous draft swept away their unbelief, and they were ready to respond to the Saviour’s invitation to follow Him, and learn to be fishers of men.
10 The breaking net, the sinking ship, the surprise and gratitude of Peter and his companions, their willingness to follow the Saviour and to do His bidding—all these are object-lessons for us in the work of soul-saving. However long and faithfully we may toil in our human strength, we can hope for no results for good; but as soon as we welcome Christ into the heart, He works with and thru us for the salvation of souls.
11 God has promised to cooperate with those who choose to labor in harmony with His purpose. We are to do our utmost to act our part faithfully, in order that He may demonstrate to the world what He can do thru us. “Ye are laborers together with God,” He declares. It is God that gives success to human endeavor. Without His presence with us, our efforts would amount to nothing. We are simply channels thru which His blessings flow to our fellow beings. From every one in whose heart Christ is an abiding presence, will go forth a power that will influence others to accept the Saviour as their Redeemer.
Page 1200
1 God sees and tenderly sympathizes with those who are tempted. He hears the voice of supplication and distress. Not a groan, not a tear, not a sigh, escapes His notice. Christ came to this world to work out the plan of redemption in man’s behalf, to show him how to overcome the temptations of the enemy. Will God, then, withhold from His children anything that will perfect their characters? If He did not love us, this great sacrifice would not have been made.
2 The Father’s presence encircled Christ, and nothing befell Him but that which infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world. Here was His source of comfort, and it is for us. He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ. Whatever comes to him comes from the Saviour, who surrounds him with His presence. Nothing can touch him except by the Lord’s permission. All our sufferings and sorrows, all our temptations and trials, all our sadness and griefs, all our persecutions and privations, in short, all things work together for good. All experiences and circumstances are God’s workmen whereby good is brought to us.
3 The gift of Christ is our pledge of help in trouble, and of victory in conflict. In Christ is the strength of His people; for to Him all power has been given. “He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
4 In the darkest hour, let faith pierce the cloud surrounding you; for Christ is behind, and He does all things well. We have a covenant-keeping God, who knows all our necessities, a God who unites with His majesty the gentleness and tenderness of the shepherd. He has pledged Himself to supply all our need. Have faith in Him; for His honor is at stake. He will not alter the thing that has gone out of His mouth. He will fulfil His promise. Absolute power is His, and no obstacle can stand before Him. His understanding is infinite; He can not err. He is never in perplexity in regard to the means that He will employ. He says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee. . . . I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee.”
5 Nothing of the world can make sad those whom Jesus makes glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect peace. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusted in Thee.” Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit our lives to the keeping of the Master-worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory.
6 As thru Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to His invitation, “Come, learn of Me,” and in thus coming, we begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God thru Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be revealed to us; and the more we know of God the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His presence. All that human nature can bear, we may receive here. But what is this compared with the hereafter! There “are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Page 1201
1 The man whose experience is least to be envied is the one who shuts up his sympathies within his own heart. Those who get the most good out of life, who feel the truest satisfaction, are those who receive to give. Those who live for self are always in want; for they are never satisfied. There is no Christianity in shutting our sympathies up in our own selfish hearts. We are to bring brightness and blessing into the lives of others. The Lord has chosen us as His channels thru which to communicate His blessings.
2 The Lord has provided for every one pleasure that may be enjoyed by rich and poor alike,—the pleasure found in cultivating pureness of thought and unselfishness of action, the pleasure that comes from speaking sympathizing words and doing kindly deeds. From those who perform such service, the light of Christ shines forth to brighten lives darkened by shadows.
3 Christ bound men to His heart by the ties of love and devotion; and by the same ties He bound them to their fellow men. With Him love was life, and life was service. “Freely ye have received,” He said, “freely give.”
4 It was not on the cross only that Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity. As “He went about doing good,” every day’s experience was an outpouring of His life. In one way only could such a life be sustained. Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with Him. To the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, men now and then repair; they abide for a season, and the result is manifest in noble deeds; then their life fails, the communion is interrupted, and the life-work marred. But the life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained by continual communion; and His service for heaven and earth was without failure or faltering.
5 “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world thru Him might be saved.” Looking upon men in their suffering and degradation, Christ perceived ground for hope where appeared only despair and ruin. Wherever there existed a sense of need, there He saw opportunity for uplifting. Souls tempted, defeated, feeling themselves lost, ready to perish, He met, not with denunciation, but with blessing.
6 The beatitudes were His greeting to the whole human family. Looking upon the vast throng gathered to listen to the Sermon on the Mount, He seemed to have forgotten for the moment that He was not in heaven, and He used the familiar salutation of the world of light. From His lips flowed blessings as the gushing forth of a long-sealed fountain.
7 Turning from the ambitious, self-satisfied favorites of this world, He declared that those were blessed who, however great their need, would receive His light and love. To the poor in spirit, the sorrowing, the persecuted, He stretched out His arms, saying, “Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest.”
8 In every human being He discerned infinite possibilities. He saw men as they might be, transfigured by His grace,—in “the beauty of the Lord our God.” Looking upon them with hope, He inspired hope. Meeting them with confidence, He inspired trust. Revealing in Himself man’s true ideal, He awakened, for its attainment, both desire and faith. In His presence, souls despised and fallen realized that they still were men, and they longed to prove themselves worthy of His regard. In many a heart that seemed dead to all things holy were awakened new impulses. To many a despairing one there opened the possibility of a new life.
9 Every true, self-sacrificing worker is willing to spend and be spent for the sake of others. Christ says, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” By earnest, thoughtful efforts to help where help is needed, the true Christian shows his love for God and for his fellow beings. He may lose his life in service; but when Christ gathers His jewels to Himself, he will find it again.
10 There are many souls in perplexity, weighed down by a load of guilt. They desire to be delivered from sin. They have wandered from the springs of true happiness, and have poisoned their lives by drinking of the murky waters of transgression. They need the help of a friendly, outstretched hand. Teach them how to reach upward, how to live so that they will gain the respect of their fellow men. Altho the will has been depraved and weakened, there is hope for them in Christ. He will waken in their hearts higher impulses and holier desires.
11 They need to hear words of encouragement, that they may lay hold of the hope set before them in the Gospel. The promises of God’s word will be to them as the leaves of the tree of life. Patiently continue your efforts, until with grateful joy the trembling hand grasps the hope of redemption thru Christ.
12 It is the one who has been tempted and tried, and whose hope was well-nigh gone, but who was saved by hearing a message of love, who can best understand the message of soul-saving. He whose heart is filled with the love of Christ, because he has been sought for by the Saviour, and brought back to the fold, knows how to work for others. He can point sinners to the Lamb of God. He has given himself without reserve to God, and has been accepted in the Beloved. The hand that in his weakness he held out for help has been grasped. By the ministry of such ones many prodigals will be brought to the Father, to present themselves before Him in contrition and penitence.
Page 1202
1 Those who would at last be received into heaven as members of the royal family must here give themselves—body, soul, and spirit—to the service of Him who paid the price of their redemption. All that we have and are belongs to the Lord. “Ye are not your own,” the apostle declares; “for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
2 Christ declares, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and the Father’s, and of the holy angels.”
3 By the casting of grain into the earth, the Saviour represents His sacrifice for us. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,” He says, “it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Only thru the sacrifice of Christ, the Seed, could fruit be brought forth for the service of God.
4 So with all who bring forth fruit as workers together with Christ, self-love, self-interest, must perish; the life must be cast into the furrow of the world’s need. But the law of self-sacrifice is the law of self-preservation. The husbandman preserves his grain by casting it away. So the life that will be preserved is the life that is freely given in service to God and man.
5 The fulfilment of the promise that we shall be joint-heirs with Christ rests upon our willingness to deny self. When Christ takes possession of His kingdom, it will be those who on this earth have followed Him in self-denial and self-sacrifice that will receive the reward of everlasting life.
6 Christ’s call to sacrifice and unreserved surrender means crucifixion of self. In order to obey it, we must have unquestioning faith in Him as the perfect example, and a clear realization that we are to represent Him to the world. The characters of those who work for Christ are to be conformed to His character. They are to work in His lines; they are to live His life. His call to unreserved surrender is to be to them supreme. They are to allow no earthly tie or interest to prevent them from giving Him the homage of their hearts and the service of their lives. Earnestly and untiringly they are to labor with God to save perishing souls from the power of the tempter.
7 Those who are thus connected with Christ learn constantly of Him, passing thru the successive stages of progress in Christian experience. Difficulty and perplexity come to them that they may learn more perfectly the will and way of Christ. But they pray and believe, and by exercise their faith increases.
8 “Take My yoke upon you,” Christ said, as in human nature He lived and worked upon this earth. Constantly He wore the yoke of submission, meeting the difficulties that human beings must meet, bearing the trials that they must bear. The enemy will constantly assault as he assaulted Christ, bringing against us strong temptation. But for every one there is a way of escape. “Take My yoke upon you,” Christ says, “and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
9 God’s true workers accept their calling with an understanding of the conditions on which they serve the Master who was crucified for them. They stand ready to go where God sends them. They hold their possessions at His disposal, regarding themselves as stewards of His grace. Such Christians Christ counts worthy of a place in His kingdom. Their hearts throb in unison with the heart of Christ. Hearing the Macedonian cry, they say, “Lord, here am I; send me.” Desire ripens into earnest endeavor as they move forward in His strength. They delight to testify of their loyalty to Him whose goodness they can never repay. Their hearts are filled with thanksgiving to Him whose mercies are too numerous to be numbered; and their great desire is to do something for Him who loves them and calls them His friends.
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Page 1203
1 It is the mother’s privilege to bless the world by her influence, and in doing this, she will bring joy to her own heart. She may make straight paths for the feet of her children, thru sunshine and shadow, to the glorious heights above. But it is only when she seeks in her own life to follow the teachings of Christ, that the mother can hope to form the character of her children after the divine Example.
2 The world teems with corrupting influences. Fashion and custom exert a strong power over the young. From their infancy children should be taught lessons of purity. Mothers can not begin too early to fill the minds of their children with pure, holy thoughts. And one way of doing this is to keep everything about them clean and pure.
3 Mothers, if you desire your children’s thoughts to be pure, let their surroundings be pure. Let their sleeping-rooms be scrupulously neat and clean. Teach them habits of order and neatness. See that they have a daily bath, followed by friction until their bodies are aglow. Tell them that God does not like to see His children with unclean bodies and ragged garments. Then go farther and speak of inward purity. Let it be your constant effort to uplift and ennoble your children.
4 Order is Heaven’s first law, and the Lord desires His people to give in their homes a representation of the order and harmony which pervade the heavenly courts. Truth never places her delicate feet in the path of uncleanness and impurity. Truth does not make men and women coarse or rough or untidy. It raises all who accept it to a higher level. Under Christ’s influence, a work of constant refinement goes on.
5 We are living in the last days. Soon Christ is coming for His people, to take them to the mansions He is preparing for them. But nothing that defiles can enter those mansions. Heaven is pure and holy, and those who pass thru the gates of the city of God must be clothed with inward and outward purity. They must be without “spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” The charge to us is, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting [holiness] in the fear of God.”
6
God’s word places great stress upon the influence of association, even upon men and women. How much greater is its power upon the developing mind and character of children and youth! The company they keep, the principles they adopt, the habits they form, will decide the question of their usefulness here, and of their future eternal interest.
7 It is a terrible fact, and one that should make the hearts of parents tremble, that in so many of the schools and colleges to which the youth are sent for mental culture and discipline, influences prevail which misshape the character, divert the mind from life’s true aims, and debase the morals. Thru contact with the irreligious, the pleasure-loving, and the corrupt, many, many youth lose the simplicity and purity, the faith in God, and the spirit of self-sacrifice that Christian fathers and mothers have cherished and guarded by careful instruction and earnest prayer.
8 Many who enter school with the purpose of fitting themselves for some line of unselfish ministry become absorbed in secular studies. An ambition is aroused to win distinction in scholarship and to gain position and honor in the world. The purpose for which they entered school is lost sight of, and the life is given up to selfish and worldly pursuits. And often habits are formed that ruin the life both for this world and for the world to come.
9 As a rule, men and women who have broad ideas, unselfish purposes, noble aspirations, are those in whom these characteristics were developed by their association in early years. In all His dealings with Israel, God urged upon them the importance of guarding the associations of their children. All the arrangements of civil, religious, and social life were made with a view to preserving the children from harmful companionship, and making them, from their earliest years, familiar with the precepts and principles of the law of God. The object-lesson given at the birth of the nation was of a nature deeply to impress all hearts. Before the last terrible judgment came upon the Egyptians in the death of the first-born, God commanded His people to gather their children into their own homes. The door-post of every house was marked with blood, and within the protection assured by this token all were to abide. So today parents who love and fear God are to keep their children under “the bond of the covenant,”—within the protection of those sacred influences made possible thru Christ’s redeeming blood.
Page 1204
1 Prayer is communion with God. It is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.
2 Jesus Himself, while He dwelt among men, was often in prayer. Prayer went before and sanctified every act of His ministry. It was by prayer that He was braced for duty and for trial. He is a brother in our infirmities, and was “in all points tempted like as we are;” but as the Sinless One, His nature recoiled from evil; He endured struggles and torture of soul in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and a privilege.
3 To the believing Jews in Jerusalem in the time of Christ, Olivet was a frequent resort for devotion. The hills and valleys about Jerusalem, now so bleak and bare, were then studded with olive-groves and orchards, and here the faithful in Israel would often go to search the Scriptures and to pray. The Garden of Gethsemane was among the places thus frequented. It was to this place, when the city of Jerusalem was hushed in the silence of midnight, that Jesus often repaired for communion with His Father. When those to whom He had ministered all the day went every man to his house, Jesus, we read, “went unto the Mount of Olives.” He would sometimes take His disciples with Him to this place of retirement, that they might join their prayers with His. In prayer Christ had power with God, and prevailed. Morning by morning, and evening by evening, He received grace that He might impart to others. Then, His soul replenished with grace and fervor, He would set forth to minister to the souls of men.
4 We should not think that Christ’s need of prayer in His human life lessens His dignity as our Redeemer. He came to be our Example in all things. He identified Himself with our weakness that we might identify ourselves with His strength. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet He did not yield in a single instance to the sins that were proving the ruin of the sons of men. Thru prayer and communion with God, we, like Him, are to come forth refreshed and strengthened for the battles of life.
5 In the Saviour’s last recorded prayer for His disciples, we are given an inspiring view of the divine and human that combined in the nature of Christ. Behold the kneeling form in the shadow of Olivet! As a humble suppliant the Saviour pleads for strength for Himself and for His disciples in the coming struggle. With strong crying and tears He pleads in behalf of those whom He has called out from the world to give the message of salvation to men. “I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them,” He pleads. “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them thru Thy truth: Thy word is truth.” “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me thru their word.”
6 “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee; but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
7 The Son of God, now at the Father’s right hand, still pleads as man’s intercessor. He still retains His human nature, is still the Saviour of mankind. We need to appreciate more than we do the precious privilege we have of presenting our petitions to Him as He presented His prayers to the Father. “I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. . . . If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”
8 It is only at the altar of God that we kindle the taper with holy fire. It is only the divine light that will reveal the littleness, the incompetence, of human ability, and give clear, distinct views of the perfection and purity of Jesus Christ. It is only as we behold Jesus that we desire to become like Him. Only as we view His righteousness do we hunger and thirst to possess it. Only as we ask in earnest prayer and with the humility and simplicity of a little child, can God grant us our heart’s desire. Such prayer is heard and answered. The Lord is more willing to give His Holy Spirit to those who earnestly desire it than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children. Christ has promised the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and righteousness and holiness. The Spirit of God is not given by measure to those who earnestly seek for it, who by faith stand upon the promises of God. They plead the pledged word of God, saying, “Thou hast said it. I will take Thee at Thy word.”
9 The Comforter is given that He may take of the things of Christ and show them unto us, that He may present in their rich assurance the words that fell from His lips, and convey them with living power to the soul who is obedient, who is emptied of self. It is then that the soul receives the image and superscription of the Divine. Then Christ is formed within, the hope of glory.
Page 1205
1 In his long life, David found on earth no resting-place. In his manhood a hunted fugitive, finding refuge in the rocks and caves of the wilderness, he wrote:
”O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek
Thee:
My soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth
for Thee
In a dry and thirsty land, where no water
is. . . .
Thou hast been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will
I rejoice.”
”Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
Who is the health of my countenance,
And my God.”
”God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, tho the earth
be removed,
And tho the mountains be carried into the
midst of the sea.”
2 In the ninety-first psalm is a most wonderful description of the coming of the Lord to bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end, in which He gives to those who have chosen Him as their Redeemer the assurance of His love and protecting care:
”He that dwelleth in the secret place of the
Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and
my fortress:
My God; in Him will I trust.
Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare
of the fowler, and from the noisome
pestilence.
He shall cover thee with His feathers,
And under His wings shalt thou trust:
His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
”Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by
night;
Nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in
darkness;
Nor for the destruction that wasteth at
noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side,
And ten thousand at thy right hand;
But it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold
And see the reward of the wicked.
”Because thou hast made the Lord, which is
my refuge,
Even the Most High, thy habitation:
There shall no evil befall thee,
Neither shall any plague come nigh thy
dwelling.
For He shall give His angels charge over
thee,
To keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands,
Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
The young lion and the dragon shalt thou
trample under foot.
Because He hath set His love upon Me, therefore
will I deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he hath
known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer
him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honor him.”
3 The time has come when the righteous should understand that the judgments of God are to fall upon all those who transgress His law, but that those who walk humbly before Him will triumph with holy gladness, realizing constantly that they are under the assuring protection of His everlasting covenant of love. As Jehovah is holy, He requires His people to be holy, pure, undefiled; for “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” Those who worship Him in sincerity and truth will be accepted by Him. So long as God’s people, in this time of peril, are sincere and upright, pure and undefiled, and trust alone in the One who is all-wise, all-merciful, and full of compassion, they walk in safe paths, and will not be turned aside. God is their defense, their front-guard and rear-ward.
4
At any moment God could withdraw from the impenitent the tokens of His wonderful mercy and love. O, that human agencies would consider what will be the sure result of their ingratitude to Him, their disregard of the infinite Gift of Christ to the world! Loving transgression more than obedience, the blessings of God, which they enjoy but do not appreciate, will become the occasion of their eternal ruin. Choosing to engage in worldly amusements and sinful pleasures rather than to check themselves in a course of sin and live for the honor of God, they learn too late what it means to be without God, without hope. Then they learn what they have lost by choosing to stand in rebellion to His commandments. In the past they have defied His power, rejected His overtures of mercy. When His judgments fall upon them they realize that they have lost happiness, life—eternal life in the heavenly courts. Surely they will say, “Our life was full of madness against God, and now we are lost.”
5 In the time when God’s judgments are falling without mercy, O, how enviable to the wicked will be the position of those who abide “in the secret place of the Most High,”—the pavilion in which the Lord hides all who have loved Him and obeyed His commandments. But when probation has ended, the door of mercy is closed to the wicked. No more prayers in their behalf are answered.
6
But this time has not yet come. Mercy’s sweet voice is still heard. The Lord is still calling sinners to come to Him. As the light of truth reaches their hearts, will they repent and be converted? Will they, in humility, in meekness and lowliness of heart, come to the foot of the cross to learn of Jesus? Will they say to Him, “I will wash mine hands in innocency; so will I compass Thine altar, O Lord: that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works”?
7 The righteous understand God’s government, and will triumph with holy gladness in the everlasting protection and salvation that Christ thru His merits has secured for them. Great joy will come to them in that day when every man shall receive according to his works; and songs of joy will burst from their lips as they recall all that God has done for His people.
8 Until that day of final triumph comes, it is the privilege of every trusting believer to join in the song:
”The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom
shall I be afraid?
When evil-doers came upon me to eat up my
flesh,
Even mine adversaries and my foes, they
stumbled and fell.
Tho an host should encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear:
Tho war should rise against me,
Even then will I be confident.
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that
will I seek after;
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to
inquire in His temple;
For in the day of trouble He shall keep me
secretly in His pavilion:
In the covert of His tabernacle shall He hide
me;
He shall lift me up upon a rock.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above
mine enemies round about me;
And I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices
of joy;
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the
Lord.”
-
Page 1206
1 The grace of God is the chief theme of the Gospel. God’s grace is the manifestation of His love—a love that makes it possible, thru Christ, for fallen man to be saved, makes possible the union and cooperation of humanity with divinity.
2 Not because we first loved Him did Christ love us; but “while we were yet sinners,” He died for us. He does not treat us according to our desert. Altho our sins have merited condemnation, He does not condemn us. Year after year He has borne with our weakness and ignorance, with our ingratitude and waywardness; notwithstanding our wanderings, our hardness of heart, our neglect of His Holy word, His hand is stretched out still.
3 At what infinite cost to the Father and to the Son was the merciful, wondrous provision made for our redemption! Christ stepped down from His high estate as Commander in the heavenly courts; and laying aside His royal robe and kingly crown, clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to this earth, that He might dwell with us and give to men and women grace to overcome as He overcame. The disobedience of Adam in believing the falsehood of Satan cost the life of the Son of God; but notwithstanding the great and immeasurable cost, the love and goodness of God shine forth brighter than even at the first creation. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
4 The Lord God thru Jesus Christ holds out His hand all the day long in invitation to the sinful and the fallen. He will receive all. He welcomes all. It is His glory to pardon the chief of sinners. He will take the prey from the mighty; He will deliver the captive; He will pluck the brand from the burning; He will lower the golden chain of His mercy to the lowest depths of human wretchedness and woe, and lift up the debased soul defiled with sin.
5 Every human being is the object of loving interest to Him who gave His life that He might bring men back to God. Souls guilty and helpless, liable to be destroyed by the arts and snares of Satan, are cared for as a shepherd cares for the sheep of his flock.
6 The Saviour’s example is to be the standard of our service for the tempted and the erring. The same interest and tenderness and long-suffering that He has manifested toward us, we are to manifest toward others. “As I have loved you,” He says, “that ye also love one another.” If Christ dwells in us, we shall reveal His unselfish love toward all with whom we have to do. As we see men and women in need of sympathy and help, we shall not ask, “Are they worthy?” but “How can I benefit them?”
7 The wonderful example of the life of Christ, the matchless tenderness with which He entered into the feelings of the oppressed, His joy over those who rejoiced in His love, can not fail to have a deep influence upon the character of all who follow Him in sincerity. Learning of Him, they will give their sympathy, not grudgingly, but liberally; by kindly words and acts they will try to make the path easy for weary feet. By the grace of God revealed in human kindness and love, many things that appear formidable will be overcome. Self-renunciation will be the law of the life.
8 It is Christ’s desire that His children shall reach this place. He longs to reveal thru them the treasure of His grace. He says to them, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” And He says this because He knows that it is possible for them to reach perfection. The life that He lived in this world, they can live. He met the foe single-handed, as they must meet him. He asked for and received power to enable Him to overcome in conflict. And those who walk in God’s way have the same power. The same angels that ministered to Christ minister to those also who shall be heirs of salvation.
9 It is our own character and experience that determine our influence upon others. In order to convince others of the power of Christ’s grace, we must know its power in our own hearts and lives. The Gospel we present for the saving of souls must be the Gospel by which our own souls are saved. Only thru a living faith in Christ as a personal Saviour is it possible to make our influence felt in a skeptical world. If we would draw sinners out of the swift-running current, our own feet must be firmly set on the Rock, Christ Jesus.
10 The badge of Christianity is not an outward sign, not the wearing of a cross or a crown, but it is that which reveals the union of man with God. By the power of His grace manifested in the transformation of character the world is to be convinced that God has sent His Son as its Redeemer. No other influence that can surround the human soul has such power as the influence of an unselfish life. The strongest argument in favor of the Gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.
11 To every one who becomes a partaker of His grace, the Lord appoints a work for others; and the grace of God in all its fulness and efficiency is promised to those who engage in His service. The love that is bestowed by the Holy One is to be manifested by them to others. As we study the life of Christ, talk of Him, become more and more able to behold Him; as we avail ourselves of His grace, and receive the blessings He proffers us, we shall have something with which to help others. That which is good in the world will be stronger for our words and our presence, while evil will be made to appear as it is.
Page 1207
1 The plan of redemption, by which the merciful divine-human Redeemer rescued man from the thraldom of sin, is beyond the comprehension of men or of angels. It is a mystery so surpassing, so grand, so sublime, that we can never hope fully to understand it. Christ’s sacrifice for fallen man has no parallel. It is the most exalted, sacred theme on which we can meditate. Every heart that is enlightened by the grace of God is constrained to bow with inexpressible gratitude and adoration before the Redeemer for His infinite sacrifice.
2 In His earthly life, Jesus of Nazareth differed from all other men. His entire life was characterized by disinterested benevolence and the beauty of holiness. In His bosom existed the purest love, free from every taint of selfishness and sin. From the beginning of His ministry, men began more clearly to comprehend the character of God.
3 Up to the time of Christ’s first advent, men worshiped cruel, despotic gods. Even the Jewish mind was reached through fear rather than love. Christ’s mission was to reveal to men that God is not a despot, but a Father, full of mercy and love for His children. He spoke of God by the endearing name of “Father.” In answer to the anxious questionings of Joseph and Mary, after they had found Him in the temple, He said, “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” He did not refer to Joseph, His earthly father. It was not Joseph’s business in which He was engaged with the doctors of the law.
4 To give a true representation of the tender, loving, pitying care exercised by His Father, Jesus gave the parable of the prodigal son. Tho His children err and stray from Him, if they repent and return, He will receive them with a joy greater than the earthly parent feels in the recovery of a long-lost son. In all the sufferings and afflictions of men, there is an Eye to pity, a Heart to love. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” God’s tenderest care is exercised over us. He pities us in our weakness and in our sorrow. We may be despondent, even despairing; the heavy clouds of affliction may be over us; but there is light ahead. Beyond the gloom is a sympathetic, compassionate Friend, One who does not willingly grieve or afflict the children of men.
5 “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” The Saviour taught this principle to make mankind happy, for in no other way can happiness come. God gives to men and women the boon of life, not merely to enable them to gain wealth and worldly advantages, but that they may improve the higher powers, by doing the work He has entrusted to mankind, the work of searching out and relieving the necessities of their fellow men. Man should not work for his own selfish interest, but for the interest of every one about him, blessing others by his influence and kindly deeds. This purpose of God is exemplified in Christ’s life.
6 The Saviour declared, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” The incident of the good Samaritan is given as an illustration of our duty to those in need of sympathy and help. The Jews had been instructed by their leaders to despise the Samaritans; but Jesus showed that one of this hated class was far in advance of the priests in the performance of deeds of compassion, mercy, and benevolence. The Levites, chosen to fill sacred, holy offices among God’s favored people, did not improve the opportunity. The Samaritan, scorned by priest and Levite, despised by the Jews as a member of a despised race, was pointed out by Christ as one who obeyed the law of human kindness and who showed true mercy. His compassionate act the Saviour extols, and stamps with the seal of divine approval.
7 Christ carried out in His life His own divine teachings. He was absorbed in the work He came to perform; His devotion to the work of saving the lost was manifest on all occasions. While He rebuked sin with severity, He ever showed tender love for the sinner. In Him were blended the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove. His zeal never led Him to become passionate. He manifested consistency without obstinacy, benevolence without weakness, tenderness and sympathy without sentimentalism. He was highly social, yet He possessed a reserved dignity that did not encourage undue familiarity. His temperance never led to bigotry or austerity. He was not conformed to this world, yet He was not indifferent to the wants of the least among men.
8 The feeding of the five thousand is an illustration of Christ’s tender solicitude. The multitude, forgetting the wants of nature, had listened with deepest interest to His ministry of truth; but He, like a pitying father, was mindful of their needs. Often hungry Himself, He was awake to the necessities of others. Calling His disciples to Him, He said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.” The Saviour remembered that after His long fast in the wilderness of temptation, He had fainted, and that angels had ministered to Him. Without hesitation He wrought a miracle to feed the thousands who had followed Him in order that they might hear the gracious words proceeding from His lips.
9 The Saviour’s example is to be the standard of our service for the tempted and the erring. The same interest and tenderness and long-suffering that He has manifested toward us, we are to manifest toward others. “As I have loved you,” He says, “that ye also love one another.” If Christ dwells in us, we shall reveal His unselfish love toward all with whom we have to do.
Page 1208
1 The new man in Christ is born to conflict, toil, and labor, born to engage in the good fight of faith. The warfare in which he is engaged is a hand-to-hand struggle, and will require to exercise of every energy. He must meet human beings of power and influence who are on Satan’s side of the controversy; he must also meet unseen agencies of evil. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” But there is a power within his reach through which he can obtain the victory in every onset, power to make him more than conqueror over every temptation.
2
Satan watches his opportunity, when the Christian is unguarded, to seize from him the precious graces, but it is the privilege of the follower of Christ to obtain strength from God to hold every precious gift. He will often have severe conflict with the powers of darkness in order to retain them; or if he has lost a heavenly grace through lack of watchfulness, he will have a struggle to regain it. Fervent and effectual prayer will be regarded in heaven. When the servants of God take the shield of faith for their defense and the sword of the Spirit for war, they will succeed. When truth in its simplicity and strength prevails among believers, and is brought to bear against the spirit of the world, it will be evident that between Christ and Belial there is no concord.
3 The triumph of Christianity is dependent on the influence of its adherents. Manfully the Christian is to fight the good fight of faith. Lawfully he is to strive, never relaxing his efforts, day by day seeking for greater power to help those around him. His words are to be right words, pure and true, fraught with sympathy and love, his actions right actions, a help and a blessing to the weak. Never is he to grow weary in his work. He will meet with trial, but he must always be brave and cheerful, bringing joy and courage into other lives.
4 Obedience and faith must characterize us as the servants of Christ. Our Redeemer unfolded before His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the chief priests and elders, and be killed, and be raised from the dead the third day. He was already standing under the shadow of the cross. He fully comprehended the great work He came to do, and He would have His disciples understand the greatness of this work, and the responsibilities which would rest upon them in the performance of their duty in carrying forward His work when He should leave them. He said to them, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; . . . for what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.”
5
Those who hesitate to devote themselves unreservedly to God make poor work of following Christ. They follow Him at such a distance that they do not really know whether they are following in His footsteps or in those of the enemy. Why are we so slow to give up our interest in the things of this world, and take Christ for our only portion? Why should we wish to keep the friendship of our Lord’s enemies and follow their customs and be led by their opinions? There must be an entire, unreserved surrender to God, a forsaking and turning away from the love of the world and earthly things, or we can not be His disciples.
6 The life and Spirit of Christ are the only standard of excellence and perfection, and our only safe course is in following His example. He will guide us by His counsel, and afterward receive us to glory. We must strive diligently and be willing to suffer much, in order to walk in the footsteps of our Redeemer. God is willing to work for us, to give us of His free Spirit, if we will strive for it, live for it, believe for it. Then we can walk in the light as He is in the light. We can feast upon His love, and drink in of His rich fulness.
7 Our country claims of fathers and mothers their sons; it demands that brothers and husbands be given up to leave their homes for the field of carnage and bloodshed. They must face peril, endure privation and hunger, weariness and loneliness; they must make long marches, footsore and weary, through heat of summer and through winter’s cold; they run the risk of life. They are compelled to follow the commander. Sometimes they are not even allowed time to eat. And all this severe experience is in consequence of sin. There is an enemy to meet, an enemy to be resisted. Enemies of our country will destroy her peace and bring disaster and ruin, unless driven back and repulsed. “Conquer or die,” is the motto.
8 Thus it is with the Christian warfare. We have an enemy that we must meet, who is never off his guard one moment. The claims of our country are not higher than the claims of God. If hardships are borne and trials are endured by our soldiers fighting in behalf of their country to obtain the mastery and bring to obedience the rebellious, how much more willingly should the soldiers of Christ endure privation, self-denial, and taxation for His sake!
Page 1209
1 The fall of man filled all heaven with sorrow. The world that God had made was blighted with the curse of sin and inhabited by beings doomed to misery and death. There appeared no escape for those who had transgressed the law. Angels ceased their songs of praise. Throughout the heavenly courts there was mourning for the ruin that sin had wrought.
2 The Son of God, heaven’s glorious Commander, was touched with pity for the fallen race. His heart was moved with infinite compassion as the woes of the lost world rose up before Him. But divine love had conceived a plan whereby man might be redeemed. The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In all the universe there was but One who could, in behalf of man, satisfy its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem fallen man from the curse of the law, and bring him again into harmony with Heaven. Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and the Son. Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race.
3 Before the Father He pleaded in the sinner’s behalf, while the host of heaven awaited the result with an intensity of interest that words can not express. Long continued was that mysterious communing—”the counsel of peace” —for the fallen sons of men. The plan of salvation had been laid before the creation of the earth; for Christ is a lamb “foreordained before the foundation of the world”; yet it was a struggle, even with the King of the universe, to yield up His Son to die for the guilty race. But “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” O, the mystery of redemption! the love of God for a world that did not love Him! Who can know the depths of that love which “passeth knowledge”? Through endless ages, immortal minds, seeking to comprehend the mystery of that incomprehensible love, will wonder and adore.
4 The plan by which alone man’s salvation could be secured involved all heaven in its infinite sacrifice. The angels could not rejoice as Christ opened before them the plan of redemption; for man’s salvation must cost their loved Commander unutterable woe. With what wonder and grief did they listen to His words as He told them how He must descend from heaven’s purity and peace, its joy and glory and immortal life, and come in contact with the degradation of earth, to endure its sorrow, shame, and death. He would appear upon earth and humble Himself as a man, and by his own experience become acquainted with the sorrows and temptations which man would have to endure. All this would be necessary in order that He might succor those who should be tempted. He must be delivered into the hands of wicked men, and be subjected to every insult and torture that Satan could inspire them to inflict. He must die the cruelest of deaths, lifted up between the heavens and the earth as a guilty sinner. He must endure anguish of soul, the hiding of His Father’s face, while the guilt of transgression—the weight of the sins of the whole world—should be upon Him.
5 How gladly would the angels have given themselves to die in place of their Commander if the sacrifice could have been accepted in behalf of man! But only He who created man had power to redeem him; yet the angels were to have a part to act in the plan of redemption. Christ was to be made “a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.” As He should take human nature upon Him, they were to minister to Him in His sufferings. They were also to be ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who should be heirs of salvation. They would guard the subjects of grace from the power of evil angels, and from the darkness thrown around them by Satan.
6 By His death, Christ would ransom many, and would destroy him who had the power of death. He would recover the kingdom which man had lost, and the redeemed were to inherit it with Him, and dwell therein forever. Sin and sinners would be blotted out, never more to disturb the peace of heaven or earth.
7 What wonder that joy, inexpressible joy, filled heaven! The glory and blessedness of a world renewed outmeasured even the anguish and sacrifice of the Prince of Life. Through the celestial courts echoed the first strains of that song which was to ring out above the hills of Bethlehem—”Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men.” With a deeper gladness now than in the rapture of the new creation, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.”
8
To man the first intimation of redemption was communicated in the sentence pronounced upon Satan in the garden. The Lord declared, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This sentence, uttered in the hearing of our first parents, was to them a promise. While it foretold war between man and Satan, it declared that the power of the great adversary would finally be broken. Adam and Eve stood as criminals before the righteous Judge, awaiting the sentence which transgression had incurred; but before they heard of the life of toil and sorrow which must be their portion, or of the decree that they must return to dust, they listened to words that could not fail to give them hope. Tho they must suffer from the power of their mighty foe, they could look forward to final victory.
9
Not only man but the earth also had by sin come under the control of the wicked one, and was to be restored by the plan of redemption. At his creation, Adam was placed in dominion over the earth. But by yielding to temptation, he was brought under the power of Satan, and the dominion which he held passed to his conqueror. Thus Satan became “the god of this world.” He had usurped that dominion over the earth which had been originally given to Adam. But Christ, by His sacrifice paying the penalty of sin, would not only redeem man, but recover the dominion which he had forfeited. All that was lost by the first Adam will be restored by the second. The prophet says, “O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” And the apostle Paul points forward to the “redemption of the purchased possession.” God created the earth to be the abode of holy, happy beings. That purpose will be fulfilled when, renewed by the power of God, and freed from sin and sorrow, it shall become the eternal abode of the redeemed. “And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him.”
10 All that was lost by the first Adam will be restored by the second. The prophet says, “O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” And the apostle Paul points forward to the “redemption of the purchased possession.” God created the earth to be the abode of holy, happy beings. That purpose will be fulfilled when, renewed by the power of God, and freed from sin and sorrow, it shall become the eternal abode of the redeemed. “And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him.”
11 The sacrificial offerings were ordained by God to be to man a perpetual reminder and a penitential acknowledgment of his sin, and a profession of his faith in the promised Redeemer. They were intended to impress upon the fallen race the solemn truth that death is the result of sin, the transgression of the law of God. To Adam the offering of the first sacrifice was a most painful ceremony. His hand must be raised to take life, which God alone could give. It was the first time he had ever witnessed death, and he knew that had he been obedient to God, there would have been no death of man or beast. As he slew the innocent victim, he trembled at the thought that his sin must shed the blood of the spotless Lamb of God. This scene gave him a deeper and more vivid sense of the greatness of his transgression, which nothing but the death of God’s dear Son could expiate. And he marveled at the infinite goodness that would give such a ransom to save the guilty. A star of hope illumined the dark and terrible future, and relieved it of its utter desolation.
12
From the first, the great controversy had been upon the law of God. Satan had sought to prove that God was unjust, and that His law was faulty, and that the good of the universe required it to be changed. In attacking the law, he aimed to overthrow the authority of its Author. In the controversy it was to be shown whether the divine statutes were defective and subject to change, or perfect and immutable.
13 When Satan was thrust out of heaven, he determined to make the earth his kingdom. When he had tempted and overcome Adam and Eve, he claimed that by virtue of this conquest, the fallen race were his rightful subjects, and the world was his. By sin the human race had been alienated from God, they were brought into sympathy with Satan, and were ready to unite with him in rebellion against God’s law. Christ undertook to redeem man and rescue the world from the grasp of Satan.
14 The law of God could not be set aside even to save lost man. The well-being of the universe demanded that the divine government should be maintained. But in His infinite love and mercy, the Creator sacrificed Himself. In His Son, God Himself bore the penalty of transgression, “that He might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.” Thus man, redeemed from Satan’s power, and brought again into harmony with God, might be restored to “the first dominion.” In this world the great controversy was to be decided. The plan of redemption was to be wrought out on the very field that Satan claimed as his.
Page 1210
1 “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
2 Faith is trusting God—believing that He loves us and knows best what is for our good. Thus, instead of our own, it leads us to choose His way. In place of our ignorance, it accepts His wisdom; in place of our weakness, His strength; in place of our sinfulness, His righteousness. Our lives, ourselves, are already His; faith acknowledges His ownership and accepts its blessing. Truth, uprightness, purity, have been pointed out as secrets of life’s success. It is faith that puts us in possession of these principles. Every good impulse or aspiration is the gift of God; faith receives from God the light that alone can produce true growth and efficiency.
3 Wonderful is the work that God designs to accomplish through His servants that His name may be glorified. It is His purpose to manifest through them the principles of His kingdom. Through the humble receiver of His promises, God allows His blessings to flow out freely to the world. Every believer in whose heart Christ abides through belief of the truth will be a representative of the Saviour to show forth God’s love before all with whom he comes in contact. Through faith he will lay hold of divine strength, and become a laborer together with God, a blessing to himself and to his fellow men.
4 It is a mistake to suppose that we must feel ourselves accepted of God before we can appropriate the promises of His word. Faith must not rely upon feeling, but upon the promises of God. Faith takes hold of the divine word; whereas feeling often eclipses faith in a “Thus saith the Lord.” “If thou wilt enter into life,” Christ says, “keep the commandments.” Live out My law “as the apple of thine eye.” God’s commandments obeyed are “life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” God bids us walk by faith in a “Thus saith the Lord,” and stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.
5 The Lord says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble.” He invites us to present to Him our perplexities and necessities, and our need of divine help. He bids us be instant in prayer. As soon as difficulties arise, we are to offer to Him our sincere, earnest petitions. By our importunate prayers we give evidence of our strong confidence in God. The sense of our need leads us to pray earnestly, and our heavenly Father is moved by our supplications.
6 If we surrender our lives to His service, we can never be placed in a position for which God has not made provision. Whatever may be our situation, we have a Guide to direct our way; whatever our perplexities, we have a sure Counselor; whatever our sorrow, bereavement, or loneliness, we have a sympathizing Friend. If in our ignorance we make missteps, Christ does not leave us. His voice, clear and distinct, is heard saying, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.”
7 The Lord declares that He will be honored by those that draw nigh to Him. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” The arm of Omnipotence is outstretched to lead us onward and still onward. Go forward, the Lord says; I will send you help. It is for My name’s glory that you ask, and you shall receive. I will be honored before those who are watching for your failure. They shall see My word triumph gloriously. “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
8 The Lord will give precious victories to those who put their faith in Him and seek to become one with Him, enabling them to work out His righteous will. What joy it gives to parents to bestow good gifts upon their children! Yet the Saviour says, “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.” The Father is more willing to bestow His grace than we are to ask for it. “If ye shall ask anything in My name,” He says, “I will do it.” “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Whatever we ask in Christ’s name, and in accordance with His will, He gives us. But it means much to ask in Christ’s name. It means to ask in the simplicity of a little child, and with full trust that what we ask for we shall receive.
9 The world’s Redeemer came to our world to live the life of humanity, that humanity through faith in Him, might lay hold of divinity, and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. The agencies of Satan are always at work to hinder the work that will make man successful over the powers of darkness; but this should not discourage us or cause us to cease our efforts. Christ was tempted in all points like as we are, yet He did not fail nor become discouraged. Ever before His mind was the result of His mission. He knew that truth would finally triumph in the great contest with evil. To His disciples He says, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” A life of sanctification and joy in believing is held out to every soul who in faith will claim the promises of the word of God, and draw upon divine strength for the work of overcoming. It is the privilege of the Christian to wax strong under difficulties. If the religious life is constantly sustained by relying on the Author and Finisher of our faith, God will give a rich experience. A true discerning of Christ will lead to a true confiding in Him, and this will give comfort and courage and hope in Him.
10 Let a living faith run like threads of gold through the performance of even the smallest duties. Then all the daily work will promote Christian growth. There will be a continual looking unto Jesus. Love for Him will give vital force to everything that is undertaken. Thus through the right use of our talents, we may link ourselves by a golden chain to the higher world. This is true sanctification; for sanctification consists in the cheerful performance of daily duties in perfect obedience to the will of God.
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1 Christ was not only an expression of the Father’s love, but a channel to convey the love of God to men. Christ loved us, and gave Himself for us. He gave His life that He might bring salvation to perishing sinners. Man could not satisfy the claims of justice; no human hand could apply the atoning blood and cleanse the heart from sin. Christ alone, by clothing His divinity with humanity, could reach mankind and bring it near to God.
2 And “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In the compassionate life of Christ we behold the character of the Father. “He that hath seen Me,” Christ declares, “hath seen the Father.”
3 God does not love us because Christ died for us, but it was because He loved us that He gave Christ as a ransom for our sins. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father’s heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are “thoughts of peace, and not of evil.” It declares that while God’s hatred of sin is strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work.
4 No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
5 When Christ came to the time of His great trial, His thoughts were not for Himself, but for the disciples whom He was to leave in the world to meet its trials and conflicts. “Little children,” He said to them, “yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go ye can not come: so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one for another.”
6
“As I have loved you,” the Saviour said. The fulness of that love was yet to be more fully demonstrated in His sufferings and cruel death at the hands of men who hated Him because His piety and grace revealed their own great lack. To the disciples this commandment was new; for they had not loved one another as Christ had loved them. He saw that new ideas and impulses must control them; that new principles must be practised by them; through His life and death they were to receive a new conception of love. The command to love one another had a new meaning in the light of His self-sacrifice. The whole work of grace is one continual service of love, of self-denying, self-sacrificing effort. During every hour of Christ’s sojourn upon the earth, the love of God was flowing from Him in irrepressible streams. All who are imbued with His Spirit will love as He loved. The very principle that actuated Christ will actuate them in all their dealings one with another.
7 This love is the evidence of their discipleship. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples,” said Jesus, “if ye have love one to another.” When men are bound together, not by force or self-interest, but by love, they show the working of an influence that is above every human influence. Where this oneness exists, it is evidence that the image of God is being restored in humanity, that a new principle of life has been implanted. It shows that there is power in the divine nature to withstand the supernatural agencies of evil, and that the grace of God subdues the selfishness inherent in the human heart.
8
God and Christ alone know what the souls of men have cost. For our sakes the Son of God became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich with eternal riches. His love has bought for us immeasurable grace. “His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,” that we “with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,” may be “changed into the same image, from glory to glory.”
9 It is not possible for the heart in which Christ abides to be destitute of love. If we love God because He first loved us, we shall love all for whom Christ died. We can not come in touch with divinity without coming in touch with humanity; for in Him who sits upon the throne of the universe, divinity and humanity are combined. Connected with Christ, we are connected with our fellow men by the golden links of the chain of love. Then the pity and compassion of Christ will be manifest in our life. We shall not wait to have the needy and unfortunate brought to us. We shall not need to be entreated to feel for the woes of others. It will be as natural for us to minister to the needy and suffering as it was for Christ to go about doing good.
10 Tho now He has ascended to the presence of God, and shares the throne of the universe, Jesus has lost none of His compassionate nature. Today the same tender, sympathizing heart is open to all the woes of humanity. Today the hand that was pierced is reached forth to bless more abundantly His people that are in the world. “And they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” The soul that has given himself to Christ is more precious in His sight than the whole world. The Saviour would have passed through the agony of Calvary, that one might be saved in His kingdom. He will never abandon one for whom He has died. Unless His followers choose to leave Him, He will hold them fast.
11 Because we are the gift of His Father, and the reward of His work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as His children. Reader, He loves you. Heaven itself can bestow nothing greater, nothing better. Therefore trust.
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1 There is only one power that can guide the heart and mind in paths of truth and righteousness. We must know the love of Christ in our individual experience. This love in the soul will purify the entire being and renew it in the likeness of God. More and more familiar are we to become with Christ’s divine human life; we are to make it ours by personal experience, until it can be said of us as it was said of Him, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity.”
2 The prayer of Christ for His disciples was, “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth.” Truth may occupy a small compass, but it will ever be effectual for the perfecting of the church of Christ. If studied and obeyed, the word of God works in the heart, subduing every unholy attribute. The Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin; and the faith that springs up in the heart works by love to Christ, conforming us in body, soul, and spirit, to His own image.
3
The truths of the word of God meet man’s great practical necessity,—the conversion of the soul through faith. These grand principles are not to be thought too pure and holy to be brought into the daily life. They are truths which reach to heaven and compass eternity, yet their vital influence is to be woven into human experience. They are to permeate all the great things and all the little things of life. Received into the heart, the leaven of truth will regulate the desires, purify the thoughts, and sweeten the disposition. It quickens the faculties of the mind, and the energies of the soul. It enlarges the capacity for feeling, for loving.
4 When in our Christian experience the word of God becomes our meat and our drink, the righteous character of Christ will be revealed in us. Beholding Him in the study of His word, we learn to love and practise His virtues and living the word of God before a world fallen through sin, we are changed into the same divine image. When we really receive Christ as our Redeemer, our life becomes one with His life. We are born again, not of flesh, but of the Spirit; and day by day we learn to reveal more fully the sacred principles that mark the sons and daughters of God. Partakers of the life of Christ, we are partakers of His nature, and reproduce in our lives the very characteristics that made His life that of no other man.
5
The Lord would have us very earnest in making the truth of the Gospel our hope and crown of rejoicing. A sincere belief in Christ’s sacrifice in our behalf will beget in the soul an intense desire to lift up Christ before men and to magnify His great grace. It will awaken a determination to represent Christ in the individual experience and to create a desire in other souls for the truth of the Gospel.
6 The figure used by the disciple John, in which the believer is represented as eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God, is an illustration of the growth of Christian experience. “As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father,” the Saviour declared, “so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.” As we partake of Christ’s experience of self-denial and self-sacrifice, we are making Him a part of our life. But to feast upon Christ we must trust Him fully; we must claim the salvation He has provided. Unless we hunger and thirst for His righteousness, we can never rejoice in Him as our Saviour, or receive the benefits of His perfect life.
7
The leaven of truth works a change in the whole man, making the coarse refined, the rough gentle, the selfish generous. By it the impure are cleansed, washed in the blood of the Lamb. Through its life-giving power it brings all there is of mind and soul and strength into harmony with the divine life. Man with his human nature becomes a partaker of divinity. Christ is honored in excellence and perfection of character. As these changes are effected, angels break forth in rapturous song, and God and Christ rejoice over souls fashioned after the divine similitude.
8 The apostle Peter exhorts us, “As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” And Paul exhorts, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.”
9 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”
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1
2 The apostle Paul here mentions the foot-races, with which the Corinthians were familiar. The contestants in these races were subjected to the most severe discipline in order to fit them for the trial of their strength. Their diet was simple. Luxurious food and wine were prohibited. Their food was carefully selected. They studied to know what was best adapted to render them healthful and active, and to impart physical vigor and endurance, that they might put as heavy a tax as possible upon their strength. Every indulgence that would tend to weaken the physical powers was forbidden.
3 By this figure, Paul seeks to impress upon the Christian the necessity of doing his best to obtain a fitness for the work to which he is called. “So run, that ye may obtain,” he says. To win the prize for which these contestants strove,—a chaplet of perishable flowers, bestowed amid the applause of the multitude,—was considered the highest honor. But what a vast difference between the contest for such a crown and the race of the Christian for a crown incorruptible!
4 The Saviour presents for our consideration something higher than what we shall eat and drink and wherewithal we shall be clothed. In our days, eating and drinking and dressing are carried to such excess that they become sinful. They are among the marked sins of the last days, and constitute a sign of Christ’s soon-coming. Time, money, and strength, which belong to the Lord, but which He has entrusted to us, are wasted in superfluities of dress, and in luxuries for the perverted appetite, indulgences which lessen vitality and bring suffering and decay.
5 Our first duty, one which we owe to God, to ourselves, and to our fellow men, is to obey the laws of God. These include the laws of health. If we are sick, we impose a wearing tax upon our friends, and unfit ourselves for doing our duty, either to the family or to our neighbors. And when premature death is the result, we bring sorrow and suffering to others; we rob our families of the comfort and help which they should have received from us, and rob God of the service He claims of us to advance His glory.
6 In order to preserve health, we must practise temperance in all things—temperance in labor, in study, in eating and in drinking. Our heavenly Father would have us use with discretion the good things He has provided for us.
7
Those who by habits of intemperance injure mind and body, place themselves in a position where they are unable to discern spiritual things. The mind is confused, and they yield readily to temptation, because they have not a clear discernment of the difference between right and wrong. Sinful indulgence defiles the body, and unfits men for spiritual worship. He who cherishes the principles of true temperance, has an important aid in the work of becoming sanctified through the truth, and fitted for immortality. But if he disregards the laws of his physical being, how can he perfect holiness in the fear of God?
8 The religion of the Bible is not detrimental to the health of either body or mind. The influence of the Spirit of God is the very best medicine for disease. Heaven is all health; and the more deeply heavenly influences are realized, the more sure will be the recovery of the believing invalid. The true principles of Christianity open before all a source of inestimable happiness. True religion is a continual well-spring, from which the Christian can drink at will, and never exhaust the fountain.
9 The relation which exists between the body and the mind is very intimate. When one is affected, the other sympathizes. The condition of the mind affects the health of the physical system. If the mind is free and happy, from a consciousness of right-doing and a sense of satisfaction is causing happiness to others, it creates a cheerfulness that will react upon the whole system, causing a freer circulation of the blood, and a toning up of the entire body. The blessing of God is a healing power, and those who are abundant in benefiting others, will realize that wondrous blessing in both heart and life.
10
The apostle Paul exhorts the church, “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
11 Those who have been bought by the blood of His Son, God does not excuse from working faithfully in His service. Every true Christian is a coworker with Christ. Nothing can be more offensive to God than to cripple or abuse the gifts lent us to be devoted to His service. It is written, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
12 In every important work, there are times of crisis, when there is great need that those connected with the work should have clear minds. There must be men who realize, as did the apostle Paul, the importance of practising temperance in all things. There is work for us to do—stern, earnest work for our Master. All our habits, tastes, and inclinations must be educated in harmony with the laws of life and health. By this means we may secure the very best physical condition, and have mental clearness to discern between the evil and the good.
13 Intemperance of any kind benumbs the perceptive organs, and so weakens the brain nerve-power that eternal things are not appreciated, but are placed on a level with common things. The higher powers of the mind, designed for noble purposes, are brought into slavery to the baser passions. If the physical habits are not right, the mental and moral powers can not be strong; for great sympathy exists between the physical and the moral. The apostle. Peter understood this, and raised his voice of warning: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.”
14 Thus the word of God plainly warns us that unless we abstain from fleshly lusts, the physical nature will be brought into conflict with the spiritual. Lustful indulgence wars against health and peace. A warfare is instituted between the higher and the lower attributes of the man. The lower propensities, strong and active, oppress the soul. The highest interests of the being are imperiled by the indulgence of unsanctified appetite.
15 As we receive light, we are to make advance moves. No one can depend upon a past experience. Let all seek to walk in the light, cleansing themselves from every habit that would tend to defile the physical system. We are to govern our appetites and passions by the revealed will of God.
16 “It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
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1 Life is disciplinary. While in the world, the Christian will meet with adverse influences. There will be provocations to test the temper; and it is by meeting these in a right spirit that the Christian graces are developed. The standard is high to which we must attain if we would be children of God, pure, holy, and undefiled; but how could we reach this standard if there were no difficulties to meet, no obstacles to surmount, nothing to develop patience and endurance? Trials are not the smallest blessings that come to us. They are designed to nerve us to determination to succeed. Instead of allowing them to hinder, oppress, and destroy us, we are to use them as God’s means of enabling us to gain the victory over self.
2 Those who walk in wisdom’s ways, even in tribulation, are exceedingly joyful; for He whom their soul loveth walks invisible beside them. At each upward step they discern more distinctly the touch of His hand; brighter gleamings of glory from the Unseen fall upon their path; and their songs of praise, reaching ever a note higher, ascend to join the songs of the angels before the throne. “The path of the righteous is as the light of dawn, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
3
It is the duty of the children of God to talk faith, and not doubt. They are to be hopeful and cheerful in Him. Christ accomplishes our salvation by inspiring faith in our hearts and a belief in the truth. The truth makes free; and those whom the Son makes free are free indeed. God’s children should honor Him by revealing a constantly increasing confidence in the assurance that He will accept every soul who serves Him in sincerity.
4 The Lord would have us take comfort in His promises, and praise Him much more than we do. He would have us cultivate the heart’s best affection. Let the voice of thanksgiving and praise be heard in an acknowledgment of the grace of Christ vouchsafed to us. Render to the Lord the fruit of the lips. We are not as faithful as we should be in acknowledging the goodness and blessings of God. “Whosoever offereth praise glorifieth God.”
5 When we are in perplexity and trouble we would do well to consider how much our salvation cost the God of heaven. “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” We would do well to make an earnest study of the life of Christ. The only-begotten Son of God consented to leave the heavenly courts, and come to live with an ungrateful people who refused His gracious mercies. He consented to live a life of poverty and to endure suffering and temptation. Let us consider what Christ has endured to make our salvation possible. This will hush every murmur and complaint. If we teach our hearts to respond to God’s love, our voices will ascend in thanksgiving when we are called to suffer in any way for Him who gave His life for us.
6 Christ was a man of sorrows, yet He had peculiar joys—joys that did not spring from earth, but were born of His connection with divinity. He is the Saviour of those who are perishing for lack of His life. He desires to make them partakers of the divine nature, and thus escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. Amid perplexities and distresses the believing soul may have the assurance of sonship with God. Looking to Jesus, he learns how to conduct himself under every circumstance. He has the experience of Christ to guide him, and the consolation of Christ to sustain him.
7
The Lord does not desire His people to be sad and disconsolate. He does not want His obedient followers to cover the altar with their tears, but to walk happily and cheerfully along. “In the world ye shall have tribulation,” He says, “but in Me ye shall have peace.” “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” “These things have I spoken unto you that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
8
While the people are looking for earthly good, Jesus points them to a heavenly reward. But He does not place it all in the future life; it begins here. The Lord appeared of old to Abraham, and said, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” This is the reward of all who follow Christ. Jehovah Emmanuel—He “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” in whom dwells “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”—to be brought into sympathy with Him, to know Him, to possess Him, as the heart opens more and more to receive His attributes; to know His love and power, to possess the unsearchable riches of Christ, to comprehend more and more “what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God,”—”this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord.”
9 It was this joy that filled the hearts of Paul and Silas when they prayed and sang praises to God at midnight in the Philippian dungeon. Christ was beside them there, and the light of His presence irradiated the gloom with the glory of the courts above. From Rome, Paul wrote, unmindful of his fetters, as he saw the spread of the Gospel, “I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.” And the very words of Christ upon the mount are reechoed in Paul’s message to the Philippian church, in the midst of their persecutions, “Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice.”
10
We are not only to contemplate the glory of Christ, but also to speak of His excellencies. Isaiah not only beheld the glory of Christ, but he also spoke of Him. While David mused, the fire burned; then spoke he with his tongue. While he mused upon the wondrous love of God, he could not but speak of that which he saw and felt. Who can by faith behold the wonderful plan of redemption, the glory of the only-begotten Son of God, and not speak of it? Who can contemplate the unfathomable love that was manifested upon the cross of Calvary in the death of Christ, that we might not perish, but have everlasting life—who can behold this, and have no words with which to extol the Saviour’s glory?
11 Christ accepts, O so gladly, every human agency that is surrendered to Him. He brings the human into union with the divine, that He may communicate to the world the mysteries of incarnate love. Talk it, pray it, sing it; proclaim abroad the message of His glory, and keep pressing onward to the regions beyond.
12 Trials patiently borne, blessings gratefully received, temptations manfully resisted, meekness, kindness, mercy, and love habitually revealed, are the lights that shine forth in the character in contrast with the darkness of the selfish heart, into which the light of life has never shone.
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Page 1215
1 When Satan swerved from his allegiance, and, with the angels who sympathized with him, was cast out of heaven, he became the avowed enemy of God. He planted his standard on the earth, and established a rival empire, in which all the powers of evil combined to oppose the influence of God. Actuated by intense hatred for the God he had dishonored, he left no means untried to attract men to himself and conform them to his nature.
2 The long-suffering of God had been waiting the development of Satan’s revolt. The Creator would test man to see if he would accept the lie of Satan in place of the truth of God. The restriction placed upon man was one which, if respected, would not deprive him of a single blessing. All the angels of heaven were prepared to come to the aid of Adam and Eve in this contest with the enemy, if they would call upon God for help. An intense interest prevailed in the heavenly courts in this trial of man’s obedience, and sadness reigned when Eve, yielding to the persuasion of the serpent, partook of the forbidden fruit. The golden chain which had hitherto bound the human family to the divine, was broken, to be united again only through the power of One stronger than the destroyer.
3 By the awful event of man’s fall, it was Satan’s purpose to make of the beautiful world God had created, a home of sin and woe. He designed to set the human race in rebellion and hostility against their Maker. But he was not left free to drag them down without divine interposition. The holy pair had fallen, and henceforth the earth must be marred by the curse of sin; but through the gift of the only-begotten Son of God, earth was to be restored to its Edenic purity and beauty, and man renewed in the image of God.
4 “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The divine sentence pronounced against Satan after the fall of man, was also a prophecy, embracing all the ages to the close of time, and foreshadowing the great conflict to engage all the races of men who should live on the earth.
5 Satan tempted man to sin, as he had caused angels to rebel, that he might thus secure cooperation in his warfare against heaven. There was no dissension between himself and the fallen angels as regards their hatred of Christ; while on all other points there was discord, they were firmly united in opposing the authority of the Ruler of the universe. But when Satan heard the declaration that enmity should exist between himself and the woman, and between his seed and her seed, he knew that his efforts to deprave human nature would be interrupted; that by some means man was to be enabled to resist his power.
6 Satan’s enmity against the human race is kindled, because, through Christ, they are the objects of God’s love and mercy. He desires to thwart the divine plan for man’s redemption, to cast dishonor upon God, by defacing and defiling His handiwork; he would cause grief in heaven, and fill the earth with woe and desolation. And he points to all this evil as the result of God’s work in creating man.
7 It is the grace that Christ implants in the soul which creates in man enmity against Satan. Without this converting grace and renewing power, man would continue the captive of Satan, a servant ever ready to do his bidding. But the new principle in the soul creates conflict where hitherto had been peace. The power which Christ imparts enables man to resist the tyrant and usurper. Whoever is seen to abhor sin instead of loving it, whoever resists and conquers those passions that have held sway within, displays the operation of a principle wholly from above.
8 Satan triumphs in his knowledge and skill and his power to deceive. He does not come to every soul alike. He modulates his arts to those whom he desires to deceive. Often he comes to men clothed in the garments of righteousness. Under some seemingly good and merciful deed he conceals for a time his real character, and thus often gains the allegiance of those who had they been living in watchful and prayerful communion with heaven, would not have been overcome. The warning comes to all who would successfully meet the power of the enemy, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”
9 After the fall God saw that man had no power within himself to keep from sin, and provision was made whereby he could have help. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” One wonderful in counsel was our Helper. The Son of God left the heavenly courts and gave His life as the propitiation for sin. He came to declare that altho the agencies of evil had created rebellion in heaven, and sin had entered the universe of God, yet Christ and the Father would redeem the fallen race. Laying aside His kingly crown and royal robe, He gave Himself to the human family, to pass through test and trial and thus demonstrate to every son and daughter of Adam that it is possible through faith in Him to resist the devices of Satan. Tempted in all points as man is tempted, Christ overcame through the power of divinity. He seeks to teach men and women that they may overcome through the same power.
10 Mighty issues for the world were at stake in the conflict between the Prince of Light and the leader of the kingdom of darkness. After tempting man to sin, Satan claimed the earth as his, and styled himself the prince of this world. Having conformed to his own nature the father and mother of our race, he thought to establish here his empire. He declared that men had chosen him as their sovereign. Through his control of men, he held dominion over the world. Christ had come to disprove Satan’s claim. As the Son of Man, Christ would stand loyal to God. Thus it would be shown that Satan had not gained complete control of the human race, and that his claim to the world was false. All who desired deliverance from his power would be set free.
11 Ever since the time that man aspired to be as God, and fell through Satan’s deceiving power, there has been a controversy between man and his Maker—a determination on the part of man to gain an independence wholly opposed to the life and lessons of Christ. Christians are to lay this struggle for independence on God’s altar. Until we do this, God can not imbue us with His Spirit. All self-sufficiency is to be given up. The will is to be wholly yielded to God’s will. He who is truly seeking for help from on high will welcome the assistance and counsel that God sends, whatever means He may employ to give His directions.
12 In giving His only-begotten Son to live in our world and to be subject to temptation, the Father has made ample provision that we should not be taken captive by the enemy. Meeting the foe, Christ overcame in behalf of humanity. By a study of His experience we are to learn to discern the temptations of Satan, and in the strength of God’s grace, to overcome. Through the imparted merits of Christ, he who was once a sinful human being may be refined and purified, and stand before his fellow men as a laborer together with God. To the earnest seeker after God the divine nature will surely be imparted. The compassion of Christ will certainly be vouchsafed.
Page 1216
1 In his business life the Christian is to stand as a representative of the principles of heaven. He is bound by sacred obligations to bear witness to truth in its virtue and holiness. Gentleness and kindness and strict truthfulness should mark his words and actions. If he is consecrated to God, set apart to sacred service, he will always honor his religious faith. No thread of selfishness will be woven into the character. He will educate himself to reveal the Spirit of God in all his life work.
2 The Holy Spirit will never lead the steps of God’s children astray. Through the power that the Spirit of God imparts, we may weed out from our lives every questionable thing. If we will come out of the darkness with which a lack of faith enshrouds the soul, and place ourselves where the clear shining of the light of God’s word can fall fully upon us, we shall be led step by step in the path that leads to holiness. “We all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
3 The love and honor and perfection revealed in the Gospel are a revelation to man of the character of God. The justice and goodness and benevolence that were seen in the character of Christ are to be repeated in the lives of those who accept the privileges of the Gospel. By a study of the word, we are to see Him as He is, and, charmed with the view of His divine perfection, we are to grow into the same image. We need to understand that the Gospel fully reveals the glory of the Lord. It is the mirror that reveals the character of God to the converted soul. The likeness of God is revealed in the perfect character of His Son, that we may understand what it means to be made in the likeness of the image of God, and what we may become if by constantly beholding we allow ourselves to be changed from “glory to glory.”
4 It is our privilege, by an earnest study of the word, to learn wherein we are not manifesting the principles of that word in our lives. And as the mirror reveals to us our defects, we are to seek by earnest prayer and faith to put them away. As we strive to meet the perfection that God requires, insensibly to us the human will become molded to the divine. Christ’s nature will be revealed in human nature; the words will become gentle and courteous, the ways kind and helpful. Tho we may be largely unconscious of the change, yet the transformation is being surely wrought. Beholding day by day the glory of the Lord, we are molded into conformity to His Spirit and will.
5
God is very particular that all who profess to serve Him shall manifest the superiority of right principles. By the true follower of Christ every business transaction will be regarded as a part of his religion, just as prayer is a part of his religion. The study of the Scriptures will be considered a part of his religion; for by this he learns his orders. In the light of the Scriptures he regards himself as God’s servant, employed to do His will. Sometimes he finds those orders different to that which he would choose were the decision left to him; but he does not find fault with his work because of this. And as he seeks to carry out the will of the Master, angels of God are with him, to be his defense against the wiles of Satan.
6 Satan is offering to every soul the kingdoms of this world in return for the carrying out of his will. This was the great inducement he presented to Christ in the wilderness of temptation. And so he says to many of Christ’s followers, If you will follow my business methods, I will reward you with wealth. Every Christian is at some time brought to the test which will reveal his weak points of character. If the temptation is resisted, precious victories are gained. He must choose whether he will serve Christ or become a follower of the deceiver, and a worshiper of him.
7
Satan is the arch deceiver. The results to us of accepting his temptations are worse than any earthly loss that can be realized, yes, worse than death itself. Those who purchase success at the fearful cost of submission to the will and plans of Satan, will find that they have made a hard bargain. Everything in Satan’s trade is secured at a high price. The advantages he presents are a mirage. The high hopes he holds out are secured at the loss of things that are good and holy and pure. Let Satan be always confounded by the word, “It is written.” “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord, that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.”
8 He who stands prepared to do the works of righteousness will not be deceived by the allurements of the enemy. His actions will be guided by an exalted sense of right, and he will be enabled to distinguish between right and wrong, between truth, exalted truth, and error. Those who enter the kingdom of heaven will be those who have reached the highest standard of moral obligation, those who have not sought to hide the truth or to deceive, those by whom God has been exalted and His word defended, those in whom principle has not been misapplied to vindicate the wiles of Satan.
9 The path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord is far above all worldly schemes and practises. Those who walk in it are to show by their works the purity of their principles. They have a heaven to win, and by a well-ordered life and a godly conversation they are to show the genuineness of their profession. They are to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, fearing lest they shall not perfect a Christian character, yet striving to follow on in the footsteps of Christ, keeping His life and His teachings ever before them. As they do this, God will work in them, to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Page 1217
1 One great need of the world today is home religion. Parents stand in the place of God to their children during the tender years of childhood. They are to mold and fashion their characters after the divine pattern. In the highest sense of the term, Christian parents are to be educators. The home can be made a place where God’s Spirit loves to dwell; and every Christian who labors to this end is striving to place the religion of Christ on the highest basis.
2 The parents who are channels of light in the home are acknowledged by all heaven as faithful stewards of the manifold grace of God. They are teachers, educating their children in lines that make them considerate and compassionate. They know that as Christ’s representatives they are dealing with human minds to teach the beauty of holiness, and to communicate the knowledge and wisdom of God. Such parents take their children with them in the heavenward way.
3 Jesus loves little children. He gave His life for their salvation. While He was ministering on earth, one mother desired to bring her child to Him for His blessing. But the Saviour was not near her, and it seemed too great an undertaking to go to Him. But Jesus came nearer and still nearer, until He was near enough for her to reach Him. Then she started on her journey, and on the way another mother joined her with her children, and afterwards still others, until several mothers with their little ones were in the company that came to the disciples and made known their request.
4 Thinking to do Christ a favor, His disciples sent the mothers away. But when Jesus saw them going away disappointed, He rebuked His disciples, saying, “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
5 Christ saw those children leaving their homes. He saw the little company coming along the dusty road, increasing in number as they journeyed. And when the children came to Him, He took them in His arms and blessed them. Some of the weary little ones fell asleep in His arms, resting their heads upon His bosom.
6 The burdened mothers were comforted. They returned with light hearts, strengthened and blessed, carrying with them the Saviour’s blessing, which ever afterward they cherished in their humble homes.
7 Let us pray for the blessing of Christ’s abiding presence in our homes. Let us take time to teach our children lessons of faith and trust in Him. We may think that by so doing we are neglecting our business, but are we? We never lose by taking time to seek God for His blessing. Those who receive His blessing receive the vivifying power of His Spirit, which revives their health and strengthens them for their work.
8 Christ has committed to parents the sacred work of teaching His commandments to their children. In order to be fitted for this work, they themselves must live in obedience to all His precepts. They must watch their actions, and guard carefully their words. Every wrong habit must be overcome, and a complete surrender to God be made. For wisdom for this work, let parents go to Christ. He will willingly supply them with His divine sympathy, His free grace. He who for thirty years was a faithful son, working at the carpenter’s bench in order to do His part in bearing the burdens of the family firm, will give His followers strength to do their part in sharing the burdens of the home life.
9 Parents, you know the way; your children, young and inexperienced, do not. They are helpless and ignorant. They need wise, careful, loving guidance, that their feet may not stray into forbidden paths. Remember that you are molding their characters for eternity. Patiently train them to habits of neatness, usefulness, and purity. By your example show them the charm of becoming behavior. Do not become weary in your labor of love. The angel of mercy pauses not in his efforts till the last sinner has heard the message of mercy. Patiently, untiringly, work for your little ones. Think of how young they are, how much they have to learn! Deal with them gently and lovingly. By the cords of unselfish love bind them to yourself and to Christ.
10 Too often parents give to the world the time and attention that belong to their children. If they would realize the responsibilities resting upon them if they would do all in their power for their children, God would work with them. The Lord will not do the work that He has given parents to do; but He will be their helper, cooperating with every sincere, unselfish effort they make.
11 God is high and lifted up, but the voice of prayer will reach His throne. The prayers of Christian mothers are regarded by the Father of all. He will not turn away your petitions, and leave you and yours to the buffetings of Satan in the day of conflict. It is for you to work with simplicity and faithfulness, and God will establish the work of your hands.
12 May the Lord impress fathers and mothers with the sacredness of their responsibilities. As you unite with the Lord in bringing up your children in His fear, you are preparing for — I was about to say higher responsibilities, but I can not. There is no higher responsibility than the training of children. Study how to train your children so that they will develop into well-balanced, symmetrical men and women, useful to their fellow men, and prepared to shine in the courts of the Lord.
Page 1218
1 God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jehovah did not deem the plan of salvation complete while invested only with His love. He has placed at His altar an Advocate clothed in our nature. As our intercessor, Christ’s office work is to introduce us to God as His sons and daughters. He intercedes in behalf of those who receive Him. With His own blood He has paid their ransom. By virtue of His merits, He gives them power to become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. And the Father demonstrates His infinite love for Christ by receiving and welcoming Christ’s friends as His friends. He is satisfied with the atonement made. He is glorified by the incarnation, death, and mediation of His Son.
2 In Christ’s name our petitions ascend to the Father. He intercedes in our behalf, and the Father lays open all the treasures of His grace for our appropriation, for us to enjoy and to impart to others. “Ask in My name,” Christ says; “I do not say that I will pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loveth you. Make use of My name. This will give your prayers efficiency, and the Father will give you the riches of His grace. Wherefore ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
3 Christ is the connecting link between God and man. He has promised His personal intercession. He places the whole virtue of His righteousness on the side of the suppliant. He pleads for man; and man, in need of divine help, pleads for himself in the presence of God, using the influence of the One who gave His life for the life of the world. As we acknowledge before God our appreciation of Christ’s merits, fragrance is given to our intercessions. As we approach God through the virtue of the Redeemer’s merits, Christ places us close by His side, encircling us with His human arm, while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Infinite. He puts His merits, as sweet incense, in the censer in our hands, in order to encourage our petitions. He promises to hear and answer our supplications.
4 Yes, Christ has become the medium of prayer between man and God. He has also become the medium of blessing between God and man. He has united divinity with humanity. God’s appointments and grants in our behalf are without limit. The throne of grace itself is occupied by One who permits us to call Him Father.
5 No sooner does the child of God approach the mercy-seat than he becomes the client of the great Advocate. At his first utterance of penitence and appeal for pardon, Christ espouses his case, and makes it His own, presenting the supplication before the Father as His own request.
6 God desires His obedient children to claim His blessing, and to come to Him with praise and thanksgiving. God is the Fountain of life and power. He can make the wilderness a fruitful field for the people that keep His commandments; for this is the glory of His name. He has done for His people that which should inspire every heart with thanksgiving, and it grieves Him that so little praise is offered.
7 If we would think of God as often as we have evidence of His care for us, we should keep Him ever in our thoughts, and should delight to talk of Him and to praise Him. We talk of temporal things because we have an interest in them. We talk of our friends because we love them; our joys and our sorrows are bound up with them. Yet we have infinitely greater reason to love God than to love our earthly friends, and it should be the most natural thing in the world to make Him first in all our thoughts, to talk of His goodness and tell of His power. The rich gifts He has bestowed upon us were not intended to absorb our thoughts and love so much that we should have nothing to give to God; they are to remind us constantly of Him, and to bind us in bonds of love and gratitude to our heavenly Benefactor. We dwell too near the lowlands of earth. Let us raise our eyes to the open door of the sanctuary above, where the light of the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ, who “is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.”
8 We must gather about the cross. Christ and Him crucified should be the theme of contemplation, of conversation, and of our most joyful emotion. We should keep in our thoughts every blessing we receive from God; and when we realize His great love, we should be willing to trust everything to the hand that was nailed to the cross from us. “For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are made full.”
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Page 1219
1 In our life here, earthly, sin restricted tho it is, the greatest joy and the highest education are in service. And in the future state, untrammeled by the limitations of sinful humanity, it is in service that our greatest joy and our highest education will be found,—witnessing, and ever as we witness learning anew “the riches of the glory of this mystery,” “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
2 Love, the basis of creation and redemption, is the basis of true education. This is made plain in the law that God has given as the guide of life. The first and great commandment is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” To love Him, the infinite, the omniscient One, with the whole strength, and mind, and heart, means the highest development of every power. It means that in the whole being—the body, the mind, as well as the soul—the image of God is to be restored.
3 Like the first is the second commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The law of love calls for the devotion of body, mind, and soul to the service of God and our fellow men. And this service, while making us a blessing to others, brings the greatest blessing to ourselves. Unselfishness underlies all true development. Through unselfish service we receive the highest culture of every faculty. More and more fully do we become partakers of the divine nature. We are fitted for heaven; for we receive heaven into our hearts.
4 Christ bound men to His heart by the ties of love and devotion; and by the same ties He bound them to their fellow men. With Him love was life and life was service. “Freely ye have received,” He said, “freely give.”
5 It was not only on the cross alone that Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity. As “He went about doing good,” every day’s experience was an outpouring of His life. In one way only could such a life be sustained. Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with Him. To the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, men now and then repair; they abide for a season, and the result is manifest in noble deeds; then their faith fails, the communion is interrupted, and the life-work marred. But the life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained by continual communion; and His service for heaven and earth was without failure or faltering.
6 As a man He supplicated the throne of God, till His humanity was charged with a heavenly current that connected humanity with divinity. Receiving life from God, He imparted life to men.
7 The palm-tree, beaten by the scorching sun and the fierce sandstorm, stands green and flourishing and fruitful in the midst of the desert. Its roots are fed by living springs. Its crown of verdure is seen afar off over the parched, desolate plain; and the traveler, ready to die, urges his failing steps to the cool shade and the life-giving water.
8 The tree of the desert is a symbol of what God means the life of His children in the world to be. They are to guide weary souls, full of unrest, and ready to perish in the desert of sin, to the living water. They are to point their fellow men to Him who gives the invitation, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.”
9 When the providences of God are seen in the light of eternity, those who have wrought with unselfish spirit will behold the fruit of their labors. The outworking of every right principle and noble deed will be seen. Something of this we see here. But how little of the result of the world’s noblest work is in this life manifest to the doer! How many toil unselfishly and unweariedly for those who pass beyond their reach and knowledge! Parents and teachers lie down in their sleep, their life-work seeming to have been wrought in vain; they know not that their faithfulness has unsealed springs of blessing that can never cease to flow; only by faith they see the children that they have trained become a benediction and an inspiration to their fellow men and the influence repeat itself a thousandfold. Many a worker sends out into the world messages of strength and hope and courage, words that carry blessing to hearts in every land; but of the results he, toiling in loneliness and obscurity, knows little. So gifts are bestowed, burdens are borne, labor is done. Men sow the seed from which, above their graves, others reap blessed harvests. They plant trees that others may eat the fruit. They are content here to know that they have set in motion agencies for good. In the hereafter the action and reaction of all these will be seen.
10 Of every gift that God has bestowed, leading men to unselfish effort, a record is kept in heaven. To trace this in its widespreading lines, to look upon those who by our efforts have been uplifted and ennobled, to behold in their history the outworking of true principles,—this will be one of the studies and rewards of the heavenly school.
11 The histories of Bible characters are of vital interest. To none are they of deeper importance than to the youth. Moses renounced a prospective kingdom, Paul the advantages of wealth and honor among his people, for a life of burden-bearing in God’s service. To many the life of these men appears one of renunciation and sacrifice. Was it really so? Moses counted the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. He counted it so because it was so. Paul declared: “What things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea, verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ.” He was satisfied with his choice.
12 Moses was offered the palace of the Pharaohs and the monarch’s throne; but the sinful pleasures that make men forget God were in those lordly courts, and he chose instead the “durable riches and righteousness.” Instead of linking himself with the greatness of Egypt, he chose to bind up his life with God’s purpose. Instead of giving laws to Egypt, he by divine direction enacted laws for the world. He became God’s instrument in giving to men those principles that are the safeguard alike of the home and of society, that are the corner-stone of the prosperity of nations,—principles recognized today by the world’s greatest men as the foundation of all that is best in human governments.
13 The greatness of Egypt is in the dust. Its power and civilization have passed away. But the work of Moses can never perish. The great principles of righteousness which he lived to establish are eternal.
14 Moses’ life of toil and heart-burdening care was irradiated with the presence of Him who is “chiefest among ten thousand,” and the One “altogether lovely.” With Christ in the wilderness wandering, with Christ on the mount of transfiguration, with Christ in the heavenly courts,—his was a life on earth blessing and blessed, and in heaven honored.
15 Paul also in his manifold labors was upheld by the sustaining power of His presence. “I can do all things,” he said, “through Christ which strengtheneth me.” “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
16 Who can measure the result to the world of Paul’s life work? Of all those beneficent influences that alleviate suffering, that comfort sorrow, that restrain evil, that uplift life from the selfish and the sensual, and glorify it with the hope of immortality, how much is due to the labors of Paul and his fellow workers, as with the Gospel of the Son of God they made their unnoticed journey from Asia to the shores of Europe?
17 What is it worth to any life to have been God’s instrument in setting in motion such influences of blessing? What will it be worth in eternity to witness the results of such life work?
Page 1220
1 A certain lawyer came to Christ with the question, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The Saviour answered him, “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus said, “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”
2 But the lawyer, willing to justify himself, asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Then the Saviour related the story of a certain Jew, robbed and beaten and helpless, and left by the roadside to die. Having pictured before His hearers the wounded man’s helpless condition, and his need of sympathy and help, the Saviour continued, “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
3 The parable ended, the Saviour laid upon the lawyer the burden of answering his own question. “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
4 The lawyer had thought to find something in the answer of Christ by which to accuse Him. The priests and rulers also were listening for some word by which they could bring a charge against Him. But Jesus read their hearts, and formed His answer in such a way that the purposes of His enemies were defeated.
5
Much of Christ’s time was spent in explaining misunderstandings and in seeking to clear away difficulties by which Satan was perplexing minds. The answers He gave to the questions that were brought to Him were of more value than silver or gold to those who desired to know the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He clothed His lessons of truth with freshness and a power that could not fail to bring conviction to hearts. Truth had been perverted and mingled with tradition and superstition, until its original purity was almost lost to men. The teachings of Christ swept away the false interpretations. By simple illustrations He showed the value of human kindness, of sympathy and love, teaching that these were necessary to the fulfilment of the law of God. Every effort made by priests and rulers to mystify, the Saviour met with clear and decided explanation of what true righteousness meant. And His lessons were immortalized in the minds of those who had ears to hear, and hearts to understand.
6
By the parable of the good Samaritan the Saviour teaches that we are to seek to do good to all men, not only to those who are of the household of faith, but to all who need sympathy and help. The instruction given to the lawyer contains lessons for His people in every age. Let those who would be sure of the mercy and love of God extended to themselves, follow the command of the Saviour, “Go, and do thou likewise,” Our religion is to make itself known in deeds of mercy. When the spirit of unselfish labor for others characterizes our lives, there will be seen the outworking of the love of God that will result in the conversion of heart and the transformation of life and character.
7 The work of Christ in the world was to reveal the Father. Man must be given a knowledge of God through a revelation of the character of His Son. By coming to earth and taking the nature of man, the Saviour bridged the gulf between heaven and earth, and made it possible for man to understand the character of God and to understand His purpose for mankind. As the Prince of peace, Christ would reconcile man to God and make him understand the relation that existed between him and the Father. Thus He united man with God and with his fellow man, teaching him to see in the poor and the oppressed and suffering the purchase of the blood of Christ, and to value them as the property of God. He taught lessons which, if truly learned, would righten every wrong between man and his fellow man.
8
“Is not this the fast that I have chosen,” the Lord through His prophet declares, “to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” And note the inspired promise to those who do all in their power to relieve distress: “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.”
9 As Christians, we are to have a righteousness that represents the character of Christ. We are to feel for our fellow men the same sympathy and compassion that Christ has felt for us. His sympathy, His love, led Him to redeem us at the cost of his lifeblood. If we would carry out the great principles that He laid down for His followers, we must love our neighbor as ourselves.
10
If the love of God is in the heart, it will surely be revealed in tender love for others. The Lord is honored by our acts of mercy, by the exercise of thoughtful consideration for the unfortunate and distressed. The widow and the fatherless need more than our charity. They need sympathy and watchcare, compassionate words, and a helping hand to place them where they can help themselves. All deeds done for those who need help are done to Christ. In our study to know how to help the unfortunate, we should study the way in which Christ worked. He did not refuse to work for those who made mistakes; His works of mercy were performed for every class, the righteous and the unrighteous. For all alike He healed disease and gave lessons of instruction.
11 Those who represent Christ in deeds of kindness and mercy will never know until the day of Judgment what good they have done in seeking to follow the example of the Saviour. In heaven a book is written for those who interest themselves in the needs of their fellow beings, a book whose record will be revealed in that day when every man will be judged according to the deeds written therein. Then God will repay every act of mercy done to the poor. Those who have regarded the needs of the unfortunate and have had compassion on the needy will hear from His gracious lips the words, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Page 1221
1 These things have I spoken unto you,” the Saviour said to His disciples, “that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
2 The grand design of God in giving Christ to the world was to inspire fallen man with hope, and to enable him to remedy the defects occasioned by self-indulgence and sin. Where sin abounded, the Lord designed that grace should much more abound. He would redeem from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. God would not have His people remain in a hopeless condition, the subjects of unbelief. He would have them cast themselves upon the Saviour’s strength, accepting with joy the assurance, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
3 The life in which the fear of the Lord is cherished will not be a life of sadness and gloom. It is the absence of Christ that makes the countenance sad, and the life a pilgrimage of sighs. Those who are filled with self-esteem and self-love do not feel the need of a living, personal union with Christ. The heart that has not fallen on the Rock is proud of its wholeness. Men want a dignified religion. They desire to walk in a path wide enough to take in their own attributes. Their self-love, their love of popularity, and love of praise, exclude the Saviour from their hearts; and without Him there is sadness and gloom. But Christ dwelling in the soul is a well-spring of joy. For all who receive Him, the keynote of the word of God is “rejoicing.”
4
Why should not our joy be full — full, lacking nothing? We have the assurance that Jesus is our Saviour, and that we may freely partake of the rich provision He has made for us. We may believe on Him, knowing that He will give us grace and power to do just as He bids us. He has given us every assurance that He will fulfil all that He has promised. It is our privilege to seek constantly the joy of His presence. He desires us to be cheerful and to be filled with praise to His name. He wants us to carry light in our countenances and joy in our hearts. We have a hope that is far above any pleasure the world can give; why should we not then be joyful?
5 We are to have Christ’s joy, and His greatest joy was to see men obeying the truth. Can we desire more than this? “Greater works than these shall ye do,” the Saviour said, “because I go unto My Father.” He who truly believes this promise can never be half hearted in the service of Christ. May the God of heaven tear away the veil that dims our perception and hinders us from discerning His requirements and from following Christ. O that by living faith we would grasp the hand of infinite Power, receiving strength to work His works. This it is our privilege to do. If we will take Christ at His word, He will be honored and glorified, and we shall be partakers of His joy.
6 Happy, indeed, are the people who have laid hold of the divine nature, and escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
7
The prophet Isaiah speaks of the mission of the Saviour in these words: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, . . . to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.” “That He might be glorified.” O that this might be the purpose of our lives! Then we should have regard to the expression of our countenance, to our words, and to the tone of our voice.
8 The Christian life does not call for undue hardship and suffering, and the Lord is not pleased to have His people like a band of mourners. We are not asked to sit in sackcloth and ashes; but we are bidden to recognize God as our helper, and to cooperate with Him in doing His will, so that He may bless us, and enable us to live Christ-like lives. He wants us to enjoy the liberty of the sons of God. Then we shall be filled with the praise of God, and our lives will be a blessing to others.
9
God brings us into trials in order that we may be drawn nearer to Him. The psalmist says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” David was a representative man. His history is of interest to every soul who is striving for eternal victories. In his life two powers struggled for the mastery. Unbelief marshaled its forces, and tried to eclipse the light shining upon him from the throne of God. Day by day the battle went on in his heart, Satan disputing every step of advance made by the forces of righteousness. David understood what it meant to fight against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. At times it seemed that the enemy must gain the victory. But in the end, faith conquered, and David rejoiced in the saving power of Jehovah.
10 The struggle that David endured, every follower of Christ must go through. Satan has come down with great power, knowing that his time is short. The controversy is being waged in full view of the heavenly universe, and angels stand ready to lift up for God’s hard-pressed soldiers a standard against the enemy, and to put into their lips songs of victory and rejoicing.
11
“In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”
12 “O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee. Thus will I bless Thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips: when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches. Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.”
13
When we believe in Christ as our personal Saviour, the peace of Christ is ours. The reconciliation provided for us in the atonement of Christ, is the foundation of our peace. Gloomy feelings are no evidence that the promises of God are of no effect. You look at your feelings, and because your outlook is not all brightness, you begin to draw more closely the garment of heaviness about your soul. You look within yourself, and think that God is forsaking you. You are to look to Christ. “In Me,” Christ says, “ye shall have peace.” Entering into communion with the Saviour, we enter the region of peace.
14 Let us pledge ourselves before God and the angels of heaven that we will not dishonor God by speaking words of discouragement or unbelief. If we talk faith, we shall have faith, we shall be confirmed in faith. Close the door to distrust, and open the door wide to faith. Invite into the soul-temple the heavenly guests. Entertain the precious thought that Jesus loves us, each one. In this way the clouds of despondency and gloom will be rolled back from the soul, and we shall be enabled to make melody in our hearts to God.
Page 1222
1 The furnace fires are not to destroy, but to refine, ennoble, sanctify. Without trial we would not feel so much our need of God and His help; and we would become proud and self-sufficient. In the trials that come to us we should see the evidences that the Lord’s eye is upon us, and that He means to draw us to Himself. It is not the whole, but the wounded, who need a physician; it is those who are pressed almost beyond the point of endurance who need a Helper.
2 The fact that we are called upon to endure trial, proves that the Lord sees something in us very precious, which He desires to develop. If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name. He would not spend time in refining us. We do not take special pains in pruning brambles. Christ does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He tests.
3 The blacksmith puts the iron and steel into the fire that he may know what manner of metal they are. The Lord allows His chosen ones to be placed in the furnace of affliction, in order that He may see what temper they are of, and whether He can mold and fashion them for His work.
4
It may be that much work needs to be done in your character-building, that you are a rough stone which must be squared and polished before it can fill a place in God’s temple. You need not be surprised if, with chisel and hammer, God cuts away the sharp corners of your character, until you are prepared to fill the place He has for you. No human being can accomplish this work. Only by God can it be done. And be assured that He will not strike one useless blow. His every blow is struck in love, for your eternal happiness. He knows your infirmities, and works to restore, not to destroy.
5 When trials arise that seem unexplainable, we should not allow our peace to be spoiled. However unjustly we may be treated, let not passion arise. By indulging a spirit of retaliation, we injure ourselves. We destroy our own confidence in God, and grieve the Holy Spirit. There is by our side a witness, a heavenly messenger, who will lift up for us a standard against the enemy. He will shut us in with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Beyond this, Satan can not penetrate. He can not pass this shield of holy light.
6 While the work is progressing in wickedness, none of us need flatter ourselves that we shall have no difficulties. But it is these very difficulties that bring us into the audience-chamber of the Most High. We may seek counsel of One who is infinite in wisdom. Through conflict the spiritual life is strengthened. Trials well borne will develop steadfastness of character, and precious spiritual graces. The perfect fruit of faith, meekness, and love often matures best amid storm-clouds and darkness.
7
Paul was a man who knew what it meant to be a partaker of Christ’s sufferings. His life was one of constant activity, notwithstanding he was subject to many infirmities. He was constantly followed by the hatred and malice of the Jews. They were exceedingly bitter against him, and did all in their power to hinder him in his work. Yet we hear his voice sounding down along the line to our time, “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.” None too highly does Paul estimate the privileges and advantages of the Christian life.
8 Paul says further, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” One of the lessons that we are to learn in the school of Christ is that the Lord’s love for us is far greater than that of our earthly parents. We are to have unquestioning faith and perfect confidence in Him. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.”
9
There are revealed in these last days visions of future glory, scenes pictured by the hand of God; and these should be dear to His church. What sustained the Son of God in His hour of betrayal and trial? — He saw of the travail of His soul, and was satisfied. He caught a view of the expanse of eternity, and saw the happiness of those who, through His humiliation, should receive pardon and everlasting life. He was wounded for their transgressions, bruised for their iniquities. The chastisement of their peace was upon Him, and with His stripes they were healed. His ear caught the shout of the redeemed. He heard the ransomed ones singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
10 We must have a vision of the future, and of the blessedness of heaven. Stand on the threshold of eternity and hear the gracious welcome given to those who in this life have cooperated with Christ, regarding it as a privilege and honor to suffer for His sake. As they unite with angels, they cast their crowns at the feet of the Redeemer, exclaiming, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. . . . Honor and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.”
11 “I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”
12 “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” “And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Page 1223
1 “Whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”
2 In these words Christ presents before us two classes of builders. One class build upon the rock, and the building is proof against the force of the tempest, for the foundation is sure. The other class build upon the sand, and the house is swept away before the fury of the storm. It is important to us to know how we are building. Are we simply hearers of the words of Christ, or are we doers of them? The answer to this question will tell upon what foundation we are building. If we are obedient to the words of Christ, we are building wisely. In order to build securely, we must be like Christ, He said, “I have kept My Father’s commandments.” John writes, “He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.”
3 The popular teaching of the present day is largely made up of the injunction, “Believe, make a profession,” and that is the end of obligation to God. But saving faith is a working faith; it will accomplish something for our character and life, for it works by love, and purifies the soul. It makes the Lord’s great standard of righteousness the standard of the life, and brings the heart into obedience to the divine precepts. The law of God condemns all sin, and requires all righteousness. It demands not only an outward profession of godliness, but also a pure heart, a spotless character. The law of God is adapted to all men, to the conditions of every nation and period. There are many in this age who cast contempt upon the law of God, even from the pulpit; and many who profess holiness cry, “Away with the law.” But those who turn away from God’s great standard of righteousness, only turn to a standard of their own, which they exalt in self-righteousness. While living in transgression of God’s law, their claims to holiness bring contempt upon the law of God. Those who have this loose kind of religion are represented by the foolish man who built his house upon the sand; they are hearers, but not doers, of the word. The religion that will stand the test is characterized by a living faith that will unite us as closely to Christ as the branch is united to the living vine.
4 How anxious, how determined, we should be to build upon the right foundation; for we know that every soul is to be tested, and only those will stand the test who build upon the solid Rock, Christ Jesus. When the truth of God has found its way into our hearts, and we receive it in love, we shall be enlightened as to what we must do to be saved. We shall have no self-sufficient spirit. The more we search the Bible, meditating upon its precepts, the more clearly we shall see the reasonableness, the perfection, the beauty, of the divine requirements. We shall realize that the law, holy and just and good, is at variance with selfishness, with deception, with unchaste thoughts and actions, and we shall feel our dependence upon Christ for strength to receive and to fulfill the requirement of God. When we accept the testimony of Scripture, and incorporate its teaching into our life our friends will see a work of transformation in us. We are in this world that through the grace of Christ we may develop a pure character, like unto the Master’s. Such a character will make us successful candidates for an eternal home in the kingdom of glory.
5 John saw a company in white robes standing around the throne of God, and he says: “One of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me. These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb?” This is the work that we must do in this day of preparation. We are to cleanse our characters, and imitate the life of Christ. We must build upon the sure foundation; for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
6 But every building erected on other foundation than God’s word, will fall. He who, like the Jews in Christ’s day, builds on the foundation of human ideas and opinions of forms and ceremonies of man’s invention, or on any work that he can do independently of the grace of Christ, is erecting his structure of character upon the shifting sand. The fierce tempests of temptation will sweep away the sandy foundation, and leave his house a wreck on the shores of time.
7 You who are resting your hope on self, are building on the sand. But it is not yet too late to escape the impending ruin. Before the tempest breaks, flee to the sure foundation. “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.” “Look unto Me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.”
Page 1224
1 The history of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as that of the Son of God, can not be fully demonstrated without the evidence contained in the Old Testament. Christ is revealed in the Old Testament as clearly as in the New. The one testifies of a Saviour to come, while the other testifies of a Savior that has come in the manner predicted by the prophets. In order to appreciate the plan of redemption, the Scriptures of the Old Testament must be thoroughly understood. It is the glorified light from the prophetic past that brings out the life of Christ and the teachings of the New Testament with clearness and beauty. The miracles of Jesus are a proof of His divinity; but the strongest proofs that He is the world’s Redeemer are found in the prophecies of the Old Testament compared with the history of the New. Jesus said to the Jews, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me.” At that time there was no other Scripture in existence save that of the Old Testament; so the injunction of the Saviour is plain.
2 This mighty Conqueror of death, who had reached to the very depths of human misery to rescue a lost world, assumed the humble task of walking with the two disciples to Emmaus, to teach and comfort them. Thus He ever identifies Himself with His suffering and perplexed people. In our hardest and most trying paths, lo, Jesus is with us to smooth the way. He is the same Son of Man, with the same sympathies and love which He had before He passed through the tomb and ascended to His Father.
3 At length, as the sun was going down, the disciples with their companion arrived at their home. The way had never before seemed so short to them, nor had time ever passed so quickly. The stranger made no sign of halting; but the disciples could not endure the thought of parting so soon from One who had inspired their hearts with new hope and joy, and they urged Him to remain with them overnight. Jesus did not at once yield to their invitation, but seemed disposed to pursue His journey. Thereupon the disciples, in their affection for the Stranger, importuned Him earnestly to tarry with them, urging as a reason that the day was far spent. Jesus yielded to their entreaties and entered their humble abode.
4 The Saviour never forces His presence upon us. He seeks the company of those who He knows need His care, and gives them an opportunity to urge His continuance with them. If they, with longing desire, entreat Him to abide with them, He will enter the humblest homes, and brighten the lowliest hearts. While waiting for the evening meal, Jesus continued to open the Scriptures to His hosts, bringing forward the evidence of His divinity, and unfolding to them the plan of salvation. The simple fare was soon ready, and the three took their position at the table, Jesus taking His place at the head as was His custom.
5 The duty of asking a blessing upon the food usually devolved upon the head of the family; but Jesus placed His hands upon the bread and blessed it. At the first word of His petition the disciples looked up in amazement. Surely none other than their Lord had ever done in this manner. His voice strikes upon their ear as the voice of their Master, and, behold, there are the wounds in His hands! It is indeed the well-known form of their beloved Master! For a moment they are spellbound; then they arise to fall at His feet and worship Him; but He suddenly disappears from their midst.
6 Now they know that they have been walking and talking with the risen Redeemer. Their eyes had been clouded so that they had not before discerned Him, altho the truths He uttered had sunk deep in their discouraged hearts. He who had endured the conflict of the Garden, the shame of the Cross, and who had gained the victory over death and the tomb — He before whom angels had fallen prostrate, worshiping with thanksgiving and praise, had sought the two lonely and desponding disciples, and been in their presence for hours, teaching and comforting them, yet they had not known Him.
7 Jesus did not first reveal Himself in His true character to them, and then open the Scriptures to their minds; for He knew that they would be so overjoyed to see Him again, risen from the dead, that their souls would be satisfied. They would not hunger for the sacred truths which He wished to impress indelibly upon their minds, that they might impart them to others, who should in their turn spread the precious knowledge, until thousands of people should receive the light given that day to the despairing disciples as they journeyed to Emmaus.
8 He maintained His disguise till He had interpreted the Scriptures, and had led them to an intelligent faith in His life, His character, His mission to earth, and His death and resurrection. He wished the truth to take firm root in their minds, not because it was supported by His personal testimony, but because the typical law, and the prophets of the Old Testament, agreeing with the facts of His life and death, presented unquestionable evidence of that truth. When the object of His labors with the two disciples was gained, He revealed Himself to them, that their joy might be full, and then vanished from their sight.
9 When these disciples left Jerusalem, to return to their homes, they intended to take up their old employment again, and conceal their blighted hopes as best they could. But now their joy exceeded their former despair. “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?”
10 They forgot their hunger and fatigue, and left the prepared repast, for they could not tarry in their homes and hold their newly found knowledge from the other disciples. They longed to impart their own joy to their companions, that they might rejoice together in a living Saviour risen from the dead. Late as it was, they set about retracing their way to Jerusalem; but how different were their feelings now from those which depressed them when they set out upon their way to Emmaus. Jesus was by their side, but they knew it not. He heard with gladness their expressions of joy and gratitude as they talked with each other by the way.
11 They were too happy to notice the difficulties of the rough, uncertain road. There was no moon to light them, but their hearts were light with the joy of a new revelation. They picked their way over the rough stones and the dangerous ledges, sometimes stumbling and falling in their haste. But not at all disconcerted by this, they pressed resolutely on. Occasionally they lost their path in the darkness, and were obliged to retrace their steps until they found the track, when they renewed their journey with fresh speed. They longed to deliver their precious message to their friends. Never before had human lips such tidings to proclaim; for the fact of Christ’s resurrection was to be the great truth around which all the faith and hope of the church would center.
Page 1225
1 The Lord would have His people exercise carefulness in the use of all His gifts. It is the duty of all who are seeking to advance the kingdom of Christ in the earth, to be saving and economical. We are to save that we may give. “It is more blessed to give,” the Saviour said, “than to receive.”
2 The Saviour taught a precious lesson in economy when, after performing the wonderful miracle by which He fed the multitude with five loaves and a few small fishes, He commanded that all that was left over from the feast should be carefully gathered up. He would show that the bounties of Providence are not given to be squandered, or to be used in an aimless or wasteful manner.
3 Christ’s care of the fragments is a striking evidence of His divinity. It was as essential for Him to bid the disciples gather up the fragments, as it was for Him to create the food to feed the multitude. He must point the people to God’s standard of economy in the saving of food as well as of money. There was use for it all.
4 The lesson was twofold. In spiritual as in temporal things, nothing is to be wasted. We are to let slip no temporal opportunity, no spiritual advantage; we are to waste nothing that will tend to benefit a human being or that will help to relieve the necessities of earth’s hungry ones.
5 When the baskets of fragments were collected, the people thought of their friends at home. They wanted them to share in the bread that Christ had blessed. The contents of the baskets were distributed among the eager throng, and were carried away into all the region round about. So those who were at the feast were to give to others the bread that comes down from heaven, to satisfy the hunger of the soul. They were to repeat what they had learned of the wonderful things of God. Nothing was to be lost.
6 The lesson should be carefully studied. The Lord values every gift that He bestows upon man, and His command on this occasion demonstrated to the whole multitude the value He places on His blessings. We are dependent upon God for life, for means, for health, for food, for the very air we breathe. Christ’s own example of industry and frugality teaches us to use with care the gifts we receive at His hand.
7 Often those who are favored with wealth act as if they had a right to use with prodigality the gifts that God entrusts to them to be used wisely. They walk and talk as if riches entitled them to high honor. Sometimes the poor are favored by them, but more often the moneyed men waste their Lord’s goods in selfish indulgence. They forget that all their treasures are entrusted gifts, and that they must render to God a strict account of the use they have made of His property.
8 Willingly and cheerfully the true Christian will bind about his inclinations to expend his means; and when he sees his fellow laborers in other portions of the field distressed and perplexed for lack of proper facilities, he will willingly impart to them a portion of what the Lord has entrusted to him. As he shows by his unselfishness that he loves his neighbor as himself, the Lord says of him in the councils of heaven: “He is My faithful steward. I can trust him to handle My goods. He keeps My fear before him. His works of righteousness will be a continual stream flowing to the desert portions of My vineyard. He will not claim what he has as his own, to use as the human agent shall please; but will heed My counsel, and do with My goods as I shall choose.”
9 My brethren and sisters, shall we not deny ourselves, in order that we may help to send the present truth to needy fields? We have very little time now in which to work. Let us deny ourselves for the building up of the cause of God. The money we invest in this work will be returned to us with large interest. Let us take hold in faith. Let us pray and believe. Let us act, and the Lord will encourage and strengthen us in the way. The Lord expects His human agencies to do their best. The fragments are to be gathered up. All needless expenditures for selfish gratification are to be cut off. Let self-denial and the cross become a part of our individual experience.
10 Many despise economy, confounding it with stinginess and narrowness. But economy is consistent with the broadest liberality. Indeed, without economy there can be no true liberality. We are to save that we may give.
11 None can practise real benevolence without self-denial. Only by a life of simplicity, self-denial, and close economy, is it possible for us to accomplish the work appointed us as Christ’s representatives. Pride and worldly ambition must be put out of our hearts. In all our work the principle of unselfishness revealed in Christ’s life is to be carried out. Upon the walls of our homes, upon the furnishings, we are to read the command, “Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house.” On our wardrobes we are to see written, as with the finger of God, “Clothe the naked.” In the dining-room, on the table laden with food, we are to see traced, “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?”
12 A thousand doors of usefulness are open before us. Often we lament the scanty resources available; but were Christians thoroughly in earnest, they could multiply the resources a thousandfold. It is selfishness, self-indulgence, that bars the way to our usefulness.
13 How much means is expended for things that are mere idols, things that engross time and thought and strength, that should be put to a higher use. How much money is wasted on expensive houses and furniture, on selfish pleasures, luxuries, and unwholesome food. How much is squandered on gifts that benefit no one. For things that are needless, often harmful, professed Christians today are spending more, many times more, than they spend in seeking to rescue souls from the tempter.
14 Christ bids us, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” While thousands are every day perishing from famine, bloodshed, fire, and plague, it becomes every lover of his kind to see that nothing is wasted, that nothing is needlessly expended, whereby he might benefit a human being.
15 It is wrong to waste our time, wrong to waste our thoughts. We lose every moment that we devote to self-seeking. If every moment were valued and rightly employed, we should have time for everything that we need to do for ourselves and for the world. In the expenditure of money, in the use of time, strength, opportunities, let every Christian look to God for guidance. And “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
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Page 1226
1 The fourteenth chapter of Revelation outlines the work that is to be done by the people of God just before the second advent of our Saviour. Three messages are there represented, which must go to all the inhabitants of the world.
2 John writes of an angel which he saw flying “in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
3 “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
4 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.”
5 These three angels represent the people who accept the light of God’s messages, and go forth as His agents to sound the warning throughout the length and breadth of the earth. Christ declared to His followers, “Ye are the light of the world.” To every soul that accepts Jesus, the cross of Calvary speaks: “Behold the worth of the soul. ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.’” Nothing is to be permitted to hinder this work. It is the all-important work for this time, and it is to be far-reaching as eternity.
6 From the beginning of this world’s history, there has been opposition between the forces of good and of evil. God declared, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” Man vainly attempted to exalt himself by following his own way, in harmony with Satan’s temptation and in opposition to the will of God. He thus gained a knowledge of evil, but he gained it at the cost of his loyalty; and his disobedience opened the flood-gates of woe upon our world.
7 Ever since the fall of Adam, men have been trying to exalt themselves by the same means. When will they learn that the only way to true exaltation is the path of obedience? Men’s plans may seem to them to be exceedingly wise, but there is no safety in following them unless they are in accordance with a “Thus saith the Lord.”
8
The Lord called out His people Israel, and separated them from the world, that He might commit to them a sacred trust. He made them the depositaries of His law; and He designed through them to preserve among men the knowledge of Himself. Through them the light of heaven was to shine out to the dark places of the earth, and a voice was to be heard appealing to all peoples to turn from their idolatry to serve the living and true God.
9 Had the Hebrews been true to their trust, they would have been a power in the world. God would have been their defense, and He would have exalted them above all other nations. His might and truth would have been revealed through them, and they would have stood forth under His wise and holy rule as an example of the superiority of His government over every form of idolatry. But they did not keep their covenant with God. They followed after the idolatrous practises of other nations; and instead of making their Creator’s name a praise in the earth, they brought it into contempt.
10 Yet the purpose of God must be accomplished. The knowledge of His will must be given to the world. God brought the hand of oppression upon His people, and scattered them as captives among the nations. In affliction many of them repented of their transgressions, and sought the Lord. Thus scattered throughout the countries of the heathen, they spread abroad the knowledge of the true God.
11 In this day, God has called His church, as He called ancient Israel, to stand as a light in the earth. By the mighty cleaver of truth,—the messages of the first, second, and third angels,—He has separated a people from the churches and from the world, to bring them into a sacred nearness to Himself. He has made them the depositories of His law, and has committed to them the great truths of prophecy for this time. Like the holy oracles committed to ancient Israel, these are a sacred trust to be communicated to the world.
12 Prophecy declares that the first angel would make his announcement to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” The warning of the third angel, which forms a part of the same threefold message, and is the message for this time, will be no less widespread. The banner on which is inscribed, “The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,” is to be raised aloft. The power of the first and second messages is to be intensified in the third. It is represented in the prophecy as being proclaimed with a loud voice by an angel flying in the midst of heaven, and it will command the attention of the world.
13 The most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortals is contained in the third angel’s message. That must be a terrible sin which calls down the wrath of God unmingled with mercy. But men are not left in darkness concerning this important matter; the warning against the worship of the beast and his image is to be given to the world before the visitation of God’s judgments, that all may know why the judgments are inflicted, and may have opportunity to escape.
14
In the issue of the contest, all Christendom will be divided into two great classes, — those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and those who worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark. Altho church and state will unite their power to compel “all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,” to receive “the mark of the beast,” yet the true people of God will not receive it. The prophet of Patmos beholds “them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God,” and singing the “song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.”
15 The third angel’s message increases in importance as we near the close of this earth’s history. It is the last offer of mercy to the world, the most solemn message ever given to mortals. In heaven there is a record kept of the impieties of nations, of families, of individuals. God may bear long while the account goes on; calls to repentance and offers of pardon may be given; yet a time will come when the account will be full, when the soul’s decision will have been made, when by his own choice man’s destiny will have been fixed. Then the signal will be given for judgment to be executed.
16 The forbearance that God has exercised toward the wicked has emboldened men in transgression; but their punishment will be none the less certain and terrible for being long delayed. “The Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act.” To our merciful God the act of punishment is a strange act. Yet He will “by no means clear the guilty.” By terrible things in righteousness He will vindicate the authority of His downtrodden law. The very fact of His reluctance to execute justice, testifies to the enormity of the sins that call forth His judgments, and to the severity of the retribution awaiting the transgressor.
17 All the inhabitants of earth are soon to meet the great Lawgiver over His broken law. There are many, many in the popular churches who know little of the real meaning of the message for this time. I appeal to them not to disregard the fulfilling of the signs of the times, which say so plainly that the end is near. O how many who have not sought their soul’s salvation, will soon make the bitter lamentation, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!”
18 When will men learn that God is God, not man, and that He does not change? Every calamity, every death, is a witness to the power of evil and to the truth of the living God. The Word of God is life, and it will abide forever. Through all eternity it will stand fast. How can man, knowing what God is and what He has done, choose Satan’s way instead of God’s way? There is only one path to Paradise restored,—the path of obedience.
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1 Adam and Eve, at their creation, had a knowledge of the law of God. They were acquainted with its claims upon them; its precepts were written upon their hearts. When man fell by transgression, the law was not changed, but a remedial system was established to bring him back to obedience. The promise of a Saviour was given; and sacrificial offerings pointing forward to the death of Christ as the great sin-offering, were established.
2 Adam taught his descendants the law of God, and it was handed down from father to son through successive generations. But notwithstanding the gracious provision for man’s redemption, there were few who accepted it and rendered obedience. By transgression the world became so vile that it was necessary to cleanse it by the Flood from its corruption. The law was preserved by Noah and his family, and Noah taught his descendants the Ten Commandments.
3 As men again departed from God, the Lord chose Abraham, of whom He declared, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” To him was given the rite of circumcision, which was a sign that those who received it were devoted to the service of God,—a pledge that they would remain separate from idolatry, and would obey the law of God. The failure of Abraham’s descendants to keep this pledge, as shown in their disposition to form alliances with the heathen and adopt their practises, was the cause of their sojourn and bondage in Egypt.
4
In their intercourse with idolaters, and their forced submission to the Egyptians, the divine precepts became still further corrupted with the vile and cruel teachings of heathenism. Therefore when the Lord brought them forth from Egypt, He made known to them once more the requirements of His law. The law was not spoken at this time exclusively for the benefit of the Hebrews. God honored them by making them the guardians and keepers of His law, but it was to be held as a sacred trust for the whole world.
5 The precepts of the Decalogue are adapted to all mankind, and they were given for the instruction and government of all. Ten precepts, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, cover the duty of man to God and to his fellow man; and all based upon the great fundamental principle of love. They stand forth alone, bearing the distinct, awful significance of their supreme importance. They mean life to the obedient, and death to the disobedient.
6 The law of God is as sacred as Himself. It is a revelation of His will, a transcript of His character, the expression of divine love and wisdom. Through the ages that law has been preserved as the highest standard of morality. Not all the inventions of science or the imaginations of fruitful minds have been able to discover one essential duty not covered by this code.
7 God’s law is the security of life and property, of peace and happiness. It was given to secure our present and eternal good. A thoughtful kindness runs through every enactment. Each commandment is an enactment of mercy, love, and saving power.
8
The Sabbath institution originated in Eden, and is therefore as old as the world itself. In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished; and God “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested.” The Sabbath was observed by all the patriarchs, from creation down. During the bondage in Egypt, the Israelites were forced by their taskmasters to violate the Sabbath, and to a great extent they lost the knowledge of its sacredness. When the law was proclaimed from Sinai, the very first words of the fourth commandment were, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” showing that the Sabbath was not then instituted; we are pointed back for its origin to creation.
9 Before the law was given from Sinai, God wrought a miracle each week to impress the people with the sanctity of the Sabbath. He rained manna from heaven for their food, and each day they gathered this manna; but on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, according to the directions of Moses: “The Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.”
10 “The children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; . . . unto the borders of the land of Canaan.” Thus for forty years God worked each week a miracle before His people, to show them that His Sabbath was a sacred day.
11
God gave the Sabbath to His people to be a continual sign of His love and mercy, and of their obedience. As He had rested upon this day and been refreshed, so He desired His people to rest and be refreshed. It was a continual reminder to them that they were included in His covenant of grace. Throughout your generations, He said, the Sabbath is to be My sign, My pledge, to you that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you; that I have chosen you, and set you apart as My peculiar people.
12 When the Sabbath was changed, the seal was taken from the law. Now the disciples of Jesus are called upon to restore it, by exalting the Sabbath of the fourth commandment to its rightful position as the Creator’s memorial and the sign of His authority. The prophet Isaiah thus points out the ordinance which has been forsaken: “Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.”
13 This prophecy also applies in our own time. A breach was made in the law of God when the Sabbath was changed; but the time has come for that institution to be restored. The breach is to be repaired, and the foundation of many generations to be raised up. The Lord has His messengers, whom He bids to proclaim His law to be changeless in its character, as enduring as eternity.
14 Thus the Sabbath is a token between God and His people. It is God’s holy day, given to man as a day on which to rest and reflect upon sacred things. God designed it to be observed through every age, as a perpetual covenant. His people are to regard the Sabbath as a peculiar treasure, a trust to be carefully cherished.
15 As we observe the Sabbath, let us remember that it is the sign Heaven has given to man that he is accepted in the Beloved; that if he is obedient, he may enter the city of God, and partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life. As we refrain from labor on the seventh day, we testify to the world that we are on God’s side, and are striving to live in perfect conformity to His commandments. Thus we recognize as our Sovereign the God who made the world in six days, and rested on the seventh.
16 From beginning to end, God’s law is a law of love. John says: “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as tho I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after His commandments.” “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.”
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1 To the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, were opened scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the experience of the church. Subjects of vast importance were presented to him in figures and symbols, that those who should turn from error to truth might become intelligent concerning the perils and conflicts before them. The history of the Christian world to the very close of time, was revealed to him. With great clearness he saw the position, dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing message which is to ripen the harvest of the earth, either as sheaves for the heavenly garner, or as fagots for the fires of the last day.
2 John beheld in vision the redeemed people of God. He saw the triumph of those who had gained the victory over the beast and over his image. He marked the trials which they had endured for the truth’s sake. He saw their unyielding firmness in adhering to the commandments of God against the oppressive powers that sought to force them to disobedience.
3
Under the symbols of the great red dragon, a leopard-like beast, and a beast with lamblike horns, the earthly governments which would be especially engaged in trampling upon God’s law and persecuting His people, were presented to John. Their war is to be carried on till the close of time. The people of God, symbolized by a holy woman and her children, are represented as greatly in the minority. In the last days, only a remnant still exists. John speaks of them as those that “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
4 For many centuries, first through paganism and then through the Papacy, Satan exerted his powers to blot from the earth God’s faithful witnesses. Both heathen and papists were actuated by the same dragon spirit. They differed only in that the Romish apostate, making a pretense of serving God, was the more dangerous and cruel foe. Through the agency of Romanism., Satan took the world captive. The professed church of God was swept into the ranks of this delusion, and for more than a thousand years the true people of God suffered under the dragon’s ire.
5
At the time when the Papacy, robbed of its strength, was forced to desist from persecution, John beheld a new power coming up to echo the dragon’s voice, and carry forward the same cruel and blasphemous work. This power, the last that is to wage war against the church and the law of God, is represented by a beast with lamblike horns. The beasts preceding it had risen from the sea; but this came up out of the earth, representing the peaceful rise of the nation which it symbolized—the United States.
6 The “two horns like a lamb” well represent the character of our own Government, as expressed in its two fundamental principles,—Republicanism and Protestantism. These principles are the secret of our power and prosperity as a nation. Those who first found an asylum on the shores of America, rejoiced that they had reached a country free from the arrogant claims of popery and the tyranny of kingly rule. They determined to establish a government upon the broad foundation of civil and religious liberty.
7 But the stern tracings of the prophetic pencil reveal a change in this peaceful scene. The beast with lamblike horns speaks with the voice of a dragon, and “exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him.” Prophecy declares that he will say to them that dwell on the earth, “that they should make an image to the beast,” and that it will cause “all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Thus Protestantism is to follow in the steps of the Papacy.
8
It is at this time that the third angel is seen flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming, “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.
9 In marked contrast with this multitude stands a little company who will not swerve from their allegiance to God. “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” These are they of whom Isaiah speaks: “They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach. The restorer of paths to dwell in.” The breach was made in the law of God when the Sabbath was changed by the Romish power. But the time has come for that divine institution to be restored. The breach is to be repaired, and the foundation of many generations to be raised up. And this message is the last to be given before the coming of the Lord. Immediately following its proclamation, the Son of Man is seen by the prophet coming in glory to reap the harvest of the earth.
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1 In the eighteenth chapter of the Revelation, the apostle-prophet John speaks of “another angel” whom he saw coming down from heaven, having great power, so that the whole earth “was lightened with his glory.” With a strong voice the angel cried, mightily, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
2 It is the church of Rome which, thinking to prove itself not only equal to God, but above God, has changed the rest-day of Jehovah, placing the first day of the week where the seventh should be. And the Protestant world has taken this child of the Papacy to be regarded as sacred. This is called in the Word of God “her fornication.” Thus the people of the world, in giving their sanction to a false sabbath and trampling under their feet the Sabbath of the Lord, “have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Wherever the papal sabbath is honored in preference to the Sabbath of the Lord, there is the man of sin exalted above the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
3 The angels and the holy inhabitants of other worlds watch with intense interest the events taking place on this earth. Now as the close of the great controversy between Christ and Satan draws near, the heavenly host behold men trampling upon the law of Jehovah, making void the memorial of God,—the sign between Him and His commandment-keeping people,—setting it aside as a thing of naught, something to be despised, while the rival sabbath is exalted. They see men claiming to be Christians, calling upon the world to observe this spurious sabbath that they have made.
4
When the Sabbath shall become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. Satan will excite indignation against the humble remnant who conscientiously refuse to accept the customs and traditions of error. Blinded by the prince of darkness, popular religionists will see only as he sees, and feel as he feels. They will determine as he determines, and oppress as he has oppressed. Liberty of conscience, which has cost this nation so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. The church and the world will unite, and the world will lend to the church her power to crush out the right of the people to worship God according to His Word.
5 It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the state, ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. This argument will appear conclusive; and against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment will finally be issued a decree denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment, and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death.
6 Romanism in the Old World, and apostate Protestantism in the New, will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts. This is the mystery of iniquity, the devising of satanic agencies, carried into effect by the man of sin.
7
The decree which is to go forth against the people of God in the near future, will be in some respects similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews in the time of Esther. The Persian edict sprang from the malice of Haman toward Mordecai. Not that Mordecai had done Haman harm, but he had refused to flatter his vanity by showing him the reverence which belongs only to God.
8 The king’s decision against the Jews was secured under false pretenses, —a misrepresentation of that peculiar people. Satan instigated the scheme in order to rid the earth of those who preserved the knowledge of the true God. But his plots were defeated by a counter-power that reigns among the children of men. Angels that excel in strength were commissioned to protect the people of God, and the plots of their adversaries returned upon their own heads.
9 History will repeat itself. In this age the test will be on the point of Sabbath observance. The same masterful mind that plotted against the faithful in ages past, is now at work to gain control of the falling churches, that through them he may condemn and put to death all who will not worship the idol sabbath.
10 Our battle will not be with men, altho it may appear so; we war “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places.” But if the people of God will put their trust in Him, and by faith rely upon His power, the devices of Satan will be defeated in our time, as signally as in the days of Mordecai.
11 The people of God will enter into no controversy with the world over this matter. They will simply take God’s Word for their guide, and maintain their allegiance to Him whose commandments they keep. They will obey the words of Jehovah, “Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore . . . for a perpetual covenant.”
12 To every soul will come the searching test, Shall I obey God rather than man? The decisive hour is even at hand. Satan is putting forth his utmost efforts in a last despairing struggle against Christ and His followers. In this closing scene, false teachers are employing every possible device to stimulate the hardened sinner in his rebellious daring, to confirm the questioning, the doubting, the unbelieving, and by misrepresentation and falsehood to deceive, if it were possible, the very elect.
13 Who are prepared to stand firmly under the banner on which is inscribed, “The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”?
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Page 1230
1 At infinite cost provision has been made for men to reach perfection of Christian character. Those who have been impressed by the Holy Scriptures as the voice of God, and desire to follow its teachings, are to be daily learning, daily receiving spiritual fervor and power, which have been provided for every true believer in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2 The Holy Spirit is a free, working, independent agency. The God of heaven uses His Spirit as it pleases Him; and human minds, human judgment, and human methods can no more set boundaries to its working, or prescribe the channel through which it shall operate, than they can say to the wind, “I bid you to blow in a certain direction, and to conduct yourself in such and such a manner.” As the wind moves in its force, bending and breaking the lofty trees in its path, so the Holy Spirit influences human hearts, and no finite man can circumscribe its work.
3
When Nicodemus, a great teacher in Israel, sought the Master in that night interview on the Mount of Olives, Jesus laid before him the conditions of conversion, saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.”
4 In astonishment Nicodemus said, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Here the Jewish ruler showed his unbelief; but Jesus answered, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God.” “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
5 Perplexed and wondering, Nicodemus said, “How can these things be?” Jesus said, “Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?” A teacher, a man among wise men, a man who supposed that he was able to comprehend the science of religion, and yet stumbling at the doctrine of conversion!
6 Nicodemus was not willing to admit the truth, because he could not understand all that was connected with the operation of the power of God; and yet he accepted the facts of nature, altho he could not explain or even comprehend them. Like other men of all ages, he was looking to forms and precise ceremonies as more essential to religion than the deep movings of the Spirit of God.
7 Jesus continued, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” By nature the heart is evil, and “who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.” No human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. “The carnal mind . . is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams can become pure. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old life, but a transformation of the nature. There is a death to sin and self, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit.
8
Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus that, altho he could not see the wind, yet he could discern its action. The operating agency was not revealed to view; men could not tell whence it came or whither it went. They could not define by what law it was governed; but they could see the effects produced by its action. So this teacher in Israel might never be able to explain the process of conversion, but he would be able to discern its effects. No human reasoning, no skill of the most learned men, can define the operations of the Holy Spirit upon human minds and characters; yet they can see the effects upon the life and actions.
9 The Spirit of God is manifested in different ways upon different individuals. One, under the movings of this power, will tremble before the Word of God. His convictions are so deep that a tumult of feeling seems to rage in his heart, and his whole being is prostrated under the convicting power of the truth.
10 When the Lord speaks forgiveness to such a repenting soul, he is full of ardor, full of love to God, full of earnestness and energy, and the life-giving Spirit which he has received can not be repressed. Christ is in him, a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. His feelings of love are as deep and ardent as were his distress and agony. His soul is like the fountain of the great deep broken up, and he pours forth his thanksgiving and praise, his gratitude and joy, until the heavenly harps are tuned to notes of rejoicing with him. He has a story to tell, but not in any precise, common, methodical way. He is a soul ransomed through the merits of Jesus Christ, and his whole being is thrilled with the realization of the salvation of God.
11 Others are brought to Christ in a more gentle way. Men who have been dead in trespasses and sins, become convicted and converted under the operations of the Spirit. The thoughtless and wayward become serious. The hardened repent of their sins, and the faithless believe. The gambler, the drunkard, the licentious, become steady, sober, and pure. The rebellious and obstinate become meek and Christlike.
12 When we see these changes in the character, we may be assured that the converting power of God has transformed the entire man. We saw not the Holy Spirit, but we saw the evidence of its working in the changed character of those who were hardened and obdurate sinners.
13 The Holy Spirit moves upon the inner self until it becomes conscious of the divine power of God, and every spiritual faculty is quickened to decided action. A deep and thorough work is wrought in the soul, which the world can not see. Those who know not what it is to have an experience in the things of God, who know not what it is to be justified by faith, who have not the witness of the Spirit that they are accepted of Jesus Christ, are in need of being born again.
14
What can the world know of Christian experience? Verily, nothing! “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.” The great Teacher explained this instruction by saying, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Those who not only hear but do the words of Christ, make manifest in their character the internal operations of the Holy Spirit. The result is demonstrated in the outward conduct.
15 If one who daily communes with God errs from the path, if he turns for a moment from looking steadfastly to Jesus, it is not because he sins wilfully; for when he sees his mistake, he fastens his eyes again upon Jesus; and the fact that he has erred does not make him less dear to the heart of God. When reproved for his mistake, he learns a lesson from the words of his Saviour, turns the mistake into a victory, and takes heed that he be not again deceived.
16 The Christian can not serve the world, or yield to the claims of any power, relation, or society that will make him deny Christ, dishonor God, or prove disloyal to His holy law. The Christian is to surrender himself unreservedly to God as His purchased possession.
17 The life of the Christian is hid with Christ in God; and God acknowledges those who are His, declaring, “Ye are My witnesses.” They testify that divine power is influencing their hearts and shaping their conduct. Their works give evidence that the Spirit is moving upon the inward man, so that those who are associated with them are convinced that they are making Christ their pattern. Those who truly love God have the internal evidence that they are beloved of God. They have communion with Christ, and their hearts are warmed with fervent love toward Him. God claims them for Himself, and will impart to them special favors, enabling them to be complete in Christ, more than conquerors through Him who has loved them.
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Page 1231
1 Before He left His disciples, Christ breathed on them, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” Again He said, “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you.” But not until after the ascension was this gift received in its fulness. Not until through faith and prayer the disciples had surrendered themselves fully for His working, was the outpouring of the Spirit bestowed. Then in a special sense the goods of heaven were committed to the followers of Christ.
2 “When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ,” the Spirit “dividing to every man severally as He will.” The gifts are already ours in Christ, but their actual possession depends upon our reception of the Spirit of God.
3
The talents that Christ entrusts to His church represent especially the gifts and blessings imparted by the Holy Spirit. “To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” Not all the gifts are imparted to each believer, but to every servant of the Master some gift of the Spirit is promised, according to his need for the Lord’s work.
4 In all the Lord’s arrangements, there is nothing more beautiful than His plan of giving to men and women a diversity of gifts. The church is His garden, adorned with a variety of trees, plants, and flowers. He does not expect the hyssop to assume the proportions of the cedar, nor the olive to reach the height of the stately palm. Many have received but a limited religious and intellectual training, but God has a work for this class to do, if they will labor in humility, trusting in Him.
5 God has different ways of working, and He has different workmen to whom He entrusts varied gifts. One worker may be a ready speaker; another a ready writer; another may have the gift of sincere, earnest, fervent prayer; another the gift of singing; another may have special skill in explaining the Word of God with clearness. And each gift is to become a power for good, because God works with the laborer. To one God gives the word of wisdom, to another knowledge; but all are to work under the same Head. The diversity of gifts leads to a diversity of operations; but “it is the same God which worketh all in all.”
6
Different gifts are imparted to different ones, that the workers may feel their need of one another. God bestows these gifts, and they are employed in His service, not to glorify the possessor, not to uplift man, but to uplift the world’s Redeemer. They are to be used for the good of all mankind, by representing the truth, not testifying to a falsehood.
7 It may seem to some that the contrast between their gifts and the gifts of a fellow laborer is too great to allow them to unite in harmonious effort; but when they remember that there are varied minds to be reached, and that some will reject the truth as it is presented by one laborer, only to open their hearts to the same truth as presented in a different manner by another, they will hopefully endeavor to labor together in unity. Their talents, however diverse, may all be under the control of the same Spirit. In every word and act, kindness and love will be revealed; and as each worker fills his appointed place faithfully, the prayer of Christ for the unity of His followers will be answered, and the world will know that these are His disciples.
8
The outpouring of the Spirit in the days of the apostles was the “former rain;” and glorious was the result. But the “latter rain” will be still more abundant. What is the promise to those living in these last days?—”Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee.” “Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.”
9 Christ declares that the divine influence of the Spirit was to be with His followers unto the end. But by some this promise is not appreciated as it should be; its fulfillment is not realized as it might be. Learning, talents, eloquence, every natural or acquired endowment, may be possessed; but without the presence of the Spirit of God, no heart will be touched, no sinner won to Christ. When His disciples are connected with Christ, when the gifts of the Spirit are theirs, even the poorest and most ignorant of them will have a power that will tell upon hearts. God makes them the channel for the outworking of the highest influence in the universe.
10 As the divine endowment—the power of the Holy Spirit—was given to the disciples, so it will today be given to all who seek aright. This power alone is able to make us wise unto salvation, and to fit us for the courts above. Christ wants to give us a blessing that will make us holy. “These things have I spoken unto you,” He says, “that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Joy in the Holy Spirit is health-giving, life-giving. In giving us His Spirit, God gives us Himself,—a fountain of divine influences, to give health and life to the world.
11 The promise of the gifts is just as strong and trustworthy now as in the days of the apostles. “These signs shall follow them that believe.” The gifts of Him who has all power in heaven and in earth, are in store for His children,—gifts so precious that they come to us through the costly sacrifice of the Redeemer’s blood; gifts that will satisfy the deepest craving of the heart; gifts lasting as eternity.
12 Will you not come to God as little children, appropriate His promises, plead them before Him as His own words? If you do, you will receive fulness of joy.
Page 1232
1 In the issue of the great contest between the forces of good and of evil, two parties are to be developed,—those who “worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark,” and those who receive “the seal of the living God,” and have “the Father’s name written in their foreheads.”
2 In the fourth commandment is found the seal of God’s law. This only, of all the ten, brings to view the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It declares Him to be the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and thus shows His claim to reverence and worship above all others. Aside from this precept, there is nothing in the Decalogue to show by whose authority the law was given.
3 The Sabbath enjoined by the fourth commandment was instituted to commemorate the work of creation. Had the seventh day always been kept, there would never have been an idolater, and atheist, or an infidel. The sacred observance of God’s holy day would have directed the minds of men to their Creator, the true and living God. Everything in nature also would have brought Him to their remembrance; and would have borne witness to His power and love.
4
The Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God. It points to God as the Creator, and is the sign of His rightful authority over the beings He has made. Those who obey this law will bear the seal of God, for He has set apart this day as a sign of loyalty between Himself and His people. To Moses on Mount Sinai He said, “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.”
5 The mark of the beast is the opposite of this,—the observance of the first day of the week as the sabbath enforced by human law. This mark distinguishes those who acknowledge the supremacy of the papal authority from those who acknowledge the authority of God.
6
As the sign of the authority of the Catholic Church, papist writers cite “the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of, . . . because by keeping Sunday strictly they acknowledge the church’s power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin.”
7 The Roman church thus declares that by observing the first day of the week as the sabbath, Protestants are recognizing her power to legislate in divine things. And it is true that those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose to observe a false sabbath in the place of the true, are thereby paying homage to that power by which alone it is commanded.
8 The Roman church has not relinquished her claim to supremacy; and when the world and the Protestant churches accept a sabbath of her creating, while they reject the Bible Sabbath, they virtually admit this assumption. They may claim the authority of tradition and of the Fathers for the change; but in so doing they ignore the very principle which separates them from Rome,—that “the Bible, and the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants.” The papist can see that they are deceiving themselves, willingly closing their eyes to the facts in the case. As the movement for Sunday enforcement gains favor, he rejoices, feeling assured that it will eventually bring the whole Protestant world under the banner of Rome.
9 With rapid steps we are approaching this period. When the Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution: when the state shall use its power to enforce the decrees and sustain the institutions of the church,—then will Protestant America have formed an image to the Papacy, and there will be a national apostasy which will end only in national ruin.
10
The laws of nations should be respected as long as they do not conflict with the laws of God; but when there is collision between them, every true disciple of Christ will say, as did Peter when commanded to speak no more in the name of Jesus, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
11 Paul wrote to the Romans, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” But there is a point beyond which it is impossible to maintain union and harmony without the sacrifice of principle. Separation then becomes an absolute duty.
12 Christ never purchased peace and friendship by compromise with evil. The life of Jesus, the suffering which He endured from a perverse nation, demonstrate to His followers that there must be no sacrifice of principle. Peace is too dearly obtained if purchased by the smallest concession to Satan’s agencies. The least surrender of principle entangles us in the snares of Satan.
13 The Sabbath question is to be the issue in the great final conflict, in which all the world will act a part. Men have honored Satan’s principles above the principles that rule in the heavens. They have accepted the spurious sabbath, which Satan has exalted as the sign of his authority. But God has set His seal upon His royal requirement. Each Sabbath institution, both true and false, bears the name of its author, an ineffaceable mark that shows the authority of each.
14 The great decision now to be made by every one is, whether he will receive the mark of the beast and his image, or the seal of the living and true God And now, when we are on the very borders of the eternal world, what can be of so much value to us as to be found loyal and true to the God of heaven? What is there that we should prize above His truth and His law? What is so necessary as a knowledge of “what saith the Scripture?”
Page 1233
1 At a very early age Jesus began to act for Himself in the formation of His character, and not even respect and love for His parents could turn Him from obedience to God’s Word. “It is written” was His reason for every act that varied from the family customs.
2 But the influence of the rabbis made His life a bitter one. Even in His youth He had to learn the hard lesson of silence and patient endurance. His brothers, as the sons of Joseph were called, sided with the rabbis. They insisted that the traditions of the Jewish priests must be heeded, as if they were the requirements of God; and they were greatly annoyed at the clear penetration of Jesus in distinguishing between the false and the true. His strict obedience to the law of God they condemned as stubbornness.
3 They were surprised at the knowledge and wisdom He showed in answering the rabbis. They knew that He had not received instruction from the wise men, yet they could not but see that He was an instructor to them. They recognized that His education was of a higher type than their own. But they did not discern that He had access to the tree of life, a source of knowledge of which they were ignorant.
4 All through His ministry to this earth, Christ was a living representative of the law. No violation of its holy precepts was found in His life. Looking upon a nation of witnesses who were seeking occasion to condemn Him, He could say unchallenged, “Which of you convicteth Me of sin?”
5 In His sermon on the mount, Jesus did not dwell on the specifications of the law, but He did not leave His hearers to conclude that He had come to set aside its requirements. He knew that spies stood ready to seize upon every word that might be wrested to serve their purpose. He knew the prejudice that existed in the minds of many of His hearers, and He said nothing to unsettle their faith in the religion and institutions that had been committed to them through Moses. Christ Himself had given both the moral and the ceremonial law. He did not come to destroy confidence in His own instruction. It was because of His great reverence for the law and the prophets, that He sought to break through the wall of traditional requirements which hemmed in the Jews. While He set aside their false interpretations of the law, He carefully guarded His disciples against yielding up the vital truths committed to the Hebrews.
6 The Pharisees prided themselves on their obedience to the law; yet they knew so little of its principles through every-day practise, that to them the Saviour’s words sounded like heresy. As He swept away the rubbish under which the truth had been buried, they thought He was sweeping away the truth itself. They whispered to one another that He was making light of the law. He read their thoughts, and answered them, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Here Jesus refutes the charge of the Pharisees. His mission to the world is to vindicate the sacred claims of that law which they charge Him with breaking. If the law of God could have been changed or abrogated, then Christ need not have suffered the consequences of our transgression. He came to explain the relation of the law to man, and to illustrate its precepts by His own life of obedience.
7 God has given us His holy precepts, because He loves mankind. To shield us from the results of transgression, He reveals the principles of righteousness. The law is an expression of the thought of God; when received in Christ, it becomes our thought. It lifts us above the power of natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. God desires us to be happy, and He gave us the precepts of the law that in obeying them we might have joy. When at Jesus’ birth the angels sang,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good-will toward men”
they were declaring the principles of the law which He had come to magnify and make honorable.
8 When the law was proclaimed from Sinai, God made known to men the holiness of His character, that by contrast they might see the sinfulness of their own. The law was given to convict them of sin, and reveal their need of a Saviour. It would do this as its principles were applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit. This work it is still to do. In the life of Christ the principles of the law are made plain; and as the Holy Spirit of God touches the heart, as the light of Christ reveals to men their need of His cleansing blood and His justifying righteousness, the law is still an agent in bringing us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.
9 “Till heaven and earth pass,” said Jesus, “one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The sun shining in the heavens, the solid earth upon which you dwell, are God’s witnesses that His law is changeless and eternal. Tho they may pass away, the divine precepts shall endure. “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” The system of types that pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, was to be abolished at His death; but the precepts of the Decalogue are as immutable as the throne of God.
10 Since “the law of the Lord is perfect,” every variation from it must be evil. Those who disobey the commandments of God, and teach others to do so, are condemned by Christ. The Saviour’s life of obedience maintained the claims of the law, and showed the excellence of character that obedience would develop. All who obey as He did, are likewise declaring that the law is “holy, and just, and good.”
11 Jesus takes up the commandments separately, and explains the depth and breadth of their requirement. Instead of removing one jot of their force, He shows how far-reaching their principles are, and exposes the fatal mistake of the Jews in their outward show of obedience. He declares that by the evil thought or the lustful look the law of God is transgressed. One who becomes a party to the least injustice, is breaking the law, and degrading his own moral nature. Murder first exists in the mind. He who gives hatred a place in his heart, is setting his feet in the path of the murderer; and his offerings are abhorrent to God.
12 The plan of redemption contemplates our complete recovery from the power of Satan. The command, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,” is a promise. God’s ideal for His children is higher than the highest human thought can reach.
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Page 1234
1 Our Saviour said, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” And God declared by the prophet, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am Jehovah, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
2 No man, without divine aid, can attain to this knowledge of God. The apostle says that “the world by wisdom knew not God.” Christ “was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” Jesus declared to His disciples, “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.”
3 In the last prayer for His followers, before entering the shadows of Gethsemane, the Saviour lifted His eyes to heaven, and in pity for the ignorance of fallen men He said, “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee.” “I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world.”
4 Christ came to reveal God to the world as a God of love, full of mercy, tenderness, and compassion. The thick darkness with which Satan had endeavored to enshroud the throne of Deity was swept away by the world’s Redeemer, and the Father was again manifest to men as the light of life.
5 When Philip came to Jesus with the request, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” the Saviour answered, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” Christ declares Himself to be sent into the world as a representative of the Father. In His nobility of character, in His mercy and tender pity, in His love and goodness, He stands before us as the embodiment of divine perfection, the image of the invisible God.
6 “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” Only as we contemplate the great plan of redemption can we have a just appreciation of the character of God. The work of creation was a manifestation of His love; but the gift of God to save the guilty race, alone reveals the infinite depths of divine tenderness and compassion. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
7 While the law of God is maintained, and its justice vindicated, the sinner can be pardoned. The dearest gift that Heaven itself had to bestow has been poured out, that God “might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” By that gift, men are uplifted from the ruin and degradation of sin, to become children of God. Paul says, “Ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
8 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” What love, what matchless love, that, sinners and aliens as we are, we may be brought back to God, and adopted into His family! We may address Him by the endearing name, “Our Father,” which is a sign of our affection for Him, a pledge of His tender regard and relationship to us. And the Son of God, beholding the heirs of grace, “is not ashamed to call them brethren.” They have even a more sacred relationship to God than have the angels who have never fallen.
9 All the paternal love which has come down from generation to generation through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of tenderness which have opened in the souls of men, are but as a tiny rill to the boundless ocean, when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God. Tongue can not utter it; pen can not portray it. You may meditate upon it every day of your life; you may search the Scriptures diligently in order to understand it; you may summon every power and capability that God has given you, in the endeavor to comprehend the love and compassion of the heavenly Father; and yet there is an infinity beyond. You may study that love for ages; yet you can never fully comprehend the length and breadth, the depth and height, of the love of God in giving His Son to die for the world. Eternity itself can never fully reveal it.
10 Yet as we study the Bible, and meditate upon the life of Christ and the plan of redemption, these great themes will open to our understanding more and more. And it will be ours to realize the blessing which Paul desired for the Ephesian church, when he prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe.”
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Page 1235
1 Success in the work of God is not the result of chance, of accident, or of destiny, but the outworking of God’s providence, the award of faith and discretion, of virtue and persevering labor. It is the practise of truth that brings success and strength of moral power. The bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness are to be welcomed as the light of the mind; the principles of the character of Christ are to be made the principles of the human character. All of man’s attainments, all his capabilities, are to be laid at the foot of the cross of Calvary. His own righteousness is to be surrendered. Counting all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord, and with the meekness and humility of a little child, he is to receive the engrafted Word, which is able to save the soul.
2 The life of the soul depends upon spiritual conformity to the life of Christ. The inviting paths that self may choose, will lead away from Christ. Self must be humbled before God; every obstacle to service be removed. When the human life is in communion with the life of Christ, then it is sanctified through the truth, and the prayer of Christ is answered: “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.”
3 “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is the love that is the fulfilling of the law. Only he whose heart is filled with compassion for fallen man, who loves to a purpose, revealing that love by the performance of Christlike deeds, will be able to endure the seeing of Him who is invisible. He who loves not those for whom the Father has done so much, knows not God.
4
Theology is valueless unless it is saturated with the love of Christ. True Christianity diffuses love through the whole being. It touches every vital part,—the brain, the heart, the helping hands, the feet,—enabling men to stand firmly where God requires them to stand, lest the lame be turned out of the way. The burning, consuming love of Christ for perishing souls is the life of the whole system of Christianity.
5 The worker for God needs spiritual life. This life will give vigor to soul and body. Spiritual life yields to its possessor that which all the world is seeking, but which can never be obtained without an entire surrender to God. The contemplation of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us, will make our lives sweet and fragrant, and give us power to perfect a Christian experience.
6 Laborer for God, the work given you is to represent Christ. He came to this world to shed upon you His own brightness and peace. Close the windows of your heart against the atmosphere of unbelief, and open them heavenward. It is your privilege to face the light, to talk faith and life. Let your countenance reflect the joy of the Lord. Speak of His goodness, tell of His power. Then your light will shine more and more distinctly. Above your trials and disappointments will be revealed the reflection of a pure, healthy, religious life. In the outworking of the inner life, there will be a wonderful peace and joy. You may reflect the beauty of the character of your risen Lord, who, tho He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich in the grace of heaven.
7
We can, we can reveal the likeness of our divine Lord. We can know the science of spiritual life. We can glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are His. O, what an illustrious example we have in the life that Christ lived on this earth! He has shown us what we can accomplish through cooperation with Him. We are to seek for union with Him. “Abide in Me,” He says, “and I in you.” This union is deeper, stronger, truer than any other union. The heart must be filled with the grace of Christ. His will must control us, moving us by His love to suffer with those who suffer, to rejoice with those who rejoice, to feel a deep tenderness for every soul in weakness, sorrow, or distress.
8 Being partakers of the divine nature, we shall reach forth a helping hand to those in need of relief. Christ’s heart was ever touched with pity at the sight of woe. He died on the cross of Calvary to lift from man the penalty of transgression. He came to our world to make it possible for sinful human beings to obtain salvation. He wept over the sorrow and suffering He saw on every hand. But He would not fail nor be discouraged. He must believe and press forward in order to make it possible for the fallen race to gain life eternal. Christ’s life on earth is a perfect reflection of the divine law. In Him is life and hope and light. Behold Him, and you will be changed into the same likeness, from character to character.
9 Christ has laid out in figures the plans we are to study and upon which we are to act. The fifth chapter of Matthew is full of precious instruction. Read this chapter, and write it upon the tablets of the soul. The Saviour declares, “Ye are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” If the character is not under the molding influence of the Spirit of God, if we have not the faith that works by love and purifies the soul from all objectionable tendencies, hereditary and cultivated, what does our profession avail? Where there should be seen the sweetness of humility, combined with firmness and solidity of character, there is seen a hard spirit, which is not a savor of life unto life, but of death unto death.
10
The life of the soul can not be sustained unless it is brought into subjection to the will of God. Every energy is to be exercised in doing the divine will. Our thoughts, if stayed upon God, will be guided by divine love and power.
11 Those who proclaim the third angel’s message, must put on the whole armor of God, that they may stand boldly at their post in the face of detraction and falsehood, fighting the good fight of faith. They are to resist the enemy with the word, “It is written.” They are to keep themselves where the three great powers of heaven — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — can be their efficiency. These powers work with the one who gives himself unreservedly to God. The strength of heaven is at the command of God’s believing ones. The man who makes God his trust is barricaded by an impregnable wall.
12 We lose many precious blessings by failing to bring our needs and cares and sorrows to our Saviour. He is the wonderful Counselor. He looks upon His church with intense interest and with tender sympathy. He enters into the depths of our necessities. But our ways are not always His ways. He sees the result of every action, and He asks us to trust patiently in His wisdom, not in the supposedly wise plans of our own making.
13 Cease not to pray. If the answer tarry, wait for it. Lay all your plans at the feet of your Redeemer. Let your importunate prayers ascend to God. If it be for His name’s glory, the soothing words will be spoken, “Be it unto thee according to thy word.”
14 “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” These words are a pledge that all that an omnipotent Saviour can bestow will be given to those who trust in Him. As stewards of the grace of heaven, we are to ask in faith, and then wait trustingly for the salvation of God. We are not to step in before Him, trying in our own strength to bring about that which we desire. In His name we are to ask, and then act as tho we believed in His efficiency to send the answer.
Page 1236
1 The only light that can illuminate the darkness of a world lying in sin, must come from Christ; and this light is granted to all who will receive it. For, said the great Teacher, “He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
2 Those who receive the divine radiance are in turn to become light-bearers to the world. Thus our Saviour taught His disciples: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hid. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
3 Religion is not to be held as a precious treasure, jealously hoarded, and enjoyed only by the possessor. True religion can not be thus held; for such a spirit is contrary to the very principle of the Gospel. “Freely ye have received, freely give,” are the words of our Master; and again He bids us, “Love one another as I have loved you.” If Christ is dwelling in the heart, it is impossible to conceal the light of His presence; it is impossible for that light to grow dim. It will grow brighter and brighter, as day by day the mists of selfishness and sin that envelop the soul are dispelled by its bright beams.
4
The world lies in darkness. All around us there are souls going down to ruin and death. As Christ sheds the light of His love upon His followers, they are to reflect this light upon others. God’s Word declares that the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. The zeal and steadfastness of the lighthouse keeper, in his efforts to save men from destruction, put to shame the faith and devotion of many a professed Christian.
5 A story is told of the watchman at Calais lighthouse. He “was boasting of the brilliancy of his lantern, which can be seen ten leagues out at sea, when a visitor said to him:
6 “‘You speak with enthusiasm, sir, and that is well. I like to hear men tell what they are sure they have and know; but what if one of the lights should chance to go out?’
7 “‘Never, never! Absurd, impossible!’ replied the sensitive watchman, in consternation at the mere supposition of such a thing. ‘Why, sir,’ he continued, and pointed to the ocean, ‘yonder where nothing can be seen, there are ships going by to every port in the world. If, tonight, one of my burners were out, within six months would come a letter, perhaps from India, perhaps from Australia, perhaps from some port I never heard of before,—a letter, saying that on such a night, at such an hour, at such a minute, the light at Calais burned low and dim; that the watchman neglected his post; that vessels were consequently put in jeopardy on the high seas. Ah, sir,’ and his face shone with the intensity of his thought, ‘sometimes, in the dark nights, and in the stormy weather, I look out upon the sea, and feel as if the eye of the whole world were looking at my light. Go out? Burn dim? That flame flicker low or fail? No, sir, never!”
8
“Shall Christians, shining for tempted sinners, allow their light to fail? Forever out upon life’s billowy sea, are souls we see not, strange sailors in the dark, passing by, struggling, it may be, amid the surges of temptation. Christ is the light, and the Christian is appointed to reflect the light. The ocean is vast, its dangers are many, and the eyes of far-away voyagers are turned toward the lighthouse — the church of Jesus Christ. The church is set to be the light of the world. Are its revolving lamps all trimmed and brightly burning?”
9 Think of this, professed Christians. A failure to let your light shine, a neglect to obtain heavenly wisdom that you may have light from God, may cause the loss of a soul. What is the life lost at sea, in comparison with the eternal life which may be lost through your unfaithfulness? Can you endure the thought? Can you go on from day to day indifferent and careless, as tho there were no God, no hereafter; as tho you were not Christ’s servant; as tho you had no blood-bought privileges? It is of the highest consequence that you stand at your post, like the faithful watchman, that your light may shine out before others. You should be so impressed with the importance of your work, that to the question, “What if your light should go out?” your whole soul would respond, “Never, never! for then souls would be lost!”
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Page 1237
1 The whole world stands condemned before the great moral standard of righteousness. In the great day of judgment every soul that has lived on the earth will receive sentence in accordance as to whether his deeds have been good or evil in the light of the law of God. Every mouth will be stopped as the cross with its dying Victim shall be presented, and its real bearing shall be seen by every mind that has been sin-blinded and corrupted. Sinners will stand condemned before the cross, with its mysterious Victim bowing beneath the infinite burden of human transgression. How quickly will be swept away every subterfuge, every lying excuse! Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. They will then understand that they have chosen Barabbas instead of Christ, the Prince of Peace.
2 The mystery of the incarnation and the crucifixion will be plainly discerned; for it will be presented before the mind’s eye and every condemned soul will read what has been the character of his rejection of truth. All will understand that they have erred from the truth by receiving the misinterpretations and bewitching lies of Satan instead of “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” They read the announcement, “Thou, O man, hast chosen to stand under the banner of the great rebel, Satan, and in so doing thou hast destroyed thyself.” Whatever may have been the endowment of talent, whatever may have been the supposed wisdom, the rejecter of truth has then no ability to turn unto God. The door is shut, as was the door of the ark in Noah’s day.
3 The great men of earth will then understand that they have surrendered mind and heart to ensnaring philosophy which pleased the carnal heart. Hope and grace and every inducement had been held out by One who loved them, and gave His life for them, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life; but they refused the love of God. Their lofty opinions, their human reasonings, were extolled; they declared themselves sufficient in themselves to understand divine mysteries, and they thought their own powers of discrimination were strong enough to discern truth for themselves. They fell an easy prey to Satan’s subtlety, for he presented before them specious errors in human philosophy, which has an infatuation for human minds. They turned from the Source of all wisdom, and worshipped intellect. The message and the messengers of God were criticized and discarded as beneath their human, lofty ideas. The invitations of mercy were made a jest, and they denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, and derided the idea of His preexistence before He assumed human nature. But the tattered shreds of human reasoning will be found to be only as ropes of sand in the great day of God.
Page 1238
1 Christ came to manifest the love of God to the world to draw the hearts of all men to Himself. He said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” The first step toward salvation is to respond to the drawing of the love of Christ. God sends message after message to men, entreating them to repentance, that He may forgive, and write pardon against their names. Shall there be no repentance? Shall His appeals be unheeded? Shall His overtures of mercy be ignored, and His love utterly rejected? O, then man will cut himself off from the medium through which he may gain life eternal; for God only pardons the penitent. By the manifestation of His love, by the entreating of His Spirit, He woos men to repentance; for repentance is the gift of God, and whom He pardons He first makes penitent. The sweetest joy comes to man through his sincere repentance toward God for the transgression of His law, and through faith in Christ as the sinner’s Redeemer and Advocate. It is that men may understand the joy of forgiveness, the peace of God, that Christ draws them through the manifestation of His love. If they respond to His drawing, yielding their hearts to His grace, He will lead them on step by step, to a full knowledge of Himself; and this is life eternal.
2 Christ came to reveal to the sinner the justice and love of God, that He might give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. When the sinner beholds Jesus lifted up upon the cross, suffering the guilt of the transgressor, bearing the penalty of sin; when he beholds God’s abhorrence of evil in the fearful manifestation of the death of the cross, and His love for fallen man, he is led to repentance toward God because of his transgression of the law which is holy, and just, and good. He exercises faith in Christ, because the divine Saviour has become his Substitute, his Surety, and Advocate, the One in whom his very life is centered. To the repenting sinner God can show His mercy and truth, and bestow upon him His forgiveness and love.
3 But Satan will not permit a soul to escape from the captivity of sin if by any means he can prevent it. Tho all heaven has been poured out in one rich gift—for when God gave His Son, He gave the choicest gift of heaven, and the treasures of heaven are at our command—yet to the repenting soul the enemy will seek to represent God as stern and inexorable, unwilling to pardon the transgressor. At different times letters have come to me from persons who were in despair over their sins. One and another have written: “I fear I am past all help. Is there any hope for me?” To these poor souls the message has been given: “Hope in God. The Father has bread enough and to spare. Arise, and go to your Father. He will meet you a great way off. He will give you His love and compassion.”
4 When the enemy comes in like a flood, and seeks to overwhelm you with the thought of your sin, tell him: “I know I am a sinner. If I were not, I could not go to the Saviour; for He says, ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ And because I am a sinner I am entitled to come to Christ. I am sinful and polluted, but He suffered humiliation and death, and exhausted the curse that belongs to me. I come. I believe. I claim His sure promise, ‘Whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.’”
5 Will such a plea, made in contrition of soul, be turned away? — No, never. By the suffering and death of Christ is proved His boundless love to man. He is willing and able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him.
6 Then as a little child come to God, presenting yourself as suppliant at His feet; for we need not ascend into the heavens to bring Jesus down, nor descend into the earth to bring Him up; for He is ever near us. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” How willing is Christ to take possession of the soul temple if we will let Him! He is represented as waiting and knocking at the door of the heart. Then why does He not enter? It is because the love of sin has closed the door of the heart. As soon as we consent to give sin up, to acknowledge our guilt, the barrier is removed between the soul and the Saviour.
Page 1239
1 The intense passion for money-getting, the thirst for display, the luxury and extravagance, — all are forces that, with the great mass of mankind, are turning the mind from life’s true purpose. They are opening the door to a thousand evils. Many, absorbed in their interest in worldly treasures, become insensible to the claims of God and the needs of their fellow men. They regard their wealth as a means of glorifying self. They add house to house, and land to land; they fill their homes with luxury, while all about them are human beings in misery and crime, in disease and death.
2 By every species of oppression and extortion, men are piling up colossal fortunes, while the cries of starving humanity are coming up before God. There are multitudes struggling with poverty, compelled to labor hard for small wages, unable to secure the barest necessities of life. Toil and deprivation, with no hope of better things, make their burden heavy. When pain and sickness are added, the burden is almost unbearable. Careworn and oppressed, they know not where to turn for relief.
3 The Scriptures describe the condition of the world just before Christ’s second coming: “Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.” James 5:5, 6.
4 The spiritual darkness that covers the whole earth today is intensified in the crowded centers of population. It is in the cities of the nations that the Gospel worker finds the greatest impenitence and the greatest need. In these same wicked cities there are presented to soul-winners some of the greatest opportunities. Mingled with the multitudes who have no thought of God and heaven, are many who long for light and for purity of heart. Even among the careless and indifferent, there are not a few whose attention may be arrested by a revelation of God’s love for the human soul.
5 The cities everywhere are calling for earnest, whole-hearted labor from the servants of God.
6 The conditions that face Christian workers in the great cities, constitute a solemn appeal for untiring effort in behalf of the millions living within the shadow of impending doom.
7 With heart and soul and voice they must respond to the summons of the Master of the vineyard to enter the cities, and work as laborers together with God for the winning of precious souls.
Mrs. E. G. White
Page 1240
1 The home is a place where every heavenly grace may be developed. The Lord delights to dwell with those families who cultivate home religion, and with whom the spirit of praise and cheerfulness reigns. His people need to understand the principles that underlie the religion of Christ, and study how to make these principles the ruling element in the life. This will fill the home with sunshine. The fruit of faith will be seen in true service for Christ.
2 As those who profess to follow the meek and lowly Jesus, Christian parents should never permit temper to gain the mastery over them. Never should they strike their children in haste or anger. When they have done wrong, and you feel that they need correcting, take the matter to God in prayer. Kneeling before the Lord, tell your Father your grief because the Spirit of the Lord has been grieved. Seek for God’s blessing and guidance in the training of your children. The Lord recognizes such service as this. Christ gave His life that children and youth might learn the way of salvation. When through the aid of the divine Spirit parents succeed in turning their young hearts to Him, God and angels rejoice.
3 Let parents remember that the example they set in the daily deportment, their children will follow. Many lead their children into disorderly ways by their own harsh methods and injudicious words. By scolding and fretting they close the hearts of their children against them. By words of faultfinding and by hasty punishment they raise barriers between themselves and their children that often are never broken down. No truth does the Bible set forth in clearer light than the peril of even one departure from right,—peril both to the wrong-doer and to all whom his influence shall reach. Example has wonderful power; and when cast on the side of evil tendencies, it becomes well-nigh irresistible.
4 To a large degree parents are responsible for the tendencies to wrong that appear in their children. Let them consider this as they endeavor to correct the evils in their dispositions; and let them remember that scolding will accomplish nothing in the formation of Christian character. It will never bring about reformations, nor lead the youth to desire to become Christ’s chosen ones.
5 By gentleness and patience, seek to win your children from wrong. Seek God for wisdom to train them so that they will love you and love God. When it is necessary to refuse them their desires, show them kindly that in doing this you are seeking their highest good. Love and cherish your children; but do not allow them to follow their own way, for this is the curse of the age in which we live. Show them where they make mistakes, and teach them that if they do not correct these wrongs, they can never be given a place in the mansions that Jesus is preparing for those who love Him. In this way you will retain their love and confidence. All too seldom is loving, Christlike instruction given in the homes of our people. Our children are the property of Christ. They are entrusted to our care that they may be guided in right ways and strengthened in every right principle.
6 When you are tempted to scold and fret, put a guard on your lips, refusing to speak words that will throw a dark shadow on the family circle. Children and youth need the influence of a cheerful example. They need pleasant instruction, not fretting and scolding, sour looks and censure. By an example of patience and forbearance, the Christian parent is to teach that evil temper and harshness have no place in the life of the believer in Christ, that these qualities are displeasing to God. As your children see you bringing into your lives the principles of truth, they too will be led to fight against wrong habits and practises, and with you will reflect the goodness and love of God.
7 Bring the sunshine of heaven into your conversation. By speaking words that encourage and cheer, you will reveal that the sunshine of Christ’s righteousness dwells in your soul. Children need pleasant words. It is essential to their happiness to feel approval resting upon them. Strive to overcome harshness of expression, and cultivate soft tones. Catch the beauty contained in the lessons of God’s Word, and cherish this as essential to the happiness and success of your home life. In a happy environment the children will develop dispositions that are sweet and sunshiny.
8 True beauty of character is not something that shines out only on special occasions; the grace of Christ dwelling in the soul is revealed under all circumstances. He who cherishes this grace as an abiding presence in the life, will reveal beauty of character under trying as well as under easy circumstances. In the home, in the world, in the church, we are to live the life of Christ. There are souls all around in need of conversion. When the law of God is written upon the heart, and is witnessed to in a holy character, those who know not the power of the grace of Christ, will be led to desire it, and will be converted.
9 A solemn review is now taking place in the courts above. The thought of the decisions now being made in heaven should urge parents to diligence in training their children in the fear and love of God. Not by severe words and punishment for wrong-doing will the most be accomplished, but by watchfulness and prayer, lest they be taken by the snares of the enemy.
10 There are many parents among us who, tho professing to believe the truths of the third angel’s message, have not the grace of Christ in their hearts. In the home they speak hastily and harshly, giving way to evil temper. They do not bring the principles of the truth into the life; and the children receive a wrong mold of character. When the judgment shall set, and these parents stand before the bar of God, what answer will they make for allowing the lives of their children to be spoiled? Then every uncorrected mistake, every unpardoned transgression, will be seen in its true light, and it will then be understood how each individual character was spoiled or beautified.
11 Parents are giving to their children an example either of obedience or of disobedience. By the course they follow, the eternal destiny of their households will in many cases be decided. If parents could see the results of their actions, if they could see how, by their example and teaching, they perpetuate and increase the power of sin or the power of righteousness, a change would certainly be made.
12 God is willing to communicate every needful blessing to parents, that they may be enabled to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But let them remember that their admonition must be the admonition of the Lord. A great deal of the admonition given does no good, but serves only to arouse the worst feelings of the heart. Parents need to labor in such a way that the children will recognize the Spirit of God in their efforts. By constant strife against the evils that beset from within and without, by the exercise of a Christlike Spirit, teach them what it is their privilege to shun, and what it is their privilege to become in Christ. With interest the heavenly intelligences are watching to see the characters these children and youth develop. They are waiting to receive them as heirs of immortality. To parents has been given the privilege to lead them to God, to receive from Him the inestimable treasures of eternity.
13 The lessons given to the children regarding the common duties of the home, may be presented in such a way that through them the Lord can make lasting impressions on their hearts. Make these common things of life texts on which to hang the lessons of the Word of God. Show your children that in all their work in mechanical lines they must learn to work perfectly. By bringing exactness and skill into their every-day duties, they will learn spiritual lessons that will remain with them through all their days. God requires that good judgment and skill shall be exercised in our planning and labors. In giving instruction for the building of the earthly sanctuary, the great Teacher laid down principles that were to be for the spiritual help of Israel through all their future experience. The wisdom and perfection brought into that work was typical of the work to be done in their lives in preparing their hearts for the indwelling of the Spirit of God.
14 Parents, do you ask what your work is? It is to take up your home responsibilities, doing the best you can, and seeking daily, hourly, to set before your children an example worthy of imitation. God’s purpose for your children is that they shall be sanctified through the truth, and to reach this condition, all the help that you and heavenly agencies can supply will be needed. Let your lessons be such as will bring joy and happiness into their lives, and will lead them to desire the service of Christ. Teach them to use their God-given powers in His service. Thus they will be following the example of the child Jesus.
15 The Lord has a work for all to do. Every family that has a knowledge of the truth for this time, is to make it known to others. The Lord’s people are to get ready for the doing of a special work. The children as well as the older members of the family are to act their part in seeking to save those who are perishing. From His youth Christ was, to all with whom He associated, an influence that drew them toward higher things. So the youth today may exert a power for good that will draw souls to God.
16 Parents need to appreciate more fully the responsibility and honor that God has placed upon them, in making them, to the child, the representative of Himself. The character revealed in the contact of daily life, will interpret to the child, for good or for evil, those words of God:
17 “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.”
18 Happy the child in whom such words as these awaken love and gratitude and trust; the child to whom the tenderness and justice and long-suffering of father and mother interpret the love and justice and long-suffering of God; the child who, by trust and submission and reverence toward his earthly protectors, learns to trust and obey and reverence his God. He who imparts such a gift, has bestowed a treasure more precious than the wealth of all the ages,—a treasure as enduring as eternity.
Page 1241
1 Particular directions were given of God in regard to the manner of observing the Sabbath. All unnecessary work was strictly forbidden, and the day before the Sabbath was made a day of preparation, that everything might be in readiness for its sacred hours. “This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.”
2 The Israelites were not in any case to do their own work on the Sabbath. The divine direction was, “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.” In the busiest seasons of the year, when their fruits and grains were to be secured, they were to remember that their temporal blessings came from the bountiful hand of their Creator, and He could increase or diminish them according to their faithfulness or unfaithfulness in His service.
3 The Lord places a high estimate upon His Sabbath. Through His prophet He has promised: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
4 With God there is no respect of persons. Those who fear Him and work righteousness are precious in His sight; but He requires His people to show their allegiance by strict obedience to all the precepts of the moral law, the Sabbath commandment with the rest. God is jealous of His honor, and let men beware how they remove one jot or tittle of that law that He spoke with His own voice and wrote with His own finger upon tables of stone, and that He has pronounced holy, just, and good.
Page 1242
1 As the sinner looks upon the Saviour dying on Calvary, and realizes that the sufferer is divine, he asks why this great sacrifice was made, and the cross points to the holy law of God which has been transgressed. The death of Christ is an unanswerable argument as to the immutability and righteousness of the law. In prophesying of Christ, Isaiah says, “He will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” The law has no power to pardon the evil-doer. Its office is to point out his defects, that he may realize his need of One who is mighty to save, his need of One who will become his substitute, his surety, his righteousness. Jesus meets the need of the sinner, for He has taken upon Him the sins of the transgressor. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” The sin could have cut off the sinner, and forever destroyed him; but the costlier plan was chosen. In His great love He provides hope for the hopeless, giving His only-begotten Son to bear the sins of the world. And since He has poured out all heaven in that one rich gift, He will withhold from man no needed aid that he may take the cup of salvation, and become an heir of God, joint-heir with Christ.
2 Christ came to manifest the love of God to the world, to draw the hearts of all men to Himself. He said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” The first step toward salvation is to respond to the drawing of the love of Christ. God sends message after message to men, entreating them to repentance, that He may forgive, and write pardon against their names. Shall there be no repentance? Shall His appeals be unheeded? Shall His overtures of mercy be ignored, and His love utterly rejected? O, then man will cut himself off from the medium through which he may gain life eternal; for God only pardons the penitent! By the manifestation of His love, by the entreating of His Spirit, He woos men to repentance; for repentance is the gift of God, and whom He pardons He first makes penitent. The sweetest joy comes to man through his sincere repentance toward God for the transgression of His law, and through faith in Christ as the sinner’s Redeemer and Advocate. It is that men may understand the joy of forgiveness, the peace of God, that Christ draws them through the manifestation of His love. If they respond to His drawing, yielding their hearts to His grace, He will lead them on step by step, to a full knowledge of Himself, and this is life eternal.
3 Christ came to reveal to the sinner the justice and love of God, that He might give repentance to Israel and remission of sins. When the sinner beholds Jesus lifted up upon the cross, suffering the guilt of the transgressor, bearing the penalty of sin; when he beholds God’s abhorrence of evil in the fearful manifestation of the death of the cross, and His love for fallen man, he is led to repentance toward God because of his transgression of the law which is holy, and just, and good. He exercises faith in Christ, because the divine Saviour has become his substitute, his surety, and advocate, the One in whom his very life is centered. To the repenting sinner God can show His mercy and truth, and bestow upon him His forgiveness and love.
4 But Satan will not permit a soul to escape from the captivity of sin if by any means he can prevent it. Tho all heaven has been poured out in one rich gift—for when God gave His Son, He gave the choicest gift of heaven, and the treasures of heaven are at our command—yet to the repenting soul the enemy will seek to represent God as stern and inexorable, unwilling to pardon the transgressor. At different times letters have come to me from persons who were in despair over their sins. One and another have written: “I fear I am past all help. Is there any hope for me?” To these poor souls the message has been given: “Hope in God. The Father has bread enough and to spare. Arise, and go to your Father. He will meet you a great way off, and will give you His love and compassion.”
5 When the enemy comes in like a flood, and seeks to overwhelm you with the thought of your sin, tell him: “I know I am a sinner. If I were not, I could not go to the Saviour; for He came not ‘to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ And because I am a sinner, He bids me to come to Christ. I am sinful and polluted, but He suffered humiliation and death, and exhausted the curse that belongs to me. I come. I believe. I claim His sure promise, ‘Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’”
6 Will such a plea made in contrition of soul be turned away?—No, never. By the suffering and death of Christ is proved His boundless love to man. He is willing and able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him.
7 Then as a little child come to God, presenting yourself as suppliant at His feet; for we need not ascend into the heavens to bring Jesus down, nor into the earth to bring Him up; for He is ever near us. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” How willing is Christ to take possession of the soul temple if we will let Him! He is represented as waiting and knocking at the door of the heart. Then why does He not enter? It is because the love of sin has closed the door of the heart. As soon as we consent to give sin up, to acknowledge our guilt, the barrier is removed between the soul and the Saviour.
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Page 1243
1 God does not ask you to feel that Jesus is your Saviour, but to believe that He died for you, and that His blood now cleanses you from all sin. You have been bitten by the serpent, and as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness that the dying might look and live, so Christ was lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Saving faith is simplicity itself. You must cry no more; you must cease to hang your head as a bulrush. Look to the uplifted Saviour, and, however grievous may have been your sins, believe He saves you. All the remedies and medicines of the world would have failed to cure one soul who had been bitten by the venomous serpent; but God had provided a remedy that could not fail. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Be not among the number to whom the Saviour said, “Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.” O, how He longed to save them! for while we were yet sinners—not waiting for us to make ourselves good—Christ died for us.
2 Believe now that God loves you, for He hath declared it; and when Satan tries to fasten the burden of sin and horror upon you, take your Bible, and read, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” You can not repulse the enemy by relating your fearful doubts, by telling him that you are horrified by the thought that you are lost. All this is music in his ears. He wants to make you as miserable as he is himself, but you can answer him by proclaiming the promise that you believe in the Son, and therefore shall not perish. As you turn your eyes away to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, the controversy with the enemy will be ended for that season. You can repulse him by declaring that “Christ was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of my peace was upon Him, and with His stripes I am healed.”
3 Take the word of Jesus Christ as more sure and valuable than any word that can come from the human agent. Thank God with your whole heart and soul and voice that you are barricaded with the rich promises of His infallible word, so that the wicked one shall not touch you. God will give you the Holy Spirit, even tho it may seem to you that it is too good to be true. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
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Page 1244
1 The Lord, through an apostle, admonishes parents, “Provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” The word of God is your guide, Christian parents. Depart not from it to gratify any impulse of passion or of affection.
2 If parents desire to teach their children self-control, they must first form the habit themselves. The scolding and fault-finding of parents encourages a hasty, passionate temper in their children. Love and justice should stand side by side in the government of the household. Let prompt obedience to parental authority be invariably enforced. God has given parents their work, to form the characters of their children after the divine Pattern. By His grace, they can accomplish the task; but it will require patient, painstaking effort, no less than firmness and decision, to guide the will and restrain the passions. A field left to itself produces only thorns and briers. He who would secure a harvest for usefulness or beauty must first prepare the soil and sow the seed, then dig about the young shoots, removing the weeds and softening the earth, and the precious plants will flourish and richly repay his care and labor.
3 The work of parents is continuous. It should not be laid hold of vigorously for one day, and neglected the next. Many are ready to begin the work, but are not willing to persevere in it. They are eager to do some great thing, to make some great sacrifice; but they shrink from the unceasing care and effort in the little things of everyday life,—the hourly pruning and training of the wayward tendencies, the work of giving instruction, reproof, or encouragement, little by little, as it is needed. They wish to see children correct their faults and form right characters at once, reaching the mountain top at a bound, and not by successive steps; and because their hopes are not immediately realized, they become disheartened. Let all such persons take courage as they remember the words of the apostle, “Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
4 Satan has prepared his snares for parents, tempting them to extravagance in dress, to an unnecessary outlay of time and money in the preparation of food, and to needless indulgence in many other forms. The demands of fashion so fully engross the time and attention that little room is left for communion with God, self-discipline, or the training of children. Thus too many parents let slip from their shoulders the responsibility of family government. It requires earnest heart work to repress evil tendencies, strengthen weak principles, develop good and lovely traits of character, and direct all the powers of mind and body in the right channel. Fathers and mothers, will you not lay hold of your work with energy, perseverance, and love? Sow the precious seed daily, with earnest prayer that God will water it with the dews of grace, and grant you an abundant harvest. The Son of God died to redeem a sinful, rebellious race. Shall we shrink from any toil or sacrifice to save our own dear children?
5 By precept and example, let the young be taught reverence for God and for His word. Many of our youth are becoming infidels at heart, because of the lack of devotion in their parents. The law of God should be the law of the household. Let fathers and mothers kindly and patiently instruct their children, both from the inspired word and from the book of nature, leading them to understand the character of God. Let them show in their own lives that they are continually seeking to know and to do His will. To secure the approval of their heavenly Father is the great motive to be ever kept before the minds of children. The service of God should be presented, not as an irksome task, but as a precious privilege, by which they may enjoy an honored, useful, and happy life here, and infinitely greater honor, usefulness, and joy in the life hereafter.
6 God has permitted light from His throne to shine all along the path of life. A pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night, is moving before us as before ancient Israel. It is the privilege of Christian parents today, as it was the privilege of God’s people of old, to bring their children with them to the promised land.
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Page 1245
1 Let none for a moment deceive themselves with the thought that their sin will not bring its merited punishment. Their transgressions will be visited with the rod, because they have had the light, but have walked directly contrary to it. God will not more lightly pass over any violation of His law now than in the day when He pronounced judgment against Adam. The Saviour of the world raises His voice in protest against those who regard the law of God with carelessness and indifference. Said He: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
2 It is the grossest presumption for mortal man to venture upon a compromise with the Almighty, in order to secure his own temporal interests. “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,” is thundered from Sinai; and we may not disregard that voice because the words were spoken more than three thousand years ago, and were addressed to the lineal descendants of Abraham. The Lord requires willing sacrifice. No partial obedience, no divided interest, is accepted by Him who declares that the iniquities of the fathers shall be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate Him, and that He will show mercy unto thousands of them that love Him and keep His commandments.
3 There is nothing in the word of God to be thrown aside; there is nothing in the plan of redemption that is unimportant or that may be lightly disregarded. The Bible gives us an account of the dealings of God with man from the creation to the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven; it carries us even farther into the future, and opens before us the glories of the city of God, and the beauty and perfection of the earth made new, the saints’ secure abode. But altho the long line of events extends through so many centuries, and new and important truths are from time to time developed, that which was truth in the beginning is the truth still. The increased light of the present day does not contradict or make of none effect the dimmer light of the past.
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Page 1246
1 One of the strongest temptations that man has to meet, comes upon the point of appetite. In all ages, temptations appealing to the physical nature have been most effectual in corrupting and degrading mankind. Through intemperance, Satan works to destroy the mental and moral powers that God gave man as a priceless endowment; and it is impossible for those who yield to him, to appreciate things of eternal worth. Through sensual indulgence, Satan seeks to blot from the soul every trace of likeness to God.
2 Through Indulgence of Appetite
It was through the temptation to indulge appetite, that Adam and Eve fell from their holy and happy estate. It seemed a small matter to our first parents to transgress the command of God in that one act—the eating from a tree that was so beautiful to the sight, and so pleasant to the taste; but it broke their allegiance to God, and opened the gates to a flood of guilt and woe. And it is through the same temptation that the race have become enfeebled. Since the first surrender to appetite, mankind have been growing more and more self-indulgent, until health has been sacrificed on the altar of appetite. The inhabitants of the antediluvian world ate and drank till the indulgence of depraved appetite knew no bounds, and they became so corrupt that God could bear with them no longer. They filled up the cup of their iniquity, and by a flood He cleansed the earth of its moral pollution.
3 Christ knew that the enemy would come to every human being, to take advantage of hereditary weakness, and by his false insinuations to ensnare all whose trust is not in God. And by passing, a conqueror, over the ground which man must travel, our Lord has made it possible for us to overcome. It is not His will that we should be placed at a disadvantage in the conflict with Satan. He would not have us discouraged and intimidated by the assaults of the enemy. “Be of good cheer,” He says; “I have overcome the world.”
4 When Struggling Against the
Power of Appetite
Let him who is struggling against the power of appetite, look to the Saviour in the wilderness of temptation. See Him in His agony upon the cross, as He exclaimed, “I thirst.” He has endured all that it is possible for us to bear. His victory is ours.
5 Those who would have clear minds to discern Satan’s devices, must bring appetite under the control of reason and conscience. If we would see the standard of virtue and godliness exalted, we must control appetite, the indulgence of which counteracts the force of truth and weakens the power to resist temptation. The heart can not maintain consecration to God while lustful appetite is indulged.
6 One of the most deplorable effects of the original apostasy was the loss of man’s power of self-control. Only as this power is regained, can there be real progress.
7 He Would Enfeeble the Body
The body is the medium through which mind and soul are developed for the upbuilding of character. Hence it is that the adversary of souls directs his temptations to the enfeebling and degrading of the physical powers. His success here means the surrender to evil of the whole being. The tendencies of our physical nature, unless under the dominion of a higher power, will surely work ruin and death.
8 The body is to be brought into subjection. The higher powers of the being are to rule. The passions are to be controlled by the will, which is itself to be under the control of God. The kingly power of reason, sanctified by divine grace, is to bear sway in our lives.
9 The Essential Power
Apart from divine power, no genuine reform can be effected. Human barriers against natural and cultivated tendencies are but as the sand-bank against the torrent. Not until the life of Christ becomes a vitalizing power in our lives can we resist the temptations that assail us from within and from without.
10 When one surrenders to Christ, the mind is brought under the control of the law; but it is the royal law, which proclaims liberty to every captive. By becoming one with Christ, man is made free. Subjection to the will of Christ means restoration to perfect manhood. Obedience to God is liberty from the thraldom of sin, deliverance from human passion and impulse. Man may stand conqueror of himself, conqueror of his own inclinations.
11 Awaken to Self-Mastery
The requirements of God must be brought home to the conscience. Men and women must be awakened to the duty of self-mastery, the need of purity, freedom from every depraving appetite and defiling habit. They need to be impressed with the fact that all their powers of mind and body are the gift of God, and are to be preserved in the best possible condition for His service.
12 In that ancient ritual which was the gospel in symbol, no blemished offering could be brought to God’s altar. The sacrifice that was to represent Christ must be spotless. The word of God points to this as an illustration of what His children are to be,—”a living sacrifice,” “holy and without blemish,” “well pleasing to God.”
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Page 1247
1 The law of love is the foundation of God’s government, and the service of love the only service acceptable to heaven. God has granted freedom of will to all, endowed men with capacity to appreciate His character, and therefore with ability to love Him, and to choose His service. So long as created beings worshiped God, they were in harmony throughout the universe. While love to God was supreme, love to others abounded. As there was no transgression of the law, which is the transcript of God’s character, no note of discord jarred the celestial harmonies.
2 “Kept in Silence from
Times Eternal”
But known unto God are all His works, and from eternal ages the covenant of grace (unmerited favor) existed in the mind of God. It is called the everlasting covenant; for the plan of salvation was not conceived after the fall of man, but it was that which was “kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith.” Romans 16:25, 26, A. R. V.
3 Redemption Not an Afterthought
The purpose and plan of grace existed from all eternity. Before the foundation of the world it was according to the determinate counsel of God that man should be created and endowed with power to do the divine will. The fall of man, with all its consequences, was not hidden from the Omnipotent. Redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam, but an eternal purpose, suffered to be wrought out for the blessing not only of this atom of a world, but for the good of all the worlds that God had created.
4 Before Him who rules in the heavens, the mysteries of the past and the future are alike outspread; and God sees, beyond the woe and darkness and ruin that sin has wrought, the outworking of His purpose of love and blessing. Though clouds and darkness are round about Him, yet righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.
5 Made Known in His Love
Through creation and redemption, through nature and through Christ, the glories of the divine character are revealed. By the marvelous display of His love in giving “His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” the character of God is revealed to the intelligences of the universe. Through Christ our heavenly Father is made known as the God of love.
6 Heaven in Sadness—the Angels Perplexed
When man sinned, all heaven was filled with sorrow; for through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, a partaker of the satanic nature. The image of God in which he had been created was marred and distorted. The character of man was out of harmony with the character of God; for through sin man became carnal, and the carnal heart is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
7 To the angels there seemed to be no way of escape for the transgressor. They ceased their songs of praise, and throughout the heavenly courts there was mourning for the ruin sin had wrought. Out of harmony with the nature of God, unyielding to the claims of His law, naught but destruction was before the human race. Since the divine law is as changeless as the character of God, there could be no hope for man unless some way could be devised whereby his transgression might be pardoned, his nature renewed, and his spirit restored to reflect the image of God.
8 Divine love had conceived such a plan. It was through Satan’s misrepresentation of God’s character that man was led to doubt the reality of His love, and came to look upon God as his enemy. As Satan had done in heaven, so he did on earth,—declared God’s government unjust, the restrictions of His law unnecessary, and bade men, as he had angels, to throw aside the yoke and let the dictates of their own nature be their only guide and law. He promised liberty; but as he himself is the servant of corruption, he brought the race into bondage to sin, misery, and death. He represented God as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring men’s service for His own glory, but denying Himself nothing for man’s good.
9 He Alone Could Save
In the work of creation, Christ was with God. He was one with God, equal with Him, the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person, the representative of the Father. He alone, the Creator of man, could be his Saviour. No angel of heaven could reveal the Father to the sinner, and win him back to allegiance to God. But Christ could manifest the Father’s love; for God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. Christ could be the “day’s man” between a holy God and lost humanity, one who could “lay His hand upon us both.”
10 None but Christ could redeem man from the curse of the law. He proposed to take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin,—sin so offensive in the sight of God that it would necessitate separation from His Father. Christ proposed to reach to the depths of man’s degradation and woe, and restore the repenting, believing soul to harmony with God. Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, offered Himself as a sacrifice and substitute for the fallen sons of Adam, though in this offering all heaven was involved in infinite sacrifice.
11 He So Loved that He Gave
But the Father so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that through His smitten heart a channel might be found for the outflowing of infinite love for fallen man. Man had become so degraded by sin, his nature so perverted by evil, that it was impossible for him of himself to come into harmony with God, whose nature is purity and love. But Christ redeemed him from the condemnation of the law, and imparted divine power, and through man’s cooperation, the sinner could be restored to his lost estate.
12 The grace of Christ alone could change the heart of stone to a heart of flesh, make it alive to God, and transform the character, so that a degraded child of sin might become a child of God and heir of heaven. Man had no power to justify the soul, to sanctify the heart. Moral disease could be healed only through the power of the great Physician. The highest gift of heaven, even the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, was able to redeem the lost.
13 The only hope for the fallen race was found in becoming reconciled to God. Satan had so misrepresented God that man had no true conception of the divine character. Christ came to the world, and in carrying out the plan of salvation, revealed the fact that “God is love.”
Page 1248
1 When the plan of salvation was revealed to the angels, joy, inexpressible joy, filled heaven. The glory and the blessedness of a world redeemed outmeasured even the anguish of the Prince of life. Through the celestial courts echoed the first strain of that song that angels sang above the hills of Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” And the lost pair in the garden of Eden, standing as criminals before the righteous Judge, waiting the sentence their transgression merited, heard the first notes of the divine promise. Before the life of toil and sorrow which sin had brought upon them was depicted before them, before the decree that the wages of sin is death was pronounced, they heard the promise of redemption. Though they must suffer from the power of their mighty foe, still through the merits of Christ they could look forward to victory.
2 The mystery of the gospel was spoken in Eden, when God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” If Satan could have touched the head with his specious temptations, the human family would have been lost; but the Lord had made known the purpose and plan of the mystery of grace, declaring that Christ had bruised the serpent under His feet.
3 The Earth As Well As Man to be
Redeemed
But not only had man come under the power of the deceiver, but the earth itself, the dominion of man, was usurped by the enemy. Through the plan of salvation, the sacrifice of Christ, not only was man, but his dominion, to be redeemed. Through the merits of Christ, all that man lost through sin was to be restored. The time would come when there would be “no more curse,” but the throne of God should be in it, and His servants should serve Him. The promise would be fulfilled, “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.”
4 A Demonstration to the Universe
Through the plan of salvation, a larger purpose is to be wrought out even than the salvation of man and the redemption of the earth. Through the revelation of the character of God in Christ, the beneficence of the divine government would be manifested before the universe, the charge of Satan refuted, the nature and result of sin made plain, and the perpetuity of the law fully demonstrated.
5 Satan had declared that the law of God was faulty, and that the good of the universe demanded a change in its requirement. In attacking the law, he thought to overthrow the authority of its Author, and gain for himself the supreme allegiance. But through the plan of salvation, the precepts of the law were to be proved perfect and immutable, that at last only glory and love might rise to God throughout the universe, ascribing glory and honor and praise to Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.
6 To fallen man was revealed the plan of infinite sacrifice through which salvation was to be provided. Nothing but the death of God’s dear Son could expiate man’s sin, and Adam marveled at the goodness of God in providing such a ransom for the sinner. Through the love of God, a star of hope illumined the terrible future that spread before the transgressor.
7 Through the institution of the typical system of sacrifice and offering, the death of Christ was ever to be kept before guilty man, that he might better comprehend the nature of sin, the results of transgression, and the merit of the divine offering. Had there been no sin, man would never have known death. But in the innocent offering slain by his own hand, he beheld the fruits of sin,—the death of the Son of God in his behalf. He sees the immutable character of the law he has transgressed, and confesses his sin; he relies upon the merits of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.
8 Plan of Saving Sinners Ever
the Same
The plan of saving sinners through Christ alone was the same in the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and in every successive generation that lived before the advent of Christ, as it is in our day. The patriarchs, the prophets, the martyrs from righteous Abel, looked forward to a coming Saviour, and they showed their faith in Him by sacrifices and offerings. The sacrifice of beasts shadowed forth the sinless offering of God’s dear Son, and pointed forward to His death upon the cross. But at the crucifixion, type met antitype, and the typical system there ceased.
9 The Center of Both Dispensations
The Son of God is the center of the great plan of redemption which covers all dispensations. He is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” He is the Redeemer of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam in all ages of human probation. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Christ is the substance, or body, which casts its shadow back into former dispensations. When Christ died, the shadow ceased. At the death of Christ, the typical system was done away; but the law of God, whose violation had made the plan of salvation necessary, was magnified and made honorable.
10 The gospel was good tidings of great joy to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses; for it presented to them a coming Saviour. A clearer and more glorious light now shines upon the Christian. Those who lived before the coming of Christ, looked forward by faith to His coming. But what had to be grasped by faith by them, is assurance to us; for we know that Christ has come, as foretold by the prophets. It is just as essential for us to have faith in our Redeemer, who came to earth and died our sacrifice, as it was for the ancients to believe in a Redeemer to come, represented by their offerings and sacrifices.
11 Exchange a Throne for Suffering and Death
In becoming man’s substitute, in bearing the curse which should fall upon man, Christ has pledged Himself in behalf of the race to maintain the sacred and exalted honor of His Father’s law. He came to convince men of sin, which is the transgression of the law, and through divine mediation bring them back to obedience to God’s commandments. God has given the world into the hands of Christ, that He may completely vindicate the binding claims of the law, and make manifest the holiness of every principle.
12 Christ was the Father’s “appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds.” He was “the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person.” And He upheld “all things by the word of His power.” He possessed divine excellency and greatness. It pleased the Father that in Him all fulness should dwell. And Christ “thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” Yet Jesus exchanged a throne of light and glory which He had with His Father, counting it not a thing to be desired to be equal with God while man was lost in sin and misery. He came from heaven to earth, clothed His divinity with humanity, and bore the curse as surety for the fallen race. He was not compelled to do this; but He chose to bear the results of man’s transgression, that man might escape eternal death.
Page 1249
1 The coming of Christ to our world was a great event, not only to this world, but to all the worlds in the universe of God. Before the heavenly intelligences He was to take upon Himself our nature, to be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet to leave an example of perfect purity and unblemished character.
2 Satan and his angels exulted as they discovered that the Son of God had taken upon Himself the nature of man, and had come to be man’s substitute, to engage in the conflict in our behalf. The human family had been overpowered by the deception of the enemy; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, and the enemy hoped that Christ also would become a victim to his seductive wiles.
3 Whole Confederacy Attacked Him
Satan gloried in the opportunity of besieging the Son of God with fierce temptations. Because He had taken upon Himself the nature of man, Satan deemed that his victory was certain, and with every malignant device in his power he strove to overcome Christ. The steadfast resistance of Christ to the temptations of the enemy brought the whole confederacy of evil to war against Him. Evil men and evil angels united their forces against the Prince of peace.
4 He Took the Infinite Risk
The issues at stake were beyond the comprehension of men, and the temptations that assailed Christ were as much more intense and subtle than those which assail man as His character was purer and more exalted than is the character of man in his moral and physical defilement. In His conflict with the prince of darkness in this atom of a world, Christ had to meet the whole confederacy of evil, the united forces of the adversary of God and man; but at every point He met the tempter, and put him to flight. Christ was conqueror over the powers of darkness, and took the infinite risk of consenting to war with the enemy, that He might conquer him in our behalf.
5 The Redeemer of the world clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might reach humanity; for, in order to bring to the world salvation, it was necessary that humanity and divinity should be united. Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between God and man, and humanity needed divinity, that a power from above might restore man to the likeness of God.
6 Christ was God, but He did not appear as God. He veiled the tokens of divinity, which had commanded the homage of angels and called forth the adoration of the universe of God. He made Himself of no reputation, took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. For our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.
7 Descended to the Depths of Woe
He humbled Himself to pass through man’s experiences, and He would not turn aside from the plan by which salvation could come to man. Knowing all the steps in the path of His humiliation, He refused not to descend step by step to the depths of man’s woe, that He might make expiation for the sins of the condemned, perishing world. What humility was this! It amazed the angels. Tongue can never describe it. Pen can never portray it. The imagination can not take it in. Sinless and exalted by nature, the Son of God consented to take the habiliments of humanity, to become one with the fallen race. The eternal Word consented to be made flesh. God became man.
8 But He stepped still lower; He humbled Himself to bear insult, reproach, accusation, and shameful abuse. In the world which He had made, which was sustained by the word of His power there seemed to be no room for Him. He had to flee from one place to another until His life work was accomplished. He was betrayed by one of His followers, and denied by another. He was mocked and taunted. He was crowned with thorns, and forced to bear the burden of the cross.
9 Felt its Bitterness and Endured
it All
He was not insensible to ignominy and contempt; He submitted to it, but He felt its bitterness as no other being could feel it. Pure, holy, and undefiled, He was yet arraigned as a criminal before the eyes of the world. From the highest exaltation the adorable Redeemer took step after step in the path of humiliation. He consented to die in the sinner’s stead, that by a life of obedience man might escape the penalty of the law.
10 He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death. And what a death! It was the most shameful, the most cruel,—the death upon the cross as a malefactor. He died not as a hero in the eyes of men, loaded with honors; He died as a condemned criminal, suspended between the heavens and the earth—died a lingering death, exposed to the tauntings and revilings of a debased and profligate mob.
11 “All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.” He was numbered with the transgressors, and even His kinsmen according to the flesh disowned Him. He was forced to see the sword pierce the heart of His mother,—He beheld her sorrow. He expired amidst derision. But all His sufferings were counted as of small account in consideration of the result He was working out in behalf of man, and for the good of the whole universe.
12 The Cry Resounded in All the
Universe
He expired on the cross exclaiming, “It is finished,” and that cry rang through every world, and through heaven itself. The great contest between Christ, the Prince of life, and Satan, the prince of darkness, was practically over, and Christ was conqueror. His death answered the question as to whether there was self-denial with the Father and the Son.
13 Through the death of Christ a door of hope was opened for fallen man. Man was under sentence of death for the transgression of the law of God. He was under condemnation as a traitor, as a rebel; but Christ came to be his substitute, to die as a malefactor, to suffer the penalty of the traitors, bearing the weight of their sins upon His divine soul. He descended lower and lower, till there were no lower depths of humiliation to sound, in order that He might lift up those who would believe in Him, and cleanse the guilty from moral defilement, and impart to them His own righteousness. He died to make an atonement, to redeem, cleanse, restore, and exalt man to a place at His right hand.
14 He Walked the Earth Unhonored
Through His life upon earth, He scattered blessings wherever He went. Though at His word legions of angels would render Him homage, yet He walked the earth unhonored, unconfessed. In place of praise He met reproach. He walked among men as one of the poor and lowly. Though He healed the sick, relieved the oppressed, bound up the broken-hearted, yet few called Him blessed, and the great of the earth passed Him by with disdain.
15 His Depths of Love for Man
As a member of the human family He was mortal, but as God He was a fountain of life to the world. He could have withstood the advances of death and refused to come under its dominion, but voluntarily He laid down His life that He might bring life and immortality to light. He bore the sin of the world, endured the penalty, yielded up His life as a sacrifice, that man should not eternally die. Contrast His suffering and humiliation with the riches of His glory, with the wealth of praise pouring forth from immortal tongues, with the anthems of adoration, with the homage of millions of holy angels in the heights of the sanctuary, and seek to comprehend what manner of love inspired the heart of Jesus.
16 How much has God loved the race of men?—Look to Calvary. As you behold Jesus upon the cross, does not the heinous character of sin appear? It was sin that caused the death of God’s dear Son, and sin is the transgression of the law. Says the prophet: “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. . . . It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.”
17 When the sinner realizes that Christ died for him, that He might impute His righteousness unto him, he magnifies the love of God in providing the plan of salvation.
18 They Refused Life
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” At infinite cost the salvation of man has been purchased. The world may refuse the gift, but this will not lessen its value, or relieve men of its responsibility. When He was upon earth Jesus said to those who refused Him, “Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.” There are many who are refusing to respond to the drawing love of Christ today. Jesus calls, but many refuse to respond to the invitation. They will not avail themselves of the privilege of having Jesus for their personal Saviour. They do not come in humility and faith, that they may know by a personal experience what they are to Jesus, and what He is to them. But the promise is, “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.” Jesus will not rest until He leads His followers unto the realms of perfect joy and glory.
19 They Will Not Perish
The plans of God can not fail. Men make great plans, but fail to accomplish the object that they design. They begin to build and are not able to finish. They do not count the cost. But Jesus counted the cost of the salvation of every son and daughter of Adam. He provided abundant means whereby all might be saved, if they would but comply with the conditions and lay hold upon eternal life. Unfailing resources are at His command to complete the work which He has begun. Those who respond to His love, yielding their wills to Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life.
20 How the wondrous provision of the plan of God for the salvation of men widens and exalts our ideas of the love of God! How it binds our hearts to the great heart of infinite love! How it makes us delight in His service, as our hearts respond to the drawing of His loving-kindness and loving mercy!
21 John calls upon men to behold the marvelous love of God. He exclaims: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” Those who are true, who are pure, who love and obey the words of God, will be counted children of the heavenly King, members of the royal family, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ.
Page 1250
1 Christ saw that it was not possible for man to overcome in his own strength; therefore He came in person from the throne of glory, and bore the test that Adam failed to bear. In man’s behalf He resisted the temptations of the enemy, and made it possible for man, by faith in Him, to overcome in his own behalf.
2 Satan knew that everything depended on the result of his effort to overcome Christ. He knew that if Christ bore the test that Adam failed of bearing, the plan of salvation would be carried out to its fulfillment, and his destruction would be certain. He saw that he must either conquer or be conquered. All the powers of the apostate were rallied against the Son of God. Christ was made the mark of every weapon of hell. Satan bent all his energies to the effort to cause Christ to swerve from His allegiance.
3 The Enemy Stormed Him
With Wrath
From the desert to Calvary, the storm of the enemy’s wrath beat upon the Saviour; but the more mercilessly it fell, the more firmly did the Son of God cling to the hand of His Father, and press on in the blood-stained path. All the efforts of Satan to overcome Him only brought out in a purer light His spotless character.
4 In our own strength it is impossible for us to conquer in the conflict with sin. But Christ is acquainted with our necessities and our weakness. He came to this world as a man, and as a man lived a life of obedience. We shall never be called upon to suffer as He suffered, for upon Him were laid the sins of the whole world. That we might have eternal life. He endured reproach, mockery, insult, and a death of shame.
5 Must Suffer, But Will Not Fail
We need not expect to gain the victory over sin without enduring suffering, or to win the overcomer’s reward by feeble efforts. Think of how much it cost the Saviour, as in the wilderness He battled with temptation. For forty days He fasted and prayed. Weak and emaciated from hunger, worn and haggard with mental agony, “His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.”
6 The Christian life is a life of constant conflict. It is a battle and a march. Every act of obedience, every deed of self-denial, every trial bravely endured, every temptation resisted, every victory gained, is a step forward in the march to eternal triumph.
7 Only in the Conqueror’s
Name
There is hope for man. Christ says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” But let us never forget that the efforts we make in our own strength are utterly worthless. Our strength is weakness, our judgment foolishness. Only in the name and strength of the Conqueror can we conquer. When we are pressed with temptation, when unchristlike desires clamor for the mastery, let us offer fervent, importunate prayer to the heavenly Father, in the name of Christ. This will bring divine aid. In the Redeemer’s name we may gain the victory.
8 As, seeing the sinfulness of sin, we fall helpless before the cross, asking forgiveness and strength, our prayer is heard and answered. Those who present their petitions to God in Christ’s name will never be turned away. The Lord says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” “He will regard the prayer of the destitute.” Our help comes from Him who holds all things in His hands. The peace that He sends is the assurance of His love to us.
9 Helpless, Yet Invincible
Nothing can be more helpless and yet more invincible than the soul that feels its nothingness, and relies wholly upon the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. God would send every angel in heaven to the aid of the one who places his whole dependence on Christ, rather than allow him to be overcome.
10 If we accept Christ as our guide, He will lead us safely along the narrow way. The road may be rough and thorny, and the ascent steep and dangerous; there may be pitfalls on the right hand and on the left. When weary and longing for rest, we may have to toil on; when faint, we may have to fight; but with Christ as our Guide, we shall not fail of reaching heaven. Christ Himself has trodden the rough path before us, smoothing it for our feet. The way is illuminated by Him who is the light of the world. As we follow in His footsteps, the path grows brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
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Page 1251
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1.
2 In the ancient Jewish service, it was required that every sacrifice should be without blemish. We are God’s workmanship; and we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalms 139:14. There are many who are educated in the sciences, and are familiar with the theory of the truth, who do not understand the laws that govern their own being. God has given us facilities and talents; and it is our duty, as His sons and daughters, to make the best use of them. If we weaken these powers of mind or body by wrong habits, or indulgence of perverted appetite, it will be impossible for us to honor God as we should.
3 Satan’s Strongest Hold
We meet intemperance everywhere. We see it on the cars, the steamboats, and wherever we go; and we should ask ourselves what we are doing to rescue souls from the tempter’s grasp. Satan is constantly on the alert to bring the race fully under his control. His strongest hold on man is through the appetite, and this he seeks to stimulate in every way possible. All unnatural excitants are harmful, and they cultivate the desire for liquor.
4 I appeal to parents to begin with their children, and give them a right education. Seek to bring them up so that they shall have moral stamina to resist the evil that surrounds them. The lesson of self-control must begin with the child in its mother’s arms. It must learn to restrain passionate temper, to bring its will into subjection, and to deny unhealthful cravings.
5 Teach your children to abhor stimulants. Do not place luxurious dishes before the children,—spiced foods, rich gravies, cakes, and pastries. This highly seasoned food irritates the stomach, and causes a craving for still stronger stimulants. Furthermore, children are allowed to eat between meals; and by the time they are twelve or fourteen years of age, they are often confirmed dyspeptics.
6 Under the irritating influence of fiery spices, as well as under that of strong drinks, the stomach becomes of a fiery red color. With the stomach in such a state, there is a craving for something more to meet the demands of the appetite, something stronger, and still stronger. Next you find your sons out on the street learning to smoke. It is a grievous lesson; it makes them deathly sick. Yet they press the matter through with a perseverance that would be praiseworthy in a better cause.
7 Tobacco weakens the brain, and paralyzes its fine sensibilities. Its use excites a thirst for drink, and in very many cases, lays the foundation for the liquor habit. Its use is an inconvenient, expensive, unclean habit. The teachings of Christ, pointing to purity, self-denial, and temperance, all rebuke this defiling practice. When we think of the long fast that Jesus endured in the wilderness of temptation in order to break the power of appetite over man, we marvel that those who profess to be His followers can indulge in this habit. Is it for the glory of God for men to enfeeble the physical powers, confuse the brain, and yield the will to this narcotic poison? What right have they to mar the image of God?
8 A great responsibility rests upon us. We cannot render to God true service unless we present our bodies a living sacrifice. No one can be justified in marring this wonderfully intricate human organism. If we do this, not only do we suffer ourselves, but the evil is transmitted to our children. Can we wonder that the children who have such a legacy do not fear God?
9 Wrong Example of Some
Ministers
How often do we see boys not more than eight years old, or younger, using tobacco! If you speak to them about it, they say, “My father uses it; and if it does him good, it will me.” They point to the minister or the Sunday school superintendent, and say, “If such good men as these use it, surely I can.” How can we expect anything else of the children with their inherited tendencies, while the older ones set them such an example? God pity the poor slave to these indulgences!
10 Some urge that a man is not responsible for what he does under strong drink. When he places the cup to his lips, he makes himself responsible for all the deeds he commits while under its influence.
11 It is important that those who make and execute the laws of our great nation should have their faculties unclouded. What about the judges and jurors, in whose hands rests the disposing of human life, and whose decisions may condemn the innocent, or turn the criminal loose upon society? Do they not need to have full control of their mental powers? Are they temperate in their habits? If not, they are not fit for such responsible positions. When the appetites are perverted, the mental powers are weakened, and there is danger that men will not rule justly.
12 We can understand the value of the human soul only as we realize the greatness of the sacrifice made for its redemption. The word of God declares that we are not our own, that we are bought with a price. It is at an immense cost that we have been placed upon vantage ground, where we can find liberty from the bondage of sin wrought by the fall in Eden. Adam’s sin plunged the race into hopeless misery; but by the sacrifice of the Son of God, a second probation was granted to man.
13 A Way of Escape Provided
In the plan of redemption, a way of escape is provided for all who will avail themselves of it. God knew that it was impossible for man to overcome in his own strength, and He has provided help for him. How thankful we should be that a way is open for us, by which we can have access to the Father; that the gates are left ajar, so that beams of light from the glory within may shine upon those who will receive them!
14 Christ began the work of redemption just where the ruin began. His first test was on the same point where Adam failed. It was through temptations addressed to the appetite that Satan had overcome a large proportion of the human race, and his success had made him feel that the control of this fallen planet was in his hands. But in Christ he found one who was able to resist him, and he left the field of battle a conquered foe.
15 Jesus says, He “hath nothing in Me.” John 14:30. His victory is an assurance that we too may come off victors in our conflicts with the enemy. But it is not our heavenly Father’s purpose to save us without an effort on our part to cooperate with Christ. We must act our part; and divine power, uniting with our effort, will bring victory.
16 Who will enter in through the gates into the city? — Not those who declare that they cannot break the force of appetite. Christ has resisted the power of him who would hold us in bondage; though weakened by His long fast of forty days, He withstood temptation, and proved, by this act, that our cases are not hopeless. I know that we cannot obtain the victory alone; and how thankful we should be that we have a living Saviour, who is ready and willing to aid us!
17 Reclaimed From His Hopeless Condition
I recall the case of a man in a congregation that I was once addressing. He was almost wrecked in body and mind by the use of liquor and tobacco. He was bowed down from the effects of dissipation, and his dress was in keeping with his shattered condition. To all appearance, he had gone too far to be reclaimed. But as I appealed to him to resist temptation in the strength of a risen Saviour, he rose tremblingly, and said, “You have an interest for me, and I will have an interest for myself.”
18 Six months afterward, he came to my house. I did not recognize him. With a countenance beaming with joy, and eyes overflowing with tears, he grasped my hand, and said, “You do not know my name, but you remember the man in an old blue coat, who rose in your congregation, and said that he would try to reform.” I was astonished. He stood erect, and looked ten years younger. He had gone home from the meeting, and passed the long hours in prayer till the sun arose. It was a night of conflict; but, thank God, he came off the victor. This man could tell, by sad experience, of the bondage of those evil habits. He knew how to warn the youth of the dangers of contamination; and those who, like himself, had been overcome, he could point to Christ as the only source of help.
19 The Mighty, Unfailing Helper
Intemperance is on the increase, in spite of the efforts to control it. We cannot be too earnest in seeking to hinder its progress, to raise the fallen, and shield the weak from temptation. With our feeble hands, we can do but little; but we have an unfailing Helper. We must not forget that the arm of Christ can reach to the depths of human woe and degradation. He can give us help to conquer even this terrible demon of intemperance.
20 But it is in the home that the real work must begin. The greatest burden rests upon those who have the responsibility of educating the youth, of forming their character. Here is a work for mothers, in helping their children to form correct habits and pure tastes, to develop moral stamina, true moral worth. Teach them that they are not to be swayed by others, that they are not to yield to wrong influences, but to influence others for good, to ennoble and elevate those with whom they associate. Teach them that if they connect themselves with God, they will have strength from Him to resist the fiercest temptations.
21 Not Registered as a Man
With every facility which has been placed within reach, he who does not resist temptation, is not registered in the books of heaven as a man. The Lord never places men in positions so trying that it is beyond their power to withstand evil. Divine power is ever ready to protect and strengthen him who has been made a partaker of the divine nature.
22 Temptations to the indulgence of appetite possess a power which can be overcome only by the help that God can impart. But with every temptation, we have the promise of God that there shall be a way of escape. Why, then, are so many overcome? — It is because they do not put their trust in God. They do not avail themselves of the means provided for their safety. The excuses offered for the gratification of perverted appetite are therefore of no weight with God.
23 All Heaven is Watching
We want a share in the eternal inheritance. We want a place in the city of God, free from every impurity. All heaven is watching to see how we are fighting the battle against temptation. Let all who profess the name of Christ so walk before the world that they may teach, by example as well as by precept, the principle of true living.